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I. IT EVINCED GREAT SELF-DENIAL, He despised the pleasures of a court for the still greater luxury of doing good; he relinquished the enjoyments of a fine mind, a cultivated taste, and a splendid imagination, cradled in affluence, for the still loftier rewards of morality and religion; he turned a deaf ear to the voice of ambition which promised him the crown. Nor can it be said of Moses, what has been sneeringly declared of Solomon by the disciples of Kant and the shallow imitators of Voltaire, that he renounced the pleasures of this world only when his infirmities unfitted him for enjoying them. He was now in the vigour of his youth, and in all the prime of his manhood. Have you the moral courage and the self-denial to do what Moses did? You cannot refuse, like him, to be called the son of a princess. But have you the self-denial and the moral fortitude of character to be perfectly satisfied with the humble station in which Providence has placed you? Is it your aim to use this world as not abusing it, and to devote to His glory those talents with which you are intrusted?

II. THE CHOICE OF MOSES DISPLAYS SINGULAR RESOLUTION.

III. THE CHOICE OF MOSES DISPLAYS CALM AND COOL DELIBERATION ON THE MOST PAINFUL CONSEQUENCES OF SUCH A CHOICE. He insulted the princess, he outraged the royal favour, and he poured contempt upon the whole courtiers of the land. And the wrath which would now run high against him would bear some proportion to the love which adopted him as a son. These were consequences which Moses could not overlook in coming to such a resolution, and they were every way calculated to excite the deepest regret. Instead of his conduct being imputed to the true motives, he knew that it would be traced to principles to which he was an utter stranger. Nor could he vindicate himself; he was gone, and vile ingratitude was stamped upon his character. Nor were these the only difficulties which would present themselves to his generous mind. He was offering his services to men who scarcely knew the sacrifices which he was making — who could not appreciate his exertions on their behalf. These were the immediate consequences of his choice; they were far too palpable for such a man as Moses was, not to perceive; and they were far too important for him not to consider. Yet, notwithstanding all this, he deliberately " chose to suffer affliction with the people of God, rather than enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season." Such should be the principles by which you are actuated in making a profession of religion now. If your profession of religion is not founded on real principle, if it is not guided by solid information, and if it is not animated by love to the truth, then there is no stability in your character.

IV. THE CHOICE OF MOSES DISPLAYS EARLY ATTENTION TO RELIGION. The apostle here tells us that, when Moses came to years, he made this choice, which fully warrants us in concluding that he had given very early attention to this matter. He considered the subject in all its bearings, and he traced out its consequences in time and eternity. And the result of this investigation was the choice which is here recorded. We enjoy far greater privileges than ever Moses knew. We are taught to look back to the incarnation, the life, and the sacrificial death of Christ, as a part of recorded history, instead of a part of those prophecies which were darkly unfolded, or of those ceremonies which were imperfectly understood. In conclusion —

1. Notice the great folly of those men who prefer the pleasures of sin to the enjoyments of religion.

2. Those men are wise who make the same choice that Moses did.

(A. Gilmour.)

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KJV: By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter;

WEB: By faith, Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter,