Story, as it relates to the _Jewish_ Church in
the Wilderness, and to the Children of _Israel_ in their travelling
Circumstances; and this was the first Scene of publick Management that
the Devil had upon his Hands in the World; for, as I have said, _till
now_, he dealt with Mankind either in their separate Condition, one by
one, or else carried all before him, engrossing whole Nations in his
Systems of Idolatry, and overwhelming them in an ignorant Destruction.

But having now a whole People as it were snatch'd away from him, taken
out of his Government, and, which was still worse, having a View of a
Kingdom being set up independent of him, and superior to his Authority,
it is not to be wondred at if he endeavour'd to overthrow them in the
Infancy of their Constitution, and tried all possible Arts to bring them
back into his own Hands again.

He found them not only carried away from the Country where they were
even in his Clutches, surrounded with Idols, and where we have Reason to
believe the greatest part of them were polluted with the Idolatry of the
_Egyptians_; for we do not read of any stated Worship which they had of
their own, or if they did worship the true God, we scarce know in what
manner they did it; they had no Law given them, nothing but the Covenant
of Circumcision, and even _Moses_ himself had not strictly observ'd
that, till he was frighted into it; we read of no Sacrifices among them,
no Feasts were ordain'd, no solemn Worship appointed, and how, or in
what manner they perform'd their Homage, we know not; the Passover was
not ordain'd till just at their coming away; so that there was not much
Religion among them, at least that we have any Account of; and we may
suppose the _Devil_ was pretty easy with them all the while they were in
the House of their Bondage.

But now, to have a Million of People fetch'd out of his Hands, as it
were all at once, and to have the immediate Power of Heaven engaged in
it, and that _Satan_ saw evidently God had singled them out in a
miraculous manner to favour them, and call them _his own_; this allarm'd
him at once, and therefore he resolves to follow them, lay close Siege
to them, and take all the Measures possible to bring them to rebel
against, and disobey GOD, that he might be provok'd to destroy them; and
how near he went to bring it to pass, we shall see presently.

This making a Calf, and paying an idolatrous Worship to it (for they
acted the Heathens and Ido