possessed no control whatever, but of whose intentions he had been previously perfectly informed. That God, therefore, should afterwards harden Pharaoh's heart, as we are assured he did, was in reality the effect, not the cause, of his first disobedience.

It is true that the infallible word of God has declared, "Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth; nor would we say one word which could, by any probability, be supposed to derogate from the entire and absolute sovereignty of God; but we consider such an example as this before us, as an explanation of the assertion of the apostle, and that by revealing to us in this case, that God was sure that Pharaoh would harden his own heart, it clearly sets him before us as the type of that whole class whom God will not pardon. Pharaoh had resolved upon a course of rebellion: and God knew this; and therefore, by withdrawing from him the restraining and softening influences of his grace, by permitting him to follow out his own stubborn and wayward will, and more than this, by hardening and strengthening that rebellious will to the highest pitch of obstinacy, the Almighty erected a lasting monument to the guilt and impotency of man, and the awful and the tremendous power of

God: a monument that should stand as a beacon throughout all ages of the world, and deter the presumptuous sinner from the first rebellious feelings, and the earliest hostile or disobedient acts against that God, who was thus proved to be, to his enemies, "a consuming fire."

The verse, at the close of the passage, wherein God commands the Israelites to "borrow" of the Egyptians "jewels of silver and jewels of gold," and which sometimes perplexes the unlearned reader, 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."*

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

* Bishop Jer. Taylor.

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 Jacob, 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 the dry land: and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land.

upon

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.

Levite thy

14. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the 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