him, no doubt, respectfully, but fearlessly, as it is written, that "by faith " Moses did not fear "the wrath of the king." It required much courage; but in all ages the promise has been fulfilled to the people and servants of God, which the Lord in later times gave to his disciples: "And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak; for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you." "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." It is thus that at all times the following prayer of the apostles is granted : “And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word."

Moses and Aaron came, therefore, fearlessly but respectfully into the presence of Pharaoh. They uttered no threats, although God had said to them, "I will punish him;" but this was not their business. They did not even ask for the freedom of the Jewish people, although God had said to them, "I will deliver them:" this was not their business. They did not perform any miracles, although God had promised them the power to do them. No; they had then nothing else to do than to deliver their message. "Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness." It was Jehovah, the

I AM, the God of Israel, who sent this message; he is 2 Acts iv. 29.

1 Matt. x. 18-20, 28.

the God of all men, he is the Creator and Lord of all; and, peculiarly, the God of Israel, the Father of his adopted people.

Pharaoh was guilty for not listening; but, remember, that all which is told you in Scripture is equally a message sent to you from heaven by the Lord, for the Bible is not the word of man, but the word of God; and the apostle returned thanks that the Thessalonians had received it as such, God having had mercy on them, without which they also would have hardened their hearts.'

Moses and Aaron came to ask the king's leave for the Hebrews to go three days' journey into the desert of Sinai, in order that the people might celebrate a solemn feast without being disturbed by the Egyptians, or shocking their prejudices by religious ceremonies so different from theirs. And Moses and Aaron made their request not in their own names, but in the name of One more powerful than they.

It has been asked, "Could Moses and Aaron with perfect sincerity ask Pharaoh's permission to go three days' journey when they had the intention of going to take possession of the land of Canaan, and of quitting the hateful country of Egypt for ever? Certainly they were sincere; they asked no more than this; and if Pharaoh had granted it, they might possibly not have asked anything more. God had told them that Pharaoh would refuse, and that he the Lord would make him consent, and would bring the children of Israel out of Egypt with a stretched-out arm. Then why did they ask Pharaoh's permission? To show, in the strongest manner, first, the moderation of their requests, and, secondly, the wickedness of the heart of Pharaoh. It 1 Thess. ii. 13.

was as though I were educating a violent and obstinate. little girl, and I was informed that she had been rude and insolent to her nurse. "My child," I should say to her, "go and ask pardon of her whom you have offended, and tell her that you are sorry for what you have done." Knowing her obstinate and proud character, I should know very well that she would refuse, and that I should be obliged to punish her; nevertheless I would not the less ask her to humble herself, and to do what she ought to make reparation for her fault. Why so? To show in a stronger light both her fault and the evil in her character, so that she may fully understand the justice of my punishment, and perhaps repent and ask God to pardon her and change her heart. It is for a similar reason that God sent a message to Pharaoh, saying, "Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness."

But note the answer of the wicked Pharaoh, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go." What contempt for his Creator and Judge! whether he had really never heard of him, or whether, knowing that Jehovah was the God of the Hebrews, he despised a God who he may have imagined had not been able to prevent them from being trampled under foot by him. "I know my gods, but I do not know yours," he seemed to say. "Who is Jehovah, that I should obey his voice? I do not know him."

The answer of Moses and Aaron was a most temperate one. They did not at first make use of any miracles, nor threaten the king; they contented themselves with merely telling him of the evils that might come upon them if they were not to obey their God.

And the king said unto them, "Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron, let (that is, hinder) the people from their works? Get you unto your burdens."

Pharaoh wished to send the two old men also to toil, and to treat them, together with their people, like the dust under his feet. It was doubtless owing to the special protection of God that they were not cast into prison, or even put to death. "You let the people from their work," he said to him; "you make them lose their time in meeting." "Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore," said he to the taskmasters; "let them go and gather straw for themselves." Why was this straw used, my friends? It was not known why for a long time; but some years ago, on examining ancient bricks, found either on the banks of the Euphrates or in Egypt, it was discovered that the inside of them contained a multitude of small pieces of straw. On the same principle as stones are mixed with mortar, to render walls more solid, the Easterns had discovered that chopped straw mixed with clay gave a greater degree of durability to the bricks. "Ye shall no more give the people straw . . . and the tale of the bricks, which they did make heretofore, ye shall lay upon them, ye shall not diminish ought thereof," said the cruel tyrant, without inquiring if the thing were possible, seeking to oppress the people more and more.

XII.

God's Covenant with the Chosen People.

G

(EXODUS V. 12-23; vi. 1-13.)

OD teaches two important lessons in these verses. He shows us, by the example of the Israelites oppressed in Egypt, how he is often pleased, before he delivers us from some affliction, to make us feel all our weakness and wretchedness. He also shows us, by the example of Moses, that in all our distresses we should go to him for deliverance. May he grant us the grace fully to understand this twofold teaching, and remember it in our hearts. May he grant us this grace, for it comes from him, and him alone. Without it we should receive in vain the most solemn warnings, the most earnest and touching exhortations. We should still remain careless and unconcerned, we should most likely harden our hearts like Pharaoh. On the contrary, when our merciful God is graciously pleased to accompany it with his almighty aid, a few simple words, sometimes those of an ignorant person or of a child, may touch us to the quick, and lead us to seek eternal life, or strengthen and comfort us in sorrow. I will relate to you an anecdote which reminds me of the history of the Israelites and of Moses. In a certain village, in England, a poor but pious woman had lately lost her husband, after a short and severe illness. He had been the sole support of herself and her three