him to himself, that he may learn by bitter experience his own weakness, and "no more be high-minded, but fear15" ]
But their discomfiture was owing to another cause —
[God had forbidden that any one should take to himself any of the spoils of Jericho : but one man, (how astonishing was it that only one amongst all the hosts of Israel was found to transgress the command !) tempted by the sight of a costly Babylonish garment and some silver, and a wedge of gold, secreted them for his own usec. This sin was imputed to the whole nation, and visited upon them all. God had declared, that, if any such iniquity were committed, the whole camp of Israel, as well as the guilty individual, should be accursed d; and now the curse was inflicted upon all; so that if the whole host of Israel had gone against Ai, they would have been discom- fited, even as the small detachment was. To this the failure of the expedition is ascribed by God himselfe.
And to what are we to ascribe the calamities inflicted on our nation, the reverses experienced, and the losses sustained, in this long-protracted war ? Is it not to our sins, which have incensed God against us? We all acknowledge the greatness of our national sins, but forget to notice our own personal iniqui- ties ; whereas, if we saw every thing as God sees it, we should probably see, that our own personal guilt has contributed in no small degree to bring down the divine judgments upon us. Because we are mere individuals, we think that our transgres- sions can have had but little influence in matters of this kind : but did not Saul's violation of the covenant he had made with the Gibeonites, occasion, many years afterwards, a famine of three years' continuance f? And did not David's numbering of the people occasion a pestilence, to the destruction of seventy thousand of his subjects s? But these offenders, it may be said, were kings ; whereas we are obscure individuals. And was not Achan an obscure individual? Yet behold, how one single act of sin, an act too which would not have been considered as very heinous amongst ourselves, stopped in a moment the course of Israel's victories, and turned them into shameful defeat ! Let this point be duly considered in reference to ourselves ; and let us learn, that abstinence from sin is an act no less of patriotism, than of piety.]
b This is taught us in Phil. ii. 12, 13. which says, "Work, &c. and God will render your efforts effectual : but work, not with self- confidence, but with fear and trembling, because all your strength is in God ; and if by pride or negligence you provoke him to withhold his aid, you can never succeed."
cVer. 21. d Josh.yi. 18. e vcr. 11, 12.
f 2 Sam. xxi. 1. s 2 Sam. xxiv. 10 — 15.