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come so numerous as to overpower his own people, and take possession of the kingdom. He therefore made use of them as bondmen, and obliged them to labor in stone and mortar and brick, and to build walls and cities, storehouses and pyramids.

What effect did this have on their numbers?

"The more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew."

Then the cruel king had recourse to slaughter. He issued a fearful decree against the Israelites, by which he hoped to seal their doom, and cut them off from being a people after that generation.

"Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive."

BIRTH OF MOSES.

A child is born-a child exceeding fair;
In silence shut the tidings from the air.
Hide him, O mother, from Egyptian eyes,
This goodly child-conceal the beauteous prize.
In secret weave the ark; in darkness go
And lay him gently by the river's flow;

Then leave the rest to God: he shall not die.
Israel, your great deliverance draweth nigh:
This child is born to set the nation free;
A prophet, priest, and king, in him we see.
Bright symbol of our Lord, no tyrant's wrath,
No rushing Nile, can sweep him from life's path;
For he shall live to shake the Egyptian throne,
And on the mountain talk with God alone.

[graphic]

MOSES DRAWN FROM THE RIVER. The daughter of Pharaoh walking with her maidens on the bank of the Nile, saw among

the flags an ark or cradle, constructed from the sedge, or paper reeds that grew near the river. Curious to know what it contained, sho sent her maid to bring it up from the water. On opening it, she found therein a weeping babe. The princess adopted this child for her own, and called his name Moses.

MOSES, signifies drawn out.

Ancient writers say that the name of Pharaoh's daughter was Thermutis.

What we learn of her from the Bible, shows that she was gentle and compassionate. Fancy likewise bestows on her every other amiable quality of the heart, and adds to the picturc all the graces of person and mind. A noble princess saving a Hebrew infant from perishing in the water-how tender, how full of interest is the recital! We love the princess, and we rejoice at the safety of the child.

But will not this child now be brought up in all the idolatry of the Egyptians?

The providence of God provides against this calamity. The sister of Moses was watching by the river, to see what would become of the child. She presents herself before the princess, and is employed by her to procure a Hebrew

woman to nurse the child for her. Joyfully she hastens home, and brings the child's mother.

Thus the infancy of Moses, and perhaps the greater portion of his early childhood, was spent among his own people, where he would learn to reverence the true God.

He was afterwards educated at the Egyptian court, and became learned in all the wisdom of that ancient and renowned people. "He was mighty in words and deeds."

THE EXILE OF MOSES.

Moses at length offended the Egyptians, and was obliged to leave the country.

How was this?

ACTS 7:23, 29; HEB. 11:24-27.

How old was he at this time?

How long did he remain in Midian?

All this time the heavy bondage of the Israelites in Egypt continued. Moses was in exile, but God was preparing him for the great office of delivering his people. He married the daughter of the priest of Midian, and tended the flocks of his father-in-law. The name of his

wife was Zipporah, and of his son Gershom. Gershom signifies a stranger.

The land of Midian, where Moses dwelt, was near the Red sea. It was a wild and lonely region, full of rugged mountains, and deep secluded valleys. There was another Midian which lay east of the Dead sea, inhabited by a populous nation deeply sunk in idolatry.

MOSES IN THE DESERT.

And now behold Moses wandering far into the desert, to find patches of green pasture for the flocks. He comes to mount Horeb..

Horeb was either the same moun

tain that is called

Sinai, or a different summit belonging to the

[graphic]

same

ridge. "And

the Angel

of the

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