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(41) And become cognizant of the meaning of thy ejaculations, And say, 'Ah! my prayers are as defective as my being; O requite me good for evil!'" Moses questions God as to the reason of Moses said, "O beneficent Creator, With whom a moment's remembrance is as long ages, I see Thy plan distorted in this world of earth and water; My heart, like the angel's, feels a difficulty thereat. With what object hast thou framed this plan, And sowed therein the seeds of evil?

(29) Then God stirred up a Prophet among them, even Moses, who gave them Laws, and sharp Doctrines, as Nature required; and these were given them (through the Spirit of the great World) in Zeal, in the Fire. Yet seeing they would live still in the Roughness, therefore they were tried [or tempted to see,] Rule, or Dominion. whether they would live in the Father; and God gave them Bread from Heaven, and fed them forty Years, to try what Manner of People they would be, and whether they would by any Means be brought to cleave to God: He gave them Ordinances and Customs [to observe,] in Meats and Drinks, and also a priestly Order, with heavy and hard Precepts and Punishments, which he published also to them; but it availed not, they were only wicked, and walked in the Dominion [or Regimen] of the Stars; and yet far worse, [they walked] altogether according to the Wrathfulness of Hell.

(12) Again, the Lord clearly shows sins and transgressions to be in our own power, by prescribing modes of cure corresponding to the maladies; showing His wish that we should be Corrected by the shepherds, in Ezekiel; blaming, I am of opinion, some of them for not keeping the commandments. "That which was enfeebled ye have not strengthened," and so forth, down to, "and there was none to search out or turn away."

(151) I knew of myself what ye thought, But I desired that ye should speak it; As this boasting of yours is very improper, So shall my mercy be shown to prevail over my wrath: O angels, in order to show forth that prevailing, I inspired that pretension to cavil and doubt; If you say your say, and I forbear to punish you, My mercy equals that of a hundred fathers and mothers; Their mercy is as the foam of the sea of my mercy; It is mere foam of waves, but the sea abides ever!

(53) Behold! God the Father spoke to the People of Israel on Mount Sinai, when he gave the Law to them, saying; 'I am an angry, zealous, or jealous God to those that hate me.' [Exod. 20. 5. Deut. 5. 9.]

(12) And ye shall have no peace nor forgiveness of sin: and inasmuch as †they† delight themselves in †their† children,

(5) But ye--ye have not been steadfast, nor done the commandments of the Lord, But ye have turned away and spoken proud and hard words With your impure mouths against His greatness. Oh, ye hard-hearted, ye shall find no peace.

(1) Moses said, "Their sorcery confuses them; What can I do? These people have no discernment." God said, "I will generate in them discernment; Although like a sea their waves cast up foam, O Moses, thou shalt prevail over them; fear not!" The magicians gloried in their own achievements, But when Moses' rod became a snake, they were confounded. Whoso boasts of his beauty and wit, Sorcery fades away, but the miracles of Moses advance. Both resemble a dish falling from a roof: The noise of the dish of sorcery leaves only cursing;

(1) "God has seen many faults done by me; Yea, how many sins and faults of mine has He seen, Nevertheless of His mercy He punishes me not." God Almighty spake in the ear of Shu'aib, Addressing him with an inner voice in answer thereto, "Why hast thou said I have sinned so much, And God of His mercy has not punished my sins?" Thou sayest the very reverse of the truth, O fool! Wandering from the way and lost in the desert! How many times do I smite thee, and thou knowest not?

(1) A voice came from God to Moses, "Why hast thou sent my servant away? Thou hast come to draw men to union with me, So far as possible, engage not in dissevering; 'The thing most repugnant to me is divorce.' To each person have I allotted peculiar forms, What is praiseworthy in thee is blameable in him, What is good in him is bad in thee, I am exempt from all purity and impurity, I created not men to gain a profit from them,

(192) Fear not to acknowledge your ignorance and guilt, When you say, "I am ignorant; O teach me," O ingenuous one, learn of our father Adam, Who said of yore, "O Lord, we have dealt unjustly." He made no vain excuses and prevaricated not, On the other hand, Iblis raised arguments, saying, "I used to be honorable; Thou hast disgraced me. My stain is owing to Thee; Thou art my dyer; Thou hast caused my sin and transgression." Read the text, "Lord, Thou hast caused me to err,"

Then follows a very long account of the dealings of Moses, an incarnation of true reason, with Pharaoh, the exponent of mere opinion or illusion. It begins with a long discussion between Moses and Pharaoh. Moses tells Pharaoh that both of them alike owe their bodies to earth and their souls to God, and that God is their only lord. Pharaoh replies that he is lord of Moses, and chides Moses for his want of gratitude to himself for nurturing him in his childhood. Moses replies that he recognizes no lord but God, and reminds Pharaoh how he had tried to kill him in his infancy. Pharaoh complains that he is made of no account by Moses, and Moses retorts that in order to cultivate a waste field it is necessary to break up the soil; and in order to make a good garment, the stuff must first be cut up; and in order to make bread, the wheat must first be ground in the mill, and so on. The best return he can make to Pharaoh for his hospitality to him in his infancy is to set him free from his lust-engendered illusions, like a fish from the fish-hook which has caught him. Pharaoh then twits Moses with his sorceries in changing his staff into a serpent, and thereby beguiling the people. Moses replies that all this was accomplished not by sorcery, like that of Pharaoh's own magicians, but by the power of God, though Pharaoh could not see it, owing to his want of perception of divine things. The ear and the nose cannot see beautiful objects, but only the eye, and similarly the sensual eye, blinded by lust, is impotent to behold spiritual truth. On the other hand, men of spiritual insight, whose vision is purged from lust, become as it were all eyes, and no longer see double, but only the One sole real Being. Man's body, it is true, is formed of earth, but by discipline and contrition it may be made to reflect spiritual verities, even as coarse and hard iron may be polished into a steel mirror. Pharaoh ought to cleanse the rust of evil-doing from his soul, and then he would be able to see the spiritual truths which Moses was displaying before him. The door of repentance is always open. Moses then promised that if Pharaoh would obey one admonition he should receive in return four advantages. Pharaoh was tempted by this promise, and asked what the admonition was. Moses answered that it was this, that Pharaoh should confess that there is no God except the One Creator of all things in heaven and on earth. Pharaoh then prayed him to expound the four advantages he had promised, saying that possibly they might cure him of infidelity, and cause him to become a vessel of mercy, instead of one of wrath. Moses then explained that they were as follows:

(1) Moses asks the Almighty, "Why hast Thou made men to destroy them?" Moses said, "O Lord of the day of account, Thou makest forms; wherefore, then, destroyest Thou them? Thou makest charming forms, both men and women; Wherefore, then, dost Thou lay them waste?" God answered, "I know that this query of thine Otherwise I should chastise and punish thee; Yea, I should rebuke thee for this question. But thou seekest to discover in my actions The ruling principle and the eternal mystery, In order to inform the people thereof, And to make 'ripe' every 'raw' person.

(12) The murder of †their† beloved ones shall †they† see, and over the destruction of †their† children shall †they† lament, and shall make supplication unto eternity, but mercy and peace shall ye not attain."'

(7) But now when they were fallen away from God, [as Adam was,] then came Moses and Joshua, and saw the Apostacy [or Falling away,] and broke the Tables in Pieces, and led them into the Wilderness; where they must all die, except Joshua and Caleb: For the Clarity [or Brightness] of the Father in the Fire, in the first Principle, could not bring them into the promised Land; and although they did eat Manna, yet it did not help [in] the Trial, only Joshua, and at length JESUS must do it.

(5) What was done there? Answer, Moses was called by God (out from [among] the Children of Israel) up into Mount Sinai, and stayed there forty Days: And then he would try the People whether it was possible for them to put their Trust [or Confidence] in God, that they might be fed with heavenly Bread, that so they might attain Perfection. And there now stood the Mind Majoris mundi, of the great World; and on the contrary, the eternal Mind of God, in Strife one against another; God required Obedience, and the Mind of this World required [or desired] the Pleasure of this transitory Life, as Eating, Drinking, Playing, Dancing; therefore they chose them moreover their Belly-God, a Golden Calf, that they might be free and live without Law,

(20) in Moses, when he gave the Law to the Children of Israel, I am an angry jealous God to those that hate me; afterwards he calls himself also a merciful God to them that fear him. Quest'ion. [Exod. 20. 5, 6. Deut. 5. 9, 10.]