them, "Thus saith the LORD GOD of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour." And the Levites obeyed, and about three thousand men were killed that day for their sinful idolatry.

The LORD was very angry with Aaron too, and would have slain him, but Moses prayed that he might be forgiven; and he went before the LORD, and prayed very earnestly for the people, saying, "O LORD, this people have sinned a great sin in making them gods of gold: yet now, if Thou wilt forgive their sin; and if not, blot me, I pray Thee, out of Thy book which Thou hast written."

Then God answered Moses, saying, "Whosoever hath sinned against Me, him will I blot out of My book. Therefore now go, lead the people unto the place of which I have spoken unto thee: behold, Mine Angel shall go before thee."

And while Moses spoke with GOD "face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend," the people saw how the pillar of cloud descended at the door of the tabernacle, and they were filled with awe and worshipped.

Then Moses asked the LORD to show him that He would indeed lead His people into the promised land; and the LORD answered, "My Presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest." Then Moses ventured to ask GoD to show him His glory; and the LORD answered, "Thou canst not see My Face, for there shall no man see Me and live. But I will make all My goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the Name of the LORD before thee."

So the LORD commanded Moses to make ready two tables of stone instead of those which were broken, and to come up early in the morning to Mount Sinai. Moses obeyed; "and the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the Name of the LORD, and the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, the LORD, the LORD GOD, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth; keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, and transgression, and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children." Then Moses bowed his head to the earth and worshipped, and said, "If now I have found grace in Thy sight, O LORD, let my LORD, I

pray Thee, go among us: for it is a stiff-necked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for Thine inheritance."

Then the LORD renewed His Covenant with Moses, and gave him more instructions for the people, and forty days and nights again did Moses spend in Mount Sinai, with the LORD. When he came down again to the people, with the Tables of the Law in his hand, Moses' face shone so brightly with the glory of the LORD on which he had looked, that Aaron and the people were afraid, and could not look on him; so Moses covered his face with a veil while he spoke unto the people, and told them all that God said to them through him.

THE TABERNACLE AND THE LAW.

THE next thing was to obey all the word of the LORD, and prepare His Sanctuary: so Moses summoned the people, and told those who had willing hearts to bring their offerings unto the LORD; and " every wise-hearted man in whom the LORD put wisdom and understanding to know how to work all manner of work for the service of the sanctuary; even every one

whose heart stirred him up to come and do the work," helped, and the people brought so many more offerings than enough, that Moses had to proclaim that nothing more was needed. Then the tabernacle and Ark were made after the directions of GOD; and when everything was finished, "Moses did look upon all the work, and behold, they had done it as the LORD had commanded, even so had they done it, and Moses blessed them."

The solemn blessing that God taught His Priests to give the people was this, "The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: the LORD make His Face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: the LORD lift up His Countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.

It was in the second year after the children of Israel left Egypt, on the first day of the first month, that Moses set up the tabernacle, and solemnly anointed and consecrated all the holy vessels, according to God's command. And "so Moses finished the work. Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.

And when the cloud was taken up, the children of Israel went onward in all their journeys; but if the cloud was not taken up, then they journeyed not until the day that it was taken up; for the cloud of the LORD was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys."

Among the commandments that God gave to His people Israel, through Moses, were very particular directions about sacrifices, and to prove how important obedience was, it came to pass that two of Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, who did not attend to these directions, died.

"There went out fire from the LORD and consumed them." Even Aaron held his peace, and made no lamentation over his lost sons, for the LORD forbade it, but through Moses He bade all the people to bewail the sin which Nadab and Abihu had committed. There were many other precepts of the law concerning all manner of things, both in the religious life and the daily life of the people, regarding what people are apt to consider little faults, and hardly to heed, as if God would not notice such things. Some of the precepts are very beautiful in their spirit of love and pity: such as this law concerning the harvest; "When ye