July 16

Genesis xxviii.—10. And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba, and went towards Haran.

11. And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. 12. And he dreamed, and behold, a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and behold, the angels of God ascending and descending on it. 13. And behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed. 14. And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth; and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south; and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15. And behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave

The first penalty upon Jacob for his fraud on his brother was banishment from his home and his mother. He fled from the rage of Esau. His course lay in a north-easterly direction to Sueroth, near which was the ford of Jordan, just above the mouth of the River Jabok. The scene of this vision was near the present village of Beton, about four hours north of Jerusalem, among the mountains of Ephraim. The season favored sleeping in the open air, and Jacob had no tent. Spiritual communications do not depend upon outward conditions; and to the solitary wanderer lying on the ground, with a stone for his pillow, the angels of God drew nigh. By this vision, he, a fugitive, was put in possession of the land promised to his fathers, and was declared to be in the line of succession under the covenant care of God. The spiritual expan-

thee until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of. 16. And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not. 17. And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. 18. And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. 19. And he called the name of that place Bethel; but the name of that city was called Luz at the first. 20. And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, 21. So that I come again to my father's house in peace, then shall the Lord be my God; 22. And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me, I will surely give the tenth unto thee.

sion of the promise is prominent. The faults of Jacob were not extenuated nor allowed: no doubt these had already wrought in him the bitterness of repentance. God had taken him in training for good; and, though grace had in him a long conflict with evil, it triumphed in the end. Only through that grace can we conquer ourselves. The vision aroused in Jacob the religious sentiment which his covetousness had for a time repressed. The sense of the nearness of God filled him with awe, incited him to adoration, pledged him to gratitude. Marking the spot with a memorial-stone, and consecrating it with a vow, he went on his way rejoicing. That place is ever nearest heaven where God's presence is felt; and God's presence is felt wherever the soul looks up to him in humble, grateful, admitting love.

APPROPRIATE HYMNS.]

Prayer.

[Nos. 8, 42, 125.

We lift up our eyes unto the hills, whence cometh our help: our help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. Thine angels, O Lord! have encamped round about us in the night-season, and thou hast given them charge concerning us to defend us from all evil. We open our eyes to the remembrance of thy mercy, to the consciousness of thy presence, to the sense of our dependence. Only our sins separate us from thee, our loving Father; and we beseech thee to blot these out for thy name's sake, and to receive us in Christ as thy redeemed and reconciled children. Deliver us, we pray thee, from the consequences of our own folly and transgression, and give unto us the spirit of true repentance. Help us, O Lord! this day, to walk worthy of thy love, and, as obedient children, to do thy will.

[May the children of this family remember thee in the days of their youth! May they love one another, and seek one another's good! and may

they all acknowledge and serve thee!] Keep us, O Lord! we pray thee, from all evil and sin this day. In our intercourse with others, may we be true and just, loving and patient, gentle and kind, and so may we commend unto all the gospel of thy grace! Preserve us from envy and jealousy: from covetousness and deceit; from the spirit of selfishness; from any and every act that would injure others, or would grieve and offend the Spirit of all truth.

May thy favor be upon the community in which we dwell, upon thy Church, upon our land! Give peace in our time, O Lord! and incline the hearts of our rulers to that which is just and lawful in thy sight. Have mercy upon the poor, the afflicted, the solitary, the bereaved; and cause that the grace of thy gospel shall go forth everywhere to heal the sins and sorrows of all mankind. Finally bring us unto thine everlasting kingdom, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.