and wine, as a symbol of that perfect Sacrifice hereafter to be offered for the sins of men,

CHAP. IX. The Covenant with Abram,

WITH all the riches and power which were in the hands of Abram, as yet he was without a son. Already was one portion of God's promise being rapidly fulfilled, and earthly fortune flowed in upon him on all sides; but still no child was born to him, and his wife was grown so old that it seemed impossible that he should ever be the father of the mighty nation which God had foretold should descend from him. Still Abram doubted not; and the Almighty, who ever rewards with yet greater gifts those who employ well the graces He gives them, from time to time renewed His solemn declarations, not only that Abram's posterity should be innumerable, like the sand on the sea-shore, but should possess that very land in which they now dwelt as strangers, and should be the chosen people of the Most High, from whom the Saviour of the world should spring.

On one occasion in particular, God confirmed His promise by a miracle which He wrought before Abram's eyes. By the Lord's command, Abram had offered a solemn sacrifice, and at sunset a deep sleep fell upon him, and in a vision God told him that his children should be in bondage in a strange land for 400 years, and should then be set free, and take possession of the land of Chanaan. And when the sun was gone down, a flashing fire and smoke, the symbols of the presence of the Almighty, passed between the fragments of the bodies. of the animals which had been offered, and gave token to Abram that God was there.

Still no children were born to him, and his wife began to doubt the fulfilment of God's promise; and in her foolishness she thought she would cause it to be fulfilled in her own way, and gave her handmaid Agar to Abram to be his wife;-for in those times men were

often permitted to take more than one wife, and it was not till the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ that the rule of Paradise was restored, and it was forbidden ever to marry a second wife while the first was living. Agar, however, now expecting to be the mother of the promised seed, grew proud and contemptuous towards Sarai, and forgot that she was still her mistress. But Sarai treated her with such severity, with Abram's permission, that Agar fled from her home into the wilderness, where an angel met her and bade her return, promising her from God that though her son should not be the father of the promised nation, yet his children should become a great people, and should never be subdued in war. Returning then to Abram's house, Agar

became the mother of Ismael.

At this time, God made His most solemn covenant with Abram; that special covenant on account of which we ourselves, who are Christians, are called Abram's children, and which was the figure of that baptism by which Almighty God now enters into covenant with His chosen people. Already Abram was close upon a hundred years old, when he beheld one of those awful visions of the Almighty which at times were vouchsafed to men. God is said to have appeared to Abram; not that He shewed him all His infinite glory, or what is mysteriously called the face of God, for ordinarily none can behold the glorious face of God while they are in this world, without being overwhelmed by His awful majesty. But by some miraculous appearance God shewed to Abram that he was in the immediate presence of the Most High; and while Abram fell prostrate on the earth before his God, the Almighty renewed His promises, and revealed Himself by that name by which He signified His eternal power and godhead. God said to him, "I AM;" by which expression He signified that He alone exists uncreated; He alone exists by His own proper rights and nature; He alone existed from all eternity; and from Him, and according to His will, is every thing made that is made. As a sign, or sacramental token, that henceforth Abram and his family

were to be accounted the peculiar chosen people of God, God also commanded Abram to circumcise himself and every male person in his house. He further changed the name of Abram to Abraham (which means a father of a multitude), and the name of Sarai to Sara (which means lady or princess). Abraham then pleaded in behalf of his son Ismael, entreating God that he might share the blessings of the promised child, not yet born. Yet he pleaded in vain, for God would work out His own will by His own chosen means; and He repeated to Abraham the promise that Sara herself should have a son, and should call his name Isaac.

Again God conversed with Abraham. He was reposing in his tent during the heat of the day, sitting by its door, and, it may be, pondering upon the wonderful promises of God, and wondering how they would be fulfilled, when he lifted up his eyes, and what seemed three men, strangers and travellers, stood before him. But though they bore the look of men, and seemed to need refreshment in their journey, either their heavenly appearance, or a voice in Abraham's soul, told him that they were not men, but angels; and that one of them was the especial representative of the Almighty God Himself. He prostrated himself before them upon the ground and worshipped them, and then invited them to rest on their journey, and wash their feet, and eat and drink. In Eastern countries, where sandals are worn instead of shoes, and the great heat of the country fills the roads and fields with hot dry dust and sand, it is ever the custom to offer water to wash the traveller's feet; and to perform the office itself of washing them is accounted a mark at once of honour and of affection.

The angels then said to Abraham, "Do as thou hast spoken." And he went and called Sara, and bade her prepare a meal with all speed. Such was still the custom, even with men of Abraham's rank, wealth, and power. The difference between the master and the servant, the mistress and the handmaid, was little in comparison with our modern habits. She, who was almost a queen, herself prepared with her servants the dinner

for the guests, and Abraham himself waited upon them. He set before them three cakes baked on the hearth, veal, milk, and butter, and stood by while they ate under the shade of a tree.

66

When they had eaten, one of the angels said, "Where is Sara thy wife?" And he answered, "She is in the tent." And the angel said, speaking in the name of God, "I will return and come to thee, and Sara shall have a son." Which, when Sara heard, she laughed behind the door of the tent, thinking it impossible that at her great age she should be the mother of a child. And the Lord said to Abraham, Why did Sara laugh? Is there any thing hard to God?" And Sara heard it, and coming out, she denied that she had laughed, for she was afraid, and thought that her laughter had been secret. But the Lord said, Nay, but thou didst laugh." And the angels rose up and departed, Abraham accompanying them some distance on their journey towards Sodom.

66

CHAP. X. Sodom and Gomorrah.

On the journey it pleased Almighty God to grant to Abraham another of those wonderful favours with which He recompensed his devotion and faith, and the zeal with which he brought up his household in the fear of God. At a certain point two of the angels walked forwards towards Sodom; the other, in whom Almighty God Himself was speaking, remaining with Abraham, who stood in the Divine presence, reverently awaiting the commands of God. As they had been walking, God had already told him that an awful judgment was about to come down upon the guilty cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, and that He was going to smite them with His heaviest vengeance. And now Abraham ventured to plead for mercy with the Almighty for his miserable fellow-creatures. He said to God, "Wilt Thou destroy the just with the wicked? If there be fifty just men in the city, shall they perish withal; and wilt Thou not spare that place for the sake of the fifty just, if they be

therein? Far be it from Thee to do this thing, and to slay the just with the wicked, and for the just to be in like case with the wicked, this is not beseeming Thee: Thou, who judgest all the earth, wilt not make this judgment. And the Lord said to him: If I find in Sodom fifty just within the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake. And Abraham answered, and said: Seeing I have once begun, I will speak to my Lord, whereas I am dust and ashes. What if there be five less than fifty just persons? wilt Thou for five-andforty destroy the whole city? And He said: I will not destroy it, if I find five-and-forty. And again he said to Him: But if forty be found there, what wilt Thou do? He said: I will not destroy it for the sake of forty. Lord, saith he, be not angry, I beseech Thee, if I speak what if thirty shall be found there? answered: I will not do it, if I find thirty there. Seeing, saith he, I have once begun, I will speak to my Lord what if twenty be found there? He said: I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty. I beseech Thee, saith he, be not angry, Lord, if I speak yet once more : what if ten shall be found there? And He said: I will not destroy it for the sake of ten. And the Lord departed, after He had left speaking to Abraham: and Abraham returned to his place."

He

Meanwhile, in Sodom itself, the iniquity of the inhabitants was rising to its highest pitch of frantic passion. The two angels entered the city in the evening, and were hospitably received by Lot; but, before the night had commenced, an uproar began in the streets, stirred up by the horrible desires of the men of the place; and they surrounded Lot's house, and insisted upon his giving up his two guests to be the victims of their ferocious passions. On Lot's refusing, the tumult grew greater, and the people were proceeding to break into his house, when the angels from within smote them with blindness; and horror-struck, but not penitent, the crowd ceased from their violence. The angels then bade Lot gather together his family, and flee without a night's delay from Sodom, if he would escape the