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be so strengthened by thee, that it may be able to subdue all his enemies.

XXXIII. 8 Let thy Urim and thy Thummim be with thy holy one, whom thou didst prove in Massah.

Be gracious to the tribe of Levi; and furnish thou thy high priest, whom thou hast chosen out of it, with those excellent graces, which thou hast figured in his breast-plate, with perfection of knowledge and sanctity. Thus do thou bless the son of that thy servant Aaron, whom thou provedst at Massah, &c.

XXXIII. 12 He shall dwell between his shoulders.

God shall take up his dwelling in that chief city, which, in part, pertaineth to the tribe of Benjamin, even the holy city Jerusalem. XXXIII. 13 For the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath. For the dew, that falleth from above; and for the water-springs, that fruiten his plants from below.

XXXIII. 14 And for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun, and for the precious fruits put forth by the moon.

And for those precious fruits, which are brought forth by the warmth of the sun-beams, and by the kindly moisture of the night, and by the influence of the moon.'

XXXIII. 15 And for the chief things of the ancient mountains, &c. And for those choice fruits, which ripen best upon the mountains; those eminent mountains, which have so continued ever since their first creation, and are now famous in the inheritance of Joseph.

XXXIII. 16 For the good will of him that dwelt in the bush. For the gracious favour and benediction of that God, who appeared to me in that bush, which consumed not.

XXXIII. 17 His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns; with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh. The tribe of Ephraim shall be glorious and lusty, full of beauty and courage, like to a fair young bullock in his best strength; and his power shall be great and unresistible, wherewith he shall conquer far-remote nations. Lo, thus successful and victorious shall be both the sons of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh, but especially Ephraim, who shall exceed his brother no less than ten degrees.

XXXIII. 18 Rejoice, Zebulun, in thy going out; and, Issachar, in thy tents.

Much cause of joy mayst thou have, O Zebulun, in all thy goings out, whether for traffic or for war; and thou, Issachar, his elder brother, in thy quiet habitations at home.

XXXIII. 20 He dwelleth as a lion, and teareth the arm with the crown of the head.

Gad shall dwell commodiously for spoiling his enemies; of whom he shall make his prey, like to a strong fierce lion, which teareth the head from the shoulders of that beast, which he seizeth upon.

XXXIII. 21 And he provided the first part for himself, because there, in a portion of the lawgiver, he was seated.

He made a wise and early provision for himself, in planting him

self on this side Jordan, in that portion, which, upon his suit, was allotted him by the ruler and lawgiver of Israel.

XXXIII. 22 Dan is a lion's whelp: he shall leap from Bashan. Dan shall fly upon his enemies, like some fell and fierce young lion, that is bred in the mountain of Bashan.

XXXIII. 24 Let him dip his foot in oil.

He shall dwell in a rich soil, and shall abound with the plenty of all earthly blessings.

XXXIII. 25 Thy shoes shall be iron and brass.

The earth, whereon thou shalt tread, shall be stored with all useful metals, as iron and brass, and the like of those kinds.

XXXIV. 6 And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab. God did this honour to his servant Moses, that he did, without the aid of any mortal hand, provide a grave for him, and there interred him accordingly.

XXXIV. 10 Face to face. See Numb. xii, 8.

JOSHUA.

V. 9 I have this day rolled away the reproach of Egypt off you. I have taken away from you that your uncircumcision, which you have kept all this while, out of that irreligious carelessness which your fathers brought with them out of Egypt.

V. 14 Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now

come.

It is far from me, to be for thine adversaries; no, I am that angel of the covenant, who am come to lead and protect the troops of Israel.

V. 15 Loose thy shoe, &c. See Exod. iii. 5.

VI. 17 The city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the LORD.

The city shall be devoted to an absolute destruction, and all the living creatures that are in it; and sequestered to a revenge and extirpation, from the Lord.

VI. 26 He shall lay the foundation thereof in his firstborn, and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it.

When he lays the first stone in the foundation, let his eldest son die; and when he hath finished it, and set up the gates, let his youngest son die: so let him be left utterly childless, that will about to re-edify that city, which God would have lie waste.

See 1 Kings xvi. 34.

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VII. 5 The hearts of the people melted, and became as water. They began to be disheartened, and their courage and spirit began to fail them.

VII. 19 My son, I pray thee give glory to the LORD, &c.

As thou hast offended and dishonoured God, by thy sin, so now

give honour to his omniscience and justice, who hath found thee out in thy sin, by acknowledging this heinous offence, whereby thou hast provoked God's anger against his people.

IX. 14 And the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the LORD.

And the men took their relation upon trust, at the sight of their mouldy victuals; and did not consult with the high priest, who, in all doubtful cases, was to return them the answers of the Lord. IX. 23 Now therefore ye are cursed.

Ye are of that nation, whom God, amongst the rest, hath cursed and appointed to be rooted out; and, besides, you have deserved a just punishment of this your guile.

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X. 12 Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, moon, in the valley of Ajalon.

O God, let it please thee to command the sun to stand still, while we are fighting in and for Gibeon; that we may have light to do full execution upon thine enemies: and let the moon forbear to bring on the night upon us.

X. 40 So Joshua smote all the country of the hills, and of the south, and of the vale, and of the springs.

So Joshua smote all that part of the country, which lay to the south; both those cities which were built on the hills, and those which were seated in the plains.

XI. 13 But as for the cities that stood still in their strength, Israel burnt none of them.

As for those cities, which yielded themselves up to Joshua, ere they were defaced by a violence of a siege, Israel burnt none of them.

XI. 20 For it was of the LORD to harden their hearts, that they should come against Israel in battle.

It was the wise counsel and just decree of the Almighty, that the inhabitants, being left to their own thoughts, should take up stub. born resolutions to stand out in battle against Israel.

XV. 19 Give me a blessing; for thou hast given me a south land; give me also springs of water.

Out of the bounty of a parent, give me this addition to my child's part thou hast already bestowed upon me a parcel of mountainous and dry land, give me also some other ground that lies low and well watered.

XVII. 18 And the outgoings of it shall be thine.

Thou shalt take all the passages to, and from, and about it; and the bordering places adjoining to it.

XXII. 17 Is the iniquity of Peor too little for us, from which we are not cleansed until this day, although there was a plague in the congregation of the LORD,

XXII. 18 But that ye must turn away this day from following the LORD, &c.

Was it not enough wickedness in us, that heretofore, through the enticements of the Moabitish women, we were joined to Baal-Peor, and were drawn into horrible idolatry, (the remainders of which sin and judgment do still stick by us, although God sent a grievous plague amongst us, in regard thereof) but that ye must now again this day, sin against God, in a new point of will-worship, and idolatry?

XXII. 19 If the land of your possession be unclean, then pass ye over unto the land of the possession of the LORD, &c. If there be any taint of idolatry in the very place, whereby it is made unholy and infectious; then leave that your possession beyond Jordan, which is separated from the rest of the inheritance of God's people, and pass over hither to us.

XXIV. 12 And I sent the hornet before you. See Deut. vii. 20. XXIV. 19 He will not forgive your transgressions, nor your sins. He will not suffer your willing and presumptuous sins to go unpunished.

XXIV. 27 Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us; for it hath heard all the words of the LORD, &c.

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This stone shall be a monument of this day's covenant, which have renewed with the Lord; forasmuch as, in the view and presence thereof, ye have spoken the words of this covenant, mutually agreed upon betwixt God and us.

JUDGES.

II. 8 He sold them into the hand of Chushan-Rishathaim king of Mesopotamia.

God gave them into the hands of the king of Mesopotamia, that they might be his tributaries and slaves.

III. 10 And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him.

And God enabled him with the gifts of wisdom and power, to rescue and govern his people.

IV. 4 Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time.

And Deborah was moved with the spirit of prophecy, and was extraordinarily raised up by God, to give answers from God to Israel, and to give counsels and directions to his people.

V. 4 LORD, when thou wentest out of Seir, when thou marchedst out of the field of Edom, the earth trembled, and the heavens dropped, &c.

O Lord, thou shewdest thyself marvellous in all the passages of Israel out of Egypt; when thou wentest up before them from the land of the Edomites, both the heavens and the earth did both feel

and declare thy power; in all these were seen the wonderful signs of thine Almighty protection of thy people.

V. 5 The mountains melted from before the LORD, even that Sinai from before the LORD God of Israel.

The very foundations of the mountains were moved at thy presence; insomuch as mount Sinai itself, which had formerly shaken at the delivery of thy Law given upon it, did now again, though far distant, quake at the awful manifestation of thy power.

V. 6 In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were unoccupied, &c.

In the days of the late tyrants that enthralled and oppressed Israel, even from the time of Shamgar's deliverance till this of Jael, the ways were unfrequented: no man durst stir out, for fear of their cruelty.

V. 8 They chose new gods; then was war in the gates.

It was for their idolatry, that God stirred up enemies against them, and brought this desolation to their cities.

V. 9 My heart is toward the governors of Israel, that offered themselves willingly among the people.

I cannot but applaud, and bless God, for the forwardness and cheerful courage of the chief rulers of Israel, in undertaking this war. V. 10 Speak; ye that ride on white asses, ye that sit in judgment, and walk by the way.

O ye, that are the chief leaders and governors of the people, do ye help me to praise our God, for our deliverance; and ye, that are travellers and traders abroad, join with me in this thanksgiving.

V. 11 They that are delivered from the noise of archers in the places of drawing water, there shall they rehearse the righteous acts of the LORD, &c. towards the villages of Israel: then shall the people of the LORD go down to the gates.

And ye, the meanest of the people, even the drawers of water, in Israel, who, for the danger of the enemy, durst not stir forth of your doors, do you, being delivered from this fear, magnify the great works of God, who hath so freed all the villages of Israel, that now they may safely resort to their cities, whether for justice or traffic.

V. 12 Lead thy captivity captive.

Bring forth thy captives in a triumphant manner.

V. 14 Out of Ephraim was there a root of them against Amalek ; after thee, Benjamin, among thy people; out of Machir came down governors, and out of Zebulun they that handle the pen of the writer. Most of the several tribes did their parts in this conflict: some came from Ephraim; others, from the borders of the Amalekites; and thou, Benjamin, who art but a small tribe, wert not behind the rest of Israel: some from Manasseh (of whom Machir descended) who were chief rulers among the people, came forth, and the scribes of the tribe of Zebulun were not wanting to this valiant service.

V. 15 And also Barak: he was sent on foot into the valley. For the divisions of Reuben there were great thoughts of heart.

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