The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-12-07
SUNDAY-SCH0OL LESSON FOR TOMORROW.
BY J. E. GIL BERT, IL. D., etary American Society Religious Education

' W the flower and beauty of the land should be destroyed.
 Moses declared. moreover, that there should be universal lamentatlon in conse- quence. When an Egyptian died all the relatives of both sexes quilted the house The women with their hair loose and their bosoms bare beating themselves, shrteking and bowling as they passed | gave unrestrained expression to their grief: Hence, when every household l should have some member of it dead, the 1 general confusion would exceed anything witnessed before or after. That would
 pc the darkest night, the most terrible calamity in the history of the nation. It was further declared that there
 should be absolute calm and repose among the people of Israel. Not a dog should move his tongue against man or beast. Ihls refers not 10 the hostile barking or dogs, as when some disturb ance has been made, but to the bowling which dogs do when sickness or death Vlslts family. This animal which comes so near to man appears to have a sym pathy unknown to other animals, and in all the world that sympathy is expressed In the dismal and prolonged howl In | the east dogs are common property | they belong to all the people, and live In colonies. under government of their own It will readily appear that if they
 should unite with the people in these out bursts of sorrow the night would be ] hideous. But Moses said the dogs would do nothing of this in cities or parts of cities in which the 1sraelites resided. l Ihey would be in perfect rest, putting | difference between them and the Egyp- | t1ans
 | Moses further said to Pharaoh that the l servants would come to him at that time
 and bow themselves in deep humiliation
 and beg that Israel might leave the
 country This entreaty would be ex- l tremely urgent in the presence of the
 national calamity. There would be no | longer any hesitation. This plague of | death upon the first born would so terrify | the king and his courtiers that they
 would willingly grant what thus far they | had. refused.
 i tervied of Moses with Pharaoh forms l the conclusion of the lesson.
 Moses obtained no consent The hard | hearted ruler turned deaf ear to his | pleading as he had done on other occa-
 sions, and the messenger of God with | drew from the royal presence in great | anger. He had good reason for holy in dignation. The king had disregarded the welfare and the rights of three millions I Of souls. He had resisted the voice of God He had despised the judgments | that had been sent upon him. Resent ment, stern and keen, was but the proof Of the righteousness of the man who eN- perienced the emotion. But Pharoah grew worse as the great leader departed. His courage to resist
 his hardihood to face the perils. his in
 
 heartless cruelty, his stubborn adherence to an unwtse policy, were all increased. Sitting unmoved in silence, a cold-blood- ed and selfish tyrant, nothing could be formed Moses that the king would harden his heart, and that nothing remained except to infiict the remainder of the evils even as they had been predicted. The lesson closes with statement of surpassing interest (Verse 10). Moses and Aaron did all they had been required
 to do. They had been faithful to their
 trust and had completed 1t. There was
 no lack or fault in them. The issue was | not through any failure on their part. 1 Whatever comes the responsibility must | be with Pharaoh. God has warned and | His servants entreated but the king has | resisted:
 Instructions,-These great truths, set
 forth in the lesson, are worthy of much
 the accomplishment of Gods purposes. | He who stands in the way of their exc
 cution imperils his own life, ?. They | who wait patiently on God will find that | He will make up the losses they have | unjustly sustained through the evil
 deeds of their enemies 3. In the favor l of the Egyptians, we have an illustra-
 ton that when mans ways please the | Lord, He maketh his enemies to be at
 peace with him" 4. A bad monarch who expresses his people brings trouble to l himself and to the land over which he
 rules Prov. Xxix, ?. 5. The triumphing
 of the wicked is but for a time At the
 judgment day the mightiest king shall l bow himself 6. They alone dwell in
 safety who abide in the secret place of 1 the Almighty. Free from all alarms,
 their hearts may rest in perfect repose | '. They who are employed in public ser vice for God must faithfully discharge all their duties and leave the issue with | Him. It is not for servants to look to | results, but to consider we'll their tasks.
 s. The Lord will be glOriied at last in all l His dispensations. and they who have acted for Him shall not fail of their re-
 ward (Dan. xii, 1Sl. even though it be no
 more than the approval of history (Matt. 1 XXV, 2l).