of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac.

And I gave unto Isaac, Jacob and Esau: and I gave unto Esau mount Seir, to possess it; but Jacob and his children went down into Egypt.

I sent Moses also and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to that which I did amongst them: and afterward I brought you out.

And ye went over Jordan, and came unto Jericho: and the men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, and I delivered them into your hand.

And I sent the hornet before you, which drave them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites; but not with thy sword nor with thy bow.

And I have given you a land for which ye did not labour, and cities which ye built not, and ye dwell in them: of the vineyards and olive yards which ye planted not, do ус eat.

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 if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD; choose ye 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: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

And the people answered, and said, God forbid that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods.

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

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 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.

And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the LORD; for he is an holy GoD; he is a jealous GoD; he will not forgive your transgressions, nor your sins.

If ye forsake the LORD and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt and consume you, after that he hath done you good.

And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve the LORD.

And Joshua said unto the people, Ye arc witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you the LORD to serve him. And they said, we are witnesses.

Now therefore put away, said he, the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart to the LORD GOD of Israel.

And the people said unto Joshua, The LORD our GOD will we serve, and his voice will we obey.

So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.

And Joshua wrote these words, in the book of the law of GOD, and took a great stone, and set it up there, under an oak that was by the sanctuary of the LORD.

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 be therefore a witness unto you, lest ye deny our God.

So Joshua let the people depart, every man unto his inheritance.

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 Tinmath-serah, which is in mount Ephraim, on the north side of the hill of Gaash.

And the bones of Joseph which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem, in a parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem, for an hundred pieces of silver: and it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph.

And Eleazar the son of Aaron died; and they buried him in a hill that pertained to Phinehas his son, which was given him in mount Ephraim.

And when Joshua had let the people go, the children of Israel went every man unto his inheritance to possess the land.

And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had known all the great work of the LORD, that he did for Israel.

ANNOTATIONS AND REFLECTIONS.

This was a very solemn assembly; it consisted of the elders, heads, judges, and officers of the people of Israel, to whom Joshua in the name of the LORD gave his last exhortation. They met at Shechem, where Abraham settled at his coming to Canaan, and where GOD appeared to him; it was therefore a very proper place to remind them of God's promises, and of their own engagements.

As it is said that the people presented themselves before GOD, we may conclude that there was a place of public worship at Shechem, though the ark of the LORD

was

was at Shiloh. The people were so convinced of the omnipresence of GOD, that they considered themselves before the LORD in a spiritual sense in these assemblies, in the same manner as we ought to do when we go to church. Joshua might with the greatest propriety address himself to the people in the LORD's name, as he spake agreeably to the written word of God; besides, as he was a prophet, it is most likely he had received commandment and was inspired to declare the will of the LORD at this time.

Joshua, like his predecessor Moses, exhorted the people most fervently to make returns of gratitude for God's mercies, and never to forsake His holy worship.

The Israelites were at this time in a very desirable disposition of mind; they repeated their resolution of perseverance, willingly submitting themselves to the worship of God alone, and entered into a solemn covenant, which Joshua recorded, and set up as a memorial. It is not improbable that Shechem, on this solemn occasion, was sanctified by some visible token of the DiVINE PRESENCE, as it is called a sanctuary, though the ARK was at Shiloh.

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By the other side of the flood, from which the forefathers of Israel are said to have been brought, is meant, the land of Mesopotamia, beyond the river Euphrates, in which place idolatry greatly prevailed; therefore GOD's mercy to Abraham and his posterity was very great, in bringing him out of it; for though this patriarch was well inclined, bad example had probably. much corrupted his manners. This spot where Joseph's bones were interred, was that which Jacob gave to him as his own peculiar inheritance.

While the stone remained as an acknowledged monument of the COVENANT entered into by the Israelites, it K 4

was

was as efficacious as a living witness, to remind the people of the solemn engagement they had at that time made.

Joshua having performed his duty, as governor and leader of the Israelites, to the utmost that God required, without doubt took an affectionate leave of the people, before he departed to a happier state. This excellent man was remarkable for his steadfast attachment to Gov. He remembered his CREATOR in the days of his YOUTH, and obtained the blessing of the LORD, which was shewn to him in a variety of instances; he was likewise happy in the people's love, and he had the satisfaction of beholding the efficacy of his good example in respect to religion.

Eleazar also led a pious life, and died an honourable death.

There are some parts of Joshua's exhortation, which claim our particular attention, as affording valuable instruction to Christians, as well as Israelites.

Fear the LORD (said he), and serve him with SINCERITY and TRUTH. It certainly is an heinous affront to the DIVINE MAJESTY to act the part of a hypocrite towards Him. The praise of the lips, without the homage of the heart, is an abomination in His sight. Choose ye this day whom ye will serve. Thanks to the goodness of the LORD, in establishing His holy religion amongst us, we have no temptation to serve heathen gods; but we may make to ourselves idols of the pomps and pleasures of the world: let us therefore consider the blessings which attend a life of piety; the dangers we incur by a life of folly and dissipation; and the temptations to which we expose our children and dependants, by the neglect of family devotion; and surely we shall be all ready to say with Joshua, As for me and my house we