July 1

themselves, and the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the grasshopper be a burden, because man goeth to his long home.—It was also a proof of his conscientiousness in duty. He would place himself in the best posture of devotion his infirmities would admit. We are to glorify God in our bodies as well as in our spirits; and though he does not bind us down to any corporeal forms, yet every thing in his service should be expressive of reverence and godly fear. The Seraphim veil their faces with their wings. Our Lord kneeled three times in the garden. So Jacob, aged as he was, and under the debility of approaching dissolution, when he would adore God, rose upon his knees, though he was obliged to seek support. Think of this, ye who in full health and vigour, instead of kneeling or standing, sit during the devotion of the sanctuary; and see how far you come short of the self-denial and godliness of this patriarch.

Secondly, He “worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.” He had been trained up in the nurture and admonition of “the fear of his father Isaac;” and had long walked before him; but now he was ending the worship of him on earth, to join in the worship of him in heaven that would never end. This worship doubtless included confession. Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin? some talk of looking back upon a well-spent life. A good man, if he has been distinguished from others, knows who has made him to differ; and sees in the review of his obedience a thousand imperfections which humble him, and prevent all confidence in the flesh. He feels that he is an unprofitable servant, and says in his last approach still more than in all his former ones, “I come, trusting not in my own righteousness, but in thy manifold and great mercies.” It had also in it thanksgiving. He had experienced many personal and relative troubles; but out of them all the Lord had delivered him. The angry storms of life were now blown over, and a serene evening had arrived. He had escaped the difficulties and dangers of a tiresome road, and was now in sight of the journey’s end, and of his father’s house. It is easy to imagine the grateful emotions of his mind when he remembered his flight from the face of his brother, the vision of Beth-el, and the promise of God that he would be with him, and keep him in all places, and never leave him nor forsake him. All this had now been accomplished. “Bless the Lord,” would he say, “Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.” It contained also prayer. He would implore mercy and grace to help in this time of need; for he had yet to die. O my God, strengthen me this once. “O God, be not far from me: O my God, make haste for my help. O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works. Now also when I am old and gray-headed, O God, forsake me not; until I have showed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come.” And he prayed not only for himself, but for others, especially those of his own house. For,

Thirdly, he “blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.” The affair is recorded in the book of Genesis with the most touching simplicity. Understanding that his father was sick, Joseph hastens to visit him: and he takes his two sons with him. It was wise in him to show these youths, who had

been living in splendour, such a solemn scene, and to place them under the dying benediction of this man of God. Jacob was overjoyed at their arrival, and said, "Who are 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 them." The feelings of men towards their grandchildren are commonly very powerful: but every thing here tended to increase affection. Manasseh and Ephraim were the offspring of Joseph; and Joseph was his favourite son, endeared by his loss and sufferings; he was also the son of his beloved Rachel. O could he have seen the image and representatives of Rachel—her son and—her grandsons! But "the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he could not see. And Joseph brought them near unto him; and he kissed them and embraced them. And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day, the Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth. And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh. And he set Ephraim before Manasseh." Let us endeavour to be useful as long as we continue here, and do good, not only living but dying. It will be well if we are able to say something that shall bless survivors. Parting words are peculiarly impressive and memorable. Children who have disregarded the living counsel of a father have followed his dying admonitions: and the commendations of religion which Christians have expressed, and the comforts of the Holy Ghost which they have experienced in the final hour, have frequently rendered their departure a blessing to many. It has encouraged the fearful. It has convinced the unbelieving. It has induced even a Balaam to say, "Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his."

Finally; "By faith he blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff." We allow there was something extraordinary in this transaction. Jacob was under a degree of divine inspiration; and this appears in the manner of his blessing these children: for he not only poured forth the tenderness of his heart toward them, but he admitted them, though born in Egypt, into his family and the congregation of Israel; and constituted them, though their mother was a Gentile, heads of tribes, like his own offspring; overruled the claims of seniority, and pronounced their future number and prosperity. Yet all his faith on this occasion was not of this extraordinary nature. The Apostle does not speak of him as a seer, so much as a saint. He would tell us that he brought forth fruit in old age: that while the outward man perished, the inward man was renewed: that while the eyes of his flesh were dim, the eyes of his understanding were enlightened: that he saw and acknowledged not only the God of providence, but the God of all grace: that he extended his views beyond the bounds of time and sense: that he recognized in Canaan a better, even a heavenly country: that he hailed in his seed the Shiloh that was to come, and in whom all the families of the earth would be blessed. What would his dying faith have been, had he only proved