EXPOSITION VIII.

EXODUS iii. 7—14.

7. And the Lord said, 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;

8. 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 land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

9. Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.

10. Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.

11. And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?

12. And he said, Certainly I will 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 God upon this mountain.

13. And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall 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 unto them?

14. And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM : and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.

The remarkable dialogue, between the Almighty and his chosen servant Moses, which was commenced in the last portion of Scripture is continued in the verses that we have just read where it pleased God to reveal to Moses the great embassy in which he was about to employ him, and at the same time, the reasons for which the Lord, at this period, interfered on behalf of his people. How instructive, how consolatory to the church of God, in all ages, are those reasons! "I have seen the afflictions of my people!" "I have heard their cry," "I know their sorrows." Were it not for these distinct declarations on the part of the Almighty, how difficult would it be to believe, that the cries and sorrows of earth could ever enter heaven, that the groans even of the most unpitied slave. should be heard and answered from on high. But where is the mourner who, with such evidences of the Divine sympathy before his eyes, can venture to doubt that his own prayers are heard, his own cries registered, his own sorrows

known and regarded in the kingdom of his Father. Surely, the christian mourner may well take courage from such an example, and though his lot be cast among the humblest, and his dwelling among the poorest-yea, though he even rival the brickmakers of Egypt in misery and depression,-he may rest assured that not a prayer uttered in secret, or a tear dropt in silent wretchedness, shall be overlooked by Him who loveth him, and hath given himself for him. How strong is the expression of the Almighty! “I am come down to deliver them :" and although he will not repeat such palpable and miraculous interferences at the present hour, God will still come down," into the broken and contrite and sorrowing heart, by the dews of his Holy Spirit, and refresh and strengthen and comfort it; and according to his own most gracious promise,

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give unto them that mourn in Zion, beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness."*

No sooner had the Almighty revealed to Moses the nature of the employment for which he had designed him, than the prophet, overwhelmed with a consciousness of his own utter worthlessness and insignificance, breaks forth into the reply, "Who am I, that I should go unto

* Isaiah lxi. 3.

Pharaoh ?" I, who for forty years have lived a solitary shepherd, who am I, to enter, as the ambassador of the great Jehovah, into the courts of kings? How natural the feeling, how precisely that which every human being, who knows himself, experiences at the very idea of being employed for God! Even an apostle, when thinking of such an occupation, could not refrain from asking," Who is sufficient for these things?" Well might Moses shrink back appalled at the prospect. And how does God mercifully and tenderly acknowledge the justice of his reluctance, and at once meet and overcome it, by the blessed assurance, "Certainly I will be with. thee." This, for the moment, appears fully to satisfy the trembling messenger, for he no longer asks, whether it will be possible for him to undertake the mission, but how he shall act, when he has undertaken it. This, also, is the only sure ground of the Christian's confidence. In every action that is proposed to you, in every line of conduct which is opened to you, in every course to which, whether by the solicitations of others, or the desires of your own heart, you are impelled, before you enter upon it, pause, and ask yourself this question, " Will the Lord be with me in it?" Can I ask his blessing, hope for his countenance, calculate upon his presence? If

God, speaking, as he always does, by the written word, and through an enlightened conscience, replies, "Certainly I will be with thee;" advance boldly, and fear nothing. You are in the path of duty, difficult it may be, entangled and perplexing it will often be, but sure and safe it cannot fail to be; and he who has entered upon it with you, has undertaken for you, and pledged himself to you, even unto the end. Therefore "go on your way rejoicing," and you shall never regret the path you have trodden under such guidance, and in such company.

EXPOSITION IX.

EXODUS iii. 15-22.

15. And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.

16. Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me,