April 11

1 And when king Arad the Canaanite, which dwelt in the south, heard tell that Israel came by the way of the spies; then he fought against Israel, and took some of them prisoners. 2 And Israel sowed a sow unto the LORD, and said, If thou wilt indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities.

3 And the LORD hearkened to the voice of Israel, and delivered up the Canaanites; and they utterly destroyed them and their cities; and he called the name of the place Hormah. 4 And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way.

5 And the people spoke against God, and against Moses. Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. 6 And the Lord sent hery serpents among the people, and they let the people; and much people of Israel died. 7 Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto

the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people

8 And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a hery serpent, and set it upon a pole; and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. 9 And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole; and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived

What a good chance skepticism had to make sport! The idea that the mere looking at an image of brass would cure one suffering from a bite so poisonous is, in the realm of physics, exceedingly absurd. But then there were the facts. Those who looked immediately got well. It did not matter what was the condition of the sufferer—his eyes might even be gazing in death—if he caught sight of the brazen serpent he lived. So to many it appears very foolish that by looking unto Jesus any one can have eternal life. But the fact is—they do! It matters not how deeply the poison of sin has penetrated, they become new men from the hour that they look for salvation upon Him who was lifted up on the cross. The instances of recovery are not a few only—they are numberless.

Jesus said: "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life." The uplifted Son of God! One look of the soul at Him, and we shall be healed, one expression of deepest trust, and the load of guilt shall be removed; one vision of the meaning of the Cross, and all the pain and shame and death, consequent upon guilt, shall be done away, and we shall know the meaning of Christ's own words: "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."

Closet Promise.—Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.—Matt. xi. 28.

Oppressed with noonday's scorching heat, To yonder cross I flee:

Beneath its shelter take my rest; No shade like this for me!

Beneath that cross clear waters burst, A fountain sparkling free;

And there I quench my desert thirst; No spring like this for me!

A stranger here, I pitch my tent Beneath this spreading tree;

Here shall my pilgrim life be spent; No home like this for me!

For burdened ones a resting place Beside that cross I see;

Here I cast off my weariness; No rest like this for me!

—Horatius Bonar.