God says in Isaiah 64 that "Since the beginning of the world, men have not heard . . . neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside Thee, what He hath prepared for him that waiteth for Him."

But even in this life, if we love God, and watch to see the answers to our prayers, we shall see numbers of things which God our Heavenly Father helps us in—numbers of pleasures which He puts in our lives; numbers of dangers that He saves us from; numbers of times when He brings good out of what seemed to us to be only disappointment and trial.

Well! That was how it was with Joseph!

You remember about his dreams and the jealousy of his brothers? You remember how he was sent by his father Jacob, quite a long journey, to carry messages to his brothers, and to bring back word whether they and their flocks were well and in safety.

Joseph was seventeen at this time, and he went, willingly enough, for he did not know that his brothers' hearts were full of hatred towards him.

At last he found the place where they were feeding their flocks; and as they saw him coming, they said to each other, "Behold this dreamer cometh!" And they at once began to plan his death!

Nothing was easier, all that long distance away from his father, in a wild uninhabited country where but few strangers passed, and where there were caves and pits in which evil deeds might easily be hidden.

But all this while, unknown to those cruel brothers, God was watching over Joseph.

When his eldest brother, Reuben, heard the others plotting to kill him, he advised their putting him into a pit, instead of taking away his life, intending to come back himself, and to take him out, and deliver him safely to his father.

Sold him for twenty pieces of silver.

But while Reuben was away tending his flocks, Joseph came to the rest of his brothers, and they at once stripped him of the beautiful coat his father had made for him, and then they cast him into an empty pit. But they sat down to eat a meal themselves!

Presently they saw a band of Merchants coming towards them on camels, and Judah said to his brothers, "Let us not kill Joseph, but let us sell him to these Ishmaelites!" So they drew Joseph up from the pit, and sold him for twenty pieces of silver.

JOSEPH SOLD BY HIS BRETHREN.

Then the Ishmaelites passed on with their camels; but they did not know that they were carrying away one whom the holy God was watching over.

So the brothers were left, and the coat of many colours was left too.

But when Reuben came back, and looked into the pit, and found it empty, his heart failed him.

He tore his clothes, exclaiming, "What shall I do?" For he knew how dearly old Jacob loved this boy of his, and how could he go back to his father and tell him the truth?

But the other brothers killed a kid and dipped Joseph's coat in the blood, and sent it to their father, saying that they had found it like this, and that probably some evil beast had devoured him.

Then Jacob grieved for his son, with bitter grief, and said he should go to his grave mourning for him.

Now God loved Jacob very much; and though He allowed him to pass through this great sorrow, yet He was, in His own way, preparing a great joy for him in the future. For that young lad who was carried away on those camels, down to Egypt, was bought by a kind master, and lived happily in his house for years.

It is true that after a time, troubles came; for Joseph was falsely accused, and was cast into prison for two years.

But God was with him there (as He is always with those who love and serve Him), and Joseph behaved so nicely, that the Keeper of the prison began to trust him, and at length gave him the care of all the other prisoners. Everything that Joseph did was prospered, because God blessed him so much.

By and bye Pharaoh, King of Egypt, had a dream which he could not understand, and as they all knew in the prison, that Joseph could tell the meaning of dreams, Pharaoh was told about him, and the Great King sent for him, and explained his trouble to him.

Then God told Joseph the meaning of Pharaoh's dream, which was, that there would be seven years of rich harvests, and then seven years of very poor harvests.

So Joseph advised Pharaoh to look out a wise man to save up all the corn in the plentiful years, so that the people might have food in the scanty years.

And Pharaoh chose Joseph to be over everything, and to see to the corn, and save it up; and Pharaoh dressed Joseph in beautiful clothes, and put a ring on his hand.

Joseph was very humble, and he loved God very much. He kept on telling Pharaoh that it was God who helped him to do all these wonderful things.

At length the seven years of plenty were over, and the famine came into all the countries round Egypt, and everybody came to Egypt to buy corn of Joseph. And among them his ten brothers came too!

You can read in your Bibles in the 45th and 46th Chapters of Genesis, how Joseph forgave his brothers, and how he told them how God had meant it for good to save much people alive.

Then he gave his brothers food; and sent wagons to Canaan to fetch his dear old father down to Egypt to live near him, and be taken care of.

And this was how God brought it about, that old Jacob saw his beloved son again.

[II. JOSEPH AS A VICTOR]

You have all heard of Joseph, and remember very well about his being Jacob's favourite son; and how jealous his ten brothers were that their father made him a beautiful coat of many colours.

Joseph was a kindly young fellow of seventeen, and he did not bear any grudge against his brothers, but talked to them and told them his dreams, as any boy would now-a-days.

But these dreams made his brothers even more angry than their father's love for him, and they hated him.

When people begin to cherish hatred in their hearts, it is not long before it comes out in their actions.

So when Jacob sent Joseph a long journey to see if all was well with his brothers and the flocks, they saw him coming from afar, and began to plan how they could get rid of him and his dreams.

But there was one thing those ten brothers did not think of. They had made a clever plan to murder their brother when he was so far away from home, but they did not remember that their father Jacob's God was Joseph's God as well; and that He was watching over that boy of seventeen, and had a glorious work for him to do by and by.

So God put it into Reuben's heart to advise that Joseph should not be killed, but be put into a pit; intending presently to take his brother back to their father.

But while he was away, a company of merchants came by on camels, and the brothers at once decided to take Joseph out of the pit and sell him as a slave.

When Reuben came back, the camels had passed on their way down to Egypt carrying Joseph with them. The pit was empty, Jacob's darling boy was gone!

And when the cruel sons brought the coat of many colours, all stained with the blood of a kid, Jacob felt sure some evil beast had killed Joseph, and that he should go down to the grave mourning for him.

Do you think those brothers ever had a truly happy moment for years and years?

We read afterwards how they said one to another in Egypt, when God brought their sin to their remembrance: "We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear." And how Reuben had answered them, "Did I not speak to you saying, 'Do not sin against the child,' and ye would not hear?"

So the Midianites and their camels came down to Egypt, and Joseph was sold to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and Captain of the Guard.

It would take too long to tell you here, and you can read it for yourselves in the beautiful account of it in Genesis, chapter xxxix, how God took care of Joseph in every way. How he was raised to favour in his master's house; how he was falsely accused and cast into prison; how again after being put in fetters and irons (as we read in Psalm cv. 18), he was brought into the favour of the keeper of the prison; how he listened to the prisoners' dreams, and told them the meaning of them; how, in consequence of the interpretation of these dreams coming true, he was taken before Pharaoh to explain to the great king his dream; and how God gave Joseph an insight into the future that made him know that there would be seven years of plenty, and then seven years of famine; and how he advised Pharaoh to lay up a store of corn for the scarcity that was coming.

He was taken before Pharaoh
to explain to the great King his dream.

Pharaoh was so pleased with Joseph, and found his advice so good, that he raised him to great honour. He put his own ring on Joseph's hand and dressed him in beautiful clothes, and gave him a chariot to ride in, and made him ruler over all the land of Egypt.

What Joseph had predicted surely came to pass; and when the scarcity came, all the nations around came to buy Pharaoh's corn, which Joseph had so carefully stored up; so that Pharaoh became very rich.

Why do you suppose all this happened to Joseph?

It was because God loved Joseph; he had been His faithful servant all his life. Because He had purposes of mercy not only to the brothers who had been so cruel, but to the world, in which a dreadful famine was coming; and also to the sorrowing father, who had lost the light of his eyes when Joseph was taken from him!

Ah! If we only look out for God's ways, and ponder over them, we shall understand more of "the loving-kindness of the Lord."

And now, because there was corn in Egypt, and because there was a fearful famine in the land of Canaan, it came to pass that the shepherd brothers went down to buy corn, and Joseph, the great ruler, instantly recognized them; and he sent them back with corn for their families, and by and by to fetch his dear old father to come to him till the famine was over. And that was how it was God gave His servant Jacob his heart's desire. You can just imagine with what joy Joseph set out in his chariot to meet his father!

Jacob, who was now a hundred and thirty years old, lived near his dear son Joseph for seventeen years, till his death.

Then the brothers were afraid, that now their father was gone, Joseph might requite the wrong which they had done him. So they went to him, and earnestly asked him to forgive them.

And Joseph wept at their words, and freely forgave them; and said that God had turned their thoughts of evil into good, to keep much people from dying of famine.

And this is how "the Children of Israel" came to settle down in Egypt for four hundred and thirty years.

[III. THE GOOD LITTLE SISTER]

EXODUS 2.1-10

YEARS and years ago, there was a little girl standing by the great River Nile, which as you know, runs through Egypt into the Mediterranean.

There she stood, quite alone, first glancing back to see if anyone might be coming that way, and then looking earnestly towards the river, fringed at that place with bulrushes, which sometimes grew as high as ten or twelve feet.

Why was the girl looking so earnestly at those bulrushes as they swayed in the breeze? Or why did she again turn anxiously to see if any Egyptian Soldier should be coming down to the River's brink?

Did she know of something which was hidden there? Something very, very precious?

Perhaps, wearied with standing and watching in two directions, Miriam sat down, and resting her elbows on her knees, looked only towards the river; and as she sat so silently and patiently there, her mind went over the past months of anxious fears, which had almost overwhelmed the family of Israelites of whom she was the only daughter.

She knew that about 400 years before, the Children of Israel, whom the Egyptians called the Hebrews, and we now call the Jews, travelled down from the land of Canaan (Palestine) to the land of Egypt.

They were the children of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob; and because of a great famine in all the countries round, these Israelites came down to Egypt to buy corn. You have all heard the story of Joseph who was sold into Egypt by his brothers? Well, God had sent this Joseph to Egypt, on purpose, to store up the corn for the famine which was coming.

So Joseph gave his brothers as much corn as they needed, and sent them back to fetch his dear old father Jacob. And that is how the Israelites came down into Egypt, and settled there with their flocks and herds, for they were Shepherds.

But by and bye the Egyptians began to get jealous of them. They increased in numbers so fast, and were so prosperous, because God blessed them abundantly, that the King of Egypt sent out a command that all the little boys who were born to the Israelites must be killed, and only the little girls saved alive.

This was a very cruel command, and the Israelitish women were very sorrowful at having all their baby boys thrown into the river.

At length, one baby boy was born, whom his Mother managed to hide in their little home for three long months; but he was a beautiful, strong child, and soon, his mother found that it was impossible to hide him.

She and her husband loved and served God, and we read in the 11th Chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews and the 23rd verse, that it was "by faith" that they hid him so long, looking up to God in Heaven to save their darling boy.

Then Jochebed made a sort of basket-cradle of the reeds from the River, and she daubed it with slime and made it water-tight. And then she called her little daughter Miriam to her side, and they laid the beautiful baby in his little bed, and Miriam took the basket and carried it down to the water's edge. And, when no one was looking, she hid it in the thick bulrushes which grew there. Then she sat at a distance and watched.

By and bye Miriam saw Pharaoh's daughter, the Princess, and her maidens, come down the road towards the water, and though her heart beat fast, and she was dreadfully afraid, she found they had only come to bathe in the river.

Then she saw as they walked along by the edge, that Pharaoh's daughter noticed something strange among the rushes, and sent her maid to fetch it. And when the Princess opened the basket, there was the beautiful baby crying, and Pharaoh's daughter was grieved to see it cry, and she said: "This is one of the Hebrews' children!" How all the maidens crowded round to gaze at the beautiful baby!

It seems as if Miriam had been coming nearer and nearer, till she stood among the group of maidens who were gazing down at the sweet baby; and she said, looking up into the Princess's face, "Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee?"

And here I notice two or three things about this young girl. First, I think she loved God, and like her Father and Mother, she trusted Him.

Next, I see that she was a patient little girl, and an obedient girl. She did what her mother had told her most faithfully. She also used the common sense God had given her; and in spite of her awe of the Princess, she bravely did the wisest thing she could have done.

She saw that Pharaoh's daughter had taken a great liking to her baby brother, and I think she thought this might be God's way of saving him from death.

So the Princess said "Go!" And Miriam ran, like an arrow from a bow, straight to her Mother, to tell her to come and see after her own baby!

You can think of that Mother's joy. God had seen the faith of that Hebrew Father and Mother, and had answered their prayers to save their child.

And when Jochebed hurried to the River side, and lifted the baby from its cradle into her safe arms, Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages."

Oh! How thankfully did the mother carry her baby back to their little home!

There she took care of him till he was old enough to be taken to the King's Palace, where he was called "the son of Pharaoh's daughter." It was she who gave him the name of Moses, "Because," she said, "I drew him out of the water."

Long afterwards, when God chose Moses to bring the Children of Israel out of Egypt, his sister Miriam went with him.

[IV. SAMSON]

AFTER Joshua was dead, the Children of Israel began to be very slack in serving God; and worse than all, they set up other gods, and worshipped them, as the heathen did around them.

God was very longsuffering, and He raised up Judge after Judge who delivered them from their enemies; but soon the people fell into idolatry again.

At length, God was so grieved at their evil ways that He delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for twenty years. And then He raised them up another Judge.

There was a man who served God, whose name was Manoah; and he had a godly wife, but they had no children.

One day, the Angel of the Lord appeared to Manoah's wife, and he told her that she would have the joy of having a little son, who, when he was grown, should deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines.

But the angel gave Manoah's wife very strict instructions. Neither she, nor her child, were to take any wine or strong drink, and the boy was not to have a razor come on his head from the day of his birth to the day of his death! He was to be what was called "A Nazarite unto God."

And Manoah prayed earnestly that God would send the angel to them again to tell them how to bring up the child who was to come to them.

And God listened to Manoah's prayer; and as the woman was in the field, the Angel came again to her; and she ran hastily to Manoah, and told him.

Then Manoah begged the man to let him dress a kid and offer him food-but the man said he would take no food, but they could offer a sacrifice to God, if they wished it.

And when the sacrifice was offered, and the smoke arose from the Altar, the Angel of the Lord went up toward heaven, and ascended in the flame from off the Altar.

Then Manoah said, "We shall surely die, because we have seen God!"

But his wife argued from all that had happened, that if the Lord had intended to kill them, He would not have accepted their offering, neither would He have showed them all these things.

It was lying by the path, and the bees were swarming around.

At length the child came, and they called him Samson. As he grew to manhood, he found that God was giving him wonderful strength.

One day a young lion came out and roared against him. And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and he rent the lion, and killed him, just as he might have rent a kid; for he had no weapon in his hand.

When Samson next passed that way, he looked for the carcase of the lion, and there it was lying by the path, and the bees were swarming around, as they had built a honey-comb in the body of the lion.

So he ate some of the honey, and took the rest to his father and mother; but he did not tell them that he had killed the lion.

Then Samson made a great feast for seven days, for he had married a Philistine girl, to the great sorrow of his parents. And while they were feasting, he and the thirty young men who were his companions, Samson gave them a riddle to find out, promising that he would give a large prize if they could discover it; but if not, they were to give him a prize.

This was the riddle: "Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness."

The young men puzzled for several days, and at last they persuaded Samson's young wife to get the secret from him. And at length she begged so hard that he told her the answer.

Then she went to her people, the Philistines, and told them.

When the seven days were up, the young men gave the answer: "What is sweeter than honey, and what is stronger than a lion?"

But Samson was very angry when he found that they had persuaded his wife; and he went down to Ashkelon and killed thirty Philistines, and brought the spoil and divided it among the young men who had answered his riddle. And then in fierce anger, he returned to his father's house.

But his wife was given to one of the companions who used to be his friend, and Samson never saw her again.

Samson judged Israel for twenty years, and by his great personal strength and courage, he gained many victories over the Philistines.

But he made a great mistake, which resulted in his death.

The Philistines at once took advantage of this, and promised a heathen Philistine woman great riches if she would find out, and tell them, the secret of his wonderful strength. In an evil moment, he told her that it was because he was a Nazarite, and that no razor had ever come upon his head!

So, when he was asleep, Delilah managed to cut off his hair; and then she sent for the lords of the Philistines, who hurried to the spot. They easily bound Samson because his strength was gone from him; and they put out his eyes, and sent him to grind in the prison-house.

It would take me too long to tell you how his hair began to grow again, and his strength began to return. Or how he was taken out to make sport for the Philistines, and how he begged the boy who led him to let him feel the pillars of the house where three thousand Philistines were watching him from the roof.

Samson asked God to give him strength for this, once more; and then he bowed himself with all his might, clasping the pillars in his arms, and the house fell, and he, and all the three thousand Philistines, were buried beneath the ruins.

What a difference there was between Manoah's godly wife, and Samson's heathen!

[V. THE CHARIOT OF FIRE]

BUT now the time had come when the Lord was going to take Elijah up to Heaven in a whirlwind.

So Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal, and as they journeyed, he said to him: "Stay here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Bethel."

But Elisha would not allow him to go alone, so they went to Bethel together.

When they reached Bethel, the sons of the prophets who lived there came out to meet Elisha, and they said to him: "Do you know that the Lord is going to take your master away from you to-day?"

And Elisha said: "I know it; but hold your peace."

And so it went on till they reached Jericho, and here again the sons of the prophets came to Elisha with their question: "Do you know that the Lord will take your master from your head to-day?"

And again Elisha sorrowfully answered: "Yes, I know it; hold ye your peace."

Then Elijah said to him: "Stay here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Jordan."

But Elisha gave the same answer to him as he had given before, that he would not on any account leave him. So they went on together.

The sons of the prophets evidently knew that something very wonderful was going to happen, and as they saw the two men going towards Jordan, fifty of them gathered together and stood to view from afar.

So they came to the river Jordan, and Elijah wrapped his mantle together and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, and they two passed over on dry ground.

Then Elijah said to Elisha: "Ask what I shall do for thee, before I am taken away from thee."

And Elisha said: "I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me!"

Elijah answered him that was a great thing he had asked, but if Elisha saw him when he was taken away, then he would know that his request was granted.

And as they were talking, there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire, and they were parted from each other; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into Heaven.

And Elisha saw it, and he cried: "My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof."

And he took Elijah's mantle that fell from him, and smote the waters of Jordan again, and they were divided before him, and he passed over.

Then the sons of the prophets begged to be allowed to go to search for Elijah, or to find his body, but Elisha was unwilling, and begged them not to go, for he knew it would be useless.

But fifty of them went out and searched for three whole days, but did not find him.

Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

How could they, when he was gone up to heaven in a chariot of fire?

And now in the New Testament, nine hundred years after that chariot of fire, which took Elijah to Heaven, we read of him again on the top of a mountain talking to Jesus while He was on earth!

It was not long before our Lord's death on Calvary that He took His three disciples, Peter, James, and John, up to a high mountain and was transfigured before them.

You will perhaps ask: "What does transfigured mean?" It means—changed, altered—made exceedingly bright and beautiful.

The Lord Jesus had been on earth for thirty-three years. He had gone about when He was young like an ordinary boy, and afterwards like an ordinary man; except that He did no sin, and was perfectly holy and loving; and was full of mercy and kindness to every one He met.

But now the time had come for Him to suffer on the Cross, to bear the punishment of our sins. And our Heavenly Father wished to give those three disciples a glimpse of the glory which Jesus had left when He came to earth, and to which He was going back, when He had done all the work which His Father had given Him to do.

So when they reached the top of the mountain with Jesus, suddenly they found that His face was changed into a face of glory, and His clothes became white and glistening. And soon they saw that Jesus was talking with two men—Moses and Elijah—who had come down from the glory of Heaven to talk with Him about His death which would soon happen at Jerusalem.

Can we not imagine the joy of Moses and Elijah, and the adoring worship of their hearts, as they talked with their beloved Lord? No wonder that Peter said in one of his Letters afterwards in speaking of this scene:

"We . . . were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice from the excellent glory: 'This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased.' And this Voice which came from Heaven we heard, when we were with Him in the holy mount."

Then a bright cloud overshadowed them, and when it had passed away, Moses and Elijah were no longer there, but Jesus only!

And Jesus came and touched them, and told them not to be afraid.

And then as they went down from the mountain, He explained to them that He would very shortly have to die; but that they were not to tell of the Vision they had seen, till after He was risen from the dead.

Jesus said Himself to two of His friends after His resurrection: "Ought not Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?" And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them all through the Bible the things which were written there about Himself.

[VI. IN THE CAVE]

AFTER David had conquered the giant, and had brought his head to the king, Saul for a while was very proud of his young soldier, and made much of him in every way. And David behaved himself wisely; and Saul set him over his men of war, and he became very popular among the people.

Meanwhile Jonathan, Saul's son, thought there was no one in the world like David! He loved him as his own soul.

He took off his own beautiful clothes, which belonged to him as the king's son, and put them on David, even presenting him with his sword, his bow and his girdle.

But a jealous feeling began to rankle in the breast of the king.

He heard the women singing who came out to meet him from the cities, after David's slaughter of the giant, and these were the words they sang: "Saul has slain his thousands, but David his ten thousands."

This made the king very angry, and from that day forth, he determined to kill David.

So King Saul hunted David up and down the land. Jonathan was devoted to him, and helped him to escape many times. He endeavoured to be a peacemaker, and assured his father that David had no evil designs against him. But it was all of no use. Jealousy, which the Bible says is "cruel as the grave," had entered into Saul's heart, and it poisoned all his thoughts.

Then David again had a great victory over the Philistines, and Saul was so jealous that he threw his javelin at him. David, however, escaped, and the javelin went into the wall, where he had been sitting playing his harp to Saul.

He fled down to his house, but Saul sent men to watch for him and to kill him in the morning. So Michal, his wife, persuaded him to fly that night, for she was sure he would be slain.

Michal was Saul's daughter, and she loved David. So she let him down through a window, and he escaped.

Then Michal took an image, and laid it in the bed, and put a goat's-hair pillow for a bolster and covered it with a cloth.

And when Saul's messengers came to take David, Michal said: "He is sick."

Then Saul sent back the messengers and ordered them to bring David in his bed!

But when the messengers came in, there was only an image in the bed, and David was far away!

So it went on, till David was hunted from place to place, all over the land, and driven, with the men of war who followed him, to live in the mountains, and among rocks and caves, to get away from Saul's vengeance.

One day, as Saul was pursuing hotly after David, who he heard was in the wilderness of Engedi, he was very weary with travel, and finding a large dark cave, he entered it, and lay down to get some sleep.

Little did Saul guess, that the man he had come to seek was close to him, and that in the darkness of the cave, and hidden by the jutting sides, David and his men were quietly watching him.

When Saul had fallen into a deep sleep, David's men whispered to him that the day had come when the Lord had delivered his enemy into his hand!

So David went forward, and as he approached Saul, he saw that his robe, with which he had covered his feet, lay partly on the ground. So he softly cut off the skirt of Saul's robe, and went back to his hiding-place.

But David's heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul's robe; and he hastily forbade his men to touch the king, for was he not the Lord's anointed?

Presently Saul awoke from his sleep and went out of the cave, and David followed him and called out to him, "My lord the king!"

And when Saul looked behind him, David stooped and bowed low before him.

And David said to Saul: "Why do you regard men's words, telling you that I seek your hurt? Look, how this very day the Lord has delivered you into my hand in the cave, and some bade me kill you; but my eye has spared you, and I said, 'I will not put forth my hand to hurt the Lord's anointed!' Moreover, see, my father, here is the skirt of your robe in my hand! Surely you know now that I have not tried to hurt you, and yet you have hunted my soul to take it! The Lord is judge between us; He will plead my cause, and will deliver me out of your hand!"

When David had said these gentle and brave words, Saul said: "Is this thy voice, my son David?" and Saul lifted up his voice and wept.

Then he said to David: "You have been more honourable than I have, for you have rewarded me with good, and I have rewarded you with evil. Therefore may the Lord reward you good for what you have done to me this day."

And then he went on to tell David that he knew he would be king one day, and he earnestly begged him to be merciful to his father's house and not let his name perish out of the land.

So David promised him, before the Lord.

Then Saul went to his home, and David returned to his stronghold.

Saul later on again attempted to capture David, taking with him three thousand men.

David heard where Saul was camped, and taking Abishai with him, entered Saul's camp by night.

They found Saul asleep with his captain in a trench, with his men lying all around.

Abishai wished to kill Saul, but David refused, saying, "Destroy him not: for who can stretch out his hand against the Lord's anointed and be guiltless?"

So they took Saul's spear and water-bottle that was against his head and got away without anyone seeing them.

So David again spared the life of the man who for years had tried to kill him.

[VII. MOSES IN THE LAND OF MIDIAN]

EXODUS 2.13-25

MOSES grew up from that little babe who had been hidden in the flags or reeds of the Nile, and he had been educated in all the learning of the Egyptians, as if he had been the real son of Pharaoh's daughter.

God was watching over Moses all the time, and preparing him for the great and wonderful work he was to do.

Do we all sometimes feel it very hard to learn difficult tasks? Do we, as we grow older, sometimes wonder what work God is getting us ready to do for Him?

I remember when I was young, how I was asked to stay for a fortnight at a lady's house whom I had never seen, or heard of, before. She called on my father, and said she should like to know his two eldest daughters, and would he allow us to come and stay with her?

So we went; we were about nineteen and twenty at that time, and we felt very homesick and strange at first. But do you know? That was one of the best things that ever happened to both of us!

That dear, kind old lady, had a heart full of love to Jesus our Saviour; and she used her money, and her house, and her influence, to help young people to love Him too. And when we got to know her, we had such a happy time, and set to work ourselves to try to bring others to love Jesus. Well, that was God's love in training us for what He wanted us to do afterwards. So, with Moses; he went in and out of Pharaoh's Court, and learned many things which were most useful to him, all his life, in God's Service.

The Children of Israel, or the Hebrews as they were called at this time, were slaves in Egypt, and one day Moses saw an Egyptian using one of the Hebrews very badly. So Moses interfered, and killed the Egyptian who was ill-treating one of God's people.

This made Pharaoh very angry, and he tried to kill Moses.

So Moses fled, and by and bye, he reached the land of Midian, where he sat down by a Well, and rested himself.

MOSES IN THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

This Well belonged to the Priest, or Prince of Midian; and he had seven daughters, who every day came to the Well, and filled the troughs for their father's flocks to drink.

But some shepherds came and drove the girls away, wishing, I suppose, to use the trough to water their own flocks, without waiting for the maidens to finish their task.

But Moses stood up and helped them, so that they watered their father's flock very quickly.

When they came home, their father asked them how it was that they returned so soon?

And they said: "An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and also drew water for us!"

In the East, people are very hospitable, and ready to entertain strangers; and directly Reuel (or Jethro) heard what his daughters said, he exclaimed: "Where is he? How is it that you have left the man? Call him, that he may eat bread."

By and by, Moses and Zipporah had a little son.

So Moses was very happy to stay with Jethro, and soon he married one of Jethro's daughters, named Zipporah. And by and bye Moses and Zipporah had a little son, whom Moses named Gershom.

But while all this was going on in Midian, the plight of the Hebrews who were in Egypt grew worse and worse.

The King, who had wanted to kill Moses, had died, and the Children of Israel sighed under the cruel bondage that the Egyptians put upon them.

And their cry came up to God.

And God looked down out of heaven upon the poor, hardly-used slaves, and He came down from heaven and spoke to Moses about them.

And the words He said are full of the tenderest comfort to all who are in trouble. For God sees it, whatever it is. Also He listens to our cry, when things are too hard for us. But best of all, He knows just what is in our hearts, which nobody else can see or hear, and to this sorrow He says, "I, even I, am He that comforteth you."

So God said to Moses, "For I know their sorrows; and I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up into a good land ... flowing with milk and honey."

And God chose Moses, whom He had so wonderfully trained, to be His Servant, who should deliver the Children of Israel from their hard slavery.

Moses knew all about Egypt. He could speak the language of the Egyptians: he understood all about the Court of Pharaoh, and the customs of the Egyptians. So God sent him straight down to Egypt to deliver His people, and He gave him this great and beautiful promise to cheer his heart:

"Certainly I will be with thee."

Then God explained to Moses that Pharaoh would not let them go, but that He would shew great wonders in Egypt by His Mighty Hand, and after that, Pharaoh would be so frightened, that he would let them go.

All this came to pass; for God sent plague after plague on the Egyptians, until at last, in a marvellous way, God delivered the whole of the Israelites, with all their possessions and flocks and herds, right out of the hand of Pharaoh. And God brought them through the Red Sea on dry land, while the great army of the Egyptians who followed hard after them, with their Chariots and horses, were drowned in the deep waters, so that there was not one left!

And afterwards, God led His people through the wilderness, and did bring them into the Land of Canaan as He had promised.

[VIII. A GOOD REPORT OF THE LAND]

THE Children of Israel—the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—had come down to Egypt in consequence of the seven years of famine. Joseph was there, and was great in the eyes of Pharaoh, and the king made old Jacob and his sons, with their families and their flocks, welcome to live in the land of Goshen.

For a time, they were very happy and prosperous, and God blessed them and they increased in numbers and riches.

But by and by, the Egyptians began to look round upon these Children of Israel, and jealousy of their success filled their hearts.

The Pharaoh who had made them so welcome for Joseph's sake, was dead. And another king arose who had forgotten all about Joseph, and he began to lay burdens on the Children of Israel, and to force them to build his palaces and cities.

He began . . . to force them to build his palaces and cities.

At length, the cruelty and the burdens became intolerable, and the Lord God in Heaven saw their affliction, heard their groaning, and sent down to deliver them.

Moses was His chosen servant, and under him, after many wonderful deliverances, the people were brought right out and set free, and were taken back to the borders of the land which God had promised to give to Abraham and his children after him.

But the Children of Israel were disobedient, and forgetful of all the wonders that God had shown them, in delivering them from Egypt. He had made a way for them to walk dry-shod through the Red Sea; He brought water out of a rock for their thirst; and He sent down manna every day for their food.

But because of their murmuring, complaining spirit, God told Moses that He could not let them go into the land of Canaan just yet.

So He led them about in the wilderness; spreading His cloud over them in the day to shield them from the sun's scorching rays; and by night He put a pillar of fire to give them light and comfort.

At length, in the second year after they came out of Egypt, they reached the wilderness of Paran. And now God told Moses to take one chief man out of each of the twelve tribes of Israel, and he was to send them into the land of Canaan to bring back a report of what they found there.

The promised land

THE PROMISED LAND