man the richest encouragement and an assurance that
of those who come to Christ in penitence and faith, " not one shall ever be cast oute" ]
2. It is never too soon —
[It was not the men only, but the children also, yea, even " the little ones," whom God required to go forth into the wil- derness to offer sacrifice to him1 : and in the New Testament our blessed Lord says, " Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not ; for of such is the kingdom of hea- ven." O that young people did but know the blessedness of serving God ! Who ever yet regretted that he had begun to re- pent too soon ? Who ever yet made it a matter of sorrow that he " had served the Lord from Iris youth ?" " Remember then, my Brethren, your Creator in the days of your youth." Let not Satan have the best of your time; and the mere dregs be re- served for God : but " to-day, whilst it is called to-day," begin that life, which is the truest source of happiness in this world, and the most certain pledge of glory in the world to come.]
e 2 Chron. xxxiii. 12, 13. f ver. 9, 10.
Exod. x. 23. But all the children of Israel had light in their
dwellings.
OF all the plagues which in rapid succession were inflicted upon Egypt, not so much as one fell upon the children of Israel : their cattle, and every thing belonging to them, enjoyed the same exemption as themselves. And this distinction was well calcu- lated to convince Pharaoh, that Israel's God was the only true God, and that the idols of the heathen were vanity a. But, whilst we admit that this was the primary end of all the judgments, and of the plague of darkness amongst the rest, we cannot but think that this particular plague had something in it more than ordinarily instructive ; inasmuch as it served to shew, that between the Lord's people and others there is at all times as great a difference, as there then was between Goshen and the rest of Egypt. We say not, indeed, that this particular application of the subject is anywhere suggested by the inspired writers ; but we do say, that it may well be so applied,
a Exod. viii. 22.