the crispy substance of a hoar-frost, small and white, which they called Manna, and which, from that time, never failed them for their support during the forty years they wandered in the wilderness. Upon their showing surprise at the first appearance of a thing so unexpected, Moses informed the people that this was the bread which God had sent them from Heaven for their support; that every morning before sunrise they were to gather as much of it as should be necessary for the day; but that, for the more religious observance of the Sabbath, they should, on the day before, gather a double quantity. In order to secure the observance of these injunctions, God so arranged that the Manna became corrupted and unfit for food, if kept longer, or in greater quantity, than was requisite for the wants of any one day, except the Sabbath, and that if not gathered early in the morning, it melted away, soon after the sun was up. By these injunctions to His people, God has been pleased to signify to us that we ought to be beforehand with the sun in our acts of prayer and thanksgiving, and that we should not be over-solicitous about the necessaries of life, nor anxious to hoard up a quantity of things that we may never want. The Manna is manifestly a figure of the Blessed Eucharist, as Jesus Christ Himself declares in the Gospel. Miraculous was the manner of its production, and most wonderful were its effects. It had both the effect and the taste of delicious food. The Scripture calls it the bread of Heaven, and the bread of Angels. But as the reality is always more perfect than its figure, so still more miraculous in itself, and still more wonderful in its effects, is the Eucharistic Food which Jesus Christ has given to His Church. This is truly the Living Bread sent down from Heaven, with which He nourishes, comforts, and strengthens our souls during our pilgrimage on earth. Hence the warmest sentiments of gratitude are due to our Blessed Lord for so salutary an institution. A lively faith and an ardent desire of true happiness ought to keep us habitually so disposed, that we may be worthy each day to receive and to profit by it. As long as such sentiments animated the Hebrew people in the desert, they joyfully received and relished their heavenly food; but as their piety grew cold, they grew disgusted with this food sent from Heaven, and wished again for the flesh-pots of Egypt. Similar conduct is but too often visible in those Christians who, being cold in their devotion, and weary in the Divine service, come to the Holy Table without being worthily disposed, and thus eat "to their own condemnation, not discerning the Body of the Lord." A.M. 2513.] Water issues from the Rock. Exod. xvii. [A.C. 1491. A power so miraculously and so constantly displayed by Almighty God, in favour of His chosen people, ought to have removed every fear, and prevented every ground of diffidence for the future; but new trials created new fears, and fresh difficulties renewed the clamours of a people naturally mutinous and inclined to rebel. After a halt of a week at their first encampment in the desert of Sin, they again resumed their journey, and after two intermediate stations, Daphca and Alus, the positions of which are unknown, they came to a place called Raphidim,* where no water was to be found. Impatient of thirst, they again grew seditious. A spirit of revolt spread through the camp: they vented their spleen against Moses, whom they threatened to stone to death for having brought them out of the land of Egypt. Moses was one of the meekest and most gentle of men; the critical situation in which he was now placed afforded him no refuge but in God To God, then, he had recourse by humble prayer: he earnestly besought the Almighty to support him in the discharge of a duty which he had undertaken solely in obedience to the Divine will. God, being pleased with his humility, heard his prayer, and told him to take the rod with which he had changed the waters of the Nile into blood, and to go with the elders of Israel to the rock of Horeb, where His name should be glorified, and the people be relieved. Moses accordingly went to the place appointed, accompanied by the elders, and followed by a vast crowd of the people, and there standing with the rod in his The route which the Israelites are most commonly supposed to have taken after they had reached the eastern snore of the Red Sea, is marked on the map of the Exodus, in the Bible Atlas. hand, he struck the rock in their presence, and in an instant, a stream gushed forth. The people quenched their thirst, and were satisfied. In memory of the occurrence, Moses named the place Temptation; for there the people had tempted the Lord, asking. "Is the Lord amongst us or not?" The stream that miraculously flowed from the rock is a figure of those flowing graces that are drawn from the wounds of Christ crucified; for, Christ is the rock from which the streams of salvation flow. By these streams our hearts are melted into tears of compunction, and our souls refreshed with new vigour in their way to Heaven. A. M. 2513. Defeat of Amalec.-Exod. xvii. A.C. 1491 Encouraged by this fresh proof of the Divine goodness, which had given them water from the hard rock, the Israelites kept up their spirits for a time, until they saw themselves attacked by a formidable enemy. The Amalekites were the first who had the boldness to make war upon a nation which God had so visibly taken under His protection. They imagined that an undisciplined multitude, fatigued with continual marches, worn out from scarcity of provisions, and almost wholly destitute of every implement of war, could make no great resistance. Upon this cowardly presumption they drew their forces together, and marched out to destroy a people from whom they had received no provocation, and could fear no harm. Moses, with his usual confidence in God, resolved upon defence; neither the numbers nor the warlike show of his enemies gave him the least alarm. He called upon Josue, the son of Nun, of the tribe of Ephraim, and ordered him to choose out some of the most valiant amongst the people, and to lead them forth against the enemy. The next morning Josue led forth his troops to battle, while Moses, with Aaron and Hur, went to the top of a neighbouring mountain which overhung the plain, to pray for the combatants. He prayed with his arms extended in the form of a cross, that sacred sign which was in future times to be so salutary to us, and so formidable to our enemies. He thereby taught the children of Israel, in their very first engagement, that victory depends solely upon God, who is ever ready to grant it to those who ask it of Him with humble confidence. The Israelites accordingly prevailed against the most vigorous efforts of Amalec, as long as the hands of their spiritual father were lifted up to Heaven in prayer for them. But when, through fatigue, he was obliged to let them fall, the Israelites then gave way, and the Amalekites in their turn prevailed. When this was observed by Hur and Aaron, they obliged the Man of God to sit down, and standing on each side of him, they held up his arms outstretched in prayer till sunset, when the Israelites put the enemy to flight, and gained a complete victory. The memory of that glorious event was, by God's command, handed down to future generations, and an undying enmity declared against the nation of Amalec, until it should be utterly destroyed. Shortly after this signal victory, Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, came with his daughter Sephora, the wife of Moses, and her two sons Gersam and Eliezer, to the Israelite encampment at Raphidim, and having heard from Moses the recital of all that had occurred since they had parted, more than a year before, he gave thanks and offered sacrifice to the Lord. On the occasion of this visit, Jethro gave valuable assistance to Moses in organising the administration of justice for the newly-formed nation. For, seeing Moses over-burdened with the never-ending task of settling the disputes that arose among the people, he advised that judges should be appointed to discharge this duty, only the matters of greatest moment being reserved for the decision of Moses himself. This wise counsel was followed, and able men, chosen out of all Israel, were duly appointed as judges over every ten, every fifty, every hundred, and every thousand of the people. Jethro after a short stay in the camp, returned to his own country. In the narrative of the defeat of the Amalekites, we see on the one hand how ineffectual every human effort is of itself to insure success, and on the other we cannot but admire THE COMMANDMENTS GIVEN ON MOUNT SINAI. 103 the force of holy prayer, which so efficaciously secures the assistance of the Almighty. Prayer is one of the first duties of a Christian; it is an important, a public, an universal duty, one from which no man can be exempt, no matter what may be his station or his occupation in life. While thus incumbent upon all in general, it regards in a more special manner those who are charged with the care of others. Unable of themselves to fulfil their obligations, they must by fervent prayer obtain the Divine help, which alone can strengthen their weakness, and make them equal to the task. To pray for those under their care is, perhaps, the most important service they can render to them: prayer is the source of countless blessings, which are not communicated through any other channel. The forces of Amalec, though more than sufficient to defeat the arms of the whole nation, could not resist the prayer of Moses: thus the prayer of one man contributed more efficaciously to the victory than the united efforts of an entire army. A.M. 2513.] The Commandments given on Mount [A.c. 1491. Sinai.-Exod. xix. Three months had now elapsed since the Israelites had left the land of Egypt, and every day since that time had furnished some miraculous instance of the Divine goodness towards them. The time had now come for the revelation of that Divine law, under which they were henceforth to live, as a priestly kingdom and a holy nation, set apart as a peculiar possession of the Lord, until the promise made to Abraham should be fulfilled in the coming of Him through whom all the nations of the earth were to be blessed. From Raphidim, then, they were conducted to the plain before Mount Sinai,* and when they had pitched their tents * Various mountains in the peninsula of Sinai have at different times been identified with the Mountain of the Law. The one which seems most fully to meet the requirements of the case, as regards the topographical features that may be inferred from the Bible narrative, is either the northern or the southern elevation of a remarkably situated group of mountains, named Jebel-Musa. This group, which is almost completely isolated from the mountains that surround it, is about a mile in breadth and two miles in length; it runs from south-east to north-west. Its chief elevations are those at its northern and southern extremities. The opinion that the latter was identical with the |