delicacies of the table, turkeys e.nd other animals are made to undergo untold agonies. Slow death is inflicted on calves, to make the veal white. Finally, animals aro often involved in the Divine judgments by which nations are visited for their sins. "Much Cl\ttle" would have perished miserably, if Nineveh had not repented at Jonnh's preaching. The beasts endure as much as the men when cities are blockaded. Occasionally, as in this plague, the beasts themselves are the direct sufferers, aud God punishes man through them. No doubt there is a mystery in this. 'l'he suiforin" of innocent dumb animals is hard to reconcile with the goodness of God. His causing pain to them for man's fault is even more strange. How persons who have a fixed belief that the brute creation enjoys no future life, overcome the difficulty, we knew not. But the solution of it may, we think, be found in the Scripture which tells of "the spirit of the beast which goeth downward" (Eccles. iii. 21). If the spirit of a beast survives, it may :find compensation in another life for what it has suffered here. Man's coldness and deadness with respect to animal suffering is as marvellous as anything in bis nature and history. "Pbara.ob's heart" was utterly hard to it. He did not even ask that the plague should be removed. The sufferings and miserable death of thousands of beasts made not the slightest impression upon him. Probably he did not give their sufferings a thought. And even among Christians, is it not much the same? How few protest against even such enormities as promiscuous vivisection I How few, in grieving over the horrors of war, think of the pain which is borne by the animals engaged in it! How few give so much as a sigh to the labour, the weariness, the llllffering of millions of poor dumb brute beasts engaged in ministering to their pleasures, amusements, convenience I We grieve bitterly for our own troubles. We have a tear of sympathy, perhaps, for the griefs of humanity generally. But for the rest of creation, "groaning and travailing in pa.in together until now," we have scarcely a thought. How different from him who was led to spa.re Nineveh (Jonah iv. 11) because therein were " more than six score thousand persons that could not discern between their right hand and their left ha.nd, and al,so m'IJCh cattle! "
HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vers. 1-8.-The plague of murrain of beasts. L THE ALTERNATIVE AGAIN (vers. 1, 2). Surely Pharaoh was well warned. '!"he analogy of the third plague would have led us to expect that on this occasion-after a second and glaring breach of faith-there would have been no warning. Yet mercy waits upon him. Faithless though he had been, if even yet he will let the people go, all will be forgiven. If not-then judgments. Mark how sacredly, in all this, the freedom of Pharaoh is respected. "He was not put on the actual rack or held over a slow fire till his cruel hand relaxed, and let the Hebrew bondmen go. The appeal was loud, and each time it was repeated he and his people were shaken more severely than before; but after every demand there was a respite, a pause, an opportunity to ponder, and either yield the point or recall a past concession:' (Hamilton.) II. A :r.rounAIN OF CATTLE (vers. 3-7). This was the form assumed by the fifth pla.,,"'lle. lt is to be viewed, 1. As a new blow at Egyptian idolatry. 'l'he sacredness of the cow and ox are hinted at in eh. viii. 26. It may well have been that the sacred beasts themselves, the bull Apis, the calf Mnevis, and the rest, were smitten by the pestilence. 2. As a fresh illu,stratwn of the manijold resources of Jehovah. The morta.Jty which came upon the cattle was universal in its sweep, carrying off, not only sheep and oxen, but horses, asses, and camels; destructive in its effects, the greater proportion of the cattle of each class falling victims to it; yet carefully discriminative, attacking the cattle of the Egyptians, but leaving unharmed those of the Israelites (ver. 6). 3. .As a plague of increased severity. The loss sustained by the Egyptians in th~ mowing down of their cattle was the greatest they had yet experienced. Cattle consti- tute a large part of the wealth of every nation. They are of importance for food, for burden, and for the produce of the dairy. What a loss it would be to our own nation were our sheep, cows, oxen, horses, and asses, all suddenly destroyed I In the East the oxen were employed for draught, and in the operations of agriculture. Yet the plague was but the mtensification of a natural calamity-one with the effects of which we i Oil, IX, 1-7,] 'rHE BOOK OF EXODUS. 201