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all the Egyptians; which neither thy fathers, nor thy fathers' fathers have seen, since the day that they were upon the earth unto this day, for number, size, and mischievous effects. And he turned himself, and went out from Pharaoh.

And Pharaoh's servants, the nobles and counsellors of Egypt, said unto him, How long shall this man be a snare, a means of destruction, unto us? let the men go, that they may serve the LORD their God: knowest thou not yet that Egypt is, in a great measure, destroyed? This was good advice, and had he taken it, it would have prevented that mortification which he 8 afterward suffered. And Moses and Aaron were brought again unto Pharaoh : and he said unto them, Go, serve the 9 LORD your God: [but] who [are] they that shall go? And Moses said, We will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds will we go; for we must hold] a feast unto the LORD: it is to be a feast upon a sacrifice, therefore the beasts must go 10 for sacrifice and food, and all our families must attend. And he said unto them, Let the LORD be so with you, as I will let you go, and your little ones; this was a kind of imprecation, I wish you may be no more secure of the favour of God, than you are of my letting you go; look [to it ;] for evil [is] before you, you have a seditious design, and I will make you smart for it. 11 Not so, your wives and children shall not go: go now ye [that are] men, and serve the LORD; for that ye did desire; this was false, for there was no such limitation made in any of their requests. And before Moses could make a reply, they were driven out from Pharaoh's presence, perhaps with violence, by some of his officers.

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And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come up upon the land of Egypt, and eat every herb of the land, 13 [even] all that the hail hath left. And Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt; and the LORD brought an east wind upon the land all that day, and all [that] night; [and] when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts 14 from Arabia. And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the coasts of Egypt: very grievous [were they ;] before them there were no such locusts as they, 15 neither after them shall be such. For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left and there remained not any green

This is no unusual plague in Arabia and Africa; where, when the harvest is ripe, they frequently come in vast numbers, and eat up all the corn. What they do not destroy, they spoil, and then die and breed infections.

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thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the field, through all the land of Egypt.*

Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste; and he said, I have sinned against the LORD your God, by contemning his works, by refusing his demand, and breaking my promise, and against you Israelites in general, by your cruel bondage; and against you Moses and Aaron in particular, by a denial of 17 your just requests, and my scornful dealings with you. Now therefore, cease to punish me any further, forgive, I pray thee, my sin, only this once, if ever I trespass again in this kind, pray for me no more; and entreat the LORD your God, that he may take away from me this death only, this deadly plague. 18 And he went out from Pharaoh, and entreated the LORD. 19 And the LORD turned a mighty strong west wind, which came from the Mediterranean sea, and took away the locusts, and cast them into the Red sea; he fixed them there, as the word signifies; had they died on the land, they would probably have produced the plague ;† there remained not one locust in all the 20 coast of Egypt. But the LORD. hardened Pharaoh's heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go; all his repentance went away with the locusts.

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And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness [which] may be felt; or, as in the Hebrew, that one may feel darkness; the air being so thickened 22 with gross mists and vapours that it might be felt. And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven, and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days, which shut out all the rays of the sun, and put out all their lamps and fires: and 23 They saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings, so that they might have gone away with all they had; but God would have them march out like triumphant conquerors, and not go out like fugitives.

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And Pharaoh, roused by this plague, called unto Moses, and said, Go ye, serve the LORD; only let your flocks and your 25 herds be stayed; let your little ones also go with you. And Moses said, with a becoming dignity and spirit, suitable to his character, Thou must give us also sacrifices and burnt offer 26 ings, that we may sacrifice unto the LORD our God. Our cattle also shall go with us; there shall not an hoof be left

Natural historians give us a terrible account of their size, and the numbers in which they come: they are something like grasshoppers, but much larger, sometimes six or seven inches long. They darken the heavens where they come; breed a famine in a night; fill up the highways, so that they cannot be passed; and break down large arms of trees on which they lodge. See a beautiful description of this calamity, Joel ii. at the beginning. See also Thevenot's Travels, P. 1, p. 12.

+ Homer speaks of the wind sweeping away locusts into the water; and Pliny speaks of a wind that was useful to Egypt, by carrying locusts into this sea; which was called the Red Sea, from the abundance of reddish reeds, or bulrushes, which grew on its bank, or at its bottom.

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behind, not the smallest thing to tempt us to turn back again ; for thereof must we take to serve the LORD our God; and we know not with what we must serve the LORD, until we come thither, what solemn and extraordinary sacrifices will be required.

But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let them go; he did not permit Pharaoh to comply with this 28 motion, but suffered him to go on in his obstinacy. And Pharaoh said unto him, Get thee from me, take heed to thyself, see my face no more: for in [that] day thou seest my face thou shalt die. Strange, that he should threaten a person with death who had done such miracles, and might strike him dead on 29 the spot! And Moses said, Thou hast spoken well, or right; so it shall come to pass as thou hast warned me, I assure thee in the name of God, that thou shalt see me no more, either to beg my prayers, or be helped out of thy troubles by my means; I will see thy face again no more.

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REFLECTIONS.

WGod. Our message to every sinner is the same as

E see the folly of refusing to humble ourselves before

that of Moses to Pharaoh, How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself? and this is a just description of the nature of true repentance. Men are exhorted and besought to do this; and it is highly fit and reasonable that creatures who have offended should humble themselves, acknowledge God's righteousness, and own their distress, and with humility entreat his favour. God expects this from all men, for all have sinned: the greatest are not exempted; he insists upon it, that they reverence and bow down before him. For neglecting this, Belshazzar was punished: and all those who lift themselves up against God, who act proudly and arrogantly, shall soon be brought low. Remember, it is not sufficient that we show external reverence to God; unless the heart be humble, and our dispositions be sincere and contrite, it will be so far from securing us, that it will make our case worse, and our plagues the more wonderful.

2. We see the inefficacy of partial reformation, and a partial compliance with the commands of God. Pharaoh offers some terms, but will not come up to God's requirements. He never yields God his whole demands, but, as Bp. HALL expresses it, dodges like some hard chapman.' First, Israel shall not go. Then, they may sacrifice, but it shall be in Egypt. Then, in the wilderness, but not far off. He would then allow the men, and then the children, but not the cattle. In this manner do sinners trifle with the almighty and everlasting God: when his word and their own consciences alarm them, they will part with one lust, and then another, that which they can spare with least reluctance,

and are least profited by; but still they have some foolish reserve, they have some favourite passion, that they will indulge they will not part with every lust, nor give up their whole heart to God. Thus Herod heard John gladly, and did some things. This is a foolish and absurd conduct; for there is no treating with God, without surrendering at discretion. If we would be accepted of him, we must esteem his precepts concerning all things to be right, and hate every false way.

3. See the vanity of confessing sin, when it is not reformed. Pharaoh acknowledges his sin, prays that he may be forgiven, and desires Moses to intercede for him but at the same time was hardening his heart. He prays to be forgiven this once, which implies a promise that he would offend no more: but all this was the effect of a fright; he had no serious meaning in it. Thus sinners, when greatly terrified, think of repenting, and perhaps call upon God for mercy, entreat the prayers of others, and promise how holy and obedient they will be; while their hearts continue the same; and they are deceiving themselves, while at tempting to mock God. Such unhappy persons sin against the convictions of their own minds; and their hearts grow harder, by every instance in which the word or providence of God seems to soften them, while they continue impenitent and unreformed. Let us guard against such a mistake as this. It is in vain to confess sin, and express our shame and grief on account of it, while do not utterly forsake it. Remember how that promise is expressed, He that confesseth and forsaketh his sin, shall find mercy.

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4. The state of the Egyptians and Israelites during the plague of darkness, is a lively emblem of the different condition of saints and sinners. Darkness overshadowed the Egyptians; a terrible emblem of that darkness of mind in which sinners are involved: they are surrounded with spiritual darkness; the god of this world hath blinded their eyes. But saints are children of light; they were once darkness, but are made light in the Lord; they walk in his light. How happy the condition of the Israel of God, of all upright souls, to whom there ariseth light in the thickest darkness. Thus it is said in Isa. Ix. 1, 2. (in which there is probably an allusion to the story before us) Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people ; but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. Sinners shall be banished to a state of everlasting darkness; for them there is reserved blackness of darkness for ever, But light is sown for the righteous; they shall be advanced to a world, where the sun shall no more be their light by day, neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto them, but the Lord shall be unto them an everlasting light, and their God, their glory. And he shall lead them to fountains of living water, and wipe away all tears from

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their eyes. And the inhabitants shall not say, I am sick; the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity.

5. See the goodness of God, in the complete redemption of Israel, not a hoof was left behind. He that has begun deliverance, will complete it. But there is a nobler salvation, which God hath in reserve for his people, and he will complete and perfect that also. He will not lose the meanest of his servants, nor suffer one to remain under the power and tyranny of the god of this world. Nay, he will not lose the meanest part of this mortal body; every part of the stamina, or principles of it, shall be raised from the bondage of corruption; he will swallow up death in victory; and give all his people a full release from the power of the enemy. The history afterward shows, that the words of Moses were made good; and we have the assurance of a faithful God, that the deliverance and salvation of all his servants shall also be complete; and when he gathers his saints together out of this lower world, to bring them to the land that he hath promised, not one shall be left behind. Faithful is he that hath promised, who will also do it ; not one tittle of his word shall fail to be accomplished.

CHAP. XI.

In the conclusion of the last chapter, Moses said to Pharaoh, I will see thy face again no more. It is generally thought, that before he went out he threatened the last plague; if so, the three first verses of this chapter must be in a parenthesis. But perhaps Pharaoh, contrary to his resolution, sent for Moses again; as it is plain he did, after the firstborn were slain.

ND the LORD said unto Moses, Yet, will I bring one plague [more] upon Pharaoh, and upon Egypt; afterward he will let you go hence: when he shall let [you] go, he shall surely thrust you out hence altogether; he shall be 2 glad to get rid of you, even by force. Speak now in the ears of the people, and let every man borrow of his neighbour, and every woman of her neighbour, jewels of silver, and jew3 els of gold. And the LORD gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover the man Moses [was] very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh's servants, and in the sight of the people.

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This was the reason

why the courtiers did not meddle with Moses, and why the

Many objections have been made to this conduct of Moses, and many commentators, and others, have endeavoured to vindicate it, but have done it very indifferently. The truth is, the Hebrew word Shoal does not signify to borrow, but to ask one to give, as Psalm ii 8. ask of me, &c. God here said, Ask of, or request your neighbours to give you such things, and I will dispose their minds to show you favour; and so he did, a. 3. See ch. iii. 22.

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