HOMILETICS. Vers. 15-21.-Hagar and Ishmael, oi· the fortunes of the outcasts. I. TnE LONELY WANDERERS. 1. Banished from liome. Hitherto the household of Abraham had been to Hagar and her boy such o pleasant and doubtless much-prized abode ; henceforth their connection with the patriarch's encompment was to be completely severed. So God in his mysterious providence and in many different ways frequently bereaves men of the shelter and society of home. 2. Separated from the Church. Practically the expulsion of this Egyptian slave-mother and her son from the house- hold of Abraham, if it did not involve a casting off from God's mercy, amounted to extrusion from the patriarchal Church. 3. Lost in the wilderness. Whether because the region through which they travelled was unfamiliar, or because, impelle.l by indignation and excitement, they simply drifted on with aimless feet, the narrative depicts the unhappy pair as having "wandered," turned neido into unfrequented paths, and become lost; in that touchingly portraying the sad condition of thou- snnds of homeless and churchless wonderere to-day, roaming purpose)eijs and pe.rplexed across the trackless waste of life. II. THE FAINTING YOUTH. 1. Perishing thro11gh thirst. Extreme thirst one of the most excruciating torments to which the physical frame con be subjected, and a fellow-creature dying for lock of water, one of tho commonest of God's mercies, a! snd o. spectacle as any on which the eye of man can gaze. 2. Sobbing in angitish. Too exhausted to weep aloud, the poor disheartened Ind moons out his misery. Happy they who, if they cannot relieve, can at least understand and bo affected by their necessities. To recognise :md make complaint of one's spiritual destitution is better tlrnn to be callou~ and indifferent to one's dying condition. 3. Prayinr, to God. Though not certnm thot the " voice " of the lad meant more than the rude cry of his distress, charity mny hope that in the day of his calamity h directe,l his 11rnyer to God. Prayer gcr.crnlly precedes delivernnce. 1' 2 THE BOOK OF GENESIS. [nn. xxi. 15-21.
III. THE WEEl'ING MOTHER. 1. The i•oict of luatlien superstition. "Let me not see the death of the lnd." To a Christi,111 11iother Hagar s behaviour is simply in- explicable. It is doubtful if Sarah would J.arn been a bow-shot removed from Isaac h1td he been expiril1g. But then Hagar, though she had been Abraham's wife, wus still II poor untutored slave-girl. It may assist us to understand our indebtedness to the humanising in~uences of Christ's religion. 2. The ci-y of maternal affection. "She sat ov~r agarnst_ her boy, a!ld lifted up her voice and wept." Even in the breast of this Egyptian bondmaid nature asserted her supremacy. Everywhere beautiful and sacred is a mother's lo\·e, worthy of being cherished and reciprocaterl hy tho8e who know its sweetness and strength, never failing to bring down retribu- tion on those by whom it is rejected and despised. lY. THE COJ\lFORTING Gon. 1. Sympatht'sin,g witli tlte sorrowful. "What aileth 1hee, Hagar?'' "'hat a glimpse into the infinite pitifulness of the Divine nature I Only when Christ came was it surpassed in clearness and fulness. 2. Lutening to the suppliant. As the prayer of Ishmael came up into the wakeful ear of God, so tl,c cries of dJing- men and perishing souls never foil to do. 3. Consoling the d~jected. As to Hagar the angel spoke words of encouragement, and renewed the formerly-gi,en assurance concerning the future greatness of her son, so God revives tl,e drooping spirits of his people by directing them to his exceeding great and pre- cious promises. 4. Providing for tlie destitute. " God opened her eyes, and sl,e ,-aw a well of water." .And so by the !endings of his providence, the teachings of l,is word, and the illumination of his Spirit does God guide the meek to the wells of sa ),ation. 5. Abi,ding with the homeless. "God was with the lad." Ejected fro111 Abraham's house, he was not deserted by Abraham's God. Happy they who amid life's wanderings can count on God's companionship. For desertions of friends and deprivations of goods it will prove ample compensation. Learn-1. To prize the blessing of a home and the privilege of a Church. 2. To c0mmiserate and succour those who ha,e neither. 3. To use God in all the revealed a~pects of bis gracious character.
HOMILIES BY VAllIOUS AUTHORS. Ver. 17.-Hagar, a weary outcast. "What aileth thee, Hagar?" Hagar is sent away from .Abraham's tents. In the wilderness wandering she is lost. In despair sl1e sinks down and weeps. An angel's voice is heard inquiring, "What nileth thee, Hagar?" I. HAGAR MAY BE TAKEN AS REPRESENTING THE SOULS STILL CHRISTLESB. They are- ]. Weary. 2. Thirsty. 3. Apparently man-forsaken and God-forsaken. 4. Their dearest comforts slipping from them, as Hagar's child, by death. 5. Death expecting. JL HAGAR1B ACT INDICATES HOW SUCH SOULS SHOULD ACT IN TROUBLII. 1. Realise it. 2. Seek deliverance from above. God nenrer to us than we imagine. He feels for us, hears us, helps Ill!, He gives sustenance, cheer, guidance.-H.
Vera. 17-19.-Gocl's appearance t<> Hagar. The greatest truths in the Bible put hefore us in a setting of human interest and feeling. Our hearts strangely touchod by the picture of the rlesolate woman and the helpless child. The fatherly character of God exhibited. He heard the voice of the lad. All such facts point to the greatest fact, the union of God and man in the man Christ Jesus. We see here- I. Goo's NOTICE OF AND COMPASSION FOR HUMAN BUFFERING: our example. The object of pity apart from antecedents. II. THE WORKING OUT OF DIVINE PURPOSES notwithstanding, nnd to some extent by means uf, human infirmities, errors, and sins. Ishmael must be preserved, and hue his po.rt tu play in the future. III. Taken TYPICALLY, Hagar and Ishmael represent the life of man npart from the covenant of God, outside the circle of special privilege. There is God in the wilderness. The eyes which are darkened with ignorance and self-will may yet be mercifully opened to see the well of water. The Rngel of deliverance follows e,·en t hP. hondwomRn and her son. But the way to God through the wild<'mE'RB is II linrd \I ;,y, n wny nf suffering, a way of dnng!'r. God was with J l11nnel. Ill' wa~ with 0 clt. xxt. 15-21. J THE BOOK OF GENESlS. 271