October 20

Numbers xlv.—11. And the Lord said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have showed among them?

12. I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of thee a greater nation and mightier than they.

13. And Moses said unto the Lord, Then the Egyptians shall hear it (for thou broughtest up this people in thy might from among them);

14. And they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land: for they have heard that thou, Lord, art among this people; that thou, Lord, art seen face to face; and that thy cloud standeth over them; and that thou goest before them, by day-time in a pillar of a cloud, and in a pillar of fire by night.

15. Now, if thou shalt kill all this people as one man, then the nations which have heard the fame of thee will speak, saying,

16. Because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land which he swore unto them, therefore he hath slain them in the wilderness.

17. And now, I beseech thee, let the power of my Lord be great, according as thou hast spoken, saying,

18. The Lord is long-suffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.

In great and perilous enterprises, fear is often equivalent to failure. Even hesitation may render failure certain, where pluck would lead to victory. In business-affairs, caution, pressed to the extreme of timidity, may lose some great opportunity of success. The fate of a campaign may turn upon the decision to strike a blow; and to doubt is disaster and defeat. Doubt binds the judgment, and paralyzes the

19. Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people according unto the greatness of thy mercy, and as thou hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.

20. And the Lord said, I have pardoned according to thy word;

21. But, as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord.

22. Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice;

23. Surely they shall not see the land which I swore unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it:

24. But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it.

25. To-morrow turn you, and get you into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea.

26. And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,

28. Say unto them, As truly as I live, saith the Lord, as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you:

29. Your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, which have murmured against me.

will. Who does not recall with sadness opportunities lost by want of faith in himself, in events, in God, and want of pluck to go forward? So the Israelites failed to enter Canaan for lack of faith at the critical moment of God's opportunity. Let us take heed, lest, in our greater salvation, we fall after the same example of unbelief. To postpone the confession of Christ may prove our eternal ruin.

APPROPRIATE HITNESS.

Prayer.

[Nos. 136, 161, 175.

We come to thee this morning, heavenly Father, with hearts full of thankfulness for the mercies of the night. We have rested in safety and in peace under the shadow of thy wing. Thou hast kept us quiet from the fear of evil: nor sickness, nor death, nor tempest, nor fire, nor any calamity, hath overtaken us or our dwelling. 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 thy salvation.

Bless to us thy Word which we have now read. 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, and adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things! 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 bring us unto the perfection of knowledge, of holiness, and of blessedness, in Jesus Christ our Lord; to whom be glory forever. Amen.