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The Levites recount the

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A. M. 3559. 8 And foundest his heart "faithful || Sinai, and spakest with them from A. M. 3559. b before thee, and madest a covenant heaven, and gavest them right judgwith him to give the land of the Canaanites, the ments, and 3 true laws, good statutes, and comHittites, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and mandments: the Jebusites, and the Girgashites, to give it, I say, to his seed, and P hast performed thy words;|| for thou art righteous :

9 And didst see the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heardest their cry by the Red sea; 10 And 'showedst signs and wonders upon Pharaoh, and on all his servants, and on all the people of his land: for thou knewest that they dealt proudly against them. So didst thou "get thee a name, as it is this day. 11 And thou didst divide the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; and their persecutors thou threwest into the deeps, as a stone into the mighty waters.

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12 Moreover, thou leddest them in the day by a cloudy pillar; and in the night by a pillar of fire, to give them light in the way wherein they should go.

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14 And madest known unto them thy holy sabbath, and commandedst them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses thy servant:

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16 But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments,

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17 And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art 5 a God ready to pardon, 1gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kind

13 Thou camest down also upon mount ness, and forsookest them not.

Gen. xv. 6.0 Gen. xii. 7; xv. 18; xvii. 7.I. 14. Exod. ii. 25 ; iii. 7.- Exod. xiv. 10.Chaps. vii.; viii.; x. ; xii. ; xiv.- Exod. xviii. 11.20; Dan. ix. 15.

-P Joshua

Exod. u Exod. ix. 16; Isa. Ixiii. 12, 14; Jer. xxxii. X Exod. xiv. 21, 28; Psa. lxxviii. 13.- Exod. xv. 5, 10.Exod. Xlll. 2.- Exod. xix. 20: xx. 1.- Psa. xix. 8; Rom. vii. 12. 'Heb. laws of truth.

conveniently placed, in several parts of the assembly, for that purpose.

Verse 8. And foundest his heart faithful before thee-In many instances, especially in that great trial of his faith and obedience, when thou requiredst him to offer up his only son as a sacrifice. And hast performed thy words; for thou art righteous— True to thy word, faithfully fulfilling all thy pro

mises.

Gen. ii. 3; Exod. xx. 8, 11.

d Exod. xvi. 14; John vi. 31.

f Deut. i. 8.- -4 Heb, which - Verse

• Exod. xvii. 6; Num. xx. 9, &c.-
thou hadst lift up thine hand to give them, Num. xiv. 30.—
29; Psa. cvi. 6.- h Deut. xxxi. 27; 2 Kings xvii. 14; 2 Chron.
xxx. 8; Jer. xix. 15.- i Psa. lxxviii. 11, 42.- k Num. xiv. 4.
5 Heb. God of pardons.- - Exod. xxxiv. 6; Num. xiv. 18; Psa.
lxxxvi. 5, 15; Joel ii. 13.

enemies. For thou knewest that they dealt proudly
against them—Intending to make them their slaves
for ever, as, for the present, they treated them with
the utmost contempt and cruelty.

Verse 13. And gavest them good statutes-The moral and judicial precepts were all founded on natural equity. And even the ceremonial were tokens of God's goodness, being types of gospel grace.

Verse 14. And madest known unto them thy holy sabbath-That holy sabbath day which thou didst bless and sanctify to Adam, commanding him, and in him all his posterity, to observe it, which yet almost all nations have quite forgotten; that day thou didst graciously reveal unto thy people, reviving that ancient law by another particular law respecting it, given to us in the wilderness. The Holy Scriptures speak of the sabbath as a singular gift of God to the Jewish nation, Exod. xvi. 29; it being a sign between God and them, who sanctified, that is, separated them from all other nations to be his peculiar people, or to be the worshippers of him who created the world in six days and rested in the seventh, while the heathen nations worshipped the sun, moon, and stars, and other creatures.

Verses 9, 10. And didst see the affliction of our fathers in Egypt-God's providences over Isaac and Jacob are passed by, to come to his interpositions in their behalf, since they became a nation; that is, since he had made good his covenant with Abraham, in multiplying his seed as the stars of heaven; at the time of entering into which covenant he had foretold that his seed should suffer grievous affliction in Egypt; from which having rescued them, he completed their deliverance at the Red sea, when they cried to him, as is here mentioned. It was reasonable to remember this, now they were interceding for the perfecting of their deliverance out of Babylon. And showedst signs and wonders upon Pharaoh-Many and mighty, such as were unprecedented and unparalleled, thereby getting honour Verses 16, 17. But our fathers dealt proudly, &c. upon him, and upon his servants and people, the de--Notwithstanding all thy singular and wonderful liverance of thy people being the destruction of their mercies, they sinned presumptuously, and with a high

The Levites recount the

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A M. 3559. 18 Yea, m when they had made 23 * Their children also multipliedst A. M. 3559. them a molten calf, and said, This is thou as the stars of heaven, and thy God that brought thee up out of Egypt, and || broughtest them into the land concerning which had wrought great provocations; thou hadst promised to their fathers, that they should go in to possess it.

19 Yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness: the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to show them light, and the way wherein they should go.

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20 Thou gavest also thy good Spirit to instruct them, and withheldest not thy manna from their mouth, and gavest them water for their thirst.

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21 Yea, forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing; their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not.

22 Moreover, thou gavest them kingdoms and nations, and didst divide them into corners: so they possessed the land of "Sihon, and the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og king of Bashan.

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Exod. xxxii. 4. Verse 27; Psa. cvi. 45.- Exod. xiii. 21; Num. xiv. 14; 1 Cor. x. 1.—P Num. xi. 17; Isa. lxiii. 11. 4 Exod. xvi. 15; Josh. v. 12.- Exod. xvii. 6.- Deut. ii. 7. t Deut. viii. 4; xxix. 5.—" Num. xxi. 21, &c.- Gen. xxii. 17. y Josh. i. 2, &c. Psa. xliv. 2. Heb. according to their

will.

hand, scorning to submit their wills to thine. Having hitherto recounted God's mercies toward them, with a view to aggravate their guilt, he now comes to confess their sins, in order that he might lead them to a sincere and ingenuous grief for them, not only on account of the sufferings which they had brought on themselves, but for the injury and indignity which they had offered to God; and refused to obey-Persisted in disobedience after many admonitions and invitations to repentance. And in their rebellion appointed a captain-That is, designed, purposed, and resolved to do so, (Num. xiv. 4,) and therefore they are said to do it; as Abraham is said to have offered up Isaac, (Heb. xi. 17,) because he intended and attempted to do it.

Verses 18, 19. Yea, they made them a molten calf-This was a very high provocation, considering how little a time before God had expressly commanded them not to make any graven image, and how many cautions he had afterward given them against doing any such thing. Yet thou forsookest them not in the wilderness-Where, if thou hadst left them without thy conduct and support, they would have been utterly undone and lost. The pillar of cloud departed not, &c.--Notwithstanding their great provocations, thou didst still continue thy gracious presence among them, of which the pillar of the cloud was a glorious token.

Verse 20. Thou gavest also thy good Spirit to in

24 So the children went in and possessed the land, and thou subduedst before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gavest them into their hands, with their kings, and the people of the land, that they might do with them as they would.

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Deut.

a Ver. 35; Num. xiii. 27; Deut. viii. 7; Ezek. xx. 6. vi. 11.- -7 Or, cisterns.- 8 Heb. tree of food.- Deut. xxxii. 15. d Hos. iii. 5.- e Judg. ii. 11; Ezek. xx. 21.- f 1 Kings xiv. 9; Psa. 1. 17.- - 1 Kings xviii. 4; xix. 10; 2 Chron. xxiv. 20; Matt. xxiii. 37; Acts vii. 52.- h Judg. ii. 14; iii. 8, &c.; Psa. cvi. 41.

struct them--Which thou didst graciously and plentifully impart, first unto Moses, and then unto the seventy elders, (Num. xi. 17-26,) to the end that they might be able to direct and govern thy people wisely, and in thy fear.

Verse 22. And didst divide them into cornersThat is, the heathen nations, whom God in a great measure destroyed, and the remainders of them he dispersed into corners; that whereas, before the Israelites came, they had large habitations, now they were cooped up, some in one town, and some in another, in the several corners of their land, while the Israelites dwelt in a large place, and had the possession of their whole land, some few and small parcels excepted.

Verses 25, 26. And delighted them in thy great goodness--In all those comforts and blessings which, by thy great goodness, they obtained and enjoyed. Nevertheless they cast thy law behind their backs-They neglected and despised thy laws, would not regard nor observe them; whereas they ought to have had them continually before their eyes, to direct and govern them in all their ways. The good things they enjoyed in the land which God had given them, made them wanton and forgetful of God and his commandments. And slew thy prophets-Of which see the margin.

Verse 27. When they cried unto thee, &c.--The whole book of Judges verifies this, that God de

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A. M. 3559. hand of their enemies, who vexed || thy prophets: yet would they not give A. M. 3559. them and in the time of their trouble, ear: therefore gavest thou thern into when they cried unto thee, thou heardest them || the hand of the people of the lands. from heaven; and according to thy manifold mercies thou gavest them saviours, who saved them out of the hand of their enemies.

28 But after they had rest, they did evil again before thee: therefore leftest thou them in the hand of their enemies, so that they had the dominion over them: yet when they returned and cried unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven; and many times didst thou deliver them according to thy mercies;

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29 And testifiedst against them, that thou mightest bring them again unto thy law: yet they dealt proudly, and hearkened not unto thy commandments, but sinned against thy judgments, (which if a man do, he shall live in them;) and 10 withdrew the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear.

30 Yet many years didst thou 11 forbear them, and testifiedst against them by thy Spirit 12 in

iPsa, cvi. 44. Judg. ii. 18; iii. 9.- -9 Heb. they returned to do evil Judg. iii. 11, 30; iv. 1; v. 31; vi. 1.- m Psa. evi. 43. Verse 16.- Lev. xviii. 5; Ezek. xx. 11; Rom. x. 5: Gal. iii. 12.10 Heb. they gave a withdrawing shoulder, Zech. vi. 11. Hebrew, protract over them.2 Kings xvii. 13; 2 Chron. xxxvi. 15; Jer. vii. 25; xxv. 4.

31 Nevertheless, for thy great mercies' sake thou didst not utterly consume them, nor forsake them; for thou art a gracious and merciful God.

32 Now therefore, our God, the great, the "mighty, and the terrible God, who keepest covenant and mercy, let not all the 13 trouble seem little before thee, 14 that hath come upon us, on our kings, on our princes, and on our priests, and on our prophets, and on our fathers, and on all thy people, since the time of the kings of Assyria unto this day.

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34 Neither have our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers, kept thy law, nor hearkened unto thy commandments and thy testimonies, wherewith thou didst testify against them.

12 Heb. in the hand of thy prophets. Acts vii. 51; 1 Pet. i. 11; 2 Pet. i. 21. Isa. v. 5; xlii. 24. Jer. iv. 27; v. 10, 18.t Verse 17.- Exodus xxxiv. 6; Chapter i. 5. 13 Heb. weariness. 14 Heb. that hath found us.— x2 Kings xvii. 3.—y Dan. ix. 14; Psa. cxix. 137. Psa. cvi.6; Dan. ix. 5, 8.

livered them for their sins unto the Moabites, the testifiedst against them by thy Spirit in thy prophets Canaanites, and divers other enemies, who griev--Who spake to them by thy divine inspiration, ously domineered over them; but when they cried to God for help, he was so gracious as to send such men as Barak, Gideon, and others, to be their saviours, that is, deliverers, from tyranny. Verses 28, 29. Therefore leftest thou them in the hand of their enemies-God so abandoned them once, that he permitted the Philistines to rule over them forty years, (Judges xiii. 1,) unto which, perhaps, this passage refers. Many times didst thou deliver them according to thy mercies-Nothing else could have moved God to do it, but his own! Verse 31. Nevertheless, thou didst not utterly essential goodness and mercy, they being, in all consume them-But didst leave a remnant of the ages, inconstant in their obedience, and prone to poorer people in the land, and show favour to the backslide from him; and testifiedst against them-captives in Babylon. For thou art a gracious and By many remarkable punishments he testified how merciful God-To which alone they owed their highly he was displeased with them, that he might preservation from utter destruction. Yet they dealt proudly-Against Verses 32, 33. Who keepest covenant and mercy what one would have expected should have humbled-He adds mercy, because the covenant in itself was them, God's judgments; and, from time to time, not a sufficient ground of hope, because they having they became more bold and obstinate in their sins. so basely broken it, God was discharged from keepAnd withdrew the shoulder-A metaphor taken from ing it, and therefore they flee to his free and rich refractory oxen, that draw back, and will not submit mercy for relief. Howbeit, thou art just in all that is brought upon us-We cannot complain of any of thy dispensations toward us, for the whole series of our history shows that thou art just in all thy ways toward the children of men. us, when we are under the rebukes of Providence,

whom therefore they ought to have obeyed. Yet would they not give ear-That is, would not obey them, or even vouchsafe so much as to hear them. Therefore gavest thou them into the hand of the people of the lands-At last God delivered them into the hands of the Chaldeans, who are called the people of the lands, because they got possession of all the neighbouring countries, which God put under their power, as he had other countries beyond the Euphrates.

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to the yoke.

Verse 30. Many years didst thou forbear them Thou didst delay to bring upon them those judgments which thou hadst threatened, and they had deserved, and didst wait for their repentance. And

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A. M. 3559. 35 For they have not served thee in their kingdom, and in thy great goodness that thou gavest them, and in the large and fat land which thou gavest before them, neither turned they from their wicked works. 36 Behold, d we are servants this day, and for the land that thou gavest unto our fathers to eat the fruit thereof, and the good thereof, behold, we are servants in it:

a Deut. xxviii. 47.b Verse 25. Verse 25. xxviii. 48; Ezra ix. 9.- -e Deut. xxviii. 33, 51.xxviii. 48.

d Deut. f Deut.

be they ever so sharp, or ever so long continued, still to justify God, and to own we are punished less than our iniquities deserve.

Verse 35. For they served thee not in the land which thou gavest them-That is, which thou didst lay open to their view and possession; removing their enemies, and all impediments, out of the way. Neither turned they from their wicked worksThey not only all acted wickedly, from the highest to the lowest, but would not be reclaimed. Thus they acknowledge the justice of God in all the punishments he had inflicted on them, though heavy and of long continuance.

Verse 36. Behold, we are servants in the land In that land wherein heretofore, under thee, and by thy favour, we were rightful lords and owners. God had, indeed, marvellously restored them to their own country; yet the marks of his displeasure for their sins still remained very visible: for they were tributary unto others, and not free owners and proprietors of the land which God had given to their fathers.

Verse 37. And it yieldeth much increase unto the kings, &c.-We plough, and sow, and labour, and thou givest thy blessing to our endeavours; and yet in a great measure this is not for ourselves, as formerly it was, but for our kings, to whom we pay heavy tributes. Also they have dominion over our bodies-Which are liable to be pressed, to serve in the king's wars, or in his works. And over our cattle at their pleasure-Our cattle are liable to be made use of, when there is occasion to employ them about the king's business. And we are in great

covenant with the Lord,

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37 And it yielded much increase A. M. 3559. unto the kings whom thou hast set over us because of our sins: also they have dominion over our bodies, and over our cattle, at their pleasure, and we are in great distress.

38 And because of all this we make a sure covenant and write it; and our princes, Levites, and priests, 15 seal 1 unto it.

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2 Kings xxiii. 3; 2 Chronicles xxix. 10; xxxiv. 31; Chapter x. 29; Ezra x. 3.- 15 Hebrew, are at the sealing, or, sealed. h Chap. x. 1.

distress-Though we are permitted to live by our own laws, which we account a great privilege, yet we lie under these public burdens, and are compelled to bear them. Thus, as Mr. Peters observes, this prayer contains a beautiful epitome of the history of the Jews, raised and animated by a spirit of devotion, which appears in all that moving eloquence so well suited to the great occasion; and, at the same time, with all that chasteness and correctness of thought and expression, which so eminently distinguish the sacred writings of this sort from all merely human compositions.

Verse 38. Because of all this we make a sure covenant-Considering all this, they resolved to renew their covenant with God for better obedience, which they promise as the only remedy to procure perfect deliverance. And to make it more effectual, they seem to have declared this in the presence of God, at the conclusion of the foregoing confession and prayer. And write it-It was but of little consequence what such a refractory people promised, even in writing; for what regard would they have to their own hand-writing, who regarded not the ten commandments, written on tables of stone by the finger of God? It was, however, very useful that there should be a public instrument to convince them of their impiety, that they might be publicly confounded if they proved perfidious deserters, by showing them their engagements, under their own hands, to future fidelity. And our princes, Levites, and priests, seal unto it-Thus they would become witnesses against themselves if they dealt deceitfully.

CHAPTER X.

The names of those who set their seal to the covenant, 1-27. An account of those who consented thereto, 28-31. They

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2 Or, the governor.- bChap. i. 1. seem strange that Ezra doth not appear among them. But that might be because he was prevented by some sickness, or other extraordinary impediment.

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7 Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin,

8 Maaziah, Bilgai, Shemaiah; these were the priests.

9 And the Levites: both Jeshua the son of Azaniah, Binnui of the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel;

to keep God's law.

22 Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah,
23 Hoshea, Hananiah, Hashub,
24 Hallohesh, Pileha, Shobek,
25 Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah,
26 And Ahijah, Hanan, Anan,
27 Malluch, Harim, Baanah.

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28 ¶ And the rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the porters, the singers, the Nethinims, and all they that had separated themselves from the people of the lands unto the law of God, their wives, their sons, and their daugh

10 And their brethren, Shebaniah, Hodijah, ters, every one having knowledge, and having Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan, understanding;

11 Micha, Rehob, Hashabiah,

12 Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah,

13 Hodijah, Bani, Beninu.

29 They clave to their brethren, their nobles, and entered into a curse, and into an oath,

h to walk in God's law, which was given by

14 The chief of the people : Parosh, Pahath- Moses the servant of God, and to observe and

moab, Elam, Zatthu, Bani,

15 Bunni, Azgad, Bebai,
16 Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin,
17 Ater, Hizkijah, Azzur,
18 Hodijah, Hashum, Bezai,
19 Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai,
20 Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir,
21 Meshezabeel, Zadok, Jaddua,

Chap. xii. 1-21.- Ezra ii. 3, &c.; Chapter vii. 8, &c. Ezra ii. 36-43f Ezra ix. 1; x. 11, 19; Chapter xiii. 3. Deut. xxix. 12, 14; Chap. v. 12; Psa. cxix. 106.

It is true we meet with Ezra after this, at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, (chap. xii. 36,) and therefore he was then freed from this impediment, whatsoever it was. It appears from hence, that the government of the Jews was an aristocracy, or a government in which the nobles were the rulers. This mode of administration continued till the time of the Asmodaan princes, and from thence, by natural translation, passed into an absolute monarchy, or rather tyranny.

Verse 8. These were the priests-That is, the chief of them; for there are but twenty-one of them

named here.

Verse 14. The chief of the people-It would have been tedious to make all the people subscribe and seal the writing, therefore the chiefs and princes of each family signed and sealed it in the name of the rest; and they seem to have subscribed in the name of him from whom the family was derived.

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h2 Kings xxiii. 3; 2 Chron. xxxiv. 31. 3 Heb. by the hand - Exod. xxxiv. 16; Deuteronomy vii. 3; Ezra ix. 12, 14. Exod. xx. 10; Lev. xxiii. 3; Deut. v. 12; Chap. xiii. 15, &c.

Verse 29. They clave to their brethren, their nobles-The commonalty owned and ratified what the nobles had done in their names, declaring their assent to it by their words, or by lifting up of their hands, as the manner was. Great men never look so great as when they encourage religion, and are examples of it: and they would by that, as much as any thing, make an interest in the most valuable of their inferiors, who would cleave to them closer than they can imagine. Observe, their nobles are called their brethren; for in the things of God, rich and poor, high and low, meet together. And entered into a curse, and into an oath-That is, an oath under an execration. They obliged themselves by an oath to walk in God's law, with an imprecation upon themselves, if they violated it; wishing, probably, that all the curses written in the law might fall upon them, if they did not observe it in all things.

Verse 28. And the rest of the people, &c.—Those Verse 30. And that we would not give our daughthat did not subscribe and seal, because there were ters-Namely, in marriage. Having sworn obe100 many, yet gave their consent to what the fore-dience to God's laws in the general, they now spenamed persons did. And not only the men, but cify some particular instances, wherein they had their wives and their children, who were arrived at lately transgressed, or were most prone to transgress. years of discretion, engaged themselves to abide by In our covenants with God, we should engage partiwhat their brethren the nobles had done. And all cularly against those sins that we have been most that had separated themselves-All those of the frequently overtaken in and injured by. heathen who had abjured idolatry and joined themselves to the worhip of the Jews.

Verse 31. And if the people of the land-The heathen; bring ware or victuals on the sabbath

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