Lord your God, as long as ye live in the land, whither ye go over Jordan to possess it."

And Moses, by the command of God, gave to Israel a song, which they were to teach their children; which would be a witness against them when they should forsake the law of the Lord. This sublime and instructive song is recorded in the 32d/ chapter of Deuteronomy; and as it cannot be read too often, the reader is requested to turn to it and peruse it, before he proceeds farther.

SECTION LIV.

INAUGURATION OF JOSHUA, AND BLESSING OF THE TWELVE TRIBES.

"AND the Lord said unto Moses, Behold thy days approach that thou must die; call Joshua and present yourselves in the tabernacle of the congregation, that I may give him a charge. And Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves in the congregation. And the Lord appeared in the tabernacle in a pillar of a cloud; and the pillar of the cloud stood over the door of the tabernacle. And the Lord said unto Moses, Behold thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up and go a whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land, whither they go to be amongst them, and will forsake me and break my covenant, which I have made with them. Then shall my anger be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall befall them; so that they will say in that day, Are not these evils come upon us, because God is not among us." "And he gave Joshua the son of Nun a charge, and said, Be strong, and of a good courage; for thou shalt bring the children of Israel into the land which I sware unto them; and I will be with thee."

"And this is the blessing wherewith Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death. And he said, The Lord came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran; and he came with ten thousands of saints; from his right hand went a fiery law for them. Yea, he loved the people, all his saints are in thy hand, and they sat down at thy feet; every one shall receive of thy words. Moses commanded us a law, even the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob. And he was king in Jeshurun, and the tribes of Israel were gathered together. Let Reuben live and not die, and let not his men be few. And this is the blessing of Judah. Hear, Lord, the voice of Judah, and bring him unto his people. Let his hands be sufficient for him; and be thou a help to him from his enemies. And of Levi he said,

Let thy Thummim and Urim be with thy Holy One, whom thou didst prove at Masseh, and with whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah. Who said unto his father and his mother, I have not seen him, neither did he acknowledge his brethren. for they observed thy word and kept thy covenant. They shall teach Jacob thy judgments, and Israel thy law; they shall put incense before thee, and whole burnt sacrifice upon thine altar. Bless, Lord, his substance, and accept the work of his hands: smite through the loins of those that rise up against him, and of them that hate him, that they rise not again. And of Benjamin he said, The beloved of the LORD shall dwell in safety by him; and the Lord shall cover him all the day long; and he shall dwell between his shoulders. And of Joseph he said, Blessed of the Lord be his land, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath. And for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun; and for the precious things put forth by the moon; and for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the lasting hills, and for the precious things. of the earth, and fulness thereof; and for the good will of him. that dwelt in the bush; let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of him that was separated from his brethren. 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. And of Zebulun he said, rejoice Zebulun in thy going out; and Issachar in thy tents. They shall call the people unto the mountain; there they shall offer sacrifices of righteousness; for they shall suck of the abundance of the seas, and of treasures hid in the sand. And of Gad he said, Blessed be he that enlargeth Gad; he dwelleth as a lion, and teareth the arm with the crown of the head. And he provided the first part for himself, because there, in a portion of the lawgiver, was he seated; and he came with the heads of the people; he executed the justice of the Lord, and his judgments with Israel. And of Dan he said, Dan is a lion's whelp, he shall leap from Bashan. And of Naphtali he said, O Naphtali, satisfied with favour, possess thou the west and the south. And of Asher he said, Let Asher be blessed with children; let him be acceptable to his brethren, and let him dip his feet in oil. Thy shoes shall be iron and brass; and as thy days so shall thy strength be. 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 shall then dwell in safety alone; the fountain of Jacob shall be in a land of corn and wine; and his heaven shall drop down dew. Happy art thou, O Israel; who is like unto thee, O people, saved by the Lord, the shield of thy help, and who is the sword of thy excellency. And thy enemies shall be found liars unto thee; and thou shalt tread upon their high places."

It is remarkable, that in the above benediction, Simeon is entirely omitted; the number twelve is made by Levi, who, in other cases is not numbered with the tribes. The reason for the omission may be conjectured, but cannot be assigned with any certainty. There is a similar omission of Dan in the book of Revelation.

SECTION LV.

DEATH O F MOSES.

MOSES, having finishing his farewell instructions, and having laid his hands on Joshua, and consecrated him to be his successor and the leader of the hosts of Israel, "went up from the plains of Moab, unto the mountain of Nebo, one of the peaks of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho; and the Lord showed him all the land of Gilead unto Dan; and all Naphtali; and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh; and all the land of Judah unto the utmost sea, and the south, and the plains of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, unto Zohar. And the Lord said unto him, This is the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I WILL GIVE IT UNTO THY SEED. I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over the river. So Moses, 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 Moab, over against Beth-peor; but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day." But the devil, it appears, had some knowledge of the place; for he entered into a contention with Michael, the archangel, respecting the body of Moses, as we are informed by the apostle Jude. What the object of Satan was, is not mentioned; but it probably was to make the body of this distinguished servant of God an occasion of idolatry, by inducing the Israelites to pay divine honours to it. And it has been conjectured, that some of the heathen deities originated in the history of Moses. Some are of opinion that God raised Moses immediately to life and translated him to heaven; but if this had been the fact the Scriptures would have mentioned so remarkable an event. It is true, he appeared with Elijah on the mount of transfigura

tion, and conversed with our Saviour respecting his decease which was shortly to take place at Jerusalem, but whether in his own body, or in one borrowed for the occasion, we are not informed.

And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old, when he died; forty of which he spent in Egypt; forty in Midian; and the remaining forty in the wilderness. No man, perhaps, ever underwent as much toil and painful solicitude, and certainly no other mere man was ever admitted to an intimacy with God, so familiar and lasting. But although he was subjected to so much anxiety and unceasing trouble from the people, yet, at the close of life, "his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated." His death therefore was neither the effect of the decay of vitality by old age, nor of the wasting of sickness; but was miraculous. God, who had supported his breath thus far, now took it away; and he breathed out his soul, probably, without pain. If men's future reward is to be proportioned to their works, then will Moses stand high in the ranks of heaven; for his works were many and great; and if we look at the motives by which he was actuated, we shall not find among the children of men one whose spirit was more disinterested and entirely devoted to the service and honour of God.

"And the children of Moab for thirty days."

Israel wept for Moses in the plains of "And there arose not a prophet since

in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face."

FROM THE DEATH OF MOSES TILL THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE REGAL GOVERNMENT.

SECTION I.

ENTRANCE OF THE HOST OF ISRAEL INTO THE PROMISED LAND UNDER THE CONDUCT OF JOSHUA, THE SUCCESSOR OF MOSES.

"Now after the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, it came to pass, that the Lord spake unto Joshua, the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying, Moses my servant is dead; now, therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, to the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon, even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites; and unto the great sea, toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast. There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life. As I was with Moses, so will I be with thee; I will not fail thee nor forsake thee. 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. 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 shalt thou have good success. Have not I commanded thee, be of good courage, be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed, for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest."