their favourite indulgences are not abfolutely forbidden, or with fome other excufe for them? How many unbelievers do things which they know to be contrary to that reason which they put in the place of religion? Let not thefe perfons, then, greatly condemn the Ifraelites, or conclude their conduct to be abfolutely unaccountable, and their history, for this reason, incredible.

Thefe frequent relapfes into idolatry, notwithstanding the calamities they never failed to bring upon the Ifraelitifh nation, is a clear proof that they had no natural attachment to the religion inftituted by Mofes. Though fo excellent, it was by no means the religion of their choice, but one that was forced upon them, by evidence which it was not in their power to refift. For what hindered their continuing to worship the gods of their neighbours, to which they were fo very prone, as all other nations did, but fome particular providence, accompanied with miraculous appearances peculiar to themselves? This is a confideration of the greatest importance

to

to the credibility of the miraculous part of their history; as, in fact, the miracles were conftantly exhibited not before friends, but enemies, that is, perfons prejudiced against the object of them,

The hiftory of the Ifraelites fhews that this nation was never long without fome miraculous appearances, all of which were, no doubt, directly or indirectly, calculated to confirm them in the belief of the truth, and divine origin, of their religion. But the first miracle that occurs, which was more particularly calculated to demonstrate the fuperiority of their God to those of their neighbours, was the fall of the ftatue of Dagon before the ark, and the judgments that befel the Philiftines who took it.

This very warlike and powerful nation had been permitted to harafs and opprefs the Ifraelites; and these being defeated in battle, and recollecting the wonders wrought in their favour when the ark was in their camp (as when the river Jordan was divided before the priests who carried it, and when the walls of Jericho fell down at its prefence)

prefence) prefumptuously, and without any divine direction, fetched the ark into their camp. Let us, fay they, 1 Sam. iv. 3, fetch the ark of the covenant of Jehovah out of Shiloh, unto us; that when it cometh to us, it may fave us out of the hand of our enemies. When they had done fo, they felt themselves full of confidence, fo that it is faid they shouted with a great fhout, and the earth rang again.

The Philistines were no ftrangers to the hiftory of the Ifraelites, and, like all other antient nations, afcribing their fuccefs to the fuperior power of their gods, were greatly alarmed at this event. For we read, ver. 7. And the Philiftines were afraid. For they faid, God is come into the camp. Woe unto us; for there has not been fuch a thing heretofore. Woe unto us, who shall deliver us out of the hand of thefe mighty Gods? Thefe are the Gods that fmote the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness. However, recovering from their confternation, and exerting themselves in the battle, they gained the victory, and took the ark itself,

This was, no doubt, a cause of great ex ltation to the Philiftines, who, confering it as a triumph of their god Dagon over the God of the Ifraelites, carried the ark into his temple. But their triumph was not of long continuance. For, as we read, Ch. v. 3, Rifing early in the morning, they found Dagon laid on his face before the ark. This must have been performed by miracle, as the image was not broken, as it would have been by a natural fall, from being unequally poifed, and the foundation by any accident giving way, unless the image had been of wood, in which cafe the next event must have been miraculous.

The Philistines, not wholly difconcerted by this difafter, and willing, no doubt, to attribute it to fome accident, though they might not be able fatisfactorily to account for it, fet the image in his place again. But early the next morning they found fomething more difaftrous ftill; for the head of Dagon, and both the palms of his hands, were cut off upon the threshold, to which it is probable they must have been carried from fome distance; for it is most

likely that, as in other heathen temples, the image would be placed oppofite to the door, in the most remote part of the building. It is added, that only the flump of Dagon was left to him; fo that this could not have been a fall of the image, but a violent feparation of its parts, and therefore unquestionably miraculous.

Alarmed at this second difafter, the Philiftines do not appear to have made any attempt to repair or replace the image, and perhaps removed the ark from the temple. But the divine interpofition did not end here. The people of Afhdod, who had the cuftody of the ark, were univerfally vifited with a fore plague of emrods, while the reft of the nation were free from it; and afcribing this to the presence of the ark, it was by common confent removed to Gath. The people of Gath being afflicted with the fame plague, they fent it to Ekron. But the inhabitants of this city were fo terrified at its approach, that they fent and affembled all the lords of the Philistines, and by them it was agreed to fend it back, left, as they faid, it flay us and our people.

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