September 27

Exodus xxxii. — 1. And, when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up; make us gods which shall go before us: for us for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.

2. And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden ear-rings which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me.

3. And all the people brake off the golden ear-rings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.

4. And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving-tool, after he had made it a molten calf; and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel! which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

5. And, when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To-morrow is a feast to the Lord.

6. And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt-offerings, and brought peace-offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.

7. And the Lord said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves:

At first view, this gross apostasy, se soon after the wonders in Egypt and the terrors of Sinai, and in the very face of the mountain from which the law forbidding idolatry had been proclaimed, seems utterly confounding. But, though there is no excuse for it, this much may be said by way of accounting for it. In Egypt, the Israelites had lost much of the life of their faith, and had become familiar with the worship of idols. A law of spiritual ideas had now been promulgated; but, as yet, no forms of worship were set up. The wonders which had so powerfully impressed their senses had ceased. Moses, the visible organ of Jehovah, had disappeared; and, in his prolonged absence, time hung heavy in the camp. A chief object of wor-

APPROPRIATE HYMNS.]

Almighty God, our heavenly Father, we acknowledge thy goodness in our creation and preservation, and in the manifold provisions of thy love for the life that now is. Every day we live upon thy bounty; every night we rest under the shadow of thy wing. What shall we render unto the Lord for all his benefits? For the rest and refreshment of the past night, for the health and comfort with which we greet another day, for the endearments and delights of home, for means of occupation and support, of improvement and usefulness, for all the favors of thy hand so multiplied unto us, we render thee most hearty thanks. Freely as we receive may we also give.

8. They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them; they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel! which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

9. And the Lord said unto Moses, I have seen this people; and, behold, it is a stiff-necked people.

10. Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them; and I will make of thee a great nation.

11. And Moses besought the Lord his God, and said, Lord, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?

12. Wherefore should the Egyptians speak and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people.

13. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven; and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it forever.

14. And the Lord repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.

ship in Egypt was Apis, the sacred bull, which was kept in royal state at Memphis, and honored as a source of national life and power. Hence, when they craved some visible representative of the divinity, the golden calf would naturally suggest itself, and their feast would take the form of such orgies as they had witnessed in Egypt. With a self-sacrifice that marks the sublimest heroism, Moses assumed the task of mediation. The power and glory of Jehovah as committed to the salvation of Israel, the effect of any failure upon his enemies, and, above all, his own covenant of grace with Abraham, — these are the arguments by which Moses pleads with the Lord; and his earnest, unselfish faith prevails.

Prayer.

[Nos. 175, 178, 182.

O Lord! for Christ's sake have mercy upon us, and take away our sins; and grant that we may prove our gratitude by a loving obedience to thy will. May thy mercy abound toward all classes and conditions of men, and thy salvation fill the whole earth!

Bless this household in each and every member. [Especially do we commend unto thee the children, praying that in the morning of life they may learn to trust in Jesus as their Saviour, and to follow him as ready and loving disciples.] Oh, may the dove of heavenly peace ever abide in our dwelling! Bless all dear to us; and bring us all at length unto our Father's house through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.