ONE great fault of the Israelites was that they had no patience. The moment they saw anything troublesome or difficult, they began to cry out, and say they could not get on, and it was very hard on them. Now it is very wrong ever to say God is very hard upon us, for we may be sure He is doing what is best for us. There was one stony, hot, steep part of the journey still to come, and when the Israelites saw it they forgot how often God had helped them, and cried out, and lamented, and complained of Him and of Moses. [Illustration: THE BRAZEN SERPENT.--Num. 21:31.] So again they were punished, for the little shining snakes that live there came in numbers, darting at them and biting them, so that the bite burnt like fire, and they died. Then they cried out to God and were sorry, and He told Moses of a wonderful way to cure them. Moses was to melt up some brass and make a great serpent, like the little ones that bit them, and set it up on a pole. Then if anyone who was bitten would come at once and look up at the brazen serpent, his bite would get well, and he would not die of it. This was a miracle--a wonder. And it was to teach the Israelites something, and us too. For you know our Blessed Lord hung on the cross, as the serpent hung on the pole; and when our souls are in danger of dying of sin, we must think of Him, and look to Him in faith, and He will save us from being punished for our sin, and keep our souls from dying. QUESTIONS. 1. What sort of place had the Israelites to go over? 2. How did they like it? 3. What did they do? 4. Why ought they not to have cried out? 5. Who had been taking care of them? 6. So how did God punish them? 7. What happened when the serpents bit them? 8. What were they sorry for? 9. So what was Moses to make? 10. Where did he put the brazen serpent? 11. What were they to do if they were bit? 12. What cured them? 13. Who hung upon the cross? 14. What does He cure our souls of? THIRD READING. "He humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not."--_Deut. 8:3._ THIS morning you heard how God gave the children of Israel water to drink in the wilderness. Now you shall hear what He gave them to eat. The ground was all hard stones. There was grass which the cows and sheep could eat, and there were a few trees with long sharp thorns, but no fruit on them, and no corn to make bread; and soon the people were very hungry, and began to cry out that they did not know what would become of them. But God was not going to forget them. When they rose up in the morning, the fresh dew lay on the grass, and all about in the dew were little white things that tasted like wafers made with honey. This was called manna, and God had sent it from heaven for them to eat.