And they journeyed from Mount Hor, by the way of the Red Sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the foul of the people was much discouraged because of the way. And the people spake against God, and against Mofes, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt, to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water, and our foul loatheth this light bread. And the Lord fent fiery ferpents among the people; and they bit the people, and much people of Ifrael died. Therefore the people came to Mofes, and faid, We have finned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee; pray unto the Lord that he take away the ferpents from us: and Mofes prayed for the people. And the Lord faid unto Mofes, Make thee a fiery ferpent, and fet it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Mofes made a ferpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a ferpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the ferpent of brass, he lived. THE restlessness, peevishness and discontent which men are continually expreffing, prove at once the degeneracy and corruption of human nature, and furnish ftrong presumption of the immortality of the foul. To To behold one generation after another, of moping, melancholy, fullen, furly beings, in the midst of an overflowing profusion of blessings, charging God foolishly, tormenting themselves unnecessarily, and disturbing others maliciously, clearly demonftrates, that man is alienated from his Maker, at variance with himself, and unkindly disposed towards his brother: in other words, that he is a fallen, corrupted creature. To behold men, whatever they have attained, whatever they possess, forgetting the things which are behind, and eagerly reaching forward to those which are before, the eye never fatisfied with feeing, nor the ear with hearing, is a presumption at least, if not a proof, that we are designed of our Creator for fomething this world has not to bestow; that fome principle in our nature is superior to the gross and grovelling pursuits in which we are warmly engaged, but in which we find and we take no rest; and thus the very misery we feel is a presentiment of the felicity which we were created to enjoy. But, alas! our dissatisfaction with fublunary good things, " the things which are seen and temporal," is not the refult of experience, nor the resignation of a mind humbled to the will of God. No, it is the miferable effect and expression of infatiable defire, of unmortified pride, of disappointed ambition. If we arrive at our object with ease, its value is diminished by the facility of acquisition; if obstacles lie in the way, and poffefsion be removed by distance of time and space, we are quickly difcouraged, and timidly give up the pursuit. When empty, there is no end of our complaints; when full, we loathe and reject the best things: if we fucceed, our prosperity destroys us with folly, infolence and felf-indulgence; if we fail, we are undone through shame, chagrin and resentment; if we shun the rock of " vanity" on the one fide, we are fucked into the whirlpool of " vexation of spirit" upon the other. VOL. V. C The history of Ifrael is, in truth, the history of human nature. Did they difcover a stubbornness which no calamity could tame, no kindness could mollify: a levity which no steadiness of discipline could fix, a perfidiousness which no plea can excuse, an ingratitude which no partiality can extenuate, a stupidity which no intelligence can account for, a timidity and a rafhness which no reason can explain? Alas, we need not travel to the deferts of Arabia, nor look back to the days of the golden calf, nor of the waters of Meribah, for the perfons who discovered such a spirit. We have but to look into our own hearts, we have but to review our own lives, in order to be fatisfied, that fuch a spirit has existed, that it is shamefully odious in itself, highly offensive in the fight of God, and that we have good reason to abhor ourselves, " and repent in dust and afhes." We have pursued the history of Aaron and of Balaam, in a continued series, that we might profecute the remainder of the history of Mofes, without any farther interruption; we therefore omitted in its proper place that portion of it, which is partly recorded in the verses I have read: but it is of infinitely too great importance to be passed over wholly in filence, and therefore we look back, and bring it into view, as an ufeful fubject of meditation this evening. Mofes had lately defcended from Mount Hor, whither he had been fummoned to perform the laft offices of humanity to Aaron, his brother: with mixed emotions, no doubt, which alternately marked the man and the believer: mourning and mortified, yet patient, compofed and refigned to the will of Heaven. In executing 'fentence of death upon his brother, he heard the voice of God again pronouncing his own doom; a doom in which, with the ordinary feelings of humanity, he acquiefces with reluctance, but must however acquiefce. But though death was before his eyes, and could be at no great distance, it abates nothing of his ardour for the glory of God, and the good of Ifrael; : Israel; it breaks in upon no duty of his station, it dif turbs not the benevolence, gentleness and serenity of his temper: he lives, acts, instructs to the very last; and exhibits an instructive example of that happy firmness and equanimity of foul, removed alike from stoical indifference, and contempt of death, and fond, infirm, unreasonable attachment to life. We find him accordingly in his 120th year, and the last of his life, not only engaged in employments suitable to age, those of deliberating, advising and instructing; but exerting all the activity and vigour of youth, in planning and executing sundry military enterprises. We should be surprised, did we not know the cause of it, to find Ifrael in the fortieth year from their deliverance out of Egypt, just where we saw them the first month, by the way of the Red Sea, journeying from Mount Hor; and even then, though every thing seemed to be pressing them forwards to the poffeffion of Canaan, not led of their heavenly Guide directly forwards in the nearest tract, but obliged to fetch a compafs round the whole land of Edom, the poffeffion allotted to, and already bestowed upon the posterity of Efau. But Ifrael, and in them mankind, was thereby instructed to revere the destinations of Providence, to respect the rights, property and privileges of others; that reason and religion, as well as sympathy and humanity, oblige a man to submit to the inconveniency of a journey somewhat more tedious and fatiguing, inftead of attempting to cut a nearer passage for himself, through the bowels and blood of his brother. The confcioufnefs of having acted well, in taking this circuitous march round the land of Edom, and that they thus acted by the command of God, ought to have reconciled the minds of these Ifraelites to the little inconveniences of the way; but their historian and leader, with his usual fidelity, informs us, that "the foul of the people was much difcouraged because of the way." Men frequently do their duty with so ill a grace, that it becomes as offenfive as downright difobedience; the manner of compliance has the air of a refusal. God loves cheerfulness in every thing: a cheerful, liberal giver; a cheerful, thankful receiver; a cheerful, active doer ; a cheerful, patient sufferer. And what an alleviating confideration is it, under the preffure of whatever calamity! " This burden is impofed on me by the hand of my heavenly Father; this is a fore evil, but God can turn it into good." "This affliction is not joyous, but grievous; nevertheless afterwards it shall yield the peaceable fruits of righteoufness." When we are out of humour at one thing, .we are dissatisfied with every person, and every thing; a harsh spirit and a hasty tongue spare neither God nor man. "The people spoke against God, and against Mofes. Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness ? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our foul loatheth this light bread." Objects viewed through the medium of passion, like those strange uncouth appearances which are seen in glasses of a certain construction, have little or no resemblance to what they are in nature and truth. They are distorted and disfigured; magnified to such a degree as to become hideous, or diminished so as to become imperceptible; and according to the fit of the moment, men turn the one end or the other of the perspective to the eye, and what they contemplate is accordingly removed to a great distance, and reduced to nothing, or brought nigh, enlarged, and brightened up. Employing this false kind of optics, Ifrael now confiders Egypt and all its hardships with defire and regret, and looks forward to Canaan with coldnefs and distrust. The miraculous stream that followed them from the rock is no water at all, and manna, angel's food, is accounted light bread. We are too little aware of the finfulness and folly of discontent, and therefore indulge in it without fear or referve. We |