and finally, on seeing a way open for the children of Israel to pass through the sea, the Egyptians fearlessly pursue, concluding from carnal reason, that if the host of Israel could march through the deep as on dry land, why not the host of Pharaoh also? Forgetting that the Lord who had severed betwixt his people and the Egyptians in so many instances, was still able to do it again, being the same to-day as yesterday. "Take heed brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief;-lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of Sin."HEB. iii, 12-13.

SECTION II.

"For this cause have I raised thee up."

Now to notice the words:

"And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth."-Exo. ix, 16. Rom. ix, 17.

According then as I am led to view the passage, this raising up of Pharaoh, is not spoken in reference to God's raising him up into existence as a creature, for this was no new display of the power of God, but a common every day occurrence; neither do I consider the raising him up to the throne to be that which is here intended, as there had been many men raised up to throne of Egypt before this; so that the raising up this Pharaoh to the throne would be no extraordinary display of God's power, so as to extend the knowledge thereof throughout all the earth. But the raising up, intended in the text, appears to me to be a raising up

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of Pharaoh, in the sense, as that of a champion being raised up by a supposed insult from his antagonist; or as a beast of the forest is raised up, by one who may have the courage to arouse and attract him. Under this figure I consider the words of the text, "And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, that I may show in thee my power, and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth." The language of the passage appears to me analogous to those parts of the word where it speaks of rulers and kings under the figure of beasts, as :-"Judah is a lion's whelp; he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?"-GEN. xlix, 9.

Now to stir up a lion, to apprize him of attack, and then to vanquish him, is a greater test of fortitude and power, than to take him by surprise or stratagem. In this sense, therefore, I consider the words:-" And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up."— Or, as it reads in the old version of the English bible, "For this same purpose have I stirred thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth."-ROM. ix, 17,-old version. Hence, it appears that what is rendered "raising up," in our present version, does not signify a raising up into existence, but a rousing or stirring up to action, according to the sense of the word:-"Ile couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion who shall stir him up?"-NUM. xxiv, 9. And Pharaoh is not only set forth in the word, as a lion, but he is spoken of by way of eminence, as the young lion of the nations, as the whale that is in

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Pharaoh being here called the young lion of the nations, the great dragon, &c," is not to set forth his lamb-like gentleness, but

the seas, as the great dragon, and as the dread leviathan. "Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I am against thee Pharaoh, king of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers."-EZE. xxix, 3.—xxxii, 2, &c. And the word sets forth, that the Lord God stirred up this lion, that he entangled this whale in his net, that he punished this leviathan, and that he slew this great dragon.---"In that day the Lord, with his sore and great and strong sword,

spoken in allusion to his great power and dragon-like tyranny or ferocity. The power of Pharaoh will appear, if we consider that during the famine, "Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, for the corn which they bought, and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh's house. And when money failed in the land of Egypt, Joseph gave them bread in exchange for horses and for the flocks; and Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for the Egyptians sold every mau his field, because the famine prevailed over them: so the land became Pharaoh's." And the people also sold themselves unto Pharaoh and became his servants. "Let us find grace in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh's servants. And Jos made it a law over the land of Egypt unto this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth part; except the land of the priests only, which became not Pharaoh's."-See Gen. xlvii, 14,-26. Hence the land and the people became crown property, so that the power of Pharaoh became exceeding great. And in addition to this, there is the labour of the Israelites to be considered: they built cities for Pharaoh, they laboured for Pharaoh in brick, and in mortar, and in all manner of service in the field'; and their service was with rigour." All this their labour was exerted to make Pharaoh powerful. And if we consider the time that this course of things was carried on, even four hundred years, we may form some slight estimate of the power and ferocity of this great dragon, especially if we consider the rapid growth of little dragons.

The power of Pharaoh is also manifest by the number of his chariots engaged against the Israelites. "He took six hundred chosen ehariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one

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shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan [the crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea."-Is. xxvii, 1.

Even for this same purpose have I raised, (or stirred) thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth."-" Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: thou breakest the heads of the dragons in the waters. Thou breakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness."-Ps. lxxiv, 13, 14. Now it is said of the leviathan, “Shall not one be cast down at the sight of him? None is so› fierce that dare stir him up."-JOB xli, 9, 10. But the God of Israel, to make his power known, stirred up the leviathan, and that by demanding, and by takof them."-Exo. xiv, 7. Now this is double the number of chariots engaged by Zerah, the Ethiopian, whose host was a thousand thousand. (See 2 Chro. xiv, 7.) So that, to all human appearance, Israel had cause to tremble, and did tremble at the sight of this great dragon rising up to the prey, at seeing its bodily powers in motion,-at the near approach of this dread leviathan, with its terrific heads." They came out as a whirlwind to scatter me: their rejoicing was as to devour the poor secretly.-When I heard my belly trembled ; my lips quivered at the voice: rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled in myself. When he cometh up unto the people, he will invade them with his troops.''---Hab. iii. 14, 16. Such was the trembling condition of Israel at the Red Sea. (See Exo. xiv, 10, 11, 12.) But Israel here feared where no fear was, for the Lord was on Israel's side; and "the chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels." So that faith, eyeing these, says, "Fear not for they that be with us are more than they that be with them." "With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God, to help us, and to fight our battles." Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord."---2 Kings vi, lɓ.--5Chro. xxxii, 8.---Exo. xiv, 13, 14, 28.

ing the prey from between his teeth. "Let my people go," was the demand that insulted Pharaoh, that raised up the dragon to resistance. Nevertheless, the demand was righteous; yet, God knew when he sent this demand that Pharaoh would not obey, but that he would rise up in rebellion against it. As it is written, "I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand. And I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders, which I will do in the midst thereof and after that he will let you go."-Exo. iii, 19, 20. Nor is this, the rebellion of Pharaoh, anything uncommon to the general conduct of ungodly men. What slave-owner would not be raised up to resistance at a demand being made upon him to liberate six hundred thousand slaves at a stroke? Where is the tyrant, possessing the power of Pharaoh, that would tamely submit to surrender his property under such circumstances, without putting that power to the test, and resisting to the last extremity? To demand the liberation of six hundred thousand slaves, besides their wives and children, was such a sweeping, such a mortifying stroke, as no tyrant on earth could tamely submit unto. But was there anything unjust or unrighteous in the demand? Had Pharaoh any right to hold the people as bond slaves? No; the children of Ierael were unlawfully seized, and brought under burdens and task-masters, by the legislative power and polity of Egypt. (See Exo. i, 9, 10.) Therefore the demand of their liberation was most just, and the enforcing that demand by invincible power, was an act that did honour to the King of kings, and highly