14

Now therefore fear the LORD, give him the inward reverence and homage of your souls, and serve him in sincerity and truth; worship no other god, and him only in the appointed way: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD; banish all inclinations to idolatry out of your hearts, and cast away the idols if any remain, which you had in the wilderness. As a prophet perhaps he saw some idols concealed among them, or an inclination turning that way; he therefore enters into a 15 treaty with them. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that [were] on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell; not as if it were indifferent, but to convince them of the folly of a bad choice, and that they might be more free and willing in their right choice; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD; though all of you should forsake God, though I should stand alone, I and my house will serve him. This bold and noble declaration from such a venerable leader, in these affecting circumstances, so deeply impressed their minds, that they 16 would not give him leave to proceed; And the people, with great ardour, answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods; this would be the 17 greatest madness; we abhor the thought of apostacy. For the LORD our God, he [it is] that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and which did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the people 18 through whom we passed: And the LORD drave out from before us all the people, even the Amorites which dwelt in the land [therefore] will we also serve the LORD: for he [is] our God: we acknowledge the force of all these arguments; we will follow the example of our leader ; and have so many incontestable proofs that Jehovah is our God, that we will never for 19 sake him. And Joshua made a remarkable reply, and said unto the people, If you retain your idols, either in your houses or hearts, and mingle false worship with true, ye cannot serve the LORD,* except you are fixed and fully resolved upon it beforehand; it is not a light matter, an hasty resolution will not do, you must count the cost; neither can ye serve the Lord if you allow yourselves in any sinful course; and therefore consider well what you do, for he [is] an holy God, and will never endure a profane people, nor be satisfied with the bare profession of religion without the practice; and he [is] a jealous God, jealous of his honour, and will not admit of any rival; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins; if you continue

*Some would read it, Cease not to serpe the Lord; but our reading seems the best, re cannot serve the Lord.

20 in them, he will punish you even more than others. If ye for sake the LORD, and serve strange gods, the gods of your fathers, or of the Amorites, then he will turn and do you hurt, and con21 sume you, after that he hath done you good. And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve the LORD ; all that thou hast said shall not discourage us; for we are resolved to serve him only; nor shall we think the worse of him because 22 he is an holy and a jealous God. And Joshua said unto the people, Ye [are] witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you the LORD, to serve him he strikes in with these good impressions, and adds, ye need no other witnesses but this word, this covenant, and your own consciences. And they said, [We are] witnesses, and shall be selfcondemned if we make it 23 not good. Now therefore put away, [said he,] the strange gods which [are] among you, and incline your heart unto the Lord God of Israel: since you have thus resolved and cov 24 enanted, be as good as your words. And the people said unto Joshua, The LORD our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey. What a solemn and affecting engagement! Happy 25 for Israel if they had always continued in the same mind. So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem; he made it a standing law for them and their posterity, that they should serve God only.

26

And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, in the original copy of the law that was laid up by the ark, to be a witness for God, if they forsook him, and to lay a greater obligation upon all the people; and he took a great stone, for a memorial of this solemn covenant, and set it up there under an oak, that [was] by the sanctuary of the LORD, that is, the 27 tabernacle, which was now brought thither, (ch. xviii. 1.) And

Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us for it hath heard all the words of the LORD which he spake unto us; it shall bring to your minds what is now done, as well as if it had heard, and could relate it to you again it shall therefore be a witness unto you, lest ye deny 28 your God, forsake his pure worship, and fall to idolatry. So Joshua let the people depart, every man unto his inherit ance; he dismissed the assembly, and took his final leave of Israel.

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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, seventeen years after he came into Canaan: leaving a most honourable character, that he had served 30 the Lord faithfully, as Moses his predecessor had done. And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath

serah, which [is] in mount Ephraim, on the north side of 31 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 LORD, that he had done for Israel. There was no public idolatry in their days; the elders were men of piety, zeal and resolution; and so far all things went well.

1.

And the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem, near two hundred years after he had given commandment concerning his bones; (and it is probable the bones of the other patriarchs were buried here) in a parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem, for an hundred pieces, or lambs, of silver and it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph. See Acts vii. 16.

:

And Eleazar the son of Aaron died; and they buried him in a hill [that pertaineth to] Phinehas his son, which was given him in mount Ephraim, by an extraordinary gift, that he might be near Joshua and the tabernacle, where he was to be resident, though others think he had it by right of his wife. These last five verses were probably added by Samuel, or some other inspired historian; all the rest was written by Joshua himself.

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REFLECTIONS.

HILE we live let us do what we can for the honour of God and the advancement of religion: Joshua did SO. We should not desire a dismission from serving God and our generation, if he continues our capacity. The rising generation requires all our exhortations, care, and watchfulness. The words of aged, dying saints often make peculiar impressions; therefore, living and dying, let them bear their testimony to the truth and importance of religion, and labour to fix good impressions on those who are to come after them; that as one generation of serious christians passeth away, another may come.

2. It becomes us frequently to reflect on the appearances of God for us and our fathers; to remember what we have seen, what we have heard with our ears, and our fathers have told us; this will have a happy tendency to engage us to love and serve God. In this view the historical part of the Old Testament, and this book of Joshua especially, is of great service to promote faith in God and obedience to him. Let us remember and own the hand of God in these things; they were done in some good measure for us; let us therefore consider them as engagements to serve him in sincerity and truth.

* Timnath signifies the image of the sun. The Jews suppose the image of the sun was on his tomb, as a remembrance of that great miracle, the sun standing still; this was usual. among the ancients; a square was placed on the tomb of Archimedis.

3. Religion ought to be the matter of our serious and deliberate choice. It has reason on its side; it approves itself to our unbiassed judgments; and though there may be prejudices against it, and some objections, yet they will all appear groundless on due examination.

4. Singularity in real religion is highly commendable in itself, and may have a happy tendency to promote it in others: as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. The greatest men should not be above doing this; they should be distinguished by it. We must not forsake Christ, though all should; it will be the more for our honour to adhere to him; our steadiness and resolution may strike the minds of others and may have the happy effect to conquer their prejudices and alter their pursuits.

5. Heads of families should resolve to do all they can to engage their houses to serve the Lord. They are committed to their care; they are accountable to God for what they do for them; and should therefore give all diligence to promote serious religion in their hearts, by their instructions, prayers, example, and authority.

6. It is a matter of great importance to bind ourselves by some solemn engagements to be the Lord's. After serious deliberation, we should promise and vow: every such act strengthens our resolution. Thus we shall all be witnesses against ourselves. Our baptismal engagements, the Lord's supper, even the walls and the seats in which we have worshipped, as well as the bible and our fellow christians, are witnesses against us if we forsake God. We shall be condemned by them all; condemned out of our own mouths, if we prove false to his covenant. It is a perpetual covenant, never to be forgotten and as we should dread the thought of God's forgetting his part, let us remember ours, and be ever mindful of his covenant.

7. Jesus Christ our ruler and high priest lives for ever, and this ought to be a great cause of rejoicing. Joshua the prince, and Eleazar the priest, both died; and we shall find Israel soon revolting from God. But Christ lives for ever, and has an unchangeable priesthood. He is always with his church, to enliven, to guard, and direct it. Let us follow his guidance and submit to his direction; let us rely on his atonement and strength, for he is able to save unto the uttermost all them that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intereession for them.