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shall hearken to thy voice." We can understand that God knows that the sun will rise on the morrow. But is it not wonderful that he should know what the will and actions of a man will be? This is a great proof that he is God. He knows all things; he can do all things; he knew his own purposes; and he inclined the hearts of the Israelites to do his will. This is a precious thought for every Christian, but especially for a minister of the gospel. I try to instruct you, and seek to lead every one of you to Jesus Christ. Who am I to do this? Alas! I find it very difficult to guide myself; how then can I turn your heart toward God? I am nothing, but I remember the word of the Lord to Moses, "They shall hearken;" and I know that the hearts of all are in the hand of the Lord. Before I open the Bible to explain it to you, I pray to God to bless it to each of your souls. I say, O Lord, I pray thee, let the word enter the hearts of these children, and grant that they may devote themselves to thee from their earliest years. "God opened the heart of Lydia, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul." The same apostle wrote to the Colossians, "Praying for us," why? "that God would open unto us a door of utterance;" that is to say, that I should speak as I ought to speak, and that I may be heard as I ought to be heard.

"And thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him, The Lord God of the Hebrews hath met with us: and now let us go, we beseech thee, three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God." Remark, dear children, that God ordered this king to be spoken to with respect and submission. In no part

of this history of the departure out of Egypt, does God permit the Israelites to fail in respect to the king, wicked as he was. It is the will of God that rulers and those in authority should be honoured, because they are in authority. It was necessary that the king of Egypt should give the people permission to go forth; but it was God who was to force him to give it, not man. Pharaoh will resist ten times; he will show all the perversity of his soul; he will ruin himself; his hosts will be destroyed in the Red Sea, but it will be done by the hand of God.

Remark also with what gentleness God addresses the greatest rebels. Perhaps there may be among our readers a child that hardens its heart, that seeks to have its own way. God still says to it, "Give me thine heart. Oh, come to me, that ye may have life." We "beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain." Those who will not hear, must know that they are the authors of their own ruin. Those who will not submit on earth, must at last submit before the tribunal of God. Pharaoh might have obeyed while on his throne, and might have thus made his people happy; but nothing less than the dreadful disaster in the Red Sea was needed to overcome his resistance. Ah! my children, you ought willingly to submit to the will of God here on earth, or you will be compelled to submit to his will in the terrible place where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.

"And I am sure the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand. And I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst thereof: and after that he will let you go." In these verses we are taught an interest

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ing lesson. God smote the Egyptians because of the wickedness of their king; this is one of the rules, or usual dealings of God, in his government of the world. When a people offend the Lord he often punishes them by leaving them under the power of a bad government; and, on the other hand, when a government offends God, he may chastise a nation on account of the sins committed under this government. There may be, perhaps, some children of God involved in this chastisement, but God will recompense them in the world to come. Nations only exist on earth, and they must be either blessed or punished here. But in heaven there will be only individuals, and every one will be judged according to his works. We ought, then, to pray for governments, my children, that God may be pleased to give to all nations, and particularly to our country, rules that are acceptable in his sight. It is our interest and duty to do so, as we are taught in many parts of Scripture.

The third promise of God is as follows: "I will give this people favour in the sight of the Egyptians." It is important to remember this. One of the most frequent, and the worst temptations that a child or a grown-up person meets with, is the fear of losing the favour of some friend, or the fear of encountering the mockery and hatred of the world, by professing to be a Christian. But as we see, the first thing is to have God on our side, for he can give us favour in the sight of men if it be necessary. Remember Joseph, who, though a stranger and a slave, slandered and imprisoned, found grace in the sight of his master, then in that of the keeper of the prison, and afterwards in that of the king. Recollect, also, Nehemiah before the king of Persia, and many other instances.

Lastly, the fourth promise is, "When ye go, ye shall not go empty." The Israelites were in great poverty; they had been for a long time oppressed and enslaved, and now they were commanded by God to abandon the little they possessed-their lands and houses. How, then, could all this people be induced to take this journey? This is what perplexed Moses. But the Lord said to him, "When ye go, ye shall not go empty." And remark here that in verse 22 it is written, "Every woman shall borrow jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment." This word "borrow," used in its usual meaning, suggests that God told the Israelites to deceive the Egyptians, by borrowing articles which they did not intend to return. The original word in the Bible means to "ask," whether as a gift or a loan. The meaning is simply, "You shall ask," which signifies that the Egyptians, having had pity on these poor people, had taken them into favour; and desiring besides to recompense for all the injustice to which they had submitted, gave them the clothes and utensils they required, as a compensation for their long toils, and in exchange for their lands and houses.

VIII.

The Wonderful Signs.

(EXODUS iv. I-12.)

SOU remember that Moses said, "Who am I?" and the Lord replied to him, "Certainly I will be with thee, and this shall be a token unto thee." Moses answered again: "And they shall say to me, What is his name? What shall I say to them ?"

He then expressed the fears he felt respecting four matters; to which God replied by four promises. But Moses still continued to make objections, and said, They will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice."

God still continued to answer him graciously. He gave him two miraculous signs, and promised to give him a third; but Moses still objected, "O my Lord, I am not eloquent." Then the Lord, in his infinite condescension, replied a fourth time by a promise. It was only at the fifth reply of Moses that the anger of the Lord was kindled against him.

It would seem, at first, very natural that to the order "Go," Moses should answer, "But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice; for they will say, The Lord hath not appeared unto thee."

Yes, it was natural; and, perhaps, for the first time, this answer was lawful. Forty years before, the Israelites would not listen to him, and had refused to believe

the promises of old made by the Lord.

Now they

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