Aaron still more aged than himself, clad in the same humble apparel, accompanies him. They enter the palace, and stand in the open hall of audience, which, as in Eastern climes at the present day, was free of ingress to the poorest as to the highest of the land. They are not singled out on their first entrance; but stand perhaps amid the throng of courtiers and suppliants, until in regular course, they attract the notice of the monarch. What in the world's eye and in the world's judgment of less greatness and sublimity? Like Jesus, Moses divested himself of his ancient grandeur, and came with no power, but that inward consciousness of strength which was derived from God. His own people were in bondage, and he came into the land of bondage to lead them forth from the empire which had so long and so mercilessly enthralled them. He was opposed by their oppressor. Human means the weapons of earthly power were put forth against him; he resisted by miracle, and the arms of spiritual warfare; and in all—from his first appearance in the land, until his final departure, even as did Jesus, he prevailed and conquered.

Now with this key in our minds, the monarch of the land whose will was his law; who had subjected both the minds and the persons of his subjects; who refused alike to acknowledge the Lord, and to suffer His own people to offer worship unto him, finds a ready and unavoidable adaptation to the "Prince of this world" at once the opposer and the vanquished of Jesus. "Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice?" We see the consistency of the question with the inward character which

has been attributed to him; and the assertion of an opposed dominion gives a fulness and completeness to his subsequent acts, which wondrously preserves the spiritual unity of the two persons. In the evil hardness of his heart, the despotic Pharaoh, - the king of the land of bondage is the type and the figure of the Prince of darkness.

But there is a third party to whom we must again advert in these transactions, both to preserve the consistency of our views and to fill up the scene. The children of Israel: - how did they receive the message of Moses, and the promises of deliverance which his embassy held out to them? As in the case of Israel, in subsequent times, their deliverance was not immediate. They received the promise gladly and with eagerness. "The people believed: and when they heard that the Lord had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped."* Joy was in their hearts and thankfulness on their lips. They believed and they exulted. But the promise was delayed. The blessing came not in the guise and form in which they expected it. Their burthens for the moment were increased. They despaired of the deliverance they sought from the type of Christ, as Israel despaired of receiving it from Christ himself; and like the Jews, they hailed his presence with murmurs, and loaded him with reproaches. "And they met Moses and Aaron in the way, as they came forth from Pharaoh; and they said unto them; The Lord look upon you and judge; because ye have made our savour to be ab

*Exod. iv. 31.

horred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants; to put a sword in their hand to slay us. They beset their Deliverer with upbraidings, even while he was labouring with his whole soul to effect their rescue; -even "in the way" from which he came forth from contending in their behalf with the violence of their imperious ruler. Moses in vain attempted to stem the torrent of their indignation. In vain he repeated the abundant promises of blessing and deliverance which the Lord had revealed to him; in vain he endeavoured to raise their drooping hopes by the gloriousness of that Being, who-"the angel of the Covenant"-had constituted himself their visible protector. "They hearkened not unto him for anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage."

The embassy of Moses to Pharaoh was wholly fruitless. The king's wrath was increased against Israel. The demands of the future Deliverer were indignantly refused; and the refusal led to the infliction of the plagues upon Egypt. They were the successive blows, which rising above each other in force, ended at length, as in the corresponding judgments of our Saviour, in the total overthrow of the Power who opposed him. It would be scarcely consistent with the design we have in view to go through the detail of each; nor, from our imperfect knowledge of the particular objects aimed at by each judgment, would the attempt hold out sufficient hopes of being profitable to induce us to entertain it. I say, "our imperfect knowledge," since I think it is clear from the tendency of some few of the plagues, of which we can see the design, that each

* Exod. v. 20.

either struck at some particular superstition, or bore some direct and expressive allusion to the religious state of the Egyptians at that æra. I cannot think it a sufficient answer, that they were just so many plagues which afflicted the subjects of Pharaoh, and that they are only to be regarded in the light of their severity;-nor can I think that they were so arbitrary in their character, that any other judgments would in the sight of Israel, and in the mind of the Egyptians, have had precisely a similar effect with those under which they actually suffered. The knowledge we have of some very few among them, points with so distinct a reference to certain defined objects, that it is impossible to confound these with any fortuitous or arbitrary inflictions ;-while at the same time the knowledge of these gives a most powerful inference to the opinion, that all were equally designed for a specific purpose, although the mind reaches not at present-nor perhaps ever will-to a perfect development. As a system we know in reality extremely little of the very early superstitions and antiquities of Egypt. We know that the worship which they gave to natural objects was almost unbounded; but as we have before intimated, while this apparently undistinguishing and universal consecration of external things was imposed on the belief of the community, the priesthood and more learned classes possessed a more scarce and limited scale of idols, and shadowed forth from these mysteries and rites of faith, which were never named without the pale of the initiated. Unless therefore we could learn, not only the outward substance of their worship, but also the inner and higher mysteries

which were adopted by the learned, it seems clear to me, that we could never adequately interpret each plague that was inflicted; since it is but natural to suppose that these were attached equally with the objects which were deified by the multitude. If the opinion is right, that particular evils in their worship were struck at by the plagues, the attempt is almost hopeless which seeks to explain those things which were mysteries even in the age in which they were inflicted; although the idea that such was the design, gives to all practical and useful purposes everything that we can reasonably desire as a motive to our praise of God's greatness; the exemplification of God's power; and His wrath upon idolatry and ungodliness.

But, as we have said, there are some few of the plagues, which, more plain and obvious than the rest, are within our reach so partially to explain, as to give a lead to the mind in its reception of the rest. I would name, for instance, the first that was denounced ;-the conversion of the Nile and all the waters of Egypt into blood. The affection of the people for the Nile was most extravagant. Never perhaps did a nation worship any object with more fervent and sincere devotion, than the Egyptians their revered river. Such a hold indeed has this predilection had on the mind of the nation,-not only in their heathen state;-but so wondrously has the feeling descended from age to age, that in every state,-long after such gross and open idolatry had passed away, have they given themselves up to a reverence of the sacred stream and practised rites in its waters even now, at their periodical increase,