Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, I die, and leave his wife behind him, and leave no children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. Now there were seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and And the dying left no seed. second took her, and died, neither left he any seed: and the third likewise. And the seven had her, and left no seed: last of all the woman died also. and she had hard labour. And it came to pass, when she was in hard labour, that the midwife said unto her, Fear not; thou shalt have this son also. And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Ben-oni: but his father called him Benjamin. And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem. 1 Sam. iv, 19, 20. And his daughter-in-law, Phinehas' wife, was with child, near to be delivered: and when she heard the tidings that the ark of God was taken, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and travailed; for her pains came upon her. And about the time of her death the women that stood by her said unto her, Fear not; for thou hast born a son. But she answered not, neither did she regard it. Isa. xxxvii, 3. And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and of blasphemy: for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth. BARRENNESS. Gen. xi, 30. But Sarai was ren; she had no child. Luke 1, 7, 25. And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren; and they both were now Thus well stricken in years. hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men. Job xxiv, 21. He evil-entreateth the barren that beareth not, and doeth not good to the widow. Isa. liv, 1, Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear, break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the LORD. Gal. iv, 26-28. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bar-bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband. Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. Gen. xv, 2, 3. And Abram said, Lord GOD, What wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless.. And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. Gen. xxix, 31. And when the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb; but Rachel was barren. Judges xiii, 2. And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and bare not. BARRENNESS HEALED BY PRAYER. Gen. xx, 17, 18. So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maid-servants; and they bare children. For the LORD had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah, Abraham's wife. Gen. xxv, 21. And Isaac entreat1 Sam. 1, 5, 6, 8. But unto Han-ed the LORD for his wife, because nah he gave a worthy portion; she was barren: and the LORD for he loved Hannah: but the was entreated of him, and Rebekah LORD had shut up her womb. his wife conceived. And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the LORD had shut up her womb. Then said Elkanah her husband to her, Hannah, why weepest thou? and why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieved? am not I better to thee than ten sons? 2 Sam. vi, 23. Therefore Michal, the daughter of Saul, had no child unto the day of her death. Mark xii, 18-22. Then come unto him the Sadducees, which say there is no resurrection; and they asked him, saying, Master, Moses wrote unto us, If a man's brother Gen. xxx, 22-24. And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb. And she conceived, and bare a son; and said, God hath taken away my reproach: And she called his name Joseph; and said, The LORD shall add to me another son. 2 Kings iv, 17. And the woman conceived, and bare a son at that season that Elisha had said unto her, according to the time of life. Luke 1, 57, 58. Now Elisabeth's full time came that she should be delivered; and she brought forth 209 And her neighbours and a son. her cousins heard how the Lord had shewed great mercy upon her; and they rejoiced with her. BIRTH-DAY. Gen. xl, 20. And it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, that he made a feast unto all his servants: and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants. Job iii, 1-10. After this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his day. And Job spake, and said, Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man-child conceived. Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it. Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it; let a cloud dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it. As for that night, let darkness seize upon it; let it not be joined unto the days of the year; let it not come into the number of the months. Lo, let that night be solitary; let no joyful voice come therein. Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to raise up their mourning. Let the stars of their twilight thereof be dark; let it look for light, but have none; neither let it see the dawning of the day: Because it shut not up the doors of my mother's womb, nor hid sorrow from mine eyes. Matth. xiv, 6. But when IIerod's birth-day was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before them, and pleased Herod. Mark vi, 21. And when a conon his birth-day, made a supper to venient day was come, that Herod, his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee. SPECIAL ATTACHMENT TO PLACE OF BIRTH. Gen. xxx, 25. And it came to pass, when Rachel had born Joseph, that Jacob said unto Laban, Send me away, that I may go unto mine own place, and to my country. Gen. xxxi, 3, 30. And the LORD said unto Jacob, Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and I will be with thee. And now, though thou wouldest needs be gone, because thou sore longedst after thy father's house, yet wherefore hast thou stolen my gods? Exod. xviii, 27. And Moses let his father-in-law depart; and he went his way into his own land. Num. x, 29, 30. And Moses said unto Hobab, the son of Raguel the Midianite, Moses' father-in-law, We are journeying unto the place of which the LORD said, I will give it you: come thou with us, and we will do thee good; for the LORD hath spoken good concerning Israel. And he said unto him, I will not go; but I will depart to mine own land, and to my kindred. Ruth 1, 15. And she said, Behold, thy sister-in-law is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods. 1 Kings xi. 21, 22. And when Hadad heard in Egypt that David slept with his fathers, and that Joab the captain of the host was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, Let me depart, that I may go to mine own country. Then Pharaoh said unto him, But what hast thou lacked with me, that, behold, thou seckest to go to thine own country? And he answered, Nothing: howbeit, let me go in any wise. Neh. ii, 3-5. And said unto the king, Let the king live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire? Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven. And I said unto the king. If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers' sepulchres, that I may build it. OTHER ALLUSIONS. Ezek. xxi, 30. Shall I cause it to return into his sheath? I will judge thee in the place where thou wast created, in the land of thy nativity. Mark vi, 4. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house. Luke iv, 24. And he said, Verily I say unto you. No prophet is accepted in his own country. John iv, 44. For Jesus himself testifled, that a prophet hath no honour in his own country. NAMING THE CHILD. (See under ORDINANCES.) Gen. xxi, 3. And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him. Isaac. also: and she called his name And Gen. xxx, 10-13, 18-21. And Jacob the sixth son. And Leah called her name Dinah. Gen. xxxv, 18. And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, for she died, that she [Rachel] called his name Beu-oni: but his father called him Benjamin. Gen. xxxviii, 3-5. And she con- grew, Ruth iv, 15, 17. And he shall be 1 Sam. 1, 20. Wherefore it came to pass, when the time was come Gen. xxix, 32-35. And Leah conceived, and bare a son; and she about, after Hannah had conceiv; called his name Reuben: for sheed, that she bare a son, and called said, Surely the LORD hath looked his name Samuel, saying, Because upon my affliction; now therefore I have asked him of the LORD. my husband will love me. And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Because the LORD hath heard that I was hated, he hath therefore given me this son 1 Chron. iv, 9. And Jabez was more honourable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow. 1 Chron. vil, 16. And Maachan the wife of Machir bare a son, and she called his name Peresh; and the name of his brother was Sheresh; and his sons were Ulam and Kakem. Matth. i, 25. And knew her not till she had brought forth her first-born son: and he called his name JESUS. Luke 1, 59-63. And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father. And his mother answered and said, Not 80; but he shall be called John. And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name. And they made sigus to his father, how he would have him called. And he asked for a writing-table, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they marvelled all. NURSING. Exod. ii, 5-9. And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river's side: and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it. And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews' children. Then said his sister to Pharaoh's daughter, Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may And nurse the child for thee? Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and And called the child's mother. Pharaoh's daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the woman took the child, and nursed it. 1 Kings ill, 19-21. And this woman's child died in the night; because she overlaid it. And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while thine handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom. And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead; but when I had considered it in the morning, behold, it was not my son which I did bear. Num. xi, 12. Have I conceived all this people? have I begotten them, that thou shouldest say unto me, Carry thein in thy bosom (as a nursing-father beareth the sucking child) unto the land which thou swarest unto their fathers? Deut. 1, 31. And in the wilderness, where thou hast seen how that the LORD thy God bare thee, as a man doth bear his son, in all the way that ye went, until ye came into this place. Ps. viii, 2. Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger. Isa. Ixvi, 11-13. That ye may suck, and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations; that ye may milk out, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory; For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream: then shall ye suck, ye shall be borne upon her sides, and be dandled upon her knees. As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Je rusalem. Hosea xi, 3. I taught Ephraim also to go, taking them by their arms; but they knew not that I healed them. Matth. xxiv, 19. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! 1 Cor. iii, 1, 2. And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. 1 Thess. ii, 7. But we were gen tle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children. Heb. v, 12, 13. For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. 1 Peter ii, 2. As new-born babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby. WEANING. Gen. xxi, 8. And the child grew, and was weaned; and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned. 1 Sam. 1, 22-24. But Hannah went not up; for she said unto her husband, I will not go up until the child be weaned, and then I will bring him, that he may appear before the LORD, and there abide for ever. And Elkanah her husband said unto her, Do what seemeth thee good; tarry until thou have weaned him; only the LORD establish his word. So the woman abode, and gave her sun suck until she weaned him. came an archer. And when she had weaned him, dwelt in the wilderness, and beshe took him up with her, with three bullocks, and one ephah of flour, and a bottle of wine, and brought him unto the house of the LORD in Shiloh: and the child was young. 1 Kings xi, 20. And the sister of Tahpenes bare him Genubath his son, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh's house: and Genubath was in Pharaoh's household among the sons of Pharaoh. Ps. xxvii, 10. When my father the LORD will take me up. and my mother forsake me, then Ps. cxxxi, 2. Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child. JUVENILE THOUGHTS AND PASTIMES. Gen. xxv, 27. And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man dwelling in tents. Judges xiii, 24, 25. And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the LORD blessed him. And the Spirit of the LORD began to move him at times in the camp of Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol. 1 Sam. ii, 11, 26. And Elkanah went to Ramah to his house: and the child did minister unto the LORD before Eli the priest. And the child Samuel grew on, and was in favour both with the LORD, and also with men. 2 Kings ii, 23, 24. And he went up from thence unto Beth-el: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head. And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she-bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them. Job xix, 18. Yea, young children despised me: I arose, and they spake against me. Ps. cxliv, 12. That our sons Zech. viii, 5. And the streets of may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters the city shall be full of boys and may be as corner stones, polishgirls playing in the streets thereof.ed after the similitude of a palace. Matth. xi, 16, 17. But whereProv. xx, 11. Even a child is unto shall I liken this genera- known by his doings, whether his tion? It is like unto children sit-work be pure, and whether it be ting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows, And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented. Luke vii, 31, 32. And the Lord said, Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation? and to what are they like? They are like unto children sitting in the market-place, and calling one to another, and saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned to you, and ye have not wept. 1 Cor. xiii, 11. And when I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. CHARACTERS OF CHILDREN EARLY DEVELOPED. Gen. xxi, 9, 20. And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto AbraAnd God was ham, mocking. with the lad; and he grew, and 211 right. Eccles. xi, 10. Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity. 1 Peter i, 14. As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance. CHILDREN TENDERLY OFTEN CARED FOR, AND PROPOSED AS AN EXAMPLE. Gen. xxi, 17. And God heard the voice of the lad: and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is. Ps. cxlvii, 13. For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates; he hath blessed thy children within thee. Matth. xviii, 2-5. And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name, receiveth me. Matth. xix, 13, 14. Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the But disciples rebuked them. Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me; for of such is the kingdom of heaven. be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear? Gen. xxl, 1, 2, 5-7. And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken. For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which And God had spoken to him. Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him. And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me. And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham that Sarah should have given children suck? for I have born him a son in his old age. Mark ix, 36, 37. And he took a child, and set him in the midst of them: and when he had taken him in his arms, he said unto them, Gen. xxiv. 36. And Sarah, my Whosoever shall receive one of master's wife, bare a son to my such children in my name, receiv-master when she was old: and eth me; and whosoever shall re- unto him hath he given all that ceive me, receiveth not me, but he hath. him that sent me. Ruth i, 11, 12. And Naomi said, Turn again, my daughters: why will Mark x, 13-16. And they brought ye go with me? are there yet young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disci- any more sons in my womb, that ples rebuked those that brought they may be your husbands? Turn them. But when Jesus saw it, he again, my daughters; go your was much displeased, and said way; for I am too old to have an - unto them, Suffer the little chil-husband. If I should say, I have dren to come unto me, and forbid hope, if I should have an husband them not: for of such is the king- also to-night, and should also bear dom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. And he took them up in his arms. put his hands upon them, and blessed them. Luke ix, 48. And said unto them, Whosoever shall receive this child in my name, receiveth me; and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth him that sent me: for he that is least among you all, the same shall be great. Luke xviii, 15-17. And they brought unto him also infants, that he would touch them: but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, shall in no wise enter therein. CHILDREN BORN IN OLD AGE OF PARENTS. Gen. xvi, 15, 16. And Hagar bare Abram a son; and Abram called his son's name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael. And Abram was four sons. Luke i, 18, 36. And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years. And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. Heb. xi, 11. Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised. DEATH OF CHILDREN. 1 Sam. 11, 33, 34. And the man of thine, whom I shall not cut off from mine altar, shall be to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thine heart: and all the increase of thine house shall die in the flower of their age. And this shall be a sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas; in one day they shall die both of them. 1 Kings xiv, 12, 13, 17. Arise thou therefore, get thee to thine own house; and when thy feet die. And all Israel shall mourn enter into the city, the child shall for him, and bury him; for he only score and six years old when Jeroboam shall come to the Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram. Gen. xvii. 17. Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child grave, because in him there is found some good thing toward the LORD God of Israel in the house And Jeroboam's of Jeroboam. wife arose, and departed, and came to Tirzah: and when she came to the threshold of the door, the child died. 1 Kings xvii, 17, 18. And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him. And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son? 2 Kings iv, 18-21. And when the child was grown, it fell on a day, that he went out to his father to And he said unto the reapers. his father, My head, my head! And he said to a lad, Carry him to his mother. And when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died. And she went up, and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut the door upon him, and went out. Job i, 18, 19. While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house. And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. 1 Kings xxi, 21, 22. Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will take away thy posterity, and will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, And will make thine house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Alijah, for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked me to anger, and made Israel to sin. Job xviii, 19. He shall neither have son nor nephew among his people, nor any remaining in his dwellings. Isa. xiv, 22. For I will rise up against them, saith the LORD of hosts, and cut off from Babylon the name, and remnant, and son, and nephew, saith the LORD. Ps. xxi, 10. Their fruit shalt thon destroy from the earth, and their seed from among the children of Jer. xv, 7. And I will fan them with a fan in the gates of the land; I will bereave them of children, I will destroy my people, since they return not from their ways. Ezek. xxiv, 25. Also, thou son of man shall it not be in the day when I take from them their strength, the joy of their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that whereupon they set their minds, their sons and their daughters. and ye will take Benjamin away. Gen. xliv, 27-29. And thy ser- sons: And the one went out from LORD? And when Moses heard Lam. ii, 19-22. Arise, cry out Lev. x, 19, 20. And Aaron said in the night; in the beginning of unto Moses, Behold, this day have the watches pour out thine heart they offered their sin-offering and like water before the face of the their burnt-offering before the LORD: lift up thy hands toward LORD; and such things have behim for the life of thy young chil-fallen me: and if I had eaten the dren, that faint for hunger in the been accepted in the sight of the sin-offering to-day, should it have top of every street. Behold, O LORD, and consider to whom thou hast done this. Shall the women eat their fruit, and children of a span long?.. The young and the old lie on the ground in the streets: my virgins and my young men are fallen by the sword; thou hast slain them in the day of thine anger, thou hast killed, and not pitied. Thou hast called, as in a solemn day, my terrors round about; so that in the day of the LORD's anger none escaped nor remained: those that I have swaddled and brought up hath mine enemy consumed. Hosea ix, 12, 13, 16. Though they bring up their children, yet will I bereave them, that there shall not be a man left: yea, woe also to them when I depart from them. Ephraim, as I saw Tyrus, is planted in a pleasant place: but Ephraim shall bring forth his children to the murderer. Ephraim is smitten, their root is dried up, they shall bear no fruit; yea, though they bring forth, yet will I slay even the beloved fruit of their womb. Matth. ii, 16. Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth,and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men. GRIEF OF BEREAVED Gen. xxxvii, 35. And all his sous, and all his daughters, rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted: and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him. Gen. xlii, 36. And Jacob their father said unto them, Me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, 2 Sam. xii, 18, 19, 21-23. And it 2 Sam. xiii, 37. But Absalom 2 Sam. xviii, 33. And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept; and, as he went, thus he said, O my son Absalom! my son, my son Absalom! would God Í had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son! 2 Kings iv, 27, 28. And when she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught him by the feet; but Gehazi came near to thrust her away. And the man of God said, Let her alone: for her soul is vexed within her, and the LORD hath hid it from me, and hath not told me. Then she said, Did I desire a son of my lord? did' I not say, Do not deceive me? 1 Chron. vii, 20-22. And the sons of Ephraim; Shuthelah, and Bered his son, and Tahath his son, and Eladah his son, and Tahath his son, And Zabad his son, and Shuthelah his son, and Ezer, and Elead, whom the men of Gath that were born in that land slew, because they came down to take away their cattle. And Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his brethren came to comfort him. Job xxix, 5. When the Almighty was yet with me, when my children were about me. Jer. vi, 26. O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth ashes: and wallow thyself in make thee mourning, as for ar only son, most bitter lamentation: for the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us. Jer. xxxi, 15. Thus saith the LORD, A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children, refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not. Lam. i, 15, 16. The LORD hath trodden under foot all my mighty men in the midst of me; he hath called an assembly against me to crush my young men; the LORD hath trodden the virgin, the daughter of Judah, as in a wine press. For these things I weep; mine eye, mine eye runneth down with water, because the comforter that should relieve my soul is far from me: my children are desolate, because the enemy pre vailed. FILIAL DUTY, EXEMPLIFIED AND INCULCATED. 2 Sam. xix, 1-4. And it was Gen. xxvii, 8, 13. Now, theretold Joab, Behold, the king weep-fore, my son, obey my voice, aceth and mourneth for Absalom. cording to that which I comAnd the victory that day was mand thee. And his mother said turned into mourning unto all unto him, Upon me be thy curse, the people; for the people heard my son; only obey my voice, and say that day, how the king was go fetch me them. grieved for his son. And the people gat them by stealth that day into the city, as people being Gen. xliv, 34. For how shall I go up to my father, and the lad be not with me? lest peradventure I |