together on a finoke, because the Lord defcended upon it in fire: and the fmoke thereof afcended as the finoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. And when the voice of the trumpet founded long, and waxed louder and louder, Mofes fpake, and God anfwered." How grand the preparation!-

How

* Exod. xix. 16-19. As infpired, fo likeways uninfpired poets have been obliged to this fcene for imagery. Witness Milton and Dr Young:

"Forth rufh'd with whirlwind found

The chariot of Paternal Deity,

Flashing thick flames, wheel within wheel undrawn,
Itself instinct with fpirit, but convoy'd

By four cherubic fhapes; four faces each
Had wondrous; as with ftars their bodies all,
And wings were fet with eyes, with eyes the wheels
Of beryl, and careering fires between ;

Over their heads a cryftal firmament,
Whereon a fapphire throne, inlaid with pure
Amber, and colours of the fhow'ry arch,
He, in celeftial panoply all arm'd

Of radiant Urim, work divinely wrought,
Afcended: At his right hand Victory

Sat eagle-wing'd; befide him hung his bow,
And quiver with three-bolted thunder ftor'd;
And from about him fierce effufion roll'd

Of finoke, and bick'ring flame, and fparkles dire.
Attended with ten thousand thousand faints,
He onward came; far off his coming fhone;
And twenty thoufand (1 their number heard)
Chariots of God, half on each hand, were seen.
He on the wings of cherub rode fublime
On the crystaline fky, in fapphire thron'd,

Illuftrious far and wide.". PARAD. LOST B. VI. 1. 750.

How aftonishing the phenomena! The heavens bow before their maker! The forky lightnings play around the mountain's towering top! The flashes of fire purfue each other with inconceiveable rapidity! The thunder claps are more and more ingeminated! The clangor of the trumpet, the terrible emblem of the archangel's final blatt, waxeth louder and louder! The tremendous note wounds nature's trembling ear! Heaven groans beneath the dreadful weight! Earth trembles to its very centre! Stubborn Sinai quakes to its loweft bafe! The blacknefs of darknefs, and mountains of finoke add unto the horror of the day! Well might Mofes exclaim, "Iexceedingly fear and quake." Shall the inanimate creation tremble at the giving of the Law, and fhall not sinners tremble at the breaking of it? Yes, verily; either in filial fear, while here; or before a judgementfeat, hereafter. In fine, the horror of the former exhibits that of the latter: As the Son of God manifefted his GLORY at the giving of the law; fo he will appear in his own G LORY,

"Loud peals of Thunder give the Sign, and all
Heav'n's terrors in array furround the ball;
Sharp lightnings with the meteors blaze confpire,
And darted downward fet the world on fire;
Black rifing clouds the thicken'd æther choke,
And spiry flames fhoot thro' the rolling smoke."

LAST DAY, Book III.

and

and his Father's when he comes to enquire how men have kept it *.

THE other Party is Mos Es, and all Ifrael reprefented by him. Here I may obferve,

1. MOSES ftood in the capacity of a reprefentative, or mediator. He was conftituted

Ifrael's

* Here was the lightning darted in their eyes, the thunders roaring in their ears, the trumpet of God drowning the thunder-claps, the voice of God out-fpeaking the trumpet of the angel; the cloud enwrapping, the fmoke afcending, the fire flaming, the mount trembling, Mofes climbing and quaking, palenefs and death in the face of Ifrael, uproar in the elements, and all the glory of heaven turned into terror. In the deftruction of the first world, there was clouds without fire: In the de-ftruction of Sodom, there was fire raining without clouds; but here was fire, finoke, clouds, thunder, earthquakes, and whatfoever might work more aftonishment, than ever was in any vengeance inflicted.And if the Law were thus given, how fhall it be required? If fuch were the proclamation of God's ftatutes, what fhall the feffions be? I fee, and tremble at the refemblance. The trumpet of the angel called unto the one: The voice of an arch-angel, the trumpet of God, fhall fummon us to the other. To the one, Mofes (that climbed up that hill, and alone faw it) fays, God came with ten thoufand of his faints; in the other, thousand thousands shall minifter to him, and ten thoufand thousands fhall fland before him. In the one, mount Sinai only was in a flame; all the world fhall be fo in the other: In the one, there was fire, fmoke, thunder, and lightning; in the other, a fiery ftream fhall iffie from him, wherewith the heavens fhall be diffolved, and the elements fhall melt away with a noife. O God, how powerful art thou to inflict

Hh 2

1

Ifrael's reprefentative by a special mandate from heaven for that effect: "The Lord called to him (viz. Mofes) out of the mount, saying, Thus fhalt thou fay to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Ifrael," &c. "Thefe are the words which thou fhalt speak unto the children of Ifrael. And Mofes came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the Lord commanded him. And all the people answered together, and faid, All that the Lord hath fpoken we will do. And Mofes returned the words of the people unto the Lord. And the Lord faid unto Mofes, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I fpeak with thee, and believe thee for ever *.” And immediately before giving the ten commandments, by the voice of God from Sinai, his commiffion is renewed: "And thou halt come up, thou and Aaron with thee: but

inflict vengeance upon finners, who didft thus forbid fin! And if thou wert fo terrible a lawgiver, what a judge thalt thou appear? What fhall become of the breakers of fo fiery a law? Oh, Where shall thofe appear that are guilty of the tranfgreffing that law, whofe very delive ry was little lefs than death! If our God fhould exact his law but in the fame rigor wherein he gave it, fin could not quit, the cost: But now the fire wherein it was delivered, was but terrifying; the fire wherein it shall be required, is confuming. Happy are thofe that are from under the terrors of that law, which was given in fire, and in fire shall be required." HALL'S Contemp. Book V.

* Exod. xix. 3, 6—9.

let

let not the

priests, nor the people, break through, to come up unto the Lord, left he break forth upon them *." Thus he was au

thorifed to draw near to God in the room of the people, as well as to deal with the people in the name of the Lord.

2. GOD confiders Ifracl, in this transaction, as already a covenanted SEED. This is evident from the account which he gives of them himself, when he called them unto this duty: "Thus fhalt thou fay unto the houfe of Jacob, and tell the children of Ifrael," &c. They had dedicated themselves to God, and taken Ifrael's God for their God, in the loins of their father Jacob. This is equally certain from the relative character by which God made himself known in this tranfaction: He revealed himfelf in the very fame character by which he was known to Mofes at the Bufh; there he engaged to meet with Mofes, and all Ifrael, at this mount" Certainly I will be with thee: and this fhall be a token unto thee; when thou haft brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye fhall ferve God on this mountain †.” Now, the gracious accomplisher of this promife was no other than "the God of Abraham, the God of Ifaac, and the God of Jacob." And God, who beft knows his own defigns, declares, that this tranfaction was a renovation and ad

* Exod. xix. 24. Exod. iii. 12. See alfo verfe 6.

vancement