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and clothes us, and blesses us with all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus. Let us rejoice, that we live under such a government, where our liberties and properties are secure; and employ all our mercies for him, to whose care and goodness we owe them.

CHAP. XLVIII.

Joseph visiteth his father; Jacob repeateth the promise; and prophesieth their return to Canaan.

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ND it came to pass after these things, that some [one] told Joseph, a messenger brought him tidings, saying, Behold, thy father [is] sick : and Joseph hasted to see him ; and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, that they might hear his dying advice, and share in his blessing. 2 And [one] told Jacob, and said, Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed the hope of seeing Joseph and his sons revived him, and gave him fresh spirits.

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And Jacob said unto Joseph, God Almighty appeared unto 4 me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me, And said unto me, Behold, I will make thee fruitful and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of people, and will give this land to thy seed after thee [for] an everlasting possession. Thus reciting God's appearances for him, and promises $ to him. And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt [are] mine, I own and adopt them as if they were mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine; they shall be particular tribes,and have an equal share of my present estate and future inheritance, with their brethren. And thy issue, which thou begettest after them, shall be thine, [and] shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inher itance: or, if thou hast any more children hereafter, they shall be counted as the children of Ephraim or Manasseh, and belong to one of those tribes, and not be heads of tribes themselves. 7 And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan in the way, when yet [there was] but a little way to come unto Ephrath and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath; the same [is] Bethlehem: as if he had said, And now, my son, this reminds me of Rachel, thy dear mother, who died immediately after the promise of God to multiply my seed, and yet I see it fulfilled in the children God hath given to thee.

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And Israel beheld Joseph's sons, and said, Who [are] 9 these? And Joseph said unto his father, They [are] my sons, whom God hath given me in this [place.] And he

said, Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless 10 them.* Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, [so that]

he could not see. And he brought them near unto him; and 11 he kissed them, and embraced them. And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face: and, lo, God hath showed me also thy seed; he hath outdone all my expectations. 12 And Joseph brought them out from between his knees, removed them from the embraces of his father, and set them orderly before him, to receive his blessing, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth, in reverence and thankfulness for the honour and affection shown to him and his. 13 And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right hand, and brought [them] near unto him. 14 And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid [it] upon Ephraim's head, who [was] the younger, and yet should have the preeminence, and his left hand upon Manasseh's head, guiding his hands wittingly, prudently, or by divine di15 rection; for Manasseh [was] the firstborn. And he blessed Joseph in his children, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, or behave themselves in a holy and acceptable manner, the God which fed me all my life long 16 unto this day, ever since I had a being, The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, let them be called the children of Jacob, or Israel, that they may remember the country and family to which they belong, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac ; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth. 17 And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him, because of his great affection for Manasseh his eldest son: and he held up his father's hand to remove it from Ephraim's head unto Manasseh's 18 head, And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this [is] the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his 19 head, And his father refused, and said, I know [it,] my son, I know [it] these two holy prophets differed in judgment, not about the substance, but the circumstance of the blessing; they disagreed about the ceremony only: and Jacob said, He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations, greater in number of posterity, and power, and dignity; for of him came Joshua the conqueror of Canaan, and Jeroboam king of Israel; wherefore that kingdom is frequently called by the name of Ephraim, 20 And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless;

Paul says, Heb. xi. 21. By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Yoseph, with a paternal, patriarchal, and prophetical blessing, in the name and by the spirit of God; praying for, and foretelling those blessings which God would confer upon them.

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when the Israelites bless or wish prosperity one to another, they shall take thee for an example or pattern, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and set Ephraim before Manasseh.

And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers, 22 Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow; I do now prophetically give, and God will really and actually give, to thy son Ephraim, or his posterity, that parcel of land which I bought of Hamor, (ch. xxxiii. 19.) for though the whole land was given to me and my posterity, yet this was mine by a special civil right, which being seized upon by the inhabitants of the land after I had bought it, I drove them out of it again.*

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REFLECTIONS.

GED and dying saints should thankfully commemorate the goodness of God to them: they should enter into particulars, and keep a catalogue of the most remarkable events; as Jacob, David, and many others did. Aged christians should bear testimony to the truth and goodness of the Lord, to the pleasures of religion, and the comfort of God's ways; and take occasion from thence to encourage others to walk in them; thus showing God's strength to this generation, and his power and glory to those who may come after them.

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2. How desirous should christian parents be to put their children in the way of God's blessing, and engage the prayers of eminent saints for them! Jacob's prayers and blessing were worth more to the sons of Joseph, than all the wealth and power that he could bestow upon them in the land of Egypt. What passed on this occasion made a lasting impression on the minds of these youths the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Young persons, in the present degenerate day, have need of all possible helps and encouragements in the way of religion. The prayers and instructions of christian friends and ministers, and especially the blessing of God, which is necessary to make young persons sober and virtuous, should be highly valued and carefully sought. Let us look on those as our best friends, who do any thing to make our children wise and good.

3. We see that the blessing of God is not bestowed according to the natural affection of parents and friends. God's gifts differ

This afterward became the inheritance of Joseph, (Jesh. xxiv. 32.) It is mentioned in the New Testament (John iv. 3.) as a parcel of ground which Jacob gave. Here Christ Conversed with the woman of Samaria. There is a fine close in the neighbourhood of Shechem to this day, which Maundrell supposes to be the same which is here said to have been given to Joseph.

from ours; he sometimes highly favours and distinguishes those, whom we think are most unlikely, and for whom we are least desirous of his favours. He does not act by the order of nature; he sees farther than we do, and acts accordingly. There are many instances in which the younger is preferred to the elder; for his gifts and grace are free.

4. When our friends are taken away, the presence of the living God is indeed comfortable; and never more so than then. He will never leave nor forsake us; he can make up all our losses. Though others should depart, and leave us alone; if God be with us, we need not fear; he can do for us whatever our best friends could, yea, and infinitely more than they could do; his presence and blessing can attend us in those circumstances, in which they could not possibly help or comfort us: and ere long, if we are faithful, he will take us to himself, bring us to the land where our pious fathers are gone. Let us, therefore, strengthen and encourage ourselves in the Lord our God, from henceforth, and for ever. Amen.

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Cyrus said, That the souls of men at the point of death became prophetic. This ancient opinion never was universally true ; yet Jacob in this chapter prophesies in a most sublime and lofty style, when nature was sinking and dying. The words of dying parents generally leave a strong impression on the mind. Having received blessings from his father, Jacob now divides them among his children.

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ND Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather your selves together, that I may tell you [that] which shall befal you in the last days what shall happen to you and your 2 posterity in future times. Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father. Reuben, thou [art] my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, begotten in the prime and vigour of my days; the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power; it was thy due to have had the precedency both in dignity and 4 power; but thou hast forfeited it, and art now Unstable as water, without selfgovernment, a man of no resolution; thou shalt not excel, never come to any degree of eminence, either in number, valour, or extraordinary achievements; because thou wentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou [it:] then. Jacob, as with indignation at the fact, turns his speech from Reuben to his brethren, and shows how just cause there was to fronounce this sentence against him, and says, He went up to

my couch, this my firstborn son scandalously defiled his father's bed; he shall not excel. And so it came to pass; there never was any eminent person of that tribe; they were oppressed by their enemies, and never made any figure.

5 Simeon and Levi [are] brethren; not only by nature, but likewise in manners; and also confederates in the same wicked design, instruments of cruelty, or cruel weapons, [are in] their habitations, their bloody swords still remain to bear witness: 6 against them. O my soul, come not thou into their secret ; or, thou camest not into their secret ; I protest with my dying breath, I knew nothing of it, neither in word or thought consent, ed to it; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united, let not my honour or good name be bound up with theirs, whose wickedness I abhor; for in their anger they slew a man, that is, Shechem, and in their selfwill, not in a sudden passion, but upon a wilful and settled resolution and deliberation, they digged down a wall, the walls of the house where Dinah was; or, as in the margin of our bibles, They houghed oxen, that is, drove away the oxen and cattle of the Shechemites, 7 Cursed [be] their anger, for [it was] fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel,* violent and outrageous; therefore the divine purpose is this, I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel; I will disperse them and their posterity among the children of Jacob or Israel.†

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Judah, thou [art he] whom thy brethren shall praise, thy tribe shall be famous for the royal dignity belonging to it, and the Messiah's coming out of it, (Heb. vii. 14. 1 Chron. v. 2.) which shall be matter of great praise and honour to thee: thy hand [shall be] in the neck of thine enemies, thou shalt attack them sword in hand, and utterly destroy their power; thy fa ther's children shall bow down before thee: this was fulfilled in David and Solomon, who governed all the twelve tribes. Then follows a beautiful comparison; Judah [is] a lion's whelp, who walks about with a stately air when he goes from devouring the prey; my son, thou art gone up he stooped down, he couched as a lion, who sometimes lies down, and even sleeps over his prey, conscious of his own strength, and fearless of any foe; so shalt thou be great, and secure in thy victories; and as an old lion, one full grown and fierce; who shall rouse him up? none of his enemies shall dare to provoke him ; at least, not without ruin to themselves; this is a beautiful gradation, and intimates the increase of his power. Then follows the great 10 promise of the Messiah from him: The sceptre, the walking

Dr. Kennicott translates these verses thus: v. 5. their very contracts are instruments of violence. v.6. For in their anger they slew the men, and in their selfwill they destroyed the princes. v. 7. Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their confederacy, for it

was cruel.

This accordingly came to pass, and they had cities in every one of the tribes; yee this was afterward turned into a blessing. See Deut. xxxiii. 9, 10.

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