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expressions, assuring them that their conduct had been the indirect course of his present prosperity. "So now," said he, "it was not you that sent me hither, but God." He then delivered to them a most affectionate and respectful message for his father, whose oft-repeated kindnesses he was now, in some measure, able to repay; desiring him to come and dwell in Egypt during the five remaining years of the famine, where it would be equally his happiness and duty to nourish his declining years. With a heart overflowing with tenderness and affection he pressed his beloved Benjamin to his bosom; "kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them." Such a scene as this may be faintly imagined; but who can do justice to it? It is best described, with the greatest pathos and beauty, in the simple style of Scripture.

The report of this wonderful affair soon reached the ears of Pharaoh. That generous monarch desired Joseph to send wagons for his father and the whole family; and directed them not to regard their "stuff,” for the good of all the land of Egypt should be theirs. Joseph did so; and his brethren returned, laden with presents, and filled with astonishment. How different were their feelings now from those they had experienced when returning with the steward! Their sudden transi tion from despair to rapture, when Joseph, instead of making them his bondmen, acknowledged them as his brethren, could scarcely be exceeded, in the feeling it produced, by that of Jacob, when he heard their strange tidings. Their long delay had, probably, awakened the most awful suspicions in his mind. Perhaps the saddest musings filled his breast when, suddenly, the eleven brethren entered, Simeon and Benjamin among the group, with their abundance of all good things. And when they told him that his long-lost and long

lamented son was governor over all the land of Egypt, his feelings became insupportable, and he fainted away. When he was somewhat revived, "they told him all the words of Joseph, and showed him the wagons." And Israel said, "It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive, I will go and see him before I die." On his way God appeared to him in a vision of the night; encouraged him to proceed; informed him that great and important ends, in the economy of providence, were to be answered thereby, and assured him that he should die in peace, "and Joseph should put his hand upon his eyes." Accordingly, Jacob and his whole family were brought into Egypt; and no sooner did Joseph understand that they were near at hand than he set out, in his chariot, to meet them. The interview was oppressively tender. The thoughts excited by such a scene cannot be imbodied in words. After this, five of Joseph's brethren first, and then his father, were introduced to Pharaoh : and the land of Goshen was allotted to them for the residence of the whole family.

For some years from this time nothing particular occurred in the patriarch's family, until he himself, like a shock of corn fully ripe, was ready to be gathered into the garner of life. Joseph was sent for, and solemnly engaged, at his father's request, that his body should not be buried in Egypt, but in Canaan, in the cave of Machpelah. Soon after this the two sons of Joseph, who had been born to him during the seven years of plenty, were brought to Jacob, who, by divine instruction, admitted them both to the patriarchal character and blessings; "willingly," however, giving the preference to Ephraim, the younger, over Manasseh, the elder. Having then solemnly delivered his last prophetical address to each of his sons, the venerable patriarch died;

and was carried to Canaan and buried, with every circumstance of the most reverent and profound respect, and this was manifested, not only by his own family, but also by the Egyptians themselves. Joseph's brethren, fearing lest resentment, rising in his bosom, should lead him to requite them all the evil they had done unto him, and knowing his veneration for Israel's memory, sent a messenger with what they professed to be their dying father's request, viz., that he would forgive the sins of his brethren against him; to which they added their own. Joseph assured them of his sincere regard for them, and banished their needless fear.

In Joseph's conduct to his brethren, three things have been deemed objectionable. 1. His harshness: but this was only assumed, for a time, to give the greater effect to his kindness. 2. His swearing "by the life of Pharaoh :" but they, whose knowledge best enables them to determine on this point, assure us this is a mere misapprehension of his expression. 3. His using divination; of which, however, there is no other proof than his speaking, evidently in pretence of using his cup for this purpose. To his father his conduct was altogether unexceptionable, and even admirable. As prime minister his whole deportment was so noble; so steadily did he pursue the interests of his sovereign and the good of the nation; so humane and beneficent was his character; his pretensions so unassuming; his actions so consistent; that he retained the favour of the king, the court, and the people, to the latest moment of his life. As it respects his official conduct, much has been objected against him. He continued to sell corn as long as the people had money to buy. He next took their cattle in exchange. Lastly, he appropriated, for the king, the land of all the people, leaving that of the

priests alone untouched. He then gave them seed, and restored their lands, on the condition of their paying a tax of the fifth part of the produce to the king every year. By so doing he consolidated and confirmed the king's authority; and enabled him, if so disposed, to become an absolute monarch. All this, it has been said, might be grateful to the sovereign; but was, by no means, advantageous to the people. He found them, say the objectors, a free people; and he reduced them to bondage; and his conduct can only be excused on the ground that he knew not the consequences which must ensue from the adoption of his own plans. Now, I confess I see no reason to impute folly to Joseph, to save him from the imputation of something worse. What evidence have we that, before his day, the Egyptians were a free people? Considering the irregular and undefined condition of monarchies, in their first formation, we must allow that it was doing them an essential favour to change the lawless and despotic exactions of a sovereign into a certain and determinate tax. The people themselves, unquestionably the best judges, felt deeply indebted to Joseph. "Thou hast saved our lives," said they, "let us find grace in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh's servants." From the constitution of society there must needs be subordination; and experience has proved, that under certain restrictions and regulations one master is better than many. Every society will have a degree of liberty proportioned to its ability to use it. The infant's will is wholly guided by that of another; and our liberty is given, by degrees, as we approach to manhood, and attain the requisite knowledge. Where there is too little liberty there is tyranny, where too much, licentiousness. This is

true in states, as well as in the case of individuals.

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Joseph's plans the powers of the king were limited and defined, and the mutual happiness of the governor and the governed promoted.

It has often been thought that a man's character is most strongly indicated by his last action. It was Joseph's last act to exact an oath from his brethren that, when God should visit and deliver them, they would carry his bones into Canaan. This was a proof of his faith. "By faith," says St. Paul, "Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones." For ages, his skeleton was a prophecy, a pledge of the going forth of Israel out of Egypt. Having lived to a good old age, and seen his children's children, full of days, and filled with God, he closed his eyes on this world, and opened them on the paradise above.

We have now travelled through the whole of his recorded history, and never, excepting the incarnate Son of God, was there a character of so many virtues and so few blemishes. There was something more exalted in his illustrious great grandfather. But piety, generosity, intelligence, and genius, are everywhere conspicuous in him. His reverence for his father, his gratitude to his masters, his patience in suffering, his firmness in temptation, his meekness in adversity, his humility in prosperity, his consistency and probity, are all stars of the first magnitude in the constellation of his virtues.

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