river Euphrates. Whenever the Israelites, in their passage through the wilderness, fell into any distress, or met with any difficulty, instead of trusting in God, whose goodness they had experienced in so signal a manner, they always murmured against Moses, who was the constant instrument of divine interposition. But notwithstanding the impatience and repeated provocations of the Israelites, God did not withdraw from them his protection; but relieved their necessities upon every occasion. When they could not drink of the waters of Marah, on account of their bitterness, he enabled Moses to make them sweet (s); when they were in want of food, he sent them manna and quails from heaven (t); when they were in want of water, he enabled Moses to produce a spring from a hard rock (u); when they were attacked by the Amalekites, he enabled Moses, by the holding up of his hands (r), to procure them a complete victory. Thus did God, by a continued course of miracles, conduct the Israelites

(s) Ex. ch. 15. v. 23.

(t) Ex. ch. 16. They were miraculously fed with manna from heaven during the whole time of their residence in the great wilderness of Sinai, even till they had tasted corn in Canaan.

(u) Ex. ch. 17. v. 1, &c.

(x) Ex. ch. 17. v. 11.

Israelites into the wilderness of Sinai, in Arabia Petræa, in the third month after they left Egypt. Jethro, who lived not far from this wilderness, brought thither to Moses his wife and his two sons; and there Moses, by the advice of Jethro, appointed magistrates, with different degrees of jurisdiction, to be judges in cases of dispute among the Israelites; but the decision of all matters of difficulty and importance he reserved to himself.

God now repeated his gracious assurance, that 1491. he would make the Israelites his peculiar people, if they would obey his voice, and keep his covenant. And surely nothing can more strongly prove, that this people were set apart by God to carry on the gracious designs of his providence for more extensive salvation to the world, than the renewal of these promises to such a distrustful and stubborn generation. "And the Lord said unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself. Now, therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people; for all the earth is mine. And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou

shalt

shalt speak unto the children of Israel (y)." And when Moses had assembled the people, and delivered this gracious message from the Almighty, "All the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do.. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord. And the Lord said unto Moses, Lo! I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee for ever. . . . Go unto the people, and sanctify them to-day and to-morrow, and be ready against the third day; for the third day the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people upon Mount Sinai. And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves that ye go not up into the Mount, or touch the border of it: whosoever toucheth the Mount shall be surely put to death." And on the third day "there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the Mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. altogether on a smoke, scended upon it in fire,

And Mount Sinai was

because the Lord de

and the whole Mount

quaked greatly. And the Lord spake unto them out of the midst of the fire; they heard

(y) Ex. ch. 19. v. 3, &c.

the

the voice of words, but they saw no similitude, only they heard a voice. And he declared unto them his covenant, which he commanded them to perform, even ten commandments." And when the people saw these "terrors of the Lord," they removed and stood afar off, and said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear : but let not God speak with us" again," lest we die (z)."

Moses and Aaron had been permitted to go up into the Mount, before the day of this most awful appearance of the Divine glory; but they were sent down to the people before the voice of God uttered the Law, which was afterwards "written by the finger of God upon tables of stone (a)," and given to Moses, when he was called within the cloud, which rested upon Mount Sinai," to receive the statutes and the judgments," which he was commanded to teach the people.

It is to be observed that the laws, which extend from the 20th to the 24th chapter of Exodus,

(z) Ex. c. 19 and 20.

(a) When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, and found Aaron and the people of Israel defiling themselves with all the abominations of idolatry, in a fit of wrath he broke these tables of stone; but the ten commandments were afterwards written upon two other tables of stone, by the express direction of God, in the same manner as before.

Exodus, laws which, from their nature, must be considered as of general obligation, appear to have been given to Moses in the presence of all the people; for after their request that God would not again speak to them himself, it is said, "And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was; and the Lord said unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say to the children of Israel, Ye have seen that I have talked with you from heaven (b);" and then follows a number of statutes, and ordinances, and promises, and conditions, concluding with a command for Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, to come up towards the Mount to worship God, as the representatives of the people, who stood at a distance; but they were ordered "to keep afar off" from the glory of the Lord, excepting Moses, who was alone allowed to "approach near the Lord;" and the history of this solemn covenant then continues thus: "And Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord, and all his judgments; and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the Lord hath said, will we do. And Moses wrote all the words of

the Lord, and rose up early in the morning, and

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(b) Ex. c. 20. v. 21 and 22.

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