couchant, or at rest after his toils, where it is at the peril of the greatest monarchs to rouse him up. * That which before is represented under strong figures, is, in verse 10, declared plainly; viz. that Judah should be the governing tribe, and that its chief glory should consist in the Messiah, who should descend from it: yea, the very time of his coming is marked out. The sceptre, or government, should not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come. The government departed from ten tribes, out of the twelve, during the reign of Hezekiah, and has never been restored but Judah continued to rule with God. At length they also were carried into captivity; yet God's eye was upon them, and in seventy years they were restored. And notwithstanding the many overturnings of the diadem, by the successive monarchies of Persia, Greece, and Rome, yet it continued till the coming of Christ. The theocracy then being dissolved, and the power given to him whose right it was, Judah in a few years ceased to be a body politic, or to have any government of its own. If there be such a thing as an irrefragable proof, surely this is one, that SHILOH, the peaceable, and prosperous, the Saviour is come; and it is a mark of judicial blindness and hardness of heart, in the Jews, that they continued to disbelieve it. Of Shiloh it is added, To him shall the gathering of the people be. As all the tribes of Israel gathered together, and anointed David king in Hebron; so all the tribes of men shall sooner or later submit to the kingdom of Christ. During his ministry, his enemies, touched with fear and envy, were ready to say, Behold the world is gone after him! And no sooner was he lifted up upon the cross, than he began to draw all men unto him. Multitudes of his own countrymen, who had before seen no form nor comeliness in him, now believed on him. Now also began to be fulfilled all the prophecies which had gone before, of the calling of the Gentiles. For such was the value of his sacrifice and mediation, that it was considered as a light thing for him merely to raise up the tribes of Jacob: he must be a light to the Gentiles, and God's Psa. ii. 10-12. "salvation to the ends of the earth. Nor has this promise yet spent its force probably the greater part of it is yet to be fulfilled. What is foretold to the church in the 60th of Isaiah, of multitudes of all nations gathering together unto her, will be the accomplishment of this promise concerning Christ; for those that are gathered to her are first gathered to him. The 11th and 12th verses are expressive of the great plenty of wine and milk which the tribe of Judah should possess. Vines, even the most choice, should be so common, that you might have tied your beasts to them, as you would here tie them to an elm or ash; or so abundantly productive, that it should be the ordinary practice to bind a colt to the vine, and load it with its fruits. Wine with them should be so plentiful, that you might have washed your garments in it. The inhabitants, even the common people, might drink of it till their eyes were red; and such an abundance should there be of the milk of kine, that their teeth might be white with it. This plenty of milk and wine may have a farther reference, however, to the plenty of evangelical blessings under the reign of the Messiah, in the same manner as the dominion ascribed to Judah has an ultimate reference to his dominion. The language used by Isaiah, Come, buy wine and milk, without money and without price, certainly refers to the great plenty of those articles in the land of promise, and seems to allude to the very words of Jacob in this prophecy. Ver. 13. The blessing of Zebulon predicts the situation of that tribe in the promised land. They should be a maritime people, bordering upon the sea of Galilee eastward, and upon the Mediterranean on the west. Its border reached unto Zidon, does not mean the city, but the country of that name, that is, Phenicia. If the future settlement of the tribes had been of choice, it might have been said that they contrived to fulfil these predictions; but being by lot, the hand of God is seen, both in them and their accomplishment. There seems to be a distinction made between *Or it may be rendered, His eyes shall be more sparkling than wine, Zebulon being AT the haven of the sea, and his being for a haven of ships. The first may denote his advantages; and the last the benevolent use he should make of them, opening his harbours for the reception of distressed mariners. We have all our situations and advantages according to the will of God, and should be con cerned to employ them to a good purpose. This tribe had also its disadvantages: being far from the seat of divine instruction, its inhabitants are described as sitting in darkness. Upon them, however, the light of the gospel, by the personal ministry of our Lord, sprung up. or Ver. 14, 15. Next follows the blessing of Issachar. The character given to this tribe intimates that it should be addicted to husbandry, as Zebulon was to the dangers and perils of the sea. He is compared to a strong ass, couching down between two burdens; not on account of any thing mean in him, but for his industrious, patient, and peaceable disposition. This situation would neither require the heroic qualities of Judah, nor the enterprising ones of Zebulon; and his disposition should coincide with it, preferring the fruits of peace and industry, though obliged to pay tribute for them, to the more splendid fortunes of commerce, triumphs of war. Some men would pronounce Issachar, and those of his mind, mean spirits; but let not this part of the community be thought light of. If it be less brilliant, it is not less useful than the others. The king is served by the field. No condition of life has fewer temptations, nor is any more friendly to true religion. Though the people of this tribe were still and peaceable; yet there were among them men who had understanding of the times, and who knew what Israel ought to do: nor was it any disparagement to their brethren to be at their commandment.* Ver. 16, 17. The blessing of Dan alludes to the meaning of his name, that is, judging, and signifies that he should maintain his authority; not only in respect of his rank among the tribes, but in the preservation of order in his own territory. His being compared to a serpent by the way, an adder in the path; that biteth the horse-heels, so that his rider shall fall backward, would * 1 Chron. xii. 32. seem to intimate, however, that the Danites would be a subtle and mischievous people, carrying on their wars more by stratagem and artful surprise, than by conflict in the open field. Such were the wars of Samson, who was of this tribe, against the Philistines. Ver. 18. Here the man of God seems to have paused, perhaps on account of bodily weakness; and lifting up his eyes to heaven, said, I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord. Had these words followed the blessing of Judah, we might have supposed that the salvation he referred to was the coming Messiah: but standing where it does, it appears to have been merely a sudden ejaculation, sent up at the close of his pilgrimage, in a view of being delivered from all its evils. It serves to show the state of the patriarch's mind; and that while pronouncing blessings on his posterity in respect to their settlement in the earthly Canaan, he was himself going to a better country, even a heavenly one. When he thought that Joseph was dead, he talked of going down into his grave mourning; and afterwards, when he found him alive, he seems as if he could have descended into it rejoicing:* but it was not for him to determine the time of his departure, but to wait his appointed time. Old age is the time for the patience of hope to bear its richest fruits; and a pleasant thing it is to see this and other graces in full bloom, while the powers of nature are falling into decay. Ver. 19. The patriarch resuming his subject, proceeds to bless the tribe of Gad. His name signified a troop, and it is intimated that they should be a warlike people. Their situation was east of Jordan, where they were exposed to the incursions of the neighbouring nations: particularly those of the Moabites, the Ammonites, and the Syrians. But it is predicted, that however they might for a time be overcome, yet they should overcome at last; and this exactly accords with their history.* In this blessing we see not only an example of the life of every believer, but the wisdom of God in so ordering it, as an antidote to presumption and despair. Present defeats have a tendency to preserve us *Chap. xxxvii. 35. xlvi. 30. + Judges x. xi. xii. 1 Chron. v. 18–22. from the one, and the promise of being finally victorious, from the other. Ver. 20. Next follows Asher, whose name signifies the happy, or the blessed, or making happy; and with his name corresponds his blessing. The meaning is, that his lot should be a rich one ; yielding not only necessaries, but dainties, even royal dainties. Such is the lot of a few in this world, and it is well that it is but a few ; for while men are what they are, great fulness would soon render them like Sodom and Gomorrah. Ver. 21. Naphtali is described by a hind let loose, and is said to give goodly words. The description would seem to hold up, not a warlike tribe, nor a tribe noted for its industry; but rather a people distinguished by their vivacity, timidity, and softness of manners. The diversity of natural dispositions contribute, upon the whole, to human happiness. Men have their partialities, some to this, and others to that; and if their wishes could be gratified, would commonly shape all others by their own favourite model but after all, variety is the best. : As the delicate could not subsist without the laborious and the resolute; so many a rugged spirit, both in the world and in the church, would be worse than useless, but for its union with others more gentle and affec tionate. Ver. 22-26. We next come to the blessing of Joseph, and on this the patriarch delights to dwell. His emblem, taken from the meaning of his name, is that of a fruitful bough, situated by a well, by which its roots were watered, and its branches caused to run over the wall. The meaning is, that his posterity should be distinguished by their extraordinary increase. But now the imagery is dropped, or rather changed, and his personal history reviewed. He was attacked at an early period, as by a band of archers, who sorely grieved him, shot at him, and hated him. There is a delicacy in his speaking of the brethren, (who were standing by,) in the third person rather than the second, and that under a figure : let him express it, however, in what form he will, they must feel it. He adds, But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the mighty God of Jacob; from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel. As his brethren were a band of |