And so it is often with us. When we make an idol of a creature, placing in it all our affections, fear, and confidence, instead of in the God who has graciously lent it to us, why should we wonder that God should sometimes, and often, turn that blessing into a punishment-a curse?

The unhappy king did not think of this, however; but had recourse again to his magicians, who, by some sort of artifice, changed some water (probably a small quantity which the people had found by laborious digging into the springs of the earth) into the appearance of blood. God permitted this for his own wise purposes; but see how feeble were the arts of these magicians. If, indeed, they had been able to change back the blood of the river into water-to restore it to its original state—there would have been proof of their skill. But they could not do this, nor did they attempt it. All they did, or professed to do, was to make useless the small quantity of precious water which had, with so much labour, been procured.

Pharaoh, however, was gratified with the weak imitation of Moses and Aaron, performed by his magicians; and again he hardened his heart, and went back into his house.

Now, let us take home to ourselves the instruction and warning thus given. We also have need to beware of hardness of heart and indifference. We have God's written word, more full of promise, and also more full of threatenings, than the word spoken to Pharaoh by the mouth of Moses. The gospel has terrors as well as the law; and if it be not to us the savour of life unto life, it will be of death unto death.

"Therefore," says the apostle, "we ought to give

the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. For if the word spoken by angels (or messengers of God) was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward; how shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to own will ?”1

XV.

The Frogs.

(EXODUS viii. 1—12.)

have an account here of another demand made by God on Pharaoh; of another plague inflicted upon Egypt; of the repentance which the king seemed to feel; and of the compassion manifested by Moses for this guilty prince. We have, therefore, now to consider the following subjects:

1. The plague inflicted by God.

2. The repentance of Pharaoh.

3. The compassion shown by Moses, and his prayer. The second plague was still more dreadful than the first had been, although, at first sight, this may not appear. Who, indeed, could have thought that frogs would be employed to humble the powerful king of

1 Heb. ii. 1-4.

Egypt? Who could have believed that so insignificant a creature would have been the instrument of punishing a great people? It is a feeble little animal, which crawls and leaps on the ground, swims and wades in the water, does no harm to any one, and is not even troublesome, except by its croaking. It hides itself during the winter, either in holes in the earth, or in the mud of ponds, and, although to some it may appear ugly and disgusting, it is nevertheless harmless.

All this is true; but God often makes use of the humblest and meanest of his creatures to lower the pride of the haughtiest kings, and to degrade rebellious nations. When he wishes to cast any of us down, the means are never wanting; he needs neither thunder nor thunderbolts, tempests nor earthquakes, nor any great convulsions of nature. When he wills it, we can be "crushed before the moth."1

2

Some years ago there was much distress in Europe on account of a threatened famine, caused by the failure of the potato crop. What sad intelligence was received, especially from Ireland! The people were actually dying of hunger, and, without very abundant and generous help, they would have been almost swept off the face of the earth. In many places, numbers of houses were shut up, because all their inhabitants were dead; and for a time there was great difficulty in providing a sufficient number of coffins in which to bury these corpses. England expended millions of pounds in feeding the Irish people, and hundreds of vessels crossed the Atlantic to carry to Ireland corn from America. And from what cause did this distress of a whole nation arise? From a very small plant, it is 2 This refers to the famine of 1848.

1 Job iv. 19.

said; from an invisible parasite, which, like a mushroom, sprang up, grew, and increased in the potato, and thus destroyed this valuable root.

At other times there is a disease, exactly similar, which attacks wheat, eats into it, rots it, and turns its flour into black dust, thus depriving man of "the staff of bread," according to the expression in the Scriptures.1

The revolutions which, at different times, have shaken many of the countries of Europe, might have taken, in a few days, the most terrible aspect, so that, as the Saviour predicted, "men's hearts would fail them for fear;" but God need not employ such convulsions to reduce men to the most extreme state of distress. He has only to increase the numbers of such and such insects, or such and such worms, which are invisible to our eyes, and famine, pestilence, and death, stalk over the earth. It is thus that God can overcome us by the weakest instruments, can lower our foolish pride, and pour contempt on our imaginary greatness.

3

Have you ever thought that if God had not ordained animals to serve as food for one another, they would soon have increased so fast as to drive mankind to despair? For example, frogs are oviparous, and their spawn consists of a mass of transparent gelatinous eggs. After they have remained torpid all the winter, in the mud of stagnant pools, or in holes under the banks, they deposit their spawn in the beginning of the spring. The number of eggs deposited by one frog is from six hundred to a thousand; so that unless, in the providence

1 Ezek. iv. 16; v. 16.

2 Luke xxi. 26.

3 Egg-producing animals are called oviparous, from the Latin word, ovum, an egg.

of God, these enormous numbers were counterbalanced by the destruction of the eggs in very large quantities, the whole earth would be, in three or four years, covered with these reptiles, as Egypt was in the days of Moses. Suppose there were a million of frogs in the marshes of any particular district, half of which were to lay eggs; these would give, at the end of a year, five hundred millions of frogs; at the end of three years, one hundred and twenty-five millions of millions; at the end of four years, a thousand millions of millions; and thus the whole of the country would be covered with them, and they would even get upon the tables at which we eat, as they did in Egypt. A learned Englishman relates, in a book on the wonders of Nature, that, as he was riding on horseback one evening, he was surprised to see immense numbers of frogs crossing the road. He followed them; and what was his astonishment when he found that two or three acres of ground were completely covered by them, and that they all came from one pond in the neighbourhood!

God, as we have said, generally ordains that some kinds of animals should be destroyed by others, or that they should devour one another, so that their increase may be kept within necessary limits. But, in the case of Egypt, he suspended this law, and thus turned the natural increase of animal life into a plague. But even this was not without a sufficient and merciful reason. The severity of God towards Pharaoh is often spoken of, but let us rather admire his patience and longsuffering. This wicked king had said, "Who is the Lord? I know not the Lord." And now we find

that the Lord sent him another call.

"Let my people

go, that they may serve me. And if thou refuse to let