Commentary on the Holy Bible

Verse 32. Comt, let ua make our foAer drink witui On their flight from ZoAr, it ia probable tluy hod brought with them certain provinoni to serve them tot die bein^ and the wine here mentioned among the rest.

After considering all diat has been said to cnmmaie both Lot and his daughters in this bOsiness, I cannot help thinking, that the transaction itself will bear a mors fiivouinble construction than that which has been generally put on iL — 1. It does not appear that it was throufh axtr rose or sensual desire that the doughto of Lot widwd to deceive their fedier. 2. They might have thought, that it would have been criminal to have married into any other bmily; and th^ knew that their husbands dect, who were probably of the same kindred, had perished in the overthrow or Sodom. 3. I^ey mi^t have supposec^ diat there was no other way left to preserve the family, and consequently, that righteouaness, for \rtiiA it hta been remarkable, but the way idiieh Ihey now todt. 4. They appear to have sunposei!^ Aat Hvar rather wouM noC come into the measure, because he would have considereif it OS profene; yet, judging the measure to be expedient and oeceraary, they enJeavour to aanetyfy the improper mean* used, by the ^oodneaa <tf the end at which they aimed | a doctrine which, though resorted to by many, shouM be reprobated by all. iusting on this bad pnneiple, they caused tfnir mther to driof wine.

Verse 33. Andhepere^vtdnotwhmAetay daanynar tehen, &c.] That is, he did not perceive me timt the came to his bed, nor the time she quitted it; consequently did not know mo it was that had lain with him. In thui transaction Lot appeara to me to be in many respeota excusable. I. He had no accurate knowledge of wiiat toelt place either on the first or second tii^t; therefore be con* not be supposed to have been drawn away by big own hnt, and enticeo. 'Huit he must have been sensible that moA person had been in his bed, it would be ridiculous to deny t out he might have judged it to have been some of his female domestics, wnieh, it is reasonable to nippew he might have brou^t IWtffi Zoar. 2. It is very likelydM he was deceived m the wine, as well as in the eomemieBeea i cither he knew not the strength of wise^ or wine of a superior power had been given to him on this occasion. As he bad in general followed the simple pastoral liffe, it is not to be woiMered at if he did not know the intoxicating power oFwine; and being an old man, and UDUsed to it, a amtUl portion would be soffieient to overcome bim; somid sleep would soon, at his dmetrf life, be the effeet of takit^ the liquor to vbidi he vat unacetutomed, and cause him ttt forget die effects of his intoxication. Except in this caae. his moral conduct stands unblemished in the Sacrwu Writings: and as the whole transaction, especially as it relates to him, ia capiible of an interpretation not wholly injurious to his piety, both reason and relig:iao oonjoin to reeomtnend that explanation. As to bis doiu^ten, let their ignoranea me real state of the case plead Inr toenr^

34 And It caBM to pass on the okorrow, that

uuii ui Bin <* uiio nigat also: and f^o uivu i... and He with hhR, that we may preserve seed of our father.

35 And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with bim; and he perceived aot when she lay down, nor when she &rO«e.

36 Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father.

37 And the firstborn bare a aon and called his name Moab: ^the same is the &ther of the BfoaUtes unto this day.

38 And the younger, she also bare a aon, and called his name Ben-ammi: the same i» the father of the children 'of Ammonuato this d^y.

mtut» tbftt can go: and let it be rememberecL that their ■in waa cf that veiy peculiar oatare, aa never to oe capable iA becoming a prmniUni. For it it icarcely poaaible, that any diall ever be able to plead similar circumatancea in Tindteatioa of a aimilar iins of eonduct.

Verw 37. Called hi* name AS)ab'\ ITiia name ia generally interweled tff the JiaAtr t or, according to CalmOj am Mxu, tlu water* ^ Ike father.

Verve 3S. JBen-amnU] "vsy p Beii^nmi, the eon nf wm jieapU. Both theae namea seem to juatify the view luen of thia aabjeet above, vix. that it waa merely to pnMTVe th^Jbmify that ibe dM^htera of Lot made uae of ths above ezpedisnti and bsBoe we do not find that dwy aver attempted to rmeat it; aiii^ had it been d<Hie tot any other purpeoe, ntey eertainly would not ha^ failed to do. On thia aabjeet Origen, m hia ^flh Homily on OeMeais, haa iheae remarkable worda: Ubi Ate Hbiainie evipa, ubi ineeaU eriminis argvUur? Qwrmodc di^Uur Mt Tino woD iroif muATVi is pacto 7 Vereor pnhqtti MHxt MMtios vereor, itujuam, ne eaetior JUeru harum facMfc*^ (fuam pwlfeaio atiiBarniii'^** Wber^ in all this innuaetioiv can the erine of hut or of incest be proved 1 How can this be pmnd to be a eic^ where the Jaet was fMMT npeaUd f J am afraid to speak my whole mind on tbe BUbject, leat the incest of Oiiae should ^>pear more laadable than the diaati^ of mnldtudea." There ia a diatinctioB made here by Origen, which ia worthy of observa. lioa. A ain^ bad act, tttoi^ a tin, doet not neceawily •nuB a ¥ieioiH bearli aa to be ffiewu^ a man mnat m WWHolsd to atnful acts.

Tbe ^eosralton which proceeded from diis incestuous eonnexion, whatever may be said in behalf of the transacitoB, (ilapecnliar drcumstances being considered,) was certshily a had one. "nte Moabitet aooa fell from the fiuth of God, and became itMattr; the people of Oumveh and ei Baai-Peor, Num. xxi. 29. xxv. 1—3. and were enemies to tbe children of Mmham. See Num. xzii. Judg. iii. 14, A«. And Am Ammonite*, who dwelt nrsr to the Bfoabitea, tmited with them in idalairy, and were also enemies to Israel. See Judsr. zi. 4, 24. DtnL xxiii. 3, 4. As both these people made afterward a considerable figure in the Sacred History, ^ impartia] inspired writer, ukee care to intmduee. at this early period, an aeeount of their arigin. See what has been said on the case of Noah's dninkennesa, Oen. ix. 20, Ac

*riiia is BO swliil history; and the eirvumstanees detailed Id it are as distressing to piety as to humanity. It may, however, be profitable to review the particulars.

1. Prom tbe eommeneementof the chapter, we find (hat the example and precepts of Abraham bad not been lost on bis nqibew Lot. He tOao, tfte hia uncle, watches for •n>ortunit)ee to call in the weary traveller. TIUs, Abrahun had taui^t his household; and we see the effect of this blessed teaching. Lot was both hotpitabU and pious, ibouch living in the midst nS a crvoked and perverse race. It must be granted, that from several circumatancea in hie Mstory, be ^>peara to have bees a wetufc man: but hie weakness was such, aa was not inconsislent wia general oprlghtnesB and sineerity. He and hia &mily were not forgetful to entertain strangers; and they alone were free IhMa tbe pollutions of this accursed people. How powerftil are tbe effects of a reli^ous edueation, enforced by pioas example! It is one of God's especial means of grace. Let a man eoty do justice to his fiunily,hy Mnging them ■pinihe fear of God, and he via erown it with his blees- M. How many excuse the profligacy of iheir family, wbieb is often entirely owing to their own ncplect, %■ s^wg— "€Hi, we cannot give them grace?" rfo, you MfUMi hut ynu can afford them the mean* of grace. Thia isyeur work) Mof ia the Lord's. If through your ■erlM eipreetpt and eniHpte, th-v perish, irtiat an awfUI

AND Abraham journeyed from < thence toward the south country, and dwelled between 'Eadesh and Sluir. and 'sojourned inClerar.

account must you give to the Judge of quick and dead I— It was the sentiment of a great man, that sboiUd the worst of times arrive, and nuunsuacy and ministry were both to fail, yet, if parents would but be laitUul to their trust, pure religion could not fail to be handed down to posterity, notb in its form and in its power.

2. Wehavealreadytieardof the wickedness of the inhabitants of the cities of the plain — the cup of their iniquirr was fUll — their sin was of no common magnitude, and what a terrible judgment fell upon them I Brimstone and fire are rained down from heaven upon these tradere in inimaitf: and what a corremondmee between the crime ana the punisbnsnf/ Th^ niroed in hut towwd cadi other; and God burned tbem up with fire and farimstooe. Their sin was unnatural; and Ood punished itby su^mtnatural means. Divine Justice not only observes a pro-

Krtion between tbe crime and the degree of punishment, t also between the species of crime, and the kind Ql punishment inflicted.

3. Disobedience to the command ot God must ever meet with severe reprehension, eapedally in diose wbo have already partaken of his grace, beranae these know bis salvation, and are justly supposed to possess, by his grace, the power of resisting oil solicitations to sin. Tlieservant who knew his lord's will, and did it not, was to be beaten wirb many stripes. See Luke zii. 47. — Lot's wife stand* OS an everlasting monument of admonition and caution to all biKkdidera. She ran well — she permitted Satan to bmder, and she died in her provocation I While we lament her fatcL we shoald profit by her example. To begin in the good way is welt; to amtinue in thepath is Setter; and xoveraetere unto me end, beat of all. The exliortation of our blessed Lord on tliis subject should awake our caution, and strongly excite our dilig»ee — R*memb«r lata w{fB j— On the conduct of Lot ud hia daughters, see tbe notes on ver. 31, itc

NOTES ON CHAPTER XX " Terse I. And Abraham Journeyed} It is very likely that this holy man was so deeply anected with the melancholy prospect of the ruined cities, and not knowing what was become of his nephew Lot and hie family, that lie could no longer bear to dwell within sight of Uie place. Having, therefore, struck his tents, and sojourned for a short Ume at Aiuiesft and <S4ur, he fixed bis habitation in Gerar, which was a ci^ of Aiabta Petnea, under a king of the Philistines, called Abiraelech, myJaOier king, who appears to have been not only ilie fqUler hia pe^rpU, mitalso a rirhteoiis man.

TeraeS. ia my Msftrl See the parallel account eh. xii.aiid the notes theie. Sarah waa now about mnely years of age, and probably pregnant With Isaac. Her beauty, therefore must have oeen considerably impaired since the time she was taken in a similar manner by Pharaoh, king of Egypt; but she was probably now chosen by Atninelech, more on the account of forming an ulHanee with Abraham, who waa very rich, than on aeoount of any personal accomplishments. A pet^ king, snch as Abimdech, would naturally be glad to nnn an alliance with such a powerful diief as Abraham was: we cannot but recollect his late deltat of tlie four confederate Otnaaiiitish kings. See on eh. xiv. 14, Ac Tliis circumstance was sufficient to establish his credit, and eauae his friendship to be coUrted; and what more efieetual means could Abimelech use in reference to this, than the taking Sarah to be his concubine, or second wife, which in those times had no kind of disgrace attached to itl

Verse 3. But Ood came to AbimeUeh) Urns we find (hat persons, who were not of the /amUy of Abraham, had the knowledge of the true God. Indeed, all the aerarilu are termed jrn -nj goi tsadik, a righieoua nation, ver. 4.

a And Abrahaia said of Sarah his wife, ■ She is mv ewter: utd Abimelech kvag of Gerar Bent, ■nd ^ took Sarah.

3 But ' God came to Abhnelech in a dream by night, and eaid to him • Behold^ thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she it ' man's wife.

4 But Abimelechhad notcome near

her: and he said, Lorb, • wilt thou sl^ also a righteous nation? ~ 5 Said he not unto me, She wr my Bister, and she, even slw herself said. He i$ raj brother: ■> in the i integrity of my heart, and huiocency of my hands, nave I done this.

6 And God said unto him in a dream. Yea, I kmtw that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for ^ I also withheld thee from limung I against me: therefore Buflered I thee not to touch her.

7 Now therefore restore the man At* wife; ■for he i« a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore her not ° know thou, that thou shalt surely die, thou, o and alt that are thine.

8 Therefore AI»raeIech. rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all

9 H Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said unto him. What hast thou done unto oa? and what have I offended thee,- p that thou haat brouffht on me and on my kingdom a great bib'/ thou nut done deeds unto me « that ought not tobedone. '

10 And Abimeledi said unto Akvaham, What sawest thou, that thou Imst ddne this thmg 1

11 And Abraham said, Because i thought, -Surely ' the fear of God u not in this place; and * they will slay me for my wife's sake.

13 And yet indeed ■ she ia my sister; she t« the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.

13 And it came to pass, when "God caused me to wander from my father's house, that I said unto her, This is thy kindness which thou shatt show unto me; at every place whither we shall come, * say at me. He u m7 brother.

' 14 1[ And Abim^ech * took sheep, and oxen, and men-servuts, and womeo-servanta. and gave fAem unto Alnaham and restorea him Barah his wife.

Verse S. In the inlvrity myheart, &c.] Had Abimelcdi any other thaji nonouraUe viewi in taking Sarah, be could not bave justified himself thus to hia Maker; ana that theee views were of the most honourable kiod, God hfanaelf^ to whom the appeal was mad& asserts, in the moat manner — Yeoy I know I/tat thou didst this in the integriiy t{f Qiy htart.

Verse 7. aeis a prophet, and he shall pray for Uwe] The word prophet^ which we have from the Greek wft^nrm, and which is compounded of v^g, before; and f VII, Itpeakj means in its general acceptation, one who tpeaJa qf Ihinga before ihty happen; i. e. one who fore- UlU faOm events. But that this was not the original notion of the word, its use in this place sufficiently proves Abraham certainly was not a prophet in the present generu acceptation of the term; ana for the Hebrew nahi, we must seek some other meaning. I have, in « discourse wtitled, "The Christian Prophet and bis Work, " proved, Aut the proper ideal meaning of the original wora, is, to pray, aitreiUf make mpplicalionf &c. and this meaning of itf I have justified at large, both &om its application in this place, and from its oointed use in the case of Saul, mentioned 1 Sam. x. aoa from the case of the priests of Baal, I EiWi xviii. where propheaving, most uiuoubtedly ouans, maiSng praifer, and mppfiaUum. As those who were io haUu of intimacy wiUi God bf prayer laiA/aUh, were found the ouMt proper persons to commontcate hia mind to man both with respect to the preaent and the jiiturt, hence tr^^J nabi, the xTiierctator, become, in process of time, the public inatructer or preacher j and also the predicter of future events) because to such fhjthfiil praying men God revealed die aeeret of his wilt. Hence oL Faul, 1 Cor. xiv. 3. seems to restrain ihe word wholly to the interpreting The mind of God to tlie people, and their. iostnictioB m divine things, for, says he, hs that projAesielh apcaketh unto mm to edification, and uJiortatton, and comfort. See die discourse on this text referred to above. Tlie title was also given to men ominent for eloauenoe and for Utemry anilities; hence Aaron, because no was the spnkeamon of Moees to the Egyptian king, was termed N^si nabi, prophet -, Elxod. iv. \S. and vii. 1. And Epimenides, a bealhen poet, is expressly aijled »-poti'?j. a prophet, by Sl Pawl, Til. i. 12. just aa pnets in general were lermM raics amoiif; the Romans, which properly signi&s the persons who professed to interpret tht arill <{/* the gods to (heir votaries, sftsr praytra and aacrifieea duly performed. In Arabic the word naba, has nearl)^ ine same loeaning as iu Hebrew; but in the first conjugation it has a meaning which may cast light upon the subject in general. It signifies to itinaraie, moee from one place or country to another, compelled thereto either by persecution, or the eonwnand of God; exivit de und regione in aliam. — -migrana de loco in locum. Gouub. Hence Mohunmed wsa called t5yjl on naU, because of his rai^cEen romovalfrom Mecca to JtUJina, when, pretending to a divtne commission, hia bnoiunun sought to take avav kis 90 • life. I S^cca exiena Medhwn^ undo Muhaanmsd ssiss iJSi tfij dietuafiui. Gouos. If this meaning bslonpd originally to the Hebrew word; it will apply with ffmt force to the case sf Abrabam, whose migratuy, itintn&i kind of life, genendly under the immediate directioa oC God, might have given him the title noiii. Howavet thw may be, the term was a title of the highest req>ectafaiUM and honour, both among the Hebrews and Arabs, ain conliBues so to this day. And from the Hdirswa, the word, in all the importance and dignity of its meaaing, wojs introduced amone die heathpia, m the r^fnTnc and mtas of the Greeks and Romans. See on die word tear. Gnu XV. 1.

Verse B. Abimelech rose early,, &c.] God esae to Abimelech in a dream by night, and we find, as the daj broke, he arose, assembled his servants, what we would call biactmrfiera, and coumunicaied to them what ha bsd received firom God. Thejr were all slruek widi sstoniJi ment, and discerned the band (rf God. Abraham is then called, and in a most respectful and pious manner, the king expostulates with him. for bringioR him and hia Lieople under the Divine diwleasure, by wiuiholding from him the information that Saiah was tiis wife;^ vmo, Iw taking hgr, he souglA only an honouralile allieaca win bis fiuiily.

Verse 11. And Altraham aaid\ The best ezeusa hs could make for his eonduct, which, in thia instasee, is fu

Verse 12. She is my sister] I have not told a He, I haw suppressed only a pari of the truth. In this place it may be proper to ask. What is a lie? It is any action done^ or word spoken, whether true or ffdse in itself which the doer, or speaker wishes the observer or hearer, to lake in n contrary sense to that which he knows to be true. It in a word, any action done, or speech delivered, widi Aa inltntion to acceiae; thougli both may he aboolutely tnw and right ia themselves; see the note on rhim. xiL 13.

I'he dmiqhter qf ' my father, but not my mof&v) Ebn Batrik in his annus, among other ancient tradtlioa^ 1ms preserved the following; " Temh first married Yoma^ by wnomhehodAbrahaia; afterward he married Tduviia, by whom he had Sarah. " Thus she was the sister ot Aljmham, being die daughter of the same father, by « different motlicr.

Verse 13. When God caused me to wander] Here tbo wofd ovHh Elohim is used widi a plural verb (lynn hiOuu, cuued me to wander,) which is very unusual is the Haln«w language, as this plural noun is geoeially joined with verba in the singular number. Beoauss tliere is a departure from the general mode io this iastanoe» some have contended that the word Elohim signifiwi princea, in diis place, and suppose it to refer to tnoae in Chaldea, who expelled Abraham, because he would <* atH worship the Jlre but the beat critics, and with them Iha Jeica, allow that Eiohim here, signifies the <nM OsdL Abraliam probably refers to hia first cali.

15 And Abimelech said, Behold, 'my lend is Wfbrc thee; dwell ^ where it pleaecth Ihee.

!6 And onto Sarah he aaid, Behold, I have rtven ' thv brother a thousand fnecea ot silver: ^behold, he is to thee ■ a. covering erf the eycB, xmtxt all that are ni&i thee, and vRth all ether: ^Ihua she was rebrered.

17 Tl So Ahrahnra « prayed nnto God: wid Ood healed Abimelech, and his wife, -and his maid-BervsntB; and the; bare children.

18 For the LiOKd ^had fart closed v.p all the wombs of the houw of Abimeleeh, betxtnse of Sarah, Abraham's wife.

wmaii, K. bhnd imirttt on <ba noinitnn. tank rnnha tlwt tnth Iw and talt ■MdMrlLifv ma)>■ dfiZiKl, ^ la Mnhu dlMimJ bo U» lemuu

AKD the Lord ■ visited Sarah aa he had, said, and the Lord did unto Sarah " aa he had spoken. 8 For Sarah < eoneelred, and bare Abraham a

■ay? Bere there ii Hwcety anr agreemeiit amone inter* praters: the Hebrew* ia ezeMdingly obsewc^ and every tnterpreter takes It id hia own tenae.

A Ihotttand pieces a/ nttir] Shkkslb are veir probably meant here, and bo the Tarynn understand! ft. The SeptuagiiU \um x<xi* tiSftTj", a thouBanil didrachma, no doubt meauing AdeeU; for in chap, xxiii. 1& 16. this translatian usea tiif>x:>.> for theHebrcwVpvtftexe/. AmiJutkat •ignifies literally to vxigk, and the shekel Avaa a coin of such a wei^t, Mr. AtnaKorth and others, think this to be the ori^ of our word nale, the instrament to migh vith.

liie shekel of the sanctnary Tetrhed ttpetUy gerahi, Bxod. xrx. 13. And according lo Uie Jews, the gerah wei^wd ai±lem eraius of barley, R. Mat/mm obMrves, ttiat after the captrvily, the s&e£ef vas iocreaaed to three hundred and etgUy-^fimr grains, or barley coma. On the •tdyeet of ancient weighu and measures, very little tfiat is aatishctory is kninrn.

Behold, hi'iBlo thee for a emering of the eya\ B, the me thousand ihtkela, not he, (AfaramniJ it to met far a tmeringt to procure Uiee a veil to conceal thy beauty (unto an that are vith thee, aDd with all other) frmn all myovn Idodred and oe^uairUanee, and firom all ttrangera, that none, seeing thou art anollier itian*s wife, ni&y covet Oiee CD account of thy comeliness.

And Ihut ihe tro* reprmecl] The ori?im1 ts r\rai ve- $to-€tduUk, but the votd ia probobty the sec^md person j>nt«riic, used for lb« imperative mood, from the root ruj naeaht to make riroig^ direct, HgU— or to tpeak rightly, torrea^! and may, in comiexion with the rest of the text, be thus paraphrased. Behold, Ihave giteti Ihy axoniEa (Abraham, gently alhiding to the equivocation, ver. 2, 6.) o thouaand shekels qf niter t behold, rr i» (Aat is, the ■ilver is, or may be, or let it be) to thee a caeertng <f the.ti/eM (to procure a veil, see before) iriift regard to alt Ome uhoarewiA thee, audio oil, (or ami in all) epeak thait A« frwA. Correctly tmnslated by the Septuajrini wwra mK^iitrtr, and in all things epeak Ihe thim. Not Only tell a part of the truth, but tell the leAofe— say not Bwrelr,Ae IS ntj/ broAer; but say also, A«it mvAusbantj loo. Tnius in ALL Chinge, mpeak Ike truth. I wlieTe the above to be the sense of this difficult passage; and diall OOtpuzxIe mv reader with criticisms.

Verae 17. Sti Abraham prayed] lliia was tlie prime ofEee of the loaa nabi, see ver. 7.

Verse 18. i-\rOie Lord had faetclotedupalllhevombe l*robabIy by means of some disease, with which he hat anittMi them; hence it ia said, they vtre healed at Abraham's interresaion; tini) this M«ms necessarily to imply that dicy had bci'n afTtictetl by some disease that renderet it Impossible for th^m lo have children, till It was removed. Aitd poaeibty thii dinease, as Dr. Dodd ceajeeuircs, had afflicted Abimelech, and by this he was witluicM, ver. 6. ftcm deltling Abraham's bed.

1. On the prerarteaHon of Abraham end Sarah, see tlie ImMm and concluding c^rvattons on chap. xii. and while v« pity ihia weoAnsss^ let ua take it as a wrning.

son ia his old age: ■< at the set time, of nrhich

3 And Abraham called the name of his son that wae born unto hint, whom Sarah bare to him, ' Isaac.

4 And Abraham " ctrcumciaed his son laeao, being eight daye old, ■■as God had commandea

5 And 0 Abraham was an himdred years old) when his fion Isaac was born unto him.

S If And Sarah said, ■'God hath made me to laugh, 90 that all that hear • will laugh with me.

7 And she said, Who woidd have said unto Abraham, that Sar^ should have given children suck? ifor I have home him a son in

8 And the child grew, and waa mailed t anl Abraham made a great leaat, the aame dty 4ka.t Isnac was Weaned.

9 IT And Sarah saw the rata of Hacar, ■ tbe Egyptian, ' whioh she had bom unto Abraham, "' mocking.

10 Wherefore sh^ said unto Abra- fccflEult ham, ' Cost out this bond-woman and — — '■ — her son: for the eon of this bond-^woman riiatt not be heir with my son, even with Ii

2. The emue why the patriareh did i»t ncknowlcdn Sarah as hh wife, >^■cls a fear lest he should lose his tifis on her account, for he said, aurety the fear, i. e. the trW worship of the true t?ocf, i» not in thie place. Swth is^e natural bigoirr and narrowness of tbe nutnan heart, that we eon scarcely id low that any besides oursehree possess the true religion. TVi indulge a diapoaidon of this kind, ia highly blameabh;. f^e tnU religiOD is neither conllnea H one apot, nor to one people: it ia spread in various fiirma over the whole earth. He who fills immensity, hu left a. record of himself in every nation and aoioi^ every people under heaven. Beware of this spirit 1 for bigotry ]n^uoea Qnehariiabteness, and uncharitableaeas harsn judging, and in such a spirit a man may ihink he dees Ood aervie& when he daatoi out the brato% or nakea a bnmtHtftaiiv <n the person, whom his nairow mind and hud heart nm dishonoured wiA the name of horetle. 6neh a spirit is not conjln«f toanyonscofflmimily, though it has predominated in some more than ta Mhers. But these things are highlv displeasing in the sight of Ged. HE, as iha Fadwr of Die spirita of all SxA. lovea every branch of his vastly extended fbrnllyi and as was we lov« one another, no matter «i what sect or party, ao far «e reaemble nut. Had Abraham poaaessed more charity for nan, and e«nftdence in God, at this time, he had not lUlen into that snara fitim which he barely escaped. A hasty judgment ia generally both erroneous and harsb. and those who an die most apt to form it, are generally tne most diSeillf to be eonviooed of the Irnih.

Veiw I. riu Lgrd tMttd Sarak\ That it, Ood ftilltlled his promise to Sarah, by givh« her, at lha advanoed vge of n<ne^ power to conceive and bnng forth a son.

Terse S. Aosc] See the reason end interpretaHvn «f this name in the nott on ebap. xvil. 17. Verse 4. CfrcumelsMt Ms Mi] See on CMfi. xriL

Verse S. OMAdtlkwacb «• to AHftfft] Saniialladea here to die eirenmstanoe mentioned chap. xvM. 18. and as she seems to use the word lo tough, in this place, not in the sense of being ineretkdove, but to express such pkature or haptnntoo, as almost siisptnda the reasoning wmlty for a time, it Jusbnas Ihe observstkm on the above namee verse. See a similar ease in Luke xxiv. 41. where tba disciples were ao overcome witli the good news of oat Lord's rentRsetion, that it is hM, n*y btHmti nttfor

■^'erscS. 7^ cfcfW wo* iMotiftf] We have the veib to laean from the Anglo-Saxon, l^bon, ammdan, whieh ngnides to «mi>*rt. transfer, turn fmn one thing U anoAer, wliich is the exact import of the Hebrew wort Ve> gamat, in die text. Henee to turn a chik) from Aa bretut, to reeeive another kind of aliinent; and henoe tha word lOena, veon, «btoh is still in use in 'die ntRrdters parts of Ofsal Britain, and properly s^cnifiss a ekitd lakmt

11 And the thing was very grievous in Abra-

12 And Ood said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy aight because of the lad, and because of thy bond-woman} in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her vDice; for '■in Isaac, shall thy seed be called.

13 And also of the son of the bond-woman will I make ' a nation, becaiise he is thy seed.

14 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, Euid a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, (puttii^ it on her shoulder,) and the child, and ''sent her away: and ehe departed, and wandered in the wilderDeBfl of Beer-eheoa.

15 TI And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs.

16 And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bowshot; for she said. Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lin up her voice and wept.

among the Hieiento, im a disputed point. St. Jerom nyi there were two opinioiu on thia aubjecL Some hold that diildnQ were always weajoed at j!m years of age; others that tbey were not weaned till iney were tteelte. From the speech of the mother to her son, 2 Mac vit 27. it ■eeina likely that among the Jews they were weaned when Oum yean old: O my mm, hat* pUjf upon nu that bare ths* tune motttht in my wmb, and gave thee buck tubes TBAB8, and nouruhta Aet and brought Hue uv. And this is &rther strengthened by 2 Cliron. zzzi. lo. where HeieUah. io making provision for the Levites and priests, iocludea the children from three years old and upwards; which is a presumptive proof that previous to this age they were wholly depeodeat on the vuther for their nourishmeot Samun appears to have beea brought to the saztotuary when fae waa joML ueaned, aod then he was capable of miiiiMaring before the Lord, 1 Kiiws i. 22— 2a and this certaiaaly eoiud not be before he was three years of age. The term among the Hcdiarnmedans is fixed by the Karm, chap. uxi. 14. at tun years of age.

Vwse 9. JUbcAitw] What was impltM in this mocking is not known. St. Paul, Galat. iv. 29. calls it pereeeuiinr, but it is likely be meant no more than so me species of rittieule used by Mimael oo the occasion, and prolMbly with respect to the age of Sarah at Isaac'a birth, and her |Hevious barrsnnees. Jona&an ben Uzxid, and the Jeruealem 7\irjvin, represent Ishmael as performing some idolatrous rite oo the oocasitm, and that diis had given the offence to Sarah. Conjectures are as useless as they are endlesa. Whatever it was, it became the occasion ot the expulaion of himself and mother. Several authors are of (pinion, that the Egyptiaa bondage cXfour hundred yeais, mentiocwd chap. zv. 13. commenoed with this persecution of the ri^teous seed hy the son of an Egyptian woman.

Terae 10 Caet rnitthU bond woman and htrmml Both Sarah and Abraham have been accnsed of cruelty ai this Iranaactfon, because every word reads haridi to us. Caet ami, garaeh, signiba not only to thnut out, dnve tHBOff, Koa expel, but also to divortx, see Lev. zxi. 7. And it is m this latter sense the word should be understood ber«. Hie child of Abraham by Hagar might be eonsidered as having a right at least to a part of the inheritaneck and as it was sufficiently known to Sarah that Ood had designed that the ■uecession should be established in the line of baae, she wished Abraham to diwe* Hagar, or to perfimn some sort of Ui(al act, by which lAmael night be excluded from all claim on the inheritanee.

Terae 12. Jh baae ahaU thy aeed be ealUd,] Hers Ood shows the nnmriety of attending to the counsel of Sarah. And lest Abraham, in whose eyes the thing was grievous, sfaoukl feel distressed on the occasion, Ood renews his promisee to lehmael and hia poatwity.

VerMl4. 7^ frrsBtA and oMUflJ By the woldirMd; we are to understand the food or provisiora which were naeesaary for her and Isbmael, till th^ should come to the place of their destination t which, no doubt, Abraham partieutarly pointed ouL The boltU, which was made of skin, otdioanly a goat's skin, contained water sufficient to laat them till they should come to die next well; whifh, it is likely, Abraham particularly specified alao^ This well, it appears, Hagar misaed, and Iharefiire wandered abotU in the i/nidemeee, aeeking mora water tUl til she had broit^it with her waa expended. We mi^ ibanfim

17 And * God heard the voice of the lad; and

the an^el of God called to Hagar out of heaven, said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar?

fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where be is.

18 Arise, Ufl up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for ■ J wilt make him a great nation.

19 And ' God opened her eyes, and she saiT" a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and ^ve the md drink.

20 And God was with the lad } and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, < and became an archer.

21 And he dwelt in the wHderness of Paranr and his mother * took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.

the chief captain of his host sfiake unto Abraham, saying, " God is with thee in all that thou doest:

23 Now therefore ' swear unto me here

safely presume that she and her sod were suffieieptly provided for their journey, had they itot missed their way. Travellers in those countries, take only, to the present day, provisions sufficient to carry them to the next village or encampment; and water to supply them til! thc^diotud meet with the next well. What adds lo the appoorance of eruel^ in this case is, that our tran«lati«i seama to represent Ishnael as being a youn^ eU&f J and thai Hagar waa obliged to carry him, the bread, and the bottle at water, on her back, or shoulder, at the same time. But that Islnnael could not be earned on his mother's sfaouhler, will be sufficiently evident whea his a^e ia eonsideted; T«hini>«^| WM bom when Abraham was ei^ty-six years cf diap. xvi 16. Isaac was bom when ne was one hunyears of agtu chui. xxi. 5. hence Ishmael waa fourteen yean old at the birth of Iaaa& Add to thi^ the age of Isaac when he waa weaned, whidi, from ver. 8. of this i^t^Jter, (see the note) was probably three, and we shall find that Ishmael was, at the time of his leaving Abraham, not less dian sevenieen yean old; an age at which, in those primitive times, a yoong man was able to gain his livelihood, either by his bow in the wiMemea% or D7 keeping flocks as Jacob did.

Verse 15. And eaet the'diild] •frn nu irrrs^ VatiahUe eth ha-jfeled, and the sent ihe lad— under one oC the shrubs — viz. lo screen him from the intensity of the heat. Here Ishmael appean to be utterly helpless, and thia ciroumstaDce seemi brilier to confirm the opinion that be was now in a stale of it^anqf — but the preceding observations do thia supposition entirely awOTt and his present helplessness will be easily accounted for oo this nound: — 1. Young persons can bear mudi less fatigue Ulan those who have arrived at mature age. 2. Tbey require much more fluid from the greater quantum of heat in their bodies, strongly marked by the impetuositv of the blood; and from them a much larger quantity of tlie fluids is thrown off 1^ sweat and insensible perspiration, than firom grown up or aged persons. 3. Their digestira is mudi more rapid, ana hence they cannot bear hunger and thim as well as the others. On these grounds Ishmael must be much more exhausted with mligue than bis mother.

Verse 19. God opened her eyes] These words iq)pear to me to mean no more than that Ood directed her lo a well, whiehiwobaUy waa at no great distance from the place in whidi she thenwaai ana therefore die is commanded, ver. la to eujyport the lad, litenUly lo make her hand atnmg in his behalf— jiaiaely, that he might reach the. well and quench his thirst.

Verse 20 Became an archer.] And by his skill in this art, under the continual superintendence of tlie Divine Providence, for Ood wai with the lad, he was undoubtedly enabled lo procure a wfficient supply for his own wants and those of hia uarenL

Verse 21. He dwdt in Qm wildemeas Paran} Hit is generall]^ allowed to have been apart of the desert belonging lo Arabia Petru, in the vicinity of mount Sinai t and this aeems to be its uniform meaning in the Sacred Writings.

Verse 22. Ai thai time] Thie may either refer to the tnnsactions recorded in the preceding chapter, or to the time of Uimael's marriage; but most probably to the former.

God, * that thou wilt not deal falaeljr with me, nor with my. son, nor with ay son^ aon: but aocorduig to the undaess that I have done onto thee, thon ehfUt do unto me, and to the land wherein thou hast sojourned.

25. And Abraham reproved Abimelech be^ cause of a welt of water, which AlNmelech's servants ** had violently taken away.

26 And Abimelech saJd, I wot not who hath done this thing: neither didst thou tell me; neither yet heard I of it. but to day. /27 And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them unto Abimelech; aod both of them * made a covenant.

28 And Abraham set seven ewe Iambs of liie flock by themselves.

God it tcUh Out] wimoV AfeymratfayaiiAeWOBD «r JeboTBh, aee beton, ^ap. xr. 1. TtMt the Cbaldee Pitniphnwtaiiae ihia term not for avord tpoktn, ba( in the ■me MSkM in whieh St. JUm una the Aayu t*v e>«a, the Word <rf Ood, chap. i. ii evident to every unprejudiced Rader.

TcTM 23. Aov tker^ar* tmar unio tm] The oath on auch occamoM probably meant no more than the mutual promiae of bMn the psrtiea, when diey slew an anim&L poured out the blood «■ s aaerifioe to God, and then paa«ea oetveen the pieoea. Sae Aia eemnoDy, chap. v. uL and on ebap. zv.

Aemrding to the kindnett I have done\ Tlie aimple cbima ot jitttioe, were alone aet up among virtuoua people in iboM andent timea, which coratituted the baais of the fatnoua Zat toJioniiL law of like/or like, kind qgUx Jar feind^)lc«, bimI brca<A for hrtath,

Verae 2S. ^frroAam reprmtd Ahimdxdt] Wella were of great conaequenee in tboae hot countries; and eapect&lly where the fioclta were numerous, because the water was iKBree, and digging to find it was aecomponied widi much anenae of time aru labour.

Verae 26. / too/ not -who haih done ffiis thing] 1^ ■ervaau at Abimelech had committed these depredstiona on Abraham without any antfaoriOr from thair maater; who appeara to have been a very amiable man, posseasii^ the fisar of Ood, and ever regulating the whole of hia eoitduet by theprinetplea of righteousness and strict justice.

Terse 27. 7S>ok Juep and oxen] Some think that these were the sacriftcea whieh were offered on the occasibn, •ad which Abraham fiiroiabed at bia own cost; and in order ut do Abimdsch die mater bononr, gave tham to Um to offer before the LtndT

Teraa 28. Stvtn nee tomb*] These were either ^ven as a pneeni, or they were intended as tl^ price of the well t and being accepted by Abimeledi, they served as a wUneee that he had acknowledged Abraham's right to the weU in queatioa

Verae 31. He caUad As name ijf Oupiaee Beer-AAa] pav -wa Beti^^hMLVtUaeS^, the waB tjf netanng, or of Aa ooA, because meg Item mtare Olere, mutually eonflnaed the coveoant.

Verse 33. Abraham planted a grove] "Hie original word, SvM eehel, has bean variously Iranuatad, a grove, a gontafion, an ordtard, a evUitated afield, and an oak. FnNU tbta word, saya Mr. Parkhurst, may be derived the name of the fiunoua Asvfum, opened by Romulus^ bttteeen two grmet oake, at Somek twlstx* ttvfmr. Dionye. Alt lib. % c. 15.) And as Abraham, Geo. xxi. 33. agreeably, DO doubt, to the instilutea of the natriarchal religioi), pbutted an oak in Beer-sheba, and called on the name of Jehovah the everlasting God, (compare Qen. xiii. 8. zviii. 1.) ao we find that oaiu were sacred among the idolaters alao. Vie «Aa/I he ashamed ^ Oie oaks ye have choeen, •aye Isaiah (chap. I 29.) to the idolatrous Israelites. Ai^ in Greece we meet, in veiy early times, with the oracle of Jupiter at the oaks of Dodona. Among the Greeks and Bimaru we have eaera Jovi qtteretu, £e oak, sacred to Jopitai^ even to a proverb. And in Gaul and Britain, we find the hi^teat religious regard paid to the same tree^ and to iuniiriefoe,tuider the direction of the Druida, that is, the oak-f>r»pheU or pnsat*, from the Celtic, deru, and Greek, ir*f. an oak. Few are ignorant that the miaUtoe is indeed a veiy extraordinary punt, not to be cultivated Ae eorA, nit always growing on acnne other tree. " The Dnikia," saya Plintf, NaLHiat 1. ivii. c. 44. " hold ■othio^ more mmd than the mieUtoe, and the tree on whidt It ia ptoduced, provided it ba the oak. They make tbeiet at groMt oat ea tUa seemi^ nordo disy per-

29 And Abunclech said onto Abraham, <■ What mean these seven ewe lambs which thou hast set by themselves?

30 Aod he said, For the$e seven ewe Iambs shalt thou take of my hand, that * they may be a witness imto me, that I have digg'ed this weOt

31 Wherefore he ' called that -place «Beeredieba: because there they sware both of them.

32 ThusthevmadeacovenantatBeer-Bheba: then Abimelech rose op, and Phiehol the cshief captain of his host, and they returned into the land of the Philistines.

33 IF And Abraham planted ** a grove in Beersheba, and i c-alled there on the name of the LoBD, * the everlasting God.

34 And Abraham soioaraed in the Philistine^ land many days.

fiarm any of dieir Mcred ritea without the leaves of those treaa, ao that one may eoppoae that dtey are for this reason called, a Greek e^mohwy, Dntiat. And vrtiatever ntitletoe grows on the oak, they think is sent from heaven, and is a si^ that God himself nas ehosell that tree. 'Riis, however, la ve/y rarely ftmndj iMt when diseovered, i> treated with great ceremony, "niey eall it by a name which signifies, in their language, Ote eurer ^aliitUt and, having duly |n«pared their teaats and saerificee under the tree, they brinp to it two while bulls, wiiose homa ar« then for the first time tied; the priest, dressed in a wfaito robe, ascends the tree, and with a golden prttning-haok cuts off the mieUtoe, which is received in a while eagum or sheet. Then they sacrifice the victims, pmying that Ood would bless his own gift to those on whom he baa bestowed it." It it impoosible for a CftrisMon to rent this account, without thinking of kih who was Ihe deatr* <^ ail natione, of the Man whose name was Ote Bbaitob, who had indeed no father vpon earth, but came dawn from heaven; was given to heai all our iUe, and after being cuf^ ihroti^ the diviite counsel, was wraMted in Jtne Knen, end laid ia the sepulchre, for our sakes. I cannot forbear addiur, that the mieUtae was a earrwd emblem to other Cme nattoniL for jnatsnBSi to ths ancient inhabitants of Haiy. IIm golden trmdL oif which Virgil speaks so largely, in the sixth book of ths £neiB, and wiuiout which, ne says, none oooM ritmm Jrom ffte infernal regiont, see line 186, seems an alhniOD to the mialetoe, as he himself pMnly intiawtea, by com* paring it to that phmt, line 206, dbc Se« Parbturet, under the word *?vm emel.

In the first ages of the world, the worship of God was exceedingly simple; thwe were no temptee, nor covered edifices (» any kind: an altar, sometimes a single etone, someitmes it consisled of several, and at other times merely of turf, was all that was necessary; on this the fire was lighted and die sacrifice offered. Any pt'iee was equally proper, as they knew that the object oitneirwonhipfillea the hravens and the earth. In process of time^ wheo fiuniliea increaaed, and many saenflua were to be ofibred, groeea or diady plaeea were cboaen, vriiere the wmhippen might enjoy the protection of the thade, as a considravbla time must be employed in offering many aacrifieea. nMsa groves became arterward abuaed to impure and idolatrova purpose^and were therefore strictly forbiddan. SeeBxod. xxziv. 13. Deut. zii. 3. xvi. 21.

ATid called there an the name t/f Ae honl] Oa ihis important passage. Dr. Shuckford speaks tlnu^ — "Oar English translation very erroneously renders this plaea h* eaSed upon the name of Jehovah; nit the expression top QP3 kara be^tem, never signifies, to eall upon the nmnei oo trtp kara Aem, would signiiy, to invoke or eali upon thenanu; or ev Vjrmp Aara«>ft«in, would signifj^ to ery unto the name, but BVa ir«p, kara be ehem, signiaea to invoke nf the name, and seems lo be used, where the tnifl wo^inners of Ood offered their pnyeva in the nsnM of the true Mediator, or where the kmlatera offered djeir prayers in the name of ftilae ones, 1 Kings xviii. 26.; tor as the true worshippers had but one Ooa and one Lard, so the ^se worshlppere had gode many and lords many t \ Cor. viii. S. We have several instances of ttyt /lara, and a noun idtor it, sometimes viih, and sometimea wi/V out the particle fl, and then it signifiea to eall upon tbs person there mentioiied! thue irrr ir>p kara Jehovah, is to call upon ths Lord; Psal. xiv. 4. xvii. 6. xxxi. 7. M. 4. cxviii. S, Ac^ and rwf Sy mp kara tl Jehovah, inmorte the same j 1 Sam. xii. 17. Jon. i. 6, Ac. but o»a mpiara be iAml, is eithv to name n th» immu, Gen. tv. 17. Nnm. zxxn. 42. PmI. xHx. 11. Isai. xHii. 7. or, to imaoke m

AND it came to pms aAer these thin^B, tlut ■ God did tempt Abraham, and toad unto him, Abraham: ana he aaad,' ^Beh<^, here I tiu name, when it ia lued u an enrevriA of leKffioua vonilip. Coinixx. t. 1. p. S93. I believe din le oe a just view of the aubject, koA therefore I admit it wiftumt fint^aoa in Scripture ia which a'wj olam occura, ea im tUirUnite of Qod; and here it ia evideiiily deaiened to poiat out hie etenial dorBtioD; that it can mean uolimiUd Jime ia oetf-evident, because nothing of thia kind can be attributed lo Ood. The Sepiuafiot renders the word^ •tac mtmim, tiu ecer~esUling Ood; and the Arabic sajra yJUll «M ttUlfM» ^ \sa9wdalu1thammabismiUabi UahUSatmnU, and he invoked there, in the name of God, tiie fliemri God. The word ia firom tlie aame root with Ifae Hdirew, aitd is utted by the Arab lawgiver in the MMnmeoceinent of hia Koran, to exprua the parfeetiona aad UMnee of the •uprcme God. From this application «t both wordo, we ieorn that o'^p Slam, aad aion, mirinaJly ai^ified etebmac, or duraiion withmU end. ohy Slam, aigoifies he te»» hiddm, concealed, or kepi Merit: and »m, according to Ariatotie, De Cahj lib. 1.

B. tad « higher authority need not be sought, la compouadtd of wi, alvaye, and ••*, bang — «» irT.r, -"o tcb mt Kvai. The eane author informa ua thai God waa ttrmed Attati, becauae he woa alaajfa exUUng, h^mtsi Aira*. A XI4 «H-». De Mundo, cha^. v'u. in ^fine. Hence ■mt aee that no wonU oan more foreibty ezpeas the grand «l)anuMriaiica of eternity thaA these- It m ttiat duration which m eoneeuUd, hidden, or kept eeeret from atl created iMiaga: — vbiah ia atuay txi^Mgi attU running on, 'hUMver-rtiAning'OVT — an witemunoUe, tneenatU, and 4wfmeamirabU duraiion: it ia that, in ibioiehaUiffvA.ich -God alone ean be aaid to exist; and that which the eternal mind can alone eowprAend.

Im all lanraigea worda ha-ve, in proceaa of time, de- 'Viatod from iiieir origitial aecqxatimu, and have become Menunodoted to particular purpoeea, and limited to parlictilar meaniaea. Tliia haa happened both to the Hdirew eSy Mam, ana the Greek atar; they have been both uaed toexpreea-BUmtlMf time, but, in general, a time, the limits of wnioh are unknowns and ihua a pointed reference to the original ideai meaning ia atill kept up. Thoae who ai^ of ihe«e terms m an atcommodaUd aeitae, to fcvour a particular doctritie, Ac must depettd on the good moat Of their oppooenta tor permiaaioa to iiw cbem in mim w&^. For as the real eraiamatical meaning of boOi «onb u eternal, and all omer meaoingB only aeeommodated ones, sound criticism, in all mattera of di^nite con- Mming the import of a word or term, must have recourse Id the grammatical meaning, and iu use amonK the eorlieat aad moat eorsect writers in (he langunge; and will deter* mine all aeeommodated meanings 1^ this alone. Now, tta first and beat writers in both these longnages apply Umm aad M-wr to eirareaa eternal, in the jM'oper nteanuig of Ihat word j and this ia their prwer meaning in the Old aad New Teatamenta when api^ed to Ood, hia attributea, Ua operations taken in connexion with the enda for which be perfonaa them, for whataoeper he doth, it AaU be for •wr.— «sVy? rrrv yStiydt U-ilam, Ecd. iii. 14. U tha& he f^tUmity; fonne utd appearancee of created things nay ehnnge, but the eounaeU and purposes of Qod, relatively to them, are permanent and etem-0; and none of Aem can be fniatrated— hence the words, when applied to things which, from their nature, muat have a limited duration, are properly to be tuideraTood in (hia sense; taoanae diose (hing^ though temportU ia themselvas, mad»w.fMh (hiiqi that are ttenw. Thus tlic Jewish tf^anttion, which in (be whole, and in its psrt% is freyMOttysand to be a^p^ le-Blam, for ever j and which has Mnrinued iu the Christian dispensatioD, has the word Wf'y HfiM to it» becaiM it typified aitd introduead

2 And he said, Take mw tby boo, 'tlune aoly •on Iswc, iv^om thoa loveat, and get thee ^ into thelandof Moriah; and ofier him there for a burnt-offering upon oae of the mountaios which

3 ^ And Abraham rose up * early in tfaemominfC, aod saddled hia ase, and took two of his yoang men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt-ofierinE, and roae up, and west unto the place of whicli God had told him.

4 Then, on the third day, Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw tbB j^ace afar off. ^

that dispensation which is to continue, not cmly tehiie liatfe akaU laat, but is to have its iBcassani, accumulating conson^on throu^out ttemtty. The word is. wiui the same strict propriety, applied to the duraiion of tn^/ewaidt and punishraenta in a miure aUtte. And the argument that firetenda to prov^ and it ia only pretension, that in the uture punishment of the wickeo, the worm ahall Me^ and " the fire Jutll be tpienchtd^" will apply aa forcibly to the state of happy spirits, and as fully prove, that a point in eternity shall arrive, when the repose of the ri^teous ahall be interrupted, and the glorificaUon of tha oiildien of God have an eternal end I See the notes on- eh^xvii. 7, S. The absurdity of such tenets prevents Ibrai frmn becoming very dangerous.

ia one of die attributes of God, and none of his promiwB can fail. According lo the promise to Abraham, jsaoc is bom j but occordmg to the course of nature, it fully appears, that both Abraham and Sarah bad passed that term of life in which it was possible for them to have children. Isaac ia the child of the promiae, and the promise ia aupemalurat. Islimael is born according to the ordinaty course of nature, and cannot inherit^ becauae die inheritance is apirituaf, and cannot come natural birth: hence, we see that no man con expect to enter into the kin^om of God bv birth, education, profession of the true faith, &c. &e. Triose alone who are bom from above, and are made parlaktrt o/" the ditine naltu-t, can be admitted into the family of God in heaven, ana everlastingly enjoy that glorious inheritance. Reader, art Ihou >orn agaiii7 Hath Ood changed thy heort and tliy life ^ If not; canst thou sui^Kue dia^ in toy present stata^ thou canst possibly enter into the paradise of God 1 I leavO conscience to answer.

The actions of good men may be misrepresented, end their motives suspected, because those motivee are not known; and those who are prone to think evil, are the last to take anv trouble to inform their minds, so mat xitgf mayjudge rignteous judgment. Abraham, in the disnussu of Hogar and Ishmael, has been accused of enieUy. Hioi^ objections of this kind have been answered alieady, yet it may not be amiss farther to observe, that what nft did, he did in conformity to a divine command j and a command so unequivooelly given, that he could not doubt its divine origin; and this very command was aceomjMniad with a promise thtu both Vie child and hia mother sftoMa be taken under the dirine protection. And it was so: nor does it appear that they lacked any thing but tcoter, and tliat only for a akort time, after wluch It was miraculously supplied. God wiU work a miracle when necessary; and never till then: and at such a time the divine interposition can be easily ascertained, and man is under no temptation to attribute to second canata, what has so evidently flowed from the Jtrat. Hius. while he is promoting his creatures' good, he la securiiig his own glory: and he brings men into straits end dinicMilties, so that he may have the fiiller opportimity to convince his followers of hta providential care, and to prove how much he loves them.

0id we acknowled^ God in all our ways, he would direct our stepa. Abimelech, kin; of Oerar, and Pbidiol, captain of his hOst, aceini; Abrnham a worshipper of the true God, made him swear by the object of hii wordiipu that there sliould be a lasting peace between them and him; for, as they saw that God was with Aliraliam, ihcy well knew that lie could not expect tlic divine blessing any longer than he walked in integritu before Ood: they therefore require him to swear iioa, that he would not deal falaett/ with them, or their posterity. Prom tlUa very circumstance we may see the original purpose, deaigti, and spirit of an oath, viz. Let God prosper or eur»e mt in all thai I do, as Iprare true or fahe to my enwug^ mental This is still the spirit of all oaths, where God ia called to witness, whether the form be by the iraler vf the GuMgtt, the aign th» crota, ktming A« BibU^ or

5 And Ahrmham said unto kb yowag men. Abide ye here with the asa; and I aod th« lad -niU go yonder, and worship, and come again to

6 And Abraham took the wood of the bumtofibring, and* laid t( upon Isaac his son; and he todt the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they ■went both of them together.

JMAmt «P Aa hand ta beoven. Hene« we majr team, mst M who fidaifitis no oath or promwe, n><ule in pmanoa ud name of Ood, ther^ fbrfnta aJl right and title ts the approbation aiul bkesaing of his Haker.

Bat it b bigfaly crimioal to noke such appeals to Qod mm trivial occaaionB. Onlr the mmt nttmn matten aomld be tbwa detemtBed. uxislaton who regard the nwnla of the peoptB^ ahould ta£e hMd not to nultip(j OBtha in matten of eonuwTM aotl rasoRM.

Vena t. Ood did Umft Abndiam] Tbe originml hers ia nrr emphatic, omSM hn noj PTV^Km Ve-ha-EliMm, mUtah eA jUroAam, and the Elobim be tried thii I^a.' ham: Qod farougfat him into aucfc eircuneianeea aa «»r- MMdandiftMwemfhiahith, lore, and obedience. Hiough the word Umpt, from ttntOt flignifiea no more than to vror« tfrhy; yet wit 'u now genemny med to imply a aolicitafioo to flvj( in which wtty Ood never teiapta any man, it woold be well to avoid it here. The Septtiannt tuee the word mifM-i, whicli aignifiee to fry, jient through: and SymmachuB translalea u>e Hdwew net ntMoA, by i^ofa^ir, God gioryitd Abraham, or rendered bim Ubismotu, mippoainc the word to be (he Bome with n no*, which signiflee u> gUkerwUh U^tt, whence n net, an owjgn cw banner Mtptagtd. TThm, dwa neoordng to idm, the words ■bmla be underatood, "Ckid put great honour on Abraham, by giving him thii opporlnnity of showing to all aoccewive ages the nature and ef&oBev of an unshaken fiuth in ^ power, goodneai, and trani of Ood." The Thrgum of JonaAan ben Uzxid paraphrases the place thtis.-

"And it h^ipened dut Isaac and Ishmael contended, end Iidimael said, I ou^t to be my father's heir because I am his first-born; but Isaac said, It is more proper that I should be my fathcr'B heir, because I am the son of Sarah his wift^aod thou art only the son of Hagar, my mother's Blare. Then Uiinael answered, I am more ri^teous than thou, because I I was VtiHtm ftm of age, and if I haddiosen, I eouM have prevented ny dreamdeion; but thou wert cireumcised when thou wert bdt tighi day old, and if ttuxi hadst had knowledge, *ou wouIdBtprobably not have aul!ered thyself to be cu— curodeed. Trien Isaae answered and said, Behold, I am aow diirty-six ywn old, and if the ho^ and blessed Ood riwald require all my members, I would fnt\y surrender them. Hieae words were immediately heard before the Lord of the onirerae, and ""t wstm meymra davoi, the WORD of *e Lord, did try Abraham." I wuh once fcr all to remark, though die subject has been referred to befcre, that the Chaldee term tna^o m^mni. rrtiich we translate word, is taken penonaUy tn sonte nundreds of places in this Tbr^m. IVhen the author, Jonathan, speaks of the Divine Being as ddns or saying any diing, he generally npneenta him as penbrming me whole by his meymra, which he eonniders not as a «pMeA, or wrd smien, tnt as a permm, quite distinct from the Moat High, and to whom he givM till the attributes of the ENcty. 8t. John nws the word Ktyt; in precisely the samo sense widi the Targumiats, chap. i. 1. sec the notes there, tund see before, ver. 22. and on chap, xv, 1.

Versa 1 Take now thy son] Bishop Warburton's cAserntiQiw on this passage are weighty and important, ""nie ordw in which the words are pmced in the original, grad'wHy incrca.tc the sense, and raite the pnetione higher •nd hieher. Take njw ffiy son, (rather, take I beaeeek thee W na) thine only tan, vhom thou lopett, even laaae. Jarehi imagines this mtnutenem was to preclude any doubt in Abraham. Abraham desired am^tly lo be let i«o the mystery of rednnnfion ( and Ood, to instruct him in the infinite extent of the divine goodness to mankind, 1M0 spdred imthU own Sbn, but ddivered him up far iw aO, let Abraham ftel by experience, what it was to lose a beloved son, the son bom miraculously, when Sarah was past eWU-ocaring, as Jesus was miraculously bom of a vwgiB. Hie duraiian too of the action, vet. 4. was the snwas that between Christ's death and restirrectioii, both wftMi «er« desinted to)ie represented in it) and still Winer, not only the flnil ardie^rpfcal MeriOoe of the Son

7 And Esaae snake onto Abraham hb ftther, and aoid, My fouier: and he said, Here am 1, my BOD. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where ts the ' lamb for a bwntoflering 1

8 And Abraham s^d, My son, Qod will provide himself a larab ^ for a burnt-ofiering: bo th^ went both of them togeUier.

of (jbd, was figured in the cftnuouoid to ofier Isaae, but tbs Menosdlofs Zyptesl sacrifice in the Moaaie economy was represented, by the permitted sacrifice of the nun, offlued up, ver. 13. instead of Isaac"— See Dodd.

The land AferfoAJ This is suivoBed to mea« the mountains of Jerusaleat; eomprdKBding mount Gihsm or Calvajy, the mouBl of Sioii, snd «f Asia. As Calvary is the highest ground to the wea^ and theianiiit of the teII^>Ie is the lowest of the mounts, Hr. Hum con. jectures that it was upon this mount Abraham offered Isaac i which is well known to be the same mount on which our blessed Lord was cr\ictfied. Beer-sheba, where AbrahosD dwelt, is about forty-two miles distant tram Jerusalem; and it ia not to be wondered at, diat Abraham. Isaac, the two servant^ ood the ass laden with wood for the burat-ofihring^ did not reach this place till the &ird day; see ver. 4.

Verse 4. iSbie the ptoce qfmr qJT-] The Torgum sayi^ he knew the plac^ by seeing the cloud of glory smoking on the too of mountain.

T^t Aird day] "As the number tmvxs," says Sir. Ainswonh, "is of especial use in Scripture, because of (he soUoA day, Oen. li. 2. so THsn is a mystical number, because of Christ's rising from the dead the tMjd dayv Matt zvii. 23. 1 Cor. xv. 4. as he was crucified the Odrd hour after noon, Mark xv. 25.; and Isaac, as he was a figun of Christ, in being the only son of his father, and not spared, but offered for a sacrifice Rom. viii. 32. so in sundry particulars he resembled our Lord; the Sdrd day Isaac was to be oflwred up; so it was the third day in whidi Christ also was to be perfected, Luke xiii. 32.; Isaac carried the wood for Ae muitt-oSMng, ver. 6. as Christ carried the tree whereon he died, John xix. 17.; die bind> ing of Isaac, ver. 9. was also mrieal: so'Christ was bounty Blatt. xxvii. 2, Moses desirM to go three days' journey in the wilderness to saerifice, Kxod. v. 3. and they travelled three days in it before they found water, Exod. xv. 22. and three days' journey the ark of the covenant went before them, to MUtsh out a resting place. Num. x. 33i.: by As third day the people were to w ready to receive God's taw, Exod. xix. 11. ami after Arse di^ to pass over Jor* dan into Canaan, Josh. i. It.; the Aim day Esther pat on the apparel of the kingdom, Esth. v. 1.; on the third da.y Hezekiah, being recovered from his illness, went up to the house of the Ixird, 2 Kings xx. 5.; on the third day the Brof^iet said, Ood will raise usup, and we ^all live befbra him. Hoe. ri. 2.; and on the thvrd day, as welt as on ^ MMnA, the nneleaa person was to purify himself^ Num. xix. 12. i with many other tnemnratue things which dw Scripture speaks eoneemiiw the third day, and not without mystery; see Gten. xl. 1^ 13. xHi. 17, 19. John i. IT. Josh. Z. 16.; unio which we may odd a Jew's testimony in BereAith Rabba, in a comment on this place; Hurt are many THsaa oats mentioned in the Bmy Seriptur*, ofiekteh one <t, the returrtetion ^fSU Mttrlak." Atlu- Korth in loeo.

Verse 6. land^ladiotUgo—imdcomeagainllbnr could Abraham eonnstently with truth say this, when he knew he was going to mue his son a bnmt-offeringf l^e apostle answers for him: By faith Abraham, vneii he viaa tried, tiered up leaac — oocounttn^ Oiat 6od mt9 able to raiee htm tip even from, the dead, from vhene* aleo he received htm in a Jtgnre, Heb. xi. 17, 19. He knew, that previously to the Dirth of Isaac, bodi he and his wife were dead to all the purposes of procreatioi^ that his birth was a kind of lite from the dead— that the promise of Ood woe most positive, In boat whaU thy teed be called, chop. xxi. 12.— that diis promise eonld not ftdl — that it was his duty lo obey the command of his Makerj end that it was as easy fiv God to restore him to Itfo after he hod been a burnt-onbring, ■■ it was for bim to give him life in Ow bediming. 'nHrefore he went (taUy purpoaed to offiu his son, and yet coufide^y expeeling to nave bitn

8 And tbeyeame to the i^ace viax^ God had told him of } and Abraham buUt an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his •oo, and ' laid him on the altar upon the wood.

10 And Abraham Btretdied forth his hand, and took the knife to slay liis son.

11 T And the angel of the LoRii called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham! and he said, Here am I.

12 And he said, ^ Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any Ihing unto bun: for ■ now I know that thou leareat God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.

13 And Abraham lifled up his eyes, and looked, and behold, behind Aim a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and AlHtdnm went and took the ram, and offered him up for a borntoffering in the stead of his eon.

14 And Abraham called the name of that place * Jehovah-jireh: ae itie said to this day, In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen.

iMtored to life again. Wei^ go vondT.mdtBorA:^ perform a soleDin act of deroiiOD which Qod requirm, ana come again to you.

ypiw6. Twk Atuood-'Cnd laid it upon liaat] Pro- UUy ibd mounbun top, to iriikh they wee going, was too difficult to be asceitdAd by the SMt thnefitneitl^ the ^uber or the loa must carry vood i sad it was moat becoming in the latter.

VeneT. BAoHd&tfiro and the -wood: buivih»e'vihe lamb 7\ Nothing can be conceived more tender, afiectioaate^oiM aifecling than the queation of the aon, aixl the reply of ue fiuher on this oceaaton. A parspfaraoe would ipoil it-40thing can be. added, without injuring thoae expressions of affiscUmtate aulHniaaion on tbe one hand, and dig- Bified tendemeas and simplicitv on the other.

Terie 8. Jlfc aon, Gva viu provide JUmse^f a lamb'] Here we find the same obedient umhaken fiuih, for which this pattern of practical pie^ was ever remarltablft. But we muat not suppoae that thii vaa the language merely of faith and (dwdience; the patriarch spoke prophetically, ■nd referred to that Lamb of Qod which HE had provided for himself who, in tbe folness of time, ^ould take away tbe aio of the world; and of whom Isaac was a most expressive type. All the other lambs wfaidi had been ofiered from the foundationer tbe world had been such aa MXK tAoae, and hmn ifffa-ed: but this was dte Lamb which GOD had provided — emphatically th» Lamb op Ch)D.

Terse 9. And bound laaac hit son] If the patriarch bad not been upheld by the conviction that be was doing the inU of Ood, and had he not felt the most perfect confidence that his scm should be ruforML even /rom &» dtadf what agomrmust his heart harp felt at ererratM) of the journey, aitd throiu^ all tbe otreumstanoea la dus •xtiaordinaiv business 1 What must his a^tionate heart have felt at the questions asked by his innocent and amiable son I What must he have suffered white building the dtar— laying on the wood — binding hia lovely son — placisg him on the wood — takiiw die knife, and stretching, out his hand to slsy the child of his hc^ I Every view we lake of the su^jeet iDteresta the heart, and exalu the eharaeier of this fetber of the feithful. But has itie character of Isaac been duly considered 1 la not the consideratioa of hU azcellence lost, in the supposition that be was too young to enter panictUarly into a sense of his danger; sad toofuble to have mode any resiBtane& had he been luwilling to submit 1 Josephus suppoica lltat Isaac was now twenty-^rn; see the chronology on ver. I. some rabbins, that Ee was thiriy-tix; but it is more probable tliat he was now about thirty-three, the afe at which his great Anti^pe was afiered up: and on this m«2tuTn I nave ventured to coostnict the chronology, of which I diink it neoeaaary to give diis ttotice to the reader. Allowing him to be onTy tvaUy-Jlw, he might have eaaily resisted; for can it be sufmoedd diat an old man, of atteaat one hundred and twenty-five years of age, could have bound, without his consent, a young mart in the very prime and vigour of life? In this case we cannot say that uie mperior atrength of the father prevailed; but the piety.fiUal qffeetion, and OMOtsncs of the son yifilded. All this was most illostnou>ly: ^piod of Christ. In bodi cases die father hunaen omen up his only-begotten son; and die falher

15 1 And the angel <^ the Lord called unto

16 And said, *By myself have I sworn, aaith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thingi and haat not withheld thy son, thine only son.-

17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and In multiplying I will multiply thy seed * as the stara of the heaven, * and as the sand which is upon the sea *' shore; and ' thy seed shall possess ^ the gate of hia enemies;

18 I And in thy seed shaU all the nations of the earth be blessed; « because thou hast obeyed my voice.

19 So Abraham returned imto his young men, and they rose up, and went together to " Beerdieba J and Abraham dwelt at Beer-sheba.

himself binds him on the wood (»- to the cross; in neither case is the son /oroed to yield, but yields of his own afford— in neither ease is the life taken aww fay the band of viofenee— Isaac yields himself to the kiiife; Jesus Isgis down im life for the sbeep.

Terse 11. T%e angel th* Lord] TTie very persoB who was represented by this offering; the Lord Jeaui^ who calls himself Jehovah, ver. 17. and, on his own authority, renews the promises of the covenant t JEta was ever the great Mediator betwem God and man. See dlis point proved, ch^ iv, 7.

Verse 12. I^y not thine hand upon the lad] As Isnao was to be the reftreMoitoHve of Jesus Christ's real Bscrific^ it was sufficient for this purpose, that in his own mitt, ood the mil of his father, the purvoee of die imniobuioa was complete. laaae was now felly offired both by bis father and by himself. The father yields up tbe son— tho son gives up his life: on both sides, as far as wUl aikd purjMte could go, the sacrifice was complete. Ood simply spaFCB tbe fadier the torture of putting tba knife to his son's throat. Now was the time when it might properly be said, " Sacrifice and offering, and burnt-offering and sacrifice for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure in them: dien said the Ajigd iff the eovmani, La I I come to do thy will, O God. Lay not thy hand upm the lad.- an (rFofumal creatnre wilf serve for die purpose of a repreeentative sacrifice, from diis till the fulness of time. But widiout this most expressive representation, of the father qftrinr hie beloved, only-begoUen eon, what reference can such sacrifices be considered to have, to the great event of the incarnation and crucifixon tn Chiisti Abraham, the most dignified, die most inmmeulate<rf all the potnardis; Isaac, die true pauarti<rf pie^^ to Ood, and filial obedience; may well represent God, ne Fbther, so loving the world as to give hte otdy-begMen. son,. Jiatm Chubt, to die for the sin of man. But tlw grand circumetanixe necessarv to prefigure these important points, could not be exhibited diroOgh die means of any or of die viiole brute creation. The whole sacrificial system of the Mosaic economy had a retroepeetiae and proepective view; referring noM the taeryice ttf baae TO the eaerifice Oiriet; in the jlrs^ the dawning of. the Sun of righteousness was seen; in the tatter, bis meridian eplendoar and glory. TUren in diis light, and dlis is the only tight in which it should bo viewed, Abraham offiving his sonleaac, is one of the most Important facU and moat instructive histories in the whole Old Testament. See farther on this subject, diWK xxiii. 2.

Verso 14. JAovah^jireh] twv rnm V(A«VaJk;«in&, literally interpreted, in the margin, The lard wiuetet that is, (3od will take care that every diing shall be dwo that is necessary, for the comfort and Hiipport of them who trust in him: hence the words are usually translated^ 7^ liord will proride; so our translators, ver. 8. rst^' B-H-m dohirn yirth, God will provide; because his eye ever aifeiHe lus heart; and die wants he eett, bis hand is ever ready to eupjtly. But all diia seems to have been done under a divine impulsc^and the words to have been spoken pn^JietimUy i hence Houbigant and some others, render the words thus, Domintu vid^iiur, the Lord shall bs seen; and diis translation Ow following clause bmbui to require^ lu it U said to thie day, vhv nrf ma isfcsr.

24 And his concubine, ■whose name wag Reamah. she bare also, Tebab, and Oaharo, ud TbauHh,uidliIeadiah.

Ytkotah yitwh; ok m* mocmt, nn Lon srau. n ■OM. Prom this it appearm, that the aacrifioe offered by Abrabra vm ondemood to be a repTMcnMlM one; and a tnditkn was kept oa that Jdwvah abould be aeen in a wsiMiiltf 'WOT' oa thia laaunt And Aia readen die •HaioB attua tm vet. 1. 0MM« than probable, viz. that Abmhain oflivsd Inae ob ifatt Mry iMuntabi, on which, io the falacM af tun^ Jema buActoL See Btihop Warbiaton.

Terae 16. ^ mytttf fimve I #iiiom] So we And that dwpenanirtM was called the angel<ff tha Lard, iehere MM Jitoaa *, ne oo ver. 1. An tMh, or an wpeal to floH^ la —ony men an end to itrife; a« Ood Who graafci', Ktwmrtby kimat^f: being tfWinr more ■■■wwtiaWjri Bys the apoatle to «A«w unto the hUra ^ frvmia0euimmnt4MtUy i{f kU eaunatly lutm^fimudU if <M ooA, Ma( by tteo ^mutable HUngt, (his paoHtas and his oath) in lehiek it va$ I'mpotsiw Ood to lie, m mig*i hate a atrmg eoMolaMsn, toho have Jhdfor r^^^taUsMdanAehapeaiih^mw- DesHeh vi.

Terae 17. Shall paeaeee the fmte of 9uir ctt«mie»] Instead of gttft the Septaagint nas itikm;, eUtev; but aa there is a very mar resemblaaca between »oxm;, cUiea, and nik>r, the latter mi^t have been the original reading in ine Septuagint, though none of the MSS. now aikBowledm it. By the gales be meant all the Bkwgih, wteihar brnm floiiiiari% or fimiflad oitie^ of Mr caenfat. So Matt. xvi. la On difs roek will I bortd my ohnreh, and the galea of hell ihall not prevail againat It— the oounaets, attatagems, and powers of darkness mU aot be able M pramil agaiiist <tf ovedhrow the true ' dnnoh of C!hrist— and poaaibfy our Lord Imd thia ]M«mise to AhndHUB and hia spiritoal peateriQr iA Tfew, whm he qiMke iheae. words.

Terse 18. And fcdbrsMd, We have dieandiority or St P*nL Gal. tiL 8^ 16, 1& to restrain thia to our Maaaed Lord^ who was nta ann through whom alone, all Ood*! Uemngs of providence, morcy, grace, and glory, rimaM be conveyed to the nations of tha earth.

yerae 20. ^oMd^ Miicah Aoflt borne dtUdren unia Oiy ftnttsr] This abort hiatory seems introduced solely for Ute fwrpowe of preparir^ tne reader for the tnuuacttona related cbap, xziv. and to ^ow, tliut the providence of Ood was preparing, in one of the hraDches of tlie fiunily of Abraham, a suitable spouse for his son Isaac.

Verse 21. Ux\ He is supposed to have peopled the land ^ Uxor AtuUUy in Arabia Deserta, the country of Job.

Bum Ms brother] From this persm BSku Oie BuzUe, BM of the frienda of Job, ia thought to have deaeanded.

Kenutel the /other qf Aram] KatameL *imtm Zvfn*, AafiUhor the Synatu, according to the Septuagint. ProhaWy die KmrnaOee, a Syrian tribe, to the westward the Bofduale^ are mouit: they are nentioaed by

Tens 24. BI0 eoneuMn^ We bomnr this word from flK Latin tenmod, eonaOina, from eon, together, end «■*«, to mm apply it soldy to a woman cohabiting iri^ a man wttMut bring luuffy married. TheHebrew viil is w*tm pl^pth, whidi ia also a compound term, eoatneted, acooroing to Parkhorac, from ptUag, to aMdeor riiare, and wo nwosA, loapproadi; beeauae the busbaaii to the dsHMle.plum of the tbbnw tongue,

2 And Sarah died in * Kirjath-orba; the srim If 'HebroB in the land of Canaan; and Abrar ham come to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.

3 ^ And Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spake unto the eons of Heth, saying-,

' I am a stranger and a sojourner with you: < give me a posaeseion of a burying-nlace with you, that I may bury my dead out of niT sight.

6 And the children of Heth answered Abrar ham. Baying unto him,

6 Hear us, my lord: thoa art >>a might* prince among us: ■ in the choice of our eepnfchres bury thy dead; none of as shall witUiold from thee hie sepulehre, bnt tbat thon Bayeat bury thy dead.

7 And Abraham stood np, and bowed himself to the people of the land, even to the cbildrea of Heth.

^ 8 And he communed with them, saying, If it

approoeAes the eonenUncs and Aartt the bed, Ae. of the real wills with her. Hie pilgadi or eonnmine, (from which comes the Greek rM-mm jiaUaki, and also the Latin peHex) in Scripture, is a kind of secondary wilt, not unlawful in the pMriar^inl times; though the progeny of such coald not inherit. Hie word is not used in the Scriptures in that disagreeable sense in which we eommonly understand it. Hagar was properly die concubine^ or jnlgarii, of Abraham t and thia, onnuente Deo, and iritn hia wife's consent. Keturah, his second win, is called a eoncubins, chiqi. xxvi. IS. 1 Chron. I. 32. and* Bflha and Zilpah were concubines to Jacobs diap. xxxv. 22. After the patriaretai times, many eminent men had viz. Caleb, 1 Chron. ii. 46, 48. ManoMea, 1 Chron. vii. 14. Oideon, Judg. viii. 31. Saul, 2 Sam. iii. 7. David, 2 Sam. v. 13. Solomon, 2 Kings xi. 3. and Rehobonm, 2 Chron. zi. 21. The pilgnsh, therefor^' difl^red widely from a proetitute; and however untawfai nnder the New Testametil, was not so under the Old.

Frtno tbia diapter a piow mind nay collect moeh Dseftil instiuetion. From the trial of Abraham, we again see. 1. "niai Ood may bring hiifollowera into severe straits and diflieultira, that they may have the better opponimi» of both knowing and showing their own fiuth and obedience: and that ne may seize on those ot'casions to show them the abundanre of hie mercy; and thus confirm (hem in righteousnesB all their days. 'Iliere ia a fooliah saying among religious people, which cannot he too severely reprobated; unMerf groee ia no grace. On the contrary, tmre may be mach grace, tho»^ Ood, for good reason^ does not diink proper to pnl it to any severe trial or proo£ But grace is certainly not l^lty known, but in being called to trials of severe and painAu obedienea. But as alt the giAs of Ood should be ueedy and they are jocreased and etrengthed by exercise, it would be unjust to deny trials and exercises to ^ra«^ aa this would be to jireelndeit the opportunities of being atrengthcd and increased. 2. "nie offering up of Isaac is used by several religious people in a sort of metaphoriral war, to signify their eaetlt/ beaettin/^ fine, helatid idoU, tic. But this is a most reprehensible abuse of the Scripture. It is both insolent and wicked to compare some abominaMe lust, or oiAioly aflectiiHi, to the amiable and pious youth, who for his purity luid excellence was deemed wortny to prefignra the sacrifice of the Son of God. To call our vile passions' and unlawful attachmcntB by the name of oar laaaa, ia unpardonable: and to talk of aacrytcing such to Ood, is downright blasphemy. Such sayings as these appear to be Icginmated oy long use; but we rtionld be deepW and seru^ously careful not to use any of the words of God in any sense in whidi be has not spoken them. I^ in the course of GoAi providence, a parent is called to nve up to death, an amidjfe, oii^son, then there is a parallel in the case; and it may be justly said, if pious resunatioaflll the parents mind, such a person, like Abrafiam, baa been called togfM at* laaaeoaekto Ood.

Independoitly of die ^(pfeaf reference in this (rannetion, there are two pc^nta which seem to be recommended particularly to our notice. 1. The astonishing fiuth, and prompt obedience of the father. 2. The innocence, filial respect, ami passive submission of the bod. Such d father ana such a son, were alone worthy of each other. NOTES ON CHAPTER XXlIl. Terse I. And Sarah wu on hundred and aettn and ftMwtyysorsaU] It is woid^ «f remark, ^ Sanft is be your mind ttuit I should bury my dead out of my sight; haas me, and intreat lor me to Ephron the son of Zohar.

9 That he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he hath, which is in the end of his field; for * as much money as it is worth, he shall give it me for a possession of a buryin|[- place amonsBt you.

10 And Ephron dwelt among the children of Heth: and Ephron the Hittite answered Abra- Iram in the <> audience of the children of Heth, even of alt that " went in at the gate of his city, say inc.

11 "Nay, my lord, hear me: the field give I thee, and the cave that m therein, 1 give it thee;

.the only woman in the Sacred Writing!, whose agt, deoA, and buriai, are disUoctly noted. And she has been deemei^ worfliy of higher honour ■, for St. Paul, Oal, iv. 22, 23, mokes her a tnt of the dairdi ((f Chrut; and her faith in the accomplishnient of Qod's promise, that she should Iwve a son, when all nataral probabilrties were against it, ifl putiGularly celebrated in the episUe to the Hetvews, cbap. xt. w. 11. Saiah wbb about ninety-one years old when Isaae was bono, and she lived thirty-six years after, and saw him grown up to man's estate. With Sakas the promise of the incarnation of Christ commaieed, though a ooimtaratively obscure pro^iecy of it had been delivered to Sve, chap. iit. 16. and with Mabv it terminated, having Imd iu exact completion. Thus Qod put more honour upon thoM two women than upon all the daugtiters of Eve beudes. Her oonet^tioa of laass was tuptmatiUvl, she had passed the age and circumslanoes in which it was poMtblfe, naturally speaking, to have a child; therefore she laughed when the promise was given, knowing that the thing was impossible, becaQse it had ceased to be will) her after the manner of women. God allows this oatuial impossibility, and |!Tants that the thing must be ibe effect of divine inlerpowtton; and therefore asks, is anything too hard for Qod J The idtysioal imposnUlity was increased in the case AKiry, she having no connexioD widi man. But the same power interposed as in the case of Sarah; and we find, tliat when all aptitude for natural procreation was gone, Sarah rtceivid slrenglh to conceive ttodi and bore a son, from whom, in a direct line, the Uessish, tlie Saviour of the world, was to descend: and through this same power ve find a virgin conceiving and bearing a son agaiiist all natural impossibilities. Every thing IB gupernatuTol in the births, both of the type and antitype; can it be wondered at tlien if the spiritual offspring of the Messiah must have a supematural birth likewise 1 hence the propriety of that saying, unJ«M a man 6s ioraagain — o»rnyrom above— from. not only nf iMtsr, but of the Holy Gkost, he cannot see Oie kingdom qf God. Th«Be may appear hard sayings, and those who are Utile in the habit of ooDsidering spiritual things mav exclaim, " £ is enthusiasm 1 Who can bear it 1 Such things cannot possibly be." To such persons I have only to say, God hath spoken. This is sufficient for those who credit his Being and his Bible; nor is there any thing too hard fiw him. He, whose almiritty power, Sarah had strength to conceive ai)d bear a son m her old agt; and by whose miraculous interference a virgin conceived, and ttte hian Christ Jesus was bora of her, can, by the same power, transform the sinfi]! soul, and cause it to bjcar the image of the heavenly, as it has borne the image of the earthly.

Verse 2. SaraA died in, KirjaArarba] Literally in the etty <^ the four. Some soppoie this plQce was called the city 0/" the ybitr, because it was the burial-place of Adam, Abraham, baac, and Jacob; others, becaui according to the opinion of the rabbins, Eve, was buri< there, with Sarah, Rebek<A and Leah, But it seems evideiatlv to have had its name firom a Canaanite^ one of the Anakim, probably called Arba, for the text, Josh. xiv. 15. does not actually say, this was his name; who was the chief of the four brothers who d welt there t the names of die others being Shethai, Ahintan, and Taimai, see Judges L 1. These three were destroyed by tbe tribe of Judah; probably the other liad been previouiily dead.

Abraham came to mourn for Sarah] From ver. 19. of the receding chapter it appears that Abraham had settled at Beer^duba; and here we find that Saiah died at Heteon, whidi was about twenty-four miles distant ^m Bser-aheba. For the convenience of feeding his numerous flocks Abraham had probably several places of temporary nsideinekaQdparttciuar^oneBtBeer-ilMba,aBd anodwr

12 And Abraiiam bowed down himself before

13 And he spake tmto Ephron in the audieoce of the people of the land, saying, But i£ thou vjili give it, I pray thee, hear me, I will give thee money for the field; take U of me, and I will bury my dead there.

14 And Ephron answered Abraham, saying unto him,

15 Mylwd, hearken unto me: the land u vhitIA four hundred ■ shekels of silver; what ia that betwixt me and thee 7 bury therefore thv dead.

16 And Abraham hearkened unto Bi^mxi;

at Hebron: and it is likelv that while he sojouraed at Beer-sheba, Sarah died at Hebron} and his coming to mourn and ue^yorAer, signifies his coming from ths former to the latter place on the news of her dnith.

Verse. 3. Abraham ttood vpfrom b^ort his dead\ Be had probaUy eat on tlte ground some days in token of sorrow, as the custom then was ( see Tofatt ii. 12, 13. IsaL xlviL 1. and Geo. xxxviL 36. and when U|ia time was fioirfied, ha arose, and began to treat about a btnyii^

Verse 4. Jama atraiu-er and a tojounur} It ajq>ears firom Heb. xi. 13—16. 1 Pet. ii. IL that these words refer more to the ttata of his mind than trf his bo^. He Ut that he had no certain dwelUog-ptacc^ and was mAiag by fsilb acity that had foundations.

Give me a yoaumimfoir a lnuyfmg-itTmBHd\ It has been remarked, that in (ufiinent nations it was deenwd rminiousto be buried in another's ground; probably prevailed in early times in tlte east: and it maiy be in reference to a sentiment of this kind, that Abraham refiiaes to accept the offer of the children of Heth to bury in any of their sepulchres, and earnestly roquesta them to sell him one, thm he might bury his wife in a plaoe that he eould claim as ftis own.

Verse 6. Thou ari ami^Uyjnitu*} ar^r/nt icwa Nati Elohimy a prince God; a person whom we knew ts - be divinely fitvoured; and whom, in conoequeno^ we deeply respect and reverence.

VerseS. Enireat for Toe to Eiihnn\ Abcaham had already seen the cave and field, and finding to whom disy belonged, and that thw would answer his purpose, came to the gate Hebron, where the elders of thepeople sat to admimster justice,&c. and where bargains ana sales were made andwitMssed; and having addressed liimself to the elders, among whom EjibTon, waa, though it appears he was not personally known to Abraham, he liegged them lo use their infiuence with the owner of the oave and field to sell it to him, that it might serve him and his family for a place oT sepulture.

Verse 10. And Ephron dwelt among the AUdrtn of Heth] And Bphron 3tr< yo^b, was siuing among the children of Heth, but as was before coujecuired was personal ly unknown to Abraham; he therefore answered far himseli^ making a Iree tender C4 tbe field, &c to Afataham in the presence of all the people, which amounted to a legal eonveyanet of the whole proper^ to the satriaidi.

Verse 1 3. Instead o^ if thou iriU give it, we sneuld read, But if thou wilt veil it, I wtU give thee money for tks fitld,] keseph, silver, not coined money, for it is not probable that any such was then in use.

Verse 16. The land is wortli four hundred AekeU ailver] Though the words is worth, are not in the text, vet tblBy are necessarily expressed here to adapt the Hebrew to the idiom of our tongue. A shekel, according to the general opinion, was e<iua] lo two shiUinga and sixpence; but according to Dr. Prideaux, wlioee eatiRiala I' shall follow, three shillings English, four hundred of whkh are equal to sixty pounds sterling; but it is evident that m certain weight is intended, and not a coin; for in v«r, 16> it is said, and Abraham weighed iptrrt va yi^ukal, the silver, and hence it appears that this weight itself pass nil qfttrtoafd as a current coin; for the woufd,^p* ahikd, is not only used to express a coin, or piece of siver, but olao to weigh; see the note on chap. xx. 16.

Verse 16. CurretU—widi the merchoTU.] ino^ 'oy 06sr UuoAer, pauing to, or with the traveller, mxk as was commonly used^ Uiose who travellod about with mar* chandise of any sort. Hie word signifies the sam« m hawker oi pediar among us.

VerselT. AUthelrecathaltKrtintheJtcld] Itisposr sible that all these ware specified ia the seraenenu and Abrekam • weighed to EpturoQ Ute eiJver, vMeh he had named m the audience ol' the sona (H* Heth, four hundred shekels <^ silver, current money with the merchant.

17 And the fleld of Bphrtm, which ■>ea» in llackp^ah, which w«« before Mamre. Uw field, amd toe cave which was therein^ and all the treea tluit were in the field, that were in all the bwders round about, were made sure,

18 Unto Abrahfun for a jpossesMon in the presence of the children of Heth, before all that went in at the gate trf* bis city.

W T And after tiiis Abraham buried Sarah his wife ia the cave oCibe field of Machpelah before Manire: the same ia Hebron in the land of Ca- BHaa.

20 And the field and the cave that it therein, < were made sure unto Abraham for a posaeasien o( a buryine place ^hy the sons of Heth..

Yem 30. And Aa Jttid, &c. were madt sure] Dp*i wen titamAetL eauted to standi the whole traimctioD having beeBngulMed soeor^ng to all dM fomu of law dMB in aae.

In this tranncdon between Abmhtira aivd the Boni of Hedi, eoDcenung the cave and field of Mec^peloti, we hsreAewUestaeeootttoii reconlof thej'unA^KMa/' listut. The linpliei^. opennen^ and oaodour oa both lioe^ not be too mwii admired.

SoMh beiiw dead, and Abraham being aoly a tojmenur in that land, •aiftingfivmiilaoe to place, for the mere purpoM of porturing his flocke, and having no right to any pan of the load, wirtied lo jmrAaat a place in which he might have the continual ri^t trf sepulture. For tliis Mirpoae, 1. He^me to the gate of the ci^, the plaee where, lo ul Mtcient times, joatwewM adrainiatered, and barRaine and >alc« eonehidedi and irtiere, for these purposex, the elders of the people sot 2. He there proposes to buy the cave, known by the noaie of the cave <^ Madvptlah, the «ave<rf the fumin<^ or dte<i<RiUecat>e, loratxuying place for bis family. 3. To prevent him from goiiig to any unneeeasaiy expense, the people, with one voice, offer him Oie privilege of burying his wife in any of their aepulchrea: dUs apMsriDg to ih^ to be no mora tboa die common r^tt ttThoepitality and humanirr required. 4. Abraham, intent on rooking a purchase, E^iJu-ori, the owner of the field and cave, values them at four hundred diekels i but ai the same time wishes Abraham to receive the whole as a «if1. 6. Abraham refuses the gift, and wei^ down die •ilver qweilled. 6. l^e people who enter m at the gate, L e. tbe inhabilaDta coming mm or going to their orduiaiy decnpatioaa ia the coantry, witness the transaction, and Ansi the cMtveyanee to Abraham ia made sure, without the intervention oT those puzzlen of civil aHairs, by whose tricks and chicanery, property often becomes insecure, and rights and succession precarioua and uncertain. But diia eensore does not Ul on law^rv properly so called, ^o are men of honour, and whose office, in every well regulated stale, is as usefiil as it is reqiectable. But the aeomulatioa and eomplek niUure of almost all modem i^yctenu of law, pnzztes even justice herself and often faidiuea decisions, by wiiich trudi fella in Hm streets, and e^ity goes backwards. In the first ages of mankind, suaptcion, deceit, and guile, seem to have had a very limited influence. Happy days of primitive nmplioityl past, for ever past. When duul ibey reluml

We often hear of the riufmeH and frOrftariQr of the primitive ana; but on what evideoee? Bverynileof poKteneaa that could he acted apon in aneh a case aa that mentioned here, is brought into full practice. Is it tiossible to ftad the simple narration in this place without admirine the amiaUe^ decent and polite conduct displayed on both •idest Had even LonI Cbeeterfidd read this account, his good sense would have led him to propose it as a model in ul nanaaetiona between man and bis fellows. There is aeidierawbwvd atiff fimnolihr on the one hand, nor frippery afftctation on the other. Decent respect, good sense, good nature, and good breeding, are all prominently displayed. And how highly Laudable and useful is all this! A pedant or a 6oor on eidier tide, might have destroyed the simpliciiyof the whole transaction; tlie one by engendering cottfion and AisTrfetim, and the other by £rc£mij'(/irgusf. In all such tnuMRcticma dte freott aiid the boor are •qnolly 10 be avoided. Prom tlie Jlra^ no rincer£(y can be oaeeied; and themannenof the latter render him iololei^ Mb. "ntBroHffiooafifaeBiMareeomnwndaaiidiQealeatee ordK^bahtviABvaawellapsri^orheartandlift. They

AND Abraham • was old, and ' well stricken in age: and the Lord 'had blessed Abraham in all tliinffB.

who, under tlie sanction of religion, trample under foot the decent forma of civil respect, supposing, that because they are religioti^ they have r right to be rude, totally mistake die spini of Chrutimity, for love or charily (the soul and e>- eence of that religion) behwetk net itee{f unaeemhi. Every attentive reader of Uie thirteenth chapter of St. PanPa first epistle to the Corinthians, will clearfr diaeem diat the description of true religion, given in inat place, appliea^ forcibly to good breeaiiw, as to inward and outward hot nesB. What lessens of Tionea^, decent reaped, and gooa mdnner^ could a sensible - man derive fttim AbrMom treating *ith the sons of Heth for the cave of Machpelah % and mUtam Penn, treating with the American Indiana tor the tract of land now called Pennsylvania I 2 leave others to draw the parallel, and to show how exactly tha conduct and ^tirit of patriarch the jJrs*, were exemplified in theoonduet and spirit of potriatob the seoondL Let the righteous be had in everlasting remembrance 1

Verse 1. And Abraham teas old] He was now about one himdred and for^yeais of age. and eonseqoeaUy laaae was forty, being bom v^n bis rather waa one faondred years old. See chap. zxi. 6. & zxv. 20.

Verse 2. Efdat etrvant} As thia eldest servant is stated to have been the ruler over eU 'Aai he had, it is very Ukely diet Eliezar is meant. See chap. xv. 2, %

Of tin CanaanitCMl Because these had already been devoted to tlarery, &c. and it would have been utterly in* connsten^ as weU with prudence as with the design ot GKid, to have united the child and A<irof tbepremiMwitb one who was tmder a eursA diough that curse mig^tho considered to be only of a political nature. See the curse of Canaan, chap. ix. y

Verse 4. Afy eauntry] Mesopotamia: called here, Abraham's country, because it was the place where the femily of Haran, his brother, hod settled t and where himaelf had remained a considerable time with his foOier Tenli. In this fiunily, as well as in that of Nnhor, the true rc^gkn had been in some won preaerved, though afterward considerably corrupted. See chap. xxxi. 19.

We may see, says Oslmet, by this and other passages of Scripture, Joah. ix. 18. what the sentiments of the ancients were reladve to an oath. They believed they were bound precisely by vAat wu epolten, and hod no liberty to interpret the intnitions of those to whom the oath was made.

Verse 7. T%e Lord Ood, Ac.] Be ez|>resses the strongest confidence in Ood, that the grrat designs for which he had brought him from bin own kindred, to propagate tlie tnie religion in the earth, would be accomptishM i and that therefore, when earthly instrumenu failed, heavenly ones dioutd be emplmwd. HeAalltendhiaangd,pnin- ■ bly meaning the oogel of tbe covenant, of whom see chap. XY. 7.

Verse 9. Put hU hand under Ou thigh qf Abraham] "Hiis Jbrm of swearing has greatly jntzzled the commentators I but it is useless to detail opinions which I neither believe myself, nor would wish my readers lo crediu I. believe the true sense is given in the Targam of Jonatfian 6m Uzxid, and that called the Jeruealem Thryum. In die former it is aaid, Put nmo thy hand fiS™ nvijo bigtMirath mahoteti—ln eeeliane eirmmcieimie mm I in the latter, vp t^"" teckolk yerec keyami—mb Amors fltdaria md. When we put the circumstaoees ewMioiMd ia dii« and the diii^verse togelber, m rfyO)

2 And AbnAam said ■ unto his eldest servant of hie hcnue, that ruled over all that he had, * Put, 1 pray thee, thy hand under my thigh:

3 Aod I will make tfaeo * swear by the Lord, the Qod of heaven, and the God of the earth, tluit ■ thou shidt not take a wife unto niy boo of the doDffhten of the Caoaanites, among whom 1 dwell:

4 ' But thou shalt go * unto my country, and to my tundred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac.

5 And the servant said onto him, Peradventure thn woman will not be wUline to follow me iflito this land: must I needi tHring thy<on again unto the land from whence thou earnest 1

6 And Abraham said unto him, Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither a^ain.

7 The Lord Qod of heaven, ^ whidi took me from my father's house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto me, Bayins, ■ Unto thy eeed will I

give this XanA; he duul send his angel' before lee, and thou shalt take a wife anto my son from thence.

8 And if the woman will not be willing to follow thee, then ■ thou shalt be clear from this my oath: only bring not my son thither again.

9 And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and sware to him •oBceroing that matter.

AQ it And the servant took ten camels of the <nmel8of his master, and departed: ("for "all the goods of his master w«r« in his hand:) and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto " the city of Nahor.

find lhaX they fitlly expren the ancieat method of binding by oath, in euch tranncUoDs as bad a reli^oiu tendency. I. lie rite or Mmnonvusad on the occasion: the pervon Ending himself, put hiBiiand under the thigh of the person to whom be waa to be bound; i. e. he putliis hand on the pari diat bore the mark of eircumdnon^ the lign of Ood'a covenant; which ia tantamount to our kUnng the bot^ or li^ng the band upon the Pfew Tutameni, or eavctwU of our Cord Jeaua CairiaL 2. Tbe/orm of tha oath itadf: Aa panoD swore *y Jdtooah, A» Ocd Aeavan, and (he Gadqf tiu earth. Hues aaaential attributes of God are here tneationed t 1. His aeif-exitttnct and tttmUy in the name Jtlunah. 2. His donUttUm otgtory, and bleasednass is the kiogdom of heaven. 3. His prwitUwx and bounty in the earth. TTie meaning of the oath seema to be this: "As God is unchangeable in his nature and puipoae% so iiwll I be in this engagement, under the penalty of fiwfeUaK all expectation of tempafal prospenty, the beasts of wa mysueal eovMSOt, snid fbuire glory." An oath of this kiDf^ taken at such a tune, and on such an occasion, ean nevesr be deemed irreligious or pro6ane. TTufu Mali twar by hU name — shall acknowledge and Irind thyself unto the tnu Ood, as the just Judge of thy motives and aetiotts, is a command of the Host High; and auch an oath as the above, is at once (on such an oeoasion,) both proper and ration). Tbt person binding himnl^ praposea for apatUnt die uiuhangeabU and JuW Ood I and as Hs is the avenrnr of wrong, and the punisher of Cklsehood, and has oil power in the heavens and in the wrth, so he can punish perjury by privation of spiritual and temporal blessings j by the loss of life, and liy inflieting the perdition due to ungodly men, among whom liars and perjured persons occupy the moat distinguished rank. Our ideas of delieaOT may revolt from the riU used on this occasion; but when the nature of the covenant is considered, of which ctrcunKwton was the aign, we shall at once perceive, that this rile could not be used without producing sentiments of revereooe and godly fear, as the contracting party must know that the God of Ibis eoveaant was a consuming fire.

Verse 10. Took tan catnsbj It araiMrs that Abraham had left the whole management oi 'this buainesa to the diseration of his servant, to take with him what retinue sod what dowry be pleased; fbr it is added— ^ l&e goods 1^ kit maaUr wars in Ais kandi and in Ihoss tims^ U was cortMMunr to g<H m dowir^ a wikand not to rseetss wAA her.

It And he made his camels to hneel down without the efty by a wetl of water at the time of the evening, e««K the time p that women ^ out to draw water. t

IS ^ And he said, ■* O Losn Qod. of my master Abraham, I pr» thee, *send me good speed this day, ana sntfir kitdness tmto my master Abraham.

13 Behold, 1 1 stand A«re 1^ the well of water) and "the daughters of the men of the ei^ cone out to draw water:

14 And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say. Let down thy pitoher, I pmf thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I wfll give thy cameb drink also: Itt tke same be she fAof thou hast appointed fw thy servant Isaac; and * thereby dmll I know that thou hast showed kindness unto my master.

15 ^ And it came to pass, before he had done speakmg, that, behold, Kebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of * Milcah, the wifb of Nobor, Abraham's brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder.

Iti And the damsel ' was "* very fair to look upon, a vlrgm, neither had any man known her: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up.

17 And the servant ran to meet her, and said. Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher.

18 ■ And she saki, Driak, my k>rd. aod she lusted, and let down her pitcher upon her hud, and gave him drink.

19 And when she had done giving him drink.

themselves, or lie down, as the Septuagint has very properly ezwened it — Kai rat xafiiiXoui.

Versa 12. AndkeaaO, O Lord QotL Ac] "Theeooduct of this servant," says Dr. Dodd, " aHKUi no leas pious than rational. By supplicating for a sign, be acknowledges God to be ue great Superintendaol and Director of the universe, and of that event in particular; and, at the same time, hy asking a natural sign, such as betokened humani^ condescension, and other qualities which promised a uaereel and virtuous wib^ he puis Ida prayer upon suuh a diaereet rational IbotinK aa is be a proper ejjunple for alt to imitate, who would not icmpC the providence of God by expecting extraordinary signs to be given tliem for the determination of caaea^ which they are capable of deciding by a proper ose of tfaor rauoual 6KultieB." This is all very good i but certauily the case referred to bere, is such an one as retired especial direction from God { a case which no use of the rattooal locultiM, without divine influence, could be aufficient to determine. It ia easy to run into extremes, and it is very naluml so to do. In all things, the assistance and bless' ing of God are neoeasaiy, even where human strength and wisdom have the fidlest and freest apbcre <^ action: but there are numberless eases of infinite consequence to man, where his atrength and prudence ean be of little or no avail; and where the God of all grace must work all things according to the counsel M his own will. To expect the accomplishment of any good end, wilhoat s proper use of the means, is the most reprehensible endiusiasm; and to suppose, Uiat any good can be done or procured without the blessing and mercy of Qod, merely becauae proper means are used, is not less reprenenaifale. Plan, achsm^ and labour, like Eliezor, and then, by earnest fiuth and piwer, oommit the whole to the direcUos and blessing of God.