MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.— Exodus 4:6-7
LEPROSY AS EMBLEMATICAL OF DOUBT
I. That as leprosy was the worst disease that could have been permitted to the hand of Moses, so doubt of the Divine Word is the most hurtful that can overtake the human mind.
1. Both are small in their commencement. Leprosy first manifests itself as a little spot upon the skin. Then it is not accompanied by any pain. Any one, unacquainted with the malady, from seeing its first indication would have no idea that it was leprosy, and that its end would be so terrible. And so it is with doubt in reference to divine truth. At first it presents itself to the mind in a very innocent form, as a question, or as a suspicion. There is no mental grief or conflict. The soul has no idea that a terrible moral sickness is coming upon it, but regards the little indication of unbelief as an effort of investigation, and brave progress. Whereas if it was acquainted with the reality of the case it would see the first spot of mental leprosy.
2. Both are progressive in their development. That spot of leprosy does not long remain such—it grows larger—spreads wider—from limb to limb—until the entire system is full of it—and the whole man is covered with it. So it is with doubt. It does not long remain as a question—or as a suspicion of the truth—it advances to great uncertainty—to dimness of moral vision—until the mind is plunged into an impenetrable gloom. The man no longer doubts one truth, but all truth; the entire habit of his soul is rendered sceptical to heavenly things.
3. Both are gloomy in their forebodings. What dark and terrible forebodings would naturally occupy the soul of the leper, after the first terror and consciousness of the disease had come upon him. He would feel that certain death was before him—that no remedy—care—skill could attain his recovery. The grim shadow of the future would ever rest upon his soul. Life would be a burden to him. And who can describe the painful forebodings which fill a sceptical mind. There are the inner reasonings of the soul—there are bitter cries for light and truth. In quiet moments the conscience reveals another life—an eternal destiny—toward which the man is travelling, and the thought of its mystery fills him with awe. In fact all the doctrines of the Bible are turned by his scepticism into phantoms, which haunt him ever, and torment him with a sad prophecy of his awful future.
4. Both are isolating in their tendency. The leper had to be separated from his family—from his neighbours—friends—companions—he had to go into solitude and loneliness—away from all the active scenes of life In all probability his malady was contagious. Equally has doubt an isolating tendency—how often has it broken up families and near friendships. Scepticism throws a man in upon himself too much—it alienates his sympathy from those who differ from him in opinion—it places him without the spiritual enjoyments of the church—and renders him intensely lonely in spirit. Doubt is also contagious—it spreads not only from subject to subject—but from person to person—by speech—by argument—and thus, if it does not isolate itself—the community ought to demand its removal—especially from near the young.
5. Both are paralysing in their influence. How thoroughly paralysed are the limbs of the leper. They are withered. They are incapable of activity. They are almost useless to him. And so what a paralysing influence has doubt. It paralyses the mental faculties of man, rendering them almost incapable of a healthful and vigorous investigation of truth. It paralyses the sympathies of men—rendering them almost incapable of pity. It paralyses the activity of men—rendering them almost incapable of spiritual effort in the church of Christ.
6. Both are deadly in their result. In the system of the leper all vitality is destroyed—there is no play of physical energy—all the streams of life have been one by one dried up—its ultimate issue is the grave. Equally deadly is the issue of scepticism. It destroys mental vitality, and its sad destiny is the second death, far more awful than the first.
II. That as leprosy comes upon men unexpectedly, so does doubt upon the human mind. The leprosy generally comes suddenly and unexpectedly upon the individual afflicted thereby, although it might have been lurking long within his physical constitution. And so it is with scepticism and doubt. It comes unexpected upon the mind, it may have been hiding there for months; the thinker knows not where he has imbibed it, from what book, conversation, or series of mental reasonings. The germ of scepticism often remains long concealed in the human mind, its workings are subtle, and we know not what will be the extent of their future harvest.
III. That as leprosy could only be removed by the Divine touch, so human doubt can only be removed by communion with God. We read in the New Testament of a leper coming to Christ, and being healed by the Divine touch The coming of that wretched man to the Saviour must be typical of the ad vent of all doubting sceptical souls to him, and the result will be equally beneficial and happy. Such a mental and moral attitude will not be healed by logic—by argument—by entreaty—by persuasion—but only by a personal and spiritual interview with the Saviour. True prayer is the only cure for unbelief. LEARN:
1. To watch the first outgoings of the mind in relation to Divine truth.
2. Not to cultivate a captious spirit in relation to heavenly things.
3. To spend much time in communion with the Eternal Truth.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Exodus 4:6. Varied suppositions as to the meaning of this miracle—
1. Some give it a moral signification—as that the leprous hand of Moses sheweth the works of the law that justifieth not
2. Some give it a mystical signification—that the leprous hand of the synagogue of the Jews was cast off as the leprous person out of the house, and the hand restored betokeneth the Gentile Church adopted instead of the Jewish [Augustine].
3. Some refer it to Christ, that he being the hand, that is, the power of his Father, by taking our nature upon him, became as it were leprous, that is deformed, by his sufferings and passion, but by his resurrection and ascension His glory appeareth
4. Some give it an historical signification—by the leprous hand they understand the miserable state of the Hebrews in the time of their cruel servitude, who in their deliverance received their former liberty.
5. Some think that the leprous hand signifieth the pollutions of Egypt, wherewith Israel was defiled, who being delivered were restored to the true worship of God.
6. That the first sending of Moses to the Israelites brought upon them more cruel treatment, but his after ministry brought them joy and deliverance.
7. That the hand being the instrument of working, betokeneth the ministry and authority of Moses, and that God would use a weak instrument to effect His will, Moses having lived a long time in banishment seemed a thing leprous and vile, yet God should in this His service make him a glorious vessel and instrument.
8. That as the leprosy is only cured by God so their deliverance was only God’s work, and to humble Moses by the remembrance of his own infirmity.
9. As far as the intrinsic significancy of the sign is concerned, it was evidently calculated to teach that whatever is new, vigorous, vital, and flourishing, may at once be withered at the word of Omnipotence; and again with equal facility restored to its pristine condition [Bush].
Power for God’s service:—
1. Human hands weak and unfit for service.
2. Sanctified power is only attained from God.
3. Hence the worker must be humble, but not impotent or paralytic in hand.
“Leprous as snow.” The white leprosy was that form with which the Hebrews were best acquainted, and the most difficult of cure.
God sometimes commands His servants in order to disease and try them.
A sudden change from soundness to leprosy is God’s miracle.
That there are times and circumstances when the use of legitimate things may prove injurious.
LEPROUS AS SNOW
I. “Leprous as snow.” Then our moral condition is a picture of woe. What more pitiable sight than a leper—with a fearful disease running through his veins. An outcast in the world. Contemplate the sinner. His natural bias to evil. Surrounded by his vices. He is restless. He is grief-stricken. He is without virtuous friendship. Truly he presents a sad spectacle. Contemplate the world—its passion and pride—its heathenism—superstition—and crime—it is “leprous as snow.”
II. “Leprous as snow.” Then our moral condition is an argument and a plea for Divine help. Would not a leper excite the pity of all who saw him. So our moral woe is a forceful appeal to the Divine mercy. Our grief is a prayer for the exercise of Divine power. Human aid is ineffective here. Men may pity the sinner. Only God can heal his leprosy. Every sinner in the universe is an object of Divine compassion. But wicked men will not allow the argument of their misery to find its conclusion in their moral reformation; they will not permit the prayer of their grief to be answered, they refuse the pardon it would obtain.
III. “Leprous as snow.” Then our moral conversion is a triumph of Divine grace. What a conversion for a leper to become a healthy, vigorous man. What a change in all his surroundings. How happy. How benevolent. So it is equally a marvellous transition for the sinner. Spiritual life courses richly through his soul. He is surrounded by heavenly companions, and animated by new hopes. His unrest is calmed. His grief is removed. His moral disease is healed. He is indeed a trophy of Divine grace.
IV. “Leprous as snow.” Then the greatest sinner is within the reach of Divine restoration. Your leprosy may be of the worst kind—may have been long continued—yet there is hope. For the sympathiser is Divine. The healer is God. Wherefore He is able to save to the uttermost, etc.
Exodus 4:7. After trial God commands His servants again in order to healing.
God answers the obedience of His servants with wonderful healing.
It is God’s prerogative alone to send disease and healing to his creatures, miraculously by His word.
SOUL-INSTRUCTION
I. As undertaken by a Divine Teacher. The Divine Being is here instructing Moses about his mission to Israel. There are many instructors of human souls in the world. God is the supreme. There are lessons for every man to learn which heaven only can teach. Happy the soul that receives the lesson of its life from God. Ministers who aim to instruct the souls of men are in true sympathy with the Divine.
II. As employing the most impressive symbolism. The burning bush. The rod turned into a serpent. The hand made leprous. The Divine teaching is always suggestive, never exhaustive. Heaven has always fine illustrations at command in which to convey truth. Hence our attention is gained. Our souls are impressed. We are made to feel that duty is imperative and responsible, and to prepare for its discharge. The pulpit would be much more effective in its work of soul-instruction if it employed more impressive imagery.
III. As occupying but a short space of time. The Divine Being was not long in giving these signs to Moses, they followed in quick succession. Heaven is spontaneous in its teaching. It can teach a soul an eternal lesson in a moment. Ministers in these days are too long in their communication of spiritual truth. They spend too much time on detail.
IV. As preparing for important duty. God is preparing Moses to achieve the freedom of Israel. The Divine instruction always has a definite result in view. It is not aimless. It is not random. It is designed not merely to make men clever, but to give them the power of moral emancipation. God teaches human souls not merely for their own welfare, but that they may make a practical use of their knowledge by striving to enhance the spiritual condition of humanity.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.— Exodus 4:8-9
THE DIVINE TREATMENT OF HUMAN DOUBT
I. That the Divine Being recognises the probability that men will not welcome the truth upon its first presentation to them. “And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign,” etc. If this history had not been complete before us, we should have imagined that the Israelites would at once have welcomed the message which Moses had to declare unto them, and that they would immediately have received him as their deliverer.
1. The message he proclaimed was adapted to their condition. They were slaves; he preached to them of freedom. Their lives were saddened by oppression; he announced the removal of their tyranny. They were degraded; he proclaimed to them moral elevation. In this light how astonishing is their unbelief. We should have expected that the Israelites would have gladly responded to his voice, and have followed him to demand of Pharaoh their release. Equally surprising is the unbelief of men to-day in reference to the Gospel. It announces the moral freedom of humanity, of release from the tyranny of sin, from envy, from disappointment, from degradation, and in place thereof to give enjoyment, rest, and ultimately heaven. Yet men hesitate to believe the glad news, or to receive those who bring it. Is it not surprising that men should reject a Gospel so thoroughly adapted to their moral need. See the folly of unbelief, in that it will not accept a divine freedom of soul when benevolently offered. The tendency of all unbelief is to intensify the slavery of the moral nature.
2. The message he proclaimed was wonderfully simple. It was simply a message of freedom. True, at certain points this proclamation of Israel’s freedom bordered on the supernatural and sublime, as when associated with the mystery of the burning bush, with the progressive revelation of the name of God, and with the difficulties to be overcome in the future; yet this was but natural, as freedom, wherever found, must inevitably be connected with mystery, as it is the work of God. Yet the message of freedom to Israel was simple. Their bondage was acknowledged. Here is a leader. They have the power of numbers; They have the aid of Heaven. What great mystery, then, in its practical side, could their freedom present? And so the truth of the Gospel presented for the credence of humanity is simple. It is but a message of moral freedom. True, there are points at which it enters into the mystery of God; but this fact ought to make the freedom more probable, as it is an indication of Divine thought and energy. But unbelief is associated with prejudice, sees difficulties in the most simple truth, and even rejects a freedom which one effort to attain would demonstrate to be true.
3. The message he proclaimed was Divinely authenticated. The Israelites were not called merely to receive the tidings of their freedom upon the bare word of Moses, although that ought to have commanded their attention, but upon the evidence of the Divine power. Moses was empowered to work miracles before them, so that, reasoning from the evidence of sense, they might attain ultimately to the evidence of faith. But miracles will not convince a sceptic. His unbelief will question their reality. Scepticism is well-nigh invincible. It is certainly unreasonable. The gospel of freedom now proclaimed to men is well authenticated by prophecy, and miracle, by its internal consistency and purity, and by its external achievements and progress. It bears Divine credentials. Yet men will not believe it. They call it fable Truly God might well tell Moses that the first sign would not win the confidence of Israel, even though the message he proclaimed was what they needed, was simple in its meaning, was well authenticated in its evidence, and sublimely grand in its destiny. Ministers of Christ know right well, and may truly wonder, that their hearers do not more often embrace the truth upon its first presentation to them, impelled not only by the woe of sin, but also by the well-authenticated grace of God.
II. That the Divine Being mercifully makes provision for the conviction and persuasion of men in reference to the reality of the truth proclaimed; notwithstanding their confirmed unbelief. “And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, neither hearken to thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river,” etc.
1. This method of treatment is considerate. It would be considerate towards the Israelites; it recognised their degraded position, and their consequent difficulty of entering into a message of freedom, however simple in its terms. Much of the unbelief of the Gospel arises from the moral degradation of men. They consider the freedom of a degraded soul an improbability. This method of treatment is considerate toward the mental and moral condition of the race, and gives men repeated opportunities for examination in reference to the truth. The truth is not arbitrary in its demand of credence. It gives every facility for complete investigation. In fact it is often much more considerate than many who pretend to advocate its claims.
2. This method of treatment is merciful. The Divine Being might have required the Israelites to have credited the message of their freedom on the bare word of Moses; or, He might have given them one token of approval, and then have left them to their own reasonings and effort. But not so. He gave sign after sign, to convince them of the necessity and likelihood of their freedom as declared by Moses. So, we have been repeatedly urged to welcome the salvation of Christ, the glad tidings of the Gospel. Have we not had many tokens of its divinity? Truly we have. God might have left Himself without a witness, but He has not done so, and this merciful arrangement is in harmony with the holy and kindly freedom He offers to our souls.
3. This method of treatment is condescending.
III. That the persistent unbelief of men is likely to awaken evidences of truth indicative of the Divine displeasure. “And the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land.”
1. Evidences that recall past sorrows. Moses was to take water from the river, and it should be turned into blood. This would remind the Israelites of the murder of their children in those waters. So if we are persistent in our unbelief, God can make recollections of past grief come anew to our minds with deep significance of woe, to give emphasis to the Gospel He wishes us to welcome.
2. Evidences prophetic of future woe. Who can tell the depth of meaning there would be to Israel in this miracle of the water being turned into blood? It would indicate a strange and unhappy transition in their condition, if they embraced not the message of Moses. And so God will send evidence of the truth to convince the unbelieving which shall but faintly foreshadow their end if they obey not the Gospel.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Exodus 4:8. These signs were spoken to the ear of reason, if not of sense:—“They will believe the voice of the latter sign.” This is not, perhaps, to be understood as a positive affirmation; for the next verse intimates the possibility that they may require still further evidence. The words appear designed to express the intrinsic adaptedness of the signs to produce belief, or the effect which might be reasonably anticipated from their exhibition. The circumstance strikingly shews the extent of the Divine indulgence. The perverse rejection of the great sign alone would clearly show them unworthy of being favoured with another. But God multiplies mercies, even when judgments are most richly deserved. He gives sign upon sign, as well as line upon line [Bush].
That a true minister, notwitstanding
1. His call.
2. His spiritual preparation.
3. His knowledge of the Divine name.
4. His supreme moral power—and,
5. Intimate communion with God—is exposed to the unbelief of those whom he seeks to benefit.
Miracles at first may miss their end, and not persuade men to faith.
Second miracles may do that which the first failed to effect.
God’s word and promise alone can make miracles themselves effectual means of faith.
Miracles have voices which should command faith and obedience.
“The voice of the first sign:”—
I. It speaks of the thraldrom of man.
II. It speaks of the inability of man to liberate himself therefrom.
III. It speaks of the agency that God has provided for the freedom of man
IV. It speaks of the strange unwillingness of man to credit the tidings of freedom.
Exodus 4:9. “Take of the water of the river”—that is, of the river Nile. Thus, it would appear, was a miracle to be wrought for the confirmation of Moses’ calling before the Israelites, and not before the Egyptians; for in that mentioned (Exodus 7:17), the waters in the river were to be turned into blood; here the water taken out of the river, this was done before the elders of Israel; but that was turned into blood before Pharaoh, and continued so seven days, to his great annoyance.
The Nile was venerated as a divinity, under the name Hapi, cognate, if not identical, with Apis. Its waters were therefore regarded as sacred, and highly esteemed as salubrious to the drinker, and fertilizing to the soil. If Moses was endowed with the power to turn these waters into blood, it was a pledge that his delegated power should prevail over all the power of Egypt.
This sign also denoted that the time was now at hand when God would judge the Egyptians for the death of the Hebrew infants whose blood they had shed in the waters.
Some would yield to the evidence of the first miracle; others would hesitate till they had seen the second; and others would not believe till they had seen the water of the Nile turned into blood, when poured upon the dry ground [A. Clarke].
The obstinacy of unbelief:—It will reject the truth.
1. In opposition to the word of Him by whom it is brought.
2. In opposition to the Divine power by which it is accompanied.
3. In opposition to the benevolent design it contemplates.
4. In opposition to accumulative demonstration.
God trebleth His indulgence to help the infirmities of His servants.
It is natural to sinful man to mistrust the wonders of God.
Such incredulity may discourage God’s wonder-working instruments in their work.
God knoweth this evil of men, and permits it—but not approves it.
God works not only strange, but terrible signs to make sinners believe.
When God giveth forth His word, water shall blood the land, not water it.
When waters are made blood-guilty, they are justly turned into blood.
Signs demonstrative of God’s power, unto His servants, are vindictive unto His enemies.
God is willing more abundantly to show the truth of His word, and is not sparing in His proofs; the multitude and variety of the miracles corroborate the evidence.
Unbelief shall be left inexcusable, and convicted of a wilful obstinacy.
ILLUSTRATIONS
BY THE
REV. WM. ADAMSON
Exodus 4:6-7—Leprosy!—In the cabbinical books of the Jews there is a curious tradition about the growth of leprosy, that it began with the walls of a man’s house—then, if he did not repent, it entered his garments—then it affected his body, until it spread over every part—
“His skin grew dry and bloodless, and white scales
Circled with livid purple covered him.
And then his nails grew black, and fell away
From the dull flesh about them, and the bues
Deepened beneath the hard, unmoistened scales.”
So with unbelief, it first affects the walls of the mind—thence extending its corruption to the heart—and onwards through the entire inner man; until death ensues.
Exodus 4:6-7—Sceptic Fears!—History relates of David Hume that, having visited the family of the worthy La Roche, where the consolations of the Gospel were practically evidenced, he was afterwards heard to confess that there were moments when, amid all the pleasures of philosophical discovery and the pride of literary fame, he wished that he had never doubted—
“And evermore his eyes about him went,
As if some proved peril he did fear,
Or did misdoubt some ill, whose cause did not appear.”
—Spencer.
Exodus 4:6-7—Doubt-Paralysis!—We may as well, says Shepherd, expect a singing bird to be vocal in a receiver where it has little or no air to respire, as expect the genuine exercise of real goodness from the paralysed doubter. As leprosy is the destitution of those physical powers by which sound health can be sustained; so doubt of Divine truth is the destitution of those efficient principles of which the moral and spiritual life can be sustained. The experimentalist may display a vessel from which air has been more or less exhausted, and may tell us that there is nothing pernicious in it, but if we discover a deficiency of support for animal and vegetable life, we shall charge him with a paltry equivocation. Doubt is that air-void vessel, in which the mental, moral, and spiritual life cannot subsist—
“Doubt is the eternal shade by evil cast!
‘The vision and the faculty divine’
Fail when the spirit o’er its empire vast
Throws appetite and crimes.”
—Harris.
Exodus 4:6-7—The Divine Touch!—In healing the leper by a touch, our Saviour not only showed His power, but claimed a right that belonged only to the priest, and asserted His own exemption from ceremonial defilement; while in saying “I will, be thou clean,” He assumed a still higher prerogative, and pointed to a more thorough purification of the whole nature:—
“He took a little water in His hand
And laved the sufferer’s brow, and said, ‘Be clean!’
And lo! the scales fell from him, and his blood
Coursed with delicious coolness through his veins,
And his dry palms grew moist, and on his lips
The dewy softness of an infant’s stole.
His leprosy was cleansed, and he fell down
Prostrate at Jesus’ feet, and worshipped Him.”
—Willis.
Exodus 4:6-7—The Healer!—It is related that a student once visired Dr. Hodge regarding some doubts entertained by him as to the divinity of Christ, when the venerable man of God at once counselled: The best way to remove your doubts and guard yourself from future and greater troubles is to have Christ in you: learn His life—to trust in Him more—to love Him more; become identified with Him, and your doubts as to His Divinity will disappear:—
“Abide in me, I pray, and I in Thee;
From this good hour, Oh! leave me nevermore,
Then shall the discord cease, the wound be healed,
The life-long bleeding of the soul be o’er.”
—Stowe.
Exodus 4:6-7—Sinner Leprous!—What a pitiable, repulsive sight! We pass by a leprous stone unnoticed; it is unconscious of its state, and meant to be trampled under foot. But rising, says Trench, to a step higher in the scale of creation—to an unclean, leprous plant—we become conscious of a slight emotion of dislike; because we see that which might have pleased the eye disfigured. But a leprous human being excites our loathing more than all. It presents our nature in a light so disgusting, that it lessens our pity for him if he be miserable, and excites in us ideas of disease, contamination, and pain:—
“Depart, and come not near
The busy mart, the crowded city, more;
Nor set thy foot on human threshold o’er;
And stay thou not to hear
Voices that call thee in the way.”
But a leprous soul—a sinner—how loathsome above all things! It is the most unclean object in the universe—the soul and essence of pollution—the spectacle which appals angelic hosts and excites deep abhorrence in the mind of God.
Exodus 4:6-7—Nil Desperandum!—The healer is God; and who can tell what God can do? A man utterly despairing of his soul’s salvation thought that he might as well be in the woes of hell’s abyss at once. He therefore went to a river, designing to throw himself in; but as he was about to commit the mad deed, he seemed to hear a voice saying to him, “Who can tell?” His thoughts were arrested, and thus began to work on what he had heard. “Yes, who can tell what God can do? Who can tell what purposes God will serve in my recovery?” By such thoughts as these, it pleased God to enable him to shake off the delirium of despair, and to throw himself into the arms of hope in Christ as able to save to the uttermost.
“He came—a leper all unclean and foul:
He left, as fresh as freshest infancy.
So come I to Thy feet, unclean in soul,
So leave I, Lord, cleansed and restored by thee.”
Exodus 4:6-7—Illustrations!—Robert Hall, on one occasion, when criticising a sermon in the hearing of the preacher, said: “Yon have no likes in your sermon! You tell us what they are, ‘but not what they are like.’ ” As Hood says, there can be no doubt that for the purpose of teaching, one illustration is worth a thousand abstractions; a sentiment reciprocated by a famous judge of the Supreme Court, who exclaimed to a divine: “I am glad that you employed that touching story ‘to illustrate your thought.’ ” Analogies are the windows of speech; through them truth shines. Ordinary minds fail to perceive truth clearly, unless it is presented to them by expressive imagery, which appeals both to the reason and to the imagination. It is Salter who says that illustrations are like the painting on canvas which, while it charms the eye, also interests the mind. They resemble the incense which flamed on the Jewish altar, and which, while it arrested the eye with its cloudy pillar, regaled the senses with its fragrance—
“Wherefore, it is wise and well—to guide the mind aright—
So to talk of spirit by analogy with substance:
And analogy is a truer guide than many teachers tell of.
Similitudes are scattered round to help us—not to hurt us;
MOSES in his every type, and the greater than a Moses, in His parables,
Preach in terms that all may learn the philosophic lessons of analogy.”
—Tupper.
Exodus 4:6-7—Definite Result!—Look at that parent bird picking at the nest which she has built for her tender offspring! See how she breaks off one twig after another—exciting her brood to leave their nest and soar on high amid the sunshine of heaven. And if they will not leave it, she will break it further and further until it is utterly broken up, and they are forced to fly or fall. They would prefer to linger in downy ease; the mother would teach them to fly. Her aim is definite—her purpose one. So God teaches; and never without a design worthy of Him self. And that design is His own glory in man’s everlasting good—
“Oh! I doubt not through the ages one in. creasing purpose runs,
And the thoughts of men are widened with the process of the sun.”
—Tennyson.
Exodus 4:8-9—-Human Folly!—One can hardly conceive a poor way worn wretch, as he lies on the arid waste, panting with blackened lips and swollen tongue, striking the kind traveller’s flask from his hand, and spilling the precious water among the blistering sands. The slave boy—now an African bishop—exulted gleefully when a British cruiser snapped the fetters from his youthful limbs and bore him to free Liberia. Can folly surpass that insensate madness which makes the sinner spurn the clear, cool, crystal drops of life, and perversely traverse the wilds of sin? Can madness outrival that supreme folly which leads the bapless bondsman of sin to hug the chains of condemnation, and obstinately kiss the fetters of wrath?
“Woe; woe to the sinner who lives in his sin,
Unrighteous without, and unholy within:
Each thought of his heart, and each look of his eye
Is tainted with sin, and his doom is to die.”
—Hunter.
Exodus 4:8-9—Unbelief and the Bible!—An infidel said that there was one thing which marred all the pleasures of his life: whereupon a friend enquired of him what it was. He quickly responded, “I am afraid the Bible is true; if I could know for certain that death is an eternal sleep, I should be happy; but the thought that, if the Bible is true, my soul is lost for ever, stings me like a thorn—pierces me like a sword.”
“The avenging horror of a conscious mind,
Whose deadly fear anticipates the blow,
And sees no end of punishment and woe;
But looks for more, at the last gasp of breath;
This makes a hell on earth, and life a death.”
—Lucretius.
Exodus 4:8-9—First Sign!—Few but have observed a startling picture suspended on the walls of our metropolitan and suburban railway stations. It is a lion—with shaggy mane, and eyes glaring half with anger, half with fear. Around its agile form are the meshes of a net.—
1. That net speaks of the thraldom of the monarch of the forest.
2. That net speaks of the inability of the lion-king to free himself. And,
3. That net speaks of the agency by which the wild beast is to have liberty; for a tiny mouse is busily employed nibbling the meshes one by one. None can mistake the expression of that animal’s eye—its eagelness to escape—its gleesomeness as it feels one mesh after another give way. Alas! That picture does not speak of what “the voice of the first sign” does:—unwillingness to believe in freedom:—
“He is the freeman whom the truth makes free,
And all are slaves beside. There’s not a chain
That hellish foes confederate for his harm
Can wind around him, but he casts it off.”
—Cowper.
Exodus 4:8-9—Obstinate Unbelief!—Away at sea, the mariner will sometimes come upon a bottle floating upon the wide waste of waters. For month—ay, years—the waters have been surging round and round it, and yet not a drop is within. So it is with our hearts, unbelief closes them so that that the water of life cannot fill them; and no matter how numerous and copious mercy’s showers, they remain persistently sealed. The Orientals have a proverb—
“The cocoa-palm leaves infidels without excuse,
For nine and ninety are its common uses;
In hardened carelessness they wait a hundredth use,
Until some new discovery introduces!”