SERMON V.

GENESIS XXXII. 26.

And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.

ON a recent occasion, we considered the former part of the subject contained in the words of our text. We have still to meditate upon the conduct of Jacob expressed in the words, "I will not let thee go, except thou bless me."

This blessing comprises in it, generally speaking, the appropriation of the salvation purchased by Christ, from its first scarcely perceptible commencement in the individual, to its completion in heaven; from the first inclination of the will towards God and his truth, to

the standing before the throne of the Lamb; from the anxious inquiry, What must I do to be saved?" to the being satisfied with Divine felicity as with a stream; in which appropriation there is a commencement, a continuation, and a completion observable.

Jacob expresses a strong and ardent desire for this blessing. He does not however mean its first beginnings; for he had no doubt of the favour of God, of the forgiveness of his sins, and that the renewing of the Divine image had already been commenced in him. He had no doubt of the validity of the blessing received from his father, although not in an entirely correct manner; since not only his father, but God himself, had confirmed it. He had not the smallest hesitation with regard to the Divine sealing of the promise he had received, but appeals to it, in the twelfth verse, with all boldness. He did not consider himself as one in whom the Lord had hitherto had no pleasure, but, although entirely unworthy of it, as the favoured object of his mercy and loving kindness, of which he had received the most visible and affecting proofs.

But still he was not satisfied. He longed to

be blessed in a superior, more inward, and profound manner than before. And the Lord himself had excited this desire, this hunger, and this longing within him. The Lord had awakened in him the feeling of necessity for a superior blessing, for a more substantial impartation of grace. He had inflicted a deep wound upon him, not only outwardly but inwardly also, which rendered him desirous of being healed. He could no longer exist in the manner he had done hitherto, nor be any longer satisfied with his state of grace. He wished for more. being Jacob, he desired to become Israel.

From

The

eagle felt its wings, and wished to soar aloft with them. It was with him as with the grain of wheat in the lap of earth, whose germ bursts the husk, and springs forth. He felt as though what had been said to his grandfather Abraham, had been also said to him: Walk before me, and be thou perfect; for I will make a covenant between me and thee." From being a youth he wished to become a man.

When a soul is called from an inferior to a higher state of grace, and to a more perfect faith, and when Christ is to be more completely formed in the soul, a certain pressure

precedes it. This was also the case with Jacob; and the Lord employed a variety of means to produce in him this necessity for and craving after a superior communication of grace and blessing. He first gave him the command to return to the land of Canaan, where his father dwelt, and also his brother Esau, and gradually conducted him to the scene of conflict where we have hitherto contemplated him, and where wonderful but glorious things occurred to him. In Mesopotamia he had no reason to trouble himself about his brother's fury, although he had something to suffer from the covetousness of his father-in-law; but now he himself, with all that was dear and valuable to him, was at stake, and he was cast, as it were, to the lions. It was not his own choice; for this would have been fool-hardy, and he would have been unable, in this case, to have made God his confident. It was the Lord's own guidance. To this Jacob appeals in the ninth verse, "Thou saidst unto me, Return unto thy country." The Lord had also promised him, saying, “Behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest" (ch. xxviii. 15). His own reason and his own will would have been

no good guide, nor do they lead any one aright. Hence the promise is, "I will guide thee with mine eye;" "I will lead thee into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto thee" (Hosea ii. 14). Hence David prays, "Let thy good spirit lead me on a plain path;" and again, “Turn from me every false way, and grant me thy statutes."

However, Jacob was not enabled to conduct himself under these circumstances, on approaching his brother, in a manner consistent with the promises he had received. By the Lord's wise permission, a dreadful fear of his enraged brother takes possession of his soul, and under its influence he acts, in some respects, too much like a natural man; but in others, in an exemplary manner. The feeling of fear was not only painful in itself, but one might have supposed it could not have seized such a man as Jacob. Doubtless he himself regarded it as something unbecoming, improper, and even absurd, and for which there was no cause, and by giving way to which he might act derogatorily to the faithfulness, power, and promise of the Lord. But these considerations were insufficient to tranquillize him; his reason looked too