August 16

Genesis xliv.—14. And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph's house (for he was yet there); and they fell before him on the ground.

15. And Joseph said unto them, What deed is this that ye have done? wot ye not that such a man as I can certainly divine?

16. And Judah said, What shall we say unto my lord? what shall we speak? or how shall we clear ourselves? God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants: behold, we are my lord's servants, both we, and he also with whom the cup is found.

17. And he said, God forbid that I should do so: but the man in whose hand the cup is found, he shall be my servant; and as for you, get you up in peace unto your father.

18. Then Judah came near unto him, and said, O my lord! let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my lord's ears, and let not thine anger burn against thy servant; for thou art even as Pharaoh.

19. My lord asked his servants, saying, Have ye a father or a brother?

20. And we said unto my lord, We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother, and his father loveth him.

21. And thou saidst unto thy servants, Bring him down unto me, that I may set mine eyes upon him.

22. And we said unto my lord, The lad cannot leave his father; for, if he should leave his father, his father would die.

23. And thou saidst unto thy servants, Except your youngest brother come down with you, ye shall see my face no more.

That the art of divining was practised in Egypt is evident from history and from the monuments; and to steal the cup used for this purpose was not only a gross breach of hospitality, but an act of sacrilege. Yet both these offences seemed to be fastened upon Benjamin by the finding of the cup in his sack. Judah was more tender-hearted than his brethren: it was his mediation that saved Joseph's

24. And it came to pass, when we came up unto thy servant my father, we told him the words of my lord.

25. And our father said, Go again, and buy us a little food.

26. And we said, We cannot go down: if our youngest brother be with us, then will we go down; for we may not see the man's face except our youngest brother be with us.

27. And thy servant my father said unto us, Ye know that my wife bare me two sons:

28. And the one went out from me, and I said, Surely he is torn in pieces; and I saw him not since;

29. And if ye take this also from me, and mischief befall him, ye shall bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.

30. Now, therefore, when I come to thy servant my father, and the lad be not with us (seeing that his life is bound up in the lad's life),

31. It shall come to pass, when he seeth that the lad is not with us, that he will die; and thy servants shall bring down the gray hairs of thy servant our father with sorrow to the grave:

32. For thy servant became surely for the lad unto my father, saying, If I bring him not unto thee, then I shall bear the blame to my father forever.

33. Now, therefore, I pray thee, let thy servant abide, instead of the lad, a bondman to my lord; and let the lad go up with his brethren.

34. For how shall I go up to my father, and the lad be not with me? lest peradventure I see the evil that shall come on my father.

life when his brethren had cast him into the pit; and now he was ready to make himself a slave that he might deliver Benjamin. How the recital of the family history must have wrung his soul with the remembrance of the brother whom he believed to be dead! but his picture of Jacob's grief brought on the crisis that Joseph had so long struggled to delay.

APPROPRIATE HYMNS.]

Prayer.

[Nos. 154, 166.

Create in us a clean heart, O God! and renew a right spirit within us. We bless thee for thy loving care, for rest and safety in the night, for the comfort and promise of the morning. O heavenly Father! we beseech thee to look with favor upon this family. May each of us in our respective stations truly serve thee! May we do unto others as we would that they should do unto us! May we be true and just in all our dealings! May we bear no hatred nor malice in our hearts! May we be honest and upright in our daily conduct! May we keep our tongues from evil, and our lips from speaking guile!

Give us grace, that we may be established in the truth, and be doers of thy Word, and not hearers only, deceiving our own selves. May we bring forth fruit to the glory of thy name and the comfort of our souls!

[O Lord! grant unto the children of this household the teaching of thy Spirit, the guidance of thy providence, that they may walk in the way of wisdom and of life.]

Defend us with thy heavenly grace, that we may continue thine forever, and daily increase in thy Holy Spirit more and more, until we come unto thine everlasting kingdom, through the merits of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.