Imatges de pàgina
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7 And when ye came unto this place, Sihon the king of Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, came out against us unto battle, and we smote them:

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8 And we took their land, and gave it for an inheritance unto the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to the half tribe of Manasseh.

9 Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that ye may 'prosper in all that ye do. 10 Ye stand this day all of you before the LORD your God; your captains of your tribes, your elders, and your officers, with all the men of Israel,

11 Your little ones, your wives, and thy stranger that is in thy camp, from 5 the hewer of thy wood unto the drawer of thy water: 12 That thou shouldest "enter into covenant

Ch. viii. 4.- b See Exod. xvi. 12. Ch. viii. 3. Ps. lxxviii. 24, 25.- e Numb. xxi. 23, 24, 33. Ch. ii. 32. iii. 1. Numb. xxxii. 33. Ch. iii. 12, 13.-e Ch. iv. 6. Josh. i. 7. 1 Kings ii. 3.- f Josh. i. 7. -8 See Josh. ix. 21, 23, 27. them a mind to perceive the obligation of it, nor strength to perform it, had that obligation been known. Though this is strictly just, yet there is no need for the interrogation, as the words only imply that they had not such a heart, &c., not because God had not given them all the means of knowledge, and helps of his grace and Spirit, which were necessary; but they had not made a faithful use of their advantages, and therefore they had not that wise, loving, and obedient heart which they otherwise might have had. If they had had such a heart, it would have been God's gift, for he is the author of all good; and that they had not such a heart was a proof that they had grieved his Spirit, and abused the grace which he had afforded them to produce that gracious change, the want of which is here deplored. Hence God himself is represented as grieved because they were unchanged and disobedient: "O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them and with their children for ever!" See chap. V. 29, and the note there.

Verse 5. Your clothes are not waxen old] See on chap. viii. 4.

Verse 6. Ye have not eaten bread, &c.] That is, ye have not been supported in an ordinary providential way; I have been continually working miracles for you, that ye might know that I am the Lord. Thus we find that God had furnished them with all the means of this knowledge, and that the means were

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and exhorts the people.

with the LORD thy God, and into his oath, which the LORD thy God maketh with thee this day:

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13 That he may establish thee to day for a people unto himself, and that he may be unto thee a God, as he hath said unto thee, and as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.

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14 Neither with you only do I make this covenant and this oath;

15 But with him that standeth here with us this day before the LORD our God, and also with him that is not here with us this day:

16 (For ye know how we have dwelt in the land of Egypt; and how we came through the nations which ye passed by;

17 And ye have seen their abominations, and their idols, wood and stone, silver and gold, which were among them:)

18 Lest there should be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart turneth away this day from the LORD our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations; 'lest

h Heb. pass. - Neh. x. 29.k Ch. xxviii. 9.Exod. vi. 7.- m Gen. xvii. 7. n Jer. xxxi. 31, 32, 33. Hebr. viii. 7, 8.Lo See Acts ii. 39. 1 Cor. vii. 14.- -P Heb. dungy gods.- —g Ch. xi. 16. Acts viii. 23. Hebr. xii. 15. ineffectual, not because they were not properly calculated to answer God's gracious purpose, but because the people were not workers with God; consequently they received the grace of God in vain. See 2 Cor. vi. 1.

Verse 10. Ye stand-all of you before the Lord] They were about to enter into a covenant with God; and as a covenant implies two parties contracting, God is represented as being present, and they and all their families, old and young, come before him.

Verse 12. That thou shouldest enter]

leaber, to pass through, that is, between the separated parts of the covenant sacrifice. See Gen. xv. 18.

And into his oath] Thus we find that in a covenant were these seven particulars: 1. The parties about to contract were considered as being hitherto separated. 2. They now agree to enter into a state of close and permanent amity. 3. They meet together in a solemn manner for this purpose. 4. A sacrifice is offered to God on the occasion, for the whole is a religious act. 5. The victim is separated exactly into two equal parts, the separation being in the direction of the spine; and these parts are laid opposite to each other, sufficient room being allowed for the contracting parties to pass between them. 6. The contracting parties meet in the victim, and the conditions of the covenant by which they are to be mutually bound are recited. 7. An oath is taken by these parties that they shall punctually and faithfully perform their respective conditions, and thus the covenant

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DEUTERONOMY.

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there should be among you a root that beareth gall and wormwood;

19 And it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst:

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22 So that the generation to come of your children that shall rise up after you, and the stranger that shall come from a far land, shall say, when they see the plagues of that land, and the sicknesses "which the LORD hath laid upon it;

23 And that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not

Or, a poisonful herb.- b Heb. rosh.- c Numb. xv. 39. Eccles. xi. 9. d Or, stubbornness. Jer. iii. 17. vii. 24. e Isai. xxx. 1.- Heb. the drunken to the thirsty.- -8 Ezek. xiv. 7, 8. h Ps. lxxiv. 1.- Ps. Ixxix. 5. Ezek. xxiii. 25. k Ch. ix. 14. Matt. xxiv. 51. m Heb. is written. n Heb. wherewith the LORD hath made it sick.

is made and ratified. See Jer. xxxiv. 18, 19, and the notes on Gen. vi. 18, xv. 18, Exod. xxix. 45, Lev. xxvi.

Verse 15. Him that standeth here] The present generation. Him that is not here-all future generations of this people.

Verse 18. A root that beareth gall and wormwood] | That is, as the apostle expresses it, Heb. iii. 12, An evil heart of unbelief departing from the living God; for to this place he evidently refers. It may also signify false doctrines, or idolatrous persons among themselves.

Verse 19. To add drunkenness to thirst] A proverbial expression denoting the utmost indulgence in all sensual gratifications.

Verse 26. Gods-whom he had not given unto them] This is an unhappy translation. Houbigant renders the original words □nb phn 1bi velo chalak lahem, et quibuscum nulla eis societas, " And with whom they had no society;" and falls unmercifully on Le Clerc because he had translated it, From whom they had received no benefits. I must differ from both these great men, because I think they differ from the text. pn chalak signifies a portion, lot, inheritance, and God is frequently represented in scripture as the portion or inheritance of his people. Here, therefore, I think

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sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, P like the overthrow of Sodom, and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the LORD overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath: 24 Even all nations shall say, ¶ Wherefore hath the LORD done thus unto this land? what meaneth the heat of this great anger?

25 Then men shall say, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them forth out of the land of Egypt: 26 For they went and served other gods, and worshipped them, gods whom they knew not, and whom he had not given unto them: 27 And the anger of the LORD was kindled against this land, to bring upon it all the curses that are written in this book:

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28 And the LORD "rooted them out of their land in anger, and in wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as it is this day.

29 The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.

• Ps. cvii. 34. Jer. xvii. 6. Zeph. ii. 9.- -P Gen. xix. 4. 25. Jer. xx. 16. -91 Kings ix. 8. 9. Jer. xxii. 8, 9. r Or, who had not given to them any portion.- Heb divided.- Dan. ix. 11, 13, 14.—————"‍1 'Kings xiv. 15. 2 Chron. vii. 20. Ps. lii. 5. Prov. ii. 22.

the original should be rendered, And there was në portion to them, that is, the gods they served could neither supply their wants nor save their souls-they were no portion.

Verse 29. The secret things belong unto the Lord, &c.] This verse has been variously translated. Houbigant renders it thus: Quæ apud Dominum nostrum abscondita sunt, nobis ea filiisque nostris palam farts sunt ad multas ætates, "The things which wex hidden with the Lord our God, are made manifest to us and our children for many generations." I am not satisfied with this interpretation, and find that the passage was not so understood by any of the ancient Versions. The simple general meaning seems to be this: "What God has thought proper to reveal, be has revealed; what he has revealed is essential to the wellbeing of man, and this revelation is intended not for the present time merely, nor for one people, bat for all succeeding generations. The things which he has not revealed concern not man but God alone, and are therefore not to be inquired after." Thus, then, the things that are hidden belong unto the Lord, those that are revealed belong unto us and our children. But possibly the words here refer to the subjects of these chapters, as if he had said, "Apostasy from God and his truth is possible. When a national apos

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Gracious promises are given to the penitent, 1-6. The Lord will circumcise their heart, and put all these curses on their enemies, if they hearken to his voice and keep his testimonies, 7-10. The word is near to them, and easy to be understood, 11-14. Life and death, a blessing and a curse, are set before them; and they are exhorted to love the Lord, obey his voice, and cleave unto him, that they may inherit the land promised to Abraham, 15-20.

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2 And shalt return unto the LORD thy God, and shalt obey his voice, according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul; 3 That then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath - scattered thee.

4 If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the LORD thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee:

5 And the LORD thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and

a Lev. xxvi. 40.-
Kings viii. 47, 48.-
Joel ii. 12, 13.
Lam. iii. 22, 32.-

b Ch. xxviii. e Ch. iv. 29, 30. 1 d Neh. i. 9. Isai. lv. 7. Lam. iii. 40. e Ps. cvi. 45. cxxvi. 1, 4. Jer. xxix 14. f Ps. cxlvii. 2. Jer. xxxii. 37. Ezek. NOTES ON CHAP. XXX.

Verse 1. When all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse] So fully did God foresee the bad use these people would make of their freeagency in resisting the Holy Ghost, that he speaks of their sin and punishment as certain; yet, at the same time, shows how they might turn to himself and live, even while he was pouring out his indignation upon them because of their transgressions.

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6 And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.

7 And the LORD thy God will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, which persecuted thee.

8 And thou shalt return and obey the voice of the LORD, and do all his commandments which I command thee this day.

9 And the LORD thy God will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good: for the LORD will again rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced over thy fathers:

10 If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in

xxxiv. 13. xxxvi. 24.- -g Ch. xxviii. 64. Neh. i. 9.-
x. 16. Jer. xxxii. 39. Ezek. xi. 19. xxxvi. 26.-
xxviii. 11.- k Ch. xxxviii. 63. Jer. xxii. 41.

h Ch. _ Ch.

intended; and the repossession of their land must be different from that which was consequent on their return from Chaldea.

Verse 6. God will circumcise thine heart] This promise remains yet to be fulfilled. Their heart, as a people, has never yet been circumcised; nor have the various promises in this chapter been ever yet fulfilled. There remaineth, therefore, a rest for this people of God. Now, as the law, properly speaking, made no provision for the circumcision of the heart, which implies the remission of sins, and purification of the soul from all unrighteousness; and as circumVerse 5. Will bring thee into the land] As this cision itself was only a sign of spiritual good, consepromise refers to a return from a captivity in which quently the promise here refers to the days of the they had been scattered among all nations, conse-Messiah, and to this all the prophets and all the quently it is not the Babylonish captivity which is apostles give witness: "for circumcision is that of the

Verse 3. Gather thee from all the nations] This must refer to a more extensive captivity than that which they suffered in Babylon.

The nature of the commandment

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this book of the law, and if and his judgments, that thou
thou turn unto the LORD thy mayest live and multiply: and An. Ex. Isr. 40.
God with all thine heart, and the LORD thy God shall bless
thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it.
17 But if thine heart turn away, so that
thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away,
and worship other gods, and serve them;

with all thy soul.
11 For this commandment which I command
thee this day, it is not hidden from thee,
neither is it far off.
12 It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest
say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and
bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? |
13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou
shouldest
say, Who shall go over the sea for
us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it,
and do it?

14 But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.

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18 I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it.

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19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live. 20 That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice,

15 See, I have set before thee this day life and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he and good, and death and evil;

16 In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes a Isai. xlv. 19. Rom. x. 6, &c.- c Ver. 1, 19. Ch. xi. 26. d Ch. iv. 26. viii. 19.

heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter," Rom. ii. 29; and the genuine followers of God "are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands-by the circumcision of Christ," Col. ii. 11, 12. Hence we see these promises cannot be fulfilled to the Jews but in their embracing the gospel of Christ. To look, therefore, for their restoration is idle and nugatory, while their obstinacy and unbelief remain.

Verse 11. This commandment—is not hidden] Not too wonderful or difficult for thee to comprehend or perform, as the word n niphleth implies. Neither is it afar off-the word or doctrine of salvation shall be proclaimed in your own land; for HE is to be born in Bethlehem of Judah, who is to feed and save Israel; and the PROPHET who is to teach them is to be raised up from among their brethren.

Verse 12. It is not in heaven] Shall not be communicated in that way in which the prophets received the living oracles; but the WORD shall be made flesh, and dwell among you.

Verse 13. Neither is it beyond the sea] Ye shall not be obliged to travel for it to distant nations, because salvation is of the JEWS.

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is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.

e Ch. iv. 26. xxxi. 28.-
9. John xi, 25.-

f Ver. 15.

Ps. xxvii. 1. li h Ch. iv. 40. xi. 9. xii. 10.

termed, ver. 19, Life and death, blessing and cursing, And why were these set before them? 1. That they might comprehend their import. 2. That they might feel their importance. 3. That they might choos life, and the path of believing, loving obedience that led to it. 4. That they and their posterity, thus choosing life and refusing evil, might be the favourites of God in time and eternity.

Were there no such thing as free-will in man, who could reconcile these sayings either with sincerity of common sense? God has made the human will free, and there is no power or influence either in heaven, earth, or hell, except the power of God, that can deprive it of its free volitions; of its power to ri and nill, to choose and refuse, to act or not act; œ force it to sin against God. Hence man is accountable for his actions, because they are his; were he necessitated by fate, or sovereign constraint, they could not be his. Hence he is rewardable, hence be is punishable. God, in his creation, willed that the human creature should be free, and he formed his soul accordingly; and the Law and Gospel, the promise and precept, the denunciation of woe and the doctrine of eternal life, are all constructed on this ground; that is, they all necessarily suppose the freedom of the

because the principle of freedom or liberty is necessa rily implied in the idea of volition. See on chap. v. 24

Verse 14. But the word is very nigh unto thee] The doctrine of salvation preached by the apostles; in thy mouth, the promises of redemption made by the pro-human will: nor could it be will if it were not free, phets forming a part of every Jew's creed; in thy heart-the power to believe with the heart unto righteousness, that the tongue may make confession unto salvation. In this way, it is evident, St. Paul understood these passages; see Rom. x. 6, &c. Verse 15. Life and good] Present and future blessings

Death and evil] Present and future miseries :

Verse 19. See the note on the preceding verse. Verse 20. That thou mayest love the Lord] With out love there can be no obedience.

Obey his voice] Without obedience love is fruits and dead.

And-cleave unto him] Without close attachmení

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Moses delivers the divine

CHAP. XXXI.

and perseverance, temporary love, however sincere and fervent, temporary obedience, however disinterested, energetic, and pure while it lasts,-will be ultimately ineffectual. He alone who endures to the end, shall be saved. Reader, how do matters stand between God and thy soul? He cannot persevere in the grace of God whose soul is not yet made a partaker of that grace. Many talk strenuously on the

message to the people. impossibility of falling from grace, who have not yet tasted that the Lord is gracious. How absurd to talk and dispute about the infallibility of arriving safely at the end of a way in which a man has never yet taken one hearty step! It is never among those that have the grace of God, but among those that have it not, that we find an overweening confidence.

CHAPTER XXXI.

Moses, being one hundred and twenty years old and about to die, calls the people together, and exhorts them to courage and obedience, 1—6. Delivers a charge to Joshua, 7, 8. Delivers the law which he had written to the priests, with a solemn charge that they should read it, every seventh year, publicly to all the people, 9-13. The Lord calls Moses and Joshua to the tabernacle, 14. He appears to them, informs Moses of his approaching death, and delivers to him a prophetical and historical song, or poem, which he is to leave with Israel, for their instruction and reproof, 15-21. Moses writes the song the same day, and teaches it to the Israelites, 22; gives Joshua a charge, 23; finishes writing the book of the law, 24. Commands the Levites to lay it up in the side of the ark, 25, 26. Predicts their rebellions, 27. Orders the elders to be gathered together, and shows them what evils would befall the people in the latter days, 28, 29, and repeats the song to them, 30.

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AND Moses went and spake your face, that ye may do unto

these words unto all Israel.

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2 And he said unto them, I *am an hundred and twenty years old this day; I can no more go out and come in: also the LORD hath said unto me, Thou shalt not go over this Jordan.

3 The LORD thy God, he will go over before thee, and he will destroy these nations. from before thee, and thou shalt possess them: and Joshua, he shall go over before thee, the LORD hath said.

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NOTES ON CHAP. XXXI.

Verse 2. I am an hundred and twenty years old] The life of Moses, the great prophet of God and lawgiver of the Jews, was exactly the same in length as the time Noah employed in preaching righteousness to the antediluvian world. These one hundred and twenty years were divided into three remarkable periods: forty years he lived in Egypt, in Pharaoh's court, acquiring all the learning and wisdom of the Egyptians (see Acts vii. 20, 23); forty years he sojourned in the land of Midian in a state of preparation for his great and important mission (Acts vii. 29, 30); and forty years he guided, led, and governed the Israelites under the express direction and authority of God: in all, one hundred and twenty years.

them according unto all the
commandments which I have
commanded you.

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6 Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; "he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

7 And Moses called unto Joshua, and said unto him in the sight of all Israel," Be strong and of a good courage: for thou must go with this people unto the land which the LORD hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it.

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Verse 3. Joshua, he shall go over before thee] See on Numb. xxvii. 17, &c.

Verse 6. Be strong] pm chizku, the same word that is used Exod. iv. 21, ix. 15, for hardening Pharaoh's heart. See the notes there. The Septuagint, in this and the following verse, have, Avdpisov kaι oxve, Play the man, and be strong; and from this St. Paul seems to have borrowed his ideas, 1 Cor. xvi. 13: Στηκετε εν τη πίστει ανδριζεσθε, κρατιούσθε· Stand firm in the faith; play the man-act like heroes; be vigorous.

Verse 8. The Lord-doth go before thee] To prepare thy way, and to direct thee.

He will be with thee] Accompany thee in all thy journies, and assist thee in all thy enterprises.

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