exalted rank which they were to hold among the nations; and that duration of power and importance, with which the salvation of the whole human race was so closely connected. Thus the eternal decree makes the possession of the heavenly Canaan sure to every heir of glory; which decree, the justifying grace, and adopting love of his heavenly Father declare and confirm; but he is not brought home to his Father's house above, till through the school of discipline, and by the Spirit of holiness, he is "made meet to be a partaker of the inheritance of the saints in light."

when we are in such a situation, that no means can be used with a probability of success. If God in his providence has brought us into the wilderness, where no corn can grow, where no water flows, we may reasonably look for an interposition from above for our support, which we should expect in vain in a land of corn and vineyards. Where there is a field for the exercise of foresight, industry, and diligence, we tempt God instead of honouring him, when we cast our work, and not our care upon him. And yet it is not uncommon to see a listless, indolent disposition, wanting to pass itself for reliance on the goodness of Heaven. Herod desired to see Christ merely in the view of gratification to an idle curiosity in hope of seeing a miracle performed; but his motive being wrong and unworthy, his desire was not indulged. The Pharisees, from a captious, unbelieving spirit, tempted Christ, "asking a sign from heaven;" but though signs innumerable were every day exhibited in compassion to the miserable, and condescension to the weak, no sign but that "of the prophet Jonas," was given to the selfconceited infidel. JEHOVAH performs the wonders of his power and goodness, neither to save the exertions of the lazy, nor to tickle the imaginations of the curious. His object is not to make men stare and wonder, but to do them good.

Men, through impatience and peevishness, miss the very end at which they aim. Canaan flies but the farther off, from being grasped at too soon. The homely provision brought from Egypt was now spent; the milk and honey of Canaan were not yet bestowed. The wilderness naturally produced nothing for food, hardly water to quench their thirst. The wonders of Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea, the sweetening of the bitter waters of Marah, all, all is forgotten the moment distress comes upon them. "And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness." God immediately takes up the cause as his own; but instead of expressing the resentment of an insulted sovereign and benefactor, declares his gracious resolution to overcome this ungracious Secondly. Man's happiest estate is to feel spirit, by compliance and kindness; and men, his daily, constant dependence upon his unworthy of the meanest earthly fare, have Maker, and to see the regular promised supa promise of a daily supply of bread from ply evincing the truth and faithfulness of its heaven. But as God does not always with- bountiful Author. With a monitor for God hold in displeasure, so he does not always pressing in upon us through every avenue grant from love. When Providence deigns of the soul, we are nevertheless apt to be into indulge the humours and gratify the lusts attentive and unthankful. It is therefore an of men, it is far, very far from being a token instance of great goodness, when God is for good. A promise of bread in the morn- pleased to force himself upon our thoughts, ing is precious information; but the addition and to invite us to communion with "the of flesh to the full in the evening wears Father of our spirits," in the commerce of a rather the appearance of a threatening. constant, habitual friendship. Here then the When our desires exceed the bounds of wis-poor have infinitely the advantage over the dom, the accomplishment, not the disappoint- rich. They see, or they are blind indeed, ment of them, becomes our punishment.

It is remarkable too, that the luxurious part of their demand was granted before that which was necessary. The quails came in the evening; the manna appeared not till the next morning. Another proof, that the supply granted flowed not from unmixed affection.

Without going at present into any of the critical inquiries which have been pursued, respecting either the name or the nature of this wonderful bread, we proceed to make a few practical observations upon it, founded upon the letter of the history, as it stands in our bible.

First. Then and then only is faith warranted to expect relief from a miracle, when means have been tried without effect; or,

they see their "dry morsel and their dinner of herbs," coming at the expected hour from the bounty of indulgent Heaven. They are not suffered to be careless, impious, and ungrateful. Their homely fare is garnished and seasoned with what gold cannot purchase, nor power compel, the gentle whispers of a Father's love, the kindly welcome of an affectionate friend. And yet the bulk of mankind is striving and straining to get out of this happy state; eagerly catching at a situation which would infallibly betray them into self-sufficiency, insolence, and irreligion. That proud word, independence, is continually in their mouths, and the thing itself is in their hearts; not considering, that the real happiness of man consists in mutual connexion and dependence, and that the glory and

felicity of every rational being is founded ously trusted his Sabbath day's entertainment upon union with, and a sense of his constant to the manna of that day, must fast for his and entire dependence on his Creator.

Thirdly. No fulness and no excellency of created comforts will produce real happiness to rational beings without the aid of religion. During the abode of Israel in Egypt, the observance of the Sabbath had been greatly neglected, if not altogether disused. The religious principle of course must have been much weakened, if not wholly destroyed. There was nothing done, then, till this matter was re-established. For there can be no good government but what is founded upon religion; and religion cannot long exist in any degree of either fervour or purity, where no attention is paid to the Lord's day. Providence, therefore, employed a certain method to point out that day to Israel, and to enforce the observance of it. On that day no manna fell. But to compensate the failure, a double quantity was given the day before; and the manna of that day, contrary to its usual custom, retained its sweetness during the sabbath: it neither melted away, nor became putrid. But, alas! long disuse had so much diminished public respect for the ordinance, that a discipline of forty years is scarcely sufficient to restore it to its ancient dignity and estimation. The restraints of religion are no encroachments on human liberty. "The sabbath was made for man," a season of rest for his body; a season of contemplation for his mind. It was intended to be his comfort, as a citizen of this world; and his condition as a candidate for another country, that is, an heavenly, is closely connected with it. Can the great God be honoured by our resting from the usual employments of life for a seventh part of our time? Surely not: but God is honoured and glorified, when man is made wise, good, and happy.

folly.

Fifthly. Observe the care of Providence to preserve among this highly favoured people a constant sense of their equality. All had their constant supply; every one was entitled to his fair proportion; and no good purpose did it answer to grasp at a double portion. For the hand which miraculously rained down this heavenly bread, miraculously modified it to every one's use. “He who gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack." Now if we attend to the conduct of Providence to this day, and in every state of the world, we shall find the same equality of distribution still going on. A man has just what he uses and no more. With a chest full of gold, he has a desire to eat but twice or thrice a day at most. With a thousand suits of apparel in his wardrobe, he can use but one at a time. His neighbour, therefore, who has but one dinner, and one coat at once, is, upon the whole, just as rich as he. Beyond what nature requires, reason approves, and the Almighty crowns with his blessing, all is childish and fantastical. "There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.' If this were felt and understood as it ought, we should see less eagerness, rapacity, and selfishness in one part of mankind, and less unthankfulness and discontent in another.

Sixthly. Mark the danger of giving way to a light, wanton, fanciful disposition. Even manna pleased not long. An imagination filled with the luxurious dainties of Egypt, soon spurned at it, as "light bread." There is no end to wishing and desiring. Unadulterated nature craves but little, and is not difficult to please. But once give the reins to fancy, and the wealth of Croesus, the magnificence of Solomon, the elegance of Lucullus, and the luxury of Heliogabalus, will soon stink and be despised. Men ate angels' food, and loathed it. Of what importance then must it be, to check in ourselves, and to re

Fourthly. The folly and perverseness of men exhibit a melancholy contrast to the wisdom and goodness of God. The promise of the Almighty gave full assurance of a daily, certain, stated supply. But either through mistrust at one time they attempt to hoard up to-morrow's provision from the su-press in those whose virtue and happiness are perabundance of to-day; or, through impiety at another, they violate the divine appointment, by going out to gather on that day when they were expressly assured they needed to expect none. Thus we are always doing too little or too much: impatiently and impetuously outrunning Providence, or sluggishly and carelessly lagging behind. And what do we get to ourselves, in either case, but disappointment and dishonour? The man who diffidently laboured to accumulate for five days of the week, when he looks upon his store, finds he has been treasuring up to himself nothing but stench and putrefaction; and the Israelite who presumptu

entrusted to our care, the first workings of a wild and fantastical appetite. Children cannot be too simply clothed and fed. Solicit the palate by delicacies, and you kindle a fire in the imagination to which no wealth can administer a sufficient supply of fuel, which no reason can keep within bounds, which will certainly produce a thousand real evils, and render the possession of the real felicities of life tasteless and insipid. Teach young ones to value themselves on dress and appearance, and you undermine the fabric of their true consequence. In proportion as you lead them to derive their importance from the

* Prov. xi. 24.

adorning of their bodies, you strip and expose | but that with a grateful heart I first acknowtheir minds.

for the glory of God doth lighten it, and the | shall be no night there."* Let us, therefore, Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations" be steadfast, unmoveable, always abound of them which are saved shall walk in the ing in the work of the Lord; forasmuch as light of it; and the kings of the earth do bring we know that our labour is not in vain in the their glory and honour into it. And the gates Lord."+ of it shall not be shut at all by day; for there † 1 Cor. xv. 58.

*Rev. xxi. 23-25.

HISTORY OF MOSES.

LECTURE L.

And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journies, according to the commandment of the Lord, and pitched in Rephidim; and there was ne water for the people to drink. Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink And Moses said unto them, Why chide you with me? Wherefore do ye temp the Lord? And the Lord said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go. Behold I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb: and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shal! come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.-EXODUS xvii, 1, 2. 5, 6.

But chiefly thee, O Spirit! thee only, we adore,

"Who didst inspire

That shepherd who first taught the chosen seed,
In the beginning, how the heavens and earth
Rose out of chaos."

Whatever wisdom we may have learned,
whatever pleasure we may have enjoyed,
whatever comfort we possess, whatever hope
we feel-all, all is of thee, pure, eternal,
unchanging source of light, and life, and
joy.

THE reconciliation of interrupted friendship is one of the chief delights of human life. The extatic pleasure of meeting again, after long absence, persons whom we dearly love, obliterates in a moment the pain of separation and one hour of sweet communication compensates the languor, solicitude, and gloom of many years. After an interval of five months, I return, to converse with Moses, and to talk of him to you, with the satisfaction of one who has been upon a long journey, and, returning home, finds again those whom he left, those whom he loves; and Moses, in the passage of his writings finds them such as he wishes them to be. Let which I have now read, is carrying on his own us, my dear friends, with increased ardour, interesting eventful history. At the head of affection, admiration, and gratitude, renew the myriads of Israel, he is now pursuing his our intimacy with the venerable man to march from Egypt to Canaan, following a whom we are indebted for so much rational guide who would not mislead them, and pleasure, and for so much useful instruction. whom they could not mistake; protected by Moses, thou prince of historians, sublimest a power, which, like a wall of fire, bids defiof poets, sagest of legislators, clearest-sight-ance to every threatening foe; and, from ed of prophets, most amiable of men! To day to day supplied by a bounty incapable of thee we owe our knowledge of the ages be- being exhausted. All these present and yond the flood! Thou first taughtest to singular advantages, had the sweetness of string the sacred lyre, and to adapt the high hope mingled with them. They had just espraises of God to the enchanting concord of caped from the most humiliating and oppres sweet sounds. By thee, king in Jeshurun, sive of all servitude, and they were hastenall succeeding princes have been instructed ing to the inheritance of their fathers; yet how to govern; and lawgivers are formed we find them a people as peevish, irritable, to political wisdom and sagacity. By thee, and difficult to please, as if they had never Jews were led to expect, and Gentiles are known adversity, and as if they had just encouraged to rejoice in MESSIAH, the great issued from the lap of ease and indulgence. prophet, after thy similitude; by whom alone To-day, the bread is dry and stale; to-morthou art excelled. And by thee, sweetest, row, the water is bitter; the third day, there meekest, gentlest of mankind, the endearing is a scarcity of it. The water is sweetened; charities of private life are most engagingly manna descends; quails fall around their exemplified, and most powerfully recom- camp; but there is till "a cruel something mended. unpossessed," and all that went before is for