derous design Esau is to be blamed, but for the provocation, Rebekah and Jacob. They both suffer for it. Rebekah is alarmed for the safety of her favourite son, and with conspicuous finesse plans his escape: "I am weary of my life," says Rebekah to Isaac, "because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as those which are of the daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me?" These daughters had already been "a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah," for Esau had married two. Isaac is reminded of this, and has no wish to have the grief renewed through Jacob; so he calls Jacob, blesses him, and sends him to Padan-aram, "to the house of Bethuel," says Isaac, "thy mother's brother, and take thee a wife from thence." Rebekah thinks to see her son again soon; she will wait until Esau's anger turns away, and he forgets the wrong, "then," said she, "I will send, and fetch thee from thence;" they never met again. Jacob is cut off from his father's house for a long time, and is transported for twenty years for a very serious offence against the law of his God. We follow him on his way to PadanAs to Esau, he takes a very original way to reduce a

marital dislocation.

"And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran. And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of the place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed," &c. (Gen. xxviii. 10, &c.)

Jacob has broken no country's law, yet he is an outlaw. He flees, not persecuted for righteousness' sake, but from a brother's just anger. If that brother did wrong in selling his birthright, Jacob did wrong in taking an unbrotherly advantage of weariness of body, to make a proposal that had an issue equally dishonourable to both.

Jacob has a hard pillow, but he has a marvellous dream "and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. And, behold, Jehovah stood above it." What a dream! And what a communication does "the LORD God of Abraham and of Isaac" make to him-to Jacob, the supplanter! to the brother who had forgotten a brother's obligation! to a son who had pitilessly deceived his poor old blind father! Oh, won

drous grace! How must those recoil with astonishment, who can reconcile the favour of God only with some excellence in the creature! What an inversion of all propriety! Bless a culprit! This is God's way with man-this, or everlasting banishment from His presence: for where is the worthy one? Was a certain celebrated preacher a worthy one, of whom it is said that he met meanness in another with an outburst of terrible wrath? Alas! he was one of the farthest from the grace of God-he was too good. God must be his debtor according to works, and not of grace. Grace is for Lots, and Jacobs, and Jonahs, and Peters, and for such as can be on the same platform as they without disgust. We can see their faults, and ascribe to God the glory of their salvation, if we fail not after the same example of unbelief. We are not asserting that grace elects only those whom men would pronounce badly on; far from it; witness Abraham, Joseph, Job, Daniel, and a host of others; but with them even the estimate of self was "dust and ashes"—" behold, I am vile"-" my comeliness was turned in me into corruption." But we do say grace ought to improve its subject, and we think its progress visible in all but Lot: still even he was "that righteous man" in God's sight. "God is in this place, and I knew it not," says the pilgrim, on awaking. And where is God not, Jacob? There is something almost heathenish in this ignorance. The conscience, however, is touched, intelligence is excited; but it is only as one feeling after God. Jacob begins to make terms with Jehovah, as with Esau-“I will, if Thou wilt." God, in His grace, accepts the poor half-awakened sinner; and blesses him. Jacob seems to forget his part of the covenant for twenty years.

Jacob arrives at Padan-aram, meets Rachel, "and falls in love" with her.

"Love at first sight,
First born, and heir to all.”

God was in this too-He is in everything. Laban has his match now. Cunning is a game that two can play at. The agreement is not amiss; but Laban finds a way out of his part, and doubtless Jacob's eyes are opened: he knows his man, and is on his guard. If he is to provide for his family, he must make his own terms with Laban, which he does, and Laban thinks the

terms will suit him too. The God of Isaac is with Jacob, watching over his interests. In the matter of Jacob's marriage we can only pity him. He might, perhaps, have resisted Laban's deceit, but he could not crush Leah's heart: it was enough sorrow for her that she was not supreme in Jacob's love: he could not add rejection to her grief.

"Jacob said unto Laban, Send me away, that I may go unto my own place, and to my country. And Laban said unto him, I pray thee, if I have found favour in thine eyes, tarry: for I have learned by experience that Jehovah hath blessed me for thy sake. And he said, Appoint me thy wages, and I will give it," &c. (Gen. xxx. 25, &c.)

Laban had overreached Jacob with respect to a wife. Jacob's proposal was to serve seven years for Rachel. Laban managed to get fourteen years' labour out of Jacob, besides burdening him with Leah whom he did not love and had not covenanted for. It does not appear that Jacob received more than subsistence for his family during these years: there was no provision for the future. Jacob now makes another proposal; Laban accepts it, and Jacob remains six years longer. Jacob takes measures, whatever we may think of their physiological character, that make his substance great, and though Laban gets the weak ones of the flock, still we may suppose that his substance in

creases too.

"And he heard the words of Laban's sons, saying, Jacob hath taken away all that was our father's; and of that which was our father's he hath gotten all this glory. And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban, and behold, it was not to him as before. And the Lord said unto Jacob, Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and I will be with thee" (Gen. xxxi.)

Whether it was jealousy, or the blacker fiend envy, that disturbed the peace of these people, it was broken up, for "the foundations were destroyed." Laban's selfishness is met by the God of Jacob and defeated. According to Jacob's account there was a continual changing of terms, for he says to Leah and Rachel, "Your father hath deceived me,and changed my wages these ten times;" whether literally ten or not is of no account: every change was obviated by Jacob's God, and Jacob "increased

exceedingly." If the true nature of self-interest were understood and admitted the peace and well-being of all would be secured. Wars are founded on the misreading of God's canon, He does not denounce the looking after our own interest: nay, He enjoins it. The only true and full record of its character and aims is carefully shunned by the many, and insufficiently consulted by the few. "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" is a law that cannot be improved: folios of comment would not make it plain, nor is condensation practicable. Explanation is excluded by its plainness; whilst opposition or neglect is silent from shame, but determined by general consent.

(To be concluded in our next.)

THE ANTIQUITY OF

RELIGIOUS TEACHING BY DIAGRAMS;

OR,

WHERE SIN ABOUNDETH, GRACĘ DOTH MUCH MORE ABOUND.

WE Couple the above propositions, because we believe that when the great apostle was inspired to indite his epistle to the Romans, a statement from which we have adapted for our second heading, his inspired mind was made to dwell upon God's dealings with His people under former dispensations. The context of the statement alluded to plainly implies it, to which we shall presently recur. A careful examination of the Old Testament makes it evident that a great deal of the teaching of THE SPIRIT-whether "for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness"-was communicated in the form of diagrams. Sometimes those diagrams were simply drawn in graphic, picturesque words; as was the case with Jacob's utterances on his death-bed, when he sketched the characters, and future destinies, of his sons by certain figurative representations. Such was the character of Balaam's inspired descriptions of Israel's destiny. Such was Moses' descriptions in his august death-song. Such was the

7 Gen. xlix.

9

8 Num. xxiv.

Deut. xxxii. The death-song of Moses, as well as the inspired vaticinations of Balaam, may be termed the hieroglyphic poetry of the Pentateuch. See Essay iv. in MARGOLIOUTH's Poetry of the Hebrew Pentateuch. Samuel Bagster and Sons.

character of some of Isaiah's pictures,' and of those of many others which we might mention.

Sometimes the instructive diagrams were vouchsafed by means of nocturnal visions, or dreams, as was the case with Jacob at Bethel, with Joseph at Hebron,' with the court butler and baker in Egypt,' with Egypt's king himself,' with Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon, and with Daniel in the land of his captivity;" and many other such-like we might mention. Very often such diagrams were granted in open vision, in illustration of which the whole Book of the APOCALYPSE might be referred to. The sacred diagrams took often the shape of certain actions, on the part of the holy men, in olden times; as was the case with Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and other divinely-inspired seers, who were instructed to enact and represent coming events by certain symbols and emblems; to which class the Tabernacles and Temples, with their sacred vessels, belonged. Some would even add Egypt's Great Pyramid.'

3

The form in which sacred diagrams were most frequently delineated was in the shape of historical sketches from the fall of man to the time when "the glorious liberty of the children of God" shall be made manifest. Sometimes those historical diagrams were drawn by inspired penmen in fragmentary forms, and at other times in complete forms. As instances we refer to those delineated by Moses," by Samuel,' by Asaph,' by Ezekiel,' by Stephen. The most concise-and at the same time the most comprehensive and suggestive one-of that class of hallowed diagrams was the one which St. Paul was inspired to furnish and to explain in his epistle to the Romans. We reproduce it here in extenso:-" Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (for until the law sin was in the world but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. But not as the offence, so also is the free

1 Isa. i., v., &c.

• Ibid. xl.

2 Gen. xxviii.

3 Ibid. xxxvii.

5 Ibid. xli.

6 The Book of Daniel abounds in such diagrams.
See the third letter in the CORRESPONDENCE in this our issue.

1 Ps. lxxviii.