political plots, or some such thing. Men who have not the fear of God do not believe in disinterested motives ; they judge others by themselves; and thus men, even those of great ability, are often grossly deceived.

Mark the unhappy man's words. He swears, he takes God to witness. What strange audacity! Alas! it is not so strange. How often do wicked men, who pretend not to believe in God, ask him in their imprecations to condemn them if such and such a thing does not take place! How often do they call upon God to

strike them dead if such and such is not true! Pharaoh says, "Let the Lord be so with you, as I will let you go." And then he threatens, as if he were a god, and not a worm of the earth. "Look to it, for evil is before you." Ah! miserable Pharaoh, it is before you yourself that the evil is! Alas! in three or four days more he will weep for his firstborn; and in eight or ten days afterwards, he and his hosts will be swallowed up in the deep waters of the Red Sea.

But particularly observe the subject of dispute. Concerning whom did it arise? Concerning boys and girls-little children. Pharaoh did not wish them to accompany their parents to hold a feast unto the Lord; he required that they should remain at home as hostages. Moses refused. Well, there are often similar disputes in our time between the devil and the servants of God concerning you. The devil causes worldly men to say, like Pharaoh, "Why should you trouble children with religion, they are too young yet? How can they understand the Bible, since I, who am a grown-up man, and perhaps a learned man, do not understand it? They can take no pleasure in it; it is too serious for them, since for my part I find it a

weariness. At their age it becomes them to play, and not to study deeply. Let them enjoy their diversions; let them amuse themselves on the Sunday." Thus the prince of this world, the great Pharaoh of the darkness of this world, would wish to keep you as hostages in error, and ensnare your parents also. If your house were on fire, what would you think of a person who should say to your father, "Go out as quickly as you can, but leave your children in bed?" Or if you were at school, or an apprentice to a trade, what would you think of a man who should say to your father, "Your son has a holiday, but do not let him come home to be with you, for he is at an age to amuse himself? Do not teach him to love you, and to obey you, for that would weary him." Ah! dear children, you have as much need as we have to escape the wrath to come, and to love God. Ask from him grace to love him. The prayer of a child who seeks a new heart for the sake of Jesus Christ always ascends to heaven.

W

XXII.

The Locusts and the Darkness.

(EXODUS X. 12-24.)

E have now to consider the eighth and ninth plagues, both more terrible than any which had preceded them; but the most striking incident in this part of the narrative is the apparent conversion of Pharaoh. If we had been witnesses of his repentance we should no doubt have believed it to be sincere.

"And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch forth thine hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come up upon the land of Egypt, and eat every herb of the land, even all that the hail hath left."1

Certainly, God could have sent this plague without the intervention of Moses. It was God who had created in Arabia these millions and millions-these clouds of devouring insects. It was he who caused the east wind to rise, and made it blow for a whole day and night over the land of Egypt. It was at his command that these armies of destructive creatures were to assemble; but it also was his will that this plague should be brought at the command of his servant, in order to prove to the world that Moses was his ambassador.

And how will the servant of God perform this miracle? In a very simple manner-he will stretch. out his hand, and God will work the wonder. But, as in the miraculous cures wrought by the apostles, and as in the conversion of souls, it is the will of God that men should act as his instruments. To use the words of the apostle Paul, men are to be labourers together with him. When the apostle Peter miraculously cured the lame man at the gate of the temple of Jerusalem, he told the people who ran to see the miracle that it was not by his own power or holiness that he had made this man to walk. He gave the glory to the Lord Jesus, in whose name the miracle was wrought. God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up. And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and

"The

know yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all."1 When Barnabas and Paul returned from their first journey, they related to the church at Antioch all the things, not that they had done, but what God had done. with them.2 The apostle Paul says, speaking to the Corinthians, "I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase."3

When reading a good book, or hearing a sermon, or in the Sunday school, we should ask God, who has sent us these blessings, to accompany them also by his powerful grace. We should lift up our souls to him and say, "O Lord, it is necessary that we should be taught these things, but do thou work in us by thy Holy Spirit, and make them profitable to our souls. We are like a field that is sown and watered; but do thou, O Lord, give the increase."

"And Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought an east wind upon the land all that day, and all that night; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts. And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the coasts of Egypt: very grievous were they; before them there were no such locusts as they, neither after them shall be such. For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left: and there remained not any green thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the field, through all the land of Egypt."4

Locusts almost always come from Arabia, whence the winds, according to their directions, carry them over 1 Acts iii. 16. 2 Acts xiv. 27. 3 I Cor. iii. 6. 4 Exod. x. 13-15.

the neighbouring countries; thus they are the emblem used by the apostle John to designate the Arabs or Saracens, whom they resembled in their numbers, in their destructive character, and in the time and manner of their invasions. They are produced in millions of millions. When they come out of the egg they become worms, which pass through several metamorphoses or changes, and at length they acquire wings. It is then that, blown away by the winds, they are carried like clouds to enormous distances, till they alight upon a country and devastate it so completely that the inhabitants must either die of hunger or must have their food brought from elsewhere. Both ancient and modern travellers speak of this plague, which is common enough in the east, and more dreaded than any other. Pliny mentioned them in his works, and M. Gobat also described them in his book on Abyssinia; and their accounts are very similar to the description given in these verses.

Captain Basil Hall gives the following account of the plague of locusts: "Most people of England know nothing of locusts, except what they read of them in Scripture; and even in India their habits are not generally understood.

"I remember meeting a gentleman some time ago who told me that, during fifteen years' residence in the east, he had only seen locusts three times, once on the wing, and twice dressed in curry. For my part I never saw them at all except in a museum; but I have conversed with persons who have seen them in all their mischievous glory. Their flights are described as resembling a heavy snowstorm, only black, and sending forth a rustling noise from millions and millions of wings,

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