7

river; though the Gileadites were cruel to revenge their angry words 80 severely, yet God was just in punishing this proud, passionate, and ungrateful people, who despised and threatened Jephthah, who had done so worthily in Israel, and abused their brethren, who had shown such a laudable zeal.

And Jephthah judged Israel six years: then died Jephthah the Gileadite, and was buried in [one of] the cities of Gilead.

8 9 And after him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel. And he had thirty sons, and thirty daughters, [whom] he sent abroad, and took in thirty daughters from abroad for his sons. 10 And he judged Israel seven years. Then died Ibzan, and was buried at Bethlehem.

11 And after him Elon, a Zebulonite, judged Israel; and he 12 judged Israel ten years. And Elon the Zebulonite died, and was buried in Aijalon in the country of Zebulun.

13 And after him Abdon the son of Hillel, a Pirathonite, judged Israel. In him the tribe of Ephraim began to recover its 14 dignity again. And he had forty sons and thirty nephews,

or grandsons, that rode on threescore and ten ass colts: and 15 he judged Israel eight years. And Abdon the son of Hillel, the Pirathonite died, and was buried in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the mount of the Amalekites. All these judges lived in peaceable times, maintained the purity of God's worship, died and were buried in peace, the last of them in the mount of the Amalekites, probably so called from a signal victory gained over them in that place.

1.

REFLECTIONS.

EE the mischief of pride and envy, and the effects of them, upbraiding and angry words. The pride of the Ephraimites because they had not the honour of the victory, led them to quarrel with Jephthah and their brethren; and to come with such multitudes, in such a riotous manner, with malice in their hearts, lies in their tongues, and violence in their hands, though it was quite unreasonable. The guilty persons began to accuse their brethren, as is generally the case; but how pitiful, how detestable do they appear! May we guard against thinking that every honour is our due, and envying those that are honoured and distinguished above us. Let us ever maintain an humble spirit; and take heed also to our tongues; guard against calling ill names, and using scurrilous language: grievous words stir up anger, and separate chief friends. Let us then learn to bridle our tongues; for the tongue when it uses ill language, sets on fire the course of nature, and is itself set on fire of hell.

2. See what fatal consequences flow from resenting injuries received, and being hasty to avenge ourselves. The Ephraimites formerly quarrelled with Gideon, as they now did with Jephthah; but he returned them a mild answer, turned off their reproach and censures with a compliment, and it ended well. But this rough hero, Jephthah, expostulated with them too warmly, and increased, rather than lessened, their anger; and the Gileadites fell upon them with the utmost fury; their anger was fierce, and their wrath was cruel. They contrived a bloody artifice to kill their brethren, and no doubt destroyed many innocent persons, who might naturally be terrified with the sight of bloodshed, so as not rightly to pronounce their Shibboleth. So madly and cruelly do men act when they give a loose to their passions, and take the work of vengeance into their own hands. Jephthah and the Gileadites lost all the honour of their victory over the Ammonites, when they showed in this instance that they were the slaves of passion and resentment. May we learn to govern our passions, and rule our own spirits. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord. Be not overcome of evil; but overcome evil with good. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God.

3. Let us not be cruel or severe to those of our brethren who cannot pronounce our Shibboleth; who cannot just think, or say, or worship, as we do. Let us do unto them as we wish they would do unto us. If they should be angry, revengeful, persecuting, and malicious, still let us love our enemies, bless them that curse us; and do good to them that despitefully use and persecute us ; and thus show ourselves to be the children of our heavenly Father, who causeth his sun to shine, and his rain to descend, on the evil and the good, on the just and the unjust.

CHAP. XIII.

We are now entering on the history of Samson, who was a great scourge to the enemies of his country. In this chapter his birth is foretold by an angel, to his mother; he appears again to Manoah and his wife; they discover that he was an angel; and in due time Samson is born.

2

1

A

ND the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years. This was the sixth and longest oppression of Israel; while the Ammonites distressed them în the east, the Philistines did so in the west.

་

2

And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name [was] Manoah; and his wife [was] 3 barren, and bare not. And the angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou [art] barren and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son. This address engaged her attention, as it plainly proved that he was a prophet who spoke to her, because he knew her 4 circumstances. Now therefore, beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean [thing,] nothing that is forbidden to the Nazarites, (Numb. vi. 2-5.) 5 much less any thing forbidden to others; For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb, that is, separated to the service of God: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines; this deliverance was not to be completed till David's time.

6

:

Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came unto me, that is, a holy prophet sent of God, and his countenance [was] like the countenance of an angel of God, very terrible, that is, venerable and full of majesty, which struck such an awe into her that she could not ask his name, or make any particular inquiry: she accordingly adds, but I asked him not whence he [was,] neither told he me his 7 name: but he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and now, drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean [thing :] for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death, whereas, others might be for a certain time only.

8

Then Manoah entreated the LORD, and said, O my LORD, let the man of God which thou didst send, come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born. He believed the message, and instead of sending to seek the messenger, applied to God by prayer, that the man of God might come again and teach him more fully what to do to the 9 child, and how to bring it up. Apd God hearkened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God came again unto the woman as she sat in the field: but Manoah her husband [was] 10 not with her. And the woman made haste, and ran, and showed her husband, and said unto him, Behold, the man hath appeared unto me that came unto me the [other] day. She thought this was in answer to her husband's prayer, and therefore concluded that the angel would stay till she went and 11 fetched him. And Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and said unto him, [Art] thou the man that 12 spakest unto the woman? And he said, I [am.] And Ma

Dan lay next to the Philistines; it was proper therefore that a deliverer should rise From thence. Samson was the first hero of that tribe.

noah said, Now let thy words come to pass; the language of faith as well as desire: How shall we order the child, and [how] 13 shall we do unto him? And the angel of the LORD said unto

Manoah, Of all that I said unto the woman let her beware. 14 She may not eat of any [thing] that cometh of the vine, neither let her drink wine nor strong drink, nor eat any unclean [thing] all that I commanded her let her observe; repeating the particulars, he enjoins that she should abstain from what he forbade, and do what he commanded.

15

:

And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, I pray thee, let us detain thee, until we shall have made ready a kid for thee. 16 And the angel of the LORD declined this offer, and said unto Manoah, Though thou detain me, I will not eat of thy bread; and if thou wilt offer a burnt offering, thou must offer it unto the LORD:* for Manoah knew not that he [was] an angel of 17 the LORD. And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, What [is] thy name? that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honour, have further acquaintance with thee, speak of thee with reverence and gratitude, and make thee some 18 present. And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it [is] secret? or wonderful, as in the margin, see Isa. ix. 6. Hence some sup pose it was Christ who spoke to him; he would instruct him in 19 his duty, but not satisfy his curiosity. So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered [it] upon a rock unto the LORD, in the presence of the angel and [the angel] did wonderously; and Manoah and his wife looked on. He probably brought fire out of the rock, as he who appeared to Gideon did. 20 For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoal and his wife looked on [it,] and being quite astonished, and filled with reverence and horror, 21 they fell on their faces to the ground. But the angel of the LORD did no more appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he [was] an angel of the LORD, because 22 he was neither confined to the earth, nor hurt by the fire. And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God; according to a common notion of the Jews, 23 that it was death to see God or an angel. But his wife said unto him, If the LORD were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands, neither would he have showed us these [things,] nor would as at this time have told us [such things] as these. Thus his wife nobly argues him out of his panic, by these three considerations; he accepted their sacrifice, he showed them all those things about their son's birth and education, and the deliver

A prophet might authorise him, though he was not a priest, to offer a sacrifice to Cod, and to do it there, as well as at the tabernacle.

24

ance which he should begin ; which would be impossible if they were to die; nor would he at this time, when we are so oppressed, and have no open vision in the land, have done such a miraele, if he had designed to destroy us.

And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson 25 and the child grew, and the LORD blessed him. And the Spirit of the LORD began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol. A camp was formed to give some check to the oppression of the Philistines; and when the Israelites went out to exercise, he went with them, and showed strength and courage beyond what might be expected at his age i to intimate what he would do for his country in due time.

TH

REFLECTIONS.

HE first reflection here is, I apprehend, a very important one to the happiness of mankind; but I choose to deliver it in the words of good Mr. HENRY. Women with child ought conscientiously to avoid whatever they have reason to think will be any way prejudicial to the health or good constitution of the fruit of their body. Perhaps Samson's mother was to refrain from wine, not only because he was to be a Nazarite, but because he was designed to be a man of great strength, to which his mother's temperance would greatly contribute. Many of the ill habits of body that children bring into the world with them, are owing to the irregularities of their mothers; and most of the diseases of which so many young children die, arise from a bad mass of blood communicated to them. This will easily gain credit among all considerate persons, if they will only take a view of the different conditions of the children of the poor and rich, of labourers and gentlemen; and no wonder, when luxury and excess so much prevail among persons of fortune and leisure. But the irregularities I am cautioning against, not only produce bad constitutions of body in children, but bad tempers, and ill dispositions of mind. The first duty parents owe to their chil dren, as Dr. DELANY observes, is to convey health and strength, a good constitution of body and mind to them, as far as it is in their power; by a proper care of their own health, and a conscien tious abstinence from vice and excess of every kind.' We learn,

2. That those who want and humbly seek divine direction, may hope for it. Manoah prayed that God would teach him his duty, and God did so. It is thus good men own and acknowledge God in all their ways, and he directs their paths. We should do this especially when we have experienced, as in the case before us, his readiness to favour and help us. There are secret things

* Some think this is derived from a root that signifies the sun; to intimate the good effect his appearance and interposition should have on the affairs of larael, and his extraor dinary endowments of body and mind."

१