Until the time came that his caufe was known, the word of the Lord tried him. And now we behold his piety and confidence in God rewarded______The king fent and delivered him, the prince of the people let him go free; he made him lord alfo of his houfe and ruler of all his fubftance. When the righteous was fold, fays an Apocryphal writer, Wifdom, meaning thereby, the Divine Wisdom, forfook him not, but delivered him from fin: She went down with him into the pit, and left him not in bonds, till fhe brought him the fceptre of the kingdom, and power against thofe that oppreffed him: as for them that had accufed him, fhe fhewed them to be liars, and gave him perpetual glory.

THE enfigns of honour and dignity which Pharaoh beftowed upon Jofeph, are a curious fpecimen of the cere

monials of ancient times. The ring given, was probably the fignet of Pharaoh, or ring with a feal annexed, which was to feal and give efficacy to all the orders of Jofeph. The veftures of fine linen with which he was

arrayed, are the emblems of pure and unfullied virtue; and the gold chain about his neck is the fymbol of magistracy and authority. It is further remarkable, that these infignia of office are in use at this day, and continue to have the fame fignification.

THE being privileged to ride in the fecond chariot of Pharaoh, intimates, that he was accounted next in dignity to the monarch himfelf: According to the importance of a man's fituation in life, fo in proportion ought to be the honour that attends it. So it was here, Pharaoh and his Egyptian fub

jects look to Jofeph for the preferva-tion of the kingdom. Well might they account him worthy of the higheft honour, who was fo highly favoured of God, as to be able to foretel an impending calamity, and fo amply furnifhed with wifdom to guard againft it. They proclaim before him, " Bow the knee," which was the homage of the eaftern people to their rulers, expreffive of fubmiffion and refpect. Per-fons in authority, are the reprefenta-tives of God, his vice-gerents upon earth, the honour they receive, is ren-dered to him whofe commiffion they bear: It is not the man, but the dignity of the office, that is entitled to our ve-neration. Power is refpectable on account of the origin from whence it is derived. The power of government is of Divine origin and appointment,

and the right administration thereof is one of God's choiceft bleffings.

JOSEPH though ruler over all the land of Egypt is fubordinate to Pharaoh: The conftitution of an ancient kingdom was not to be changed, Pharaoh ftill is king, but Jofeph is vefted with full power and authority for the execution of his office And Pharaoh faid unto Jofeph, I am Pharaoh, and without thee fhall no man lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.

As a further teftimony of the monarch's esteem and regard, he confers upon Jofeph a title of honour, a new name, expreffive of the faculty God had endowed him with, he called his name Zaphnath-paneah, a word which fignifies, "the Revealer of Secrets," or "one to whom fecret things are

revealed." He alfo marries him to the daughter of a perfon of rank in Egypt, for the priests were nearest in dignity and authority to the king himfelf. He gave him to wife Afenath the daughter of Potipherah priest of On.

To fome it may appear, as though this marriage of Jofeph with the daughter of an Egyptian priest, might be a violation of the laws and customs of his ancestors, which ftrictly prohibited intermarriages with ftrangers. It does not however appear the Hebrews were forbidden to intermmarry with any other strangers, than the ftrangers of the land of Canaan; and this, to keep them as diftinct as poffible from the idolatrous nations among whom they lived, and to preferve them a peculiar people, chofen and fet apart for the important purpose of maintaining fa