Y crs. 21-29.-Prospect of death. In the full career of triumph, Moses has inward presentiment, and external announcement, that bis end was near. Nature has a greater repugnance to death when we are enveloped in the bright sunshine of prosperity. The contrast is more marked. Decay and disease are natural forerunners of dissolution; but in Moses these were wanting. ,vith him, tho gravamen of the trial was that his life-work was incomplete. 'fhe closer we approach to the final stroke of an under• taking, the deeper becomes our anxiety for a successful issue. "How am I straitened till it be accomplished!" l. WE HAVE HERE SAGACIOUS PROVISION TO CONSUMMATE RIB WORK, In the judgment of a good man, the perpetuation of his work by others is vastly more important than the continuance of his own life. Individuals pass away, but the pro;rcss of the race continues. Up to this point in Israel's pilgrimage, Moses had been unequalled as a leader; no one among the tribes could have filled his place. But now, a military general, rather than a legislator,. is needed, and Joshua has been gradually moulded by a Divine baud for this work. We may safely trust human interests with God. 1. The experienc.e of age conveys its lessons to y01J,th. Joshua was scarcely a young man, as we reckon years; yet, compared with Moses, he was juvenile and inexperienced in governing men. Age is a relative quality. '!'he lesson was directly to the point-straight at the bull's-eye of the target. "Fear not." Courage, just then, was the "one thinrr needful." 2. The command was founded on the most soli<l reasons viz. the ir~csistible might of Jehovah, and the unchangeableness of his purposds. What he had done, he could yet do. What he had done was a revelation vf ,\-hat he desiuned 0 to do. Observation of God's deeds and methods fosters v11lorou1 faith. "Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even he shall understand the lo\-inc--kiI'.dness 0 of the Lord." II. PRAYEil THAT LIFE MAY YET BE PROLONGED. It savours of submissive meek- ness to the Divine will that Moses first provided for the nation's welfare, in view of the continnency of death, and then prays that the stroke mo.y be delayed. 'l'he latter is secondary. I. The prayer was earnest. "I besought the Lord." '!'hero is indica· Lion that it was oft repeated and long continued. 2. The prayer w_as inspired by noble motive. An unusual display of God's greatness had been made m the defeat of tho two kings, and Moses longed to see further unfoldings of God's might. Still, his prayer was, "I pray thee show me thy glor,y ! " God bad only begun to a.et; Moses yearned <.11. JII, 1-2D.] Tim IIOOK 01'' DEUTEil.O~OMY. 51
to sco tho final consummation. 3, Yet this pmyer wa.9 refu.serl. Unerring wisdom pcrcoivcJ that it was best to rcfuse-be.st, perhaps, for Moses himself-an,[ bc8t fur Jsmcl. It is better for a man to present an unsuccessful prayer, than nrJt t0 pray at fill. Some blessing is tho fruit. 4. The denial was a vicarfous cha.stiw:ment. Wo have, in GoJ's kingdom, vicarious blessing and vicarious suffering. For ,Joseph'~ sake, tho house of Potipliar wns blessed, I?or David's sake, Solomon finished his rci"n in peace. For Paul's sako, the crew of the doomerl vessel escaped. On the other° sirle, God was wroth with Moses for the Hebrews' sake. Present chastisement better far than final banishment. 5, Divine tenderness is displaye'l even in refusal. The refusal was not wholly from anger; there was a large admixture of kindness. Anger for the sin; kindness for the man. It is as if God had said, "It pains me sore to impose this chastisement; nevertheless, it must be done, and you will add to my pain by seeking an escape." God beseeches him to urge no further. Up to this point, prr1yer was fitting; beyond this, prayer would have been fresh guilt. 6. Yet compensatior, for the loss is granted. Prayer is never wholly unsuccessful. A gracious concession is made. Moses bad asked to see the land; be shall see it, although his foot shall not tread it. 'l'he eye and the heart of the man of God shall be ~laddened. Without doubt, Moses' natural eyesight bad been preserved for this selfsame occasion, and special power of vision al~o was vouchsafed in that eventful hour, when Moses stoor\ on Pisgah's peak, He shall see it without the toil of travel, without the peril of the conflict. 7. A crowning lci11dness is shown in confirming the succession to Joshua. Though the workman is to be removed, the work shall advance. It was a sweet solace to the mind of Moses that Joshua should have been accepted in his stead. His cherished purpose shall be accomplished, although by other hands. The spirit of Moses would survive in Joshua, "Being dead," Moses would still speak and act. The body may dissolve, but the moral courage and heroic valour are transmitted to another. Rest is the reward of toil, and the cradle of new exertion. "So we abode in the valley." 'l'he valley of Beth-peor was the preparation for Pisgah's peak, Humiliation before exaltation.-D.