wonderful things by their long-practised art, which imposed upon the senses.

The is

The charming and handling of serpents is practised, as is well known, at the present day, in a very curious and astonishing manner, in the East. The magicians probably were familiar with this art, and needed scarcely any preparation to appear before the king. He himself suspected that what happened to Aaron's rod was only the trick of a juggler, and that the magicians could practise their slight of hand with similar success. sue of the contest proved the fallacy of his conjec. ture. No slight of hand could cause the rod of Aaron, converted into a serpent, to devour, before the eyes of all who were present, the other serpents which had been cast down so dexterously by the magicians. The famous magic of Egypt was thus shown to be a mere imposture, and the interposition of divine power, to prove that Moses and Aaron came with a message to the king from the true God, placed beyond all doubt.

Among these various opinions, the latter, as the author thinks, has the strongest reasons in its favor, and is attended with the fewest difficulties.* He

It is this latter opinion which the Rev. Dr. Dwight adopts in his "Theology." "The truth is," says he, "the magicians wrought no miracles. All that they did was to busy themselves with their enchantments, by which every man now knows that, although the weak and credulous

would recommend, however, his youthful reader to the instructions of those who are more immediately concerned in leading his mind to the knowledge of divine truth; hoping that, under their direction and the guidance of that Spirit from whose inspiration the Sacred Oracles have proceeded, he may be led to the correct import of this portion of them.

God has left some parts of his word, just as he has left some things in his works of nature and of providence, involved in a degree of obscurity, to let it be seen what manner of spirit we are of, in attending to his instructions. By this means, it will appear whether we are docile and humble; anxious to know the truth in its purity and simplicity; sensible of our own weakness in attempting to discover it; and looking to the Spirit of Truth for light and guidance.

Endeavor, my young friend, always to have such a state of mind in your inquiries after divine truth, and when you read and study the Holy Scriptures. Use the various helps and instructions within your reach, carefully and wisely. But, above all, pray that the Holy Spirit himself may be your teacher. You will thus be taking the only safe course by

may be deceived, miracles cannot possibly be accomplished. That this is the real amount of the history given by Moses, any sober man may, I think, be completely satisfied by reading "Farmar's treatise on miracles." Conclusion of Sermon LX. On the miracles of Christ.

which to avoid every hurtful error, and to understand all that you need to know to secure the favor and friendship of God, and to be prepared for his service in promoting the cause of the Redeemer.

CHAPTER XIV.

Pharaoh does not relent. Another message is delivered to him. The waters of Egypt are turned to blood.

The miracles which had been wrought in his presence, had no effect upon Pharaoh, to induce him to let the Israelites go. Its influence was quite the contrary. It called forth his decided and more confirmed opposition to the will of Jehovah, as made known to him by Moses and Aaron. He would not hearken unto them. The very means which, through their instrumentality, God had employed to manifest his power and authority, and which ought to have satisfied Pharaoh, and led him to do his duty, only roused the more strongly his resistance. So that, in this way, as we read in the Bible, God hardened Pharaoh's heart; but not so as to interfere, in the least, with his accountability, or diminish his guilt.

Another trial awaits him, to bring more fully to view his wicked character, and to exhibit the justice of God in the judgments that were to overtake him and his people.

Moses was directed, with his brother Aaron, to meet Pharaoh, in the morning, as he went to the river to bathe, or perhaps to perform some religious ceremony. For the Nile was an object of worship among the Egyptians; and Plutarch, an ancient Greek historian, says, that they held nothing in greater honor. They were to wait by its brink; and Moses, holding the rod which had been turned into a serpent in his hand, was thus to accost the king as he approached: "Jehovah, the God of the Hebrews, hath sent me unto thee, saying, Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness; and, behold, hitherto, thou wouldest not hear. Thus saith Jehovah, In this thou shalt know that I am Jehovah: behold, I will smite with the rod that is in mine hand," (that is, under the control and direction of the Almighty, although held at the time by Moses,) "upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood. And the fish that is in the river shall die, and the river shall stink; and the Egyptians shall loathe to drink of the water of the river."

The sight of these two men, by this time so well known to Pharaoh, as claiming to be messengers from Jehovah; the mysterious rod which had so

signally triumphed, the day before, over those of the magicians; and the portentous words that were uttered; must have agitated the breast of the monarch of Egypt with sudden and strange emotions! But how overwhelmed with astonishment and terror were he and his attendants, to witness the threatening of the Almighty carried into immediate execution!

For Aaron, taking the rod from Moses, smote with it the waters of the Nile as they flowed by, and they were all turned into blood. Nor did this horrible and distressing wonder stop here. On stretching out the instrument of divine power, as it were, over the whole land of Egypt; the various branches of the Nile, and the canals that issued from it; the ponds and reservoirs of water; and even the vessels in domestic use which contained it; presented the same hideous and disgusting spectacle. The fishes died; and such an offensive smell came from the river, and its waters were so putrid and loathsome, that they could not be used for drink by the inhabitants.

The extent, and tremendous evil, of this curse of the Almighty can be understood only by considering the necessity which the Egyptians were under of constantly procuring their supplies of water from the Nile, and its peculiar pleasantness and salubrity. It was almost their only resource; and, to this day, it is said that, when they undertake