Jacob obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone to Pa 8 danaram; And Esau, seeing that the daughters of Canaan 9 pleased not Isaac his father; Then went Esau unto the family of Ishmael, and took unto the wives which he had Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham's son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife. This he did in hope of ingratiating himself with his father; but it was quite too late, and but a partial amendment; for his hatred to Jacob and his profaneness still continued.

*

And Jacob took with him his staff, and such small provisions as he could carry; to have taken more would have increased his brother's hatred and envy ; and he went out from BeersheIl ba, and went toward Haran. And 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. He had a cold lodging and a hard pillow, but a comfortable night, for God ap 12 heared to him there in a vision. And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heav en; to represent to Jacob the providence of God, who, though he dwells in heaven, extends his government and care to the earth, and all who dwell thereon: and, behold, the angels of 13 God ascending and descending on it. And, behold, the glory of the LORD stood above it, appeared at the top of the ladder, and a voice said, I [am] the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to 14 thee will I give it, and to thy seed; And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth 15 be blessed. And, behold, I [am] with thee, and will keep thee in all [places] whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done [that] which I have spoken to thee of. Thus God confirmed his firomises to Jacob; assuring him of defence, provision, protection, and at length a happy settlement in that land, together with all spiritual blessings.

16

And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place, by these tokens of his special and gracious presence, and the revelation of his mind and will to me; and I 17 knew [it] not, I little expected such revelations here. And he was afraid, struck with a reverential fear of the majesty of God, in respect of his own vileness and unworthiness, and he said,

A shady spot, where were almond trees, between thirty and forty miles from the place where he set out, and about eight miles from Jerusalem."

To show that God makes use of them as ministring spirits, to execute his orders and do his pleasure: that they are all active, all under the direction of infinite wisdom, who will give them a particular charge concerning his servants. How suitable and encour aging a representation was this to Jacob, when #ying for his life, and destitute of all things !

How dreadful, or awful, [is] this place! this [is] none other but the house of God, the habitation where he dwells, with all his glorious attendants, and this [is] the gate of heaven that 18 leads to his high and holy courts. And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put [for] his pillows; and set it up [for] a pillar, as a monument for the remembrance of God's appearing to him, and poured oil upon 19 the top of it, as a thank offering to God. And he called the name of that place Bethel, that is, the house of God: But the name of that city, near to which this pillar was set up, [was called] Luz at the first, that is, almond, or, the city of almond

20

trees.

And Jacob vowed a vow, entered into a solemn religious promise or obligation, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, 21 and raiment to put on, So that I come again to my father's house in peace, that is, when God shall have done according to his promise, (v. 15.) which I firmly believe he will perform; then shall the LORD be my God, owned by me as the author of my welfare and salvation, and worshipped in my family as such : 22 And this stone, which I have set [for] a pillar, shall be God's house; a place for his worship, where I will build an altar and offer sacrifices and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee, for the maintenance of thy worship, and other pious uses,

REFLECTIONS.

is a great mercy to have religious parents, to recom mend us to the blessing of God; to pray for us and with us; these prayers should be highly valued by us, for God values them. The children of his servants should rejoice in their privileges, and improve them; and above all, be thankful for Jesus Christ, who ever liveth to make intercession for us.

2. Let us adore the providence of God, as exercised by his angels; and beg of him to give them charge concerning us; that we may have their guardian care and protection in all our motions. This must have been a great comfort to Jacob, and confirm his faith and hope, and confidence in God and his providence. The great God hath legions of angels at his command; and they are all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister to the heirs of salvation, How cheerfully may good men go on in the way of duty, when they have such protectors! the ladder is still fixed; and by faith we may see the angels ascending and descending to receive orders from God, and execute his will. Though God's throne of glory is in heaven, and he keeps his brightest court there, his providence extends to this world, and not a sparrow falls to the ground without his notice. He feeds the

ravens when they cry, and the lions when they roar; he clothes the grass and the lilies; and will he not much more take care of his servants? Let them exercise faith in his protecting prov: idence, when, like Jacob, they are exposed to difficulties and dangers; when going on journeys; when entering on new settlements, or relations in life; when leaving old friends, and going to strange places or families, or business; for he hath said, I will give my angels charge concerning thee; and I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. Let us rejoice in this, and bless God, who causeth his angels to encamp around us, to be our defence in this world; and at length will conduct us in our last remove, and carry us to Abraham's bosom, to join their innumerable company there, together with the spirits of all just men made perfect. Once more,

3. When God hath shown us mercy, let us renew our vows to serve him so Jacob did. By religious vows we give glory to God, and own our dependence upon him; and we lay a bond upon our own souls in all our religious engagements, to excite and quicken our obedience to him. Let us imitate Jacob's faith and gratitude. God had promised to be with him, and provide for him; Jacob lays hold on this promise, and says, Seeing God will do thus with me, I will love and serve and honour him. Let us imitate his modesty and moderation: though heir to great things, he only asks food and raiment. Nature is content with little, grace with less. Agur's wish was, Feed me with food convenient for me. Let us imitate his piety in what he desired, that God would be with him and keep him; and also in what he designed, that he would acknowledge the Lord as his God, build an altar for his worship, and give him the tenth of all that he had. Thus should all the mercies we receive be improved as additional obligations to walk closely with God, as our God; and when we receive extraordinary mercies from him, let us study to show some signal instance of gratitude and obedience to him; so shall the .. God of Jacob be our God for ever and ever, and our guide even unto death.

Contains an account of Jacob's arrival at the place appointed; his marriage there; and how the promise began to be fulfilled, that God would make of him a great nation.

1TH

HEN Jacob went on his journey, or, lifted up his feet. with great cheerfulness and vigour, (as well he might after such a vision) and came into the land of the people 2 of the east, to Mesopotamia, where Laban dwelt. And he looked, and behold a well in the field, and, lo, there [were]

3

three flocks of sheep lying by it; for out of that well they watered the flocks: and a great stone [was] upon the well's 3 mouth, to preserve it sweet and secure. And thither were all the flocks gathered: and they rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the sheep, and put the stone again upon 4 the well's mouth in his place. And Jacob, believing that they were of the same employment as himself, respectfully said unto them, My brethren, whence [be] ye? And they said, Of Ha5 ran [are] we. And he said unto them, Know ye Laban the 6 son of Nahor? And they said, We know [him.] And he said unto them, [Is] he well? And they said, [He is] well and, behold, Rachel his daughter cometh with the 7 sheep. And he began to talk with them about their occupation, and the best way of managing their flocks, and said, Lo, [it is] yet high day, neither [is it] time that the cattle should be gathered together: water ye the sheep, and go [and] feed 8 [them.] And they said, We cannot, until all the flocks be gathered together, and [till] they roll the stone from the well's mouth, for we have made an agreement to wait for one another, and when all are gathered together, then we will water the sheep.

9

And while he yet spake with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep for she kept them. This was formerly reckoned a noble employment, as their chief wealth lay in cattle. Rachel probably had shepherds under her, but she presided, and 10 looked well to her flock. And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother's brother, that Jacob went near, and, as an introduction to further acquaintance, he rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the flock of La11 ban his mother's brother, that is, he assisted in doing it. And Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice and wept ; he shed tears of joy, to think of the kind providence that had attended him in his journey, and that he had happily met with 12 such an agreeable relation at the end of it. And Jacob told Rachel that [he] was her father's brother, or kinsman, that is, sister's son, and that he [was] Rebekah's son and she ran and 13 told her father. And it came to pass, when Laban heard the tidings of Jacob his sister's son, that he ran to meet him, and embraced him, and kissed him, and brought him to his house, and thus gave him the most kind reception, though he might be surprised to see him come alone, and not attended as his father's servant was; but Jacob opened his heart to his kinsman, and he told Laban all these things, about his journey, and the cause of it, what he had seen in the way, and the reason he 14 had to hope for the divine protection and blessing. And Laban said to him, Surely thou [art] my bone and my flesh, my near kinsman and nephew. And he abode with him the space of a month; after which he agreed to take care of Luban's sheep and cattle,

15

And Laban said unto Jacob, Because thou [art] my brother, or kinsman, shouldest thou therefore serve me for nought? this would be unreasonable, let us therefore come to some agree16 ment; tell me, what [shall] thy wages [be?] And Laban had

two daughters: the name of the elder [was] Leah, and the 17 name of the younger [was] Rachel. Leah [was] tender 18 eyed; but Rachel was beautiful and well favoured. And

Jacob loved Rachel; and it was the custom in those days to purchase wives, but Jacob, having nothing to give, said, I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter. 19 And Laban said, [It is] better that I give her to thee, than that I should give her to another man: abide with me; an ambiguous and crafty answer, intended to make Jacob think that he 20 consented, but serving only to hide his real design. And Jacob

21

served seven years for Rachel; and his affection for his cousin was so great, that they seemed unto him [but] a few days, for the love he had to her.

And Jacob said unto Laban, Give [me] my wife, for my days are fulfilled, the seven years' service agreed upon, that I may go in unto her, and make her my wife by marriage, as 22 she hath already been by contract, And Laban seemingly con

sented to this; and as these marriages were done publicly before proper witnesses, so he gathered together all the men of the 23 place, and made a feast. And it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter, and brought her to him; and he went in unto her; and, she being veiled and in the dark, he 24 could not discern the fraud. And Laban gave unto his daughter Leah Zilpah his maid [for] an handmaid, or bondwoman. 25 And it came to pass, that in the morning, behold, it [was] Leah! What a grievous disappointment was this! What a shameful return of Laban for Jacob's faithful services! What a foolish thing in Leah! for what happiness could she expect in such a connection: and what injustice to Rachel, as well as Jacob! He was justly provoked, and he said to Laban, What [is] this thou hast done unto me? did not I serve with thee 26 for Rachel? wherefore then hast thou beguiled me? And Laban said, It must not be so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn. This was a sorry answer ; probably there was no such custom; if there was, he ought to 27 have been told of it before. He adds, Fulfil her week, keep the week of feasting for thy marriage with Leah, and so confirm the marriage with her, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years. This was quite a new contract, and a very unjust demand; but Jacob was obliged to comply with it, as he could not think of leaving Rachel, or putting away Leah.

28

And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week: and at the end of that week he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also, on