in-law, and said unto him, Let me go, I pray thee, and return unto my brethren which are in Egypt, and see whether they be yet alive. And Jethro said to Moses, Go in peace." It seems that Moses did not speak to his father-in-law of the grace which God had shown him, nor of the great works which he had seen, nor of those which he was called to accomplish. Like Mary, in after times, he kept all these things in his heart, and continued to remember and think of them; he did not wish to make them a subject for boasting; they were sacred treasures, secrets between God and himself until the Lord should deem it proper to make them known. Still he treated his father-in-law with every mark of respect. The honour of being in direct communication with God did not cause him to neglect his duties. 1 Notwithstanding the visions with which he had been favoured, he continued to "fear God" and to "honour all men." He respectfully asked permission to leave, according to the custom of Eastern nations, where the eldest brother in a family in certain cases takes the place of the father. But note the state of isolation in which nations then lived. The condition of the Israelites in Egypt was not known in Midian, so the Lord condescended to make still another revelation to Moses : "All the men are dead who sought thy life." The fear of going among his enemies was probably uppermost in the thoughts of Moses, although he did not say so; and it was perhaps one of the chief reasons of his refusals to go; and God, who knows the secret thoughts of all hearts, thus removed the motives of the secret objection. "And Moses took his wife, and his sons, and set them upon an ass; and he returned to the land 1 I Pet. ii. 17. of Egypt. And Moses took the rod of God in his hand."1 The rod is mentioned here again; but observe that this time it is not called only the rod of Moses, but the rod of God, because he was going to make use of it to perform great things. X. Incidents on the Journey. (EXODUS iv. 21—31.) HE present chapter contains four subjects which require our careful attention, but which present some difficulties. The first is the terrible judgment of God upon Pharaoh. The second is the extraordinary and violent scene which took place at the inn. The third is the touching scene related of the meeting of the brothers Moses and Aaron. These two venerable old men met and kissed each other. They found themselves once more united, after a separation. of forty years, and they were going together to Egypt in order to carry thither the messages of the Lord, and to perform his signs. Lastly, the fourth subject relates to the people of Israel, who believe these messages and signs, and who, in their gratitude, "bowed their heads and worshipped" God. Let us take up these four subjects in succession. First, how fearful and terrible, but also how myste 1 Exod. iv. 20. It rious, in a certain point of view, is the word of the Lord concerning Pharaoh, "I will harden his heart." shows us-1st. The natural wickedness of man, and how man becomes hardened whenever God leaves him to himself. 2nd. The terrible judgment that the Lord will one day pronounce against persons who, like Pharaoh, have despised his word and resisted his offers of grace; for, alas! it must not be forgotten that a time will come when God will leave them to themselves. They then become more and more hardened; then they are lost, and, according to the declarations in the Bible, are lost for ever-and why for ever?-because they will not be longer able to repent, since their hearts will be hardened for ever. This will be their judgment. It is a terrible subject, my children; but Scripture positively teaches us that God sometimes executes this judgment here below. When a person has for a long while neglected his invitations and warnings, a time comes when the Lord says, "Since he will be lost, let him be lost; since he will harden his heart, let him be hardened: I leave him for ever to the hardness of his heart." Ah! I ask you, is there any calamity to be compared to this? Pharaoh was a great prince. He ruled over the most powerful kingdom in the world; a numerous population was subject to him; he possessed immense treasures; he had erected some of those gigantic pyramids which are still to be seen in Egypt. He had a mighty army, including horsemen and war-chariots: but, alas! what were all these riches and all this power and splendour but the most dreadful destitution; and what was all this glory but a false glitter? for beneath his jewelled and gilded robe he had a hardened heart. He had prepared a splendid tomb for his body, but his soul was doomed to hell. He was a miserable man; his condition was truly pitiable. "It had been good for that man if he had not been born," since all his glory was to end in this sentence pronounced by God, "I will harden his heart." Alas, who knows? There is, perhaps, among our young readers some child who for years has attended a Sunday-school, taken pleasure in it, and even had his feelings touched by what he has heard or read; but who may turn away from religion with weariness or distaste, either from fear of the world and of the ridicule of wicked companions, or from having fallen into some bad habit. Like Pharaoh he may say, "I repent; I will return to God;" but he does not do it, until at last he has not even the wish to do so. He is past feeling any desire for repentance; he cares for nothing; he laughs at pious children, and indulges in profane conversation. God may raise him up again, though he has fallen; but who knows? Perhaps there is now no remedy; perhaps God has left him to his own devices; perhaps he may have said of him, "I will harden his heart." Ah! take heed; we must turn to the Saviour with uprightness of heart, and without guile, and say to him, "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me." If Pharaoh had turned to God, mercy would have been extended to him, notwithstanding his crimes. But some of you may perhaps say, as was said in the time of St. Paul, "If God hardened his heart, was it his fault?" The words require an explanation; they 1 Ps. li. 10. are instructive and solemn, and demand your most serious attention. We must first carefully lay down one principle, namely, that God does not put evil in the heart of any one. He who is the Light does not cause darkness to reign in any one. Holiness does not produce impurity. The Bible plainly teaches us, "Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God; for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: but every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed."1 "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world."2 God, who abhors evil, does not put the desire for evil in the hearts of men. But when any evil thought or temptation comes into our hearts; and when, instead of struggling against it, or of beseeching God to deliver us from it, we take pleasure in it, and we allow it to come again, it ends by becoming stronger than we are. "Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin; and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death," and condemnation follows. As all men have eyes to see, ears to hear, and mouths to speak, so also have they an inward sense, through which God speaks to them, and which is called conscience; but if they long resist this inward voice, a time comes when it ceases to make itself heard. When the Lord "stands at the door and knocks ;"4 when he has given the virgins a long time to have their lamps ready, and when his voice has not been listened to, 1 James i. 13, 14. 2 1 John ii. 16. |