see the evil that shall come on my father. Gen. xlv, 13. And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen; and ye shall haste and bring down my father hither. Gen. xlvi, 29. And Joseph made ready his chariot, and went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen, and presented himself unto him; and he fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while. Gen. xlviii, 2. And one told Jacob, and said, Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee. And Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed. Lev. xix, 3. Ye shall fear every man his mother and his father, and keep my sabbaths: I am the LORD your God. Deut. v, 16. Honour thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. Prov. i, 8, 9. My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother. For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck. Prov. xxiii, 22 26. Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old. My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways. Isa. xlv, 10. Woe unto him that saith unto his father, What begettest thou? or to the woman, What hast thou brought forth? Mark vii, 10-12. For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death: But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free. And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother. Eph. vi, 1-3. Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother, (which is the first commandment with promise.) That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. Col. iii, 20. Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well-pleasing unto the Lord. SIN AND DANGER OF FILIAL DISOBEDIENCE. Fxod. xxi, 17. And he that curseth his father or his mother shall surely be put to death. Lev. xx, 9. For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall be surely put to death: he hath cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him. Deut. xxl, 18-21. If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them: Then shall his father and his mother layhold on him and bring him out unto the elders of his city,and out unto the gate of his place: And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard. And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear. Deut. xxvii, 16. Cursed be he that setteth light by his father or his mother; and all the people shall say, Amen, Prov. xx, 20. Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure dark ness. Prov. xxx, 17. The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it. SPECIAL FORM OF FILIAL Gen. xlv, 10, 11. And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy children, and thy children's children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast: And there will I nourish thee, (for yet there are five years of famine,) lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty Gen. xlvii, 11, 12. And Joseph placed his father and his brethren, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded. And Joseph nourished his father, and his brethren, and all his father's household, with bread, according to their families. III. PARENTAL AFFECTION. Gen. xxi, 15, 16. And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs. And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bow-shot; for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept. Gen. xxiv, 55. And her brother and her mother said, Let the damsel abide with us a few days, at the least ten; after that she shall go. Gen. xxvii, 26, 27. And his father Isaac said unto him, Come near now, and kiss me, my son. And he came near, and kissed him: and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him. . . . . Gen. xxxi, 26, 28. And Laban said to Jacob, What hast thou done, that thou hast stolen away unawares to me, and carried away my daughters, as captives taken with the sword? And hast not suffered me to kiss my sons and my daughters? Thou hast now done foolishly in so doing. Gen. xlii, 4, 38. But Benjamin Joseph's brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren: for he said, Lest peradventure mischief befall him. 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 the which ye go, then shall ye bring down my grey hairs with sorrow to the grave. Gen. xliii, 13, 14. Take also your brother, and arise, go again unto the man: And God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may send away your other brother, and Benjamin. If I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved. went thence to Mizpeh of Moab: 1 Sam. xxii, 3, 4. And David Gen. xliv, 19-22, 30, 31. My lord and he said unto the king of Moab, asked his servants, saying, Have Let my father and my mother, Iye a father, or a brother? And we pray thee, come forth, and be said unto my lord, We have a with you, till I know what God father, an old man, and a child of will do for me. And he brought his old age, a little one; and his them before the king of Moab; brother is dead, and he alone is and they dwelt with him all the left of his mother, and his father while that David was in the hold. I loveth him. And thou saidst unto thy servants, Bring him down unto me, that I may set mine eyes upon him. And we said unto my lord, The lad cannot leave his father: for he should leave his father, his father would die. Now therefore, when I come to thy servant my father, and the lad be not with us: (seeing that his life is bound up in the lad's life;) It shall come to pass, when he seeth that the lad is not with us, that he will die: and thy servants shall bring down the grey hairs of thy servant our father with sorrow to the grave. Gen. xlv, 26-28. And told him, saying, Joseph is yet alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt. And Jacob's heart fainted, for he believed them not. And they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said unto them: and when he saw the waggons, which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived. And Israel said. It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive: I will go and see him before I die. king, and thou thyself wouldest have set thyself against me. 2 Sam. xix, 6. In that thou lovest thine enemies, and hatest thy friends; for thou hast declared this day, that thou regardest neither princes nor servants, for this day I perceive, that if Absalom had lived, and all we had died this day, then it had pleased thee well. Ps. ciii, 13. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him. Luke viil, 19. 20. Then came to him his mother and his brethren, and could not come at him for the press. And it was told him by certain, which said, Thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to see thee. Luke xi, 11, 12. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? SPECIAL INSTANCE. Gen. xlviii, 10, 11. Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that 1 Kings iii, 22-28. And the other he could not see. And he brought woman said, Nay; but the living them near unto him; and he kiss-is my son, and the dead is thy ed them, and embraced them. And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face; and, lo, God hath shewed me also thy seed. one son: and this said, No; but the dead is thy son, and the living is my son. Thus they spake before the king. Then said the king, The saith, This is my son that liveth, and thy son is the dead; and the other saith, Nay; but thy son is the dead, and my son is the liv 2 Sam. xiii, 38, 39. So Absalom fed, and went to Geshur, and was there three years. And the soul of king David longed to go forthing. unto Absalom: for he was comforted concerning Amnon, seeing he was dead. 2 Sam. xiv, 1, 33. Now Joab the son of Zerulah perceived that the king's heart was toward Absalom, So Joab came to the king, and told him: and when he had called for Absalom, he came to the king, and bowed himself on his face to the ground before the king: and the king kissed Absalom. 2 Sam. xviii, 5, 12, 13. And the king commanded Joab, and Abishai, and Ittai, saying, Deal gently, for my sake, with the young man, even with Absalom. And all the people heard when the king gave all the captains charge concerning Absalom. And the man said unto Joab, Though I should receive a thousand shekels of silver in mine hand, yet would I not put forth mine hand against the king's son: for in our hearing the king charged thee, and Abishai, and Ittai, saying, Beware that none touch the young man Absalom. Otherwise I should have wrought falsehood against mine own life: for there is no matter hid from the And the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king. And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other. Then spake the woman whose the living child was unto the king, (for her bowels yearned upon her son,) and she said, O my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: but the other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it. Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof. And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgment. FAVOURITISM. took bread and a bottle of water. Gen. xxv, 28. And Isaac loved Gen. xxxvii, 3, 4. Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours. 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. Gen. xlviii, 22. Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow. PARENTAL AUTHORITY. Gen. xviii, 17-19. And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him. Gen. 1, 16, 17. And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying, So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him. 1 Sam. iii, 13. For I have told him, that I will judge his house for ever, for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not. 1 Sam. xvi, 22. And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before me; for he hath found favour in my sight. 2 Sam. xiv, 21-24. And the king said unto Joab, Behold now, I have done this thing: go therefore, Gen. xxi, 10, 11, 14. Wherefore bring the young man Absalomi she said unto Abraham, Cast out again. And Joab fell to the ground on his face, and bowed himself, this bond-woman and her son: for the son of this bond-woman shall and thanked the king: and Joab not be heir with my son, even with said, To-day thy servant knoweth Isaac. And the thing was very that I have found grace in thy grievous in Abraham's sight be-sight, my lord, O king, in that the cause of his son. And Abraham king hath fulfilled the request of rose up early in the morning, and his servant. So Joab arose, and 215 went to Geshur, and brought Absalom to Jerusalem. And the king said, Let him turn to his own house, and let him not see my face. So Absalom returned to his own house, and saw not the king's face. Esther 11, 20. Esther had not yet shewed her kindred nor her people, as Mordecai had charged her: for Esther did the commandment of Mordecal, like as when she was brought up with him. DUTY OF PARENTS TO INSTRUCT THEIR CHILDREN. Gen. xviii, 19. For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him. Exod. x, 2. And that thou mayest tell in the ears of thy son, and of thy son's son, what things I have wrought in Egypt, and my signs which I have done among them; that ye may know how that I am the LORD. Deut. iv. 9, 10. Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life; but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons: Specially the day that thou stoodest before the LORD thy God in Horeb, when the LORD said unto me, Gather me the people togeth er, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children. Deut. vi, 6-8. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart; And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. Deut. xi, 18, 19. Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart, and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. Deut. xxxi, 12. 13. Gather the people together, men, and women, and children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the LORD your God, and observe to do all the words of this law; And that their children, which have not known any thing, may hear, and learn to fear the LORD your God, as long as ye live in the land whither ye go over Jordan to possess it. Ps. xxii, 30, 31. A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the LORD for a generation. They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this. P8. xxxiv, 11. Come, ye children, hearken unto me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD. Ps. lxxviii, 3-8. Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done. For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children; That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born, who should arise and declare them to their children; That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but And keep his commandments: might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not stedfast with God. Prov. iv, 1-4, 10-13. Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know under standing. For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law. For I was my father's son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother. He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: keep my comHear, O mandments, and live. and the years of thy life shall be my son, and receive my sayings; many. I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths. When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble. Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her, for she is thy life. Prov. xiii, 1. A wise son heareth his father's instruction: but a scorner heareth not rebuke. Prov. xv, 5. A fool despiseth his father's instruction; but he that regardeth reproof is prudent. Prov. xxvii, 11. My son, be wise, and make my heart glad, that 1 may answer him that reproacheth me. Cant. viii, 2. I would lead thee, and bring thee into my mother's house, who would instruct me. ... Isa. xxxviii, 19. The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day: the father to the children shall make known thy truth. Joel i, 2, 3. Hear this, ye old tants of the land. Hath this been men, and give ear, all ye inhabiin your days, or even in the days of your fathers? Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation. Eph. vi, 4. And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Col. iii, 21. Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged. 2 Tim. i, 5. When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also. AND TO CHASTISE THEM. Prov. xiii. 24. He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes. Prov. xix, 18, 19. Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying. A man of great wrath shall suffer punishment; for if thou deliver him, yet thou must do it again. Prov. xxii, 15. Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him. Prov. xxiii, 13, 14. Withhold not correction from the child; for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell. Prov. xxix, 15, 17. The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child to shame. Correct thy son, and lett to himself bringeth his mother he shall give thee rest; yea, he shall give delight unto thy soul. Heb. xii, 9, 10. Furthermore, we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure: but he for our profit, that ve might be partakers of his holiness. AND ESPECIALLY TO TELL THEM THE MEANING OF RELIGIOUS ORDINANCES. Exod. xii, 25-27. And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land which the LORD will give you, according as he hath promised, that ye shall keep this service. And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service? That ye shall say. It is the sacrifice of the LORD's passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyp tians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head, and worshipped. Exod. xiii, 14-16. And it shall be when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What is this? that thou shalt say unto him, By strength of hand the LORD brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage: And it came to pass, when Pharaoh would hardly let us go, that the LORD alew all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both the first-born of man, and the first-born of beast: therefore I sacrifice to the LORD all that openeth the matrix, being males; but all the first-born of my children I redeem. And it shall be for a token upon thine hand, and for frontlets between thine eyes: for by strength of hand the LORD brought us forth out of Egypt. Exod. xvi, 32-34. And Moses said, This is the thing which the LORD Commandeth, Fill an omer of it to be kept for your generations; that they may see the bread wherewith I have fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt. And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a pot, and put an omer full of manna therein, and lay it up before the LOED, to be kept for your generations. As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept. Josh. iv, 22-24. Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land. For the LORD your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red sea, which he dried up from before us, until we were gone over; That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the LORD your God for ever. our children cease VALUE OF SUCH INSTRUC- Prov. x, 1. The Proverbs of Solomon. A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother. Prov. xv, 20. A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish man despiseth his mother. Prov. xvii, 21, 25. He that begetteth a fool doeth it to his sorrow; and the father of a fool hath no joy. A foolish son is a grief to his father, and bitterness to her that bare him. Prov. xix, 26. He that wasteth his father, and chaseth away his mother, is a son that causeth shame, and bringeth reproach. Prov. xxii, 6. Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Prov. xxiii, 15, 16, 24, 25. My son, if thine heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine; Yea, my reins shall rejoice when thy lips speak right things. The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice; and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him. Thy father and thy mother shall be glad, and she that bare thee shall rejoice. Prov. xxviii, 24. Whoso robbeth his father or his mother, and saith, It is no transgression; the same is the companion of a destroyer. Prov. xxx, 11. There is a generation that curseth their father, and doth not bless their mother. Isa. i, 2. Hear, O heavens; and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. PATERNAL BLESSINGS. Gen. ix, 24-27. And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him. And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. Josh. xxii, 24, 25. And if we have not rather done it for fear of this Gen. xxvii, 10, 29, 32-88. And thing, saying, In time to come thou shalt bring it to thy father, your children might speak unto that he may eat, and that he may our children, saying, What have bless thee before his death. Let ye to do with the LORD God of people serve thee, and nations Israel? For the LORD hath made bow down to thee: be lord over Jordan a border between us and thy brethren, and let thy mother's you ye children of Reuben, and sons bow down to thee: cursed be children of Gad; ye have no part every one that curseth thee, and in the LORD: so shall your chil-blessed be he that blesseth thee. And Isaac his father said unto him, Who art thou? And he said, I am thy son, thy first-born, Esau. And 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 camest, and have blessed him? yea, and he shall be blessed. And when Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, and said unto his father, Bless me, even me also, O my father! And he said, Thy brother came with subtilty, and hath taken away thy blessing. And he said, Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me? And Isaac answered and said unto Esau, Behold, I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants; and with corn and wine have I sustained him: and what shall I do now unto thee, my son? And Esau said unto his father, Hast thou but one blessing, my father? bless me, even me also, O my father! And Esau lifted up his voice, and wept. THE FAMILY PROPHECY Gen. xlix, 1-28. And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days. Gather yourselves together and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father. Reuben, thou art my first-born, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the exwater, thou shalt not excel; becellency of power: Unstable as cause thou wentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch. Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations. O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united! for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they digged down a wall Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel. Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee. Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver | be thine, and shall be called after from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be: Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes: His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk. Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships: and his border shall be unto Zidon. Issachar is a strong ass conching down between two burdens: And he saw that rest was good, and the the name of their brethren in lieb. xii, 24 By faith Moses. SPIRITUAL ADOPTION-ITS SOURCE THE GRACE OF GOD. Hosea 1, 10. Yet the number of place where it was said unto them, John i, 12, 13. But as many as Gal. iv, 5-7,19,28. To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you. Now we, brethren, as Isaac was are the children of promise. 1 John iii, 2, Beloved, now are we the sons of God; and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. ITS DUTIES. Matth. v, 45. That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute. Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward. I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD. Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall Overcome at the last. Out of Asher his bread shall be he shall yield royal dainties. Phil. ii, 15. That ye may be Naphtali is a hind let loose; he 1 John iii, 1. Behold what blameless and harmless, the sons giveth goodly words. Joseph is a manner of love the Father hath of God, without rebuke, in the fruitful bough, even a fruitful bestowed upon us, that we should midst of a crooked and perverse bough by a well, whose branches be called the sons of God! there-nation, among whom ye shine as run over the wall. The archers fore the world knoweth us not. lights in the world. because it knew him not. Eph. i, 5. Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, accordfat, anding to the good pleasure of his will. have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him: But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the Shepherd, the stone of Israel:) Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee, and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that leth under, blessings of the breasts and of the womb. The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren. Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil. All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: and this is it that their father spake unto them, and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them. ADOPTION. Gen. xlviii, 5, 6. And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt, before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine: as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine. And thy issue, which thou begettest after them, shail ITS BLESSINGS. Ps. lxxxix, 26, 27. He shall cry unto me, Thou art my Father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation. Also I will make him my first-born, Ligher than the kings of the earth. Jer. iii, 4, 19. Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, My father, thou art the guide of my youth? But I said, How shall I put thee among the children, and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of nations? and I said, Thou shalt call me, My father; and shalt not turn away from me. Rom. viii, 14-17. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the Spirit of bondage again to fear, but ye have receiv ed the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. 2 Cor. vi, 18. And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. Gal. iii, 26. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. Eph. v, 1. Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children. Heb. xii, 5. And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him. 1 John iii, 3, 10. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. IV. FAMILY CIRCLE. RELATIVES. Gen. xiv, 16. And he [Abraham] brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and women also, and the people. the Gen. xxviii, 5. And Isaac sent away Jacob: and he went to Padan-aram unto Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob's and Esau's mother. Gen. xxix, 4-6, 12. And Jacob said unto them, My brethren, whence be ye? And they said, of Haran are we. And he said unto them, Know ye Laban the son of Nahor? And they said, We know him. And he said unto them, 18 he well? And they said, He is |