ABRAHAM and his wife Sarah had lived together many years; but at last Sarah died, and Abraham wanted to bury her. You know in all the country he had not one morsel of ground of his own; he was a stranger there, but he knew it would all belong to his children by-and-by. But he wanted to make sure of the one bit where his wife should lie. So he went to the prince to whom Hebron belonged, and begged to buy a field with trees in it, and a rock where there was a deep cave that was called Machpelah. The prince said he would give it; but Abraham could not feel sure that it would be always safe till he had bought it. So he weighed out the price. It was not in little bits of money like ours, but lumps of silver all the same weight, and each with a mark stamped on it--four hundred of them. Then the cave was given to Abraham, and he had his good true wife Sarah buried there, rolled in linen with spices. He was buried there afterwards himself, and so was his son Isaac, and Isaac's son after him, in the cave of Machpelah. That cave has been kept sacred ever since. There is a building over it now, and no stranger is allowed to go into it; but deep down there is a golden grating, and far within lie these holy men and women of old. Their bodies are waiting to rise again at the Last Day, and then I hope we shall see them and know them. QUESTIONS. 1. Who was Abraham's wife? 2. Where did Sarah die? 3. What did Abraham want to do? 4. Had he any ground? 5. So what was he obliged to do? 6. Of whom did he buy the place? 7. What was it called? 8. What is a cave? 9. What did he pay? 10. What was Abraham's money? 11. Who were buried there afterwards? 12. How is the place marked now? 13. When will Sarah's body leave the grave in the cave of Machpelah? 14. What do you say you believe in? (In the eleventh Article of the Creed.) 15. What is Resurrection? [Illustration] Fifth Sunday. _JACOB'S JOURNEY AND DREAM._ FIRST READING. "Bless me, even me also, O my father."--_Genesis 27:34._ GOD had called Abraham from his home, and promised to give his children the land of Canaan, and that in his Seed all the nations of the earth should be blessed. This was renewing to Abraham the great promise of the Seed of the woman that had been made to Eve; and Abraham believed, and was glad. But though his children were to have the land, none of it was his; and he went up and down in it a stranger, living in his tent, without house or home, only trusting in faith to God's promise to his children. His son Isaac lived like him, with no home, but looking on in faith to what God promised. Isaac had two sons; and as Esau was the eldest, he had the first right to these promises. But Esau did not care enough about them; he did not seem to get anything by them, and he liked what he could get at once better than what was a long way off. He had no faith.