September 26

Exodus xxiv.—3. And Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord, and all the judgments; and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the Lord hath said will we do.

4. And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars according to the twelve tribes of Israel. 5. And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt-offerings, and sacrificed peace-offerings of oxen unto the Lord. 6. And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basins; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. 7. And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people; and they said, All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient. 8. And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words! 9. Then went up Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel: 10. And they saw the God of Israel; and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a

sapphire-stone, and, as it were, the body of heaven in his clearness.

11. And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink. 12. And the Lord said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them. 13. And Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua; and Moses went up into the mount of God. 14. And he said unto the elders, Tarry ye here for us until we come again unto you: and, behold, Aaron and Hur are with you: if any man have any matters to do, let him come unto them. 15. And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount. 16. And the glory of the Lord abode upon Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days; and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud. 17. And the sight of the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel. 18. And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount; and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.

The government first established over Israel was a theocracy. They had neither king nor president, neither court nor senate: all castes were abolished; they were declared to be a community of equals and brethren, and were now to be governed through the sense of their religious obligation to God. But their God was invisible, and seemingly afar off; whereas in Egypt they had been accustomed to see everywhere the images of the gods. It was important, therefore, that their senses should be impressed with the reality of Jehovah's presence while yet they were awed with the sanctity of his majesty. Hence all the ceremonies of sacrifice and purification in drawing nigh to God, and the barrier set up between freedom and familiarity.

It was important, also, that Moses should be invested with spiritual authority as the medium of communication between God and the people. Hence, though the head men of the tribes, who were to act as judges, were permitted to have a nearer view of the divine glory by ascending some of the lower peaks of Sinai, and Joshua was permitted to go still higher toward the Presence, Moses was taken up alone into the cloud, and was there shut off from the people in the dread mystery of communion with Jehovah. But even he could not look upon the face of the Lord. No man can see God, and live. Yet he who hath seen Christ hath seen the Father.

APPROPRIATE HYMNS.]

Prayer.

[Nos. 61, 72, 87.

Our Father in heaven, we would draw nigh unto thee by that new and living way which hath been opened for us into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. We thank thee for the mercies of the night. How sure are the mercies of thy covenant, O Lord! All thy promises in Christ Jesus are Yea and Amen. Fulfil unto us, we beseech thee, these thy mercies and promises, and cause that this day we may rejoice in the consciousness of thy presence. Oh! sanctify us by thy truth; and, while we receive its instruction and comfort in our hearts, may we carry out its precepts in our lives. May we be just and true, loving and kind, gentle, forbearing, and forgiving, and so shine as lights in the world, holding forth the Word of life! May every day witness some new victory over evil desires and

passions within us, and over the evil that is in the world! [Oh, may these children grow in grace as they grow in years and in knowledge! May they shun evil companions and evil ways, and walk in the way of thy commandments!] Keep all dear to us even as the apple of thine eye. Bless our neighbors, and send thy Spirit upon this whole community. Bless our rulers, and the schools and churches in our land. May all who rule, and all who teach, be led and taught by thee! Have pity upon the poor and the sorrowing; upon homes made desolate by famine, pestilence, or war. Stay thy judgments, O Lord! and send peace and salvation to all people. Mercifully forgive our sins; and finally bring us to behold thy face in righteousness, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.