this day, the angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads." Thus Jacob acknowledges the bounties of his God to him and the care his God had taken of him.

Now, it is very interesting to of this man of God, the sharp

mark in the history discipline with which he was visited by reason of his inconsistencies; because, depend upon it, though God loves you, child of God, He will not suffer sin upon you; He loves you too well for that. Depend upon it, though God loves you, child of God, He will not pass over your inconsistencies. He loves you too well for that.

He must teach you what He must teach you you are. that sin is a hateful thing, and He must teach you that grace belongeth unto God. Now Jacob began life by deception; and deception nearly broke his own heart afterwards. I wonder when they brought him Joseph's coat of many colours, and he said, "It is my son's coat; without doubt Joseph is torn in pieces"—I wonder if it recalled to him the time when he went in Esau's clothing before his father Isaac to steal the blessing God had promised to give him without any stealing upon his part; and I wonder if afterwards when he was deceived at his marriage, when Laban deceived him and gave him the wife he did not choose, if he thought how he acted the deceiver in his early life.

I wonder if, when he had to pass over his first-born Reuben, the thought suggested itself to him how he tried to supersede his first-born brother Esau. Did you mark how the sin and the correction came together in close connection and in marked and unmistakable analogy?

FOR ALL THE TIME GOD WAS JACOB'S GOD.

Oh! the pains He took with him; the kindness He vouchsafed to him. He never broke His word. He had promised Abraham, He had promised Isaac, and He renewed the promise to Jacob, for it was all Grace, Grace, Grace from beginning to end; and when Jacob found it out before his earthly journey was finished, he exclaimed-" The God that fed me all my days, the God that kept me all my life unto this day, the angel that redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads, for few and evil have been the days of the years of my pilgrimage."

But now the sun is setting, and the close of Jacob's life reminds one of the serene and beautiful evening after a dark and tempestuous day. The clouds are passing away, and all God's wondrous dealings with him in mercy and in love are brought out into practical experience, and I do not know a grander picture in all God's Word than the death-bed of Jacob.

It makes me lay hold of the language of the Psalmist, and say " Blessed is the man that has the God of Jacob for his hope, and whose trust is in the Lord his God."

The natural character of Jacob seems to pass away; nothing but God is seen in his latter days. You find no more bargain-making, no more supplanting. You find the entire absence of all that mean cunning, that cringing to power, that shifting and shuffling and unbelief that characterised Jacob's early life.

It all seems to disappear, and as we stand beside his dying bed and listen to his words in faith and hope and

love, we just wonder and adore the faithfulness of the God of Jacob. It was a grand scene. We read in the 48th chapter that "one told Joseph, Behold, thy father is sick and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. And one told Jacob, and said, Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee: and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed."

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Do you observe the interchange of name—Israel and Jacob-all through the scene and all through the story? Jacob representing what he was: Israel what God had done for him. That, brethren, is the lesson we have all to learn. One's own name represents us as the wormthe worm Jacob; but "Israel," that hath strength with God, and that hath prevailed. "Israel strengthened himself, and he sat upon the bed."

We read in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews something with reference to the death-bed of Jacob, for we are told that on this occasion he leaned upon his staff. You remember when he pleaded with God in reference to his fears about Esau, he said, "With this staff I passed over Jordan." When he went a fugitive from his father's home he had no companion but his staff.

Leaning on that staff he passed over Jordan a poor man, without an earthly friend and without a single hope but that which he had in the promise of his God. "With this staff I passed over Jordan, and now I have become two bands." He had the staff in his hand as he returned after his sojourn with Laban, and that same staff he carried with him through life. Oh! the hallowed memories that surrounded that old stick ! He leans upon it now.

Poor Jacob is brought to that. Old age has bent his

brow and whitened his locks, and he sits up in his bed leaning upon his old staff to bless his children. Yes; hallowed memories were crowding around him, and he says in the third verse of the 48th chapter, "God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz (Bethel), in the land of Canaan, and blessed me." You remember when he wrestled with God, God would not tell him His name, but afterwards, when he went back the second time by God's command, God reveals His name, and Jacob remembers it, and gives utterance to the words above.

You read in the 10th verse that his eyes were dim, that he could not see. Just like his father Isaac's eyes

when he came a deceiver in Esau's clothes to receive the blessing from his father. His own eyes were dim now; and, brethren, do you mark the connection between what a man sows and what he reaps?

Well, he orders his sons, we read in the next chapter (49th), to be gathered together, and they gather themselves around his bed. How much better God was to Jacob than he ever dreamt of. Do you remember the time when Joseph was gone and the messenger comes to send Benjamin down into Egypt, and old Jacob says"If I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved." What a mistake he made. They were all there.

You remember also when he said-"All these things are against me." There again he was wrong. God had sent Joseph before him to preserve his life. How very touchingly the dear old man speaks to Joseph-" I had not thought to look upon thy face, and God hath made me to see thy children." How much better God was to him than ever he dreamed of. Oh! may the God of

Jacob be my God and your God. Well, all his sons are gathered round him, and then, in the 49th chapter, we have the words recorded that he addressed to each of them.

Some of them he reproves and some of them he blesses, and there again I beg you to mark, notice, and never forget the connection between character and blessing. There is a close connection between the character of each of the sons of Jacob and the blessing that God inspired him to pronounce, and you may depend upon it that one great thought of God with us here is to have character formed. One of His dealings with us is the formation of character. The only thing you can carry with you into eternity is character. You will not carry your money or your influence with you into another world, but simply your character, and your character is being formed here, and as is your character here so will your position be hereafter. May God Almighty form Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Then, observe again, that he had nothing to leave them, except the promise of his God, and all he had to leave them was that which his faith laid hold upon for them. That is very interestingly brought out in the latter part of the 48th chapter. He says to Joseph, "Behold, I die; but God shall be with you." Not a bad portion. What warrant had he? Just God's promise. He deals with the promises of God as if they were his property, and amongst other things God had promised him the land of Canaan, and, mark you, how he parcels it out, just as if it were already in his possession, and just as David said in his day, "God hath spoken in his holiness; I will rejoice, I will divide.