manner.

I. We may form a general estimate of the ❘ advantages which Moses relinquished, by considering his particular rank or position in life. He had been adopted (as we have seen) by the daughter of Pharaoh as her own son, and consequently held a high and brilliant station in the court of that monarch. His personal graces, accomplishments, and natural and acquired abilities (for his works prove him to have been a man of great genius, and the testimony of Scripture recorded of him is, that he was learned in all "the wisdom of the Egyptians"),-these qualifications, aided by his elevated rank, would naturally insure for him the highest offices in the state, and conduct him to the pinnacle of riches and honour. In the eyes of worldly men, who judge of happiness by the measure of luxury, rank, and splendour, who could occupy a more enviable position in society? who could be what is termed a more fortunate and happy man than Moses? Caressed by princes, lying in the lap of voluptuousness and ease, with a boundless field before him for the exercise of his ambition, and the most flattering prospec of success, who, in the opinion of the world, was more blessed with the gifts of fortune, possessed more of the elements of happiness, than Moses? And what would be generally said and thought of a man who should turn his back upon such splendid prospects, who should voluntarily relinquish such uncommon advantages? We fancy we can see the upraised eyes and incredulous countenances of some; and that we can hear the words of astonishment and contempt poured forth by others," What folly! what insanity!" are echoed round. "The man is blind to his own interest!" "Who that knew any thing of the world, who that was in his right senses, would act in so simple and absurd a manner?" But Moses did so; he turned his back upon those splendid prospects; he voluntarily relinquished those uncommon advantages; " he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter;" and all for what?wonder and pity him, ye children of the world! -he gave up all, because he chose rather to "suffer affliction with the people of God; esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt."

prosperous and sunny lot, his heart would almost smite him at the contrast, and bid him leave the palace of Pharaoh, and go and share the chains and labours of his captive brethren. And while he pondered on these things, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of counsel and might, shed his enlightening influence upon his soul, and revealed to him the purposes of Heaven, the destinies of the chosen seed, and the office and duties to which he himself was divinely called; and so, pitying the condition of his countrymen, listening to the voice of justice and humanity, obeying the dictates of conscience and religion, and following the guidance of the eternal Spirit, he resolved to sacrifice his worldly prospects, to leave his royal mother and the Egyptian court, to share the toils and sorrows of his brethren, with the view of delivering them at some future period from the hands of their oppressors. It would be unreasonable and puerile to imagine that this resolution could be formed without a severe struggle, without much sacrifice of feeling. On the one side, there would rise before the mind of Moses the royal splendour, the voluptuous joys, and dazzling honours, which awaited him in the court of Pharaoh ; on the other side, the solemn and stern visage of duty met his gaze, whilst her thrilling voice sounded in his ears, "this is the waywalk thou in it." And then she would remind him of the guilty and transitory nature of many of those goods and pleasures which solicited his stay. She would remind him that the pleasures of sin were but for a season; that though sweet as honey in the mouth, they were bitter as gall in the belly; that their end was destruction; that the wages of sin was death. And then she would point to the service of God, and tell him that, laborious and painful as it might seem, it was perfect freedom; and she would remind him of those pleasures which are at God's right hand for evermore; and of those good things which neither eye hath seen, nor ear heard, that God has prepared for those who love him. These considerations fixed his wavering mind; he felt that he was called upon to decide between God and Baal, between the people of God and the court of Egypt. And he had counted the cost; he had weighed the pleasures of sin in the balance of the sanctuary, and found them lighter than vanity; and he had weighed in the same scale the favour of God and the rewards of his service, and found them to be an eternal weight of glory; and therefore he deliberately resolved to cast in his lot with his despised brethren, "refusing any longer to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; and choosof God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season."

But besides the honours and pleasures of Egypt, there was another consideration which might have been an obstacle and stumblingblock to Moses in the path of duty. It was a feeling of pride, a sense of false shame. The thought would sometimes occur to him, that if he persisted in his design, and quitted his present elevated station to mingle with a degraded and despised people, he should forfeit the good opinion of society, who would be ashamed to own him, and become a by-word of ridicule and contempt among his proud contemporaries. If he had become the leader of a great people or a distinguished party, the case would have been quite different; but to become the patron and advocate of a set of slaves, of the wretched, despicable Israelites, it was intolerable, it was perfectly low and disgraceful. And let it not be imagined that this is an unreal and fanciful consideration. Every one who has studied the human heart must be aware of the extraordinary influence which a sense of shame exercises over the feelings and conduct of men. So strong is it, that many a gallant spirit who has encountered with fearless breast the face of death on the battle-plain, has shrunk and quailed before the sneers and ridicule of a few contemptible witlings. And it is possible that Moses might have experienced somewhat of this feeling, and that it caused him a painful struggle to sacrifice the good opinion of those whom he loved and honoured, and to endure to be esteemed by others a poor, weak, and misguided individual. But he was enabled to overcome and trample on this proud and truly despicable feeling, and to such a degree, that, in the words of our text, he "esteemed the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt." He felt that, whatever men might think, there was such real honour and true happiness in the service of God, that he would not leave it for all the treasures of Egypt; he would rather be a doorkeeper (humble as the office was) in the house of God, than dwell in the sumptuous tents of wickedness. He felt that he was blessed, and ought to rejoice and be exceed ing glad when men reviled and persecuted him, for that he had the approbation of God, and that great was his reward in heaven.

II. But it is time that we should turn our attention more particularly to the great motive or principle which induced and enabled Moses to act in so noble and heroic a manner. That principle was faith, operating upon conscience, or a sense of duty, and a conviction of the advantages attending the performance of it, "for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward." The definition of faith given by the

apostle is, that it is "the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen;" and this definition exactly describes the faith of Moses. He saw by faith "Him who is invisible," the great Jehovah; i. e. he was enabled to realise in a most vivid manner his being and presence; he felt the propriety and necessity of submitting to his most holy will, and believed most firmly the certainty of his promises and threatenings; and in this sense faith was to him " the evidence of things not seen." This it was which caused and enabled him to sacrifice his splendid prospects and spurn the transitory pleasures of sin, for he felt that God and his laws were unknown in the Egyptian court; and he believed that Divine vengeance would inevitably overtake the guilty: and this it was which decided his choice " to suffer affliction with the people of God;" for he saw that God was with them; he saw the image of God in them; and he felt that every one that loveth him that begat, loveth him also that is begotten of him."

66

Again; it was faith, vivid and realising faith, which enabled Moses to "esteem the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt;" faith revealed to him the excellence and glory of God, and the promised redemption by his blessed Son; faith taught him to despise the fear of man, and to cast behind him his childish taunts and malicious censures; faith gave to his enraptured sight the future blessings of the people of God; it placed him, as it were, on Mount Pisgah, and unveiled to him a glorious prospect of the heavenly Canaan, the eternal inheritance, the rest that remaineth for the people of God. And what wonder that his bosom swelled and his pulse beat high with elevated joy and triumph? What wonder, that, in comparison with those heavenly riches, he despised the treasures of Egypt, and counted them but dross and nothingness? could the treasures of Egypt do for him? They might, indeed, minister to his earthly comfort; they might invest him with splendour and applause; they might pamper his sensual appetites, and smooth the pathway to the tomb; but could they buy the favour of God? could they purchase one hour of solid peace and happiness? No, they could not; and this Moses felt; for he well knew that he that "loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase; for that it is all vanity. Can we wonder, then, that under the vivid and realising power of faith, Moses made the choice in question-that he despised the treasures of Egypt, and gloried in the reproach of Christ, regarding, as he did, the recompense of the reward? For what is earth

What

19

when measured with eternity? what are the pleasures of sin when compared with the pleasures of religion, and the joys which are at God's right hand for evermore?

But we must deduce some inferences, my brethren, we must derive some practical lesson, from this history of Moses; for it is not enough to read and study it with our minds, we must apply it to our hearts, and pray God to give us grace, that we may inwardly digest it. Let us learn, then, from this narrative, first, the mighty and victorious power of faith. Be assured, that if ever men despise and speak lightly of this principle, it is because they are ignorant of its nature, and strangers to its power. Faith is the very foundation of religion; and without it, it is impossible to please God. Faith is the secret spring of every good work, of every holy and heroic deed, that has been done on earth. Faith is the source of every pious thought, of every heavenly hope, of every prayer, whether of praise or supplication. Faith enables us to overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil. The foe which Moses had to conquer was the world ; and the apostle says, "This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith." And be assured, my brethren, we never shall overcome the world-i. e. we never shall renounce its sinful pleasures and connexions, its sinful pomps and vanities - we never shall be able to perform our baptismal vow, until by faith we are enabled with Moses, on the one hand, to perceive the insufficiency, the hollowness, the danger of such things; and, on the other, the security, the comfort, and satisfaction, which result from the service and favour of God. O, then, let us earnestly beseech God to bestow on us the gift of faith (for his gift it is), that we may behold things in their true light, that we may make a correct estimate of their value, that we may see Him who is invisible, that we may esteem the reproach of Christ before all the riches of the world; and endure affliction with the people of God, rather than enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.

and brings us nearer to the glorious liberty of the sons of God. The struggle, we grant, may be severe; it may be painful to flesh and blood; it may be like dividing the joints and marrow, or plucking out a right eye,but is heaven not worth a struggle? is heaven to be obtained without a struggle? are we to be wafted thither on beds of down, and to open the gates of the heavenly city by some charmed voice? For God's sake, my brethren, rouse you from your lethargy; gird on your armour; endure hardness as good soldiers; fight the good fight of faith; strive to enter in at the strait gate. Be assured, it is no easy thing to be a true servant of God, a true disciple of Jesus Christ. Much must be done, and much must be undone; much must be relinquished, and much must be acquired. But difficult as is the task, and heavy as is the yoke, the task may be made easy, and the yoke light. The grace of God, the assistance of the Holy Spirit (which all who pray for it may obtain), is the Divine spell which effects this transformation, this mysterious change. "My grace," says God, " is sufficient for thee." "When I am weak, then am I strong," says St. Paul. " They that wait on the Lord," says the prophet, "shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint."

Consider, for your encouragement, the case of Moses: he was a man of like passions with ourselves, and yet what difficulties he was enabled to overcome, what temptations to resist, what advantages to relinquish! Put yourselves in his situation, my brethren; and say how would you have acted? I fear the love of the world, the pleasures of sin, and the fear of reproach, would have induced many of you to remain in the court of Pharaoh, and to prefer the treasures of Egypt. Nothing but faith, my brethren, could enable you to act otherwise; for remember it was by faith that Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, and chose rather to endure affliction with the people of God, Let us, then, realise by faith the immeasurable superiority of the things unseen and poral; let us count their cost; let us weigh them honestly in the balance of the sanc

ing whatever is inconsistent with our holy profession, and at variance with the will

recompense of the reward." But if this consideration be not sufficient; if the advantages of piety, and the glory of heaven, be not availing to impart life and energy to our cold and earthy hearts; if this be not strong enough to break the fetters which the love of this present evil world has rivetted around

THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT.

No. XII.

is the enemy of God. What a fearful declaration! what searching words are these! Do they not call upon each of us to enter into the secret chambers of our hearts, and to explore them by the lamp of eternal truth? do they not call upon us to examine closely our lives and habits, our tastes and affections, our motives and maxims? If you have any desire for peace of conscience and comfort on a dying pillow, look well that your hearts be right and sincere towards God; look well that there be no crooked policy, no compromise, in your religion; that there be no attempt to serve God and mammon, no desire to unite light and darkness, heaven with earth, Christ with Belial. Remember, the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh at the outside, but the Lord looketh at the heart. And nothing but an unreserved surrender of our hearts and affections will satisfy him; there must be no double-dealing, no prevarication, towards him; there must be no resignation of one sin, and retention of another. Every thing must be given up that is contrary to his holy will: the highest connexions, the most splendid prospects, the most lucrative gains, the most brilliant reputation :-ay, and life itself, must be relinquished, unless they can be retained without violence to conscience, and infringement of the commands of God. And O, how happy is the man who is enabled by faith, and the assisting grace of God, to perform this! He enjoys solid comfort in life, and support and consolation in death. Passion fights no more against conviction in his bosom, discontent and restlessness are quelled; and a joyful confidence in God, and a peace which passeth understanding, take possession of his soul. And when he looks forward to

the life to come, what visions of delight, what prospects of eternal happiness, salute his eyes! and how does he rejoice that he had faith and resolution to choose the good part---to suffer affliction with the people of God, rather than enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, and to prefer the reproach of Christ to the riches and pleasures and honours of a perishing world!

May such be the choice, and such the experience, of each one here present. May God grant us all faith-faith like that of Mosesto see Him who is invisible; faith to renounce the world, and forego earth for heaven, and the things which are seen and temporal for those which are not seen and eternal.

The Miraculous Draught of Fishes.
BY THE REV. WILLIAM MAYHEW, M.A.
Curate of Gillingham, Kent.

MULTITUDES followed our Lord in the days of his flesh, to obtain for themselves or for their friends the cure

of bodily diseases, or to gratify curiosity by hearing one who taught with authority, and not as their accustomed teachers, and who spake as never man spake: but there was in few of them a sound or abiding desire to give glory to God, or embrace the great salvation offered them. They went to be amused and astonished, rather than to be instructed and profited; and accord

ingly, when they heard what they thought a hard say

ing, many of them were offended, and walked with him no more. Much people pressed on him on this occasion at the sea of Galilee, to hear the word of God; but of only four is it recorded, that in the end they forsook all and followed him.

We live in a day in which there are many hearers of the Gospel; but of how small a number can it be said, that they come to hear, that they may go away and be doers of the word! Content to know the things which

belong to their peace, they fail of securing peace, because they neglect to practise as they pray, to make their lives as hallowed as their lips. Nay, are there not many to whom it is a weariness and burden even to hear the word of God? are there not many who abhor the wholesome force of custom, which compels their attendance at the house of God-the language of whose hearts is, "We will have no priestly counsel; we despise all their reproof?" But though man, and man's words and works, yea, heaven and earth, shall pass away, the words of Christ shall not pass away; and whether men will hear, or whether they will forbear, this Jesus whom we preach is Christ.

To a Jew, whose religion had touched his heart, how impressive must have been the scene described in the passage under consideration! Before him was the sea, now lapped in calm repose, without a sound to disturb, or a sight to terrify-fit image of the peace which the doctrines then distilling from the mouth of the heavenly Teacher were able to shed upon the troubled heart of man,--fit image of the deep, the inexhaustible

happiness with which a God of unbounded love and

power willing to satisfy the cravings of his creatures, when he bids them drink of the waters of life, and, drinking, thirst no more. Around him rose the mountains, pointing heavenward, and proclaiming, with intelligible voice, the stability of Him who made them, whose strength cannot be shaken, whose protection of those that trust in him is lasting as the hills. With him was a countless mass of reasonable, immortal beings, hushed in breathless silence, hanging on the

lips of one mysterious Man, mutually receiving and

returning impressions of wonder and reverential fear. Doubtless our Lord would take occasion, as his manner was, from the natural scenery around, to bring home to men's business and bosoms the high truths with which he was charged; doubtless he would so connect each material object with a spiritual truth, that no attentive hearer could thenceforth look upon that scene, but it would serve as a ladder to carry his thoughts from earth to heaven, from the amazing works to the still more gracious Builder and Maker of all things, even God.

With what ease and naturalness, we may next observe, does our Lord descend from the contemplation of heavenly things to the level of the necessary duties of common life! His was no dreamy piety, that evaporates in sentiment and feelings; but it was ever condensed to some determinate and useful end, a practical piety, delighting to minister to the wants and

woes of others. "When he had left speaking," he commenced acting: he first gave the precept, and straightway came the example. He knew that the warm-hearted fisherman who had so readily granted him the use of his boat, had done so at a time when ill success in his vocation might have soured the temper of another man, and made him churlish and disobliging; for it appears that Peter and his companions had passed a night of fruitless toil, and had taken nothing. Our Lord, therefore, having first consulted for the interests of the kingdom of God and the establishment of his authority, shewed himself not unmindful of the inferior wants of the body, and proceeded to add to the disheartened fishermen their daily bread. "Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught," was his command. At his word, Simon let down the net, and a draught was taken, which clearly shewed that the success was out of common course, and due alone to the hidden powers of the stranger. Peter as yet knew not the Lord; but the reward which his obedience met with furnishes a useful lesson. Our faith may be imperfect; we may walk on still in darkness; but if we follow on, we shall know. Our path of duty lies more in action than in contemplation. God is in heaven, and we are on earth; soar as high as we may, he is higher-we cannot attain unto him: he condescends to come down to us, to dwell in us, and be with us in the humble duties of our every-day calling. Thou art set over a few things; be faithful, and thou shalt be ruler over many things. Fill with propriety the lower place, and thou shalt go up higher.

But to return. "When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord." Dread of supernatural power is an instinct of human nature: the untutored savage, who sees for the first time nearing his shores the majestic vessel that walks the waters like a thing of life, hurries to the concealment of the mountain or the wood until the horrible vision be overpast. It is the same with civilised as with barbarous man, Though more skilled to determine the boundaries which separate what is according to nature and what is beyond it, once possess a man of the firmest nerve and the strongest understanding with the conviction that a spirit stands before him, and the hair of his flesh will stand up, and fear come upon him, and a trembling that will make all his bones to shake. There is indirect confession inwoven into man's very constitution and make, of original, indwelling sin. The dream is one, and the interpretation one, and St. Peter has given it. "Depart from me, (is the language of universal man,) depart from me, all spiritual nature that is higher, or lower, or other than my own; for I am a sinful man." Yes, it is sin that accounts for the glaring inconsistency, that while man delights to expatiate through the fields of creation, and rejoices to find all things "beauty to his eye, or music to his ear," the very rustling of the veil which conceals the Creator causes man to shrink back in indescribable alarm, and close his eyes against the coming revelation. Sin is the barrier that separates man from his Maker. The variance, then, is on our part. Blessed be God, the overture of reconciliation comes from him. In tones most soothing to our perturbed spirits, the first words of heaven fall upon our ear: "Fear not" is the introduction and the burden of all messages to man. "Fear not, Abraham; I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward." "Fear not," said the angel, "for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to you and to all people." "Fear not," said Jesus unto Simon; "from henceforth thou shalt catch men." Be henceforth a minister of my Gospel, and be wise to win souls. Lift up the standard of my cross, that sinners may flock unto it; and I, the Captain of their salvation, will lead them to conquest over sin and death; I will lead them to a land of quietness and rest.

"And they forsook all, and followed him." It was not much that they left-a couple of small boats and their nets; but it was all they had, even all their living. It shewed their love and self-denial as strongly as if they had forsaken palaces and gold. The poor man's circle of pleasures and desires is small; but his circle is not the less perfect because it is small. A man can resign no more than his all; he must resign, if need be, no less. There can be here no mistake. We know precisely what God requires; we know whether we are willing to comply. We can neither deceive him nor ourselves. "My son," is the address of God to each of us, alike in mercics, in warnings, and in troubles, "give me thy heart." Reply not, in a spirit of uninstructed terror, "Who art thou, Lord? depart from me, for I am a sinful man." Το you he has been revealed as a God of love, to whom belong mercies and forgivenesses; and there is no fear in love. Say not-(which is a more common case)say not, with desperate and malicious wickedness, Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, and I love my sin too well to crucify it at thy bidding: what have I to do with thee? art thou come to torment me before the time?" For to all who so say, the day will too surely come, when their wild wish shall be fulfilled, and they shall hear a voice, "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire."

"

Nay, rather draw nigh unto God, and he will draw nigh unto thee. Say, and say from the heart, "Come, Lord, for I am a sinful man, unable and unwilling of myself to help myself; take me as I am, and make me what I ought to be: come, and cleanse this nest of unclean things, and let thy Spirit brood lovingly upon it: expel from my heart, thy proper temple, the disorderly passions which have robbed thee of thy honour, and me of my peace: remove those obstacles which keep me from thee, and thee from me. Thou didst think it all too little to leave the glories of thy Father's kingdom, and to seek me when I was wretched, and miserable, and lost: let me not think it too much to renounce the devil and all his works, the pomps and vanities of this wicked world, and all the sinful lusts of the flesh. Come, and thus make me holy; come, and thus make me happy-happy in life, with thee for my assured portion; happy in death, with thee for my comforting guide; happy after death, where there is fulness of joy, and pleasures for evermore, in the presence of thee, my Saviour and my God."

THE KURTA BHOJA.

ABOUT four years since, the Rev. W. J. Deerr, missionary at Kishanegore, or Kishnaghur ("the town of Krishna" no longer, I trust; but rather Anunda Bas, "the village of joy," according to the name of the first spot where the blessed baptisms took place), having heard that there was a body of persons, partly of Hindoo and partly of Mussulman origin, who professed to worship the one true God, and who were exposed to persecution on that account, went to their principal village and spoke to them of the Gospel, but apparently with little impression. He left copies, however, of the New Testament behind, as silent missionaries, and promised to see them again.

In 1836 he was more cordially listened to: he had repeated interviews; they consented to unite in prayer to Jesus Christ; they begged for Christian instructors.

Five heads of families were baptised by Mr. Deerr at his visit the following winter, 1837. A fierce persecution had broken out: their wives and children were forcibly torn from them, and only restored by the interference of the magistrate. From this date, however, numbers began to flock around the new Christians; the tidings spread; the young converts

• From a Letter of the Bishop of Calcutta to the Earl of Chichester, as president of the Church Missionary Society. Dated Feb. 27, 1839,