abominable and diabolical enemies of God and man, his superior attainments in knowledge, his eminent piety, the holiness of his life and the happiness of his death, combine to render his character one of the most attractive, as well as the most memorable, described in the annals of the world; and his existence has involved, beyond that of any other being, the most momentous consequences to the cause of truth, to the church of God, and to the intelligent inhabitants of the globe. It is not however to be forgotten, that the sacred historian has not concealed his faults. His character was not perfect; even his faith was sometimes ready to fail; and by attempting on two occasions to escape from danger by subterfuge and prevarication, he exposed himself to imminent perils, from which he was only delivered by the Providence of God. This impartiality of the Sacred Writings, so different from the fabulous bombast of the Koran, and from the ridiculous attribution of superhuman virtues to the characters which are described in other pertended revelations from God, is one striking demonstration of their authenticity; and proves that their authors were so conscious of the genuineness of the influence by which they were inspired, that they disdained the artifices and affectation, the elaborate attempts to elevate to perfect excellence the founders or principal heroes of their systems, which are the inseparable concomitants and the convincing evidences of human imposture and forgery.

Have any testimonies been given by profane writers to the character of Abraham?

The testimonies of profane writers to the dignity and importance of the character of Abraham, are too numerous to be recited here. The Jews, the Mohammedans, and the modern Guebres or fire worshippers of the East, have all different traditions relative to his character and actions, which exhibit their high respect for him, as one of the greatest and best of men. In the early ages of the Christian church, a sect called the Sethians, published what they called "The Revelations of Abraham." Athanasius speaks of what he terms, "The Assumption of Abraham." Josephus states, that during his residence in Egypt, he became

famous for the solidity of his judgment, and the power of his elocution, and that he instructed the Egyptians in astronomy and other sciences. Suidas refers to him as the inventor of letters and the Hebrew language; and Alexander Severus, the Roman Emperor, had so high a veneration for him, that he ranked him among the number of his Deities.

SECTION IV.

TRANSACTIONS OF THE SONS OF ISAAC.

WHO were the sons of Isaac?

ALTHOUGH Soon after the death of his father, Isaac received a ratification of the promises of God relative to the power and the numbers of his posterity, yet nineteen years rolled away, before their fulfilment in the birth of children, arrived. The unnatural A. C. 1836. struggle of twins prior to their birth, excited the uneasiness of Rebekah; she was, however, divinely informed that two nations were contending in her womb, that one people should be stronger than the other people, and that the elder son should serve the younger. The children were born; Esau the elder, and the ancestor of the Edomites, became a bold and undaunted warrior and hunter, a man of violent, enterprising, and reckless character; while Jacob his brother, of softer disposition and more amiable manners, was addicted to the quiet employments of domestic life. Jacob soon proved how appropriate was his name, which signifies "the supplanter.' When Esau had returned on one occasion to the tent of his father, enfeebled by hunger, and exhausted by the fatigues of the chase, he profanely bartered away all his rights of primogeniture for a morsel of meat; and thus abandoned, for the momentary gratification of a craving appetite, all connexion with the inestimable promises which had been made relative to the future fortunes and unrivalled grandeur of his family.

How was Esau deprived of the blessing of his father? Although Esau had grieved the hearts of his pa

rents by forming an unprincipled connexion in marriage with the idolatrous inhabitants of the country, he was still dear to the affections of his father, who intended to pronounce upon him that solemn blessing, which appears in the patriarchal age, to have been a con firmation essential to the rights of the first-born son, But Jacob, assisted by his partial mother, by a most unworthy and wicked artifice, imposed himself for his brother upon his venerable father, whose eyes were dim with age, and thus furtively obtained the solemn blessing a blessing expressly involving his supremacy over Esau, and a curse upon every one opposing his claims. The fraud was soon discovered; and notwithstanding the pathetic entreaties, the mournful exclamations, and the gushing tears of his first-born son, Isaac found himself unable to revoke the solemn grant of superior dignity and privilege which he had made to Jacob. The indignation of Esau was aroused; he determined to wipe away the affront in the blood of the offender; and he only waited for the death of his father to execute his purpose of revenge. But the art of Rebekah again interposed on behalf Jacob. She described to her husband her pretended apprehensions that he might be tempted to follow the example of Esau by marrying one of the daughters of the land; Isaac was deceived by the representation; he sent his fraudulent son away to Laban his brotherin-law, and Jacob commenced his journey more like a criminal and a fugitive, than the heir of an opulent chieftain of the East.

What incidental observation is demanded by these recitals?

It is to be recollected that the divine communications to the patriarchs, by no means implies the perfection of their characters; neither do the narrations of the sacred historian involve the conclusion, that all their conduct is exhibited for imitation, or entitled to applause. The malignity of infidelity has exultingly seized upon the improper actions they are stated to have committed, and has then triumphed as though the claims of inspiration had been successfully and completely invalidated. The most superficial reader must, however, perceive, that the actions of the pa

triarchs are often stated as matters of fact, and not of example. For reasons sufficiently important, their vices, as well as their virtues, are commemoratedto show the awful tendency of all human beings, even when receiving the most extraordinary manifestations of the divine favour, to depart from God-to prove that perfection of character is never to be expected on this side the grave-to evince the dependance of the highest and most honoured of mortals upon the gracious influence of the great Author of holiness-and to magnify the boundless condescension of that adorable Jehovah, who has rendered such erring and vacillating beings as these, the instruments of accomplishing his glorious purposes for the salvation of a sin-disordered world.

What occurred to Jacob on his way to Mesopotamia? As Jacob travelled to the place of his destination, he had the vision of a ladder connecting heaven and earth, and upon which the angels were passing to and fro-a vision, which not only described the universality of providence, but which also prefigured the work of the Son of God, who was "to gather together in one all things in himself, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth;" to whom the angels are subject, and whom they delight to adore. The promises which God had made to Abraham were on this interesting occasion renewed to Jacob; he was assured that Canaan was to belong to his descendants, that their number should be immense, and that there should originate from among them one, whose existence should be a transcendent blessing to the whole human race.

Name some events in the history of Jacob which took place in Mesopotamia.

His meeting with Rachel, his reception by Laban, his agreement to serve his kinsman seven years as a dowry or purchase for Rachel, the fraud of Laban in substituting Leah for Rachel, the prolongation of Jacob's servitude through other seven years, the rapid increase of his family, the discussions and animosities of his wives, the vast accumulation of his riches, the manner of his separation from Laban, the commence

A. C. 1739.

ment of his return from the original country of his ancestors to the land of Canaan, are all detailed with equal simplicity and grandeur by the sacred historian, but do not demand a specific illustration in this place.

What remarkable circumstance occurred when Jacob left Laban his father-in-law?

When Jacob fled from the house of Laban, his wives secretly conveyed away the idols or Teraphim of their father. This shows the rapid progress of idolatry in Chaldæa since the departure of Abraham from that country. The form of idolatry appears to have undergone a very considerable alteration, and unhappy men to have awfully descended in intellectual and moral degradation. Instead of the adoration of the heavenly bodies, which, by some strange and impious perversion, were considered as either symbolical of, or endowed with, the qualities of the illustrious dead, we find that images, most probably assimilated to the human form, and corresponding with the Lares of posterior ages, were regarded with reverence in the houses and by the families of these primitive orien tals. What these Teraphim were, it is not possible to ascertain; they became afterwards known as talismen; they were made of different metals and sizes; and they were covered with magical characters and planetary resemblances. That the Teraphim taken by the wives of Jacob were idolatrous personifications, and that their very possession was flagrant impiety, is evident from the fact, that when some years after they had been stolen from Laban and retained in the possession of Jacob by the artifice of Rachel, that patriarch was anxiously attempting the purification of his family, he commanded these strange gods to be buried under a tree in Sichem, and thus removed that temptation to idolatry, which they would always have presented to his wives, his children, and his domestics. A deplorable predictive indication this, of that inveterate tendency to idolatry, by which the Israelites were both degraded and accursed, until their national independence, the glory of their city, and the dynasties of their kings, disappeared amidst the degradation and misery of the Babylonish captivity.