of his conduct. Events unimportant, inci- | hands; but if we presume to take the whole dental, contingent in the eyes of men, are or any part of the work of God upon ouroften matters of deep design, of mighty and selves, it is both with sin and with danger lasting consequence with God. The natural" His counsel indeed shall stand," but the disposition of the two brothers early discovered itself. Esau betakes himself to the active and laborious sports of the field. Jacob, formed for social and domestic life, abides at home in the tents, attending to family affairs, cultivating filial affections, and living in the exercise of filial duties. The Chaldee Paraphrast gives a translation of the words of Moses, rendered in our version, "dwelling in tents," considerably different in sense, "He was a minister in the house of teaching," understanding by the word tents or tabernacles, the place appointed for divine worship.

offender shall pay the price of his rashness. It is a dreadful thing to get into a course and habit of acting amiss. When once we have got a favourite object in view, how every thing is made to bend to it! The birthright, the birthright was the darling object of Jacob's fondest wishes; and, as if the decree and the prediction of heaven had not been security sufficient for the attainment of it, he seeks to confirm it to himself by a deed of sale with his brother, and the interposition of a solemn oath; and finally, is eager to have the bargain ratified by the solemn benediction of his father's prophetic lips. "He The first action of Jacob's life, which we that believeth shall not make haste." But find recorded by the sacred historian, is by alas! I see in Jacob an earnestness to obtain no means calculated to give us a favourable his end, that borders on diffidence and susimpression of his heart. The young men picion; and indeed, whom or what can that were now in their twenty-fifth year. The man trust, who has not confidence in his elder entirely devoted to his favourite pur- Maker? The vile scene of imposition and suit: the younger, ever on the watch to ob- fraud practised upon his blind and aged patain that by art or industry which nature had rent, as forming an essential article of Jacob's taken from him. It happened on a certain history, rises again to view. I like his taking day, that Jacob had employed himself in pre- advantage of his father's blindness still less paring a plain dish of pottage of lentiles, for than his attempt to carry a favourite point by his own entertainment. And here, let not taking advantage of his brother's hunger and the fastidious critic, who measures every impetuosity. The latter was but the skill and thing by modern manners and maxims, con- address of an open adversary; the former sider this as an employment beneath the dig-was the cunning and deceit of a crafty and nity of Isaac's son. It is, in truth, one of a undutiful child. Observe how cautiously, multitude of instances, of the beautiful sim- and fearfully, and slowly, the footsteps of the plicity of ancient customs. The greatest deceitful must proceed. The moment that heroes, and proudest princes, whom Homer the conscience swerves from truth and rectihas exhibited, are frequently found engaged tude, the man becomes jealous, and anxious, in similar occupations. Esau, returning from and timid. But integrity advances with firmthe field, and having been either unsuccess-ness and intrepidity. "And Jacob said to ful in hunting, or being too impatient to delay the gratification of his appetite till his venison was prepared, entreats his brother to give him a share of the provision which he had made for himself. Jacob, taking advantage of his hunger and eagerness, proposes, as an equivalent for his pottage, no less a price than the favourite object of all his ambition and desire, the birthright. Unconscious or regardless of its value, and in a haste to satisfy the cravings of the moment, he inconsiderately parts with that which nature had given him in vain, and which a father's fondness strove to secure for him; but which a conduct so "profane" and precipitate proved him altogether unworthy of possessing.

But, was the conduct of Jacob pure and praise-worthy in this transaction? It cannot be affirmed. Providence had indeed ordained him to the blessing which he so ardently coveted; but Providence neither appoints nor approves of crooked and indirect paths to the ends which it has proposed. Weak and erring men may perhaps not be displeased, to have part of their work taken off from their

Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man. My father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver, and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing."*

But, what could make Rebekah and her favourite son so anxious to attain this superiority? What was there in the birthright, to make it thus fondly coveted, and unremittingly pursued? The answer to these questions will at least plead some excuse for their zeal, if not wholly do away the guilt of their falsehood. First-The gift of prophesy was known to reside in the patriarch Isaac; and the parental benediction, in certain circumstances, was considered as having the force of a prediction. SecondlyPreeminency and power over the rest of the family in patriarchal times, were affixed to priority of birth; thus God speaks to Cain concerning Abel, "Unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him." Thirdly-A double portion of the paternal inheritance appertained to the first born. And * Gen. xxvii. 11, 12.

this perhaps explains the meaning of Elisha's Abraham's servant being arrived in Mesorequest at the rapture of Elijah, Let a potamia, in search of a wife for Isaac, his double portion of thy spirit be upon me:" young master, providentially conducted, not as if he meant to ask, or expect, twice lights on Rebekah, the sister of this Laban, so much as Elijah had, but the share of an by the well of water. Having briefly unelder brother. Fourthly-The honour of folded his commission, and made her a prepriesthood resided then and for many years sent suitable to his master's rank and afafter, in the first born, and was justly con- fluence, she runs home to acquaint her residered as the first of privileges. Finally-lations of the adventure. Laban, instantly The promise of the Messiah," the first born among many brethren," was entailed upon the eldest son: and this was justly understood to confer a dignity and lustre infinitely superior to all temporal blessings. The guilt of Esau consisted in undervaluing and despising an advantage so distinguished.The offence of Jacob's fraud is greatly extenuated, if not wholly extinguished, in the nobility and worth of the prize for which he contended. Behold him, then, retiring from the presence of his deluded father, who had prescience sufficient to discern, at the distance of ages, the future fortunes of his family, without sagacity capable of discerning the imposture, which was, at that very instant, practising upon his credulity and want of sight. Behold Jacob retired, in possession indeed of the blessing, but haunted with the terrors which eternally pursue the man, who Of all the passions of our nature, there is is conscious to himself, that he has acted none so steady, uniform, and consistent as wrong. He has gained the birthright, but this is. Avarice never tires by exercise, he has lost a brother. He has by subtilty never loses sight of its object: it gathers stolen away the prophetic benediction, but strength by gratification, grows vigorous by he has raised up against himself an implaca- old age, and inflames the heart, when the ble foe. The possession of nothing yields vital fluid can hardly force a passage through that satisfaction which we promised our-it. What a feast for such a spirit, the conselves in it beforehand; and conscience will cluding scene of the marriage treaty for Renot permit us to enjoy peaceably that which bekah! "The servant brought forth jewels we have acquired unworthily. His father's of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment, blessing announced every kind and degree of prosperity, "the dew of heaven, the fatness of the earth, the servitude of nations and people, lordship over his brethren." But he is instantly constrained to become an exile and a wanderer from his father's house. And when he himself comes to make the estimate of his own life, in the close of it-what is the amount? "Few and evil have the days of the years of my life been." His elder brother is declared his inferior, but he has by much the stronger arm of the two. And, while he is practising deceit upon his nearest relations in Canaan, Providence is silent ly preparing the means of requiting him in Padan-aram, in the person of one already a near relation, and about to be much more closely allied to him, Laban the Syrian, a man much more cunning and selfish, and much less scrupulous than himself. As this is a character which the inspired painter has delineated with peculiar felicity and skill, it may now be necessary to look back for a few moments, and to observe the first opening of Laban's spirit and temper, as they appear on the face of the sacred drama.

attracted by the sight of the gold, and by the account he had heard, of the state in which Abraham's servant travelled, very prudently concludes, that such a connexion might be improved to very great advantage. Hence that profusion of civility and kindness to an entire stranger, "Come in, thou blessed of the Lord, wherefore standest thou without? For I have prepared the house, and room for the camels."* Did we not afterwards discover him to be grovelling, greedy, and mercenary, this might have passed for the language of kindness and hospitality. But, when the whole is taken in connexion, we see a man from first to last invariably attached to his own interest, employing his very daughters as mere instruments of commerce, and prizing nothing, but in proportion as it ministered to his own advantage.

and gave them to Rebekah : he gave also to her brother and to her mother precious things." Such was the man, with whom Jacob was now destined to spend a very considerable part of his life; and whose treatment of him, in the eyes of the severest judge, may pass as a sufficient punishment for the little fallacies which he had practised in his father's house.

Behold then, in the covenant head and representative of the holy family, "a Syrian ready to perish," leaving the paternal roof without an attendant, without a guide, without a companion; more forlorn than his grandfather Abraham himself. For the bitterness of his exile was alleviated by the company and conversation of his beloved Sarah; whereas, the affliction of Jacob's banishment was grievously increased, by the consciousness that he had brought it upon himself; and from the bitter necessity of enduring its wearisome days and nights by himself alone. What could have supported a man in such circumstances? A man, who was attached to domestic life; a plain man,

* Gen. xxiv. 31.

†Gen. xxiv. 53.

firmity, of like passions with others," and whose faults are but the more conspicuous, from the honourable station, and employment to which they were called. It will follow,

"abiding in tents;" a man who had fondly flattered himself with the hope of power and tranquillity; who had dreamed of superiority over his brother, but had not attained unto it? I can think of but one thing, that could have rendered his lot supportable, as it then stood. Jacob, after all, was a good man.His conduct was not indeed pure and perfect, but his heart was right with God. He had once and again been mistaken in the means which he had employed, but he had all along aimed at the noblest and most important end and, from the chagrin and disappointment which ever attended the plans of his own devising, he had always a sure and a satisfying refuge, in the wisdom and mercy of God. In truth, he had not attained the knowledge of true practical, vital religion, in the house of even his father Isaac, in Lahai-roi: but he learns it in silence and in solitude, in the plains of Luz. It is a good thing for a young man to feel his own weight, "to bear the yoke in his youth." At ease, and in a multitude, we forget God-in retirement and danger, we learn and feel our dependence, and call to remembrance a long-church's enemies; these and the like, are forgotten God.

This is also a proper stage for resting on our way. We cannot lead our traveller from home, till we have found for him a place where to lodge. We cannot bear to see him from under the protection of the parental wing, till we are secure that he has got another protector and friend, that "friend who sticketh closer than a brother."

Secondly; That the comparison is not to be stated and pursued through every particular incident of the life, and every feature of the personal character of the person who is the type. Men of very different characters, and in very different situations, typified the Saviour of the world. To suppose every article of their history, condition, and character to be typical and prophetic, would therefore, in many instances, involve absurdity and contradiction. many others who might be mentioned, were eminent types of Christ; but then, the resemblance holds only in certain great leading circumstances: the miraculous conception, for example, the Nazaritic sanctity, the invincible strength, the solitary, victorious achievements, the triumphant death of the former: the divine appointment and elevation, the royal dignity, the providential suc cess of the latter, the subduing all the

Samson, David, and

the typical circumstances. But to pursue the resemblance throughout, to make every action of Samson's or of David's life typical of something correspondent in the Messiah, would lead far beyond absurdity; it would issue in impiety and blasphemy.

Thirdly; Scripture by direct application, or by fair, unrestrained analogy, ought therefore to lead, to regulate, and to correct all our inquiries of this sort. We shall else be in danger of rearing a baseless, flimsy structure in the clouds, which can afford neither shelter nor rest. When pleasant amusement alone is the object, invention and fancy may be allowed their full exertion. But when we aim at religious instruction, we must be contented to take the Spirit of God for our guide. And here too, men ought to be jealous and watchful over their own spirits; lest, in endeavouring to establish a favourite system, and to justify or support precon

Conformity to the plan we have proposed, and regard to the analogy of scripture, would now lead us to exhibit the patriarch Jacob, as a type of the Messiah, to whom patriarchs and "prophets all give witness," and who was specially prefigured by the son of Isaac. But, his story is not yet sufficiently advanced, to afford a foundation broad and solid enough to support a comparison, such as a more extended view of the subject will furnish, and such as might more rationally conduce to the ends of edification. We deem it of more importance, at this period, to sub-ceived opinions, they give to their own wild mit to your consideration a few general observations, respecting typical representation, and the proper use to be made of it.

First; In order to constitute a proper type, it is by no means necessary, that the person who answers this important purpose should possess perfect moral qualities. Were this requisite, who ever was worthy to represent the Son of God, the holy Jesus, "who did no sin, neither was guile found in his lips?" But as "the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity," though the law gives no countenance to error or infirmity; so Providence, "at sundry times and in divers manners," raised up men to prefigure to their contemporaries an immaculate Saviour, who were themselves "compassed with in

imaginations the solidity and weight of divine truth, and, departing from the simplicity of the gospel, presume to stamp the poor trash of their own brain with the sacred impress of God. It has often, and with too much justice, been lamented, that many apply to the Bible for a justification of the opinions which they have already formed, and which they are determined, at all risks, to maintain; and not to receive the information which they need, and to rectify the prejudices under which they labour.

Finally; To determine the nature and propriety of typical representation, it is of importance to inquire, Whether or not the resemblance which we mean to pursue, has a tendency to promote some moral, practical,

HISTORY OF JACOB.

LECTURE XXIV.

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. And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba, and went towards Haran.-GENESIS xxviii. 5. 10.

Behold the pilgrim then, on his way, pensive and solitary; without so much as a favourite, faithful dog, to accompany and to Isaac is wealthy, but his eyes are dim that cheer his wanderings. His whole inherihe cannot see. God has given him two sons tance, the staff in his hand. Now, for the at once, but they are the torment of his life. first time, he knows the heart of a stranger. He is fondly partial to Esau; and Esau does Now he feels the bitter change from affluevery thing in his power to mortify and dis-ence to want, from society to solitude, from oblige his kind and indulgent father. He is security and protection to anxiety and danunwittingly drawn in to bless Jacob; and, ger. More forlorn than Adam when expelled

from paradise, than Abraham when exiled | every time of need. The strong hand of nefrom his father's house, he has no gentle cessity is upon our patriarch; submit he mate to participate and to soothe his anxie- must, and therefore he submits with alacrity. ties and cares.

The Scripture assigns no reason, why Isaac's heir, and Rebekah's favourite son, the hope of a powerful and wealthy family, was dismissed with such slender provision, wholly unattended, and unprotected too, upon a journey, according to the best calculations, of about one hundred and fifty leagues, or four hundred and fifty miles, through a country in many places desert and savage, and in others no less dangerous, from the hostile tribes which inhabited and ranged through it. But the reason, though not directly assigned, is plainly hinted at in the sixth verse of this chapter, which informs us, that Esau knew of this journey, as well as of the cause and intention of it. Jacob therefore may be supposed to have stolen away secretly, and without any retinue, and to have shunned the beaten and frequented path to Padan-aram, in order to elude the vigilance and resentment of his brother, who, he had reason to apprehend, would pursue him to take away his life. And besides this, we may justly consider both the errand on which he was sent, to take a wife from an allied and pious family, to propagate a holy and chosen seed; and the homely, solitary style of his travelling, as a very illustrious instance of faith in God, and obedience to his will, and that not in Jacob himself only, but in his parents also, who could thus trust the sole prop of their family hopes, and of the promise, to dangers so great, and distresses so certain, with no security but what arose from the truth, mercy, and faithfulness of God.

And now behold the heir of Abraham and of Isaac, without a place where to lay his head; that head which maternal tenderness had taken pleasure to pillow so softly, and to watch so affectionately. "He lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set: and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep."

—“Sweet are the uses of adversity; Which like the toad, ugly and venomous, Wears yet a precious jewel in his head." Jacob, removed from his earthly parents, is but the nearer to his heavenly Father; a stranger in the waste howling wilderness, he is at home with God. Cares perplex his waking thoughts, but angels in bands lull his perturbed breast to rest; they guard, and instruct, and bless his slumbering moments.

Who does not pity Jacob, as the evening shades gather and close around his head?__ Who does not envy his felicity when the morning light appears, and with it, the recollection of a night passed in communion with God? Jacob sleeps, but his heart wakes.What had been most upon his mind through the day, continues to occupy and to impress his thoughts after his eyes are closed. Wonderful, awful, pleasing power of God! which in the city and in the field, at home and abroad, awake and asleep, moves, directs, governs our bodies and our spirits as it will. What lofty heights is the mind of man capable of attaining! What wonders of nature and of grace is the great God capable of unfolding to it, when delivered from the grossness of this clay tabernacle, or when joined to a spiritual body; when we consider the astonishing flights it is even now capable of taking, when the duller senses are laid to rest, and their influence suspended!

The uneasy reflections arising from solitude, and inspired by a gradual removal from the scenes of his youthful and happy days must have been greatly embittered to Jacob, by the consciousness of his having brought all this upon himself; by the keenness of dis- Dreams are generally frivolous, meaningappointment, in the very moment when the less, or absurd. But here is a dream worth spirits were wound up to their highest tone repeating, worth recording; whether we atthrough success; and by total darkness and tend to what was seen or what was said.-uncertainty with respect to his future for- What was seen? “Behold a ladder set upon tunes. However, the cheerfulness of light, the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: the pleasing change and variety of natural and behold the angels of God ascending and objects as he journeyed on, the ardour and descending on it." The circumstances of confidence of youthful blood and spirits, car- the dreamer, partly interpret the vision. Jary him with confidence and joy through the cob's holy desires, his faith and his prayers, day. But ah! what is to become of him now had ascended, as on angel's wings, up to the that the sun declines, and the shadows of the throne of God. Protection and favour, and evening begin to lengthen? Overtaken at comfort, descend from the eternal throne, as once by hunger and fatigue, and darkness through the ministration of angels, on Jacob's and apprehension, where shall he seek shel- head. The top of the ladder reacheth unto ter, how find repose? Happily, calamity heaven, but the Lord on high is above it. It strengthens that soul which it is unable to standeth upon the earth, but the eye of Jehosubdue. The mind, forced back upon itself, vah is at its foundation, and his almighty arm finds in itself resources which it knew not giveth it stability. The cherubim and the seraof before, and the man who has learned to phim are not above his control and authority; seek relief in religion, knows where to fly in *Gen. xxviii. 11.

† Gen. xxviii. 12.