time of the seven years' famine.

2. And now another Pharaoh arose to be king over Egypt, who knew not Joseph. Though he might well have looked with favour upon the children of Israel for Joseph's sake, who had so vastly increased the wealth and power of the king who preceded him, and which he now possessed; he beheld their increase with a jealous eye, and said to his servants, Behold, the children of Israel are more and mightier than we: come; let us deal with them cunningly; lest they multiply, and it come to pass that, when there falleth out any war, they join our enemies, and fight against us, and so get away out of the land."

They agreed together, therefore, to make them work in making mortar, and bricks; and in all kinds of hard labour in the fields; and in building store cities for Pharaoh. And the more effectually to break their spirits and enfeeble their bodies, they set taskmasters over them, to keep them incessantly at their labour, and thus to add to their affliction.

But the more they afflicted them, so much the more did they increase and multiply; for God supported them under their hard bondage.

3. The king, seeing that his project for preventing their increase had

failed, then spoke to the Hebrew midwives, commanding them to kill all the male children that were born amongst the Israelites. But the midwives, having a greater regard for the law of God, than to the cruel and unnatural command of the king, went on quietly as they had previously done, and still preserved the male children.

When the king found that his order had not been obeyed, he was angry; and calling for the midwives, said to them, "Why have ye done this thing, and saved the male children alive?" In excuse for their conduct they replied that the Hebrew women, unlike the Egyptians, were of so robust a constitution that they stood in no need of their services. And they did not lose their reward for refusing to obey the king's cruel command; for God dealt well with them, and because they feared Him, He prospered them, giving them children, and blessing their families. Thus the children of Israel continued to multiply, and grew very mighty.

4. Pharaoh having failed in this attempt also, then sent forth this inhuman edict to all the Egyptians :

This new attempt to cut off all their male children, was a source of great affliction to the oppressed people of God, and they were now induced to contrive various means for preserving their infants; one of which was the following:

5. A man named Amram, of the house of Levi, having some years before married a daughter belonging to the family, named Jochebed, had a daughter born a little time after, whose name they called Miriam. They had afterwards a son, whom they named Aaron: and a short time after Pharaoh's command to drown the male children had been given, they had another son born; and as he was a goodly child, and exceedingly fair, his mother was only the more desirous that he should be preserved. She therefore succeeded in concealing him in the house three months; but at the expiration of this time, not being able any longer to hide him there, and fearing he would, after all, fall into the hands of those who were appointed to drown the children, she made a little ark or chest of bulrushes, and covered it with slime and pitch, to keep out the water: then putting the infant into it, she laid it amongst the flags by the river side, and set his sister Miriam at a short distance off to see

what became of him.

6. An ever watchful Providence, who had suggested to the mind of the mother this means of preserving her child, very soon directed the king's daughter to the spot where he lay. She came down to the river with her maidens, to bathe herself; and seeing the ark amongst the flags, sent one of her maids to fetch it. When it was laid at her feet and opened, it was found to contain a little infant, which instantly appealed to the tender sympathy of the royal princess by its weeping. On seeing it, she said, "This is one of the Hebrews' children."

7. By this time, Miriam, the child's sister, had joined the attendants of the princess; and observing with what tenderness she gazed upon the child, she spoke to her, saying, "Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee?" The princess told her to do so; and away the maid hastened with a joyful heart and brought her mother to the place. Pharaoh's daughter then said to her, "Take this child and nurse it for me, and I will pay thee thy wages." This was no doubt a welcome bargain to the joyful mother, who now providentially received again to her bosom the child of her love, and was delivered of all fear of its being taken from her by the ruthless hand of some Egyptian destroyer, being now under the protection of the daughter of the king.

one of the princes of Egypt.

9. When he was forty years old, he left the court of the king, and went to see his brethren, the children of Israel: and seeing the oppression and hard bondage under which they laboured, he was moved with compassion towards them, and indignation against their oppressors. And one day, observing an Egyptian smiting a Hebrew wrongfully, he determined to punish the Egyptian; so looking around to see whether any one was in sight, and seeing no one, he slew the Egyptian and buried him in the sand. He expected that the Hebrews would have understood by this act of justice, that God, by his hand, would deliver them from their bondage.

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10. The children of Israel, however, did not understand this as yet: for the next day he went out again amongst them; and seeing two of the Hebrews quarrelling, he endeavoured to reconcile them, saying to the one that did the wrong, Wherefore smitest thou thy brother?" The man answered, Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me, as you did the Egyptian yesterday?" Moses was startled to hear that his slaying of the Egyptian was known; and as the affair had been also reported to Pha

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raoh, who sought to take away his life, he immediately fled from Egypt and went into the land of Midian.

11. In the plains of Midian there was a well of water, where it was the custom of the shepherds to bring their flocks to water. To this well Moses directed his steps, to rest himself and allay his thirst. While he was sitting by the well, the seven daughters of Jethro, the prince of Midian, came to water their father's flock: but some churlish shepherds, determined to serve their own turn first, came to the well and rudely drove them away. Moses, seeing this shameful conduct, stood up against them, defending the damsels from their insolence, and obliging them to make a hasty retreat. He then drew the water for them and watered their flocks, after which they returned home to their father.

When Jethro saw them, he was surprised that they had returned so soon, and enquired the reason. "An Egyptian," they said, "delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and also drew water enough for us, and watered the flock." "And where is he?" enquired Jethro. "Why is it that ye have left the man? Call him that he may eat bread." Upon this they returned to the well and invited

him to come to their father's house. 12. Moses was so well pleased with the reception he met with, that he agreed to stay with Jethro, and undertake the care and management of the sheep. Jethro afterwards gave him his daughter Zipporah to be his wife, by whom Moses had two sons; the elder of which he named Gershom, because," said he, I have been a stranger in a strange land;" the younger he named Eliezer; "for the God of my father," said he,

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was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh."

13. While Moses lived in the family of Jethro, the king of Egypt died. But the event brought no relief to the poor oppressed Israelites, whose burdens and miseries rather increased than diminished under the reign of the new king Pharaoh. They cried and groaned continually, under the tyranny of their hard taskmasters, and their sore bondage. And their cry came up unto God, and He heard their groaning: moreover, He remembered the covenant that he had made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and he determined now to send them deliverance.

14. While Moses was keeping his father-in-law's sheep, he one day led them into the desert, as far as Mount Horeb. There the angel of the

Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire, out of the midst of a bush. Moses was astonished to see that although the bush was encompassed with the flames, it was still unconsumed. So he said to himself, " I will turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt." But God, to prevent him from curiously and irreverently approaching Him, and to make him duly sensible of the awfulness of the Divine Presence, called to him out of the midst of the bush, and said, "Moses, Moses; draw not nigh hither. Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." On hearing that he was indeed in the immediate presence of the Divine Majesty, Moses hid his face; for he was now afraid to look upon the glory of God.

15. God then said to him, "I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry, by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; and I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good and large land flowing with milk and honey; unto

the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites, the Amorites and the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites. Now therefore, seeing that the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me; and I have seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them; be thou of good courage: for I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt."

16. Moses, considering on what account he had fled from Egypt, and not knowing, probably, that the old king, who had sought to take away his life, was dead, began to excuse himself on account of his incompetency; saying, "Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh; and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?" God removed this difficulty by replying, "I will certainly be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve me upon this mountain."

Wishing still to evade the office, Moses then urged another difficulty. "When I come to the children of Israel, and say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is His Name! what shall I say to them?"