respecting the providence of God, and to make them know, that whether they become rich by industry or by inheritance, it is " God who feeds them all their life long." It is also in- dispensably necessary to direct their attention to that " Angel," Jehovah, the Lord Jesus Christ, " the Angel of the Covenant0," through whom alone we have redemption, either from the moral evil of sin, or from the penal evil of damnation. It is " He that redeems us from all evil," temporal, spiritual, and eternal. If we can from our own experience bear testimony to Christ in this view, it will avail more than a thousand lec- tures given in a time of health : for then the surrounding relatives will see, the sting of death is taken away, and that " they are indeed blessed who put their trust in Christ."]
2. We should pray to God for them —
[The prayer of Jacob is short, but sententious. The expression, " God bless you ! " is often uttered in a dying hour, but without any just ideas affixed to the petition. But we, in imploring the blessing of God upon our children, should distinctly inform them wherein that blessing consists. We should inform them, that, to enjoy God in the dispensations of his providence, and Christ in the riches of his grace, and to walk before God in Christ, as our God and Saviour, in all holy obedience, is to be truly blessed ; and that we are then indeed blessed, when God by his Spirit enables us thus to enjoy and to serve him. Having these things in our own minds, and conveying them to the minds of those whom we desire to instruct, we need not multiply words in prayer : while we entreat of God to bless those for whose welfare we are par- ticularly concerned, we shall find acceptance with God, and obtain mercies for them.
It is recorded of Jacob, that in this prayer of his he exer- cised faith d. Now we have not precisely the same grounds for faith that he had ; because he was inspired to pronounce over the youths the blessings which God had before deter- mined to bestow : but the more we are enabled to believe in God as a prayer-hearing and promise-keeping God, the more reason we have to hope that our prayers shall be answered, whether for ourselves or others.]
Address —
1. To those who are advanced in life —
[You see before you the composure of a dying saint. Seek to obtain such for yourselves. And that you may " die
c The same Person is spoken of as in the former members of the text: nor would Jacob have prayed to him, if he had not been God. Compare Gen. xxxii. 24, 28, 30. with Hos. xii. 3 — 5. and Mai. in. 1.
d Heb. xi. 21.