unto this day. And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated.

And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days: so the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended.

And Joshua, the son of Nun, was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him: and the children of Israel hearkened unto him, and did as the LORD commanded Moses.

And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, in all the signs and the wonders, which the LORD sent him to do in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land, and in all that mighty hand, and in all the great terror which Moses shewed in the sight of all Israel.

- Deuteronomy 34.

THE BURIAL OF MOSES

By Nebo's lonely mountain,

On this side Jordan's wave,

In a vale in the land of Moab,
There lies a lonely grave.

And no man knows that sepulcher,
And no man saw it e'er,

For the angels of God upturned the sod,
And laid the dead man there.

That was the grandest funeral
That ever passed on earth;
But no man heard the trampling,
Or saw the train go forth:

Noiselessly as the daylight

Comes back when night is done,

And the crimson streak on ocean's cheek
Grows into the great sun;

Noiselessly as the springtime
Her crown of verdure weaves,
And all the trees on all the hills
Open their thousand leaves;
So without sound of music

Or voice of them that wept,

Silently down from the mountain's crown
The great procession swept.

Perchance that bald old eagle
On gray Beth-peor's height,
Out of his lonely eerie

Looked on the wondrous sight:
Perchance the lion, stalking,

Still shuns that hallowed spot,

For beast and bird have seen and heard
That which man knoweth not.

But when the warrior dieth,

His comrades in the war,

With arms reversed and muffled drum,

Follow his funeral car;

They show the banners taken,

They tell his battles won,

And after him lead his masterless steed,

While peals the minute-gun.

Amid the noblest of the land

We lay the sage to rest,

And give the bard an honored place,

With costly marble drest,

In the great minster transept

Where lights like glories fall,

And the organ rings and the sweet choir sings Along the emblazoned wall.

This was the truest warrior

That ever buckled sword,

This the most gifted poet

That ever breathed a word;

And never earth's philosopher

Traced with his golden pen,

On the deathless page, truths half so sage
As he wrote down for men.

And had he not high honor,-
The hillside for a pall,

To lie in state while angels wait
With stars for tapers tall,

And the dark rock-pines like tossing plumes

Over his bier to wave,

And God's own hand, in that lonely land,

To lay him in the grave?

In that strange grave without a name,
Whence his uncoffined clay

Shall break again, O wondrous thought!
Before the judgment day,

And stand with glory wrapt around
On the hills he never trod,

And speak of the strife that won our life
With the Incarnate Son of God.

O lonely grave in Moab's land!
O dark Beth-peor's hill!
Speak to these curious hearts of ours,

And teach them to be still.

God hath his mysteries of grace,

Ways that we cannot tell;

He hides them deep, like the hidden sleep

Of him he loved so well.

-Cecil Frances Alexander.

QUESTIONS

Give the places mentioned in the wilderness wanderings and state what happened at each place. What was the attitude of the people toward Moses? How were the people helped during the desert wanderings: in receiving food? water? healing? instruction? protection? How were they punished? What was the effect of the discipline? Name the ten commandments. What was the tabernacle? Who contributed toward it? What did they give? Who were the spies sent out? What did they report? Why was Moses not permitted to enter the Promised Land? Who was chosen leader in his place? What do you think of Moses' character and ability?

NOTES

The region of Mount Sinai has remained desolate and almost unexplored until recent times. During the Great War a railroad was built from Cairo to Jerusalem through the desert, though it did not enter the region of Mount Sinai.

The Book of
the Law

HE most interesting book of
law in the world is Deuteron-
omy. It is in the form of three

long orations by Moses, near the close of his life, with a little other matter at the end. These orations contain much besides law. There are repeated exhortations to worship Jehovah only; promises of prosperity to the nation if they remain faithful to God, and threats of disaster if they do not. The book is full of the tenderness of God. He has chosen the children of Israel because he loves them, and he pleads for their love in return. Over and over the same thoughts occur, and even the same phrases, till the reader finds them growing very familiar. They became familiar to ancient readers, too, and some of the writers of later books in the Bible, like Judges and Kings, were much influenced by Deuteronomy.