His voice to us is the same in all his wonders both of provi- dence and grace ; " Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts V]
The next thing which calls for our attention is,
III. The destruction of the inhabitants —
[With the exception of Rahab and her family, for whose preservation the word of the spies was pledged, every human being, old and young, male and female, was destroyed. Even the beasts also of every kind were destroyed, and the whole city was burnt with fire. Nothing was preserved but the silver and gold, and brass and iron, which were to be put into the treasury of the Lord for the use of his sanctuary.
Now in this indiscriminate slaughter we are apt to find occa- sion of offence, as though we thought ourselves more merciful than God. But were not these people the enemies of Jehovah ? and had he not a right to cut them off in any way he pleased? If he had taken them away by an earthquake or a pestilence, or had cut them off, as he did the Egyptian first-born and the Assyrian army, by the hand of an angel, we should have bowed to his sovereignty, and confessed him just: but because he used his own people as the executioners of his vengeance, we are ready to accuse both them and him of inhumanity and injustice. But we are sure that the Judge of all the earth will do right; and that whatever is done by his command is right, whether we can discern the reasons of that command or not. With respect to this particular act, if there was severity in it towards them, there was goodness in it, yea great goodness, towards the world at large : for it has shewn the clanger of unbelief and impeni- tence in such awful colours, that the proudest and most obdu- rate must tremble. The inhabitants at first were certainly filled with terror and dismay: but probably when they saw for six successive days nothing but an empty parade, they would begin to think themselves secure. At the appointed time however the judgment came; and that in a way that they did not at all expect. And thus will it be towards impenitent transgressors. They may imagine that the delay of God's judgments warrants them to expect impunity in the ways of sin : but " when they are saying, Peace and safety, sudden destruction will come upon them as travail upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape."]
From this part of divine history we may learn, 1. The excellence of faith — [What was the principle which enabled the Israelites to manifest such composure in the presence of their enemies, and
» Zech. iv. 6.