ed himself unto him, not as he essentially is (for
it is impossible for a created being to see God), but by certain
manifestations in material forms, as he alone can, and he planted in
Abraham more perfect knowledge; he magnified him and made him his own
servant. Which Abraham in turn handed down to his children his own
righteousness, and taught them to know the true God. Wherefore also
the Lord was pleased to multiply his seed beyond measure, and called
them 'a peculiar people,' and brought them forth out of bondage to the
Egyptian nation, and to one Pharaoh a tyrant, by strange and terrible
signs and wonders wrought by the hand of Moses and Aaron, holy men,
honoured with the gift of prophecy; by whom also he punished the
Egyptians in fashion worthy of their wickedness, and led the Israelites
(for thus the people descended from Abraham were called) through the
Red Sea upon dry land, the waters dividing and making a wall on the
right hand and a wall on the left. But when Pharaoh and the Egyptians
pursued and went in after them, the waters returned and utterly
destroyed them. Then with exceeding mighty miracles and divine
manifestations by the space of forty years he led the people in the
wilderness, and fed them with bread from heaven, and gave the Law
divinely written on tables of stone, which he delivered unto Moses on
the mount, 'a type and shadow of things to come' leading men away from
idols and all manner of wickedness, and teaching them to worship only
the one true God, and to cleave to good works. By such wondrous deeds,
he brought them into a certain goodly land, the which he had promised
aforetime to Abraham the patriarch, that he would give it unto his
seed. And the task were long, to tell of all the mighty and marvellous
works full of glory and wonder, without number, which he shewed unto
them, by which it was his purpose to pluck the human race from all
unlawful worship and practice, and to bring men back to their first
estate. But even so our nature was in bondage by its freedom to err,
and death had dominion over mankind, delivering all to the tyranny of
the devil, and to the damnation of hell.

"So when we had sunk to this depth of misfortune and misery, we were
not forgotten by him that formed and brought us out of nothing into
being, nor did he suffer his own handiwork utterly to perish. By the
good pleasure of our God and Father, and the co-operation of the Holy
Ghost, the only-begotten Son, ev