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a beacon, or watch tower, for he said, The LORD watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another.. 50 Now this was the covenant; If thou shalt afflict my daughters, or if thou shalt take [other] wives beside my daughters, no man [is] with us; see, God [is] witness betwixt me and 51 thee. And Laban said to Jacob, Behold this heap, and behold 52. [this] pillar, which Ihave cast betwixt me and thee; This heap [be] witness, and [this] pillar [be] witness, that I will not pass over this heap to thee, and that thou shalt not pass over this 53 heap and this pillar unto me, for harm. The God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Nahor my father, the God of their father, judge betwixt us. And Jacob sware by the fear of his father Isaac, the God whom Isaac feared, and before whom he walked. 54 Then Jacob killed beasts and offered sacrifice upon the mount, and called his brethren to eat bread; and they did eat bread, 55 and tarried all night in the mount. And early in the morning Laban rose up, and kissed his sons and his daughters, and blessed them, wished them all happiness and prosperity: and Laban departed, and returned unto his place. Thus God overruled his cruel designs, and they parted in peace.

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REFLECTIONS.

HAT a happy thing is it to have God's blessing! The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; the beasts of the forest are his, and the cattle on a thousand hills; he is the great God of nature and providence. He can make rich, notwithstanding the oppression of the wicked; when men deal cunningly he is above them; he can easily controul the spirits of men, and turn foes into friends; and make all those affairs terminate well, that appear dark and gloomy. Worldly prosperity and success is agreeable when the hand of God is seen in it: it is his blessing that maketh rich and happy.

2. Here is a good lesson for servants and masters. Servants may see what they should be, and masters what they should not be. Jacob was a faithful servant, and minded his master's business amidst heat and cold. Thus servants should take as much care

of their masters' goods as if they were their own. Jacob was content with his homely fare, with what his master allowed him, without plundering from the flock: a good example to servants, to be content with their provisions, and not take what they know is not designed for them. Amidst all his hardships, and the unkind and unjust treatment he met with from Laban, he was careful of every thing: so ought all servants to be. Masters may here see what they should not be they should not be hard and unreasonable; but give good and faithful servants encouragement and suitable rewards: they should not be made to suffer, as Jacob was, for what they cannot help. They should, as Paul obVOL. I.

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serves, give servants what is just and equal; and servants should show all good fidelity.

3. Let us remember God, as the God of our fathers. When entering into covenant with God or man, this should be an engagement to us to be faithful, It is our fathers' God by whom we swear. His kindness, and care, and fidelity to them, are encouragements to us, and should excite us to fear him, to walk before him all the days of our life, and to exalt and honour him by our fidelity.

4. Let us maintain a constant regard to the omniscience of God, to secure us in our duty to our fellow creatures: so both Laban and Jacob did. We all stand related to the same God, and therefore should love as brethren, show a peaceful and candid spirit, be willing to agree when differences arise. God is witness between us; he sees and knows whether we are faithful to our promise, or not; that we do not go beyond or defraud one another. Let us therefore set the Lord always before us, and sanctify him in our hearts, as Isaac and Jacob did, and make him our fear; then shall we be quiet from the fear of evil, and be preserved from wicked and unreasonable men.

CHAP. XXXII.

Jacob being now on his return to Canaan, we are here informed of some remarkable providences which he met with in his way.

ND Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met

2 him against the danger by Esau. And when Jacob saw them, he said, on account of their number, order, and power, and their attendance on the divine presence, This [is] God's host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim, that is, two hosta. or camps probably one before and the other behind him ; but they soon disappeared, which much discouraged him.

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And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom; not as if the whole of Edom was Esau's, but to Seir, a part of it which he had probably conquered, according to the blessing of his father, 4 (ch. xxvii. 40.) By thy sword shalt thou live. And he commanded them, saying, Thus shall ye speak unto my lord Esau; he uses this respectful term to mollify his resentment ; Thy servant Jacob saith thus, I have sojourned with Laban, 5 and stayed there until now, as a stranger and an exile: And am now returning home, but not to be a burden to my relations, for I have oxen, and asses, flocks, and men servants, and women servants and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight.

And the messengers returned to Jacob, Saying, We came to thy brother Esau, and also he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him; probably with an intention to destroy thee, and possess thy substance. So Jacob thought, for 7 Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed: and he divided the people that [was] with him, and the flocks, and herds, 8 and the camels, into two bands; And said, If Esau come to the one company, and smite it, then the other company which is left shall escape; thus making the best preparation he could, and then betook himself to prayer.

And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the LORD which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with 10 thee: I am not worthy of, or I am less than the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast showed unto thy servant, in making and performing thy gracious promises for with my staff I passed over this Jordan, a poor exile, alone, on foot, and having nothing; and now I am become two 11 bands. Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, [and] the mother with the children. Thus he expressed his fear and his danger, and then pleads the divine 12 promise. And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude; and wilt thou not perform thy word? 13 And he lodged there that same night; and took of that which came to his hand, which he had to give, a present for Esau his brother; as he prayed and trusted in God, so he uses 14 means; Two hundred she goats, and twenty he goats, two 45 hundred ewes, and twenty rams, Thirty milch camels with their colts, forty kine, and ten bulls, twenty she asses, and ten foals; a noble present, five hundred and eighty head of 16 cattle! And he delivered [them] into the hand of his servants, every drove by themselves; and said unto his servants, Pass over before me, and put a space betwixt drove and drove, to mitigate his displeasure by degrees; every new drove, every new speech from the servant, would tend to soften his anger. 17 And he commanded the foremost, saying, When Esau my brother meeteth thee, and asketh thee, saying, Whose [art] thou? and whither goest thou? and whose [are] these before 18 thee? Then thou shalt say, [They be] thy servant Jacob's ; it [is] a present sent unto my lord Esau: and, behold, also 19 he [is] behind us. And so commanded he the second and the third, and all that followed the droves, saying, On this 20 manner shall ye speak unto Esau, when ye find him. And say ye moreover, Behold, thy servant Jacob [is] behind us. For he said, I will appease him with the present that goeth before me, and afterward I will see his face; peradventure

21 he will accept of me. So went the present over before him : 22 and himself lodged that night in the company. And he rose

up that night, and took his two wives, and his two women servants, and his eleven sons, and Dinah his daughter, and pass23 ed over the ford Jabbok. And he took them, and sent them over the brook, and sent over that he had.

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And Jacob was left alone; he stayed behind the company in some retired place to pray, and spend the night in devotion : and there wrestled a man with him, probably an angel of God, 25 until the breaking of the day. And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him; the hip bone slipt out of its socket.

This was

designed to show how easily the divine messenger could have 26 conquered him, though he suffered him to prevail. And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh; this he said to show the prevalency of Jacob's prayers with God, and also to quicken and encourage him to persist in his conflict: And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me with protection in 27 this time of danger. And he said unto him, What [is] thy 28 name? And he said, Jacob. And he said, Thy name shall be

called no more Jacob, but Israel, that is, a prince of God: for as a prince hast thou power with God, by thy earnest prayers, and with men, Esau and Laban, and hast prevailed, and shalt still prevail of which this present conflict is an emblem, to en29 courage thy faith and hope in God. And Jacob, encouraged by all this goodness, asked [him,] and said, Tell [me,] I pray thee, thy name, that I may retain a grateful remembrance of thee, and make honourable mention of thy name to others: but the angel waved an answer to this, And he said, Wherefore [is] it [that] thou dost ask after my name? to know that will be of no use to thee. And as he was departing, he blessed him there; granted his request, and confirmed his former promises. 30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, that is, the face of God: for I have seen God face to face; not his divine essence, but in a more manifest, familiar, and friendly manner than in common visions; and my life is preserved from Esau, who threatened it, by the divine promise and assurance of help.

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And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and 32 he halted upon his thigh. Therefore the children of Israel to perpetuate the memory of this honour done to Jacob, eat not [of] the sinew which shrank, which [is] upon the hollow of the thigh, and fixes the thigh bone in the socket, unto this day: because he touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh in the sinew that shrank.

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REFLECTIONS.

ET us be thankful for the care of angels, who are God's host. The angels of the Lord encamp about them that fear him. Though they are not seen visibly, yet good men see them by faith; and God gives his angels charge concerning them, to keep them in all their ways. No doubt we receive many kind offices from them, when we know it not; and they often preserve us from danger, and bear us up, lest we dash our foot against a stone. We may cheerfully go out to the duties of life, while under their care; and should daily bless God who sends his angels as ministering spirits, to minister to the heirs of salvation.

2. Let us learn to make prayer our refuge in every time of difficulty. Call upon me in the day of trouble, saith God, and I will hear, and deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. Jacob's ex

perience confirms the truth and the advantage of this. Is any man afflicted? let him pray. Jacob sought the LORD, and he heard him, and saved him from that which he feared. This eases the mind, supports the spirit, and secures deliverance. For God hath never said to the seed of Jacob, Seek ye my face in vain.

3. In prayer let us acknowledge our unworthiness, and plead the divine favour toward us, v. 10. This temper is requisite in order to our being accepted. We are not worthy of the least blessing, much less of the great things we are seeking after. The best of us have need daily to make this acknowledgment; and this is the frame, above all others, that prepares us to receive divine mercy. For God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble: With this man will he dwell, who is humble, and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at his word. We should also recollect his past goodness; he hath begun already to show us great kindness. Let us bless the Lord, and not forget any of his benefits. Let us also plead his promises that he will still do us good; for faithful is he who hath promised, who also will do it. These are at once a direction and an encouragement to our prayers.

4. We learn holy importunity in prayer to God. The prophet alludes to this story, Hos. xii. 4. Yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept and made supplication unto him: he found him in Bethel, and there he spake with us. It is great condescension in God to represent things in this view. Let us therefore learn to continue instant in prayer; to pray without ceasing; our Redeemer himself used strong cries and tears. We see that the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much; and this is an encouragement to come boldly to the throne of grace, to seek mercy and grace to help in every time of need. Let us then, as the prophet exhorts, stir up ourselves to take hold on God. The best way to be delivered from wicked and unreasonable men, is to be earnest with God in prayer; keep not silence, give him no rest, till he come and bless us.

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