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is easily explained by the fact, that the word translated "borrow," means also " to ask," or "demand;" and Josephus expressly says, that the Israelites, upon their departure," asked" for jewels of gold and silver from those whom they had served, and that the Egyptians, glad to conciliate their favour, and to expedite their departure, freely gave them.

The chief personal lesson to be derived from the whole passage is this; to guard sedulously, to strive constantly, to pray earnestly, that we may never fall into such a state of mind, that God should be enabled to say of any individual among us, "I am sure that he will not" obey my will, honour my word, love my name, keep my commandments. For this is the first step to an utter alienation from God, and to the Almighty's leaving the sinner, at least, unassisted by his grace, unaided by his power, unsoftened by his Holy Spirit. When this is done, the hardness of the heart will be complete, and that progress of sin be realized, which has been so quaintly and yet so strikingly portrayed by one of the most eloquent of our prelates. "Vice is first pleasing, then easy, then delightful, then frequent, then habitual, then confirmed: then the man is impenitent, then he is obstinate, then he resolves never to repent, and then he is damned.'

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* Bishop Jer. Taylor.

EXPOSITION X.

EXODUS iv. 1-17.

1. And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The Lord hath not appeared unto thee.

2. And the Lord said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod.

3. And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it.

4. And the Lord said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand:

5. That they may believe that the Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jucob, hath appeared unto thee.

6. And the Lord said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom; and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow.

7. And he said, Put thine hand into thy bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again; and plucked it out of his bosom; and, behold, it was turned again as his other flesh.

8. And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign.

9. And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land: and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land.

10. And Moses said unto the Lord, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant; but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.

11. And the Lord said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the Lord?

12. Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.

13. And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send.

14. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee; and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart.

15. And thou shalt speak unto him, and put words in his mouth: and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do.

16. And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God.

17. And thou shalt take this rod in thine hand, wherewith thou shalt do signs.

How difficult is it to draw the line between a godly humility and a sinful distrust! When the Almighty first communicates to Moses the astonishing nature of the mission upon which he is about to employ him, we are not surprised to find that the humble shepherd shrinks back, appalled at the very idea of so noble a destiny, and we admire a feeling which evidently flows from a consciousness of his own incapacity. But when the Almighty condescends to encourage him, to assure him of his presence and guidance, and establishes the certainty of his success, by two remarkable miracles, the diffidence of Moses is no longer the fruit of humility, but of faithlessness. He evidently cannot believe that he shall succeed; and this faithless despondency urges him to rid himself, if possible, of the arduous undertaking, by any arguments, or at any cost; "Send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send;" in other

words, "Send by any one but me." We see at once the weakness of the man overcoming the faith of the child of God, when Moses not only thus endeavours to evade the duty, but urges as a reason that he should not be selected for this dangerous office, "I am not eloquent, but slow of speech, and of a slow tongue;" as if his success, were in any, the most remote degree, dependent upon his own personal qualifications. Yet this is continually the error into which, in all ages, men have fallen. They feel themselves unequal to the high and important duties to which God calls them, and they do not steadily and faithfully bear in mind, not only that he who sends them can qualify them, and that God has himself distinctly declared, in every case, "My grace is sufficient for thee," but that he has undertaken for them; that the event is not theirs, but his; and that while they are employed in God's work, it is not their eloquence, but God's power, not their talents, but God's will, not their capacity, but God's all-sufficiency, that is to achieve success.

How admirably had the great apostle to the Gentiles learnt this lesson, when, instead of complaining of his own incompetency, he rather made it his boast; "And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech, or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God;" "and my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the spirit and of power: that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God."

This is the genuine feeling of the renewed and devoted heart. Eloquence is nothing, wisdom is nothing, power is nothing, self is nothing, God is every thing; and complete in him, the true Christian goes forth, whether as a minister or a messenger, as a hero or a martyr, conquering and to conquer, striving for the crown, only that he may cast it at the feet of Him who has alone achieved the victory. "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts." (Zech. iv. 6.)

How much would the difficulties of life be diminished, and the duties of life rendered more easy, if we would always live and act in this spirit! Luther was once obliged to remind Melancthon that God governed the universe; and many a private Christian needs continually to be put in remembrance of the same great truth, and to be told, not needlessly to harass himself, about those things which the Almighty keeps in his own hands, and cannot but regulate with perfect wisdom, perfect love, and perfect power. It is necessary to feel this, that you may know, in every undertaking, where your great strength lies, and that success does not depend upon any thing out of God. We have seen the best of men shrink from some of the most important duties to which the Almighty obviously called them, because they were unable to realize this great and influential practical truth; refusing the services in which God would employ them, from want of faith to believe that he could enable them to fulfil what he had distinctly called them to execute.

Endeavour, then, to have it firmly established in

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