ity, in a case where the power of God was exerted on both sides. We have to choose, then, between the hypothesis of a diabolical agency, enabling these magicians to go as far as they did, and that of the arts of imposture and delusion, in which wicked men may become so adroit, that they easily impose upon the ignorant and unsuspicious, as is proved by the experience of every day.

SECTION V.

THE MIRACLE OF "DIVERS KINDS OF FLIES"-THE MURRAIN-THE HAIL-PHARAOH AFFRIGHTED BY THE THUNDER WHICH ACCOMPANIED THE HAIL-BUT HIS HEART REMAINS OBDURATE-THE PLAGUE OF THE LOCUSTS-OF THE MIRACULOUS DARKNESS.

AFTER the plague of the lice, the magicians relinquished the contest, and made no further effort with their enchantments. The next plague was of flies or gnats, which in the cv. Psalm, are called "divers kinds of flies." Swarms of these troublesome insects filled their houses, and greatly infested the Egyptians. But in this case, a line of distinction was drawn between the people of Israel and the Egyptians; for in the land of Goshen, there were no swarms of flies. The pressure of this judgment was heavy on the people, and Pharaoh began again to relent, and would have compromised the matter, by giving the Hebrews permission to offer sacrifices in the land of Goshen, where they dwelt; but to this Moses would by no means agree, because their sacrifices were an abomination to the Egyptians; consisting of animals held sacred and even worshipped by them; but he insisted, that they should go three days journey into the wilderness. At length Pharaoh seemed to consent, provided they did not go very far away. Upon this Moses again entreated the Lord to remove the swarms of flies, which was accordingly done. But no sooner was the plague removed, than Pharaoh again hardened his heart, and refused to let the people go.

The fifth plague was a grievous murrain upon the horses, the asses, the camels, the oxen, and the sheep in the land of Egypt, generally; while, in Goshen, not an animal belonging to the children of Israel died. Still, however, Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he refuse to let the people go. Wherefore Moses was directed to take the ashes of the furnace, and sprinkle it towards heaven, in the sight of Pharaoh; "and it became a boil breaking forth on man and beast throughout all the land of Egypt;" "and the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils; for the boil was upon the magicians, and upon all the Egyptians."

When this judgment was no more regarded by Pharaoh than any of the former, Moses was directed to rise up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh, and say, "Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews, let my people go that they may serve me. For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thy heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth. For now I will stretch out my hand that I may smite thee and thy people with pestilence; and thou shalt be cut off from the earth. And in very deed, for this cause have I raised thee up, for to show in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth. As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people, that thou wilt not let them go? Behold, to-morrow, about this time, I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as hath not been in Egypt since the foundation thereof, even until now. Send, therefore, now, and gather thy cattle, and all that thou hast in the field; for upon every man and beast which shall be found in the field, and shall not be brought home, the hail shall come down upon them, and they shall die. He that feared the word of the Lord amongst the servants of Pharaoh, made his servants and his cattle flee into the houses; and he that regarded not the word of the Lord, left his servants and his cattle in the field." Accordingly, when Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven, the Lord sent thunder and hail; and the fire ran along upon the ground. And there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt, since it became a nation. And the hail smote, throughout all the land of Egypt, all that was in the field, both of man and beast; and the hail smote every herb of the field, and broke every tree of the field. Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, there was no hail." Pharaoh was greatly moved by the severity of this judgment; and having called Moses and Aaron, he exclaimed, "I have sinned this time; the Lord is righteous, and I and my people are wicked. Entreat the Lord (for it is enough,) that there be no more mighty thunderings and hail; and I will let you go, and ye shall stay no longer." The king was evidently frightened by the unusual thunder which accompanied this storm;—a rare thing in the land of Egypt. Moses, although he knew that Pharaoh would not fulfil his promise, yet prayed for a cessation of the hail; and his petition was granted. "The flax and the barley was smitten; for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was bolled; but the wheat and rye were not smitten; for they were not grown up."

the

Pharaoh's heart remaining obstinate, and he still refusing to permit the Israelites to depart, Moses and Aaron went in and said unto him, "Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews, how

long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before me? Let my people go that they may serve me: else if thou refuse, to-morrow will I bring the locusts into thy courts. The condition of Egypt was now so deplorable that the servants of Pharaoh began to entreat him to let the people go. "Knowest thou not," said they, "that Egypt is destroyed?" Upon which he said to Moses and Aaron, "Go, serve the Lord your God, but who are they that shall go? And Moses said, we will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds, will we go; for we must hold a feast unto the Lord." But Pharaoh would not hearken to this; but insisted that only the men should go, which was the original request, and when Moses and Aaron did not yield in the least, he drove them from his presence.

The plague of the locusts now came upon the land of Egypt; "For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left; and there remained not any green thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the field, through all the land of Egypt. Pharaoh was now seized with another fit of repentance, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said, "I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against you; now, therefore, forgive my sin, only this once, and entreat the Lord your God, that he may take away from me this death only. And Moses went out and prayed to the Lord, who sent a mighty strong west wind, which took away the locusts, and cast them into the Red Sea; so that there remained not one locust in all the land of Egypt."

The next plague sent by the hand of Moses on the Egyptians was not attended with so much danger to human life, as some of the rest, but it was one replete with horror. It was a total darkness for the space of three days. During this period no one saw another, and they were unable to remove from their place; but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings. Pharaoh now consented that they should go, and take their wives and children; but not their flocks and their herds. But they said, "Our cattle shall go with us, there shall not be a hoof left behind: for thereof must we take to serve the Lord our God; and we know not with what we must serve the Lord, until we come thither." With this unyielding demand, Pharaoh was so much displeased, that he said in his wrath, "Get thee from me; take heed to thyself, see my face no more; for in that day thou seest my face, thou shalt die. And Moses said, Thou hast spoken well, I will see thy face again no more."

SECTION VI.

INSTITUTION OF THE PASSOVER-THE DESTRUCTION OF THE FIRST-BORN OF ALL THE EGYPTIANS-THE EXODUS.

AFFAIRS were now coming to a crisis. The Lord commanded Moses to speak to the people, that every man and every woman should borrow, or rather, ask of their neighbours, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold. "And the Lord gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover, the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants; and in the sight of the people.'

And Moses made known to the people that about midnight, the Lord would go forth into the midst of Egypt, and would slay all the first-born in the land of Egypt; from the first-born of Pharaoh on the throne, to the first-born of the maid-servant, that sitteth behind the mill; and all the first-born of beasts. But that against the children of Israel not a dog should move his tongue, against man or beast. "And Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh, and the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, that he would not let the children of Israel go out of his land."

"And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, saying, This month shall be unto you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month in the year to you. Speak ye to all the children of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month, they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for a house. And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next to his house, take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating, shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year; ye shall take it out from the sheep or from the goats. And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month; and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side-posts, and on the upper door-post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. And they shall eat the flesh in that night; roasted with fire, and unleavened bread, and with bitter herbs shall they eat it. Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roasted with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof. And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning, ye shall burn with fire. And thus shall ye eat it with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste:

it is the Lord's passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment. I am the LORD. And the blood shall be to you a token upon the houses where you are; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you, when I smite the land of Egypt. And this day shall be unto you for a memorial, and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord, throughout your generations: ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever. Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread, even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses; for whosoever eateth leavened bread, from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel."

Thus the solemn feast of the passover was instituted, to be a memorial of the deliverance of the children of Israel from the desolating plague which fell on every house of the Egyptians, by means of the sprinkled blood of a lamb on the door-posts of their houses. And it can hardly be doubted, that this same ceremony of a slaughtered lamb and sprinkled blood, had a prospective as well as a retrospective aspect; it was a type of the deliverance to be effected by the LAMB OF GOD, as well as a memorial of a deliverance from the destroying angel, who passed through Egypt.

It was ordained that the passover should be celebrated annually, on the same day of the month; that all the Israelites, by families, should partake of it; but that no stranger should be admitted, until all his males were circumcised. And they were directed, when they came to the land of Canaan, and their children should inquire, "What mean you by this service?" they should say, "This is the sacrifice of the Lord's passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses."

The commands of God were immediately obeyed by the Israelites. And at midnight the Lord smote all the first-born of Egypt; "and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead." Pharaoh now gave orders in good earnest, that Moses and Aaron and all the people of Israel should depart from Egypt. "And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste, for they said, We be all dead men." This strong desire to get rid of a people who seemed to be the occasion of such dreadful judgments, seems to have had much influence in disposing them to give them whatever they asked; so that the Israelites went out of Egypt, as had been predicted to them, laden with the spoils of the Egyptians, which they had voluntarily given into their hands.