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over the Face of the Earth, and peopled it: And the Pofterity of Shem and Japhet were feparated from that of Ham; which was grown extremely wicked, and was too likely to corrupt all about them, and bring on another general Deftruction.

CHAP. XII, You must here take, efpecial notice of the two diftinct Promises made to Abrabam ; The firft, That God would make of him a great Na tion. Which Promife was made good to him, and all his Seed in general; and by which the Knowledge of the true GOD was spread far and wide. The fecond, That all the Nations of the World should be Blessed in one who fhould proceed from him, according to the Flesh; meaning the Meffiak.

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AND from this Time, you will observe a particular Providence attending the People of Ifrael, his Pofterity, by his Sons Ifaac and Jacob, correcting, trying, punishing, redeeming them out of the Hands of their Enemies, until the promised Seed came.

CHAP. XIII. You will here take notice of what is but too common in the World; The Folly and Danger of confulting our Senfes only, in the Choice of a Way of Life. Lot makes choice of the fruitful Plains of Jordan; not confidering the Danger of being in the Neighbourhood of a moft wicked People.

THE Punishment of this unadvised Choice was, He loft all he had; he loft his Wife; he had like to have loft his Life, had not Abraham prevailed with GOD for his Deliverance.

CHAP. XIV. The Defeat, and the great Deliverance of the King of Sodom and his People, thould have been a Warning to them; as it was in the Intention of Providence, to leave off their wicked way of living: But it was not; and they are reserved for a much greater Judgment.

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THAT which you should be convinc'd of by this is, That this happens to particular Perfons, as well as to Nations and Cities.

CHAP. XVI. You will from this History obferve, and remember once for all, That the Spirit of GOD does not conceal the Faults and Infirmities of otherwife Holy Men. To fhew us that there never was any Man, Jefus Chrift only excepted, in whom Nature was not corrupted; and confequently, that every Man living stands in need of a Redeemer.

CHAP. XIX. Woe to thofe that can read or hear this terrible Example of Vengeance, without being better'd by it. It fhews us how hateful to GOD the Sins of Impurity are. It fhews the Folly of those, who would perfwade themselves and others, that God is all Mercy, and that he will not be fo fevere as he has threaten'd.

You will also observe, what made the Judgment upon these People fo fudden, fo uncommon, fo very dreadful. Both old and young, from every Quarter; Magiftrates and Parents were all equally wicked: And therefore no Profpect of a Reformation: The Measure of their Iniquities was fill'd up. When 'tis fo with any People, they may depend upon it, Divine Vengeance is at hand.

IT is not for nothing that our Saviour bids us Remember Lot's Wife; he is a ftanding Inftance of the Sin of thofe, who when their Souls are at Stake, are over-careful for a World which will ruin them, if they fet their Hearts upon it.

You cannot but be convinc'd of the Frailty of Nature, without the Grace of GoD, when you read the Account of Lot's Intemperance, after fo great a Deli. verance: And if you have any Concern for your Salvation, you will dread a Vice, which will lead a Man to the greatest Crimes.

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CHAP. XX. How often does GOD reftrain us from Evil, from ruining our felves, as he did this Prince, when we leaft think of it, or foon forget it?

OBSERVE here, and fo in many other Inftances, that altho' GOD can give his Bleffings without the Interceffion of any of his Servants, yet that is not the ufual Way of his Providence: He fends them to his Prophets, to thofe whom he has appointed to blefs in his Name, to Men of like Paffions with themselves, to prove their Faith, and their Obedience.

CHA P. XXI. That the Pofterity of Abraham might be difpofed hereafter more readily to receive the promised Seed, it pleafed GOD to make Ifaac, the Heir of that Seed, a most exact Type and Figure of Jefus Chrift.

His Birth was miraculous, as was that of Chrift: He difputed not his Father's Will, tho' it was to coft him his Life. Jefus Chrift became obedient even to the Death; Ifaac carry'd the Wood on which he was to be facrificed; Jefus Chrift carry'd the Crofs on which he was to be crucify'd. They both carry'd them to the very fame Place, Mount Moriah; being the Place where the Temple was afterwards built, tho' then a Defert. Ifaac was, in effect, a dead Man, from the Day GOD commanded him to be facrificed; and after three days, Abraham received him again, restored as it were to Life. Jefus Chrift, in whom all this was really to be fulfilled above eighteen hundred Years after, was crucify'd, and rofe again the third Day from the Dead.

So good was GOD, who, for the greater Confirmation of our Faith, would not let us want thefe furprizing Inftances of the Truth both of the Old and New Teftament, confirming each other. But then, kew great is the Sin, and how great must be the Punifbment of Infidelity?

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CHAP. XXVII. You fee here, how Jacob deceived his Father: He was a good Man, but every thing that good Men have faid or done thro' Infirmity, muft not be imitated; the Law of Go D being our fure and never-failing Rule.

A WHILE hence, you'll fee Jacob himself impofed upon by Laban, in the Cafe of Rachel his efpoused Wife; and in his old Age, you'll fee him impofed upon by his own Sons, and with the Blood of a Kid, with which they dyed his Son's Coat. So exact, fo wonderful, fo inftructive, are all the Ways of Providence.

CHAP. XXVIII. You will eafily perceive, that this Vision of the Ladder, represents to us the Providence of GoD, governing all Things both in Heaven and Earth: The Angels receiving his Commands, and defcending to put them in Execution: And particularly in the House of Go D, they attend to observe and report the Behaviour of those that come thither to Worship; which should make us exceeding careful and devout, left we return Home without a Bleffing.

CHAP. XXXII, XXXIII. You will obferve, with a thankful Heart, how GoD difpofeth all Events for the good of his Servants. He reproveth Laban in a Dream; He changes his Heart; He does the fame to Efau; He reprefents himself as even forced to yield to the Struggle, the Prayers and Tears of Jacob.

CHAP. XXXIV, XXXV. The fatal History of Dinah is recorded, to convince future Ages of this Truth; That the Sins of Impurity are fo bateful to GOD, that they feldom go unpunished in this World; if they do, worfe will be their Punishment in the next.

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CHAP. XXXVII. The Hiftory of Joseph, fets before your Eyes, fuch a Scene of the Wonders of Providence, as will confirm your Faith in GOD. His Brethren confpire to kill him; GOD fends a Company of Merchants at that very moment to buy him. A thousand others might have purchas'd him in the Land of Egypt; but GOD had Tryals for him to pafs thro', and Work for him to do in the Palace of the King. Thither he is to be fold. In the next place, you find him run the hazard of his very Life, rather than do what he knew would difplease GOD; and GoD rewarded him for it, beyond what Potiphar or Potiphar's Wife could do for him. The very Dreams of Pbaraob and his Servants, are all directed by GoD for the Advancement of Jofeph: Nay, the very Fate of the whole Kingdom, both the feven Years Plenty and Famine, were ordained, in order to bring Jofeph's Father and his Family into Egypt, according to former Prophecies. You will obferve in Jofeph's Brethren, how God, by Afflictions, brings Men to a fenfe of their Sins; infomuch, as that Judah himself, as one obferves, who hated Jofeph, becaufe he was dear to his Father, is now willing to be a Bondslave for 7feph's Brother, for the very fame Reason.

You will obferve, what a lively Type or Figure Jofeph is (and was fo defign'd by GOD to be) of Jefus Chrift.

SOLD by his Brethren; fold to Strangers; fold for a few pieces of Money: The Bargain propofed by his Brother Judab, the very name fake of that Difciple and Brother (for fo Chrift vouchfafes to call them) who fold his Lord and Mafter, and after all, became the Saviour of them, and of all the neighbouring Nations.

ALL which came to pafs, by the Direction of 1 wife, great and good GOD, who would not let the

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