good people, and that God had given him favor with them, he married the daughter of the priest, and she bare him a son; he called his name Gershom, which means in Hebrew, a stranger; for, said Moses, I have been a stranger in a strange land. Exod. ii. 22.

In the life of Moses, thus far, we have seen what care and mercy the Lord showed him, and, even those very misfortunes, which drove him from his people, were not the least of God's goodness to him;-here, while he lonely wandered with his flocks, or pastured them by the side of the vallies, he remembered the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob. He rejoiced at being freed from the sight of his suffering brethren; and, no doubt, that every day witnessed his earnest prayers to God for their deliverance. Let us, dear children, strive like Moses to assist the oppressed, to help the weak, and to make peace among brethren when they disagree.

But are there none of my readers who themselves sometimes quarrel with their brothers and sisters, or playfellows? Remember, dear children, what Moses said to his countrymen: "Why smitest thou thy fellow ?" Remember what your blessed Saviour, who died on the cross to obtain the pardon of your sins, remember what answer He gave to one who asked him how often he must forgive his brother, if he must forgive him seven times: Our blessed Lord answered not seven times only, but

seventy times seven. Matt. xviii. 22. If you do not love your brothers and sisters, and are undutiful to your parents and teachers, how can you pray with any hope that the merciful God will bless you? Remember dear children, in that prayer which Christ himself taught us, and which is, therefore, called the Lord's Prayer; you pray that your sins may be forgiven, as you forgive those who sin against you.

CHAPTER II.

MOSES AND THE BURNING BUSH.

WHILST Moses kept his father-in-law's flock, he was called by the Lord, to be the leader of his people. It happened in this manner:— He led his flock, in order to find better pasture, it is probable, to the back of the desert, near to Horeb, called in the Bible, the Mount of God. Here, as he wandered, his attention was drawn to notice a bush,from which a great light beamed; he gazed with wonder, and turned towards it in order to examine the cause of this miracle, of a flaming and burning bush, which yet was not consumed, or burnt up. This, the Bible tells us, was the

angel of the Lord, who, when he perceived that Moses turned, called him by name. Moses, trembling with awe and fear, answered, "Lord, here am I.” Exod. iii. 4.--Then he was commanded by the Lord, to put off his shoes, for it was holy ground.

Here I would stop in my history, to inquire of my little readers, if they, when they go into the presence of God, or his church, if they always remember it is holy ground. I think I hear some of you answer, and say to me, "But if I heard the voice of the Lord as Moses did, I could never forget." My dear children we hear the voice of God our Saviour, every Sunday, in his holy temple, through his word, which the clergyman reads to us. In the days of Moses, there was no Bible as we have, and it is supposed that he wrote (inspired and taught by the Spirit of God,) some of the books of the Old Testament, while he led his flocks and watched them in the desert. Therefore, dear children, remember, the next time you hear your minister repeat, "The Lord is in his holy temple, let all the earth keep silence before him," his command to Moses, and, also, what our blessed Saviour says in the New Testament: "That where two or three are gathered together in his name, he is there in the midst of them." This is the voice of God; try then my dear little readers, you whom Jesus calls his lambs, to keep your hearts fixed when you are in his presence. Let no thought of your

week-day amusements draw away your mind, so that you forget you are standing "on holy ground."

To return to Moses-He obeyed the voice of the Lord, hiding his face, fearing to look upon the awful sight. The Lord strengthened him, by telling him, that he was the God of his fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, and assured him that the groans of His people had come up even to Him, and that their tears had not been disregarded. Exod. ii. 24. That he knew all their sorrows, and resolved to deliver them out of their cruel bondage, and to guide them into a land flowing with milk and honey.

What a comfort is this, to remember that the eye of the Lord is always watching over us, and that all our sorrows are known to God. There is not one little praying child, who is sincerely striving to serve and love the good God, who has made him, and redeemed him, but that is seen and known of God. Every struggle to overcome a bad habit, or an evil temper, is known by him who sees the hearts of all the children of men. My dear little friend, have you been led into sin, through the pride or naughtiness of your heart, confess your fault, and humbly pray to God for pardon, for Jesus Christ's sake, then dear child be sure he hears you. And if you persevere in striving to live a holy and righteous life, he will take you to that heavenly rest and hap

piness, of which the promised land to the children of Israel is an imperfect emblem.

Moses with that humility and meekness which has always been given as the temper of his soul, would have shrunk from the great command which the Lord laid upon him. He said that the children of Israel would ask the name of the God who had spoken to him, and was ordered to tell them that, "I AM,” Exod. iii. 14, had spoken to him and sent him. I do not know that my little readers can fully understand the greatness of this name. It signifies the Lord, from everlasting, who always was, who is now, and ever shall be. Who made all things, who preserves all things, and ruleth over all things. This great being ordered Moses to gather the elders of Israel together, and to tell them of those things which God had commanded. Moses said "It may be they will not believe me,"-upon which the Lord ordered him to cast the rod which he held in his hand, on the ground, which, when he had done, it was turned into a serpent-so terrible that Moses fled from its face. Exod, iv. 3. He was then ordered to lay hold of it, when it again became a rod.

Also another sign the Lord showed him, that if they would not believe the first, would not fail to convince them. He was ordered to put his hand into his bosom, and then to draw it out, which when he did, had become covered with a very dreadful disease, called a