ye shall return, and this land shall be your possession before the LORD. And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben spake unto Moses, saying, Thy servants will do as my lord commandeth."

The forty years denounced upon Israel to wander in the wilderness were now about to terminate. With the exception of Moses, Caleb, and Joshua, all who had come up out of Egypt at the age of manhood had died. Notice is given to Moses of his approaching death, and provision made for his successor in the government, first, by the prayer of Moses; second, by the appointment of God.-" And the LORD said unto Moses, Get thee up into this mount Abarim, and see the land which I have given unto the children of Israel. And when thou hast seen it, thou also shalt be gathered unto thy people, as Aaron thy brother was gathered. For ye rebelled against my commandment in the desert of Zin, in the strife of the congregation, to sanctify me at the water before their eyes. And Moses spake unto the LORD, saying, Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation, which may go out before them, and which may go in before them, and which may lead them out, and which may bring them in; that the congregation of the LORD be not as sheep which have no shepherd.—And I besought the LORD at that time, saying, O Lord GOD, I pray thee, let me go over, and see the good land that is beyond Jordan, that goodly mountain, and Lebanon. But the LORD said unto me, Let it suffice thee; speak no more unto me of this matter. Get thee up into the top of Pisgah, and lift up thine eyes westward, and northward, and southward, and eastward, and behold it with thine eyes for thou shalt not go over this Jordan. But charge Joshua, and encourage him, and strengthen him for he shall go over before this people, and he shall cause them to inherit the land which thou shalt see. And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. And the LORD shewed him all the land, saying, This is the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed: I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither. So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD. And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Beth-peor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day. And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated."-Deut. xxxiv. 4-7.

Having now gone over the writings of Moses, contained in

the first five books of the Old Testament, it may be proper to state, that the last of these is very much a repetition of the history and of the laws recorded in the three preceding books; which repetition Moses delivered to Israel, both by word of mouth, that it might affect, and by writing, that it might abide. The whole book of Deuteronomy contains only the history of two months,-compare Judges i. 3 with Joshua iv. 19-the latter of which was the thirty days of Israel's mourning for Moses. Observe how busy that eminent man was to do good, when he knew that his time was short-how quick his motion, when he drew near to his rest. Then of him it might be truly said, that his "doctrine did drop as the rain, and his speech did distil as the dew; as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as showers upon the grass."

The Pen, the Pulpit, and the Press, have not been wanting in bestowing upon this illustrious personage the well-earned praises to which his memory is so justly entitled; but of all these, none is brighter or briefer, or will last longer, than that inscribed, by the Spirit of Inspiration, in these few words :"And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto MOSES, whom the LORD knew face to face." He saw more of the glory of God than any of the other Old Testament saints. He was not spoken to in dreams, and visions, and slumberings on the bed, but had free and frequent access to God when he was awake, and standing before the cherubim. In his journey through life, many and varied, trying and magnificent, were the scenes through which he had to pass; and whether we contemplate him as a man of prayer-as a hero or a historian-as a poet or a prophet-as a lawgiver or a leader to the hundred thousands of Israel-in all these relations he sustains a magnanimity of mind, and an elevation of soul, calculated to arrest our attention, and to command our admiration.

"We see the fiery promptings of the heart that could not brook oppression, in the bloody vengeance he took on the Egyptian who would trample on his brother. Preferring the desert with freedom, to the court of Pharaoh in sight of injustice, he led the life of a fugitive. Called by a voice from heaven to go back and deliver his people, he again trod the courts of the king of Egypt.

"But not in the presence of Pharaoh, when he withstood the monarch to his face, and brought down the thunders of heaven on his throne; not on the beach of the sea, with one arm upraised towards heaven, and the other stretched out over the water, while the waves that went surging by stopped and crouched at his feet; not in the midst of the raining manna;

not in the lifting of the brazen symbol in the midst of the flying serpents, while the moan of the suffering, and the cries of the dying, struggled up from the crowded encampment; not when between the mountains his stately form shone in the light of the blazing fiery pillar, while the tread of the mighty multitude shook the earth behind them; nor even when he stood on shaking Sinai, his guard the thunder, and his vesture the lightning, and talked with the Eternal as friend talketh with friend; not in all these awful relations does he appear to me so majestic and attractive as in the last event of his life.

-'The

"Behold the white tents of Israel scattered over the plain and swelling knolls at the foot of mount Nebo. It is a balmy, glorious day. The sun is sailing over the encampment, while the blue sky bends, like God, in love over all things. Amid this beauty and quietness, Moses assembled the children of Israel for the last time, to take his farewell look, and to give his last blessing. He made no complaints-never spoke of his hardships in their behalf; made no allusion to his anguish in leaving them on the very verge of Canaan, the object for which he had toiled so long. He did not even refer to his death. In the magnanimity of his great heart, forgetful of himself, or else not daring to trust his feelings in an allusion to his fate, he closed his sublime address in the following touching language eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee. Israel then shall dwell in safety alone. Happy art thou, O Israel: who is like unto thee, O people saved by the LORD, the shield of thy help, and who is the sword of thy excellency!' Noble language! noble heart! Carried away by the contemplation of his children's happiness, he burst forth into exclamations of joy in the moment of his deepest distress. He looked back on the desert-it was past. He looked forward on Canaan-it was near. He turned to the people, and they were weeping. He cast his eye up to Nebo, and he knew he must die. Though outwardly calm, his stern nature shook like a cedar in a tempest, and then the struggle was over. His farewell was echoed in melancholy tones from lip to lip through the vast host, as he turned to ascend the mountain. As he advanced from rock to rock, the sobbing of the multitude that followed after tore his heartstrings like the suffering cry of a child its parent's; and it was long before he dared trust himself to turn and look below. But at length he paused on a high rock, and gazed a moment on the scene at his feet. There were the white tents of Jacob glittering in the sunlight, and there the dark mass of Israel's host, as they stood and watched the form of their departing

leader. Those tents had become familiar to him as household scenes; and as he gazed on them now, far far beneath him, and saw the cloud overshadowing the mysterious ark, a sigh of unutterable sadness escaped him. He thought on the bones of Joseph he had carried for forty years, that were to rest with his descendants, while he was to be left alone amid the mountains. Again he turned to the ascent, and soon a rock shut him from view, and he passed on alone to the summit.

"There God miraculously spread before him all the land of Canaan. He stood a speck on the high crag, and gazed on the lovely scene; palm trees shook their green tops in the summer wind, and plains and cities and vineyards spread away in endless beauty before him. But ah, methinks he saw more than the landscape smiling beneath the eastern sky. The history of the future was unrolled before him. He saw the manger of Bethlehem, and also the star that hung over it. There lay glittering in the landscape the sea of Galilee. But he saw more than the water: he beheld the mysterious form walking there in the midst of the midnight storm. He saw Jerusalem in its glory and downfall. He heard the birth-song of the angels, and shout of the shepherds; and last of all, a mysterious mount rose before him, wrapped in storm and cloud, through whose gloomy foldings gleamed a cross. The clouds rolled away; and, lo, the Strength of Israel, the Refuge of Judah, hung in death. Again the vision changed; the sepulchre was open, and, like an ascending glory, that form rose to heaven.

"The scene vanished from his sight, and with the rock for his couch, and the blue sky for his covering, he laid down to die. Oh, who can tell what the mighty lawgiver felt, left in that deathful hour alone! The mystery of mysteries was to be past. No friend was beside his couch to soothe him, no voice to encourage him in that last, darkest of all human struggles. No one was with him, but God; and though with one hand He smote him, with the other He held his dying head. How long was he dying? God alone can answer. What words did his quivering lips last utter? God alone knows. Was his last prayer for Israel? his last words of the Crucified? From that lonely rock did a shout go up, O Death! where is thy sting? Ŏ Grave! where is thy victory?' Of that last scene and its changes we know nothing; but when it was over, Moses lay a corpse on the mountain top. And God buried him. There he slept alone; the mountain cloud which night hung around him was his only shroud, and the thunder of the passing storm his only dirge. There he slept while centuries rolled by, his grave unknown and unvisited, until at length he is seen standing on

mount Tabor, with Christ, in the transfiguration.
at last in Canaan at last."
11*

Over Jordan

"Shade of power not yet perished-sole lord of millions still, wielding the two tables as the sceptre of thy extant sovereignty, with thy face flashing back the splendours of the Divine eye, and seeming to descend evermore thy Thunder-hill of Fear,' it is with a feeling of awful reverence that we bid thee farewell!"+

EXERCISES.

6

What did Moses receive from the Lord when he had gone up into the mount? How long did he remain there? How did the children of Israel act during his absence? What did Moses do with the calf which they had made? How many of the people were slain that day? Was Moses commanded to go up a second time into the mount? What did he then receive from the Lord? On what day of the month did the children of Israel remove from Sinai? How long had they been out of Egypt? Where did they next encamp? For what did they murmur? What report did the spies give of the land they went to search? What of the rebellion of Korah and his company? What was their punishment? How was Aaron's right to the priesthood tested? Of what sin was Moses and Aaron guilty after they had come into the desert of Zin? Where did Aaron die? How old was he? How long did all Israel mourn for him? Wherefore did the Lord send fiery serpents among the people? How were they healed? Who was Balak? What of Balaam? What request did the children of Reuben and Gad, with the half tribe of Manasseh, make to Moses? Upon what terms did Moses grant their request? Did the Lord tell Moses when and where he was to die? How old was he? By whom was he buried? What was his character?

CHAPTER VIII.

FROM THE DEATH OF MOSES TO THE DEATH OF JOSHUA, A.M. 2553-2588.

Joshua Appointed by God to be the Leader of Israel-The Spies and Rahab-Israel Pass through Jordan on Dry Ground-Jericho and Ai Taken and Destroyed-The Gibeonites Deceive Joshua-He Conquers the King of Jerusalem and his Four Allies-The Sun and Moon Stand Still-The Tribes Receive their Inheritance by Lot-Joshua's Last Address-Death and Burial.

We are now come to that book which bears the name of