archer, living with his mother in the wilderness of Paran. She afterwards obtained a wife for him out of the land of Egypt.

6. When Isaac was grown up, God brought upon Abraham his father, the severest trial of his faith and obedience that could happen to him, by commanding him to slay his son and offer him up for a burnt offering to God. He had lost Ishmael, once the delight of his heart, and the object of his paternal affection; and now, Isaac, the son of his joy,—that son in whom God had promised that all the nations of the earth should be blessed-must bleed and die by Divine appointment. This was indeed a trial to human nature; but God's command made it easy to faithful Abraham, who did not delay to shew his readiness to submit himself to His guidance and direction.

7. For early in the morning he set out on his journey, accompanied by his son Isaac, and attended by two servants, who led an ass loaded with the wood and other instruments necessary for the sacrifice, together with provisions, which it was necessary to take as they would be three days in travelling to the place which God had appointed;-one of the mountains in the land of Moriah, which was to be pointed out to him when he arrived.

On the third day they came within sight of the place, and Abraham ordered his servants to stop, telling them that he and his son would go and worship, and return to them again. The innocent child, not knowing what his father intended to do with him, went cheerfully towards the place, bearing on his shoulders the wood; his father carrying the fire, and the knife that was to take away the life of his son. As they walked on together, Isaac said to his father, "My father; behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" To which his father replied, "My son, God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt offering." When they arrived at the appointed place, Abraham built an altar, and laid the wood in order upon it. He then bound his son Isaac, and laid him on the wood upon the altar.

8. All being now ready, Abraham stretched forth his hand, laid hold of the knife, and was just going to give the fatal stroke, when the angel of the Lord called to him out of heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham: lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me." Abraham then, lifting up his eyes and turning about,

saw a ram which was caught in a thicket by its horns. This he took and offered up for a burnt offering instead of his son:-a happy exchange. On this new proof of his faith and obedience, God renewed His covenant with him and his posterity, and solemnly confirmed it with an oath.

9. Having fulfilled the command of God, Abraham returned with his son Isaac to his servants, and all then set out together on their return to Beersheba, at that time the place of Abraham's residence. On their arrival Abraham is welcomed with the happy tidings of an increase to the family of his brother Nahor, whose son Bethuel had been made the glad father of Rebekah, who afterwards became the wife of Isaac.

10. How long Abraham resided in Beersheba is not certainly known. It is related, however, that some time after, he was at Kiriath-arba, afterwards called Hebron, in the land of Canaan. There his wife Sarah died, at the age of one hundred and twenty seven years: and after he had mourned for her he spoke to the sons of Heth, called Hittites, amongst whom he dwelt, desiring them to entreat Ephron, the prince of the country, to sell him the cave of Machpelah, for which he offered to pay whatever price was named. Ephron, being a generous

prince, wished to make Abraham a gift not only of the cave, but of the field also to which it belonged, that he might bury his wife without delay. But this Abraham would not consent to; and again urged Ephron to name the price of it. Ephron then said that the cave and the field were together worth four hundred shekels of silver; but the sum being so trifling an amount to him he still wished Abraham to accept them as a free gift. The price having now been declared, Abraham had the silver weighed, and paid it to Ephron in the presence of the

were witnesses of its

people, who

conveyance to

Abraham, to whom it was made sure, and to his heirs for ever. In this cave Abraham buried Sarah his wife; and it became the burial place of his family.

11. Abraham being now near the age of one hundred and forty years, and desiring to see his son married, called his eldest servant named Eliezer, who ruled over all that he had; and telling him his desire, charged him strictly, in seeking out a wife for Isaac, not to take one of the daughters of the Canaanites, but to go into Abraham's own country, and bring a wife from thence from amongst his own kindred. And to bind the steward to a punctual performance of this charge,

he required him to take a solemn oath of fidelity to observe all he had commanded him, and then told him to proceed on his journey. Eliezer, Eliezer, having received these instructions, set out with a retinue of servants and camels, and went to Haran in Mesopotamia, the city of Nahor, Abraham's brother.

12. Arriving at Haran, he made the camels kneel down by a well of water on the outside of the city, to which the women were accustomed to resort in the evening to draw water. Eliezer, who had been instructed by his master Abraham in the fear of God, was fully impressed with the importance of the business in which he was engaged and fearing lest, in a matter of such great moment, he might mistake the person who was designed to be the future wife of Isaac, he humbly asked God to direct his proceedings; saying, "O Lord God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham. Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water. Let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the

same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master."

13. Before Eliezer had done speaking, Bethuel's daughter, Rebekah, came out of the city with her pitcher upon her shoulder to fetch water-a beautiful example of the simplicity and humility of those early ages, when persons of the best rank, and of the female sex too, did not disdain to be employed in such offices as fetching water from a well, and the watering of cattle. After Rebekah had filled her pitcher at the well, and was coming away, Eliezer went to her and said, "Let me I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher." She courteously complied with his request; and when he had drank, she said, "I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have done drinking." So she made haste, and emptied the water that was in her pitcher into the trough, and ran again to the well and drew sufficient for all his camels. While she was doing this, Eliezer stood gazing upon her, and wondering within himself whether God had made his journey prosperous or not; and seeing that she was very fair and beautiful, and had done according to the sign he had prayed God to grant him, he hastened