September 15

Exodus 11:1. And the Lord said unto Moses, Yet will I bring one plague more upon Pharaoh, and upon Egypt: afterwards he will let you go hence: when he shall let you go, he shall surely thrust you out hence altogether.

2. Speak now in the ears of the people, and let every man borrow of his neighbor, and every woman of her neighbor, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold.

3. And the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover, the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh's servants, and in the sight of the people.

4. And Moses said, Thus saith the Lord: About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt;

5. And all the first-born in the land of Egypt shall die, from the first-born of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the first-born of the maid-servant that is behind the mill; and all the first-born of beasts.

The plagues of Egypt assailed the superstitions of the Egyptians as well as their fears. Objects which they held sacred, or which were believed to be under the special care of the gods, were thus brought into contempt; the powers of Nature which they worshipped were turned to their destruction; their sacred river was made a stench and a poison; and phenomena of the seasons, of the water and the wind, which they were accustomed to observe for useful ends, or to guard against betimes, were suddenly intensified, and made causes of mischief and sorrow.

The minute correspondence of several of these plagues with phenomena peculiar to Egypt—as the reddening of the river, the swarms of gnats and locusts, the sudden and intense darkness of the Komon—fixes the scene of the story, and goes to verify its details. That natural phenomena were employed in these effects does not dispense with a supernatural power behind them. They were produced upon a stupendous scale, at unusual times, instantaneously, and by the word or the rod of Moses, which could have had no physical connec-

6. And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more.

7. But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast; that ye may know how that the Lord doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.

8. And all these thy servants shall come down unto me, and bow down themselves unto me, saying, Get thee out, and all the people that follow thee; and after that I will go out. And he went out from Pharaoh in a great anger.

9. And the Lord said unto Moses, Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you; that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.

10. And Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh; and the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go out of his land.

tion with the result. The magicians soon gave over their feeble attempt to imitate them.

But Pharaoh hardened himself against them all. Again and again he broke his promise to let the people go. In the idiom of the Hebrew language, the Bible ascribes to the Lord whatever he in any way permits to come to pass, making no account of second causes or of human agency. But the Lord did not use means to harden Pharaoh's heart, nor desire that it should be hardened: it was only by repeating calls and miracles which Pharaoh resisted and abused that the Lord was said to "harden" him. Pharaoh acted freely throughout; was wilful and guilty in all that he did; and it is said of him expressly, after one of the plagues, that "he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart" (Exodus 9:34). But the tenth plague staggered him, and for the moment humbled him. This touched him as a father, threatened his throne, threatened his life,—showed him that there was no escape from the demand of such a God; and, in haste and terror, he let the people go.

APPROPRIATE HYMNS.]

Prayer.

[Nos. 22, 40, 69.

Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord! and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy. When thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity, thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth. Thou turnest man to destruction, and sayest, Return, ye children of men. Thou carriest them away as with a flood. Yet, Lord, thou wilt not cast off forever: thou dost not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men. Oh, when thy judgments are in the earth, may the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness! We bless thee that thou hast spared us the punishment that we deserve for our sins; and we beseech thee, for Christ's sake, to forgive and save us. May we take warning from thy holy Word, lest at any time we harden our hearts through unbelief!

We awake this morning to the light of thy love, to the sense of thy gracious protection, and the joy of thy presence; and we would bring to thee our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. Oh! keep us this day from sin; bless us in our home, in our labors, in our studies; bless all our friends with both temporal and spiritual good; and remember all men in mercy. May we be followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises!

O Thou who didst lead forth thy people from the house of bondage, and didst guide, nourish, and defend them through all their pilgrimage! we beseech thee to conduct us by thy hand through all the changes and perils of this mortal life, and bring us at length to the inheritance of thy saints in joy and glory everlasting, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.