GENESIS XXII, 1, 2.-And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham and GENESIS XXII. 6—10.—And Abraham took the wood of the burnt-offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood; but where is the Lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. And they came to the place which God had told him of. And Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the GENESIS XXIII. 19.-And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife, in the cave of the field of ABRAHAM'S PURCHASE OF A BURYING PLACE FROM GENESIS XXIII. 20.-And the field, and the cave ABRAHAM BLESSED IN A FAITHFUL SERVANT. GENESIS XXIV. 9, 10.-And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and sware to him concerning that matter. And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed; for all the goods of his master were ABRAHAM'S SECOND MARRIAGE AND DEATH. GENESIS XXV. 8.-Then Abraham gave up the SERMON XXI. THE SIN AND CONSEQUENCES OF IMPATIENCE. GENESIS XVI. 1, 2. AND NOW SARAL, ABRAM'S WIFE, BARE HIM NO CHILDREN: SARAI. THE Holiness of God's moral government is often wonderfully associated with a sovereignty of mercy, exhibited in testifying that where sin abounded, grace doth much more abound. Rahab the harlot, is not only spared from the utter ruin of Jericho, but made a mother in Israel, and an ancestress of the promised Seed and Saviour. Abram and Sarai his wife are led to act inconsistently with their holy profession: but while they are justly, though tenderly VOL. II. B rebuked of God, Hagar the other party in this fault, hath an especial revelation of mercy vouchsafed unto her. The mighty race descended from her has been through many centuries, and still remains, one of the most amazing evidences of the truth of the divine word, to which doubters may be referred for conviction, and believers for edification on their most holy faith. From the unadvised transaction recorded in the chapter under review, the Holy Ghost moreover draws, by St. Paul, a typical resemblance of the Law and the Gospel, of the heavy bondage of the one, and the glorious liberty of the other, under the figures of Hagar and Sarai, Ishmael, and Isaac. (Gal. iv.) This spiritual symbol will occur to be noticed, as we proceed in the patriarch's history. At present, the literal events will furnish ample matter for consideration. May the Holy Spirit make it useful and profitable! The whole transaction embraces three points of consideration. I. THE FAULT COMMItted. II. THE CONSEQUENCES PRODUCED BY IT. III. THE ESPECIAL DEALING OF GOD WITH HAGAR. I. The subtlety, not less than the malignity of Satan, is remarkably exhibited in the method |