man, and his consequent preparation for a happy immortality. Thus all the Scripture histories, prophecies, precepts, miracles, and parables, are as so many types, symbols, and shadows of good things to come, all of which are easily explained by that universal language of correspondence which treats of the relation that objects bear to the spiritual states of the mind and life of man. Without a full conviction of the divinity and sanctity of the Word of God in all its parts, we might justly suppose that Jacob, by fraud and cunning, purloined the flocks of Laban, and that he became rich, not by honest industry and integrity, but by an evil and dishonest artifice. A careful perusal of the whole chapter must convince the reader of the justness of these remarks. In this meditation, however, we can only give a few materials for thought, as our limits will not allow of a full explanation.
It is impossible to read Scripture without perceiving that sheep and lambs, with the flock and herd generally, have reference to the good natural affections of the mind, which are to be so nourished and raised by instruction in holy things, that the man, by being first naturally good, should at last be made spiritual and heavenly, just as the Apostle says, "that which is first is natural, and afterwards that which is spiritual." (1 Cor. xv. 46.) The gentle, well-disposed, and teachable of the human race, are called in Scripture sheep and lambs, and their instruction in all that is heavenly, good, and true, is called feeding the flock. Hence the language of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, to all who are as under-shepherds or teachers, "Feed my sheep—feed my lambs." Laban, as a Scripture character, represents that state of natural goodness in man,
