prayer is acceptable, why does it not produce greater effect? If God is for me, why is there so much against me?" But the end of the ways of the Lord is better than their beginning, and the soul at length receives a very satisfactory answer to these questions.

The Lord, however, seemed to be entirely against Jacob; against him with words; for he must have said bitter things to him; otherwise why did he weep? as Hosea informs us. He must have reproached, reproved, rejected, and threatened him; otherwise why did he entreat him? Did he not, in after-times, compare the Canaanitish woman to a dog, and mention what was proper and improper in the treatment of such? And is it not often the case with individuals, that when desirous of comforting themselves with a promise—a command, a threatening, a reproof meets them and snatches it away, as it were, from their lips; and this continues until the covering of Moses falls off from the heart and the soul looks into the perfect law of liberty; until Christ becomes the end of the law; till the whole of holy writ becomes a Testament, and the covenant of grace beams forth as such. But what is chiefly necessary in order to this? The Lord plunges Jacob, in a certain sense, into despair, when he says 'Let me goI will depart.' And does he not often withdraw himself, whilst the soul resolves to cleave to him, whatever be the result?

It did not rest in mere words: actions are added to them. He increases Jacob's distress by wrestling with him; and that so violently, that Jacob, according to the expression of Hosea, is obliged to resist with all

his might. He chooses, for this purpose, the night, a season the most appalling of all; and the period when Jacob's distress had, besides that, reached a terrific height, and when his fear was great. By the dislocation of his thigh, he deprived him of all strength, and rendered it impossible for him to continue the conflict, although the ceasing from it was equally impossible. He caused him pain. He casts him, as it were, defenceless before his enemy, by making escape impracticable.

Jacob therefore found it necessary to defend himself, and to strive against his adversary, be he who he might. And the Lord bears him witness that he had struggled with God, and had prevailed. With God? How wonderful! What!-does God act in such a manner with men? Does he so degrade himself as to wrestle with a man-as man against man? It is not credible! Not credible? Thou shalt see still greater and more unaccountable things than these. How wilt thou believe the latter, if the former are incredible to thee? Go to Bethlehem; there thou wilt find him lying in a manger, as a little needy infant. Go to Jerusalem; there thou wilt see him in the hands of the wicked, who nail him to the cross; there thou wilt behold him crucified between two malefactors, hear him complain of being forsaken of God, see him die, and witness his interment.

What sayest thou to these astonishing mysteries? If thou canst not believe the less, how will it be with the greater? Does God act thus towards men? Why should he not? If not a sparrow falls without the will

of God, what do we think can befall the children of God without their Father's superintendence? Even the very hairs of our head are all numbered; every one of them is precious to him; and how can it be otherwise, since he has paid such an inestimable price for them? How wonderful! Does his love assume such a form as we here see it in the case of Jacob? Does he distribute benefits in such a manner? Does apparent injury also belong to his method of doing good?

6

In what manner did Jacob wrestle with God? Certainly not in the sense in which Stephen said to the Jews, Ye do always resist the Holy Ghost, even as your fathers did, so do ye.' The Patriarch defended himself not merely by struggling with his body-this was only the effect; the cause lay deeper, lay within ; and that was faith. This faith was not exactly a sensible faith, nor a perfectly satisfied faith-for he was afraid; but distress excited it, and the best kind of faith is when the individual, in the consciousness of his utter poverty, does not look so much at his faith, as at Jesus. Faith is that which is Divine in the Christian; which by a strong impulse seeks that which is Divine, and is invincible. It manifests itself in taking refuge with Christ under the strong attraction of the Father; in not casting away our confidence, which has great recompense of reward. Jacob clung with such firmness to the Divine promise, which his distress compelled him to do, that he was so little confused by the adverse conduct of the Lord as to refer him to his own promise, 'I will do thee good,' and adhere firmly to it.'

Jacob wrestled with God, first, with the exertion of

all his powers, in the most determined struggle, as long as he felt any power in himself; but this only served to convince him, that we do not gain the prize by our own efforts, and that the kingdom of peace is not taken by violence. This mode of wrestling was rendered impracticable to him, since he was deprived of the requisite power for it by the dislocation of his thigh. The conflict was now obliged to be continued in an entirely different manner-that is, by a passive conduct, which the circumstances pointed out. The paralyzed combatant had no alternative than that of casting himself into the arms of him who had thus disabled him, and instead of exerting himself, to let himself be carried; in other words-instead of caring for himself, to cast his burden upon the Lord-to believe, and to turn from the law to the Gospel. And when he began to do this, the Lord saw that he could not prevail against him, and took his part. The struggle then assumed a very .. different aspect; it then became a reposing, such as Isaiah speaks of in ch. xxx. 7: Their strength is to sit still;' and in another place, ' In quietness shall be your strength.'

Thus we see in Jacob how legal exertion at length gives way to the evangelical sabbath of repose; and that in the latter, that is attained for nought and without labor, which is sought in vain from the most strenuous efforts; for according to Psalm cxxvii. 2, 'He giveth it his beloved, sleeping.' Wonderful! When Jacob was unable to struggle any longer, the Lord saw that he prevailed not against him.'

But why did God enter into such a conflict with Jacob?

First, because it pleased him. Secondly, to give a particular proof of his condescension, how minutely he concerns himself about his people-a subject of which our ungodly hearts so often doubt, and so seldom confide in, to the extent we ought, if we only give ear to the single injunction of the Apostle when he says, 'Be careful for nothing.' But the unbelieving corrupt nature requires one proof after another, and still remains incredulous; as Job says, ' If I had called and he had answered me, yet would I not believe that he had hearkened unto my voice.' (ch. ix. 16.) We prefer caring for ourselves, although we accomplish nothing by it, and only occasion ourselves fruitless labor.

We have certainly much greater and more striking proofs of the uncommon condescension of God to man in the Holy Scriptures, than this to Jacob; but the latter is not to be despised. When should we have done, were we only in some measure to go through the history of Jacob's posterity, both during their forty years' journey through the wilderness, and their actual residence in Canaan, in order to show how God often so visibly interfered; and what would it avail the old man, who would have recourse to the subterfuge," though God did these things formerly, yet he does them no longer." Just as if he either did nothing, or must do obvious miracles, and as if he were bound to one particular mode of acting. And even when miracles were really performed, there were prudent people enough, who said, "Master, we would gladly see a separate