, like every other soul of
man.

For Moses himself must not enter into the promised land. In spite
of all his faith, his courage, his endurance, his patriotism, he has
sinned against God, and he must be punished; and punished, too, in
kind--in the very thing which he will feel most deeply, in being
shut out from the very happiness on which he has set his heart all
along.

He who has brought the Jews to the edge of the promised land must
not have the honour and glory of taking them into it. He must have
no honour and glory. That must be God's alone. Man must be
nothing, and God all in all. Moses must die in faith, not having
received the promises, as many another saint of God has died.

And why? To teach him and the Jews and us that man IS nothing, and
God is all in all.

Moses had given way to the very temptation which would beset such a
man. He had spoken unadvisedly with his lips, and said, 'Hear now,
ye rebels, or ye fools, must WE bring you water out of this rock?'
WE, and not God. He had claimed for himself the power and glory of
working miracles. The miracles, he thought for a moment, were his,
and not God's. And it may be that this was not the only time that
he had so sinned. He may naturally have thought that he had some
special power and influence with God. But be that as it may, the
Jews were trained to believe that the miracles were God's, God's
immediate work, and not performed by the wisdom or sanctity or
supernatural power of any saint or prophet whatsoever. Let the Jews
once learn to give the honour and glory to Moses, and not to God,
and the whole of their strange education went for nothing. Instead
of worshipping God they would begin to worship saints. Instead of
trusting in God, they would begin to trust in men; whether on earth
or in heaven matters not. If Moses was to have the honour and
glory, the Jews would surely grow into a superstitious, saint-
worshipping, miracle-mongering people, and come to ruin and slavery
thereby. They were to fear God and nought else. To trust in God
and nought else.

So Moses must vanish out of their sight, sadly and mysteriously.
All they know of him is, that he is punished for a sin which he
committed long ago, as you and I may be. All they know of his death
and burial is, that his body was not left foully to the birds of the
air and the beasts of the field; for the Lord buried him. They know
not how, and did not need to know. And we need n