now in his old age, of calmness, of devotion, of superiority to the world, of heavenly mindedness.

Observe the excellency of his spirit, at this period, a little more particularly. He set a proper value upon life. He desired its continuance, with the feelings natural to a man, he prized it as the gift of God, as the precious season of acting for God, of observing and improving the ways of his providence, of doing good to men, of preparation for eternity. He prayed for its prolongation, without fearing its end; and he thereby reproves that rashness which exposes life to unnecessary danger, that intemperance which wastes and shortens, that indolence and listlessness which dissipate it, and that vice and impiety which clothe death with

terror.

In Moses we have a bright example of genuine pa triotism. That most respectable quality appeared in him early, and shone most conspicuously at the last. "When he was come to years, he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;" Heb. xi. 24, 25. For Israel's sake he was willing to encounter a thousand dangers, to endure a thousand hardships. For them he braved the wrath of a king, sacrificed his ease, consented to be blotted out of God's book. For them he laboured, fasted, prayed; in their service was his life spent, and his dying breath was poured out in pronouncing blessings upon them. If it went well with Israel, no matter what became of himself. Their unkindness and ingratitude excited no resentment in his breast. When they rebelled he was grieved, when they were threatened he trembled, when they suffered he bled, when they were healed he rejoiced. O how his temper and conduct reprove that pride, which perpetually aims at aggrandizing itself, which must have every thing bend and yield to it, which is ready to sacrifice thousands to its own humour or advantage; that

selfishness which grasps all, sets every thing to sale, and refuses to be ashamed.

The generosity and disinterestedness of Moses eminently adorned the close of his life. He was a father, and had all the feelings of that tender relation. It was natural for him to wish and expect that his sons should be distinguished after his death, should be the heirs of his honour, should succeed to his authority. An ordinary man would have been disposed to employ the power which he possessed to build up, to enrich, to ennoble his own family: but the will of God was declared. Joshua was the choice of Heaven; Joshua his servant, one of another family, another tribe. In the appointment Moses rejoices, he adopts Joshua as his son, as his associate; sees him rise with complacency, puts his honour upon him: and thereby exposes to shame that littleness of soul which enviously represses rising merit, that vice of age which can discern nothing wise and good in the young; that tenaciousness of power which would communicate no advantage with another.

What anxiety does the good man discover that Israel should act wisely, and go on prosperously after his death! There is no end to his admonitions and instructions. By word, by writing, by insinuation, by authority, in the spirit of meekness, of love, of parental care, he cautions, he warns, he remonstrates. Men naturally love to be missed, to be inquired after, to be longed for; but it was the delight of Moses in his departing moments, that his place was already supplied, that the congregation would not miss their leader, that Joshua should happily accomplish what he had happily begun. Selfish men enjoy the prospect of the disorder and mischief which their departure may occasion. Moses foresaw the revolt of Israel after his decease, and it was the grief and bitterness of his heart.

In Moses we have an instructive instance of that continuance in well-doing, that perseverance unto the

end, which finds a duty for every day, for every hour; which accounts nothing done so long as any thing remains to be done, which cheerfully spends and is spent for the service of God, and the good of mankind. Age is ready to put in its claim, when honour is expected, and advantage to be reaped; and is as ready to plead its exemption when service is required, danger is to be encountered, and hardship undergone. But, while Moses discovers the utmost readiness to share with another the emolument and the respect of his office, the trouble and fatigue of it he with equal cheerfulness undertakes and supports to the very last.

In the whole of his temper and conduct, we have an ensample which at once admonishes, reproves and encourages us. May we not, after considering the noble and excellent spirit he discovered through the course and at the close of life, contemplate the probable state of his mind in reviewing the past, and surveying the prospect before him: both affording unspeakable comfort, but neither wholly exempted from pain.

Pleasant it must have been to reflect, 1. On his miraculous preservation in infancy. "To what dangers was I then exposed? Doomed to perish by the sword from my mother's womb. Concealed by fond parents for three months at the peril of their life, as well as my own. Committed at length to the merciless stream, a prey to manifold death-the roaring tide, hunger, the monsters of the river, contending which should destroy me. But I was precious in the sight of God. No plague came nigh me; no evil befel me. The daughter of the tyrant saved me from the rage of the tyrant. The house of Pharaoh became my sanctuary. The munificence of a princess recompensed the offices of maternal tenderness. I knew not then to whom I was indebted for protection, from what source my comforts flowed: let age and consciousness acknowledge with wonder and gratitude the benefits conferred on infant helplessness and infirmity; let my dying breath utter

praise to him who preserved me from perishing as soon as I began to breathe."

2. May we not suppose the holy man of God, by an easy transition, passing on to meditate on deliverance from still greater danger, danger that threatened his moral life-the snares of a court?" Flattered and caressed as the son of Pharaoh's daughter, brought up in all the learning of the Egyptians, having all the treasures in Egypt at my command, at an age when the passions, which war against the soul, are all afloatwhat risk did I run of forgetting myself, of forgetting my people, of forgetting my God? But the grace of the Most High prevented me. I endured as seeing him who is invisible. I refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. I was not ashamed to be known for a son of Israel. I went out to see the burdens of my brethren, I had compassion on them, and comforted them; not fearing the wrath of a king, I smote him that did the wrong, and saved the oppressed. I chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. I esteemed the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt. To God I committed myself; and my virtue, my religion, my honour, my inward peace were preserved."

3. What satisfaction must it have yielded Moses in reviewing his life, to reflect on his having been made the honoured instrument, in the hand of Providence, for effecting the deliverance of an oppressed people? "I found Israel labouring, groaning, expiring in the furnace. I beheld the tears of them that were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their op. pressors there was power, but they had no comforter. Their cry reached heaven. He who made them had mercy upon them. He was pleased to choose me out of all the myriads of Israel, to bring them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. He taught my stammering tongue to speak plainly. He said to

my fearful heart, Be strong. He armed me with his potent rod; and subjected the powers of nature to my command. The oppressor was crushed in his turn, and the oppressed went out free, full and triumphant. And to me, even unto me, it was given to conduct this great, difficult, dangerous, glorious enterprise; and Heaven crowned it with success."

4. How pleasing to reflect that the Spirit of God had employed him to communicate so much valuable knowledge to mankind! "To me was this grace given, to trace nature up to its source; to ascend from son to father, up to the general parent of the human race; to rescue from oblivion the ages beyond the flood, and to rescue departed worth from the darkness of the grave. By me these venerable men, though dead, speak and instruct the world. By me the being and perfections, the works and ways, the laws and designs of the great Supreme stand unfolded; the plan and progress of his providence, the system of nature, the dispensation of grace. To my writings shall ages and generations resort for the knowledge of events past, and for the promises and predictions of greater events yet to come. The Spirit of the LORD spoke by me, and his word was in my tongue, and the word of the LORD endureth for ever."

5. What delight must it have afforded, in reviewing the past, to revive the memory of communion with God, of exalted intercourse with the Father of spirits! "Blessed retirement from the noise of the world and the strife of tongues; solitude infinitely more delicious than all society! Wilderness of Horeb, school of wisdom, scene of calm and unmixed joy, in thee I learned to commune with my own heart, forgot the sensual, unsatisfying delights of Egypt, observed the glories of nature, contemplated the wonders of Providence, enjoyed the visions of the Almighty! Happy days, when I tended the flocks of Jethro, obeyed the dictates of inspiration, and conversed with my heavenly Father,