HOMILIES BY VA.RIOUS .AUTHORS. Vers. 1-39.-Three plagues-frogs, lice, flies. On the precise character of these three plagues, see the exposition. They are to be viewed in their relation to the Egyptians-I. As an intensification of the natural pla,,,<TUes of the lmid. 2. As a proof of tbe almightiness of Jehovah (see on eh. vii. 17), and of tbe folly of further contest with him (vers. 10, 22). 3 . .As a demonstration of the vanity of the idols. The Egyptian gods were utterly powerless to aid their worshippers. There was not the shadow of help to be derived from them. This was the more remarkable that several of tbe..gods were worshipped as protectors from the very classes of plagues which were here brought upon the country. There were fly-gods, to protect against flies, deities to pro- tect against frogs, etc. .And the defeat of the idols was remarkable from this other fact, that several of the agents employed as scourges of Egypt were themselves ranked as deities. '!'bis was the case with the river, and with many of the creatures, e.g. the beetle, probably included under "flies." 4. The removal of the plagues when Pharaoh showed signs of submission, was a proof of God's mercy, and a token to the monarch of his sincerity in his dealings with him generally. Taken in connection with Pharaoh's behaviour under them, the three plagues read us valuable lessons. 'l'hey teach- I. TBE SUl'REMAOY OF Goo IN TIIE KINGDOM OF NATURE. All creatures, all agencies, 182 THE BOOK OF RXODUS. [en:. VIII. 1-39,,
are und~r hi_s control: They come and go, mRrch and countcrmarch, act in separation or combmat1on, at !us pleasure. He sent the hornets before the Israelites to drive out the Amorites from their strong castles (eh. xxii. 28). He frequently punished Israel by sending armies of locusts to devour the 1m)duce of the fields (Joel i., ii.• Amos iv.). Jehovah was at the head of these armies (Joel ii. 11), and so was he at th~ head of the a.rn1ies of frogs, gnats, flies, and other noxious insects that drove the Egyptians to a state of desperation. This is a striking thought, in as full accordance with a sound philosophy and with the facts presented to us in nature, as with the teaching of Christ, who bids us see the Father's hand even in the fall of a sparrow. What account can bo given, e.g., of the migratory instincts of birds, save that suggested by this thouo-ht of Jehovah's rule, regulating their motions, and guiding them in their long and pe~ilous journeys (Jer. viii. 7). He rules. He a.lone rules. "An idol is nothing" (1 Cor. viii. 4). ll. THE IMPOTENCE OF MAN IN THE HANDS OF JEHOVAH. 1. God's entire control of al,l things in creation gives him command of exhaustless resources for the punishment of his enemies. When the river was hea.led at the end of seven days, Pharaoh may have thought that his trouble had blown past-that the plagues were at an end. But lo I a new plague is brought upon him, of which he had never dreamed, a plague of" frogs," also from the river. Then in swift successive strokes came the plagues of gnats, of mixed insects, of murrain of beasts, of boils, etc., ea.eh breaking out from some new and totally unexpected quarter. If ever the Egyptians thought, Surely the arrows in the quiver of this mighty god are at length all spent, they were speedily undeceived by the breaking forth upon them of some fresh plague. The Almighty's quiver is not thus easily etlausted. There is at every stage in his chastisements an.in.finite reserve of power to chastise us further, and in new forms. 2. Natural agents are a frequent means by which God chastises the rebellious. It is really a truer philosophy which sees God behind all action of natural force, and all movements of the irrational creatures, than that which sees only second causes, only laws and.instincts, and refuses to recognise the Supreme Orderer ·in their movements and combinations. 'l'here need be no scruple in acknowledging se<',0nd causes, or even, in a. sense, a. reign of unvarying law; but the "laws" of nature are one thing, and the "course" of nature another, and this latter the Theist believes to be no more of chance than the former, while the Christian is taught to trace a. Divine purpose and end in its minutest ramifications. Hail, snow, fire, and vapour ; stormy wind; rain and thunder; insect and reptile life; plague and famine ; disease in its myriad forms-all are wea.pons in. the hands of God by which he can fulfil his· righteous will to punish. 3. The minutest forms of life -are used by God as his sorest scowrges. Thomas Scott acutely remarks that the plagues would have been easier t.o bear, and would not have been felt to be so humiliating, had the agents in them been lions.and tigers, or other animals of the nobler sort; or perhaps foreign enemies. There would at least have been dignity in succumbing to the attacks of hordes of powerfui foes. But how intolerably humiliating to be conquered by shoals of frogs or by insignifi- cant and contemptible creatures like lice and flies I Yet Pharaoh could more easily have contended with the former classes of enemies than with these latter. One army can charge another with at least some chance of success; and protection ie possible a.:,o-a.inst enemies that a.re of a size which admits of their being shot, hunted, trapped, or kept out by walls and defences ; but nothing of this kind is possible with the minuter creature;;. It -was impossible to erect defences against locusts ; and to this hour, man is helpless against their ravages. A stray Colorado beetle may be put to death; but if that form of life were developed to but a small extent among us, it would be impossible to shield ourselves effectually from its destructive operations. Numbers of diseases have now been traced to the presence of germs in the atmosphere and in our food and drink, and it is the very minuteness of these germs-their microscopic and infinites=l character-which makes them so deadly and so difficult to cope with. ,vi1en the potato disease appeared in 1846, nothing could be done to check its spread, and little can be done yet to guard against its assaults ! 'l'he fungus is of a. kind which eludes our efforts to deal with it. Plague and pestilence (Plague of London, Bia.ck Death, Cholera., etc.), while depending to a. very-large extent on material conditions for their development, yet seem connected in their origin with similar organic germs. Jn this whole wide region, accordingly, God has under his control potent invisiblo >!llcies, which ordinarily his providence keep~ in check, but which at any hour might CU. VIII. 1-39,] 'rHE DOOK OF EXODUS. 18E