"Wilt thou come now to dwell in Canaan?" Abram asked of Lot. But Lot was stubborn and would not. Then Melchizedek, the ruler of Salem, came out to meet Abram, bringing bread and wine. For Melchizedek was a priest as well as a ruler; and, as he poured the wine, he said, "Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth. And blessed be the most high God, who hath delivered thine enemies into thy hands." Then Abram gave to Melchizedek one tenth of all his wealth, in token of his love for him; and after that he rode back into his own Land of Canaan. [Illustration: ABRAHAM AND THE THREE ANGELS.] ABRAHAM'S VISIONS. Angels of life and death are His; Without his leave they pass no threshold o'er; Who, then, would wish or dare, believing this, Against his messengers to shut the door. --_Longfellow._ One night Abram went out beneath the sky and looked up at the stars. Then God's voice spoke and said, "Thy descendants shall be in number like the stars." Now, Abram had no children, and had his faith been less firm he might have doubted the words he heard. But he had never forgotten the promise that in the Land of Canaan a child should be born to him, and that from him should descend a nation. And that same night God spoke again to Abram in a vision. He showed him an altar with a burning lamp. And he said to Abram, "For four hundred years your descendants shall journey in a strange land and suffer affliction; but, at the end of that time, they shall again come into Canaan and possess the land." Then the Lord changed the name of Abram to Abraham, which means Father of a People. And his wife's name he changed to Sarah, which means a Princess. And again God said unto Abraham and Sarah, "A child shall be born to you; and he shall be great among the nations of the earth." A third time God came to Abraham; and he told him that the destruction of Sodom was near at hand, because of its wickedness. Then Abraham thought of Lot, and prayed to God to save the city for Lot's sake. And God answered, "If ten righteous people only be found in the city, I will not destroy it for Lot's sake." But ten righteous people were not to be found in the city, and so the angels of destruction were sent down upon it. Lot sat in the gateway of the city and looked out upon the country. And when he saw the angels of destruction, he rose and led them to his house and gave them food. Then the angels said, "Whatsoever thou hast in this city bring out; for we are come to destroy this place." Then Lot went and told his people; but none of them would listen to him. In the morning the angels came and woke Lot and his wife and said to them, "Arise, and hasten from the city. Escape for thy life, and look not behind thee."