.^g§3^^m^,

m*

EXPOSITORY^DISCOURSES

ON

GENESIS:

WITH

PEACTICAL REFLECTIONS.

BY REV. ANDREW FULLER.

NEW-YORK :
PUBLISHED BY LEWIS COLBY,
No. 122 Nassau-street. 1845.

EXPOSITORY DISCOURSES

ON THE

BOOK OF GENESIS,

INTERSPERSED WITH

PRACTICAL REFLECTIONS.

TPT.ME
BAPTIST CHURCH OF CHRIST;
AT KETTERING.

My Dear Brethren,
It is now upwards of twenty-two years since I first took the
oversight of you in the Lord. Daring the last fifteen years, it has,
as you know, been my practice to expound among you, on a
Lord's-day morning, some part ef the Holy Scriptures, commonly
a chapter. From all that I have felt in my own mind, and heard
from you, I have reason to hope these exercises have not been in
Vain. They have enabled us to take a more connected view of
the Scriptures than could be obtained merely by sermons on par
ticular passages ; and I acknowledge that as 1 have proceeded, the
work of exposition has become more and more interesting to my
heart. I have not been in the habit of writing Dedications to what I
have published ; but in this instance I feel inclined to deviate from
my usual practice. Considering my time of life, and the nume
rous avocations on my hands, I may not be able to publish any thing
more of the kind ; and if not, permit me to request that this family
book may be preserved as a memorial of our mutual affection,
and of the pleasures we have enjoyed together in exploring the
treasures of the lively oracles.

Ti DEDICATION.
You will consider these discourses as the result of having once
gone over that part of the Scriptures to which they relate. Were
we to go over it again and again, such is the fulness of God's word,
that we should still find interesting and important matter, which
had never occurred in reading it before ; and this should encour
age us not t'o rest in any exposition, but to be constantly perusing
the Scriptures themselves, and digging at the precious ore.
As the Exposition was delivered in public worship, it was not
my wish to dwell upon particular words, so much as to convey the
general scope and design of the Scriptures. Whether I have in
any considerable degree caught the spirit which runs through
them, is too much for me to decide : but this I can say, that such
has been my aim. I know by experience, that, with respect to
this, when I have been the most spiritually minded, I have suc
ceeded the best ; and therefore conclude, that if I had lived nearer
to God, the work had been better executed. But such as it is, I
Commend it to the blessing of God and your candid acceptance ;
And remain, Your affectionate Pastor,
THE AUTHOR.
Kettering, October 29, 1805.

CONTENTS.

DISCOURSE I.
Chap. i. 1 — 4. Page,
On the book in general, and the first day's creation, - - 13
DISCOURSE II.
Chap. 1.6—31.
On the last five days' creation, - - 17
discourse in.
Chap. ii.
Creation reviewed, - ----- 21
DISCOURSE rv.
Chap. iii. 1— 7.
The fall of mm, .... - - 21
DISCOURSE V.
Chap. iii. 8—14.
The trial of the trangressors, .... - - 31
DISCOURSE VI.
Chap. iii. 15—24.
The curse of Satan , including a blessing to man — Effects of the fall, - 3S>
discourse vn.
Chap. iv. 1 — 8.
The offerings of Cain and Abel, - - 45
DISCOURSE VIII.
Chap. iv. 9—24,
Cain's punishment and posterity, ... - 51
DISCOURSE IX.
Chap. iv. 25, 26, and Chap. v.
The generations of Adam, ------ 57
DISCOURSE X.
Chap. vi. 1—7.
The cause of the deluge, ... - 63

^hi CONTENTS.
DISCOURSE XI.
Chap. vi. 8—22. Page-
Xoah finds favour with Ood, and is directed lo build the ark, - 67
DISCOURSE XII.
Chap. vii.
the Flood,  75
DISCOURSE xra.
Chap. viii.
The Flood, (continued) .... 81
DISCOURSE XIV.
Chap. ix. 1—24.
God's covenant with Noah, ------ 87
DISCOURSE XV.
Chap. ix. 25—27.
Noah's prophecy, ..-.---91 DISCOURSE XVI.
Chap. z.
The generations of Noah, ...... 9>
DISCOURSE xvn.
Chap. xi. 1—9.
The confusion of tongues, ..... 103
DISCOURSE XVIII.
Chap. xi. 10—32, and Chap. xii. 1—4.
The generations of Shem, and the call of Abram, - - - 111
DISCOURSE XIX.
Chap. xii. 6—20.
Abram dwelling in Canaan, and removing lo Egypt on account of the
famine, ....... 117
DISCOURSE XX.
Chap. xiii.
The separation of Abram and Lot, ... 121
DISCOURSE XXI.
Chap. xiv.
Abram' s slaughter of the kings. - - .127
DISCOURSE xxn.
Chap. xr. 1—6.
Abram justified by faith, ------ 135

CONTENTS. ix
DISCOURSE XXIII.
Chap. xv. 7— 21. pagt.
Renewal of promises to Abraham, - . . . - 141
DISCOURSE XXIV.
Chap. xvi.
Sarai's crooked policy for the accomplishment of the promise, 145
DISCOURSE XXV.
Chap. xvii.
God's covenant with Abram and his seed, - 151
DISCOURSE XXVI.
Chap, xviii.
Abraham entertaining angels, and interceding for Sodom, - 151
DISCOURSE XXVII.
Chap. xix.
The. destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, - - 167
DISCOURSE XXVIII,
Chap. xx.
Abraham and Abimdech, .... 175
DISCOURSE XXIX.
Chap. xxi.
Thebirlhof Isaac, See. ... jgl
DISCOURSE XXX.
Chap. xxii.
Abraham commanded lo offer up his son Isaac, - - - 189
DISCOURSE XXXI.
Chap, xxiii.
The death and burial of Sarah, ¦- . 197
DISCOURSE XXXII.
Chap. xxiv. 1—28.
Abraham sending his servant to obtain a wife for Isaac, - - 201
discourse xxxra.
Chap. xxiv. 29—67.
Abraham sending his servant to obtain a wife for Isaac, (continued,) 207
DISCOURSE xxxrv.
Chap. xxv.
Abraham's marriage with Keturah, and death — Ishmael' s posterity and
death. — The birth and characters of Esau and Jacob, - - 215
DISCOURSE XXXV.
Chap. xxvi.
Isaac and Abimelech, - - - 226
Vol, V. 1

X CONTENTS.
DISCOURSE XXXVL
Chap, xxvii. Page.
Jacob's obtaining the blessing, - *""
discourse xxxvn.
Chap, xxviii.
Jacob's departure from Beersheba, ----- "43
discourse xxxvin.
Chap. xxix.
Jacob's arrival at Haran, - - - - - " *>>'
DISCOURSE XXXIX.
Chap. xxx. and Chap. xxxi. 1 — 16.
Jacob in Huron, ... ... - 257
DISCOURSE XL.
Chap. xxxi. 17 — 55.
Jacob's departurefrom Haran, ----- 265
DISCOURSE XLI.
Chap, xxxii.
Jacob's fear of Esau. — His wrestling with the Angel, - - 275
DISCOURSE XLII.
Chap, xxxiii.
Jacob's interview with Esau, and arrival in Canaan, - 281
DISCOURSE XLHT.
Chap, xxxiv.
Dinah defiled, and the Shechemiles murdered, ... gg9
DISCOURSE XLIV.
Chap. xxxv. and Chap, xxxvi.
Jacob' s removal lo Bethel. — God's renewal of covenant with him. — The
death of Deborah, Rachel, and Isaac. — Esau' s generation*. 297
DISCOURSE XLV.
Chap, xxxvii.
Joseph sold for a slave, ...... 305
DISCOURSE XLVI.
Chap, xxxviii. and Chap, xxxix.
The conduct of Judah. — Joseph's promotion and temptation, - - 315
DISCOURSE XLVn.
Chap. xl.
Joseph in prison, - - - 325
DISCOURSE XLVHI.
Chap. xii.
Joseph's advancement, ------ 331

CONTENTS. XI
DISCOURSE XLIX.
Chap. xlii. Page
The first interview between Joseph and his brethren, - 339
DISCOURSE L.
Chap.xliii.
Thesecond interview between Joseph and his brethren, - - 349
DISCOURSE LI.
Chap. xliv. 1—17.
The tup in Benjamin's sack, - - 359
DISCOURSE LII.
Chap. xliv. 18—34.
Judah's intercession, - - • - 363
DISCOURSE Lm.
Chap. xiv.
Joseph making himself known to his brethren, - - 367
DISCOURSE LVI.
Chap. xlvi.
Jacob's going down into Egypt, - - - 375
DISCOURSE LV.
Chap, xlvii.
Joseph's conduct in the settlement of his brethren, and in the affairs of
Egypt,  381
DISCOURSE LIV.
Chap, xlviii.
Joseph's interview with his dying father, with the blessing of his sons, 391
DISCOURSE LVII.
Chap; xlix.
Jacob's blessings on the tribes, - - - 397
DISCOURSE Lvrn.
Chap. 1.
The burial of Jacob. — Joseph removes the fears of his brethren. — Death
of Joseph, - - .... 409
Conclusion, - - - - - 415

EXPOSITORY DISCOURSES, &c.
DISCOURSE I.
ON THE BOOK IW GENERAL, AND THE FIRST DAV's CREATION.

Genesis i. 1 — 4. *t
It is common for the writers of other histories to go back in
their researches as far as possible ; but Moses traces his from
the beginning. The whole book is upon t/ie origin of things, even
of all things that had a beginning. The visible creation, the gen
erations of man, moral evil among men, the spiritual kingdom of
the Messiah, the new world, the church in the family of Abraham,
the various nations and tribes of man : every thing, in short, now
going on in the world, may be traced hither as to its spring-head.
Without this history the world would be in total darkness, not
knowing whpnce it came, nor whither it goeth .1 In the first page
of this sacred book a child may learn more in an hour than all
the philosophers in the world learned without it in thousands of
years. There is a majestic sublimity in the introduction. No apology,
preamble, or account of the writer : you are introduced at once
into the very heart of things. No vain conjectures about what
was before time, nor why things were done thus and thus ; but
simply so it was.
In this account of the creation nothing is said on the being of
God: this great truth is taken for granted. May not this apparent
omission be designed to teach us, that those who deny the exist-
Vol. V. 2

14 INTRODUCTION. (Discourse I.
ence of a Deity are rather to be rebuked than reasoned with ?
All reasoning and instruction must proceed upon some principle or
principles, and what can be more proper than this ? Those wri
ters who have gone about to' prove it, have, in my opinion, done
but little, if any good ; and in many instances have only set men a
doubting upon a subject which is so manifest from every thing
around them, as to render the very heathens without excuse.
Rom. i. 20.
The foundation of this vast fabric is laid in an adequate cause —
Elohim, The Almighty. Nothing else would bear it. Man, if he
attempt to find an adequate cause for what is, to the overlooking of
God, shall but weary himself with very vanity.
The writer makes use of the plural term Elohim, which yet is
joined to singular verbs. This has been generally thought to
intimate the doctrine of a plurality in the unity of the Godhead.
It is certain^.the scriptures speak of the Son and Holy Spirit ns
concerned in creation, as well as the Father.* Nor can I, on any
other supposition, affix a consistent meaning to such language as
that which afterwards occurs : Let us make man in our image, af
ter our likeness. — Behold the man is become like one of us.
The account- given by Moses, relates not to the whole creation,
but merely to what immediately concerns us to know. God made
angels ; but nothing is said of them. The moon is called one of
the "greater lights, not as to what it is in itself, but what it is to us.
The scriptures are written, not to gratify curiosity, but to nour
ish faith. They do not stop to tell you how, nor to answer a num
ber of questions which might be asked ; but tell you so much as
is necessary, and no more.
Ver. 1, 2. The first act of creation seems to have been gene
ral, and the foundation of all that followed. What the heavens
were when first produced, previously to the creation of the sun,
moon, and stars, did not greatly concern us to know, and therefore
we are not told. What the earth was, we are informed in verse
2. It was a chaos, without form, and void; a confused mass of
earth and water, covered with darkness, and void of all those fruits
* Johai. I. Gen. i. 2.

Chapter I.] FIRST DAY'S CREATION. 1 5
which afterwards covered the face of it. As regeneration is cal
led a creation, this may fitly represent the state of the soul while
under the dominion of sin — The Spirit of God moved upon the
face of the waters. The word signifies as much as brooded; and
so is expressive of " an active, effectual energy, agitating the vast
abyss and infusing into it a powerful vital principle." Hence
those lines of Milton :
" And chiefly thon, O Spirit 

 That with mighty wings outspread,
Dove like, satt'st brooding on the vast abyss,
And mad'stit pregnant."
Thus also God hath wrought upon the moral world, which, un
der sin, was without form, and void ; and thus he operates upon
every individual mind, causing it to bring forth fruit unto himself.
Ver. 3. From a general account of the creation, the sacred
writer proceeds to particulars ; and the first thing mentioned is
the prduction of light. The manner in which this is related has
been considered as an example of the sublime. It expresses a
great event in a few simple words, and exhibits the almighty God
perfectly in character : He speaks, and it is done ; he commands,
and it stands fast. The work of the Holy Spirit upon the dark
soul of man is fitly set forth in allusion to this great act of creation:
God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath sinned
into our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of
God, in the face of Jesus Christ. As soon might chaos have
emerged from its native darkness, as our benighted world, or
benighted souls, have found the light of life of their own accord.
Nor was it sufficient to have furnished us with a revelation from
heaven : the same almighty power that was necessary to give
.material light abeiug in the world, was necessary to give spiritual
light a being in the heart.'
The light here mentioned was not that of the sun which was cre
ated afterwards. From hence, a late infidel writer has raised an
objection against the scriptures, that they speak of light, and eien
oi night and day, which are well known to arise from the situation

16 FIRST DAY'S CREATION. [Discourse I.
of the earth towards the sun before the sun was made. But he
might as well have objected, that they speak of the earth in ver.
1,2. and yet afterwards tell us of the dry land, as separated from
the waters, constituting the earth, (ver. 9, 10.) The truth seems
to be, that what chaos was to the earth, that the light was to the
sun : the former denotes the general principles of which the latter
was afterwards composed. A flood of light was produced on the
first day of creation ; and on the fourth it was collected and formed
into distinct bodies. And though these bodies when made; were
to rule day and night ; yet prior to this, day and night were ruled
by the Creator's so disposing of the light and darkness as to divide
them. (ver. 4.) That which was afterwards done ordinarily by
the sun, was now done extraordinarily by the division of dark
ness and light.
Ver. 4. God saw the light that it was good. Light is a won
derful creature, full of goodness to us. This is sensibly felt by
those who have been deprived of it, either by the loss of sight, or
by confinement in dungeons or mines. How pathetically does our
blind poet lament the loss of it :
" Seasons return ; but not to me returns
Day. or the sweet approach of ev'n or mora,
Or sight of vernal bloom, or summer's rose,
Or flocks, or herds, or human face divine :
But cloud instead, and ever-during dark
Surrounds me ! From the cheerful ways of men
Cut off; and for the book of knowledge fair,
Presented with a universal blank
Of nature's works, to me expunged and rased,
And wisdom at one entrance quite shuts out !
If such be the value of material light, how much more of that
which is mental and spiritual ; and how much are we indebted to
the Holy Spirit of God for inditing the scriptures, and opening our
qenigbted minds to understand, them !

DISCOURSE II.

ON THE LAST FIVE DAYS CREATION.

Gen. i. 6—31.
Ver. 6 — 8. We here enter upon the second day, which was
employed in making afirmament, or expanse. It includes the atmos
phere, and all that is visible, from the position of the sun, moon,
and stars, down to the surface of the globe, ver. 14, IS. 20.
The use of it was to divide the waters from the waters : that is,
the waters on the earth from the waters in the clouds, which are
well known to be supported by the buoyant atmosphere. The
division here spoken of is that of distribution. God having made
the substance of all things, goes on to distribute them. By means.
of this, the earth is watered by the rain of heaven, without which-
it would be unfruitful, and all its inhabitants perish. God makes.
nothing in tvain. There is a grandeur in the firmament to the
eye ; but this is not all : usefulness is combined with beauty
Nor is it useful only with respect to animal subsistence: it is a
mirror, conspicuous to all, displaying the glory of its Creator, and
showing his handy works. The clouds also, by emptying them
selves upon the earth, set us an example of generosity ; and re
prove those who, full of this world's good, yet keep it principally
to' themselves.*Ver. 9 — 13, God having divided the heavens and the earth,
he now, on the third day, proceeds to subdivide the earth, or
chaos, into land and water. The globe became terraqueous ;
partly earth, and partly sea. *Eccles. xi. 1—3.

j 8 LAST FIVE DAYS' CREATION. [Discourse II.
It is easy to perceive the goodness of God in this distribution.
Important as earth and water both are, yet while mixed together
they afford no abode for creatures: but separated, they are each
a beautiful habitation, and each subserves the other. By means
of this distribution, the waters are ever in motion; which pre
serves them, and almost every thing else, from stagnancy and pu
trefaction. That which the circulation of the blood is to the ani
mal frame, that the waters are to the world : were they to stop,
all would stagnate and die.* — See how careful our heaveuly Fa
ther was to build us a habitation before he gave us a be
ing. Nor is this the only instance of the kind: our Redeem
er has acted on the same principle, in going before to prepare a
place for us.
Having fitted the earth for fruitfulness, God proceeds to clothe it
with grass, and herbs, and trees of every kind. There seems to
be an emphasis laid on every herb and tree having its seed in it'
self. We here see the prudent foresight, if I may so speak, of
the Creator, in providing for futurity. It is a character that runs
through all his works, that having communicated the first princi
ples of things, they should go on to multiply and increase, not in
dependently of him, but as blessed by his conservative goodness.
It is thus that true religion is begun and carried on in the mind,
and in the world.
Ver. 14 — 19. After dividing this lower world, and furnishing
it with the principles of vegetation, the Creator proceeded, on the
fourth day, to the producing of the heavenly bodies. First, they
are described in general, as the lights of heaven ; (ver. 14, 15.)
and then more particularly, as the sun, moon, and stars, ver.
16—19.
The use of these bodies is said to be not only for dividing the
day from the night, but for signs and seasons, and days and years.
They ordinarily afford signs of weather to the husbandman ;t and,
prior to the discovery of the use of the loadstone, were of great
importance to the mariner.^ They appear also, on some extra
ordinary occasions, to have been premonitory to the world. Pre-
* Eccles. i. 7., t Matt. xri. 3. $ Acts xxvii. 20.

Chapter I.] LAST FIVE DAYS' CREATION. 19
viously to the destruction of Jerusalem, our Lord foretold that
there should be great earthquakes in divers places, and famines,
and pestilences, and fearful sights, and great signs from heaven.*
And it is said by Josephus, that a comet, like a flaming sword, was
seen for a long time over that devoted city, a little before its des
truction by the Romans. Heathen astrologers made gods of these
creatures, and filled the minds of men with chimerical fears con
certing them. Against these, God warns his people ; saying, Be
ye not dismayed at, the signs of haven. This, however, does not
prove but that he may sometimes make use of them- Modern
astronomers, by accounting for various phenomena, would deny
their being signs of any thing : but to avoid the superstitions of
heathenism, there is no necessity for our running into ;\theism.
The heavenly bodies are also said to be for seasons, as winter
and summer, day and night. We have no other standard for the
measuring of time. The grateful vicissitudes also which attend
them are expressive of the goodness of God. If it were always
day or night, summer or winter, our enjoyments would be un
speakably diminished. Well is it said at every pause, And God
saw that it te'as good !
David improved this subject to a religious purpose : Day unto
day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge. Ev
ery night we retire, we are reminded of death ; and every morn
ing we arise, of the resurrection. In beholding the sun also,
which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth
as a strong man to run his race, we see every day a glorious exam
ple of the steady and progressive path of tlie just, which shineth
more and more unto the perfect day.
Ver. 20 — 25. We are next led to review the animal creation ;
a species of being less resplendant, but not less useful than some
of greater note. In one view, the smallest animal has a property
belonging to it which renders it superior to the sun. It has life,
and some degree of knowledge. It is worthy of notice too, that
the creation begins with things without life, and proceeds to things
possessing vegetative life, then to those which have animal life, and
* Luke xxi. 11.

20 LAST FIVE DAYS' CREATION. [Discourse II.
after that to man, who is the subject of rational life. This shows
that Jife is of great account in the Creator's estimation, who thus
causes the subject to rise upon us as we proceed.
Ver. 26 — 3L We are now come to the sixth and last day's
work of creation, which is of greater account to us than any which
have gone before, as the subject of it is man. — We may observe,
1. That the creation of man is introduced differently from that
of all other beings. It is described as though it were the result of
a special counsel, and as though there were a peculiar importance
attached to it : God said, Let us make man. Under the Great Su
preme, man was to be the lord of the lower world. On him would
depend its future well-being. Man was to be a distinguished link
in the chain of being ; uniting the animal with the spiritual world,
the frailty of the dust of the ground with the breath of the Almigh
ty ; and possessing that consciousness of right and wrong which
should render him a proper subject of moral government.
2. Man was honoured in being made after his Creator's image.
This is repeated with emphasis : Godcreated man in his own im
age ; in the image of God created he him. The image of God is
partly natural, and partly moral; and man was made after both.
The former consisted in reason, by which he was fitted for domin
ion over the creatures :* the latter, in righteousness and true holi
ness, by which he was fitted for communion with his Creator.
The figure of his body, by which he was distinguished from all oth
er creatures, was an emblem of his mind : God made man upright.
I remember once, on seeing certain animals which approached
near to the human form, feeling a kind of jealousy, shall I call it,
for the honour of my species. What a condescension then,
thought 1, must it be for the eternal God to stamp his image upon
man !
God made man upright. He knew and loved his Creator, liv
ing in fellowship with him, and the holy angels. Oh, bow fallen !
How is the gold become dim, and the most fine gold changed !
, * James iii. 7.

DISCOURSE III.

(TREATION REVIEWED.

Gen. ii.
This chapter contains a review of the creation, with the addi
tion of some particulars ; such as the institution of the sabbath, the
place provided for man, the law given him, and the manner of the
creation of woman.
Ver. 1. There is something impressive in this review' : Thvs
the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them —
wisely, mightily, kindly, gradually, but perfectly. Man's work,
especially when great, is commonly a work of ages. One lays the
foundation, and another the top-stone ; or what is worse, one pulls
down what another had reared : but God finishes his work. He is
a rock, and his work is perfect.
Ver. 2, 3. The conclusion of so divine a work required to be
celebrated, as well as the Creator adored, in all future ages :
hence arose the institution of the sabbath. We are not to imagine
that God was weary, or that he was unable to have made the whole
in one day ; but this was done for our example.
The keeping of a sabbath sacred for divine worship, has been a
topic of much dispute. Some have questioned whether it was
kept by the patriarchs, or before the departure of Israel from
Egypt ; supposing that Moses, who wrote the book of Genesis
about that time, might be led to introduce God's resting from his
works on the seventh day as a motive to enforce what was then
enjoined upon them. But if there were social worship before the
flood, and during the patriarchal ages, one should think there must
be a time for it. We expressly read of time being divided into
weeks during these ages : (Chap. xxix. 27,28.) and as early as the
Vol. V. 3

25 CREATION REVIEWED. [Discourse IU.
flood, when Noah sent out the dove once and again from the
ark, the term of " seven days'' is noticed as the space between the
times of sending her. Add to this, the division of time into weeks
is said to have been very common in heathen nations, in all ages ;
so that though they ceased to observe the sabbath, yet they retain
ed what was a witness against them — the time of its celebration.
The sabbath was not only appointed for God, but to be a day of
rest for man, particularly for the poor. It was enjoined on Israel
for this reason, That thy man-servant and thy maid-servant may rest
as well as thou : and remember that thou wast a-servant in the land
of Egypt. Those who would set it aside are no less the enemies
of the poor, than of God and religion : they consult only their
worldly interest. If such sordid characters could so order it, their
servants would be always in the yoke. Nor would their being so
in the least tend to increase their wages; every day's work would
be worth a little less than it is now, and the week's work amount to
much the same. To those who fear God it is also a great rest to
the mind; a time of refreshing, after the toils of worldly care and
labour. The reason for keeping the sabbath was drawn, not only from
God's having rested, but from the rest which Israel felt from the
yoke of Egypt.* And we have, since that time, another reasou ;
namely, Christ having rested from his works, as God did from
his.t Hence according to the practice of the primitive Chris
tians, the day was altered :J. and by how much more interesting
the work of redemption is than that of creation, by so much is
this reason greater than the other.
Finally : It is a Jewish tradition, and seems to have generally
prevailed, that, as there is a harmony of times in the works ot"
God, this seventh day of rest is prefigurative of the seven thous
andth year of the world being a rest to the church. We know
that years were divided into sevens, and seven times sevens. Ev
ery seventh year the land was to have its sabbath, and every fifti
eth year its jubilee: and thus it may be with the world. If so,
we are not at a great distance from it ; and this will be the period
*Deut. v. 14,15. tHeb. iv. 4— 10. J Acts xx. 7.

Chapter II.] CREATION REVIEWED. 23
when a great number of prophecies of the universal spread of the
gospel shall be fulfilled.
Ver. 4 — 7. After reviewing the whole in general, and noticing
the da}' of rest, the sacred writer takes a special review of the
vegetable creation, with an intent to mark the difference of its first
production, and ordinary propagation. Plants are now ordinarily
produced by rain upon the earth, and human tillage ; but the first
plants were made before there whs any rain, or human hand to till
the ground. After this, a mist or vapour arose, which engender
ed rain, and watered the earth, (ver. 6.) So also after this, God
formed man to till the ground, (ver. 7.) It is God's immediate
work to communicate the first principles of things ; but their
growth is promoted by the instrumentality of man. And now, hav
ing made mention of man, he tells us of what he'was made. His
body was formed of the dust of the ground. His soul proceeded
from the inspiration of the Almighty. What a wonderful com
pound is man ! There seems to be something in the additional
phrase : And man became a living soul. God is said to breathe
the breath of life into all animals; and we sometimes read of the soul
of every living thing; but they are never said to be living souls,
as men are. God hath stamped rationality and immortality upon
men's souls, so as to render them capable of a separate state of be
ing, even when their bodies are dead. Hence the soul of a beast,
when it dies, is said to go downward : but tLe soul of man up*
ward.* Ver. 8. Next we have an account of iheplace provided for man:
not only the world at large, but a pleasant part of il. It was situ
ated in the country of Eden, in Asia ; probably among the moun
tains of the East. It was near the origin of several rivers, which
always proceed from the mountainous parts of the country. It is
spoken of, as rich and fruitful in a high degree, so as even to be
come proverbial. t
Ver. 9. Things were also adapted to accommodate man : trees
and fruits, for pleasure and use are ready to his hand. Among
the trees of Eden, there were two in particular which appear to
* Eccles. xii. 7. -"-Gen. xiii. 10. Isa. Ii. 3,

24 CREATION REVIEWED. [Discourse 111,
have been symbolical, or designed by the Creator to give instruc
tion, in the manner which is done by our positive institutions.
One was the tree of life, to which he had free access. This was
designed as a symbol to him of that life which stood connected with
his obedience ; and therefore when he sinned, he was debarred
from eating it by the flaming sword and cherubim, which turned
every way to guard it. The other was the tree of knowledge of
good and evil, which was the only tree of the fruit of which he
was forbidden to eat. As the name of the first of these trees is
given it from the effect which should follow obedience, so that of
the last seems to have been from the effect which should follow
on disobedience. Man, on the day he should eat thereof, should
know good in a way of loss, and evil in a way of sufferance.
Ver. 10 — 14. Besides this, it was a well watered garden. A
river rose among the mountains of the country of Eden, which di
rected its course through it ; and afterwards divided into four
heads or branches. Two of them are elsewhere mentioned in
scripture ; viz. the Hiddekel or Tigris, and the Euphrates, both
rivers of Asia. With the others we are less acquainted.
Ver. 15. Among the provisions for man's happiness was em
ployment. Even in innocence he was to dress the garden and
keep it. Man was not made to be idle. All things are full of la
bour : it is a stupid notion that happiness consists in slothful ease,
or in having nothing to do. Those who are so now, whether the
very rich or the very poor, are commonly among the most worth
less and miserable of mankind.
Ver. 16, 17. The trial of man, by a special prohibition, was
singularly adapted to the end. To have conformed to his Cre
ator's will, he must always have been contented with implicit obe
dience, or satisfied in abstaining from a thing on the mere ground
of its being forbidden of God, without perceiving the reason of his
being required to do so. In truth, it was a test of his continuing
in the spirit of a little child, that should have no will of its own ;
and this is still the spirit of true religion. The consequences at
tached to a breach of this positive law teach us also not to trifle
with the will of God in his ordinances, but implicitly to obey it.

Chapter IL] CREATION REVIEWED. 25
More particularly : Observe. (1.) The fullness of the grant.
Here was enough for man's happiness, without the forbidden fruit ;
and so there is now in the world, without transgressing the boun
daries of heaven. (2.) The positiveness of the prohibition : TJiou
shalt not eat of it. So long as this was kept in mind it was well ;
and it appears to have been deeply impressed, from the first an
swer of the woman to the serpent. (Chap. iii. 3.) It was this im
pression which he aimed to deface by his devilish question, Yea,
Jiath God said it ? And when once she began to doubt of this, all
was over. Let us learn to keep God's words in our minds, and
hide them in our hearts, that we may not sin against him. It was
with thus and thus it is written, that our Lord repelled all his temp
tations. (3.) The penalty annexed : Thou shalt die, or Dying
thou shalt die. Some think this means corporeal death, and that
only ; and that if the threatening had been executed, man must have
been immediately struck out of existence. But the death here
threatened, whatever it was, is said to have passed upon all men,
which implies the existence of aU men, and which would have been
prevented if Adam had at that time been reduced to a state of non
existence. The original constitution of things provided for the
existence of every individual that has since been born into the
world, and that, whether man should stand or fall. The death here
threatened doubtless included that of the body, which God might
execute at pleasure : the day he should eat, he would be dead in
law. But it also included the loss of the divine favour, and an
exposedness to his wrath. If it were not so, the redemption of
Christ would not he properly opposed to it, which it frequently
is.* Nor is Adam to be considered as merely a private individ
ual : he was the public head of all his posterity, so that his trans
gression involved their being transgressors from the womb, and
alike exposed to death with himself. Such has been the charac
ter of all mankind ; and such is the account of things given in the
scriptures. If men now find fault with this part of the divine gov
ernment, it is what they will not be able to stand to at the last day.
The judge of all the earth will, in that day, appear to have done
right, whatever may be thought of him at present. (4.) The
* Rom, v. 12—21. Heb. ix. 27, 28.

20 CREATION REVIEWED. [Discourse III.
promise of life implied by it. There is every reason to believe
that if man had obeyed his Creator's will, he would, of his own
boundless goodness, have crowned him with everlasting bliss. It
is his delight to impart his own infinite blessedness as the re
ward of righteousness : if Adam, therefore had continued in the
truth, he and all his posterity should have enjoyed what was sym
bolically promised him by the tree of life. Nor is there any rea
son. to suppose but that it would have been the same for substance
as that which believers now enjoy through a Mediator ; for the
scriptures speak of that which the law could not do, (in that it was
weak through the flesh, that is, through the corruption of human
nature,) as being accomplished by Christ.*
Ver. 18 — 25. The subject closes with a more particular ac
count of the creation of woman. We had a general one before :
(Chap. i. 27.) but now we are led to see the reasons of it. Ob
serve, (1.) It was not only for the propagation of the human
race, but a most distinguished provision for human happiness.
The woman was made for the man : not merely for the gratifica
tion of his appetites, but of his rational and social nature. It was
not good that man should be alone ; and therefore a helper that
should be meet, or suitable was given him. The place assigned
-to the woman in Heathen and Mahometan countries has been high
ly degrading ; and the place assigned her by modern Infidels is
not much better. Christianity is the only religion that conforms
to the original design, that confines men to one wife, and that
teaches them to treat her with propriety. Go among the enemies
of the gospel, and you shall see the woman either reduced to ab
ject slavery, or basely flattered for the vilest of purposes : but in
Christian families you may see her treated with honour and re
spect ; treated as a friend, as naturally an equal, a soother of
man's cares, a softener of his griefs, and a partner of his joys. (2.)
She was made after the other creatures were named ; and con
sequently, after Adam, having seen and observed all the animals,
had found none of them a fit companion for himself, and thus felt
the want of one. The blessings both of nature and of grace are
* Rom, viii. 3, 4.

Chapter II.] CREATION REVIEWED. 27
greatly endeared to us by our being suffered to feel the want of
them before we have them. (3.) She was made out of man,
which should lead men to consider their wives as a part of them
selves, and to love them as their own flesh. The woman was not
taken, it is true, from the head ; neither was she taken from the
feet ; but from somewhere near the heart ! (4.) That which was
now done would be a standing law of nature. Man would leave fa
ther and mother, and cleave to his wife, aud they twain shall be one
flesh. Finally : It is added, They were both naked and were not
ashamed. There was no guilt, and therefore no shame : shame is
one of the fruits of sin.

DISCOURSE IV.

THE FALL OF MAN.

Gen. iii. 1 — 7.
We have hitherto seen man as God created him, upright and
bappy. But here we behold a sad reverse ; the introduction of
moral evil into our world, the source of all our misery.
There can be no doubt but that the serpent was used as an in
strument of satan, who from hence is called, that old serpent, the
devil- The subtlety of this creature might answer his purposes.
The account of the serpent speaking to the woman might lead us
fo a number of curious questions, on which, after all, we might be
unable to obtain satisfaction. Whether we are to understand this,
or the temptations of our Lord in the wjlderness, as spoken in an
audible voice, or not, I shall not take upon iw to decide. What
ever may be said of either cape, it is certain, from the whole ten
or of scripture, that evil spirits have, by the divine permission, ac-»
cess to human minds : not indeed so as be able to impel us to sin
without our consent ; but it may be in some such manner as men
influence each others minds to evil. Such seems to be the proper
idea of a tempter. We are conscious of what we choose : but are
scarcely at all acquainted with the things that induce choice. We
are exposed to innumerable influences ; and have therefore reason
to pray, Lead us not into temptation, but. deliver us from eviL
With respect to the temptation itself, if begins by calling in ques
tion the truth of God. ' Is it true, that God has prohibited, any
tree ? Can it be ? For what was it created ?' Such are the inqui
ries of wicked men to this day. ' For what are the objects of.
pleasure made,' say Ihey, ' but to be enjoyed ? Why did God create
Vol. V. 4

3Q FALL OF MAN. [Discourse IV.
meats and drinks, and dogs and horses ? What are appetites for,
but to be indulged ?' We might answer among other things, to try
them who dwell on the earth.
It seems also to contain an insinuation, that if man must not eat
of every tree, he might as well eat of none. And thus discontent
continues to overlook the good, and pores upon the one thing
Wanting. All this availeth me nothing, so long as Mordeedi is at
the gate.
Ver. 2. 3. The answer of Eve seems to be very good at the
outset. She very properly repels the insinuation against the
goodness of God, as though, because he had withheld one tree, he
had withheld, or might as well have withheld, all. 'No,' says she,
' we may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden ; there is only
one withheld.' She also with equal propriety and decision, repell
ed the doubt which the tempter had raised respecting the prohib
ition of that one. The terms by which she expresses it show how
clearly she understood the mind of God, and what an impression
his command had made upon her mind : Of the fruit of this tree,
God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it ; neither shall ye touch it lest
ye die ! We do not read that they were forbidden to touch it : but
she understood a prohibition of eating to contain a prohibition of
touching. And this exposition oftlie woman, while upright affords
a good rule to U9. If we would shun evil, we must shun the ap
pearance of it, and all the avenues which lead to it. To parly
with temptation is to play with fire. In all this Eve sinned not,
nor charged God foolishly.
Ver. 4, 5. The wily serpent now proceeds to a second attack.
Mark the progress of the temptation. At the outset he only sug
gested his doubts ; but now he deals in positive assertion. In this
manner the most important errors creep into the mind. He who
sets off with apparently modest doubts, will often be seen to end in
downright infidelity.
The positivity of the tempter might be designed to oppose that
of the woman. She is peremptory ; he also is peremptory ; op
posing assertion to assertion. This artifice of Satan is often seen
in his ministers. Nothing is more common than for the most false
and pernicious doctrines to be advanced with a boldness that stuns

Chapter III.] FALL OF MAN. o.
the mind of the simple, and induces a doubt : < Surely I must be in
the wrong, and they in the right, or they could not be so confident.'
Yet the tempter, it is observable, does not positively deny that
God might have said so and so ; for this would have been calling
in question the veracity of Eve, or denying what she knew to be
true; which must have defeated his end. But he insinuates, that,
whatever God might have said, which he would not now dispute,
it would not in the endprpve so. Satan will not be so unpolite as
to call in question either the honour or the understanding of Eve,
but scruples not to make God a liar : yea, and has the impudence
to say that God knew that instead of proving an evil, it would be
a benefit. Alas, how often has man been flattered by the ministers
of Satan at God's expense ! Surely we need not be at a loss in
judging whence those doctrines proceed which invalidate the di.
vine threatenings, and teach sinners going on still in their trespass
es, Ye shall not surely die. Nor those which lead men to consider
the divine prohibitions as aimed to diminish their happiness ; or,
which is the same thing, to think it rigid or hard that we should be
obliged to comply with them. And those doctrines which flatter
our pride, or provoke a vain curiosity so pry into things unseen,
proceed from the same quarter. By aspiring to be a god, man
became too much like a devil ; and where human reason takes up
on itself to set aside revelation, the effects will continue to be much
the same.
Ver. 6. This poison had effect .... the woman paused ....
looked at the fruit .... it began to appear desirable .... she felt
a wish to be wise .... in short, she took of the fruit .... and
did eat ! But was she not alarmed when she had eaten ? It seems
not ; and, feeling no such consequences follow as she perhaps ex
pected, ventured even to persuade her husband to do as she had
done , and with her persuasion he complied. The connexion be
tween sin and misery is certain, but not always immediate : its im
mediate effects are deception and stupefaction, which commonly in
duce the party to draw others into the same condition.
It does not appear that Adam was deceived ; but the woman
only* He seems to have sinned with his eyes open; and per
haps from love to his wife. It was the first time, but not the last,
* 1 Tim. ii. 14.

32 FALL OF MAN. [Discourse IV.
in which Satan has made use of the nearest and tenderest parts of
ourselves, to draw our hearts from God. Lawful affection may
become a snare. If the nearest relation or friend tempt us to de
part from God, we must not hearken. When the woman had sin
ned against God, it was the duty of her husband to have disowned
her forever, and to have left it to his Creator to provide for his
social comfort ; but a fond attachment to the creature overcame
him. He hearkened to her voice, and plunged headlong into her
sin. Ver. 7. And now, having both sinned, they begin to be sensible
of its effects. Conscious innocence has forsaken them. Conscious
guilt, remorse, and shame, possess them. Their eyes are now
opened indeed, as the tempter had said they would be ; but it is
to sights of woe. Their naked bodies, for the first time, excite
shame ; and are emblems of their souls ; which, stripped of their
original righteousness, are also stripped of their honour, security
and happiness.
To hide their outward nakedness, they betake themselves to
the leaves of the garden. This, as a great writer observes, was " to
cover, not to cure." And to what else is all the labour of sinners
directed ? Is it not to conceal the bad, and to appear what they
are not, that they are continually studying and contriving? And
being enabled to impose upon one another, they with little diffi
culty impose upon themselves, trusting in themselves that they are
righteous, and despising others. But all is mere show, and when
God comes to summon them to his bar will prove of no account.

DISCOURSE V-

THE TRIAL OF THE TRANSGRESSORS.

Gen. iii. 8—14.
Ver. 8. We have seen the original transgression of our first
parents ; and now we see them called to account and judged.
The Lord God is represented as walking in the garden in the cool
of the day ; that is in the evening. This seems to denote the or
dinary and intimate communion which man enjoyed with his Ma.
ker, while he kept his first estate. We may be at a loss in forming
an idea how God could walk in the garden, and how he spake'
but he was not at a loss how to holtl communion with them that
loved him. To accommodate it to our weak capacities, it is rep
resented under the form of the owner of a garden taking his eve
ning walk in it, to see, as we should say, whether the vine flourish.
ed, and the promegranates budded ; to see and converse with those
whom he had placed over it.
The cool of the day, 'which to God was the season for visiting
his creatures, may, as it respects man, denote a season of reflection.
We may sin in the day time ; but God will call us to account at
night. Many a one has done that in the heat and bustle of the
day, which has afforded bitter reflection in the cool of the eve
ning ; and such, in many instances, has proved the evening o,
life. The voice of God was heard, it seems, before any thing was
seen : and as he appears to have acted towards man in his usual
way, and as though he knew of nothing that had taken place til-
he had it from his own mouth, we may consider this as the voice
of kindness; such, whatever it was, as Adam had used to hear

g4 . THE TRANSGRESSORS* TRIAL. [Discourse V.
beforetime, and on the first sound of which he and his companion
had been used to draw near, as sheep at the voice of the shep
herd, or as children to the voice of a father. The voice of one
whom we love conveys life to our hearts : but alas, it is not so
now ! Not only does conscious guilt make them afraid, but con
trariety of heart to a holy God renders them unwilling to draw
near to him. The kindest language, to one who is' become an ene
my, will work in a wrong way. Let favour be showed to the wick
ed, yet will he not learn righteousness : in the land' of uprightness
will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the Lord.
Instead of coming at his call as usual, they hide themselves from
his presence among the trees of the garden. Great is the cowardice
which attaches to guilt. It flies from God, and from all approach
es to him in prayer or praise ; yea, from the very thoughts of
him ; and of death and judgment, when they must appear before
him. But wherefore flee to the trees of the garden ? Can they
screen them from the eyes of Him with whom they have to do ?
Alas, they could not hide themselves and their nakedness from
their own eyes ; how then should they elude discovery before an
omniscient God ! But we see here to what a stupid and besotted
state of mind sin had already reduced them.
Ver. 9. God's general voice of kindness receiving no answer,
he is more particular; calling Adam by name, and inquiring, Where
art thou ? In vain does the sinner hide himself : the Almighty
will find him out ? If he answer not to the voice of God in his
word, he shall have a special summons served upon him before
long ? Observe what the summons was : Where art thou ? It
seems to be the language of injured friendship. As if he should
say, ' How is it that- 1 do not meet thee as heretofore ? What
have I done unto thee, and wherein have I wearied thee ? Have
I been a barren wilderness, or a land of drought ? How is it that
thou hailest not my approach as on former occasions ?' It was
also language adapted to lead him to reflection : Where art thou ?
Ah, where indeed ! God is thus interrogating sinful men. Sinner,
where art thou ? What is thy condition ? In what way art thou
walking, and whither will it lead thee ?

Chapter III. THE TRANSGRESSORS' TRIAL. 35
Ver. 10. To this trying question man is compelled to answer.
See with what ease God can bring the offender to his bar. He has
only to speak, and it is done. He shall call to the heavens and the
earth, that he may judge his people. But what answer can be made
to him ? I heard thy voice in the garden 'Did you? Then you
cannot plead ignorance.' No, but something worse: I was afraid,
because I was naked, and I hid myself. Take notice, he says noth
ing about his sin, but merely speaks of its effects: such as fear,
and conscious nakedness, or guilt. The language of a contrite spi
rit would have been, / have sinned! But this is the language of
impenitent misery. It is of the same nature as that of Cain : My
punishment is heavier than I can bear ! This spirit is often appa
rent in persons under first convictions, or when brought low by
adversity, or drawing near to death ; all intent on bewailing their
misery, but insensible to the evil of their sin. To what a condition
has sin reduced us ! Stripped, naked to our shame, we are afraid
to meet the kindest and best of Beings ! Oh reader ! We must
now be clothed with a better righteousness than our own, or how
shall we stand before him ?
Ver. II. Adam began, as I have said, with the effects of his
sin ; but God directed him to the cause of those effects. ' Na
ked '.' q. d. ' How came such a thought into thy mind ? The na
kedness of thy body, with which I created thee, was no nakedness:
neither fear nor shame attached to that. What meanest thou by
being naked ?' Still there is no confession. The truth will not
come out without a direct inquiry on the subject. Here then it
fallows : Hast thou eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee
that thou shouldst not eat ? Thus the sinner stands convicted.
Now we might suppose he would have fallen at the feet of his Ma
ker, and have pleaded guilty. But Oh, the hardening nature of
sin !
Ver. 12. Here is, it is true, a confession of his sin. It comes
out at last, / did eat; but with what a circuitous, extenuating pream
ble, a preamble which makes bad worse. The first word is, The
woman; aye, the woman; It was not my fault, but her's. The wo
man whom thou gavest to be with me — It was not me ; it was thou
thyself! If thou hadst not given this woman to be with me, I

36 THE TRANSGRESSORS' TRIAL. [Discourse V.
should have continued obedient.' Nay, and as if he suspected that
the Almighty did not notice his plea sufficiently, he repeats it em
phatically : She gave me, and I did eat ! Such a confession was
infinitely worse than none. Yet such is the spirit of fallen man
to this day : ' It was not me .... it was my wife or my husband,
or my acquaintance, that persuaded me ; or it was my situation in
life, in which thou didst place me !' Thus the foolishness of man
perverteth his way, and his heart fretteth against the Lord. ,
It is worthy of notice, that God makes no answer to these per
verse excuses. They were unworthy of an answer. The Lord;
proceeds, like an aggrieved friend who would not multiply words:
' I see,' q d. ' how it is; stand aside !'
Ver. 13. Next the woman is called and examined. What is
this that thou hast done ? The question implies that it was no tri
fling thing; and the effects which have followed, and will follow,
confirm it. But let us hear the woman's answer. Did she plead
guilty ? The circumstance of her being first in the transgression,
and the tempter of her husband, one should have thought, would
have shut her mouth at least ; and being also of the weaker sex,
it might have been expected that she would not have gone on to
provoke the vengeance of her Creator. But lo, she also shifts the
blame : The Serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. ' I was deceived,
I did not mean evil ; but was drawn into il through the wiles of an
evil being.' Such is the excuse which multitudes make to this
day, when they can find no better : ' The devil tempted me to it !'
Still God continues his forbearance ; makes no answer ; but .or
ders her as it were, to stand aside.
Ver. 14. And now the serpent is addresssed : but mark the
difference. Here is no question put to him, but merely a doom
pronounced. Wherefore ? Because no mercy was designed to
be shown him. He is treated as an avowed and sworn enemy.
There was no doubt wlierefore he had done it, and therefore no
reason is asked of his conduct.
The workings of conviction in the minds of men are called the
strivings of the Spirit, and afford a hope of mercy. Though they
are no certain sign of grace received, (as there was nothing good at
present in our first parents,) yet they are the workings of a merci-

Chapter III.] THE TRANSGRESSORS' TRIAL. 37
ful God, and prove that he has not given over the sinner to hope
less ruin. But the serpent has nothing to expect but a fearful
looking for ofjudgment.
The form under which Satan is cursed is that of the serpent.
To a superficial reader it might appear that the vengeance of
heaven was directed against the animal, distinguishing him fr«m all
cattle, subjecting him to a most abject life, condemning him to creep
upon his belly, and of course to have his food besmeared with dust.
But was, God angry with the serpent ? No : but, as under that
form Satan had tempted the woman, so that shall be the form under
which he shall receive his doom. The spirit of the sentence ap
pears to be this — ' Cursed art thou above all creatures, and above.
every being that God hath made. Miserable shalt thou be lo an
endless duration !' Some have thought, and the passage gives
some countenance to the idea, that the state of fallen angels was not
hopeless till now. If it had. the curse could only .ha re added ;i
greater degree of misery.

Vol. V.

DISCOURSE VI.

THE CURSE OF SATAN, INCLUDING A RLESSINQ TO MAN  EFFECT.?
OF THE FALL.

Gen. iii. 15—24.
Ver. 15. By all that had been hitherto said and done, God
appears to have concealed from man who was his tempter ; and
for this reason, among others, to have pronounced the doom on
Satan under the form of a curse upon the serpent. By this we
may learn, that it is of no account as to the criminality of sin,
whence it comes, or by whom or what we are tempted to it. If
we choose it, it is ours ; and we must be accountable for it.
But mark the'wisdom and goodness of God : as under the form
of cursing the serpent, he had pronounced a most tremendous
doom on the tempter, so under the form of this doom is covertly
intimated a design of mercy the most transcendent to the tempted !
If man had been in a suitable state of mind, the promise might have
been direct, and addressed to him : but he was not ; for his heart,
whatever it might be afterwards, was as yet hardened against God-
It was fit, therefore, that whatever designs of mercy were enter
tained concerning him, or his posterity, they should not be given
in the form of a promise to him, but of threatening to Satan. The
situation of Adam and Eve at this time was like that of sinners un
der the preaching of the gospel. The intimation concerning the
Woman's Seed would indeed imply that she and her husband
should live in the world, that she should bring forth children, and
that God would carry on an opposition to the cause of evil : but it
does not ascertain their sanation ; and if there appear nothing
more in their favour in the following part of the history, - than
what has hitherto appeared, we shall have no good ground to con-

40 EFFECTS OF THE FALL. [Discourse VL
elude that either of them are gone to heaven. The Messiah
might come as the Saviour of sinners, and might descend from
them after the flesh ; and yet they might have no portion in him.
But let us view this famous passage more particularly, and that
in the light in which it is here represented, as a threatening to
theserpent. This threatening does not so much respect the person of
the grand adversary of God and man, as his cause and kingdom in
the world. He will be punished in his person at the time appoint"
ed ; but this respects the manifestation of the Son of God to de
stroy his works. There are four things here intimated, -which
are each worthy of notice. (1.) The ruin of Satan's cause was
to be accomplished by one in human nature. This must have
been not a little mortifying to his pride. If he must fall, and could
have had his choice as to the mode, he might rather have wished
to have been crushed by the immediate hand of God ; for how
ever terrible that hand might be, it would be less humiliating than
to be subdued by one of a nature inferior to his own. The human
nature especially appears to have become odious in bis eyes, It
is possible that the rejoicings of eternal wisdom over man were
known in heaven, and first excited his envy ; and that his attempt
to ruin the human race was an net of revenge. If so, there was a
peculiar fitness that from man should proceed his overthrow.
(2.) It was to be accomplished by the seed of the woman. This
would be more humiliating still. Satan had made use of her* to
accomplish his purposes, and God would defeat his schemes
through the same medium : and by how much he had despised and
abused her, in making her the instrument of drawing her husband
aside, by so much v\ ould he be mortified in being overcome by one
of her descendants. (3.) The victory should be obtained, not
only by the Messiah himself, but by all his adherents. The seed
of the woman, though it primarily referred to him, yet being op
posed to " the seed of the serpent," includes all that believe in
him. And there is little or no doubt that the account in Rev. xii.
17. has allusion to this passage : And the dragon was wroth with the
woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed who
keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. Now, if
it were mortifying for Satan to be overcome by the Messiah him-

Chapter III.] EFFECTS OF THE FALL. 4l
self, considered as the seed of the woman, how much mere when,
in addition to this, every individual believer shall be made to come
near, and as it were set his feet upon the neck of his enemy 1 Fi
nally : Though it should be a long war, and the cause of the ser
pent would often be successful, yet in the end it should be utterly
ruined. The head is the seat of life, which the heel is not: by
this language, therefore, it is intimated that the life of Christ's
cause should not be affected by any part of Satan's opposition ; but
that the life of Satan's cause should by that of Christ. For this
purpose is he manifested in human nature, that he may de
stroy the works of the devil ; and he will never desist till he have
utterly crushed his power.
Now, as the threatenings against Babylon conveyed good news
to the church, so this threatening against the old serpent is full of
mercy to men. But for this enmity which God would put into the
woman's seed against him, he would have had every thing his
own way, and every child of man would have had his portion with
him and his angels.
From the whole, we see that Christ is the foundation and sub
stance of all true religion since the fall of man ; and therefore,
that the only way of salvation is by faith in him. We see also the
importance of a decided attachment to him and his interest. There
are two great armies in the world, Michael and his angels, warring
against the dragon and his angels ; and according to the side we
take, such will be our end
Ver. 16 — 19. The sentence of the woman, and of the man
which follows, like the rest is under a veil. Nothing but tempo
ral evils is mentioned ; but these are not the whole. Paul
teaches us that by the offence of one, judgment came upon all men
to condemnation; and such a condemnation as stands opposed to
justification of life.* The woman's load in this life was sorrow in
bearing children, and subjection to her husband. The command to
be fruitful and multiply might originally, for aught I know, include
some degree of pain ; but now it should be greatly multiplied : and
there was doubtless a natural subordination in innocency ; but
* Rom. v. 18. See on Chap. iv. 11, 12. p. 44.

42

EFFECTS OF THE FALL. [Discourse V(.

through sin, woman becomes comparatively a slave. This is es
pecially the case where sin reigns uncontrolled, as in heathen and
Mahometan countries. Christianity however, so far as it operates'
counteracts it; restoring woman to her original state, that of a
friend and companion.* The sentence on man points out to hira
wherein consisted his sin; namely, in hearkening to the voice of his
wife rather than to God. What a solemn lesson does this teach
us, against loving the creature more than the Creator, and hearken}
ing to any counsel to the rejection of his. And with respect to his
punishment, it is worthy of notice that as that of Eve was common
to her daughters, so that of Adam extends to the whole human
race. The ground is cursed for his sake, cursed with barrenness-
God would, as it were, take no delight in blessing it ; as well he
might not, for all would be perverted to, and become the food of
rebellion. The more he should bless the earth, the more wicked
would be its inhabitants. Man also himself is doomed to wretch
edness upon it : he should drag on the few years that he might
live, in sorrow and misery, of which the thorns and thistles, which
it should spontaneously produce, were but emblems. God had
given him before to eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden ; but
now he must be expelled frem thence, and take his portion with
the brutes, and live upon the herb of the field. He was allowed
bread, but it should be by the sweat of his face ; and this is the
lot of the great body of mankind. The end of this miserable state *
of existence was, that he should return to his native dust. Here
the sentence leaves him. A veil is, at present, drawn over a fu
ture world : but we elsewhere learn that at what time the flesh re
turns to dust, the spirit returns to God who gave il ; and that the
same sentence which appointed man once to die, added, bat after
this the judgment.
It is painful to trace the different parts of this melancholy sen
tence, and their fulfilment in the world to this day : yet there is a
bright side even to this dark cloud. Through the promised Mes
siah a great many things pertaining to the curse are not only coun
teracted, but become blessings. Under his glorious reign, the earth
* See on Chap. ii. 18—25. p. 26.

Chapter 111.^ EFFECTS OF THE FALL. 43
shall yield its increase, and God, our own God, delight in blessing
us. And while its fruitfulness is withheld, this has a merciful ten
dency to stop the progress of sin : for if the whole earth were like
the plains of Sodom in fruitfulness, which are compared to the gar
den of God, its inhabitants would be as Sodom and Gomorrha in
wickedness. The necessity of hard labour too, in obtaining a sub
sistence, which is the lot of the far greater part of mankind, tends
more than a little, by separating men from each other, and depres
sing their spirits, to restrain them from the excesses of evil. All
the afflictions of the present life contain in them a motive to look up
ward for a better portion : and death itself is a monitor to warn
them to prepare to meet their God. These are things suited to a
sinful world : and where they are sanctified, as they are to believ
ers in Christ, they become real blessings. To themthey are
light afflictions, and last but for a moment ; and while tbey do last
work for them a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.
To them, in short, death itself is introductory to everlasting life.
Ver. 20. Adam's wife seems hitherto to have been known only
by the name oiwoman ; but now be calls her Eve, that is, life, liv- ,
ing, or, the motlier of all living. He might possibly have under
stood from the beginning, that the sentence Of death would not pre
vent the existence of the human race ; or if not, what had been said
of the woman's seed would at least satisfy him on this subject. But
it is generally supposed, and there seems to be ground for the sup
position, that in calling his wife life, or living, he intended more
than that she would be the mother of all mankind; that it is ex
pressive of his faith in the promise of her victorious Seed destroy
ing what Satan had accomplished in introducing death, and that
thus she should be the means of immortal life to all who should
live in him. If such were his meaning, we may consider this as
tfie first evidence in favour of his being renewed in the spirit of his
mind. Ver. 21. By the coats of skins wherewith the Lord God clothed
them, it seems to be.implied that animals were slain ; and, as they
were not at that time slain for food, it is highly probable tbey were
slain for sacrifice ; especially as this practice is mentioned in the
life of Abel. Sacrifices therefore appear to have been ordained of

44 EFFECTS OF THE FALL. [Discourse VI.
God to teach man his desert, and the way in which lie must be sav
ed. It is remarkable that the clothing of Adam and Eve is as
cribed to the Lord God, and that it appears to have succeeded the
slender covering wherewith they bad attempted to cover them
selves. Is it not natural to conclude, that God only can hide our
moral nakedness, and that the way in which be does it is by cover
ing us with the righteousness of our atoning sacrifice ?
Ver. 22. This ironical reflection is expressive of both indigna
tion and pity. ' Man is become wonderfully wise ! Unhappy
creature ! He has for ever forfeited my favour, which is life ; and
having lost the thing signified, let him have no access to the sign
He has broken my covenant : let neither him nor his posterity from
henceforward expect to regain it by any obedience of theirs.'*
Ver. 23, 24. God is determined that man shall not so much as
dwell in the garden where the tree of life grow? ; but be turned out,
as into the wide world. He shall no longer live upon the delicious
fruits of Eden, but be driven to seek his food among the beasts of
the field : and to show the impossibility of his ever regaining that
life which he had lost, cherubim and a flaming sioord are placed to
guard it. Let this suffice to impress us with that important truth,
By the deeds of the law shall no flesh living be justified ; and to di
rect us to a tree of life which has no flaming sword to prevent our
access ! Yet even in this, as in the other threatenings, we may-
perceive a mixture of mercy. Man had rendered his days evil, and
God determines they shall be buifew. It is well for us that a life
of sin and sorrow is not immortal.
* See on Chap. ii. 9. p. "3.

DISCOURSE VII.

THE OFFERINGS OF CAIN AND ABEL.

Gen. iv. 1—8.
Having seen the origin of sin in our world, we have now the ori
gin and progress of things as they at present are among mankind,
or of the world as it now is.
Ver. 1. Adam has a son by his wife, who is called Cain ; viz.
a possession, or acquisition : for, said Eve, 1 have gotten a man
from the Lord! Many learned men have rendered it, a man, the
Lord; and it is not very improbable that she should understand
the seed of the woman, of her immediate offspring: but if so, she
was sadly mistaken ! However, it expresses what we have not
seen before, i. e. Eve's faith in the promise. Even though she
should have had no reference to the Messiah, yet it shows that she
eyed God's hand in what was giveji her ; and viewed it as a great
blessing, especially considering what a part she had acted. In
this she sets an example to parents, to reckon their children an her
itage from the Lord. But she also affords an example of the un
certainty of human hopes, Cain, so far from being a comfort to his
parents, proved a wicked man ; yea, a pattern of wickedness ; held
up like Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, as a warning to others : Not
as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother ! The
joys attending the birth of a child require to be mixed with tremb
ling ; for who knoWeth whether he shall be a wise man, or a fool ?
Ver. 2. Eve bears Adam another son, who was called Abel, or
Hebel. In these names we probably see the partiality of parents
for their first-born children. Abel signifies vanity, or a vanishing
vapour. Probably he was not so goodly a child in appearance as
Vol. V. 6

46

CAIN AND ABEL. [Discourse VII.

Cain, and did not seem likely to live long. The heart and hopes
of the parents did not seem to centre in him, but in his brother.
But God seeth not as man seeth. In bestowing his blessing, he has
often crossed hands, as Jacob did in blessing Ephraim and Manas-
seh. He chooseth the base things of the world, that no flesh should
glory in hispresence. These two brothers were of different occu
pations ; one a husbandman, and the other a shepherd ; both prim
itive employments, and both very proper.
Ver. 3 — 5. In process of time, the two brothers both present
their offerings to God : this speaks something in favour of their pa
rents, who had brought them up in the nurture and admonition of the
Lord. Ainsworth renders it, " At the end of the days," and under
stands it, at the end of the year, which was then in Autumn, the
time of the gathering-in of the harvest and the vintage. The insti
tution of a solemn feast among the Israelites on this occasion, (Exod.
xxiii. 16.) seems therefore to have borne a near resemblance to
that which was practised from the beginning.
In the offerings of these two first-born sons of man, we see the
essential difference between spiritual worship and that which is
merely formal. As to the matter oi which their offerings were
composed, it may be thought there was nothing particularly de
fective : each brought what he had. There is indeed no mention
made of Cain's being of the best of the kind, which is noticed of
Abel's. And if he neglected this, it was a sign that his heart was
not much in it. He might also, no doubt, have obtained a lamb out
of his brother's flock for an expiatory sacrifice. But the chief dif
ference is that which is noticed by the Apostle : By faith Abel
offered a more excellent sacrifice than Cain. Cain's offering was
just what a self-righteous heart would offer : it proceeded on the
principle that there was no breach between him and bis Creator, so
as to require any confession of sin, or respect to an atonement.
Such offerings abound among us; but they are without faith, and
therefore it is impossible they should please God. The offerino- of
Abel 1 need not describe : suffice it to say, It was the reverse of
that presented by Cain. It was the best of the kind, and included
an expiatory sacrifice.

Chapter IV.] CAIN AND ABEL.

47

The result was, the Lord had respect to Abel and to Ms offering :
but unto Cain and his offering he had not respect. The one was
probably consumed by fire from heaven : the other not so. This
we know was afterwards a common token of the divine acceptance.*
The order of things is worthy of notice. God first accepted Abel
and then his offering. If he had been justified on the ground of his
good deeds, the order should have been reversed : but believing
in the Messiah, he was accepted for his sake ; and being so, his
works were well-pleasing in the sight of God. And as Abel was
•accepted as a believer; so Cain was rejected as an unbeliever.
Being such, the Lord had no respect to him : he was under the
curse, and all he did was abhorred in his eyes.
The rejection of Cain and his offering operated upon him very
powerfully. If the love of God had been in him, he wouid have
fallen before him, as Joshua and his brethren did when Israel was
driven back ; and have pleaded, Shew me wherefore thou contend-
est with me? But be wa6 wroth, and his countenance fell. This
is just what might be expected from a self righteous, proud spirit,
who thought so highly of his offering as to imagine, that God must
needs be pleased with it, and with him on account of it. He was
very wroth ; and that no doubt against God himself, as well as
against his brother. He went in high spirits, like the Pharisee to
the temple ; but came away dejected, and full of foul passions, of
which bis fallen countenance was but the index.
Ver. 6, 7. Cain having returned home, the Lord, perhaps in a
dream or vfsion of the night, expostulated with him. Why art
thou wroth ? • What cause is there for this enmity against thy Ma
ker, and envy against thy brother ?' Doubtless he thought; that he
had a cause ; but when interrogated of God, he found none. If
thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted ? And unto thee shall be
his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. By doing well he means
doing as Abel did, offering in faith, which is the only well-doing'"
amouo- sinful creatures. If Cain had believed in the Messiah, there
was forgiveness for him, no less than for his brother ; and he should
also have had the excellency attached to the first-born, which he
? Lev. ix. 24. Psa. xx. 3. margin.

48 CAIN AND ABEL. [Discourse VII.
reckoned he had a right to, and the loss of which galled him. If
thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door ;* unforgiven, to go down
with thee to the grave, and to rise with thee, and appear against
thee in judgment.
Observe how things are ordered in the dealings of God with
men. Abel was not accepted of God for his well-doing ; neither
faith nor obedience was that on account of which he was justified ;
but the righteousness of him in whom he believed. Yet it was in
well-doing that he obtained eternal life.t Though faith was not the
cause of the Lord's having respect tp him, nor bis having offered
in faith the cause of his having respect to his works ; yet each was
a necessary concomitant. And this, while it secures the interests
of righteousness in the righteous, serves to silence the wicked, and
make them feel the justice of their condemnation. Thus, at the
last judgment, though every one who is saved will be saved by grace
only, yet all will be judged according to their works. Things will
be so ordered that the righteous will have nothing to boast of,
and the wicked nothing to complain of, inasmuch as the decision
in both cases will proceed according to character.
But though Cain was silenced by the Almighty, yet his malice
was not subdued, but rather inflamed. If the life of God had been
within his reach, he would have killed him : but this he could
not do. From that time threfore his dark soul meditated revenge
upon Abel, as being God's favourite, his own rival, and the only
object within his power. This is the first instance of the enmity
of the Seed of the Serpent breaking out against the 6eed of the
Woman ; but not the last ! Observe the subtlety and treachery
with which it was accomplished : Cain talked with Abel his brother.
He talked with him, probably in a very familiar manner, as though
he had quite forgotten the affair which had lately hurt his mind ;
and when they were engaged in conversation, persuaded him to
take a walk with him into his field ; and having got him away from
the family, he murdered him ! Oh Adam ! Thou didst murder an
* This clause, which is in the middle of verse 7, I suppose should be in a
parenthesis. I have therefore placed the firtt and last in connexion, and in
troduced this after them, by which the sense is clear.
t Romii. 17.

Chapter IV.] CAIN AND ABEL. 4q
unborn world ; and now thou shalt see some of the fruits of it in
thine own family ! Thou hast never before witnessed a human
death : go, see the first victim of the king of terrors in the man
gled corpse of Abel thy son !— Poor Abel ! Shall we pity him ?
In one view we must, but in others he is an object of envy. He
was the first of the noble army of martyrs, the first of human
kind who entered the abodes of the blessed, and the first instance
of death being subservient to Christ. When the serpent had
drawn man into sin, and exposed him to its threatened penalty, he
seemed to have obtained the power of death : and had man been
left under the ruins of the fall, he would have been continually
walking through the earth, arm in arm, as it were, with the mon
ster, the one taking the bodies and the other the souls of men.
But the Woman's Seed is destined to overcome him. By death he
destroyed him who had the power of death, and delivered them who
must otherwise through fear of death, havebeen all their life-time
subject to bondage. Heb. ii. 14, 15.

DISCOURSE VIII.

CAIN S PUNISHMENT AND POSTERITY.

Gen. ur, 9—24.
Ver. 9. We have seen the tragical end of righteous Abel ; but
what becomes of the murderer ? Probably he had hid the dead
body of his brother, to elude detection : but God will find him out.
Jehovah said to Cain, Where is Abel thy brother ? What a cutting
question ! The words thy brother would remind him of the tender
ties of flesh and blood which he had broken ; and if he had any
feeling of conscience left in him, must pierce him to the quick.
But Oh, how black, how hardened is the state of his mind ! Mark
his answer. First, the falsehood of it I know not. We feel as
tonished that a man can dare to lie in the presence of his Maker :
yet how many lies are uttered before him by formalists and hyp
ocrites ! Secondly, The insolence of it — Am I my brother's
keeper? This man had no fear of God before his eyes: and
where this is wanting, regard to man will be wanting also. Even
natural affection will be swallowed up in selfishness. Supposing
he had not known where his brother was, it did not follow that .he
had no interest in his preservation : but he did know, and in
stead of being his keeper, had been his murderer!
Ver. 10. And he said, What hast thou done ? Ah, what indeed !
This was the question put to Eve : and sooner or later it will be
put to every sinner, and conscience must answer to it too ! But Cain
refuses to speak : be it so ; there needs no confession to substan
tiate his guilt. His brother's blood had already done this ! Blood
has a voice that will speak ; yea, and that will cry to heaven from
the ground for vengeance on him who sheds it ; and a brother's
blood especially. What a scene will open to view at the last judg-

52 CAIN'S PUNISHMENT. [Discourse VIII.
ment, when tbe earth shall disclose her blood, and shall no more
cover her slain ! And if such was the cry of Abel's blood, what
must have been that of tbe blood which was shed on Calvary ? We
should have thought that blood must have called for vengeance
seven-fold ; and in one view it did so : but in another it speaks bel
ter things than that of Abel.
Ver. II, 12. But let us notice the doom of Cain. He was cur
sed from the earth ; it should in future refuse to yield him its won
ted fruits, and he should be a fugitive and a vagabond in it. Three
things are here observable: (1.) By tbe sovereign will of the
Lord of All, his life was spared. Afterwards a positive law was
made by the same authority, that whosoever should shed man's
blood, by man should his blood be shed. But at present, for rea
sons of stati: in the breast of the King of kings, the murderer shall
be reprieved.* (2.) The curse which attached to his life, like
that of our first parents, is confined to the present state. There
is no reason in the world to suppose that the punishment of such a
crime would actually be so, any more than others, nor others any
more than this ; but a future life was at that time sparingly re
vealed, and almost every thing concealed under the veil of tempo
ral good and evil. (3.) It contains a special addition to that which
was denounced on Adam. The earth was cursed to him ; but
Cain was cursed from the earth. It had heen his brother's friend, by
affording a kind of sanctuary for his blood which he had pursued ;
but to him it should be an enemy, not only refusing its wonted
fruits, but even a place whereon to rest his foot, or in which to
hide his guilty head 1
Ver. 13, 14. This tremendous sentence draws forth an answer
from the murderer. There is a great change since he spoke last,
but not for the better. All the difference is, instead of his high
tone of insolence, we perceive him sinking into the last stage of
depravity, sullen desperation. Behold here a finished picture of
impenitent misery. What a contrast to the fifty-first Psalm.
* If he had died by the hand of man, it must have been either by an act
of private revenge, which would have increased bloodshed; or Adam him
self must have been the executioner of his son, from which trial of " quench
ing tbe coal that was left," God might graciously exempt him.

Chapter IV.] CAIN'S PUNISHMENT. 53
There the evil dwelt upon and pathetically lamented is sin ; but
here it is only punishment. See how he expatiates upon it ... .
Driven from the face of the earth .... deprived of God's fa.
vourand blessing, and in a sort, of the means of hope (ver. 16,)
.... a wanderer and an outcast from men .... to all which
his fears add, • Wherever I am, by night or by day, my life will be
in perpetual danger!' Truly it was a terrible doom, a kind of hell
upon earth. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living
God! Ver. 15. From the last part of what his fears forboded, however,
God was pleased to exempt him ; yet not in mercy, but in judg
ment. He shall not die, but live, a monument of divine justice.
If he had died, his example might soon have been forgotten : but
mankind shall see and fear. Slay them not, lest my people forget ¦•
scatter them by thy power, and bring them down, O Lord ! God is
not obliged to send a sinner to the place of the damned, in order
to punish him : he can call his name Magor-missabib, and render
him a terror to himself and all about him.* What the mark was
Which was set upon Cain, we know not, nor does it behove us to
inquire : whatever it was, it amounted to a safe passage through
the world, so far as respected a punishment from man for his pres-
sent crime.
Ver. 16. And now, having obtained a reprieve, he retires in the
true spirit of a reprobate, and tries to forget his misery. It
shocked him at first to be driven out from God's face, by which
perhaps he meant from all connexion with the people and worship
of God, from the means of grace, and so from the hope of mercy ;
but in a little time the sensation subsides, and he resolves to enjoy
the present world as well as he can. He goes out from the pres-
sence of the Lord, takes a final leave of God and his worship and
his people, and cares no more about them. If this be the mean
ing of the words, (and I know of no other so probable,) it wears a
very favourable appearance with respect to the state of things in
Adam's family. It shows that the worship of God was there car
ried on, and that God was with them. Indeed, if it were not car-
* Jer. xx. 3, 4.
Vol. V. 7

54 CAIN'S PUNISHMENT. [Discourse VIII.
ried on there, it appears to have had no existence in the world,
which there is no reason to believe was ever the case when once
it had begun. With respect to Cain, the country whither he went
Is called Nod, or Naid, which signifies a vagabond. It was not so
called before, but on his account ; as who should say, The land of
the vagabond.
Ver. 17. He was married before this, though we are not told to
whom. Doubtless it was to one of Adam's daughters, mentioned
in Chap. v. 4. which near affinity, though since forbidden, was
then absolutely necessary. Of her in the land of the vagabond, he
had a son, whom he called Enoch ; not him who walked with God,
but one of the same name. It signifies taught, or dedicated: it is
rather difficult to account for his calling the child by this name
after what had taken place. Possibly it might be one of those
effects of education which are often seen in the ungodly children of
religious parents. When he himself was born, he was, as we have
seen, accounted an acquisition, and was doubtless dedicated, and as
he grew up taught by his parents. Of this it is likely he had made
great account, priding himself in it, as many graceless characters
do in being the children of the righteous : and now, having a child
of his own, he might wish to stamp upon him this mark of honour,
though it was merely nominal. After this, Cain built, or was
building, a city : a very small one no doubt, as need required. He
began what his family, as they increased, perfected ; and called it
after the name of his son. Thus he amused himself as well as he
could. The divine forbearance probably hardened him in his
security, as it commonly does the ungodly. Because sentence
against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the hearts
of the sons of men are fully set in them to do evil.
Ver. 18. — -24. Next follow the generations of Cain, which pre
sent a few general observations. — (1.) Nothing good is said of any
one of (hem ; but, heathen like, they appear to have lost all fear
of God, and regard to man. (2.) Two or three of them become
famous for arts : one was a shepherd, another a musician, and
another a smith ; all very well in themselves, but things in which
the worst of men may excel. Some have supposed that we are
indebted to revelation for all this kind of knowledge. Had it been

Chapter IV.] CAIN'S PUNISHMENT. 55-
said, we are indebted to our Creator for it, it had been true ; for
to his instruction the discretion of the husbandman is ascribed.*
But revelation was given for greater and better objects ; namely,
to furnish, not the man, but the man of God. (3.) One of them
was infamous for his wickedness ; namely, Lamech. He was the
first who violated the law of marriage ; a man who gave loose to
his appetites, and lived a kind of lawless life. Among other evils,
he followed the example of his ancestor Cain. It is not said whom
he slew ; but he himself says it was a young man. This is the
first instance, but not the last, in which sensuality and murder are
connected. Nor did be barely follow Cain's example : but seems
to have taken encouragement from the divine forbearance towards
him, and to have presumed that God would be still more forbear
ing towards bim. Thus one sinner takes liberty to sin from the
suspension of judgment towards another.
Here ends the account of cursed Cain. We hear no more of
his posterity, unless it be as tempters to the sons of God, till they
were all swept away by the deluge !
* Isa. xxviii. 24—29.

DISCOURSE IX.

THE GENERATIONS OF ADAM.

Gen. iv. 25, 1

We have of late met with little else than the operations of sin
and misery : here 1 hope we shall find something that will afford
us pleasure. Adam had lived to see grievous things in his family.
At length, about one hundred and thirty years after the creation,
Eve bare him another son. Him his mother called Seth ; that is,
set, or appointed ; for God, said she, hath appointed me another
seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew. The manner in which the
mother of mankind speaks on this occasion is much in favour of
her personal religion. The language implies, that though at first
she had doted upon Cain, yet as they grew up, and discovered.
their dispositions, Abel was preferred. He was the child in
whom all the hopes of the family seem to have concentrated ; and,
therefore, when he fell a sacrifice to his brother's cruelty, it was
considered as a very heavy loss. . She was not without a son be
fore Seth was born, for Cain was yet alive : but he was considered
as none, or as worse than none; and therefore when Seth was
born, she hoped to find in him a successor to Abel : and so it prov
ed ; for this, appears to have been the family in which the true re
ligion was preserved in those times. At the birth of Enos, which
was one hundred and five years after that of his father Seth, it is
remarked with emphasis by the sacred historian — Then began
men to call upon the name of the Lord. This cheering infor
mation doubtless refers to the families in connexion with which it
is spoken, and denotes, not that there had been no calling upon the
Lord till that time, but that from thence true religion assumed a

58 GENERATIONS OF ADAM. [Discowrse IX.
more visible form ; the seed of the woman, afterwards called the
sons of God, assembling together to worship him, while the seed
of the serpent might very probably be employed in deriding
them. From the genealogy in Chap. v. I shall barely offer the follow
ing remarks:
1. It is a very honourable one. Not only did patriarchs and
prophets, and the church of God for many ages, descend from it,
but the Son of God himself according to the flesh; and to show the
fulfilment of the promises and prophecies concerning him, is the
principal reason of the genealogy having been recorded.
2. Neither Cain nor Abel have any place in it. Abel was slain
before he had any children, and therefore could not ; and Cain by
his sin had covered his name with infamy, and therefore should
not. Adam's posterity therefore, after a lapse of one hundred
and thirty years, must begin anew.
3. The honour done to Seth and his posterity was of grace .
for he is said to have been born in Adam's likeness, and after his
image; a phrase which, I believe, is always used to express the
qualities of the mind, rather than the shape of the body. Man was
made after the image of God; but this being lost, they are born
corrupt, the children of a corrupt father. What is true of all man-
bind is here noted of Seth, because he was reckoned as Adam's
first-born. He therefore, like all others, was by nature a child of
wrath ; and what he, or any of his posterity were different from
this, they were by grace.
4. The extraordinary length of human life at that period was
wisely ordered ; not only for the peopling of the world, but for
the supplying of the defect of a written revelation. From the
death of Adam to the call of Abram, a period of about eleven hun
dred years, there were living either Enoch, Lamech, Noah, or
Shem ; besides other godly persons, who were their cotempora-
ries, and who would feelingly relate to those about them the great
events of the creation, the fall, and recovery of man.
5. Notwithstanding the longevity of the antediluvians, it is re
corded of them all, in their turn, that they died. Though the stroke

Chapter V.] GENERATIONS OF ADAM. gg
of death was slow in its approach, yet it was sure. If Man could
live to a thousand years, yet he must die ; and if he die in sin, he
will be accursed.
6. Though many of the names in this genealogy are passed over
without any thing being said of their piety, yet we are net from
hence to infer that they were impious. Many might be included
among them who called upon the name of the Lord, and who are
denominated the sons of God, though nothing is personally related
of them.
7. Two of them are distinguished for eminent godliness ; or, as
it is here called, walking with God; namely, Enoch and Noah.
Both these holy men are enrolled in the list of worthies in the elev
enth chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews.
Let us look a little intensely at the life of the first of these wor
thies, the shortest of all the lives, but surely the sweetest : Enoch
walked with God after he begat Methuselah, three hundred years.
He walked with God, and was not ; for God took him. This was
one of those brief) impressive descriptions of true religion with
which the scriptures abound. Its holy and progressive nature is
here most admirably marked. Enoch walked with God — He must
then have been in a state ot reconciliation with God ; for two can
not walk together except they be agreed. He was what Paul in
fers from another consideration, a believer. Where this is not the
case, whatever may be his outward conduct, the sinner walks con
trary to God, and God to him. What an idea does it convey also,
of his setting God always before him, seeking to glorify him in ev
ery duty, and studying to show himself approved of him,
whatever might be thought of his conduct by sinful men. Fi
nally: What an idea does it convey of the communion which
he habitually enjoyed with God ! His conversation was in
heaven, while dwelling on the earth. God dwelt in him, and he
in God! Enoch walked with God, after he begat Methuselah, three
hundred years, and perhaps sometime before that event. Re
ligion with him, then, was not a transient feeling, but an ha
bitual and abiding principle. In reviewing such a character,

g0 GENERATIONS OF ADAM. [Discourse IX.
what Christian can forbear exclaiming, in the words of our Chris
tian poet :* *' O for a closer walk with God,
A calm and heaT»mly frame ;
A light to shine upon the road
That leads me to the Lamb '."
Just so much as we hare of this, so much we possess of true relig
ion, and no more.
Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him; that
is, as Paul explains it, He was translated that he should not see
death. This singular favour conferred on Enoch, like the resur
rection of Christ, might be designed to afford a sensible proof of a
blessed immortality, which for the want of a written revelation,
might then be peculiarly necessary. He had warned the wicked
of his day, that the Lord would come with ten thousand of his holy
ones, to execute judgment : and now, however offensive his doctrine
might have been to them, God, by exempting him from tbe com
mon lot of men, will bear testimony that he hath pleased Aim, not
only to the mind of Enoch, but to the world. It is possible also,
that the translation of this holy man might be conferred in order to
show what should have been common to all, had man persisted in
his obedience — a translation from the earthly to the heavenly par
adise. With respect to Noah, we shall have an account of his righteous
life in the following chapters : at present, we are only told of the
ciscumstances of his -birth, (ver. 28 — 32.) His father Lamech
speaks on this occasion, like a good man and a prophet. He call
ed his son Noah, which signifies rest ; for this same, saith he, shall
comfort us concerning our work, and the toil of our hands, because
of the ground which the Lord hath cursed. Noah, by building the
ark, saved a remnant from the flood ; and by offering an acceptable
sacrifice, obtained the promises that the ground should no more be
cursed for man's sake. (Chap. viii. 21.) As Lamech could have
?Cowper.

Chapter V.] GENERATIONS OF ADAM. gl
known this only by revelation, we may infer from thence, the
sweet rest which divine truth affords to the believing mind from
the toils and troubles of the present life ; and if the birth of this
child afforded comfort in that he would save the world, and re
move the curse : how much more His who would be a greater Sa
viour, aad remove a greater curse, by being himself an ark of
salvation, and by offering himself a sacrifice lo God for a sweet
smelling savour !

Vol.V.

DISCOURSE X.

THE CAUSE OF THE DELUGE.

Gen. vi. 1—7.
Ver. 1 — 3. When we read of men beginning to call upon the
name of the Lord, we entertained a hope of good times, and of com.
fort, as Lamech said, after toil and sorrow ; but alas, what a sad
reverse ! A general corruption overspreads the earth, and brings
on a tremendous deluge, that sweeps them all, one family excep
ted, into oblivion.
First: We may remark the occasion of this general corruption
which was the increase of population. When men began to multiply,
they became more and more depraved: yet an increase of population
is considered as a blessing to a country, and such it is in itself; but
through man's depravity it often proves a curse. When men are
collected in great numbers they whet one another to evil, which is
the reason why sin commonly grows rankest in populous places. We
were made to be helpers ; but by sin we are become tempters of
one another, drawing and being drawn into innumerable evils.
Secondly : Observe the first step towards degeneracy , which was,
the uniting of the world and the church by mixed marriages : — The
sons of God and the daughters of men ; the descendants of Seth and
those of Cain ; the seed of the woman and the seed of the Ser
pent. The great end of. marriage, in a good man, should not be
to gratify his fancy, nor to indulge his natural inclinations, but to
obtain a helper; and the same in a woman. We need to be helped
on in our way to heaven, instead of being hindered and corrupted
Hence it wasthat, in the law, marriages with idolaterswere forbid-

64 CAUSE OF THE DELUGE. [Discourse X.
den ;* and hence Christian marriages were limited to those in the
Lord.\ The examples which we have seen of the contrary, have
by their effects, justified these injunctions. I would earnestly en
treat serious young people, of both sexes, as they regard God's
honour, their own spiritual welfare, and the welfare of the church
of God, to avoid being unequally yoked together with unbelievers.
Thirdly : Observe thegreat offence that God took at this con
duct, and the consequences which grew out of it : The Lord said
My Spirit shall not always strive with man, &c. Had the sons of
God kept themselves to themselves, and preserved their purity,
God would have spared the world for their sakes ; but tbey ming
led together, and became in effect one people. The old folks
were in their account too bigoted, and it seemed much better for
them to indulge a more liberal way of thinking and acting. But
this, in the sight of God, was worse than almost any thing (bat had
gone before it. He was more offended with the religious, than
with the irreligious part of them. Seeing they had become one
people, he calls them all by one name, and that is man, without any
distinction : and in giving the reason why his Spirit should not al
ways strive with man, special reference is had to their having be
come degenerate — It was for that he also, or these also, were
flesh; that is, those who had' been considered as tbe sons of
God were become corrupt. God's Holy Spirit in his prophets
had long strove or contended with the world ,J and while the sons
of God made a stand against their wickedness, God was with them,
and tbe contest was kept up: but they having, like false allies,
made a kind of separate peace, or rather gone over to the ene
my, God will give up the war ; let sin have a free course, and let
them take the consequences! Bread-corn is bruised, because he
will not ever be threshing it.
Fourthly: Observe the long suffering of God, amidst his dis
pleasure. His days shall be a hundred and twenty years. This re
fers to the period of time which should elapse before the drown
ing of the world, when, as an Apostle expresses it, the long-suffer
ing of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was prepar-
t * Dent. vii. 3, 4. t 1 Cor. vii. 39. % See Neh- ix- 30- * P£t. iii. 19, 20.

Chapter VI.] CAUSE OF THE DELUGE. 65
ing. All this time God did strive, or contend with them ; but it
seems without effect.
Ver. 4. Among various other evils which at that time prevailed,
a spirit of ambition was predominant ; a thirst of conquest and do
minion ; and of course a flood of injuries, outrages, and oppressions.
The case seems to have been this : Previously to the unhappy
junction between the families of Cain and Seth, there were among
the former, giants, or men of great stature ; who, tempted by their
superior strength, set up for champions and heroes, and bore down
all before them.* Nor was the mischief confined to them : for al
so after that, when the two families had become one, as the children
that were born unto them grew up, they emulated, as might be ex
pected, not the virtues of their fathers, but the vices of their mo
thers ; and particularly those of the gigantic and fierce heroes
among their relations. Hence there sprang up a number of char
acters famous, or rather infamous, for their plunders and depreda
tions. Such, in after times, was Nimrod, that mighty hunter be
fore the Lord.
Ver. 5. The church being thus corrupted, and in a manner lost
in the world, there is nothing left to resist the torrent of depravity.
Man appears now in his true character. The picture which is
here drawn of him, though very affecting, is no more than just. If
it had been drawn by the pen of a prejudiced, erring mortal, it
might be supposed to exceed the truth ; but that which was writ
ten was taken from the" perfect and impartial survey of God. Hear
ye, who pretend that man is naturally virtuous. That the wicked
ness of man has in all ages, though at some periods more than oth
ers, been great upon the earth, can scarcely be called in question :
but that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart should be
only evil, and that continually, is more than men in general will al
low. Yet such is the account here given. Mark the affecting gra
dation. Evil : evil without mixture ; "only evil." Evil without
cessation ; " continually." Evil from the very fountain head of
action ; " the imagination of the thoughts of the heart." Nor is it
* They are denominated ChSl from 'jflj to fall ; which in this connexion
has been thought to mean, that they were a kind of f tilers, causing men to
fall before them like trees by the axe.

gg CAUSE OF THE DELUGE. [Discourse X.
a description of certain vicious characters only, but of "man," as
left to himself. And all this "God saw," who sees things as they
are. "This doctrine is fundamental to the gospel : the whole sys
tem of redemption rests upon it ; and I suspect that every false
scheme of- religion which has been at any time advanced in the
world, might be proved to have originated in the denial of it.
Ver. 6. The effect of this divine survey is described in language,
taken, it is true, from the feelings of men, but unusually impressive.
It repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it
grieved him at his heart ! We are not to attribute to an immuta
ble mind the fickleness of man, nor to suppose that the omniscient
Jehovah was really disappointed : but thus much we learn, that
the wickedness of man is such as to mar all the works of God over
which he is placed, and to render them worse than if there were
none ; so that if he had not counteracted it by the death of Christ,
there had better have been no world. In short, that any one but
himself, on seeing his work thus marred- and perverted, would
have really repented, and wished from his heart that he had never
made them !.' The words express, with an energy and impressive-
ness which it is probable nothing purely literal could have convey
ed, the exceeding sinfulness and provoking nature of sin.
Ver. 7. From this cause proceeded the divine resolution, to des
troy man from the face of the earth ; and to show the greatness of
his sin, it is represented as extinguishing the paternal kindness of
God as his Creator : The Lord said, I will destroy man, whom I
have created, from the face of tine earth. — He that made them
would not have mercy on them, and he that formed them would
shew them no favour ! And further, to show his displeasure against
man, the creatures which were subject to him should be destroyed
with him. Thus when Achan had transgressed, to render his pun
ishment more impressive upon Israel, his sons and daughters, and
ween, and asses, and sheep, and tent, and all that he had, were
brought forth, and with himself stoned with stones, and burnt with
Jire. However light man may make of sin during the time of God's
forbearance, it will prove in the end to be an evil and bitter thing.

DISCOURSE XI.

NOAH FINDS FAVOUR WITH GOD, AND IS DIRECTED TO BUILD THE
ARK.

Gen. vi. 8—22.
By the foregoing account, it would seem as if the whole earth
had become corrupt. In the worst of times, however, God has
had a remnant that has walked with him ; and over them he has
'n the most sore calamities directed a watchful eye. When God
said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the
earth, it seemed as if he would make an end of the human race.
But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Observe, (1.) It is
painful to find but one family, nay, it would seem but one person,
out of all the professed sons of God, who stood firmly in this evil
day. Some were dead, and others by mingling with the wicked
had apostatized. (2.) It is pleasant to find one upright man in a
generation of the ungodly ; a lily among thorns, whose lovely con
duct would shine the brighter when contrasted with that of the
world about him. It is a great matter to be faithful among the faith
less. With all our helps from the society of good men, we find it
difficult enough to keep on our way: but for an individual to set
his face against the whole current of public opinion and custom,
requires and implies great grace. Yet that is the only true reli
gion which walks as in the sight of God, irrespective of what is
thought or done by others. Such was the resolution of Joshua,
when the whole nation seemed to be turning aside from God: As
for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. (3.) It is encour
aging to find that one upright man was singled out from the
rest when the world was to be destroyed. If he had been destroy-

6fj CHARACTER OF NOAH. [Discourse Xf.
ed with the world, God eould have taken him to himself, and all
would have been well with him ; but then there had been no pub
lic expression of what he loved, as well as of what he hated.
Ver. 9. As Noah was to be the father of the new world, we
have here a particular account of him. His generations mean an
account of him and bis family ; of what he was, and of the things
which befel him. (See Chap, xxxvii. 2.) The first thing said of
him, as being the greatest, is, He was a just, or righteous man, and
perfect in his generations, walking with God. Character is of
greater importance than pedigree. But notice particularly,
t. He was just. He was the first man who was so called,
[hough not the first who was so. In a legal sense, a just man is one
that doeth good and sinneth not ; but since the fall, no such man
has existed upon earth, save the man Christ Jesus. If any of
us be denominated just, it must be in some other sense ; and what
this is, the scriptures inform us when they represent the just as liv
ing by faith. Such was the life of Noah, and therefore he is reck
oned among the believing worthies.* And the faith by which he
is justified before God operated in a way of righteousness, which
rendered him just before men. He is called a preacher of right
eousness, and he lived according to his doctrine.t
2. He was perfect in his generations. The term in this connex
ion is not to be taken absolutely ; but as expressive, not only of
sincerity of heart, but of a decidedness for God, like that of Caleb,
who followed the Lord fully. It does not merely distinguish good
men from bad men, but good men from one another. It is said
of Solomon, that his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God,
as was the heart of David his father. Alas, how much of this half
hearted religion there is among us ! Instead of serving the Lord
with a perfect heart and a willing mind, we halt as it were between
two, the love of God and the love of the world.
3. He walked with God. This is the same as was said of Enoch.
It not only implies his being reconciled to God, and denotes his
acknowledging him in all his ways, and enjoying communion with
him in the discharge of duties ; hut is also expressive of the con-
*Heh. xi. 7. tSPet.ii. 5.

Chapter VI.] CHARACTER OF NOAH. 69
tinuity, and progressive tendency of true religion. Whatever he
did, or wherever he went, God was before his eyes ; nor did he
ever think of leaving off till he should have finished his course.
Ver. 10. From Noah's character the sacred writer proceeds to
his descendants. He had three sons — Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
These afterwards became the patriarchs of the world, between
whose posterity the three great divisions of Asia, Africa, and Eu
rope have been principally divided. Thus much, at present, for
the favoured family.
Ver. 11. Here we have the charge against the old world re
peated, as the ground of what should follow. If succeeding gene
rations inquire, Wherefore hath the Lord done thus unto the work
of his hands? What meaneth the heat of this great anger? Be
it known that it was not for a small matter : The earth was corrupt
before God, and the earth was filled with violence. Here are two
words used to express the wickedness of the world, corruption
and violence, both which are repeated, and dwelt upon in verses
12,13. The former refers, I conceive, to their having debased
and depraved the true religion. This was the natural conse
quence of the junction between the sons of God and the daughters
of men. Whenever the church is become one with the world,
the corruption of true religion has invariably followed : for if
wicked men have a religion, it must needs be such as to accord
with their inclinations. Hence arose all the heresies of the early
ages of Christianity ; hence the grand Romish apostacy ; and in
short every corruption of the true religion, in past or present
times. The latter oi these terms is expressive of their conduct, to
wards one another. The fear of God and the regard of man are
closely connected ; and where the one is given up, the other will
soon follow. Indeed it appears to be the decree of the eternal
God, that when men have cast off his fear, they shall not continue
long in amity one with another. And he has only to let the laws
of nature take their course, in order to effect it; for when men
depart from God, the principle of union is lost, and self-love gov
erns every thing : and being lovers of their ownselves, they
will be covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to pa
rents, unthankful, unholy, witlwut natural affection, truce-breakers^
Vol. V. 9

70 CHARACTER OF NOAH. [Discourse XL
false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers
of God. Such a flood of wickedness is at any time sufficient to
deluge a world with misery. If these things did not then break
forth in national wars as they do with us, it was merely because
the world was not as yet divided into nations : the springs of do
mestic and social life were poisoned ; the tender ties of blood and
affinity violated ; and quarrels, intrigues, oppressions, robberies,
and murders pervaded the abodes of man.
From the influence of corruption in producing violence, and
bringing on the deluge, we may see the importance of pure relig
ion, and those who adhere to it, to the well-being of society.
They are the preserving principle, the salt of the earth; and when
the-y are banished, or in any way become extinct, the consequen
ces will be soon felt. While the sons of God were kept together,
and continued faithful, for their sakes God would not destroy the
world ; but when reduced to a single family, he would, as in the
case of Lot, take that away, and destroy the rest. The late con
vulsions in a neighbouring nation may, 1 apprehend, be easily tra
ced to this cause : all their violence originated in the corruption of
the true religion. About one hundred and thirty years ago, the
law which protected the reformation in that country was repealed,
and almost all the religious people were either murdered or ban
ished. The consequence was, as might have been expected, the
great body of the nati'on, princes, priests, and people, sunk in
to infidelity. The protestant religion, wbile it continued, was the
salt of the state ; but when banished, and superstition had nothing
left to counteract it, things soon hastened to their crisis. Popery
aided by a despotic civil government, brought forth infidelity ; and
the child as soon as it grew up to maturity, murdered its parents.
If the principal part of religious people, in this or any other country,
were driven away, the rest would soon become infidels, and prac
tical atheists ; and what every order and degree of men would
have to expect from the prevalence of these principles, there is
no want of examples to inform them.
Ver. 12, 13. The corruption and violence which overspread
the earth attracted the notice of heaven. God knows at all times

Chapter VI.] CHARACTER OF NOAH. 71
what is doing in our world ; but his looking upon the earth denotes
a special observance of it, as though he had instituted an inquiry
into its affairs. Thus he is represented as going down to Sodom,
lo see wJtether they had done altogether according to the cry of it,
which was come up unto him. Such seasons of inquiry are the days
oi inquisition for blood, and are so many days of judgment in minia
ture. The inquiry being instituted, seutence is passed and Noah is
informed of it. God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come
before me  behold I will destroy them with the earth. In ca
ses where individuals only, or even a majority, are wicked, and
there is yet a great number of righteous Characters, God often .in
flicts only a partial punishment ; but where a whole people are
become corrupt, he has more than once made a full end of them.
Witness the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha, and the seven nations
of Canaan; and thus it will be with the world when the righteous
shall be gathered out of it.
Ver. 14 — 16. As it was the design of God to make an excep
tion in favour of his faithful servant Noah, he is directed to the
use of an extraordinary mean, namely, the building of the ark ; a
kind of ship, which, though not in the shape of ours, as not being
intended for a voyage, should float on the surface of the waters,
and preserve him and his family alive in the midst of death. It is
possible that this was the first floating fabric that was ever built.
Its dimensions were amazing. Reckoning the cubit at only a foot
and a half, which is supposed to be somewhat less than the truth,
it was a hundred and fifty yards long, twenty-five yards wide, and
fifteen yards deep ; containing three stories, or, as we should call
them, decks, each five yards in depth. It had a window also, it
should seem, from end to end, a foot and a half deep, for light,
and perhaps for air.*
Ver. 17. When Joseph was called to interpret the dream of
Pharaoh, he observed concerning its being doubled, that it was be
cause the thing was established by God, and God would shortly bring
it to pass ; and thus we may consider the repetition which is here
* Noah's ark is said to have been equal to forty of our largest men of war !

72 COVENANT WITH NOAH. [Discourse XI.
given of the sentence : Behold I, even I, do bring a flood of waters
upon the earth, to destroy all flesh wherein is the breath of life from
under heaven.
Ver. 18 — 22. But though it was the purpose of God to make
an end of the world that then was, yet be did not mean that the
generations of men should here be terminated. A new world shall
succeed, of which his servant Noah shall be the father. Thus
when Israel had offended at Horeb, The Lord said unto Moses,
Let me alone thai I may destroy them, and I will make of thee a great
nation. Hence pairs of every living creature were to go with
Noah into the ark, to provide for futurity.
The terms in which thts gracious design is intimated are worthy
of special notice : With thee will I establish my covenant. Ob
serve three things in particular. (1.) The leading ideas suggested
by a covenant are those of peace and good-will between the par
ties, and if differences have subsisted, forgiveness of the past and
security for the future. Such were the friendly alliances between
Abram and Abimelecb, Isaac and another Abimelecb, and be
tween Jacob and Laban. God was highly displeased with the
world, and would therefore destroy that generation by a flood :
but when he should have done this, he would return in loving
kindness and tender mercies, and would look upon the earth
with a propitious eye. Nor should they be kept in fearful expec
tation of being so destroyed again : for he would pledge his word,
no more to be wroth with them in such a way, nor to rebuke
them for ever- (2.) In covenants wherein one or both of the par
ties had been offended, it was usual to offer sacrifices, in which a
kind of atonement was made for past offences, and a perfect recon
ciliation followed. Such were the covenants before referred to ;
and such as we shall see at the close of the eighth chapter, was the
covenant in question. Noah offered sacrifices, andthe Lord smelt
ed a sweet savour, and promised to curse the ground no more for
man's sake. (3.) In covenants which include a blessing on many,
and they unworthy, it is God's ordinary method to bestow it in re
ward, or for the sake o/one who was dear to him. God loves men
but he also loves righteousness : hence he delights to bestow his
blessings in such a way as manifests his true character. If there
had been any depeDdance on Noah's posterity, that they would all

Chapter VI.] COVENANT WITH NOAH. 73
have walked in bis steps, the covenant might have been established
with them, as well as with him ; but they would soon degenerate
into idolatry and all manner of wickedness. If therefore he will
bestow favour on them in such a way as to express his love of right
eousness, it must be for their father Noah's sake, and in reward of
his righteousness. To say, With thee will I establish my cov
enant, was saying in effect, ' I will not treat with thine ungodly
posterity ; whatever favour I show them, it shall be for thy sake.'
It was on this principle that God made a covenant with Abram,
in which he promised great blessings to his posterity. As for me,
saith he, behold my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a fa
ther of many nations. Hence, in a great number of instances
wherein mercy was shown to the rebellious Israelites, they were
reminded that it was not for their sakes, but on account of the. cov
enant made with their father Abraham, and renewed with Isaac and
Jacob. It was upon this principle also that God made a covenant
with David, promising that his seed should sit upon his throne for
ever. And this is expressed in much the same language as that of
Noah and Abraham : My covenant shall standfast with him. — Once
have I sworn by my holiness, that I will not lie unto David. His
seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before him.
Solomon pleaded this at the dedication of the temple. Hezekiah
also derived advantage from it ; and when the seed of David cor
rupted their way, the Lord reminded them that the favours which
they enjoyed were not for their own sakes, but for his name sake,
and for the covenant which he had made with David his servant.
After these remarks, I scarcely need say, that by these proceed
ings, God, even at this early period, was preparing the way for
the redemption of his Son, by rendering the great principle on
which it should proceed, familiar to mankind. A very small ac
quaintance with the scriptures will enable us to perceive the charm
ing analogy between the language used in the covenants with Noah,
Abram, David, &c. and that which respects tbe Messiah. I will
give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to
cause to inherit the desolate heritages. — It is a light thing that thou
shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to re
store the preserved of Israel : I will also give thee for a light to the

74 COVENANT WITH NOAH. [Discourse XI.
Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation to the ends of the
earth. Ask of me, and I will give thee the heathen for thine in
heritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth far thy possession. —
He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied. In
these as in the former instances, God's covenant stands fast with
one, and many are blessed for his sake : their salvation is his re
ward.

DISCOURSE XII.

the flood.

Gen. vii.

We have seen the preparation of the ark, the warnings of God
by it, and his long suffering for a hundred and twenty years. Now
we see it finished : now the end of all flesh is come before him.
Observe, (1.) God gave special notice to Noah, saying, Come
tliou and all thy house into the ark ; for thee have I seen righteous.
He who in well doing commits himself into the hands of a faithful
Creator, needs not fear being overtaken by surprise. What have
we to fear, when he whom we serve hath the keys of hell and of
death ? This is not the only instance in which, when impending ills
have been ready to burst upon the world. God has, in effect said
to his servants, Come my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and
shut thy doors about thee : hide thyself as it were for a little mo
ment, until the indignation be overpast. (2.) God gave him all
his household with him. We are not informed whether any of
Noah's family at present followed his example : it is certain that
all did not ; yet all entered with him into the ark for his sake.
This indeed was but a specimen of the mercy which was to be ex
ercised towards his. distant posterity on behalf of him, as we have
seen in the former chapter. But it is of importance to observe,
that though temporal blessings may be given to the ungodly chil
dren of a godly parent, yet without walking in his steps they will
not be partakers with him in those which are spiritual and eternal.
(3.) It is an affecting thought, that there should be no more than
Noah and bis family to enter into the ark. Peter speaks of them
as few ; and iew they were, considering the vast numbers that were
left behind. Noah had long been a preacher of righteousness;

76 THE FLOOD. [Discourse XII.
and what, is there not one sinner brought to repentance by his
preaching ? It should seem not one : or if there were any, they
were taken away from tbe evil to come. Not one that we know of
was found at the time, who had received his warnings, and was de
sirous of casting in his lot with him. We are ready to think our
ministry has but little success ; but bis, so far as appears, was with
out any : yet, like Enoch, he pleased God. (4.) The righteous
ness of Noah is repeated, as the reason of the differences put be
tween him and the world. This does not imply that the favour
shown to him is to be ascribed to his own merit ; for whatever he
was, he was by grace ; and all his righteousness was rewardable
only Out of respect to Him in whom he believed ; but being ac
cepted for his sake, his works also were accepted and honoured.
And while the mercy oi God was manifested towards him, the dis
tinction between him and the world being made according to char
acter, would render his justice apparent. Thus at the last day,
though the righteous will have nothing to boast of, yet every man
being judged according to his works, tbe world will be constrained
to acknowledge the equity of the divine proceedings.
Ver. 2, 3. Of the animals which were to enter into the ark with
Noah, those that were clean, that is, those which were fit for hu
man food and for sacrifice to God, were to go in by sevens ; and
those which were unclean,- only by two of a kind. It would seem
as if this direction differed from that in Chap. vi. 19, 20, which
mentions only two of every sort : but the meaning there may be,
that whatever number entered in they should be in pairs, that is,
male and female, to preserve them alive ; whereas here the direc
tion is more particular, appointing the number of pairs that should
be admitted, according as they were clean or unclean. This order
is expressive of the goodness of God in providing food for man, and"
of his regard for his own worship.
Ver. 4-~9. Just one week was allowed for Noah to embark.
What a week was this ! What feelings must it excite ! His neigh
bours had seen him busily employed for the last hundred and twen
ty years in rearing the massy fabric ; and doubtless had had many
a laugh at the old man's folly and credulity ; and now behold, he
is going to remove all his family into it ; with birds, and beasts,

Chapter, VII.] THE FLOOD. 77
and creeping things, and provisions for their accommodation !
' Well, let him go : a week longer, and we shall see what will be
come of his dreams !' Meanwhile they eat and drink, and buy and
sell, and marry and are given in marriage. As for Noah, he must
have felt much, in contemplating the destruction of the whole of
his species, to whom he had preached righteousness in vain. But
it is not for him to linger ; but to do according to all that the Lord
commanded him. He had borne his testimony : he could do no
more. He, his sons, his wife, and his sons' wives, therefore, with
all the inferior creatures, which probably were caused to assem
ble before him by the same power which brought them to Adam
to be named, enter into the ark. The same thing which is
said of him in ver 7, is repeated in ver. 13. He doubtless would
have to enter and re-enter many times, in the course of tbe week;
but the last describes his final entrance, when he should return no
more. Ver. 10 — 16. From the account taken together, it appears,
that though God suffered long with the world during the ministry
of Noah, yet the flood came upon them at last very suddenly.
the words, after seven days, in ver. 10, seem to mean on the sev
enth day ;* for that was the day when Noah made his final en
trance into the ark ; namely, the seventeenth day of the second
month, answering to our October or November, in the six hun
dredth year of his life ; and on that same day were all the fountains
of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven opened
What a Scene of consternation and dismay must that day have ex
hibited, on the part of those who were left behind ! The manner
in which the rains set in would leave little or no hope of their be
ing soon over. It was not a common rain : it came in torrents, or
as we should say, in a manner as though heaven and earth were
come together. The waters of the subterraneous cavities from
beneath, and of the clouds from above, all met together at God's
* Such a mode of speaking is usual in the scriptures. Compare ver. 6^
with ver. 11, and Chap.xl. 18. 20.
Vol. V. 10

78 THE FLOOD. [Discourse XH.
command, to execute his wrath on guilty men.* There is one
sentence concerning Noah which is worthy of special notice :
when he and all pertaining to him had entered into the. ark,
it is said, And the Lord shut him in. The door of such a stu
pendous building may be supposed to be too large for human
bunds to fasten, especially so few as they were, and all withinside
of it. It is possible too, there might be, by this time, numbers
crowding round it for admittance ; for those who trifle with death
at a distance, are often the most terrified when it approaches. But
lo, all is over ! That act which shut Noah and his family in, shut
them forever out ! And let it be considered, that something very
nearly resembling this will ere long be acted over again. As it
teas in the days of Noah, so shall it be at the coming of the Son of
Man. Not only shall the world, as then, be full of dissipation,
bot the concluding scene is described ip nearly the same words--
And they that were ready went in, and the door was shut !
Ver. 17 — 24. We hear no more of the inhabitants of the world,
except that all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl
and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creep-
eth upon the earth, and every man : all in whose nostrils was the
breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died. We are in
formed, however, of tbe progress of the flood. For six weeks,
within two days, it continued to rain incessantly ; during which
period it was of sufficient depth to bear up the ark from the earth,
which after this, floated upon the surface of the waters, like aship
on the sea. For some time however, there were mountains and
high hills which were out of water. Hither therefore, we may
naturally suppose, the inhabitants of the earth would repair, as to
* The great deep seems to mean that vast confluence of water, said to have
been gathered together on the third day of the creati.n; into one place, and
called seas. (Chap. i. 9, 10.) These waters not only extend over a great
part, of the surface of the earth, but probably flow, as through a number of
arteries and veins, to its m ost interior recesses, and occupy its centre. This
body of waters, which was ordained, as I may say, unto life; was turned, in
just displeasure against man's sin, into an engine of destruction. Bursting
forth in tremendous floods, multitudes were hereby swept awav : while from
above, the clouds poured forth their torrents, as though heaven itself were a
i»eservoir of waters, and God had opened its windows.

Chapter VII.] THE FLOOD'. 79
their last refuge : but by the end of the forty days, these also were
covered ; the waters rising above seven yards higher than the high
est of them. Thus every creature was swept away, and buried in
one watery grave, Noah and his family only excepted.
The waters prevailed upon the earth a hundred and fifty days.
that is above five months, before they began to abate. This mighf
seem to us unnecessary, seeing every living creature would be
drowned within the first six weeks ; but it would serve to exer
cise the faith and patience of Noah, and to impress his posterity
with the greatness of the divine displeasure against man's sin. As
the land of Israel should have its sabbaths during the captivity; so
the whole earth, for a time, shall be relieved from its load, and
fully purified, as it were, from its uncleanness.

DISCOURSE XIII.
the flood (continues.)

Gen. viii.
The close of the last chapter brought us to the crisis of the
flood, or to the period in which it had arrived at its greatest height :
from hence it began to abate. Observe the form in which it is
expressed : God remembered Noah, and those that were with him
in the ark. A common historian would only have narrated the
event : but the sacred writers ascribe every thing to God, and
sometimes to the omission of the second causes. The term is fig
urative; for, strictly speaking, God never forgot them: but it is
one of those modes of speaking which convey a great fullness of
meaning. It is expressive of tender mercy, of covenant mercy,
and of mercy after a strong expression of displeasure. These
are things which frequently occur in the divine proceedings.
From hence, a wind passes over the earth, and the waters begin to
assuage. Ver. 2—4. The causes of the deluge being removed, the effects
gradually subside ; and the waters having performed their work,
return into their wonted channels. The ark, which had hitherto
floated on the waters, now finds land, and rests upon the top of one
of the Armenian mountains ; and this just five months after the
entrance into it. For a ship in the sea to have struck upon a rock
or land, would have been extremely dangerous ; but at this stage
of the flood we may suppose the heavens were clear and calm,
and the waters still. Noah did not steer the ark ; it was there
fore God's doing, and was in mercy to him and his companions.
Their voyage was now at an end. They put in as at the first
possible port. The rest which they enjoy is a prelude to a more

32 THE FLOOD. [Discourse XIII.
perfect one approaching. Thus God places believers upon high
ground, on which they are already safe, and may anticipate a bet
ter country, even an heavenly one.
Ver. 5 — 13. The first objects that greet them, after having been
nearly eight months aboard, are the tops of the mountains. They
had felt one of them before ; but now the waters are sufficiently
abated to see several of them. If we had been a long and danger
ous voyage at sea, we should be better able to conceive of the joy
which this sight must have occasioned, than we possibly can be
without it. Often has a ship's company been called on deck to see
a distant object, which promised to be land. Often too have
Christians in their voyage been cheered by the signs of approach
ing blessedness, and the happy foretastes bestowed upon them.
After the lapse of forty days more, the window of the ark was
opened, and a raven sent forth for the purpose of experiment,
that they might see whether it could subsist of itself, or not; and
the event was, that it could subsist, for it returned no more. This
was encouraging. Seven days after this, Noah tries a more deli
cate bird, the dove, which could not live unless the ground was at
least in some places dry : but she from necessity returned. A
proof this, that the waters as yet were on the face of the whole
earth. Tarrying yet other seven days, Noah sends out a second
time his faithful messenger, the dove, which again returned to
him in the evening ; but lo, a sign is in her mouth which gladdens
all their hearts. It is an olive-leaf plucked off! An olive-leaf
might have floated upon the surface of the waters ; but it was ob
servable of this that the dove had plucked it off the tree : a proof
that the tops of the trees, in some places, were out of water. Per
haps it is from this event that the olive-branch has ever since been
considered aslhe emblem of peace. After seven days more, Noah
sends forth the dove again ; which returning no more, he knew
the earth must in some places be dry. The repeated mention of
seven days seems to imply, that, from the beginning, time had been
divided into weeks; which can no otherwise be accounted for,
that I know of, than by admitting that, from the beginning, those
who feared God remembered the Sabbath day to keep it holy.
About a month after this, the waters are dried up from off the

Chapter VIII.] THE FLOOD. 83
earth, and the covering of the ark is removed. Now they have
the pleasure to look around them, and to see tbe dry land in every
direction ; but still it is not habitable. And as Noah came into the
ark by God's command, so he must wait his time ere he attempts
to go out, which will be nearly two months longer.
Ver. 14 — 19. At length, the set time to favour this little com
pany is come. On the 27th day of the second month, that is, just
a year and ten days after their entranee into the ark, they are
commanded to go forth of it, with all that pertained to them, and
to begin, not the world, as we should say, again, but a new world.
Obedient to the heavenly vision, they take leave of the friendly
vessel which through many a storm had preserved them, and land
ed them in safety.
Ver. 20 — 22. The first object of attention with a worldly man,
might have been a day of rejoicing, or the beginning to build a
house : but Noah begins by building an altar to Jehovah, on which
he offered burnt-offerings of every clean beast, and of every clean
fowl. I think this is fhe first time we read of a burnt-offering. It
was so called, as Moses says, because of the burning upon the altar
all night unto the morning. It was a substitutional sacrifice, for
the purpose of atonement. The process is described in Lev. i.
2 — 9. The sinner confessed his sin upon its bead ; the animal
was killed, or treated as if it were the transgressor, and as if the
sin had been actually transferred to it ; the blood of the creature
being shed, was sprinkled round about upon the altar; and to
show the divine acceptance of it on behalf of the offerer, to make
atonement for him, it was consumed by fire, either descending
immediately from heaven, as was the case on some occasions, or
kindled by the priest from the sacred fire kept for the purpose ;*
finally : The sacrifice being sprinkled with salt, and perhaps with
odours, ascended up in a sweet savour, and God was propitious to
the offerer.
The burnt-offerings of Noah, according to this, must have been
designed for an atonement in behalf of tbe remnant that was left;
and, as Hezekiah said after the carrying away of the ten tribes,
* Lev. ix. 24. Psa. xx. 4. margin.

84 THE FLOOD. [Discourse XIII.
for a making of a covenant with the Lord. This his offering was
graciously accepted : The Lord smelted a sweet savour, and be
stowed upon him, and those who were with him, a covenant
promise, not to curse the ground any more for man's sake. The
reason given for this is singular : for the imagination of man's
heart is evil from his youth. If God had dealt with man according
to law and justice, this should have been a reason for destroying,
rather than sparing him ; and was the reason why the flood was
brought upon the earth. But here he is represented as dealing
with him through a substitute ; (for the promise follows the ac
ceptance of the burnt-offering ;) and in this view the wickedness
of man, however offensive, should not determine his conduct. He
would, as it were, look off from him, and rest his future conduct
towards him on another ground. He would, in short, knowing
what he was, deal with him on a footing of mercy and forbear
ance. Surely I need not say, that this sacrifice of Noah was one of
those which bore a peculiar aspect to the offering of the body of
Jesus once for all. It is not improbable that the Apostle has a
direct allusion to it when he says, Christ hath loved us, and given
himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God, for a sweet-smel
ling savour.
In reviewing the destruction of the world by a flood, and the
preservation of Noah and his family, we are furnished with three
important reflections :
I. It is a solid proof of the truth of divine revelation. " We
are acquainted," says a late perspicuous and forcible writer, " with
no ancient people who were without traditions of this great event.
From Josephus, we learn that Berosus, a Chaldean historian
whose works are now lost, related the same things as Moses of the
deluge, and the preservation of Noah in an ark. Eusebius informs
us that the history of the flood was contained in the works of
Abydenus, an Assyrian writer. Lucian, the Greek writer, says,
that the present is not the original race of men ; but is descended
from Deucalion, who was preserved in an ark from the universal
deluge which destroyed men for their wickedness. Varro, the
Roman writer, divided time into three periods, the first from the

Chapter VIII.] THE FLOOD. £5
origin of men to the deluge. The Hindoo puranas contain the his
tory of the deluge, and of Noah under the name of Satyavrata.
They relate that Satyavrata was miraculously preserved in an ark
from a deluge which destroyed all mankind.''* The same writer
adds, " That the whole of our globe has been submerged by the
ocean, is proved, not by tradition only, but by its mineralogical
and fossil history. On the summits of high mountains, and in the
centres of continents, vast beds of shells and other marine produc-
tions are to be found. Petrified fishes and sea weed exist in the
heart of quarries. The vegetable and animal productions of the
torrid zone have been dug up in the coldest regions, as Siberia ;
and, vice versa, the productions of the polar regions have been
found in warm climates. These facts are unanswerable proofs of
a deluge." 2. It is intimated by the apostle Peter, that the salvation of No
ah and his family in tbe ark, was a figure of our salvation by the
resurrection of Jesus Christ. It was for a time buried, as it were in
the floods of divine wrath from above and from beneath. It rose
however, and weathered the storm, safely landing those on dry
ground who had been committed to its care. I need not make the
application. A like figure of the same thing is Christian baptism,
in which believers are said to be baptized into the death of Christ:
Buried with him into death, that like as he was raised up from the
dead by the glory of the Father, so they also should walk in new
ness of life.
3. We are directed to consider the destruction of the world
by water as a presage and premonition of its being destroyed in
the end by fire. The heavens and the earth, which now are, are
kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment, and
perdition of ungodly men.
* Letters on the Evidence of the Christian Religion : by an Enquirer. First
printed in the Oriental Star, at Calcutta ; reprinted at Serampore in 1802 ;
and since reprinted in England, with additions and corrections by the Au
thor.
Vol. V. 11

DISCOURSE XIV.

GOD S COVENANT WITH NOAH.

Gen. ix.
Ver. 1,2. We have now the beginning of a new world, and
various directions given to those who a-re to people it. In several
respects it resembles its first beginning : particularly in the com
mand to be fruitful and multiply, and in the subjection of the crea
tures to man. But there is one great difference ; all must now
rest upon a gracious covenant. Man by sin had forfeited, not his
existence indeed, (for that was giving him to hold on no condition
al tenure,) but the blessing of God, and his dominion over his
creatures. Nevertheless, he shall be reinstated in it. God will,
as it were, make a covenant for him with the beasts of the field,
and they shall be at peace with him, or at least shall be awed by
his authority. All this is out of respect to tbe mediation of
Christ, and for the accomplishing of the designs of mercy through
him. Ver. 3, 4. Here is also a special grant, which does not appear
to have been given before ; not only the herbs of the field, but the
animals are given to man for food. It is however accompanied
with a special exception with reg.ird to blood, which is the life.
This being forbidden to Noah, appears also to have been forbidden
to all mankind : nor ought this prohibition to be treated as belong
ing to the ceremonies of the Jewish dispensation. It was not only
enjoined before that dispensation existed, but was enforced upon
the Gentile Christians, by the decrees of the apostles.* To al
lege, as some do, our Lord's words, that It is not that which goeth
* Acts xv. 20.

88 COVENANT WITH NOAH. [Discourse XIV.
into the mouth defileth a man, would equally justify the practice
of cannibals in e iting human flesh. The reason of this prohibition
might be in part the preventipn of cruelty ; for the eating of blood
implies and cherishes a ferocious disposition. None but the most fe
rocious of animals will eat it in any another ; and one would think
none but the most ferocious of mankind can endure it. But there
may be a higher reason. Blood is the life, and God seems to
claim it as sacred to himself. Hence in all the sacrifices the
blood was poured out before the Lord : and in the sacrifice of
Christ, he shed his blood, or poured out his soul unto death.
Ver. 5, 6. As God was tender of animal blood, in not suffering
man to eat it, so on the other hand, he would be especially tender
of human blood. If any animal slew a man, let him be slain on
that account : or if any man sle.w himself, God would require it :
or if any man slew another man, he should be put to death by man.
This also appears to be a new law, as we read of no executions for
murder among the antediluvians. The reason for this law is
not taken from the well being of man, but man's being made in the
image of God. The image of God is of two kinds, natural and
moral. The latter was lost by sin ; but the former continues with
man in every state, and renders it peculiarly criminal to abuse him.
To deface the king's image is a sort of treason among men, imply
ing a hatred against him, and that if he himself were within reach,
he would be served in the same manner : how much more
treasonable must it be to destroy, curse, oppress, or in auy way
abuse the image of the King of kings ! James iii. 9.*
* In defending the principles of civil and religious liberty against persecu
tion for conscience sake, it has often been alleged, that civil government has
no right to restrain or punish men, but on account of their injuring their fel
low men. That whatever is punishable by man is injurious to man, is true :
because all sin in some way or other is so; but to make this the sole ground
or reason of punishment, is selfish and atheistical. It is making ourselves the
chief end ; whereas this is what God claims to himself at the hand of every
man and body of men. The cognizance of the civil magistrate ought indeed
to be confined to what is civil and moral ; but in punishing men for immoral
ity, he ought not merely to regard his own safety, nor a-ven that of the com
munity, but the honour of God : and if he be a good man he will do so. If he
regard merely his own safety, punishing crimes only in so far as they endaa-

Chapter IX] ' COVENANT WITH NOAH. 8g
Ver. 7. The command to multiply is repeated, and contains
permission, not of promiscuous intercourse, like the brutes, but of
honourable marriage. Tbe same law which forbad the eating of
blood, under the gospel, forbad fornication, which was common
among the heathen ; and alas, too common among those who call
themselves Christians !
Ver. 8 — 17. Having given the foregoing precepts, God gra
ciously proceeds to enter into a solemn covenant with Noah and
his posterity, and every living creature that was with them, no more
to destroy them by water, of which the bow in the cloud was to be
the token. The covenant is an amplification of what was said at
the altar, where the Lord smelled a sweet savour ; and indeed the
first seventeen verses of this chapter are a continuation of that
subject. We see here, (I.) The mercy and goodness of God, in pro
ceeding with us in a way of covenant. He might have exempted the
world from this calamity, and yet not have told them he would do so.
The remembrance oftlie flood might have been a sword hanging over
their heads in terrorem. But he will set their minds at rest on this
score and therefore promises, and that with an oath, that the waters
of Noah should no more go over the earth.* Thus also he deals
with us in his Son. Being willing that the heirs of promise should
have strong consolation, he confirms his word by an oath.t (2.)
The importance of living under the light of revelation. Noah's
posterity by degrees sunk into idolatry, and became strangers to
the covenants of promise. Such were our fathers for many ages,
and such are great numbers to this day. So far as respects them,
God might as well have made no promise : to them all' is lost.'
(3.) The importance of being believers. Without this, it will be
worse for us than if we had never beenfavoured with a revelation.
ger it, the people will soon perceive that he is a selfish tyrant, and cares not
for the general good ; and if he regard only the public safety, punishing crimes
merely on account of their being injurious to men, it is still a spirit of selfish
ness, only a little more extended ; and God will disapprove of this, as the peo
ple do of the other. *Isa. liv. 9. tHeb.vi. 17, 18,

90 COVENANT WITH NOAH. [Discourse XIV.
Finally: We see here the kind of life which il was God's design
to encourage — a life of faith. The just shall live by faith. If he
bad made no revelation of himself, no covenants, and no promises,
there would be no ground for faith ; and we must have gone
through life feeling after him, without being able, to find him : bu^
having made known his mind, there is light in all our dwellings,
and a sure ground for believing, not only in our exemption from
another flood, but in things of far greater importance.
With respect to the sign, or token, of this covenant, the bow in
the cloud, as it seems to be the effect of causes which existed from
the beginning, it is probable that that also existed ; but it was not
till now a token of God's covenant with the world. Such a token
was extremely suitable, on account of its conspicUousness, and its
appearance in the cloud, or at a time when the fears of man would
be apt to rise, lest they should be overwhelmed with another
flood. This being a sign of peace, the King of Zion is described
as having a rainbow about his throne.
Ver. 18, 19. God having thus saved, counselled, and covenanted
with this little company, Moses proceeds to narrate their history.
In general, we are informed that the fathers of the new world
were Noah's three sons, Shem and Ham and Japheth ; from whom
the earth was peopled. And having mentioned Ham, he says He
was the fatlier of Canaan. This remark of Moses was doubtless
made with a special design ; for living, as he did, when the Israel
ites, who descended from Shem, were about to take possession of
the land of Canaan, it was of peculiar importance that they should
be informed that the people whose country the Lord their God had
given them to possess, were under a curse from the days of their
first father. The particulars of this affair will appear in the se
quel. Ver. 20— 23. 'Noah, as soon as he could get settled, betook
himself to the employment of husbandry; and the first -thing he
did in this way was to plant a vineyard. So far all was right ; man
as we have seen, was formed originally for an active, and not an
idle life. Adam was ordered to keep the garden, and to dress it •
and when fallen, to till the ground from whence he was taken,
which now required much labour. Perhaps there is no employ-

Chapter IX.] COVENANT WITH NOAH. 91
ment more free from snares. But in the most lawful occupations
and enjoyments, we must not reckon ourselves out of danger. It
was very lawful for Noah to partake of the fruits of his labour; but
Noah sinned in drinking to excess. He might not be aware of the
strength of the wine, or his age might render him sooner influen
ced by jt: at any rate we have reason to conclude, from his gen-
eral character, that it was a fault in which he was overtaken. But
let us not think lightly of the sin of drunkenness. Who hath woe;
who hath redness of eyes ? They that tarry long at the wine.
Times of festivity require a double guard. Neither age nor char
acter are any security in the hour of temptation. Who would
have thought, that a man who had walked with God, perhaps more
than five hundred years, and who had withstood the temptations of
a world, should fall alone ? This was like a ship which had gone
round the world being overset in sailing into port. What need for
watchfulness and prayer ! One heedless hour may stain the fair
est life, and undo much of the good which we have been doing for
a course of years ! Drunkenness is a sin which involves in it the
breach of the whole law, which requires love to God, our neigh
bour, and ourselves. The first as abusing his mercies ; the second
as depriving those who are in want of them of necessary support,
as well as setting an ill example ; and the last as depriving our
selves of reason, self-government, and common decency. It also
commonly leads on to other evils. It has been said, and justly,
that the name of this sin is Gad — a troop cometh !
But sinful as it was for Noah thus to expose himself, it was stilj
more so for Ham, on perceiving his situation, to go out and report
it with malignant pleasure to his brethren. None but a fool wilj ,
make a mock at sin in any one : but for children to expose and
sneer at the sin of their parents, is wickedness of the most aggra
vated kind. It indicates a heart thoroughly depraved;.', The con
duct of Shem and Japheth on this unhapp}' occasion, was as com
mendable as the other was censurable, aud as worthy of our imi
tation as that is of our abhorrence.
Ver. 24. When Noah came to himself, he knew what had been
done by his younger son. Nothing is said of his grief for his own
sin. I hope his anger did not turn merely against that of his son.

92 COVENANT WITH NOAH. [DiseouRSB XIV.
Nor are we to consider what follows as an ebullition of personal
resentment, but as a prophecy, which was meant to apply, and has
been ever since applying to his posterity, and which it was not
possible for human resentment to dictate. But as this prophecy
is very comprehensive, and will lead us to take notice of some of
the great principles of revelation, I shall reserve it for a future
discourse.

DISCOURSE XV.

NOAH S PROPHECY.

Gen. ix. 25— 27,
It was common among the patriarchs, when about to die, to
pronounce a prophetic sentence on their children, which fre
quently bore a relation to what had been their conduct, and exten
ded to their remote posterity. V This prophecy however, though
not immediately after the flood, was probably many years before
the death of Noah. I shall first attempt to ascertain its meaning,
and its agreement with the great outlines of historic fact ; and then
endeavour to justify the ways of providence in such dispensations.
The prophecy is introduced with a curse upon the posterity of
one of Noah's sons, and concludes with a blessing upon the other
two ; each corresponding with his conduct on the late unhappy
occasion. Cursed be Canaan : a servant of servants, that is, the meanest
of servants, shall he be unto his brethren. But why is the name of
Ham omitted, and the curse confined to his son Canaan ? Some
suppose that Canaan must have been in some way partaker in the
crime : but this is uncertain. It is thought by several able critics
that instead of Canaan we should read, as it is in ver. 22, Ham the
father of Canaan ;* and this seems very plausible, as otherwise
there is nothing said of Ham, except in the person of his son ; and
what is still more, the curse of servitude actually came, though at
* Ainsworth says, " By Canaan may be understood or implied Canaan's fa
ther, as the Greek translation hath Ham, and as elsewhere in scripture, Goli
ath is named for Goliath's father. 2 Sam. xxi. 19, compared with 1 Chron.
xx. 5." See also Bishop Newton on the Prophecies. Dissert. I.
Vob. V. 12

94 NOAH'S PROPHECY. [Discourse XV.
a remote period, upon other branches of the posterity of Ham, as
well as Canaan. It is manifest however, that it was directed
principally against him in the line of Canaan ; and that it was rela
ted by Moses for the encouragement of Israel in going up against
his descendants, the Canaanites. 'Canaan is under a curse of ser
vitude to.both Shem and Japheth : the former was fulfilled in the
conquest of the seven nations of Israel ; and the latter in the
subjugation of the Tyrians and Carthaginians, (who were the
remainder of the old • Canaanites,) by • the Greeks and Romans^
So far as the curse had reference to the other descendants of Ham,
it was a long time, as I have said, ere it came upon them. In the
early ages of the world tbey flourished. They were the first who
set up for empire ; and so far from being subject to the descen
dants of Shemor Japheth, the latter were often invaded, and driven
into-corners by them. It was Nimrod, a descendant oi Ham, who
founded the imperial city of Babylon: and Mizraim, another of his
descendants, who first established the kingdom of Egypt. These
it is well known, were for many ages two of the greatest empires
in the world. About the time of the captivity however, God be
gan to cut Short their power. Both Egypt and Babylon within a
century sunk into a state of subjection, first to the Persians, who
descended from Shem, and afterwards to the Greeks and Romans,
who were the children of Japheth. Nor have they ever been able
to recover themselves: for to the dominion of the Romans succeeded
that of the Saracens, and to theirs that of the Turks, under which
they, with a great part of Africa, which is peopled by the children
of Ham, have lived, and still live, in the most degraded state of
subjection. To all this may be added, that the inhabitants of Afri
ca seem to be marked out as objects of slavery by the European
nations. Though these things are far from excusing the conduct
of their oppressors, yet they establish the fact, and prove the ful
filment of prophecy.
Blessed be Jehovah, God of Shem ! The form of this blessing is
worthy of notice. It may not seem to be pronounced on him, but
on his God. But such a mode of speaking implies his blessed
ness, no less than if it had been expressly spoken of him : for it is
a principle well known in religion, that blessed is that people whose

Chapter IX.] NOAH'S PROPHECY. 95
God is Jehovah. They are blessed in his blessedness. It is in
this form that Moses describes the blessedness of Israel : There is
none like unto the God of Jeshurun, who rideth upon the heaven in
thy Kelp, and in his excellency on'thesky. Shem was the ancestor
of Abram, and so of Israel ; who, while the descendants of both
Ham and Japheth were lost in idolatry, knew and worshipped Je
hovah, the only true God ; and of whom, as concerning the flesh,
Christ came, who is over all, God blessed forever. It has been
remarked too, that Shem is the first person who had the honour of
having the Lord styled his God ; and that this expression denotes
his being a God in covenant with him, as when he is called the God
of Abram, of Isaac, and of Jacob. Noah, forseeeing, by a spirit of
prophecy, tbat God would enter into a special covenant with the
posterity of Shem, taking them to be his peculiar people, and bind
ing himself to be their God, was affected at the consideration of so
great a privilege, and breaks out into an ascription of praise to God
on this account.
God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of
Shem. If this part of the prophecy have respect to temporal do
minion, it seems to refer to the posterity of Japheth being former
ly straitened, but in the later ages of the world enabled to extend
their conquests ; which exactly corresponds with history. For
more than two thousand years the empire of the civilized world
has in a manner been in the hands of the posterity of Japheth.
First the Greeks, after tbem the Romans, and since the declension
of their empire, the different powers of Europe, have entered into
the richest possessions of Asia, inhabited by the children of Shem.
Add to this, their borders have lately been enlarged beyond the
Atlantic, and bid fair to extend over the continent of America.
But as Japheth united with Shem in the act of filial respect to
his father, it would seemas if the dwelling of the one in the tents of
the other must be friendly, and not hostile ; but as the blessing of
Shem had a peculiar reference to the church of God among his
descendants, it may be considered as prophetic of the accession
of the Gentiles to it, under the gospel. It is a fact, that Christian
ity has principally prevailed among the posterity of Japheth. The
Lord God of Shem is there known, and honoured. The lively or-

96 NOAH'S PROPHECY. [Discourse XV,
acles given to the fathers of the one, are possessed and prized by
the other : they laboured, and we have entered into their labours.
This interpretation is favoured by the marginal reading, which
the very learned Ainsworth says the original word properly signi
fies : " God shall persuade Japheth, and he shall dweltyn the tents
of Shem."
Let us proceed, in the next place, to offer a remark or two on
the justice oi the divine proceeding in debouncing a curse upon
children, even to remote periods, for the iniquity of their parents.
It is worthy of notice that the God of Israel thought it no dishonour
to his character to declare, that he would visit the iniquity of the fa
thers upon the children, in those that hatedhim, and more than that he
would show mercy to those that loved him, which he did in an eminent
degree to the posterity of Abram. And should any object to this,
and to the Bible on this account, we might appeal to universal fact.
None can deny that children are tbe better or the worse for the
conduct of their parents. If any man insist that neither good nor
evil shall befal him, but what is the immediate consequence of his
own conduct, be must go out of the world; for no such state of
existence is known in it.
There is, however, an important difference between the sin of a
parent being the occasion of the prediction of a curse upon his pos
terity, (who were considered by Him who knew the end from the be
ginning as walking in his steps,) and its being the formal cause of
their punishment. The sin of Ham was the occasion of the predic
tion against the Canaanites, and the antecedent to the evil predic
ted ; but it was not the cause oi it. Its formal procuring cause
may be seen in the eighteenth chapter of Leviticus. To Ham,
and prehaps to Canaan, the prediction of the servitude of their de
scendants was a punishment : but the fulfilment of that prediction
en the parties themselves, was no farther such, thau as it was con
nected with their own sin.
There is also an important difference between the providential
dispensations of God towards families and nations in the present
wbrld, and the administration of distributive justice towards indi
viduals with respect to tho world to come. In the last judgment,
every one shall give an account of himself to God, and be judged ac.

Chapter IX.] NOAH'B PROPHECY. 97
tor ding to the deeds done in the body: but while we are in this
world we stand in various relations, in which it is impossible that
we should be dealt with merely as individuals. God deals with
families and nations as such ,• and in the course of his providence
visits them with good and evil, not according to the conduct of in
dividuals, but, as far as conduct is concerned, that of the general
body. To insist that we should in all cases be treated as individ
uals, is to renounce the social character.
We are informed at the close of the chapter, that Noah lived af
ter the flood three hundred and fifty years, and died at the age of
nine hundred and fifty. How long this was after the- foregoing
prophecy, we are not informed ; but he lived to see in the descen
dants of Shem, Eber and Nahor and Terah the father of Abram.

DISCOURSE XVI.

THE generations OF NOAH.

Gen. x.
Without this genealogy we should not have been able to as
certain the fulfilment of Noah's prophecy ; but after what has
been said on that subject, 1 need not be particular here. The
chapter contains the origin of the various nations of antiquity ; and
the more it is examined, and compared with universal history, tbe
more credible it will appear. All the researches of the Asiatic
Society into the ancient Hindoo records go to confirm it. But it
does not comport with the object of these discourses to enter mi
nutely into such subjects ; 1 shall therefore pass over it with only
a few remarks.
1. Concerning the posterity of Japheth, ver. 2— ;5. His family
was the largest, and almost every one of his sons became the fa
ther of a nation. In them, we trace, among others, the names of
Madia, the father of the Medes ; — oiJavan, and his two sons, Kit-
tim and Dodanim, the fathers of the Ionians or Greeks, and of the
Romans. It was from Japheth that all the nations of Europe appear
to have been peopled ; who seem, at this early period, to have ob
tained the name of Gentiles ; namely, peoples, amotions, (ver. 5.)
This name was given in apostolic times to all who were not Jews ;
but in earlier ages it seems to have been chiefly, if not entirely,
applied to the Europeans. Such at least is the meaning of the isles
of the Gentiles, in which, by a synecdoche, those places which were
the nearest to the situation of the sacred writpr are put for all the-
countries beyondthem. And the scriptures fbrseeing that Europe
would from the first embrace the gospelj and for many ages be the

I (jo GENERATIONS OF NOAH. [Discourse XVI.
principal seat of its operations, the Messiah himself is introduced
by Isaiah as addressing himself to its inhabitants : Listen, oh isles
unto me ; aad hearken ye people from afar ! Jehovah hath called
me from the womb: and hath said unto me, It is a light thing
that thou shouldst be my servant to raise up the tribes of Ja
cob — / will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that
thott shouldst be my salvation to the end of the earth. Here
we see, not only the first peopling of our native country, but
the kind remembrance of us in a way of mercy, and this, though far
removed from the means of salvation. What a call is this to us
who occupy what is denominated the end of the earth, to be thank
ful for the gospel, and to listen to the sweet accents of tbe Saviour's
voice !
2. Concerning the posterity of Ham, ver. 6 — 20. In them,
we trace, among others, the names of Cush, the father of the Ethi
opians; oiMizraim, the father of tbe Egyptians; and of Canaan,
the father of the Canaanites.
Particular notice is taken of Nimrod, the son of Cnsh, as the
first who Set up for empire. He might, for any thing 1 know, be
fond of hunting beasts; but the connexion of his character with a
kingdom, induces me to think that men were the principal objects
of his pursuit, and that it is in reference to this that he is called
a mighty hunter, a very proper name for what modern historians
would have called a hero. Thus we see, from the beginning, that
things which are highly esteemed among men are held in abomina
tion with God. This perfectly accords with the language of the
prophets, in which the great conquerors of the earth are descri
bed as so many ¦wild beasts, pushing at one another, whose object
is to seize and tear the prey. — Nimrod was a mighty hunter be
fore the Lord. This may denote his daring spirit, doing what be
did in tbe face of heaven, or in defiance of the divine authority.
Thus tbe inhabitants of Sodom are said to be wicked, and sinners
before the Lord. Nimrod's fame was so great that his name be
came proverbial. In after times, any one who was a daring plun
derer in defiance of heaven, was likened to him, just as the wicked
kings of Israel were likened to Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who
made Israel to sin. In short, he became the type, patern, or fa-

Chapter X.] ' GENERATIONS OF NOAH. 101
ther of usurpers and martial plunderers. Till his time, govern
ment had been patriarchal ; but his ambition led him to found a
royal city, even that which was afterwards called Babel, or Baby
lon ; and to add to it (for the ambition of conquerors has no
bounds) Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. Nor
was this all. Either he drove Ashur, the son of Shem, from the
land of Shinar, (who, taking up his residence in Assyria, built
Nineveh, and other places ;) or else, as Ainsworth and the margin
of 'our own bibles render it, He (Nimrod) went forth out of that
land to Ashur, or Assyria, and builded Nineveh. This last is very
probably the true meaning, as the sacred writer is not here de
scribing what was done by the posterity of Shem, which he intro
duces afterwards, but by that of Ham ; and it perfectly accords
with Nimrod's character, to go hunting from land to land, for the
•purpose ofincreasing his'dominion.
From Mizraim, the father of the Egyptians, descended also the
Philistines. Their situation was near to that of the Canaanites;
but not being of them, their country was not given to Israel. This
accounts for their not attempting to take it, though in after times
there were frequent wars between them.
Finally : Moses was very particular with regard to the Canaan
ites, describing not only what nations they were, but what were
their boundaries, that Israel might know and be content with what
the Lord their God had given them. Under this head, we see
much of what pertains to this world, but that is all. We may
learn from it, that men may be under the divine cur3e, and yet be
very successful for a time in schemes of aggrandizement. But if
this be their all, woe unto them! There are instances, however,
of individuals, even from among Ham's posterity, who obtained
mercy. Of them were Rahab the harlot, Uriah the Hittite, Obed-
edom, and Ittai, and his brethren«the Gittites, and the Syropheni-
cian woman who applied to Christ. The door of mercy is open
to faith, without distinction of nations ; nor was there ever a time
in which the God of Israel refused even a Canaanite, who re
pented and embraced his word.
3. Concerning the posterity of Shem, ver. 21 — 32. The ac
count of this patriarch is introduced in rather a singular manner ;
Vol. V. 13

102 GENERATIONS OF NOAH. [Discourse XVI.
it is mentioned as an appendage to his name, a kind of title of hon
our that was to go along with it, that he was father of all the chil
dren of Eber, and brother of Japheth the elder. Shem had other
sons as well as these, and another brother as well as Japheth ; but
no such special mention is made of them. When Moses would
describe the line of the curse, he calls Ham the father of Canaan;
and when the line of Promise, he calls Shem the father of all the
children of Eber. And as Japheth had been the brother of Shem
in an act of filial duty, his posterity shall be grafted in among
them, and become fellow-heirs of the same promise ; yet, as in
divers other instances, the younger goes before the elder.
Among Shem's other descendants we find the names of Elam
and Ashur, fathers of the Persians and Assyrians, two great Asiatic
nations. But these, not being of the church of God, are but
little noticed in the sacred history, except as they come in con
tact with it. ' •
Eber is said to have had two sons, one of whom is called Peleg,
division ; because in his days the earth was divided. This event
took place subsequently to the confusion of tongues, which is yet
to be related. It seems to refer to an allotment of different coun
tries to different families, as Canaan was divided among the Israel
ites by Joshua. This division of the earth is elsewhere ascribed
to tbe Most High.* Probably it was by lot, which was of his dis
posing; or if by the fathers of the different families, all was sub
ject to the direction of His providence who fixes and bounds our
habitation. It is intimated in the same passage, that at the time of
this division, God marked out the holy land as- Israel's lot; so that
the Canaanites were to possess it only during his minority, and
that by sufferance. It was rather lent than given to them, from
fhe first. •
¦*- Deut. xxxii. 8.

DISCOURSE XVII.

the confusion OF tongues.

Geu.xi. 1— 9.
It has been before noticed, that this story is thrown farther on,
on account of finishing the former. The event took place before
the division of the earth in the time of Peleg ; for every family
is there repeatedly said to be divided after their tongues ; which
implies that at that time they spake various languages, and that
this was one of the rules by which they were distinguished as
nations. Prior to the flood, and down- to this period, the whole earth was
of one language. We are not told what this was. Whether it
was the same which continued in the family of Eber, or whether
from this time it was lost, is a matter of small account to us. But
it seemed good in the sight of God, from hence to divide mankind
into different nations, and to this end to give them each a different
tongue. The occasion of this great event will appear from the
following story.
The posterity of Noah, beginning to increase, found it necessary
to extend their habitations. A company of them, journeying from
the east, pitched upon a certain plain in the land of Shinar, by the
river Euphrates. Judging it to be an eligible spot, they consulted,
and determined here to build a city. There was no stone, it
seems, near at hand ; but there was a kind of earth very suitable
for bricks, and a bituminous substance which is said to ooze from
certain springs in that plain, like tar or pitch, and this they used
for cement. Of these materials-were afterwards built the famous
walls of Babylon.

104 CONFUSION OF TONGUES. [Discourse XVII.
Having found a good material, they proposed lo build a city and
a tower of great eminence, by which they should obtain a name,
and avoid the evil of which they thought themselves in danger, of
being scattered upon the face of the whole earth. But here they
were interrupted by a divine interposition : the Lord came down
and confounded their language, so that they could not understand
one another's speech.
To perceive the reason of this extraordinary proceeding, it is
necessary to inquire into the object, or design, of the builders. If
this can be ascertained, the whole passage maybe easily under
stood. It could not be, as some have supposed, to provide against
a future flood ; for this would have needed no divine interposition to
prevent its having effect. God knew his own intention never to
drown the world any more : and if it had been otherwise, or if they,
from a disbelief of his promise, had been disposed to provide
against it, they would not have been so foolish as to build for this
purpose a tower upon a plain, which, when raised to the greatest
possible height, would be far below the tops of the mountains. It
could not have been said of such a scheme, This they have begun to
do : and now nothing will be restrained from them which they have
imagined to do : for it would have defeated itself.
Neither does it appear to have been designed, as others have
supposed, for an idol's temple. At least, there is nothing in the
story which leads to such a conclusion. It was not for the name
of a god, but for their own name, that they proposed to build ; and
that not the tower only, but a city and a tower. Nor was the
confounding of their language any way adapted, that I can perceive,
to defeat such a design as this. Idolatry prevailed in the world,
for aught appears, as much under a variety of languages as it would
under one.
Some have imagined that it was intended merely as a monu
ment of architectural ambition, like the pyramids of Egypt. This
supposition might in a measure agree with the idea of doing it for
a name : but it is far from harmonizing with other parts of the
history. It contains no such deep-laid scheme as is intimated in
the 6th verse, and given as the reason of the divine interference:
nor is it supposable that God should interpose in so extraordinary

Chapter XL] CONFUSION OF TONGUES. 105
a manner, by working a miracle which should remain throughout
every age of the world, or which at least has remained to this day,
merely for the purpose of counteracting a momentary freak of hu
man vanity. . ,
Their are four characters by which this design, whatever it
was, is described. (1.) It was founded in ambition; for they
said, Let us make us a name. (2.) It required union ; for which
purpose they proposed to build a city, that they might live to
gether, and concentrate their strength and counsels. This is no
ticed by the Lord himself : Behold, the people, saith he, are one,
and have all one language : and his confounding their language
was for the express purpose of destroying this oneness, by scat
tering them abroad upon the face of the earth. (3.) It required
that they should be furnished with the means of defence ; fo"
which they proposed to add a tower to the city, to which tbe citi
zens might repair in times of danger; and of such a height as t»
bid defiance to any who should attempt to annoy them with arrows.,
or other missive weapons. (4.) The scheme was wisely laid; sc
much so, that if God had not interposed to frustrate it, it would
have succeeded : And this they have begun to do ; and now noifliing
will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.
The only object which appears to accord w ith all these general
characters, and with the whole account taken together, is that of
a universal monarchy by which all the families of the earth, in
all future ages, migM be held in subjection. A very little reflec
tion will convince us that such a scheme must of necessity be
founded in ambition; that it required union, and of course a city,
to carry it into execution ; that a tower, or citadel, was also neces
sary to repel those who might be disposed to dispute their claims ;
and that if these measures were once carried into effect, there was
nothing in the nature of things to prevent the accomplishment of
their design.
If there were no other reasons in favour of the supposition in
question, its agreement with all these circumstances of the history
might be sufficient to establish it : but to this, other things may be
added, by way of corroboration.

106 CONFUSION OF TONGUES. [Discourse XVII.
The time when the confusion of tongues took place, renders it
highly probable that the scheme which it was intended to subvert
was of Nimrod's forming, or that he had a principal concern in it.
It must have been a little before the division of the earth among
the sons of Shem, Ham, and Japheth, after their tongues in their
countries, and in their nations ; being that which rendered such
division necessary. Now this was about the time of the birth of
Peleg, who was named from that event : and this, by reckoning
the genealogies mentioned in Chap. xi. 10 — 16, will appear to
have been about a hundred years after the flood. At this time,
Nimrod, who was the grandson of Ham, must have been alive and
in his prime. And as he was the first person who aspired to do
minion over his brethren, and as it is expressly said of him, that
the beginning of his kingdom wjas Babel, nothing is. more natural
than to suppose that he was the leader in this famous enterprise,
and that the whole was a scheme of his, by which to make himself
master of the world.
It was also natural for an ambitious people, headed by an am
bitious leader, to set up for universal monarchy. Such has been
the object of almost all the great nations and conquerors of the
earth in later periods. Babylon, though checked for the pres
ent, by this divine interference, yet afterwards resumed the pur
suit of her favourite object; and in the time of Nebuchadnezzar,
seemed almost to have gained it. The style used by that mon
arch in his proclamations, comported with the spirit of this idea :
To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and tongues ! Now
if such has been the ambition of all Nimrod's successors, in every
age, it is nothing surprising that it should have struck the mind of
Nimrod himself, and his adherents. They would also have a sort
of claim to which their successors could not pretend ; namely,
that of being the first, or parent kingdom ; and the weight which
men are apt to attach to this claim, may be seen by the later pre
tensions of papal Rome, (another Babylon,) which, under the
character of a mother church, headed by a pope, or pretended holy
father, has subjected all Christendom to her dominion.
To this may be added, that the means used to counteract these
builders, were exactly suited to defeat the above design; namely,

Chapter XL] CONFUSION OF TONGUES. 107
that of ]dividing and scattering them, by confounding their lan
guage. And it is worthy of notice, that though several empires
have extended their territories over people of different languages,
yet language has been a very common boundary of nations ever
since. There is scarcely a great nation in the world, but what
has its own language. The dividing of languages was therefore,
in effect, the dividing of nations ; and so a bar to the whole world
being ruled by one government. Thus a perpetual miracle was
wrought, to be an antidote to a perpetual disease.
But why, it may be asked, should it be the will of God to pre
vent a universal monarchy ; and to divide the inhabitants of the
world into a number of independent nations ; This question opens
a wide field for investigation. Suffice it to say at present, such
a state of things contains much mercy, both to the world and to
the church.
With respect to the world, if the whole earth had'continued
under one government, that government would of course, consid
ering what human nature is, have been exceedingly despotic and
oppressive. We know that in every state of society, where power,
or wealth, or commerce, is monopolized; -'by an individual, or
confiued to a few whose interests may unite them to one another,
there is the greatest possible scope for injustice and oppression;
and where there is the greatest scope for these evils, human na
ture being what it is, there they will most abound. Different na
tions and interests in the world serve as a balance one to the other.
They are that to the world which a number of rival merchants, or
lesser tradesmen, are to society ; serving as a check upon each
other's rapacity. Union, when cemented by good will to men, is
exceedingly desirable : but when self-interest and ambition are at
the bottom, it is exceedingly dangerous. Union, in such cases, is
nothing better than a combination against the general good.
It might be thought, that if the whole world were under one
government, a great number oiwars might be prevented, which,
as things now are, would be certain to take place. And it is true,
that one stable government, to a certain extent, is on this account
preferable to a great number uf lesser ones, which are always at
variance. But this principle, if carried beyond certain limits,

108 CONFUSION OF TONGUES. [DiscevRSE XVII.
becomes inimical to human happiness. So far as different nations
Can really become one. and drop all local distinctions and interests,
it is well : but if the good of the country governed be lost sight of,
and every thing be done to aggrandize the city, or country gov
erning, it is otherwise. And where power is thus exercised,
which it certainly would be in case of a universal monarchy, it
would produce as many wars as now exist, with only this differ
ence, that instead of their being carried on between independent
nations, they would consist of the risings of different parts of the
empire against the government, in a way of rebellion : and by how
much wars of this kind are accompanied with less mutual respect,
less quarter given and taken, and consequently more cruelty than
the other, by so much would the state of the world have been more
miserable than it is at present.
The division of the world into independent nations has also
been a great check on persecution, and so has operated in a way
of mercy towards the church. If the whole world had been one
despotic government, Israel, the people of God, must in all ages
have been in the condition to which they were reduced from the
times of the captivity as a punishment for their sins, a mere prov
ince of another power, which might have crushed them and hin
dered them, as was the case from the times of Cyrus to those of
Darius. And since the coming of Christ, the only way in which
he permits his followers to avoid the malice of the world which
rages against them for his sake, is this : If they persecute you in
one city, flee to another. Of this liberty millions have availed
themselves, from the earliest to the latest periods of the Chris
tian church : but if the whole world had been under one gov
ernment, and that government inimical to the gospel, there had
been no place of refuge left upon earth for the faithful.
The necessary watch also that governments which have been
the most disposed to persecute have been obliged to keep on each
other, has filled their hands, so as to leave them but little time to
think of religious people. Saul, when pursuing David, was with
drawn from his purpose by intelligence being brought him, that the
Philistines had invaded the land: and, innumerable instances, the
quarrels of bad men have been advantageous to the righteous.

Chapter XI.] CONFUSION OF TONGUES. 109
The division of power serves likewise to check the spirit of
persecution, not only as finding employment for persecutors to
watch their rivals, but as causing them to be watched and their
conduct exposed. While the power of papal Rome extended over
Christendom, persecution raged abundantly more than it has done
since the Reformation, even in popish countries. Since that period,
the popish powers, both ecclesiastical and civil, have felt th
selves narrowly watched by protestants, and have been
shamed out of their former cruelties. What has been done of late
years has been principally confined to the secret recesses of the
Inquisition. It is by communities as it is by individuals : they are
restrained from innumerable excesses by the consideration of being
under the eye of each other. Thus it is, that liberty of con
science, being granted in one or two nations and becoming honour
able, has insensibly made its way into the councils of many others.
From the whole, we may infer two things. (1.) The harmony
of divine revelation with all that we know of fact. If any object to
the probability of the foregoing account, and imagine that the vari
ous languages spoken in the world must have been of human con
trivance, let them point us to apage in any history, ancient or mod
ern, which gives an account of the first making of a language, dead
or living. If all that man can be proved to have done towards the
formation of any language, be confined to changing, combining,
improving, and reducing it to grammatical form, there is the
greatest probability, independent of the authority of revelation,
that languages themselves were originally the work of God,
as was that of the first man and woman. (2.) The desirableness
of the universal spread of Christ's kingdom. We may see, in the
reasons which render a universal government among men incom
patible with the liberty and safety of the world, abundant cause to
pray for this, and for the union oi all his subjects under him.
Here there is no danger of tyranny or oppression, nor any need
of those low motives of rivalship to induce him to seek the well-
being of his subjects. A union with Christ and one another em
braces the best interests of mankind.
Vol. V. 14

DISCOURSE XVIII.

the generations of shem, and the call of abram.

Gen. xi. 10—32. xii. 1—4.
The sacred historian, having given an account of the re-peo
pling of the earth, here takes leave of the children of men, and
confines himself to the history of the sons of God. We shall find
him all along adhering to this principle. When any of the poster
ity of the righteous turn their backs on God, he presently takes
leave of them, and follows the true church and true religion wher
ever they go.
Ver. 10 — 26. The principal use of the genealogy of Shem to
Terah, the father of Abram, may be to prove the fulfilment of all
the promises in the Messiah. To this purpose it is applied in the
New Testament.
Fer.,27 — 29. Terah, after he was seventy years of age, had
three sons ; Abram, Nahor, and Haran. But the order in which
they here stand, does not appear to be that of seniority, any more
than that of Shem and Ham and Japheth : for if Abram had been
born when Terah was seventy years old, he must have been a
hundred and thirty-five at the time of bis father's death ; whereas he
is said to have been but seventy-five, when, after that event, he set
out for Canaan. Haran, therefore, appears to have been the
eldestof the three sons. He died in Ur of the Chaldees ; but left
behind him a son and two daughters ; Lot, and Milcah and Iscah.
The two surviving sons, Abram and Nahor, took them wives : The
name of Abram's wife was Sarai, of whose descent we are not
here told ; but by what he said of her in Chap. xx. 12, it would
seem that she was his half-sister, or his father's daughter by

112 GENERATIONS OF SHEM. [Discourse XVIH.
another wife. In those early ages, nearer degrees of consanguin
ity were admitted than were afterwards allowed by the divine
law. Nahor married his brother Haran's eldest daughter Milcah.
Ver. 31. It is said of Terah, that he took Abram his son, and
Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law,
his son Abram's wife ; and that they went from Ur of the Chal
dees, to go into the land of Canaan. But here is something sup
posed which the historian reserves till he comes to the story of
Abram, who, nest to God, was the first mover in the underta
king, and the principal character in the story. In Chap. xii. 1. we
are told that the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy
country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a
land that 1 will show thee. Taking the whole together, it appears
that God revealed himself to Abram, and called him to depart from
that idolatrous and wicked country, whether any of his relations
would go with him or not ; that Abram told it to his father Terah,
and to all the family, and invited them to accompany him ; that
Terah consented, as did also his grandson Lot ; that Nahor and
his wife Milcah were unwilling to go, and did not go at present ;
that seeing they refused, the venerable Terah left them ; and
though not the first mover in the affair, yet, being the head of the
family, he is said to have taken Abram and Sarai and Lot, and jour
neyed towards Canaan ; that stopping within the country of Meso
potamia, he called the place where he pitched his tent Haran, in
memory of his son who died in Ur of the Chaldees ; finally, that
during his residence in this place he died, being two hundred and
five years old.
But though Nahor and Milcah, as it should seem, refused to ac
company the family at the time, yet as we find them, in the course
of the history, settled at Haran, and Abraham and Isaac sending
to them'for' wives, to the rejection of the idolaters among whom
they lived, we may conclude that they afterwards repented. And
thus the whole of Terah's family, though they do not go to Ca
naan, yet are rescued from Chaldean idolatry ; and settling in
Haran, maintain for a considerable time the worship of the true
God.

Chapter XII.] CALL OF ABRAM. j 13
Chap. xii. 1 — 3. But Abram must not stop at Haran. Jeho
vah, by whom he was called to depart from Ur, has another coun
try in reserve for him ; and he being the great patriarch of Israel)
and oftlie church of God, we have here a more particular account
of his call. It was fit that this should be clearly and fully stated,
as it went to lay the foundation of a new order of things in the
world. It was therefore like the spring of a great river ; or rather
like the hole of a quarry whence the first stone was taken of
which a city was built. It is this which is referred fo, for the en
couragement of the church when in a low condition, and likely to
become extinct. God called Abram alone, and blessed him, and in
creased him. Hence the faithful are directed to look to the rock
whence they were hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence they were
digged; and to depend upon his promise, who assured them h°
would comfort the waste places of Zion.
How long Abram continued at Haran, we are not told ; abou
nine years after his departure from it, we read of his having three
hundred and eighteen trained servants who were born in his house :
he must therefore have kept house between twenty and thirty
years, at least, before that thime, either in Haran, or in both Ur
and Haran.
In the call of Abram, we may observe, (1.) The grace of it.
There appears no reason to conclude that he was better than his
neighbours. He did not choose the Lord, but the Lord him, and
brought him out from amongst the idolaters.* (2.) Its perempto
ry tone: Get thee out. The language very much resembles that of
Lot to his sons-in-law, and indicates the great danger of his pres
ent situation, and the immediate necessity of escaping, as it were,
for his life. Such is the condition of every unconverted sinner,
and such the necessity of fleeing from the wrath to come, to the
hope set before us in the gospel. (3.) The self-denial required
by it. He was called to leave his country, his kindred, and even
his father's house, if they refused to go with him : and no doubt
his mind was made up to do so. Such things are easier to read
concerning others, than to practise ourselves ; yet he that hateth
*N«h.ix.7.

114 CALL OF ABRAM. [Discourse XVIII.
not father and mother, and wife and children, and brethren and'
sisters, yea, and his own life also, in comparison of Christ, cannot
be his disciple. We may not be called upon to part with them;
but our minds must be made up to do so, if they stand between us
and Christ. (4.) The implicit faith which a compliance with it
would call for. Abram was to leave all and to go .... he knew
not whither. . . . unto a land that God would show him.' If he
had been told it was a land flowing with milk and honey, and that
he should be put in possession of it, there had been some food for
sense to feed upon : but to go out, not knowing whither he went,
must have been not a little trying to flesh and blood. Nor was
this all : that which was promised was not only in general terms,
but very distant. God did not tell him he would give him the land,
but merely show him it. Nor did he in his life-time obtain the
possession of it : he was only a sojourner in it, without so much as
a place to set his foot upon. He obtained a spot, it is true, to lay
his bones in ; but that was all. In this manner were things or
dered, on purpose to try his faith ; and his obedience to God under
such circumstances was among the things which rendered him
an example to future generations, even the father of all them that
believe. Ver. 2. The promise had reference to things which could be
but of small account to an eye of sense ; but faith would find
enough in it to satisfy the most enlarged desires. The objects,
though distant, were worth waiting for. He should be the father of
a great nation ; and what was of greater account, and which was
doubtless understood, that nation should be the Lord's. God him
self would bless him : and this would be more than the whole world
without it. God would also make his name great; not in the re
cords of worldly fame, but in the history of the church : and being
himself full of the blessing of the Lord, it should be his to im
part blessedness to the world : I will bless thee, and thou shalt be a
blessing. The great names among the heathen would very com
monly arise from.their being curses and plagues to mankind ; but
he should have the honour and happiness of being great in good
ness, great in communicating light and life to his species.

Chapter XII.] CALL OF ABRAM. U5
This promise has been fulfilling ever since. All the true
blessedness which the world is now, or shall hereafter be possessed
of, is owing to Abram and his posterity. Through them we have
a Bible, a Saviour, and a gospel. They are the stock on which
the Christian church is grafted. Their very dispersions and pun
ishments have proved the- riches of the world. What then shall
be their recovery, but life from the dead ! It would seem as if the
conversion of the Jews, whenever it shall take place, will be
a kind of resurrection to mankind. Such was the hope of this
calling. And what could the friends of God and man desire
more ? Yet, as if all this were not enough, it is added — :
Ver. 3. / toill bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curs-
eth thee. This is language never used but of an object of special
favour. It is declaring that he "should not only be blessed him
self, but that all others should be blessed or cursed as they re
spected or injured him. Of this, the histories of Abimelech,
Laban, Potiphar, both the Pharaohs, Balak, and Balaam, furnish
examples. Finally : Lest what had been said of his being made a blessing
should not be sufficiently explicit, it is added, And in thee shall all
the families of the earth be blessed. This was saying that a bless
ing was in reseve for all nations, and that it should be bestowed
through him and his posterity, as the medium. Paul applies this
to Christ, and the believing Gentiles being blessed in him : he calls
it, The gospel which was preached before unto Abraham. Peter
also makes use of it in bis address to those who had killed the
Prince of life, to induce them to repent and believe in him. Ye
are the children of the prophets, says he,andofthe covenants which
God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed
shall all the nations of the earth be blessed. Unto you first, God
having' raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you in turning
away every one of you from his iniquities. Asif hehadsaid, ' You
are descended from one whose posterity were to be blessed above
all nations, and made a blessing. And the time to favour the
nations being now at hand, God sent his Sonars* to you, to bless
you, and to prepare you for blessing them ; as though it were
yours to be a nation of ministers, or missionaries to the world.

HG CALL OF ABRAM. [Discourse XVIII.
But how, if instead of blessing others, you should continue accurs
ed yourselves ? You must first be blessed, ere you can, as the
true seed of Abraham,, bless the kindreds of the earth, and that by
every one of you being turned from his iniquities.'
Ver. 4. The faith of Abram operated in a way of prompt and
implicit obedience. First it induced him to leave Urof tbe Chal
dees, and now he must leave Haran. Haran was become the
place of his father's sepulchre ; yet he must not stop there, but
press forwards, to the land which the Lord would show him. On
this occasion, young Lot, his nephew, seems to have felt a cleav
ing to him, like that of Ruth to Naomi, and must needs go with
him ; encouraged no doubt by his uncle in some such manner as
Moses afterwards encouraged Hobab : ' Go with me, and 1 will
do thee good ; for the Lord hath spoken good conqerning Abram.'
Ver. 5. We now see Abram, being seventy-five years old, and
Sarai, and Lot, with all they areand have, taking a long farewell
of Haran, as they had done before of Ur. The souls that they had
gotten in Haran, could not refer to children, but perhaps to some
godly servants who cast in their lot with them. Abram had a re
ligious household, who were under his government, as we after
wards read ; one of whom went to seek a wife for Isaac. We also
read of one Eliezer of Damascus, who seems to have been not only
his household steward, but the only man he could think of, if lie
died childless, to be his heir. With these he set off for the land
of Canaan, which by this time he knew to be the country that the
Lord would show him; and to the land of Canaan he came.

DISCOURSE XIX.

ABRAM DWELLING IN CANAAN, AND REMOVING TO EGYPT ON ACCOUNT
OF THE FAMINE.

Geo. xii. 6—20.
Ver. 6. Abram and his company having entered the country, at
its nortb-eastern quarter, penetrate as far .southward as Sichem ;
where, meeting with a spacious plain, the plain of Moreh, they
pitched their tents. This place was afterwards much accounted
of. Jacob came thither on his return from Haran, and bought
of the Shechemites a parcel of a field. It might be the same spot
where Abram dwelt, and perhaps on that account. After this it
seems to have been taken from him by the Amorites, the descend
ants of Hamor, of whom he had bought it ; and he was obliged to
recover it by the sword and by the bow. This was the portion which
he gave to his son Joseph. There seems to be something in the
history of this place very much resembling that of the country in
general. In the grand division of the earth, this whole land was
assigned to the posterity of Shem : but the Canaanites had seized
on it, and as is here noticed, dwelt in the land. As soon therefore
as the rightful owners are in a capacity to make use of the sword
and the bow, they must be dispossessed of it.*
Ver. 7. Abram having pitched his tent at Sichem, the Lord re
news to him the promise of the whole land, or rather to his seed
after him ; for with respect to himself, he was never given to ex
pect any higher character than that of a sojourner. But consid
ering the grea^enda to be answered by bis seed possessing it, he is
* See on Chap. X. 25. p. 101.
Vol. V. 15

118 ABRAM IN CANAAN. {Discourse XIX.
well satisfied, and rears an altar to Jehovah. One sees here the
difference between the conduct of the men of this world, ahd that
of the Lord's servants. The former no sooner find , a fruitful
plain, than they fall to building a city and a tower, to perpetuate
--their fame. The first concern of the latter is to raise an altar to
God. It was thus that the new world was consecrated by Noah,
and now the land of promise by Abram. The rearing of an altar
in tbe land was like taking possession of it, in right, for Jehovah.
Ver. 8, 9. The patriarchs seldom continued long at a place, for
they were sojourners. Abram removes from the plain of Moreh,
to a mountain on the east of what was afterwards called Bethel ;
and here he built an altar, and called upon the name of the Lord.
This place was also much accounted of, in after times. It was
not far from hence that Jacob slept and dreamed, and anointed the
pillar. We may on various occasions change places, provided we
carry the true religion with us : in this we must never change.
Ver. 10 — 20. Abram was under the " necessity of removing
again, and that on account of a grievous famine in the land. He
must now leave Canaan for awhile, and journey into Egypt ; where
corn, it seems, was generally plentiful, even when it was scarce
in other countries, because that country was watered, not so much
by rain as by the waters of the Nile. Hither therefore the patri
arch repaired with his little company. And here we see new tri
als for his faith. Observe,
1 The famine itself being in the land of promise must be a trial
to him. Had he been of the spirit of the unbelieving spies, in
the times of Moses, he would .have said, 'Would God we had
stayed at Haran, if not at Ur ! Surely this is a land that eateth up
the inhabitants.' But thus far Abram sinned, not.
2. The beauty of Sarai was another trial to him ; and here he
fell into the sin of dissimulation, or at least of equivocation. She
was half-sister to him, it seems ;* but not in such a sense as he
meant to convey. This was one of the first faults we read of in
Abram's life ; and the worst of it is, it was repeated, as we shall
see hereafter. It is remarkable, that there is ojJ.y one faultless
* See on Gen. xi. 27—29. pp. Ill, 112.

Chapter XII.] ABRAM IN EGYPT. 119
character on record ; and more so, that in several instances of
persons who have been distinguished for some one excellency,
their principal failure has been in that particular. Thus Peter
the bold, sins through fear ; Solomon the wise, by folly ; Moses
the meek, by speaking unadvisedly with his lips ; and Abram the
faithful, by a kind of dissimulation arising from timid distrust.
Such things would almost seem designed of God to stain the pride
of all flesh, and to check all dependance upon the most eminent or
confirmed habits of godliness.
3. Yet from these trials, and from the difficulties into which he
bad brought himself by his own misconduct, the Lord mercifully
delivered him. He feared they would kill him for his wife's sake ;
but God, by introducing plagues among them, inspired them with
fear, and induced them to send him and his wife away in safety. It
was thus that he rebuked kings for their sakes, and suffered no
man to hurt them. In how many instances has God, by his kind
providence, extricated us from situations into which our own sin
and folly had plunged us !

DISCOURSE XX.

the separation of abram and lot.

Geo. xiii.
Ver. 1 — 4. Till now, we have heard nothing of Lot, since he
left Haran ; but he appears to have been one of Abram's family,
and to have gone with him whithersoever he went. Here we
find him returning with him from Egypt, first to the south of Ca
naan, and afterwards to Bethel, the place of his second residence,
where he bad before built an altar. ' The manner in which the
place of the altar is mentioned, seems to intimate that he chose to
go thither, in preference to another place, on this account. It is
very natural that he should do so ; for the places where we have
called upon the name of the Lord, and enjoyed communion with
him are, by association, endeared to us above all others. There
Abram again called on the name of tbe Lord, and the present
exercises of grace, we may suppose, were aided by tbe remem
brance of the past. It is an important rule in choosing our habi
tations, to have an eye to the place of the altar. If Lot had acted
upon this principle, be would not have done as is here related of
him. Ver. 5, 6. We find by the second verse, that Abram was very
rich ; and here we see that Lot also bad flocks, and herds, and
tents ! so that the land was not able to bear them, that they should
dwell together. It is pleasing to see bow tbe blessing of the Lord
attends these two sojourners : but it is painful to find that prosper
ity should become the occasion of their separation. It is pity that
those whom grace unites, and who are fellow-heirs of eternal life,
should be parted by the lumber of this world. Yet so it is. A

122 ABRAM AND LOT. [Discourse XX.
clash of worldly interests has often separated chief friends, and
been the occasion of a much greater loss than the greatest earthly
fullness has been able to compensate. It is not thus with the
riches of grace, or ofglory : the more we have of them, the closer
we are united.
Ver. 7. The first inconvenience which arose from the wealth
of these two good men, appeared in strifes between their herdmen.
It was better to be so, than if the masters had fallen out ; but even
this is far from pleasant. Those of each would, tell their tale to
their masters, and try to persuade them that the others had used
them ill ; and the best of men, hearing such tales frequently re
peated, would begin to suspect that all was not fair. What can be
done 1 The Canaanite and the Perizzite also dwelt in the land.
Now Abram and Lot, having never joined in the idolatries and other
wickednesses of the country, must needs have been marked as a
singular kind of men and passed as worshippers of the invisible
God. If therefore they fall out about worldly matters, what will
be thought and said of their religion ? ' See how these religious
people love one another !'
Ver. 8, 9. Abram's conduct in this unpleasant business was
greatly to his honour. To form a just judgment of any character
we must follow him through a number of different situations, and
circumstances, and observe how he acts in times of trial. We
have seen Abram in his first conversion from idolatry : we have
noticed the strength of his faith, and the promptness of his obedi
ence to the heavenly call ; we have admired his godly and consis
tent conduct in every place where he has sojourned, one instance
only excepted : but we have not yet seen how he would act in a
case of approaching difference with a friend, a brother. Here then
we have it. Observe, ,
1. He foresees the danger there is of a falling-out between him
self and Lot. It is likely he perceived his countenance was not
towards him as heretofore, and that he discovered an uneasiness of
mind. This would excite a becoming apprehension, lest that
which begun with the servants should end with the masters, and
be productive of great evil to them both.

Chapter XIII.] ABRAM AND LOT 123
2. He deprecates it in the frankest, most pacific, and most af
fectionate manner. Let there be no strife between me and thee, and
between my herdmen and thy herdmen,for we are brethren. Yes,
brethren, not only in the flesh, but iu the Lord.
3. He makes a most wise and generous proposal. The whole
land is before us : separate thyself, I pray thee, from me. If thou
wilt go to the left hand, I will go to the right ; or if thou wilt go to
the right hand, ilten Iteill go to the left. As the elder man, Abram
might have insisted upon the right of cjioosing his part of the
country first ; and especially as he was the principal, and Lot only
accompanied him ;. he might have told him that if he was not con
tented to live with him be might go whither he. would ; but thus
did not Abram. No, he would rather forego his civil rights than
invade religious peace. What a number of bitter animosities in
families, in churches, and I may say, in nations, might be prevent
ed, if the parties could be brought to act towards one another in
this open, pacific, disinterested, and generous manner. There
are cases in which it becomes necessary for very worthy and dear
friends to separate : it were better to part, than live together at
variance. Many may be good neighbours who could not be happy
in the same family. Abram and Lot could love and pray for one
another when there was nothing to ruffle their feelings : and Saul
and Barnabas could both serve the cause of Christ, though unhap
pily, through a third person, they cannot act in close concert. In
all such cases, if there be only an upright, pacific, and disinterested
disposition, things will be so adjusted as to do no material injury
to the cause of Christ. In many instances it may serve to pro
mote it. In a world where there is plenty of room to serve the
Lord, and plenty of work to be done, if those who cannot continue
together be disposed to-improve their advantages, the issue may
be such as shall cause the parties to unite in a song of praise.
Ver. 10,. 11. But how does young Lot conduct himself on this
occasion 1 He did not, nor could, he object to the pacific and
generous proposal that was made to him ;. nor did he choose
Abram's situation, which, though lovely in the one to offer, would
have been very unlovely in the other to have accepted ; and I hope,
though nothing is said of his making any reply, it was not from a

124 ABRAM AND LOT. [Discourse XX.
spirit of sullen reserve. But in the choice he made, he appears
to have regarded temporal advantages only, and entirely to have
overlooked the danger of his situation with regard to religion.
He lifted up his eyes and beheld a well-watered plain ; and on this
he fixed his choice, though it led him to take up his abode in
Sodom. He viewed it, as we should say, merely with a grazier's
eye. He had better have been in a wilderness than there. Yet
many professors of religion, in choosing situations for themselves,
and for their children, continue to follow his example. We shall
perceive, in the .sequel of the story, wbat kind of a harvest his
well- watered plain produced him !
Ver. 12,/ 13. It is possible, after all, that his principal fault lay
in pitching his tent in the place he did. If he could have lived on
the plain, and preserved a sufficient distance from that infamous
place, there might have been nothing the matter : but perhaps he
did not like to lite alone, and therefore dwelt in the cities of the
plain, and pitched his tent towards Sodom. The love of society,
like all other natural principles, may prove a blessing or a curse :
and we may see by this example, the danger of leaving religious
connexions ; for as man feels it not good to be alone, if he forego
these, he will be in a manner impelled by his inclinations. to take
up with others of a contrary description. It is an awful character
which is here given of Lot's new neighbours. All men are sin
ners ; but they were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceed
ingly. When Abram went to a new place, it was usual for him to
rear an altar to the Lord ; but there is no mention of any thing
like this, when Lot settled in or near to Sodom. But to return to
Abram —
Ver. 14 — 17. From the call of this great man to the command
to offer up bis son, a period of about fifty years, he was often
tried, and the promise was often renewed. It was the will of
God that he should live by faith. Its being renewed at this time
seems to have been on occasion of Lot's departure from him, and
the disinterested spirit which he had manifested on that occasion.
Lot had lifted up his eyes, and beheld the plain of Jordan ; and
being gone to take possession of it, God saith unto Abram, Lift up
now thine eyes, and look northward, and southward, and eastward,

Chapter XIII.] ABRAM AND LOT. 125
and westward ; for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give
it, and to thy seed for ever. Thus he who sought this world lost
it ; and he who was willing to give up any thing for the honour of
God and religion, found it.
Ver. 18. After this, Abram removed to the plain of Mamre,
which is Hebron, where he continued many years. It was here,
a long time after, that Sarah died. It lay about two and twenty
miles south of Jerusalem. This removal might possibly arise from
regard to Lot, that he might be nearer to him than he would have
been at Bethel, though not so near as to interfere with bis tempo
ral concerns. Of this we are certain, he was able, from a place
whereabouts he lived, to descry the plains of Sodom ; and when
the city was destroyed, saw the smoke ascend like that of a fur
nace. Here, as usual, Abram built an altar unto Jehovah.

Vol. V. 16

DISCOURSE XXI.

ABRAM S SLAUGHTER OF THE KINGS.

Gen. xiv.
It has been already observed, that, to form a just judgment of
character we must view men in divers situations : we should not
have expected, however, to find Abram in the character of a war
rior. Yet so it is : for once in his life, though a man of peace, he
is constrained to take the sword. We have seen in him the friend
of God, and the friend of a good man : now we shall see in him the
friend of his country, though at present only a sojourner in it.
The case appears to have been as follows.
Ver. 1 — 7. Elam and Shinar, or Persia and Babylon, and the
country about them, being that part of the world where the sons
of Noah began to settle after they went out of the ark, it was
there that population and the art of war would first arrive at suffi
cient maturity to induce them to attempt the subjugation of their
neighbours. Nimrod began this business in about a century after
the flood, and his successors were no less ambitious to keep it.
The rest of the world emigrating from those countries, would be
considered as colonies, which ought to be subject to tbe parent
states. Such it seems were the ideas of Chedorlaomer, who was at
this time king of Elam, or Persia. About three or four years
before Abram left Chaldea, he had invaded Palestine ; which being
divided into little kingdoms, almost every city having its king, and
having made but little progress in the art of war in comparison of
the parent nations, fell an easy prey to his rapacity. In this
humiliating condition they continued twelve years ; but being by
that time weary of the yoke, five of these lesser kings, under
standing one another, thought they might venture to throw it off.

128 SLAUGHTER OF THE KINGS. [Discourse XXL
Accordingly, the next year they refused to pay him tribute, or to
be subject to the authority under which he had placed them.
Chedorlaomer, hearing of this, calls together his friends and
allies among the first and greatest nations ; who consent to join
their forces, and go with him to reduce these petty states to obedi
ence. Four kings and their armies engage in this expedition. If
each one brought only five hundred men with him, they would
form a great host for that early age of the world, and capable of
doing a great deal of mischief. This they did : for not content
with marching peaceably through the country till they arrived at
the cities which had rebelled, they laid all places waste which
they came at; smiting in their way, first the Rephaims, the
Zurims, and the Emims ; then the Horites of Mount Seir; and
after them the Amalekites, and the Amorites.
Ver. 8 — 10. By this time, Abram's neighbours, the kings of
Sodom, Admah, Zeboim, and Beta, must have been not a little
alarmed. They and their people, however determined to fight ;
and fight they did. The field of action was the vale of Siddim.
Unhappily, the ground was full of slime pits, or pits of bitumen,
much like those on the plains of Shinar; and their soldiers being
hut little skilled in the art of war, could not keep their ranks, and
so were foiled, routed, and beaten, by the superior discipline of
the invaders. Many were slain in the pits ; and those that escaped
fled to a neighbouring mountain, which being probably cov
ered with wood, afforded them a shelter in which to hide them
selves. Ver. 11, 12. The conquerors, without delay, betake themselves
to the spoil. They take all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah,
and all the victuals ; and what few people are left they take for
slaves. Among these was Lot, Abram's brother's son, his friend,
and the companion of his travels, with all his family, and all his
goods ; and this, notwithstanding he was only a sojourner, but
lately come among them, and seems to have taken no part in the
war. Oh Lot, these are the fruits of taking up thy residence in
Sodom; or rather, the first-fruits of it : the harvest is yet to
come!

Chapter XIV.] SLAUGHTER OF THE KINGS. 129
Ver. 13. Among those who fled from the drawn sword, and
the tearfulness of war, there was one who reached the plain of
Mamre, and told the sad tale to Abram. Abram feels much : but
what can he do ? Can he raise an army wherewith to spoil the
spoilers, and deliver the captives ? He will try. Yes, from his
regard to Lot, whose late faults would be now forgotten and his
former love recur to mind : and if he succeed, he will not only
deliver him, but many others. The cause is a just one ; and God
has promised to bless Abram, and make him a blessing. Who can
tell, but he may prove in this instance a blessing to the whole
country, by delivering it from the power of a cruel foreign oppres
sor? Now we shall see how the Lord hath blessed Abram. Who
would have thought it? He is able to raise three hundred and
eighteen men in his own family ; men well instructed too, possess
ing skill, principle, and courage. Moreover, Abram was so well
respected by his neighbours, Mamre, Eschol, and Aner, that they
had already formed a league of confederacy with him, to defend
themselves, perhaps, against this blustering invader, whose com
ing had been talked of more than a year ago ; and they, with all
the forces they can muster, consent to join with Abram in the
pursuit. Ver. 15, 16. By prompt movements, Abram and his troop soon
come up with the enemy. It was in the dead of night. The
conquerors, it is likely, were off their guard, thinking, no doubt,
that the country was subdued, and that scarcely a dog was left in
it that dare move his tongue against them. But when haughty
men say, Peace, peace ; lo, sudden destruction cometh ! Attacked
after so many victories, they are surprised and confounded : and
it being in the night, tbey could not tell but their assailants might
be ten times more numerous than they were. So they flee in
confusion, and were pursued from Dan even to Hobah in Syria, a
distance it is said of fourscore miles. In this battle, Chedorlaomer
and the kings who were with him were all slain. Abram's object,
however, was the recovery of Lot and his family ; and having
accomplished this, he is satisfied. It is surprising, that amidst all
this confusion and slaughter their lives should be preserved ; yet

130 SLAUGHTER OF THE KINGS. [Discourse XXI.
so it Was : and he, with his property, and family, and all the other
captives taken with him, are brought safe back again. It was ill
for Lot to be found among the men of Sodom ; but it was well
for them that he was So, else they had been ruined before they
were. Ver. 17 — 24. This expedition of Abram and his friends, excited
great attention among the Canaanites. At the very time when
all must have been given up for lost, lo, they are, without any
effort of their own, recovered, and the spoilers spoiled! The
little victorious band, now returning in peace, are hailed by every
one that meets them : hay, the kings of the different cities go
forth to congratulate them, and to thank them as the deliverers of
the country. If Abram had been of the disposition of those
marauders whom he had defeated, he would have followed up his
victory, and made himself master of the whole country ; which
be might probably have done with ease in their present enfeebled
-and scattered condition. But thus did not Abram, because of the
fear of God.
In the valley of Shaveh, not far from Jerusalem, he was met and
¦congratulated by the king of Sodom, who by some means had
•escaped in the day of battle, when so many of his people were
slain. He was also met in the same place, and at the same time,
by another king, of high character in the scriptures, though but
rarely mentioned ; namely, Melc/nsedek, king of Salem. He came,
not only to congratulate the conquerors, but brought forth bread
&nd wine to refresh them after their long fatigues.
The sacred historian having here met with what I may call a
lily among thorns, stops, as it were, to describe it. Let us stop
with him, and observe the description. Mention is made of this
singular man only in three place3 ; viz. here, in the 1 10th Psalm,
and in the 7th chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews. He is
held up in the two latter places, as a type of the Messiah. Three
things may be remarked concerning him: (l.) He was doubtless
a very holy man ; and if a Canaanite by descent, it furnishes a
proof, amOng many others, that the curse on Canaan did not abut
the door of faith upon his individual descendants. There never
was an age or country in which he that feared God and worked

Chapter XIV.] SLAUGHTER OF THE KINGS. 131
righteousness was not accepted. (2.) He was a personage in
whom were united the kingly and priestly offices ; and as such.
he was a type of the Messiah, and greater than Abram himself.
Under the former of these characters, he was by interpretation,
kjng of righteousness, and king of peace ; and under the latter,
was distinguished as the priest of the most high God. This sin
gular dignity conferred upon a descendant of Canaan shows that
God delights, on various occasions, to put more abundant honour
upon the part that lacketh. (3.) He was what he was, consider
ed as a priest, not by inheritance, but by an immediate divine con
stitution. Though as a man he was born like other men, yet as a
priest he was without father, without mother, without descent, liav-
ing neither beginning of days, nor end of life ; but made like unto
the Son of God, abiding a priest continually. That is, neither his
father nor his mother were of a sacerdotal family ; he derived his
office from no predecessor, and delivered it up to no successor,
but was himself an order of priesthood. It is in this respect that
he was made like unto the son of God; who was also a priest, not
after the manner of the sons of Aaron, by descent from their pre
decessors ; (for he descended from Judah, of which tribe Moses
said nothing concerning priesthood ;) but after the similitude of
Melchisedek ; that is, by an immediate divine constitution ; or, as
the New Testament writer expresses it, by the word of the oath ;
and continuing ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood.
Ver. 19,20. Melchisedek being priest of the most high God, he
in that character blessed Abram. It belonged to the priests, by
divine appointment, to bless the people. In this view the blessing
of Melchisedek would contain more than a personal well-wishing :
it would be prophetic. In pronouncing it, he would set his official
seal to what God had done before him. It is not unlikely that he
might know Abram previously to this, and be well acquainted with
his being a favourite of heaven, in whom all tbe nations of the
earth were to be blessed, and to whose posterity God had promised
the land of the Canaanites : and if so, his blessing him in so
solemn a manner implies his acquiescence in the divine will, even
though it would be at the expense of his ungodly countrymen.
His speaking of tbe most high God as possessor of heaven and

132 SLAUGHTER OF THE KINGS. [Discourse XXI.
earth, would seem to intimate as much as this ; as it recognises the
principle on which the right of Abram's posterity to possess them
selves of Canaan depended. There is much heart in the blessing.
We see the good man, as well as the priest of the most high God,
in it : from blessing Abram, it rises to the blessing of Abram's God,
for all the goodness conferred upon him.
In return, for this solemn blessing, Abram gave him tithes of all.
This was treating him in character, and in fact presenting the
tenth of his spoils as an offering to God.
Ver. 21. All this time the king of Sodom stood by, and heard
what passed ; but it seems without feeling any interest in it. What
passed between these two great characters appears to have made no
impression upon him. He thought of nothing, and cared for nothing
but what respected himself. He could not possibly claim any right
to what was recovered, either of persons or things : yet he asks
for the former, and speaks in a manner as if he would be thought
not a little generous in relinquishing the latter.
Ver. 22, 23. Abram knew the man and his communications ;
and perceiving his affected generosity, gave him to understand
that he had already decided, and even sworn, in the presence of
the,most high God, what he would do in respect of that part of
the spoils which had previously belonged to him. Abram knew
full well that the man who affected generosity in relinquishing
what was not his own, would go on to boast of it, and to reflect on
him as though he shone in borrowed plumes. No, says the patri
arch. I will not take from a thread even to a shoe-latchet that
which was thine, save that which the young men have eaten, and the
portion of the men that went with me, Aner, Eschol, and Mamie.
In this answer of Abram we may observe, besides the above,
several particulars,: — *
1. The character under which he bad sworn to God : Jehovah,
the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth. The first of
these names was that by which God was made known to Abram,
and still more to his posterity.* The last was that which had been
* What Moses says, in Exod. vi. 3, that God appeared to Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob, by the name of God Almighty ; but that by his name Jehovah
he was not known to them, cannot be understood absolutely. It doss not

Chapter XIV.] SLAUGHTER OF THE KINGS* j 33
just given to him by Melchisedek, and which, appears to have
made a strong impresssion on Abram's mind. ' By uniting them
together, he in a manner ^acknowledged Melchisedek's God to be
his God ; and, while reproving the king of Sodom, expressed his
love to him as to a brother.
2. His having decided the matter before the king of Sodom met
him, as it seems he had, implies something highly dishonourable in
the character of that prince. He must have been well known to
Abram, as a vain, boasting, unprincipled man, or he would not
have resolved in so solemn a manner to preserve himself clear
from the very shadow of an obligation to him. And considering
the polite and respectful manner in which it was common for this
patriarch «to conduct himself towards his neighbours, there must
have been something highly offensive in this case, to draw from
him so cutting and dismaying an intimation. It is not unlikely
that he had thrown out some malignant insinuations against Lot
and his old wealthy uncle, on the score of their religion. If so,
Abram would feel happy in an opportunity of doing good against
evil, and thus of heaping coals of fire upon his head.
The reason why he would not be under the shadow of an
obligation, or any thing which might be construed an obligation to
him, was not so much a regard to his own honour, as the honour
of him in whose name he had sworn. Abram's God had blessed
him, and promised to bless him more, and make him a blessing.
Let it not be said by his enemies, that with all his blessedness, it is
of our substance that he is what he is. No, Abram can trust in
the possessor of heaven and earth to provide for him, without being
beholden to the king of Sodom.
3. His-excepting the portion of the young men who were in
league, with him, shows a just sense of proprjety. In giving up
appear however to have been U9ed among the patriarchs in so peculiar a sense,
as it was after the times of Moses among the Israelites. From thence, it seems
very generally to denote the specific name of the God and King of Israel. In
this view we perceive the force and propriety of such language as the follow
ing : Jehovah is our judge, Jehovah is our lawgiver, Jehovah is our king.
— Oh Jehovah, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth !
Vol. V. 17

1 34 SLAUGHTER OF THE KINGS. [Discourse XXI.
our own right, we are not at liberty to give away that which
pertains to others connected with us.
Upon the whole, this singular undertaking would raise Abram
much in the estimation of the Canaanites, and might possibly pro
cure a little more respect to Lot. It. had been better in the lat
ter, however, if he had taken this opportunity to 'change his
dwelling place.

DISCOURSE XXII.

ABRAM JUSTIFIED BY FAITH.

Gen. xv. 1 — 6.
Abram was the father of the faithful, the example or pattern of
all future believers ; and perhaps no man, upon the whole, had
greater faith, it seems to have been the design of God, in almost
all his dealings with him, to put his faith to the trial. In most
instances it appeared unto praise, though in some it appeared to
fail him.
Ver. 1. Several years had elapsed, perhaps eight or nine, since
God had first made promise to him concerning his seed ; and now
he is about eighty years old, and Sarai is seventy, and he has no
child. He must yet live upon assurances and promises, without
any earthly prospects. He is indulged with a vision, in which
God appears to him, saying, Fear not, Abram : I am thy shield, and
thy exceeding great reward. This is certainly ver}' full, and very
encouraging. If, after having engaged the kings, he had any fears
of the war being renewed, this would allay them. Who shall
harm those to whom Jehovah is a shield? Or if, on having no
child, he had fears at times, lest all should prove a blank, this
would-meet them. What can be wanting to those who have God
¦r
for their exceeding great reward? Abram had not availed him
self of his late victory to procure in Canaan so much as a place to
set his foot on : but he shall lose nothing by it. God has some
thing greater in reserve for him : God himself will be his reward ;
not only as he is of all believers, but in a sense peculiar to him
self: he shall be the father of the church, and the heir of the world.

136 JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH. [Discourse XXII.
..vJrt 2, 3. Who would have thought, amidst these exceeding
great and precious promises, that Abram's faith should seem to
fail/him ? Yet so it is. The promise, to be sure, is great and
fuli ; but he has heard much the same things before, and the,re
are no signs of its accomplishment. This works within him in a
w/ay of secret anguish, which he presumes to express, before the
Lord, almost in the language of objection : Lord God, what wilt
thou give me ? ' Thou speakest of giving thy servant this and
that  but I shall soon be past receiving it  I go child
less. This Eliezer of Damascus is a good and faithful servant;
but that is all ... . Must I make him my heir ; and are the prom
ises to be fulfilled at last in an adopted son ?'
Ver. 4 — 6. God, in mercy to the patriarch, condescends to
remove his doubts on this subject, assuring him that his heir
should descend from his own body ; yet he must continue to live
upon promises. These promises, however, are confirmed by a sign,
He is led abroad from his tent in the night-time, and shown the
stars of heaven ; which when he had seen, the Lord assured him,
So shall thy seed be. And now his doubts are removed. He is no
longer weak, but strong in faith : he staggers not through unbe.
lief, but is fully persuaded that what God has promised he is
able to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for right
eousness. Much is made of this passage by the apostle Paul, in establish
ing the doctrine of justification by faith ; and much has been said
by others, as to the meaning of both him and Moses. One set of
expositors, considering it as extremely evident that by faith is
here meant the act of believing, contend for this as our justifying
righteousness. Faith, in their account, seems to be imputed to us
for righteousness by a kind of gracious compromise, in which God
accepts ofao imperfect, instead of a perfect obedience. Another
set of expositors, jealous for the honour of free grace, and of the
righteousness of Christ, contend that the faith of Abram is here to
be taken objectively, for the righteousness of Christ believed in.
To me it appears that both these expositions are forced. To
establish the doctrine of justification by the righteousness of Christ,
it is not necessary to maintain that the faith of Abram means

Chapter XV.] JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH. I37
Christ in whom he believed. Nor can this be maintained : for it
is manifestly the same thing, in the account of the apostle Paul, as
believing,* which is very distinct from the object believed in. The
truth appears to be this : It is faith, or believing, that is counted
for righteousness ; not however as a righteous act, or on account
of any inherent virtue contained in it, but ira respect of -Christ, on
whose righteousness it terminates .j
That we may form a clear idea, both of the text and the doc
trine, let the following particulars be considered.
1 . Though Abram believed God when he left Ur of the Chal
dees, yet his faith in that instance is not mentioned in connexion
with his justification ; nor does the Apostle, either in his Epistle
to the Romans, or in that to the Galatians, argue that doctrine
from it, or hold it up as an example of justifying faitb. I do not
mean to suggest, that Abram was then in an unjustified state ; but
that the instance of his faith which was thought proper by tbe
Holy Spirit to be selected as the model for believing for justifica
tion, was not this, nor any other of the kind ; but those only in
which there was an immediate respect had to the person of the
Messiah. The examples of faith referred to, in both these Epis
tles, are taken from his believing the promises relative to his seed;
in which seed, as the Apostle observes, Christ was included. |
Though Christians may believe in God with respect tp the com
mon concerns of this life, and such faith may ascertain their being
in a justified state ; yet this is not, strictly speaking, the. faith by
which they are justified, which invariably has respect to the person
and work of Christ. Abram believed in God as promising Christ :
they believe in him as having raised him from the dead. By him
all that believe, (that is, in him,) are justified from all things, from
which they could not be justified by the law of Moses. It is through
faith in his blood that they obtain remission of sins. He is just,
and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus.
2. This distinction, so clearly perceivable both in the Old and
New Testament, sufficiently decides in what sense faith is con-
* Rom. iv. 5. 1 Calvin's Institutes, Book III. Chap. XI. I 7.
$ Rom. iv. 11, Gal. iii. 16.

138 JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH. [Discourse XXII.
sidered as justifying. Whatever other properties the magnet may
possess, it is as pointing invariably to the north that it guides the
mariner : so whatever other properties faith may possess, it is as
pointing to Christ, and bringing us into union with him, that it jus
tifies.* • It is not that for the sake of which we are accepted of
God ; tor if it were, justification by faith could not be opposed to
justification by works ; nor would boasting be excluded ; neither
would there be any meaning in its being said to be by faith, thai
it might be of grace : but believing in Christ, we are considered
by the Lawgiver of the world as one with him, and so are forgiven
and accepted for his sake. Hence it is, that to be justified by
faith is the same thing as to be justified by the blood of Christ, or
made righteous by his obedience.] Faith is not the grace wherein
we stand, but that by which we have access to it. J Thus it is,
that the healing of various maladies is ascribed in the New Testa
ment, to faith : not that the virtue which caused the cures, pro
ceeded from this as its proper cause; but this was a necessary
concomitant to give the parties access to the power and grace of
the Saviour, by which only they were healed.
3. The phrase, counted it for righteousness, does not mean that
God thought it to be what it was, which would have been merely
an act of justice ; but his graciously reckoning it what in itself it
was not ; viz. a ground for the bestowment of covenant blessings.
Even in the case of Phinehas, of whom the same phrase is used in
reference to his zeal for God, it has this meaning : for one single
act of zeal, whatever may be said of it, could not entitle him, and
his posterity after him, to the honour conferred upon them.§ And
with respect to the present case, " The phrase, as the Apostle
uses it," says a great writer, " manifestly imports, that God, of
bis sovereign grace, is pleased, in his dealings with the sinner, to
take and regard that which indeed is not righteousness, and in one
who has no righteousness, so that the consequence shall be the
same as if he had righteousness, and which may be from the
* Rom. viii. I. 1 Cor. i. 30. Plil. iii. 9. t Rom. v. 9. 19.
J Rom. v, 2. } Psa. cvi. 80, 31. compared with Num. xxv. 11—13.

Chapter XV] JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH. 139
respect which it bears to something which is indeed righteous
ness."* The faith of Abram, though of a holy nature, yet con
tained nothing in itself fit for a justifying righteousness : all the
adaptedness which it possessed to that end was the respect which
it had to the Messiah, On whom it terminated.!
4. Though faith is not our justifying righteousness, yet it is a
necessary concomitant, and mean of justification ; and being the
grace which above all others honours Christ, it is that which above
all others God delights to honour. Hence it is that justification is
ascribed to it, rather than to the righteousuess of Christ without it.
Our Saviour might have said to Bartimeus, ' Go thy way, I have
made thee whole.' This would have been truth, but not the
whole of the truth which it was his design to convey. The
necessity of faith in order to healing would not have appeared
from this mode of speaking, nor had any honour been done, or
encouragement given to it : but by his saying, Go thy way, thy
faith hath made thee whole, each of these ideas is conveyed.
Christ would omit mentioning his own honour, as knowing that
faith, having an immediate respect to him, amply provided for it.
* President Edwards's Sermons on Justification. Disc. I. p. 9.
t From the above remarks, we may be able to solve an apparent difliculty
in the case of Cornelius. He feared God, and his alms and prayers came up for
a memorial before God. He must therefore have been at that time in a state
of salvation. Yet after this he was directed to send for Peter, who should
tell him words by which he and all his house should be saved. (Acts x. 2. 4.
xi. 14.) What Abram was in respect of justification before he heard an\J
believed what was promised him concerning the Messiah, Cornelius was in
respect of salvation before he heard and believed the words by which he was
to be saved. Both were the subjects of faith according to their light. A bra in
believed from the time that he left Ur of the Chaldees ; and Cornelius could
not have feared God without believing in him : but the object by which they
were justified and saved, was not from the first so clearly revealed to them as
it was afterwards.

DISCOURSE XXIII.

RENEWAL OF PROMISES TO ABRAM.

Gen. xv. 7—21,
Ver. 7. The Lord, having promised Abram a numerous offspring
goes on to renew the promise of the land of Canaan for an inherit
ance ; and this by a reference to what had been said to him when
he first left the land of the Chaldees. It is God's usual way, in
giving a promise, to refer to former promises of the same thing,
which would show him to be of one mind, and intimate that he had
not forgotten him, but was carrying on his designs of mercy towards
him. Ver. 8. Abram, however, ventures to ask for a sign by which
he may know that by his posterity he shall inherit the land. This
request does not appear to have arisen from unbelief ; but having
lately experienced the happy effects of a sign, he hopes thereby to
be better armed against it.
Ver. 9. The purport of the answer seems to be, c Bring me an
offering, which I will accept at thy hand, and this shall be the
sign.' It is in condescension to our weakness that, in addition to
his promises,the Lord has given us sensible signs, as in the ordi
nance of baptism and the supper. If it were desirable to Abram
to know that he should inherit the earthly Canaan, it must be
much more so to us to know that we shall inherit the heavenly
Canaan ; and God is willing that the heirs of promise should, on
this subject, have strong consolation, and therefore has confirmed
his word with an oath.
Ver. 10. Abram, obedient to the divine command, takes of the
first and best of his animals for a sacrifice. Their being dividedin
Vot. V. 18

142 PROMISES TO ABRAM. [Discourse XXIII.
the midst was the usual form of sacrificing when a covenant was to
be made. Each of the parties passed between the parts of the
animals ; q. d. ' Thus may I be cut asunder, if I break this cov
enant !' This was called, making a covenant by ^aci^fice.* This
process therefore, it appears, was accompanied with a solemn cov
enant between the Lord and his servant Abram.
Per.' 11. Having made ready the sacrifices, he waited, per
haps, for the fire of God to consume them, which was the usual
token of acceptance ; but meanwhile the birds of prey came
down upon them, which he was obliged to drive away. Interrup
tions, we see, attend the father of the faithful in his most solemn
approaches to God ; and interruptions of a different kind attend
believers in theirs. How often do intruding cares, like unclean
birds, seize upon that time, and those affections, which are de
voted fo God ! Happy is it for us, if by prayer and watchfulness,
we can drive them away, so as to worship him without distraction.
Ver. 12 — 16. By the account taken together, it appears as if
this was a day which Abram dedicated wholly to God. His first
vision was before day-light, while the stars were yet to be seen :
in the morning he prepares the sacrifices, and while he is waiting,
the sun goes down, and no immediate answer is given him. At
this time he falls into a deep sleep, and now we may expect that
God will answer him as he had done before, by vision. But what
kind of vision is it ? Not like that which he had before ; but lo,
an horror of great darkness falls upon him. This might be designed
in part to impress his mind with an awful reverence of God ; for
those who rejoice in him must rejoice with trembling : and partly
to give him what he asked for, a sign : not merely that his seed
should inherit the land, but of the way in which this promise
should be accomplished ; namely, by their first going down and
enduring great affliction in Egypt. The light must he preceded
by darkness. Such appears to be the interpretation given of it
in the words which follow : Know of a surety, that thy seed shall be a
stranger in a land tlmt is not theirs, and shall serve them, and they
* Jer. xxxiv. 18, 19« Psa. 1. 5.

Chapter XV.] PROMISES TO ABRAM. 143
shall afflict them four hundred years.* Egypt is not named, for
prophecy requires to be delivered with some degree of obscurity,
or it might tend to defeat its own design : but the thing is certain,
and God will in the end avenge their cause. It is remarkable
how the prophecies gradually open and expand, beginning with
what is general, and proceeding to particulars. Abram had never
had so much revealed to him before, as to times and circum
stances. He is given to understand that these things shall not take
place in his day ; but that he should first go to his fathers, and
that in peace, and be buried in a good old age ; but that in the
fourth generation after'tbeir going down, they should return. It
is enough to die such a death as this, though we see not all the
promises fulfilled. The reason given for their being so long ere
they were accomplished, is, that the iniquity of the Amorites was
not yet full. There is a fitness in all God's proceedings, and a
wonderful fullness of design, answering many ends by one and the
same event. The possession of Canaan was to Israel a promised
good, but to the Canaanites a threatened evil. It is deferred
towards both till each be prepared for it. As there is a time when
God's promises to his people are ripe for accomplishment, so
there is a time when his forbearance towards the wicked shall
cease ; and they often prove to be the same. The fall of Baby
lon was the- deliverance of Judah ; and the fall of another Babylon
will be the signal for the kingdoms of this world becoming the
kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ.
Ver. 17- After this, when the sun was set, and it was dark,
Abram, perhaps still in vision, has the sign repeated in an
other form. He sees a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp.
The design of these, as well as the other, seems to be to show
him what should take place hereafter. The former was an
emblem of the affliction which his posterity should endure in
Egypt, that iron furnace ;f and the latter might denote the light
* These four hundred years are reckoned, by Ainsworth, to have commenced
from the time of Isaac's being weaned, when the son of Hagar the Egyp
tian mocked. So that as soon as Abram's seed, according to the promise,
was born, he began to be afflicted, and that by one of Egyptian extraction.
t Deut. iv. 20.

144 PROMISES TO ABRAM. [Discourse XXIII.
that should arise to them in their darkness. If, like the pillar of
fire in the wilderness, it were an emhlem of the divine Majesty,
its passing through the parts of tbe divided sacrifices would
denote God's entering into covenant with his servant Abram, and
that all the mercy which should come upon his posterity would
bein virtue of it.
Ver. 18. That which had been hinted under a figure, is now
declared in express language. The same day Jehovah made a cov
enant with Abram ; making over to this posterity, as by a solemn
deed of gift, the whole land in which he then was, defining with
great accuracy its exact boundaries ; and this notwithstanding the
afflictions which they should undergo in Egypt. Thus the burn
ing lamp would succeed and dispel the darkness of the smoking
furnace.

DISCOURSE XXIV.
SARAl's CROOKED POLICY FOR THE ACCOMPLISHMENT OF THE
PROMISE.

Gen. xvi.
Ver. 1 — 3. We have had several renewals of promises to
Abram ; but as yet. no performance of them. Ten years had
elapsed in Canaan, and things remained as they were. Now,
though Abram's faith had been strengthened, yet that of Sarai
fails. At her time of life, she thinks, there is no hope of seed in
the ordinary way: if therefore the promise.be fulfilled, it must
be in the person of another. And having a handmaid whose name
was Hagar, she thinks of giving her to Abram to wife. Unbelief
is very prolific of schemes ; and surely this of Sarai is as carnal,
as foolish, and as fruitful of domestic misery, as almost any that
could have been devised. Yet such was the influence -of evil
counsel, especially from such a quarter, that Abram hearkened to
her voice. The father of mankind sinned by hearkening to his wife,
and now the father of the faithful follows his example. How
necessary for those who stand in the nearest relations, to take
heed of being snares, instead of helps, one to another ! It was a
double sin : first, of distrust ; and secondly, of deviation from the
original law of marriage ; and seems tp have opened a door to
polygamy. We never read of two wives before, except those of
Lamech, who was of the descendants of Cain; but here the prac
tice is coming into the church of God. Two out of three of the
patriarchs go into it ; yet neither of them of their own accord.
There is no calculating in how many instances this ill example
has been followed, or how great a matter this little fire kindled.

146 SARAI'S CROOKED POLICY. [Discourse XXIV.
The plea used by Sarai in this affair shows how easy it is to err
by a misconstruction of providence, and following that as a rule of
conduct, instead of God's revealed will. The Lord, says she, hath
restrained me from bearing : and therefore 1 must contrive other
means for the fulfilment of the promise ! But why not inquire of
the Lord ? As in the crowning of Adonijah, the proper authority
was not consulted.
Ver. 4, 5. The consequence was what might have been expec
ted : the young woman is elated with the honour done her, and
her mistress is despised in her eyes. And now, when it is too late,
.Sarai repents, and complains to her husband; breaking out into
intemperate language, accusing him as the cause, as though he
must needs have secretly encouraged her : My wrong be upon thee !
Nor did she stop here ; but taking it for granted that her husband
would not hear her, goes on to appeal to God himself: The Lord
judge between me and thee ! Those who are first in doing wrong,
are often first in complaining of the effects, and in throwing the
blame upon others. Loud and passionate appeals to God, instead
of indicating a good cause, are commonly the marks of a bad one.
Ver. 6. Abram on this vexing occasion is meek and gentle. He
had learned that a soft answer turneth away wrath : and therefore
he refrained from upbraiding his wife, as he might easily have
done ; preferring domestic peace, to the vindication of himself and
the placing of the blame where it ought to have laid. It is doubt
ful, however, whether he did not yield too much in this case : for
though, according to the custom of those times, Hagar was his
wife only with respect to cohabitation, and without dividing the
power with Sarai ; yet she was entitled to protection, and should
not; have been given up to the will of one who on this occasion
manifested nothing but jealousy, passion, and caprice. But he
see ms to have been brought into a situation wherein he was at a
lossi what to do ; and thus, as Sarai is punished for tempting him,
he ;also is punished with a disordered house for having yielded to
the temptation. And now Sarai, incited by revenge, deals hardly
witti Hagar; much more so, it is likely, than she ought: for,
thou igh the young woman might have acted vainly and sinfully, yet
her mistress is far from being a proper judge of the punishment

Chapter XVI.] SARAI'S CROOKED POLICY. I47
which she deserved. The consequence is, as might be expected,
she leaves the family, and goes into a wilderness. Indeed it were
better to dwell in a wilderness than with a contentious and angry
woman. But as Sarai and Abram had each reaped the fruits of
their sin, Hagar in her turn reaps the fruit of hers. If creatures
act disorderly, God will act orderly and justly in dealing with
them. Ver. 7, 8. Hagar however, though an Egyptian, shall reap
advantage from her connexion with Ab.ram's family. Other hea
thens might have brought themselves into trouble, and been left to
grapple with it alone ; but to her an angel from heaven is sent, to
direct and relieve her. Bending her course towards Egypt, her
native country, and finding a spring of water in the wildrness, she
sat down by it lo refresh herself. While iri this situation, she
hears a voice, saying, Hagar, Sarai's maid, whence comest thou ;
and whither wilt thou go ? She would perceive, by this language,
that she was known, and conclude that it was no common voice
that spoke to her. He that spoke to her is called, the angel of the
Lord ; yet he afterwards says, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly.
It seems therefore not to have been a created angel, but the same
divine personage who frequently appeared to the fathers. In call
ing Hagar Sarai's maid, he seems tacitly to disallow of the mar
riage, and to lead her mind back to that humble character which
she had formerly sustained. The questions put to her were close,
but tender, and such as were fitly addressed to a person .fleeing!
from trouble. The first might be answered, and was answered :
I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai. But with respect to the
last she is silent. We know our present grievances, and so can;
tell whence we came, much better than our future lot, or whither
we are going. In many cases, if the truth were spoken, the
answer would be, from bad to worse. At present, this poorj
young woman seems to have been actuated by mere natural prin
ciples, those of fleeing from misery. In all her trouble there
appears nothing like true religion, or committing her way to the
Lord : yet she is sought out of him whom she sought not.
Ver. 9, 10. The counsel of God here was, to return and sub
mit. Wherefore ? She had done wrong in despising her mis-

148 SARAI'S CROOKED POLICY. [Discourse XXIV.
tress, and must now be humbled for it. Hard as this might
appear, it was the counsel of wisdom and mercy : a connexion
with the people of God, with all their faults, is far preferable to
the best of this world, where God is unknown. If we have done
wrong, whatever temptations or provocations we may have met
with, the only way to peace and happiness is to retrace our foot
steps, in repentance and submission. For her encouragement, she
is given to expect a portion of Abram's blessing, of which she must
have often heard; namely, a numerous offspring. And by the
manner in which this was promised — / will multiply thy seed, she
would perceive that the voice which spake to her was no other
than that of Abram's God.
Ver. 1 1 . With respect to the child of which she was then preg
nant, it is foretold that it should be a son, and that his name should
be called Ishmael, or God shall hear, from the circumstance of God
having heard her affliction. God is not said to have heard her
prayer ; for it does not appear that she had as yet ever called upon
his name : she merely sat bewailing herself, as not knowing what
would become of her. Yet lo, the ear of mercy is open to afflic- >
tion itself! The groans of the prisoner are heard of God : not only
theirs who cry unto him, but, in many cases, theirs who do not.
Ver. 12. The child is also characterized, as a wild man ; a bold
and daring character, living by his bow in the wilderness, and
much engaged in war ; his hand being, as it were, against every
man, and every man's hand against him : yet that he should main
tain his ground notwithstanding, dwelling in the presence of all his
brethren, and dying at last in peace.* Nor was this prophecy
merely intended to describe Ishmael, but his posterity. Bishop
Newton, in his Dissertations on the Prophecies, has shown that
such has been the character of the Arabians, who descended from
him, in all ages ; a wild and warlike people, who, under all the
conquests of other nations by the great powers of the eartb,
remain unsubdued.
, Ver. 13, 14. The effect of this divine appearance on Hagar, was
to bring her to the knowledge and love of God : at least, the
• Set Chap. xxv. 17, 18.

Chapter XVI.] SARAI'S CROOKED POLICY. 149
account wears such an aspect. She, who, for any thing that
appears, had never prayed before, now addresses herself to the
angel who spake to her, and whom she considers as Jehovah ;
calling him by an endearing name, the meaning of which is, Thou,
Godseest me. She did not mean by this to acknowledge his omni
science, so much as his mercy, in having beheld and pitied her
affliction. On his withdrawing, she seems to have looked after
him, with faith and hope and affectionate desire ; and, reflecting
upon what had passed, is overcome with the goodness of God
towards her, exclaiming, Have I also here looked after him that
seeth me ! It was great mercy for God to have looked on her^ and
heard her afflictive moans ; but it was greater to draw her heart
to look after him ; and greater still that he should do it here, in the
wilderness, when she had lived so many years where prayer was
wont to be made, in vain. Under the influence of these impres
sions, she calls the well by which she sat down, Beer-lahai-roi, a
name which would serve as a> memorial of the mercy. Let this
well, as if she had said, be called Jehovah's well, the well of him
that liveth and seeth me ! Thus God, in mercy, sets that right,
which, through human folly, had been thrown into disorder. Hagar
returns and submits ; bears Abram a son when he is fourscore
and six years old ; and Abram, on being informed of the prophecy
which went before, called his name Ishmael.

Vol.V. 19

DISCOURSE XXV.

CODS COVENANT WITH ABRAM AND HIS SEED.

Gen. xvii.
Thirteen years elapse, of which nothing is recorded. Hagar
is submissive to Sarai, and Ishmael is growing up ; but as to
Abram, things after all wear a doubtful aspect. It is true, God
hath given him a son ; but no intimations of his being the son of
promise. No divine congratulations attend his birth ; but, on the
contrary, Jehovah, who had been used to manifest himself with
frequency and freedom, now seems to carry it reservedly to his
servant. It is something like the thing which he had believed in ;
but not the thing itself. He has seen, as it were, a wind, a fire,
and an earthquake ; but the Lord is not in them.
Ver. 1 . After this, when he was ninety-nine years old, the Lord
again appeared to him, and reminded him of a truth which he
needed to have re-impressed ; namely, his almighty power. It
was for want of considering this, that he had had recourse to
crooked devices in order to accomplish the promise. This truth
is followed by an admonition — Walk before me, and be thou per
fect; which admonition implies a serious reproof. It was like
saying, ' Have recourse no more to unbelieving expedients ; keep
thou the path of uprightness, and leave me to fulfil my promise in
the time and manner that seem good to me!' What a lesson is
here afforded us, never to use unlawful means under the pretence
of being more useful, or promoting the cause of God ! Our con
cern is to walk before him, and be upright, leaving him to bring
to pass his own designs in his own waj'.

152 COVENANT WITH ABRAM. [Discourse XXV.
Ver. 2,' 3. Abram having been' admonished, the promise is
renewed to him ; and the time drawing near in which the seed
should be born, the Lord declares his mind to make a solemn cov
enant with him, and to multiply him exceedingly. Such language
denotes great kindness and condescension, with large designs of
mercy. Abram was so much affected with it as to fall on his face,
and jn that posture The Lord talked With him.
Ver. 4 — 6. It is observable, that the last time in which mention
is made of a covenant with Abram, (Chap. xv. 18.) God made over
to his posterity the land of Canaan for a possession: but the
design of this is more extensive, dwelling more particularly on
their being multiplied and blessed. The very idea of a covenant
is expressive of peace and good-will ; and in this, and some other
instances, it is not confined to the party, but extends to others for
his sake. Thus, as we have seen, God made a covenant of peace
which included the preservation of the world ; but it was with one
man, even Noah, and the world was preserved for his sake. And
the covenant in question is one that shall involve great blessings
to the world in all future ages : yet it is not made with the world,
but with Abram. God will give them blessings ; but it shall be
through him. Surely these things were designed to familiarize
the great principle on which our salvation should rest. It was the
purpose of God to save perishing sinners ; yet his covenant is not
originally with them, but with Christ. With him it stands fast ;
and for his sake they are accepted and blessed. Even the blessed
ness of Abram himself, and all the rewards conferred on him, were
for his sake. He was justified, as we have seen, not by his own
righteousness, but by faith in the promised Messiah.
Moreover : A covenant being a solemn agreement, and indi
cating a design to walk together in amity, it was proper there should
be an understanding, as we should say, between the parties.
When Israel came to have a king, Samuel told them the manner of
the kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before the Lord.
Thus, as Abram is about to commence the father of a family, who
were to be God's chosen people, it was fit at the outset that he
should not only be encouraged by promises, but directed how he
and his descendants should conduct themselves.

Chapter XVII.] COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM. 153
The first promise in this covenant is, that he shall be the father
of many nations ; and as a token of it, his name in future is to be
called Abraham. He had the name of a high, or eminent father,
from the beginning; but now it shall be more comprehensive,
indicating a very large progeny. By the exposition given of this
promise in the New Testament,* we are directed to understand it,
not only of those who sprang from Abraham's body, though these
were many nations ; but also of all that should be of the faith of
Abraham. It went to make him the father of the church of God
in all future ages ; or, as the Apostle calls him, the heir of the
world. In this view he is the father of many, even of a multitude
of nations. All that the Christian world enjoys, or ever will
enjoy, it is indebted for it to Abraham and his seed. A high hon
our this, to be the father of the faithful, tbe stock from which the
Messiah should spring, and on which the church of God should
grow. It was this honour that Esau despised, when he sold his
birth-right ; and here lay the profaneness of that act, which in
volved a contempt of the most sacred of all objects — the Messiah,
andhis everlasting kingdom !
Ver. 7 — 14. The covenant with Abraham, as has been observed
already, was not confined to his own person, but extended to his
posterity after him in their generations. To ascertain the mean
ing of this promise, we can proceed on rfo ground more certain
than fact. It is fact, that God in succeeding ages took the seed of
Abraham to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all other
nations ; not only giving them the land of Canaan for a possession,
but himself to be their God, King, or temporal Governor. Nor
was this all ; it was among them that he set up his spiritual king
dom ; giving them his lively oracles, sending to them his prophets,
and establishing among them his holy worship ; which great
advantages were, for many ages, in a manner confined to them :
and what was still more, the great body of those who were eter
nally saved, previously to the coming of Christ, were saved from
among them. These things taken together, were an immensely
greater favour than if they had all been literally made kings and
<¦ Rom. iv. 16, 17.

154 COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM. [Discourse XXV.
priests. Such then being tbe facts, it is natural to suppose that
such was the meaning of the promise.*
* As an Antipsedobaptist, I see no necessity for denying that spiritual
blessings were promised, in this general way, to the natural seed of Abraham ;
nor can it, I think, be fairly denied. The Lord engaged to do that which he
actually did ; namely, to take out of them, rather than other nations, a people
for himself. This, I suppose, is the seed promised to Abraham, to which the
Apostle refers when he says, They which are the children of (htfiesh, these
are not the children of God ; but the children of the promise are counted for the
seed.' (Rom. ix. 8.) By the children of the promise, he did not mean the elect in
general, composed of Jews and Gentiles, but the elect from among the Jews.
Hence he reckons himself are Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, and the tribe of
Benjamin, as a living proof that God had not cast away his people whom he
foreknew. Rom. xi. 1, 2.
But I perceive not how it follows from hence, that God has promised to take
a people from among the natural descendants of believers, in distinction from
others. What was promised to Abraham, was neither promised nor fulfilled
to every good man. Of the posterity of his kinsman Lot, nothing good is re
corded. It is true, the labours of those parents who bring up their children
in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, are ordinarily blessed to the con
version of some of them : and tbe same may be said of the labours of faithful
ministers, wherever Providence stations them. But, as it does not follow in
the one case, that the graceless inhabitants are more iu covenant with God
than those of other places, neither does it follow in the other, that the graceless
offspring of believers are more in covenant with God than those of unbeliev
ers. " New Testament saints have nothing more to do with the Abrahamic
covenant, than the Old Testament believers who lived prior to Abraham."
I am aware that the words of the Apostle, in Gal. iii. 14, The blessing of
Abraham is come on the Gentiles, through Jesus Christ, are alleged in proof
of the contrary. But the meaning of that passage, I conceive, is, not that
through Jesus Christ every believer becomes an Abraham, a father of the
faithful ; but that he is reckoned among his children . not a stock, on which
the future church should grow; but a branc ft, partaking of the root and fat
ness of the olive-tree. So, however, the context appears to explain it : They
which are of faith are the children of faithful Abraham. Ver. 7.
But if it were granted, that the blessing of Abraham is so come on
the believing Gentiles, as not only to render them blessed as his
spiritual children, but to insure a people for God from among their
natural posterity, rather than from those of others ; yet it is not as their
natural posterity that they are individually entitled to any one spir
itual blessing ; for this was more than was true of the natural seed of Abra- I
ham. Nor dol see how it follows from hence, that we are warranted to bap-

Chapter XVII.] COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM. 15fi
As a sign or token of this solemn covenant with Abraham and
his posterity, every man-child among them was required to be
circumcised in the flesh of Ms foreskin ; and not only their own
children, but those of their servants, born in their house, or bought
with their money. This ordinance was the mark by which they
were distinguished as a people in covenant with Jehovah, and
which bound them by a special obligation to obey him. Like
almost all other positive institutions, it was also prefigurative of
mental purity, or putting off the body of the sins of the flesh. A
neglect of it subjected the party to a being cut off from his people,
as having broken God's covenant.
Ver. 15, 16. As Abram's name had been changed to Abraham, a
similar honour is conferred on Sarai, who in future is to be called
Sarah. The difference of these names is much the same as those
of her husband, and corresponds with what had been promised
them both on this occasion. The former meant, My princess, and
was expressive of high honour in her own family; but the latter,
A princess, and denoted more extensive honour, as it is here
expressed, A mother of nations. This honour conferred on Sarai
would correct an important error into which both she and her
husband had fallen ; imagining that all hope was at an end of a
child being born of her ; and therefore, that if the promise were
fulfilled, it must be in Ishmael. But not only must Abram become
Abraham, the father of many nations ; but Sarai, Sarah, the mother
tize them in their infancy. Abraham, it is true, was commanded to circum
cise his male children ; and if we had been commanded to baptize our males,
or females, or both, or any example of the kind had been left in the New
Testament, we should be as much obliged to comply in the one case, as he was
in the other. But we do not think ourselves warranted to reason from cir
cumcision to baptism ; from the circumcision of males to the baptism of males
and females ; and from the circumcision of the children of a nation, (the great
er part of whom were unbelievers,) and of servants born in the house, or bought/
with money, to the baptism of the children of believers. In short we do not
think ourselves warranted, in matters of positive institution, to found our prac
tice on analogies, whether real or supposed ; and still less on one so circuit
ous, dissonant, and uncertain as that in question. Our duty, we conceive, is,
Jn such cases, to follow the precepts and examples of the dispensation under
which we live.

158 COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM. [Discourse XXV.
of nations ; and this, not by her handmaid, as she had vainly
imagined ; but God would give him a son also of her, and kings of
people should be of her.
Ver. 17, 18. The effect of this unexpected promise on Abraham
was, that he fell on his face and laughed. The term does not
here indicate lightness, as we commonly use it ; but joy, mingled
with wonder and astonishment. ShaU a child be born, saith he,
unto him that is a hundred years old ? And Sarah, that is ninety
years old, bear? In another case, (Chap, xviii. 12, 13.) laughter
implied a mixture of doubting ; but not in this. Abraham believed
God, and was overcome with joyful surprise. . But a doubt imme
diately occurs, which strikes a damp upon his pleasure : ' The
promise of another son destroys all my expectations with respect
to him who is already given ! Perhaps he must die, to make room
for the other ; or if not, he may be another Cain, who went out
from the presence of the Lord.' To what drawbacks are our
best enjoyments subject in this world ; and in many cases, owing
to our going before the Lord in our hopes and schemes of happi
ness ! When his plan comes to be put in execution, it interferes
with ours ; and there can be no doubt, in such a case, which must
give place. If Abraham had waited God's time for the fulfilment
of the promise, it would not have been accompanied with such an
alloy : but having failed in this, after all his longing desires after
it, it becomes in a manner unwelcome to him ! What can he do
or say,' in so delicate a situation ? Grace would say, Accept the
divine promise with thankfulness. But nature struggles : the
bowels of the father are troubled for Ishmael. In this state of
mind he presumes to offer up a petition to heaven : Qh that Ish
mael might live before thee ! Judging of the import of this petition
by the answer, it would seem to mean, either that God would
condescend to withdraw his promise of another son, and let Ish
mael be the person ; or if that cannot be, that his life might be
spared, and himself and his posterity be among the people of God, ¦
sharing the blessing, or being heir with him who should be born of
Sarah. To live, and to live before God, according to the usual
acceptation of the phrase, could not, I think, mean less than one
or the other of these things. It was very lawful for him to desire

Chapter XVII.] COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM. 157
the temporal and spiritual welfare of his son, and of his posterity
after him, in submission to the will of God : but in a case wherein
natural affection appeared to clash with God's revealed designs,
he must have felt himself in a painful situation ; and the recollec
tion that the whole was owing to his own and Sarah's unbelief,
would add to his regret.
Ver. 19 — 27. As Abraham's petition seemed to contain an
implied wish that it would please God to withdraw his promise of
another son, the answer to it contains an implied but peremptory
denial, with a tacit reflection on him for having taken Hagar to be
his wife : And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son
indeed. As if be should say, She is thy wife, and ought to have
been thine only wife ; and verily it shall be in a son born of her
that the promise shall be fulfilled. It is also intimated to him, that
this should be no grief to him ; but that he should call his name
IsSac, that is, laughter or gladness, on account of the joy his birth
should occasion. And as Abraham's petition seemed to plead that
Ishmael and his posterity might at least be heir with Isaac, so as to
be ranked among God's covenant people, this also by implication is
denied him. / will establish my covenant with him, for an ever
lasting covenant, and with his seed after him. Ishmael, while he
is in Abraham's family, shall be considered as a branch of it, and
as such be circumcised ; but tbe covenant of peculiarity should
not be established with him and his descendants, but with Isaac
exclusively. As many, however, who were included in this cove
nant had no share of eternal life, so many who were, excluded from
it might, notwithstanding, escape eternal death. The door of
mercy was always open to every one that believed. In every
nation, and in every age, he that feared God and wrought
righteousness was accepted of him.
But shall no part of this petition be granted ? Yes. As for
Ishmael, I have heard thee : Behold, I have blessed him, and will
will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly : twelve
princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation ....
but my covenant will I establish with Isaac, -shorn Sarah shall bear
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158 COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM. [Discourse XXV.
unto thee. And having said thus much, the very time of his birth
is now particularly named : it shall be at this set time in the next
year. Here ended the communications of this kind between the
Lord and his servant Abraham; and it appears that from this time
be was satisfied. We hear nothing more like an objection to the
divine will, nor any wish to have things otherwise than they were.
On the contrary, we find him immediately engaged in an implicit
obedience to the command of circumcision. His conduct, on this
occasion, furnishes a bright example to all succeeding ages, of the
manner in which divine ordinances should be complied with.
There are three things in particular, in the obedience of Abraham,
worthy of notice. (1.) It was prompt. In the selfsame day
that God had spoken unto him, the command was put in execu
tion. This was making haste, and delaying not to keep his com
mandments. To treat the divine precepts as matters of small
importance, or to put off what is manifestly our duty to another
time, is to trifle with supreme authority. So did not Abraham.
(2.) It was punctilious. The correspondence between the com
mand of God, and the obedience of his servant, is minutely exact.
The words of the former are, Thou s/ialt keep my covenant, and
thy seed after thee .... and he that is born in thy house,
or bought with -money of any stranger which is not of thy seed.
With this agrees the account of the latter : In the self-same day
was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son ; and all the men of
his house, born in the house and bought with money of the stranger,
were circumcised with him. A rigid regard to the revealed will of
God enters deeply into true religion ; that spirit which dispenses
it, though it may pass under the specious name of liberality, is
anti-christian. (3.) It was yielded in old age, when many would
have pleaded off from engaging in any thing new, or different from
what they had before received ; and when, as some think, it
would be a further trial to his faith, as to the fulfilment of the
promise. Ninety and nine years old was Abraham when he was
circumcised. Il is one of the temptations of old age to be tena
cious of what we have believed and practised from our youth ; to
shut our eyes and ears against* every thing that may prove it to

Chapter XVII.] COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM. 159
have been erroneous or defective, and to find excuses for being
exempted from hard and dangerous duties. But Abraham to the
last was ready to receive further instruction, and to do as he was
commanded, leaving consequences with God. This shows that
the admonition to walk before him, and be perfect, had not been
given him in vain.

DISCOURSE XXVI.

ABRAHAM ENTERTAINING ANGELS, AND INTERCEDING FOR SODOM.

Gen. xviii.
Ver. 1 — 3. The time drawing nigh that the promise should be
fulfilled, God's appearances to Abraham are frequently repeated.
That which is here recorded seems to have followed the last at a
very little distance. Sitting one day in a kind of porch, -at his
tent door, which screened him from the heat of the sun, he lift
up his eyes, and lo, three men stood at a little distance from him.
To him they appeared to be three strangers on a journey, and as
. such he treated them. His conduct on this occasion is held up in
the Epistle to the Hebrews as an example of hospitality ; and an
admirable example it affords. His generosity on this occasion is
not more conspicuous than the amiable manner in which it was
expressed. The instant he saw them, he rises up, as by a kind of
instinctive courtesy, to bid them welcome to his tent, and that in
the most respectful manner. Though an old man, and they per
fect strangers to him, he no sooner saw them than he ran to meet
them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground; and
observing one of them, as it should seem, presenting himself to
him before the other, he said to him, My lord, if now I have found
favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant.
Ver. 4, 5. And whereas they were supposed to be weary, and
overcome with the heat, he persuades them to wash their feet, and sit
down under the shade of the spreading oak near his tent, and take
a little refreshment, though it were but a morsel of bread to com
fort their hearts ; after which they might go forward on their jour
ney. Something may be said of the customs of those times and

162 ABRAHAM ENTERTAINS ANGELS. [Discourse XXVI.
countries, and of there being then but few if any inns for the
accommodation of strangers : but it certainly affords a charming
specimen of patriarchal urbanity, and an example of the manner
in which kindness and hospitality should be shown. To impart
relief in an ungracious and churlish manner, destroys the value of
it. We see also in this conduct the genuine fruits of true religion.
That which in worldly men is mere complaisance, dictated often
by ambition, in Abraham was kindness, goodness, sympathy, and
humbleness of mind. It is to the honour of religion that it pro
duces those amiable dispositions which the worst of men are con
strained, for their own reputation, lo imitate. If such dispositions
and such behaviour were universal, the world would be a paradise.
Ver. 6 — 8. The supposed strangers having consented to accept
the invitation, the good old man, as full of pleasure as if he had
found a prize, resolves to entertain them with something better
than a morsel of bread, though he had modestly used that language.
Hastening to Sarah, he desires her to get three measures of .fine
meal, and bake cakes upon the hearth ; while he, old as he was,
runs to the herd, and fetches a calf, tender and good, and gives it to
one of his young men, with orders to kill and dress it immediately.
And now, the table being spread beneath the cooling shade of the'
oak, the veal, with butter and milk to render it more palatable, is
placed upon it, and Abraham himself waited on his guests. Such
was the style of patriarchal simplicity and hospitality. As yet,
Abraham does not appear to have suspected what kind of guests he
was entertaining. He might probably be struck from the first
with their mien and appearance, which seem to have excited his
highest respect ; yet he considered them merely as strangers, and
as such entertained them. It was thus that he entertained ansels
unawares. Ver. 9, 10. But while they sat at dinner under the tree, inquiry
was made after Sarah his wife. Abraham answered, Behold, she
is in the tent. This inquiry must excite some surprise ; for how
should these strangers know the name of Abraham's wife, and her
new name too ; and why should they inquire after her? But if
fie inquiry must strike Abraham with surprise, what followed
must have a still greater effect. He who was the first in the train

Chapter XVIII.] ABRAHAM ENTERTAINS ANGELS. 163
on their arrival, and whom he had addressed in terms of the high
est respect, now adds, I will certainly return unto thee, according
to the time of life, and lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. This
language must remind him of the promise which he had so lately
received, and convince him that the speaker was no other than
Jehovah, under the appearance of a man. In the progress of the
Old Testament history we often read of similar appearances ; par
ticularly to Jacob at Peniel, to Moses at the bush, and to Joshua
by Jericho. The divine personage, who in this manner appeared
to men, must surely have been no other than the Son of God, who
thus occasionally assumed the form of that nature, which it was his
intention, in the fulness of time, actually to take upon him. It was
thus, that being in the form of God, he thought it not robbery to be
equal with God ; that is, he spake and acted all along as God, and
did not consider himself in so doing as arrogating any thing which
did not properly belong to him.
Ver. 11 — 15. Sarah, having overheard what was said concern
ing her, and knowing that according to the ordinary course of
things she was too old to have a son, laughed within herself at the
saying. She supposed, however, that as it was to herself, the
whole was unknown : but it was not. The same word is used as
was before used of Abraham, but it was not the same thing. His
laughter was that of joy and surprise : hers had in it a mixture of
unbelief, which called forth the reproof of Jehovah. Jehovah
(the same personage who is elsewhere called an angel and a man)
said unto Abraham, in the hearing of his wife, Wherefore did Sarah
laugh ? And to detect the sinfulness of this laughter, he points
out the principle of it — it was saying, Shall 1 of a surety bear a
child, who am old? which principle he silences by asking, Is any
thing too hard for Jehovah? And then he solemnly repeats the
promise, as that which ought to suffice : At the time appointed I
will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall
have a son. This language, while it proved that he who uttered
it was a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart, covered
Sarah's face with confusion. In her fright, she denies having
laughed ; but the denial was in vain. He who knew all things
replied, Nay, but thou didst laugh. We may imagine that what

164 ABRAHAM ENTERTAINS ANGELS. [Discourse XXVI.
merely passes in our own minds has in a manner no existence,
and may almost persuade ourselves to think we are innocent : but
in the presence of God all such subterfuges are no better than the
fig-leaves of our first parents. When he judgeth, hewill over
come. Ver. 16 — 19. The men, as they are called, according to their
appearance, now take leave of the tent, and go on their way
towards Sodom. Abraham, loth to part with them, went in com
pany, as if to bring them on their way. While they were walking
together, Jehovah, in the form of a man, said unto the other two,
(who appear to be created angels,) Shall I hide from Abraham the
thing which I do ? Two reasons are assigned for the contrary.
First : The importance of his character. He was not only the
friend of God, but the father of a great nation, in which God
would have a special interest, and through which all other nations
should be blessed. Let him be in the secret. Secondly : The
good use he would make of it. Being previously disclosed to him,
he would be the more deeply impressed by it: and according to
his tried and approved conduct as the head of a family, vvould be
concerned to impart it as a warning to his posterity in all future
ages. As the wicked extract ill from good, so the righteous will
extract good from ill. Sodom's destruction shall turn to Abraham's
salvation : the monument of just vengeance against their crimes
shall be of perpetual use to him and his posterity, and contribute
even to the bringing of that good upon them, which the Lord had
spoken concerning them. The special approbation with which
God here speaks of family religion, stamps a divine authority upon
it, and an infamy upon that religion, or rather irreligion, which
dispenses with it.
Ver. 20, 21. Jehovah having resolved to communicate his
design to Abraham, proceeds to inform him as follows : Because
the cry of Sodom and Gomorrha is great, and because their sin is
very grievous, I will go down now, and see whether they have done
altogether according to the cry of it which is come unto me ; and if
not, I will know. This language, though spoken after the manner
of men, contains much serious and important instruction. It
teaches us, that the most abandoned people are still the subjects'

Chapter XVIII.] ABRAHAM ENTERTAINS ANGELS. 165
of divine government, and must, sooner or later, give an account ;
that impiety, sensuality, and injustice, are followed with a cry for
retribution ; that this cry is often disregarded by earthly tribu
nals ; that where it is so, the prayers of the faithful, the groans of
the oppressed, and the blood of the slain, constitute a cry which
ascendeth to heaven, and entereth into the ears of the Lord of
Sabaoth; and finally, that in executing judgment, though God will
regard these cries, especially where they wax greater and greater,
as this is afterwards said to have done ; yet, as they may be par
tial and erroneous, he will not proceed by them as a rule, but will
avail himself of his own omniscience, that the worst of characters
may have no cause to complain of injustice.
Ver. 22 — 33. It is natural to suppose that the mind of Abraham
must be forcibly impressed with this intimation. He would feel
for his poor ungodly neighbours ; but especially for Lot, and other
righteous men whom he might hope would be found among them.
At this juncture, the men, that is, two out of the three, (Chap. xix.
1.) went towards Sodom; but the third, who is called Jehovah,
continued to converse with Abraham. The patriarch standing
before him, and being now aware that he was in the presence of
the Most High, addressed him in the language of prayer, or inter
cession. A remarkable intercession it is. We remark, (l.)
Abraham makes a good use of his previous knowledge. Being
made acquainted with the evil coming upon them, he stands in the
gap, and labours all he can to avert it. They knew nothing-; and
if they had, no cries, except- the shrieks of desperation, would
have been heard from them. It is good to have such a neighbour
as Abraham ; and still better to have an Intercessor before the
throne who is always heard. The conduct of the patriarch fur
nishes an example to all who have an interest at the throne of
grace, to make use of it on behalf of their poor ungodly country
men and neighbours. (2.) He does not plead that the wicked
may be spared for their own sake, or because it would be too
severe a proceeding to destroy them ; but for the sake of the right
eous who might be found among them. Had either of the other
pleas been advanced, it had been siding with sinners against God,
which Abraham would never do. Wickedness shuts the mouth
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166 ABRAHAM ENTERTAINS ANGELS. [Discourse XXVI.
of intercession ; or if any should presume to speak, it would be
of no account. Though Noah, Daniel, and Job should plead for
the ungodly, they would not he heard. Righteousness only will
bear to be made a plea before God. But how .then, it may be
asked, did Christ make intercession for transgressors ? Not by
arraigning the divine law, nor by alleging aught in extenuation of
human guilt; but by pleading his own obedience unto death ! (3.)
He charitably hopes the best with respect to the number of right
eous characters even in Sodom.' At the outset of his intercession,
be certainly considered it as a possible case, at least, that there
might be found in that wicked place fifty righteous: and though
in this instance he was sadly mistaken, yet we may hope from
hence that in those times there were many more righteous people
in the world than those which are recorded in scripture. The
scriptures do not profess to be a book of life, containing the names
of all the faithful ; but intimate, on the contrary, that God reserves
to himself a people, who are but little known even by his own
servants. (4.) God was willing to spare the worst of cities for the
sake of u few righteous characters. This truth is as humiliating
to the haughty enemies of religion, as it is encouraging to its
friends ; and furnishes an important lesson to civil governments,
to beware of undervaluing, and still more of persecuting and ban
ishing, men whose concern it is to live soberly, righteously, and
godly in the world.* Except the Lord of hosts had left vsa rem
nant of such characters, we might ere now have been as Sodom,
and made like unto Gomorrah ! If ten righteous men had been
found in Sodom, it had been spared for their sakes : but alas,
there is no such number ! God called Abraham to Haran, and
when he left that place, mention is made, not only oi the substance
which he had gathered, but of the souls which he had gotten. But
Lot, who went to Sodom of his own accord, though he also gath
ered substance, yet seems not, by his residence in the place, to
have won a single soul to the worship of the true God.
* Chap. vi. 11. pp. 69, 70.

DISCOURSE XXVII.

THE DESTRUCTION OF SODOM AND GOMORRAH.

, Gen. xix.
Ver. 1, 2. The two angels who left Abraham communing with
Jehovah, went on their way till they came to Sodom. Arriving
at the city in the evening, the first person whom they saw appears
to have been Lot, who was sitting alone, it should seem, at the
gate of tbe city. They had found Abraham also sitting alone, but
it was at his own tent door. Lot, whose house was in the city,
had probably no place where he could be out of the hearing of
those whose conversation vexed his righteous soul : he therefore
took a walk in the evening, and sat down without the city gate, .
where he might spend an hour in retirement. Seeing two strangers
coming up to him, he behaved in much the same courteous and
hospitable manner as Abraham had done. Bowing himself with
his face towards the ground, he said, Behold now, my lords; turn
in I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night, and
wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways.
This was lovely ; and the contrast between this .and the conduct
of his neighbours shows, what was suggested in the former chap
ter, the genuine fruits of true religion. What is said to be the -
customary hospitality of the age and country, was far from being
practised by the other inhabitants of Sodom. But, though Lot
bad given them so kind an invitation, they seemed determined not
to accept of it — Nay, said they, but we will abide in the street all
night. This might be either for the purpose of being eye-wit
nesses of the conduct of the citizens, or to express their abhorrence
of the general character of the city ; as when the prophet of Judah

168 DESTRUCTION OF SODOM. [Discourse XXVII.
was sent to Bethel, he was forbidden either to eat bread, or
drink water, in that place. 1 Kings xiii. 8 — 17.
Ver. 3. After being greatly pressed, however, by Lot, they
yielded to his importunity, and entered into his house ; where he
made them a feast, as Abraham had done, and they did eat.
Ver. 4, 5. But while things were going on well with respect to
Lot, the baseness of his neighbours soon betrayed itself. A little
before bed-time they beset the house ; not for the purpose of
robbing, or insulting them in any of tbe ordinary ways of brutal
outrage — this had been bad enough, especially to strangers — but
to perpetrate a species of crime too shocking and detestable to
be named; a species of crime which indeed has no name given it
in the scriptures, but what is borrowed from this infamous place.
Ver. 6 — 9. The conduct of Lot, in going out and expostulating
with them, was in several respects praiseworthy. His shotting
the door after him, expressed how delicately he felt for his guests,
though at present he does not appear to have considered them in
any other light than strangers. It was saying in effect, ' Let not
their ears be offended with what passes abroad ; whatever is scur
rilous, obscene, or abusive, let me hear it, but not them.' His
gentle and respectful manner of treating this worst of mobs, is also
worthy of notice- He could not respect them on the score of
character ; but he would try and do so, as being still his fellow
creatures and near neighbours. As such he calls them brethren,
no doubt hoping, by such conciliating language, to dissuade them
from their wicked purpose. But when, to turn off their attention
from his guests, he proposes the bringing out of his daughters to
them, he appears to have gone too far. It is not for us to go into
a less evil, in the hope of preventing a greater ; but rather to
consent to no evil. It might be owing to the perturbation of bis
mind ; but probably, if he had not lived in Sodom till his mind
was almost familiarized to obscenity, he would not have made
such a proposal. Nor had it any good effect. He only got him
self more abused for it ; and even his gentle remonstrance was
perversely construed into obtrusive forwardness, and setting him
self up for a judge, who was merely o sojourner among them.
Persuasion has no force with men who are under the dominion of

Chapter XIX.^ DESTRUCTION OF SODOM. 169
their lusts. So now their resentment burns against him, and they
will be revenged on him. They will not be contented now with
having the men brought out, but will go in unto them, and break
the door open, to effect their purpose.
Ver. 10, 11. Such an attempt, and such a perseverance in it
must have been proof sufficient to the heavenly messengers, that
the cry of Sodom had not exceeded the truth. Putting forth their
hands, therefore, they pulled Lot into the house to them, shut to
the door, and smote the people without with blindness. The power
and indignation displayed in these acts would convince him that
they were no common strangers ; and, one would have thought,
might have struck them with awe, and caused them to desist from
their horrid purpose : but they are infatuated. Though super-
naturally smitten with blindness, they must still weary themselves
to find the door. Such daring presumption, in the face of heaven,
must have filled up the measure of their crimes, and rendered
them ripe for destruction.
Ver. 12, 13. Things are now hastening to their awful crisis :
but mark the mercy of divine proceedings. Ten righteous men
would have saved the city ; but there seems to have been onl y
one. Well, not only shall that one escape, but all that belong to
him shall be delivered for his sake ; or if otherwise it shall be
their own fault. Sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or whatever he
had, are directed to be brought out of this place ; for, said they,
as it were opening their commission and reading it to Lot, We will
destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the
face of Jehovah, and Jehovah hath sent us to destroy it.
Ver. 14. Giving full credit to the divine threatening, and being
deeply impressed with it, Lot went forth to warn his sons-in-law,
who had married his daughters. We do not read till now that Lot
had a family. It looks as if he had taken his wife from Sodom,
soon after he had parted from Abraham ; and as he must have
been there about twenty years, he had daughters, some of whom
were married, and two remained with him single. No mention is
made of his married daughters being alive at this time ; but by the
manner iu which the others are spoken of, in verse 15, Thy two
daughters which are here, it is probable they were elsewhere; viz.

170 DESTRUCTION OF SODOM. [Discourse XXVII.
along with their husbands, and perished with them in the overthrow.
The warning given to his sons-in-law was abrupt and pointed ; Up,
get ye out of this place ; for Jehovah will destroy this city ! But
he seemed to them as one that mocked, or who was in jest. He
believed, and therefore spake : but they disbelieved, and there
fore made light of it. A striking example this, of the ordinary
effect of truth upon the minds of unbelievers.
Ver. 15, 16. All this had taken place in one night. Early in
the morning, Lot is hastened away from the devoted spot. And
as his sons-in law, and it seems their wives with them, would not
hear, he is commanded to leave them ; and without further delay,
to take his wife, and his two daughters who were with him, lest
he should be consumed in the overthrow of the city. The threat
ening part of this language would probably not have been address
ed to him, had he not discovered a reluctance to depart. 1 hope
it was not his worldly substance that clave to him, much less any
attachment to that wicked city ; but rather that it was his daugh
ters and their husbands who could not be persuaded to accompany
bim, that occasioned this strong conflict. It was on this account,
I suppose, that he is said to have lingered; and his deliverers
were at last obliged to lay hold upon his hand, and upon the hand
of his wife, and upOn the hand of his two daughters, and (Jehovah
being meroiful unto him^) by force, in a manner, to set them with
out the city. Such has been the struggle in many minds, when
called to leave all and flee from the wrath to come ; and such the
mercy of God towards them.
Ver. 17. Having been so far saved, almost in spite of himself, he
is now solemnly charged to escape for his life, not so much as to
hok behind him, nor stay in all the plain ; but to escape to the
mountain, lest he should be consumed. This was continuing to
be mercifully severe ; and such are our Lord's commands which
require us to deny self, take up the cross, and follow him. It was
better for Lot to be thus warned off the ground, than to be con
sumed upon it : and we had better cut off a right hand, or pluck
out a right eye, than be cast into hell.
Ver. 18 — 22. Lot was certainly a righteous man ; but in times
of trial his graces do not appear to the best advantage. He is

Chapter XIX.] DESTRUCTION OF SODOM. 171
directed to flee to the mountain, and he had better have been
there all his days than where he was ; but he pleads hard to live
in a city, and hopes he may be excused in this desire, seeing it was
a little one. Had he properly confided in God, he would have
gone to the mountain without hesitation : but his faith is weak,
and his fears prevail, that if he go thither, some evil will take him,
and he shall die. This his imbecility, however, is graciously
passed over ; his request is granted, and the city spared for his
sake. Nor was this all. The angel kindly hastens his escape to
this city ; formerly called Bela, but from hence Zoar, that is,
little ; for that he could do nothing till he should have come thither.
All this was merciful, very merciful ; and proves, not only that
the Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation,, but
also that their blood is precious in his sight.
Ver. 23 — 25. By the time that Lot entered into Zoar, the sun
had risen upon the earth. It promised perhaps to be a fine day ;
and the inhabitants of Sodom, after their night's revel, would be
going forth to do as at other times. But lo, on a sudden, floods of
fire and brimstone from the Lord out of heaven descend upon this
and the neighbouring city of Gomorrah, utterly consuming them,
and all their inhabitants ! Some have supposed this tremendous
judgment to have been effected by a volcanic eruption in the neigh
bourhood, the lava of which, first ascending high into the atmos
phere, and then descending upon the devoted cities, destroyed them.
If so it were, God's hand was in it, directing and timing its opera
tions, no less than if it were accomplished without tbe interference
of any second cause.
Ver. 26. The Lord delivered just Lot ; and his whole family,
as we haye seen, had much mercy shown them for his sake. But
favour may be shown to the wicked, yet will they not learn right
eousness. Some refused to go with him, and those that did go,
proved to him a grief and a snare. His wife is said to have looked
back from behind him, during their journey, and was instantly
struck dead, and remained upon the spot a petrified monument of
divine vengeance. It may be thought a hard fate for a mere
glance of the eye : but that glance, no doubt, was expressive of
unbelief, and a lingering desire to return. Probably she was of

172 DESTRUCTION OF SODOM. [Discourse XXVII.
much of the same mind as her sons-in-law, and attributed the
whole to the resentment of the strangers, whom her husband was
weak enough to believe. It is certain that her example is held
up by our Lord as a warning against turning back, which intimates
that such was the meaning of her look.
Ver. 27 — 29. Abraham having made intercession, though the
issue of it gave him but little hope of success, yet is anxious to see
what will be the end of these things. Unable, it seems, to rest in
his bed, he arose early the next morning, and went to the place
where he had stood before the Lord. From having a view
of the plain, he beheld, and lo, the smoke of the country
went up as the smoke of a furnace. He had not mentioned
Lot by name, in his intercession, though doubtless it had respect
to him ; and the Lord so far hearkened to his prayer as to deliver
that good man in answer to it. Lot could not pray for himself, for
he was not aware of his danger till it in a manner came upon him.
What a mercy it is to have an Intercessor, who knows all the
evils which are coming upon us, and prays for us that our strength
fail not ! But to return to Lot —
Ver. 30. On leaving Sodom, he was very earnest to have Zoar
granted him for a refuge, and to be excused from going to dwell
in the mountain : yet now, all on a sudden, he went up out of Zoar,
and dwelt in the mountain ; and that for the very reason which he
had given for a contrary choice. Then he feared some evil
would take him, if he went to the mountain : now he fears to
dwell in Zoar. It is well to know that the way of man is not in
himself, and that it is not in man to direct his steps. Our wisdom
is to refer all lo God, and to follow wherever his word and provi
dence lead the way. But why did not Lot return to Abraham ?
There was no occasion now for strife about their herds ; for he
had lost all, aud but just escaped with his life. Whatever was the
reason, he does not appear to have made a good choice. Had he
gone to the mountain when directed, he might have hoped for pre
serving mercy : but going of bis own accord, and from a motive of \
sinful distrust, evil in reality overtakes him. His daughters,
who seem to have contracted such habits in Sodom as would pre- °
pare them for any thing, however unnatural, draw him into

Chapter XIX.] DESTRUCTION OF SODOM. 173
intemperance and incest, and thus cover his old age with infamy.
The offspring of this illicit intercourse were the fathers of two
great but heathen nations ; viz. the Moabites, and the children of
Amnion. The dishonourable end of this good man shows that we are
never out of danger while we are upon earth. He whose right
eous soul was grieved with the filthy conversation of the wicked
while in a city, is drawn into the same kind of evils himself when
dwelling in a cave ! His whole history also, from the time of his
leaving Abraham, furnishes an affecting lesson to the heads of fam
ilies in the choice of habitations for themselves or their children.
If worldly accommodations be preferred to religious advantages,
we have nothing good to expect, but every thing evil. We may or
we may not lose our substance, as he did ; but what is of far
greater consequence, our families may be expected to become
mere heathens, and our own minds be contaminated with the
examples which are continually before our eyes. Such was the
harvest which Lot reaped from his well-watered plain ; and such
are the fruits very commonly seen in those that follow his example !

Vol. V. ti,

DISCOURSE XXVIII.

ABRAHAM AND ABIMELESH.

Gen. xx.
Ver. 1. After the affecting story of Lot, we return to Abra
ham. When he and his kinsman parted, he pitched his tent in
the plains of Mamre, and appears to have continued there nearly
twenty years. At length he removes again, journeying southward,
and taking up his residence for a time at Gerar, which was then a
royal city of the Philistines.
Ver. 2. And here we find him a second time, saying of Sarah
his wife, She is my sister. His sin in so speaking seems to be
much greater than it was before. For, (1.) He had narrowly
escaped the first time. If God had not remarkably interposed in
his favour, there is no saying what would have been the conse
quence. The repetition of the same fault looked like presuming
upon providence. (2.) Sarah was now pregnant, and that of a son
of promise : he might therefore surely have trusted God to pre
serve their lives in the straight-forward path of duty, instead of
having recourse to his own crooked policy. But be did not.
There are exceptions in every human character, and often in the
very thing wherein they in general excel. The consequence was,
Abimelecb, king of Gerar, sent and took her, probably by force
to be one of his wives. We should have thought that the age of
Sarah might have exempted both ber and her husband from this
temptation ; but human life was then much longer than it is now;
and she was a beautiful woman, and we may suppose carried her
years better than many. Be that as it may, she is involved in a
difficulty from which she cannot get clear, nor can Abraham tell

176 ABRAHAM AND ABIMELECH. [Discourse XXV1H.
how to deliver her. It has been observed, that when wicked men
deviate from truth, they will very commonly get through with it;
but if a good man think to do so, he will as commonly find himself
mistaken. If once he leave the path of rectitude,-;he is entangled,
and presently betrays himself. The crooked devices of the flesh
are things in which be is not sufficiently an adept, and conscience
will often prevent his going through with them. God also will
generally so order things that he shall be detected, and put to
shame at an early stage, and that in mercy to his soul ; while sin-
sers are left to go on in their evil courses with success.
Ver. 3 — 7. Man's wisdom leads him into a pit, and God's wis
dom must draw him out. God has access to all men's minds, and
can impress them by a dream, an affliction, or in any way he thinks
proper. He did thus by Abimelecb. Dreams in general are mere
vanity, the excursions of imagination, unaccompanied with reason :
yet these are under the control of God, and have, in many
instances, been the medium of impressing things of great impor
tance on the mind. Abimelech dreamed that he heard the voice,
of the Almighty, saying unto him, Behold, thou art a dead man for
the woman which thou hast taken, for she is a man's wife ! Whether
Abimelech was an idolater, I know not : but this I know, that if
in countries called Christian, every adulterer were a dead man,
many would be numbered with the dead who now glory in their
shame. And though human laws may wink at this crime, it is no
less heinous in the sight of God than when it is punished with
death. Abimelech, conscious that he had not come near the
woman, answered in his dream, Lord, wilt thou slay also a right
eous nation? Said he not unto me, She is my sister? And she,
even she herself, said, He is my brother. In the integrity of my
heart, and innocency of my hands, have I done this. The first
sentence in this answer appears to contain a reference to the
recent and awful event of Sodom's overthrow, which must have
greatly impressed the surrounding country. It is as if he had
said, ' I am aware that thou hast slain a nation notorious for its
filthy and unnatural crimes ; but we are not such a nation ; and
in the present case all that has been done was in perfect igno
rance. Surely thou wilt not slay the innocent.' The answer of

Chapter XX.] ABRAHAM AND ABIMELECH. , 177
God admits his plea of ignorance, and suggests that he was not
charged with having yet sinned, but threatened with death in case
he persisted, now that he was informed of the truth. It is inti
mated, however, that if he had come near her, he should in so
doing have sinned against God, whether he had sinned against Abra
ham or not ; and this, perhaps, owing to her being in a state of
pregnancy, of which, in that case, he could not have been igno
rant. But God had mercifully withheld him from thus sinning
against him, for which it became him to be thankful, and without
delay to restore the man his wife. It was also added, that the man
was a prophet, or one who had special intercourse with heaven,;
and who, if he restored his wife, would pray to God for him, and
he should live ; but jf he withheld her, he should surely die, and
vail that belonged to him.
We see in this account, (1.) That absolute ignorance excuses
from guilt ; but this does, not prove that all ignorance does so, or
that it is in itself excusable. Where, the powers and means of
knowledge are possessed, and ignorance arises from neglecting to
make use of them, or from aversion to tbe truth, it is so far from
excusing, that it is in itself sinful. (2.) That great as the wicked
ness of men is upon the face of the earth, it would be much greater,
were it not that God by his providence, in innumerable instances,
withholds them from it. The conduct of intelligent beings is
influenced by motives ; and all motives which are presented to
the mind are subject to his disposal. Hence we may feel the pro
priety of that petition, Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us
from evil.
Ver. 8. Abimelech, awaking, is deeply impressed with his dream.
He arises early, calls together the principal people about him,
and imparts particulars to them, at the rehearsal of which they are
sore afraid. Some afflictions had already been laid upon them, of
which they seem to have been aware ; (ver. 18.) and considering
the late tremendous judgments of God upon Sodom, with the ter
rific dream of the king just rehearsed, it is no wonder they should
be seized with fear.
Ver. 9, 10. After speaking to his servants, he next sent for
Abraham, to converse the matter over. His address to the patri-

178 ABRAHAM AND ABIMELECH. [Discourse XXVIft
arch is pointed, but temperate : What hast thou done unto ut? And
what have I offended thee, that thou hast brought on me and on
my kingdom a g'reat sin ? ' Thou hast done deeds unto me that ought
not to be done.— What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing?
We are grieved to find Abraham in such a situation. How hon
ourable did he appear before the king of Sodom, and the king of
Salem ; but how dishonourable before the king of Gerar ! Sin is
the reproach of any people ; and the greater and better the man,
the greater is the reproach.
Ver. 11 — 13. But let us hear his apology. And Abraham said,
Because I thought, Surely the fear of God is not in this place, and
they witt slay me for my wife's sake. And yet indeed, she is my
sitter : she is the daughter of mv fmhar, but not the daughter of my
mother ; and she became my wife. And it came to pass when God
caused me to wander from my fatJter's house, that I said unto her.
This is thy kindness which thou shaU show unto me : at every place
whither we shall come, say of me, He is my brother. According to
his account, to be sure, there was nothing against Abimelech in
particular; and this might serve to appease him ; and with respect
to God, or his doing deeds that ought not to be done, what he had
said, if not a lie, was yet an equivocation. Many things of this
sort pass among men ; but they will not bear a strict scrutiny. If
our words, though in some sense true, yet are designed to convey
what is not true, as was the case in this instance, we are guilty of
doing what ought not to be done.
Ver. 14, 15. Abimelech, satisfied with this answer, so far as
respected himself, restored Sarah to her husband, and that with a
trespass-offering, like that which was afterwards presented by his
countrymen with the ark ;* adding, with great courteousness,
Behold my land is before thee : dwell where it pteaseth thee. For
he saw that the Lord was with him.
Ver. 16 — 18. He did not part with Sarah, however, without
giving her a word of reproof. In calling Abraham her brother,
he made use of her own language in a sarcastic way ; and tells her
that her husband should be to her as a veil, that she should look
* ISam.xi. 3.

Chapter XX.] ABRAHAM AND ABIMELECH. 179
on none else, and none else should look on her. Some have ren
dered the words, - It, that is, the silver, shall be to thee a cover.
ing for the eyes, unto all that are with thee, and to all other.' As
if he had given it to buy her a veil, which might prevent all such
mistakes in future. ' Take this, (q. d.) and never go without a
veil again, nor any of your married servants.' So she was
reproved. The issue was, Abraham prayed, and the Lord answered him
and healed the family of Abimelech. He would feel a motive for
prayer, in this case, which be did not when interceding for Sodom :
for of this evil he himself had been the cause.

DISCOURSE XXIX.
THE BlRTH OF ISAAC, Lc.

Gen. xxi.
Vbr. 1. Abraham, still sojourning in the land of the Philistines,
at length sees the promise fulfilled. It is noted with some degree
of emphasis, as forminf a special epoch in his life, that the Lord
visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah as he had
spoken. Such a kind of language is used of his posterity being put
in possession of the promised land : The Lord gave them rest round
about, according to all that he sware unto their fathers — there
failed not aught of any good thing which the Lord had spoken unto
the house of Israel : all came to pass. And such will be our lan
guage, sooner or later, concerning all the good things promised to
the church, or to us as individuals.
Ver. 2. Two things are particularly noticed in the birth of this
child : It was in Abraham's old age, and at the sef time of which
God had spoken to him. Both these circumstances showed the whole
to be of God. That which comes to us in the ordinary course of
things may be of God; but that which comes otherwise, manifestly
appears to be so. One great difference between this child and the
son of Hagar consisted in this : the one was born after the flesh ;
that is, in the ordinary course of generation : but the other, after
the Spirit ; that is, by extraordinary divine interposition, and in
virtue of a special promise.* Analogous to these were those
Jews, on the one hand, who were merely descended from Abra
ham according to the flesh ; and those, on the other, who were not
* Gal. iv. 23. 29.
Vol. V. 23

182 BIRTH OF ISAAC. [Discourse XXIX.
of the circumcision only, but also walked in the steps of the faith of
their father Abraham.* The former were the children of the
bond-woman, who were cast out: the latter of the free-woman,
who being his people whom he foreknew, were not cast away, but
were counted for his seed.f
Ver. 3, 4. The name by which this extraordinary child should
be called was Isaac, according to the previous direction of God.
It signifies laughter, or joy, and corresponds with the gladness
which accompanied his birth. Children are ordinarily an heritage
of the Lord. On account of the uncertainty of their future char
acter, however, we have reason to rejoice with trembling : but in
this case it was joy in a manner unmixed ; for he was born under
the promise of being blessed, and made a blessing. But what a
difference between the joy of Abraham at the birth of a child, and
that which is commonly seen among us ! His was not that vain
mirth, or noisy laughter, which Tinflts for ooedieuce to God : on
the contrary, he circumcised his son when he was eight days old,
not in conformity to custom, but as God had commanded him.
Ver. 5 — 7. The sacred writers seldom deal in reflections them
selves ; but will often mention those of others. Moses having
recorded the fact, that Abraham was a hundred years old when his
son Isaac was born unto him, tells us of the joyful sayings of Sarah :
— God saith she, hath made me to laugh, so that all who hear me
will laugh with me. — Who would have said unto Abraham, that
Sarah should have given children suck ? For I have born him a
son in his old age ! Yes, God had made her to laugh, and that
without any of her crooked measures : and Dot merely with a
private, but a public joy : for all that hear shall laugh with her.
Ver. 8. For a time, nothing remarkable occurred : the child
grew, and all went on pleasantly. When the time came for his
being weaned, a great feast was made, in token of joy that he had
passed the most delicate, and dangerous stage of life.
Ver. 9. But the joy of that day was embittered. The son of
Hagar, being stung with envy, cannot bear such an ado about this
child of promise. So he turns it into ridcule, probably deriding
* Rom. iv. 12. t Gal. iv. 28-31. Rom. ix. 7. 9. xi. 1, 2.

Chapter XXI.] BIRTH OF ISAAC. 183
the parents and the child, and the promise together ; and all this
in the sight of Sarah ! Thus he that was born after the flesh
began, at an early stage, to persecute him that was born after the
Spirit ; and thus Sarah's crooked policy, in giving Hagar to Abra
ham, goes on to furnish them with new sources of sorrow. From
what is said of Hagar, in Chap. xvi. we conceived hopes of her;
but, whatever she was, her son appears at present to be a bitter
enemy to God and his people.
Ver. 10 — 13. The consequence was, Sarah was set on both the
mother and the son being banished from the family. Abraham
had earnestly desired that Ishmael might live before God: but
Sarah says, He shall not be heir with her sod, with Isaac. This
resolution on the part of Sarah might be the mere effect of tem
per ; but, whatever were her motives, the thing itself accorded
with the design of God : though therefore it was grievous to Abra
ham, he is directed to comply with it. Tbe Lord would indeed
make a nation of Ishmael, because he was his seed ; but in Isaac
should his seed be called. We must not refuse to join in doing
what God commands, however contrary it may be to our natural
feelings, nor on account of the suspicious motives of some with
whom we are called to act.
Ver. 14. Impressed with these principles, the father of the
faithful, without further delay, rose early the next morning, prob
ably before Sarah was stirring, and sent away both the mother
and the son. His manner of doing it, however, was tender and
kind. Giving Hagar a portion of bread, and a bottle of water, he
committed them to Him who had in effect promised to watch over
them. And now for a little while we take leave of Abraham's
family, and observe the unhappy Hagar and her son, wandering in
the wilderness of Beersheba.
Ver. 15, 16. It was doubtless the design of Hagar, when she set
off, to go to Egypt, her native country ; but having to travel
through a desert land, where there was ordinarily no water, it was
necessary she should be furnished with that article. Whether the
wilderness of Beersheba, as it was called at the time Moses wrote
the narrative, was directly in her way, or whether she went
thither in consequence of having wandered, or lost her way; so it

194, BIRTH OF ISAAC. [Discourse XXIX.
was, that she was reduced to great distress. The bread might not
be exhausted, but the water was ; and no spring being to be found
in this inhospitable place, she and Ishmael appear to have walked
about, till he, overcome of thirst, could walk no longer. She had
supported him, it seems, as long as she could ; but fearing he should
die in her arms, she cast him under a shrub, just to screen him
from the scorching sun, and went and sat herself down over against
him, a good way off, as it were a bow -shot : for she said, Let me
not see the death of the child! And she sat over against him, and
lifted up her voice and wept.
Ver. 17,18. A more finished picture of distress we shall seldom
see. The bitter cries and flowing tears of the afflicted mother,
with the groans of her dying son, are heard, and seen, and felt, in
a manner as though we were present. And wherefore do they
cry ? Had there been any ear to hear them, any eye to pity
tbem, or hand to help them, these cries and tears might have been
mingled with hope : but, as far as human aid was concerned,
there was no place for this. Whether any of them were directed
to heaven, we know not. We could have wished, and should
almost have expected, that those of the mother, at least, would
have been so ; for surely she could not have forgotten Him who
had seen, anddeliveied her from a similar condition about sixteen
years before, and who had then promised to multiply her seed, and
to cause this very child to dwell in the presence of all his brethren.
But whether any of these expressions of distress were directed
to God, or not, the groans of the distressed reached bis ear.
God heard the voire of the lad : and the angel of God called to
Hagar out of heaven, and said to her, What aileth thee, Hagar?
Fear not ; for God hath heard the ,voice- of the lad, where he is.
Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand : for I will make
him a great nation.
Ver. 19. At this instant lifting up her eyes, she saw a spring of
water, which before she had over-looked ; and filling her bottle
from it, returned to the lad, and gave him drink. To God the
Lord belong the issues from death. He maketh strong the bands
of the moqker; and again he looseth his prisoners, and delivereth
those that were appointed to die. If Ishmael were at any future

Chapter XXI.] BIRTH OF ISAAC. 185
time possessed of true religion, he must look back upon these
humbling, but gracious dispensations of the God of his father
Abraham, with very tender emotions.
Ver. 20, 21. Whether Hagar and her son continued any longer
in the wilderness of Beersheba; we are not informed : it would
rather seem that they left it, and prosecuted their journey. They
did not however settle in Egypt, though in process of time she
took a wife for him from that country ; but in the wilder
ness of Paran, where the providence of God watched over him,
and where he lived, and perhaps maintained his mother by the use
of the bow. But to return —
Ver. 22 — 24. Abraham still continued to sojourn in the land of
the Philistines ; not indeed at Gerar, but within a few miles of it.
Here he was visited by king Abimelech, who, attended by the
captain of his host, in the most friendly manner, in behalf of him
self and his posterity, requested to live in perpetual amity with
him. God is with thee, saith he, in all that thou doest. Now
therefore swear unto me here by God, that thou will not deal falsely
'with me, nor with my son, nor with my son's son : but according to
the kindness that I have done unto thee, thou shalt do unto me, and
to the land wherein thou hast sojourned. And Abraham said, I will
swear. Observe, (1.) The motive that induces this friendly
request : he saw that God was with him. Probably the news of
the extraordinary birth of Isaac had reached the court of Abimelecb,
and become a topic of conversation. ' This, (said he,) is a great
man, and a great family, and will become a great nation : the
blessing of heaven attends him. It is our wisdom, therefore, to
take the earliest opportunity to be on good terms with him!'
Had Abimelech 's successors always acted on this principle towards
Israel, it had been better for them : for whether they knew it, or
not, God in blessing Abraham had promised to bless them that
blessed him, and to curse them that cursed him. (2.) The solem
nity with which be wished the friendship to be confirmed : swear
unto me by God. It is a dictate of prudence very common among
magistrates, to require men to swear by a name which the party
holds sacred. In this view, Abimelech certainly acted a wise
part ; for whoever made light of God's name, the party here would

186 BIRTH OF ISAAC. [Discourse XXIX.
not. (3.) Abraham's cheerful and ready compliance. I hope he
did not need to be sworn not to deal falsely ; but as posterity was
concerned, the more solemn tbe engagement the better. The
friend of God has no desire but to be the friend of man.
Ver. 25, 26. Now that they are entering into closer terms of
amity, however, it is proper that if there be any cause of complaint
on eitherside, it should be mentioned and adjusted, that nothing
which is past, at least, may interrupt their future harmony. Abra
ham accordingly makes mention of a well of water which Abime-
lechs servants had violently taken away. In this country, and to
a man whose substance consisted much in cattle, a spring of water
was of consequence ; and to have it taken away by mere violence,
though it might be borne from an enemy, yet is not to be over
looked where there is professed friendship. In this matter Abim
elech fairly and fully exonerates himself: I wot not, saith he, who
hath done this thing : neither didst thou teU me, neither yet heard I
of it but to-day. Public characters cannot always be accountable
for the misdeeds of those who act under them : they had need take
care, however, what sort of servants they employ, as while matters
are unexplained, that which is wrong is commonly placed to their
account. Ver. 27 — 32. Abraham, satisfied with the answer, proceeds to
enter into a solemn covenant with Abimelech, and as it should seem
a covenant by sacrifice.* The sheep and oxen appear to have
been presented for this purpose ; and the seven ewe lambs were
probably a consideration to him, as lord of the soil, for a rightful
and acknowledged propriety in the well. Having mutually sworn
to this covenant of peace, the place where it was transacted was
from hence called Beersheba, the well of the oath, or the well of
seven, alluding lo the seven lambs which were given as the price
of it. Matters being thus adjusted, Abimelech and Phichol, the
chief captain of his host, took leave and departed.
Ver. 33, 34. Abraham being now quietly settled at Beersheba,
planted a grove, and called there on the name of Jehovah, the ever
lasting God. The grove might be for the shading of his tent, and
* See on Chap. xv. 10. p. 142.

Chapter XXF. BIRTH OF ISAAC. 187
perhaps for a place of worship. Such places were afterwards
abused to idolatry ; or if otherwise, yet became unlawful when
the temple was erected. The use which Abraham made of it was
worthy of him. Such was his common practice : wherever he
pitched his tent, there he reared an altar to the Lord. A lovely
example this, to all those who would tread in the steps of the faith
of Abraham. It does not appear, however, that this was a com
mon, but rather a special act of worship ; somewhat like that of
Samuel, when he set up a stone between Mizpeh and Shen, and
called it Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto the Lord hath helped us.
There are periods in life, in which we are led to review the
dispensations of God towards us, with special gratitude and
renewed devotion. In this situation Abraham continued many
days : but still he is a sojourner, and such he must continue in the
present world.

DISCOURSE XXX.

ABRAHAM COMMANDED TO OFFER UP HIS SO.V ISAAC

Gen. xxii.

When Isaac was born, Abraham might be apt to hope that his
trials were nearly at an end : but if so, he was greatly mistaken.
It is not enough, that, inconsequence of this event, he is called to
give up Ishmael : a greater trial than this is yet behind.
And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abra
ham. Many temptations had assailed him from other quarters,
out of which God had delivered him: and does he after this
become his tempter ? As God cannot be tempted with evil, so
neither (in one sense) tempteth he any man. But be sees fit to try
the righteous ; and very frequently those most who are most
distinguished by their faith and spirituality. So great a value
doth the Lord set upon the genuine exercises of grace, that all the
grandeur of heaven and earth is overlooked, in comparison of a
poor and contrite spirit, which trembleth at his word. It is no
wonder,, therefore, that he should bring his servants into situa
tions, which, though trying to them, are calculated to draw forth
these pleasant fruits.
In discoursing upon this temptation of Abraham, I shall deviate
from my usual practice of expounding verse by verse; and shall
notice the trial itself; the conduct of the patriarch under it ; the
reward conferred upon him ; and the general design of the whole.
First, with respect to the trial itself. The time of it is worthy
of notice. The same things may be more or less trying as they
are connected with other things. If the treatment of Job's friends
had not been preceded by the loss of his substance, the untimely
Vol, V. 24

199 ABRAHAM COMMANDED [Discourse XXX.
death of his children, the cruel counsel of his wife, and the heavy
hand of God, it had been much more tolerable : and if Abraham's
faith and patience had not been exercised in the manner they
were anterior to this temptation, it might have been somewhat
different from what it was. It is also a much greater trial to be
deprived of an object when our hopes have been raised, and in a
manner accomplished respecting it, than to have it altogether
withheld from us. The spirits of a man may be depressed by a
heavy affliction ; but if he be nearly recovered, and experiences
a relapse ; if again, he recovers, and again relapses, this is much
more depressing than if no such hopes had been afforded him.
Thou hast lifted me up, said the Psalmist, and cast me down !
Now such was the temptation of Abraham. It was after these
things that God did tempt Abraham : that is, after five-and-twenty
years waiting ; after the promise had been frequently repeated ;
after hope had been raised to the highest pitch ; yea, after it had
been actually turned into enjoyment ; and when the child had
lived long enough to discover an amiable and godly disposition.
Ver. 7.
The shock which it was adapted to produce upon his natural
affections, is also worthy of notice. The command is worded in
a manner as if it were designed to harrow up all his feelings as a
father ; Take now thy son, thine only son (of promise) — Isaac,
whom thou lovest — Or, as some read it, ' Take now that son . . .
that only one of thine . . . whom thou lovest .... that Isaac !'
And what ? Deliver him to some other hand to sacrifice him ?
No : be thou thyself the priest : go, offer him up for a burnt
offering! When Ishmael was thirteen years old, Abraham conld
have been well contented to have gone without another son : but
when he was born, and had for a number of years been entwining
round bis heart, to part with him in this manner must, we should
think, be a rending stroke. Add to this, Isaac's having to carry
the wood, and himself the fire and the knife ; but above all, the
cutting question of the lad, asked in the simplicity of his heart,
without knowing that he himself was to be the victim, Behold the
fire and the wood ; but where is the lamb for a burnt qff'ering ? — This
would seem to be more than human nature could bear.

Chapter XXII.] TO OFFER UP ISAAC. 191
But the shock which it would be to natural affection is sot repre
sented as the principal part of the trial ; but rather what it must
have been to his faith. It was not so much his being his son, as
his only son of promise ; his Isaac, in whom all the great things
spoken of his seed were to be fulfilled. When called to give up
his other son, God condescended to give him a reason for it ; but
here no reason is given. In that case, though Ishmael must go,
it is because he is not the child of promise ; for in Isaac shall
thy seed be called. But if Isaac go, who shall be a substitute for
him ?
Let us next observe the conduct of Abraham under this sharp
trial. In general, we see no opposition, either from the struggles
of natural affection, or those of unbelief : all bow in absolute sub
mission to the will of God. We may depict to ourselves how the
former would revolt, and how the latter would rise up in rebellion,
and what a number of plausible objections might have been urged ;
but there is not a single appearance of either in Abraham. We
have here, then, a surprising instance of the efficacy of divine
grace, in rendering every power, passion, and thought of the mind,
subordinate to the will of God. There is a wide difference be
tween this, and the extinction of the passions. That were to be
deprived of feeling ; but this is to have the mind assimilated to
the mind of Christ, who, though he felt most sensibly, yet said,
If this cup may not pass from me, except I drink it, thy will be
done. No sooner had the father of the faithful received the heavenly
mandate, than without further delay he prepares for the journey.
Lot lingered, even when his own deliverance was at stake : but
Abraham rose early in the morning, in prompt obedience to God.
He had to go three days' journey ere he reached tbe appointed
spot ; a distance perhaps of about sixty miles. Sarah seems to
have known nothing of it. He takes only two young men with
him to carry what was necessary ; and, on his arrival within sight
of the place, they were left behind. Abide you here, said he, with
the ass, and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come
again to you. This would intimate that he wished not to be inter
rupted. In hard duties and severe trials, we should consider that

192 ABRAHAM COMMANDED [Discourse XXX.
we have^nougb to struggle with in our minds, without having any
interruptions from other quarters. Great trials are best entered
upon with but little company. Such was the precaution taken by
our Lord himself. It is admirable to see how, in this trying hour,
Abraham possessed his soul. He lays the wood upon his son —
takes the fire and the knife — they go both of them together — he
evades the cutting question of Isaac so as to prevent disclosure,
and yet in such a manner as to excite resignation to God — built
the altar — stretched forth his hand — and took the knife with an
intention to slay his son !
But what did he mean by telling his two servants that he and
the lad would come again to them ? These words, compared with
those of the Apostle, in Hebrews xi. 17. explain the whole story;
They show that Abraham from the first believed that the lad would
in some way be restored to him, because God had said, In Isaac
shall thy seed be called. He expected no other than that he should
have to slay him,, and that he would be burnt to ashes ; but if so
it were, he was persuaded that he. should receive him again, —
Accounting that God was able to raise him even from the dead.
Such was the victory of faith !
Take notice, in the next place, of the reward conferred upon
him. At the very moment when he was about to give the fatal
stroke, and to which Isaac seems to have made no resistance, the
angel of the Lord, who visited him at Mamre, and with whom he
had interceded in behalf of Sodom, called unto him to forbear :
for now I know, saith he, that tliou fearest God, seeina thou
hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from me. The Lord knew
the heart of Abraham before he had tried him ; but he speaks
after the manner of men. It is by a holy aDd obedient reverence
of tbe divine authority that faith is made manifest. As a sinner,
Abraham was justified by faith only : but as a professing believer;
he was justified by the works which his faith produced. This
accounts, 1 apprehend, for what is said by Paul on the first of
these subjects, and by James on the last. They both allege the
example of Abraham ; but the one respects him as ungodly, the
other as godly. In the first instance he is justified by faith, exclu-

Chapter XXII] TO OFFER UP ISAAC. 193
sive of works, or as having reference merely to the promised
seed ; in the last hy faith, as producing works, and thereby prov
ing him to be the friend of God.*
Abraham, being thus agreeably arrested in his design, makes a
pause, and lifting up his eyes, sees a ram caught in a thicket by his'
horns. Him he takes, as provided of God, and offers him up for a
burnt-offering instead of his son. This extraordinary deliverance
so impressed his mind, that he called the name of the place Jeho
vah- Jireh ; the Lord will see, or provide. And this name seems
to have become a kind of proverb in Israel, furnishing. not only a
memorial of God's goodness to Abraham, but a promise that he
would interpose for them that trust in him in times of extremity.
To all this, the Lord adds a repetition of the promised blessing.
The angel of the Lord who called unto him before, called upon him.
a second time, saying, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord ; for
because thou hast done this thing, and hast nat 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
upon the sea-shore ; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his ene
mies ; and in thy seed shall all nations of the earth be blessed,
because thou hast obeyed my voice. Though the -things here prom
ised are much the same as had been promised before, yet they are
more than a mere repetition. The terms are stronger than had
ever been used on any former occasion, and as such, more ex
pressive of divine complacency. Blessing, I will bless thee, &c.
is a mode of speaking which denotes, I will greatly bless thee.
(Chap. iii. 16.) It is also delivered in the form of an oath, that it
may be a ground of strong consolation : and the same things which
were promised before are now promised as the reward of this
singular instance of obedience, to express how greatly God
approved of it.
A few remarks on the general design of the whole, will conclude
this subject. Though it was not the intention of God lo permit
Abraham actually to offer a human sacrifice ; yet he might mean
to assert his own right, as Lord of all, to require it, as well as to
* Rom. iv. 3— 5. James ii. 21— 24.

194 ABRAHAM COMMANDED [Discourse XXX.
manifest the implicit obedience of faith in the conduct of his ser
vant. Such an assertion of his right would manifest his goodness
in refusing to exercise it. Hence, when children were sacrificed
to Moloch, who had no such right, Jehovah could say. in regard of
himself, " It is what I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came
it into my mind." God never accepted but one human sacrifice ;
and blood in that case was not shed at his command, but by the
wicked hands of men. It is necessary, however, that we should
resign our lives, and every thing we have to his disposal. We
cannot be said to love him supremely, if father, or mother, or
wife, or children, or our own lives, be preferred before him. The
way to enjoy our temporal comforts is to resign them to God.
When we have in this manner given them up, and receive them
again at his hand, they become much sweeter, and are accompa
nied with blessings of greater value.
But in this transaction there seems to be a still higher design ;
namely, to predict in a figure the great substitute which God in
due time should see and provide. The very place of it, called
the mount of the Lord, seems to have been marked out as -the
scene of great events ; and of that kind too in which a substitu
tional sacrifice was offered and accepted. Here it was that David
offered burnt-offerings, and peace-offerings, and called upon the
Lord ; and he answered him from heaven by fire upon the altar of
burnt-offering, and commanded the angel of death to put up his
sword.* It was upon the same mountain that Solomon was after
wards directed to build the temple.t And if it were not at the
very spot, it could not be far distant that the Saviour of the world
was crucified. Mount Moriah was large enough to give name to a
tract of land about it. (Ver. 2.) Mount Calvary therefore was
probably a lesser mountain, which ascended from a certain part of
it. Hither then was led God's own Son, his only Son, whom be
loved, and in whom all nations of the earth were to be blessed ;
nor was he spared at the awful crisis by means of a substitute, but
was himself freely delivered up as the substitute of others. One
* 1 Chron. xxi. 26, 27. t 2 Chron. iii. 1.

Chapter XXII.] TO OFFER UP ISAAC. 195
reason of the high approbation which God expressed of Abraham's
conduct might be, its affording some faint likeness of what would
shortly be his own.
The chapter concludes with an account of Nahor's family, who
settled at Haran. Probably this had not been given, but for the
connexion which it had with the church of God. From them,
Isaac and Jacob took them wives ; and it is as preparatory to those
events that the genealogy is recorded.

DISCOURSE XXXI.

THE DEATH AND BURIAL OF SARAH.

Gen. xxiii.
We have no such account of the death of any woman before, or
of the respect paid to her memory, as is here given of Sarah. She
was not without her faults, and who is ? But she was upon the
whole a great female character. As such her name stands record
ed in the New Testament among the worthies, and the memory of
her was more than usually blessed.
Ver. 1, 2. Observe, (1.) The time of her death. She was
younger by ten years than Abraham, and yet died thirty-eight
years before him. Human life is a subject of very uncertain cal
culation : God often takes the youngest before the eldest. She
lived, however, thirty seven years after the birth of Isaac, to a
good old age, and went back as a shock of corn ripe in its season.
(2.) The place. It was anciently called Kirjath-Arba, afterwards
Hebron, situated in the plain of Mamre, where Abraham had
lived more than twenty years before he went into the land of the
Philistines, and whither he had since returned.* Here Sarah
died, and here Abraham mourned for her. We may take notice
of the forms of it. He came to mourn; that is, he came into her
tent where she died, and looked at her dead body : his eye affect
ed his heart. There was none of that false delicacy of modern
times which shuns to see, or attend the burial of near relations.
Let him see her, and let him weep : it is the last tribute of affec
tion which he will be able in that manner to pay her. We should
* See on Chap. xiii. 18. p. 125.
Vol. V. 25

j98 DEATH OF SARAH. [Discourse XXXI,
also notice the sincerity of it : he wept. Many affect to mourn
who do not weep ; but Abraham both mourned and wept. Reli
gion does not stop the course of nature, though it moderates it ;
and, by.inspiring the hope of a blessed resurrection, prevents our
being swallowed up of overmuch sorrow.
Ver. 3, 4. From mourning, which was commonly accompanied
with sitting on the ground,* Abraham at length stood up from
before his dead, and took measures to bury her. It is proper to
indulge in weeping for a time, but there is a time for it to abate ;
and it is well there is. The necessary cares attending life are
often a merciful mean of rousing the mind from the torpor of mel
ancholy. But see what a change death makes. Those faces
which once excited strong sensations of pleasure, require now to
be buried out of our sight. In those times, and long afterwards,
they appear to have had no public burying-places ; and Abraham,
often removing from place to place, and not knowing where his
lot might be cast at the time, had not provided one. He had
therefore at this time a burying-place to seek. As yet he had no
inheritance in the land, though the whole was given him in prom
ise. We see him here pleading for a grave, as a stranger and a
sojourner. This language is commented upon, by the Apostle to
the Hebrews : They confessed, says he, that they were stratigers
and pilgrims on the earth ; and they that say such things declare
plainly that they seek a country. Abraham did not sustain this
character alone, nor merely on account of his having no inherit
ance in Canaan ; for Israel when put in possession of the land
were taught to consider it properly the Lord's, and themselves as
strangers and sojourners with him in it.j Even David, who was
king of Israel, made the same confession.]:
Ver. 6 — 16, One admires to observe the courteous behaviour
between Abraham and the Canaanites, for Heth was a son of Canaan.
On his part, having signified his desire, and receiving a respectful
answer, he bowed himself to them ; and when he had fixed upon a
spot in his mind, he does not ask it of the owner, but requests
them to entreat him on his behalf: expressing also his desire to
* Job. i. 20. ii. 13. Lam. i. 1. t Lev. xxv. 23. $ Psa. xxxix. 12.

Chapter XXHl] DEATH OF SARAH. 199
give him the full value of it, and refusing to accept it otherwise.
Nor is there any thing wanting on their part ; but every thing
appears generous and lovely. Abraham calls himself a stranger
and a sojourner ; but they call him a mighty prince among them :
give him the choice of their sepulchres ; offer any one of them
gratis ; and when he insisted on paying for it, mention its value in
the most delicate manner, intimating that such a sura was as nothing
between them. Were commerce conducted on such principles,
how pleasant would it be ! How different from that selfish spirit
described by Solomon, and still prevalent among men : Naught,
naught, saith the buyer : but when he is gone his way, then he boast-
eth! Civility, courtesy, and generosity adorn religion. The
plainness of Christianity is not a rude and insolent one : it stands
aloof from flattery, but not from obliging behaviour. Some who
are very courteous to strangers, are very much the reverse to
those about them ; but Abraham's behaviour to his neighbours is
no less respectful than it was lo the three strangers who called at
his tent. It is painful loadd, however, that civility and courtesy
may be where there is no religion. However it may tend to
smooth the rugged paths of life, and however much we are indebted
to the providence of God for it ; yet this alone will not avail in
the sight of God.
Ver. 17 — 20. Respecting the purchase of this sepulchre, I con
ceive it was an exercise of faith. Jacob and Joseph had cer
tainly an eye to the promise, in requesting their bones to be car
ried up from Egypt. A sepulchre was like an earnest, and indi
cated a persuasion of future possession.* It would tend also to -
endear the land to his posterity. This was so much a dictate of
nature, that Nehemiah could urge it to a heathen king, whom no
religious considerations would probably have influenced :f and
when to this was added, the character of those who should be
there deposited, it would render the country still more endearing.
Heathens venerate the dust of their forefathers, but contemplate
it without hope. It is not so with believers : those who should lie
in this sepulchre, walked with God in their generations ; and
*Isa. xxii. 16. tNeh.ii.3,

200 DEATH OF SARAH. [Discourse XXXI.
though dead, yet lived under the promise of a glorious resur
rection. Upon the whole,. it is natural to wish to mingle dust with those
whom we love : W ere thoi diest, there will I be buried. And
sometimes with those whom we only respect : When I am dead,
said the old prophet of Bethel to his sons, bury me in the sepulchre
wherein the man of God is buried, and lay my bones beside his
bones. But after all, the chief concern is, with whom we shall rise !

DISCOURSE XXXII.

ABRAHAM SENDING HIS SERVANT TO OBTAIN A WIFE FOR ISAAC.

Gen. xxiv.
The last chapter contained a funeral : this gives an account of
a marriage. Such are the changes of human life ! Let not this
minute narrative seem little in our eyes. It was thought by the
Spirit of God to be of more importance than all that was at that
time going on among the great nations of antiquity. It is highly
interesting to trace great things to their small beginnings ; and to
them that love Zion it must be pleasant to observe the minute
turns of Providence in respect of its first fathers.
Ver. 1 — 9. Abraham being now an old man, and having lost the
partner of his life, feels anxious to adjust his affairs, that he may
be ready to follow her. The Lord had blessed him in all things,
and he had doubtless much to dispose of : but the greatest blessing
of all related to his seed, and this occupies his chief attention.
Aware that character, as well as happiness, greatly depended on a
suitable connexion, he was desirous that before he died he might
discharge this part of the duty of a father. Calling to him there
fore his eldest servant, who was already steward of his affairs, and
incase of death must have been his trustee in behalf of Isaac, he
bound him in a solemn oath respecting the wife that he should
take to him. We are not here told the servant's name ; but by the
account which is given of him, compared with Chap. xv. 2., it is
not unlikely that it was Eliezer of Damascus.

202 ABRAHAM'S SERVANT SEEKS [Discourse XXXII.
The characters of men are not so easily ascertained from a few
splendid actions, as from the ordinary course of life, in which their
real dispositions are manifested. In this domestic concern of
Abraham, we see several of the most prominent features of his
character. (1.) His decided aversion to idolatry. I will make
thee swear by Jehovah, 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. Had Abraham then contracted a
prejudice against his neighbours ? This does not appear, by what
occurred between them in the last chapter. He does not com
plain of their treatment of him, but of their alienation from his
God. He has no objection to an exchange of civilities with them ;
but to take their daughters in marriage was the sure way to cor
rupt his own family. The great design of God in giving the land
to Abraham's posterity, was the eventual overthrow of idolatry,
and the establishment of his true worship on earth. To what
purpose then was he called from among Chaldean idolaters, if his
son join affinity with those of Canaan ? Such, or nearly such,
were the sentiments which dictated the address to his servant.
The Lord God of heaven, who took me from my father's house,
and sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land,
he shall send his angel before thee. (2.) His godliness. There
does not appear in all this concern the least taint of worldly policy,
or any of those motives which usually govern men in the settlement
of their children. No mention is made of riches, or honours, or
natural accomplishments ; but merely of what related to God.
Let not the woman -be a daughter of Canaan, but of the family of
Nahor, who had forsaken Chaldean idolatry, and with Milcah his
wife settled at Haran, and who was a worshipper of the true God.
Chap. xxxi. 53. (3.) His faith and obedience. The servant
being about to bind himself by oath, is tenderly concerned lest he
should engage in more than he should be able to accomplish. Per-
mdrenture, saith he, the woman will not follow me into this land:
must I needs bring thy son again to the land whence thou earnest ?
No: as Isaac must not marry a daughter of Canaan, neither must
he leave Canaan to humour a daughter of Haran : for though
Canaan's daughters are to be shunned, yet Canaan itself is to be

Chapter XXIV.] A WIFE FOR ISAAC. 203
chosen as the Lord's inheritance bestowed on the promised seed.
Nor do these supposed difficulties at all deter Abraham : The Lord
God of heaven, saith he, who took me from my father's house, and
from the land of my kindred, and who spake unto me, and sware unto
me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land, HE shall send his
angel before thee,andthou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence.
On the ground of this promise, he would send him away, fully
acquitting him of his oath, if the party should prove unwilling ;
only charging him not to bring Isaac to Haran, as he had before
charged him not to marry him to a daughter of Canaan.
Ver. 10 — 14. Abraham's servant having, on the above terms,
consented to take the oath, now betakes himself to his journey.
No time seems to have been lost ; for his heart was in the business.
He did not trouble his aged master in things of inferior moment ;
but having all his affairs intrusted to him, adjusts those matters
himself. Taking with him ten camels, and of course a number of
attendants, partly for accommodation, and partly, we may suppose,
to give a just idea of his master's substance, he set off for Meso
potamia, to the city of Nahor. Nothing remarkable occurs by the
way : but arriving on a summer's evening at the outside of the
city, he espies a well. Here he causes his camels to kneel down
for rest, and with a design, as soon as opportunity offered, to fur
nish them with drink. Now it was customary in those countries
for the women, at the time of the evening, to go out to draw water ;
of this Abraham's servant is aware. And having placed himself
and his camels by the well, in a waiting posture, he betakes him
self to prayer for divine direction. Light as men make of such
concerns in common, there are few things of greater importance,
and in which there is greater need for imploring the guidance and
blessing of heaven. Upon a few minute turns at this period of
life, more depends than can possibly be conceived at the time.
Young people ! pause a moment, and consider .... Think of
the counsel of God .... In all thy ways acknowledge him, and
he shall direct thy paths. That which is done for life* and which
may involve things of another life, requires to be done well; and
nothing can be done well in which the will of God is not consulted^
and his blessing implored. Let us each pause a few minutes too,

204 ABRAHAM'S SERVANT SEEKS [Discourse XXXII.
and notice the admirable prayer of Abraham's servants. Truly
be had not lived with Abraham in vain ! Observe, (1.) The char
acter under which he addresses the Great Supreme : Oh Jehovah,
God af my master Abraham. He well knew that Jehovah had
entered into covenant with Abraham, and had given him exceeding
great and precious promises. By approaching him as a God in
covenant, he would find matter for faith to lay hold upon ; every
promise to Abraham would thus furnish a plea, and turn to a good
account. Surely this may direct us in our approaches to a throne
of grace, to make mention of a greater than Abraham, with whom
also God is in covenant, and for whose sake the greatest of all
blessings may be expected. The God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ is to us what the God of Abraham was to Eliezer;
and in the name of our Redeemer we may pray and hope for every
thing that is great and good. (2.) The limitation of the prayer to
the present time : Send me good speed this day. We may in a
general way ask for grace for our whole lives ; but our duty is
more especially to seek direction at the time we want it. Our
Lord teaches us to pray for daily bread as the day occurs. (3.)
The sign which he presumed to ask for ; that the damsel to whom
he should say so and so, and who should make such and such
answers, should be the person whom the Lord had appointed for his
servant Isaac. In this he might be under extraordinary influence,
and his conduct therefore afford no example to us. The sign he
asked, however, was such as would manifest the qualifications
which he desired and expected to find in a companion who should
be worthy of his master's son ; namely, industry, courtesy, and
kindness to strangers. (4.) The faith in which the prayer was
offered. He speaks all along under a full persuasion that the
providence of God extended to the minutest events, to the free
actions of creatures, and even to their behaviour, of which at the
time they are scarcely conscious. His words are also full of hum
ble confidence that God would direct him in a matter of so much
consequence to his church in all future ages. I believe, if we
were to search the scriptures through, and select all the prayers
that God has answered ; we should find them to have been the
prayers of faith.

Chapter XXIV ] A WIFE FOR ISAAC. 205
Ver. 15 — 28. While he was speaking, a damsel, with a pitcher
upon her shoulder, came towards the well.' By her appearance
he is possessed of the idea that she is the person, and that the
Lord hath heard his prayer. He said nothing to her till she had
gone down to the well, and was come up again. Then he ran
towards her, and addressed ber in the words which he had
resolved to do, entreating permission to drink a little water of her
pitcher. To this she cheerfully consented, and offered her
assistance to give drink also to his camels ; all exactly in the
manner which he had prayed for. The gentleness, cheerfulness.
assiduity, and courtesy, manifested towards a stranger, of whom
she at present could have no knowledge, is truly admirable. The
words in which it is described are picturesque and lively to the
highest degree. We need only read them, in order to feel our
selves in the midst of the pleasing scene. And site said, Drink,
my lord : and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand,
and gave him drink. And when she had given him drink, she said,
I will draw for thy camels also, until they have done drinking.
And site hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran
again unto the well to draw, and drew for all his camels. This
conduct, in itself so amiable, and so exactly in unison with the
previous wishes of the man, struck him with a kind of amazement,
accompanied with a momentary hesitation, whether all could be
true. Wondering at her, he held his peace, to wit, whether the
Lord had made his journey prosperous or not. We pray for
blessings, and when our prayers are answered, we can scarcely
believe them to be so. There are cases in which the mind, like
the eye by a great and sudden influx of light, is overpowered.
Thus Zion, though importunate in prayer for great conversions,
yet when they come, is described as being in a manner confounded
with tbem : Thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged — thou shalt
say in thine heart, Who hath begotten me these ? Recovering from
his astonishment, and being satisfied that the Lord had indeed
heard his prayer, he opens his treasures, and presents the damsel
with certain eastern ornaments, which he had provided for the
purpose ; inquiring at the same time after her kindred, and
whether tbey had room to lodge him. Being told in answer, that
Vol. V. 26

206 ABRAHAM'S SERVANT SEEKS, &c. [Discourse XXXU.
she was Ike daughter ofBethuel the son of Nahor, and Milcah, and
that they had plenty of accommodation for him and his company,
his heart is so full that he cannot contain himself, but even in the
presence of Rebekah, and perhaps of the men who were with him,
bowed down his head and worshipped, saying, Blessed be Jehovah,
God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master
of his mercy and his truth . J being in the way, Jehovah led me to
the house of my master's brother ! We see here not only a grateful
mind, equally as disposed to give thanks for mercy, as to pray for
it; but1 a delicate and impressive manner of communicating to
Rebekah a few particulars which he wished her to know. His
words were addressed to tbe Lord ; but being spoken in her
hearing, she would perceive by them who he was, whence he
came, and that the hand of the God of Abraham was in the visit,
whatever was the object of it. Full of joyful surprise, she runs
home with the bracelets upon her hands, and tells the family of what
had passed. But here I must break off for the present, and leave
the conclusion of this interesting story to another discourse.

DISCOURSE XXXIII.
ABRAHAM SENDING HIS SERVANT TO OBTAIN A WIFE FOR ISAAC.
[Continued.]

Gen. xxiv. 20—67.
Ver. 29 — 31. As yet no one suspects the object of the visit ;
but all hearts are full, and there is much running hither and
thither. No mention is made at present of Bethuel, or of Milcah ;
they were aged people, aud the affairs of the family seem princi
pally to have devolved on its younger branches. Laban appears
to have taken a very active part in this business. Hearing his
sister's tale, and seeing the ornaments upon her hands, he is all
alive, and runs towards the well to welcome the man into his
house. By the account which is afterwards given of Laban, it is *
perhaps more than probable that these golden ornaments had
great influence on what would otherwise appear a very generous
behaviour. His whole history shows him to have been a merce
nary man ; and we frequently see in such characters the truth of
Solomon's remark : A man's gift maketh room for him. — It is as
a precious stone in the eyes of hint that hath it : whithersoever it
turneth, it prospereth. If a man be in straits, he is coldly treated ;
but if once he begin to rise in the world, he becomes another man,
and his company and acquaintance are courted. Such is the
spirit of this world. But whatever were Laban's motives, he
carried it very kindly to Abraham's servant. Finding him at the
Well, modestly waiting for a further invitation from some of the
heads of the family, he accosted him in language that would have
befitted the lips of a much better man : Come in, thou blessed of the
Lord: wherefore standest thou without ? For I have prepared the

208 ABRAHAM'S SERVANT SEEKS [Discourse XXXIII.
house, and room for the. camels. It becomes us to bless and
welcome those whom the Lord hath blessed ; nor must we confine
it to those whom he hath blessed with outward prosperity : a
Christian spirit is in the sight of God of great price, and ought to
be so in ours. '
Ver. 32, 33. On this becoming invitation, the. man goes into the
house ; and we see Laban very attentive. First, he ungirds the
poor beasts which had borne the burdens, and furnished them
with provender ; then he provides water for the man, and those
who were with him, to wash their feet; and after this, sets meat
before him. All this is proper. But the good man's heart is full,
and he cannot eat till he has told his errand. Such are the feel
ings of a servant of God, whose heart is in his work. Where this
is the case, personal indulgence will give place to things of greater
importance. I will not give sleep to mine eyes, said David, nor
slumber to mine eyelids, till 1 find out a place for Jehovah, a
habitation for the' mighty God of Jacob. While the woman of
Samaria was gone to tell her neighbours of the man who had told
her all things that ever she did, his disciples, knowing how weary
and faint he must have been, prayed him to eat. But seeing the
Samaritans flocking down the hill to hear the word of God, he
answered, I have meat to eat that ye know not of. — My meat is to
do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. Say -ye not,
There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest ? Behold —
lift up yoiir eyes, and look on yonder companies — the fields ate
white already to harvest !
Ver. 34, 35. Being requested to tell his tale, the servant begins
by informing them who he is. His prayer to the God of his
master Abraham, in the hearing of Rebekah, might possibly have
superseded the necessity of this part of his statement ; but lest it
should not, he tells them expressly, / am Abraham's servant.
He was an upright man, and upright men do not conceal who they
are. He was also an humble man, and humble men are not
ashamed to own their situation in life, though it be that of a
servant. A vain man might have talked about himself, and that
he was the first servant of the house, the steward that ruled over
all that Abraham had, and that all his master's goods were in his

Chapter XXIV.] A WIFE FOR ISAAC. 209
hand.* But not a word of this is heard ; for his heart was set on
his errand. He has no objection however to tell of the glory of
his master ; for this would tend to promote the object. Nor
does he fail to acknowledge the hand ^)f God in it : The Lord hath
blessed my master greatly. And if they were worthy to be con
nected with Abraham, this would tend farther to promote the
object ; yea, more than all the riches and glory of Abraham
without it.
Ver. 36. And now for the first time, he makes mention of Isaac.
A messenger less ingenuous might have given a hint of this kind
to the damsel, when he. presented her with the ear-rings and
bracelets : but so did not Abraham's servant. Not an intimation
of the kind is given till he is before her parents. In their
presence, and. that of the whole family, he frankly makes mention
of his master's son ; and as his object was to recommend him to
their esteem, and to prepossess Rebekah in his favour, it is admi
rable to see how he accomplishes his end. All is in the form of
a simple narrative ; yet every moving consideration is worked
into it that the subject will admit of. In only this single verse we
observe four circumstances touched upon, each of which would
have a powerful effect — He was the son of the highly honoured
Abraham — by the much-loved Sarah — in their old age — (of course
he himself must be young) — and was made heir of all his father's
substance. Ver. 37, 38. From hence he proceeds to a still more explicit
mention of the object of his journey, mixing with it such grounds
or reasons as must ingratiate both his master and his master's son
in their esteem, and so tend to accomplish his design. He informs
them that Abraham was utterly averse to his son's being united
with a daughter of Canaan ; so much so, that he even made him
solemnly swear upon the subject. The family at Haran might
possibly have thought that ere now Abraham had forgotten his
old friends, and formed new connexions : but they would perceive
by this that he had not. There is a charming delicacy in his
introducing the subject of marriage. He speaks of a wife being
* See Esther v. 11,12.

210 ABRAHAM'S SERVANT SEEKS [Discourse XXXIII.
taken for his master's son ; but first mentions it in reference to
the daughters of Canaan, whom he must not take, before he
suggests any thing of the person he wished to take ; thus giving
them to infer what was coming, ere he expressed it. And now,
having intimated the family whom his master preferred, he repre
sents him as speaking of them in the most affectionate language :
My father's house, my kindred. '
Ver. 39 — 41. Next he repeats what passed between his master
and himself, as to the supposed willingness or unwillingness of
the party; and here also we see much that will turn to account.
In expressing Abraham's persuasion in the affair, he appeals to
their piety. It was saying, in effect, The hand of God is in it ;
and this, with godly minds, would be sure to weigh. Indeed it
did weigh ; for when required to give an answer, it was this:
The thing prOceedelh from the Lord. Religion, thus mingled with
natural affection, sanctifies it, and renders sweetness itself more
sweet. In repeating also the wbrds of Abraham, Thou shalt take
a wife for my son of my kindred, and of my father's house, he
touches and re-touches the strings of fraternal love. And in that
he intimates that his master had laid nothing more upon him than
to tell his tale, and leave the issue to the Lord, he gives them to
understand that whether they were willing or unwilling, he should
be clear of his oath. In this, and several other parts of this
pleasant story, our thoughts must needs run to the work of
Christ's servants, in espousing souls to him. They may be clear
of the blood of all men, though sinners may be unwilling : and it
is their duty to tell them so ; that while, on the one hand, they
allure them by exhibiting the glory of their Master, they may, on
the other, convince them that their message is not to be trifled
with. Both are means appointed of God to bring them to Christ ;
and if the Lord be with them in their work, such will be the
effect. ,
Ver. 42 — 49. The repeating of the interview with Rebekah at
the well, was all admirably in point, and of a tendency to bring
the matter to a crisis. ' I came to the well — I called on the God
of my master Abraham — I asked for a sign — a sign was given me
— every thing answered to] my prayer — -judge ye — let Rebekah

Chapter XXIV.] A WIFE FOR ISAAC 211
judge — whether the hand of the Lord be not in it. 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.'
Ver. 50 — 52. With this simple, but interesting account, the
whole family is overcome: one sentiment bows every mind.
Rebekah says nothing ; but her heart is full. It is an affair in
which little or nothing seems left for creatures to decide. The
thing, say they, proceedeth from the Lord : we cannot speak unto
thee good or bad. Behold, Rebekah is before thee ; take her, and
go, and let her be thy master's son's wife, as the Lord hath spoken !
Such was the happy result of this truly religious courtship ; and
the good man, who saw God in all things, still keeps up his
character. Hearing their words, he bowed himself to tbe earth,
and worshipped God ! How sweet would all our temporal
concerns be rendered, if they were thus intern. ingled with
godliness !
Ver. 53. The main things being settled, he, according to the
customs of those times, presents the bride elect with jewels of
silver, jewels of gold, and raiment, suited to the occasion ; and
farther to conciliate the esteem of the family, he gave also to her
brother, and to her mother precious things- Presents, when given
from sincere affection, are very proper, and productive of good
effects. It is by a mutual interchange of kind offices that love is
often kindled, and always kept alive. Our Saviour accepted the
presents which were offered him, not only of food, but raiment,,
and even the anointing of his feet. Where love exists, it is
natural and grateful to express it in acts of kindness.
Ver. 54 — 58. The good man would not eat till he had told his
errand : but now that his work is done, he and the men who were
with him both eat and drink : and doubtless it would add to the
enjoyment of their meal, to know that the Lord had made their
way prosperous. The next morning, having accomplished his
object, the diligent and faithful servant wants to be going. To
this proposal, however, though honourable to him as a servant,
the mother and the brother object ; pleading for a few days, ten
at least, ere they parted ; nor does their objection seem to be
unreasonable. Though willing upon tbe whole that she should

212 ABRAHAM'S SERVANT SEEKS [Discourse XXXII 1.
go ; yet parting is trying work, especially when they considered
that they might never see her more in this world, as in truth they
never did. The^man, however,, knows not how to consent to it ;
but entreats that he might not be hindered, seeing the Lord had
prospered his way. Whether we consider him as too pressing,
in this case, or not, we may lay it down as a general rule, never
to hinder those who are engaged in a right way, and who have
received manifest tokens that God hath blessed them in it. The
case being somewhat difficult, and neither of the parties disposed
to disoblige the other, they consent to leave it to the decision of
the damsel herself. A few days to take leave of her friends could
not, we may suppose, have been disagreeable to her ; but seeing,
as she did, so much of God in the affair, and the man's heart so
deeply set upon it ; feeling also her own heart entirely in it, she
would not so much as seem to make light of it, or hinder it even
for an hour ; but far from all affectation, answered, / will go.
Ver. 59, 60. And now, preparation is made for her departure.
. Before she goes She must be provided with a nurse. Rebekah's
having been employed in drawing water, we see, was no
proof of the poverty of her parents, but rather of the^simplicity
of the times. ' Daughters were not yet taught to be so delicate as
scarcely to adventure to set the sole of their foot upon the ground.
But^now that she is going to leave her family, it is desirable that
she should have one of its domestics, who had probably been
brought up with her from her childhood, who in times of affliction
would kindly wait on her, and at all times be a friend and com
panion. The name of this nurse was Deborah. We hear no
more of her till we are told of her death. She appears tp have
survived her mistress, and to have, died in the family of Jacob,
much lamented. Chap. xxxv. 8. To an affectionate nurse, they
added a parting blessing. The language used in it shows that
Abraham's servant had. told them of the promises which God had
made to his master, and which were to be fulfilled in Isaac and
his posterity. They speak as believing the truth of them, and as
having their hearts full of hope and joy, amidst the natural sorrow
which must have attended the parting scene. They blessed
Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister ; be thou the

Chapter XXIV.} A WIFE FOR ISAAC. 213
mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate
of those that hate them !
Ver. 61 — 63. Taking leave of Haran, they go on their way
towards Canaan. A little before their arrival at Hebron, they are
unexpectedly met by a person who was taking an evening walk.
This was no other than Isaac. It may be thought that he was
looking out, in hope of meeting them; but we are expressly told .
that his walk was for another purpose, namely, to meditate. It is
a word which is sometimes used for prayer, and hence it is so
rendered in the margin of our Bibles. He was a man of reflection
and prayer ; and in the cool of the evening it might be common
for him to retire an hour to converse, as we should say, with
himself, and with his God. Admitting that the thought might
occur, ' I may possibly see my father's servant on his return,'
still his object would be, on such an important turn in his life, to'
commit the matter to God. Those blessings are likely to prove
substantial and durable, which are given us in answer to prayer.
Ver. 64, 65. Rebekah, having espied a stranger approaching
towards them, inquires of her guide whether he knew him ; and
being told that it was no other than his young master, she modestly
alighted from the camel, and took a veil and covered herself.
This eastern head-dress might, in the present instance, answer a
double purpose : First, it would express her subjection to her
husband, as being already his espoused wife. Secondly, it would
prevent that confusion which the exposure of her person, espe
cially in so sudden and unexpected a manner, must have occasioned.
Ver. 66, 67. Isaac, observing her to have put on her veil, very
properly avoids addressing himself to her; but walking awhile
with the servant by himself, heard the whole narrative of his jour
ney, which appears to have wrought on his mind as the former had
wrought on that of Rebekah. And now the marriage is consum
mated. 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. In this tender manner is the
admirable story closed. Who can forbear wishing them all hap
piness ? The union of filial and conjugal affection is not the least
honourable trait in the character of this amiable man. He brought
Vol. V. 27

214 ABRAHAM'S SERVANT SEEKS, &c. [Discourse XXX1H.
her into his mother Sarah's tent ; and was then, and not till then,
comforted for the loss of her. Dutiful sons promise fair to be
affectionate husbands : he that fills up the first station in life with
honour, is thereby prepared for those that follow. God in mercy
sets a day of prosperity over against a day of adversity. Now he
woundeth our spirits by dissolving one tender union, and now bind-
eth up our wounds by cementing another.

DISCOURSE XXXIV.

Abraham's marriage with keturah, and death. — ishmael's
prosperity and death. — the birth and characters of esau
and jacob.

Gen. xxv.
This chapter gives an account of several changes in the families
of Abraham, Ishmael, and Isaac. In each the sacred writer keeps
his eye on the fulfilment of the great promise to the father of the
faithful. Ver. 1 — 6. The marriage of Abraham to Keturah is an event
which we should not have expected. From the last account we
had of him, charging his servant respecting the marriage of his son
Isaac, we were prepared to look for his being buried, rather than
married. I do not know that it was a sin ; but it is easy to see in
it more of man than of God. No reason is given for it ; no marks
of divine approbation attend it; five-and-thirty years pass over
with little more than recording the names of his children, and that,
not from any respect to the connexion, but to show the fulfilment of
the divine promise of multiplying his seed. During this last period
of his life, we see nothing of that extraordinary strength of faith
by which he was formerly distinguished ; but, like Samson when
he had lost his hair, he is become weak like another man. While
the promise of Isaac was pending, and while Abraham was em
ployed in promoting the great object, the cloud of glory accompa
nies all his movements : but this being accomplished, and his mind
diverted to something else, the cloud now rests upon Isaac ; and
he must walk the remainder of his journey in a manner without it.

116 ABRAHAM'S DEATH [Discourse XXXlV.*
Who Keturah was we are not told : probably she was one of his
family. She and Hagar are called concubines. This does not
mean, however, that they were not his lawful wives, but that they
occupied a less honourable station than Sarah, who was a fellow-
heir with him in promise. Keturah bare Abraham six sons, among
Whose descendants were preserved in some measure the knowl
edge and fear of the true God. From one of them, namely, Midian,
descended Jethro, the father-in-law ^>f Moses ; and it is not
improbable that Job and his friends had the same general origin.
We have seen how the last thirty-five years of Abraham's life
fall short of what it was in former periods : it is pleasant, however,
to observe that his sun does nOt set in a cloud. There are several
circumstances which shed a lustre upon his last end. Among
others, his regard for Isaac, constituting him his heir, and settling
his other sons at a sufficient distance from him, shows that his
heart was still with God's heart, or that he whom the Lord had
chosen was the object to whom his thoughts were chiefly directed.
He was not wanting in paternal goodness to any of his children.
Though Ishmael was sent away, aud as it should seem by the other
parts of the history with nothing : yet it is here plainly intimated
that his father gave gifts to him, as well as to the sons of Keturah.
Probably he visited and provided for him in the wilderness of
Paran, and gave him a portion when he married. But God's cov
enant being established with Isaac, his settlement in Canaan is that
to which all the others are rendered subservient. All this shows
that his faith did not fail ; that he never lost sight of the promise
in which he had believed for justification ; but that as he had
lived, so he died.
Ve~r. 7 — 10. Let us notice the death and burial of this great and
good man. His death is expressed by a common but impressive
scriptural phrase ; he gave up the ghost : and his burial by
another; he was gathered to his people. The one is the parting
of body and soul : the other the mingling of our dust with that of
our kindred who have gone before us. Even in the grave, it is
natural to wish to associate with those whom we have known and
loved on earth : and still more in the world to come. When all
the sons of Adam shall be assigned their portion, each in a sense

Chapter XXV.] AND BURIAL. 217
will be gathered to his people ! The inscription on his tomb, if I
may so call it, was, He died in a good old age. On this I have two
remarks to offer. (1.) It was according to promise. Upwards of
fourscore years before this, the Lord told Abraham in vision,
saying, Thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace: thou shalt be buried
in a good old age. In every thing, even in death, the promises
are fulfilled to Abraham. — (2.) It is language that is never used of
wicked men, and not very commonly of good men. It is used of
Gideon and of David ;# and I know not whether of any other. The
idea answers to what is spoken by the Psalmist, They shall bring
forth fruit in old age : or that in Job, Thou shalt come to thy grave
in a full age, like as a shock of com cometh in, in his season.
Isaac and Ishmael are both present at his funeral. We have no
account of their having ever seen each other before, from the day
that Ishmael was cast out as a mocker ; but whether they had or
not, they met at their father's interment. Death brings those
together who know not how to associate on any other occasion,
and will bring us all together, sooner or later. Finally, the place
where they buried him, was the same as that in which he had
buried his beloved Sarah.
Ver. 11. The death and burial of so great and good a man as
Abraham must have made an impression upon surviverS : howbeit,
the cause of God died not. It came to pass after the death of
Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac. Isaac was heir to
the promise ; and though all flesh withereth and fadeth like the
grass, yet the word of the Lord shall stand for ever. We shall
hear more of Isaac soon : at present we are only told, in general,
that he dwelt by the well Lahai-roi. It was necessary in those
countries to fix their residence by a well ; and it is no less necessary,
if we wish to live, that we fix ours near to the ordinances of God.
The well where Isaac pitched his tent was distinguished by two
interesting events : ( 1 .) The merciful appearance of God to Hagar,
from whence it received its name ; The well of him that liveth
and seeth me. Hagar or Ishmael, methinks, should have pitched
a tent there, that it might have been to them a memorial of past
Judges viii. 32. 1 Chron. xxix. 28.

218 ISHMAEL'S POSTERITY, &0. [Discourse XXXIV.
mercies ; but if they neglect it, Isaac will occupy it. The gra
cious appearance -of God in a place, endears it to him, let it have
been to whom it may. (2.) It was the place from the way of
which he first met his beloved Rebekah : there therefore they
continue to dwell together.
Ver. 12 — 18. A short account is here given of Ishmael's poster
ity, and of his death. His sons were numerous and great ; they
had their towns and their castles ; nay more, they are denominated
twelve princes, according to their nations. Thus amply was fulfilled
the promise of God concerning him : Behold I have blessed him,
and- will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly :
twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.
But this is all. When a man leaves God and his people, the
sacred historian leaves him. After living in prosperity a hundred
and thirty-seven years, he gave up the ghost, and died; and was
gathered unto his people. As this language is applicable to men,
whether good or bad, no conclusion can be drawn from it, in favour
of his having feared God. It is added, that lie died in the presence
of all his brethren ; that is, in peace, or with his friends about him ;
which; considering how his hand had been against every man, and
of course every man's hand against him, was rather surprising :
;but so it had been promised of the Lord to his mother, at the well
Lahai-roi: He shall dwell m the presence of all his brethren. So
he lived, and so be died, an object of providential care for his
father's sake ; but as to any thing more, the oracles of God are
silent. Ver.'19 — 23. The history now returns to the son of promise.
Forty years old was he when he took Rebekah to wife ; and for
twenty years afterwards he had no issue. We should have sup
posed, that as the promise partly consisted in a multiplication of his
seed, the great number of his children would have made a promi
nent part of his history. When Bethuel and Milcah and Laban
took leave of Rebekah, saying, Be thou the motlier of thousands of
millions, they doubtless expected to hear of a very numerous
family. And she herself, and her husband would, as believing the
divine promise, expect the same. But God's thoughts are not as

Chapter XXV.] BIRTH OF ESAU AND JACOB. 219
our thoughts, nor his ways as our ways. Abraham's other sons
abound in children, while he in whom his seed is to be as the stars
of heaven for multitude, lives childless. In this manner God had
tried his father Abraham ; and if he be heir to his blessings, he
must expect to inherit a portion of his trials. God bestows his
mercies upon wicked men without waiting for their prayers : but
his conduct is somewhat different with them that fear him. Isaac
had received Rebekah in answer to prayer ; and let him not expect
to receive seed by her in any other way. Well, the good man is
led to pray : Isaac entreated the Lord for his wife, because she was
barren ; and the Lord was entreated of him, and Rebekah conceived.
During the time of her pregnancy, she was (he subject of some
extraordinary sensations, which filling her mind with perplexity,
she inquired of the Lord. Both the entreaty of Isaac, and the
inquiry of Rebekah, might be improper in ordinary cases ; but as
it was not the natural desire of children that prompted him, so
neither was it an idle curiosity that excited her : they each kept
in view the promise of all nations being blessed in their posterity,
and therefore were not only solicitous for children, but anxious
concerning every thing, which seemed indicative of their future
character. And as Isaac had received an answer to prayer, so it is
revealed to Rebekah that the sensationswhich she felt were signs of
other things — that she was pregnant of twins — that they should be
come two nations — and not only so, but two manner of nations- —
lastly that the elder should serve the younger. The struggle between
these children, which was expressive of the struggles that should in
after ages take place between their posterity, furnished another in.
stance of the opposition between the seed of the woman and the seed
of the serpent, both which are commonly found in most religious
families. Paul introduces this case as an instance of the sove
reignty of God in the dispensation of his grace. The rejection of
a great part of the Jewish nation was to some a stumbling-block.
It seemed to them as if the word of promise to the fathers had
taken none effect. The Apostle, in answer, maintains that it was
not the original design of God in the promise to save all Abraham's
posterity ; but on the contrary, that from the beginning he drew a

220 THE CHARACTERS OF [Discourse XXXIV.
line of distinction between Isaac and Ishmael, Jacob and Esau,
though each were alike descended from him according to the
flesh. To a farther supposed objection, that such a distinction
between children, while they were yet unborn, reflected on the
righteousness of God, he contents himself with denying the conse
quence, and asserting the absolute right of God to have mercy on
whom he will have mercy.
Ver. 24 — 28. As there were extraordinary sensations during
the pregnancy of the mother, so in the birth of the children there
was a certain circumstance which betokened that the one should
prevail over the other ; and that not only in his person, but in
his posterity. Hence the prophet Hosea, reproaching the
degenerate sons of Jacob, says of him, He took his brother by the
heel in the womb — and by his strength had power with God. But,
as if he should say, Are you worthy of being called his children ?*
From the circumstances attending the birth of a child, it was
common, in those ages, to derive their names ; and thus it was
in the present instance. The first-born, from his colour, was
called Esau, i. e. red : the younger from the circumstance of his
taking hold of his brother's heel, was caUed Jacob,, a supplanter.
Both these names were prophetic. Esau was of a sanguinary
disposition, and his posterity, the Edomites, always cherished a
most cruel and bloody antipathy against Israel. In allusion to this,
when the enemies of the church are punished, they are not only
represented as Edomites, but God is described as giving them as it
were blood for blood. Who is this that cometh from Edom, with
dyed garments from Bozrah?— ^Wherefore art thou red in thine
apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the wine-fat ?
I have trodden the wine-press alone ; and of the people there was
none with me : for I will tread tliem in mine anger, and trample
them in my fury, and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my
garments, and 1 will stain all my raiment. Jacob, on the -other
band, supplanted his brother in the affair of the birth-right, as we
shall see presently, As his having hold of his brother's heel
seemed as if he would have drawn him back from birth, and have
Hos. xii. 3.

Chapter XXV.] ESAU AND JACOB. 221
been before him, so his mind in after life appeared to aspire after
the blessing of the first-born, and never to have rested till he had
obtained it.
As they grew up, they discovered a different turn of mind.
Esau was the expert huntsman, quite a man of the field ; but Jacob
was simple-hearted, preferring the more gentle employment of
rearing and tending cattle. The partiality of Isaac towards Esau,
on account of his venison, seems to have been a weakness rather
unworthy of him : that of Rebekah towards Jacob appears to have
been better founded : her preference was more directed by the
prophecies which had gone before him, choosing him whom the
Lord had chosen.
Ver. 29 — S4. In process of time, a circumstance arose in the
family, which in its consequences was very serious. Jacob was
one day boiling some pottage, perhaps for his dinner ; for he
lived mostly upon herbs. Just then came in Esau from hunting,
very faint and hungry, and had a great mind to Jacob's pottage.
Its very colour, corresponding with his sanguinary disposition,
seemed to take his fancy ; on which account he was called Edom,
a name commonly applied to his posterity, and of similar import
with that which was first given to him. There seems, at first
sight, to be something ungenerous in Jacob's availing himself of
bis brother's hunger in the manner he did ; but if there were,
however it may reflect dishonour upon him, it reflects none upon
the event. God often brings his purposes to pass by means
which on man's part are far from justifiable. The reformation
was a great and good work, and we may wish to vindicate every
measure which contributed to it ; but that is more than we can
do. God's thoughts are not as our thoughts, nor his ways as our
ways. It will be found that he is righteous in all his ways, and
holy in all his works; but this is more than can be said of his best
servants, in any age of the world. A close inspection of this
affair, however, will convince us that whether Jacob was right as
to the means he used, or not, his motives were good, and those of
Esau were evil. Observe, particularly, (1.) The birthright
attached to seniority. (2) It ordinarily consisted in the e«el-
Vol. V. 28

222 THE CHARACTERS OF [Discourse XXXIV.
lency of dignity, the excellency of power, and a double portion.*
(3.) These privileges of the first-born were in several instances
forfeited by the misconduct of the parties ; as in the case of
Cain, Reuben, &c. (4.) There was in the family of Abraham a
peculiar blessing, which was supposed to be attached to the birth
right, though God in several instances put it into another direction.
This blessing was principally spiritual and distant, having respect
to the setting up of God's kingdom, to the birth of the Messiah, or
in other words, to all those great things included in the covenant
with Abraham. This was well understood by the family : both
Esau and Jacob must have often heard their parents converse
about it. If the birthright that was bought at this time had con
sisted of any temporal advantages of dignity, authority, or property
to be enjoyed in the lifetime of the parties, Esau would not have
made so light of it as he did, calling it this birthright, and inti
mating that he should soon die, and then it would be of no use to
him.t It is a fact too that Jacob had none of the ordinary
advantages of the birthright during his life-time. Instead of a
double portion he was sent out of the family with only a staff in
his hand,-, leaving Esau to possess the whole of his father's sub
stance. And when, more than twenty years afterwards, he
returned to Canaan, he made no scruple to ascribe to his brother
the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power, calling
him My lord Esau, and acknowledging himself as his servant.
The truth is, the question between them was, which should be
heir to tbe blessings promised in the covenant with Abraham.
This Jacob desired, and Esau despised ; and in despising blessings
of so sacred a nature, and that for a morsel of meat, he was guilty
of profaneness. The spirit of his language was, ' I cannot live
upon promises : give me something to eat and drink, for to-morrow
I die.' Such is the spirit of unbelief in every age ; and thus it if
* Gen. xlix. 3. Dent. xxi. 17 .
' t He ceuld not mean surely that he should then die of hunger, unless he
ate oftlie pottage ; for that is scarcely conceivable, while he had full access
to all the provisions in Isaac's house : but that in a little time he should be
dead ; and then of What account would these fine promites be to him ?

Chapter XXV.] ESAU AND JACOB. 223
that poor deluded souls continue to despise things distant and
heavenly, and prefer to them the momentary gratifications of flesh
and sense.
From the whole, we may perceive in this case a doctrine which
runs through the scriptures ; namely, that while the salvation of
those that are saved is altogether of grace, the destruction of those
that are lost will be found to be of themselves. From what is
recorded of Jacob, he certainly had nothing to boast of; neither
had Esau any thing to complain of. He lost the blessing, but not
without having first despised it. Thus when the Apostle had
asserted the doctrine of election, and grounded it upon God's abso
lute right to have mercy on whom he would have mercy, he
nevertheless proceeds to ascribe the cause of the overthrow of
them that perish merely to themselves. But Israel which followed
after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of right
eousness. Wherefore ? Because they sought it not by faith ; but
as it were by the works of the law : for they stumbled at the stum
bling-stone. I am aware that when we preach in this manner,
many are ready to accuse us of inconsistency. ' You preach the
doctrine of election,' say they ; ' but before you have done you
destroy your own work, by telling the unconverted that if they
perish, the fault will lie at their own door.' We answer, it is
enough for us to teach what the scriptures teach. If we cannot
conceive how the purposes of God are to be reconciled with the
agency and accountableness of man, let us be content to be igno
rant of it. The scriptures teach both ; and true wisdom will not
aspire to be wise above what is written.

DISCOURSE XXXV.

TSAAC AND abimelech.

Gen. xxvi.
We saw Abraham in a great variety of situations, by means of
which sometimes his excellencies and sometimes his failings became
the more conspicuous. Isaac has hitherto been but little tried,
and therefore his character is but little known. In this chapter,
however, we shall see him roused from his retirement, and brought
into situations in which, if there be some things to lament, there
will be many to admire.
Ver. 1 -6. We now see him in affliction, by reason of a famine
in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham.
There seem to have been more famines in the times of the patri
archs than usual ; which must not only be afflictive to them in
common with their neighbours, but tend more than a little to try
their faith. Every such season must prove a temptation to think
lightly of the land of promise. Unbelief would say, It is a land
that i eateth up the inhabitants . it is not worth waiting for. But
faith will conclude that he who hath promised to give it, is able to
bless it. Thus Abraham believed, and therefore took every thing
patiently ; and thus it is with Isaac. He first went to Abimelech,
king of the Philistines, at Gerar. His father Abraham had found
kind treatment there about a hundred years before, and there was
a covenant of peace between them. It seems, however, as if he
had thought of going as far as Egypt ; but the Lord appeared to
him at Gerar, and admonished him to put himself under his direc
tion, and to go no where without it. Dwell, saith he, in the land
that I shall tell thee of: sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee,

226 ISAAC AND ABIMELECH. [Discourse XXXV,.
and I will blest thee. In times of trouble we are apt to cast, and
forecast, what we shall do : but God mercifully checks our anxiety,
and teaches us, by such dispensations, in all our ways to acknowl
edge him. To satisfy Isaac that he should never want a guide, or
a provider, the Lord renews to him the promises which had been
made to his father Abraham. Had he met with nothing to drive
him from his retreat by the well of Lahai-roi, he might have
enjoyed more quiet ; but he might not have been indulged with
such great and precious promises. Times of affliction, though
disagreeable to the flesh, have often proved our best times.
Two things are observable in this solemn renewal of the cove
nant with Isaac. (1.) The good things promised. I will be with
thee, and will bless thee : For unto thee and unto thy seed I will give
all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unt»
Abraham thy father. And I will make thy seed to multiply as the
start of heaven, and will give unto thy seed aU these countries ; and
in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." The sum
of these blessings is, the land of Canaan, a numerous progeny,
and what is the greatest of all, the Messiah, in whom the nations
should be blessed. On these precious promises Isaac is to live.
God provided him with bread in the day of famine ; but he lived
not on bread only, but on the words which proceeded from the
mouth of God. It was in reference to such words as these that
Moses said unto Hobab, We are journeying to the place of which
the Lord said, I will give it you : come thou with us, and we will
do thee good ; for the Lord hath spoken good concerning Israel.
(2.) Their being given for Abraham's sake : Because that Abra
ham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my
statutes, andmy laws. We are expressly informed in what manner
this patriarch was accepted of God, namely, as believing on him
who justifieth the ungodly : and this accounts for the acceptance of
his works. The most spiritual sacrifices, being offered by a sinful
creature, can no otherwise be acceptable to God than by Jesut
Ghrist; for, as President Edwards justly remarks, " It does not
consist with the honour of the majesty of the King of heaven and
earth, to accept of any thing from a condemned malefactor, con
demned by the justice of his own holy law, till that condemnation

Chapter XXVI.] ISAAC AND ABIMELECH. 227
be removed." But a sinner being accepted as believing in Jesus,
his works also are accepted for his sake, and become rewardable.
It was in this way, and not of works, that Abraham's obedience
was honoured with so great a reward. The blessings here
promised are called the mercy to Abraham.* Hence we perceive
the fallacy of an objection to the New Testament doctrine of our
being forgiven and blessed in Christ's name, and for his sake; that
this is no more than was true of Israel, who were blessed and often
forgiven for the sake of Abraham. " Instead of this fact making
against the doctrine in question," says a late judicious writer, " it
makes for it ; for it is clear from hence that it is not accounted
an improper, or unsuitable thing in the divine administration, to
Gonfer /avours on individuals, and even nations, out of respect to
the piety of another to whom they stood related. But if this
principle be admitted, the salvation of sinners out of respect to the
obedience and sufferings of Christ, cannot be objected to as unrea
sonable. To this may be added, that every degree of divine re
spect to the obedience of the patriarchs was in fact no other than
respect to the obedience of Christ, in whom they believed, and
through whom their obedience, like ours, became acceptable. The
light of the moon, which is derived from its looking as it were on
the face of the sun, is no other than the light of the sun itself re
flected. But if it be becoming the wisdom of God to reward the
righteousness of his servants, and that many ages after their decease,
so highly, (which was only borrowed lustre,) much more may he
reward the righteousness of his Son, from whence it originated, in
the salvation of those that believe in him."t
The renewal of these great and precious promises to Isaac in a
time of famine, would preserve him from the fear of perishing, and
be more than a balance to present inconveniences. It is not unu
sual for our Heavenly Father to make up the loss of sensible enjoy
ments by increasing those of faith. We need not mind where we
sojourn, nor what we endure, if the Lord be with us and help us.
When Joseph was sold into a strange land, and unjustly cast into
* Mic. vii. 20.
t Williams's Letters to Belsham, pp. 156—158.

228 ISAAC AND ABIMELECH. [Discourse XXXV.
prison, il was reckoned a sufficient antidote to add, But the Lord
was with Joseph.
Ver. 6 — 1 1 . After so extraordinary a manifestation of the Lord's
goodness to Isaac, we might have supposed he would have dwelt
securely and happily in Gerar : but great mercies are often fol
lowed with great temptations. The abundance of revelations
given to Paul were succeeded by a thorn in the flesh, a messenger
of Satan sent to buffet bim. It .is said of our Lord himself, after
the heavens were opened, and the most singular testimony bad
been borne to him at Jordan, Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit
into the wilderness, to be tempted of the devil. Heavenly enjoy
ments are given to us in this world, not merely to comfort us under
present troubles, but to arm us against future dangers ; and happy
is it for us if they be so improved.
Isaac had generally lived in solitude ; but now he is called into
company, and company becomes a snare. The men of the place
asked him of his wife. These questions excited his apprehen
sions, and put him upon measures for self-preservation that in
volved him in sin. Observe, (1.) He did not sin by thrusting him
self into the way of temptation ; for he was necessitated, and
directed of. God to go to Gerar. Even the calls of necessity ani.
duty may, if we be not on our watch, prove ensnaring ; and if so,
what must those situations be in which we have no call to be found ?
(2.) The temptation of Isaac is the same as that which had over
come his father, and that in two instances. This rendered his con
duct the greater sin. The falls of them that have gone before us
are so many rocks on which others have split ; and the recording
of them is like placing buoys over them, for the security of future
mariners. (3.) It was a temptation that arose from the beauty of
Rebekah. There is a vauity which attaches to all earthly good
Beauty has often been a snare, both to those who possess it and
to others. In this case, as in that of Abraham, it put Isaac upon
unjustifiable measures for the preservation of his own life ; meas
ures that might have exposed his companion to that which would
have been worse than death. Man soon falls into mischief when
he sets up to be his own guide.

Chapter XXVI.] ISAAC AND ABIMELECH. 229
And now we see, what we are grieved to see, a great and good
man let down before heathens, and reproved by them for bis dis
simulations He had continued at Gerar a long time uninterrupted,
which sufficiently showed that his fears were groundless ; yet he
continued to keep up the deception, till the king observed from
his window some freedoms he took with Rebekah, from which he
inferred that she was his wife. The conduct of Abimelech on this
occasion was as worthy of a king, as that of Isaac had been unwor
thy of a servant of God.
Ver. 12 — 17. Things being thus far rectified, we see Isaac en
gaged in the primitive employment of husbandry ; and the Lord
blessed him and increased him, so that he became the envy of the
Philistines. Here again we see how vanity attaches to every
earthly good ; prosperity begets envy, and from envy proceeds
injury. The wells which Abraham's servants had digged, Isaac
considered as bis own, and made use of them for his flocks ; but
the Philistines, out of envy to him, stopped them up, and filled them
with earth. Had they drunk of them, it might have been excused
but to stop them up was downright wickedness, and a gross viola
tion of the treaty of peace which had been made between a for
mer Abimelech and Abraham. The issue was, the king, per
ceiving the temper of his people, entreated Isaac quietly to depart.
The reason he gave for it, that he was much mightier than they,
might be partly to apologize for his people's jealousy, and partly to
soften his spirit by a compliment. If Isaac was so great as was
suggested, he might, instead of removing at their request, have dis
puted it with them ; he might have alleged the covenant made
with his father, the improvement of his lands, &c. But he was a
peaceable man ; and therefore, without making words, removed
to the valley of Gerar, either beyond the borders of Abimelech's
territory, or at least farther off from the metropolis. A little, with
peace and quietness, is better than much with envy and conten
tion. Ver. 18 — 22. Isaac, though removed. to another part of the
country, yet finds wells of water which had been digged in the days
of Abraham his father ; and which the Philistines had stopped up
after his death. It seems, wherever Abraham went, he improved
the country ; and wherever the Philistines followed him, their
Vol. V. 29

230 ISAAC AND ABIMELECH. [Discourse XXXV.
study was to mar his improvements, and that for no other end than
the pleasure of doing mischief. Isaac however is resolved to open
these wells again. Their waters would be doubly sweet to him
for their having been first tasted by his beloved father ; and to
show his filial affection still more, he called their names after the
names by which his father had called them. Many of our enjoy
ments, both civil and religious, are the sweeter for being the fruits
of the labour of our fathers ; and if they have been corrupted by
adversaries since their days, we must restore them to their former
purity. Isaac's servants also digged new wells, which occasioned
new strife. While we avail ourselves of the labours of our fore
fathers, we ought not to rest in them, without making farther pro
gress, even though it expose us to many unpleasant disputes.
Envy and strife may be expected to follow those whose researches
are really beneficial, provided they go a step beyond their forefa
thers. But let them not be discouraged : the wells of salvation
are worth striving for ; and after a few conflicts, they may enjoy.
the fruits of their labours in peace. Isaac's servants dug two
wells, which, from the bitter strife they occasioned were called
Esek and Sitnah, contention and hatred : but peaceably removing
from these scenes of wrangle, he at length digged a well for which
they strove not. This he called Rehoboth, saying, Now the Lord
hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.
Ver. 23 — 25. The famine being now over, Isaac returned to
Beersheba, the place where he and his father had lived many years
before. It may seem strange, after God had made room for him
at Rehoboth, that the next news we hear is, that he takes leave of
it. This however might be at some distance of time, and Beersheba
was to him a kind of home. Here, the very first night he arrived,
the Lord appeared to him, probably in vision, saying, lam the God
of Abraham thy father ; fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless
thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake. Isaac
was attached to the wells which his father had digged, and to the
place where he had sojourned ; and doubtless it would add endear
ment to the very name of Jehovah himself, that he was the God of
Abraham, especially as it would remind him of the covenant which
he had made with him. A self-righteous spirit would have been of-

Chapter XXVI.] ISAAC AND ABIMELECH. 231
fended at the idea of being blessed for another's sake ; but he who
walked in the steps of his father's faith would enjoy it : and by how
much he loved him for whose sake the blessing was bestowed, by so
much would his enjoyment be the greater. The promises are the
same for substance as were made to him on his going to Gerar. The
same truths are new to us under new circumstances, and in new
situations. To express the grateful sense he had of the divine
goodness, he arose and built an altar, and called upon the name of
the Lord : and now the very place being rendered doubly dear to
him, there he pitched his tent, and there his servants digged a well.
Temporal mercies are sweetened by their contiguity to God's
altars, and by their being given us after we have first sought the
kingdom of God and his righteousness.
Ver. 26 — 31. One would not have expected after driving him,
in a manner, out of their country, that the Philistines would have
bad any thing more to say to him. Abimelech, however, and some
of his courtiers pay him a visit. They were not easy when he
was with him, and now they seem hardly satisfied when he has left
them. I believe they were afraid of his growing power, and con
scious that they had treated him unkindly, wished for their own
sakes to adjust these differences before they proceeded any far
ther. Isaac, while they acted as enemies, bore it patiently, as a
part of his lot in an evil world ; but now they want to be thought
friends, and to renew covenant with him, he feels keenly, and
speaks his mind. Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate me,
and have sent me away from you ? We can bear that from an
avowed adversary, which we cannot bear from one in habits of
friendship. It was not an enemy that reproached me ; then I could
have borne it. To this they answer, We saw certainly that the
Lord was with thee. Had they any regard, then, for Isaac's God,
or for him on that account ? I fear they had not : they feel how
ever a regard to themselves, and a kind of respect for Isaac which
is very commonly seen in men of no religion towards them that
fear the Lord. We do not blame them for wishing to be on good
terms with such a man as Isaac; but they should not have pre
tended to have done unto him nothing but good, when they must
know, and he must have felt the contrary. But this is the very

232 ISAAC AND ABIMELECH. [Discourse XXXV,
character of a self-rightepus heart, when seeking reconciliation
with God, as well as with man. It palliates its sin, and desires
peace in return for its good deeds, when in fact its deeds are
evil. Isaac, being of a peaceable spirit, admitted their plea,
though a poor one, and treated them generously. Next morning
they arose ; and having solemnly renewed covenant with each
other, parted in peace.
Ver. 32, 33. The same day in which Ambimelech and his
courtiers took leave, the news came out of the field that Isaac's
servants had discovered a well. It is the same well as they are
said to have digged in the 25th verse ; only there the thing is
mentioned without respect to the time. Here we are told that the
news of the discovery of the well arrived immediately after the
mutual oath which had been taken between Isaac and Abimelech,
and he for a memorial of the event called it, Sheba, an oath; and
a city being afterwards built on the spot was from hence, it seems,
called Beersheba, the well of the oath. Indeed this name had
been given it by Abraham above a hundred years before, and that
on a similar occasion ; but what was now done would serve to
confirm it.
Ver. 34, 35. The Lord had promised to multiply Isaac's seed;
and they are multiplied in the person of Esau ; howbeit not to
the increase of comfort, either in him or in Rebekah. Esau went
into the practice of polygamy, and took both bis wives from among
the Canaanites. Whether he went into their idolatrous customs,
we are not told, nor whether they lived in the father's family.
However this might be, their ungodly, and some think undutiful
behaviour, was a grief of mind to their aged parents. Isaac
entreated the Lord for his wife when she bare no children : and
now they have children grown up, one of them occasions much
bitterness of spirit; this indeed is not uncommon. Such an issue
of things in this instance, would tend to turn away the hopes of
Isaac from seeing the accomplishment of Abraham's covenant in
the person of his first-born son, to whom he appears to have been
inordinately attached. By other instances of the kind, God
teaches us to beware of excessive anxiety after earthly comfort9,
and in receiving them to rejoice with trembling.

DISCOURSE XXXVI.

Jacob's obtaining' the blessing.

Gen. xxvii.
Before we entered on the history of Isaac, we met with some
painful events respecting the departure of Ishmael ; but in the
introduction to the history of Jacob, we find things much more
painful. In the former instance, we found him that was rejected
a mocker ; but in this we see in the heir of promise a supplanter.
This deviation from rectitude, though it changes not the divine
purpose, but, on the contrary, is overruled for it$ accomplishment,
yet sows the seed of much evil in the life of the offender. Isaac
retained his place in the family ; but Jacob was obliged to w&pxut
from it. When the former was of age to be married, an honour
able embassy was sent to bring it about : but the latter is necessi
tated to go by himself, as one that had just escaped with his life.
There is a deep mystery in the system of Providence, and much
eventual good brought out of great evils.
Ver. 1 — 4. Isaac was now about a hundred and thirty-seven
years of age, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see. He
therefore called Esau his eldest son,1 and said, Behold now, I am
old, I know not the day of my death — take I pray thee thy weapons
—and go out to the field, and take me some venison; and make me
savoury t meat, such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat,
that my soul may bless thee before I die. Isaac lived forty-three
years after this ; but as it was unknown to him, he did very
properly in settling his affairs. The day of our death is concealed

234 JACOB'S OBTAINING [Discourse XXXVI.
from us for the very purpose that we may be always ready : and
when life is upon tbe wane especially, it becomes us to do what we
do quickly. The above account, however, does not appear
greatly to his honour. His partiality towards Esau would seem to
imply a disregard to what had been revealed to Rebekah ; and his
fondness for the venison has the appearance of weakness.
But passing this, there are two questions which require an
answer — Wherein consisted the blessing which was now about to
be bestowed ? and, Why was savoury meat required, in order to
the bestowment of it ? Respecting the first, I might refer to what
has been said already on the birthright.* There was, no doubt,
a common blessing to be expected from such a father as Isaac on
all his children, and a special one on his . first-born ; but in this
family there was a blessing superior to both. It included all those
great things contained in the covenant with Abraham, by which
his posterity were to be distinguished as God's peculiar people.
Hence that which Isaac did is said to have been done in faith, and
was prophetic of things to comeA The faith of this good man
was however, at first, much interrupted by natural attachment.
Desirous of conferring the blessing on Esau, he gives him direc
tions as to the manner of receiving it. And here occurs the
second question, Why was savoury meat required in order to the
bestowment of the blessing ? The design of it seems to have been,
not merely to strengthen animal nature, but to enkindle affection.
Isaac is said to have loved Esau on account of his venison ;\ this
therefore would tend, as he supposed, to revive that affection,
and so enable him to bless him with all his heart. It seems, how
ever, to have been but a carnal kind of introduction to so divine
an act ; partaking more of the flesh than of the Spirit, and savour
ing rather of that natural affection under the influence of which
he at present acted, than of the faith of a son of Abraham.
Ver. 5 — 10. Rebekah overhearing this charge of Isaac to his
son Esau, takes measures to direct the blessing into another
channel. This is a mysterious affair. It was just that Esau
should lose the blessing, for by selling his birthright he had
* Chap. xxv. 29—34. t Heb. xi. 20. % Chap. xxv. 23.

Chapter XXVII.] (§THE BLESSING. 235
despised it. It was God's design too that Jacob should have it.
Rebekah also, knowingof this design, from its having been revealed
to her that the elder should serve the younger, appears to have
acted from a good motive. But the scheme which she formed to
¦correct the error of her husband was far from being justifiable.
It is one of those crooked measures which have too often been
adopted to accomplish the divine promises; as if the end would
justify, or at least excuse, the means. Thus Sarah acted, in giving
Hagar to Abraham ; arid thus many others have acted, under the
idea of being useful in promoting the cause of Christ. The
answer to all such things is that which God addressed to Abraham :
I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be thou perfect.
The deception practised on Isaac was cruel. If he be in the
wrong, endeavour to convince him ; or commit the affair to God,
who could turn his mind, as he afterwards did that of Jacob, when
blessing Ephraim and Manasseh : but do not avail -yourself of his
loss of sight to deceive him. Such would have been the counsel
of wisdom and rectitude : but Rebekah follows her own.
Ver. 11 — 13. We ought not to load Jacob with more of the
guilt, of this transaction' than belongs to him. He was not first in
the transgression. His feelings revolted at it when it was pro
posed to him. He remonstrated against it. Considering too that
it was against the advice, or rather the command, of a parent, such
remonstrance would seem to go far towards excusing him. But
no earthly authority can justify us in disregarding the authority of
God. Moreover, the remonstrance itself is founded merely on
the consequences of the evil, and not on the evil itself. What a
difference between this reasoning, and that of his son Joseph. /
shall bring a curse upon me, said he, and not a blessing. How can I
do this great wickedness, said the other, and sin against God ! The
resoluteness of Reb'ekah is affecting : Upon me be thy curse, my son :
only obey my voice. Surely she must have presumed upon the
divine promise, which is a dangerous thing : our Lord considered
it as tempting God.* Those who do evil under an idea of serving
* Matt. iv. 7.

236 JACOB'S OBTAINING [Discourse XXXVT.
God, commonly go to the greatest lengths. It was in this track
that the Lord met Saul in his way to Damascus.
Ver.. 14^-17. If Jacob's remonstrance had arisen from an aver
sion to the evil, he would not so readily have yielded to his
mother as he did : but to resist temptation with merely the calcu
lation of consequences, is doing nothing. Rebekah takes the
consequence upon herself, and then he has no more to object, but
does as she instructs him. She also performs her part ; and thus
between them the scheme is executed. What labour and contri
vance are required to dissemble the truth, and carry on a bad
cause. Uprightness needs no such circuitous measures.
Ver. 18—24. Jacob now enters upon the business. And first,
with all the artifice of his mother, she cannot guard him at all
points. He is obliged to speak, and he could not counterfeit his
brother's voice. My father, said he : the patriarch starts . . .
Who art thou, my son ? It was the voice of one of his sons, but
-not of bim whom he expected. And now what can Jacob answer ?
He must either confess tbe deception, or persist in it at all events.
He chooses the latter. One sin makes way for another, and in a
manner impels us to commit it : Jacob said, I am Esau thy first
born — I hove done according as thou badest me — Arise, I pray thee,
fit, and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me. Isaac, still
suspicious, inquires how he came so soon. The answer intimates,
that by a special interposition of his father's God he had met with
early success ! It is not easy to conceive of any thing more
wicked than this. It was bad enough to deal in so many known
falsehoods : but to bring in the Lord God of' his father, in order
to give them the appearance of truth, was much worse, and what we
should not have expected but from one of the worst of men. There
is something about falsehood which though it may silence, yet will
not ordinarily satisfy. Isaac is yet suspicious, and therefore
desires to feel his hands ; and here the deception answered. The
bands, he thinks, are Esau's ; but still it is mysterious, for the
voicejs Jacob's. Were it not for some such things as these, we
might overlook the wisdom and goodness of God, in affording us so
many marks by which to detect imposture, and distinguish man
from man. Of all the multitudes of faces, voices, and figures in

Chapter XXVII.] THE BLESSING. 237
the world, no two are perfectly alike : and if one sense fail us,
the others are frequently improved. Such was the strength of
Isaac's doubts, that he would not be satisfied without directly
asking him again, Art thou my very son Esau ; and receiving far
answer, I am. Afterthis he seems to have thought that it must be
Esau, and therefore proceeded to bless him.
The adversaries of revelation may make the most they can of
these narrations : evil as was the conduct of Jacob, and of
Rebekah, the history of it contains the strongest internal evidence
that it is written by inspiration of God. Had it been a cunningly
devised fable, it would have been the business of the writer to
have thrown the faults of this his great ancestor into the shade :
but the scriptures do not profess to describe perfect characters :
they represent men and things as they were. We feel for the
imposition practised on Isaac : and yet it was no doubt a chastise
ment to him for his ill-placed partiality for Esau, on grounds so
unworthy of him, and to the disregarding of what God had revealed
concerning them.
Ver. 25 — 29. It was of the Lord that Jacob should have the
blessing, notwithstanding the unwarrantable means he had used to
obtain it. In pronouncing it, Isaac was supernaturally directed ;
otherwise it would not have corresponded with what afterwards
actually befel his posterity, which it manifestly does ; nor would
he have felt himself unable to revoke it. It is observable, how
ever, that the blessing is expressed in very general terms. No
mention is made of those distinguishing mercies included in the
covenant with Abraham ; and this might be owing to his having
Esau in his mind, though it was Jacob who was before him. He
could not be ignorant how that young man had despised these
things, and this might be a check to his mind, while he thought he
was blessing him. Moreover, his attachment to Esau, to the
disregard of the mind of God, must have greatly weakened and
injured his own faith in these things : it might therefore be ex
pected that the Lord would cause a comparative leanness to attend
his blessing, corresponding with the state of his mind.
Ver. 30 — 33. Jacob had scarcely left the room when Esau,
returning from the chase, enters it and presents his father with his
Vol. V. 30

238 JACOB'S OBTAINING [Discourse XXXVI. .
venison. This at once discovers the imposition. Isaac is greatly
affected by it. At first, when he heard his voice, he Was con
founded : Who art thou ? And when he perceived that it was
indeed his first-born son, Esau, he trembled very exceedingly,
and said, JYho, where is, he that hath taken venison, and brought
it me, and I have eaten of all befofe thou earnest, and have blessed
him ? Such a shock must have been more than he knew how
to sustain. To ascertain the sensations of which it was com
posed, we must place ourselves in his situation. As an aged and
afflicted man, the imposition which had been practised on him
would excite his indignation. Yet a moment's reflection would
convince him that the transfer of the blessing must have been of
the Lord; and consequently, that he had all along been acting
against his will in seeking. to have it otherwise. , Two such consid
erations rushing upon bis mind in the same instant, sufficiently
account for all his feelings : it was to him like a place where two
seas met, or as the union of subterraneous fires and waters, the
commotion of which causeth the earth to tremble. It must have
appeared to him as a strong measure, permitted of God for his
correction ; and that he had thus caused him to do that against his
choice which should have been done with it. Viewing it in this
light, and knowing the blessing to be irrevocable, he, like a good
man, acquiesced in the will of God, saying, Yea, and he shall be
blessed. Ver. 34 — 40. The very exceeding trembling of Isaac, is now
followed by a great and exceeding bitter cry on the part of Esau.
Nothing he had ever met with seems to have affected him like it.
But how is it, that he who made so light of the birthright, as to
part with it for a morsel of meat, should now make so much of the
blessing connected with it ? It was not that he desired to be a
servant of the Lord, or that his posterity should be his people,
according to the tenor of Abraham's covenant ; but as he that
should be possessed of these distinctions would in other respects
be superior to his brother, it became an object of emulation.
Thus we have often seen religion set at nought, while yet the
advantages which accompany it have been earnestly desired ; and
where grace has in a manner crossed hands, by favouring a younger
or inferior branch of a family, envy and its train of malignant

Chapter XXVII.] ' THE BLESSING. 239
passions have frequently blazed on the other side. It was not
as the father of the holy nation, but as being lord over his brethren,
that Jacob was the object of Esau's envy. And this may farther
account for the blessing of Isaac on the former dwelling princi
pally upon temporal advantages, as designed of God to cut off the
vain hopes of the latter, of enjoying the power attached to the
blessing, while he despised the blessing itself.
When Esau perceived that Jacob must be blessed, he entreated
to be blessed also : Bless me, even me also, 0 my father ! One
sees in this language just that partial conviction of there being
something in religion, mixed with a large portion of ignorance,
which it is common to see in persons who have been brought up in
a religious family, and yet are strangers to the God of their fathers-
If this earnest request had extended only to what was consistent
with Jacob's having the pre-eminence, there was another blessing
for him, and he had it : but though he had no desire after the best
part of, Jacob's portion, yet he was very earnest to have had that
clause of it reversed, Be lord over thy brethren, and let thy moth
er's sons bow down to thee. If this could have been granted him,
he had been, satisfied ; for the fatness of the earth was all he cared
for. But this was an object concerning which, as the Apostle
observes, he found no place of repentance, (that is, in the mind of
his father,) though he sought it carefully wifji tears. % Such will be
the case with fornicators, and all profane persons, who, like Esau,
for a few momentary gratifications in the present life, make light
of Christ, and the blessings of the gospel. They will cry with a
great and exceeding bitter cry, saying, Lord, Lord, open *unto us !
But they will find no place of repentance in the mind of the Judge,
who will answer them, I know you not whence ye are : depart from
me, ye workers of iniquity.
Esau's reflections on his brother, for having twice supplanted
him, were not altogether without ground : yet his statement is
exaggerated. It was not accurate to say, He took away my birth
right, as though he had robbed him of it, seeing he himself had so
despised it as to part with it for a morsel of meat : and having done
so, whatever might be said of Jacob's conduct in the sight of God,
he had no reason to complain.

240 JACOB'S OBTAINING [Discourse XXXVI.
Ver. 41. Esau obtained, as we have seen, a blessing, and some
relief on the score of subjection ; yet because he could not gain
his point, but the posterity of Jacob must needs have the ascen
dency, there is nothing left for him but to hate him for the blessing
wherewith his father blessed him. He was not ignorant of Isaac's
partiality : he must therefore have known that it was not owing to
him, nor even to Jacob's subtilty, that the first dominion was given
him. He must have perceived, from what his father had said, that
the thing was of the Lord, and therefore could not be reversed.
Hence it appears that the hatred of Esau was of the same nature
with that of Cain to Abel, and of Saul to David ; and operated in
the same way : it was directed against him principally on account
of his having been an object whom the Lord had favoured. Such
also was the motive of the hatred which, in after ages, subsisted in
the Edomites against Israel. As nothing could comfort Esau but
the hope of murder, so nothing could satisfy his posterity but to
see Jerusalem rased to its foundations. Isaac had talked of dying,
and Esau thought to be sure the time was not far distant ; and then
during the days of mourning for his father, he hoped for an oppor
tunity of murdering his brother. He might think also that it was
best to suppress his resentment till the poor old man was dead,
and then it would not be a grief to him. The most cruel designs
of wicked men may be mixed with a partiality for those who have
been partial to them.
Ver. 42 — 45. Esau, it seems, had not only said in his heart, I
will slay my brother, but had put his thoughts into words, proba
bly before some of the servants. The hint, however, was carried
to Rebekah, and she clearly foresaw what was to be expected.
She therefore sent for Jacob, and told him of his brother's design,
counselling him at the same time to go to her relations at Haran,
and tarry there awhile, till Esau's anger should have subsided.
The reason which she urges to enforce her counsel is very strong :
Why should I be deprived of you both in one day ? Had Esau's
purpose succeeded, the murderer, as well as the murdered, had
been lost to her. We see here the bitter fruits which Rebekah
begins to reap from her crooked policy : she must part with her
favourite son to preserve his life, and will never see him again in

Chapter XXVII.] THE BLESSING. 241
this world, though she thinks of sending in a little time to fetch
him home.
Ver. 46. By the manner in which things are here related, it
appears that Isaac was so infirm as to have lost all the power of
management, and that the whole in a manner devolved on Rebekah.
She advises Jacob what to do ; it is expedient, if not necessary,
however, before he takes his departure, to obtain his father's
concurrence. She does not choose to tell her husband the true
reason of her wishes, as that was a tender point, and might lead
to a subject which she might think it better to pass over in si
lence ; but knowing that he, as well as herself, had been grieved
with Esau's wives, (Chap. xxvi. 35.) she judges that the most
likely means of success would be a proposal for Jacob to go to
Haran for the purpose of taking a wife from among their relations
in that country. She does not propose it, however, directly ; but
merely expresses her strong disapprobation of his following the
example of his brother, leaving it to Isaac to mention positively
what should be done. And this, her apparent modesty, answered
the end, as we shall see in the following chapter.

DISCOURSE XXXVII.

JACOB S DEPARTURE FROM BEERSHEBA.

Gen. xxviii.
Ver. 1 — 4. The hint which Rebekah had dropped against
Jacob's taking a wife from among the daughters of Heth, quite
fell in with Isaac's mind; and knowing that there was but one
place for him to go on such an errand, he determines without
delay to send him thither. The account here given of his calling,
blessing, and charging him, is very much to his honour. The
first of these terms implies his reconciliation to him ; the second,
his satisfaction in what had been done before without design ; and
the last, his concern that he should act in a manner worthy of the
blessing which he had received. How differently do things issue
in different minds ! Esau, as well as Isaac, was exceedingly af
fected by what had lately occurred : but the bitter cry of the one
issued in a settled hatred, while the trembling of the other brought
him to a right mind. He had been thinking matters over ever
since, and the more he thought of them, the more satisfied he was
that it was the will of God ; and that all his private partialities
should give place to it.
One sees in what he now does that his heart is iu it. He not
only blesses him, but invokes the blessing of Almighty God to
attend him : 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. Who does not perceive the difference be-

244 JACOB'S DEPARTURE [Discourse XXXVII.
tween this blessing and the former? In that he was thinking of one
person and blessing another: in this he understands what he is
about. Then his mind was straitened by carnal attachment : now
it is enlarged by faith. The rich promises of Abraham's covenant
seem there to have been almost forgotten ; but here they are ex-
expressly named, and dwelt upon with delight. Of what impor
tance is it for our minds to be kept one with God's mind ; and
what a difference it makes in the discharge of duty ! We may
pray, or preach, after a manner,.while it is otherwise ; and God
may preserve us from uttering gross error • but what we deliver
will be miserably flat and defective, in comparison of what it is
when a right spirit is renewed within us.
Ver. 5 — 9. The departure of Jacob was attended by many
painful and humiliating circumstances, as well it might ; for these
are the necessary consequences of sin. The parting scene to
Isaac was tender ; but Jacob and his mother must have felt some
thing more than tenderness. As to Esau, it is not likely that he
was present. He was near enough however to eye his motions,
and by some means to make himself acquainted with every thing
that passed. Probably he expected more supplanting schemes
were forming, and longed for the time when a fair opportunity
should offer for his being revenged on the supplanter. But when
he found that his father had blessed him, and charged him not to
take a wife of the daughters of Canaan, and that he had obeyed
his voice, and was gone to Padan-aram, it seems to have wrought
in a way that we should scarcely have expected. Finding himself
left in the possession of all the substance of the family, and Jacob
out of his way, he thinks he has now only to please his father, and
notwithstanding the loss of this birthright, and blessing, all will be
his. And now, to accomplish his end, he carefully notices the
means by which Jacob succeeded in pleasing his parents. One
great advantage which he had gained over him, as he perceived
by his father's charge, was in reference to marriage. He had
obeyed the voice of his father and his mother, and was gone to
take a wife from the family of Bethuel. ' I will take another
wife then,' said Esau to himself, ' if that will please them ; and as
they seem attached to their relations, it shall be from among them.

Chapter XXVIII.] FROM BEERSHEBA. 345
Moreover, as Jacob, who is his mother's favourite, intends to marry
into her family, I, who am my father's, will marry into bis.' See
what awkward work is made when men go about to please others,
and promote their worldly interests, by imitating that in which
they have no delight. Ignorance and error mark every step they
take. Esau was in no need of a wife, for he had two already ;
nor did his parents desire him to add to the number ; nor would
they be gratified by his connexion with the apostate family of Ish
mael ; nor was it principally on account of Bethuel's being a
relation that Abraham's family took wives from his. In short, he
is out in all his calculations ; nor can he discover the principles which
influence those who fear the Lord. Thus have we often seen men
try to imitate religious people, for the sake of gaining esteem ,
or in some way promoting their selfish ends : but instead of suc
ceeding, they have commonly made bad worse. That which to a
right mind is as plain as the most public highway, to a mind per
verted shall appear full of difficulties. The labour of the foolish
wcarieth every one of them, because he knoweth not how to go to
the city. But to return —
Ver. 10,11. The line of promise being now fully ascertained,
Jacob becomes the hero of the tale. He was now about seventy-
seven years old ; and though his brother Esau had two wives, yet he
was single. The posterity of Ishmael and Esau, increased much
faster than those of Isaac and Jacob. It seemed to be the design
of God that the promise should be slow in its operations, in order
to try the faith of his servants. Setting out from his father's house
at Beersheba, we find Jacob journeying towards Haran, a distance
of about five hundred miles. Without a servant to attend him, or
a beast to carry him, or any other accommodation, except, as he after
wards informs us, a staff to walk with, he pursues his solitary way.
Having travelled one whole day, the sun being set, he alighted on a
certain place, where he took up his abode for the night. The place
was called Luz, and is said to have been a city. (ver. 19.) Jacob,
however, does not seem to have entered it : but, for some reason,
chose to sleep in the open air in its suburbs. Sleeping abroad is a
custom very common in tbe East, and less dangerous than in colder
climates. The stones which he used for a pillow might preserve
Vol. V. 31

246 JACOB'S* DEPARTURE [Discourse XXXVH.
him from the damp of the ground ; but, we should think, must
have contributed but little to rest his weary body.
Ver. 12 — 16. During the night he had a very extraordinary
dream, almost every particular of which is introduced by the sacred
writer with the interjection, Behold! He dreamed, and behold, a
ladder set upon the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven : and
behold, the angels of God ascending and descending on it. And
behold, Jehovah stood above it, and said, I am Jehovah, God of
Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac : the land whereon thou
liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed. And thy seed shalt be
as the dust of the earth : and thou shalt spread abroad to the west,
and to the east, and to the north, and to the south : and in thee and
in thy seed shall aU the families of the earth be blessed. And behold,
I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest,
and will bring thee again into this land ; for 1 will not leave thee
until 1 have done that which I have spoken to thee of.
We might have been at a loss in ascertaining the meaning of the
ladder, if the great medium of communion between heaven and
eaith had not almost expressly applied it to himself. Hereafter,
Said Jesus to Nathanael, ye shall see heaven open, and the angels
of God ascending (that is to heaven) and descending, (that is to
the earth) upon the Son of Man. Our Lord's design appears to
have been to foretell the glory of gospel times, in which, through
his mediation, heaven should as it were be opened, and a free
intercourse be established between God, angels, and men. But it
may be asked, What analogy could there be between this, and that
which was revealed to Jacob ? 1 answer, We have seen that the
Messiah was not only included in the promises to Abraham, but
that he made a principal part of them ; and as these promises
were now renewed to Jacob, though we had read nothing of his
vision of the ladder, yet we should have known that they looked
as far forward as to him, and to that dispensation in which all tltt
families of the earth should be blessed in him. As it is, we may
conclude that what was seen in Vision, was of the same general
import as what was heard in the promises which followed. It was
giving the patriarch a glimpse of that glory which should be
accomplished in his seed.

Chapter XXVIII.] FROM BEERSHEBA. 247
There was something very seasonable in this vision, and in the
promises which accompanied it. Jacob had lately acted an unwor
thy part, and if properly sensible of it, must have been very
unhappy. His father, it is true, had blessed him, and of course
forgiven him ; but till God has done so too, he can enjoy no solid
peace. Now such was the present vision ; it was the Lord hjs
God saying Amen to his father's blessing.* He was taking leave
of Canaan, and if he had calculated on human probabilities, he
was never likely to return to it, at least during the life-time of
Esau : but by the gift of the land on which he lay, to him and to
his seed, he was taught to expect it, and to consider himself only
as a sojourner at. Haran. Considering his age too, there seemed
but little probability of his having a numerous offspring. If the
blessing consisted in this, it seemed much more likely to be ful
filled in his brother than in bim : but he was hereby assured that
his seed should be as the dust of the earth, spreading abroad in
every direction. The thought also of leaving his father's house,
and of going among strangers, must needs have affected him. Du
ring his solitary walk from Beersheba, he had doubtless been
thinking of his lonely Condition, and of the difficulties and dangers
which he had to encounter. How seasonable then was the prom
ise, Behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither
thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land. Finally, the
present was a new epoch in his life, and as an heir of promise, a
kind of commencement of it. In this character he must, like bis
predecessors, live by faith. Esau's blessing was soon fulfilled ;
but Jacob's related to things at a great distance, which none but
God Almighty could bring to pass. How seasonable then were
those precious promises, which furnished at his outset a ground
for faith to rest upon ! I will not leave thee till I have done that
which I have spoken to thee of.
Ver. 16 — 22. Awaking from sleep in the night-time and reflect
ing on his dream, he was greatly affected, as well he might.
Surely, exclaimed he, Jehovah is in this place, and I knew it not !
And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place ! This is
* Compare ver. 3, 4. with ver. 13, 14.

248 JACOB'S DEPARTURE [Discourse XXXVH.
none other than tlie house of God, and this is the gate of heaven !
As if he had said, ' Surely this is no common dream ! God is in
it ! God is near ! I went to sleep as at other times, expecting
nothing ; and lo, ere I was aware, God hath visited me ! ' Feeling
himself as in the presence of the Divine Majesty, he trembles ; the
place seems to be holy ground, the temple of Jehovah, the sub
urbs of heaven ! Whether he slept after this, we are not told : be
that as it may, he rose early in the morning ; and, deeply impress
ed with what had passed, resolved to perpetuate the remem
brance of it. Taking the stone upon which he had lain, he set it
up for a pillar, or monument ; and that he might consecrate it lo
the future service of the Lord, poured oil upon the top of it. This
done, he gave the place a new name. Instead of Luz, (probably
so called on account of a number of almond or nut trees growing
near it,) he called it Bethel — the house of God.
Finally : He closed this extraordinary vision by a solemn vow,
or dedication of himself to God, And Jacob vowed a vow, saying,
If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go,
and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, so that I
come again to my father's house in peace : then shall Jehovah be
my God. And this stone which I have set for a pillar, shall be
God's house : and of all that thou shalt give me, I will surely give
the tenth unto thee. — The terms of this solemn vow were not of
Jacob's dictating to the Almighty, but arose out of his own gra
cious promises ; and so furnisb-a lovely example of the prayer of
faith. God had promised to be with bim, to keep him, to bring
him again into the land, and not to leave him. Jacob takes up the
precious words, saying, If God will thus be with me, and keep me,
and provide for me, and bring me home in peace, then in return
will I be his for ever. We may pray for things which God hath
not promised, in submission to his will, as Abraham interceded
for Sodom, and Moses for the idolaters at Horeb ; but when we
ask for that which he hath engaged to bestow, we approach him
with much greater encouragement. The order of what he desired
is also deserving of notice. It corresponds with our Saviour's
rule, to seek things of the greatest importance first. By how
much God's favour is better than life, by so much his being with us,

Chapter XXVIII.] FROM BEERSHEBA. 249
and keeping us, is better than food and raiment. A sense of this
will moderate our desires for inferior things, as it did Jacob's.
A little, with the fear of the. Lord, is better than great treasures
with trouble. If God be with us, and keep us, the mere necessa
ries of life will make us happy. The vow itself contains an entire
renunciation of idolatry, and a taking Jehovah to be his God.
And inasmuch as it looks forward to his return to Canaan, it in
cludes a solemn- promise to maintain the worship of God in his
family. Then he would rear an altar to him in Bethel, and con
secrate the tenth of all his substance to his cause.
In the course of the history we shall perceive the use that
Jacob made of this vision, and that which the Lord made of the
vow which here he vowed to him. But I conclude with only re
marking, that in the former chapter we saw much of man ; but in
this we have seen much of God. In the works of the one,
sin abounded ; in those of the other, grace hath much more
abounded.

DISCOURSE XXXVIII.

jacob's arrival at haran.

Gen. xxix.
Ver. 1. Jacob's second day's journey was very different from
the first ; then he had a heavy burden, but now he has lost it.
His outset from Bethel is expressed by a phrase which signifies
he lifted up his feet ; that is, he went lightly and cheerfully on.
Nothing more is recorded of his journey, but that he came unto the
land of the people of the east.
Ver. 2 — 10. The first object that struck him was a well, with
three flocks of sheep lying by it, ready to be watered. Tbe shep
herds coming up, rolled away the stone from the well's mouth,
watered the flocks, and then put the stone again in its place.
Jacob, who had hitherto looked on, now began the following con
versation with them. — My brethren, whence be ye ? — Of Haran.
Know ye Laban, the son of Nahor ? — We know him. — Is he well ?
He is well ; and behold, Rachel his daughter cometh with the
sheep. — On this, Jacob suggests that it was too soon to gather all
the flocks together, as they did at night : and that there was much
time yet for their being again led forth to pasture. Water ye the
sheep, said he, and go and feed them. It might appear somewhat
out of character for a stranger to be so officious as to direct them
how to proceed with their flocks : but the design was, I apprehend,.
to induce them to depart, and to leave him to converse with Rachel
by herself. They tell him, however, that they must stop till all the

252 JACOB'S ARRIVAL [Discourse XXXVUL
flocks are watered ; Rachel's, it seems, as well as the rest. Such
probably wa3 the custom, that the well might be left secure. While
they were talking, Rachel came up. The sight of the daughter
of his mother's brother affected Jacob. He could have wished
that so tender an interview had been by themselves : but as this
could Dot be, he, in the presence of the shepherds, went and rolled
away the stone from the wells mouth, and watered her flock ; which
being done, he kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice and wept.
The tears shed on this occasion must have arisen from a full
heart. We cannot say that the love which he afterwards bore to
Rachel did not commence from his first seeing her. But, how
ever that might be, the cause of this weeping was of another kind :
it was her being the daughter of his mother's brother that now
affected him. Every thing that revived her memory, even the
very flocks of sheep that belonged to her brother, went to his
heart. Nor did he wish fo be alone with Rachel, but that he
might give vent without reserve to these sensations.
Ver. 12 — 14. It must have excited surprise in Rachel's mind,
to see a stranger so attentive in watering her flock, and still more
so to receive from him so affectionate a salutation : but now,
having relieved his heart by a burst of weeping, he tells her who
he is ; — he is her father's near kinsman, Rebekah's son ! And
now we may expect another very tender interview. Rachel ran
and told her father ; and the father ran to meet him, and embraced
him, and kissed him, and brought him to his house. After an inter
change of salutations, Jacob teljs him his whole story ; and Laban
seems much affected with it, and speaks to him in affectionate
language, Surely thou art my bone, and my flesh.
Ver. 15 — 20. During the first month of his stay, Jacob
employed himself about his uncle's business ; hut nothing was said
with respect to terms. On such a subject it was not for Jacob to
speak : so Laban very properly intimated that he did not desire
to take advantage of his near relationship, that he should serve
him any more than another man for nothing. Tell me, said he,
what shall be thywages ? This gives Jacob an opportunity of
expressing his love to Rachel. Aware that he had no dowry, like
his father Isaac, he could not well have asked her, but for such

Chapter XXIX.] AT HARAN. 253
an opportunity as this being afforded him. It was humiliating,
however, to be thus in a manner obliged to earn his wife before he
could have her. This is twice afterward referred to in the
scriptures, as an instance of his low condition. It was a part of
the confession required to be made by every Israelite, when he
presented his basket of first-fruits before the Lord, A Syrian ready
to perish was my father ! And when, in the days of Hosea, they
were grown haughty, the prophet reminds them that Jacob fled
into the country of Syria, and Israel served for a wife and for a
wife he kept sheep. Half the generosity which Laban's words
seem to express would have given Jacob the object of his choice,
without making him wait seven years for her. It was very proper
for the one to offer it ; but it was mean and selfish for tbe other
to accept it. If he had really esteemed his daughters, and en this
account set a high value on them, he would not afterwards have
imposed two, where only one was desired. But his own private
interest was all he studied. In his sister Rebekah's marriage
there were presents of gold and silver, and costly raiment, besides
an assurance of the Lord having greatly blessed the family, and
that Isaac was to be the heir. These were things which wrought
much on Laban's mind. He could then say, Behold, Rebekah is
before thee, lake her, and go, and let her be thy master's son's wife.
But here are none of these moving inducements. Here is a man,
it is true, and he talks of promised blessings : but he is poor, and
Laban cannot live upon promises. He perceives that Abraham's
descendants are partial to his family, and he is resolved to make
his market of it. The sight of the very flocks of Laban, as being
his mother's brother, interested Jacob's heart ; but he would soon
find that Laban will make him pay for his attachments. Such
however was the love he bore to Rachel, that he took all in good
part, and consented to serve seven years for her. Nay, such was
the strength of his affection, that they seemed unto him but a few
days. Some would suppose that love must operate in a contrary
way, causing the time to appear long rather than short ; and there
fore conclude, that what is here spoken is expressive of what it
appeared when it was past : but the phraseology seems rather to
denote what it appeared at the time. The truth seems to be this :
Vol. V. 32

254 JACOB'S ARRIVAL [Discourse XXXVIII.
when there is nothing to obstruct a union, love is impatient of
delay ; but when great difficulties interpose, it stimulates to a pa
tient and resolute course of action, in order to surmount them.
Where the object is highly valued, we think little of the labour
and expense of obtaining it. Love endureth all things.
Ver. 21 — 24. At the expiration of the time, Jacob demanded
his wife, and preparation is made accordingly for the marriage.
Laban, like some in their gifts to God, is not wanting in ceremony.
He made a feast, gave his daughter a handmaid, and went through
all the forms ; but the gift itself was a deception : it was not Rachel,
but Leah, that was presented. It seems somewhat extraordinary
that Jacob should be capable of being thus imposed upon. Per
haps the veil which was then worn by a woman on her marriage
might contribute to his not perceiving her. It was a cruel business
on the part of Laban ; yet Jacob might see in it the punishment of
his haying imposed upon his father. In such a way God often
deals with men, causing them to reap the bitter fruits of sin, even
when they have lamented and forsaken it. When thou shalt make
an end to deal treacherously, they shall deal treacherously with
thee. Ver. 25 — 30. Jacob perceiving by the light of the morning
how he had been deceived, remonstrated ; but it was to no pur
pose. The answer of Laban was frivolous. If the custom of
the country was as he alleged, he ought to have said so from the
first : but it is manifest that he wanted to dispose of both his
daughters in a way that might turn to his own advantage. Hence
he adds, Fulfil her week, and I will give thee this also. These
words would seem to intimate that he had seven years longer to
stay for Rachel ; but this does not agree with ofher facts. Jacob
was twenty years in Haran.* At the end of fourteen years Joseph
was born.t At that time Rachel had been a wife without bearing
any children for several years.J The two marriages therefore
must have been within a week of each other ; and the meaning
of Laban's words must be, ' Fulfil the seven days' feasting for
Leah, and then thou shalt have Rachel, and shalt serve me seven
* Gen, xxxi. 41. t Chap. xxx. 25. } Chap. xxxi. 22, 24.

Chapter XXIX.] AT HARAN. 355
years after the marriage on her account.' With this perfectly
agrees what is said in ver. 30, in which he is said to have gone in
also unto Rachel, denoting that it was soon after his having gone
in unto Leah ; and in which the seven years' service is spoken of
as following his marriage to her. This proposal on the part of
Laban was as void of principle as any thing could be. His first
agreement was uugenerous, his breach of it unjust ; and now to
extort seven years' more labour, or withhold' the object agreed
for was sordid in the extreme. Jacob had no desire for more
wives than one ; yet as polygamy was at that time tolerated,
and as the marriage had been consummated, though ignorantly,
with Leah, he could not well put her away : yet neither could he
think of foregoing Rachel. So he acceded to the terms notwith
standing their injustice, and was married also to Rachel ; and
Bilhah was given to her for a handmaid. But it was to him a sore
trial, and that which laid the foundation of innumerable discords
in bis family, of which the succeeding history of it abounds. The
following prohibition to Israel seems to have been occasioned by
this unhappy example in their great ancestor : Thou shalt not
take a wife to her sister, to vex her, to uncover her nakedness,
besides the other, in her life-time. '
Ver. 31-1-35. That Leah, who was never the object of Jacob's
choice, and who must have had a share in the late imposition,
should be hated in comparison of Rachel, is no more than might
be expected : yet it is worthy of notice how God balances the
good and ill of the present life. Leah is slighted in comparison
of Rachel : but God gives children to her, while he withholds
them from the other; and children in a family whose chief bless
ing consisted in a promised seed, were greatly accounted of. The
names given to the children were expressive of their mother's
state of mind ; partly as to her affliction for want of an interest in
her husband's heart, and partly, we hope, as to her piety, in
viewing the hand of God in all that befel her. Four children
were born of her successively ; namely, Reuben, Simeon, Levi,
and Judah : and thus God was pleased to put more abundant
honour upon the part that lacked. The name oftlie last of these
children, though given him by his mother merely under an emo*

25G JACOB'S ARRIVAL, &c [Discourse XXXVIH.
tion of thankfulness, yet was not a little suited to the royal tribe,
from whence also the Messiah should descend. Of this his father
was made acquainted by revelation when he blessed his sons.
Judah, said he, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise— <Ae
sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between
Ms feet, until Shiloh come ; and unto him shall the gathering of
the people be!
One sees in the conduct of both Jacob and Leah, under their
afflictions, a portion of that patience which arose from a conscious
ness of their having brought them upon themselves. They were
each buffeted in this manner for their faults ; and being so, there
was less of praiseworthiness in their taking it patiently. Yet,
when compared with some others, who, in all their, troubles, are
as bullocks unaccustomed to the yoke, we see what is worthy of
imitation.

DISCOURSE XXXIX.

JACOB IN HARAN.

Gen. xxx. xxxi. 1 — 16.
Though every part of scripture is given by inspiration of
God, and is profitable for various purposes ; yet I conceive it is
no disparagement from its real value to say, that every particular
passage in it is not suited for a public exposition. Oh this ground
I shall pass over the thirtieth chapter, with only two or three
general remarks.
First: The domestic discords, envies, and jealousies, between
Jacob's wives, serve to teach us the wisdom and goodness of the
Christian law, that every man have his own wife, as well as every
woman her own husband. No reflecting person can read this
chapter without being disgusted with polygamy, and thankful for
that dispensation which has restored the original law of nature,
and with it, true conjugal felicity.
Secondly : Though the strifes and jealousies of Jacob's wives
were disgusting, yet we are not to attribute their desire of children,
or the measures which it put them upon for obtaining them, to
mere carnal motives. Had it been so, there is no reason to
believe that the inspired writer would have condescended to
narrate them. " It would," as an able writer observes. " have
been below the dignity of such a sacred history as this is, to relate
such things, if there had not been something of great consideration
in them." The truth appears to be, they were influenced by the
promises of God to Abraham; on whose posterity were entailed
the richest blessings, and from whom the Messiah was, in the ful
ness of time, to descend. It was the belief of these promises that

258 JACOB IN HARAN. [Discourse XXXIX-
rendered every pious female in those times emulous of being a
mother. Hence also both Leah and Rachel are represented as
praying to God for this honour, and when children were given
them, as acknowledging the favour to have proceeded from him.
Ver. 17, 18, 22.
Thirdly : The measure which Jacob took to obtain the best of
the cattle would at first sight appear to be selfish, and disingenu
ous ; and if viewed as a mere human device, operating according
to the established laws of nature, it would be so : but such it was
not. As when unbelievers object to the curse of Noah upon his
son, that it was the mere effect of revenge, we answer, Let them
curse those who displease them, and see whether any such effects
will follow ; so if they object to the conduct of Jacob as a crafty
device, we might answer, Let them make use of the same, if they
be able. I believe it will not be pretended that any other person
has since made the like experiment with success. It must there
fore have been by a special direction of God, that he acted as he
did.* And this will acquit him of selfishness, in the same manner
as the divine command to the Israelites to borrow of the Egyp
tians acquits them of fraud. Both were extraordinary interposi
tions in behalf of the injured ; a kind of divine reprisal, in which
justice was executed on a broad scale. And as the Egyptians
could not complain of the Israelites, for that they had freely lent,
or rather given them their jewels, without any expectation of
receiving them again ; t so neither could Laban complain of
Jacob, for that he had nothing more than it was freely agreed he
should have ; nor was he on the whole injured, but greatly bene
fited by Jacob's services.
Chap. xxxi. 1,2. It is time for Jacob to depart ; for though Laban
has acknowledged, in the hope of detaining him, that the Lord
had blessed him for his sake; yet there is at this time much envy
and evil-mindedness at work in the family against him, overlooking
* Chap, xxxi.' 10—12.
+ The Hebrew word ^$vj often signifies merely to ask, without any en
gagement to repay : (See Psa. ii. 8.) nor do I believe the Israelites held out
any such idea to the Egyptians. R,

Chapter XXXI.] JACOB IN HARAN. 259
all their gains, and dwelling only upon his. Mercenary charac
ters are not contented to prosper with others, but think much of
every thing that goes beside themselves. If a poor tenant or a
servant thrive under them, they will soon be heard murmuring,
He hath taken away all that was ours, and of that which was ours
hath he gotten all his glory. If Laban's sons only had murmured
thus, Jacob might have borne it ; but their father was of the same
mind, and carried it thus unkindly towards him. He had been very
willing to part with his daughters, more so indeed than he ought to
have been ; but Jacob's increase of cattle under him touches him
in a tender part.
Ver. 3. The Lord had promised to be with Jacob, and to keep
him in all places whither he went ; and he makes good his prom
ise. Like a watchful friend at his right hand, he observes his
treatment, and warns him to depart. If Jacob had removed from
mere personal resentment, or as stimulated only by a sense of in
jury, he might have sinned against God, though not against Laban.
But when it was said to him, Return unto the land of thy fathers,
and to thy kindred, and I will be with thee, his way was plain be
fore him. In all our removals, it becomes us so to act as that we
may hope for the divine presence and blessing to attend us ; else,
though we may flee from one trouble, we shall fall into many, and
be less able to endure them.
yer, 4 — 13. And now, being warned of God todep'art, he sends
for his wives into the field, where he might converse with them
freely on the subject, without danger of being overheard. Had
they been servants, it had been sufficient to have imparted to them
his will; but being wives, they require a different treatment.
There is an authority which scripture and nature give to the man
over the woman ; but every one who deserves the name of a
man will exercise it with a gentleness and kindness that shall
render it pleasant, rather than burdensome. He will consult with
her as a friend, and satisfy her by giving the reasons of his con
duct. Thus did Jacob to both his wives, who, by such kind con
duct, forgot the differences between themselves, and cheerfully
cast in their lot with him.

260 JACOB IN HARAN. [Discourse XXXIX.
The reasons assigned for leaving were, partly the treatment of
Laban, and partly the intimations from God. / see your father's
countenance, says he, that it is not toward me as before. It is
wisely ordered, that the countenance shall, in most cases, be an
index to the heart ; else there would be much more deception in
the world than there is. We gather more of men's disposition for
wards us- from looks, than from words ; and domestic happiness is
more influenced by the one, than by the other. Sullen silence is
often less tolerable than contention itself, because the latter, pain
ful as it is, affords opportunity for mutual explanation. But while
Jacob had to complain of Laban's cloudy countenance, he could
add, The God of my father has been with me. God's smiles are
the best support under man's frowns : if we walk in the light of
his countenance, we need not fear what man can do unto us. He
then appeals to his wives, as to the faithfulness and diligence with
which he had served their father, and the deceitful treatment he
had met with in return. Fe know, that with all my power I have
served your father ; and your father hath deceived me, and changed
my wages ten times. Next he alleges the good hand of his God
upon him ; that he had not suffered him to hurt him ; but in
whatever form his wages were to be, had caused things in the end
to turn to his account ; and that the purport of this was revealed
to him by a dream before it came to pass, in which he saw the
cattle in those colours which were to distinguish them as his hire.
Moreover that he had very lately had another dream,* in which
the Angel of God directed him to observe the fact as accomplished,
of which he had before received only a pre-intimation ; and ac
counted for it, saying, / have seen all that Laban doeth unto thee.
In alleging these things in his defence, Jacob said in effect, ' If
your father's cattle have of late been given to me, it is not my
doing, but God's, who hath seen my wrongs, and redressed them.
* I am aware that the dreams in verses 10, 11, are generally considered as
one and the same. But those who thus consider them are not only obliged
to interpret those as one which the text represents as two, but what is said
by the Angel in the 12th and 13th verses as two speeches, which manifestly ap
pears to be one.

Chapter XXXI.] JACOB IN HARAN. 261
Finally : He alleges, as the grand reason of his departure, the
command of God. The same Angel who had directed him to
observe the accomplishment of his former dream, at the same time
added, I am the God of Bethel, where thou anointedst the pillar,
and vowedst a vow unto me: now arise, get thee out from this land,
and return unto the land of thy kindred.
Let us pause, and observe with attention this important passage.
lam the God of Bethel! Such words could never have been
uttered by a created angel ; nor does the appearing in the form of
an angel, or messenger, accord with the scripture account of God
the Father: it must therefore have been the Son of God, whose
frequent appearances to the patriarchs afforded a prelude to his
incarnation. Paul, speaking of Christ in his pre-incarnate char
acter, says, that being in the form of God, he thought itnot robbery
to be equal with God. But to what does the Apostle refer ? When
or where had he appeared equal with God ? In such instances as
these, no doubt ; wherein he constantly spake of himself, and was
spoken to by his servants, as God; and in a manner which
evinces that he accounted it no usurpation' of that which did not
belong to him.
I am the God of Bethel! When at Bethel, the Lord said, I am
Jehovah, God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac. He
might have said the same now ; but it was his pleasure to direct
the attention of his servant to the last, and to him the most inter
esting of his manifestations. By giving him hold of the last link
in the chain, he would be in possession of the whole. The God
of Bethel was the God of his fathers, Abraham and Isaac ; the
God who had entered into covenant with the former, had renew
ed it with the latter, and again renewed it with him. What sat
isfaction must it afford, to be directed by such a God !
It is also observable, that in directing Jacob's thoughts to the
vision at Bethel, the Lord reminds him of those solemn acts of his
own, by which he had at that time devoted himself to him. lam
the God of Bethel, where thou anointedst the pillar., and vowedst a
vow unto me. It is not only necessary that we be reminded of
God's promises for our support in troubles, but of our own sol
emn engagements, that the same affections which distinguished
Vol.V. 33

2$2 JACOB IN HARAN. [Discourse XXXIX.
the best seasons of our life may be renewed, and that in all our
movements we may keep in view the end for which we live.
The object of the vow was, that Jehovah should be his God; and
whenever he should return, that that stone should be God's house.
And now that the Lord commands him to return, he reminds him
of his vow. He must not go, to Canaan with a view to promote
his own temporal interest, but to introduce the knowledge and
worship of the true God. This was the great end which Jehovah
had in view in all that he did for Abraham's posterity, and they
must never lose sight of it.
Ver. 14 — 16. Jacob, having given the reasons for his proposed
departure, paused. The women without any hesitation acquiesce,
intimating Ibat there was nothing in their father's house that
should induce them to wish to stay in it. It is grievous to see the
ties of nature dissolved in a manner by a series of selfish actions.
I am not sure that Rachel or Leah were clear of this spirit
towards their father : their words imply that they were suffi
ciently on their own side. Yet the complaints which they make
of him were but too well founded. The sordid bargain which be
had made with Jacob, exacting fourteen years labour from him as
the price of his daughters, appears to have stung them at the
time ; and now that an opportunity offers, they speak their minds
without reserve. They felt that they had been treated more
like slaves than daughters, and that he had not consulted their
happiness any more than their husband's, but merely his own in
terest. Moreover, they accuse him of having devoured all their
money. Instead of providing for them as daughters, which the law
of nature required,* he seems to have contrived to get all that
private money which it is common to allow a son or daughter
while residing with their parents, into his hands, and had kept
them in a manner pennyless. Hence they allege that all the
riches which had been taken from him and given to their husband,
were theirs and their children's in right ; and that God, knowing
their injuries, had done this to redress them. Upon the whole,
their mind is that Jacob should go, and they will go with him.
* 2 Cor. xii. 14.

Chapter XXXI.] JACOB IN HARAN. 263
We have seen some things in the history of these women
which has induced us to hope well of them, notwithstanding their
many failings : but though in this case it was their duty to comply
with the desire of their husband, and to own the hand of God in
what had taken place between their father and him ; yet there is
something in their manner of expressing themselves that looks
more like the spirit of the world than the spirit which is of God.
A right spirit would have taught them to remember that Laban,
whatever was his conduct, was still their father. They might
have felt it impossible to vindicate him ; but they should not have
expatiated on his faults in such a manner as to take pleasure in
exposing them. Such conduct was but too much like that of Ham
• towards his father. And as to their acknowledging the hand of
God in giving their father's riches to their husband, this is no
more than is often seen in the most selfish characters, who can
easily admire the divine providence when it goes in their favour.
The ease, however, with which all men can discern what is just
and equitable towards themselves, renders the love of ourselves
a proper standard for the love of others, and will, sooner or later,
stop the mouth of every sinner. Even those who have no written
revelation have this divine law engraven on their consciences :
they can judge with the nicest accuracy what is justice to them,
and therefore cannot plead ignorance of what is justice from them
to others.

DISCOURSE XL.

jacoR's departure from haran.

Gen. xxxi. 17—55.
Ver. 17 — 21. Jacob having consulted with his wives, and
obtained their consent, the next step was to prepare for their
departure. Had Laban known it, there is reason to fear he would
either have detained him by force, or at least have deprived him
of a part of his property. He must therefore, if possible, depart
without his knowledge. At that time Laban was three days'
journey from home, at a sheep-shearing. Jacob, taking advantage
of this, effected his escape. The women returning from the field,
collected their matters together in a little time ; and being all
ready, Jacob rose up, set his family upon the camels, and with
all his substance, set off for his father's house in the land of
Canaan. Being apprehensive that Laban would pursue him, he
passed over the Euphrates, and hastened on his way towards
mount Gilead.
I do notknow that we can justly blameJacob for this his sudden and
secret departure : but when we read of Rachel's availing herself
of her father's absence to steal his images, a scene of iniquity
opens to our view ! What then, is the family of Nahor, who left
the idolatrous Chaldees ; the family to which Abraham and Isaac
repaired, in marrying their children, to the rejection of the idola
trous Canaanites — is this family itself become idolaters ? It is
even so. But is Rachel, the beloved wife of Jacob, not only
capable of stealing, but of stealing images? Some, reluctant to
entertain such an opinion of her, have supposed she might take
them away to prevent their ill effects on her father's family : but

266 JACOB'S DEPARTURE [Discourse XL.
subsequent events are far from justifying such a supposition. It is
a fact, that these teraphim afterwards proved a snare to Jacob's
family, and that he could not go up to Bethel till he had cleansed
his house of them.* But had the family of Laban cast off the
acknowledgment of Jehovah, the one true God ? This does not
appear, for they make frequent mention of him. Both Rachel and
Leah, on the birth of their children, were full of apparently
devout acknowledgments of him ; and we were willing, from
thence, to entertain a hope in favour of their piety. Laban also,
notwithstanding his keeping these images in his house, could after
wards invoke Jehovah lo watch between him and Jacob, (ver. 49.)
The truth seems to be, they were like some in after times, who
swear by the Lord, and by Malcham ;t and others in our times,
who are neither cold nor hot, but seem to wish to serve both God
and mammon. The teraphim that Rachel stole were not public
idols, set up in temples for worship ; but, as some think, little
images of them, a kind of household gods. Laban's family would
probably have been ashamed of publicly accompanying the heathen
to the worship of their gods ; but tbey could keep images of them
in their house, which implies a superstitious respect, if not a
private homage paid to them.
This dividing of matters between the true God and idols, has in
all ages been a great source of corruption. A little before the
death of Joshua, when Israel began to degenerate, it was in this
way. They did not openly renounce the acknowledgment of
Jehovah, but kept images of the idols in the countries round about
them in their houses. Of this the venerable man was aware ;
and therefore, when they declared, saying, We will serve Jehovah
for he is our God, he answered, Ye cannot serve Jehovah, for he is a
holy God, he isa jealous God: he will not forgive your transgres
sions, nor your sins. And when they replied, Nay, but we will serve
Jehovah,he answered, Put away the strange gods that are among you:
as if he should say, ' You cannot serve God and your idols : if
Jehovah be God, follovv him : but if Baal, follow him.' What is
popery ? It does not profess to renounce the true God ; but
* Chap. xxxy. 1-3. t Zeph, i. 5.

Chapter XXXI.] FROM HARAN. 267
abounds in images of Christ, and departed saints. What is the
religion of great numbers among Protestants, and even Protestant
Dissenters? They will acknowledge the true God in words;
but their hearts arid houses are the abodes of spiritual idolatry.
When a man, like Laban, gives himself up to covetousness, he
has no room for God or true religion. The world is his god ;—
and he has only to reside among gross idolaters in order to be one,
or at least a favourer of their abominations.
Ver. 22 — 30. The news of Jacob's abrupt departure was soon
carried to Laban, who, collecting all his force, immediately pur
sued him. It was seven days, however, ere he came up with
him. Without doubt, he meditated mischief. He would talk of
his regard to his children, and grandchildren, and how much he
was hurt in being prevented from taking leave of them: but that
which lay nearest his heart was the substance which Jacob had
taken with him. This, I conceive, he meant by some means to
recover. And if he had by persuasion or force induced the
family to return, it had been only for the sake of this. But the
night before he overtook Jacob, God appeared to him in a dream,
and warned him not only against doing him harm, but even against
speaking to him (that is, on the subject of returning to Haran)
either good or bad. From this time his spirit was manifestly
overawed, and his heart smitten as with a palsy. Overtaking
Jacob at mount Gilead, he begins with him in rather a lofty tone,
but faulters as he proceeds, dwelling upon the same charges over
and over again. What hast thou done, said he, that thou hast
stolen away unawares to me, and carried away my daughters, as
captives taken with the sword ? Wherefore didst thou flee away
secretly, and steal away from me? and didst not tell mc, that I
might have sent thee aioay with mirth, and with songs, with tabret,
and with harp ? and hast not suffered me to kiss my sons and my
daughters ? thou hast now done foolishly in so.doing. In all this he
means to insinuate that Jacob had no cause to leave him on account
of any thing he had done ; that where there was so much secrecy
there must be something dishonourable ; and that in pursuing him,
he was only moved by affection to his children. He adds, It is in
the power of my hand to do you hurt : but the God of your father

268 JACOB'S DEPARTURE [Discourse XL.
spake unto me yesternight, saying, Take thou heed that thou speak
not to Jacpb, either goodor bad. Without doubt, Laban's company
was mueh more powerful than that of Jacob, and be meant to
impress this idea upon him, that his forbearance might appear to
be the effect of generosity ; nay, it is possible he might think he
acted very religiously , in paying so much deference to the warning-
voice of his God. He concludes by adding, And now, though thou
wouldest needs begone, because thou sore longedst after thy father's
house ; yet -wherefore hast thou stolen my gods ? The manner in
which he accounts for his desire to be gone, has an appearance of
Candour and sympathy; but the design was to insinuate that k;
was not on account of any ill treatment he had received from him,
and perhaps to give an edge to the heavy charge with which his
speech is concluded. It was cutting to be accused of theft ; more
so of having stolen what he abhorred ; and for the charge to be
preferred by a man who wished to make every possible allowance,
would render it more cutting still. Jacob felt it, and all his other
accusations, as his answers sufficiently indicate.
Ver. 31, 32. With respect to the reiterated complaints of the
secrecy of his departure, Jacob answers all in a few words : It was
because I was afraid : for I said, peradventure thou wouldst take
by force thy daughters from me. This was admitting his power,
but impeaching his justice ; and as he had dwelt only upon the
taking away of his daughters, so Jacob in answer confines himself
to them. Laban might feel for the loss of something else besides
his daughters ; and Jacob, when he left Haran, might be afraid for
something else ; but as the charge respected only them, it was
sufficient that the answer corresponded to it. If by withholding
the women he could have detained him and his substance, his
former conduct proved that he would not have been to be trusted..
With respect to the gods, Jacob's answer is expressive -of tbe
strongest indignation. He will not design to disown the charge ;
but desires that all his company might be searched, saying, With
whomsoever thoufindest thy gods, let him not live! It was worthy
Of an upright man to feel indignant at the charge of stealing, and of
a servant of God at that of stealing idols. But unless he had been
as well assured of the innocence of all about him, as he was of his

Chapter XXXI.] FROM HARAN. 269
own, he ought not to have spoken as he did. His words might
have proved a sorer trial to him than he was aware of.
Though Laban had not expressly charged him with fraud in
anything, except the gods ; yet having dwelt so much upon the
privacy of his departure, as to intimate a general suspicion, Jacob
answers also in a general way : Before our brethren, discern thou
what is thine with me, and take it to thee. It was unpleasant to
be thus pursued, accused, and searched ; but it was all well.
But for this, his uprightness would have appeared in a more sus
picious light.
Ver 33 — 34. Laban accepts the offer, and now begins to search-
Going from tent to tent, he hopes to find at least his gods. Ra
chel's policy, however, eludes his vigilance ; He searched but
found not the images. No mention is made of his going among the
cattle, which proves he had no suspicion of being wronged in res
pect of them. During the search, Jacob looked on, and said
nothing : but when nothing was found that could justify tbe heavy
charges which had been preferred against him, his spirit was pro
voked. He was wroth, and chode with Laban. Hard words and
cutting interrogations follow. What is my trespass ? what is my sin,
that thou hast so hotly pursued after met Whereas thou hast
searched all my stuff, what hast thou found of all thy household
stuff1! Set it here before my brethren, and thy brethren, that they
may judge betwixt us both! He goes on, and takes a review of
his whole conduct towards him for twenty years past, and 'proves
that he had been very hardly dealt with, summing up his answer
in these very emphatic terms : Except the God of my father
the God pf Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had been with me,
notwithstanding all thy talk of sending me away with mirth and
with songs, with tabret and with harps, surely thou hadst sent
me away now empty : God hath seen mine affliction, and the
labour of mine hands, and rebuked thee yesternight ! Laban
made a merit of obeying the dream ; but Jacob improves it
into an evidence of his evil design, for which God had rebuked
him, and pleaded the cause of the injured.
Vol. V. 34

270 JACOB'S DEPARTURE [Discourse XL.
Ver. 43 — 58. Laban, whose spirit was checked before he
began, was now confounded. He quite gives up the cause, and
wishes to make up matters as well as he can. He cannot help
prefacing his wish, however, with a portion of vain boasting, and
affected generosity. These daughters are my daughters, and these
children are my children, and these cattle are my cattle, and all that
thou seest is mine ; and what can 1 do this day unto these my daugh
ters, or unto their children which they have borne ? As if he had
said, - Yes, yes, God hath given you many things ; but remember
they were all mine, and -you have obtained them under me. Let
us have no more disputes however ; for though 1 am come so far,
and possess so great a force, yet how can 1 find in my heart to hurt
my own children ? Come therefore, and let us make a covenant,
and be good friends.'
Jacob makes no reply to Laban's boasting, but lets it pass : and
though he had felt so keenly, and spoken so warmly, yet he con
sents to a covenant of peace. Anger may rise in the breast of a
wise man ; but it resteth only in the bosom of fools. He said
nothing ; but expressed his mind by actions. He first took a stone,
and Set it up for a pillar ; and said to his brethren, Gather stones ;
and they took stones, and made a heap, and did eat together, in
token of reconciliation, upon it. This done, Laban called it,
Jegar-sahadutha, and Jacob Galeed: the one was the Syriac, and
the other the Hebrew word for the same thing ; that is, the heap of
witness. It was also called Mizpah, a beacon or watch-tower.
The meaning of these names, in referenpe to the present case, is
explained by Laban, as being the elder man, and the leading party
in the covenant. This heap, said he, isa witness between me and
thee this day Jeh'.vah watch between me and thee, when we are
absent one from another. If thou shalt afflict my daughters, or
if ihou shalt take other wives besides my daughters, no man is with
uS: see. God is witness betwixt me and thee. To this he added,
BehM this heap, and behold this pillar — this heap be witness, and
this pillar be witness, that I will not pass over this heap to thee,
and that thou shaU not pass over this heap and this pillar unto me, for
harm.. The God of Abraham, and tlie God of Nahor, the God of
their father, judge betwixt ut. To this covenant Jacob fully as-

Chapter XXXI] FROM HARAN. 271
sented, and sware by the fear of his father Isaac ; that is, by the
God whom Isaac feared.
We are surprised to hear a man who had been seven days in
pursuit of certain stolen gods, speak so much, and in so solemn a
manner about Jehovah : but wicked men will, on some occasions,
utter excellent words. After all, he could not help manifesting
his attachment to idolatry. When speaking to Jacob of Jehovah,
he calls him the God of your father, in a manner as if he was not
his God ; and in swearing to the solemn covenant which had been
made between them, he does not appear to have invoked Jehovah
as the only true God. It is very observable, that though he makes
mention of the God of Abraham, yet it is in connexion with Nahor
and their father, that is, Terah : but when Abraham was with
Nahor and Terah, they were idolaters. To this purpose we read
in Joshua ; Thus saith the Lord God of Israel ; Your fathers dwelt
•n the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah the father of
Abraham, and the father of Nachor ; and they served other gods.
The God of Abraham, and Nahor, and Terah, therefore, were
words capable of a very ill construction. Nor does Jacob appear
to be ignorant of Laban's design in thus referring to their early
ancestors ; and therefore, that he might bear an unequivocal tes
timony against all idolatry, even that of Abraham in his younger
years, he would swear only by the fear of his father Isaac, who
had never worshipped any other than the true God. It were
worth while for those who plead for antiquity as a mark of the
true church, to consider that herein they follow the example of
Laban, and not of Jacob.
Vir. 54, 55. Laban had professed his regret that he had not
an opportunity to enjoy a day of feasting and of mirth at parting
with his children. Such a parting would hardly have been seemly,
even in a family which had no fear of God before their eyes.
Jacob however makes a religious feast, previously to the departure
of his father-in-law. He offered sacrifices upon the mount Galeed,
and called his brethren, that is, the whole company, to eat bread:
and they did eat bread, and tarried all night in the mount. And
early in the morning Laban rose up, and kissed his sons and his
daughters, and blessed them : and Laban departed, and returned

272 - JACOB'S DEPARTURE [Discourse XL
unto his place. This parting proved final. We hear no more
of Laban, nor of the family of Nahor. They might for several
ages retain some knowledge of Jehovah ; but mixing with it the
superstitions of the country, they would in the end sink into gross
idolatry, and be lost among the heathens.
On observing the place from which Baalam the son of Beor is
said to have been sent for, to curse Israel, namely, Pethor of Mes
opotamia,* or Aram,] or, as it is frequently called, Padan-aram ;
and that it is the same with that in which Laban dwelt ; I
have been inclined to think he might be one of his descen
dants. He is supposed to have lived about two hundred and
eighty years after Jacob's departure from that country, which
in those ages would not include above two or three generations.
The opinion of ancient Jewish writers, though often fabulous, yet
when agreeing with what is otherwise probable, may serve to
strengthen it. " The Targum of Jonathan on Numb. xxii. 5, and
the Targum on 1 Chron. i. 44, make Baalam to be Laban himself:
and others say he was the son of Beor, the son of Laban. "J The
first of these opinions, though in itself utterly incredible, yet may
so far be true as to hit upon the family from which he descended;
and the last, allowing perhaps for a defect of one generation,
appears to me to be highly probable. Add to this, the teraphim,
or images, which Laban kept in his house, and which he would
doubtless replace on his return, are supposed to be a sort of" tal
ismans, were consulted as oracles, and in high esteem with the
Chaldeans and Syrians, a people given to astrology, and by which
they made their divinations. Hos. iii. 4. Zech. x. 2."§ Accord
ing to this, Baalam the soothsayer would only tread in the steps' of
his ancestors ; not utterly disowning Jehovah, but devoted to the
abominations of the heathen.
If the above remarks be just, they show, in a strong point of
light, the progress of apostasy and corruption. Laban - imitated
the corruptions of his ancestors, some of whom were good men ;
and his descendants degenerated still more. Thus you will often
see a man who has descended from religious parents, but whose
* Deut. xxiii. 4. t Num. xxiii. 7. t See Gill on Num. xxii. 5
! See QUI on Gen. xxxi. 19.

Chapter XXXI.] FROM HARAN. 273
heart is entirely taken up with the world : he keeps up the
forms of godliness, though he denies the power ; and mixes with
them all the evil that he can rake up from the examples of his
forefathers, with considerable additions of his own. The next
generation degenerates still more, having less of the form of reli
gion, and more conformity to the world. The third throws off
both the form and the power, retaining no vestige of the religion
of their ancestors, excepting a few speculative notions, learnt from
a few old books and sayings, which have no other influence upon
them than to enable them to be more wicked than their neighbours,
by sinning against somewhat of superior light. How important is
it for good men to act in character in their families, inasmuch as
every evil which they practise will be re -acted and increased by
their carnal posterity !

DISCOURSE XLI.

Jacob's fear of esau — his wrestling with the angel.

Gen. xxxii.
Ver. 1, 2. The sacred writer, pursuing the history of Jacob,
informs us that he went on his way, and the angels of God met
him. And when he saw them, he said, This is God's host: and
he called the name of the place Mahanaim. That the angels of
God are ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall
be heirs of salvation, is a truth clearly revealed in the scriptures :
but this their ministry has seldom been rendered visible to mor
tals. The angel of Jehovah, it is said, encampeth round about them
that fear him, and delivereth them. But I do not recollect that
any of these celestial guardians have appeared in this character to
the servants of God, except in times of imminent danger. When
a host of Syrians encompassed Dothan, in order to take Elisha, his
servant was alarmed, and exclaimed, Alas, master, how shall we do ?
The prophet answered, Fear not : for they that be with us are
more than they that be with them. Yet there was no earthly force
to protect them. But when, in answer to the prophet's prayer,
the young man's eyes were opened, he saw the mountain full of
horses, and chariots of fire round about Elisha. In this case,
God's hosts became visible, to allay the fear of man's hosts. Thus
it was also in the present instance. Jacob bad just escaped one
host of enemies, and another is coming forth to meet him. At this
juncture God's host makes its appearance, teaching him to whom
he owed his late escape, and that he who bad delivered, did deliv
er, and he might safely trust would deliver bim. The angels

276 JACOB'S FEAR OF ESAU. [Discourse XLI.
which appeared on this occasion are called God's host, in the
singular : but by the name which. Jacob gave to the place, it
appears that they were divided into two, encompassing him as it
were before and behind ; and this would correspond with tbe two
hosts of adversaries, which at the same time, and with almost the
same violent designs were coming against him ; the one had
already been sent back without striking a blow, and the other
should be the same. This however was not expressly revealed
to Jacob, but merely a general encouragement afforded him : for
_it was not the design of God to supersede other means, but to save
him in the use of them.
Ver. 3 — 5. Jacob has as yet heard nothing of his brother Esau,
except that he had settled in the land of Seir, the country of Edom ;
but knowing what had formerly taken place, and the temper of the
man, he is apprehensive of consequences. He therefore resolves
on sending messengers before him, in order to sound him, and if
possible, lo appease his anger. These messengers are instructed
what they shall say, and how they shall conduct themselves on
their arrival, all in a way to conciliate. Thus shall ye speak unto
my lord Esau ; Thy servant Jacob saith thus : I have sojourned
with Laban, and staid there until now. And I have oxen, and
asses, flocks, und men-servants, and women-servants : and I have
sent to tell my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight. Observe,
(1). He declines the honour of precedency given him in the
blessing, calling Esau his lord. Isaac had said to him, Be lord
over thy brethren, and let thy mother's sons bow down to thee ; but
Jacob either understood it of spiritual ascendency, or if of tem
poral, as referring to his posterity, rather than to him. He there
fore declines all disputes on that head. (2.) He would have him
know that he was not come to claim the double portion, nor even
to divide with him his father's inheritance ; for that God had
given him plenty of this world's goods without it. Now as these
werethe things which had so greatly provoked Esau, a relinquish
ment of them would tend more than any thing to conciliate him.
yer, 6  12. The messengers had not proceeded far, ere they
met Esau coming forth to meet his brother Jacob, and four hun
dred men with him ! It would be seen by the account, that they

GhApter XXXII.] JACOB'S FEAR OF ESAU. 277
went and delivered their message to him. But, however that
was, they appear to have been struck with the idea that he was
coming with a hostile design, and therefore quickly returned, and
informed their master of particulars. We are surprised that
Jacob's journey, which had taken him but about a fortnight, and
had been conducted with so much secresy, should yet have been
known to Esau. His thirst for revenge must have prompted him
to great vigilance. One would think he had formed connexions with
persons who lived in the way, and engaged them to give him informa
tion of the first movements of his brother. However this was, Jacob
was greatly afraid, and even distressed. This term with us
is sometimes lightly applied to the state of mind produced by or
dinary troubles : but in the scriptures it denotes a sore strait,
from which there seems to be no way of escape. This distress
would probably be heightened by the recollection of his sin,
which first excited the resentment of Esau. There is no time,
however, to be lost. But what can he do ? Well, let us take
notice what a good man will do in a time of distress, that we may,
as occasion requires, follow his example. First : He uses all
possible precaution, dividing the people that was with him, and the
flocks, and herds, and the camels, into two bands ; saying, If Esau
come to the one company and smite it, then the other company which
is left shall escape. Secondly : He betakes himself to prayer ;
and as this is one of the scripture examples of successful prayer,
we shall do well to take particular notice of it Observe, (1.) He
approaches God as the God of his father ; and as such, a God in
covenant. 0 God of my father Abraham, and God of my father
Isaac ! This' was laying hold of the divine faithfulness : it was
the prayer of faith. We may not have exactly the same plea in
our approaches to God ; but we have one that is more endearing,
and more prevalent. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, is a character which excites more hope, and in which more
great and precious promises have been made than in the other.
(2.) As his own God, pleading what he had promised to him.
Jehovah, who saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy
kindred, and I will deal well with thee. Jehovah has never made
promises to us in tbe same extraordinary way as he did to Jacob :
Vol. V. 35

278 JACOB'S FEAR OF ESAU. L discourse XXXU.
but whatever he hath promised to believers in general, may be
pleaded by every one of them in particular, especially when en
countering opposition in the way which he hath directed them to
go. (3.) While he celebrates the great mercy and truth of God
towards him, he acknowledges himself unworthy of the least in
stance of either. The worthiness of merit is what every good
man in every circumstance„must disclaim : but that which he has
in view, I conceive, is that of meetness. Looking back to his own
unworthy conduct, especially that which preceded and occasioned
his passing over Jordan with a staff only in his hand, he is affect
ed with the returns of mercy and truth which he had met with from
a gracious God. By sin he had reduced himself in a manner to
nothing ; but God's goodness had made him great. As we desire
to succeed in our approaches to God, we must be sure to take
low ground ; humbling ourselves in the dust before him, and suing
for relief as. a matter of mere grace. Finally : having thus pre
faced his petition, he now presents it: Deliver me, I pray thee,
from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau ; for I fear
him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the chil
dren. This was doubtless the petition of a kind husband, and a
tender father : it was not as such only, nor principally however,
but as a believer in tbe promises, that he presented it : the great
stress of the prayer turns on this hinge. It was as though he had
said, ' If my life, and that of the mother, with the children, be cut
off, how aie thy promises to be fulfilled 1 ' Hence he adds, And
thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the
sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude. It is
natural for us, as husbands and as parents, to be importunate with
God for the well being of those who are so nearly related to us :
but the way to obtain mercy for them is to seek it in subordina
tion to the divine glory.
Ver. IS — 30. Jacob and his company seem now to have been
north of the river Jabbok, near to the place where it falls into
the Jordan. Here he is said to have lodged that night. After
wards we read of his rising up, and sending his company over the
ford. (ver. 22.) Probably it was during one single night that the
whole of what follows in this chapter occurred. The messengers

Chapter XXXII.] JACOB'S WRESTLING, &c 279
having returned towards evening, he divided his company into two
bands, and then committed his cause to God. After this he halted
for the night : but whatever sleep might fall to the lot of the
children, or rest to the beasts of burden, there was but little of
either for him. First, he resolves neither to flee, nor fight ; but
to try the effect of a present. Upwards of tive hundred head of
cattle were sent off in the night, under the care of his servants ;
and to produce the greater effect, they were divided into droves,
with a space between drove and drove. Having sent off the
present, he seems to have tried to get a little rest : but not being
able to sleep, he rose up, and took his whole family, and all that
he had, and sent them over the ford of Jabbok. Every servant
presenting his drove in the same words, would strike Esau with
amazement. It would seem as if all the riches of the east were
coming to him : and every one concluding by announcing his
master as coming behind them, would work upon his generosity.
He expected, it is likely, a host of armed men, and felt resolved
to fight it out ; but instead of an army, here is a present worthy
of a prince, and the owner coming after it with all the confidence
of a friend, and kindness of a brother.
Whether he thought it would express more friendship, and be
better taken, to be at the trouble of crossing the ford in order lo
meet Esau, than to oblige Esau to cross it in order to meet him :
or whatever was his reason, so he acted : and the family being all
over the river, lie himself staid behind. Here it was that he met
with that extraordinary appearance on which he wrestled with the
Angel, and prevailed. The account is as follows — And Jacob was
left alone ; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of
the day. And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he
touched the hollow of his thigh, and the hollow of Jacob's thigh
was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. And he said, Let me go,
for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not le* thee go, except
thou bless me. And he said unto him, What is i]ly name ? And he
said, Jacob. And he said, Thy name shall Je called no more Jacob,
but Israel ; (that is, a prince of God :) for as a prince hast thou
power with God and with men, an*' h&st prevailed. And Jacob
asked him, and said, Tell me. I pray thee, thy name ¦ and he said,

280 JACOB'S WRESTLING [Discourse XLI.
Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name ? And he blessed
him there. And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel : for I
have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.
On this singular manifestation of God to his servant, we offer
the following remarks : (1.) It does not appear to be a vision, but
a literal transaction. A personage, in the form of a man really
wrestled with him, and permitted him to prevail so far as to gain
his object. (2.) Though the form of the struggle was corporeal,
yet the essence and object of it were spiritual. An inspired com
mentator on this wrestling says, He wept and made supplication to
the Angel. That for which he strove was a blessing, and he obtained
it. (3.) The personage with whom he strove is here called a man,
and yet in seeing him, Jacob said, I have seen God face to face,
and my life is preserved. Hosea, in reference to his being a mes
senger of God to Jacob, calls him the Angel : yet he also describes
the patriarch as having power with God. Upon the whole, there
can be no doubt but that it was the same divine personage who
appeared to him at Bethel, and at Padan-aram ; who being in the
form of God, again thought it no usurpation to appear as God.
(4.) What is here recorded had relation to Jacob's distress, and
may be considered as an answer to his evening supplications. By
his power with God he had power with men. Esau and his hostile
company were conquered at Peniel. (5.) The change of his
name from Jacob to Israel, and the blessing which followed, signi
fied that he was no longer to be regarded as having obtained it bv
supplanting his brother, but as a prince of God, who had wrestled
with him for it, and prevailed. It was thus that the Lord pardoned
his sin, and wiped away his reproach. It is observable too, that
thii is the name by which his posterity are afterwards called.
Finally -. The whole transaction furnishes an instance of believing,
importunatt, and successful prayer. As Jacob would not let the
Angel go exce^ he blessed him ; and as the latter, (though to
convince him of Us power he touched the' hollow of his thigh,
and put it out of joint,"} suffered himself to be overcome by him ;
so every true Israelite plt/JQS the promises of God, with an impor
tunity that will take no denial, and God is pleased to suffer himself
in this manner to be as it were overcome.

Chapter XXXII.] WITH THE ANGEL. 281
Ver. 30—32. What a night was this to Jacob ! What a differ
ence between what he felt the past evening, on the return of the
messengers, and what he now felt! Well might he wonder and
exclaim, / have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved !
Passing over Peniel, however, to rejoin his family, just as the sun
rose upon him, he halted upon his thigh. This would be a me
morial to him of his own weakness, as well as of the power and
goodness of God, who, instead of touching a single part, might, as
he intimated, have taken away his life. The law which after
wards prevailed in Israel, of not eating of the sinew which shrank,
might be of divine origin, as it corresponds with the genius of the
ceremonial economy.

DISCOURSE XLII.
Jacob's interview with esau, and arrival in canaan

Gen. xxxiii.
Ver. 1 — 4. No sooner had Jacob passed over the ford of
Jabbok, and rejoined his family, but lifting up his eyes, he saw
his brother approaching him, and four hundred men with him.
He has just time before he comes up, to arrange his family,
placing the children with their respective mothers, and those last
for whom he has the tenderest affection. This circumstance
shows, that though he treated Esau with the fullest confidence, yet
he was still secretly afraid of him. He must, however, put the
best face he can upon it, and go on to meet him. This he does ;
and as he had by his messengers acknowledged him as his lord, so
he will do the same by bowing down to him. His object was to
satisfy him that he made no claim of that kind of pre-eminence
which the other's heart was set upon, but freely gave it up. And
this seems to have had the desired effect on Esau's mind ; for
though he did not bow in return to his brother, since that had
been relinquishing his superiority ; yet he ran to meet him, and
embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him : nor could
such an unexpected meeting fail to dissolve both of them in tears I
It is pleasant and affecting to see the bitter heart of Esau thus
melted by a kind and yielding conduct. We must not forget that
God's hand was in it, who turneth the hearts of men as rivers of
water : but neither must we overlook the means by which it was
effected. A soft tongue, saith Solomon, breaketh the bone. On

284 JACOB'S INTERVIEW [Discourse XLII.
which our commentator Henry remarks, with his usual pith,
" Hard words, we say, break no bones, and therefore we should
bear them patiently ; but it seems soft words do, and there
fore we should, on all occasions, give them prudently."
Treat men as friends, and you make them so. Pray but as Jacob
did, and be as obliging and condescending as he was, and you will
go through the world by it.
Ver. 5 — 7. The two brothers having wept over each other,
Esau, lifting up his eyes, saw the women and children, and inquired
who they were ? Jacob's answer is worthy of him. It savours
of the fear of God which ruled in his heart, and taught him to
acknowledge him even in the ordinary concerns of life. They
are, saith he, the children which God hath graciously given thy
servant. Then the handmaidens came near, they and their children,
and they bowed themselves. And Leah also, with her children,
came near, and bowed themselves : and after came Joseph near, and
Rachel, and they bowed themselves. Had this been done to Jacob,
methinks he would have answered, God be gracious unto you, my
children! But we must take Esau as he is, and rejoice that things
are as they are. We have often occasion to be thankful for
civilities, where we can find nothing like religion. One cannot
help admiring the uniformly good behaviour of all Jacob's family.
If one of them had failed, it might have undone all the good which
his ingratiating conduct had done : but fo their honour it is
recorded, they all acted in unison with him. When the head of
a family does right, and the rest follow his example, every thing
goes on well.
' Ver. 8. But Esau desires to know the meaning of these droves
of cattle being sent to him. The answer is, These are to find
grace in the sight of my lord. This would express how high a
value he set upon his favour, and how much he desired to be
reconciled to him ; and so tended to conciliate. We might, in
most cases, purchase peace and good-will from men at a much
cheaper rate than this; a few shillings, nay often, only a few
kind words would do it ; and yet we see, for the want of these,
strifes, contentions, law-3uits, and I know not what evil treatment,
even between those who ought to love as brethren. But if the

Chapter XXXIII.] WITH ESAU. 285
favour of man be thus estimable, how much more that of God ?
Yet no worldly substance nor good deeds of ours are required as
the price of this ; but merely the receiving of it as a free gift,
through Him who hath given himself a sacrifice to obtain the
consistent exercise of it towards the unworthy.
Ver. 9 — 11. The reply of Esau to this obliging answer was I
have enough, my brother; keep that thou hast unto thyself.
There might be in this language pretty much of a high spirit of
independence. Whatever effect Jacob's present had had upon
him, he would not be thought to be influenced by any thing of
that kind ; especially as he had great plenty of his own. Jacob,
however, continued to urge it upon him, not as if he thought he
needed it, but as a token of good-will, and of his desire to be
reconciled. He did not indeed make use of this term, nor of any
other that might lead to the recollection of their former variance-
He did not say that he should consider the acceptance of his
present as a proof that he was cordially reconciled to him ; but
what he did say, though more delicately expressed, was to the
same effect. Such I conceive to be the import of the terras, If
now I have found grace in thy sight, then receive my present at
my hand. The receiving of a present at another's hand is per
haps one of the greatest proofs of reconciliation. Every one is
conscious that he could not receive a present at the hand of an
enemy. And upon this principle no offerings of sinful creatures
can be accepted of God, till they are reconciled to him by faitb
in the atonement of his Son. To find grace in the sight of Esau,
and to have his present accepted as a token of it, was the desire
of Jacob. To these ends he further assures him how highly
his favour was accounted of, and that to have seen his face in
the manner he had, was to him next to seeing the face of God.
This was strong language, and doubtless it was expressive of
strong feelings. Reconciliation with those with whom we have
long been at variance, especially when it was through our own mis
conduct, is, as to its effect upon the mind, next to reconciliation
with God. Finally : He entreats him to accept what he had pre
sented, as his blessing: (so a present was called when accom-
Vol. V. 36

286 JACOB'S INTERVIEW [Discourse XLII.
panied with love, or good-will :*) and the rather because God
had graciously blessed him, and giving hi m enough; nay more,
had given him all things.] Esau on this accepted it ; and as far
as we know, the reconciliation was sincere and lasting.
Ver. 12 — 15. Esau proposes to be going, and to guard his broth
er and his family through the country. The proposal was doubt
less very friendly, and very honourable ; and appears to have
contained an invitation of Jacob and his family to his house at Seir :
but Jacob respectfully declines it, on account of the feebleness of
the cattle, and of the children. There is no reason that 1 know
of for supposing Jacob had any other motive than that which he
alleged ; and this is expressive of his gentleness as a shepherd,
and his tenderness as a father. There are many persons with
whom we may wish to be on good terms, who nevertheless, on
account of a difference of character, taste, or manners, would be
very unsuitable companions for us. Jacob proposes going to Seir
after his arrival ; and this he probably did, though we read not of
it. We have no account of his visiting his father Isaac till he had
been several- years in Canaan ; yet to suppose him capable of
such a neglect, were not only injurious to his character, but con
trary to what is implied by Deborah, one of Isaac's family, being
found in his house at the time of her death.]: Esau's first proposal
being declined, he next offers to leave a part of his men, as a
guard to Jacob's company : but this also he respectfully declines,
on the ground of its being unnecessary ; adding, Let me find grace
in the Sight of my lord — which 1 conceive was equal to saying,
Let me have thy favour, and it is all 1 desire.
Ver. 16 — 20. The two brothers having parted friendly, Esau
returns to Seir, and Jacob journeyed to a place east of Jordan,
where he stopped awhile, and built a house for his family, and
booths for his cattle. Upon this spot a city was afterwards built,
and called Succoth ; that is booths, from the circumstance above
* See Josh. xv. 19. 1 Sam. xxv. 27. 2 Kings v. 15.
t Though both expressions are rendered alike, / have enough, yet they
differ in the original : Esau said 31 i*l Iff' / have much I but Jacob *J3 *) tp< '
have all. R-
] Chap. xxxv. 8.

Chapter XXXIII.] WITH ESAU. 287
related.* He did not stop here, however, with a design to abide ;
for he was commanded to return to the land of his kindred, that is
to Canaan, and he was as yet not in Canaan : but finding it a
country abounding with rich pasture, he might wish to refresh his
herds, and take time for inquiry into a more suitable place for a
continued residence. Hence, when after this he passed over
Jordan, and came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, in the land of
Cannan, it is said to be when he came from Padan-aram ; intima
ting that till then he had not arrived at the end of his journey.
Shalem is considered by Ainsworth, and some others, not as the
name of a city, but as a term denoting the peace and safety with
which Jacob arrived. Hence they render it, " He came in safety,
or in peace, to the city of Shechem." It is an argument in favour
of this translation, that we have no account of a city called Shalem
near to Shechem. All agree that it could not be the place where
Melchizedek reigned, as it was forty miles distant from it ; and as
to that near Enon, where John was baptizing,! it was not in the
neighbourhood of Shechem, but of Jordan. This rendering also
gives additional propriety and force to the phrase, When he came
from Padan-aram. It is a declaration to the honour of him who
had said, Behold, lam with thee, and will keep thee in all places
whither thou goest, and will bring thee again unto this land. He
arrived in peace at his journey's end, notwithstanding the dangers
and difficulties he met with by the way.
Shechem, before which Jacob pitched his tent, was a city called
after the name of the son of Hamor, its king, of whom we shall
presently hear more. It is the same place as (hat which in the
New Testament is called Sychar.\ Here he bought a parcel of
afield, that neither he nor his cattle might trespass on the pro
perty of others. This field was afterwards taken from him, it
should seem, by the Amorites ; and he was under the necessity
of recovering it by his sword and his bow ; which, having accom
plished, he bequeathed it to his son Joseph. I have sometimes
thought that this parcel of ground might be designed to exhibit a
specimen of the whole land of Canaan. When the Most High
* Josh. xiii. 27 .Judges viii. 5. t John iii. 23. % John iv. 5.

28S JACOB'S INTERVIEW, &c. [Discourse XLII.
divided to the nations their inheritance, he marked out an allot
ment for the children of Israel :* but the Canaanites taking pos
session of it, were obliged to be dispossessed by the rightful
owners, with the sword and with the bow.
But that which requires tbe most particular notice, is, that he
erected there an altar, and called it El-elohe-Israel ; i. e.God the
God of Israel. It was worthy of this great and good man publicly
to acknowledge God, after so many signal deliverances, and
soon after his arrival. His first purchasing a piece of ground, and
there erecting his altar, was like saying, Whenever this whole
country shall be in possession of my posterity let it in this man
ner be devoted to God. Nay, it was as if he had then taken pos
session of it in the name' of the God of Israel, by setting up his
Standard in it. It is the first time also in which he is represented
as availing himself of his new name, and of the covenant blessing
conferred upon him under it. The name given to the altar was
designed, no doubt, to be a memorial of both ; and whenever he
should present his offerings upon it, to revive all those sentiments
which he had felt when wrestling with God at Peniel. It were no
less happy for us, than consistent with our holy profession, if
every distinguishing turn of our lives were distinguished by re
newed resignations of ourselves to God. Such times and places
would serve as memorials of mercy, and enable us to recover those
thoughts and feelings which we possessed in our happiest days.
* Deut xxxii. 8.

DISCOURSE XLIII.
DINAH DEFILED, AND THE SHECHEMITES MURDERED.

»
Gen. xxxiv.
The arrival of Jacob in Canaan promised fair for a holy and
happy residence in it. Laban.no more oppresses him, and the
breach between him and his brother Esau is healed. But alas;
foreign troubles being removed, domestic ones take place of them.
He had but one daughter, and she is defiled. He had many sons-,
and the greater part of them are deceitful and cruel. What with
the conduct of the one and the other, his heart must be sorely
grieved. It was not however till he had lived six or sevea years in
the neighbourhood of Shechem that these troubles came upon
bim ; for in less time than this the two brethren could not have
arrived at man's estate : and there is reason to believe that from
his first settlement at this place, his mind began to sink into a state
of spiritual declension. One would think, if he had had a proper
sense of things, he could not have continued so long to expose a
family of young people to the contagious influence of a heathen
city. It was next to the conduct of Lot when he took up his res
idence in Sodom.
Ver. 1,2. It is natural to suppose that the younger branches of
the family, hearing every thing that was going on among the youth
of the place, would think it hard if they must not go among them.
Whether the sons formed acquaintances among the Shechemites,
we know not ; but Dinah, on a certain occasion, must needs go out
to see the daughters of the land. She wished no doubt to be

290 DINAH DEFILED. [Discourse XLIIL
acquainted with, them, to see and be seen of them, and to do as
they did. It might not be to a ball, nor a card party ; but I pre
sume it was to some merry-making of this kind : and though the
daughters Of the land were her professed companions, yet the
sons of the land must have assembled with them, else how came
Shechem there ? Young people, if you have any regard for your
parents, or for yourselves, beware of such parties! Tbe conse
quence was what might have been expected. Shechem, was the
son of the prince of the country, and men of rank and opulence
are apt to think themselves entitled to do any thing which their
inclinations prompt them to. The young woman was inexperien
ced, and unused to company of this kind; she therefore fell an
easy prey to the seducer. But could Dinah have gone without
the consent, or connivance of her parents, at least of one of them ?
We should think she could not. 1 fear Leah was not clear in this
matter. Ver. 3, 4. The story is such as must needs excite indignation :
some circumstances, however, bad as it is, tend in a certain de
gree to extenuate it. The young man is not like Amnon by
Tamar ; he is attached to her, and applies to his father Hamor to
obtain her for him to wife. Had this been done at first, all had
been honourable; but a bad beginning seldom admits of a good
ending. And though a respectful application was immediately
made to the parents of the damsel, yet she herself was at the same
time detained in Shechem's house. But let us observe the effect
of this disgraceful transaction.
Ver. 5-1-24. The news soon reached Jacob's ear ; his sons
were in the field ; he felt much, no doubt, but said nothing till
they returned. He did not however foresee what would follow,
or he would not have reserved the utterance of his grief to them.
But probably he knew not what to do. If Leah had connived at
her (laughter's visit, he would not know how to speak to her ; and
as to Rachel, the jealousies between the sisters might prevent his
speaking freely to the one on the concerns of the other. So he
held his peace till his sons should return. Meanwhile, Hamor,
and it seems his son with him, came out of the city to Jacob, to
commune with him on the subject, and to ask the young woman in

Chapter XXVIII.] DINAH DEFILED. 291
marriage. It had been well if he and Jacob had settled it, and
this to all appearance they might have done ; but scandal, with
its swift wings, reaching the young men in the field, brought them
home before the usual time ; so that Hamor and his son had
scarcely entered Jacob's door, ere they followed them. Had
Jacob and Hamor conversed the matter over by themselves, or
Jacob and his sons by themselves, their anger might have been
somewhat abated ; but all meeting together, there was no vent for
the first strong feelings of the mind ; and such feelings when sup
pressed, like subterraneous fires, must find their way, and very
commonly issue in some dreadful explosion. The young men
said little, but thought the more. The real state of their minds is
thus described : And the men were grieved, and they were very
wroth, because he had wrought folly in Israel in lying with Jacob's
daughter, which thing ought not to he done. There certainly was
cause for great displeasure ; and provided it had been directed
against the sin, frankly avowed, and kept within the limits of equity,
great displeasure ought to have been manifested. Light as hea
thens, and other wicked men, may make of fornication, it is an
evil and a bitter thing. T° the honour of Jacob and his posterity,
he that was guilty of it among them, was said to have wrought folly
in Israel, and to have done that which ought not to be done. It
mighf be from the present early example that this phraseol
ogy became proverbially descriptive of a fornicator ;• and a
great advantage it must be to any people where the state
of society is so far influenced by principles of honour and chas
tity, as by common consent to brand such characters with infamy.
It was proper that the brothers of the young woman should be
grieved : it was not unnatural that they should be wroth : but
wherefore did they feel thus strongly ? Was it for the sin com
mitted against God, or only for the shame of it in respect of the
family ? Here, alas, they failed ; and this it was that prompted
them to all their other wickedness. Jacob was grieved and dis
pleased, as well as they; but his grief and displeasure wrought
not in the manner theirs did. The reserve which they assumed
* 2 Sam. xiii. 12.

292 DINAH DEFILED. [Discourse XLIII.
while Hamor and his son were speaking, concealed behind it. the
most deadly resentment. They heard all that was said ; (and
many fine things were said, both by the father as a politician, in
favour of intermarriages between the families in general, and by
the son as a lover, in order to gain the damsel ;) they heard it, I
say, with much apparent coolness, and stated their objections in a
manner as if there was nothing between them but the compliance
with a certain ceremony, and as though they fell nothing for their
sister that should hinder their entering into a covenant of peace
with him who had seduced her. But all was deceit ; a mere cover
to a bloody design, which they appear to have formed for the
purpose of revenge ; because he had defiled Dinah their sister.
The deceitful proposal, however, succeeded : Their words
pleased Hamor, and Shechem, Hamor's son. So they go about
forthwith to persuade the citizens into a compliance with them ;
not as a matter of principle, but of policy, as a measure which
would contribute to the country's good. They also succeed, the
Shechemites are circumcised, and all seems to bid fair for an
amicable issue.
But let us ^pause and reflect on the right and wrong in these
transactions. What was the line of conduct that Hamor and
Shechem should have pursued ? They ought no doubt, in the
first place, to have restored the young woman to her parents.; and
at the same time to have acknowledged the great injury done to
her, and to the family, and expressed their sorrow on account of
it. Till they had done this, they had no reason to expect any
thing like reconciliation on the part of Jacob, or his sons. But it
is likely the young man being of so honourable a family, and the
sin of fornication being so common in the country, made them think
these punctilios might be dispensed with in the present instance.
And being wholly under the influence of sensual and worldly
motives, they are prepared to profess any religion, or profane any
institution, however sacred, so that they may accomplish their
selfish ends. — But what was the line of conduct which ought to
have been pursued by Jacob and his sons ? If the one had taken
a greater share in the conversation, and the other a less, it had
been more to the honour of both ; and might not have issued in

Chapter XXXIV.] THE SHECHEMITES MURDERED. 293
the manner it did. It is very proper for brothers to consider
themselves as guardians of a sister's honour ; but not in such a
way as to supersede the authority, or silence the counsel of a
father. The answer to the question, Whether Dinah should be
given in marriage to Shechem, belonged to the parents, and not to
the brothers. With respect to the displeasure which required to
be expressed, it ought to have been confined to words ; and if the
proposed marriage could not be acceded to, they should, as they
said, have taken their sister and been gone. As to their objection
on the score of circumcision, there appears to have been no such
law established as yet in Jacob's family. It is true, they were
discouraged from marrying with the devotees of idolatry j but the
circumcision of the Shechemites was merely a form ; and had they
been suffered to live, would have produced no change in respect
of this. Could they indeed have been induced to renounce their
idolatrous practices, and to cast in their lot with Israel, the good
had overbalanced the evil : but religion was no part of the young
men's concern : the whole was a mere pretence, to cover their
malignant designs.
Ver. 25 — 29. The result was shocking.. Simeon and Levi, two
of Dinah's brethren by the same mother as well as father, availing
themselves of the present incapacity of the Shechemites to resist
them, took each man his sword, and slew all the males of the city,
with Hamor and Shechem his son, and took their sister out of his
house, and went their way ! Nor was this cruel business to be
attributed to the two brothers only; for the rest were so far ac
cessory as to join in plundering the city, and taking captive all the
females. Alas, how one sin leads on to another, and like flames of fire,
spreads desolation in every direction ! Dissipation leads to seduc
tion; seduction produces wrath; wrath thirsts for revenge; the
thirst of revenge has recourse to treachery ; treachery issues in
murder ; and murder is followed by lawless depredation ! Were
we to trace the history of illicit commerce between the sexes, we
should find it, more perhaps than any other sin, terminating in
blood. We may read this warning truth, not only in the history
of David and his family, but in what is constantly occurring in our
Vol. V. 37

294 THE SECHEMITES [Discourse XLIII.
own times. The murder of the innocent offspring by the hand of
the mother, or of the mother by the hand of the seducer ; or of
tbe seducer by the hand of a brother, or a supplanted rival — are
events which too frequently fall under our notice. Nor is this all,
even in the present world. Murder seldom escapes detection ; a
public execution therefore may be expected to close the tragical
process I
Ver. 30, 31. It is some relief to find the good old man express
ing his disapprobation of these proceedings ; Ye have troubled met
says he to Simeon and Levi, to make me stink among the inhabit
ants of the land — and 1 being few in number, they shall gather
themselves together against me, and I shall be destroyed, I and my
house. Both Abraham and Isaac had carried it peaceably in all
places where they pitched their tents, and by their good con
duct had recommended true religion, and gained great respect
among the heathen. It was Jacob's desire to have trod in their
steps ; but his sons were children of Belial, who knew not the
Lord; yet being so nearly akin to him, his character is implicated
by their conduct. Their answer is insolent in the extreme :
Should he deal with our sister, say they, as with an harlot ? As if
their father had no proper concern for the honour of his'children,
and cared not what treatment they met with, so that he might be at
peace, and maintain his credit.
But how is it that Jacob should dwell only upon the consequences
of the sin, and say nothing about the sin itself? Probably because
he knew his sons to be so hardened in wickedness that nothing
but consequences, and such as affected their own safety too,
would make them feel. It is certain that he did abhor the deed,
and that with all his soul. Of this he gave a most affecting proof
upon his dying bed, when, instead of blessing the two brethren
with the rest of his children, he in a manner cursed them, or at
least branded their conduct with perpetual infamy. Simeon and
Levi, said he, are brethren ; instruments of cruelty are in their
habitations. Oh my soul, come not thou into their secret ; unto their
assembly, mine honour, be not thou united ; for in their anger they
slew a man, and in their self-will they digged down a wall. Cursed

Chapter XXXIV.] MURDERED. 295
Je their anger, for it was fierce ; and their wrath, for it was cruel:
I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel! *
We read no more of Dinah, except her bare name : probably
she died single. Her example affords a loud warning to young
people to beware of visiting in mixed companies, or indulging in
amusements by which they put themselves in the way of temp
tation. * Simeon and Levi are brethren,
Instruments of violence are their fraudulent bargains :
Into their secret, come not thou, O my soul ;
Unto their assembly, be not united, mine honour ;
For in their anger they slew a man,
And in their self-will they exterminated a prince.
Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce ;
And their excess of passion, for it was cruel.
I will divide them in Jacob,
And scatter them in Israel.
But Venema would render the last distich in a good sense.
[Yet] I will grant them a portion in Jacob,
Aud cause them to be diffus'd abroad * in Israel.
*Gen. x. 18.

DISCOURSE XLIV.
jacob's removal to bethel — god's renewal'of covenant with
him  the death of deborah, rachel, and isaac.  esau's
generations.

Gen. xxxv. xxxvi.
There is a greater diversity in the life of this patriarch than in
that of Abraham, and much greater than in that of Isaac. If he
did not attain to the days of the years of the life of his fathers,
the records of his pilgrimage are not less useful than either of
them. Ver. 1. It might have been expected that Jacob would leave
Shechem, on account of what had taken place : yet he would not
know whither to flee : but God said unto him, Arise, go up to Bethel;
and dwell there : and make there an altar unto God that appeared
unto thee when thou fieddest from the face of Esau thy brother.
This admonition appears. to resemble that which was addressed to
Abram, Walk before me, and bs thou perfect ; that is, it implies a
reproof, and was intended to lead Jacob to reflect upon his conduct.
There were two things in particular which required his serious
consideration. (1.) Whether he had not neglected to perform
his vow. He had solemnly declared in the presence of God, that
if he would be with him, and keep him in the way he went, and give
him bread to eat, and raiment to put on, then Jehovah should be his
'God : and that the stone which he then set up for a pillar should
be God's house.* Now God had performed all these things on his
* Chap, xxviii. 20—22.

298 JACOB'S REMOVAL [Discourse XLIV.
part ; but Jacob had not been at Bethel, even though he had now
resided in Canaan about seven years. And what was worse,
though Jehovah had been his God, so far as respected himself;
yet his house was not clear of idols ! Rachel's stolen teraphim
had proved a snare to the family. At the time Laban overtook
him, Jacob knew nothing of them, but he appears to have discov
ered them afterwards ; and yet, till roused by this divine admoni
tion, he never interposed his authority to have them put away.
(2.) Whether the late lamentable evils in his family had not
arisen from this cause. Had he gone sooner to Bethel, his house
had been sooner purged of the strange gods that were in it, and
his children had escaped the taint which they must of necessity
impart. At first the gods of Laban were hid by Rachel, and none
of the family except herself seemed to know of them : but now
Jacob had to speak to his household, and to all that were with him,
to cleanse themselves. Moreover, had he gone sooner to Bethel,
his children might have been out of the way of temptation, and
all the impure and bloody conduct in which they were concerned
have been prevented. From the whole, we see the effects of
spiritual negligence, and of trifling with temptation. Do not neg
lect God's house, nor delay to keep his commandments. He
that puts them off to a more convenient season has commonly
some idols about him, which it does not suit him just yet to put
away. Ver. 2, 3. No sooner is Jacob admonished to go to Bethel than
he feels the necessity of a reformation, and gives command for it.
This proves that he knew of tbe corrupt practices of his family,
and had too long connived at them. We are glad, however, to
find him resolved at last to put them away. A constant attendance
on God's ordinances is dwelling as it were in Bethel ; and it is by
this that we detect ourselves of evils which we should otherwise
retain without thought or concern. It is coming to the light, which
will manifest our deeds, whether they be wrought in God or not.
Wicked men may reconcile the most sacred religious duties with
the indulgence of secret sins ; but good men cannot do so. They

Chapter XXXV.] TO BETHEL. 299
must wash their hands in innocency, and so compass God's altar.*
Jacob not only commands his household to put away their idols,
but endeavours to impress upon them his own sentiments. Let
us arise, saith he, and go up to Bethel ; and I will make there an
altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was
with me in the way which Iwent. He is decided for himself, and
uses all means to persuade his family to unite with him. His inti
mating that God had heretofore answered him in the day of his dis
tress, might be designed not only to show them the propriety of
what he was about to do, but to excite a hope that God might
disperse the cloud which now hung over them on account of the
late impure and bloody transaction.
Ver. 4. Considering the evils which prevailed in this family,
and the bewitching nature of idolatry, it is rather surprising to
observe the readiness with which they consent to give it up. But
no doubt the hand of the Lord was in it. When Jacob spake as
he ought to speak, their hearts were bowed before him. Difficul
ties which in a languid state of mind seem insurmountable, are
easily got over when once we come to act decidedly for God : and
those whom we expected to oppose the good work, shall frequently
be found willing to engage with us in it. They not only gave
their gods, but even their ear-rings, which in those times were
convertible, and often, if not always, converted to purposes of
idolatry.t But why did Jacob bury them ? We may think they
might have been melted down, and converted to a better use : but
that was expressly forbidden by the Mosaic Iaw,| and it seems the
patriarchs acted on the same principle. But why did he not
utterly destroy them ? Perhaps it would have been better if he
had. I hope, however, he hid them where they were found no
more. Upon the whole, we see at this time a great change for
the better in Jacob's family. He should not have been reluctant,
or indifferent, to going up to Bethel ; for it appears to have been
the design of God to. make it one of his best removals. It was a
season of grace, in which God not only blessed him, but caused
even those that dwelt under his shadow to return. I have more
hope of Rachel and Leah's having relinquished all for the God of
* Psalm xxvi. 6. t Exod. xxxii. 2. Hos. ii. 13. t Deut. vii. 25.

300 . JACOB AT BETHEL. [Discourse XLIV.
Israel from this time, than from any thing in the former part of
their history.
Ver. 5. We now see Jacob and his family on their journey.
It would appear to the cities round about that the slaughter of the
Shechemites was the cause of this removal. Their not pursuing
them being ascribed to the terror of God being upon them, implies,
that the public indignation was so excited against them, that, if
they had dared, they would have cut them off. The kind care
which God exercised on this occasion was no less contrary to the
parent's fears, than to the deserts of his ungodly children ; and
its being extended to them for his sake, must, if they had any
sense of things, appal their proud spirits, and repress the insolence
with which they had lately treated him.
Ver. 6, 7. Arriving at Bethel in safety, Jacob, according to
his vow, built there an altar unto Jehovah, and gave it a name
which God had graciously given himself; namely, El-bethel, the
God of Betliel. This altar, and this name would serve as a per
petual memorial of God's having appeared to him when he fled from
the face of his brother. And as at that time many great and pre
cious promises were made to him, it would be natural for him to
associate with the idea of the God of Bethel, that of a God in
covenant; the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and tbe God of
Jacob. , Ver. 8. While Jacob and his family were at Bethel, their
enjoyments seem to have been interrupted by the death of Debo
rah, Rebekah's nurse. Some particulars are here implied, which
are not recorded in the history. Deborah did not belong to the
family of Jacob, but to that of Isaac. Jacob must therefore have
been and visited his father ; and finding his mother dead, and her
nurse far advanced in years, more fit to be nursed herself than to
be of, any use to her aged master, he took her home, where she
would meet with kind attentions from her younger countrywomen,
and probably furnished his father with another more suitable in
her place. Nothing is said of her from the time she left Padan-
aram with her young mistress : but by the honourable mention
that is here made of her, she seems to have been a worthy char
acter. The death of an aged servant, when her work was done,

Chapter XXXV.] DEATH OF DEBORAH.

301

would not ordinarily excite much regret. To have afforded her
a decent burial was all that in most cases would be thought of :
but Jacob's family were so much affected by the event, as not only
to weep over her grave, but to call the very tree under the shadow
of which she was interred, Allon-bachuth, the oak of weeping. It
is the more singular too, that the family who wept over her was
not that in which she had lived in what we should call her best
days ; but one that had merely taken her under their care in her
old age. It is probable, however, that the sorrow expressed
at her interment was on account, not only of her character, but
her office, or her having been Rebecca's nurse. The text seems
to lay an emphasis upon these words. The sight of the daughter
of Laban, his mother's brother, and even of his sheep, had inter
ested Jacob's heart (Chap. xxix. 10.) ; much more would the
burial of her nurse. In weeping over her grave, he would seem
to be weeping over that of his beloved parent, and paying that
tribute of affection to her memory, which Providence had denied
him at the time of her decease.
Ver. 9 — 15. During the seven years in which Jacob resided
at Shechem we do not find a single instance of God's manifesting
himself to him, except that of admonishing him to depart. But now
that he is come to Bethel, and has performed his vow, Godappear-
ed unto him again, and blessed him. But how is it that this is said
to be when he came out of Padan-aram ? The design of the
phrase, Iapprehend, is not to convey the idea of its being at the
time of his return from that country, or immediately after it ; but
to distinguish it from that appearance of God to him in the same
place where he now was, in his way thither. He appeared to him
at Bethel when he was going to Padan-aram ; and now he ap
peared to him again, at the same place, when he was come out of
it* The whole account given in these verses of the appearancp
of God to Jacob, and of his conduct in return, describes a sole"111
and mutual renewal of covenant. There is nothing mater/" ln
what is here said to him, but what had been said befo* 5 au<*
nothing material which he did, but what had been dor^ before ;
* So the passage is rendered by Ainswor*'
Vol. V. 38

302 RENEWAL OF COVENANT. [Discourse XLIV.
but the whole was now as it were consolidated and confirmed. (1.)
God had before told him that his name should no more be called
Jacob, but Israel (Chap, xxxii. 28.) : this honour is here renewed,
and the renewal of it contained an assurance that he should still
go on and prevail. (2.) God had before declared that the prom
ises made to Abraham should be fulfilled in him and his posterity :
(Chap, xxviii. 13. 14.) this declaration is here renewed and pre
faced with an assertion of his own all-sufficiency to fulfil them.
(3.) When God had before appeared to him, he set up a pillar of
stone, and poured oil upon it, and called the name of the place
Bethel : (Chap, xxviii. 18, 19-) this process he now renewed, with
the addition of a drink-offering, for which on his first journey he
probably had not the materials. These renewals of promises and
acknowledgments may teach us not to be so anxious after new
discoveries as to overlook those which we have already obtained.
God may appear to us by the revival of known truths, as well as
by the discovery of what was unknown ; and we may glorify him
as much by doing our first works, as by engaging in something
which has not been done before. Old truths, ordinances, and
even places, become new to us when we renew communion with
God in them.
Ver. 16 — 20. We are not told the reason of Jacob's leaving
Bethel. Probably he was directed to do so. However this
might be, his removal in the present instance was accompanied
with a very painful event ; namely, the loss of his beloved
Rachel, and that in the prime of life. Journeying from Bethel,
and within a little of Ephrath, or Bethlehem, she travailed, and
had hard labour. The issue was, the infant was spared, but the
mother removed. Thus she that had said, Give me children, or I
die, died in childbirth !
Several circumstances which attended this afflictive event are
Serving of notice. (1.) The words of the midwife : Fear not :
thon^ait fang (fag gon aiso. When Rachel bare her first son, she
called-,jm Joseph, that is, Adding ; for said she, by a prophetic
impulse, J,e Lord shall add to me another son. It is probably in
reference totn;s that the midwife spake as she did. Her words,
if reported to ^cob, with the recollection of the above prophetic

Chapter XXXV.] DEATH OF RACHEL. 303
hint, would raise his hopes, and render his loss more affecting, by
adding to it the pain of disappointment. They appear to have no
influence, however, on Rachel. She has the sentence of death
in herself, and makes no answer : but turning her eyes towards
the child, and calling him Ben-oni, the son of my sorrow, she ex
pires ! (2.) The terms by which her death is described — It came
to pass, as her soul was in departing. An ordinary historian
would have said, as she was dying, or as she was ready to expire :
but the scriptures delight in an impressive kind of phraseology,
which at the same time shall both instruct the mind and affect the
heart. It was by means of such language, on various occasions,
that the doctrine of a future state was known and felt from gen
eration to generation among the Israelites, while the heathen
around them, with all their learning, were in the dark upon the
subject. (3.) The change of the child's name : She called his name
Ben-oni; but his father called him Benjamin. The former, though
very appropriate at the time, yet, if continued, must tend perpet
ually to revive the recollection of the death of his mother ; and of
such a monitor Jacob did not stand in need. The name given
him, signified the son of my right hand; that is, a son of the most
tender affection and delight, inheriting the place which his mother
had formerly possessed in his father's heart. If the love of God
be wanting, that of a creature will often be supreme ; and where
this is the case, the loss of the object is frequently known to leave
the party utterly inconsolable ; but though the affection of a good
man may be very strong, and his sorrow proportionably deep ;
yet he is taught to consider that every created good is only lent
him ; and that his generation's work being as yet unfulfilled, it is not
for him to feed melancholy, nor to pore over his loss with a sullen-
ness that shall unfit him for duty, but rather to divert his affections
from the object that is taken, and direct them to those that are
left. (4.) The stone erected to her memory, which appears to
have continued for many generations. Burying her in the place
where she died, Jacob set a pillar upon her grave; and that was
the pillar of Rachel's grave when her history was written. It was
near this place, if not upon the very spot, that the tribe of Benja
min afterwards had its inheritance : and therefore it is that the •

304 DEATH OF ISAAC. [Discourse XLIV.
people who lived in the times of Jeremiah are called Rachel's
children.* The babes which Herod murdered are also so called ;
and she herself, though long since dead, is supposed to rise, as it
were, out of her grave, and witness the bloody deed : yea more,
to stand upon it, and weep, refusing to be comforted, because they
were not !
Ver. 21. It is proper that Jacob, or, as he is now called, Israel,
after having interred his beloved Rachel, should remove to some
little distance, at least, from her grave. The tower of Edar near
to which he next spread his tent, was in the neighbourhood of
Bethlehem. In removing, howeter, from the scene of one sor
row, he is soon overtaken by another". While dwelling in that
land, a criminal intercourse took place between Reuben and
Bilhah, his father's wife. It was done in secret; but Israel
heard of it. For this his unnatural wickedness, Reuben was
afterwards cursed as a tribe, the heavier on account of his being
the first-born of the family.t By his conduct, however, in ref
erence to his brother Joseph,^ he seems to have obtained at least
a mitigation of his punishment : for Moses, in blessing the tribes,
said of him, Let Reuben live, and not die, and let not his men be
few. Yet even here, he does but live . no idea is suggested that
he should ever excel, and with this the history of his tribe, in after
ages, perfectly accords.
Ver. 22—26. The history will henceforward principally res
pect the sons of Jacob, as being the fathers of the twelve tribes of
Israel. We have here, therefore, at the outset, a particular
account of them, as descended frona the different wives of their
father Jacob.
Ver. 27—29. Before the sacred writer, however, proceeds to
narrate their history, he finishes two other subjects, that the thread
of the story may not be broken. One of them is the conclusion of
the life of Isaac ; and the other, which is contained in the thirty-
sixth chapter, a brief sketch of the family and temporal prosperity
of Esau. If the first of these events had been introduced in the
order of time, it would have fallen in the midst of the history of
* J«. xxxi. If. t Chap. xlix. 4. % Chap, xxxvii. 20. 22.

Chapter XXXV] ESAU'S GENERATIONS. 305
Joseph ; for it occurred about twelve or thirteen years after his
being sold into Egypt. There are not many particulars concern
ing it. Jacob seems to have been sent for just in time to witness
his father's decease. By the years of his life, namely, a hundred
and fourscore, it appears that he must have lived fifty-seven years
in a state of blindness and inactivity. This is one of the mysteries
of Providence which often strike us : an aged and afflicted person,
whose usefulness appears to us at an end, shall have his life pro
longed, while a hundred active young people around him shall be
cut off. We know not the reason of these things in the present
state ; but we may know it hereafter.
Chap, xxxvi. With respect to Esau, he and his brother had
been together at their father's funeral, and for aught that appears
were on brotherly terms. In the course of this chapter we find
them separated ; not however from any difference arising between
them, but on account of their great prosperity. Their riches are
said to have been more than that they might dwell together ; and
the land wherein they were strangers could not bear them, because
of their cattle.
The account which is here given of him and his posterity is,
bowever, a kind of leave taken of them : we shall hear no more
of Esau, nor of his descendants, but as enemies to the people of
God. It is remarkable that three times in this chapter when
Esau is spoken of, we meet with the phrase This is Edom, and
once, He is Esau, the father of the Edomites.* We have seen
that the name of Edom was given him on account of his sangui
nary disposition;! and as this was notoriously the character of the
Edomites, especially towards Israel, it would seem as if the Holy
Spirit would have it well remembered that the bitterest enemies of
the church of God descended from this man. He seems to be mark
ed as the father of persecutors, in some such manner as Ahaz is
marked for his wickedness of another kind, This is that kin"Ahaz.t
Finally : It is remarkable that Esau, though he had despised
and lost his birthright, yet was prospered in his lifetime, and for
several generations, more than his brother. While the latter was
* Verses 1. 9. 19. 43. t Chap. xxv. 24—34. % Chron. xxviii. 22.

306 ESAU'S GENERATIONS. [Discourse XLIV.
a servant at Padan-aram, he established his dominion in mount
Seir ; and while the descendants of the one were groaning under
Egyptian bondage, those of the other were formed into an indepen
dent kingdom, and had eight kings in succession, before there reign
ed any king over the children of Israel. In this manner did God
order things, to show, it may be, that the most valuable blessings
require the greatest exercise of faith and patience.

DISCOURSE XLV.

JOSEPH SOLD FOR A SLAVE.

Gen. xxxvii.
We now enter on the very interesting history of Joseph, a his
tory in which I feel not pleasure only, but a portion of dismay ;
and this because I have but little hope of doing justice to it. It is
a history, perhaps unequalled, for displaying the various workings
of the human mind, both good and bad, and the singular providence
of God in making use of them for the accomplishment of his
purposes. Ver. 1. Jacob is represented as dwelling in the land wherein
his father was a stranger. The character of sojourners was com
mon to the patriarchs : it is that which Jacob afterwards confessed
before Pharaoh ; on which the Apostle remarks, that they who say
such things declare plainly that they seek a country.
Ver. 2. The generations of Jacob, seem here to mean his
fimily history : so the word is used of Adam, Chap. v. 1. And
Joseph being, as we should say, the chief hero of the tale, it
begins with him. It was the design of the sacred writer, in the
course of his narration, to tell of all the great events of that family-:
as of their going down into Egypt, remaining there for a number
of years, and at last being brought out by the mighty hand of
God : at present his object is to lead us to the origin of these
events, as to the spring-head of a great river, or to describe the
minute circumstances by which they were brought about.
Joseph was distinguished by his early piety. His brethren
were most, if not all of them, very wicked; and he being fre
quently with them in the field, saw and heard such things as greatly

308 JOSEPH SOLD FOR A SLAVE. [Discourse XLV
affected him. We are not told what they were : the oracles of
God have thrown a veil over them till the judgment-day. Suffice
it for us to know, that the mind of this godly youth was hurt by
their conversation ^and behaviour, and that he could not be easy
without disclosing particulars to his father. In this he was to be
commended, for though a child should not indulge, nor be indulged
by his parents, in reporting every trivial tale to the disadvantage
of his brothers or sisters ; yet where wickedness is acted, it ought
not to be concealed. The parents should know it, that they may-
correct it ; or if that cannot be, that they may be enabled to coun
teract its effects. But that which was commendable in him pro
duced hatred in them. They would perceive that he did not join
them when in company, and perhaps the carriage of their father
Would lead them to suspect that this his favourite son had been their
accuser. In this, the outset of Joseph's story, we perceive a
striking resemblance between him and our Lord Jesus Christ,
whom the world hated, because he testified of it that the works
thereof were evil.
Here, therefore, before I proceed any further, 1 would offer a
few words on the question, Whether Joseph is to be considered as
a type of Christ ? I am far from thinking that every point of
analogy which may be traced by a lively imagination, was designed
as such by the Holy Spirit ; yet neither do 1 think that we are
warranted to reject the idea. We have already seen that God
prepared the way for the coming of his Son, by a variety of things,
in which tbe great principles of his undertaking were prefigured,
and so Tendered familiar to the minds of men ;* and he pursued
tbe same object by a variety of persons, in whom the life and
character of Christ were in some degree previously manifest.
Thus Melchizedek prefigured him as a priest, Moses as a phophet,
and David as a king; and I cannot but think that in the history of
Joseph there is a portion ofdesigned analogy between them. But
to return —
Ver. 3, 4. The hatred of Joseph's brethren, on account of his
reports, was not diminished, but heightened by his father's
* See the notes on Chap. vi. 18. xvii. 4.

Chapter XXXVII.] JOSEPH SOLD FOR a SLAVE. 309
partiality towards him. It is much less difficult to account for this
partiality, than to justify it, or at least the method of expressing it.
He was the son of the beloved Rachel ; and though Benjamin was
in this respect equal to him, yet he was but a child, and had as yet
discovered nothing as to character : he therefore would be out of
the question. Joseph seems to have been the only one in the
family who had hitherto discovered either the fear of God, or the
duty of a child. From these considerations his father might be
allowed to love him with a peculiar affection ; but his clothing
him with a coat of many colours, was a weakness calculated only
to excite envy and ill-will in his brethren. If he had studied to
provoke these dispositions, he could scarcely have done it more
effectually. The event was, that the hatred of the brothers
could no longer be concealed, nor could they speak in the usual
strain of civility to Joseph.
Ver. 5 — 11. Another circumstance occurred, which tended
still more to heighten the enmity ; namely, certain dreams which
Joseph had at this time, and which he, in the simplicity of his
heart, related to his brethren. These were divine intimations of
his future advancement, and were remarkably fulfilled in Egypt,
about twenty -three years afterwards. But at present they inflamed
a resentment already too strong ; and even his father thought
it necessary to chide what seemed a little presumptuous in his son.
Yet as Jacob felt a check on this occasion, and observed the saying,
suspecting, it should seem, that there might be more in it than he
was at present aware of; so, I apprehend, bis sons had a secret
persuasion that these dreams were prophetic : but that which
softened the father, only hardened and inflamed the sons. Their
hatred had originated in religion ; and the thought of God having
determined to honour him, provoked them the more. Such were
the operations of malice in Cain towards Abel, in Esau towards
Jacob, in Saul towards David, and in the Scribes and Pharisees
towards the Lord of Glory.
yer, ig — 17. Things now approach fast to a crisis. It seems
as if the vale of Hebron, where Jacob now was, did not contain
sufficient pasturage for his flocks : the young men therefore take
them to Shechem, a distance, it is said, of about sixty miles, and
Vol. V. 39

310 "JOSEPH SOLD FOR A SLAVE. [Discourse XLV.
the place where they lived for the first seven years after their
return from Padan-aram. Jacob, feeling anxious about them and
the cattle, (as well he might, considering the part they had acted
there,) proposes to Joseph that he should go and inquire, and
bring him word of their welfare ; to which the latter, with cheer
ful obedience, consents. Arriving at Shechem, he finds they had
left it, with their flocks ; and being informed by a stranger that
they were gone to Dothan, a distance of about eight miles, he
proceeds thither.
Ver. 18 — 22. The sight of Joseph, while he was yet afar off,
rekindles all the foul passions of his brethren, and excites a con
spiracy against him. Behold, say they, with malignant scorn, this
dreamer cometh! Come now, let us slay him! In some cases sin
begins upon a small scale, and increases as it advances ; but the
very first proposal in this case is murder ! This shows the height
to which their hatred had been previously wrought up, and which
now that opportunity offered, raged like fire with uncontrollable
fury. But have they no apprehensions as to consequences ?
What tale are they to carry home to their father ? O, they are
at no loss for this. Malice has two intimate friends, always at
hand, to conceal its dark deeds ; namely, artifice and falsehood.
We will cast him into some pit, say they, and we will say, Some evil
beast hath devoured him : and we shall see what will become of his
dreams! Who will say that the workers of iniquity have no
knowledge ? They have all the cunning, as well as the cruelty,
of the old serpent. See how they wrap it up. But what do they
mean by that sarcastic saying, We shall see what will become of his
dreams ! If they had considered them as feigned through ambition,
they would not have felt half the resentment. No, they would
have winked at it as a clever piece of deceit, and have had a
fellow-feeling for him. I doubt not but they considered these
dreams as the intimations of heaven, and their language included
nothing less than a challenge of the Almighty ! But is it possible,
you may say, that they could think of thwarting the divine
counsels ? It is possible and certain, that men have been so
infatuated by sin, as to attempt to do so. Witness Pharaoh's
pursuit of Israel, after all that he had seen and felt of the divine

Chapter XXXVII.] JOSEPH SOLD FOR A SLAVE. 31 1
, judgments ; Saul's attempts on David's life ; Herod's murder of
the children of Bethlehem ; and the conspiracy of the Jews
against Christ, who, as many of them knew, had raised Lazarus
from the dead, and done many miracles. Yes, we will kill him,
say they, and let God advance him to honour if he can ! But they
shall see what will become of his dreams. Yes, they shall see
them accomplished, and that by the very means they are concert
ing to overthrow them. Thus, though the kings of the earth take
counsel together against the Lord, and against his Anointed, say
ing, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords
from us ; yet He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh at them, the
Lord shall have them in derision. Joseph's brethren, like the
sheaves in the dream, shall make obeisance to him ; and at the
name of Jesus every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess that
he is Lord, unto the glory of God the Father.
In this bloody council there was one dissentient. God put it
into the heart of Reuben, though in other respects none of the
best of characters, to oppose their measures ; and being the elder
brother, his opinion must have somewhat the greater weight. He
appears to have utterly disapproved of their intention, and wished
earnestly to get the lad safe out of their hands, that he might
deliver him to his father ; though, perhaps, through fear of his
own life, be made only a partial opposition. His counsel, how
ever, saved his life, and he was doubtless raised up on this occasion
for the very purpose ; for Joseph's time was not yet come.
Ver. 22 — 24. AH that had hitherto taken place was during the
time that Joseph was absent. Glad to have caught the sight of
them, he was walking towards them in the simplicity of his heart,
while they were taking counsel to destroy him ! He arrives.
Like beasts of prey, they immediately seize him, and tear off the
envied coat of many colours. It was not enough to injure him ;
they must also insult him. Thus Jesus was stripped and degraded
before he suffered. Now it was, as they afterwards confessed one
to another in the Egyptian prison, that they saw the anguish of his
soul when he besought them, and would not hear: now it was that
Reuben interceded on his behalf, saying, Do not sin against the

312 JOSEPH SOLD FOR A SLAVE. [Discourse XLV.
child; but they wouldnot hear.* No, they would not hear : they
took and cast him into a pit : probably a hole in the earth, both
dark and deep ; for he does not appear to have been able to get
out again. It was however empty, or without water. Whether
they knew of this circumstance or not, God knew it ; and it seems
to have been known to Reuben when he made the proposal of his
being cast into it, seeing he hoped, by this means, to save his life.
Ver. 25 — 28. Having thus far gratified their revenge, they
retire, and with hardened unconcern sit down to eat bread. It is
probable that they both ate and drank, and made merry ; and it
may be partly in allusion to this, that certain characters, in the
times of the prophet Amos, are described as drinking wine in bowls,
and anointing themselves with the chief ointments, but were not
grieved for the affliction of Joseph.
At this juncture a company of merchants appeared, who were
going down to Egypt. They are called Ishmaelites, and also
Midianites : they were, it seems, a mixed people, composed of
both. On the sight of them a thought occurs in the mind of Judah,
that they had better sell their brother for a slave than murder him
which he proposes to the rest. His proposal contains words of
mercy, but it was mercy mixed with covetousness. I am not sure
that Judah felt any tenderness towards Joseph, as being his brother
and of his flesh, any more than his name-sake did in selling Christ:
it is not unusual for covetous men to urge their objects under a
show of generosity and Kindness. But if he did, it was the profit
that wrought upon the company. The love of money induced
them to sell their brother for a slave ; and the same principle
carries on the same cruel traffic to this day. So they sold Joseph
for twenty pieces of silver, the value of which was about twenty
shillings of our money, ten shillings less than the price of a slave. t
A goodly price at which they valued him ! But let not Joseph
complain, seeing a greater than he was sold by Judas Iscariot for
but a little more.
Ver. 29, 30. In this iniquitous transaction, Reuben was absent.
I suppose, while they were eating and drinking, he stole away
* Chap. xlii. 21, 22. t Exod. xxi. 32.

Chapter XXXVII.] JOSEPH SOLD FOR A SLAVE. 313
from their company, with the intention of going by himself to the
pit, and delivering Joseph ; and to the pit he went : but taking a
circuitous course, it may be to prevent suspicion, he was too late !
At this he is greatly affected, rends his garments, returns to the
company, and exclaims, The childis not : and I, whither shall I go!
But though he spake like a brother, and an elder brother, who
was obliged to give account to his father, yet it appears to have
made no impression on them. Like the Scribes and Pharisees,
they were ready to answer, See thou to that !
Ver. 31 — 36. They feel not for Joseph, nor for Reuben;
but have some concern about themselves, and immediately fall
upon a stratagem wherewith to deceive their father. A kid is
slain, and the coat of Joseph is dipt in its blood. This is to be
carried home, and shown to Jacob, with the addition of a lie,
saying, they had found it ; and thus the poor old man was to be
persuaded that some evil beast had devoured him. Who will say
that the workers of iniquity have no knowledge ? Yet one cannot
but remark the difficulty of supporting a feigned character. To
have done it completely, they should first have seen their father
without the coat, broke it to him by degrees, affected to grieve
with him for the loss, and at last have presented the coat with
apparent reluctance, as that which must harrow up his feelings.
Instead of this, the whole is done in the most unfeeling and undu-
tiful manner that it could be : This have we found, say they ; know
now whether it be thy son's coat, or no ! They could not deny
themselves the brutal pleasure of thus insulting their father, even
in the hour of his distress, for his former partiality. Wicked dis
positions often make men act like fools: hence it is that murder
ers commonly betray themselves. The disguise of hypocrisy is
generally very thin : truth only is throughout consistent. This
disguise, however, thin as it was, seemed at present to answer the
end. Jacob knew the bloody garment, and said, It is my son's coat ;
an evil beast hath devoured him : Joseph is without doubt rent in
pieces. No, it is no evil beast, but men more cruel than tigers that
have done towards him what is done : but thus Jacob thought, and
thus he mourned. We are ready to wonder how Reuben could
keep his counsel ; yet with all his grief he did so : perhaps he

314, JOSEPH SOLD FOR A SLAVE. [Discourse XLV.
might be afraid for his own life. Whatever was the cause, how
ever, of Jacob's being thus imposed upon, it was wisely ordered
ed that he should be so. The present concealment of many things
contributes not a little to the accomplishment of the divine coun
sels, and to the augmentation of future joy.
Jacob's mourning is deep and durable : when after a time, his
sons and his sons' wives rose up to comfort him, he refused to be
comforted ; resolving to die a mourner, and to welcome the grave,
which, though a land of darkness, should be dear to him, because
his beloved Joseph was there ! Thus his father wept for him.
From the whole, one sees already, with admiration, the aston
ishing machinery of Providence. The malignant brothers seem to
have obtained their ends : the mercenary merchants, who care
not what they deal in so that they get gain, have also obtained
theirs ; and Potiphar, having got a fine young slave, has obtained
his. But what is of greater importance, God's designs are by
these means all in train for execution. This event shall issue in
Israel's going down to Egypt; that in the deliverance by Moses;
that in the setting up of tbe true religion in the world ; and that
in the spread of it among all nations by the gospel. The wrath
of man shall praise the Lord, and the remainder thereof will he
restrain.

DISCOURSE XLVI.
THE CONDUCT OF JUDAH — JOSEPH'S PROMOTION AND TEMPTATfON.

Gen. xxxviii, xxxix.
If we turn aside with the sacred writer, for a few minutes, and
notice the conduct of Judah about this time, we shall perceive
new sources of sorrow for the poor old patriarch. This young
man, whatever was the cause, must needs leave his father's family ;
and wandering towards the south, entered into the house of one
Hirah, an inhabitant of Adullam, with whom he formed an intimate
acquaintance. If all the brethren had dispersed, and mingled
among the heathen, if we consider only their state of mind, there
had been nothing surprising in it. While tarrying here, be saw a
young female, whose father's name was Shuah ; and though he had
joined in objecting to his sister's marriage with Shechem, yet he
makes no scruple of taking this Canaanitish woman to be his wife ;
and that without at all consulting his father. The children which
he had by this marriage were such as might be expected ; and the
loose life which he himself led, aided in it as he was by hie friend
the Adullamite, was that of a man, who, weary of the restraints of
religion, had given himself up to his evil propensities.
Yet it is observable how he keeps up the customs of his father's
family, by directing his younger son to take the widow of tbe eldest,
that he might raise up seed unto his brother ; and though he him
self indulged in licentiousness, yet he can feel indignation, and even
talk oi burning his daughter-in-law for the same thing. Thus we
have often seen men tenacious of ceremonies, while living in

316 . THE CONDUCT OF JUDAH. [Discourse XLVI.
the grossest immorality, and quick to censure the faults of others
while blinded to their own.
The odious wickedness committed in this family might not
have been recorded hut for the purpose of chronology, and to
show what human nature is till it is renewed by the grace of God.
How this connexion between Judah and his friend the Adullamite
came to be broken, we know not ; but finding him afterwards in
bis father's house, we hope it was so. Even while he continued
on that side of the country, he had some remorse of conscience,
particularly when he discovered the supposed harlot to be his
daughter Tamar. She hath been, said he, more righteous than I.
But we return to tbe history of Joseph —
Chap, xxxix. We left him in Egypt, sold to Potiphar, a captain
of the guard ; and here we find him. He was sent beforehand as
a saviour; and, like the Saviour of the world, was not sent in state,
but in the form of a servant.
Nothing is said of the grief of mind which he felt on the occa
sion, but this must needs have been great. A youth of seventeen,
torn from his father, enslaved to all appearance for life, and
that among idolaters, where the true God was utterly unknown ?
If the day of Jacob's departure from his father's house was the
day of his distress, (Chap. xxxv. 3.) what must Joseph's have
been ? The archers may well be said to have sorely grieved him !
Ver. 2, 3. But here is a remedy equal to this^r any other disease:
the Lord was with Joseph ! God can make up any loss, sustain
under any load, and render us blessed in any place. To this
Moses alludes, in his dying blessing upon the tribe of Joseph :
Blessed of the Lord be his land, for the precious things of
heaven — -for the precious things of the earth — and for the good
will of him that dwelt in the busk : let the blessing come upon
the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of him that
was separated from his brethren ! If we be but in the path of
duty, we have nothing to fear. Whatever wroDgs we suffer, if we
be but kept from doing wrong, we shall enjoy the peace of God in
our hearts and all will come to a good issue. What a difference
is there between the cases of Joseph and Jonah ! They were
both in trouble, both absent from God's people, both among the

Chapter XXXIX.] JOSEPH'S PROMOTION. 317
heathen : but the sufferings of the one were for righteousness'
sake, while those of the other were of his own procuring.
God makes Joseph prosperous. He must then have submitted
with cheerfulness to his lot, studied to make himself agreeable
and useful to his master, and applied attentively to business
Herein he was an example of resignation to the will of God, in
afflictive circumstances. Fretfulness greatly aggravates the ills of
life, while a cheerful submission to the will of God alleviates
them. The prosperity attending Joseph was manifest: his mas
ter sees it, and sees that Jehovah is with him, and that it is his
hand which blesses all he does. This is a circumstance not a lit
tle to Joseph's honour ; for it implies that he made no secret of
his religion. He must have refused to join in Egyptian idolatry,
and have avowed himself a worshipper of Jehovah, the only true
God. In many cases, for a poor unprotected slave to have done
this, would have cost him his life ; but the Lord was with Joseph,
and had all hearts in bis hand. Potiphar observing that the reli
gion of the young man turned to his account, like many irreligious
masters in the present day, makes no objection to it. This holds
up a most encouraging' example to religious servants, to recom
mend the gospel by their fidelity and diligence ; and to all Chris
tians to be faithful to God, even when there are no religious
friends about them to watch over them. This is walking with
God. Ver. 4. The effect of this is, Joseph comes into favour, and is
promoted over all the other servants. From a slave he is made .a
Steward ; a steward not only of the household, but over all his
master's affairs, and this though but a youth.
Ver. b: And now, as Potiphar favours the Lord's servant, the
Lord will not be behindhand with him, but will favour him. From
this time forward every thing is blessed and prospered for Joseph's.
sake. We see here that it is good to be connected with them that
fear God, but much better to cast in our lot with them. In that
case, we shall not only gain by them for this life ; but, as Moses
told Hobab, whatever good thing the Lord doth to them, shall be
done to us. Here also we see the promise to Abraham fulfilled
in his posterity : he not only blesses them, but makes them a bless.
Vol. V. 40

318 JOSEPH'S PROMOTION. [Discourse XLYL
ing. Such was Jacob to Laban ; such is Joseph to Potipbar, and
afterwards to all Egypt ; and such has Israel been to the world,
who from them derive a Saviour, and all that they possess of true
religion. Even the casting away of them has proved the recon
ciling of the world, and how much more shall the receiving of
them at a future day be as life from the dead ! It might also be
the design of God, by this as well as other of his proceedings, to
set forth under a figure the method in which he would bless the
world ; namely, for the sake of another that was dear unto him.
Potiphar was not blessed for bis own sake, or on account of any of
his good deeds; but for the sake of Joseph. Even his receiving
Joseph into favour was not that on account of which he was
blessed, though that was necessary to it : it was Joseph to whom
the eye of the Lord was directed : he looked on him, and blessed
Potiphar- So that for the sake of which we are accepted and
saved, is not any work of righteousness which we have done, nor
even our believing in Christ, though this is necessary to it ; but
the name and righteousness of Jesus. Thus in both cases, grace
is displayed, and boasting excluded. Finally : It was a proyerb
in Israel, that when it goeth well with the righteous, the city re
joiceth. This was singularly exemplified in the prosperity of
Joseph, and still more in the exaltation of Christ. From the
day that he was made head over all principalities and powers,
from that time forward the Lord hath blessed the world for his
sake. Ver. 6. So great was the confidence which Joseph's fidelity
inspired in bis master, that all his concerns were left in his hands >*
and for his own part he did nothing but enjoy the prosperity which
was thus bestowed upon him. This circumstance might be wisely
ordered to prepare this lovely youth for bis future station. He
was now brought into business, and inured to management : had
he been raised to his last post first, he might have been less
qualified to fill it. Sudden advancements are seldom safe.
Under all this prosperity, what may we suppose to be the state
of Joseph's mind ? No doubt his thoughts would sometimes
glance to the vale of Hebron, and he would ask himself, ' How
does my father bear the rending stroke ; and what is become of

Chapter XXXIX.] JOSEPH'S PROMOTION. 319
my poor wicked brethren V But as to himself, so far as it was
possible to be happy in a strange land, happy he must have been.
God was with him, every thing he did prospered, and every thing
be met with was extremely flattering. Indeed there are few
characters who, at his period of life especially, could bear such a
tide of success. We see in him nothing assuming or overbearing
towards his fellow -servants, nor forgetful of his God. If, howev
er, any thing of this kind should have been at work in his heart,
he will soon meet with that which shall recall him to a right mind.
A sharp temptation approaches, in which his virtue and patience
shall be put to the proof. After a day of prosperity, let us expect
a day of adversity ; for God hath set the one over against the
other, even in the lot of his most favoured servants.
Ver. 7 — 9- Joseph's goodly and well-favoured countenance
excites the lawless desires of a faithless woman, who, in violation
of her marriage vows, and of all the modesty and decency which
should distinguish her sex, tries to seduce him. In such a situa?
tion, how many young men would have been carried away ! Nay,
how many are so, where the temptation is far less powerful. His
conduct on this occasion is a proof of great grace, and exhibits to
all posterity an example of what may be done by closely walking
with God.
The first attack upon him is repelled with a modest but severe
remonstrance, exactly suited to his situation. Let us examine it
minutely. There are four things in it worthy of admiration. (1.)
He is silent with respect to the wickedness of the tempter. He
might have reproached her for the' indelicacy, the infidelity, and
the baseness of her proposal : but he confines himself to what
respected his own obligation, and what would be his own sin. In
the hour of teriiptation it is enough for us to look to ourselves. It
is remarkable that all our Lord's answers to the tempter, as record
ed in the fourth chapter of Matthew, are in this way. He could
have accused him of insolence, and outrage ; but he barely re
fuses to follow his counsels, because thus and thus it was written.
(2.) Joseph considers his obligation as rising in proportion to his
station : There is none greater in this house than I. Some young
men would have drawn a contrary conclusion fro,m the same prem-

320 JOSEPH'S TEMPTATION. [Discotose XLVI
ises, and on this ground have thought themselves entitled to take
the greater liberties ; but this is the true use to be made of power,
and riches, and every kind of trust. (3.) He considers it as
heightened by the generosity and kindness of his master, who
withheld nothing else from him. Eve reasoned at first on this
principle ; (Chap. iii. 2.) and had she kept to it, she had been
safe. When we are tempted to covet what' God has forbidden, it
were well to think of the many things which he has not forbidden,
but freely given us. (4.) He rises from created to uncreated au
thority : ' It would not only be treachery to my master, but
wickedness, great wickedness, and sin against God.' In the hour
of temptation it is of infinite importance what view we take of the
evil to which we are tempted. If we suffer our thoughts to dwell
on its agreeableness, as Eve did concerning the forbidden fruit, its
sinfulness will insensibly diminish in our sight, a number of excuses
will present themselves, and we shall inevitably be carried away
by it : but if we keep our eye steadfastly on the holy will of
God, and the strong obligations we are under to him, that which
would otherwise appear a little thing, will be accounted what it is,
a great wickedness, and we shall revolt at tbe idea of sinning
against him. This- is the armour of God, wherewith we shall
stand in the evil day.
Ver. 10. This remonstrance however, strong as it was, has do
lasting effect upon the woman : for sin, and this sin in particular,
is outrageous in its operations. Joseph therefore finds it neces
sary to shun her company, carefully avoiding, as much as possible,
to be with her any where alone. This showed, First, great sin
cerity : for if we throw ourselves in the way of temptation, or be
not careful to shun it when occasion offer, in vain do we talk against
sin. Secondly, great wisdom : for though he had been kept hith
erto, he was not sure that he should be so in future. Thirdly,
great resolution and perseverance : for it is not every one who
withstands a temptation in the first instance that holds out to the
end. Eve repelled the tempter on his first onset, but was carried
away by the second. Job endured a series of trials, and sinned
not ; yet afterwards spake things which he ought not. Finally,

Chapter XXXIX.] JOSEPH'S TEMPTATION. 321
great grace. Can a man go on hot coals, and his feet not be burn
ed ? No ; if we voluntarily go into temptation, we shall assured
ly be hurt, if not ruined by it ; but when God by his providence
leads us into it, for the trial of our graces, we may hope to be kept
in it, and brought victorious out of it.
Ver. 11 — 20. If we were told of a young man in Joseph's
situation, we should probably advise his leaving the family ; but
circumstanced as he was, that might be impossible. He was a
bought servant, however exalted, and therefore was not at liberty
to leave. Nor could he speak on the subject to his master with
out ruining his peace for ever. He therefore kept it to himself,
and went on as well as he could, watching and praying, no doubt,
lest be should enter into temptation. One day, being under the
necessity of going into the house about business, his mistress
renewed her solicitations ; on which he fled from her presence
as before : but as he was escaping, she caught a piece of his gar
ment and kept it by her. Wantonness being disappointed,- and
pride wounded, the whole is now turned into hatred and revenge.
She will work his overthrow, that she will ! Mark how the cun
ning of the old serpent operates. The servants are called in to
witness bow she had been mocked, or as we should say insulted,
by this Hebrew. If they knew nothing from other quarters, it
was very natural they should think it was so ; and thus tbey were
every thing but eye-witnesses of Joseph's guilt. Presumptive
evidence is certainly very strong against him. Yet with all this
cunning, like other hypocrites, she does not do it completely.
She should have pretended bow much she felt for the insult offered
to her husband, as well as to herself: but the truth will come out,
after all the pains taken to conceal it. How disrespectfully she
speaks of him to the servants, half attributing the pretended insult
to him. See, saith she, he has brought an Hebrew unto us, to
mock ut ! Such language not only betrayed the alienation of her
heart from her husband, but tended to set the servants against
him. Nothing but truth is consistent throughout. If these ser
vants possessed only a moderate share of good sense, they must
have seen through this thin disguise, whether they chose to speak
their minds, or not.

322 JOSEPH'S TEMPTATION. [Discourse XLVI.
The scheme however took. Potiphar thought the story so
plausible, that there could be no doubt of its being true. His
wrath therefore was kindled, and without farther ceremony, he
took Joseph and committed him to prison. Being fired with
anger, be had no ear to hear what could be said on the other side ;
and perhaps Joseph might think that nothing he could say would
be regarded ; or if it were, it must ruin his master's peace of
mind : he would therefore go in silence to prison, trusting in God
to vindicate his injured, character.
But what an affecting reverse of condition ! Poor young man !
A stranger in a strange land, without a friend to speak for him,
or to care about him. Behold him confined in the dungeon, and
think what must have been his reflections. ' Oh, if my father
knew of this, what would he feel on1 my account! .How mysteri
ous are the ways of Providence that by an inflexible adherence
to righteousness, I should be brought into this horrible place !'
He was not only confined in a dungeon, but, as we are told in the
105th Psalm, his feet were hurt with fetters, being laid in iron.
The last phrase is very emphatic. Calvin renders it, The iron
entered into his soul.* Not only were bis feet galled, but his
heart was grieved; and probably he expected nothing but death.
Ver. 21—23. But, as under his former affliction, so under this,
The Lord was with Joseph What was once said to Abraham,
might now be said to him : / am God all-sufficient : walk before
me, and be thou perfect. AH will be right at last. Where Provi
dence leads us into difficulties and hardships, grace can sustain us
under them ; and if we suffer for righteousness' sake, as Joseph
did, we may be assured it will be so. Nothing shall eventually
harm us, if we be followers of that which is good. In a little
time, Joseph obtains favour in the eyes of the keeper of the
prison, as he had done before in those of Potiphar. And now he
has an opportunity of showing the power of true religion in the
prison, by his fidelity, his tenderness, and his worship of the only
trne God. It might be wisely ordered too, that he should go into
)wsi r»q 7113 *

Chapter XXXIX.] JOSEPH'S TEMPTATION. 32S
his high station by way of a prison; he might not otherwise have
been so well qualified to feel for his brethren, and for other pris
oners. Nor would he have been in the way of his future advance
ment, if he had not been there. Before honour is humility : The
Lord of glory himself obtained not the crown, but by first enduring
the cross.

DISCOURSE XLVIT.

JOSEPH IN PRISON.

Gen. xl.

We left Joseph in prison ; but by the good hand of God upon
him, its hardships are greatly mitigated. At first he is thrown
into a dungeon, and laid in irons ; but now he is made a kind of
steward, or overseer of the other prisoners. Yet it is a prison
still, and he desires to be free ; but he must wait awhile. God
will deliver him in his own time and way. This chapter contains
the story of the means by which his deliverance was effected.
Ver. 1, 2. Two of Pharaoh's officers offend their lord, for
which they are committed to prison — the chief butler, and the
chief baker. Whether they suffered justly, for having attempted
to poison the king, which was often done in heathen countries, or
merely on acconnt of ungrounded suspicion ; whether, if there
were any thing actually attempted, it was their 'doing, or some of
the under butlers and bakers, for whose conduct they might be
responsible, we know not ; but imprisoned they were.
Ver. 3, 4. The prison into which they were sent is called the
house of the captain of the guards. This title is more than once
before given to Potiphar.* It is probable that he had the chief
oversight of the prison, and that the keeper was a person em
ployed under him. If so, it seems likely that Potiphar was recon
ciled to Joseph. There is little reason to think that his wife
would long conceal her character ; and that being known, would
operate in Joseph's favour: and though he might not wish to
* Chap, xxxvii. 36. xxxix. 1.
Vol. V. 41

326 JOSEPH IN PRISON. [Discourse XLVII.
release him out of prison, for his own credit, yet he might be
induced to connive at the keeper's kindness to him. It is remark
able, that the prison to which these persons were sent should be
the same as that wherein Joseph was confined. In this we see
the hand of God, ordering all events. They might have been
sent to another place of confinement ; but then the chain had been
broken. On how many little incidents, of which tbe parties at
the time think nothing, do some of the greatest events depend.
If they had gone to another prison, Joseph might have died where
he was, and no provision have been made for the seven years of
famine ; and Jacob and his family, with millions of others, have
perished for want ; and so all the promises of their becoming a
great nation, and of the Messiah springing from among them, and
all nations being blessed in him, would have been frustrated. But
he that appoints the end, appoints all the means that shall lead to
it ; and not ope of tbem, however small or incidental, shall be dis
pensed with. In this prison Joseph i's said to have served the
chief butler and the chief baker ; that is, be carried them their
daily provisions, and so was in the habit of seeing them every day,
and conversing with them.
Ver. 5 — 8. One morning, when he went to carry Miem their
usual food, he finds them more than ordinarily dejected, and kindly
inquires into the reason of it. It appears from hence that Joseph
v#as not a hard-hearted overseer. Unlike many petty officers,
whose overbearing conduct towards their inferiors is most intoler
able, he sympathizes, with the sorrowful, and makes free with
them. The fear of God produces tenderness of heart, and com
passion tovards men, especially to the poor and the afflicted. On
inquiry, he foupd that they had each had a dream, which, by the
circumstances amending them, they considered as, extraordinary.
Bo,th of them dreamed, and both in one night ; both their dreams
related to their past employments, and seemed therefore to be
ominous of their future destiny: yet they knew not what to make
of them, and bad no interpreter at hand who could instruct them.
Such was the cause of their dejection. Though the greater part
of dreams be vanity, yet in all ages and places God has sometimes
impressed the mind of man by these means ; and especially, it

Chapter XL.] JOSEPH IN PRISON 3J7
would seem, in countries which have been destitute of divine
revelation. We have many instances of this in the book of Daniel,
and by which, as in this case, the servants of God came into
request, and the glory of God eclipsed the powers of idolatry.
But what kind of interpreters did these men wish for ? Such,
no doubt, as Pharaoh on his having dreamed, called for; namely
the magicians, and the wise men of Egypt : and because they had
no hopes of obtaining them in their present situation, therefore
were they sad. Here lies the force of Joseph's question : Do not
interpretations belong to Goo ? which was a reproof to them for
looking to their magicians instead of him : hence also he offered
himself, as the servant of God, to be their interpreter.
It is worthy of notice, that what Joseph's interpretation was to
tbe dreams of the butler and the baker, that the oracles of God
aire to the notices and impressions On the human mind by the light
of nature and conscience. Man in every age and country has felt
in himself a consciousness of his being what he ought not to be, a
tearfulness of having in another stale to give an account, with many
other things of the kind ; but all is uncertain. He only knows
enough, if he regard it not, to render him inexcusable 5 and if he
regard it, to make him miserable. It is only in the scriptures that
the mind of God is revealed.
Ver. 9 — 15. The butler first tells his dream, which Joseph
interprets of his deliverance and restoration to office : and having
told him this good news, he Very naturally throws in a request on
behalf of himself. There is no proof or symptom of impatience
iu this ; but patience itself may consist with the use of all lawful
means to obtain deliverance. The terms in which this request is
made are modest, and etceedingly impressive : Think on me when
it shall be well with thee, ttnd show kindness, I pray thee, unto me,
and mdke mention of me Unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this
house. He might have asked for a place under the chief butler
or some other post of honOut or profit : but he requests only to
be delivered from this house. He might have reminded the butler
how much he owed to his sympathetic and kind treatment ; but he
left these things to speak for themselves, using no other language
than that of humble entreaty : I pray thee, show kindness unto me!

328 JOSEPH IN PRISON. [Discourse XLVII.)
In pleading the exalted situation in which the chief butler was
about to be reinstated, he gently intimates the obligations which
people in prosperous, circumstances are under to think of the poor
and the afflicted ; and Christians may still farther improve the
principle, not to be unmindful of such cases in their approaches
to the King of kings. This plea may also direct us to make use
of His name -and interest, who is exalted at the right hand of the
Majesty on high. It was on this principle that the dying thief
presented his petition : Lord, remember me,.wheri\thou earnest into
thy kingdom ! A petition which the Lord of glory did neither
refuse nor forget : and still he liveth to make intercession for us.
Joseph, in order to make a deeper impression upon the butler's
mind, tells, him a few of the outlines of his history : I was stolen,
says he, from the land of the Hebrews. But was this a just
account? Did not the Ishmaelites buy him? They did; but it
was of them who had no right to sell him, and therefore it was in
reality stealing him. Such, you know, would be the purchase of
a child by a kidnapper of an unprincipled nurse ; and such is the
purchase of slaves to this day on the coast of Africa. The
account was not only just, but generous. In making use of the
term stolen, without any mention of particulars, he seems to have
intended to throw a veil over the cruelty of his brethren, whom
he did not wish to reproach to a stranger ; and the same generous
-spirit is discovered in what he says of his treatment in Egypt. We
have seen in a former discourse how this great and good man
refused to reproach his tempter, confining himself to what was
his own duty ; and, now when he had suffered so much through
her base and false treatment, and when it might have been thought
necessary to expose her in order to justify himself, he contents
himself with asserting his own innocence : And here also have I
done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon. What an
example is here afforded us of temperateness and forbearance,
under the foulest and most injurious treatment ! Such was
Joseph's request, and such his pleas to enforce it. If there had
been any gratitude, any bowels of mercy, or any justice in the
butler's heart, surely he must have thought of these things.

Chapter XL.] JOSEPH IN PRISON. 329
Ver. 16 — 19. But before telling us the issue of the above, the
sacred writer informs us of the request of the baker. Observing
the success of his companion, he is encouraged to tell his dream
also ; but here is a sad reverse. In three days his life will be
taken from him ! Whether he would suffer justly or unjustly,
we know not , but as his death was so near, it was an advantage
for him to know it : and if he had been properly affected, he had
now an opportunity of inquiring at the hand of a servant of God,
concerning his eternal salvation.
Ver. 20 — 23. The third day after these things, being Pharaoh's
birth-day, both these prisoners were brought forth. Whether
they were put to a formal trial, or whether their fate was deter
mined by the mere will of the king, we are not informed ; but the
chief butler was reinstated in his office, and the chief baker hang
ed, according to the word of the Lord by his servant Joseph.
We should now have expected to read of the chief butler's
• intercession to the king in behalf of an amiable and injured young
Hebrew, whom he had met with in prison. But instead of this, we
are told, Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgat
him ! Alas, what a selfish creature is man ! How strangely does
prosperity intoxicate and drown the mind. How common is it
for people in high life to forget the poor, even those to whom they
have been under the greatest obligations. Well, be it so ; Jo
seph's God did not forget him : and we, amidst all the neglects of
creatures, may take comfort in this, Jesus does not neglect us.
Though exalted far above all principalities and powers, he is not
elated with his glory, so as to forget his poor suffering people
upon earth. Only let us be concerned not to' forget him. He
who needs not our esteem, as we do his, hath yet in love conde-
, scended to ask us to do thus and thus in remembrance of him !

DISCOURSE XLVIII.
Joseph's advancement.

Gen. xii.
Ver. 1 — 14. Hope deferred maketh the heart sick. It is not
the intenseness of our trials, but the duration of them, that is the
greatest test of patience. Two full years longer must Joseph
remain in prison. How long he was at the house of Potiphar
before he was sent to this dismal place, I do not recollect that we
are informed ; but we learn, that it was thirteen years in the
whole : for when he came out of Canaan he was but seventeen,
and wa6 thirty when he stood before Pharaoh. God seldom makes
haste to accomplish his designs. His movements, like those of a
comet, fetch a large compass, but all comes right at last. The
time is now come for Joseph's advancement, and God makes way
for it by causing Pharaoh himself to dream. Abraham made a
point of not laying hiinself under obligation to the king of Sodom ;
and though Joseph, in the grief of his soul, would gladly have been
obliged to both Pharaoh and the butler for his deliverance, yet
God will so order it that he shall be obliged to neither of them.
Pharaoh shall send for him : but it shall be for his own sake.
Though a poor friendless young man himself, yet he is a servant
of the great King, and must maintain the honour of his Lord. It
might be for this that God suffered the butler to forget him, that he
might not take from a thread to a shoe-latchet what was theirs,
and that the king of Egypt might not have to say, 1 have made
Israel rich. Abraham and his posterity were made to imparj
blessedness to mankind, rather than to receive it from them. If

332 JOSEPH'S ADVANCEMENT. [Discourse XLVIII.
it be more blessed to give than to receive, theirs it is to be thus
blessed, and thus honoured. Oh, the depth of the wisdom and
goodness of God ; not only in giving, but in withholding his gifts
till the time when they shall best subserve the ends for which
they are Conferred !
And now that the set time to favour Joseph is come, events rise
in quick succession. Pharaoh's mind is impressed with an extra
ordinary dream — the same is repeated in another form — each
appears to portend something of importance — his spirit is troubled
— he sends for his magicians, and wise men ; but their wisdom
fails them — all are nonplused — what is to be done ? — Just now it
occurs to the butler, that this had once been his own case — ' Oh,
and I have forgotten my kind and worthy friend ! Stupid crea
ture ! That is the man for the king.' — Obtaining an audience he
confesses the whole truth, and ingenuously acknowledges his
faults. — Joseph is now sent for in haste. — He shaves himself,
changes his raiment, and obeys the summons. Thus, in a few
hours, he is delivered from the dungeon, and introduced to the
court of what was then perhaps the first nation upon earth. Were
we acquainted with the event, with what anxious solicitude should
we follow him ; and even as it is, we cannot wholly divest our
selves of these feelings.
Ver. 15 — 24. Being introduced to the king, he is told for what
cause he is sent for. I have, said Pharaoh, dreamed a dream, and
there is none that can interpret it : and I have heard say of thee,
that thou canst understand a dream, to interpret it. The meaning
of this was, that he had a case in hand which baffled all the wise
men of Egypt, but that from what he had heard of Joseph, he
supposed he might be a wiser man, or more deeply skilled in
occult science, than any of them. Such a compliment from a king
would have been too much for a vain mind : if he had affected to
disclaim superior wisdom, it would have been done in a manner
which betrayed what lurked within. But Joseph feared God ;
and is the Same man in a palace as in a prison. It is not in me,
said he, God shall give Pharaoh an answer ofpehce. In this brief
answer we see a spirit of genuine humility, disclaiming all that kind
of wisdom for which Pharaoh seemed very willing to give him

Chapter XLI.] JOSEPH'S ADVANCEMENT. 333
credit, or indeed any other, but what God gave him. We see also
a disinterested concern to glorify the true God, in the face of the
mightiest votaries of idolatry, who had power to do what they
pleased with him. It is observable, he does not say the God of
Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob, or the God of the Hebrews. Such
language might have been understood by Pharaoh and his cour
tiers as setting up one titular deity in opposition to others, the
God of his country against the gods of Egypt : but he simply says
God ; a term which would lead their thoughts to the One great
Supreme, before whom all idols would fall to the ground. Thus,
with great wisdom, modesty, and firmness, he states truth, and
leaves error, to fall of its own accord. In assuring Pharaoh that
God would give him an answer of peace, he would remove all fear
from his mind of an unfavourable interpretation, which, from the
butler's report, he might have some reason to apprehend ; inas
much as though he had foretold his restoration to office, yet /he
had prophetically hanged the chief baker.
Pharaoh's mind being thus relieved and encouraged, he without
farther hesitation proceeds to tell his dreams of the fat and lean-
fleshed kine, and of the rank and withered ears of corn.
Ver. 25 — 31. The answer of Joseph is worthy of the man of
God. You perceive no shuffling to gain time, no juggling, no
peeping and muttering, no words of dark or doubtful meaning :
all is clear as light, and explicit as the day. ' The dreams are
one ; and they were sent of God to forewarn the king of what he
would shortly bring to pass. The seven good kine, and the seven
good ears, are seven years of plenty ; and the seven evil kine,
and thin ears, are seven years of famine. And the reason of the
dream being doubled is to express its certainty, and the near ap
proach of the events signified by it.'
Ver. 32 — 36. Having made the matter plain, and so relieved
the king's mind, he does not conclude without offering a word of
counsel ; the substance of which was to provide from the surplus
of the seven good years, for the supply of the seven succeeding
ones. If he had only interpreted Pharaoh's dreams, he might
have gratified his curiosity, but that had been all. Knowledge is
of but little use, any farther than as it is converted into practice.
Vol. V. 42

334 JOSEPH'S ADVANCEMENT. [Discourse XLVIII.
With respect to the advice itself, it carried with it its own re
commendation. It was no more than what common prudence would
have dictated to any people. If they had doubted Joseph 'sinter^
pretation of the dreams, and whether any such years of plenty
and of scarcity would follow, yet they could not, even upon this
supposition, object to his counsel : for nothing was to be expended,
nor done, but upon the actual occurrence of the plenteous years ;
which, as they were to come first, ¦ afforded an opportunity of
which wisdom would have availed itself, if there had been no
dreams in the case, to provide for a time of want. Nor is there
any reason, from what we know of Joseph's character, to suspect
him of interested designs, like those of Haman, who wished to
recommend himself. He appears to have had no end in view but
the good of the country where God had caused him to sojourn.
Ver. 37, 38. Happily for Egypt, Pharaoh and his ministry
saw the propriety of what was offered, and readily came into it.
It is a sign that God has mercy in store for that people whose rulers
are open to receive good counsel, and know how to appreciate the
worth of good men. As Joseph had recommended a wise man to
be employed in the business, Pharaoh without farther hesitation
appeals to his courtiers, whether any man in Egypt was so fit for
the work as himself. A man who had not only proved himself
wise in counsel, but had also intercourse with God, and was inspired
of him to reveal the secrets of futurity. Such language proves
that Joseph's mentioning the true God to Pharaoh had not been
without effect. To this, however, the courtiers make no answer.
If they felt a little jealous of this young foreigner, it were not to
be wondered at. Such were the feelings of the Babylonish nobles
towards Daniel. It were easier to see the goodness of the counsel
which left a hope to each man of a new office, than to see that
Joseph was the only man in the land that could execute it. They
knew very well,' that they had not, like him, the Spirit of God ;
but might think themselves capable, nevertheless, of managing
this business. However, they silently acquiesce ; and Pharaoh
proceeds without delay to carry his purposes into effect.
Ver. 39 — 45. And now all power, except that which is su
preme, is put into his hands, over the house and over the nation ;

Chapter XLI.] JOSEPH'S, ADVANCEMENT. 335
and as the courtiers had probably discovered a secret reluctance,
Pharaoh repeats his determination the more earnestly, that as the
dream had been repeated to him, the thing might be established,
and immediately put in execution. To words were added signs,
which tended to fix his authority in the minds of the people. The
king took his ring from his hand, and put it upon the hand of
Joseph, clothed him in fine linen, and put a gold chain about his
n6ck. Nor was this all ; he caused him to ride in the second
chariot through the streets of the city, and that it should be pro
claimed before him, Bow the knee, or Tender father. The Chal-
dee translates it, as Ainsworth observes, '' The father of the king,
master in wisdom, and tender in years ;" — as who should say,
Though a youth in age, yet a father in character. In addition to
this, Pharaoh uses a very solemn form of speech, such as that
which is prefixed or affixed to many of the divine commands : 1
am Pharaoh; and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or
foot in all the land of Egypt ! * Finally : to crown him with
respect he gave him a new name, the meaning of which was, a
retealer Of secrets ; and the daughter of a priest, or prince, to be
bis wife. Pause a moment, my brethren, and reflect .... Who,
in reading the preceding sufferings and present advancement of
Joseph, can forbear thinking of Him, who, for the suffering of
death, was crowned with glory and honour? — Whom God hath
highly exalted, giving him a name which is above every name ; that
at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven,
and things in earth, and things under the earth : and that every
tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God
the Father? Surely it was the design of God, by these sweet
analogies, to lead the minds of believers imperceptibly on, that
when the Messiah should come, they might see him in perfection,
in their Josephs, and Joshuas, and Davids, as well as their sacri
fices, their cities of refuge, and their jubilees.
Ver. 46 — 49. Joseph being thirty years old when he stood
before Pharaoh, was just suited for active life. At such a period,
however, and raised from such a situation, many would have been
* See Lev. xix.

336 JOSEPH'S ADVANCEMENT. [Discourse XLVIII,
lifted up to their hurt : but He who enabled him to repel tempta
tion, and endure affliction, enabled him also to bear the glory that
was conferred upon him with humility. It is observable, that on
going out from the presence of Pharaoh, he did not go hither and
thither to show his greatness ; but immediately betook himself to
business. New honours, in his account, conferred new obliga
tions. The first thing necessary for the execution of his trust
was a general survey of the country ; which, having taken, he
proceeded to execute his plan, laying up grain during the seven
plentiful years beyond all calculation..
Ver. 50 — 52. During these years of plenty, Joseph had two
sons by his wife Asenath, both which are significantly named, and
express the state of his mind in his present situation. The first
he called Manasse h, that is, forgetting ; for God, said he, hath
made me to forget all my toil, and all my father's house. A change
from the extremes of either joy to. sorrow, or sorrow to joy, is
expressed by the term forgetfulness : and a very expressive term
it is. Thou hast removed my soul far off from peace ; J forgot
prosperity. — A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because
her hour is come : but as soon as she is delivered, she remembereth
no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.
But what, had Joseph forgotten his father's house ? Yes, so far
as it had been an affliction to him; that is, he had forgotten the
cruel treatment of his brethren, so as no longer to lay it to heart.
His second son he called Ephraim, that is, made fruitful; for God,
said he, hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.
In both he eyes the hand of God in doing every thing for him,
and gives the glory to him only.
Ver. 53 — 57. But now the day of prosperity to Egypt is at an
end, and tbe day of adversity cometh : God hath set the one over
against the other, to sweep away its fulness, that man should find
nothing after him. And now the people, being famished for want
of bread, resorted to Pharaoh. Had not Pharaoh been warned of
this evil beforehand, he might have replied as Jehoram did to her
that cried, Help, my lord,0 king ! If the Lord do not help thee,
whence shall I help thee ? Out of the barn-floor, or out of the
ivine-press? But provision was made for this time of need ; and

Chapter XLI.] JOSEPH'S ADVANCEMENT. 337
the people are all directed to go to Joseph. And here, I may say
again, Who can forbear thinking of Him, in whom it hath pleased
the Father that all fulness should dwell, and to whom those who
are ready to perish are directed for relief?
This sore famine was not confined to Egypt, but extended to
the surrounding countries : and it was wisely ordered that it should
be so ; since the great end for which God is represented as calling
for it, * was to bring Jacob's sons, and eventually his whole family,
into Egypt ; which end would not otherwise have been answered.
Joseph is now filling up his generation's work in useful and im
portant labours ; and, like a true son of Abraham, he is blessed
and made a blessing. Yet it was in the midst of this career of
activity that his father Jacob said, with a deep sigh, Joseph is not !
What a large portion of our troubles would subside, if we knew
but the whole truth ! * Psa. cv. 16.

DISCOURSE XLIX.

THE FIRST INTERVIEW BETWEEN JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN.

Gen. xlii.
Things now approach fast to a crisis. We hear but little more
of the famine, but as it relates to Jacob's family, on whose account
it was sent. It is remarkable, that all the three patriarchs, Abra
ham, Isaac, and Jacob, experienced a famine while sojourning in
the land of promise ; a circumstance sufficient to try their faith.
Had they been of the disposition of the spies in the times of Moses,
ihey would have concluded it to be a land which ate up the
inhabitants, and therefore not worth accepting ; but they believed
God, and thought well of whatever he did.
Ver. 1, 2. Jacob and his family have well nigh exhausted their
provision, and have no prospect of recruiting it. They had money,
but corn was not to be had for money in their own country. They
could do nothing, therefore, but look one at another, in sad despair.
But Jacob, hearing that there was corn in Egypt, rouses them
from their torpor. His words resemble those of the four lepers :
Why sit we here until we die ? It is a dictate of nature not to
despair while there is a door of hope ; and the principle will hold
good in things of everlasting moment. Why sit we here, poring
over our guilt and misery, when we have heard that with the
Lord there is mercy, and with him there is plenteous redemption ?
How long shall we take counsel in our soul, having sorrow in our
hearts daily ? Let us trust in his mercy, and our hearts shall
rejoice in his salvation.

340 JOSEPH'S FIRST INTERVIEW [Dissourse XLIX.
Ver. 3, 4. The ten brethren immediately betake themselves to
their journey. They are called Joseph's brethren, and not Jacob's
sons, because Joseph is at present the principal character in the
story. But when Benjamin is called his brother, there is more
meant than in the other case. It would seem to be assigned as
the reason why Jacob was unwilling to part with him, that he was
the only surviving child of Rachel, and brother of him that was
not ! As mischief had befallen him, he was afraid the same should
befall his brother, and therefore wished the young men to go with
out him. Jacob does not say, ' Lest you should do him mischief,
as I fear you did his brother :' but I expect there was something
of this at the bottom; which, when afterwards urged by a kind of
necessity to part with Benjamin, came out : Me ye have bereaved
 Joseph is not! (ver. 36.) At first, he appears to have
thought that some evil beast had devoured him ; but upon more
mature observation and reflection, he might see reason to suspect
at least, whether it was not by some foul dealjng on their part that
he had come to his end. As nothing, however, could be proved,
he at present kept his suspicions to himself; and the matter passed,
as it had done-from the first, that mischief in some unknown way
had befallen him.
Ver. 5. Nothing is said of their journey, except that a number
oi their countrymen went with them on the same errand ; for the
famine was in the land of Canaan. Such a number of applicants
might possibly excite fears in their minds, lest there should not
be enough for them all. Such fears, however, if they existed in
this case, were unnecessary; and must always be unnecessary,
where there is enough and to spare.
Ver. 6. Now Joseph being governor of the land, they find him
on their arrival fully employed in serving the Egyptians. He had
assistants -, but his eye pervaded every thing. As soon as they
could get access to the governor, they, according to the eastern
custom, bow themselves before him, with their faces to the earth.
Ver. 7. We may wonder that Joseph could live all this time in
Egypt, without going to see his father or his brethren. We might
indeed allege, that while with Potiphar, he had probably neither
opportunity nor inclination ; when in prison, he was. not allowed

Chapter XLII.] WITH HIS BRETHREN. 341
to go beyond its walls ; and when advanced under Pharaoh, his
hands were so fully employed that he could not be spared. We
know that when his father was to come down to him, he could
only send for him ; and when he went to bury bim, there was
great formality required to attend his movements, a number of the
Egyptians going with him. But it was doubtless ordered of God
that he should not go, but that his brethren should come to him ;
for on this depended the whole issue of the affair. And now comes
on the delicate part of the story : Joseph saw his brethren, and
knew them. What must have been his feelings! The remem
brance of the manner in which he prted from them, two-and-
twenty years ago, the events which had since befallen him, their
prostration before him, and the absence of Benjamin, from which
he might be apprehensive that they also had made away with him
— altogether, must have been a great shock to his sensibility. Let
him beware, or his countenance will betray him. He feels the
danger of this, and therefore, immediately puts on a stern lool^,
speaks roughly to them, and affects to take them for spies. By
this innocent piece of artifice, he could interrogate them, and get
out of them all the particulars that he wished, without betraying
himself, which he could not have done by any other means. The
manner in which he asked them, Whence come ye? would convey
to them an idea of suspicion as to their designs. It was like say
ing, ' Who and what are you ? I do not like your looks.' Their
answer is humble and proper, stating the simple truth .... they
came from Canaan, and had no other design in view than to buy
food. Ver. 8. Joseph knew his brethren, and felt for them, notwith
standing his apparent severity ; but they knew not him ! It was
wisely ordered that it should be so, and is easily accounted for.
When they last saw each other, they were grown to man's estate,
but he was a lad ; they were probably in much the same dress,
but he was clothed in vestures of fine linen, with a golden chain
about his neck ; and they had only one face to judge by, whereas
he had ten, the knowledge of any one of which wouid lead to the
knowledge of all. Now Joseph sees, without being seen; and
now he remembers his dreams of the sheaves, and of the stars.
Vol. V. 43

342 JOSEPH'S FIRST INTERVIEW [Discourse XLIX.
Ver. 9 — 14. Determined to continue at present unknown, and
yet wishing to know more of them, and of matters in Canaan,
Joseph still speaks under an assumed character, and affects to be
dissatisfied with their answer. Ye are spies, saith he, to see the
nakedness of the land are ye come. They modestly and respect
fully disown the charge, and repeat the true and only object of
their coming; adding, what is very much in point, We are all one
man's sons. This was saying, ' Ours is not a political, but a
domestic errand : we are not sent hither by a king, but by a father,
and merely to supply the wants of the family.' Still he affects to
disbelieve them ; for he does not know enough yet. He there
fore repeats his suspicions, in order to provoke them to be more
particular : as if he should say, ' 1 will know all about you before
I sell yon^corn, or send you away.' This had the desired effect.
Thy servants, say they, are, or were, twelve brethren, the sons of
one man in the land of Canaan ; and behold, the youngest is this
day with our father, and one is not. This is deeply interesting,
and exquisitely affecting to Joseph. By this he learns that his
father was yet alive, and his brother too. O these are joyful
tidings ! This was the drift of his questions, as they afterwards
tell their father Jacob : The man asked us straitly of our state, and
of our kindred, saying, Is your father yet alive ? Have ye another
brother? And we told him according lo the tenor of these words.
(Chap, xliii. 7.) But what, must have been his sensations at the
mention of the last words, One is not!  Well, he conceals
his feelings, and affects to turn their account of matters against
them. They had not told all the truth at first. It seems at first
there were only ten of them, and now there were eleven : That
is it that I spake unto you, saying, Ye are spies.
Ver. 15, 16. He now proposes to prove them. By the life of
Pharaoh, saith he, you shall not go hence, except your youngest bro
ther come hither. Send one of you and fetch him, that your words
may be proved, whether there be any truth in you ; or else by the
life of Pharaoh, surely ye are Spies. Some suppose that Joseph
had learned the manner of the Egyptians by living among them,
or that he would not thus have sworn by the life of Pharaoh : but
I see no ground for any such thing, We might as well say, that he

Chapter XLII.] WITH HIS BRETHREN. 248
had learned to speak untruth, because he really had no such sus
picions as he foigned ; or that he had learned magic, seeing he
afterwards talked of divining; or that our Saviour had learned the
proud and haughty spirit of the Jews, who treated the Gentiles as
dogs, because, for the sake of trying the woman of Canaan, he made
use of that kind of language. The truth is, Joseph acted under an
assumed character. He wished to be taken for an Egyptian noble
man, with whom it was as common to swear by the life of Pharaoh,
as it was afterwards for a Roman lo swear by the fortune of
Caesar. But wherefore does Joseph thus keep up the deception ? and
why propose such methods of proving his brethren? I suppose at
present his wish is to detain them. Yes, they must not leave
Egypt thus : had they clone this, he might have seen them no
more ; yet he had no other cause to assign but this, without be
traying the truth, which it was not a fit time to do at present.
Ver. 17, 18. 'Take these men up,' said Joseph to his officers,
' and put them into a place of safe custody : it is not proper they
should be at large.' Here they lie three days ; a period which
afforded him time to think what to do, and them to reflect on what
they had done. On the third day he paid them a visit, and that
in a temper of more apparent mildness. He assures them that he
has no designs upon their life, nor any wish to hurt their family ;
and ventures to give a reason for it which to them must appear no
less surprising than satisfying : I fear God. What, an Egyptian
nobleman know and fear the true God ! If so, they have no injustice
to fear at his hands ; nor can he withhold food from a starving
family. The fear of God will ever be connected with justice and
humanity to man. But how mysterious an affair! If he be a
good man, how is it that he should treat us so roughly 1 How is
it that God should suffer him to mistake our designs ? Severity
from the hand of goodness is doubly severe. Their hearts must
surely by this time have been full. Such were the methods which
this wise man made use of to agitate their minds, and to touch
every spring of sensibility within them; and such were the means
which God by him made use of to bring them to repentance.
This indeed is his ordinary method of dealing with sinners: now

344 JOSEPH'S FIRST INTERVIEW [Discourse XLIX.
their fears are awakened by threatenings, or adverse providences,
in which death sometimes stares them in the face : and now a lit
tle gleam of hope arises, just sufficient to keep the mind from sink
ing; yet all is covered with doubt and mystery. It is thus, as by
alternate frost and rain and sunshine upon the earth, that he hum
bleth the mind, and maketh soft the heart of man.
Ver. 19 — 2*v Joseph, still under a disguise, though he con
sents that nine out of ten should go home with provision for the
relief of the family, yet, that he may have some pledge for their
return, insists on one being detained as a hostage till they should
prove themselves true men, by bringing their younger brother ;
and his will at present must be their law. Having thus determin
ed their cause, he withdraws from their immediate company to a
little distance, where perhaps he might stand conversing with
some other persoms, but still within hearing of what passed
among them. As he had all along spoken to them by an inter
preter, they had no suspicion that he understood Hebrew, and
therefore began talking to one another in that language with the
greatest freedom, and as they thought, without danger of being
understood. Their full hearts now began to utter themselves.
Perhaps their being obliged to speak of Joseph as not, might serve
to bring him to their remembrance. Whatever il was, the same
thoughts had been in all their minds, which probably they could
read in each other's looks. As soon therefore as one of them
broke silence, the rest immediately joined in ascribing all this
evil which had befallen them to this cause. They said one to
another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we
saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not
hear ; therefore is this distress come upon us ! God, in dealing
with sinners, usually adapts the punishment to the sin, so as to
cause them to read the one in the other. Hence adverse provi
dences call our sin to remembrance ; our own wickedness corrects
us, and our backslidings reprove us. They would not hear Jo
seph in his distress, and now they could not be heard : they had
thrown him into a pit, and are themselves now thrown into prison !
These convictions are heightened by the reproaches of Reuben,
who gives them to expect blood for blood. Reuben was that,

Chapter XLII.] WITH HIS BRETHREN. 345
methinks, to his brethren, which conscience is to a sinner ; remon
strating at the outset, and when judgment overtakes him, re
proaching him, and foreboding the worst of consequences. His
words are sharp as a two-edged sword. Spake I not unto you,,
saying, Do not sin against the child, and ye would not hear ? There
fore behold also, his blood is required ! But that which is still
more affecting, Joseph hears all, and understands it, and this with
out their suspecting it. Such words however were too much for
the heart of man, at least such a man as he was, to bear : it is no
wonder therefore, that he turned himself about from, them and
wept ! But having recovered himself, he returned to them, and
with an austere countenance, took Simeon, and bound him before
their eyes. This must be cutting work on both sides. On the
part of Joseph, it must be a great force put upon his feelings ; and
on theirs, it would seem a prelude to greater evils. There might
be a fitness in taking Simeon rather than any other. He had
proved himself a ferocious character by bis conduct towards the
Shechemites ; and therefore it is not unlikely he was one of the
foremost in the cruelty practised towards Joseph. Perhaps he
was the man who tore off his coat of many colours, and threw
him into the pit. If so, it' would tend to humble him, and
heighten all their fears, as beholding in it the righteous judgment
of God.Ver. 25—28. This done, their sacks are ordered to be filled,
and their money restored ; not by giving it into their hands
however, but by putting it into the mouths of their sacks. But
why all this mysterious conduct ? was it love ? It was, at the
bottom ; but love operating at present in a way tending to per
plex, confound, and dismay them. It could not appear to them in
any other light than as either an oversight, or a design to ensnare,
and find occasion against them. It was certain to fill their minds
with consternation and fear ; and such appears to have been the
intention of Joseph from the first. It accords with the wisdom of
God, when he means to bring a sinner to a right mind, to lead him
into dark and intricate situations, of which he shall be utterly
unable to perceive the design ; to awaken by turns his fears and
his hopes ; bring his sin to remembrance ; and cause him to feel

346 ^JOSEPH'S FIRST INTERVIEW [Discourse XLIX.
his littleness, his danger, and his utter insufficiency to deliver his
soul -. and such, in measure, appears to have been the design of
Joseph, according to the wisdom that was imparted to him on this
singular occasion. If his brethren had known all, they would not
have felt as they did :,but neither would they have been brought
to so right a state of mind, nor have been prepared, as they were,
for that which followed. And if we knew all, with respect to the
mysterious dispensations of God, we should have less pain ; but
then we should be less humbled, and less fitted to receive the
mercy which is prepared for us.
It is remarkable how this circumstance operates on their minds.
They construe it to mean something against them ; but in what
way they know not. They do not reproach the man, the lord of
the land, though it is likely from his treatment of them that they
would suspect some ill design against them : but overlooking
second causes, they ask, What is this that God hath done to its !
To his righteous judgment they attributed what they had already
met with ; (ver. 21, 22.) and now it seems to them that he is still
pursuing them in a mysterious way, and with a design to require
their brother's blood at their hand. Such a construction, though
painful for the present, was the most useful to them of any that
could have been put upon it.
Ver. 29 — 35. Arriving at their father's house, they tell him
of all that had befallen them in Egypt, that they may account for
their coming home without Simeon, and being required when they
went again to take Benjamin with them. But the mysterious
circumstance of the money being found by the way in their sacks,
they appear to have concealed. Mention is made of only one of
the sacks being opened ; yet by what they afterwards said to the
steward, (Chap, xliii. 21.) it appears that they opened them all,
and found every man's money in his sack's mouth. But they might
think their father would have blamed them for not returning with
it when they were only a day's journey from Egypt, and therefore
agreed to say nothing to him about it, but leave him to find it out.
Hence it is that they are represented, on opening their sacks, as
discovering the money in a manner as if they knew nothing of it

Chapter XLII.] WITH HIS BRETHREN. 347
before ; not only participating with their father in his apprehen
sions, but seeming also to join with him in his surprise.
Ver. 36 — 38. If the discovery of the money affected Jacob,
much more the requirement of his darling son. This touches him
to the quick. He cannot help thinking of the end that Joseph had
come to. The reasons he had had to suspect some foul dealing in
that affair, had probably made him resolve long ago that Benjamin
should never be trusted in their hands ! Yet things are now so
circumstanced that he must go with them. It was a distressing
case. Jacob speaks, as well he might, in great anguish ; having
in a manner lost all his earthly hopes, save one ; and of that he is
now in danger of being deprived. His words have too much
peevish sorrow about them : they certainly reflect upon his sons ;
and the last sentence would almost seem to contain a reflection upon
Providence. The words, All these things are against me, must
have some reference to the promise, J will surely do thee good;
and if so, they were like saying, ' Is this the way ? Surely not !'
Yet so it was. The conduct of God towards Jacob is covered
with as great a mystery as that of Joseph towards his brethren ;
but all will be right at last. Much present trouble arises from
our not knowing the whole truth.
In mentioning the name of Joseph, Jacob had touched a tender
place; an old wound, which Providence too had been lately
probing. On this occasion, all that were guilty, you will perceive,
are silent. Reuben is the only one that speaks, and he dares not
touch that subject ; but with strong and passionate language
seems to aim to divert his mind from it, and to fix it upon Benjamin
only: Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee. This language
so far answers the end, as that no more is said of their having
bereaved him of Joseph : but he still dwells upon his being dead,
nor can he at present be persuaded to part with his brother. If
mischief, saith he, befall him in the way in which ye go, then shall
ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.

DISCOURSE L.
THE SECOND INTERVIEW BETWEEN JOSEPH AND HI8 BRETHREN.
Gen. xliii.
Ver. 1, 2. The relief obtained by the first journey to Egypt
is soon exhausted : for the famine was sore in the land, and there
fore nothing of its native productions could be added to the other
to make it last the longer. Go, said Jacob to his sons, and buy us a
little food. Avarice and distrust would have wished for much,
and have been for hoarding it in such a time as this : but Jacob is
contented with a little, desirous that others should have a part as
well as himself; and with respect to futurity, he puts his trust in
God. Ver. 3 — 5. But here the former difficulty recurs : they can
not, must not, will not go without their younger brother. This is
trying. Nature struggles with nature ; the affection of the father
with the calls of hunger : but the former must yield. Jacob does
not appear however, at present, to be entirely willing : wherefore
Judah, considering it as a fit opportunity, urges the matter, alleging
the peremptory language of the man, the lord of the land, on the
subject. Ver. 6, 7. This brings forth one more feeble objection, or rather
complaint, and which must be the last : Wherefore dealt ye so ill
with me as to tell the man whether ye had yet a brother ? To which
they very properly answer that they could not do otherwise,
being so straitly examined : nor was it possible for them to know
the use that would be made of it.
Vol. V. 44

350 JOSEPH'S SECOND INTERVIEW [Discourse L.
Ver. 8 — 10. While matters were thus hanging in suspense,
Judah very seasonably and kindly attempts to smooth the difficulty
to his father, by offering in the most solemn manner to be surety
for the lad, and to bear the blame for ever if he did not bring him
back and set him before him. In addition to this, he alleges that
the life of the whole family depended upon his father's acquies
cence, and that they had been too long detained already.
Ver. 11 — 14. And now Jacob must yield, must yield up his
beloved Benjamin, though not without a mixture of painful reluc
tance : but imperious necessity demands it. He who a few weeks
before had said, My son shall not go down with you, is now upon
the whole constrained to part with him. Thus have we often
seen the tender relative, who in the first stages of an affliction
thought it impossible to sustain the loss of a beloved object, grad
ually reconciled ; and at length, witnessing the pangs of wasting
disease, almost desirous of the removal. Thus it is that the
wisdom and goodness of God are seen in our bereavements : the
burden which at first threatens to crush us into the grave, being
let down gradually upon our shoulders, becomes not only tolerable,
but almost desirable.
But mark the manner in which the patriarch acquiesces : his is
not the sullen consent of one who yields to fate, but in his heart
rebels against it. No, he yields in a manner worthy of a man of
God ; proposing first that every possible mean should be used to
conciliate the man, the lord of the land, and then commits the issue
of the whole to God. Just thus he- had acted when his brother
Esau was coming against him with four hundred men. Chap, xxxii.
6 — 12. Take of the best fruits of the land in your vessels, and
carry down the man a present—take double money in your hands,
and the money that was brought again in the mouth of your sacks —
take also your brother — and God almighty give you mercy before
the man, that he may send away your other brother, and Benjamin.
If I be bereaved, 1 am bereaved ! The fruits of Canaan, es
pecially in a time of famine, would be a great token of respect;
the double money might be necessary,' as the continuance of the
famine might enhance the price of corn ; and the restoration of
that which was returned would prove their integrity.

Chapter XLIIL] WITH HIS BRETHREN. 35 1
But we must not pass over the concluding part without noticing
two or three things in particular. (1.) Tbe character under which
the Lord is addressed : God almighty, or God all-sufficient. This
was the name under which Abraham was blessed : I am God
almighty; and which was used by Isaac in his blessing Jacob ;
God almighty bless thee, and give thee the blessing of Abraham.
It is natural to suppose that Jacob, in putting up this prayer,
thought of these covenant promises and blessings, and that it was
the prayer of faith. (2.) The mistake on which the prayer is
founded, which yet was acceptable to God. He prayed for the
turning of the man's heart in a way of mercy ; but the man's heart
did not need turning. Yet Jacob thought it did, and had no means
of knowing otherwise. The truth of things may in some cases be
concealed from us, to render us more importunate ; and this im
portunity, though it may appear at last to have been unnecessary,
yet being right according as circumstances appeared at the time,
God will approve of it, and we shall find our account in it. (3.)
The resignation with which he concludes: If I be bereaved, I
am bereaved ! It is God's usual way, in trying those whom he
loves, to touch them in the tenderest part. Herein the trial con
sists. If there be one object round which the heart has entwined
more than all others, that is it which is likely to be God's rival,
and of that we must be deprived. Yet if when it goes, we humbly
resign it up into God's hands, it is not unusual for him to restore it
to us, and that with more than double interest. Thus Abraham, on
giving up Isaac, received him again : and David, on giving up
himself to God to do with him as seemed good in his sight, was
preserved in the midst of peril.
Ver. 15, lC. Jacob's sons now betake themselves to their
second journey, and do as their father directed them. On ar
riving in Egypt, they are introduced to Joseph. Joseph looking
upon them, beholds his brother Benjamin. It is likely his eyes
would here be in some danger of betraying his heart ; and that
being conscious of this, he instantly gives orders to his steward to
take these men home to his house, and prepare a dinner, for that
they must dine with him at noon. By this means he would be
able to compose himself, and to form a plan how to conduct and

352 JOSEPH'S SECONB INTERVIEW [Discourse L.
in what manner to discover himself to them, which it appears by
the sequel it was his design at this time to have accomplished.
See how fruitful love is of kind contrivance ; seeking and finding
opportunities to gratify itself, by closer and closer interviews.
Thus when two of John's disciples were kindly asked, What seek
ye ; they answered, Master, where dwellest thou ! As who
should say, ' We want to be better acquainted with thee, and to
say more than could be said in this public place.' And thus when
Jesus himself would commune with his disciples, he saith unto
them, Children, come and dine!
Ver. 17, 18. But to Joseph's brethren, things Still wear a
mysterious and confounding aspect : that which he meant in love,
they construed as a design to ensnare and enslave them. The
mind, while in a state of dark suspense, is apt to view every thing
through a discouraging medium. It will misconstrue even good
ness itself, and find fear where no fear is. Thus it is that souls
depressed under God's hand, often misinterpret his providences,
and draw dismal conclusions from the same things which in another
state of mind would afford them relief. When the soul is in such
a frame as to refuse to be comforted, it will remember God, and be
troubled.* •
Ver. 19^-23. Being introduced into the hquse of Joseph how
ever, though it excited their fears, yet it afforded an opportunity,
during his absence, of speaking to the steward concerning the
money found in their sacks, which was the circumstance that at
present most alarmed them. It was wise in them to be first in
mentioning this matter, that if any thing was afterwards said by
Joseph about it, they might appeal to the steward, and he could
declare on their behalf that, without any accusation, they had of
their own accord mentioned the whole business to him, and re
turned the money. But the answer of the steward is surprising.
He could scarcely have spoken more suitably, if he had been in
the secret. I do not suppose he knew that these were Joseph's
brethren ; but he would know that they were his countrymen,
and perceiving the interest which he took in them, and the air of
* Psal. lxxvii. 2, 3.

Chapter XLIIL] WITH HIS BRETHREN. 353
mystery which attended his conduct towards them, he would be
at\no loss to conclude that there was no ill design against them.
It is likely he knew of the money being returned by Joseph's
order ; and he knew his master too well to suppose that whatever
might be his design in it, he would, hurt the poor men for what
had been done by his own order. Moreover, this steward, who
ever he was, appears to have learnt something by being with
Joseph, concerning the true God, the God of the Hebrews. His
answer is kind, and wise, and religious. Peace be Unto you,
fear not : your God, and the God of your father hath given you
treasure in your sacks : I had your money, q. d. ' Let your hearts
be at rest : I will be answerable that you paid what was due :
inquire no farther about it : Providence brought it, and let that
satisfy you.' To render them still more at ease, Simeon is brought
out of his confinement, and introduced to them ; which being
done by the order of Joseph, was a proof of his being satisfied.
The deliverance of the hostage was an evidence that all was well,
Thus the bringing again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great
Shepherd of the sheep, was to us a token for good, and therefore
is ascribed to God, as the Gdd of peace.*
Ver. 24, 25 While Joseph is busy about his concerns, and
thinking how he shall conduct himself towards his brethren, they
are busy in washing and dressing themselves to appear before him,
and in preparing the present which they had brought for him.
What was done required to be done in a handsome manner, and
they are disposed to do their best.
Ver. 26, 27. And now, the business of the morning being
over, Joseph enters. They immediately request his acceptance
of the spices and sweetmeats of Palestine, sent as a present by
their father, bowing down their faces to the earth, as they had
done before. Thus Joseph's dream, which was repeated to him,
is repeated in its fulfilment. There is nothing said of his manner
of receiving it ; but doubtless it was kind and affable. And as
they would present it in the name of their father, this would fur
nish a fair opportunity to inquire particularly respecting him ; a
subject on which his feelings would be all alive. It is charming te
* Heb. Xiii. 20.

354 JOSEPH'S SECOND INTERVIEW [Discourse L.
see how he supports the character which he had assumed, that of
an Egyptian nobleman, who remembered what they had said about
a venerable old man, of whose welfare he very politely inquires.
Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spake ? Is he yet
alive ?
Ver. 28. They answer very properly, and call their father his
servant, and again make obeisance. Thus, in them, Jacob himself
bowed down to Joseph ; and thereby that part of his dream was
also fulfilled.
Ver. 29. When Joseph first saw his brethren, his eyes, per
haps without his being aware of it, were fixed on Benjamin, (ver.
16.) But having detected himself in that instance he appears to be
more upon his guard in this. He receives the present, and con
verses with them about their father's welfare, without once turning
his eyes towards his brother. But having done this, he thinks he
may venture a look at him. He lifted up his eyes, and saw his
brother Benjamin, his mother's son, and said to the others, but
still under the same disguise, Is this your younger brother, of whom
ye spake unto me ? If he could have waited for an answer, they
would doubtless have told him it was ; but his heart is too full.
No sooner is the question out of his lips, than, it may be with his
hand upon his head, he adds, God be gracious unto thee, my son-!
Oh Joseph, on what tender ground dost thou presume to walk !
This benediction, though under the disguise of a good wish from
« stranger, was in reality an effusion of a full heart, which in this
manner sought for ease. Genuine love longs to express itself.
Ver. 30. This little indulgence of affection, however, had well
nigh betrayed him. Ardent desires will always plead hard to go
a little way, and presume not to go too far ; but to indulge them a
little is like letting air into a room on fire. Joseph is so affected
by what has passed, that he is obliged to quit the company, and
retire into his chamber to weep there.
Ver. 31. Having recovered himself, and washed his face, that
they might not discover his tears, he re-enters, and behaves with
much hospitality and attention.
Ver. 32 — 34. And now I apprehend, it was Joseph's wish to
discover himself to his brethren, or rather to enable them to dis-

Chapter XLII1.] WITH HIS BRETHREN. 355
cover him. There are three things in particular, while they were
at dinner, each tending to this end, and as I conceive, designed for
it. (1.) The order of the tables. One for himself, one for the
strangers, and one for the Egyptians. The design of this was to
set them a thinking of him, and who he was, or could be. That
the Egyptians and Hebrews should eat apart, they could easily
account for : but who or what is the man ? Is he not an Egyp
tian ? Yet if he be, why eat by himself? Surely he must be a
foreigner. (2.) The order in which they themselves were seated :
it was before him, so that they had full opportunity of looking at
him ; and what was astonishing to them, every man was placed
according to his age. But who can this be, that is acquainted
with their ages so as to be able to adjust things in this order ?
Surely it must be some one who knows us, though we know not
him. Or is he a diviner ? Who or what can he be ? They are
said to have marvelled one at another, and well they might. It is
marvellous that they did not from hence suspect who he was.
(3.) The peculiar favour which he expressed to Benjamin, in
sending him a mess five times more than the rest. There is no
reason to suppose that Benjamin ate more than the rest : but this
was the manner of showing special favour in those times. * It was
therefore saying in effect, ' I not only know all your ages, but
towards that young man I have more than a common regard ....
Look at all this, and look at me. . . . Look at me, my brother
Benjamin. Dost thou not know me ?' But all was hid from them.
Their eyes, like those of the disciples towards their Lord, seem
to have been holden, that they should not know him. Their minds
however are eased from all apprehensions, and they drank and
were cheerful in his company. * See Chap. xiv. 22, 23.

DISCOURSE LI.

the cup in benjamin's sack.

Gen. xliv. 1 — 17.
Ver. 1,2. As every measure which Joseph had yet taken to
lead his brethren to discover who he was, had failed, he must now
have recourse to another expedient to detain them. Their sacks
are ordered to be filled, and their beasts laden with as much corn
as they can carry, their money restored as before, and a silver
cup put into the sack's mouth of the youngest. All this is love :
but it is love still working in a mysterious way. The object
seems to be to detain Benjamin, and to try the rest.
Ver. 3 — 6. Having stopped over the night, next morning at
break of day they are dismissed, and set off for home. After the
treatment which they had received, we may suppose they were
now all very happy. Simeon is restored, Benjamin is safe, and
they are well laden with provision for the family. They would
now be ready to anticipate the pleasure of seeing their father, and
easing his anxious heart. But lo, another dark cloud presently
overspreads their sky. They had scarcely got out of the city
before the steward overtakes them, and charges them with the
heinous crime of having stolen his lord's cup ; a crime which
would have been highly offensive at any time, but much more so
after the generous treatment which they had received. And to
perplex them the more, he intimates as if his lord were a diviner,
and must needs be able to find out stolen property ! Such we see
Vol. V. 45

358 THE CUP IN [Discourse LI.
was heathenism, in those early ages ; and such heathenism is
found even in Christian countries to this day.
Ver. 7 — 9. At this they are all thunderstruck with surprise ;
yet, conscious of their innocence, they disown the charge, and
express the utmost abhorrence at such a conduct. They appeal
also to a fact with which the steward was well acquainted ; namely,
their having brought again the money which they had found in their
sacks. Did this conduct comport with the character of thieves ?
* Can it be supposed after this,' say they, ' that ere should steal
out of my lord's house either silver or gold 1 Search us through
out. On whomsoever it be found, let him die, and we will all con
sent to become slaves !' Such was their confidence that the
charge was unfounded ; and their invoking so severe a penalty
would be a presumptive evidence that it was so.
Ver. 10, 11. The steward, who is well aware of some profound
design on the part of his master, though he knew not the whole
of it, humours the thing with much address. He accedes to the
mode of trial, but softens the penalty, proposing that none but Ihe
guilty should suffer, and he nothing more than the loss of his lib
erty. With this they readily acquiesce ; and being stung with
reproach, they, with indignant sensations, hastily unlade every
man his beast, in order to disprove the charge. How willing is
conscious innocence that things should be searched to the bottom ;
and how confident of an honourable acquittal!
Ver. 12. And now search is made, from the eldest to the young
est. Ten out of eleven are clear, and enjoy the triumph of a
good conscience ; but lo, in the sack of the. youngest the cup is
found ! Every thing seems contrived to give an edge to thejr
sorrow. It was when they were leaving Egypt, in high spirits,
that they were stopped ; and now when they have disproved the
charge, except in one instance, lo, that instance fails them ! To
have their hopes raised within one step of an acquittal, and then
to be at once disappointed, was very affecting. Tliou hast lifted
me up, and cast me down.
But what a confounding event ! Could they really think for a
moment that Benjamin had been guilty of the mean and wicked
action which seems to be proved upon him ? I do not suppose

Chapter XLIV.] BENJAMIN'S SACK. • 359
they could. They must reriierober having found the money in
their sack's mouth, when, nevertheless, they knew themselves to
be innocent. Nay, and in searching for the cup, though nothing
is now said of the money, yet they must have found it there a
second time. All this would acquit Benjamin in their account.
Yet what cao they allege in his favour, without reflecting upon
his accusers ? The article is found upon him ; which is a species
of proof that seems ,to admit of no answer. A deep and dismal
silence therefore pervades the company. In very agony they
rend their clothes, reload their beasts, and return into the city.
As they walk along, their thoughts turn upon another event; an
event which had more than once occurred to their remembrance
already. ' It is the Lord ! We are murderers ; and though we
have escaped human detection, yet divine vengeance will not
suffer us to live. There, though guilty, we were acquitted: here,
though innocent, we shall be condemned !'
Ver. 13 — 17. Arriving at Joseph's house, where he still was,
no doubt expecting their leturn, Judah and his brethren fall pros
trate before him. Judah is particularly mentioned, as having a
special interest at stake on account of his suretyship : but neither
he nor his brethren can utter a word, but wait in this humble pos
ture to hear what is said to them.
Joseph having carried matters to this height, once more assumes
the tone of a great man, highly offended ; suggesting withal, that
they ought to have known that such a man as he could certainly
divine, and that therefore, it would be in vain to think of escaping
with his property undetected.
As Judah appeared foremost on their entrance, ' Joseph's words
would probably be directed to him, for an answer. But what
answer can be given ? The surety and the advocate is here
dumb ; for he had been a party in guilt ; not indeed in the present
instance, but in another. He can therefore only exclaim, What
shall we say unto my lord? What shall we speak; or how shall
we clear ourselves? God hath found out the inIquity of his
servants! Behold, we are my lord's servants; both we, and he
also with whom the cup is found! He did not mean by this to
plead guilty to the charge ; but neither dare he plead inoocent,

360 THE CUP IN [Discourse LI.
for that would have been accusing the offended party of having
ensnared them, and so have made the case still worse ; neither
was he able to confront the evidence which appeared against his
younger brother. What can he say, or do ? He can only sug
gest that it is a mysterious providence, in which it appears to be
the design of God to punish them for their former crimes. This
answer, which was manifestly dictated by what lay uppermost in
all their minds, was at the same time the most delicate and mod
est manner in which he could possibly have insinuated a denial of
the charge. While it implied their innocence in the present
instance, it contained no reflection upon others ; but an acknowl
edgment of the divine justice, and a willingness to bear the pun-
ishmenl that might be inflicted upon them, as coming from above.
If Joseph had really been the character which he appeared to be,
such an answer must have gone far towards disarming him of
resentment. How forcible are right words ! The simple and
genuine utterance of the heart is the most irresitible of all elo
quence. Joseph, in answer, disclaims every thing that might wear the
appearance of cruelty. No, be will not make bondmen of them,
but merely of him on whom the cup was found. Such is /the sen
tence. They may go about their business ; but Benjamin must
be detained in slavery. Alas! and is this sentence irrevocable?
Better all be detained than him ; for it will be the death of his
father ! What can be said, or done ? The surety now becomes
the advocate, and that to purpose. Such an intercession as that
which follows we shall no where find, unless it be in His whom
the Father heareth always. But I shall here close the present
discourse, with only a reflection or two on the subject.
1. We see a striking analogy between the conduct of Joseph
towards his brother Benjamin, and that of Jesus towards his
people. Whom I love, I rebuke and chasten. Benjamin must
have thought himself peculiarly unhappy to be one day marked
out as a favourite, and the next convicted as a criminal ; and yet
in neither instance able to account for it. It might teach him
however, when the mystery came to be unravelled, not to draw
hasty conclusions from uncertain premises ; but to wait and see

•Chapter XLIV.] BENJAMIN'S SACK. 361
the issue of things, before be decided upon them. Such a lesson
it will be well for us to learn from it. The Lord often brings us
into difficulties that he may detain us, as I may say, from leaving
him. Were it not for these, he would have fewer importunate
applications at a throne of grace than he has. He does not afflict
willingly, or from his heart : but from necessity, and that he may
bring us nearer to him.
2. We see also a striking analogy between Joseph's conduct
towards his brethren, and that of the Lord towards us. In all he
did, I suppose, it was his design to try them. His putting the
cup into Benjamin's sack, and convicting him of the supposed
guilt, would try their love to him, and to their aged father. Had
they been of the same disposition as when they sold Joseph, they
would not have cared for him. Their language would have been
somewhat to this effect — ' Let this young favourite go, and be a
slave in Egypt. If he have stolen the cup, let him suffer for it.
We have a good riddance of him ; and without being under the
necessity of dealing with him as we did with his brother. And as
to the old man, if he will indulge in such partial fondness, let him
take the consequence.' But, happily, they are now of another
mind. God appears to have made use of this mysterious provi
dence, and of Joseph's behaviour, among other things, to bring
them to repentance. And the cup being found in Benjamin's
sack, would give them occasion to manifest it. It must have af
forded the most heart-felt satisfaction to Joseph, amidst all the
pain which it cost him, to witness their tender concern for Benja
min, and for the life of their aged father. This of itself was suffi
cient to excite, on his part, the fullest forgiveness. Thus God is
represented as looking upon a contrite spirit, and even overlook;
ing heaven and earth for it.* Next to the gift of his Son, he
accounts it the greatest blessing he can bestow upon a sinful crea
ture. Now, that on which he sets so high a Value, he may be
expected to produce, even though it may be at the expense of our
present peace. Nor have we any cause of complaint, but the
contrary. What were the suspense, the anxiety, and the distress
of Joseph's brethren, in comparison of that which followed? And
* Isa. lxvi. 1, 2.

362 THE CUP IN BENJAMIN'S SACK. [Discourse LII.
what is the suspense, the anxiety, and the distressof an awakened
sinner, or a tried believer, in comparison of the joy of faith, or
the grace that shall be revealed at the appearing of Jesus Christ?
It will then be found that our light affliction, which was but for
a moment, has been working for us a far more exceeding and
eternal weight of glory.

DISCOURSE LII.

Gen. xliv. 18—34.
Joseph, in the character of a judge, has sternly decided tne
cause, that Benjamin, the supposed offender, should be detained
a bondman, and the rest may go in peace. But Judah, the surety,
wounded to the heart with this decision, presumes as an advocate
to plead, not that the sentence maybe annulled, but changed with
respect to its object. It was a difficult and delicate undertaking :
for when a judge has once decided a cause, his honour is pledged
to abide by it. He must, therefore, have felt the danger of incur
ring his displeasure, by attempting to induce him in that stage of
the business to alter his purpose. But love to his father, and to
his brother, with a recollection of his own engagement, impose
upon him the most imperious necessity.
Ver. 18. Prompted by these sentiments, he approaches the
judge. His first attempt is to conciliate him : O my lord, let thy
servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my lord's ears, and let not
thine anger burn against thy servant ; for thou art even as Pha
raoh. This brief introduction was admirably calculated to soften
resentment, and obtain a patient hearing. The respectful title
given him, My lord ; the entreaty for permission to speak ; the
intimation that it should be but as it were a word ; the depreca
tion of his anger, as being in a manner equal to that of Pharaoh ;
and all this prefaced with an interjection of sorrow, as though
nothing but the deepest distress should have induced him to pre-

364 JUDAH'S INTERCESSION. [Discourse LII.
sume to speak on such a subject, showed him to be well qualified
for his undertaking.
Ver. 19. And now, perceiving in his judge a willingness to
hear, he proceeds, not by passionate declamations and appeals to
his generosity, but by narrating a simple tale, and then grounding a
plea upon it. Truth is the best weapon wherewith to assail the
heart, only let truth be represented in an affecting light. His
object, remember, is to persuade the judge so far to reverse the
doom, as to accept of him, the surety; for a bondman, instead of
the supposed offender. Mark how every thing he says leads to
this issue. My lord asked his servants, saying, Have ye a father,
or a brother? Here the judge is gently reminded that the occa-
sion of this unhappy young man coming at all into Egypt was what
he himself had said. He does not mean to reflect upon bim for
it, but he might hope that merely this circumstance would have
some weight in softening his resentment against him. It is ob
servable, however, that in repeating the questions of Joseph, or
their own former answers to him, he does not confine himself to
terms. Joseph did not say, in so many words, Have ye a father,
&c  nor did they make answer in the exact form as is here
repeated ; but he pretends only to repeat the tenor of what passed,
of the justness of which the judge himself would be well acquaint
ed. Nor is this verbal deviation to be attributed merely to the
failure of memory ; for he avails himself of it to introduce every
affecting circumstance that could possibly touch the heart, which
if he had adhered to a mere verbal rehearsal would have been
lost. Of this the following words are a remarkable instance.
Ver. 20. And we said unto my lord, We have a father, an old
man, and a child of his old age, a little one ; and his brother is
dead, and he alone is left of his mother, and his fatlier loveth him.
All these things were said, I believe, either expressly or by im
plication, but not in this -order. As they were said before, they
were merely rays of light diffused in the air ; but here they are
reduced to a focus, which burns every thing before it ! I need not
repeat how every word in this inimitable passage tells, how it
touches every principle of compassion in the human mind ; in short,
how it rises like a swelling wave, till it overcomes resistance, and

Chapter XLIV.] JUDAH'S INTERCESSION. 365
in a manner compels the judge to say, in his own mind, ' Well,
whatever this young man has done, he must not be detained ! '
Ver. 21 — 29. Having already intimated that the coming of the
lad was occasioned by the inquiries concerning the family, and
made a proper use of that, the advocate proceeds another step,
and reminds his judge that it was in obedience to his command:
Thou saidst, Bring him down unto me, that I may set mine eyes
upon him. This circumstance, though it conveyed no reflection,
any more than /he former, yet would work upon a generous mind,
not to distress an aged father by taking advantage of an affair
which had occurred merely from a willingness to oblige him. To
this he adds, that they discovered at the time a reluctance, on
their father's account, to comply with this part of his request ;-
but he would have no denial, protesting that except their younger
brother came with them, they should see his face no more. Nor
was this all : not only did they feel reluctant on their father's ac
count, but he, when told of it on their return, felt a still greater
reluctance. The manner in which he introduces his father's ob
jection, repeating it in his own words, or rather in his own words
at different times, reduced as to a focus, is amazing. ' We re
peated,' q. d. 'the words of my lord to our father; and when,
feeling the imperious calls of nature, he requested us to go again
and buy a little food, we answered him that we could not go with
out our younger brother, for we could gain no admittance except
he were with us. On this painful occasion, thy servant our father
addressed us as follows : Ye know that my wife bare me two sons.
And the one went out from me, and I said surely he is torn in
pieces : and I saw him not since. And if ye lake this also from me,
and mischief befaU him, ye shall bring down my gray hairs with sor
row lo the grave !
To point out the force of this overwhelming argument requires
a view of the human mind, when, like a complicate machine in
motion, the various powers and passions of it are at work. The
whole calamity of the family arising from obedience to the judge's
own command ; an obedience yielded to on their part with great
reluctance, because of the situation of their aged father ; and on
his part with still greater, because his brother was as he supposed
Vol. V. 46

366 JUDAH'S INTERCESSION. [Discourse Ltl.
torn in pieces, and he the; only surviving child of a beloved wife;
and the declaration of a venerable, gray-headed man, that if he lose
him it will be his death .... was enough to melt the heart of any
one possessed of human feelings. If Joseph had really been what
he appeared, an Egyptian nobleman, he must have yielded the
point. To have withstood'it, would have proved him not a man,
much less a man who feared God, as he had professed to be. But
if .such would have been his feelings even on that supposition,
what must they have been, to know what he knew ? What im
pression must it have made upon his mind to be told of Jacob's
words : My wife bare me two sons; and the one went out from me,
and I said, Surely he is torn in pieces !
It is also observable, with what singular adroitness Judah avoids
making mention of this elder brother of the lad, in any other than
his father's words. He did not say he was torn in pieces. No,
be knew it was not so ! But his father had once used that lan
guage and though he had lately spoken in a manner which bore
hard on him and his brethren, yet this is passed over, and nothing
hinted but what will turn to account.
Ver. 30, 31. The inference of what effect the detention of
Benjamin would have on the aged parent, might have been left
for the judge to make ; but it is a part of the subject which will
bear a little enlargement, and that to a very good purpose. Thus
therefore he proceeds : When I come to thy servant my father,
and the lad be not with us ; (seeing that his life is bound up in the
lad's life ;) it shall come to pass when he seeth that the lad is not
with us, he will die ; and thy servants shall bring down the gray
hairs of thy servant our father, with sorrow to the grave ! The
whole of this intercession, taken together, is not one-twentienth
part the length of what our best advocates would have made of it
in a court of justice : yet the speaker finds room to expatiate
upon those parts which are the most tender, and on which a mi
nute description will heighten the general effect. We are sur
prised, delighted, aad melted with his charming parenthesis:
Seeing that his life is bound up in the lad's life. It is true, it
does not seem to inform us of any thing which we might not have
known without it ; but it represents what was before stated, in a

Chapter XLIV.] JUDAH'S INTERCESSION. 267
more affecting light. It is also remarkable, how he repeats things
which are the most tender ; as, When I come, and the lad be not
with us. It shall come to pass, when he seeth that the lad is not
with us. So also in describing the effect this would produce :
When he seeth that the lad is not with us, he will die ; and we
shall bring down the gray hairs of thy servant my father, with
sorrow to the grave. This last sentence also, not only repeats the
death of the aged parent in a more affecting manner than the
first, but contains a plea for Benjamin's release founded on the
cruel situation of their being otherwise forced in a manner to be
come parricides !
Ver. 32 — 34. One plea more remains, which will at once
contain an apology for his importunity, and make way for what,
with humble submission, he means to propose. This is, Thy ser
vant became surety for the lad unto my father. And that it may
make the deeper impression, he repeats the terms of it : If I
bring him not unto thee, let me bear the blame for ever. And now,
having stated his peculiar situation, he presumes to express his
petition. But why did he not mention that at first, and allege what
he has alleged in support of it ? Such might have been the pro
cess of a less skilful advocate ; but Judah's feelings taught him
better. His withholding that till the last, was holding the mind of
his judge in a state of affecting suspense, and preventing the
objections which an abrupt introduction of it at the beginning
might have created. He might in that case have cut him short, as
he had done before, saying, God forbid that I should do so: the
man in whose hand the cup is found, he shall be my servant. But
he could not refuse to hear his tale ; and by that be was prepared
to hear his petition. Thus Esther, when presenting her petition
to Ahasuerus, kept it back till she had, by holding him in sus
pense, raised his desire to the utmost height to know what it was,
and induced in him a predisposition to grant it.
But what is Judah's petition ? That the crime may be passed
over, and that they may all return home to their father ? No : Let
thy servant, I pray thee, abide instead' of the lad, a bondman to my
lord, and kt the lad go up with his brethren ! If we except the grace
of another, and greater substitute, never surely was there a more

368 JUDAH'S INTERCESSION. [Discourse LII.
generous proposal ! And when to this, is added, the filial regard
from which it proceeds, for how shall I go up to my father, and
the lad be not with me ; lest peradventure, I see the evil that shall
come on my father ! this in itself, distinct from all which had gone
before it, was enough to overcome every objection,

DISCOURSE LIII.

JOSEPH makes himself known to his brethren.

Gen. xiv.
Ver. 1 — 3. The close of Judah's speech must have been suc
ceeded by a solemn pause. Every heart is full ; but every tongue
is silent. The audience, if they understood the language, would
be all in tears. The ten brethren, viewing the whole as the
righteous judgment of God upon them, would be full of fearful
amazement as to the issue. Benjamin would feel both for his dear
father and his beloved brother, who had offered to give himself
for him ! But what saith the judge ? How does he stand affected ?
I have no doubt but that he must have covered his face during the
greater part of the time in which Judah had been pleading : and
now this will not suffice. The fire burns within him, and it must
have vent. Cause every man, said he, to depart from me! And
then he breaks out in a loud weeping, so that the Egyptians from
without heard him. Their minds no doubt must be filled with
amazement, and desire to know the cause of this strange affair ;
while the parties within would be still more confounded, to witness
such a burst of sorrow from him, who, but awhile before, was all
sternness and severity. But now the mystery is at once revealed,
and that in a few words — I AM JOSEPH ! ! ! Doth my father
yet live ? If they had been struck by an electrical shock, or
the most tremendous peal of thunder had instantly been beard
over their heads, its effect had been nothing in comparison of that
which these words must have produced. They are all struck
dumb, and as it were petrified with terror. If he had been actu
ally dead, and had risen, and appeared to them, they could not
have felt greatly different. The flood of thoughts which would

370 JOSEPH MADE KNOWN [Discourse LIII.
at once rush in upon their minds is past description. No words
could better express the general effect than those which are used :
They could not answer him ; for they were troubled at his presence !
Ver. 4 — 8. A little mind, amidst all its sympathy, might have
enjoyed the triumph which Joseph now had over them who once
hated him, and have been willing to make them feel it : but he
has made them feel sufficiently already ; and having forgiven them
in his heart, he remembers their sin no more, but is full of tender
solicitude to heal their wounded spirits. Come near unto me, saith
he, I pray you ; and they came near : and he said, I am Joseph
your brother whom ye soldinto Egypt. This painful event he does
not seem to have mentioned, but for the sake of convincing them
that it was he himself even their brother Joseph, and not another ;
and lest the mention of it should be taken as a reflection, and so
add to their distress, he immediately follows it up with a dissuasive
from overmuch sorrow : Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry
with yourselves that ye sold" me hither : for God did send me before
you, to preserve life. For these two years hath the famine been in
the land : and yet there are five years, in the which there shall be
neither earing nor harvest. And God sent me before you, to pre
serve a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great
deliverance. So now, it was not you that sent me hither, but God :
and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, &c.
In this soothing and tender strain did this excellent man pour
balm into their wounded hearts. A less delicate mind would have
talked of forgiving them ; but be entreats them to forgive them
selves, as though the other was out of the question. Nor did he
mean that they should abuse the doctrine of providence, to the
making light of sin ; but merely that they should eye the hand of
God in all, so as to be reconciled to the event, though they might
weep in secret for the part which they had acted. And it is his
desire that they should for the present, at least, view the subject
much in that point of light ; which would arm them against des
pondency, and a being swallowed up of overmuch sorrow. Their
viewing things in this light would not abate their godly sorrow,
but rather increase it : it would tend only to expel the sorrow of
the world, which worketh death. The analogy between all this,

Chapter XLV.] TO HIS BRETHREN. 371
and the case of a sinner on Christ's first manifesting himself to his
soul, is very striking. I cannot enlarge on particulars : suffice it
to say, the more he views the doctrine of the cross, in which God
hath glorified himself, and saved a lost world, by those very means
which were intended for evil by his murderers, the better it will
be with him. He shall not be able to think sin on this account a
less, but a jgreater evil ; and yet he shall be so armed against
despondency, as even to rejoice in what God hath wrought, while
he trembles in thinking of the evils from which he has escaped.
Ver. 9 — 11. It is not in the power of Joseph's brethren to talk
at present : he therefore talks to them. And to divert their minds
from terror, and gradually remove the effects of the shock, he
goes on to tell them they must make haste home to his father, and
say thus and thus to him in his name ; and invite him and all his
family to come down forthwith into Egypt, where he and they
shall be well provided for, during the five years' famine yet to
come, and where he shall be near unto him.
Ver. 12 — 15. While he is thus talking with his brethren, they
would be apt to suspect whether all could be true, and whether
they were not in a dream, or imposed upon in some supernatural
way. To obviate these misgivings of mind, he adds, And behold,
your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my
mouth which speaketh unto you. And you shall tell my father of
all my glory in Egypt. The former pari of this speech must
needs have produced in him a fresh flood of tears. As to them, I
know not whether they could weep at present. Nothing is said
of the kind ; and it is natural to suppose that they had too much
fear as yet mingled with their sqrrow to admit of its being vented
in this manner. He however, having made mention of Benjamin,
cannot forbear falling upon his neck and weeping over him : and
Benjamin, not feeling that petrifying guilty shock/which must have
confounded them, fell upon his neck, and wept with him.
Joseph had said nothing to his brethren of forgiving them ; but
he would now express as much, and more, by his actions ; giving
an affectionate kiss to every one of them, accompanied with tears
of tenderness. This appears more than any thing to have removed
their terror, so that now they are sufficiently composed to talk
toith him, if not to mingle their tears with his.

372 JOSEPH MADE KNOWN [Discourse LIII.
Ver. 16—24. The secret being once disclosed within doors,
soon got out ; and the news of Joseph's brethren being come flies
through the city, and reaches the palace. Pharaoh and his court
too, are well pleased with it; or if there were any who might envy
Joseph's high honour, they would not dare. to express it.
In other cases, Pharaoh had left every thing to Joseph ; and
Joseph knowing what he had done, and the confidence which he
possessed, had given orders in this case ; yet to save his feelings
in having to invite his own relations, as it were to another man's
house, as well as to express the gratitude of the nation to so great
a benefactor, the king in this instance comes forward, and gives
orders himself. His orders too were more liberal than those of
Joseph : he had desired them to bring with them all the property
they had ; but Pharaoh bids them to disregard their stuff, for that
the good of all the land of Egypt was theirs. Joseph had said no
thing about the mode of conveyance ; but Pharaoh gives orders for
wagons, or chariots, as the word is sometimes rendered, to be
sent to fetch them.
Joseph, however, in executing these orders, gives fresh testimo
nies of affection, not only in furnishing them with provisions by the
way, but to each man changes of raiment, and to Benjamin his
brother three hundred pieces of silver, and five changes of rai
ment. And to his honoured father, though he could not, on account
of business, go and fetch him, yet he sends him the richest present;
namely, ten asses laden with the good things of Egypt, and ten she
asses laden with corn and bread and meat for him by the way.
These things might not be all necessary : Jacob would need no
more for himself than any other individual of the family ; but, as
we saw in the mess which was sent to Benjamin, this was the
mode at that time of expressing peculiar affection. To all this
kindness he added a word of counsel : See that ye fall not out by
the way. Joseph had already heard from Reuben some severe
reflections on his brethren (Chap. xlii. 22.) ; and might suppose
that such things would be repeated when they were alone. One
might be accused of this, and another of that, till all their minds
would be grieved and wounded. But he that could find in his
heart to love them, after all their unworthy conduct, gives them,

Chapter XLV.] TO HIS BRETHREN. 373
as I may say, a new commandment, that they should love one
another !
Ver. 25—28. And now the young people betake themselves to
their journey, and in a little time arrive at their father's house.
Jacob had doubtless been looking and longing for their return, and
that with many fears and misgivings of mind. If the matter was
announced as suddenly as it is here related, it is not surprising
that Jacob's heart fainted, and that he believed them not! It must
apear too much to be true. The suddenness of the transition
would produce an effect like that of fire and water coming in con
tact : and though he had suspected that Joseph had not been fairly
treated by his brethren, yet he never seems to have doubted that
he was dead. It would appear therefore, at first, as if they meant
to tantalize him. Perhaps too, we may partly account for this
incredulity from the aptness there is in a dejected mind to believe
what is against bim, rather than what is for him. When they
brought the bloody garment, he readily believed, saying, Joseph
is without doubt rent in pieces ! But when good news is told him,
it seems too good to be true !
They went on, however, and told him of all the words of Joseph ;
that is, of the invitations which he sent by them ; and as a proof,
pointed to the wagons which were come to take him down. The
sight of these overcomes the incredulity of the patriarch, and
revives his spirit. It is enough, said he : Joseph my son is yet
alive. I will go and see him before I die ! Yes, this was enough,
not only to remove his doubts, but to heal his wounded heart, to
set all right, to solve all mysteries, and to satisfy his soul. He
had no more wishes on this side of the grave. No mention is made
of how he received the gifts, or what he said of Ais son's glory: it
was enough for him that he was alive. The iess must give way to
the greater. He seems to have consider^ death as near at hand,
and as though he had nothing to do but «> go and see him, and, like
old Simeon by the Saviour, depart ^ peace. * But he must live
a few years longer, and reflect upon the wisdom and goodness of
God in all these mysterious events.
* Chap. xlvi. 30.
Vol.V. 47

DISCOURSE LIV.
Jacob's going down into egypt.

Gen. xlvi.
The patriarch having resolved to go and see his beloved Joseph,
soon gets ready for his journey, and takes with him all that he had.
It was generous in Pharaoh to propose his leaving the stuff behind
him, but Jacob was not elated with the riches of Egypt, and might
wish to put his friends to as little expense as possible. Those
things which Pharaoh would call stuff, might also have a peculiar
value in his esteem, as having been given him in answer to prayer.*
What is given by. our best friend, should not be set at nought.
But does not Jacob acknowledge God in this undertaking ? It
is a very important one, to him and to his posterity. Surely he
does not use lightness in such an affair ; and the thing which he
purposeth, is not according to the flesh. No, he will solemnly
invoke the divine blessing ; but not till he had gone one day's
journey. He had doubtless privately committed his way to God,
and we hope was satisfied as to the path of duty ; but be might
have a special reason for deferring his public devotions till he
should arrive at Beersheba. This was a distinguished spot : what
had there taken place would tend to assist him in his approaches
to God. It was there that Abraham, after many changes and
trials, called on the name of the everlasting God ; and there that
Isaac had the promise renewed to him, built, an altar, and called
also upon the name of Jehovah. This therefore shall be the place
Chap, xxviii. 20.

376 JACOB'S GOING INTO EGYPT. [Discourse LIV.
where Jacob will offer a solemn sacrifice, and invoke the divine
blessing' on himself and his children.
Arriving at the appointed place towards evening, he and all his
company stop ; and having reared an altar, or repaired that which
had been built aforetime, offered sacrifices to the God of his father
Isaac. Jacob, in bis approaches to God, did not forget to avail
himself of the covenant made with his forefathers, and of the
promises already on record. His coming to this place seems to
have been with the very design, that his eyes, in beholding the
Surrounding objects, might assist his mind, and affect his heart in
the recollection. Nor must we in ours forget to avail ourselves of
the covenant of God in Christ, in which is all our salvation. The
remembrance of the godliness of our predecessors, also, in like
circumstances with ourselves, may have a happy influence on our
devotions. It is sweet to a holy mind to be able to say, He is my
God,.and I will exalt him : my father's God, and 1 will build him
an habitation !
Ver. 2 — 4. Jacob having closed the day by a solemn act of
worship, retires to rest ; and, as in a former instance, God ap
peared, and spake to him in visions of the night ; calling him twice
by name, Jacob, Jacob ! To which the patriarch answers, Here
am I, ready to hear what God the Lord will speak unto his servant.
And he said, I am God. To one so well acquainted with tbe
divine character as Jacob was, this would be cheering ; especially
as it would indicate his acceptance of the sacrifice, and his being
with him in the way he went. It would seem enough for a godly
mind to know that God is with him. But, in compassion to Jacob
it is added, the God of thy father. As such he had sought him,
and as such he found him. This language amounted to a renewal
of the covenant of Abraham, that God would bless, and make him a
blessing ; and that in him and his seed all the nations of the earth
should be blessed. And lest this should be thought too general, it
is further added, Fear not to go down into Egypt ; for I will there
make of thee a great nation. I will go doion with thee into Egypt ;
and I will also surely bring thee up again ; and Joseph shall put his
hand upon thine eyes. Though Jacob's affection to Joseph made
him resolve at first to go and see him, yet it. is likely he had

Chapter XLVI.] JACOB'S GOING INTO EGYPT. 377
afterwards some misgivings of mind upon the subject. Abraham
went once into Egypt ; but he left it under a cloud, and never
went again. Isaac in a time of famine was forbidden to go.* And
though Jacob had sent his sons to buy corn, yet it did not seem to
be the place for him. But God removes his fears, and intimates
that Egypt is designed to be the cradle of that great nation which
should descend from his loins. They were idolaters, and should
prove in the end oppressors ; but the promise of God to go with
him, was enough. Neither temptation nor persecution need dis
may us, when we are led into it by the Lord : if he lead us into
it, we may hope that he will keep us in it. The Lord, in prom
ising Jacob that he would surely bring him up again, did not mean
that he himself should come back again alive ; but that his poster
ity should, after becoming a great nation. With respect to himself,
he was given to expect that his beloved Joseph should survive
him, and be present at his death to close his eyes. But his descen
dants should be brought back with an high hand : and as what was
spoken of bringing him up again respected them, so that of going
down, with him extended to them also.
Ver. 5 — 7- After so signal an instance of mercy, Jacob can leave
Beersheba with a cheerful heart. He is now so far advanced in
life, however, as to be glad of a carriage to convey him, and of all
the kind and dutiful assistance of his sons to accommodate him.
Time was when he wanted no accommodation of this sort ; but
setoff on a much longer journey with only a staff; but sixty years'
toil and trouble, added to the seventy which had gone before, have
reduced him to a state of feebleness and debility. Nature is or
dained to decay : but if grace do but thrive, it need not be re
gretted. It is- wisely and mercifully ordered, that the strong
should bear the infirmities of the weak ; and that those who in
infancy and childhood have been borne by their parents, should
return the kindness due to them under the imbecility of age.
In taking all his substance, as well as all his kindred, he would
cut off occasion from those who might be disposed, at least in after
times, to reproach the family with having come into Egypt empty
handed, and to throw themselves upon the bounty of the country.
* Chap. xxvi. 2.

378 JACOB'S GOING INTO EGYPT. [Discourse LIV.
Ver. 8 — 27. The names of Jacob's descendants, who came
with him into Egypt, are here particularly recorded. Compared
with the families of Abraham and Isaac, they appear to be numer
ous, and afford a prospect of a great nation : yet compared with
those of Ishmael and Esau, they are but few. Three and twenty
years ago there was a company of Ishmaelites , who bought Joseph :
and as to Esau, he seems to have become a nation in a little time.
We see from hence, that the most valuable blessings are often the
longest ere they reach us. The just shall live by faith.
There seems to be some difference between the account of
Moses, and that of Stephen, in Acts vii. 14. Moses says, All the
souls that came with Jacob into Egypt, which came out of his loins,
besides his sons' wives, were threescore and six. (ver. 26.) And
all the souls of the sons of Jacob which came into Egypt, that is
first and last, including Jacob himself, his son Joseph, and his two sons
Ephraim and Manasseh, who came from his loins, were threescore
and ten. (ver. 27.) But Stephen says, Joseph called his father
Jacob to him, and all his kindred, threescore and fifteen souls.
Moses speaks of him and those who descended from his loins, to the
exclusion of his sons' wives ; but Stephen of his kindred in general,
which would include them.
Ver. 28. Drawing nigh to Egypt, Judah is sent before, to ap
prise Joseph of his father's arrival. Judah had acquitted himself
well in a former case of great delicacy, &nd this might recommend
him in the present instance. He who could plead so well for his
father, shall have the honour of introducing him. It is fitting too,
that the father of the royal tribe, and of the Messiah himself,
should not be the last in works of honour and usefulness, but
rather that he should have the pre-eminence. When inquiry was
made bathe times of the judges, Who shall go up for us against
the Canaanites first to fight against them ? The Lord said, Judah
shall go up.
Ver. 29. Joseph, on receiving the intelligence, makes ready
his chariot to go and meet his father : for being in high office he
must act accordingly ; else another kind of carriage, or perhaps a
staff only, would have satisfied him, as well as his father : but sit
uations in life often impose that upon humble minds which they
would not covet of their own accord. The interview is, as might

Chapter XLVI.] JACOB'S GOING INTO EGYPT. 379
be expected, tender and affecting. The account is short, but
appropriate. He presents himself to his venerable father ; but
unable to speak, fell upon his neck, and wept a good while! t And
who that reflects on the occasion can forbear to weep with him !
Va: 30. As to the good old man, he feels so happy that he
thinks of nothing but dying. Perhaps he thought he should die
soon : having enjoyed as much as he could desire in this world,
it was natural now to wish to go to another. Having seen all
things brought to so blessed an issue, both in his circumstances,
and in the character of his children, it is not surprising that he
should now desire to quit the stage. Lord, now let thy servant
depart in peace ; for mine eyes have] seen thy salvation ! Yet
Jacob did not die for seventeen years ; a proof this, that our
feelings are no certain rule of what shall befall us.
Ver. 31 — 34. As soon as the tenderness of the interview
would permit, Joseph kindly intimates to his father and his breth
ren what was proper to be done, as to their being introduced to
the king : and that they might be prepared for that piece of neces
sary formality, he gives them some general instructions what to
answer. And here it is observable, how careful he is to keep
them clear of the snares of Egypt. A high-minded young man
would have been for introducing his relations into posts of honour
and profit, lest they should disgrace him. But Joseph is more
concerned for their purity, than their outward dignity. ' I will
go before you,' says he ' and tell the king that you aie'jhepherds,
and have been so all your lives, and your fathers before you.
This will prevent his making any proposals for raising you to
posts of honour in the state ; and he will at once feel the propriety
of assigning you a part of the country which is suited to the sus
tenance of your flocks and herds, and where you may live by
yourselves uncontaminated by Egyptian customs. And, when you
come before the king, and he shall ask you of your occupation,
then do you confirm what I have said of you : and as the employ
ment of a shepherd is meanly accounted of in Egypt, and those
that follow it are despised, and reckoned unfit for the higher
offices of the state, this'will determine the king to say nothing to
you on that subject, but to grant you a place in Goshen.'

380 JACOB'S GOING INTO EGYPT. [Discourse LIV.
Thus, while men in general are pressing after the highest sta
tions in life, and sacrificing every thing to obtain them, we see a
man who had for nine years occupied one of these posts, and felt
both its advantages and disadvantages, carefully directing his dear
est friends and relations into another track ; acting up to Agur's
prayer, Give me neither poverty nor riches ; but give me food
convenient. The cool and sequestered path of life is the safest,
happiest, and most friendly to true religion. If we wish to
destroy our souls, or the souls of our children, let us seek, for
ourselves and them, great things : but if not, it becomes us,
having food and raiment, therewith to be content. A rage for
amassing wealth, or rising to eminence, is a whirlpool in which
millions have perished.

DISCOURSE LV.

Joseph's conduct in the settlement of his brethren, and
in the affairs of egypt.

Gen. xlvii,
Ver. 1,2. Joseph, having adjusted matters with his father and
his brethren, with respect to their appearance before the king,
takes with him five of the latter, and introduces them. His object
is not merely a compliance with the rules of respect which were
proper on such an occasion, but to obtain for them a residence in
Goshen, where they might pursue their usual avocations, and be
near unto him. To this end he mentions that they were then in
that part of the country with their flocks and their herds ; hoping
that this might induce the king to consent to their continuance
there. Ver. 3, 4. The young men appearing before Pharaoh, he asks
them, as Joseph supposed he would, what was their occupation.
A very proper question to be put by a magistrate to young men at
any time ; but the object in this case seems to have been to ascer
tain what posts in the state they were qualified to fill. He took it
for granted that they were of some lawful calling ; and every
government has. a right to require that those who enjoy its pro
tection, should not be mere vagrants, but by their industry con-
Vol. V. 48

382 JA*COB AND HIS SONS [Discourse LV.
tribute in some way to the public good. Their answer accords
with their previous instructions : they were shepherds, both they
and their fathers. To this they added what was their wish, if it
might please the king, which was, not to be naturalized, but merely
to sojourn for a season in the country, with their flocks and their
herds, which were starved out by the severity of the famine
in their own land. This language implies their faith in the divine
promises ; for they that say such things declare plainly that they
seek another country. It would also tend to second the en
deavours of Joseph, in removing from the king's mind all thoughts
of promoting them to places of honour, and obtaining for them a
residence in Goshen. Their answer concludes with an express
petition for this object.
Ver. 5, 6. Pharaoh, turning himself to Joseph, with much
politeness and frankness, thus addressed him : ' Thy father and
thy brethren are come unto thee : the land of Egypt is before
thee. In the best of the land, in the land of Goshen, seeing they
prefer it, let them dwell. And as to promoting them, it does not
seem to suit their calling or their inclinations, to be raised in the
manner which I might have proposed on their behalf : 1 will there
fore leave it to you to make them happy in their own way. If
there be one or more of them better qualified for business than the
rest, let them be appointed chief of my herdsmen.'
Ver. 7 — 10. The grand object being accomplished, all hearts
are at rest, and now Joseph introduces to the king his aged father ;
not upon business, but merely in a way of respect. When the
young men were presented, they stood before him ; but Jacob,, in
honour of his years, and in compassion to his infirmities, is placed
upon a seat. The first object that meets bis eyes is Pharaoh,: sit
ting in his royal robes before him. The sight of a prince who had
shown such kindness to him and his, in a time or distress,, calls, forth
the most lively sensations of gratitude, which he is prompted to
express by a solemn blessing ! , How befitting, and how affecting
is this ! It was reckoned by the Apostle as a truth beyond all
eontradiction, that the less is blessed pf the better, or greater. In
one respect Pharaoh was greater than Jacob j but in another,

Chapter XLVII.] APPEAR BEFORE PHARAOH. 383
Jacob was greater than he ; and Jacob knew it, and thought it no
presumption to act upon such a principle He was a son of Abra
ham, whose peculiar honour it was, that he and his posterity
should be blessings to mankind : I will bless thee, and thou shalt be
a blessing. He was also himself a man who, as a prince, had power
with God and men, and prevailed. The blessing of such a man
was of no small account ; for God suffered not the words of his
servants to fall to the ground.
It would seem at 3rst sight, as if Pharaoh was not struck with
the blessing, but merely with the venerable aspect of tbe man,
and therefore proceededUo inquire his age : but I incline to think
he was chiefly struck with the ibrmer. He must have perceived
a wide difference between this, and any thing he had ever met
with from the Egyptian sages, something heavenly and divine :
and as the steward appeared to )>e well acquainted with the re
ligion of the family, tellLngthe brethren that their God and the God
of their father, had given them the treasure in tlieir sacks ; (Chap.
xliii. 23.) so we may suppose was Pharaoh himself. He would
see also in this solemn blessing, in which Jacob ho doubt made
use of the name of the Lord, something perfectly correspondent
with what might have been expected from the father of a man in
whom was the spirit of God. If he felt the force of these things',
:t would overcome him, and render him scarcely able to speak ;
and hence it would be natural, in order to recover himself, to turn
the conversation upon a less affecting topic, inquiring, How old
art thou? The answer to this question is very pathetic and
impressive : The days of the years of my pilgrimage are a hun.
dred and thirty years ; few and evil have the days of the pears of
my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of
tfie life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage. We have
a comment upon this answer, in Heb. xi. 13, 14, where it is called
a confession, and its implication is insisted on : They that say such
things declare plainly that ihey seek a country. We may see in it
a charming example of spirituality, and how such a state of mind
will find a way of introducing religion, even in answer to the most
simple and common questions. We go into the company of a
great man, and come away without once thinking, of' introducing

384 JACOB'S APPEARANCE [Discourse LV.
religion : nay it would seem to us almost rude to attempt it.
But wherefore ? Because of our want of spiritual-mindedness.
If our spirits were imbued with a sense of divine things, we
should think of the most common concerns of life in a religious
way ; and so thinking of them, it would be natural to s peak of
them. Jacob, in answer to this simple question, introduces sev
eral important truths, and that without any force or awkwardness.
He insinuates to Pharaoh, that he and his fathers before him were
strangers and pilgrims upon the earth ; that their portion was not
in this world, but in another ; that the life of man, though it
extended to a hundred and thirty years, was but a few days ; that
those few days were miked with evil ; all which, if the king pro
perly reflected on it, would lead him to set light by the earthly
glory with which he was loaded, and to seek a crown which fadetb
not away. It is admirable to see how all these sentiments could
be suggested in so prudent, so modest, so natural, and so inoffen
sive a manner. If Pharaoh was affected with Jacob's blessing him,
and wished by his question to turn the conversation to something
less, tender, he wOuld be in a manner disappointed.. He is now in
company with a man, who, talk on what he will, will make him
feel ; and yet it shall be in a way that cannot hurt him ; for he
says nothing about biro, but speaks merely of himself.
Having thus made a suitable confession, the patriarch, whose
heart was full, could not take leave of the king without repeating
his solemn blessing. Whether Pharaoh ever saw him again, we
are not told : but if what was then said had a proper effect, he
would remember this interview as one of the most interesting
events of his life.
Ver. 11, 12. Joseph having obtained the consent of the king,
places his father and his brethren in the situation he intended, and
there continued to nourish and cherish them, as a little child is
nourished. And thus he is made, more than at the birth of Ma-
nasseh, to forget all his toil, and all the distresses which he had
met with in his father's house.
Ver. 13 — 26. The sacred writer informs Us as a matter by the
bye, of the state of things in Egypt, during the remaining five

Chapter XLVII.] BEFORE PHARAOH. 385.
years of famine, under Joseph's administration. The famine was
so sore in the land, that to purchase tbe necessaries of life, the
inhabitants first p ,rted with all their money ; and not only they,
but the countries adjacent : so that the king's treasury became
greatly enriched. And when money failed, their cattle were
required ; and last of all their lands, and their persons, save only
that the lands of their priests, or princes, were not sold : for
being, according to the laws of the country, considered as a part of
the royal household, they were not under the necessity of selling
their estates, but were participants of all the advantages which
Pharaoh derived by Joseph.
This part of Joseph's conduct has been thought by some, very
exceptionable, as tending to reduce a nation to poverty and slave
ry. I am not sure that it was entirely right, though the parties
concerned appear to have cast no reflection upon him.* If it
were not, it only proves that Joseph, though a good and great
man, yet was not perfect. But difference of time and circum
stances may render us incompetent to judge of „his conduct with
accuracy. The following remarks, if they do not wholly exculpate
him from blame, may at least serve greatly to extenuate the evil of
his conduct. (1 .) He does not appear to have been employed
b) tne country, but by the king only, and that for himself. He
did not buy up corn during the plentiful years, at the public ex
pense, but at that of the king, paying the people the full price for
their commodities, and, as it would seem, out of the king's private
purse. (2.) If the Egyptians had believed the word of God, as
the king did, they had the same opportunity, and might have laid
by grain enough, each family for itself, during the seven plentiful
years, fully to have supplied their own wants during the years of
famine. But it seems they paid no regard to the dreams; nor to
the interpretation, any more than the antediluvians did to the
preparations of Noah. All the plenty which had been poured
upon them, according as Joseph had foretold, did not convince
* No prince ever obtained arbitrary power so fairly, yet perhaps it laid the
foundation for the subs equent oppression of Israel. R'

386 JOSEPH'S INTERVIEW [Discourse LV.
them : the only use they made of it was to waste it in luxury as it
came. It was just, therefore, that they should now feel some of
the consequences. (3.) In supplying their wants, it was abso
lutely necessary to distribute the provisions not by gift, but by
sale ; and that according to what we should call the market price :
otherwise the whole would have been consumed in half the time,
and the country have perished. (4.) The slavery to which they
were reduced was merely that of being tenants to the king, who
accepted of one-fifth Of the produce for his rent. Indeed it was
scarcely possible for a whole nation to be greatly oppressed, with
out being driven to redress themselves ; and probably what they
paid in aftertimes as a rent, was much the same thing as we payin
taxes, enabling the king to maintain his state, and support his
government, without any other burdens. There is no mention, I
believe, in history, of this event producing any ill effects upon the
country. Finally : Whatever he did, it was not for himself, or
his kindred, but for the king by whom he was employed. The
utmost therefore that can be made of it to his disadvantage, does
not affect the disinterestedness of his character.
Ver. 27, 28. The sacred historian now returning to Israel,
informs us that they dwelt in Goshen, and had possessions, and
grew and multiplied exceedingly ; and this during the lifetime of
Jacob, who lived seventeen years in Egypt. The vision which he
had at Beersheba contained an intimation that he should die in
that country, else we may suppose he would have been for return
ing as soon as the famine had subsided : but Jacob is directed
by the will of heaven, as his descendants were by the cloud in the
wilderness. Per. 29— 31. And now the time drawing nigh that Israel
should die, he sends for bis son Joseph, aud engages him by a
solemn oath to bury him, not in Egypt, but in the sepulchre of his
fathers. This request was not merely the effect of natural affec
tion, but of faith. As it was by faith that Joseph gave command
ment concerning his bones, doubtless this arose from the same
principle. The patriarch, relying on the covenant made with his
fathers, and believing that his posterity would hereafter possess

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Chapter XLVII.] WITH HIS DYING FATHER. 389
the land, wished to lie among them, and to have his body carried
up, to take a kind of previous possession on their behalf. To this
request of his father, Joseph readily consents. The venerable
man, however, is not yet at the point of death, but is desirous of
setting things in order, that when he comes to die he may have
nothing else to think about.

DISCOURSE LVI.
Joseph's interview with his dying father, with the
blessing of his sons.

Gen. xlviii.
Ver. 1. Jacob did not die immediately after having sent for his
son Joseph ; but he seems at that time to have been confined to
his " bed," and probably it was by the same affliction which issued
in his death. Joseph, as soon as he was told of his father's being
sick, without waiting to be sent for another time, proceeded tc the
place, and took his two sons to obtain his dying benediction.
Ver. 2. On entering the house, his name is announced ; the men
tion of which gives the venerable patriarch a portion of new life.
He strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed. And now we may
expect to hear something worthy of attention. The words of
dying men to their children are or should be interesting ; es
pecially of good men, and still more of men inspired of God.
Ver. 3. The man of God has neither time nor strength to
lose in ceremony : he comes therefore immediately to the point.
God Almighty, said he,, 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. Observe, (l.) Thq appearance at Luz,
or Bethel. (Chap, xxviii.) If it were not the first time in which
God had made himself known to Jacob, it was certainly the most
remarkable epoch in his life ; and almost all that had gone before
it was nothing, or worse than nothing. (2.) Though the meh-
Vol. V. 4'9

392 JOSEPH'S INTERVIEW [Discourse LVI.
tion of Luz, or Bethel, must ever be sweet to Jacob, and though
he could have told what a support the promise there made had
been to him through the pilgrimage of life ; yet he confines him
self at present to the aspect which it bore to his posterity, whom
he was now about to bless. The promise made to Abraham's
seed involves all the goodness intended for the world in after ages ;
and this occupies the chief attention of Jacob. The dying words
of David dwell upon the same thing : the everlasting covenant,
which contained all hit salvation, and aU his desire, was that in
which God had promised of his seed to raise up the Messiah,
whose kingdom should endure to all generations. To see the
good of his chosen, to rejoice in the gladness of his nation, and to
glory with bis inheritance, is enough for a servant of God : and
for an aged parent, after seeing much evil in his family, to be able
to take leave of them in the full expectation of the divine blessing
attending them, is a death which better characters than Balaam
might wish to die. (3.) The mention of Canaan to Joseph was
designed to draw off his attention from a permanent settlement ln
Egypt, and to fix his faith upon the promise ; that like his fathers
before him, he might pass his life as a pilgrim till it should be
accomplished. Ver. 4 — 7. And now, having given this general intimation to
Joseph, he solemnly adopts his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh,
as his own, constituting them two tribes in Israel. Thus Joseph
bad a double portion, tbe first birth-right being taken from Reuben,
and given unto him.* And thus bis sons, as well as himself, were
taught to fix their faith and hope, not in Egypt, whatever might
be their expectations as the descendants of Joseph by an Egyptian
princess, but in Canaan, or rather in the promise of the God of
Israel. The mention of the death and burial of Rachel might be
partly to add another motive of attachment to Canaan, to Joseph |
and partly to account for this double portion conferred upon him ;
she being in tbe most proper sense bis wife, and he in a sense his
first-born son. * t Chron. r. 1, 2,

Chapter XLVIII.] WITH HIS DYING FATHER. 393
Ver. 8 — 11. Jacob had made mention of Ephraim and Manasseh
before, but he had not seen them. Lifting up his eyes, he per
ceives two young men standing by the side of his beloved Joseph,
and inquires who they are. They are my tons, said Joseph,
whom God hath given me in this place. On this he requests them
to be brought unto him, that he might bless them. He could
scarcely see them, for his eyes were dim of age ; but his heart
was full of tenderness towards them, for their father's sake, and
for the sake of the hope of which tbey were heirs : therefore he
kissed and embraced them. And being full of holy affection, he
looks back upon his past sorrows, and admires the grace of God
towards him and his. I had not thought, said he to Joseph, to see
thy face ; and lo, God hath showed me also thy seed. How much
better is God to us than our fears ! Only let us wait with faith
and patience, and our desponding thoughts will be turned into
songs of praise.
Ver. IS-— 14. After this affectionate embrace, Joseph brought
forth the two young men from between his father's knees, and
bowed himself with his face to the earth, in token of thankfulness
for the kindness conferred upon himself and his sons, and in ex
pectation of a further blessing. And having probably observed
the order in which his father had spoken of them, putting Ephraim
before Manasseh, (ver. 5.) he wished to correct it as a mistake,
and therefore placed the young men according to their age,
Ephraim towards Israel's left hand, and Manasseh towards his right
hand, and in this manner presented them before bim. But the
conduct of the patriarch was not thus to be corrected. God, from
whom the blessing proceeded, directed him in this case to Cross
hands. Nor is this the only instance in which the order of nature
is made to give way to that of grace ; for of this Jacob himself had
been an example.
Ver. 15, 16. In this attitude Jacob proceeds to bless the lads.
And he blested Joseph, and said God, before whom my fathers
Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my lifelong
unto this day, the Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the-
lads ! And let my name be named on them, and the name of my--
fathers Abraham and Isaac ; /and let them p-yu into a multitude- itt

394 THE BLESSING OF [Discourse LVI.
the midst of the earth. Observe, (1.) Though Ephraim' and
Manasseh were each constituted heads of tribes, yet they were
blessed in the pereon of their father Joseph : He blessed Joseph,
&c. In this as in many other instances, God would exemplify the
great principle on which he designed to act in blessing mankind
in the name and for the sake of another. (2.) Jacob, though
now among the Egyptians, and kindly treated by them, yet makes
no mention of their gods, but holds up fo his posterity the living
and true God. In proportion as Egypt was kind to the young peo
ple, such would be their danger of being seduced : but let them
remember the dying words of their venerable ancestor, and know
from whence their blessedness cometh. (3.) The God whose
blessing was bestowed upon them was not only the true God, but
the God of their fathers ; a God in covenant with the family, who
1 ived them, and was loved and served by them. God, before whom
my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk. How sweet and en
dearing the character ; and what a recommendation of these holy
patterns to the young people. ! Nor was he merely the God of
Abraham and Isaac, but Jacob himself also could speak well of his
name ; adding. The God who fed me all my life long unto tliis day !
Sweet and solemn are the recommendations of aged piety.
" Speak reproachfully of Christ," said the persecutors of Polycarp,
when leading him to the stake. " Eighty-six years I have served
him," answered the venerable man, " during all which time he
never did me any injury : how then can I blaspheme him who is
my King, and my Saviour ?" Hearken, oh young people, to this
affecting language ! It is a principle dictated by common pru
dence, Thine own friend, and thy father's friend, forsake not : and
bow much more forcibly does it apply to the God of your fathers ! .
(4.) This God is called the Angel who redeemed him from all
evil. Who this was, it is not difficult to decide. It was the Angel,
no doubt, with whom Jacob wrestled and prevailed, and con
cerning whom he said, / have seen God face to face, and my life
is preserved.* (5.) The blessing of God under all these endear
ing characters is invoked upon the lads, their forefathers' names
put upon them, and abundant increase promised to them. Surely
* Chap. xxii. 24— 30. Hos. Xii. 2;

Chapter XLVIII.] JOSEPH'S SONS. 395
it is good to be connected with them that fear God : yet those
only who are of faith will ultimately be blessed with their faithful
predecessors. Ver. 17 — 20. Joseph's enjoyment of this sweet and solemn
blessing was sadly interrupted by the unpleasant circumstance of
his father's crossing his hands, and he could not refrain from res
pectfully remonstrating. Thus our frail minds are liable to
be ruffled by some trivial event, even on the most solemn
occasions, and so to lose the advantage of some of the happiest
opportunities, Jacob, however, is not to be dissuaded. He had
been guided by an unseen hand ; and like Isaac, after having
blessed him, he could not repent. / know it, my son, said he, I
know it — He shall be great ; but truly his younger brother shall be
greater than he. God is as immutable as he is sovereign. It does
not become us to contend with him; and it is to tbe honour of
Joseph that as soon as he perceived his father knew what he did,
believing him to be directed from above, he acquiesced. Hence
the patriarch went on without further interruption, saying, In thee
shall Israel bless, saying, God made thee as Ephraim, and as
Manasseh !
Ver. 21. A word or two more to Joseph, and the present
interview is closed. / die, sajd Israel ; but God shall be with you
and bring you again unto the land of your fathers. All that he had
said before tended to break off their attachment to Egypt, and to
fix their faith in the divine promise : such also was the design of
these words. How satisfactory is it lo a dying saint to consider
that God lives, and will carry on his cause without him as well as
with him ! The great John Owen, two days before he died,
(which was in 1683, a time when popery and arbitrary power
threatened to overspread the land,) thus wrote in a letter to a
friend : — " I am leaving the ship of the church in a storm ; but
whilst the great Pilot is in it, the loss of a poor under-rower will
be inconsiderable."
Ver. 22. One more special token of love is added to Joseph's
portion ; namely, a parcel of ground which had been originally
bought of the sons of Hamor ; but, as it would seem, being seized
by some of their descendants, Jacob was necessitated to recover it

396 JOSEPH'S PORTION. [Dmcourie LVI.
by force of arms.* This portion he gave to Joseph, and the tribe
of Ephraim afterwards possessed it. t The hazard at whic h this
portion was obtained would no doubt endear it to Joseph ; for we
prize those things which they who were dear to us acquired at a
great expense. On this principle we have often been admon
ished to hold fast our civil liberties. On this principle espe
cially, it becomes us to value our religious advantages, for
which so much blood has been shed. And on this principle we
are called to prize, more than any thing, the hope of the gospeL
to obtain which our Saviour laid down his life !
* Chap, xxxiii. 18—20- + John iv. 5.

DISCOURSE LVIL

JACOB S BLESSINGS ON THE TRIBES.

Gen. xlix.
Ver. 1, 2. Jacob, having blessed Joseph's sons, and feeling
that he drew near his end, sent for the rest of his children, that
he might, in the same prophetic style, declare to them what should
befall them, and their posterity after them. The solemn manner
in which he called them together, and bespoke their attention,
shows, that, being under a divine inspiration, he would deliver
things of great importance ; and such as, corresponding in many
instances, not only with the meaning of tbeir names, but with their
personal conduct, would furnish matter for reflection and encour
agement. Ver. 3,4. Reuben, being his first-born son, ii first addressed.
He is reminded of his superior advantages. He was the first
effect of his might, or the beginning of his strength ; and to him,
as such, naturaUy belonged the excellency of dignity, and the excel
lency of power. But as Esau, and others, forfeited the birthright,
so did Reuben. His character did not answer to the dignity Of
his situation. He is charged with being unstable as water. The
word is used I believe, in only three other places in the Old
Testament,* and in them it is rendered light, or lightness: de
noting, not only a readiness to turn aside for want of solid prin
ciples, but that species of levity in particular which belongs to a
lascivious mind, and which is ordinarily denominated looseness, or
lewdness. Such was the spirit of Reuben, or he could not have
* Judgei ix. 4. Jer. xxiii. 32. Zeph. iii. 4.

JACOB'S BLESSINGS [Discourse LVII.
acted as he did towards Bilhah, his fathers wife.* The manner
in which the patriarch expatiates upon this crime, shows how
heinous it was in his eyes. Thou wentest up to thy father's bed;
then defiledst thou it. And to show his abhorrence, he turns away
from him, and addressed his. other sons, as it were by way of
appeal : He went up to my couch ! For this lewd behaviour he
is told, he shall not sxcel. It is a brief mode of expression, alluding
to the excellency of dignity and of power, which pertained to him
as the first-born ; and denotes that all his advantages were re
versed by his base conduct, and that which would otherwise have
been a blessing, was turned into a curse. The, double portion
was taken from him, and given, as we have seen, to Joseph,t the
kingdom to Judah, and the priesthood to Levi ; and thus the
excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power, were sep
arated from his tribe, which never sustained any conspicuous
character in Israel.
From what is said of Reuben, we may learn the offensive, the
debasing, and the dangerous nature of that light-mindedness which
indulges in 'filthiness and foolish talking, jesting and lewd behaviour.
Such appears to have been tbe spirit of the false prophets in the
times of Jeremiah, whose lies and lightness caused God's people
to err.J And such, alas, is the character of too many who sustain
the name of Christians, and even of Christian ministers, at this
day I Assuredly they shall not excel ; and without repentance,
woe unto them, when God shall call them to account !
yer, 5 — 7. The next in order of years are Simeon and Levi
who also in their posterity, shall reap the bitter fruits of their
early sins ; and having not only descended from tbe same parents,
but been associated in iniquity, they according to the meaning of
the name of the latter, are joined together in receiving the reward
Of it. At the time when these young men, with equal treachery
and cruelty, took each his sword and slew the Shechemites, Jacob
expresses his disapprobation of the deed : but now he censures it
in the strongest terms. Instruments of cruelty are in their habita.
tions; which is saying that they were bloody men. Ainsworth
* Chap. xxxv. 22. t Chap, xlviii. 4—7. J Jer. xxiii. 32.

Chapter XLIX.] ON THE TRIBES. 399
renders it, sojourning habitations, which heightens the sin, as
being committed in a place where they had no residence, but by
the courtesy oftlie country. O my soul, come not thou into their
secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united!
What we cannot prevent we must be contented to disavow, having
no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness. These
young men took counsel together : tbey were very careful to con
ceal their design from Jacob their father, knowing beforehand that
he would be certain to oppose their schemes ; and now Jacob is
no less careful to disavow all connexion with them in the horrid
deed. Such a disavowal, though it must give the most acute pain
to the sons, yet was worthy of the father. A great deal of evil had
, been wrought in his family : but be it known to all the world, by
the dying testimony which he bears against it, that it was altogether
contrary to his mind. And let young people hear and know, that
the crimes of youth will sometimes find them out. If they repent
and obtain mercy, as there is reason to believe these young men
did, yet they shall reap the bitter fruits of their sin in the present
life : and if they remain impenitent, tribulation and anguish will
overtake them in the next.
The crime of these brethren is thus described : In their anger
they slew a man, even Hamor, king of the country, as well as
Shechem his son ; and that, not in the open field of contest, but
by assassination ! Anger in general is outrageous ; but in young
men, whose immature judgment and slender experience afford but
little check to it, it is commonly the most mischievous. In their
self-will they digged down u wall, or as some render it, they hough.
ed the oxen.* The former would express their breaking into
houses to murder the inhabitants, and the latter their cruelty,
extending even to the dumb animals. Anger, when accompanied
with self-will, rages like fire before the wind. How important is
the government of one's own spirit : and considering what human
nature is, what a mercy it is that the wrath of man is under the
divine control ! If Simeon and Levi had not repented of this sin,
it is likely that the curse, like that of Noah on Canaan, would have
* So the LXX, •? th titAofn.it. iurZt bwpmiiriitrx* TaHifor. But rather, " They
exterminated a prince." See p. 343.
Vol. V. 50

400 JACOB'S BLESSINGS [Discourse LVII.
fallen upon their persons ; but as it was, it alights only upon their
dispositions and actions : Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce ;
and their wrath, for it was cruel ! God in mercy forgave them,
but took vengeance of their inventions. And with respect to the
tribes of which they were the heads, they were to be divided and
scattered in Israel. " The Levites," says Mr. Henry, " were scat
tered throughout all the tribes, and Simeon's lot lay not together,
and was so strait that many of that tribe were forced to disperse
themselves in quest of settlements and subsistence. This curse
was afterwards turned into a blessing to the Levites ; but the
Simeonites, for Zimri's sin, had it bound on. (Numb, xxv.)
Shameful divisions are the just punishment of sinful unions and
confederacies." Ver. 8 — 12. From what was said of the first three sons, the
rest might begin to tremble, lest the whole should be a succession
of curses instead of blessings. But in what respects Judah, we
see a glorious reverse. The blessedness of this tribe principally
consists in that blessing which was in it, the Lord Messiah. Judah,
saith the patriarch, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise ;
thy hand shalt be in the neck of thine enemies : thy father's children
shall bow down before thee. In the first sentence, allusion is had
to his name, which signifies praise ; and the meaning of the whole
is, that this tribe should be distinguished, first by its victories over
the Canaanites, and afterwards by its being the tribe which God
would choose, to bear rule in Israel. Hence also it is represented
in verse 9, by a lion, the most majestic of animals, and the proper
emblem of royalty. Much of this prophecy was doubtless fulfilled
in David, and his successors : but all was prefigurative of the
Messiah, who, in allusion to this passage, is called the Lion of the
tribe of Judah. In him all that is said of Judah is eminently
fulfilled. He is indeed the object of praise, his hand has been in
the neck of bis enemies, and before him his brethren have bowed
down. Grappling with the powers of darkness, we see him as a
lion tearing the prey ; ascending above all heaveus, as a lion going
up from the prey ; and seated at the right hand of God, as a lion

Chapter XLIX.] ON THE TRIBES. 4CH
couchant, or at rest after his toils, where it is at the peril of the
greatest monarchs to rouse him up.*
That which before is represented under strong figures, is, in
verse 10, declared plainly ; viz. that Judah should be the govern
ing tribe, and that its chief glory should consist in the Messiah,
who should descend from it : yea, the very time of his coming is
marked out. The sceptre, or government, should not depart from
Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come.
The government departed from ten tribes, out of the twelve, during
the reign of Hezekiah, and has never been restored: but Judah
continued to rule with God. At length they also were carried
into captivity ; yet God's eye was upon them, and in seventy
years they were restored. And notwithstanding the many over-
turnings of the diadem, by the successive monarchies of Persia,
Greece, and Rome, yet it continued till the coming of Christ. The
theocracy then being dissolved, and the power given to him whose
right it was, Judah in a few years ceased to be a body politic, or
to have any government of its own. If there be such a thing as
an irrefragable proof, surely this is one, that Shiloh, the
peaceable, and prosperous, the Saviour is come ; and it is a mark
of judicial blindness and hardness of heart, in the Jews, that tbey
continued to disbelieve it.
Of Shiloh it is added, To him shall the gathering of the people
be. As all the tribes of Israel gathered together, and anointed
David king in Hebron ; so all the tribes of men shall sooner or
later submit to the kingdom of Christ. During his ministry, his
enemies, touched with fear and envy, were ready to say, Behold
the world is gone after him ! And no .sooner was he lifted up upon
tbe cross, than he began to draw all men unto him. Multitudes of
his own countrymen, who had before seen no form nor comeliness
in him, now believed on him. Now also began to be fulfilled all
the prophecies which had gone before, of the calling of the Gen
tiles. For such was the value of his sacrifice and mediation, that
it was considered as a light thing for him merely to raise up the
tribes of Jacob : he must be a light to the Gentiles, and God's
* Psa, ii. 10—12.

402 JOSEPH'S BLESSINGS [Discourse LVH.
salvation to the ends of the earth. Nor has this promise yet spent
its force : probably the greater part of it is yet to be fulfilled.
What is foretold to the church in the 60th of Isaiah, of multitudes
of all nations gathering together unto ber, will be the accomplish
ment of this promise concerning Christ ; for those that are gathered
to her are first gathered to him.
The 11th and 12th verses are expressive , of the great plenty of
wine and milk which the tribe of Judah should possess. Vines,
even the most choice, should be so common, that you might have
tied your beasts to them, as you would here tie them to an elm or
ash ; or so abundantly productive, that it should be the ordinary
practice to bind a colt to the vine, and load it with its fruits. Wine
with them should be so plentiful, that you might have washed
your garments in it. The inhabitants, even the common people,
might drink of it till their eyes were red ; and such an abundance
should there be of the milk of kine, that their teeth might be white
with it.* This plenty oi milk and wine may have a farther
reference, however, to the plenty of evangelical blessings under
the reign of the Messiah, in the same manner as the dominion
ascribed to Judah has an ultimate reference to his dominion- The
language used by Isaiah, Come, buy wine and milk, without money
and without price, certainly refers to the great plenty of those
articles in the land of promise, and seems to allude to the very
words of Jacob in this prophecy.
Ver. 13. The blessing of Zebulon predicts the situation of that
tribe in the promised land. They should be a maritime people,
bordering upon the sea of Galilee eastward, and' upon the Medi
terranean on tbe west. Its border reached unto Zidon, does not
mean the city, but the country of that name, that is, Phenicia.
If the future settlement of the tribes had been ot choice, it might
have been said that they contrived to fulfil these predictions ; but
being by lot, the hand of God is seen, both in them and their
accomplishment. There seems to be a distinction made between
* Or it may be rendered,
His eyes shall be more sparkling; than wine,
And his teeth whiter than milk. See LXX.

Chapter XL1X.| ON THE TRIBES. 403
Zebulon being at the haven of the sea, and his being for a haven
of ships. The first may denote his advantages ; and the last the
benevolent use he should make of them, opening his harbours for
the reception of distressed mariners. We have all our situations
and advantages according to the will of God, and should be con"
cerned to employ them to a good purpose. This tribe had also
its disadvantages : being far from the seat of divine instruction,
its inhabitants are described as sitting in darkness. Upon them,
however, the light of the gospel, by the personal ministry of our
Lord, sprung up..
Ver. 14, 15. Next follows the blessing of Ittachar. The
character given to this tribe intimates that it should be addicted to
husbandry, as Zebulon was to the dangers and perils of the sea.
He is compared to a strong ass, couching down between two burdens;
not on account of any thing mean in him, but for his industrious,
patient, and peaceable disposition. This situation would neither
require tbe heroic qualities of Judah, nor the enterprising ones of
Zebulon ; and his disposition should coincide with it, preferring
the fruits of peace and industry, though obliged to pay tribute
for. them, to the more splendid fortunes Of commerce, or
triumphs of war. Some men would pronounce Issaehar, and
those of his mind, mean spirits ; but let not. this part of the
community be thought light of. If it be less brilliant, it is
not less useful than the others. The king is served by the
field. No condition of life has fewer temptations, nor is any more
friendly to true religion. Though the people of this tribe were
still and peaceable ; yet there were among them men who had
understanding of the timet, and who knew what Israel ought to do :
nor was it any disparagement to their brethren to be at their
commandment.* Ver. 16, 17. The blessing of Dan alludes to the meaning of
his name, that is, judging, and signifies that he should maintain his
authority ; not only in respect of his rank among the tribes, but
in the preservation of order in his own territory. His being
compared to a serpent by the way, an adder in the path ; that
biteth the horse-heels, so that his rider shall fall backward, would
* l Chron. xii. 32.

404 JACOB'S BLESSINGS [Discourse LVII.
seem to intimate, however, that the Danites would be a subtle and
mischievous people, carrying on their wars more b)' stratagem
and artful surprise, than by conflict in the open field. Such were
the wars of Samson, who was of this tribe, against the Philistines.
Ver. 18. Here the man of God seems to have paused, perhaps
on account of bodily weakness ; and lifting up his eyes, to heaven,
said, I have waited for thy salvation, 0 Lord. Had these words
followed the blessing of Judah, we might have supposed that the
salvation he referred to was the coming Messiah : but standing
where it does, it appears to have been merely a sudden ejaculation,
sent "up at the close of his pilgrimage, in a view of being delivered
from all its evils. It serves to show the state of the patriarch's
mind ; and that while pronouncing blessings on bis posterity in
respect to their settlement in the earthly Canaan, he was himself
going to a better country, even a heavenly one. When he thought
that Joseph was dead, he talked of going down into his grave
mourning ; and afterwards, when he found him alive, he seems as
if he could have descended into it rejoicing :* but it was not for
him to" determine the time of his departure, but to wait his ap
pointed time. Old age is the time for the patience of hope to bear
its richest fruits ; and a pleasant thing it is to see this and other
graces in full bloom, while the powers of nature are falling into
decay. Ver. 19. The patriarch resuming his subject, proceeds to
bless the tribe of Gad. His name signified a troop, and it is
intimated that they should be a warlike people. Their situation
was east of Jordan, where they were exposed to the incursions of
the neighbouring nations : particularly those of the Moabites, the
Ammonites, and the Syrians. But it is predicted, that however
they might for a time be overcome, yet they should overcome at
last ; and this exactly accords with their history.* In this bless
ing we see not only an example of the life of every believer, but
the wisdom of God in so ordering it, as an antidote' to presumption
and despair. Present defeats have a tendency to preserve us
* Chap, xxxvii. 35. xlvi. 30. t Judges x. xi. xii. 1 Chron. v. 18—22.

Chapter XLIX.] ON THE TRIBES. 405
from the one, and the promise of being finally victorious, from the
other. Ver. 20. Next follows Ather, whose name signifies the happy,
or the blessed, or making happy ; and with his name corresponds
his blessing. The meaning is, that his lot should be a rich one ;
yielding not only necessaries, but dainties, even royal dainties. Such
is the lot of a few in this world, and it is well that it is but a few ;
for while men are what they are, great fulness would soon render
them like Sodom and Gomorrah.
Ver. 21. Naphtali is described by a hind let loose, and is said
to give goodly words. The description would seem to hold up,
not a warlike tribe, nor a tribe noted for its industry; but rather
a people distinguished by their vivacity, timidity, and softness of
manners. The diversity of natural dispositions contribute, upon
the whole, to human happiness. Men have their partialities,
some to this, and others to that ; and if their wishes could be grat
ified, would commonly shape all others by their own favourite
model : but after all, variety is the best. As the delicate could
not subsist without the laborious and tbe resolute ; so many a
rugged spirit, both in the world and in the church, would be worse
than useless, but for its union with others more gentle and affec
tionate. Ver. 22 — 26. We next come to the blessing of Joseph, and on
this the patriarch delights to dwell. His emblem, taken from the
meaning of his name, is that oi a fruitful bough, situated by a well,
by which its roots were watered, and its branches caused to run
over the wall. The meaning is, that his posterity should be dis
tinguished by their extraordinary increase. But now the imagery
is dropped, or rather changed, and his personal history reviewed.
He was attacked at an early period, as by a band of archers, who
sorely grieved him, shot at him, and hated him. There is a deliea-
cy in his speaking 'of the brethren, (who were standing by,) in the
third person rather than the second, and that under a figure : let
him express it, however, in what form he will, they must feel it.
He adds, But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands
were made strong by the mighty God of Jacob ; from thence is the
shepherd, the stone of Israel. As his brethren were a band of

406 JACOB'S BLESSINGS [Discourse LVII.
archers, he is described under the same character, but as one only
against many. Their arrows were those oi hatred; but his of love,
overcoming evil with good. They strengthened one another in an
evil cause ; but he was strengthened by the mighty God of Jacob.
In these particulars, surely,' he was a type of Christ ; and still
more in being, by the blessing of the God of Jacob, the shepherd
and stone of Israel ; providing for their wants, and supporting
their interests.
In blessing Joseph, Jacob feels his heart enlarged ; pouring
upon him the blessings of almighty God, the God of his father ;
blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth
under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb ; intimating
also that his power of blessing when terminating on him ex
ceeded that of his fathers, extending not only to the land in
general, but to the very mountains, on which his children should
reside. And that which drew upon his head all these blessings
was the painful, but endearing circumstance, of his having been
separated from his brethren.
Joseph considered his separation as ordered of God for the good
of others (Chap. xiv. 7, 8.); and be seems all along to have acted
upon this principle: but a life so spent shall lose nothing by it in
the end. God will take care of that man, and pour the richest
blessings upon his head, whose great concern it is to glorify him, and
do good in his generation. Jacob felt much for Joseph's separa
tion. The spirit of his benediction was, By how much he was
afflicted for the sake of others, by so much let him be blessed and
honoured, and that to the latest posterity! And such is the mind
of God, and all his true friends, concerning a greater than Joseph.
For the suffering of death, he is crowned with glory and honour. —
And I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne, and
the living creatures, and the elders .• and the number of them was
ten thousand limes ten thousand, and thousands of thousands ; say
ing, WORTHY is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power,
and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and
blessing! — Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in
Ms own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and
kis Father; to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Chapter XLIX.] ON THE TRIBES. 407
Ver. 27. The last blessing is that of Benjamin. Of him it is
said, He shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the
prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil. In this we see that it
should be a warlike tribe ; and this it was, or it could not have
resisted all the tribes of Israel in the manner it did, as recorded in
the last chapters of Judges. But this is saying no more than might
have been said of many of the heathen nations. If Jacob had been
influenced by natural affection, there had doubtless been some
thing tender in the blessing of Benjamin, as well as in that of
Joseph : but he was guided by a spirit of prophecy, and therefore
foretold the thing as it was.
Ver. 28. Such were the tribes of Israel, and such the blessings
wherewith their father blessed them. But how blessed them ? It
might be thought that the first three at least were cursed, rather
than blessed. No, they were rebuked, but not cursed, nor cast
off, like Esau : they still continued among the tribes of Israel. It
must have"been very affecting for these brethren thus to stand by,
and hear, as from the mouth of God, what would be the con
sequences of their early conduct on their distant posterity : and
as their minds were now tender, it may be supposed to have
wrought in them renewed repentance, or gratitude, as the subject
required. Ver. 29 — 33. The patriarch now gives directions concerning
his burial. He desires to be interred, not in Egypt, but in the
burying-place at Mamre, where lay Abraham and Sarah, Isaac
and Rebecca, and Leah. If he had been governed by natural
affection, he might have chosen to lie by the side of his beloved
Rachel : but he died in faith, and therefore requests to mingle
dust with his fathers, who had been heirs with him of the same
promise. Having said all he had to say, he cheerfully resigned
his soul into the hands of him that gave it, and was numbered with
his departed ancestors.
Thus died Jacob ; a man whose conduct on some occasions was
censurable ; whose life was filled up with numerous changes ; but
whose end was such as his worst enemies might envy.
Vol. V. 51

DISCOURSE LVIII.
THE BURIAL OF JACOB  JOSEPH REMOVES THE FEARS OF HIS
BRETHREN  THE DEATH OF JOSEPH.

Gen. 1.
Ver. 1. We have seen the venerable patriarch yielding up the
ghost ; and now we see the expressions of affection towards him
by the survivors. Let the memory of the just be blessed. It
was revealed to Jacob in his life-time, that Joseph should put his
hand upon his eyes ; and Joseph not only did this, but in the ful
ness of his heart, fell upon his face after he was dkad, and wept
upon him, and kissed him. This is all that we can do towards the
most beloved objects, when death has performed his office. The
mind is gone ; the body only remains ; and of this we must take
a long farewell. Faith, however, looks forward to a joyful resur
rection, and teaches us not to sorrow as those that have no hope.
Ver. 2. Joseph next proceeds to have the dead body embalmed
with sweet spices. This was an art carried to great perfection in
Egypt : the effects of it are not totally extinct even to this day.
It was suitably applied in the present instance, not only as an
honour done to a great and good man, but as a means of preserving
the body from putrefaction, during its removal to Canaan.
Ver. 3. Nor was this the only honour that was paid to him.
The family no doubt mourned very sincerely for him ; and to
express their respect for Joseph, the Egyptians, probably the
court and the gentry, went into mourning ; and not merely forty
days, which was customary it seems for every one who had the

410 THE BURIAL' OF JACOB. [Discourse LVIlr.
honour of being embalmed, but in this instance, another month
was added. The customs of polite nations, though often consisting
of mere forms, yet serve in some instances to show what should be.
They express, in this case, a respect for departed worth, and a
sympathy "with afflicted survivors, weeping with them that weep.
Ver. 4 — 6. The days of formal mourning being ended, Joseph
next proceeds to the burial of his father. But for this he must
first obtain leave of absence from the king ; and desirous of con
ducting the business with propriety, he applies to some of the
royal household to make the request for him : not, as some have
supposed, because it was improper for him to appear before the
king in mourning apparel ; for the days of his mourning were past ;
but with a view of honouring the sovereign, and cultivating the
esteem of those about him. A modest behaviour is said to be
rarely found in royal favourites : but by the grace of God it was
found in Joseph. The plea he urged was nothing less than his
being under a solemn oath, imposed upon him by. the dying request
of his father : a plea to which Pharaoh could make no objection,
especially as it was accompanied with the promise of a return.
Ver. 7 — H. We now behold the funeral procession. The
whole family (except their little ones, who with their cattle, were
left behind) were, as we should say, the first followers ; but all
the elders of respectability of the court and of the country, with
both chariots and horsemen, were in the train. It was a very
great company, not only in number, but in quality. For grandeur
and magnificence it is said to be without a parallel in history. This
great honour was not in consequence of any wish on the part of
Jacob : all he desired was, to. be carried by his sons, and buried
in the land of promise. His desire was that of faith, not of am
bition. But, as in the case of Solomon, seeing he asked for that
which God approved, he should have his. desire in that, and the
other should be added to it. Thus God delights to honour those
who honour him. And as it was principally for Joseph's sake that
this great honour was conferred on his father, it shows in what high
esteem he was held in Egypt, and serves to prove that, whatever
modern adversaries may say of his conduct, he was considered at
the time as one oftlie greatest benefactors to the country.

Chapter L.J THE BURIAL OF JACOB. 41 1
Nothing remarkable occurred in the procession, till they came
to the threshing-floor of Atad, which was within the land of Canaan,
near to Jericho, and not many miles from the place of interment.
Here they stopped, it would seem, for seven days, performing
funeral obsequies, or mourning with a great and sore lamentation.
So great was it, that it drew the attention of the Canaanites, who,
on seeing and hearing what passed, observed one to another, This
is a grievous mourning to the Egyptians ; (for such they consid
ered them, seeing they came from Egypt;) wherefore the name
of the place was afterwards called, Abel-Mizraim — the mourning of
tine -Egyptians.
Ver. 12 — 21. Joseph and his brethren, having buried their
father in the place where be requested to lie, return to Egypt,
with the company which went with them. The pomp and hurry
of the funeral, while it lasted, would occupy their attention; but
this having subsided, the thoughts of the ten brethren were direct
ed to other things. The death of great characters being often
followed by great -changes, conscious guilt being always alive to
fear, and the chasm which succeeds a funeral inviting a flood of
foreboding apprehensions, they find out a new source of trouble :
' Peradventure, all the kindness hitherto shown us has been only
for our father's sake . . . Peradventure, Joseph, after all, never
forgave us in his heart .... nnd now our father is dead, so as not
to be grieved by it, peradventure he will feel that hatred to us
which we once felt to him ; and if so, he will certainly requite the
evil which we have done unto him.' O jealousy ! Is it not rightly
said of thee, Thou art cruel as the grave ?
But how can they disclose their suspicions ! To have done it
personally, would have been too much for either him or them to
bear, let him take it as he might. So they sent messengers unto
him, to sound him. We know not who they were ; but if Benja
min were one of them, it was not more than might be expected.
Mark the delicacy, and exquisite tenderness of the message.
Nothing is said of their suspicions, only that the petition implies
them : yet it is expressed in such a manner as cannot offend, but
must needs melt the heart of Joseph, even though he had been
possessed of less affection than he wa=. (1.) They introduce

412 JOSEPH REMOVES [Discourse LVIII.
themselves as acting under the direction of a mediator, and this
mediator was none other than their deceased father. He com
manded us, say they, before he died, that we should say thus and
thus. And was it possible for Joseph to be offended with them
for obeying his orders ? But stop a moment — May not we make a
similar use of what our Saviour said to us before he died ? He
commanded us to say, Our Father— forgive us our debts. Can we
not make the same use of this, as Jacob's sons did of their father's
commandment ? (2.) They present the petition as coming from
their father, Forgive, I pray thee, the trespass of thy brethren, and
their sin ; for they did unto thee evil. And was it possible to
refuse complying with his father's desire ? The intercessor, it is
to be observed, doesnot go about to extenuate the sin of the offend
ers ; but frankly acknowledges it, and that if justice were to take
its course, they must be punished. Neither does he plead their
subsequent repentance as the ground of pardon ; but requests
that it may be done for his sake, or on account of the love which
the offended bore to him. (3.) They unite their own confession
and petition to that of their father. It was certainly proper that
they should do so : for though they no more plead their own
repentance as the ground of forgiveness, than the mediator had
done, yet it was fit they should repent, and acknowledge their
transgressions, ere they obtained mercy. Moreover, though they
must make no merit of any thing pertaining to themselves ; yet if
there be a character which the offended party is known to esteem
above all others, and they be conscious of sustaining that character,
it will be no presumption to make mention of it. And this is what
they do, and that in a manner which must make a deep impression
upon a heart like that of Joseph. And now, we pray thee, forgive
the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father ! It were
sufficient to have gained their point, even though Joseph had been
reluctant, to have pleaded their being children of the same father,
and that father making it, as it were, his dying request : but the
consideration of their being the servants of his father's God, was
overcoming. Were we to look back to some former periods of
their history, we could not have considered them as entitled to
this character : but since that time God had brought them through

Chapter L.J HIS BRETHREN'S FEARS. 413
a series of trials, by means of which he had turned them to himself
And though they are far from considering their present state of
mind as obliterating the guilt of the former crimes ; yet knowing
that Joseph was himself a servant of God, they knew that this
consideration would make a deep impression upon him. It is no
wonder, that at the close of this part of the story, it should be
added, And Joseph wept when they spake unto him !
But this is not all : they go in person, and fall before his face,
and offer to be his servants. This extreme abasement on their part
seems to have given a kind of gentle indignation to Joseph's feelings.
His mind revolted at it. It seemed to him too much. Fear not,
saith he : for am t in the place of God? As if he should say, It
may belong to God to take vengeance ; but for a sinful worm of
the dust, who himself needs forgiveness, to do so, were highly
presumptuous : you have therefore nothing to fear from me.
What farther forgiveness you need, seek it of him.
Ver. 20, 21. There was a delicacy in the situation of the ten
brethren, in respect to this application to Joseph, as it would imply
a doubt of his former sincerity. They were aware of this, and
therefore in every thing they say, whether by messenger, or in
personal interview, are carefnl to avoid touching upon that sub
ject. Nor is there less delicacy in Joseph's answer. He does
not complain of this implication, nor so much as mention it : but
his answering them in nearly the same words as he had done
seventeen years before, Ye thought evil against me; but God
meant it unto good, to bring to pass as it is this day, to save much
people alive ; I say, his answering them in this language was saying
in effect, ' Your suspicions are unfounded : what I told you seven
teen years ago, 1 meant ; and the considerations which then
induced me to pass over it, induce me still to do the same. Now,
therefore, fear ye not: I will nourish you and your little ones. I
will not be your master, but your brother, and as it were, your
father.' In this manner did he comfort them, and spake kindly
unto them.
Ver. 22, 23. Joseph was about fifty-six years old when his
father died : he must therefore have lived fifty-four years after
wards ; during which period he saw Ephraim's children of the

414 DEATH OF JOSEPH. [Discourse LVIII.
third generation ; and the grandsons of Manasseh were brought
up, as it were, upon his knees.
Ver: 24 — 26. And now the time draws near that Joseph also
must die ; and like his worthy ancestors, he dies in faith. (1.)
He is persuaded of the Iruth of God to his covenant promises.
I die ; saith he ; and God shall surely visit you, and bring you
out of this land, unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac,
and to Jacob. (2.) Under the influence of this persuasion he
takes an oath of the children of Israel ; that when they should
depart from Egypt they would take his bones with them. Such a de
sire might have arisen merely from a wish to mingle dust with his
forefathers : but we are directed to attribute it to a higher motive.
It is in reference to this exercise of faith, that his name is enrolled
in the catalogue of believing worthies.* Having said all he wished
to say, he died, being a hundred and ten years old ; and they
embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt. As the burial
of Jacob in Canaan would attract the minds of Israel to that coun
try ; so the depositing of Joseph in a moveable chest, together
with his dying word, would serve as a memento, that Egypt was
not their home. * Heb. xi. 22.

CONCLUSION,

I have endeavoured to intersperse reflections on the various
subjects as they have occurred : but there are a few others which
arise from a review of the whole, and with these I shall conclude.
First : The truth of revelation and its leading doctrines. That
which accounts for things as they are, or as they actually exist in
Ihe world, and that in such a manner as nothing else does, carries
in it its own evidence. Look at things as they are, and look at
this, and you will find that as face answereth to face in water, so
dotb the one answer (o the other.
Look at the material creation around you ; and ask the philoso
phers of all ages, how it came into being ? One ascribes it to a
fortuitous assemblage of atoms ; another conceives matter to have
been eternal ; another imagines God himself a material being.
But revelation, like the light shining upon chaos, dissipates in a few
words all this darkness, informing us that, In the beginning, God
created the heavens and the earth.
Look at human nature as it now is ; depraved, miserable, and
subject to death. Ask philosophy to account for this. The task
will be found to surpass its powers. None can deny the fact,
that men are what they ought not to be ; but how they came to be-
so cannot be told. To say, as many do, that the stock is good,
but that it gets corrupt in rearing, is to reason in a manner that no
one would have the face to do in any other case. If a tree were
found, which in every climate, every age, every soil, and under
every kind df cultivation, brought forth the fruits of death, nobody
would hesitate to pronounce it of a poisonout nature. Such is the
account given us by revelation, and this book informs p« b^m.M„
Vol. V. 52

416 CONCLUSION.
became so. It is true, it does not answer curious questions on
this awful subject. It traces the origin of evil as far as sobriety
and humility would wish to inquire. It states the fact, that God
hath made man upright, and that he hath sought out many inventions :
hut there it leaves it. If men will object to tbe equity of the
divine proceedings, and allege that what is in consequence of their
first father's transgression, is on their part guiltless, they must go
on to object. Every man's conscience tells him he is accountable
for all he does from choice, let that choice have been influenced
by what it may ; and no man thinks of excusing his neighbour in
his ill conduct towards him, because he is a son of Adam. Out of
their own mouth, therefore, will such objectors be judged. But
if the doctrine of the fall, as narrated in this book, be admitted,
that of tealvation by free grace through the atonement of Christ
will follow of course. I do not say that redemption by Christ
could be inferred from the fall itself: but being revealed in the
same sacred book, we cannot believe the one without feeling tbe
necessity of the other.
Look at the page of history, and you will find yourselves in a
World, of the existence of which you can find no traces till within
about four thousand years. All beyond is darkness ; and all pre
tensions to earlier records carry in them self-evident marks of
fable. These things are accounted for in this book. If the world
were destroyed by a flood, there could no nations have existed
till a little before the times of Abraham. Nay, this book gives us
the origin of all tbe nations, and calls many of them by the names
which they sustain to this day.
Finally : Look at the antipathy which is every where to be
seen between tbe righteous and the wicked, between them that
fear God and them that fear him not. All the narratives which
have passed under our review, as those of Cain and Abel, Enoch
and his cotemporaries, Isaac and Ishmael, Jacob and Esau, are
pictures of originals which the world continues in every age to
exhibit. But this book traces this antipathy to its source ; and
gives us reason to expect its continuance till Satan and his cause
shall be bruised under our feet.

CONCLUSION. 417
Secondly : 2%e peculiar characters of sacred history. It is
the most concise, and yet comprehensive of any record that has ever
yet appeared in the world. In the book of Genesis only, we have
gone over the history of two thousand three hundred and sixty-
nine years. A common historian might have used more words in
giving us an account of one of Nimrod's expeditions. Yet it is not
like the abridged histories of human writers, which often contain a
string of unconnected facts, which leave no impression, and are
nearly void of useful information. You see human nature, as
created, as depraved, and as renewed by the grace of God : you
see the motives of men, and the reason of things, so as to enable
you to draw from every story some important Lison, some warn
ing, caution, counsel, encouragement, or instruction in righteous
ness. '
The reason of so much being included in so small a compass, is,
it is select. It is not a history of the world, but of persons and
things which the world overlooks. It keeps- one great object
always in view ; namely, the progress of the church of God, and
touches other societies and their concerns only incidentally, and
as they are connected with it. The things which are here record
ed are such as would have been mostly overlooked by common
historians, just as things of the same kind are overlooked to this
day. If you read many of even our Church Histories, you will
perceive but little of the history of true religion in them. There
is more of the genuine exercise of grace in a page of the life of
Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob, than you will frequently find here in a
volume. If the world overlooks God, and his cause, God in return
overlooks them and theirs. His history holds up an Enoch, and
preserves a Noah, while a world lying in wickedness is destroyed
by an overwhelming flood. It follows an Abraham, an Isaac, a
Jacob, and a Joseph, through all their vicissitudes, narrating the
trials and triumphs of faith in these holy men ; while the Ishmaels,
the Esaus, and all who apostatized from the true God, are given
up, and lost in the great world. It traces the spiritual kingdom
of God to its smallest beginnings, and follows it through its various
obstructions; while the wars, conquests, and intrigues of the great
nations of antiquity are passed over as unworthy of notice. In

418 CONCLUSION.
all this we see that the things which are highly esteemed among
men, are but lightly accounted of by the Lord ; and that He who
hath heaven for his throne, and earth for his footstool, overlooks
both, in comparison of a poor and contrite spirit.
Lastly : The slow, but certain progrett, of the- divine designs.
God promised Abraham a son when he was seventy-five years old ;
but be was not born till he was a hundred. And when he is born,
he lives forty years unmarried : and when married, under an
expectation of great fruitfulness, it is twenty years more ere
Rebekah bears children ; and then it is not without earnest prayer.
And now that he has two sons born, Jacob, in whom the promise
is to be fulfilled, lives seventy-five years single, and his life is a
kind of blank . and when he goes to Padanaram for a wife, he must
wait seven years longer ere he obtains her : and when he has a
family of children, they prove some ofthe worst of characters. The
only one that is any way hopeful is taken away, he knows not how ;
and a long series of afflictions follow one upon another, ere any
thing like hope makes its appearance. Yet all this while the
Lord had promised, / will surely do thee good ; and in the end the
good is done. God's ways fetch an astonishing compass. His heart
is large, and all his plans are great. He does not make haste to
fulfil his counsels ; but waits, and causes us to wait, the due.time.
But at that time they are all fulfilled.
We may observe a difference, however, as to the time taken
for the fulfilment of different promises. Those which were made
to Abraham's other children, and which had no immediate relation
to God's spiritual kingdom, as has been remarked in tbe course of
the work, were very soon accomplished, in comparison of that
which was confined to Isaac. Small legacies are often received
and spent before the heir comes to the full possession of his
inheritance. And even those which are made to the church o
God, and have respect to his spiritual kingdom, vary in some
proportion to their magnitude. God made promise of a son to
Abraham : five and twenty yeart elapse ere this is accomplished.
He also promised the land of Canaan for a possession to his pos
terity : there the performance required. a period of nearly five
hundred years. At the same time, Abraham was assured that the

CONCLUSION. 419
Messiah should descend from his loins, and that in him all the
nations of the earth should be blessed : this promise was nearly
two thousand years ere it came to pass. These events resemble
the oval streaks in the trunk of a tree, which mark its annual
growth : each describes a larger compass than that which precedes
it, and all which precede it are preparatory to that which follows.
The establishment of Abraham's posterity in Canaan was a greater
event than the birth of Isaac, and greater preparations were made
for it. But it was less than tbe coming of Christ, and required
less time and labour to precede it."
From this ordinary ratio, if 1 may so speak, in the divine admin
istration, we are. furnished with motives to patience, while waiting
for the fulfilment of promises to the church in the latter days.
The things promised are here so great and so glorious, that they
may well be supposed to fetch a large compass, and to require a
period of long and painful suspense ere they are accomplished.
The night may be expected to bear some proportion to the day
that succeeds it. It is a consolation, however, that the night with
us is far spent, and the day is at hand. The twelve hundred and
sixty years of antichrist's dominion, and of the church's affliction,
must needs be drawing towards a close : and a season so dark, and
so long, augurs glorious times before us. We may have our sea
sons of despondency, like the patriarchs ; but tbere will come a
time, and that probably not very distant, when what is said of
Israel in the times of Joshua, shall be fulfilled on a larger scale :
And the Lord gave them rest round about, according to all that he
sware unto their fathers — There failed not aught of any good
thing whith the Lord had spoken unto the house of Israel ; all
came to pass.

END OF THE FIFTH VOLUME.