~onfi~rd to th~ surface of the 'body; none th~ easier to bca.r, certainly; and yet easier m ~his, that 1t did not belong to an affi1ct1on of the great vital organs. Severity age.in, on the other hand, just because it affected the sensitive surface of the body. It is through our sensations that God has caused so much both of pleasure and informa- tion to come. 'l'hus God, who had given so much delight to Pharaoh and his people through making them so sensitive to the outward world, now deranges all the minut~ oen•es and vessels, and by spreading boils and blains over the surface of the body he effectually stops all enjoyment of life. W o know that it is possible for a person to be seriously ill-even fatally so, perhaps confined as a hopeless invalid for years- e.nd yet to get considerable enjoyment out of life, as in reading and in light occupe.tionii for the mind. But what pleasure can be got when, from head to foot, the body is covered with boils and blai.ns 'I As long as this sort of pain lasts, little else cMi be thought of than how to get rid of it. II. As in the plague of the gnats, so hero in the plague of the boils and blains, oun ATTENTION IS SPECIALLY DIUECTED TO THE 111:AGI0IANS. On the former occasion with or without sincerity, they had said, "This is the finger of God;" now they are in themselves, so to speak, the finger of God. 'l'hey can neither avert nor dis- semble their subjection to the power that works through Moses. At first, doubtless, they had looked upon him with haughtiness, audacity, and scorn, as being hardly worth a moment's attention. Very likely it was counted a great condescension to turn the rods into serpents. But now, whatever feeling be in their hearts, the hold that Jehovah has on their bodies is only too evident. Silence and outward serenity are impossible under such suffering as this. 'l'he twitchings of the face cannot be concealed, the groan cannot be suppressed, the unquailing attitude cannot .be maintained. Who shall tell what indfridual humiliations and defeats lie behind this brief expression: " The magi- cians could not stand before Moses because of the boils." Becawe of the boils! It was not a very dignified sort of disaster; not very pleasant to recall in after times. 'l'hese magicians, we may imagine, had scorned the very name of Jehovah, worse, mayhap, than Pharaoh himself. And now in these boils and blains there is, suppressed as it were, scorn and mockery from Jehovah in return. Opposers of God may not only have to be brought down from their pride, but in such a way as will involve them in ridicule and shame. 'l'he exposure of falsehood is only a work of time, and as we see here, it can be accomplished in a. comparatively short time. Pain effectually drives away all dissembling, and nature proves too much even for the man to whom art has become second nature.-Y. Vcrs. 8-12.-L The Sixth Pl,ague. THE MEANS USED. Ashes were taken from the br.ck-kiln in which the Israelites t.oiled, and in Pharaoh's presence sprinkled in muto a.poeal t.oward heaven. The memorials of oppression lifted up before God will fall in ·anguish upon the oppressors (James v. 1-:-5). 'l'he Fren~h Rev~lution and the ages of criant wrona that had gone before. Amencan slavery and its pumshment. ll. THE su'iinEm.'Ess OF THE D.7LICTION. There was no warning. The dust was cast up, and immediately the plague was upon man and beast. The judgment of wickedness will come as in a moment. Sodom. The flood. IIL THE SH..U!E OF THE llAGICI.A...-._s. 1. Upon them the plague seems to have been more severe than upon others. Upon the abettors of other men's tyranny and wrong, God's ju~"1Ilent will fall heaviest. The deep responsibility of Christian teachers and men of influence and talent. Let them see to it that they are on the side of righteous- ness, and not of the world's class-selfishness and manifold wrong. 2. 'l'hey were brought to shame in the presence of. t~ose :w_ho trusted in them. The falsehood of their pretensions was ex.posed by the11 mabil1ty to defend themselves. When God visits for the world's sin, there will be everlasting confusion and shame for its apologists and abettors.- U.
Vers.13-26.-TRE SEVENTH PLAGUE. The sixth plague hed hed no effect at all upon the I EXPOSITION. for the physical sufferings of his subjects, an~ apparently was not himself afflicted by the hard heart of the Pharaoh, who ea.red nothing malady MOiies was therefore ordered to &lJ • en. 1x. 13-26.J '!'HE IlOOK OF EXODUS. 201