himself known to his brethren: and Jofeph wept aloud, fo that the Egyptians in the house overheard him. And Jofeph faid unto his brethren, I am Jofeph. Doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not anfwer him, for they were troubled at his prefence."

No wonder that Jofeph's brethren were troubled at this fpeech. O! how bitter a thing is fin. It caufes trouble at thofe moments which ought to be given up to joy. It fpreads a gloom over our happieft hours; and while those who are not loaded with the fame guilt, are giving way to the most delightful feelings, it makes the man who is burthened in his confcience to feel a double pang, to feel a pang, I mean, both on account of the fin itself, and alfo on account of his regret at being unable to join in the general joy that is going forward.

Jofeph, neverthelefs, comforts his brethren, "Now therefore," fays he, "be not grieved, nor angry with yourfelves, for God did fend me before to preferve all our lives, fo now it was not you that fent me hither, but God." How freely does Jofeph appear, by this speech, to forgive his brethren! Here is no malice, no hatred, no spirit of revenge, no word even of reproof for all the evil they had endeavoured to do him; but the injured perfon is himself the comforter of those who had tried to injure him. Here, perhaps, fome one may be ready to fay, True, Jofeph did right to forgive his brethren, for we are all bound to forgive them that

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trefpafs against us; methinks, however, he migh as well have faid fomething to them of their fin for the fake of their own good." I answer, tha there is a time for all things, and that this was not the time for Jofeph to adminifter reproof His brethren were likely, juft now, to be caf down through over much forrow, and the thing they needed, at this moment, was therefore comfort rather than reproof. Your people, who take all occafions to reprove, without regard to time, or place, or circumstances, though they may say they mean only to do good by it, are apt to be harsh people. They are only indulging their own fpirit; and though they may perfuade themselves that they are of a forgiving temper at bottom, in fact are not fo much fo as they think.

But I would obferve further, that this extreme kindness of Jofeph would, in my opinion, tend to affect the hearts of his brethren more than the fevereft reproof. "What (they would now fay to themfelves) have we fold for a flave a brother fo kind, fo generous, fo excellent as this! How little did we know of him when we took upon us to fell him! How rafhly did we judge concerning his true character, and concerning his intention in those words which gave us fo much offence! He was a better man than we, though we all talked fo much againft him, and even thought him hardly fit to live." I would here beg all my readers to take care how they speak eyil of perfons without due

knowledge of their character. Especially I would advise you to beware of judging any one, on account of his having faid or done fomething which happens to wound your own pride, or to give pain merely to yourfelf. He may be a good man on the whole, even though he should have erred in this particular; and you may err more by the revenge you take for what he has faid that is offenfive to you, than he has done by faying it. Take heed, then, left fome day or other should come, when the very perfon whom you are fet againft, fhall have his character cleared before all the world, in fpite of every thing you have said againft him. Take heed, left you' fhould be proved to have been the greatest finner of the two on that day when you fhall each of you appear before God, and all his holy angels. O that we could all learn fomething of this kind, and affectionate, and forbearing temper of Jo. feph. He was as remarkable for it as he was for conquering thofe fecret temptations which I before spoke of.

Jofeph having discovered himself to his brethren, is now impatient that they fhould go to his father; "Hafte ye," fays he, "and go up to my father, and fay unto him, Thus faith thy fon Jofeph, God hath made me Lord of all Egypt. Come down, tarry not, and thou fhalt dwell in the land of Gofhen; and thou shalt be near unto me, thou and thy children, and thy children's children, and thy flocks and thy herds, and all that thou haft, and there will I nourish

thee, for there are yet five years of famine to come." "And Jofeph fell on his brother Benjamin's neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept on his neck." "Moreover, he kiffed all his brethren, and wept upon them, and after that his brethren talked with him." "And the fame hereof was heard in Pharaoh's houfe; and it pleafed Pharaoh and his fervants. And Pharaoh faid, Bring your father and your houfhold take waggons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father, and come. And they did fo. And Jofeph gave to each of them changes of raiment; and he fent to his father ten affes, laden with the good things of Egypt, and ten more affes laden with corn and bread and meat for his father, by the way."

Accordingly Jacob having been invited by his fons, and having also been encouraged by God in a dream, arrived in Egypt; and all the fouls that went with him, befides his fons' wives, were. fixty and fix.

And Jofeph made ready his chariot, and went to meet his father, and fell on his neck, and wept a long time. And Jacob faid, Now let me die, fince I have feen thy face, that thou art yet alive. And Jofeph brought in Jacob his father, and fet him before Pharaoh. And Pharaoh faid unto Jacob, "How old art thou ?". And Jacob faid unto Pharaoh, "The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years; few and evil have the days of the

years of my life been." And Jacob bleffed Pharaoh. And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt feventeen years, and he died."

"Now when Jofeph's brethren faw that their father was dead, they faid, Jofeph will peradventure hate us, and will requite us for all the evil that we did unto him. And they fent a meffage to Jofeph, saying, that their father, before he died, commanded them to request of Jofeph, that he would forgive their trefpafs against him. And Jofeph wept to think that they should speak thus unto him. And Jofeph faid, Fear not. As for you, indeed, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it for good. Now, therefore, I will nourish you and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them. And Jofeph lived an hundred and ten years. And he faid to his bre thren, God will furely vifit you, and bring you out of this land into the land which he promised to Abraham, and Ifaac, and Jacob. And Jofeph died."

Thus ends the hiftory of Jofeph. I have already obferved, that one of the chief things to be learned from it is the doctrine of a particular Providence. "It was not you" (as Jofeph faid very juftly to his brethren) that fent me into Egypt; but it was God;" that is, it was not you only. Men, indeed, were the inftruments, and men are accountable to God for every part of their own conduct, just as much as if there was no Providence in the cafe. Still,