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5. How easily can God preserve his people in times of general calamity! He directs the motion of the meanest creatures, or insects; and when he makes the plagues of a sinful people wonderful, he will hide his servants in the day of his anger. He knoweth them that are his, and will protect them, generally in this world, always in another. For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in behalf of those whose heart is perfect toward him.

CHAP. IX.

This chapter contains an account of the mortality among the cattle ; of the boils and blains; and of the storms of hail; which were the fifth, sixth, and seventh plagues of Egypt.

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HEN the LORD said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh, and tell him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, 2 Let my people go, that they may serve me. For if thou refuse 3 to let [them] go, and wilt hold them still, Behold, the hand of the LORD, the extraordinary, immediate power of God, without any human means, (as ch. viii. 24.) is upon thy cattle which [is] in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep, (which they kept for their milk and other uses, though not to kill, ch. viii. 26.) 4 [there shall be] a very grievous murrain. And the LORD shall sever between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt: and there shall nothing die of all [that is] the children's of Is5 rael. And the LORD appointed a set time, saying, Tomor6 row the LORD shall do this thing in the land. And the LORD did that thing on the morrow, the plague was sent as God had threatened, and all the cattle of Egypt died; some of all sorts, for some were afterward destroyed by the hail. This showed the vanity of their idolatry, for they worshipped some of these cattle as gods: but of the cattle of the children of Israel died 7 not one. And Pharaoh sent, and, behold, there was not one of the cattle of the Israelites dead. This was indeed wonderful, since they breathed the same air, and drank the same water as the Egyptian cattle. And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go, notwithstanding this remarkable providence in their favour.*

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And the LORD said unto Moses and unto Aaron, Take to you handfuls of ashes of the furnace,† and let Moses sprinkle

A Roman historian wonders, why man should be esteemed the wisest of creatures, for no creature acts so foolishly; other creatures, when they have smarted once, will beware for the future. Man only is not weary of sinning, but repeats it, though he smarts for it. This was remarkably the case with the king of Egypt.

As they oppressed the Israelites with furnace work in burning of brick, so now they are punished with burning sores, which came from ashes taken out of the furnace.

it toward the heaven in the sight of Pharaoh; to note that this 9 judgment came upon them in a special manner from God. And it shall become small dust in all the land of Egypt, and shall be a boil breaking forth [with] blains, or a burning kind of ulcers, which were incurable, (Deut. xxviii. 27.) upon man and 10 upon beast, throughout all the land of Egypt. And they took ashes of the furnace, and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses sprinkled it up toward heaven; and it became a boil breaking forth [with] blains upon man, and upon beast: the affliction 11 now came on their bodies. And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils;* for the boil was upon the 12 magicians, and upon all the Egyptians. And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh, gave him up to the corruptions of his own heart, and he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had spoken unto Moses.

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And the LORD said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may 14 serve me. For I will at this time send all my plagues, which I intended upon thine heart; they shall sting thee to the heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people; that thou may15 est 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 16 the earth.t And in very deed for this [cause] have I raised thee up, made thee king, and spared thy life, for to show [in] thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth; that the glory of my justice, power, and severity, may be made more illustrious before all the world, as a 17 warning to incorrigible sinners. As yet exaltest thou thyself 18 against my people, that thou wilt not let them go? Behold,

I again solemnly warn thee, that tomorrow 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. 19 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. Thus God mixed mercy with judgment, gave them an opportunity of saving their cattle, and some were so wise as to improve it; 20 He that feared the word of the LORD among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle flee into the houses: 21 And he that regarded not the word of the LORD left his ser

Till this time they continued with Pharaoh, probably endeavouring to harden his heart, and to persuade him it was all done by magic, and that they should overcome Moses at last; but now they retreated, and we hear no more of them. Their felly was manifest to all men. See 2 Tim. iii. 9.

+ It might be better rendered, I have stretched out my hand to smite thee, and thou hadst been before this cut off, that is, were it not to display my justice, &c. as it follows in v. 16.

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vants and his cattle in the field, and thus bid defiance to God and to Moses.

And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch forth thine hand toward heaven, that there may be hail, not only in local show→ ers, which is commonly the case with hail storms, but in all the land of Egypt, upon man, and upon beast, and upon every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt. This would be the more remarkable, as hail and rain were uncommon in Egypt; and the more dreadful, as it would destroy the grass 23 and herbs, and fruits of the earth. And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven and the LORD sent thunder and lightning, and hail, and the balls of fire ran along upon the ground; and the LORD rained hail upon the land of 24 Egypt, but the land of Goshen was free from it. So 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 25 a nation. And the hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt all that [was] in the field, both man and beast; and the hail smote every herb of the field and brake every tree of 26 the field. Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel [were,] was there no hail.

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And Pharaoh sent in great haste, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time: the LORD [is] righteous, and I and my people [are] wicked. This acknowledgment and submission was very just; but it only proceeded from fear, and had no effect on his obstinate heart. 28 Entreat the LORD (for it is enough) I will not provoke him to inflict any more plagues upon me; those which have been already inflicted shall suffice for your dismission; entreat him that there be no [more] mighty thunderings and hail; and I 29 will let you go, and ye shall stay no longer. And Moses said unto him, As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will spread abroad my hands unto the LORD; [and] the thunder shall cease, neither shall there be any more hail; that thou mayest know how that the earth [is] the LORD's, and that he can 30 send or remove judgments when he pleases. But as for thee and thy servants, I know that ye will not yet fear the LORD God. 31 And the flax and the barley was smitten: for the barley

[was] in the ear, and the flax [was] bolled, the head began to 32 appear above the stalk. But the wheat and the rye were not 33 smitten for they [were] not grown up. And Moses, calm and secure amidst all the storm, went out of the city from Pharaoh, and spread abroad his hands unto the LORD; and the thunders and hail ceased, and the rain was not poured upon the earth. Thus Moses prevailed with God to remove the judgment, but could not prevail with Pharaoh to keep his word. 34 And when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders were ceased, he sinned yet more, and hardened his VOL. I.

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35 heart, he and his servants. And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, neither would he let the children of Israel go; as the LORD had spoken by Moses.

REFLECTIONS.

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E learn how immutable God is in his demands, v. 1. Go to Pharaoh and tell him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me. The same message is to be delivered; he will not take up with any thing but an exact compliance. He makes the same demand on sinners, sends the same message, time after time; Repent and be converted; except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish. Men must come to God's terms, he will not stoop to theirs. Today then, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

2. Who would not fear so awful a God as this is! This is a lesson to all succeeding generations, and shows what a fearful thing it is to fall into the hands of the living God. Fire, hail, thunder, and storms, fulfil his word; he has stores of vengeance in the skies; he can meet sinners, abroad or at home; afflict them in their bodies, or in their cattle; afflict them in time, and eternity. God directs his arrows against tyrants and persecutors; if one plague will not humble them, he will send another. How easily can he destroy the beasts of the field, send murrain through a land, that shall take away the most valuable and useful creatures! In the sickness and death of cattle we are to observe the hand of God. He knows how to separate between the cattle of the righteous, and the cattle of the wicked, for he is the preserver both of man and beast. It is by the wickedness of the land that the beasts are consumed; and when this is the case it becomes us to humble ourselves under God's mighty hand.

3. We may observe to what a wretched degree the heart of man is capable of being hardened. All Pharaoh's excuses were gone; the magicians were confounded; a distinction is made between the Israelites and the Egyptians; he knew all this, and yet hardened his heart. Could one have thought that the hu~ man mind was capable of such impenitence? Let us keep our hearts with all diligence, and provoke one another to love and to good works, lest any of us be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin,

4. We may see the happiness of fearing the word of the Lord, and recollect with pleasure that there were some who did so in Pharaoh's court. Some of his courtiers were affected with God's hand, obeyed his word, and he saved their cattle; probably they escaped the rest of the plagues. Let us submit our hearts to the word of the Lord, that we may be under the care of his Providence; for it is promised, Isa. xxxii. 18. And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places; when it shall hail, coming down on the forest, and the city shall be low in a low pless.

5. Let us observe how mysterious the conduct of Providence is, and not judge of good or evil by any thing under the sun. That such a proud, oppressive man, should be raised to be king over this rich, populous, and fruitful country; that when so many of his subjects died by one plague or another, he should be spared but God intended to make him a signal monument of his wrath. This may be the case of many who are the terror and plague of the nations on earth: God has vengeance in store for them; he is whetting his glittering sword, and making ready his bow. Sometimes calamities are a favour to the world; and what appears a favour (as in the case of Pharaoh being spared) is a judgment and a punishment. We must take things in their connections; be cautious in our censures, especially of the dispensations of Providence, and judge nothing before the time. The language of such dispensations is, that God is great, and greatly to be feared; and that when he judgeth he will overcome.

CHAP. X.

Contains an account of the eighth and ninth plagues of Egypt, the locusts and the darkness. Woe unto him who striveth with his Maker.

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ND the LORD said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh; for, or though, I have hardened his heart, and the heart of his servants, that I might show these my signs 2 before him: And that thou mayest tell in the ears of thy son, and of thy son's son what things I have wrought in Egypt, and my signs which I have done among them; that it may be a lesson to all the succeeding generations of the children of Israel; that ye may know how that I [am] the LORD, that ye may know the power of God over all creatures and elements, and his goodness to Israel.

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And Moses and Aaron came in unto Pharaoh, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before me? This pointed question was now proper, considering all that had been done, and to how little effect: let my people go, that they may serve 4 me. Else, if thou refuse to let my people go, behold, tomorrow will I bring the locusts into thy coast: these were very large, terrible, and devouring creatures, the like to 5 which are never seen in this country: And they shall cover the face of the earth, (the original is, the eye of the earth, that is, the sun,) that one cannot be able to see the earth and they shall eat the residue of that which is escaped, which remaineth unto you from the hail, and shall eat every tree which 6 groweth for you out of the field: And they shall fill thy houses, and the houses of all thy servants, and the houses of

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