:

of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh-pots, and when we did eat bread to the full for ye hath brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.

Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out, and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law,

or no.

And it shall come to pass that on the sixth day, they shall prepare that which they bring in; and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.

And Moses and Aaron said unto all the children of Israel, At even, then ye shall know that the LORD hath brought you out from the land of Egypt.

And in the morning, then shall ye see the glory of the LORD for that he heareth your murmurings against the LORD and what are we, that ye murmur against us.

And Moses said, This shall be, when the LORD shall give you in the evening flesh to eat, and in the morning bread to the full, for that the LORD heareth your murmurings which ye murmur against him: And what are we? your murmurings are not against us, but against the LORD.

And Moses spake unto Aaron, Say unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, Come near before the LORD: for he hath heard your murmurings.

And it came to pass as Aaron spake unto the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud.

And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel; speak unto them, saying, At even ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread; and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God.

And

And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and covered the camp; and in the morning the dew lay round about the host.

And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground.

And when the children of Israel, saw it, they said one to another, what is this? for they wist not what And Moses said unto them, This is the bread

it was. 'which the LORD hath given you to eat.

This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded, Gather of it every man according to his eating; an omer for every man, according to the number of your persons; take ye every man for them which are in his

tents.

And the children of Israel did so, and gathered some more, some less.

And when they did mete it with an omer, he that gathered much, had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack they gathered every man according to his eating.

And Moses said; Let no man leave of it till the morning.

Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it, until the morning, and it bred worms and stank: and Moses was wroth with them.

And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating; and when the sun waxed hot, it melted.

And it came to pass that on the sixth day they gather ed twice as much bread, two omers for one man and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses.

And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath said, To-morrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath Marginal translation.

unto

unto the LORD; bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over, lay up for you to be kept until the morning.

And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade : and it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein.

And Moses said, Eat that to-day; for to-day is a sabbath unto the LORD: to-day ye shall not find it in the field.

Six days ye shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none.

And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found

none.

And the LORD said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws?

See, for that the LORD hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.

So the people rested on the seventh day.

And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna and it was like coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.

And Moses said, This is the thing which the LORD commandeth, Fill an omer of it to be kept for your generations; that they may see the bread wherewit!: I have fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt.

And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a pot, and put an omer full of manna therein, and lay it up before the LORD, to be kept for your generations.

As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the testimony, to be kept..

And the children of Israel did eat manna forty

years,

years, until they came to

a land inhabited: they did eat manna until they came unto the borders of the land of Canaan.

Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah.

ANNOTATIONS AND REFLECTIONS.

The apostle St. Paul teaches us to regard the passage through the Red Sea as a baptism*. GOD, of His own free mercy, opened a way for the Israelites to escape from Egyptian bondage; and received the whole nation under His protection, as His peculiar people. By entering into the sea, each individual expressed his faith in the Divine promises. The LORD went before them, to guide them to the land of Canaan. They willingly followed His guidance. From henceforth each person was an inrolled member of the LORD's congregation or church, His adopted son, and an inheritor, or heir to the Land of Promise.

The time was not yet come, at which the LORD - proposed to destroy all the idolatrous nations, and settle His own people in their stead; besides the Israelites had contracted many bad habits in Egypt, and their faith in GOD was very imperfect. He therefore saw fit to expose them to a variety of trials, partly to improve their minds, and mend their hearts; and partly, to shew to the world the method of His Providence towards those whom He acknowledges as His people.

Soon did the Israelites forget the mercy of the LORD, in preserving them from the plagues of Egypt, and delivering them from bondage! On the very first disappointment, they began to murmur against Moses, instead of praying to the Lord to send them relief. It ́

* 1 Cor. x. 2.

is

is likely that they began to think GoD was going to bring a succession of plagues upon them, as he had done upon Egypt. To remove their apprehensions, the LORD immediately made the bitter water sweet, and commissioned Moses to give them a statute and an ordinance; by the observance of which they might, through His infinite mercy, secure to themselves individually the favour and protection which He had freely granted them as a nation. This law required both faith and obedience.

Ancient historians assert, that there are several fountains of bitter water near the Red Sea; possibly that at Marah was one of them. The author of the book Ec. clesiasticus seems to be of opinion, that there was a natural virtue in the wood of the tree, which Moses cast into the fountain, to correct the bitterness* ; and that God graciously pointed out this medicine, to make its valuable property known to the world. Others suppose, that both the bitterness and the correcting of it are to be ascribed to the immediate power of Gop, who used the wood as a sign, rather than an instrument: however this was, the goodness of the LORD was equally display. ed to the Israelites.

What a pleasing recess must Elim appear, after the turbulent scenes the people had lately passed! Here they had an opportunity of resting themselves, and leisure to meditate on the wonderful goodness of the LORD; but their all-wise Conductor knew, that continued prosperity would corrupt their minds; and it was proper to put their faith and obedience to the test. How imperfect did these prove on trial! The people saw themselves in a wild barren waste, where they thought they had no other chance but to perish

* Eccles. xxxviii. 5.