of thy son's son, what things I have wrought in Egypt, and my signs which I have done amongst them: that ye may know, how that I am the LORD.

And Moses and Aaron came in unto Pharaoh, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD GOD of the Hebrews, How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before me? Let my people go, that they may serve me.

Else, if thou refuse to let my people go, behold, tomorrow will I bring the locusts into thy coasts.

And they shall cover the face of the earth, that one cannot be able to see the earth and they shall eat the residue of that which is escaped, which remaineth unte you from the hail, and shall eat every tree which groweth out of the field.

for you

And they shall fill thy houses, and the houses of all thy servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians; which neither thy fathers, nor thy fathers' fathers have seen, since the day that they were upon the earth, unto this day. And he turned himself, and went out from Pharaoh.

And Pharaoh's servants said unto him, How long shall this man be a snare unto us? let the men go, that they may serve the LORD their God: Knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed?

And Moses and Aaron were brought again unto Pharaoh and he said unto them, Go, serve the LORDyour GOD: : but who are they that shall go?

And Moses said, we will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and with our daughters, with h our flocks and with our herds will we go: for we must hold a feast unto the Lord.

And he said unto them, Let the LORD be so with you, as I will let you go and your little ones: look to it, for evil is before you.

Not so go now ye that are men, and serve the LORD;

for

for that you did desire. And they were driven out from Pharaoh's presence.

And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come up upon the land of Egypt, and eat every herb of the land, even all that the hail hath left.

And Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and the LORD brought an east-wind upon the land all that day and all that night: and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts.

And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the coasts of Egypt: very grievous were they; before them there were no such locusts as they, neither after them shall be such.

For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left and there remained not any green thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the field through all the land of Egypt.

Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste; and he said, I have sinned against the LORD your God, and against you.

Now therefore forgive, I pray thee, my sin only this once, and intreat the LORD your God, that he may take away from me this death only. And he went out from Pharaoh, and intreated the LORD.,

And the LORD turned a mighty strong west-wind, which took away the locusts, and cast them into the Red Sea there remained not one locust in all the coasts of Egypt.

But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go.

And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine

hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egyt; even darkness which may be felt.

And Moses stretched forth his hand towards heaven : and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days

They saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days: but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.

And Pharaoh called unto Moses, and said, Go ye, serve the LORD: only let your flocks and your herds be stayed: let your little ones also go with you.

And Moses said, Thou must give also sacrifices, and burnt-offerings, that we may sacrifice unto the LORD our God.

Our cattle also shall go with us; there shall not an hoof be left behind: for thereof must we take to serve the LORD our GOD? and we know not with what we must serve the LORD, until we come thither.

But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let them go.

ANNOTATIONS AND REFLECTIONS.

In the beginning of this section, we find the LORD again repeating to Moses, that he had hardened the heart of Pharaoh and all his servants: it is evident that this expression (as we observed before) must not be taken in the sense which the words at the first view seem to convey the true meaning in this place appears to be, that God had given them up to obduracy, and, instead of cutting them off, would continue to endue them with bodily strength to sustain the various plagues and torments, which, for the sake of maintaining His own honour in the world, He should bring upon them.

If we call to mind the variety of afflictions which

were,

were, in a short space of time, successively sent upon the Egyptians, and that in particular they had lately been afflicted with a putrid disorder, which must have weakened them greatly; we may easily conceive, that unless the principle of animal life (which seems to be here meant by the heart) had been hardened, nature must have sunk beneath such a pressure of calamity. Under these circumstances the Egyptians were very unfit to encounter the horrors of a tremendous storm, which was calculated to occasion the most violent agitation of spirits.

1

It is observable, that all the threatenings sent from GOD to Pharaoh, were conditional. Let my people go, &c. -else, if thou refuse-I will bring, &c. from whence we may infer, that Pharaoh's will was free, and that he had no injustice to complain of, but would have found pardon if he had repented. It should likewise be remarked, that he had time allowed him for reflection, between one judgment and another, and generally a day and night; but the longer the respite that was granted him, the more obdurate he became. Sometimes, indeed, he seemed inclined to comply, in part, with what was required of him, but he never did this from a principle of obedience to God, for he was resolutely bent to maintain his own right to the services of those whom the LORD claimed as His own peculiar people, which was exalting himself against Gob.

Locusts are a species of very devouring insects. Travellers* inform us that they fly in the air all compact together, like a vast cloud, sometimes fifteen or eighteen miles long, and about ten or twelve miles broad, so that they quite darken the sky, and make the brightest day obscure; and that wherever they alight, they devour al the corn in an hour's time, and frequently make a famine

*See Stackhouse on the Bible, in the Notes,

in the country, These insects do not live above six months, and when they are dead, the stench of them so corrupts and infects the air, that it very often breeds pestilences. The prophet Joel calls the locust, the eaterpillar and the palmer-worm, God's great army, which he sends among a wicked and rebellious people*. An ordinary locust is described by an ancient naturalist, as so fierce that it can kill a serpent, by taking it fast by the jaws, and biting it to death. How formidable then must those of Egypt have appeared, which were such as had never been seen before not that they were created on purpose to be a plague to Pharaoh and the Egyptians, (for it appears that they came with a strong east wind from a distant country, most likely a place which had never been inhabited by mankind) but they certainly were directed by a divine impulse to visit these coasts.

There is something in the thoughts of famine so very shocking, that no person, who properly reflects, would willingly expose himself to its horrors. Pharaoh could not avoid seeing that this dreadful evil was coming fast upon him, and his people. The locusts devoured, with astonishing rapacity, the vegetables, which made a principal part of their food. Every hour's delay increased the danger; therefore, impelled by fear of the power of the LORD, he entreated Moses and Aaron to implore forgiveness for him, but it soon appeared that he had no true penitence. The LORD's mercy, like the kindness of a tender father to a profligate son, served only to harden him still more to resist his will and commands.

The plague which followed was more dreadful than any which had yet been sent, not only on account of its duration, but there is a solemnity in darkness, which naturally fills the mind with awe. That which fell upon

* Joel ii. 25.

Egypt