When Jehovah appeared to Moses in the wilderness, at Mount Horeb, in the burning bush (Ex. 3:1-12), He said to Him, "Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place where thou standest is holy ground."

Likewise, when the delivered nation, after humiliating failures because of unbelief, had been brought into the land, and were about to enter upon its conquest, we have again the same words to Joshua (Josh. 6:15):"And the captain of the Lord's host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy." Thus at the beginning and at the close, we might say, of the redemption history, we have this significant action on the part of the leader, as representing all the people.

We have in the bush at once the representation of the people, their affliction, and of the Lord with them in it-"In all their affliction He was afflicted" (Isa. 63:9). The bush was a thorn bush, and in that way speaking of those who, as to themselves, instead of fruit had borne but thorns. The fire was the affliction and chastening put upon them by their enemies, and permitted by the Lord for their faithlessness. In the midst of it all the Lord was with His chosen ones, measuring out the suffering, and at the right time manifesting Himself for their deliverance.

It was at this time the Lord appeared to Moses, to send him on the errand of love and mercy to set His people free. "I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt."

But if it was in grace that the Lord had come down to meet His needy people, He was to teach Moses at the very outset that not one whit was the holiness and majesty of His presence to be ignored. Grace which brought Him near was not inconsistent with the holiness which would keep man in his true place. "Put off thy shoes from off thy feet."

We do well to remember this at all times. In the preaching of the gospel it is most important. We present the love of God in all its fullness; the grace and tender mercy awaiting the re turning sinner; the alluring and bountiful table spread for the hungry;-but let us never forget that the sinner is that, a rebel against the divine majesty, a trifler on the borders of eternity. Will not this put a check upon natural levity, and the flippant manner sometimes seen in presenting the gospel ? Will not the preacher the rather feel himself in the presence of One who says, "Put off thy shoes from off thy feet " ? We believe that gospel preaching of this character will result in far deeper work than is now common. Let not grace, mercy, and love, be ignored; nor the joy that fills the soul and flows out be checked;-these cannot be in excess if along with them is carried and presented the sense of the righteousness, holiness, and majesty of God.

The same holds good in all the fundamental truths of the word of God. They are not truths for the head merely, furnishing the mind; nor yet even for the heart as well, drawing out the affections ; but they are to put the soul in the presence of God, a presence where no flesh can glory, where nature is in its true place-the shoes are put off.

Beloved brethren, we have been intrusted with many precious truths, recovered in their clearness through the special mercy of God in these last days. Let us see to it that the knowledge do not puff up, but that it be coupled with an ever deepening sense of our own nothingness and of the amazing pity and mercy of God. The full conception of Grace will ever lead us to say, Who am I ? Perhaps it may not be amiss to say this particularly to beloved younger brethren-that they let reverence and lowliness go hand in hand with knowledge. Then they are safe, and the enemy cannot so easily lead them into error.

That a like scene is repeated at the close of the Wilderness and the beginning of their warfare in the Land, serves to emphasize that of which we are speaking. The judgments in Egypt were past; the mighty deliverance through the divided sea was an accomplished fact; the awful display of divine majesty and glory from Sinai was now a recollection ; and the varied acts of mercy and judgment in the Wilderness were all behind them. They were now in the Land promised to them, and were to face new enemies, to enter upon fresh experiences. At the very outset, on the border-land, as it were, between the two experiences, they were reminded that it was with the same God they had to do. "The Captain of the Lord's host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot."

Canaan, as we know, represents for us the blessings in heavenly places in Christ. Of the fullness of these blessings and their varied character we have but begun to taste. Without doubt that land, " the glory of all lands," with its "hills and valleys," its '' brooks of water, and fountains and depths that
spring out of valleys and hills," is even more minutely than we had supposed a foreshadowing of those spiritual blessings even now made good to us by the Holy Spirit. The cities and villages which clustered thickly upon the hills and in the valleys all over that land; the tribal boundaries and location-all have doubtless a voice and a meaning for us, if our ears are open.

These are our portion; but like Israel of old, we find powerful enemies standing in the way of our entering upon the enjoyment of what has been given to us. There must be conflict if we are to enjoy what is ours. But the prerequisite to all success here is to be in subjection to the Captain of the Lord's host. Here is the world which Satan and the wicked spirits in heavenly places will use to keep us out of the enjoyment of our blessings. How can we meet and overcome them? Only by following our Captain. But His presence is a holy presence. We must be there with unshod feet-in holy reverence.

Particularly do we need this in what is called high truth. There is danger here lest speculation take the place of Scripture, and a mental trafficking in divine things supplant that meek and lowly spirit which ever becomes us. It is the lack of this that has led to many sad shipwrecks, and deep sorrows, to the people of God. Unholy speculations as to the per-son of our adorable Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, His work, and its effects, have only too often resulted from a failure to loose the shoe from the foot when entering upon such holy themes.

We might also remark that a failure in this is but too often manifest when questions arise which affect the fellowship of the Lord's people. Here, if anywhere, it becomes us to be on our faces before God. Grave questions press for answer; a line of conduct is to be followed; scriptural principles to be maintained. Let us be in the presence of God in handling such themes. Let us be alone with Him often, constantly in the spirit of prayer, and we shall find the way made clear and a sweet and blessed sense of that holy presence with us all our days.