thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city. And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hands of his two daughters, the Lord being merciful unto him, and they brought him forth, and set him without the city. And when they had brought them forth, He said, Escape for thy life, look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed. The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar. Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven. And He overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew on the ground. But Lot's wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. And Abraham got up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the Lord, and he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and lo! the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace. And it came to

pass, when God destroyed the cities of the

plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt.

More than two thousand years had passed since the creation of the world when Abraham was born, and the world was now full of people. Men lived, also, much longer in those days than they do now. Melchizedek, of whom we read here, is supposed to be a type or figure of our Lord Jesus Christ. In the fifth, sixth, and seventh chapters of the Epistle of St. Paul to the Hebrews you will find him spoken of, although little is said of him in the Old Testament.

From which of Noah's sons was Abraham descended?

When did men begin to speak different languages— and why?

What relation was Lot to Abraham?

Who was Melchizedek?

In what form did God appear to Abraham?

And what promise did He make to him?

For whose sake was Lot saved, when Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed?

The Story of Hagar and Eshmael.-Abraham's

Sacrifice of Isaac.

JAGAR, the bondwoman, was sent
By Sarah into banishment,

Lest Ishmael, Hagar's son, should share The rights of Isaac, Abraham's heir.

Then God bade Abraham take his son

The son he loved, his only one

And on a mountain far away,
That Isaac, as an offering, slay.

Did Abraham hesitate or doubt?
No, he "
rose early," and set out;
Did Isaac shrink, or disobey?

No, he went calmly on his way.

And when his father took the knife,
To offer up his Isaac's life,

Meek on the altar see him lie,
Ready to bear, to bleed, to die.

Father and son were set in will,
Their Lord's commandment to fulfil;
And God, who oft his purpose hides,
Another sacrifice provides.

So Abraham and his son were spared,
Though both for sacrifice prepared ;
And long, and blessed, their days were made,
Since both believed and both obeyed.

A

ND Sarah bore Abraham a son, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. And Abraham called the name of his son Isaac.

And the child grew, and was weaned; and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned. And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, her maid, mocking. Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son; for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, Isaac.

And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away; and she

D

departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba. And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs. And she went, and sat her down a good way off, for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she lift up her voice, and wept.

And God heard the voice of the lad, and the angel of the Lord called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? Fear not, for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is. Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand, for the Lord will make of him a great nation.

And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink.

And God was with the lad, and he grew, and became an archer. And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran; and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.

And it came to pass, that God tried the faith said unto him, Abraham. hold, here I am.

after these things, of Abraham, and And he said, Be