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of God. His light was like unto a stone most precious" (even that light which lightened the Gentiles)." "Her wall had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel." (The twelve tribes are the gates by which the children of the promise have access to this heavenly city. That access is offered universally to all the four quarters of the world. For, the east there were three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates ;" and (finally, the last discovered portion of the earth,) on the west, three gates. As these "gates," the introduction or access to the holy city, were distinguished by the names of the twelve tribes of Israel; so also "the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb,"the appointed founders of the Church of Christ. But in this new Jerusalem there was "no temple; for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it." The gates of this new city are ever open to all the inhabitants of the earth, who will not "defile it by working abomination, or making a lie" therein for "the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day there shall be no night there, and the glory and honour of the nations shall be brought into it; all they which are written in the Lamb's book of life." (Rev. xxi. 10.) This is the "everlasting possession," in the land of Canaan, promised

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to Jacob, to Joseph, and to the children of the promise, as their birthright.

Let us now proceed with Jacob's dying address to Joseph. "And now," he says, "thy two sons Ephraim, and Manasseh, (naming the younger first,) which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt" "are mine," (they are Jacob's sons as children of the promise, and heirs of Joseph's birthright.) "As Reuben and Simeon," (the children of Abraham after the flesh) "they shall be mine." "As for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died by me, in the land of Canaan, in the way, when yet there was but a little way, to come unto Ephrath: and I buried her there, in the way of Ephrath," (Gen. xlviii. 5-7.) His beloved wife, the "right hand" of his destiny, as mother of the children of the promise, after giving birth to Benjamin, the next and own brother to Joseph, and thus identified with his privileges, died near to, and in the way of Ephrath. Where was Ephrath? Jacob tells us :-"The same "he says, "is Bethlehem." The last progenitor of the children of the promise was born at, or near to Bethlehem. Where was it, that David "found out a place for the temple of the Lord; an habitation for the mighty God of Jacob," who had made unto him a "faithful oath from which he would not shrink-of the fruit of thy body shall I set upon thy seat." He tells us, that he "heard of the same at Ephratah." (Ps. cxxxii. 5, 6, 11.) Ephratah which is

Bethlehem, is the seat of the birth-place of the promise of the "Messiah "-of the "Shiloh." So, also, spake the prophet Micah. "Thou, Bethlehem Ephratah-though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet, out of thee shall he come forth unto me, that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old—from everlasting." There it was that "she which travaileth hath brought forth." (Micah v. 2, 3.) Who is there that, collecting these scattered rays of prophecy, can doubt that they were then accomplished, when "Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the reign of Herod the King" -when Joseph "went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, into the city of David, which is called Bethlehem;" and while they were there, Mary brought forth her first-born son, whom angels announced to the shepherd, as "good tidings of great joy, to be a Saviour, Christ the Lord." (Luke xi.)

"And Israel beheld Joseph's sons, and said, Who are these?" "And Joseph said unto his father, they are my sons, whom God hath given me in this place; and he said, Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them." "And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face: and lo! God hath shewed me also thy seed." He had not known the gracious intent, with which God had permitted his beloved son to be sold into Egypt. He had considered him as lost for ever,-and now, he

not only beheld him, but also his seed-the inheritors of the birthright, the children of the promise. "And Joseph took them both-Ephraim (the younger) in his right hand, towards Israel's left hand; and Manasseh (the elder) in his left hand towards Israel's right hand; and brought them near unto him." With what careful and minute particularity, is this described! There could be no mistake or error, as to the precedence of Manasseh over Ephraim, though "the eyes of Israel were dim for age." But this was not to be so. For "Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim's head, who was the younger; and his left hand upon Manasseh's head, guiding his hands wittingly, for Manasseh was the first-born." Here was a most remarkable application of the same great prophetic rule" the elder shall serve the younger."

It was the same rule, which gave to Israel himself the birthright of Esau; to Joseph the birthright of Reuben; and which was designed to distinguish, throughout the whole of this wonderful prophetic scheme, the children of the promise, from the seed of Abraham after the flesh. And thus did Israel proceed to bless Joseph, and to say :-" God, before whom my father Abraham and Isaac did walk; the God, which fed me all my life long unto this day; the angel which redeemed me from all evil; bless the lads: and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and

let them, (these children of the promise) grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth." We have seen that Joseph took every possible precaution to prevent any mistake, that might arise from the defect of his father's sight, to the prejudice of his eldest son Manasseh. He led Manasseh in his left hand, that hẹ might be placed immediately opposite to Jacob's right hand; and, by leading Ephraim the younger, in his right hand, he placed him in the proper position, to receive the blessing from Jacob's left hand.

Yet, notwithstanding all this care, Jacob crossed his own arms, for the express purpose of defeating this arrangement. He stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim's head, who was placed in front of his left; and his left hand on Manasseh's head, who was placed in front of his right,-"guiding his hands wittingly." "And, when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him; and he held up his father's hand to remove it from Ephraim's head, (the younger) unto Manasseh's head, (the elder.)" And Joseph said unto his father, "Not so, my father, for this is the first-born; put thy right hand upon his head." "And his father refused, and said, I know it my son-I know it." The elder represented the children of the bond-woman, Agar, "which is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem, which now is." The younger represented the "children of the free-woman "-" the children of the promise,"