"fore, and I will fend thee unto Pharaoh, CHAP. 66 Should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Ifrael out of Egypt? And he said, Certainly I will be "with thee: and this fhall be a token "unto thee, that I have fent thee, when "thou haft brought forth the people out "of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this "mountain. And Mofes faid unto God, "Behold when I come unto the children of Ifrael, and fhall fay unto them, The God of your fathers bath fent me unto you, and they fhall fay to me, What is his name? "what shall I fay unto them ?" To this interrogation, God replies by his proper name of Jehovah; and gives Mofes the most gracious and encouraging affurances of his fuccefs. All however is infufficient to excite in him a proper degree courage. for fo arduous an undertaking. of "Mofes answered and faid, But behold "they will not believe me, nor hearken unto "my voice; for they will fay, the Lord hath "not appeared unto thee." $ 3 In 1 SECT. II. In order to difpel these apprehenfions, God was pleafed to confirm the faith of his prophet by two miracles; and to promife, that he would enable him to convince the Ifraelites of his divine miffion, by a no lefs extraordinary fign, than that of taking water out of the river, and changing it into blood before them. Notwithstanding this, we find that Mofes prefently starts another difficulty. "And Mofes faid unto the Lord, O my "Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, "nor fince thou haft spoken to thy fervant; " but I am flow of speech, and of a flow 66 tongue. And the Lord faid unto him, "Who hath made man's mouth? or who "maketh the dumb, or the deaf, or the feeing, or the blind? Have not I the "Lord? Now therefore go, and I will be "with thy mouth, and teach thee what "thou fhalt fay." Mofes at length openly acknowledges his averfion from the talk, and befeeches God to appoint another : "O my Lord, fend I pray thee by the "band of him whom thou wilt fend." d Exod. iv. 1O. Such Such lukewarmnefs juftly provokes the CHAP. Almighty, and Mofes ultimately is con- II. ftrained to fubmit. Let any candid inquirer now judge, how far the Jewish Legiflator can be thought to have acted under the impreffions of enthusiasm. 2. Or by fan cying cer tain natu mena to be 2. But it may be objected, that Mofes might poffibly mistake fome of the more wonderful phenomena of nature for mi- ral phenoracles. Thus, in the middle ages, thofe miracles. curious experiments, the principles of which are now known, were thought to be the effects of magic, and the perfons, who performed them, to be inchanters. A mistake of the ordinary operations of nature, for miraculous appearances, can only arife either from enthusiasm, or from ignorance. In the case of Mofes, it could not have proceeded from enthusiasm, because it has already been fhewn, that he was no enthufiaft; neither could it have originated from ignorance, because such a fuppofition runs directly counter to the affertion, that the Jewish Legiflator was learned in all the wisdom of Egypt. Hence it follows, that he could not have laboured under any fuch mistake. SECT. II. e This will appear in a yet more striking point of view, if we confider the behaviour of Mofes, when a fign from heaven is faid firft to have been granted to him. It certainly bears no refemblance to that of an ignorant man, who haftily fancies every wonderful phenomenon to be fomething fupernatural. When Mofes beheld the burning bush, the first idea, which fuggefted itself to his mind, was to approach and examine, wHY the bufh was not burnt. This is a very natural defcription of the manner, in which a man of learning, abilities, and philofophical curiofity, was likely to act upon fuch an occafion. As nothing is more favourable to contemplation than folitude, we may eafily fuppofe, that Mofes, partly from inclination, and partly from a wish to divert the languor of his retirement, would frequently recur to his former phyfiological purfuits. Whilst his mind perhaps was in fuch a ftate, his attention was arrested a fingular phenomenon: a bush near him suddenly burst out into a flame, and, notwithstanding the fiercenefs of the blaze, remained unconfumed. An appearance like • Exod. iii. 3. II. this had doubtlefs never occurred to him CHAP. in the whole courfe of his ftudies, and was utterly unaccountable upon any principles of natural philofophy. Still he never feems to have imagined, that it was any particular interpofition of heaven. With a mixture of true philofophical coolness and curiofity, he haftens to investigate the caufes, which could produce so strange and uncommon an effect: "I will now turn "afide, and fee this great fight, WHY the "bufh is not burnt.' It may truly be said, that ghosts and spectres are never beheld except with the eye of terror and expectation; and with equal truth may it be afferted, that the wonderful vifions of an enthufiaft are never presented to his fancy, till his mind is first heated and prepared for their reception. But Mofes, fo far from seeming to have had the leaft prepoffeffion of the kind, manifeftly confiders the blazing bush in no other light, than that of fome wonderful and hidden operation of nature, till all his faculties are roused by the voice of the Almighty. To conclude; fince it appears, that Mofes was not led away, either by enthusiasm or ignorance, the two only fources |