Moses grew up to be a great man: he was a very good man too, and one who loved and served God.

LESSON VIII.

THE BRAZEN SERPENT.

Mamma. When Moses grew up to be a man, God made him to be a ruler among the people. Now some of these people were very wicked. They did not obey God's commands. They did not

pray to God, nor serve God. They did not mind what Moses said to them, and they were unkind to each other, and angry with each other.

D. Did God punish them, Mamma, as he did those naughty people at the time of the flood? Mamma. Yes, my dear; for God is holy: He cannot bear even the sight of sin. He thought it right to punish these wicked people, that they might learn to do better in future.

D. How did he punish them, Mamma?

Mamma. He sent a great number of fiery serpents among them, and they bit the people so that many of them died.

D.

And were they sorry that they had been so wicked, Mamma? Mamma. Yes, my dear; they now began to be very sorry, and they came to Moses, saying, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against thee: pray unto the Lord that He take

away the serpents from us. Then Moses, who, as I have told you before, was a good man, and loved God, prayed for the people. God always hears the prayers of those who love him. He heard the prayer of Moses when he prayed for those wicked people, who were so wicked as not to pray for themselves.

D. Did God answer his prayer, Mamma, and take away the serpents, that they might not bite them any more?

Mamma. Yes: He told Moses to make a brazen serpent, and set it upon a pole; and He said that every one who was bitten, and who looked at that serpent, should

live.

D.

And did Moses do so? Mamma. Yes; for he always Idid what God told him to do. He made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and fixed the pole upright in the ground in the middle of a wide common; and it came to pass as God had said,