in the bud ; no wilucky accident had removed either from the land of the living. Moses was able to greet, at one and the &ame moment, his wife, his two sons, and his brother-in-law. Doubtless, he felt that God had been specially good and gracious to him in restoring to him all his treasures. II. THAT IT' WAS CHARACTERISED BY COURTESY AND GOOD FEELING, AND FREE FROM A:t,Y REPROACH ON ETI"HER SIDE. Jethro sent a message to announce his arrival, which was a c011rteous act, not strictly necessary. He relieved at once any anxiety which Moses might naturally feel, by letting him know that he had brought with him his wife and both his sons. That they had been able to make the long journey implied that they were well. Moses, on his part, responded by going out to meet his brother-in-law, thus requiting courtEray with courtesy; when he met him, he "did obeisance," nut standing upon his own present dignity; having done obeisance, he rose and "kissed him," thus showing tender affection. Greetings by word of mouth followed, and then friendly conversation. The great leader had much to relate, and gave a fnll account, buth of his perils and hair-breadth escapes, and of his divinely-wrought deliverances. Hereat Jethro" rejoiced." No word of reproach or blame seems to have been uttered on either side. No discord marred the perfect harmony. Over the still tenderer meeting of the husband and father with his wife and children, the sacred historian, with a wise reticence, draws the veil. There a.re scenes which a.re at once too private and too sacred for description; and this was one of them. I[(. THAT IT WAS CROWNED BY AN ACT OF RELIGIOUS THANKFULNESS AND A0KNOW- LEDGMENT OF THE GOODNESS OF Goo. The sense that God has been good to us should lead in all cases to an act of acknowledgment. Jethro was not content with mere words of joy and gratitude-not even with a solemn ascription of praise and blessing to Jehovah (ver. 10). He must shew his feelings by an a.et; so, in accordance with the ritual of the time, he "took a burnt-offering and sacrifices." Christians should similarly signalise their own re-unions, and other important events in their lives, by joining together in the highest act of Christian worship-the Holy Communion. Joint participation in the "bread of life" and "cup of the Lord" brings home to us the sense of family oneness, as nothing else has the power to do. Prayers uttered side by side bind men's hearts together in indissoluble 1.llllon; participation in the same precious gifts gives the sense of unjty in him who is the source of unity to all who are his. Aaron and the elders do well to join ; their presence does not mar the family concord; it does but enlarge the family circle, and add new links to the cha.in that binds Heaven to earth. ~ome day the whole Church will be one family, of which all the members will worship God perpetually in the Father's house. The nearest approach to happiness on earth is that anticipation of the final bliss which Holy Communion furnishes.
HOMILIES BY VARIOUS .AUTHORS. Vers. 1-13.-The visit of Jethro. When Jethro "heard of all that God had done for Moses,"-a hint that the news of the great events of the past few weeks had spread far a11d wide through the Sina.itic peninsula,-and when he learned that the Israelites were encamped at the Mount of God, within reachable distance of the Midianitish settlement (cf. eh. iii. 1), he at once resolved on paying his former friend, who had so suddenly blazed into an unexpected greatness, a personal visit. He came, accordingly, accompanied by Moses' wife and two sons. I. JETHRO's COMING (vers. 1-7). This visit of Jethro to Moses may be considered with reference to the following particulars. lie ea.me--!. Cordially recognising the l,onoU/f' whwh God had put on Moses (ver. 1). Moses had stood to JeLhro for years in a. relation of dependence. lie had kept the priest's flocks (eh. iii. 1). Yet Jethro was not offended or made envious by this sudden greatness which had fallen to the lot of his old a~sociate. The proverb was for once falsified that "a prophet is not without honour, ~ave in his own country, and in his own house" (Matt. xiii. 5-7), for Jethro heartily acknowledged and rejoiced in all that the Lord had done for Moses and for Israel. It might have been otherwise. He might, like the Nazarenes in their slighting of Christ, have a8ked-" Was not this my shepherd? Is not his wife called Zipporah? anrl his 1011s, Gershom and Eliezer, are they not with t!Ji? Whence then hath this man all IJH, XVIII. 1-13.] THE BOOK OF EXODUS.