and to Jacob; and I will give it to you for an heritage : I am the Lord.

9. And Moses spake so unto the children of Israel: but they hearkened not unto Moses for anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage.

10. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

11. Go in, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land.

12. And Moses spake before the Lord, saying, Behold, the children of Israel have not hearkened unto me ; how then shall Pharaoh hear me, who am of uncircumcised lips?

13. And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, and gave them a charge unto the children of Israel, and unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.

In the opening of the passage of Scripture that we have just read, there is a declaration of the Almighty, which, if left unexplained, might greatly perplex the attentive searcher into the divine word. "I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty; but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known unto them." Now, by a reference to the history of the Patriarchs, we shall find several instances, in which God had already revealed himself to them as JEHOVAH, as far as the mere name is concerned; for instance, Gen. xv. 6, speaking of Abraham, "He believed in

the Lord," (which in the original is, "he believed in JEHOVAH") and "he counted it to him for righteousness." And again, verse 7, " And he said unto him, I am the Lord," (or, as in the original, “I am Jehovah.") So again, “And Jehovah appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt,”* and other instances which might be cited. When, therefore, the inspired writer, in the passage before us, says, speaking of the patriarchs, " By my name, Jehovah, was I not known to them;" something more is evidently meant than the mere name, for of that it is evident, that the assertion could not have been made. The declaration, therefore, no doubt intends to express, by the name Jehovah, that wonderful developement of the power and judgments of Jehovah, of which the patriarchs, happily for themselves, had never been the subjects, but which was now about to be most fearfully manifested in the long series of punishments inflicted upon Pharaoh, and the wonderful deliverances of God's chosen people. This interpretation appears to be fully borne out, by the manner in which the psalmist declares that the LORD, even Jehovah, is made known to us, when he says, " JEHOVAH is known by the judgment which he executeth." + And again, "He is JE* Gen. xxvi. 2. + Ps. ix. 16.

HOVAH our God; his judgments are in all the earth;"* and still more conclusively in the very book upon which we are commenting, when the Almighty himself says, " And the Egyptians shall know that I am JEHOVAH (the LORD) when I stretch forth my hand upon Egypt."+ Clearly manifesting, therefore, that the manner in which JEHOVAH should be made known to the Israelites, different from that in which he was hitherto known by the patriarchs, was by a larger, and more astonishing, and appalling series of judgments and punishments, than he had ever yet seen fit to manifest.

Happy is it for those who are so sweetly drawn by the mild and softening influences of God's grace, that he is never compelled to present himself to them, in the more fearful attributes of his power. Happy for those, whose stubborn wills are made to yield, and their hard hearts to break, before "the still small voice," and who need not the wind, the earthquake, and the tempest; to whom, in this sense, by his name JEHOVAH, he is not known; but, on the contrary, is well known and gratefully beloved, and entirely rejoiced in, by that endeared and gracious name, "the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ," and through him of all the chil

* Ps. cv. 7.

+ Exodus vii. 5.

dren of his redeemed and ransomed family. Let your constant desire and prayer be, to know him thus; for short of this, you cannot enjoy the privileges of the real Christian here, or the portion of the children of God hereafter.

[Here may be read from verse 14, to the conclusion of the chapter.]

EXPOSITION XVI.

CHAP. vii. 1–7.

1. And the Lord said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh : and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet.

2. Thou shalt speak all that I command thee: and Aaron thy brother shalt speak unto Pharaoh that he send the children of Israel out of his land.

3. And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt.

4. But Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you, that I may lay my hand upon Egypt, and bring forth mine armies, and my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments.

5. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch forth mine hand upon Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them.

6. And Moses and Aaron did as the Lord commanded

them, so did they.

7. And Moses was fourscore years old, and Aaron fourscore and three years old, when they spake unto Pharaoh.

At the commencement of the portion of Scripture which we have just read, we find the Almighty encouraging the doubting and timid Moses, by the remarkable declaration, "See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh, and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet;" i. e. thou shalt have such wonderful powers committed to thee, that Pharaoh shall look upon thee with as much respect as upon one of his divinities, and Aaron shall receive his communications from thy mouth, to make them unto Pharaoh, in the same manner as a prophet receives the revelations of God for his people. But still, lest Moses should rely too much upon these important gifts, as calculated to produce immediate success, the Almighty most considerately adds, “But Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you." It was very merciful in God, thus to prepare his servant, and preserve him from disappointment; and we find, in after ages, our Lord, precisely in a similar spirit, forewarning his disciples of the improbable and distressing circumstance of his own betrayal and death, that so fearful a contradiction to their