900

me and the earth.

And it shall come to pass,

when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud. And I will remember my covenant which is between me and you, and every living creature, and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh." Gen. ix.

till fire purge all things new, Both Heaven and Earth, wherein the just shall dwell.

Then shall the heavenly luminaries be quenched in their orbs; the elements shall melt with fervent heat, and the earth and all therein shall be burnt up: But even then, all those that believe in Christ, and with obedient love have called upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved with an everlasting salvation. May that be through grace our happy portion; and may its prospects be daily brightning upon us, till it shall open in its full lustre, and shine beautiful and glorious amidst the flames of a dissolving world.

END OF THE ELEVENTH BOOK.

BOOK XII.

24

till one shall rise

Of proud ambitious heart :

It is supposed that the first goverments were patriarchial, until Nimrod laid the foundation for kingly government.

33 A mighty hunter thencc he shall be styled

101

Nimrod was a mighty hunter before the Lord. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel. And Jehovah came down to the city and the tower which the children of men builded. And Jehovah said, Let us confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. So Jehovah scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: Therefore is the name of it called Babel, because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth. Gen. x.

Witness th' irreverent son

Of him who built the ark,

Ham, the son of Noah, who was himself the father of a family, coming from the secret part of his parents tent, laid open to ridicule the frailty which he had accidentally there witnessed. None but fools will make a mock of sin: but to turn it into exultation, to triumph over the failings of

others, shews a malevolent disposition, suited only to the nature of that being who rejoiceth in evil. In the case of Ham, the offence was much aggravated; for the object of his derision was an aged and affectionate parent, whom it was his duty to protect. When the patriarch was made acquainted with his behaviour, he pronounced, in the spirit of prophecy, a curse upon Canaan, the son of Ham. And he said, cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. 114 Him on this side Euphrates yet residing Bred up in idol worship,

120

126

Gen. ix.

Abraham: this patriarch stands eminently distinguished as an example of unshaken confidence in the promise, and of uniform obedience to the will of the Almighty; on which account he obtained the exalted distinctions of, Father of the Faithful, and the Friend of God. Chaldea was and so it con

at that time overran with idolatry,
tinued for many ages afterwards. The prevailing
worship was that of the host of heaven; or the sun,
moon and stars, to which a divine influence was
attributed whence the vain science of astrology
took its rise among the Chaldeans.

Yet him God the Most High vouchsafes

To call by vision,

Now Jehovah had said unto Abraham, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee. Gen. xii. 1, 2.

he straight obeys ;

Not knowing to what land, yet firm believes:

And he went out, not knowing whither he went.

128

Heb. xi. 8. By faith that illustrious patriarch, Abraham, being called by the God of Glory, who appeared to him, to go out from his father's house and native land, to a distant place, which God promised that he should afterwards receive for an inheritance, obeyed without disputing or murmuring, and went out; though he knew not whither he was going, or to which part of the world he was to steer his course, humbly resigning himself to divine providence to mark out his journey and abode.

He leaves his gods, his friends and native soil

And they went forth from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran and dwelt there. Gen. xi. 31. 135 Canaan he now attains;

And they went forth from Haran, to go into the land of Canaan; and into Canaan they came : and Abram passed through the land, unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Morch, And Jehovah appeared unto Abram, and said; Unto thy seed will I give this land.

141 From Hermon east

A fertile mountain in the north of Canaan, near Mount Lebanon, beyond Jordan.

144 Mount Carmel; here the double-founted stream, Jordan, true limit eastward:

Carmel, a mountain in the Holy Land, fifty miles north west from Jerusalem. The river Jordan crosses Palestine, from north to south, and falls into the Dead Sea.

146 Shall dwell to Senir, that long ridge of hills

Senir or Seir, a long ridge of mountains, with many fertile tracts of land which constituted the country of the Edomites on the south side of the Red Sea and Canaan, forty-six miles from Jerusalem.

152 Whom faithful Abraham due time shall call,

Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram; but thy name shall be called Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. Gen. xvii. 5.

153 A son, and of his son a grand-child leaves

In the memoir of Abraham, we have viewed the great patriarch in trying situations: the life of his son Isaac was less diversified; for he having the advantage of a pious education and a good estate, sat down in the possession of it, without feeling the necessity of wandering about, to seek for either pleasure or riches. Eliezer, the pious steward of Abraham, was sent to Mesopotamia, to seek a wife for Isaac, from among the children of his brother Nahor: on his arrival at the place of destination, he stopped at a well, that his camels might drink. This steward had a most tender concern for the welfare of his master; and he shewed it, by a solicitous regard to promote his wishes for success, upon the commisson with which he was entrusted. He meets the daughter of Laban at the well, and is charmed with her affability, and secretly wishes that she might prove a branch of his master's brethren. The sacred writer observed, that the man wondered at her ;' and well he might: the winning grace of such be