LIBRARY
PRiNCETONf N. J.
No. Shelf, Sect.G^.., j,. ^ -^.^. .^.
No. Book,
44^
►
LECTURES
BIBLICAL HISTORY
COMPRISING THE LEADING FACTS
FROM THE
CREATION TO THE DEATH OF JOSHUA.
TO PROMOTE AND FACILITATE THE CAREFUL READING OF THE SACRED
SCRIPTURES, AND ADAPTED TO THE USE OF FAMILIES, BIBLE
CLASSES, AND YOUNG PEOPLE GENERALLY.
By WILLL-LM NEILL, D. D.
PUBLISHED BY
WILLIA?.I S. INI ART TEN,
'jiiLADKLniiA, 37 South Seventh St. — New York,23 Centre Street.
1846.
Entered according to the act of Congress, in the year 1846, by
WILLIAM S. MARTI EN,
in the office of the Clerk of the District Court for the Eastern District
of Pennsylvania.
CONTENTS,
LECTURE I.
The Creation of^the world 13
Completed in six days 14
Mankind — distinguished by the Divine image, and invested
witii dominion over the other creatures 16-1 8
Marriage instituted 19
LECTURE II.
The Garden of Eden— its locality 20
Description of— by Milton 23
Industry enjoined 24
The Sabbath instituted 25
The Covenant of Works 26
Its violation, the introduction of sin, involving the whole hu-
man race 27, 28
Objection considered 29
LECTURE III.
The Apostasy — conjectures about — the account of Moses the
most rational 30, 31
The temptation by Satan, in the form of a serpent 32-34
The heinousness of the first sin, and its consequences 37, 38
CONTENTS.
LECTURE IV.
The offerings of Cain and Abel— tlieir occupations and char-
acters, 39-43
Animal sacrifices — their design to prefigure the death of
Christ, 44, 45
Cain, a Deist — Abel's faith in the Atonement 46, 47
LECTURE V.
Seth's birth and piety — first visibility of the Church, in the
days of Enos — Enoch translated — Adam dies 43-55
Longevity of the Antediluvians 56
LECTURE VL
The Deluge — the wickedness of men — Noah prepares the
ark — its dimensions and preservation — the Divine for-
bearance— the universality of the flood 57-Gfi
LECTURE Vn.
The covenant with Noah — his piety and thank-offering — the
rainbow — a beautiful phenomenon, and token for good to
the world 67-76
LECTURE VIII.
Noah's prophecy, death, and character — practical reflections. 77-85
LECTURE IX.
Tower of Babel — confusion of languages, and dispersion of
the people 66-94
LECTURE X.
The calling of Abram — its design— the glory of God, and the
good of Mankind 95-104
CONTENTS.
LECTURE XI.
The Abrahamic covenant — its nature and design — circum-
cision its seal lOo-l 12
LECTURE Xn.
Abraham's faith tried, by the virtual sacrifice of his be-
loved Isaac — a type of the death of Christ — believers
the children of Abraham 112-120
LECTURE XIII.
Incidents in the life of Isaac — the death of his mother —
marries Rebecca, the daughter of Bethuol — his con-
templative habits — blessed as his father had been. . . . 121-126
LECTURE XIV.
Life of Jacob — his sin in supplanting Esau, in which he
was countenanced by his mother — Providence vindi-
cated in this matter 130-137
LECTURE XV.
Jacob's vision on his way to Mesopotamia — a symbol
of divine Providence — his stay in that country — the
reconciliation between him and Esau, after many
years' separation 138-145
LECTURE XVI.
Joseph hated, and sold by his brethren — his amiable spirit
— his prophetic dreams — the base conduct of his bre-
thren 146-156
LECTURE XVII.
Joseph's elevation at the court of Egypt — his divine skill
in the interpretation of dreams, gives him favour —
his wise counsels, in regard to the approaching fa-
mine, 156-167
1* -
CONTEXTS.
LECTURE XVIII.
Joseph makes himself known to his brethren, and sends
for his father — his charge against his brethren for
stealing his cup, not justifiable — Judah pleads for
Benjamin's return, 168-178
LECTURE XIX.
Jacob and his family go into Egypt — settle in Goshen,
and there the Patriarch dies, after blessing his sons.. . 180-190
LECTURE XX.
Jacob's funeral — Joseph's filial affection, and peaceful
death, after requesting that his bones might be carried
into Canaan 191-200
LECTURE XXI.
The birth, and miraculous preservation of Moses — the
cruel edict of Pharaoh, under which he was born —
adopted by Pharaoh's daughter — a special Providence
manifested in his case 201-210
LECTURE XXII.
Moses flees into Midian — declining the honours of an
earthly court — attends the flocks of Jethro a prince of
Midian 211-217
LECTURE XXIII.
Moses receives liis commission, at Iloreb — the burning
bush seen there, a symbol of the Church — receives a
token that God will be with him — Aaron joined with
him in the commission 220-228
LECTURE XXIV.
Moses and Aaron proceed to execute their commission, for
the deliverance of their brethren from Egyptian bon-
dage— all obstacles in their way removed by the power
of God 229-238
CONTENTS.
LECTURE XXV.
The Passover instituted — a type of redemption by Christ
— its analogy to the Lord's Supper 239-244
LECTURE XXVI.
Various particulars connected with the exit from Egypt —
the Israelites borrowing from the Egyptians explained
— Joseph's bones carried to Canaan — the Egyptians
drowned in the Red sea 245-253
LECTURE XXVII.
Occurrences between the Red sea and Mount Sinai — the
murmuringsof the people rebuked — Moses intercedes,
and is encouraged, and sustained by Aaron and Hur, 256-263
LECTURE XXVIII.
The law given, and the Sinai Covenant instituted — three
kinds of laws given — the covenant, its nature, and de-
sign differing from the Abrahamic 265-274
LECTURE XXIX.
The tabernacle erected, and the Jewish ministry instituted
— and how it differs from the Christian ministry .... 275-283
LECTURE XXX.
Presumption and rebellion punished, in the case of Nadab
and Abihu — seventy elders appointed to assist Moses
— ten commissioners sent out to survey the land of
Canaan — the people discouraged — the case of Korah
and his company 284-292
LECTURE XXXI.
The brazen serpent, a type of Christ — the fitness of the
type — its proper use and import — practical lessons. . 294-303
CONTEXTS.
LECTURE XXXII.
The character and prophecy of Balaam — his mysterious
conduct — the love of gain his ruling passion, and
ruin 305-312
LECTURE XXXIII.
The death of Moses, Aaron, and Miriam — Joshua's desig-
nation, as successor of Moses, by imposition of hands. 314-324
LECTURE XXXIV.
The conquest of Canaan, under Joshua, by divine au-
thority— the fact unquestionable — the awful dispensa-
tion vindicated — no justification of aggressive war. . 324-333
LECTURE XXXV.
The conduct of Joshua, a fine example to men in power —
his patriotism, piety, excellent counsels, and peace-
ful death 334-343
PREFACE.
The substance of these Lectures formed a part
of the instructions given to a Bible Class,
which the author had the pleasure of con-
ducting, when minister of the sixth Pres-
byterian church, Philadelphia, of which the
Rev. Dr. Joseph H. Jones is now pastor. They
were favourably received, at the time, and
deemed by some, worthy of preservation in a
form more permanent and convenient, than
that of manuscript. Nor were they, altogether,
without effect. The class increased in num-
ber; the meetings were anticipated with in-
terest ; and an unusual desire was manifested,
to become intimately acquainted with the facts
and doctrines of the insjnred volume. These
notes, with some modification, were subsequent-
ly used, also, in a course of Sabbath evening
exercises, delivered to the students of Dick-
inson College, when the author was connected
with that institution. After lying by for seve-
ral years, in danger of becoming waste-paper,
10 PREFACE.
they are now published, in the humble hope
that they may be acceptable and useful to
those who search the Scriptures, that they may
become wise unto salvation, through faith in
Him, of whom Moses and the Prophets wrote.
In preparing the matter embodied in this lit-
tle volume, there has been no attempt at any
thing elaborate or novel. The sole object has
been, to present the truth in simplicity and
plainness, so that the reader will find no diffi-
culty in getting at the meaning. The aim,
throughout, has been, to combine exposition
with the suggestion of practical lessons; to
elucidate, where explanation seemed necessa-
ry, with as little expansion as possible ; not to
comment on every thing that occurs, but to
explain and vindicate a few of the most re-
markable facts and doctrines exhibited in the
sacred text; to trace the early and brief his-
tory of the Church; to bring into view her
form of government and rites of worship ; to
notice the changes made therein, from time to
time ; and, particularly, to show the faithful-
ness of God, in fulfilling to her his promises,
in protecting her, and in augmenting her ad-
vantages, increasing her numbers, and extend-
ino- her influence through successive genera-
tions, for the accomplishment of his great and
gracious designs respecting our guilty race.
The biography of the Patriarchs have not
PREFACE. 11
been given, except, in so far as was deemed
necessary to -unfold the divine providence, as
carrying into effect the stipulations of the
covenant with Abraham respecting the king-
dom of our Lord, the seed, in which all the
families of the earth are to be blessed. Some
incidental marks of the divine origin and
authority of the Bible, have been pointed out,
in passing ; but for the most part, the critical
or fastidious reader will find little here to at-
tract his attention. We have written, mainly,
for the serious inquirer, who is in good earn-
est, seeking the way of life, that he may walk
therein, and find peace and acceptance with
God.
The work is put forth with no lofty preten-
sions, or sanguine expectations, but as an
humble contribution to the cause of revealed
religion; as the author's honest testimony to
the truth and excellence of the Bible. It is de-
signed, chiefly, for young readers, who are be-
ginning to ask, what is truth, and where shall
we find it ? It is intended to direct their atten-
tion to that blessed Book, in which they will
find the maxims of unerring wisdom, and the
words of eternal life. From the moderate size
of the volume, as well as from the variety of
its contents, it may be deemed a convenient
manual for family use. In meetings for social
worship, in the absence of ministers, a lecture
PREFACE.
may be read, as a part of the religious services.
And in the Bible Class, that most important
institutimi in its hearing on the future prospects
of the Churchy it is hoped, that one of these
short lectures may be read to advantage when
deemed appropriate, without interfering with
the appointed and usual exercises.
In this age of light reading, and when books
are made, in many instances, more for attrac-
tion, than for the advancement of truth and
good morals, it seems important that the minds
of our children and youth should be well im-
bued with the principles of true religion, and
put on their guard against the seductive influ-
ence of that trashy and licentious literature,
that is constantly issuing from the press, and
solicitinor their favourable res^ard. That this
humble volume may contribute, in some small
measure, to so great and desirable an object, is
the fond hope and earnest prayer of the author.
Philadelphia, April, 1846.
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
LECTURE I.
THE CREATION.
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
Genesis i. 1.
This portion of holy writ is called Genesis, becanse
it contains an account of the origin of men and things.
It stands first in the Pentateuch, or five books of
Moses; which he wrote towards the close of his life,
under the guidance of the Providence and Spirit of
God.
When the sacred writings were collected into one
volume, or roll, after the return of the Jews from the
Babylonian captivity, Ezra, or some other inspired
writer, probably, added some small matters to what
Moses had written; but that Moses was the autlior
of these first five books of the Bible, we have, at
least, as much evidence, as can be produced that Ho-
mer wrote the far famed IHad and Odyssey, or that
Cicero was the author of those eloquent orations, and
other admired productions, which have long been at-
tributed to him. The history comprised in the book
of Genesis, stretches through a period of about 2360
years. Hence, it is evident, its historical notices must
be very concise, and that many events are passed
over in silence, as not essential to complete the design
of the historian. This dense and comprehensive bre-
2
14 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
vity, which characterizes the whole of the inspired
oracles, is a wise appointment of Providence, as it
keeps the Bible from swelling into an inconvenient
size, and renders the possessing of it more easy to
persons in the iiumblest walks of life.
The first and greatest event recorded in the book
of Genesis, is the creation of this world, with its inha-
bitants, and those heavenly bodies connected with
our earth, and, together forming what is called the
solar system. An evil spirit, or a fallen angel, tempted
our first parents to sin; and in the book of Job it is
said, "the morning stars sang together, and the sons
of God shouted for joy, when the foundations of the
earth were laid.'' Hence we may conclude, that
angels existed before this world was created; and
that the Mosaic account of creation relates only to
this earth and those planets with which it is closely
connected.
The inspired penman, as might be expected, refers
us to God Almighty, as the creator and disposer of all
things. " In the beginning, God created the heaven
and the earth.'' And this divine work of creation,
was progressive. One part succeeded another in beau-
tiful order, till the whole was completed. The rough
materials were, at first, intermixed. The original ele-
ments, ^re, air, earth and ivater, lay in a confused
state — called, by some philosophers, a state of chaos.
This may be what Moses intends by the expression,
^'and the earth was without form and void; and dark-
ness was upon the face of the deep."
On the first day of the creation week, the Spirit of
God moved, or, as the place may be rendered, brooded
on the face of the waters, or confused mass, and the
first effect was the production of light, to such a de-
gree, probably, as to render objects visible. The ease
with which this effect was produced, by the Divine
Architect, is expressed in language, as suhlirne as it is
concise: " God said let there be light, and there was
light." The light was called dai/, and the darkness
nighi.
On the second day, a firmament was constituted:
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 15
By this is meant, probably what is now called at-
mosphere— that elastic fluid, wliich encompasses the
earth, extends from its surface some tiiirty or forty
miles, and which is of sufficient strength to sustain
vapour and clouds; those waters, in the vapour form,
which are said to be above the firmament, or expanse,
whence tlie rain distils to refresh the animal and vege-
table kingdoms.
On the third day, the waters on the surface of the
earth were drained oft', and confined within their des-
tined limits. Hence originated the numerous seas,
rivers, and rivulets, which diversify the face of the
globe, and conduce largely to the comfort and conve-
nience of both man and beast. The land, thus pre-
pared, was stocked with grass, trees, and fruits; and
we must suppose these were produced at once, in a
state of maturity, otherwise the animal race, which
were brought into being within a short space of time,
would have been destitute of food.
On the fourth day, lights were planted in the firma-
ment, or expanse. Two great lights are spoken of,
diff'ering, however, in size and splendour. By the
greater of the two, which was destined to rule the
day, the sun is supposed to be intended; and by the
less, the empress of night, the moon, is doubtless
meant. Astronomy teaches us that the moon is an
opaque body, or only a reflector of the sun's light;
and it has been more than insinuated, that the sacred
historian speaks incorrectly, when he calls her a light.
Moses undoubtedly had some knowledge of astrono-
my, for he was well versed in the learning of Egypt;
but as he was writing a plain narrative, intended for
the use of mankind generally, he deemed it proper to
represent things of this sort according to their appear-
ance, and to adapt his style to the capacity of the illi-
terate, leaving the learned to make their own com-
ment on his simple^ unvarnished text. And in so
doing, we think he did wisely. All that is said of the
other heavenly bodies is expressed in three words,
"The stars also!'' Another instance of unrivalled
sublimity in sentiment, where a stupendous efl^ect is
16 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
produced witli a facility wliich bespeaks Omnipo-
tence, as the elBcient cause. By the stars are proba-
bly meant, not only the fixed stars, which are innu-
merable, and of immense magnitude, but, also, the
primary planets with their respective satellites. It is
not afiirmed, in the Mosaic history, that these great
and uumerous bodies were made merely for the ac-
commodation of this earth. They may have been
created simultaneously with our globe, may be con-
nected with it, and prove a convenience to it, in more
ways than one, and yet be inhabited by intelligent
beings, and answer ends in the kindom of Jehovah,
far above our conceptions.
On the fifth day, fowls and fishes were made; —
"the great whales, with every living thing, that inha-
bits the water, and every winged fowl and its kind.'^
It is remarkable that the short narrative of Moses
leads us to think that these two kinds of animals were
formed of the same sort of matter. And this opinion
is rendered highly probable, by the striking similarity
observable in their flesh, and particularly in their cor-
poreal organs and mode of travelling in their respec-
tive elements.
On the sixth day, land animals, and the human spe-
cies were created. Of inferior animals, three classes
are mentioned, viz., beasts, cattle, and creeping thing,
i. e. wild and intractable creatures of the forest; —
domestic creatures which subserve the interests and
convenience of the human race; and all manner of
serpents and reptiles. And last of all, man was form-
ed, and introduced into the world as a prince into
a palace richly furnished for his reception. "And God
said, let us make man in our image, after our like-
ness; and let him have dominion," &c. Three things
are noticeable in this passage, as conveying an exalt-
ed idea of the dignity and superiority of the human
kind over all other orders of animated nature. First,
the language is that of consultation: "Ze/ us make
man:^' indicating the importance of the work, or of
the creature to be formed. But with whom does the
Creator consult on this occasion? With the angels,
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 17
say the modem Jewish rabhis. Not so, we think.
Creation is a divine work; the exclusive work of Je-
hovah alone. And to suppose him to ask the counsel
or aid of any of his creatures, is a reflection on the
majesty of his character, and the self-sufliciency of his
power. Besides this notion does not accord well with
what follows: "So God created man in his own im-
age," not in imitation of an original, compounded of
the divine and the angelic natures, but, ^-in the image
of God alone, created he him." Some critics say this
language is employed in compliance with the usual
style of earthly potentates, who, in their public edicts,
are wont to use the plural, we, us, and our, instead of
the singular. But it should be recollected that, as yet
there were no earLlily princes in existence, and there-
fore the phraseology cannot have been borrowed from
any human usage. From these and the like conside-
rations, most Christian expositors suppose that the
expression "let us make man in our image," implies
and indicates a plurality of persons in the divine
essence or adorable Godhead; and that it is intended
to teach us that the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost co-
operated in man's creation, as each executes his ap-
propriate office and concurrent part in the scheme of
our redemption. And this opinion is, we think, cor-
rect; though the doctrine of the Trinity does not de-
pend on this, or on the many similar passages to be
found in the Old Testament; for it is taught by the
Saviour and his apostles, in the clearest manner, and
in the most express terms that language can supply.
Secondly, the superiority of man above other ani-
mals, is taught by the right given him by the Creator,
to exercise dominion over them. Man is qualified,
by the endowment of reason, to subdue, or govern the
ferocious and the strong of the animal tribes. But
the fear of him is impressed on the instinctive princi-
ple of every living thing. Hence it is, that a boy
can drive the horned ox, and govern the war-horse.
Hence it is, too, that the human "face sublime,"
strikes terror to the heart of the lion, the tiger, and
the bear. There is, in fact, no tribe in the animal
2*
18 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
kingdom, however fierce and powerful, that man can-
not extirpate or subjugate to his use and pleasure.
But, thirdly, that which gave man the pre-eminence
in this lower world, was the image of his Maker,
which he bore in his original state. As God is a spirit
without parts or bodily shape, it is plain this image
must have been of a moral nature. It is to be found
in the qualities and character of his mind, which were
depraved by the fall, and which it is the grand aim of
the Christian religion to restore and secure to him by
an immutable covenant, through Christ Jesus the
Mediator. Two short verses in the writings of Paul
the apostle, shows us what these qualities are: " That
ye put on the new man, which, after God, is created
in righteousness and true holiness:^^ and, again, "Ye
have put on the new man, which is renewed in
knowledge, B.fier the image of Him that created him."
Ephes. iv. 24. Col. iii. 10. Here we learn that the
leading and prominent features of the new man, in
Christ, are knowledge^ righteousness, and true holi-
ness. And in these, chiefly, consisted the image and
likeness of God, in which Adam came from the hand
of his Creator. His knowledge was intuitive, rather
than the result of the deductions of reasoning; he
was made a philosopher, both natural and moral —
the law of God was impressed on his heart — he un-
derstood his duty, and acknowledged his obligations
to the Father of spirits — his judgment was sound —
his \vill submissive to the rule of duty — and his affec-
tions pure, ardent, and elevated, as an angel of light.
And thus constituted, he niust have enjoyed as large
a share of happiness as his nature, in that stage of his
existence, would permit.
In this short account of man's creation, ihQ fe^nale
sex is doubtless included.
The circumstances of the woman's formation are
detailed in the 2d chapter at the 21st verse. And from
not being introduced in form, as a part of the work
of the sixth day of the creation week, some have con-
jectured that Eve was not made till some time after
Adam. But let it be observed, that Moses, in this
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 19
first chapter gives a succinct account of a great and
extensive work. In (he next chapter he resumes the
subject, mingling a few explanatory remarks with
other original matter. Hence we are (old in the 2d
chapter 7th verse, that "The Lord God formed man of
the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils
the breath of life, and man became a Hving soul;"
and again, at the 21st verse, after several intervening
subjects, we have the particulars of the woman's
creation. But the fact of her creation on the sixth
day, is expressly stated in the 27th verse of the first
chapter: '■'Male and female created he them." They
were both endued with the same intellectual powers —
formed alike in the image of God, and destined to the
same high and holy ends in the great kingdom of Je-
hovah. Thus the woman was an help mee/, or suit-
able companion for the man ; and he was taught by
the circumstances of her formation, to regard her with
tenderness and respect, as bone of his bone and flesh
of his flesh. And in this state of holy wedlock, God
blessed them, giving them dominion over the crea-
tures, and the free use of the vegetable produce of
the earth; but there is no evidence that they were
allowed the use of animal food. "And God saw
every thing that he had made; and, behold, it was
very good: and the evening and the morning was the
sixth day."
Such is the account which the Bible gives of the
origin of this world, with its inhabitants, its diversi-
fied beauties, and rich accommodations for man and
beast. How indubitable the claims of this sacred
book to be treated with reverence, and to be studied
with care! Besides, that it sets before us the law of
our duty, and reveals the only way of salvation for
fallen man, its historical mailer is more extensive,
and more interesting than that of any other record in
existence. Here we learn, that the earth and its ful-
ness came from the hand of an Almighty Creator,
whose holy providence governs the creatures of his
power, and causes them all to praise him. The Bible
is, in fact, the only authentic source, from which we
20 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
can derive an acquaintance with the principles of
true religion, the elements of ancient history, tiie im-
mortal destination of the human species, and the im-
mense consequences of the part which we act, and
the character we form during our stay in the present
life. Of what vast importance it is, then, that we
search the Scriptures! "The testimony of the Lord
is sure, making wise the simple: the statutes of the
Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment
of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes: the judg-
ments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether:
more to he desired are they than gold, yea, than much
fine gold ; sweeter, also, than honey, and the honey-
comb.'^
LECTURE IL
THE GARDEN OF EDEN-COVENANT OF WORKS, Sec.
And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of
Eden, to dress it, and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded
the man, saying. Of every tree of the garden thou may est freely
eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt
not eat of it : for in the day liiat thou eatest tiiereof thou shall
surely die.— Gen. ii. 15-17.
In a preceding lecture, our attention was directed
to the creation of the world, with its inhabitants and
various productions. We have seen our own species
eminently distinguished in the scale of creatures —
made but a little lower than the angels — formed after
the image of God, in knowledge, righteousness, and
true holiness — united, male and female, by the tender
ties of conjugal affection, and invested with dominion
over the numerous tribes of inferior creatures that
inhabit the land, the sea, and the air. We will now
contemplate this happy couple, as the objects of hea-
ven's special regard, as the primitive parents of man-
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 21
kind, and as constituting one of the parties to the
covenant which God condescended to form with the
human family, then existing in, and represented by
them.
Our readers will recollect what was stated in our
first lecture — that Eve was made on the same day
with Adam, i. e. on the sixth day of the creation
week, (as is evident, chap. i. 17, "male and female
created he them,) though the particular circumstances
of her creation, for reasons already mentioned, are not
to be met with in the narrative of Moses, earlier than
the twenty-first verse of this second chapter. They
are both, therefore, to be considered as present, and
equally concerned, in the main transactions, related
in that portion of sacred history wiiich we are now
going to examine.
The critics have been exceedingly puzzled to find
the place, assigned as the original residence of our
first parents. This is a topic on which fancy has
been indulged to an unwarrantable extent. And
some, weary of the search, and not being able to fix
on any definite spot, bearing all the geographical marks
of the earthly paradise mentioned by Moses, have
been tempted to conclude, that, by the garden of Eden
is meant, in Scripture, the whole field of nature, every
part of which must have been a paradise, or place of
delight to man, while he retained his innocence, and
held fast his integrity. But the scriptural account
seems, obviously, intended to convey the idea of
locality. No person, perhaps, ever read the account
seriously without receiving that impression ; and, in
regard to the most important facts and doctrines of
the Bible, our first impressions are very likely to be
correct, especially if we read with an honest desire to
know the truth, and not with a view to find support
for a preconceived opinion, or a favourite hypothesis.
The place is supposed to have been selected on the
third day of the creation week, when the water was
drained off, and the land was prepared for vegetation.
The description of it by JNIoses, begins at the Slh
verse, and ends at the 14th, inclusive, chapter 2d.
22 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
*^ And the Lord God planted (or, as the place may be
rendered, had planted,) a garden, eastward in Eden;
and there he put the man whom he had formed. '^
This land of Eden was a province in Asia; and it is
said to have lain eastward, in regard to the place
where Moses was when he wrote his history. Dr.
Shuckford, and other respectable writers, believe it to
have been a country of considerable extent, and that
it lay north of the Gulf of Persia, some twelve or fif-
teen degrees east of Jerusalem. " We are of opinion,"
says Calmet, in his Critical Dictionary of the Bible,
"that the country of Eden extended into Armenia,
and included the sources of the Euphrates, Tigris,
Phosis and Araxes." And a country, by this name,
is several times mentioned, by inspired writers, in
after ages; so that we cannot doubt its existence,
whatever difficulty we may find in ascertaining its
relative position. See Isaiah xxxvii. 12; 2 Kings xix.
12, 13; Ezekiei xxvii. 23. Out of this land of Eden,
Moses informs us, there went a river to water the
garden; and from thence it, i. e. the river was parted,
and became into four heads; and he gives us the
names by which these four heads or streams were
distinguished in his time: viz. Pison, Gihon, Hiddekel,
and Euphrates. The first is said to have compassed
Havila, a region of country abounding in gold and
precious stones; obviously a province in Arabia,
known in modern geography by another name. The
second river is said to have compassed or touched
upon the land of Ethiopa, or, more properly, the land
of Gush — a tract of country east of the Arabian Gulf,
or Red Sea. The third, generally allowed to be the
Tigris, touched on the east of Assyria. The Eu-
plirates is well known — and it is often mentioned, in
Scripture, as the great river. The fact appears to be
this. The Tigris and Euphrates have their sources in
or near the mountains of Armenia. They run south-
ward, in distinct streams, to within no great distance
of the once famous city of Babylon, where they form
a junction, flowing on, for several leagues, in one
channel; then they separate, and empty into the Per-
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORT. 23
slan Gulf, by two months, known, in Moses' time, by
the names Pison and Gihon. The river of Eden was
the union of these waters; and, of the four heads or
streams into which it was parted, two lay north, and
the other two south of the garden, which was, pro-
bably, situated east of the great channel, and not far
from a town now called Bassora.
This garden appears to have been well suppHed
with a rich variety of shrubbery, and such fruits as
were wholesome and palatable. " And out of the
ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that
is pleasant to the sight and good for food.'^ Two
trees are particularly mentioned, viz. the tree of life,
and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil;
which will fall under our notice again, in their proper
place and connexion. Suffice it to remark here, that
the former seems to have been so called, because it
was an instituted sign or emblem of that life and feli-
city which man was to enjoy so long as he continued
faithful and obedient to his Creator; and the latter
received its name from its being appointed as a test
of his reverence for the will and authority of heaven.
Thus much for the local situation of this first and
finest plantation that ever adorned the face of nature.
Its climate was a charming medium between the ex-
tremes of heat and cold; its air bland; its soil fertile;
its waters perennial, and its fruits abundant and deli-
cious. Milton, in his " Paradise Lost," gives us the
following inimitable picture of its natural beauties.
"A happy rural seat of various view;
Groves, whose rich trees wept od'rous gums and balm;
Others, whose fruit, burnish'd with golden rind,
Hung amiable; (Hesperian fables true,
If true, here only) and of delicious taste.
Betwixt them, lawns, or level downs, and flocks,
Grazing the tender herb, were interpos'd;
Or palmy hillock, or the flowry lap
Of some irriguous valley spread her store.
Flow'rs of all hue, and without thorn the rose.
Another side, umbrageous grots and caves
Of cool recess, o'er which the mantling vine
Lays forth her purple grape, and gently creeps
Luxuriant. Meanwhile, murm'ring waters fall
34 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
Down the slope liills, dispers'd, or in a lake
(That to the fringed bank, with myrtle crown'd,
Her crystal mirror holds,) unite their streams.
Tlie birds their choir apply. Airs, vernal airs,
Breathing the smell of fields, and groves, attune
Tiie trembling leaves, while universal Pun,
Knit with the Graces, and the Hours in dance,
Lead on the eternal Spring."
"And the Lord God took the man, and put him into
the garden of Eden, to dress it, and to keep it."
Even in a state of innocence, and amid the richest
profusion of the hounties of heaven, it was not good
for man to be idle. Here, says the bounteous Lord
of the soil to the first man, here is a field well adapted
to produce a plentiful increase; take possession, culti-
vate it, take care of its fruits, and enjoy them. What
useful lessons, relating to both worlds, are to be met
with in the Bible ! It is profitable for instruction and
correction in all things. Man is endowed with active
powers, to the end that they may be exercised. And
the diligent exertion of these powers is essential to our
happiness, due to our species, and required by the law
of nature. Activity marks, alike, the character of the
bee, the ant, and the angel : nor can any of the human
family, possessing capacity and the means of employ-
ment, be innocently idle. An early habit of industry
is one of the best natural preventives of disease, ennui
and sin, that can be devised. It was judged useful
to our first parents in paradise, and there can be no
rational doubt, that the redeemed of the Lord find
employment in heaven, suited to that high and holy
stage of our immortal existence.
But man is to pursue his business, and exercise his
faculties, both physical and moral, under a sense of
his dependance on, and obligations to, his Creator.
Every intelligent creature receives his being under a
law, and under the obligation of that law he is held
for ever, whether he acknowledges and lives up to it,
or not. The moral law, or that law of the Creator
which is designed for the government of intelligent
creatures, is the imperishable bond that connects the
moral kingdom of Jehovah in all its parts, and holds
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 25
both men and angels responsible to Him who made
them, and who lias, of course, a right to prescribe
their duty. Under this law, Adam and Eve received
their existence, and it is reasonable to suppose, that
some duties were enjoined upon them by divine au-
thority, wisely chosen and iiappily calculated to keep
them mindful of their obligations to the munificent
Author of every good and perfect gift. Of tliis sort
was the observance of the weekly Sabbath; which
was now instituted, as we are informed in the third
verse of this chapter: — "And God blessed the seventh
day and sanctified it;'^ that is, set it apart — distin-
guished it from other days — appropriated it to devout
and holy services exclusively, and promised a blessing
on those who should observe it in a thankful and reli-
gious manner. Some persons have strangely fancied
that the Sabbath was not to be observed, till the giving
of the law at Mount Sinai. But, if it was not intended
to be observed till two thousand five hundred years after
the creation, why was it instituted so early? That it
was instituted on the seventh day of the creation week,
and the first day of Adam's life, is as plain, in the
passage just ched, as language can make any thing.
And the fact of its appointment, in the beginning,
shows that it was to be sacredly kept from the begin-
ning; just as the fact, that the precept concerning it is
placed in the decalogue, or summary of the moral law,
as written by the finger of God and promulgated by
the ministry of Moses, leaves us no room to doubt that
the religious observance of it will be obligatory on
mankind to the latest generation. The change ot the
day, from the seventh to the first, at the resurrection
of Christ, does not, in the least, affect the principle of
the ordinance, which demands the seventh part of our
time to be devoted to God and the concerns of religion.
Our first parents, no doubt, obeyed the law of the Sab-
bath, agreeably to its spirit and design; keeping it as
a day of holy rest — acknowledging the wisdom and
power of the Creator, as displayed in the works of his
hand — and off'ering him their grateful praises for all
the tokens of his goodness with which they were sur-
3
26 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORT.
rounder]. Let us imitate their pious example. To
us the Sabhath commemorates not only the creation,
but, also, the redemption of the world. And although
the institution originated in the sovereign authority of
God, yet is it so clearly benevolent in its bearing on
both man and beast — so benign in its influence on
public morals and general happiness, that, one would
think, the common principles of humanity would
prompt all men to regard it with reverence, and to
give It the weight of their influence and unqualified
approbation.
But the most interesting point of light in which we
can contemplate the primitive parents of our race, is
that of their being a party to the covenant which God
was pleased to enter into with the human family, then
existing in and represented by them. It would not
comport with the design of these lectures, to go mi-
nutely into the discussion of any topics in systematic
theology. But this is a subject which lies at the
foundation of revealed religion; and, perhaps, we
should not pass it over without some special notice.
That such a covenant, as has just been mentioned,
did exist between God and man, seems evident from
the frequent references made to it in the New Testa-
ment. The doctrine has, indeed, been maintained,
with some modifications, by the great body of Chris-
tian divines, in every period of the church; and it is
believed that the passage of sacred scripture now
before us, teaches it in terms which camiot be other-
wise explained, without destroying their consistency,
and perverting their obvious import. " And the Lord
God conmianded the man, saying. Of every tree of the
garden thou mayest freely eat; but of the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it:
for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely
die.'^ Here is, we think, the substance of a covenant,
though not in a very extended or explicit form. There
is, first, a condition proposed, viz. obedience to a pro-
hibitory command, "thou shalt not eat of it ;" secondly,
a penalty, in case of disobedience, " thou shalt surely
die;" and, thirdly, a promise of life and happiness
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 27
implied, consequent, on tlie fnlfilment of tlie condition.
The whole was propounded by God; and when pro-
pounded, man could not, rightfully, refuse to acquiesce
in it, because he was bound, by the law of his nature,
to yield obedience to his Creator, in every instance.
He would readily perceive, tlierefore, that the cove-
nant would impose no irksome obligation upon him,
whatever advantages it might secure to him and his
descendants, in the event of his faithful compliance
with its condition. And that he did, in fact, acquiesce,
is made perfectly plain in the sequel of the sacred his-
tory. The tree of life appears to have been the seal
or memorial of this covenant; the fruit of which was
doubtless eaten, by Adam and Eve, with religious
solemnity and thanksgiving. We have a remark or
two to make on the penalty annexed, and to be in-
flicted, in case of man's disobedience. It is important
to understand its import. It is expressed in language
somewhat equivocal: " In the day thou eatest thereof
thou shalt surely die." It is deal/i, and that in a very
extended and awful sense — temporal and spiritual;
which ^vould, of course, be eternal, were there no
remedy provided. But tliere is a remedy: and on
those who accept it, the second death, or death eter-
nal, can have no power. To suppose that nothing
more than temporal death is meant, would be to
make the word of God of no effect; for Adam did not
die that kind of death, the day that he ate of the for-
bidden fruit — he continued in this life more than nine
hundred years after he became a sinner. But, sphit-
ually, he did die, and that immediateh/. He was
filled with shame — lost communion with God — was
driven from paradise, and prohibited the fruit of the
tree of life. Whether the blessings of the covenant
would have been enjoyed for ever in this world, or
whether, in case of Adam's fidelity, he and his pos-
terity would have been removed, in due time, to
another state adapted to a higher stage of existence,
are questions which it were vain to agitate; for they
are questions of mere curiosity, on which the Scrip-
tures are silent. According to God's glorious plan of
28 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
grace, this world was meant to be but the vestibule
of the world to come, and all conjectures about what
it might have been, on another plan, are baseless
vi^ons.
But were the descendants of Adam included in this
covenant? So we are tau2:ht from the beainnins: to
the end of the Bible; and we verily beheve, that right
reason has no solid objection to bring against the doc-
trine. Paul, the apostle, in his epistle to the Romans
(ch. V.) tells us, that "by one man's offence many
were made sinners — and that through the offence of
one, judgment came upon all to condemnation." The
apostle, here, manifestly alludes to the covenant of
which we have been speaking. And it seems to us,
that no one who is tolerably conversant with the
writings of Moses and the prophets, and of Christ
and his apostles, can hesitate to admit that the fol-
lowing answer to a question in our catechism, is
founded on scriptural authority: "As the covenant
was made with Adam, not only for himself, but for
his posterity, all mankind, descending from him by
ordinary generation, sinned in him, and fell with him,
in his first transgression.''
But let us look at this matter in the light of reason,
as there are those who prefer the less light to the
greater. Man was created a moral agent, and he
was designed to propagate his species. This species
is of great consequence in the universe. It is pre-
sumable, therefore, that God would notice them in a
way suited to their rank in the scale of creatures; and
that in his laws given to, as in his transactions with,
the parent of the race, he would have regard to the
offspring. Now the covenant in question was calcu-
lated to suit man's character as a free, moral, and
accountable creature, and to secure important bene-
fits to the whole family, had the parent held fast his
integrity. But he was fallible: he failed, and these
advantages are forfeited. And from this sad event,
are drawn most of the plausible objections to the
measure. In the contrary event, i. e. had the cove-
nant been kept and the blessings been secured, the
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 29
measure would have been esteemed good by every
child of Adam. No one would have had any objec-
tion to being made happy, in consequence of the
representative character of our great progenitor: and
does not this prove, that all objections drawn from
the unhappy issue as it actually turned out, are
wholly selfish and invalid? Furthermore, let it not
be forgotten, that Adam was placed in circumstances
the most favourable that can be conceived for retain-
ing iiis moral rectitude, and for securing the blessings
of the covenant to his descendants. On what ground
can we flatter ourselves that we would have acted a
better part, had we been placed in similar circum-
stances, and entrusted, each one in succession, with
the care of his own virtue and happiness ? Such con-
siderations as these should produce in our minds a
quiet and filial acquiescence in the counsels and
decisions of our heavenly Father, in relation to this
momentous and interesting transaction. " The Lord
is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his acts."
Let us justify him in our hearts, and take shame to
ourselves. We are the degenerate plants of a strange
vine. By nature we bear the image of the earthy
Adam; but, through grace, we may be made like
Christ, the heavenly Adam. Redeeming love has
provided a remedy for the miseries of our mournful
apostasy.
Joy to the world, the Saviour reigns
Let earth receive her King ;
Let every heart prepare him room,
And heaven and nature sing."
30 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
LECTURE III
THE APOSTASY.
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that
it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one
wise, she took of the fruit thereof and did eat, and gave also unto
her husband with her, and he did eat. — Gen. iii. 6.
The fall of man, the introduction of sin, with its long
train of direful consequences, may be ranked among
the deep things of God. Why was it permitted? how
was it brought about? and what will be its issue? are
questions which, when duly considered, can hardly
fail to make lis feel our intellectual weakness. '' 0
the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and
knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judg-
ments, and his ways past finding out!'' The fact that
mankind are a depraved race of beings, is undeni-
able; and to suppose that they came from the hand
of the Creator in this depraved state, would be to im-
peach the glorious purity of the divine character. To
account for the sad degeneracy of our nature, has
long been a matter of laborious investigation with
the learned and the inquisitive. Various opinions
have been started, and, for a time, prevailed in the
pagan world. One set of philosophers maintained
the absurd and self-destructive notion of two inde-
pendent principles, the one good, and the other evil —
the latter aiming, perpetually, to mar and defeat the
designs of the former: hence, they fancied, arose all
the corruption, disorder, and infelicities of nature.
Others talked about the perverseness and obliquity of
matter — as if its connexion with mind iii the human
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 31
species, iinadvoidably produced a deterioration of onr
intellectual powers and moral qualities. Indeed, one
hypothesis has given place to another, in such long
succession, and with so little additional light or pro-
bability, that it would seem philosopliy and unaided
reason can come to no satisfactory conclusion on the
subject. The short account of Moses, comprised in
the third chapter of Genesis, though not without its
difficulties, will be found, on candid examination,
even aside from its inspired authority, more rational,
coherent, and consistent with the character of God
and man, than any other that lias ever been given to
the world. Let us attend to it, then, with an honest
desire to know the truth, however humbling it may
be to the pride of our hearts. And be it our fervent
prayer to God, that ^' as we have borne the image
of the earthy, we may also bear the huage of the
heavenly." 1 Cor. xv. 49.
It will be proper, here, to recollect the leading
points attempted to be established, in a preceding
lecture, viz., that as man is a moral and accountable
creature, he received his being under a law suited to
his rational character, honourable grade, and high
destination in the great kingdom of the Creator; that,
as he was designed to propagate his species, it was fit
and proper that any transactions between God and the
original progenitor of the race, should have a bearing
on his descendants; that the covenant formed with
our first parents, by a promise of eternal life and feli-
city in case of their obedience, and a threatening of
death in the contrary event, imposed upon them no
new or irksome obligation. Tiiat being already com-
plete and undeniable from the law of their nature, it
is plain that such a dispensation could be of no dis-
advantage, whatever benefits it might secure to them
and their posterity. We have seen, also, that Adam
and Eve were made in the divine image — were
endued with knowledge, rectitude and holiness — in-
dulged with divine communications — invested with
dominion over all other creatures in this lower world
— loaded with a rich profusion of the bounties of
32 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
Heaven, and placed in circumstances the most favour-
able that can be conceived, for holding fast their in-
tegrity and securing the blessings of the covenant;
insomuch, that no person has any ground to think, he
would have acted a wiser, or a belter part, had his
destiny been put at his own disposal.
Bearing these ideas along with us, proceed we now
to contemplate our fallen nature — but the wreck of
what it was, "till one greater Man restore us, and re-
gain the blissful seat." The subject naturally divides
itself into three parts which we shall consider briefly,
in the following order: viz. First, the temptation
which led to the breach of the covenant in eating the
forbidden fruit; secondly, the crimiiiality of that act;
and thirdly, the consequences that ensued.
I. The temptation. The visible instrument em-
ployed in tills, according to the narrative of the sacred
historian, was "the serpent." Of what species this
serpent was, or how far its nature and properties may
have been changed and degraded, as a memorial of
God's hatred of sin, it were useless and vain to in-
quire. Some writers suppose, that, before the fall,
serpents were beautiful, docile, and inotfensive crea-
tures; that they inhabited trees, and fed on fruits;
that they were endued with great sagacity; and that
our first parents regarded them as favourites, in com-
parison of the other orders of inferior animals. The
learned and ingenious Dr. Adam Clarke is of opinion,
that, by the serpent is meant one of the ape or ouran-
outang tribe; that those disgusting caricatures on hu-
man nature were, originally, gifted with speech and
reason, walked erect, and possessed we know not
how many other noble endowments; but upon their
concurring with the prince of devils, in the ruin of our
species, they were degraded to their present condi-
tion, deprived of articulate language, and in a great
measure (^reason, doomed to go on all-fours and lick
the dust, "cursed above all cattle, and above every
beast of the field." As the doctor has kindly licensed
his readers to adopt or reject this opinion as they
may see meet, no person can hesitate to give him all
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 33
the credit due to such a novel and cnrions discovery.
They who adopt this opinion to get rid of one set of
difficuhies, will have to encounter another class, equal-
ly fornudable and perplexing, if not more so. Moses
remarks that " The serpent was more subtle than any
beast of the field which the Lord God had made."
Had it been, naturally, a speaking and reasoning
creature, capable of referring so adroitly to the char-
acter of God, and of giving to his threatening, in the
penal sanction of the covenant, so deceptive a gloss,
its superior subtlety would not have been at all re-
markable; for in that case, it would have borne a
stronger resemblance to a fallen angel than to any
beast of the field. We prefer, therefore, the common
understanding of the Mosaic account; i. e. that the
visible agent, in this affair, was a serpent, in the usual
import of the term, and that Satan, the prince of
apostate spirits, was the efficient actor and foul iii-
stigater of the evil that ensued. How he made the
sharp tongue of the reptile subservient to his nefa-
rious purpose, we pretend not to explain. Neither
do we know by what organs he spake when he as-
sailed our Saviour in the wilderness of Jordan, or
how he commanded the tongues of the demoniacs, of
which we read in the evangelists. These were in-
stances of extraordinary power, which the Almighty
permitted him to exert, for reasons doubtless just and
good, but which lie beyond the horizon of our limited
view. That this apostate prince of darkness was the
real tempter of our first parents, is perfectly evident
from a varietv of passages in the New Testament,
where we find him mentioned by names and titles
drawn from the malignity of his character, particu-
larly as it was manifested in the sad tragedy of the
garden of Eden. Our Saviour calls him a murderer,
a liar, the father of lies, and an adversary. The
apostle Paul speaks of the serpent that beguiled Eve,
and in the same chapter tells us that he is sometimes
transformed into an angel of light. In other places,
he speaks of his devices, his fiery darts, — and ex-
horts Christians to vigilance and prayer, from the con-
34 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
sideration that Satan goeth about like a roaring lion,
seeking whom he may devour. The apostle John
calls him a sinner from the beginning, the old serpent,
a dragon, and a deceiver. These and the like expres-
sions may be considered as incidental notes, explana-
tory of the text before us. "Yea, hath God said, ye
shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" This
abrupt sentence in the interrogatory form, is supposed
to have been but a part of the serpent's address to
Eve. However that may be, it is extremely artful
and insinuating; as if he had said, expressly, "It can-
not be that the bountiful Lord and proprietor of all
things would forbid you the use of any fruit with
which he has enriched this delightful garden. You
must have mistaken his meaning. Such a restraint
would be unreasonable and unworthy of God."
Hereupon the woman repeated the law; but, as if
half conquered already by the adversary's plausible
speech, added a small comment of her own: "We
may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: but of
the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the gar-
den, God hath said ye shall not eat of it, neither shall
ye touch it, lest ye die." Tiiis "neither shall ye
touch it," does not appear in the prohibition, as given
by God in the 17th verse of chapter 2d. And "lest
ye die," a soft and doubtful phrase, is substituted for
the pointed and peremptory declaration, " In the day
that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die." Em-
boldened by this reply, as clearly indicating the be-
ginning of pride and unbelief, the serpent lays aside
his disguise and declares roundly, " Ye shall not sure-
ly die; for God doth know, that in the day ye eat
thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall
be as gods, knowing good and evil." Here we
have both lying and perjury, with a successful appeal
to the rising pride, self-will, and liberiinism of the
human heart. To " be as gods," was the overpow-
ering charm — the fatal ambition, that ruined and
degraded our species, as it had, probably, hurled the
devil and his angels from the heights of heaven to
the depths of misery and despair. The secret aim
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 35
and supreme desire of our iinsanctiiied nature is, to
^'snatcli from God's hand the balance — to rejudge his
justice, and be the god of God.''
*'And when the woman saw timt the tree was good
for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a
tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the
fruit thereof and did eat, and gave also unto her hus-
band with her, and he did eat." Perhaps Satan sug-
gested that he had tasted the fruit, and derived extra-
ordinary advantages from it — his subtlety, power of
speech, great acuteness in discerning the properties of
things, and, in one word, a knowledge and happiness
nearly resembling the Creator himself. The result of
the interview was a determination, on the part of our
first parents, to break through the salutary restraint
of the covenant. The woman took, and ate, and
gave to her husband, and he ate also. "And what
great wrong was there (says the unbeliever) in this
act ?" What harm could there be in eating an apple,
a fig, or a cluster of grapes?" This we are now to
inquire into a httle.
11. Any act, however indifferent in itself, may, by
divine institution or appointment, become vastly im-
portant. The will of God is the standard of right.
To oppose his will, whatever may be the matter or
form of the opposition, is to do wrong. Our first
parents had before them a clear and express revela-
tion of their Maker's will in this case: "Thou shalt
not eat of it." Now the violation of this precept
was a practical renunciation of their allegiance to the
great Lord of heaven and earth, — a foolish attempt to
withdraw from the divine government, marked by
the blackest ingratitude to their heavenly Benefactor,
and by the most unequivocal contempt for infinite
authority. And was there no wrong in all this? But
let us look at this matter a little more closely. The
prohibition in question, was not a mere display of
arbitrary sovereignty. The holiness and benignity of
God make it morally impossible that he should ever
will or command any thing which is not wise and
good. " The tree of the knowledge of good and evil
36 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
(says the learned and pious Vitringa) was chosen of
God to be a visible, familiar, and permanent lesson,
by which man was not only admonished of the eter-
nal distinction between good and evil; but was put
upon his guard as to the quarter from which alone
evil could assail him." But why was the fruit of it
forbidden? In answer to this question, we remark,
that the prohibition answered three purposes, all tend-
ing to the honour of God and the good of the crea-
creature.
First, it served as a test of man's obedience. And
this enters essentially into the very notion of a pro-
bationary state suited to the character of a rational
and accountable creature. Here was a positive pre-
cept. The thing to which it related was simple and
easily understood. It was well adapted to the exist-
ing circumstances of those whese obedience it de-
manded. They were in a garden of the Lord's own
planting, with liberty to use all its productions, this
only excepted.
Secondly, it served to keep man in mind of his de-
pendance on the bountiful Giver of every good and
perfect gift; it taught him to seek his happiness in the
way which God had prescribed, and to expect higher
and purer and holier enjoyments, than were to be
found in the terrestial Eden: that unqualified submis-
sion to the will of his Creator was, at once, his duty
his privilege, and safety. Thus that tree, Avhose
touch was death, was, untouched, a source of useful
instruction and moral improvement.
Thirdly, it served as a sacramental pledge of faith-
fulness to the covenant, which God was pleased to
form with them, and in them, with their posterity.
In this covenant, there was a promise of life and hap-
piness, ratified by the tree of life, which they were
allowed to use, while they continued obedient; and a
threatening of death, in case of transgression, ratified
and sealed, by the tree of knowledge, the fruit of
which was forbidden to be used. " When by a gra-
tutious promise of immortality, the law of duty was
converted into a pacific covenant, the tree of life and
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 37
tlie tree of knowledge were the two sacraments of
tliat covenant; the former behig a visible document
of God's faithfulness to liis promise, and the latter a
visible document of his faithfuhiess to his threaten-
ing. And thus the assurance of life or death being
exhibited to our first parents, by sensible signs, they
were constantly admonished of the interest staked in
their hands, and of the infinitely happy or horrible
issue of their probationary state." (Vitringa.)
If these views of the subject be correct, the crimi-
nality of eating the forbidden fruit must be abundant-
ly evident. It was perferring self-will to God's will,
and profanely denying his right to the homage of his
intelHgent creatures; it was an arrogant encroachment
on the divine prerogative; it was a profanation of the
seal of the covenant, and a forfeiture of life, temporal,
spiritual, and eternal. Nor is that opinion extrava-
gant, which makes it a virtual violation of every pre-
cept in the decalogue, an infraction of every tie that
binds the rational creature to the Creator and Sov-
ereign of the universe.
III. What then were the consequences of this high
and heinous ofi;ence? To Adam and Eve, as might
be expected, the immediate consequences were'shame,
fear, confusion, and expulsion from the garden of God.
Vile aff'ections usurped the seats of peace, innocence,
and joy. Their eyes were opened — the charm was
broken — they felt themselves justly liable to eternal
ruin; naked and exposed to the penalty of the cove-
nant, they vainly attempted to fly from the presence
of their offended God. But neither fig-leaves, nor all
the trees of the garden could, screen them from the
piercing eye of Omniscience. The criminals are ar-
rested— Adam endeavours to throw the blame upon
the woman, and she upon the serpent — but all in vain;
they had. acted freely, and against the clear light of
truth and the majesty of Heaven. They are, there-
fore, condemned. Adam is doomed to a life of toil
and labour, which is to terminate in death — " dust to
dust and ashes to ashes." Eve, as first in the trans-
gression, is to bring forth children in pain and multi-
4
38 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
plied sorrow, and to be subject to the will of her hus-
band. The serpent, which aforetime had probably
inhabited trees, and fed on delicious fruits, and held a
respectable rank among aninjals, is sentenced to go
upon his belly and eat dust all the days of his life.
But, in the sentence of the serpent, there is one re-
deeming clause: "I will put enmity between thee and
the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; he
shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.^'
Here is the incipient revelation of a Saviour: the
serpent and his seed are the wicked one and his emis-
saries; Jesus Christ is the seed of the woman — as
concerning the flesh, the offspring of a virgin — mani-
fested to destroy the works of the devil. On this
foundation our first parents were now directed to re-
pose their trust. And that all hopes from the violated
covenant might be given up, the man, who had been,
in a measure like God, able to discern between good
and evil, was now driven from the garden, and the
access to the tree of life was guarded by the cheru-
bim, armed with a flaming sword, lest the offenders
should profane the sacrament intended to seal and
guarantee to the faithful, blessings which were now
forfeited, and not to be attained but through the me-
diation of the second Adam, the Lord from heaven.
Alas for our fallen nature! "How is the gold
become dim! how is the most fine gold changed!'^
Reader, do you receive the divine testimony, on the
humbling subject of this lecture; and do you feel
yourself to be a degenerate plant of a strange vine, a
guilty, helpless sinner? Then, believe in the Lord
Jesus Christ, and you will, thereby, secure an interest
in a covenant which is ordered in all things and sure.
But remember, that unless Christ be in you, the hope
of glory as the gospel is true, there is no warranted
hope for you; for "neither is there salvation in any
other." "He that believeth on the Son hath everlast-
ing life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not
see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.'^ John
iii. 36.
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 39
LECTURE IV.
THE OFFERINGS OF CAflV AND ABEL.
And in process of lime it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit
of the ground an offering unto the Lord. And Abel, he also
brouglit of the firstlings of his flock, and of the fat thereof. And
the Lord had respect unto Abel, and to his offering : but unto Cain,
and to his offering, he had not respect.— Gen. iv. 3-5.
The divine conduct towards our fallen race, has been
uniformly marked by the most indubitable evidences
of kindness and compassion. When onr first parents
violated the covenant of innocence, and rose in rebel-
lion against the majesty of heaven and earth, they
might have been abandoned, as were the angels who
kept not their first estate. This, however, was not the
case. True, they were expelled from the delightful
walks of Eden, and denied its pleasant fruits; sub-
jected to various afflictions of a disciplinary kind, cal-
culated to make them feel, that in forsaking God they
had forsaken their own comforts; but the glorious
remedy provided in the counsels of eternity — the seed
of the woman — the gracious healer of the breach was
announced to them even before their expulsion from
Paradise. "I will put enmity between thee and the
woman, and between thy seed and her seed; he shall
bruise thy head, and thou shalt braise his heel," com-
prises the germ of hope, the first intimation of mercy,
published to guilty man. This promise placed the
human family, at once, under a dispensation of grace,
and rendered heaven attainable, by Adam and his de-
scendants, througli the mediation of the Son of God —
40 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
the promised seed — manifested in due time, to take
away sin, and destroy tiie works of the devil. Bat
man, though thus favourably situated for the attain-
ment of pardon and eternal life, through the merits of
a Redeemer, had now become a depraved creature —
the glory of his primitive righteousness had departed
from him: Adam had lost the image God, in which
he was created; and when he become a father, his
offspring must inherit his likeness, as well in the
temper and qualities of their minds, as in the form
and faculties of their bodies. In perusing the Bible,
therefore, where we have a faithful history of man,
and of God's providence towards him, while we can-
not but see and acknowledge the sad indications of
our native corruption and entire degeneracy, it will be
pleasing to observe occasionally, the divine efficacy
and triumphs of redeeming grace. Of this remark, we
have an ilhistration in the short narrative of Moses,
respecting Cain and Abel, the first two persons of
whom we have any authentic account, that came into
the world by ordinary generation. How long after
the creation they were born, we are not informed; it
is generally supposed to have been within a short
period. Neither do we know certainly, what differ-
ence there was in their ages. A critical examination
of the Hebrew text, seems to me to favour the opin-
ion, that they were twins. Be this as it may, Cain
was the first born; and his mother appears to have
entertained high hopes concerning him: "I have got-
ten a man from the Lord," exclaimed the joyful mo-
ther, on the birth of her first son. The name Cdin
signifies acquisition; and he was probably so called
by his mother, as a grateful memorial of God's good-
ness, in making her, what her own name imported,
"the mother of all living." In the birth of this child,
Eve had some evidence that the race was to be con-
tinned for a time at least, notwithstanding the guilt of
her first transgression. Her faith respecting the seed
v/ho was destined to wrest the prey from the hands of
the mighty adversary, was thus confirmed; and, per-
haps, she flattered herself that this was the Redeemer
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 41
announced in the promise. If so, her mistake must
have been soon corrected. The development of his
cliaracter proved tliat he was of " ihe wicked one."
Parents should never neglect to render thanks to Qod
for their children; but let not their expectations res-
pecting them be too sanguine. Our children will be
blessings to us and to the world, if God, by his provi-
dence and grace, make them so; but not otherwise.
We should always bid them welcome, and spare no
pains in bringing them up in the nurture and admoni-
tion of the Lord; yet, to use an old proverb, " they
are in themselves certain cares, but uncertain com-
forts." In infancy, they press upon the hand, and in
after life they, in many instances, press still harder on
the heart.
Abel, though born of the same mother, was of a
spirit widely diftering from that of the first born. We
have no account of his temper or conduct in child-
hood; but, from his occupation, we are naturally in-
clined to think that he was of a mild, peaceful and con-
templative disposition; and from the respect shown
by the Searcher of hearts to the offering which he
brought to the Lord, it seems probable that he was at
an early period of his life, a subject of religious im-
pressions. "Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain
was a tiller of the ground."
W^e are here given to understand, in few words,
that agriculture, and the rearing of cattle, were the
first eujployments of mankind. This is perfectly na-
tural; and we are here furnished with internal evi-
dence of the truth of Scripture history. These occu-
pations were first followed, because they were the
most necessary and useful. The first essays in hus-
bandry must have been very simple, perhaps little
more than dressing and protecting the spontaneous
fruits of the ground. Time and experience would
correct mistakes, and suggest many improvements.
And the culture of cattle was imporiant, not only on
account of the religious use to which they were put,
as victims for the altar, but for their milk as an article
of sustenance, and their fleeces and skins, whicli af-
4^
42 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
forded the raw materials for clothing: for it does not
appear that their flesh was, as yet, allowed to be used
for food. As Adam, when placed in the garden of
Eden, was reqnir'ed to dress and keep it, he doubtless
trained his sons to habits of industry. Let us who
are parents take a useful hint from this fact. Our
children, whether we shall leave them little or much
property, will be nothing the worse, and they may be
vastly the better, for being acquainted with some
branch of business, by which, in the failure of other
resources, they may gain an honest livelihood. And
let young people remember that it is their duty, and
therefore both reputable and comfortable, to be indus-
trious. The idle boy that has been dandled on the
lap of mistaken fondness till he comes into the pos-
sessions of his patrimony, cannot be very capable of
either appreciating it aright, or of managing it dis-
creetly. And the mistress of a family, however am-
ple may be her fortune, will always find her account
in understanding, at least, the rudiments of house-
wifery. Nor let it be forgotten, for it cannot be dis-
puted, that indolence, while it feeds on the bounty of
friendship, or imposes upon unsuspecting cliarity, op-
erates not only against personal virtue, but deeply
and powerfully against the public morals; it is not a
solitary sin — it is the mother of a progeny, in stature
gigantic, and in number countless. But do not mis-
take my meaning, readers. Industry is not piety, nor
are all industrious people pious. Cain, for aught that
appears to the contrary, was as attentive to his tillage
as Abel was to liis flock; while in their religious prin-
ciples and moral characters, they diflered essentially,
as it will appear in the sequel.
"And it came to pass in process of time, (or, as you
find it in the margin of the Bible, at the end of days,
i. e. at the end of the days of the week, on the Sab-
bath, the day on which divine worship was performed
statedly and solemnly,) that Cain brought of the fruit
of the ground an ofl'ering unto the Lord." This was
evidently a mere thank-off'ering, designed as an ac-
knowledgment of the divine munificence, but which
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 43
implied no confession of sin on the part of the offerer,
or faitli in the great propitiation to be offered, in (hie
time, for tlie sins of the world. "And Abel, he also
brought of the firstlings of his flock, and of the fat
thereof." This oflering of Abel was of the finest of
his lambs or kids; a Uving creature, of wliich the
blood was to be shed, and the flesh consumed on the
altar, agreeably to divine appointment, as an acknow-
ledgment that the offerer was a sinner and deserving
of death; and it likewise had, manifestly, a typical
import, and implied a profession of faith in the Lamb
of God, whose blood cleanseth from all sin. "And
the Lord had respect unto Abel, and to his offering:
but unto Cain, and to his offering, he had not respect."
The acceptance of Abel's service on this occasion, was
shown in a manner which was well understood by all
present: probably, it was by fire issuing from the
presence of the Lord to consume his sacrifice, as in
the case of Elijah, in his contest with the votaries of
Baal, and several other instances recorded in Scrip-
ture. But to Cain and his offering no respect was
paid. Why was this? There must have been some
good and sufficient ground for the preference: for
with God there is no respect of persons.
With a view to a right understanding of this mat-
ter, we have two or three remarks to make, which
may shed some light on the subject. First — the use
of animal, or, as they are sometimes distinguished,
bloody sacrifices, has obtained among mankind, from
the earliest times, of which we have any historical
notices. Patriarchs, Israelites, Jews and Pagans,
have resorted to them, as the means of ])ropitiating
the divine fixvour, of deprecating the wrath of Hea-
ven, and of procuring the pardon of sin. Now that
a holy God should be pleased with the pouring out of
the blood, and the burning of the flesh of any of his
creatures, seems so unlike a dictate of natural reason,
that the most judicious writers have felt constrained
to refer the origin of such oblations to a divine insti-
tution. And, after a candid investigation of the sub-
ject, we embrace this opinion, as true and correct.
44 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
We think the use of animal sacrifices originated in
divine appointment, immediately after (lie fall of
man; that Adam was required to use them, as an
important branch of his worship; that lie handed the
use of them down to his posterity, and that the cus-
tom passed to Pagan nations through the medium of
tradition. That they were recognized, and ordered to
be offered, with a vast apparatus of ceremony and
expensive ritual, under the Leviiical priesthood, and
that they continued to be used by the descendants of
Abraham, till the advent of Christ, is well known to all
who have any acquaintance with the Bible. As the
flesh of animals was not then allowed to be used as
food, it is presumable, nay, highly probable, that those
animals, whose skins our first parents used for cloth-
ing, had been offered in sacrifice. Gen. iii. 21. And,
from the well known character of Abel, whom our
Lord calls " righteous Abel," as also from the accept-
ance of his service in the instance before us, it is not
to be supposed that he offered of the firstlings of his
flock without a divine warrant.
Our second remark regards the design of this insti-
tution; which was, we think, twofold — first, to re-
mind mankind that, as transgressors of God's law,
they deserved death; which they could scarce fail to
reflect upon, with solenm penitence, as often as they
placed the bleeding viciim on the altar, as an atone-
ment for their sins; but, secondly, and chiefly, it was
designed as a typical representation of the sacrifice of
Christ, the grand and elticient propitiatory, through
which Jehovah purposed, from the beginning, to ex-
tend pardon and salvation to guilty man. Viewed in
reference to this glorious object of faith and hope set
before a rebellious and ruined world, how venerable,
how significant and august those bloody sacrifices,
and symbolical rites, which preached to the world, for
ages, under the Old Testament dispensation, what is
clearly taught in the gospel, i. e. that "we have re-
demption through the blood of Christ."
If these remarks be just, it will not be diflicult to
discover the reason why Abel and his offering were
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 45
regarded propitiously, while Cain and his were reject-
ed. When man became a sinner, lie became unfit
for any direct and immediate intercourse with his
JNIaker. Yet God saw fit, in mercy, to reveal himself
as accessible, and as disposed to forgive sin and ac-
cept the services of sinners, through a Mediator. This
stupendous plan of redeeming love was announced in
the first promise of a Saviour. It was illustrated and
forcibly represented by the institution of animal sac-
rifices, in which we are to look for the origin of that
maxim universally admitted by the Jews, and which
is unequivocally evangelized in the New Testament,
viz. " That without the shedding of blood there is no
remission of sin.^' In one word, the covenant of
grace, or that scheme of divine compassion to fallen
man, founded on the mediatorial character and work
of Jesus Christ, was administered in these primitive
times chiefly by sacrifices; and the religious use of
them, for the great end contemplated in their appoint-
ment, implied a profession of faith in the promised
Redeemer: whereas a neglect or contempt of the
types and symbols, involved a practical disregard
towards the antitype or thing signified, which was,
indubitably, the Lamb of God, destined to take away
the sin of the world, by the sacrifice of his blood.
Abel, then, appears to have acquiesced in God's plan
of saving sinners, and to have believed the revealed
testimony concerning it. He approached the throne
of grace, as a sinner, confessing his guiU, presenting
at the altar, "of the firsthngs of his flock," a sin-ofler-
ing, in compliance witli the divine command, implor-
ing forgiveness, and professing hope in "Him who
was to come, and give his \'i[e a ransom for many."
Thus, as the author of the epistle to the Hebrews
expresses it, "By faith Abel olfered unto God a more
excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained
witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his
gifts; and, by it, he, being dead, yet speaketh." Heb.
xi. 4. But Cain, though he believed in God as his
creator and benefactor, and, therefore, deemed it pro-
per to acknowledge liis munificence by an eucharisti-
46 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
cal or thank-offering, yet, not being hnmbled for his
sins, nor believing in the promised Redeemer, refused
to bring that species of offering which typified redemp-
tion by the blood of Christ: and he was, consequently,
rejected or disapproved of, as one who obstinately
clung to the violated covenant — self-confident, and
unwilling to be a debtor to grace. A short extract
from Dr. Adam Clarke's notes on this passage of
Scripture, shall close this article of our lecture. "Cain,
the father of Deism, not acknowledging the necessity
of a vicarious sacrifice, nor feeling his need of an
atonement, according to the dictates of his natural
religion brought an eucharistic offering to the God of
the universe. Abel, not less grateful for the produce*
of his fields and the increase of his flocks, brought a
similar offering, and by adding a sacrifice to it, paid a
proper regard to the will of God, as far as it had then
been revealed, acknowledging himself a sinner, and
thus, deprecating the divine displeasure, showed forth
the death of Christ till he came. Thus his offerings
were accepted, while those of Cain were rejected; for
this, as the apostle says, was done by faith, and there-
fore he obtained witness that he was righteous, or
a justified person, God testifying with his gifts, the
thank-offering and the sin-offering, by accepting them,
that his faith in the promised seed was the only way
in which he could accept the services and offerings of
mankind.'' Did God, then, abandon the unbelieving
Cain, and allow him no farther space for repent-
ance? Far from it. Even when he became wroth,
and his fallen countenance betrayed the blasphemy of
his heart, God, "who delighteth not in the death of
the wicked,'' condescended to expostulate with him,
in a manner eminently calculated to bring him to
repentance, and the acknowledgment and love of the
truth. "Why art thou wroth, and why is thy coun-
tenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be
accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the
door." In the words of our Saviour to the unbeliev-
ing Jews, we have a short but excellent comment
on this address of the Most High to Cain: "Ye will
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 47
not come unto me, that ye might have \\[eV' Cain
knew the terms of salvation as well as his brother
Abel ; and if he refused to comply with them, he
must abide the coiiseqnences. Tiie righteous Lord
Jovelli righteousness, and cannot do an unrighteous
act. His word of threatening, as well as of promise,
must stand fast, and be unbroken for ever. *' The
soul that sinneth, it shall die.'' Cain had sinned;
and if he refused to accept of redemption through the
mediation of the second Adam, the Lord from heaven,
he must die. Yet he might have life — a ransom was
provided. "Sin lieth at the door." This passage
may, and we think ought to be rendered, y/ sin-offer-
ing coucheth at the door; that is, a lamb, for a sin-
offering, lieth at the door of the sheep-fold. And it
seems to be implied that, if he would bring such an
offering, in faith, as did his brother, he should be par-
doned and accepted. And though he began to medi-
tate mischief against Abel, from the base principle of
envy, God, as if to prevent the horrid deed that en-
sued, assured him that none of his rights or privileges,
as the first-born, were at all abridged — that Abel
would still render him all due respect, and treat him,
in the family circle, with that deference and submis-
sion which belonged to the elder brother. But all
this could not satisfy his jealous soul, or melt his
obdurate heart. He regarded the ways of God as
unequal, and resolved that heaven's favourite should
feel the weight of his vengeance. He talked with
his brother — probably disputed with him on religious
subjects, and, having lured him into the field, rose up
against him, and slew him, as an apostle informs us,
because his own works were evil and his brother's
righteous. Mark, here, the difference between him
that serveth God and him that serveth him not.
Abel was a believer, a professor of godliness; he,
therefore, suffered persecution — his career on earth
was short — his death was premature and violent.
But he suffered for righteousness' sake, and he was
blessed, in his deed and in his end. He may be con-
sidered as the first martyr; and he probably now
48 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
leads the van of that noble army of witnesses for the
truth, which, encirchng the tiirone of glory, cry with
a loud voice, " Salvation to our God, and to the Lamb,
for ever and ever.'^
Let us learn from the subject of this lecture the
importance of worshipping God in spirit and in
truth, and the necessity of a believing regard to the
Lord Jesus Christ, in all our endeavours to honour
the Creator, and to secure the divine acceptance of
our persons and services. We are sinners: and hea-
ven is inaccessible to us, save through the merits and
intercession of the divinely constituted Mediator, in
whom it hath pleased the Father that all fulness
should dwell. From that fulness may we receive,
and grace for grace !
LECTURE V.
DEATH OF ADAM-BIRTH OF SETH, &c.
And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his
own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth. And the
days of Adam, after he had begotten Seth, were eight hundred years ;
and he begat sons and daughters. And all the days that Adam
lived were nine hundred and thirty years : and he died. And Seth
lived an hundred and five years, and begat Enos. And Seth lived,
after he begat Enos, eight hundred and seven years, and begat sons
and daughters. And all the days of Seth were nine hundred and
twelve years : and he died. — Gen. v. 3-8.
The descendants of fallen Adam are, universally,
degenerate plants of a strange vine. Divine grace,
however, has, from the beginning, been marvellously
manifested in calling and sanctifying a people, a pe-
culiar people, zealous of good works, and disposed to
lionour and serve the living and true God. The dis-
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 49
tinction of righteous and wicked obtained in tlie days
of Cain and Abel; and the Bible, in giving ns a
faithful history of mankind, as, also, of the providence
and mercy of Heaven towards them, affords us some
concise notices of both these classes. Of the wicked,
we have information so far only as their general cha-
racter had a bearing on the interests of society, and
as their bad conduct and unhappy end furnish a so-
lemn warning to all the world, that ^' the wages of
sin is death. ^^
When Cain by evincing his unbelief in the pro-
mised Saviour, as well as by murdering his brother,
incurred the divine displeasure and proved himself to
be ^'of the wicked one," he appears to have aban-
doned the worship of God and the society of his peo-
ple. Retiring to the eastward of Eden, he took up
his abode in a place called the land of Nod, a name
which signifies vagabond, and which seems to liave
been so called, in allusion to his character, as a fugi-
tive and outcast from the ordinances of God, and the
fellowship of the pious. Here he built a city, and
called it Enoch, in honour of his first born son. At'ter
Enoch we have barely the names of Irad, Mehujael,
and Methusael, without any account of their charac-
ter, or pursuits. Lamech, the son of Methusael, and
the fifth in descent from Cain, was the first transgres-
sor of the law respecting marriage. He had two
wives, at the same time; and, though his example
was followed by Abraham, Jacob, and others, who
appear to have been, in the main, amiable and excel-
lent men, yet the practice is manifestly an infraction
of the law of nature, and an unwarrantable depart-
ure from the original and benevolent institution of the
Creator. The fact, that instances of polygamy are re-
corded in Scripture, by no means proves that it was
right: nay, we are taught, even in the Old Testament,
indirectly, at least, that it was wrong; as it was, in-
variably, a source of family feuds, favouritism, jeal-
ousy, and other serious and distressing evils. The
names of Lamech's wives were Adah and Zillah.
The former had two sons, viz; Jabal, who seems to
5
50 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
have made such improvements in the shepherd's oc-
cupation, that he was distinguished, as "the father, or
instructor of sucfi as dwell in tents and have the care
of cattle:" and Jubal, "the father of all such as han-
dle the harp and organ:" i.e. the inventor of such
inusical instruments as were used in those early ages.
Zillah had a son and a daughter: viz. Tubal-cain,
"an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron:"
i. e. one who introduced useful improvements in the
implements of husbandry, and who, probably, inven-
ted some of the first weapons of war, which are form-
ed out of the hard metals: and the sister of Tubal-
cain was Naamah.
Lamech's speech to his wives, on a certain occa-
sion, is supposed to contain a difficulty: "Hear my
voice, ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech,
for I have slain a man to my wounding and a young
man to my hurt." Gen. iv. 2, 3. Whatever difficulty
may be in this passage, it can be of no great impor-
tance, as it does not relate either to any doctrine
which we are to believe, or to any duty which we are
to perform. The sentence is abrupt, and evidently
elliptical, more being implied than is expressed. The
family seems to have been agitated and unhappy
from some cause or other. Perhaps, conscious of their
guilt, they began to express their fears to one another,
that the judgments of God might one day overtake
them. Hereupon Lamech, either in a fit of anger, or
with a view to quiet their fears, by vindicating his
past conduct, and by quoting the supposed impunity
of Cain, their wicked ancestor, interposes his author-
ity, and commands attention to what he was about
to say, which I suppose might be paraphrased thus:
Dismiss your groundless apprehensions of the Divine
judgments. If there be a God, he is not strict to
mark iniquity: and admitting we have our failings
and have done some wrong things, we are not greater
sinners than some of our neighbours: We shall, there-
fore, fare as well as most other people. Have 1 been
guilty of any heinous crime? Have I slain a man,
that I should be wounded, or a youth that I should
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 51
be hurt? If Cain, wlio committed fratricide shall be
avenged seven-fold, trnly Lamecli, who has never
been guilty of so great a crime, shall be still more
secure. Should any one attempt to injure or disturb
him, he shall be avenged of his adversary, seventy
and seven-fold. Here the sacred historian closes his
account of the descendants of Cain; and we hear no
more of them, except incidentally, in the history of
progressive wickedness, which provoked that tremen-
dous expression of Heaven's hatred of sin, the deluge.
Our attention is next directed to another, and a
more hopeful branch of the human family. Abel
had fallen by the hand of violence — and, with him,
the chief earthly comfort of our first parents, and the
hope of the world seemed to have perished. But
that (he purpose of God might stand, and that there
might be a seed to serve him on the earth, Seth was
born unto Adam, in the hundred and thirtieth year of
his life. This son, designed as a substitute for Abel,
and as the first link in the long chain of our Lord's
progenitors, "as concerning the flesh," is said to have
been begotten by Adam, "in his own likeness and
after his image;" an image differing widely from that,
in which Adam came from the immaculate hand of
God. Had the first man retained his original integrity,
his offspring would, of course, have inherited his mo-
ral purity; but having become a sinner, his children
must, by parity of reason, be conceived in sin, and
brought forth in iniquity. Human depravity is pro-
pagated by a universal law of procreation; i. e. in
every species of creatures continued, by a series of
generations, the offspring possesses the specific quali-
ties of the parent stock. And this law operates as
certainly and uniformly upon moral and accountable
beings, as it does either in the vegetable kingdom, or
among the various orders of animals. Hence we
learn, that, though, as we have reason to hope Adam
was pardoned and saved, through the grace of the
Redeemer, yet having become a transgressor before
he was a father, his children were all born in sin ;
and if Abel and Seth were pious and righteous men,
52 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
divine ^race, and not their natural disposition, made
thenn ditfer from Cain the vagabond and the mur-
derer. And to the same cause are we to attribute
the difference between the saint and the sinner, in all
ages of the world. Sm is hereditary ; it is interwoven
in our very nature, pervades our entire moral system,
and is, therefore, propagated from generation to gene-
ration. But piety, or true holiness is owing, solely,
to a divine and gracious influence upon the heart: it
is, in fact, supernatural; i. e. foreign to our fallen
nature: and, it cannot, therefore, be transmitted to
posterity by any law of ordinary generation. Sup-
posing Adam to have been a good man, a subject of
saving grace, when he begat Seth, he could not con-
vey his goodness to his son, for this obvious reason —
it was not an essential, but a superinduced quality of
his regenerate nature. Indeed, most of Seth's des-
cendants, as well as those of Cain, gave unequivocal
proofs, in process of time, that they bore the image
and likeness of a corrupt and sadly dilapidated nature.
And it is a mournful and undeniable fact that pious
fathers and mothers are, in many instances, the parents
of ungodly children. Yes, readers, the image of apos-
tate Adam is the wretched inheritance which we entail
upon our beloved offspring: let us spare no pains to
bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the
Lord, and while we live, let us not cease to entreat
the God of all grace, that he would impress upon
their hearts the image and likeness of the heavenly
Redeemer.
The birth of Enos, the son of Seth, took place about
the year of the world two hundred and thirty-five.
In his time, it is said, men began to call on the name
of the Lord; or, more properly, then began men to
call tliemselves by the name of the Lord. As one of
tiie objects had in view, in these lectures, is to ascer-
tain tlie church of God, observe its growth, and notice
the changes which were made, from time to time, in
its visible form and rites of worship, the age of P^nos
is worthy of some regard. It is evident that God was
worshipped before this time, by the use of thank-
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 53
offeringvS and expiatory sacrificos, as we liave seen in
the history of Cain and Abel. These services inchided
prayer and praise, with conlession of sin and a pro-
fession of fliith, and hope in the promised Redeemer.
Hitherto divine worship seems to have been confined
to the family ahar. Every pions head of a family
officiated as priest in liis own honse, teaching his
children, praying and praising God with them, and
offering, on their behalf, the stated and prescribed
oblation. And mnch is it to be lamented, that this
primitive mode of acknowledging God as tlie kind
preserver and gracious benefactor of our families, is
so generally laid aside. It is a neglect of duty for
which no apology can be offered; it borders closely
on practical atheism, or living without God in the
woild; and there is a fearful doom denounced in
Scripture against the families that call not on God's
name. Jer. x. 25.
In the days of Enos, mankind had multiplied con-
siderably, (for we are not to suppose that the Bible
gives us the names of all the people then living,) and
with the increase of population, there was no doubt
an increase of wickedness. Hence it became neces-
sary, for those who feared God and loved the institu-
tions of his worship, to associate for the maintenance
of truth and piety; to form a religious community dis-
tinct from the ungodly and the profane. Thus sepa-
rated unto God, and meeting statedly, on the Sabbath,
for the performance of religious service, they, as a
body, either called themselves, or were designated by
others, in a way of derision, "the sons of God;'^ as
we find them, in the next chapter, distinguished by
that title, from the family of Cain, and others who
followed their bad example. It is also probable, that
some additions or modifications were now made in the
rites of religious worship; but what they were, we are
not told in the Bible, and therefore have no means of
ascertaining. As there does not appear to have been
any particular order of men set apart, as yet, to the
priests' office, we naturally conclude that tlieir religi-
ous ritual was simple, and that their ecclesiastical
5*
54 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
government, like their civil polity, was patriarchal.
Here then, was the visible church, in its infancy; a
seed to serve the Lord; a people distinguished and
recognized as the sons of God, united, and adhering
to the service of Jehovah; bearing testimony against
infidelity, idolatry, and all the works of darkness.
And it seems probable that Seth and his seven des-
cendants, whose names are recorded in holy writ,
with many of their famiUes for several generations,
were church members, and gave evidence that they
were a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
Of Enoch, the son of Jared, the sacred historian
gives a most amiable and exalted character, in four
words: "He walked with God." And for his emi-
nent piety, he was indulged the rare privilege of an
early and deathless removal from this vale of tears.
" God took him.'' " By faith, Enoch was translated
that he should not see deatli; and was not found, be-
cause God had translated him; for, before his transla-
tion, he had this testimony, that he pleased God."
Heb. xi. 5. " Blessed are they whose God is the
Lord!" Thrice blessed, they who love his service,
think upon his name, and keep his testimonies,
hearkening unto the voice of his word! Be it our
glory, readers, to be called by his name, and our care
to walk worthy our high vocation. "Behold what
manner of love the Father hath bestowed on us, that
we should be called the sons of God !" Surely it
cannot be less the duty and the privilege of men to
call themselves by the name of the Lord now-a-days,
than it was in the days of Enos. The church is the
glory of the whole earth; a blessing is in her; the
oracles of truth, with their infallible counsels and
comforts; the covenant of mercy, with its seals and
promises; the charter of immortality; the tree of life;
the throne of grace, and the blood of sprinkling which
speaketh better things than that of Abel. Let no
sinner be ashamed of the gospel of Christ; it is the
power of God unto salvation. The world lieth in
wickedness; and the Lord hath set apart him that is
godly for himself. The workers of iniquity shall be
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 55
destroyed, though hand join in hand. The chnrch of
God is a visible and consecrated community, governed
by holy laws and fed with bread from heaven. It
has its precepts, its promises, and ordinances, to which
every sinner, who hears the glad tidings, should sub-
mit thankfully, without regard to the fear or favour
of man. '^ What agreement (saith the apostle) hath
the temple of God with idols.? for ye are the temple
of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in
them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and
they shall be my people: Wherefore come out from
among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and
touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive 3^ou;
and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my
sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.'^ 2 Cor.
vi. 16-lS.
"And all the days that Adam lived, were nine
hundred and thirty years, and he died; and all the
days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years,
and he died.''
The great age to Avhich many of the antediluvians
jived, appears very extraordinary to us, whose term
of continuance here below, is but as a dream when
one awaketh. Seth and his descendants, whose
names are recorded in Scripture, with the exception
of Enoch, who was translated, at the age of three
hundred and sixty-five, lived from seven hundred and
seventy-five, to nine hundred and sixty-nine years;
on an average, twelve times three score and ten. So
that Adam, who lived to within seven hundred and
twenty-six years of the flood, may have seen his de-
scendants to the twentieth generation. This was a
longevity truly astonishing; yet, it is indubitable: the
fact, we admit, on the testimony of God, by the min-
istry of Moses, corroborated by the suftVages of seve-
ral of the oldest, and most credible profane writers,
with whose works we liave any acquaintance. Ma-
netho, Berosus, Hesiod, and Hecata^us and others, as
Josephus informs us, generally agreed that the ancients
lived about a thousand years. It were absurd to
make the years of Moses lunar years, or months, as
56 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
some fancy we slioiild do. Tliis liypothesis, while it
miglit help us out of one difficulty, would involve us
in at least three, viz: "First, this calculation reduces
their lives to a shorter period than our own : Secondly,
some of them must have been fathers under, or about
six years of age: and thirdly, it contracts the interval
between the creation and the flood to less than a
hundred and fifty years.''* It is impossible for us to
account for this extraordinary longevity, on any natu-
ral, or philosophical principles. It has been ascribed
to their plain diet; to the excellence of their vegeta-
bles and fruits; to the disuse of animal food; to the
healthfulness of their atmosphere; to the vigorous
organization of their bodies; the strength of their
stamina, &c. But these causes are all imaginary and
inadequate to the effect. We resolve it into the good
pleasure of the Creator. And it was an appointed
means of peopling the world, in its infancy. True,
it gave an opportunity for the rapid growth of im-
piety; as the event proved. And, we cannot, there-
fore, but regard the present reduced term of human
life, as a wise and merciful arrangement of Provi-
dence. Life is still long enough to aftbrd us an
opportunity of preparing for eternity; and this is the
great purpose for which it is given. To the pious,
it is better, if tlie Lord will, to depart and be with
Christ; and to the wicked, a protracted term of pro-
bation is, in many instances, through their own fault,
an occasion of aggravated guilt and awfnl condemna-
tion. But liow forcibly do the comparative brevity and
great uncertainty of this life urge us to make prepara-
tion speedily, for that which is to come ! Hear the
Scripture: Set your aflection on things above ; not
on things that are on the earth. Give all diligence to
make your calling and election sure. Work out your
own salvation with fear and trembling. Whatsoever
thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might. What
is thy life? A vapour that appeareth for a little
while, and then vanisheth away. Behold ! now is
* Sec Dr. CoUiycr's Lectures on Scripture Facts.
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 57
the accepted time; beholLl, now is the day of sal-
vation !
Reader, do you beheve these sayings of the Holy
Ghost? Do you tliink much, and pray much con-
cerning them? If you receive the Bible, as the word
of God, you know and acknowledge that you are
going into a future state, where you will be either
happy, or miserable for ever. What provision have
you made for an exchange of worlds ? You have a
hope; on what is it founded? Have you peace with
God, through faith in our Lord Jesus? Then may
you say, with Paul the apostle: To me to live is
Christ; and to die is gain. "Lord, so teach us to
number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto
wisdom !'^
LECTURE VL
THE DELUGE.
And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou, and all thy house, into
the ark : for thee have I seen rigliteous before ine in this genera-
tion. Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the
male and his female; and of beasts that are not elean by two, the
male and his female. Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male
and the female ; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth.
For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty
days and forty nights : and every living substance that I have made
will I destroy from off the face of the earth. And Noah did ac-
cording unto all that the Lord commanded him. And Noah was
six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the
earth. — Gen. vii. 1-6.
That portion of biblical history which is to form the
basis of the ensuing lecture, gives us an account of
the Deluge, the most awful indication of God's ab-
horrence of sin that ever was exhibited on this globe.
According to the most generally received chronology,
-58 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
this tremendous catastrophe took place one thousand
six hundred and fifty-six years after the creation of
the world, and in the six hundredth year of Noah's
Hfe. In attending to the subject, it will be proper to
notice — first, the excessive wickedness, which ren-
dered so fearful a judgment necessary; secondly, the
time afforded to the ungodly for repentance, and the
means employed for their reformation; thirdly, the
method adopted to preserve a seed to replenish the
new world; and, finally, the practical lesson which
the whole matter is calculated to impress upon our
minds.
When we take into view tlie great age to which
men lived before the flood, we cannot but adn)it that
the population of the world must have increased very
rapidly. And, after the apostasy of our race, the
growth of wickedness would naturally keep pace
with the multiplication of mankind. Adam himself,
who lived to tlie age of nine hundred and thirty years,
must have seen a numerous and depraved posterity.
The family of Cain, as has been observed in a pre-
ceding lecture, were extremely abandoned. With-
drawing from the society of the pious, and neglecting
the instituted worship of the true God, they soon be-
came vain in their imagination, licentious in their
manners, and, whatever form of religion they main-
tained, it was no doubt idolatrous. In the descend-
ants of Seth, God had a seed to serve him, a people
for his praise, to whom he vouchsafed the oracles of
truth, and the influence of his grace. Among these
many appear, for a considerable time, to have re-
proved the works of darkness, and to have maintained
a deportment worthy their high vocation. But, alas !
how difficult it is, by reason of the depraved bias of
our nature, to "keep ourselves unspotted from the
world." The Sethites, called by way of religious
distinction "the sons of God," began, in process of
time, to hold converse, and to form intimate con-
nexions with the degenerate offspring of Cain; and,
as is uniformly the case, this unwarrantable inter-
course with the wicked led to a participation in their
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 59
evil deeds. Interinr\rria2:es with the ungodly arc par-
ticiilarly mentioned by Moses, as one cause of tliat
profligacy of morals which provoked the Ahiiighty to
demoHsli the work of his hand by a dehige. "The
sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were
fair; and they took them wives of all which they
chose." Thus the professed worshippers of Jehovah,
instead of maintaining a holy singularity, began to
lose sight of their sacred character, and to indulge
their sensual desires, till at length, dropping one dis-
tinction after another, they became conformed to this
world. The salt of the earth lost its savour. The
hands of the wicked were strengthened ; piety de-
clined, and sin triumphed. The oflspring of these
unlawful marriages would, of course, be still more
abandoned than their corrupt parents. Many of them
were, no doubt, giants in impiety, as well as in sta-
ture. Freed from the salutary restraints of an enlight-
ened and faithful conscience, unawed by parental
gravity or religious example, they committed sin with
greediness, and ripened apace for destruction.
Let us be thankful, readers, for that measure of
Christian influence which prevails in the community
where it is our lot to reside. " Evil communica-
tions corrupt good manners." Let those young per-
sons, therefore, who have been baptized into Christ,
and who hope for heaven through his merits, beware
of forming ungodly connexions; especially, let them
not be "unequally yoked with unbelievers." "He
that is joined to the Lord is one spirit." "But what
fellowship hath light with darkness, or Christ with
Belial?"
But we proceed, secondly, to notice the forbearance
of Heaven, in affording to the wicked time and space
for repentance, even when the measure of their ini-
quity appeared to be full. When God saw that the
wickedness of man was great in the earth; that every
imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil
continually; that all flesh had corrupted his way, and
that the earth was filled with violence; when the
divine Majesty was openly insulted, and sin stalked
60 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
abroad with the most daring effrontery, He who takes
no pleasure in tlie ruin of the wicked, manifested a
wiUingness to wait, and to be gracious. On his an-
nouncing the day of vengeance, for the vindication of
his autliority, he publishes a respite: mercy is min-
gled with judgment — the warning voice precedes the
stroke of justice. "And the Lord said, My spirit shall
not always strive with man; for that, he also is flesh:
yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years."
During this term of probation, various means were
nsed to bring about a retbrmation, and ward off the
impending storm. Noah, and no doubt otlier preach-
ers of righteousness, remonstrated; the Spirit strove,
and the providence of God gave indubitable signs of
approaching judgment. But all to no purpose. Evil
men waxed worse and worse; scoffers multiplied;
hand joined hand in striving against God; and be-
cause sentence against their crimes was not executed
speedily, therefore, their hearts were fully set in them
to do wickedly. Divine compassion expostulates; the
great Lord of heaven and earth, even in taking hold
of judgment, for the support of rightful authority, dis-
covers parental pity, and reluctance to punish: "And
it repented the Lord that he had made man on earth,
and it grieved him at his heart." Strictly speaking,
it is impossible that God should repent. He is un-
changeable alike in his nature and counsels. "In
him is no variableness or shadow of turning." His
measures are all taken in perfect wisdom, and he is
completely self-suflicient; he cannot therefore, be lia-
ble to either grief, or disappointment. The expression
before us, therefore, is obviously used, after the manner
of man, to indicate God's irreconcilable hatred of sin,
and at the same time to show, tiiat he commiserates
the sinner whose punishment is demanded by justice.
The term of probation drawing towards a close, the
Lord reveals more clearly his determination to dis-
play his power in the utter overthrow of those who
continued to despise his grace. But that his purpose
of mercy towards the human race might stand fast
amidst the wreck and ruin of the ungodly, a seed is
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 61
to be preserved to replenish the earth, after it shall
have been washed by the waters of a flood. The
method adopted for this end is the third particular
that claims our notice.
Thirdly: "And God said unto Noah, The end of all
flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with
violence through them; and, behold I will destroy
them with the earth. Make thee an ark of gopher-
wood: rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt
pitch it within and without with pitch. ^^ The ark
does not appear to have been formed for travelling,
but merely to float on the surface, and afl*ord shelter
for its inhabitants, during the prevalence of the
waters. By the gopher-wood of which it was com-^
posed, is generally understood the cypress, as being
the firmest and most suitable, then known, to resist
the violence of the weather. Whether it resembled
a ship, or was flat-bottomed and rectangular, is al-
together undetermined by the sacred historian. But,
as it was intended to rise with the gradual rise of the
water, and to rest again wherever divine providence
should see fit, we incline to the latter opinion, as the
more probable of the two. Moses gives us its di-
mensions, as prescribed by God himself. Its length
was three hundred cubits; its width fifty, and its
height thirty. There were two sorts of cubits in
use among the Jews, diflering in length about four
inches. If we compute the capacity of the ark by
the shorter cubit, which was IS inches, we shall find
it to have been 450 feet long, 75 wide, and 45 high;
if by the longer, which was 22 inches, the result
would be 547 feet in length, 91 in width, and 54 in
height: and its solid contents would be upwards of
2,730,781 feet. The learned and ingenious Dr. Ar-
buthnot computes it to have been a vessel of eighty-
one thousand and sixty-two tons burden. When
completed and stored with provisions suflicient for its
intended inhabitants, Noah and his family, eight in
number, were required to enter it, taking with them
of every clean beast, i. e. such as was allowed to be
used in sacrifice, bv sevens, either seven individuals
6
62 LECTURES OX BIBLICAL HISTORY.
or seven pair; and of unclean one pair of every
kind.
It is scarcely necessary to remark that land animals
only would be taken into the ark, as the others would
still be in their native element. But was there room
in the ark, capacious as it was, for so vast a variety
of animals, together with food enough to serve them
for a whole year? This has been questioned, with-
out due consideration, I apprehend, by some who
take the liberty of doubting almost every thing con-
tained in the Bible. We are not prepared to speak,
with great confidence, in regard to the room which
one pair of all kinds of land animals would occupy.
As to those that were used in sacrifice, the number of
species was so small, that seven pair of each could
have taken up but a small share of room. And the
others will not be found, on accurate inquiry, half so
numerous, or to need near so much room, as at first
view we are liable to imagine. A respectable writer
of Great Britain, we mean Bishop Wilkins, has in-
vestigated this subject with great care and labour, and
he, as well as several other writers that might be men-
tioned, has made it pretty evident that the ark was
amply capacious to answer the end for which it was
constructed. One passage in his " Essay towards a
Philosophical Character and Language," is worthy of
special notice: "The capacity of the ark (says he,)
which has been made an objection against Scripture,
ought to be esteemed a confirmation of its divine au-
thority: since in those ruder ages, men, being less
versed in arts and philosophy, were more obnoxious
to vulgar prejudices than now; so that had it been a
human invention, it would have been contrived ac-
cording to those wild apprehensions which arise from
a confused and general view of things, as much too
big, as it has been represented too little." Should
any be desirous of knowing how wild and ferocious
beasts and birds could be brought within the sacred
inclosure of the ark, we would observe, that as notice
of the deluge was given more than a century before-
hand, Noah may have tamed, or secured them in
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 63
some way, and had them in readiness, wlien the time
arrived for liim and them to be shut in from the
general ruin: or, should this be deemed improbable,
it will not be denied, that He who gave strength to
the lion, fierceness to the tiger, untameable disposition
to the bear, and subtlety to the serpent, could with
perfect ease incline them to obey his will, and sub-
serve the ends of his holy and all-controlling provi-
dence.
It has been made a question whether the deluge
was universal, i. e. whether the waters covered the
entire surface of the earth. We have no hesitation
in takhig the affirmative side of the question. The
language of Moses is plain and unequivocal on this
point. " The waters (says he) prevailed exceedingly
upon the earth; and all the high hills that were under
the whole heaven were covered. Fifteen cubits up-
ward did the waters prevail, and the mountains were
covered; and all flesh died that moved upon the earth;
of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creep-
ing thing, and every man." These declarations need
no exposition, and they admit of no evasion. Indeed,
on the supposition of a partial flood, the labour and
expense of an ark might have been spared. Noah
and company might have removed to a distant region,
with far less apparent danger than that which they
encountered in the ark. But, in that case, the un-
godly would very soon have followed in his train,
however much they had derided his faith.
That the deluge was universal, is, we think, ren-
dered indubitable, by the well known fact, that ves-
tiges of it are to be found in all parts of the known
world. In Europe, Asia, Africa, and America, at the
greatest distance from the ocean, far beneath the sur-
face, and on the loftiest mountains, marine substances
are to be seen, which bear unimpeachable and incon-
trovertible testimony that the flood was there.
But where, demands the sceptic, could water be
obtained to cover the whole earth, fifteen cubits above
the Alps and the Andes? In the central abyss, says
Dr. Burnet, who fancies the earth resembled an eg^,
64 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY-.
and that its exterior covering was broken at the de-
luge, and sunk down beneath the prevaiUng waters.
By the agency of a comet, says the ingenious Whis-
ton, who supposes that one of those eccentric bodies
involved the earth in its atmosphere, whose aqueous
vapours being condensed by the contact, poured down
in torrents of rain, which he imagines is what Moses
intends by the opening of the windows of heaven.
By violent earthquakes, says M. de la Pry me, an in-
genious French writer. By the melting of the ice in
the polar regions, says the eloquent St. Pierre. But
however curious these hypotheses may be, they are
far from being satisfactory. Moses mentions two
sources whence the waters came, which, we think,
are quite sufficient, viz. the extraordinary descent of
rain for forty days and forty nights, and the breaking
up of the fountains of the great deep. The Almighty
is never at a loss for means to accomplish his designs.
He who, in the beginning, said, " Let there be light,
and light was," and who made the world by the
word of his power, could readily furnish water suffi-
cient to drown its inhabitants. The opening of the
windows of heaven, and the breaking up of the foun-
tains of the great deep are, in our opinion, strong
figurative expressions, intimating the fall of rain unu-
sually fast, and for an unparalleled length of time.
It is said, the waters prevailed for a hundred and fifty
days ; i. e. during that time its depth increased, and
the ark rose higher and higher with its elect inmates.
Then God remembered Noah, and caused the waters
gradually to subside, and on the seventh month, and
seventeenth day of the month, the ark, by divine
guidance, rested on Mount Ararat, a noted eminence
in the mountains of Armenia, between the Black and
the Caspian seas, some hundreds of miles north-east
of Palestine. Here a delightful scene ensues. The
tenth month showed the mountain tops. Yet, forty
days, and the window of the ark is opened. First,
the raven is despatched ; then the dove, thrice ; on
her second return she brought in her beak an olive
branch plucked off, from which it would readily be
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 65
inferred that the waters were decreasing ; and from
this circumstance the oUve branch has been used as
the emblem of peace by all civilized nations. The
three missions of the dove were marked by an inter-
val of seven days; whence it would seem, that Noah
and his family observed the weekly Sabbath, and
performed special religious service on that day.
" And in the second month (i. e. in the second month
from the beginning of the next year,) and on the 27th
day of the month, was the earth dried. And God
spake unto Noah, saying, Go forth of the ark, tiiou
and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with
thee : bring forth with thee every living thing that is
with thee of all llesh," &c. It appears that Noah was
m the ark one entire solar year; for he entered it on
the second montii of the six hundredth year of his life,
and left it the same month of the year next ensuing.
In regard to the truth of the Mosaic account of the
deluge, there cannot be a rational doubt entertained
by any one who considers, candidly and dispassion-
ately, the mass of evidence by which the fact is sup-
ported. On this point we with pleasure give an
extract from one of the eloquent Dr. CoUyer's Lec-
tures on Scripture Facts : " Had there been no deluge,
it were difficult to account for the universal traditions
respecting it ; still more so, to explain the appearances
presented in the face of nature itself. It was impos-
sible for JNIoses to impose the belief of it upon the
Jews, appealing, as he did, to the names found in the
line of their ancestors, and fixing a certain era for this
wonderful event. INI any of them were well acquaint-
ed with the contemporaries of Joseph ; Joseph with
the particulars of Abraham's life ; and Abraham lived
in the days of the sons of Noah. Now the Jews must
have received traditionary accounts of every remarka-
ble event, handed down through successive generations
in other channels besides the writings of Moses. Had
his history clashed with these traditions, tiiey could
not have failed to observe it ; and had he attempted
to impose a fable upon them, they could not have
failed to detect it. And such a detection at the com-
6*
66 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
mencement of his history, could not have failed to
weaken, iii the minds of his contemporaries especially,
the authority and validity of the whole." And the
writer might have added, that, on this supposition,
the Jews would have utterly rejected the mission and
writings of Moses, which all the world knows is far
from being the fact.
From the fearful manifestation of divine displeasure
against sin, which we have been contemplating, we
may learn that the threatenings of Scripture, no less
than the promises, will certainly be executed in due
time: for, although God is slow to anger and of great
kindness, and has no pleasure in the misery of his
creatures; and although he has set his bow in the
heavens, and promised, by covenant, not to destroy
the world again by water; yet has he pledged his
veracity, that those who discredit his word, outrage
his authority, and despise his grace, shall not go un-
punished. ^' Upon the wicked he shall rain snares,
fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall
be the portion of their cup.'^ Psalm xi. 6. Reader,
there is an ark of safety: believe God, come to Christ,
and you shall be free from fear of evil.
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 67
LECTURE VII.
THE NOAHIC COVENANT.
And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying, And
I, behold I, establish my covenant with you, and with your seed
after you; and with every living creature that is with you, of the
fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you ; from
all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth. And I will
establish my covenant with you ; neither shall all flesh be cut off
any more by the waters of a flood ; neither shall there any more
be a flood to destroy the earth. And God said, This is the token
of the covenant which I make between me and you, and every
living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations : I do
set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of the covenant
between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I
bring a cloud over the earth that the bow shall be seen in the
cloud : and I will remember my covenant which is between me
and you, and every living creature of all flesh ; and the waters shall
no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. — Gen, ix. 8-15.
The situation of Noah and his family, immediately
after the flood, must have been peculiarly interesting.
Preserved by a kind and powerful Providence, in the
midst of desolation and death, their bosoms could not
fail to swell with gratitude to the gracious author of
their distinguishing mercies. The only survivors of
a guilty race, that had been swept from the face of
the earth by an exterminating judgment of heaven,
they must have had an impressive sense of the evil
of sin, and of the importance of acknowledging God,
in all their ways, by a prompt and religious attention
to the instituted rites and ordinances of his worship.
Accordingly, we find their first act, after leaving the
ark, was an act of solemn devotion. "And Noah
builded an altar unto the Lord; and took of every
68 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered
burnt offerings on the altar." Nor was this a vain
service. God had appointed sacrifices of this nature,
as types or significant representations of the Re-
deemer's blood, that rich and never failing fountain
which cleanseth from all sin. And they who offered
gifts on the altar, in the faith of the divine testimony,
and with a believing reference to the Lamb of God
who taketh away the sin of the world, were in every
instance, blessed in their deed and made accepted in
the beloved. Thus it was with Noah, on this occa-
sion. " And the Lord smelled a sweet savour : and
the Lord said, in his heart, I will not again curse the
ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination
of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will
I again smite any more every thing living as I have
done." The Lord's smelling a sweet savour is a
figurative expression, intended, evidently, to indicate
his gracious acceptance of Noah and his offering.
And that this favourable acceptance was vouchsafed,
by virtue of the mediation of Jesus Christ, is pretty
plainly intimated by the apostle Paul, in his epistle to
the Ephesians, v. 2, where he uses an expression, in
regard to the great sacrifice of the cross, substantially
the same as that now before us: "Walk in love, as
Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for
us, an offering and a sacrifice to God, for a sweet
SMELLING SAVOUR." Let US, thcu, iu all our ap-
proaches to God, and in all the services we render
him, have respect to our divine Advocate with the
Father, who suffered once, the just for the unjust; but
who is now exalted at the right hand of the JMajesty
in heaven, where he "ever liveth to make interces-
sion for his people." Our best performances are pol-
luted with sin; nor are we warranted, in Scripture,
to expect the acceptance of our purest desires, or most
fervent prayers, save througli the merits and media-
tion of the Lord Jesus. He is our hope. In him the
Father is well pleased: and, for his sake, mercy can
be extended to the chief of sinners.
The Noahic covenant, which is to be the main sub-
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 69
ject of this lecture, conveys to mankind several pieces
of useful and desirable instruction. It consists in a
])ro77iise, on God's part, confirmed by a sacramental
sign and seal of divine appointment. It is a solemn
stipulation, that the world shall not be again visited
by a universal deluge; that, under the hand of culti-
vation, the ground shall produce food convenient for
man and beast; that the seasons of the year, "seed-
time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter,
day and night, shall not cease, while the earth re-
maineth." This covenant engagement was accom-
panied by a command to multiply and replenish the
earth, and to regard the life of man as sacred and
inviolable. Murder was forbidden on pain of death.
Even a beast that caused the death of a human being
was to be slain, as an attestation of God's indisputa-
ble claim to be the sole disposer, as he is the giver of
life; "Surely your blood of your lives will I require;
at the hand of every beast will I require it; and at
the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother
will I require the life of man. Whoso sheddeth man's
blood, by man shall his blood be shed; for, in the
image of God made he man.''^ In connexion with
these commands, there was renewed to Noah and
his posterity, the grant of dominion over the inferior
animals, originally vested in our first parents; and, in
addition to this, a right was now first given to man
to use animal food, excepting blood, which was
strictly prohibited. "Every moving thing that liveth
shall be meat for you; even as the green herb, have
I given you all things: hwi flesh ivith the life thereof,
which is the blood thereof shall ye not eat.^^
In contemplating this covenant transaction with the
new world, the serious mind is strongly impressed
with the condescension and benignity of the Creator
towards his dependant creatures. As all things re-
ceived their existence from God, so are they depend-
ant on him for their preservation and well being.
The survivors of the deluge may reasonably be sup-
posed to have been painfully apprehensive, that, on
the increase of their numbers, and the consequent
70 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
growth of wickedness, they might be, again, visited
by a similar calamity. This fear, if not removed by
some express revelation of the divine purpose of cle-
mency and forbearance, would have checked the spirit
of enterprise, and greatly retarded their progress, in
useful arts, and intellectual improvements. Even
their pious atiections and religious exercises would,
probably, have partaken more of servile fear, than
filial confidence, gratitude and joy in the Lord. Be-
hold, then, the loving-kindness and tender compassion
of the Most High. He has never withheld from man-
kind the tokens of his goodness. On this occasion, he
gave full and formal evidence of his gracious regards
for the creatures of his power. The little remnant of
his faithful worshippers had devoted themselves to his
service by sacrifice and thank-oflerings, of which he
testified his favourable acceptance ; and now, that they
are entering on a new world, which they are to people
and to cultivate, and where they are to maintain the
worship of Him who made heaven and earth, and use
their endeavours to promote his truth and honour; and
while the desolating expression of his wrath against
sin, is still fresh in their minds, he condescends to re-
veal himself to them, as their covenant God and faith-
ful guardian. He directs them to replenish the earth:
and to encourage them, in so doing, and to remove
their fears of a second deluge, he assures them, by
solemn stipulation, that the earth shall yield her in-
crease to the hand of industry; that there shall be
seed-time and harvest, day and night, winter and
summer; that all flesh shall not any more be swept
away by the waters of a flood: and that they and
their descendants, to the latest generation, might have
a visible token or remembrancer of this kind and gra-
cious engagement, the rainbow, or as it is called in
Scripture, " God's bow in the cloud," was set, or
appointed, as the seal of his faithfulness and truth.
Whether that beautiful phenomenon, the rainbow,
existed and was seen before the flood, or whether it
was now produced by some change in our atmos-
phere, for the express purpose of confirming and
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 71
perpetuating the remembrance of this covenant, is a
question, as unimportant as it is difficult to decide.
It is unimportant, because, admitting that it existed
before^ it did not exist as the token of any covenant
between God and man; and, when once appointed as
the seal of Noah's covenant, it would answer that end
as completely, as if it had been formed expressly for
that purpose. The question is difficult to decide, be-
cause, although it proceeds from natural causes, the
reflection and refraction of the sun's rays from innu-
merable drops of rain in a thin cloud, yet so many
concurrent circumstances are necessary to its produc-
tion, that no man without knowing the alterations
which may have taken place in the atmosphere at
the time of the flood, or what change may have been
made, after that event, in the mode of watering the
earth, can prove, with certainty, that the antediluvians
ever saw a rainbow. No object, perhaps, on the face
of nature, is viewed with more complacency and de-
light than the bow in the cloud. This may be owing,
in part, to its rich colours and elegant form, but chiefly,
to its religious and appropriate design, as a messenger
of good tidings, and a pledge to the world, that the
earth and its inhabitants shall not be again visited by
a general, or extensively destructive flood. And, I
doubt not, that it is from a vague knowledge of tliis
interesting fact of sacred history, received through the
medium of tradition, that Homer, the father of epic
poetry, takes his fine idea of Iris, or the bow in the
clouds, being the messenger of Jupiter, the Pagan
king of heaven. Where it is said, in Scripture, that
when God looks upon the ^' bow in the cloud," he
will remember his covenant, we are to understand the
expression, as used after the manner of man; for God,
in whom there is no variableness, needs no remem-
brancer; he cannot, from the perfection of his nature,
forget or fail to accomplish any of his promises. The
outward memorials or tokens of any of God's trans-
actions with man, are for man's use and benefit ; to
remind him of his duty, and to encourage his faith
and hope in the divine promises. That this is true.
72 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
in the case now before us, will not be doubted.
When, therefore, we look upon the rainbow, let it re-
mind us of our duty to Him who painted its beauteous
colours, and placed it in the cloud as the symbol of his
goodness to a dependant and guilty world. Nor let
our thoughts be limited to temporal benefits, when
viewing- this beautiful emblem of the divine benig
nity. To those who are interested in that covenant,
which is ordered in all things and sure, it conveys a
lesson of the highest and most consolatory import ; a
lesson of hope and confidence in Him whose blood
and righteousness secure them from that fearful deluge
of wrath that shall, in due time, come upon the un-
godly. Hear the word of Jehovah, by the mouth of
his prophet Isaiah: "This is as the waters of Noah
unto me ; for, as I have sworn that the waters of Noah
shall no more go over the earth, so have I sworn that
I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee: for
the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed;
but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither
shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the
Lord, that hath mercy on thee.^' Isa. liv. 9-10.
As an improvement of this article of our lecture,
allow us to suggest a few practical reflections.
In the covenant which we have been considering,
God claims to govern the world, as well in its physi-
cal, as in its moral concerns. The laws of nature owe
their efficiency, and steady operation to the constant
agency of God. And not to acknowledge this truth,
is but little short of practical atheism. The inimita-
ble Cowper has some fine thoughts on this point:
" Some say, that, in the origin of things,
When all creation started into birth,
The infant elements receiv'd a law,
From wliieh they swerve not since I — That under force
Of that controlling ordinance they move,
And need not His immediate hand, who first
Prescribed their course, to regulate it now. —
But how should matter occupy a charge,
Dull as it is, and satisfy a law
So vast in its demands, unless impell'd
To ceaseless service by a ceaseless force,
And under pressure of some conscious cause ?
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 73
The Lord of all, himself thro' all diffused,
Sustains, and is the life of all that lives.
Nature is but a name for an effect,
Whose cause is God." — Task, b. vi.
Yes; it is God that sustains the earth in its orbit,
and causes grass, and bread corn, and all its pleasant
fruits to grow on its surface, for the use of man and
beast. It is God that gives us the former and the lat-
ter rain, seed-time, and plenteous harvests. He it is,
that maintains health in our borders, or visits us, as
he sees fit, with sickness, disease, and death. He it
is, that preserves the ships that convey our friends
and our property across the mountain waves, and
the trackless deep. He it is, that rides in the whirl-
wind— that directs the tornado — that lets loose his
water-spouts, in such measure, and on such places,
as he pleases, to teach men their dependance on his
providence, and their obligations to his protecting
power, and bounteous munificence. He it is, in one
word, that gives us all our comforts, and removes them
from us, at his pleasure. To him, therefore, let our
prayers and thank-offerings be continually presented,
in the name of Jesus, to whose mediation we owe
all our comforts, and all our best hopes.
The partial inundations that often occur are no in-
fraction of the Noahic covenant; as that only enga-
ges that there shall not, again, be a universal deluge.
" The waters of a flood shall not any more destroy
all flesh. '^ • Inundations, like earthquakes, pestilence,
famine, and war, are the ministers of God's anger, by
which he visits and reproves guilty communities of
mankind. But the covenant sealed with its ^^bow in
the cloud^^ secures the world from destruction by
water, and constitutes our only authentic assurance of
seed-time and harvest, winter and summer, and day
and night, while the earth remaineth.
Let us be thankful for the Bible, which among in-
numerable other precious pieces of instruction, con-
tains this charter of the world's preservation and pri-
vileges, till all the designs of redeeming mercy shall
be fully accomplished.
7
74 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
The apostle Peter teaches ns, that the fashion, or
present form of the world is ultimately to be changed,
or destroyed by a universal conflagration. *^ The
heavens and the earth, which are now, are kept in
store, reserved unto fire, against the day of judgment,
and perdition of ungodly men — the heavens shall
pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall
melt with fervent heat; and the earth, also, and the
works that are therein, shall be burnt up." 2 Pet. iii.
7-10.
It is not certain, however, from this or any other
passages of sacred Scripture, that this earth is to be
utterly consumed, blotted from existence, or even ren-
dered useless, in the great empire of Jehovah. That
the time will come when it shall be wrapped in
flames, and undergo a purification — be stripped of its
combustible furniture, by the action of fire, of which
it comprises immense stores in its own bowels, can-
not be doubted by any believer in the lively oracles
of revelation. Yet, that it may answer a valuable
purpose — be the dwelling place of some happy intel-
ligences, after that event, is quite possible; nay, even
probable: and the apostle Peter himself seems to en-
courage an expectation of this kind, when he says, in
a subsequent verse of the same chapter, and, in con-
cluding his description of the general conflagration: —
^'Nevertheless, we, according to his promise, look
for new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth
righteousness:" verse 13. We do not believe that
annihilation will ever invade any of the Creator's
works.
To conclude: let us try to fix in our minds the true
idea of the nature and design of that covenant which
we have been considering. That it was not formal-
ly and precisely the covenant of grace, is, we think,
plain from these facts — viz. that there is no mention
in it, of any spiritual and saving benefit; that its pro-
mise is made not only to all mankind, but to every
living thing; fowl, cattle, and beasts of the earth; a
scope of promise which certainly does not belong to
the covenant of grace.
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 75
We think, however, that the Noahic covenant, must
be regarded, as having been formed with the world,
for its temporal benefit and comfort, in consequence,
of the mediatorial office and work of Jesus Christ, the
Mediator of the new covenant: for all the patience of
God, in sparing a world stained with crimes, is to be
ascribed to his gracious design of redeeming unto him-
self, a peculiar people, by the cross of Christ: so that,
had not the covenant of grace taken effect before the
deluge, there would have been no ark furnished for
the saving of Noah and his family; nor any covenant
of peace and safety, sealed by the rainbow, to quiet
the fears, and gladden the hearts of guilty men. John
the Evangelist saw, in the visions of Patmos, a rain-
bow round about the head of the Son of man, our
glorious Redeemer. In him, we have that peace of
God which passeth understanding. The bow of his
covenant, perpetually encircles the throne of heaven;
and, when the storms of divine wrath shall sweep
away all refuges of lies, they who put their trust in
him, and accept the blessings of his grace, shall be
safe, and peaceful, and triumphant, world without
end.
Whenever we look upon the rainbow, let us recol-
lect, and be thankful on the recollection of the blessed
truth, that by virtue of the gracious interposition of
Christ, we are placed under a dispensation of mercy,
where we not only enjoy the common bounties of a
munificent Providence, but have an opportunity of
securing " the true riches," an interest in the favour
of God, the forgiveness of sins, and the life everlasting
through him that loved us, and gave himself for us.
Sin has drawn down a curse upon the earth, and in-
flicted on the children of men most grievous maladies:
but there is a fountain opened, in the blood of atone-
ment, whose streams make glad the city of our God.
There is a covenant, well ordered in all things, and
sure; a covenant, rich in its provisions, and inmiuta-
ble in its engagements. The gospel of God, our
Saviour, unfolds to us the contents of this divine
compact; and, often, has our faith in its liberal pro-
76 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
mises, been invited, by the exhibition of its hallowed
seals, in the ministry of reconciliation. To this well
authenticated instrument of redeeming grace, let us
yield consent, and affix our names, and entrust our
souls: and, then may we sing with the poet:
" Ere God pronounc'd creation ^ood,
Or bade the vast unbounded flood
Through fixed channels run ;
Ere light from ancient chaos sprung,
Or angels earth's formation sung,
He chose us in his Son.
Then was the cov'nant ordered sure,
Through endless ages to endure,
By Israel's triune God :
That none his cov'nant might evade,
With oaths and promises 'twas made,
And ratified in blood.
God is the refuge of my soul,
Tho' tempests rage,tho' billows roll,
And hellish powers assail :
Eternal walls are my defence —
Environ'd with Omnipotence,
What foe can ere prevail?
Then let infernal legions roar,
And waste their cursed, vengeful power,
My soul their wrath disdains :
In God, my refuge, I'm secure,
While cov'nant promises endure,
Or my Redeemer reigns."
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 77
LECTUKE VIII
NOAH'S PROPHECY AND DEATH.
And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had
done unto him. And he said, cursed be Canaan ; a servant of ser-
vants shall he be unto his bretln-en. And he said, blessed be the Lord
God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. God shall enlarge
Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall
be his servant. And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and
fifty years. And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty
years : and he died. — Gen. ix. 24-29.
In pursuing the thread of sacred history, in these lec-
tures, we cannot expatiate largely on every fact that
occurs m the inspired narrative. It is our aim to
select the most important events, and deduce from
them such practical lessons as they seem designed to
convey. But every thing connected with the history
of Noah, is interesting and instructive. He was six
hundred years an inhabitant of the old world — was
preserved, with his family, during the space of three
hundred and sixty-five days, on the surface of a
boundless ocean, to repeople the new one — and,
though far from being a spotless character, he was a
man whom God delighted to honour. He had been
a witness for the truth, a preacher of righteousness,
and an eminent example of faith, to the antediluvians.
After the deluge, his religious services were graciously
accepted; and with him, as a second progenitor of the
human family, the Lord condescended to form that
remarkable covenant, sealed by the " bow in the
cloud,'^ which constitutes the world's charter, while
the earth remaineth, for seed-time and harvest, sum-
mer and winter, day and night, and for its preserva-
tion from destruction by the waters of another flood.
7*
78 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
It will not be amiss for us, therefore, before we take
leave of his history, to notice, briefly, two or three
things which took place towards the close of his life,
and in which he had the principal agency.
We are taught by Moses, that soon after the cove-
nant transaction which formed the subject of our last
lecture, Noah began to cultivate the ground; that he
planted a vineyard; that, on a certain occasion, he
became intoxicated, and that by his indecent appear-
ance while in this state, he drew on himself the
mockery and derision of Ham, one of his own sons.
In this affair, we may read the frailty of human na-
ture. The best of men are liable to be overtaken in
a fault; and all have need to pray continually, ^'Hold
thou me up, and I shall be safe." Some interpreters
of Scripture, eager to defend the character of the
father of the new world, allege that he must have
been ignorant of the inebriating quality of wine; and,
had this conjecture but a moderate degree of proba-
bility in its favour, we should certainly be disposed to
acquiesce in it, as a decisive exculpation of the man
of God, from the foul charge of drunkenness. But it
seems unlikely that the use and effects of wine were
unknown in the world for upwards of sixteen hun-
dred years; especially in a part of the earth so favoura-
ble, in point of soil and climate, to the production of
the grape. It is observable, also, that the planting of
a vineyard was one of the first branches of agricul-
ture to which Noah directed his attention; which
shows pretty plainly, that he was not unacquainted
with the useful product of the vine, and can hardly
be supposed to have been ignorant that the juice of
the grape, when taken immoderately, would produce
intoxication. These obvious considerations compel
us to admit his criminality in this matter. It were
equally uncandid and uncharitable to suppose that he
was henceforth a habitual drunkard. From his gene-
ral character and conduct, we are bound to hope that
this was the only instance in which he was overcome
by that disgraceful and ruinous sin. And those per-
sons who indulge freely in that abominable vice, and
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORV. 79
appeal to the conduct of righteous Noah, as aflbrding
an apology for their hase and wicked practice, do hut
trifle in serious concerns, and sport with (heir own
deceivings. *' No drunkard shall inlierit the kingdom
of God:'"' the mouth of ihe Lord hath spoken it! In
the treatment which Noah received from his sons, on
this unhappy occasion, children and youth may take
a useful hint, in regard to the duty which they owe
to parents. The conduct of Ham was infamous; and
showed a mind equally wanting in delicacy and filial
reverence. A tender regard for the honour and hap-
piness of an earthly parent is a sentiment, which in
the scale of moral duty, stands next in order to that
of religious reverence for the Great Father of Spirits.
A child may see, and lament in secret, the errors of a
parent; but to take occasion from his faults to revile
him, or to expose him to public scorn, is a crime
against nature ; — a heinous offence in the eyes of the
God of nature, and an unequivocal indication of a
bad heart. Shem and Japheth appear in this instance
to have been dutiful sons; though there is no reason
to conclude that they either approved or connived at
a father's sin, they endeavoured, with commendable
delicacy, to protect his honour and screen him from
popular contempt. Go children and do likewise.
You are mider obligations to your fathers and mothers,
which you can never fully discharge: while you obey
their commands, shield them from reproach, and min-
ister to their comfort, without violating any of the
divine precepts, you perform a sacred duty, and may
hope that God, for Christ's sake, will bless you in
your deed.
But it may be thought, and has indeed been more
than insinuated, that Noah on his recovery from the
ill effects of his wine, evinced a spirit of revenge and
bitterness unworthy of a pious father, in the sentence
which he pronounced on his sons and their respec-
tive descendants. Let us look dispassionately at this
transaction. We are not bound to defend every act
of every good man, whose name we find in the
Bible; bat we are bound to do justly and judge
80 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
righteously. The sacred Scriptures, unlike the fic-
tions of ancient, poesy, or the senseless dreams of
modern romance, present us with no sinless charac-
ters, save that of Jesus Christ. We have here a faith-
ful record of human nature, always frail and prone to
evil, except when prevented and redeemed by the
grace of God. But, we verily think, Noah was not
blameworthy in this matter. It is well known that
one of the early modes of predicting the character
and destiny of families or nations, was that of a
father's valedictory and solemn address to his chil-
dren; of which, we shall have occasion to notice
some instances in the sequel of these lectures. Of
this nature, as we think, is the sentence now in
question. We are not obliged to believe that Noah,
immediately on awaking from a fit of intoxication,
proceeded to pronounce on the character and future
fortunes of his sons. The sacred history is very
concise, and therefore, considerable time may have
elapsed between events which seem to follow one
another closely in the narrative. The patriarch was
now an aged man; his sons were about to leave him,
that, in conformity to the divine purpose, they might
improve and replenish the earth. He calls them
about him, and moved by the Holy Ghost, utters in
their hearing a prophecy of a most extended and
comprehensive kind, to the fulfilment of which, age
after age and century upon century have borne uni-
form and decisive testimony. "Cursed be Canaan;
a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren."
The name of Ham is not mentioned in the curse at
all. How will you account for the omission, on sup-
position that the patriarch was influenced by a prin-
ciple of revenge ? Would he pass by the offender,
and vent his passion on a grand-son, who, so far as
we know, took no part in the base conduct of his
father? To us, this really appears incredible. It is
then a prediction uttered in the name of God ; and
the event proves that it respects the posterity of Ham,
in general, and the family of Canaan, in particular.
The Canaanites were subdued or extirpated by the
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 81
Israelites, the descendants of Shem. And the Pheni-
cians, the Sidonians, and Carthagenians, the posteri-
ty of Ham, were oppressed and suhjugated by the
Greeks and Romans, the children of Japheth.
The unhappy sons of Africa are the offspring of
Ham; and that they have been for ages subject to
the will — the misrule — the avarice and tyranny of
Japheth — the inhabitants of Europe and America,
cannot be doubted. The blessing of Shem has been
realized, in the fact, that his posterity comprised the
church of God for many ages — and of him, " as con-
cerning the flesh, Christ came," — the glory of Israel,
and the light of the Gentiles. God has enlarged
Japheth. To his family have been assigned an ex-
tensive portion, and some of the choicest spots of the
liabitable globe. Besides several districts in Asia, his
children occupy the whole of Europe and both Ame-
ricas. And by the gracious triumphs of Christianity,
first propagated by Jesus and his apostles, of Jewish
descent, Japheth has been made to dwell in the tents,
and to worship the God of Shem. " There never has
been a son of Ham," says the venerable Mede, " who
has shaken a sceptre over the head of Japheth. Shem
has subdued Japheth, and Japheth has subdued Shem;
but Ham never subdued either." There may have
been some small exceptions; but, in general, Ham
has been pretty uniformly the servant of his brethren
of the other branches of his father's family. Of the
four greatest empires that ever existed, viz. tlie As-
syrian, Persian, Greek, and Roman, it is remarkable,
that the first and second belonged to Shem, and the
third and fourth to Japheth. And at the present time,
while America, Europe, and a part of Asia are free,
powerful, and independent, Africa is the common
mart of the world for slavery and trafficking in
human flesh. Noah does not then deal out his
curses and benedictions to his sons from passion or
spleen. As the Lord's prophet he foretells a state of
things in relation to them, which, for wise reasons to
be unfolded in due time, shall continue for a season;
but it shall not continue always; mercy's remedy is
82 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
destined to have a wide extension ; the grace of our
Lord Jesus shall reign through righteousness, where
sin has abounded. When the heathen are given to
Messiah, for his inheritance, and the uttermost parts
of the earth, for his possession, Canaan shall cease to
be a servant of servants. Man shall no longer doom
his fellow-man to bondage, because he finds him de-
fenceless and guilty of a coloured skin. All shall
know the Lord — be free in Christ — and love as
brethren. 0 come the blessed period ! when the mil-
lenial light of the Sun of Righteousness shall spread
its cheering rays over the whole face of this great
world, so long the abode of sin, and the scene of
human wretchedness and crimes! Come, speedily,
the bright and the promised day, when all people
and kindreds of the earth shall dwell, with sweet
accord, in the tents of Shem; — when all flesh shall
see the salvation of our God, and triumph in redeem-
ing grace, under the universal reign of Christ, the
Lord and King of Zion! But this is a digression
from our subject. We are pressing upon the closing
scene of the patriarch's life: "And Noah lived, after
the flood, three hundred and fifty years; and all the
days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years; and
he died."
He had lived long, and shared largely in the care
and distinguishing bounties of Heaven. He had an
antediluvian constitution, and therefore attained to
a greater age than any other inhabitant of the new
world; which he lived to see extensively peopled,
and overrun, a second time, with idolatry and every
evil work; for he must have continued till near, if not
some years after the time of Abram's birth, in the
year of the world two thousand and six. He had
experienced enough of the sorrows of this life to
make him willing, through grace, to exchange it for
another of brighter, holier, and more cheering pros-
pects; and though we have no account of his dying
exercises, we may conclude, from his general charac-
ter, from the tokens of divine favour shown him at
sundry times, as also from the divine testimony res-
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 83
pecting him, that his latter end was peace. Readers,
you and I must die also. Nor can we count upon
centuries, or even half-centuries; our days .are as an
hand-breadth, in comparison with Noah's nine hun-
dred and fifty years. The time of our sojourning is
calculated by scores, and generally limited to three
and a half of these scanty periods. Three little words,
'^ and he died,'^ will quickly close the history of the
longest liver among us. Good God ! on what a brief
and precarious term depend the infinite interests of
these our deathless souls ! " So teach us to number
our daj^s, that we may apply our hearts unto wis-
dom."
Readers, this melancholy subject is often pressed
upon your serious consideration in the ministry of re-
conciliation, and in the providence of God, not to
diminish or disturb, but to secure your happiness and
peace. The m.agnitude of the subject is a sufficient
reason for its frequent recurrence. Happy for you, if
after all that you have seen and heard of death, you
shall be prepared to die in hope and comfort! Min-
isters of the word who visit the sick, and often stand
about the bed of the dying, have, of all men, the
best opportunity of appreciating the importance of
being furnished for passing that " bourn whence no
traveller returns.'' We see persons die in a great
variety of circumstances: some stupidly; — some in
fear; — some in despair, refusing to be comforted; —
others in peace, triumphing in Christ, as the resur-
rection and the life. The dying often preach to us,
and make us feel the duty of preaching to the living.
Ah! how many we have heard, with their latest
breath, lament their neglect of the great salvation,
during their day of grace: but we have never heard
any one say, that he had thought too much on the
subject, or been too diligent to secure the heavenly
prize. It is natural and becoming, therefore, for the
pastor who regards rightly the worth of a soul, to feel
solicitous that the people of his charge may be ready
to give up their account to God, with joy and not
with grief. Now, reader, your nature is depraved; of
84 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
this you liave unequivocal evidence from the Bible,
the Lord's sure word of testimony; from the history
of the world; from your own observations, and from
the faithful dictates of conscience. Without a new
heart and a right spirit, therefore, it is plain you are
not fit for heaven ; and, if not fit for heaven when death
lays his cold hand upon you, your souls will be lost
for ever to God and to happiness. The dissolution of
the body is a small matter compared with the death
of the soul — called in Scripture, the second death —
that deathless death, that eternal succession of deaths,
shall we say, inflicted by the .worm that never dies,
and the fire that is not quenched. Now the gospel
of the grace of God points you' to a refuge; not from
death temporal, for that is inevitable, nor is it terrible
to the good man, because it is a transition from earth
to heaven ; but this gospel points you to a refuge from
the second death, the death eternal: " Christ in you,
the hope of glory; Christ the way, the truth, and the
life ; Christ the propitiation for our sins, and the Lord
our righteousness.^' Have you fled to this refuge?
Have you laid hold of this hope set before you?
Some of you have, through grace, we cannot doubt.
But have you all? All souls are alike precious, con-
sidered as the subjects of eternal weal or wo. If the
gospel is to be preached to every creature, should not
every creature regard it seriously, and accept the
remedy which it off"ers, against the otherwise fatal
malady, sin? Do you not all expect to die? Indu-
bitably. When? " Ye know neither the day nor the
hour." Noah lived nine hundred and fifty years,
" and he died." But none of you can expect to live
one hundred years; many of you not half that time:
but what if you should, by reason of uncommon
strength, attain to five score years? Death would be
as awful then, should it find you in your sins, as it
would be to-day. Seeing then, there is no discharge
in this war, what is your hope for the world to come?
Do any. of you indulge the comfortless, the debasing
belief in annihilation ; that the grave is the end of man,
soul and body? Annihilation is an atheistical phan-
LECTURES OX BIBLICAL HISTORY. 85
tasm. There is not a particle of evidence, either in
the lively oracles, or in the wide field of nature, that
any of God's creatures, whether matter or mind, shall
ever be utterly blotted out of being. Is your hope of
acceptance with God founded on your good works?
What then will you do with your l3ad works. ^ Or, if
you believe the Bible, how do you interpret that pas-
sage; "By the deeds of the law no flesh shall be jus-
tified in his sight?" Are you saying in your heart,
with Felix ; " Go thy way for this time V or, with
the sluggard, "A little more sleep, a little more slum-
ber: a little more folding of the hands to rest?" Ah!
this is the sin that slays its thousands. Many, it is to
be feared, permit the \)'\\{eAQY , jjrocrastination, to steal
away their time, day after day, and year after year,
till the season of grace expires, and the impassioned
exclamation bursts from the bosom of despair, " The
harvest is past, and the summer is ended; and we are
not saved !" 0 let us listen heedfully to the voice of
divine mercy, urging us to give all dihgence to make
our calling and election sure: "Behold, ?2oi^; is the
accepted time ! Behold now is the day of salvation !"
"There is a time, and justice marks the date,
For long forbearing clemency to wait;
That hour elapsed — the incurable revolt is punished."
86 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
LECTURE IX.
THE ORIGIN OF VARIOUS LANGUAGES.
And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. And it
came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a
plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. And they said
one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly.
And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar. And
they said, Go to, let us build us a city, and a tower whose top may
reach unto heaven ; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered
abroad upon the face of the whole earth. And the Lord came down
to see the city, and the tower, which the children of men builded.
And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one
language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be re-
strained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let
us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not
understand one another's speech. So the Lord scattered them
abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth; and they left off
to build the city. Therefore is the name of it called Babel : be-
cause the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth :
and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of
all the earth."— Gen. xi. 1-9.
The precise time when the events related, in this
portion of sacred history took place, cannot be ascer-
tained; but it is highly probable, that they occurred
within two hundred years after the deluge, and during
the lifetime of Noah. Peleg, the son of Heber, and
great grand-son of Shem, was born about one hun-
dred years after the flood; and we are told that in his
days the earth was divided; and, to commemorate
that event, he received the name Peleg, which signi-
fies division. But this name may have been given
to him, prophetically, as was the name of Noah, and
several others, before the event occurred, which it
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 87
was designed to commemorate. And, as he lived
two hundred and thirtj^-nine years, we may fix the
date of the dispersion, which is said to have taken
place 'iifi his dai/s,^' any where within the limits of
his lifetime. It is generally fixed ahout one hundred
and fifty years after the flood. At this period, man-
kind must, on the most moderate computation, have
increased to several thousands; so that there was no
want of hands to undertake the building of a city and
tower, as has been suggested by certain writers, who
aflect to know more than Moses, about the early his-
tory of the world.
Several things, in the passage before us, are worthy
of special notice. In our remarks, we shall pursue
the order of the inspired historian.
In the first place, we are informed that, at this time,
" the whole earth," i. e. all mankind, used one com-
mon language, and were of one speech. Every fact,
related in the Bible, is consistent with the whole, and,
when considered seriously, tends to confirm our faith
in the entire volume, as an inestimable treasure of
revealed truth. Admitting that mankind, except a
single family, were swept from the earth by a uni-
versal deluge, as Moses teaches us, in the preceding
pages of his history, it is perfectly natural, at the
distance of a hundred and fifty years from that ca-
tastrophe, to find this favoured family, and their
descendants using one common form of speech.
Whereas, on the opposite supposition, that men had
lived many generations in dilferent states of society,
and in distant parts of the world, it would be difficult
to believe that there was but one language in use
among all nations; for it is undeniable that the lapse
of time — different forms of civil government — the in-
fluence of climate on the organs of speech, and other
causes, will produce great changes, both in the matter
and form of language. But whatever diversities of
this kind may have obtained in the antediluvian
world, it is reasonable to suppose that Noah and his
ofl'spring, living, as they did, in much the same habits,
and in the same quarter of the globe, would, at least
88 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
for three or four generations, be all of the same lan-
guage, and use, essentially, the same forms of speech.
But what particular language was it, that was now
in universal use? On this question there is a diversity
of opinion; and, like many other unimportant inqui-
ries, it is difficult to solve, with any degree of cer-
tainty. Our limits will not allow us to notice the
pretensions that have been advanced for several of
the oriental tongues. The claims of the Hebrew
appear to deserve the preference. This was the lan-
guage in which Moses wrote; — and, from the sig-
niiicant import of most of the proper names, in the
Pentateuch, or first five books, in the Old Testament,
it seems probable that this was the tongue spoken by
Adam, and in which he gave names to the inferior
animals, when they were brought to him, for that
purpose, at the creation. And, as men lived to a
great age before the flood, language would not, then,
be liable to such rapid changes as take place in
modern times. There were but little more than a
hundred years between the death of Adam and the
birth of Noah; which makes it highly probable, that
if the Hebrew was the language of the old world, it
was also the only one in use, by Noah and his family,
till the confusion efi'ected, by divine interposition, on
the plains of Shinar.
From the mountains of Armenia, where the ark
rested, at the termination of the deluge, the people
seem to have moved towards the south-east: and, as
the land of Shinar lay southward from Mount Ara-
rat, somewhere within the limits of the country after-
wards called Chaldea, they must, in approaching it,
have "journied from the east," as Moses states. On
those once beautiful and fertile plains, watered by the
river Euphrates, they resolved to found a city, adorn-
ed with a magnificent tower, which should be the
seat of empire — the centre of their extending settle-
ments—and the emporium of wealth. The materials
used for constructing these mighty works, were brick,
instead of stone, and a sort of slime, called bitumen,
which abounded in the place, and which served as
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 89
cement. Their design, in building a city^ is suffi-
ciently obvious. Heretofore, they had been kept
together by the ties of fraternity, as also by motives
of self-defence from tlie encroachments of wild beasts,
and by the use of one common language. But, on
finding their numbers increase rapidly, it was natural
for them to think of erecting a metropolis, or point
of UNION, whence they might extend their settlements,
and to which they might return, as occasion required,
for the purposes of trade, and the adjustment of any
disputes which might arise, in relation to their pro-
perty. But their object in constructing a tower,
whose top should reach to heaven, or as the expres-
sion imports, to an extraordinary height, is not
easily determined. Some writers suppose it was in-
tended to be a refuge, in case of a second deluge, or
extensive inundation. Three considerations render
this conjecture improbable: First; had this been their
design, they would have chosen, as the site of their
tower, not a valley, or plain, but a mountain. Mount
Ararat, or some other neighbouring eminence, would
have placed them more out of the way of destructive
floods, than the low banks of the Euphrates. Se-
condly; they had received express assurance, by
covenant, from God himself, that the earth should
not, again, be destroyed by water; — and that too
within so short a period, that it could not have been
forgotten; especially as the memorial of it was re-
peatedly brought to their view by the boiv in the
cloud. And, thirdly; the expedient was inadequate.
A pile of brick and slime could not long stand the
violence of the waters of a flood; and, even if it did,
it would aff'ord a retreat for but a small proportion of
their number.
Nor is it likely, that this tower was intended, either
for idolatrous purposes, or for making astronomical
observations; though, we believe, it was converted to
these uses, in after ages; when, with some modifica-
tion, it became the temple of Belus, and served as a
philosoph ica I observatory.
In the consultation which they held, on the subject,
8*
90 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
two motives are suggested, for undertaking this stu-
pendous work. The first is, the proud ambition of
rendering themselves famous — of leaving behind them
a memorial of their wealth and power. "Let us
MAKE us A NAME." This is a motive which has
always had too much influence on man, ever since
his apostasy from God. These Babel-builders were
more concerned for the honour of their own name^
than for that of their Maker. Tlie same unworthy
principle has done many foolish things, and produced
great mischief in. the world. It has often wrought
faction in the state, and schism in the church. It has
written volumes of controversy, in politics, merals,
and religion. It has erected palaces, mausoleums, and
pyramids. It has fought duels, and broken the peace
of many families. Bursting asunder the bonds of
brotherhood, it has revolutionized nations, and turned
the world into a field of blood. The other motive is
couched in these words: " Lest we be scattered abroad
upon the face of the whole earth.^^ They wanted a
sort of pharos, or beacon, that might be seen at a vast
distance, and by which they might regulate their
movements, in gradually extending their settlements
out from the MetrojjoUs. It may, also, have been
intended to answer some useful purpose to the shep-
herds, in attending their flocks, on distant mountains;
and who, by the frequent migrations which they were
obliged to make, for the sake of good pasturage, might,
otherwise, have been at a loss to find their way to the
capital. All this appears, at first view, harmless and
laudable enough. But, then, it is to be remembered,
that this project of keeping together, and of forming
one great and absorbing empire, was in direct oppo-
sition to the design and express command of God,
that they should disperse, in companies, and replenish
the earth. And this design of Providence was evi-
dently wise and good. Thorns and briers were now
everywhere springing up; wild beasts were rapidly
increasing; a vast extent of the earth was uncultivated
— while one small portion of its surface was over-
stocked with people; which must soon have given
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 91
rise to contests about its produce. A dispersion
would remedy these evils: — there was room enough;
and extended culture would aliord not only a more
easy subsistence to the same number of people, but
would conduce much to the multiplication of the race,
and the peace of the whole. Furthermore, God
knows what is in man. He knows that absolute
power cannot be safely entrusted to mortal hands.
When once acquired, it is liable to be maintained by
oppression and cruelty. It seems, therefore, to have
been his benevolent purpose, from the beginning of
the world, that there should be several distinct king-
doms among men ; — that they should be distributed
into different nations, and live under different forms
of government. That, instead of a universal mon-
archy, there should be an opportunity afforded of
maintaining a balance of power; — and that there
should never be wanting an asylum for the oppressed,
or a retreat for persecuted piety. And who does not
perceive, and admire the wisdom and benignity of
divine providence in all this? '^ Whoso is wise, and
will observe these things, even they shall understand
the loving-kindness of the Lord." Psalm cvii. 43.
" And the Lord came down to see the city and the
tower which the children of men builded." This
passage, like many others in the sacred volume, is to
be understood as spoken after the manner of man,
and in condescension to our inability to comprehend
the mode in which a spiritual being operates. The
infinite God is every where present, at all times.
There is no escaping from his notice — no fleeing from
his Spirit. When he is said, therefore, to come specially
to any place, or people, tlie meaning is, that he there
manifests his presence and displays his power, in an
extraordinary way. From its being said here, that
the city and tower were builded by the children of
men, some have supposed that Noah, and the few
pious of Shem's family, who were like-minded, took
no part in this wild and wicked project. And this is
far from being an improbable supposition; for, even
before the flood, the ungodly were called the children
92 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
of men, and the pious were distinguished by the
honourable title of the sons of God. It appears,
however, from the next verse, that the measure was
generally approved, and helped forward by those
present. " And the Lord said, Behold the people is
one, and they have all one language." That is, they
are united in design, and their common form of speech,
by which they can readily carry on an interchange of
ideas, favours the execution of their purpose. " And
now nothing will be restrained from them, which they
have imagined to do." This expression conveys a
reproof, and indicates the necessity of divine interpo-
sition. The meaning we take to be as follows : If
these people be permitted to go on with this device of
ambition and folly, they will take encouragement
from thence, to outrage my authority — to disregard
my commands in other matters; and, in following the
vain imaginations of their own hearts, they will com-
mit all manner of iniquity, with greediness, and bring
upon themselves and their children, swift destruction.
*' Go to," therefore, saith the Lord ; " Let us go down,
and there confound their language, that they may not
understand one another's speech." Here, as in the
phraseology used, in regard to the creation of man,
we have an intimation of a plurality of persons in the
ADORABLE GoDHEAD. " Let US go dovvu," is a phrase
which seems to indicate pretty strongly, what is fully
and unequivocally taught in the New Testament;
viz. that God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, is
the only proper object of religious homage and adora-
tion. This is indeed a great mystery ; but, to our
mind, it is not more mysterious or incomprehensible
than is the eternity or omnipresence of the Divine
Being, which, it were blank Atheism, not to believe
and acknowledge.
" So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence
upon the face of all the earth ; and they left off to build
the city. Therefore is the name of it called Babel,
i. e. confusion, because the Lord did there confound
the language of all the earth." Thus we see, the
confounding of their language, was the means of
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 93
arresting the visionary scheme which these men of
Shinar were bent on carrying into effect; and, in tlieir
dispersion, the purpose of Jehovah triumphed over the
evil devices and proud designs of man.
But if it was necessary that these people should be
scattered abroad upon the face of all the earth, why
did God take this method to effect their dispersion?
Jehovah does his own work in his own way; "and
let all the earth be silent before him." He might
have opened his water-spouts upon them, or com-
missioned the fires of heaven to consume them and
their works of vanity; but he is slow to wrath, and
delights in mercy. He meant to show that he re-
gards what is done on earth; and, in this measure of
his righteous government, he has furnished to future
generations, a memento of his power and providence,
as touching the affairs of men, in that diversity of
languages, which continues to this time, and wMch
will, probably, continue to the end of the world. But
would not the dispersion have taken place, in time,
without any miraculous influence? Yes; but not
in all probability, without wrangling and bloodshed.
How many languages, then, were produced? No
more than were necessary to answer the purpose con-
templated. We are not to suppose an entire confu-
sion, so that no two individuals could understand one
another. It seems likely that each family, or tribe,
had its common form of speech. But whether there
were three, sixteen, or sevenfy-two, we are not in-
formed, and it were idle for us to inquire. The He-
brew continued in the family of Shem, in the line of
Heber, from whose name the language, probably, took
its designation; and his descendants, in the hue of
Abram, were called Hebrews. But were the people
of Shinar driven away from their projected seat of
empire, with precipitancy, and in wild disorder?
Moses has not said so: — nor is it credible. God is a
God of order. Though the tower ceased to rise, time
was, doubtless, afforded for an orderly departure from
the scene of folly and discomfiture. But we must
conclude. The facts recorded in this portion of Bib-
94 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
lical history, are corroborated by several profane and
foreign writers. Tiie fable of the giants making an
attempt upon the gods, in heathen mythology, doubt-
less owes its origin to an obscure tradition respecting
the tower of Babel. The substance of what the an-
cient Pagan historians say on this subject, is, " that a
huge tower was built, by gigantic men, at Babylon —
that there was then but one language among man-
kind— that the attempt was offensive to the gods —
and that, therefore, they demolished the tower, over-
whelmed the workmen, divided their language, and
dispersed them over the face of the whole earth."
One practical lesson is fairly deducible from the
theme of this lecture; and that is a lesson of humility
and submission to God. The Creator unquestionably
governs the world in righteousness. All his com-
mands are just and good. He knows what is best
for*iis. He has taught us our duty, in the lively ora-
cles; and we cannot slight his authority, or despise
his grace, with impunity. "Wo to him that striv-
eth with his Maker!" Though hand join hand, the
wicked shall not go unpunished. Let us not, there-
fore, spend our time, or waste our strength, in Babel-
bmlding. " He builds too low, who builds beneath
the skies." Lay up treasure in heaven. Secure a
place in the house not made with hands. Instead of
attempting, like the men of Shinar, to make your-
selves a name, be zealous for the honour of God's
name, and he will take care of you, as in the life that
now is, so also in that which is to come. Renounce
the world, the devil, and the flesh. Forsake your
sins; — believe in Christ; — obey his gospel; — walk as
he walked; — repose your undivided confidence in
him; and when the workers of iniquity shall read
their folly, by the light of eternity, in the ruins of
their Babel-schemes of happiness, you shall be safe,
and live to participate in heaven's highest, sweetest,
loudest anthem o{ praise, to Him that sitteth on the
throne, and to Jesus, the mediator of the new cove-
nant, who loved us, and washed us from our sins, in
his own blood. Amen.
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 95
LECTURE X.
THE CALLING OF ABRAM.
Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and
from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I
•will show thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will
bless thee, and make thy name great ; and thou shalt be a bless,
ing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that
curseth thee ; and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him ; and Lot
went with him : and Abram was seventy and five years old when
he departed out of Haran. And Abram took Sarai his wife, and
Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered,
and the souls that they had gotten in Haran ; and they went forth
to go into the land of Canaan ; and into the land of Canaan they
came. — Gen. xii. 1-5.
The calling of Abram forms an important epoch in
the history of the Bible. It took place four hundred
and twenty-seven years after the deluge ; i. e. in the
year of the world two thousand and eighty-three, and
before the birth of Christ, one thousand nine hundred
and twenty-one. He was a descendant of Shem, at
the distance of ten generations. His father's name
was Terah ; and he had two brothers, viz. Nahor
and Haran, both older than himself, and a nephew,
named Lot, a son of Haran, and who is associated
with him in the subsequent history. The family
lived in Chaldea, in a place called ^' Ur of the Chal-
dees." Here it was that Abram received the first
intimation that he and his family were to be made
the depository of true religion, for the accomphsh-
ment of heaven's merciful designs towards our guilty
race. But the purpose of God was not fully revealed
to him till some years after this period. The Chal-
deans, it seems probable, had now become corrupt in
96 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL IIISTOllY.
their religion. Dr. Sluickford, and several oilier
learned writers, are of opinion, that they had fallen
into that absurd form of idolatry which consists in
worshipping fire; that Ur, a name which signifies
fire, was then the seat of this foolish practice; that,
upon Terah's attempting a reformation, a rupture
took place between his family and the rulers of Chal-
dea, which led to the expulsion of him and his ad-
herents from that country. Be this as it may, Terah
with Abram, Nahor and his sons, and with Lot the
son of Haran, (for Haran himself died in Ur of the
Chaldees,) left that place in quest of a new and more
comfortable settlement: and having found a pleasant
tract of country in Mesopotamia, they halted and.
began to make some improvements. They built a
small town, wliich they called the city of Nahor, and
gave to the country the name of Haran, their deceased
relative, whose remains they had left in Chaldea.
Here Terah died; and after his death, corruption
creeping into his family, many of them apostatized
from God and became idolaters. It was here, and on
this occasion, that the call was repeated to Abram,
in a way, doubtless, which satisfied him that it was
from God, to come out, and be separate from the
workers of iniquity; to maintain the worship bf Je-
hovah in the midst of surrounding corruption; to for-
sake all who would not join him in that reasonable
service ; to follow the Lord whithersoever he might
conduct him, and to yield himself entirely to the care
of his providence and the influence of his grace.
To the nature and desi^^n of this call, and to the
promptitude with which Abram obeyed it, your atten-
tion is now requested. And these are topics worthy
our attention; for, in the family of Abram, if I mis-
take not, you are to look for the visible church of
God in its post-diluvian infancy. It is true, that, be-
fore this time, there were persons in the world who
feared the Lord and thought upon his name ; who
worshipped him in spirit and in truth, and were
blessed in their deed. But these were the Lord's
liidden ones — they were not formed into a commu-
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 97
nity distinct, or easily distinguishable, from the rest of
mankind; whereas, now, at the caUing of Abrani, a
church was organized and made clearly visible, that
is, a people were called out from the world, united,
by divine authority, in the belief of revealed truth,
and in the observance of certain rites and ordinances
of divine appointment, with a view to the glory of the
Creator, and the happiness of his faithful worshippers;
which is the true import of the term church. We
hope, also, to make it appear in the sequel, that the
Abrahamic vocation and covenant constitute a part
of the gracious scheme of redemption by the blood of
Christ ; that the measure was adopted in wisdom ;
that there was in it no indication of partiality, or
favouritism, on the part of God; and that its influence
on the state of the world has been, in a high degree,
salutary and beneficent. And, it may be, that, in the
readiness with which the father of the faithful obeyed
the heavenly summons, we shall find an example at
once animating to the people of God, and worthy the
imitation of all who would wish to become the chil-
dren of Abraham, by faith in the Lord Jesus.
I. For a right understanding of the nature of this
call, we must look carefully at the meaning of the
terms in which it is communicated. These are intel-
ligible, expressive, and peremptory: " Get thee out of
thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy
father's house, unto a land that I will show thee." —
Country, kindred, and paternal residence, are all to
be forsaken in obedience to the divine command.
This appears to be a hard condition. The love of our
country is an amiable affection ; and it is one which
generally gains strength as we advance in years.
Habit incorporates and establishes it as a principle of
our nature; so that few men, at the age of seventy-
five years, the age to which Abram had now at-
tained, are easily persuaded to encounter the sacri-
fices and hardships attendant on a change of country.
To our kindred we are connected by the most endear-
ing ties, and to part from them without any hope of
being restored to their society and embraces, is like
9
98 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
resigning a portion of onr own flesh and blood. This
we feel when onr friends remove from ns to a distant
part of the world; and, especially, when death makes
a breach in onr domestic circle, and consigns to the
darkness of the grave, the desire of our eyes, the
child of our love, the companion of our social com-
forts. Abram was not required to leave all his rela-
tives, for some of them chose to accompany him and
join with him in the true worship of God; but those
who served the creature rather than the Creator, who
complied with the idolatrous practices of the country,
or indulged in licentiousness and vice, were to be for-
saken, as companions, on the principle, that "Evil
communications corrupt good manners.'^
It is not probable that the inhabitants of Canaan
were a better people than those of either Ur or Haran ;
but, being stranger^s, the influence of their bad ex-
ample, and wicked maxims, w^ould be less likely
to prove pernicious to Abram and his family. An
ungodly relative, or an intimate associate and old
acquaintance, of a bad character, is a much more
dangerous com.panion than a stranger, into whose
company we may be occasionally thrown in the
transaction of business, and to whom we feel no
other attachment than that of humanity and good
will. So frail are we, and liable to be overcome of
evil, that natural aflfection and personal respect may,
in an unguarded moment, shake our faith, or diminish
our sense of duty to God our Saviour. Hence, our
blessed Lord declares, expressly, that instances shall
occur, in w^iiich, " A man's foes shall be those of his
own household/' Matt. x. 36. "And thy father's
house." A father's house comprises charms of en-
dearment, which every one feels; but which no lan-
guage can rightly describe. It is the place where we
are first visited by the preventing benignity of Provi-
dence. Here it is that we are fed and protected with
parental tenderness. Here it is that we begin to
walk, to speak, to love, and to sympathize. Here we
receive our first religious ideas — are taught to pray —
to read — to think, and to sing of redeeming mercy.
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 99
In a word, it is the scene of our earliest, and, gene-
rally, of our purest pleasures. The principle of asso-
ciation makes its very defects deliglitful in our esteem:
and to quit it, with no rational prospect of seeing it
again, is always a painful trial. Abram could not
have been insensible to it. The family had made one
removal, from Ur to Haran. Here they had built a
city, and were flattering themselves no doubt, with
the pleasant idea of dwelling together in unity. Te-
rah had deceased; but here was his sepitlchre, and
the venerated seat of his late residence. A thousand
objects would conspire to attach the children to the
spot where the father's ashes were deposited. Abram
himself, had now arived at that period of life, when
the spirit of enterprise and experimenting usually
gives place to tlie love of tranquillity and home. But
God commands him to arise and go forth ; and, as
a good man, he may neither hesitate, nor inquire
whither or wherefore. Behold here, reader, the grand
and fundamental principle of practical piety! supreme
regard to the authority and will of God. Without
this, our religion is but a name — a shadow — a dream
— a thing of no value. Difficulties and doubts may,
and often do arise, respecting what God does require
of us. And here wisdom is profitable to direct; our
judgment is to be exercised, and our decision formed,
in the light of such evidence as we may be able to
collect on the subject. And should we err through
weakness, or invincible ignorance, we may hope tor
pardon; for he, who made us, knows our frame and
remembers that we are dust; and "there is forgive-
ness with him, that he may be feared." But in a
plain case, where the law of our duty is intelligible
and explicit, as the Bible makes it, in all important
matters, we may neither gainsay nor expostulate.
Nor need we be backward to render prompt obe-
dience in every instance; for, though the Almighty
acts and commands as a sovereign, yet, from the per-
fection of his nature, we are assured that all his ways
are right, and all his commandments holy and good.
His will is the true and only standard of right, and
100 LECTURES OX BIBLICAL HISTORY.
forms the immutable distinction between moral good
and evil. Men who talk of ascertaining what is duty,
by a reference to the law of nature and nations — the
fitness of things — the dictates of right reason — of
common sense — of humanity — of conscience — the law
of honour, &lc., do but darken counsel by words with-
out knowledge. These are mutable things, and par-
take largely of that fallibility and imperfection which
characterize the human mind, in its best, and most
highly cultivated state. But, in him, who does his
pleasure in heaven and on earth, there is neither va-
riableness nor shadow of turning. Blessed are they
that do his commandments, hearkening to the voice
of his word ! — Abram was required to leave his home,
his friends, and his country, for a land as yet unde-
fined, and to him utterly unknown. And relying on
the power, submitting to the will, and confiding in
the truth and goodness of the Lord, '• he went out,
not knowing whither he went."
Nor is it a vain thing to serve the Lord, however
repulsive or painful it may seem to our depravity and
self-will. The sinner who submits to God, thereby,
repairs to the throne of grace, accepts of mercy, and
takes shelter under the wings of the Almighty. Abram
did so; and he was blessed, and made a blessing to
many. He knew whom he believed; and he had the
best possible ground to expect both grace and glory.
His faith rested securely on the sure word of testi-
mony— even on the word of the Lord which endureth
for ever.
n. We inquire, secondly, into the design of this
extraordinary call. God does nothing in vain. Every
precept of iiis word, every ordinance of his appoint-
ment, and every act of his providence has for its ob-
ject the accomplishment of some great and good end.
Of the end to be answered by the dispensation, now
under consideration, we have a concise and compre-
hensive view in the text: "And I will make of thee a
great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy
name great; and thou shalt be a blessing. And I
will bless tliem that bless thee, and curse him that
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 101
cnrseth thee: and, in thee, shall all families of the
earth be blessed/'
These words, I think, warrant us to consider the
design, as three-fold; viz. The glory of God; the
happiness of Abram; and the good of mankind in
general.
First, the glory of God. This is the highest, the
holiest, and the best end that can be named or con-
ceived of by men or angels. And it is obviously
implied, in the first clause of the passage of Sacred
Writ, just cited: "I will make of thee a great na-
tion." That is, as the subsequent history authorizes
us to expound the promise, I will distinguish thee
and thy descendants from all other people, by my
presence, my favour, my power, my truths, and my
ordinances. I will make of thee a pecuhar people —
a nation of which I will be both king and lawgiver;
a nation in which I will manifest my providence, my
justice, my munificence, patience and clemency; — a
nation with which I will deposit my oracles, and es-
tablish a covenant comprising blessings temporal, spi-
ritual and eternal; — a nation which, though full of
fauUs, and guilty of frequent partial apostasies, shall
yet, in the main, be zealous for my honour, and for the
purity of my worship. And who does not perceive
that the glory of Jehovah was maintained and pro-
moted in the world by these exhibitions of his charac-
ter, and of his claims to the homage of his intelligent
creatures? Once and again, had all flesh corrupted
their ways, and forsaken the Lord that made tliem.
Scarcely had the waters of the deluge dried up, when
men, growing vain in their imaginations, " began to
change the glory of the incorruptible God into an
image made like to corruptible man, and to birds
and fourfooted beasts and creeping things." The
Chaldeans paid divine honours to fire — the Persians
worshipped the host of heaven — and Egypt ranked
among her numerous divinities, the ox, the crocodile,
and the serpent. So that, had not God chosen a pco-
pie for his praise, and dwelt among them by the visi-
ble symbols of liis presence, his very name would
9*
102 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
soon have been forgotten nnd lost, amidst the rabble
of imnginar}" deities, the spawn of hnman depravity
and ignorance.
Secondly, the honour and happiness of Mram.
"I will bless thee, and make thy name great : and I
will bless them that bless thee, and cnrse him that
cnrseth thee." If the Lord tries his people, and re-
quires them to exercise self-denial, and to follow him
in a wa}^ which they have not known, it is for their
good, as they shall assuredly find in the issue. Abram
was tried; and he was blessed — blessed personally
and relatively, temporarily, and eternally. God mani-
fested himself to him in a variety of instances: pro-
tected him by his power, and comforted him by his
grace. Wherever Abram made any considerable
stay in the course of his pilgrimage, there he built an
altar unto the Lord, and there Jehovah condescended
to accept his offerings, and strengthen his faith, by
renewing the promises ; affording him more enlarged
views of his great and merciful designs towards him
and his seed, and, through that channel, to a lost and
guilty world. He was given to see the Redeemer's
da}?-, and made to joy and rejoice in him, as the desire
of nations. "I will make thy name great.'^ This
promise has been clearly fulfilled. Abram, though
not distinguished as a statesman, a warrior, a great
genius, an inventor of arts, or writer of books, is,
nevertheless, the most famous man that ever lived.
Not only the twelve tribes of Israel, but the Arabians,
his descendants in the line of Ishmael, glory in re-
tracing their descent from the father of the faithful.
The apostle Paul speaks of him in a way which
shows that God delighted to honour him, and make
his name great, to the latest generations, when he
savs. "believers in Christ are blessed with faithful
Abraham." And again, "we are all the children of
Abraham by faith." The apostle James, in a few
short words, passes upon him an eulogium of rare
eminence and glory: " Abraham was called the friend
of God." James ii. 23. And our Saviour, in the
parable of the rich man and Lazarus, makes Abra-
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 103
ham's bosom the emblem of heaven. Thus has God
made his name great.
He was, also, blessed relntively. The covennnt
was renewed with Isaac — with Jacob and his sons.
The famihes of Israel were protected in Egypt, and
at the appointed time, brought out of bondage with a
strong hand and an outstretched arm. A way was
opened for them through the Red Sea ; and, for the
space of forty years, they were fed with bread from
heaven, and furnished with water from the rock. To
tliem, by the ministry of Moses, the law was given
from the Arabian mount, and at length they were
introduced into a goodly land, according to the pro-
mise made four hundred and thirty years before, unto
their honoured progenitor, the friend of God. Here
Jehovah dwelt among them, in the tabernacle and in
the temple, in the Shechina, and between the cheru-
bim, on the mercy-seat. What nation or people un-
der the whole heaven, have been favoured like this
people ? To them, in the fulness of time, the Shiloh
came, as to his own ; and though, generally speaking,
they received him not, yet it is remarkable, that from
among them he selected the first ministers of his gospel;
and trie New Testament teaches us that, when that
blindness, which has happened to them, in part, shall
be removed, they shall be restored to their vacant
place in the olive tree, and all Israel shall be saved.
But, finally, this call of Abram had respect to the.
moral improvement and xoeJfare of the ivorlcl —
" Thou shalt be a blessing — and in thee shall all fami-
lies of the earth be blessed." Now there can be no
doubt that Abram, like every good man, was a bless-
ing to his family, and those who had any acquaintance
with him. He may have been a blessing also, to
many in later times, who have perused the history of
his trials and his triumphant faith. But how are all
families of the earth blessed, or to be blessed in him ?
Can this be in any other way than that the covenant
established with him, is founded on the covenant of
grace, of which Jesus Christ, his illustrious descendant,
according to the flesh, is Mediator? This covenant
104 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
and its seal of circumcision will be the theme of a
subsequent lecture. We only remark here, that in
order to find any sober sense in this promise, it ap-
pears to us absolutely necessary to admit that it has
its ultimate fulfilment in our blessed Redeemer; be-
cause neither Abram nor any of his descendants,
except Christ, ever was, in any tolerable sense, a
blessing, or means of happiness to all the families of
the earth. The excellent Matthew Henry has three .
short remarks on the passage of sacred history which
we have been considering, with which we shall con-
clude this lecture.
" Those who serve and follow God themselves,
should do all they can to bring others to serve and
follow him too. Those souls they are said to have
gained : and we must reckon ourselves true gainers
if we can but win souls to Christ.
" Those who set out for heaven must persevere to
the end, still reaching forth to those things that are
before.
^' That which we undertake in obedience to God's
command, and a humble attendance on his provi-
dence, will certainly succeed, and end with comfort
at last.''
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 105
LECTURE XI
THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT.
And when Abrani was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared
to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Ahniglity God; walii be-
fore me, and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant
between mc and thee ; and will multiply thee exceedingly. And
Abram fell on his face : and God talked with him, saying, As for
me, behold my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father
of many nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called
Abram; but thy name shall be Abraham : for a father of many na-
tions have I made thee. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful,
and I will make nations of thee; and kings shall come out of thee.
And I will establish my covenant between me and thee, and thy
seed after thee in their generations, ibr an everlasting covenant;
to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. And I will give
unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a
stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and
I will be their God. And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt
keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee, in their
generations. This is my covenant which ye shall keep between
me and you, and thy seed after thee : Every man-child among you
shall be circumcised. And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your
foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me
and you. And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised
among you, every man-child in your generations ; he that is born
in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not
of thy seed. He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought
with thy money, must needs be circumcised : and my covenant
shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. And the uncir-
cumcised man-child, whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised,
that soul shall be cut off" from his people ; he hath broken my cove-
nant."— Gen. xvii. 1-14.
The life of Abram is instructive, and deserving of
special regard, chiefly, because it is intimately con-
nected with the history of the church. In him was
eminently displayed the power, the efficacy, and the
106 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
consoling influence of divine grace. And in him and
his family, if I mistake not, we find the visible church,
organized, owned, and guarded by the special favour
of divine providence. Pious individuals there un-
doubtedly were in the world before this period; but
they were in a scattered condition, and mainly dis-
tinguished from the mass of mankind by their per-
sonal integrity, and devotional habits. Whereas, in
the days of Abram, we find a people called of God;
made the depository of his truth and ordinances; taken
into covenant relation with the Most High ; and re-
cognized, as his professed worshippers and servants,
by a religious rite of his own appointment.
In the passage of Scripture now before us, we have
an account of a transaction, which bears all the marks
of a covenant. The design of this covenant, its pro-
visions and promises, its seal and its sanction, with
the practical lessons which it teaches, are the main
points to which our attention will be directed in the
present lecture.
I. We cannot think that the sole, or even principal
design of this covenant, was to give assurance to
Abram of a numerous progeny, and that he and his
family should be protected and provided for, in their
sojournings, and that they should, ultimately, be put
in possession of the land of Canaan. All this had
been promised once and again — nay, had been guar-
anteed by solemn compact, as may be seen in Genesis
XV., from the 7th verse to the end. And God said
unto Abram, " I am the Lord that brought thee out
of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit
it. And he (i. e. Abram,) said. Lord God, whereby
shall I know that I shall inherit it?" Whereupon he
is directed to prepare a sacrifice, consisting of several
animals. He did so: and having disposed of the
parts in due form, with the sections opposite each
other agreably to custom, a deep sleep and an horror
of great darkness fell upon him; his senses were
closed to all other objects, and the Lord revealed to
him his designs respecting himself and family; taught
him that they should be in bondage four hundred
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 107
years; but that, in due time, they should come into
the promised land, where he himself should be buried
in a good old age. A smoking furnace and a burn-
ing lamp passed between the parts of the sacrifice, as
a token of the ratification of the promise. " In that
same day, the Lord made a covenant with Abram,
saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from
the river of Egypt, unto the great river Euphrates."
Now, let it be observed, that this sign was given to
Abram, for the express purpose of confirming his
faith in the promise, that his posterity should inherit
Canaan. Nothing is said here, of all the families of
the earth being blessed in him; no token is instituted
to be applied to his seed, in their generations: a cir-
cumstance that distinguishes the compact, into the de-
sign of which we are going to inquire. In one word,
temporal blessings only seem to have been the subject
matter of the transaction just alluded to; whereas the
covenant of circtmicision has a deeper, a more last-
ing, and important aim, as we hope to show in the
sequel.
Nor are we satisfied with that view of the transac-
tion, now under consideration, wliich represents it as a
renewal or formal exhibition of the covenant of grace.
We suppose, indeed, that the mediation of Christ is
the basis of this and all other favourable dispensations
of Providence to any of the human family: for a
holy God can have no intercourse with sinners, ex-
cept through a Mediator, duly qualified to guard the
rights of the divine government, while he saves the
guilty. But the covenant of grace was formed in the
councils of eternity, between the Father of mercies
and his beloved Son, as the surety and Saviour of his
people. It was in operation long before Abram was
born. Its benefits had been applied to many individ-
uals, by the Holy Spirit, even before the deluge.
Abram himself, we are expressly assured, had the
righteousness of faith, before he received the circum-
cision which is in the flesh. " He believed in the
Lord, and it was counted to him for righteousness."
108 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
He was, already, in a state of grace, a renewed and a
justified man. A compliance with the terms of tiiis
external compact, therefore, whatever evidence it
might afford of his piety, could not place him on safer
ground, in regard to the salvation of his soul, than he
occupied before it was propounded to him. What,
then, was the true intent of the covenant of circum-
cision ? What relation did it constitute between the
parties, that did not exist before? If it was not a
domestic and temporary covenant,, securing to the
patriarch a numerous natural seed, and to that seed
an inheritance in Canaan — nor yet the covenant of
grace, securing to the elect eternal life and blessed-
ness, what was it? We answer, it was an exposi-
tion and solemn ratification of that remarkable pro-
mise given to x\bram, when he was called out of Ur
of the Chaldees: " In thee shall all the families of the
earth be blessed:" "and the effect of it was to bring
him and his family, with all who should join them, by
making a like profession, into a church estate; i. e. it
was an ecclesiastical covenant, by which Jehovah or-
ganized the visible church, as one, distinct, spiritual
society; and, according to which, all his after dealings
with her were to be regulated. Hitherto she had
been scattered, and existed in detached parts. Now
it pleased God to reduce her into a compact form, that
she m.ight be prepared for the good things to come.
Since Abram was designated as the man from whom
the Messiah was to spring; since he had signally glo-
rified the Lord's veracity, not staggering at his pro-
mise through unbelief, he selected this his servant,
as the favoured man in whose family he would com-
plete the organization of that church in which he de-
signed to perpetuate the righteousness of faith. With,
this church, as with a whole, composed, in the first
instance, of Abraham's family, and to be increased
afterwards, by the addition of all such as should own
his faith, was this covenant made."* Such, in our
apprehension, is its true purport. It is the sealed bond
* See Christian's Magazine, vol. i. p. 147, 148.
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 109
of union between the Almighty God, and that great
and growing community, which we call the visible
church, and which is composed of all people, with
their famihes, who profess the true rehgion, and wor-
ship the true God, according to the plan revealed in
the Bible, the statute book of Jehovah's kingdom.
II. The provisions and promises of this covenant
are ample, and of the most momentous import. The
Lord proclaims himself to vVbram, as the Almighty
God ; the shield and exceeding great reward of him
and his seed; and, hereupon, requires them — f'irst,
" to walk before him, and be perfect :" that is, to act
as seeing him, their all-sufficient but invisible pro-
tector; to confide in his power, to believe his word,
to obey his precepts, to celebrate his worship, and
keep his ordinances pure and entire. Secondly, that
they keep his covenant in their generations : that is,
that they consider its great end and design; holiness
of heart and purity of manners ; that they apply the
seal at the time, and in the manner prescribed, to the
proper subjects; that they maintain the discipline of
his house, and guard, with the utmost vigilance,
against the neglect or profanation of any of the insti-
tutions of his grace. And, as the requirements are
strict, so the promises are great and precious.
First, there is obviously a promise of protection
couched in the proclamation already noticed; "I am the
Almighty God !'' United by covenant to the Almighty,
Abram and his seed have nothing to fear. " The
Lord's portion is his people : Jacob is the lot of his
inheritance." " Blessed are the people whose God is
the Lord !"
Secondly, there is a promise of large accessions to
this community of the Lord's people: " I will mul-
tiply thee exceedingly ; and I will make thee exceed-
ing fruitful; and I will make nations of thee, and
kings shall come out of thee." And as a memorial
and confirmation of this promise, the patriarch's name
is changed from Abram to Abraham, so as, instead
of high father, to signify high father of many na-
tions. This promise cannot relate to Abraham's
10
110 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
natural seed, because the benefits of this covenant
were expressly Hmited to his descendants in the hne
of Isaac: and from Isaac downward, in the line of
Jacob; Esau having profanely bartered away his
birth-right. So that, by this limitation, Abraham was,
Hterallv, the father of no more than one nation. To
the Christian dispensation we must, unquestionably,
look for the fulfilmeiit of this promise. The apostle
Paul has expounded and applied it : " If yfe be Christ's,
then are ye Abraham's seed and heirs according to
the pronnse." It is, as the honoured father of all
Avho believe in Christ, that Abraham is the high
father of many nations.
But, thirdly, the most comprehensive and extended
promise is in these words: " I will establish my cove-
nant between me and thee, and thy seed after thee, in
their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be a
God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee." This
promise concerns all the covenant seed of Abraham;
but that seed, we have seen, designates all who pro-
fess the true religion, and worship the true God.
Hence, it is plain that the people of God, at this day,
have a right to plead this promise for themselves and
their children. All Christians are Abraham's seed:
let them lay hold of this covenant-promise: let them
dedicate their little ones to the God of Abraham, and
commend them to his divine care and influence. Be
it your constant aim. Christian parents, to bring up
your children in the nurture and admonition of the
Lord ; " The promise is to you and to your children.''^
And if the Lord be your God, and establish his cove-
nant with your households for ever, no essential evil
can befall you; all things shall work together for
your good ; " the voice of rejoicing is in the tabernacle
of the righteous."
III. The seal of this covenant, in its original form,
was the rite of circumcision. " Tiiis is my covenant
which ye shall keep between me and you, and thy
seed after thee; every man-child among you shall be
circumcised." It were idle for us to inquire why
God chose this strange and painful observance, as the
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. Ill
token or sign of his covenant. We may be sure it
was not selected without good reasons. It was de-
signed not merely to distinguish the fi^mily of Abra-
ham from other nations, but to remind them of their
native depravity, and of the necessity of self-denial,
submission to God, and obedience to his commands,
however irksome these tilings might be to their fleshly
and corrupt nature. And, as an ordinance in the
church, it certified to the seed of Abraham that the
covenant with their progenitor was in force ; that they
were under it, and might humbly hope to partake of
the benefits which it secured. And the apostle Paul,
in the fourth chapter of his epistle to the Romans, has
taught us that it was "a seal of the righteousness of
the faith which Abraham had, being yet uncircum-
cised, that he might be the father of all them that
believe^ though they be not circumcised; that right-
eousness might be imputed unto them also."
This seal was to be applied to male-children, with-
out needless delay, after they became eight days old;
but not before that age: from which circumstance, it
appears that this rite was not considered essential to
salvation, else it would not have been permitted to
delay it; for many children must have died before
they attained to the prescribed age. We learn, also,
from this provision respecting the application of the
covenant-seal, that it is not proper to postpone the
dedication of our children to God, in baptism, beyond
the first favourable opportunity, which Providence
may a fiord us.
Circumcision was to be administered to servants,
by those who enjoyed their services, and had charge
of their religious education and improvement. "He
that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with
thy money, must needs be circumcised.'* Alas! how
little this duty of taking care for the morals and reli-
gious principles of servants, is regarded by many
masters and employers now-a-days !
Finally, this covenant was guarded by a sanction,
or penalty; and it was an awfnl and solemn one.
•'And the uncircumcised man-child, whose llesh of his
112 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut otf
from his people; he hath broken my covenant." The
guilt of this neglect, undoubtedly, rested on the parent
or master, not on the child; and the consequence
was, the excommunication of both, from the com-
munion and privileges of the visible church. Let it
be carefully observed here, that a neglect of this rite
is declared to be a violation of the covenant. God
does nothing in vain. He institutes no needless ordi-
nances; issues no superfluous commands. Let no one
expect to go unpunished, who contemns his wisdom,
or slights his grace, by neglecting the means by which
it is ordinarily communicated. It is dangerous to
live in the neglect of divine institutions; they are
happily adapted to our circumstances and wants.
Respect for the authority of God, gratitude for his
goodness, and a suitable regard for our own peace
and spiritual edification unite in urging us to walk
before the Lord in all his statutes and ordinances
blameless. *' Ye are my friends," says Christ, "if ye
do whatsoever I command you:" — "He that hath
my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that
loveth me; and he that loveth me shall be loved of
my Father; and I will love him, and will manifest
myself to him."
LECTURE XII.
ABRAHAM'S FAITH TPaED BY THE VIRTUAL SACRIFICE OF ISAAC.
And it came to pass afler these things, that God did tempt Arbaham,
and said unto him, Abraham : And he said, Behold, here I am. J^nd
he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest,
and get thee into the land of iMoriah; and offer him there for a
burnt-offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
— Gen. xxii. 1,2.
Faith, which is essential to true religion, is proved
and developed by trials. The trials which Abraham
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 113
sustained, and the manner in which he behaved un-
der them, enable us to understand, in some measure,
why he is called, by way of eminence, "the friend of
God, and the father of the faithful. '^ He was distin-
guished, pretty uniformily, by an unshaken confidence
in the divine testimony, and an unhesitating submis-
sion to the will of God. His faith had been frequently
put to the test; but never in a manner so severe and
extraordinary as in the instance now before us. Isaac
was a child of prayer, and of great promise; and to
part with him, in the ordinary way, would have been
a heavy affliction. But that the father should be re-
quired to despatch his beloved son with his own hand,
was a trial altogether without a parallel. Here was
a case in which the divine promises and command
seemed to interfere, and to be utterly inconsistent with
one another; yet Abraham was promptly obedient to
the heavenly mandate, assured that God would main-
tain his truth, and, in due time, display the wisdom
and equity of the command.
This, however, is a difficult passage of Scripture.
It has not only been excepted to by infidel writers,
but many pious people have been at a loss to know
how to reconcile it to the benignity of the Creator,
and the rectitude of liis government. The command
is so repugnant to our feelings, and appears, at first
view, to be of so bad a tendency, that one is tempted
to ask, was not the patriarch under a mistake in be-
lieving that it came from God? may it not have been
the suggestion of some malignant spirit, and have
been intended to seduce Abraham into the perpetra-
tion of a deed, wiiich would bring reproach upon him
and his religion? In reply to this objection, which is
indeed very plausible, we would remark, that it im-
peaches not only the character of Abraham, but that
of Moses, the sacred historian. Snpposmg the pa-
triarch to have been deceived in this matter, how
came Moses to record the deception, and present it
to us, atid to all the world, as an express and per-
emptory injunction of Jehovah? If you say that
Abraham was deceived, you give up the authenticity
10*
114 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
of the Pentateuch, and adniit that the writer of the
first five books in the Bible was not only an uninspired
man, but a man very deficient either in honesty or
discernment. Nor is this all; the author of the epistle
to the Hebrews is involved in tlie same condemna-
tion : for, among the triumphs of faith which he
mentions in the eleventh chapter of his letter, this
is noticed with unqualified approbation : '' By faith
Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac; and
he that had received the promises off"ered up his only
begotten Son." That Abraliam was fully convinced
that the command was from God, is evident from the
promptitude with which he proceeded to execute it.
If it be asked, how he could know assuredly that God
required this sacrifice at his hand, we answer, by an
explicit manifestation of the divine will, such as im-
pelled him, first, to leave " Ur of the Chaldees," and,
afterwards, to go forth from Haran of Mesopotamia.
God condescended, on several occasions, to make him-
self known to him in a Very special manner. He did
this in various modes; as, by symbols of his presence,
by an audible voice, and by the ministry of angels.
He had entered into solenm covenant with him, as the
father of all them that believe, and as the representa-
tive of the visible church. And Abraham, as an evi-
dence of his acquiescence in this covenant, submitted
to circumcision; a painful rite — a rite which a sob^r
man, at his advanced age, cannot be supposed to have
accepted for himself and his numerous family, with-
out a full and deliberate conviction that it was or-
dained of God for a wise and holy purpose. And,
after all this, is it credible that the " high father of
many nations'^ would be left to follow the suggestion
of a lying and malignant spirit; and that too, in a
matter of so much moment as the life of Isaac, the
heir according to promise, in whom the holy seed, the
church, was to be continued, and in whose family the
ordinances of religion were to be maintained till the
coming of Messiah? It is not credible. But, not to
detain you longer on this point, the result proved that
Abraham was not deceived. Had he been instigated
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 115
by Satan, to sacrifice his son, the deed would have
been accomplished; for they who so far yield to temp-
tation, as to make arrangements to comply with it,
seldom stop short of the ultimate design of the tempter.
But Isaac was not actually slain: tlie end being an-
swered which God intended, Abraham's liand is
arrested by a voice from heaven; a voice not of re-
proof, but of commendation: "Lay not thine hand
upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him."
Why ? Not because thou hast been deceived, and
art following the instigations of the devil ; but, because,
" now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast
not withheld thy son, thine only son from me."
Now, if Abraham was convinced that this command
proceeded from the Lord, it was clearly his duty to
obey it, however grievous it might bo to flesh and
blood. The known ivill of the Creator is and ought
to be law to the intelligent creature. Faitli does not
make void this law; genuine faith invariably yields
obedience and submission. These are its proper ef-
fects, and where these are wanting, the existence of
the principle is, at least, questionable.
But, it may still be alleged that, though God is to
be obeyed in all cases, and in some instances contrary
to those tender feelings which are connatural to us,
yet, as he always acts according to the eternal rules
of reason, he can neither act himself, nor require his
creatures to act in a manner contradictory to those
rules. "And as the slaying of a child is an obvious
violation of the law of nature, which obliges a parent
to cherish and protect his offspring, would it not be
impugning the character of the divine Being, to sup-
pose that he ever issued such a command as tliat now
in question ?" This is placing the difficulty in a strong
point of light: let us see whether it be not capable of
a rational and satisfactory solution.
That God acts, uniformily, on principles of the most
perfect rectitude is indubitable; that he can neither
do., nor command others to do a WTong thing, is also
indubitable. But then it should be recollected that
the rules which regulate his conduct have a bearing
116 LECTURES OX BIBLICAL HISTORY.
on the whole universe, and are deduced from the in-
finite relations which his works and designs have to
one another, and to the ultimate good of iiis kingdom,
considered as one immense and entire whole. Now
we cannot comprehend these vast relations of things,
and, therefore, we cannot determine, in any given case,
what Avould be right, or what would be wrong in the
divine government, because that is conducted on prin-
ciples of which we can form no adequate conception.
"As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my
ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than
your thoughts, saii'h the Lord."
Even on the supposition that God had intended
that Abraham should take away his son's Hfe, there
would have been no injustice in the command. The
Author and Giver of life has a right to resume it, at
what time, and by whatever means he sees fit. So
that had the injunction been actually executed, we
must have acknowledged it to have been wise, just,
and good; because a divine command necessarily im-
plies wisdom, justice, and goodness, though we may
be imable to discern the reasons upon which it is
founded. But did not this intentional sacrifice of
Isaac give countenance to the practice, which is
known to have obtaiiied among some pagan nations,
of offering human victims to propitiate their gods?
Had the sacrifice been actually made there would
have been some force in this objection; but as the
fatal blow was arrested by the same divine authority
that ordered it to be inflicted, the effect of the whole
affair, as narrated by Moses, would, in our view, be
to discountenance the practice to which the objection
refers: Isaac is spared, and a ram of the Lord's own
providing is offered in his stead. And this, most ob-
viously and impressively, intimated that the God of
Abraham delighted not in human blood ; that he ap-
proved of inferior victims, and designed that these
should serve as types and shadows till the fulness of
time, when the true Lamb of God should appear in
the flesh, and shed his blood as the great and inesti-
mable sacrifice which cleanseth from all sin.
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 117
As Isaac must have attained nearly, if not quite, to
the age of manhood when this transaction took place,
it is naturally asked why he made no resistance, but
quietly submitted to be bound and laid on the altar?
The only way in which we can account for this is, by
supposing that he was an eminently pious youth; that
he was satisfactorily informed that God required him
to submit, and that he was endued with the devoted
heroism of the martyrs; many of whom, even' under
the Jewish economy, as a testimony of their love of
truth and duty, "were stoned, sawn asunder, and tor-
tured; not accepting deliverance, that they might in-
herit a joyful resurrection." Josephus, the Jewish his-
torian, taking his materials from the glosses of the rab-
bis, tells us, that Abraham made a pathetic speech to his
son, on the occasion, exhorting him to constancy and
submission to the decree of heaven; to which Isaac
attended, says he, with a composure and resignation
worthy the son of such a father. And upon this
account of their mutual behaviour, (whether true
or fictitious, we pretend not to determine,) Gregory
Nazyanzen, an eloquent father of the Greek church,
makes the following impressive remark: "All the
strength of reluctant love could not withhold the
father's hand; and all the terror of a violent disso-
lution could not tempt tlie son to move for his own
preservation. Which of the two, shall we say, de-
serves the precedence in our wonder and veneration?
For there seems to have been a religious emulation
or contest between them, which should most remark-
ably signalize himself; the father in loving God more
than his own child, and the son in the love of duty
above his own life."
Whatever of truth may be in these representations,
both father and son seem to have acted under a
strong sense of duty, with a reverential regard to the
aiithorily, and a single eye to the glory of Jehovah.
That Abraham expected his beloved Isaac would, be
restored to life, after he should have sacrificed him in
obedience to the divine command, seems highly pro-
bable; not only from his remark to the young men
lis LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
that accompanied them to the foot of the mountain,
"abide ye here witli the ass, and I and the lad will
go yonder and worship, and come again to you," but
from an observation of Paul, in the Epistle to the
Hebrews, xi. 19, "accounting that God was able to
raise him up, even from the dead; from whence, also,
he received him in a figure." And this hope would
be not a little consolatory to them both in yielding a
compliance with the painful duty to which they were
now called, the one actively, and the other passively.
Having thus endeavoured to remove the principal
objections, to which, at first view, this passage of
sacred writ seems hable, let us try to ascertain the
end, or useful purpose, which was designed to be
answered by the wonderful transaction therein re-
corded.
The end to be answered, we suppose, was two-
fold: First, to afford to the church, and to all who
should read the sacred story, an illustrious exempli-
fication of the nature and energy of a true faith
in God; secondly, to furnish, in the virtual sacrifice
of Isaac, a type, or symbolical adumbration of our
blessed Lord's voluntary sufferings and death.
In the first place, this conmiand w^as designed to
prove Abraham's faith, and to afford an exemplifica-
tion of the amazing power of that divine principle.
"God," it is said, "did tempt Abraham." To tempt,
is a phrase used in Scripture in two senses; its most
common meaning is, to suggest evil thoughts, or in-
stigate to wicked actions. In this sense, it is never
applied to the divine Being. "Let no man say, when
he is tempted, I am tempted of God; for God cannot
be tempted with evil, neither tenipteth he any man."
James i. 13. The other acceptation, in which the
phrase is used, is to prove, or try a person or thing
by experiment. In this sense it is frequently applied
to God, in his conduct towards mankind. And thus,
\\Q Jenipted, proved, or tried Abraham; not for his
own satisfaction, for he knew what was in his heart,
and how he would acquit himself in this trying junc-
ture ; but to make his example the more useful, "that
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORr. 119
the trial of his faith, being much more precious than
of gold, that pcrisheth, might be found, or noticed,
unto praise, and honour, and glory:" that all future
generations, reading the history of liis faith and obe-
dience^ might glorify God in liim, and look on his ex-
ample as a shining light, placed by the hand of Pro-
vidence, in the firmament of the church, to guide and
animate other believers, in the intricate and arduous
paths of duty through which they may be called to
pass. As God chose to honour Abraham, by giving
him the title of the father of the faithful, it was proper
that the genuineness of his faith should be thoroughly
tried ; and it was tried in a way which proved it to
be a divine principle. "Take now thy son, thine only
son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the
land of Moriah, and offer him there lor a burnt offer-
ing, on one of the mountains which I will tell thee
of." It is scarcely possible to conceive of a more try-
ing case. The ligaments that bind the child to the
parent's heart, are inexpressibly tender and endear-
ing. We find it no small trial to part with one of
our children, even by an ordinary sickness and death;
if it be an only child we are apt to be utterly over-
whelmed and inconsolable; the affliction whitens the
father's head, and opens the fountain of the mother's
tears. But in the case of Abraham it was an only
son; a son of religious desire; a son given in an ex-
traordinary way, and in consequence of divine pro-
mise. Nor was this all; he was a son with whose
hfe and offspring the growth and prosperity of the
visible church were, by God's own covenant, inti-
mately connected. The patriarch might have de-
murred against the command, saying, not so, Lord,
for then what shall become of thy promise? How
will he be a father of many nations, when he is cut
off from life ? Especially might he have declined the
office of priest, when it had been determined that his
beloved Isaac was to be the victim. But no, lie was
obedient, not staggering at the command through un-
belief. Nor is the pamful service to be performed
instantly; the mountain lies at the distance of some
120 LECTURES OX BIBLICAL HISTORY.
two or three days' journey. Here was time for de-
liberation; the awful scene was continually in his
mind's eye from the announcement of the decree till
the third day, when the destined mount showed its
summit above the line of the horizon. Still the faith-
ful patriarch proceeds, submissive. At the foot of
Moriah, the servants are ordered to remain till this
mysterious act of worship is performed. The altar
is prepared, the wood is laid in order; and now
a dialogue ensues between the father and the son,
v^rhich, for natural simplicity and affectionate tender-
ness, stands 2^/zr/f«//e^/ and r//o??e. ^^ My father! here
am I my son; behold the fire and the wood! but
where is the lamb for a burnt-oftering? My son, God
will provide himself a lamb for a burnt-offering!"
What mutual kindness! What meekness! What loy-
alty to the king of heaven and earth ! But we for-
bear to darken counsel, by words without knowledge.
Any attempt to give an adequate description of this
interview, would be like an idle effort to give fra-
grance to the rose, or colouring to the rainbow.
God did provide himself a lamb; it is offered; Isaac
is restored, in a figure, to the enraptured father. The
hand of the Lord is acknowledged, and, as a memo-
rial of this marvellous interposition, the mountain is
called Jehovah-Jireh ; i. e. " In the mount of the liOrd
it shall be seen." Walk, believers, in the steps of
faithful Abraham, and you will find that the Lord will
provide for you, and make all his providences har-
monize with his promises. " Then shall ye know the
design of the mysterious Avays and dispensations of
divine providence, if ye follow on to know the Lord."
See to it that ye possess the faith of God's elect; so
"shall your light afflictions, which are but for a mo-
ment, work out for you a far more exceeding and
eternal weight of glory."
Finally, from the typical action, which we have
been contemplating, let us turn our thoughts, with
devout admiration and adoring thankfulness, to that
Great Sacrifice through which we have the forgive-
ness of sins, and the hope of life everlasting. Christ,
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 121
the only begotten Son of the Most High, died volun-
tarily, " the just for the luijust, that he miglit bring
us to God :" and now a voice from the excellent glory
is heard, saying, "deliver from going down to the pit;
I have found a ransom." Let us beheve the infallible
Oracle, and we shall realize the blessedness of iiim
whose God is the Lord. "Behold the Lamb of God
which taketh away the sin of the world !''
LECTURE XIII
incidents in the life of ISAAC.
And it came to pass, after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his
son Isaac; and Isaac dwelt by tiie well Lahai-roi. — Gen. xxv. 11.
It will be recollected, that we have already expended
three lectures on the three most important events in
the life of Abraham; i. e. his vocation first from Ur,
and afterwards from Haran; the covenant of circum-
cision which God formed with him in relation to the
promised seed; and the trial of his faith, in the inten-
tional sacrifice of his beloved Isaac, who, as the heir
and successor of his father, will be the principal sub-
ject of the ensuing lecture.
But here it may not be amiss to notice briefly, two
or tliree occurrences, that took place towards the close
of Abraham's mortal pilgrimage, which, while they
tend still further to develope his amiable character,
cannot fail to suggest some useful reflections.
Not long after the memorable transaction on mount
Moriah, Abraham appears to have left Beersheba,
and pitched his tent in Hebron, a town in the land of
the Hittites, the descendants of Heth. Here he was
visited by a sore affliction: Sarah, the wife of his
youth and the mother of his Isaac, was taken sick
11
122 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORT.
and died, at the advanced age of one hundred and
twenty-seven years. How did the patriarch behave
on the occasion? Like a tender husband he mourned
and wept for her. He knew, and doubtless acknow-
ledged, that this was the Lord's doing; yet he mourn-
ed and wept. The strength of his faith did not dimin-
ish his natural affection; nor are we forbidden to feel
under our bereavements. We may pay the tribute
of a tear to the memory of a departed friend, provided
we neither murmur nor sorrow as they that have no
hope. Abraham's grief was not so great, or so long
indulged, as to disqualify him for the sacred duty of
*' burying his dead out of his sight." Our sympathies
are excited to see the venerable man, in a land of
strangers, destitute of a spot of ground in which to
deposit the remains of his deceased wife. The people
of the land were, indeed, hospitable and generous :
*' In the choice of our sepulchres," say they, "bury
thy dead." This friendly offer was courteously de-
clined; the right of burial was, in his estimation, a
matter of too much moment for him to accept as a
gift, while he had the means of procuring it by a fair
and honourable purchase. Accordingly, after a ne-
gotiation of some length, conducted by both parties
on liberal principles, and agreeably to the simple usage
of the times, "the field of Ephron, including the cave
of Machpelah, was made sure unto Abraham, for a
possession of a burying-place by the sons of Heth."
There the body of Sarah was laid to rest, "dust to
dust, and ashes to ashes." And there it was, that
Abraham began to receive the fulfilment of the pro-
mise— " I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after
thee, the land of Canaan, for an everlasting pos-
session."
Another thing, worthy of notice, in the conduct of
Abraham is, the pains which he took in regard to the
marriage of his son. Isaac must have been now about
forty years of age. And as he had been selected as
one of the progenitors of the Messiah, and as he was
to have the chief management in religious concerns
during his life-time, it was of importance that his
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 123
matrimonial connexion should comport with tlie end
of his high vocation. The management of this mat-
ter was committed to Ehezer, the eldest servant or the
steward of Abraham's house, under the solemnity of
an oath. He was charged not to take a wife for Isaac
from among the daughters of the Canaanites; but to
go and seek one among the remote kindred of the
family. The design evidently was, not to look for
wealiii and other fashionable accom]-)lishments, but to
procure a companion suitable for a pious man, and to
guard against an alliance with idolatry and other
forms of immorality and wickedness. Eliezer accepts
the charge — proceeds to Mesopotamia, to the city of
Nahor, where, after referring the matter seriously to
the disposal of Providence, his mission is speedily
crowned with success. Rebekah, the daughter of
Bethuel, and grand-daughter of Nahor, Abraham's
brother, is obtained by consent of the family. We
forbear any remarks on the manner in which this ne-
gotiation was conducted. It is narrated by Moses iu
a style of inimitable delicacy, precision, and simplicity.
No person of taste and discernment can read the
twenty-fourth chapter of Genesis, without being for-
cibly impressed with the piety and fidelity of Eliezer,
in executing his trust; as, also, with the hospitality
and mutual kindness of Rebekah and her kindred,
while they submitted, quietly, to a separation which
must have been exceedingly grievous, had it not been
evident, that "the thing proceeded from the Lord."
We are, incidentally, made acquainted with Isaac's
contemplative and devotional turn of mind. When
the servant and Rebekah arrived at the well Lahai-
roi, the place of Isaac's residence, they find him m.edi-
tating in the field, at even-tide, a season highly fa-
vourable to retirement and religious thoughtfulness.
Such a retreat from the noise and cares of the world,
at the close of every day, would conduce not a little
to his peace of mind and growth in grace. And,
sutler me, readers, to reconmiend some such practice
to you. It is as useful now, as it was in the pa-
triarchal age. Secret devotion tends to prepare us for
124 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
public duty; it cherishes the pious affections — fortifies
our minds against temptation, by cultivating a sense
of dependance on divine aid — and by habituating us
to Uve and act as seeing him who is invisible: and
though we may not have a field to meditate in, yet
we may all have a closet, and we know who has
given this explicit direction, " When thou prayest,
enter into thy closet; and when thou hast shut thy
door, pray to thy Father who is in secret, and thy
Father who seeth in secret, will reward thee openly."
Matt. vi. 6. But to return: — Isaac approved of what
the servant had done ; and, convinced that the whole
affair had been ordered by a wise and holy Provi-
dence, he received Rebekah, no doubt with suitable
marks of kindness and respect, conducted her to his
mother's tent, and " she became his wife, and he
loved her.''
Parents may learn from this piece of sacred history,
how to advise their children on the subject of mar-
riage. And let youth listen with filial reverence, to
the counsels of experience and parental affection.
And you will allow me to say, without any disparage-
ment to those external accomplishments which are
well enough in their place, that, in choosing an every
day companion, a partner for life, a friend for adver-
sity as well as prosperity, of all requisites, piety and
correct morals, good sense, and habits of industry,
are fairly entitled to the preference.
Some time after the death of Sarah, Abraham mar-
ried a second wife, whose name was Keturah, by
whom he had six sons. To these sons, when grown
up, we are told he gave gifts or portions, and sent
them away from Isaac his son, eastward unto the east
country. This measure seems to have been taken
with a view to prevent family dissension. The des-
cendants of these sons of Keturah, together with the
posterity of Esau, are mentioned, in history, by the
name of Edomites or Idumeans.
But we have now reached the concluding para-
graph in the long narrative of this good man's diver-
sified and interesting pilgrimage: "And these are the
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 125
days of the years of Abraham's Hfe, which he Hved,
an hundred threescore and fifteen years. Tfien Abra-
ham gave up the gliost (i. e. resigned his spirit into the
hand of the Creator,) and died in a good old age, an
old man, and lull of years; and was gathered to his
people. And Iiis sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him
in tiie cave of JNIachpelali, in tlie field of Ephron —
which is before Mamre; the field which Abraliam
purchased of the sons of Heth: there was Abraham
buried, and Sarah liis wife.'^ *' Blessed are the dead,
who die in the Lord! Yea, saith the Spirit, for
they rest from their labours, and their works do fol-
low them!" Long after the patriarch's decease, Je-
liovah proclaims himself the God of Abraham; and in
the parable of Dives and Lazarus, our Saviour makes
Abraham's bosom the symbol of lieaven. JNTay you
and I, readers, be found at last among the ^' Many
that shall come from the east and west, and shall sit
down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the
kingdom of heaven.'' Matt. viii. IL
^' And it came to pass, after the death of Abraham,
that God blessed his son Isaac." On reviewing the
history of the early ages, we are pleased to find,
amidst the wide-spreading desolations of sin, the noise-
less but powerful operation of redeeming grace. The
Lord has always had a people for his praise in our
apostate world ; and, in the darkest and most degene-
rate times, he has exercised over tiiat people a very
special care. This observation is happily illustrated,
in that portion of the sacred story which is connected
with the life of Isaac. In the preservation of the seed
from which the Saviour was to spring, we see the
hand of God often and signally displayed. May we
learn to adore and trust the God of Israel, who only
doeth wondrous things! His word endurcth for ever,
and his faithfulness unto all generations! Abraham,
the high father of many nations, cannot continue, by
reason of death ; but Isaac is raised up in his stead.
And as it had been with the father, so it proved with
the son; God blessed him, even as he had blessed the
father — not only with a large increase of worldly subv
11*
126 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
Stance, but with abundant communications of grace,
and with promises and revelations reaching in their
design and import to the end of the world, even to
the ages of eternitjr.
As Isaac appears to have been of a retiring dispo-
sition, so the history of his life is marked with but few
striking events; and our notices of those few must be
short and general.
He was encouraged by divine promise to expect a
numerous offspring. But his faith and patience were
tried, on this point, for about twenty years. Nor let
it be thought that this was a small trial. To a man,
in his circumstances, a desire to have children, was a
religious affection ; for had he died without issue, the
promise had failed, the covenant had been broken.
He, therefore, entreated the Lord, once and again;
and at length, as if to enhance the value of the gift, it
is granted, in answer to much prayer. Two sons were
born to him at one time, which, though an immediate
occasion of joy and thankfulness, proved afterwards
a source of trouble. Concerning these two sons, it
had been announced, before their birth, that they were
to be the heads of two nations of different characters;
that the one people should be stronger than the other
people, and that the elder should serve the younger.
In allusion to some extraordinary occurrences which
happened on that occasion, the elder was named
Esau, which signifies red, and the younger, Jacob,
or the supplanter. As these youths grew up, they
chose different occupations. ^' Esau was a cunning
hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain
man, dwelling in tents.'' Each parent had a favour-
ite. Isaac loved Esau, for a reason not very credita-
ble, "because he did eat of his venison;" but Rebekah
loved Jacob, we are not informed why, but, probably,
because he was of a domestic turn, and gave her
more of his company. But this favouritism is a bad
thing in families; it produced mischief in this case;
and it cannot fail to engender strife, jealousy, and
envy, wherever it is indulged to any considerable de-
gree. Parental affection should be like the wisdom
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 127
that is from above, " without partiality." That these
two brothers did not feel towards one another as they
ought to have done, is obvious ; and that the blame
of this, was partly attributable to the parents, is very
probable. In that strange affair, the transfer of the
birth-right, one scarcely knows which of the two is
most censurable; Esau, for his profaneness, or Jacob,
for his insidious craft and want of brotherly kindness;
the divine purpose furnishes no excuse for either.
God never required any of his creatures to do a
wrong thing to accomplish his decrees. But why is
Esau pronounced profane, for bartering away his
birth-right? Because the first-born was sacred to the
Lord; and because it was his privilege to officiate as
priest of the family, and have the chief government
in matters ecclesiastical; he had a right to the par-
ticular blessing of his dying father, that he might
transmit to the next generation the promise of a Re-
deemer, and all the blessings of the covenant made
with Abraham; so that, in giving up the rights of
primogeniture, he proved himself a despiser of reli-
gion; a contemner of God, and things divine. '^ Thus
Esau despised his birth-right," and for so doing, the
apostle, in his Epistle to the Hebrews, has called him
a profane person, and has grounded upon Esau's bad
conduct an exhortation, which evidently supposes
that persons, under the gospel dispensation, may be
guilty in a similar way. But how? What birth-
right have we, which any of us would be so foolish
as to despise? I will tell you, readers: many of you
are the children of pious parents — of parents who
professed to worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob; you were born in the visible church, and ac-
cordingly had the seal of God's covenant with his
people affixed upon you in your infancy; it is, there-
fore, your birth-right to belong to that people whose
God is the Lord. You drew your first l3reath within
the sacred pale of the visible household of faith, and
it is your duty to do the will, and keep the ordinances
of God your Saviour. Have you all done so? Are
you doing so now? How many baptized youth are
128 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
growing up in a state of unblushing conformity to
the world ? Yea. more ; liow many have become
parents themselves, who have never felt or acknow-
ledged their obligations to Christ by commemorating
his death? How many are letting their children
grow up unbaptized; and, therefore, without any vis-
ible connexion with the church of God ? Is not this
to despise our birth-right? 1 know there are those
who are deterred from an open avowal of their faith
and hope in ' the Redeemer, by scruples respecting
their experimental acquaintance with true religion.
To such, we would say; "Then shall ye know if you
follow on to know the Lord." But there are some
who seem to have little or no concern about their re-
lations to God, to his church, or to eternity. If they
were baptized in infancy, it is well; if not, it is of no
great consequence; they eat, and drink, and play —
forget the Rock that begat them, and the Lord that
bought them; they expend their labour and thoughts
for that which satisfieth not, while the meat that en-
dureth unto everlasting life is utterly neglected. An-
gels may desire to look into the mysteries of redeem-
ing mercy, but the wicked care for none of these
things. " 0 ye sons of men, how long will ye love
vanity, and seek after leasing!" Turn ye, for why
will ye die! Seek the Lord while he may be found,
call upon him while he is near. Why should you
barter away heaven for a morsel of meat? As you
would not join Esau in his sin and misery, or be
numbered with the profane in the day of judgment,
cleave to the God of Isaac; believe in Christ, and
keep his precepts. God blessed Isaac, as he had
blessed Abraham; so, if you choose the fear of the
Lord, he will bless yon, and keep you by his mighty
power through foith unto salvation: " If thou seek
him," as says David to his son Solomon, "he will be
found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast
thee oft' for ever." 1 Chron. xxviii. 9.
How aftecting it is to see persons who have been
born of pious parents; who have been taught in the
Scriptures from childhood; and who have had all the
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 129
advantages of a Christian education, growing up in
sin, wholly neglectiul of their relation to tiie church,
and of their duty to the God of their fathers ! What-
ever excuse may be urged by those who have been
reared in ignorance, and led astray, from the womb,
by the example of their natural guardians, the child-
ren of the visible church, the offspring of God's pro-
fessing people, will surely be inexcusable, if they for-
sake the law and ordinances of the Lord's house, and
pursue the paths of the destroyer. Let the rising
generation consider this matter betimes. Dear young
people, the goodness of Providence, anticipating your
wants and foreseeing your danger, has placed you
in the most favourable circumstances for securing an
interest in redeeming love. Will you, then, 0 can
you disregard the claims of gratitude — the grace of
the Redeemer — and the counsels of parental solici-
tude for your eternal welfare? Are you bent on
your own ruin? Are you resolved to press through
all restraints, and make your way to endless perdi-
tion, in the face of all that cloud of witnesses which
attest the turpitude of sin, and the peace and plea-
santness of wisdom's ways? " 0 that they were wise
— that they understood this — that they would consider
their latter end!" Let young people imitate the de-
vout and contemplative disposition of Isaac; and they
will find it greatly to their spiritual advantage. Let
them retire frequently into the field, or the closet of
sober reflection, and it will, with a divine blessing,
have a happy influence in discovering to them the
vanity of the world; let them but consider seriously
and repeatedly their latter end, and they can hardly
fail to perceive the importance of preparing for death,
and the solemn scenes of eternity. 0 young man,
whose strong passions are hurrying thee on in the
pursuit of pleasure, honour, or earthly gain, go some-
times and take a thoughtful walk " on the shore of
that vast ocean (eternity) which you must sail so
soon." Think of the day of judgment, and of the
general resurrection, and of the righteous and irrever-
sible retributions of the world to come. Push your
130 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
thoughts forward to that momentous period, when,
at the sound of the last trumpet, '• they that sleep in
the dust of the earth shall come forth, some to ever-
lasting life, and, 0 tremendous reverse! some to
shame and everlasting contempt." See the count-
less millions of the human race starting into life;
rising to immortality; and looking up to the descend-
ing Judge, with unutterable sensations of joy or grief,
expecting from his lips the final sentence which is to
fix their doom for ever; and while the awful scene is
full and vividly in view, ask yourself whether you are
prepared to meet the Judge of quick and dead, and to
give up your account with joy, and not with grief.
" When rising from the silent tomb
O'erwhehn'd with guilt and fear,
To meet that last unchanging doom,
O! how will you appear?"
LECTURE XIV.
LIFE OF JACOB.
Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the
earth, and plenty of corn and wine. Let people serve thee, and
nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy
mother's sons bow down to thee : cursed be every one that curseth
thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee. — Gen. xxvii. 28, 29.
Isaac, though a man of eminent piety, was a man of
afiliction. It must have been matter of grief to him
that Esau, his favourite son, discovered strong symp-
toms of profaneness, not only by selling his birthright,
but by marrying into an idolatrous family. On one
occasion we find him driven from Canaan by famine,
and obliged to take up his abode for a season in the
land of Philistia. There, by the good hand of the
Lord, his wants were hberally supplied ; but his pros-
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 131
perity soon drew upon him the envy of the Philis-
tines; and, for many years, in the latter part of his
hfe, he appears to have been entirely blind. Finding
himself nnable, in this condition, to snperintend the
affairs of his family, and the concerns of religion, he
wished to resign the care of those weighty matters to
Esan ; bnt, by the overrnling providence of God, the
solemn charge was devolved on Jacob, in the words
of our text, '' God give thee of the dew of heaven,"
&c. One design of the present lecture is to inquire
into the import of this blessing. But, before we pro-
ceed, two or three questions, arising out of the history
of tlie affair, seem to demand some notice. Why was
Jacob preferred to Esau, in the divine purpose? How
came Isaac to be under a mistake respecting the de-
cree of heaven in that matter ; or, if he understood it,
why did he aim to frustrate it ? What are we to
think of the imposition practised, by Rebekah and
Jacob, on Isaac, in correcting his mistake? And how
can we justify the conduct of providence in permit-
ting its design to be carried into effect, by such means
as were used in this case?
The first question we cannot solve except by re-
ferring the choice of Jacob, in preference to Esau, to
the good pleasure of God. Jehovah is free and inde-
pendent in all his designs and in all his dispensations;
all creatures are his, and he has a right to dispose of
them as he sees fit. On this obvious principle, had
the preference in question respected the eternal and
immutable condition of Isaac's sons, in a future state,
we know of no good ground on which we could find
fault with it: but, in our opinion, the preference was
not so extensive in its design as to determine the
everlasting destiny of either Jacob or Esau. No such
inference can be fairly deduced from the divine de-
claration respecting them, while yet in their mother's
womb: "The one people shall be stronger than the
other people; and the elder shall serve the younger."
God designed that Jacob, and not Esau, should form
the next link after Isaac in the chain of our Lord's
lineage, according to the flesh; and that the younger,
132 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
instead of the elder, should succeed the father in the
chief management of religions and ecclesiastical mat-
ters. But this design no more determined that Esau
should perish eternally, than the calling of Abraham
determined the everlasting destruction of all the rest
of mankind then living. It is true that Esau, so far
as we are made acquainted with his character, ap-
pears to have been a wicked man; and if he served
sin in the lusts thereof, he no doubt received its wages,
which is death; but Jacob's being preferred, and des-
tined to rule over him, in the family and in the church,
imposed on him no necessity to be profane and do
wickedly.
As to the second question which presents us with
this alternative, viz. That Isaac was either ignorant
of the divine purpose, assigning the paternal l3lessing
to Jacob; or, knowing the decree, he aimed to frus-
trate it; we think it would be unjust and uncharhable
to impute to him a wish to defeat or oppose the will
of God in that matter, had he rightly understood it.
We suppose, therefore, that he was in an error, that
he verily believed Esau, as the first-born, was entitled
by custom to the blessing; and, accordingly, would
have conferred it upon him had not providence inter-
posed. That Isaac's error was altogether blameless,
in this instance, we do not assert ; he may not have
been as attentive as he should have been to the indi-
cations of the divine will ; and, as he was evidently
partial to Esau, his passionate fondness for a favour-
ite son may have darkened his views of duty, and led
him to mistake his own wishes for the will of his
Maker. He seems to have been convinced ultimately
of his error, and to have acquiesced in the divine dis-
posal of the blessing, without murmuring : for upon
Esau's application for the benediction, which had just
been given to Jacob, the father says firmly, yet feel-
ingly, as if sensible that he had heretofore been fight-
ing against God, " I have blessed him, i. e. Jacob,
yea, and he shall be blessed."
As to the intrigue and falsehood employed by Re-
bekah and Jacob, in this affair, we have no apology
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 133
to make for them; a pious fraud is just as flagrant a
violation of the law of truth and honesty, as any-
other piece of deliberate and wilful deception. The
deed of sale, ratified by oath, which made over to
Jacob the primogeniture, even supposing the birth-
right included the paternal blessing, conveyed no
license to use unlawful and immoral measures to se-
cure it. That end which cannot be accomplished
without resorting to unlawful means, may, to say the
least, be suspected of being a bad end; iior can any
end, however great and holy, sanctify unhallowed
means. Had they a full conviction that God designed
the blessing for the younger, and not for the elder?
Then they should have waited patiently for God to
efl'ect his own design in his own way. The Lord of
all the earth will do right; his purposes are holy; his
power infinite, and his resources abundant; lie has
means enough, always at hand, to accomplish his de-
signs, without tarnishing his glorious goodness, or fix-
ing a stigma on his immaculate purity. And, read-
ers, while we thus cer.sure the wickedness of Jacob
and his mother, in this affair, may we not take a use-
ful hint, even from their misconduct? We are often
perplexed, and in straits — often at a loss to reconcile
the promises of God with the dispensations of his pro-
vidence. When this is our case, let us wait on the
Lord, and stay ourselves on the Most High; if he as-
signs us a heavy cross, let us take it up, and bear it
patiently; let us follow our blessed Master whither-
soever he may conduct us, but let us never go before
him, by the use of forbidden expedients, for the pur-
pose either of getting rid of our trials, or of bringing
about what we may believe to be according to the
good pleasure of his will. Whatever may be our
circumstances, either in temporal, or in spiritual con-
cerns, let us confidently, yet humbly, commit our
cause to God our Saviour, for " blessed are they who
put their trust in him!"
But how shall we justify the conduct of Divine
Providence in permitting its design to be accomplished
by such means as Rebekah and Jacob used in wrost-
12
134 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
ing the blessing from Esau? This is a difficulty
which belongs, in common, to several cases recorded
in sacred Scripture ; and though we may not be able
to justify the ways of God to man, in the case now
before us, or in any other given case, yet, that they
are justifiable, and that they will be vindicated one
day to the honour of the divine government, and to
the entire satisfaction of holy men and angels, it is
our happiness most confidently to believe. Let it be
carefully observed, that the difficulty is not peculiar
to the case now under consideration. God designed
that Joseph should go into Egypt to prepare the way
for Jacob and the rest of his family; but God never
required Joseph's brethren to conspire against him,
and send him thither as a slave. — It was '^accord-
ing to the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of
God," that Jesus of Nazareth was to die, the just for
the unjust; but the righteous Lord of heaven and
earth never required Pontius Pilate to condemn the
innocent, or the Jews and Romans to take liim, and,
with wicked hands, to crucify and slay him. So God
designed that Jacob should inherit the paternal bless-
ing; but who will say that he either demanded or
needed circumvention and falsehood for the accom-
plishment of his design ? In all these cases the hu-
man agency concerned in bringing about the several
events, was volunteered. No necessity of doing wick-
edly was laid upon Joseph's brethren, nor on the mur-
derers of our Saviour, nor on Jacob and Rebekah;
they acted freely, deliberately, and voluntarily ; their
acts were their own, and theirs were the guilt and
turpitude of those evil deeds, which the wonder-
working hand of God overruled for good, and ren-
dered subservient to his most holy and merciful de-
signs. If you ask why God did not prevent the acts
of these wicked agents, you might as well ask why
he permits the wicked to act voluntarily, i. e. why he
does not divest them of their moral character, and
free them at once from all responsibility for the deeds
done in the body. The power that educes good out
of evil, that lays the worst actions of men under con-
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 135
tributioii to tlie most wortliy purposes of heaven, is,
indeed, mysterious, and, to our feeble intellect, utterly
incomprehensible; yet that there is such a power con-
tinually operating in our world, we as fully believe,
as that the sum of all the parts is equal to the whole,
or that two and two make four. " The Lord reign-
eth; let the earth rejoice, and the multitude of the
isles be glad thereof" Rebekah and her favourite
son may have designed evil against Esau; they fol-
lowed the devices of their own hearts; their motives
may have been bad; their agency was unsolicited and
obtrusive; the means they employed were wicked
and unwarrantable, as appeared in the sequel, by
their personal sorrows, as well as by the feuds and
animosities which their unnatural conspiracy engen-
dered: they repented, however, and both, we may
hope, obtained forgiveness through grace. But the
divine purpose was good; nor was it to be frustrated
by the ignorance, or ill designs of erring mortals.
The mistake of the fond father, and the pious fraud
of the partial mother and her ill-advised son, are over-
ruled by a wise and gracious Providence. Jacob re-
ceives the benediction, and, through him, it is con-
veyed not only to his immediate descendants, the
heads of the twelve tribes, but to the seed of Abra-
ham, the church of the living God, down to genera-
tions yet unborn.
Proceed we now to inquire briefly into the mean-
ing of the paternal blessing: " God give thee of the
dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and
plenty of corn and wine. Let people serve thee, and
nations bow down unto thee; be lord over thy breth-
ren, and let thy mother's sons bow down to thee:
cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be
he that blesseth thee.'' This solemn and religious
benediction, was one of the distinguishing usages of
the patriarchal or Abrahamic dispensation; the de-
sign was, as has been already observed, to transmit
the promise of Canaan, of a numerous progeny, of
divine protection; and, especially, the promise of that
seed of the woman that was to bruise the serpent's
136 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
head, and in whom all the families of the earth are to
be blessed ; as, also, to transmit from father to son
the sacerdotal office, as it then existed; so that the
son who received the blessing, was invested with
authority to ofler sacrifices, and preside, generally, in
ecclesiastical concerns; and, along this line of succes-
sion, as far as it extends, we are to look for the line-
age of him, who "came a hght into the world,'' and
who is the Prophet, the High Priest, the King, and
sole Head of the Church.
It is observable that the blessing here given to Ja-
cob, is prophetic; and that it consists of three branches;
viz. all needful supplies of worldly substance ; — ex-
tensive dominion; — family pre-eminence, and great
and lasting spiritual advantages. " God give thee, or
God shall give thee of the dew of heaven." In hot
countries, where rain is less frequent than in others,
the morning and evening dews afford an appropriate
image of plentiful harvests and fruitful seasons. "And
the fatness of the earth." Canaan, assigned as the
temporal residence of Jacob's posterity, was a fertile
soil; and, therefore, it is called " a fat land," Neh. ix.
25, and the fatness of the land means its produce, in
rich abundance. " Plenty of corn and wine," are
expressions of similar import. " Let people serve,
and nations bow down unto thee;" this was fulfilled
to Jacob's descendants, when the Idumeans, the Ara-
bians, and Syrians, were subservient to the Israelites,
in the reigns of David and Solomon. "And let thy
mother's sons bow down unto thee;" this part of the
blessing indicated the prerogative of Jacob, as having
the chief authority in the family, particularly in reli-
gious matters. " Cursed be every one that curseth
thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee;" this is
manifestly a promise of divine protection, in the form
of a solemn warning to the world, not to treat the
church of God with contumely or reproach.
To exhibit the sense and import of this remarkable
and prophetic benediction, as fully as possible in a
small compass, we would observe: — That the bless-
ing given to Jacob in terms implying dominion over
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 137
his brethren, was a conveyance of authority in the
visible church, and a transmission of the special bless-
ing promised to Abraham, which related to Christ,
and his kingdom. This prediction, then, had its full
accomplishment, neither in the person, nor in the nat-
ural posterity of Jacob, but in that illustrious person-
age descended from him according to the flesh; and
" who being in the form of God, and thinking it no
robbery to be equal with God, made himself of no
reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant,
humbled himself, and became obedient unto death,
even the death of the cross. Wherefore, God also
hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which
is above every name; that at the name of Jesus, every
knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in
the earth, and things under the earth; and that every
tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the
glory of God the Father." Phil. ii.
Come the blessed day, when this glorious design
shall be brought to pass, in the unbounded reign of
Messiah, the Prince of Peace, and the desire of na-
tions !
12'
138 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
LECTUTiE XY.
JACOB'S VISION.
And Jacob went out from Beershcba, and went towards Haran, And
he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because
the sun was set: and he took of the stones of that place, and put
them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. And he
dreamed, and, behold, a ladder set upon the earth, and the top of it
reached to heaven: and, behold, the angels of God ascending and
descending on it. And, beiiold, the Lord stood above it, and said,
I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac:
the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed.
And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth; and thou shalt
spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to
the south : and in thee, and in thy seed, shall all the families of the
earth be blessed. And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee
in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this
land: for I will not leave ♦thee, until I have done that which I have
spoken to thee of. — Gen. xxviii. 10-15.
We wish it to be recollected, that tliese lectures are
not designed to be a commentary on the whole Bible;
but to explain and defend a few of the most remarka-
ble facts and doctrines exhibited in the sacred text —
to trace the history of the church — to bring into view
her form of government, and rites of worship — to
notice the changes made therein, from time to time —
and, particularly, to show the faithfulness of Jehovah,
in fulfilling to her his promises, in protecting her, and
in augmenting her advantages, increasing lier num-
bers, and extending her influence, through successive
generations, for the accomplishment of his great and
merciful designs in regard to our guilty race. Our
readers are not, therefore, to expect us to give them
even the biography of the patriarchs, except in so far
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 139
as may be necessary to unfold the providence of God,
as it has been employed in carrying into efTect the
stipulations of the covenant with Abraham, respect-
ing the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ — the seed
in which all the families of the earth are to be blessed.
Jacob had now obtained the paternal benediction.
As the successor of his father Isaac, he was invested
with the sacerdotal office as it was then exercised,
and stood first in matters religious and ecclesiastical.
He had used unlawful means to reach this eminent
and honourable station, and he was therefore severely
chastised for his sin, as will be seen in the sequel of
his history. God, however, while he manifests his
displeasure at Jacob's unrighteousness, by resolving
to correct him for his folly and wickedness, never-
theless, recognizes his accession to the primogenial
privileges, and, accordingly, renews to him the pro-
mises and engagements betbre made to Abraham and
Isaac.
The occasion of Jacob's leaving his father's house,
as we are informed in the close of the preceding chap-
ter, was the envy and cruel hatred of Esau, who, un-
der the influence of a bad heart, had formed the hor-
rid design of murdering his brother, so soon as their
father should be laid in the dust. The time fixed on
for the perpetration of this deed of vengeance, shows
Esau's dreadful wickedness, and entire want of affec-
tion for his mother: "The days of mourning for my
father are at hand," says he, "then will I slay my
brother Jacob." To prevent the execution of this
malicious purpose, the supplanter is directed to retire
quietly to Mesopotamia, and there remain with his
mother's kindred till the violence of Esau's revenge-
ful passion should so far abate, as to encourage a hope
of mutual forgiveness and reconciliation. This pre-
cautionary measure, though it was certainly wise, in
existing circumstances, must have been grievously
afflictive to Rebekah, and, indeed, to all the members
of Isaac's household, in whom the evil passions iiad
not obtained an ascendancy over the sympathies and
better feelings of nature. And from the readiness
140 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
with which Jacob consented to be exiled from his
father's house, we may suppose he began to feel some
ingenuous compunction for the bad conduct by which
he had brought trouble, not only on himself, but also
on his aged and beloved parents. " The way of
transgressors is hard;" and, even God's own people,
are not without some experunental acquaintance with
the awful truth of this maxim. They sin often, but
never with impunity. If they become remiss in duty,
or violate any of the divine precepts, they are sure,
either to be overtaken by outward affliction, or to lose
that comfortable sense of an interest in redeeming
love, which the pious heart prizes above rubies.
While we view the father of the twelve tribes of
Israel obliged to leave the loved scene of his youthful
pleasures, and enter on a journey of three or four
hundred miles, lonely and sorrowful, because of his
sin and ambitious folly, let our fervent prayer ascend
to heaven, that we may have grace to "do justly, to
love mercy, and walk humbly with our God."
It may seem strange that Jacob, whose father must
have been a man of wealth, should set out on so long
a journey so destitute, and without a single attendant.
That he should be dismissed quietly, and without a
retinue or any great preparations, was proper, not
only in order to avoid exciting Esau's envy, which a
small matter might have drawn into open acts of vio-
lence, but that he, who was intended for future ser-
vices of a trying nature, might learn to endure hard-
ness in the school of adversity, and that the dependent
circumstances in which he was placed, might afford
him a strong inducement to repose his entire confi-
dence on the care and munificence of heaven. Be-
reavements and privations, when sanctified, are bless-
ings in disguise. Affliction often furnishes us with
an errand to the throne of grace, and divine consola-
tions are never more welcome to the soul, than when
we feel the hollowness and instability of earthly en-
joyments. The truth of this remark is strikingly ex-
emplified in the life and experience of Jacob.
The only incident of importance, that occurred on
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 141
liis way to Ilaran, with wliich we are made ac-
quainted, is related in the text: "He hghted upon a
certain place and tarried there all night, because the
sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place,
and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that
place to sleep." This was hard fare for one who had
been accustomed to the comforts of home, and the
assiduous attentions of a fond mother. But why
should Jacob choose to sleep in the open air, in or
near the town of Luz, where it seems probable he
might have had more comfortable lodging? The fact
may appear strange to us, because it does not accord
with the usages of our age and country; but when
the circumstances of the case are taken into view, we
shall have no reason to question its truth. We need
not suppose that he was unprovided with the means
of defraying the expenses of the journey; but, in
those days there were no inns for the entertainment
of travellers, and Luz may not have been distin-
guished for its hospitality to strangers. However
this may have been, the climate was warm, the air
bland, and if the night were pleasant, a man, used to
a shepherd's way of living, might sleep quite com-
fortably under shelter of a tree. Our sympathies are
excited while we view the solitary traveller overtaken
by night, reposing on the ground, with a stone for his
pillow, and the sky for his canopy; yet, it is highly
probable, that Jacob never passed a happier night in
his life. His lodging in the open air seems to have
been ordered by Providence, as a preparatory step to
what followed: "And he dreamed, and behold, a lad-
der set upon the earth, and the top of it reached to
heaven; and, behold, the angels of God ascending
and descending on it; and, behold, the Lord stood
above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham
thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon
thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed."
Dreams and visions constituted one of the modes in
which God revealed his will to man in those early
ages, before the canon of sacred Scripture was com-
pleted. The design of the one recorded in the words
142 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORT.
just recited, appears to have been to show tliat there
is ati intercourse maintained between heaven and
earth — that God exercises a providence over the
works of his hand in this world, and that angels are
employed as the messengers and executioners of his
will towards mankind. Of the doctrine of providence,
we have a full development in the New Testament;
but it is not peculiar to the Christian dispensation.
It was gradually revealed, with increasing evidence,
from the creation: indeed, it is a doctrine which is
fairly deducible from the existence and perfections of
the Creator. It is utterly incredible, that the only
wise God would make, and beautify such a world as
this, and then leave it, with all its inhabitants, with-
out any further notice. This symbolical representa-
tion must have been in a high degree useful and im-
pressive to Jacob, in his present lonely and afflicted
circumstances. Far from his father's house and all
the comforts of home, he was hereby encouraged to
put his trust in the Father of spirits, whose tender mer-
cies and watchful care are over all his works. Nor
was this manifestation of the divine providence de-
signed for the benefit of Jacob alone. All the Scrip-
ture is profitable unto all men. It is of extensive
import, and intended for the use and instruction of
mankind to the latest generation. Let us never for-
get or relinquish our faith in this important doctrine.
Nothing else can afford us adequate support under
the sorrows and vicissitudes of life. Through the
mediation of Christ, our heavenly Father extends a
vigilant and unceasing care to the children of men:
blessed are they who repose their confidence in him.
"His kingdom ruleth overall;" and he makes "all
things work together for good to them that love
him."
While Jacob contemplated the wondrous vision, he
was addressed by a voice from the Excellent Glory.
The paternal benediction was confirmed to him by
God, who assured him, that the land on which he
now lay, should be given to him and his posterity;
that his seed should be numerous as the dust of the
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 143
earth; and that one of his descendants, accorduig to
the flesh, should be an extensive blessing, insomuch,
that in him all the famihes of the earth should be
blessed. Then follows this cheering promise: "Be-
hold, saith the Lord, I am with thee, and will keep
thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring
thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee
until I have done that which I have spoken to thee
of" The subsequent history shows that these en-
gagements were punctually fulfilled, and in their ac-
complishment that the providence of God was often
and very remarkably displayed.
The effect of this vision on Jacob's mind was deep
and solemn. He confessed the presence of the ador-
able Godhead. Grateful for the assurances of divine
favour and guidance just received, he erected a mon-
ument to the honour of God, pouring oil upon it,
agreeably to the usage of that age; bound himself,
by a voluntary vow, to serve the Lord, and devote to
his service and glory the tenth part of all his earthly
substance.
It seems probable that it was on this occasion, and
not before, that Jacob became a subject of true reli-
gion. Before this, he certainly gave little or no evi-
dence of real piety; but henceforward, though some
parts of his conduct may be excepted, yet, in the
main, we find him faithful to his vow, and walking
steadfastly in the commandments and ordinances of
God.
Respected readers, have you all dedicated your-
selves to the Lord in the way of his appointment?
You too are pilgrims and strangers on this earth.
You are all on a journey to the world of spirits: your
days, like those of a hireling, will soon be accom-
plished:— Is the God of Jacob your God? Is reli-
gion— is salvation — is heaven your aim, and the ob-
ject of your supreme desire? God, in the gospel of
his grace, has uttered many great and precious pro-
mises. Have you laid hold of the hope set before
you? Are the lives, which you now live in the flesh,
144 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
lives of faith in the Son of God? Then happy are
ye: for tlie Lord will not leave you until he has done
that which he has spoken to you of! And if any are
not in this happy condition, let them make haste and
delay not to " seek the Lord while he may be found,
and to call upon him while he is near."
We can but barely glance at the remaining events
of Jacob's life. Under the guidance of a gracious and
almighty Providence, he reached Mesopotamia in
safety, and was received by his kindred with flatter-
ing marks of kindness. He continued in that country
about twenty years; acquired great riches; married
two wives, Rachel and Leah, daughters of Laban,
and had two concubines, Bilhah and Zilpah, the
hand-maidens of his wives. He cannot be justified
in yielding to the custom of polygamy and concu-
binage, which was then common. He had no divine
warrant for so doing; nay, the thing is obviously for-
bidden, at least by implication, in the original insti-
tution of marriage: " T/ieT/ two (not they three, or
more,) shall be one flesh.^^ The nearly equal num-
ber of males and females — the former being to the
latter about as twenty to nineteen — strongly intimates
the design of the Creator in this matter. But expe-
rience, whose lessons are uniformly according to truth,
proves incontestably, that polygamy is unnatural, and
of course, unfavourable to virtue, to happiness, and
the best and dearest interests of human society. In
the family of Jacob it was the source of more trouble
and confusion than any other single cause, that is no-
ticed in the history of his life. Indeed, it is a practice
which for ever carries with it the undeniable evidences
of its folly and pernicious tendency. Yet, as this cus-
tom did not involve the violationof any express moral
precept then given. Providence seems to have intend-
ed that its ill effects should gradually prepare the way
for its discontinuance and entire abolition. This has
taken place under the Christian dispensation. " We
have no such custom."
While in Mesopotamia, the patriarch had born unto
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 145
him eleven sons and one daughter. On the hirth of
Joseph, who was the youngest born in that country,
Jacob intimated to Laban his wish to return to Ca-
naan; but Laban objected to his departure, rather
from selfish than from friendly motives: "I have
learned, by experience," said he, " that the Lord hath
blessed me for thy sake." Jacob, however, continued
a few years longer with his father-in-law, and was
greatly prospered in his outward circumstances. His
growing wealth attracted the envy of Laban's sons:
idolatry began to get footing in his family: where-
upon, being admonished of God so to do, and being
favoured with a repetition of the promise of divine
protection, he gathered his family and possessions
together, and set out for his father's house. Laban,
offended at his sudden removal, pursued him in
wrath, and overtook him on Mount Gilead, where,
by a special interposition of Providence, Jacob and
his family were secured from danger, and a covenant
of amity was formed between them. It is pleasing
to see the unhappy difference terminating in a friend-
ly manner; both parties pledging their faith, to be at
peace, and to love as brethren.
Jacob's next concern was to meet his brother Esau
in peace. The means which he used for this end were
wisely selected, and completely successful; they were
a friendly message, a rich present, and fervent prayer.
The brothers met — mutually buried their animosities;
and we find them, subsequently, united in paying the
last tribute of filial regard to their deceased father.
These happy events and kind deliverances Jacob as-
cribed to an all-wise and overruling Providence : for
he was a man of prayer — a man who, ever after the
vision at Bethel, appears to have cultivated habits of
devotion, and to have enjoyed very intimate commu-
nion with God. His encounter near the brook Jab-
bock, with a personage called at first a man^ and
afterwards God, or, as some say (and we believe not
without good reason) with the God-man Mediator,
we take to be a symbolical representation of the en-
ergy and prevalence of his supplications. To per-
13
146 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
petiiate the remembrance of this trait in his character,
as also to encourage other suppUants, his name was
changed from Jacob to Israel^ which signifies one who
has power with God, and prevails.
LECTURE XVI.
JOSEPH SOLD BY HIS BRETHREN.
And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you :
and they came near. And be said, I am Joseph your brother,
whom ye sold into Egypt. Now, therefore, be not grieved, nor
angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither : for God did send
me before you to preserve life. For these two years hath the
famine been in the land; and yet there are five years, in the which
there shall neither be earing nor harvest. And God sent me before
you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives
by a great deliverance. So now, it was not you that sent me hither,
but God: and he hath made me a fatlier to Pharaoh, and lord
of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of -Kgypt." —
Gen. xlv. 4-8.
The life of Joseph is one of the most interesting and
instructive pieces of history in the Old Testament
Scriptures. The style is uniformly beautiful, the in-
cidents eminently touching, and the moral lessons
conveyed in the inspired narrative, are, in a very
high degree, practical and useful. But that which
principally claims our attention, in this portion of the
sacred records, is the providence of God, as it is mani-
fested in the preservation and enlargement of the
visible church. To this grand object, indeed, our
views are to be chiefly directed in these lectures. We
purposely avoid going into minute details, either in
relation to characters, or difficulties, which occur in
the holy Scriptures. Those who have the taste and
the leisure for extensive inquiry on sucii subjects,
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 147
will find them ably and elaborately discussed, by Dr.
Henry Hunter, in his " Sacred Biography," the Rev.
Tlionias Robinson, in his "Scripture Characters," Dr.
Wilham Bengo Collyer, in his " Lectures on Scrip-
ture Facts;" by Stackhouse and Burder, in their res-
pective "Histories of the Bible;" and by other writers
of distinction, that need not be mentioned.
In these brief sketches of Biblical History, our aim
is to exhibit, in a plain and practical manner, the
church of God, as distinguished from the world, by
the revealed truths of which she was the repository,
by her rites of worship, and by the special care of
divine Providence, in guarding her interests, chas-
tising her for her sins, and promoting her edification
by the agency of a great variety of means.
That we may attend, profitably, to the general sub-
ject presented in the passage of Scripture now before
us, let it be carefully noted, that the family of Jacob
were, at the time referred to, the salt of the earth, in
their collective capacity, though individuals among
them manifested very little, if any thing, of the sa-
vour of godliness — that they therefore needed chas-
tisement to bring them to a sense of duty, and to
reclaim them from their evil ways — that they were,
nevertheless, Abraham's seed, to whom the land of
Canaan had been, long before, solemnly promised —
that they now sojourned there, in the midst of idola-
ters, whose manners were exceedingly infectious —
that it was, therefore, judged proper by the great dis-
poser of events and of nations, that they should be
removed to Egypt, where, by a suitable course of
discipline, they might be prepared to take exclusive
possession of the promised inheritance, and to occupy
it agreably to the intention of the divine donor; and,
further, that Infinite Wisdom deemed it necessary,
that one of their number, the most amiable, no doubt,
of the whole family, the y<:////^r «/r;7ze except ed,?>\\o\\\(\.
be sent before them, to provide for their reception
and comfortable sustenance, during their feeble and
defenceless condition. Let it be recollected, more-
over, that the preservation of the family of Israel
148 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
from extinction, and from entire apostasy to the vices
and abominable idolatries of surrounding nations, was
intended to be, ultimately^ as it has actually proved
already to many nations, a blessing of transcendant
magnitude to the whole ivorld of mankind. The
truth and ordinances of the hving God, in which is
promulgated the gracious plan of redeeming love, are
benefits of inestimable importance to our benighted
and guilty race. Now, if these oracles of truth and
grace were to be conferred at all, they must, from the
nature of the case, be deposited, in the first instance,
with some select and particular portion of the human
family; and, if so, what objection can be made to the
children of Jacob, that will not lie, with equal force,
against any other tribe or nation that ever existed?
It was the holy and immutable purpose of God,
that his people Israel should go down to Egypt, and
that they should be nourished in the land of Goshen
until, from a mere handful, they should become a
great nation. The preparatory steps taken, and the
means employed for the accomplishment of this end,
are marked by the same mysteriousness that charac-
terizes all the works and ways of the unsearchable
God. Joseph, the principal agent in the whole trans-
action, already bereft of his mother, must, at the ten-
der and impressible age of seventeen years, be torn
from the embraces of a fond father, bartered away,
through envy, by his brethren, dragged to the court
of Pharaoh, sold as a slave to the captain of the king's
guard; and under pretext of a false and foul accusa-
tion, thrust into prison, where he languished for seve-
ral years. Then, when he had been sufficiently drilled
in the school of affliction, to bear, without serious det-
riment to his religious character, the sunny and sooth-
ing smiles of prosperity, this same Joseph is elevated,
by a series of extraordinary providential events, from
a dungeon to the office of prime minister of state, ''a
father to Pharaoh, a lord of all his house, and a ruler
throughout all the land of Egypt." In all this won-
derful process, Joseph seems to have recognized, with
unshaken faith and filial confidence, the hand of Je-
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 149
hovah; and, therefore, a feeling of revenge towards
those who had been instrumental in procuring his
degradation and sufi'erings, had no place in his pious
and magnanimous soul. He did, indeed, use great
reserve, and something like harshness and severity
towards his brethren at their first visit, as we shall
see in the sequel. But these measures were obvious-
ly employed to bring them to salutary compunction,
for the Avicked and unnatural part which they had
acted, not only in selling him to the company of mer-
chants, but in trifling with the feelings and disregard-
ing the honour and happiness of an aged and venera-
ble father. This end secured, their sorrow for their
misdeeds being apparent, he is all forgiveness; and,
instead of upbraiding them, he mingles his tears with
theirs, and endeavours to make them feel that they
are in the presence of a brother, and in the hand of
a merciful and sin-pardoning God: "Now, therefore,
be not grieved nor angry with yourselves, that ye
sold me hither; for God did send me before you to
preserve life."
The brethren of Joseph were certainly blameworthy
in this aff'air, and that in a very high degree ; for, al-
though God in accomphshing his purposes, often uses
the agency of the wicked, yet neither his purposes,
nor the methods which he takes to carry them into
effect, afford the shadow of excuse for human guilt.
In the case now under consideration, it was the duty
of these cruel brethren of Joseph to love him and treat
him with fraternal kindness. The law on this point
was plain, and plainly revealed. They knew not the
decrees of God; those unrevealed determinations of
the Creator were no rule of duty to them. In doing
as they did, they acted freely, voluntarily, and with-
out any other constraint than that which the strong
bias of their own evil hearts exerted in producing
their wicked deeds. They were, therefore, accounta-
ble, and punishable, for the wrong which they did,
although God overruled their conduct and made it
subserve, extensively, his own glory and the good of
his kingdom. This principle is true and applicable,
13*
150 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
universally. The divine decrees coerce no man in an
evil course. Their fulfilment may be counted upon
as absolutely certain; yet the movements of Provi-
dence, in accomplishing the good pleasure of his will,
where intelligent creatures are concerned, are so wise-
ly and justly adapted to their intellectual and respon-
sible character, as to leave the sinner inexcusable and
consciously answerable for all his evil thoughts, pur-
poses and acts.
In following Joseph, rapidly, to the consummation
of his wretchedness, in prison, where this lecture will
terminate, it may be proper to notice some things that
served as provocatives to the unkind and cruel treat-
ment which he received from his brethren.
The father's partiality is the first that occurs, in the
sacred narrative. Joseph was his favourite; as was
indicated by the fine coat of many colours. The rea-
son assigned for this preference, viz. " that he was the
son of his old age," one feels inclined, at first glance,
to admit as natural, and of some weight. But it is not
valid; though quite common, in similar cases. The
children of a family, like citizens of the state, have
equal rights, so long as they are dutiful and obedient.
Even after they have gone out from under the pa-
rental wing, they have still equal claims upon the
parent's tender regards, though they may not be pre-
cisely alike deserving. A profligate child should be
pursued by the advice, the entreaties, and the prayers
of his parents, while life lasts; for who knows but
regenerating grace may be granted in answer to the
prayer of faith? If it be said, and it may be said
with some truth, that, owing to our frailty, we cannot
always regulate and control our affections according
to our judgment of equity and fitness, we would only
remark here, that parents certainly may and ought to
do justly towards their children, if they cannot be-
stow on each one an equal share of affection. They
may avoid giving tokens of their partial fondness,
which never fail to produce envy on the one hand,
and self-complacency on the other. The larger the
family, the greater need there is of care in this matter.
LECTURES ON BII3LICAL HISTORY. 151
Here Jacob erred; and his error, no doubt, contributed
to liis own sorrow, as well as to the depression, for a
time, of his favourite son: "When his brethren saw
that their father loved him more than all his brethren,
they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto
him.'^
Joseph's own conduct, though in general remarka-
bly correct and amiable, may, in one or two instances,
have given some occasion against him. He reported
to his father the ill conduct of the sons of Bilhah and
Zilpah, while engaged with them in feeding the flock.
For this he has been stigmatized as a " busy body and
a talebearer." It is possible he may have been in-
discreet and too officious in this way, for he was
young and open hearted; yet we can discover nothing
really censurable in his conduct in this respect. Chil-
dren should not conceal one another's faults from
their parents. Talebearing is wrong; it is mean, it
is malevolent. But the purest benevolence, the most
perfect kindness may prompt one to give i^iformation
concerning the faults of a brother or sister, with a
view to bring parental authority and influence into
exercise for the correction and benefit of the ofl'ender.
Were this principle allowed to operate in families,
schools and colleges, the maintenance of good order
and comfort in those little communities would be com-
paratively easy. It is next to impossible to support
wholesome discipline in any society, where the mem-
bers, substituting the whim of honour instead of the
law of duty, hold themselves bound to conceal each
other's faults.
Joseph's dreams tended also, in no small degree, to
stir up the envy and malice that lurked in the hearts
of his degenerate brothers. " Tliey hated him yet the
more, for his dreams and for his words." These
dreams being prophetical, as the event demonstrated,
the only error that Joseph seems to have been fairly
chargeable with, in relation to them, was his telling
them to his brethren. The interpretation of them
was so easy, so much in his favour, and against their
haughtiness, he miglit have been sure, on a little re-
152 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
flection, that the less he said about them, the better.
There may have been something, too, in his manner
of narrating them, which indicated a vainglorious,
self-exalting spirit ; yet it were more charitable, and
quite as natural, to impute his conduct on the occa-
sion to juvenile ardour and unsuspecting simplicity.
Dreams, it is well known, was one of tiie modes in
which God revealed his will to his servants, on some
special occasions. The design, in this instance, seems
to have been to support Joseph under the sore tribu-
lation which awaited him, anterior to his promised
eminence. Now-a-days, the Bible being given to us,
as a perfect rule of faith and practice, dreams, visions,
and strong impressions are not generally to be relied
on; yet we would not altogether despise or neglect
them. Useful hints may be taken from them. In so
far as they tend to make us careful to regulate our
tempers and conduct, agreeably to the written word,
they are beneficial ; but to be greatly depressed or
elated by them — especially to pay more regard to
these vague and dubious prognostications than to the
precepts, promises and threatenings of holy Scripture,
is ridiculous, fanatical, ivicked.
The conspiracy of Joseph's brethren, not only
against his honour and happiness, but his life, was
defeated by Providence in a very remarkable manner.
Visiting them at Dothan (whither they had removed
with their flocks for sake of good pasturage,) with
the kindest intentions, and in obedience to his fa-
ther's command, instead of greeting him as a brother,
"they say one to another, behold, this dreamer cometh:
come, let us slay him, and we shall see what will be-
come of his dreams; let us cast him into some pit,
and we will say, some evil beast hath devoured him!"
This nefarious project needs no comment. It tells, in
the simple language of inspiration, a tale of human
depravity, at which the benevolent heart sickens and
is humbled. But the divine purpose was, that Joseph
should yet live, and go down into Egypt. Reuben is,
therefore, moved, by what motive it is diificult to say,
for he was by no means amiable, to propose casting
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 153
him, alive, into the pit, intending to release him, pri-
vately, and restore him to his father. The proposi-
tion was agreed to: and they, accordingly, strip the
unoffending youth of his many-coloured coat, place
him in the pit, and sit down to eat bread, when a
company of Midianitish traders appear, and Judah,
probably from a principle of avarice, suggests the
idea of selling him; which being readily assented to,
they draw the victim of their shameful hatred out of
the pit, and sell him for the 'paltry consideration of
twenty pieces of silver; the same sum though nomi-
nally different, as is supposed by able critics, for which
Judas Iscariot betrayed his Lord and Master.
How vain are the devices of men, when opposed
to the counsels of Jehovah! These crafty conspira-
tors fancied that they had ruined Joseph's hopes of
distinction and falsified his prophetical dreams, while
they were in fact, executing the designs of Provi-
dence, by sending him into Egypt to save life. Thus
the Lord makes the wrath of man to praise him.
The wicked do not aim at the fulfilment of the divine
purposes; they are actuated by selfish, sinister and
impure motives; their agency, therefore, entitles them
to no praise: nay, acting voluntarily, in pursuit of
their own unwarranted ends, they are always blame-
worthy and justly punishable. God never required,
nor inclined, by a direct influence, Joseph's brethren
to sell him into Egypt. Their assistance was neither
demanded nor needed; but being volunteered, it was
used and made subservient to a great and good end,
while, on their own souls, it brought an awful weight
of guilt and wretchedness.
We shall not stay to animadvert on the shameful
deception, which these men of wickedness practised on
their venerable father, except to remark, that crimes
have a strong and almost irresistible affinity for one
another. One sin leads to another, and that other to a
third, and so on, with augmented force, till, without the
interposition of redeeming grace, the sinner becomes
the bondman of Satan, and is led captive by him at
his will. 0 youth, ye who are beginning to forget
154 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
the covenant of your God, and entering on the paths
of the destroyer, "Turn ye, turn ye; for why will ye
die!" Joseph's brethren began with envy and the
use of reproachful language, and finished their shock-
ing climax of evil deeds by intentional fratricide and
deliberate falsehood, which, but for the kind provi-
dence and grace of God, would have broken the heart
of their father.
The Midianitish merchants conveyed Joseph to
Egypt, with their other articles of traffic, and there
sold him to Potiphar, a principal officer in the king's
army. How mysterious are the ways of Providence I
Here is a lovely youth, of undoubted piety and high
promise, the stay and hope of an aged father, not
only, but of a large family, betrayed into the hands
of mercenary strangers, dragged away to a foreign
land, and there doomed to servitude! But let us
judge nothing before the time. The Lord's way is
often in the deep; but justice and judgment are the
habitation of his throne. Joseph is cast down, but
not forsaken. He who had been a faithful son, was
enabled, by divine grace, to acquit himself in the
humble capacity of a servant, with so much integrity
and diligence, as soon to secure the entire confidence
of his master. Potiphar, finding his account in the
humble services of one so faithful to his interests,
raised him to the office of steward of his house, and
superintendant of all his domestics and domestic af-
fairs.
See here the happy influence of religious principle.
God was with Joseph, and made all that he did to
prosper. An approving conscience, a good character,
and a divine blessing, will make one useful and con-
tented in any situation. Let servants and others, who
occupy the lowly stations in society, remember this,
and they will find little occasion to envy those of their
fellow mortals, who move in the higher and more
showy walks of human life. An honest, industrious,
and trust-worthy servant will not go long unnoticed
or unrewarded. ''Let every man," says Paul, "abide
in the same calUng wherein he was called. Art thou
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 155
called, being a servant? care not for it; but if thou
mayest be made free, use it rather: for he that is
called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord's free
man: likewise, also, he that is called, being free, is
Christ's servant." And let masters learn from this
part of Joseph's history, to prefer pious servants.
" The Lord blessed the house of the Egyptian for
Joseph's sake." Godly servants are a blessing in
any family; and such should always be treated with
kindness and generosity. The more of genuine reli-
gion they possess, the more faithful they will be in
the performance of their duty, and the more assidu-
ously will they endeavour to promote the interests
and happiness of their employers. Let such never be
oppressed with too much hard labour; let them never
be neglected in sickness or in old age; and, above all,
let them never be deprived of the rest and religious
privileges of the Lord's day.
The occurrence, which, while it illustrated the ster-
ling excellence of Joseph's moral character, even-
tuated in his imprisonment, is related by the sacred
historian in few words, and with artless simplicity.
His "goodly and well-favoured person" excited one
of the hasest passions in his shameless mistress, who
tempted him to sin with her in a way that shall not be
named. But, behold, how good and necessary it is to
have the heart well fortified by the fear of God and
the love of virtue! The temptation, though present-
ed in circumstances singularly embarrassing, was re-
sisted, in a spirit of fidelity to his master and of piety
to God, to which no language of mine can do justice:
^' But he refused, and said unto his master's wife,
Behold, my master wotteth not what is with me in
the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to
my hand; there is none greater in this house than L*
neither hath he kept back any thing from me but
thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do
this gi^eat ivickedness, and sin against God?^^ Mark
here the genuine principle of obedience to the divine
commands, and the grand reason why no sin may be
indulged: It is against God! Yes, however much
156 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
wickedness may injure ourselves or our neighbours,
it is ultimately and mainly against God. It is so,
whether practised openly or secretly: it is so, even
when it comes not into action, if it be cherished in
our hearts. 0 that the devisers of mischief and the
workers of iniquity would consider that " the dark-
ness and the light are both alike to him with whom
we have to do!
But Joseph's base tempter, in the affair just alluded
to, disappointed and chagrined, on finding his virtue
proof against the violent assault which she had made
upon it, resolves that if he will not sin with her, he
shall feel her vengeance. Accordingly, having con-
trived her story with great ingenuity, and given to it
an air of plausibility, she takes the earliest opportu-
nity of preferring her complaint against the hapless
Hebrew servant. The project succeeds. The credu-
lous husband believes the specious tale; his wrath is
kindled against Joseph; and, without allowing the
accused a hearing, "he took him and put him into
the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were
bound ; and he was there in the prison ;" where, for
the present, we must leave him, after barely adding,
in the words of Scripture, by way of relief to the
painful sympathies, which have followed him thither,
that, "the Lord was with Joseph, and showed him
mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keep-
er of the prison."
LECTURE XVII.
JOSEPH'S ELEVATION AT THE COURT OF EGYPT.
And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man.
Gen. xxxix. 2.
This passage of Scripture exhibits Joseph in circum-
stances very different from those in which we left
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 157
him, at the close of our last lecture. There we saw
him immured in prison, and suffering, in his good
name, under the foul aspersion of a worthless woman ;
here we hehold him clad in tlie habiliments of honour,
occupying the second station in the kingdom of Egypt
— the temporal saviour of the Egyptians — the mag-
nanimous friend and bounteous patron of his father's
house. What hath God wrought! While we are
delighted with the brightening prospects and growing
influence of this good man, let us not forget the hand
that is raising him up, to save life, and to prepare an
asylum for the church, in a season of weakness, and
exposure to the perils of idolatry and famine.
In noticing, briefly, the steps by which Joseph ad-
vanced from bondage and imprisonment to the chair
of state, we shall have frequent occasion to mark the
excellence of true religion; and to admire the provi-
dence of God, which so often brings extensive good
out of partial evil, and makes all things work together
for his own glory, and the happiness of his people.
The young Hebrew had been distinguished for his
diligence and fidelity, in the house of Potiphar; and,
when put in ward with the king's prisoners, the Lord
gave him favour, in the eyes of the keeper of the pri-
son, so that, in a short time, he was made, in some
sort, deputy-jailor, having the charge and oversight
of his fellow prisoners. This was an alleviating cir-
cumstance ; and it doubtless gave him more comforts
and advantages than he could have anticipated, in that
situation. Thus, in the most unpromising condition
in human life, God can make us useful, and cause our
enemies to be at peace with us. " The Lord will
give grace and glory to them that walk uprightly;
and he who trusteth in him, at all times, shall not
lack any good thing."
One of Joseph's extraordinary endowments was liis
divine skill in interpreting dreams. We call this a
divine skill, or extraordinary endowment, because
it was manifestly from God. Prophetical dreams
were sometimes had by persons of doubtful, or even
bad character; but the gift of interpreting them was
14
158 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORr.
a species of inspiration, and was conferred on those
only, whom Jehovah delighted to honour, in the ac-
complishment of his own great and holy purposes.
The exercise of this gift, was made a means, in the
wonder working hand of Providence, of Joseph's re-
lease from imprisonment, and of his elevation to the
confidence and esteem of Pharaoh and his counsellors.
It happened that two of the king's domestic ser-
vants, the chief of the butlers and the chief of the
bakers, for some misdemeanor, were thrown into
prison, with Joseph, and, by the captain of the guard,
committed to his special care. These men had, each
a dream, in the same night, which gave them great
uneasiness, as being, in their apprehension, ominous
of their approaching fate. On observing the sadness
of their countenances, he kindly inquires into the
cause, and offers to perform for them, the office of
interpreter; remindhig them, at the same time, that
" interpretations belong to God." The dreams are
related with great exactness, and interpreted with
equal precision. The butler's three branches of the
vine denote three days, and the baker's three baskets
of meats, the same period, within which time, the
former was to be restored to his office, and the latter
put to death. The event verified the accuracy of the
interpretation: For "it came to pass the third day,
which was Pharaoh's birth-day, that he made a feast
unto all his servants; — and he restored the chief but-
ler unto his butlership again, and he gave the cup
into Pharaoh's hand; but he hanged the chief baker,
as Joseph had interpreted to them."
Joseph, though far from being disposed to murmur
against God, under his heavy affliction, nevertheless
felt it sensibly, and desired, earnestly, to be released
from his unjust imprisonment, so soon as this could
be effected by fair and honourable means. He had
been kind and attentive to the butler, while he was
his fellow-sufferer; and, having just relieved him from
anxious solicitude, by announcing his speedy restora-
tion to liberty and favour with the king, his master,
he very naturally expected a grateful return. He,
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 159
therefore entreated the butler not to forget him; but
to use any influence which he might have, at court,
to procure his discharge from an unjust and cruel im-
prisonment, which must have been, already, of seve-
ral years' continuance. His appeal, on this interesting
occasion, is couched in terms, which, for their delicacy
and heart-touching power, cannot be surpassed by
human language. Not a syllable is uttered against
his cruel brethren, his despotic master, or unprinci-
pled mistress: "But think on me, when it shall be
well with thee, and show kindness, I pray thee, unto
me; and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and
bring me out of this house : for, indeed, I was stolen
away out of the land of the Hebrews; and, here, also
have I done nothing that they should put me into the
dungeon."
One would suppose that such a request, made in
such impressive circumstances, could not be forgotten.
But, alas, the human heart is naturally selfish, de-
ceitful, and unthankful. This much obliged cup-
bearer, like a thoroughpaced courtier, when once
raised to place and power himself, lost his sympathies
for the interpreter of his dream — the friend, who had
ministered to his comfort, in the time of his adversity:
" Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but
forgat him." Let us take occasion, from this instance
of ingratitude, to charge ourselves never to grow ne-
glectful of our old friends; especially, of those who
may have assisted us, by their advice, their influence,
or their charities, in seasons of distress: and, above
all, let us never forget our heavenly Benefactor, whose
goodness has attended us, in every trial, and whose
tender mercies are continually over us. Ah! how
many sick-bed resolutions, and solemn purposes of
amendment formed in alfliction, are broken and ob-
literated from our minds, on the return of health and
prosperity ! We feel, and often repine, under the
hand of God, when employed in chastising us; but
we are exceedingly prone to disregard it, when load-
ing us with its bounties. Of the ten lepers, that Christ
cleansed, on a certain occasion, one only retained, and
160 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
manifested a sense of obligation to the gracious de-
liverer: "There are not found that returned to give
glory to God, save this stranger."
But should father and mother, lover and friend,
forsake us in times of trouble, the divine promise is
sure and steadfast; " I will never leave thee, nor for-
sake thee." " He that trusteth in God, shall be as
mount Zion:" — equally secure and immoveable, un-
der the patronage of almighty power, and unchanging
love.
The Hebrew captive had waited long and patiently,
on the Rock of his salvation ; and now the set time
for his deliverance was at hand. " At the end of two
full years," from the time of the chief butler's release,
Jehovah, "in a dream, in a vision of the night, when
deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the
bed," "spake once, yea, twice" unto Pharaoh the
king, to give him a. merciful intimation of a fearful
calamity, which was about to come upon Egypt and
the neighbouring nations. The scene of this vision is
laid " by the river side, i. e. on the margin of the river
Nile, on the annual overflowing of which, depended
the fertihty of the land in Egypt. By the kine which
were seen, in one of the dreams, are, no doubt, meant
the hippopotamus, or river horse, which inhabited the
Nile, and, being an amphibious animal, came out,
occasionally, to browse on the river's brink. The
ears of corn, which constituted the matter of the other
dream, were perfectly natural and expressive of the
thing intended. The vision was repeated, to show
the certainty and importance of the event, which it
announced. Pharaoh's spirit was troubled with these
visions of the night ; but none of his magicians, or
reputed wise men could guess out a satisfactory solu-
tion of their import. Then was the ungrateful butler
put in mind of the long neglected "young man, an
Hebrew, servant to the captain of the guard;" with
whom he had once been a fellow-prisoner, and from
whom he had received repeated proofs of superior wis-
dom and kindness : " Then spake the chief butler unto
Pharaoh, saying, I do remember my faults this day."
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 161
An awakening sense of onr sins, even at a late
period, is better than continued insensibility, which is
always attended by a neglect of duty: But a stupid,
slumbering conscience, is a dangerons, though an in-
offensive companion. It were better to have it thor-
oughly aroused ; even if that should cost us strong
crying and tears, with the loss of our dearest earthly
comforts. JMany a poor sinner has recollected his
faults, on a death-bed, with very little evidence of
genuine repentance, or hope of pardoning mercy.
Consider this, betimes, ye that forget God, and ne-
glect, in the day of your merciful visitation, the things
tliat belong to your eternal peace.
Pharaoh the king, on hearing of Joseph's skill, in
interpreting dreams, as it had been exhibited in the
case of the cupbearer and the baker, ordered him to
be brought out of the dungeon, without delay. The
order is promptly obeyed: ''He shaved himself, and
changed his raiment, and came in unto Pharaoh.''
His conduct, on this occasion, was dignified, respect-
ful, and altogether admirable. In reply to the obser-
vation, " I have heard say of thee, that thou canst
understand a dream, to interpret it," he explicitly as-
cribes his gift in this respect, to the source of all good ;
" It is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer
of peace." The dreams are then related, and an in-
terpretation is given, substantially, as follows: — the
two visions, with the two sets of symbols, are of
one and the same import; and are designed to show
Pharaoh what God is about to do. The seven well-
favoured kine, and the seven full ears of corn are, or
denote seven years of plenty; and the like number of
ill-favoured kine, and blasted ears signify seven years
of scarcity; — "What God is about to do he showeth
inito Pharaoh. Behold there come seven years of
great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt: and
there shall arise, after them, seven years of {amine —
and the plenty shall not be known, in the land, by
reason of that famine following; for it shall be very
grievous." In the full persuasion of the correctness of
this interpretation, Joseph subjoins to it his advice;
14*
162 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
— that suitable measures should be taken to provide
for the impending dearth; that the best course that
could be pursued to secure this most desirable object,
would be to gather the surplus produce of the inter-
vening years of plenty into public granaries under the
control of the government, and to appoint proper offi-
cers, with a discreet superintendent over them, to
attend to this business, throughout the whole land.
*' And the thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and
in the eyes of all his servants. And Pharaoh said
unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this — a
man in whom the Spirit of God is? And Pharaoh
said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath showed
thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as
thou art. Thou shalt be over my house, and accord-
ing to thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in
the throne will I be greater than thou: — See, I have
set thee over all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh
look off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Jo-
seph's hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen,
and put a gold chain about his neck: and he made
him to ride in the second chariot which he had ; and
they cried before him, Bow the knee."
Here the design of Providence, in relation to the
man whose tragical sufferings excite our sympathies,
and whose patient meekness, under them, commands
our admiration, begins to be unfolded. Joseph was
destined to render an important service to the church
of God, then in his fatlier's family; and, in rendering
that service, he was to fill a station of perilous distinc-
tion; and, that he might be prepared to occupy that
station, without detriment to his moral and religious
character, it was needful that he should be long and
severely disciplined in the school of affliction.
We tremble to see Joseph passing, so suddenly,
from the extreme of poverty and wretchedness, to
that of afiluence and courtly grandeur; because hu-
man nature is, in its best estate, frail; and worldly
distinction is a severe trial to virtue. But the same
all-sufiicient grace that sustained him under the pres-
sure of sorrow and weakness, enabled him "to do
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 163
justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with his
God," in his new and elevated station. The expe-
rience of the last thirteen years, spent in bondage and
in prison had taught him the folly of trusting to an
arm of flesh, and the blessedness of a good conscience
and a firm trust in the living God. Let all wiio sow
in tears, stay themselves on the mighty One of Israel,
and, when the proper season arrives, they shall reap
in joy.
Soon after Joseph's inauijuration, as prime minister
of state, he received an Egyptian name, Zaphnath-
paaneah, i. e. Revealer of secrets, in allusion to his
supernatural talent in the interpretation of dreams.
He was also married to an Egyptian princess, Ase-
nath, daughter of the Priest, or Prince of On, or city
of the Sun. Joseph has been censured for marrying
into an idolatrous family. We feel under no obliga-
tion to vindicate all his acts; for he was fallible. But,
as he was, now, in a country of idolaters, into which
he had been sent by divine providence — as his matri-
monial connexion resulted in the birth of two sons,
at'terwards distinguished among the heads of the tribes
of Israel — as he gave names to these sons, commemo-
rative of God's goodness to him, in all his troubles,
and, especially, as no blame is attached to him in
Scripture, for this act, we are disposed, in the spirit of
that charity which " thinketh no evil," not to judge
him rashly. Had we a knowledge of all the circum-
stances of the case, we should, probably, be satisfied,
that, in this, as in other important events of his life,
the Lord directed his steps. His situation was pecu-
liar, and the services which he had to perform in
church and state, were, altogether, extraordinary; it
would, therefore, be unfair to infer, from his example,
the lawfulness or expediency of Christians intermarry-
ing with professed unbelievers. Such heterogeneous
alliances are unequivocally discountenanced, in the
New Testament. Unity of spirit is all-important to
the vigorous action of the bond of peace.
Our limits will scarcely allow us to remark oi] the
policy which Joseph pursued, during the first fourteen
164 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
years of his government. It has been called in ques-
tion, by those who are seldom suited with any thing,,
which they find in the Bible. He is charged with
making the king a tyrant; and the body of the peo-
ple mere vassals, dependent on the monarch for every
thing; and, (which is most unpardonable.) it has been
alleged, that he favoured the priests, by not taxing
their land, or taking it in lieu of provisions, furnished
during the famine, as was done with that of others,
thus making them a privileged order. Whether any
thing is said, in the narrative of Moses, to give the
semblance of a foundation for such charges as these,
the candid reader of the sacred volume will judge.
In regard to the priests, it may be observed that, as
they were the ministers of idolatrous rites and cere-
monies, Joseph, a worshipper of the only living and
true God, would not be likely to symbolize very
closely with them, or, of his own choice, to show
them any special favour. But, aside from this con-
sideration, who, that is acquainted with the biblical
account of this matter, does not know, that the immu-
nities of the priesthood were established, by law, an-
terior to the commencement of Joseph's administra-
tion? "Only the land of the priests bought he not:"
— Why not? "Because the priests had a portion as-
signed them of Pharaoh, and did eat their portion,
which Pharaoh gave them; wherefore they sold not
their lands." Upon the whole it would be difficult
to mark out a line of conduct more wise or more hu-
mane than that which Joseph pursued, considering
the state of public affairs as he found them, and, in
prospect of the awful calamity which was coming
upon the country.
Durmg the seven years of plenty, a fifth part of the
produce of the land was exacted from the farmers,
and laid up in public store-houses ; not to enrich the
king and his servants, but to save life, when other re-
sources failed. And when the scarcity commenced,
and the people began to be in want of bread-corn,
it was measured out to them, equitably: and, that a
lazy leaning on the munificence of the state might
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 165
not be encouraged, money, and cattle, and land, and,
ill some instances, liberty were accepted for tbis sea-
sonable supply of tbe slatT of life: yet, these pledges
might be afterwards redeemed; as no doubt they
were, in many cases, by the deserving and the indus-
trious.
But we hasten forward to the meeting of Joseph
and his brethren. As this part of the sacred story is,
perhaps, more familiarly known than most other por-
tions of the Old Testament, owing, partly, to the
strong hold which it takes on our natural affections,
and, partly, to the pains that have been taken to illus-
trate and enforce the practical lessons which it teaches,
it will be the less necessary for us, to dwell long upon
it. The famine, announced by Pharoah's dreams, ex-
tended beyond the limits of Egypt. The inhabitants
of Canaan felt its distressing effects, and the family of
Jacob, among the rest. Hearing that provisions were
to be had in Egypt, ten of his sons were despatched
to procure a supply for their respective households,
Benjamin remaining at home, to assist the aged fa-
ther in taking care of the rest. These ten sons of Ja-
cob having reached Egypt, and having made known
their business, were directed to Joseph, as were all
others, who came on the like errand. Unconscious of
the near relation which existed between him and
them, they approach him, according to the custom of
the times, with every indication of profound respect,
*' bowing themselves before him with their faces to
the gronnd:" thus fulfilling the prediction in his dream
of the sheaves, had, upwards of twenty years before,
and for which they hated him. Now Joseph knew
his brethren; but they knew not him. This is easily
accounted for, from the difference in their ages, at the
time of their separation, and from the effect which his
courtly dress must have had in concealing the fea-
tures, and changing the personal appearance of the
shepherd's boy. But why did not Joseph make him-
self known at once? Why charge his brethren with
being spies, and treat them, not only with reserve, but
with harshness, putting them all in ward for three
166 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
days; and afterwards, retaining one of them in bonds,
as a hostage; requiring the other nine, as a test of the
truth of their statement, to return to Canaan, a dis-
tance of three hundred miles, and bring the young
brother, whom they had mentioned incidentally, as
being at home, with the old man, their father? This
course of conduct seems strange, at first view. But it
was not the effect of caprice, nor of the wantonness of
power, nor of a revengeful and vindictive spirit, as is
evident, from his loading their asses with corn, and
returning the money, secretly, which they had paid for
it. Neither was there any want of natural feeling on
his part; for "he turned himself away from them, and
wept," when Simeon was about to be bound, before
their eyes. The whole of this apparent sternness was,
manifesdy affected; and the design was benevolent,
as was mentioned in our last lecture. Joseph knew
that these brethren were guilty men; that they had
committed heinous sin, particularly in their treatment
of him, and their venerable father, and he wished to
bring them to repentance. Nor was he disappointed;
for when they found that they must return home,
without Simeon — " They said, one to another. We
are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we
saw the anguish of his soul when he besought us, and
we would not hear; therefore is this distress come
upon us:" and Reuben adds, "Behold, also, his blood
is required!" And, again, when the restored money
was discovered, in one of their sacks, recognizing the
hand of offended justice, in their affliction, " their
heart failed them, and they were affraid, saying one
to another, ivhat is this that God hath done unfa
us?^^ We have had no evidence, till now, of the
penitence, or piety of any of these brothers. Here is
confession of sin, at least.
Thus circumstanced, the nine brethren return to
their home, full of painful musings, no doubt, on the
wickedness of their past lives, and of gloomy forebod-
ings of what might yet befall them, for the punishment
of their sins. They reach their father's tent, and relate
to him the sorrowful tale: Simeon is left, in Egypt,
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 167
and Benjamin must go back thither with us, or tlie
hostage cannot be redeemed. Who does not feel for
the afflicted patriarch, while, in an agony of parental
sohcitude, lie exclaims — " Me have ye bereaved of
my children: Joseph is not; and Simeon is not; and
ye will take Benjamin away: all these things are
against me !" Yes, the beloved Benjamin must go ; for
the pressure of the famine is sore; and the governor
of Egypt was peremptory, says Judah, " Ye shall
not see my face except your brother be with you." —
" Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go; that
we may live, and not die, both we and thou, and also
our little ones: I will be surety for him; of my hand
shalt thou require him : if I bring him not unto thee,
and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame for
ever." Then said their father Israel unto them, " If it
must be so, now, do this: Take of the best fruits in the
land in your vessels, and cary down the man a present,
a little balm, and a little honey, spices and myrrh, nuts
and almonds. And take double money in your hand;
(mark the old man's rigid honesty) and the money
that was brought back, in the mouth of your sacks,
carry it again in your hand; peradventure it was an
oversight. Take, also, your brother, and arise; go
again unto the man: and God Almighty give you
mercy before the man, that he may send away your
other brother, and Benjamin: If I be bereaved of my
children, I am bereaved." The second meeting of
these interesting brethren, will be the subject of our
next lecture. In the mean time, let us observe, as
exemplified in the case of Joseph, how God makes
all things work together for good to them that love
him. Truly, " wisdom's ways are ways of pleasant-
ness, and all her paths are peace."
168 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
LECTURE XVIII
JOSEPH MAKES HIjMSELF KNOWN TO HIS BRETHREN, AND SENDS
FOR HIS FATHER.
And behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin,
that it is my mouth that speaketh unto you. And ye shall tell my
father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen ; and
yc shall haste, and bring down my father hither. And he fell upon
his brother Benjamin's neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon
his neck. Moreover, he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon
them: and after that his brethren talked with him. — Gen. xlv.
12—15.
Presents, of one kind or other, have long heen con-
sidered, among the Eastern nations, as necessary to
gain access to princes and other persons of distinction.
The custom is kept np, at the present day. The
agents of the American Colonization Society, in their
treaties with the native Africans respecting a tract of
land for the planting of a colony of free people of
colour, from this country, had to pay their respects,
frequently, in this way, to the kings and head men of
the tribes, with which they had occasion to confer on
the business of their mission. In conformity to a
usage which had obtained all the force of a law, and
which has continued from that day to this, Jacob's
sons, by order of their father, prepare a present, of
such delicacies as Canaan afforded, for the governor
of the country, and, taking their youngest brother with
them, set out on their second journey to Egypt, in the
hope of redeeming Simeon, and of procuring another
supply of provisions for their families. In the concise
and expressive language of sacred Scriptnre : " the
men took that present, and they took double money
in their hand, and Benjamin ; and rose up, and went
down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph.'^ " When
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 169
Joseph saw Benjamin with them," he determined to
entertain tliem, in a friendly and hospitable manner;
and, accordingly, gave orders to liis steward to pre-
pare a dinner, suitable to the occasion, by the proper
hour. "Bring these men home, and slay, and make
ready; for these men shall dine with me at noon."
In the meantime, affairs of state, as it would seem,
demanded his attention. What important practical
lessons the Bible every where teaches us ! Here we
are reminded that, the civilities of hospitality, and the
charities of friendship are not to be permitted to in-
terfere with due attendance on the duties of our sta-
tion. We should not hesitate, if the case require it,
to say to friend, or stranger, the claims of business, or
the obligations of a previous engagement prohibit me
the pleasure of your company and conversation, at this
hour. Every good thing is beautiful, in its season.
The right distribution of our time is indispensable to
the despatch of business; nor are the claims of duty
ever to give place to those of mere courtesy. So
faithful was Joseph to the public trust reposed in him,
that the arrival of a beloved brother, whom he had
not seen for many years, did not make him regard-
less of the duties of his office.
When the men were brought into Joseph's house,
agreeably to the friendly order given at their arrival.
" They were afraid; and said, one to another. Because
of the money that was returned in our sacks, at the
first time, are we brought in, that he may seek occa-
sion against us, and fall upon ns, and take us for bond-
men." Conscious guilt is always timid, and apt to
mistake even acts of kindness for tokens of approach-
ing retribution. Tiiese men had become, in some
measure, sensible of their ill-desert; it was, therefore,
perfectly natural that they should be fearful, and ap-
prehensive of some distressing mark of the divine dis-
pleasure, on account of their evil deeds: for, sooner or
later, vengeance to the full, will overtake those who
go on in their sins. The price, for which Joseph, and
a greater than Joseph were sold, never afforded the
traitors much satisfaction. Indeed, all ill-gotten gain
15
170 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
is nnblessed, and cannot profit the possessor, for any
considerable time. A conscience void of offence to-
wards God and man is better than rabies. *' The
righteous is as bold as a lion; but the wicked fleeth,
when no one pursueth him."
The conduct of the steward, on this occasion, was
soothing and amiable. Having heard their statement,
respecting the money v/hich had been returned in their
sacks, he endeavoured to soothe their troubled minds,
referring tliem to an overruling providence, in the
whole matter, and assuring them of his master's kind
intentions, he introduced Simeon to them, and gave
them water to wash their feet; a usage which was
common, and necessary to comfort and cleanliness, in
those countries where people wore sandals, instead of
shoes or boots, such as we are accustomed to.
Joseph, having attended to the call of public busi-
ness, came home at the appointed hour, and received
the present at the hand of these visitants, who respect-
fully bowed themselves to the earth before him; again,
verifying the dream, which had been a subject of ridi-
cule and an occasion of jealousy and hatred. And
here ensued a painful struggle between Joseph's fra-
ternal affection and magisterial firmness. " He asked
them of their welfare, and said. Is your father well? —
the old man of whom ye spake. Is he yet alive? —
And he lifted up his eyes, and saw his brother Ben-
jamin, his own mother^s son, and said. Is this your
younger brother, of whom ye spake unto me? And
he said, God be gracious unto thee, my son! And
Joseph made liaste; for his bowels did yearn upon his
brother, and he sought where to weep, and he entered
into his chamber and wept there." Wiiat a force
upon nature's strong and kindly tendencies! Those
tender inquiries concerning his venerated father, and
the sight of his dear Benjamin, raised the pleasing
hope in our minds, on first reading the history, that
the veil was now to be laid aside, and that we should
immediately, have the pleasure of seeing these sons of
Jacob, so long separated and afflicted, falling into each
other's arms, with mutual congratulations, and united
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 171
thanksgiving to tlie God of their father Israel. But
no: the design of Joseph's coiiceahiient of his kindred
relation to them is not ^^et fully accomplished. He,
therefore, after giving vent to his feelings in his pri-
vate chamber, refrains himself; resumnig his usual
self-possession and dignity of deportment, he comes
forth, and orders dinner to be served up, in a style
becoming his station. Three tables were furnished,
on the occasion: one for Joseph, one for his breth-
ren, and one for the Egyptians, who, from prejudice,
or national antipathy, refused to eat bread with the
Hebrews. The foundation of this antipathy is, pro-
bably to be found in tlie fact, that the Hebrews sacri-
ficed, and ate the flesh of certain animals, which the
Egyptians held sacred, and reckoned among the mul-
titude of their idols. While at dinner, Joseph showed
his peculiar fondness for Benjamin, by the bountiful
manner in which he supplied him with the choice
viands and delicacies of his own table. This may
seem like a trivial circumstance; but it was one of th^
curious usages of the times, and was intended as a
mark of distinguishing favour. It would, also, serve,
in this instance, as a gentle test of the estimation, in
which this young favourite was held by the other
brothers : — " And they drank, and were merry whh
him." The Scriptures give us a faithful and unvar-
nished account of men and things. There are, in
these inspired records, no pains taken to excuse, or set
off" to advantage, favourite characters. We are here
reminded of the oblivious eff*ect of indulging freely at
the festive board. It is always dangerous; and often
produces a degree of hilarity bordering on delirium,
which renders men, alike, um-nindful of duty, and in-
capable of performing it. These sons of Jacob had
come a long journey, on important business, and in
very afTectnig circumstances. They had come to
Egypt to get bread for their families, in a time of dis-
tressing scarcity, and to procure, if possible, the en-
largement of a brother, whom, on a former visit to
this country, they had been obliged to leave in bond-
age. This was not a lime for merrimciit. They en-
172 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
tered the house of Joseph in great trepidation, lest they
should be detained as bond-men, and utterly fail of
accomplishing the object of their mission; but, at the
conclusion of this sumptuous feast, we find them
drinking and making merry, although their business
was not yet done, nor their danger past. The famine
was still raging in Canaan — their aged father was
praying in his tent, for their success and speedy re-
turn— the perils and anxieties of their wives and chil-
dren at home, were increasing every hour. Their
conduct, then, was manifestly exceptionable, and un-
seemly in this matter. Behold, here, as in a mirror,
the madness of those men, who resort to intemperance,
to forget their troubles; and who, in forgetting their
troubles, sin against their God, ruin their souls, and
beggar their families !
Joseph probably observed this tendency to light-
ness and dissipation, in his brethren; of which, he
might deem it important, that they should be cured,
before he made himself known to them. He might
judge that further trials and disappointments were
needful to prepare them to enjoy, with becoming
thankfulness and humility, the kindly influence of
that flood of blessings, which Divine Providence in-
tended, in due time, to pour forth upon them and their
father^ s house. Hence the project which he adopted
for the detention of Benjamin. Soon after the social
entertainment, just noticed, Joseph directed his stew-
ard to "Fill the men's sacks with food, as much as
they could carry, and to put every man's money in
his sack's mouth:'' and, he adds, " Put my cup, the
silver cup, in the sack's mouth of the youngest, and
his corn-money." These orders being executed, the
eleven brothers, laden with provision, set their faces
towards Ciuiaan, delighted with what had taken place,
and cheered with the prospect before them. But they
had not proceeded far on their way, when the stew-
ard receives orders to pursue them, and charge them
with ingratitude and dishonesty: "Up, follow after the
men; and, when thou dost overtake them, say unto
them, wherefore have ye rewarded evil for good? Is
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 173
not this it in which my lord (h'iiiketh? and whereby,
indeed, he divineth? Ye have done evil, in so doing."
It wonld, perhaps, be ditficult to vindicate the whole of
Joseph's conduct, in this affair. Tlie charge alleged
against the men, the Hebrews, was the stealing of a
certain cnp, which the governor nsed for purposes
that are specified by the steward: "Is not this it in
which my lord drinketh?" There could be no harm
in using the cup for that purpose; nor any thing
amiss, in looking diligently after the rogue, if it was
really stolen. But the steward adds, "and whereby,
indeed, he divineth." We suspect, with Poole, and
other judicious expositors, that our translators of the
Bible, have not given the true meaning of this place.
The verb rendered, to divine, signifies to inquire., or
search diligently: and that which is translated, where-
by, might be rendered, concerning, or about ivhich:
Then the steward's interrogatory would run thus: "Is
not this it in which my lord drinketh; and, indeed,
cojicerning which, as estimating it highly, he ivill
make diligent search?^^ This construction is con-
sistent enough with the 15th verse of this chapter:
"Wot ye not, that such a man as I, can certainly di-
vine?" That is, make strict inquiry after offenders,
and not suffer them to escape with impunity? There
is no evidence in the Bible, unless it be in this text,
that Joseph practiced any of the superstitious, or idol-
atrous arts of Egypt; and we are satisfied, that the
cup in question, was not used by him for any im-
proper purpose. He was no magician — he affected
no familiarity with evil spirits. For the power of in-
terpreting dreams, as we have seen in a preceding lec-
ture, he repeatedly acknowledged his dependence on
the true God. But he did bring a false accusation
against his brethren: he did order the steward to
place the cup in Benjamin's sack, and then directed
him to pursue the company, and charge them with
stealing it: and, in doing this, he did a wrong thing.
It is of no avail to allege, in his defence, that the end
was good, and that the whole matter issued happily.
A good end can never justify the use of unlawful
15*
174 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
means. All stratagems are violations of the ninth
commandment; — they are lies, whether they be ex-
pressed in words or embodied in actions; they are,
therefore, indetensible, on the principles of sound mo-
rality, even in time of war, and when practised on a
public and avowed enemy. But it may be said, the
liand of Providence was in this thing, to order it, and
bring it to a happy and useful issue. This is readily
conceded; and so the hand and counsel of God were
concerned in the crucifixion of Christ; but who will
imdertake, from that fact, to justify the malice and
wickedness of his crucifiers? The good which Pro-
vidence educes out of the evil deeds of men, while it
redounds to the praise of the divine wisdom and be-
nignity, changes not the nature of those deeds, nor
diminishes aught of the guilt, which they involve.
Joseph was voluntary, and unconstrained, in accusing
his brethren of a crime, which he knew they had not
committed; and, therefore, he was blameworthy: let
not his example be followed, or pleaded in similar
cases. His object was benevolent, no doubt; but it
might have been accomplished without the use of
stratagem and false accusation.
The effect of this unrighteous contrivance, was, at
first embarrassing and painful. On being arrested,
the men solemnly declared that they were innocent
of the charge; cheerfully offered to submit to a rigor-
ous search; and proposed, conscious of their integrity
in the matter, that the one, in whose possession the
cup might be found, should be put to death, and that
the others should become bondmen. These terms
were not, indeed, accepted by the steward; but even
his condition was distressing: '-He with whom it is
found shall be my servant; and ye shall be blame-
less." The sacks are all laid on the ground, and
opened; and the officer, commencing with the oldest,
proceeded in the examination, without success, till he
came to the youngest; when, to their utter consterna-
tion, the cup is found in Benjamin's sack. What an
unexpected and disastrous event ! How changed their
prospects! What gloomy apprehensions must have
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 175
filled and saddened their liearls ! In token of deep dis-
tress and self-abasement, they rend their clothes, and
lade their asses, and return to the city. Joseph receives
them with an appalling sternness, and not* without re-
proaching them, impliedly, for their supposed folly and
wickedness. " What deed is this that ye have done?
wot ye not that such a man as I can certainly divine!"
What a strange compound of inconsistencies is man!
Joseph is doing violence to his own nature, and pur-
suing a course, in which we shall soon see him re-
tracing his steps with penitence and tears. We know
that his aim is good; but we utterly disapprove of
the measures taken to effect it. Truth and justice
are sacred things; and are not to be trifled with, on
any occasion, or under any pretext whatever. This
ill advised scheme for the detention of Benjamin, and
his swearing "by the life of Pharaoh," which seems
to have been a fashionable oath, among the courtiers,
are blemishes on the character of Joseph, recorded and
handed down to teach the world, that perfection is
not to be found in any mere man. Of Jesus Christ
alone could it be said with truth, that " He was holy,
harmless, undefiled and separate from sinners." Jo-
seph has been blamed, also, for keeping his father ig-
norant upwards of twenty years, of the fact, that the
son whom the old man supposed to have been torn
in pieces by some evil beast, was yet alive and well.
For this seeming neglect of filial duty, however, there
may have been weighty reasons, arising out of cir-
cumstances, with which we are not made acquainted.
When it had been decided, that Benjamin should
be detained a bondman, in consequence of the cup
being found in his sack, the other brothers, with
Judah for their spokesman, make their appeal to Jo-
seph's clemency and compassion, in one of the best
constructed, most eloquent, and impressive speeches
that ever was delivered. The whole address is ex-
quisitely fine, and deserves to be in every one's
memory. Let us attempt a brief analysis of it: —
First, we observe, a respectful and conciliatory intro-
duction; " 0 my Lord, let thy servant, I pray thee,
17S LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
speak a word in my Lord's ears, and let not thine
anger burn against thy servants; for tliou art even as
Pharaoli." On tliis introduction, Mr. Henry, the
commentator observes: " Rehgion does not destroy
good manners; and it is prudence to speak those fair,
at whose mercy we lie : titles of honour, to those that
are entitled to them, are not flattering titles."
2. Benjamin's tender age, and his being, as was
supposed by the family, the only surviving son of his
mother Rachel, are urged, as giving him some claim
to compassion : " He is a little one — he is young com-
pared with the rest of us — unacquainted with the
world, and not inured to hardship, having been reared
up by his father's side: And his brother, (Joseph) is
dead, and he alone is left of his mother.'^ This re-
mark must have touched a tender fibre in Joseph's
heart.
3. Benjamin had been brought down to Egypt, in
obedience to the command of Joseph, who had ex-
pressed a great desire to see him, and forbidden the
others his presence, unless the younger brother came
with them; and, now, that he had been brought
through so much difficulty, at the governor's urgent
desire, might he not hope for mercy. But,
4. The grand argument, which Judah insists upon
is, the insupportable grief which it would be to his
father^ if Benjamin should be left in servitude. " His
father loves him : — his life is bound up in the lad's
life." This the good old man himself had urged
against his going down into Egypt at all ; " If mis-
chief befal him, ye will bring down my gray hairs
with sorrow to the grave." This consideration is,
therefore, pressed with inimitable skill, and earnest-
ness: "Now, then, when I come to thy servant, my
father, and the lad be not with us ; (seeing that his
life is bound up in the lad's life) it shall come to pass,
when he seeth that the lad is not with us, that he will
die; and thy servants shall bring down the gray hairs
of thy servant, our father, with sorrow, to the grave."
5. To show his respect for Joseph's decision, as
well as to evince liis own sincerity, in begging for
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 177
Benjamin's enlargement, Jiidah offers himself to be-
come the bondman, agreeably to the suretiship which
he assumed, to gain Jacob's consent to his favourite
son's accompanying them into Egypt. Thus the law
would be honoured, and Joseph would be no loser by
the substitution of the one for the other.
'^ Now," says the excellent expositor just named,
"had Joseph been, as Judah supposed him, an utter
stranger to the family, yet eveu common humanity
could not but be wrought upon by such powerful rea-
sonings as these, for nothing could be said more mov-
ing— more tender; it was enough to melt a heart of
stone. But to Joseph, who was nearer akin to Ben-
jamin than Judah himself was, and who, at this time,
felt a stronger affection, both for him and his aged
father, than Judah did, nothing could be more pleas-
ingly, or more happily said."
But no human paraphrase, liowever studied and
elaborated, can do justice to this address. It is truly
a finished piece of intercessory pleading. It is all
sheer nature — nature speaking the truth, in simplicity,
under the influence of intense feeling, which is always
eloquent. The concluding sentence is irresistible :
" Now, therefore, I pray thee, let thy servant abide,
instead of the lad, a bondman to my lord ; and let
the lad go up with his brethren : for how sliall I go
up to my father and the lad be not with me? lest,
peradventure, I see the evil that shall come on my
father." It is enough, Joseph can no longer act a
part. He sees that Benjamin is sincerely beloved by
the other brethren — he cannot refrain himself — he
weeps aloud, and between the convulsive sobs that
break from his affectionate heart, says, in broken ac-
cents: "/«?72 Joseph: — doth my father yet live?" No
wonder his brethren could not answer him, but were
troubled at his presence. They are petrified, shy,
and incredulous — it cannot be, that this is our brother.
Yes, it is even so. — "Come near to me, I pray you: — I
am Joseph, your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt:
nor be grieved, nor angry with yourselves that ye
sold me hither; for God did send me before you, to
17S LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
preserve life. — It is my mouth that speaketh unto
you." — "And he fell upon his brother Benjamin's
neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon iiis neck:
Moreover, he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon
them: and after that, his brethren talked with him."
What a pleasing development of the deeply invol-
ved scheme of Providence! What a noble triumph
of religion and fraternal kindness over envy, injus-
tice, and cruelty! How delightful to see brethren re-
conciled, and dwelling together in unity; heart beating
to heart, with commingled tears, and mutual forgive-
ness! who does not participate, in this feast of love?
The mighty sensation is felt all about the court of
Egypt. Even Pharaoh's stout heart feels the kindly
influence. Joseph's brethren are come; and for Jo-
seph's sake, they shall taste the good of the land; —
they shall be nourished in Goshen. Go, my faithful
minister, says the generous monarch, take wagons —
lade them with provisions, for the way — send for
your father's house: the good of all the land of
Egypt is yours. It is done; as Pharaoh gave com-
mand. "So, Joseph sent his brethren away; and
they departed; and he said unto them, see that ye
fall not out by the way. And they went up out of
Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan unto Jacob
their father, and told him, saying, Joseph is yet alive,
and he is governor over all the land of Egypt: and
Jacob's heart fainted, for he believed them not; —
and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent
to carry him, the spirit of Jacob, their father, revived.
And Israel said, It is enough; Joseph my son is yet
alive: I will go and see him before I die!"
In our next lecture we intend accompanying Jacob
and his family from Beersheba, of Canaan, to Goshen,
in the land of Egypt. Bnt it is time to close this,
with a few reflections. How entertaining and in-
structive the brief biographical sketches, contained in
the Bible! We have only touched, here and there
on the thread of Joseph's life, and yet, what an
amount of useful and interesting matter has come
under our notice! Scripture biography is not eulo-
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 179
gistic; neither is it romantic, or imaginative. It gives
us a faithful dehneation of human nature. It nar-
rates the faults and foibles of its subjects, as well as
their good qualities and praiseworthy deeds. Truth,
and impartiality are its distinguishing characteristics.
Thus, it gives ns just ideas of men and manners;
apprizing us of what we may expect to meet with
in our intercourse with mankind, and guarding our
minds against those wild and visionary notions, so
often imbibed by the reading of works, whose object
is to gratify a false and fastidious taste, rather than
inform the judgment and improve the heart. We
have, here, no faultless characters, for the reason that,
there is no perfection in man; but we are shown, in
numerous and impressive instances, that "godliness
is profitable unto all things — having promise of the
life that now is, and, also, of that which is to come."
"Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way?
By taking heed thereto, according to thy word."
180 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
LECTURE XIX.
JACOB AND HIS FAMILY GO INTO EGYPT; AND THERE THE
PATRIARCH DIES.
And Israel took his journey, witli all that he had, and came to Bccr-
sheba, and offered sacrifices unto the God of liis father Isaac. And
God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob,
Jacob ! and he said here am I: and he said, I am God, the God of
thy father; fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make
of thee a great nation. I will go down with thee into Egypt; and
I will, also, surely bring thee up again: and Joseph shall put his
hand upon thine eyes. And Jacob rose up from Bcer-sheba; and
the sons of Israel carried Jacob their father, and their little ones,
and their wives, in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry
him. And they took their cattle, ^and their goods whicli they had
gotten in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt, Jacob and all
his seed with him : his sons, and his sons' sons with him, his
daughters, and his sons' daughters, and all his seed brought he
with him into Egypt."— Gen. xlvi. 1-7.
It is good to acknowledge the Lord in all our ways;
for we have the sure promise that, if we do so, he
will direct our paths. Jacob acted on this principle,
and found it greatly to his advantage. The venera-
ble patriarch, contemplating a removal into a strange
land, deems it proper to consult God, and seek his
special guidance and protection, amidst the perils and
difficulties of the undertaking. Accordingly, having
come to Beersheba, on the southern border of Ca-
naan, a place noted, as the scene of divine manifesta-
tions to Abraham and Isaac, he offered sacrifices to
the God of his fathers, and implored the heavenly
benediction on himself and his family. His success
and acceptance, on this occasion, were such as could
not fail to confirm his faith and animate his hope in
the great disposer of the lots, and lives, and destinies
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 181
of men. " God spake unto Israel in the visions of the
night, and said, I am God, the God of thy father;
fear not to go down into Egypt: for I will tliere make
of thee a great nation." Ohserve, here, the impor-
tance of being in covenant relation with our Maker,
and of serving and adoring liim, as the God of our
fathers. Jacob is directed in the path of duty, and
assured of the diyine favour and protection, with par-
ticular reference to the covenant-promises, made to
his father Isaac. " I will establish my covenant be-
tween me and thee, and thy seed after thee, in their
generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be a God
unto thee and to thy seed after thee," is a promise of
vast extent, and most blessed import. It is, as we
verily believe, to this comprehensive promise made
to the church, then in the family of Abraham, that
the apostle Peter refers, in his address to the anxious
multitude, on the day of Pentecost: " Repent, and be
baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ,
for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift
of the Holy Ghost; for the promise is unto you, and
to your children, and to all that are afar off, even
as many as the Lord our God shall call.^^ Let not
baptized youth forget the obligation which theii' bap-
tism lays upon them, to serve God in newness of life:
nor should parents fail to plead this promise, in pray-
ing for their children. Having dedicated our little
ones to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, let us
follow up the solemn act, by faithful instruction, pious
example, and fervent intercessions; and why may we
not indulge the fond hope, that our God will be the
God of our children, in their generations? It is not
strange that Jacob should be afraid to go down into
Egypt. It was the strong hold of idolatry, where evil
communications would be very likely to corrupt the
good manners of his family. He probably recollect-
ed, also, the premonition given to Abraham, that his
descendants should suffer sore oppression, in that
country. But, being assured of the presence and
guardianship of the God of his father, who promised
not only to be with him, but, there to cherish him,
16
182 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
and make of him a great nation, his fears would sub-
side, and he would go forward, hopeful and submis-
sive, committing his way to the Lord. Nor was he
left in doubt concerning the issue of this perilous mi-
gration : *' I will, also, surely bring thee up again, con-
tinues the Holy Oracle, and Joseph shall put his hand
upon thine eyes.'^ This was cheering intelligence;
and, as we shall see in the sequel, God did bring him
up again, in his posterity, and his beloved Joseph did
close his eyes in deatii. With these decisive indica-
tions of the divine will, and ample assurances of the
Almighty's care, the aged patriarch, with his family
and the moveable property gathered in Canaan, sets
out for the land of Goshen. How unsettled and liable
to vicissitude is our condition, in the present world!
Here is a man, nearly worn out, and sinking under
the sorrows and toils of his pilgrimage, called of Pro-
vidence to seek a new habitation in a distant country,
at the advanced age of one hundred and thirty years!
We may not expect a permanent residence here be-
low; but we look for one, which hath foundations,
whose builder and maker is God. How mysterious,
also, the dispensations of Providence towards his peo-
ple, considered as a community in covenant with the
Holy One of Israel! Here is the whole visible church
of the living God in motion, to seek deliverance from
the pressure of famine, in a heathen land, where we
should naturally expect to see her merged and lost, in
the common mass of human corruption. Such would
be the anticipations of sense and unbaptized reason.
But not so: her God is still in the midst of her; and,
by his direction, she is going to an asylum purposely
prepared for her, where she is to be fed, and reared
up into a great nation.
The number of souls that accompanied Jacob into
Egypt, is' stated to be sixty -six; but, including Jacob
himself, together with Joseph and his two sons, they
amount to seventy. As there is an apparent discre-
pancy between this account and that which is given
in the Septuagint translation of the Bible, and, by
Stephen, in Acts vii. 14, where the number is stated
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 183
to have been three score and fifteen souls, we give,
from Dr. Whitby's "Paraphrase and Commentary on
the New Testament,^' the best solution of the diffi-
culty that we have met with: "According to Gen.
xlvi. 26, all the souls that come into Egypt, from the
loins of Jacob, besides Jacob's sons' wives, were sixty
and six ; add to these the wives of his eleven sons, and
they make seventy and seven ; take from them Hez-
ron and Hamel, not yet born, and they were only
seventy-five. Now it was the design of Moses only
to give an account of those that came out of Jacob's
Joins, as it is said, verses 6, 7, 8, 26, and, therefore, he
excepts their wives out of his catalogue of sixty-six,
and makes them up seventy, as before, verse 27. But
Stephen undertakes only to tell us the number of those
that Joseph called into Egypt, viz. his father and all
his kindred. Some, theretore, of the list of Moses
must be left out of Stephen's number, viz. Joseph and
his two sons, who were there already, Hezron and
Hamel, who were not yet born, and Jacob whom he
reckons apart ; that is, take out these six from the
seventy, and there remain sixty-four; which, with the
eleven wives of his sons, are seventy-five. Now that
these wives were a part of those that were called by
Joseph is certain; because he called Jacob and his
household and all that he had. Gen. xlv. 11. And,
thus, it appears, that Moses, the Septuagint, and
Stephen, so far from contradicting each other, all
speak the truth, in harmony." (See Whitby's Anno-
tations on Acts vii. 14.)
The Israelites, then, at their entrance into Egypt,
exclusive of Jacob himself, and Joseph, with his des-
cendants, but including the wives of Joseph's breth-
ren, were seventy-five in number; but taking into the
calculation Jacob, and Joseph, with his two sons Ma-
nasseh and Ephraim, they would amount to seventy-
nine.
When the family reached the land of Goshen, Jo-
seph gave them a cordial reception, and spared no
pains to make them happy. " He made ready his
chariot, and went up to meet Israel, his father, — and
184 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
presented himself unto him ; and he fell on his neck,
and wept on his neck a good while. And Israel said
unto Joseph, jiow let me die, since I have seen thy
face, because thou art yet alive." What a tender and
interesting meeting ! The aged patriarch, delighted
to embrace once more, his living Joseph, seems de-
sirous of leaving the workl, in [lis present happy
frame of mind, lest he should be a burden to his chil-
dren, or have to encounter further trials, which might
disturb his peace, and. tempt him to sin, under the
growing infirmities of old age. Thus the good old
Simeon, when he clasped the infant Saviour in his
arms exclaimed; ^' Lord, now lettest thou thy servant
depart in peace, according to thy word; for mine eyes
have seen thy salvation !" Other pious persons, in
similar circumstances, have felt something of the same
longing desire to leave this vale of tears, and enter
into the heavenly rest. But it is better, and more be-
coming the servants of God to say, with Job, " all the
days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change
come.'' We should be willing to stay in this world,
till we are regularly dismissed by the Author of life.
We were brought into this probationary state, for
wise and holy purposes; and so soon as these pur-
poses are accomplished by us, or upon us, we shall be
discharged from the labours of our heavenly Master's
vineyard, and introduced into a state of final and eter-
nal retribution, where every one will be disposed of,
according to the decisions of infallible truth and per-
fect righteousness.
The filial afiection and reverence, which Joseph
manifested to his father, are truly admirable, and
worthy of imitation. Young people are too ready to
forget, or to neglect the obligations they are under to
serve and honour their parents. Those, especially,
who have risen, from humble circumstances to wealth
and distinction in society, are very apt to grow shy
and neglectful of their obscure relatives. This is a
sin against nature; and it is exceedingly offensive to
Him, with whom there is no respect of persons. We
may, indeed, have occasion to blush and mourn for
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 185
the sins and ill conduct of our kindred; but we are
never to disown tlieni, or treat them with contempt.
They are bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh:
and, if we difter from them, for the better, we should
remember, that it is providence, or grace, that makes
the dirterence. Parental love is the purest and most
disinterested aflection that glows in the hutnan heart;
and when unimpeded in its influence, by the baser
passions, it prompts to services, watchings, and self-
denials, which can never be fully repaid. 0, with
what wakeful solicitude does the faithful parent guard
the child, during the period of helpless infancy, and
along the perilous pathway of childhood and youth!
In fact the assiduous attentions of our earthly parents,
bear a strong resemblance to the tender mercies of
our Father in heaven. They cannot be too highly
appreciated; and we shall, doubtless, feel their kindly
and obliging power in the future world. When
tempted to neglect the wants, or the honour of those
whose offspring we are, and who cared, and prayed,
and toiled for us, when we were, from weakness and
inexperience, incapable of taking care of ourselves, let
us call to mind, not only the fifth commandment, and
the example of Jesus, who committed his mother to
the care of his beloved disciple John, but let us think
of Joseph, who did not disdain to descend from the
chair of state to embrace his father, though a plain
man, whose "trade had been to feed cattle, from his
youth." Here was genuine dignity — real greatness
— honest nature, sanctified by grace, and worthy to
be had in everlasting remembrance. No factitious
eminence of rank, or power, can exempt us from the
sacred duties of filial devotion. The man, therefore,
who from vanity, avarice, or any other motive, de-
serts his father or his mother, while it is in his power
to shield, to honour, and to comfort them, must have
made fearful progress in the road to confirmed de-
pravity, and cannot be considered as deserviuir to
participate of the endearments and the charities of
social life.
-Joseph's kindness to his brethren was a noble in-
16*
1S6 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
Stance of the triumph of rehgion over the corrupt pas-
sions and propensities of the human heart. They had
treated liini with shameful and unnatural cruehy —
had consigned him to slavery, and banishment from
his father's tent; and now we see them at his feet,
and completely in his power. He miglit avenge him-
self upon them to the full, if he were so disposed; but
no, he chooses to act on the magnanimous and divine
principle of overcoming evil with good. Not revenge,
but forgiveness was sweet to his regenerated taste.
No marks of condescension, no acts of brotherly kind-
ness are too expensive to demonstrate his affectionate
regard for them and their wives, and their little ones.
He owns them at court, introduces them to Pharaoh,
feeds them in their time of need on the finest of the
wheat, and assigns them, by permission of the king,
one of the most fertile provinces in the empire, as a
possession and place of residence.
Joseph's good sense, in advising his brethren not to
be ashamed of their occupation, is, also, worthy of
notice. They had been employed from their youth,
in the care and rearing of cattle. This they were
directed frankly to acknowledge, when interrogated
by Pharaoh on the subject, although "every shepherd
was an abomination to the Egyptians.'^ The ground
of this antipathy to the character and business of a
shepherd, is supposed to have been three-fold.
1. Feeders of cattle were, in many instances, a sort
of freebooters, who committed such outrages as ren-
dered the name and employment of shepherds odious.
2. Manetho, the historian, says, that at a certain
period, hordes of marauders, under the name of shep-
herd-kings, from Arabia, Syria, and Ethiopia, whose
chief occupation was to keep flocks, made an irrup-
tion into Egypt, which they subdued and ruled, with
great tyranny, for upwards of two hundred years.
3. That which formed the principal occasion of pre-
judice against the Jewish shepherds, and which has
been noticed before, in the course of these lectures,
was the fact, that they sacrificed those very animals,
the ox and the sheep, which the Egyptians held sa-
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 1S7
cred, and regarded as objects of worsliip. Hence
Tacitus, the Roman historian, says, of the Israehtes;
"They sacrifice the ram, in order to insult Jupiter
Amnion; and they sacrifice the ox, which the Egypt-
ians worship under the name of Apis."
But, notwithstanding the shepherd's employment
liad been rendered odious, by the misconduct of some
who followed that way of life, still, it was not, in itself,
dishonest ; and as Joseph's brethren had been accus-
tomed to it all their days, he would not have them
relinqnish it for other pursuits, to which they were
strangers, and for which they, probably, had neither
the taste nor the talents requisite to success. This
piece of counsel was wholesome and judicious; and
it suggests a useful hint, on a practical and important
point of duty. There is a fickleness in some people,
which operates very injuriously, often, to their in-
terests, both temporal and spiritual. Fancying that
the business to which they have been trained is not
so reputable, so easy, or so gainful as that of some
others, they are ever ready for an exchange of place,
or of employment; a;nd, not unfrequently, such per-
sons resign a small, but regular income, for the pre-
carious fruits of wild and hazardous experiments. In
religious concerns this restless instability of character
does immense mischief. It keeps some, for years, in
search of the best scheme of religion — the purest de-
nomination of Christians — the most approved and
most popular preachers. Persons of this description
cannot be religiously edified. They are unwilling to
locate themselves in any particular church, lest some-
thing should turn up to make them regret their choice.
In the meantime, they either worship God no where,
or they are going from Dan to Beersheba,and travers-
ing the land, in its width, in pursuit of a ;;!/re, or of a
philosopkical, or o( afashionabie church. The result,
in some instances is, they get their heads so filled with
the favourite notions, and distinguishing tenets of all
sorts and sizes of religious sects, that they conclude
religion ilse/f\s but a name or a form; and that one
will be freer and happier unconnected with any body
188 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
of religionists — a perfect cosmopolite — a free-thinker,
an atiieist, or any thing else that may happen to suit
a vitiated and untutored taste.
But, to resume the thread of history. The family
of Jacob, following the good advice of Joseph, retired
from court, tended their cattle, gave themselves dili-
gently to the cultivation of the luxuriant soil of Ra-
meses, and, under the smiles of Providence, they mul-
tiplied and prospered, beyond a parallel, for the space
of seventeen years. And, now the time drew near,
when Israel, the sorrow-worn and beloved patriarch,
must die. He had not, indeed, attained to the age of
his fathers, in the days of their pilgrimage; but a hun-
dred and forty-seven years was long enough to have
lived a stranger in a strange land. Of his diversified
life, the seventeen years he spent in Egypt were pro-
bably the happiest; yet, being a man of faith, he was
unwilling that his iDones should lie there. Regarding
Canaan, not only, as an inheritance promised to his
descendants, but as a type of heaven, he desired that
his mortal remains might be borne thither, and de-
posited in the cave of Machpelah, "which is before
Mamre, and which Abraham bought of Ephron the
Hittite, for a possession of a burying-place.^' He, no
doubt, intended this to remind his family that Egypt
was not to be the place of their settled residence, and
to encourage them to expect the fulfilment of the pro-
mises made to their fathers. Accordingly, Joseph
is engaged, under the solemnity of an oath, to see
the venerable old man's will, in this matter, carried
into effect ; and, as might be expected, the dutiful son
is all attention to the wants and wishes of his sick and
dying father. The closing scenes of the lives of good
men are, generally, edifying and impressive. This of
Jacob is peculiarly so. Mark, how he exerts himself,
on the bed of languishing, that he may recount, in the
hearing of his children, the past mercies and promised
blessings of Heaven, to him and to his seed after him,
for many generations! His soul seems to grow vigor-
ous, and lucid, and heavenly, in proportion, as his
outer man fails. See, with what parental fondness
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORT. 189
he embraces Manasseh and Ephraim, the children of
his beloved Joseph, adopting them, as his own sons,
making them heads of distinguished tribes in Israel,
and preferring, by divine guidance, the younger to the
elder! Hear with what heaven-inspired ardour, he
pours his blessing upon the interesting group that
stand before him! "And he blessed Joseph, and said,
God, before whom my fathers, Abraham and Isaac did
walk, the God who fed me all my life long unto this
day, the angel, which redeemed me from all evil, bless
the lads; and let my name be named on them, and
the name of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac; let them
grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth !
And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die ; but God
shall be with you, and bring yoU again unto the land
of your fathers/'
Jacob's last discourse. Gen. xlix., delivered in the
hearing of all his sons, convened to receive his bless-
ing and witness his departure out of this world, is
one of the richest, deepest, and most comprehensive
pieces of prophecy contained in the Bible. The things
here foretold were, chiefly, to befal them "in the last
days;" whence it is evident that they relate, not so
much to the twelve patriarchs, personally, as to their
respective families, in successive and distant genera-
tions. But as the illustration of prophecy falls not
within the scope of these lectures, we shall pass over
this interesting portion of the sacred text, with only
two or three short remarks.
1. Simeon and Levi, for their base conduct towards
the Shechemites, Gen. xxxiv. 25, are to be "divided
in Jacob, and scattered in Israel;" i. e. they are to be
dispersed among the other tribes, and have no distinct
allotments in Canaan: which prediction was literally
fulfilled. The Levites were employed in the service
of the tabernacle, and had no inheritance, except for-
ty-eight small villages scattered through the land: nor
had Simeon any, except a small share as a tempo-
rary accommodation, in one corner of Judah's lot,
Joshua xix. 1; which, upon finding it too contracted,
they abandoned, and planted colonies on a tract of
190 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
country, which they wrested from the possession of
the Idumeans and Amalekites. 1 Chron. iv. 39.
2. Judah is pointed out, as the honoured tribe from
which the Redeemer was to descend: "Thou art he
whom thy brethren shall praise; thy hand shall be in
the neck of thine enemies: thy father's children shall
bow down before thee : — The sceptre shall not depart
from Judah, nor a law-giver from between his feet,
until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gatherina^
of the people be." This prophecy fixes the time of
the Messiah's advent, with admirable precision; and
its exact fulfilment, in Jesus of Nazareth, has been
demonstrated with a force of argument, and a flood
of light, which it is not easy to resist, without the aid
of sophistry, or obstinate and determined unbelief It
will stand, while the world stands, a monument of
Jacob's prophetic gift, and a memorial, to all genera-
tions, that the divine deliverer is come, and that
all ends of the earth should receive and adore him.
3. The benediction pronounced on Joseph is con-
veyed in a style of inimitable beauty, and seems to
point, ultimately, to the church of God, under the em-
blem of a luxuriant and wide-spreading vine : " Jo-
seph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a
well, whose branches run over the wall. The arch-
ers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and
.hated him; but his bow abode in strength, and the
arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of
the mighty God of Jacob: from thence is the Shep-
herd, the Stone of Israel."
But we must take leave of the sainted seer, whose
history has so much delighted and instructed us. He
is going the way of all the earth — he is ripe for glory;
let us observe the manner of his exit: — "And when
Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he
gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the
ghost, and was gathered unto his people." Mark the
perfect man, and behold the upright; for the end of
that man is peace !" What a tranquil, desirable, easy,
and hopeful transition from the scene of conflict to
tlie seat of bliss! To expatiate here, would be to
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 191
enfeeble the majestic diction of the Spirit, and to
check the flow of devout feehng that moves, and
warnfs, and elevates the soul to heaven, and to God:
"Let me die the death of the righteous; and let my
last end be like his!" Israel's spirit \s gojie; and it
is no sooner gone, than it is gathered to his people:
so ?iear are ive to the other world! It only remains,
now, to dispose of the mortal remains of this beloved
and venerated man of God, in a manner suited to his
inestimable worth; and Joseph who has put his kind,
and filial hand on the eyes that were used to look
upon him with complacent fondness, will not neg-
lect the last office of love that can be performed for
one so dear.
LECTURE XX
JACOB S FUNERAL, AND JOSEPH'S DEATH.
And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he and his father's house : and Joseph
lived a hundred and ten years. And Joseph saw Ephraim's chil-
dren of the third generation : the children also of Machir, the son
of Manasseh, were brought up upon Joseph's knees. And Joseph
said unto his brethren, I die ; and God will surely visit you, and
bring you out of this land, unto the land which he sware to Abra-
ham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. And Joseph took an oath of the
children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall
carry up my bones from hence. So Joseph died, being an hundred
and ten years old; and they embalmed him, and he was put in a
coffin in Egypt.— Gen. 1. 22-26.
We have dwelt longer, already, on the history of this
amiable man, than we originally intended. But it is
difficult to tear one's self away from the contempla-
tion of a character so full of interest and useful instruc-
tion. Three particulars concerning him remain yet to
be briefly noticed, viz: The attention which he paid
192 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORT.
to the disposal of his father's remains, agreeably to
the old man's dying injunction ; his generous conduct
to his brethren and their families, after their common
parent's decease; and his own departure out of this
world.
1 . When Jacob had resigned his spirit into the hands
of Him who gave it, Moses informs us, that, " Joseph
fell upon his father's face, and wept upon him, and
kissed him." This was an unequivocal indication of
filial fondness; yet, there was in it more of the deli-
rium of grief, than of quiet submission to the will of
God. The mortal remains of our deceased friends
should be treated with every suitable mark of affec-
tion and respect; but to be making loud lamentation
over them, and clinging to them, with a sort of idola-
trous attachment, is not seemly: nor does it correspond
well to the faith and hope of Christians. These life-
less forms are but the frail and perishable tenements
of our departed relatives, and they are designed by
the God of nature, to be buried out of our sight. The
soul which wings its way to the Father of spirits, at
the last stroke of the beating artery, carries along
with it all that is most lovely and attractive in the
human creature. The practice, therefore, of kissing
the corpse, and of looking into the grave, after it has
been laid to rest there, till the morning of the resur-
rection, had better, perhaps, be dispensed with; for,
although it may not be sinful, yet it does seem like a
needless aggravating of the anguish of nature, on such
occasions, with very little effect, so far as our observa-
tion has extended, in mending the heart, or in dis-
posing the survivor to prepare with diligence for his
own final exit! We should do all the good in our
power, to our friends, while we have them about us;
and when on the bed of languishing, we should grudge
no pains or expense for the recovery of their health,
or the mitigation of their distress, noK grow weary in
offering intercessions for the salvation of their souls:
but are they, indeed, gone? It is Christian duty — it
is loyalty to the King eternal, to say, and sing, sub-
missive, " The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken
LECTURES OS BIBLICAL HISTORY. 1S3
away : blessed be the name of the Lord !" Excessive
grief, we will not say for the loss, but for the removal
of our friends by death, indicates a want, or at least
a weakness of faith in God, our Saviour:
" Good when lie gives ; supremely good I
Nor less when he denies.
E'en crosses, from his sovereign hand,
Are blessings in disguise."
So soon as Joseph recovered himself from the first
paroxysm of sorrow, he ordered the body of his dear
father to be embalmed, according to the usage of the
country ; — a usage which, though it seems to have
originated in necessity, was afterwards kept up, as a
matter of pride and pageantry. The necessity of using
some means of preserving dead bodies from putrefac-
tion, originated in the overflowing of the Nile, which
rose and spread over the best part of Egypt, periodi-
cally, to the height of from twelve to sixteen cubits,
when interment was impossible, till the waters had
subsided. The process of embalming is described,
with minuteness, by Herodotus, Diodorus Siculus,
and others; but we have only room to observe, that
the efi'ect was similar to that of tanning. The object
was, to remove the juices of the animal substance,
and close up the pores of the skin, so as to render it
impervious to air and water. This was effected by
the abundant and long continued use of certain kinds
of spicery and salts, after the body had been tho-
roughly cleansed, and otherwise prepared for the ap-
plication. The ceremony was less or more expensive
and tedious, in proportion to the distinction and sup-
posed worth of the deceased. The embalming of
Jacob's body was necessary, as it was to be removed
to Canaan; and, in his case, neither pains nor expense
seems to have been spared. The whole process occu-
pied forty days; "and the Egyptians mourned for
him three score and ten days:'^ i. e. thirty days, in
addition to those spent in the embalming. And now,
the body, thus prepared, is to be conveyed to the cave
of Machpelah. But Joseph, who has charge of the
funeral rites, will not proceed, without leave of the
17
194 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
king; and as no one, in the habiliments of mourning,
was allowed to come into tlie royal presence, a mes-
senger is sent with this respectful and touching re-
quest: *• Now, therefore, let me go up, T pray thee,
and bury my father, and I will come again.'' " Go
up, says the generous prince, and bury thy father, ac-
cording as he made thee swear. And Joseph went
up to bury his father; and with him went up all the
servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all
the elders of the land of Egypt; and all the house of
Joseph, and his brethren, and his father's house; —
and there went up with him, both chariots and horse-
men: and it was a very great company." Here is
the most costly, if not the most splendid funeral pro-
cession, that we have ever heard of. Not only the
numerous relatives of Israel and Joseph, by consan-
guinity and marriage, but the courtiers, the servants,
and household of Pharaoh, with all the elders or chief
men of the whole land of Egypt, are moving in order,
and with tokens of the profoundest respect for the me-
mory of the deceased, to the place of burial, at the
distance of at least three hundred miles. The whole
of the funeral ceremonies, including the embalming of
the body, the procession, and the interment, must
have occupied several months; and the expense, in
time, provision, horsemen and chariots could scarcely
be calculated. This is noticed, in Scripture, not as a
commendable thing, or as an example to be imitated,
(for Jacob's was an Egyptian funeral) but to show
that genuine goodness of character is venerable, and
capable of commanding the homage and respect even
of a wicked and idolatrous people. With Jacob, the
Egyptians could have had but a slight acquaintance;
but the father of such a man as Joseph — the faithful
servant, the heaven-taught interpreter of dreams, the
philanthropist, and the upright statesman, was not to
be buried, without suitable marks of respect for the
tried excellence of the son, if not for the piety and
humble greatness of the father. It is pleasing to see
the memory of the beloved patriarch honoured, even
in a strange land, and by a pagan people, for he was
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 195
a good man — a man of God, and a man of renown
immortal ; but it slionld be remembered that neither
gorgeous funerals, nor elaborated eulogies can confer
posthumous worth on one, who, while living, was
useless or mischievous to. society. Many a wretch,
whom the world was quite glad to get rid of, has
been consigned to the dust with imposing tokens of
regret at his removal, ai]d of esteem for his memory.
But it is all a vain show. Personal worth is an in-
trinsic thing. If a man will live to himself, and to
the gratification of his lusts; — if he will pursue the
objects of an unsanctified ambition, and will not con-
tribute his part towards the advancement of the inte-
rests of truth, righteousness, piety and humanity,
during his life-time, you may spend a fortune on his
obsequies, and erect a mausoleum over his ashes, but
you cannot raise one emotion of respect for him in
the minds of those who knew his manner of life, nor
can you break, or in anywise alter the adamantine
seal which death fixes on his character. " The me-
mory of the just is blessed, but the name of the wicked
shall rot." Prov. x. 7.
When the funeral procession of Jacob had reach-
ed Canaan, it halted at the threshing-floor of a man,
named Atad, near Jericho, on the west side of the
river Jordan. It was usual in that country, to have
threshing-floors, or places for treading out their grain
in the open field: and Atad was probably an able
farmer, and could furnish the great company with
such accommodations as were requisite ibr themselves
and their horses, that they might take some rest, after
a long, fatiguing journey, and make the necessary
preparation for proceeding to the place of interment,
yet several miles distant. Here Joseph ordered a
special mourning of seven days continuance, agreea-
bly to the divinely instituted usage of the house of
Israel. This observance was so solemn and impres-
sive, as to attract the notice of the Canaanites, who
.pronounced it '' a grievous mourning;" and to perpe-
tuate the remembrance of it, Atad's threshing-floor
was called by a new name, Abel-mizraim, i. e. the
196 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
mourning of (he Egyptians. This hallowed season
of affectionate wailing ended, the sons of Jacob, with
their numerous attendants, moved forward, and did
according as their lamented father had commanded
them; they "buried him in the cave of the field of
Machpelah :'' "dust to dust, and ashes to ashes," to
mingle and rest till the morning of the resurrection,
with the mouldering remains of Abraham and Isaac,
Rebekah and Leah, his beloved kindred, whose bodies
had taken peaceable possession of the promised land
before him, and whose souls, gathered to their people,
had already received his happy spirit into everlasting
habitations in the kingdom of glory.
This last office of filial devotion performed, Joseph
returns to his place, and resumes his duties agreeably
to promise, at the court of Egypt. But, now, that
their father, the common object of veneration and
centre of union, is removed, Joseph's brethren become
uneasy, lest he should take advantage of their de-
pendent condition, to avenge upon them the evil
which their own consciences fearfully reminded
them, that they had done unto him. They, accord-
ingly, go in a body and prostrate themselves before
him, confessing their misdeeds, offeriiig to become his
servants; and, in the name of their father, and their
father's God, imploring forgiveness, and further pro-
tection: which brings us to notice,
2. His treatment of these offending, but humbled
and conscience-smitten brothers. — We have had occa-
sion to observe and admire his conduct in this respect,
before; we shall therefore content ourselves, at pre-
sent, with a very few additional remarks. The for-
giveness of injuries was manifestly an article in
Joseph's creed, which had thoroughly transfused its
kindly influence into the temper of his heart. The
injustice and cruelty which he received from sinners,
were regarded by him as the rod^ in a divine hand.
To that hand his eye was continually directed for
support and deliverance. His views rose above in-
struments and second causes, up to the grand mover
and controller of all events; and this devout habit of
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 197
regarding the Lord's hand in every thing that befell
him, whether prosperous or adverse, gave him a noble
superiority to the spirit and maxims ot^ the world. He
would rather svffer wrong, than run the risk of doing
wrong, in attempting to vindicate his rights, or take
vengeance on his adversaries. He was willing to
refer his cause to the Searcher of hearts, and quietly
to await the decisions of the final judgment. Hence,
we find him saying, with tears, to his suppliant breth-
ren, " Fear not; for am I in the place of God?" That
is, Is it for me to seek revenge? Doth not vengeance
belong to God? So far as I am concerned, I freely
forgive you, and am heartily disposed to do you good,
and not evil. But, if you would have peace of con-
science, and desire that your sins maybe so pardoned,
as that they shall not rise up in judgment against you
at another day, you must ask pardon of Hhn who
hath power to forgive sins, and who hath power, also,
to destroy both soul and body in hell. And, here,
again, he refers them to the gracious designs, and
overruling Providence of heaven, in permitting them
to treat him, as they had done: "As for you, ye
thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good,
to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people
alive. '^ This language conveys no apology for their
sin; their evil intention involves guilt and proves them
blameworthy: but their minds are directed to a won-
der-working Providence, as comprising in its mighty
sway all possible occurrences, and conducting them,
eventually, to great and holy ends. And now, to
put the hearts of these trembling brothers at rest, in
regard to his disposition towards them and their fami-
lies, he offers them more than their request; "Fear
ye not: I will nourish you, and your liltle ones. And
he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them."
Here we see brotherly kindness and genuine magna-
nimity beautifully blended, and shedding a glory, the
one upon the other. What a fine exemplification of
•Paul's maxim: " If thine enemy hunger, feed him;
if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt
heap coals of fire upon his head." Joseph's repeated
17*
198 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
acts of generous beneficence operaled on the hard-
heartedness of his brethren, like fire npon the fusible
metals. They, at first, felt the operation to be pain-
ful, as it brought tlienn to serious reflection, and cover-
ed them witli shame for tlieir enormous offences: but,
in the issue, it proved salutary. It mollified, and
melted them down, as into a new mould; and result-
ed in a perfect reconciliation, and mutual confidence
between them and their much injured brother. Evil,
in this instance, was fairly overcome with good.
Blessed triumph! Let ns go and do likewise, to all
that have wronged, or offended us. To pass by an
injury is the property of a great soul : to take fire, and
insist on satisfaction for offences, sometimes imagi-
nary, and when real and intended, are often the effect
of passion, which, if allowed a little time, would sub-
side and relent, betrays a small mind and a corrupt
heart. Revenge is a spirit of darkness; — forgiveness,
an angel — a messenger of peace, from the region of
love divine.
Joseph had dwelt in Egypt, now, about thirty-
nine years, thirteen of which were spent in bondage,
and imprisonment, and twenty-six, in the office of
prime minister of state, in which office he probably
continued till his death, v/hich did not take place till
fifty-six years after that of his father. Of this period
but little notice is taken by the sacred historian;
whence, we may conclude that it was tranquil, and
not marked by any very striking incidents. We are
informed, however, that he "saw Ephraini's children
of the third generation, and that the children of Ma-
chir, the son of Manasseh, were also brought up
upon Joseph's knees." From these short hints, it
seems probable that he lived to see his father's house
greatly multiplied, and growing rapidly into a great
nation, according to the divine promise; that the lat-
ter portion of his life was more peaceful than the
former; and that he met the king of terrors undis-
mayed, and with a hope full of immortality.
This is rendered probable not only by the general
tenour of his life, which was eminently pious and
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 199
useful, but by the manner in which he speaks of his
approacliing dissolution, and the order he gives con-
cerning his bones. And thus, we are brought to the
last article of our present lecture.
3. The departnre of this interesting man out of
this world. — We find many useful lessons in tracing
his varied and active life; let us stand by him in the
closing scene: perhaps his example, here, may sug-
gest some ideas worthy of attention, concerning
death: "And Joseph said unto his brethren, / ^/e;
and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of
this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham,
to Isaac, and to Jacob." I die. What simplicity of
expression: yet, the thought is awfully sublime. It
bespeaks a mind perfectly self-possessed, hopeful and
tranquil, just entering the world of spirits. Reader,
if the summons were put into your hand, could you
say, with the like composure, to your brethren and
friends, I die 7 If you have peace with God, through
our Lord Jesus Christ, you could; but not otherwise.
Think of this, betimes. The good hope is now set
before you, in the gospel; but if you defer laying
hold of it till the inexorable messenger beckons you
away to other worlds, you will find something in
dying more fearful than has ever been described to
you. Place the eternal life of your soul in safe keep-
ing " with Christ in God/' and death, instead of
being terrible, will be one of your covenant-blessings.
" To me to live is Christ ; and to die is gain."
Mark, also, the energy of the patriarch's faith in
the diviue promises, and his solicitude to encourage
the laith and hope of his surviving friends, even in
the hour of dissolution. " God will surely visit you,
and bring you out of this land, &c." Thus, Christian,
when you come to die, cleave with full purpose of
heart to the exceeding great and precious promises
of the blessed gospel, and try to engage survivors to
come out of sin's dark territories, and aspire afier the
light and liberty, the peace and joy of the redeemed.
"And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel,
saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry
200 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
up my bones from hence.'' This order in relation to
his mortal remains, was his last act so far as we are
mformed: and that it was an act of that divine faith,
which "is the substance of things hoped for, and the
evidence of things not seen," has been infallibly de-
termined by the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews,
xi. 22: ^^ By fail h, Joseph, when dying, made men-
tion of the departure of the children of Israel: and
gave commandment concerning his bones." This
solicitude of the patriarchs, particularly of Jacob and
Joseph, to have their bones laid in the cave of Mach-
pelah, Abraham's burying-place, had its foundation
in religion. It was not so much to sleep with their
fathers that they desired, as to sleep in Canaan, the
land of promise, and the type of heaven. They de-
signed thus to evince their faith in God, and their
hope of everlasting life; and to stimulate their de-
scendants to expect the fulfilment of every word of
promise that proceeded out of the mouth of the Lord.
A desire to mingle, in death, with the dust of kin-
dred and countrymen is still extensively felt among
mankind. But, as the same reason does not now
exist which influenced Israel and his sons, we need
indulge no anxiety on the subject. It is a matter of
little moment where our bodies are deposited, or how
widely the particles that compose them may be scat-
tered; for, whether they swim in ocean's vast do-
main, or lie unburied in the forest, or soar aloft in
feathered forms, enough to secure personal identity
shall be forthcoming at the archangel's call, enforced
by the trump of God. " Those who sleep in Jesus,
will God bring wiih him :" — " wherefore, comfort one
another with these words."
" So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years
old; and they embalmed him, and he was put in a
coffin in Egypt."
^2 coffin! Reader, the boards may be seasoned, of
which yours is to be made. You will not live a hun-
dred and ten years; and your days are numbered, as
the days of a hireling. Be a follower of them who,
through faith and patience, inherit the promises. Serve
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 201
Joseph's God; — fly to the angel that redeemed Jo-
seph's father from all evil: and let the coffin come:
let it receive the sacred deposite — the mouldering
tabernacle. No coffin shall enclose the soul: that
shall be free, and safe, and happy. If needful, a con-
voy of angels shall have it in charge, and conduct it
to Abraham's bosom, ^here it shall be ever with the
Lord, to behold his glory and to join the blood-bought
throng in that celestial chorus — " Unto him that loved
us, and washed us from our sins, in his own blood;
and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his
Father; to him be glory and dominion, for ever and
ever: Amen!''
LECTURE XXI.
THE BIRTH AND PRESERVATION OF MOSES.
And Pharaoh's daughter said unto her, Take this child away and
nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages — and the child
grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh's daughter, and he be-
came her son; and she called his name Moses; because, said she,
I drew him out of the water. — Exodus ii. 9, 10.
The portion of sacred Scripture, on which we now
enter, is called Exodus — a Greek word, signifying
literally, the going out, or the departure ; because the
departure of the Israelites from Egypt is the princi-
pal subject of which it treats. It narrates the trans-
actions of about one hundred and forty-five years,
beginning at the death of Joseph and ending with the
erection of the tabernacle, in the neighbourhood of
Mount Sinai. Moses is generally believed to have
been the writer of this book, although, as was usual
with the inspired penman, he speaks of himself in the
third person. And, if it be asked, how he could give
an account of his own birih, and the circumstances at-
tending it, we answer, — In the same way in which
202 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
he described the creation of the world, and other
events that took place long before he was born; that
is, by the inspiration of the Almighty, and by means
of tradition, used underthe special guidance of Divine
Providence. We observe a fulness, and occasionally,
a minuteness, in this and the three following books
of sacred Scripture, which we^o not find in tlie book
of Genesis. This is what we would naturally expect,
as the writer here relates fects in which he was per-
sonally concerned, and, of which he was, for the most
part, an eye-witness.
In the beginning of this second book of Moses, we
have the names of Jacob's sons, who, with their seve-
ral families, accompanied him into Egypt, amounting
to seventy in number, as was stated towards the close
of the preceding book: or, leaving out of the calcula-
tion, Hezron and Hamel,not then born, together with
Joseph and his two sons, and Jacob himself, and in-
cluding the wives of Joseph's eleven brethren, the
number would be seventy-five; but including Jacob
and Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim,the whole house-
hold of Israel, at the time of their taking refuge in
Egypt, from the pressure of famine, amounted to
seventy-nine. To prevent confusion, however, we
shall follow Stephen's reckoning. Acts vii. 14, which
makes their number three-score and fifteen.
After the death of Joseph, and his brethren, and all
that generation, which is mentioned in one short sen-
tence, as if to remind us of the brevity of human life,
we are told that, " the children of Israel were fruitful,
and increased abundantly, and multiplied and waxed
exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them ;
— a striking fulfilment of the divine promise, often re-
peated to Abraham and his sons, as well as a verifi-
cation of Jacob's prediction, on his death-bed; Gen.
xlviii. 16, that they should " grow into a multitude in
the midst of the earth."
This rapid increase and growing prosperity of the
house of Israel, soon attracted public notice, and in
process of time, drew upon them the oppressive rod
of a jealous government. '• Now there arose up a new
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 203
king over Egypt, who knew not Joseph; and he said
unto his people, Behold the people of the children of
Israel are more and mightier than we. Come on, let
us deal wisely with them, lest they multiply, and it
come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war,
they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us,
and so get them up out of the land: Therefore they
did set over them task-masters to afflict them with
their burdens: — and they made their lives bitter with
hard bondage, in mortar, and in brick, and in all man-
ner of service in the field; all their service, wherein
they made them serve, was with rigour." — Strange
that such eminent services as Joseph had rendered to
the state, not only during the seven years of famine,
whicli, but for his agency, would probably have de-
populated the kingdom, but during an administration
of eighty years, including the reign of four or five
monarchs, should have been forgotten, within the
space of half a century, from the death of that distin-
guished statesman and philanthropist! Such is the
ingratitude of the world, the fickleness of popular fa-
vour, and the depravity of the human heart. Cupi-
dity and selfishness often impel men to measures of
cruelty and injustice, while the claims of humanity
and brotherly kindness are utterly disregarded. <* It
is better to trust in the Lord, than to put confidence
in princes." But this new king was a shallow poli-
tician. The children of Israel were, now, very nume-
rous; and, by his own acknowledgment, the fruits of
their industry contributed, not a little, to the welfare
of his kingdom. He expresses a fear, that they might,
by and by, " get them up," and leave the country.
He had no wish to get rid of them; for they were good
workers, and productive labour is national strength.
If, therefore, he had any doubts concerning his ability
to keep them in due subjection, he ought to have for-
borne all steps which might incense their indignation,
and provoke them to try their own strength. Had he
treated them well, and been a father to them, as
Joseph had been to the Egyptians aforetime, they
would soon have filled the treasure-cities, Pithom and
204 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
Raamses; which seem to have been designed as store-
houses, to catch the ])roceeds of theh' liard-earnuigs,
for the use and aggrandizement of the government.
But, to place task-masters over them, to watch them
with a jealous eye, and to exact from them the per-
formance of tasks that were exorbitant and oppressive,
was not to '^deal wisely with them,'' even according
to the wisdom that is earthly and sensual. Such a
course of treatment would naturally tend either to
break down the spirits and impair the physical strength
of these people, and thus diminish their usefulness to
the state — or, to exasperate them — to alienate their
patriotic feeUngs, and prepare them for revolt and
violence, whenever an opportunity might offer. This
was bad policy; — it was wicked and short-sighted: it
grasped at too much; and in so doing, it risked, and
eventually lost all. This, or something very like this,
is the policy which some men, in our own times,
would pursue towards that hapless portion of the
African race, that have been doomed to slavery from
generation to generation. They would "deal wisely
with them" by keeping them in ignorance, the more
profound the better, and by making them "serve,
with rigour;" so as to "render their lives bitter with
hard bondage," lest they should presume to think of
their natural rights, and "so get them up out of the
land" of their oppressors. " The righteous Lord
loveth righteousness;" and the day is coming, when
the God of the spirits of all flesh will look upon the
children of Ham, as he did upon the children of Israel,
to redeem them from their " hard bondage," and that,
if need be, with a high hand, and an outstretched
arm. Let the nations prepare to yield prompt obedi-
ence to his high and holy behest.
The oppressive counsels of Pharaoh,* though adopt-
ed and carried into effect with unrelenting severity,
did not succeed. The good hand of the Lord was
about the house of Israel, and, therefore, " the more
they were afflicted, the more they multiplied and
grew." But the tyrant, bent on the accomplishment
* There was a succession of Pharaohs.
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 205
of his base and barbarous purpose, resorts to otlier,
and still more infamous measures. Those persons
who practised the obstetrick art, were charged under
pain of the royal displeasure, and perhaps, with a
promise of large rewards, to put every male child of
the Hebrews, which they assisted in bringing into
the world, immediately to death. Two individuals,
of that useful profession are particularly mentioned,
viz : Shiphrali and Puah, on account, probably, of
their influence and distinction in the line of their busi-
ness. But the venerable matrons, it seems, feared
God, and therefore regarded not the unrighteous
mandate of the king: and, in consequence, it is said,
that "God dealt well with them; and the people mul-
tiplied and waxed very mighty." The sense of this
passage is plain enough; "They that walk uprightly
shall not want any good thing.'' But it is added,
"And it came to pass, because the midwives feared
God, that he made them houses." The meaning of
this place appears, at first glance, somewhat obscure:
But taking into view the circumstances of the case,
and comparing scripture with scripture, we have no
hesitation in saying that the true import is, That God
blessed and built up [\ie families, not only of the mid-
wives, but of the people, generally; houses being
taken, Aere, as in numerous other texts, for house-
holds. " Godliness is profitable unto all things; hav-
ing promise of the life that now is, and of that which
is to come."
But the remorseless monarch will leave no expe-
dient untried to effect his inhuman design. Finding
private menaces and bribery unavailing, he had re-
course to a public edict, which stamped his reign with
eternal infamy. "And Pharaoh charged all his peo-
ple, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into
the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive."
Under the operation of this bloody decree, on which
we offer no comment, was born Moses, the historian
of the world, the Heaven-taught deUverer and law-
giver of the house of Israel. Had the statute just
cited continued in force any considerable length of
18
20G LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
time, it must have given a serious check to the pro-
gress of population among the Hebrews. But its day
was brief. It was too violent to be long tolerated.
It was a mere ebulhtion of despotic rancour, soon
discharged, and consigned to merited contempt. It
must have been enacted subsequently to the birth of
Aaron, who was but three years older than Moses;
and several circumstances, taken in connexion with
the silence of history concerning it, warrant the con-
clusion that it was rescinded not long after JNIoses
was born.
In the extraordinary preservation of this JNIoses,
amid the perils that encompassed his birth and early
childhood, we may see, and we ought to acknow-
ledge religiously, the hand of God revealed and ex-
erted to prepare the way for the deliverance of his
people, and for the maintenance of his truth and hon-
our to the end of time. The scheme of Providence
is vast and comprehensive. Every thing in the di-
vine plan has its use and bearing in the great and
gracious work of redemption by Jesus Christ. It is
by the church that Jehovah designs to show his
manifold wisdom to the inhabitants of heaven and
earth.- On this blessed object of divine care and
everlasting love let us keep our attention mainly
fixed, while we mark cursorily the coincident events
and concurrent agencies employed by a wonder-
working Providence, to save and rear up the He-
brew infant, that was destined to write the Penta-
teuch and to become a temporal saviour of the visible
church.
Moses was a descendant of Levi, Jacob's third son,
as well on his mother's as on his father's side. Ani-
ram and Jochebed were cousins; and they had pro-
bably been brought up in the nurture aud admoni-
tion of the Lord. So far as their characters are made
known to us, they appear amiable and pious. They
seem to have had at least a strong natural affection
for their offspring; and it must have been a sore trial
to them to have a son born under the murderous
decree which consigned every male child to a watery
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 207
grave. Let us be thankful for the blessings of civil
and religious liberty; — that we are subject to the ca-
price of no ambitious tyrant — that we are permitted
to dwell together in families, as heirs of the grace of
life — that no sanguinary laws demand our children —
and that no popish decretal can wrest from us our
Bibles, or disturb our ecclesiastical order, is owing to
the distinguishing goodness of the great Disposer of
all things and all events.
There seems to have been something peculiarly
engaging in the infant Moses, which encouraged his
mother to attempt his preservation from a violent
death. ''When she saw him, that he was a goodly
child, she hid him three months." There may have
been some foundation for the extravagant fancies,
which the Jewish writers advance respecting his per-
sonal beauty, his divine countenance, &:c. But the
parents were influenced by higher motives than those
of natural affection and a passionate fondness for a
beautiful child. They had respect to the divine pro-
mise made to Abraham, and repeated to Jacob, that
their nation should be delivered from the yoke of
bondage; and they manifestly indulged a hope that
this infant boy might, one day, become an agent in
effecting their national redemption. The faith of God's
elect has a piercing eye, and a mighty efiicacy. It
penetrates the darkest clouds, and, in that strength
which "is made perfect in weakness," attempts great
things: and this was the principle that prompted to
the concealment in question, though the act must have
been attended with the most imminent danger to those
who were concerned in it: "By faith, Moses, when
he was born, was hid three months of his parents,
because they saw that he was a proper child ; and
they were not afraid of the king's commandment."
But, at the end of three months, concealment from
the malign vigilance of Pharaoh's mercenary spies,
became impossible. If the parents' lives were not in
jeopardy, they must have been in fearful expectation
of seeing their little one torn from their embraces
by the hand of violence, and subjected to peculiar
2(XS LECTURES OX BIBLICAL HISTORY.
torture, ill consequence ot iheir too adventurous fond-
ness, which had indicated contempt for the royal
mandate. What then is to be done, in this critical
juncture? Nature feels and trembles; but she is
blind, and full of doubts. Wliat will faith suggest?
What ground of hope can she discover, in so dark
and distressing a case? Will .^AtMell this distracted
mother to sit down and await the salvation of God,
without the use of any further means to save her
boy from impending destruction? No: — but she will
leach unskilful hands to attempt the consiriiciion of a
frail bark, in which the precious treasure may be de-
posited— in which it may doat, for a little season, on
the watery surface, and in which it may, peradven-
iure. be wafted, by the breath of prayer, into the
hands of God, and be saved from the hands of the
wicked. "And when she could no longer hide him.
she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it
with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein:
and she laid it in the dags by the river's brink : and
his sister stood afar od", to wit what would be done to
him.'*
Hannah More, in her Sacred Drama, entitled, "Mo-
ses in the Bulrushes," has furnished a comment on
this touching scene, which can scarcely be surpassed.
The introduction, here, oi a ie'w lines of her beau-
tiful description, needs no apology.
" Since the dear, fatal raarn, that gave him birth,
I have revoiv'ii in mj distracted mind
Each means \o save his life: and many a thoug-ht
^*hicb foDdnesss prompted, prudence has opposed
As perilcns and rash. Witii these poor hands
I've framed a little ark of slender reeds ;
With pitch and siime I have secured the sides.
In this 6ail cradle I intend to lay
My little helpless infant, and expose him
Upon the banks of Nile.
Tb ftdl of danger !
Tis danger to expose, and death to keep him.
Yet, O I "reflect : Shonkl the fierce crocodile
The native, and the tyrant of the Xile,
Seize the deiencele^ infant 1 1
Know, God is everywhere.
Net to one narrow, partial spot confined ;
LECTURE-j ON BIBLICAL HISTOET. 209
Xo — not to cboeen Israel : he cxtentii
Through all the va*t . ~ of space :
At hii: commaxid the : :<estj rise —
The blastings of the hr-,.: . .. = di«pleasnre.
He tells the world of waters when to roar ;
And, at his bidding, .vl c's ar.i seas are cairn :
In Him, not in an a: I tra*t :
In //im, whose prom. .. has fail'd,
I place my confidence.''
Observe on what a slender thread the most momen-
tous events seem, in human view, to be suspended.
See the hope of Israel — their future Moses — their
leader and lawgiver, sleeping among the fleigs of the
Nile, helpless, and quite unconscious of the dangers
that lurk around him. Should a breath of wind
arise — should the tide prove unpropitious — should
some hungry monster descry the reedy cradle, with
its feeble occupant, the child is gone: — the believing
mother's fond expectations are disappointed, and the
hard servitude of Jacob's hapless children must con-
tinue. But not so; for chance is but a name of
7jo//^z/2§' that exists. Providence is all: and all effi-
cient, to guard the falling sparrow, and protect the
Hebrew infant; — to guide the floating atom, and to
poise the rolling wor.ds.
Bur this child of many prayers, and flattering pro-
mise, must perish for want of nourishment if not
speedily relieved, even if the winds and waves and
crocodiles should spare him. True: but it is Hea-
ven's purpose to send him seasonable deliverance.
And now, let us mark, in the means employed for
his relief, a concurrence of volitions and movements
of various and opposite agents, which distinctly be-
speaks the presence and power of a divine hand.
Jochebed and Miriam, Pharaoh's daughter and her
train of maidens — the tide, the wind, the weather,
the place of the exposure, and, even the hour of the
day, must all cooperate to save him whom the Lord
designs to employ, as an instrument in accomplishing
the counsels of his will, and the purposes of his im-
mutable love. The princess comes to the nver's
brink, precisely at the right time — the ark is discov-
18*
^10 LECTURES OX BIBLICAL HISTORY.
ered — it is opened — the babe weeps — the heart of
compassion is moved, and instantly takes the resolu-
tion to adopt the foundling: — by means of the sister's
interposition, supposed to be incidental, the child is
restored to the arms of its own mother to be nursed
as an Egyptian prince. " The name Moses, which
signifies drawn out. is given him, as a memorial of
his wonderful deUverance; and, in process of time, he
appears at court, as the adopted son of the king's
daughter, and receives an education suitable to this
elevated rank;" and, what is worthy of special notice,
qualifying him, so far as human learning can go, for
the high and responsible otfices of leader and law-
giver to the house of Israel.
In concluding this brief account of the birth and
preservation of Moses, let us notice and admire the
providence of God, in providing for the exigencies
of his church and people. No weapon can prosper
against Zion. Her glorious Lord and King reigns
over all. His power and wisdom are infinite — his
truth and covenant engagements are steadfast and
infallible. Let us remember this in reference to our
personal salvation: as also, in reference to the spread
of the gospel, and the ultimate triumphs of redeem-
ing grace. The Lord's arm is revealed, and the na-
tions are feeling more and more sensibly, its gracious
subduing power. The heathen are given to Christ
for an inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the
earth for a possession. •• He shall prolong his days —
he shall see of the travail of his soul and be satis-
fied!" "Ail flesh shall see the salvation of our God.
The mouth of the Lord hath spoken it."
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 211
LECTURE XXII
M05ES FLEES IXTO MIDIAX.
Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? Intendest thou to kill
me as thou killedst the Egyptian ? And Moses feared, and said,
surely this thing- is known. Now when Pharaoh heard this thing-,
he sought to slay Moses: but Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh,
and dwelt in the land of Midian. — Exod. ii. 14-15.
Our last lecture concluded with the introduction of
the infant Moses to the palace of the king of Egypt,
as the adopted son of the king's daughter. The
name of this princess. Josephus tells us, was Ther-
mutis. She would probably continue her little found-
ling some three or four years with his own mother,
who by a wonderful arrangement of Providence, as
we have seen, was employed as his nurse. In Acts
vii. 23, we are told that "he was full forty years old,
when it came into to his heart to visit his brethren,
the children of Israel.'' Whence, it would seem that
he must have resided at court, and been regarded as
a member of the royal family, for the space of about
thirty-five years. Of his history, or of the manner in
which he spent his time, during this period, we have
no information in the sacred Scripture. Indeed, the
palaces of kings are, so generally scenes of vanity
and dissipation, that the Spirit of God seldom fur-
nishes us with any details concerning them, except
so far as may be necessary, in giving a just view of
Providence, in relation to the visible church — the
chosen depository of the truth and ordinances of Je-
hovah. From the circumstances of the case, how-
ever, and, particularly, from Stephen's declaration,
Acts vii. 22, that " Moses was learned in all the wis-
dom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and
212 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
ill deeds," we conclude, with a degree of certainty,
that he was occupied chiefly, during the period just
mentioned, in the acquisition of science and htera-
ture, for which Egypt was at that time, the most dis-
tinguished country in the world.
And here, let us notice and admire the wisdom
and forecast of the Almighty, in rendering the gene-
rosity of Thermutis and the learning of Egypt sub-
servient to the accomplishment of his own great and
holy purposes. Moses was destined to arduous and
important services. He was to stand before Pharaoh,
and plead the cause of his oppressed brethren, the
Israelites; — he was to encounter the ignorance, to
remove the prejudices, to rally the sluggishness, and
reanimate the desponding spirits of his own kindred,
as well as contend with the craft, the power, and the
malice of the magicians: — to lead forth a multitude
of people, amounting to more than a million of souls,
strongly attached to the place of their servitude, and
much inclined to murmuring and mutiny, as their
history abundantly evinces. He was to act as a tem-
poral mediator between this untoward people and
their covenant God; — to ofter intercessions, in their
behalf, when the just judgments of heaven menaced
them for their grievous offences; — and to receive the
law of the Lord, communicated on Mount Sinai " by
the disposition of angels," and publish it, with its
fearful sanctions, to the great congregation. He was
to superintend the movements, the morals, and the
religious observances of this vast multitude, during
a peregrination of forty years in the wilderness, to
which they were subjected by a righteous Provi-
dence, as a piece of discipline preparatory to their
taking possession of the promised land. These were
services of no ordinary importance; — services of ex-
treme difficulty, on the faithful performance of which
much depended, in relation to the glory of God and
the happiness of mankind. And, although the Al-
mighty can work without means, yet, he usually em-
ploys them; and when he is pleased to make use of
human agents in the execution of his purposes, he
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 213
ordinarily endows them, in one way or another, with
quahfications proportioned to the magnitude and ar-
duoLisness of the duties to which they are called. That
Moses, therefore, might be qualified for the duties of
his station, as leader and lawgiver of the house of
Israel, the only wise God judged it proper that he
should have an extensive acquaintance with the
world, and possess all the advantages which a liberal
education could aftbrd. The court of Egypt is, ac-
cordingly, rendered unwillingly tributary to the di-
vine decree. " When God will work, who can let it?"
The king's daughter is foster-mother to the Hebrew
youth, who is destined to subdue the power of her
tyrannical father, and rescue the church of God from
idolatry and bondage. From such facts as this let us
take encouragement to cast our personal cares on the
Lord, and to commend to his wakeful and effective
guardianship the interests of his own most blessed
cause. No weapon formed against Zion shall pros-
per, for Jehovah is her keeper; and he is ^'wonder-
ful in counsel, and excellent in working."
" When JNloses was full forty years old, it came into
his heart to visit his brethren, the children of Israel."
That is — He resolved to resign the pleasures and
splendour of the court, and go to his own people,
that he might lighten their burdens, and share v/ith
them in the blessings of the covenant made with their
fathers. This determination is not to be ascribed to
moroseness, or a want of gratitude to his generous
patroness: nor can it be accounted for, on the prin-
ciples which commonly influence mankind, in similar
cases. He certainly had very strong inducements of
a worldly nature, to retain his place m the household
of Pharaoh ! He had ease, and affluence, and royal
favour; and if the statement of Josephus and other
Jewish writers is to be relied on, he was heir-appa-
rent to the crown. What more could the natural
heart desire? On the other hand, in going to his bre-
thren, he must have counted with certainty on hard-
ships, reproaches, and heavy charges of ingratitude
and follv. How then shall we account for his con-
214 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
duct in tills matter? By referring it to that wonder-
working principle which influenced his pious parents
to *'hide him three months," in defiance of the king's
commandment; — the principle of faith in the divine
testimony, which is so largely celebrated in the ele-
venth chapter of the epistle to the Hebrews: "By
faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to
be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing
rather to suffer affliction, with the people of God,
than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season —
esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than
the treasures in Egypt ; for he had respect unto the
recompense of the reward." With this instructive
instance of self-denial, and victorious faith before us,
let us pause, and inquire whether we are like-minded.
Are we ready to sacrifice all worldly advantages,
which maybe incompatible with our duty to God?
In what estimation do we hold the reproach of Christ ?
Are we prepared to take up our cross, and follow
him, in defiance of all the opposition and hindrances
to be met with in the path of duty? Let us not for-
get that he has expressly declared, '^ If any man love
father or mother, houses or lands more than me, he is
not worthy of me:" and again, " whosoever shall be
ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the
Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his
glory, and the glory of his Father, with the iioly
angels."
But while Moses manifested a noble superiority to
the world, and a commendable zeal for God, and for
the welfare of his afflicted kindred, we cannot but
notice in his first attempt to avenge their wrongs, and
vindicate their cause, a precipitancy and violence
altogether unwarranted and blameworthy: — "Ob-
serving an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his
brethren, he looked this way and that way, and when
he Saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian,
and hid him in the sand." There may have been
mitigating circumstances attendant on this act, with
which we are not made acquainted. Possibly the
Hebrew was slain by the Egyptian; and in that case,
LECTURES ON UIBLICAL HISTORY. 215
Moses might think himself antliorized by the precept
given to Noah, concerning manslaughter, to put the
murderer to death, without awaiting the regular pro-
cess of law. Yet, as tlie narrative is given in the
sacred text, he does appear to Iiave been conscious,
that the act was wrong; else why his circumspection,
his " looking this way and that way," before striking
the fatal blow; and why did he so precipitately bury
the body of the Egyptian in the sand? The truth is,
his zeal was not quite according to knowledge; — he
was for executing judgment, in a summary way — he
was governed too much by feeling — he ran — iie rnsh-
ed forth as the champion of his father's house, before
he was sent ; — for he had not yet received his com-
mission. Nor were his own people disposed to second
his violent measures; his assuming a power wiiich had
not been conferred upon him, tended to aleniate their
confidence, and awaken their jealousy. Accordingly,
when he went out the second day, and finding two
Hebrews striving together, offered his counsel and
services to effect a reconciliation, his friendly inter-
ference was rejected with indignation and reproach,
which he must have felt keenly: "Who made thee a
prince and a judge over us? Intendest thou to kill
me, as thou killedst the Egyptian?"
From this historical incident, we may take several
useful hints. First, we learn from it the importance
of proceeding with caution and religious prudence, in
all our enterprises and labours of love, for the advance-
ment of truth and righteousness among mankind. A
man may, in the ardency of his pious zeal, commence
a reformer — a reprover of others — or even a preacher
of the word, before lie is called of God, and duly quali-
fied for such services. Moses, it would seem, was in
this respect, forty years ahead of Providence in rei?ard
to the deliverance of Israel from the house of bondage.
And many an ardent, and well-meaning minister of
Christ has begun to proclaim the glad tidings, with
sanguine hope of accomplishing great things in a short
time, who, like Luther's amiable co-adjutor, in ''The
216 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
Relormation," soon learned, from experience, that
*' Old Adam is too strong for yonng Melancthon."
Secondly, the narrating of the fact, that Moses slew
an Egyptian in an unwarrantable manner, affords
internal evidence of no equivocal character, that the
Bible is given " by inspiration of God." An impos-
tor, intending to impose on the world a spurious book,
purporting to be of divine origin, would never have
recorded of his favourite hero an act so exceptionable
and offensive as that of manslaughter; committed, too,
with evident indications of conscious criminality. And
allowing that Moses himself was the writer of this
narrative, do not such instances of stern, unsparing,
and impartial faithfulness as that in question, prove,
beyond all reasonable doubt, that he considered him-
self as under bonds of a divine necessity, (if the ex-
pression may be used,) to tell the truth, and that he
wrote indeed, "as he was moved by the Holy
Ghost?" This characteristic of simplicity and un-
bending integrity pervades the sacred Scriptures; and
it deserves the very serious consideration of those
who may entertain doubts concerning their plenary
inspiration.
Thirdly, from the failure of Moses' first attempt to
rescue his brethren from the thraldom of Egypt, we
may infer that various qualifications are requisite to
fit a man for difficult and important services in the
church of God. Human learning is very useful; but
this alone is not sufficient. Deep heart-felt piety —
some acquaintance with human nature, and a strong
sense of the necessity of divine direction and influ-
ence, are indispensable to our success and accepta-
bleness in the work of the Lord. Moses, though
'•learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and
mighty in words and in deeds," was yet rash, self-
confident, and quite deficient in a practical knowledge
of mankind. lie had, therefore, to remain forty years
in a state of pupilage, under divine tuition, before he
could enter acceptably upon the duties of the high
and awful office for which he was designed. The
palace, and the royal seminaries of a pagan prince
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 217
might supply great advantages for the attainment of
literature and polished manners; but they could not
be favourable to one's growth in grace, and in the
habits of devotion. Earthly wisdom " puffeth up;''
but "the wisdom which is from above, is first pure,
then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of
mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and with-
out hypocrisy." Many a laudable undertaking has
been marred and many a noble enterprise utterly
ruined, through the pride or self-sufficiency of agents
employed in the execution. "Except the Lord build
the house, they labour in vain that build it." The
Lord, therefore, ought to be acknowledged in all our
ways, as "' the giver of every good and perfect gift;"
as the inspirer of all good thoughts, and the efficient
cause of all success in "the labours of love and the
work of faith" to which we are called. In striving
for the heavenly prize, "a man is not crowned except
he strive lawfully."
Finding that his conduct, in slaying the Egyptian,
had not only disgusted his own kindred, but exposed
him to the avenging sword of civil authority, Moses
" retired from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the
land of Midian ;" — a small district in Arabia Petrea,
east of the Red Sea, and in the neighbourhood of
Mount Sinai. Here, by a train of circumstances
which need not be detailed, he got introduced to the
family of a distinguished personage, the priest or
prince of the country, who seems to have had several
names; for he is here called Reuel; in Ex. iii. 1. Je-
thro; in Numb. x. 29, Raguel; in Judges iv. 11, Ho-
bab; and Judges i. 16, Keyne, translated the Kenite.
This prince of Midian had property, as was usual in
those times, in flocks and herds; and Moses being
"content to dwell with the man," married Zipporah,
one of his daughters, who bare him a son whom he
called Gershom, i. e. desolate stranger; for said he,
** I have been a stranger in a strange land."
How great and surprising are the vicissitudes of
human life I Here is that Moses, whose preservation
in infancy, cost his parents every thing but the ago-
19
218 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
nies of death — in whose favour divine Providence
linked together a most wonderful concatenation of
propitious occurrences — that Moses, who was rocked
in the cradle of princely munificence — named and
nurtured by a king's daughter — educated in the most
hberal style, as presumptive heir to the sceptre of a
mighty monarchy — reduced to the iiumble station of
a hired shepherd, "in a strange land!" He had, in-
deed, voluntarily sacrificed his flattering prospects of
earthly grandeur to the cause of truth, justice, and
godliness, "accounting the reproach of Christ greater
riches than the treasures in Egypt, and choosing
rather to sutler affliction with the people of God than
to enjoy the pleasures of sin, for a season: but in one
nngnarded moment, and by one guilty act o( iinhal-
loived and 7nis-judging zeal, he lost the confidence of
his father's house, destroyed his own peace, and for-
feited the protection of public law. And we behold
him, 710W, sitting weary and forlorn, by a well in
^Nlidian, and then tending the flock of Jethro, as a
means of procuring his daily bread. But though
"cast down, he is not forsaken." True, he has sin-
ned; and for his sin he is visited with stripes; but the
divine purpose concerning him is not altered. He is
a chosen instrument of great and extensive good. He
is to be the deliverer and lawgiver of Israel; and here
he is placed at school, where he is to make large at-
tainments in a species of knowledge more needful
than that which he had mainly acquired about the
palace in Egypt; — a knowledge of his ow7i heart,
and an experimental acquaintance with the adoraf)le
source of true wisdom and sanctifying grace. Here,
in the solitude and seclusion of a pastoral life, he will
have leisure for meditation and serious reflection.
He will call to mind the covenant which God made
witli his fathers, and ponder well its import, and its
ample provisions; — he will retrace the history of his
own eventful life, marking well the mercies that liave
continually attended him, and sorrowing after a godly
sort tor the sins of his youth; he will ascertain his
vulnerable points, and learn to lean less to his own
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 219
understanding, and to trust more fnlly and fixedly in
the Lord; — he will survey, at the end of mortal line,
the deep and mighty designs of Providence; — he will
contemplate iwprophctic vision, the glories oithat seed
of Abraham, in ivhom all the nations of the earth are
to be blessed: and thus he will be prepared to stand
before Pharaoh in heavenly panoply — to march at
the head of the ransomed tribes, with the firmness
and fortitude of a genuine believer in the divine tes-
timony, and to converse with Jeliovah on the flaming
mountain, with the meek and lowly confidence of a
saint. 0 consecrated school of affliction — blessed po-
verty— enviable retreat, from the fascinating perils of
a luxurious and dissipated court! Thus may we
judge, when a holy Providence sees fit to reduce
us — to strip us of earthly comforts, and subject us to
salutary discipline; to heal our backslidings, and to
teach us to set our affection on things above ! Only
let us in the spirit of Moses, forsake all for Christ,
and instead of being losers we shall be infinite gain-
ers. Though we fall, we shall rise again, through
the power of redeeming grace. We shall go from
strength to strength, till in the issue of the conflict be-
tween sin and holiness we shall come off conquerors,
and more than conquerors, through him that loved
us. For "who shall separate us from the love of
Christ?" Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution,
or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? No: —
*' I am persnaded, says Paul the apostle, that neither
death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor pow-
ers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height,
nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to
separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ
Jesus our Lord.''
220 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
LECTURE XXIir
MOSES RECEIVES HIS COMMISSION.
Now, therefore, behold the cry of the children of Israel is come unto
me, and I have seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians op-
press them : Come now, therefore, and I will send thee unto Pha-
raoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people, the children of Israel,
out of Egypt. — Exodus iii. 9-10.
The forty years, which Moses spent in Midian, was
probably the happiest — certainly the most tranquil
portion of his life. Nor did he spend his time there,
in self-indulgence or sullen indifference about the in-
terests of humanity and religion. To the family of
Jethro, with which he became connected by mar-
riage, he seems to have been both useful and agreea-
ble. The unaspiring and noiseless occupation of a
shepherd, was favourable to the attainment of seve-
ral qualifications highly necessary to fit him for the
arduous and awful ministry, which he was designed
to execute. He appears indeed to have been a dili-
gent and successful student in the school of meek-
ness; and his progress in the divine life we may con-
clude, was rapid and delightful. A more intimate
acquaintance with his own heart, and a deeper sense
of dependance on God, for success in every good en-
terprise, cured and chastened that self-confidence and
impetuosity of zeal, which had impelled him to com-
mit that act of violence on the person of the Egyp-
tian, noticed in our last lecture, and which occasioned
his flight into this land of strangers. How admira-
ble are the ways of Providence ! An incident which
in human view threatened to blast the hopes of the
LECTURES OX BIBLICAL HISTORY
221
pious, who were sighing for the redemption of Israel,
and to defeat the kind intentions of Moses himself, in
regard to the deliverance of his kindred, and the
church of God from the yoke of bondage, is made
ultimately subservient, in a very eminent degree, to
the accomplishment of the divine purpose, not only
towards his afflicted people, but also in relation to a
world lying in ignorance and sin.
In the happy retirement of Midian, while tending
the flock of Jethro, and holding intimate converse
with his God, Moses is supposed to have written the
book of Genesis — the oldest, and excepting the other
portions of sacred Scripture with which it stands on
an equal footing, the most entertaining and the most
important record on earth — a record which describes
the origin of men and visible things; which sketches
their history through a period of more than three and
twenty centuries; which exhibits a righteous Provi-
dence directing all events; which announces the in-
troduction and desolations of sin, and at the same
time pourtrays the incipient development of the great
and glorious redeeming plan ; a record, therefore,
which will be studied and quoted, and venerated as
an infallible oracle while the world stands. The other
four books of the Pentateuch, Moses must have com-
posed, during the remaining forty years of his life,
while an eye-witness to, and prominent agent in the
transactions which he describes.
Let not those who are placed in obscure situations iu
life, imagine that they can do nothing in such circum-
stances, for the glory of God and the benefit of man-
kind. Let them call to mind the useful labours of
Moses in Midian, while employed as a hired shepherd ;
and of Paul the apostle while a prisoner at Rome; of
John (he beloved disciple, when banished to the Isle
of Patmos, and of a host of others who counted all
things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of
Christ Jesus, and let them be instant in prayer for the
prosperity of Zion; let themybrm and execute, so far
as may be practicable, benevolent schemes for the
promotion of truth and for the salvation of sinners. If
19*
222 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
we have a heai^t to the work we shall seldom or
never be without opportunities of doing good.
Moses was happy and useful in retirement; but
the time had now arrived when he was to enter on
the duties of a public station of no ordinary import-
ance. In process of time, the sufterings of the child-
ren of Israel became intolerable; — they, therefore,
cried unto the Lord, who in fulfilment of his covenant
with their fathers, interposed his mighty arm for their
deliverance. And as Moses was to be the principal
instrument in accomplishing this merciful object, the
divine will was made known to him, and his commis-
sion furnished and sealed in a very extraordinary
manner. While attending the flock of Jethro, his fa-
ther-in-law, in the vicinity of Mount Horeb, "The
angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of
fire out of the midst of a bush; and he looked, and
behold the bush burned with fire, and the bush was
not consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn
aside and see this great sight, why the bush is not
consumed: And when the Lord saw that he turned
aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of
the bush and said — Moses, Moses ! And he said, Here
am I. And he said. Draw not nigh hither; put ofl"
thy shoes from ofl" thy feet; for the place whereon
thou standest is holy ground. Moreover, he said, I
am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the
God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid
his face; for he was afraid to look upon God."
The majesty of this passage bids the expositor take
heed, with what intent and with what spirit he ap-
proaches it. Our remarks upon it shall be few and
cautious.
The personage appearing and speaking to Moses,
on this occasion, is called, '• the angel of the Lord, —
the Lord, — God, — and the God of Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob;" whence we may safely conclude that it
was not a created being, inasmuch as three of the
names here given are used throughout the Scripture
to designate the Deity. We believe, therefore, that
it was the Son of God — Jehovah-Jesus — the Cap-
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 223
tain of our salvation — the Messenger of the cove-
nant, in whom dwelt the fulness of the godhead
bodily, that appeared in the burning bush, to commis-
sion the man Moses. The same glorious person after-
wards appeared on Mount Sinai, delivered the law
to Israel, and, upon various occasions, in revealing his
will to the patriarchs, assumed a visible form in pro-
phetical anticipation of his actual assumption of our
nature, in the fulness of time. " No man hath seen
God at any time; the only begotten Son which is in
the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him:" —
and again, *' The Father himself, which hath sent me,
hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard
his voice at any time, nor seen his shape." John [.18;
V. 37.
The symbol used, in this august manifestation, is
the most appropriate that can be imagined. ./^ bush
in flames but not consumed. How aptly expressive
of the state of Israel in Egypt; oppressed, but not di-
minished ; of the church of God in every age, perse-
cuted, but not forsaken; and of the believer assailed
by the fiery darts of the wicked one, but sustained
and cheered by Christ within him, the hope of glory!
In this truly divine scene, we are admonished not
to indulge a vain curiosity, by prying into mysteries
beyond our line; but in all our religious acts and ex-
ercises, to approach the Almighty " with reverence
and godly fear, remembering that while our God is
Love to those who fear him, he is also a consuming
fire to the workers of iniquity. When Moses would
*'turn aside'^ to examine, curiously, "this great
sight," and to ascertain if possible, why the fire does
not consume what seems to be combustible, the bush
becomes vocctl, and his presumption is arrested:
"Moses, Moses! — Draw not nigh hither; put off thy
shoes from off thy feet; for the place whereon thou
standest is ho/i/ ground.'" Wherever Jehovah records
his name and manifests his glory, there the ground is
holy; and there it behoves his professed worshippers to
maintain a deportment indicative of reverential awe.
Let us remember this when we enter God's house,
224 LECTURES OX BIBLICAL HISTORY.
and join in the solemn services of the sanctuary.
The Lord is as really^ though less sensibly, in the
house of prayer, as he was in the bush of Horcb. His
word and ordinances are the symbols of his presence.
Let us fear before him: Let us listen to the messages
of his truth and grace with something of that holy
fear which covered the face of Moses, when accosted
by the Holy One of Israel. " Keep thy foot when
thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to
hear than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they con-
sider not that they do evil."
" I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham,
the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." — This pas-
sage our Lord cites, Matt. xxii. 32, in arguing with the
Sadducees, to prove the immortality of the soul and the
resurrection of the body, from the writings of Moses,
which they professed to receive as of divine authority.
When this declaration was made, the patriarchs named
had been dead some hundred years; yet Jehovah was
still their God. Their souls, therefore, existed and were
happy in the enjoyment of the chief good. But how
does this saying prove the resurrection of the body?
By obvious and legitimate inference; thus — God is
the eternal and unchangeable portion of the persons
of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob ; but the bodies of those
good men are constituent and essential parts of their
persons: consequently, their bodies, though dissolved
in death are in covenant relation with God, and must
of course, unless the divine promise fail, be raised
up, and in union with their souls be admitted to " the
full enjoyment of God to all eternity." With those
who believe the Scripture, and admit the infinite
power of God, this argument is conclusive and irre-
sistible. In the New Testament, this blessed doctrine
is made as clear and indubitable, as words of truth
and acts of divine efficiency can, perhaps, make any
thing of the kind. May a firm and intelligent belief
of it, bring solace to our bleeding hearts, when be-
reaved of beloved relatives and friends. If the Lord
is their God, and our God, we have not lost them, nor
have they utterly forsaken us. The separation is
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 225
only for a short period. Thoy are gone before — and
we are following onward to our Heavenly Father's
house, where we shall find them ready to receive us
into everlasting habitations: " For we know that if
our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved,
we have a building of God, a house not made with
hands, eternal in the heavens."
But let us attend to the investiture of Moses in the
office of leader and lawgiver of the house of Israel.
"And the Lord said, I have surely seen the afflic-
tion of my people which are in Egypt, and have
heard their cry, by reason of their task-masters; for
I know their sorrows: and I am come down to de-
liver them out of the liand of the Egyptians, and to
bring them up out of that land unto a good land, and
a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey."
The God of mercy and truth never loses sight of his
people. In their deepest distresses his eye is on them
for good, and his ears are open to their cries. And,
although his presence fills immensity, yet in address-
ing himself to man, he speaks after the manner of
man, that he may be understood and gain attention.
Hence he is here represented as moved with compas-
sion, and coming out of his holy place to break the
rod of the oppressor, and rescue the prey from the
hand of the mighty. Canaan, though at present a
barren wretched country, owing chiefly to the joint
and baleful influence of ignorance, wickedness and
despotism, was once a delightful region ; and though
at no time so large as Pennsylvania, it might be called
a large land in comparison of Goshen, the place of
Israel's bondage. Floods of milk and honey are the
similitudes employed to designate its luxuriance. To
this promised and most desirable land, Israel is to be
conducted ; and the ministry of Moses is demanded
to break otf their fetters, and to superintend their re-
moval: "Come now, therefore," saith the Lord, still
speaking from the midst of the mystic fire, " and I
will send thee unto Pharaoh that thou mayest bring
forth my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt."
Here is a call of God so distinct, as to be easily un-
226 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
derstood; and proclaimed in circumstances so awfully
impressive, lliat one would think it must have been
instantly obeyed. Yet Moses hesitates and alleges
several excuses for wishing to decline the charge.
What a change has taken place in his mind; — how
different his views on this subject, from what they
were formerly. Some forty years before, he was for
going ahead of Providence. He sallied forth as the
champion of his kindred, and as the minister of their
deliverance, without any call except what he made
out of his own vague impressions, encouraged per-
haps by the suggestions and guesses of some zealous
friends. Now we see him shrinking from the mighty
undertaking, with a diflidence and timidity bordering
on, if not actually partaking of, unbelief and rebel-
Uous obstinacy. Let us hear his objections and ob-
serve how completely they are removed by the voice
from the burning bush.
"And Moses said unto God, who am I, that I should
go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the
children of Israel out of Egypt!" — This language in-
dicates a deep sense of his unworthiness as well as
insufficiency for the arduous task. It was fit and
proper that he should feel thus; but if the arms of
his hands be made strong by the mighty God of
Jacob, he will be enabled to do valiantly, and the
force of this objection will be removed. Here then
follows a promise of all needful support and assist-
ance:— "Certainly I will be with thee." That is — I
will not send thee unfurnished for this difficult ser-
vice;— I will accompany thy exertions by a blessing,
and by an energy that shall be effectual: only believe
my word and trust my power, " nothing doubting."
He who goes forth at the divine command, and with
an express promise of all-sufficient aid, one would
think might enter on any service, however perilous,
with confidence and fearless intrepidity. That which
is called a token in the latter clause of this promise,
is to be considered as addressed to the faith, not to
the sensesof Moses:— " When thou hast brought forth
the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 227
As if it had been said — You shall ac-
coinpUsh the business on which I send you — I will
bear you through all difficulties — you shall return in
safety with my people to this place; and here I will
meet with you to bless you, and to accept your hom-
age and grateful acknowledgment of my power and
and faithfulness. Still, Moses is slow to believe; ac-
cordingly one objection being removed he takes re-
fuge in another, derived from the ignorance and stu-
pidity of the people.
" When I come unto the children of Israel, and
shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath
sent me unto you ; and they shall say to me. What is
his name? what shall I say unto them?" — If there was
any foundation for this alleged difficulty, it gives a
gloomy idea of the state of religion among the Israel-
ites at that time. It represents them as having forgot-
ten the names and titles of the true God. This seems
incredible; for Joseph had not been dead but about
a hundred and forty-four years: and during his life-
time they would certainly be protected and encour-
aged in the observance of their religious rites and or-
dinances. The timid imagination of Moses, which
probably suggested to him this objection, may be sup-
posed to have given a strong colouring to the picture
of their moral degradation. It is manifest, however,
that the circumstances of this people changed very
soon, and very much for the worse, after the death of
Joseph. Their burden increased daily — and it is
quite likely that their task-masters would not allow
them even the weekly Sabbaih for religious duties.
They were moreover, surrounded by idolaters and ac-
customed to hear the names, and witness the impure
rites pertaining to the worship of a multitude of gods,
falsely so called. In such circumstances they must
have degenerated rapidly; — the few good things that
remained among them, were ready to die; which con-
spired, with various other considerations, to evince the
necessity of their speedy removal from the foul and
contagious intluence of the abominations of Egypt.
To confirm the faitii of his doiibling servant, and to
22S LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
remove the fears which arose from this quarter, God
proclaims himself by a 7iame not heretofore men-
tioned in sacred Scripture; "1 Am that I Am: — Thus
shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I Am hath
sent me unto you/' This title implies the incommu-
nicable attributes of the glorious Godhead — Eter-
nity, imniiitabillfy, independence, and nnderived,
unrivalled, and indescribable majesty. An attempt
at exposition here, would be presumption: all that
we can say, is, that Jehovah is, and will be what
he is. Go, then, Moses, in the name of the King
Eternal, Immortal, and Invisible; — bring forth his
chosen people, that they may be organized, and con-
secrated, as the keepers of his oracles and covenant,
to be made known in due time to "earth's remotest
bounds." And lest they should be dismayed at the
proclamation of this new and august title, assure
them that the Lord God of their fathers, Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob, has sent you to bring them up out
of the affliction of Egypt, unto a land flowing with
milk and honey: Go, and they 5i^«// hearken to your
voice. Go to Pharaoh — urge my claim — exhibit your
commission, authenticated by my seal; and, although
I am sure he will not yield, except by a mighty hand,
yet you shall see his power crushed by an out-stretch-
ed arm; for I will do wonders in Egypt, and after
that he will let you go: Nor shall you come forth
empty; — I will give this people favour in the sight of
the Egyptians, whom I will constrain to supply you,
not only with raiment and other articles needful for
the journey, but with jewels of silver and jewels of
gold; and ye shall put them upon your sons, and upon
your daughters; and ye shall spoil the Egyptians.
Strange, that Moses should still hesitate, and indulge
his unbelieving fears! But so it is — "Behold, said
he, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my
voice." Here is something worse than excessive
timidity. Mark, now, the condescension and pa-
tience of the High and Lofty One! Two sensible
tokens, altogether of a miraculous nature, are vouch-
safed to secure the faith, and animate the courage of
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL lIISTORr. 229
this weak, and we might perhaps say, skeptical be-
Uever: — tiie shepherd's crook is clianged into a ser-
pent, and re-converted into a rod; and one of his
hands is made '"leprous as snow," and instantly
"turned again as his other flesh:" nay, more — he
is endowed with the power of turning water into
hlood; and yet he doubts, and begs to be excused
under a new plea; — " 0 my Lord, I am not eloquent,
I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue." And
when it is intimated that the Creator of man's mouth
can, if necessary, make his tongue fluent, still he
})leads; '• 0 my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the iiand
of him whom thou wilt send!" Here " the anger oj
the Lord was kindled against Moses," and he was
no doubt, rebuked for his obstinate incredulity, and
backwardness to obey the voice of the Lord; but
after all, he is not abandoned. To satisfy his doubts,
as it would seem, and to furnish him with a useful
and pleasant colleague, his brother Aaron, distin-
guished for eloquence, is put in the commission with
him; and now tlie two brotiiers, relying on the Divine
promise for all needful support, go forth in the Lord's
name to break the yoke of the oppressor, and bring
their brethren, of the house of Israel, into the land of
promise.
LECTURE XXIV.
MIOSES AND AARO.V niOCEED TO EXECUTE TFIEIR COMMISSION.
And Moses and Aaron did as the Lord commanded them, so did they:
and Moses was fourscore years old, and Aaron fourscore and three
years old when they spake unto FIjaraoh. — Exodus vii. 6, 7.
In the preceding lecture, we noticed the appointment
of INIoses to the oflice of leader and law-giver of
Israel, and some of the circumstances connected with
20
230 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
his designation to that arduous and important service.
Before we attend him at the opening of his commis-
sion in the presence of Pharaoh, and in the execution
or his awful functions as Jehovah's ambassador to
that haughty monarch, an occurrence which took
place on his way to Egypt claims some attention, as
well on account of the obscurity which hangs about
it, as for the practical lesson which it seems to have
been designed to teach. The occurrence alluded to
is related in these words; — " And it came to pass by
the way in the inn, that the Lord met him, (i. e. Moses,)
and sought to kill him. Then Zipporah took a sharp
stone, and cut off the foreskin of iier son, and cast it
at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art
thou to me. So he let him go: then she said, a
bloody husband thou art, because of the circumci-
sion."— Without staying to cite the various conjec-
tures of commentators on this obscure passage of
sacred Scripture, we would remark upon it — that
Moses appears from some cause or otiier, (perhaps
in compliance with his wife's prejudice against the
rite,) to have neglected the circumcision of one of his
sons. For this violation of the Abrahamic covenant,
which required that every man-child should be cir-
cumcised, at eight days old, on pain of being cut off
from his people, (Gen. xvii. 9-14,) the Lord's dis-
pleasure was manifested against Moses, in some very
distressing manner. Hereupon Zipporah, moved by
fear, and finding her husband rendered incapable of
attending to the duty, performed tlie external rite
with a sharp instrument made of a species of stone
susceptible of a keen edge, and frequently used in
such operations. The commanded duty being thus
complied with, the token of divine displeasure, what-
ever it may have been, was removed; and Moses was
permitted to proceed on his journey. The speech and
behaviour of Zipporah on the occasion, indicated a
high degree of petulance, if not of contempt for sacred
things. "A bloody husband art thou to me, because
of the circumcision," was a declaration, which not
only betrayed great disrespect for her husband, but
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 231
evidently involved a reproachfnl reflection on liis re-
ligion. Such a querulous-tempered woman would
probably be neither contented in her own mind, nor
helpful to INIoses in the difficult business upon which
he was going to Egypt. We may conclude, there-
fore, from this circumstance, taken in connexion with
what is related, Ex. xviii. 1, &c., that, by consent of
all parties concerned, Zipporah and her two sons,
Gershom and Eliezer, went back to the paternal
dwelling of Jethro, under whose care they remained
till Moses, at the head of the ransomed tribes, returned
in holy triumph to the mount of God.
The practical lesson suggested by this singular piece
of history is, that we should be careful to perform
every known duty in its proper season. No pressure
of worldly business, no fear of man, no complaisance
to the skeptical notions of respected friends should be
allowed to hinder us from a prompt discharge of those
duties which God has enjoined upon us, in his blessed
Bible. And this principle holds good in regard to
ritual observances, or positive institutions, no less than
in relation to moral and relative duties. Did the Lord
meet Moses in the way, and lay upon him some sore
affliction for neglecting to circumcise his son? Then
may we expect similar visitations of his anger, if we
treat divine ordinances with similar neglect. This
thought deserves the serious consideration of parents,
who either wholly neglect, or needlessly delay the
dedication of their children to God in baptism; and
of those persons also, who abstain voluntarily, and
with heedless indifference, from the Lord's supper.
The Almighty has insthuted no useless ordinances.
Wisdom and goodness mark all his appointments;
but most conspicuously are these divine attributes
blended in the sacraments of the New Testament.
As we would, therefore, acknowledge the authority,
and celebrate the grace of God our Saviour, let us
keep his precepts with all diligence, and earnestly
endeavour to walk before him, with our households,
in the way of his commandments, blameless. Thus
may we hope to realize in our domestic circles, the
232 LECTURES ON EIELICAL HISTOrvV.
faithful saying of the Psalmist: "The voice of re-
joicing and salvation is in the tahernacles of the rigli-
teons."
Soon after the unpleasant event which took place
'•by the way, at the inn," Moses was joined by Aaron,
his brother, who, in obedience to the heavenly vis-
ion, had come forth to meet him in the wilderness of
Midian. This must have been truly a joyful a.nd
a solemn meeting. The brothers, after a separation
of forty years, are brought together by a wonder-
ful Providence, to unite in a mission of a very extra-
ordinary character. They embrace each other with
more than natural aflection; confer fully and freely
on the subject matter of their high vocation; and after
united prayers and thanksgivings to the God of their
fathers, they set forward for the scene of action, bear-
ing along with them the rod of God, and a fi'arrant
from the" court of Heaven, signed by The Great I
Am, to bring the seed of Jacob out of the house of
bondage.
The sacred narrative, passing over in silence the
incidents of their journey, next presents them to our
notice in the midst of the children of Israel; who, on
being informed of the kind errand on which they had
come, and on hearing the words which the Lord had
spoken to them, and beholding the signs of super-
natural power with which they were endued, "bowed
their heads and worshipped." Following their in-
structions, they then proceed to open their commis-
sion and exhibit their credentials, in the presence of
Pharaoh, with a "Thus saith the Lord God of Israel,
Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto
me in the wilderness." To this demand the haughty
king of Egypt was far from being disposed to yield:
his reply affords an instance of fool-hardy contempt
for the authority of the Most High, such as is rarely
to be met with in the annals of human depravity:
"Who is the Lord that I should obey his voice to let
Israel go? I know not the Lord; neither will I let
Israel go?" And here commences the conflict, which
is to be the main subject of this exercise. Our obser-
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTOllY. 233
vation^ upon it, shall be arranged under tin-ec heads,
viz. The design of this extraordinary mission; the
obstacles that opposed its being carried into effect;
and the means employed in its accomplishment.
I. The design of the mission.
This was great, and good, and extensive in its bear-
ing, beyond mortal measurement. To say that it was
to deliver a numerous people from unjust servitude —
to redeem a nation from the iron grasp of cupidity
and despotism, would be saying little; though that
alone, would have been an object worthy the special
interposition of a righteous Providence. What, ex-
cepting life itself, is so dear and desirable to man, as
liberty and the right of self-government? Let the
aged men, who, even at this day, love to recount the
perilous exploits of that eventful contest which, under
favour of Heaven, terminated in the Independence of
these United States, say whether the liberation of a
great people from a foreign yoke, is not a matter of
\h^ first magnitude in human affairs. This allusion
may seem strained, and inapplicable to the case of the
Israelites, inasmuch as the American colonists dwelt
in a large land, without task-masters, and scarcely
conscious of the yoke which they bore. This may be
true; but the cases are, nevertheless, analogous. The
same principle that would impose taxes without allow-
ing the taxables the privilege of being represented in
the government, which a portion of their hard earn-
ings contributed to support, would, if an opportunity
should ofier, exact the full tale of brick, without
furnishing the requisite straw.
But the mission in question contemplated something
more than the temporal emancipation of a great nation
from the thraldom of Egypt. The glory of the only
living and true God was deeply concerned in its suc-
cess. The world was now filled with dumb idols;
and amid the heterogeneous mass of fanciful divinities,
the supposed patrons of all manner of vice and cruelty,
the principles of pure religion and the rights of the
Creator, were in danger of being utterly forgotten
20*
234 LECTURES OX BIBLICAL HISTORY.
among mankind. Of these sad fruits of sin, Egypt
was, at this time, the most prolific hot-bed, perhaps,
on earth: here, therefore, it seemed important that
the power of Jehovah should be displayed, in some
impressive form, calculated to awaken men from their
delusive dreams, to break their confidence in lying
vanities, and turn their devotions to the only proper
object of religious homage. That this purpose was,
in some degree answered, by the legation of INIoses
and Aaron, is made plain in the sequel of the history
now before us. Nor was this all: — In mercy to the
world, God intended to make a revelation of his
will to mankind, that they might know the duties
required of them, and learn the way of salvation
through the blessed Redeemer. It was judged ne-
cessary, therefore, by the only wise God, that a
peculiar people should be selected as the depository
of this revelation; and that they should be placed
in circumstances favourable to their receiving it with
due reverence — that it might be preserved with re-
ligious care, and transmitted to succeeding genera-
tions, unadulterated and entire. And that this be-
nevolent purpose, reaching in its influence to all ages
and nations of the world, was more likely to be
attained by means of the family of Jacob, redeemed
from Egyptian bondage, and separated, afterwards,
from the rest of mankind by a wall of ceremonies,
under the ministry of Moses, than by any other me-
thod that can be conceived, will scarcely be denied,
we think, by any intelligent man, wlio shall examine
the subject candidly and with an honest desire to
know, and ingenuousness enough to acknowledge the
truth. Such we take to be, summarily, the design of
this extraordinary mission: and, when we seriously
consider the magnitude and benevolence of the design,
are we not constrained to allow, that it furnished oc-
casion for all the mighty apparatus employed in its
execution?
II. I'he obstacles, which opposed its being carried
into efiect, were ; — the dejected state of the Israelites;
the cunning craftiness of the 7nagicians; and the
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 235
hisaliable cupidity and obdurate wickedness of the
king of Egypt.
The people had worn the yoke so long that they had
become, in a measure, inured to its galhng pressure.
Their spirits were broken down — their mental energy
prostrated; — and they had been made to serve with so
much rigour, and allowed so little time for religious
improvement, that they had nearly forgotten the pro-
mises made to their fathers, in relation to their being
put in possession of the land of Canaan, in the fourth
generation from the time of their entrance into Egypt.
Hence, when they found that the incipient steps to-
wards tlieir deliverance gave occasion to an augmen-
tation of their burdens, they not only refused to exert
themselves, but reproached the Lord's messengers, as
if they had come to aggravate their sufferings. *'And
they met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the way, as
they came forth from Pharaoh — and they said unto
them, the Lord look upon you, and judge ; because ye
have made our savour to he abhorred in the eyes of
Pharaoh, and i?i the eyes of his servants, to put a
sword in their hand to slay nsV This grievous
charge, though totally unfounded, had a painful and
ill effect on the mind of iSloses. It furnished him, in-
deed, with an errand to the throne of grace; but his
complaining prayer on the occasion, betrayed a rem-
nant of the old leaven of unbelief, and is not to be imi-
tated in similar trials : " Lord, wherefore hast thou so
evil-intreated this people? Why is it that thou hast
sent me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy
name, he hath done evil to this people; neither hast
thou delivered thy people at all.'^ Alas, for our fallen,
faitjiless nature! Were God's ways as our ways, or
his thoughts as ours, nothing would be done, in the
difficult work of redemption — it would cease forever.
Another hindrance to the accomplishment of the
design of this mission, was the cunning craftiness of
the magicians. These men had an almost unbounded
influence on Pharaoh — on his courtiers, and on all
classes of his superstitious subjects. Interested, there-
fore, to maintaui the credit of their infernal art, they
23G LECTunEs on eiclical history.
set themselves, with unrelenting mahgnity, to oppose
the messengers of Jehovah. Whether these magi-
cians were in some sort of alhance with the spirits of
darkness, or acquired their skill in their vile art by
long practice, without any preternatural aid, is a ques-
tion which we have neither time nor inclination to
discuss. We will only say in passing, that it does ap-
pear to us on the face of the Holy Scriptures, of both
Testaments, that there is a prince of devils, with
many evil angels under him; — and that these foul
spirits have a surprising power, not only of influenc-
ing wicked men, but of disturbing and harassing the
minds of the pious occasionally. But whatever may
be their power, it '\^ permitted^ and bounded, and con-
trollable by the Jilmighiy. The Son of God com-
manded the demons out of the demoniacs, in the days
of his visible abode on earth: and the God of Moses
and Aaron enabled them to triumph over the tricks of
Jannes and Jambres, after the second experiment at
least. The sorcerers succeeded tolerably well " with
their enchantments," in the transmutation of the rods
into serpents, and of water into blood, because the
substitution of the one in the place of the other might
be practicable in certain curcumstances without being
noticed by superficial observers. But the lice, the
frogs, the boils, the murrain, the hail, the darkness,
&c., they could neither imitate nor command. This
obstacle, therefore, to the accomplishment of the di-
vine purpose was overcome by divine power.
The other grand impediment to the speedy execu-
tion of the design was, the insatiable cupidity and
obdurate wickedness of Pharaoh. His cupidity ap-
peared in his unwillingness to relinquish the services
of the Israelites — and his singular obstinacy, in his
peremptory refusal to acknowledge Jehovah's claim
to that people — and in his contempt of repeated de-
monstrations of a power in the heavens, which he
could not gainsay or resist with the least hope of suc-
cess. "Woe to him that striveth with his Maker!
Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth ;
shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What
LECTURES OS BIBLICAL HISTORY. 237
iiiakest thou? or thy work, lie hath no hands?'' The
hardness of Pharaoh's heart is proverbial. It cer-
tainly appears to have been of a very intense and
unyielding sort. How did he arrive to such a con-
summate degree of obduracy? In the same way, we
suppose, tliat many other sinners make themselves
vessels of wrath, fitted for destruction; i. e. by fulfill-
ing the hists of the flesh, and by resisting the means
used by a Holy Providence for their conviction and
conversion from the error of their ways. In the narra-
tive betbre us, it is in several places, said that God
hardened Pharaoh's heart; and in other places, that
he hardened his own heart: and here is a dilTicultv,
for the solution of which, great critical ingenuity has
been displayed, and much time spent, which might
have been more usefully employed. We have but
few words to say on the subject. This wicked mon-
arch was raised up, or sustained in life — not crushed
instantly by the divine arm — in order that Jehovah's
power and long suffering might be manifested in his
case, in a striking and memorable manner. But a
God of purity can impart no sinfulness to any crea-
ture, nor add to it where it already exists, bi/ a direct
and positive influence: the only way, therefore, so
far as we can conceive, in which he could harden Pha-
raoh's heart, was by affording him such warnings and
other means of conviction, as must, in the nature of
things, leave him without excuse for his impenitence;
and as must, of course, aggravate his guilt if he con-
tinued rebellious and disobedient to the commands of
his Creator. But, not to mention other considerations,
let it be carefully noted here, that the obdurate wick-
edness of Pharaoh was the most formidable obstacle
that impeded the execution of the design contemplated
in the mission of Moses: an obstacle, to subdue which,
some half a score of tremendous judgments were in-
flicted on Egypt. We cannot, therefore, suppose that
God actually hardened this man's heart, without sup-
posing (what amounts almost to blasphemy) that he
created a hindrance to the fulfilment of his own pur-
pose, for the sake of displaying his power in subduing
23S LECTURES OX BIBLICAL HISTOTvY.
it. Such were the obstacles that opposed the accom-
plishment of Heaven's kind designs in the redemption
of his people from the house of bondage.
III. Our observations on the means employed for
the removal of these impediments, and for the com-
plete execution of the divine decree in this important
matter, must be short and cursory.
The God of mercy proceeded in this instance, as he
does ordinarily with those who set themselves against
his authority and holy counsels. He first adopted
lenient and persuasive measures, and when these failed
to produce the desired effect, he resorted to his strange
work; his hand took liold on judgment, his glittering
sword is lifted up, to show that while he takes no
pleasure in the destruction of the wicked, he will by
no means clear the guilty.
The transmutation of Aaron's rod into a serpent,
and its devouring those of the magicians, when "they
did so with their enchantments," was not a plague,
but merely a token to Pharaoh, that God Almighty
had empowered and commissioned his servants to
bring forth his people, that they might serve him in
the wilderness, and in the land of promise. Accord-
ingly, after exhibiting this testimony of the validity of
their pretensions, the two ambassadors approach the
king of Egypt with all due deference, and respectfully
lay before him this statement and humble petition:
"The God of the Hebrews hath met with us: let us
go, we pray thee, three days journey into the desert,
and sacrifice unto the Lord our God, lest he fall upon
us wuh pestilence, or with the sword." But the
haughty monarch, unmoved by this respectful appeal,
the Lord's ambassadors were obliged, in the execu-
tion of their commission, to have recourse to stronger
and more effectual measures, as we shall see in our
next lecture.
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 239
LECTURE XXV.
THE PASSOVER INSTITUTED.
And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you,
What mean ye by this service ? that ye shall say — It is the sacri-
fice of the Lord's passover, who passed over the houses of the chil-
dren of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians and deliv-
ered our houses. — Exodus xii. 26, 27.
The redemption of the Israelites from the bondage of
Egypt was, on several accounts, an important and
memorable event. It gave occasion to a very extra-
ordinary display of God's power and faithfulness in
the fulfilment of his promises, and in the protection of
his people. It was a significant act of Providence,
manifestly designed and admirably calculated to con-
vey to mankind, in their successive generations, in-
structions of the utmost moment. A religious rite
was, therefore, instituted to perpetuate the remem-
brance of this illustrious event — a rite called, for a
reason mentioned in Scripture, "The Sacrifice of the
Lord's Pass-over," or, more commonly, "The Pass-
over," simply. This divine ordinance, with some of
the most striking circumstances of its appointment,
and particularly its relation to the sacrament of the
Lord's Supper, will be the subject of our present
lecture.
The institution is described in the sacred text, with
a minuteness which clearly indicates its importance,
and supersedes the necessity of a laboured or tedious
exposition. On the tenth day of the month Abib,
afterwards called Nisan, and corresponding, nearly,
to our March, the people were directed to take, by
families, a lamb, of the male kind, without blemish,
and not exceeding a year old, from the flocks, to be
240 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
kept for the purpose till the fourteenth day of the
same month, when it was to he slain, its blood
sprinkled on the door-posts of their dwellings, and its
flesh roasted and eaten with unleavened bread and
bitter herbs. Tiiis was to be done in the evening;
and, if any part of the viclini remained over night, it
was to be consumed by fire in the morning. And,
that they might be ready to depart whenever the
signal should be given, the people were, moreover,
required to eat the paschal lamb in liasle, having
their loins girded, shoes on their feet, and staves in
their hands. Some of the particulars here mentioned
in the manner of observing the rite, were rendered
proper by the circumstances of the people at the first
celebration, but were afterwards discontinued as not
being essential to the due observance of the ordi-
nance; such as the partaking of it in separate fami-
lies, the sprinkling of the blood on the door-posts of
their private houses, and all those preparations which
related to a speedy march out of the house of bon-
dage.
Concerning the subsequent observance of this sacred
memorial, ''in their generations," the law directs that
it should be celebrated, not in private dwellings, but
'• in the place which the Lord should choose to place
his name in;" i. e. at the tabernacle and the temple;
that the service should contiiiue for seven days, and
that the first and last of these days should be kept
with peculiar solemnity, and abstinence from secular
business; that not a bone of the Paschal lamb should
be broken, and that a stranger should not be allowed
to partake of the festival till he had professed his faith
in the God of Israel, by the circumcision of himself
and the male members of his household. And as the
Passover was considered as a commemorative sacri-
fice, so the ritual directs, agreeably to the general rule
concerning sacrifices, " Thou shaft, therefore, sacrifice
the Passover unto the Lord thy God, of the flock and
the herd, in the place which the Lord shall choose to
put Ins name there."
The primary design of this institution, was mani-
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 241
festly to keep np in the tribes of Israel, a grateful re-
membrance of tlieir deliverance from the oppressive
yoke of their Egyptian masters; and thus to engage
and encourage their devotion to, and confidence in,
the God of tlieir fathers, who had broken the rod of
the oppressor and redeemed them from servitude,
agreeably to his promise, "with a strong hand and
an outstretched arm.'^ The people were accordingly
commanded to '"observe this thing, as an ordinance to
them, and to their sons for ever:'^ that is, during their
existence as the peculiar people of God, the holy na-
tion, the depository of the divine oracles, till Shiloh
should come, who was to break down the middle wall
of partition, and proclaim salvation to all nations,
through the sacrifice of his blood. The people were
required, also, to explain the nature and design of the
institution to their children, when settled in the land
of their destined inheritance: " When ye be come to
the land, which the Lord will give you, according as
he hath promised," and " When your children shall
say unto you. What mean ye by this service? ye
shall say, It is the sacrifice of the Lord's Passover,
who passed over the houses of the children of Israel
in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians and delivered
our houses.'' This -ordinance was celebrated with
religious care and punctuality by the Israelites in their
best days, as during the times of Joshua, Samuel,
Hezekiah, and Josiah, and after their return from the
Babylonian captivity. Its observance was indeed, at
several periods of their history, interrupted by their
frequent wars and relapses into idolatry; but the due
attention to this and their other divinely instituted
rites, was always regarded as indicative of their na-
tional prosperity and of the favourable state of re-
ligion among them. The existence of this rite, and
the estimation in which it was held by that people,
from the de})arture out of Egypt till the destruction
of their temple by the Romans, a period of more than
fifteen hundred years, affords a strong argument, or
rather, monumental demonstration of the truth of the
history contained in the book of Exodus. The very
21
242 LECTTJRES OX BIBLICAL HISTORY.
name, in fact, " The sacrifice of the Lord's Passover,"
points to the origin of the rite as related by Moses,
with indubitable certainty and precision. All such
observances take their rise from events of interest and
notoriety, else it would be impossible for them to ob-
tain currency and credit among mankind. This obser-
vation may be made with additional force in relation to
the Christian Passover, the memorial of our Saviour's
death. Without allowing the truth and reality of the
event which it is intended to commemorate, it is im-
possible to account for the existence of the rite.
The remembrance of Israel's departure out of Egypt
was secured also, by a distinction of the year into
ecclesiastical and civil, to which that event gave rise.
Anterior to the Exodus, the Jews considered the year
as beginning with the mxonth Tirzi, answering nearly
to our September, about the autumnal equinox; and,
as we have observed already, the departure from
Egypt took place \\\ the seventh month, according to
the usual reckoning, called Abib, or Nisan, about the
vernal equinox. But to indicate the magnitude of
the deliverance accomphshed on this occasion by the
interposition of divine power, "The Lord spake unto
Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, Tliis
month shall be unto you the beginning of months; it
shall be the first month of the year to you." Accord-
ingly, they ever afterwards considered this as the com-
mencement of their ecclesiastical year, and calculated
from it the time of their feasts and other religious ob-
servances; while in civil concerns they, in common
with some neighboring nations, followed the old reck-
oning.
The relation which the Passover bears to the Lord's
Supper, claims special consideration. That these in-
stitutions are analogous, the one to the other, just as
t'ne two dispensations to which they belong, respect-
ively, correspond to one another, is the prevailing
opinion of the best expositors of sacred Scripture, with
whose writings we have any acquaintance. Under
the Old Testament dispensation, the gospel was ex-
hibited symbolically; under the Christian dispensa-
LECTUHEs; ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 243
tioii wc have the blessings of the same glorious gos-
pel presented to our acceptance in a more luminous,
direct, and inviting form. The whole Jewish econ-
omy— " The adoption and the glory, and the cove-
nants, and the giving of the law, and the service of
God, and the promises;" — the patriarchs and the pro-
phets, the types and the sacrifices, and the prophecies,
all terminate in Christ, the Redeemer, <'in whom
all the promises are yea, and amen, to the glory of
God the Father." On this grand principle, which
seems to be inwovoi throughout the whole tenour of
Scripture, the deliverance of Israel was a type of the
redemption of the world by Jesus Christ; and the insti-
tuted rite which commemorated that deliverance, was
designed to give place, in due time, to the memorial of
that blood sheddiitg — that one sacrificial offering,
'^ which for ever perfecteth them that are sanctified. '^
The dealh of Chrisl is the object contemplated as well
in the Jewish sacrament, the passover,as in the Chris-
tian ordinance, the Lord's Supper. The former point-
ed to a dying Saviour prospectively; the latter looks
retrospectively, to the same surprising proof of re-
deeming love. It is conceded that the passover was
designed, primarily, to commemorate the temporal
redemption of the seed of Jacob; but, then, that re-
demption itself was but " a shadow of good things to
come;" and of course the rite which kept up the
remembrance of it, must have referred ultimately
and mainly, to the shedding of that blood which-
cleanseth from all sin; which constitutes "the propi-
tiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but for the
sins of the whole world." Unless we admit this refer-
ence of the paschal lamb with its attendant ceremo-
nies, to Christ crucified, it seems impossible to find a
reason for its appointment, or to conceive of an end
to be answered by it, worthy of the wisdom and
goodness of the only wise God. The slaying of the
lamb, the sprinkling of its blood on the door-posts, the
eating of its fiesh with unleavened bread, &c., had no
eflect that we can discern, cither from Scripture or
from the nature of the case, in subduing the opposition
244 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
of Pharaoh to the enlargement of the IsraeHtes. Why
then was the rite ordained? and why were the peo-
ple commanded to observe it in their generations for
ever? To these and the like questions, the only
rational answer is, that this whole ceremonial was
intended to prefigure '^ Christ our passover, who was
sacrificed for us." The Lord's Supper,_ therefore,
commemorates that which the Jewish passover typi-
fied, viz. the atoning sacrifice of the '^ Lamb of God,
who taketh away the sin of the world." Let us then,
in what remains of this exercise, attend to some of the
most striking points of resemblance between these or-
dinances, particularly in regard to the spirit and man-
ner of their due observance. The redemxption of
Israel from the bondage of Egypt, is a most signifi-
cant and impressive type of that glorious deliverance
which our Lord and Saviour has accomplished for his
people: nor can the full import of the former be seen,
without a reference to the latter. The true and effi-
cacious sacrifice of the Lord's passover is the blood
of Christ, which cleanseth from all sin. Jesus, the
Son of God, is the Lamb, virtually slain from the
foundation of the world, as the true paschal lamb of
our redemption. Let us, then, keep the feast that
commemorates his love, " not with old leaven, neither
with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with
the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." Let us
obey his precepts, in proof that we love him ; and
when asked wdiat we mean by this service, we will
say, because "we have redemption through his blood,
even the forgiveness of sins," therefore, we eat bread
and drink wine, "in remembrance of him who loved
us, and gave himself for us, a sacrifice and an offer-
ing unto God for a sweet smelling savour." Thus
may we hope that others will join us in the delightful
service, and find by happy experience that his yoke
is easy, and his burden light; that his ways are plea-
sant, and all his paths peaceful. To the Lamb that
was slain, as the great "sacrifice of the Lord's pass-
over," let us unite with the blood-bought multitude,
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 245
which no man can number, in the sweet and appro-
priate hnes of the poet:
" Hail 1 thou agonizing Saviour,
Bearer of our sin and shame I
l)y thy merits we find favour,
Life is given, through tliy name.
Paschal Lamb, by God appointed,
All our sins on thee were laid;
By Almighty love anointed,
Thou hast full atonement made.
All thy people are forgiven
Through the virtue of tJiy blood;
Open'd is t!ie gate of heaven:
Peace is made 'twixt man and God."
LECTURE XXYI.
PARTICULARS COXXECTED WITH THE EXIT FROM EGYPT.
And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God
led them not througli the way of the land of the Philistines, al-
though that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people
repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt : But God
led the people about through the way of the wilderness of the
Red Sea; and ihc children of Israel went up harnessed out of the
land of Egypt. And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him.
for be had straitly sworn the children of Israel, saying, God will
surely visit you; and ye shall carry up my bones away hence with
you. And they took their journey from Succoth, and encamped in
Etham, in the edge of the wilderness. And the Lord went before
them by day, in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by
night, in a pillar of fire, to give them light to go by day and night.
He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire
by night, from before the people. — Exodus xiii. 17-22.
Se^'eral facts and circumstances connected with the
departure of the Israehtes out of Egypt, are worthy
of notice; some on account of the apparent difficulties
attending them, and others on account of the con-
24G LECTURES OX BIBLICAL HISTORY.
firmation which due attention to Ihem may aflord to
our faith in the sacred narrative. Of this nature
are — The period of their stay in that country — their
number at tlie time of their exit — tlie means em-
ployed to ohtain some remuneration from the Egyp-
tians for past services — the respect which they showed
to Joseph's remains — the direction in which they first
moved — the symbol of the Divine Presence which
accompanied them — and their extraordinary passage
over the Red Sea. To a brief consideration of these
particulars, this lecture will be chiefly devoted.
In regard to the term of Israel's continuance in
Egypt, there is some difficulty. It is not incapable,
however, of a satisfactory solution. From what is
said,. (Exodus xii. 40 and 41,) it might be inferred, on
a hasty perusal of the passage, that they were in the
Iiouse of bondage four hundred and thirty years;
whereas the fact is, they were there only half that
time, viz: two hundred and fifteen years. The text
'referred to, speaks of the sojourning of the children
of Israel, i. e., of Abraham and his posterity, in the
line of Isaac and Jacob, but does not limit this so-
journing to Egypt: "Now the sojourning of the chil-
dren of Israel, ivho dwelt in Egypt^ was four hundred
and thirty years: and it came to pass, at the end of the
four hundred and thirty 3^ears, even the self-same day,
it came to pass, that all the hosts of the Lord went out
from the land of Egypt." Abraham was a sojourner
from the time of his leaving Ur of the Chaldees, at
the divine call, till the day of his death. And his
descendants were pilgrims and strangers in a migra-
ting and unsettled state, long before their descent into
Egypt. The four hundred and thirty years are de-
signed to express the whole period of their pilgrimage
and servitude, anterior to their getting possession of
Canaan. In Genesis xv. 13, God tells Abraham, that
the oppression of his seed shall be four hundred years;
i. e., thirty years short of the period mentioned in the
passage just cited from Exodus xii. To reconcile this
prediction with the account which Moses gives of its
fulfilment, it is only necessary to observe, that the
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 247
prediction was uttered about the time of Isaac's birth,
which was from five and twenty to thirty years after
the cahing of Abraham; and, consequently, about four
hundred years before tlie departure of the Israehtes
out of Egypt. "The children of Israel," says Dr.
Shuckford, "did not live in Egypt four hundred and
thirty years; for they came into that country with
Jacob, 'a. M. 229S, and went out of it, A. M. 2513;
so tliat they Uved in Egypt but two hundred and
fifteen years: therefore the sojourning of the children
of Israel must not be limited to their residence in
Egypt, but must be extended to the time of their
Hving in Canaan; for the four hundred and thirty
years here mentioned, begin from Abraham's first
coming into Canaan." The Samaritan text has the
verse thus: "Now the inliabiting of the children of
Israel and their fiithers^ whereby they inhabited in
the land of Canaan, and in the land of Egypt, were
four hundred and thirty years." Dean Prideaux con-
siders this as a paraphrase on the Hebrew text, and
regards it as giving the true sense of the passage.
This view of the subject is confirmed by the testi-
mony of Josephus also, who says, "that the Israelites
left Egypt four hundred and thirty years after Abra-
ham's coming into Canaan, and two hundred and
fifteen years after their entering that country with
Jacob." It appears, then, that the Israelites, after
remaining in Egypt two hundred and fifteen years,
left that country in the year of the world 2513, and,
consequently, before the birth of Christ 1491 years;
or, to aid the memory by means of a round number,
we may say about fifteen hundred years belore the
advent of our Saviour.
It is not easy to ascertain the exact number of tliese
people, at the time of their exit from the land of op-
pression. They came into Egypt a teeble band, their
whole number then, including Joseph and his sons,
not exceeding four score. In the space of little more
than two hundred years, they had increased, the sa-
cred text informs us, to six hundred thousand men
capable of bearing arms, besides women and children.
24S LECTURES OX BIBLICAL HISTORY.
and old men, wlio liad passed the military age. On
the moderate calculation of four persons of all other
descri])tions for one man capable of military service,
their whole number must have been three millions;
llie most extraordinary instance of a rapid increase
of population that is to be found in the annals of
the world: especially when we take into view the
circumstances in which they were placed, by no
means favourable to their growth and prosperity as
a people. For, admitting what indeed seems pro-
bable, that their oppression did not commence till
after the death of Joseph and his brethren, yet when
we recollect that Moses was born under a decree
of the cruel Pharaoh, ordaining the destruction of the
male children, and under which many undoubtedly
perished, although it seems not to have continued in
force long; — when we consider, that the land which
the people cultivated was not their own, and that
their servitude, for at least a hundred and twenty
years, v/as most abject and disheartening, we must,
I think, ascribe their extraordinary multiplication to
the special favour of Divine Providence, in fulfilment
of the promise made, and often repeated to their fa-
thers, of a seed resembling the stars for multitude.
To furnish such a vast body of people with the means
of sustenance for a long and perilous journey, such
as they were now about to enter upon, must have
been a matter of serious difficulty and solicitude to the
leaders in the enterprise: for, although they were
supported in the wilderness by miracle, as the sequel
of the history shows, yet not being fully assured
that it was the divine purpose thus to supply their
wants, they would naturally endeavour to provide for
themselves, so far as circumstances would permit.
Some property they undoubtedly had of their own.
But it must have been inadequate to their wants;
and as the king and his counsellors, for cogent reasons
were anxious to have them leave the country imme-
diately, they would of course be disposed from selfish
motives to favour their speedy departure. Hence the
method taken to supply this deficiency, by securing
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 249
some remuneration from their oppressors for past ser-
vices; a measure which we are hound to vindicate,
because it was taken, as appears in the inspired record,
by divine direction.
*' Speak now in the ears of the people," says God
to Moses, (Exod. xi. 2,) "and let every many borrow of
his neiglibour, and every woman of her neighbour,
jewels of silver and jewels of gold." And in chap,
xii. 35, 36, we are told, that "the children of Israel
did according to the word of Moses; and they bor-
rowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels
of gold, and raiment." Exception has been taken
to this transaction, as disingenuous, if not flatly dis-
honest, on the part of the Israelites. Lord Shafts-
bury, who improves all occasions against the Bible,
says, with an air of triumph: "The wit of the best
poet is not suflicient lo reconcile ns to the retreat of a
Moses by the assistance of an Egyptian loan." This
objection" assumes what needs proof, viz : — that the
children of Israel had no intention of returnmg, at a
fnture day, either the articles loaned, or something
equivalent to them, in value. In our apprehension,
this might have been the fact, for aught that appears
in the history, or in the nature of the case; though it
is, we admit, rendered rather improbable by its being
said, (chap. xii. 36,) that " they (i. e., the Israelites)
spoiled the Egyptians." But the truth is, as every
Biblical scholar knows, the word borrow is impro-
perly used in this place. It does not convey the true
meaning of the original, which signifies to ask or de-
mand. It is the same word, in the Hebrew language,
that is used in Psalm ii. S, which is translated cor-
rectly: ".y^5/t' of me, and I will give thee tlie heathen
for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the
earth for thy possession." The children of Israel,
then, pursuant to divine instructions, asked the Egyp-
tians for jewels and raiment; "and the Lord," it is
added, "gave the people favour in the sight of the
Egyptians," so that they gave them, as some small re-
muneration for service rendered, such things as were
needful, in the existing emergency. This, which we
250 LECTUllES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
believe to be the genuine sense of the sacred text, is
confirmed by Joseph ns, wlio says that, at the time of
the Exodus, "the Egyptians made the Hebrews con-
siderable presents ; and that some did so in order to
induce them to go away the sooner, and others out of
respect for them and on account of their acquaintance
with them." Thus the Lord proves himself a present
help to his peoj)le in time of need. The earth is his,
and the fulness thereof; and he can, in various ways,
supply their wants, and make even their enemies be
at peace with them. The family of Jacob came into
Egypt under the pressure of famine — there they lived,
not only in a state of dependence on a despotic and
capricious monarch, but, during the latter half at least
of their stay in that country, are subjected to the most
degrading bondage; yet'Ciod is not slack concerning
his promise. When the season of their emancipation
arrives. He, whose kingdom ruleth over all, gives them
favour in the sight of the Egyptians, and leads them
forth, laden with the spoils of their iron-hearted op-
pressors.
It is pleasing to observe, amid the embarrassment
of a hasty removal, the marked respect which was
paid to the dying request of Joseph, in relation to his
mortal remains. "And JMoses took the bones of Jo-
seph with him; for he had straitly sworn the children
of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you ; and ye
shall carry up my bones away hence with you."
This injunction hacl been laid on a preceding gene-
ration ; for Joseph had been dead now about a hun-
dred and forty years, (Gen. 1.24,&c.;) but the memory
of his worth was not lost, and the present race deemed
it their duty to fulfil an engagement entered into by
their fathers. Joseph was a firm believer in the divine
promises ; and he wished to confirm the faith and en-
courage the hope of his kindred, by giving them a
charge concerning his bones, which was calculated to
keep them mindful of his dying testimony to the truth
and faithfulness of the Almighty: " I die," says he,
" and God will surely visit you, and bring 3^ou out of
this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham,
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 251
to Isaac, and to Jacob." And, as if he had said, to
assure you of my entire confidence in the accompHsli-
nicnt of this divine stipulation, I cliarge you, wlien
God shall thus visit you, to carry my bones with you,
that they may rest, along with the ashes of our pious
forefathers, in the hope of a resurrection unto ever-
lasting life and blessedness. Let us remark, here, that
it is seemly to Iionour the memory of the just, and
those that have been useful in life, by a respectful at-
tention to their funeral rites, and by all due regard to
their reasonable wishes in relation to the place, and
other circumstances connected with the interment of
their bodies. Joseph had been an eminent benefactor
to his father's house, and had been distinguished for
his piety and public spirit; it was fit and proper, there-
fore, that his name, and even his bones s/ioiildbe held
dear by his surviving friends. But as he had, as we
have seen, a weighty reason of a religious import, for
wishing his remains carried to Canaan, his example,
it is manifest, was not designed to be drawn into a
precedent, except in cases where similar reasons can
be alleged. It is not, ordinarily, a matter of much
momeiit where our mortal bodies, or those of our
kindred, are deposited. They will not be overlooked
in the morning of the resurrection. "This is the will
of Him that sent me," says our blessed Redeemer,
that every one which seeth the Son and believeth on
him, may have everlasting lite: and I will raise
HIM UP AT THE LAST DAY." (Johu vi. 40.)
Joseph's bones were a sort of pledge for the release
of Israel from the house of bondage, and of their in-
troduction into the land of promise. But, Christians,
we have a much better security for our final redemp-
tion, in the many sure and precious promises of God's
word, in the weekly Sabbaih, which perpetuates the
remembrance of our Saviour's triumph over death,
and in the sacramental seals of his well tried and
everlasting love; "For if we believe that Jesus died
and rose again, even so, them also which sleep in Jesus,
will God bring with him: Wherefore, comfort one
another with these words." (1 Thess. iv. 14. IS.)
252 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
^^ And tliG cliildren of Israel went np harnessed out
of the land of Egypt." The word here rendered har-
7iesscd, signifies also, fixed^prejiared, and arranged.
The meaning, I take to be, tliat they were distributed
into several companies, under the immediate com-
mand of leaders taken from their respective tribes, for
the purpose of securing as much order as possible in
the movements of so great a multitude; for the state
of bondage from which they were just emerging, for-
bids us to suppose that even their men of war were
furnislied with arms, and otherwise equipped in mili-
tary style. Thus prepared for their exit out of the land
of Egypt, the house of bondage, the Lord himself
condescends to become their guide and protector; the
ministry of Moses being employed only occasionally,
and by express orders from the Holy One of Israel.
"And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the
people go, that God led Ihein not through the way
of the land of the Philistines, although that was near,
for God said, lest peradventure the people repent when
they see war, and they return to Egypt; but God led
the people about through the way of the wilderness
of the Red Sea." The nearest route from Egypt to
Canaan lay in nortii-eastern direction, through the
Isthmus of Suez; and the journey from the one to the
other might have been pertbrmed, for aught that we
can conceive, by easy and slow marches, in a very
few weeks. One of the reasons why the Israelites
were not conducted in this way, is mentioned in the
passage just cited from the sacred text: Philistia lay
along this route; and as the Philistines were an in-
hospitable and warlike people, assaidts and depreda-
tions from them might be expected: and the people
of Israel, unarmed and dispirited as they must have
been, from long servitude, and having in charge their
wives, their children, and aged parents, were not in a
fit condition to encounter the hardships and perils of
war. Other reasons are disclosed in the sequel of the
history: God designed to manifest his power by the
overthrow of Pharaoh and his hosts in the Red Sea;
that Siani should be the scene of the promulgation of iiis
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 253
law, and that his chosen people shonld be trained and
tried and discipHned, for tiie space of forty 3'ears pre-
vions to their entrance npon the inheritance promised
to their forefathers. Therefore, " He led them abont
throngh the way of the wilderness of the Red Sea."
And to secnre their confidence in his gnidance and
care, "The Lord went before them by day in a pillar
of a clond, to lead them the way; and by night in a
pillar of fire, to give them light, to go by day and
night." It were idle to attempt a description of this
extraordinary symbol. It was a piece of that wonder-
fnl apparatus which Jehovah saw fit to employ in the
deliverance of his people Israel, to show the world
that he is never at a loss for means to accomplish his
great and holy purposes. The uses of this cloud are
evident. It shielded the people from the assaults of
their enemies, and from the distressing effects of a
summer sun. It served to dispel the darkness of the
night, and especially it directed all their movements;
was a visible token of the Lord's presence, a standing
oracle, to which recourse was to be had for divine in-
struction on all occasions. And may we not add, that
this mysterious chariot of the Most High, alternately
affording light and shade to the ransomed tribes of
Israel, was a typical representation of that gracious in-
fluence which guides, and guards, and cheers the chil-
dren of God on their way to the Canaan of everlasting
rest! "The Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord
will give grace and glory: no good thing will he with-
hold from them that walk uprightly." (Psalm liv. 1 1.)
"Fear not, 0 Israel ! the Lord is thy keeper; the Lord
is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not
smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord
shall preserve thee from all evil; he shall preserve
thy soul. The Lord shall preserve thy going out and
thy coming in, from this time forth, and even for ever-
more." (Psalm cxxi. 5-S.)
It only remains, of our design in this lecture, to no-
tice briefly~the consummation of Israel's triumph over
the oppressor, in the miraculous passage of the Red
Sea. Pharaoh, having recovered a little from the con-
254 LECTURES ON EICLICAL HISTORY.
sternatioii produced by the slaying of the first-born,
began to regret the loss of so many useful servants;
and, with the view either of reclaiming them, or of
taking vengeance upon them, for daring to shake off
the fetters of slavery, he pursued and overtook them
in their encampment, between a town called Migdol,
and that branch or bay of the Red Sea called Hierop-
olis — -some ten or fifteen miles south of the Isthmus
of Suez. The natural barriers which here obstructed
the progress of the Israelites, inspired their pursuers
with a confident hope of an easy conquest. The
bay is supposed to have been, at this point, from two
to five miles wide, and on either hand were im-
passable mountains, while the chosen chariots and
horsemen of Egypt pressed hard upon their rear. In
such circumstances, to the eye of sense, the only alter-
native for Israel, was death or an immediate sur-
render. But the Lord's arm is able to bring deliver-
ance in all emergencies. Moses, agreably to orders
from the cloudy pillar, animates the faith of the peo-
ple, exhorting them to await the salvation of God.
" Lift thy rod, and stretch out thy hand over the sea,
and bid the people go forward," says the holy oracle.
It is done: — '^And the Lord caused the sea to go back
by a strong east wind all that night, and made the
sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the
children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon
the dry ground; and the waters were a wall unto
them, on their right hand and on their left." The in-
fatuated Egyptians continue the pursuit; but, behold!
whilst they are yet in the midst of the sea, and the
chosen tribes have just reached the opposite shore,
the consecrated rod is again waved, and the waters
return in their strength, whelming the chariots and
horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh, so that not one
escapes. "Thus the Lord saved Israel, that day out
of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the
Egyptians dead upon tlie sea shore." The signal fa-
vour of God, shown to his people on this occasion, is
celebrated by Moses in the fifteenth chapter of Exodus,
in one of the most elegant, and most ancient pieces of
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 255
poetry now extant. What pity it is, that young peo-
ple generally have not a greater relish for the beauties,
and interesting facts, and doctrines of the Bible! In
view of what has fallen under our notice in the course
of this exercise, let us learn to revere the justice, and
confide in the grace of God. To every one who is
disposed to serve him, and inclined to trust in the mer-
cy that is revealed in the gospel, the word of promise
is, "When thou passest through the waters, I will be
with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not over-
flow thee." " Be not faithless, therefore, but believ-
ing." In every extremity, stand still and see the sal-
vation of God: his providence may conduct you in a
circuitous and afflicted path; but know assuredly it
is the right way. From the fate of Pharaoh and his
host, let sinners learn the awful danger of hardening
their hearts by neglecting the calls, the warnings, and
gracious offers of God's holy word.
256 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
LECTURE XXYII.
OCCURREXCES BETWEEN THE RED SEA AND MOUNT SINAI.
In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out
of the land of Egj^pt, the same day came they into the wilderness
of Sinai. For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come
to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness ; and there
Israel encamped before the mount. And Moses went up unto God,
and the Lord called unto him out of the mountain, saying-, Thus
shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel;
Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare
you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself. No]iv, there-
fore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then
ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people; for all the
earth is mine. And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and
a holy nation : These are the words which thou shalt speak unto
the children of Israel. — Exodus xix. 1-6.
Sinai and Horeb are two adjacent peaks, or summits
of a mountain in Arabia Petraia, situated between the
two bays or gulfs which extend northward out of the
Red Sea. From the proximity of these mounts, they
are often mentioned in Scripture indiscriminately, to
disignate the scene of occurrences which took place in
that neighbourhood. The Arabs call Sinai the mount
of INIoses, or emphatically, El Tor, The Mount, The
surrounding region, on account of its dreary and sterile
aspect, is denominated the wilderness of Sinai. Here
the children of Israel encamped early in the third
month from the time of their leaving Egypt; and here
ihey were organized as a holy nation, a kingdom of
priests unto Jehovah, their God and supreme gov-
ernor, from whose lips they received the law of
duty, in circumstances well calculated to impress their
hearts with a strong sense of the divine majesty, and
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 257
to secure their confidence in tlie truth and faithfuhiess
of the great Creator, from generation to generation.
But before entering on the consideration of these im-
portant matters, it will be proper for us, following the
thread of the inspired narrative, to notice cursorily
some things wliich took place anterior to the arrival
of the ransomed tribes at the sacred mount.
Al^ter celebrating the triumph which God gave them
over their enemies, at the Red Sea, and securing as
we may presume, the implements of war, and other
property of the Egyptians, which may have been
driven ashore by the waves, they moved forward un-
der the guidance of the cloudy pillar, and in three
days, as we are informed (Numb, xxxiii. S,) pitched
their tents in the wilderness of Etham, at a place
which they seem to have named Marah, i. e., bitter-
ness, in allusion to the quality of the water which
they found there. ^' They could not drink the waters
of Marah, for they were bitter: and the people mur-
mured against INIoses, saying what shall we drink?''
See the ingratitude and rebellious temper of these
people. They assail Moses openly with their faith-
less murmurings, as if he had engaged to secure them
from all those inconveniences which were to be ex-
pected in passing through a trackless and barren desert.
How soon they forget the great things which God had
done for them, but a few days before ! Such is the
human heart; and a small occasion is sufficient to dis-
close its folly and wickedness. In the conduct of Moses
in this as in many other trying emergencies, we behold
the effect of a firm faith: " He cried unto the Lord;
and the Lord showed him a tree, which when he had
cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet."
In going to God in our distress, we go to one who is
both able and ready to lielp us. " Call upon me in
the day of trouble, says he, and I will deliver thee;
and thou shalt glorify me." This deliverance is
often obtained too, by the use of prescribed means,
altogether inadequate in themselves to produce the
desired etfect. It is not at all likely that the tree
which the Lord pointed out to Moses possessed such
258 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
inedicinal qualities as would correct the offensive, or
unwholesome property of the waters of Marah. It
was more probably chosen of God, as a visible token
of a divine energy intended to be communicated
in connexion with the believing use of the institu-
ted sign. Thus the symbols used in the Christian
sacraments are but outward signs of spiritual bless-
ings; but God makes the right use of these emblems,
the means of edification and holy comfort to liis peo-
ple: let them never, therefore, be neglected or despised
by those who long to experience the refreshing intiu-
"ence of the water of life.
The next encampment was at Elim, " where were
twelve wells of water, and three score and ten palm
trees:" — a striking contrast to the accommodations at
Marah ; and we may hope that the people would be
disposed to render thanks on the occasion to the boun-
teous giver of all good. Dr. Shaw, in his interesting
travels, says that he found nine of these wells, the
other three having been filled with sand; — and the
seventy palm trees, he remarks, have multiphed into
more than two thousand, the dates of which bring
a considerable revenue to the Greek monks at Tor.
Thus, sufficient evidence of the authenticity of this
part of the sacred history remains, after the lapse of
more than three thousand years.
In the wilderness of Sin, which they appear to have
entered upon their leaving Elim, it seems probable
that the provisions which they had brought from
Egypt failed, as it was now the middle of the second
month of their sojourning. Here, of course, their
impatience and insubordination became excessive.
The whole congregation, as with one voice, rail
against Moses and Aaron, exclaiming in despair,
"Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord
in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots,
and did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us
forth into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly
with hunger." An evil heart of unbelief is strongly
prone, not only to depart from the living God, but to
forget his goodness, and distrust his faithfulness and
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 259
care. ]\[uch bad been done, and ample promises
made to secure tbe faitli and obedience of tbis people;
yet we find tbem petulant, and faitbless, and un-
tbankful, to a degree wbicb we migbt perbaps be
inclined to discredit, were we not conscious of pos-
sessins: tbe same evil propensities, and of baving
manifested similar ingratitude and unfailbfulness to-
wards God, our Redeemer. It was well for tbe cbil-
dren of Israel, and well it is for us, tbat God'S ways
are not as our ways. Verily, be deals witb us not
according to our deserts. He waits to be gracious;
and aims continually to overcome our evil, by ex-
pressions of bis goodness and grace. Tbus, to allay
tbe tumult, and silence tbe clamours of the impatient
multitude, wbo bad forfeited all claim to bis favour,
he directs inmieiise flocks of quails to alight in tbe
camp, and rains down bread from heaven to supply
their wants, and to prove them, whether they would
walk in bis law, and confide in bis holy providence.
<'At even ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye
shall be filled witb bread; and ye shall know that I
am the Lord your God. And it came to pass, tbat at
even the quails came up, and covered tbe camp; and
in the morning the dew lay round about the host.
And when tbe dew that lay was gone up, behold,
upon the face of tbe wilderness there lay a small
round thing, as small as the boar-frost on the ground.
And when tbe children of Israel saw it, they said one
to another, It is manna; (i. e., what is it?) for they
wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them,
This is the bread wbicb the Lord bath given you to
eat." Tbe supply of quails appears to have been tem-
porary; xlmt oi ?7ia?i?}a was continued daily, during
tbe term of their sojourning in the wilderness, even
"till they came to a land inhabited." In regard to
tbe appearance and qualities of this heavenly bread,
we have tbis short account in Scripture, viz: That it
was like coriander-seed, white; and the taste of it was
like wafers made with honey. It was nutritious; and
tbat it was miraculously furnished, there can be no
reasonable doubt. Should the skeptic ask, bow can
260 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
this be? we would only remark, that when he shall
be able to explain to ns all the mysteries connected
with the process by which bread is furnished to man
in the ordinary way, perhaps we may be able to tell
him how the manna was produced. Several useful
observations might be made respecting this extra-
ordinary interposition of Providence, did time permit.
The people were required to gather the manna daily,
to show that men's exertions are not rendered need-
less by divine energy: a double portion v/as fur-
nished and ordered to be collected on the sixth day of
the week, in honour of the sanctity of the Sabbath,
which proves the obligation of keeping that holy day
before the giving of the law at Sinai: an equable dis-
tribution was to be made of that which was gathered,
that "he who gathered much might have nothing
over, and that he who gathered little might have no
lack," intimating the duty of helping the weak and
ministering to the wants of the poor: and, fnially, an
omer, about three quarts, of this bread from heaven,
was ordered to be preserved, as a memorial to future
generations of the Lord's bountifulness, in thus pro-
viding for the necessities of his people. The learned
Dr. Adam Clarke, in his Commentary, has some good
practical remarks on this piece of sacred history, with
which we shall close this article. (See his notes at the
end of Exod. xvi. ) Concerning the manna, he re-
marks: 1. That the sacred historian has given us the
most circumstantial proofs, that it was a supernatural
and miraculous supply; that nothing of the kind had
ever been before, and probably nothing like it had
ever afterwards appeared: that it was a type of our
blessed Redeemer, and of the salvation which he has
provided for man, there can be no doubt; for in this
way it is applied by Christ himself; and from it, we
may gather this general conclusion, that salvation is
of the Lord. The Israelites must have perished in
the wilderness had not God fed them with bread from
heaven: and every human soul must have perished
{eternally) had not Jesus Christ come down from
heaven and given himself for the life of the world.
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 2G1
2. God would have the Israelites continually de-
pendant on himself for all their supplies; but he
would make them, in a certain way, loorhers with
him. He provided the manna; they gathered and
ate it. The first was God's work; the latter their
own. They could not produce the manna, and God
would not gafhe?^ it for them. Thus the providence
of God appears in such a way as to secure the co-
operaiion of man. Though man should plant and
ivater, yet it is God who giveth the increase. But,
if man should neither plant nor water, God will give
no increase. We cannot do God's work; and he will
not do ours. Let us, therefore, in things temporal
and spiritual, be ivorkers together with Him. 3. This
daily supply of the manna probably gave rise to the
petition: Give its this day oxir daily bread. It is
worthy of remark, that what was left over night, con-
trary to the divine command, became unfit for use;
that a double portion was gathered on the day pre-
ceding the Sabbath; that this alone continued whole-
some on the following day, and that none fell on the
Sabbath. Hence we find that the Sabbath was con-
sidered a divine institution previously to the giving
of the Mosaic law; and that God continued to honour
that day by allowing no manna to fall during its
course. Whatever is earned on the Sabbath is a
curse in a man's property. They who will be rich
fall into temptation and a snare; for, using unlawful
means to acquire lawful things, they bring God's
curse upon themselves, and are drowned in perdition.
Dost thou work on the Sabbath to increase thy pro-
perty? See thou do it not. Property acquired thus,
will prove a curse to thee and to thy posterity. 4. To
show their children, and children's children, what
God had done for their fathers, a pot of manna was
laid up before the Testimony. We should remember
our providential and gracious deliverances in such a
way as to give God the praise of his own grace. An
ungrateful heart is always associated with an unbe-
lieving mind, and an unholy life. Like Israel, we
should consider with what bread God fed our fathers,
262 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
and see that we have the same — the same Christ, the
bread of life — the same doctrines — the same ordi-
nances, and the same rehgious experience. How
little are we benefited by being Protestants, if we
be not partakers of the protestant faith? And how
useless will even that faith be to us, if we hold the
truth in unrighteousness!"
The next occurrence which we deem it proper to
notice, took place while the people lay encamped at
Rephidim, in sight, as is generally believed, of Mount
Sinai. Here there was no water; and the people,
though relieved repeatedly from their distresses by
evident manifestations of the divine power, evince the
utmost turbulence and distrust of Providence, renew-
ing their complaints against Moses, as if he were to be
held responsible for all the hardships and privations
that befell them. JNIoses again goes to God, by prayer
and suppHcation: "What shall I do unto this people?
they be almost ready to stone me." He is directed to
take of the elders with him as witnesses of the mira-
cle about to be wrought, and the rod with which the
waters of the Nile had been turned into blood, and
proceed to a certain rock in Mount Horeb, which, upon,
being smitten in the name and presence of the Lord,
should send forth water in sufficient quantity, at least
to afford relief from the present distress. The com-
mand is executed, and the voice of murmuring is once
more silenced by the overflowing of Heaven's unmer-
ited goodness; and to furnish the ungrateful multitude
with a remembrancer of their baseness on the occa-
sion, tlie scene of this miraculous deliverance was
called Massah and Miribah; i. e., strife and conten-
tion. From what the Apostle Paul says respecting
this rock, (1 Cor. x. 4.) some have imagined that either
the rock itself, or tlie water flowing from it, followed
the Israelites in all their sojourning, till they reached
Canaan. But this opinion, we think, is by no means
supported by Scripture. When Paul says, "that rock
was Christ," he means, indubitably, that it was a
type, or emblem of Christ ; and when he calls the water
that issued from it, "spiritual drink," he means to
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 263
teach, that it represented the influences of the Spirit,
which are vouchsafed to sinners through the media-
tion of Him who was smitten of God, and wounded
for our transgressions. It was Christ, therefore, that
followed Israel, by his power and grace, as he attends
all his people in all their trials on their way to the
heavenly rest.
In the war with the Amalekites, which took place
about this time, we have a memorable exemplification
of the efficacy of prayer. The assault seems to have
been unprovoked and furious on the part of Amalek.
On the part of Israel it was conducted with religious
solemnity, and at the same time, with vigour and suc-
cess. The immediate command of the army was en-
trusted to Joshua, while Moses, with the rod of God
in his hand, and accompanied by Aaron and Hur,
ascended a hill, probably Horeb, which overlooked
the scene of battle, there to supplicate the blessing of
the Lord of hosts on their efforts to repel the invaders.
"And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand,
that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand
Amalek prevailed. And Aaron and Hur stayed up
his hands, the one on the one side and the other on
the other side ; and his hands were steady until the
going down of the sun : and Joshua discomfited Ama-
lek and his people with the edge of the sword.'' A
memorandum was made and ordered to be preserved,
of the result of this war, in which Amalek was evi-
dently the aggressor and the most guilty, as appears
from the tremendous threatening of utter extermina-
tion, which was executed in the reign of David. "I
will," says God, "utterly put out the remembrance of
Amalek from under heaven." And Moses built an
altar and called the name of it Jehovah-Nisi — i. e..
The Lord is my banner. The church of God is
called upon to "fight the good fight of faith;" and
while she contends under the Lord's banner, and
makes a right use of the armour which is provided
for her, "'praying always with all prayer and suppli-
cation in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all
perseverance," she has nothing to fear. Jesus, the
264 LECTURES ON BTELTCAL HISTORY.
captain of her salvation, will in due time discomfit all
her enemies and bring her off victorious, through the
sacrifice of his blood and by the might of his power.
The only other incident that remains to be noticed
m this lecture, is the meeting of Moses with his father-
in-law, his wife, and two sons, whom he had left in
INIidian, wlien he proceeded to Egypt, commissioned
of God to bring Israel out of the house of bondage.
This meeting is just such an one as the benevolent
mind loves to contemplate. It is a meeting of near
relatives that had been long separated, and who must
have felt deeply and tenderly concerned for each
other's welfare. It is characterized by dignity, affec-
tion, and piety. It is described in the simple language
of nature, sanctified by religion; and the description
forms an item in that rich and instructive variety
which makes the Bible the most entertaining book
in the world. Read it. (Exodus xviii.) It needs no
comment. Every thing is natural, respectful, kindly,
and serious. It is delightful to meet with friends after
an absence of even a few days; and he who, after a
separation of weeks or months, does not regard a
meeting with his family as one of the purest luxuries
on earth, does not love them as he ought. " Jethro re-
joiced for all the good which the Lord had done to
Israel." What a blessed influence has true religion
in conciliating kindness and confirming friendship !
When people cordially agree in the same glorious ob-
ject of worship, the little peculiarities of form will not
obstruct the mutual attraction of brotherly love. Preju-
dice will droop and die, and charity will draw a veil
over its neighbour's singularities and imperfections.
Happy the fiimily whose union is cemented by piety;
the family whose happiness and peace are built upon
the love of God; whose employments, communications
and pursuits, are improved and sanctified by prayer!"
Thus, in following Israel from the shore of the Red
Sea to the foot of Sinai, we have seen that, notwiih-
standing his ingratitude and disobedience, "the Lord
bore him on eagles' wings to bring him unto himself,"
that he might prove him, whether he would walk in
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 265
his law and keep his covenant. The promulgation of
this law, and the covenant entered into on the occa-
sion, will be the subject of our next lecture.
LECTURE XXYIII.
THE LAW GIVEN, AXD THE SINAI COVENANT INSTITUTED.
And God spake all these words, saying-, I am the Lord thy God,
which have brought tlice out of the land of Egypt, out of the
house of bondage. — Exodus xx. 1, 2.
In all the divine dispensations, there is an admirable
mixture of sovereign authority and condescending
kindness. By the former, we are taught to regard
with reverence every thing that God does or says;
while by the latter, we are encouraged to hope in his
mercy and confide in his grace. Thus, when about
to promulgate his law to Israel, in a manner so ter-
rific, as to make even Moses exceedingly fear and
quake, he reminds the people of his relation to them
as the Lord their God, who had already redeemed
them from bondage, and who was now going to con-
fer upon them privileges which would distinguish them
from all other people, and constitute them a holy na-
tion. Such indications of favour were well suited to
prepare their minds to receive the law from the mouth
of God, their Redeemer, as the rule of duty, and to
acquiesce in the covenant propounded to them on this
occasion, and which was designed to engage them, as
a people, in a course of holy and cheerful obedience.
By a similar mixture of terror and mildness — of
judgments and mercies, the Lord is continually aim-
ing to bring mankind to submit to his authority, and
accept the blessings of his grace. Thus, says Paul,
"Knowing the terror of the Lord, we persuade men ;"
23
266 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
and, in another place, "We beseech yon, brethren,
by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a
Hving sacrifice — holy, acceptable unto God, which is
your reasonable service." But, how affecting it is to
see men pressing on in the broad way to perdition, in
defiance of the varied means used by the God of all
grace, to reclaim them from the paths of the des-
troyer! Neither the thunders of Sinai, nor the ac-
cents of mercy issuing from the courts of Zion, will
avail, without a divine energy to conquer the obsti-
nate wickedness of the human heart. How few of
that favoured people, whose history we are tracing,
profited by their peculiar advantages! Once, and
again, we hear the Judge of all the earth testifying
against them, as "a seed of evil-doers — a people laden
with iniquity." Their perverseness was handed down
from generation to generation, so that when the INIes-
siah, in the fulness of time, came to them as to his
own, and in fulfilment of the predictions of their own
prophets, they received him not. They would not
come to him, that they might have life-, and, at this
day, the remnants of their scattered tribes are pining
away under the withering influence of that awful im-
precation— " His blood be on us, and on our chil-
dren !" The sad effects of their rebellion and unbe-
lief, are recorded in Scripture for our admonition : —
God grant that we may know the day of our merciful
visitation; and be enabled to pay due attention to the
things that belong to our peace, ere they be hidden
from our eyes !
Two things, nearly related to each other, claim our
attention in this lecture, viz: the giving of the law;
and the ratification of what is commonly called the
Sinai Covenant. The children of Israel reached the
wilderness of Sinai, the scene of the transactions
which we are now to contemplate, some time in the
third month, i.e., from forty to fifty days after their
leaving Egypt — which they did about the middle of
the first month of their ecclesiastical year. Here they
continued till the twentieth day of the second month
of the second year of their sojournings, i. e., within a
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 267
few days of one whole year; when, as we are in-
formed, (Num. X. 11 and 12,) they removed into the
wilderness of Paran. As the occm'rcnces and com-
munications of this period were deeply interesting,
so the history of them occupies a large space in the
books of Moses, extending from the nineteeth chapter
of Exodus to the eleventh verse of the tenth chapter
of Numbers, including the whole of Leviticus. It is
useful in reading history, to notice carefully, and as
distinctly as possible, the time and place of the events
which it records. Chronology and geography are fitly
called the eyes of history, because they contribute
to the perspicuity and permanent effect of Us narra-
tions. We seldom remember long, or feel much in-
terest in events said to have taken place, we know
neither ivhere nor lahen. This fact should be borne
in mind, in reading the historical parts of the Bible.
It will be found useful even in catechising children, to
accustom them to inquire in what part of the world,
and at what time, such and such events took place.
After the arrival of the Israelites at the foot of
Sinai, some days were probably spent in making pre-
paration for the giving of the law, and in those reli-
gious services which were designed not merely to dis-
tinguish them from other nations, but to make them
a holy and a happy people. In the preparatory
measures taken, as well as throughout the whole of
the revelations and transactions that followed, Moses
acted by divine direction, as the Lord's minister, and
in a limited sense, as mediator between God and
his people; accordingly we find him continually occu-
pied in receiving messages from God and bearing
them to the people, whose engagements and promises
he regularly reports to Him, who speaks from the top
of the hallowed mount.
I. The covenant which was ratified at Sinai, and
which from this circumstance, is called the Sinai Co-
venant, seems to have been formed previously to the
publication of the law. A few remarks concerning its
nature and design may not be out of place here. It is
first propounded in Exodus xix. 5, &c. " Now, there-
268 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORT.
fore, if ye will obey my voice, indeed, and keep my
covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me
above all people ; for all the earth is mine : and ye shall
be unto me a kingdom of priests and an holy nation."
When INIoses, by divine command, laid this proposal"
before the elders, "the people answered together and
said, all that the Lord hath spoken, we will do." The
subject is brought up again in chapter xxiv. verse 3,
and onward, where we have a particular account of
the solemnities observed at its ratification. An altar
was built and sacrifices offered; — twelve pillars were
erected as memorials of the compact; — the stipula-
tions were read in the audience of the people, and
they reiterated the promise — "All that the Lord hath
said will we do, and be obedient: and Moses, as was
usual on such occasions, took blood, and sprinkled it
on the people and said, Behold the blood of the cove-
venant which the Lord hath made with you concern-
ing all these words!" This covenant is, by some,
confounded wuh the covenant of works, under which
our first parents were placed; and by others it is con-
sidered merely as a renewal of the one that was made
with Abraham. But in our apprehension, it is distin-
guishable from both, by its local and temporary char-
acter, as we shall endeavour to show presently. In
regard to the covenant of works, in which Adam and
Eve, as the representatives of their posterity were a
party, it was violated, as we all know to our sorrow,
but it has not been abrogated. Its penalty is justly
due to every transgressor, and will certainly be exe-
cuted on every sinner of the human race, who, reject-
ing the hope set before him in the gospel, dies with-
out an interest in Christ, the surety and advocate of
his people in the covenant of grace. " There is, now,
no condemnation, says Paul, to them that are in
Christ Jesus." But the Redeemer himself says —
" He that believeth not in the Son of God is con-
demned already:" — and again, "He that believeth not
the Son, hath not life; but the wrath of God abideth
on liim."
The Abrahamic covenant, though resembling, in
LECTURES OX BIBLICAL HISTORY. 269
some respects, the one now under consideration, differs
from it in its visible seal, and in the promise that in
Abraham's seed all nations should be blessed; where-
as the benefits of the Sinai covenant were limited by-
its terms, to the particular nation with which it was
formed. The covenant with Abraham, founded upon
the covenant of grace was designed to exhibit the re-
lation which God sustains to his church as a visible
community, and is still in full force under the gospel
dispensation, except that a change has been made in
its form of administration, and in its seal — baptism
iiaving come in the place of circumcision.
The vSinai covenant related chiefly to external con-
duct, with a promise of temporal blessings: and was
intended to be annulled at the coming of Christ to
bring in everlasting righteousness, and to break down
the middle wall of partition between Jew and Gentile.
What then, it will be asked, was the nature and intent
of the covenant in question? It was the act of incor-
poration, by which the turbulent and undisciplined
tribes of Israel were constituted a body politic — a
kingdom of priests — a holy nation, with God Almighty
for their King and Lawgiver. It was the charter
of their national rights, privileges and duties: and
was designed mainly to place them in a fit capacity
to receive, and preserve, and obey, with sentiments
of loyalty and religious awe, the statutes and ordi-
nances of God, about to be promulged and entrust-
ed for a season, to their care and keeping. The form
of a covenant with its usual solemnities, sacrifices,
mutual engagements, and the sprinkling of blood,
seems to have been chosen on the occasion, in order to
inspire the people whh the greater confidence in the
power and faithfulness of their Divine Ruler, and to
secure all possible respect for his commands and in-
stitutions. From this period till the days of Samuel,
when Saul, the son of Kish, was proclaimed king at
Mizpeh, the government of Israel was a theocracy;
i. e.,a government involving a close alliance between
church and state — and in which the Creator is recog-
23^^
270 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
liized as Legislator, Chief Magistrate, and Supreme
Judge, in all causes civil and ecclesiastical.
Hence it is that God is often called in Scripture, the
King of Israel; and the fact of his having been their
Supreme Governor, in the sense just stated, is clearly
disclosed in the first book of Samuel, chap. viii. 4, &c.,
where we have au account of the breach of the na-
tional compact on the part of the people, and of the
consequent designation of Saul to the kingly office, in
compliance with their obstinate determination to con-
form, in this particular, to the surrounding nations.
^•' Hearken unto the voice of the people,'^ (says God
to Samuel, his faithful and praying minister,) ''for they
have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that
I should not reign over them.'' — "Now, therefore,
hearken unto their voice: howbeit, yet protest sol-
emnly unto them, and show them, the manner of the
King that shall reign over them."
If this view of the matter be correct then, it will be
readily perceived that the Sinai covenant was, in its
leading features, distinguishable from those before
mentioned, as well as from all others recorded in
Scripture.
It was a national compact requiring national obe-
dience; and it guaranteed to the people concerned in
its provisions, the possession and use of a certain tract
of countr}^, with political existence and protection,
so long as they in their corporate capacity maintained
their allegiance and fidelity to their God and king, but
no longer. It was not intended to give or secure eter-
nal life to any one. Pious individuals were then, as
they are now, justified, and sanctified, and saved, on
the ground of another covenant — a covenant mediated
by the great High Priest of our profession, Jesus the
Son of God. This blessed covenant and that of Sinai
are compared, and the superiority of the former to the
latter demonstrated with conclusive evidence, by the
writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews; see particularly
chap. viii. 6, &c. "But now hath he (i. e., Christ) ob-
tained a more excellent ministry, by how much also
he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 271
established upon better promises; for if the first had
been fauhless, then should no place have been sought
for the second: For finding fault with them, he saith,
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will
make a new covenant with the house of Israel and
with the house of Judah; not according to the cove-
nant that I made with their fiithers in the day that I
took them by the hand to lead them out of the land
of Egypt; because tliey continued not in niy covenant,
and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. For this is
the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel,
after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws
into their minds, and write them in their hearts; and
I will be their God, and they shall be my people.^'
It ought to be carefully noted, that when the apostles
speak, as they frequently do, of the old covenant that
had become antiquated, and *' was ready to vanish
away," and was in fact abrogated and of no force
under the Christian dispensation, they mean not the
covenant with Abraham, but that of Sinai, which was
local, national, and temporal in its nature. Those
who wish to see a masterly discussion of this subject,
would do well to read Dr. Owen's exposition of the
sixth verse of the eighth chapter of Hebrews.
On the promulgation of the law — the other principal
topic for consideration in this lecture — we shall say
but little. The scene is described by the pencil of in-
spiration, in a style and manner which would be im-
paired by any comment that we could offer. It was
the most stupendous display of God's glorious majesty
that ever was made in the present world, excepting
that which attended the crucifixion of Christ; and its
efiects, so far from being confined to the Jewish nation,
will be felt, and seen, and admired till the end of time.
The multitudinous house of Israel, after suitable and
significant ablutions, having been taken into covenant
with the Almighty, are ranged in reverential attitude
along the foot of the sacred mount, to hear the Most
High speak to them from his cloudy chariot. " And
it came to pass on the tlnrd day, in the morning, that
there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud
272 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
upon the mount, and the voice of a trumpet exceeding
loud, so that all the people in the camp trembled. —
And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because
the Lord descended upon it in fire; and the smoke
thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the
whole mount quaked greatly: and when the voice of
the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and
louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a
voice." Exod. xix. 16. 18, 19. ^'And God spake all
these words saying," (as it would seem by way of
preface, to relieve the people from the overwhehning
terror of the scene,) '' I am the Lord thy God, which
have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the
house of bondage." Then follow the commandments,
statutes, judgments and ordinances, which, with the
various historical matter interspersed, occupy upwards
of fifty-six chapters in the Bible. And it is important
to observe here, that by the law, as promulgated on
this memorable occasion, is meant comprehensively
all that was delivered by God to the Israelites, during
their stay at Sinai; the delivery of which, must have
occupied several weeks, if not months. Moses was
twice in the mount, receiving divine communications,
forty days each time; and it seems quite improbable
that so much time would be taken up in delivering
the ten commandments.
The term law, then, taken in the large sense just
stated, is three-fold ; morale political, ox judicial and
ceremonial: or, in other words, the laws and ordi-
nances given at Sinai, and to which the people were
obliged by covenant to yield obedience, were of three
kinds, viz: 1. Moral precepts, comprising the princi-
ples of our duty to God, and to our fellow-creatures,
at all times, and in all states of society. 2. Judicial
statutes, adapted to the theocratical government under
which the people were placed — all of a benign ten-
dency, but some of which are unsuitable to be intro-
duced into other forms of civil government; because
they were intended for a particular people, in peculiar
circumstances, and only for a certain definite period.
3. Ceremonial rules and regulations, relating to the
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 273
priesthood, the tabernacle, tlie sacrifices, the holy sea-
sons, and religions rites pecnliar to that obscnre, typi-
cal, and burdensome dispensation. To this class the
New Testament writers refer, when they speak of the
law "as making nothing perfect — as being an intole-
rable yoke — as having a shadow of good things to
come.'' These three kinds of laws are intermixed in
the Bible ; but they are distinguishable; and the Bib-
lical reader will lind it greatly to his advantage to re-
member the distinction, and, so far as lie can, to refer
every precept to its proper class.
The first class, i. e., the moral precept^, which we
are mainly concerned to know, and to keep religiously,
is summed up in the Decalogue, or Ten Command-
ments. These alone, it is believed, were written by
God himself, on the two tables of stone delivered to
Moses, and which were preserved with so much care
in the ark of the covenant — a small coffer, or chest of
rich materials and curious workmanship — which, with
its lid, the mercy seat, and its two symbolical images,
called cherubim, is minutely described, Ex. xxxvii.
l,&c. The first four commandments are supposed to
have been written on one of the stones, and the re-
maining six on the other; which has given rise to the
common distinction, the two tables of the law; the
one teaching us our duty to God, and the other our
duty to our fellow-men. We have not time at present
to unfold the import and various bearings of these
densely rich precepts. They may be viewed as a
new edition of the law of nature, or of the rule and
measure of moral rectitude, which was originally im-
pressed upon the heart and conscience of man, by the
finger of his Creator. It would be saying little, to say
that the decalogue, consisting of ten short and easily
remembered precepts, is the purest, the most compre-
hensive, and the most sublime system of practical
morality, with which the world has been blessed ; —
indeed, nothing of the kind on earth will bear a com-
parison with these holy and immutable principles of
right, excepting that unrivalled epitome of them by
Jesus Christ — "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God
274 LECTURES ON I5IBLICAL HISTORY.
with all thy heart, soul, and mind; and thy neigh-
bour as thyself." INIatt. xxii. 37, &c.
The giving of the law commenced on the fiftieth
day from the departure out of Egypt; and as the lat-
ter event was commemorated by the Passover, so the
feast of Pentecost, a word signifying fiftieth, while it
served as a thanksgiving for the fruits of harvest,
celebrated also the promulgation of the holy com-
mandments, as a blessing never to be forgotten. It is
remarkable, that our Saviour's death and resurrection
took place at the time of the Passover; and fifty days
afterwards, the day of Pentocost was rendered doubly
and eternally memorable by the miraculous eifusion
of the Spirit on the Lord's apostles, attended by the
impressive and appropriate symbol of "cloven tongues,
like as of fire." The power of the Holy Ghost was
imparted, and the ministry of reconciliation fully in-
stituted, fifty days after the Redeemer's triumphant
victory over death and the powers of darkness. Let
us be thankful for the good things shadowed forth and
typified by the law and its wonderful appendages ;
and may God make them useful to us, as means of
bringing us to Him who is " the end of the law for
righteousness to everyone that believeth!" Let us
close this exercise, in the sublime and touching lan-
guage of inspiration, Heb. xii. lS-29 : " For ye (Chris-
tians) are not come unto the mount that might be
touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto black-
ness, and darkness, and tempest, and the sound of a
trumpet, and the voice of words ; which voice they
that heard, entreated that the word should not be
spoken to them any more; (for they could not endure
that which was commanded. And if so much as a
beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust
through with a dart: And so terrible was the sight,
that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:) But
ye are come unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of
the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an in-
numerable company of angels ; to the general assem-
bly and church of the first-born, which are written in
heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 2/5
of just men made perfect, and to Jesus, tiie mediator
of the new covenant, and to tiie blood of sprinkling,
that speaketh better things than that of Abel. See
that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they es-
caped not who refused him that spake on earth, mucii
more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him
that speaketh from heaven : whose voice then shook
the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, yet
once more I shake not the earth only, but also hea-
ven. And this word, yet once more, signifieth the
removing of those things that are shaken, as of things
that are made, that those things which cannot be
shaken may remain. Wherefore, we receiving a king-
dom which cannot be moved, let us have grace,
whereby we may serve God acceptably, with reve-
rence and godly fear; for our God is a consuming
fire.'^
LECTUKE XXIX.
THE TABERNACLE AND JEWISH MINISTRY.
And thou shall bring- Aaron and his sons unto the door of the taber-
nacle of the congregation, and wash them with water. And thou
shalt put upon Aaron the holy garments, and anoint him, and sanc-
tify him; that he may minister unto mc in the priest's office. And
thou shalt bring his sons, and clothe them with coats; and thou
shalt anoint them, as thou didst anoint their father, that they may
minister unto me in the priest's office : for their anointing shall
surely be an everlasting pricstliood tliroughout their generations.
Thus did Moses; according- to all that tlic Lord commanded liim,
so did he. — Exodus xl. 12-16.
The tabernacle and priesthood, or sacred ministry of
the Jews, as they are closely related in their design
and use, may be advantageously considered together
and in the same discourse. Both are brought to view
276 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
in the passage of Scripture just cited; and we propose
to treat of ihern briefly in the present lecture, in the
order in which they are presented by the inspired
penman.
I. The tabernacle of testimony^ or of the Lord, as
it is sometimes called to distinguish it from the taber-
nacle of the congregation, in which the people ordina-
rily assembled for the despatch of secular affairs, was
erected at the foot of Mount Sinai, agreeably to in-
structions given by God to Moses, the first day of the
first month of the second year after the Israelites came
out of Egypt — in the year of the world 2514, and
before the coming of Christ 1490. It was designed
as a place of public worship; and the materials of
which it was composed, were furnished by the people
with a liberality worthy of imitation, and which Moses
judged it proper in due time to restrain, by ordering
that no further offerings should be made, as sufficient
stuff was already received for completing the work.
Bezaleel of the tribe Judah, and Aholiab of the tribe
of Dan, are named as the most distinguished workmen
employed on the occasion. These and others not
named, but characterized as "wise hearted," seem to
have been qualified for the service by extraordinary
endowments: for it is said, Exodus xxxi. 3, that they
were "filled with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, and
in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all man-
ner of workmanship.'^ The tabernacle was so con-
structed as to be easily taken to pieces, and carried
along with the people in their journeyings. It was a
complicated and rich structure, though far inferior in
value to the temple, to which it gave place in the
days of Solomon. A learned antiquary* gives the
following estimate of the metals which were used in
completing it: viz. gold, ^175,460, sterling; silver,
£37,721 17s. 6d.; brass or copper, £13S 6s. Total
£213,320 3s. 6d. To which, if we add the cost of
the wood, the curtains, the laver and its foot, the high
priest's official dress, the clothes of the priesthood, and
* William Brown, D. D,, of Eskdalemuir.
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 277
the workmanship of the whole, we may estimate the
entire cost at £250,000 sterling — more than a milUon
of dollars. Shonld it be thonght strange that a people
just redeemed from a state of bondage were able to
meet such an expense, let it be recollected that they
must have had some property of their own — that they
received large presents from their oppressors as in-
ducements to leave Egypt; and that they probably
availed themselves of the spoils of Pharaoh and his
army, who were drowned in the Red Sea while pur-
suing them; which may have been washed ashore,
and to which they were entitled by the laws of war.
And if the expenditure should be objected to, as ex-
travagant for people in their circumstances, let it be
considered, that while in the wilderness, their neces-
sary wants were supplied by the power and bounti-
fulness of their divine Redeemer; — that the taberna-
cle was the only building for public worship which
they had; — that it was to be the dwelling place of tlie
iVIost High, under the symbol of the cloudy pillar, or
Schechinah; — that it was a nation.al institution; and
that it served as the house of God, and the scene of
religious observances, for a nation consisting of per-
haps two millions of souls. This extraordinary edi-
fice, with its courts and furniture, has been minutely
described by Dr. Brown, of Eskdalemuir, in-his "An-
tiquities of the Jews," and other writers on the same
subject. But a short and intelligible account of it
may be seen in " Calmet's Dictionary of the Bible,"
from which the following brief description has been
formed: " Tlie tabernacle was an oblong square,
thirty cubits; (a cubit being twenty-one inches) ten
in breadth, and ten in height. It was divided into
two apartments. The one twenty cubits long and
ten wide, called the Sanctum, or Holy place; in
which were placed the table of show-bread, the gold-
en candlestick, and the golden altar of incense: and
the other, ten cubits square, and called the Sanctum
Sanctorum, or Most Holy place, containing the
Ark of the Covenant, with its cov^ering, the mercy-
seat, adorned with two splendid images called cheru-
24
278 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
bim, one on each end, and their faces towards one
another, bending over the sacred chest, to denote tiie
admiration with which the angels contemplate the
divine testimony. A curtain of rich and curious
embroidery separated the holy from the most holy
place. As a similar curtain was afterwards used in
the temple, for the like purpose, it seems highly pro-
bable that that was the veii^ said by the evangelist to
have been rent from top to bottom, at the time of our
Lord's crucifixion; indicating that a way was now
provided whereby sinners might approach the Holy
One of Israel, and find acceptance through the me-
diation of Christ; or as it is sometimes expressed,
"through the rent veil of the Redeemer's flesh."
The tabernacle had no windows; but was open at
the east end, which was the entrance. At the west
end, and on the two sides, it was enclosed with cur-
tains; and four or five fold of curtains constituted its
roof These latter were of various materials, suited
to the purposes of ornament and shelter from the
weather, according to the situations which they occu-
pied severally. That which appeared from within,
was of the colour of hyacinth, striped with purple,
scarlet, and crimson. Over this was thrown a cover-
ing made of goat's hair, which was impervious to
rain. The two outer curtains were composed of
sheep skins, the one dyed red, and the other azure-
blue, and called in our translation of the Bible, badger
skins. The coxLvt of the tabernacle was an area of a
hundred cubits long and fifty wide, enclosed with pil-
lars overlaid with silver, and based in brass, and hung
round with a species of network made of twined linen
thread. In this court, and opposite to the entrance of
the sanctum, or holy place, stood the great altar of
burnt otferings, on which animal sacrifices were con-
sumed. Here also the laver was placed, with water
for the use of the priests, who received the victims
when brought by the people, and prepared and pre-
sented them to the Lord, agreeably to prescribed forms
and ceremonies." — Thus you have a condensed view
of the first building for the public worship of God, of
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 279
which we have any account. It is, indeed, a very
imperfect sketch; but it is as full as our limits will
admit.
When the tabernacle, its vessels and appendages,
were prepared, the whole were dedicated to God, by
the application of a peculiar kind of oil composed of
very costly ivigredients; viz: pure myrrh, sweet cin-
namon, sweet calamus, casia, and olive oil, in a cer-
tain prescribed proportion. In the Epistle to the
Heb. ix. 21, we are informed that the sprinkling of
blood was also used: and the altar of burnt oiferings,
particularly, was sanctified by sacrifices of seven da^^'s;
while the princes, or heads of the tribes, brought
rich donations for the service of the sanctuary.
Here we see the origin of the custom of dedicating
places of worship, a ceremony which, while it may
be considered decent and harmless, is by no means
necessary under the Christian dispensation. Spirit-
ual worship is the best consecration of a church; and
while we hold it to he inexpedient, ordinarily, to
transact secular business in a place devoted to reli-
gious service, we cannot prove it to be unlawful.
When Christ drove the money-changers out of the
temple, he not only aimed to correct a gross abuse,
which ought in no case to be tolerated, but acted un-
der the sanction of the ceremonial law, which, though
ready to vanish away, continued mainly in force till
the day of Pentecost.
The tabernacle being erected and dedicated, the
next measure taken was designed to secure due atten-
tion to the sacred services, of which it was to be the
scene and centre. This brings us to the second arti-
cle for consideration in the present lecture, viz:
II. The institution of the sacred ministry, as it
existed among the Jewish nation. — This matter is
worthy of special notice, as it is the earliest account
on record, of an order of men being set apart for the
performance of religious services. Heretofore, every
pious person seems to have been his own priest.
Heads of families oQlciated for their households; and,
on the decease of the father, the eldest son took his
1^80 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
place in this, as well as in several other respects.
Princes also, seem to have performed, or directed the
performance of the sacerdotal functions for their sub-
jects, collectively. We are not, indeed, to suppose that
the pious did not, previous to this period, assemble in
considerable numbers for public worship; this I sup-
pose was done, even before the deluge, and subse-
quently, in the days of Abraham, Isaac,, and Jacob,
with additional rites and solemnity; but the exercises
were more simple, and the manner of conducting
them less systematic. Whereas, now that a nation had
been taken into covenant with God, and that the sa-
cred writings and divine institutions were to be em-
bodied and preserved for the honour of the Creator,
and the good of mankind, in all time to come, it seem-
ed good to infinite wisdom, that the public ministra-
tions of religion should be more regularly performed,
and that an order of men, in succession, should be or-
dained exclusively to those holy duties. According-
ly, Moses, while receiving other communications from
the Lord on Sinai, is commanded; "Take unto thee
Aaron thy brother and his sons with him, from among
the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me
in the priest's office; even Aaron, Nadab, and xlbihu,
Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's sons:" and in the pas-
sage placed at the head of this lecture, orders are
given for their ordination to the ministerial work.
Had the institution of the priesthood been a mere
politic contrivance of Moses, without divine authority,
as infidels have insinuated, is it not marvellous that
his own sons were left out in the appointment; and
that too, by a permanent regulation, a fixed succession,
secured by a statute which was to remain, and did
actually remain in full force during their generations?
The Aaronic family had no very strong claims to the
honours of the priesthood. Aaron himself had acted
a very unworthy, nay, a blameworthy part, in the
affair of the molten calf, just before. The people in
the forty-days' absence of Moses, and the cloudy
pillar on the mount, became impatient and turbulent.
They wanted a visible symbol of divinity in the
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 281
midst of them continually: — "Up, make ns gods
which shall go before lis; for as for this Moses— we
wot not what is become of him." And, as they pro-
bably wished something, after the fashion of Egyptian
idols, Aaron yielded; and certainly had an agency in
procuring the gratification of a factious and idolatrous
spirit, wliich, whatever extenuating circumstances
may be alleged in his favour, cannot be vindicated:
and when called to an account, for his conduct on the
occasion, his own apology but added to his guilt: "I
cast it, i. e., the gold, into the fire, and there came
out this calf '^ It was no small offence to be concerned
in a treasonous freak which incensed divine justice,
and cost the nation the sacrifice of three thousand
lives. Yet Aaron, very soon after this disastrous and
reproachful occurrence, was placed at the head of the
sacred ministry. He was called of God, according to
an immutable purpose: and in this, as in many other
instances of the divine conduct, we see a union of
grace and sovereignty calculated to humble the pride
of human wisdom, and nullify the pretensions of
merit in fallen man.
The ceremony of ordaining the priests to their holy
vocation, consisted in washing, or baptizing them
with water, at the door of the tabernacle; — dressing
them in tiieir official robes; — and anointing them
with holy oil. The application of water to their per-
sons, denoted that inward purity of heart, as well as
outward decency and decorum, which became them
as ministers of the sanctuary. Their official garments,
provided at the public expense, reminded them of the
responsibility of the oiiice which they sustained, not
for their own personal aggrandizement, but for the
glory of the God of Israel, and the spiritual good of
his people. The pouring of the holy oil upon them,
indicated, agreeably to long established usage, that
they were wholly devoted to God; and that they
were not at liberty to neglect the appropriate duties
of their sacred office for any selfish, or secular pur-
suits whatever. This particular might also be in-
tended to signify to them their need of a divine in-
24"
282 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
flueiice ill the discharge of their ministerial duties.
There was a remarkable conformity to these rites
of ordination to office, in the circumstances of our
Saviour's entrance on his pubhc ministry. When
he was about thirty years old, (the ordinary age at
which the Jewish priests were ordained,) he was
washed, or baptized of John, at Jordan — was cloth-
ed in the beautiful garment of meekness, and mercy,
and received in his human nature the anointing of
the Holy Ghost, beyond measure; while he was
"called of God,'' by a voice from heaven, in the au-
dience of the people, saying, "This is my 'beloved
Son, in whom I am well pleased ; hear ye him."
In the Jewish ministry there are three orders, viz:
1. The High-priest, who had the oversight of the whole
ecclesiastical concerns, and whose peculiar duty it was
to enter the Holy of Holies, once a year, on the great
day of atonement, to sprinkle the blood of expiation,
burn incense, and perform the other rites proper to
that solemn occasion, as described, Leviticus xvi. ; and
to whom it belonged to receive special communica-
tions from God, on great emergencies, and for import-
ant purposes, connected with the general interests of
the community. 2. The ordinary priests; who pre-
pared and offered the sacrifices, kept up the perpetual
fire on the altar of burnt-offerings, tended the lamps in
the sanctuary, &c., under the general superintendence
of the High-priest. 3. The Levites; i. e., the descend-
ants of Levi, Jacob's third son, with the single excep-
tion of Aaron and his family; for the sons of Moses
had no part in the priesthood, and were only common
Levites. God, as we are taught in the third chapter
of the book of Numbers, chose the Levites instead of
the first-born of all Israel, for the more laborious ser-
vices of the sanctuary. They were subject to the
orders of the priests — ministered wood, water, and
other things necessary for the sacrifices; had charge
of the music, vocal and instrumental; studied the law,
and, in a word, were obliged to give attention to a
variety of duties, connected more or less with the
general interests of morality and religion. Their num-
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 283
ber was great, amounting, in the time of Moses, to
upwards of twenty-two thousand. Yet they were
well suppUed with the means of hving; for aUliough
they had no allotment of territory assigned them in
Canaan, yet they were allowed forty-eight cities, with
ground sutlicient for gardens and pasturage, besides
the regular tythe of all the produce of the land. Of
these cities, thirteen belonged to the priests, and six
were cities of refuge. — But we must conclude. If any
should ask, what have Christians to do with the taber-
nacle and priesthood of the Jews? let them remember
that 'Uill the Scripture, is given by inspiration of God,
and is profitable." The 13ible is a perfect system of
religious truth. It is a self-interpreting book; and the
more intimate our acquaintance is with all its con-
tents, the more of its glorious excellence we shall dis-
cern, and the more likely we shall be to feel its claims,
and rejoice in the grace which it reveals. We ought,
indeed, to bless God that our lot is cast under the
Christian dispensation, and that we enjoy the privileges
of a ministry comprising the substance of which that
of the former dispensation was but the shadow. But
crude and superficial notions about the authority of
the Old Testament, have done immense mischief in
the Christian church. Believers in Christ are the
children of Abraham; and the same gospel, in which
we profess to glory, was preached in the symbols and
sacrifices of the Hebrew ritual. What is the Epistle
to the Hebrews, but a profound and irresistible argu-
ment, drawn from the institutions of Moses, for the
priesthood, the sacrifice, and authority of Jesus Christ?
And who can understand that portion of the New
Testament, without some knowledge of the Old?
When our Lord directed the Jews to search the Scrip-
tures, as testifying of him, and exhibiting the way of
life and salvation, he referred to the Scriptures of the
Old Testament mainly. While, therefore, we rejoice
in the simple glory, light, and grace of the gospel day-
spring, under whose cheering beams it is our privilege
to serve God in the beauty of holiness, let us rever-
ence, and be thankful for, the whole of the Scriptures,
284 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
which arc all perfect and useful in converting the soul,
and in fixing its confidence in the great High Priest of
our profession, Jesus the Son of God: To whom be
glory for ever, Amen !
LECTURE XXX.
TRESUMPTION AND REBELLION PUNISHED.
Your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness, and all that WQre num-
bered of jou, according to your whole number, from twenty years
old and upward, which have murmured against me; doubtless ye
shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware to make
you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the
son of Nun. But your little ones, which ye said should be a prey,
them will I bring in, and tliey sliall know the land wliich ye have
despised. — Numbers xiv. 29-31.
There is a meaning in every act of the divine govern-
ment; and if we regard, with suitable reverence and
attention, the works of the Lord, we may derive use-
ful instruction from all the dispensations of his holy
providence.
The history of the IsraeUtes is, on this account,
eminently instructive and worthy of serious consid-
eration. In all God's conduct towards that people,
the two-fold design of advancing his own declarative
glory, and the good of mankind, was manifestly kept
continually in view. Some important lesson may be
learned in every page of the sacred narrative. "The
works of the Lord are great; sought out of all them
that have pleasure therein." Bearing this idea along
with us, let us in the present exercise, notice briefly
some occurrences which took place not long after the
erection of the tabernacle, and the institution of the
priesthood.
A few days after the ordination of the priests,
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 2S5
Aaron offered liis first burnt sacrifice for himself and
the people, which God was pleased to signify his ac-
ceptance of, by sending down fire from heaven, to
consume the oblation on the altar. This fire, as fitly
betokening the pure flame of devotion whicli ought
to attend all acts of religious worship, was ordered to
be kept burning; an,d no other was allowed to be
used in their future offerings. The violation of this
order was the sin, and proved the ruin, of Nadab and
Abihu, two of Aaron's sons. These men, officiating
in their turn, took the liberty, contrary to the divine
command, to use common fire; and, as a manifesta-
tion of Jehovah's regard for his own institutions, and
of his abhorrence of all profane temerity in the cele-
bration of his worship, they were destroyed by light-
ning, or by a sudden flash of fire from the Lord in
the form of lightning; and, that others might see
and take warning from their doom, their bodies
were ordered to be carried forth and buried, without
mourning or any other tokens of respect. From this
awful event, we may learn the importance of wor-
shipping God with a right spirit, and, so far as we
can discover his will, in the manner and in the use
of the ordinances which he has prescribed in his
word.
About the same time that the above named priests
were punished for profane rashness in the ministra-
tions of the sanctuary, we find two instances of per-
sons being put to death by divine command; the one
for blasphemy, and the other for Sabbath breaking.
Such cases as these in the Old Testament, taken in
connexion with that of Ananias and Sapphira, at the
commencement of the Christian dispensation, seem
intended to teach the world, that God will not suffer
his holy commandments to be outraged with impu-
nity. The wrath and curse of the Almighty do some-
times alight on bold transgressors, even in this life;
and we learn fwm the word of truth that, in the day
of final account, all veils will be taken off, and that
every covert act, and every secret purpose of iniquity
shall be brought into judgment. Let us bear this in
286 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
mind, and endeavour to act, and form all our designs,
as seeing Him who always sees us. He with whom
we have to do cannot be deceived, and will not be
mocked, without avenging every insult offered to his
holy omniscience.
After the people had advanced towards Canaan
about three or four days march from Sinai, and had
manifested a refractory and discontented spirit at
Taberah, Moses, by divine direction, appointed a
court of judicature, consisting of seventy of the chief
of the elders of the people, men of good report for
their wisdom and integrity, to take cognizance of
minor causes, and thus afford him some aid in the
maintenance of order, and the administration of jus-
tice. The idea had been suggested by Jethro, before
they reached Sinai, and some temporary arrange-
ment of the kind was then made accordingly; but
the measure was now adopted in a more solemn
form, under the sanction of divine authority. This
appointment seems to have given rise to what has
been improperly called " a family quarrel between
JNloses on the one side, and Aaron and his sister
Miriam on the other;" in which, say some infidel
writers, it was beneath the majesty of God to inter-
fere in the nianner described in the Bible. The ac-
count of this unhappy affair is given in the twelfth
chapter of the book of Numbers: where we are told
that " Aaron and Miriam spake against Moses, be-
cause of the Ethiopian or rather Arabian woman
whom he had married." This complaint about the
Ethiopian wife was manifestly a mere covering for
jealousy of their younger brother's power and in-
fluence. The sum of the matter seems to be this: —
Moses had nominated the seventy elders to assist hitn
in the government of the people, without consulting
any of his friends or counsellors. This gave offence
to Aaron and Miriam, who, not prepared to bring a
charge directly against the administration of their
brother, assailed him through the medium of his wife,
reproaching her as a foreigner, and alleging that she
had too much influence over him. This was an at-
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 2S7
tack on the ofiicial character of JNIoscs, and amounted
to sedition: the olTence, therefore, was not to be con-
nived at. Moses, indeed conld, and, as appears from
his intercession for tlie chief otiender, did really for-
give, so far as he tvas personally concerned, but God
judged it proper t6 discountenance such seditious pro-
ceedings in future, by inflicting on Miriam the loath-
some disease of leprosy, and ordering her to be ex-
cluded from the camp seven days, according to law
in such cases. Here was something more than a
family feud: — it was a crime against the state. Nor
was there any thing in the divine interposition on the
occasion, at all incompatible with the majesty of Je-
hovah, considered as the King of Israel. It was a
just judgment, designed to check a spirit of faction
which disturbed the peace, and menaced the subver-
sion of the government. And had not Moses been
more concerned to exhibit the truth and give a faith-
ful history, than to aggrandize his family by publish-
ing their honours and concealing their faults, the
world would never have heard of the very unpleas-
ant disturbance which took place at Hazeroth. Let
us learn from it, to respect the constituted authorities
of the community to which we belong. Jealousy and
ambition are the principles of tumult and anarchy —
alike incompatible with personal virtue and social
comfort.
At Cadesh-Barnea, on the southern borders of Ca-
naan, twelve men, one out of each tribe, were commis-
sioned to go into the promised land, to ascertain the
nature of the soil, the strength of its fortifications, the
courage and probable number of the inhabitants. On
the return of these men, although they brought with
them specimens of the produce of the country, clearly
indicating the fertility of the soil, a spirit of murmur-
ing and discontent arose among the people, which
became intolerable. This was owing, in part, to a
diversity of opinion among the spies themselves.
Joshua and Caleb, confiding in the divine power and
faithfulness, endeavoured to animate the dejected
tribes to press on to the conquest j but the other ten,
2SS LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
being of a difterent opinion held a different language.
Their faithless apprehension spread among the multi-
tnde, and the result was an almost unanimous deter-
mination not to proceed, but, if a suitable leader
could be found, to return to the land of Egypt. Here-
upon JNIcses renewed his humble and earnest inter-
cessions at the throne of grace, confessing the great
and aggravated sins of the people ; but, at the same
time, alleging that should they be cut off in the wil-
derness, the enemies of religion would triumph, and
that the matter would probably be construed to the
dishonour of the truth, faithfulness, and power of
the God of Israel. Mark the importunity and noble
disinterestedness of this favoured servant of the JNIost
High! He is assured, that should, this generation
be smitten by pestilence and disinherited, God would
make of him a greater nation, and mightier than
they. Still he urges the strong plea of the divine
glory, with an ardour of pious eloquence that has
scarcely ever been surpassed. " And Moses said unto
the Lord — then the Egyptians will hear it, and they
will tell it to the inhabitants of this land; for they
have heard that thou. Lord, art among this people; —
that thou. Lord, art seen face to face; that thy cloud
standeth over them, and that thou goest before them
by day in a pillar of cloud, and in a pillar of fire by
night. Now if thou shalt kill all this people as one
man, then the nations which have heard the fame of
thee, will speak, saying. Because the Lord was not
able to bring this people into the land which he svvare
unto them, therefore he hath slain them in this wil-
derness. And now, I beseech thee, let the power of
my Lord be great, according as thou hast spoken,
saying. The Lord is long suffering and of great mercy,
forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means
clearing'the guilty, visiting the iniquities of the fathers
upon the children unto the third and fourth genera-
tion. Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this
people, according to the greatness of thy mercy, and
as thou hast forgiven this people from Egypt even
until now!" Here the propriety of the pious inter-
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 2S9
cesser's representation seems to be admitted, but his
particular request cannot be granted; while he is
assured tiiat Jehovah wiH take care of his own glory,
amid the displays of his justice. " And the Lord
said, I have pardoned according to thy word:" i. e.,
in time past. "But as truly as 1 live, all the earth
shall be filled with the glory of the Lord." Then
follows the irreversible decree, which Moses is or-
dered to announce to the people: " As truly as I live,
saith the Lord, as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will
I do to yon; your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness
— all that were numbered of you, according to your
whole number, from twenty years old and upwards,
which have murmured against me; doubtless, ye
shall not come into the land, concerning which I
sware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son
of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. But your
little ones, which ye said should be a prey, them will
1 bring in, and they shall know the land which ye
have despised: — and your children shall wander in
the wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredoms,
[idolatries,] until your carcasses be wasted in the wil-
derness: I the Lord have said, I will surely do it unto
all this evil congregation that are gathered together
against me." — Without staying to animadvert on the
stupid obstinacy of the people on this occasion, let us
observe, first, that there was no breach of covenant on
God's part, in this determination; for the promise of
Canaan was made to the seed of Abraham, not to this
particular generation; and to tlie following generation,
i. e., to those who were now twenty years old and un-
der, with their children, the promise was fulfilled. Se-
condly, that God ordinarily employs rational mean's
and presents the most weighty considerations to induce
mankind to keep his connnands, and thus secure their
own best interests, before he visits tliern in judgment.
Thirdly, that tliere is a point in the career of sin and re-
bellion, beyond which the divine clemency and forbear-
ance are not to be expected: and. Fourthly, that the
same principle of unbelief that excluded the rebellious
children of Israel from Canaan, will shut unbelievers,
25
290 LECTURES OX BIBLICAL HISTORY.
under the gospel dispensation, out of heaven. Thus
■we are tanght by the apostle to the Hebrew Chris-
tia-ns: "Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of
yon an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the
living God: — while it is said, to-day, if ye will hear
his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provoca-
tion; \^\\\\^\x\% to the very history now before ns,)
for some when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit,
not all that came out of Egypt by Moses; but with
whom was he grieved forty years? Was it not with
them that had sinned, whose carcasses fell i[i the wil-
derness? And to whom sware he that they should
not enter into his rest, hut to them that believed not?
So we see that they could not enter in because of nn-
belief Let us, therefore, fear, lest a promise being
left us of entering into his rest, any of you should
seem to come short of it; for unto us was the gospel
preached, as well as unto them: bnt the word preach-
ed did not profit them, not hein^ mixed with faith in
tliem that heard it.^' Heb. iii. and iv.
Passing by many events connected with the incor-
rigible wickedness of the people, in the course of
their wanderings, the next thing that seems to claim
special notice, is the rebellion of Korah and his faction.
This was an attempt to break down the spirits, and
curtail the influence of Moses and Aaron. Korah
was a Levite. Dathan, Abiram, and On, whom he as-
sociated with himself in the seditious project, were of
the tribe of Reuben. These were the ringleaders;
but the whole faction amounted to two hundred and
fifty, said to have been men of renown, and chiefly
Levites. The complaint was, that Moses and Aaron
took too much upon them; — and that they acted from
sinister motives. It was alleged that all the congre-
gation were holy, and that, therefore, all distinctions
of rank and oflice were encroachments on the peo-
ple's rights and privileges. Moses, as usual interce-
ded and remonstrated; and, after due consideration,
referred the whole matter to a divine and infallible
decision: Take, says he. Numb, xvi., every man his
censer and put incense in them, and bring ye before
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 291
the Lord, (i. e., at the tabernacle,) two hundred and
fifty censers; thou also, and Aaron each of you his
censer: — even to-morrow, the Lord will show who
are his, and who is holy. The proposition being
agreed to, Moses finahy staked his character and
pretensions on the issue; saying, " Hereby, ye shall
know that the Lord hath sent me to do all these
works; (for I have not done them of mine own
mind,) if these men die the common death of all men,
or if they be visited after the visitation of all men,
then the Lord hath not sent me. But if the Lord
make a new thing, and the earth open lier mouth and
swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them,
and they go down quickly into the pit, then ye shall
understand that those men have provoked the Lord."
The result was as might have been expected. The
earth did open her mouth, and swallow up all that
appertained unto Korah, and all their goods: and a
fire from the Lord consumed the two hundred and
fifty men that offered incense. And, as a memorial of
the fact, and a warning to others, the censers of the
rebels were beaten into plates, and used as a cover-
ing for the altar. Shortly after this fearful catastro-
phe, a remnant of the same leaven beginning to ope-
rate, the mal-contents were visited by a plague, which
cut oft' fourteen thousand seven hundred, besides those
who perished in the matter of Korah. The divine
legation of Moses being pretty clearly established by
these terrible visitations of God upon those who pre-
sumed to question his authority, the priesthood was
shown to belong, of right and exclusively to the house
of Aaron, by a supernatural sign, exhibited summa-
rily as follows: Twelve rods, branches probably
taken from an almond tree, one for every tribe, and
the name of each on its rod respectively, were order-
ed to be laid up in the tabernacle of the congregation
before the testimony, over night; "And it shall come
to pass, saith the Lord, Numb. xvii. 5, that the man's
rod whom I will choose shall blossom; and will make
to cease from me the murmurings of the children of
Israel, whereby they murmur against you. And it
292 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
came to pass accordinglv, (ver. S.) that on the mor-
row. Moses went into the tabernacle of witness, and,
])ehold, the rod of Aaron, for the house of Levi, was
budded and brought forth buds, and bloomed blos-
soms, and yielded almonds.'^ And in memory of
this divine attestation to the indubitable right of Aarou
and his family to exercise the functions and enjoy the
emoluments of the priesthood, this blooming rod was,
by divine direction, preserved in the tabernacle, zm or
hy the side of the ark.
Should skepticism suggest, that "possibly this af-
fair of the rod may have been a juggle, or a pious
Iraud of Moses, to allay jealousies and put his bro-
ther's family in peaceable possession of a respectable
office,'' let it be remembered, that the suggestion goes
to impugn the character of Moses, as if he were a dis-
lionest man. But allowing, for sake of the argument,
that the end in this case might justify the means, is it
not, to say the least, extremely improbable that any
imposition could have been practised on the occasion?
Here were at least twelve men, heads of the tribes —
men of discernment, and deeply interested, to be dealt
with. Their names had been inscribed on the rods,
which no doubt were carefully examined: when pro-
duced the next day, they would of course, be re-
exannned; and had the slightest symptom of deceit
been discovered it would have been published, and
charged upon Moses. But nothing of this kind ap-
pears. Every man, we are told, took his rod, and
departed in peace. Had Moses, as the objection im-
plies, substituted another rod in the place of that
which had been laid up the day before, inscribed with
Aaron's name, it seems difficult to conceive how a
second could have been procured, so nearly resem-
bling the first as to escape detection. But above all,
lie must have been a juggler of no ordinary skill,
who could, in the space of four and twenty hours, or
even in a whole year produce a rod bearing huds^ and
blossoms, and y)-?^//, all at the same time: and then
that this said rod should be laid up, and preserved,
with religious care, and the fraud never be detected.
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 293
He that can believe all this, as the effect of craft,
might, one would suppose, believe in a well attested
miracle.
It was remarked in the beginning of this lecture,
that there is a meaning in all the dispensations of
Providence, and that a profitable use may be made
of them. What then was the design of keeping the
Israelites forty years in the wilderness? and what
useful lessons are to be gathered from the history of
their peregrination? As to the design, it is unfolded
summarily, Deut. viii. 2, "Thou shalt remember all
the way, which the Lord thy God led thee these forty
years in the wilderness, to humble thee and to prove
thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou
loouldst keep his commandments or not.^^ God de-
signed to demonstrate, by an experiment made in cir-
cumstances altogether favourable to a true and certain
result, that man is a depraved creature, and that he
stands in need of divine grace to make him what he
ought to be, and what he must be, before he can be
happy. Another design was, to show the world that
the Creator governs his intelhgent creatures in righ-
teousness— that he will by no means clear the guilty
— that he is a just God and a Saviour — and that he
guards and provides for his church graciously, and in
covenanted faithfulness; so that they who fear him
have nothing else to fear, and they who sin against
him, wrong their own souls and make their perdition
certain and inevitable. The lessons to be learned from
this history are numerous and weighty. Take the
following, among others that might be specified did
time permit. Learn to renounce all confidence in the
flesh. Your nature is sin and weakness. You need a
new heart and a right spirit; and these are blessings
which none but God can give you. There is a hope
set before you in the gospel. "Believe in the Lord
Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." " To-day, if
ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts." To-
day is an accepted time; a day of grace — a day of
merciful visitation: To-morrow may be to you as the
day of retribution.
25^
294 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
Let the children of Zion learn to confide in the pro-
I'idence of their Heavenly Father. He who fed Israel
with manna, and snpplied them with water, educed
from a rock in a desert land, will never suffer you to
want any thing that is really good for you. Your
Joshua has taken possession of the Canaan above, in
your name; and, if a legion of angels should be neces-
sary for your safe keeping, while in this wilderness of a
world, tliey are at his command; and as they worship
him, so they delight to do his will by ministering to
the heirs of salvation. "Fear not, little flock; it is
your Father's good pleasure to give you the king-
dom." Fear not the perils of the way; your guide
and guardian is infallible. Fear not the last enemy;
inhale the spirit, and join in the triumphant song of
those who have gone before you: " 0 grave, where
is thy victory; 0 death, where is thy sting!" "The
sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the
law; but thanks be to God, who giveth us the vic-
tory, through our Lord Jesus Christ!"
LECTURE XXXI.
THE BRAZEN SERPENT A TYPE OF CHRIST.
Therefore the people came to Moses and said, We have sinned, for
we have spoken against the Lord, and ag-ainst thee ; pray unto the
Lord, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed
for the people. And the Lord said unto Moses, make thee a fiery
serpent, and set it upon a pole : and it shall come to pass, that every
one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it shall live. And Moses
made a serpent of brass and put it upon a pole, and it came to
pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the
serpent of brass, he lived. — Numbers, xxi. 7-9.
We learn from an infalUble source, Heb. iv. 2, that
the gospel was preached to the Israelites, under the
LECTURES ON BIBLICAI* HISTORY. 295
Mosaic economy as well as to those who Uved under
the Christian dispensation. The form in which it
was proclaimed to them difiers from that in which it
is presented to us; bnt the substance is the same, and
the design the same in both cases. To them, the plan
of salvation was exhibited under a variety of pro-
phetic and symbolical representations, connected with
ceremonial rites, which, though tedious and burden-
some, were nevertheless well adapted to the times
and circumstances in which they were placed; — to us
the same glorious scheme of redeeming grace is an-
nounced, in much greater simplicity, and with pecu-
liar facilities for obtaining a competent knowledge of
it, and a joyful hope of an interest in it. These ob-
servations are supported by a multitude of instances
recorded in the Sacred Oracles; and by none, perhaps,
more forcibly than by that which is to be the theme
jdi this lecture. The limits of these brief sketches of
Biblical History, will not admit of particular atten-
tion to every thing of this sort that occurs; but the
brazen sei^pent, as it has been adduced by Christ to
to illustrate the nature of evangelical faith, seems to
demand special regard. In attending to the subject,
we will notice, — first, the occasion on which this re-
markable type was instituted; secondly, its fitness to
set forth the way of salvation through Christ; and
thirdly, the practical use which should be made of it.
I. The occasion was this: — Soon after the death of
Aaron and Miriam, which took place on the borders
of the promised land, and probably, in the thirty-
eighth year of their sojourning in the wilderness, it
became necessary, in order to avoid an unseasonable
and disadvantageous conflict with the Edomites and
other hostile tribes, to make a retrograde movement,
as if about to return to the Red Sea. This was felt
to be a grievous disappointment, as they, no doubt,
expected in a few days to enter Canaan, and termi-
nate their painful wanderings. The first generation
of emigrants from Egypt, were by this tinie, chiefiy
cut off by death. But the children inherited much of
the evil disposition of the parents. They, in their
296 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
turn, murmured against llie providence of God, and
assailed his servant Moses with bitter complaints of
the tediousness of the way, the scarcity of water, and
the lightness of the manna. Hereupon, God saw fit
to visit them with a desolating judgment, in the form
of venomous fiery serpents, which occasioned great
distress and mortality among the people. As the
Scriptures say very little about these noxious reptiles,
the following short account of them, taken from wri-
ters on natural history, may be acceptable. The He-
brew terms used to designate them, signify buriiing^
and winged serpents. They are said to be common
in Egypt and Arabia; and they would be exceed-
ingly destructive, but that Divine Providence has, in
mercy to man and other animals, endued them with
an instinctive propensity to self-destruction, the young
brood, destroying the mother, and the mother her
mate, whenever a fresh litter is born. The ibis, also,
or Egyptian stork, it is said, feeds upon them, and
seems to take pleasure in killing them; which may
have given rise to the worship which the ancient
Egyptians paid to that fowl. Herodotus and Bochart
say, that the serpents in question, strongly resemble
(if tliey are not the very same,) those which the
Greeks and Latins call Hydrse. These authors des-
cribe them, as being short, and spotted with various
colours, and having wings like the bat; — as frequent-
ing trees that bear spices, and marshes, where the aro-
matic reed called casia, grows; and tell us, that when
the Arabians go to collect casia, they cover them-
selves all over, excepting their eyes, with skins to es-
cape being bitten by these dangerous creatures: (See
Stackhouse's His. Bib.) — The Israelites it would seem,
had been hitherto preserved from these destructive
serpents; but now, as a token of the divine displeasure,
they are commissioned to execute vengeance on the
rebellious. The scourge is a tremendous one; it is
sensibly felt, and acknowledged to be a righteous vis-
itation of God. The people are humbled under it ;
confess their sin, and beg Moses, to intercede for
them. "We have sinned; for we have spoken
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 297
against the Lord, and against tliee: Pray unto the
Lord that he take away the serpents from us: and
Moses prayed for the people." But, tiiough the
Lord's ears are ever open to the cries of the penitent
in distress, and his ami always able to bring deliver-
ance, yet he chooses his own method of alTording
relief to the alHicted. This is fit and proper; and in
this we should cheerfully acquiesce: because the only
wise God knows better than we can know, what
methods of grace will comport best with his own
glory, and the real good of liis creatures. The fiery
serpents, like the mischiefs of sin, are not to be anni-
hilated, but a remedy is provided against their des-
tructive inlluence: and the elHcacy of the remedy re-
sults from the divine appointment — not from any
suitableness, which we may be able to discern, in the
means employed to answer the end contemplated.
God, regarding the intercession of his faithful minis-
ter, and pitying the people in great distress, which,
however, they had brought upon themselves by their
iniquities, directed JNIoses to procure a brazen image,
resembling one of those poisonous vermin whose
sting was so fatal, and to elevate it on a pole, in the
midst of the camp, so that all might have an oppor-
tunity of seeing it. To this strange but divinely in-
slituied symbol the sufferers were instructed to look,
with confidence in the appointed remedy and in des-
pair of relief from any otlier quarter. "And it came to
pass, says the sacred historian, that, if a serpent had
bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass,
he lived.'^ — Such was the occasion on which this re-
markable type was instituted, and such were its origi-
nal use and form. We may add here, that this bra-
zen image was preserved in Israel about seven hun-
dred years — till the reign of Hezekiah, kingof Judah,
who, upon finding that it had become an object of
superstitious reverence, caused it to be broken in
pieces, and gave it the name of Nehushtan, i. e., a
brazen bawble. 2 Kings xviii. 4. Let us
n. Inquire into the fitness of this emblem, as a
medium of religious instruction. That it was in-
298 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL fllSTORr.
tended to be a typical representation of the gospel
plan of redemption, will scarcely be questioned, when
it is recollected that our I.ord referred to it as such,
■when he preached the gospel to Nicodemus: "As
Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even
so must the Son of man be lifted up; that whosoever
believelh in him, should not perish, but have eternal
life." John iii. 14, 15. If it should be thought un-
natural to employ the image of so vile a creature as
a serpent, to represent the holy and immaculate Re-
deemer, let it be remembered, that crucifixion was a
very odious and shameful death; yet Christ was cru-
cified, and that according to the determined purpose
of infinite wisdom; and the peculiarly glorious doc-
trines of Christianity have been long denominated
THE DOCTRINES OF THE CROSS. A serpeut was the
first creature that was pronounced accursed, after the
fall of man; and Christ is said, by Paul, to have been
made a curse for us — and to have been made sin for
us, that we might be redeemed from the curse, or pe-
nalty of the law, and be made the righteousness of
God, in Him. Gal. iii. 13; 2 Cor. v. 21.
But the aptitude of the type does not consist so
much in the image employed, as in its appointment —
the manner in which it was exhibited — the duty en-
joined in relation to it — and the blessing attendant on
a right use of it. (1.) When every other expedient
failed — when the people of Israel were perishing by
reason of the envenomed stings of the fiery serpents,
Jehovah appointed a remedy which was perfectly
adequate, and which was, at once, seen to be quite
beyond the reach of human skill. So, when all other
methods of rescuing man from the power of sin were
found ineffectual, " God gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him might not perish,
but have everlasting life." Here the analogy is clear
and striking between the type and antitype. In both,
we see grace reigning through righteousness; — the
creature's dependence, and the Creator's mercy man-
ifested together, and in beautiful accordance. (2.) The
manner in which the sacred emblem was exhibited,
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL IIISTORV. 299
shows i(s appositeness, as a means of religions in-
struction. It was elevated in the midst of the camp
of Israel, in the view of the multitude, where every
sufterer was allowed to look upon it and live. It was
placed, not in an obscure or inaccessible situation, but
on a pole of sulficient height to command the horizon
of the twelve tribes of the house of Israel. Nor is it
said to have been limited, in its design, to any par-
ticular class, or given number of persons. It preached
good tidings of great joy to all the people. Its lan-
guage was. Whosoever will, let him look and live.
Thus Christ, the glorious antitype — the substance in-
dicated by the shadow — the original of the symbolical
picture, was crucified at Jerusalem, on Mount Calvary,
at the Passover, one of the great religious festivals of
the Jewish nation, in the view of an immense con-
course of people. His manner of death was seen —
his meek and patient sufferings — his prayer for his
enemies and murderers was heard — his grace mani-
fested towards the penitent thief; — the sympathies
of nature were witnessed, proclaiming the majesty of
the wonderful suflerer — the supernatural darkness —
the rent veil — the cleft rocks — the trembling earth,
and the opening graves ! Hear the witness of the
Spirit of truth concerning the divine testimony pub-
hcly borne to Jesus, when about to be lifted up, and
offered as a sacrifice for the healing of our moral ma-
ladies: "Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I
say? Father, save me from this hour? hut for this
cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy
name: Then came there a voice from heaven, say-
ing, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.
The people, therefore, that stood by and lieard it, said,
that it thundered ; others said, that an angel spake to
him. Jesus answered and said, this voice came, not
because of me, but for your sakes: now is the judg-
ment of this world : now shall the prince of this
world be cast out: and I, if I be lifted up from the
earth, will draw all uien unto meV John xii. 27—
32. In the Scriptures, and in the ministry of recon-
ciliation, Christ crucified is exhibited, or as it is some-
300 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HI5?T0nr.
times expressed, elevated on the pole of the gospel,
as the power of God, and the wisdom of God, unto
salvation to every one that helieves in his name. In
the commission, under which his ministers officiate in
holy things, it is ordained that the good tidings of re-
demption, through his blood, shall be preached to all
the world. The merits of his obedience and death
are continually set forth in the ordinances of his
grace. From the Old, and from the New Testament
a voice issues, and is reiterated by prophets and apos-
tles, by pastors, arid teachers, and missionaries: "Look
unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth ;
— Come unto me all ye that labour, and are heavy
laden, and 1 will give you rest; — He that believeth
on the Son of God, hath everlasting life; — Ho, every
one that thirsteth — come ye to the waters ; and who-
soever 7uUl^ let him take the water of life freely. ^^
The middle wall of ceremonial partition is taken
down, since the Lamb, cliosen and virtually slain
from eternity, has been actually offered to take away
the sin of the world. The factitious distinctions of
Greek and Jew, Barbarian, Scythian, bond and free,
all vanish in Christ. To the eye of faith, the Saviour
of the world is every where discernible: and to the
contrite and wounded soul, every where and equally
precious. No diversity of languages — no distance of
place — nor seas — nor mountains, can present an in-
superable barrier to that mighty stream of healing
influence^ which issued from tlie heart tliat was
pierced, by the soldier's spear, on the hill of Calvary.
It flows on, sustained and impelled by an immutable
decree of mercy; and has already reached the inhabi-
tants of Greenland, and those of South Africa — the
Indians of the East — the savages of the West, and
the Islanders of the Pacific. It was not without
meaning, therefore, that the brazen symbol was pub-
licly exhibited in the camp of Israel.
(3.) The duty enjoined, in relation to it, is the next
point to be noticed. Here, if I mistake not, we shall
find a strong resemblance between the sign and the
thing signified. "And it shall come to pass, that every
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 301
one that is bitten, when he lookcthupon it, shall live:
And it came to pass, accordini>ly, that if a serpent had
bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass,
he lived." The langnage of tiie Spirit is concise on
the snbject; but it obviously implies, that the wounded
Israelite, sensible of his disease, and renouncing all
confidence in every other expedient, was to look upon
the instituted symbol with entire dependence on the
gracious power of God to heal him, and rescue him
from impending death. And was not this to preach
the gospel to him? What is the gospel but a reve-
lation of a divine scheme, whereby sinners of the hu-
man family are saved from sin and perdition, by free
grace abounding through a constituted, chosen, and
acceptable JNlediator? Admitting that the Israelite's
views concerning the Messiah were imperfect, and in
some points erroneous, still, in the case now before
us, and in many others, he must have been convinced
that the favours and mercies bestowed upon him
came through a mediatorial channel, inasmuch as he
knew they flowed from the hand of Ilim, who had
peremptorily declared, that he would by no means
char the guilty: that is, that sin must be expiated,
before the transgressor could be acquitted; and that
the penalty of the law must take effect, either on the
offender, personally, or on his voluntary and accepted
surety. This doctrine was taught by a ritual, with
which every intelligent son of Israel must have had
some acquaintance. If the gospel was preached, as
an apostle assures us it was, to the ransomed tribes of
Jacob's race, it must have been proclaimed through
the medium of types and sacrifices. We do not
know what measure of knowledge is essential to a
true faith in the Redeemer; but if Abraham did not
know enough of him, to be a true believer in Him
ttiat ivas to come into the ivorld, as the glory of
Israel, and a light to lighten the Gentiles, then it
could not, with truth and propriety be said, as it is
explicitly afiirmed, by Paul, that Christians are the
children of Abraham, by faith in Jesus Christ. Now
let us see what the great duty is, to which we are
302 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
urged, in reference to the Lord Jesns Christ, under
the gospel dispensation, and mark the correspondency
of the shadow to the substance. "If ye beheve not
that I am He, ye shall die in your sins — He that be-
lievelh and is baptized, shall be saved, and he that
believeth not shall be damned — Believe in the Lord
Jesus Christ, and thou shall be saved." But we need
cite no more passages. To believe in Jesus Christ, is
the great commandment of the gospel. The act is
sometimes described, figuratively, by the expressions,
coming to him — receiving him — eating his flesh,
and drinking his blood, &c. But all the forms of
diction used in Scripture on the subject, involve the
idea of complete dependence on Christ, connected
with a sense of our own unworthiness, weakness,
misery and guilt. When we trulij believe we " re-
ceive Jesus Christ, and rest upon him alone for salva-
tion, as he is offered to us in the gospel:'' and, as
God is in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself,
what is faith, but an unqualified reliance on the mer-
cy and grace of our Creator, exercised towards us,
through the mediation of his beloved Son, in whom
he is accessible, propitious, and reconcilable to sin-
ners? Is there not then, as regards the duty enjoined
in relation to both, a very striking correspondency
between the type and the antitype — the emblem and
the thing denoted thereby? To the Israelite, stung
by the fiery serpent, the command is, Look and live.
To the sinner, poisoned by sin, and ready to die the
death eternal, the word is, Believe and be saved.
The principle in both cases is the same; and it is a
principle of uncompromising submission to the author-
ity, and undivided confidence in the free grace of Je-
hovah of hosts.
(4.) As to the last point of resemblance; viz. the
blessing attendant on the right use of the sign, and of
the thing signified, respectively, but little need be said.
The blessing is secured, in each case, by the veracity
of Him whose promise is as infallible, as his power is
irresistible; — "whose very word of grace is strong as
that which rolls the stars along.'' — "If a serpent had
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 303 ,
bitten any man, when he looked upon the serpent of
brass, he hved." — "He that beUeveth on the Son,
hath everlasting life; — My sheep hear my voice, and
I know them, and they follow me, and I give unto
them eternal life; — Because I live ye shall live also;
— There is now, therefore, no condemnation to them
that are in Christ Jesus: — Your life is hid with Christ
in God.'^ Has the faithful and true Witness given
these pledges, and shall lie not redeem them? Has
he spoken, and shall he not bring it to pass? When
and where has he ever failed to accomplish his pro-
mise? Is he not a God of truth, in whom is no varia-
bleness, or shadow of change? Did he heal every
obedient Israelite that looked to the appointed sym-
bol of his mercy; and shall he not save the soul that
believes the gospel, confiding in the truth and grace
which came by Jesus Christ? Yea, verily; ''They
that trust in the Lord, shall be as Mount Zion.'^ —
We have seen the aptitude of the brazen serpent, as
a typical medium of religious instruction: we have
seen that it embodied the principle of faith in Jesus
Christ — the sun of the moral system — the central
glory of the redeeming plan — the Alpha and the
Omega of the Bible — the Saviour and the hope of
the world. — And, now,
HI. W^hat practical lessons are we to deduce from
this subject? If God intended, by the brazen serpent,
and other types of the Patriarchal and Mosaic dis-
pensations, to teach mankind the necessity of a Me-
diator, and to direct their views to Him who in the
New Testament, is styled the way, and the truth, and
the life, then is it not of vast importance for us to
have genuine faith in Jesus Christ, the only Mediator
between God and man? If a sinner may be saved
without faith in the Messiah, why such immense
pains to prepare the world for his advent? What
rational meaning can we give to the types, and sacri-
fices, and ceremonies of the Hebrew ritual? Why
so many well authenticated tokens of his matchless
glory — as well when he died on the cross, as when
he was born in Bethlehem and cradled in a manger?
304 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
Why does he himself, and his evangelists and apos-
tles after him, make the salvation of the soul to hinge
upon a believing reliance on the sacrifice of his hlood,
and the merit of his righteousness? Do you say you
cannot see any good reason why your eternal felicity
should be suspended on your having faith in Jesus?
The wounded and dying Israelite might have said,
with much greater plausibiHty, that he could not see
why his being healed should depend on his looking
upon the brazen serpent; yet he looked and lived.
And, remember, believing in Christ is something more
than a sign. It is an exercise of the soul, whereby it
becomes interested in the Redeemer, as the covenant
head of his people. By believing in Jesus, you ap-
propriate to yourself the merit of his obedience and
sacrifice, for justification and eternal life, without
which the Scriptures teach you, that you can never
be justified and received into God's holy and happy
family. Again; by faith in Jesus, you become united
to God, not essentially, but by the only bond, through
which a creature can hold communion with the Cre-
ator; so that, without faith it is as much impossible
to enjoy God, as to please him. Faith, moreover, is
a principle of sanctification, as it is the only genuine
principle of obedience. " The love of Christ con-
straineth us,'^ — heareth us along, through all hin-
drances. His yoke is easy and his burden is light.
Looking unto Jesus, is the grand secret of holy living;
and, '^ without holiness no man shall see the Lord.''
Let us, then, without gainsaying, acquiesce in God's
way of saving sinners. We have ruined ourselves —
in him is our help: "Neither is there salvation in any
other." The word of invitation issues from the cross
— "Look unto me, and be saved all ye ends of the
earth; for I am God, and besides me there is no
Saviour!"
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 305
LECTURE XXXII.
THE CHARACTER AND PROPHECY OF BALAAM.
I siiall see him, but not now: I shall behold Jiim, but not nigh:
There shall come a star out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out
of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the
children of Sheth. And Edom shall be a possession ; Seir also
shall be a possession for his enemies ; and Israel shall do valiantly.
Out of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion, and shall des-
troy him that remaineth of the city. — Numbers xxiv. 17-19.
Balaam, whose character and prophecy will form
the subject of this lecture, was a singular man. He
is first introduced to our notice in the sacred history,
when the Israelites, towards the termination of their
sojourning in the wilderness, reached the plains of
Moab. He appears to have been a magician of Chal-
dea, who by practising the art of divination, or for-
tune-telling among a superstitious people, had ac-
quired great influence and celebrity, not only in his
native country, but among the surrounding nations of
the East. Accordingly, Balak, then king of the Moab-
ites, finding that Israel had encamped on his borders,
and intending to make war upon them, sent for Ba-
laam to come and curse them, i. e,, imprecate the ven-
geance of the gods upon them, agreeably to ancient
custom, previous to the commencement of actual hos-
tilities. The soothsayer, at first, seemed to be very
conscientious, professed an unwilhngness to engage
in the enterprise without divine authority, and claim-
ed time to ascertain the will of heaven on the subject.
What means he used to obtain direction on the occa-
sion, we are not informed; but it pleased the God of
Israel expressly to forbid the undertaking: ^^Thou
26*
306 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
shalt not go with the men; tliou shalt not curse the
people, for they are blessed.'^ Hereupon the invita-
tion of Balak was dechned, and the messengers dis-
missed. But, in the hope, no doubt, of overcoming
the magician's scruples by large rewards, a second
embassy was despatched, composed of men of note
and high standing at the court of Moab, repeating
the king's urgent request, on terms of unbounded
liberality. Balaam still hesitates, and makes strong
professions of integrity, and contempt of filthy lucre:
<'If Balak would give me his house full of silver and
gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the Lord my
God, to do less or more." This sounds very well;
but mark the influence of a ruling passion. His heart
went after its covctousness; and therefore, he spares
no pains to make his duty accord with his wishes.
Here, the man's character is disclosed, the mask drops
off, and we see that he was actuated by unworthy
motives. Had he been a good man, he would have
rejected the bribe, and dismissed the ambassadors,
without hesitation. The will of God had been clearly
revealed; and why should he expect a change in the
divine purpose.^ It is always dangerous to listen to
considerations calculated to encourage a deviation
from the path of known duty. He, who stops to
daily with temptation, is half conquered; and has
reason to fear being left of God, to follow his own
devices in the way to ruin. This remark is forcibly
illustrated, and shown to be worthy of special atten-
tion, by the history before us. Balaam, bent on his
object, and loving the wages of unrighteousness, was
allowed to follow his evil inclination, though with
manifest tokens of the divine displeasure. God, im-
pliedly said to him, in answer to his hypocritical
prayers and feigned scruples of conscience. Go, act
out that which is in your heart — but abide the conse-
quences. And was this a license to do a wrong thing?
Far from it. God only declined coercing his moral
agency; on the obvious principle, that involuntary
or forced services cannot be either praiseworthy, or
blameable. For this reason, God permits thousands
LECTURES OX BIBLICAL HISTORY. 307
of sinners to pursue practices, of whicli he by no
means approves; nor are men's sins the less heinous,
because infinite power is not interposed to prevent
their conin)ission.
Balaam seems to have been so infatuated as to con-
clude, that because the permission just mentioned,
was granted, he had in some sort, the divine sanction,
for obeying the summons of Balak. He, therefore,
set forward with the princes of Moab, elated, doubt-
less, with the expectation, that the mission would
prove a lucrative, if not a successful one. But he
had not proceeded far before he met with a signal
and mortifying indication of the divine displeasure.
"God's anger was kindled because he went: and the
angel of the Lord stood in the way, for an adversary
against him." And, as it would seem, to bring into
contempt the art which he practised, and by which he
had acquired the reputation of wisdom and sanctity,
the dumb beast on which he rode, was so far endued
with the power of speech, as to reprove him in an
audible and intelligible tone. In regard to this extra-
ordinary fact we have only to remark, that it was a
miracle, and, that all miraculous events, of whatever
nature they may be, are alike easy to Him with whom
all things are possible, except such as involve an ab-
solute solecism. That the fact did occur, as Moses
relates it, we have the unequivocal testimony of the
apostle Peter, who, speaking of Balaam, with other
evil-workers, says, that " he was rebuked for his
iniquity; the dumb ass, speaking with man's voice,
forbade the madness of the prophet:" 2 Pet. ii. 16.
God, however, never works a miracle without good
reason, or some important end to be promoted there-
by; and, generally, the design is either made known,
or easily discoverable. In this instance, the influence
of the magical art, which had become very extensive
and pernicious, was designed to be brought into dis-
repute— and the church and truth of Jehovah were
intended to be protected from a formidable combina-
tion of insidious and powerful enemies. By this oc-
currence, Balaam's confidence in the warrantablcness
308 LECTURES OX BIBLICAL HISTORY.
and success of his undertaking was evidently a good
deal impaired ; and liis language, on the occasion,
indicated something like repentance. When God
opened his eyes to behold the angel, with a drawn
sword, opposing his progress, and his ears to hear
the appalling declaration — '• Behold, I went out to
withstand thee, because thy way is perverse before
me," he fell on his face, confessed his sin, and inti-
mated a willingness, if it was really necessary, " to
get him back again." But his heart was not changed
— his purpose was unaltered — he still indulged a wish
that the law of duty might be so modified as to com-
port with the accomplishment of his wishes. *'I have
sinned," says he ; and, now, if it displease thee, I
will get me back again." If it displease thee! See
how the unsanciified heart cleaves to its darling ob-
ject! What further evidence would he have had,
that his conduct was displeasing to God? He had
been expressly told that Israel were blessed, and that
he ought not to favour the views of their enemies, in
seeking their injury. Was not this sufficient? Why
did lie not abandon the wicked design, and sacrifice
the rewards of divination immediately? Because the
lust of money predominated in his heart over the love
of duty. And are not multitudes of mankind going
in the way of Balaam, in this respect? It matters but
httle what the ruling passion is; if it be a bad one,
and if it obtain the ascendancy, it invariably renders
a man's way perverse before the Lord. Hence you
find sinners often, under affliction, and in the prospect
of great sufferings, professing repentance, and talking
of reformation, if it be, indeed, necessary, in order to
escape future punishment. But while sin retains its
dominion in the heart, there is no real desire to be
made holy — no hungering and thirsting after righ-
teousness— no sorrowing after a godly sort — no meet-
ness for the heavenly glory — no peace with God — no
hope in Christ — no part or lot in the imperishable in-
heritance of the saints in light. And yet, it is affect-
ing to observe, what pains persons in this state of
mind often take to keep up the appearance of sane-
LECTlTiES OX EIBLTCAL HISTORY. 309
lity, and reverential regard for the laws and ordi-
nances of God. When Balaam came to the king of
Moab, he pretended that he could do nothing, less or
more, aside from the revealed law of duty: ^< Lo, I
am come unto thee: have I now any power at all to
say any thing? The word that God pntteth in my
mouth, that shall I speak. '^ Costly sacrifices are or-
dered to propitiate the God of Israel — the clioson of
the Lord are acknowledged to be a happy people; —
the ardent petition is heard: "Let me die the death
of the righteous; let my last end be like liis!" while
he, forthwith, betakes himself to his enchantments to
spell out permission to curse and devote to destruction
those whom Jehovah liad pronounced blessed. What
infatuation — what self-deception — what mockery of
God ! 0 let us remember, that nothing but truth in
the inward man will be of any avail with the Searcher
of hearts. The way of transgressors is hard. Con-
fusion and disappointment await them at every step
of tlieir downward career. No art, no wisdom, no
combination of powers can prevail against the coun-
sels of the Almighty. After repeated, laborious, and
expensive attempts, the project of Balak, and the sor-
cerer in whose skill he confided, utterly failed. No
advantage could be gained over the people whose
God was the Lord; and, while the king, in a fit of
passion, orders the soothsayer to depart, as not hav-
ing been able to answer his purpose, Balaam is con-
strained to bear testimony to the glory of Israel, and
to utter a remarkable prophecy concerning Christ and
his spiritual kingdom. We proceed to a brief con-
sideration of the import of this prophecy.
"I shall see him; but not now: I shall behold him;
but not nigh: There shall come a star out of Jacob,
and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite
the corners of INIoab, and destroy all the children of
Sheth. And Edoni shall be a possession ; Seir also
shall be a possession for his enemies; and Israel shall
do valiantly. Out of Jacob shall come he that shall
have dominion y and shall destroy him that remainetli
of the city."
310 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
Oil this prediclion, we may remark, first: That, in
comnioii with several other prophecies, it has a pri-
mary,diud an ultimate, or more exahed meaning. It
refers, primarily, to David, subsequently king of
Judah, who obtained a complete conquest over the
kingdoms of INIoab and Edom, as well as some other
neighbouring tribes, as we learn from 2 Sam. ii. and
xiv., and other passages of sacred Scripture. 2dly.
That it refers, ultimately and mainly, to Jesus Christ,
of wliom David was a type and progenitor: and this
application is justified and confirmed by various other
prophecies, in which the Redeemer is described as
subduing heathen nations to the obedience of faith,
and as destroying the incorrigible enemies of his
kingdom. 3dly. That the sceptre is used as an em-
blem of kingly authority, and a rising star to denote
the appearance of some illustrious personage, to bless
and enlighten the world. And is it not probable, that,
by a knowledge of this prophecy, preserved in the
archives of the orientals, the wise men of the East
were induced, prompted by the extraordinary meteor
mentioned by them, to visit Jerusalem and Beth-
lehem, at our Saviour's birth, saying, " Where is he
that is born. King of the Jews? for, we have seen his
star in the East?^^ And, as a respectable commen-
tator suggests, if these wise men were descendants of
Balaam, which is quite possible, then he might say, in
reference to Christ, ''I shall see him ; (i.e., in my pos-
terity) but not now: I shall behold him; but not nigh."
But, possibly, by seeing Jesus at a distance, and at. a
future day, the prophet might refer to his second ad-
vent, to judge the world ; when we are assured, in
other passages of Scripture, that "every eye shall see
him — and they who pierced him shall wail because
of his coming." Then, indeed, all his enemies shall
see him, " but not nigh ;" for they will be driven
away into outer darkness, and "punished, with ever-
lasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and
from the glory of his power." — " Out of Jacob shall
HE come," says Balaam, " who shall have dominion,
and shall destroy him that remaineth of the city."
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 311
And, says David, in Psalm Ixxii. S, 9, "He shall
liave dominion from sea to sea, and from the river
unto the ends of tlie earth ; they that dwell in the
wilderness shall bow before him, and his enemies
shall lick the dust." — And, says Paul, the apostle,
1 Cor. XV. 25, " He mnst reign till he hath put all
enemies under his feet." — " There shall come a star
out of Jacob," says Balaam. And, says the Re-
deemer, when disclosing a glimpse of his glory to
the beloved disciple, in Patmos, " I, Jesus, have sent
mine angel to testify unto you these things in the
churches : I am the root and tfie ojfsprins^ of David,
and the bright and Morning Star." Rev. xxii. 16.
Thus much, as to the meaning of this prophecy, and
our authority for applying it to Jesus Christ.
Who would expect, after the utterance of so many
expressions of admiration of Israel, and of Israel's
Redeemer, to find this famous man of Chaldea, plot-
ting mischief against the people whose God he pro-
fessed to adore, and whose latter end he had pro-
nounced blessed and desirable.? Yet, such was the
fact. His next expedient was to seduce the people
into lewdness and idolatry^ as if knowing that no-
thing but sin could separate between them and their
God. And, in this evil device he succeeded, by call-
ing to his aid the idolatrous women of Midian and
Moab. The consequences were direful; a judgment
from the Lord — a destructive war, anil the loss of
many lives; and, among the rest, Balaam himself
fell in the bloody conflict: Numb. xxxi. S, 16. Thus
perished the man, whose conduct, so far as we are
made acquainted with it, was a perfect riddle. He
was originally a sorcerer, far-famed for his intimacy
and influence with the world of spirits. Then, when
it seemed to favour his selfish ends, he was a pro-
fessed worshipper of the true God. At one time, we
see him courted by Balak, the king; at another, re-
proved by the most stupid of animals. Now, we
hear liim sing; "How goodly are thy tents, 0 Jacob,
and thy tabernacles, 0 Israel !" — But, anon, we see
him busy with his enchantments, seeking occasion
against the people, whose praises he had just been
312 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORr.
celebrating. To screen the impotency of his art, he
avows his obligation to obey the word of the Lord;
but, when his necromancy and dissimulation both
fail, he throws ofl' the veil, and, by an artful appeal
to the lusts of the flesh, succeeds in making Israel to
sin; and, finally, falls on the plains of Moab, taken,
ensnared, and ruined, in the fearful consequences of a
wicked project of his own devising. In vain did he
wish to die the death of the righteous, while he loved
the rewards of iniquity. The good Lord save us
from following his steps, and from sharing in his
doom !
We conclude with a few practical reflections. First ;
Let us beware of covetousness; which an apostle as-
sures us (Col. iii. 5,) is idolatry — a sin against which
the anathemas of God are reiterated throughout the
Bible. This was Balaam's master-passion. This it
was that urged him forward in a perverse way —
that made him belie his avowed principles, and,
eventually, drowned him in perdition. The caution
of our Savioiy:, on this point, is peculiarly emphalical
and worthy of regard: "Take heed, and beware of
covetousness; for a man's life consisteth not in the
abundance of the things which he possesseth:" Luke
xii. 15. jNIoney is a useful thing, when in circula-
tion; but, when hoarded up, for the sake of calling
it our own, it can be of no use, for the time being,
either to ourselves or others. Let us, then, try to
keep the love of if within legitimate bounds, by doing
good and communicating, as we have opportunity:
With such sacrifices God is well pleased, and our
fellow men may be greatly benefited. Secondly; Let
preachers and other professors of the true religion
remember, that privileges and professions are not
graces. The tares grow in the same field with the
wheat: and God sometimes employs the services of
bad men, in accomplishing his purposes of grace.
Some of the worst characters have exercised the
holiest functions, for a season, and then been cast
oft' for their wickedness. Balaam spoke in exalted
terms of the blessedness of the church of God, and
was used, as an instrument, in announcing one of the
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 313
most Striking prophecies on record, concerning the
Redeemer of the world. King Saul was among the
prophets: Judas Iscariot was among the twelve apos-
tles, and may have been the means of bringing sin-
ners to repentance. And many, we learn from the
best authority, will plead in the day of judgment,
"Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name?
and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name
done many wonderful works? to whom the Judge
will answer, I never knew you; depart from me ye
that work iniquity.'' Matt. vii. 22, 23. These are
awful, but salutary truths, calculated to convince us
that outward advantages, forms, and sacred otfices
will be of no avail to the saving of our souls, without
the power of godliness, and the indwelling of the
holy, sanctifying Spirit. 0 how needful it is, that
every one of us should adopt sincerely, and with
importunity, the prayer of David — " Search me, 0
God, and know my heart: Try me, and know my
thoughts; and see if there be any wicked way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting."
Thirdly; Let us not attempt lo compromise mat-
ters between the favour of God and the love of the
world. That no man can serve two masters, is a
maxim of common sense, sanctified by inspiration.
Why, then, should we halt and hesitate between two
opinions? If the Lord be God, let us serve him, and
him only. The terms of Christian discipleship are
before us, in strong and intelligible language; "If any
man will come after me, let him deny himself, and
take up his cross, and follow me: — and where I am,
there shall my servant be also." Nor are these terms
arbitrary. From the nature of the case, from the state
of the world, from the character of our malady, and
from the essential holiness of heaven, they are indis-
pensable. " The lust of the flesh, and the lust of the
eyes, and the pride of life is not of the Father, but is
of the world: and the world passeth away, and the
lust thereof; but he that doeth the will of God abideth
for ever." 1 John ii. 16, 17. The Saviour claims our
hearts, and his demand is valid. Let us^ therefore,
27
314 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
give ourselves to him, without reserve. His yoke is
easy, and his burden is light. Blessed are they who
put their trust in Him!
Finally; Let us learn from the history, which Ave
have been reviewing, not to yield to faithless fear, in
relation to the safety and prosperity of Zion. She is
founded on a rock; and no weapon formed against
her can prevail. Her Maker is her husband; the
Lord of hosts has her in his holy keeping. A Ba-
laam may plot, and a Balak may offer large rewards,
for her injury; but her Redeemer is mighty to save.
The star out of Jacob will shine into her dark places;
and the sceptre of Israel will guard her interests and
defend her children from their spiritual enemies. Jesus
shall have dominion. The heathen are given to him,
by covenant, and the uttermost parts of the earth.
" His name shall endure for ever; his fame shall be
continued as long as the sun: men shall be blessed
in him; and all nations shall call him blessed. Blessed
be the Lord God — the God of Israel, who only doth
wondrous things: and blessed be his glorious name
for ever: Let the whole earth be filled with his glory:
Amen, and Amen V
LECTURE XXXIII.
THE DEATH OF MOSES, AARON, AND MIRIAM, AND JOSHUA'S
DESIGNATION TO OFFICE.
So Moses, the servant of the Lord died there, in the land of Moab,
according to tlie word of the Lord : and he buried liim in a valley
in the land of Moab, over against Beth-peor ; but no man knoweth
of his scpulclirc unto this day. And Moses was an liundred and
twenty years old when he died ; his eye was not dim, nor his natu-
ral force abated. And the children of Israel wept for Moses, in
the plains of Moab, thirty days. — Deut. xxxiv. 5-8.
How just and worthy of remembrance is the reflec-
tion of Job ! — " Man that is born of a woman is of
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORV. 315
few days, and full of trouble: he cometh forth like a
tlower, and is cut down; he fleeth also as a shadow,
and coiitinueth not." It may be applied to the most
prosperous and happy man that ever lived. It is
strikingly exemplified in the history of Moses, that
favoured servant of the Lord, whose last acts, and
final exit will form the subject of this lecture. His
hundred and twenty years were little wiien com-
pared with the five and twenty hundred years, of the
events of which his writings give us a succinct ac-
count, and in comparison with eternity, nothing. His
trials commenced in the ark of bulrushes, on the mar-
gin of the Nile, and continued, with accumulating
weight, till they terminated in death, on the summit
of Nebo, in the land of Moab. And what a sore
disappointment it must have been to him, not to be
permitted to enter Canaan, after a painful pilgrimage
of forty years in the wilderness; and especially, to
know that this privilege was denied him, as a punish-
ment for his sin, in the atiair of the water of Meribah!
Yet such was the righteous decree of Heaven. He
was only allowed to take a view of the beauteous
landscape, formed by the plains of Jericho, and the
fail: cliffs and lofty cedars of Lebanon, and then yield
implicit obedience to the irreversible mandate — ''Dust
thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return." The
tear of nature for a deceased brother and sister, was
scarcely dried away, when the sympathizing mourn-
er was called to follow his kindred to the house of
silence, and mingle his ashes with theirs. It has
often been remarked, though the observation is not
always true, that near and aged relatives, especially
where their affection has been tender and mutual,
seldom long survive one another. This was the case
with iNIiriam, Aaron, and Moses. They all three
died within a year of each other, east of Jordan, in
sight of the promised land, and in the fortieth year of
Israel's sojourning between Egypt and Canaan.
Of the deaths of Miriam and Aaron, we have a
short account in the twentieth chapter of Numbers.
Concerning the former it is only remarked, in few
316 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
words, that " while the people abode in Kadesh,
Miriam died there, and was buried there. '^ Moses,
we see, dealt not in laboured eulogies upon his
nearest relatives. The reason why so little pains
seem to have been taken to honour the memory of
this woman, at her death, probably, was that she
had headed a faction, and manifested contempt for a
divine appointment, on a certain occasion, for winch
she had been visited with the leprosy, and excluded
from the camp for seven days, as was noticed in a
former lecture. These marks of disapprobation were
designed as a testimony against wrong-doings, and as
a warning to others; showing that God will have
those honoured, who honour him, and that those
who despise his ordinances are lightly esteemed. On
the same principle, only debased by pagan super-
stition, the Egyptians held a kind of inquest over the
bodies of the deceased, and refused the ordinary rites
of sepulture to persons who were found to have been
guilty of certain offences injurious to public morals.
The policy of such a proceeding, to say nothing of its
justice, is indubitable: and if funeral honours were,
by common consent, denied to every man who falls
Avhile wantonly exposing his own life, and aiming at
that of a neighbour, it would give a more effectual
check to duelling, than all the other pains and penal-
ties that can be devised, and annexed to the barbarous
practice.
Of Aaron's death and burial we have a fuller and
somewhat more honourable account; though, as a
token of the divine displeasure, for the part which
he acted, in the matter of the golden calf, and, sub-
sequently, at Hazeroth and TvJeribah, he was ex-
pressly told that he should not enjoy the privilege of
entering the long hoped for land of promise. Yet he
had been, upon the whole, not faultless, but, in the
leading and master features of his character, amiable,
pious, and useful ; and, as he had occupied a station
of eminence in the commonwealth of Israel, it was
l)efitting that some suitable marks of respect should
be shown, at his decease. The inspired narrative,
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 317
though short, is exceedingly natural and heautiful ;
and one can hardly read it attentively, without emo-
tions of tenderness, on seeing the aged and venerahle
priest, leaving the great congregation, lor whom he
had so long ministered and interceded hefore the
mercy-seat, and ascending Mount Hor, in ohedience
to the heavenly vision, with no attendants, save Mo-
ses, his only brotlier, and Eleazar, his eldest son, there
to lay aside his robes of olRce, and, after taking a last
look at the dear charge just resigned, and a rapid
glance at the country beyond Jordan, to die, ai>d be
gathered to the fathers, who had fallen asleep before
him ! Thus, when death shall put his summons into
our hands, we must straightway leave this Avorld,
however many and strong the ties that bind us to
earth, and friends, and otficial duties. Nor let us
defer preparation for the great change, on the pre-
sumption that we shall have many days' notice of
our departure. " Be ye ready," says Christ, "for the
Son of man cometh in an hour when ye think not."
Had Aaron been unprepared, how great would have
been his surprise when the Lord, probably in his
hearings spake unto Moses, saying, '' Take Aaron,
and Eleazar his son, and bring them up unto Mount
Hor; and strip Aaron of his garments, and put them
upon Eleazar his son: and Aaron shall be gathered
unto his ])eople, and shall die there?" The order
appears to have been immediately executed. "Moses
did as the Lord commanded; and they went up into
Mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation."
The robes were stripped off the father, and trans-
ferred to the son, publicly, to denote the transfer of
the office of high-priest to Eleazar, who ministered in
his father's stead. "And Aaron died there, in the top
of the mount." Wiiat mighty changes! And how
soon efl'ected by the irresistible hand of Providence!
How insignificant, in God's account, is the pagean-
try of a long funeral procession — a crowded grave-
yard, and expensive monuments! Here we see the
firsts and most distinguished ecclesiastic in Israel, and
own-brother to the greatest general and law-giver
27^
318 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
that ever existed, finishing a long hfe of service to
the community on the top of a rugged mountain, and
that by divine command, with only two relatives to
close his eyes, and cover his mortal remains, in a
plain st3^1e, and in a sequestered spot, so difficult of
access, as to discourage at once the intrusive visits
of curiosity, and the idolatrous wailings of affection.
Nor does duty allow the brother and son of the de-
ceased to hnger long about the place of interment.
^' Moses and Eleazar came down from the mount:"
and, when the people learned from them that Aaron,
their beloved minister was really dead, appreciating
his services when deprived of them, more highly per-
haps than before, they felt their loss, and " mourned
for him thirty days, even all the house of Israel."
This was a becoming token of respect for one who
had pleaded their cause before Pharaoh; shared, with
them the toils of a tedious pilgrimage, borne the
names of the twelve tribes before the ark of testimo-
ny, and been accustomed, for forty years, to instruct
and bless them and their children, in the name of the
Lord.
And now, that Miriam and Aaron are gone, Moses
is admonished of his own approaching dissolution.
This intimation, as first given, is recorded, Numb,
xxvii. 12, 13, ^'And the Lord said unto Moses, Get
thee up into this mount Abarim, and see the land
which I have given unto the children of Israel: and,
when thou hast seen it, thou also shalt be gathered
unto thy people, as Aaron thy brother was gatheredP
Abarim was the name of a range of mountains, of
which Nebo, with its lofty summit, called Pisgah, was
one of the highest and most remarkable. " Thou shall
he gathered to thy people, as Jiaron thy brother was
gathered.^' This expression is worthy of notice. It
clearly indicates the conscious existence of the soul,
after death. Moses and Aaron are described as going
to their people, when they died. The same is said
of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and others. Their people
were the pious, who had died before them, and who
are supposed, by the language in question, to be in a
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 319
condition to receive them, and welcome them into
their society. This is a blessed thought; and it is
uneqiiivocally developed and confirmed in the New
Testament. It is a trial, even to the Christian, to
leave his friends and kindred behind him, at death:
but let him commend them to God, and to the word
of his grace; and let him remember that he is going
to be gathered to his people — to God's redeemed peo-
ple— to that great and happy family, where death
shall never make a breach, where sin shall never in-
terrupt the sweet stream of benevolence and bro-
therly love. And let those, who mourn the death of
godly and beloved relations, be careful to walk in
their steps, serving their God and Redeemer, and the
painful separation will be but for a little season — ^just
long enough to make a reunion in heaven inexpress-
ibly delightful. This was the hope of Moses; and,
in the exercise of this hope, see with what composure,
with what public-spirited regard for the welfare of
those whom he was going to leave, he receives the
summons of death! True, he desired and prayed
to be permitted to enter Canaan, if it should comport
with the divine will; (see Deut. iii. 23, to the end:)
but, in any event, he was resigned and tranquil.
His great concern was that the people of his charge,
and the cause of God might not suffer by his removal
from the field of labour. Hence his intercessory
prayer, (Numb, xxvii. 15-17:) "Let the Lord, the
God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the con-
gregation, who may go out before them, and who
may go in before them — that the congregation of the
Lord be not as sheep which have no shepherd!"
This prayer was speedily answered. Joshua, of the
tribe of Ephraim, a man of an excellent spirit, who
had been long in training for the important office,
and who had signalized himself in the war with the
Amalekites, was designated, and set apart, by impo-
shion of hands and other religious solemnities, as
colleague and successor of Moses. It is worthy of
remark, that none of the near kindred of Moses was
chosen his successor; which shows that the whole
320 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
matter was of the Lord's ordering; and, that a regard
to the pubUc weal prevailed over all considerations of
friendship and favouritism. Grace, and other qualifi-
cations lor responsible oflices of trust, do not descend
from father to son, like estates and titles; and, there-
fore, it is no marvel, that in hereditary monarchies,
the Idng is often a mere puppet, moving obsequious
to the dictation of his ministers.
After the appointment of Joshua, Moses seems to
have entrusted to his care a large measure of the
affairs of state, and to have given himself mainly, for
the residue of his life, (which may have been some
weeks, if not months,) to the duties of religion. In
this interval, it is beUeved, he delivered, in the au-
dience of the people, most of what is comprised in that
interesting portion of the Pentateuch, called Deuter-
onomy, i. e., the second law, or rather the recapitula-
tion of the law. In this, and indeed, in the other
books ascribed to Moses, it is possible that Aaron,
Joshua, Hur, or some other person under his eye, and
by the guidance of the Spirit, Tnay have written, nay,
probably, did write some small portions; such as the
commendation of his meekness, (Numb. xii. 3,) and
the last chapter of Deuteronomy, giving an account
of his death. These pieces may have been, at first,
appended to the voluminous writings of Moses, as
notes; and afterwards, upon being approved of, as
giving a true statement of facts, and as contributing
to the more ready understanding of the whole history,
they may have been incorporated with the text, when
the canonical Scriptures were collated by Ezra, or
some other inspired man of God, after the Babylonish
captivity. Nor does this aftect, at all, either the au-
thenticity or the genuineness of the books. The ob-
jections of infidels on this, as on most other subjects,
connected with the authority of divine revelation, are
perfectly childish and unfounded; and only need to be
tested by the received rules of fair interpretation to
expose their sophistry.
In the book of Deuteronomy, we have the farewell
addresses of Moses to the people of Israel. These
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 321
addresses are of the most dignified, and yet of the
most tender and aifectionate character imaginable.
Here we have, indeed, a rich miscellany of law and
gospel, of duty and privilege, of judgment and mere}',
of history and poetry. The wonderful dispensations
of Providence towards the ransomed tribes, are re-
counted in a lucid and forcible style, from their memo-
rable exodus out of the house of bondage, to the eve
of their entrance into the goodly land, promised to
Abraham's seed, in Jacob's favoured line. The law-
giver and chief magistrate seem lost in the father and
minister of religion, while we hear him, in his last ad-
dress, saying to them, with all the sanction of inspira-
tion, and the earnest solemnity of ,a dying saint, <-Set
your hearts unto all the words which I testify among
you this day; which ye shall command your children
to observe, to do all the words of this law; for it is
not a vain thing for you; because it is your life;
and through this thing ye shall prolong your days in
the land, whither ye go over Jordan to possess it:"
Deut. xxxii. 46, 47. In truth, the chapter from which
this passage is quoted, is one of the finest specimens
of composition in the English language. It is very
properly entitled in the table of contents, "The Lord's
song by Moses." The sentiment is truly sublime —
the figures the happiest and most expressive that
could have been chosen — and the appeal to the judg-
ment and heart of man, powerful and moving beyond
description. Is it not strange that persons of taste and
high pretensions to a love of learning, do not read the
Bible more than they generally do, if it were only for
sake of the ancient history and usages, moral maxims,
and elegant poetry which it contains? But this is a
digression from our subject.
The last public act of Moses, the man of God, was
his pronouncing a prophetic benediction on the seve-
ral tribes, including Simeon with Judah,the lawgiver.
The grateful service performed, much in the manner
of good old Jacob, two hundred and thirty-nine years
before, the enraptured prophet bursts forth into a
declaration of the majesty of God, and of the safety
322 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
and blessedness of liis people; — and these are his last
■words on record: ''There is none like unto the God
of Jeshurun, who rideth upon the heaven in thy help,
and in his excellency on the sky. The eternal God is
thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms:
and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee,
and shall say, destroy them: Israel then shall dwell in
safety alone: the fountain of Jacob shall be upon a
land of corn and wine; also, his heavens shall drop
down dew. Happy art thou, 0 Israel; who is like
unto thee, 0 people, saved by the Lord, the shield of
thy help, and who is the sword of thy excellency! and
thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee, and thou
shalt tread upon their high places!''
The holy man's work is done, and he is going to
enter into the joy of his Lord. He ascends the mount,
even to Pisgah's top, over against Jericho. The land
given by covenant, and confirmed with an oath unto
Abraham and his seed, spreads out before him, even
from Dan unto Zoar, and westward unto the utmost
sea; for "his eye was not dim nor his natural force
abated." I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes,
said God^ but thou shalt not go over thither. So
JNIoses, the servant of the Lord, died there in the land
of Moab, according to the word of the Lord; and he
buried him in a valley in the land of INIoab, over
against Beth-peor; but no man knowcth of his sepul-
chre unto this day."
Three questions briefly answered, according to the
writer's best judgment, will comprise all which it is
deemed proper to say on this mysterious dispensation
of Providence:
1. Why was not IMoses allowed to enter the land
of promise? — Because he had sinned publicly, and in
the exercise of one of his most holy functions; Num.
XX. 7-13. He smote the rock at Kadesh twice, with a
^^ Hear now ye rebels; must \ve fetch you ivater out
ofthisrock?^^ instead of simply speaking to it, before
the eyes of the people, as the Lord commanded him.
For this faithless and petulant violation of an express
command, in a case intimately connected with the
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 323
divine glory, the Lord declared to Moses and Aaron,
" Because ye believ^ed me not, to sanctify me in the
eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not
bring this congregation into the land which I have
given them." And God is faithful in the execution of
his threatenings, as in the fulfilment of his promises.
Beware of departing from the revealed law of duty.
If you do, you will forsake your own mercies, and
suffer loss in tfds life, if not in that which is to come.
2. What is meant by the Lord's burying Moses? —
That a wonder-working Providence took care that his
mortal remains should be disposed of without luiman
agency, and, perhaps, by the ministry of angels.
3. Why was he ordered away from his fond friends,
to die alone, and without one kind hand to close his
eyes; and why was the place of his interment so scru-
pulously concealed? — That the atiection and respect-
ful regards of the people might be the sooner transfer-
red to his successor in office, and that the worship of
saints and relics, (an abomination that has long dis-
graced one section of the Christian church,) might be
prevented among the tribes of Israel.
"Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when
he died; and the children of Israel wept for him in the
plains of Moab thirty days; so the days of weeping
and mourning for Moses were ended.'' Temperate
expressions of mourning for the worthy dead, are not
forbidden, but rather countenanced in Scripture. Da-
vid lamented the death of Jonathan in the most pa-
thetic strains, and Jesus wept at the grave of Laza-
rus; but our moderation in this, as in other things,
should appear unto all men. As to the time and
badges of mourning, custom governs — not law. One
thing may be remarked, and ought to be remember-
ed, on this subject: — Funerals, and mourning dresses
should not be more expensive than the mourners can
conveniently bear. Pride and extravagance may be
discovered on very grave and solemn occasions. "Let
all things be done decently, and in order." That the
children of Israel should mourn thirty days for Moses,
can scarcely be thought an excessive indication of
324 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
respectful regret, at the death of such a man ; for he was
a good man — a great man, and a highly honoured
instrument of good to Israel, and to the world. Scep-
ticism may impugn his mission and cavil at his wri-
tings; but his name will be revered while the world
stands — his record is on high — and his songs, celebra-
ting the praises of God, the Redeemer, are sung in
heaven. But 'after all, his highest praise is, that
" by faith, when he was come to years, he refused to
be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing
rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than
to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season: esteeming
the REPROACH OF Christ greater riches than the trea-
sures in Egypt."
LECTURE XXXIV.
the CONaUEST OF CANAAN. •
So Joshua took tlie whole land, according to all that the Lord said
unto Moses, and Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel, ac-
cording to their divisions by their tribes; and the land rested from
war. — Joshua xi. 23.
The principal design of this lecture is to vindicate the
conquest of Canaan, by the Israelites, which was ef-
fected under Joshua, the successor of Moses, about
fourteen hundred and thirty years before the birth of
Christ. This subject demands some special attention,
not only because it has given occasion to sceptical
objections to the sacred history which narrates the
fact, but, also, on account of the typical reference
which it has to the final triumph of the church mili-
tant, the spiritual Israel of God, under the conduct of
Jesus, the captain of our salvation.
According to the account which the Bible gives
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 325
US of this matter, the Israchtes, in dispossessing the in-
habitants of Canaan, acted under a divine commis-
sion. If then, the history be true, all objections to
the conquest lie against the authority by which it was
achieved. Now, for the truth of the narrative con-
cerning this transaction, we have, to say the least, as
much evidence as we have for any other portion of
the sacred Scriptures. This evidence, as it is very
complicated and various, we shall not attempt to ex-
hibit fully, at present; yet, a few marks of its verity,
fnrnished incidentally, and apparently without any
studied design on the part of the historian, ought,
perhaps, to be summarily noticed here. Let it be
observed, then, that the history of the Jewish nation
is a journal kept from day to day, as the events com-
posing it transpired among the people to whom it
principally relates. The keeping of this journal was
superintended by INIoses, daring his life; and on his
decease, Joshua succeeded him in this service, as in
the other branches of his high and responsible ofUce.
The same series of annals was continued, after the
death of Joshua, by Samuel and others, and finally,
revised, arranged, and completed by Ezra, the last
historical writer, pretending to inspiration, in the Old
Testament. The whole history, though penned by
several hands,- and at successive periods, is to be re-
garded as one continuous chain, of which, if one link
be broken, the whole may be justly suspected as a
rope of sand — a thing of no strength, and of no value.
Now, that an ingenious writer, visiting a distant tribe
of men, for the purpose, might, on his return to his
native country, furnish an untrue account of the said
tribe, which should gain some credit and currency,
among his countrymen,/^;?* a time, is quite possible;
but for other writers to take up the subject, and con-
tinue the deception for several centuries, would be
very difficult, if not impossible: and when commerce
and the researches of the learned came to disclose the
real history, manners, and customs of the supposed
people, the imposture would inevitably be detected,
and exposed to general contempt. Now let us see
28
326 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
how the matter stands in regard to the history of the
Jewish nation. The history of this people was not
written by foreigners, but by native, and home-bread
Israehtes; — men of note, and of good repute in the
nation; — men, whose whole conduct, so far as dis-
closed, shows that they were concerned to maintain
the honour of their countrymen, if that could be done
consistently with truth and honesty. They lived, and
acted, and aUernately mourned and rejoiced — suffered
and triumphed with the people, whose singular chroni-
cles they have transmitted to the world, as the ora-
cles of truth. They detail transactions to which they
were eye witnesses, and many of which imphcate,
and exhibit as exceedingly blameworthy, the whole
nation — their most prominent characters, and them-
selves, in some instances, not excepted. What mo-
tive, other than the love of truth, could they have had
for so doing?
But supposing these writers to have been malicious,
or visionary, as you please, could they have made the
people receive their fictions for true history.'' Could
they have instituted, and caused to be celebrated, for
a long course of ages, expensive and laborious rites
commemorative of alleged events, which never really
took place? Take two or three prominent facts and
institutions to illustrate this idea. If Moses had not,
under divine guidance, led the tribes of Jacob forth
out of Egypt, by what conceivable art, or by what
unheard-of infatuation was the belief that he did so,
originated; and, how happens it that this belief is
cherished by the descendants of Israel, in all their
dispersions at the present day? If the first-born of
Egypt were not slain by the death-dealing angel of
justice, what means the Jewish passover; and who
will undertake to give us a rational account of its
origin? If the scenes said to have been exhibited at
the Red Sea were fictitious — if the Israelites did not
cross on the bare channel, and if Pharaoh and his
host, in attempting to pursue them, were not over-
whelmed, and drowned by a visitation of God, what
is the theme of that beautiful and sublime hymn, re-
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 32/
corded in the fifteenth chapter of Exodus? Wliat is
the thing intended to be commemorated by the feast
of Pentecost, if the law was not given at Sinai, fifty
days after the exit from the house of bondage? And
why that other great national festival, the feast of
Tabernacles, if the people of Israel did not dwell in
tents in the deserts of Arabia? Whence, and where,
and why originated the religious and ceremonial pe-
culiarities of the Jews — their priesthood, their taber-
nacle and temple services, if not at the time and place,
and for the reasons assigned by Moses and the other
writers of the sacred story? Would Moses, or any
other man, in his right reason, have dared to publish
among the people, of whom he was writing, that
they were supplied, for forty years, with bread from
heaven, falling nightly, in and around their encamp-
ments, if such had not really been the tact? Would
Joshua have had the hardihood to tell the story of
the miraculous passage of Jordan, and could he have
prevailed on the chief of the fathers to erect a monu-
ment of twelve stones, in the bed of the river, and
another on its western margin, to perpetuate the re-
membrance of a fiction — a wicked and known false-
hood! These suppositions are too extravagant to be
entertained, for one moment; and yet they must be
admitted, if the truth of the history be denied. And,
it is worthy of notice, that the facts just mentioned,
and many others, interwoven in the history, are
quoted, or alluded to as true, and of weighty import,
in the subsequent books of Scripture, not only in the
Old Testament, but in the New Testament, by Christ
and his Evangelists, and Apostles: so that to reject
the history of Israel, or any part of it, really involves
the rejection of Christ, and the whole Christian sys-
tem.
It ought not to be overlooked, in examining the in-
ternal evidence of the truth of the Jewish history, that
the facts recorded were of a public nature; that they
took place, in the view of a numerous people, by no
means disposed to submit to the dictation, or orders
of their leaders, without the strongest evidence that
32S LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
God spoke and operated by Moses and others, as his
ministers. Yet we find them submitting, time after
time, manifestly under the irresistible hand of Om-
nipotence, and repeatedly renewing their covenant
engagements to do, as the Lord commanded Moses;
and this Moses and his coadjutors have been held in
the highest estimation by the children of Israel, in
their generations, even down to the present hour.
This certainly indicates pretty clearly, the truth and
faithfulness of the historical statements communicated
in the sacred pages of the Bible.
It is also worthy of remark, that foreign writers
bear testimony to the truth of the leading facts, in the
history of Israel. This argument is ably handled by
the learned Grotius in his well known work, on "The
Truth of Christianity.'' The author of the celebrated
Orphic verses speaks of Moses, as having been born
of water, and as having received of God the two
great tables of the moral law. Strabo, Juvenal, Dio-
dorus Siculus, Pliny, and Tacitus, mention him as a
writer of great merit, and profess to respect his history.
Chalcidius calls Moses the wisest of men, enlivened,
not only by human eloquence, but by divine inspira-
tion: and ancient writers, generally, commend the
piety of the Jews, so long as they adhered strictly to
the law, which they received by the hand of IMoses.
Such testimonies as these, frequently to be met with
in pagan writers, show the estimation in which the
historical books of Scripture were held by those who
were no way interested to favour, or defend the char-
acter of the Jewish nation. Indeed, when we recol-
lect that the conduct of the Israelites, in invading the
territory of the numerous tribes of Canaan, must have
excited the most wakeful jealousy, it seems impossi-
ble that any imposture, on their part, should have
been practised with success. There is, therefore, no
deficiency of evidence, for the truth of the history
which we are reviewing; and the man who rejects it,
as fabulous, must, to be consistent, reject all historical
testimony, and be contented with the little measure of
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 329
knowledge which he may he ahle to gather, within the
narrow circle of his own feehngs and ohscrv^ation.
The people of Israel then took possession of Ca-
naan, and exterminated, or made tributary, the for-
mer inhabitants, by a divine warrant. And that they
verily believed they had a divine commission to act
as they did, appears from several particulars, which
might be adduced if time permitted. We shall notice,
briefly, one or two things in the conduct of Joshua,
which evince his entire confidence in the protection of
God, and in the success of the enterprise on which he
had entered by divine command. The first is: — The
observance of the painful rite of circumcision, a few
days after crossing Jordan. This rite, because it dis-
qualified the subject for active service, for some time
after its administration, had been omitted ever since
they left INIount Sinai, i. e., upwards of thirty-eight
years. The generation that came out of Egypt, had
all perished in the wilderness, excepting Caleb and
Joshua himself. The whole of the males, therefore,
who entered Canaan, with the exception just named,
were to be circumcised; and that too, immediately on
their entrance into a country densely inhabited jjy a
people all on the alert to repel the invaders, and de-
fend their property and their lives. Yet, when the will
of God is announced, Joshua immediately obeys the
command without stopping, as he might have done, to
allege that this service would, at this critical juncture,
place him and his people at the mercy of their ene-
mies. Nay, more: the ordinance of circumcision was
preparatory to that of the passover, which had also
been omitted, for the same length of time, on account-
of their migratory state in the wilderness: so that some
weeks must have been spent in religious services, be-
fore a single village had been subdued, and within a
few miles of the populous and well fortified town of
Jericho. Would a wise general, such as Joshua evi-
dently was, have acted thus, without the fullest per-
suasion that he and his people were under the shield
of the Almighty? Certainly not. And why did not
the enemy come upon them, in their disabled circum-
28^
330 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
Stances, and utterly destroy them? Why, but because
they were overawed and held in restraint by the God
of Israel?
The only other particular of this kind, that our time
allows us to notice is — The command which Joshua
addressed to the sun and moon, with the view of gain-
ing time to complete the victory over the five confe-
derate kings, in the case of Gibeon, mentioned in the
book that bears his name, chap. x. 12: " Sun, stand
thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, moon, in the valley
of Ajalon!" Would any man of common sense risk
his reputation on the issue of such an order as this,
without being fully assured that it would be obeyed?
Could any thing short of an afflatus from the God of
universal nature have moved a rational, created be-
ing, to utter such a command? and could any thing
short of divine influence have given efficacy to it? for
it was promptly obeyed: " The sun stood still, and the
moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves
upon their enemies."
We shall offer a few remarks, now, upon what
deistical writers call the great question, i. e., whether
it be consistent with the justice and other acknow-
ledged perfections of God, to authorize the extermi-
nation of the Canaanites ? On tliis point we shall not
multiply words to any considerable extent. Our aim
is, not so much to refute the infidel, as to guard the
young against his blasphemy, and to confirm the faith
of the believer in the divine testimony.
The conduct of Israel, in Canaan, has been com-
pared to that of the Spaniards in Mexico-, both, it
has been alleged with confidence, acted a base and
cruel part. Now, we say, the cases are not at all
parallel. The Israelites acted under a divine war-
rant, ratified by miracles ; the Spaniards were actu-
ated by avarice, and misguided zeal for Papal domi-
nation. The truth, respecting the conquest of Canaan,
may be summed up in a few short propositions, to
which, as it seems to me, every discerning mind, dis-
enthralled from the power of prejudice, will accede,
as postulates, or first principles, in the divine govern-
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 331
ment, viz : "That the Ahiiighty lias an indisputable
right over the lives and fortunes of his creatures; —
that the sin of nations may become so aggravated as
to justify him in destroying them, as nations; — that
he is free to choose the instruments by which he will
eftect such destruction ; — that tliere is not more injus-
tice or cruelty in effecting it by the sword, than by
famine, pestilence, deluge, or earthquake; — that the
circumstance of a divine commission entirely alters
the state of the case, and distinguishes the Israelites
from the Spaniards, or any other plunderers, as much
as a warrant from the magistrate distinguishes the
executioner of law from the murderer; — that men
may be assured of God's giving such a commission;
— and, that there is incontestible evidence upon re-
cord, and from facts, that the Israelites were thus as-
sured." (See Bishop Home.) If any one, capable of
conducting an argument, will undertake to refute
tifese simple propositions, or to prove the converse of
them to be true and just, he will be very likely to
convince himself, that there was no unrighteousness
on God's part in the matter in question. That the
Canaanites were a wicked people — that they were
eminently abandoned, is undeniable, if any reliance
is to be placed on history. They had been warned;
they had seen the cities of the plain laid waste, by a
storm of fire and brimstone. Abraham, and Lot,
and Melchisedeck, and Isaac, and Jacob, had so-
journed among them and preached to them; but they
were wholly given to their idols and their lusts.
Much forbearance was exercised towards them; they
had space for repentance; God waited to be gracious
for more than four hundred years after they had be-
come grossly corrupt. The country which they inha-
bited, and which they probably took possession of by
unauthorized conquest, had been long promised to
Abraham and his seed, (Gen. xv. 16;) but the Lord
would not drive them out, until they had filled up
the measure of their iniquity, and become ripe for
destruction. And when incensed wrath did come, it
fell upon them gradually; for thus was Moses instruct-
332 LECTURES OX BIBLICAL HISTORY.
ed concerning these devoted sinners : ^' The Lord thy
God will put out those nations before thee, by little
and little: thou mayest not consume them at once.''''
"Here we observe,'^ says a learned wrUer,* "a trait
of mercy in the midst of judgment. Thus an oppor-
tunity was afforded of escaping by flight. Time was
also allowed them, to consider the wonderful works
of the true God; and it would seem, that those who
repented and forsook their evil ways, were spared,
and admitted to communion with Israel, as were Ra-
hab and her father's family." Justice requires that
wicked nations should be punished in this tvorld, in-
asmuch as they are not supposed to exist, as nations,
in a future state. It is not said, in Scripture, that
these people were all consigned to endless perdition ;
and, as to the objection made to the death of so many
infants, it is too broad, in its bearing, to be of any
force in this case. Infants are removed from this
world by a great variety of distressing diseases and
calamities, without affording any just ground of com-
plaint, as to the time or the manner of their removal.
Jehovah rules in righteousness ; "let all the earth keep
silence before him." The Avhole territory is his, by
right of creation; and he not only apportions it to
the various tribes of men, as seems good in his sight,
but, very often for good reasons, transfers it from one
nation to another, in the exercise of his indisputable
sovereignty, for the maintenance of his authority, and
the glory of his kingdom.
Should it be alleged, that the conquest of Canaan
authorizes aggressive war upon an unoffending people,
it may be said, in reply, that any nation, commis-
sioned as were the Israelites in the case of Canaan,
would be mere executioners of the divine will, and
therefore, justifiable; otherwise, the invasion of a
state, whether barbarous or civilized, from motives of
ambition, or the lust of gain, is to be regarded as rob-
bery and murder, on a great and terrific scale. De-
fensive war, when all other means of composing
* Dr. John Jamieson.
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORT. 333
international disputes have been tried in vain, may,
perhaps, be sustained by the laws of self-preservation;
but wars, wa'ged for the display of superior power, or
for the acquisition of territory, or commercial advan-
tages, at the expense of other nations, are incapable
of rational vindication, on any principle, either of
sound morality or common sense. To resort to deadly
strife in defence of our honour, or even of our un-
questionable rights, is the sure way to make bad
worse, as it invariably puts in jeopardy interests of
far more importance than those which give rise to
the contest. It is high time that a custom so base in
its origin, and so fraught with mischief to the happi-
ness of mankind, and so adverse to the evangeliza-
tion of the world, should yield to the obvious dictates
of humanity and religion. ^' Righteousness exalteth
a nation, but sin is the reproach of any people;" and,
we may add, that sin — national sin — will be the ruin
of any people. This is the momentous lesson taught
by the overthrow of the ancient Canaanites. God is
just and holy; and he has declared, that, "though
hand join in hand, the wicked shall not go un-
punished."— " ]5lessed are the people whose God is
the Lord!" JNlay the rulers and legislators of our
happy republic be richly endued with the vv^isdom
that is from above; so that our national affairs may
be conducted in righteousness, and in the spirit of
peace, and with a due regard to the glory of God,
and the permanent well being of our great and grow-
ing nation !
334 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
LECTURE XXXV:
THE LAST ACTS AND DEATH OF JOSHUA.
And it came to pass, after these things, tliat Joshua, the son of Nun,
the servant of the Lord, died, being- an hundred and ten years old;
and they buried him in the border of his inheritance, in Timnath-
serah, which is in mount Ephraim, on the north side of the hill of
Gaash. And Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and
all the days of the elders that overlived Joshua, and which had
known all the works of the Lprd, which he had done for Israel. —
Joshua xxiv. 29-3 L
In our last lecture, we offered some considerations in
vindication of the conquest of Canaan, showing, that
it was effected by a divine commission, for the glory
of God as connected with the maintenance of his wor-
ship, the preservation of his truth and ordinances, and
the good of his church, in all subsequent periods of
the world. Joshua acted, in this whole matter, as the
Lord's servant. We have noticed his conduct, as a
consecrated warrior; let us now see how he behaved,
under the success which attended his arms: — Mark
the spirit with which he closed the duties of his high
and responsible station; — observe the influence of his
example and instructions on the people of his charge;
and then endeavour to take some practical lessons
from the subject.
I. The expulsion and extermination of the devoted
people of Canaan, was a work of time. From the
passage of Jordan to the distribution of the land by
lot, to the several tribes of Israel, must have been not
less than seven years. During this period the war
was carried on with vigour, under the superintend-
ence of that illustrious personage, who appeared to
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 335
Joshua, at Jericho, with a drawn sword in hand, and
proclaimed himself, " Captain of the Lord's host.''
This was none other than the angel of the covenant,
our adorable Redeemer, as appears from his accept-
ing divine honours, and from his commanding the son
of Nun as he had done Moses, forty years before, at
the burning bush in Iloreb, to take oft' his shoes from
his feet, for that " the place whereon he stood was
holy ground." Even while the war continued, the
pious leader of Israel was not inattentive to the duties
of religion. The sacraments of circumcision and the
passover were celebated; the blessings and threaten-
ings of the law were published in the audience of the
people, and they were admonished by altars, sacrifices,
and faithful warnings, of the importance of trusting
in the living God, in all their conflicts and military
movements. And no sooner had the Lord given him
rest from his enemies, than we find him taking mea-
sures to settle the affairs of government, agreeably
to the directions which he had received from the holy
oracle. The land was distributed in lots, apportioned
to the number of souls, in the tribes, severally, except
that of Levi, the ministers of the sanctuary, for whose
support, as well as to meet the expense of maintain-
ing public worship, a permanent tax was levied on
the produce of the country, and a certain number of
towns, with their suburbs, were allotted to the priests
and levites, where they ordinarily resided, and super-
intended the general interests of religion and litera-
ture, when not engaged in the duties of public wor-
ship. The tabernacle was erected at Shiloh, where
the ordinances of religion were administered and at-
tended by the people, with great solemnity, for up-
wards of three hundred years. Indeed, the spirit of
Joshua was a spirit, not of ambition and violence,
but of meekness and piety. His military success was
uniformily made subservient to the glory of God and
the spiritual welfare of the people, whom he govern-
ed. When the two tribes and a half were about to
return to their settlement, east of Jordan, at the close
of the war, their venerable commander dismissed.
336 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
them Avith his blessing, and charged them as a father
would his children; "Take diligent heed," said iie,
" to do the commandment and the law, which Moses
the servant of the Lord charged you, to love the
Lord your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to
keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and
to serve him whh all your heart, and with all your
soul:'^ (xxii. 5.) It is not common to hear such advice
as this from the lips of conquerors. Most men, who
have distinguished themselves by their bravery and
skill in military operations, are extremely fond of
flattering attentions and honours from their country-
men; and seldom think of referring their achievements
to the providence of God, or of recommending a re-
gard to the divine commands, as a means of improv-
ing the advantages which may have been gained
over the enemies of their country. Here, then, is an
example worthy the imitation of warriors and states-
men. Joshua was honoured in being designated the
successor of Moses; and he was, afterwards, highly
honoured of God, in the eyes of the people; inso-
much that they placed unbounded confidence in his
judgment, and yielded prompt obedience to his orders.
Yet we find him, in the height of power, modest,
humble, unassuming; — indifferent to the applauses
of men, and mainly anxious to engage his subjects in
a course of holy obedience to the statutes and ordi-
nances of the Lord, their Redeemer. Bearing in
mind the responsibilities of his office, he never seems
to have considered himself exempt from the obliga-
tions of religion by his extensive and burdensome
secular duties. While performing, with activity and
zeal, the services due to the commonwealth of Israel,
he was mindful of his latter end, and could command
time enough to attend on the services of the sanc-
tuary. Nor was he inattentive to the more private
duties of religion. His piety appeared, in his inter-
course with his family and friends; "As for me and
my house,'^ said he, "we will serve the Lord." Thus
we see, he bore prosperity with meekness, and mani-
fested a becoming sense of dependence on the provi-
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 337
dence and grace of God, amidst all the honours that
were conferred upon him, by a grateful and devoted
people. It is remarkable, that he evinced as much
inditierence to worldly wealth, as to the honour which
Cometh from man. His family seem not to have been
distinguished, in this respect, from the other families
of the tribe to which they belonged: and although
he appears to have retired, in a great measure, from
public duty, some time before his deatli, yet we hear
nothing of any provision being made for his living in
affluence and splendour. It is only remarked, (chap.
xix. 49, 50,) that, " when they had made an end of
dividing the land for inheritance by their coasts, the
children of Israel gave an inheritance to Joshua, the
son of Nun, anions: them; according to the word of
the Lord, they gave him the city which he asked,
even Timnath-serah, in Mount Ephraim: and he built
the city, and dwelt there.'^ What a noble example
of moderation, in one who had so much in his power !
And how admirable the influence of true religion, in
rendering an individual a blessing to his generation,
and at the same time, a model of meekness, and
superiority to selfish and sinister ends! Happy would
it be for the world, if more of such characters occu-
pied the high places of power and influence among
mankind ! Let us observe
2. The spirit with which this good man closed the
duties of his high and responsible station. — Here we
have only to peruse, attentively, the last two chapters
of the book which bears his name; where his zeal for
the glory of God, and the good of the people, is dis-
closed in a manner which clearly indicates its genuine-
ness and ardour. Twice he assembled the tribes, at
Shechem, near the place of his residence, and taught
them not only as one having authority, but as one
who cared for them, as a father abotit to die cares for
liis children. He reminds them of the marvellous
things which God had done for them; and of his high
and riglitful claims to their undivided and unwaver-
ing obedience and trust. He recounts the iiistory of
the nation, as far back as the calling of Abraham,
29
338 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
who had been selected by a gracious Providence,
from among an idolatrous people, and made the
honoured depository of revealed truth, the nucleus of
the visible church, and the father of a numerous and
favoured race. He appeals to them, as witnesses to
the divine faithfulness, in fulfilling the promises made
to their fathers. '^Behold," says he, "this day I am
going the way of all the earth; and ye know, in all
3^our hearts, and in all your souls, that 710 1 one thing
hath failed of all the good things ivhich the Lord
your God spake concerning you.^^ They are assured,
also, that God will not fail to execute his threatenings
upon them, if they disregard his commands, and imi-
tate the manners of the wicked: — "When ye shall
have transgressed the covenant of the Lord your God,
which he commanded you, and have gone and served
other gods, and bowed yourselves to them, then shall
the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and ye
shall perish quickly from off the good land which he
hath given unto you." To these solemn warnings,
he adds this earnest and pressing exhortation: " Now,
therefore, fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity
and in truth; and put away the gods which your
fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in
Egypt, and serve ye the Lord." And, not content
with general instructions, he labours to bring them to
an open and decided avowal of their purpose to re-
nounce their refuges of lies, and devote themselves to
the service of the living God: — " Choose ye, this day,
whom ye will serve." Not that he would have them
enter into covenant with the Most High, in a rash, or
inconsiderate manner; for, he reminds them, that Je-
hovah is a holy, and a jealous God, and that he will
not tolerate transgression: but, aware of the danger
of hesitancy and delay, in so plain a case, he endea-
vours to persuade them to choose, upon due consider-
ation of motives and consequences, the good and the
right way. His own mind was made up — he was
going the way of all the earth — he was just taking
leave of them, and entering the eternal world, trust-
ing in God, the Saviour; and it was his heart's desire,
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 339
that tlicy should exercise a similar confidence, so that
he might hope to meet them in heaven, and there join
them in the triumphs of redeeming grace. These
faithful endeavours were not in vain. The people,
unable to gainsay tlie truth, and moved by the en-
treaties of their venerable leader, whose affection for
them they could not doubt, "said unto Joshua, The
Lord our God will we serve, and his voice will we
obey.'' With the view of ratifying this engagement,
so that it might not be soon forgotten, Josliua, after
recording the transaction in the book of the law of
God, erected a monument of stone, near the sanc-
tuary, and said, "Behold, this stone shall be a witness
unto us; for it hath lieard all the words of the Lord
which he spake unto us: it shall be, therefore, a wit-
ness unto you, lest ye deny your God; so Joshua let
the people depart, every man unto his inheritance."
This was a solemn meeting; — perhaps it was the
most useful one that Joshua had ever held with the
congregated tribes of Israel. The people may not
have been all sincere, in the engagement; but the
purpose formed and ratified was good; and the man
of God could now resign his charge, and go to his
eternal rest, conscious that he had spared no pains to
secure their immortal interests.
We see, in this piece of sacred history, how natural
and befitting it is, that a Christian minister should
greatly desire to see his hearers entering into covenant
with God, and abounding in every good word and
work. The sacraments of the New Testament are
witnesses for Christ; and, to those who receive them
in the faith of the gospel, they are helpful and liallow-
ed remembrancers. They exhibit, in a symbolical
form, the truth and grace of our God, and remind us,
that, as Christians, we are not our own, but his who
loved us, and bought us with his precious blood.
These sacred institutions are not only badges of dis-
tinction, but appointed means of confirming the faith
and animating the hope of the believer. They cannot
be neglected without dishonouring Christ, and wrong-
ing our own souls; and the due observance of tliem
340 LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY.
has, from the first introduction of the Christian dispen-
sation, been regarded as evidence of the progress of
the gospel, and of the renovating power attendant on
its faithful administration. Let all, therefore, who
Jiave the opportunity, and who purpose in their hearts
to serve the Lord, and to obey his voice, ratify and
seal their good intentions by a serious and reverential
participation of these divine ordinances.
Concerning the death and burial of Joshua, we are
not gratified with any particulars. Tlie inspired writer
who penned the last paragraph of his instructive
biography, mentions his exit and interment without
any eiibrt, or note of admiration: — ^'And it came to
pass, after these things, that Joshua, the son of Nun,
the servant of the Lord, died, being an hundred and
ten years old; and they buried him in the border of
his inheritance, in Timnath-serah, which is in mount
Ephraim." — "Precious, in the eyes of the Lord, is the
death of his saints!" As this sainted servant of God
had spent a long and active life of usefulness, we may
presume his departure out of this world was peaceful
and blessed: and the simple, unostentatious manner in
which his mortal remains seem to have been disposed
of, accorded well with the meek and unaspiring spirit
which he uniformly manifested during tlie whole
course of his benign and laborious administration.
3. Li regard to the influence which the instructions
and. example of Joshua had upon the commonwealth
of Israel in his lifetime, and for some time after his
decease, we shall not enlarge. That it was salutary,
and of some considerable duration, is plainly indi-
cated in a single sentence of the sacred historian:
"And Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua,
and all the days of the elders that overlived Joshua,
and who had known all the works of the Lord, that
he had done for Israel." The conduct of the Israel-
ites was at no period of their history so holy and un-
blameable as might have been expected, considering
the peculiar advantages which they enjoyed; but, for
the first half century after their entrance into Canaan,
they seem to have paid more than usual attention to
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORT. 341
the divine commands, and to have abstained iu a
great measure from idolatry, and other gross abomi-
nations. Several causes may have concurred, under
Providence, in producing this temporary reformation;
but we are warranted, by the passage of Scripture
j\ist cited, as well as by observation and experience,
to ascribe it, in part, to the influence of Joshua's
iioly example and faithful admonitions. The man-
ners and habits of mankind are very much iiitluenced
by example; and the instructions of wisdom from
those whose lives are comments upon the doctrines
they teach, are seldom, if ever, without effect. It is
reasonable, therefore, to suppose, that the upright
administration, — the pious deportment, — the solemn
warnings, and earnest entreaties of the venerable
leader of Israel, had contributed largely to elevate
the tone of public manners, and secure attention to
the laws and ordinances of God. " The memory of
.the just is blessed.^' Their record is on high; and,
being dead, they still speak to survivors, and call
upon them to seek after glory, honour, and immor-
tality.
4. Several practical lessons may be deduced from
this piece of sacred history. As,
(1.) We see the importance oi piety in those who
occupy stations of eminence among mankind. A
man's influence depends very much on the situation
in which he is placed. In private life, it is neces-
sarily limited; in public, it is more extended: though
every man exerts an influence, either for, or against
religion and morality, proportionate to the circle of his
acquaintance. A warrior, a statesman, or a civil ma-
gistrate is known through the medium of the press;
and his acts are frequently, and among all classes in
society, the subject of remark and imitation. How
desirable it is, that the character and conduct of such
men should always be, as becometh the gospel of God !
(2.) In Joshua's closing counsels to the people of
Israel, we see what importance he attached to deci-
sion, in the weighty concerns of religion. " Choose
ye, this clay, whom you will serve."
342 LECTURES OX BIBLICAL HISTORY.
Ill concluding these lectures, in which the benefit
of young people has been kept steadily in view, the
writer begs leave to make an affectionate appeal to
the children and youth of the church, on the danger
of neglecting the doctrines and duties of religion in
early life.
Dear young Friends : Your position is one of in-
tense interest. You are, many of you, balancing be-
tween lite and death. If you have been dedicated to
God, by parental solicitude for your souls, that act,
unless ratified by your own deliberate and cordial
surrender of yourselves to the Saviour, will not, as a
matter of course, secure your salvation ; and if the
seal of God's covenant with his church has not been
impressed upon you, then, the world, which lies in
sin, claims you for its own, and will spare no pains
to detain you in its ranks, and amuse you with its
transient and unsubstantial pleasures. So that, until
you give your hearts to God, the Saviour, you are in,
jeopardy every moment. You cannot remain long in
this wavering and undecided state. If you decline
choosing whom you will serve, and wait, like Felix,
for a more convenient season, in defiance of God's
assurance, that "now is the accepted time and day
of salvation," your habit of negligence may become
as fixed and immovable as the leopard's spots; or
the angel of death may, in an unexpected hour, set
his seal upon your character and destiny for eternity,
while you are yet in your sins. A more convenient
season than the present, for making your peace with
God, by embracing the Saviour, you will never find.
Procrastination is a concealed rock, on which many a
baptized and amiable youth has been wrecked and
ruined forever. " Seek the Lord, while he may be
found; call upon him while he is near." *• What
is your life?" What the longest life? "A vapour,
that appeareth for a little while, and then vanisheth
away!" And yet your day of grace may end be-
fore you die. You may grieve away the life-giving
Spirit, without whose sacred influence you will nei-
ther repent, nor believe the gospel. Esau, who sold
LECTURES ON BIBLICAL HISTORY. 343
his birth-right, and afterwards desired a fatlier's bless-
ing," found no place for Yc\ieu[ancc, i ho us^/i he sought
it earnestly ivilh tears.^^ Of Ephraim, it was said,
"he is joined to his idols; let him alone/' Jeru-
salem neglected the day of gracious visitation, and,
therefore, "the things that belonged to her peace
were hidden from her eyes." These are fearful
warnings ; but they are published in love. God
waits to be gracious. Flee, then, beloved youth,
from the wrath to come. You act unwisely, nay,
wickedly, to remain undecided in so plain a case.
Why will ye die? Life and death are set before
you. "They that seek me early,'' says incarnate
Wisdom, "shall find me." But you miist seek him.
The Saviour knocks at the door; but will uoi force
it open. ^'To-day, if you will hear his voice, harden
not your hearts." Take notice; the emphasis, here,
is on the word, to-day. So in Joshua, " Choose ye,
this day.""^ Your friendly monitor cannot be put off
with a "go thy way for this time." This may be
your only time. Your condition is too perilous to
admit of delay. Ponder it, we earnestly beseech you,
as it is forcibly described by the pious poet:
" Lol on a narrow neck of land,
'Twixt two unbounded seas I stand,
Yet, how insensible!
A point of time, a moment's space,
Removes me to yon licavenly place,
Or shuts me up in liell.
O God, my inmost soul convert,
And deeply on my thoughtless heart,
Eternal thing-s impress;
Give me to feel their solemn weight,
And save me ere it be too late;
Wake me to riirhteousness."
THE END.
^
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