vants, as they were brethren. He then wisely proposed that they should separate, as it was now evident that they could not any longer live together with the same convenience as they had done hitherto, now that their flocks had so much increased.

He then gave Lot the choice of living in any part he thought he should like best, saying, that he would take what Lot refused; though he might well have claimed the choice himself, as he was in every respect a greater and a better man than Lot, and also his uncle. Lot readily agreed to this proposal, and seeing that all the plain of Jordan was well watered every where, even as the garden of the Lord, he chose it as his portion. So they parted, and Lot settled in the plain of Jordan, pitching his tent towards Sodom, the inhabitants of which exceeded in wickedness the worst of sinners.

earth so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee." Then Abram, removed his tent, and went and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron; and there he built an altar

unto the Lord.

14. In a short time after, a memorable battle was fought by four kings against five; which is the first pitched battle we have any account of in sacred history. The occasion of it was this: Chedorlaomer, king of Elam, had held five petty kings in subjection to him for some years; one of them being the king of Sodom. At length they rebelled against him; on which he determined, with the assistance of three other kings who joined him, to bring them to their former subjection. But the five kings, rather than submit, resolved to try their fate by fighting a battle, in which they were defeated. The vale of Siddim, where the battle was fought, was full of slime pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrahı, in their flight, fell there, while others fled to the mountains. After the rout, the conquerors plundered the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, carried away all the goods and provisions, and made the

inhabitants prisoners, amongst whom was Abram's nephew, Lot, who had some time before gone to dwell in Sodom. A few made their escape, one of whom came and brought the news of this defeat and of the capture of Lot to Abram, who remained still near the oak that belonged to Mamre, who, with his two brothers, Eshcol and Aner, were friends of Abram.

15. When Abram heard that his nephew was taken captive, he armed three hundred and eighteen servants who had been trained to bear arms, and accompanied by his three friends went in pursuit of the enemy as far as Dan. The night being favourable to his design, he divided his servants into small parties, attacking them on all sides at once. This sudden and unexpected attack in the dead of the night, upon a victorious army, laden with spoil, struck them with such terror and consternation, that Abram gained an easy victory; Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him were slain; their whole army routed and pursued as far as Hobah, which was on the left of Damascus. Thus Abram rescued Lot and all the other captives, and recovered the whole of the goods which had been taken.

16. The first that congratulated Abram upon his victory was the king of Sodom who went out to meet him

on his return, and in thankful acknowledgment of the benefit he had received from Abram's assistance and courage, offered to make him a present of the goods he had retaken, desiring him only to restore the prisoners. This, Abram refused, saying to the king, "I have lifted up mine hand unto the Lord, the Most High God, the possessor of heaven and earth; that I will not take any thing that is thine, from a thread even to a shoelatchet, lest thou shouldst say, I have made Abram rich: save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men who went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion."

The next that congratulated Abram on his success was Melchizedek, king of Salem, and the priest of the Most High God, who, meeting him on his return from the battle, brought forth bread and wine, to refresh him and his men on their march home. He then gave him a blessing in these words: "Blessed be Abram by the Most High God, possessor of heaven and earth and blessed be the Most High God, who hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand." Abram then, in acknowledgment of God, gave him a tithe or tenth of all the spoil he had taken.

LTHOUGH Abram had made his name famous by the prominent part he had taken in the victory over the kings of Assyria, he was only a stranger in the land in which he dwelt. For though God had promised to give it to him and to his seed after him, he did not then possess one foot of it. He might therefore be apprehensive that the Assyrians, whom he had defeated, would endeavour to repair the loss they had sustained, by making war

against him. But any fears he might have entertained on that account were soon allayed; for God came to him in a vision and said, "Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward."

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2. Abram, then, in the language of complaint, said, that God had not yet given him a child, and that the only heir he had was one of his own servants. But God graciously assured him that this servant should not be his heir, but his own child who should yet be born. He then brought Abram forth and said, 'Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: so shall thy seed be. I am the Lord that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it." But Abram desired some assurance of these things; so God renewed His covenant with him and accompanied it with a solemn ceremony after the following manner: "Take," said He,

darkness. But God spoke to him, saying, "Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; but that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterwards they shall come out with great substance. And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace: thou shalt be buried in a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full." God then confirmed this covenant, by causing the appearance of a smoking furnace, a smoking furnace, and a lamp of fire, to pass between the divided pieces of flesh,

3. Sarai, Abram's wife, had long expected that God would give her a child, that the promise which He had given to Abram, to make their posterity as the stars of heaven for multitude, might be fulfilled. But as she was now growing old, she entreated her husband to take her Egyptian maid-servant, Hagar, to be his wife; thinking that if Hagar should have children, she could take them as her own, as was the custom in those days. But she had soon reason to repent of what she had done; for in a short time after Hagar had been advanced to this honour, she began to treat her mistress with

scorn and contempt, though she was still her servant, and owed her due submission and obedience.

4. When Sarai complained to her husband of the conduct of Hagar, he told her that as Hagar was still under her authority, she might do with her as she pleased. Upon this, Sarai treated her with some degree of harshness and severity, which Hagar's proud spirit could not bear; so she ran away from her, intending to return to her own country, which was the land of Egypt. As she travelled through the desert country, finding a fountain of water, she tarried there to rest and refresh herself. Here the angel of the Lord found her, and said, "Hagar, Sarai's maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go?" "I flee," said Hagar, "from the presence of my mistress Sarai." The angel of the Lord then bid her return to her mistress, and submit herself to her. And that she might return with cheerfulness to her duty, and in confidence that God was with her, whom she had learned to know and fear, he told her that he would multiply her seed exceedingly, so that it should not be numbered; that she should have a son whose name she should call Ishmael; who should be a wild man, and whose hand should be against every man,

and every man's hand against him. So Hagar called the name of the Lord that spoke to her, "THOU GOD SEEST ME." Hagar then returned to her mistress, and in due time had a son, to whom Abram gave the name of Ishmael.

5. At the birth of Ishmael, Abram was eighty-six years old, and when he had completed his ninety-ninth year, God appeared to him again, and said, "I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. and I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly." Abram, in humble reverence, fell on his face, and God talked further with him, telling him that he should be the father of many nations, and that He would give to him and his posterity, all the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession, and would be their God. He then said that his name should not be called Abram any more, but Abraham; that is, Father of a great multitude. And as He had now changed Abraham's name, He proceeded also to change that of his wife from Sarai to Sarah; that is, Princess; promising at the same time that she should be the mother of many nations, and that kings of people should come of her, for that she should have a son.

6. This was joyful news to Abra

ham; yet when he considered that he had already a son Ishmael, the natural affection he bore to him as his first born, made him break forth into this earnest supplication to God, "O that Ishmael might live before thee!" But God assured him that Sarah should indeed have a son, whose name should be Isaac; and although He had rejected Ishmael as the heir to the promise, He comforted Abraham concerning him, by assuring him that He had heard his prayer; and said, “Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation." He then told Abraham that Sarah should bring forth a son in the following year, and that He would establish His covenant with him for

ever.

7. While God talked with Abraham at this time, He also instituted the rite of circumcision for a token of the covenant He had made with him and his seed; commanding that every male child should be circumcised at eight days old, whether born in the house, or bought with money of a stranger. So Abraham, and Ishmael, and all the men of his household were circumcised the same day, according to God's command.

8. A short time after, God appeared