You have all, I do not doubt, seen the beautiful rainbow in the sky. It must have been a cheering sight to Noah and his family, when they had so long beheld nothing but torrents of rain, to see the clouds break, and once more to behold the bright sun after his long absence; but when, for the first time, they beheld this beautiful arch in the dark cloud, they must, indeed, have praised Him who rules the storm, and owned the Lord for their God.

ABOUT ABRAHAM.

SOME years after the Deluge, there lived a man whose name was Abram, or, as he was afterwards called, Abraham, of whom I must tell you a little, as he was the father of a great and mighty people; for from him are descended the Israelites, also called the Jews, of whom, I suppose, you have read a great deal in the Bible.

I cannot tell you one quarter of the interesting events written there of this nation; and, indeed, there is no need that I should, for I hope you will take delight in reading for yourselves.

Abraham was a good man, and God told him to leave his father's house, and his country, and go to a land which He

would show him, and where He promised to make of him a great nation. He obeyed the command of the Lord, took with him his nephew Lot, and went into the land of Canaan, where they prospered, became very rich, and had so much substance that they could not dwell together, for the land was not able to sustain them.

Here we meet with an instance of meekness and forbearance on the part of this good man, which it would be well for us to imitate. We read that the herdsmen of Abraham's cattle, and the herdsmen of Lot's cattle, quarrelled; and, instead of being angry or displeased with Lot or his servants, Abraham said unto Lot, 'Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between thee and me, and between thy servants and my servants, for we be brethren. Is not the whole land before thee? Separate thyself, I pray thee, from me if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or, if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.'

And here I may say a few words to them who may sometimes try to have their own way, because they are older than their companions: but is this kind? And when you feel disposed to do it again, think of Abraham: he was older than Lot, and might have told him to go where he pleased; yet, for the sake of peace and good will, he gave up his own right of choice to his nephew, telling him to take the way he liked best. It is very pleasing to your

heavenly Father, when he sees children, if they both wish for the same thing, cheerfully giving to their younger brothers and sisters that which they would have liked themselves.

We should learn to have charity to all around us; that is, we should so love every one as to be willing to give up our own right to them; for 'charity seeketh not her own.' Those who have charity think little of themselves, and will gladly part with much, for the sake of others. Our Lord hath said, 'Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.'

Surely there is no need for me to say any thing more than this, to persuade you to become gentle and affectionate one to another. And now I will tell you how obedient Abraham was to the commands of his Creator.

Abraham had a son, whose name was Isaac,-his only son, whom he loved very dearly; and it pleased God to try his faith in a very remarkable manner, by telling him to take his son into the land of Moriah, and offer him there for a burntoffering.

It was common in those days to worship God by building an altar, and laying thereon sometimes a lamb or kid, or whatever might be intended for an offering, which was then burnt; and nothing but the very best of the flock, and those that were without spot or blemish, were considered good

enough to be offered to that God from whose hands they received all that they possessed.

We may suppose that when Abraham was told to offer up his only son in this way, it grieved him exceedingly. But he knew that he ought to obey his Maker; he knew that all the blessings he enjoyed came from the hand of that God, who now required this painful sacrifice.

We read that he rose up early in the morning, and went unto the place of which God had told him; and, while they were on their journey, Isaac said unto his father, 'Behold the fire and the wood; but where is the lamb for a burntoffering?' His father answered him, that God would provide one.

When they came to the place, Abraham built an altar, and laid the wood upon it, and then took his son and laid him on the wood; but we find that, just as Abraham had taken up his knife to slay him, 'the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven and said, Abraham, Abraham. The good man answered, "Here am I." Then said the angel, "Lay not thy hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from me."

Then was Abraham very glad, and, turning round, he saw a sheep which had been caught in a thicket, of which

he made an offering, instead of his child; and the Lord was pleased with him, because he did not withhold his son from Him, and promised that he should be the father of a mighty nation, as numerous as the stars of heaven, or the sand upon the seashore.

THE STORY OF JOSEPH.

THE descendants of Abraham in time became a large family. Jacob, the grandson of the patriarch, was the father of twelve sons, who lived in a country called Canaan, in the north-west corner of Asia. Their names were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin: they led the life of shepherds, taking care of their flocks, and cultivating their fields.

Jacob loved Joseph more than his other children, and clothed him in a coat of many colors, as a mark of his love: of this his brothers were very jealous, and one day, when he had roused their jealousy yet more, by telling them two of his dreams, in which they were seen as bowing before him, they formed the wicked intention of putting him to death; for which purpose they threw him into a pit. But some merchants coming past, on their way into Egypt, they took

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