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his darling, he would have struggled against it, and prayed against it, till he had brought his affection within just and equal bounds. The child he set his heart on was the cause of his bitterest grief. And do we not see the same thing every day? Prefer one of your children to the rest; say, as one of old, "this same shall comfort us;' and he will probably, either by his misconduct or his misfortunes, teach you that you have leaned upon a broken reed. Look at that father rejoicing in the fair promise he sees, or thinks he sees, in his best beloved son: mark how he carefully instils the maxims which he intends should guide him through life: observe the pride with which he dwells on his spirited conduct, and his delight in listening to the story of his exploits among his schoolfellows, or his success in his class. Let a few years pass away; and how changed the scene! the child he expected but too much from has disappointed his hopes, and is bringing down his grey hairs with sorrow to the grave.

V. 5-8. "And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it bis brethren."-Joseph's dream was a prophecy, it foretold his future greatness, and his superiority to his brethren,

V. 9-11, A second dream, in which not only "the eleven stars," but the "sun and the moon made obeisance to him, shewed that his father and mother, as well as his brethren, were to become dependant on him and pay him honor: and though Jacob reproved the conceit and vanity, which led him repeatedly to tell the dream, he saw there was something in it more than an idle imagination,-he "observed the saying," as a revelation from God.

"Shall I and thy mother." His own mother, Rachel, was dead. Leah, once slighted, was now acknowledged and honoured as the mother of the family.

V. 14-17. His going out from Shechem to

Dothan is probably noticed in the history, because it brought him into the track pursued by merchants passing from Gilead into Egypt.

V. 18-20. See how the indulgence of sin in the thoughts, prepares for the blackest crimes. How true it is," he that hateth his brother is a murderer." Who is there that has been offended, insulted, injured, stung to the quick, by the conduct of another, or provoked to jealousy by the success of a rival, that has not felt-"O that I could revenge myself! O that I could crush him at once!" and if, at the moment when your malignant passions are boiling within, your enemy were brought into your power, his reputation, his dearest interests, in your hands, would there be no temptation to strike the blow, to trample him under your feet?-Then beware of allowing your thoughts to dwell on the wrong; beware of suffering envy, evil surmisings, resentment, to rankle in your heart: you may turn your mind from the subject, you may force your thoughts to something else, or you may indulge them at your peril. "The works of the flesh are manifest, which are these,-hatred, variance, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like; of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God."

· V. 21, 22. Reuben was not so far gone in wickedness as the rest of the guilty party. Conscience would not suffer him to shed his brother's blood: yet he had not courage openly to protest against their scheme. Had he done so, his influence, as the eldest of the family, aided by the strong arm of truth and justice, would most likely have prevailed. It is surprising how a bold stand made for virtue, will sometimes overcome the wicked, even though they have power on their side.

V. 25.

66 They sat down to eat bread." What

!"

an idea of unfeeling cruelty, the mention of this trifling circumstance conveys! They had left Joseph to die of hunger, "for there was no water in the pit,"—or well, as it probably had been.

V. 26–28. Judah's heart smote him. With a hint that profit might be made by their brother, and an insinuation that they were incurring the guilt of murder, he prevailed on his companions in iniquity, to sell him, instead of leaving him to perish:-and, doubtless, they all supposed they were for ever delivered from the object of their hatred. But there was a Higher than they overruling their counsels, and making the wrath of man to praise Him. "God meant it unto good to save much people alive," is the interpretation which Joseph himself afterwards gave of the circumstances which brought him to Egypt.

The Ishmaelites and Midianites were two nations descended from Abraham; and though afterwards settled in different countries, were not yet so geparated but that they united together in their trading excursions, and the whole company was called, indifferently, Ishmaelites or Midianites.

It appears from verses 29 and 30, that Reuben was not concerned in the odious transaction of selling their brother; and his distress was great when he found his purpose of restoring the lad to his father was frustrated. "The child is not, and I, whither shall I go?"

V. 31-33. The cruel artifice by which they imposed on Jacob,-making the coat of many colours by which he had distinguished his favorite, the means of deceiving him, and acquainting him with his loss,-agrees but too well with the rest of their heartless conduct. "Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces," was the conclusion of their unsuspecting father. The idea of such cruelty never entered his mind; and they, probably, gloried in the success of their scheme, and, perhaps, felt little re

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morse, till adversity brought them to themselves: then conscience made itself heard "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." Thus it often is: you go on in a course of wickedness and deceit, and think little of it; but "be sure your sin will find you out:" you walk fearlessly in the ways of your heart, and in the sight of your eyes; but "know thou that for all these things, God will bring thee into judgment." The secret fraud, the petty theft, the repeated falsehood to hide what you do not wish to confess, the envious revengeful spirit you indulge, all pass off lightly now; but will they never rise up against you? You are treasuring up for yourselves matter for bitter anguish here, or "wrath against the day of wrath:"-sharp, too, are the stings of conscience, even in this world. I am not speaking of what happened in the days of Joseph, but of what takes place every day among ourselves. When sins committed and forgotten years ago, come into the mind-when the burdened heart is glad of the relief of pouring into the ear of a friend the confes sion of its guilt-when the tossed and wounded spirit can find no ease, and mournfully complains,

thou writest bitter things against me, and makest me to possess the iniquities of my youth"-when the word of God is opened for the first time with a real desire to know how pardon can be obtained, how sin can be covered;-then will you see the blessing of the promises of pardon through Christ. But this opportunity of seeking pardon may not be granted you. Flee then, from sin, now: seek to make your peace with God, now. Now is the accepted time. Lay not up for thyself misery for thy death-bed, and fearful forebodings of the wrath to

come.

On the Thirty-eighth Chapter of Genesis.

Pharez, the son of Judah, whose birth is the subject of this chapter, was the forefather of our Lord. And it is for the purpose of tracing the line of his descent, that the history of Joseph is interrupted by this narration.-What importance the word of God attaches to every particular concerning Him! T. B. P.

EXTRACT FROM A SERMON ON CONFIRMATION. (Continued from p. 202.)

Pray without ceasing.

2. IN the address of the Bishop at your confirmation you were exhorted to pray to God every day privately in your closet-a practice of such indispensable necessity to the christian life, that I would gladly impress the exhortation to observe it deeply upon your hearts.

This my young friends, is a duty which I trust you will never omit. Bend your knees, morning and evening, at the throne of heaven,-and "make your requests known unto God."-Daily solicit at the hands of God pardon for your daily sins-and thank him for your daily mercies. Beset as you are with dangers on every side-with a deceitful heart within, and an ensnaring world without—beg of God to give you grace and strength to renounce the devil, the world, and the flesh;-implore him to send his Holy Spirit into your hearts, that all your doings being ordered by his governance, you

Bishop of Chester.

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