the utmost severity of God's righteous wrath. But lift up your eyes to the heavens, and behold one "exalted to be a Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance and remission of sins." With the apostle be it our desire, for the obtaining of which we willingly give up all else, "that I may win Christ, and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith." (Philip. iii. 9.) Let us ask for wisdom: "He giveth it liberally and upbraideth not." Let us ask for strength to fight the great battle against the world, the flesh, and the devil. "Through God we shall do valiantly, for He it is that shall tread down our enemies." Let us ask for love that we may give to Him who alone is worthy of them, our best affections. Thus being enriched by Him "from whom cometh every good and every perfect gift," we shall not only be free from the sin of covetousness, but shall have our hearts surely there fixed where true joys are to be found, and "at whose right hand there are pleasures for evermore."

PRAYER.

O GOD! help me to come unto thee and to pray to thee in spirit and in truth, in the name and merits of my Gracious Redeemer !

Lord, keep me from the sin of coveting. Preserve me from the evil of loving this world too much, and thinking of the next too little. I find it hard not to wish for many things which I have not and others have. I do not enough trust thee and rest upon the promises of thy word. Deliver me, O Lord, from this guilt, and save me from the power of this sin. Turn away mine eyes lest I behold vanity. Teach me, O Saviour: instruct me, that I may learn how to be content, in whatsoever state I am.

Grant me grace to covet the better gifts of grace and glory. May I fix my eyes on these more steadily, and desire them for myself, and those dear to me. May I daily become more spiritual and heavenly-minded. May I know how to use this world as not abusing it. May I live more as a stranger and pilgrim, and be looking for and earnestly desiring that city which hath foundations, and which is the inheritance of those that love thee, for Jesus' sake. AMEN.

THE ALTAR OF EARTH.

"And the Lord said unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, Ye have seen that I have talked with you from heaven. "Ye shall not make with me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold.

"An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee.

66

And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone : for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it." EXODUS XX. 22-25.

AFTER the ten commandments were given, there followed a number of other laws and rules for the guidance of the Israelites. Some of these are further enforcements of some of the ten, explaining in more minute particulars the way they were to be observed. Others of these have reference to particular rites and ceremonies which God had commanded. It will be well for us to observe the spirit of these laws, and the great principles which they involved and also, as we proceed, we shall see

:

P

cause to dwell more in length on some rules in particular. For while many of these laws. had reference only to the conduct of the Jews at that particular time, many of them were types and shadows of those things which belong to the Gospel dispensation.

These laws are called judgments: (Exodus xxi. 1.) those who would be appointed judges had to enforce their observance. While therefore Moses was the great lawgiver of the Jews, yet it is observable how in truth God was their lawgiver. Moses and the judges he appointed had to put in force what God had commanded. Nothing was left for man to appoint. The laws were ready made. This was the great privilege of this highly favoured

nation.

The Israelites were especially to remark that these laws were given them by God Himself, and that He talked with them from heaven.

After the tenth commandment had been

given, it is said, " All the people saw the thunderings and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they removed and stood afar off, and they said unto Moses, speak thou with us and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die. And Moses said unto the people, fear not, for God is come

to

prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces that ye sin not." This appearance

of God, and these terrible effects of His voice, were to make the people ever remember that God, and God only, was their lawgiver and their object of worship, and that they might not be tempted to put up any object of worship and reverence between them and God. So it was that "the Lord said unto Moses, thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, ye have seen that I have talked with you from heaven." Then comes an enforcement of those commandments which forbad idolatry, "Ye shall not make with me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold.” (Exod. xx. 23.).

The Lord knew they would be tempted to this sin. It is natural to man to wish for some such visible objects which he perhaps vainly thinks may assist his devotion. Forbidden under the law, how doubly sinful does not such idolatry seem under the spiritual dispensation of the Gospel? Yet are there not such approaches to idolatry to be found among professing Christians now a days? There are crucifixes, and consecrated wafers, and high altars, and elevated hosts, and pictures, and images, and relics, all by some deceived worshippers thought to be helps to devotion,