August 18

Genesis xvii. -1. Then Joseph came and told Pharaoh, and said, My father and my brethren, and their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have, are come out of the land of Canaan; and, behold, they are in the land of Goshen. 2. And he took some of his brethren, even five men, and presented them unto Pharaoh. 3. And Pharaoh said unto his brethren, What is your occupation? And they said unto Pharaoh, Thy servants are shepherds, both we, and also our fathers. 4. They said, moreover, unto Pharaoh, For to sojourn in the land are we come; for thy servants have no pasture for their flocks, for the famine is sore in the land of Canaan: now therefore, we pray thee, let thy servants dwell in the land of Goshen. 5. And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, saying, Thy father and thy brethren are come unto thee: 6. The land of Egypt is before thee: in the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell;

As a settled agricultural people, the Egyptians had a contempt for the roving tribes of shepherds, and a dread of them, also, because of their frequent invasions, which kept the eastern frontier in a state of alarm. Joseph took advantage of this prejudice to secure for his father and brethren a separate district of country, for the reason that they were shepherds. This district of Goshen was one of the most fertile in the whole land. It lay along the easternmost branch of the Nile, — now dried away, — and covered the region of the Wady Tâmiât, through which the sweet water canal flows from the Nile to the Nuez Canal. The hospitality with which Pharaoh received these strangers is proof of the great esteem in which

in the land of Goshen let them dwell; and if thou knowest any men of activity among them, then make them rulers over my cattle. 7. And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh: and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 8. And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How old art thou? 9. And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage. 10. And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh. 11. And Joseph placed his father and his brethren, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded. 12. And Joseph nourished his father and his brethren, and all his father's household, with bread according to their families.

Joseph was held. In the interview between Jacob and Pharaoh, the dignity of the patriarch is exalted above the majesty of the king. In those times, great respect was shown to age and to the head of a tribe, as is still the case in the East. Moreover, Jacob, from his intimacy with God, left moved to confer a blessing as in the character of a priest. In comparison with the lives of his ancestors, his own days seemed few; indeed, the longest life, when looked back upon, appears as a dream. But, whatever its trials, no life can be fully described as "evil" into which there enters any proper sense of the divine mercy, or any experience of communion with God.

APPROPRIATE HYMNS.]

Prayer.

[Nos. 68, 90, 106.

Our Father in heaven, we come to thee with wants which thou knowest far better than we, and for blessings which thou art more ready to give than we to ask. But thou hast bidden to pray; and we love to come, saying, "Our Father." Oh, may we have the spirit of little children, and show our love and gratitude in lives of devotion! Thou hast kept us in the watches of the night from every trouble, sorrow, and alarm; and now we bless thee for the day, for life and health, for food and raiment, for home and friends, for means of education and of enjoyment, for means of occupation and of support, for means of improvement in the knowledge of thyself from thy works and thy Word, and for opportunities of doing good to others. Oh! grant us grace that we may use to thy glory the lives which thou didst give, and which thy mercy doth continually spare.

We acknowledge, O Lord! our unworthiness and our sinfulness, and beseech thee to pardon our transgressions, and heal our infirmities. Help us this day to live aright. In the business of life

may we be diligent, faithful, and true! and do thou, Lord, prosper the labor of our hands. In our intercourse with others, may we manifest the gentleness, the sincerity, the charity, of the gospel of Christ! May we be patient under trials, meek under injuries, firm against temptation, bold for the truth, zealous for thy cause! May we be kind to the poor, helpful to the suffering, gentle toward all men! [Give unto these children, O Lord! grace to serve thee in the morning of life, and in their thoughts and words, their studies and their play, always to please their Father in heaven.] Remember with thy mercy all our friends; visit with thy grace the homes of all who are dear to us. Build up, O Lord! thy Church; prosper thy kingdom in our land, and throughout the world. Ever guide, keep, and bless us. May we live as pilgrims in the world, seeking that better country which is the home of thy saints! Bring us to the close of the day in peace, and to the close of life in a hope full of immortality, through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour. Amen.