submission was attended with much comfort either to herself or her mistress : where there was no love, there would be found many occasions of vexation and dispute. At last, after about eighteen years, a quarrel arose, which determined Sarah to expel from her family both Hagar and her son. This domestic occurrence is replete with instruction: we propose therefore to make some observations upon,
I. The history itself —
The expulsion of Hagar and her son, who was now about seventeen years of age, was a strong measure. Let us inquire into,
1. The grounds and reasons of it —
[Sarah had seen Ishmael mocking Isaac. From the reso- lution adopted by Sarah in consequence of it, we apprehend, that Ishmael had derided the pretensions of Isaac to inherit his father's substance. No doubt, Isaac was instructed as early as possible to regard God as his God, and to expect both from his earthly and his heavenly Father the accomplishment of all that God had promised him. Ishmael, on the other hand, would but ill brook the idea of being excluded from the birth- right ; and therefore would be ready to dispute Isaac's title to it. Possibly too the very name Isaac, which signifies laughter, would afford Ishmael many occasions of profane banter. Had this " mocking " been nothing more than idle jest, attended witli a foolish pleasure in teazing her child, we take for granted that Sarah would have deemed it sufficient to reprove the fault, and to point out to Ishmael the impropriety of his conduct. But she saw that it proceeded from profaneness ; that it argued a rebellious spirit against God ; that it would become his daily practice ; and that his mother encouraged him in it, glad to avenge in that way the wrongs that she supposed herself to suffer. On these accounts Sarah despaired of accomplishing her ends by correction, and determined to prevent a recurrence of such offences by an immediate and final expulsion of the offenders.]
2. The manner in which it was carried into exe- cution—
[Sarah, though right in her judgment respecting the means of obtaining domestic peace, seems to have been too precipitate, and too peremptory in her demands for their expulsion : and Abraham demurred about the carrying it into execution. He indeed had different feelings from Sarah. Sarah's regards were fixed exclusively on Isaac : she did not consider Ishmael as a son, but rather as an intruder, and a rival. But Abraham,