Joshua 6:20

a. He commands the people to march round the city six days, the seven priests blowing with their trumpets; and to give a general shout, while marching round it on the seventh, and promises that then the walls of the city shall fall down, Jos 6:2-5. Joshua delivers these directions to the priests and to the people, Jos 6:6, Jos 6:7. The priests and people obey; the order of their procession, Jos 6:8-16. He commands them to spare the house of Rahab, Jos 6:17, and not to touch any part of the property of the city, the whole of which God had devoted to destruction, Jos 6:18, Jos 6:19. On the seventh day the walls fall down, and the Israelites take the city, Jos 6:20, Jos 6:21. The spies are ordered to take care of Rahab and her family - the city is burnt, but the silver, gold, brass, and iron, are put into the treasury of the house of the Lord, Jos 6:22-24. Rahab dwells among the Israelites, Jos 6:25; and the city is laid under a curse, Jos 6:26. Verse 1 Now Jericho was straitly shut up - The king of Jericho, finding that the spies had escaped, though the city was always kept shut by night, took the most proper precaution to prevent every thing of the kind in future, by keeping the city shut both day and night, having, no doubt, laid in a sufficiency of provisions to stand a siege, being determined to defend himself to the uttermost. Verse 2 And the Lord said unto Joshua - This is the same person who in the preceding chapter is called the captain or prince of the Lord's host, the discourse being here continued that was begun at the conclusion of the preceding chapter, from which the first verses of this are unnaturally divided. I have given into thine hand Jericho, etc. - From Jos 24:11, it seems as if there had been persons of all the seven Canaanitish nations then in Jericho, who might have come together at this time to help the king of Jericho against the invading Israelites. The Targum intimates that the place was very strong, having "gates of iron and bars of brass; and was shut up so closely that none came out, either to combat or make offers of peace." Verse 3 Ye shall compass the city - In what order the people marched round the city does not exactly appear from the text. Some think they observed the same order as in their ordinary marches in the desert; (see the note on Num 10:14, and see the plans, Num 2:2 (note)); others think that the soldiers marched first, then the priests who blew the trumpets, then those who carried the ark, and lastly the people. Verse 4 Seven trumpets of rams' horns - The Hebrew word יובלים yobelim does not signify rams' horns; (see the note on Lev 25:11 ); nor do any of the ancient versions, the Chaldee excepted, give it this meaning. The instruments used on this occasion were evidently of the same kind with those used on the jubilee, and were probably made of horn or of silver; and the text in this place may be translated, And seven priests shall bear before the ark the seven jubilee trumpets, for they appear to have been the same kind as those used on the jubilee. Seven times - The time was thus lengthened out that the besiegers and the besieged might be the more deeply impressed with that supernatural power by which alone the walls fell. Verse 5 The wall of the city shall fall down flat - Several commentators, both Jews and Christians, have supposed that the ground under the foundation of the walls opened, and the wall sunk into the chasm, so that there remained nothing but plain ground for the Israelites to walk over. Of this the text says nothing: - ונפלה חומת העיר תחתיה venaphelah chomath hair tachteyha, literally translated, is, The wall of the city shall fall down Under Itself; which appears to mean no more than, The wall shall fall down From Its Very Foundations. And this probably was the case in every part, though large breaches in different places might be amply sufficient to admit the armed men first, after whom the whole host might enter, in order to destroy the city. Verse 9 The rereward came after the ark - The word מאסף measseph, from אסף asaph, to collect or gather up, may signify either the rereward, as our translation understands it, or the people who carried the baggage of the army; for on the seventh day this was necessary, as much fighting might be naturally expected in the assault, and they would need a supply of arms, darts, etc., as well as conveniences for those who might happen to be wounded: or the persons here intended might be such as carried the sacred articles belonging to the ark, or merely such people as might follow in the procession, without observing any particular order. The Jews think the division of Dan is meant, which always brought up the rear. See Num 10:25. Verse 14 So they did six days - It is not likely that the whole Israelitish host went each day round the city. This would have been utterly impossible: the fighting men alone amounted to nearly 600,000, independently of the people, who must have amounted at least to two or three millions; we may therefore safely assert that only a select number, such as was deemed necessary for the occasion, were employed. Jericho could not have been a large city: and to reduce it could not have required a hundredth part of the armed force under the command of Joshua. Verse 15 The seventh day - they rose early - Because on this day they had to encompass the city seven times; a proof that the city could not have been very extensive, else this going round it seven times, and having time sufficient left to sack and destroy it, would have been impossible. It is evident that in the course of these seven days there must have been a Sabbath, and that on this Sabbath the host must have encompassed the city as on the other days: the Jews themselves allow this, and Rab. De Kimchi says "He who had ordained the observance of the Sabbath commanded it to be broken for the destruction of Jericho." But it does not appear that there could be any breach in the Sabbath by the people simply going round the city, the ark in company, and the priests sounding the sacred trumpets. This was a mere religious procession, performed at the command of God, in which no servile work was done. Therefore Marcion's objection, that the God of the Hebrews showed a changeableness of disposition in commanding the Sabbath to be kept sacred at one time, and then to be broken at another, is without foundation; for I must contend that no breach took place on this occasion, unless it could be made to appear that the day on which Jericho was taken was the Sabbath which is very unlikely, and which none can prove. But if even this were to be conceded, it is a sufficient answer to all such cavils, that the God who commanded the Sabbath to be set apart for rest and religious purposes, has always authority to suspend for a season the operation of merely ceremonial laws, or to abrogate them entirely, when the purpose of their institution is fulfilled. The Son of man is Lord even of the Sabbath. Verse 17 The city shall be accursed - That is, it shall be devoted to destruction; ye shall take no spoils, and put all that resist to the sword. Though this may be the meaning of the word חרם cherem in some places, see the note on Lev 27:29, yet here it seems to imply the total destruction of all the inhabitants, see Jos 6:21; but it is likely that peace was offered to this city, and that the extermination of the inhabitants was in consequence of the rejection of this offer. Verse 19 But all the silver, and gold - shall come into the treasury - The Brahmins will receive from any caste, however degraded, gold, silver, etc.: but to receive from Shoodras food, garments, etc., would be considered a great degradation. - Ward. Verse 20 The people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down - There has been much learned labor spent to prove that the shouting of the people might be the natural cause that the wall fell down! To wait here, either to detail or refute any such arguments, would be lost time: enough of them may be seen in Scheuchzer. The whole relation evidently supposes it to have been a supernatural interference, as the blowing of the trumpets, and the shouting of the people, were too contemptible to be used even as instruments in this work, with the expectation of accomplishing it in a natural way. Verse 21 They utterly destroyed - both man, and woman, etc. - As this act was ordered by God himself, who is the Maker and Judge of all men, it must be right: for the Judge of all the earth cannot do wrong. Nothing that breathed was permitted to live; hence the oxen, sheep, and asses, were destroyed, as well as the inhabitants. Verse 23 Brought out Rahab, and her father, etc. - Rahab having been faithful to her vow of secrecy, the Israelites were bound by the oath of the spies, who acted as their representatives in this business, to preserve her and her family alive. And left them without the camp - They were considered as persons unclean, and consequently left without the camp; (see Lev 13:46; Num 12:14 ). When they had abjured heathenism, were purified, and the males had received circumcision, they were doubtless admitted into the camp, and became incorporated with Israel. Verse 24 Only the silver, and the gold - they put into the treasury, etc. - The people were to have no share of the spoils, because they had no hand in the conquest. God alone overthrew the city; and into his treasury only the spoils were brought. This is one proof that the agitation of the air, by the sound of the people's voice, was not the cause of the fall of the city walls. Vessels of brass and of iron - Instead of כלי keley, Vessels, the Septuagint, in the Alexandrian copy, evidently have read כל col, All, with the omission of the י yod; for in Jos 6:19 they translate πας χαλκος και σιδηρος, All the brass and iron: but this reading does not appear in any of Kennicott's or De Rossi's MSS. Verse 25 And she dwelleth in Israel even unto this day - This is one proof that the book was written in the time to which it is commonly referred; and certainly might have been done by the hand of Joshua himself, though doubtless many marginal notes may have since crept into the text, which, to superficial observers, give it the appearance of having been written after the days of Joshua. See the preface to this book. Verse 26 And Joshua adjured them at that time - It appears that he had received intimations from God that this idolatrous city should continue a monument of the Divine displeasure: and having convened the princes and elders of the people, he bound them by an oath that they should never rebuild it; and then, in their presence, pronounced a curse upon the person who should attempt it. The ruins of this city continuing would be a permanent proof, not only of God's displeasure against idolatry, but of the miracle which he had wrought in behalf of the Israelites; and for these reasons God willed that it should not be rebuilt: nevertheless, he left men to the operation of their own free will, and recorded the penalty which those must pay who should disobey him. He shall lay the foundation thereof, etc. - This is a strange execration; but it may rather be considered in the light of a prediction. It seems to intimate that he who should attempt to rebuild this city, should lose all his children in the interim, from laying the foundation to the completion of the walls; which the author of 1Kgs 16:34 says was accomplished in Hiel the Beth-elite, who rebuilt Jericho under the reign of Ahab, and laid the foundation of it in Abiram, his first-born, and set up its gates in his youngest son Segub: this was 550 years after Joshua pronounced the curse. But we are not sure that this means that the children either died a natural or violent death on this occasion for we may understand the history as relating to the slow progress of the work. Hiel having begun the work at the birth of his first-born, was not able to conclude before the birth of his last child, who was born many years after: and as their names are mentioned, it is very likely that the distance of time between the birth of each was well known when this history was written; and that the extraordinary length of time spent in the work, in which a multitude of vexatious delays had taken place, is that to which the prophetic execration relates. Yet the first opinion is the most probable. We must not suppose that Jericho had been wholly neglected from its overthrow by Joshua to the days of Hiel; if it be the same with the city of palm trees, mentioned Deu 34:3. We find it mentioned as an inhabited place in the beginning of Jdg 1:16, a short time after the death of Joshua: And the children of the Kenite, Moses' father-in-law, went up out of the city of palm trees, with the children of Judah, etc.; and this said city (if the same with the city of palm trees) was taken from the Israelites by Eglon king of Moab, Jdg 3:13. The ambassadors of David, who were disgracefully treated by Hanun king of the Ammonites, were commanded to tarry at Jericho till their beards should grow, 2Sam 10:4, 2Sam 10:5. It appears, therefore, that there was a city which went under this name long before the time of Hiel, unless we can suppose that the city of palm trees was a different place from Jericho, or that the name Jericho was given to some part of the circumjacent country after the city was destroyed, which is very probable. After Hiel had rebuilt this city, it became of considerable consequence in the land of Judea: the courses of priests lodged there, who served in their turns at the temple; see Luk 10:30. There was a school of the prophets there, which was visited by Elijah and Elisha, 2Kgs 2:4, 2Kgs 2:5, 2Kgs 2:18; and it was at this city that our Lord miraculously healed blind Bartimeus, Mar 10:46; Luk 18:35, etc. At present, Jericho is almost entirely deserted, having but thirty or forty miserable cabins in it, which serve for a place of refuge to some wretched Moors and Arabs, who live there like beasts. The plain of Jericho, formerly so celebrated for its fertility, is at present uncultivated, producing nothing but a few wild trees, and some very indifferent fruits. See Calmet. Verse 27 So the Lord was with Joshua - Giving him miraculous assistance in all his enterprises; and this was what he was naturally led to expect from the communication made to him by the captain of the Lord's host, Jos 5:14, etc. 1. Many attempts have been made either to deny the miracle in the fall of Jericho, or to account for it on natural causes. Reference has already been made to some of these in the note on Jos 6:20. But to those who believe the Divine authenticity of the New Testament, every objection of this kind is removed by the authority of the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews, Heb 11:30; By Faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they had been compassed about seven days. Hence we find that it was a miraculous interference; and that Joshua's faith in the promise made to him by the captain of the Lord's host, was the instrument which God chose to employ in the accomplishment of this important purpose. 2. The same is said of Rahab: By Faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace, Heb 11:31. She believed that the true God was on the side of the Hebrews, and that all opposition to them must be in vain; and this faith led her to put herself under the Divine protection, and in virtue of it she escaped the destruction that fell on her countrymen. Thus God has ever chosen to put honor on faith, as the instrument by which he will perform his greatest miracles of justice and mercy. God, who cannot lie, has given the promise; he that believes shall have it accomplished; for with God nothing shall be impossible, and all things are possible to him that believes. These are Scriptural maxims, and God cannot deny himself. 3. On the curse pronounced by Joshua on those who should rebuild Jericho, it may be necessary to make a few remarks. In ancient history we have many instances of execrations against those who should rebuild those cities which had been destroyed in war, the revival of whose power and influence was dreaded; especially such cities as had been remarkable for oppression, insolence, or perfidy. Strabo observes, lib. xiii., p. 898, ed. 1707, that Agamemnon pronounced execrations on those who should rebuild Troy, as Croesus did against those who should rebuild Sidena, in which the tyrant Glaucias had taken refuge; and this mode of execrating cities, according to Strabo, was an ancient custom - Ειτε και καταρασαμενου του Αγαμεμνονος κατα παλαιον εθος· καθαπερ και ὁ Κροισος εξελων την Σιδηνην, εις ἡν ὁ τυραννος κατεφυγε Γλαυκιας, αρας εθετο κατα των τειχιουντων παλιν τον τοπον. The Romans made a decree full of execrations against those who should rebuild Carthage, which had been the rival of their empire; and which, from its advantageous situation, might again become formidable should it be rebuilt. See Zonaras, Anal. The Ionians, according to Isocrates, pronounced the most awful execrations on those who should rebuild the temples destroyed by the Persians, that they might remain to posterity an endless monument of the impiety of those barbarians; and that none might put confidence in a people who were so wicked as to make war on the gods themselves. The other Greeks who had suffered by the Persians acted in the same way, leaving the desolated temples as a public monument of the enmity that should ever subsist between the two nations. See Calmet, and see the notes on Num 22:6. Introduction The trespass of the Israelites, Jos 7:1. Joshua sends men to view the state of Ai, Jos 7:2. They return with a favorable report, Jos 7:3. Three thousand men are sent against it, who are def

Jericho Destroyed; Preservation of Rahab. ( b. c. 1451.) 17 And the city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the Lord : only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent. 18 And ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing, lest ye make yourselves accursed, when ye take of the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it. 19 But all the silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, are consecrated unto the Lord : they shall come into the treasury of the Lord . 20 So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. 21 And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword. 22 But Joshua had said unto the two men that had spied out the country, Go into the harlot's house, and bring out thence the woman, and all that she hath, as ye sware unto her. 23 And the young men that were spies went in, and brought out Rahab, and her father, and her mother, and her brethren, and all that she had; and they brought out all her kindred, and left them without the camp of Israel. 24 And they burnt the city with fire, and all that was therein: only the silver, and the gold, and the vessels of brass and of iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the Lord . 25 And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father's household, and all that she had; and she dwelleth in Israel even unto this day; because she hid the messengers, which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho. 26 And Joshua adjured them at that time, saying, Cursed be the man before the Lord , that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho: he shall lay the foundation thereof in his firstborn, and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it. 27 So the Lord was with Joshua; and his fame was noised throughout all the country. The people had religiously observed the orders given them concerning the besieging of Jericho, and now at length Joshua had told them ( v. 16 ), " The Lord hath given you the city, enter and take possession." Accordingly in these verses we have, I. The rules they were to observe in taking possession. God gives it to them, and therefore may direct it to what uses and intents, and clog it with what provisos and limitations he thinks fit. It is given to them to be devoted to God, as the first and perhaps the worst of all the cities of Canaan. 1. The city must be burnt, and all the lives in it sacrificed without mercy to the justice of God. All this they knew was included in those words, v. 17 . The city shall be a cherem, a devoted thing, at and all therein, to the Lord. No life in it might be ransomed upon any terms; they must all be surely put to death, Lev. xxvii. 29 . So he appoints from whom as creatures they had received their lives, and to whom as sinners they had forfeited them; and who may dispute his sentence? Is God unrighteous, who thus taketh vengeance? God forbid we should entertain such a thought! There was more of God seen in the taking of Jericho than of any other of the cities of Canaan, and therefore that must be more than any other devoted to him. And the severe usage of this city would strike a terror upon all the rest and melt their hearts yet more before Israel. Only, when this severity is ordered, Rahab and her family are excepted: She shall live and all that are with her. She had distinguished herself from her neighbours by the kindness she showed to Israel, and therefore shall be distinguished from them by the speedy return of that kindness. 2. All the treasure of it, the money and plate and valuable goods, must be consecrated to the service of the tabernacle, and brought into the stock of dedicated things, the Jews say because the city was taken on the sabbath day. Thus God would be honoured by the beautifying and enriching of his tabernacle; thus preparation was made for the extraordinary expenses of his service; and thus the Israelites were taught not to set their hearts upon worldly wealth nor to aim at heaping up abundance of it for themselves. God had promised them a land flowing with milk and honey, not a land abounding with silver and gold; for he would have them live comfortably in it, that they might serve him cheerfully, but not covet either to trade with distant countries or to hoard for after times. He would likewise have them to reckon themselves enriched in the enriching of the tabernacle, and to think that which was laid up in God's house as truly their honour and wealth as if it had been laid up in their own. 3. A particular caution is given them to take heed of meddling with the forbidden spoil; for what was devoted to God, if they offered to appropriate it to their own use, would prove accursed to them; therefore ( v. 18 ) " In any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing; you will find yourselves inclined to reach towards it, but check yourselves, and frighten yourselves from having any thing to do with it." He speaks as if he foresaw the sin of Achan, which we have an account of in the next chapter, when he gives this reason for the caution, lest you make the camp of Israel a curse and trouble it, as it proved that Achan did. II. The entrance that was opened to them into the city by the sudden fall of the walls, or at least that part of the wall over against which they then were when they gave the shout ( v. 20 ): The wall fell down flat, and probably killed abundance of people, the guards that stood sentinel upon it, or others that crowded about it, to look at the Israelites that were walking round. We read of thousands killed by the fall of a wall, 1 Kings xx. 30 . That which they trusted to for defence proved their destruction. The sudden fall of the wall, no doubt, put the inhabitants into such a consternation that they had no strength nor spirit to make any resistance, but they became an easy prey to the sword of Israel, and saw to how little purpose it was to shut their gates against a people that had the Lord on the head of them, Mic. ii. 13 . Note, The God of heaven easily can, and certainly will, break down all the opposing power of his and his church's enemies. Gates of brass and bars of iron are, before him, but as straw and rotten wood, Isa. xlv. 1, 2 . Who will bring me into the strong city? Wilt not thou, O God? Ps. lx. 9, 10 . Thus shall Satan's kingdom fall, nor shall any prosper that harden themselves against God. III. The execution of the orders given concerning this devoted city. All that breathed were put to the sword; not only the men that were found in arms, but the women, and children, and old people. Though they cried for quarter, and begged ever so earnestly for their lives, there was no room for compassion, pity must be forgotten: they utterly destroyed all, v. 21 . If they had not had a divine warrant under the seal of miracles for this execution, it could not have been justified, nor can it justify the like now, when we are sure no such warrant can be produced. But, being appointed by the righteous Judge of heaven and earth to do it, who is not unrighteous in taking vengeance, they are to be applauded in doing it as the faithful ministers of his justice. Work for God was then bloody work; and cursed was he that did it deceitfully, keeping back his sword from blood, Jer. xlviii. 10 . But the spirit of the gospel is very different, for Christ came not to destroy men's lives but to save them, Luke ix. 56 . Christ's victories were of another nature. The cattle were put to death with the owners, as additional sacrifices to the divine justice. The cattle of the Israelites, when slain at the altar, were accepted as sacrifices for them, but the cattle of these Canaanites were required to be slain as sacrifices with them, for their iniquity was not to be purged with sacrifice and offering: both were for the glory of God. 2. The city was burnt with fire, and all that was in it, v. 24 . The Israelites, perhaps, when they had taken Jericho, a large and well-built city, hoped they should have that for their head-quarters; but God will have them yet to dwell in tents, and therefore fires this nest, lest they should nestle in it. 3. All the silver and gold, and all those vessels which were capable of being purified by fire, were brought into the treasury of the house of the Lord; not that he needed it but that he would be honoured by it, as the Lord of hosts, of their hosts in particular, the God that gave the victory and therefore might demand the spoil, either the whole, as here, or, as sometimes, a tenth, Heb. vii. 4 . IV. The preservation of Rahab the harlot, or inn-keeper, who perished not with those that believed not, Heb. xi. 31 . The public faith was engaged for her safety by the two spies, who acted therein as public persons; and therefore, though the hurry they were in at the taking of the town was no doubt very great, yet Joshua took effectual care for her preservation. The same persons that she had secured were employed to secure her, v. 22, 23 . They were best able to do it who knew her and her house, and they were fittest to do it, that it might appear it was for the sake of her kindness to them that she was thus distinguished and had her life given her for a prey. All her kindred were saved with her; like Noah she believed to the saving of her house; and thus faith in Christ brings salvation to the house, Acts xvi. 31 . Some ask how her house, which is said to have been upon the wall ( ch. ii. 15 ), escaped falling with the wall; we are sure it did escape, for she and her relations were safe in it, either though it joined so near to the wall as to be said to be upon it, yet it was so far off as not to fall either with the wall or under it; or, rather, that part of the wall on which her house stood fell not. Now being preserved alive, 1. She was left for some time without the camp to be purified from the Gentile superstition, which she was to renounce, and to be prepared for her admission as a proselyte. 2. She was in due time incorporated with the church of Israel, and she and her posterity dwelt in Israel, and her family was remarkable long after. We find her the wife of Salmon, prince of Judah, mother of Boaz, and named among the ancestors of our Saviour, Matt. i. 5 . Having received Israelites in the name of Israelites, she had an Israelite's reward. Bishop Pierson observes that Joshua's saving Rahab the harlot, and admitting her into Israel, were a figure of Christ's receiving into his kingdom, and entertaining there, the publicans and the harlots, Matt. xxi. 31 . Or it may be applied to the conversion of the Gentiles. V. Jericho is condemned to a perpetual desolation, and a curse pronounced upon the man that at any time hereafter should offer to rebuild it ( v. 26 ): Joshua adjured them, that is, the elders and people of Israel, not only by their own consent, obliging themselves and their posterity never to rebuild this city, but by the divine appointment, God himself having forbidden it under the severe penalty here annexed. 1. God would hereby show the weight of a divine curse; where it rests there is no contending with it nor getting from under it; it brings ruin without remedy or repair. 2. He would have it to remain in its ruins a standing monument of his wrath against the Canaanites when the measure of their iniquity was full, and of his mercy to his people when the time had come for their settlement in Canaan. The desolations of their enemies were witnesses of his favour to them, and would upbraid them with their ingratitude to that God who had done so much for them. The situation of the city was very pleasant, and probably its nearness to Jordan was an advantage to it, which would tempt men to build upon the same spot; but they are here told it is at their peril if they do it. Men build for their posterity, but he that builds Jericho shall have no posterity to enjoy what he builds; his eldest son shall die when he begins the work, and if he take not warning by that stroke to desist, but will go on presumptuously, the finishing of his work shall be attended with the funeral of his youngest, and we must suppose all the rest cut off between. This curse, not being a curse causeless, did come upon that man who long after rebuilded Jericho ( 1 Kings xvi. 34 ), but we are not to think it made the place ever the worse when it was built, or brought any hurt to those that inhabited it. We find Jericho afterwards graced with the presence, not only of those two great prophets Elijah and Elisha, but of our blessed Saviour himself, Luke xviii. 35 ; xix. 1 ; Matt. xx. 29 . Note, It is a dangerous thing to attempt the building up of that which God will have to be destroyed. See Mal. i. 4 . Lastly, All this magnified Joshua and raised his reputation ( v. 27 ); it made him not only acceptable to Israel, but formidable to the Canaanites, because it appeared that God was with him of a truth: the Word of the Lord was with him, so the Chaldee, even Christ himself, the same that was with Moses. Nothing can more raise a man's reputation, nor make him appear more truly great, than to have the evidences of God's presence with him.