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all manner of workmanship;" and should "have given with him" an assistant, by name, Aholiab; and should have put wisdom "in the hearts of all that were wise hearted," all that had naturally a turn for such work, that they might be able to make all that God commanded Moses. For how else could this work have been executed, unless God had communicated to these persons, at once, a degree of skill, which is otherwise only to be acquired by the practice of successive generations? And was it not thus that the apostles in after time were enabled to build the spiritual tabernacle, Christ's body, the church, as "labourers together with God," as wise master builders "according to the grace of God" which was given unto them? 1 Cor. 3. 9, 10. How blest are they, who dedicate their skill in arts and sciences to the honour and glory of their Creator! And how much more to be desired, than skillin any other business, is the being skilful in the word of God, wise to win souls, and apt to edify our brethren!

The commandment to keep holy the sabbath day had already been given, both in the moral law, ch. 20. 8, and in the civil law, ch. 23. 12. It is now to be solemnly repeated in the ceremonial law. And here it is expressly said to be a sign, between God and his people, for ever. This is the view to take of it, under the ceremonial law; it is a type of the rest of heaven; it is a pledge of the covenant between God and man, that He will give to those who serve Him faithfully, rest for evermore. See Hebrews, ch. 4. Let us therefore labour to enter into that rest. Let us be reminded, each Sabbath day, of the better rest which is secured for us in heaven. And though the civil law of the Pentateuch be no longer in force, and the ceremonial law no longer binding under penalty of death, let us hallow one day out of every seven, not only as a type of what is yet to be fulfilled, but also as a privilege to be now thankfully enjoyed.

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"And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon Mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God." It will appear afterwards that these tables contained the ten great moral commandments, the same which God spake in the twentieth chapter of Exodus. They had been promised, when God called Moses up to the Mount. See ch. 24. 12. And it was on purpose to receive them that the ark was to be prepared. See ch. 25. 16. They were "of stone; a material of the most durable nature. They were "written with the finger of God;" a circumstance well suited to convince the Israelites that God had indeed entered into covenant with them. But St. Paul has taught Christians, that they themselves form no less sure a testimony of the loving kindness of the Lord. May the covenant of the Gospel be written by the Spirit, on the tables of our hearts! May it be so manifest in our lives, as to be known and read of all men! May it be so deeply impressed upon our souls, that it may never fail of its full effect upon our lives! See 2 Cor. 3. 2, 3.

The golden calf.

The wrath of God. The intercession of Moses. ly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

1 And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.

2 And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto

me.

3 And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.

4 And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

5 And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, Tomorrow is a feast to the LORD. 6 And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace of ferings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.

7 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves:

9 And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people: 10 Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I'may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation.

11 And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand?

12 Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people.

13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever.

14 And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do

8 They have turned aside quick- unto his people.

LECTURE 165.

Our forgetfulness of God. The mediation of our Lord. Whilst Moses is in the mount with God, the people below, weary of waiting for his return, arc bent upon setting up a form of wor

ship for themselves. Had they but waited a little longer, he would have brought them the very thing that they wanted, an outward ceremonial, fitted by God Himself to direct their attention to things in the heaven. When we are tempted to be impatient, and disposed to act for ourselves instead of waiting for guidance from God, let us think of the warning here set before us; let us feel assured that God is providing for us, whilst yet we know it not, whatsoever is most for our good. But how weak was Aaron to comply with the request of the people! How rash to venture on disobeying the command against idolatry, so lately uttered by the voice of God! Hear how he enters at once into their scheme, and bids them bring him the gold that would be needed for the image! See how readily they break off the very ornaments they are wearing, and bring them to Aaron! And can this be the brother of Moses, can this be he who has been called of God to be his priest, that now forms an image, and builds "an altar before it," and proclaims a feast to the Lord? And can these be the children of Israel, so wonderfully delivered, in whose ears a voice from heaven so lately had forbidden any bowing down to images whatsoever; that now profanely say, "These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt," that now sacrifice before the image, and feast upon the sacrifices, and rise up to make merry and play?

Yes; but all the while God is looking on. Though they have lost sight of his command, He has not lost sight of them. And whilst they are at their heathen sports, He is telling Moses in the mount, how wickedly they are doing; and is purposing to consume them in the heat of his displeasure. Ah, sinful people, we are inclined to say of them, what folly, what base ingratitude is this! But have we then always waited patiently for the Lord? Have we never tried, at once to worship Him and to rejoice in the work of our own hands? See Acts 7. 41. Have we never provoked the displeasure of our God, by following the devices and desires of our own hearts, instead of his holy will; and by loving the creatures which He has made, far more heartily than we love Himself? Oftentimes we have. And well it is for us that there has been One to stand before us in the gap, a greater than Moses, able, and willing, and earnest, to plead for our forgiveness. To Him we owe it that we are alive this day. To Him we owe the promises which God gave to them of old, and the privileges, which according to his promises, He is now bestowing on their spiritual seed. Oh, if it has pleased God, for his Son's sake, to repent Him of the evil which He thought to do unto us; shall it not be our desire to repent of all the wickedness, which it has been in our hearts to do unto Him? Shall not we endeavour to glorify his name, and to justify his merciful dealings, by the devotion of our hearts and lives, for the sake of the same, his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord?

Moses breaketh the tables.

15 And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony were in his hand: the tables were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the otherwerethey written. 16 And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables.

17 And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses, There is a noise of war in the camp.

18 And he said, It is not the voice of them that shout for mastery, neither is it the voice of them that cry for being overcome: but the noise of them that sing do I hear.

19 And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing and Moses' anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them

Aaron's excuse. beneath the mount.

20 And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.

21 And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them?

22 And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord wax hot: theu knowest the people, that they are set on mischief.

23 For they said unto me, Make us gods, which shall go before us: for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.

24 And I said unto them, Whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off. So they gave it me: then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf.

LECTURE 166.

The folly of attempting to justify our sins.

It does not appear how far Joshua went up with. Moses into the mount. But as it was said before, that " Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua, and Moses went up into the mount of God;" ch. 24. 13; so it is plain from this passage that Joshua was attending upon his master as he came down. He however had not been privy to the communing between Moses and the Lord, for when he heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses, There is a noise of war in the camp." How significant was the reply of his master! How much more painful in the ears of Moses was the sound of that festive singing, than the shout for mastery, or the cry for being overcome! And so with us, it ought to be the offensiveness of a sound to God, that renders it unwelcome, nay hateful to our ears. Whether in the cry of war, or in the songs of peace, that which is really awful to be heard, is the proof of disobedience and forgetfulness in man towards a holy and gracious God. Who that should now hear from some lofty mount the sounds that arise daily from this christian

land, who would not be horror struck to find how large a proportion of the words uttered are idle, and unprofitable, nay angry, indecent, false, covetous, or profane?

But if the sound of those songs was painful, how abominable was the sight that awaited Moses, as he drew nigh and beheld "the calf, and the dancing"! Here was an image, made on purpose for the people to bow down to it and worship it, as a help in their devotions to Jehovah. Here was the very offence, against which Moses knew that the commandment of the Lord was expressly pointed. Should he then bestow on such rebellious children that singular monument of their Father's love, which he held in his hands? Should he present them with tables of testimony, to assure them of the blessings of the covenant, when they were in the very act of transgressing the terms of it? And dare he entrust them with such a relic of divine workmanship, as tables which "were the work of God," and the writing whereof was "the writing of God," without risk, or rather certainty, that these also would become objects of idolatrous adoration? Such reflections no doubt wrought together with his indignation for the dishonour done to God, to make him cast out of his hands those precious tables, and break them beneath the mount. And in the same temper of fervent zeal "he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it." Whether it were all gold, or only wood overlaid with molten gold, he reduced it to mere dust, so as to mix it with the stream of which the people drank; thus forcing them to reflect with shame, as they swallowed the object of their worship, "These be thy gods, O Israel"! Ver. 4.

And now let us observe with what holy severity Moses charges his brother Aaron with a chief share in the guilt of this transgression: "What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them?" And hear in Aaron's answer, what folly men are led to utter, when they seek to justify themselves in sinning. As if the perversity of the people could excuse the ruler for yielding to their importunities! As if the making and fashioning of the image had not been done by Aaron himself, by his own orders if not by his own hands! Thus it was that our first parents in Eden tried to shift the blame from one to the other. Thus it is that we are continually tempted to justify our offences instead of owning their enormity. And to what purpose? Only to expose our own foolishness, unto all who are privy to the truth; unto angels who watch for our repentance, unto God who is willing and waiting to forgive. Oh let us rather own our past foolishness; this is our true wisdom. Let us believe that for Christ's sake our sins have been forgiven. This is our only way to be justified. May God give us sincere repentance; and grant, that for our Saviour's sake, we may be clear when we are judged!

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