decidedly than ever to hold fast Israel, and defy the attempts of Moses and Aaron to let them go. Moses, however, said (and here is the Christian forbearance of the minister of a people so much trodden down, afflicted, and persecuted) "Very well; be it according to thy word: that thou mayest know that there is none like unto the Lord our God." Moses and Aaron accordingly cried or prayed unfo the Lord, and he did according to the word of Moses, and the frogs were removed.

Then comes the fourth judgment, "Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt." This is altogether a wrong translation-there is not the least doubt that the creature meant is the mosquito gnat. In the Greek Septuagint the word is σkvipes, which denotes gnats. And those who have been in warm climates know what a tremendously vexatious infliction would be, the whole atmosphere filled with mosquito gnats, making life intolerable, and existence a perpetual fever. There is no doubt that this was the real infliction. The other is scarcely possible in Eastern climates; and it led the magicians to say, when they could not produce the same result, "This is the finger of God;" and yet, you observe, Pharaoh's heart was still hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had said.

We then read of another infliction, called in our translation " swarms of flies;" but you will find that the words "of flies" are in italics, which denotes that those words are not in the original, but have been interpolated by the translators to make the idea more clear. All that the original says of this fifth judgment is, in the twenty-first verse, “I will send swarms;" in the twenty-second verse, "No swarms shall be there ;" and again, in the twenty-fourth verse, “The land was corrupted by reason of the swarm." I think that this was a swarm of beetles. You will see in the British Museum specimens of the Carabean beetle, which was

almost worshipped as a god by the Egyptians; and it would seem that the swarms that covered the land were swarms just of the very deities that they worshipped. Every plague had some allusion to the popular mythology of the Egyptians, and was meant, while demonstrating the power of the Lord God of Israel, to pour contempt upon all the gods of Pharaoh; and as the beetle was one of the divinities of the Egyptians, who were thus morally and spiritually degraded, though intellectually great-striking proof how the intellect may be filled with light, and yet there may be no warmth in the heart, and no beauty in the life, and no purity in worship-it was an infliction upon one of the deities that they worshipped, and no less so on its worshippers; and was thus meant to demonstrate the power of God, and to degrade an object of Egyptian worship.

Then Pharaoh called for Moses, evidently relenting a little, every blow coming heavier upon the reluctant heart of the king, and producing unexpected impressions and effects; and he said, "Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land." In the eighth verse he had promised this, and broken his word; but now he says he will fulfil that promise. You recollect that the request was, "Let us go three days' journey into the wilderness." Pharaoh relents so far as to withdraw his obstinate refusal of their request to offer a sacrifice, but he says, "You must not go so far into the wilderness," being afraid of their escape, "but sacrifice in this the land of Egypt." But Moses said, "That we cannot do. We must either have the whole, or we can have nothing. And there is an obvious reason for it. If we were to sacrifice in this land, we should sacrifice a lamb, a heifer, or an Now you know that these be your gods; and if, as we are bound by law to do, we should sacrifice these animals to the Lord Jehovah, then we should offer up what would be a perfect abomination in your sight. We have no right to give unnecessary offence to any. It is not the way to en

OX.

lighten those who are opposed to us, to pour contempt upon them. It is not the way to win the victim of superstition from his errors, to set these errors in a ridiculous light. We ought to try faithfully, and in love, to convince, to convert, and to win; but we are not warranted needlessly to offend the prejudices of any party whatever. Pharaoh said, "I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away," his avarice relaxing, but still strong. He consents to let them go into the wilderness at last, but instead of going three days, he only wishes them to go three hours' journey; so that in case of their attempting to escape, he might bring them back by his armies. "And Moses said, I will entreat the Lord that the swarms of beetles may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people to-morrow; but let not Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more in not letting thy people go to sacrifice to the Lord."-You have deceived me so often, you have given promises made only to be broken so frequently, that I must beg of you not to deceive me any more. Moses went out and entreated the Lord, and the Lord did what Pharaoh asked; but the result was, that "Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also, neither would he let the people go.”

Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you also an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.

CHAPTER IX.

REASON FOR GOD'S DEALING.

A PRECEDENT.

GOD'S REVERENCE

PLAGUE ON CAT

TO THE CONSTITUTION OF HIS CREATURES.
TLE. ANIMAL SUFFERING. PLAGUE OF BODILY DISEASE.
PLAGUE OF HAIL.

I AM sure it will naturally suggest itself to every reader and hearer of the remarkable series of judgments recorded in this chapter, to inquire, why did not God at once, by one stroke, prostrate all the power of Pharaoh, and emancipate his people? Why did he send judgment after judgment, to convince the unconvinceable, instead of wielding at once omnipotent power, and setting forth his people upon their majestic and glorious exodus? The only available answer is found in the analogies presented by God's dealings with mankind. We may put many a "why," to which silence is the only and the most reverend answer. It is recorded here, as inspired matter of fact, and we are quite sure, that, as certain as it was the doing of God, so certain it was worthy of his justice, wisdom, goodness, mercy, and truth. But may it not have been done, and stand recorded here, as a precedent of his dealings with nations in all ages? Do we not find still, that, when a nation (for we are here speaking of nations) sins, God sends one judgment, and if that does not produce a due effect, that he sends another, and another, and another still? Thus we read, in Amos iv. 6-12: "And I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and want of bread in all your places: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord. And also I have with

holden the rain from you, when there were yet three months to the harvest: and I caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it not to rain upon another city: one piece was rained upon, and the piece whereupon it rained not withered. So two or three cities wandered unto one city, to drink water; but they were not satisfied: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord. I have smitten you with blasting and mildew when your gardens and your vineyards and your fig trees and your olive trees increased, the palmer-worm devoured them: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord. I have sent among you the pestilence after the manner of Egypt: your young men have I slain with the sword, and have taken away your horses; and I have made the stink of your camps to come up unto your nostrils: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord. I have overthrown some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and ye were as a firebrand plucked out of the burning yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord. Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel." It seems as if God would not force man by power, but persuade him by mercy, by love, by patience, by forbearance, by truth. It seems, in all God's dealings, both in the Gospel and in the law, as if He had that reverence for the creature he has made, that he will ever treat that creature, not as a machine, to be driven, but as a rational and responsible being, to be drawn with cords of love, and with the bands of mercy. It was said by one of the greatest orators of our country, that such is our constitutional freedom, that all the winds of heaven may enter at every cranny, and all the rains of the sky may enter by every tile, in the humblest hut of the humblest peasant, but not even royalty itself can enter without that peasant's permission and consent. It looks as if God would treat his creatures in the same way. It seems as if even the prince of the kings of the earth will not force