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Once more. Jofeph is a fruitful

bough, even a fruitful bough by a well, "whose brances run over the wall."

"The archers have forely grieved him, " and shot at him, and hated him.

"But his bow abode in ftrength, and the "arms of his hands was made ftrong by "the hands of the mighty God of Jacob: "from thence is the fhepherd, the stone of "Ifrael."

"Even by the God of thy father, who "thall help thee, and by the Almighty, "who shall bless thee with bleffings of "Heaven above, bleffings of the deep that "lieth under, bleffings of the breafts, and "of the womb."

"The bleffings of thy father have pre"vailed over the bleffings of my progenitors "unto the utmost bound of the everlafting

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hills; they fhall be on the head of Jofeph, and on the crown of the head of him that was feparated from his brethren."

The

The 22d verse relating to Jofeph is inimitable: the idea of the fruitful bough is a is a fine comparison, but receives prodigious heightning from the circumstance of planting it by a well, and the picture becomes quite complete, when, in confequence of thefe advantages of fituation, its branches are said to run over the wall. The whole of this image enjoys all the conftituent beauties of a happy fimile. It is exact, familiar, unaffected, and concise.

As foon as the venerable Jacob had end. ed this divine rhapsody of a departing fpirit, we are told, that he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost. Allamiable and excellent as he was, he felt, in fome degree, the tax of pain, which the errors of Eve intailed upon her pofteritythe pang of expiration-and then was gathered to his people.

ESSAY XVIII.

GENEROSITY of JOSEPH,

PASSAGE.

AND WHEN JOSEPH'S BRETHREN SAW THAT THEIR FATHER WAS DEAD, THEY SAID: JOSEPH WILL PÈRÁDVENTURE HATE US, AND WILL CERTAINLY REQUITE US ALL THE EVIL WHICH WE DID UNTO HIM.

HOW natural was this apprehenfion!

;

Guilt feldom confiders the benevo lence of others, but dwells upon its own conscious unworthiness and those who are degraded in their own eftimation, have flight notions of fuperior characters. Had these young men reflected upon the gentle and complacent nature of Jofeph, they could never have cherished a fear of this fort. When the matter was told to this tender-hearted brother, he wept. Sweet benign fpirit! Thou couldeft not bear the imputation of cruelty-the bare idea of ought

ought unamiable touched thee to the quick, and from the lips of brethren-it was a wound that fmarted through the foul. What pathetic fentiments are furnished by his anfwer" Rife, rife, my brethren, "fear not." Am I in the place of God? Shall I, man of frailty, prefumptuously asfume the privilege of judgment! Shall I dare to poife the omnipotent fcale, and criticife on the great plan of universal regulation - Fie upon it; I turn blushingly away from the impious thought!" Place me not then, my dear friends, in fo improper a a fituation; cloathe me no more in the majefty of Heaven; but think of me as I really am-a man-an imperfect man like yourselves, liable to equal infirmities, and only kept from falling by the immediate prefence and providence of the God of me, and of my fathers. Nor is it meet, ye invite forgivenefs, fince ye have been evidently the instrument of much felicity, God meant it to good: i. e, infinite happinefs is adduced from that which appeared, at first, to be evil. Forbear then to suspect ̧ your

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