prepared for such duties by that remarkable spirit of piety that appeared in her resignation, with respect to the vow her father had made concerning her, and what time she did not spend in duties of immediate devotion, she might spend in making of priests' garments. Exod. xxxv. 25, 26, in other business subsequent to the work of the sanctuary, as there might be enough found that a woman might do.

II. The nature of the case will not allow us to suppose that that was done that was so horrid and so contrary to the mind and will of God, as putting of her to death, and offering her as a burnt sacrifice. God took great care that never any human sacrifice should be offered to him; though he commanded Abraham to of fer up his son, yet he would by no means suffer it to be actually done, but appointed something else with which he should be redeemed; and though God challenged the first-born of all living things to be his, yet he appointed that the first-born of men should be redeemed, and so in all cases wherein persons were holy to the Lord, the law makes provision that they should not be slain but redeemed. It is particularly forbidden in the law of Moses in the strictest manner, that the children of Israel should not worship God by offering up their children in sacrifice to him. " Deut. xii. 30, 31. There God charges them not to worship him in the manner that the inhabitants of Canaan had worshipped their gods, and then mentions, as the most abominable thing in their worship, that they had offered up their children for burnt offerings. And God, by the prophet Isaiah, declares such sacrifices to be abominable to him in the forementioned, Isai. lxvi. 3. See also, Jer. vii. 31, with my note on that text. It would have been symbolizing with the abominable customs of the heathen nations around, especially that offering human sacrifices to the idol, Moloch, which God ever manifested a peculiar detestation of. Here particularly observe, Deut. xii. 29, to the end; and the nature of the case will not allow us to think that Jephthah in this instance committed such abomination. It is not likely but that he, being a pious person, as he is spoken of by the apostle, would have been restrained from it by God, and then what was done was doubtless agreeable to the mind and will of God, for God otherwise would not in so extraordinary a manner have assisted her so quickly and readily to resign herself to it; there seems most evidently an extraordinary divine influence on her mind in the af fair, for her resignation did not arise from insensibility or indifference of spirit, as is evident, because she desired time so to bewail what was to be done to her; and upon the supposition that she was to be slain, it would be impossible, without an extraordinary influence on her mind, for her to be so resigned. He resignation was from pious considerations, and holy, and excellent

principles; as is evident from what she says to her father, when she sees him passionately lamenting the issue of his vow, of which we have an account in the 36th verse. "And she said unto him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the Lord, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth, for as much as the Lord hath taken vengeance for thee of thine. enemies, even of the children of Ammon."

If what he had vowed to do was so abominable a thing as to kill her in sacrifice, it would not have been her duty to say as she does, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth, but she seemed to be influenced to express herself as she did, by the Spirit of God, and her resignation is recorded of her, as a very excellent thing in her.

III. Her being to be slain in sacrifice seems inconsistent with her request; to go up and down the mountains to bewail her virginity it would have been rather to bewail her untimely end.

IV. It seems evident that she was not slain, by the 39th verse, where it is said that it came to pass, that at the end of two months, she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow, which he had vowed, and the consequence of it is immediately added, and she knew no man. This clause seems evidently to be exegetical of the foregoing, viz. that he did to her accordtng to his vow, or to explain what that was that he did, viz. devote her to God in a perpetual virginity.

If she had been slain it is not at all likely that it would have been mentioned that she knew no man, for that she had known no man before this, had been already expressed in her going up and down the mountains to bewail her virginity; and nobody would suppose that she would marry and have children after she was devoted to death, and it had been determined both by herself and her father that it should be put in execution; and besides, there would have been no occasion to mention her not knowing man as soon as the two months was out wherein she bewailed her virginity, and she had returned from going up and down the mountains, the vow was immediately executed.

V. It is no argument that Jephthah thought himself obliged to put her to death, that he so lamented when his daughter met him, as in verse 35. "And it came to pass when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas! my daughter, thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me, for I have opened my mouth unto the Lord, and I cannot go back ;" for she being his only child, by her being devoted to be a Nazarite, his family was entirely extinct, he had no issue to inherit his estate or keep his name in remembrance, which in those days was looked upon as an exceedingly great calamity. Thou has tbrought me very low, i. e. thou hast quenched my coal, and brought per

petual barrenness on thyself. (See Pool's Synopsis, at the end of Judg. chap. xi.)

[139] Judg. xiii. 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. Christ, by thus going into the flame in which the kid was sacrificed, and ascending in it, signified that he was the great sacrifice that was to be offered up to God, and was to ascend as a sweet savour to God from off the altar in the flame of his holy wrath. That was the substance represented by these shadows, the sacrifices of kids and lambs, &c.

[377] Judg. xiii. xiv. xv. The History of Samson. Samson was charmed with the daughters of the uncircumcised Philistines, and, as it were, bewitched with them. These daughters represent those lusts, or objects of their lusts, with which men are charmed and infatuated. Samson's uniting himself with these daughters of the Philistines, proved his ruin. He had warning enough to beware of them before he was utterly destroyed by them. First, he was deceived by one of them, and suffered great damage by her falseness, by the woman of Timnath; though he loved her, she proved an enemy to him, and treacherously deprived him of thirty sheets and thirty change of garments, and then she was taken from him; she proved false to him, and left him. So she served him as the objects of men's lusts often serve them; they promise them a great deal, but never afford them any thing; they are like a pleasing shadow at a distance, that does us a great deal of damage in the pursuit, and when we come nigh them and hope to embrace them, and to be paid for our damages, they afford us nothing but disappointment. Samson's being thus served by a daughter of the Philistines, might be a warning to him not to be concerned with them any more. But after this Sampson was ensnared again, and went in to an harlot at Gaza, which suddenly brought him into eminent danger of his life, so that he very narrowly escaped, as in the beginning of chap. xvi. But yet after this he unites himself with Delilah, and had suflicient from her to make him sensible that she was his enemy time after time, had he not been utterly infatuated and bewitched; but yet he would not take warning, and at last she deprived him of the seven lorks of his head, in which signified the consideration and sense of the mind; and bringing a person to a stupid and senseless state. (See Notes on Numb. vi. 5, concerning the Nazarite's not shaving his head.) When persons' sense, consideration, and watchfulness is gone, their strength will soon be gone. And then God departed from

Samson, and he became the miserable condemned captive and slave of the Philistines, who tormented him, and insulted over him, and made themselves sport in his misery, and at last it proved his death.

[80] Judg. xvi. 25. "When the Philistines had prevailed over Samson, and were making sport with him, he overthrew them. The devils thought to have had fine sport with God's people when he had got him their captive, but this captivity to him was the occasion of one of them who represented the rest. of his brethren, even Christ, giving of them a most dreadful overthrow; and when they had Christ their captive, and thought to have triumphed and made themselves merry over him, for he was for a time in a sort their captive, being the captive of his ministers, and being more especially delivered to his power to tempt and afflict, as the Philistines did Samson. Luke xxii. 53. "This is your time, and the power of darkness:" I say while they thought to have had sport with him, yea, when they had actually brought him forth, and were making themselves sport with him as his instruments did, and doubtless the devil joined with them; he gave them a most dreadful overthrow at his death, as Samson did; he destroyed Satan's kingdom, and overthrew Dagon's temple.

[125] Ruth. The story of Ruth's forsaking her own people for the land and people of Israel, typifies the calling of the Gentile church. Naomi is a type of the Jewish church, that is the mother of the Gentile church; not the Jewish nation. that was rejected, but the true church of God in Israel, to whom Ruth says, in the 16th verse, "Whither thou goest, I will go, and whither thou lodgest, I will lodge. Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God." Naomi sets before her daughters the case of going with her, and the advantages of staying in her own land. So did Christ set before men the case of being his disciples, and so do his ministers in the church. It typifies the universal church, and the conversion of every believer. We are all born in sin, as Ruth was born in Moab, and was born a Moabitess; a state of sin is, as it were, our father's house, and sinners are our own people; when we are converted we forsake our own people and father's house, as the church in the xlv. Psalm.

[92] 1 Sam. i. and ii. chapters. By Hannah's song after the birth of Samuel, I am ready to think that Peninnah and Hannah were designed for types of the church of the Jews, and the church of the Gentiles. The expressions are much like those that are used in the Prophets, when speaking of the calling of the

petual barrenness on Judg. chap. xi.

[139]

went u

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to

NOTES ON THE BIBLE

The whole som

ently to refer to govel times,

especially the 10th verse, seems particularly these expressions,

The Lord shall judge the ends of the earth, and shall give God's king and anointed, she did not mean any king that then strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed." By ever could be one, there was no such design then on foot. ruled over Israel, for there was none, nor was it known that there shua, a Bethshemite, and stood there, where there was a great [64] 1 Sam. vi. 14. "And the cart came into the field of Jo

-And the Levites took down the ark of the Lord, and stent on the great stone." The cart seems purposely to be stop

with Christ's, who was signified by the ark, and because of the ped in this field, because of the name of the owner being the same great stone, which also represented Christ.

[93] 1 Sam. xvii. 25.

tory over Satan.

David won the king's daughter by vicGoliath, so Christ wins the church by victory over

[94] 1 Sam. xxii. 2. "And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was bitter of soul, gathered themselves to him, and he became Captain over them.' Herein he was a type of Christ.

[72] 1 Sam. xxv. 41. "And she arose, and bowed herself on her face to the earth, and said, Behold, let thine handmaid be a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my Lord.” She was a type of the church, and herein speaks that which represents the disposition of a true Christian, according to Christ's command and example. Josh. xiii.

[199] 2 Sam. xii. It may be worth the while to observe the analogy there was between David's sin in the matter of Uriah, and the judgments after. He was guilty of shedding of blood, and he was punished with this in his own family, one of his own children shedding the blood of another. Absalom's shedding Amnon's blood, and afterwards he, though his own son, seeking to shed his blood, and with Absalom the greatest part of his subjects that used to be loyal and have a good affection for him, had their hearts turned against him, and became his enemies, and sought to shed his blood, and afterwards Absalom's blood was shed greatly to the grief of David his father.

He was guilty of most aggravated uncleanness in his adultery with Bathsheba, and he was punished with uncleanness in his own family in a most aggravated manner, by the horrid incest and rape of his own son upon his own daughter, and afterwards Absa