well knows us, when we appear before him; though we know not him, and his gracious defigns towards us. He looks down from Heaven and beholds with fatisfaction the travail of his fout accomplished, when finners who were fometime afar off, are brought nigh thro' faith in his blood. And though he makes himself ftrange to us, and receives us with a fevere countenance; it is only to bring us to the acknowledgment of our guilt, and to fhew us our dependance on himfelf. He fpeaks roughly indeed; that is, his law threatens death as the wages of fin; but this fhould only lead us the more to prize the excellency of that Gofpel which holds. forth the free gift of eternal life. If he demand of us whence we come; it is but that we may enquire into the principles and motives of our conduct:

If he charge us with being pies come to fee the nakedness of the land; it is because we are more apt to discover and obferve the faults of others, than to correct and amend what is amifs in ourfelves. Inftead of expofing, we fhould cover the nakedness of our brethren, and hinder their fhame from appearing to the world. Some proof of our fincerity, fome facrifice as the test of our obedience, may the Lord of the country require of us, when we profefs ourselves to be true men before him. We must bring our younger brother with us, all the fons of Jacob must come down into Egypt to Jofeph; we muft offer up our whole heart unto Chrift; painful as it might be to aged Jacob to part with his youngeft fon; ftill the facrifice is rigorously exacted, and must be made; the favourite

M

and darling idol of the heart must be
given up at the command of Christ.
Simeon is bound in furety for the per-
formance, that is, we fhall have no
peace, no comfort, no liberty or en-
largement of mind, till the will of God
be fully complied with. Here then the
foul is fadly ftraitened and diftreffed,
we are put upon felf-examination, as
to what may occafion us to be thus ri-
gorously dealt with; the thought oc-
curs, that it is our fins that render this
treatment juft.
concerning our brother

We are verily guilty

for how many checks and reproofs of confcience have we refifted, when he befought us, and we would not hear how often

of

-how

have we done defpite unto the fpirit grace therefore is this diftrefs come upon us.

WHILE all this is tranfacting in the foul, Jefus is witnefs to our every emotion, and regards our fufferings with tender pity; and though the time be not yet come for him to manifeft himfelf unto us, ftill he grants our requests fills our facks with corn_fatisfies our fouls with good gives us provifion for the way, the grace we ftand in need of for our daily fuftenance; and reftores to each man his money in his fack

for he will be no man's debtor, the bleffing he bestows, is without money, and without price, it is free unmerited mercy. We may therefore fay with St. Paul-O the depth of the riches both of the wifdom and knowledge of God: Who hath firft given unto him and it shall be recompenfed unto him again: For of him, and through him, and to him are all things, to whom be glory for ever and ever, Amen,

IN the furrender of our hearts to God we are too prone to retain fome fecret referve, which were we to part with, we are apt to imagine that all the comfort and fatisfaction of our life would be at an end: but this is a miftake; the mafter we ferve is not one of those who borroweth and payeth not again, we shall be no lofers by the facrifices we make at the call of duty; we may fafely truft our dearest interefts in his hands; Jacob need not fear to fend his beloved Benjamin to Jofeph; he fhall recover him again; he fhall alfo fee the glory of his other long loft favourite fon, the type of him who was dead and is alive again, and behold he liveth for evermore!

To the fpiritual Jofeph, feated at the right hand of God, let us go and