that still greater pleasures lie beyond. Israel had no right to make any assumptions whatever as to the first consequences of Moses' visit to Pharaoh. The true and only 11afe position for Israel to take up was this : "Here are these signs; they are signs that Jehovah has sent Moses, and is with him; let us accept them in full and patieni reliance." A man does not dispute the truth of the finger-post which points him into the right road, because soon after he has 11assed it he comes to a worse bit of travelling than any he has had before. There is a profound and admonitory generalisation in that way of indicating Christian experience which puts the Slough of Despond so early in the pilgrim's journey: and if first consequences that bring hardship are to be mistrusted surely vre must be even more cautious when the first consequences are full of pleasure'. '!'hough we be told to remember our Creator in the days of our youth-his claims his expectations, and his judgment-day-the danger is that we shall only too easily fdrget all this, and remember only that we are strong, ambitious, able to enjoy, and with abundant opportunities for enjoyment. We must always mistrust the mere pleasure of our senses ; the pleasure of tastes and likings. Liking a thing is never a sufficient reason for doing it; disliking never a sufficient reason for refusing to do it. God appeals to our prudence, to our conscience, to our pity, to our fears, but never to our ta.:;tes. And be it ever remembered that there is one first consequence which never deceives nor disappoints those who put therr.selves in the way of it. Do that which i11 right in the sight of God, and there is an immediate and pure pleasure at the heart, which all the waves and billows of adversity cannot wash away. For instance, we cannot believe for a moment that Moses regretted his compliance with the commands of Jehovah. 'l'hey had been clear and imperative, steady and unrelaxing in their pressure on his conscience. The pain from the reproaches of Israel was bad enough ; but it would have been a far worse pain, if he had sought to flee from the test of the burning bush, and, Jonah-like, bury himself with his sheep in the very depths of the wildemess.-Y. ~ .
EXPOSITION. Vers. 22,23.-Thetwo brothers made no reply to God, took his sorrow to the Throne of to the words of the officers. Perhaps their hearts Grace, and poured it out before the .Almighty A good example truly, and one which Chris- were too full for speech ; perhaps they knew tians in all their trials would do well to follow not what to say. Whatever faith they had, it Lord, wherefore, etc. The words, no doubt, did no doubt seem a hard thing that their are bold. Ther, have been said to " approach interference, Divinely ordered es it was, should to irreverence. ' But there are parallels to have produced es yet nothing but an aggrava- them, which have never been regarded e.s irreverent, in the Psalms : e.g. " 0 God, why tion of their misery to the Israelite people. hast thou cast us off for ever? Why does Thev could not understand the course of the thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy Divine action. God had warned them not to pasture?" (Ps. 1.xxiv. 1.) "How long wilt expect success at once (eh. iii. 19; iv. 21); thou hide thyself? Where are thy former but he had SIi.id nothing of evil consequences lovingk.i.nd.nesses ? Wherefore hn.st thou made all men for nought?" (Ps. lxxx.ix. 46-9), and following upon their first efforts. Thus we the like. Kalisch seems right in saying that can well understand that the two brothers " the despond.ing complaint of Moses was not (and especially Moses, the more impetuous of the result of disbelief or doubt, but the effort them) were bitterly grieved and disappointed. of a pious soul stroggliog after a deeper pene- They felt their cup of sorrow to be full-the tration into the mysteries of the Almighty." Ver. 23.-He bath done evil to this people. reproaches of the officers made it overflow. See above, vers. 7-9, and ver. 14. Pharaoh Hence the bitterness of the complaint with had increased the burdens of the whole nation, which this chapter terminates, and which and in this way " done evil " to them. He introduces the long serieii of precious promise, had e:Jso brought the punishment of scourging contained in the opening section of eh- vi. ou a number of the chiefs. Neither wt thou delivered thy people at all. The promised Ver. 22.-lloaes returned unto the Lord. deliverance (eh. iii. B, 20) had not come- We are not to undenrtand that Moses had there was no sign of it-the people was suffer- forsaken God and now " returned" to him ing under a more cruel bondaie than ever but simply that in his trouble he had recourse •JH, VI, l~.J 'l'Hl<} BOOK OF EXODUS. 139
HOMILETICS. V O!B, 22,. 23.-The religious soul takes its gr~efs straight to G_od. When our hopes are disappomted, when matters fall out otherwise than as we wish, when our enemies resist us, and our friends load us with reproach, how sweet to have a safe refuge whither we may betake ourselves, even the bosom of our most loving God! "Truly God is loving unto Israel." His hand may be slack, "as men count slackness;" but it is not crippled or paralysed-it is always "mighty to save." Worldlings take their difficultie11 and their troubles to counsellors whom they deem wise, or to friends whom they regar.. as powerful, or to subordinates whom they think to be crafty, but never to God. The religious soul's first instinct in deep trouble is to seek solitude, to fly from man, and to pour out all its grief before the Lord. It will even venture, like Moses, to expostulate- to ask to be shown the reason why God has disappointed it and troubled it-to demand "Why is thy wrath so hot?" and "When wilt thou comfort me ? " It does not doub~ but that in the end all will be right, that God will do as he has promised; but it wants to be sustained, upheld, comforted as to the intermediate time-to be assured that God "has not forgotten to be gracious," that he is still nigh at hand, that he " will no, leave it nor forsake it."
SECTION IV.-CHAPTER VI.1-27. DEPRESSION OF MOSES, AND CONFIRMATION OF HIS MISSION,