Commentary on the Holy Bible

Vene 1. Ramathaim-xmAim] Litenlty, the two high placet of the loatehmen i these were, no doubl, two coniigoous hill>. on which watchiowem were built, and in 'vrtiicbwstcluiMn kept continiutl guard for the nfety of the eountiy g and which afterward nya wune lo the place.

Verse 3l Bi had ttao vtves] ^Ru eoetom of dtoee times permitied polmuOT) but, wherever then was more than oiM wife, we fmd the peace of the family was greatly diatnrbedl^ iL

The name qf Ih* mu was Bmnakl ran Qtaimak, whidk signifies^M^ or lettUd; and Ou other Peninnah^ rtuB Penimtah, which aignifiea tij«ael,j>tveari.

VerseS. WenlupinU&hitcUgveaTfyioverehip] Am tb» ark was at Shiloh, mere was the temple of Ooo, and thither all the nules were bound by the law to go once a jiQT on each of the poai nationa) festivals; Uie paaetfpar, paUeeoet, and the Jeaat ttAertuixlea,

T%e LosD ^ hoat*] mat mnr< Yehoeah taebaoth, Jehovah of armies. As all the heavenly bodies were called tbe hotU qf heaven, ai*ovn k» ttaba hadi^amayim, Jehovah beine called Lord of this bost, showed that he WBs their Uaker and Oovemor; and consequendyAs, not was the proper object of reliRious worship. The gun, moon, pianeU, and atare, were the hi^est <>niects of relipouB wondiip to the heathens in general. The Jewish veligio^ teaching the knowledge oT a being who was the Lora of all these, ihowedatooeetta superiority to all that hesithenism could boast. Hiis is the^rvl place where Z/Ord of hotU is mentioned in the Bible) and this is so much in one style of the propAete, injoA, yeremu)A,&c tbotitgives •OBia weight to the supposition thai this bode was written bgr a person who lived m or ajler the limes of these pro- {liKatB. See the pr^aee.

Terse 4. He gave — portioM] The sacrifices whidt were made were prcmbly peace-o^eringt, of whieh the htood was poured out at uie foot of the altar; the fat was burnt oo ihsfire; the &r*<Mf and rifJUsftouider ware the portion oC the prisst, and the rat buonaed to him who made tha «iAriiVl oa it be aod UrfitMuy ftastsd, each receiving Voi* I.— 96

4 ^ And when the time was that Elkanah ■ pfTeredi he gave to Peninnah his wife, and to all her sons emd her daoghters, portions:

5 But unto Hannah u gave ^ a worthy portion; for he loved Hannah: i but the Lord nad shut up her womb.

6 And her adversary also i> provoked i her sore, for to make her fret, because the Lord had shut up her womb.

7 And as he did bo year by year, " when "she went up to the house of the Lord, bo she provoked her; therefore she wept, and did not eat,

8 Then said Elkanah her husband to her, Hannah, why weepest thou; and why eatest thou not 1 and why is thy heart erieved 1 am not I 'better to thee than ten sons?

9 1[ So Hannah rose up aller they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had dnmk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a poBt of * the tenir* pie of thel^OBD.

10 ' And flhe idos ■ in bitterness of soul, and prayed imto the Lord, and wept sore.

11 And she > vowed a vow, and said, O Loan of hosts, if thou wilt indeed " look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and * remend>er me, and

his portion; end to these feasts Ghxl commands them to in'ute the Xjtvite, the poor, the wtdnr, and the orjphan, Deut. xvi. II.

Verse 5. Vnto Hannah he gave a worthy portion] The Hebrew here is very obscure, s^dk nnN ruD |n> yitten manah athath appayim; he gave her one vortion of two jfaeei: which the iSJ/Hoc renders, AefovsMT one dodblb past; KoA^iChalaee, he gave her one chozks part! the Arabic, is nearly the nme; the Vulgate, Anns autem dedit unam partem tristi^ hut to Anna, he being wrot^ fid. gave one part. As the Sowbread dtat was presented to the Lord was called o^io onV lechem panim, the ftrsod <^ because it was placed before ihe^oce or appearancea of the Lordi probably this was ealled cdk n» ma^iah apajnm, because it was the portion that belonged to, or was placed before, the person who had offered the sacrifice. On this ground it might be said that Elkanah gave Hannah Aw own portion, or a part of that which was placed before hima^f. Whatevsr it w«% it was intended as a proof of his especial lore to her; for, it is added, As loved Hannah.

Provoked her sorei Was constantly striving to irritata and vez her; to make her fret, to make her aiscontented with her lot, because the Lord hod denied her childreiL

Verse 7. And as he did ao year by year] As the whole &m)1y went up to Shiloh to the annual festiv^ PsDinnah had DoUh sons and daughter* to accompany her, ver. 4. but Hannah had none; and Peninnah took this opportu> nity particularly to twit Hannah with her barrenness, by making an ostentatious exhibition of her children.

TTierefora^w^) She was greatly distressed, because it was a great reprMch to a woman among the Jews to bs barren; because, sav some, every one hoped that tha AT**- aioh should spring ROm her line.

Verse 8. Am not I better to thta Aan ten sons] Tsu, a certain for an uncertain number. Is not my espseial affection lo thfie better than-all the comfort thou eouidst gain, enn from a numerous lamily'} not forget thine handmaii], but wiH give unto thine handinaid * a man-child, then will I give him unto the Loan all the days of his life, and ■ there shaU no razor come upon tiio head.

12 f And it came to paw, as she r continued praying before the Lobo, that Eli marked her mouth.

13 Now Hannah, «he spake in, her heart; only her lips moved, but ner voice was not heard: therefore Eb thought she had been

14 And Eli said unto her, How long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from thee.

15 And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman 'of a sorrowlul spirit: 1 have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have * poured out my soul before the Lord.

16 Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of ^BeliaJ: for out of the abundance tn my ■complaiot and grief have I spoken hitherto.

17 Then Eli answered and said, ' Qo in peace: and • the Gtod of Israel grant thte thy petition that thou hast asked of fitm.

18 And she said, ' Let thine handmaid find grace in thy sight So the woman > went her way, and aid eat, and her countenance was no more sod.

19 IT And they rose up in the morning eailr, and worshipped nefore the Loan, and returned, and cune to their boose to Ramah: and Elkanah ^ knew Hannah his wife; and > the Loan remembered her.

20 Wherefore it came to pass, ^when the time was come about, aAer Hannah had con-

ceived, that she bare a eon, and eaUed his naiBe 1 Samuel, tajfing. Became I have ssked bim of

21 And the man Elkanan, and all j g-jJS^ his house, "went up to otter unto

the LoBD the yearly sacrifice, and tofflfSi his vow. —

22 But Hannah went not up; for she sail unto her hnrtiand, / itill not go itp until the child be weaned, and then 1 will • bring hioi, that he may appear before the Lord, and there ' abide «• for ever.

23 And ' Elkanah her husband said unto her, Do what seemeth thee good: tarry antjtttura have weaned him; * onlv the Lord esiablish Us word. So the woman abode, and gave her son suck until she weaned him.

24 TT And when she had weaned VcS him, she itook him up with her, i>.xmd.k.w, wiUi three bullodts, and one ephah l oS^fm of floor, and a bottle of wine, and — brought them unto ■ the house of the Lran ta Sfailoh: and the child uos young.

^ And they slew abollock, and * hrooght the child to Eli.

26 And she said, O my lord, *a« thy sovl liveth, my lord, I am the woman that stood by thee here, prarine unto the Loan.

27 ' For this child I prayed; and the Lan hath given me my petition which I asked of

28 r Therefore also I have ■ lent him to the Lord; as long as he Uveth 'he shall be lent to theLoRD. And he 'worahinwd the Low there.

Bv a vott fMurfi ^ A« Lord.] I think drii is the mtplKM where rmt>3<nAeyeai YiAovoA, "Tempto of Jehomi," is mentioood. Thu givai room u>r a Btrtms ■lupioion that the Books of Ssnuel were not compilea tlu,flnt tempi* ua* built, or nftar thedas/t qf Solenum. After this the word tmpU is frequent in tbeBookj of Kiiist,CkronieleiLBodiBtaePro(dwls. Periiapa those Paalmt, in which this word occur*, wen like many odwrs io the Psalter, not of David's oompositioD: some of them were evidently made long after his time.

Verae 11. I will give nim unto the Loio] Samuel, as a descendant of the bouae of Leei, waa the Lord's property, from ttceniy-fiw yean of age dll,^y; but the vow here implies that ne inould be eoneecisted to the Lord from hii inbncy to his death, sod that he should not only set aa a heviU, taut ss a NaxarUa, on vhoss bead no razor ahould pou.

Verse 13. Spak« tn htr hiart t mfy her Hpa She prayed: her vhoh heart was en^iged: and, though she ipake not with an audible voice, yet her hps formed themselves according to the pcoounciatioD of the words which her haiTt uttered.

Verse 16. I havtbtmkiui&tr wine tioralrmig drink Neither wine nor inebriating drink baa been poured ou. unto me; but I h».v9 pourea out myeoul unto the Lord. Tittn is a great deal of dellca^ sad point in this vindi cation.

Verse 18. Count not Aine handmaid for a daughter tf Betiat} ^rVa ru tisV -^nsM nN)7w Im alttttm Mk ohwfaea lipeney bath BdiOl, '* Put not thy handmaiden before Hv6 fkoei of a daughter of Belial." "^If I am a drunkard, and itrive bv the moat execrable bypocrisT, (praying in tfie house of Ood,) to cover my iniqui^, then I am the chief of tba daughleri of BeliaL" Or, " Give not thy handmaid (to reproach) befian the bees of the dMigfatsrs «r BeUsL" Several of these pnibably attended there for the puiposetof prostitDtkm and gain; (br it is written, ehap. ii. 22. ElPs sons hw with the women at the door oif the tabernacle: tboogb ttus may refer to the women who kept the door.

Terse 17. Oroni thee % petWoitl He was latisfied he had formed a wrong jai^;ment| and, by it, had added to the distress of one aueady auffieiantly disUened.

nisfoetihai Eli wppoaed bar to be ifnmAen, and the ggy a ths conduct of Eli's mm, already mentioned, inst flMU rsUgioa was u this thne ua veiT lev <U) in

Shiloh; for it nems drunktn wmen did eome to lbs plsoB, vai lewd issmen were to be fiMnd there.

Verae IS. Lei thine handmmdjtnd grace} CstiBse 19 ^nk &vourebty of me, and to pray for me.

Verae 20. Coiled hie name SamueCi As whe gave das name to her son because she had aeked him nf me Lord, the word ^mov Siemuel must be here consideraldy cobtrieted, if it expresa this sentiment i the eompomt pam of it an the following, So Simv ataul *u£^ "AM of Ood." Hiis name would put both ths nodiar and As ■on in continual remembrance of the divine innii|WMiina at bii birth. See on ver. 28.

Verse 21. The man EOcawA, and mit hie houee] H» and the whole of hie &mily, Hannah and her child excepted; who purposed not to go up to Shikh till berM was old enough to be employed in the divine Mivies.

And hi* vow.] Probably he had aloo made eomo vow IS the Lord on the oocaaion of bis wile's prayer and vow t m whidi, from his love to her, he could not tie less immiswl than berselt

Verse 23. VniH Aou hatve weaned him] On ihs aaiare of this weaning, and the time in which it was nm^Uf dooei ths reader will be pleased to nfor u the aois m QuL xxi.8.

TJu LosD eetabUth hie word] Or, As L&rdm' takH^ hie word; preserve the wild, eauas htm to gnw up, and make him a blessing to Israel, ^em 24. WiSt three bulloda] The Sepluagint, is S]/riac, and the Arabte, read a bulled qf tluee years «W; and this is probably eoirect, because we nad, vsr. 2S. dat they shnr Winn efAa pen TBxhittodb wahaarrfas more, Mtd we know diat ami/look or Ac{/%r, of ttret] ~ oU was ordinarily used: see Oen. xv. 9.

One ephah qf Jtour] Seven gallons and a htit

A bottle qf wine] p?3i nt&uyoyin, asMn/itU^ i Heir bottua for wine, and fluids in general, were i out of skins of goats, itripped off without being cot apt the places wbenoe die legs were exumeted, sewed up, as alto the lower part: and the top tied. Sea the DOies «n Gen. xxi. 14. and Miatt. ix. 17. These three thian ^ ox, ^tjlour, and the win^ probably oonstiiuted the oheecration-qfering.

Verie28r AiMyMtd ItsiA] Ai anre as diou art a fiviag soul, so surely am I the person who stood by (be* bets imaying.

Vem 28. Ther^ort aleo Ikave tent Kim to OU Loiq There ii hen a eontisual reference to her em^ and W i* ffortto which sbs used in maUng that vow* ■

A ND Hannah *i>ra7ed, and said, AnuaMc X4- • My heart rejoiccth in the Lobd, iir^T'-rr- • mine horn ia exalted in the Lord; my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; becauee I ' rejoice in thy salvation.

^ 9 > T^here is none holy as the Losd: for there if ^ none besides thee: neither ia there any rock like our God.

3 Talk no more so exceeding proudly: • let not ^arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the LoBD i« aGod of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.

4 1 The bows of the mighty men are broken, (md they that stumbled are girded with strength.

5 " Tliey that were full have hired out them-

TbK word Samuel, u we have alreadyMen,!■ a cootmolion of the wordi vm ShauJ nu iSl, that ii, aalud or loni ((f Ood; for bii motber isid, ver. 27. Tbe Lord hath f^Ten me my petition, which vi'yttv sh^aalti, I aubd of him. In ver. m. >he aayi, nnrh V^kv im ku usavl laihovah, he Aail be lskt mito the Lord; here we fiod the verb is the sama; a.ai it is remarked by grammoriane, that ^ttv tkaoi, he asked, "'■'^■i<g in the participle pahut Vkit ahaul, ABKSD, in the conjugation htphil ngnifiei to land; therefore, Mya hig metlier, ver. 28. mmS inr>r>SK7n BnHiLiTiHc laiAovoA, / hava uun kbn to ilu Lord. This twofold meaning of ue Hdmw root ii not only foUomd by our tranilaton, but slw by ths ViiigaU, Si^ptiiagtiU, mad SvrUc

And he latrA^ped Ou Lmp Oure.] Instoad of mnom 9ayi*fUacftu^ hi leorAipped, nrvam vauiMatAamL and YHsr wenltijmed, ia the reading of six of jrcniticoN** and Da Ronffa HSS., of eome eopiea of the Stftw^fnOt cS dw VtUgatOt Sffriac, and Arabic,

This and the following chapter are eonntded in most oepies of the SeataawiiU ancT Valgate thus i And Anna wvrakipped, a»d amdj Mg amd ta atrei^thmed in Ou Lard, Ac It is my l^ly that the whole pwng^ from the beginning of -ver. 26. lo the end of ver. 10. of the en- Kiing chapter, contains the words of Hannah alow; and that even the clause, He xoorthijrped Ou Lord there, rfiould be, And ahe mrMpped ihe Lord there, and prayed aad •aid, Ac Indeed this latter clause is wanting ia' the PalggioU Saptuagint, as { have stated above.

Verse 1. And Hannah graged tnd Mid\ T\c Chaldee very properly says. And Hannah prayed in A< apirit ^Ti^Meey; (or, indeed, the whole Tnis prayer, or, as it - may be properly called, oracalar dedarauon, is a pteoe of Tegular pr^meey, eveiy part -of whieh having reapeot ta the tavm. wA pemapa not a little of it dedmtoiy <ii Aa Mesririi'alringdem.

X>r. Alias has some very good observations on this prophetic eongi—

_ **nu» admirable hymn excels in simplicity of compo- •ition, closeness of connexion, Kod uniformi^ of sentiment j breathing the pious eSiisions of a devout mmd, deeply impreaeed with a conviotion of God's mercies to herself in particular, and <rf his providential govermnent of the world in general; exalting the poor in spirit, or the humble-roinded, and abasing the rich and the arrogant; rewarding the righteous, and punishing the wicked. HanTiah waa also a prophetess of the first doss; beddea predicting her own fruiinilnesa, ver.7. (for At bore six diildren in all, chap. ii. 21J she foretold not only Ihe more immediate judfpneaila of God upon (he Philiatinea, during her son's adminielration, chap. ii. 10. but his remoter judgments 'upon the ends of the earth,' ver. 10. in the true spirit of ihie pro[rfieeies of Jdeob, BoMom, and Moaea. Like them, ahe deecribes the promised Saviour of the world, as a Knto, before there was anv king in jlsrael: and she first aaplied to him the remarkaole epithet, Meaaiah in Hebrew, ChaiBT in Gheek, and Amoiktcd in English, which were •dopced by Dand, Nathan, EOian, Isaiah, Daniel, and A«auee«eding proitheu of the Old Testament! aodlrrdM uoetlea and maptred writers Ol the New. Aai tbe allu- Bon thereto by Zaehariaa Qte fcthtr of the Baptist, in his livma, L.uhe k 69. where he cells Christ a 'horn or soJea- Uan,' and the beautifhl imitation of it by the hUaaed Virgin dwaaghaut, in her hymn, Luke i. 46—65. fiimiAiDg the ft«eet oommentary thereon, olearly prove that Hannah, m her rmeing^nad respect to soinething higher than JPaninnak her rival, or to the triumphs of Sanuul, at even of i>avid himself! the expressions are too magnificent •nd sublime to be confined lo such objeeia. IndeeiL the learned rabbi, David Kimdd, was ae atraok with th that he ingenuously confessed that *the king of whom Maatntih apeaks ia the MesaxAa V of whom A» spake •idler by yrnAjqror (nKKMeni for, eoatinues he, 'then wmm m, traditiOD ameag die ArosWaa that a great ktnr tkguki m^Mln bradi lad dw swta up her aoog with

celebrating this kin^ who vat to deliver ihemjrom all their enemiea* Hia traiKtion, as we have aeen, was founded

Sincipally on Baleam't second and diird prophecies, umb. xxiv. 7—17. and we cannot but admire tiiat gra~ eioiu dispensation of epiritual gifts to Hannah, (whose name signifies grate,) in ranking her among tbe prophets who should first unfold a iMdiag title of die bleaaed Seed <lf the voman."

In the best HSS. the whole of diis hymu is written io hemistich, or poetic, lines. I shall here produce it in this order, following the plsii as exhibited in Kmnieotta KbU^ with wnne trifluig alurationa of our present laraidD I

It ia not partieularly stated hen when Hannah composed or deUverad this bjrmn: it appears from the connexion to have been at the very time in which she dxAicated her son to God at the tabernacle: though some ditnk that ihe composed it immediately on the birth of Samud. The former sentiment ia probably the most correct.

Mine horn ia exalted in Oie Loaol We have otien seen that horn signifies power, might, ana dominion. It Is thus constantly used in tlie Bible, and was so used among the heathens. The following words of Horace to hia jsTt ara well koownt aad apeek a eeattewnt vwy sioiilar lo tfaat above. —

TboB lirtwtbHk bdpa 10 dMMdiM nfaxlil Parapfanurtically expressed by Mr. Francis:

Mjl mouth ia mlorgadl My focuj^ of sjteedi is incited, atirred up to expresa God's disapprobation against my adversaries.

Verse 2. JVims hoM Hottviae is peculiar to the Ood oflsneli no folae God ever pretended to Aolinest: itwae no attribute of hsaflieaiini, nar of any laligion ever pn>> fesMd in die world before or daoo the true revelation of the true God.

There is noTt« bettdea thee"] "Hiere can be but one imorigi* nated, infinite, and eternal being; that being is Jehondi.

Any Tock like our Cod.) Rubi Jlfefmon has observed, that the word m tour, irtueh we tranalata rodfc, signifies, whenappliedtoJebonh,,/fNinlato,*0"re^4n4iig'. There is no aouree whence help ana odvatioD cea

Terse 3. A God qf knowledge] He Is the most wise, teadUng all good, snd knowing all things.

Aetiona are leeig&sd.] usni nUhAsnjiv, dtejT aia dU raetad/ it la by his counsel alone that we eaa eueeeadhlly hegiHf continue, or end, any work.

•elves foF' bread; and they that vtrt hnnery ceased: so that "the barren bath borne seven; and "she that hath many^ ciuldren is waxed feeble,

6 r The Lord killeth, and maketh alive: he brinjreth down to the grave, and bringeth u^.

TThe Lord ^maketh poor, and maketh rich: ' he bringeth low, and lUleth up.

8 ■ He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifleth up the beggar from the dunghill, > to set Vtem among princes, and to make them inherit tiie throne ofglory: for " the pillvs of the earth ore the Lobd%, »n" he hath set the world upon

9 * He will keep the feet of hie saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness } for by strength shall DO man prevaiL

10 The adversariea of the Loan shall be 'broken to pieces} >oai of heaven shall he thnoier upon them: r the Loud shall judge the

tbe jb-tt verse as including a prophecy against the Pkilittintt; tbe««i»nd verse, against jSennacA«7-i6 and his army; the Ibird. against NtbvdiadnexxaT and the Chaldmru; tbej^ntrn, against lh« Orcck*; the tf/Uk, against Haman ana his poeterity: and the featt, ag^oit Magogs sad the enemies of the Mesush.

Terse 5. lliey that were /u^ All the things mentioned in itMse verses fre^ently happen in the course of the divine intividence: and indeea it is the particular providence of Ood that Hannah seems more especially to celebrate through the whole of this simply yet sublime^ ode.

Terse 6. Hu Loso kiUdh] Ood ia the arbiter of lifs and death; be snly can give life^ and he only has a right to take it away.

He bringm Awn to Iho grora] Tht Hebrew word Vmv Atol, which we translate grave, seems tn have the •ame meaning in the Old Testament with Uits hade*, in the New; which is the word generally used hy the Sa>- tuagini for the odier. It means the grave, the ttaU of toe dMd, and the invtnble place, or place etparaie tpiriu. Sometimes we translate it Ml, wnicb now means the ttaie qf perdition, or place of eternal tormenU: but, as this comes from the flaxon belan, to cover, or conceal, it means only the covered place. In some parts of England the word heiUng is used for the covert of a book, the elating et h house, && Tho Tbrgum seems to understand it of death and the resurrection: " He kills, and conunanda to give life; he ctiaea to descend into Aeol, that, in the time to come, he may bring them into the lives of eternity;" i. e. the life of sbame and everlasting contempt; and the ^fe of glory.

Ter«B 7. 7^ Loan maieth poor] For many cannot bear affluence; and if Ood should omtinue to truat them widi ridies, they woukt be tbeir rain.

Muketk rich] Some tu can trust; and, therefore, makes them stewards of his secular bounty.

Verse 8. 7^ set then among pnness] TTiere have been many cases wherei, in ibe course of God's providence, a person has been raised from the lowest and most abject estate to the highest! from the pUnigh to the imperial digfromthatfungsontothe^ArcoM.- from the dungAltf 40 lubUity. like story of Cinarmattu ia well knowni so is that of ibepairiareh JbsspA; but there is one not less in point, that of Bou«&«n Addor, who was brought out of a dungeon, and exalted to the throne of Hindostan. On this strconutaBce the following elegant couplet was made;

Ibers ii a plaj here on Ratuhcn AcAter, which signtfies a bright alart and there is an allusion to the history of the pairiareh JiwwA, beeaose of the similarity of fortune between him and the Mohammedan prince.

F\>r the pUlari iff the earth are the Loan's] He is alttoahtj, and upholds all things by the word ot his power.

ferae 9. Onfitt hup Oufed^fhU taiitU] HewiU stder and direct all their goings, and keep them from SWT evil war.

7%4 vUkea ehali be tiUnt in darhuu] The TVgiim 676.

ends of the earth; and he shall give atrerigth unto his king, and ' exalt the homoThie anointed.

11 And Elkanah went to Ram ah to his house. ' And the child did minister onto the Lobd before Eli the priest.

12 U Now the sons of Eli irsre ^ sons of Belial: • they knew not the Lord.

13 And the priest's custom with the people ■was, that, when any man ottered sacrifice, Uie priest's servant came, while the flesh was in seething, with a flesh-hook of three teeth in his hand;

14 And be stmck U into * the pan, or kettle, or caldron^ or pot; all that the flesh-book brought up the priest took for himself. So they did in Shiloh imto all the Israelites that came thither.

15 Also before they * burnt the iat, the priest's servant came, and md to the man that Baerifioed. Give flesh to roast for the priest; for ha will not have sodden flesh of thee, bnt raw.

understands this of their being sent to the rfoHbuss hells they shall be slain.

Byolraig&,AiUltiomtaipretoS\ Beestusaod iaom. n^NwsR^ and as power can be weeeMiiUy exerted agahiat

VaraslO. 'I\ead»mtarimt/&»'LmaakanUhT9km\ Tliose who eentmi tntt him, va^ meriftojs, by uaing against his laws, opposing the progress of us word, or persecuting his peofue.

Shali fudge the enda the earfft] His empire shall ba extendea over all mankind, by the preaching of the ererlasting Gospel; for to this we af terpart of tbe verse secnta toapMr; Kt matt ^loetlrengtkwfUo hit hng,aMdahail exalt the horn qfhia Chritti or. as the Twgxm says, rr-rrva naho -ovt vaiyerbey malciM MuhiduvA, "He shall multiply the kingdom of the Messiah." Here tbe horn means sDirinial as well as secular dominion.

After the clause tbe advereariet tif the Lord shall ba broken in pieces, the Septuagiot add tbe following wordi^ Mv «itT<xs«9<o i ^psviwt tv ri| ffenei* am*, m. rTK Ltti not the wise man glory in hu leitdom; md let not Ikt rich man glory in hie ridieti but Ul him tofto riorietk rather glory in Aie, that he undtretandeth and tnoweA theLord; and thai he eseaitethjudgmeni andrighltoit*' neea in the midtt qf the earth. Thw is a very kMog addition, and appears to be taken from Jer. is. 23.; but. oo collating the two places, the reader will find the wonu to be materiallv different. This clause is wanting in the Compbiimman Polyglott j but it ia in the edition M Aldut, in that of eaidinol Can^a, and in the Codex Mtxmdrinua.

Terse 1 1. And EUcanah -went to Ramahl Immediately a&er the 10th verse, the Septuagint add. Est ranXisa' nror mi trwTiMi Ktipm' koi awvXOu iit Apa^^Stufu And Ac left him there before the Lord, and vent mto Ar^ mathea. Thus tbe Septuagint suppose that tbe song of Hannah was composed whui she Drought Samtiel to pre< sent him to the Lord; and. as soon as she had concluded this fine ode, she delivered him into the hands of Eii, the high priest; and the child entered immediately on his ministration, under ibe direction and instnictions of Eli.

These men were the prioeipal cause of all die ni^odliness of Israel. Their most execrable cmduct, dMO-ibed from ver. 13 to 17., caused the people to abhor the Ixmfs offering. An impious priesthood is the grand eauM at tbs transgreasionB and ruin of any natiaBt witness Fhuaes^ Germany, Ac. from 1792 to 1814.

Terse 13. Whm any man tiered soerOlee] thu m, when a pMcs^ertRf was brought, the rig^ dbeoldar and the breast belonged to the priest; me fat was burnt npoB the altar, and the blood was poured at the bottom of the altar; the rest of the flesh belonged to tbe ofibrer. Undor pretence <tf taking oidy tbeir own part) th«7 took ths bett of all ihey chose, end a* much as mey chose.

Terse 14. Kettle ealdnm, or pot] We know Mt^te these were, nor of what capsei^i nor is it of say i quenee.

diemaelvssiffw* Ood was served I Tbiswss udqolqr arrggsaesef the first sngaiaids.

16 Andifuayrma «aid onto him. Let them not fail to burn the fat ' presently, and then take a* much as thy soul detiretb; then he would answer him, Mxj// but thou shaltgiveifmenow: and if not, I will take it by force.

17 Wherefore the ski of the roun^ men was very great ■ before the Lord: for men ^ abhorred the oli^ring of the Loud.

18 If < But Samuel mioistered before the liono.being achild, ' girded with a linen ephod.

19 Kforeover, his mother made him a little coat, and brought it to him from year to year, when she i came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.

20 D And Eli " blessed Elkanah and his wife, and said. The Lord give thee seed of this woman for the ■ loan which is " lent to the Lord. And they went unto their home.

21 And the Lord p visited Hannah, bo that she conceived, and bare three sons and two daugh ters. And the child Samuel 4 grew before Che Lord.

22 f Now Eli was very old, and heard all that his sons did unto all Israel; and how they lay with ' the women that * assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

23 And he said unto them, Why do ye such things? /or 1 1 hear of your eril dealiive by all this people.

24 Nay, my sons; for it £r no good report that I hear: ye nuke the Lord^ people "to trans-

Ma wiU not hatt taddm. JlatK] He cbooaM rMu< meat, not baited; md it tber had it in the pot before the Mrraot eame, he took it oui, that it mjriit be rasated.-

Verae 17. Wherefore Ms m oj^ tt« young nun wot very ^ea(\ Th*t 'v», Hophai and Htinehaa, the hos of Eli.

Mm abkorred the of'ering} Am the people saw that the prieati had no pietyi and that they aeiea u if there waa no God; they de*pi«cd God's service, ajid became inlideia

A Bati<»ial prieathood, when the foundotioa ia right, may be & great bleaainc; but, if the jHieathood becomei corrupt tboam the fouDdation itself itand aura, the eorraptioD of me natjooal naniwa wiU be tha unsToidsUa oonseqoence.

Terae 16. 0{rd*d vU& a Knen ejAad] Thia the Targum tnnalatea pn mna -vom aair eardtU debut*, "Oiraad wida a canhit of byaaua," or Ana lintti. word eardul dwy aeem to have borrowed from the Greek xc'pt^raf, ft imtie, havinc X'V'^'Si. '* ** *b«t came down to^ «r eoverad the hmoM. TtuB wu eaieemed an eflfeninate gsrnwnt among tha Romana. 8ea Buxtcrfa TWauutte

Terse 19. lHtd« Aim a lUUe eoai] \tp 'ryo nuSl katon, "slidle cloak," or wurtmU; an upper garmmt t probably imntded to keep him fifom the eoU, and to save his amer clothes from being aboaed in his neaner aervieea. It is prafasble that she fiimMbed him with a n«t» one each year, when she came up to one of the annual aacrificea.

Terse 20. Eli blemea Elkanah.] He natural plaes of this verse seems to be hefon the 11th t after which the 2lBt ■bould come in; after the 21at, perhaps the 26th sbouU cnaie in. The subjects in this chapter seem very much •Btaagled and conbsed, by the wrong position of the verses.

yerBe22. T\eylaymthA*VMtmenHuU lUMmbUdl It is probable that theae were persona who bad soma employwuni about the tabernacle. See the note on Exod. xxxviii. & where the Hebrew leit is similar to that in thia place.

Terse 23. Why do ye ntchthingt?} Eti appem to ham been a fcndly affectionate, easy Cuner, who wished hi* sons to do well, but did not brin^ them under proper diaeipUnt; ■ad did not use his autiutrtty to restrain ib^n. Adjudge, be had power to cast them immediately out of the vineyavd, as wicked and unprofitable attrvants: this he did Dott and his and tbetr nun was the eonsequenee.

Terse 26. Jf one man tin againei onoAer] All dif- Cecesees between man and man may be aeUled by the binueli^ who ri»U leoonale him to his rt Your ain ia immediately against God himsaif; md is tfas bi^test insult that ean be offered, because it ia ia tha aattar of bia own woihipi tbnafait ys may sxff^ hilt WaviwH ysigwwfW^

£5 U one man nn nifaumt another, the judge shall judge him; but if a man ' sin a^inst the Lord, who shall entreat for him? Wotwithstandmg, they hearkened not tmto the voice of their lather, * because the Lord would slay

36 And the child Samuel 'grew on, and was ' in favour both with the Lobd, and also with

27 IT • And there came a man of God unto EU, and said imto him, Thus saith the Lord, ■ Did I plainly appear unto the house of thy father, when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh's house 1

28 And did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer upon mine altar, to bum incense, to wear an ephod before me 7 and < did I |rive unto the house of thy father all the oflermgB made 1^ fire of the chudren of Israel?

29 Wherefore << kick ye at my sacrifice, and at mine offering, which I have commanded tn mp " habitation; and honourest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people 7

30 Wherefore the Lord God of Israel saith, ' I said indeed tfiai thy house, and the house of thy &ther, should walk before me for ever: but now the Lord saith, s Be it Ihr fi-om me; for them that honour me ■> I will honour, and t they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.

31 Behold, * the days come, that I will cut off

But if a man nn agatnti the Loan, vbo tkaU entreaf Jbr kim?] Was a question of the moat solemn importance under the oM eovMaai j eimeeially after the death of Hose% the mediator. The lav nad datemined what sins ahoukl be ptmisbed with daaA; and it was not supposed that there was any appeal from the decision there pro* notinced. 1 John li. 1. is ao answer to thia question: but it is an answer which the Ooepet alone can give: My little ehildren, these ihingt vrite J unto you, that y* oin not! but if any man fin, ite AaM on ooronile wtOt the Father, Jeeue Chriet the Righteotu.

Beeaiue the Loan would tlay them.'] The particle >9 Id, which we translate beeauee, and thus make their continuance in sin the e^eet of Ood'i determination to destroy them i riiould be tranilated thertfore, as it means in many pans of the Sacred Writing See N<ddiiuf Particle^ iriiere the very text in question is iiUrodaeed. 8ei non auecuUarunt, &c. lono voluit Jehova eoe inierficere i bat they would not hearken, &o. thsbstors God mtrvoMd to deetroy them. It was their not hearkening ijuu iBihifted the Lord to will their destruction.

Terse 27. TViere came a man <^ Gcd] Who diia was we know not i but the Cbaldeo terms bim wi troa mitym daya, " a prophet of Jehovah."

Jmoilu houee of thy father] That ii^ tO Aaron I ha was the first hi^ prieai; the priMtbood desccoded from him to his eldest son Eleazar, then to Phinehae. It Imk came afterward established in the younger branch of the family of Aaron i £or Eli was a desceiuant of Mamar, Aaron's youngest son. From Eli it was tranafarred bacAt again to the family of.SZmmt, bseauae of Iba proffigaey tn Eli'a sons.

Terse 2a And did I Aeoot Mm] Tbaluri) ^iealbood was a place of the Kreateat tumour that could be eonferrsd on man; and a puce of considwable emctumei^i tor, from their part of the sacrifice^ they derived a most eora- Ibrtable livelihood.

Terse 29. Wherefore kick ye ai my taeriflee] Hiey disdained to take the part allowed by the law ( and vould lake for themaelvsa what part tbey {rieaaed, and at mucft as tbey pleased, v«r. 13—16. Inus they kicked it the sacrifices.

Honoureat thy tone above me] Permitting them to deal, as abovt^ with the offerings and sacnfices; and taking tbeir nait b^ore the fiu, sc. was burnt imto tha Lord t thus tnqr werejirsf served. At thia Eli conrnvei^ and thus honoured his sons abooe Qod. Terse 30. Should walk hefi>rt me for eter] SeeEzod.

nix. 9. xl. 15. Numb. xxv. 10—13.. where it is positively promised that the priesthood shonkl be ccmtinued in tha ' ' — -'■'"-1^ diis ptomisB thine arm, and the arm of Auher*B honee, that there ahall not be an old man in thine houRe.

32 And thou shalt see ■ an enemy in my habitation, in all the wealth which God shall give Israel: and there shall not be ■* an old man in thine house for ever.

33 And the man of thine, whom I shall not cut off from mine attar, shall be to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thine heart; and all the increase of thine house shall die " in the flower of their a^e.

34 And this shall ftc " a eign unto thee, that i^all come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and

Phinehas; kin ooft dagr th^ «hall die both of

35 And ' I will raise me up a faithful iMrieat, that shall do according to that which i» in mine heart and in my mind: and ■ I wilt build him a sure house; and he shall walk before *miiie

36 " And it shall come to pass, that every ona that is {eft in thine house stmll come emd crouch to him for a niece of silver and a morsel bread, and shall say, * Put me, I pray thee, hito ■one of the prieflt's offices, that I may eat a piece of bread.

Bppean u> be abmbUe, yet vt plainlT "ee th&t, like all Mher oppveatly alwolute promises of God, it is condiiumal i. e. a eonditum is tmpHtd, though mal exprewcdj BitinotB — b4 UJdr/romitu} Youbave walked un- ■worlliily j I dwU annul my promiM, and reverse my ordinance. Sea Jar. xviiL 7.

.FVr theyJkal honour nu] 'Riia is a plan from vhich Ood win never depart; utia can have no oUeraHon; every promiu is made in reference to it: " (hey who honour God shall be honoured; they who despise him aball be liriitly esteemed."

Verse 31. IvnU cut off thine arm] I will destroy the ■trenfth, power, and innuenoe, of thy family.

Verse Tnm eftaU Ms ait enony in my AaAtiofjtm] Every version, «id almost cveiy commentator, understand* this clause difTerenllV' 'Sat word it tter, which we translate an enemy, and the Vulgate ismulum, a rival, signiGea ealamiiy; and this is the beat sense to under- MmkI it in here. The calamity which he saw was the defoat of the Israelites, the capture of the ark, the death of bis wicked sons, and the triumfdi of the Philistines. All this he saw, that is, knew to have taken place, before he met with his own tragical death.

In all tlie wealth vAicA God dtall give Urad\ Ttia also is dork. The meaning may be this; God has spoken good' coaceming Israel i he will, in the end, make the triumph of the railistines their own ooofusion; and the capture of the ark shall be the desolation of their gods: but the Israelites shall first be sorely pressed with ealamity. See the margin.

niere thall not be an old man\ This is repeated from the preceding verse; all the family shall die in the flower of their years, as is said io the following verse.

Verse 33. And the man ((f ihine\ On this pass^ Calmet observes. The posterity of Eli possessed the high priesthood to the time of Solomon; and even, when that aynasty was transferred to another bmily, God preservea that of Eli, not to render it more happy, but to punish it, by seeing the prosperity of its enemies; to the end that it miriit see itself destitute and despised. This riiows die depth of the iudgmenta of Ood, and the grandeur of his justice, which extends even to distant generations; and manifests itself to sinnera both in life and death; both in their own disgrace, and in the prosperity of their eaemies.

Verse 34. They AaU die both iff them.^ Horiini and Phinehas were Iwth killed v«y riiortly after, in that great battle with the PhiliatiDes, in which the liraelitea were eomptetdy routed, and the ark taken. See dtap. iv.

Verse 35. A faiO^l priest] This seems to have been spoken of Zodok, ^o was anointed high priest, in the room of Abiathar, the last descendant of the house of Eli. See 1 Eii^ ii. a& 27. Abiathar was renumd, because be had ioitted with Adonijah, who had got himself proelaimedVing. See 1 Kings ch. i. 7.

/ will huUtf him a sure Aouee] X will continue the priesthood in his fiunily.

He ahall walk before mine anoinled] He shall minister before Solomon, and the Uinga which shall reign in the land. The Targum says, "He shall walk Bip mvo kodam MetMhl, before ny HmsiAH," oi\ as the SMudgint expresses h, nairiey Xptpw;toe, b^ore my Chriot; for, in their pitiper and more extended sense, diese things are supposed to belong to our sreat high priest, and the Christian system; but the worn may refer to the braetUieh people. See die note on Heb. ix. 36.

Verse 36. ShaU come and crouch to him] Shall proatraie himself before him in the most abject manner, bag(^ to be eni{toad even In the neaneit offices about the tabernacle, in order to gM even the most scanty means of Bupporti by the Septuagint o0oX»« a^/tiM, an o6ebu <if nlvtr. The Tar^m translates it Kps mla t which is the wiw as the Hebrew gera, and weighed about sixteen grains of barley.

A morsel of bread] A mouthful i what might be sufficient to keep bodyand soul Uwether. See the tin, and its ptmishment. They formerly pampered themselves^ Andfed to the full on the Lord's sacrifices; and now thqr ore reduced to a morael of bread. They fed ihemaelvee wUkouifear 1 and now they have cleannen qf i^tih in all lh«r dwellings. Tliey viasttd the Lnd's heritage^ and now they beg their bread I

In religious esl^ishments, vile persons, who have Da higher motive, may, and do, get into the ptiest'r office, dwt diey may clothe themselves with the wool, and fced iiemselves with the fat, while they starve the flock. But where there is no law to back tlie claims of the worthleaa and the wicked, men of piety and solid merit only can find support; for they must live on the free-mil ojferings of the people. Where religion is established fay law, ih« strictest ecclesiasucal discipline should be kept up, and all hireling jtrieata, and ecclesiastica] drones, diould be expelled from the Lord's vineyard. An established religion, where thtifoundation is good, Casin ours,) I conadar a great blessing; but it is liable to this oimtinual abwe, which nothing Mit c&refiil and rigid eccleaiMiol disci|H line can either cure or prevent. If our high priwlfc our archbishops and biAops, do not dieir duty, Uoe iriiole body of tlie clergy may become corrupt, or ineffieienL If Ifcqr be faitliful, the establi^ment will be an baaoar 1e llw kirwdom, and a praise in the earth.

tne words piitart of the earth pM ^piD mitsaJci artts, Hr. Parkhurst translates and defends thus: — '"nteeenspressors of the earth; t. e. the columns of the celestial fluid which compress or kea> its parts logaiher." Una is all imaginary; we do not xnow this compressing caiss tial Jtuid: but there is one that answers the same end, which we do know, i. e. the aib, ihe cohtmnM of whidi press upon the earth in all directions! above, bttmg, around, with a weight of ^fleen pounds to evOT sgwrs inAt so diat a column ^ air of the beiritt of the atatosphere, which on the at^fece of the globe meamres one square inch, is known, by the moat accurate and indubitable eiperimenis to weigh Jlflsen pound: Now, as a square fool contains one hundred and forty-foor aqnara inches, each foot must- be compressed with a weight ot incumoent almosfAieTic air equal to two thousand oaa hundred and rix^ pounds.. And as the earth is kmnm to contain a surfitce tajtvs ffmuand Jhe hundred and «eveniy-Jive billions of square feet; hence, allowing fim thauaand one hundred and eixlypoundt to each sqoai* foot, the whole sur&ce of the globe must sustain a pressof* of atmoa|:^erie air equal to twelve trillions and ror^-oos thousand millions of pounds; or six thousand and twentyone billions of tons. 'lius pressure, independoitly ot whiai is called gravity, is sufficient to keep all the parts of die earth together, and perhaps to counteract all the ioflucaes of centrifugal force. But adding to this all the influsuee of gravuy or attraction, by which every particle of matter tends to the centre, these compressors nf the earth are sufficient to P2>9e, balance, and preserve, lH« whole terta^ueou* globe. These piUars, or compressors, are an ■stomshing provision made by the wisdom of Ood for Ihe neoesaitie* of the globe. Without this, vrater could not rise in fountains, nor the s^ in vegetablea. Widiout this there oould be no 'respiration for man or beast, and ito dmilMioD of the blood in any animal. In short, both vegetable and oaiawl life depend, under God, on dine pillory or uumjn sssers^ ^tks earth; and, woe it not for uiis con^prassta^ pnHTt ibe ^ cMuained in the veasels of all jmOM and taimalm wooU, iQTits elastieity, eijMnd, and iuaai^T>rBlOR aD those yBSsels, and caw the dsslnietaoo oCaUaaiMaaad ntt Ub of tiM nOi wtilch ihiill b* tooHbt n dM hBM at El. 3-IS. EU

In those days; there vas no open vision.

a c uS ^ And it came to pass at that time, Am. Bud «r. when EU VKM laid cu>wn ip his place,

Ar^.ni. ' and hia eyes began to wax dim, that I- oir-T he could not see;

3 And ere the lamp of God went ont • in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God vme, and Samuel was laid down to sleep;

4 That the Lord called Samuel: and he answered. Here am I.

5 And he ran unto Kli, and said, Here am I, for thou calledst me. And he said, I called not; lie down aeain. And he went and lay down.

6 And the Lord called yet aeain, Kamu^l. And Samuel arose, and went to Klit and said, Here am I, for thou didst call me. And he answered, I called not, mr son; lie down again..

7 ' Now Samuel < did not yet know the Lord, neither was the word of the Lord yet revealed onto him.

8 And the Lord called Samuel a^un the third Ume. And he arose, and went to Eli, and said^ Here am I; for thou didst call me. And Eh perceived that the Lord had called the child.

9 Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if be call thee, that thou

Y«get&ble life: bat God, in his wisdom, hss so b&laoced these two fiirce& that, while they eppear to counteract and balance each other, they serve, 117 mutual dilatatiou and compreaatoDs, to promote the oirculation of the np in vegetables, aod the blood in animals.

Verse 1. Samuel minitterod unto tke Ix>«>'] He performed minor services in the tabernacle, under the direction of mi; such aa opening the doort, Ac See ver. 6.

TV teord qf t/u Loao wu precioiu] There were but few nrelations from God; and, because the word was »earce, therefore it was valwdU. The author of this book probably lived at a time when prophecy was frequent. See

Tiwre was no opm vwton] There was no public acorcdiled profit; one with whom the secret of the Lord waa known to dwell, and to whom all might have recourse in eases of doubt or public emergency.

Verse 2. Eli was laid down in Ma placei It is very likelythat,aB theark wasalong time at Sbiloh, they had bnilt near to it eertmn apartmenu fbr the high priest, and others mora huDediatelr employed about iSt tabemaele. In one of these, near to that of Eli, mrhape under the same roof Samuel lay when he waa called by the Lord.

Verse 3. Er« Ihe lamp qf God mnt ouf] Before sunrise] for it is likely that the lamM were exlinKoished beftm the riaiag of dia sun. See Ezod. zxrii. 2L Lev. zxiv, 3.

Verse 4. TTi^Lom) ealUd Samud} The voice probeMy flame from the holy place near to ■math Eli and Sanuiel wm both lying. s

Veroe 7. Samuel did not yet hww the Loan] He had not been accustomed to receive any revelation from him. He huw and vorthippad the God of Israel i but he did not know him as conmunieating eqieeial nrvebttionB of Ua will.

Verse 9. Speak, Loao i for thy aervant Juareth] This was the usual way in which the prophets spoke, wbeo they bad intimations that the Lord was about to make some especial revelation.

Verse 10. The Loan came and atood\ He heard the voice as if it was approaching nearer and nearer; (ill, at last, from the sameness of the tone, he could imagine that it eeaaed to approach; and this is what appears to be t«- preaenied under the notion of Qod alariding and calling.

Verse II. The Loin raid to Samuel] He probably saw MMhiBKaad obi^ heard dte veiea; far it was not likely Ihtt way uttuMinvy rqnwmfoMm eoold have been

shalt say, Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth.

80 Samuel went and lay down in hia place.

10 And the Lord came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel Then Samuel answered, Speak % for thy servant heareth.

11 IT And the Lord said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, >■ at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle.

12 In that day I will perform against Eli > all things which J have spoken concerning his house: ^ when I begin, I will also make an end.

13 1 For " I have told bun that I will ■ judge his house for. ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because *hi8 ^ons made themselves <■ vile, and be restrained ■ them not

14 And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli's house > shall not be pui%ed with sacrifice nor ofl'ering for ever.

15 IT And Samtiel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel feared to show Eli the vision.

16 Then Eli called SamueL and said, Samuel, my son. And he answered. Here om I.

17 And he said. What t* the thmg that the LORD hath said unto thee? I pray thee hide it not from me: " God do so to thee, and ' more also, if thou hide any * thing from me of afl the things that he said unto thee.

18 And Samuel told him 'every whit, and hid nothing from him. And he said, ^ It is tlw Lord; let him do what seemeUt him good.

19 % And Samuel ■ grew, and * the Lord was with him, ^anddidletwHieof his wwds&Uto the ground.

made to the eyes of a persoQ BO young. He hestd a saie% bat aaw no aimHiiude.

Tht eara—Aati tingU^ It shall be a piercing word to all Israel; it dull aaUnmd them all: and, after having heard it, it will still continue to resound in ibeir ears.

Verse 12. / u>iii perform— all things whUh I ftoM sjKUten] That is, what he had deckued by the prophet, whose mesnge is related, chi^i. ii. 27, dbc

When I begin, Iwiil oho make an end] I will not delay the execution of my purpose; when I begin, nothing shall deter me from bringing all my judgments to a conclusion.

Verse 13. Iwittjudgehiahouae/or CBer] I will sontinue to execute juDkmanta upon it tUl it is tHsir^ed.

He restraijied thxm not.] He did not use his parental and juridical authority to curb them, and prevent the disorders which they committed. See at the concliuion of the chapter.

Verse 14. SSxall not be purged wift oaerUleo nor «firingl That is, God was determined that tney should be removed by a violent death. They had committed the ain unto deaSi; ai>d no offering or aaer\fice could prevent this. What is spoken here relates to tbetr temporal death only.

Verse 16. Samuel feared lo ehow Bh] He reverSDOed him as a father, and he feared to distress him by showing what the Lord had purpoeed to do. It does not appear that Qod had oommanded Samuel to deliver this measagai ba^ therefbie; did not artmnpt it till acQured by EH, vet. 17.

Verse 17. Ood do to to Am, ana more aUo\ This was a very solemn adjuration: he suspected that Ood had thrcatciMd severe judgments, for he knew that his house was very criminal; wd he wished to know what God had apdtea. Hie words imply thus modi: If dual do not tdl me fUly what God has threatened, nay the aame^ and greater curses, fell on thyself.

Verse 18. Samuel talaMm every whit] Our word uldt, or wid, comes from the Anglo-Stuion whi^ "HC'' fies peraon, Aing, &e.; seery iMt ia svery thing. The Hebrew is si'nam 'rs tm H eel ha-dabimm, "ill these words."

He it Ae Loan] He is aoaoreigii. and will do what ha pUaaea; he Is riglUtoua, and will w> ootMng but what is jual.

Let htm do uhai aeemeih him good.] lliere is much of a godly submissioD, as well is a deep sense of his own unworthiness, fband in diese words. He also had sinned, so as to be punidied wldi gm^nif rfisAt hot anrsly

SO And all Iirael, * from Dan even to Beersheba, knew that Samuel v>as * established to be a prophet of the Lokd.

21 Aod the LoBD appeared arain in Shiloh: for the Lord revealed himnirto Samuel in Shiloh by 'the word of the Lord.

2 And the Pbfliitines put theroselres in arrar against Israel: and when > they iaiDedbattle. Israel was smitten before the Philistines: and they slew of ^ the army in the field about foor thousand men.

3 D And when the people were come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, Wherefore hath the Lord smitten us to-day before the Philiatines? Let us 'fetch the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of Shiloh unto ua, that, when it Cometh among us, it may save us out of the hand of our enemies.

4 So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might brine i^om thence the ark of the covenant of At LoBD of hosts, which dwelleth Mtfem " the cherubim: and the two sons of EH, Hoph-

out andnet the Philistines to battle, I ni and Phinehas, -were there with the ark of the and pitched beside ^Eben-enr: ana | covenant of God.

5 And when the ark of the covenant of the

ttsre it DO evidence that the diiplMcura of the Lord | exerciw of (heM two principles. Parental o^ecAm, when ■gsinat him vm ezUnded to a future atate. I aloru, infallibly deeeneratet into JboHtk JmtdK4m; and

7^ LosD im wSa Aim] Teadiing fain^aod filltaig I ronimv Tlw first sort of psnaii

Urn vidi grace and holfneaa. I will be loved, without Wns reapeetedt ths seoaod ml

JNm9Whifwor<Ufalt\ Whatever precKetioa be ottered, | will be cb^iuted; vilbaat eittiinr reiperf or la Ilia

Ood Ailfilled it; and Eia ccunaela were received aa coming I firat case obedience ii not txaeUd, and ia tberrilDn ftjt to frmn the LonL I be unnecenary, aa offuuee of great magnitude pan vitb>

Verae 20. AU Iwratl, from Dan. even to BMr-fA«ba] I out punishaent or repreheuion: in the aecond ease, rigid Dirough the vhole extent of Palestine: Dan being at the ( exaction rendera obedience almost inpoanble j and um

Was tHaHiMktd to be a prmlut] llw word idm> ite- Mian, which we translate «ifawi'sh«f, signifiea/oj^V*''- T^jfmihful Samud vxu a jrroplut lif vu Lord.

Verse 21. Tlu Loan aj^narml again] mryr/) mm tptt wyesepft Teliovah Itheraoh, "And Jenorah added to •pnear;" that is^ he ceiUiniiad to reveal himself to Samwl at Shiloh.

amallest delinqueunr is often punished with the extreme of torture; which, liardening the mind, rendera duty a matter of perfect indifference.

Parents, lay these things to heart: remember Eli and his eoDs; remember the dismal end of botbl Teach ycnr ditidrea to Ctar Ood — use wholesome discipline — be determined—begin in time — mincle eeperity aod mercy tigether in all your conduct — and earnestly pray to Ood to aecond your godly discipline with the power sod grace of his Spirit!

^tienees of a n^celed religious education. Eli'sbons were I which the human understanding is gradually enli^tenea wieked: their utber knew the Lord: butheneidier taught I and the dispositionii>f the heart are corrected, fonned, ana Us children, nor restrained them fay his parental atithonty. I brought forth, between ear^ infaa^ and the period when I have had already occasion to remark, that were a proper I a young peraon is considered as qualified to take a part ia line of conduct pursued in the educalioa of children, how I aethre lue. Whole ruifjonabsve been corrupted, enndriei^ few ffrq/Kgatt sons and daugitere, aod. how few broken- | and destroyed, throurit die want of proper edaeatkn ksoriea parents, should we find? "ITio neglect of earlv I through this, multitudes of/anu/tes nave degenerated; reHgimu edueaiion, connected with a wholaonu and qf- I and a countless number of individuaU have come to an feebamaU reetraini, is the ruin of millions. Many parents, I untimelv end. Parents who n^lect ±is, n^lect the preio excuse their indolence, and moat criminal neglact, say, ' ' - '-l...p__7__

**We cannot give our children grace." What do they MMn bv this? lliat God, not metneeivee. is die auUior I Verse 1. 71ie word o/* Samuel came to all JmuL] of the uregularities and viciousness of uieir children. I T^i* clause certainly belongs to the preeediiw dieter: Hmy may ahodder at this imputation; but, when thev re- I and ii so placed by the Vulgate, StptuagiTii, l^friae, and fleet that ihev have not given them right precepts, nave I Arabic.

not brou^t (hem under firm and affectionate restraint: I POdud betide Ehtn-exer] TTiis name was not gives ban* net showed tbam, bv their own spirit, temper, and { to this place till more than tventy years tf/ter diis faattb^ eondiiei,how they dwuld be regulated in theirs t iriien seechak vii. 12; for die monument called -wfrt \artka •ilhsr the wOTshq) of Ood has not been estabUsbed in their Aa £2er, the "Stxine of help," was erected by hctises, or they have permitted their children, on the most trifling pretences, to abaent diemselves from it; when all these things are considered, they will find that, ipeaking after the manner of men, it wmild have been a very extnordinary miracle indeed if the children had been found prefcriing a path in which diey dkl not see their parents OooadentMusIy tread. Let thdss parents who con tin oe to

Samuel in the place afterward, from this circumstanes^ called Eben-exer, when the Lord had given the Israeliies a signal victon' over the Philistines. It was situated is the tribe of JuAih, between Mtzpeh-wid SSien, and not&r from the Aphei here mentioned. This is another proof that this boM was compiled ajter die times and tianaae> tkms which it records; and probably from mesioraarf^

■a themselves fay savinA " Vr« eontiof Ffve grace to I which bad been made bv a contemporwy writer. Attdrm," lay their nana on their conscience, and snjr | Verse 2. Fut Ihemeavea in array] Trie re is no doiA* that both the I%ilistines and Istaelites had what might be called the art qf war; according to which, they marshal* led their troops in the field, constructed their campsb sad conducted their retreats, sieges, Ac: but «« know not the prineiplea on which they acted.

TneysMP tte army fn (kejteld abentjimr Aetuand mm.] This must have been a severe cmiflict, as fivr Mousantf were lefl dead on the field of faoltle. Tneconia* also must have lasted some considerable time, as tbeso whether iber ever knew an instance where Ood withheld iUe grace, while they were in humble subserviency to him, perfenning their du^ 1 The real state of the case is this: nreus cannot do Ood's work, and Ood will not do liheiTv; Dot if they use the means, and train up the child in the ISM As mmtid go, Ood will never vrithhold his blessing.

ft is not parental ybndnesa nor parental auHioriiy, taimi Mtparately, that can produce this beneficial effect A bther may be aa fond of his offspring as Eli, and his children be sons of Belial: be may lie ajTauAorUatite as I were all slain hand to hand; swords and spear* beio^ ia Ae grand 7Vnk, aod his children despise and plot rebel- I allprobebiliiy, the only weapons then used. IkM against him. Bat let parental oiiraorifw be tempered Terae3. £ei ut fetch the ark] They vainlv l withJoAerbr <urac(ion; and let the rein of discipline be diat die ark could save them, when die Ood of it bad d^ sisaauybM by this powerful kot ailbeticMtebsnd; and |pariad from diem, because of their wiekedntas! Thfj

Loao came into the camp, all Israel ihoated wi& a great ahout, so that the earth nuiff

T'n. And when the Philistines heard the Doise oi the shout, they said, Wh.a.t meaneth the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews t And they anderstood that the ark of the Lobd was come into the camp.

T And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, God is come into the camp. And tber ■aid. Wo unto us I for there hath not been such a thinr * heretofore.

8 Wo unto UB! who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mi«hty Glads 1 these are the Goda tt»t smote the Esyptiani with nil the plagues in the wilderness.

9 p Be strong, and quit yourselves lilce men, O ye Philistines, that ye be not servants unto the Hebrews, "las they have been to you: 'quit yourselves like men, and fight.

10 If And the Philistines fought, and ■ Israel was smitten, and they fled every man into his tent: and there was a verv great slaughter; for there felt of Israel thirty thousand footmen.

11 And *tfaearkof God waBttUcenjand 'the

NoidIl xiv. 44, 45. { «nd that they bod eonqutred when dwy took this with tbem, w in the cue of the deatnietioo of Jerieht^ Jo^ vi. 4. From the latter mm thc^ took Mafideocc; but the eause of their ntMairiage in the for- «sr ihey laid not to beut. It was cuftonmry with all the Mtiou of the ouibt lo take thair gtda and sacred eruign* with them to war. Hie Potions, Indian*, OreeJu, Romant, Oermatu, PhUUHna, Aa. did ao. CoHMeerated avKM, bittmgmi hatlawinjg 1^ eolmm and standards, are tba modsm remaiiu at thoae anciait m^erUitims. ' Vena 4. HuLomd qf hatU] See on chap. i. 3.

Ihnttttk betwaen tk« durubim\ Of vhat ahape the dtanibiiii vera we know not; but there waa one of these fspresanwriva teuiw placed at each end of the ark of the ooreoant; and Eatween them, on die <U or cover of that afk, wfai^ was called the^nvpfNotory, orm«rey<Ma<, the tkckhu^jOi aymbo] of the divine preaence, waa wd to dwelL They thousbt, therefore, if they had the ark, they nust, neoeanrily, oav« the pruence and inJUutua a Jihevah.

VeraeS. AH Itrtul thouUd] Had xbxjkitmbUd ihemselve^ and pragsd devouttr and fn-vently for aucoeae, they would have been heard ana nved. nuirabouting proved both their rani» and irreligion.

Terae 7. Ooa it eoma into Iht eamp} They took for gntnta^ a« did the laraeliua, that hia preaeoce was inaeparable from hie ark or ihrins.

Versed 7Vm vtWUv €hda] onnmcn antntn *t<d wUjfad ha eto/tim ha amriTn, " from the hand of these ilbutrioui gode." Probably this should be tramlaied in the tingitlar, and not in the plural: " Who ahall deliver ua from the hand of ihia illuatrioua God?"

Verae 9. Be atnmg, dbc] Thia was the addreaa to (he whole army; and very forcible it was. "If ye do not S^U, and quit youraelves like men, ye wilt be aervanti to the Hebrewe, ai Aey have been to you; and you may ezpeet that they will avaiwe tbenuelvei of you for all the analty you tuve ezerciaed toward thtm."

Verse II. HojAtU and Pkinduu wre alotn.] They probably attempted to defend die ark, and lost their lives in the attempt.

Terae IZ Came ta SkUok Ou tame day] The field of battle could not have been at any great diitance; for thia g»upg man reached Sbiloh the same evening after (be de- mA hit tiathta rmt, and vm earth upon kit head] Tbese were aigni of tomm ud dittrtti among all natioos. tht ctewcf rmt signified the rmding, Priding, and matterinr, at the peopU; the earth, or atha on &t head, aignifisd their kumxHat ion: " We are brought down to the diul of the earth j we are near (o our gravet." When the Trojan fleet was burnt,.JEOeaa is repreaentad as isM-fng hit rtAefrom hit tkoubUn, and iaviiking As aid eC^godi:

We have a remarkable example in the aame poet, wb^a ha^Jire^^Ae ^ueen of Xing Latimia, resolving on bar

13 1 And there ran a man of BeDjamin oat <tf the army, and * came to ShUoh the same da^, with his clothes rent, and ■ with earth upon his

13 And when he came, lo^ Eli sat upon a r seat by the way-aide watching: for hie heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city, and told it, all the city

14 And when Eli heard the noise of the crying, he said. What meaneth the noise of this tamult l And the man came in hastily, and told Eli.

15 Now Eli was ninety and eight years old; and > his eyes *■ were dim, that he cotud not sea.

16 And the man said unto Eli, I am he that came out of the army, and I fled to-day out of the army. And he said, ^ What ' is there done, my son?

17 And the messenger answered and said, I»- rael is fled before the Philistines, and there hath been also a great slaughter among the peMe, and thy two sons also. Hophni and Phmenan, are dead, and the ark of Qod ia taken.

But the imaga is complete ia Kog Latinua bimaaU^ when be heard of tba dsMh of bis queei^ and saw his in flansst

We find the same custom expressed in one Una by C!fttuUutt

Oufdn ton, sip* lofaw Bonn bdua.

DMwvW kviooty todb wim «vtt aid (prtaUid *M.

Hie ancient Qnek% in (heir mounting, often ahovarf H0 tharhair:

The whole case it atronvly expressed in the eaaa of

Achillea, when he heard of uie death of hii friuid PatrtK clua:

It ia not unusual, even in Eta^tt, and in the moat dwUtaed pane of i{, (o see grief expreaaed by <4ortef A« Aafr, heating the breattt, and rending the garmentti all Ibssa are n^urat ngaa, or ejtprcanoas of deep and exeasstn grief; and are common to all Ihe nations m the world.

Veree 13. Bit keart trembled far the ark nf Cod] Ha waa a moat mild and afibotionate foiber; and yet the lafoty of the ark lay nearer to bia heart than tbe safety of hii two tone. Who aaa help feeling for (hia aged, venerableinant

Verae 17. ilwf tiwnteaKD^ar anaiMred] Never waaft more aflUciive meaaage, eootaining aoeb a varitty <^ woa% each rising above rhe precedinf, delivered in aofcwwosdSf

Hua waa a sore evil; that Jtratt ahould fuiit Ifcafr hack* upon their enamiet waa bad; and thai they dkoatd turn their backa im aacb eiMmiso as tbe^PliK(^<<L^^M ffl§ilzed by CjityOglC

18 And it came to pass, when he made mention of the ark of God, that he fell from off the aeat backward by the side of the gate, and his neck brake, and ne died: for he was an old man, and heavy. * And he had judged Israel forty years.'

19 1 And his dauffhter-in-htw.Phinehaa* wife, was with child, near • to be delivered: and when she heard the tidings that the ark of God was taken, and that her father-iii-law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and travailed; for her pains ' came upon her.

20 And about the time of her death, r the women that stood by her said unto her, Fear not: for thouha&tborneason. But she answered not,

^tt worae -, far now they might expect the chains of their ilatcrr to bo strengthened, and rivetiM more eloiely.

A rout mi^bt have taken plaoe without any great prtmauM tlaughter: but in th» caw the field wm warmly eonteated; thirty thousand were laid dead on the ipot. This waa a deeper cause of diitreu than the preceding: u if he had «ud, Uie flower of our armies la destroyed; Mwrody a veteran now to take the field.

3. T^ytwoMnaalntHojAniandPhinAaetaredeadi This waa still more afflictive to him as a father, to lose both his sons, the only hope of the family; and to have them taken away by a viMent death, when there was so little prospect of their having died in th« peace qf God, was most grievous of all.

lUa was the moat dreod&i) of the whole: now Israel is dishonoured in the sight of the heathen, and the name of the Lord will be blasphemed bv them. Besides, the capture of the ark shows that God is departed from Israel { and now there ia no farther hope of reatomtion for the people, but every prospect of the destruction of the nation, ana die final ruin of all religion! How high does each wo rise on the back of the preceding t And with what a parent art is this very laconic message constructed 1 td yet, probably, no art at all was used; and the messenger delivered the tidings just aa the facts roae up in his mind.

How vapid, diffuaec^ and alliterated, is the report of the messenger in the Persa of VEschylus, who comes to the auMD with the tremendous account of the destruction of tae whole naval power of the Persians, at &e bottle of Salamisl I shall give his first speech, aod leave the reader to compare the two accounts.

Sljiotf Kojtim fuv nfxaroy ayytXXtip icua'

Of wfaicb I subjoin the following iranaladon by Dr. Potter:

Ws ts the InvittiSroofh Aiik'^pacfittdiMluiit WoioUnkuilofPBsu, Hicg Um pon Of tMnirlkfl wbIUi '■ h jw ia tlif (loiiim nat* VinWi'il u oiict, uHl ill ihf VMlinc bitaoa &U'o,loBl Ah, iiM. iiniioppTiihiiuiik tWbei™ unlittppy ikUiiKu; bni cooMiaiat Cnnpali inr u niUii ihiaaleiif ro: Piciwua 1 Ub vtkiie Eaibuic bun it UH'a.

"niis ia the sum of his account, which he afterward det«ils in about adosen of speeches.

Heroes attd con4ueroTB, ancient and modem, have been celelmted fur comprtaiog a vast deal of infimnation in a few words. I will ghre Strt* examples, and have no doubt that die Benjamita in the text, will oe found to have gteat- Ij the advantafe.

I. JuHu* Ciuar, having totally debated Kiamaeea, king of Pontu*, wrote a letter to the Roman senate, which sdntoined only three words:

* i. Admiral Hawkk, having totally defeated the PVench fleet in 17&9, off the coast of Britany, wrote as follows to nwOanee II.:

3. NAPOLfon BoMAPABTB, then geneml-in-chief of the VraoBh amies in Italy, wrote -to Joeahim bis wife, die

21 And she named Ihechfld ■ I-chsbod, ^ mjing^, 1 The fflory is departed from Israel: because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father-in-law, and her husband.

23 And she said, The glory is departed front Israel; for the ark of God is taken.

AND the Philistines took thii ark of ^-^^i— God, and brought it " from Eben- *»• ezer unto Ashdod. i-oirB»m 2 When the Philistines took the ark of God,

Demainfatlaquerai £erumie t je le baUraij tt fea^ finiraii" To-niorrotD I akall attack the enemy i I AaU defeat them, and terminate the buatnesa." He did eo: the imperialists were totally defeated, ManttLa surrendered, and the campaign for that year, (1796,) was condoded.

In the above examples, excellent as they are in their kind, we find little more than one id^a; whereas the report of the Benjamiie includes eeveral.* for, in the most forcible manner, be points out the general tmd porNeuter diMstere of the day, the rout qf the army, the great slaughter^ the detUh ^ the priests, who were in effect the whole generals of the army, and the capture ^ the ark t all that on such an oeoasim, coold cffiMt and rastraM ih» heart of an IsraeUto. AndaUdnshadoesin/Ntr sfmpi* ossertioiu.

VarselB. WiwnhomademeitUitn<^ihearkqrGai\'K& bore all the relation till the messenger came to this solemn word: he had tremhled before for the ark; and now, hearing that it was captured, he was troaefixed with grieL fell down from his seat, and dislocated his neck I Behm the judgments of God I But riiall we say thM thia however reicisa in the education of his children and criminal in hia indulgence toward his profligate sons which arose more from the eamneet of hia dispoaition, then from a desire to encourage vice, is gone to perdition 1 God farbid I No man ever died with such benevolent and religiau feelings, and yet perished.

He liad Judged hrad/aHy years] Instead of forty years, the Septuagiot, has here unn tnj, liotnty yemn. All toe odier versions, as well as the Heuew text, haw forty years.

Verse 19. And hie daiighi^in-lavi] lliis ia another very al&cting story: the defeat of Israel, the capture of the ark, the deadi of her lother-in-law, and the slaughter of her husband, were more than a woman in her circumstnnces, near the lime of her delivery, could hear. Sfaa bowed, travailed, was d^vered of a son, gave the child a name indicative of the ruii>ed state of Israel, and cxpiredl

Verse SO. Bui the an»tMred not] Sbepaid ooattwKMn to what the women had said concerotng her baTing bone a eon: that informaiion she regarded not.

Vene2I. Sht named OudUUI-ehabodl Tbt wmm are various on the original words tus >n M<tU>ods d» Septuagint av«iffapxa0u$, ouaibarchaboth; du Syriae *,abQ-) yocobar; the Arabic, yocftotedL Bat none of these give us much light on the sul^eei. It is pretgr evident taey did not know well what signification le give the name } and we are left to collect its meaning fran what she says oftvward, The glory i* departed froM Araeli the words Uteiaily mean Where is th* glory? And indeed where was it, when the armiea of Ivoel wen defeated by the Philistines, the priests slain, the supreass ma^istiBie dead, and the ark of the Lord taken 1

Tliia is a very eventful, inlereeting, and afiecting cfaap' ter; and pivpareedw reader fi>rlho«e signal inaniiMtaiiaaa of God's power and providence, by which the orit woe real ored, the priesthood re-establid>ed, an immaealaie judge given to Israel, the Philistine 3roke broken, and the peoon of the Most High caused once more to triumfdi. Ood humbled them that he might exalt them; he sudiered Us glorv [or a time to become eclipsed, that he mi^it aAtCward cause it to break out with the greater eflu^flBDee.

Vme I. Brought it from Bbm-ezar xctUo AAMLI Ashdod, or Azotw, was one of the Ats ealrapiee, or l»rd> WUp^ ol the PhilistiDes. _ I

3 H And when they of Aehdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon waa ' faJIen upon hia face to the earth before the ark of the Lord. Aod they took Dagoo, and t> get him in his place

4 And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon wax fallen upon his face' to the ground before the ark of the Lord; and 4 the head of Dagon^ and both the palms of his hands, were cut ofl upon the threshold j only ' the gtump of Dagon was left to him.

5 Therefore neither the priests of Dagon, nor any ttmt come into Dagon's house, * trend on the threabold of Dagon in Ashdod unto this day.

6 If But t the hand of the Lord was heavy upon them of Ashdod, and he ' destroyed them, and smote them with 'emerods, evm Ashdod, and the coasts thereof.

7 And when the men of Ashdod saw that il 1MM so, they said. The ark of Uie God of Israel

' Terse 2. The Aoum ^ Dagmt] On thii idol, vhich was ■uppoKd to be partly in a human form, and partly in that of aJI*A, see the note on fudges xvi. 23. Some tnink that this idol wai die Mune widi Dtretta, AUergatit, the Vmus of Aakelou, and the Mootu SeeCslmet'a Ditiertaiionon Aegodt ^ tkt Philiilina.

Tm molise vhieh induced the Pbiliatinea lo not up the writ in the Iwapla of Do^on may be easily aseertainea. It waa cuatoiaary in all nauoni to dedicate the apoils token firomao enemy to their gods: — lal. At tigratihide-affering, for the help which they Hipposed them to have furnished; and, 2dly, As apra^ that tneir gods, t. e. the gods of the eonquerori, were more powerfid ihaa tliose of the conquered. It was, no dmibt, to insult the God of Igrael, and to inaalt and terrify his people, that they fdeced his ark in the temple of Da^on. When the Philistines had conqtiered Saul, they hung up his arnaourin the temple of Ashtaroth, C^p. xzxi. 10. Aad when David slew Ooliath, he laid U|* hia aword in the tabemaele et the hard, rhao. zxi. 8, 9. We have the remains of this custom in the aepositing of coloun^ standards, Ac taken from an enemy, in our chureha; but whether this may be called aiiperstition, or a nrigions act, ia hard to aay. If 4ie baltU were the L/ordT; which few battlea are, the dedieatioa might be right.

Verse 3. TTftey AAd»d anat tarhf en tt« morrow] Pr^bly to pernnn aome act of their aupentition in the temple of dietr idol.

Dagon maJiaUm vpon kUJaee] 'Piis was one proof, vhich (hey little expected, of the mpmiority of the God

Srf Kim In hlajAaet again.'\ Supposing his fall might hare been merely aeeidaital. '

Verse 4. Only the stump of Dagon wat ttft] Literally, only pn "dagon (f. e. the little jUh,) was left." It has already been remarked, that Dagon had the head, arms, mnd hand^ of a man or woman; and that the rest of the idol was in the form of aJUh, to which Horace is sui^iosed to allude:

All ^t was human in his form was broken off from what resembled a fiih. Here was a proof that the affair was not ai-eidental; and these proofii of God's jmwer and authority prepared the way for his fucf^mente.

Verse 5. "Tread on the threshold] Because the arms, Ac. of Dagon were broken off by his fall on the threahold, the threshold became sacred, and neither his priests nor his worriiippers evi>r tread on the threshold; thus it was ordered, m the divine proridence, that, by a religious custom of their own, th«r Aould perpetuate their disgrace, the insufficiency of their worsMp, wd the superionty of the God <rf Israel.

It Is supposed that the idolatrous Israelites, in the time of Zefihanitd^ had adopte<I the worship of Dagon: and that, in this sense, ch^. i. 9. is to be understood. In the tamt day viU Ipuniih all thoae who leap upon the threahold. In order to go into such temples, and not tread on the thrediolil the people must etep or leap over them; and in this way the above passage ma^ be understood. Indeed, the Uirtanoida of the temple^ in various places, were deemed so saered that the people were accustomed to iiill down, and Met them, when Christianity beesme eor-

shall not abide with, us: for his hand is sore upon

ua, and upon Dagon our god. ■ 8 1! Thev sent therefbre, and gathered alt the lords of the Philistines unto them, and said. What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel? And tliey answered, Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried about unto Gath. And they carried the ark of the God of Israel about thither.

9 And it was so, that, after they had carried it about, * the hand of the Lord was against the city "with a very great destruction: and 'he smote the men of the city, both small and great, and they had emerods in their secret parts.

10 Tf Therefore they sent the ark of God to £kron. And it came to pass, as the ark of Qod came to Ekron, that the Ekronites cried out, saying. They have brought about the ark of the God of Israel to ■ us, to slay us and our people.

11 So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and said, Send away, the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go again to

Verse Smote them with emerodt] Hie word D>V»r Spalim, from Vap &phal, to be elevated, probably means the disease called the bleeding yiltt; which appears to have been accompanied wi tb dysentery, bloody flux, nnd ulcerated anus.

Ihs Vut^te says, Et pereuarit in aeeretiori parte notium: " And he smote them in the more secret ports of tlieir posteriors." To this the Psalmist ia supposed to refer, Psa. Ixxviii. 66.: He emote aU kia enemUa in the hihdeb pabtb; he putthemtoaptrpetuatreproaA. Some copies of the SeptuagiiU hkve t^tZta** aantt ttf rat aavt, "hflinfiamed them in tlieir ships; other copies have n; rot Ume, "in their poateriore." The Syriac is the same. The Arabic enlarges: " He smote Ihem in their posteriors, bo that they were afieoted with a dysenteria. I suppose theia to have been affected with enlargements m the hamorrhoidal veina, from which iheiv oama. fre<)uent discharges of blood.

The, Septuagini and Vulgate make a very material addition to this verse; Kai peaoti ttk xupst svriK sm^msiv pMf* vet cycrcro wyxixrif 6<irara* ^(yoXq if rn soXii' — Et tbuUientni villa Magriin medio regioniaiUiua; etnoH suni mures, etjaeta eat eonfuaio mortia magnet in amitata. " And the cities and the fields of all that region burst op, and mice were produced, and there was the confusion of a great death in the city." This addition, Boubiganl contends^ was originally in the Hebrew textt aiul this gives us the reason why golden mics were sent, as well as the images of the emerods, oh^p. vL 4. when the arit was restoreoT

Verse 7, Hia hand ia tore upon us, and upon Dagm our god.] Here the end wbm completely answered: utey now saw that they had not prevailed against Israel, because their god was more powerful than Jehovah; and they now fieel how easily this God con contound aiid destroy their whole nation.

Verse 8. The tarda qf the Philislinea] The word •^ne tamey, which we timnslate lorda, is rendered by the ChaJdaa '•ms tureneUf WranU. Ute Syrlae is the same. By the VuIgtUa and Septuagint, aatrapaa, sal raps. Pahs tine was divided into those five aatra^ea; Aahood, Ekron, Askelon, Oath, and Gaza. See Joth. xiii. S. But these were all federates) and acted under one general government, for which they aaseinbled in council.

I-,eHheark—heearTitdahout\ IVy probably thought that their affliction rose from some natural cause t and, therefore, ihey wished the ark lo be carried about from filace to place, to see what the effects might be. If they ound the same evil produced wherever it came, iben tbsy must eooelode that it was a judgnwat from tha God ot

Verse 9. The hand of the Low was againat the eify] As it WAS at Aahdod, so it was at Oath. The Vulgate says, Et eomputreaerbant prominenter ertalu eorum; which conveys the idea of a bloody flux, dysentery, and ulcerated anus: and it adds, what is not to be found in the Hebrew text, nor many of the vcrsitns, except some traces in the Septuagint, Et /eeerunt aibi aadea peUxcaaa, " And th^madc unto themselves seoto ^ akinat" lot ihepiir* pose trf* sitting more easy, on account of dte malady ammSy mentioned.

hie own place, that it Blav ■ us not, and our people: for there was a deadly destruction through- ' out oil the city; ^ the hand of God waa very heavy there.

12 And the men that died not, were smitten with the emerods: and the cry of the city went up to heaven. _

a a iiA A ND the ark of the Lord was in toig^to.an. the country of the Philistines L otiJm. seven months.

2 And the Philistines 'called for the priests and the diviners, sayinf?, What shall we 00 to the ark of the Loan? tell us wherewith we shall send it to his place.

8 And they said, If ye send away the ark of the God of Israel^ send it not ^ empty; but in any wise return him *a trespase-oflenng: then ye shall be healed, and it shall ' be known to you why his hand is not removed from you.

4 Then said they, What ^uiU be the tresmssoffering which we shall return to him t They answered, Five golden emerods, and five golden mice, K according to the number of the lords of the Philistines: for one plague was on you all. and on your lords.

5 Wherefore ye ehatl make images of your

emerods, and images of your mice that imsr the land: and ye snail ^ give glory unto the God of iBfael: peradventure he will ■ 'lighten his hand from off you, and from off >your god^ and fcpm off your land.

6 Wherefore then do ye harden your hearts, "as the EeyptiEuis and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When he had wrought <> wonderfully among them, Pdid they not let * the people go, and they departed?

7 Now therefore make 'a new cart, and take two milch kine, ■ on which there hath come no yoke, and tie the kine to the cart, and bring their calves home from them:

8 And take the ark of the Loan, and lay it upon the cart; and put t the jewels of goM, which ye return him for a treepaee-oflering, in a coffer by the side thereof: ana send it away, that it may go.

9 And see, if it goeth up by the way of his own eoast to ■ Betb-shemesh, then 'he hath done UB this great evil: but if not, then ■ ws shall know that it it not his hand thai smote us; it was a chance that happened to us.

10 IT And the men did so; and look two milch kine, and tied them to the cart, luid shut up their calves at home:

11 And they laid the ark of tlie Loan upon the cart, and the cofier with the mice of gold and the miages of their emerods.

12 And the kine took the straight way to the way of Beth-shemesh, and went along the highway, lowing as they went, and turned not aside to the right nfiod or to the left; and the lends of the Philistines went after them unto the border of Beth-shemesh.

Tern 11. Smd away Ike ark] It appeara lhai it had besD received at Ekron, for fiiere wu a lUadt]/ dettrvetion thrmigh Ou wkolt eily. Ther, therefore, concluded that the aA AaoAA be •eniback to Shilob.

Terse 12. Th« men Ua/ dial not] Som&ttaaeni^wefe mttlen with fntteni dtath; others with the hamorrhoid*; and there waa a univeraol conatemation t and the cry <^ At city icon/ up to Keaxen: it waa an exceeding great cry.

It doea iMt appear that the Philiatinea had any correct knowledge of the nature of Jehovah, though they aeemed to aeknowtedge hie mtpreitKKy. Hmt imagined that •very eouatiy, diitriei, mottntain, and valley, had ita peculiar oaityi who, in iu place, waa aupreme over all other*. Tliey thought, therefore, to appease Jehovah hy sending him back hu ark, or ahrioe; and, in order to be redeemed from tbelr plaguea, they aend golden mice and emerods a> UUtma. probeEly made under aome particular configurations of uie planets. See at the end of ch. vi.

Vsrse 2. The ditUitre] BWp botmim^inim ODp kamm, to pretaga, or prognoOieatt. Sea DenL zviii. 10. bt what their pretenaBd art eoonsted we know not

Verse 3. Send U not anjjty] As it appean ye have tretpaited againat bim, send him an oflering for thia tretpasa.

Wkyhie tumd it not r emoted] The seme if you aend him a treapaas-offering, and ye be cured, then ye shall know why bis judcmenu hare not been taken away from you, previoualy to uiia offering.

It la a common opinion, aaya Catmet, among all people, that although the Supreme Beinz needa nothing of his creaturea. jet he requires that they should oonaecrate to him all that ihey have: for the nine argument tliat proves hia independence, infinitude, and self-sufficiency, proves our dependence, and the oblivion ws sre under to aeknowleags him by offering bini due marks of our gratitude and submission. Such aeotintents were common among all people; and Ood bimaelf command a hia people not to appear before him without an offering, Kxod. xxiii. 16. Aim* eftall mpear b^ore me empty.

Verae 4. Five golden emerode, and fixe golden miee} The emerode had afflicted their bodies; the mice had marred their land. Both, they eonaidered, as sent by Ood; and, by making on image of each, and sending them as & tTMpass-offering, they acknowledged this. See at the end.

verso B. lie wiU lighlen hie hand from qff you] The whols iaod was affiietedj the ground was marted^fj the fliiea, the eommon peofde and the lords afflicted by lbs AMRorrAtfui^ and their taroken in pieces.

Verae 6. Wherefore then do ye harden yow JUsrto] Th^ had heard hew Ood punished the Egyptians} sad they are afraid of similar plagues. It appettn that ibsy had kept the ark long enough.

Bid they not Ut the people gol Anl has be not MrmuU mndetfvUy among tu; and diould ve not aend baeknis ark?

Verse 7. Make a nets cart] It was indecent and improper to employ, in any part of ihe worship of God. any thing that had before served for a eommon purpose. Bvery thing in the wordiip of God is said to be eanetiJUdt now the general meaning of that w«d is, to eeparate a fktnr from all earthly and common usee, and devoU iieolelyu the eerviee ^ Ood.

Wbra David removed the ark from the house of Afainadab, he put it on a new cartj 2 Sam. vi. 3.

Bring their ealvee home from them] So it appears ifaat their ealvea hnd been with Aem in the nelda. lUs was S complete trial) unless they were mpematura^ iidhteneed, they would not leave their calves: unleas saper> naturally directed, they would not leave Uieir home, lake a way, unguided, which they bad never gone before.

Verse S. TVujeweU ^gold] The woid "fjS kelry, whidi our tranalntors so often render j'etoda, signifies reucla, tmplemente, omamtnte, &e. A Jewel qf gold has an odd sound to those who always attach the ioea of a praeum atone to the term.

Verae 9. A dtanee that happened to ua] Hie wsid rrips mikrA, from mp karah, to meet, or eoaU»oe, signifies aa event that naturally arises from such concurring causes as, in the order and nature of things, muat produce iL

Thus, a bad state of the atmoi^here, putrid exhslatkaih bad diet, occasioned by any general aearci^, oii^t have pfoduced Ihe disease in queslioo: and to something of this kind they would atlribute it, if the other evidences did not concur. This gives ua the proper notion of (Aonce; aad shows us that it is s matter aa aependent upon the divine providence, as any thing can be: in short, that these occurrenosf are parts of the divine govemmtnL

The woid cRonce, though often improperly nsed to signify such an occurrence as is not iwder the divine goremment, is, of itself, not only eiwpU, but expnassive: aad has nearly the meaning of the Hebrew word; it cosnsa from the French cheotr, or eeeheoir, to fall mtt, to occur, to fatt to. Hence our law-term etmeat t any lands that foil (o the lord of the manor by forfeiture, vr for want td heirs: i. ». Ihees are dte oenirrsiiees which nshiral^ throw the lands into the hands of the lord.

13 And thty of Betfa-flhenwdi were nAjiag their wheat-harvest in tha ralley: and they Ufted up their eyea, and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it.

14 And the cart came into the field of JoiAiua, a BeUi-shemile, and stood there, where there wu a great stone: and they clave the wood of the cart, and offered the lane a bomtHifiering \into the Lord.

15 And the Levitee took down the ark of the ZjOrd, and the cofier that wa» with it, wherein tbe jewels of ^Id were, and put them on the g^reat stone: and tbe men of Beth-ehemesh offered burnt-offeriru:R and sacrificed sacrifices the same day unto the Loao.

16 And when ■ the five lords of the PhiUrtioes had seen it, they returned to Ekron the sameday.

To the right hmtd or ta the t^} Some think they were placed where two roods met, ooe going to Ekrmi, the other to Beth-Aetruth. It ii pouible that they were pat in such eircumstanoea u these, for the greater certain^ of tba aflsir i to have turned from their own home, from uieir ealrta, mod known pasture, and to have taken the road to a ■ttaagB ooanerK must si||<Mi siqwmatura] influence.

TheJordt i^Ou Pkilminet vmt after] They were m jealous in ihis business, that they would trust no eyes but their own. All this was wisely ordered, that there might be tlie fiillest oonviction of iht bting ana interpMititm of Qod.

Verse 14. Tftey etaoa the wood iff die cart] Both the eart and the eaUU, having been thus employed, could no ' loanr be doToted to asj secular services: ibeiafiire, the caUie were aaerifiee^ and the eari was frrnUa up for fiul to consume the sacrifice.

Terse 16. The Leoitea took down] It appears there were some of the tribe of Levi among the people of Bethjdtemesh: to them appertained tbe service of the tabernacle.

Verse 17. 7%Me are ffUgobUn emerpds] Each of these cities, in what may be ealfed its eoTTiortUs eapacity, sent a golden emerod.

Verse 18. And the nlden mice] The desolation that had been made througn the land oy these animals, had ezched a general concern; and, it i^tpears from the text, Aat ail tbe cities of the Philistines^ as weliyenced as widHMit wslto, sent a golden mooM aa a trespaas-offering.

Remain eth unto Oft dnp] Some think tbat the art u intended, which continued on die stone of Abel for some esn^dersble time after it was placed there; and that the mamoranda. fi^m whieh this book was afterward compiled, were madeoefore it was removed: but it is not likely that it remained any time exposed in the open field; Therefore, ic is moat natural to suppose that it is tbe sfone of JJMit which is here tnteoded; and so our translators have uadMitood dke place, and have used supplementary words to express Uiis sentiment Whieh done remaineOi unto this aay.

Verse 19. He smofe of tkt people Mtv Oiwand and flkrseseare and tm nun] Tbe presentlBebrew text <rf diis most extraordinary reading stands tfans: vor-rva '•vmo -y* WM fffH arvon Q-jrav ays vayaA be muhty BHm-ehejTuA — vm/aek baSm thtbHm isA, cAamtsftim eteph iehi "And he smote among the men of Betb-abemeA, (because tb^ bad looked hito the ark of Jehovah,) and be smote among tbe people scnaTrmen, mrr trou- SAHD mm."

FVom I he manner in whieh the text stands, and from tie great imprababili^ of the thing, it is most likely tbat dtere is a corruption in this text, or that some explanatory word la lost, or that the number ^Jty thtnuand has been added by igooranee or desicrn; it being very improbable that luch a small village as Beih-shemesb should contain, or be eapabU of emjSaying J^ty thoueand and ocomty men in t&e fleMs at wheat harvest; much less that tfaey etKOA a]l peep into tbe adt on tbs itoos.cf Abel, in tbe eomfield Of Jodina.

Tlt^ tbe words are not nMotaUy eonnsetsd bi As Hebrew text is arident; and tbey do not stand belter in tbe veretonM.

1. The VtiLOATx renders it flius:— BTI ptramit d» popido SarmAonrrA viroe; tt QDisaDAanrra xiuxa pMu; "And he smote of the (i^ef) people sevsntv men; and fittt thocsawo of the (eonmoaj people." litis distinction, I suppose, St. Jerom iotandeo, between fteba and pejmhttt wmeb he mi|^t think was warranMd by the ofrm oaosMsi, sad m (sl| of the Btfanw tstf.

17 r Andttteaearetbeeoldatiemerodswhfash the Philtsthies returned for a trespass-^olBerinc unto the Lord; for Ashdod one, for Gasa one» for Aakelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one:

18 And the goldefl mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belong' iM to the five lords, both of feuied cities, aM of country villages, even unto the * great stone ^ Abel, whereon they set down the ark of the LoBD: "which slone remaineth unto this day in the field of Joshua, the Beth-shemite.

19 If And'be smote the men of Beth-Bhemesfa, because th^ had looked into the ark of the LoBD, even he smote of the people Stty thousand and threescore and ten men: anl the people lamented, because the Lord had smitten Bumy of the people with a great slaughter.

Z Tbe TASoini of JmaAan n snnething similsr to the Vulgate:—" Attd he smote m7 ^3 iesoMy otM, flf the eldere of the people eavawTv men i »6npm «*<""" and of the congregation tiftt tmouiawd men."

3. The SsFTDAfliRT follows the Hebrew tezti — Em tTara(n'fi>a«T«i(, (^^a^qcBrrs wSpmt, we»rnM»vrm XiXtaitt M^ipurt "And be smote of them ssvairrr men; and nmr raomAm men." Es m Xas% qf Ou ■pevpl^ is added by some copies.

4. "nie Stbiac has farty-Jlve thousand leas I It is as follows: ^^amo ^jaJX,\a^xt \Soia\^;SO'U,ioo '^i^ *vamadio Jmrio be&mc cAomesAo otopta wssAobHn rabrim "And the Lord smote among the pso^ nvx thousand and hivxjitii meri."

6. llieABABicis nearly similar: — "And/AsLosassMte (Urtmg Ae people; and there died ^ lAem vJif ffir t*" (waa^Ln^ rtvs Qimuand and ssvxittt men.

6. JoaiPHm is diffitrent tnm all the rest, and has jf/fc thoueand less: tor ha renders tbe plaee dnis, AsMq. >amI* lib. vi. cap. i. sect. 4. Opjn it itmt x*^c rev Osm inmotw, £>Ft $0loiitpcerra ruf nerve BvAnuure'**p'>i — ffAwowarrttfer. "But the displeasure and wraui of Qod pursued tbem so^ tbat BxvxNTT men of the village of Betb-sbemesb, a^

Eu^ing the ark, which they were not wordir la tou(a^ being priesta) were strack with lightning." Herawa the whole J{/l3r thoueand is omitted.

7. JloW SSmum Samxiki, givu^ tbe epfadon odisr rabbins es well as his own, «y«, " Our rabbins say savai»rr men, and each of them was worth A/Ty tAousond men j or Jl/ly thoutandy every one of whom was worth the seventy of the Sanhedrim." This (mly shows eidttarrasament, but gives very little light.

All these discordanoea, together with the utter im{»t>bBbiliw of the thing, lead us to suppose diere must be a oorroption in this pmee, either fay aading or ondttfuut.

Dr. KaadeM baa found mree very reputable 1188. ia which the words itm ^ tsvsn (AamesAfm elspA fWk, fjly thoueand men, are wanting. The 1st. No. 84, a HS, from BoOand; the 2d, No. 210, one of ibe farioUm MSS. I die 3d, No. 413, a HS. beloiwing to MUott all diree written about the befiiiniu of the twefflk eenltuy t and numbered as above in t>r. &.'s Bible.

Perhaps the omission in these MSS. was oeeasiooed by a mistake of the transcriber; which mubt hove eadhr happened, because of die word m uA, which oeeure both after o^pw sft£6etm, and after qSt elepht tor, having written thejfr^ and taking bis eye off when.he reeonmenced, ha might have auppoaed be bad writlea the lattw, and so proceed, levuig tbe words In question ouf of bis topy. tVo, three, or more persons mieht hav« been thus deceived, and so produce the above MSS. i or tbe mistake onoe made, all tne HSS. copied from that, would show die same omission. Tbe ooramon reading may be defended, if we only suppose tbe onuMtion ^ a single letter, the particle of eomparieon a ie, tika, as, or equal ut, before lbs word tsnvsn ehamaahim: thus cpvsra AacAsmosAtnif die passage would then read—" And he smote of die people BBVKNTT men, e^al to fiftt thoitsahd men: that is, they were tbe ttdere or govemore of the people."

Some solve die difficulty by trandatitte^ "He stew ssvswTY men otrr or Miy thoueand men. ' There are various other method* invented by learned men to removn tbisdifficu1tr,iirtiichl shall not stop toexamine: aU,bowever, issue in this point, diat only savsKTY mea wen •Unt end ddsi^widieut doubt, dw most prafaaUe. Ite mrr thoosaxb, dieiefore, must be an teisrpelotion, or be understood in asms such ^r^as that meatiaud abom

■ 80 And the men of Brth-rfwnusrfi laid, /Who li able to stand before this hoty Lord God? and to whom shall he go up from us 7

81 ^ And they sent messengers to the innabitanta of ' Kirjath-jeartm, saying, the Philistines bare brought again the ark of the Loan; come ye down, and fet^ it up to yon.

AND the men of ** Kirjath-jcarim came, and fetched up the ark of the Lord, and brought it into the house

But the omUsios of the mrtide of timiUiude solves every difficulty; ud diie would account for the reading in Josephtu, ai, in hie recital, he would nstaraUy leave out such «B ezpko&tjoa of the wrlh of the levenly men, as bis Aqsiu readers oould not easily compreh^ suui com-

HUk«0T«af ateuffUsr.] iSSwen^ men sl^n, out of an ineoiundeiable village, in a harvest day, was certainly a

VerM2£ IPAo t< able io rtand\ Why this exclomatioa'i They knew that God had forbidden aay lo touch bis aric but the prieaU aod Levites; but they now endea- Tour to throw that blanw on God, aa a being hard lo be pbaaedf wtMik belonged solely to themselves.

Ysne 3L ntke MiabUajtU qf Kirjaili-jemim\ They vrished die ark away out of thw village: but imy they sent to this city instead of lending lo SUiak, doea not appear: probably, Shiloh had been deatroved by tlie Pbitislinea, after the late defeat of larael. Tnia ii most likely, aa the aril waa twver more taken back to that place.

It vu a very ancient uaas;e when a plague, or other sa^unitjr, infested a CQpntry, cKy, ii>c. for the magicians to torn an image of the dutroytr, or of the mia^e on ndiiob the plague particularly r^ted, in gold, silver, ivory, wax, clay, &c under certain configurations of the heavens I aaf to set tliis up in some proper place, that the evils thus r^neaented mic^t be driven awM. TTiese conseemed inagea were the same that are called talisman*, or rather id^ma, among the Asiatics. Hr. Locke calls the diTinen taUimattMl but ibis is a jHlifiil mistake: the isMMnot lbe.Aiir£MXar, waa called by diis name.

I Itste seen sevml of these Mimuau, of difierent countries; and such im^ea were probably the origin of all the brma of goda, which, in after times, were the objsou of religious worahip. It is well known that Ireland M not ii^ssted with any veBomous creators; no serpent of aay kind is iaund in it:

lUs has been attributed to a tele*m, formed with certain fitsa, under die aign Scorpio. Such opinions have been diavn ftom very ancient Pagan sources: e. g. A stone engraved widi the fi^rs of a tcorpion, while the moon is fn the sign Scorpio, is aaid to cure those who are stung by this anirud..^ipMlsnitu T\anetu ia said to have pre- ^nied jliea from infesting Aniiocb; and elorke from appearing in Byzantium, by figures of those animala nnned under certain conatellationa. A braxen aeorpion, placed on a pillar in the city of Antioeh, is nid to have •xpelled all such animals from that country. And a cro- ■mUU of lead ia also aaid to have preaerved Cairo from 4be depredations of thoae monsters. See Calmei.

Virgil lefera to diia cuatom, £c1^ie viii, v. 80. where Its represeata a peraon making two images, or ttUnu, one of WOT, aaother of Oay t which were to represent an ab- «ant perata, who waa to be alternately aqflaud or hard- «M«as the wax or day image waa exposed to the fire.

" As this clay hardens, and this wax sofleoa, by one and the aaiue fire; so may Dapbnls by my love." A beautiful marble figure of Osiria, about four tndiea and a quarter birii, now stands before me, all covered over 'with Meroghtpuca t be is slancling, and holds in eaeh Jand a aeor^ion. and asnoibe by the tails, and with each. «Mt be slaiida on the neck of a eroeodUc. This, I have no doubt, was a fslatm, fbmed tuder sonw peeuliar Mf^gNrsMm of lha heanna^ intended to drivs awar

2 And it came to pass, while the ark abode in Kirjath-jearim, that the lime was long: for it was twenty years; and all the house of Israel lamented aller the Lord.

3 ^ And Samuel epake unto all the a oma house of Israel, eaying, If ye do ' return unto the Lord with all your awum hearts, then » put away the strajige ^ "^"^ ^ods and ■'Ashtaroth from among you, and ' prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and ' serve mm only; and he will deUver you out of the hand of the Philistines.

4 Then the children of Israel did put away > Baalim and Ashtaroth, and served the Lord only..

both Bcorpttms aod crocodiles. Hiis image ia trf the highest uitiqui^, and was formed pr^iably long bebn the Christian era.

Tavemier observes, that something like what ia mcndooed in the text ia practised among the Indians: tor when a pilgrim goes to one of the idol temples for a cura^ he brinffa the Jigure of the member i^eeied, made eidier of silver, or copper, according to bis circumstance^ which ne olfers to hu god. "niis cuatom was commoa among the heathens; and they consecrated to their godi the moRumen^a of their deliverance. Prom heathenism it waa adopted by corrupt ChrttHanUy; and TTieodord informa us that, in his time, there might be seen about tbs tmnbo of the martyrs figures of ayes, hand*, Jeet, and uher parts of the body, which represented iboee of tba offerers which they supposed bad wen healed by the intercession of those holy persons I This degrading auperstition la continued among the Papists lo the preaent clay: I have seen at St. WinxfricFe utU^ io iJUytc«ti, Flintshire, sevemi atavea, eruldue, and handbamm, bung ap in different places, which were reported to be the vttfite ofierings of the maimed, the halt, die withered, Ac. wbo had received their cure by lbs virtue of the saint! It is true the crutches are sucb as no man or woman eouM ever walk with; and the barrowa are such as moat evidently never carried any human being. But they aerve the pnpoaea of euucrstition, and keep up an idolalroua reverence tor the well, and the legendary virgin.

After all, I need not say that the system of judicial astrology is vain, unfounded, absurd, and wicked. It, in etfect, presumes to take the government of the world out of the ruuids of an all-wise God, and to abandon it to ibe most fortiiilous and unconnected occurrences of life: for. the stars have their influences according to this pretended suence, conformably to the oceurrencee nere below; a. g. if a child be born Iwt one hour sooner or later than a particular configuration of the heavea^ hia destiny will bs widely different from what it otherwise would have been; and OS an almost infinite number of casualties may accelerate or retard a birth, conaequently the.whole destiny <d the man is influenced and ruled by these caaualtiea: lo say nothiiie <^ the abaurdin, that those omnipotent stars never can amet the infiut while invested with a thin coveriiy of fleah in the wranb of its parent. But the wliole saencs is a tisBue of absurdities.