n He bade His disciples, in reliance upon Him,
to go forth and convert the world.

And this is the true test which divides faith from presumption, and
unbelief from prudence: do we go because God is with us in Christ, or
because we ourselves are strong and wise? Do we hold back because we are
not sure of _His_ commission, or only because we distrust ourselves?
"Humility without faith is too timorous; faith without humility is too
hasty." The phrase explains the conduct of Moses both now and forty
years before.

Moses, however, still entreats that any one may be chosen rather than
himself: "Send, I pray Thee, by the hand of him whom Thou wilt send."

And thereupon the anger of the Lord was kindled against him, although at
the moment his only visible punishment was the partial granting of his
prayer--the association with him in his commission of Aaron, who could
speak well, the forfeiting of a certain part of his vocation, and with
it of a certain part of its reward. The words, "Is not Aaron thy brother
the Levite?" have been used to insinuate that the tribal arrangement was
not perfected when they were written, and so to discredit the narrative.
But when so interpreted they yield no adequate sense, they do not
reinforce the argument; while they are perfectly intelligible as
implying that Aaron is already the leader of his tribe, and therefore
sure to obtain the hearing of which Moses despaired. But the arrangement
involved grave consequences sure to be developed in due time: among
others, the reliance of Israel upon a feebler will, which could be
forced by their clamour to make them a calf of gold. Moses was yet to
learn that lesson which our century knows nothing of,--that a speaker
and a leader of nations are not the same. When he cried to Aaron, in the
bitterness of his soul, "What did this people to thee, that thou hast
brought so great a sin upon them?" did he remember by whose
unfaithfulness Aaron had been thrust into the office, the
responsibilities of which he had betrayed?

Now, it is the duty of every man, to whom a special vocation presents
itself, to set opposite each other two considerations. Dare I undertake
this task? is a solemn question, but so is this: Dare I let this task go
past me? Am I prepared for the responsibility of allowing it to drift
into weaker hands? These are days when the Church of Christ is calling
for the help of every one capable of aiding her, and we ought to hear it
said more oft