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 Egyptians, 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 slew 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.

our children cease
dren make
from fearing the LORD.

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 LORD, to be kept for your generations. As the LORD commanded

VALUE OF SUCH INSTRUC-
TION.

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.

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.

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 exceed-
ingly, 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
with subtilty, and hath
came
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 re-
And
served a blessing for me?
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 sus-
tained him: and what shall I do
now unto thee, my son?
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.

And

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 be-
getteth a wise child shall have joy
Thy father and thy
of him.
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

Moses, so Aaron laid it up before give ear, O earth: for the LORD excellency of dignity, and the ex

cellency of power: Unstable as
water, thou shalt not excel; be-
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 self-
will 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
Judah is a lion's
before thee.
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
The sceptre shall not
him up?

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.

THE FAMILY PROPHECY
OF JACOB.

Josh, xxii, 24, 25 And if we have not rather done it for fear of this Gen. xxvii, 10, 29, 32-38. 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.

217

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

depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver
from between his feet, until Shiloh
come; and unto him shall the
gathering of the people be: Bind-
ing 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 couching down be-
tween two burdens: And he saw
good, and the
that rest was
land that it was pleasant; and
bowed his shoulder to bear,

be thine, and shall be called after
the name of their brethren in
their inheritance.

ning 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

lieb. xii, 24.
sons.
By faith Moses.
when he was come to years, re-
fused to be called the son of
Pharaoh's daughter.

SPIRITUAL ADOPTION-ITS

SOURCE THE GRACE OF
GOD.
Hosea 1, 10. Yet the number of
the children of Israel shall be as
the sand of the sea, which cannot
be measured nor numbered; and
it shall come to pass, that in the

and became a servant unto
tribute. Dan shall judge his
people, as one of the tribes of
Israel. Dan shall be a ser-
pent 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 fat, and
he shall yield royal dainties.
Naphtali is a hind let loose: he
giveth goodly words. Joseph is a
fruitful bough, even a fruitful
bough by a well, whose branches
run over the wall. The archers
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 ever-Thou shalt call me, My father;
lasting hills: they shall be on the and shalt not turn away from me.
head of Joseph, and on the crown
of the head of him that was separ-
ate from his brethren. Benjamin

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,

shall ravin as a wolf: in the mor

place where it was said unto them,
Ye are not my people, there it
shall be said unto them, Ye are
the sons of the living God.

John i, 12, 13. But as many as
received him, to them gave he
power to become the sons of God,
even to them that believe on his

name: Which were born, not of
blood, nor of the will of the flesh,
nor of the will of man, but of God,

Eph. i, 5. Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will.

1 John iii, 1. Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God! therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

ITS BLESSINGS.
Ps. lxxxix, 26, 27. He shall cry
unto me, Thou art my Father, my
God, and the Rock of my salva-
tion. Also I will make him my
first-born, Ligher than the kings
of the earth.

Gal. iv, 5-7,19,28. To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of 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.

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 received 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.

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.

Eph. v, 1. Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children.

Phil. ii, 15. That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world.

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.
INTERCOURSE AMONG

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

to

Gen. xxviii, 5. And Isaac sent away Jacob; and he went 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, Is he well? And they said, He is

And he told into the army, and came and
saluted his brethren.

Mark iii, 31, 32. There came
then his brethren and his mother,
and, standing without, sent untó
him, calling him. And the multi-
tude sat about him; and they said
unto him, Behold, thy mother and
thy brethren without seek for

thee.

Ps. cxxxiii, 1-3. Behold, how
good and how pleasant it is for
brethren to dwell together in
It is like the precious
unity!
ointment upon the head, that ran
down upon the beard, even Aaron's
beard; that went down to the
skirts of his garments; As the
dew of Hermon, and as the dew
that descended upon the moun-
tains of Zion: for there the LORD
commanded the blessing, even
life for evermore.

Exod. iv, 27. And the LORD said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet Moses. And he went, and met him in the mount of God, and kissed him.

1 Sam. xvii, 22. And David left his carriage in the hand of the keeper of the carriage, and ran

and redeemed thee out of the house of servants; and I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. O my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab consulted, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him from Shittim unto Gilgal; that ye may know the righteousness of the

Lord.

Luke xii, 51, 52. Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division: For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three. DIMINUTION OF FAMILIES, A SORE JUDGMENT UPON A LAND.

Lev. xxvi, 32. And I will bring the land into desolation; and your dwell enemies which therein shall be astonished at it.

Deut. xxviii, 62, 63. And ye shall be left few in number, whereas ye were as the stars of heaven for mul

titude; because thou wouldest not obey the voiceof the LORD thy God. And it shall come to pass, that, as the LORD rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you; so the LORD will rejoice over you to destroy you, and to bring you to nought: and ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess it.