thought and bodily organization shall cease, as soon as the corruption of the body, muscle, nerve, and flesh shall begin, and the unfitness and impossibility of the continuance of the thinking principle with that organized body shall be therefore evident; then, at that hour I believe that the consciousness of the thinking principle inheres in3, or is united to, a new molecular inhabitation,—that new manifestations of Deity take place ;—that as the Israelite in the wilderness saw at a distance the Tabernacle, the Holy place, the Holy of holies, so we shall see the true Holy of holies, surrounded by the spirits of the just made perfect, of our kindred, and the angels of heaven. We shall see the manifestation of the presence of God, and the Mediator of the new Covenant. As the flower breaking forth from its bud, where it had been veiled in darkness and obscurity, in the brightness of the midday sun, in summer, finds itself in the presence of the midday sun, the blue sky, and the green earth, all of which were beforehand present in their magnificence and glory, so the soul of Moses, and so the soul of every believer in the God of the religion of the God of Moses and of Christ, when it breaks forth from the prison of the body, will find itself transfigured, changed, fitted to exist in the manifested presence of God, of Christ, and of souls departed. We cannot believe that Moses talked with God, and that his soul then fell into a state of sleep till the Transfiguration. We cannot believe that we shall commune with God, delight in God, commend our souls to God, and then sleep, in the corrupting, corruptible body, till the last transfiguration takes place, and we meet with Christ in glory. The death which Moses died proves the continued existence of his soul till his appearance at the Transfiguration. His appearance at the Transfiguration, and his conversation there, prove to us that the redemption of the soul by Christ is the one great object of the thoughts of the redeemed; and the whole history therefore of his death and of his appearance with Christ presents us with the earnest of the scenes that shall follow our own death, if the God of Moses, the Lord Jesus Christ, be our God. On the character of Moses as the servant of God, and the friend of his brethren, the exemplary teacher and the disinterested leader of his people, the faithful priest, the prevailing intercessor, the impartial historian, and the holy lawgiver, the prophet, the poet, the judge, and the sovereign, we have no need to speak. The record of his excellencies is familiar to us all. This lesson only let us learn from his life, his death, and his appearance at the Transfiguration of Christ, to fulfil all righteousness, to obey the Law in its spirit, to commune with Christ on his redemption; and to pray that we be united with Moses, and Elias, and Christ, in the world of souls, to rejoice in his redemption, and to be re-united with the souls of the Patriarchs, of the prophets, of the Apostles, and of all who have passed from earth to heaven in the faith and fear of God. O may God grant that thus, even thus, we all meet together in the invisible world as members of the one Universal Church, redeemed by the blood of Christ, and sanctified, and perfected, and blessed, and made happy for ever, by the influence, the comfort, and the of peace the eternal Spirit of God! 5 Locke's Essay on the Human Understanding. 1 CHRIST 1451. • Numb. 27. DEUTERONOMY XXXIV. Death of Moses.-Lamentation of the people. CHRIST 1451. BEFORE 1 And Moses went up 7 [kAnd Moses was BEFORE from the plains of Moab an hundred and twenty a unto the mountain of years old when he died: 12. & 33. 47. Nebo, to the top of || Pis- his eye was not dim, gah, that is over against his +natural force taJericho. And the LORD bated. ch. 32. 49. i Or, The hill. b ch. 3. 27. nor ch. 31. 2. See Gen. 27. Josh. 14. 10, 1. & 48. 10. 11. + Heb. + Heb. fled. b shewed him all the land 8 And the children of moisture. Gen. 14. 14. of Gilead, unto Dan, Israel wept for Moses in m 1451. 50. 3, 10. 2 And all Naphtali, and the plains of Moab thirty TM See Gen. the land of Ephraim, and days: so the days of weep- Numb. 20. Manasseh, and all the land ing and mourning for 4 ch. 11. 24. of Judah, dunto the utmost Moses were ended. sea, 3 And the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, unto Zoar. e 4 And the LORD said Gen. 12. 7. & unto him, 'This is the land 13. 15. & 15- which I sware unto Abra 18. & 26. 3. & 28. 13. 32.52. of Nun was full of the ham, unto Isaac, and unto 10 And there Parose P See ch. 18. 15, 18. 11. 8 ch. 3. 27. & it unto thy seed: I have like unto Moses, whom 9 Exod. 33. caused thee to see it with the LORD knew face to Numb. 12. 6, thine eyes, but thou shalt face, not go over thither. a valley in the land of mighty hand, and in all the Moab, over against Beth- great terror which Moses See Jude 9. peor: but no man know- shewed in the sight of all eth of his sepulchre unto Israel. this day. i PRAYER.—LET US PRAY, that we be prepared to meet God in death and in the world of souls, by the faith which produces love, and hope, and obedience. That we delight in the contemplation of the promise of the happiness of the world beyond the grave. That we obey God, not in the spirit of bondage, as the servant and the slave, but in the spirit of adoption, as the children of God, the brethren of Christ, and the joint heirs with Him of the best inheritance of the soul. That God's Holy Spirit give a right judgment to our intellect and reason, and holy comfort to our will and affections in the prospect of death, and the hope of heaven. ALMIGHTY GOD, with whom do live the spirits of them that depart hence in the Lord, and with whom the souls of the faithful, after they are delivered from the burthen of the flesh, are in joy and felicity; prepare us, O prepare us, we beseech Thee, for that day when the body shall return to the dust; and when the soul, which now thinks, and reasons, and repents, and worships, and adores, and prays to Thee, shall live with Thee in new scenes, new conditions, new states of existence. Prepare, O prepare my trembling, anxious, sinful, yet repentant soul to dwell in its new life with Thee. In the name of the Conqueror of death, the Bruiser of the serpent's head, the Friend, the Brother, the Saviour and Redeemer of all the souls that believe His Holy Word, and trust His ceaseless love, and pray to obey His blessed will, we come to Thee. We pray Thee to strengthen our faith, that we may love Thee more and serve Thee better; and that without presumption, or dread, or terror, we may look for that day of death. Into Thy hands we commend our spirits. Absent from the body, may we be present with the Lord. As Thy servant Moses was commanded to ascend the hill, to survey the Land of Promise, and to die; and as Thy servant cheerfully and joyfully obeyed Thy holy will, and gazed upon the inheritance of his people, before Thou didst separate his soul from its earthly tabernacle; so hast Thou commanded us Thine unworthy servants, in the spirit of holy contemplation, to meditate on the world beyond the grave; to survey the Promised Land, the true Canaan of heaven; to fear no evil; to ponder the fulness of joy, and the pleasures which shall be for evermore, to the dead which die in the Lord. Make us willing to expect our death, and to be joyful in the anticipation of eternal glory. Cause to begin now, in our peaceful souls, the happiness of the world to come. May we, by faith in the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world, draw near with boldness to the throne of grace, and there behold our Creator reconciled to His child, and the child reconciled to his Creator. Now, even now, O Father of Spirits, begin within our souls that unspeakable blessedness, when the soul shall know neither sin, nor temptation, nor sorrow, nor suffering; but when the obedience and resigna tion of the will to God shall be the only desire of the tranquil spirit. Unite us to the Universal Church in heaven. As Moses and Elias, at the Transfiguration of Thy blessed Son, talked with Christ on the Redemption He was about to perfect for all believers; so unite us to the Church of the firstborn, and to the souls of our dear kindred and friends, who, having died in faith, are gone before us to their rest. May we rejoice together with them in the Providence that guided us through life and death to Thy glory; and still more rejoice in the mysteries of Redemption, the accomplishment of Thy promises, and the perpetual communion with our God. Give us the Spirit of Thy Son in our hearts. As children, and not as slaves, may we love Thee and fear Thee. May Thy Holy Spirit be the Spirit of adoption to our souls,-that as Thy sons and children-as the children of God-the brethren of Christ-the heirs of Thy kingdom-the joint heirs of the glory, which the Son of God Himself possesses with Thee—we may praise Thee, and bless Thee, in life, and in death, and in the immortality before us. Lead us to the living fountains of waters. Take away the sins of the soul, and the sorrow of the heart. Speak peace to Thy servants. Evermore mightily defend us. Grant us, by Thy holy inspiration upon our minds and souls, to think the things that be good; whatsoever things be true, whatsoever things be honest, and just, and pure, and lovely; whatsoever things are of good report: if there be any virtue, or holiness, or praise, may we think of these things. On earth, as in heaven, Thou dost pour forth the wisdom and comfort of Thy Holy Spirit, till the soul be filled with all the fulness of God; so send down Thy Holy Spirit upon us, that, as we draw nearer and nearer to the grave, we may descry more clearly the gates of the heavenly Jerusalem, breathe more freely the gales of Thy Paradise, and hear more distinctly the voices of the harpers harping with their harps. Pardon all our sins for Christ's sake. Accomplish the promise within us-that there shall be no more curse. Now, even now, before we die, grant us, by the same Spirit, so to have a right judgment in all things, that our understanding, and our reason, and all the powers of our mind, may be strengthened, and delivered from false hopes, vain fears, sinful doubts, and all the dark imaginations which cloud the bright hopes of the soul. So grant us by the same Spirit to rejoice in Thy holy comfort that our will may choose, and our affections delight in, the peace, the love, the joy, that come from Thee. Where Christ dwelleth, may we dwell. With the Prince and the Saviour whom Thou hast exalted may we rest for ever. Now, even now, O Lord our God, we thank the Prince of Peace who has given repentance unto Israel and forgiveness of sins. Now, in life, in death, and for ever, may we come to Thee in that name which is above every name. At the name of Jesus we bow. In the name of Jesus we offer all our prayers, now, in death, and for ever. With angels and archangels, and with all the company of heaven, we laud and magnify Thy glorious name, evermore praising Thee, and saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts, heaven and earth are full of Thy glory; glory be to Thee, O Lord most high. O Son of God, Intercessor for man at the throne of God, Mediator, the one only Mediator between God and man, offer Thou our prayers; in Thine own words we pray to Thy Father and our Father, to Thy God and our God, saying, Our Father, &c. The grace of our Lord, &c. NOTES. NOTE 1. On the structure of the Book of Deuteronomy. Deut. xxxiv. 1. This part of the Book of Deuteronomy could not have been written by Moses. It was added probably by Joshua, or inserted in the sacred canon by order of the seventy elders, immediately after the death of Moses. I may observe here, that the Book of Deuteronomy may be regarded as a speecha speech made on one and the same day by Moses to the assembled tribes. Any objections that a perusal of the Book may suggest to this view, will be removed by the recollection that Moses was commanded not only to speak the words here delivered, but to write them. We have the written speech, containing, therefore, besides the words that were spoken, such additional passages as were designed for the better understanding of the speech on the part of those who should read it. These additions will be found to embrace the following verses : Ch. i. 1-5. ii. 20-23. iv. 41-49. xxvii. 1. "And Moses with the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, xxix. 1,part of 2," These are the words of the covenant, which the Lord commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, beside the covenant which he made with them in Horeb. And Moses called all Israel, and said unto them." xxxii. 44, 45, part of 46, "And he said unto them" 48-52. xxxiii. 1, part of 2, " And this is the blessing wherewith Moses the man blessed the children of Israel before his death. And he said." xxxiii. 4; xxxiv. NOTE 2. On the words j, rendered by our translators, "the utmost sea." Deut. xxxiv. 2. The Mediterranean Sea (called the "utmost sea," or "the hinder sea" Zech. xiv. 8; and here, too, as the same word in the original is used, the same English term might as well have been employed) was the western boundary of the Promised Land. Jarchi would render it "the latter day;" for he says that the Lord showed to Moses all that should happen to Israel until the resurrection of the dead. And so the Targum of Jonathan paraphrases the above passages, and observes that the Lord showed Moses the mighty deeds of Jephthah of Gilead, and the victories of Samson, who was of the tribe of Dan; the idolatries of that tribe; and Samson; the Saviour that should spring from them; Deborah, and Barak, and the princes of the house of Naphtali; Joshua, the son of Nun, of the tribe of Ephraim, that should fight with and slay the kings of Canaan; and Gideon, the son of Joash, of the tribe of Manasseh, that should fight with Midian and Amalek, and all the kings of Israel, and the kingdom of the house of Judah; the king of the south, that should join the king of the north, to destroy the inhabitants of the earth; and even the destruction of Armillus, or Antichrist, and the war of Gog and Magog, and the great affliction Michael shall save from. Gill in loc. CONCLUDING NOTE. On the history of Moses. The remarkable confirmation of the truth of the declaration, that "he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter." The meaning of his "being gathered to his fathers;" his appearance at the Transfiguration; and his present existence. Deut. xxxiv. 10. I must refer the student for animated and eloquent reflections on the life, character, actions, and death of Moses, to the numerous extracts in Mant and D'Oyly; the admirable summary by Adam Clarke, at the end of Deuteronomy; Graves on the Pentateuch; and generally to the commentators: all of whom are justly lavish of their encomiums on him, "the prophet, like unto whom no prophet arose in Israel." I conclude these notes, therefore, not by repeating the praises which I must suppose are familiar to all readers of Scripture, but by adding some few observations which have escaped their notice on the singular confirmation discovered by my learned friend, Dr. Nolan, of the declaration of the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews, that Moses "refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter," xi. 24; on his being 66 gathered to his fathers;" his appearance at the Transfiguration of Christ, and the conversation which then took place; and on his present existence in the invisible state. Dr. Nolan, then, in his work on Egyptian chronology, has shown that the daughter of Pharaoh was Amense, who succeeded Amenophis, 1560 B.C., and whose reign extended from the twelfth to the thirty-fourth year of Moses 7. Amense adopted Moses as her In conson, having no children of her own. sequence of the refusal of Moses to accept the sovereignty over Egypt, Amense was succeeded by Moris, the next heir of a former race of kings. As Christ at His temptation refused the temporal dominion of the world, Moses refused the dominion of the metropolis of the world, the powerful and magnificent kingdom of Egypt, which was then at its greatest height of fame and worldly glory. Amense had been converted to better principles than those generally maintained by her idolatrous countrymen, under the influence of her youthful protegé, whom she had drawn from the water in his infancy, and confided to his sister, to be educated by their religious mother. Mr. Nolan's book should be diligently studied by the lover of Biblical antiquity, and Scriptural truth. He gives the following tabular view of the Egyptian sovereigns who filled the throne of Egypt from the birth of Moses to the Exodus : . "One of the strongest proofs," says Dr. Nolan," that the princess named Amense, whose reign extended from the twelth to the thirtyfourth year of Moses, was the Pharaoh's daughter' by whom he was saved and pa tronised, arises from the consideration of the insurmountable difficulties with which the account of his Egyptian education is embarrassed, if the notion of the identity of those princesses is rejected. It is otherwise inexplicable how he could have been versed in all the learning of the Egyptians' (Acts vii. 22), which must have been acquired in the intermediate years of his life, and which was only to be obtained through the authority of the reigning monarch; for we know that all approach to their mystic lore was closed against strangers, to whom nothing short of the authority of the sovereign could compel the priests to throw it open. |