Luke i. 68. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he hath visited and redeemed his people.

John viii. 33. We were never in bon

de ge.

38. If the Son make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

us.

Eph. iv. 8. He led captivity captive; i. e. He enslaved him who had enslaved

VII. THE CHAPTER OF THE.
WILDERNESS.

WHEN I read of the journey of the Hebrews from Egypt to Canaan by the way of the Wilderness, I see a pattern of my own life, and of all the trials I am to undergo as a Christian, in my progress through this world to the kingdom of heaven. Their journey began with their baptism in the Red Sea : and as that baptism was a deliverance from Pharaoh and his host; so is my baptism, with which my Christian life begins,

begins, an escape from the power of sin, As they were supported by manna and the waters of a rock; so must I live by bread from heaven, and my thirst must be satisfied by the waters of Efe. The end of this my pilgrimage upon earth is the possession of the heavenly land which God hath promised to me; but in the way to it, I must undergo trials and temptations of every sort, and die in this wilderness, as Moses and his people did, before I can attain it. As they proceeded by encampments, and wandered many years in the wilderness; so is my life a pilgrimage: and their example assures me, that I have here no abiding place, no fixed habitation.

They became tired of eating manna, and wished to return back to Egypt, the place of their captivity; and I am in danger of returning to this sinful world, which I renounced and forsook at my baptism. In my way, I am to meet with enemies, whom my fearful heart will magnify and represent as giants, never to be faced and conquered: but still if God be for me, as he was withi the Israelites, when they fought against

the

the sons of Auak, who can be against me? Greater is he that is with us, than he that is with the world.

Heathen doctrines and customs may debauch and draw away my mind from truth, and lead me into uncleanness of life; as the Israelites were led astray by the idolatry and licentiousness of the wicked Moabites. The danger of ill company will always be near at hand through life; as the mixed multitude of unruly people, who followed the camp in the wilderness, were always propagating some mischief among the congrega

tion.

My heart may be infected by the spiritual pride of Corah and his company, and I may fall into the presumptuous sins of schism and rebellion. If a man be above the sins of the body, other temptations take place upon the mind: he begins to conceive highly of his own holiness; and his next step is to heresy and pride of opinion.

When I read, that the soul of the people was discouraged by the length of the way through which it pleased God to lead them about, by journeyings back

wards

wards and forwards; thence I am to learn, that I also may faint and fall by the way, for want of patience and perseverance. Many begin well, and go on so for a time; but by and by they are offended and wearied, and will walk in the ways of God no longer: therefore I am not only to begin my course in this wilderness, but to endure unto the end, and so shall I be saved.

Of these trials and dangers, and of many others, do I see an instructive pattern in the history of the people whom God led through the wilderness...

I

that

may be wise, to consider and apply what the blessed Apostle St. Paul bath taught me; that all these things happened unto them for ensamples, and are written for our admonition on whom the ends of the world (the accomplishment of all that went before) are come: wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth (for this is the great lesson I am to learn) take heed lest he fall. 1 Cor. x.. 11, 12.

THE

THE QUESTIONS.

Q. What do you see in the journey of the Israelites through the wilderness? A. I see a pattern of all the trials and dangers of the Christian life.

Q. How does your journey begin?
A. With baptism as theirs did.
Q. How were they supported?

A. By manna: and I must also live by bread from heaven.

Q. Of what did they drink?

A. Of that spiritual rock, Christ, from whom we also have the waters of life. Q. How did the people relish the heavenly manna?

A. They became weary of it, and wished to eat flesh again in Egypt.

Q. And how are you under the like temptation?

A. My heart may be tempted to return from the spiritual life of Christianity, to the carnal life of the world.

Q. Did not the people fear the ene mies that were in their way?

A. Yes they were terrified at the sons of Anak, as I am apt to be terrified at the enemies of my salvation.

Q. How