Let us covet the best gifts. Let us set our affections on things above, and not on things on the earth.

But Moses also was displeased. He had great cause to be displeased. Their murmurings and rebellion were directed against him as well as against God, for he was God's instrument in their guidance and their ruler for God. In this Moses sinned not. But we may not say so of his feelings towards God. There is evidence of a complaining spirit in his expostulations with the Lord: there is evidence that he felt an irritation of temper. He He complains that God afflicted him, that he was not favourable to him, that he laid too much burden upon him. He observes that he stood in no such relation to them, as that he should have all the trouble and care of them all the way to Canaan. He arrogates too much to himself, when he says, “ Whence should I have flesh to give to all this people?" And he offends greatly when he puts it to God even to kill him out of hand, rather than afflict him and burden him thus. Alas, my brethren, what is man!

We cannot find one righteous, no, not one. “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." Here is Moses, the great lawgiver, himself transgressing the spirit of his own law; here is he falling under its condemnation. Even he needs to bring the atonement. Had not that law been accompanied with sacrifices, through which he might look by faith to the one great expiation of the Son of God, there had been no resource even for him against that curse which is pronounced against every one who “continueth not in all things that are written in the book of the law to do them."

III. Let us now proceed, in the third place, to consider the punishment which the Lord inflicted upon them for this their sin. But first observe his mercy to Moses. He appoints him assistants. He directs him to choose seventy elders, who should have authority given them to execute some of his office, and relieve him of a considerable part of his burden and the Lord promises to put his spirit upon them also, that they might have wisdom and judgment for the due execution

of their office. The forbearance and mercy of the Lord is greatly manifested in this his condescension in listening to the complaint of Moses; yet it had been better had he asked for more divine grace and strength to enable him to bear and rightly to fulfil whatever God might be pleased to require of him. An apostle was also in pain and distress, and he besought the Lord Jesus for relief, and the mercy shewn to him was not a relief from his burden, but a supply of grace proportioned to it the reply was, My grace is sufficient for thee, and my strength is made perfect in weakness."

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Now consider the punishment of the people. It consisted in the granting of their evil desire. The Lord said that he would give them flesh to eat; that he would give it in abundance; that they should not partake of it for one or two days, but for a whole month; and should have it in such quantities, that they should gorge and surfeit themselves with it; and this, "because they had despised the Lord which was among them, and wept before him, saying, Why came we forth out of

Egypt ?" This is announced to Moses. And what does he? Does he fall down before the Lord, and deprecate this anger and punishment of the Lord? No. He has a fit of unbelief, and enquires how the six hundred thousand footmen could be supplied : "Shall the flocks and herds be slain for them to suffice them? or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together to suffice them ?" He receives an answer sufficient at once to stop all these his vain enquiries, " Is the Lord's hand waxed short? Thou shalt see now whether my word shall come to pass unto thee or not." A wind therefore was raised as in the case of the plague of locusts which was brought upon the land of Egypt, and this wind brought with it an astonishing number of quails, some kind of wild fowl which was good for food. By the appointment of him who brought them they fell all round the camp, so that the people gathered them in immense quantities. But now when their wish was gratified to its fullest extent, the indignation of the Lord appeared. "While the flesh was yet between their teeth,

ere it was chewed, the wrath of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord smote the people with a very great plague. And he called the name of that place Kibroth-hattaavah," (that is, the graves of lust,)" because there they buried the people that lusted." It is probable that this plague was produced by their eating even to surfeiting, and even thus it would be as miraculous as if sent without any intervention. Yet neither the history nor the record of it in the seventy-eighth psalm assigns it to this cause. And this we know that the Lord God can execute his wrath in every possible variety of mode, and that whether he chooses to employ instruments and secondary causes, or puts forth his power immediately, all things obey his bidding, and he doeth what he will among the armies of heaven, and among the inhabitants of earth.-But let us learn that we cannot have a greater curse than the gratification of our own desires. Not only will God punish us for our unholy and sinful lustings, but often will he punish us even by the gratification of them. Intemperance of every