of the temples and palaces of Thebes, under Pharaoh Moris. Never, perhaps, has so striking a pictorial comment as this upon the sacred text been before recovered. The physiognomy of the Jews it is impossible to mistake; and the splashes of clay with which their bodies are covered, the air of close and intense labour that is conveyed by the grouping on the left side of the picture, and, above all, the Egyptian task-master seated with his heavy baton, whose remorseless blows would doubtless visit the least relaxation of the slaves he was driving from their wearisome and toilsome task of making bricks and spreading them to dry in the burning sun of Egypt, give a vivid impression of the exactitude of the scripture phrase, All their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour.' The inscription at the top of the picture, to the right, reads, Captives brought by his majesty,' (Moris,) to build the temple of the great God.' This means either that Moeris was the king 'that arose, that knew not Joseph, and that reduced the children of Israel to servitude; or, more probably, that the family or gang of Israelites which are here represented, had been marched up from Goshen, and attached especially to the building of the temples at Thebes.”*

The sacred historian, however, states, that this oppression did not answer its intended end. For although it was as extensive as it was severe, the Hebrews being compelled to build "for Pharaoh treasure-cities, Pithom and Raamses," yet, "the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew;" (Exod. i. 11, 12;) until, disappointed and enraged, and apprehensive that the people whom he had so grievously oppressed would ultimately acquire numerical strength sufficient to break his yoke, the king of Egypt had recourse to one of the vilest acts of tyranny ever recorded in history; he commanded that all male children born of Hebrew mothers should be immediately destroyed. The severity of this diabolical enactment, as is usual in such cases, tended to limit its operation; and many of the devoted infants, if not most of them, escaped.

* “Antiquities of Egypt," p. 220. See note G, p. 58.

The first part of the object of this Introduction is thus completed. The entire series of promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, have been collected and considered. From these it has been ascertained, that the house of Israel was divinely appointed to become a wealthy, powerful, and independent nation; that this nation should obtain possession of Canaan as its permanent inheritance; and that the destiny of the world, in some important sense, hung upon the accomplishment of this purpose, inasmuch as in this seed all the nations of the earth were to be blessed.

The developement of this great plan has been traced through the personal and family history of the patriarchs. In doing this, an uninterrupted course of divine interpositions has been seen, guiding, controlling, subduing all influences to the divine will, until individuals and families are lost in the numerous population of a great people. It is further observable, that, at the close of this section of the inquiry, this people is found in a state of degradation and bondage which would appear to blast all the hopes that had been raised, and to frustrate the entire plan which had been predictively set forth, had it not been that this precise state of servitude and affliction had been clearly predicted as a part of the divine purpose, as a portion of the way through which the Lord was to lead his elected people.

II. The continued series of miraculous interpositions which preceded and which effected the exodus, will now be considered.

The rise of the Jewish people, their national greatness, and their covenant relation to Jehovah, were all, in the divine purpose and economy, inseparably associated with the grand scheme of human redemption, and with the means by which it was to be enunciated to the world. If these views are correct, then it will follow, that the suffering condition of the Israelites in Egypt was calculated to call forth the mightiest displays of divine wisdom and power. For not only did the emancipation of the elected people require such interposition, but it was also demanded by their religious condition, and that of the world, both with respect to that time

and the future. The human family had at this period become fearfully infected with idolatry: Egypt in particular was remarkable for this sin. Here polytheism had been reduced to a system, and had become the established religion of a numerous and cultivated population. The pernicious influence of Egypt had, in this respect, extended far beyond her territorial limits: this nation was the teacher of distant countries in that species of iniquity. In these circumstances it became obviously necessary, that the people selected to be the church of God should be delivered from bondage, and established in an independent position, in a manner which should most strikingly attest the futility and folly of idolatry, as well as the certain existence and the infinite perfections of the eternal Jehovah.

Nor was this interposition less required with respect to the future. Many remarkable displays of divine wisdom. and power had been made to the patriarchs, and much sterling religious truth had been revealed prior to this date; and all this stood in remote connexion with the developement of the great plan of human redemption. Now, however, the foundation-stone of the temple of grace was to be laid from this time, the Hebrew church was intended to be the seat of the divine worship; as a great and visible institution, it was called to show forth the power and goodness of God, until Messiah, coming through it, should manifest the fulness of redeeming grace, and enlighten the whole world with his glory. It seemed, consequently, necessary that all the means used for the deliverance of Israel, and the organization of the nation, should be marked by signal manifestations of the wisdom and power of God. Those, therefore, who regard the miracles wrought in Egypt as limited in their object to the deliverance of the Israelites, take a very defective view of the subject. Not only was this intended, but the miracles were also designed to make a glorious revelation of God to the afflicted Israelites, sufficient to call forth and confirm their faith; to confound and put to shame the human power, earthly wisdom, and impure idolatry of Egypt, and of every other Heathen nation; and

to begin a course of miraculous interpositions and gracious influences which should ultimately be crowned with the glorious dispensation of the Holy Spirit.

It pleased God to raise up a suitable instrumentality for the accomplishment of this great design. A series of providential operations was accordingly begun, by which this purpose was completely effected. Amram, a grandson of Levi, had married a relation; and of this couple a son and a daughter were born before the edict for the murder of all male children. After this law came into operation, another male child was born; and this infant displaying unusual attractions, the parents exerted themselves to the utmost to preserve his life, and succeeded for three months. But either on account of some suspicion being entertained, or a more rigid search being made, a further concealment was impossible so his mother, as a last resource, prepared a small vessel, rendered it water-proof by means of pitch, and, having placed the babe in it, laid the ark among the flags on the brink of the Nile. It was found by the daughter of Pharaoh, who had the child carefully nursed, and brought up as her own. By these means the young Hebrew was favoured with an education best adapted to call forth his noble qualities of mind and body. All antiquity attests that in both these respects he possessed very remarkable endowments.

Numerous tales are told by the rabbins, and by other ancient writers, of the great learning and splendid achievements of Moses in early life; and, among them, how, at the command of Pharaoh, he repelled an invasion of Egypt by the king of Ethiopia, and, having defeated his army, pursued him into his own country, and finished the campaign by taking the Ethiopian capital.

Importance cannot be attached to these romantic relations. There can, however, be no doubt that the young Hebrew distinguished himself both by learning and by prowess. The explicit declaration of Stephen, delivered under the plenary inspiration of the Holy Ghost, does not leave this point dubitable. Speaking of Moses long before

his mission to his brethren, and while he was yet in the house of Pharaoh, he says of him, "Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds." (Acts vii. 22.) It may be necessary to notice the import of this statement. To be "learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians" at this time, was to possess an acquaintance with the most important amount of knowledge. It was to obtain a small portion of this, that Plato, Eudoxus, and other Greek sages, made long and dangerous journeys and voyages. Moses was therefore one of the most learned men of his day. But, more than this, "He was mighty in words and in deeds." He was "mighty in words." Much elaborate and superficial criticism has been employed to reconcile this with the statement of Moses himself,—that he was "not eloquent," but "slow of speech, and of a slow tongue." The truth seems to be, that Moses was not a very elegant or very rapid speaker; a defect which might have been exaggerated in his own account by his great modesty, and his extreme reluctance to accept the vocation assigned him. He may yet have been, and certainly was, eminent for clear, sound, powerful speech. The language of the inspired deacon is therefore fully justified. Of his deeds in early life no authentic details can be given; but here, also, the statement of Stephen in all its parts is undoubtedly correct.

But, whatever intellectual power, learned acquirements, or personal prowess united to constitute and elevate the character of Moses, they did not form the finest feature of his greatness this is to be found in his faith. It was this which led him to renounce all the honour and aggrandizement which had been placed within his reach, and to prefer affliction in company with the people of God. This noble decision does not appear to have received that attention which its importance merits. Moses, notwithstanding his adoption into the family of Pharaoh, was well acquainted with his Hebrew origin, and equally so with the religious faith and predicted destiny of the house of his fathers. It is scarcely possible to conceive of a position more calculated