that followed, according as Joseph had said, was in all lands. Through the prudent foresight wherewith God had endowed Joseph, and through that alone, "in all the land of Egypt there was bread." Nor did these his gifts pass unacknowledged by Pharaoh and his subjects. He, in whose hands are the hearts of kings as the rivers of water, Prov. xxi. 1, gave to the monarch discernment to perceive the excellence of the spirit that was in Joseph, and to leave in his charge the trust that he had so well fulfilled. "When all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread: and Pharaoh said unto all the Egyptians, Go unto Joseph; what he saith to you, do. And Joseph opened all the storehouses, and sold unto the Egyptians," Gen. xli. 55, 56. But still the famine increased; "it waxed sore in all the land of Egypt," and, by the mysterious arrangement of Divine Providence, the fame of Joseph, as a prophet in foretelling the coming evil, and as a ruler in providing for its alleviation, increased also.

But the famine was sore in all lands. The heaven above was brass, the earth beneath was iron, the rain of all that region was powder and dust. And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph to buy corn; and thereby the riches of the world were poured into the coffers of Pharaoh. Thus did God bless Joseph, and Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Joseph's sake.

The dearth reached the tents of Jacob also; and, by the command of their father, Joseph's ten brethren were sent down with their beasts of burden to buy corn in Egypt. "But Benjamin, Joseph's brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren; for he said, Lest peradventure mischief befall him." All was accomplished: that dreamer whom they

would have slain, whose cries for mercy they disregarded,

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was the governor over the land; and he it was that sold to all the people of the land and Joseph's brethren came, and bowed themselves before him, with their faces to the earth," Gen. xlii. 1-6. "There are many devices in a man's heart; nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand," Prov. xix. 21; and these fierce men, whose only law would seem hitherto to have been their own wills, shall now discover their guilt, and acknowledge the righteous retribution of God. They were alarmed at the rough manner in which the personage before whom they appeared accosted them, at his unexpected demand of their youngest brother, and at the harsh usage they received at his hands. After passing three days in prison, they were again brought before the brother whom they had so deeply injured, and again bowed themselves with their faces to the earth. He propounded to them the hard conditions upon which alone he would allow them to purchase corn, or even to leave the country-a hostage of one of their number, to remain in perpetual servitude, unless they bereaved their aged father of the last remembrance of his beloved Rachel, and tore away Benjamin from his bosom; exposing his tender years to the dangers and privations of a journey across the desert. Then was it that their consciences suddenly awakened, and they felt that the hand of God was upon them, to punish them for their iniquity. "And they said one to another, We were verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us," Gen. xlii. 1—23.

If we were in search of evidence by which the truth of the inspired narrative is to be established, it were easy to

show the perfect consistency with itself of every thing that is told us of these fierce men, whose passions were almost as ruthless as the beasts of the desert with whom they had to contend in defence of their flocks. They appear exactly the characters which the wandering and perilous life they led would have a tendency to form. In what but the reality could such portraitures have originated? Whence but from the strictest regard to truth could it have been told us that such were nevertheless the fathers of the chosen race?

Joseph's conduct on this occasion shows that he was still under the entire guidance of the wisdom of God; that His Spirit spake by him, and His word was upon his lips. He had now the means of ample vengeance in his power for the outrage that his brethren had committed against him. Their lives and properties were in his hands; but no thought of revenge was in his heart. His only design in afflicting them was to lead them to repentance. The first expression of sorrow of those who had formerly laughed at his agonies, and treated his cries for mercy with derision, melted him into tenderness. "And he turned himself about from them, and wept," ver. 24. What is man when left to his natural corruption! How great the contrast when Divine grace has formed the image of God in his heart!

Joseph retained Simeon in fetters, who had probably suggested his murder in the wilderness: see Gen. xlix. 5—7. He then allowed the rest to set out on their return with their supplies of corn, putting every man's money in the mouth of his sack, with the evident intention of keeping alive those penitential fears that his manner had excited in them. Their consternation at the discovery of this per

plexing circumstance, Gen. xlii. 35, the deep distress of Jacob when he heard the only condition on which they would again be permitted to visit Egypt, ver. 36-38, the continuance of the famine, chap. xliii. 1, which compelled him, nevertheless, to submit to it, ver. 2. 13, the tender father's parting benediction, ver. 14, their appearance the second time in Joseph's presence, ver. 15, and their hospitable entertainment at his house, ver. 16-34, are all related with a particularity to which we find no parallel in this early portion of the inspired narrative; and we naturally infer from hence the importance of the transactions recorded as a part of God's dealings with his people written for our learning.

They set out on their second departure from Egypt with corn, but they were not allowed to proceed on their journey: once more they were brought as criminals before the presence of Joseph, and once more "he laid to their charge things that they knew not." But the full and heartfelt acknowledgment of the sin whereof their consciences were afraid, which this accusation wrung from Judah, the most highly gifted with mental endowments of all his brethren, evidently shows that Joseph had been supernaturally directed in the whole transaction, and that the hiding of the cup in Benjamin's sack was one means whereby his brethren were to be brought to repentance, Gen. xliv.

The touching eloquence of Judah's address to Joseph, to which no equal will be found in any uninspired writing, was scarcely needed to move the relentings of him to whom he spake. His brother's heart was full already. "Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him, and he cried, Cause every man to go

out from me. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known to his brethren. And he wept aloud. And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could

not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence," Gen. xlv. 1-3. The tender and affectionate manner in which he proceeded to soothe their sorrow, and to secure their confidence, is a most beautiful exemplification of the efficacy of that grace under the influence of which he so eminently glorified the Giver of it. No word of reproach or even of forgiveness escapes his lips. He passes on to dwell upon the great and glorious purpose which God had made their conduct subserve, and the benefits which would especially accrue to themselves as a family from his providential dealings with their family. "Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life. For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives with a great deliverance. So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God," ver. 5-8.

How intricate was the plan of Providence whereby God brought about the sojourn of his people in Egypt! The head of the chosen house, he who as a prince with God and with man had prevailed, is nevertheless cruelly imposed upon by his worthless children. He knew the coat which they had torn from their innocent brother, and dipped in blood, and he said, "It is my son's coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces,"