NOTES. The two angels, after leav- thither. That shall now be his city of ing Abraham, came to Sodom in the refuge. For I cannot do anything till evening. Lot sitting at the gate of the thou be come thither. Just as Abraham city invites him in. They at first re- had said (Chap. xvii. 2, 3 and 5). Zoar. fuse to enter, but after being pressed Its former name had been Bela, from its greatly they partake of his hospitality. former king. "Zoar" means LITTLE— The dwellers in Sodom came rioting from Lot's saying. It owed its all to about and upon Lot's house so that he Lot. was greatly concerned for the safety of guests, whom the laws of the East obliged him to defend at all hazards and cost. The angels rescue Lot from the barbarity of the Sodomites, and strike the leaders of the gang with blindness. They now exhort him and his family to hasten off, as destruction was at the door. Lot exhorts his sons-in-law in vain to accompany his household. The day of doom had come. VERSE 23. The sun was risen. Between dawn and sun-rise then, he had made the distance, for it was near to flee unto (ver. 20). VERSE 24. Brimstone and Fire. What we are to understand by these terms is not easy to say. "Brimstone" may have been nitrous particles or meteoric stones showered down. A thunderstorm of a peculiar nature may have been the only agent. We know too VERSE 15. And when the morning that the plain was rich in bitumen or arose, on that fatal day, the angels pitch, which was readily ignited by hastened Lot, his wife and his daughters lightning. Sodom has been said to mean out of the city of iniquity, or destruction burning-from the inflammable nature as it likewise reads. VERSE 16. And while he lingered, probably in affectionately entreating his sons-in-law to hasten with him, the angels took them by the hands, leading now this one and then that one, and by God's mercy brought him and his without the city. of its surroundings. It is useless to speculate, however. The fact is given us, which is enough. Besides, if we believe in the destruction of the old world through the Flood, we will not doubt, that God suffer such a visitation to come. VERSE 25. And he overthrew those VERSE 17. Escape for thy life. Thou cities. It is mentioned by some, that art in most imminent danger! Look the cities and plain were submerged by not behind thee. One look may delay the Dead Sea. As no satisfactory acthee too long! Neither stay thou in all count has yet been given of their locathe plain. The valley will be sub- tion, we take the word "overthrew" in merged! Escape to the mountain. As- the sense of destroyed. They may be cend the high land! buried under the Dead Sea, or beneath the deluge of matter, as Jerusalem lies entombed from twenty to eighty feet under ruins, and another city upon it. So Capernaum, Bethsaida and Chorazin, once flourishing towns on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, have long since disappeared, leaving no wreck to mark their situations (Matt. xi. 20-24). So many other cities are now under the earth, and are being exhumed after two thousand years' burial. VERSES 18-19. Oh not so my Lord! He cried out, not in a gainsaying spirit, but in fear. Seeing the destruction so nigh, he fears, lest he cannot journey rapidly enough, and must fall under it. From the magnified mercy, in which the Lord had shown him how to escape, he prays to have a nearer place of refuge allowed him. VERSE 20. This city is near to flee unto. It may be that Lot wished to have this little place for an inheritance. As it was so small, he hoped to have it granted to himself. VERSE 21. See I have accepted thee. God heard and answered his prayer. For Lot's sake it is written: I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast spoken. VERSE 22. Haste thee-escape thee Lot's wife tarried too long, was overtaken by the shower, struck dead, and covered with a crust of matter which riveted her to the spot for a time (ver. 6). Abraham saw by the following morning, that even ten righteous men had not been found. Still what was worth preserving was saved. The garden of the Lord was a burning, smoking ALFRED TENNYSON, the poet laureate of England, is doubtless known to many of our readers through his works. He is now in his seventieth year, and lives in retired ease on the Isle of Wight. He has always been simple and retired in his habits. During his earlier years he lived a sort of recluse life in, or near London. At his Island home he is often greatly annoyed at the impertinence of curious tourists, eager to stare at the great man. He morbidly shrinks from being lionized, and in order to evade the vulgar gaze of obtruding admirers, he is tempted to become a recluse. Like many men of genius, he seems to pay little attention to his external appearance. He has never been a society man in the English sense of that term, but sought enjoyment in his library, and his communings with nature. Meeting him on the street no one would suspect that he were England's great poet, who offi cially writes the poetry for all occasions and events of joy and sorrow in the royal family and of the nation. A certain correspondent, who recently met him in a London park, says: "He looked tall, somewhat stout, round-shouldered, and he walked with a stick, as though the gout were hanging about his legs or feet. He had a long beard which almost buried his face, and wore a pair of large, round, Chinese-looking spectacles. He had on a very broad-brimmed, weather-worn felt hat, dark trousers, gaiters, several undercoats or jackets, covered over all by a thin, shabby-looking, red tweed dust coat, buttoned very tightly, as though it were much too small for him. Dangling outside, from what should have been a clean white shirt front, was a pair of large, gold-rimmed nose-spectacles. He was one of the oddest-looking creatures I have ever seen out of a Mormon meeting." CERTAIN editions of the Bible, owing to the errors they contained, have received many odd names. What is known as the "Breeches Bible" (Geneva 1560) was so called because Genesis iii. 7, was translated: "They sewed fig leaves together and made themselves breeches," instead of “ aprons" as in the English version now used. In the "Treacle Bible"(1568), Jeremiah viii. 22 was made to read: "Is there no treacle in Gilead," etc, instead of "balm," and in 1609 the word was changed to "rosin;" "balm" was first used in 1611. The "Vinegar Bible," printed in Oxford in 1717, by John Basket, derives its name from the heading of Luke xx., which was made to read: "The parable of the vinegar." The book had many other errors from which it has also been called, after the printer's name, "A Basket of errors." In 1631 a Bible was printed in England, and in 1732 another appeared in Germany, both of which made the seventh commandment read; "Thou shalt commit adultery," the word "not" being omitted. It has b en very "Wiedery appropriately called the "Wicked Bible.' "THE world owes me a living," is the mistaken motto of tramps, young and old. Our Creator has ordained that in the sweat of thy brow shalt thou eat thy bread. "He that will not work, neither shall he eat." Young people fearful of bronzing their delicate hands by working as their parents had to do; fond of fine clothing and costly jewelry, without caring who pays for them, are the material tramps are made of. The world owes you a living, but you must plant and water; God must give the increase in His own good time. Work on, faithful soul. Even though in thy life-time the results may seem trifling, the fruitage, the harvest, must surely come. Twentieth Sunday after Trinity. Genesis xxi. 12-21. 1879. THE SUBJECT.-HAGAR IN THE WILDERNESS. 12. And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called. 13. And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed. 14. And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of BeerSheba. 15. And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs. 16. And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bowshot for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lifted up her voice, and wept. 17. And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is. 18. Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation. 19. And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink. 20. And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer. 21. And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt. QUESTIONS. Did Abraham remain at Hebron, after the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. He removed to Gerar in Arabia. What slave had Abraham in his household? Hagar. Who was her son? Ishmael. Was her mistress, Sarah, pleased with her? She had her sent away on several occasions. VERSES 12-13. Was Abraham willing to send Hagar away? How did God console him? 14. What did Abraham provide her with when she and her son departed? What kind of a bottle was it? A sack of goat skin? Did they miss the way? 15-16. After losing their path and wandering about, what followed? What did they seem most in want of? Were there many wells in the desert? Only a few at long intervals. Why did she put Ishmael under the shrubs? To shield him from the sun. How old was the lad? About sixteen years. Had the heat and journey affected him seriously? Did Hagar fear he might die? Where did she go? How far is a bow shot? As far as an arrow flies. How did she lift up her voice? In prayer. 17-18. Whose voice did God hear? How did Ishmael probably call? He may have called the mother; or, his sighs and groans may be meant. Who appeared now? What did the angel say? Was she told what to do? Was she told directly that Ishmael should not die? Was the same promise given her, which Abraham had received? 19. How did God open her eyes? He directed her to a well. What did she do? 20-21. How was God with the lad? Where was his home? Where did this desert lay? In Arabia, near Mt. Sinai. What is an Archer? A hunter. Whom did he marry? An Egyptian woman. Had he any sons? 12 (xxv. 12-17). Of what nation did these become the stems? Arab nation. Were Ishmael and Isaac enemies? They were at the funeral of Abraham, and friendly disposed, (xxv. 8-10). How old was Ishmael when he died? 137 years. Where may we read of the spiritual meaning of Jerusalem-Sarah and Hagar-Ishmael and Isaac? Galatians iv. 22-31. CATECHISM. XLIII. Lord's Day. 112. What is required in the ninth command? That I bear false witness against no man; nor falsify any man's words; that I be no backbiter, or slanderer; that I do not judge, or join in condemning any man rashly or unheard; but that I avoid all sorts of lies and deceit, as the proper works of the devil, unless I would bring down upon me the heavy wrath of God? likewise, that in judgment and all other dealings I love the truth, speak it uprightly, and confess it; also, that I defend and promote as much as I am able the honour and good character of my neighbor. NOTES-When Abraham saw the ruins in the valley of the Jordan he was filled with sadness, and left Hebron. He now settled at Gerar, which lay south of Canaan, near Gaza, in Arabia, under a king of the Philistines, called Abimelech (chap. xx). Here Isaac was born, when Abraham was an hundred years old (ver. 5), 1896 years before. Christ. ways like a change. Poor Ishmael! He has no idea of the disasters that are ahead of him. Hagar gives one long, lingering look on the familiar place where she had spent so many happy days, each scene associated with the pride and joy of her heart, young Ishmael. The The scorching noon comes on. air is stifling and moves across the deNow there lived in the family of sert with unsufferable suffocation. IshAbraham a female slave, whom Pharaoh mael, the boy, begins to complain and had given him when he sojourned in lies down, but Hagar rouses him up, Egypt (chap. xii. 16), called Hagar saying nothing about her own weariness (a stranger or sojourner), who was the or the sweltering heat; for mothers can mother of Ishmael (a wanderer)-the endure anything. Trudge, trudge, father of the Ishmaelites, Bedwins and trudge. Crossing the dead level of the Arabs. This woman and her son caused desert how wearily and slowly the miles considerable trouble in the old Patri- slip. A tamarind that seemed hours arch's household. Her mistress, Sarah, ago to stand only just a little ahead inobliged her to leave his house once before Ishmael was born. On her way back to ber native country, Egypt, the Lord met her, brought her back and reconciled the slave to her mistress (Chap. xvi.). But Sarah was more or less jealous of her maid and her son. When Ishmael was sixteen years old and Isaac three, the trouble broke out afresh, and Hagar was sent away, with her son, forever (vers. 9-11). Read the following graphic account of the scene by Pastor Talmage: Morning breaks upon Beersheba. There is an early stir in the house of old Abraham. There has been trouble among the domestics. Hagar, an assistant in the household, and her son, a brisk lad of sixteen years, have become impudent and insolent, and Sarah, the mistress of the household, puts her foot down very hard, and says that they will have to leave the premises. They are packing up now. Abraham, knowing that the journey before his servant and her son will be very long and across desolate places, in the kindness of his heart sets about putting up some bread and a bottle with water in it. It is a very plain lunch that Abraham provides, but I warrant you there would have been enough of it had they not lost their way. "God be with you!" said old Abraham, as he gave the lunch to Hagar and a good many charges as to how she should conduct the journey. Ishmael, the boy, I suppose, bounded away in the morning light. Boys al viting the travelers to come under its shadow, now is as far off as ever, or seemingly so. Night drops upon the desert and the travelers are pillowless. Ishmael, I suppose, instantly falls asleep. Hagar-as the shadows of the night begin to lap over each other-Hagar hugs her weary boy to her bosom and thinks of the fact that it is her fault that they are in the desert. A star looks out, and every falling tear it kisses with a sparkle. A wing of wind comes over the hot earth and lifts the locks from the fevered brow of the boy. Hagar sleeps fitfully, and in her dreams travels over the weary day, and half awakes her son by crying out in her sleep, "Ishmael! Ishmael!" And so they go on, day after day, and night after night; for they have lost their way; no path in the shifting sands; no sign in the burning sky. The sacks empty of flour; the water gone from the bottle. What shall she do? As she puts her fainting Ishmael upon a stunted shrub of the arid plain she sees the bloodshot eye, and feels the hot hand, and watches the blood bursting from the cracked tongue, and there is a shriek in the desert of Beersheba. "We shall die! We shall die!" Now, no mother was ever made strong enough to hear her son cry in vain for a drink. Heretofore she had cheered her boy by promising a speedy end of the journey, and even smiled upon him when he felt desperately enough. Now there is nothing to do but place him under a shrub and let and hidden. Arise! Lift up the lad! Hold him in thine hand-nurse him as a mother. For I will make him a great nation-he shall not die. VERSE 19. God opened her eyes. This means that God directed her to a well. Water was most needed for the fainting boy. She went filled the bottle, raised him up, "held him in her hand" (ver. 18), and revived him. VERSES 20-21. God was with the him die. She had thought she would sit there and watch until the spirit of her boy would go away forever, and then she would breathe out her own life on his silent heart. But as the boy begins to claw his tongue in agony of thirst and struggle in distortion and beg his mother to slay him, she cannot endure the spectacle. She puts him under a shrub and goes off a bow-shot and begins to weep until all the desert seems sobbing, and her cry strikes clear lad. Providence presided over him and through the heavens; and an angel of his destiny. He was an archer, or God comes out on a cloud and looks hunter, and supported himself by his down upon the appalling grief, and calling. He dwelt in the wilderness of cries," Hagar, what aileth thee?" She Paran, the wild country of Arabia, near looks up and sees the angel pointing to Mount Sinai, which was near to his a well of water, where she fills the bottle father's house. His mother took him a for the lad. Thank God! Thank God! wife out of the land of Egypt. He marVERSES 2-13. God comforted Abra- ried an Egyptian woman, of which blood ham and removed his distress by re- Hagar was. He became the father of vealing to him, that Ishmael's posterity twelve sons (xxv. 12-17), who constishould be a great nation; but that in tuted the chief element of the Arab Isaac the proper line of the Messiah nation. He was present at the funeral should be maintained. of his father Abraham, with his brother Isaac (xxv. 8-10), which shows that the two brothers were reconciled, nevertheless. He died, aged 137 years. VERSE 14. Took bread and a bottle. He gave her provisions enough to sustain her and her son, till they should arrive at the place to which he had directed them. The bottle was a goatskin, filled with sufficient water to the next well, But she wandered in the wilderness of Beer-sheba. That is she lost her way, in this southern desert of Palestine. VERSES 15-16. The water gave out, since they missed the next well, of which there were only a few at long intervals. The lad could not bear the heat of the desert, and the fatigue of the journey. His mother placed him under one of the shrubs or thicket, to shield him from the sun. A bow shot means as far as an arrow would fly. She feared to see him die, as he lay fainting and unconscious. It is sad to think of her lifting up her voice-praying-and weeping. PRACTICAL REMARK. To understand the spiritual sense of the relation between Isaac and Ishmael, we must turn to the Epistle to the Galatians (Chap. iv. Vers. 22-31). For there are the two covenants-two orders of religion, one of MOSES, the other of CRIST. Hagar is Mount Sinai, which represents the Law, the earthly Jerusalem, whose children were in bondage to the letter of commandment, rite and ceremony. Sarah represents the Jerusalem which is above-free-and the mother of us all. We are, therefore, the children of promise, the brethren of Isaac, in whom Abraham had been told, all the nations of the earth were to be blessed. No wonder, then, that St. Paul exhorts us in these words: "So, then, brethren, VERSES 17-18. God heard the voice we are not children of the bond woman, of the lud. Perhaps he moaned and but of the free. Stand fast therefore in groaned. The angel of God called the liberty wherewith Christ hath made Hagar. One feels a pleasant sense of us free, and be not entangled again, with relief over this timely intervention of the yoke of bondage." God. Let us learn that God is ever near us in our distress. The angel speaks with sympathy and cheer to the The motions of Providence are all poor mother: "What aileth thee, Hagar? judicious; the wheels are full of eyes! Fear not! God hath heard the voice of it is enough that the affairs of Zion are the lad where he is"-even though faint in a good hand. |