these are, am I with child: and she said, Discern, I pray thee, whose are these, the signet, and bracelets, and staff. 26 And Judah acknowledged them, and said, She hath been more righteous than I; because that I gave her not to Shelah my son. And he knew her again no more. 27 And it came to pass in the time of her travail, that, behold, twins were in her womb. 28 And it came to pass, when she travailed, that the one put out his hand: and the midwife took and bound upon his hand a scarlet thread, saying, This came out first. 29 And it came to pass, as he drew back his hand, that, behold, his brother came out: and she said, How hast thou broken forth? this breach be upon thee: therefore his name was called Pharez. 30 And afterward came out his brother, that had the scarlet thread upon his hand: and his name was called Zarah.

'She hath been more righteous than I.' God will find a time to bring His children upon their knees, and to wring from them penitent confessions.

And, rather than He will not have them soundly ashamed, He will make them the trumpets of their own reproach.-Bp. Hall.

CHAP. XXXIX.

ND Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmeelites, which had brought him down thither.

Potiphar bought Joseph; and whatever he gave for him, he had a good bargain. The Jews have a proverb, 'If the world did but know the worth of good men, they would hedge them about with pearls.'-M. Henry.

ried, and sold;—more precious than their balms and myrrh. Little did they think that they had in their hands the lord of Egypt, the jewel of the world. Why should we despise any man's meanness, when we know not his destiny ?—Bp. Hall.

3

Little did the Ishmaelite merchants know what a treasure they bought, car2 And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. 8 And his master saw that the LORD was with him, and that the LORD made all that he did to prosper in his hand. And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand. 5 And it came

6

to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of the LORD was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field. And he left all that he had in Joseph's hand; and he knew not ought he had, save the bread which he did eat. And Joseph was a goodly person, and well favoured. "And it came to pass after these things, that his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me. 8 But he refused, and said unto his master's wife, Behold, my mas

9

ter wotteth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand; There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God? V. 9. In our conflict with temptation, there is but one method of successfully vanquishing it. It is not any kind of weapon that is suited to this species of warfare. We may make, at first, never so brave a resistance, we may display never such undaunted heroism; and yet, if we have no better weapons than those of wood and paper, we can expect no great result.

Arguing with the tempter will never succeed. Satan is a first-class logician, and is more than a match for any human intellect. There is a greater disparity between him and us in this respect, than there is between the veriest idiot and the profoundest scholar.

been renowned for the successful use of this weapon, Joseph stands forth as a most illustrious example. Though other considerations had weight with him in refusing to sin, it was chiefly the thought that it was against the will of God, and contrary to the principle of Divine grace in his heart, which constrained him to forbear. As a child of God he could not sin. Reader! fly to this weapon in the evil hour, and boldly confront your foe. 'Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.'

There is a well-known fish called the 'sword-fish'; and it is said that this fish is such an enemy to the whale, the leviathan of the deep, that there is no creature which the latter so much dreads; and that when once it has received a prick from its sword, it immediately retreats to the shore, and there beats itself to death. Thus, when Satan meets with a Christian who is expert in the use of this spiritual weapon, he is then, though not till then, compelled to acknowledge that he has found his match.-L.

Mere selfish considerations will be of no avail, considerations of reputation, or shame, and suchlike. Satan can show a man a way to sin and withal to save his credit. The sword of the Spirit' is the only legitimate weapon which will prevail. 'God hath said, It is written.' Accordingly, this has been resorted to by the saints in all ages. Among those who have 10 And it came to pass, as she spake to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, or to be with her. 11 And it came to pass about this time, that Joseph went into the house to do his business; and there was none of the men of the house there within. 12 And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out. All things considered, Joseph's es- the deliverance of the three Hebrew cape was, for aught I know, as great youths from the fiery furnace.-M. an instance of the Divine power, as Henry.

18 And it came to pass, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand, and was fled forth, 14 That she called unto the men of her house, and spake unto them, saying, See, he hath brought in an Hebrew unto us to mock us; he came in unto me to lie with me, and I cried with a loud voice: 15 And it came to pass, when he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled, and got him out. 16 And she laid up

his garment by her, until his lord came home. 17 And she spake unto him according to these words, saying, The Hebrew servant, which thou hast brought unto us, came in unto me to mock me : 18 And it came to pass, as I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled out. 19 And it came to pass, when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spake unto him, saying, After this manner did thy servant to me; that his wrath was kindled. 20 And Joseph's master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison. 21 But the LORD was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison. 22 And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it. 23 The keeper of the prison looked not to any thing that was under his hand; because the LORD was with him, and that which he did, the LORD made it to prosper.

Malice is witty in devising accusations of others out of their virtue and our own guiltiness. Joseph either pleads not, or is not heard; but he

well knew that God would eventually clear his innocence, as accordingly He did.-Bp. Hall.

CHAP. XL.

AND it came to pass after these things, that the butler of the king of Egypt and his baker had offended their lord the king of Egypt. 2 And Pharaoh was wroth against two of his officers, against the chief of the butlers, and against the chief of the bakers. And he put them in ward in the house of the captain of the guard, into the prison, the place where Joseph was bound. And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he served them and they continued a season in ward.

High stations are slippery places; and from the presence-chamber to the dungeon is, in many earthly courts, only a short step; but a place in the

favour of God, who will never forsake His true servants, is of unspeakable value.-Scott.

"And they dreamed a dream both of them, each man his dream in one night, each man according to the interpretation of his dream, the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, which were bound in the prison. And Joseph came in unto them in the morning, and looked upon them, and, behold, they were sad. And he asked Pharaoh's officers that were with him in the ward of his lord's house, saying, Wherefore look ye so sadly to day? And they said unto him, We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it. And Joseph said unto them, Do not interpretations belong to God? tell me them, I pray you. And the chief butler

9

8

told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, In my dream, behold, a vine was before me; 10 And in the vine were three branches and it was as though it budded, and her blossoms shot forth; and the clusters thereof brought forth ripe grapes: "And Pharaoh's cup was in my hand and I took the grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand. 12 And Joseph said unto him, This is the interpretation of it: The three branches are three days: 18 Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thine head, and restore thee unto thy place: and thou shalt deliver Pharaoh's cup into his hand, after the former manner when thou wast his butler. 14 But think on me when it shall be well with thee, and shew kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house: 15 For indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews: and here also have I done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon. 16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said unto Joseph, I also was in my dream, and, behold, I had three white baskets on my head: 17 And in the uppermost basket there was of all manner of bakemeats for Pharaoh; and the birds did eat them out of the basket upon my head. 18 And Joseph answered and said, This is the interpretation thereof: The three baskets are three days: 19 Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy head from off thee, and shall hang thee on a tree; and the birds shall eat thy flesh from off thee.

Though the greater part of dreams be vanity, yet in all ages and places, God has sometimes impressed the mind of man by these means; and especially, it would seem, in countries

which have been destitute of Divine Revelation. We have many instances of this in the Book of Daniel.-A. Fuller.

20 And it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, that he made a feast unto all his servants: and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his ser

vants.

Origen affirms, that the Scripture gives no testimony of any one good man celebrating his birthday: the truth is, when we reflect on our birthday, we have little cause to rejoice in our birthday. The newborn infant seems to forbid this solemnity, and by his tears weeps and speaks down this joy. The birthday of nature should be mourned over every day, much more upon the day of our birth. The

birthday of grace is our joy and our glory, and is worthy to be rejoiced in, not only in this day of grace, but in that of glory, and so it shall. Eternity, which is the day of glory, is one continued triumph for our birthday in grace. Notwithstanding this, I see no cogent reason why a godly man may not celebrate and rejoice in his natural birthday, provided he rejoice in God.Caryl.

21 And he restored the chief butler unto his butlership again; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand: 22 But he hanged the

28

chief baker: as Joseph had interpreted to them. Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgat him.

Some observe a resemblance between Joseph and Christ in this story. Joseph's fellow-sufferers were like the two thieves that were crucified with Christ; the one saved, the other condemned. (It is Dr. Lightfoot's remark from Mr. Broughton.) One of these

when Joseph said to him, Remember me when it shall be well with thee, forgat him; but one of those when he said to Christ, Remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom, was not forgotten.-M. Henry.

CHAP. XLI.

AND it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh

3

dreamed: and, behold, he stood by the river. 2 And, behold, there came up out of the river seven well favoured kine and fatfleshed; and they fed in a meadow. 3 And, behold, seven other kine came up after them out of the river, ill favoured and leanfleshed; and stood by the other kine upon the brink of the river. And the ill favoured and leanfleshed kine did eat up the seven well favoured and fat kine. So Pharaoh awoke. 5 And he slept and dreamed the second time: and, behold, seven ears of corn came up upon one stalk, rank and good.

V.5. This remarkable emblem, which appears to us an unusual and monstrous production, has generally been considered as a liberty taken with nature, by way of furnishing a symbol: whereas the fact is, that a species of wheat, which grows in Egypt, does actually

bear, when perfect, this number of ears on a stalk, as its natural conformation. It differs from ours in having a solid stem, or at least a stem full of pith, in order to yield sufficient nourishment and support to so great a weight as the ears which it bears.-Calmet.

6 And, behold, seven thin ears and blasted with the east wind sprung up after them. "And the seven thin ears devoured the seven rank and full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and, behold, it was a dream.

To the east wind is ascribed in Scripture, as Bishop Patrick observes, all the mischief done to corn or fruit, by blasting, smutting, mildews, locusts, &c. It is more pernicious in Egypt than elsewhere, because it comes through the parched deserts of Arabia. Thevenot, in his Travels, says, that in 1658, 2,000 men were destroyed in one night, by one of these blasting winds.

-Comp. Bible.

The fat cattle and full ears of corn, seen in the dreams of Pharaoh, were apt emblems of plenty; the lean cattle and blighted ears, of famine. The 'kine' seem to bear an allusion to the grass for the use of cattle; and the 'ears,' to the corn for the food of man. - Scott.

And it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled; and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men thereof: and Pharaoh told them his dream; but there was none that could interpret them unto Pharaoh. 9 Then spake the chief butler unto Pharaoh, saying, I do remember my faults this day: 10 Pharaoh was wroth with his servants, and put me in