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INTRODUCTION.

THE former Books give an account of the gathering the Israelites as a people, their charters, laws, and institutes; this is properly an history of the Jewish nation. It is a Book worthy our highest regard, as it is very ancient, and undoubtedly authentic. It is called The Book of Joshua, because it contains an history of his acts, government, conquests, dividing the land, and settling the state of Israel; the greatest part of which might be written by himself, though additions have been made by some succeeding writer. It contains the history of somewhat more than seventeen years.

CHAP. I.

In this chapter we have a fresh commission and encouragement given to Joshua, and directions for his own personal conduct. He begins to execute his orders, and the people profess their allegiance and readiness to comply with them.

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OW after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, when the days of mourning for him were ended, during which they had time to reflect on their conduct to him, it came to pass, that the LORD spake out of the sanctuary unto Joshua the son of Nun, who was Moses' minister, and had continually attended upon him for twenty years together, and knew his 2 method of government, saying, Moses my faithful servant is dead; now, therefore, arise, be not cast down or discouraged, but exert thyself with vigour, and go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, am now about to give them possession of, [even] to the children of Israel.

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Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. Now 4 the extent of country which God gave them was From the wilderness south, and this Lebanon north, even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, which lay northeast, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea, the Mediterranean, in the west, toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast. They were now in the east part; they never had the possession of all this country, but in the times of David and Solomon it was 5 tributary to them. There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life as I was with Moses, [so] VOL. II.

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I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee; though thy enemies exceed thee in power and strength, they shall all fall, and success and prosperity attend thee through all thy life. Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them. This is often repeated, for Joshua had great discouragements. Jordan was to be crossed, the enemy was before and behind; they were bold men, united in alliance to oppose him; lived in strong cities; his own army vas a mutinous, discontented people, clogged with old persons, women, and children, baggage and cattle; and Moses was gone ; 7 all this sunk his spirits. But God says, Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it [to] the right hand or [to] the left, on any occasion, under any pretence whatever, that thou mayest pros8 per whithersoever thou goest. This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt speak and judge, and act, according to it; and in order to this, thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all [that is] written therein for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good 9 success. Have not I commanded thee? I, whom thou art obliged to obey, who have carried thee through so many difficulties, of whose power and goodness thou hast had such large experience? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God [is] with thee whithersoever thou goest, who is all sufficient to preserve thee in every danger and difficulty, and to prosper thee in all thy enterprises. Upon this Joshua applied himself to the business, and ordered the people to firepare for their march.

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Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, 11 Pass through the host, and command the people, saying, Prepare you victuals, provisions necessary for such an expedition, which they might furnish themselves with in the land of the Amorites, where they now were; for within three days after the return of the spies, (ch. ii. 1. iii. 2.) ye shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which the LORD 12 your God giveth you to possess it. And to the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to the half tribe of Manasseh, (to their elders and princes, who were to communicate it to the 13 rest,) spake Joshua, saying, Remember the word which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, the agreement between him and you, (Num. xxxii. 20.) saying, The LORD your God hath given you rest, and hath given you this 14 land. Your wives, your little ones, and your cattle, shall remain in the land which Moses gave you on this side Jordan; but ye shall pass before your brethren armed, be ready to

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assist them upon all occasions, all the mighty men of valour, 15 so many as are needful, and help them; Until the LORD hath given your brethren rest, as [he hath given] you, and they also have possessed the land which the LORD your God giv eth them then ye shall return unto the land of your posses sion, and enjoy it, which Moses the LORD's servant gave you on this side Jordan toward the sun rising. To this they cheerfully consented; and accordingly forty thousand went with their brethren, and the rest staid to guard their own settlements.

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And they answered Joshua, not only the two tribes and an half, but all the elders and officers of Israel, saying, All that thou commandest us we will do, and whithersoever thou send17 est us we will go. According as we hearkened unto Moses in all things, so will we hearken unto thee; we acknowledge thee as our chief magistrate, and promise allegiance and cheerful obedience: only the LORD thy God be with thee, as he 18 was with Moses; this is our united wish and prayer. Whosoever [he be] that doth rebel against thy commandment, and will not hearken unto thy words in all that thou commandest him, he shall be put to death; we will stand by thee to maintain thy authority, and bind ourselves to obey thy orders upon pain of death; only be strong and of a good courage, and nothing shall be wanting on our part to approve ourselves worthy of such a leader.

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REFLECTIONS.

T is a great blessing to a kingdom or church, to have a succession of useful and upright judges and ministers, Joshua comes in the place of Moses, much to the satisfaction and advantage of the Israelites; especially considering their present critical situation. Thus it is in the course of things in the world and church; one generation of magistrates and ministers passeth away, and another cometh. The agency of Provi, dence is to be seen therein, and the care and goodness of God to be acknowledged for it.

2. The presence of God with us is our great support and encouragement, amidst the labours and difficulties of life. We are risen up in our father's places, though we may not be equal to them in wisdom and zeal; but God is the same, All their gifts were derived from him; to him they owed all their success; his power and grace are the same; and that grace, if we seek it, will be sufficient for us. Let not the rising generation be discouraged, but humbly wait on God, and adopt the prayer of Solomon; The Lord our God be with us, as he was with our fathers: let him not leave us, nor forsake us that he may incline our hearts to walk in all his ways,

3. Let good men learn to cast all their cares upon God, and practise moderation and contentment. The apostle teaches us this lesson, Heb. xiii. 5. and quotes the promise of Joshua as the ground of it. Let us not be anxiously solicitous about future events; to heap up wealth, or to guard against evil. We have the promise of an ever faithful God to trust to; I will never leave you, I will never forsake you. And, whatever dangers or enemies are in the way, we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper.

4. How important soever the affairs which we have in hand may be, let us never forget God's law, and the obedience we owe it. v. 7, 8. Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. The weight of cares which devolved upon Joshua, required the greatest attention; and yet he read, studied, and kept the law of God. As no dignity or dominion should set a man above subjection to the divine law; so no plea of hurry in business, however important, will excuse for the neglect of religion and the care of our own souls. Let us then keep our eye fixed upon God's commandments, and remember how his authority, independence, power, and goodness, strengthen each of them. This is the way to inspire us with true courage; this is the way to have all desirable success and prosperity to attend our endeavours. Difficult things will become easy; the hardest work agreeable; and success will be sure, if we take God along with us. Let religion be our great business, for that is the whole duty of man.

5. It is extremely happy for nations, when there is a cordial friendship and union between governors and subjects, and when religion is the bond of that union. How glorious does Israel appear with such a leader as Joshua, and with such sentiments and resolutions in their hearts! It is happy when magistrates exercise their authority impartially yet gently, resolutely yet mildly; and when they rule in the fear of God. How happy that people who consider their governors as ministers of God, and thus pay obedience to their reasonable and just commands! when their inclination is to provoke one another to zeal and courage! May this be more and more the character of this nation; that it may be said of us, as it was of Israel, Happy art thou, O Britain! who is like unto thee? a nation highly favoured of the Lord!

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