Chapter 8

SECTION I.

Historical retrospect--Deborah sitting as a Judge and Prophetess under a Palm-tree--Sends to Barak to Confront Sisera--Accompanies him-- Preparations for Battle--Victorious Result--Death of Sisera--Reflections.

After the death of Joshua, which occurred in the hundred and tenth year of his age, and in the two thousand five hundred and seventy-eighth of the world, the people of Israel were in a very fluctuating, unsettled condition, having no regularly appointed governor; and the book of Judges, supposed to have been written by Samuel, exhibits a striking picture of the disorders incident to such a state of civil disorganization. "Let every soul," then, "be subject unto the higher powers;" remembering that, as "rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil," while we are properly submissive to their authority, we should be grateful to God for their appointment.

Although the Israelites, who had been commanded to extirpate the nations of Canaan, pursued their conquests for some time, they gradually relapsed into a neglectful inactivity, permitting the inhabitants of the land to remain in tributary subjection. Whatever personal objections they might feel, and whatever apparent contrariety there might have been between their views of strict justice and the explicit directions of Heaven, they were bound to execute the divine will with a prompt unhesitating compliance. If general rules of conduct were not perfectly superseded by the paramount authority of an express direction from God, the great principle of positive institutions would he annulled, and the prejudices, passions, and misconceptions of a fallible creature, might, in certain cases, interfere with the acts of supreme legislation. Though, to strengthen the principle of obedience, and, as far as possible, to render "a reasonable service," it may often be proper to inquire "_why_--" such is our present incapacity, or so profound and vast the mysteries of divine administration, that in general our inquiries must be limited to the great question, "_what_--is enjoined?" His conduct does not require our vindication, while his commands claim our obedience.

Nor does a rebellious spirit merely incur censure; it inevitably exposes to punishment. The people upon whom Israel neglected to execute the purposes of Infinite Justice, became, according to prophetic intimations, "snares and traps to seduce them to idolatry," and "scourges in their sides, and thorns in their eyes." They were in subjection eight years to Cushan, king of Mesopotamia, till judges, of whom Othniel was the first, and Samuel the last, were raised up for their deliverance.

After the signal interference of Heaven on their behalf, in the successes of their first judge, which terminated in a peace of forty years, the "children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord strengthened Eglon, the king of Moab; against Israel," by whom they were enslaved eighteen years. After which, Ehud, a Benjamite, became their deliverer, by assassinating the king of Moab, and another peaceful interval of eighty years elapsed: but such was the strange perversity of this extraordinary nation, that they abused their prosperity, and again apostatized from God. Nor will it be difficult or unprofitable to trace in ourselves some striking points of resemblance to them, and in the divine conduct that same character of love and forbearance which marks his dispensations to his church in all the successive ages of time, "They were disobedient, and rebelled against thee, and cast thy law behind their backs, and slew thy prophets which testified against them to turn them to thee; and they wrought great provocations. Therefore thou deliveredst them into the hand of their enemies, who vexed them: and in the time of their trouble, when they cried unto thee, thou hearedst them from heaven; and according to thy manifold mercies thou gavest them saviours who saved them out of the hand of their enemies. But after they had rest, they did evil again before thee; therefore leftest thou them in the hand of their enemies, so that they had the dominion over them; yet when they returned and cried unto thee, thou hearedst them from heaven, and many times didst thou deliver them according to thy mercies; and testifiedst against them, that thou mightest bring them again unto thy law: yet they dealt proudly, and hearkened not unto thy commandments, but sinned against thy judgments, (which, if a man do, he shall live in them,) and withdrew the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear: yet many years didst thou forbear them, and testifiedst against them by thy spirit in thy prophets: yet would they not give ear; therefore gavest thou them into the hand of the people of the lands. Nevertheless, for thy great mercies' sake, thou didst not utterly consume them, nor forsake them; for thou art a gracious and merciful God."

Jabin, king of Canaan, was raised up by Providence to disturb that long period of national tranquillity already adverted to, during which the religious character of Israel had so much degenerated: and it must be admitted to evince the unfailing regard of their divine Protector, rather to inflict corrective chastisement upon his people, than to suffer them to proceed with unchecked eagerness in a course fatally injurious to their real interests. In every individual concern shall we not gratefully confess, that "whom the Lord loveth--he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he, receiveth?"

[Sidenote: Year before Christ, 1805 to 1235]

Jabin is said to have reigned in Hazor, a place situated, according to Josephus, in the tribe of Naphtali, on the lake Semechon. Joshua had reduced this place to ashes, and slew its former sovereign; but, probably, the present prince had availed himself of the criminal indolence of the Israelites to rebuild it. The captain of Jabin's army was Sisera, who was truly formidable; having, according to the inspired historian, nine hundred chariots of iron. This, for a petty prince of Canaan, was a most extraordinary force, by which Israel was kept under tyrannical domination for twenty years. Ardent cries were presented to Heaven in these critical circumstances; and he whose ears are ever open to the cries of the distressed, interposed by raising up an illustrious female to accomplish the plans of mercy. "And DEBORAH, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time." As no prophet is mentioned in Israel during their defection, this was a signal testimony of the divine favour upon their repentance; and while observing that out of the millions of Israel a woman was chosen to execute the great purposes of Heaven, we cannot but admire the inscrutable wisdom that appoints all persons to their stations, qualifies all agents for their particular instrumentality, and regulates all the movements of this lower world. Not a sparrow falls to the ground, nor an angel wings his flight, but in subserviency to the arrangements of an omniscient mind.

Deborah was a judge, as well as a prophetess; and a ruler over some, if not all their tribes. Some have supposed, that judges among the ancient Israelites resembled the Archons among the Athenians, and the Dictators among the Romans. The office was not hereditary, but conferred for life; and seems to have been considerably allied, although somewhat inferior, to royal authority.

We are struck with the simplicity of the age in which this prophetess and judge of Israel is represented as sitting under a palm-tree, to discharge her public and eminently important duties. It was between Rama and Bethel, in mount Ephraim. The subject is curious and interesting; we may, therefore, enter into some particulars.

The palm, or date-tree, is a native of Africa and the East, where it grows to the height of fifty or sixty, and occasionally a hundred feet. A cluster of branches issues from the top of it, eight or nine feet long, bending towards the earth, and extending all round in the form of an umbrella. The trunk is upright, and full of cavities, the vestiges of its decayed leaves, having a flat surface within, adapted to the human foot, and forming a kind of natural ladder, by which a person may easily ascend to the top. The lower part produces a number of stalks or suckers, which diffuse the tree considerably, and form a kind of bushy forest. This illustrates the scriptural term in the history of Deborah. "She dwelt under the _palm-tree_;" or, as it might be rendered, _in a forest of palms_. This tree was very common in Palestine. It abounded along the banks of Jordan, and particularly about Engeddi and Jericho; the latter place is designated, in Scripture, _the city of palms_.

"The extensive importance of the date-tree," says Dr. Clarke, "is one of the most curious objects to which a traveller can direct his attention. A considerable part of the inhabitants of Egypt, of Arabia, and Persia, subsist almost entirely upon its fruit. They boast also of its medicinal virtues. Their camels feed upon the date stone. From the leaves they make couches, baskets, bags, mats, and brushes; from the branches, cages for their poultry, and fences for their gardens; from the fibres of the boughs, thread, ropes, and rigging; from the sap is prepared a spirituous liquor: and the body of the tree furnishes fuel: it is even said, that from one variety of the palm-tree, the _Phoenix farinifera,_ meal has been extracted, which is found among the fibres of the trunk, and has been used for food." [23]

In the East, it is very common for persons to live in tents, either entirely or during some of the most sultry seasons of the year. This was the patriarchal mode, and persons of considerable distinction are accustomed to pitch them for occasional residence. Mr. Harmer quotes Dr. Pococke as speaking of a pleasant place not far from Aleppo, where he met an Aga, who had a great entertainment there, accompanied with music under tents. Maillet mentions tents as things of course, in an account he gives of an Egyptian officer's taking the air with his lady in the neighbourhood of Cairo; and Chardin says, that Tahmasp, the Persian monarch, used to spend the winter at Casbin, and to retire in the summer three or four leagues into the country, where he lived in tents at the foot of Mount Alouvent, in a place abounding with cool springs and pleasant shades; and that his successors lived after the same manner until the time of Abas the Great, who removed his court to Ispahan. [24] It is sufficiently probable, therefore, that Deborah pitched her tent during a considerable period of the year, under some remarkable palm-tree which stood either alone, or in a forest of palms. There, for the purpose of convenient shelter in a sultry climate, and with primitive simplicity of mind and manners, she received the children of Israel who came to her for judgment, investigating their causes, and by her integrity and wisdom, promoting the happiness of her illustrious nation. The homage which mere external pomp compels is lighter than vanity, compared with that stirling solidity of character which no less ministers to the general good than to the individual's own reputation. He who rules over others, should aim to be enthroned in their affections; and they whom Providence calls to obey, should readily cherish, and, on all suitable occasions, express feelings of respect for their appointed rulers.

As the supreme magistrate of Israel, Deborah sent to Barak, of whom we know only that he was the son of Abinoam, and resided in Kedesh-Naphtali, requiring him to take ten thousand men of the tribes of Naphtali and Zebukin into the neighbourhood of mount Tabor; and, as a prophetess under supernatural influence of immediate inspiration, she assured him of the most perfect success against the hostile prepartions of Sisera. He was not only warranted to anticipate a decisive victory, but also the destruction of this celebrated general, of whom it was expressly affirmed that he should be "delivered into his hand."

It is not necessary to inquire by what particular means this divine intimation of success was communicated to the prophetess of Israel, whither by an audible voice, a nocturnal vision, an angelic messenger, or a secret impression; suffice it to know, that the great Disposer of human destiny has often adopted some and all of these methods to disclose the scenes of futurity to the mind, in proof that he is not only the ruler of nations, but the guardian of his church. Though he permit the rod to smite his people, it shall he broken in pieces whenever it has accomplished its work. On the present occasion, it was revealed to Deborah, that in the ensuing conflict Israel should certainly be victorious; and this disclosure of the event might be kindly intended to revive the desponding feelings of the pious part of the community under circumstances of painful depression. We are not authorized to anticipate, in our individual or national calamities, such a miraculous discovery, nor ought we to repine at the concealment of future events; but of this we may rest assured, if indeed the people of God, and the "called according to his purpose," the hostility of our worst enemies cannot eventually injure us--the "Captain of our salvation" will conduct, us to triumph--and the standard of victory shall be planted upon the graves of our foes.

Barak, it seems, started some objection to the message of Deborah, alleging, "If thou wilt go with me, then I will go; but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go." This extraordinary reply may, perhaps, be explained, by supposing it to be the language of that modesty which has so often characterized the greatest of men; and which, it must be admitted, is no less admirable than their most splendid achievements. Thus when the angel of the Lord appeared to Moses, announcing a divine commission to go to Pharaoh, and bring the children of Israel out of Egyptian servitude, he replied, "Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh?" and, during a long-continued conference, he stated a variety of difficulties, and manifested a degree of reluctance that excites astonishment. We are ready to charge him with an infatuation bordering upon insolence and presumption; nor, upon a first perusal, should we wonder to find him smitten to the earth for his strange hesitation and timidity; but a closer inspection of the narrative will convince us, that his reluctance, and apparent refusal, ought not to be attributed to any unwillingness to engage in the service of God, with a view of promoting his glory in the earth, but to a consciousness of his personal unworthiness. His objection was less to the _work_, than to _himself_; he did not so much tremble because _that_ was arduous, as because _he_ was, in his own apprehension, _unfit_. This was a feeling, however, which, under the circumstances of his call, we cannot vindicate; for, to say the least, it was excessive. Whatever estimate Moses in the one case, or Barak in the other, might have formed of themselves, the divine will ought to have been considered the only rule of action. We must never shrink from the course to which Providence calls us--allowing God, who cannot err, to choose his own instruments; and feeling that he who _commands_ can _enable_ us to perform the most arduous duties.

Animated by a zeal which nothing could repress, Deborah instantly complied with the condition upon which Barak proposed to engage in the war. In language expressive of an unconquerable heroism, a masculine energy of character and a devoted patriotism of spirit, she sent him word, "I will surely go with thee;" but accompanied this message with an intimation, that the honour of this exploit would in part at least attach to a woman, whom Providence had selected to execute the purposes of heaven upon Sisera. The little army being collected, the general and the prophetess hastened to the field of battle, anxious to revenge the wrongs of their insulted country, and to emancipate her enslaved provinces. A patriotism inspired _her_ breast, and probably by this time animated _his_, which was kindled by a fire from heaven, which roused into vigorous action all the respective talents, and energies of their nature; and which, urging them forward to righteous war, a war against impiety and oppression, undertaken in the fear, and to promote the glory, of God, excited them to march to an anticipated victory.

Under these circumstances, it is as much to the honour of Barak, that he wished for the presence of the prophetess. Heroes are seldom anxious for the observant eye of piety to watch their movements, and to penetrate their camps. Alas! those whom we admire as the defenders of our country, we weep over as the corrupters of our morals; and too often the page which celebrates their prowess, is stained with the record of their rapacity. But, however unwelcome an attendant, let them remember that an omniscient eye witnesses both their private transactions, and their public career.

It is no less honourable to the character of this illustrious heroine and female head of Israel, that so far from cherishing any petty jealousies of Barak, and aiming at a monopoly of the reputation likely to result from the present undertaking, she assigned to him the post of honour, and contented herself with becoming his adviser. The superiority of her mind induced her to seek an inferiority of station; anxious only to ensure success, not to gain applause; to be approved of God, not to be altered of man. Happy would it be for us all in our respective stations, whether elevated by opulence or depressed by poverty, were we constantly influenced by a similar principle. Then should we be stimulated to the noblest duties, and fulfil the solemn injunction of our God and Saviour, "Occupy till I come."

Sisera, the captain of the Canaanitish army, having been informed of the movements of Israel, gathered together all his nine hundred chariots of iron, and encamped between Harosheth and the river Kishon. This hostile force, stretching along the circumjacent valley of mount Tabor, must have presented a formidable appearance; and it would not have been surprising, if even veteran troops, whose scared bosoms proclaimed their unretreating hardihood in battle, had been appalled to meet so mighty a preparation with only ten thousand men. But the spirit of a weak woman, when sustained by the living God, shall brave every danger. Faith shall triumph over fear, and the sword shall follow and fulfil prophetic inspirations. "Up," said Deborah to Barak, "for this is the day in which the Lord hath delivered Sisera into thine hand; is not the Lord gone out before thee?" If from this spirited appeal, it might be unjust to the military character of Barak, to cherish a suspicion that he manifested some degree of reluctance to attack the army of Sisera, overawed by his numerical superiority, we cannot help perceiving the wisdom and promptitude which actuated the conduct of Deborah. She had an eye to discern, and a courage to seize, an important crisis. But what most claims our admiration is, an incessant reference to Providence, which marks all her words and actions. Nothing of that boastful language, which indicates an arrogant mind escaped her lips. She evinced no self-adulation, and no undue dependence upon human resources. How many in similar circumstances, would have vushed forward to disproportionate battle with a blind impetuosity, trusting to _chance_, for the result: or, inspired alone by personal hatred against the foe, and a thirst for renown, would have hastened to conquer or to die! From our earliest days we have been taught to admire the heroes of classical story, and have followed with acclamations the conquerors of later ages, who seem to have rivalled the fame of a Themistocles or a Leonidas, and to have reacted the tragical sublimities of Salamis and Thermopylæ; but, in the present history, we see piety clad in the armour of heroism--the achievements of military valour ascribed solely to the higher cause of a divine superintendence--"The LORD hath delivered Sisera into thine hand; is not the LORD gone out before thee?"

Without detracting however from the military genius of Barak, or ascribing an undue pre-eminence to Deborah, it may be readily believed, that so disproportionate a force as that of the Israelites at first acted, and very properly acted, on the defensive, till a favourable conjunction of circumstances occurred; and, perhaps, some miraculous sign, or some divine inspiration on the mind of the prophetess, suggested the moment of attack. [25] It is in fact impossible to determine with any precision where human skill ceased to operate, and where divine interposition commenced; and so imperfect is our present acquaintance with the laws by which spirit and matter are connected, that our speculations will certainly be fruitless, and may therefore be pronounced unwise. Let us be grateful, that _the fact_ of divine operation on the human mind is fully ascertained, and by every sincere Christian pleasingly experienced; and that, though "all the Lord's people" are not "prophets," the language of kind encouragement can never be expunged from the sacred page, "If ye being evil know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give THE HOLT SPIRIT to them that ask him?"

In obedience to the orders of Deborah, Barak immediately put his little band of intrepid warriors in motion. The result was such, as under these circumstances might, however astonishing, have been reasonably expected; for "if God be for us, who can be against us?" The mighty hosts of Canaan, amounting, according to the estimate of Josephus, to three hundred thousand foot, and ten thousand horse, vanished before the valiant arm of Israel, nerved as it was by an energy from heaven. Barak poured the irresistible torrent of war upon his presumptuous foes, and swept them away.

Josephus states, that "when they were come to a close fight, there came down from heaven a great storm, with a vast quantity of rain and hail; and the wind blew the rain in the face of the Canaanites, and so darkened their eyes, that their arrows and slings were of no advantage to them; nor would the coldness of the air permit the soldiers, to make use of their swords; while this storm did not so much incommode the Israelites, because it came in their backs. They also took such courage upon the apprehension that God was assisting them, that they fell upon the very midst of their enemies, and slew a great number of them. So that some of them fell by the Israelites, some fell by their own horses, which were put into disorder, and not a few were killed by their own chariots."

Scarcely does the history of the world furnish an example of so complete a victory, accompanied by so utter an annihilation of the enemy. Curiosity might wish to trace the various movements of that memorable day, the plan of battle, the occasion of defeat, the exploits of individual heroes, and a thousand other circumstances, with which fancy often decorates the head of the hero, and amplifies the page of the historian; but with a majestic simplicity so eminently characteristic of the sacred narrative, it is stated that "the Lord discomfited Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his host, with the edge of the sword, before Barak; so that Sisera lighted down off his chariot, and fled away on his feet. But Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the host, unto Harosheth of the Gentiles: and all the host of Sisera fell upon the edge of the sword; and there was not a man left." Who will compare with this simple record the language of Cæsar, though so often celebrated, "_Veni, vidi, vici_--I came, I saw, I conquered;" words at least as remarkable for egotism as for laconic force: or who would represent the battle of _Zela_, and the defeat of the _Pharnaces_ as worthy of being named in connection with the memorable victory of Tabor.

Sisera, defeated, dispirited, and alone, fled to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, a family which was at this time at peace with the king of Canaan. It was an additional reason to hope for security from the enemy's pursuit, that the custom of the country interdicted intrusion of all strangers into the woman's apartment. Jael moreover went forth to invite this defeated general under her protection, and encouraged him to expect every attention that humanity could dictate in this moment of extremity. No wonder he resigned himself with a fearless confidence to her care, and prepared to seek in "balmy sleep" an oblivion of all his distractions. She furnishes him with a refreshing draught of milk, though he only requested water; covers him with a mantle, and undertakes to guard him from all unwelcome intrusion, by standing at the door of the tent, to answer the interrogatories of any inquisitive stranger. But no sooner did he drop into a sound sleep, than, seizing upon the first weapons that her situation afforded, a nail and a hammer, and approaching softly to the unconscious general, she drove the nail into his temple, and transfixed him to the ground. Hastening from her tent, in the transport of success, to meet Barak, who was in eager pursuit, she conducted, him to the corpse of his prostrate foe. "So God subdued on that day, Jabin, the king of Canaan, before the children of Israel."

Let us dismiss Jael, for the present, from our meditations, and offer a reflection or two on the fate of Sisera.

I. No event recorded upon the page of history is more calculated to impress upon our minds the assertion of Solomon, than that to which we have just given our attention: "The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong ... for man also knoweth not his time, as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so ere the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them." Nothing could have been more improbable, according to human calculations, than the result of this extraordinary battle. Who that had seen the far-stretching troops of the king of Canaan overspreading, like a vast inundation, the vicinity of Kishon and Harosheth, whose polished armour glittered along the valley to the rising sun, accustomed to victory, breathing revenge, and headed by the most distinguished general of the age--who that had viewed their prodigious forces, consisting of infantry and cavalry, in contrast with the diminutive strength and contemptible numbers of the Israelitish army, but must have considered the attack as the feeble effort of an unaccountable infatuation? But though HE who "sitteth upon the circle of the earth," could have interposed at once to crush the foe by the thunder of his power, ten thousand men of Israel were appointed to execute his purpose against the devoted Canaanites, to show that it is his will to work by human means;--he required the employment of _only_ ten thousand, to prove that all human skill and success is mere instrumentality, and that the honour of victory is to be attributed to the God of battles.

2. The enemies of God and his people shall perish ingloriously. This is not the only instance. Pharaoh makes ready his own chariot, and takes with him all the chariots of Egypt, in eager pursuit of Israel, just escaped from his relentless oppression. In the pride of his strength he proclaims, "I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil, my lust shall be satisfied upon them--I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them;" but there was an arm of superior might that seized the unresisting elements, and launched them upon the rash adventurer and his guilty myriads. "Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them; they sank as lead in the mighty waters. Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods?"--Sennacherib, king of Assyria, sends Tartan, and Rabsaris, and Rabshakeh, with a great host against Jerusalem, in the reign of Hezekiah. Mark their insolent blasphemy: "Hearken not unto Hezekiah when he persuadeth you, saying, The Lord will deliver us. Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered at all his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and of Arpad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah? have they delivered Samaria out of mine hand? Who are they among all the gods of the countries that have delivered their country out of mine hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem out of mine hand?" A letter was afterward sent to the king to the same effect, commencing with this blasphemous sentence, "Let not thy God, in whom thou trustest, deceive thee." Hezekiah instantly repairs to the temple, opens his letter in the immediate presence of the Eternal, and supplicates his great name for that interference in the present extremity, which would deliver his people, and promote his own glory. His prayer is heard. From the heaven of heavens an angelic envoy is despatched to the Assyrian encampment, and with the flaming sword of almighty indignation, smites _a hundred and eighty-five thousand_ of the boasting foe; "and when they arose early in the morning, behold they were all dead corpses." Herod ventures upon the dangerous experiment of persecuting the church of God: he dares, with an untrembling hand, to put James to the sword, and ultimately imprison Peter for the same horrid purpose: but he who "sitteth in the heavens" held the presumptuous criminal in "utter derision," despatched an angel to break off the chains by which his servant was bound, and laid his finger upon the royal rebel to extinguish his glory and his pride for ever; "he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost." Ah! the immortality of the soul elevates it above mortal power, and the utmost that a persecutor can do is, by a painful stroke, to put a Christian into speedier possession of his promised blessedness. "A tyrant is mortal, his empire expires with his life; and were he to employ the whole course of his life in tormenting a martyr, and in trying to impair his felicity, he would resemble an idiot throwing stones at the lightning, while in an indivisible moment, and with as inconceivable rapidity, it caught his eye as it passed from the east to the west."

"Thou dull stupid man, who art not stricken with the idea of a God, whose will is self-efficient, and who alone can act immediately on an immaterial soul, come and behold some sensible proofs of that infinite power, of which metaphysical proofs can give thee no idea! And thou, proud insolent man! go aboard the last-built vessel, put out to sea, set the most vigilant watch, surround thyself with the most formidable instruments: what art thou, when God uttereth his voice?' What art thou, when the 'noise' resounds? What art thou, when torrents of rain seem to threaten a second deluge, and to make the globe which thou inhabitest one rolling sea? What art thou when lightnings emit their terrible flashes? What art thou when the 'winds' come roaring 'out of their treasures?' What art thou _then_? Verily, thou art no less than thou wast in thy palace. Thou art no less than when thou wast sitting at a delicious table. Thou art no less than thou wast when every thing contributed to thy pleasure. Thou art no less than when at the head of thine army, thou wast the terror of nations, shaking the earth with the stunning noise of thy warlike instruments: for, at thy festal board, within thy palace, among thy pleasures, at the head of thine armies, thou wast _nothing_ before the King of nations. As an immaterial and immortal creature, thou art subject to his immediate power; but, to humble and to confound thee, he must manifest himself to thee in sensible objects. Behold him, then, in this formidable situation: try thy power against his: silence 'the noise of the multitude of waters:' fasten the vessel that 'reeleth like a drunken man;' smooth the foaming waves that 'mount thee up to heaven;' fill up the horrible gulfs whither thou goest 'down to the bottoms of the mountains;' dissipate the lightning that flasheth in thy face; hush the bellowing thunders; confine the winds in their caverns; assuage the anguish of thy soul, and prevent its melting and exhaling with fear. How diminutive is man! How many ways hath God to confound his pride! He uttereth his voice, and there is a noise of a multitude of waters in the heavens. He causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth. He maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures. Who would 'not fear thee, O King of nations?"

It is necessary, however, to remark, that we are not authorized always to expect the strict exercise of retributive justice in the present state. Some remarkable visitations have, in all periods, roused the attention of an astonished world, and powerfully appealed to the understanding of men, in vindication of the character, and in proof of the existence, of a superintending Providence. Tyrants have been hurled from their thrones, empires uprooted from their foundations, and the "poor set on high from oppression;" but these dispensations have not been regular, nor can they be calculated upon as certain, or in general, perhaps, as probable. They have been sufficiently numerous to indicate an observant though invisible eye fixed upon human affairs; but not so frequent as to supersede the Christian's anticipations of a day of final and impartial judgment. The present may indeed be considered rather as a time of permitted, confusion, the period of moral chaos, in which the elements of a new creation exists, but in a disorganized state; in which the principles of depraved human nature are permitted to develope themselves, and human passions are suffered to act in an ample field of exertion with comparatively little control, and for the purpose of ultimately promoting the glory of God. Hereafter "the morning stars" will "sing together," and all "the sons of God" again "shout for joy," when "all things that offend shall be gathered out of his kingdom," when sinners shall be everlastingly degraded, Christ for ever exalted, the most mysterious dispensations shine with transparent brightness in the light of eternity, and the unfading paradise of the saints bloom amidst the wrecks of time.

3. "Boast not thyself of to-morrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth." Little did Sisera imagine the fatal reverses he was destined to suffer, when in all the pride of fancied superiority, sustained by the recollection of the successes of twenty years, he made his arrangements for the battle with Barak and Deborah. What a contrast between the moment of confident preparation, and that of disgraceful retreat! What a mighty and unexpected contrast between the high-spirited general at the head of his army, and the trembling fugitive hiding himself in a tent, and slain by a woman.

Let us apply the reflection to ourselves. How often do we form our schemes, and calculate on temporal prosperities, without any due regard to the will of Providence, or any proper consideration of the uncertainty of life. "We live without God in the world," an omniscient Deity has no existence in our minds, and we inquire "Who will show us any good?" as if God were not the chief good, or could not supply our happiness.

Alas! how often have we boasted of to-morrow by neglecting, in a religious sense, the most important business of to-day. It is not easy to imagine a more dangerous state of mind, than that of a person, whose resolutions of repentance and amendment all respect futurity, because he makes these very resolutions an excuse for his negligences, and even considers them as an expiation of the guilt of his procrastinating temper. It is indeed an affecting thought, that so thick a mist surrounds us, we are not only unacquainted with the events of YEARS to come, we do not know what a DAY may bring forth. It may produce a change in our circumstances--our faculties--our friendships--our hopes.--An hour--a moment, may waft us from time into eternity! "Now," then, "is the accepted time, behold, NOW is the day of salvation."--"Seek the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near."

4. Mount TABOR has been repeatedly mentioned as the place where Deborah directed that the forces of Zebulon and Naphtali should be concentrated, and its immediate vicinity as the scene of the celebrated contest between Barak and Sisera; but though it may appear a digression from the present subject, it would be scarcely pardonable to omit a reference to that still more wonderful circumstance, the transfiguration of Jesus Christ, which probability and tradition concur in assigning to the same remarkable spot. Three of his disciples, Peter, James, and John, accompanied him to this mountain, where two bright spirits from among the glorified saints, Moses and Elias, descended to join their society. Delightful pledge of that inseparable union which will one day take place upon the summits of immortality, when "the general assembly and church of the first-born" shall associate together in the realms of bliss!

"O happy, happy company, Where men and heavenly spirits greet, And those whom death hath severed meet, And hold again communion sweet; O happy, happy company!"

What though death at present divides them, and while some of this glorious family have reached their destined habitation, others are left on earth to struggle with the calamities of life; the separation is but temporary, and will serve to heighten the raptures of union, when they shall come from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south, and sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of God.

And what will constitute the heaven of believers? Doubtless the vision of the Lamb, converse with Jesus, and perpetual intercourse with saints of all nations and ages. Moses and Elias descended from the raptures of immortality to talk with Jesus on the mount, and the same divine communion will form a considerable portion of our felicity in the invisible world. To be for ever near him, and to "see him as he is"--to converse of the things of his kingdom--to learn from his own lips the purpose of all his most inscrutable dispensations to the church and to each believer, the reason of every sorrow, and the nature of its connection with our ultimate happiness--to hold fellowship with all his redeemed, holy patriarchs, distinguished apostles, and victorious martyrs--to be encircled with all his family, emparadised in his embraces, and united to all who love him in bonds of indissoluble affection; no sea to separate, no discord to agitate, no enemies to infest the unbroken circle of friendship--this will be "joy unspeakable and full of glory." Not the delight of Moses, when conversing with God in the burning bush, at the door of the tabernacle, or in mount Sinai--not the transports of David, when his enchanted spirit waked the lyre of praise and gratitude--not the bliss of the three favoured disciples, even on this mount of transfiguration, can be compared with this perfect happiness. All the little streams of felicity which flow to the church of God in the desert, will then be collected into one vast ocean, in which the tears and sorrows of time will be eternally lost. The pleasures of a moment which now solace us by the way, will be exchanged for the permanent joys of that celestial inheritance, in which "the Lamb, which is in the midst of the throne, shall lead us, and feed us by fountains of living waters; and God shall wipe away all tears from our eyes." By the anticipations of faith, we are "come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant."

Section II.

Capacity of Deborah as a Poetess--Paraphrase of her remarkable Song, composed to celebrate the victory over Sisera.

"On a favoured few," says an elegant writer, "has been conferred the combined glory of acting nobly and writing well; of serving their own day and generation with credit to themselves and advantage to their country, and of transmitting useful information to regions remote and generations unborn. On the list of those illustrious few, stands, with distinguished honour, the name of Deborah, the judge, the prophetess, the sweet singer of Israel; and it is with exultation we observe the most dignified, arduous, and important stations of human life filled with reputation by a woman; a woman who first with resolution and intrepidity saved her country in the hour of danger and distress, and ruled it with wisdom and equity, and then recorded her own achievements in strains which must be held in admiration so long as good taste and love of virtue exist in the world."

[Sidenote: Years before Christ, 1285.] The remarkable victory we have just related and remarked upon, is celebrated by Deborah in a poem, which claims our attention as one of the most ancient in the world, having been composed upwards of four hundred years before the birth of Homer, and which is characterized by unusual pathos and sublimity. Many passages in it are confessedly obscure, which will not be deemed surprising, when it is recollected how imperfectly we are acquainted, in this distant period, with the various circumstances, incidents, and localities of the memorable event it celebrates, and even with the original language in which it was written.

Dr. Lowth [26] very properly divides this poem into three parts; first, the exordium: next, a recital of the circumstances which preceded, and of those which accompanied the victory; lastly, a fuller description of the concluding event, the death of Sisera, and the disappointed hopes of his mother; which is embellished with the choisest flowers of poetry.

It is proposed in the present chapter to furnish an extended paraphrase of this fine specimen of ancient poetry, for the purpose chiefly of illustrating its meaning. Its various beauties as a composition can scarcely fail of striking the most superficial reader. It occupies the fifth chapter of the book of Judges.

[PG Editor's note: In the original book, the text and paraphrase were displayed side-by-side. In this case, for each verse, the paraphrase follows in brackets.]

1. Then sang Deborah, and Barak the son of Abinoam, on that day, saying, [Deeply impressed with a grateful sense of that remarkable interposition of Providence for the deliverance of Israel from the long tyranny of their inveterate enemies, which Deborah and Barak saw accomplished by their own instrumentality, the one directing by her wisdom, what the other performed by his valor, they sang a sacred ode on the very same day; a day so wonderful for its dangers, anxieties, and triumphs. It was to this effect.]

2. Praise ye the Lord for the avenging of Israel, when the people willingly offered themselves. [Give thanks, ye tribes of Israel, to the God of battles, who has smitten the daring foe, and thus avenged our wrongs. "The hearts of all men are in his hands," and instead of internal dissention enfeebling our energies, he has graciously disposed the people of Zebulon and Naphtali to offer their zealous services in the war; a war which patriotism and piety have, under the blessing of Heaven, conducted to a glorious termination.]

3. Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes; I, even I, will sing unto the Lord; I will sing praise to the Lord God of Israel [Let the voice of praise, uttered from the thousands of Israel, resound to distant nations, so that Gentile princes and potentates may hear of the miracles of mercy wrought for the covenanted people of God. Ye idolatrous rulers of the world, reject forever your gods of wood and stone, for I am called to celebrate the majesty of Jehovah, who has triumphed over them; and will sing to the honour of him, who, though no local divinity, has chosen the children of Israel as his peculiar people.]

4. Lord, when thou wentest out of Seir, when thou marchedst out of the field of Edom, the earth trembled, and the heavens dropped, the clouds also dropped water.

5. The mountains melted from before the Lord; even that Sinai from before the Lord God of Israel. [This illustrious day revives the recollection of those ancient interpositions of the strong arm of Omnipotence for our ancestors, which have often excited the our admiration, and of which this appears like the continuation of a miraculous series. O God! what a period was that, when Israel marched round the confines of Idumea, and the majesty of thy protecting presence was displayed before the enemy, in the pillar of cloud by day, and of fire by night. Edom refused a passage through their land, but so terrible were thy signs, that the trembling earth, the tempestuated heavens--all nature seemed to avenge the cause of thine insulted people; and the surrounding nations were smitten with terror, as when mount Sinai herself quaked, and for a time disappeared amidst the tremendous glory of the divine presence. These wonders do not surpass what we have witnessed to-day, and which prove that none shall oppress thy people with impunity. [27]]

6. In the days of Shamgar, the son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were unoccupied, and the travellers walked through byways.

7. The inhabitants of the villages ceased, they ceased in Israel, until that I, Deborah, arose, that I arose a mother in Israel [Turn your weeping eyes to the recent miseries of our country Shamgar, indeed, who succeeded Ehud as judge, effected something for Israel, and Jael shall never be forgotten for her heroism and her useful exertions, although in a private station; but alas! the long tyranny of our oppressors continued to produce the most disastrous effects--trade perished, for no caravans of merchants dared to occupy the public ways, infested as they were with an armed banditti, the life of the unoffending traveller became endangered, and the dejected inhabitants of the country were afraid to venture abroad, except as thieves, stealing through the most unfrequented paths, and even there the most dreadful outrages were committed; until I Deborah, arose, and notwithstanding the weakness of my sex, and the desperate situation of affairs, became the happy instrument of benefiting Israel, by the restoration of public justice, general security, and national glory.]

8. They chose new gods; then was war in the gates; was there a shield or spear seen among forty thousand in Israel? [But trace our former miseries to their source. Israel relapsed into idolatry, and God punished them with the scourge of war. The insulting foe pressed to the very gates of our fortified cities--the means of defence were utterly neglected in consequence of general despondency, and no adequate supply of arms could be furnished to repel the infuriated enemy.]

9. My heart is toward the governors of Israel, that offered themselves willingly among the people. Bless ye the Lord. [My warmest affections are due to the chiefs of Israel, who, in the hour of calamity and apprehension, did not shrink from danger, nor tremble at death; but, in the true spirit of patriotism, accompanied the people to battle, placed themselves at their head, flew at my first mandate to defend the common cause, and animated our warriors by their noble enthusiasm. Let _them_ unite in this anthem of praise to Jehovah, who had the best opportunities of knowing, that nothing but his gracious interposition could have procured such unparalleled success.]

10. Speak ye that ride on white asses, ye that sit in judgment, and walk by the way. [Rejoice, ye nobles and judges of the land, who have the honorable distinction of riding upon white asses, [28] the most valuable animal of the kind, and therefore appropriated to persons of your rank; shout for joy, because now there is no impediment to the exercise of your high offices; and ye, merchants, assist in the song, for no obstruction remains to commercial intercourse; the ways are clear, communications open, and your marauding foes shall alarm you no more.]

11. They that are delivered from the noise of archers in the places of drawing water, there shall they rehearse the righteous acts of the Lord, even the righteous acts towards the inhabitants of his villages in Israel; then shall the people of the Lord go down to the gates. [Ye shepherds, who a short time since scarcely dared to drive your flocks to the watering places, and ye maidens, who were afraid to go and draw for your daily supply, or went in silence lest the smallest noise should rouse your ever-watchful enemies, [29] now sing with a loud voice, and without the least apprehension, and unite with the husbandmen and vine-dressers, in extolling that miraculous mercy which has restored to your most unprotected habitations the blessings of peace and security. The gates of our cities shall no longer be shut for fear of the enemy, and the people may again repair to these seats of justice and judgment. [30]]

12. Awake, awake, Deborah! awake, awake, utter a song! arise, Barak, and lead thy captivity captive, thou son of Abinoam! [Let not my exhausted powers drop the exulting strain; but rather, O Deborah, kindle with fresh enthusiasm upon every new view of the glorious subject! Exert thy utmost powers of praise, upon this inexhaustible theme! And thou, companion and instrument of victory, Barak, arise! exhibit the captive foe who once led Israel captive! let the spoils of triumphant war be shown, and thou and thy father's name shall be had in everlasting remembrance!]

13. Then he made him that remaineth have dominion over the nobles among the people; the Lord made me have dominion over the mighty. [Alas! to what a wretched state was Israel reduced: but even this remnant of former greatness, this weak and dispirited handful, God employed to crush the power of Canaan and the presumption of her nobles and, be it spoken to his glory, the Lord made even me, a feeble woman, the conqueror of formidable armies, and the saviour of a sinking state.]

14. Out of Ephraim was there a root of them against Amalek, after thee, Benjamin, among thy people out of Machii, came down governors, and out of Zebulun, they that handle the pen of the writer. [Those noble warriors who hastened to the conflict with so much courage, and conquered with so much glory, have not only rendered themselves, but their tribes, for ever illustrious, Ephraim originated the expedition, who had, on a former occasion, discomfited Amalek, and now manifested an heroic zeal against them and the confederates of Jabin, Benjamin caught the holy infection of hatred against the enemies of the Lord, and first rushed to the fierce encounter, Machir, the half tribe of Manasseh, despatched her great men with their forces, and Zebulon sent her sons more famed indeed, as a commercial tribe, for handling the pen than the sword, but who readily came forward to aid the common cause.]

15. And the princes of Issachar were with Deborah, even Issachar and also Barak; he was sent on foot into the valley. For the divisions of Reuben there were great thoughts of heart. [The chiefs of Issachar repaired to Deborah and Barak in Mount Tabor, and with them the strength of their tribe. They descended into the valley as foot soldiers, with Barak, and trembled not at the chariots and cavalry of Sisera. But alas! for Reuben, whose internal dissentions issued in a shameful neutrality, a circumstance deeply perplexing and vexatious to their brethren.]

16. Why abodest thou among the sheepfolds, to hear the bleatings of the flocks? For the divisions of Reuben there were great searchings of heart. [Why didst thou obey the dictates of a selfish spirit and a carnal policy, and while engrossed with thy flocks and herds, refusedst to listen to the cries of thy brethren in distress, and the loud calls of Deborah and Barak? Alas, for the dissentions of Reuben! What painful thoughts, what dreadful anxieties were occasioned by such unaccountable and unpatriotic conduct!]

17. Gilead abode beyond Jordan, and why did Dan remain in ships? Asher continued on the sea-shore, and abode in his breaches. [Influenced by a similar temper, Gilead, or Gad, remained inactive, in their possessions beyond Jordan, as though, happy themselves, they were insensible to the miseries of others, and why didst thou, O Dan, regarding only thy merchandise and thy gainful navigation, continue motionless in the day of our calamity! And see how Asher imitated the base example, abiding within the ruined walls of his cities, and in his bays and havens!]

18. Zebulun and Naphtah were a people that jeoparded their lives unto the death in the high places of the field. [But Zebulon and Naphtah have acquired immortal renown, by cheerfully hazarding their lives and their all, when they assembled in the heights of Tabor, and impetuously rushed upon the foe in the valley where Kishon flows. [31]]

19. The kings came and fought, then fought the kings of Canaan in Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo they took no gain of money. [Dire was the strife and vast the struggle when the confederate kings of Canaan fought in Taanach, and near Megiddo, to which places in the tribe of Issachar their mighty forces extended. They pressed eagerly and freely to the war, but how were their vain hopes disappointed when they returned without spoils.]

20. They fought from heaven, the stars in their courses fought against Sisera. [The awful contest was decided by the God of heaven. His angels, his elements--all nature aided our righteous cause; and the stars of the firmament lighted our midnight pursuit, and shone disastrously upon the fugitive enemy.]

21. The river of Kishon swept them away, that ancient river, the river Kishon. O my soul, thou hast trodden down strength! [The river Kishon rising, as if elated with joy at the opportunity, and overflowing its banks, swept thousands away; that river, celebrated in ancient times, and the witness of former conflicts. O Deborah, thou art indeed thrice happy in becoming the favoured instrument of exciting this glorious war, and thus eventually of crushing a most formidable confederacy!]

22. Then were the horse-hoofs broken by means of the prancings, the prancings of then mighty ones. [The war-horse, urged in his rapid flight over the flinty soil, cut his hoofs to pieces; or entangled amidst the overflowings of Kishon, pranced, and foamed, and perished. [32]]

23. Curse ye Meroz, said the angel of the Lord; curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof, because they came not to the help of the Lord, the help of the Lord against the mighty. [The angel, who preceded our hosts as the sword of an irresistible Providence, denounced a curse upon the city of Meroz, and commanded us to cherish a holy indignation against its lukewarm inhabitants, who, instead of resisting the giant armies of Canaan, remained as uninterested or timid spectators of the dreadful battle.]

24. Blessed above women shall Jael, the wife be of Heber the Kenite, be; blessed shall she be above women in the tent. [But feminine heroism shall exhibited in honourable contrast with such shameful neutrality. Let the benediction of heaven rest upon the head of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, above all other women! Blessed shall she be above all other female, heads of families who remained at home, having with masculine-courage completed in her tent, what was so happily begun in the field.]

25. He asked water, and she gave him milk; she brought forth butter in a lordly dish. [Sisera, famished and fainting, requested water to allay his thirst; she opened a leathern bottle, and with feigned respect presented him with butter-milk; yes, she poured him out butter-milk in a vessel of copper, such as nobles use. [33]]

26. She put her hand to the nail, and her right hand to the workmen's hammer; and with the hammer she smote Sisera; she smote off his head, when she had pierced and stricken through his temples. [Lulled into a fatal security by her deceptive homage, he slept--to wake no more! She seized a nail of her tent, and a hammer, approached in cautious silence the sleeping adversary of Israel, and, animated by an irresistible impulse of patriotic zeal, she drove it through his temples, and cut off his head.]

27. At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay down; at her feet he bowed, he fell: where he bowed, there he fell down dead. [Thus fell the great instrument of Canaanitish oppression at the feet of a woman; thus ingloriously he perished [34]]

28. The mother of Sisera looked out at a window and cried through the lattice, Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why tarry the wheels of his chariots? [O day of triumph! Methinks the mother of Sisera, anticipating the fruits of victory, and the final subjection of all Israel to their oppressor's yoke, stood at her window, chiding the tardy moments, and impatiently exclaiming from behind the lattice-work, Why is the chariot of our victorious general so long in returning? Whence this painful delay? Hasten, ye fleet animals that draw his chariots, and restore him to our embraces!]

29. Her wise ladies answered her, yea, she returned answer to herself,

30. Have they not sped? have they not divided the prey; to every man a damsel or two, to Sisera a prey of divers colours, a prey of divers colours of needle work, of divers colours of needle work on both sides, meet for the necks of them that take the spoil? [Her maids of honour, who were scarcely less eager than herself to see the laurelled conqueror, answered her; yea, chiding for a moment her own impatient expressions, as if they indicated a doubt of success, she said within herself, Have they not succeeded in discovering the enemy?--Doubtless they have, Have they not enriched them selves with immense booty, and apportioned an Israelitish damsel two to our brave warriors?--Yes, yes, this must occasion some delay, and let them enjoy the reward of their valour. As for Sisera, the most beautiful captives are his portion, and shall be the slaves of his will; the most elegant dresses, curiously interwoven and wrought with the needle, such as may well be deemed worthy of heroes, shall grace his triumph and heighten his renown.]

31. So let all thine enemies perish, O Lord let them that love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might. [But who can describe their utter disappointment! So shamefully, so totally, let all the enemies of thy people, and all the opponents of thy dominion in the earth perish, O Lord, from before thy face forever! But let all those who are animated with a sacred zeal for thy glory resemble the morning sun as he advances rapidly to his meridian splendour; let them increase in usefulness, influence, and esteem, the honour of human nature, and the lights of the world.]

Manoah's Wife.