However, Israel having undertaken to "_do_," they were put to the test, and the most cursory view of Ex. xix. will be sufficient to show what a marked change took place the moment they had uttered the words "we will do." The Lord had just reminded them of how He "bare them on eagles' wings, and brought them unto Himself;" but now He says, "Set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it: whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death." This was a very different aspect of things. And let my reader remember, it was the simple result of man's having said, "I will do." There is far more involved in those words than many might imagine. If we take our eyes off from God's actings, and fix them on our own, the consequences must be disastrous in the extreme. But we shall see this more fully ere we close this paper. Let us now inquire how the house of Israel fulfilled their singular vow. We shall see that it ended like human vows in every age.[VIII.] Did they do "_all_" that the Lord commanded? Did they "continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them?" Alas, no. On the contrary, we find that ere the tables of testimony were given, they had broken the very first commandment in the Decalogue, by making a golden calf, and bowing down thereto. This was the earliest fruit of their broken vow; and then, onward they went, from stage to stage, dishonoring the name of the Lord--breaking His laws, despising His judgments, trampling under foot His sacred institutions. Then followed the stoning of His messengers whom, in patient grace and long-suffering, He sent unto them. Finally, when the only-begotten Son came forth from the bosom of the Father, they with wicked hearts rejected and with wicked hands crucified Him. Thus we pass from Sinai to Calvary: at the former we hear man undertaking to do all the Lord's commandments, and at the latter see him crucifying the Lord Himself. So much for man's vows, so much for man's "_I will do_." The fragments of the tables of testimony scattered beneath the fiery mount told the first melancholy tale of the failure of man's audacious resolution: nor was there any real break in the narrative, which has its closing scene around the cross of Calvary. All was failure--gross, unmitigated failure. Thus it must ever be when man presumes to vow or resolve in the presence of God. Now there is a very striking resemblance between Israel's vow at the foot of mount Sinai and the Confirmation Vow of the Establishment. We have rapidly glanced at the former; let us now refer to the latter.