those
institutions which were to perpetuate the name and the worship of
Jehovah among the children of men; and that memorial which, by a long
line of types and sacrifices, was at once to prefigure and prepare for
the great atoning sacrifice, offered for a lost world.

Of all the fallen sons of Adam, none were ever destined to a station of
more arduous responsibility, of more extensive and long-continued
influence than that appointed to this Hebrew infant; and He who had
marked out his destiny ordained the means which were to prepare him for
it. Transplanted into the family of Pharaoh, he was there instructed in
all the "wisdom of the Egyptians," and Egypt (as we know) was the
fountain of ancient learning, science, and philosophy. While Jehovah
communicated by direct inspiration to Moses, yet the mind of the ruler
and leader of Israel had been prepared by that instruction which
develops the capacity, expands the mind, and enlarges the apprehension
to receive and understand the institutions Jehovah gave his people, and
he was thus enabled to co-operate with an enlightened mind in all the
designs of God. But if the schools of Egypt imparted that intellectual
attainment, mental discipline and knowledge of legislation in its
various forms, so necessary for the lawgiver, there were other
influences which were needful for the perfection of the character. There
was a knowledge higher and holier than that ever taught by priests or
Grecian philosophers,--a wisdom beyond that of the Egyptians, "the
knowledge of the Lord," the God of his fathers, and the first great
truths of religion should be breathed into the soul in the whispers of
parental love. The earthly parent should lead the child to the feet of
the great Creator.

And then in the formation of a character which was to leave its impress
upon all future ages to the close of time, the affections were to be
cultivated, the sympathies awakened, and all that is pure and kind and
elevated in the nature of man drawn forth. And where is the influence
which so gently moulds the character, refining, softening, and elevating
it, as the affectionate, intelligent sister? As a man advances in life,
the continual influence and association of virtuous and accomplished
women is felt in all the relations he is called to sustain.

We see in the various circumstances of the life of Moses a Divine
recognition of the value of the family relation and of the importance of
the influence of wome