Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the Lord?

4. And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face.

We have lately read of rebellion and disobedience among the children of Israel, in which the great mass of the people took the prominent part: but, in these verses, we commence a still more disgraceful incident in their history, a rebellion in which the princes of the congregation, the men of renown, and even the members of the highly honoured tribe of Levi, formed the ringleaders. Never was there a meeker man than Moses, and yet this is the man whom these restless and rebellious spirits accuse of setting himself up above the congregation of the Lord. But such has been the case in every age; there is a natural tendency in the mind of fallen man to depreciate and malign all who are placed over him by the providence of God, and it is only by constant watchfulness that even the Christian can hope, uniformly, to avoid the sin of those who"walk after the flesh," and, as the apostle adds, “are not afraid to speak evil of dignities." * These are days especially, when such sins must

* 2 Peter ii. 10.

be most anxiously striven against, for there have been, for some years past, such a loosening of all the bands of discipline, and such an obvious tendency to disparage the ruling powers, whether civil or ecclesiastical, and even to slight and contemn them, manifested by almost all orders in society, that the call to watchfulness and prayerfulness upon this important subject, was never more earnestly needed than at the pre

sent moment.

Whether, in the instance before us, the gainsayers, if left to themselves, would have advanced still further, and have proceeded from slanderous speeches to rebellious actions, we have no means of knowing. Moses acted, as every man of God, under similar circumstances, should act, he restrained his own feelings, and bridled his tongue, until he had first sought counsel of the Lord. He fell upon his face before God, and received such guidance as the deep emergency of the moment called for. For we cannot doubt, that in all which followed he spake and acted, by the direct inspiration from on high.

5. And he spake unto Korah and unto all his company, saying, Even to-morrow the Lord will shew who are his, and who is holy; and will cause him to come near unto him: even him whom he hath chosen will he cause to come near unto him.

6. This do: Take you censers, Korah, and all his company;

7. And put fire therein, and put incense in them before the Lord to-morrow: and it shall be that the man whom the Lord doth choose, he shall be holy: ye take too much upon you, ye sons of Levi.

8. And Moses said unto Korah, Hear, I pray you, ye sons of Levi:

9. Seemeth it but a small thing unto you, that the God of Israel hath separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself to do the service of the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the congregation to minister unto them?

10. And he hath brought thee near to him, and all thy brethren the sons of Levi with thee: and seek ye the priesthood also?

11. For which cause both thou and all thy company are gathered together against the Lord: and what is Aaron, that ye murmur against him?

In these words, we find Moses still retaining the most perfect self-possession and command both of words and actions, no doubt the effect of having committed himself to God, as we have seen, in secret prayer. He does "not return railing for railing," but is content, simply, to place his cause in the hands of the Most High, and to say, "The Lord will show who are his, and who are holy." What an admirable pattern is this for the imitation of all, but especially of those in authority; how difficult is it to bear

the undeserved animadversions of those beneath us, with christian humility; how arduous to possess, at the same time, a proper command over others, and a sufficient curb upon our own spirit! In all the superior relationships of life, much grace is required for this important duty, for it is to be feared that a great deal of the insubordination and contempt of authority, to which we have referred, is to be traced to the manner in which that authority has been exercised. In proportion as there are clemency, and kindness, and consideration in those who rule, there will, generally, be found a ready and affectionate demeanour in those who obey. And in proportion as rulers exercise their authority "in the Lord," and govern by Him and for Him, so will subjects, in the language of our Church, "faithfully serve, honour, and humbly obey them in Him and for Him, according to his blessed word and ordinance." *

* Communion Service of the Church of England.

EXPOSITION XX.

NUMBERS Xvi. 12-22.

12. And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab which said, We will not come up:

13. Is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a land that floweth with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, except thou make thyself altogether a prince over us?

14. Moreover thou hast not brought us into a land that floweth with milk and honey, or given us inheritance of fields and vineyards: wilt thou put out the eyes of these men? we will not come up.

In the last portion of Scripture, we had the account of Moses' expostulation with Korah; having disposed of him as the ringleader of the rebellion, Moses next addresses himself to Dathan and Abiram, ordering them to come up and state plainly their grievances and their intentions. This they insolently refused to do, saying at once, "We will not come up," and taunting Moses with having brought them out under false pretences, and promised what he was unable to perform; asking him whether he meant so to blind the eyes of the congregation, that they should mistake the parched and arid wilderness,