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shall be filled with bread; and ye shall know that I [am] the LORD your God, ye shall have fresh proofs of my power and faithfulness.

And it came to pass, that at even, the quails, feathered fowls, came up, and covered the camp : and in the morning the dew, under which the manna was hid, lay round about the host. 14 And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness [there lay] a small round thing, [as] 15 small as the hoar frost on the ground. And when the children of Israel saw [it,] they said one to another, It [is] manna, or, What is this? for they wist not what it [was.] And Moses said unto them, This [is] the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat, the portion which God hath given you.

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This [is] the thing which the LORD hath commanded, Gather of it every man according to his eating, an omer, about five pints, for every man, [according to] the number of your persons; take ye every man for [them] which [are] in 17 his tents. And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, 18 some more, some less. And when they did mete [it] with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack ;* they gathered every man according to his eating, every master of a family according to 19 the number of his family. And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning; what they could not eat was to be made away with, to prevent their distrust in God's care and goodness 20 in giving them more. Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank and Moses was wroth with them, was angry at this perverseness, this unbelief and disobe21 dience. And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted. Hereby God taught them diligence in providing food while they had time and means, and to depend daily upon his providence.

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And it came to pass, [that] on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man t] and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses, that they might receive directions from him how to order this their double portion. 23 And he said unto them, This [is that] which the LORD hath said to the patriarchs of old, Tomorrow [is] the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD; a plain intimation, that the sabbath was observed before the covenant at Sinai : bake [that] which ye will bake [today,] and seethe that ye will seethe, that ye may not have it to do on the sabbath; and that which re

They put it into a common stock; and though some gathered more, and some less, yet, when measured out, it was just the quantity that was wanted. The apostle applies this to the contributions of christians, that they should impart to those who need, 2 Cor. viii. 14. 15.

+ It does not appear that Moses had told the people to do this; but, to their surprise when they had gathered the usual quantity, there was as much more left.

24 maineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning. And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade: and it did 25 not stink, neither was there any worm therein.* And Moses

said, Eat that today, which ye gathered yesterday; for today [is] a sabbath unto the LORD: today ye shall not find it in 26 the field. Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh 27 day, [which is] the sabbath, in it there shall be none. And it came to pass, [that] there went out [some] of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none.

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And the LORD was displeased with them, and said unto Moses, that he might say it to these people, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws? especially the important law 29 of keeping the sabbath? See, for that the LORD hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days: abide ye every man in his place, in the camp, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day, to gather man30 na, or to do any servile work. (Lev. xxiii: 3.) So the people 31 rested on the seventh day from gathering munna. And the

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house of Israel, called the name thereof Manna; which was taken from the question they asked, What is it? and it [was] like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it, before it was baked, [was] like wafers [made] with honey, but when dressed, it was like fresh oil, Numb. xi. 8.

And Moses said, This [is] the thing which the LORD commandeth, Fill an omer of it to be kept for your generations; that they may see the bread wherewith I have fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt; that they may see how good God is, and how unreasonable your 33 murmurings are. And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a pot,t and put an omer full of manna therein, and lay it up before the LORD, to be kept for your generations. This was another 34 miracle, that it kept so long without putrefaction. As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept; that is, in the ark, where the testimony or two tables which testified or declared God's will to the people, were to be put.

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And the children of Israel did eat manna near forty years, until they came to a land inhabited; they did eat manna, un36 til they came unto the borders of the land of Canaan. Now an omer [is] the tenth [part] of an ephah.||

This was another extraordinary providence, and showed the difference between doing

a thing by God's command and blessing, and doing it contrary to these.

+ Paul tells us, it was a golden pot, Heb. ix. 4.

Though this is related here to make a full end of the story of the manna, yet it was

mot done till after the giving of the law, Deut. x. 5.

An ephah was about three pecks, or forty eight pints.

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REFLECTIONS.

E see here the variety of events that befel the Israel of God; we left them at Elim; perhaps they expected to move toward Canaan, but we find them in the wilderness still. This is frequently the case of good men, in their journey toward the heavenly world; when pleased with the prospect, they are unwilling to leave the delightful place: but they must arise and depart, and enter into the wilderness again. Let us expect such things in this world, and be easy in every place, since God's providence is as real and as great a security, as the pillar of cloud and fire was to Israel.

2. Let us guard our hearts, that they do not murmur against God, when we are in difficult circumstances. What a strange and perverse people was this! They quarrelled with Moses, with Aaron, and with God; as if there were a combination between them to starve them all. The heart is too ready to fret against God when brought into straits; therefore should be kept with all diligence. We should not speak against God, nor distrust his power and care; especially after having had experience of it; having sang his praise for past mercies, let us not forget his works, lest we dishonour him, injure our own souls, and provoke him to take away our remaining comforts. A suspicious, murmuring temper, is a sufficient plague to any man; therefore, watch and pray; neither murmur ye, as some of them murmured, and were destroyed in the wilderness.

3. Let us be more concerned about God's honour than our own. Thus Moses and Aaron were, v.7. And what are we, that ye murmur against us? Your murmurings are not against us, but against the Lord; our injury is little when compared with his. We should be much more grieved when sinners affront God, and injure their own souls, than when they affront and injure us. We may perhaps deserve it from them, at least from God; but he never deserves it: it is daring impiety against him, and therefore should affect and grieve us.

4. Let the daily supplies of life teach us to know the LORD, and depend upon him. v. 12. At even ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread; and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God. God giveth food to all flesh, for his mercy endureth for ever. The eyes of all wait on him; he spreadeth our table, and filleth our cup. The producing corn out of the earth, is as wonderful as the raining of manna from heaven; let us therefore acknowledge God's hand in the supplies of

We as constantly depend upon his providence and care, as Israel did; therefore Christ teacheth us to pray, Give us this day, our daily bread. He expects that we, like Israel, should labour for the meat which perisheth, but with an eye to and dependence upon his providence; without his blessing we shall labour in vain ; we

shall eat, but not be satisfied. Let our daily bread teach us to know and serve him, who giveth us food to eat, and giveth ús richly all things to enjoy. Let us not be anxious for the morrow, but cast all our care on him who careth for us.

5, Let us be careful that we sanctify God's sabbath. Remember, it is the rest of the holy sabbath of the Lord, therefore to be kept holy. It is our duty to be careful that we do not unnecessarily stir abroad. Provisions must be had on the Lord's day; but good householders, and wise managers, will take care so to order it, that it may be had with as little trouble as possible. Such dressing of meat as keeps servants from public worship, when otherwise they might go out, is very wrong. It shows too great a fondness for the body; it is doing unspeakable injury to servants; it is setting before them and children a very bad example; it is affronting to God, and polluting his sabbath. To such masters and mistresses it might be said, as the Lord doth, v. 28. How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws?

6. Let us bless God for that living bread which came down from heaven, of which the manna was a type. Manna was pleasant, wholesome and nourishing; but those who ate of it died; it did not make them immortal; but the bread of life that Christ gives, doth. This comes down from heaven: it feeds and nourishes us in the wilderness, and strengthens us for the active services of the christian life. If any eat of this bread, they shall live for ever. Christ, in his doctrines and grace, is the true manna. Let us receive his doctrines, feed on them by faith, and with understanding eat his flesh, that is, maintain a lively regard to him. This is the true bread of God, which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life to the world; let us therefore say, as the disciples did, Lord, evermore give us this bread.

CHAP. XVII.

Contains an account of the water brought from the rock, and the

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defeat of Amalek.

ND all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the LORD, and pitched in Rephidim: they had two stages between, but as nothing remarkable occurred there, they are not mentioned: 2 and [there was] no water for the people to drink. Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, instead of addressing him in a respectful manner, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with

me, can I give you rain or wells of water? wherefore do ye tempt the Lord? distrust his power, goodness and fidelity, refusing to submit to his will, and to seek him by fervent prayer ? 3 And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore [is] this [that] thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?*

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And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me, and my 5 life is in great danger among them. And the LORD said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel, that they may be eyewitnesses of this glorious work, and may report it to the people; and thy rod, where6 with thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go. Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb, in the pillar of the cloud, the sign of my presence; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight 7 of the elders of Israel. And he called the name of the place Massah, that is, temptation, and Meribah, that is, chiding or strife, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, Is the LORD among us, or not? vill he be as good as his word, or not?

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Then came Amalek, who was descended from the eldest son of Esau, by a concubine,† (see Gen. xxxvi. 12.) and fought 9 with Israel in Rephidim. And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, some of the ablest and best, and go out, fight with Amalek tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with 10 the rod of God in mine hand. So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek and Moses, Aaron, and Hur, Miriam's husband, a person of great wisdom and experience, went up to the top of the hill, where the glory of the Lord 11 appeared. And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand,

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that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek 12 prevailed. But Moses' hands [were] heavy; and they took a stone, and put [it] under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side, or one after another; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13 And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people, that is, Amalek and his allies, with the edge of the sword.

This was absurd, foolish and wicked language. No doubt Moses attempted to quiet them, to reason with them, to show them the wonders God had wrought, and to direct their eyes to him, but all in vain.

The Amalekites lived near the wilderness, where Israel were encamped, and were a very powerful nation. Perhaps they thought the Israelites came to take possession of some part of their country, and therefore, though they might have heard of their great deliver. ance, resolved to attack them.

This was a posture of prayer, which he undoubtedly offered up. The expression also eignifies, lifting up of the rod, which was their standard.

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