Genesis 49:13

Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he [shall be] for an haven of ships; and his border [shall be] unto Zidon.

Ver. 13. Zebulun shall dwell, &c.] It is God that "appoints us the bounds of our habitations." Act 17:26 Be content therefore; and although we have not all things to our minds, yet having God for our portion, let us cry out with David, "The lines are fallen unto me in a fair place," &c. Zebulun is placed by the sea side. Now shoremen are said to be horridi, immanes, latrociniis dediti, omnium denique pessimi. Hence the proverb, Maritimi mores. And hence, haply, that rash and harsh character, that Scaliger a gives of us, Angli perfidi, inflati, feri, contemptores, stolidi, amentes, inertes, inhospitales, immanes. His bolt, you see, saith one, b is soon shot; and so you may haply guess at the quality of the archer. Be it that our ancestors were such, yet the gospel hath civilised us at least, whatever the more be. Christ left Nazareth, and came and dwelt at Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali. Ever since which, "the people which sat in darkness have seen a great light," &c. Matthew 4:13 ; Mat 4:16 And when "Gilead abode beyond Jordan," and "came not to the help of the Lord against the mighty," Reuben was busy about his sheep, Dan about his "ships," Asher about "his breaches," &c. Zebulun and Naphtali are much commended for "a people that jeoparded their lives unto the death in the high places of the field," Jdg 5:16-18 that studied and promoted the public, more than their own particular interests. Oh, it is a brave thing to be of a public spirit, and to study God's ends more than our own. Surely if God saw us to be such, we might have what we would, and God even think himseff beholden to us. Shall a heathen say, Non nobis solum nati sumus? &c. c And again, Mihi non minoris curae est, qualis resp. post meam mortem futura sit, quam qualis hodie sit? And shall Christians be all for themselves, looking only to their own things, and not to the things of one another, the common good of all especially? St Chrysostom upon those words "Not seeking mine own profit," &c., 1Co 10:33 saith, that to seek the public good of the Church, and to prefer the salvation of others before his own safety and commodity, is the most perfect canon of Christianity, the highest pitch of perfection, the very top gallant of religion. d And, I could not but love the man, saith Theodosius the Emperor concerning Ambrose, who, when he died, Magis de Ecclesiarum statu, quam de suis periculis angebater, was more troubled for the Church's troubles than for his own dangers. This made the same good emperor say that he knew none that deserved to be called a bishop but Ambrose. e He was called "the walls of Italy," whilst he lived: as when he died, Stilico the earl said, that his death did threaten the destruction of that whole country.

At the haven of the sea.] Zebulun and Issachar dwelling so conveniently for the purpose, and being for a haven of ships, as it here followeth, did "call the people" (foreigners) "to the mountain" of God. Deu 33:18-19 So, one of the Sibyls, Augustine f hopeth, might belong to the city of God: and so might direct others thither.

a Scal., De Re Poet., cap. 16.

b Heyl., Geog., p. 468.

c Cicero, Lael.

d τουτο κανων χριστιανισμου του τελειοτατου, τουτο ορος ηκριβωμενος, αυτη η κορυφη η ανωτατη, το τα κοινη συμφεροντα ξητειν .

e Aμβροσιον οιδα μονον επισκοπον αξιως καλουμενον. - Paulin. Nolan., in Vita Amb.

f De Civit. Dei, lib. xviii, cap. 23.