generation; and as, in the Christian church, religion was in its most flourishing circumstances in the day of its espousals, in the apostles' time, so it seems to have been with the Jewish church in the days of its first establishment in the times of Moses and Joshua.

Thus God, at this time, gloriously advanced the work of redemption, both by his word and Spirit. Hereby the work of redemption was promoted, not only as it was in itself a glorious instance of redemption in its application, but as this was what God used for the orderly establishment of the Israelitish church, when it was first settled in the regular observance of God's ordinances in Canaan : even as the outpouring of the Spirit in the beginning of the Christian church, was a great means for establishing the Christian church in all succeeding ages.

XI. The next thing I would observe, was God's bringing the people of Israel by Joshua, and settling them in that land where Christ was to be born, and which was the great type of the heavenly Canaan which Christ has purchased. Joshua was of Joseph's posterity, and was an eminent type of Christ, and is therefore called the shepherd; the stone of Israel. Gen. 49: 24. Being such a type, he bore the name of Christ. Joshua and Jesus are the same name, the one Hebrew, the other Greek; and therefore, in the New Testament, originally written in Greek, Joshua is called Jesus, Acts, 7: 45," which also our fathers brought in with Jesus," that is, Joshua; Heb. 4: 8, "If Jesus (that is, if Joshua) had given them rest, he would not have spoken of another day."

God wonderfully gave his people possession of

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this land, conquering its former inhabitants and the mighty giants, as Christ conquered the devil.

first conquered the great kings on the eastern side of Jordan, Sihon king of the Amorites, and Og king of Bashan; and then divided the river Jordan, as before he had done the Red Sea; causing the walls of Jericho to fall down at the sound of the trumpets of the priests. That sound typified the sound of the Gospel by the preaching of gospel ministers, the walls of the accursed city Jericho signifying the walls of Satan's kingdom. After this he wonderfully destroyed the mighty host of the Amorites under the five kings, causing the sun and moon to stand still, to help the people against their enemies, at the prayer of the typical Jesus; plainly intimating that God would make the whole course of nature to be subservient to the work of redemption; and that every thing should give place to the welfare of God's redeemed people.

Thus did Christ show his great love to his people, that he would make the course of nature to give place to their happiness and prosperity: and showed that the sun and moon, and all things visible and invisible, were theirs by his purchase. At the same time Christ fought as the Captain of their host, and cast down great hailstones upon their enemies, by which more were slain than by the sword of Israel. And after this Christ gave the people a mighty victory over a yet greater army in the northern part of the land, gathered together at the waters of Merom, as the sand of the sea-shore Josh. 11: 4.

Thus God gave the people whence Christ was to proceed, the land where he was to be born; where

he was to live, preach, and work miracles; to die, and rise again; and whence he was to ascend into heaven, as the land which was a great type of heaven.

XII. Another thing that God did towards carrying on this work, was his actually establishing his stated worship among the people, as it had been before instituted in the wilderness. This worship was appointed at Mount Sinai; it was to make way for the coming of Christ; and the innumerable ceremonial observances of it were typical of him and his redemption. But there were many parts of their instituted worship that could not be observed in the wilderness, by reason of their unsettled state there. And there were many precepts that respected the land of Canaan, and their places of habitation there, which could not be put in practice till they came into that land. But now, when this was brought to pass, God set up his tabernacle in the midst of his people, as he had before promised them. Lev. 26:11. "I will set my tabernacle amongst you." The tabernacle was set up at Shiloh, (Josh. 18: 1,) and the priests and the Levites had their offices appointed them, and the cities of refuge, and now the people were in a condition to observe their feasts of first-fruits, and their feasts of ingathering, and to bring all their tithes and appointed offerings to the Lord; and most parts of God's worship were now observed, though some were not till afterwards.

XIII. The next thing was God's wonderfully preserving that people, from this time forward, when all the males went up, three times in the year, to the place where God's ark was. The people of Israel were generally surrounded with enemies, who

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sought all opportunities to destroy them, and dispossess them of their land. Till David's time, there were great numbers in the land of the remains of the Canaanites and the other former inhabitants, who were bitter enemies to the people of Israel: and these had, three times in the year, a fair opportunity of overrunning their country, and getting possession of their cities, when only the women, and those who were not able to go up, were left behind. And yet they were remarkably preserved throughout all generations at such seasons, agreeably to the promise, Exod. 34:24, Neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou shalt go up to appear before the Lord thy God thrice in the year." wonderfully did God order affairs, and influence the hearts of their enemies. They were full of enmity against Israel, desired to dispossess them of their land, and often had so fair an opportunity, that the whole country was left naked and empty of all that could resist them. It would have been only for them to go and take possession; and yet we never read in all their history, of any of their enemies taking these opportunities against them; which could be no less than a continual miracle, which God, for the preservation of his church, wrought for so many generations. It was surely a wonderful dispensation of divine Providence to maintain and promote God's great design of redemption.

XIV. God's preserving his church and the true religion from being wholly extinct in the frequent apostasies of the Israelites in the time of the judges. How prone was that people to forsake the true God, who had done such wonderful things for them, and to fall into idolatry! and how did the land, from

time to time, seem to be almost overrun with it! But yet God never suffered his true worship to be totally rooted out: his tabernacle stood, the ark was preserved, the book of the law was kept from being destroyed, God's priesthood was upheld, and he still had a church among the people. Time after time, when religion seemed to be almost gone, God granted a revival, and sent some angel, or raised up some eminent person, to be an instrument of their reformation.

XV. God's preserving that nation from being destroyed, although they were so often subdued and brought under the dominion of their enemies. It is a wonder, not only that the true religion was not wholly rooted out, and so the church destroyed, but also that the very nation in which that church was, was not utterly destroyed; they were so often brought under the power of their enemies. One while they were subdued by Chushan-rishathaim, king of Mesopotamia; another while they were brought under the Moabites; now they were sold into the hand of Jabin, king of Canaan; then they were under the dominion of the Midianites; now they were sorely distressed by the children of Ammon; and then by the Philistines. But yet God, in all these dangers, preserved them, and kept them from being wholly overthrown. From time to time, when it was come to extremity, and God saw that they were upon the very brink of ruin, then he raised up a deliverer, agreeable to Deut. 32: 36.

For the Lord shall judge his people, and repent himself for his servants; when he seeth their power is gone, and there is none shut up or left." Thoseremarkable dispensations of Providence are set forth