ground. Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face."

"And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites. Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them. Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayst bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt."

And God declared his name to Moses-I AM THAT I AM-which signifies that God has existed uncreated from all eternity, and will exist for

ever.

God commanded Moses to go to Pharaoh, and bid him let the Israelites leave Egypt; but

* Shoes or Sandals, a piece of leather bound on the bottom of the foot with straps which cross over the instep. It was usual to wear these only out of doors, not in the house; and they were invariably taken off before entering the presence of persons of rank, as a mark of respect.-How much more when worshipping before God!

as He knows every thing, even before it happens, He knew that Pharaoh would not let them depart until terrified by the plagues which fell upon him and his people; this the Almighty foretold to Moses, that he might not be discouraged when Pharaoh should refuse to hear him.

"And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee.”

"And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod. And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it. And the LORD said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand: That they may believe that the LORD God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee.”

"And the Lord said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, it was leprous as snow.* And he said, put thine hand into thy bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again; and plucked it out of his bosom, and behold it was turned again as his other flesh."

* The leprosy is a loathsome disease, which turns the flesh white.

"And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign. And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land: and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land."

"And Moses said unto the LORD, O my LORD, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant; but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue. And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the Lord? Now, therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say."

God told Moses that Aaron his brother, who would come forth to meet him, should accompany him, and speak to the people. Moses then returned to Jethro, and taking leave of him, set out on his mission to his brethren. He took with him his wife and two sons, but afterwards sent them back; in order, no doubt, that they might be in safety during the approaching troubles in Egypt. Aaron met him, "And Moses told Aaron all the words of the LORD who had sent him, and all the signs which he had commanded him."

CHAPTER V.

THE TEN PLAGUES OF EGYPT.

1, water tuRNED INTO BLOOD. 2, FROGS. 3, LICE. 4, FLIES. 5, MURRAIN OF BEASTS. 6, BOILS AND BLAINS. 7, HAIL WITH THUNDER AND LIGHTNING. 8, LOCUSTS. 9, DARKNESS. 10, THE DEATH OF THE FIRST BORN OF THE

EGYPTIANS.

ON their return to Egypt, Moses and Aaron went first to Goshen, where they gathered together the Elders of the Children of Israel, and declared God's gracious message, and performed before them the miracles which He had commanded. And when the Israelites saw the miracles, they were convinced that God had indeed appeared unto Moses, and was with him: and they rejoiced exceedingly.

Then Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh,* and said; "Thus said the Lord God of Israel. Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness."

But Pharaoh refused, and said, "Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go." And he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, but was angry; and sent for the task

* Successor to the Pharaoh who reigned when Moses fled into Midian.

masters that were set over the Israelites, and commanded them not to give the Hebrews any more straw for their bricks, but oblige them to go and gather straw for themselves; notwithstanding which they were to furnish the same quantity of bricks which they did before.

This was a great addition to the labour of the oppressed Israelites, who when they could no longer fulfil their tasks, were beaten by their cruel task masters, and taunted with being idle. They appealed to the compassion and justice of Pharaoh, but they appealed in vain: he reproached them with wishing to go and sacrifice to the LORD, only because they were idle, and wanted to escape from their labour: "Go therefore now and work; for there shall no straw be given you, yet shall ye deliver the tale of bricks."

The people were now in greater distress than before, and they murmured against Moses and Aaron, whom they unjustly accused of being the cause of Pharaoh's anger.

And Moses prayed to God. And God said unto Moses, "I have also heard the groanings of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage, and I have remembered my covenant. Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burden of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments: And I will take you to me for