DEAR YOUNG FRIENDS,--When you have read of Joseph being cast into a pit by his envious brethren, becoming elevated to occupy the second chariot in the Egyptian Empire; of Daniel, a despised captive in Babylon, becoming the President over one hundred and twenty provinces; of David, a young stripling, teuding his father's flock, becoming the conqueror of Goliah, of Saul, and ultimately the king of Israel,-a poet, a warrior, a prophet, and a type of Christ; of Moses, who was hid upon the edge of the Nile, becoming the adopted son of Pharaoh's daughter, the deliverer of the Israelites from Egyptian bondage,—the greatest historian this world ever knew, and the most accomplished legislator that ever held the retus of government, you have been led to exclaim, Truly, Jehovah reigneth,-let the children of men put their trust beneath the shadow of his wings! If you have thus felt and expressed yourselves when reading the biographies of those wonderful young men, is it too much to expect that you will give me your most serious attention while I endeavour to present before you the choice of Moses? Consider the state of adoption Moses abandoned. His father's name was Amram, and his mother's Jochebed, Exod. vii. 20. But in consequence of the cruelty of Pharaoh, who commanded the Hebrew midwives to put to death all the male children that were born to the Hebrews, Amram and Jochebed were obliged, (if they would preserve their son alive.) to have recourse to some expedient. When therefore they could keep him in safety no longer, Jochebed took an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein," and placed the whole upon the edge of the Nile. And his sister stood afar off to wit what would be done to him."-Exod. ii. 2. 3. 66 Whilst he was lying there, Pharaoh's daughter, as she was wont. came to wash herself, and beholding the fresh, beautiful, and lovely babe, desired to adopt it as her own. Whereupon Moses's sister desired permission to fetch it a nurse, and having obtained consent, called its mother, to whom Pharaoh's daughter said, "Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will pay thee thy wages. And the woman took the child, and nursed it. And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son."-Exod. ii. 7-10. Such was the adopted state Moses abandoned. He refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter." The state he abandoned was one of opulence. Thermutis, the daughter of Pharaoh, is said to have been the only child of her father, and was herself childless. Having then found Moses and adopted him as her son, he stood in a fair way for becoming the king of Egypt. In the mean time, he had, no doubt, access to all its treasures. To him its coffers were ever open, and here he could have literally revelled in luxury and riches; but this captivating position he abandoned. He turned his back upon a state of pleasure, but it was the pleasure of sin. The contemplation of a state of sin in the variety and deformity of its features is, in the highest degree, appalling. To depict such a state would require the position of Golgotha, the roll of Ezekiel, and the feeling which called forth the exclamation of Jeremiah, "O that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people." Jer. ix. 1. Is it not then strange that pleasure should be derived from a life of siu? And yet so it is, for Moses abandoned the pleasures of sin. But such pleasures are only for a season, and may be compared to the crackling of thorns under a pot, and to the early dew and the morning cloud. Moses abandoned them all. The state he chose. This was one associated with affliction. For he "chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season."-Heb. xi. 25. God had a people in Egypt. We do not suppose that all the Jews in Egypt were the children of God by faith, but some were. There were those who had taken the Lord to be their portion, who delighted to do his will, and who knew that he heard their prayers; and although they were in a land of bondage and sin, they were cheered and comforted by the manifested presence of the Father of mercies. With this people Moses became united. God's people are subject to much suffering. The history of the church in all ages shows that many are the afflictions of the righteous. The history of Abel was one of persecution, suffering and murder. The righteous soul of Lot was vexed from day to day with the filthy conversation of the wicked. And what shall we say of the Patriarchs, Prophets and Apostles? Some of these were tormented,—had to dwell in dens and caves of the earth, and were even sawn asunder. O how thankful we ought to be that the lines have fallen unto us in such pleasant places, and that we live in such delightful times. Those afflictions, however, had no influence upon the mind of Moses. He seems to have known that the crown wearer must be the cross bearer. The interests of God's people are identified with those of Christ. Moses "esteemed the reproach of Christ greater riches than all the treasures in Egypt." What is done to God's people then, is done to Christ. He that touches these, touches the apple of his eye. In all their afflictions, he is afflicted. O how close the union that subsists between Christ and his people. He is the vine, they are the branches. And how he sympathizes with them! When he was upon earth, sickness approached him, that the very glance of his eye or the touch of his hand might break its power. Grief and sorrow came unto him to have their tears wiped away; the widow and the fatherless found a sanctuary in his presence. The soul, disturbed by the consciousness 66 of guilt, was encouraged to look to him with the uplifted eye of hope; and contrition never failed to receive from him the blessing of forgiveness. He had a balm for every wound, a cordial for every fear, and a joy for every sorrow." Moses abandoned an adopted, opulent, and pleasurable state; while he chose to suffer affliction with the people of God, and esteemed the reproach of Christ greater riches than all the treasures in Egypt. Behold how he proceeds. He puts the best of the world in one scale the treasures of Egypt and the pleasures of sin, and the worst connected with religion in the other the reproach of Christ, and the afflictions of the people of God. But in his judgment the worst connected with religion far out-weighed the best of the world. O happy Moses,-wise choice, would that all my young readers might imitate thy example! But this choice was not that of ignorance. We confess with shame that there are many who are unable to give a reason of the hope that is within them. They know scarcely anything about the principles they profess. Not so with Moses. For he was "learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds,"—Acts vii. 22. Pharaoh's daughter would see that he was educated in all the arts, sciences, laws, and languages of the Egyptians; while his own mother would take care that he was in. structed in the language, laws, and history of the Hebrews and of the world. His therefore, was the choice of intelligence. Neither was it the choice of infirmity and old age. We have nothing to say against the aged repenting of their sins, believing in Jesus, and devoting themselves to the divine service; because, such is the mercy of God, that he will forgive their sins, receive them into his family, employ them in his vineyard, and afterward receive them to glory. But the choice before us was not that of old age. It was not the choice of inexperience. When Moses made it, he was about forty years of age-Acts vii 23. And you must remember that, in his day, people. lived to be much older than they do now; hence it is said that when Moses was one hundred and twenty years old, his strength had not failed him, neither had his eyes become dim. Deut. xxxiv. 4. His was the choice, therefore, of a young man, in the bloom of life, of a young man of mind, and of high intellectual attainments. Had it been the choice of a boy, some would have said that it was the result of persuasion and misrepresentation on the one band, and of youth and inexperience on the other. Had it been the choice of an old man, it would have been regarded as the result of dotage, or idiotcy. But it was none of these. True, you may have read of the victories of the Pompeys, the Cæsars, and the Hannibals; the Alexanders, the Napoleons, and the Wellingtons; but if ever there were a man who conquered the world, Moses was he. He rose superior to the pleasures of sin, the blandishments of a court, the charms of a realm, and the treasures of an empire. And he did all this at the age of forty, when he was wide awake. Will you not imitate his example? The principle by which he was influenced was faith in God. Although the Egyptians had gods many and lords many (at one time they worshipped about three thousand animals and plants), he trampled upon them all. He exercised faith in the living God,in his wisdom, power, goodness, mercy, and love. He placed an unbounded confidence in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. His faith was centred in the God of Jeshurun, who rideth |