Years of Famine were begun The which he call'd Manasseh for said he God makes me to forget my Misery And all my Father's House And after him Was born another he call'd Ephraim For God saith he hath made me to possess Abundance in the Land of my Distress And when the seven plenteous Years were gone The seven Years of Famine next came on As Joseph said and there was a great Dearth In every Nation throughout all the Earth But in the Land of Egypt there was Bread And when the People almost famished Complained to the King he bad them go To Joseph and whate'er he said to do And now the Famine daily waxing sore Joseph began to bring forth of his Store Which he had laid up for the Publick Good To whom th' Egyptians came and bought their Food And People from all Countries far and near To Egypt came to buy Provision there For in all Lands the Famine was severe CHAP. XLII AND now behold when Jacob had been told That there was Corn in Egypt to be sold He said unto his Sons Why stand ye thus Go down to Egypt and buy Corn for us That so our craving Stomachs may be fed And not lie here and die for lack of Bread Thus Jacob's ten Sons were to Egypt sent But Joseph's Brother Benjamin ne'er went For why his Father said I will not send him Lest peradventure some ill chance attend him And Joseph's Brethren came among the rest To buy Provision for they were distrest Now he was Governor of all the Land And all the Corn of Egypt in his hand Wherefore his Brethren when they came to treat With him for Corn bow'd down ev'n at his feet And he no sooner saw them but he knew them And shew'd himself extremely strange unto them And very roughly asked who they were From whence they came and what their bus'ness there And they made answer We thy Servants from The Land of Canaan to buy Food are come Now tho' they knew him not yet he knew them And calling now to mind his former Dream He said I do suspect ye 're come as Spies To see in what distress our Country lies But they reply'd again my Lord we 're come Only to buy some Food to carry home Think not thy Servants Spies but true Men rather For we are all the Children of one Father Nay nay said he but ye are come to pry Into the Nations great necessity But they reply'd again Thy Servants are Inhabitants of Cana'n and declare That we 're twelve Brethren whom one Man begot The Youngest is at home and one is not Well then said Joseph hereby shall I know Whether ye 're Spies as I have said or no Now by the Life of Pharaoh do I swear Unless your Brother come I 'll keep you here Send one of you and fetch the Lad to me And you shall be confin'd so shall there be A Proof of what you say before mine Eyes Or by the Life of Pharaoh ye are Spies Then he for three days put them all in Ward And on the third day said I have regard To Equity therefore if ye are true And honest Men do this let one of you Be bound in Prison here and let the other Go carry Corn home and bring me your Brother So shall ye be approv'd and shall not die And they prepar'd to do accordingly And as they were discoursing to each other They said we were in fault about our Brother In that we saw his Soul in great distress And yet were so exceeding pitiless As not to hearken to his earnest cries This is the cause of these our Miseries And Reuben said you know I did forewarn And beg that you would do the Child no harm But you would not do then as I desir'd And now his Blood is at our hands requir'd Thus they discours'd about the cause that brought Their present trouble but they little thought That Joseph knew of what they did confer Because he spake by an Interpreter And he being moved at their words withdrew To weep and then returned to renew His former talk and chusing Simeon out Before them all he bound him hand and foot And gave command to fill their Sacks with Grain And to restore their Mony to 'em again And for their Journey give them Food to eat In such sort Joseph did his Brethren treat Then with their Asses laden towards home They went and when into their Inn they come As one of them his Sack of Corn unty'd To give his Ass some Provender he spy'd His Mony in his Sack again return'd Wherefore he call'd his Brethren and inform'd Them that his Mony was returned back Behold said he it is here in my Sack On sight whereof their Hearts were sore dismay'd And being very much affrighted said What is the thing that God's about to do That we do thus these Troubles undergo Then coming to their Father they related After what sort they were in Egypt treated And said the Man that 's Lord of all the Land And hath the store of Corn all in his hand Spake roughly to us and affirm'd that we Were come the weakness of the Land to see To whom we said we are all honest Men We are twelve Brethren whereof here are ten And two elsewhere all which one Man begot The youngest's with our Father one is not Then said the Ruler of the Land hereby Shall I make proof of your integrity Let one of you continue here with me And take Provision for your Family And get you gone and bring the youngest hither That so I may be satisfied whether Ye are true Men as you make protestation Then I 'll release him and give toleration To you to come and Traffick in the Nation And now behold as they their Sacks unloos'd To empty out their Corn there was inclos'd In each Man's Sack his Money therein bound As when they came from home which when they found Both they and their old Father were afraid And to his Sons afflicted Jacob said You of my Children have beâ—eaved me Joseph and Simeon now do cease to be And of my Benjamin you would deprive me These things do ev'n into distraction drive me Then Reuben said My Father I resign To thy disposing these two Sons of mine Give me the Lad and let them both be slain If I do not return him safe again But he reply'd I will not let him go For why his Brother is deceas'd you know And if upon the way some evil thing Should happen to the I ad you then will bring These my grey Hairs with sorrow to the Grave For he 's the only comfort that I have CHAP. XLIII AND now the Famine still continuing sore And having spent all their late purchas'd store Their Father bids them to go down for more To whom when Judah had himself addrest He said The Man did solemnly protest If we without our Brother came again To seek his Face would be for us in vain If therefore
alone Shall be my Servant you may all be gone Then unto Joseph Judah drawing near Said O my Lord I pray be pleas'd to hear Thy Servant speak and be not angry now For as King Pharaoh is ev'n so art thou My Lord did bid thy Servants to discover Whether we had a Father or a Brother And we made answer that thy Servants had An ancient Father and a little Lad The Child of his old age who was our Brother And he the only Child left of his Mother His Brother being dead and that this Lad Was all the comfort that our Father had Then thou wert pleas'd to bid thy Servants bring The Lad that thou might'st have a sight of him And we made answer If the Lad should leave His Father it would bring him to his Grave And thou didst then protest it was in vain For us without him to come here again Then towards home thy Servants went their way And told our Father what my Lord did say And in a while when all our Corn was spent Thy Servant ev'n our Father would have sent To buy more Food to whom thy Servants said We cannot go except thou send the Lad Because the Man did solemnly declare Unless we brought him we should not come there And then thy Servant ev'n our Father said Ye know that by my Wife two Sons I had And one of them went forth and came no more Which made me think some Beast did him devour And if I now should also condescend To let this go and mischief should attend You will with sorrow bring me to my end When to my Father I shall come therefore And he shall see that I do not restore The Lad again he certainly will die Since in his Life my Father's Life doth lie And we shall bring him to his Grave thereby For I became a Surety for the Lad Unto my Father unto whom I said If I do not in safety him deliver Then let me bear the blame to thee for ever I humbly pray thee therefore to accept Me in his stead and let me here be kept My Lord's Bondslave and let the Lad go free For how can I thy Servant bear to see The Evil that shall on my Father come If that the Lad return not safely home CHAP. XLV THen Joseph who by no means now could hide His Brotherly affection longer cry'd Put all Men forth and he was left alone When to his Brethren he himself made known Then Joseph weeping lifted up his Voice So loud that Pharaoh's Servants heard the noise And to his Brethren did himself discover And said Lo I am Joseph your own Brother And doth my Father live Whereat amaz'd They could not speak but at each other gaz'd Then Joseph said Come near I pray behold I am your Brother Joseph whom ye sold To Egypt be not grieved now therefore Nor vex your selves for God sent me before To save Life for for these two Years there hath been A Famine and five more to come wherein Seed-time nor Harvest shall at all be seen The Lord I say hath sent me to provide A Place and strangely save your Lives beside So now ye sent me not but it was rather The Lord and he hath made me as a Father Unto the King Lord of his Houshold and A Ruler over all this spacious Land Unto my Father therefore go your way And tell him Thus doth thy Son Joseph say The Lord hath rais'd me to an high degree In Egypt tarry not but come to me And thou shalt dwell in Goshen and be nigh me And with Provision there will I supply thee Both thou and thine Flocks Herds and all thou hast For yet these five Years will the Famine last Lest otherwise Provision being scant Thou and thy Family may come to want Behold both you and Benjamin my Brother Do see that it is I and not another Go tell my Father this amazing Story And bring him hither to behold my Glory Then falling on his youngest Brother's Neck And he on his they o'er each other wept And to the rest he did likewise wherefore They now were more familiar than before And now whilst they discoursed the Report Of their arrival came to Pharaoh's Court And he was pleas'd thereat wherefore he said To Joseph Let thy Brethren straitway lade Their Beasts with Corn and thus unto them say Unto your Native Country hast away And fetch your Father and your Housholds and I 'll feed you with the good things of the Land And since you are commanded by the King Take Waggons with you hence wherein to bring Your Wives your Little ones and come down hither Your Father you and yours altogether And never heed to bring your Houshold-stuff For here in Egypt you shall have enough Then did the Isr'elites accordingly And Joseph ord'ring them a large supply Of Necessaries for their Journey sent Waggons according to the King's intent And to each Man he gave a Suit of Cloaths But on his Brother Benjamin bestows Five Suits and as a Token of his Love A Sum of Money over and above And thus he sent ev'n for his Father's use Of the best things that Egypt did produce Ten Asses load and ten she-Asses load Of Bread and Meat to spend upon the Road. Then sending them away he said I pray See that you do not fall out by the way And leaving Egypt with their num'rous Train Unto their Father they return'd again To whom as soon as e'er they did arrive They said Our Brother Joseph's yet alive And Lord of all the Land which sore dismay'd Him for he scarce believed what they said Then they of all that past gave him relation And shew'd the Waggons for a confirmation Which being manifest before his Eyes He rais'd himself and said it doth suffice Joseph my Son is yet alive and I Will go to see him once before I die CHAP. XLVI THen Isr'el setting forward on his way With all his Houshold came to Bersheba And offer'd Sacrifice there to implore The God his Father Isaac did adore And in the Visions of the Night God spake To him and said fear not to undertake This Journey into Egypt for I am The God of thy Fore-fathers Abraham And Isaac to the Land of Egypt I Will go with thee and there will multiply Thy Off-spring and of thee will surely make A mighty Nation and will bring thee back And thy Son Joseph there thine Eyes shall close After which Vision he from thence arose And in the Waggons which King Pharaoh sent He and his Family to Egypt went His Sons their Wives and Children and the rest Of their Concerns whereof they were possest When they in Cana'n dwelt and they were then No more in number but Threescore and Ten. And when to Egypt Israel drew near He sent before him Judah to prepare His way to Goshen which when Joseph heard Immediately his Chariot he prepar'd And unto Goshen he directly went And to his Father did himself present And
being over joy'd fell on his Neck And for a good while thereupon he wept Then Jacob said since thou yet liv'st and I Have seen thy face once more now let me die And Joseph said my Brethren I will go Unto King Pharaoh and will let him know That you and all my Father's House are come And that your Occupation when at home Hath been in feeding Cattle altogether And that you 've brought your Flocks and Herds all hither Now therefore when you come before the King And he shall ask you what your Trade hath been Say thus Thy Servants from our Youth till now Have dealt in Cattle we and our Fathers too That he may let you dwell in Goshen for Th' Egyptians do a Shepherd's-Life abhor CHAP. XLVII THen to King Pharaoh Joseph went and said My Father and his Sons with all they had In their own Countrey are come down to me And in the Land of Goshen now they be Five of his Brethren also with him went Whom he unto King Pharaoh did present And Pharaoh asked them about their Trade And they unto the King reply'd and said We and our Fathers while we were at home Were Shepherds all and now behold we come With all our Flocks to get some Pasture here For in our Land the Famine is severe We therefore pray thee to appoint a Portion Unto thy Servants in the Land of Goshen And Pharaoh said to Joseph I impow'r thee To use thy pleasure Goshen is before thee Settle thy Father and thy Brethren there And if among them active Men there are Commit my Cattle to their special care And Joseph brought his aged Father in Before the King and Jacob blessed him And Pharaoh asking him about his Age He said The Years of my Life's Pilgrimage Are but an Hundred Thirty very few And evil nor have I attain'd unto The Years of my Fore-Fathers longer age Which they past thro' in this their Pilgrimage And Jacob blest the King again and then Out of his Presence he return'd again And Joseph plac'd his Father and Relations In Egypt and appointed them Possessions In the best of the Land ev'n in the Land Of Ramases according to the King's Command And there he nourisht them with fit supplies Of Bread according to their Families And now the People having spent their store And Famine still increasing more and more Egypt and Canaan too for want of Bread Were sore distrest and almost famished And Joseph took the Money they did bring To buy their Corn and kept it for the King Wherefore the People came to represent Their case to him both Corn and Coin be'ng spent And Joseph said If Money be grown scant Bring me your Cattle and ye shall not want And they brought Horses Asses and their Flocks And Herds of Cattel ev'n all their Stocks And gave to Joseph in exchange for Bread For which the People he for that Year fed And when that Year was past the second Year They came again and said we can't forbear To let thee know our want my Lord doth know Thou hast our Money and our Cattle too And there is nothing left so hard 's our fate But only each Man's Person and Estate If thou wilt give us Bread into thy hands Will we resign our Persons and our Lands And be the Servants of the King for ever From Death therefore our hungry Souls deliver And take some pity on our wretched state Lest we dye and the Land be desolate And the Egyptians sold each Man his Field Beaause the Famine over them prevail'd And all their Lands became the King's Possession And Joseph plac'd them at his own discretion But the Land of the Priests he purchas'd not For Pharaoh had assign'd to them their Lot And they receiv'd their Food from Pharaoh's hands Wherefore they had no need to sell their Lands And Joseph said unto them now behold You and your Lands are unto Pharaoh sold Lo here is Seed to sow in each Man's Field And when the Land its ripe increase shall yield A fifth part shall belong unto the Crown And th' other four parts shall be your own For Seed to sow your Lands and for supplies Of Food convenient for your Families And they said Thou hast sav'd our Lives my Lord Thy gracious favour unto us afford And we will do according to thy word And Joseph made it a Decree to stand Ev'n to this day throughout th' Egyptian Land That Pharaoh should have a fifth part except The Priests Lands which unto themselves they kept And in the Land of Egypt ev'n in Goshen Did Isr'el dwell and therein had possession And grew and multiply'd exceeding fast And Jacob liv'd till seventeen Years were past So that the sum of Jacob's age appears To be an hundred forty seven Years And when the time approach'd that he must die He called Joseph unto whom he said If I Have now found favour in thy sight I pray Swear thou unto me that thou wilt not lay My Bones in Egypt for I fain would lie Among my Ancestors when e'er I die And not be bury'd here therefore fulfil This my Desire and he reply'd I will And he said swear unto me which he did Then Jacob bow'd himself upon his Bed CHAP. XLVIII AND now when Joseph heard his Father lay Even at the point of death he hasts away To visit him and took along with him His Son Manasseh and 's Son Ephraim Whereof when Jacob heard he strengthned Himself and rose and sate upon the Bed And thus to Joseph said Lo God appeared To me at Luz in Canaan and declared That he would bless and make me a great Nation And give my Seed that Land for a Possession And Jacob said Behold these Sons of thine As Reuben and as Simeon shall be mine And all the rest which shall be born to thee Hereafter shall be thine and they shall be Call'd by the Name of their own Family Behold thy Mother died upon the way When I from Padan came near Ephratah The which is in the Land of Canaan where To wit in Bethlem did I bury her And Jacob seeing Joseph's Sons were there He asked of him who the Children were And Joseph said My Father lo these be The Sons God in this Place hath given me Then Jacob said I pray thee bring them nigh To me and I will bless them e'er I die Now Jacob's Eyes by reason of Age were dim And Joseph brought his Sons near unto him And Jacob kissed and embraced them And said I never thought to see thy Face And lo the Lord hath shown me of thy race And Joseph from between his Knees brought forth His Sons and bow'd himself even to the Earth And in his Right hand held up Ephraim Towards his Father's Left hand guiding him And in his Left hand to his Father's right He held his Son Manasseh opposite And Isra'l stretching out his Right hand laid It on the youngest namely Ephraim's head And laid his Left hand wittingly
upon Manasseh's head although the eldest Son And Jacob blessed Joseph saying The God Of Heaven in whose Paths my Fathers trod Who all my Life hath nourish'd me even he Who from all Evil hath redeemed me Bless both the Lads and let them bear my Name And the Name of my Fathers Abraham And Isaac and let them multiply In the midst of the Earth exceedingly And Joseph seeing his Father 's Right hand laid On Ephraim's head he was displeas'd and said Not so my Father lay this hand upon Manasseh's head for he 's the eldest Son And therewithal attempted to have laid His Father's Right hand on Manasseh's head But he refus'd and said I know 't my Son I know 't full well he also shall become A People and be mighty But indeed His younger Brother shall him far exceed And many Nations shall come from his Seed Thus Jacob blessed them and said In thee Shall Isra'l bless and say God make thee be Like Ephraim and Manasseh Thus did he Prefer the youngest to the first degree And Isra'l said to Joseph Lo I 〈◊〉 But God shall visit you and certainly Shall bring you back unto your Fathers 〈◊〉 And thou shalt have a Portion from my hand Above thy Brethren which with Sword and Bow I took from th' Amorite my deadly Foe CHAP. XLIX AND Jacob called all his Sons together And said Ye Sons of Jacob come you hither And hearken what your aged Father says Who tells you what shall be in the last days Reuben my first born of my Strength the Flower The excellency of Dignity and Power Unstable as Water be for ever vile Because thou didst thy Father's Bed defile Simeon and Levi're Brethren Instruments Of Cruelty are lodged in their Tents Come not my Soul their secret Councils nigh My Honour with them have no Unity For in their Wrath they caus'd a Man to fall And in their Self-will digged down a Wall Curst be their anger fierce yea cursed be Their Wrath for it was full of Cruelty In Jacob therefore let there Seed be spread And every where in Israel scattered Judah shall have his Brethren's Praise and they Shall bow before him he his Foes shall slay Judah's a Lion's Whelp return'd from pray He stoop'd he couch'd and as a Lion lay As an old Lion who shall dare molest Or rouze him up when he lies down to rest The Scepter shall from Judah never start Nor a Lawgiver from his Feet depart Until the blessed Shiloh come to whom The scatter'd People shall from all parts come Binding his Foal unto the choicest Vine He wash'd his Garments all of them in Wine His Eyes shall with the Blood of the Grapes look red And milky Whiteness shall his Teeth o'er spread Lo Zebulun shall dwell upon the Sea An Haven for the Ships security And unto Zidon shall his Border be And Issacha◠is a strong Ass between Two Burdens crouching who when he had seen That Rest was pleasant and the Land was good His servile Neck unto the Yoak he bow'd Dan as a Judge shall over Israel sway He shall be as a Serpent in the way To bite the Horse and cast the Rider down O God! I have look'd for thy Salvation Gad by a Troop shall be o'ercome but he Shall at the last obtain the Victory The Bread of Asher shall be fat indeed And Royal Dainties shall from him proceed Like to an Hind let loose is Naphthali He speaketh all his Words acceptably Joseph's a fruitful Bough whose Branches tall Grow by a Well and over-top the Wall By reason of Hatred which the Archers bore They shot at him and griev'd him very sore But Joseph's Bow in its full strength abode And by the Arm of Jacob's mighty God He was indu'd with strength from whence alone Is Israe'l's Shepherd and chief corner Stone Even by my Father's God who shall assist Thee by th' Almighty God shalt thou be blest With Blessings from above and from below With Blessings of the Breast and Womb also Thy Father's Blessings have prevail'd beyond My Ancestors Unto the utmost bound Of the perpetual Hills yea let them rest On Joseph's head and let him be possest Of all who was divided from the rest Young Benjamin shall Wolf-like take his prey And part at night what he hath took by day All these are the twelve Tribes of Israel And thus their Father did their Fate foretel And blessed every one of them apart According to their Personal desert Moreover he gave them a charge and said Lo I shall die but let my Bones be laid Among my Ancestors in Canaan where Of Ephron Abraham bought a Sepulcher Together with a Field to be a Place Of Burial for him and all his Race There Abraham and Sarah lie and there They Isaac and Rebecca did inter And there when Leah died I buried her The Field was purchas'd of the Sons of Heth. Thus having said resigning up his Breath To him that gave 't his Feet into the Bed He drew and so was number'd to the dead CHAP. L. AND Joseph fell upon his Father's Face And did with Tears his lifeless Lips embrace And sends for his Physicians and advises Them to embalm his Father's Corpse with Spices And they did so and forty days did pass For so the manner of Embalming was And the Egyptians mourned for the space Of threescore and ten days which being expired He spake to Pharaoh's Servants and desired That they would please to speak in Pharaoh's Ear And tell him that my Father made me swear That I should bury him in Canaan where He hath provided his own Sepulcher I therefore pray thee that I may obtain Thy leave and I will soon return again And Pharaoh said Since thou hast sworn fulfil Thy Oath according to thy Father 's Will. And Joseph went up to accompany His Father's Corpse with great Solemnity And with him went up Pharaoh's Servants and The prime Nobility of all the Land And Joseph's Houshold and his Brethren all Only their Flocks and Herds and Children small Were left behind Moreover there went up Chariots and Horsemen even a mighty Troop And they came up to Arad's threshing floar Beyond the River Jordan where full sore They mourned for him till seven days were past So long their Mourning in that Place did last Which when the Canaanites beheld they said Surely some eminent Egyptian's dead Wherefore they call'd it Abel-mizraim ' Thus did his Sons as he commanded them For to the Land of Canaan they conveigh'd Him and in Machpelah near Mamre laid His Body in the Cave which Ephron sold To Abraham for him and his to hold And thus when Joseph fully had perform'd His Father's Will to Egypt he return'd Together with his Brethren and with all Them that came with him to the Funeral Now Joseph's Brethren being well aware That they were Fatherless began to fear That he would hate them and requite them all The Evil they had treated him withal Wherefore to him they sent a
Messenger And said Behold our Father did declare Before he died that we should come and say Forgive thy Brethren's Trespasses I pray And their Misdeeds for they have been unkind And now we humbly pray thee be inclin'd To Pardon our Offences and the rather For that we serve the God even of thy Father And 〈◊〉 wept when thus they spake and they Came nearer and before him prostrate lay And said We are thy Servants all this day And Joseph bad them not to be afraid For in the place of God am I he said For though you meant me Ill God meant it Good And sent me hither to provide you Food Now therefore trouble not your selves for I Will nourish you and all your Family After this manner did he satisfie And treat them with extream Civility And Joseph and his Father's House remain'd In Egypt and he liv'd till he attain'd An Hundred and ten years and liv'd to see Of Ephraim's Children to the Third Degree And Machir's Children of Manasseh's Tribe Were also born some time before he died Then Joseph said My Brethren lo I die But God will visit you undoubtedly And to that Land again whereof he spake Unto our Ancestors will bring you back And Joseph also made his Brethren swear That they would not interr his Body there And thus he ended his Life's Pilgrimage Being an hundred and ten years of Age And was embalm'd and in a Coffin laid In Egypt till he could be thence convey'd The End of the History of Joseph THE General Epistle of JAMES CHAP. I. UNTO the twelve Tribes scattered abroad James and Apostle of the living God And of the Lord Christ Jesus Salutation My Brethren when you fall into Temptation Of divers kinds rejoyce as Men that know From trial of your Faith doth Patience flow But let your Patience have its full effect That you may be entire without defect If any of you lack Wisdom let him cry To God and he will give it lib'rally And not upbraid But let him ask in Faith Not wavering for he that wavereth Unto a Wave o' th' Sea I will compare Driv'n with the Wind and tossed here and there For let not such a Man himself deceive To think that he shall from the Lord receive A double-minded Man most surely lacketh Stability in all he undertaketh Let ev'ry Brother of a low degree Rejoyce in that he is advanc'd but he That 's Rich in being made low for he shall pass Away as doth the flow'r of the Grass For as the 〈…〉 doth rise Is scorch'd by 〈…〉 and dies Its Flow'r fades 〈…〉 more The beauteous 〈…〉 So fades the Rich Man 〈…〉 his Store The Man is blest that doth endure Temptation For when he 's try'd the Crown of God's Salvation The which the Lord hath promised to give To them that love him that Man shall receive Let no Man be possest with a persuasion To say when he falls under a Temptation That God's the cause for with no evil can God be tempted nor tempts he any Man But every Man is tempted when he 's drawn Away and by his Lusts prevail'd upon Then when Lust hath conceiv'd it ushereth In Sin and Sin when finished brings Death Err not my Brethren whom I dearly love Each good and perfect Gift is from above Down from th' original of â—ights descending With whom's no change nor shadow thereto tending According to his own good pleasure he Begat us with the word of Truth that we Should as the first 〈◊〉 of his Creatures be Wherefore belovâ—d Brethren I intreat You to be swift 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and slow to speak And slow to wrath for wrath cannot incline The Sons of Men to Righteousness divine Wherefore avoiding ev'ry â—â—hiness And superfluity of naughtâ—â—â—s Receive with meekness the â—â—grafted word Which can Salvation to your Souls afford But be ye doers of the word each one And not deceive your selves to hear alone For he that hears the word and doth it not Is like unto a Man that hath forgot What kind of Man he was tho' in a Glass He just before beheld his nat'ral Face But whoso minds the Law of Liberty In its perfection and continually Abides therein forgets not what he 's heard But doth the Work and therein hath Reward If any Man among you seem to be Religious he deceives himself if he Doth not his Tongue as with a Bit restrain And all that Man's Religion is but vain Religion pure and undefil'd which is Acceptable before the Lord is this To visit Widows and the Fatherless In time of their affliction or distress And so to regulate his Conversation As to be spotless in his Generation CHAP. II. FAith of the Lord of Glory Jesus Christ Doth with respect of Persons not consist For if my Brethren when there shall come in To your Assembly one with a Gold Ring In goodly Cloaths and there shall also be Another Man that 's meanly cloath'd and ye Shall have respect to him in rich attire And say unto him Come thou sit up higher And bid the poor Man stand or sit below Are ye not partial then and plainly show That you do judge amiss in what you do Hearken my Brethren hath not God elected The Poor who by this World have been rejected Yet rich in Faith and of that Kingdom Heirs Which God will give his foll'wers to be theirs But you my Brethren do the Poor despise Do not the rich Men o'er you tyrannize And hale you to their Courts that worthy Name By which you 're call'd do not they blaspheme Then if ye do the Royal Law fulfil To love thy Neighbour as thy self 't is well According to the Scripture but if ye Shall have respect to Persons ye shall be Guilty of Sin and by the Law condemn'd As such who have its Righteousness contemn'd For he that shall but in one point offend Breaks the whole Law whate'er he may pretend For he that doth forbid Adultery Forbids likewise all acts of Cruelty Now tho' thou be not an Adulterer Yet if thou kill thou shalt thy Judgment bear So speak and do as those Men that shall be Judg'd by the perfect Law of Liberty For he shall Judgment without Mercy know That to his Neighbour doth no Mercy show And Mercy triumphs against Judgment too Brethren what profit is' t if a Man saith That he hath Faith and hath not Works can Faith Save him If any of the Brotherhood Be destitute of Cloaths or daily Food And one of you shall say Depart in Peace Be warmed or be filled ne'ertheless Ye do not furnish them with what they need What boots it Thus Faith without Works is dead Yea may a Man say thou dost Faith profess And I good Works to me thy Faith express Without thy Works and I will plainly show My Faith unto thee by the Works I do Thou dost believe there is one God 't is true The Devils do believe and tremble too But wilt thou know vain Man that Faith is
to Joseph too and said Lo I had three white Baskets on my Head And in the Uppermost there seem'd to be Of bak'd Provision great variety Fit for King Pharaoh's Table and there came A Flock of Birds and seem'd to eat the same And Joseph said Thy Dream portends thy fall For at the end of three days Pharaoh shall Lift up thy Head and hang thee on a Tree So that the Birds shall feast themselves on thee And on the third day Pharaoh made a Feast Unto his Servants and among the rest The Butler and the Baker were brought forth The day being kept in Memory of his Birth And to his Place King Pharaoh did restore His Butler and he serv'd him as before But the chief Baker he condemn'd to die According unto Joseph's Prophecy Yet though the Butler had regain'd his Place He was unmindful of poor Joseph's Case CHAP. XLI AND now when two years time was fully past And Joseph from Confinement not releast It came to pass that Pharaoh dreamed and He seemed by a River's side to stand Whence he seven fat well-favour'd Kine beheld Came up and grazed in the neighbouring Field And after them there came up seven more Lean and ill-favour'd and did soon devour The seven fat Kine which came up just before So Pharaoh ' woke and mus'd awhile and then Soon as his Sleep his Dream return'd agen Wherein he saw upon one stalk there stood Seven ears of Corn exceeding Rank and Good And seven others with the East wind blasted And withered sprang up and quickly wasted The seven good Ears and quite devour'd them And Pharaoh ' woke and Lo it was a Dream And in the Morning he was discontent And for the wise Men and Magicians sent To ease his Mind but there was none of them That could interpret to the King his Dream Then the chief Butler making his address Unto King Pharaoh said I now confess My former Faults for when the King was wroth With his chief Butler and chief Baker both It pleased him to put us both in Ward In the House of the Captain of the Guard And in one Night we dream'd a Dream each one According to 's Interpretation And there was then an Hebrew there in Ward A Youth that serv'd the Captain of the Guard To whom we told whereof we had been dreaming And he interpreted to us the meaning And what he said fell out accordingly Me he restored to my Dignity But told the Baker he should surely die Then Pharaoh sent a Messenger in haste And Joseph from the Dungeon was releast And having shav'd himself and chang'd his Cloaths Into the Presence of the King he goes To whom King Pharaoh said I have been told Thou canst the meaning of a Dream unfold Now I have dream'd a Dream and there is none Can give me the Interpretation And Joseph said I cannot do this thing My self but God shall answer thee Oh King Then Pharaoh said to Joseph In my Dream As I stood by a River's side there came Up from the River seven well-favour'd Kine And fed upon the Banks all fat and fine And after them there came up seven more Lean and ill-favour'd and exceeding poor Such as the Land of Egypt never bred And on the seven well-favour'd Kine they fed And eat them up but 't was not to be seen That they had eat them they look'd still so thin So I awoke and mus'd a while and then Soon as my Sleep my Dream return'd agen Wherein I saw upon one stalk there stood Seven Ears of Corn exceeding rank and good Then seven others with the East wind blasted And withered came up and quickly wasted The seven good Ears and quite devoured them And being unsatisfied about my Dream I sought unto the wise Men of the Nation But they could give me no Interpretation And Joseph said Thy Dream oh King is one God shews to Pharaoh what he will have done The seven fat Kine and seven good Ears agree To shew seven years of Plenty there shall be The seven lean Kine and seven blasted Ears Denote there shall be Famine seven years This I declare to Pharaoh God doth shew To thee Oh King what he 's about to do Behold seven years of Plenty are at hand Which shall be very great throughout the Land And after them seven years of Famine shall Arise and shall consume the Land and all The former Plenty shall not be perceiv'd So much the Land with Famine shall be griev'd And since the Dream was doubl'd to the King It is because God hath decreed the thing And on this Land the same will shortly bring Now therefore if I may the King advise Let him look out a Man discreet and wise And make him Overseer of the Land And substitute Men under his Command To gather a fifth part for Publick Use Of what the seven plenteous Years produce And in the Cities lay it up for Store Against the Famine in the Land grows sore And let it be repos'd in Pharaoh's hand That so the Famine may not wast the Land And when King Pharaoh and his Servants heard The Propositions Joseph had preferr'd They were acceptable in Pharaoh's Eyes And in the Eyes of all his Court likewise So that he said can such an one be found A Man in whom God's Spirit doth abound And Pharaoh said to Joseph forasmuch As God's great kindness unto thee is such As to reveal this thing to thee I know No Man so wise or so discreet as thou Be thou therefore the Ruler of the Land And let my People be at thy Command Thou shalt in all things be as great as I Save only in the Royal Dignity Behold this day I have advanced thee Said he to be a Man of high Degree Throughout the Land And therewithal the King Bestow'd on Joseph his own Royal Ring And him with Robes of State did richly deck And put a Chain of Gold about his Neck And in his second Chariot made him ride And as he past bow down the Knee they cry'd With so great Honour was he dignify'd And Pharaoh said moreover I am King No Man shall dare to purpose any thing Or move his Hand or Foot in all this Nation Unless it shall be by thy approbation He also gave to Joseph a new Name And for a Wife gave him a Princely Dame Who was the Daughter of a Priest of Fame Now Joseph had attain'd his Thirtieth Year When he before King Pharaoh did appear And he went out from Pharaoh's Presence and Began his Progress over all the Land Now in the seven plenteous Years the Field Did its Increase in great abundance yield And Joseph gather'd all that plenteous Crop And in th' adjacent Cities laid it up Which like unto the Sand upon the shore Did so abound that he could count no more Such was the Plenty that the Earth then bore And unto Joseph there was born a Son Even by the Daughter of the Priest of On Before the
Murder saying Into this Pit let 's cast him And this he said in hopes to have releas'd him And now when Joseph came not dreading ought They strip'd him of his party colour'd Coat And led him to a Pit that was hard by And threw him into 't but the Pit was dry And sitting down to eat they chanc'd to spy A Company of Ishmaelites pass by Who with Balm Myrrh and Spice their Camels lading From Gilead came and were to Egypt Trading Then Judah said 'T will do us little good To slay our Brother and conceal his Blood Come therefore Brethren be advis'd by me Let 's sell him to these Ishmaelites for he Is our own Flesh and 't is a cruel Deed To kill him and to this they all agreed Their Brother then out of the Pit they hale And to these Merchants offer'd him to sale Who him for twenty Silver Pieces bought And with them to the Land of Egypt brought But Reuben ignorant of what was done Came to the Pit and seeing the Lad was gone He rent his Cloaths in a great Consternation Returning back with heavy Lamentation And now that they might make their Story good They kill'd a Kid and dipped in the Blood Their Brother Joseph's Coat and home they came And to their Father's view expos'd the same And said this we have found now thou dost know Whether it be thy Son's Coat yea or no. And Jacob knew the Coat full well and said Now hath some evil Beast devour'd the Lad Joseph is torn in Pieces without doubt For too too well I know this is his Coat He rent his Cloaths and putting Sackcloath on He for a long time mourned for his Son His Children striving to asswage his Grief Endeavour'd to administer Relief But he refus'd and said Since he is gone I will in Sorrow to the Grave go down Such Lamentation made he for his Son CHAP. XXXIX AND now these Merchants Sons of Ishmael Again did poor afflicted Joseph sell To an Egyptian named Potiphar The Captain of King Pharaoh's Men of War And God was with him and did greatly bless And crown his Undertaking with Success Whereof his Master being well aware Committed all he had to Joseph's care And made him Overseer of his House And from the time his Master us'd him thus The Lord was pleas'd to give him to partake Of many Blessings ev'n for Joseph's sake So that with Plenty he was hedg'd about And prospered within Door and without Such was his Master's Love and he so Just That all things were committed to his Trust. Now Joseph was grown up to manly Stature Of goodly Presence and most comely Feature Wherefore his Mistress with a lustful Eye Beheld his Beauty and resolv'd to try If to unchaste Embraces she could gain The Youth but her Endeavours prov'd in vain For he refus'd and said My Master knows In all the House of nothing that he owes For his Concerns are all at my dispose There 's not a thing that he hath kept from me But all is in my hand save only thee Then how can I commit so foul a Fact And the Displeasure of my God contract Yet still she sued and still did he deny her Refusing to be with her or lie by her Now on a time when all the Men were gone Out of the House and she was left alone And Joseph at that Instant coming in About some Business he 'd to do within She took Advantage of their being together And held his Cloaths to force him to lie with her But Joseph strove and from her hands got loose And left his Coat and fled out of the House And when she saw that he had made 's Escape She call'd her Servants and proclaim'd a Rape Come see now how this Hebrew Slave said she Your Master's Favourite hath affronted me He came to violate my Chastity And when he heard that I began to cry And call for help afraid least you should find him He 's fled and left his Garment here behind him And now to give her words the greater credit Untill her Husband 's coming home she hid it To whom she spake and said Why hast thou brought This Hebrew here to set me thus at nought The Slave attempted to defile my bed And when I cry'd he left his Coat and fled See here it is Which when he saw and heard The heavy Accusation she preferr'd He was exceeding wroth at his Behaviour And utterly casheir'd him from his Favour Nay more he cast him into Prison where In Fetters bound King Pharaoh's Prisoner's were But Joseph's God who never yet forsook Him in Extremity was pleas'd to look With great Compassion on his Injuries And gave him Favour in the Keeper's eyes So that he was intrusted with the care And charge of all the Pris'ners that were there All were committed unto Joseph's hand And what was done was done at his command The Prison-keeper took no care at all Of ought that he intrusted him withal Because he saw that God was with him and All things did prosper that he took in hand CHAP. XL. AND now whilst Joseph in Confinement lay It came to pass upon a certain day That Pharaoh King of Egypt being wroth With his chief Butler and chief Baker both For their Offences put them both in Ward In the House of the Captain of the Guard Into the Place where Joseph was confin'd Unto whose Custody they were resign'd And he attended on them in the Prison And there they were continu'd for a season During which time it chanced both of them Did in the same Night dream each Man his Dream Which Dreams according to Interpretation Had to themselves particular Relation And Joseph coming early the next day Into the Room where Pharaoh's Servants lay Beheld their Countenances much dejected Wherefore he said What Evil hath effected This melancholy Frame what is' t that causes These marks of Discontentment in your Faces Then said they we have dream'd each Man his Dream And there is no Man to interpret them Then Joseph said your Dreams to me make known Interpretations are from God alone Then unto Joseph the chief Butler told His Dream and said Methought I did behold A Vine whereon three Branches did appear Which seem'd to bud to blossom and to bear Clusters of full ripe Grapes which to my thinking I press'd into the Cup for Pharaoh's drinking And Joseph said Thy Dream doth signifie Thou shalt enjoy thy former Dignity The Branches which thou sawest are three days In which King Pharaoh will his Butler raise And to thy Place again wil thee restore And thou shalt serve him as thou 'st done before But do not when it shall be well with thee Forget me but shew Kindness unto me And unto Pharaoh represent my Case That I may be deliver'd from this Place For I was stoln out of the Hebrews Land And also here am wrongfully detain'd Then the chief Baker having understood That the Interpretation was so good He told his Dream