to be inferred from the words of Christ, Mat. 6. 30. 'Wherefore if God so clothe the grass of the field which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more,' &c. On which Grotius quotes the words of Ulpian, the Roman lawyer, in a definition of fuel; 'In some regions, as for instance in Egypt, where reeds and the papyrus plant are burnt for fuel, the common appellation 'wood' includes certain species of herbs and thorns or brambles.' This is accounted for from the fact, that in many of the eastern countries, wood is so extremely scarce, that various species of dried vegetables, grass, straw, flowers, and furze, constitute their principal articles of fuel. But that straw, on the other hand, was used in the composition of brick in Egypt, is evident from the reports of modern travelers. Thus Dr. Shaw, speaking of the bricks found in one of the Egyptian pyramids, says"The composition is only a mixture of clay, mud, and straw, slightly blended and kneaded together.' Baumgarten, another traveler, speaking of Cairo in Egypt, says 'The houses for the most part are of brick mixt with straw to make them firm.' Sir John Chardin tells us, 'That eastern bricks are made of clay, well moistened with water, and mixed with straw, which, according to their way of getting the grain out of the ear, is cut into small pieces by a ma. chine which they make use of instead of a flail for thrashing." -As heretofore;' 'as yesterday and the third day before.' 'Let there be more work laid upon the men ;' Heb. 'Let the work be heavy upon the men.-'Vain words;' Heb. 'words of lying.' Vanity and falsehood, according to the Hebrew idiom, are often used interchangeably for each other.

What is said of the execution of this order? v. 10-12.

How did the task-masters proceed in the discharge of their duty, and what was the consequence to the under-officers? v. 13, 14.

Daily tasks; Heb. A matter of a day in his day.' The officers of the children of Israel,' i. e. the officers which were by birth of the children of Israel; Gr. 'the scribes of the lineage of the sons of Israel.'-'Were beaten and demanded; Heb. 'were beaten, saying,'

What remonstrance did the officers make to Pharaoh, and with what reception did it meet? v. 15-18.

·

'Came and cried unto Pharaoh;' supposing perhaps that this rigor had been imposed upon them by the task-masters, without Pharaoh's order, and therefore having hope of obtaining redress.' 'But the fault is in thine own people;' literally, and (this is) the sin of thy people;' i. e. either the sin or fault of the Egyptians, in which sense the Chal. has, Thy people sinneth against them;' or, the 'sin is charged (and so the punishment inflicted) upon us, the Israelites, thy people.' Thus the Gr. Wilt thou therefore wrong thy people? Syr. 'And thou sinnest against thy people.' The phrase 'thy people,' according to the latter sense, was employed in order to work upon the compassion of Pharaoh.

To what had the officers then recourse under the pressure of their calamities? v. 19-21.

'And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the way,' &c. The original formet,' has sometimes the sense of hostile encounter, and this, perhaps, may be its import here. The order of the clauses in our version would be better transposed thus: And they, who stood in the way, met Moses and Aaron as they came forth from Pharaoh.'

What was the conduct of Moses under these circumstances? v. 22, 23.

'Wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people?' i. e. suffered them to be so evilly treated, as is evident from the tenor of the next verse. Neither hast thou delivered thy people at all; Heb. 'delivering thou hast not delivered.' Moses, in this expostulation, betrays the remains of his former infirmity. God had assured him more than once that Pharaoh would not obey him at first.

HEADS OF PRACTICAL REFLCETION.

V. 1. The true God has a peculiar people in the world, whom he owns above others, and a holy hilarity, instead of a gloomy moroseness, should mark the worship which they pay him.

V. 2. A contemptuous indifference to the being of Jehovah prevents men from listening to his voice, and a bold disobedience to him is a prelude to the oppression of his people.

V. 3. The fear of divine judgments may weigh even with those who stand in covenant relation to God, to enforce the duty of complying with his will.

V. 3. The sword and the pestilence are judgments to which all are exposed who neglect the commanded worship of of God; much more those who forbid others to serve him.

V. 5. The multiplication of the Church is ever a sore griev• ance to its enemies.

V. 7. It is savage cruelty to deny means, and yet demand work.

V. 8. Nothing is more common than for worldly-minded men to esteem the service of God but as a peculiar form of idleness.

V. 10. Tyrannical rulers seldom lack instruments who take pleasure in announcing and executing the most cruel edicts.

V. 14. Men of gentle natures sometimes suffer at the hands of superiors for not daring to oppress others under them.

V. 15. Complaints of injuries are justly carried to the highest power by which they are authorized. Such complaints, in the mysterious providence of God, are sometimes permitted to be answered by increasing the burdens which call them forth.

V. 21. The galling sense of oppression, with no prospect of relief, may sometimes prompt the suffering to charge wrongfully their best friends.

V. 22. The precious resource of the Lord's ministers under groundless crimination, is to prayer at a mercy-seat. Thus the Psalmist, Ps. 109. 9. For my friendship they were my adversaries, but I gave myself unto prayer.' V. 23. Events are sometimes permitted to occur apparently contrary to God's promises, in order to try the faith and patience of his servants.

CHAPTER VI.

How was the prayer of Moses answered? v 1. This verse properly belongs to the preceding chapter, and it is singular that it should have been separated from it, for with this verse ends the fourteenth section, or Sabbath day's reading of the Law; a division very clearly marked in the Hebrew Scriptures.

What did God then go on to declare to Moses respecting his name, his covenant, and his care of his people? v. 2-5.

"By my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them;' Gr. 'My name Lord I did not manifest unto them;' Chal. 'My name 'Adonai' I shewed not.' A two-fold mode of interpretation divides into two classes the great mass of commentators upon this passage. 1. It is maintained by some that the words are to be understood in their most exact and literal import, as teaching that the name 'Jehovah' was utterly unknown to the ancient patriarchs, and was first revealed to Moses at the burning bush, where, when he asked the name which he should announce to Israel, God declared himself by the sacred denomination '1 am that I am,' which is of the same origin and import with 'Jehovah,' and said moreover of the title 'Jehovah,'' this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.' The advocates of this opinion, in answer to the objection that the name in question must have been known long before this, as it occurs in reiterated instances in the course of the book of Genesis, reply, that as there is no evidence that the book of Genesis was written till after the Divine appearance at Horeb, when this title was first revealed, the mere fact of Moses' making use of the name 'Jehovah' in that book is no sufficient proof that the name was known to those of whom he writes, any more than his mention of a place called 'Dan' in the time of Abraham, Gen. 14. 14. proves that the place was at that time known by this name, whereas it was then called 'Laish.' They contend farther, that as Moses wrote for the benefit of those of his own age and their posterity, it was specially fitting, that in writing the history of the Israelitish race from its earliest period, he should proleptically em

ploy that peculiar name by which the Most High would be known as their God, the very same God who brought them out of Egypt, and who, a little before that deliverance, had made this his name known to them as that by which he would especially be called in memory of that great event. As to the passages where the patriarchs are represented as expressly addressing the Lord by his title Jehovah,' as for instance, Gen. 15, 2. these, they say, are corrupted in the original text, and that later writers have substituted 'Jehovah' for 'Elohim' or 'Adonai,' which Moses undoubtedly wrote, and this hypothesis, it must be confessed, is somewhat favored by the variation of several of the ancient versions from the present Hebrew reading. See Geddes' Critical Remarks on this passage, who observes, that 'If the name 'Jehovah' were known before it was here communicated to Moses, and were the common appellation of the God of the patriarchs, the question of Moses, Ex. 3. 13. was needless, was impertinent; for God had before told him, v. 6. that he was 'the God of his (Moses') fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' It is clear then that Moses, by asking, what was the name of this same God of his fathers, knew not that he had any particular name; and that particular Jehovah' is now, for the first time, made known as the peculiar God of the Israelitic nation.' These are the principal arguments adduced in favor of the first hypothesis. 2. Othors, and we think for better reasons, understand the words as implying, not that the literal name Jehovah' was unknown to the ancient fathers who preceded Moses, but that its true, full, and complete import-its force, burden, and pregnant significancy, was not before known; whereas now and hereafter, the chosen people should come to understand this august name, not in the letter merely, but in the actual realization of all which it implied. The name ' Jehovah,' as before remarked, natively denotes not only God's eternal existence, but also his unchangeable truth and omnipotent power, which give being to his promises by the actual performance of them. Now, although Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, had received promises, yet they had not enjoyed the things promised. They believed in these things, but they had not lived to see the actual accomplishment of them; they had not