himself in wearing it. The horror of being cast alive into a pit to perish with hunger, is not to be conceived, much less expressed. What must it then have been to a heart like Joseph's, tremblingly alive to the keenest sensations of pain; acquainted, till then, only with gentleness and indulgence, and now dreadfully awakened to perceive the full extent of his misery? Instant death had been mercy to one in such a situation.

As if they had done nothing, they sit down unconcernedly to eat bread. Savage monsters! Could the moderate cravings of their own appetite fail to remind them of the wretched state of their poor brother; fail to suggest the misery of perishing for want, and to awaken compassion in some gentle bosom? Yes; with his piercing shrieks yet sounding in their ears, with his piteous, supplicating looks yet before their eyes, they indulge the commonest, lowest cravings of their own nature, and calmly consign him to a lingering death; the bitterness of which was every instant increased by the slowness of its approach. And now, behold the darling of Jacob on the very brink of despair; when Providence, wiser than they were cunning, and more powerful than they were wicked, interposes for his deliverance.

It was so ordered of Heaven, that a travelling company or caravan of Ishmaelitish merchants passed by, while they were at dinner, in the course of their traffic to Egypt. A thought occurred to Judah, whose heart now began somewhat to relent, that an opportunity offered of ridding themselves of their hated rival, without incurring the guilt of shedding his blood; namely, that of selling him for a slave to the Ishmaelites; who, he knew would carry him along with them into Egypt, sell him over again for profit, and thereby forever prevent the possibility of his return, to detect their villainy, and renew his pretensions to superiority over them.

No sooner was this proposal made than it was assented to. And they, who a little while before made nothing of taking away their brother's life, with less scruple and ceremony still, take upon them to rob him of his liberty; and, as if he had been a bullock, or a kid from the flock, sell him for twenty pieces of silver, into the hands of strangers. O the wonder-working hand of God! The circumstances which lately seemed to poor Joseph se untoward and unfavourable, were working together for the preservation of his life, and paving the way to glory. Had he not wandered in the field, his arrival had happened too early for the passing by of these merchants to save him. Had he found his brethren in Shechem, as he expected, instead of Dothan, he had been out of the tract which his deliverers took. "Who can tell what is good or evil for a man," till the end come, and the mystery of providence be unfolded? These, to the eye of man, are little accidental circumstances. But they are a part of a vast arrangement, made by Him "who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will," to bring about a great purpose. There are wheels almost imperceptible in the great machine, which the untutored eye is apt wholly to overlook, out which are indeed as necessary to motion as the largest and most obvious.

Thus was the jewel of his father's heart vilely bartered away as a thing of little value. Behold Joseph in the hands of the descendants of him whose "hands were against every man, and every man's hands against him,” and he is safer with wild Ishmaelites, than with bloody, unnatural brothers. From avarice, if not from pity or affection, they will treat him kindly, that they may dispose of him to advantage. So much better is a merciful, or even a mercenary stranger, than an envious and cruel brother. Reuben, it appears, was not present at this consultation, bargain and delivery. He probably stole away, when the rest sat down to meat, that by a round-about path he might arrive at the pit where Joseph was hid, and assist him in effecting his escape, while the rest were otherwise employed. But he had made so large a circuit

Vol. 11.

9

in order to avoid suspicion, that the sale was transacted before he came to the place, and his benevolent intention was thereby frustrated. He is the only one of the brothers who seems to have felt a single spark of pity for the unfortunate youth, or of concern for the distress of his aged parent. What then must his anguish have been, when he came to the pit, and found no Joseph there? From his worst fears however he is soon relieved, and, bad as it was, rejoices to hear that Joseph was only sold for a slave.

By common consent it is agreed to conceal, if possible, the whole of this dark scene. They must meet their father again, and to him something must be said for the non-appearance of his amiable, his beloved son. I am not more shocked at their first purpose of blood, than at their artful device to cover it, and their awful steadiness and fidelity to each other, in guarding so well the dreadful secret. It proves what deep, what determined, what thoroughpaced villains they were. And from such men does the Jewish nation glory to have sprung! They stain the variegated coat, the cause of so much jealousy, with blood, which they intend shall pass with the wretched father for the blood of him that wore it; and they send it to Hebron as accidentally found in the field in that state, to carry its own doleful tidings with it.

I cannot accompany this fatal pledge to the place of its destination. Who can bear to witness the anguish of a miserable old man sinking under the weight of accumulated woe? All his former griefs admitted of consolation. They were more directly from the hand of God, they were in the course of nature, they might be cured or endured. But this stab was mortal; it defied medicine, it mocked at length of time. He himself has had the principal hand

in this great evil; and I fear, I fear he suspects the truth, though he says it not. Beautiful, too much beloved, ill-starred Rachel! once I pitied, now I congratulate thee. A gracious Providence has in kindness taken thee away from the evil to come. The sight of Joseph's vesture dipped in blood, must have proved fatal to thee, hadst thou lived to that day. To have lived till now, must have been to endure pangs more frightful than the agonizing throes of childbirth, or the last dying struggles of dissolving nature.

We hasten from a scene which the heart is unable long to contemplate, to land Joseph safely in Egypt-where being arrived, he is transferred, like a bundle of spicery, from the Midianites to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, and captain of the guard.

And here your time warns me to stop. And here, in the hands of that God who "delivered him from the paw of the lion and the bear," we deposit this precious trust, confident of its being restored, like all that we commit to God, increased in value, importance and utility. If the subject be pleasing to you as it is to me, I shall hope to have the pleasure of resuming it with you next Lord's day.

"He was

Jesus the well beloved Son of God, came from his Father's house above, to bring to us, his brethren after the flesh, the gentle and affectionate commendations of his Father's love. Instead of welcome, he met with reproach and scorn. "He came to his own and his own received him not." despised and rejected of men." "His familiar friend in whom he trusted, which did eat of his bread, lifted up his heel against him." Judas, one of his own house, sold him for thirty pieces of silver. He was stripped of his vesture, his raiment was stained with blood. "He looked and there was none to help.' "He trode the wine press alone." "He was holy, harmless, undefiled and separate from sinners." "He was brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth."* "It became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all

* Isaiah liii. 7.

←

things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings."* Men "thought evil against him, but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive."+"The counsel of the Lord standeth forever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations." To the attentive reader of the scriptures, these, and many such applications as these, of the history of Joseph, to the person, the character, the office and undertaking of the Messiah, will readily occur. To the careless and unbelieving, more has been said than they will understand, regard, or approve. We commend them to the mercy of God, and we implore a blessing on what has been spoken, for Christ's sake. Amen.

HISTORY OF JOSEPH.

LECTURE XII.

GENESIS XXXIX. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

:

And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man, and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And his master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand. And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him and he made him overseer over his house and all that he had he put into his hand. And it came to pass, from the time that he made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake and the blessing of the Lord was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field. And he left all that he had in Joseph's hand and he knew not ought he had, save the bread which he did eat; and Joseph was a goodly person, and well-favoured.

.

UNLESS "the heart be established by grace," in prosperity it will be elated above measure, and in adversity will be ready to sink under the weight of its woe. A principle of religion preserves the balance of the soul, and guards it equally from rising into insolence, or falling into dejection. It has been disputed whether prosperity or adversity be the severer trial of the two. In order to determine the question, it is necessary to know the character of the party who is tried. In some persons we meet with a stupidity, an insensibility of nature, on which change of circumstances makes no apparent impression. This endeavours to pass upon itself, and actually does pass upon superficial observers, for moderation in success, and patience in affliction. But the rock is not patient, because without murmuring it bears the incessant dashing of the raging sea; neither does the snail deserve the praise of humility, because it attempts not to fly. That moderation is estimable, which, awake to all the advantages of rank, and fortune, and success, offends not God by levity and ingratitude, nor man by haughtiness and pride. That patience merits admiration and praise, which feels, yet complains not; which sighs, yet submits.

It is very natural for men to flatter themselves that they could support prosperity with wisdom and propriety. But I believe experience will evince, that while success tends to relax, weaken and extinguish the religious principle, calamity, by teaching us our own weakness and dependence, awakens, strengthens and keeps it alive. The lot of most men alternately furnishes Psalm xxxiii. 11.

*Heb. ii. 10.

+ Gen. 1. 20.

1

occasion for exercise in both ways. It is the office of genuine and solid piety, to instruct us" in whatever state we are, therewith to be content;" "to exercise men unto godliness, which is profitable unto all things, having the promise both of the life which now is, and of that which is to come."

The amiable and illustrious person on whose history we entered in the last Lecture, and which we are now to continue, affords a shining and affecting example of a mind unsubdued by the deepest distress, and uncorrupted by the highest degree of elevation. His affliction commenced at an early period of life. It was, of its kind, peculiarly bitter and severe. It came from a quarter whence it was least to be apprehended; and the transition was instantaneous, from a tranquillity and indulgence which knew no bound, to anguish which no language can express, no imagination conceive. As he was to be an eminent type of Him, who, "as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, not opening her mouth," scripture represents Joseph submitting to the barbarous treatment of his brothers, as doomed to perish of hunger in an empty pit, and sold into slavery to the Ishmaelites, without arguing, without upbraiding, without repining.

Were it possible to form a stronger idea of the hard heartedness of Jacob's sons than that which their cruelty to Joseph affords, it is to see them the calm witnesses of the anguish of their father's soul, without being moved by all his misery and tears to divulge the important secret, and to pour into the fond paternal heart the cordial balm, which even the knowledge of his son's being a slave in Egypt would have administered. As a dawn of hope would thence have arisen, that by some blessed revolution of events, the precious hour might perhaps at length arrive, which should restore him to his father again. What a dreadful thing it is to embark on a sea of vice! To return is difficult, if not impossible-To proceed is ruin.

Joseph, meanwhile, lives and prospers in a strange land. He has not lost all, he has lost nothing, who enjoys the divine presence and favour. The amiable youth is indeed from under the shadow of his father's wing, but the protection of Heaven is not withdrawn ; "the Almighty is his refuge and underneath are the everlasting arms. A young man brought up like him, in fulness, liberty, indulgence and ease, might have been supposed sullen and stubborn under a change of condition so sudden and so severe; or to have sunk into melancholy and despair. But with Joseph it was not so. With true magnanimity and spirit, he cheerfully accommodates his mind to his situation, and without murmur or reluctance, addresses himself to the discharge of his duty as a diligent and faithful servant. We have not power over our lot, to carve it out as we please; but the mind has power over itself: and happiness has its seat in the mind, not in external circumstances. The favourite son of Israel seems degraded and dishonoured, even when raised to the first rank of servitude in Potiphar's house; but Joseph, pious, modest, wise and faithful, is equally respectable whether as a son or as a servant.

Never did Potiphar make so fortunate a purchase. The blessing of God enters into his house, from the moment Joseph becomes a member of the family. In many various ways are servants curses or comforts to those with whom they dwell. Let a servant have a conscience, and you have a certain pledge of his fidelity. Divest him of that, and where is your security, that either your property or your person is safe in his hands? Joseph demeaned himself as a good servant; Potiphar as a wise and a kind master. In vain do we look for affection and attachment in our inferiors, if we treat them with insolence, unkindness or neglect. The great and affluent are much more in the power of, much more dependent upon their meanest domestics, than they are willing to understand, or to acknowledge. And surely, it is much more prudent to

secure their affection as humble friends, by condescension and good-nature, than to provoke their resentment or revenge, by pride and severity.

Joseph has been faithful over a few things, he is made ruler over many things. "He made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand." His personal accomplishments keep pace with his mental endowments, "he was a goodly person and wellfavoured." Beauty, like every other gift of nature, is good of itself, and therefore to be received with thankfulness. But alas, how often does it prove a snare to the possessor, and a temptation to others! This quality of Joseph's had like to have proved more fatal to him than even the envy of his brothers. This last threatened only his body, but that endangers the soul. The one sold him into bondage, the other would have plunged him into dishonour. His master's wife looked upon him with eyes of unhallowed affection, and attempts to make him a partaker of her impurity. To expatiate on the nature of this temptation, would be as indecent as it is unnecessary. It is a fearful example of the dreadful length which the human mind is capable of going, when the restraints of shame are once broken through.

Some kinds of temptation are boldly to be encountered, and resolutely overcome. There are others only to be conquered by flight, and disarmed by removing to a distance. Joseph dwells only on one circumstance, in order to settle and determine his conduct-the all-seeing eye of God, and the danger of offending him ; "how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God."* Pleasure, and interest, and passion, blind the eyes; but conscience with scrupulous attention, always and every where reveres an omnipresent Jehovah. The lower principles of our nature respect and are regulated by consequences. This great principle is moved only by a sense of right and wrong. Interest and desire are contented with inquiring, " is there no danger of being found out?" But conscience is only to be satisfied by ascertaining, "whether it be sin or duty."

The consequence to Joseph, was such as might be expected from the temper of a shameless woman, false, lascivious and resentful. The demon of lust turned into those of rage and revenge, she accuses of an attempt to seduce her, the man, whom no consideration of pleasure, or of advantage, could for a moment seduce from the right path. This accusation, however false, being uncontradicted, is admitted as true; and Joseph, as the reward of faithfulness almost without example, is immured in close custody, to be dragged forth at a proper opportunity to severer punishment. And here again we have a fresh instance of the greatness of his mind. He chooses rather to incur his master's groundless displeasure, and to sink under the weight of a false accusation, than to vindicate his own honour, by exposing the shame of a bad woman; and he leaves the clearing up of his character and the preservation of his life, to that God with whom he had entrusted still higher concerns, those of his immortal soul. And thus, the least-assuming, the shamefaced, feminine virtues, temperance, and chastity, and innocence, and self-government, are found in company with the most manly, the heroic qualities, intrepidity, constancy and contempt of death.

No place is frightful to a good man but the dungeon of an ill conscience. Free from that, Joseph is at large, though in prison. It is the favour or displeasure of God that makes this or the other spot comfortable or irksome. "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty; but to the guilty, the whole world is a place of confinement. God, who delivered him out of the pit accompanies him also to the prison. And what heart so savage that goodness cannot mollify, what nature so obdurate that the power of the Almighty

* Gen. xxxix. 9.