played in a way which must have convinced all of the cause of their sufferings, and the inevitable consequences of sin. The wilderness in which the Israelites now were, according to the accounts furnished us by highly respectable travellers, was, and indeed continues to be, infested by great numbers of serpents, of a brilliant, fiery color, whose bite produced considerable inflammation, and an acute pain, similar to that inflicted by fire, which generally proved fatal to those who were unfortunately wounded by them. The SUPREME BEING allowed these serpents to increase in great numbers among the people, and to make, by their fatal ravages, many thousands of them monuments of his displeasure. It would be very difficult for us to form a correct and full idea of the mischief effected by these destructive creatures among a body of several millions of persons. Multitudes rose in the morning in their accustomed health, rejoicing in their connexions, and pleased with the hope of soon surmounting their present trials, and entering the land described to them as flowing with milk and honey. But, alas! stepping to the door of the tent, perhaps to gather up their allotted portion of manna for the day, or to transact business with an acquaintance, they are bitten by one of these reptiles; poison is infused into the blood; the part affected is swollen; and in a very few hours they lie cold and stiff in the arms of death. Thus thousands, and probably tens of thousands, in a very few days, fell victims to an incensed DEITY, and proclaimed to future ages, "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living Gop Who shall describe to us the confusion and sorrow which now universally prevail? In this tent lies the corpse of a beloved and only child, the hope and solace of its parents; but it is gone, and they weep, refusing to be comforted: there the bereaved husband is seen bending over the inanimate body of her who but yesterday was the blooming beauty, and the lovely bride; yonder is the interesting female bedewing with her tears the lifeless remains of one to whom she, but a few hours ago, hoped to be united for many years to come; and at a little distance we may see the aged couple, bending under the weight of years, committing the prop of their age to the silent dust; and as they are engaged in this act, they themselves have the mortal bite inflicted on them. Oh, sin! how dreadful are thy ravages! It is easy to bring on ourselves merited punishment; but, alas! we cannot dismiss, as we would, the consequences of our transgressions. It is well when our trials lead us to reflection and humiliation. The Israelites, thus visited with a painful dispensation, losing their beloved connexions, seeing thousands of their kindred changed to corpses, and assured that no human arm could save them, very properly applied to Moses, their leader, and the friend of GOD. They knew that his prayers had power with JEHOVAH, they hoped that his mediation with him would now be accepted, and they felt it to be right to acknowledge their sins both against Heaven and Moses. Happily for Israel, Moses was a man eminently distinguished for meekness; and when they consulted him he did not reproach them with their past crimes: but seeing proofs of repentance, and feeling an ardent desire for their deliverance and happiness, he bowed before the throne of JEHOVAH, and used his mighty influence in their favor. Nor was his intercession in vain, for the LORD heard, and at once prepared a remedy. "His A thousand times has it been seen, that, in order to accomplish his purposes, the GOVERNOR of the Universe employs different means to those which would be selected by his creatures. ways are not as our ways, neither are his thoughts as our thoughts." We should have supposed that a council would have been convened of those who were most eminent for medical skill, and that their combined wisdom might have discovered some method of cure. But JEHOVAH resolved on a remedy which in itself possessed no virtue; but which, owing its efficacy solely to its being his appointment, should impress the people with a sense of their entire dependance on him, and ensure to himself the whole glory of their recovery. Moses was directed to make a serpent of brass, to elevate it on a pole in the midst of the camp, to proclaim that whoever had been bitten might look upon it, and that, though dying, such persons should instantly recover. What a display was this of infinite mercy: what a remarkable interposition in favor of Israel! We can easily imagine the suggestions of infidelity on the one hand, and the triumphs of faith on the other, on this occasion. It is quite probable that when the proclamation was made through the camp, some persons would begin to reason on the improbability of the remedy, and would argue, that, as looking at a serpent made of brass could possess no medicinal virtue, it could not be the appointment of JEHOVAH and it is quite possible that with these views some might refuse to look, and die. Others, however, smarting under excruciating pain, reduced to despair as to all human help, and just ready to expire, would joyfully listen to the declaration of the acknowledged servant of GOD, would exult in the provision of a remedy so free, simple, and efficacious; and would earnestly look and thus derive life. How fondly does the fancy dwell on the happy scenes thus produced, by the blessing of JEHOVAH, on the means he had appointed for the recovery of his people! How much happiness would be diffused through numerous families, by the happy recoveries which took place among them! While the justice of the DEITY was manifested by punishing in this awful manner those who rebelled against him, his mercy was at least equally displayed by the recovery of those who exercised faith in his word. How striking an illustration does this narrative afford us of the way of salvation by CHRIST JESUS! Twice, at least, did the SAVIOUR refer to it in this way; when he said to Nicodemus, "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up; that whosoever believeth in him should not LOCUSTS IN THE EAST. 139 perish, but have eternal life:" and when he afterward said to his "And I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto me.' disciples, He is the appointed remedy to whom perishing and dying sinners can alone look for life and salvation; the way of obtaining mercy is by the belief of the truth concerning him, and placing a simple reliance on his favor; thousands are found to despise his mercy, and they perish for ever; others are constrained to look unto him and they are saved. May it be equally the happiness of the writer and his readers to believe in this great DELIVERER, and to experience the blessings of his infinite grace. LOCUSTS IN THE EAST. SUCH a visitation as a swarm of locusts, indicative of the vengeance of an Almighty power, can only be conceived by those who have witnessed their sweeping and dreadful ravages. Indeed, in some countries the calamity reaches to such an extent, as actually to compel the inhabitants to lay in stores of provisions, lest they should suffer famine in consequence of their visit. I once happened to be near a cloud of these insects, which darkened the sun, and extended for several miles. The whole ground was literally covered with them. They leap like grasshoppers, making at the time a hissing noise. It is asserted that they have a government similar to bees. They follow the wind, and when the king rises, he is attended by a host of them, which proceed in one compact form, similar to a disciplined army on a march in the same direction. They come chiefly with the east wind. That they have a royal leader, however, is contradicted by Solomon (Prov. xx. 27). The Arabs eat them in a fried state with salt and pepper; and they were unquestionably permitted as food under the Jewish dispensation (Lev. xi. 22), at which time there were different species of them. These insects are also mentioned in the description of the ruins of the city of Nineveh (Nahum, iii.). Solomon also alludes to them in connexion with "dearth, sickness, and pestilence," in the sublime prayer offered at the consecration of the temple (2 Chron. vi. 28). Their grand objects of attack are vines and figtrees, which they so completely strip of their leaves as to convert them in a moment into an image of winter; and the husbandman, at the "rising of the sun," joyfully beholding his fruitful fields, promising bountiful crops, beholds, before its "going down," his hopes blasted, and the fair landscape become a desert. This is exactly agreeable to their practice of old (Exod. x. 15), where we are told, "Thou shalt carry much seed out into the field, and shalt gather but little in; for the locust shall consume it," (Deut. xxviii. 38). The swarms of locusts arise from immense tracks of waste land, which affords them shelter from the heat. THE SCAPE-GOAT. THE opposite group of animals consists of a scape-goat, and young bullock, goat and kid of goats, which were used by the high-priest of Israel, for a sin-offering. See Levit. xvi. 10, et seq. The scape-goat is the large white one, with a riband or fillet tied around his horns. "Let him go for a scape-goat into the wilderness." A commentator holds the following language on this text : "The Rabbins inform us, that after the lot had been taken, the high-priest fastened a long fillet, or narrow piece of scarlet to the head of the scape-goat; and that after he had confessed his own sins and those of the people over his head, or (for we are not quite certain about the point of time), when the goat was finally dismissed, this fillet changed color to white if the atonement were accepted by GoD, but else retained its natural color. It is to this that they understand Isaiah to allude when he says:-Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool' (Isaiah i. 18). After the confession had been made over the head of the scapegoat, it was committed to the charge of some person or persons, previously chosen for the purpose, and carried away into the wilderness; where, as we should understand, verse 22, it was set |