. ; The Library University of California, Los Angek The gift of Mrs. Cummings, 1963 Ji / ^ t* "n rnnat? THE SABBATHS OF THE LOED." SABBATH MEDITATIONS EACH MEDITATION CONCLUDING WITH AN APPROPRIATE PRAYER. BY M. H. BKESSLAU, PROFESSOR OP HEBREW, ETC. 'H BTIP Call the Sabbath a delight, The Holy of the Lord, honorable. LONDON: PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR, AND MAT BE HAD OF HIM AT 18, MANSELL STREET, GOODMAN'S FIELDS. M.DOCC.LVIH. LONDON: PJllNTJED BY J. WEKTHEIMER AND CO. CIBCUS PLACE, FINSBUBT CIRCUS. TO THE MEMORY OF HIS LATE PIOUS AND DEARLY -BELOVED MOTHER, GUTEL BRESSLAU, THIS WORK IS HUMBLY AND DUTIFULLY DEDICATED BY THE AUTHOR. nn / nyt2j o^n fj; Sy ^nnn^ ipv n o^n noa 2037462 PREFACE. THE want of domestic Sabbath reading, such as is calculated to instruct and to edify, has been so long and so strongly felt in the Jewish community, that no apologetic remarks are required for the introduction of this volume. In the house of divine worship, the law of God is read in the original arid sacred tongue, ac- cording to ancient custom, but many, alas ! are not conversant with the Hebrew language it is recited, but not propounded. In some synagogues, pulpit in- struction is exceedingly scarce, whilst in others the pulpit is entirely mute; not to mention^ that circum- stances may occasionally preclude attendance at the house of God. But even the regular attendant feels anxious to devote some part of the sacred day to earnest reflection ; and after six days of worldly labour and anxiety, longs for the Day of Rest, when he may, in calmness and repose, think of higher, nobler, and more lasting objects; he also stands in need of such occupation during the remainder of the day as will tend to his mental refreshment, and consecrate it a " Day of the Lord." We could not, therefore, select any reading more effectually answering this laudable demand, and more appropriate to the holy character of the day, than Meditations on the Portions of the Pentateuch, recited on each Sabbath; as well as on the Haphtorahs, or prophetic lessons bearing on the same. In these Reflections, we have endeavoured to en- lighten obscurities, to reconcile discrepancies, and to deduce from the scriptural narrative the moral lessons VI PREFACE. in which they so richly abound. In the course of our translations, we have deemed it necessary frequently to deviate from the authorised version, adopting the ren- derings and interpretations of ancient and modern Jewish commentators, which will be found much clearer, and more in harmony with the context. Nor have we lost sight of the beautiful and ingenious parables and allegories of the Midrashim ; so powerfully illustrating the Divine Word, and so largely contri- buting to its spiritualisation. We found the field of our traditional literature so fertile and productive of moral and religious truths; we discovered in that garden of knowledge so many flowers, fragrant with sweetness, and abundantly containing seeds of useful instruction, that we had no need to draw from foreign sources to attain the end we had in view. We per- ceived that those fields were irrigated " by the fountains of living waters," and required no " broken cisterns" of speculative and unsound doctrine. These Meditations being of a devotional character, we concluded each of them with a short but compre- hensive prayer, embodying the principal points of the lessons taught by Moses and the Prophets, in the respective portions read on the different Sabbaths of the year. May our humble but earnest efforts meet with the approbation of the Public; and may our hopes in the instruction which we seek to convey, and the edification we are desirous to afford, be fully realised. M. H. BRESSLAU. CONTENTS. MEDITATIONS ON GENESIS. Page. First Portion . . .1 Seventh Portion . Prayer . .,, . . 6 Prayer . Second Portion . :: . . 7 Eighth Portion Prayer . y '...', 12 Prayer Third Portion . 13 Ninth Portion Prayer . 20 Prayer . Fourth Portion ". . .21 Tenth Portion . Prayer . . . . ' .25 Prayer . Fifth Portion . 27 Eleventh Portion Prayer . . 31 Prayer Sixth Portion . 33 Twelfth Portion . Prayer . 39 Prayer MEDITATIONS ON EXODUS. First Portion '. l . . 82 Seventh Portion . Prayer . ., , . 86 Prayer Second Portion '. " /<. . 87 Eighth Portion . Prayer . 90 Prayer Third Portion . 91 Ninth Portion Prayer . 95 Prayer . Fourth Portion . 96 Tenth Portion Prayer . 102 Prayer . . Fifth Portion . 104 Eleventh Portion Prayer . ; - . 108 Prayer . > Sixth Portion , .110 Prayer . . .115 Page. . 41 . 46 . 47 . 52 . 53 . 59 . 60 . 66 . 68 . 72 . 74 81 116 120 121 125 127 131 132 137 139 144 Vlll CONTENTS. MEDITATIONS ON LEVITICUS. Page. First Portion . 145 Sixth Portion Prayer . . 149 Prayer . . Second Portion . 151 Seventh Portion Prayer . . 155 Prayer . Third Portion . 156 Eighth Portion . Prayer . . 161 Prayer . Fourth Portion . 162 Ninth Portion . Prayer . . 167 Prayer . Fifth Portion . 169 Tenth Portion . Prayer . . 173 Prayer . MEDITATIONS ON NUMBERS. First Portion . 205 Sixth Portion . Prayer . . 209 Prayer . Second Portion . 210 Seventh Portion Prayer . . 214 Prayer Third Portion . 216 Eighth Portion . Prayer . . 225 Prayer . Fourth Portion . 226 Ninth Portion . Prayer . . 231 Prayer . Fifth Portion . 233 Tenth Portion . Prayer . . 239 Prayer . MEDITATIONS ON DEUTERONOMY. First Portion . 281 Seventh Portion Prayer . . 287 Prayer . '. Second Portion . 289 ! Eighth Portion . Prayer . . . . 296 Prayer . ,, . Third Portion . ' . . .298 Ninth Portion . Prayer . . 305 Prayer . Fourth Portion ; . .307 Tenth Portion . Prayer . . 312 Prayer . Fifth Portion .313 Eleventh Portion Prayer . . 320 Prayer . Sixth Portion ; ; . . 321 Prayer . . ' ,' ; " . 328 Page. 175 179 181 186 188 192 193 197 199 204 241 247 248 256 257 263 265 271 273 279 330 337 339 346 348 354 356 365 366 374 SABBATH MEDITATIONS ON THE PENTATEUCH AND ON THE HAPHTORAHS. -no FIRST PORTION OF GENESIS, rmua oyn , u ynv: -m yw& nioi , ran rnvp rx )n " Lo, these are parts of His ways: and how little a portion is heard of Him. But the thunder of His power who can understand?" Job xxvi. 14. " Canst thou," says Rabbi Hunna, in the Midrash, " not fathom the nature of thunder, how wilt thou solve the problem of the whole creation ?" GRAND is the history of creation with which Holy Writ com- mences; every word, every letter, opens a wide field of research for the mind of man. The more he ponders on it, the wider the gates of knowledge open themselves to him. The deeper he penetrates into the chambers of nature, the clearer he perceives the light of God. By the faint glimmer of his own lamp, it is true, he can hardly descry the objects of nature ; but, by the all- illuminating and never-extinguishing light of God the truths of revelation he will be able to discern the wonders of creation more closely, and arrive at the conclusion " that God is the Creator, and the Beginning of creation." The inexhaustible mass of the world's literature, manuscript and print, produces no history of the creation equal to ours; and nothing testifies its genuineness more strongly than the fact, that among the earliest and oldest nations and peoples of the earth, have been found fragments of traditional tales and laws agreeing with the revealed account of creation. Eabbi Isaac asks, in the Talmud, " Why does not the Torah (the book of laws) commence at once with the laws and statutes? Wherefore begins it with the history of creation?" The. reply, says the Rabbi, is found in Scripture: "The strength of His B 2 SABBATH MEDITATIONS ON works He hath first declared unto His people, and then gave His covenant unto the world." (Ps cxi. 6). It was deemed necessary by the All-wise, previous to his ushering the covenant of the law into the world, to make manifest to mankind the power of His majesty through the great work of the creation. And who can read attentively that simple and sublime chapter of the creation without reverential awe and devotional fear? Who can peruse that unadorned, yet magnificent account of the birth of the heaven and the earth, and all their host who can recite the long series of wonders and miracles wrought, in calling to existence out of nothing the innumerable flowers, herbs, and trees of the field, the fowls of the air, the beasts of the earth, and the origin of him who was to rule over them all the creation of man? Must not the reader of that chapter of chapters shrink back into his own nothingness at the awe-inspiring contemplations of God's majesty? Must he not tremble with amazement, and his soul be wrapped in fervent and pious admiration? A talmudical philosopher justly observes, " Every sentence of the first chapter of Genesis contains a history and a lesson : it is the index of the Bible. Every act and every word (and the wotds of God are acts) contains a moral instruction applicable to ourselves; for every man forms a small world in himself." The details of the creation are replete with allegorical interpretations. The divine command, " Let there be," which called the woi'ks of nature into existence, occurs ten times in this chapter. But who doubts that the one single sentence, " Let there be the universe/' proceeding from the irresistible will of the Omnipotent, would have produced the same at once, which the ten-fold repetition of "Let there be" begot? It is an allegorical allusion, our sages tell us, to the Ten Commandments; the fulfilment of which con- stitutes the covenant of God with mankind, and the conditions on which the existence of the universe is based. Although the reve- lations of the Ten Commandments followed thousands of years after the creation, yet nSnn PQBTI&1 HGJ^D S|1D " the end of the deed is first in thought;" and that revelation was the purpose, and therefore the beginning in the Divine contemplation of the great creation. Another great lesson is afforded to us by the gradual development visible in the history of the creation, which God had in his power to originate at once. It teaches us that we can but gradually attain the benefits and enjoyments, physical and mental, which the world affords. Even the angels had to ascend and descend the ladder of nature, at the head of which stood the Lord. We cannot reach the summit of eminence in any of our aspirations, without carefully climbing up step by step. The missing of one step often strains our further efforts, and destroys the fruits of those we have already ascended. Another reflection suggests itself in the order of the creation THE PENTATEUCH AND HAPHTORAHS. 3 narrated in this memorable chapter. God first created the mineral kingdom, then the vegetable kingdom, then the animal kingdom, and, last of all, the king of the creation, Man. It was the design of the All-wise to point out to man, immediately after his birth, his destination activity and industry. Scripture records, even before the fall of man, " And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden, to work it, and to preserve it.""* Although that lovely garden abounded with orchards and trees of every description, yet was man told that he was to work and to labour for the enjoyment of its fruit. To teach him, at the same time, that the gratification of his physical desires should not be excessive, but kept within bounds, he was prohibited from eating the fruit of one of the trees. He Avas tempted, but he could not resist the temptation: he fell, and with him fell MANKIND. Although man physically sinks into nothing, when compared with the colossal celestial bodies, as observed by the Psalmist, " When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars which thou hast ordained ; what is man that thou art mindful of him ; and the Son of Man that thou visitest him?" Yet, mentally, man constitutes the principal, the focus of the universe; for " Thou hast made him but a little less than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour;" which are the speech and the understanding. Marvellous as are the works of the creation, wonderful as are the celestial bodies, as the sun, moon, and the vast and innumerable planets, yet still more won- derful and marvellous is the n$nV fc^53 the "conscious soul, as the Psalmist exclaims: " I will praise Thee, for awfully wondrous am I constituted. Marvellous are Thy works, and above all my conscious soul." f Ps. cxxxix. 14. By "conscious soul" is understood that human mind, which, by contemplation and perseverance in study and research, by the continued and xinremitting progress of science, has produced most beneficial results, and verified the words: " Thou gavest him dominion over the works of thy hand ; Thou hast laid all under his feet." * The English Authorised Version has "to dress it," and to "keep it;"' but the t" [ Hebrew text, ,mDK>?1 m3V? justifies our rendering as above; the root 12y always signifying, "to serve," "to work;" mi3V D3fcOC "servile work." ( We have deviated here from the rendering in the Authorised Version; and it will be found, upon investigation, that onr rendering is more in accordance with the context, and also with the accentuation. B 2 4 SABBATH MEDITATIONS ON The human understanding, when properly applied, is called wisdom, which dates from the creation; for it says: " Before the mountains were settled, before the hills, was I brought forth ;" wisdom, which is contemporary with the creation of the heavens and the sea ; for it exclaims : " When He prepared the heavens I was there ; When He set a compass upon the face of the depth ; When He established the clouds above; When He strengthened the fountains of the deep." Wisdom even aspires, figuratively, to a co-operation in the work of the creation ; for it tells us : " When He gave to the sea His decree That the waters should not pass His order ;* When He appointed the foundations of the earth; Then I was by Him, as one brought up with Him, And I was daily His delight." Let it be understood, that the wisest of kings here only per- sonifies sound wisdom; that healthy understanding which can boast " I have strength," by which good kings reign, and liberal princes decree justice; by which the order of society is esta- blished and maintained ; and by which virtue is revered and vice despised. But, speaking so much of wisdom and understanding., the reader may ask: ' nm oia PIPNI But where shall wisdom be found ? and where is the place of understanding? In reply, we point to that Book of Books, the beginning of which is our present theme, and in which the more we search the more wisdom we shall find. In that Book we must lay the foundations for the study of sciences, and the contemplation of the great monuments erected by the Divine Creator in the uni- verse. Then may we read other useful works, written in various languages, thousands and tens of thousands of which there are extant, teeming with sound instruction, philosophical disserta- tions but only after having founded our thoughts on the philosophy of genuine religion, as taught in our Bible. How necessary is it, therefore, to observe discrimination in reading; how important to choose our literature with judgment and propriety; this being one of the most essential points in the path of life. Hence the awful responsibility resting upon parents, teachers, and guardians, in the selection of works to be read by the young entrusted to their care. It is a paramount duty closely THK PENTATEUCH AND HAPHTOliAHS. 5 to watch over the reading of the young. Many a fine mind has been perverted, and many a good heart has been corrupted, by reading bad books in youth, leaving iinpressions that never could be obliterated in advanced age. How miserable and wretched are those philosophers without religion those who have imbibed venomous maxims from impure sources of literature in the hour of trouble and misfortune, when darkness surrounded them, and the light of religion is shut out from their desponding hearts ! Whilst he who has studied the book of religion may say: "Unless Thy law had been my delight, I should have perished in my afflictions." The philosopher without religion has no solace, and is lost in despair. Let us, therefore, carefully watch the tender plants of youth, and guard them against those baleful influences exercised by immoral reading. Let us impress upon the young the necessity of at least reading the portion of the week from the Bible; let us instil into his mind those unalloyed sentiments of virtue and morality which pure religion is eminently calculated to awaken; so that, in the day of prosperity, he may not become haughty and overbearing, and in the night of adversity he may, with some degree of confidence, pray with the Psalmist : " I am Thine, O save me ! For I have sought Thy precepts. This is my comfort in affliction: For Thy word hath quickened me." That the whole of the creation might have been accomplished in one day in one minute or in a thousandth part of a minute, by Him " who spoke and it was, who commanded and they were created," can admit of no doubt, to any rational mind. But, as the Divine Lawgiver, though He required no rest, deigned to impress on our mind the duty of devoting one day of the week to rest from labour, He had it recorded in Sacred History that He created the universe, and the fulness thereof, in six successive days, and rested on the seventh day. The resting attributed to God must be taken in the same allegorical sense as the working. Both are to serve as a lesson that, during the six working days, we should be occupied in the active pursuits of life; whilst the seventh day should be set apart for physical rest and mental ease, devoted to sacred meditation, as a day blessed and sanctified by God for that holy purpose. We will now proceed to the consideration of the great purpose of the creation Light, not only physical, but also mental Light, without which the whole creation of the universe, how- ever magnificent and stupendous, would have been nought. This idea is beautifully illustrated in the pntDfin (prophetic lesson) of the day: "Thus saith God the Lord, He that created the heavens and 6 SABBATH MEDITATIONS ON stretched them out ; He that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it ; He that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein : " I, the Lord, have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles ; " To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison-house."" The spreading of this light was, is, and ever will be, the voca- tion of Israel; and so long as we, the Israelites, faithfully discharge the duties of that vocation, we may rest assured that the prophecies of our final restoration will be speedily fulfilled. We may well chime in with the Prophet: " Sing unto the Lord a new song, and His praise from the end of the earth ; ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein ; the isles, and the inhabitants thereof. " Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice ; the villages that Kedar doth inhabit: let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains. " Let them give glory unto the Lord, and declare His praise in the islands." PRAYER. O LORD GOD ! Creator of heaven and earth, the heaven is Thy throne, and the earth is Thy footstool. Thou hast stretched out the heavens like a curtain ; Thou hast laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever ; Thou hast covered it with the deep as with a garment. At Thy rebuke, the waters fled; at the voice of Thy thunder they hasted away. Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over. Thou waterest the hills from Thy chambers : the earth is satisfied with the fruit of Thy works. Thou coverest Thyself with light as with a garment; Thou hast appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down: the sun ariseth ; and man, whom Thou hast made to rule over the works of Thy hands, under whose feet Thou hast laid all man goeth forth unto his work, and to his labour until the evening. O Lordl I beseech Thee grant that the light of Thy creation may ever guide me so that I walk not in dark- ness : grant that in contemplating Thy stupendous work of the universe, I may be deeply impressed with Thy majesty and glory ; that the Lord's is the earth and the fulness thereof; and that humble man oweth to thee alone, all his possessions. And finally, I implore Thee, All-merciful God ! to fortify me on this Holy Sabbath, which Thou hast given us for rest and meditation, in the arduous struggle for the highest and noble purposes which, in Thy goodness, Thou hast placed within the reach of Thy children on earth. Amen. THE PENTATEUCH AND HAPHTORAHS. -no SECOND PORTION OF GENESIS. yen p* TO "> "hw cbw TID " As the whirlwind passeth, so is the wicked no more ; But the righteous is an everlasting foundation," Prov. x.. 25. THE History of the Creation ends with the fall of Adam, and his consequent death. Previous to our commencing the history of Noah, the descendant of Adam, we will quote an allegory, narrating the death of the latter, illustrating the mortality which Adam's sin brought into the world, and showing that it is only the body of man which perishes, but that the soul created in the image of God, which inhabits man, returns to its heavenly foun- tain and remains immortal. THE DEATH OF ADAM. Nine hundred and thirty years old was Adam, when he heard the voice of the Eternal calling unto him, " Thou shalt die." " Let all my sons appear before me/' said he to Eve, " that I may see them and bless them." They then attended to the paternal summons and stood before him, who thus addressed them : " Who among you will ascend the holy mountain, and implore the Lord's mercy for me, that I may live ? I have eaten from the tree of life, and, though its fruit is mixed with bitterness, yet would I like to eat more thereof, and have my days on earth prolonged." Seth, the most pious of his sons, then replied, " Here am I ; send me." Adam consented; and Seth covered his head with ashes, girded sack-cloth round his loins, and proceeded to the gate of Paradise, at the entrance of which he was accosted by a cherub, with a flaming sword, who exclaimed " Whither art thou going ?" " I come," replied Seth, " to implore thee for the life of my father. I beseech thee to allow my entering the garden, that I may gather some more fruit of the tree of life; so that he may eat thereof and live." "I cannot permit thee to enter," said the cherub; "I am placed 8 SABBATH MEDITATIONS ON here to keep the way to the tree of life. Take, however, this branch, that he may strengthen himself in his last moments ; for know thou, that everlasting life is not upon earth. But hasten, for his hour has come." Seth hastened away, and threw himself at the feet of his father, saying : " I could not bring to thee any fruit of the tree of life ; but here is a branch, which the angel hath given me for thy last invigoration." The dying man took the branch ; its fragrance re-animated him ; he revived; and his soul was elevated. "Children," said he, "eternal life is not here below. You will follow me. But from these leaves inhale the breath of another life, and a happier one than this." His eye closed, and his spirit departed. Adam's children buried their father, and wept for him ; but Seth wept not. He planted the branch on his father's tomb, and called it the branch of new life ; " For," said he, " it will awake him from the slumber of death." The little branch grew up to a lofty tree ; and there were many of the descendants of Adam who nourished themselves from that tree, and to whom it afforded the consolation of another life. The tree grew old, but withstood the withering blast, the scorching sun, the blighting frost, and the sweeping deluge. It lasted for many generations, and flourished incessantly until the reign of David, when his wise son grew vain of his wisdom, and began to doubt his soul's immortality. The branches then began to wither and decay, but the stem remained. Many of the blossoms and flowers of the tree of immortality, however, had been distributed among several nations on earth, by the de- scendants of Seth, who thus promoted in the world the seed of immortality. The author of this allegory, no doubt,, alludes here to the pro- pagation of the doctrine of the immortality of the soul, by those to whom God had revealed Himself, even before the giving of the Decalogue, and that its tradition came down to those Greek philosophers who wrote in later ages elaborate essays to prove that which had been known to the first infant of the creation. THE DELUGE. One of the descendants of Adam was Xoah, who survived the fearful deluge which destroyed the earth 1656 years after its creation. The Midrash Rabba thus introduces this memorable event: nsio TID* " As the whirlwind passeth, so is the wicked no more ; But the righteous is an everlasting foundation." Amidst the corruption and violence which prevailed on the earth, Noah distinguished himself as a just and perfect man. THE PENTATEUCH AND HAPHTORAHS. 9 The term " perfect" is qualified in Scripture, by the subsequent words " in his generation," according to some commentators. It appears to us, however, that it redounds to his firmness of cha- racter, showing as it does, that he became not infected with the contagion of vice and demoralization which occasioned the devas- tation of the world. His implicit faith in God is proved by his following the dictates of God, respecting the building of the ark, as a means of saving him from the flood a vessel which, in the course of nature, appears inadequate to the immense number of its inmates, and inefficient to withstand the fearful flood. But Noah doubted not and asked not. " According to all that God commanded him, so did he." To Noah, then, applies the latter sentence in our text : " As the whirlwind passeth, so is the wicked no more: but the righteous is an everlasting foundation." The preservation of Noah's life and that of his family became the foundation of the new world, after the old one had been swept away by the all- destroying deluge, and after " all in whose nostrils was the breath of life had died." That the saving of Noah's life and the perpetuation of the human race, as well as that of the beasts, the fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth, might have been effected without resorting to the precautionary measure of the building of the ark, can admit of no doubt in the mind of any one who believes (and who can boast of a mind and not believe?) in the omnipotence of the Creator; nor can there be any question as to inadequacy naturally speaking of a vessel of 300 cubits in length and 50 cubits in breadth, to contain the thousands of beasts, fowls, and animated beings on earth, particularly when we recollect that there were seven of each kind of the clean beasts and two of each of the unclean, assembled in the ark. Equally impossible does it appear again naturally speaking that this comparatively small vessel should have been able to contain, besides the immense number of animals, the food and provision which was required for such a host of inmates to maintain them for twelve months (within ten days), the time which they had to remain closed up in the ark. Perceiving, therefore, as we clearly do, that the very preservation of the world from the ravages of the deluge by the ark, was not natural but miraculous, we are startled by the question : As a miracle was required to effect the preservation, could not the Author of that miracle have saved the world by his Omnipotent will and command, without building the ark? Moreover, would not the wonder-working hand of God have become more manifest to Noah and his generations had the Lord accomplished the saving of the world without the appa- rently natural and human measure adopted in the building of, the ark ? 10 SABBATH MEDITATIONS ON The reply to these questions is found in Scripture itself: >D 71 3W} 1W S'DfcS 'PI " The Lord sat above the flood ; yea, the Lord sitteth as King for ever." Ps. xxix. 30. Sacred History shows us, that whenever the Lord wrought a miracle to save an individual or a people, he commanded man, notwithstanding the supernatural manner of his salvation was obvious, to follow the course of nature, and to find, as it were, the means in himself. The Divine purpose in this combination of miraculous and natural circumstances being, to teach man that he must not leave any lawful means untouched, by which he may save himself, and then God will assist him. No man dare trust to miracles and rely upon them, until he has exhausted every legitimate resource in his power for his safety. Whilst the Creator thus by a miracle saved Noah, his family and every other being that was in the ark, yet would he impress upon Noah the lesson of endeavouring by natural means the building of the ark, to effect his preservation from the threatening destruc- tion. " The Lord sat above the flood." His Omnipotence was beyond the reach of the deluge, yet did he command Noah to resort to apparently natural means for his escape, because "the Lord sitteth as King for ever," and was desirous of implanting this lesson in the minds of his subjects : ' ' Try every means to save thyself before thou canst hope for help from God." THE RAINBOW. When the flood had abated, and the earth became dry, Noah and the other inmates left the ark by the command of God, who made a covenant with him and the earth, "That there should no more be a flood to destroy the whole earth." The token of that covenant was the rainbow. Sceptics and infidels have seized upon this passage as a proof of the scriptural writer's non- acquaintance with natural history; for, say they, "Knowing as we do that the appearance of the rainbow is a natural consequence of the breaking of the sunbeams through the rainy clouds, we are relieved from the superstition that the Lord has ' set it in the clouds (as the Bible has it) for the token of a covenant." If we, however, examine this passage attentively, we shall find an ample refutation of this charge against the scriptural writer. Let us observe that the Hebrew text says not " I will set my bow in the cloud, >r but " I have set my bow in the cloud." The appearance of the rainbow, it is true, was by no means a miracle manifested after the flood, but had, no doubt, appeared before, whenever the two elements stood opposed to each other ; but the Almighty said that as the rainbow indicates the ceasing of the THE PENTATEUCH AND HAPHTORAHS. 11 rain (which in the course of nature causes its appearance), so it will be a token of the covenant which God hath made, that the floods shall cease and no more devastate the earth. A more apt and striking symbol of that covenant could not have been manifested by any heavenly sign, than that of the rainbow, in which the benign and appeasing Spirit of God, after his just wrath, is most sublimely illustrated to the human eye and mind, and cannot fail to elicit the blessing which we pronounce when- ever its variated colours remind us OF GOD'S COVENANT WITH THE EARTH. Whilst one part of the Scripture thus replies to the sceptic, another passage, which occurs in the ffaphtorah, (prophetic por- tion), of this Sabbath, points out the moral lesson of the Deluge. It runs thus: p pxn y *ny m " For this is as the waters of Noah unto me ; as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so have I sworn that I would not be utterly wroth with thee, nor rashly rebuke thee." Isaiah lix. 9. It shows how the Divine Judge tempers justice with mercy; how he wounds and heals; how he rebukes and forgives; how lenient in inflicting punishment, and how unbounded in his mercy and favor IJNTtt D'TMSfcO yjTPS- "For," (here again we deviate from the authorised version, and rather follow Mendelssohn, the Jewish translator), " His anger endureth but a moment, but His favor through a whole life P' The earth had been thoroughly corrupt and filled with violence, The laws of society, even the laws of nature, were set at defiance. Even the brute creation had been made subservient to the abomi- nable lusts of corrupt humanity. The destruction of the earth became inevitable. Yet the same edict which pronounced the destruction decreed the preservation. It killed and preserved life (riTlDI JV)- All the fountains of the great deep had been opened up, the foundations of society had been shaken, and " the windows of heaven were opened." The justice of Providence above interfered. "The voice of God, the Lord, was upon the waters, the God of glory thundered/' The mighty element of his behest was at war with man and brute ; but the innocent dove, with the olive- leaf in her mouth, proclaimed peace, and Noah knew that the Divine wrath was appeased. The bow appeared in the clouds as a token of the covenant that the course of nature should not be reversed ; that while the earth remaineth, seed-time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease. 12 SABBATH MEDITATIONS ON The same spirit of justice, blended with mercy, to vindicate right, but not to annihilate, to chastise and to spare, manifests itself in the preservation of Israel as a nation, throughout all her tribulations, as emphatically told by the Prophet in the Haph- torah, which we read this Sabbath. " For a small moment have I forsaken thee ; Yet with great mercies will I gather thee I For a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment ; But with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee ! Saith the Lord, thy Redeemer." This manifestation of the Divine pleasure in saving and res- cuing persecuted Israel, is reflected in the rainbow which appeared after the deluge: *' For this is as the waters of Noah unto me. As I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, So have I sworn that I would not be utterly wroth with thee, nor harshly rebuke thee." PRAYER. ALMIGHTY FATHER ! when I seriously reflect on the sin of the first man, Adam ; on the crime perpetrated by the son, Cain, against his own brother ; and further, on the corruption and violence of the gene- ration of Noah, which provoked the Divine wrath, and caused the deluge to come upon the earth and sweep away so many of thy crea- tures, I am reminded of the words of Holy Writ, " Shall mortal man be more just than God ? Shall a man be more pure than his Maker? Behold, He put no trust in His servants, and His angels he charged with folly. How much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, which are crushed before the moth ? They are destroyed from morning to evening ; they perish for ever without any regarding it. Does not their excellency which is in them go away? They die even without wisdom." But, terrible as Thy wrath and retri- bution upon sinful man may be, Thy mercy and Thy grace are still greater, and sustain falling mankind. Were it not for Thy clemency and forbearance, many of us would share the fate of those who perished by the deluge. And as amidst the waters of the flood, Thou causedst the rainbow of grace to shine as a token of Thy covenant with the earth, so I now implore Thee, gracious God, that whenever, by our failings and shortcomings, we have incurred the Divine displeasure, Thou rnayest cause the rainbow of Thy longsuffering and forgiveness to appear, so that we may be re-admitted into Thy paternal love, to approach the throne of Thy glory, and, by prayer and humility, attain salvation. Amen. THE PENTATEUCH AND HAPHTORAHS. 13 "I1D THIRD PORTION OF GENESIS. T "3 *o -nojp pn* rvni " The wicked are overthrown, and are not ; But the house of the righteous shall stand." Prov. xii. 7. corrupt age which " filled the earth with violence" having J- been swept into eternity by the fearful deluge the building of the tower of Babel, intended " to reach unto heaven," having been frustrated, and its projectors scattered abroad by the Founder of Language and Speech a man arose who regenerated the fallen world, and elected by God to become a blessing to all the nations of the earth, hoisted upon its ruins the flag of truce, and reconciled the universe with his wrathful Creator. That man was Abraham. Nursed in the cradle of idolatry, reared in the hot- bed of Polytheism, and bred in its profligacy and abomination, he, nevertheless, understood and proclaimed the unity of God, broke to pieces the idolatrous images worshipped by his own father, and, armed with the invincible weapons of that faith, escaped unscathed the fire of the furnace in Ur of the Chaldees. From the darkness of idolatry which obscured the earth^ Abra- ham caused the all-illuminating light of God's unity to shine forth in its full power and transcendant truth the light which is indicated in the allegorical phrase of the Midrash, " A bril- liant diamond was suspended from Abraham's head, which illu- mined the whole universe." Its brilliancy is still manifest in the light of civilization which it diffuses over those countries and those climes, where the penetration of its rays was not impeded by the sword of Paganism ; and its genuineness still proved by its lasting character, which has withstood the heavy and incessant blows inflicted on it by the iron hammer of tyranny and oppres- sion. The unity of God is, indeed, a precious diadem, whose variegated colours reflect the manifest attributes of the Deity, each shining forth brilliantly to guide the inhabitants of the earth ; but which no physical power, however great, can separate, and no spiritual craft, however subtle, can divide. And it is this 14 SABBATH MEDITATIONS OX great doctrine which Abraham made it his mission to promulgate through the earth it is this grove which Abraham planted in Beer-sheba, where he called upon the name of the Lord the Everlasting God. Abraham's father, according to tradition, was a sculptor. One day he went out, and left his son Abraham in the studio, where a man entered, and asked for an image, which he wished to pur- chase. One which had just been finished by the hand of the artist particularly seemed to please him. " How old art thou?" asked Abraham. " Sixty years/' was the reply. " And a man of sixty will worship a god scarcely one day old ! " The man left, covered with shame. Another day a woman brought an offering of flour for the idols. Abraham received it; and, when she had gone, took up a hammer and destroyed them all, except one, in whose hand he put the hammer. When the father came home, and found all his idols broken to pieces, he became wroth. " Who has committed this wickedness?" "No one," replied Abraham. " A woman brought a meat-offering, and when I handed it to the idols, they began to quarrel and dispute who should first of them have his meal. The largest, however, then grew passionate; he took the hammer and demolished them all." " Son," said the father, " thou art jesting with me; are inanimate stones able to commit such acts?" " Well," said Abraham, " may thy ears hearken to what thy mouth speaks." The father, who well perceived that the blasphemy against the idols would endanger the life of his son if it became known, took his son to Nimrod. When that mighty man heard the accusation, he said to Abraham: " Thou despisest my idols; well then, let us worship the fire." "Why not rather the water which extinguishes the fire," asked" Abraham. " Well, then, we will worship the water." " But why not rather the clouds which bear the water?" " Well, we will wor- ship the clouds." " But why not rather," asked again Abraham, " the wind, which disperses the clouds?" " Well, then, let us worship the wind/' But why not rather man, who understands how to shelter himself from the wind?" asked Abraham. " I perceive, then," said Nimrod, " thou art seeking to evade my questions by empty talk. We keep to the worship of the Fire, and let the God whom thou adorest come and save thee." When Haran, Abraham's brother, who was just present, heard this, he said : " Whose faith now proves victorious, his god will I worship in future." Abraham was then thrown into the red-hot furnace, and came out unscathed. "To which party dost thou belong now?" asked Nimrod. " To that of my brother/' replied Haran; " for his has proved the right one." Thus became Abraham the means of propagating the know- ledge of the ONE God, by opening the eyes of the idolatrous THE PENTATEUCH AND IIAPHTORAHS. 15 world to the futility of polytheism, and by showing to the insen- sate heathens, how ridiculous it was to worship any being but that which is the Creator of every being. Arid thus became Abraham the instrument in the hand of God, to save the uni- verse from destruction. To him then applies the second line of our text : " The wicked are overthrown, and are not; But the house of the righteous shall stand." Faithful to the duties of his sacred mission, the preacher of the Unity of God Abraham unremittingly exerted his bene- volence with the one steadfast purpose before his eyes. At home, his tent was hospitably opened to every wanderer, who, after partaking of a refreshing meal, was initiated by the pious host into the doctrines of the Unity, and his mind purged from the dross and mysteries of Polytheism. On his journeys, Abraham sowed the seeds of the true faith, and enjoyed the blessings of his fruits: for " the fruit of the righteous is a tree of life ; and he that winneth souls is wise." (Prov. xi. 30). It was such fruits which Abraham gathered from his labours: he saw the tree of life blossom, and its goodly branches extending over the earth ; and thus did he " win the souls" of his fellow-creatures. This is, no doubt, the true meaning of the phrase which fre- quently occurs in the history of Abraham, mentioning first, "the substance which he gathered," alluding to his temporal wealth ; and then, " the souls which he had gotten in Haran." (Gen. xii. 5). Nor did Sarah, his wife, according to tradition, remain inactive in the sacred cause. " Abraham," say our sages, " convinced the men, and Sarah instructed the women." At the gate of his tent sat he, to invite the weary itinerant to the reviving shades of the oak ; and to refresh his languishing heart with meat and drink. When the fatigued guest had recovered, he overloaded his hospi- table entertainer with thanks and blessings. "What!" said Abraham, " me you bless? Rather bless Him who giveth food unto all His creatures, and from whose hands I received it, to give it unto thee." " Who is He, and where is He?" asked the aston- ished traveller. And Abraham solemnly raised his voice, and said: " He, who created the heaven and the earth, is the all-kind Father, who provideth for all His creatures ; it is He who killeth and reviveth; it is He, that woundeth and healeth; He, who fashioneth the infant in its mother's womb, and causeth it to see the light of the world/' " Pray," said the guests, " teach us how we are to worship that Benefactor, and manifest our grati- tude to Him." Abraham then taught them the blessing: " Praised be He, who giveth bread to every creature on earth !" And he instructed them in that faith, which became afterwards, and which ever will be, the guiding-star of mortal life, and the beacon showing the path to Life Eternal. 16 SABBATH MEDITATIONS ON These are but a few sketches which tradition, founded on scriptural authority, draws of the life of Abraham, the first mis- sionary in the history of the world. The narrative of HIS mission has obtained credence among all classes of mankind ; for unlike the missionaries of a modern creed, did Abraham perform his sacred task. No ambition of power or office, no desire for influence and wealth, actuated his onerous and unostentatious career. When the priest of the Most High God, Melchizedek, brought to Abraham, the Conqueror, after the battle with the four Kings, bread and wine, and invoked the blessing of the Most High God, the Possessor of Heaven and Earth that acknowledgment was all that Abraham required. When the King of Sodom offered Abraham all the goods of the spoil, to which the victorious leader had a just claim, did he accept the offer? Did he receive the substantial testimonial? or did he ask for any elevation in lieu of it? "I have lift up my hand to the Most High God," said the disinterested missionary, " the Possessor of heaven and earth, that I will not take even from a thread to a shoe-latchet, save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre, let them take their portion." No wonder that such a preacher can make true proselytes, no sur- prise that he could convince his audience of the truth as it is in the Unity; his disinterestedness and absence of all selfishness vouched for his sincerity, and for the veracity of the account which his history has handed down to the world. The reward and remuneration which were due to Abraham, the unpaid missionary, were, however, soon after this scene, accorded him in a vision. " Fear not, Abraham/' said the God of Truth to his faithful servant, " I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward." A powerful shield and a glorious reward ! The Eternal Himself, whose name he proclaimed, and whose indivisible, immutable, and yet all-merciful, and all-forgiving characteristics he had preached, and taught to his heathen contemporaries, in spite of the burning furnace prepared by Nimrod, and in the face of the deadly sword which was suspended over his head by idolatrous fanatics. Read we only and reflect on the life of that man, and we shall no more wonder at the choice made by God, who appointed him "the father of many nations;" who of HIM made a great nation; who instituted him a blessing for all the families of the earth ; and unto His seed the Lord promised that land, where idolatry and its abominations were uprooted, and superseded by a faith which their great ancestor established, and the moral lessons which it inculcates spread light and civilization over the globe. The lite and calling of Abraham is thus alluded to in the Haphtorah of this Sabbath : THE PENTATEUCH AND HAPHTORAHS. 17 TV D^Sfci ' D'U nsfe pv ' iW? iriKip* / pmc mi&a Tyn *a " Who stirred the righteous one from the east, called him to follow him, gave the nations before him, and made him rule over kings." Isaiah xli. 2. After the corrupt and violent generation, with the exception of Noah and his family, had been swept from the earth by the fearful deluge, another generation arose, whose arrogance and presumption caused their dispersion, their vain and monopolising designs having been defeated by the confusion of tongues with which the Divine Creator of speech visited the inhabitants of the city and the tower " whose top was to reach unto heaven." Thus are the ambitious and dangerous schemes of people often frustrated by discord and divisions in the ranks of the designing band, owing to the jarring interests of mercenary individuals; whilst union and concord are more likely to reign in a company or society engaged in a good cause, where no personal interests, but the general welfare, form the motives and objects of all and every one alike. The Tower of Babel stands forth in the Scripture history, as a warning to rash and presumptuous schemers, who commonly confound themselves, and whose evil designs are scat- tered to the wind like chaff. Again the earth was in a state of darkness, overcast with the vapours of moral corruption and the mist of paganism, with its con- comitant abominations. The right of the pure knowledge of the true and only God, the genial warmth of morality and virtue, inculcated by genuine religion they were wanted to save the lower world from destruction. And that light appeared from the east, in the mind of ABRAHAM. True, Noah was a righteous man " in his generation ;" but he lacked the capabilities and qualifications for a universal leader and guide. A bold, intrepid spirit was required, a man un- daunted by overwhelming opponents, a mind fearless of scorn and threats, a man of valour and of truth, hating covetousness, in a word, a righteous man and that man was Abraham. Noah was a good man, he built an altar and offered burnt offerings, he planted a vineyard and was excessively gratified, but we do not discover in his life any desire or effort to improve his fellow beings, less virtuous than himself. To be the leader of vast multitudes, to enunciate a great principle, to reprove and improve his contemporaries, a mind of the highest moral courage and integrity is required, a man of undoubted sincerity, of proved dis- interestedness, a man who lives not for himself but for the world such a man was Abraham. We see him not only build an altar in gratitude for the Divine promises and blessings, but we find that he proclaimed the name of the Eternal. We see him part company with his nephew, not in order to c 18 SABBATH MEDITATIONS ON avoid strife. But no sooner did he learn that his nephew was a prisoner, he fearlessly came to the rescue with a handful of men three hundred and eighteen of his household in pursuit of overwhelming forces, and delivered the captive. We see the same Abraham after this heroic and successful exploit, disinte- restedly refuse all the substance and wealth offered him by the vanquished King of Sodom ; nobly answering, as we have already stated before, " I have lifted up mine hand unto the Lord the Most High God, the Possessor of Heaven and Earth, that I will not take from a thread even to a shoe-latchet, and that 1 will not take anything that is thine, lest thou shalt say: I have made Abraham rich." He was satisfied with his victory, the saving of Lot and his family; but he had another and still greater satis- faction to hear the great and sublime truth that he taught and proclaimed -the knowledge of the unity of God from the mouth of Melchizedek, who, according to the words of Scripture, was " a priest of the Most High God." Melchizedek had evidently become a disciple of the doctrine of the unity of God; he did not attribute the victory to chance, but he said: " Blessed be Abraham of the Most High God, Possessor of Heaven and Earth (the same expression and attributes made use of by Abraham), and blessed be the Most High God, who hath delivered thine enemies into thine hand." A noble disciple, worthy of so noble a teacher. We are fully aware of the several traditional interpretations as to the identity of this Melchizedeck, King of Salem. In these meditations, however, which we humbly dedicate to the general reader, we shall adhere to the advice given by Sirach: " Do not search in that which is above thee, and do not inquire into that which is hidden from thee, and thou hast no business with mysteries." We also follow the wise king's instruction. K pan pa " Consider diligently what is before thee." Again, to follow the scriptural history of Abraham. We see him aged and childless, listening to the Divine promise, that his offspring should be as innumerable as the stars of heaven. Impossible as such an event, humanly speaking, must have appeared, we are nevertheless informed that Abraham put implicit faith in the Divine predictions, and this faith was fully accounted to him as righteousness. The sceptic will shake his head at this implicit faith of Abraham, in things humanly incredible, the rationalist will sneer at the perusal of events naturally impossible; but as Abraham was led forth and told, " Look now toward heaven and tell the stars, if thou be able to remember them;" so may we tell the THE PENTATEUCH AND HAPIITORAHS. 19 sceptic and the rationalist, "Look now toward heaven, and contemplate the sun, the moon, the stars, and the wonders of the skies, can you explain their origin and their tremendous powers rationally, naturally, humanly? Look, now, at the vast creations on earth, whether in the animal, vegetable, or mineral kingdom, Can you fathom their primitive existence? Look, now, at your- selves, how ' fearfully and wonderfully^ you are constituted ; think of the very faculty of your being able to think? Is not the con- stitution of the human frame itself superhuman? And must you not exclaim with Job, PI17N nTHK ^SSODI ' Even from my flesh I see God ?' Must you not come to the conclusion that all nature is a miracle, baffling the human understanding, and wrought by a Supreme Being, omnipotent, omniscient, and omni- present, far beyond the reach of the sense of mortals. You will have to admit that every creation is a miracle; you will have to admit that what you call nature, you cannot explain ' naturally;' admit then that He who wrought the miracle of the wonderful creation, works miracles every day, such as you behold, and such as, through the short-sightedness of the human mind, you cannot behold. Philosophy and argument, without religion, are like the dry bones, it requires the spirit of belief to animate them." To recur to the hero of our narrative for he was truly a hero Abraham. We have portrayed the features in his character as they appear in the portion of the Bible to be read on this Sabbath, intending to follow up the narrative of his life in our next meditation. Meanwhile we have seen sufficient to compre- hend the choice of Providence, deigning to appoint the pro- claimer of the sublime doctrine of Monotheism, and whom he honoured with the epithet " My friend" (^Plltf DH^ON), tne progenitor of the race which to this day maintains the same sacred truth. For the steadfast adherence to the doctrine of the unity, our fathers and mothers underwent great troubles and suffering, which they bore with such resignation as could be endured only by reliance upon Him who assures Israel through the prophet (in the Hapthorah of Sabbath next), " Fear thou not, for 1 am with thee; be not dismayed, for I am thy God; I will strengthen thee, yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteonsness." This is a figurative term for faith, as in our text Abraham is called "the righteous man;" and, as in the passage cited above, Abraham's implicit belief was accounted to him as righteousness. The whole of the sublime chapter of the Haphtorah, which we quote, abounds in predictions most favourable to the Jewish people, and cannot fail in strengthening the weary, and giving us fortitude in adversity and misfortune. We may be truly thankful for possessing writings so full of consolation, affording solace in the hour of distress. Ought we not to be exceedingly c 2 20 SABBATH MEDITATIONS ON fond of such encouraging and consolatory reading? Ought not the youthful generations especially, to devote a few minutes, at least, on every Sabbath, to read the Haphtorah ? Ought we not to remember, with deep emotion and reverence, the origin of reading the Hapthorah, that there was a time when the ruling government prohibited not only the practice but even the reading of the law of Moses, on pain of death, and portions from the prophets were substituted. Let us praise the Almighty, that we now enjoy the privilege of publicly reading the law of our inhe- ritance, and the liberty of publicly carrying it out without sacri- ficing, but, on the contrary, thereby enhancing our reputation as a people. PRAYER. O OMNISCIENT GOD ! Thou hast called the generations from the beginning: Thou, Lord, art the first, and with the last art Thou. Thou hast chosen Abraham fearlessly to proclaim Thy unity, as the progenitor of that people which is to continue the sacred mission amid surrounding nations. By Thy Omnipotence Thou hast sustained Thy faithful servant Abraham, under the severest trials and struggles against heathen tyrants ; yea, against his own idolatrous father. I beseech Thee, O Lord, that Thou mayest strengthen me also in the hour of trial and temptation, that I may come forth unscathed from the furnace of exciting allurements ; so that I may remain unshaken in the faith of Israel. And as Thou didst fortify our ancestor Abraham in his belief in the Possessor of heaven and earth, to resist the temptation of mundane wealth and treasures, so I implore Thee that Thou mayest also fortify me in firmly adhering to that faith, not to fall into the snares which power, influence, and worldly gain may spread out before me ; so that I may always have Thy glory before my eyes ; for if Thou art at my right hand, I cannot fall, nor can I be moved. Amen. THE PENTATEUCH AND HAPHTORAHS. 21 .1 -no FOURTH PORTION OF GENESIS. D3 &n> nru n^nn n?o " Thou hast given a banner to them that feared Thee, that it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah." Ps. Ix. 4. THE trials which the Ruler of Providence causes his pious ser- vants to undergo, and the temptations they have to resist, form the banner to be displayed, after the victory of virtue over vice, and of unshaken faith over wavering belief. It exhibits to the world the triumphs which a steadfast adherence and implicit con- fidence in God can achieve, even in the most unequal contests. It is displayed, as the Psalmist tells us, in our text, " because of the truth." Abraham's life was one uninterrupted course of trials. No sooner had he firmly withstood the one, than he had to encounter another more difficult, more severe during his long pil- grimage. Scarcely had the promise of an heir in old age been made to Abraham a promise in which, however improbable in the course of nature, he placed implicit confidence scarcely had this joyful tidings been brought to him by the angels of God, when he was startled with the prediction, received from the mouth of the Divine Judge himself, that the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah was at hand, because of their violence and corruption. Abraham's conduct, on being made acquainted with the terrifying determination of the irresistible will of the Omnipotent, repre- sents his noble character in a light as clear as his soul was pure. Although Abraham well knew that the devastations of those cities would not interfere with the blessing vouchsafed to him that from his promised son should arise a great nation although, on the contrary, the fall of these seats of vice and corruption, must have tended to the increase of Abraham's wealth and influ- ence in his own country, yet did he most humbly and most perse- veringly implore the mercy of God on behalf of those who had incurred the heavy penalty of death; and he besought the Lord to pardon them on account of the few righteous that might be 22 SABBATH MEDITATIONS ON among them. After appealing to God's forbearance, though " he himself was but dust and ashes" a deep humiliation for a man of Abraham's wealth, piety, and lofty prospects after having heard that there were not fifty righteous men to be found among the myriads which inhabited the two cities, he prayed for mercy, on account of the forty-five, which might be found, then for the forty, then for thirty, then for twenty, and he only gave up all hopes, when he heard from Him " who knoweth the ways of men," that there were not even ten righteous to be met with among the number of so many wicked. Then only did Abraham return unto his place, convinced that no human intercession could appease the just wrath of God against the cities, whose iniquitous inhabitants were not only impious and infidel, but were cruel oppressors and haughty tyrants, devoid of all feeling of compas- sion, and destitute of all the better parts which elevate man above the beast. Their violations of the laws of hospitality, a virtue which generally dwells inherent and intuitively in the breast of the native of the east ; their abominable and bare-faced demands from the strangers who sought shelter under the roof of Lot, bespeak their incorrigible corruption, which a later prophet thus denounces : " Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom ; pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her, and in her daughters ; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. " And they were haughty, and committed abominations before me ; therefore I took them away as I saw good " Ezek. xvi. 49, 50. Modern and ancient history present no character in which so much piety and humility were combined as in Abraham's. May his persevering petitions on behalf of vicious Sodom, serve as a lesson to the zealots of our age, who to errors (if errors they be) less formidable and less injurious, apply harsh and violent mea- sures; and rather than intercede for the soul which they believe to have erred, deny it mercy in his last stage, and thus, instead of performing their peaceful mission of reconciliation, widen the breach, and perpetuate the separation. Abraham's heaviest trial, however, was the divine command to offer his only Son as a sacrifice. In this trial, the faith of Abra- ham proved firm almost beyond human endurance. At the age of one hundred years he was blessed miraculously with an heir, from whom a great nation was to spring forth. And yet, when the Lord said to him, " Take now thy son, thine only son, Isaac, whom thou lovest, and offer him for a burnt-offering" a com- mand than which anything more appalling to human nature exists not Abraham rose up early in the morning, without a murmur, without the question (\v hich he had a right to ask) " And if I offer him, what is to become of the promise, that THE PENTATEUCH AND HAPHTORAH8. 23 from him shall arise a great nation?" And he took Isaac, his son, and clave the wood for the burnt-offering (that burnt-offer- ing being no less than his only child !) and went to the place which God had told him. A talmudical legend tells us, that Abraham's first thought, after receiving the divine command to sacrifice Isaac, was, how he :ould gradually and delicately make his beloved wife, Sarah, acquainted with that awful injunction; as the sudden hearing of such an event might produce a shock too violent for her to over- come. " Sarah/' said he, after long reflection, " prepare a sump- tuous feast, for this day will be oae of great joy/' " Why," asked she, " what is this day more than any other? Is not every day of our life one of joy and delight, after having been blessed with a child, by the bounty of God, in our old age?" " Thou shalt soon know/' replied Abraham. Sarah prepared the feast ; and when they had sat down to it, Abraham thus addressed her: " Knowest thou, that in my third year I already knew my Creator and adored Him; and our son Isaac is growing up to manhood without that knowledge?" " What is to be done, then?" rejoined Sarah. " I know a place," answered Abraham, ft where male children are instructed, and sanctified in our faith, and thither will I take him." " Depart in peace," replied the pious wife. And Abraham rose early in the morning, took wood, fire, and the knife with him, whilst Isaac hung on the neck of his fond mother, whose tears were mingled with her kisses, and whose blessings followed the earnest father and the sad son to the gate of the house. They both departed. On the road, an evil spirit, in the form of an aged man, came up to Abraham, and asked, " Whither goest thou so early in the day?" " To prayers," was the reply. " But what is the wood, fire, and knife for?" " To provide for meat, if I should stay away long," an- swered Abraham. " No !" cried the spirit, " not for prayer, but for murder art thou going to kill thine own son. Kemember what wickedness thou contemplatest, and be sure, it will be fully revenged." " It is the will of God," rejoined Abraham, and went on. They had scarcely proceeded a few steps, when their course was again interrupted by the appearance of the evil spirit, in the form of a noble youth, who asked Isaac, " Whither art thou going, dear friend?" " To learn wisdom and knowledge," answered the innocent lad. " Where," rejoined the spirit; " in life or in death ? Knowest thou that thy father is leading thee to the slaughter?" " The Father's will be done," said Isaac, in a firm tone, and left him standing aghast. The evil spirit then proceeded to Sarah. " Where is thy husband, and where is thy son?" inquired he. " He is gone to teach my son the knowledge of God." replied she. " But thou usedst not to separate thy son a moment from thee; thou wouldst not even allow him to go 24 SABBATH MEDITATIONS ON before the gate of the tent." " No matter, he is gone -with his father/' said Sarah, calmly. " Who will never bring him back," roared the spirit. " Then be the will of the Creator done ; praised be His name to eternity ! " replied the afflicted mother, and lifted her hands up to heaven. This parable is, no doubt, composed with a view of demon- strating the pious devotedness which animated the family of the Patriarch, and the resignation to the will of God which pervaded their minds. Though the hearts of Isaac's parents beat as ar- dently as those of modern parents for their child and still more so, as the birth of that child was most unexpected and miraculous though his soul was bound up with theirs, and in his life they lived yet no love, however fervent, no attachment, however strong, was allowed to interfere with the command of God even when that command amounted to no less than the death of the son by the father's own hands. The short dialogue between Abraham and Isaac on the road to the land of Moriah, as given in Holy Writ (Gen xxii. 7), is graphic of the firmness of the father, and the innocence of the son. Abraham's reply to the child's enquiry after the lamb for the burnt-offering "My son, God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt-offering" indeed, the whole narrative is so simple, and yet so touching, that comment would mar its sublimity. Father and son were ready and willing to obey the mysterious behest of God. With his own hands the hoary patriarch bound his son, and laid him on the altar; his own hand was stretched out to strike the death-blow on the neck of the child for whom he had so long sighed and prayed, when his life was spared by the same omnipotent will which gave it. That He who foretold the birth of a child by a mother ninety years old, must have also been able to foretell the obedience of Abraham, that he would not withhold even his only son from God, must be obvious to reason. The trial could not, therefore, have been originated by the Omniscient for the purpose of ascer- taining the result, but with the view of publishing it ; not with the motive of learning it, but with the desire of teaching it. Nor does the Hebrew text of the passage, where the Lord manifests His satisfaction at the result of the trial, say, " Now I know that thou fearest God," but " Now I have known ('fl^T T\T\^} 5 or, " Now has come to pass what I knew," indicating the previous knowledge of God of the firmness of Abraham's faith, which he now made known to his age and to mankind in general. Abiaham had been, before the trial, the missionary, preaching faith and proclaiming it since the trial, his obedience had become the model of faith. He was a preacher who acted up to the letter and spirit of his exhortations a preacher who thought of his sermon after the delivery of it, as well as before it. THE PENTATEUCH AND HAPHTORAHS. 25 The above parable also personifies the allurements to trespass and the enticement from obedience. The enticers are generally friends or companions. To Abraham the evil spirit appeared in the shape of an old man, and to Isaac in the form of a noble youth. And as they remained staunch to, and unflinching Irom, the religious creed which they professed and taught, so may every Israelite, amidst trials, however severe, and under afflictions, how- ever calamitous, remember the prophet's admonition: " Look unto Abraham, your father, and unto Sarah, that bare you; for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him." An attentive reading of this Sabbath's lesson, will impress us with the trials of Abraham and Sarah, and their steadfast adherence to the Unity of God. Look we to that example and follow it, and we shall also be blessed and increased. In the Haphtorah of this Sabbath, taken from 2 Kings, chapter iv., we have another instance of that implicit faith in the Divine Word, which renders man happy on earth, and secures his salva- tion hereafter. We read in that portion of Scripture, that when Elisha, the prophet, passed Shunem, he was treated with remark- able hospitality by a pious woman, because " she perceived that he was a holy man of God." She induced her husband to pre- pare a little chamber, with all the requisites for his comfort only for the honour to shelter and entertain one whom she revered as a messenger of God. He in return prophesied to the childless wife, similar to the angel who appeared to Abraham, " about this season, according to the time of life, thou shalt embrace a son." The prediction was punctually fulfilled ; the happiness of the parents, however, was soon blighted, for the child died. The distressed mother, relying on the divine power, naturally thought, that He whose prophetic spirit had interceded with the Creator for her being blessed with a child, might also, by prayer and sup- plication, succeed in restoring her son to life. Elisha soon follow- ed the distracted mother into the house, and " behold the child was dead, and laid upon his bed. He went in, therefore, and shut the door upon them twain, and prayed unto the Lord? When she came into the chamber, he said, " Take up thy son, 1 ' (for the child had opened his eyes and revived). " Then she went in, and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground, and took her son, and went out." Thus was the Shunammite rewarded for her trust in God ; and such is the efficacy of prayer, that she was miraculously blessed with a child, and still more miraculously was that child, when dead, by prayer restored to life. PRAYER. FATHER OF MANKIND, Thou hast implanted love and affection in the hearts of parents towards their children, and hast commanded children 26 SABBATH MEDITATIONS ON to respect and obey their parents. But, however strong and binding their parental love may be, it must yield to the love of God ; as Abra- ham, the faithful, was ready to offer his own beloved son as a sacrifice, because the Parent of All demanded it. However precious life and its enjoyments may be, filial obedience, as in the case of Isaac, must make any sacrifice ; especially if demanded by the Heavenly Creator, whose will and wisdom are inscrutable. Grant, O Lord, that the example of Abraham and Isaac may always be before our eyes ; so that fond parents may ever treat the laws of morality and religion as paramount in the rearing of their offspring, and not indulge them in the infringe- ment of these laws . whilst children should implicitly obey their parents, whether in youth or in manhood, so long as the parental advice and instruction is in harmony with the divine behest. But of what avail are all examples, and all human resolutions, without aid and support from Thee, O God ? Will not our determinations, however firm, often yield to the weakness and frailty inherent to our flesh, when the powerful ties of blood and friendship interpose and shake our fixed resolutions ? It is therefore only with Thy Divine assistance that we can execute our intentions, and with Thy support that we are able to carry our determination into effect. We therefore beseech Thee that Thou mayest strengthen our weak hands, and uphold our tottering knees, in the fulfilment of the duties which, in Thy infinite wisdom, Thou hast set before us for our happiness and salvation. Amen. THE PENTATEUCH AND HAPHTORAHS. "n TTD FIFTH PORTION OF GENESIS. rnn hVnp DS? Nin rrm SJNN? " The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose." Eccles. i. 5 A S the great luminary in heaven ascends and descends, but never -LJ^ entirely vanishes, so, the Divine Spirit, which breathes in the souls of the righteous on earth, never entirely disappears; but as soon as it leaves the body of one, it transfers its light to another, that it may shine forth to illumine the world. The bodies change, but not the spirit. No sooner had the pious Sarah departed this world, than another woman arose, equally virtuous, and equally animated with the spirit of devotedness to God the Eternal (though nursed in the cradle of idolatry), and secured to that son whom she most loved, the blessings vouchsafed in the covenant with Abraham, and which laid the foundation of the destinies of Israel. That woman was Kebecca. We read in this Sabbath's lesson, "And Abraham was old, and well-stricken in age; and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things;" upon which the sages in the Midrash observe, there are men who grow old in appearance, though their age does not reach many years; there are others who reach a very high age, but do not appear old. Men who spend their years in excessive gratification of earthly enjoyment, without exercising their mind and their more elevated parts, grow old before their time, and the years which they have lived are unprofitable to themselves and to society, having been wasted in mental inactivity; whilst every year and every day of those who have worked and la- boured for their own instruction and the benefit of their fellow- men, is replete with salutary effects and beneficial results, both for themselves and the world at large. Of Abraham, Scripture therefore says, that he was old; but of his age, every minute had produced some good result, from his incessant labours to impart to his contemporaries and descendants the knowledge and the faith with which the Lord had blessed him. 28 SABBATH MEDITATIONS ON The number of high priests who officiated during the first temple, was but twelve in all. They were all virtuous and conscientious men, whose private and public career was pleasing to God and man. They all lived to a great age. The priests of the second temple, however, were about a hundred, for they were unworthy of the service of God, and had usurped the high office which they successively filled by means of violence and cor- ruption. Bribes and artful influences paved the way to office for one; banishment and assassination of his enemies were employed by another; but the career of their grandeur was but short, and they were hurled to the grave in the prime of their years, all except Simon the Just. This faithful servant of God and bene- factor of man, was for a great number of years the ornament of the sacerdotal profession. He died in a good old age, and full of days. The last will of Abraham expressed a desire that his son Isaac, who had become the depositary of the great covenant, and whose life had been miraculously called into existence, and equally miraculously saved, should take a wife from his own country and from his own kindred. The circumstances which led to the finding of Rebecca, a relative and countrywoman of Isaac's, are most remarkable, and indicative of the ways of Providence. Nor did the aged and faithful steward of Abraham, who had imbibed the spirit of morality and faith from his pious master, attribute the success he met with in the selection, to any assiduity or skill of his own, but to the irresistible will of God. Before his journey with Isaac, he prayed to God, " Send us good speed this day." And after his meeting with Rebecca, who he perceived was a companion suitable to his young master, and from the same country and kindred, he " bowed down his head, and worshipped the Lord." How few men of the present age " bow down their head," when success attends their labours ! How seldom do we meet with one who prospers in an undertaking, and by an extra- ordinary event anticipates his triumph, like Eliezer, and yet " worships the Lord," and attributes the success to providential intervention, rather than to his own merits and talent, or, as the phrase goes, to " chance." Even Laban and Bethuel, who were idolaters, recognise in the extraordinary meeting of Eliezer and Rebecca at the well, the finger of Providence, and said, " The thing proceedeth from the Lord, we cannot speak unto thee bad or good." And when Abraham's servant heard their words, which implied consent, he again " worshipped the Lord, bowing himself to the earth." His worship consisted in his bowing himself to the earth, admitting as a worthy disciple of Abraham, that he was nothing but an instrument in the hands of God, and the triumph which he had achieved in his mission was caused by none but the Great Ruler of Providence, and was not a matter of chance. THE PENTATEUCH AND HAPHTORAHS. 29 Ere we proceed to the history of Isaac, we cannot leave the miraculous combination of circumstances which united Isaac with Eebecca, without deducing the moral lessons which it teaches. We are all prone, in adversity, and disappointments of our too sanguine expectations, to burst out in complaints against fate and her whims, against fortune and her caprices; whilst in cases of success and prosperity in our undertakings, however unexpected and unforeseen may be such a result, we boast of our discretion, our skill and our wisdom, forgetting that in most cases the failures arise from our own indiscreet and precipitate actions and words, and that success emanates from Him who reigns above fate, and who, in His inscrutable wisdom, turns the wheel of fortune, and guides it often for our welfare, when we imagine it to be for our misfortune. The thankfulness with which Eliezer and even Laban's family acknowledged the success which attended the mission of the former, serves as a noble example worthy of the consideration and emulation of all; and we would press it more particularly on those, who habitually pass over this simple narra- tive, without reflecting on the meritorious conduct of the indi- vidual who figured in it, and led it to a happy consummation. One of the most (if not the most] important undertakings in the history of man individually, is undoubtedly that of marriage; it is an alliance for life, a contract binding unto death. On the choiceof a wife frequently depend the weal and woe, the good and the evil which severally attend the human career. Every day's history, however, shows the matrimonial choice not to be the result of pre-meditation and deliberation, nor that of blind chance, but that of a pre-ordained destiny by the Omniscient. The v c aying that matrimony is a lottery may be a true one; but the prizes and the blanks are allotted by an invisible Director, from whose wisdom emanates the plan, and by whose Omnipotent Will the distribution takes place. Kemarkable as the circumstances were which led to the choice of Rebecca by Isaac, there are every-day occurrences, resulting in a matrimonial alliance, equally remarkable and extraordinary; the only difference being, that in the Scripture narrative we clearly perceive the interference of Providence, whilst in the bustling scenes of life we cannot so distinctly trace the hand of a Superior Euler, and are but too apt to ascribe the result to human cal- culation. A Roman matron once asked a rabbi what the Lord's occupa- tion was in Heaven. Her rude question met with the jocular reply, " He makes matrimonial alliances." "Ah," said she, " I can do that too." She immediately summoned a hun- dred male slaves, and the same number of female slaves. She then placed the males and females in two rows, and passing between them said to each, " Take thou this one, and take thou 30 SABBATH MEDITATIONS ON the other/' She then left the room and had it closed. On opening the door the following morning, a scene of confusion and conflict presented itself, from which she started in dismay. Few of the young couples could agree with each other; quarrelling had ensued, which excited their passions to wrestling and fighting, and had they not been at once separated, many would have paid the penalty of marriage with their lives. The Roman matron was soon convinced that matrimonial match-making was not as easy as she thought; and that it required more skill and foresight than we commonly possess. Ere we conclude our observations on the lesson of this day, our readers will bear with us a little longer, and pause to consider the death of the greatest of heroes whom this earth produced the patriarch Abraham a hero who has vanquished more coun- tries than the greatest warriors of Greece and'Rome ever con~ quered, not by sword and his dagger, but by his faith and precepts a hero who has achieved more important victories than any modern tactician, not by wars and battles, but by peace and conciliation a hero who has vanquished his enemies, not by kill- ing, but by restoring them. And as the human eye fondly dwells on the setting sun, as our heart throbs and becomes elevated with pious devotion, when the last rays of the king of planets yet redden the sky, as our soul and our lips join in praises unto God when the purple mantle of the great luminary which clothes the heavens gradually vanishes from our sight; remembering the majesty, the splendour, and the glory with which he was clad during the day; and reflecting on his salutary influences on man, on beast, on herbs, and every substance on earth so do we meditate on the departure of a universal philanthropist, like our ancestor Abraham. " The righteous/' say the philosophers of the Talmud, u depart this life, but never die." " He is like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth fruit in his season, and his leaf shall not wither." The never-withering leaves are the immortal instructions in knowledge which men like Abraham diffused through the world; the never- perishing fruits are the civilisation and enlightenment which men like Abraham disseminated over the face of the earth. Such plants can never decrease, but, says the Psalmist, " flourish like the palm-tree, and grow like a cedar in Lebanon." These plants, however, cannot be reared and nursed in every soil, but on a peculiar one, which the royal bard describes: " Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be moist and green ;" whilst the works of iniquity perish, and their bitter fruits soon decay. This great distinction between the results of justice and wickedness is made " to show that the Lord is up- right, and there is no unrighteousness in Him." The royal bard himself, as we read in the Haphtorah of this THE PENTATEUCH AND HAPHTORAHS. 31 Sabbath, 1 Kings, i., had in his old age the sad misfortune of beholding his own son rising in rebellion against him, and pro- claiming himself king. Scripture informs us of the cause of the disobedience and rebellion of Adonijah, for " his father had not displeased him at any time in saying, Why hast thou done so? And he was a very goodly man/' Here we have at once two reasons assigned for the misfortune which befel David in his old age. Adonijah was handsome, and no doubt vain ; but instead of restraining his vanity, his fond father would not rebuke him, which indulgence made him proud, refractory, and rebellious. The principal blessings of matrimony children especially in the 'patriarchal ages, and in the East generally, are often turned into a curse, when those children, as in the case of Adonijah, proved disobedient and godless. Unhappy, indeed, are those parents, who have but one child, and that child, in which all their love and happiness is centred, becomes wicked and refractory. Unhappy, again, are those parents whose hopes are disappointed in all their children. In the case before us, however, the distress caiised to the aged king by Adonijah, was counterbalanced by the bright prospect open before him in the youthful Solomon, whose wisdom in his manhood elicited the admiration of every monarch and people on earth, and whose Proverbs still, after many thousands of years, excite the wonder of mankind. It was fortunate for David that his wife, Bath-sheba, powerfully seconded her royal husband's efforts, in quelling the rebellion of Adonijah, and seating Solomon on the throne. So when she came into the king's presence and stood before him, " He sware and said : As the Lord liveth that hath redeemed my soul out of all distress, even as I sware unto thee by the Lord God of Israel, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne in my stead ; even so will I certainly do this day. Then Bath-sheba bowed with the face to the earth, and did reverence to the king, and said : Let, my Lord, King David, live for ever." PRAYER. O GOD ALMIGHTY ! Ruler of Providence, Thou pre-ordainest the fate of man, and the destinies of his earthly career. No event in human life is more important than our matrimonial choice, on which, frequently, depends our happiness or unhappiness till death. We have before us the example of Abraham, who, instead of choosing for his son, the heir of great wealth, a partner endowed with riches, and descending from a family of rank, in his last will enjoined his faithful steward on his oath, to go to his birthplace and to his kindred, and from thence select a wife for his son ; because he was convinced that the Lord would guide Eliezer in this important mission. May we, 32 SABBATH MEDITATIONS ON O Lord, by Thy guidance emulate this example ; may we also, in our matrimonial selection, not be dazzled by the glitter of gold or other earthly possessions, but rest our choice upon that high character of virtue and chastity, which is the ornament of woman, and without which that holy union, which binds us unto death, is sure to prove a lasting source of grief and affliction, which no wealth, however great, can soothe. I implore Thee, Omniscient God, that in this and all other events of life, my reliance be entirely upon Thy sure guidance and Thy infinite wisdom, and that in the critical moments of my uncer- tain days, whenever [ have to choose between two paths, I may not depend upon my short-sighted judgment, but invoke Thy blessing that Thou mayest lead me in the right path; as Eliezer prayed to God at the well, that He may show mercy with his master Abraham. And as Eliezer, after succeeding in his mission, bowed down and worshipped the Lord, who had led him in the way of truth, so may we also in prosperity bless and thank Thee only, the God of Truth. Amen. THE PENTATEUCH AND HAPHTORAHS. 33 mi 1 ? in -no SIXTH PORTION OP GENESIS. " The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice -, And he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him." Prov. xxiii. 24. A LTHOUGH Abraham had left many children besides Isaac, -LA. the biblical history of Abraham's descendants rests upon the life of Isaac alone, which forms the link of the chain of events leading to the captivity in Egypt, and to the great era of the reve-' lation on Mount Sinai, which maybe termed the consummation of the first epoch in the history of the world. In Isaac alone was centred the future prospects and fate of a nation destined to uproot idolatry, and to become the depositary of that sublime revelation, and the teachers and promulgators of the sacred laws, which, combining morality with religion, superseded the poly- theism of the Amorites and the Canaanites, and the abominable human sacrifices and profligate services connected with it. The portion of this Sabbath therefore commences, " And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son; Abraham begat Isaac." Thus the history of the Bible is resumed with the generations of Isaac only, to the exclusion of those of the other children of Abraham, whose biographies are passed over in silence, as void of interest; whilst that of the one in whom and by whom was fulfilled the promise " for in Isaac shall thy seed be called," is taken up. The fondness and love to an only son one so unex- pectedly and so miraculously born and saved to Isaac, was not manifested by his parents in the manner in which parents gene- rally indulge an only child in self-willed actions and capricious desires ; but by training him up to the same path of virtue and morality in which they themselves trode, and by instilling into him the same implicit trust and faith in God, which had conferred on them respectively the titles of father and mother of people and nations, remeftibering the words of our text: " The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice, and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him." 34 SABBATH MEDITATIONS ON The character of Isaac's two sons, however, Jacob and Esau, widely differed. Esau was a cunning hunter a man of the field, absorbed in the enjoyment of the present, and careless as to the happiness of the future; whilst Jacob was a plain and pious man, dwelling in tents, where he devoted himself to the study of that religious faith which had been instilled into his infant mind by his mother Kebecca, who loved him more than his elder brother. What renders the distinction between the characters of the two brothers most remarkable, and historically important, is the fact that they were not confined to the two individuals, but extended to their descendants, the two nations which bore their respective names Israel, the nation descending from Jacob (whose name was also Israel), and Edom, the nation descending from Esau (whose name was also Edom). Both nations received their pos- sessions from God. Joshua told the people in the name of God: " I gave unto Isaac Jacob and Esau; and I gave unto Esau Mount Seir, to possess it; and Jacob and his children went down to Egypt," whence they proceeded to inherit the land of Canaan. The Haphtorah, or prophetic lesson of the portion of to-day, thus illustrates the characters of the two nations: " I have loved you, saith the Lord. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us ? Was not Esau Jacob's brother? saith the Lord. Yet I loved Jacob, and I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste, for the dragons of the wilderness. Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places. Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down ; and they shall call them, The border of wickedness, and, The people against whom the Lord hath indignation for ever. And your eyes shall see, and ye shall say, The Lord will be magnified from the border of Israel." Mai. i. 25. Here we have, from the authority of God himself, through the mouth of his prophet, the causes assigned why Jacob was more favoured than his brother Esau; or' rather, why Israel was more favoured than Edom: that it was the presumption and boasting of the latter in their own power, and their defiance of the Omni- potent, which tended to their destruction. In the blessings given to the two brothers by their father, in to-day's lesson, we distinctly perceive the features which distin- guish the two characters. Esau was to live by his sword, and Jacob by the power which his superior cultivation, caused by a purity of morals and faith, had conferred upon him. It will be observed that, in the blessing of Jacob, although the Patriarch Isaac spoke of dominion over his brethren, and the submission of nations to him although he said, " Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee," he did not speak of a physical dominion, or of a physical submission, but both spiritual. THE PENTATEUCH AND HAPHTOEAIIS. 35 There is no mention made of the sword, or other physical weapon ; but it was the spiritual weapon in the hand, or rather in the mind, of Jacob's descendants, by which they conquered their enemies. The blessing concludes with a sentence, which every page in the history of nations corroborates: "Cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee." The vindictive and sanguinary character of Esau is fearfully described in the Scriptural passage: "And Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand, then I will slay my brother Jacob." Nor does it at all appear that Isaac, notwithstanding his pre-disposition in favour of Esau, either regretted or recalled the blessing given to Jacob. On the con- trary : we read in the commencement of the twenty-eighth chapter, that Isaac called Jacob and blessed him, and charged him not to intermarry with the families of the Canaanites, but to choose a wife from his own family, concluding : te And God Almighty bless thee and make thee fruitful and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people; and give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee and to thy seed with thee." We also perceive that Isaac, as well as Rebecca, who so tenderly loved Jacob, sent him away to save him from the fury of Esau. We lay particular stress on the latter blessing of Jacob by Isaac, as it affords a clear proof of the confirmation of the previous blessing, which having been obtained by stratagem, is considered by some biblical critics, as unavailable. Though to human understanding, the mode in which Jacob obtained the former blessing is as unjustifiable as is the sale of the birthright by Esau, it yet appears that Isaac before his death perceived his error, in preferring Esau to Jacob, from the solemn and affectionate farewell he gave to Jacob, previous to his departure from the paternal roof; and on the other hand, his disgust at the conduct of Esau, in marrying the profligate daughters of Heth. Nor does it appear that when Isaac discovered his mistake, in blessing Jacob instead of Esau, that he recalled that blessing or denounced Jacob; but, on the contrary, we read that " Isaac trembled very exceedingly and said, Who? where is he that hath taken venison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before thou earnest, and have blessed him?" Had Isaac repented the mistake, he would have cursed Jacob; instead of which, he emphatically concluded j"p!T *]Vn DH " Yea, and he shall be blessed !" Isaac evidently saw that he had mistaken not only the two persons, but the two characters; the voice of con- science called to him, Jacob had deserved it more than Esau, and the Heavenly Spirit whispered to him, " Yea, he shall be blessed !" Throughout the whole of the Scriptures we observe, that great D 2 36 SABBATH MEDITATIONS ON importance and consequence was attached to blessings and curses, which the moderate thinker and rational philosopher may treat as superstition and prejudice. With an equal degree of contempt may he look upon the institution of blessing by the priests, or by any human being. He may ask with a great deal of truth: " What do I care about the blessings or the curses of one who is but a man like myself is there any one but God who can bless and who can curse?" Yet, we would reply to him, it nevertheless appears from Scripture that God himself has attached great im- portance to the blessings and curses of men to one another. A second question might then arise : As God is the sole Euler of events, of what avail can be the blessings or curses of man, and what are they worth in reality? And why should we at all regard with so much solemnity and devotion the blessing of the priests, mortal men like ourselves? The question is no doubt a startling one, but its solution is found in Scripture itself, and in the very Haphtorah of this day, taken from Malachi i. Indeed, the more we read the Pentateuch, the more questions will startle us; but the more attentively we read the prophets, the more clearly we find the solution. The law of God, say our sages, is a light which never extinguishes, but becomes clearer and lighter the longer it burns, and as by one light we may kindle hundreds and thousands, so may we by the comprehension of one idea, clear up a thousand questions and mysteries, presenting themselves in the course of our studies. A close examination into the circumstances connected with Scriptural blessings, will shew us that they were not a voluntary expression of the wishes and hopes of the individuals who pro- nounced them, but the involuntary utterance by the lips and the mouth, of the thoughts which the Supreme Being engrafted on their minds and in their hearts. The inspired men, and the prophets of Scripture, neither in their blessings nor denuncia- tions, gave vent to their own feelings, but foretold the pre- destined fate of individuals or nations to whom they were deputed by the Ruler of fate, to execute the Divine mission. Hence the incapacity of Balaam to curse Israel, however he or Balak might have wished to do so, and hence his emphatic admission : " Have I at all the power to say anything? The word that God putteth in my mouth that will I speak." Balaam well knew that his curses would be of no avail, after God Himself, who alone can give authority to human blessings or curses, had told him: " Thou shalt not curse the people, for they are blessed." The crafty Balaam had no choice in the matter, and was compelled to say to the messengers of Balak, " If Balak would give me his house full of silver or gold, I cannot go beyond the will of the Lord my God, to do less or more." No wonder then that the blessings of these inspired men, whose THE PENTATEUCH AND IIAPHTOllAHS. 37 words were the dictates of the Supreme Ruler of the universe, were so eagerly sought for. No wonder, that Rebecca was anxious to obtain the blessings of her pious husband, for her favourite son Jacob. Such appeared to be the immediate effect of a blessing on its object, that it revived the drooping spirit of the afflicted. When Hannah, the mother of Samuel the Prophet, in the bitterness of her soul from the provocation which she had received from her adversary Peninnah, wept and prayed to God, and was mistaken for a drunkard by Eli ; and when she vindi- cated herself by the emphatic sentence : " Out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken hitherto;" and when Eli had discovered his error, and said to her: " Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of Him," what a change do we perceive in Hannah's state of mind ! The few words of blessing pronounced by Eli, turned her sadness into gladness, and her grief into joy ! Scripture tells us, "That the woman went her way, and did eat, and her coun- tenance was no more sad ; and she rose in the morning early and worshipped the Lord." The blessing of Eli was not a mere sound of words, but a reality; for soon after, " The Lord remem- bered her," and Samuel the Prophet was the fruit of that blessing. That the blessings which Isaac gave to Jacob and Esau, as well as all the blessings and curses recorded in Scripture, were not the mere expressions of human wishes, but the foretelling of events pre-ordained by an Almighty will history, that most faithful commentator of the Bible, that most correct interpreter of prophecies, affords stronger proofs than we can adduce. Every letter of Isaac's blessing has become a living fact. Let us observe, that Esau was told to serve his brother Jacob, or rather that Edom was to be subjected to the rule of Israel a fact which is recorded in history, yet there was an additional clause added to it: " And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt complain, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck."' 3 *' The import of this sentence is, that Edom was to serve Israel only so long as the latter is entitled to that rule, by moral and religious superiority; but as soon as Edom shall have cause to complain, on account of the degeneracy of Israel into idolatry and immorality, so soon shall Edom throw off his yoke from off her neck. This blessing to Esau was most awfully verified in the conquest of Judea by the Romans (the descendants of Edom) when violence, corruption and superstition, had superseded virtue, morality, and pure religion, in the House of Israel. When prophets ceased from Israel, and holy inspiration had * The English Authorized Version renders this passage: "When thou shalt have dominion." We prefer, however, Jarchi's interpretation, " When thou shalt complain." 38 SABBATH MEDITATIONS ON vanished from among them, the authority for conferring blessings was transferred to the priesthood. It became then a set phrase, as dictated in the Mosaic Law (Num. vi. 22). But the prophetic portion also alluded to, shows us of what character the priest must be, if his blessing is to be available. " And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you. If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the Lord of Hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings." Let us therefore not imagine that the blessing of every priest is really a blessing, unless the priest himself is imbued with the religion and morality which confer on him the sacerdotal au- thority. The prophet then illustrates the commandment of the blessing, and the conditions of the covenant made with the priestly house: " And ye shall know that I have sent this com- mandment unto you, that my covenant might be with Levi, saith the Lord." " My covenant was with him of life and peace ; I gave them to him for the fear of me, And the reverence with which he adored my name." Fear and reverence of God are the first conditions to render the blessing effectual. The next conditions are thus described : " The law of truth was in his mouth, And iniquity was not found on his lips : He walked with me in peace and equity, And did turn many away from iniquity." It is not only truth and integrity which the priest has to follow and exercise, but also peace and equity two noble requirements for a priest to adorn his sacred office, and to effect good among his flock. Conciliation is the true spirit of priest- hood; fanaticism and persecution defile the sanctity of his func- tions; for it is not to punish iniquity, but to turn many away from iniquity. The next conditions are instruction to the public : " For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, And they shall seek the law at his mouth." He must himself keep and perform what he preaches, if his instructions are to make an impression; his lips must keep wisdom, if the people are to seek knowledge of him. All these conditions rest upon the one principle that his blessings are profitless and void, unless they have the sanction from on High, " for" con- cludes the prophet : " He is the messenger of the Lord of Hosts." THE PENTATEUCH AND HAPI1TOKAHS. 39 May then, the priests of our age endeavour to cleanse them- selves before they undertake the important task of blessing others; may they, in a spiritual sense, perform Q 1 ^ HX^J (lifting up their hands) after they have cleansed them, to bless the people. Indeed, it will not be too bold to assert, that the ceremony of washing the hands and feet of the priests in the Temple, previous to their performing any service, indicates the necessity of spiritual cleanliness of conscience and hands. Then, and then only, may we expect the fulfilment of the most glorious of blessings: " The Lord lift up his countenance unto thee and give thee peace !" As to the preference given to Jacob by Rebecca, we again refer to the passage in this day's Haphtorah: " I have loved you, saith the Lord. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us ? Was not Esau Jacob's brother ? saith the Lord. Yet I loved Jacob, and I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste, for the dragons of the wilderness. Whereas Edom says, We are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places. Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall call them, The border of wickedness, and, The people against whom the Lord hath indignation for ever. And your eyes shall see, and ye shall say, The Lord will be magnified from the border of Israel." Here we have a plain answer to the question, why Rebecca, who acted on a Divine inspiration, was more partial to Jacob than to Esau. She well knew that the descendants of Esau would presume to act in opposition to the Divine ordinances, whilst the offspring of Jacob were destined, by acting as the stewards of that Holy Law which founded the happiness of mankind, to be " the witnesses of the Lord." PRAYER. O LORD GOD ! in Thy Omniscience hast Thou ordained that the blessings of the aged Patriarch, Isaac, should be pronounced on our ancestor Jacob, predicting the predominance of his descendants, not by the sword, or any physical weapon ; " not by strength, not by might ; but by Thy Spirit, O Lord." We are deeply sensible of our physical weakness as a nation, owing to our smallness in number, and to our being scattered over different countries, amidst the nations of the earth : yet we are no less sensible of the moral power with which Thou hast invested that handful of people whom Thou hast elected as the custodians of Thy Holy Law ; and by which power only, they have preserved their nationality throughout unequal contests and arduous struggles, such as no nation on earth ever had to encounter. The sword, the rack, and the stake, might have diminished the number of 40 SABBATH MEDITATIONS ON Thy people Israel, decimated their ranks, but did not exterminate the race, nor their faith. On the contrary, "the little remnant" continued to spread and increase, whilst their immortal creed shone forth as " a light to the Gentiles." May this glorious sentiment always dwell in our minds, and may this edifying conviction urge us on to further increase, not of our earthly possessions, but of that moral strength which the development and cultivation of our Holy Religion is sure to bestow. May we always remember the memorable words of our ancestor Isaac: "The voice is the voice of Jacob," alluding to the spiritual voice of Jacob's prayer, which, with befitting devotion, will always be heard, and favourably answered, by Thee, O Heavenly Father ! Grant, O Lord, that we may always appreciate Thy heavenly blessings, and strive with our utmost power to deserve them, by remaining faithful to Thy laws, and to Thy holy precepts. Amen. THE PENTATEUCH AND IIAPHTOKAHS. 41 SEVENTH PORTION OF GENESIS. ? Ipm -p-n naa t?n TK 10 J"3 -a ^e> ina^ n:nj?i roan insn " Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble ; when thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid : yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet." Prov. iii. 23, 24. SUCH is the lot of the righteous who firmly walks in the path of virtue. He meets with no obstacle; and if he lies down to rest, no remorse for the past, nor fear of the future, disturbs the calm of his slumber. On the soft couch of a pure conscience, undisturbed by self-reproach, his sleep is calm and sweet, if his bed be even of the hardest stones. Abundance and wealth, affluence and luxury, are often insufficient to secure to its pos- sessor a good night's rest, such as the working-man, who hath just enough to supply his immediate wants, is able to enjoy; hence the truism told by the royal preacher: " The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep." (Eccles. v. 12.) _ With such contentedness and serenity of mind as uprightness of thought and candour of speech afford, our father Jacob went out from Beer-sheba towards Haran, fully conscious of his great vocation, to mature the blessing of Abraham, to inherit the land wherein he was to be a stranger, and yet to become the progenitor of a great nation. Humble refugee though he was, he felt that he was no debtor to the past, but the founder of a sacred future.. Two heroes of lofty genius, Abraham and Isaac, have now completed their course, and have made their exit from the stage of life, pregnant with great deeds and trials, and from the theatre of the history in which they took so prominent a part. A third star, however, Jacob, appears on the horizon of the world's history, of greater splendour and still more dazzling brilliancy, sparkling with variegated virtues and achievements, and maturing the thoughts and deeds which the minds of his predecessors had meditated and planned. Jacob closes the great trio of the most 42 SABBATH MEDITATIONS ON chivalrous heroes that ever trode the earth, and contributed to, or rather founded, that happiness and felicity which faith grants to mortal man. After their epoch, we no more meet with a gene- ration which had to be destroyed from the face of the earth by floods of water and showers of brimstone. The former and cor- rupted world had, by its annihilation, made room for a better and sounder state of morals and society, into which the principles of a purer religion were diffused by the three patriarchs. As in the vegetable kingdom, the destruction of whole kinds is followed by the springing forth of entirely new ones, so we perceive in the spiritual world, from the ruins of a decayed generation, the sud- den rise of a firmer and superior one the ashes of the former serving, as it were, for the nourishment of the latter. The pre- vious world required men gifted with powers of originating the new one called forth minds capable of consolidating. A sweet and refreshing fragrance now rises forth from the goodly blossoms of humanity. The tree of faith, whose seed was planted in the heart of man by the hand of God, now begins to bear healthy fruit; the image of man, hitherto obscured by noc- turnal darkness, was at length to be illuminated by a new and heavenly light the star of Jacob. The first incident in Jacob's pilgrimage was a remarkable dream. Although dreams, generally speaking, are but the birth of an irregular and excited imagination, there are some recorded in Scripture of a different nature, which assume a high degree of importance, and become historical events, from their having been more a vision than u dream, in which the ever-watchful and never-slumbering Keeper of Israel revealed to his pious servants and confidants the forthcoming events. Such was Jacob's dream of the ladder. In this divine vision, understanding which is the connexion of the temporal with the spiritual world was represented in a ladder. The angels represent the mental powers, by which the earth and the heavens approach each other. They are the heavenly messengers who descend from on high, who spread over the whole earth, who note down all the actions of man, and report before the throne of eternal justice what they have witnessed. Such an angel, commonly called the soul, dwells in every mortal frame of man, and ascends and descends according to the choice of good or evil, which the divine privi- lege of free agency permits us to make. Whatever path we may select, the Lord stands on the top of the ladder and observes us; but it falls to the lot of few men only to observe Him. It is only those in whom the angel is in the ascendant, whose mind and whole life draw nearer to heaven than to earth, whose mental desires prevail over the sensual ones; it is only such men, called prophets, or seers, whose imagination is capable of divesting itself from the earth and the flesh, and becomes absorbed in hea- TIIE PENTATEUCH AND HAPHTO11AHS. 43 venly and spiritual ideas, that can see the Kuler of both. We caution the scriptural reader, however, against mistaking that seeing for a bodily one. It is not the seeing of the corporeal eye, of which Scripture speaks, for " No man can see me and live," says God. And this is easily understood, when we consider that God. is incorporeal all spirit, that the physical eye cannot see. But we speak of seeing with the mind's eye; and the power of that sight we can only attain by withdrawing from, and resigning all earthly and mortal cravings and desires, which our metaphy- sicians term rVTTTDnn seclusion, or solitude. In the dream, the Lord foretold Jacob his future fate, which involved that of one nation, and indirectly that of every nation ; the prophecy concluding with that consoling promise: " I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of." Jacob recognised the majesty of the Speaker, and con- secrated the stony pillow on which he had slept, to be a house of God, or rather a place where God deigns to commune with man. We also have, or ought to have, our " Houses of God," and our " Gates of Heaven." We likewise possess buildings conse- crated to God, and the gates of prayer leading to heaven; but few of us feel therein as Jacob did, (ITH DIpDH NTD 7"liD " how awful is this place ! " But few of us consecrate it as Jacob did in his vow: and why? Because few of us can, like Jacob, content ourselves with a stone for a pillow. Hardly any one of us, in the modern age of luxury, will, like Jacob, be satisfied with " bread to eat and raiment to put on;" and none of us, in an age of avarice will, like Jacob, make a promise to God : " Of all that thou shalt give me, I will surely give a tenth unto Thee." Our synagogue is frequently made a house of man, rather than a House of God, by the display of perishable wealth : and most of the congregants pray for something more than bread to eat, and raiment to put on ; and as to the giving away of the tenth ! we will only reply, that our institutions would be in a more pros- perous state if" the wealthy would only give a tenth of the tenth, or even a tenth of that. Jacob's consecration of that place which he called Beth-el, was a historically important one on that very spot where he slept, the holy Temple stood many centuries after, the historical recol- lections of which are so replete with vicissitudes and convulsions, that they fill the mind of the patriotic Israelite alternately with joy and grief, with sorrow and comfort; the latter, however, pre- dominating in the hope that the Glory and Majesty which once resided in Israel, may again take up its dwelling there, when union shall be restored, and they shall all call upon His name, and serve Him in one form. The giving of the tenth, in post-patriarchal history, became 44 SABBATH MEDITATIONS ON a law in Israel ; and as long as they conformed to it they prosper- ed, though it appears rather a high per-centage to be given away as eleemosynary aid. There are but few instances that people were ruined by an excessive disposition to benevolence ; but there are numerous instances where those who exercised no charity, or little, were by no means any the better for it, when misfortunes befel them, and suddenly swept away the accumulations of their niggardliness and avarice. " He that hasteth to be rich," it is said in the Proverbs, " hath an evil eye, and considereth not that poverty may come upon him." The Midrash gives the following narrative in reference to the giving of tithes. There resided at Jerusalem a pious man who possessed a field, from the produce of which he annually gave the priest one hundred measures of corn. In the hour of his death he summoned his only son to his bed, and said : " Let the prosperity of the field be the object of thy most unremitting solicitude. I conscientiously gave the priest the tithe of the produce, and the blessing of God was discernible in the field ; for I found as much as I wanted during my life-time:" he then died. The son inherited the field of the father, but not his heart. In the first year after the death, he gave the priest ninety mea- sures, and the next year the field produced but nine hundred. In the second year he gave only thirty, and he found but eight hun- dred in the following year. Thus the growth of the field gradually declined, till it became reduced, to one hundred, being exactly as much as the father was able to give to the priest, whilst the son grew poor and distressed. The avarice of the son had, for some time, been a source of displeasure and annoyance to his relatives. When they heard of his distress, they put on their best garments, and paid him a visit. " What!" exclaimed the man furiously ; " you rejoice in my fall?" " Oh no," replied they, " we come to congratulate thee. Formerly thou wast the owner of the field, and God was the priest; now God is the owner, and thou art the priest; and of this honour we wish you joy-" Refreshed by a sound sleep, and still more by the Divine promise, Jacob " lift up his feet," (as the Hebrew text has it), light and buoyant with physical vigour, and proceeded to the land of the people of the East. For the eventful narrative of his providential acquaintance with Rachel, his future wife, and her father, Laban, and the trials which he endured during twenty years' servitude and fatiguing labour; for the incidents of the victory which he achieved over his cunning father-in-law, whom " God did not suffer to hurt," the faithful Jacob; and for the interesting history of the increase of his family and wealth, spite of the deceitful and envious Aramite, as well as for the visions and revelations which Jacob had at intervals to strengthen his THE PENTATEUCH AND IIAPHTORAHS. 45 courage and confirm his hopes, we refer to this Sabbath's lesson, which every parent ought to read to his children in the language which they most understand, on the Sabbath-day. No sooner had the itinerant patriarch escaped with his family from the mercenary hands of Laban, and concluded a covenant with him, Jacob remembers Him to whom alone he was in- debted for his improved condition, and " offered sacrifices upon the mount, and called his brethren to eat bread;" acknowledging in prayer and devotion the source whence his property was de- rived, and whence he drew wisdom and knowledge to defeat a superior enemy ; reposing his future fate in the hands of a Being who would watch over and guard him and his descendants as He promised : " Fear thou not, my servant Jacob, neither be dis- mayed, Israel: for lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity, for I am with thee, saith the Lord, to save thee; though I make a full end of all the nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee." In the history of Jacob we read the history of the nations which bore his name (Israel). As his life and the development of his powers were a series of contentions, hardship, and travail, so was, and still is, that of his descendants; and as his success depended on and was mainly owing to the firmness of his faith, so is that of his posterity ; for as soon as they deviated from that faith, their prosperity was destroyed. This similarity is expressed in the Haphtorah of this Sabbath, taken from Hosea, xi., xii v commencing: " And Jacob fled into the country of Syria ; And Israel served for a wife, And for a wife he kept sheep. And by a prophet the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt, And by a prophet was he preserved." Now after detailing their history in the wilderness, the benefits they received, and the ingratitude they manifested, the prophet continues : " O, Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself, But in me is thy help." Although centuries have elapsed, since Hosea expressed the memorable words " Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself!" the same sentence is in a great measure to Israel of the present day. Our progress, whether moral, or religious, or political, might have been much greater had we not among us such " as destroy our- selves." There are many, who from apathy in the sacred cause of battling for our religion and consolidating our ancient institu- tions, may be termed our " self-destroyers." There are others, but thanks to heaven only few, who secede from the ranks of our 46 SABBATH MEDITATIONS ON holy faith, and either from ambition or pelf, join in a confession of faith foreign to their hearts and belief. There are others again, who unmindful of the danger which discord and strife must necessarily entail on a people small in numbers, create a chasm by quibbling and bickering upon inferior points of differ- ences, that might be amicably adjusted. Let us conclude with the hope, that apathy may be converted into zeal, secession into fidelity, and disunion into concord and peace. Then shall we no longer be reproached in the words of the prophet: "And my people are bent to backsliding from me;" but as our ancestor Jacob had power over the angel and prevailed, so shall we his descendants be fortified within, and prevail over enemies from without. " He (Jacob) wept and made supplications unto Him : he found Him in Beth-el, and then He spake with us ; even the Lord God of Hosts, the Lord is His memorial." PRAYER. ALL-MERCIFUL GOD ! Thou hast revealed Thyself to our ancestor Jacob, in a dream by night; promised to him that his descendants shall spread far and wide, and in them be blessed all the families of the earth. Thou didst impress his faithful soul with the awfulness of the place which he consecrated as a House of God : there he worshipped Thee in humility, and prayed not for over-abundance and superfluities ; but for bread to eat, and garments to put on. May we also, O Lord, in our prayers, not supplicate Thee for the gratification of vanities and over-strained ambition ; not for indulging in those luxuries and extra- vagant habits, which, alas ! end in trouble, and embitter so many days of our existence ; but in Thy grace direct our minds in our aspirations to frugality and contentedness with the portion which, in Thy infinite wisdom, Thou hast allotted to us, so long as we are provided with the indispensable necessaries of life, " bread to eat, and a garment to put on." We beseech Thee, Thou who directest the steps of man, so to guide us in our enjoyment and gratifications, that, neither in our food nor in our dress, we may overstep the boundaries which our means have circumscribed: and so that we may not unjustly demand at Thy hands the satiating of excessive desires and boundless cravings. We implore Thee, Father of All, that if we thus follow the noble example of our ancestor Jacob, we may instil the same salutary prin- ciples of frugality and contentedness into the minds and habits of our offspring; so that they shall not, by extravagance in appearance, and unlimited display of outward show (as, alas ! is often the case), stray from the path of probity and honesty, thereby blighting the prospects of their earthly career, and their hopes in heavenly salvation. Bless, O Lord, our endeavours to rear and educate our children in the sound system of combining propriety with economy, pursuing a course of temperance and abstemiousness, seeking their bread by industry and labour, and disdaining luxuries dishonestly procured. Then will their feet not stumble ; they will lie down after their hours of labour, and their sleep shall be sweet; they will become a blessing to their parents and the rejoicing of manKnd. Amen. THE PENTATEUCH AND HAPHTORAHS. 4? 31^1 TTD EIGHTH PORTION OF GENESIS. psna V3 no yen ^D 1 ? DO " The righteous man falling down before the wicked, Is a troubled fountain, and a corrupt spring," Prov. xxv. 26, WHEN the righteous is placed in a situation where he has to stoop to wickedness, the brilliancy of his inward greatness is obscured, like a clear and pure fountain that is thickened and muddied by the sandy footsteps of the traveller; but as the spring flows and rises again, clearly and purely, as soon as the miry foot has left it, so does humbler virtue elevate itself again, after relief from oppression, and when its troubles are overcome. For purity and clearness is the inward nature of the source of virtue. Thus had Jacob, in the narrative before us, to humble himself before his brother Esau, and had to stoop to him till the storm of his fury had abated. Jacob knew well the character of the enemy he had to deal with haughty and domineering, mercenary and avaricious. Knowing this, he at once sent him a message, addressing him " My lord," and calling himself " thy servant," to appease him, as it were, for the blessing which he received from his father, of which Esau was so envious, that he should be the lord over his brethren; Avhilst he informed him that he possessed oxen and asses, flocks and servants; adding, that this announcement was made for the purpose of finding grace in Esau's sight. However deeply this humiliation might have been felt by Jacob, yet the safety of himself and family demanded this sacrifice. Being told, however, that Esau's company had a formidable and hostile appearance, being composed of four hundred men, he made preparations of various kinds. First, by prayer to God, commencing with an acknowledgment of his own unworthiness " of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth" which God had shewn him in raising him from a poor and lonely wanderer to the wealthy father of a family; and concluding with a supplication to the God of his fathers to deliver 48 SABBATH MEDITATIONS ON him from the hand of his brother a painful situation for a man to implore help from above, against the grasping hands of his own brother. Secondly, by conciliation : for which purpose, he sent him an immense and valuable present, consisting of no less than five hundred and fifty head of various cattle and beasts sufficient to satisfy even the most avaricious soul. This costly present he pru- dently sent him to precede his appearance, for he said, " I will appease him with the present that goes before me, and afterwards I will see his face, peradventure he will accept of me." Thirdly, by warlike defence, in case the present should be of no avail, and Esau should still attack him. In these preparations for defence we must admire Jacob's tactics of war, dividing the people and the whole retinue into two camps, so that if Esau defeat the* one division, the other may have a chance to escape. As in Jacob's life is reflected the history of the nation which bore his name, we may as well take a leaf out of that history, and deduce therefrom a lesson which his conduct in adversity and distress teaches us. We have shewn that our ancestors in the hour of danger prepared for it by prayer, conciliation, and defence. So should we meet the danger when the power of a superior enemy threatens to crush our liberties; first, by prayer to Him, who vouchsafed never to reject us entirely; next, by endeavouring to hold out the hand of conciliation ; and if these means be unsuccessful, to be prepared for defending our sacred cause against the attack of the enemy, with a weapon which penetrates deeper than the sword and the dagger, which has its effect, not only upon the enemy present, but the one ever so remote from us, and which confines not its repulsive powers to the attacks of the present time, but also to those of the future we allude to the PEN. It is the pen, that spiritual weapon of defence, which has often succeeded in repelling the onslaughts, and refuting the accusations of envy and malice. It is the pen, which, through the irresistible voice of the press, thunders forth reports louder than those of any cannon, and which throws more confusion and spreads greater destruction in the enemy's camp, than any devastating combustible which modern ingenuity has invented and ever will invent ; it annihilates the enemy of the past, and shuts the malignant mouth of the future. Having sent his wife and family over the ford of Jabbok, Jacob was left alone at night, and then and there occurred an event, which as narrated in Scripture, appears obscure and mystic. We are told that a man wrestled with him; as to who the man was, and the cause of his hostility, the text is silent; nor has the contradiction been reconciled in the narrative, that Jacob should call him God, as he said, " I have seen God face to face," though the narrative commences, " a man wrestled with him." We are THE PENTATEUCH AND HAPHTORAHS. 49 indebted, however, to a Jewish philosopher of the Arabian school, for the following most beautiful interpretation of this mysterious occurrence. Let us consider, says that author, Jacob's position. He had remained at the lonely midnight hour, at a sequestered spot, when his eyes were directed and his heart lifted from the earth, which had presented to him almost nothing but troubles, up to the starry skies; and he was wrapt in deep contemplation of the immensity of the planetary hosts. His soul, unfettered by im- pressions of external objects, soared up to yonder sphere of light, to which it was drawn as by a magnet, like flame to flame. How anxiously did it long there to dwell and to remain in endless life ! But earthly and physical cares would not allow him this felicity; they drew him back into the physical world, and left his mind in vacant gaze. This idea is represented in the wrestling of Jacob with the angel a struggle which continually takes place within any man, between body and soul physical and spiritual desires. As long as the mind is sufficiently strong to resist the several passions, but not strong enough entirely to annihilate his physical cravings, the .struggle continues and is daily renewed. The victory which can be achieved only by the predominance of the mind over passion, is the object of the righteous man's struggle; it is the prize for which he rights, and in which he seeks his reward. It is the plant of virtue, which not only survives the excrescences, but also ennobles the soil itself inward man. Such was the struggle which Jacob underwent all night ; it was the wrestling of the physical with the mental powers. The angel, however, appeared in the form of man, " until the breaking of day," when, finding that he could not prevail, that the mind was predominant, "he touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh" an indication of the weakness and the frailty of the human body, that the mere spraining of a limb incapacitates man from physical activity and thus pointing out to Jacob that the soul, as long as it is confined within so frail a frame, cannot aspire to the spiritual elevations which the pious Jacob had in view. " Let me go," then said the angel, " for the day has broken," signifying the light which had dawned in Jacob's mind, and shewing him that he had already reached the summit of human elevation; and more he could never attain. Jacob, however, said: "I will not let thee go, except thou bless me," for my mental strength is not sufficient to subdue the physical, unless I have Divine assistance. The angel then said : " Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel; for thou hast ruled with angels and with man, and hast prevailed" i. e., thou hast resisted the temptations of passion and transient wealth, which I represented in the form of man; therefore thou hast achieved a victory over me as a spiritual angel; and thou art fully deserving of the Divine assistance. The E 50 SABBATH MEDITATIONS ON narrative concludes: "And he blessed him there." Hitherto Jacob had seen the angels, but in a vision mentally but now he had seen an angel face to face bodily he therefore called the name of the place Peniel, " for I have seen an angel face to face, and my life is preserved;" alluding to the strength of his mind, which even could face an angel without being subdued. We now proceed to the meeting of the two brothers, which depicts human nature and the force of fraternal feelings, in a few but sublime sentences. That Esau's intentions towards his bro- ther were hostile, is sufficiently evinced by the formidable array of four hundred men which he brought with him. Jacob, how- ever, made an appeal to his brother's heart stronger than that which any present, however costly, might have made towards re- moving his brother's enmity, and disarming his most violent wrath. " He divided the children unto Leah and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids." Having shewn him his defenceless wives and his innocent children, who could not be held responsible for any wrong which Jacob might have committed towards him, and though Esau was a rough huntsman, a man of the field, yet the array of innocence before him softened his heart, and awakened his brotherly and humane feelings, and he ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him ; both brothers were deeply and equally moved by this unexpected change from furious enmity to the tenderest affections " and they wept." No reproach was heard from one, no apology from the other the long-cherished hatred and the violent discord were quenched in the tears which flowed, and consigned to oblivion. It was the reconciliation of nature; and no art, no eloquence, and no arbi- trator was required. And such ought to be the reconciliation of friends, and brothers in particular, who have the misfortune to differ; instead of venting their disagreements in bitter hostility. It but too often happens, that though both are anxious for peace, neither will (through a false fear of humbling himself) make the first overtures to friendship, and thus they remain for ever sepa- rated till death joins them in the grave. Esau being reconciled and having' departed, Jacob at once remembered Him to whom he was indebted for the successful issue of the meeting with his brother; and he bought a field for the sole purpose of erecting an altar, which he called El Elohe Israel, which we would render in English, " the God of the angels of Israel," acknowledging the power of God above that of the angel who could not prevail against Him, and who came with hostile intentions, but departed with blessing. Jacob's life, like that of his descendants, was a continual series of troubles. No sooner was he relieved from his fears of Esau, than another calamity befell him the dishonour of his only daughter. In this trial, Jacob also preserved his faith in God ; THE PENTATEUCH AND 1TAPHTORAHS. 51 and having survived it, he summoned his household, and all that were with him, and bid them put away the strange gods that were among them, and to cleanse themselves physically and spirit- ually from the abominations which had affected them during their intercourse with the idolatrous inhabitants of Shechem. And again, Jacob manifested his gratitude by building an altar to Him " who answered him on the day of his distress, when he fled from his brother." This place is called El-beth-el, the God of Beth-el, indicating the God who appeared as the vision at Beth-el, at the top of the ladder, acknowledging that it was the same God who then said, " Behold, I am with thee," that now freed him from all his enemies. " Have Jacob's troubles and trials now ceased?" the reader of this history may well ask. Scripture replies, " No." Another and still heavier calamity met him the death of his beloved wife, Ra- chel. True, she bore him two sons, but the birth of the youngest was simultaneous with the death of the mother. But did any complaint or murmur escape the lips of the sad father at this heavy and sudden blow? Would not any man, however pious, at such a succession of misfortunes exclaim against Providence " What is my transgression, what is my sin, that Thou pursuest me?" Not so, Jacob. In silent mourning he set a pillar on her grave, and this tomb may be seen to this very day in the place where it was erected. Thither flock once a year the pilgrims from all parts of the Holy Land, and spend a day in prayer and devotion. The misconduct of his eldest son Reuben was the next unto- ward event which closes the history of Jacob, (as far as this Sabbath's lesson extends), previous to his arrival at his home, the land of Canaan. Jacob, however, never flinched from his sted- fast adherence to God; and thus says God to his descendants through the mouth of the Prophet : ' f And Jacob shall return, and be in rest, and be quiet; and none shall make him afraid." There is a peculiar feature in the life of Jacob, which may serve as a lesson, that he was as far from being haughty and over- bearing in prosperity, as he was meek and resigned in adversity. No self-confident shouts of triumph were ringing from his mouth in the hour of victory, and no murmur against Divine Provi- dence escaped his lips in the hour of distress. The Prophet in the Haphtorah of this day, taken from Obadiah 1, especially alludes to this but too often prevailing weakness of vain-gloriously boasting when prosperity, granted from heaven, attends human efforts. This applies to individuals as well as to nations. The prophet justly reproaches the nation: "The pride of thy heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high ; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground ?" But God, who is still higher, rejoins : E 2 52 SABBATH MEDITATIONS ON " Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the Lord." Let us, therefore, banish pride and vain-glory from our hearts in time of success, and be consoled during trials and misfortunes, by that faith which is our fortress and our refuge, and by trust- ing to that God who is ever near to those who call upon him in truth. PRAYER. ETERNAL CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE ! Thou hast implanted in the heart of man brotherly love, which, in Thy goodness, Thou hast not confined to the ties of blood, but extended to the relationship of the human race, calling upon us to love one another like brethren com- manding each of us to love his neighbour, of whatever creed he may be, like himself. Notwithstanding this natural feeling of brotherhood, cir- cumstances in life cause discord and strife between man and man ; yea, between brother and brother. Unfortunately for the peace and welfare of society, there are some who, instead of lending their good offices to effect a reconciliation and restore peace, fan the flame of disunion to such a height, as to preclude any hopes of amity and concord. O God of Peace, banish all sentiments of animosity from our hearts, and, should it be our misfortune to disagree with a brother or a friend, animate us, Thou, O God, with the spirit of forgiveness and reconcilia- tion, so that we may join again in harmony, as Esau did with his brother Jacob. Inspire us, Thou, O Lord, with humility and forbear- ance, so that, even if we are convinced of the right being on our side, we may humble ourselves, like our ancestor Jacob, before our antago- nist, in order to restore brotherly union. Strengthen us, Almighty God, in these peaceful endeavours; so that we do not consider such advances to meet a hostile brother, as a humiliation to our dignity, and a sacrifice of our honour ; for there is no higher dignity, and no greater honour, than that of forgiving a vanquished foe. May the spirit of peace ever dwell in our tents ; not only in our domestic relations within the gate, but also without the circle of our family connexion, even to the stranger without the gate. As Jacob, on encountering Esau, prayed unto Thee : " I am not worthy of the least of all Thy mercies, and of all the truths which Thou hast showed unto Thy servant," so may we, to avoid hostility and animosity, pray, in meek- ness and contrition of spirit, unto Thee, Creator of Peace. Amen. THE PENTATEUCH AND HAPHTOEAIIS. 53 NINTH PORTION OF GENESIS. 03 O 3VK , Tin " I was not in safety, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet ; yet trouble came." Job iii. 26. SUCH was the lament of Job, who was so severely visited by the vicissitudes of fate or, rather, by the inscrutable Kuler of fate and Disposer of events. And thus might Jacob have complained, who was but relieved from one trouble to endure another, and another again. No peace under the paternal roof, no rest at Laban's, no quiet in his family circle ; and then came the greatest of misfortunes, which consigned him for many years a prey to the direst affliction, and to the bitterest grief the tender-loving father was deprived of his son Joseph, the son of his old age. Well might Jacob have wished, after his most beloved wife had been snatched from him by a premature death, to rest in silent mourning from the heavy blows which Provi- dence had dealt him ; but the Lord said, " Should eternal felicity not satisfy my pious servants? There is no rest for them on earth. They are pilgrims in the land of the mortals; and the pilgrim must not think of rest till he has arrived at his house." The narrative contained in our lesson of this Sabbath,, and which, for its beautiful simplicity, and for its exciting details, is quoted and revered by even profane writers as most magnificently interesting, commences: "These are the generations of Jacob/' but it at once proceeds to the history of Joseph, the youngest but one of his children, as on that history depended the future fate, and with that history were inseparably interwoven the destinies of a whole nation; and we may say, considering the part which that nation has performed on the stage of the world, the destinies of every nation in the universe. But independent of its historical importance, the narrative is so replete with moral lessons, the few chapters into which it is compressed give rise to so many elevating thoughts, and afford so many useful instructions, that it has served both in Christian and Jewish schools as a standard 54 SABBATH MEDITATIONS ON lesson, and a model of prosaic diction. The simple and unvar- nished features of Joseph's dreams, of the jealousy which they caused, of the plot devised, and the revenge taken against him; of his elevation from a prisoner to a viceroy, are so naturally and strikingly drawn, that the deep impression which their perusal made on our infant mind, and in the age of playful innocence, can never be obliterated by mature deliberations in after age; nor can it be surpassed, if equalled, by the elaborate and complicated novels, romances, and dramas, however refined in sentiment, and elegant in language, which profane literature, both ancient and modern, have begotten. The narrative of Joseph's life is, for exciting interest, superior to any of the tales of profane literature, with the additional distinction, that the former we believe to be true historical facTs; whilst the latter are often fabulous and fictitious. Proceed we now to the history, as we have it in the Bible. We are told: " Joseph being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren" the usual pursuit of young men in the patriarchal ages. "and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives;" most likely entrusted by his father to their care and attention ; " and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report." It is fair to presume that the original cause of these tales and reports was the inferior manner in which the children of Bilhah and Zilpah the hand- maids of Jacob were treated by the sons of Leah, the wife. This might have given rise to jealousy and to the " evil reports" which the children of the handmaids spread against those of the wives; and as children, particularly those who are over-indulged by their parents, are prone to insinuate themselves more into favour by tale-bearing, we are not surprised that Joseph should have carried these, perhaps unmeaning and jocular reports, to his father's ears. The next verse is one of the most important of the narrative. It is the key to the great chain of events that follow ; and may be regarded as the cause of the long series of misfortunes which befell Jacob and his children afterwards. " Kow Israel loved Joseph more than his other children, because he was the son of his old age; and he made him a coat of many colours/' On this incident, the sages of the Talmud remark: " Owing to the few florins which Jacob expended on Joseph's coat exclu- sively, many troubles have occurred, and our ancestors were brought down to Egypt, and endured many hundred years of captivity and bondage !" To this weakness in Jacob's character, is attributed the jealousy and enmity of Joseph's brethren ; for Scripture tells us : " And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him." Jealousy is the mother of THE PENTATEUCH AND HAPHTORAHS. 55 calumny, and calumny is the serpent which wounds three persons at one sting. It injures the one that utters it, the one who listens to it, and the one against whom it is directed. That Jacob should have loved Joseph more than the other children is but natural, because he was born in old age, and he was more attached to his mother than to his other wives. It is true, Benjamin was still younger, but he had not yet attained an age in which children can engraft themselves very deeply into the affectionate heart of a parent, by their talking and acting. And as the older branches of a tree gradually separate from it, and only the younger twigs keep close and tight to it, so it is in the family circle. As the children grow up, they gradually withdraw from the paternal hearth, and betake themselves to independent habits and pursuits; whilst the youngest child tenderly adheres to the father; no wonder that in him he centres all his hopes, and in him he deposits the richest treasure of his knowledge and experience. Nor are we prepared to deny to Joseph other superior qualities, besides filial attachment, which might have endeared him to his father* more than his other brethren. But the great fault of Jacob consisted in displaying his preference by outward dis- tinction and showy garments. These many colours which were displayed on the favourite son, cost the father many tears; for by them Jacob signally manifested his preference, and this mortified his elder sons. From these three verses we deduce three lessons. First, that there is as much mischief in receiving calumny and lending a willing ear thereto, as in the uttering thereof. Secondly, that no father ought to distinguish one child from the other by outward display. He may, in case he finds the capacity and tendency of the one child is stronger and better than the other, distinguish him by a superior education, but dare not show a distinction in superior clothing, or any preference which betrays favouritism and partiality. Nothing is felt more keenly, and nothing is more deeply mortifying to human nature, and particu- larly in its infancy, than to see ourselves " put back" a degree in the school of this world. Thirdly, that under all circumstances, we should be candid and not feign " smooth love," when bitter jealousy reigns in our heart. We are told that Joseph's brethren hated him. This is certainly carrying jealousy to too great an extent; but it is due to their frankness of character, that they did not pretend love, but "could not speak peaceably unto him." The narrative then proceeds: " And Joseph dreamed a dream, * It is worthy of notice, that in the whole narrative the name of Jacob is men- tioned ; but where it speaks of his love to Joseph, the name Israel appears. And as the latter cognomen was in consequence of his mental superiority, the change may have been advisedly made to indicate that it was the mind of Jacob which discovered in Joseph mental superiority, and which, therefore, preferred him to his other children. 56 SABBATH MEDITATIONS ON and he told it to his brethren, and they hated him yet the more." Under any other circumstances, Joseph would not have thought more of his dreams than any one else would ; but as he was nur- tured in indulgence, and enjoyed the attachment of his father more than any other child, it was but natural that he should con- sider himself superior to his brethren; and lay stress on dreams and visions in which he appeared pre-eminent to them ; whilst on the other hand, we cannot be surprised that his brothers, exaspe- rated at his boasting and over-bearing conduct, " hated him yet the more for his dreams and for his words." True, Jacob saw the evil effects of the preference which he had shewn, and endeavoured to neutralise them by pretending to prove that his dream could never become a reality. " What is the dream thou hast dreamed?" said he. " Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth ?" signifying, that his mother being dead, the vision could never be realised. Although Jacob himself had a higher opinion of the dream, as we read, " but his father observed the thing," yet he tried to dissuade Joseph from putting any faith therein, to prevent further contention with his brethren. But it was too late. The mischief was done. Joseph had already too much annoyed them by his boasting of rulership; their envy had taken too deep a root in their offended breasts, and the consequence was the dreadful determination to slay the dreamer, " and," said they, " we shall see what will become of his dreams." But Providence had determined it otherwise. His eldest brother Reuben, who might have felt Joseph's pride deeper than any of the brothers, nobly saved him from the menacing hand of destruction. Knowing, however, that any proposal of his to let him go unscathed would have been overruled by the fury of the majority, he advised them to cast him into a pit, with the resolu- tion of saving him from their hands, and to deliver him to his father again. Reuben's advice being followed, (as in the patri- archal ages great deference was paid to the eldest brother), their first act of revenge was to strip him of that very coat which had roused their jealousy, and which had been the cause of all their troubles. But even in this pit he might have perished from starv- ation, had it not been for Judah's advice to take him out and sell him as a slave to a company of the Ishmaelites who happened to pass by. This, however, was done in Reuben's absence, else he would not have suffered it. We may easily imagine his distress of mind when he returned to the pit and found that Joseph was gone. He rent his clothes, and cried: " The child is not, and I, whither shall I go?" As one crime leads to another, the maltreatment of their brother was immediately followed by falsehood and deceit. And THE PENTATEUCH AND HAPHTORAHS. 57 on whom did they practise this deceit? On their own, their aged father! They made him believe that a wild beast had devoured him. Their vindictiveness was even carried to that extent, that they displayed that very coat which the old father had given to his most beloved child, dipped in blood, and triumphantly sent it to him with the message " Know now whether it be thy son's coat or not/' Here we have a terrible example of the ferocity of human wickedness and revenge. Human nature shudders at the double crime committed against a brother and a father. Had not Jacob been embued with pious fortitude, he would, on seeing the coat and receiving the message, like Job, have broken out in bitter curses against " the day wherein he was born, and against the night, in which it was said, there is a man-child conceived." It is true Jacob nearly despaired of the recovery of his son, he even refused to be comforted by his sons, and who, no doubt, repented the cruel deed when they witnessed the agony of their aged father; but he nevertheless maintained his self-possession, " and mourned for him many days." The reason of his not being comforted, the philosophers of the Talmud justly attributed to the course of nature. For although an All-wise Providence has blessed us with forgetfulness of the dead, for " the heart forgets what the earth covers," else we should never be comforted at the loss of a dear friend or relation) , yet we cannot forget the loss of the living. Had Joseph been really dead, as it was represented, the father would, in the lapse of days, have not bewailed him continually as he did. But he was yet alive, and Jacob had not seen him die or dead. And this dark glimmering of hope that the report might not be true, kept up the anxiety and distress of mind, and accounts for his not being comforted. Thus did Jacob spend twenty-two years in deep and continual mourning: and his being able to survive so heavy a blow, and not to sink under the terrible affliction which disturbed his peace of mind, must be attributed to the will of a Supreme Being, which had pre-ordained that he should enjoy, after many years of mourning and distress, the felicity of seeing his son once more alive. Meanwhile, Joseph was taken down by the Tshmaelites to Egypt, where he was bought by Potiphar, an officer of the royal guard, in whose service he remained for some time, till a circum- stance which much redounded to his purity of morals, and to the treachery of his master's wife, caused him innocently to be thrown into a dungeon. But pious resignation and fortitude in the se- verest trials, he had imbibed from his experienced father; and his faith in the God of his fathers remained unshaken. When in the prison, he came in contact with two officers of the royal court, and was invited by them to interpret a dream. His reply was, " Do not interpretations belong to God?" Thus we see 58 SABBATH MEDITATIONS ON that although he left his paternal roof when but seventeen years old, and lived a long time among heathens and idolaters, yet his religious firmness and confidence in the Eternal were unabated. Once he placed reliance upon the promise of a man, the chief butler, and he was disappointed. " Blessed is that man/' saith the Psalmist, " that maketh the Lord his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies." No sooner had the proud butler, whom Joseph had requested to make mention of him unto Pharaoh, been restored to his office, than he did not remember his fellow- prisoner who had advised him any longer. Nor can the reader of this history be at all surprised at the in- gratitude of the butler. It is an every-day occurrence. We promise much in adversity, but keep little thereof when we are relieved. We shall, therefore, frequently perceive, that weak- minded men, who always depend on the assistance of others, labour under continual disappointments, and we always hear them complain of ingratitude and deceit. " Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord." Man must rely on his own resources, which are often larger than he imagines, and depend upon Pro- vidence for the prosperity of his just undertakings. As soon, however, as he entirely and solely relies upon man's friendship, he is lost, and his whole life will be one series of disappoint- ments. Ere we conclude this lesson, we will cast back a glance upon the remarkable chain of events which ultimately decided the fate of Israel, and which were pregnant with so many great achieve- ments. Joseph's escape from death by his brothers, next his escape from the barbarous Ishmaelites, then from the licentious wife of Potiphar, and his ultimate liberation, are all so wonderful in themselves, and so miraculous in their connexion, that the finger of God is distinctly visible therein. And all these events were in conformity with the covenant which God had made many hundred years since with Abraham, that his descendants shall come down to Egypt; for, says the prophet in the Haphtorah of this Sabbath, taken from Amos, ii. and iii. " Surely the Lord God will do nothing, But he revealeth his secrets unto his servants the prophets. The lion hath roared ; who will not hear? The Lord hath spoken; who can but prophesy? Amos iii. 7, 8. That the fulfilment of the divine prophecies was not accidental but pre-destined, is powerfully illustrated in the following pas- sage of this day's Haphtorah: " Can two walk together, except they be agreed? Will a lion roar in the forest, when he hath no prey? Will a young lion cry out of his den, if he have taken nothing? THE PENTATEUCH AND HAPHTORAHS. 59 Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth, where no trap is set for him ? Shall one take up a snare from the earth, and have taken nothing at all? Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid ? Shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it ?" If we attentively peruse the pages of Sacred History, and com- pare them with the Books of the Prophets, we shall find that the fluctuating fates not only of Israel, but of other nations more numerous and more powerful, such as Edom, Egypt, Persia, Media, Syria, Babylon, Tyre, &c., have all been minutely fore- told by the seers and divine messengers through divine inspira- tion. Many of these prophecies have not yet been fulfilled; it is, however, but reasonable to assume, that, as well as those predictions which have been realized, others, yet in abeyance, will also be verified in due time. We are bound to rely upon the divine promise, through the mouth of his prophet Isaiah, " I, the Lord, will hasten it in its due time." PRAYER. ALL-MERCIFUL GOD ! among the various duties which Thou hast entrusted to man in this world, there is none involving greater respon- sibilities none that requires more care, solicitude, and discriminatory judgment, than the education of children. The tender love of parents towards their offspring not unfrequently leads to over-indulgence in the vanities and foibles of the young, and pandering to then: unbridled ambition. Nothing, however, is more dangerous than favouritism and preference bestowed upon one child, thereby exciting the jealousy and envy of the other children, and leading to domestic strife. We entreat Thee, Father of All 1 that Thy wisdom may guide us in the rearing of our offspring, to combine equality and justice with the love which Thou hast implanted in the parental breast, so that no undue preference be shown to one child above the other, and the filial attachment be not diminished, by feelings of jealousy and disunion. Grant, O Lord, that the hearts of father and mother be united in the plans adopted for the bringing up of their children ; as, often with the best intentions, and deepest affection, failure ensues, and mischief arises, from the want of concerted and properly-organised measures in the education of youth. Enlighten us, O God, by Thy judgment in directing the tastes and dispositions of the tender minds of the young, to sow the heavenly seed of virtue and religion whilst susceptible to every impression, and to continue cultivating these early impressions in the course of the child's progress towards responsibility. Crown Thou, O Almighty Father ! our educational efforts with Thy grace and Thy blessing. Amen. 60 SABBATH MEDITATIONS ON -no TENTH PORTION OP GENESIS. ny Tmr6 yv xb n^x ^oai jpt n^oo PDD i^ 310 en 1^13 images DJ 3 , IJTOW N* 11 Dmoxn n30 a i"* >* H r6np " Better is a poor and wise child, than an old and foolish king, who will no more be admonished ; For out of prison he cometh to reign ; whereas, also, he that is born in his kingdom becometh poor. Eccles. iv. 13, 14. THE poor lad and the old king both, were once destitute the latter before he saw the light of the world, and the fornaer in the dark dungeon. Both were placed on the throne by fate. The poor lad owed his elevation to his wisdom, and he was, therefore, firmly established ; whilst the king owed his rank to birth only, and his throne was tottering when he was placed in a situation in which he could not advise himself. Faithful to this picture, we see Joseph and Pharaoh placed together in this Sabbath's lesson. Pharaoh, a king by birth, finds himself embarrassed by a dream, which he cannot interpret. The mighty sovereign must send to the dungeon for a poor lad, must liberate him, place him next to the throne, and make the admission, " That there is none so discreet and wise as thou art," because wisdom proceeds from God, and before him a throne and a dungeon are equal. The eminence of mental power was on Sinai, where the All-wise laid down the tables of His law. Vain is the purple of the king ; nothing the glittering splendour of the gold, which dazzles the poor mortal, but does not enlighten him. The country in which Joseph was to take so high a position, and which, owing to her antiquity, her arts and sciences, and her political institutions stands a problem in the world, is called Mizraim, also El Kabit (the glorious one), but some of the ancient writers call it Egypt.* Her antiquities her immense pyramids, obelisks, and cata- combs her ruins of canals, cities, monuments, and temples, as * The Talmud mentions D THE PENTATEUCH AND HAPHTORAHS. 61 well as the yet undeciphered hieroglyphics, even now excite in the traveller reverential astonishment. Egypt is situated in the North-east of Africa, and is, from south to north, intersected by the Nile, which empties itself into the Mediterranean. This river flows from Asoman to Cairo, and streaming down from the higher Nubia, through a chain of mountains, remains stagnant in a broad valley. From this valley, it overflows a country replete with the wonders of nature and the spirit of human invention, as far as the Mediterranean. The Nile is the blessing of the country, for it supplies the place of rain. But the same Nile may become a curse, if it swells too high, and destroys the corn, the maize, and the indigo the rich products of the Egyptian soil. This remarkable river, at a stated period of the year, overflows its bed and moistens the land for two harvests. After having reached its greatest height, in September, it gradually and imperceptibly sinks and falls. As, however, this natural inunda- tion does not suffice for every part of the country, the deficiency has been, for many ages past, supplied by artificial water- works. Owing to the salutary influences of the Nile, on the whole country, which without it would produce nothing, and as by its inundations, the seasons, the harvest, the salubrity of the climate, and even the winds are regulated; the old Egyptians have wor- shipped it as their national god, erected temples unto it, and cele- brated a feast at the beginning of its swelling, which is called the Feast of Nilus, and then offered unto it black bullocks. Wherever the inundations, and even the canals do not reach, the soil is covered with burning sand, the effect of a sun so powerful in most parts of the country that it causes plague and blindness; hence we meet in no other country, so many people with weak eyes. Where, however, the inundation moistens the soil, the sun's salutary rays ripen and mature every growth to the most magnificent appearance and delightful flavour. Grain, husk-fruit, sugar-cane, papyrus, hemp, onions, rice, indigo, jalap, cassia, aloe, cotton, tama bark, fruit of all descriptions, and whole woods of palm-trees adorn the country, and make it like a " Garden of God." The treasures it produces supply the adjacent countries ; and the Romans used to call Egypt their granary. In Joseph's time the country had already attained to a high degree of culture; it then possessed the largest trade in the world, cultivated all arts and sciences, particularly mathematics and astronomy, to which the inundations gave rise. Nor did archi- tecture flourish in a less degree; gigantic structures were raised, the ruins of which even now, after many thousands of years, elicit the admiration of the civilised world. The inhabitants were a mixture of various nations of the world. 62 SABBATH MEDITATIONS ON A great portion of them were Arabs; and, according to Scripture, the sons of Ham were the first who settled in the country. The inhabitants were divided into seven classes, of whom the priests formed the first and highest, as they constituted the privileged nobility, and who were in possession of all the offices of the state. The priests also preserved the secrets of the natural sciences, by which influence they were looked upon by the people as their instructors; and this respect gradually rose to the idolisation which, as we read in ancient history, was paid to the priests and to the enchanters. Next to the priests came that of the warriors (all men of military profession); then the trade classes; then the navigators of the Xile; then the Greek interpreters (dragomans, synonymous to the Hebrew f/binin/b) > then the lowest class, the shepherds, among whom the pig-drovers were mostly hated, and were not even permitted to attend at the temple -service. At the time of Joseph, the rulers were called Pharaoh, a general term for all kings, who, as even now, despotically carry the sceptre and the rod alternately, and at whose behest the people made every sacrifice to erect the gigantic works which the country exhibits. The inhabitants preserved their national cha- racter for a long time ; for although their commerce brought them into connexion with many and various foreigners, they still remained secluded within their country, and isolated by their religion and constitution; they were not fond of strangers, avoided all confidential intercourse with them, and remained strictly separate in their customs and manners. After this brief sketch of the country and the inhabitants, we will return to the history of Joseph, who was destined to act so wonderful a part in that wonderful country. At the end of two years of Joseph's imprisonment, Pharaoh's spirit was troubled by a dream, which none of his magicians could interpret, although the interpretation which Joseph after- wards gave appeared so simple ; since fat kine and full ears of corn ought at once to have struck them as signifying a plentiful harvest and fruitful soil, whilst thin kine and withered ears ought to have reminded them of a parched ground and famished land. We may, therefore, well apply the words of a later prophet : " Surely the princes of Zoan are fools ; The counsel of the wise councillors of Pharaoh is become brutish. How say ye unto Pharaoh, I am the son of the wise, The son of ancient kings ? Where are they? Where are thy wise men ? And let them tell thee now ; and let them know What the Lord of Hosts has purposed upon Egypt." Isa. xix. 11, 12. Upon the recommendation of the chief butler, Joseph was THE PENTATEUCH AND HAPIITORAHS. 63 sent for from his dungeon; and his interpretation and his advice pleased the king so much, that he appointed him to an office tantamount to viceroy, or regent. Pharaoh occupied the throne; but Joseph ruled the country. How sudden was this elevation of the poor lad ! How wide the distinction between a hopeless prisoner, and a ruler over a mighty empire ! And what caused his elevation and distinction? The wisdom which God bestowed upon him. It is, therefore, justly admitted by Elihu, one of Job's friends: " I said, Days should speak, And multitude of years should teach wisdom. But there is a spirit in man ; And the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding. Great men are not always wise ; Neither do all the aged understand judgment." Jobxxxii. 7 9. The events which then occurred, verified Joseph's prophecy. Seven years of plenty were succeeded by seven years of famine. The shrewd policy observed by Joseph, in levying a tax upon the people in the years of abundance, to provide for the famine, could not but elicit the admiration of the king and his council- lors. It may be asked, however, Why should Joseph despotically have deprived the people of their labour and property, and im- pose so heavy a tax as a fifth part of their produce? Would it not have sufficed, if Joseph had published his prophecy through the land, and warned the people to save as much as they possibly could for the ensuing famine? The reply to this is, That had he left it to the voluntary management of the people, the usurers and speculators in corn, would have taken an unfair advantage of the plentitude; they would have bought up all the corn avail- able, and, in the famine, have raised the price so high, that the poor people must have fallen their victims, and starved. When we see that such speculations are carried on in our liberal age, and in civilized countries that merchants trade in the lives of people (for nothing less than a life-trade can such " speculations " be called) we must expect that such would have been the case in the age of despotism and darkness. Joseph, therefore, wisely made it a forced contribution, for the benefit of the people them- selves; and prevented a traffic which would have caused the aggrandizement of a few mercenary people, but the ruin of the nation at large. The consequence of Joseph's arrangement was, that " when the seven years of dearth began to come, according as Joseph had said, the dearth was in all lands ; but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. And all countries came unto Egypt to Joseph for to buy corn." Unlike others, who, when suddenly " lifted up from the dung- 64 SABBATH MEDITATIONS ON hill to sit with princes," grow proud and haughty, Joseph remembered his distress in the hours of joy, and was thankful to Him, whose wisdom he humbly acknowledged, as the only source of his elevation. During the famine, two sons were born to him, and the names which he gave them evinced his gratitude. The one he called Manasseh, " for God," said he, "hath made me to forget all my toil." And the second he called Ephraim, " for God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction." Eeturn we now to the scene presented in the family of Joseph's father. The famine which prevailed in Canaan was also sorely felt by Jacob's family; and it being known that corn was plentiful in Egypt, he sent his children down there to buy food, little think- ing that the vendor and supplier of that food was his lost son. That they did not recognise Joseph when they saw him, is not surprising, when we remember that above thirty-seven years had elapsed since he left, and that the splendour of his dress and costume had dazzled them; that, had they even noticed the like- ness, they could hardly have imagined that it should be the poor lad whom they had stripped and sold as a slave: whilst Joseph was more likely to recognise them, as they came ten in number together, and probably in the same kind of dress as he left them. Our narrative then proceeds to the details of Joseph's accusing them as spies; of his insisting on their bringing Benjamin down to him; of his imprisoning Simeon, and keeping him as security; of his putting their money back into their sacks ; of their distress at finding the money, and their fear of being accused of theft; and of the most heart-rending agony of the old father's mind, when they returned with the mournful tale of their misfortunes the saddest of which, the peremptory order of the Viceroy of Egypt to bring down Benjamin to take even his youngest child away from him, whose soul was bound up with his own. We read: "And Jacob their fathej said unto them, Me have ye bereaved of my children; Joseph is not, Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away: all these things are come upon me." Well might Jacob have thought upon spending his last days in deep mourning, at the loss of his most beloved wife and dearest child. Well might he have hoped that the " sea of his troubles would cease from her raging." How terrible was, therefore, the storm which broke his temporary calm, and which violently re- opened the wound which was healing the loss of Joseph. How terrible, the necessity of his parting with another child the only one which survived from his beloved wife Rachel. The distressed father was resolved, however, not to part with Ben- jamin; and he said, "My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he is left alone : if mischief befall him by the way in which ye go, then shall ye bring down my grey hairs THE PENTATEUCH AND HAPHTORAHS. 65 with sorrow to the grave." But hunger compelled the aged man to part even with him; and he said to .them, "If it must be so, do this," advising them to "carry down the man a present;" also to restore the money which they had found ; and lastly, true to his character faith he blesses them: "And God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may send away your other brother and Benjamin; and I, if I am to be bereaved of my children, I shall be bereaved " signifying, " If it be the Divine purpose that I shall lose even him, let the will of God be done." The first moral reflection suggested by these exciting details, so simply and so powerfully narrated in Holy Writ, is our acknowledging the just retribution of the crime which Joseph's brethren committed against him and against their father; and the punishment which was now dealt out to them, measure for measure. Our second, is deep mortification at the vindictiveness displayed by Joseph against his brethren, and his relentless perse- cution of the guilty, whereby his innocent father had so much to suffer. However ill they treated him, his brotherly feeling and compassion should have been moved when he saw them in distress, and heard them say one to another, "We are very guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us." Their repentance of the guilt ought to have appeased him ; and the agony which he caused his father, ought to have made him relax the severity of his revenge. We are aware that every link in the chain of events was pre-ordained by an All-seeing Providence; yet, humanly speaking, we are permitted to make these observations, to show that the Old Testament does not represent its heroes as gods or angels, but as fallible men. As a true and faithful recorder of facts, it relates the virtues of Joseph, his unabated faith, his fortitude of moral character in resisting the temptations of Potiphar's wife, his sagacity in the administration of the affairs of a great country in a crisis : and it also records his faults the weakness of flesh and blood. He remembered his dreams, and would have all the " eleven stars " bow down to him. True, he sent ultimately for his father, and discovered himself to his brethren; but he kept them long in dreadful suspense. Even when his brother Ben- jamin appeared before him, after so many years' absence, and his " bowels yearned towards his brother," he sought where to weep: he entered into his chamber and wept there, and, hardening his brotherly feelings, maintained the disguise, and continued the harshness of punishment till he could no longer refrain himself. Eegarding the history of Joseph, however, in a scriptural view that is, each event and each incident as the strings form- ing the harmonious instrument in the hand of God to carry out F 66 SABBATH MEDITATIONS ON His pre-ordained purposes, according to the covenant made with the patriarchs we must arrive at the conclusion, that all these strings were necessary, however discordant many of them may sound to human ears, in order to accelerate the great consum- mation the end of the means the captivity in Egypt, the liberation therefrom, and the purpose of all purposes the reve- lation on Mount Sinai, and the promulgation of a law-book, to which the whole of Genesis must be considered but as an introduc- tion; which, however, in itself, gives rise to so many useful and moral reflections, that we cannot too frequently impress upon parents to read these chapters to their children (after they have read them themselves), and thus, as it were, irrigate the young plants with those living waters which never fail in reviving and refreshing them when they have grown up to trees, and have to encounter the withering blasts and heavy storms of a changeful fate. Our Haphtorah of this Sabbath is taken from 1 Kings, chap- ter iii., containing the celebrated judgment of Solomon, illus- trating the great wisdom of that king, and his far-seeing know- ledge of human nature. Like Joseph, the hero of our scriptural narrative, the wise king did not attribute the vast sources of his extensive information to his own merits, but meekly ascribed them to the fountain of all wisdom and knowledge to Him who implanted understanding in the soul of man. Nor did the Israelites mistake the divine source of knowledge whence Solo- mon drew his remarkable experience of mankind ; for we read in the chapter of the Haphtorah, at the conclusion of that much- admired judgment delivered by Solomon, in which he so shrewdly detected the guilty woman, and restored the child to the innocent one, and in which the ends of justice were attained, not by evi- dence, (for the evidence was conflicting and uncertain), but by the discerning mind of the Royal Judge: u And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they revered the king; for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to do judgment." PRAYER. ALL-KIND CREATOR ! In Thy great goodness Thou hast endowed man with understanding and knowledge, and an innate desire for advance and progress, constituting that honourable ambition which produces the great men of all ages. But many who have risen from a low position to a high degree of eminence, become giddy at the sum- mit of the ladder of fortune, forgetting their humble origin, and looking down with disdain upon the very men who assisted them to climb the height of prosperity. Such was the character of Pharaoh's chief butler, who did not remember, on being reinstated into his office, THE PENTATEUCH AND IIAPIITORAnP. 67 his former fellow-prisoner in the dungeon Joseph. Even Joseph him- self, after having been elevated from a prisoner to become a viceroy, neglected his aged and sorrowing father, Jacob, who had for many years mourned the loss of that very son on whom he had lavished the tokens of his love more than on any of his children. Holy Writ, which faithfully records the vices as well as the virtues of men, warns us against these failings, by pointing out the pernicious consequences arising to society from ingratitude. Mayest Thou, O Lord, who searchest the innermost recesses of the human heart, teach us how to beware of that presumptuous arrogance, which shuts out all thankful- ness towards our benefactors, and makes us boast, " My strength and the power of my hand has gotten me all this prosperity." We, weak mortals, are all prone more or less to forget, amidst the exuberance of the flowers which success strews around our path, the briars and thorns which we had to encounter in our former wandering on earth. It is only by Thy Divine instruction, God of Wisdom ! that we can avoid these dangerous sand-banks on our passage through the troubled sea of the vicissitudes of life, by which so many eminent voyagers have been wrecked in the very sight of the coast the goal of their ambi- tion. Vouchsafe to us, O Lord of Justice ! Thy guidance and Thy instructions ; so that we may cherish proper feelings of gratitude to- wards our supporters in need, and to acknowledge their kindness, both privately and publicly, in word and in deeds; for gratitude is one of the noblest virtues with which man is endowed by Thee, O Lord, our Creator and our Redeemer ! Amen. F 2 68 SABBATH MEDITATIONS ON i -no ELEVENTH PORTION OP GENESIS. 3