sending an angel to command him to arise and take the lad, his well loved one, and Sarah's darling, and offer him up as a burnt sacrifice on the altar to his God. Who, though He knew Abram's deep strong love and faith in Him, yet, for example's sake it pleased God to test that faith more openly by wringing the tenderest fibres of his heart, to give up his new born treasure to his God.

Does He not, dear reader, try His children in like manner at the present day? Not by placing our idols on a fiery altar, but by rending them from our hearts, or from our side, which fires, alas! oft seem to overwhelm us; but when it so happens let us strive to follow Abram's example, and meekly submit without one murmur, obey the severest command; then we like him shall receive a blessed reward.

Mark how humbly he prepared for the journey to the appointed place; and how humbly he prepared the fire with his own hands; having left his servants a little way off whilst he proceeded with the lad to obey his God. Neither doubts or fears seem to have disturbed his breast, of what they might say or think when he returned without the lad, who stood silently watching his father prepare the sacrificial altar, but

seeing no lamb ready as usual to be offered up, he enquired of his father where it was? who replied, "God will provide the lamb for His sacrifice." And when his father began to bind him, we read of no complaints; innocently had he been led to the altar by his father; submissive must have been the lad's spirit to the Lord's will, to thus so unresistingly permit his father to lay him on the altar as a sacrifice. But Isaac was chosen by God for a symbolic type of the true Lamb, who in the far future would leave His Father's home, and sacrifice himself by living in humility, "despised and rejected of men,” submitting to shed His precious blood on a felon's cross, out of pity and out of love for the salvation of mankind, and seeing no way for our escape, would beseech our Heavenly Father to send Him to this cold, wicked world of sinful humanity as our redeeming brother, like Isaac, willing to bow unmurmuringly to what His Father placed upon

Him.

But again, mark, reader! how faithfully God performs His promise to us frail beings; only thus far will I try Thee, and no further. Fear not, therefore, to trust Him who hast called thee by Thy name, being His adopted one, He will be by our side through all floods and fires.

"Abra

Then

When Abram took the knife to slay his son, an Angel called out of Heaven and said, ham, Abraham, lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him, for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thine only son from Me." Abraham lifting up his eyes saw a ram caught in a thicket, which he took and offered up in his son's stead. He called the place Jehovah Jireh, as it is said to this day.-in the Mount of the Lord it shall be seen, as a token of remembrance how the Lord will provide.

On this mount, which was one of the hills of Moriah, over against the present boundary of the city wall at Jerusalem, the same side as the Jaffa Gate, there King Solomon built the House of the Lord, where the Lord appeared unto David, his father, in the place that David had prepared in the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.2nd Chron. iii., 1. From thence Abraham returned to join his servants, accompanied by his restored son, with a lighter heart, full of blessing from his God, who had said unto him, "In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed because thou hast obeyed my voice." What a blessed reward for obedience, dear reader. So Abraham proceeded to his home at Beer-sheba,

a more blessed man than when he started from it. When Sarah his wife was an hundred and twenty-seven years old, she died, at Kirjath-arba, the same is called Hebron in the land of Canaan. Abraham besought the children of Heth to sell into his possession the cave of Machpelah, which was in the field before Mamre. Then the field and cave therein were made sure to Abraham for a burying place. After the days of mourning for Sarah were ended, Isaac being twenty-seven when his mother died, his father sent his servant, an old faithful one, a sort of steward who ruled over all that he had, for Abraham was rich, a mighty prince, and above all, the highly favoured friend of God. Remembering the promised blessing was to be showered upon his seed, he made his servant swear by the Lord his God to be faithful, and not bring a wife for his son Isaac out of the from among his own kindred. ham's firm faith, for he said, Angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence; and if the woman will not be willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear from this mine oath." But Abraham's submissive faith was rewarded with success. Truly the Angel had gone before, and prepared the maiden to accept the ambassador's request; making also her father and

land of Canaan, but Mark, reader, Abra"God will send His

brethren willing to let her return with the faithful steward; who said, when he told his errand, "The thing proceedeth from the Lord, we cannot speak unto thee bad or good." Naturally enough, they would rather have kept her, but the Lord's will must be obeyed. They say, "Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take her and go, and let her be thy master's son's wife, as the Lord hath spoken." So then she arose and accompanied him with her maids to Beer-sheba, and was there met by Isaac, who was strolling in the fields, it being eventide, and took her to his mother's tent, no doubt to be welcomed by his old father. Isaac, we are told, loved Rebekah, by whom he had two sons. The elder they called Esau, the other Jacob. Esau became a cunning huntsman; but the younger was a plain humble man quietly dwelling at home in his tent, and was his mother's favourite. Esau displeased his parents, and grieved them by his rambling amongst the Canaanites, who were idolators, and took to himself wives from amongst them. Thus recklessly indifferent had he become to obey the strict command of the God of his fathers, that he should not join himself to idols. One day, in a moment of impulse, he sold, or gave up-is the real meaning to Jacob his Priestly right for a mess of pottage, showing to what a low reckless state of