in several of his speeches (Job vii. 11-21; x. 1-22, etc.); or of Jeremiah (,Ter. iv. 10 • xx. 7). As Augustine says of Moses, "These are not words of contumacy o; indignation, but of inquiry ancl prayer." 3. Even from the desperate speeches of good men, temporarily carried beyond bounds by their sorrow. Job enters this plea for himself-" Do ye imagine to reprove words, and the speeches of one that is desperate, which are as wind" (Job vi. 26); anll we feel at once the justice of it. 'l'bis was not murmuring. These wild speeches--though not blameless-were but a degree removed from raving. What elements, then, do enter into the murmuri11g; spirit-how is it to be described? (1) At the basis of it there lies di.~trust anrl unsubmissiveness. There is distrust of God's goodness and power, and want of submission to his will in the situation in which he has placed us. The opposite spirit is exemplified in Christ, in his first temptation in the wilderness (Matt. iv. 1-----4; cf. Deut. viii. 3). (2) Connected with this, there is forgetfulness of, and ingratitude Jo;·, benefits formerly received. This is very conspicuous in the case of these Israelite~ (ver. 3). (3) The characteristic feature of this spirit is the entertaining of injurio"s thoughts of God---the attempt to put God in the wrong by fastening on him the imputation of dealing harshly and injnriously with us. The mUITDuring spirit keeps the eye bent on self, and on sell's fancietl wrongs, and labours bard to make out a ca.,e of ill treatment. Its tone is complaining. It would arraign the Eternal at its puny bar, and convict him of injustice. It is narrow, self-pitying, egoistic. (4) It expresses itself in accusations and reproaches. The mental point of view already imlicated prepares the way for these, and leads to them being pa.~sed off a.~ righteous charges. God is charged foolishly (Job i. 22). (5) It is prone to exaggeratit:m. The Israelites can hardly have been as well off in Egypt as they here pretend, though their words (ver. 3) show that their rations in bondage must have been fairly liberal. But the wish to make their present situation look as dark as possible, leads them to magnify the advantages of their former one. They did not think so much of it when they had it. (6) Murmuring against God may not venture to express it.1elf directly, and yet may do so- indirectly. The murmuring of the Israelites was of this veiled character. They masked their rebellion ag:i.inst God, and their impeaching of his goodness, by directing their accusations against bis servants. It was God against whom they murmured (ver. 7, 8), but they slightly veiled the fact by not mentioning God, but by speaking only of Moses and Aaron. We should remember this, in our contendings with Providence. The persons on whom our murmuring spirit wreaks itself may be secondary agents--the voluntary or involuntary causes of our mis- fortunes--or even persons in no way directly concerned with our trouble-but be they who they may, if the spirit be bitter and rebellious, it is God, not they, whom we are contending against (cf. Uen. I. HI, 20; 2 :.-iam. xvii. 10). II. Goo's SURPRISING TREATMENT OF THESE MURMURINGS (ver. 4). ]t is a most astonishing fwct that on this occasion there is not, on God's part, a single severe word of reproof of the people's murmurings, far less any punishment of them for it. It could not at this time be said-" Some of them also murmured, and were destroyed by thl' destroyer" (1 Cor. x. 10). The appearance of the glory in the cloud warned and abashed, but did not injure them (ver. 10). The reason was not that God did not bear their murmuring, nor yet that be mistook its import, as directed ostensibly, not against him, but against Moses and Aaron. The Searcher of Hearts knows well when our murmurings are against Him (vers. 7, 8). But, 1. He pitied them. They were really in great need. He looked to their need, more than to their murmurings. In his great compassion, knowing their dire distress, he treated their murmurings almost as if they were prayers -gave them what they should have asked. The Father in this way anticipat~d the Son (Matt. xv. 32). 2. He was forbearing with them in the beginning of their wn11- God was not weakly indulgent. At a later time, when the people had been longer under training, they were severely punished for similar offences (cf. Num. xxi. 5); but in the preliminary stages of this wilderness education, God made large and merciful allowances for them. .l\'either here, nor at the Red Sea, nor iater, at Rephidim, when they openly "tempted" him (eh. xvii. 1-8), do we read of God so much as chiding them for their wayward doings: he bore with them, like a father bearing with his children. He knew how ignorant they were; how much infirmity there was about them; how novel aucl trying were the situations in which he was placin;: them; and EXODUS-II, D 84 THE BOOK OF EXODUS. [en. ~VI. 1--8.
he mercifully gave them time to improve by his teaching. Surely a God who acts In this way is not to be called "an hard master." Instead of sternly punisbiug their mur- murings, he took their need as a starting-point, and sought to educate them out of the murmuring disposition. 3. He purposed to p1·ove them. He would fully supply their wants, and so give them an opportunity of showing whether their murmuring was a. result of mere infirmity----0r was connected with a deeply ingrained spirit of disobe- dience. When perversity began to show itself, he did not spare reproof (ver. 28).-J.O.