Abraham and his seed to give the land of Canaan and of the bondage of Israel in Egypt and his Covenant and sent him againe to Pharaoh to let the children of Israel goe out of his land but all this while the children of Israel did mightily murmur against Moses and Aaron Moses was then fourescore yeares old and Aaron fourescore and three And they went both unto Pharaoh againe and Aaron cast down his Rod before Pharaoh and it became a serpent and the sorcerers of Pharaoh did the like with their inchantments But Aarons Rod swallowed up all theirs And as God commanded Moses and Aaron in the morning they met Pharaoh at the water and at the Rivers side and desired that the people of Israel might goe and worship God in the wildernesse But he refused then he smote the waters in the sight of Pharaoh and they were turned into blood and the fish died and the river stanke yet Pharaohs heart was hardened this continued for seven dayes in which time they digged for water to drinke And the Lord commanded Moses to goe againe unto Pharaoh to let the people of Israel goe and still his heart was hardened and Aaron stretched forth his hand with the Rod over the ponds and caused frogs to come over the land of Egypt and the Magicians did thâ— like then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said Intreat the Lord that he may take away the frogs from me and my people and I will let the people goe that they may doe service unto the Lord. And Moses said That thou mayst know that there is none like the Lord our God the frogs shall depart but onely they shall remaine in the rivers and the Lord did according to the word of Moses And the Lord commanded to say unto Aaron to stretch out his Rod and smite the dust of the land that it may be lice thorowout all Egypt and it was so and the Magicians attempted to doe the like but could not And they told the King it was the finger of God yet he hearkened not unto them Then the Lord commanded Moses to goe early in the morning unto Pharaoh as he came forth and speak to him that the people of Israel might goe to serve him and to tell him what plagues otherwise would follow but still his heart was hardened then there came a grievous swarme of flies into the house of Pharaoh and into all the land of Egypt and the land was corrupted by reason of the flies Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said Goe ye sacrifice to your God in the land But Moses said they desired to go three dayes journey for it was an abomination to the Egyptians to sacrifice in their land and Pharaoh let them goe desiring Moses to intreat the Lord for him the which he did and the flies departed out of the land of Egypt Yet againe Pharaoh hardened his heart and would not let them goe then all the cattell of the land of Egypt died but of the cattell of the children of Israel died not one yet was Pharaohs heart hardened and would not let them goe Then as the Lord commanded Moses took ashes of the furnace and stood before Pharaoh and sprinkled it up towards heaven and there became boiles and blames upon man and beast and upon the Magicians And stil was the heart of Pharaoh hardened and would not let the children of Israel goe and Moses stretched forth his Rod and the Lord sent thunder and haile and the fire ran along upon the ground so there was fire and haile mingled together such as was not since the land of Egypt became a nation and it smote both man and beast and every herbe and brake downe the trees onely in the land of Goshen where the children of Israel were was none Then Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron and said unto them I have sinned the Lord is righteous I and my people are wicked Intreat the Lord for me and I will let ye goe And Moses went out of the city and spread his hands unto the Lord and the thunder and haile ceased yet neverthelesse Pharaohs heart was again hardened neither would he let the children of Israel goe And Moses and Aaron came againe unto Pharaoh and said thus unto him Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews How long wilt thou refuse to humble thy selfe before me let my people goe that they may serve me and his servants perswaded him to let them goe but he refused to heare them Then Moses stretcht forth his Rod over the land of Egypt and there came an East winde which brought in Locusts which went over the land of Egypt and the land was darkened and they left no greene thing upon the land Then Pharaoh called againe for Moses and Aaron in haste and said I have sinned against the Lord your God and you forgive my sinne and entreat the Lord for me The which Moses did and the Lord sent a mighty West winde which did drive the locusts into the Red Sea but yet would not Pharaoh let the children of Israel goe Then the Lord commanded Moses to stretch forth his hand towards heaven and there was a thick darknesse throughout the land of Egypt three dayes but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings Then Pharaoh called unto Moses and said to him Goe ye and serve the Lord onely let your flocks and herds stay here but Moses refused that and said they must have sacrifices for the Lord and all their cattell then Pharaoh would not let them goe but bid Moses to see his face no more And the Lord commanded Moses to speake to all the children of Israel upon the tenth day of the moneth to take every house a lambe a male lambe without blemish and to keep it untill the fourteenth day and then kill it in the evening and to take the blood with a bunch of hyssop and strike it on the two side posts and upon the upper post of the doore and that they shall eat the flesh that night rosted with unleavened bread and bitter herbs That they shall eat it with their loins girded shooes on their feet and staves in their hands and in haste for it is the Lords Passeover For the blood upon the posts shall be a token that the Lord would passe in mercy by them when the Egyptians should be destroyed And after the performance of many other ceremonies before the eating of the Passeover it came to passe that at midnight the Lord smote all the first-borne of Egypt and Pharaoh rose up in the night and all the Egyptians and there was a great cry then the children of Israel according as they were commanded departed taking their dough before it was levened and the kneading troughes upon their shoulders with great store of Jewels they had from the Egyptians And they journied towards Succoth being in number about six hundred thousand on foot besides children after they had beene
therefore five Kings and all the strength they could make came and encamped before Gibeon they of the City having made their peace with Joshua sent presently for aid unto him then presently Joshua marched with a mighty army from Gilgal toward Gibeon all night and falling suddenly upon them gave them a great defeate and flying before Israel the Lord cast great stones from heaven upon them and kil'd more of them then the sword and the Sunne and Moone stood still that day untill the people had destroyed their enemies and Joshua and all Israel returned to Gilgal but the five Kings fled and hid them in a cave afterwards Joshua commanded they should bee brought forth then Joshua called for all the men of Israel and said unto the Captaines Come neare and put your feet upon the necks of these Kings and they did so and after Joshua commanded them to be hanged upon five trees and there they did hang untill the evening and being taken down Joshua commanded they should be cast into the cave where they were found and laid great stones to the caves mouth and Joshua conquered all the Countrey and put them to the sword for the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel and Joshua returned and all Israel with him unto the campe to Gilgal After this Jabin King of Hazar Jahab King of Madon and all the Kings north of the mountaines gathered themselves together and raised a marvellous great host and pitched themselves together by the waters of Merom to fight against Israel and Joshua came and all his people of war with him and came suddenly upon them by the waters of Merom and put them to a very great slaughter and chased them unto great Zidon and Mizpeh houghing their horses and burning their chariots and Joshua returned and took Hazor and kill'd the King thereof and did all things as the Lord commanded Moses his servant so did Moses command Joshua and so did Joshua So Joshua took the whole land according to all that the Lord said unto Moses and Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel according to their divisions by their tribes and the land rested from warre chap. 18. And the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh and set up the tabernacle of the congregation there for the land was subdued before them And the Lord appointed them by Joshua Cities of refuge that he that killeth a man unawares and unwittingly may flee thither for refuge and coming to that Citie he shall stand at the entering of the gate of the Citie and declare his cause to the Elders of that Citie and they shall receive him in and if he be followed thither they shall not deliver him back because he did the act unwittingly and hated him not before time And they appointed Kedesh in Gallole in mount Nepthale and Shechem in mount Ephraim and Hebron in the mountaine of Judah and on the other side Jordan by Jericho Bezer in the wildernesse out of the tribe of Reuben and Ramoth in Gilead out of the tribe of Gad and Golon out of the tribe of Manasseh These were the Cities appointed for all the children of Israel and for the strangers that sojourned among them that whosoever killeth any person at unawares may flee thither and not die by the avenger of blood untill â—e stand before the congregation Now after the land was conquered and every tribe settled in their severall divisions Joshua called for the Reubenites the Gadites and the halfe tribe of Manasseh and commended them for their valour and obedience to the Commandment of their Lord and said unto them Now the Lord hath given rest unto your brethren returne you unto the land of your possession which Moses the servant of God gave you on the other side of Jordane but be carefull to doe the commandements and the Law which Moses gave you and love the Lord your God and serve him with all your heart and with all your soules so Joshua blessed them and sent them away and they departed from the children of Israel out of Shiloh to go unto Gilead the land of their possession formerly by the hand of Moses and when they came to the borders of Jordan there they built an altar by Jordan and when the children of Israel heard thereof they gathered themselves together at Shiloh to goe and warre against them and they sent unto them Phineas the sonne of Eleazar the Priest and with him ten Princes of each tribe of Israel one and coming unto the children of Reuben Gad and Manasseh unto Gilead and said unto them Thus saith the congregation of the Lord What trespasse is this that ye have committed against the God of Israel to turne away from following the Lord in that ye have built you an altar Is the iniquitie of Peor too little for us from which we are not cleansed untill this day although there was a plague in the congregation of the Lord if the Land you possesse be uncleane then come over to us where the tabernacle dwelleth and take possessions amongst us but rebell not against the Lord nor rebell against us in building you an altar beside the Altar of the Lord our God Did not Achan commit a sinne in the accursed thing and wrath fel on all the congegation of Israel and that man perished not alone in his iniquitie then the children of Reuben Gad and Manasseh answered them The Lord God of gods The Lord God of gods and Israel shall know that this is no rebellion in building this altar being not intended to offer thereon burnt offerings or meat offerings or peace offerings thereon but onely our reason was to set up a monument for feare of the time to come that your children might speake to our children What have you to do with the Lord God of Israel because the river Jordan hath divided us and so your children make our children cease from fearing the Lord and therefore we raised that altar not for burnt-of-ferings but that it may be a witnesse betweene us and you and our generations after us that we may doe the service of the Lord before him with our burnt offerings and with our sacrifices and with our peace offerings that your children may not say to our children in time to come Ye have no part in the Lord and therefore this altar we have made is a witnesse unto you and to your children hereafter God forbid that we should have any altar but that Altar of the Lord our God that is before the tabernacle and when Phineas the Priest the Princes of the congregation and the Elders of Israel heard this from them Phineas said unto them This day we perceive that the Lord is among us because ye have not committed this trespasse against the Lord and they returned unto the land of Canaan unto the children of Israel and they all rejoyced and blessed God and the children of Reuben Gad and Manasseh called the
of them commanded the Midwives to kil the male children and to save the daughters that should be borne of the Israelites but the midwives feared God and would not doe his commands but excused it to the King And there was a man of the house of Levi that took to him a wife of his owne tribe who conceived and bare him a sonne being a goodly childe whom for fear she hid three moneths but when she could not longer hide him she made for him an arke of bulrushes daubing it with slime and pitch putting the childe therein and laid it amongst the flags by the rivers side And his sister stood a farre off to see what would become of the childe And Pharaohs daughter coming downe the river with her maides to wash her selfe found the arke and sent her maids to fetch it and opening of it found the childe who wept and she had compassion on him and said This is one of the Hebrews children and Pharaohs daughter commanded the sister that watcht the childe to call an Hebrew woman to nurse it and she went and called the childes mother and Pharaohs daughter said unto her Take this childe and nurse it for me and I will give thee thy wages and the woman tooke the childe and nursed it and the childe grew and she brought him to Pharaohs daughter who took him for her son and called his name Moses because she drew him out of the water Now after he grew to yeares when the Israelites had hard burthens upon them he went out amongst them and seeing an Egyptian strike an Hebrew one of his brethren who warily looking about him and seeing no body he slew the Egyptian and hid him in the sand And the second day going abroad he saw two Hebrews at strif and he said to him that had done the wrong Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow who answered Who made thee a Judge over us Intendest thou to kill me as thou didst the Egyptian then Moses was afraid and when Pharaoh heard of it he sought to kill Moses but he fled from Pharaoh and dwelt in the land of Midian and there sitting downe by a well came seven daughters of the Midian Priest who drew water into troughs to water their fathers flock but there came other shepherds and drave them away But Moses stood up and helped them and watered their flockâ— who returning to their father he asked the reason they came so soone back and they told him that a certaine Egyptian had helped them and he commanded to call him to his house to eate bread who came and dwelt with him and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter to wife by whom he had a sonne called Gershom Now after this Pharaoh died and the children of Israel were exceedingly grieved by reason of their great bondage and they cryed unto the Lord who heard them and remembred his covenant with Abraham Isaac and Jacob. Now Moses keeping the flock of his father in law and leading them to the back side of the desert he came to Horeb the mountaine of God where appeared unto him an Angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in the middle of a bush and Moses turned towards it to see why the bush was not burnt then God called unto him out of the middest of the bush and said Moses Moses draw not nigh hither put off thy shooes from off thy feet for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground and told him I am the God of thy father the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob. Then Moses hid his face for he was afraid to looke upon God and God said unto him I have seene the afflictions of my people which are in Egypt and have heard their cry by reason of their task-masters and told Moses that he would send him to Pharaoh and to bring his people of Israel out of Egypt and Moses said unto God Who am I that I should goe unto Pharaoh and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt and God told him he would be with him and that for a token thereof after he had brought them out of Egypt they should serve God upon that mountaine and Moses said unto God When I come unto the children of Israel how shall they beleeve me then said the Lord Say unto them I am hath sent me unto you But Moses answered and said Behold they will not beleeve me nor hearken unto my voyce and Moses having a Rod in his hand the Lord commanded him to cast it upon the ground and it became a serpent and Moses went from it And the Lord said unto him Put forth thy hand and take it by the taile the which he did and it became a Rod againe And the Lord said more to him Put thy hand into thy bosome the which he did and when he tooke it out his hand was leprous as snow and he said put thy hand into thy bosome againe the which he did and it became as it was before yet neverthelesse Moses was very scrupulous to goe Excusing himselfe that he wanted eloquence and was slow of tongue and the Lord said unto him Who hath made mans mouth who maketh the dumbe or deafe the seeing or the blind but I the Lord and the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses and then he appointed Aaron to joyne with him and to assist him in this great worke for the deliverance of the children of Israel out of Egypt And so Moses returned to Jethro his father in law to desire leave to go into Egypt to see his brethren who bid him goe in peace And Moses returned towards Egypt with his wife and children and the Rod in his hand with command from God to doe wonders before the King of Egypt And Aaron met Moses in the mount of God and kissed him Moses telling him all the words of the Lord who had sent him and all the signes he had commanded him And then they two gathered all the Elders of Israel together and did the signes in sight of all the people who beleeved them and worshipped God for his goodnesse After that they went to Pharaoh desiring they and the children of Israel might hold a Fast unto the Lord in the wildernesse But he would not obey the message and voice of the Lord. And they said againe The God of the Hebrews hath met with us let us go we pray thee three dayes journey into the Desert to sacrifice unto our God lest he lay his plagues upon us of pestilence and sword but Pharaohs heart was hardned and would not let them goe and added more to their work whereof they complained mightily to Pharaoh But he said Ye are now idle therefore ye say Let us goe and doe sacrifice to the Lord and the people murmured at Moses because their task was greater since his coming to them and Moses was much troubled thereat Then the Lord spake unto Moses and told him of all his promises unto
he did so And all the Elders of Israel followed him and he spake unto them saying Depart I pray you from the tents of these wicked men and touch nothing of theirs lest ye be consumed And so they departed and stood in the doores of their Tents their wives and their children and Moses said Hereby ye shall know that the Lord hath sent me to doe all those workes for I have not done them of my owne minde if these men die the common death of all men or if they be visited after the visitation of all men then the Lord hath not sent me but if the Lord make a new thing and the earth open her mouth and swallow them up with all that appertaine to them and they goe downe quicke into the pit then shall ye understand that these men have provoked the â—ord And it came to passe as he had made an end of speaking all these words that the ground clave asunder that was under them and swallowed them up their houses and their goods and the earth closed upon them and they perished from among the congregation and there came a fire out from the Lord and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense and as God commanded Eleazer the sonne of Aaron tooke the censers out of the fire and made of them broad plates to cover the Altar because they were formerly hallowed and to be a memoriall to all the children of Israel that no stranger which is not of the seed of Aaron come neare to offer incense before the Lord that he be not as Korah and as his company But on the morrow after this great judgement fell upon Korah the congregation murmured against Moses and Aaron saying They had killed the people of the Lord. And they being gathered together Moses and Aaron looked towards the Tabernacle and the cloud covered it and the glory of the Lord appeared And Moses and Aaron came before the Tabernacle of the congregation and the Lord spake unto Moses saying Get you up from among this congregation that I may consume them in a moment and they fell upon their faces and Moses bade Aaron to take a Censer and put fire therein from of the Altar and put on incense and go quickly unto the congregation and make an attonement for them for that wrath was gone out from the Lord and the plague was begun and Aaron did as Moses commanded and ran into the middest of the congregation but the plague was begun among the people and then he put on incense and made an attonement for the people and stood betweene the dead and the living and the plague ceased Now they that died of the plague were foureteene thousand and seven hundred besides them that died about the matter of Korah and Aaron returned unto Moses to the doore of the Tabernacle and the plague stayed And the Lord commanded Moses to speake unto the children of Israel to bring twelve rods for every Tribe one and thereon to write their names and to write Aarons name upon the rod of Levi and to lay them up in the Tabernacle before the Testimony and the Lord said That the mans rod whom he shall chuse shall be the chiefe and shall blossome thereby to make the children of Israel cease from murmuring against Moses and Aaron and Moses did as the Lord commanded and every one of the Princes gave him a rod according to their fathers houses Aarons rod being amongst them and Moses laid the rods before the Lord in the Tabernacle of witnesse and going on the morrow into the Tabernacle the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded brought forth buds bloomed and yielded Almonds and Moses brought them forth and they tooke every man his rod but the Lord bade Moses to bring back Aarons rod before the Testimony to be kept for a token against the Rebels and take away their murmurings lest they die and Moses did so as God commanded and the children of Israel spake unto Moses saying Behold we dye we perish we all perish Shall we be consumed with dying And the Lord commanded the Tribe of Levi to be joyned unto Aaron to minister unto him and onely that Aaron and his sonnes should minister before the Tabernacle of the witnesse and that the Levites should keepe the charge of the Tabernacle but they should not come nigh the vessels of the Sanctuary and the Altar lest Aaron and they should die and that no stranger should come near them and gave them many other Ordinances to observe Then came the children of Israel unto Zin and abode in Kadesh where Miriam died and was there buried and in that place was no water in so much as they gathered themselves together against Moses and Aaron and the people did chide with Moses and wished they had died with their brethren Then Moses and Aaron went from them unto the doore of the Tabernacle and fell upon their faces and the Lord bade Moses and Aaron take the Rod and assemble the people together and speake unto the Rock before them and it should give forth water and they gathered the congregation together before the Rock and Moses said unto them Heare now ye Rebels must we fetch you water out of this Rock Then Moses lift up his hand and with his Rod he smote the Rock twice and the water came out abundantly and the congregation dranke and their beasts also And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron Because ye beleeve me not to sanctifie me in the eyes of the children of Israel therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them After this Moses sent messengers to Kadesh to the King of Edom letting him know of all their passages in Egypt and of the wonders that God had done desiring to passe through his Countrey onely to goe by the Kings high way and pay for what they tooke but the King of Edom refused it wherefore Israel turned another way and came to mouÌ„t Hor where the Lord spoke unto Moses and Aaron saying Aaron shall be gathered to hâ— people for he shall not enter into the land which I have given unto the children of Israel because ye rebelled against my word at the water of Meribah take Aaron and his sonne Eleazar and bring them up unto mount Hor and Moses brought them up and as the Lord commanded Moses stripped Aaron of his garments and put them upon Eleazar his sonne and Aaron died there in the top of the mount and Moses and Eleazar came downe from thence and when the congregation of Israel saw that Aaron was dead even all the house of Israel mourned for him thirty dayes And they journied from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea and compassed the land of Edom but they were much discouraged because of the way and the people spake against God and Moses then the Lord sent fiery serpents amongst the people who bit them whereof many died
beyond Jordane but ye shall passe over before your brethren armed to helpe them until the Lord hath given your brethren rest as formerly he hath given you and they answered Joshua saying All that thou commandest us we will doe and obey thee as we have done Moses and whosoever shall not observe thy commands let him dye onely be thou valiant And Joshua sent out two men as Spies to view the land and they came unto Jericho and lodged in the house of Rahab the harlot which was told to the King of Jericho and he sent unto Rahab to bring forth the men but she hid them and answered they had been there but she knew not who they were And in the evening the King sent out Scouts to pursue them 〈◊〉 Rahab had hid them in the top of her house and covered them with the stalkes of flaxe after the Scouts were gone out she came unto the men and said unto them I know the Lord hath given you the land for terors are fallen upon us and the whole land are afraid of you for we have heard how the Lord dryed up the water of the red sea for you when you came out of Egypt and what you did to the two Kings of the Amorites Sihon and Og whom you vtterly destroyed and therefore your Lord is the true God of heaven therefore in regard of my kindnesse unto you shew kindnes unto my fathers house and give me a token to save alive my father and my mother and my brethren and sisters and all they have and they answered her giue ns safety and when the Lord gives vs this Land we will deale kindly and lovingly with thee and her house standing vpon the towne wall she let them down by a cord and bade them be gone to the mountaine and hide themselves three dayes vntill the scouts returne and then go their way they said vnto her that we may remember thy love and our promise when we come unto this place tye this scarlet cord thou letst us down withall vnto thy window and thou thy father thy mother brothers sisters and all they have shall be safe But if any goe out of thy house at that time let his bloud be vpon his owne head for all shall be safe within but if thou utter this to any we will be quit of our promise and oath and they departed and they did observe her counsell hiding themselves three dayes and after came to Joshua and told him the state of things and of the feare of the Inhabitants about Jericho And Joshua hastened and came to Jordan with the children of Israel and after three dayes the officers of the hoast commanded the people that when they see the Arke of the Covenant of the Lord remove the Priests and Levites bearing it they should remove and go after it and to keepe a distance from it to know the way they must goe and Joshua said unto the people sanctifie your selves for to morrow the â—ord will do wonders amongst you and Joshua spake vnto the Priests to take up the Arke and go before the people the which they did and the Lord said vnto Joshua this day will I begin to magnifie thee in the sight of Israel that they may know that as I was with Moses so will I be with thee Command the Preists that beare the Ark when they come to the brink of Iordan to stand still and he said to the children of Israel hereby ye shall know that the living God is amongst you to driue out the heathen before you behold the Arke of the Covenant even the Lord of all the earth passeth over before you into Iordan Then the people removed from their tents to passe over Iordan the Priests bearing the Ark of the covenant before them and when they dipped their feet in the river the water rose on a heap and the people passed over dry over against â—ericho and when all the people were over the Lord commanded Josua to take twelue men according to the tribes and command them to take out of the midst of Iordan where the Preists feet stood twelue stones and carry them ouer and leaue them where you shal lodge this night the which Joshua did accordingly and they brought theÌ„ upon their shoulders and left theÌ„ to be a sign to after ages that the water of Iordan was cut off before the Arke of the covenant of the Lord when it passed over and the Arke stayd in Jordan vntill the people were passed over and that Joshua had commanded twelve stones in the river of Jordan where the Priests had set their feet to be placed but the children of Reuben and Gad and halfe the tribe of Manasseh passed over armed before the children of Israel unto the plaines of Jericho being about 40000. and the Priests that bare the Ark of the Covenant were come out of Jordan the water returned to his place and those stones which they tooke out of Jordan did Joshua pitch in Gilgal for a token unto their childrens children that they came on dry land over Jordan as he did the red sea that all the earth might know the power of God and feare him for ever And all the Kings of the Canaanites and the Amorites that dwelt thereabout when they heard of this wonderfull worke were astonished and their hearts failed them and the Lord commanded Joshua to make sharpe kniues to circumcise the Israelites the second time the which he did performe at the hill of foreskins now all the people that came first out of Egipt were circumcised but they that were borne by the way as they came out of Egipt them they had not circumcised vntill now and they continued in the campe untill they were whole and the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal and kept the Passeover in the evening in the plaines of Jericho and they did eate of the old corne of the land the morrow after the Passeover unleavened cakes and parched corne and the Manna ceased but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan And Joshua coming towards Jericho there stood a man over against him with his sword drawne in his hand and Joshua went unto him and said Art thou for us or for our enemies and he said Nay but as a Captaine of the hoste of the Lord am I now come and Joshua fell on his face to the earth and did worship saying unto him What saith my Lord unto his servant and the Captaine of the Lords hoste said unto Joshua Loose thy shooe from off thy foot for the place whereon thou standest is holy and Joshua did so Now Joshua straightly besieged Jericho so that none could goe out or come in and the Lord commanded Joshua with his army and 7. Priests to bear before the Ark 7. trumpets of Rams hornes and the seventh day to compasse the city 7. times and the Priests to blow the trumpets and the people to shout with a great shout and Joshua commanded them
so to doe and they did accordingly and the seventh day they rose up early and compassed the City seven times and at the seventh time when the Priests blew the trumpet Joshua commanded the people to shout for the Lord hath given you the City and it shall be accursed even it and all that is therein onely Rahab the harlot shall live she and all that are with her because she hid our messengers but let all the gold and silver and vessels of brasse and iron be consecrated to the Lord they shall come into the treasury of the Lord. So when the Priests sounded the trumpets the people shouted and the wals of Jericho fell flat downe and they tooke the City and they utterly destroyed the City and put them to the sword man and woman young and old oxe sheepe and asse but Joshua sent the two spies unto Rahabs house those men whom she had entertained and they brought her safe forth of her house with her father and mother her brethren and all she had and her kinred and left them in safety without the Campe of Israel and they burnt the City and Rahab lived long after amongst the Israelites and Joshua cursed the man that should build Jericho againe and Joshua was famous throughout the land But the children of Israel committed a trespasse in the accursed thing even Achan one of the tribe of Judah for which the anger of the Lord was kindled And Joshua sent spies from Jericho to Ai to view the Countrey and they viewed Ai and they returned to Joshua and told him that in Ai were but few people Joshua upon their report sent thither about three thousand men and they fled before the men of Ai being mightily discomfited the which did much dishearten the people of Israel and Joshua rent his clothes and fell to the earth upon his face before the Arke of the Lord untill the evening he and all the Elders of Israel and put dust upon their heads and they did grieve exceedingly And the Lord said unto Joshua Get thee up wherefore lyest thou thus upon thy face Israel hath sinned and transgressed my Covenant for they have taken of the accursed thing they have stollen and dissembled therefore could not the children of Israel stand before their enemies neither will I be with you any more except ye destroy the accursed from you And the Lord commanded them to sanctifie the people against the next day that the accursed thing may be taken from amongst them and in the morning Joshua rose up early and brought Israel by their tribes and the tribe of Judah was taken by lot and every houshold of that tribe was examined and Achan was found to have stolne the accursed thing and Joshua coming to Achan said unto him Achan my sonne give I pray thee glory unto the Lord God of Israel and make confession unto him and tell me now what thou hast done hide it not from me And Achan confessed the fact saying I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel for when I saw amongst the spoiles a goodly Babylonish garment and two hundred shekels of silver and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight I tooke and hid them in my tent and Joshua presently sent for them and being brought unto him and before the children of Israel he laid them before the Lord and Joshua and all Israel with him brought Achan the silver and the gold and the Babylonish garment his sonnes and daughters his oxen and his asses his sheepe and his tent and all that he had unto the valley of Achor and all Israel stoned him with stones and after burnt them and raised over him a heape of stones so the Lord turned from his fierce anger And the Lord commanded Joshua to go a second time to Ai with a great army and he chose thirty thousand of the most valiant men giving them directions what to doe and sent them away by night commanding them to lye in ambush neare the City of Ai and they lay before Bethel and Ai and Joshua rose early in the morning and with all the Elders of Israel and a great strength he marched towards Ai and drew near the City and when the King of Ai saw it hastily came forth with his whole strength to give battell to Israel but he knew not of the ambush and Joshua and all Israel seemed to fly before them and the whole strength of Ai and Bethel pursued them towards the wildernesse then they which were in ambush speedily made towards the City and took it and instantly set it on fire The men of Ai looking back and seeing their City on fire they were astonished and disheartened and being scattered and in disorder Joshua and his army fell upon them one way and they that tooke Ai issued out another way and so cut them off every man and they took the King of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua and the Israelites returning to Ai put all within it to the sword so there fell that day of men and women twelve thousand And Joshua burnt Ai downe to the ground and the King of Ai he hanged upon a tree and after the Sunne was down commanded to take him downe and his carkasse to be cast at the entry of the gate of the City and raised thereon a great heape of stones And Joshua built an Altar unto the Lord God of Israel in mount Eball as Moses had commanded and there they offered sacrifice and writ the Law of Moses upon the stones and there the Arke of the covenant being brought all Israel and the Elders Officers and Judges stood before it and before the Priests and Levites that bare it and the whole Law was read unto them And when all the Kings on this side Jordane heard of these things they joyned together to fight with Joshua but the Gibeonites had heard what they had done to Jericho and Ai they cunningly came unto Joshua in poore habite and great humiliation unto the campe at Gilgal and there made their peace with Joshua and the Princes of the Congregation who sware unto them But after the Princes finding they had deceived them for their oath sake they would not destroy them and Joshua called them before him and said Wherefore have you beguiled us saying you dwelt a farre off when ye dwell among us for this deceit ye shall be bondmen and hewers of wood and drawers of water for the house of my God and they said It was told us that Moses commanded we should be wholly destroyed therefore we were afraid and did this thing and doe with us as thou pleasest and Joshua saved their lives and made them hewers of wood and drawers of water for the congregation and for the altar of the Lord and so they did continue to doe Now the King of Jerusalem and the other Kings understanding that the Gibeonites had made peace with Israel and Gibeon being a great City they feared greatly
King Eliakim and divers others and Rabshakeh said unto them Say ye unto Hezekiah Thus saith the great King of Assyria What confidence is this wherein thou trustest and spake other great words and blasphemed against the God of Israel and demanding pledges for his Master the King of Assyria Then said Eliakim unto him I pray thee speake unto thy servants in the Syrian tongue for we understand it and speake not to us in the Jewes language in the eares of the people that are upon the wall But Rabshakeh said Hath my Master sent me to thy Master and to thee to speake these words Hath not he sent me unto the men that sit upon the wall that they may eate their owne dung and drinke their owne pisse with you and he spake this with a loud voice in the Jewes language and said more Thus saith the King of Assyria Let not Hezekiah deceive you for he shall not be able to deliver you neither let him make you trust in the Lord or think he can deliver you hearken not to the King but come you out with a present and make your agreement that ye may eate under your owne vines and drink in your owne cisterns but the people held their peace answering him not a word for so the King commanded them then came Eliakim and the rest that were sent out to Hezekiah with their clothes rent and told him the words of Rabshakeh when the King heard it he rent his clothes and put on sackcloth and went into the hose of the Lord and he sent Eliakim and the Elders of the Priests covered with sackcloth unto Isaiah the Prophet the sonne of Amos. And they told him of the blasphemy and threatening of Rabshakeh and the Prophet answered them Thus shall you say unto your Master Thus saith the Lord Be not afraid of the words wherewith Rabshakeh hath blasphemed me Behold I will send a blast upon him and he shall heare a rumour and returne to his owne land and there he shall fall by the sword and the King of Assyria being gone from Lachish to fight with the King of Ethiopia he sent messengers to Hezekiah to say unto him Let not thy God in whom thou trustest deceive thee saying Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the King of Assyria as well as other lands and Hezekiah received the Letter from the hand of the messengers and after he had read it he went into the house of the Lord and spread it before the Lord and prayed unto him saying O Lord of hosts God of Israel that dwellest betweene the Cherubins thou art the God even thou alone of all the kingdoms of the earth thou hast made heaven and earth encline thine eare O Lord and heare open thine eyes O Lord and see and heare all the words of Senacherib which hath sent to reproach the living God Now therefore O Lord our God save us from his hand that all the kingdomes of the earth may know that thou art the Lord even thou onely Then Isaiah the sonne of Amos sent unto Hezekiah saying Whereas he had prayed unto the Lord against Senacherib the Lord would neare him and put a hooke in â—is nose and a bridle in his lips and turne him backe by the way he came and that he should not come into the city of Jerusalem nor shoot an arrow there nor cast a banke or trench against it but would defend and preserve the city for his owne sake and for his servant Davids sake and the Angel of the Lord went forth and smote in the Camp of the Assyrians one hundred foure score and five thousand so Senacherib King of Assyria departed and returned and dwelt at Niniveh and after it came to passe as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god that Adramelech and Sharezar his sons smote him with the sword and they escaped into the land of Armenia and Esarhaddon his sonne reigned in his steed And in those dayes was Hezekiah King of Israel sick unto the death and Isaiah the Prophet came unto him and said Thus saith the Lord Set thine house in order for thou shalt die then Hezekiah turned his face towards the wall prayed unto the Lord Saying Remember now O Lord I doe beseech thee how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart and he wept exceedingly then came the word of the Lord to Isaiah saying Goe and say to Hezekiah Thus saith the Lord the God of David thy father I have heard thy prayer and have seene thy teares Behold I will adde unto thy dayes fifteene yeares and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the King of Assyria And this shall be a signe unto thee from the Lord I will bring againe the shadow of the degrees which is gone downe in the Sunne-dyall of Ahaz ten degrees backward and Hezekiah praised the Lord for his mercy saying The Lord was ready to save me therefore will I sing my song to the stringed instruments all the daies of my life in the house of the Lord and Isaiah gave order to apply unto him a lump of figs and lay it as a plaster upon his boyle which did heale him About that time Merodach Baladan the sonne of Baladan King of Babylon sent a letter and presents unto Hezekiah hearing he had been sicke and the King was glad of their coming and entertained them with great courtesie and shewed them all his precious things the silver gold spices and the precious ointments his armour and all that could be seene in his house or his dominions Then came Isaiah the Prophet unto King Hezekiah and said unto him What said these men and from whence came they and Hezekiah said They came even from Babylon then said he What have they seene in thine house and Hezekiah answered I have shewed them all in my treasures and nothing have I hid from them then said Isaiah unto him Heare the word of the Lord of hosts Behold the dayes will come that all that is within thine house and that which thy fathers have laid up in store untill this day shall be carried to Babylon nothing shall be left saith the Lord and of thy sonnes which shall issue from thee shall they take away and they shall be Eunuches in the palace of the King of Babylon And according to this prophesie many yeares after it came to passe Jeremiah living at that time when Nebuchadnezar came to besiege Jerusalem he told them what would befall but the Princes were wroth with him and put him in prison after he had beene there many dayes Zedekiah the King sent and tooke him out and the King asked him secretly Is there any word from the Lord and Jeremiah said There is for thou shalt be delivered into the hand of the King of Babylon therefore heare me O my lord the king let my sute come unto thee that I may not returne to prison where I
was lest I dye there then the King commanded he should be committed into another prison and that he should have given him daily a piece of bread out of the Bakers street whiles the bread lasted but still the Prophet persisted and told them Thus saith the Lord This city shall surely be given into the hand of the King of Babylons army therefore the Princes were incensed against him and said unto the King We beseech thee let this man be put to death for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of warre and all the people in this city in speaking thus unto them And the King said He is in your hands doe with him what you please and they tooke Jeremiah and cast him in a dungeon and they let him downe by a rope and in the dungeon was no water but myre that he sunke in and some men complained of this cruelty done to Jeremiah unto the King who commanded thirty men to goe and take up Jeremiah out of the dungeon and they tooke old rags and cast them downe into the dungeon the which Jeremiah put under his arme pits and so they drew him up and Zedekiah the King sent for Jeremiah and said unto him I will aske thee a thing hide nothing from me and Jeremiah said unto the King If I declare it unto thee wilt thou not put me to death and if I give thee counsell wilt thou hearken to mee so the king sware secretly unto Jeremiah saying as the Lord liveth that made us this soule I will not put thee to death nor give thee into the hands of these men that seek thy life Then he said unto the king thus saith the Lord God of hosts the God of Israel if thou wilt goe forth to the Princes of the king of Babylon then thy soule shall live and this city shall not be burnt with fire and thou and thy house shall live But if thou wilt not goe forth unto them then shall this city be given to the Chaldeans and they shall burn it and thou shalt not escape out of their hands and the king said unto Jeremiah I am afraid of the Jewes that are fallen to the Chaldeans least they deliver me to their hands and they mock me But the Prophet said they shall not deliver thee obey I beseech thee the voice of the Lord so shall it bee well with thee But if thou refuse to goe forth this is the word that the Lord hath shewed me Then said Zedekiah unto Jeremiah let no man know of these words and thou shalt not die the which he did so Jeremiah after abode in the Court of the prison untill the day that Ierusalem was taken And it came to passe on the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Iudah Nebuchadnezzer king of Babilon and his army came before Ierusalem and besieged it and in the eleventh yeare of Zedekiah the city was taken and all the Princes of the king of Babilon entered the city at which time Zedekiah and all his men of warre fled out of the city by night by the way of the kings gardens but the army of the Chaldeans pursued after them and overtook Zedekiah in the plaines of Iericho and took him brought him to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babilon who gave judgement upon him and caused his sonnes to be slaine before his face and all the Nobles of Judah and he put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him in chaines to carry him to Babilon and they burnt Ierusalem and brake down the walls thereof and carried captive to Babilon all the remainder of the people that were within the city but left the poorer sort that had nothing and gave them vineyards and fields and the king of Babilon gave charge concerning Jeremiah to take him and doe him no harm but use him with all kindnesse so they took Jeremiah out of the Court of the prison and sent him home so he dwelt among the people MEDITATIONS upon the History of king Hezekiah EVerlasting God whilst we live here in this earthly Jerusalem nothing is to be expected but continuall conflicts in our spirituall warfare between the world the flesh and the spirit how bitterly O Lord and vehemently doth the enemy of my soule like Rabshekah suggest into me distrusts and feares to make mee doubtfull of thy promises and providence endeavouring to weaken my faith and confidence in thee by putting great feares doubts and troubles to my inward and fraile senses In this affliction and trouble to my soule O Lord I beseech thee from time to time to give me grace with good Hezekiah to come unto thee with my heart rent and continually to implore thy blessed help and assistance and that I may obtain the like mercy that he did receive from thee and let not that hellish blasphemer prevail over me but put thou a hook in his nose a bridle in his lips and send a blast upon him that he may be driven away and have no more power to disturb and oppres my weak feeble soul by his threatnings and suggestions and good Lord in all thy conflicts batteries and oppressions that hereafter I may meet withall by this my spirituall and dangerous enemy to my soule give me grace most humbly to come unto thee my hope and helper and to thy house where thou dwellest between the Cherubins and there as Hezekiah in his trouble and distresse did spread out the letter of Zenacherib before thee and humbled himselfe before thee with much sorrow so good Lord in all my troubles grant that I may spread before thee with true and perfect humility of heart the troubles and afflictions of my soule and then O Lord heare me and in pitty look upon my danger and deliver me from the power of the Zenacherib of this world and his instruments the disturbers of my pilgrimage to my heavenly happinesse and the quiet of a good conscience in this Jerusalem strengthen O Lord my outward walls of flesh and blood enable me with obedience and patience quietly to beare the reproaches and threatnings of this my spirituall enemy which in a kind of proportion the Children of Israel did endure upon the walls of Ierusalem deliver me from the danger of their deadly arrows O Lord and grant they may not entrench about my soule to endanger it And O Lord as for thy servant Davids sake thou diddest look favourably upon Jerusalem so I doe most humbly beseech thee for thy son Jesus Christ his sake to be mercifull unto me to defend and keep me thy servant that putteth his trust in thee from the danger of al my spiritual enemies whensoever it shall please thee to visit me by the bed of sicknesse be thou then mercyfull unto me a sinner O Lord and with Hezekiah let me turn unto thee with true and perfect contrition of heart and grant that then I may receive mercy and comfort from thee thou God of mercy and compassion and as thou sent'st thy Prophet Isaiah
requite us all the evill which we did to him and they sent a messenger unto Joseph saying Thy father did command before he died saying so shall ye say unto Joseph Forgive I pray thee now the trespasse of thy brethren and their sin for they did unto thee evil and now we pray thee forgive the trespasse of the servants of the God of thy father and Joseph wept when they spake unto him and his brethren also went and fell downe before his face and they said Behold we be thy servants and Joseph said unto them Feare not for I am in the place of God but as for you ye thought evill against me but God meant it unto good to bring to passe as it is this day to save much people alive Now therefore feare you not I will nourish you and your little ones and he comforted them And Joseph dwelt in Egypt he and his fathers house and lived one hundred and ten yeares and saw Ephraims children of the third generation and the children of Machir the sonne of Manasseh were brought up upon Josephs knees And Joseph said unto his brethren I die and God will surely visit you and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham Isaac and Jacob and Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel saying God will surely visit you and ye shall carry up my bones from hence So Joseph died being one hundred and ten years old and they embalmed him and he was put in a coffin in Egypt and after in the time of Joshua when the children of Israel came over Jordan they brought his bones out of Egypt and buried them in Shechem in a parcell of ground Jacob bought of the sonnes of Hamer the father of Shechem for an hundred pieces of silver and it became the inheritance of the sonnes of Joseph MEDITATIONS Upon the History of Joseph who was sold into Egypt by his brethren O Lord God everlasting which out of thy great mercy to mankind sentest thy onely begotten Sonne Jesus Christ into this world for the redemption of me a sinner and who for my sake was sold unto the Jewes by Judas one of his disciples was crucified for my sinnes and is gone before to the heavenly Canaan to be a Mediator at thy right hand for my sinfull and famishing soule for his sake be thou mercifull unto me that am a sofourner here in this Egypt of the world that the vaine temptations of the flesh may not have power over me but give me the like Chastity that Joseph had Neither let me grow in love with the flesh-pots of voluptuousnesse nor be blinded with the Egyptian darknesse of this world But grant I doe most humbly beseech for his sake my Jesus that was sold and died for my sinnes that I may happily passe this pilgrimage here in this land of Egypt and use my stewardship like blessed Joseph by dealing honestly and truly with all men and where I finde favour and friends as he did make me ever thankfull unto thee for thy mercies therein and to be religiously carefull to discharge that trust which shall be committed unto me like Joseph that it may be with me at my accounting day as it was with the wise steward to know what to doe For blessed is that servant whom the Lord when he cometh shall finde so doing Good Lord give me charity towards my Christian brethren and as concerning them that have done me wrong as Joseph did Take revenge from the soule of thy servant O Lord I beseech thee and give me grace to doe good against evill and to forgive as I desire to be forgiven of thee And blessed Lord after aâ—â— thy blessings and mercies here in this Egypt that thou hast prepared as an earthly comfort for me a sinner make me ready and at thy call to take a happy passeover for my passage towards the celestiall Canaan and in the meane time give me grace to overcome all difficulties and to be obedient to my task-masters and superiours in this vale of triall where the enemies of my soule strive against my intended journey towards the Land of promise Good Lord keep me from hardnesse of heart and the Egyptian plagues and punishments my sinnes have so much deserved grant me O Lord a good and prosperous voyage thorough the Red sea of danger help my hungry and drooping soule feed and strengthen it with the Manna of thy blessed Spirit Good Lord give me grace to subject my selfe to follow and obey my Governours as the Israelites did submit to Moses and Aaron and not to follow mine owne devises and inventions But to obey them that thou hast appointed over me and not to be one of the murmuring Israelites neither Seditious and contentious against Order and Government with Corah Dathan and Abiram But in all things to submit my judgement in the way of my Pilgrimage to the Rules of Jesus Christ and the governors of his holy Church as thou O Lord hast commanded not following my owne fancies nor the suggestions of my spirituall enemy that cloaths himselfe like an Angel of light to deceive and fill my soule full of spirituall pride the sin that cast downe the Angels from heaven from which most dangerous rock O Lord deliver thy servant that puts his trust under the shadow of thy wings of mercy that at last I may come with humblenesse of heart and soule through the wildernesse of this world so full of cares troubles and temptations to the land of promise that heavenly Jerusalem which thou hast prepared for them that love and feare thee and fight a good fight through this desart of danger and diffidence let me not in this passage O Lord leane to the pleasures and plenty of Goshen but obey thy lawes delivered at Mount Sinai and chearfully goe on like a good Israelite in this my passage the which so much concerns my soule so that good Lord by a true faith and confidence in thee with a happy perseverance in the obedience of thy Commandements at last I may arrive amongst them that live and feare thee in that heavenly feast of tabernacles and receive the comfort of that blessed saying Come ye blessed of my Father and in that heavenly and eternal habitation where all teares shall be wiped away and all afflictions and temptations cease sing Halleluiah and praise and honour and glory and worship unto the Lambe that sits upon the throne for ever THE HISTORY of Moses AFter the death of Joseph the children of Israel did increase exceedingly in Egypt and grew very mightily and another King reigning after the death of Pharaoh he was jealous of their greatnesse and strength and therefore set task-masters over them to afflict them with their burdens and to keepe them under in so much as they made their lives bitter with hard bondage by work in morter and brick and all manner of service in the field with much rigour and the King in his jealousie