[ 61 ]
to the conquest of the land of Canaan; they afterwards returned loaded with spoils. See Josh. c. 6. To behold his beauty whilst his envious brethren turned their darts against him, &c; his bow rested upon the strong; that upon God who was his strength, who also loosed his bands, and brought him out of prison to be the pastor, that is the feeder and ruler of Egypt; and the stone, that is, the rock and support of Israel; the blessing of the father, that is, thy father's blessings are made more prevalent and effectual in thy regard by the additional strength they receive from his inheritance; the blessings of his progenitors, Abraham and Isaac the desire of the everlasting hills; these blessings all looked forward to Christ, called the desire of the everlasting hills, as being longed for, as it were, by the whole creation. Mysterially the patriarchs and prophets are called the everlasting hills by reason of the eminence of their wisdom and holiness. The Nazarite; this word signifies one separated, and agrees to Joseph as being separated from, and more eminent than his brethren, as the ancient Nazarites, were so called from their being set aside. For God vowed to him to be gathered to his people, that is, I am going to die and to follow my ancestors that are gone before me, and to join their company in another world.
Sec. 2. On the book of Exodus, the second book of Moses.
Exodus, from the Greek word which signifies going out, because it contains the history of the going out of Egypt of the children of Israel. The Hebrew from the word with which it begins that Moses was a child of the Hebrews and was caught by Pharaoh's daughter when she saw a basket in the flags afloat in the water, she sent one of her maids to bring it hither, and the maid said, shall I go and call an Hebrew woman to nurse it? she answered go; the maid went and called the child's mother to nurse it. We thus see the great wisdom of God in the opening of ways to lead his children into safe places and providing means for their comforts that the world knows not of, for some of them he keeps poor in order that they may seethe more need of him, that they may act in due form, by keeping a pare heart, then their riches will not perish in this world as earthly riches, for they go no farther than
F
