not against us, but against the LORD. And Moses spake unto Aaron, Say unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, Come near before the LORD: for he hath heard your murmurings. And it came to pass, as Aaron spake unto the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and, behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel: speak unto them, saying, At even ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread; and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God. And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the host. And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the boar frost on the ground. And when

15

15 Our blessed Saviour declares this manna to have been a type of himself-the "bread which came down from heaven *." (John vi. 41.)

18 So is it with the grace of God! enough for each, who seeketh it. My grace is sufficient for thee." (2 Cor. xii. 9.) "As thy days, so shall thy strength be." (Deut. xxxiii. 25.)

the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat. This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded, Gather of it every man according to his eating, an omer for every man, according to the number of your persons; take ye every man for them which are in his tents. And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less. 18 And when they did mete it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack they gathered every man according to his eating. And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning. Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth with them. And 21 The manna was supplied daily, they gathered it every morn- that men might feel their daily deing, every man according to pendence upon their Creator. his eating and when the sunwaxed hot, it melted. And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man: and all the rulers of the

:

21

*This manna continued till the fifth day after their arrival in Canaan. (See Josh. v. 12.)

:

24 This was a manifold miracle. The food itself was from heaven. Its very nature was changed every seventh day. On that day only was no by Moses and Aaron to be deposited fresh supply. The portion gathered in the sanctuary continued fresh.

O blessed Jesus, let me have the grace to gather the crumbs under thy table, and find them life.

congregation came and told Moses. And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning. "And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade: and it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein. And Moses said, Eat that to day; for to day is a sabbath unto the LORD to day ye shall not find it in the field. Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none. And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none. And the LORD said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws? See, for that the LORD hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day. the people rested on the seventh day. And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna: and it was like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey. And Moses said, This is the thing which the LORD commandeth, Fill an omer of it to be kept for your generations; that they may see the bread wherewith I have fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt. And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a pot, and put an omer full of manna therein, and lay it up before the LORD, to be kept for your generations.

34

As

the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept. And the children of Israel did eat manna forty years, until they

So

34 The ark of the covenant was

called the Testimony, because it contained the tables of the law, which were the testimony, or the witness of the covenant between God and his people.

came to a land inhabited; they did eat manna, until they came unto the borders of the land of Canaan. Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah.

EVENING. EXODUS Xvii.

AND all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to

If in keeping "the strait and narrow path" of life," according to the commandment of the Lord," we also find "no water"-no earthly comforts to refresh us; how apt are we to cast the blame upon religion How soon we forget past mercies, and faith fails us.

the commandment of the LORD, and pitched in Rephidim : and there was no water for the people to drink. Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the LORD? And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst? And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me. And the LORD said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee. of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand. and go. 6 Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou Ishalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of flow-and they also are of his free gift. Israel. And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD saying, Is the LORD among us or not? 8 Then came Ama

5 Was ever Father so forbearing towards his children as God towards his people! He prepares to relieve their necessity, all-undeserving as they were of his favour.

The Almighty could have caused water to flow from the rock without the intervention of Moses; but He chose that man should be the agent in conveying his free gift. His ministers now are appointed to distri bute the waters of life, though Jesus is the rock whence those waters

8 Relief from one trial is often but a token that another is at hand. Then be not impatient.

9 Man was to fight the battle, though his strength and his victory

were to be of the Lord. So we must fight the good fight of faith, though our power and our triumph be of the Lord. We must do our part, or faith is but presumption.

lek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim. And Moses. said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to-morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand. So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses' hands were 12 Blessed importunity of prayer

heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. And the LORD said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it JEHOVAH-nissi: for he said, Because the LORD hath sworn that the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.

duly offered, according to the commandment! Hold up unwearied hands; and let a devout reverence mark even the outward act.

AND God spake all these words saying, I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth, thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. Remember the sab8 A well-spent Sabbath gives a forebath day, to keep it holy. taste of heaven.

4 God is a spirit; and they who worship Him, must worship Himnot under any form or figure; but as a spirit, and "in spirit and in truth:" the Being who is equally present at every time and in every place.

7

6 What a touching appeal to parental love! The obedience of parents to their God, brings his blessing upon

their children.

7 In oaths, for the administration of justice, God's name is used, but not in vain. A vain or passionate appeal to God is sin.

Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter,

thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy

11

stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in

11 If the Creator rested on the Sabbath-day, proud of heart indeed must be those of his creatures who

disregard the day *.

them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD 12 These words convey the first commandment with promise. thy days may be long upon the

13 This is well followed by a command to restrain those evil affections, which, by leading men to injustice and cruelty to their neighbour, lead also to hatred, and revenge, and death.

blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. 12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. 13 Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. 16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour." Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's. And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off. And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear but let not God speak with us, lest we die. And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces that ye sin not. And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was. And the LORD said unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, Ye have seen that I have talked with you from heaven. Ye shall not make with me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold. 24 An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen:

16 This prohibition extends to lying, slander, and defamation, of every kind. It is sin in the sight of God.

17 Thus the commandment strikes at the root of evil-even the very secret wish of the heart.

24 Simple altars of earth or unhewn stone-altars on which no graven image can have been sculptured. It is wise to remove temptation to evil.

* If God's people of old were bound thus to commemorate his power and love in the first creation; how much stronger is that obligation upon us, who rejoice in his power and love as displayed in the second creation for, at the resurrection of Christ, an eternal world of joy was opened for us; and a paradise prepared, into which no tempter shall find entrance.