NEITHER DO ANY THING. Do not hurt him in the least degree. FEAREST. To fear God does not always mean the same as to be afraid of God, but is put to signify a filial reverence and obedience. WITHHOLD. To withhold is to keep back, or refuse to return that which another has a right to it also means to keep back from doing a favour. 13. LIFTED UP HIS EYES. Looked up. CAUGHT. Entangled. THICKET. A clump of thick bushes, generally thorn bushes. The ram was miraculously made to be entangled, probably by his horns, and the noise which he made directed the attention of Abraham to the spot. IN THE STEAD. In the place of. 14. JEHOVAH-JIRAH. God will provide. This name was given to the place because God had provided a ram to be offered in the place of Isaac. IN THE MOUNT OF THE LORD IT SHALL BE SEEN. To make this perfectly intelligible, a little alteration has been proposed in the translation, making it read as follows. On this mount (i. e. Moriah) the Lord shall be seen. This makes the declaration prophetic of the great sacrifice which our Saviour suffered, probably on this very mountain. 15. SWORN. Taken an oath. HAST DONE THIS THING. offer up Isaac. Been perfectly willing to 16. IN BLESSING I WILL BLESS. A phrase to mean I will surely bless. IN MULTIPLYING I WILL MULTIPLY. A phrase, meaning I will surely multiply. THY SEED. Here means posterity, both according to flesh, and also spiritually. AS THE STARS. Very numerous. AS THE SAND, Conveys the same idea: very numerous, beyond counting. THE GATE OF HIS ENEMIES Cities, in ancient times, had very strong walls; great care was taken that the gates should also be made strong. The expression, therefore, here means "thy seed shall overcome all the power of their enemies." Our Saviour uses this method of speaking, when he says, "On this rock will I build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it," that is, all the powers of hell shall not destroy the Church. 17. THY SEED. It here means, not as in the verse before, the children of Abraham, but CHRIST, who was descended from Abraham in his human nature; this the Apostle Paul tells us, is the meaning of thy seed, in this place. (Gal. iii. 8-16.) REFLECTIONS. 1. The dispensations of God, even in relation to those who love him, are very mysterious. He tempts them, or tries their faith in a variety of ways, and his object appears to be, that if they are true believers they may come out more bright, as gold is purified in the fire. St. James exhorts believers. (James i. 2, 3, 4.) It is beautifully said that "faith can derive the honeyeyed sweetness of present profit, and the valuable prospects of future benefits, out of sickness and poverty, pains and cares, disappointments and losses." (See also Heb. xii. 5-13.) How delightful to the believer is the consolation embodied in the Hymn, God inoves in a mysterious way, &c. 2. God never tempts, that is, solicits us to sin. This is the Devil's work-acting upon us through our lusts, and when we give way to it, we find the end to be death. (James i. 13-15.) Whene'er temptations fright my heart, My God, Thy powerful aid impart, Oh, keep me in the heavenly way, And let me never, never stray "Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you"-say as our Saviour did, "get thee behind me, Satan." 3. Whatever God calls upon us to do, let us do quickly, and without hesitation. When God's will isascertained, no questions are to be asked. 4. No one is so likely to serve God well as he who imitates Abraham, and gets up early in the morning to do it. A very zealous Christian does not love to lie in bed late in the morning. 5. Faith in God will enable us to go through any trials which God may call upon us to endure. It was this which sustained Abraham, and this will sustain every believer. 6. There is nothing in this world which ought to be withheld from God-and one of the greatest sacrifices which God requires us to make is that of ourselves. "Son give unto me thy heart," (also Romans xii. 1, 2.) 7. How wonderful is the love of God, that He spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all. (John iii. 16, also 1 John iv. 9, 10.) 8. Isaac, as a type of our Saviour, willingly submitted to be bound and to be offered up-our Lord Jesus Christ willingly submitted to the death of the cross, that we might live. (Rom. v. 5—8.) 9. What shall we render unto the Lord for his rich mercy towards us? Shall we not give him our hearts. I give thee all, I can no more, Then take my heart, I can no more, At Thy command, my only store, 10. What a consoling assurance is there in the de claration" the Lord will provide." If we put our trust in him, nothing can harm us. If the Lord be for us, 66 who can be against us"—" all things shall work together for good to those who love God." 11. God requires that in all things we should obey him-if we do not, we have nothing to look for but indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish. LESSON 15.-Gen. xxiii. 1—20. xxv. 7—11. 1. THE YEARS OF THE LIFE OF. This is a very usual method of scripture speaking, merely meaning such a person was so many years old. Sarah is the only female in scripture whose age is reckoned up after her death, and whose death and burial are distinctly noted. 2. KIRJATH AREA. The city of the four, for so is the English of the Hebrew. Some suppose it called so because Adam, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, were buried there; a better reason seems to be given in Joshua xiv. 15. ABRAHAM CAME TO MOURN. From the declaration that Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, some have supposed that when she died, he was in some other place. Others think that Abraham came from his own tent to that of Sarah, where her corpse was. In ancient times the husband and wife had separate tents. Dr. Clarke's opinion is as follows: "From verse 19th of the preceding chapter it appears that Abraham had settled at Beersheba, and here we find that Sarah died at Hebron, which was twenty-four miles distant. For the convenience of feeding his flocks, Abraham had several places of temporary residence, it is likely that while he was at Beersheba, she died at Hebron; and his coming to mourn, and weep for her, signified his coming from the former place to the latter, on the news of her death." To WEEP. Shed tears. 3. STOOD UP. It was the custom of mourners in an cient times to sit upon the ground. (Job ii. 13. Lam. ii. 10. Is. xlvii. 1.) FROM BEFORE HIS DEAD. From the corpse of Sarah. The meaning is, that Abraham after sitting on the ground, in a posture of mourning by the dead body of Sarah a certain time, rose, and went to make the necessary arrangements for her funeral. SONS OF HETH. Descendants of Heth. Heth was the second son of Canaan, who was the fourth son of Ham. The descendants of Heth were called Hittites, and possessed that part of Canaan where Abra ham was. 4. A STRANGER. Not a native of the place. Stranger is sometimes used for an unknown person, but not so here. Abraham was well known, both personally, and by character. Stranger, therefore means, not a native. SOJOURNER. Not a resident. One who stays only a short time. Abraham meant to intimate by it, that he had no property there; he was neither a native nor resident, he dwelt there only as one who did not belong to the country. This was agreeable to God's orders to him, when he was first called out of Mesopotamia. GIVE ME. Sometimes, and indeed most generally means, make me a present of. The term is used rather differently by Abraham; his meaning is thus expressed, "allow me to buy," as appears from the subsequent history. A POSSESSION. A little piece of property that he might call his own. God had already given the land to Abraham, but the promise of its enjoyment was rather to the seed or children of Abraham. Abraham was not to take forcible possession, but to buy what he wanted. A BURYING PLACE. A portion of land to use for the purpose of burying. MY DEAD. Sarah, and any one else of my family who may die. Many others were buried here of Abra ham's family. |