{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_41584/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_41584","id":"gutenberg_41584","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/41584","summary":null,"tags":["Bible. Deuteronomy -- Commentaries","Category: Religion/Spirituality"],"text":"NOTES\n _on the book of_\n DEUTERONOMY\n\n _Volume II_\n\n C. H. MACKINTOSH\n\n\n \"_Forever, O Lord, Thy Word is settled in heaven._\"\n\n \"_Thy Word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin\n against Thee._\"\n\n\n LOIZEAUX BROTHERS\n New York\n FIRST EDITION 1880\n TWENTY-FIFTH PRINTING 1954\n\n\n LOIZEAUX BROTHERS, Inc., PUBLISHERS\n\n _A Nonprofit Organization, Devoted to the Lord's Work\n and to the Spread of His Truth_\n\n 19 WEST 21ST STREET, NEW YORK 10, N. Y.\n\n\n PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA\n\n\n\n\nPREFATORY NOTE\n\nTO THE AMERICAN EDITION\n\n\nAs several persons in America have, without any authority whatever\nfrom me, undertaken to publish my four[1] volumes of \"Notes,\" I deem\nit my duty to inform the reader that I have given full permission to\nMessrs. LOIZEAUX BROTHERS to publish an edition of those books in such\nform as they shall consider most suitable.\n\n C. H. MACKINTOSH.\n\n _6 West Park Terrace, Scarborough,\n May 1st, 1879._\n\n [1] Now six.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\n _Page._\n Chapter VII, 1\n\n \" VIII, 33\n\n \" IX, 64\n\n \" X, 77\n\n \" XI, 99\n\n \" XII, 121\n\n \" XIII, 138\n\n \" XIV, 174\n\n \" XV, 204\n\n \" XVI, 219\n\n \" XVII, 253\n\n \" XVIII, 280\n\n \" XIX, 302\n\n \" XX, 315\n\n \" XXI, 329\n\n \" XXII.-XXV, 339\n\n \" XXVI, 352\n\n \" XXVII, 365\n\n \" XXVIII, 370\n\n \" XXIX, 388\n\n \" XXX, 408\n\n \" XXXI, 419\n\n \" XXXII, 431\n\n \" XXXIII, 454\n\n \" XXXIV, 468\n\n\n\n\nNOTES\n\nON\n\nTHE BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII.\n\n\n\"When the Lord thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou\ngoest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, ...\nseven nations greater and mightier than thou, and when the Lord thy\nGod shall deliver them before thee, thou shalt smite them, and utterly\ndestroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor show mercy\nunto them.\"\n\nIn reading the record of God's dealings with the nations, in\nconnection with His people Israel, we are reminded of the opening\nwords of Psalm ci.--\"I will sing of mercy and of judgment.\" We see the\ndisplay of mercy to His people, in pursuance of His covenant with\nAbraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and we see also the execution of judgment\nupon the nations, in consequence of their evil ways. In the former, we\nsee divine sovereignty; in the latter, divine justice; in both, divine\nglory shines out. All the ways of God, whether in mercy or in\njudgment, speak His praise, and shall call forth the homage of His\npeople forever. \"Great and marvelous are Thy works, Lord God Almighty;\njust and true are Thy ways, Thou King of nations.[2] Who shall not\nfear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? for Thou art holy; for all\nnations shall come and worship before Thee; for Thy judgments are made\nmanifest.\" (Rev. xv. 3, 4.)\n\n [2] \"Nations\" is read by most editors: Christ is not called the \"King\n of saints.\"\n\nThis is the true spirit in which to contemplate the ways of God in\ngovernment. Some persons, allowing themselves to be influenced by a\nmorbid feeling and false sentimentality, rather than by an enlightened\njudgment, find difficulty in the directions given to Israel in\nreference to the Canaanites, in the opening of our chapter. It seems\nto them inconsistent with a benevolent Being to command His people to\nsmite their fellow-creatures, and to show them no mercy. They cannot\nunderstand how a merciful God could commission His people to slay\nwomen and children with the edge of the sword.\n\nIt is very plain that such persons could not adopt the language of\nRevelation xv. 3, 4. They are not prepared to say, \"Just and true are\nThy ways, Thou King of nations.\" They cannot justify God in _all_ His\nways; nay, they are actually sitting in judgment upon Him. They\npresume to measure the actings of divine government by the standard of\ntheir own shallow thoughts--to scan the infinite by the finite; in\nshort, they measure God by themselves.\n\nThis is a fatal mistake. We are not competent to form a judgment upon\nthe ways of God, and hence it is the very height of presumption for\npoor, ignorant, short-sighted mortals to attempt to do so. We read in\nthe seventh chapter of Luke that \"Wisdom is justified of _all_ her\nchildren.\" Let us remember this, and hush all our sinful reasonings.\n\"Let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, 'That Thou\nmightest be justified in Thy sayings, and mightest overcome when Thou\nart judged.'\"\n\nIs the reader at all troubled with difficulties on this subject? If\nso, we should much like to quote a very fine passage which may help\nhim. \"O give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good; for His mercy\nendureth forever.... To Him _that smote Egypt in their first-born_;\nfor His mercy endureth forever; and brought out Israel from among\nthem; for His mercy endureth forever; with a strong hand, and with a\nstretched-out arm; for His mercy endureth forever. To Him which\ndivided the Red Sea into parts; for His mercy endureth forever; and\nmade Israel to pass through the midst of it; for His mercy endureth\nforever; but _overthrew Pharaoh and his host_ in the Red Sea; for His\nmercy endureth forever. To Him which _smote great kings_; for His\nmercy endureth forever; and _slew famous kings_; for His mercy\nendureth forever; Sihon, king of the Amorites; for His mercy endureth\nforever; and Og, the king of Bashan; for His mercy endureth forever;\nand gave their land for a heritage; for His mercy endureth forever;\neven a heritage unto Israel His servant; for His mercy endureth\nforever.\" (Ps. cxxxvi.)\n\nHere we see that the smiting of Egypt's first-born and the deliverance\nof Israel, the passage through the Red Sea and the utter destruction\nof Pharaoh's host, the slaughter of the Canaanites and giving their\nlands to Israel--all alike illustrated the everlasting mercy of\nJehovah.[3] Thus it was, thus it is, and thus it shall be. All must\nredound to the glory of God. Let us remember this, and fling to the\nwinds all our silly reasonings and ignorant arguments. It is our\nprivilege to justify God in all His ways, to bow our heads in holy\nworship, in view of His unsearchable judgments, and rest in the calm\nassurance that all God's ways are right. We do not understand them\nall; this would be impossible. The finite cannot grasp the infinite.\nThis is where so many go wrong. They reason upon the actings of God's\ngovernment, not considering that those actings lie as far beyond the\nrange of human reason as the Creator is beyond the creature. What\nhuman mind can unravel the profound mysteries of divine providence?\nCan we account for the fact of a city full of human beings--men,\nwomen, and children, in one hour, plunged beneath a tide of burning\nlava? Utterly impossible; and yet this is but one fact of thousands\nthat stand recorded on the page of human history, all lying far beyond\nthe grasp of the most gigantic intellect. Go through the lanes,\nalleys, wynds, closes, and court-yards of our cities and towns; see\nthe thousands of human beings that throng these places, living in\nsqualid misery, poverty, wretchedness, and moral degradation. Can we\naccount for all this? can we tell why God permits it? are we called\nupon to do so? Is it not perfectly plain to the reader that it is no\npart of our business to discuss such questions? and if we, in our\nignorance and stupid folly, set about reasoning and speculating upon\nthe inscrutable mysteries of the divine government, what can we expect\nbut utter bewilderment, if not positive infidelity?\n\n [3] Very many Christians find considerable difficulty in interpreting\n and applying the language of a large number of the psalms which call\n for judgment upon the wicked. Such language would, of course, be quite\n unsuitable for Christians now, inasmuch as we are taught to love our\n enemies, to do good to them that hate us, and to pray for them that\n despitefully use us and persecute us.\n\n But we must remember that what would be wholly out of place for the\n Church of God, a heavenly people, under grace, was, and will yet be,\n perfectly consistent for Israel, an earthly people, under government.\n No intelligent Christian could think for a moment of calling down\n vengeance upon his enemies or upon the wicked. It would be grossly\n inconsistent. We are called to be the living exponents of the grace of\n God to the world--to walk in the footsteps of the meek and lowly\n Jesus--to suffer for righteousness--not to resist evil. God is now\n dealing in long-suffering mercy with the world. \"He maketh His sun to\n rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on\n the unjust.\" This is to be our model. We are, in this, to be \"perfect,\n even as our Father which is in heaven is perfect.\" For a Christian to\n deal with the world on the principle of righteous judgment, would be\n to misrepresent his heavenly Father and falsify his profession.\n\n But by and by, when the Church shall have left the scene, God will\n deal with the world in righteousness; He will judge the nations for\n their treatment of His people Israel.\n\n We do not attempt to quote passages, but merely call the reader's\n attention to the principle, in order to enable him to understand the\n just application of the prophetic psalms.\n\nThe foregoing line of thought will enable the reader to understand the\nopening lines of our chapter. The Canaanites were to receive no mercy\nat the hands of Israel. Their iniquities had reached the culminating\npoint, and nothing remained but the stern execution of divine\njudgment. \"Thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt\nmake no covenant with them, nor show mercy unto them; neither shalt\nthou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto\nhis son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. For they will\nturn away thy son from following Me, that they may serve other gods;\nso will the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and destroy thee\nsuddenly. But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their\naltars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and\nburn their graven images with fire.\"\n\nSuch were the instructions given by Jehovah to His people. They were\nclear and explicit. No mercy for the Canaanites, no covenant with\nthem, no union, no fellowship of any kind, unsparing judgment, intense\nseparation.\n\nWe know, alas! how soon and how completely Israel failed to carry out\nthese instructions. Hardly had they planted their foot upon the land\nof Canaan ere they made a covenant with the Gibeonites. Even Joshua\nhimself fell into the snare. The tattered garments and mouldy bread of\nthose wily people beguiled the princes of the congregation, and caused\nthem to act in direct opposition to the plain commandment of God. Had\nthey been governed by the authority of the Word, they would have been\npreserved from the grave error of making a league with people who\nought to have been utterly destroyed; but they judged by the sight of\ntheir eyes, and had to reap the consequences.[4]\n\n [4] It is at once instructive and admonitory to see that the garments,\n the mouldy bread, and the plausible words of the Gibeonites did what\n the walls of Jericho could not do. Satan's _wiles_ are more to be\n dreaded than his _power_. \"Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may\n be able to stand against the _wiles_ of the devil.\" The more deeply we\n ponder the various parts of the whole armor of God, the more clearly\n we shall see that they are ranged under these two heads,--obedience\n and dependence. The soul that is really governed by the authority of\n the Word, and wholly dependent upon the power of the Spirit, is fully\n equipped for the conflict. It was thus the Man Christ Jesus vanquished\n the enemy. The devil could do nothing with a man who was perfectly\n obedient and perfectly dependent. May we study, in this, as in all\n beside, our great Exemplar.\n\nImplicit obedience is the grand moral safeguard against the wiles of\nthe enemy. No doubt the story of the Gibeonites was very plausible,\nand their whole appearance gave a show of truth to their statements;\nbut none of these things should have had the slightest moral weight\nwith Joshua and the princes; nor would they, if they had but\nremembered the word of the Lord. But they failed in this. They\nreasoned on what they saw, instead of obeying what they had heard.\nReason is no guide for the people of God; we must be, absolutely and\ncompletely, guided and governed by the Word of God.\n\nThis is a privilege of the very highest order, and it lies within the\nreach of the simplest and most unlettered child of God. The Father's\nword, the Father's voice, the Father's eye, can guide the youngest,\nfeeblest child in His family. All we need is the lowly and obedient\nheart. It does not demand great intellectual power or cleverness; if\nit did, what would become of the vast majority of Christians? If it\nwere only the educated, the deep-thinking, and the far-seeing that\nwere capable of meeting the wiles of the adversary, then verily most\nof us might give up in despair.\n\nBut, thanks be to God, it is not so; indeed, on the contrary, we find,\nin looking through the history of the people of God in all ages, that\nhuman wisdom, human learning, human cleverness, if not kept in their\nright place, have proved a positive snare, and rendered their\npossessors only the more efficient tools in the enemy's hand. By whom\nhave most, if not all, of the heresies been introduced which have\ndisturbed the Church of God from age to age? Not by the simple and the\nunlearned, but by the educated and the intellectual. And in the\npassage to which we have just referred, in the book of Joshua, who was\nit that made a covenant with the Gibeonites? The common people? Nay;\nbut the princes of the congregation. No doubt all were involved in the\nmischief, but it was the princes that led the way. The heads and\nleaders of the assembly fell into the snare of the devil through\nneglect of the plain word of God.\n\n\"Thou shalt make no covenant with them.\" Could aught be plainer than\nthis? Could tattered garments, old shoes, and mouldy bread alter the\nmeaning of the divine command, or do away with the urgent necessity\nfor strict obedience on the part of the congregation? Assuredly not.\nNothing can ever afford a warrant for lowering, the breadth of a\nhair, the standard of obedience to the Word of God. If there are\ndifficulties in the way, if perplexing circumstances come before us,\nif things crop up for which we are not prepared, and as to which we\nare unable to form a judgment, what are we to do? Reason? Jump to\nconclusions? Act on our own or on any human judgment? Most certainly\nnot. What then? Wait on God; wait patiently, humbly, believingly, and\nHe will assuredly counsel and guide. \"The meek will He guide in\njudgment; and the meek will He teach His way.\" Had Joshua and the\nprinces acted thus, they never would have made a league with the\nGibeonites; and if the reader acts thus, he will be delivered from\nevery evil work and preserved unto the everlasting kingdom of our Lord\nand Saviour Jesus Christ.\n\nIn verse six of our chapter, Moses sets before the people the moral\nground of the line of action which they were to adopt in reference to\nthe Canaanites--the rigid separation and the unsparing judgment.\n\"_For_ thou art _a holy people unto the Lord thy God_; the Lord thy\nGod hath chosen thee to be a special people unto Himself, above all\npeople that are upon the face of the earth.\"\n\nThe principle here laid down is of the very weightiest character. Why\nwere the people to maintain the most marked separation from the\nCanaanites? Why were they to refuse, with firm decision, to make any\ncovenant, or form any matrimonial alliance with them? Why were they to\ndemolish their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves?\nSimply because they were a holy people. And who had constituted them a\nholy people? Jehovah. He had chosen them and set His love upon them;\nHe had redeemed them, and separated them to Himself; and hence it was\nHis province and prerogative to prescribe what they were to be, and\nhow they were to act. \"Be ye holy, for I am holy.\"\n\nIt was not by any means on the principle of \"Stand by thyself, I am\nholier than thou.\" This is manifest from what follows. \"The Lord did\nnot set His love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in\nnumber than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people; but\nbecause the Lord loved you, and because He would keep the oath which\nHe had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out with a\nmighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the\nhand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.\" (Ver. 7, 8.)\n\nSeasonable words these for Israel!--most healthful and needful! They\nwere to remember that they owed all their dignity, all their\nprivileges, all their blessings, not to aught in themselves--their own\ngoodness or their own greatness, but simply to the fact of Jehovah's\nhaving identified Himself with them, in His infinite goodness and\nsovereign grace, and in virtue of His covenant with their fathers--\"a\ncovenant ordered in all things and sure.\" This, while it furnished a\ndivine antidote against self-complacency and self-confidence, formed\nthe solid basis of their happiness and their moral security. All\nrested upon the eternal stability of the grace of God, and therefore\nhuman boasting was excluded. \"My soul shall make her boast in the\nLord; the humble shall hear thereof and be glad.\"\n\nIt is the settled purpose of God that \"no flesh shall glory in His\npresence.\" All human pretension must be set aside. He will hide pride\nfrom man. Israel had to be taught to remember their origin and their\ntrue condition--\"bondmen in Egypt\"--\"fewest of all people.\" No room\nfor pride or boasting. They were in no wise better than the nations\naround them; and therefore, if called to account for their high\nelevation and moral greatness, they had simply to trace it all up to\nthe free love of God and His faithfulness to His oath. \"Not unto us, O\nLord, not unto us, but unto Thy name give glory, for Thy mercy and for\nThy truth's sake.\" (Ps. cxv. 1.)\n\n\"Know therefore that the Lord thy God, He is God, the faithful God,\nwhich keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love Him and keep His\ncommandments, to a thousand generations; and repayeth them that hate\nHim to their face, to destroy them: He will not be slack to him that\nhateth Him, He will repay him to his face.\" (Ver. 9, 10.)\n\nWe have two weighty facts set before us here,--one, full of rich\nconsolation and comfort to every true lover of God; the other, fraught\nwith deep solemnity to every hater of God. All who really love God and\nkeep His commandments may count on His infallible faithfulness and\ntender mercy at all times and under all circumstances. \"_All things_\nwork _together_ for good to them that love God, to them who are the\ncalled according to His purpose.\" If, through infinite grace, we have\nthe love of God in our hearts, and His fear before our eyes, we may\nmove on with good courage and joyful confidence, assured that all\nshall be well--must be well. \"Beloved, if our heart condemn us not,\nthen have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive\nof Him, because we keep His commandments, and do those things that are\npleasing in His sight.\"\n\nThis is a grand, eternal truth--a truth for Israel, a truth for the\nChurch. Dispensations make no difference as to this. Whether we study\nthe seventh of Deuteronomy or the third chapter of 1 John, we learn\nthe same great practical truth, that God delights in those who fear\nHim and love Him and keep His commandments.\n\nIs there aught of the legal element in this? Not a tinge. Love and\nlegality have nothing in common; they are as far removed as the poles.\n\"This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His\ncommandments are not grievous.\" The spirit and genius, the ground and\ncharacter of our obedience all go to prove it the very reverse of\nlegality. It is our deep and settled conviction that those persons who\nare ever ready to cry out, \"Legal! Legal!\" whenever obedience is\npressed upon them, are sadly and grossly mistaken. If indeed it were\ntaught that we must earn by our obedience the high position and\nrelationship of children of God, then verily the solemn charge of\nlegality might justly be urged; but to bestow such an epithet on\nChristian obedience, is, we repeat, a serious moral mistake. Obedience\ncould never precede sonship, but sonship should ever be followed by\nobedience.\n\nAnd while we are on this subject, we must call the attention of the\nreader to a passage or two of New-Testament scripture as to which\nthere is a want of clearness in many minds. In the fifth chapter of\nMatthew, we read, \"Ye have heard that it hath been said, 'Thou shalt\nlove thy neighbor and hate thine enemy;' but _I_ say unto you, Love\nyour enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate\nyou, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you;\nthat ye may be the sons [\u03c5\u1f31\u03bf\u03af] of your Father which is in\nheaven; for He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and\nsendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.... Be ye therefore\nperfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.\" (Ver.\n43-48.)\n\nThis passage might, in the judgment of some, seem to teach that the\nrelationship of children can be attained by a certain line of action;\nbut it is not so. It is a question of moral conformity or suitability\nto the character and ways of our Father. We sometimes hear, in\nevery-day life, the saying, \"You would not be your father's son if you\nwere to act in such a way.\" It is as though our Lord had said, If you\nwant to be the sons of your heavenly Father, you must act in grace to\nall; for that is what He is doing.\n\nAgain, in 2 Corinthians vi. we read, \"Wherefore come out from among\nthem, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean;\nand I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be\nMy sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.\" Here, it is not a\nquestion of the secret relationship of children, formed by a divine\noperation, but the public acknowledgment of the position of sons\n[\u03c5\u1f31\u03bf\u03cd\u03c2] as the result of our separation from evil.[5]\n\n [5] Speaking in a general way, the word \u03c4\u03ad\u03ba\u03bd\u03bf\u03bd, child, is a\n term of endearment; \u03c5\u1f31\u03cc\u03c2, son, of moral dignity.\n \u03c0\u03b1\u1fd6\u03c2 is either a child or a servant: \u03bd\u03ae\u03c0\u03b9\u03bf\u03c2, a babe.\n\nIt will be well for the reader to seize this important distinction; it\nis of great practical value. We do not become children by separation\nfrom the world, \"for ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ\nJesus.\" \"As many as received Him, to them gave He power [or authority,\n\u1f10\u03be\u03bf\u03c5\u03c3\u03af\u03b1\u03bd] to become children [\u03c4\u03ad\u03ba\u03bd\u03b1] of God, to them\nthat believe on His name; which were born, not of blood, nor of the\nwill of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.\" (Gal. iii. 26;\nJohn i. 12, 13.) \"Of His own will begat He us by the word of truth.\"\n(James i. 18.) We become children by new birth, which, thanks be to\nGod, is a divine operation from first to last. What had we to do with\nour natural birth? Nothing. And what have we to do with our spiritual\nbirth? Clearly nothing.\n\nBut then we must remember that God can only identify Himself with, and\npublicly acknowledge those who, through grace, seek to walk in a way\nworthy of Him--a way befitting the sons and daughters of the Lord\nAlmighty. If our ways are unlike Him, if we are mixed up with all\nsorts of wrong things, if we are unequally yoked together with\nunbelievers, how can we expect God to own us as His sons? We read, in\nHebrews xi, of those who \"confessed that they were strangers and\npilgrims on the earth,\" and who \"declared plainly that they sought a\ncountry;\" and of them we are told that \"_God was not ashamed_ to be\ncalled their God.\" He could publicly identify Himself with them, and\nacknowledge them; He could own them as His.\n\nReader, let us seriously apply our hearts to the consideration of this\ngreat practical question. Let us look, seriously and honestly, to our\nways. Let us, in truthfulness and uprightness of heart, inquire\nwhether we are \"unequally yoked together with unbelievers,\" on any\nground, or for any object whatsoever. If so, let us give earnest heed\nto the words, \"Come out from among them, and be ye separate, and touch\nnot the unclean thing.\" It may be that the carrying out of this holy\ncommandment will expose us to the charge of bigotry, narrowness, and\nintolerance; it may wear the aspect of pharisaic pride and\nself-complacency. We may be told, we are not to judge, or set\nourselves up to be holier or better than other people.\n\nTo all this line of argument we have the one simple, conclusive\nanswer, namely, God's plain command. He tells us to be separate, to\ncome out, to touch not the unclean; and all this in order to His\nreceiving us, and acknowledging us as His sons and daughters. This\nought to be quite sufficient for us. Let people think or say what they\nwill of us,--let them call us what they please; God will settle the\nmatter with them, sooner or later; our duty is to separate ourselves\nfrom unbelievers, if we would be received and owned of God. If\nbelievers are mixed up with unbelievers, how are they to be known or\ndistinguished as the sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty?\n\nBut we may perhaps be asked, How are we to know who are unbelievers?\nAll profess to be Christians--all take the ground of belonging to\nChrist: we are not surrounded by ignorant heathen, or unbelieving\nJews; how then are we to judge? It was plain enough in the early days\nof Christianity, when the apostle wrote his epistle to the assembly at\nCorinth--then the line of demarkation was as clear as a sunbeam; there\nwere the three distinct classes--\"the Jew, the Gentile, and the Church\nof God;\" but now all is changed,--we live in a Christian land, under a\nChristian government, we are surrounded on all hands by Christians,\nand therefore 2 Corinthians vi. cannot apply to us; it was all very\nwell when the Church was in its infancy, having just emerged from\nJudaism on the one hand and heathenism on the other, but to think of\napplying such a principle at this advanced stage of the Church's\nhistory, is wholly out of the question.\n\nTo all who take this ground, we would put a very plain question,--Is\nit true that the Church has reached a stage of her history in which\nthe New Testament is no longer her guide and authority? Have we got\nbeyond the range of holy Scripture? If so, what are we to do? whither\nare we to turn for guidance? If we admit for a moment that 2\nCorinthians vi. does not apply to Christians now, what warrant have we\nfor appropriating to ourselves any portion of the New Testament?\n\nThe fact is, Scripture is designed for the Church of God as a whole,\nand for each member of that Church in particular; and hence, as long\nas the Church is on earth, so long will the Scripture apply. To\nquestion this is to offer a flat contradiction to the words of the\ninspired apostle when he tells us that the holy Scriptures are able to\nmake us \"_wise unto salvation_\"--that is, \"wise\" right onward to the\nday of glory, for such is the blessed force of the word \"salvation\" in\n2 Timothy iii. 15.\n\nWe want no new light--no fresh revelation; we have \"_all truth_\"\nwithin the covers of our precious Bible. Thank God for it! We do not\nwant science or philosophy to make us wise. All true science and all\nsound philosophy will leave untouched the testimony of holy Scripture;\nthey cannot add to it, but they will not contradict it. When infidels\ntalk to us about \"progress,\" \"development,\" \"the light of science,\" we\nfall back, in holy confidence and tranquillity, upon those precious\nwords, \"all truth,\" \"wise unto salvation.\" It is blessedly impossible\nto get beyond these. What can be added to \"all truth\"? What more do we\nor can we want than to be made wise right onward to the coming of our\nLord Jesus Christ?\n\nAnd further, let us remember that there is no change whatever in the\nrelative position of the Church and the world. It is as true to-day as\nit was eighteen hundred and fifty years ago, when our Lord uttered the\nwords, that His people are not of the world, even as He Himself is not\nof the world. (John xvii.) The world is the world still. It may, in\nsome places, have changed its dress, but not its true character,\nspirit, and principles. Hence, therefore, it is as wrong to-day for\nChristians to be \"unequally yoked together with unbelievers\" as it was\nwhen Paul penned his epistle to the Church at Corinth. We cannot get\nover this; we cannot set aside our responsibility in this matter. It\nwill not, by any means, meet the case to say, \"We must not judge.\" We\nare bound to judge. If we refuse to judge, we refuse to obey, and what\nis this but positive rebellion? God says, \"Come out from among them\nand be ye separate;\" if we reply, We cannot judge, where are we? The\nfact is, we are absolutely commanded to judge. \"Do not ye judge them\nthat are _within_? but them that are _without_ God judgeth.\" (1 Cor.\nv. 12, 13.)\n\nBut we shall not pursue this line of argument any further. We trust\nthe reader is one who fully owns the direct application to himself of\nthe passage which we have just quoted. It is as plain as it is\npointed; it calls upon all God's people to come out and be separate,\nand touch not the unclean thing. This is what God requires of His\npeople, in order to His owning them as His; and surely it ought to be\nthe deep and earnest desire of our hearts to respond to His gracious\nwill in this matter, utterly regardless of the world's thoughts\nrespecting us. Some of us are very much afraid of being thought narrow\nand bigoted; but, oh, how little it imports to a truly devoted heart\nwhat men think of us! Human thoughts perish in an hour. When we are\nmanifested before the judgment-seat of Christ, when we stand in the\nfull blaze of the glory, what will it matter to us whether men\nconsidered us narrow or broad, bigoted or liberal? and what should it\nmatter to us now? Not the weight of a feather. Our one grand object\nshould be, so to act--so to carry ourselves as to be \"acceptable\" to\nHim who has made us \"accepted.\" May it be so with the writer and the\nreader, and with every member of the body of Christ?\n\nLet us now turn, for a moment, to the weighty and very solemn truth\npresented to us in verse 10 of our chapter. \"He will not be slack to\nhim that hateth Him, He will repay him to his face.\" If the lovers of\nGod are comforted in verse 9, and most blessedly encouraged to keep\nHis commandments, the haters of God are called to hearken to a warning\nnote in verse 10.\n\nThere is a time coming when God will deal personally, face to face,\nwith His enemies. How awful the thought that any one should be _a\nhater of God_--a hater of that One who is said to be and who is\n\"Light\" and \"Love;\" the very fountain of goodness, the Author and\nGiver of every good and perfect gift, the Father of lights; the One\nwhose liberal hand supplies the need of every living thing, who hears\nthe cry of the young ravens, and quenches the thirst of the wild ass;\nthe infinitely good, the only wise, the perfectly holy God, the Lord\nof all power and might, the creator of the ends of the earth, and the\nOne who has power to destroy both soul and body in hell!\n\nOnly think, reader, of any one being a hater of such a One as God; and\nwe know that all who are not lovers must be haters. People may not see\nthis; very few would be disposed to own themselves to be absolute\nhaters of God, but there is no neutral ground in this great question;\nwe must either be for or against; and in point of fact, people are not\nslow in showing their colors. It often happens that the heart's\ndeep-seated enmity to God comes out in hatred to His people, to His\nWord, His worship, His service. How frequently do we hear such\nexpressions as, \"I hate religious people,\" \"I hate all cant,\" \"I hate\npreachers\"! The truth is, it is God Himself that is hated. \"The carnal\nmind is enmity against God; it is not subject to the law of God,\nneither indeed can be;\" and this enmity comes out in reference to\nevery one and every thing connected with God. There lies deep down in\nevery unconverted heart the most positive enmity to God. Every man in\nhis natural state hates God.\n\nNow, God declares, in Deuteronomy vii. 10, that \"He will not be slack\nto him that hateth Him; He will repay him to his face.\" This is a\nmost solemn truth, and one which ought to be more pressed upon the\nattention of all whom it may concern. Men do not like to hear it; many\naffect and profess not to believe it. They would fain persuade\nthemselves and persuade others also that God is too good, too kind,\ntoo merciful, too benevolent, to deal in stern judgment with His\ncreatures. They forget that God's ways in government are as perfect as\nHis ways in grace. They imagine that the government of God will pass\nover or deal lightly with evil and evil-doers.\n\nThis is a most miserable and fatal mistake, and men will find it to be\nso to their heavy and eternal cost. True it is, blessed be God, He\ncan, in His rich sovereign grace and mercy, forgive us our sins, blot\nout our transgressions, cancel our guilt, justify us perfectly, and\nfill our hearts with the spirit of adoption; but this is another thing\naltogether. This is grace reigning through righteousness unto eternal\nlife by Jesus Christ our Lord. It is God, in His wondrous love,\nproviding righteousness for the poor, guilty, hell-deserving sinner\nwho knows and feels and owns that he has no righteousness of his own,\nand never could have it. God, in the marvelous love of His heart, has\nprovided a means whereby He can be just and the justifier of every\npoor broken-hearted, bankrupt sinner that simply believes in Jesus.\n\nBut how, we may ask, was all this done? Was it by passing over sin, as\nthough it were nothing? was it by relaxing the claims of the divine\ngovernment, lowering the standard of divine holiness, or touching, in\nthe most remote way, the dignity, stringency, and majesty of the law?\nNo; thanks and praise to redeeming love, it was the very reverse.\nNever was there or could there be a more terrible expression of God's\neternal hatred of sin, or of His unflinching purpose to condemn it\nutterly and punish it eternally; never was there or could there be a\nmore glorious vindication of the divine government, a more perfect\nmaintenance of the standard of divine holiness, truth, and\nrighteousness; never was the law more gloriously vindicated or more\nthoroughly established than by that most glorious scheme of\nredemption, planned, executed, and revealed by the Eternal Three in\nOne,--planned by the Father, executed by the Son, and revealed by the\nHoly Ghost.\n\nIf we would have a just sense of the awful reality of the government\nof God, His wrath against sin, and the true character of His holiness,\nwe must gaze at the cross; we must hearken to that bitter cry that\nissued from the heart of the Son of God and broke through the dark\nshadows of Calvary, \"My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?\" Never\nhad such a question been asked before, never has such a question been\nasked since, and never shall--never can such a question be asked\nagain. Whether we consider the One who asked it, the One of whom it\nwas asked, or the answer, we must see that the question stands\nabsolutely alone in the annals of eternity. The cross is the measure\nof God's hatred of sin, as it is the measure of His love to the\nsinner. It is the imperishable foundation of the throne of grace, the\ndivinely righteous ground on which God can pardon our sins and\nconstitute us perfectly righteous in a risen and glorified Christ.\n\nBut then if men despise all this, and persist in their hatred of God,\nand yet talk of His being too good and too kind to punish evil-doers,\nhow will it be with them? \"He that obeyeth not [\u1f00\u03c0\u03b5\u03b9\u03b8\u1ff6\u03bd] the\nSon shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth upon him.\" (John\niii. 36.)[6] Can it be possible--can we believe for a moment that a\njust God should exercise judgment upon His only begotten Son, His\nwell-beloved, His eternal delight, because He was bearing our sins in\nHis own body on the tree, and yet allow impenitent sinners to escape?\nHad Jesus, the spotless, holy, perfect Man--the only perfect Man that\never trod this earth--had He to suffer for sins, the just for the\nunjust, and shall evil-doers, unbelievers, and haters of God be saved\nand blessed and taken to heaven? and all this, forsooth, because God\nis too kind and too good to punish sinners in hell forever! Did it\ncost God the giving up, the forsaking, and the bruising of His beloved\nSon in order to save His people _from their sins_, and shall ungodly\nsinners, despisers, and rebels be saved _in their sins_? Did the Lord\nJesus Christ die for nothing? did Jehovah put Him to grief and hide\nHis face from Him when there was no necessity? Why the awful horrors\nof Calvary? why the three hours' darkness? why that bitter cry, \"My\nGod, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?\"--why all this if sinners can\nget to heaven without it? Why all this inconceivable sorrow and\nsuffering for our blessed Lord if God is too kind and too gracious and\ntoo tender to send sinners to hell?\n\n [6] John iii. 36 is a passage of immense weight and importance. It not\n only sets forth the great truth that all who believe in the Son of God\n are the privileged possessors of eternal life, but it also cuts up by\n the roots two leading heresies of the day, namely, universalism and\n annihilationism. The universalist professes to believe that,\n ultimately, all shall be restored and blessed. Not so, says our\n passage; for those who obey not the Son \"shall not see life.\"\n\n The annihilationist professes to believe that all who are out of\n Christ shall perish like the beasts. Not so, for \"the wrath of God\n _abideth_\" upon the disobedient. Abiding wrath and annihilation are\n wholly incompatible. It is utterly impossible to reconcile them.\n\n It is interesting and instructive to notice the difference between\n the words \u1f41 \u03c0\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03b5\u03cd\u03c9\u03bd--\"he that believeth\"--and \u1f41\n \u1f00\u03c0\u03b5\u03b9\u03b8\u1ff6\u03bd--\"he that obeyeth not.\" They give us the two sides\n of the subject of faith.\n\nWhat egregious folly! What will not men believe, provided it be not\nthe truth of God? The poor dark human mind will affect to believe the\nmost monstrous absurdity in order to get a plea for rejecting the\nplain teaching of holy Scripture. The very thing which men would never\nthink of attributing to a good human government they do not hesitate\nto attribute to the government of the only wise, the only true, the\nonly just God. What should we think of a government that could not or\nwould not punish evil-doers? Would we like to live under it? What\nshould we think of the government of England if, because her majesty\nis so kind, so gracious, so tender-hearted, she could not allow\ncriminals to be punished as the law directs? Who would care to live in\nEngland?\n\nReader, do you not see how that one verse which is now before us\ndemolishes completely all the theories and arguments which men, in\ntheir folly and ignorance, have advanced on the subject of the divine\ngovernment? \"The Lord thy God, He is God, the faithful God, which ...\nrepayeth them that hate Him to their face, to destroy them; He will\nnot be slack to him that hateth Him, He will repay him to his face.\"\n\nOh that men would hearken to the Word of God! that they would be\nwarned by its clear, emphatic, and solemn statements as to coming\nwrath, judgment, and eternal punishment! that, instead of seeking to\npersuade themselves and others that there is no hell, no deathless\nworm and unquenchable fire, no eternal torment, they would listen to\nthe warning voice, and, ere it be too late, flee for refuge to the\nhope set before them in the gospel! Truly this would be their wisdom.\nGod declares that He will repay those that hate Him. How awful the\nthought of this repayment! Who can meet it? The government of God is\nperfect, and because it is so, it is utterly impossible that it can\nallow evil to pass unjudged. Nothing can be plainer than this. All\nScripture, from Genesis to Revelation, sets it forth in terms so clear\nand forcible as to render it the very height of folly for men to argue\nagainst it. How much better and wiser and safer to flee from the wrath\nto come than to deny that it is coming, and that when it does come, it\nwill be eternal in its duration. It is utterly vain for any one to\nattempt to reason in opposition to the truth of God. Every word of\nGod shall stand forever. We see the actings of His government in\nreference to His people Israel, and in reference to Christians now.\nDid He pass over evil in His people of old? Nay; on the contrary, He\nvisited them continually with His chastening rod, and this, too, just\nbecause they were His people, as He said to them by His prophet\nAmos--\"Hear this word which the Lord hath spoken against you, O\nchildren of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from\nthe land of Egypt, saying, 'You only have I known of all the families\nof the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.'\"\n(Amos iii. 1, 2.)\n\nWe have the same weighty principle set forth in the first epistle of\nPeter, in its application to Christians now.--\"For the time is come\nthat _judgment must begin_ at the house of God; and if it first begin\nat us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?\nAnd if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and\nthe sinner appear?\" (Chap. iv. 17, 18.)\n\nGod chastens His own just because they are His own, and that they may\nnot be condemned with the world. (1 Cor. xi.) The children of this\nworld are allowed to go on their way; but their day is coming--a dark\nand heavy day--a day of judgment and unmitigated wrath. Men may\nquestion and argue and reason, but Scripture is distinct and emphatic.\n\"God hath appointed a day in which He will judge the world in\nrighteousness, by that Man whom He hath ordained.\" The great day of\nreckoning is at hand, when God will repay every man to his face.\n\nIt is truly edifying to mark the way in which Moses, that beloved and\nhonored servant of God, led assuredly by the Spirit of God, pressed\nthe grand and solemn realities of the divine government upon the\nconscience of the congregation. Hear how he pleads and exhorts: \"Thou\nshalt _therefore_ keep the commandments, and the statutes, and the\njudgments, which I command thee this day, _to do them_. Wherefore it\nshall come to pass, if ye _hearken_ to these judgments, and _keep_ and\n_do_ them, that the Lord thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant and\nthe mercy which He sware unto thy fathers. And He will _love_ thee,\nand _bless_ thee, and _multiply_ thee; He will also bless the fruit of\nthy womb, and the fruit of thy land, thy corn, and thy wine, and thine\noil, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep, in the\nland which He sware unto thy fathers to give thee. Thou shalt be\nblessed above all people; there shall not be male nor female barren\namong you or among your cattle. And the Lord will take away from thee\nall sickness, and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which\nthou knowest, upon thee; but will lay them upon all them that hate\nthee. And thou shalt consume all the people which the Lord thy God\nshall deliver thee; thine eye shall have no pity upon them; neither\nshalt thou serve their gods; for that will be a snare unto thee.\"\n(Ver. 11-16.)\n\nWhat a powerful appeal! how affecting! Mark the two groups of words.\nIsrael was to \"hearken,\" \"keep,\" and \"do.\" Jehovah was to \"love,\"\n\"bless,\" and \"multiply.\" Alas! alas! Israel failed--sadly, shamefully\nfailed, under law and under government; and hence, instead of the love\nand the blessing and the multiplying, there has been judgment, curse,\nbarrenness, dispersion, desolation.\n\nBut, blessed be the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God and\nFather of our Lord Jesus Christ, if Israel has failed under _law_ and\n_government_, He has not failed in His rich and precious sovereign\n_grace_ and _mercy_. He will keep the covenant and the mercy which He\nsware unto their fathers. Not one jot or tittle of His covenant-promise\nshall ever fail. He will make all good by and by. He will fulfill, to\nthe very letter, all His gracious promises. Though He cannot do this\non the ground of Israel's obedience, He can and will do it through the\nblood of the everlasting covenant, the precious blood of Jesus, His\neternal Son--all homage to His peerless name!\n\nYes, reader, the God of Israel cannot suffer one of His precious\npromises to fall to the ground. What would become of us if He could?\nWhat security, what rest, what peace could we have, if Jehovah's\ncovenant with Abraham were to fail in any single point? True it is\nthat Israel has forfeited all claim. If it be a question of fleshly\ndescent, Ishmael and Esau have a prior claim: if it be a question of\nlegal obedience, the golden calf and the broken tables tell their\nmelancholy tale: if it be a question of government on the ground of\nthe Moab covenant, they have not a single plea to urge.\n\nBut God will be God, spite of Israel's lamentable unfaithfulness. \"The\ngifts and calling of God are without repentance,\" and hence \"all\nIsrael shall be saved.\" God will most assuredly make good His oath to\nAbraham, spite of all the wreck and ruin of Abraham's seed. We must\nsteadfastly hold to this, in the face of every opposing thought,\nfeeling, or opinion. Israel shall be restored and blessed and\nmultiplied in their own beloved and holy land. They shall take down\ntheir harps from the willows and, beneath the peaceful shade of their\nown vines and fig-trees, chant the high praises of their loving\nSaviour and God, throughout that bright millennial Sabbath which lies\nbefore them. Such is the unvarying testimony of Scripture, from\nbeginning to end, which must be maintained in its integrity, and made\ngood in every particular, to the glory of God, and on the ground of\nHis everlasting covenant.\n\nBut we must return to our chapter, the closing verses of which demand\nour special attention. It is very touching and beautiful to mark the\nway in which Moses seeks to encourage the heart of the people in\nreference to the dreaded nations of Canaan. He enters into and\nanticipates their very inmost thoughts and feelings.\n\n\"If thou shalt say _in thine heart_, These nations are more than I;\nhow can I dispossess them? Thou shalt not be afraid of them; but shalt\n_well remember_ what the Lord thy God did unto Pharaoh, and unto all\nEgypt; the great temptations which thine eyes saw, and the signs, and\nthe wonders, and the mighty hand, and the stretched-out arm, whereby\nthe Lord thy God brought thee out: _so_ shall the Lord thy God do unto\nall the people of whom thou art afraid. Moreover, the Lord thy God\nwill send the hornet among them, until they that are left, and hide\nthemselves from thee, be destroyed. Thou shalt not be affrighted at\nthem; for _the Lord thy God is among you, a mighty God and terrible_.\nAnd the Lord thy God will put out those nations before thee by little\nand little; thou mayest not consume them at once, lest the beasts of\nthe field increase upon thee. But the Lord thy God shall deliver them\nunto thee, and shall destroy them with a mighty destruction, until\nthey be destroyed. And He shall deliver their kings into thine hand,\nand thou shalt destroy their name from under heaven; there shall no\nman be able to stand before thee, until thou have destroyed them. The\ngraven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire; thou shalt not\ndesire the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest\nthou be snared therein; for it is an abomination to the Lord thy God.\nNeither shalt thou bring _an abomination into thine house, lest thou\nbe a cursed thing like it_; but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou\nshalt utterly abhor it, for it is a cursed thing.\" (Ver. 17-26.)\n\nThe grand remedy for all unbelieving fears is, simply to fix the eye\nupon the living God; thus the heart is raised above the difficulties,\nwhatever they may be. It is of no possible use to deny that there are\ndifficulties and opposing influences of all sorts. This will not\nminister comfort and encouragement to the sinking heart. Some people\naffect a certain style of speaking of trials and difficulties which\njust goes to prove, not their practical knowledge of God, but their\nprofound ignorance of the stern realities of life. They would fain\npersuade us that we ought not to feel the trials, sorrows, and\ndifficulties of the way. They might as well tell us that we ought not\nto have a head on our shoulders or a heart in our bosom. Such persons\nknow not how to comfort those that are cast down. They are mere\nvisionary theorists, wholly unfit to deal with souls passing through\nconflict or grappling with the actual facts of our daily history.\n\nHow did Moses seek to encourage the hearts of his brethren? \"Be not\naffrighted,\" he says; but why? Was it that there were no enemies, no\ndifficulties, no dangers? No; but \"the Lord thy God is among you, a\nmighty God and terrible.\" Here is the true comfort and encouragement.\nThe enemies were there, but God is the sure resource. Thus it was that\nJehoshaphat, in his time of trial and pressure, sought to encourage\nhimself and his brethren. \"O our God, wilt Thou not judge them? For we\nhave no might against this great company that cometh against us,\nneither know we what to do; but _our eyes are upon Thee_.\"\n\nHere lies the precious secret. The eyes are upon God. His power is\nbrought in, and this settles every thing. \"If God be for us, who can\nbe against us?\" Moses meets, by his precious ministry, the rising\nfears in the heart of Israel--\"These nations are more than I.\" Yes,\nbut they are not more than the \"mighty and terrible God.\" What nations\ncould stand before Him? He had a solemn controversy with those nations\nbecause of their terrible sins; their iniquity was full; the\nreckoning-time had come, and the God of Israel was going to drive them\nout before His people.\n\nHence, therefore, Israel had no need to fear the _power_ of the enemy.\nJehovah would see to that. But there was something far more to be\ndreaded than the enemy's power, and that was, the insnaring influence\nof their idolatry. \"The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with\nfire.\" What! the heart might say, are we to destroy the gold and\nsilver that adorn these images? Might not that be turned to some good\naccount? Is it not a pity to destroy what is so very valuable in\nitself? It is all right to burn the images, but why not spare the gold\nand silver?\n\nAh, it is just thus the poor heart is prone to reason; thus ofttimes\nwe deceive ourselves when called to judge and abandon what is evil. We\npersuade ourselves of the rightness of making some reserve; we imagine\nwe can pick and choose and make some distinction. We are prepared to\ngive up some of the evil, but not all. We are ready to burn the wood\nof the idol, but spare the gold and silver.\n\nFatal delusion! \"Thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on\nthem, nor take it unto thee, _lest thou be snared therein_; for it is\nan abomination to the Lord thy God.\" All must be given up, all\ndestroyed. To retain an atom of the accursed thing is to fall into the\nsnare of the devil, and link ourselves with that which, however highly\nesteemed among men, is an abomination in the sight of God.\n\nAnd let us mark and ponder the closing verses of our chapter. To bring\nan abomination into the house is to become like it! How very solemn!\nDo we fully understand it? The man who brought an abomination into his\nhouse became a cursed thing like it!\n\nReader, may the Lord keep our hearts separated from all evil, and true\nand loyal to Himself.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII.\n\n\n\"All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe\nto do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land\nwhich the Lord sware unto your fathers. And thou shalt remember _all\nthe way_ which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the\nwilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in\nthine heart, whether thou wouldest keep His commandments or no.\" (Ver.\n1, 2.)\n\nIt is at once refreshing, edifying, and encouraging to look back over\nthe whole course along which the faithful hand of our God has\nconducted us; to trace His wise and gracious dealings with us; to call\nto mind His many marvelous interpositions on our behalf; how He\ndelivered us out of this strait and that difficulty; how, ofttimes,\nwhen we were at our wits' end, He appeared for our help, and opened\nthe way before us, rebuking our fears and filling our hearts with\nsongs of praise and thanksgiving.\n\nWe must not, by any means, confound this delightful exercise with the\nmiserable habit of looking back at _our_ ways, our attainments, our\nprogress, our service, what we have been able to do, even though we\nare ready to admit, in a general way, that it was only by the grace of\nGod that we were enabled to do any little work for Him. All this only\nministers to self-complacency, which is destructive of all true\nspirituality of mind. Self-retrospection, if we may be allowed to use\nsuch a term, is quite as injurious in its moral effect as\nself-introspection. In short, self-occupation, in any of its\nmultiplied phases, is most pernicious; it is, in so far as it is\nallowed to operate, the death-blow to fellowship. Any thing that tends\nto bring self before the mind must be judged and refused, with stern\ndecision; it brings in barrenness, darkness, and feebleness. For a\nperson to sit down to look back at his attainments or his doings, is\nabout as wretched an occupation as any one could engage in. We may be\nsure it was not to any such thing as this that Moses exhorted the\npeople when he charged them to \"remember all the way by which the\nLord their God had led them.\"\n\nWe may here recur, for a moment, to the memorable words of the apostle\nin Philippians iii.--\"Brethren, I count not myself to have\napprehended; but this one thing I do, _forgetting those things which\nare behind_, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I\npress toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in\nChrist Jesus.\"\n\nNow, the question is, what were the \"things\" of which the blessed\napostle speaks? Did he forget the precious dealings of God with his\nsoul throughout the whole of his wilderness-journey? Impossible!--indeed\nwe have the very fullest and clearest evidence to the contrary. Hear\nhis touching words before Agrippa--\"Having therefore obtained help of\nGod, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great.\" So\nalso, in writing to his beloved son and fellow-laborer, Timothy, he\nreviews the past, and speaks of the persecutions and afflictions which\nhe had endured; \"but,\" he adds, \"out of them all the Lord delivered\nme.\" And again, \"At my first answer no man stood with me, but all\nforsook me; I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge.\nNotwithstanding, the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by\nme the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might\nhear; and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.\"\n\nTo what then does the apostle refer when he speaks of \"forgetting\nthose things which are behind\"? We believe he refers to all those\nthings which had no connection with Christ--things in which the heart\nmight rest, and nature might glory--things which might act as weights\nand hindrances,--all these were to be forgotten in the ardent pursuit\nof those grand and glorious realities which lay before him. We do not\nbelieve that Paul, or any other child of God or servant of Christ,\ncould ever desire to forget a single scene or circumstance in his\nwhole earthly career in any way illustrative of the goodness, the\nloving-kindness, the tender mercy, the faithfulness of God. On the\ncontrary, we believe it will ever be one of our very sweetest\nexercises to dwell upon the blessed memory of all our Father's ways\nwith us while passing across the desert, home to our everlasting rest.\n\n \"There with what joy reviewing\n Past conflicts, dangers, fears,\n Thy hand our foes subduing,\n And drying all our tears.\n Our hearts with rapture burning,\n The path we shall retrace,\n Where now our souls are learning\n The riches of Thy grace.\"\n\nBut let us not be misunderstood. We do not, by any means, wish to give\ncountenance to the habit of dwelling merely upon our own experience.\nThis is often very poor work, and resolves itself into self-occupation.\nWe have to guard against this as one of the many things which tend to\nlower our spiritual tone and draw our hearts away from Christ. But we\nneed never be afraid of the result of dwelling upon the record of the\nLord's dealings and ways with us. This is a blessed habit, tending\never to lift us out of ourselves, and fill us with praise and\nthanksgiving.\n\nWhy, we may ask, were Israel charged to \"remember _all_ the way\" by\nwhich the Lord their God had led them? Assuredly, to draw out their\nhearts in praise for the past, and to strengthen their confidence in\nGod for the future. Thus it must ever be.\n\n \"We'll praise Him for all that is past,\n And trust Him for all that's to come.\"\n\nMay we do so more and more. May we just move on, day by day, praising\nand trusting, trusting and praising. These are the two things which\nredound to the glory of God, and to our peace and joy in Him. When the\neye rests on the \"Ebenezers\" which lie all along the way, the heart\nmust give forth its sweet \"halleluiahs\" to Him who has helped us\nhitherto, and will help us right on to the end. He _hath_ delivered,\nand He _doth_ deliver, and He _will_ deliver. Blessed chain! Its every\nlink is divine deliverance.\n\nNor is it merely upon the signal mercies and gracious deliverances of\nour Father's hand that we are to dwell, with devout thankfulness, but\nalso upon the \"humblings\" and the \"provings\" of His wise, faithful,\nand holy love. All these things are full of richest blessing to our\nsouls. They are not, as people sometimes call them, \"mercies in\ndisguise,\" but plain, palpable, unmistakable mercies, for which we\nshall have to praise our God throughout the golden ages of that bright\neternity which lies before us.\n\n\"Thou shalt remember _all_ the way\"--every stage of the journey, every\nscene of wilderness-life, all the dealings of God, from first to last,\nwith the special object thereof, \"to humble thee, and to prove thee,\n_to know what was in thine heart_.\"\n\nHow wonderful to think of God's patient grace and painstaking love\nwith His people in the wilderness! What precious instruction for us!\nWith what intense interest and spiritual delight we can hang over the\nrecord of the divine dealings with Israel in all their desert-wanderings!\nHow much we can learn from the marvelous history! We, too, have to be\nhumbled and proved, and made to know what is in our hearts. It is very\nprofitable and morally wholesome.\n\nOn our first setting out to follow the Lord, we know but little of the\ndepths of evil and folly in our hearts. Indeed, we are superficial in\nevery thing. It is as we get on in our practical career that we begin\nto prove the reality of things; we find out the depths of evil in\nourselves, the utter hollowness and worthlessness of all that is in\nthe world, and the urgent need of the most complete dependence upon\nthe grace of God every moment. All this is very good; it makes us\nhumble and self-distrusting; it delivers us from pride and\nself-sufficiency, and leads us to cling, in childlike simplicity, to\nthe One who alone is able to keep us from falling. Thus, as we grow\nin self-knowledge, we get a deeper sense of grace, a more profound\nacquaintance with the wondrous love of the heart of God, His\ntenderness toward us, His marvelous patience in bearing with all our\ninfirmities and failings, His rich mercy in having taken us up at all,\nHis loving ministry to all our varied need, His numberless\ninterpositions on our behalf, the exercises through which He has seen\nfit to lead us for our souls' deep and permanent profit.\n\nThe practical effect of all this is invaluable; it imparts depth,\nsolidity, and mellowness to the character; it cures us of all our\ncrude notions and vain theories; it delivers us from one-sidedness and\nwild extremes; it makes us tender, thoughtful, patient, and\nconsiderate toward others; it corrects our harsh judgments and gives a\ngracious desire to put the best possible construction upon the actions\nof others, and a readiness to attribute the best motives in cases\nwhich may seem to us equivocal. These are precious fruits of\nwilderness-experience which we may all earnestly covet.\n\n\"And He humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with\nmanna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know, that He\nmight make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by\nevery word which proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man\nlive.\" (Ver 3.)\n\nThis passage derives special interest and importance from the fact\nthat it is the first of our Lord's quotations from the book of\nDeuteronomy in His conflict with the adversary in the wilderness. Let\nus ponder this deeply; it demands our earnest attention. Why did our\nLord quote from Deuteronomy? Because that was the book which, above\nall others, specially applied to the condition of Israel at the\nmoment. Israel had utterly failed, and this weighty fact is assumed in\nthe book of Deuteronomy from beginning to end. But notwithstanding the\nfailure of the nation, the path of obedience lay open to every\nfaithful Israelite. It was the privilege and duty of every one who\nloved God to abide by His Word under all circumstances and in all\nplaces.\n\nNow, our blessed Lord was divinely true to the position of the Israel\nof God. Israel after the flesh had failed and forfeited every thing;\nHe was there, in the wilderness, as the true Israel of God, to meet\nthe enemy by the simple authority of the Word of God. \"And Jesus,\nbeing full of the Holy Ghost, returned from Jordan, and was led by the\nSpirit into the wilderness, being forty days tempted of the devil. And\nin those days He did eat nothing; and when they were ended, He\nafterward hungered. And the devil said unto Him, 'If Thou be the Son\nof God, command this stone that it be made bread.' And Jesus answered\nHim, saying, '_It is written_, that man shall not live by bread alone,\nbut by every word of God.'\" (Luke iv.)\n\nHere, then, is something for us to ponder. The perfect Man, the true\nIsrael, in the wilderness, surrounded by the wild beasts, fasting for\nforty days, in the presence of the great adversary of God, of man, of\nIsrael. There was not a single feature in the scene to speak for God.\nIt was not with the second Man as it was with the first; He was not\nsurrounded with all the delights of Eden, but with all the dreariness\nand desolation of a desert--there in loneliness and hunger, but there\nfor God!\n\nYes, blessed be His name, and there for man,--there to show man how to\nmeet the enemy in all his varied temptations, there to show man how to\nlive. We must not suppose for a moment that our adorable Lord met the\nadversary as God over all. True, He was God, but if it were only as\nsuch that He stood in the conflict, it could not afford any example\nfor us. Besides, it would be needless to tell us that God was able to\nvanquish and put to flight a creature which His own hand had formed.\nBut to see One who was, in every respect, a man, and in all the\ncircumstances of humanity, sin excepted,--to see Him there in\nweakness, in hunger, standing amid the consequences of man's fall, and\nto find Him triumphing completely over the terrible foe, it is this\nwhich is so full of comfort, consolation, strength, and encouragement\nfor us.\n\nAnd how did He triumph? This is the grand and all-important question\nfor us,--a question demanding the most profound attention of every\nmember of the Church of God--a question the magnitude and importance\nof which it would be utterly impossible to overstate. How, then, did\nthe Man Christ Jesus vanquish Satan in the wilderness? Simply by the\nWord of God. He overcame, not as the almighty God, but as the humble,\ndependent, self-emptied, and obedient Man. We have before us the\nmagnificent spectacle of a Man standing in the presence of the devil\nand utterly confounding him with no other weapon whatsoever save the\nWord of God. It was not by the display of divine power, for that could\nbe no model for us; it was simply with the Word of God, in His heart\nand in His mouth, that the Second Man confounded the terrible enemy of\nGod and man.\n\nAnd let us carefully note that our blessed Lord does not reason with\nSatan. He does not appeal to any facts connected with Himself--facts\nwith which the enemy was well acquainted. He does not say, I know I am\nthe Son of God; the opened heavens, the descending Spirit, the\nFather's voice, have all borne witness to the fact of My being the Son\nof God. No; this would not do; it would not and could not be an\nexample for us. _The_ one special point for us to seize and learn from\nis, that our great Exemplar, when meeting all the temptations of the\nenemy, used only the weapon which we have in our possession, namely,\nthe simple, precious, written, Word of God.\n\nWe say, \"all the temptations,\" because in all the three instances our\nLord's unvarying reply is, \"_It is written_.\" He does not say, \"I\nknow\"--\"I think\"--\"I feel\"--\"I believe\" this, that, or the other; He\nsimply appeals to the written Word of God--the book of Deuteronomy in\nparticular,--that very book which infidels have dared to insult, but\nwhich is pre-eminently the book for every obedient man, in the face\nof total, universal, hopeless, wreck and ruin.\n\nThis is of unspeakable moment for us, beloved reader. It is as though\nour Lord Christ had said to the adversary, Whether I am the Son of God\nor not is not now the question, but how _man_ is to live, and the\nanswer to this question is only to be found in holy Scripture; and it\nis to be found there as clear as a sunbeam, quite irrespective of all\nquestions respecting Me. Whoever I am, the Scripture is the same: \"man\ndoth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of\nthe mouth of the Lord.\"\n\nHere we have the only true, the only safe, the only happy attitude for\nman, namely, hanging in earnest dependence upon \"every word that\nproceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord.\" Blessed attitude! We may\nwell say there is nothing like it in all this world. It brings the\nsoul into direct, living, personal contact with the Lord Himself, by\nmeans of His Word. It makes the Word so absolutely essential to us, in\nevery thing; we cannot do without it. As the natural life is sustained\nby bread, so the spiritual life is sustained by the Word of God. It is\nnot merely going to the Bible to find doctrines there, or to have our\nopinions or views confirmed; it is very much more than this; it is\ngoing to the Bible for the staple commodity of life--the life of the\nnew man; it is going there for food, for light, for guidance, for\ncomfort, for authority, for strength--for all, in short, that the soul\ncan possibly need, from first to last.\n\nAnd let us specially note the force and value of the expression,\n\"_every_ word.\" How fully it shows that we cannot afford to dispense\nwith a single word that has proceeded out of the mouth of the Lord. We\nwant it all. We cannot tell the moment in which some exigence may\npresent itself for which Scripture has already provided. We may not\nperhaps have specially noticed the scripture before, but when the\ndifficulty arises, if we are in a right condition of soul--the true\nposture of heart, the Spirit of God will furnish us with the needed\nscripture, and we shall see a force, beauty, depth, and moral\nadaptation in the passage which we had never seen before. Scripture is\na divine and therefore exhaustless treasury, in which God has made\nample provision for all the need of His people, and for each believer\nin particular, right on to the end. Hence we should study it all,\nponder it, dig deeply into it, and have it treasured up in our hearts,\nready for use when the demand arises.\n\nThere is not a single crisis occurring in the entire history of the\nChurch of God, not a single difficulty in the entire path of any\nindividual believer, from beginning to end, which has not been\nperfectly provided for in the Bible. We have all we want in that\nblessed volume, and hence we should be ever seeking to make ourselves\nmore and more acquainted with what that volume contains, so as to be\n\"thoroughly furnished\" for whatever may arise, whether it be a\ntemptation of the devil, an allurement of the world, or a lust of the\nflesh; or, on the other hand, for equipment for that path of good\nworks which God has afore prepared that we should walk in it.\n\nAnd we should, further, give special attention to the expression,\n\"_Out of the mouth of the Lord_.\" This is unspeakably precious. It\nbrings the Lord so very near to us, and gives us such a sense of the\nreality of feeding upon His every word--yea, of hanging upon it as\nsomething absolutely essential and indispensable. It sets forth the\nblessed fact that our souls can no more exist without the Word than\nour bodies could without food. In a word, we are taught by this\npassage that _man's_ true position, his proper attitude, his only\nplace of strength, safety, rest, and blessing, is to be found in\nhabitual dependence upon the Word of God.\n\nThis is the life of faith which we are called to live--the life of\ndependence--the life of obedience--the life that Jesus lived\nperfectly. That blessed One would not move a step, utter a word, or do\na single thing save by the authority of the Word of God. No doubt He\ncould have turned stone into bread, but He had no command from God to\ndo that; and inasmuch as He had no command, He had no motive for\naction. Hence Satan's temptations were perfectly powerless. He could\ndo nothing with a man who would only act on the authority of the Word\nof God.\n\nAnd we may also note, with very much interest and profit, that our\nblessed Lord does not quote Scripture for the purpose of silencing the\nadversary, but simply as authority for His position and conduct. Here\nis where we are so apt to fail; we do not sufficiently use the\nprecious Word of God in this way; we quote it, at times, more for\nvictory over the enemy than for power and authority for our own souls.\nThus it loses its power in our hearts. We want to use the Word as a\nhungry man uses bread, or as a mariner uses his chart and his compass;\nit is that on which we live, and by which we move and act and think\nand speak. Such it really is, and the more fully we prove it to be all\nthis to us, the more we shall know of its infinite preciousness. Who\nis it that knows most of the real value of bread? Is it a chemist? No;\nbut a hungry man. A chemist may analyze it, and discuss its component\nparts, but a hungry man proves its worth. Who knows most of the real\nvalue of a chart? is it the teacher of navigation? No; but the mariner\nas he sails along an unknown and dangerous coast.\n\nThese are but feeble figures to illustrate what the Word of God is to\nthe true Christian. He cannot do without it. It is absolutely\nindispensable, in every relationship of life and in every sphere of\naction. His hidden life is fed and sustained by it; his practical life\nis guided by it. In all the scenes and circumstances of his personal\nand domestic history, in the privacy of his closet, in the bosom of\nhis family, in the management of his affairs, he is cast upon the Word\nof God for guidance and counsel.\n\nAnd it never fails those who simply cleave to it and confide in it.\nWe may trust Scripture without a single shade of misgiving. Go to it\nwhen we will, we shall always find what we want. Are we in sorrow? is\nthe poor heart bereaved, crushed, and desolate? What can soothe and\ncomfort us like the balmy words which the Holy Spirit has penned for\nus? One sentence of holy Scripture can do more, in the way of comfort\nand consolation, than all the letters of condolence that ever were\npenned by human hand. Are we discouraged, faint-hearted, and cast\ndown? The Word of God meets us with its bright and soul-stirring\nassurances. Are we pressed by pinching poverty? The Holy Ghost brings\nhome to our hearts some golden promise from the page of inspiration,\nrecalling us to Him who is \"the Possessor of heaven and earth,\" and\nwho, in His infinite grace, has pledged Himself to \"supply all _our\nneed_ according to _His riches_ in glory by Christ Jesus.\" Are we\nperplexed and harassed by the conflicting opinions of men, by the\ndogmas of conflicting schools of divinity, by religious and\ntheological difficulties? A few sentences of holy Scripture will pour\nin a flood of divine light upon the heart and conscience, and set us\nat perfect rest, answering every question, solving every difficulty,\nremoving every doubt, chasing away every cloud, giving us to know the\nmind of God, putting an end to conflicting opinions by the one\ndivinely competent authority.\n\nWhat a boon, therefore, is holy Scripture! What a precious treasure we\npossess in the Word of God! How we should bless His holy name for\nhaving given it to us! Yes; and bless Him, too, for every thing that\ntends to make us more fully acquainted with the depth, fullness, and\npower of those words of our chapter, \"Man shall not live by bread\nonly, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord\ndoth man live.\"\n\nTruly precious are these words to the heart of the believer! And\nhardly less so are those that follow, in which the beloved and revered\nlawgiver refers, with touching sweetness, to Jehovah's tender care\nthroughout the whole of Israel's desert-wanderings. \"Thy raiment,\" he\nsays, \"waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these\nforty years.\"\n\nWhat marvelous grace shines out in these words! Only think, reader, of\nJehovah looking after His people in such a manner, to see that their\ngarments should not wax old or their foot swell! He not only fed them,\nbut clothed them and cared for them in every way. He even stooped to\nlook after their feet, that the sand of the desert might not injure\nthem. Thus, for forty years, did He watch over them, with all the\nexquisite tenderness of a father's heart. What will not love undertake\nto do for its object? Jehovah had set His love upon His people, and\nthis one blessed fact secured every thing for them, had they only\nunderstood it. There was not a single thing within the range of\nIsrael's necessities, from Egypt to Canaan, which was not secured to\nthem and included in the fact that Jehovah had undertaken to do for\nthem. With infinite love and almighty power on their side, what could\nbe lacking?\n\nBut then, as we know, love clothes itself in various forms. It has\nsomething more to do than to provide food and raiment for its objects.\nIt has not only to take account of their physical but also of their\nmoral and spiritual wants. Of this the lawgiver does not fail to\nremind the people. \"Thou shalt also consider,\" he says, \"_in thine\nheart_\"--the only true and effective way to consider--\"that, as a man\nchasteneth his son, so the Lord thy God chasteneth thee.\"\n\nNow, we do not like chastening; it is not joyous, but grievous. It is\nall very well for a son to receive food and raiment from a father's\nhand, and to have all his comforts provided by a father's thoughtful\nlove, but he does not like to see him taking down the rod. And yet\nthat dreaded rod may be the very best thing for the son; it may do for\nhim what no material benefits or earthly blessings could effect,--it\nmay correct some bad habit, or deliver him from some wrong tendency,\nor save him from some evil influence, and thus prove a great moral and\nspiritual blessing for which he shall have to be forever thankful. The\ngrand point for the son is, to see a father's love and care in the\ndiscipline and chastening just as distinctly as in the various\nmaterial benefits which strew his path from day to day.\n\nHere is precisely where we so signally fail in reference to the\ndisciplinary dealings of our Father. We rejoice in His benefits and\nblessings; we are filled with praise and thankfulness as we receive,\nday by day, from His liberal hand, the rich supply of all our need; we\ndelight to dwell upon His marvelous interposition on our behalf in\ntimes of pressure and difficulty; it is a most precious exercise to\nlook back over the path by which His good hand has led us, and mark\nthose \"Ebenezers\" which tell of gracious help supplied all along the\nroad.\n\nAll this is very good and very right and very precious, but then there\nis a great danger of our resting in the mercies, the blessings, and\nthe benefits which flow, in such rich profusion, from our Father's\nloving heart and liberal hand. We are apt to rest in these things, and\nsay with the Psalmist, \"In _my prosperity_ I said, 'I shall never be\nmoved. Lord, by Thy favor Thou hast made _my mountain_ to stand\nstrong.'\" True, it is \"by Thy favor,\" but yet we are prone to be\noccupied with _our_ mountain and _our_ prosperity; we allow these\nthings to come in between our hearts and the Lord, and thus they\nbecome a snare to us. Hence the need of chastening. Our Father, in His\nfaithful love and care, is watching over us; He sees the danger and He\nsends trial, in one shape or another. Perhaps a telegram comes\nannouncing the death of a beloved child, or the crash of a bank\ninvolving the loss of our earthly all; or, it may be, we are laid on a\nbed of pain and sickness, or called to watch by the sick bed of a\nbeloved relative.\n\nIn a word, we are called to wade through deep waters which seem, to\nour poor, feeble, coward hearts, absolutely overwhelming. The enemy\nsuggests the question. Is this love? Faith replies, without\nhesitation and without reserve, Yes; it is all love--perfect love; the\ndeath of the child, the loss of the property, the long, heavy, painful\nillness, all the sorrow, all the pressure, all the exercise, the deep\nwaters and dark shadows--all, all is love--perfect love and unerring\nwisdom. I feel assured of it, even now; I do not wait to know it by\nand by, when I shall look back on the path from amid the full light of\nthe glory; I know it now, and delight to own it to the praise of that\ninfinite grace which has taken me up from the depth of my ruin, and\ncharged itself with all that concerns me, and which deigns to occupy\nitself with my very failures, follies, and sins, in order to deliver\nme from them, and to make me a partaker of divine holiness, and\nconform me to the image of that blessed One who \"loved Me and gave\nHimself for me.\"\n\nChristian reader, this is the way to answer Satan, and to hush the\ndark reasonings which may spring up in our hearts. We must always\njustify God. We must look at all His disciplinary dealings in the\nlight of His love. \"Thou shalt also consider in thine heart that, _as\na man chasteneth his son_, so the Lord thy God chasteneth thee.\" Most\nsurely we should not like to be without the blessed pledge and proof\nof sonship. \"_My son_, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord,\nnor faint when thou art rebuked of Him; for _whom the Lord loveth He\nchasteneth_, and scourgeth _every son_ whom He receiveth. If ye endure\nchastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom\nthe father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof\nall are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore, we\nhave had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them\nreverence; shall we not much rather be in subjection to the Father of\nspirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after\ntheir own pleasure; but He for our profit, that we might be partakers\nof His holiness. Now, no chastening for the present seemeth to be\njoyous, but grievous; nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth the\npeaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised\nthereby. Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble\nknees; and make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame\nbe turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.\" (Heb. xii.\n5-13.)\n\nIt is at once interesting and profitable to mark the way in which\nMoses presses upon the congregation the varied motives of obedience\narising from the past, the present, and the future. Every thing is\nbrought to bear upon them to quicken and deepen their sense of\nJehovah's claims upon them. They were to \"remember\" the past, they\nwere to \"consider\" the present, and they were to anticipate the\nfuture; and all this was to act on their hearts, and lead them forth\nin holy obedience to that blessed and gracious One who had done, who\nwas doing, and who would do such great things for them.\n\nThe thoughtful reader can hardly fail to observe in this constant\npresentation of moral motives a marked feature of this lovely book of\nDeuteronomy, and a striking proof that it is no mere attempt at a\nrepetition of what we have in Exodus; but, on the contrary, that our\nbook has a province, a range, a scope, and design entirely its own. To\nspeak of mere repetition is absurd; to speak of contradiction is\nimpious.\n\n\"Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, to\nwalk in His ways, and to fear Him.\" The word \"therefore\" had a\nretrospective and prospective force. It was designed to lead the heart\nback over the past dealings of Jehovah, and forward into the future.\nThey were to think of the marvelous history of those forty years in\nthe desert,--the teaching, the humbling, the proving, the watchful\ncare, the gracious ministry, the full supply of all their need, the\nmanna from heaven, the stream from the smitten rock, the care of their\ngarments, and of their very feet, the wholesome discipline for their\nmoral good. What powerful moral motives were here for Israel's\nobedience!\n\nBut this was not all: they were to look forward into the future; they\nwere to anticipate the bright prospect which lay before them; they\nwere to find in the future, as well as in the past and the present,\nthe solid basis of Jehovah's claims upon their reverent and\nwhole-hearted obedience.\n\n\"For the Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks\nof water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and\nhills; a land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig-trees, and\npomegranates, a land of oil olive, and honey; a land wherein thou\nshalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in\nit; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest\ndig brass.\"\n\nHow fair was the prospect! how bright the vision! How marked the\ncontrast to the Egypt behind them and the wilderness through which\nthey had passed! The Lord's land lay before them in all its beauty and\nverdure, its vine-clad hills and honeyed plains, its gushing fountains\nand flowing streams. How refreshing the thought of the vine, the\nfig-tree, the pomegranate, and the olive! How different from the\nleeks, onions, and garlic of Egypt! Yes, all so different! It was the\nLord's own land: this was enough. It produced and contained all they\ncould possibly want. Above its surface, rich profusion; below, untold\nwealth--exhaustless treasure.\n\nWhat a prospect! How the faithful Israelite would long to enter upon\nit!--long to exchange the sand of the desert for that bright\ninheritance! True, the desert had its deep and blessed experiences,\nits holy lessons, its precious memories; there they had known Jehovah\nin a way they could not know Him even in Canaan;--all this was quite\ntrue, and we can fully understand it; but still the wilderness was not\nCanaan, and every true Israelite would long to set his foot on the\nland of promise, and truly we may say that Moses presents the land, in\nthe passage just quoted, in a way eminently calculated to attract the\nheart. \"A land,\" he says, \"wherein thou shalt eat bread without\nscarceness, _thou shalt not lack any_ _thing in it_.\" What more could\nbe said? Here was the grand fact in reference to that good land into\nwhich the hand of covenant-love was about to introduce them. All their\nwants would be divinely met. Hunger and thirst should never be known\nthere. Health and plenty, joy and gladness, peace and blessing, were\nto be the assured portion of the Israel of God in that fair\ninheritance upon which they were about to enter. Every enemy was to be\nsubdued; every obstacle swept away; \"the pleasant land\" was to pour\nforth its treasures for their use; watered continually by heaven's\nrain, and warmed by its sunlight, it was to bring forth, in rich\nabundance, all that the heart could desire.\n\nWhat a land! what an inheritance! what a home! Of course, we are\nlooking at it now from a divine stand-point--looking at it according\nto what it was in the mind of God, and what it shall most assuredly be\nto Israel during that bright millennial age which lies before them. We\nshould have but a very poor idea indeed of the Lord's land were we to\nthink of it merely as possessed by Israel in the past, even in the\nvery brightest days of its history, as it appeared amid the splendors\nof Solomon's reign. We must look onward to \"the times of the\nrestitution of all things,\" in order to have any thing like a true\nidea of what the land of Canaan will yet be to the Israel of God.\n\nNow, Moses speaks of the land according to the divine idea of it. He\npresents it as given by God, and not as possessed by Israel. This\nmakes all the difference. According to his charming description,\nthere was neither enemy nor evil occurrent: nothing but fruitfulness\nand blessing from end to end. That is what it would have been, that is\nwhat it should have been, and that is what it shall be, by and by, to\nthe seed of Abraham, in pursuance of the covenant made with their\nfathers--the new, the everlasting covenant, founded on the sovereign\ngrace of God, and ratified by the blood of the cross. No power of\nearth or hell can hinder the purpose or the promise of God. \"Hath He\nsaid, and shall He not do it?\" God will make good, to the letter,\nevery word, spite of all the enemy's opposition and the lamentable\nfailure of His people. Though Abraham's seed have utterly failed under\nlaw and under government, yet Abraham's God will give grace and glory,\nfor His gifts and calling are without repentance.\n\nMoses fully understood all this. He knew how it would turn out with\nthose who stood before him, and with their children after them, for\nmany generations; and he looked forward into that bright future in\nwhich a covenant-God would display, in the view of all created\nintelligences, the triumphs of His grace in His dealings with the seed\nof Abraham His friend.\n\nMeanwhile, however, the faithful servant of Jehovah, true to the\nobject before his mind, in all those marvelous discourses in the\nopening of our book, proceeds to unfold to the congregation the truth\nas to their mode of acting in the good land on which they were about\nto plant their foot. As he had spoken of the past and of the present,\nso would he make use of the future; he would turn all to account in\nhis holy effort to urge upon the people their obvious, bounden duty to\nthat blessed One who had so graciously and tenderly cared for them all\ntheir journey through, and who was about to bring them in and plant\nthem in the mountain of His inheritance. Let us hearken to his\ntouching and powerful exhortations.\n\n\"When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the Lord thy\nGod for the good land which He has given thee.\" How simple! how\nlovely! how morally suitable! Filled with the fruit of Jehovah's\ngoodness, they were to bless and praise His holy name. He delights to\nsurround Himself with hearts filled to overflowing with the sweet\nsense of His goodness, and pouring forth songs of praise and\nthanksgiving. He inhabits the praises of His people. He says, \"Whoso\noffereth praise glorifieth Me.\" The feeblest note of praise from a\ngrateful heart ascends as fragrant incense to the throne and to the\nheart of God.\n\nLet us remember this, beloved reader. It is as true for us, most\nsurely, as it was for Israel, that praise is comely. Our grand primary\nbusiness is to praise the Lord. Our every breath should be a\nhalleluiah. It is to this blessed and most sacred exercise the Holy\nGhost exhorts us, in manifold places. \"By Him therefore let us offer\nthe sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our\nlips giving thanks to His name.\" We should ever remember that nothing\nso gratifies the heart and glorifies the name of our God as a\nthankful, worshiping spirit on the part of His people. It is well to\ndo good and communicate,--God is well pleased with such sacrifices; it\nis our high privilege, while we have opportunity, to do good unto all\nmen, and especially unto them who are of the household of faith; we\nare called to be channels of blessing between the loving heart of our\nFather and every form of human need that comes before us in our daily\npath;--all this is most blessedly true, but we must never forget that\nthe very highest place is assigned to praise. It is this which shall\nemploy our ransomed powers throughout the golden ages of eternity,\nwhen the sacrifices of active benevolence shall no longer be needed.\n\nBut the faithful lawgiver knew but too well the sad proneness of the\nhuman heart to forget all this--to lose sight of the gracious Giver,\nand rest in His gifts; hence he addresses the following admonitory\nwords to the congregation--wholesome words, truly, for them and for\nus. May we bend our ears and our hearts to them, in holy reverence and\nteachableness of spirit.\n\n\"Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God, in not keeping His\ncommandments, and His judgments, and His statutes, which I command\nthee this day. Lest _when thou hast eaten and art full_, and hast\nbuilt goodly houses, and dwelt therein; and when thy herds and thy\nflocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all\nthat thou hast is multiplied; then thine heart be lifted up, and thou\nforget the Lord thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of\nEgypt, from the house of bondage; who led thee through that great and\nterrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and\ndrought, where there was no water; who brought thee forth water out of\nthe rock of flint; who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which\nthy fathers knew not, that He might humble thee, and that He might\nprove thee, _to do thee good at thy latter end_; and thou say in thine\nheart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth.\nBut thou shalt remember the Lord thy God; for it is He that giveth\nthee power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He\nsware unto thy fathers, as it is this day. And it shall be, if thou do\nat all forget the Lord thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve\nthem, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall\nsurely perish. As the nations which the Lord destroyeth before your\nface, so shall ye perish, _because ye would not be obedient unto the\nvoice of the Lord your God_.\" (Ver. 11-20.)\n\nHere is something for us to ponder deeply. It has most assuredly a\nvoice for us, as it had for Israel. We may perhaps feel disposed to\nmarvel at the frequent reiteration of the note of warning and\nadmonition, the constant appeals to the heart and conscience of the\npeople as to their bounden duty to obey in all things the word of God,\nthe recurrence again and again to those grand soul-stirring facts\nconnected with their deliverance out of Egypt and their journey\nthrough the wilderness.\n\nBut wherefore should we marvel? In the first place, do we not deeply\nfeel and fully admit our own urgent need of warning, admonition, and\nexhortation? Do we not need line upon line, precept upon precept, and\nthat continually? Are we not prone to forget the Lord our God--to rest\nin His gifts instead of Himself? Alas! alas! we cannot deny it. We\nrest in the stream, instead of getting up to the Fountain; we turn the\nvery mercies, blessings, and benefits which strew our path in rich\nprofusion into an occasion of self-complacency and gratulation,\ninstead of finding in them the blessed ground of continual praise and\nthanksgiving.\n\nAnd then, as to those great facts of which Moses so continually\nreminds the people, could they ever lose their moral weight, power, or\npreciousness? Surely not. Israel might forget and fail to appreciate\nthose facts, but the facts remained the same. The terrible plagues of\nEgypt, the night of the passover, their deliverance from the land of\ndarkness, bondage, and degradation, their marvelous passage through\nthe Red Sea, the descent of that mysterious food from heaven morning\nby morning, the refreshing stream gushing forth from the flinty\nrock,--how could such facts as these ever lose their power over a\nheart possessing a spark of genuine love to God? and why should we\nwonder to find Moses again and again appealing to them and using them\nas a most powerful lever wherewith to move the hearts of the people?\nMoses felt the mighty moral influence of these things himself, and he\nwould fain lead others to feel it also. To him, they were precious\nbeyond expression, and he longed to make his brethren feel their\npreciousness as well as himself. It was his one object to set before\nthem, in every possible way, the powerful claims of Jehovah upon their\nhearty and unreserved obedience.\n\nThis, reader, will account for what might, to an unspiritual,\nunintelligent, cursory reader, seem the too frequent recurrence to the\nscenes of the past in those wonderful discourses of Moses. We are\nreminded, as we read them, of the lovely words of Peter, in his second\nepistle,--\"Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you _always in\nremembrance of these things_, though ye know them, and be established\nin the present truth. Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this\ntabernacle, _to stir you up, by putting you in remembrance_; knowing\nthat shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus\nChrist hath showed me. Moreover, I will endeavor that ye may be able,\nafter my decease, to have _these things always in remembrance_.\"\n(Chap. i. 12-15.)\n\nHow striking the unity of spirit and purpose in these two beloved and\nvenerable servants of God! Both the one and the other felt the\ntendency of the poor human heart to forget the things of God, of\nheaven, and of eternity, and they felt the supreme importance and\ninfinite value of the things of which they spoke; hence their earnest\ndesire to keep them continually before the hearts and abidingly in\nthe remembrance of the Lord's beloved people. Unbelieving, restless\nnature might say to Moses, or to Peter, Have you nothing new to tell\nus? Why are you perpetually dwelling on the same old themes? We know\nall you have got to say; we have heard it again and again. Why not\nstrike out into some new field of thought? Would it not be well to try\nand keep abreast of the science of the day? If we keep perpetually\nmoping over those antiquated themes, we shall be left stranded on the\nbank, while the stream of civilization rushes on. Pray give us\nsomething new.\n\nThus might the poor unbelieving mind--the worldly heart reason, but\nfaith knows the answer to all such miserable suggestions. We can well\nbelieve that both Moses and Peter would have made short work with all\nsuch reasonings. And so should we. We know whence they emanate,\nwhither they tend, and what they are worth; and we should have, if not\non our lips, at least deep down in our hearts, a ready answer--an\nanswer perfectly satisfactory to us, however contemptible it may seem\nto the men of this world. Could a true Israelite ever tire of hearing\nof what the Lord had done for him, in Egypt, in the Red Sea, and in\nthe wilderness? Never! Such themes would be ever fresh, ever welcome\nto his heart. And just so with the Christian. Can he ever tire of the\ncross and all the grand and glorious realities that cluster around it?\ncan he ever tire of Christ, His peerless glories and unsearchable\nriches, His Person, His work, His offices? Never! No, never,\nthroughout the bright ages of eternity. Does he crave any thing new?\nCan science improve upon Christ? can human learning add aught to the\ngreat mystery of godliness, which has for its foundation God manifest\nin the flesh, and for its top-stone a Man glorified in heaven? can we\never get beyond this? No, reader, we could not if we would, and we\nwould not if we could.\n\nAnd even were we, for a moment, to take a lower range, and look at the\nworks of God in creation; do we ever tire of the sun? He is not new;\nhe has been pouring his beams upon this world for well-nigh six\nthousand years, and yet those beams are as fresh and as welcome to-day\nas they were when first created. Do we ever tire of the sea? It is not\nnew; its tide has been ebbing and flowing for nearly six thousand\nyears, but its waves are as fresh and as welcome on our shores as\never. True, the sun is often too dazzling to man's feeble vision, and\nthe sea often swallows up, in a moment, man's boasted works; but yet\nthe sun and the sea never lose their power, their freshness, their\ncharm. Do we ever tire of the dew-drops that fall in refreshing virtue\nupon our gardens and fields? do we ever tire of the perfume that\nemanates from our hedge-rows? do we ever tire of the notes of the\nnightingale and the thrush? And what are all these when compared with\nthe glories which cluster around the Person and the cross of Christ?\nwhat are they when put in contrast with the grand realities of that\neternity which is before us?\n\nReader, let us beware how we listen to such suggestions, whether they\ncome from without or spring from the depths of our own evil hearts,\nlest we be found, like Israel after the flesh, loathing the heavenly\nManna and despising the pleasant land; or like Demas, who forsook the\nblessed apostle, having loved this present age; or like those of whom\nwe read in the sixth of John, who, offended by our Lord's close and\npointed teaching, \"went back, and walked no more with Him.\" May the\nLord keep our hearts true to Himself, and fresh and fervent in His\nblessed cause, till He come.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX.\n\n\n\"Hear, O Israel: Thou art to pass over Jordan this day, to go in to\npossess nations greater and mightier than thyself, cities great and\nfenced up to heaven, a people great and tall, the children of the\nAnakims, whom thou knowest, and of whom thou hast heard say, 'Who can\nstand before the children of Anak!'\" (Ver. 1, 2.)\n\nThis chapter opens with the same grand Deuteronomic sentence, \"_Hear_,\nO Israel.\" This, we may say, is the key-note of this most blessed\nbook, and especially of those opening discourses which have been\nengaging our attention. But the chapter which now lies open before us\npresents subjects of immense weight and importance. In the first\nplace, the lawgiver sets before the congregation, in terms of deep\nsolemnity, that which lay before them in their entrance upon the land.\nHe does not hide from them the fact that there were serious\ndifficulties and formidable enemies to be encountered. This he does,\nwe need hardly say, not to discourage their hearts, but that they\nmight be forewarned, forearmed, and prepared. What that preparation\nwas we shall see presently; but the faithful servant of God felt the\nrightness, yea, the urgent need of putting the true state of the case\nbefore his brethren.\n\nThere are two ways of looking at difficulties; we may look at them\nfrom a human stand-point, or from a divine one; we may look at them in\na spirit of unbelief, or we may look at them in the calmness and\nquietness of confidence in the living God. We have an instance of the\nformer in the report of the unbelieving spies in Numbers xiii; we have\nan instance of the latter in the opening of our present chapter.\n\nIt is not the province, nor the path, of faith to deny that there are\ndifficulties to be encountered by the people of God; it would be the\nheight of folly to do so, inasmuch as there are difficulties, and it\nwould be but fool-hardiness, fanaticism, or fleshly enthusiasm to deny\nit. It is always well for people to know what they are about, and not\nto rush blindly into a path for which they are not prepared. An\nunbelieving sluggard may say, There is a lion in the way; a blind\nenthusiast may say, There is no such thing; the true man of faith will\nsay, Though there were a thousand lions in the way, God can soon\ndispose of them.\n\nBut, as a great practical principle of general application, it is very\nimportant for all the Lord's people to consider, deeply and calmly,\nwhat they are about, ere they enter upon any particular path of\nservice or line of action. If this were more attended to, we should\nnot witness so many moral and spiritual wrecks around us. What mean\nthose most solemn, searching, and testing words addressed by our\nblessed Lord to the multitudes that thronged around Him in Luke\nxiv?--\"He turned and said to them, 'If any man _come to Me_, and hate\nnot his father and mother, his wife and children, and brethren and\nsisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. And\nwhosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after Me, cannot be My\ndisciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not\ndown first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to\nfinish it? lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not\nable to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, saying, This\nman began to build, and was not able to finish.'\" (Ver. 26-30.)\n\nThese are solemn and seasonable words for the heart. How many\nunfinished buildings meet our view as we look forth over the wide\nfield of Christian profession, giving sad occasion to the beholders\nfor mockery! How many set out upon a path of discipleship under some\nsudden impulse, or under the pressure of mere human influence, without\na proper understanding, or a due consideration of all that is\ninvolved; and then when difficulties arise, when trials come, when the\npath is found to be narrow, rough, lonely, unpopular, they give it up,\nthus proving that they had never really counted the cost, never taken\nthe path in communion with God, never understood what they were doing.\n\nNow, such cases are very sorrowful; they bring great reproach on the\ncause of Christ, give occasion to the adversary to blaspheme, and\ngreatly dishearten those who care for the glory of God and the good of\nsouls. Better far not to take the ground at all than, having taken it,\nto abandon it in dark unbelief and worldly-mindedness.\n\nHence, therefore, we can perceive the wisdom and faithfulness of the\nopening words of our chapter. Moses tells the people plainly what was\nbefore them; not, surely, to discourage them, but to preserve them\nfrom self-confidence, which is sure to give way in the moment of\ntrial, and to cast them upon the living God, who never fails a\ntrusting heart.\n\n\"Understand therefore this day, that the Lord thy God is He which\ngoeth over before thee; as a consuming fire He shall destroy them, and\nHe shall bring them down before thy face: so shalt thou drive them\nout, and destroy them quickly, as the Lord hath said unto thee.\"\n\nHere, then, is the divine answer to all difficulties, be they ever so\nformidable. What were mighty nations, great cities, fenced walls, in\nthe presence of Jehovah? Simply as chaff before the whirlwind. \"If\nGod be for us, who can be against us?\" The very things which scare and\nstumble the coward heart afford an occasion for the display of God's\npower, and the magnificent triumphs of faith. Faith says, Grant me but\nthis, that God is before me and with me, and I can go any where. Thus\nthe only thing in all this world that really glorifies God is the\nfaith that can trust Him and use Him and praise Him; and inasmuch as\nfaith is the only thing that glorifies God, so is it the only thing\nthat gives man his proper place, even the place of complete dependence\nupon God, and this insures victory and inspires praise--unceasing\npraise.\n\nBut we must never forget that there is moral danger in the very moment\nof victory--danger arising out of what we are in ourselves. There is\nthe danger of self-gratulation--a terrible snare to us poor mortals.\nIn the hour of conflict we feel our weakness, our nothingness, our\nneed. This is good and morally safe. It is well to be brought down to\nthe very bottom of self and all that pertains to it, for there we find\nGod, in all the fullness and blessedness of what He is, and this is\nsure and certain victory and consequent praise.\n\nBut our treacherous and deceitful hearts are prone to forget whence\nthe strength and victory come; hence the moral force, value, and\nseasonableness of the following admonitory words addressed by the\nfaithful minister of God to the hearts and consciences of his\nbrethren: \"Speak not thou _in thine heart_\"--here is where the\nmischief always begins--\"after that the Lord hath cast them out from\nbefore thee, saying, For my righteousness the Lord hath brought me in\nto possess this land; but for the wickedness of these nations the Lord\ndoth drive them out from before thee.\"\n\nAlas! what materials there are in us! what ignorance of our own\nhearts! what a shallow sense of the real character of our ways! How\nterrible to think that we are capable of saying in our hearts such\nwords as, \"For my righteousness\"! Yes, reader, we are verily capable\nof such egregious folly; for as Israel was capable of it, so are we,\ninasmuch as we are made of the very same material; and that they were\ncapable of it is evident from the fact of their being warned against\nit; for, most assuredly, the Spirit of God does not warn against\nphantom dangers or imaginary temptations. We are verily capable of\nturning the actings of God on our behalf into an occasion of\nself-complacency; instead of seeing in those gracious actings a ground\nfor heartfelt praise to God, we use them as a ground for\nself-exaltation.\n\nHence, therefore, we would do well to ponder the words of faithful\nadmonition addressed by Moses to the hearts and consciences of the\npeople; they furnish a very wholesome antidote for the self-righteousness\nso natural to us as well as to Israel. \"Not for thy righteousness, or\nfor the uprightness of thine heart, dost thou go to possess their\nland; but for the wickedness of those nations the Lord thy God doth\ndrive them out from before thee, and that He may perform the word\nwhich the Lord sware unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.\nUnderstand, therefore, that the Lord giveth thee not this good land to\npossess it for thy righteousness; for thou art a stiff-necked people.\nRemember, and forget not, how thou provokedst the Lord thy God to\nwrath in the wilderness; from the day that thou didst depart out of\nthe land of Egypt, until ye came unto this place, ye have been\nrebellious against the Lord.\" (Ver. 5-7.)\n\nThis paragraph sets forth two great principles, which, if fully laid\nhold of, must put the heart into a right moral attitude. In the first\nplace, the people were reminded that their possession of the land of\nCanaan was simply in pursuance of God's promise to their fathers. This\nwas placing the matter on the most solid basis--a basis which nothing\ncould ever disturb.\n\nAs to the seven nations which were to be dispossessed, it was on the\nground of their wickedness that God, in the exercise of His righteous\ngovernment, was about to drive them out. Every landlord has a perfect\nright to eject bad tenants; and the nations of Canaan had not only\nfailed to pay their rent, as we say, but they had injured and defiled\nthe property to such an extent that God could no longer endure them,\nand therefore He was going to drive them out, irrespective altogether\nof the incoming tenants. Whoever was going to get possession of the\nproperty, these dreadful tenants must be evicted. The iniquity of the\nAmorites had reached its highest point, and nothing remained but that\njudgment should take its course. Men might argue and reason as to the\nmoral fitness and consistency of a benevolent Being unroofing the\nhouses of thousands of families and putting the occupants to the\nsword, but we may depend upon it the government of God will make very\nshort work with all such arguments. God, blessed forever be His holy\nname, knows how to manage His own affairs, and that, too, without\nasking man's opinion. He had borne with the wickedness of the seven\nnations to such a degree that it had become absolutely insufferable;\nthe very land itself could not bear it. Any further exercise of\nforbearance would have been a sanction of the most terrible\nabominations; and this, of course, was a moral impossibility. The\nglory of God absolutely demanded the expulsion of the Canaanites.\n\nYes; and we may add, the glory of God demanded the introduction of the\nseed of Abraham into possession of the property, to hold as tenants\nforever under the Lord God Almighty--the Most High God, Possessor of\nheaven and earth. Thus the matter stood for Israel, had they but seen\nit. Their possession of the land of promise and the maintenance of the\ndivine glory were so bound up together that one could not be touched\nwithout touching the other. God had promised to give the land of\nCanaan to the seed of Abraham as an everlasting possession. Had He not\na right to do so? Will infidels question God's right to do as He will\nwith His own? Will they refuse to the Creator and Governor of the\nuniverse a right which they claim for themselves? The land was\nJehovah's, and He gave it to Abraham His friend forever; and although\nthis was true, yet were not the Canaanites disturbed in their tenure\nof the property until their wickedness had become positively\nunbearable.\n\nThus we see that in the matter both of the outgoing and incoming\ntenants the glory of God was involved. That glory demanded that the\nCanaanites should be expelled, because of their ways; and that glory\ndemanded that Israel should be put in possession, because of the\npromise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.\n\nBut, in the second place, Israel had no ground for self-complacency,\nas Moses most plainly and faithfully instructs them. He rehearses in\ntheir ears, in the most touching and impressive manner, all the\nleading scenes of their history from Horeb to Kadesh-barnea; he refers\nto the golden calf, to the broken tables of the covenant, to Taberah\nand Massah, and Kibroth-hattaavah; and sums all up, at verse 24, with\nthese pungent, humbling words, \"Ye have been rebellious against the\nLord from the day that I knew you.\"\n\nThis was plain dealing with heart and conscience. The solemn review of\ntheir whole career was eminently calculated to correct all false\nnotions about themselves; every scene and circumstance in their entire\nhistory, if viewed from a proper stand-point, only brought to light\nthe humbling fact of what they were, and how near they had been, again\nand again, to utter destruction. With what stunning force must the\nfollowing words have fallen upon their ears!--\"And the Lord said unto\nme, 'Arise, get thee down quickly from hence, for _thy_ people which\n_thou_ hast brought forth out of Egypt have corrupted themselves; they\nare quickly turned aside out of the way which I commanded them; they\nhave made them a molten image.' Furthermore, the Lord spake unto me,\nsaying, 'I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked\npeople; _let Me alone, that I may destroy_ them, and blot out their\nname from under heaven; and I will make of thee a nation mightier and\ngreater than they.'\" (Ver. 12-14.)\n\nHow withering was all this to their natural vanity, pride, and\nself-righteousness! How should their hearts have been moved to their\nvery deepest depths by those tremendous words, \"Let Me alone, that I\nmay destroy them\"! How solemn to reflect upon the fact which these\nwords revealed--their appalling nearness to national ruin and\ndestruction! How ignorant they had been of all that passed between\nJehovah and Moses on the top of Mount Horeb! They had been on the very\nbrink of an awful precipice. Another moment might have dashed them\nover. The intercession of Moses had saved them, the very man whom they\nhad accused of taking too much upon him. Alas! how they had mistaken\nand misjudged him! How utterly astray they had been in all their\nthoughts! Why, the very man whom they had accused of self-seeking and\ndesiring to make himself altogether a prince over them, had actually\nrefused a divinely given opportunity of becoming the head of a greater\nand mightier nation than they! Yes, and this same man had earnestly\nrequested that if they were not to be forgiven and brought into the\nland, his name might be blotted out of the book.\n\nHow wonderful was all this! What a turning of the tables upon them!\nHow exceedingly small they must have felt, in view of all these\nwonderful facts! Surely, as they reviewed all these things, they might\nwell see the utter folly of the words, \"For my righteousness the Lord\nhath brought me in to possess this land.\" How could the makers of a\nmolten image use such language! Ought they not rather to see and feel\nand own themselves to be no better than the nations that were about to\nbe driven out from before them? For what had made them to differ? The\nsovereign mercy and electing love of their covenant-God. And to what\ndid they owe their deliverance out of Egypt, their sustenance in the\nwilderness, and their entrance into the land? Simply to the eternal\nstability of the covenant made with their fathers, \"a covenant ordered\nin all things and sure,\" a covenant ratified and established by the\nblood of the Lamb, in virtue of which all Israel shall yet be saved\nand blessed in their own land.\n\nBut we must now quote for the reader the splendid paragraph with which\nour chapter closes--a paragraph eminently fitted to open Israel's eyes\nto the utter folly of all their thoughts respecting Moses, their\nthoughts respecting themselves, and their thoughts respecting that\nblessed One who had so marvelously borne with all their dark unbelief\nand daring rebellion.\n\n\"Thus I fell down before the Lord forty days and forty nights, as I\nfell down at the first; because the Lord had said He would destroy\nyou. I prayed therefore unto the Lord, and said, 'O Lord God, destroy\nnot _Thy people_ and _Thine inheritance_, which Thou hast redeemed\nthrough Thy greatness, which Thou hast brought forth out of Egypt with\na mighty hand. Remember thy servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; _look\nnot unto the stubbornness of this people, nor to their wickedness, nor\nto their sin_; lest the land whence thou broughtest us out say,\nBecause the Lord was not able to bring them into the land which He\npromised them, and because He hated them, He hath brought them out to\nslay them in the wilderness. _Yet they are Thy people, and Thine\ninheritance_, which Thou broughtest out by Thy mighty power, and by\nThy stretched-out arm.'\"\n\nWhat marvelous words are these to be addressed by a human being to the\nliving God! What powerful pleadings for Israel! what self-renunciation!\nMoses refuses the offered dignity of being the founder of a greater\nand mightier nation than Israel. He only desires that Jehovah should\nbe glorified, and Israel pardoned, blessed, and brought into the\npromised land. He could not endure the thought of any reproach being\nbrought upon that glorious Name so dear to his heart, neither could he\nbear to witness Israel's destruction. These were the two things he\ndreaded; and as to his own exaltation, it was just the thing about\nwhich he cared nothing at all. This beloved and honored servant cared\n_only_ for the glory of God and the salvation of His people; and as to\nhimself, his hopes, his interests, his all, he could rest, with\nperfect composure, in the assurance that his individual blessing and\nthe divine glory were bound together by a link which could never be\nsnapped.\n\nAnd, oh, how grateful must all this have been to the heart of God! How\nrefreshing to His spirit were those earnest, loving pleadings of His\nservant! How much more in harmony with His mind than the intercession\nof Elias against Israel hundreds of years afterward! How they remind\nus of the blessed ministry of our great High-Priest, who ever liveth\nto make intercession for His people, and whose active intervention on\nour behalf never ceases for a single moment!\n\nAnd then how very touching and beautiful to mark the way in which\nMoses insists upon the fact that the people were Jehovah's\ninheritance, and that He had brought them up out of Egypt. The Lord\nhad said, \"_Thy_ people which _thou_ hast brought forth out of Egypt;\"\nbut Moses says, \"They are _Thy_ people, and _Thine_ inheritance, which\n_Thou_ broughtest out.\" This is perfectly exquisite. Indeed this whole\nscene is full of profound interest.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X\n\n\n\"At that time the Lord said unto me, 'Hew thee two tables of stone\nlike unto the first, and come up unto Me into the mount, and make thee\nan ark of wood; and I will write on the tables the words that were in\nthe first tables which thou brakest, and thou shalt put them in the\nark.' And I made an ark of shittim wood, and hewed two tables of stone\nlike unto the first, and went up into the mount, having the two tables\nin mine hand. And He wrote on the tables, according to the first\nwriting, the ten commandments, which the Lord spake unto you in the\nmount out of the midst of the fire, in the day of the assembly; and\nthe Lord gave them unto me. And I turned myself and came down from the\nmount, and put the tables in the ark which I had made; and there they\nbe, as the Lord commanded me.\" (Ver. 1-5.)\n\nThe beloved and revered servant of God seemed never to weary of\nrehearsing in the ears of the people the interesting, momentous, and\nsignificant sentences of the past. To him they were ever fresh, ever\nprecious. His heart delighted in them. They could never lose their\ncharm in his eyes; he found in them an exhaustless treasury for his\nown heart, and a mighty moral lever wherewith to move the heart of\nIsrael.\n\nWe are constantly reminded, in these powerful and deeply affecting\naddresses, of the inspired apostle's words to his beloved\nPhilippians--\"To write the same things to you, to me is not grievous,\nbut for you it is safe.\" The poor, restless, fickle, vagrant heart\nmight long for some new theme; but the faithful apostle found his deep\nand unfailing delight in unfolding and dwelling upon those precious\nsubjects which clustered, in rich luxuriance, around the Person and\nthe cross of his adorable Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. He had found\nin Christ all he needed for time and eternity. The glory of His Person\nhad completely eclipsed all the glories of earth and of nature. He\ncould say, \"What things were _gain to me_, those I counted _loss for\nChrist_. Yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss, for the\nexcellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord; for whom I have\nsuffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I\nmay win Christ.\" (Phil. iii. 7, 8.)\n\nThis is the language of a true Christian, of one who had found a\nperfectly absorbing and commanding object in Christ. What could the\nworld offer to such an one? what could it do for him? Did he want its\nriches, its honors, its distinctions, its pleasures? He counted them\nall as dung. How was this? Because he had found Christ; he had seen an\nobject in Him which so riveted his heart that to win Him and know more\nof Him and be found in Him was the one ruling desire of his soul. If\nany one had talked to Paul about something new, what would have been\nhis answer? If any one had suggested to him the thought of getting on\nin the world or of seeking to make money, what would have been his\nreply? Simply this: I have found my ALL in Christ; I want no more. I\nhave found in Him \"_unsearchable_ riches\"--\"_durable_ riches and\nrighteousness.\" In Him are hid _all_ the treasures of wisdom and\nknowledge. What do I want of this world's riches, its wisdom, or its\nlearning? These things all pass away like the vapors of the morning;\nand even while they last, are wholly inadequate to satisfy the desires\nand aspirations of an immortal spirit. Christ is an eternal object,\nheaven's centre, the delight of the heart of God; He shall satisfy me\nthroughout the countless ages of that bright eternity which is before\nme; and surely, if He can satisfy me forever, He can satisfy me now.\nShall I turn to the wretched rubbish of this world--its pursuits, its\npleasures, its amusements, its theatres, its concerts, its riches, or\nits honors to supplement my portion in Christ? God forbid! All such\nthings would be simply an intolerable nuisance to me. Christ is my all\nand in all, now and forever.\n\nSuch, we may well believe, would have been the distinctly pronounced\nreply of the blessed apostle; such was the distinct reply of his whole\nlife; and such, beloved Christian reader, should be ours also. How\ntruly deplorable, how deeply humbling, to find a Christian turning to\nthe world for enjoyment, recreation, or pastime! It simply proves that\nhe has not found a satisfying portion in Christ. We may set it down as\na fixed principle that the heart which is filled with Christ has no\nroom for aught beside. It is not a question of the right or the wrong\nof things; the heart does not want them, would not have them; it has\nfound its present and everlasting portion and rest in that blessed One\nthat fills the heart of God, and will fill the vast universe with the\nbeams of His glory throughout the everlasting ages.\n\nWe have been led into the foregoing line of thought in connection with\nthe interesting fact of Moses' unwearied rehearsal of all the grand\nevents in Israel's marvelous history from Egypt to the borders of the\npromised land. To him they furnished a perpetual feast; and he not\nonly found his own deep, personal delight in dwelling upon them, but\nhe also felt the immense importance of unfolding them before the whole\ncongregation. To him, most surely, it was not grievous, but for them\nit was safe. How delightful for him, and how good and needful for\nthem, to dwell upon the facts connected with the two sets of\ntables--the first set smashed to atoms, at the foot of the mountain,\nand the second set inclosed in the ark.\n\nWhat human language could possibly unfold the deep significance and\nmoral weight of such facts as these? Those broken tables! how\nimpressive! how pregnant with wholesome instruction for the people!\nhow powerfully suggestive! Will any one presume to say that we have\nhere a mere barren repetition of the facts recorded in Exodus?\nCertainly no one who reverently believes in the divine inspiration of\nthe Pentateuch.\n\nNo, reader, the tenth of Deuteronomy fills a niche and does a work\nentirely its own. In it the lawgiver holds up to the hearts of the\npeople past scenes and circumstances in such a way as to rivet them\nupon the very tablets of the soul. He allows them to hear the\nconversation between Jehovah and himself; he tells them what took\nplace during those mysterious forty days upon that cloud-capped\nmountain; he lets them hear Jehovah's reference to the broken\ntables--the apt and forcible expression of the utter worthlessness of\nman's covenant. For why were those tables broken? Because they had\nshamefully failed. Those shattered fragments told the humiliating tale\nof their hopeless ruin on the ground of the law. All was gone. Such\nwas the obvious meaning of the fact. It was striking, impressive,\nunmistakable. Like a broken pillar over a grave, which tells at a\nglance that the prop and stay of the family lies mouldering beneath.\nThere is no need of any inscription, for no human language could speak\nwith such eloquence to the heart as that most expressive emblem. So\nthe broken tables were calculated to convey to the heart of Israel the\ntremendous fact that, so far as their covenant was concerned, they\nwere utterly ruined--hopelessly undone; they were complete bankrupts\non the score of righteousness.\n\nBut then that second set of tables! What of them? Thank God, they tell\na different tale altogether. They were not broken. God took care of\nthem. \"I turned myself and came down from the mount, and put the\ntables in the ark which I had made; and _there they be_, as the Lord\ncommanded me.\"\n\nBlessed fact! \"There they be.\" Yes, covered up in that ark which spoke\nof Christ, that blessed One who magnified the law and made it\nhonorable, who established every jot and tittle of it, to the glory of\nGod and the everlasting blessing of His people. Thus, while the broken\nfragments of the first tables told the sad and humbling tale of\nIsrael's utter failure and ruin, the second tables, shut up intact in\nthe ark, set forth the glorious truth that Christ is the end of the\nlaw for righteousness to every one that believeth, to the Jew first,\nand also to the Gentile.\n\nWe do not, of course, mean to say that Israel understood the deep\nmeaning and far-reaching application of those wonderful facts which\nMoses rehearsed in their ears. As a nation, they certainly did not\nthen, though, through the sovereign mercy of God, they will by and by.\nIndividuals may, and doubtless did, enter into somewhat of their\nsignificance. This is not now the question. It is for us to see and\nmake our own of the precious truth set forth in those two sets of\ntables, namely, the failure of every thing in the hands of man, and\nthe eternal stability of God's covenant of grace, ratified by the\nblood of Christ, and to be displayed in all its glorious results, in\nthe kingdom, by and by, when the Son of David shall reign from sea to\nsea, and from the river to the ends of the earth; when the seed of\nAbraham shall possess, according to the divine gift, the land of\npromise; and when all the nations of the earth shall rejoice under the\nbeneficent reign of the Prince of peace.\n\nBright and glorious prospect for the now desolate land of Israel, and\nthis groaning earth of ours! The King of righteousness and peace will\nthen have it all His own way. All evil will be put down with a\npowerful hand. There will be no weakness in that government; no rebel\ntongue will be permitted to prate, in accents of insolent sedition,\nagainst the decrees and enactments thereof; no rude and senseless\ndemagogue will be allowed to disturb the peace of the people, or to\ninsult the majesty of the throne. Every abuse will be put down, every\ndisturbing element will be neutralized, every stumbling-block will be\nremoved, and every root of bitterness eradicated. The poor and the\nneedy shall be well looked after, yea, all shall be divinely attended\nto; toil, sorrow, poverty, and desolation shall be unknown; the\nwilderness and the solitary place shall be glad, and the desert shall\nrejoice and blossom as the rose. \"Behold a king shall reign in\nrighteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment. And a man shall be\nas a hiding-place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as\nrivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a\nweary land.\"\n\nReader, what glorious scenes are yet to be enacted in this poor\nsin-stricken, Satan-enslaved, sorrowful world of ours! How refreshing\nto think of them! What a relief to the heart amid all the mental\nmisery, the moral degradation, and physical wretchedness exhibited\naround us on every side! Thank God, the day is rapidly approaching\nwhen the prince of this world shall be hurled from his throne and\nconsigned to the bottomless pit, and the Prince of heaven, the\nglorious Emmanuel shall stretch forth His blessed sceptre over the\nwide universe of God, and heaven and earth shall bask in the sunlight\nof His royal countenance. Well may we cry out, O Lord, hasten the\ntime!\n\n\"And the children of Israel took their journey from Beeroth of the\nchildren of Jaakan to Mosera; there Aaron died, and there he was\nburied; and Eleazar his son ministered in the priest's office in his\nstead. From thence they journeyed unto Gudgodah; and from Gudgodah to\nJotbath, a land of rivers of waters. At that time the Lord separated\nthe tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord, to\nstand before the Lord to minister unto Him, and to bless in His name,\nunto this day. Wherefore Levi hath no part nor inheritance with his\nbrethren; the Lord is His inheritance, according as the Lord thy God\npromised him.\"\n\nThe reader must not allow his mind to be disturbed by any question of\nhistorical sequence in the foregoing passage. It is simply a\nparenthesis in which the lawgiver groups together, in a very striking\nand forcible manner, circumstances culled, with holy skill, from the\nhistory of the people, illustrative at once of the government and\ngrace of God. The death of Aaron exhibits the former; the election and\nelevation of Levi presents the latter. Both are placed together, not\nwith a view to chronology, but for the grand moral end which was ever\npresent to the mind of the lawgiver--an end which lies far away beyond\nthe range of infidel reason, but which commends itself to the heart\nand understanding of the devout student of Scripture.\n\nHow utterly contemptible are the quibbles of the infidel when looked\nat in the brilliant light of divine inspiration! How miserable the\ncondition of a mind which can occupy itself with chronological\nhair-splittings in order, if possible, to find a flaw in the divine\nVolume, instead of grasping the real aim and object of the inspired\nwriter!\n\nBut why does Moses bring in, in this parenthetical and apparently\nabrupt manner, those two special events in Israel's history? Simply to\nmove the heart of the people toward the one grand point of obedience.\nTo this end he culls and groups according to the wisdom given unto\nhim. Do we expect to find in this divinely taught servant of God the\npetty preciseness of a mere copyist? Infidels may affect to do so, but\ntrue Christians know better. A mere scribe could copy events in their\nchronological order; a true prophet will bring those events to bear,\nin a moral way, upon the heart and conscience. Thus, while the poor\ndeluded infidel is groping amid the shadows of his own creation, the\npious student delights himself in the moral glories of that peerless\nVolume which stands like a rock, against which the waves of infidel\nthought dash themselves with contemptible impotency.\n\nWe do not attempt to dwell upon the circumstances referred to in the\nabove parenthesis; they have been gone into elsewhere, and therefore\nwe only feel it needful, in this place, to point out to the reader\nwhat we may venture to call the Deuteronomic bearing of the facts--the\nuse which the lawgiver makes of them to strengthen the foundation of\nhis final appeal to the heart and conscience of the people, to give\npungency and power to his exhortation, as he urged upon them the\nabsolute necessity of unqualified obedience to the statutes and\njudgments of their covenant-God. Such was his reason for referring to\nthe solemn fact of the death of Aaron. They were to remember that\nnotwithstanding Aaron's high position as the high-priest of Israel,\nyet he was stripped of his robes and deprived of his life for\ndisobedience to the word of Jehovah. How important, then, that they\nshould take heed to themselves! The government of God was not to be\ntrifled with, and the very fact of Aaron's elevation only rendered it\nall the more needful that his sin should be dealt with, in order that\nothers might fear.\n\nAnd then they were to remember the Lord's dealings with Levi, in which\ngrace shines with such marvelous lustre. The fierce, cruel,\nself-willed Levi was taken up from the depths of his moral ruin and\nbrought nigh to God, \"to bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord, to\nstand before the Lord, to minister unto Him, and to bless in His\nname.\"\n\nBut why should this account of Levi be coupled with the death of\nAaron? Simply to set forth the blessed consequences of obedience. If\nthe death of Aaron displayed the awful result of disobedience, the\nelevation of Levi illustrates the precious fruit of obedience. Hear\nwhat the prophet Malachi says on this point.--\"And ye shall know that\nI have sent this _commandment_ unto you, that My covenant might be\nwith Levi, saith the Lord of hosts. My covenant was with him of life\nand peace; and _I gave them to him for the fear wherewith he feared\nMe, and was afraid before My name_. The law of truth was in his mouth,\nand iniquity was not found in his lips; he walked with Me in peace and\nequity, and did turn many away from iniquity.\" (Chap. ii. 4-6.)\n\nThis is a very remarkable passage, and throws much light upon the\nsubject now before us. It tells us distinctly that Jehovah gave His\ncovenant of life and peace to Levi \"for the fear wherewith he feared\"\nHim on the terrible occasion of the golden calf which Aaron (himself a\nLevite of the very highest order) made. Why was Aaron judged? Because\nof his rebellion at the waters of Meribah. (Num. xx. 24.) Why was Levi\nblessed? Because of his reverent obedience at the foot of Mount Horeb.\n(Ex. xxxii.) Why are both grouped together in Deuteronomy x? In order\nto impress upon the heart and conscience of the congregation the\nurgent necessity of implicit obedience to the commandments of their\ncovenant-God. How perfect is Scripture in all its parts! how\nbeautifully it hangs together! and how plain it is to the devout\nreader that the lovely book of Deuteronomy has its own divine niche\nto fill, its own distinctive work to do, its own appointed sphere,\nscope, and object! How manifest it is that the fifth division of the\nPentateuch is neither a contradiction nor a repetition, but a divine\napplication of its divinely inspired predecessors! And, finally, we\ncannot help adding, how convincing the evidence that infidel writers\nknow neither what they say nor whereof they affirm, when they dare to\ninsult the oracles of God--yea, that they greatly err, not knowing the\nScriptures, nor the power of God![7]\n\n [7] We have, in human writings, numerous examples of the same thing\n that infidels object to in Deuteronomy x. 6-9. Suppose a man is\n anxious to call the attention of the English nation to some great\n principle of political economy, or some matter of national importance;\n he does not hesitate to select facts however widely separated on the\n page of history, and group them together in order to illustrate his\n subject. Do infidels object to this? No; not when found in the\n writings of men. It is only when it occurs in Scripture, because they\n hate the Word of God, and cannot bear the idea that He should give to\n His creatures a book-revelation of His mind. Blessed be His name, He\n has given it notwithstanding, and we have it in all its infinite\n preciousness and divine authority, for the comfort of our hearts and\n the guidance of our path amid all the darkness and confusion of this\n scene through which we are passing home to glory.\n\nAt verse 10 of our chapter, Moses returns to the subject of his\ndiscourse. \"And I stayed in the mount, according to the first time,\nforty days and forty nights; and the Lord hearkened unto me at that\ntime also, and the Lord would not destroy thee. And the Lord said unto\nme, 'Arise, take thy journey before the people, that they may go in\nand possess the land which I sware unto their fathers to give unto\nthem.'\"\n\nJehovah would accomplish His promise to the fathers spite of every\nhindrance. He would put Israel in full possession of the land\nconcerning which He had sworn to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give it\nto their seed for an everlasting inheritance.\n\n\"And now, Israel, what doth the Lord _thy_ God require of thee, but to\nfear the Lord thy God, to walk in _all His ways_, and to love Him, and\nto serve the Lord _thy_ God with all thy heart and with all thy soul.\nTo keep the commandments of the Lord, and His statutes, which I\ncommand thee this day, _for thy good_.\" It was all for their real\ngood--their deep, full blessing to walk in the way of the divine\ncommandments. The path of whole-hearted obedience is the only path of\ntrue happiness; and, blessed be God, this path can always be trodden\nby those who love the Lord.\n\nThis is an unspeakable comfort, at all times. God has given us His\nprecious Word, the perfect revelation of His mind; and He has given us\nwhat Israel had not, even His Holy Spirit to dwell in us, whereby we\ncan understand and appreciate His Word. Hence our obligations are\nvastly higher than were Israel's. We are bound to a life of obedience\nby every argument that could be brought to bear on the heart and\nunderstanding.\n\nAnd surely it is for our good to be obedient. There is indeed \"great\nreward\" in keeping the commandments of our loving Father. Every\nthought of Him and of His gracious ways, every reference to His\nmarvelous dealings with us--His loving ministry, His tender care, His\nthoughtful love--all should bind our hearts in affectionate devotion\nto Him, and quicken our steps in treading the path of loving obedience\nto Him. Wherever we turn our eyes we are met by the most powerful\nevidences of His claim upon our heart's affections and upon all the\nenergies of our ransomed being; and, blessed be His name, the more\nfully we are enabled, by His grace, to respond to His most precious\nclaims, the brighter and happier our path must be. There is nothing in\nall this world more deeply blessed than the path and portion of an\nobedient soul. \"Great peace have they that love Thy law, and nothing\nshall offend them.\" The lowly disciple who finds his meat and his\ndrink in doing the will of his beloved Lord and Master, possesses a\npeace which the world can neither give nor take away. True, he may be\nmisunderstood and misinterpreted; he may be dubbed narrow and bigoted,\nand such like; but none of these things move him. One approving smile\nfrom his Lord is more than ample recompense for all the reproach that\nmen can heap upon him. He knows how to estimate at their proper worth\nthe thoughts of men; they are to him as the chaff which the wind\ndriveth away. The deep utterance of his heart, as he moves steadily\nalong the sacred path of obedience, is,--\n\n \"Let me my feebleness recline\n On that eternal love of Thine,\n And human thoughts forget;\n Childlike attend what Thou wilt say,\n Go forth and serve Thee while 'tis day,\n Nor leave Thy sweet retreat.\"\n\nIn the closing verses of our chapter, the lawgiver seems to rise\nhigher and higher in his presentation of moral motives for obedience,\nand to come closer and closer to the hearts of the people. \"Behold,\"\nhe says, \"the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the Lord's thy God,\nthe earth also, with all that therein is. Only the Lord had a delight\nin thy fathers to love them, and He chose their seed after them, even\nyou above all people, as it is this day.\" What a marvelous privilege\nto be chosen and loved by the Possessor of heaven and earth! what an\nhonor to be called to serve and obey Him! Surely nothing in all this\nworld could be higher or better. To be identified and associated with\nthe Most High God, to have His name called upon them, to be His\npeculiar people, His special possession, the people of His choice, to\nbe set apart from all the nations of the earth to be the servants of\nJehovah and His witnesses. What, we may ask, could exceed this, except\nit be that to which the Church of God and the individual believer are\ncalled?\n\nAssuredly, our privileges are higher, inasmuch as we know God in a\nhigher, deeper, nearer, more intimate manner than the nation of Israel\never did. We know Him as the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ,\nand as our God and Father. We have the Holy Ghost dwelling in us,\nshedding abroad the love of God in our hearts, and leading us to cry,\nAbba, Father. All this is far beyond any thing that God's earthly\npeople ever knew or could know; and, inasmuch as our privileges are\nhigher, His claims upon our hearty and unreserved obedience are also\nhigher. Every appeal to the heart of Israel should come home with\naugmented force to our hearts, beloved Christian reader; every\nexhortation addressed to them should speak far more powerfully to us.\nWe occupy the very highest ground on which any creature could stand.\nNeither the seed of Abraham on earth nor the angels of God in heaven\ncould say what we can say or know what we know. We are linked and\neternally associated with the risen and glorified Son of God. We can\nadopt as our own the wondrous language of 1 John iv. 17, and say, \"As\nHe is, so are we in this world.\" What can exceed this, as to privilege\nand dignity? Surely nothing, save to be, in body, soul, and spirit,\nconformed to His adorable image, as we shall be ere long, through the\nabounding grace of God.\n\nWell then, let us ever bear in mind--yea, let us have it deep, deep\ndown in our hearts, that according to our privileges are our\nobligations. Let us not refuse the wholesome word \"obligation,\" as\nthough it had a legal ring about it. Far from it! it would be utterly\nimpossible to conceive any thing further removed from all thought of\nlegality than the obligations which flow out of the Christian's\nposition. It is a very serious mistake to be continually raising the\ncry of \"Legal! legal!\" whenever the holy responsibilities of our\nposition are pressed upon us. We believe that every truly pious\nChristian will delight in all the appeals and exhortations which the\nHoly Ghost addresses to us as to our obligations, seeing they are all\ngrounded upon privileges conferred upon us by the sovereign grace of\nGod, through the precious blood of Christ, and made good to us by the\nmighty ministry of the Holy Ghost.\n\nBut let us hearken still further to the stirring appeals of Moses.\nThey are truly profitable for us, with all our higher light,\nknowledge, and privilege.\n\n\"Circumcise therefore _the foreskin of your heart_, and be no more\nstiff-necked. For the Lord your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords,\na great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons,\nnor taketh reward. He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and\nwidow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment.\"\n\nHere, Moses speaks not merely of God's doings and dealings and ways,\nbut of Himself, of what He is. He is high over all, the great, the\nmighty, and the terrible. But He has a heart for the widow and the\nfatherless--those helpless objects deprived of all earthly and natural\nprops, the poor bereaved and broken-hearted widow, and the desolate\norphan. God thinks of and cares for such in a very special way; they\nhave a claim upon His loving heart and mighty hand. \"A father of the\nfatherless, and a Judge of the widow is God in His holy habitation.\"\n\"She that is a widow indeed and desolate trusteth in God, and\ncontinueth in supplications and prayers night and day.\" \"Leave thy\nfatherless children, I will preserve them alive; and let thy widows\ntrust in Me.\"\n\nWhat a rich provision is here for widows and orphans! How wondrous\nGod's care of such! How many widows are much better off than when they\nhad their husbands! how many orphans are better cared and provided for\nthan when they had their parents! God looks after them! This is\nenough. Thousands of husbands and thousands of parents are worse, by\nfar, than none; but God never fails those who are cast upon Him. He is\never true to His own name, whatever relationship He takes. Let all\nwidows and orphans remember this for their comfort and encouragement.\n\nAnd then the poor stranger! He is not forgotten. \"He loveth the\nstranger, in giving him food and raiment.\" How precious is this! Our\nGod cares for all those who are bereft of earthly props, human hopes,\nand creature-confidences. All such have a special claim upon Him, to\nwhich He will most surely respond according to all the love of His\nheart. The widow, the fatherless, and the stranger are the special\nobjects of His tender care, and all such have but to look to Him, and\ndraw upon His exhaustless resources in all their varied need.\n\nBut then He must be known in order to be trusted. \"They that know Thy\nname will put their trust in Thee; for Thou, Lord, hast not forsaken\nthem that seek Thee.\" Those who do not know God would vastly prefer an\ninsurance policy or a government annuity to His promise; but the true\nbeliever finds in that promise the unfailing stay of his heart,\nbecause he knows and trusts and loves the Promiser. He delights in the\nthought of being absolutely shut up to God--wholly dependent upon Him.\nHe would not, for worlds, be in any other position. The very thing\nwhich would almost drive an unbeliever out of his senses is to the\nChristian--the man of faith, the very deepest joy of his heart. The\nlanguage of such an one will ever be, \"My soul, wait thou _only_ upon\nGod; for my expectation is from Him. He _only_ is my rock.\" Blessed\nposition! precious portion! May the reader know it as a divine\nreality, a living power, in his heart, by the mighty ministry of the\nHoly Ghost. Then will he be able to sit loose to earthly things. He\nwill be able to tell the world that he is independent of it, having\nfound all he wants, for time and eternity, in the living God and His\nChrist.\n\n \"Thou, O Christ, art all I want;\n More than all in Thee I find.\"\n\nBut let us specially note the provision which God makes for the\nstranger. It is very simple--\"food and raiment.\" This is enough for a\ntrue stranger, as the blessed apostle says to his son Timothy, \"We\nbrought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry\nnothing out. And having food and raiment, let us be therewith\ncontent.\"\n\nChristian reader, let us ponder this. What a cure for restless\nambition is here! what an antidote against covetousness! what a\nblessed deliverance from the feverish excitement of commercial life,\nthe grasping spirit of the age in which our lot is cast! If we were\nonly content with the divinely appointed provision for the stranger,\nwhat a different tale we should have to tell! how calm and even would\nbe the current of our daily life! how simple our habits and tastes!\nhow unworldly our spirit and style! what moral elevation above the\nself-indulgence and luxury so prevalent amongst professing Christians!\nWe should simply eat and drink to the glory of God, and to keep the\nbody in proper working order. To go beyond this, either in eating or\ndrinking, is to indulge in \"fleshly lusts, which war against the\nsoul.\"\n\nAlas! alas! how much of this there is, specially in reference to\ndrink! It is perfectly appalling to think of the consumption of\nintoxicating drink amongst professing Christians. It is our thorough\nconviction that the devil has succeeded in ruining the testimony of\nhundreds, and in causing them to make shipwreck of faith and a good\nconscience, by the use of stimulants. Thousands ruin their fortunes,\nruin their families, ruin their health, ruin their souls, through the\nsenseless, vile, and cursed desire for stimulants.\n\nWe are not going to preach a crusade against stimulants or narcotics.\nThe wrong is not in the things themselves, but in our inordinate and\nsinful use of them. It not unfrequently happens that persons who fall\nunder the horrible dominion of drink seek to lay the blame on their\nmedical adviser, but surely no proper medical man would ever advise\nhis patient to _indulge_ in the use of stimulants. He may prescribe\nthe use of \"a _little_ wine, for the stomach's sake and frequent\ninfirmities,\" and he has the very highest authority for so doing; but\nwhy should this lead any one to become a drunkard? Each one is\nresponsible to walk in the fear of God in reference to both eating and\ndrinking. If a doctor prescribes a little nourishing food for his\npatient, is he to be blamed if that patient becomes a glutton? Surely\nnot. The evil is not in the doctor's prescription, or in the stimulant\nor in the nourishment, but in the wretched lust of the heart.\n\nHere, we are persuaded, lies the root of the evil; and the remedy is\nfound in that precious grace of God which, while it bringeth salvation\nunto all men, teacheth those who are saved \"to live _soberly_,\nrighteously, and godly in this present world.\" And be it remembered\nthat \"to live soberly\" means a great deal more than temperance in\neating and drinking; it means this, most surely, but it takes in also\nthe whole range of inward self-government--the government of the\nthoughts, the government of the temper, the government of the tongue.\nThe grace that saves us not only _tells_ us how to live, but _teaches_\nhow to do it, and if we follow its teachings, we shall be well content\nwith God's provision for the stranger.\n\nIt is at once interesting and edifying to notice the way in which\nMoses sets the divine example before the people as their model.\nJehovah \"loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment. Love ye\ntherefore the stranger; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.\"\nThis is very touching. They were not only to keep before their eyes\nthe divine model, but also to remember their own past history and\nexperience, in order that their hearts might be drawn out in sympathy\nand compassion toward the poor homeless stranger. It was the bounden\nduty and high privilege of the Israel of God to place themselves in\nthe circumstances and enter into the feelings of others. They were to\nbe the moral representatives of that blessed One whose people they\nwere, and whose name was called upon them. They were to imitate Him in\nmeeting the wants and gladdening the hearts of the fatherless, the\nwidow, and the stranger. And if God's earthly people were called to\nthis lovely course of action, how much more are we who are \"blessed\nwith all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus.\" May\nwe abide more in His presence, and drink more into His spirit, that so\nwe may more faithfully reflect His moral glories upon all with whom we\ncome in contact.\n\nThe closing lines of our chapter give us a very fine summing up of the\npractical teaching which has been engaging our attention. \"Thou shalt\nfear the Lord thy God; Him shalt thou serve, and to Him shalt thou\ncleave, and swear by His name. He is thy praise, and He is thy God,\nthat hath done for thee these great and terrible things, which thine\neyes have seen. Thy fathers went down into Egypt with threescore and\nten persons, and now the Lord hath made thee as the stars of heaven\nfor multitude.\" (Ver. 20-22.)\n\nHow thoroughly bracing is all this to the moral being! This binding of\nthe heart to the Lord Himself by means of all that He is, and all His\nwondrous actings and gracious ways, is unspeakably precious. It is, we\nmay truly say, the secret spring of all true devotedness. God grant\nthat the writer and the reader may abidingly realize its motive power.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI.\n\n\n\"Therefore thou shalt love the Lord thy God, and keep His charge, and\nHis statutes, and His judgments, and His commandments, _alway_. And\nknow ye this day; for I speak not with your children which have not\nknown, and which have not seen the chastisements of the Lord your God,\nHis greatness, His mighty hand, and His stretched-out arm, and His\nmiracles, and His acts, which He did in the midst of Egypt unto\nPharaoh the king of Egypt, and unto all his land; and what He did unto\nthe army of Egypt, unto their horses, and to their chariots; how He\nmade the water of the Red Sea to overflow them as they pursued after\nyou, and how the Lord hath destroyed them unto this day; and what He\ndid unto you in the wilderness, until ye came into this place; and\nwhat He did unto Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, the son of\nReuben; how the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and\ntheir households, and their tents, and all the substance that was in\ntheir possession, in the midst of all Israel; but your eyes have seen\nall the great acts of the Lord which He did.\"\n\nMoses felt it to be of the very highest importance that all the mighty\nacts of Jehovah should be kept prominently before the hearts of the\npeople, and deeply engraved on the tablets of their memory. The poor\nhuman mind is vagrant, and the heart volatile, and notwithstanding all\nthat Israel had seen of the solemn judgments of God upon Egypt and\nupon Pharaoh, they were in danger of forgetting them, and losing the\nimpression which they were designed and eminently fitted to make upon\nthem.\n\nIt may be we feel disposed to wonder how Israel could ever forget the\nimpressive scenes of their history in Egypt from first to last--the\ndescent of their fathers thither as a mere handful, their steady\ngrowth and progress as a people, spite of formidable difficulties and\nhindrances, so that from the insignificant few, they had become, by\nthe good hand of their God upon them, as the stars of heaven for\nmultitude.\n\nAnd then those ten plagues upon the land of Egypt! How full of awful\nsolemnity! how pre-eminently calculated to impress the heart with a\nsense of the mighty power of God, the utter impotency and\ninsignificance of man, in all his boasted wisdom, strength, and glory,\nand the egregious folly of his attempting to set himself up against\nthe almighty God! What was all the power of Pharaoh and of Egypt in\nthe presence of the Lord God of Israel? In one hour all was plunged\ninto hopeless ruin and destruction. All the chariots of Egypt, all the\npomp and glory, the valor and might, of that ancient and far-famed\nnation--all was overwhelmed in the depths of the sea.\n\nAnd why? Because they had presumed to meddle with the Israel of God;\nthey had dared to set themselves in opposition to the eternal purpose\nand counsel of the Most High. They sought to crush those on whom He\nhad set His love. He had sworn to bless the seed of Abraham, and no\npower of earth or hell could possibly annul His oath. Pharaoh, in his\npride and hardness of heart, attempted to countervail the divine\nactings, but he only meddled to his own destruction. His land was\nshaken to its very centre, and himself and his mighty army overthrown\nin the Red Sea, a solemn example to all who should ever attempt to\nstand in the way of Jehovah's purpose to bless the seed of Abraham His\nfriend.\n\nNor was it merely what Jehovah had done to Egypt and to Pharaoh that\nthe people were called to remember, but also what He had done amongst\nthemselves. How soul-subduing the judgment upon Dathan and Abiram and\ntheir households! How awful the thought of the earth opening her mouth\nand swallowing them up! And for what? For their rebellion against the\ndivine appointment. In the history given in Numbers, Korah, the\nLevite, is the prominent character; but here, he is omitted, and the\ntwo Reubenites are named--two members of the congregation, because\nMoses is seeking to act on the whole body of the people by setting\nbefore them the terrible consequence of self-will in two of their\nnumber--two ordinary members, as we should say, and not merely a\nprivileged Levite.\n\nIn a word, then, whether the attention was called to the divine\nactings without or within, abroad or at home, it was all for the\npurpose of impressing their hearts and minds with a deep sense of the\nmoral importance of obedience. This was the one grand aim of all the\nrehearsals, all the comments, all the exhortations, of the faithful\nservant of God who was so soon to be removed from their midst. For\nthis, he ranges over their history for centuries, culling, grouping,\ncommenting, taking up this fact and omitting that, as guided by the\nSpirit of God. The journey down to Egypt, the sojourn there, the heavy\njudgments upon the self-willed Pharaoh, the exodus, the passage\nthrough the sea, the scenes in the wilderness, and specially the awful\nfate of the two rebellious Reubenites--all is brought to bear, with\nmarvelous force and clearness, upon the conscience of the people, in\norder to strengthen the basis of Jehovah's claim upon their\nunqualified obedience to His holy commandments.\n\n\"Therefore shall ye _keep all the commandments_ which I command you\nthis day, _that ye may be strong_, and go in and possess the land,\nwhither ye go to possess it; and that ye may prolong your days in the\nland, which the Lord sware unto your fathers to give unto them and to\ntheir seed, a land that floweth with milk and honey.\"\n\nLet the reader note the beautiful moral link between those two\nclauses--\"keep _all_ the commandments\"--\"that ye may be strong.\" There\nis great strength gained by unreserved obedience to the Word of God.\nIt will not do to pick and choose. We are prone to this--prone to take\nup certain commandments and precepts which suit ourselves; but this is\nreally self-will. What right have we to select such and such precepts\nfrom the Word, and neglect others? None whatever. To do so is, in\nprinciple, simply self-will and rebellion. What business has a servant\nto decide as to which of his master's commands he will obey? Surely\nnone whatever; each commandment stands clothed with the master's\nauthority, and therefore claims the servant's attention; and, we may\nadd, the more implicitly the servant obeys, the more he bends his\nrespectful attention to every one of his master's commands, be it ever\nso trivial, the more does he strengthen himself in his position and\ngrow in his master's confidence and esteem. Every master loves and\nvalues an obedient, faithful, devoted servant. We all know what a\ncomfort it is to have a servant whom we can trust--one who finds his\ndelight in carrying out our every wish, and who does not require\nperpetual looking after, but knows his duty and attends to it.\n\nNow, ought we not to seek to refresh the heart of our blessed Master,\nby a loving obedience to all His commandments? Only think, reader,\nwhat a privilege it is to be allowed to give joy to the heart of that\nblessed One who loved us and gave Himself for us. It is something\nwonderful that poor creatures such as we can in any way refresh the\nheart of Jesus; yet so it is, blessed be His name. He delights in our\nkeeping His commandments; and assuredly the thought of this should\nstir our whole moral being, and lead us to study His Word, in order to\nfind out, more and more, what His commandments are, so that we may do\nthem.\n\nWe are forcibly reminded, by those words of Moses which we have just\nquoted, of the apostle's prayer for \"the saints and faithful brethren\nin Christ at Colosse.\" \"For this cause we also, since the day we heard\nit, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be\nfilled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual\nunderstanding; that ye might walk worthy of the Lord _unto all\npleasing_, being fruitful in every good work, and _increasing in the\nknowledge of God; strengthened with all might_, according to His\nglorious power, unto all patience and long-suffering with joyfulness;\ngiving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers\nof the inheritance of the saints in light; who hath delivered us from\nthe power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of the\nSon of His love; in whom we have redemption through His blood, the\nforgiveness of sins.\" (Col. i. 9-14.)\n\nMaking allowance for the difference between the earthly and the\nheavenly--between Israel and the Church, there is a striking\nsimilarity between the words of the lawgiver and the words of the\napostle. Both together are eminently fitted to set forth the beauty\nand preciousness of a willing-hearted, loving obedience. It is\nprecious to the Father, precious to Christ, precious to the Holy\nGhost; and this surely ought to be enough to create and strengthen in\nour hearts the desire to be filled with the knowledge of His will,\nthat so we might walk worthy of Him to all pleasing, being fruitful\n_in every good work_, and increasing in the knowledge of God. It\nshould lead us to a more diligent study of the Word of God, so that we\nmight be ever finding out more and more of our Lord's mind and will,\nlearning what is well-pleasing to Him, and looking to Him for grace to\ndo it. Thus should our hearts be kept near to Him, and we should find\nan ever-deepening interest in searching the Scriptures, not merely to\ngrow in the knowledge of truth, but in the knowledge of God, the\nknowledge of Christ--the deep, personal, experimental knowledge of all\nthat is treasured up in that blessed One who is the fullness of the\nGodhead bodily. Oh, may the Spirit of God, by His most precious and\npowerful ministry, awaken in us a more intense desire to know and to\ndo the will of our blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, that thus we\nmay refresh His loving heart and be well-pleasing to Him in all\nthings.\n\nWe must now turn, for a moment, to the lovely picture of the promised\nland which Moses holds up before the eyes of the people.--\"For the\nland whither thou goest in to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt,\nfrom whence ye came out, where thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it\nwith thy foot, as a garden of herbs; but the land whither ye go to\npossess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water of the\nrain of heaven; a land which the Lord thy God careth for; the eyes of\nthe Lord thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year\neven unto the end of the year.\" (Ver. 10-12.)\n\nWhat a vivid contrast between Egypt and Canaan! Egypt had no rain from\nheaven; it was all human effort there. Not so in the Lord's land; the\nhuman foot could do nothing there, nor was there any need, for the\nblessed rain from heaven dropped upon it; Jehovah Himself cared for it\nand watered it with the early and latter rain. The land of Egypt was\ndependent upon its own resources; the land of Canaan was wholly\ndependent upon God--upon what came down from heaven. \"My river is mine\nown,\" was the language of Egypt; \"the river of God\" was the hope of\nCanaan. The habit in Egypt was to water with the foot; the habit in\nCanaan was to look up to heaven.\n\nWe have in the sixty-fifth psalm a lovely statement of the condition\nof things in the Lord's land, as viewed by the eye of faith. \"Thou\nvisitest the earth, and waterest it; Thou greatly enrichest it with\nthe river of God, which is full of water; Thou preparest them corn,\nwhen Thou hast so provided for it. Thou waterest the ridges thereof\nabundantly; Thou settlest the furrows thereof; Thou makest it soft\nwith showers; Thou blessest the springing thereof. Thou crownest the\nyear with Thy goodness, and Thy paths drop fatness. They drop upon the\npastures of the wilderness; and the little hills rejoice on every\nside. The pastures are clothed with flocks; the valleys also are\ncovered over with corn; they shout for joy, they also sing.\" (Ver.\n9-13.)\n\nHow perfectly beautiful! Only think of God watering the ridges and\nsettling the furrows! think of His stooping down to do the work of a\nhusbandman for His people! Yes, and delighting to do it! It was the\njoy of His heart to pour His sunbeams and His refreshing showers upon\nthe \"hills and valleys\" of His beloved people. It was refreshing to\nHis spirit, as it was to the praise of His name, to see the vine, the\nfig-tree, and the olive flourishing, the valleys covered with the\ngolden grain, and the rich pastures covered with flocks of sheep.\n\nThus it should ever have been, and thus it would have been, had Israel\nonly walked in simple obedience to the holy law of God. \"It shall come\nto pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto My commandments which I\ncommand you this day, _to love the Lord your God, and to serve Him\nwith all your heart and with all your soul_, that I will give you the\nrain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter\nrain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine\noil. And I will send grass in thy fields for thy cattle, that thou\nmayest eat and be full.\" (Ver. 13-15.)\n\nThus the matter stood between the God of Israel and the Israel of God.\nNothing could be simpler, nothing more blessed. It was Israel's high\nand holy privilege to love and serve Jehovah; it was Jehovah's\nprerogative to bless and prosper Israel. Happiness and fruitfulness\nwere to be the sure accompaniments of obedience. The people and their\nland were wholly dependent upon God. All their supplies were to come\ndown from heaven; and hence, so long as they walked in loving\nobedience, the copious showers dropped upon their fields and\nvineyards, the heavens dropped down the dew, and the earth responded\nin fruitfulness and blessing.\n\nBut, on the other hand, when Israel forgot the Lord, and forsook His\nprecious commandments, the heaven became brass and the earth iron;\nbarrenness, desolation, famine, and misery were the melancholy\naccompaniments of disobedience. How could it be otherwise? \"If ye be\nwilling and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land; but if ye\nrefuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword; for the mouth\nof the Lord hath spoken it.\"\n\nNow, in all this there is deep, practical instruction for the Church\nof God. Although we are not under law, we are called to obedience; and\nas we are enabled, through grace, to yield a loving, hearty obedience,\nwe are blessed in our own spiritual state, our souls are watered,\nrefreshed, and strengthened, and we bring forth the fruits of\nrighteousness which are by Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of\nGod.\n\nThe reader may refer with much profit, in connection with this great\npractical subject, to the opening of John xv.--a most precious\nscripture, and one demanding the earnest attention of every\ntrue-hearted child of God. \"I am the true vine, and My Father is the\nHusbandman. Every branch in Me that beareth not fruit He taketh away;\nand every branch that beareth fruit, He purgeth it, _that it may bring\nforth more fruit_. Now ye are clean through the word which I have\nspoken unto you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear\nfruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except\nye abide in Me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: he that abideth in\nMe, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without [or\napart from] Me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in Me, he is cast\nforth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them\ninto the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in Me, and My words\nabide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto\nyou. Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall\nye be My disciples. As the Father hath loved Me, so have I loved you;\ncontinue ye in My love. _If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in\nMy love_; even as I have kept My Father's commandments, and abide in\nHis love.\" (Ver. 1-10.)\n\nThis weighty passage of Scripture has suffered immensely through\ntheological controversy and religious strife. It is as plain as it is\npractical, and only needs to be taken as it stands, in its own divine\nsimplicity. If we seek to import into it what does not belong to it,\nwe mar its integrity and miss its true application. In it we have\nChrist, the true vine, taking the place of Israel, who had become to\nJehovah the degenerate plant of a strange vine. The scene of the\nparable is obviously earth, and not heaven; we do not think of a vine\nand a husbandman (\u03b3\u03b5\u03c9\u03c1\u03b3\u03bf\u03c2) in heaven. Besides, our Lord says,\n\"I _am_ the true vine.\" The figure is very distinct. It is not the\nhead and the members, but a tree and its branches. Moreover, the\nsubject of the parable is as distinct as the parable itself; it is not\neternal life, but fruit-bearing. If this were borne in mind, it would\ngreatly help to an understanding of this much-misunderstood passage of\nScripture.\n\nIn a word, then, we learn from the figure of the vine and its branches\nthat the true secret of fruit-bearing is, to abide in Christ, and the\nway to abide in Christ is, to keep His precious commandments. \"If ye\nkeep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love; even as I have kept\nMy Father's commandments, and abide in His love.\" This makes it all so\nsimple. The way to bear fruit in season is, to abide in the love of\nChrist, and this abiding is proved by our treasuring up His\ncommandments in our hearts and yielding a loving obedience to every\none of them. It is not running hither and thither in the mere energy\nof nature; it is not the excitement of mere fleshly zeal displaying\nitself in spasmodic efforts after devotedness. No; it is something\nquite different from all this; it is the calm and holy obedience of\nthe heart--a loving obedience to our own beloved Lord, which\nrefreshes His heart and glorifies His name.\n\n \"How blest are they who still abide\n Close sheltered by Thy watchful side;\n Who life and strength from Thee receive,\n And with Thee move and in Thee live.\"\n\nReader, may we apply our hearts diligently to this great subject of\nfruit-bearing. May we better understand what it is. We are apt to make\ngreat mistakes about it. It is to be feared that much--very much of\nwhat passes for fruit would not be accredited in the divine presence.\nGod cannot own any thing as fruit which is not the direct result of\nabiding in Christ. We may earn a great name among our fellows for\nzeal, energy, and devotedness; we may be abundant in labors, in every\ndepartment of the work; we may acquit ourselves as great travelers,\ngreat preachers, earnest workers in the vineyard, great\nphilanthropists and moral reformers; we may spend a princely fortune\nin promoting all the great objects of Christian benevolence, and all\nthe while not produce a single cluster of fruit acceptable to the\nFather's heart.\n\nAnd, on the other hand, it may be our lot to pass the time of our\nsojourn here in obscurity and retirement from human gaze; we may be\nlittle accounted of by the world and the professing church; we may\nseem to leave but little mark on the sands of time; but if only we\nabide in Christ, abide in His love, treasure up His precious words in\nour hearts, and yield ourselves up to a holy and loving obedience to\nHis commandments, then shall our fruit be in season, and our Father\nwill be glorified, and we shall grow in the experimental knowledge of\nour Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.\n\nWe shall now look for a moment at the remainder of our chapter, in\nwhich Moses, in words of intense earnestness, presses upon the\ncongregation the urgent need of watchfulness and diligence in\nreference to all the statutes and judgments of the Lord their God. The\nbeloved and faithful servant of God, and true lover of the people, was\nunwearied in his efforts to brace them up to that whole-hearted\nobedience which he knew to be at once the spring of their happiness\nand their fruitfulness; and just as our blessed Lord warns His\ndisciples by setting before them the solemn judgment of the unfruitful\nbranch, so does Moses warn the people as to the sure and terrible\nconsequences of disobedience.\n\n\"Take heed to yourselves, that _your heart be not deceived_, and ye\nturn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them.\" Sad progress\ndownward! The heart deceived. This is the beginning of all declension.\n\"And ye turn aside.\" The feet are sure to follow the heart. Hence the\ndeep need of keeping the heart with all diligence; it is the citadel\nof the whole moral being, and so long as it is kept for the Lord, the\nenemy can gain no advantage; but when once it is surrendered, all is\nreally gone,--there is the turning aside; the secret departure of the\nheart is proved by the practical ways,--\"other gods\" are served and\nworshiped. The descent down along the inclined plane is terribly\nrapid.\n\n\"And then\"--mark the sure and solemn consequences--\"the Lord's wrath\nbe kindled against you, and He _shut up the heaven_, that there be no\nrain, and that the land yield not her fruit; and ye perish quickly\nfrom off the good land which the Lord giveth you.\" What barrenness and\ndesolation there must be when heaven is shut up! No refreshing showers\ncoming down, no dew-drops falling, no communication between the heaven\nand the earth. Alas! how often had Israel tasted the awful reality of\nthis! \"He turneth rivers into a wilderness, and the water-springs into\ndry ground; a fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness of\nthem that dwell therein.\"\n\nAnd may we not see in the barren land and the desolate wilderness an\napt and striking illustration of a soul out of communion through\ndisobedience to the precious commandments of Christ? Such an one has\nno refreshing communications with heaven--no showers coming down--no\nunfoldings of the preciousness of Christ to the heart--no sweet\nministrations of an ungrieved Spirit to the soul; the Bible seems a\nsealed book; all is dark, dreary, and desolate. Oh, there cannot be\nany thing more miserable in all this world than a soul in this\ncondition. May the writer and the reader never experience it. May we\nbend our ears to the fervent exhortations addressed by Moses to the\ncongregation of Israel. They are most seasonable, most healthful,\nmost needful, in this day of cold indifferentism and positive\nwillfulness. They set before us the divine antidote against the\nspecial evils to which the Church of God is exposed at this very\nhour--an hour critical and solemn beyond all human conception.\n\n\"Therefore shall ye lay up these _my words_ in _your heart_ and in\n_your soul_, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be\nas frontlets between your eyes. And ye shall teach them your children,\nspeaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou\nwalkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up; and\nthou shalt write them upon the door-posts of thine house, and upon thy\ngates, that your days may be multiplied, and the days of your\nchildren, in the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers to give\nthem, as the days of heaven upon the earth.\"\n\nBlessed days! And oh, how ardently the large, loving heart of Moses\nlonged that the people might enjoy many such days! And how simple the\ncondition! Truly nothing could be simpler, nothing more precious. It\nwas not a heavy yoke laid upon them, but the sweet privilege of\ntreasuring up the precious commandments of the Lord their God in their\nhearts, and breathing the very atmosphere of His holy Word. All was to\nhinge upon this. All the blessings of the land of Canaan--that goodly,\nhighly favored land, a land flowing with milk and honey, a land on\nwhich Jehovah's eyes ever rested in loving interest and tender\ncare--all its precious fruits, all its rare privileges, were to be\ntheirs in perpetuity, on the one simple condition of loving obedience\nto the word of their covenant-God.\n\n\"For if ye shall _diligently keep all_ these commandments which I\ncommand you, to do them, _to love the Lord your God, to walk in all\nHis ways_, and _to cleave unto_ Him; then will the Lord drive out all\nthese nations from before you, and ye shall possess greater nations\nand mightier than yourselves.\" In a word, sure and certain victory was\nbefore them, a most complete overthrow of all enemies and obstacles, a\ntriumphal march into the promised inheritance--all secured to them on\nthe blessed ground of affectionate and reverential obedience to the\nmost precious statutes and judgments that had ever been addressed to\nthe human heart--statutes and judgments every one of which was but the\nvery voice of their most gracious Deliverer.\n\n\"Every place whereon the soles of your feet shall tread shall be\nyours; from the wilderness and Lebanon, from the river, the river\nEuphrates, even unto the uttermost sea, shall your coast be. There\nshall no man be able to stand before you; for the Lord your God shall\nlay the fear of you and the dread of you upon all the land that ye\nshall tread upon, as He hath said unto you.\"\n\nHere was the divine side of the question. The whole land, in its\nlength, breadth, and fullness, lay before them; they had but to take\npossession of it, as the free gift of God; it was for them simply to\nplant the foot, in artless, appropriating faith, upon that fair\ninheritance which sovereign grace had bestowed upon them. All this we\nsee made good in the book of Joshua, as we read in chapter xi.--\"So\nJoshua took _the whole land_, according to all that the Lord said unto\nMoses; and Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel, according to\ntheir divisions by their tribes. And the land rested from war.\" (Ver.\n23.)[8]\n\n [8] No doubt it was in faith that Joshua took--and could take nothing\n less than--the whole land; but as to actual possession, chapter xiii.\n 1 shows there was \"yet much land to be possessed.\"\n\nBut alas! there was the human side of the question as well as the\ndivine. Canaan as promised by Jehovah and made good by the faith of\nJoshua was one thing, and Canaan as possessed by Israel was quite\nanother. Hence the vast difference between Joshua and Judges. In\nJoshua, we see the infallible faithfulness of God to His promise; in\nJudges, we see Israel's miserable failure from the very outset. God\npledged His immutable word that not a man should be able to stand\nbefore them, and the sword of Joshua--type of the great Captain of our\nsalvation--made good this pledge in its every jot and tittle; but the\nbook of Judges records the melancholy fact that Israel failed to drive\nout the enemy--failed to take possession of the divine grant in all\nits royal magnificence.\n\nWhat then? Is the promise of God made of none effect? Nay, verily; but\nthe utter failure of man is made apparent. At \"Gilgal,\" the banner of\nvictory floated over the twelve tribes, with their invincible captain\nat their head: at \"Bochim,\" the weepers had to mourn over Israel's\nlamentable defeat.\n\nHave we any difficulty in understanding the difference? None whatever.\nWe see the two things running all through the divine Volume. Man fails\nto rise to the height of the divine revelation--fails to take\npossession of what grace bestows. This is as true in the history of\nthe Church as it was in the history of Israel;--in the New Testament,\nas well as in the Old, we have Judges as well as Joshua.\n\nYes, reader, and in the history of each individual member of the\nChurch we see the same thing. Where is the Christian, beneath the\ncanopy of heaven, that lives up to the height of his spiritual\nprivileges? where is the child of God who has not to mourn over his\nhumiliating failure in grasping and making good practically the high\nand holy privileges of his calling of God? But does this make the\ntruth of God of none effect? No; blessed forever be His holy name. His\nWord holds good in all its divine integrity and eternal stability.\nJust as in Israel's case, the land of promise lay before them in all\nits fair proportions and divinely given attractions; and not only so,\nbut they could count on the faithfulness and almighty power of God to\nbring them in and put them in full possession; so with us, we are\nblessed with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in Christ.\nThere is absolutely no limit to the privileges connected with our\nstanding, and as to our actual enjoyment, it is only a question of\nfaith taking possession of all that God's sovereign grace has made\nours in Christ.\n\nWe must never forget that it is the privilege of the Christian to live\nat the very height of the divine revelation. There is no excuse for a\nshallow experience or a low walk. We have no right whatever to say\nthat we cannot realize the fullness of our portion in Christ, that the\nstandard is too high, the privileges are too vast, that we cannot\nexpect to enjoy such marvelous blessings and dignities in our present\nimperfect state.\n\nAll this is downright unbelief, and should be so treated by every true\nChristian. The question is, Has the grace of God bestowed the\nprivileges upon us? has the death of Christ made good our title to\nthem? and has the Holy Ghost declared them to be the proper portion of\nthe very feeblest member of the body of Christ? If so--and Scripture\ndeclares it is so--why should we not enjoy them? There is no hindrance\non the divine side. It is the desire of the heart of God that we\nshould enter into the fullness of our portion in Christ. Hear the\nearnest breathing of the inspired apostle on behalf of the saints at\nEphesus and of all saints.--\"Wherefore I also, after I heard of your\nfaith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, cease not to\ngive thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; that the God\nof our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the\nspirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him: the eyes of\nyour understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the\nhope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His\ninheritance in the saints, and what the exceeding greatness of His\npower to usward who believe, according to the working of His mighty\npower, which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead,\nand set Him at His own right hand in the heavenlies, far above all\nprincipality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that\nis named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:\nand hath put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the head\nover all things to the Church, which is His body, the fullness of Him\nthat filleth all in all.\" (Eph. i. 15-23.)\n\nFrom this marvelous prayer we may learn how earnestly the Spirit of\nGod desires that we should apprehend and enjoy the glorious privileges\nof the true Christian position. He would ever, by His precious and\npowerful ministry, keep our hearts up to the mark; but, alas! like\nIsrael, we grieve Him by our sinful unbelief, and rob our own souls of\nincalculable blessing.\n\nBut, all praise to the God of all grace, the Father of glory, the God\nand Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, He will yet make good every jot\nand tittle of His most precious truth, both as to His earthly and\nheavenly people. Israel shall yet enjoy to the full all the blessings\nsecured to them by the everlasting covenant; and the Church shall yet\nenter upon the perfect fruition of all that which eternal love and\ndivine counsels have laid up for her in Christ; and not only so, but\nthe blessed Comforter is able and willing to lead the individual\nbeliever into the present enjoyment of the hope of God's glorious\ncalling, and the practical power of that hope, in detaching the heart\nfrom present things and separating it to God in true holiness and\nliving devotedness.\n\nMay our hearts, beloved Christian reader, long more ardently after the\nfull realization of all this, that thus we may live more as those who\nare finding their portion and their rest in a risen and glorified\nChrist. God, in His infinite goodness, grant it, for Jesus Christ's\nname and glory's sake.\n\n * * * * *\n\nThe remaining verses of our chapter close the first division of the\nbook of Deuteronomy, which, as the reader will notice, consists of a\nseries of discourses addressed by Moses to the congregation of\nIsrael--memorable discourses, most surely, in whatever way we view\nthem. The closing sentences are, we need hardly say, in perfect\nkeeping with the whole, and breathe the same deep-toned earnestness in\nreference to the subject of obedience--a subject which, as we have\nseen, formed the special burden on the heart of the beloved speaker in\nhis affecting farewell addresses to the people.\n\n\"Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse;\"--How\npointed and solemn is this!--\"a blessing, if ye obey the commandments\nof the Lord your God, which I command you this day; and a curse, if ye\nwill not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside\nout of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods,\nwhich ye have not known. And it shall come to pass, when the Lord thy\nGod hath brought thee in unto the land whither thou goest to possess\nit, that thou shalt put the blessing upon Mount Gerizim, and the curse\nupon Mount Ebal. Are they not on the other side Jordan, by the way\nwhere the sun goeth down, in the land of the Canaanites, which dwell\nin the champaign over against Gilgal, beside the plains of Moreh? For\nye shall pass over Jordan, to go in to possess the land which the Lord\nyour God giveth you, and ye shall possess it, and dwell therein. AND\nYE SHALL OBSERVE TO DO ALL THE STATUTES AND JUDGMENTS WHICH I SET\nBEFORE YOU THIS DAY.\" (Ver. 26-32.)\n\nHere we have the summing up of the whole matter. The blessing is\nlinked on to obedience; the curse, to disobedience. Mount Gerizim\nstands over against Mount Ebal--fruitfulness and barrenness. We shall\nsee, when we come to chapter xxvii, that Mount Gerizim and its\nblessings are entirely passed over. The curses of Mount Ebal fall,\nwith awful distinctness, on Israel's ear, while terrible silence\nreigns on Mount Gerizim. \"As many as are of the works of the law, are\nunder the curse.\" The blessing of Abraham can only come on those who\nare on the ground of faith. But more of this by and by.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XII.\n\n\nWe now enter upon a new section of our marvelous book. The discourses\ncontained in the first eleven chapters having established the\nall-important principle of obedience, we now come to the practical\napplication of the principle to the habits and ways of the people when\nsettled in possession of the land. \"These are the statutes and\njudgments which ye shall observe to do in the land which the Lord God\nof thy fathers giveth thee to possess it, all the days that ye live\nupon the earth.\"\n\nIt is of the utmost moral importance that the heart and conscience\nshould be brought into their true attitude in reference to divine\nauthority, irrespective altogether of any question as to details.\nThese will find their due place when once the heart is taught to bow\ndown, in complete and absolute submission, to the supreme authority of\nthe Word of God.\n\nNow, as we have seen in our studies on the first eleven chapters, the\nlawgiver labors, most earnestly and faithfully, to lead the heart of\nIsrael into this all-essential condition. He felt, to speak after the\nmanner of men, it was of no use entering upon practical details until\nthe grand foundation-principle of all morality was fully established\nin the very deepest depths of the soul. The principle is this (let us\nChristians apply our hearts to it): It is man's bounden duty to bow\nimplicitly to the authority of the Word of God. It matters not, in the\nsmallest degree, what that Word may enjoin, or whether we can see the\nreason of this, that, or the other institution. The one grand,\nall-important, and conclusive point is this: Has God spoken? If He\nhas, that is quite enough. There is no room, no need, for any further\nquestion.\n\nUntil this point is fully established, or rather until the heart is\nbrought directly under its full moral force, we are not in a condition\nto enter upon details. If self-will be allowed to operate, if blind\nreason be permitted to speak, the heart will send up its endless\nquestionings; as each divine institution is laid before us, some fresh\ndifficulty will present itself as a stumbling-block in the path of\nsimple obedience.\n\nWhat! it may be said, are we not to use our reason? If not, to what\nend was it given? To this we have a twofold reply. In the first place,\nour reason is not as it was when God gave it. We have to remember that\nsin has come in; man is a fallen creature; his reason, his judgment,\nhis understanding--his whole moral being is a complete wreck; and\nmoreover, it was the neglect of the Word of God that caused all this\nwreck and ruin.\n\nAnd then, in the second place, we must bear in mind that if reason\nwere in a sound condition, it would prove its soundness by bowing to\nthe Word of God. But it is not sound; it is blind, and utterly\nperverted; it is not to be trusted for a moment in things spiritual,\ndivine, or heavenly.\n\nIf this simple fact were thoroughly understood, it would settle a\nthousand questions and remove a thousand difficulties. It is reason\nthat makes all the infidels. The devil whispers into man's ear, \"You\nare endowed with reason; why not use it? It was given to be used--used\nin every thing; you ought not to give your assent to any thing which\nyour reason cannot grasp. It is your chartered right as a man to\nsubmit every thing to the test of your reason; it is only for a fool\nor an idiot to receive, in blind credulity, all that is set before\nhim.\"\n\nWhat is our answer to such wily and dangerous suggestions? A very\nsimple and conclusive one; namely, this: The Word of God is above and\nbeyond reason altogether; it is as far above reason as God is above\nthe creature, or heaven above earth. Hence, when God speaks, all\nreasonings must be cast down. If it be merely man's word, man's\nopinion, man's judgment, then verily reason may exert its powers; or\nrather, to speak more correctly, we must judge what is said by the\nonly perfect standard--the Word of God. But if reason be set to work\non the Word of God, the soul must inevitably be plunged in the thick\ndarkness of infidelity, from which the descent to the awful blackness\nof atheism is but too easy.\n\nIn a word, then, we have to remember--yea, to cherish in the very\ndeepest depths of our moral being, that the only safe ground for the\nsoul is, divinely wrought faith in the paramount authority, divine\nmajesty, and all-sufficiency of the Word of God. This was the ground\nwhich Moses occupied in dealing with the heart and conscience of\nIsrael. His one grand object was, to lead the people into the attitude\nof profound, unqualified subjection to divine authority. Without this,\nall was useless. If every statute, every judgment, every precept,\nevery institution, were to be submitted to the action of human\nreason, then farewell to divine authority, farewell to Scripture,\nfarewell to certainty, farewell to peace; but, on the other hand, when\nthe soul is led by God's Spirit into the delightful attitude of\nabsolute and unquestioning submission to the authority of God's Word,\nthen every one of His judgments, every one of His commandments, every\nsentence of His blessed book, is received as coming direct from\nHimself, and the most simple ordinance or institution stands invested\nwith all the importance which His authority is fitted to impart. We\nmay not be able to understand the full meaning or exact bearing of\neach statute and judgment,--that is not the question; it is sufficient\nfor us to know that it comes from God. He has spoken; this is\nconclusive. Till this great principle is grasped, or rather till it\ntakes full possession of the soul, nothing is done; but when it is\nfully understood and submitted to, the solid foundation is laid for\nall true morality.\n\nThe foregoing line of thought will enable the reader to seize the\nconnection between the chapter which now lies open before us and the\npreceding section of this book; and not only will it do this, but we\ntrust it will also help him to understand the special place and\nbearing of the opening verses of chapter xii.\n\n\"Ye shall utterly destroy all the places wherein the nations which ye\nshall possess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the\nhills, and under every green tree. And ye shall overthrow their\naltars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire; and\nye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the\nnames of them out of that place.\" (Ver. 2, 3.)\n\nThe land was Jehovah's; they were to hold as tenants under Him, and\ntherefore their very first duty on entering upon possession was, to\ndemolish every trace of the old idolatry. This was absolutely\nindispensable. It might, according to human reason, seem to be very\nintolerant to act in this way toward other people's religion. We\nreply, without any hesitation, Yes, it was intolerant; for how could\nthe one only true and living God be otherwise than intolerant of all\nfalse gods and false worship? To suppose for a moment that He could\npermit the worship of idols in His land would be to suppose that He\ncould deny Himself, which were simply blasphemy.\n\nLet us not be misunderstood. It is not that God does not bear with the\nworld, in His long-suffering mercy. It seems hardly needful to state\nthis, with the history of well-nigh six thousand years of divine\nforbearance before our eyes. Blessed forever be His holy name, He has\nborne with the world most marvelously from the days of Noah, and He\nstill bears with it, though stained with the guilt of crucifying His\nbeloved Son.\n\nAll this is plain, but it leaves wholly untouched the great principle\nlaid down in our chapter. Israel had to learn that they were about to\ntake possession of the Lord's land, and that, as His tenants, their\nfirst and indispensable duty was, to obliterate every trace of\nidolatry. To them there was to be but \"the one God.\" His name was\ncalled upon them. They were His people, and He could not permit them\nto have fellowship with demons. \"Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God;\nand Him _only_ shalt thou serve.\"\n\nThis might, in the judgment of the uncircumcised nations around, seem\nvery intolerant, very narrow, very bigoted. They indeed might boast of\ntheir freedom, and glory in the broad platform of their worship which\nadmitted \"gods many and lords many.\" It might, according to their\nthinking, argue greater breadth of mind to let every one think for\nhimself in matters of religion, and choose his own object of worship,\nand his own mode of worshiping also; or, still further, it might give\nevidence of a more advanced condition of civilization, greater polish\nand refinement, to erect, as in Rome, a Pantheon, in which all the\ngods of heathendom might find a place. \"What did it matter about the\nform of a man's religion, or the object of his worship, provided he\nhimself were sincere? All would be sure to come right in the end; the\ngreat point for all was, to attend to material progress, to help on\nnational prosperity as the surest means of securing individual\ninterests. Of course, it is all right for every man to have some\nreligion, but as to the form of that religion, it is immaterial. The\ngreat question is, what you are yourself, not what your religion is.\"\n\nAll this, we can well conceive, would admirably suit the carnal mind,\nand be very popular amongst the uncircumcised nations; but as for\nIsrael, they had to remember that one commanding sentence, \"The Lord\nthy God is one God;\" and again, \"Thou shalt have none other gods\nbefore Me.\" This was to be their religion; the platform of their\nworship was to be as wide and as narrow as the one true and living\nGod, their Creator and Redeemer. That, assuredly, was broad enough for\nevery true worshiper--every member of the circumcised assembly--all\nwhose high and holy privilege it was to belong to the Israel of God.\nThey were not to concern themselves with the opinions or observations\nof the uncircumcised nations around. What were they worth? Not the\nweight of a feather. What could they know about the claims of the God\nof Israel upon His circumcised people? Just nothing. Were they\ncompetent to decide as to the proper breadth of Israel's platform?\nClearly not; they were wholly ignorant of the subject. Hence their\nthoughts, reasonings, arguments, and objections were perfectly\nworthless, not to be listened to for a moment. It was Israel's one,\nsimple, bounden duty to bow down to the supreme and absolute authority\nof the word of God; and that word insisted upon the complete abolition\nof every trace of idolatry from that goodly land which they were\nprivileged to hold as tenants under Him.\n\nBut not only was it incumbent upon Israel to abolish all the places in\nwhich the heathen had worshiped their gods,--this they were solemnly\nbound to do, most surely; but there was more than this. The heart\nmight readily conceive the thought of doing away with idolatry in the\nvarious places, and setting up the altar of the true God\ninstead,--this might seem to be the right course to adopt; but God\nthought differently. \"Ye shall not do so unto the Lord your God. But\nunto the place which the Lord your God shall choose out of all your\ntribes to put His name there, even _unto His habitation_ shall ye\nseek, and thither thou shalt come; and thither ye shall bring your\nburnt-offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and\nheave-offerings of your hand, and your vows, and your free-will\nofferings, and the firstlings of your herds and of your flocks; and\n_there ye shall eat before the Lord your God_; and ye shall rejoice in\nall that ye put your hand unto, ye and your households, wherein the\nLord thy God hath blessed thee.\"\n\nHere a great cardinal truth is unfolded to the congregation of Israel.\nThey were to have one place of worship--a place chosen of God, and not\nof man. His habitation--the place of His presence was to be Israel's\ngrand centre; thither they were to come with their sacrifices and\ntheir offerings, and there they were to offer their worship, and find\ntheir common joy.\n\nDoes this seem exclusive? Of course it was exclusive; how else could\nit be? If God was pleased to select a spot in which He would take up\nHis abode in the midst of His redeemed people, surely they were, of\nnecessity, shut up to that spot as their place of worship. This was\ndivine exclusiveness, and every pious soul would delight in it. Every\ntrue lover of Jehovah would say, with all his heart, \"Lord, I have\nloved _the habitation of Thy house_, and the place where Thine honor\ndwelleth;\" and again, \"How amiable are Thy tabernacles, O Lord of\nhosts! My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord;\nmy heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.... Blessed are\nthey that dwell _in Thy house_; they will be still praising Thee.... A\nday _in Thy courts_ is better than a thousand. I had rather be a\ndoor-keeper _in the house of My God_, than to dwell in the tents of\nwickedness.\" (Ps. xxvi, lxxxiv.)\n\nHere was _the_ one grand and all-important point. It was the\ndwelling-place of Jehovah which was dear to the heart of every true\nIsraelite. Restless self-will might desire to run hither and thither,\nthe poor vagrant heart might long for some change, but, for the heart\nthat loved God, any change from the place of His presence, the place\nwhere He had recorded His blessed name, could only be a change for the\nworse. The truly devout worshiper could find satisfaction and delight,\nblessing and rest, only in the place of the divine presence; and this,\non the double ground,--the authority of His precious Word and the\npowerful attractions of His presence. Such an one could never think of\ngoing anywhere else. Whither could he go? There was but one altar, one\nhabitation, one God,--that was the place for every right-minded, every\ntrue-hearted Israelite. To think of any other place of worship would,\nin his judgment, be not only a departure from the word of Jehovah,\nbut from His holy habitation.\n\nThis great principle is largely insisted upon throughout the whole of\nour chapter. Moses reminds the people that from the moment they\nentered Jehovah's land there was to be an end to all the irregularity\nand self-will that had characterized them in the plains of Moab, or in\nthe wilderness. \"Ye shall not do after all the things that we do here\nthis day, _every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes_. For ye are\nnot as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance, which the Lord\nyour God giveth you. _But when ye go over Jordan_, and dwell in the\nland which the Lord your God giveth you to inherit, and _when He\ngiveth you rest from all your enemies round about, so that ye dwell in\nsafety_; then there shall be a place _which the Lord your God shall\nchoose_, to cause His name to dwell _there; thither_ shall ye bring\nall that I command you.... Take heed to thyself that thou offer not\nthy burnt-offerings _in every place that thou seest_; but _in the\nplace which the Lord shall choose_ in one of thy tribes, there thou\nshalt offer thy burnt-offerings, and there thou shalt do all that I\ncommand thee.\" (Ver. 4-14.)\n\nThus, not only in the object, but also in the place and mode of\nIsrael's worship, they were absolutely shut up to the commandment of\nJehovah. Self-pleasing--self-choosing--self-will was to have an end,\nin reference to the worship of God, the moment they crossed the river\nof death and, as a redeemed people, planted their foot on their\ndivinely given inheritance. Once there, in the enjoyment of Jehovah's\nland, and the rest which the land afforded, obedience to His word was\nto be their reasonable, their intelligent service. Things might be\nallowed to pass in the wilderness which could not be tolerated in\nCanaan. The higher the range of privilege, the higher the\nresponsibility and the standard of action.\n\nNow, it may be that our broad thinkers, and those who contend for\nfreedom of will and freedom of action, for the right of private\njudgment in matters of religion, for liberality of mind and\ncatholicity of spirit, will be ready to pronounce all this which has\nbeen engaging our attention extremely narrow, and wholly unsuited to\nour enlightened age, and to men of intelligence and education.\n\nWhat is our answer to all who adopt this form of speech? A very simple\nand conclusive one; it is this: Has not God a right to prescribe the\nmode in which His people should worship Him? Had He not a perfect\nright to fix the place where He would meet His people Israel? Surely\nwe must either deny His existence, or admit His absolute and\nunquestionable right to set forth His will as to how, when, and where\nHis people should approach Him. Will any one, however educated and\nenlightened, deny this? Is it a proof of high culture, refinement,\nbreadth of mind, or catholicity of spirit to deny God His rights?\n\nIf then God has a right to command, is it narrowness or bigotry for\nHis people to obey? This is just the point. It is, in our judgment,\nas simple as any thing can be. We are thoroughly convinced that the\nonly true breadth of mind, largeness of heart, and catholicity of\nspirit is, to obey the commandments of God. Hence, when Israel were\ncommanded to go to one place and there offer their sacrifices, it most\nassuredly was neither bigotry nor narrowness on their part to go\nthither, and to refuse, with holy decision, to go any where else.\nUncircumcised Gentiles might go where they pleased; the Israel of God\nwere to go _only_ to the place of His appointment.\n\nAnd oh, what an unspeakable privilege for all who loved God and loved\none another to assemble themselves at the place where He recorded His\nname! and what touching grace shines in the fact of His desiring to\ngather His people around Himself from time to time! Did that fact\ninfringe their personal rights and domestic privileges? Nay, it\nenhanced them immensely. God, in His infinite goodness, took care of\nthis. It was His delight to minister to the joy and blessing of His\npeople, privately, socially, and publicly. Hence we read, \"When the\nLord thy God shall enlarge thy border, as He hath promised thee, and\nthou shalt say, I will eat flesh, because thy soul longeth to eat\nflesh, thou mayest eat flesh, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after. If\nthe place which the Lord thy God hath chosen to put His name there be\ntoo far from thee, then thou shalt kill of thy herd and of thy flock,\n_which the Lord hath given thee_, as I have commanded thee, and thou\nshalt eat in thy gates whatsoever thy soul lusteth after. Even as the\nroebuck and the hart is eaten, so thou shalt eat them; the unclean and\nthe clean shall eat of them alike.\"\n\nHere we have, most surely, a broad margin afforded by the goodness and\ntender mercy of God for the fullest range of personal and family\nenjoyment. The only restriction was in reference to the blood.--\"Only\nbe sure that thou eat not the blood; _for the blood is the life_, and\nthou mayest not eat the life with the flesh. Thou shalt not eat it;\nthou shalt pour it upon the earth as water. Thou shalt not eat it;\nthat it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, when\nthou shalt do that which is right in the sight of the Lord.\"\n\nThis was a great cardinal principle under the law, to which reference\nhas been made in our \"Notes on Leviticus.\" How far Israel understood\nit is not the question; they were to obey, that it might go well with\nthem and with their children after them. They were to own, in this\nmatter, the solemn rights of God.\n\nHaving made this exception in reference to personal and family habits,\nthe lawgiver returns to the all-important subject of their public\nworship.--\"Only thy holy things which thou hast, and thy vows, thou\nshalt take, _and go unto the place which the Lord shall choose_; and\nthou shalt offer thy burnt-offerings, _the flesh and the blood_, upon\nthe altar of the Lord thy God; and the blood of the sacrifices shall\nbe poured out upon the altar of the Lord thy God, and thou shalt eat\nthe flesh.\" (Ver. 26, 27.)\n\nIf reason, or self-will, were permitted to speak, it might say, Why\nmust we all go to this one place? Can we not have an altar at home?\nor, at least, an altar in each principal town, or in the centre of\neach tribe? The conclusive answer is, God has commanded otherwise;\nthis is enough for every true Israelite. Even though we may not be\nable, by reason of our ignorance, to see the why or the wherefore,\nsimple obedience is our obvious and bounden duty. It may be, moreover,\nthat, as we cheerfully tread the path of obedience, light will break\nin upon our souls as to the reason, and we shall find abundant\nblessing in doing that which is well-pleasing to the Lord our God.\n\nYes, reader; this is the proper method of answering all the reasonings\nand questionings of the carnal mind, which is not subject to the law\nof God, neither indeed can be. Light is sure to break in upon our\nsouls as we tread, with a lowly mind, the sacred path of obedience;\nand not only so, but untold blessing will flow into the heart in that\nconscious nearness to God which is only known to those who lovingly\nkeep His most precious commandments. Are we called upon to explain to\ncarnal objectors and infidels our reasons for doing this or that? Most\ncertainly not; that is no part of our business: it would be time and\nlabor lost, inasmuch as objectors and reasoners are wholly incapable\nof understanding or appreciating our reasons.\n\nFor example, in the matter now under our consideration, could a carnal\nmind--an unbeliever--a mere child of nature understand why Israel's\ntwelve tribes were commanded to worship at one altar, to gather in one\nplace, to cluster around one centre? Not in the smallest degree. The\ngrand moral reason of such a lovely institution lies far away beyond\nhis ken.\n\nBut to the spiritual mind, all is as plain as it is beautiful. Jehovah\nwould gather His beloved people around Himself, from time to time,\nthat they might rejoice together before Him, and that He might have\nHis own peculiar joy in them. Was not this something most precious?\nAssuredly it was, to all who really loved the Lord.\n\nNo doubt, if the heart were cold and careless toward God, it would\nmatter little about the place of worship,--all places would be alike;\nbut we may set it down as a fixed principle that every loyal, loving\nheart, from Dan to Beersheba, would rejoice to flock to the place\nwhere Jehovah had recorded His name, and where He had appointed to\nmeet His people. \"I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go unto\nthe house of the Lord. Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O\nJerusalem [God's centre for Israel]. Jerusalem is builded as a city\nthat is _compact together_; whither the tribes go up, the tribes of\nthe Lord, _unto the testimony of Israel_, to give thanks unto the name\nof the Lord. For _there_\"--and no where else--\"are set thrones of\njudgment, the thrones of the house of David. Pray for the peace of\nJerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee. Peace be within thy\nwalls, and prosperity within thy palaces. _For my brethren and\ncompanions' sakes_, I will now say, Peace be within thee. Because of\nthe house of the Lord our God I will seek thy good.\" (Ps. cxxii.)\n\nHere we have the lovely breathings of a heart that loved the\nhabitation of the God of Israel--His blessed centre--the\ngathering-place of Israel's twelve tribes--that hallowed spot which\nwas associated, in the mind of every true Israelite, with all that was\nbright and joyous in connection with the worship of Jehovah and the\ncommunion of His people.\n\nWe shall have occasion to refer to this most delightful theme again\nwhen we come to study the sixteenth chapter of our book, and shall\ndraw this section to a close by quoting for the reader the last\nparagraph of the chapter before us.\n\n\"When the Lord thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee,\nwhither thou goest to possess them, and thou succeedest them, and\ndwellest in their land; take heed to thyself, that thou be not snared\nby following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and\nthat thou inquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations\nserve their gods? even so will I do likewise. Thou shalt not do so\nunto the Lord thy God: for every abomination to the Lord, which He\nhateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their\ndaughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods. _What thing\nsoever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto,\nnor diminish from it._\" (Ver. 29-32.)\n\nThe precious Word of God was to form a sacred inclosure round about\nHis people, within which they might enjoy His presence, and delight\nthemselves in the abundance of His mercy and loving-kindness, and\nwherein they were to be entirely apart from all that was offensive to\nHim whose presence was to be, at once, their glory, their joy, and\ntheir grand moral safeguard from every snare and every abomination.\n\nAlas! alas! they did not abide within that inclosure; they speedily\nbroke down the walls thereof, and wandered away from the holy\ncommandment of God. They did the very things they were told not to do,\nand they have had to reap the terrible consequences. But more of this\nand of their future by and by.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIII.\n\n\nThis chapter abounds in most weighty principles. It consists of three\ndistinct sections, each one of which claims our deep attention. We\nmust not attempt to weaken the admonitory force of such a scripture,\nor turn aside its keen edge, by saying that it does not apply to\nChristians--that it is wholly Jewish in its scope and application. No\ndoubt, primarily, it was addressed to Israel; this is so obvious as\nnot to admit of a question. But let us not forget that it was \"written\nfor our learning,\" and not only so, but the more closely we study it,\nthe more we shall see that its teaching is of universal importance.\n\n\"If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and\ngiveth thee a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder come to\npass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods,\nwhich thou hast not known, and let us serve them: thou shalt not\nhearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams; for\nthe Lord your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the Lord your\nGod with all your heart and with all your soul. Ye shall walk after\nthe Lord your God, and fear Him, and keep His commandments, and obey\nHis voice, and ye shall serve Him, and cleave unto Him. And that\nprophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he\nhath spoken to turn you away from the Lord your God, which brought you\nout of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of\nbondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the Lord thy God\ncommanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the\nmidst of thee.\" (Ver. 1-5.)\n\nHere we have divine provision made for all cases of false teaching and\nfalse religious influence. We all know how easily the poor human heart\nis led astray by any thing in the shape of a sign or a wonder, and\nespecially when such things stand connected with religion. This is not\nconfined to the nation of Israel; we see it every where and at all\ntimes. Any thing supernatural, any thing involving an infringement of\nwhat are called the ordinary laws of nature, is almost sure to act\npowerfully on the human mind. A prophet rising up in the midst of the\npeople and confirming his teaching by miracles, signs, and wonders,\nwould be almost sure to get a hearing and obtain an influence.\n\nIn this way, Satan has worked in all ages, and he will work yet more\npowerfully, at the end of this present age, in order to deceive and\nlead to their everlasting destruction those who will not hearken to\nthe precious truth of the gospel. \"The mystery of iniquity,\" which has\nbeen working in the professing church for eighteen centuries, will be\nheaded up in the person of \"_that Wicked_ whom the Lord shall consume\nwith the spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of\nHis coming; even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan, with\nall _power_ and _signs_ and lying _wonders_, and with all\ndeceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they\nreceived not _the love of the truth_, that they might be saved. And\nfor this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should\nbelieve a lie; that they all might be damned _who believed not the\ntruth_, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.\" (2 Thess. ii. 8-12.)\n\nSo also in the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew, our Lord warns His\ndisciples against the same kind of influence.--\"Then if any man shall\nsay unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there\nshall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and _shall show great\nsigns and wonders_; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall\ndeceive the very elect. Behold, _I have told you before_.\" (Ver.\n23-25.)\n\nAgain, in Revelation xiii, we read of the second beast, coming up out\nof the earth, the great false prophet, the antichrist, doing great\nwonders, \"so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in\nthe sight of men, and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by means\nof those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast;\nsaying to them that dwell on the earth that they should make an image\nto the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.\" (Ver. 13,\n14.)\n\nNow, each of the above three passages of holy Scripture refers to\nscenes which shall be enacted after the Church has been taken away out\nof this world; but on this we do not dwell, inasmuch as our object in\nquoting them for the reader is, to let him see how far the devil can\ngo in the way of signs and wonders, to lead people away from the\ntruth; and also to set before him the one divine and therefore perfect\nsafeguard against all the delusive power of the enemy.\n\nThe human heart has no ability whatever to resist the influence of\n\"great signs and wonders,\" put forth in favor of the most deadly\nerror. There is but the one thing which can fortify the soul, and\nenable it to resist the devil and his deadly delusions, and that is,\nthe Word of God. To have the precious truth of God treasured up in the\nheart is the divine secret of preservation from all error, even though\nbacked up by the most astounding miracles.\n\nHence, in the first of the above quotations, we see that the reason\nwhy people will be deceived by the signs and lying wonders of \"that\nwicked\" one is, \"because they received not the love of the truth, that\nthey might be saved.\" It is the love of the truth that preserves from\nerror, be it ever so persuasive, ever so fascinating, ever so strongly\nsupported by the powerful evidence of \"great signs and wonders.\" It is\nnot cleverness, intellectual power, mental grasp, extensive\nlearning--all these things are perfectly powerless in the presence of\nSatan's wiles and machinations. The most gigantic human intellect must\nfall an easy prey to the wiles of the serpent.\n\nBut, blessed be God, the craft, the subtilty, the signs and lying\nwonders, all the resources of Satan, all the machinery of hell, are\nperfectly powerless with a heart that is governed by the love of the\ntruth. A little child who knows and believes and loves the truth is\nblessedly shielded, sheltered, and divinely preserved from the\nblinding and deceiving power of the wicked one. If ten thousand false\nprophets were to arise and perform the most extraordinary miracles\nthat were ever presented to the human gaze, in order to prove that the\nBible is not the inspired Word of God, or that our Lord Jesus Christ\nis not God over all, blessed forever, or in order to set aside the\nglorious truth that the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth\nfrom all sin, or any other precious truth revealed in holy Scripture,\nit could have no effect whatever on the very simplest babe in Christ\nwhose heart is governed by the Word of God. Yea, if an angel from\nheaven were to come down and preach any thing contrary to what we are\ntaught in the Word of God, we have a divine warrant to pronounce him\nanathema, without any discussion or argument whatever.\n\nThis is an unspeakable mercy. It puts the simple-hearted, unlettered\nchild of God into the most blessed position--a position, not only of\nmoral security, but of sweetest repose. We are not called upon to\nanalyze the false doctrine, or to weigh the evidence advanced in favor\nof it; we reject, with stern decision, both the one and the other,\nsimply because we have the certainty of the truth and the love of it\nin our hearts. \"Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet,\nor that dreamer of dreams;\"--although the sign or the wonder had come\nto pass--\"for the Lord your God proveth you, to know whether ye love\nthe Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.\"\n\nHere, beloved reader, was the all-important point for Israel, and it\nis the same for us. Then, now, and always, the true moral security is\nin having the heart fortified with the love of the truth, which is\nonly another way of expressing the love of God. The faithful Israelite\nwho loved Jehovah, with all his heart and with all his soul, would\nhave a ready and conclusive answer for all the false prophets and\ndreamers who might arise--a thoroughly effectual method of dealing\nwith them. \"_Thou shalt not hearken._\" If the enemy does not get the\near, he is not likely to reach the heart. The sheep follow the\nShepherd; \"for they know His voice. And a stranger\"--even though\nshowing signs and wonders--\"will they not follow, but will _flee from\nhim_.\" Why? Is it because they are able to discuss and argue and\nanalyze? No, thanks and praise to God; but because \"they know not the\nvoice of strangers.\" The simple fact of not knowing the voice is a\nsufficient reason for not following the speaker.\n\nAll this is full of comfort and consolation for the beloved lambs and\nsheep of the flock of Christ. They can hear the voice of their loving,\nfaithful Shepherd; they can gather around Him, and find in His\npresence true rest and perfect safety. He makes them to lie down in\ngreen pastures, and leads them by the still waters of His love. This\nis enough. They may be very weak--yea, perfect weakness in\nthemselves--but this is no hindrance to their rest and blessing; quite\nthe contrary, it only casts them more upon His almighty power. We need\nnever be afraid of weakness; it is fancied strength we have to dread,\nvain confidence in our own wisdom, our own intelligence, our\nscriptural knowledge, our spiritual attainments--these are the things\nwe have to fear; but as for our weakness, the more deeply we feel it\nthe better, for our Shepherd's strength is made perfect in weakness,\nand His precious grace is amply sufficient for all the need of His\nbeloved and blood-bought flock as a whole, and for each member in\nparticular. Only let us keep near to Him in the abiding sense of our\nown perfect helplessness and nothingness; let us treasure up His\nprecious Word in our hearts; let us feed upon it, as the very\nsustenance of our souls, day by day, the staple article of our lives,\nthe living bread for the strengthening of the inward man. Thus shall\nwe be safe from every strange voice, every false prophet, every snare\nof the devil, every influence which might tend to draw us away from\nthe path of obedience, and the practical confession of the name of\nChrist.\n\nWe must now quote for the reader the second paragraph of our chapter,\nin which the Lord's people are warned against another snare of the\ndevil. Oh, how many and varied are his snares and wiles! how manifold\nare the dangers of the people of God! but, blessed be His holy name,\nthere is full provision in His Word for all.\n\n\"If thy brother, _the son of thy mother_,\"--nearer, dearer, and more\ntender than the son of the father--\"or thy son, or thy daughter, or\nthe wife of thy bosom, or thy friend which is as thine own soul,\nentice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, _which\nthou hast not known_, thou, nor thy fathers, namely, of the gods of\nthe people which are round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from\nthee, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the\nearth; thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither\nshall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou\nconceal him; but thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first\nupon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the\npeople. And thou shalt stone him with stones that he die; because he\nhath sought to thrust thee away from the Lord thy God, which brought\nthee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. And all\nIsrael shall hear, and fear, and shall do no more any such wickedness\nas this is among you.\" (Ver. 6-11.)\n\nHere, then, we have something quite different from the false prophet\nor the dreamer of dreams. Thousands might be proof against the\ninfluence of these, and yet fall before the insnaring and seductive\npower of natural affection. It is very hard to resist the action of\nthis latter. It demands deep-toned devotedness, great singleness of\neye, firm purpose of heart, to deal faithfully with those who live\ndeep down in our hearts' tender affections. The trial to some of\nwithstanding and rejecting a prophet or a dreamer with whom there was\nno personal relationship, no tender link of fond affection, would be\nas nothing compared with having to treat with stern and severe\ndecision the wife of the bosom, the beloved brother or sister, the\ndevoted and tenderly loved friend.\n\nBut where the claims of God, of Christ, of truth are at stake, there\nmust be no hesitation. If any should seek to make use of the ties of\naffection in order to draw us aside from our allegiance to Christ, we\nmust resist them with unqualified decision. \"If any man come to Me,\nand hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and\nbrethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be My\ndisciple.\" (Luke x. 26.)\n\nLet us see that we thoroughly understand this aspect of the truth,\nand also that we give it its proper place. If poor blind reason be\nlistened to, it will be sure to present to the mind the most hideous\nperversion of this great practical subject. Reason, whenever it\nattempts to exercise its powers in the things of God, is sure to prove\nitself the active and efficient agent of the devil in opposition to\nthe truth. In things human and earthly, reason may go for what it is\nworth; but in things divine and heavenly, it is not only worthless,\nbut positively mischievous.\n\nWhat then, we may ask, is the true moral force of Luke xiv. 26 and\nDeuteronomy xiii. 8-10? Most assuredly, they do not mean that we are\nto be \"without natural affection,\" which is one of the special marks\nof the apostasy of the last days. This is perfectly clear. God Himself\nhas established our natural relationships, and each of these\nrelationships has its characteristic affections, the exercise and\ndisplay of which are in lovely harmony with the mind of God.\nChristianity does not interfere with our relationships in nature, but\nit introduces a power whereby the responsibilities which attach to\nthose relationships can be duly fulfilled to the glory of God. And not\nonly so, but in the various epistles, the Holy Ghost has given the\nmost ample instructions to husbands and wives, parents and children,\nmasters and servants, thus proving, in the very fullest and most\nblessed manner, the divine sanction of those relationships and the\naffections which belong to them.\n\nAll this is perfectly plain; but still we have to inquire how it fits\nin with Luke xiv. and Deuteronomy xiii. The answer is simply this: The\nharmony is divinely perfect. Those scriptures apply only to cases in\nwhich our natural relationships and affections interfere with the\nclaims of God and of Christ. When they operate in this way, they must\nbe denied and mortified. If they dare to intrude upon a domain which\nis wholly divine, the sentence of death must be written upon them.\n\nIn contemplating the life of the only perfect man that ever trod this\nearth of ours, we can see how beautifully He adjusted the various\nclaims which, as a man and a servant, He had to meet. He could say to\nHis mother, \"Woman, what have I to do with thee?\" and yet, at the\nfitting moment, He could, with exquisite tenderness, commend that\nmother to the care of the disciple whom He loved. He could say to His\nparents, \"Wist ye not that I must be about My Father's business?\" and,\nat the same time, go home with them and be sweetly subject to parental\nauthority. Thus the written teachings of holy Scripture, and the\nperfect ways of the living Christ, do both combine to teach us how to\ndischarge aright the claims of nature and the claims of God.\n\nBut it may be that the reader feels considerable difficulty in\nreference to the line of action enjoined in Deuteronomy xiii. 9, 10.\nHe may find it hard to reconcile it with a God of love, and with the\ngrace, gentleness, and tenderness inculcated in the New-Testament\nscriptures. Here again we must keep a vigilant eye upon reason. It\nalways affects to find ample scope for its powers in the stern\nenactments of the divine government; but, in reality, it only displays\nits blindness and folly. Still, though we would make very short work\nwith infidel reason, we earnestly desire to help any honest soul who\nmay not be able to see his way through this question.\n\nWe have had occasion, in our studies on the earlier chapters of this\nbook, to refer to the very weighty subject of God's governmental\ndealings both with Israel and the nations; but, in addition to what\nhas already come under our notice, we have to bear in mind the very\nimportant difference between the two economies of law and grace. If\nthis be not clearly apprehended, we shall find very considerable\ndifficulty in such passages as Deuteronomy xiii. 9, 10. The great\ncharacteristic principle of the Jewish economy was _righteousness_;\nthe characteristic principle of Christianity is _grace_--pure,\nunqualified grace.\n\nIf this fact be fully grasped, all difficulty vanishes. It was\nperfectly right, perfectly consistent, and in perfect harmony with the\nmind of God for Israel to slay their enemies. God commanded them to do\nso. And, in like manner, it was right and consistent for them to\nexecute righteous judgment, even unto death, upon any member of the\ncongregation who should seek to draw them aside after false gods, as\nin the passage before us. To do so was in full moral harmony with the\ngrand ruling principles of government and law, under which they were\nplaced, in accordance with the dispensational wisdom of God. All this\nis perfectly plain. It runs through the entire canon of Old-Testament\nscripture. God's government in Israel, and His government of the world\nin connection with Israel, was on the strict principle of\nrighteousness. And as it was in the past, so shall it be in the\nfuture,--\"A king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule\nin judgment.\"\n\nBut in Christianity, we see something quite different. The moment we\nopen the pages of the New Testament, and hearken to the teachings and\nmark the actings of the Son of God, we find ourselves on entirely new\nground, and in a new atmosphere; in a word, we are in the atmosphere\nand on the ground of pure, unqualified grace.\n\nThus, as a sample of the teaching, take a passage or two from what is\ncalled The Sermon on the Mount--that marvelous and precious compendium\nof the principles of the kingdom of heaven.--\"Ye have heard that it\nhath been said, 'An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth'; _but I\nsay unto you_, that ye resist not evil; but whosoever shall smite thee\non the one cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue\nthee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.\nAnd whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.\"\nAgain, \"Ye have heard that it hath been said, 'Thou shalt love thy\nneighbor and hate thine enemy'; _but I say unto you_, Love your\nenemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you,\nand pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; that\nye may be the _sons_ [\u03c5\u1f31\u03bf\u03af] of your Father which is in\nheaven; _for_ He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good,\nand sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.... Be ye therefore\nperfect [\u03c4\u03ad\u03bb\u03b5\u03b9\u03bf\u03b9], even as your Father which is in heaven is\nperfect.\" (Matt. v. 38-48.)\n\nWe cannot now dwell upon those blessed sentences; we merely quote them\nfor the reader in order to let him see the immense difference between\nthe Jewish and Christian economy. What was perfectly right and\nconsistent for a Jew, might be quite wrong and inconsistent for a\nChristian.\n\nThis is so plain that a child may see it; and yet, strange to say,\nmany of the Lord's beloved people seem to be clouded on the subject.\nThey judge it to be perfectly right for Christians to deal in\nrighteousness, and go to war, and to exercise worldly power. Well,\nthen, if it be right for Christians to act thus, we would simply ask,\nWhere is it taught in the New Testament? where have we a single\nsentence from the lips of our Lord Jesus Christ, or from the pen of\nthe Holy Ghost, to warrant or sanction such a thing? As we have said,\nin reference to other questions that have come before us in our\nstudies on this book, it is of no possible use for us to say, \"_We\nthink_ so and so.\" Our thoughts are simply worth nothing. The one\ngrand question, in all matters of Christian faith and morals, is,\n\"What saith the New Testament?\" What did our Lord and Master teach,\nand what did He do? He taught that His people now are not to act as\nHis people of old acted. _Righteousness_ was the principle of the old\neconomy; _grace_ is the principle of the new.\n\nThis was what Christ taught, as may be seen in numberless passages of\nScripture. And how did He act? Did He deal in righteousness with\npeople? did He assert His rights? did He exercise worldly power? did\nHe go to law? did He vindicate Himself, or retaliate? When His poor\ndisciples, in utter ignorance of the heavenly principles which He\ntaught, and in total forgetfulness of His whole course of action, said\nto Him, on one occasion in the which a certain village of the\nSamaritans refused to receive Him, \"Lord, wilt Thou that we command\nfire to come down from heaven and consume them, even as Elias did?\"\nwhat was His answer? \"He turned and rebuked them, and said, 'Ye know\nnot what manner of spirit ye are of; for the Son of Man is not come to\ndestroy men's lives, but to save.' And they went to another village.\"\nIt was perfectly consistent with the spirit, principle, and genius of\nthe dispensation of which Elias was the exponent and representative,\nto call down fire from heaven to consume the men sent by a godless\nking to arrest him; but the blessed Lord was the perfect Exponent and\ndivine Representative of another dispensation altogether. His was a\nlife of perfect self-surrender, from first to last. He never asserted\nHis rights. He came to serve and to give; He came to represent God--to\nbe the perfect expression of the Father in every way. The Father's\ncharacter shone out in His every look, His every word, His every act,\nHis every movement.\n\nSuch was the Lord Christ when He was down here among men, and such was\nHis teaching. He did what He taught, and He taught what He did. His\nwords expressed what He was, and His ways illustrated His words. He\ncame to serve and to give, and His whole life was marked by those two\nthings, from the manger to the cross. We may truly say, time would\nfail us to quote the passages in proof and illustration of this; nor\nis there any need, inasmuch as the truth of it will hardly be called\nin question.\n\nWell, then, is not He our great Exemplar in all things? is it not by\nHis teaching and ways that our course and character as Christians are\nto be formed? How are we to know how we ought to walk, save by\nhearkening to His blessed words and gazing on His perfect ways? If we\nas Christians are to be guided and governed by the principles and\nprecepts of the Mosaic economy, then, assuredly, it would be right for\nus to go to law, to contend for our rights, to engage in war, to\ndestroy our enemies; but then what becomes of the teaching and example\nof our adorable Lord and Saviour? what of the teachings of the Holy\nGhost? what of the New Testament? Is it not as plain as a sunbeam to\nthe reader that for a Christian to do these things is to act in\nflagrant opposition to the teaching and example of his Lord?\n\nHere, however, we may be met by the old and oft-repeated inquiry,\n\"What would become of the world, what would become of its\ninstitutions, what would become of society, if such principles were to\nbe universally dominant?\" The infidel historian, in speaking of the\nearly Christians, and their refusal to join the Roman army, sneeringly\ninquires, \"What would have become of the empire, surrounded as it was\non all sides by barbarians, if every one had indulged in such\npusillanimous ideas as these?\"\n\nWe reply at once, If those spiritual and heavenly principles were\nuniversally dominant, there would be no wars--no fighting, and hence\nthere would be no need of soldiers, no need of standing armies or\nnavies, no need of constabulary or police; there would be no\nwrong-doings, no strife about property, and hence no need of courts of\nlaw, judges, or magistrates; in short, the world as it now is would\nhave an end; the kingdoms of this world would have become the kingdoms\nof our Lord and of His Christ.\n\nBut the plain fact is, those heavenly principles of which we speak are\nnot intended for the world at all, inasmuch as the world could not\nadopt them, or act upon them for a single hour; to do so would involve\nthe immediate and complete break-up of the present system of things,\nthe dissolution of the entire frame-work of society as at present\nconstituted.\n\nHence, the objection of the infidel crumbles into dust beneath our\nfeet, like all other infidel objections, and the questions and the\ndifficulties which are based upon them. They are deprived of every\natom of moral force. Heavenly principles are not designed for \"this\npresent evil world\" at all; they are designed for the Church, which is\nnot of the world, even as Jesus is not of the world. \"If,\" said our\nLord to Pilate, \"My kingdom were of this world, then would My servants\nfight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but _now_ is My\nkingdom not from hence.\"\n\nMark the word \"now.\" By and by, the kingdoms of this world will become\nthe kingdom of our Lord; but now, He is rejected, and all who belong\nto Him--His Church--His people--are called to share His rejection, to\nfollow Him into the outside place, and walk as pilgrims and strangers\nhere below, waiting for the moment when He shall come to receive them\nto Himself, that where He is, there they may be also.\n\nNow, it is the attempt to mix the world and the Church together that\nproduces such terrible confusion. It is one of Satan's special wiles,\nand it has done more to mar the testimony of the Church of God and\nhinder its progress than most of us are aware. It involves a complete\nturning of things upside down, a confounding of things that differ\nessentially, an utter denial of the Church's true character, her\nposition, her walk, and her hope. We sometimes hear the expression,\n\"Christian world:\" what does it mean? It is simply an attempt to\ncombine two things which in their source, nature, and character are as\ndiverse as light and darkness. It is an effort to tack a new piece\nupon an old garment, which, as our Lord tells us, only makes the rent\nworse.\n\nIt is not God's object to Christianize the world, but to call His\npeople out of the world, to be a heavenly people, governed by heavenly\nprinciples, formed by a heavenly object, and cheered by a heavenly\nhope. If this be not clearly seen; if the truth as to the Church's\ntrue calling and course be not realized as a living power in the soul,\nwe shall be sure to make the most grievous mistakes in our work, walk,\nand service. We shall make an entirely wrong use of the Old-Testament\nscriptures, not only on prophetic subjects, but in reference to the\nwhole range of practical life; indeed, it would be utterly impossible\nto calculate the loss which must result from not seeing the\ndistinctive calling, position, and hope of the Church of God, her\nassociation and identification--her living union with a rejected,\nrisen, and glorified Christ.\n\nWe cannot attempt to enlarge upon this most precious and interesting\ntheme; but we should just like to point out to the reader an instance\nor two illustrative of the Spirit's method of quoting and applying\nOld-Testament scripture. Take, for example, the following passage from\nthat lovely thirty-fourth psalm,--\"The face of the Lord is against\nthem that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.\"\nNow, mark the way in which the Holy Spirit quotes this passage in the\nfirst epistle of Peter.--\"The face of the Lord is against them that do\nevil.\" (Chap. iii. 12.) Not a word about cutting off. Why is this?\nBecause the Lord is not now acting upon the principle of cutting off.\nHe acted upon it under the law, and He will act upon it in the kingdom\nby and by; but just now, He is acting in grace and long-suffering\nmercy. His face is quite as much and quite as decidedly against all\nevil-doers as ever it was or ever it will be, but not now to cut off\nthe remembrance of them from the earth. The most striking illustration\nof this marvelous grace and forbearance, and of the difference between\nthe two principles on which we have been dwelling, is seen in the fact\nthat the very men who with wicked hands crucified His only begotten\nand well-beloved Son--evil-doers, surely, of the most pronounced\ntype,--instead of being cut off from the earth, were the very first to\nhear the message of full and free pardon through the blood of the\ncross.\n\nNow, it may appear to some that we are making too much of the mere\nomission of a single clause of Old-Testament scripture. Let not the\nreader think so. Even had we but this one instance, it would be a\nserious mistake to treat it with any thing like indifference. But the\nfact is, there are scores of passages of the same character as the one\njust quoted, all illustrative of the contrast between the Jewish and\nChristian economies, and also between Christianity and the coming\nkingdom.\n\nGod is now dealing in grace with the world, and so should His people,\nif they want to be like Him, and such they are called to be. \"Be ye\ntherefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.\"\nAnd again, \"Be ye therefore imitators of God, as dear children; and\nwalk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given Himself for\nus, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor.\"\n(Eph. v. 1.)\n\nThis is our model. We are called to copy our Father's example--to\nimitate Him. He is not going to law with the world; He is not\nenforcing His rights with the strong hand of power. By and by He will;\nbut just now, in this day of grace, He showers His blessings and\nbenefits in rich profusion upon those whose life is one of enmity and\nrebellion against Him.\n\nAll this is perfectly marvelous, but thus it is; and we, as\nChristians, are called to act on this morally glorious principle. It\nmay be said by some, How could we ever get on in the world--how could\nwe conduct our business on such a principle as this? We should be\nrobbed and ruined; designing people would take advantage of us if they\nknew that we would not go to law with them; they would take our goods,\nor borrow our money, or occupy our houses, and refuse to pay us. In\nshort, we could never get on in a world like this if we did not assert\nour rights and establish our claims by the strong hand of power. What\nis the law for but to make people behave themselves? Are not the\npowers that be ordained of God for the very purpose of maintaining\npeace and good order in our midst? What would become of society if we\nhad not soldiers, policemen, magistrates, and judges? And if God has\nordained that such things should be, why should not His people avail\nthemselves of them? and not only so, but who so fit to occupy places\nof authority and power, or to wield the sword of justice, as the\npeople of God?\n\nThere is, no doubt, very great apparent force in all this line of\nargument. The powers that be are ordained of God. The king, the\ngovernor, the judge, the magistrate, are, each in his place, the\nexpression of the power of God. It is God who invests each with the\npower which he wields; it is He who has put the sword into his hand,\nfor the punishment of evil-doers, and the praise of them that do well.\nWe bless God with all our hearts for the constituted authorities of\nthe country. Day and night, in private and in public, we pray for\nthem. It is our bounden duty to obey and submit ourselves to them in\nall things, provided always that they do not call upon us to disobey\nGod, or do violence to conscience. If they do this, we must--what?\nResist? Nay, but suffer.\n\nAll this is perfectly plain. The world as it now is could not go on\nfor a single day if men were not kept in order by the strong hand of\npower. We could not live, or at least life would be perfectly\nintolerable, were it not that evil-doers are kept in terror of the\nglittering sword of justice. Even as it is, through lack of moral\npower on the part of those who bear the sword, lawless demagogues are\nallowed to stir up the evil passions of men to resist the law of the\nland and disturb the peace and threaten the lives and property of\nwell-disposed and harmless subjects of the government.\n\nBut admitting all this, in the fullest possible manner, as every\nintelligent Christian, every one taught by Scripture, most assuredly\nwill, it leaves wholly untouched the question of the Christian's path\nin this world. Christianity fully recognizes all the governmental\ninstitutions of the country. It forms no part of the Christian's\nbusiness to interfere, in any one way, with such institutions.\nWherever he is, whatever be the principle or character of the\ngovernment of the country in which his lot is cast, it is his duty to\nrecognize its municipal and political arrangements, to pay taxes, pray\nfor the government, honor governors in their official capacity, wish\nwell to the legislature and the executive, pray for the peace of the\ncountry, live in peace with all, so far as in him lies.\n\nWe see all this in the blessed Master Himself in perfection, blessed\nbe His holy name for evermore! In His memorable reply to the crafty\nHerodians, He recognizes the principle of subjection to the powers\nthat be--\"Render to C\u00e6sar the things that be C\u00e6sar's, and to God the\nthings that be God's.\" And not only so, but we find Him also paying\ntribute, although personally free. They had no right to demand it of\nHim, as He plainly shows to Peter; and it might be said, Why did He\nnot appeal? Appeal! Nay; He shows us something quite different. Hear\nHis exquisite reply to His mistaken apostle--\"Notwithstanding, _lest\nwe should offend them_, go thou to the sea, and cast a hook, and take\nup the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his\nmouth, thou shalt find a piece of money; that take and give unto them\n_for Me and thee_.\"[9] (Matt. xvii.)\n\n [9] The fact that the tribute-money may have been for the temple does\n not touch the principle set forth in the text.\n\nAnd here we get back, with increased moral force, to our thesis,\nnamely, the Christian's path in this world. What is it? He is to\nfollow his Master--to imitate Him in all things. Did He assert His\nrights? did He go to law? did He try to regulate the world? did He\nmeddle with municipal or political matters? was He a politician? did\nHe wield the sword? did He consent to be a judge or a divider, even\nwhen appealed to, as we say, to arbitrate about property? was not His\nwhole life one of complete self-surrender, from first to last? was He\nnot continually giving up, until, at the cross, He gave up His\nprecious life as a ransom for many?\n\nWe shall leave these questions to find their answer deep down in the\nheart of the Christian reader, and to produce their practical effect\nin his life. We trust that the foregoing line of truth will enable him\nto interpret aright such passages as Deuteronomy xiii. 9, 10. Our\nopposition to idolatry and our separation from evil, in every shape\nand form, while not less intense and decided, most surely, than that\nof Israel of old, is not to be displayed in the same way. The Church\nis imperatively called upon to put away evil and evil-doers, but not\nafter the same fashion as Israel. It is no part of her duty to stone\nidolaters and blasphemers, or burn witches. The church of Rome has\nacted upon this principle, and even Protestants (to the shame of\nProtestantism) have followed her example.[10] The Church is not\ncalled--nay, she is positively and peremptorily forbidden to use the\ntemporal sword. It is a flat denial of her calling, character, and\nmission to do so. When Peter, in ignorant zeal and carnal haste, drew\nthe sword in defense of his blessed Master, he was at once corrected\nby his Master's faithful word, and instructed by his Master's gracious\nact,--\"Put up thy sword into the sheath; for all they that take the\nsword shall perish by the sword.\" And having thus reproved the act of\nHis mistaken though well-meaning servant, He undid the mischief by His\ngracious touch. \"The weapons of our warfare,\" says the inspired\napostle, \"are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down\nof strongholds, casting down imaginations, and every high thing that\nexalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into\ncaptivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.\" (2 Cor. x. 4, 5.)\n\n [10] The burning of Servetus, in 1553, for his theological opinions,\n is a frightful blot upon the Reformation, and upon the man who\n sanctioned such an unchristian proceeding. True, the opinions of\n Servetus were fatally and fundamentally false,--he held the Arian\n heresy, which is simply blasphemy against the Son of God; but to burn\n him, or any one else, for false doctrine, was a flagrant sin against\n the spirit, genius, and principle of the gospel, the deplorable fruit\n of ignorance as to the essential difference between Judaism and\n Christianity.\n\nThe professing church has gone all astray as to this great and most\nimportant question. She has joined herself with the world, and sought\nto further the cause of Christ by carnal and worldly agency. She had\nignorantly attempted to maintain the Christian faith by the most\nshameful denial of Christian practice. The burning of heretics stands\nas a most fearful moral blot upon the page of the church's history. We\ncan form no adequate idea of the terrible consequences resulting from\nthe notion that the Church was called to take Israel's place and act\non Israel's principles.[11] It completely falsified her testimony,\nrobbed her of her entirely spiritual and heavenly character, and led\nher upon a path which ends in Revelation xvii. and xviii. Let him that\nreadeth understand.\n\n [11] It is one thing for the Church to learn from the history of\n Israel, and another thing altogether to take Israel's place, act on\n Israel's principles, and appropriate Israel's promises. The former is\n the Church's duty and privilege; the latter has been the Church's\n fatal mistake.\n\nBut we must not pursue this line of things further here. We trust that\nwhat has passed before us will lead all whom it may concern to\nconsider the whole subject in the light of the New Testament, and thus\nbe the means, through the infinite goodness of God, of leading them to\nsee the path of entire separation which we as Christians are called to\ntread; _in_ the world, but not _of_ it, even as our Lord Christ is not\nof it. This will solve a thousand difficulties, and furnish a grand\ngeneral principle which can be practically applied to a thousand\ndetails.\n\nWe shall now conclude our study of Deuteronomy xiii. by a glance at\nits closing paragraph.\n\n\"If thou shalt hear say in one of thy cities, which the Lord thy God\nhath given thee to dwell there, saying, Certain men, the children of\nBelial, are gone out from among you, and have withdrawn the\ninhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods,\nwhich ye have not known; _then shalt thou inquire, and make search,\nand ask diligently_; and, behold, _if it be truth, and the thing\ncertain_, that such abomination is _wrought among you_, thou shalt\nsurely smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword,\ndestroying it utterly, and all that is therein, and the cattle\nthereof, with the edge of the sword. And thou shalt gather all the\nspoil of it into the midst of the street thereof, and shalt burn with\nfire the city, and all the spoil thereof every whit, _for the Lord thy\nGod_; and it shall be a heap forever; it shall not be built again. And\nthere shall cleave naught of the cursed thing to thine hand; that the\nLord may turn from the fierceness of His anger, and show thee mercy,\nand have compassion upon thee, and multiply thee, as He hath sworn\nunto thy fathers; when thou shalt hearken to the voice of the Lord thy\nGod, to keep all His commandments which I command thee this day, to do\nthat which is right in the eyes of the Lord thy God.\" (Ver. 12-18.)\n\nHere we have instruction of the most solemn and weighty character. But\nthe reader must bear in mind that, solemn and weighty as it most\nsurely is, it is based upon a truth of unspeakable value, and that is,\nIsrael's national unity. If we do not see this, we shall miss the real\nforce and meaning of the foregoing quotation. A case is supposed of\ngrave error in some one of the cities of Israel, and the question\nmight naturally arise, Are all the cities involved in the evil of\none?[12]\n\n [12] It is, of course, needful to bear in mind that the evil referred\n to in the text was of the very gravest character. It was an attempt to\n draw the people away from the one living and true God. It touched the\n very foundation of Israel's national existence. It was not merely a\n local or municipal question, but a national one.\n\nAssuredly, inasmuch as the nation was one. The cities and tribes were\nnot independent; they were bound up together by a sacred bond of\nnational unity--a unity which had its centre in the place of the\ndivine presence. Israel's twelve tribes were indissolubly bound\ntogether. The twelve loaves on the golden table in the sanctuary\nformed the beauteous type of this unity, and every true Israelite\nowned and rejoiced in this unity. The twelve stones in Jordan's bed,\nthe twelve stones on Jordan's bank, Elijah's twelve stones on Mount\nCarmel--all set forth the same grand truth--the indissoluble unity of\nIsrael's twelve tribes. The good king Hezekiah recognized this truth\nwhen he commanded that the burnt-offering and the sin-offering should\nbe made for _all Israel_. (2 Chron. xxix. 24.) The faithful Josiah\nowned it and acted upon it when he carried his reformatory operations\ninto all the countries that pertained to the children of Israel. (2\nChron. xxxiv. 33.) Paul, in his magnificent address before king\nAgrippa, bears witness to the same truth when he says, \"Unto which\npromise _our twelve tribes_, instantly serving God day and night, hope\nto come.\"[13] (Acts xxvi. 7.) And when we look forward into the\nbright future, the same glorious truth shines, with heavenly lustre,\nin the seventh chapter of Revelation, where we see the twelve tribes\nsealed and secured for blessing, rest, and glory, in connection with a\ncountless multitude of the Gentiles. And finally, in Revelation xxi.\nwe see the names of the twelve tribes engraved on the gates of the\nholy Jerusalem, the seat and centre of the glory of God and the Lamb.\n\n [13] It may interest the reader to know that the word rendered, in the\n above passage, \"twelve tribes,\" is singular--\u03c4\u03cc \u03b4\u03c9\u03b4\u03b5\u03ba\u03ac\u03c8\u03c5\u03bb\u03bf\u03bd\n It certainly gives very full and vivid expression to the grand idea of\n indissoluble unity which is so precious to God, and therefore so\n precious to faith.\n\nThus, from the golden table in the sanctuary to the golden city\ndescending out of heaven from God, we have a marvelous chain of\nevidence in proof of the grand truth of the indissoluble unity of\nIsrael's twelve tribes.\n\nAnd then, if the question be asked, Where is this unity to be seen? or\nhow did Elijah or Hezekiah or Josiah or Paul see it? The answer is a\nvery simple one--They saw it by faith; they looked within the\nsanctuary of God, and there, on the golden table, they beheld the\ntwelve loaves, setting forth the perfect distinctness and yet the\nperfect oneness of the twelve tribes. Nothing can be more beautiful.\nThe truth of God must stand forever. Israel's unity was seen in the\npast, and it will be seen in the future; and though, like the higher\nunity of the Church, it is unseen in the present, faith believes it\nall the same, holds it and confesses it in the face of ten thousand\nhostile influences.\n\nAnd now let us look for a moment at the practical application of this\nmost glorious truth, as presented in the closing paragraph of\nDeuteronomy xiii. A report reaches a city in the far north of the land\nof Israel of serious error taught in a certain city in the extreme\nsouth--deadly error, tending to draw the inhabitants away from the\ntrue God.\n\nWhat is to be done? The law is as plain as possible; the path of duty\nis laid down with such distinctness that it only needs a single eye to\nsee it, and a devoted heart to tread it. \"Then shalt thou inquire, and\nmake search, and ask diligently.\" This surely is simple enough.\n\nBut some of the citizens might say, \"What have we in the north to do\nwith error taught in the south?\" Thank God, there is no error taught\namongst us; it is entirely a local question; each city is responsible\nfor the maintenance of the truth within its own walls. How could we be\nexpected to examine into every case of error which may spring up here\nand there all over the land? our whole time would be taken up, so that\nwe could not attend to our fields, our vineyards, our oliveyards, our\nflocks, and our herds. It is quite as much as we can do to keep our\nown borders all right. We certainly condemn the error, and if any one\nholding or teaching it were to come here, and that we knew of it, we\nshould most decidedly shut our gates against him. Beyond this, we do\nnot feel ourselves responsible to go.\n\nNow, what, we may ask, would be the reply of the faithful Israelite to\nall this line of argument which, in the judgment of mere nature,\nseems so exceedingly plausible? A very simple and very conclusive one,\nwe may be sure. He would say it was simply a denial of Israel's unity.\nIf every city and every tribe were to take independent ground, then\nverily the high-priest might take the twelve loaves off the golden\ntable before the Lord and scatter them here and there and every where;\nour unity is gone; we are all broken up into independent atoms, having\nno national ground of action.\n\nBesides, the commandment is most distinct and explicit--\"Thou shalt\ninquire, and make search, and ask diligently.\" We are bound,\ntherefore, on the double ground of the nation's unity and the plain\ncommand of our covenant-God. It is of no possible use to say there is\nno error taught amongst _us_, unless we want to separate ourselves\nfrom the nation; if we belong to Israel, then verily the error is\ntaught amongst us, as the Word says, \"Such abomination is wrought\n_among you_.\" How far does the \"you\" extend? As far as the national\nboundaries. Error taught at Dan affects those dwelling at Beersheba.\nHow is this? Because Israel is one.\n\nAnd then the Word is so plain, so distinct, so emphatic. We are bound\nto search into it. We cannot fold our arms and sit down in cold\nindifference and culpable neutrality, else we shall be involved in the\nawful consequences of this evil; yea, we _are_ involved until we clear\nourselves of it by judging it, with unflinching decision and unsparing\nseverity.\n\nSuch, beloved reader, would be the language of every loyal Israelite,\nand such his mode of acting in reference to error and evil wherever\nfound. To speak or act otherwise would simply be indifference as to\nthe truth and glory of God, and independency as regards Israel. For\nany to say that they were not responsible to act according to the\ninstructions given in Deuteronomy xiii. 12-18, would be a complete\nsurrender of the truth of God and of Israel's unity. All were bound to\nact, or else be involved in the judgment of the guilty city.\n\nAnd surely if all this was true in Israel of old, it is not less true\nin the Church of God now. We may rest assured that any thing like\nindifference where Christ is concerned is most hateful to God. It is\nthe eternal purpose and counsel of God to glorify His Son; that every\nknee should bow to Him, and every tongue confess that He is Lord to\nthe glory of God the Father; \"that all should honor the Son even as\nthey honor the Father.\"\n\nHence, if Christ be dishonored,--if doctrines be taught derogatory to\nthe glory of His Person, the efficacy of His work, or the virtue of\nHis offices, we are bound, by every motive which could possibly act on\nour hearts, to reject, with stern decision, such doctrines.\nIndifference or neutrality where the Son of God is concerned is high\ntreason in the judgment of the high court of Heaven. We would not be\nindifferent if it were a question of our own reputation, our personal\ncharacter, or our personal or family property; we should be thoroughly\nalive to any thing affecting ourselves or those dear to us. How much\nmore deeply ought we to feel in reference to what concerns the glory\nand honor, the name and cause, of the One to whom we owe our present\nand everlasting all--the One who laid aside His glory, came down into\nthis wretched world, and died a shameful death upon the cross, in\norder to save us from the everlasting flames of hell. Could we be\nindifferent to Him? neutral where He is concerned? God, in His great\nmercy, forbid!\n\nNo, reader; it must not be. The honor and glory of Christ must be more\nto us than all beside. Reputation, property, family, friends--all must\nstand aside if the claims of Christ are involved. Does not the\nChristian reader own this, with all the energy of his ransomed soul?\nWe feel persuaded he does, even now; and oh, how shall we feel when we\nsee Him face to face, and stand in the full light of His moral glory?\nwith what feelings shall we then contemplate the idea of indifference\nor neutrality with respect to Him!\n\nAnd are we not justified in declaring that next to the glory of the\nHead stands the great truth of the unity of His body--the Church?\nUnquestionably. If the nation of Israel was one, how much more is the\nbody of Christ one! and if independency was wrong in Israel, how much\nmore wrong in the Church of God! The plain fact is this: the idea of\nindependency cannot be maintained for a moment in the light of the New\nTestament. As well might we say that the hand is independent of the\nfoot, or the eye of the ear, as assert that the members of the body\nof Christ are independent one of another. \"For as the body is one, and\nhath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many,\nare one body; _so also is Christ_\"--a very remarkable statement,\nsetting forth the intimate union of Christ and the Church.--\"_For by\none Spirit are we all baptized into one body_, whether we be Jews or\nGentiles, whether bond or free; and have been all made to drink into\none Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot\nshall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it\ntherefore not of the body? And if the ear shall say, Because I am not\nthe eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? If the\nwhole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were\nhearing, where were the smelling? But now hath God set the members\nevery one of them in the body, as it hath pleased Him. And if they\nwere all one member, where were the body? But now are they many\nmembers, yet but one body. And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I\nhave no need of thee; nor again, the head to the feet, I have no need\nof you. Nay, much more, those members of the body which seem to be\nmore feeble, are necessary; and those members of the body which we\nthink to be less honorable, upon these we bestow more abundant honor;\nand our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness; for our comely\nparts have no need; but God hath tempered the body together, having\ngiven more abundant honor to that part which lacked: _that there\nshould be no schism in the body_; but that the members should have\nthe same care one for another. And whether one member suffer, all the\nmembers suffer with it; or one member be honored, all the members\nrejoice with it. NOW YE ARE THE BODY OF CHRIST, AND MEMBERS IN\nPARTICULAR.\" (1 Cor. xii. 12-27.)\n\nWe do not attempt to dwell upon this truly marvelous scripture; but we\nearnestly desire to call the attention of the Christian reader to the\nspecial truth which it so forcibly sets before us--a truth which\nintimately concerns every true believer on the face of the earth,\nnamely, _that he is a member of the body of Christ_. This is a great\npractical truth, involving, at once, the very highest privileges and\nthe very weightiest responsibilities. It is not merely a true\ndoctrine, a sound principle, or an orthodox opinion; it is a living\nfact, designed to be a divine power in the soul. The Christian can no\nlonger view himself as an independent person, having no association,\nno vital link, with others. He is livingly bound up with all the\nchildren of God--all true believers--all the members of Christ's body\nupon the face of the earth.\n\n\"By one Spirit are we all baptized into one body.\" The Church of God\nis not a mere club, or a society, an association, or a brotherhood; it\nis a body united by the Holy Ghost to the Head in heaven; and all its\nmembers on earth are indissolubly bound together. This being so, it\nfollows, of necessity, that all the members of the body are affected\nby the state and walk of each. \"If one member suffer, all the members\nsuffer with it,\"--that is, all the members of the body. If there is\nany thing wrong with the foot, the hand feels it. How? Through the\nhead. So in the Church of God, if any thing goes wrong with an\nindividual member, all feel it through the Head with whom all are\nlivingly connected by the Holy Ghost.\n\nSome find it very hard to grasp this great truth; but there it stands\nplainly revealed on the inspired page, not to be reasoned about, or\nsubmitted in any way to the human judgment, but simply to be believed.\nIt is a divine revelation. No human mind could ever have conceived\nsuch a thought; but God reveals it, faith believes it, and walks in\nthe blessed power of it.\n\nIt may be the reader feels disposed to ask, How is it possible for the\nstate of one believer to affect those who know nothing about it? The\nanswer is, \"If one member suffer, all the members suffer with it.\" All\nthe members of what? Is it of any mere local assembly or company who\nmay happen to know or be locally connected with the person concerned?\nNay, but the members of the body wherever they are. Even in the case\nof Israel, where it was only a national unity, we have seen that if\nthere was evil in any one of their cities, all were concerned, all\ninvolved, all affected. Hence, when Achan sinned, although there were\nmyriads of people totally ignorant of the fact, the Lord said,\n\"_Israel_ hath sinned,\" and the whole assembly suffered a humiliating\ndefeat.\n\nCan reason grasp this weighty truth? No; but faith can. If we listen\nto reason, we shall believe nothing; but, by the grace of God, we\nshall not listen to reason, but believe what God says because He says\nit.\n\nAnd oh, beloved Christian reader, what an immense truth is this unity\nof the body! What practical consequences flow out of it! How eminently\ncalculated it is to minister to holiness of walk and life! How\nwatchful it would make us over ourselves--our habits, our ways, our\nwhole moral condition! How careful it would make us not to dishonor\nthe Head _to_ whom we are united, or grieve the Spirit _by_ whom we\nare united, or injure the members _with_ whom we are united!\n\nBut we must close this chapter, much as we should like to linger over\none of the very grandest, most profound, and most powerful formative\ntruths that can possibly engage our attention. May the Spirit of God\nmake it a living power in the soul of every true believer on the face\nof the earth.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIV.\n\n\n\"Ye are the children of the Lord your God; ye shall not cut\nyourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead; for\nthou art a holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord hath chosen\nthee to be a peculiar people unto Himself, above all the nations that\nare upon the earth.\" (Ver. 1. 2.)\n\nThe opening clause of this chapter sets before us the basis of all the\nprivileges and responsibilities of the Israel of God. It is a familiar\nthought amongst us that we must be in a relationship before we can\nknow the affections or discharge the duties which belong to it. This\nis a plain and undeniable truth. If a man were not a father, no amount\nof argument or explanation could make him understand the feelings or\naffections of a father's heart; but the very moment he enters upon the\nrelationship, he knows all about them.\n\nThus it is as to every relationship and position, and thus it is in\nthe things of God. We cannot understand the affections or the duties\nof a child of God until we are on the ground. We must be Christians\nbefore we can perform Christian duties. Even when we are Christians,\nit is only by the gracious aid of the Holy Ghost that we can walk as\nsuch; but clearly, if we are not on Christian ground, we can know\nnothing of Christian affections or Christian duties. This is so\nobvious that argument is needless.\n\nNow, most evidently, it is God's prerogative to declare how His\nchildren ought to conduct themselves, and it is their high privilege\nand holy responsibility to seek, in all things, to meet His gracious\napproval. \"Ye _are_ the children of the Lord your God: ye shall not\ncut yourselves.\" They were not their own; they belonged to Him, and\ntherefore they had no right to cut themselves or disfigure their faces\nfor the dead. Nature, in its pride and self-will, might say, Why may\nwe not do like other people? What harm can there be in cutting\nourselves, or making a baldness between our eyes? It is only an\nexpression of grief, an affectionate tribute to our loved departed\nones. Surely there can be nothing morally wrong in such a suited\nexpression of sorrow.\n\nTo all this there was one simple but conclusive answer--\"Ye are the\nchildren of the Lord your God.\" This fact altered every thing. The\npoor ignorant and uncircumcised Gentiles around them might cut and\ndisfigure themselves, inasmuch as they knew not God, and were not in\nrelationship to Him; but as for Israel, they were on the high and holy\nground of nearness to God, and this one fact was to give tone and\ncharacter to all their habits. They were not called upon to adopt or\nrefrain from any particular habit or custom _in order to be_ the\nchildren of God. This would be, as we say, beginning at the wrong end;\nbut _being_ His children, they were to act as such.\n\n\"Thou _art_ a holy people unto the Lord thy God.\" He does not say, Ye\n_ought to be_ a holy people. How could they ever make themselves a\nholy people, or a peculiar people, unto Jehovah? Utterly impossible.\nIf they were not His people, no efforts of theirs could ever make them\nsuch. But God, in His sovereign grace, in pursuance of His covenant\nwith their fathers, had _made_ them His children, _made_ them a\npeculiar people above all the nations that were upon the earth. Here\nwas the solid foundation of Israel's moral edifice. All their habits\nand customs, all their doings and ways, their food and their clothing,\nwhat they did and what they did not do--all was to flow out of the one\ngrand fact, with which they had no more to do than with their natural\nbirth, namely, that they actually were the children of God, the people\nof His choice, the people of His own special possession.\n\nNow, we cannot but acknowledge it to be a privilege of the very\nhighest order to have the Lord so near to us, and so interested in all\nour habits and ways. To mere nature, no doubt--to one who does not\nknow the Lord--is not in relationship to Him, the very idea of His\nholy presence, or of nearness to Him, would be simply intolerable: but\nto every true believer--every one who really loves God, it is a most\ndelightful thought to have Him near us, and to know that He interests\nHimself in all the most minute details of our personal history and\nmost private life; that He takes cognizance of what we eat and what we\nwear; that He looks after us by day and by night, sleeping and waking,\nat home and abroad; in short, that His interest in and care for us go\nfar beyond those of the most tender, loving mother for her babe.\n\nAll this is perfectly wonderful; and surely, if we only realized it\nmore fully, we should live a very different sort of life, and have a\nvery different tale to tell. What a holy privilege--what a precious\nreality, to know that our loving Lord is about our path by day, and\nabout our bed by night; that His eye rests upon us when we are\ndressing in the morning, when we sit down to our meals, when we go\nabout our business, and in all our intercourse from morning till\nnight! May the sense of this be a living and abiding power in the\nheart of every child of God on the face of the earth.\n\nFrom verse 3 to 20, we have the law as to clean and unclean beasts,\nfishes, and fowls. The leading principles as to all these have already\ncome under our notice in the eleventh chapter of Leviticus;[14] but\nthere is a very important difference between the two scriptures. The\ninstructions in Leviticus are given primarily to Moses and Aaron; in\nDeuteronomy, they are given directly to the people. This is perfectly\ncharacteristic of the two books. Leviticus may be specially termed,\nThe priest's guide-book. In Deuteronomy, the priests are almost\nentirely in the back-ground, and the people are prominent. This is\nstrikingly apparent all through the book, so that there is not the\nslightest foundation for the idea that Deuteronomy merely repeats\nLeviticus. Nothing can be further from the truth. Each book has its\nown peculiar province, its own design, its own work. The devout\nstudent sees and owns this with deep delight. Infidels are willfully\nblind, and can see nothing.\n\n [14] As we have given in our \"Notes on the Book of Leviticus,\" chapter\n xi., what we believe to be the scriptural import of verses 4-20 of our\n chapter, we must refer the reader to what is there advanced.\n\nIn verse 21 of our chapter, the marked distinction between the Israel\nof God and the stranger is strikingly presented.--\"Ye shall not eat\nof any thing that dieth of itself; _thou shalt give it unto the\nstranger_ that is in thy gates, that _he may eat it_; or thou mayest\nsell it unto an alien; for thou art a holy people unto the Lord thy\nGod.\" The grand fact of Israel's relationship to Jehovah marked them\noff from all the nations under the sun. It was not that they were, in\nthemselves, a whit better or holier than others; but Jehovah was holy,\nand they were His people. \"Be ye holy, for I am holy.\"\n\nWorldly people often think that Christians are very pharisaic in\nseparating themselves from other people, and refusing to take part in\nthe pleasures and amusements of the world; but they do not really\nunderstand the question. The fact is, for a Christian to participate\nin the vanities and follies of a sinful world would be, to use a\ntypical phrase, like an Israelite eating that which had died of\nitself. The Christian, thank God, has gotten something better to feed\nupon than the poor dead things of this world. He has the Living Bread\nthat came down from heaven--the true Manna; and not only so, but he\neats of \"the old corn of the land of Canaan,\" type of the risen and\nglorified Man in the heavens. Of these most precious things the poor\nunconverted worldling knows absolutely nothing, and hence he must feed\nupon what the world has to offer him. It is not a question of the\nright or the wrong of things looked at in themselves. No one could\npossibly have known aught about the wrong of eating of any thing that\nhad died of itself if God's word had not settled it.\n\nThis is the all-important point for us. We cannot expect the world to\nsee or feel with us as to matters of right and wrong. It is our\nbusiness to look at things from a divine stand-point. Many things may\nbe quite consistent for a worldly man to do which a Christian could\nnot touch at all, simply because he is a Christian. The question which\nthe true believer has to ask as to every thing which comes before him\nis simply, Can I do this to the glory of God? can I connect the name\nof Christ with it? If not, he must not touch it.\n\nIn a word, the Christian's standard and test for every thing is\nChrist. This makes it all so simple. Instead of asking, Is such a\nthing consistent with _our_ profession, _our_ principles, _our_\ncharacter, or _our_ reputation? we have to ask, Is it consistent with\nChrist? This makes all the difference. Whatever is unworthy of Christ\nis unworthy of a Christian. If this be thoroughly understood and laid\nhold of, it will furnish a great practical rule which may be applied\nto a thousand details. If the heart be true to Christ,--if we walk\naccording to the instincts of the divine nature, as strengthened by\nthe ministry of the Holy Ghost, and guided by the authority of holy\nScripture, we shall not be much troubled with questions of right or\nwrong in our daily life.\n\nBefore proceeding to quote for the reader the lovely paragraph which\ncloses our chapter, we would very briefly call his attention to the\nlast clause of verse 21.--\"Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his\nmother's milk.\" The fact that this commandment is given three times,\nin various connections, is sufficient to mark it as one of special\ninterest and practical importance. The question is, What does it mean?\nwhat are we to learn from it? We believe it teaches very plainly that\nthe Lord's people must carefully avoid every thing contrary to nature.\nNow, it was manifestly contrary to nature that what was intended for a\ncreature's nourishment should be used to seethe it.\n\nWe find, all through the Word of God, great prominence given to what\nis according to nature--what is comely. \"Does not even nature itself\nteach you?\" says the inspired apostle to the assembly at Corinth.\nThere are certain feelings and instincts implanted in nature by the\nCreator which must never be outraged. We may set it down as a fixed\nprinciple, an axiom in Christian ethics, that no action can possibly\nbe of God that offers violence to the sensibilities proper to nature.\nThe Spirit of God may, and often does, lead us beyond and above\nnature, but never against it.\n\nWe shall now turn to the closing verses of our chapter, in which we\nshall find some uncommonly fine practical instruction. \"Thou shalt\ntruly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth\nforth year by year. And thou shalt eat before the Lord thy God, in the\nplace which He shall choose to place His name there, the tithe of thy\ncorn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds\nand of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the Lord thy God\nalways. And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able\nto carry it; or if the place be too far from thee, which the Lord thy\nGod shall choose to set His name there, when the Lord thy God hath\nblessed thee; then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the\nmoney in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which the Lord thy\nGod shall choose; and thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy\nsoul lusteth after--for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong\ndrink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth; and thou shalt eat there\nbefore the Lord thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine\nhousehold, and the Levite that is within thy gates; thou shalt not\nforsake him, for he hath no part nor inheritance with thee. At the end\nof three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase\nthe same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates. And the Levite\n(because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee), and the stranger,\nand the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall\ncome, and shall eat and be satisfied, that the Lord thy God may bless\nthee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest.\" (Ver. 22-29.)\n\nThis is a deeply interesting and most important passage, setting\nbefore us, with special simplicity, the _basis_, the _centre_, and\n_practical features_ of Israel's national and domestic religion. The\ngrand foundation of Israel's worship was laid in the fact that both\nthey themselves and their land belonged to Jehovah. The land was His,\nand they held as tenants under Him. To this precious truth they were\ncalled, periodically, to bear testimony by faithfully tithing their\nland: \"Thou shalt _truly_ tithe all the increase of thy seed that thy\nfield bringeth forth year by year.\" They were to own, in this\npractical way, the proprietorship of Jehovah, and never lose sight of\nit: they were to own no other landlord but the Lord their God. All\nthey were and all they had belonged to Him. This was the solid\nground-work of their national worship--their national religion.\n\nAnd then as to the centre, it is set forth with equal clearness. They\nwere to gather to the place where Jehovah recorded His name. Precious\nprivilege for all who truly loved that glorious name! We see in this\npassage, as also in many other portions of the Word of God, what\nimportance He attached to the periodical gatherings of His people\naround Himself. Blessed be His name, He delighted to see His beloved\npeople assembled in His presence, happy in Him and in one another;\nrejoicing together in their common portion, and feeding in sweet and\nloving fellowship on the fruit of Jehovah's land. \"Thou shalt eat\nbefore the Lord thy God, _in the place which He shall choose_, to\nplace His name there, the tithe of thy corn, ... _that thou mayest\nlearn to fear the Lord thy God always_.\"\n\nThere was, there could be, no other place like that, in the judgment\nof every faithful Israelite, every true lover of Jehovah. All such\nwould delight to flock to the hallowed spot where that beloved and\nrevered name was recorded. It might seem strange and unaccountable to\nthose who knew not the God of Israel, and cared nothing about Him, to\nsee the people traveling--many of them--a long distance from their\nhomes, and carrying their tithes to one particular spot. They might\nfeel disposed to call in question the needs-be for such a custom. Why\nnot eat at home? they might say. But the simple fact is, such persons\nknew nothing whatever about the matter, and were wholly incapable of\nentering into the preciousness of it. To the Israel of God, there was\nthe one grand moral reason for journeying to the appointed place, and\nthat reason was found in the glorious motto, _Jehovah Shammah_--\"The\nLord is there.\" If an Israelite had willfully determined to stay at\nhome, or to go to some place of his own choosing, he would neither\nhave met Jehovah there nor his brethren, and hence he would have eaten\nalone. Such a course would have incurred the judgment of God; it would\nhave been an abomination. There was but one centre, and that was not\nof man's choosing, but of God's. The godless Jeroboam, for his own\nselfish, political ends, presumed to interfere with the divine order,\nand set up his calves at Bethel and Dan; but the worship offered there\nwas offered to demons and not to God. It was a daring act of\nwickedness, which brought down upon him and upon his house the\nrighteous judgment of God; and we see, in Israel's after history, that\n\"Jeroboam the son of Nebat\" is used as the terrible model of iniquity\nfor all the wicked kings.\n\nBut all the faithful in Israel were sure to be found at the one divine\ncentre, and no where else. You would not find such making all sorts of\nexcuses for staying at home; neither would you find them running\nhither and thither to places of their own or other people's choosing;\nno, you would find them gathered to Jehovah Shammah, and there alone.\nWas this narrowness and bigotry? Nay; it was the fear and love of God.\nIf Jehovah had appointed a place where He would meet His people,\nassuredly His people should meet Him there.\n\nAnd not only had He appointed a place, but, in His abounding goodness,\nHe devised a means of making that place as convenient as possible for\nHis worshiping people. Thus we read, \"And if the way be too long for\nthee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if _the place_ be too\nfar from thee _which the Lord thy God shall choose to set His name\nthere_, when the Lord thy God hath blessed thee; then thou shalt turn\nit into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto\nthe place which the Lord thy God shall choose: ... and _thou shalt eat\nthere before the Lord thy God_, and thou shalt rejoice, thou and thy\nhousehold.\"\n\nThis is perfectly beautiful. The Lord, in His tender care and\nconsiderate love, took account of every thing. He would not leave a\nsingle difficulty in the way of His beloved people, in the matter of\ntheir assembling around Himself. He had His own special joy in seeing\nHis redeemed people happy in His presence, and all who loved His name\nwould delight to meet the loving desire of His heart by being found\nat the divinely appointed centre.\n\nIf any Israelite were found neglecting the blessed occasion of\nassembling with his brethren at the divinely chosen place and time, it\nwould have simply proved that he had no heart for God or for His\npeople, or, what was worse, that he was willfully absent. He might\nreason as he pleased about his being happy at home, happy elsewhere;\nit was a false happiness, inasmuch as it was happiness found in the\npath of disobedience, the path of willful neglect of the divine\nappointment.\n\nAll this is full of most valuable instruction for the Church of God\nnow. It is the will of God now, no less than of old, that His people\nshould assemble in His presence, on divinely appointed ground, and to\na divinely appointed centre. This, we presume, will hardly be called\nin question by any one having a spark of divine light in his soul. The\ninstincts of the divine nature, the leadings of the Holy Ghost, and\nthe teachings of holy Scripture do all most unquestionably lead the\nLord's people to assemble themselves together for worship, communion,\nand edification. However dispensations may differ, there are certain\ngreat principles and leading characteristics which always hold good,\nand the assembling of ourselves together is most assuredly one of\nthese. Whether under the old economy or under the new, the assembling\nof the Lord's people is a divine institution.\n\nNow, this being so, it is not a question of _our_ happiness, one way\nor the other; though we may be perfectly sure that all true Christians\nwill be happy in being found in their divinely appointed place. There\nis ever deep joy and blessing in the assembly of God's people. It is\nimpossible for us to find ourselves together in the Lord's presence\nand not be truly happy. It is simply heaven upon earth for the Lord's\ndear people--those who love His name, love His person, love one\nanother, to be together around His table, around Himself. What can\nexceed the blessedness of being allowed to break bread together in\nremembrance of our beloved and adorable Lord, to show forth His death\nuntil He come; to raise, in holy concert, our anthems of praise to God\nand the Lamb; to edify, exhort, and comfort one another, according to\nthe gift and grace bestowed upon us by the risen and glorified Head of\nthe Church; to pour out our hearts, in sweet fellowship, in prayer,\nsupplication, intercession, and giving of thanks for all men, for\nkings and all in authority, for the whole household of faith--the\nChurch of God--the body of Christ, for the Lord's work and workmen all\nover the earth?\n\nWhere, we would ask with all possible confidence, is there a true\nChristian, in a right state of soul, who would not delight in all\nthis, and say, from the very depths of his heart, that there is\nnothing this side the glory to be compared with it?\n\nBut, we repeat, our happiness is not the question; it is less than\nsecondary. We are to be ruled, in this as in all beside, by the will\nof God as revealed in His holy Word. The question for us is simply\nthis: Is it according to the mind of God that His people should\nassemble themselves together for worship and mutual edification? If\nthis be so, woe be to all who willfully refuse, or indolently neglect\nto do so, on any ground whatsoever; they not only suffer serious loss\nin their own souls, but they are offering dishonor to God, grieving\nHis Spirit, and doing injury to the assembly of His people.\n\nThese are very weighty consequences, and they demand the serious\nattention of all the Lord's people. It must be obvious to the reader\nthat it is according to the revealed will of God that His people\nshould assemble themselves together, in His presence. The inspired\napostle exhorts us, in the tenth chapter of his epistle to the\nHebrews, not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together. There is\nspecial value, interest, and importance attaching to the assembly. The\ntruth as to this begins to dawn upon us in the opening pages of the\nNew Testament. Thus, in Matthew xviii. 20, we read the words of our\nblessed Lord--\"Where _two or three are gathered together_ in My name,\n_there am_ I in the midst of them.\" Here we have the divine centre.\n\"_My name._\" This answers to \"The place which the Lord thy God shall\nchoose to place His name there,\" so constantly named and so strongly\ninsisted upon in the book of Deuteronomy. It was absolutely essential\nthat Israel should gather at that one place. It was not a matter as to\nwhich people might choose for themselves. Human choice was absolutely\nand rigidly excluded. It was \"_The_ place which the Lord thy God\nshall choose,\" and no other. This we have seen distinctly. It is so\nplain that we have only to say, \"How readest thou?\"\n\nNor is it otherwise with the Church of God. It is not human choice, or\nhuman judgment, or human opinion, or human reason, or human any thing.\nIt is absolutely and entirely divine. The _ground_ of our gathering is\ndivine, for it is accomplished redemption; the _centre_ around which\nwe are gathered is divine, for it is the Name of Jesus; the _power_ by\nwhich we are gathered is divine, for it is the Holy Ghost; and the\n_authority_ for our gathering is divine, for it is the Word of God.\n\nAll this is as clear as it is precious, and all we need is the\nsimplicity of faith to take it in and act upon it. If we begin to\nreason about it, we shall be sure to get into darkness; and if we\nlisten to human opinions, we shall be plunged in hopeless perplexity\nbetween the conflicting claims of christendom's sects and parties. Our\nonly refuge, our only resource, our only strength, our only comfort,\nour only authority, is the precious Word of God. Take away that, and\nwe have absolutely nothing; give us that, and we want no more.\n\nThis is what makes it all so real and so solid for our souls. Yes,\nreader; and so consolatory and tranquilizing too. The truth as to our\nassembly is as clear and as simple and as unquestionable as the truth\nin reference to our salvation. It is the privilege of all Christians\nto be as sure that they are gathered on God's ground, around God's\ncentre, by God's power, and on God's authority, as that they are\nwithin the blessed circle of God's salvation.\n\nAnd then, if we be asked, How can we be certain of being around God's\ncentre? we reply, Simply by the Word of God. How could Israel of old\nbe sure as to God's chosen place for their assembly? By His express\ncommandment. Were they at any loss for guidance? Surely not. His word\nwas as clear and as distinct as to their place of worship as it was in\nreference to every thing else. It left not the slightest ground for\nuncertainty. It was so plainly set before them that for any one to\nraise a question could only be regarded as willful ignorance or\npositive disobedience.\n\nNow, the question is, Are Christians worse off than Israel in\nreference to the great subject of their place of worship, the centre\nand ground of their assembly? Are they left in doubt and uncertainty?\nIs it an open question? Is it a matter as to which every man is left\nto do what is right in his own eyes? Has God given us no positive,\ndefinite instruction on a question so intensely interesting and so\nvitally important? Could we imagine for a moment that the One who\ngraciously condescended to instruct His people of old in matters which\nwe, in our fancied wisdom, would deem unworthy of notice, would leave\nHis Church now without any definite guidance as to the ground, centre,\nand characteristic features of our worship? Utterly impossible! Every\nspiritual mind must reject, with decision and energy, any such idea.\n\nNo, beloved Christian reader; you know it would not be like our\ngracious God to deal thus with His heavenly people. True, there is no\nsuch thing now as a particular place to which all Christians are to\nbetake themselves periodically for worship. There _was_ such a place\nfor God's earthly people, and there _will be_ such a place for\nrestored Israel and for all nations by and by. \"It shall come to pass\nin the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be\nestablished in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above\nthe hills; and _all nations_ shall flow unto it. And many people shall\ngo and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to\nthe house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and\nwe will walk in His paths; for _out of Zion_ shall go forth the law,\nand the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.\" (Is. ii.) And again, \"It\nshall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations\nwhich came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to\nworship the King, the Lord of Hosts, and to keep the feast of\ntabernacles. And it shall be that whoso will not come up of _all the\nfamilies of the earth unto Jerusalem_ to worship the King, the Lord of\nHosts, even upon them shall be no rain.\" (Zech. xiv. 16, 17.)\n\nHere are two passages culled, one from the first, and the other from\nthe last but one of the divinely inspired prophets, both pointing\nforward to the glorious time when Jerusalem shall be God's centre for\nIsrael and for all nations. And we may assert, with all possible\nconfidence, that the reader will find all the prophets, with one\nconsent, in full harmony with Isaiah and Zechariah on this profoundly\ninteresting subject. To apply such passages to the Church, or to\nheaven, is to do violence to the clearest and grandest utterances that\never fell on human ears; it is to confound things heavenly and\nearthly, and to give a flat contradiction to the divinely harmonious\nvoices of prophets and apostles.\n\nIt is needless to multiply quotations. All Scripture goes to prove\nthat Jerusalem was, and will yet be, God's earthly centre for His\npeople, and for all nations; but _just now_--that is to say, from the\nday of Pentecost, when God the Holy Ghost came down to form the Church\nof God, the body of Christ, until the moment when our Lord Jesus\nChrist shall come to take His people away out of this world--there is\nno place, no city, no sacred locality, no earthly centre, for the\nLord's people. To talk to Christians about holy places, or consecrated\nground, is as thoroughly foreign to them (at least, it ought to be) as\nit would have been to talk to a Jew about having his place of worship\nin heaven. The idea is wholly out of place, wholly out of character.\n\nIf the reader will turn for a moment to the fourth chapter of John, he\nwill find, in our Lord's marvelous discourse with the woman of Sychar,\nthe most blessed teaching on this subject. \"The woman saith unto Him,\n'Sir, I perceive that Thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshiped in\nthis mountain, and ye say that in Jerusalem is the place where men\nought to worship.' Jesus saith unto her, 'Woman, believe Me; the hour\ncometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain nor yet at Jerusalem\nworship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what; we know what we\nworship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now\nis, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in\ntruth, for the Father _seeketh_ such to worship Him. God is a spirit,\nand they that worship Him _must_ worship Him in spirit and in truth.'\"\n(Ver. 19-24.)\n\nThis passage entirely sets aside the thought of any special place of\nworship now. There really is no such thing. \"_The Most High dwelleth\nnot in temples made with hands_; as saith the prophet, 'Heaven is My\nthrone, and earth is My footstool: what house will ye build Me?' saith\nthe Lord, 'or what is the place of My rest? Hath not My hand made all\nthese things?'\" (Acts vii. 48-50.) And again, \"God that made the\nworld, and all things therein, seeing that He is Lord of heaven and\nearth, _dwelleth not in temples made with hands; neither is worshiped\nwith men's hands_, as though He needed any thing, seeing He giveth to\nall life and breath and all things.\" (Acts xvii. 24, 25.)\n\nThe teaching of the New Testament, from beginning to end, is clear and\ndecided as to the subject of worship; and the Christian reader is\nsolemnly bound to give heed to that teaching, and to seek to\nunderstand, and submit his whole moral being to its authority. There\nhas ever been, from the very earliest ages of the Church's history, a\nstrong and fatal tendency to return to Judaism, not only on the\nsubject of righteousness, but also on that of worship. Christians have\nnot only been put under the law for life and righteousness, but also\nunder the Levitical ritual for the order and character of their\nworship. We have dealt with the former of these in chapters iv. and v.\nof these \"Notes,\" but the latter is hardly less serious in its effect\nupon the whole tone and character of Christian life and conduct.\n\nWe have to bear in mind that Satan's great object is, to cast the\nChurch of God down from her excellency, in reference to her standing,\nher walk, and her worship. No sooner was the Church set up on the day\nof Pentecost than he commenced his corrupting and undermining process,\nand for eighteen long centuries he has carried it on with diabolical\npersistency. In the face of these plain passages quoted above, in\nreference to the character of worship which the Father is now seeking,\nand as to the fact that God does not dwell in temples made with hands,\nwe have seen, in all ages, the strong tendency to return to the\ncondition of things under the Mosaic economy. Hence the desire for\ngreat buildings, imposing rituals, sacerdotal orders, choral services,\nall of which are in direct opposition to the mind of Christ and to the\nplainest teachings of the New Testament. The professing church has\nentirely departed from the spirit and authority of the Lord in all\nthese things; and yet, strange and sad to say, these very things are\ncontinually appealed to as proofs of the wonderful progress of\nChristianity. We are told by some of our public teachers and guides\nthat the blessed apostle Paul had little idea of the grandeur to which\nthe Church was to attain; but if he could only see one of our\nvenerable cathedrals, with its lofty aisles and painted windows, and\nlisten to the peals of the organ and the voices of the choristers, he\nwould see what an advance had been made upon the upper room at\nJerusalem!\n\nAh! reader, be assured, it is all a most thorough delusion. It is true\nindeed, the Church has made progress, but it is in the wrong\ndirection; it is not upward, but downward. It is away from Christ,\naway from the Father, away from the Spirit, away from the Word.\n\nWe should like to ask the reader this one question: If the apostle\nPaul were to come to London for next Lord's day, where could he find\nwhat he found in Troas eighteen hundred years ago, as recorded in Acts\nxx. 7? Where could he find a company of disciples gathered simply by\nthe Holy Ghost, to the Name of Jesus, to break bread in remembrance of\nHim, and to show forth His death till He come? Such was the divine\norder then, and such must be the divine order now. We cannot for a\nmoment believe that the apostle would accept any thing else. He would\nlook for the divine thing; he would have that or nothing. Now, where\ncould he find it? where could he go and find the table of his Lord, as\nappointed by Himself the same night in which He was betrayed?\n\nMark, reader, we are bound to believe that the apostle Paul would\ninsist upon having the table and the supper of his Lord as he had\nreceived them direct from Himself in the glory, and given them by the\nSpirit in the tenth and eleventh chapters of his epistle to the\nCorinthians--an epistle addressed to \"all that in every place call on\nthe name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both theirs and ours.\" We cannot\nbelieve that he would teach God's order in the first century and\naccept man's disorder in the nineteenth. Man has no right to tamper\nwith a divine institution. He has no more authority to alter a single\njot or tittle connected with the Lord's supper than Israel had to\ninterfere with the order of the passover.\n\nNow, we repeat the question, and earnestly entreat the reader to\nponder and answer it in the divine presence and in the light of\nScripture,--Where could the apostle find this in London, or any where\nelse in christendom, on next Lord's day? Where could he go and take\nhis seat at the table of his Lord, in the midst of a company of\ndisciples gathered simply on the _ground_ of the one body, to the one\n_centre_--the Name of Jesus, by the _power_ of the Holy Ghost, and on\nthe _authority_ of the Word of God? Where could he find a sphere in\nwhich he could exercise his gifts without human authority,\nappointment, or ordination? We ask these questions in order to\nexercise the heart and conscience of the reader. We are fully\nconvinced that there are places here and there where Paul could find\nthese things carried out, though in weakness and failure, and we\nbelieve the Christian reader is solemnly responsible to find them out.\nAlas! alas! they are few and far between, compared with the mass of\nChristians meeting otherwise.\n\nWe may perhaps be told that if people knew that it was the apostle\nPaul, they would willingly allow him to minister. But then he would\nneither seek nor accept their permission, inasmuch as he tells us\nplainly, in the first chapter of Galatians, that his ministry was \"not\nof men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who\nraised Him from the dead.\"\n\nAnd not only so, but we may rest assured that the blessed apostle\nwould insist upon having the Lord's table spread upon the divine\nground of the one body, and he could only consent to eat the Lord's\nsupper according to its divine order as laid down in the New\nTestament. He could not accept for a moment any thing but the divine\nreality. He would say, Either that or nothing. He could not admit any\nhuman interference with a divine institution; neither could he accept\nany new ground of gathering, or any new principle of organization. He\nwould repeat his own inspired statements--\"There is _one body_ and one\nSpirit,\" and, \"We being many, are one bread--_one body_, for we are\nall partakers of that one bread.\" These words apply to \"all that in\nevery place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord,\" and they hold\ngood in all ages of the Church's existence on earth.\n\nThe reader must be very clear and distinct as to this. God's\nprinciple of gathering and unity must on no account be surrendered.\nThe moment men begin to organize--to form societies, churches, or\nassociations, they act in direct opposition to the Word of God, the\nmind of Christ, and the present action of the Holy Ghost. Man might as\nwell set about to form a world as to form a church. It is entirely a\ndivine work. The Holy Ghost came down on the day of Pentecost to form\n_the_ Church of God--_the_ body of Christ, and this is the only\nChurch--the only body that Scripture recognizes; all else is contrary\nto God, even though it may be sanctioned and defended by thousands of\ntrue Christians.\n\nLet not the reader misunderstand us. We are not speaking of salvation,\nof eternal life, or of divine righteousness, but of the true ground of\ngathering, the divine principle on which the Lord's table should be\nspread and the Lord's supper celebrated. Thousands of the Lord's\nbeloved people have lived and died in the communion of the church of\nRome; but the church of Rome is not the Church of God, but a horrible\napostasy; and the sacrifice of the mass is not the Lord's supper, but\na marred, mutilated, and miserable invention of the devil. If the\nquestion in the mind of the reader be merely what amount of error he\ncan sanction without forfeiting his soul's salvation, it is useless to\nproceed with the grand and important subject before us.\n\nBut where is the heart that loves Christ that could be content to take\nsuch miserably low ground as this? What would have been thought of an\nIsraelite of old who could content himself with being a child of\nAbraham, and could enjoy his vine and his fig-tree, his flocks and his\nherds, but never think of going to worship at the place where Jehovah\nhad recorded His name? Where was the faithful Jew who did not love\nthat sacred spot? \"Lord, I have loved the habitation of Thine house,\nand the place where Thine honor dwelleth.\"\n\nAnd when, by reason of Israel's sin, the national polity was broken\nup, and the people were in captivity, we hear the true-hearted exiles\namongst them pouring forth their lament in the following touching and\neloquent strain, \"By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down; yea,\n_we wept when we remembered Zion_. We hanged our harps upon the\nwillows in the midst thereof. For there they that carried us away\ncaptive required of us a song, and they that wasted us required of us\nmirth, saying, 'Sing us one of the songs of Zion.' How shall we sing\nthe Lord's song in a strange land? If I forget thee, O Jerusalem\n[God's centre for His earthly people], let my right hand forget her\ncunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof\nof my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.\" (Ps.\ncxxxvii.)\n\nAnd again, in the sixth chapter of Daniel, we find that beloved exile\nopening his window three times a day, and praying toward Jerusalem,\nalthough he knew that the lions' den was the penalty. But why insist\nupon praying toward Jerusalem? Was it a piece of Jewish superstition?\nNay, it was a magnificent display of divine principle; it was an\nunfurling of the divine standard amid the depressing and humiliating\nconsequences of Israel's folly and sin. True, Jerusalem was in ruins;\nbut God's thoughts respecting Jerusalem were not in ruins. It was His\ncentre for His earthly people. \"Jerusalem is builded as a city that is\ncompact together, whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord,\nunto the testimony of Israel, to give thanks unto the name of the\nLord. For there are set thrones of judgment, the thrones of the house\nof David. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem; they shall prosper that\nlove thee. Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy\npalaces. _For my brethren and companions' sakes_, I will now say,\nPeace be within thee. _Because of the house of the Lord our God_ I\nwill seek thy good.\" (Ps. cxxii.)\n\nJerusalem was the centre for Israel's twelve tribes in days gone by,\nand it will be so in the future. To apply the above and similar\npassages to the Church of God here or hereafter--on earth or in\nheaven, is simply turning things upside down, confounding things\nessentially different, and thus doing an incalculable amount of damage\nboth to Scripture and the souls of men. We must not allow ourselves to\ntake such unwarrantable liberties with the Word of God.\n\nJerusalem was and will be God's earthly centre; but now, the Church of\nGod should own no centre but the glorious and infinitely precious Name\nof Jesus. \"Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there\nam I in the midst of them.\" Precious centre! To this alone the New\nTestament points, to this alone the Holy Ghost gathers. It matters not\nwhere we are gathered--in Jerusalem or Rome, London, Paris, or Canton.\nIt is not _where_, but _how_.\n\nBut be it remembered, it must be a divinely real thing. It is of no\npossible use to profess to be gathered in, or to, the blessed Name of\nJesus, if we are not really so. The apostle's word as to faith may\napply with equal force to the question of our centre of\ngathering.--\"What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man _say_\" he\nis gathered to the Name of Jesus? God deals in moral realities; and\nwhile it is perfectly clear that a man who desires to be true to\nChrist cannot possibly consent to own any other centre or any other\nground of gathering but His Name, yet it is quite possible--alas!\nalas! how very possible--for people to profess to be on that blessed\nand holy ground, while their spirit and conduct, their habits and\nways, their whole course and character, go to prove that they are not\nin the power of their profession.\n\nThe apostle said to the Corinthians that he would \"know, not the\nspeech, but the power.\" A weighty word, most surely, and much needed\nat all times, but specially needed in reference to the important\nsubject now before us. We would lovingly, yet most solemnly, press\nupon the conscience of the Christian reader his responsibility to\nconsider this matter in the holy retirement of the Lord's presence,\nand in the light of the New Testament. Let him not set it aside on\nthe plea of its not being essential. It is in the very highest degree\nessential, inasmuch as it concerns the Lord's glory and the\nmaintenance of His truth. This is the only standard by which to decide\nwhat is essential and what is not. Was it essential for Israel to\ngather at the divinely appointed centre? Was it left an open question?\nMight every man choose a centre for himself? Let the answer be weighed\nin the light of Deuteronomy xiv. It was absolutely essential that the\nIsrael of God should assemble around the centre of the God of Israel.\nThis is unquestionable. Woe be to the man who presumed to turn his\nback on the place where Jehovah had set His Name. He would very\nspeedily have been taught his mistake. And if this was true for God's\nearthly people, is it not equally true for the Church and the\nindividual Christian? Assuredly it is. We are bound, by the very\nhighest and most sacred obligations, to refuse every _ground_ of\ngathering but the one body, every _centre_ of gathering but the Name\nof Jesus, every _power_ of gathering but the Holy Ghost, every\n_authority_ of gathering but the Word of God. May all the Lord's\nbeloved people every where be led to consider these things, in the\nfear and love of His holy name.\n\nWe shall now close this section by quoting the last paragraph of our\nchapter, in which we shall find some valuable practical teaching.\n\n\"At the end of three years, thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of\nthine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates;\nand the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,)\nand the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within\nthy gates, _shall come_, and _shall eat_ and _be satisfied;_ that the\nLord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou\ndoest.\"\n\nHere we have a lovely home-scene, a most touching display of the\ndivine character, a beautiful outshining of the grace and kindness of\nthe God of Israel. It does the heart good to breathe the fragrant air\nof such a passage as this. It stands in vivid and striking contrast\nwith the cold selfishness of the scene around us. God would teach His\npeople to think of and care for all who were in need. The tithe\nbelonged to Him, but He would give them the rare and exquisite\nprivilege of devoting it to the blessed object of making hearts glad.\n\nThere is peculiar sweetness in the words, \"shall come\"--\"shall\neat\"--\"and be satisfied.\" So like our own ever-gracious God! He\ndelights to meet the need of all. He opens His hand, and satisfies the\ndesire of every living thing. And not only so, but it is His joy to\nmake His people the channel through which the grace, the kindness, and\nthe sympathy of His heart may flow forth to all. How precious is this!\nWhat a privilege to be God's almoners--the dispensers of His\nbounty--the exponents of His goodness! Would that we entered more\nfully into the deep blessedness of all this! May we breathe more the\natmosphere of the divine presence, and then we shall more faithfully\nreflect the divine character.\n\nAs the deeply interesting and practical subject presented in verses 28\nand 29 will come before us in another connection in our study of\nchapter xxvi, we shall not dwell further upon it here.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XV.\n\n\n\"At the end of every seven years thou shalt make a release. And this\nis the manner of the release: Every creditor that lendeth aught unto\nhis neighbor shall release it; he shall not exact it of his neighbor,\nor of his brother, _because it is called the Lord's release_. Of a\nforeigner thou mayest exact it again; but that which is thine with thy\nbrother thine hand shall release, save when there shall be no poor\namong you; for the Lord shall greatly bless thee in the land which the\nLord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it: only if\nthou carefully hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe\nto do all these commandments which I command thee this day. For the\nLord thy God blesseth thee, as He promised thee; and thou shalt lend\nunto many nations, but thou shalt not borrow; and thou shalt reign\nover many nations, but they shall not reign over thee.\" (Ver. 1-6.)\n\nIt is truly edifying to mark the way in which the God of Israel was\never seeking to draw the hearts of His people to Himself by means of\nthe various sacrifices, solemnities, and institutions of the Levitical\nceremonial. There was the morning and evening lamb every _day_, there\nwas the holy Sabbath every _week,_ there was the new moon every\n_month_, there was the passover every _year_, there was the tithing\nevery _three years_, there was the release every _seven years_, and\nthere was the jubilee every _fifty years_.\n\nAll this is full of deepest interest. It tells its own sweet tale, and\nteaches its own precious lesson to the heart. The morning and evening\nlamb, as we know, pointed ever to \"the Lamb of God, which taketh away\nthe sin of the world;\" the Sabbath was the lovely type of the rest\nthat remaineth to the people of God; the new moon beautifully\nprefigured the time when restored Israel shall reflect back the beams\nof the Sun of Righteousness upon the nations; the passover was the\nstanding memorial of the nation's deliverance from Egyptian bondage;\nthe year of tithing set forth the fact of Jehovah's proprietorship of\nthe land, as also the lovely way in which His rents were to be\nexpended in meeting the need of His workmen and of His poor; the\nsabbatic year gave promise of a bright time when all debts would be\ncanceled, all loans disposed of, all burdens removed; and finally, the\njubilee was the magnificent type of the times of the restitution of\nall things, when the captive shall be set free, when the exile shall\nreturn to his long-lost home and inheritance, and when the land of\nIsrael and the whole earth shall rejoice beneath the beneficent\ngovernment of the Son of David.\n\nNow, in all these lovely institutions we notice two prominent\ncharacteristic features, namely, glory to God, and blessing to man.\nThese two things are linked together by a divine and everlasting bond.\nGod has so ordained that His full glory and the creature's full\nblessing should be indissolubly bound up together. This is deep joy to\nthe heart, and it helps us to understand more fully the force and\nbeauty of that familiar sentence--\"We rejoice in hope of the glory of\nGod.\" When that glory shines forth in its full lustre, then,\nassuredly, human blessedness, rest, and felicity shall reach their\nfull and eternal consummation.\n\nWe see a lovely pledge and foreshadowing of all this in the seventh\nyear. It was \"the Lord's release,\" and therefore its blessed influence\nwas to be felt by every poor debtor from Dan to Beersheba. Jehovah\nwould grant unto His people the high and holy privilege of having\nfellowship with Him in causing the debtor's heart to sing for joy. He\nwould teach them, if they would only learn, the deep blessedness of\nfrankly forgiving all. This is what He Himself delights in, blessed\nforever be His great and glorious name.\n\nBut, alas! the poor human heart is not up to this lovely mark. It is\nnot fully prepared to tread this heavenly road. It is sadly cramped\nand hindered, by a low and miserable selfishness, in grasping and\ncarrying out the divine principle of grace. It is not quite at home in\nthis heavenly atmosphere; it is but ill-prepared for being the vessel\nand channel of that royal grace which shines so brightly in all the\nways of God. This will only too fully account for the cautionary\nclauses of the following passage. \"If there be among you a poor man of\none of thy brethren within any of thy gates, in thy land, which the\nLord thy God giveth thee, _thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut\nthine hand_ from thy poor brother; but thou shalt _open thine hand\nwide_ unto him, and surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that\nwhich he wanteth. Beware that there be not a thought _in thy wicked\nheart_, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand; and\n_thine eye be evil_ against thy poor brother, and thou _givest_ him\nnaught; and he cry unto the Lord against thee, and it be sin unto\nthee. _Thou shalt surely give him_, and thine heart shall not be\ngrieved when thou givest unto him; because that for this thing the\nLord thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou\nputtest thine hand unto. For the poor shall never cease out of thy\nland; therefore I command thee, saying, _Thou shalt open thine hand\nwide_ unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land.\"\n(Ver. 7-11.)\n\nHere the deep springs of the poor selfish heart are discovered and\njudged. There is nothing like grace for making manifest the hidden\nroots of evil in human nature. Man must be renewed in the very deepest\nsprings of his moral being ere he can be the vehicle of divine love;\nand even those who are thus through grace renewed, have to watch\ncontinually against the hideous forms of selfishness in which our\nfallen nature clothes itself. Nothing but grace can keep the heart\nopen wide to every form of human need. We must abide hard by the\nfountain of heavenly love if we would be channels of blessing in the\nmidst of a scene of misery and desolation like that in which our lot\nis cast.\n\nHow lovely are those words, \"Thou shalt open thine hand wide\"! They\nbreathe the very air of heaven. An open heart and a wide hand are like\nGod. \"The Lord loveth a cheerful giver,\" because that is precisely\nwhat He is Himself. \"He giveth to all liberally, and upbraideth not.\"\nAnd He would grant unto us the rare and most exquisite privilege of\nbeing imitators of Him. Marvelous grace! The very thought of it fills\nthe heart with wonder, love, and praise. We are not only saved by\ngrace, but we stand in grace, live under the blessed reign of grace,\nbreathe the very atmosphere of grace, and are called to be the living\nexponents of grace, not only to our brethren, but to the whole human\nfamily. \"As we therefore have opportunity, let us do good unto all,\nespecially unto them which are of the household of faith.\"\n\nChristian reader, let us diligently apply our hearts to all this\ndivine instruction. It is most precious: but its real preciousness can\nonly be tasted in the practical carrying out of it. We are surrounded\nby ten thousand forms of human misery, human sorrow, human need. There\nare broken hearts, crushed spirits, desolate homes, around us on every\nside. The widow, the orphan, and the stranger meet us daily in our\nwalks. How do we carry ourselves in reference to all these? Are we\nhardening our hearts and closing our hands against them? or are we\nseeking to act in the lovely spirit of \"the Lord's release\"? We must\nbear in mind that we are called to be reflectors of the divine nature\nand character--to be direct channels of communication between our\nFather's loving heart and every form of human need. We are not to live\nfor ourselves; to do so is a most miserable denial of every feature\nand principle of that morally glorious Christianity which we profess.\nIt is our high and holy privilege, yea, it is our special mission, to\nshed around us the blessed light of that heaven to which we belong.\nWherever we are--in the family, in the field, in the mart or the\nmanufactory, in the shop or in the counting-house, all who come in\ncontact with us should see the grace of Jesus shining out in our ways,\nour words, our very looks. And then, if any object of need come before\nus, if we can do nothing more, we should drop a soothing word into the\near, or shed a tear or heave a sigh of genuine, heart-felt sympathy.\n\nReader, is it thus with us? Are we so living near the fountain of\ndivine love, and so breathing the very air of heaven, that the blessed\nfragrance of these things shall be diffused around us? or are we\ndisplaying the odious selfishness of nature, the unholy tempers and\ndispositions of our fallen and corrupt humanity? What an unsightly\nobject is a selfish Christian! He is a standing contradiction, a\nliving, moving lie. The Christianity which he professes throws into\ndark and terrible relief the unholy selfishness which governs his\nheart and comes out in his life.\n\nThe Lord grant that all who profess and call themselves Christians may\nso carry themselves, in daily life, as to be an unblotted epistle of\nChrist, known and read of all men. In this way, infidelity will, at\nleast, be deprived of one of its weightiest arguments, its gravest\nobjections. Nothing affords a stronger plea to the infidel than the\ninconsistent lives of professing Christians.\n\nNot that such a plea will stand for a moment, or even be urged, before\nthe judgment-seat of Christ, inasmuch as each one who has within his\nreach a copy of the holy Scriptures will be judged by the light of\nthose Scriptures, even though there were not a single consistent\nChristian on the face of the earth. Nevertheless, Christians are\nsolemnly responsible to let their light so shine before men that they\nmay see their good works and glorify our Father in heaven. We are\nsolemnly bound to exhibit and illustrate in daily life the heavenly\nprinciples unfolded in the Word of God. We should leave the infidel\nwithout a shred of a plea or an argument; we are responsible so to do.\n\nMay we lay these things to heart, and then we shall have occasion to\nbless God for our meditation on the delightful institution of \"the\nLord's release.\"\n\nWe shall now quote for the reader the touching and beautiful\ninstitution in reference to the Hebrew servant. We increasingly feel\nthe importance of giving the veritable language of the Holy Ghost; for\nalbeit it may be said that the reader has his Bible to refer to, yet\nwe know, as a fact, that when passages of Scripture are referred to,\nthere is, in many cases, a reluctance to lay down the volume which we\nhold in our hand in order to read the reference. And beside, there is\nnothing like the Word of God; and as to any remarks which we may\noffer, their object is simply to help the beloved Christian reader to\nunderstand and appreciate the scriptures which we quote.\n\n\"If thy brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, be sold unto thee,\nand serve thee six years, then in the seventh year thou shalt let him\ngo free from thee. And when thou sendest him out free from thee, thou\nshalt not let him go away empty; _thou shalt furnish him liberally_\nout of thy flock, and out of thy floor, and out of thy wine-press; of\nthat wherewith the Lord thy God hath blessed thee thou shalt give unto\nhim.\"\n\nHow perfectly beautiful! how like our own ever-gracious God is all\nthis! He would not have the brother go away empty. Liberty and poverty\nwould not be in moral harmony. The brother was to be sent on his way\nfree and full, emancipated and endowed, not only with his liberty, but\nwith a liberal fortune to start with.\n\nTruly, this is divine. We do not want to be told the school where such\nexquisite ethics are taught. They have the very ring of heaven about\nthem; they emit the fragrant odor of the very paradise of God. Is it\nnot in this way that our God has dealt with us? All praise to His\nglorious name! He has not only given us life and liberty, but He has\nfurnished us liberally with all we can possibly want for time and\neternity. He has opened the exhaustless treasury of heaven for us;\nyea, He has given the Son of His bosom for us and to us--_for_ us, to\n_save_; _to_ us, to _satisfy_. He has given us all things that pertain\nto life and godliness; all that pertains to the life that now is, and\nto that which is to come, is fully and perfectly secured by our\nFather's liberal hand.\n\nAnd is it not deeply affecting to mark how the heart of God expresses\nitself in the style in which the Hebrew servant was to be treated?\n\"Thou shalt furnish him _liberally_.\" Not grudgingly, or of necessity.\nIt was to be done in a manner worthy of God. The actings of His people\nare to be the reflection of Himself. We are called to the high and\nholy dignity of being His moral representatives. It is marvelous; but\nthus it is, through His infinite grace. He has not only delivered us\nfrom the flames of an everlasting hell, but He calls us to act for\nHim, and to be like Him, in the midst of a world that crucified His\nSon. And not only has He conferred this lofty dignity upon us, but He\nhas endowed us with a princely fortune to support it. The\ninexhaustible resources of heaven are at our disposal. \"All things are\nours,\" through His infinite grace. Oh that we may more fully realize\nour privileges, and thus more faithfully discharge our holy\nresponsibilities!\n\nAt verse 15 of our chapter, we have a very touching motive presented\nto the heart of the people, one eminently calculated to stir their\naffections and sympathies. \"And thou shalt remember that thou wast a\nbondman in the land of Egypt, and the Lord thy God redeemed thee;\n_therefore_ I command thee this thing to-day.\" The remembrance of\nJehovah's grace in redeeming them out of Egypt was to be the\never-abiding and all-powerful motive-spring of their actings toward\nthe poor brother. This is a never-failing principle, and nothing lower\nthan this will ever stand. If we look for our motive-springs any where\nbut in God Himself, and in His dealings with us, we shall soon break\ndown in our practical career. It is only as we keep before our hearts\nthe marvelous grace of God displayed toward us in the redemption which\nis in Christ Jesus that we shall be able to pursue a course of true,\nactive benevolence, whether toward our brethren or those outside. Mere\nkindly feelings, bubbling up in our own hearts, or drawn out by the\nsorrows and distresses and necessities of others, will prove\nevanescent. It is only in the living God Himself we can find perennial\nsprings.\n\nAt verse 16, a case is contemplated in which a servant might prefer\nremaining with his master. \"And it shall be, if he say unto thee, I\nwill not go away from thee, because he loveth thee and thine house,\nbecause he is well with thee, then thou shalt take an awl, and thrust\nit through his ear unto the door, and he shall be thy servant\nforever.\"\n\nIn comparing this passage with Exodus xxi. 1-6, we observe a marked\ndifference arising, as we might expect, from the distinctive character\nof each book. In Exodus, the _typical_ feature is prominent; in\nDeuteronomy, the _moral_. Hence, in the latter, the inspired writer\nomits all about the wife and the children, as foreign to his purpose\nhere, though so essential to the beauty and perfectness of the type in\nExodus xxi. We merely notice this as one of the many striking proofs\nthat Deuteronomy is very far indeed from being a barren repetition of\nits predecessors. There is neither repetition on the one hand, nor\ncontradiction on the other, but lovely variety in perfect accordance\nwith the divine object and scope of each book. So much for the\ncontemptible shallowness and ignorance of those infidel writers who\nhave had the impious temerity to level their shafts at this\nmagnificent portion of the oracles of God.\n\nIn our chapter, then, we have the moral aspect of this interesting\ninstitution. The servant loved his master, and was happy with him. He\npreferred perpetual slavery and the mark thereof with a master whom he\nloved, to liberty and a liberal portion away from him. This, of\ncourse, would argue well for both parties. It is ever a good sign for\nboth master and servant when the connection is of long standing.\nPerpetual changing may, as a general rule, be taken as a proof of\nmoral wrong somewhere. No doubt there are exceptions; and not only so,\nbut in the relation of master and servant, as in every thing else,\nthere are two sides to be considered. For instance, we have to\nconsider whether the master is perpetually changing his servants, or\nthe servant perpetually changing his masters. In the former case,\nappearances would tell against the master; in the latter, against the\nservant.\n\nThe fact is, we have all to judge ourselves in this matter. Those of\nus who are masters have to consider how far we really seek the\ncomfort, happiness, and solid profit of our servants. We should bear\nin mind that we have very much more to think of, in reference to our\nservants, than the amount of work we can get out of them. Even upon\nthe low-level principle of \"live and let live,\" we are bound to seek,\nin every possible way, to make our servants happy and comfortable; to\nmake them feel that they have a home under our roof; that we are not\ncontent merely with the labor of their hands, but that we want the\nlove of their hearts. We remember once asking the head of a very large\nestablishment, \"How many _hearts_ do you employ?\" He shook his head,\nand owned, with real sorrow, how little heart there is in the relation\nof master and servant. Hence the common, heartless phrase of\n\"employing _hands_.\"\n\nBut the Christian master is called to stand upon a higher level\naltogether; he is privileged to be an imitator of his Master--Christ.\nThe remembrance of this will regulate all his actings toward the\nservant; it will lead him to study, with ever-deepening interest and\nsolid profit, his divine model, in order to reproduce Him in all the\npractical details of daily life.\n\nSo also in reference to the Christian servant, in his position and\nline of action. He, as well as the master, has to study the great\nexample set before him in the path and ministry of the only true\nServant that ever trod this earth. He is called to walk in His\nblessed footsteps, to drink into His spirit, to study His Word. It is\nnot a little remarkable that the Holy Ghost has devoted more attention\nto the instruction of servants than to all the other relationships put\ntogether. This the reader can see at a glance, in the epistles to the\nEphesians, Colossians, and Titus. The Christian servant can adorn the\ndoctrine of God our Saviour by not purloining and not answering again.\nHe can serve the Lord Christ in the most common-place duties of\ndomestic life just as effectually as the man who is called to address\nthousands on the grand realities of eternity.\n\nThus, when both master and servant are mutually governed by heavenly\nprinciples, both seeking to serve and glorify the one Lord, they will\nget on happily together. The master will not be severe, arbitrary, and\nexacting; and the servant will not be self-seeking, heady, and\nhigh-minded: each will contribute, by the faithful discharge of their\nrelative duties, to the comfort and happiness of the other, and to the\npeace and happiness of the whole domestic circle. Would that it were\nmore after this heavenly fashion in every Christian household on the\nface of the earth! Then indeed would the truth of God be vindicated,\nHis Word honored, and His name glorified in our domestic relations and\npractical ways.\n\nIn verse 18, we have an admonitory word which reveals to us, very\nfaithfully, but with great delicacy, a moral root in the poor human\nheart. \"It shall not seem hard unto thee when thou sendest him away\nfree from thee, for he has been worth a double hired servant to thee\nin serving thee six years, and the Lord thy God shall bless thee in\nall that thou doest.\"\n\nThis is very affecting. Only think of the most high God condescending\nto stand before the human heart--the heart of a master, to plead the\ncause of a poor servant, and set forth his claims! It is as if He were\nasking a favor for Himself. He leaves nothing unsaid in order to\nstrengthen the case; He reminds the master of the value of six years'\nservice, and encourages him by the promise of enlarged blessing as a\nreward for his generous acting. It is perfectly beautiful. The Lord\nwould not only have the generous thing done, but done in such a way as\nto gladden the heart of the one to whom it was done; He thinks not\nonly of the _substance_ of an action, but also of the _style_. We may,\nat times, brace ourselves up to the business of doing a kindness; we\ndo it as a matter of duty, and all the while it may \"_seem hard_\" that\nwe should have to do it; thus the act will be robbed of all its\ncharms. It is the generous heart that adorns the generous act. We\nshould so do a kindness as to assure the recipient that our own heart\nis made glad by the act. This is the divine way: \"When they had\nnothing to pay, he _frankly_ forgave them both.\"--\"It is meet that\n_we_ should make merry, and be glad.\"--\"There is joy in heaven over\none sinner that repenteth.\" Oh, to be a brighter reflection of the\nprecious grace of our Father's heart!\n\nEre closing our remarks on this deeply interesting chapter, we shall\nquote for the reader its last paragraph. \"All the firstling males\nthat come of thy herd and of thy flock thou shalt sanctify unto the\nLord thy God; thou shalt do no work with the firstling of thy bullock,\nnor shear the firstling of thy sheep; thou shalt eat it before the\nLord thy God year by year _in the place which the Lord shall choose_,\nthou and thy household. And if there be any blemish therein, as if it\nbe lame, or blind, or have any ill blemish, thou shalt not sacrifice\nit unto the Lord thy God. Thou shalt eat it within thy gates, the\nunclean and the clean person shall eat it alike, as the roebuck, and\nas the hart. Only thou shalt not eat the blood thereof; thou shalt\npour it upon the ground as water.\" (Ver. 19-23.)\n\nOnly that which was perfect was to be offered to God. The first-born,\nunblemished male, the apt figure of the spotless Lamb of God, offered\nupon the cross for us, the imperishable foundation of our peace, and\nthe precious food of our souls, in the presence of God. This was the\ndivine thing,--the assembly gathered together around the divine\ncentre, feasting in the presence of God on that which was the\nappointed type of Christ, who is at once our sacrifice, our centre,\nand our feast. Eternal and universal homage to His most precious and\nglorious Name!\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVI\n\n\nWe now approach one of the most profound and comprehensive sections of\nthe book of Deuteronomy, in which the inspired writer presents to our\nview what we may call the three great cardinal feasts of the Jewish\nyear, namely, the passover, Pentecost, and tabernacles; or,\nredemption, the Holy Ghost, and the glory. We have here a more\ncondensed view of those lovely institutions than that given in\nLeviticus xxiii, where we have, if we count the Sabbath, eight feasts;\nbut if we view the Sabbath as distinct, and having its own special\nplace as the type of God's own eternal rest, then there are seven\nfeasts, namely, the passover, the feast of unleavened bread, the feast\nof first-fruits, Pentecost, trumpets, the day of atonement, and\ntabernacles.\n\nSuch is the order of feasts in the book of Leviticus, which, as we\nhave ventured to remark in our studies on that most marvelous book,\nmay be called \"_The priest's_ guide-book.\" But in Deuteronomy, which\nis pre-eminently _the people's_ book, we have less of ceremonial\ndetail, and the lawgiver confines himself to those great moral and\nnational landmarks which, in the very simplest manner, as adapted to\nthe people, present the past, the present, and the future.\n\n\"Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover unto the Lord thy\nGod; for in the month of Abib the Lord thy God brought thee forth out\nof Egypt by night. Thou shalt therefore sacrifice the passover unto\nthe Lord thy God, of the flock and the herd, _in the place which the\nLord shall choose to place His name there_. Thou shalt eat no leavened\nbread with it; seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith,\neven _the bread of affliction_; for thou camest forth out of the land\nof Egypt in haste: that thou mayest remember the day when thou camest\nforth out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life. And there\nshall be no leavened bread seen with thee in all thy coasts seven\ndays; neither shall there any thing of the flesh, which thou\nsacrificedst the first day at even, remain all night until the\nmorning. Thou mayest not sacrifice the passover within any of thy\ngates which the Lord thy God giveth thee\"--as if it were a matter of\nno importance where, provided the feast were kept--\"_but at the place\nwhich the Lord thy God shall choose to place His name in, there_ [and\nno where else,] thou shalt sacrifice the passover at even, at the\ngoing down of the sun, at the season that thou camest forth out of\nEgypt. And thou shalt roast and eat it _in the place which the Lord\nthy God shall choose_; and thou shalt turn in the morning, and go unto\nthy tents. Six days thou shalt eat unleavened bread; and on the\nseventh day shall be a solemn assembly to the Lord thy God; thou shalt\ndo no work therein.\" (Ver. 1-8.)\n\nHaving, in our \"Notes on Exodus,\" gone somewhat fully into the great\nleading principles of this foundation-feast, we must refer the reader\nto that volume if he desires to study the subject. But there are\ncertain features peculiar to Deuteronomy to which we feel it our duty\nto call his special attention; and, in the first place, we have to\nnotice the remarkable emphasis laid upon \"the place\" where the feast\nwas to be kept. This is full of interest and practical moment. The\npeople were not to choose for themselves. It might, according to human\nthinking, appear a very small matter how or where the feast was kept,\nprovided it was kept at all. But, be it carefully noted and deeply\npondered by the reader, human thinking had nothing whatever to do in\nthe matter; it was divine thinking and divine authority altogether.\nGod had a right to prescribe and definitively settle where He would\nmeet His people; and this He does in the most distinct and emphatic\nmanner, in the above passage, where, three times over, He inserts the\nweighty clause, \"In the place which the Lord thy God shall choose.\"\n\nIs this vain repetition? Let no one dare to think, much less to assert\nit. It is most necessary emphasis. Why most necessary? Because of our\nignorance, our indifference, and our willfulness. God, in His infinite\ngoodness, takes special pains to impress upon the heart, the\nconscience, and the understanding of His people that He would have one\nplace in particular where the memorable and most significant feast of\nthe passover was to be kept.\n\nAnd be it remarked that it is only in Deuteronomy that the _place_ of\ncelebration is insisted upon. We have nothing about it in Exodus,\nbecause there it was kept _in Egypt_; we have nothing about it in\nNumbers, because there it was kept _in the wilderness_; but in\nDeuteronomy it is authoritatively and definitively settled, because\nthere we have the instructions for _the land_. Another striking proof\nthat Deuteronomy is very far indeed from being a barren repetition of\nits predecessors.\n\nThe all-important point in reference to \"the place,\" so prominently\nand so peremptorily insisted upon in all the three great solemnities\nrecorded in our chapter, is this: God would gather His beloved people\naround Himself, that they might feast together in His presence, that\nHe might rejoice in them and they in Him and in one another. All this\ncould only be in the one special place of divine appointment. All who\ndesired to meet Jehovah and to meet His people--all who desired\nworship and communion according to God, would thankfully betake\nthemselves to the divinely appointed centre. Self-will might say, Can\nwe not keep the feast in the bosom of our families? What need is there\nof a long journey? Surely if the heart is right, it cannot matter much\nas to the place. To all this we reply that the clearest, finest, and\nbest proof of the heart being right would be found in the simple,\nearnest desire to do the will of God. It was quite sufficient for\nevery one who loved and feared God that He had appointed a place where\nHe would meet His people; there they would be found, and no where\nelse. His presence it was that could alone impart joy, comfort,\nstrength, and blessing to all their great national reunions. It was\nnot the mere fact of a large number of people gathering together,\nthree times a year, to feast and rejoice together; this might minister\nto human pride, self-complacency, and excitement. But to flock\ntogether to meet Jehovah, to assemble in His blessed presence, to own\nthe place where He had recorded His Name, this would be the deep joy\nof every truly loyal heart throughout the twelve tribes of Israel. For\nany one _willfully_ to abide at home, or to go any where else than to\nthe one divinely appointed place, would not only be to neglect and\ninsult Jehovah, but actually to rebel against His supreme authority.\n\nAnd now, having briefly spoken of the _place_, we may, for a moment,\nglance at the _mode_ of celebration. This, too, is, as we might\nexpect, quite characteristic of our book. The leading feature here is\n\"the unleavened bread.\" But the reader will specially note the\ninteresting fact that this bread is styled \"_The bread of\naffliction_.\" Now, what is the meaning of this? We all understand that\nunleavened bread is the type of that holiness of heart and life so\nabsolutely essential to the enjoyment of true communion with God. We\nare not saved _by_ personal holiness, but, thank God, we are saved\n_to_ it. It is not the ground of our salvation, but it is an essential\nelement in our communion. _Allowed leaven is the death-blow to\ncommunion and worship._\n\nWe must never, for one moment, lose sight of this great cardinal\nprinciple in that life of personal holiness and practical godliness\nwhich, as redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, we are called, bound, and\nprivileged to live from day to day, in the midst of the scenes and\ncircumstances through which we are journeying home to our eternal rest\nin the heavens. To speak of communion and worship while living in\nknown sin is the melancholy proof that we know nothing of either the\none or the other. In order to enjoy communion with God or the\ncommunion of saints, and in order to worship God in spirit and in\ntruth, we must be living a life of personal holiness, a life of\nseparation from all known evil. To take our place in the assembly of\nGod's people, and appear to take part in the holy fellowship and\nworship pertaining thereto, while living in secret sin, or allowing\nevil in others, is to defile the assembly, grieve the Holy Ghost, sin\nagainst Christ, and bring down upon us the judgment of God, who is\n_now_ judging His house and chastening His children in order that they\nmay not ultimately be condemned with the world.\n\nAll this is most solemn, and calls for the earnest attention of all\nwho really desire to walk with God and serve Him with reverence and\ngodly fear. It is one thing to have the doctrine of the type in the\nregion of our understanding, and another thing altogether to have its\ngreat moral lesson engraved on the heart and worked out in the life.\nMay all who profess to have the blood of the Lamb sprinkled on their\nconscience seek to keep the feast of unleavened bread. \"Know ye not\nthat a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore\nthe old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For\neven Christ our passover is sacrificed for us; therefore let us keep\nthe feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and\nwickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.\" (1\nCor. v. 6-8.)\n\nBut what are we to understand by \"the bread of affliction\"? Should we\nnot rather look for joy, praise, and triumph in connection with a\nfeast in memory of deliverance from Egyptian bondage and misery? No\ndoubt there is very deep and real joy, thankfulness, and praise in\nrealizing the blessed truth of our full deliverance from our former\ncondition, with all its accompaniments and all its consequences; but\nit is very plain that these were not the prominent features of the\npaschal feast--indeed, they are not even named. We have \"the bread of\naffliction,\" but not a word about joy, praise, or triumph.\n\nNow, why is this? what great moral lesson is conveyed to our hearts by\nthe bread of affliction? We believe it sets before us those deep\nexercises of heart which the Holy Ghost produces by bringing\npowerfully before us what it cost our adorable Lord and Saviour to\ndeliver us from our sins and from the judgment which those sins\ndeserved. Those exercises are also typified by the \"bitter herbs\" of\nExodus xii, and they are illustrated again and again in the history of\nGod's people of old, who were led, under the powerful action of the\nWord and Spirit of God, to chasten themselves and \"afflict their\nsouls\" in the divine presence.\n\nAnd be it remembered that there is not a tinge of the legal element or\nof unbelief in these holy exercises--far from it. When an Israelite\npartook of the bread of affliction, with the roasted flesh of the\npassover, did it express a doubt or a fear as to his full deliverance?\nImpossible! How could it? He was in the land; he was gathered to God's\nown centre--His own very presence. How could he, then, doubt his full\nand final deliverance from the land of Egypt? The thought is simply\nabsurd.\n\nBut although he had no doubts or fears as to his deliverance, yet had\nhe to eat the bread of affliction; it was an essential element in his\npaschal feast, \"For thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt _in\nhaste_, that thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth out\nof the land of Egypt _all the days of thy life_.\"\n\nThis was very deep and real work. They were never to forget their\nexodus out of Egypt, but to keep up the remembrance of it, in the\npromised land, throughout all generations. They were to commemorate\ntheir deliverance by a feast emblematical of those holy exercises\nwhich ever characterize true, practical, Christian piety.\n\nWe would very earnestly commend to the serious attention of the\nChristian reader the whole line of truth indicated by \"the bread of\naffliction.\" We believe it is much needed by those who profess great\nfamiliarity with what are called the doctrines of grace. There is\nvery great danger, especially to young professors, while seeking to\navoid legality and bondage, of running into the opposite extreme of\nlevity--a most terrible snare. Aged and experienced Christians are not\nso liable to fall into this sad evil; it is the young amongst us who\nso need to be most solemnly warned against it. They hear, it may be, a\ngreat deal about salvation by grace, justification by faith,\ndeliverance from the law, and all the peculiar privileges of the\nChristian position.\n\nNow, we need hardly say that all these are of cardinal importance; and\nit would be utterly impossible for any one to hear too much about\nthem. Would they were more spoken about, written about, and preached\nabout! Thousands of the Lord's beloved people spend all their days in\ndarkness, doubt, and legal bondage, through ignorance of those great\nfoundation-truths.\n\nBut while all this is perfectly true, there are, on the other hand,\nmany--alas! too many--who have a merely intellectual familiarity with\nthe principles of grace, but (if we are to judge from their habits and\nmanners, their style and deportment--the only way we have of judging)\nwho know but little of the sanctifying power of those great\nprinciples--their power in the heart and in the life.\n\nNow, to speak according to the teaching of the paschal feast, it would\nnot have been according to the mind of God for any one to attempt to\nkeep that feast without the unleavened bread, even the bread of\naffliction. Such a thing would not have been tolerated in Israel of\nold. It was an absolutely essential ingredient. And so, we may rest\nassured, it is an integral part of that feast which we, as Christians,\nare exhorted to keep, to cultivate personal holiness and that\ncondition of soul which is so aptly expressed by the \"bitter herbs\" of\nExodus xii. or the Deuteronomic ingredient--\"the bread of affliction,\"\nwhich latter would seem to be the permanent figure for the land.\n\nIn a word, then, we believe there is a deep and urgent need amongst us\nof those spiritual feelings and affections, those profound exercises\nof soul, which the Holy Ghost would produce by unfolding to our hearts\nthe sufferings of Christ--what it cost Him to put our sins away--what\nHe endured for us when passing under the billows and waves of God's\nrighteous wrath against our sins. We are sadly lacking--if one may be\npermitted to speak for others--in that deep contrition of heart which\nflows from spiritual occupation with the sufferings and death of our\nprecious Saviour. It is one thing to have the blood of Christ\nsprinkled on the conscience, and another thing to have the death of\nChrist brought home, in a spiritual way, to the heart, and the cross\nof Christ applied, in a practical way, to our whole course and\ncharacter.\n\nHow is it that we can so lightly commit sin, in thought, word, and\ndeed? how is it that there is so much levity, so much unsubduedness,\nso much self-indulgence, so much carnal ease, so much that is merely\nfrothy and superficial? Is it not because that ingredient typified by\n\"the bread of affliction\" is lacking in our feast? We cannot doubt it.\nWe fear there is a very deplorable lack of depth and seriousness in\nour Christianity. There is too much flippant discussion of the\nprofound mysteries of the Christian faith, too much head-knowledge\nwithout the inward power.\n\nAll this demands the serious attention of the reader. We cannot shake\noff the impression that not a little of this melancholy condition of\nthings is but too justly traceable to a certain style of preaching the\ngospel, adopted, no doubt, with the very best intentions, but none the\nless pernicious in its moral effects. It is all right to preach a\nsimple gospel. It cannot, by any possibility, be put more simply than\nGod the Holy Ghost has given it to us in Scripture.\n\nAll this is fully admitted; but, at the same time, we are persuaded\nthere is a very serious defect in the preaching of which we speak.\nThere is a want of spiritual depth, a lack of holy seriousness. In the\neffort to counteract legality, there is that which tends to levity.\nNow, while legality is a great evil, levity is much greater. We must\nguard against both. We believe grace is the remedy for the former,\ntruth for the latter; but spiritual wisdom is needed to enable us\nrightly to adjust and apply these two. If we find a soul deeply\nexercised under the powerful action of truth, thoroughly plowed up by\nthe mighty ministry of the Holy Ghost, we should pour in the deep\nconsolation of the pure and precious grace of God, as set forth in\nthe divinely efficacious sacrifice of Christ. This is the divine\nremedy for a broken heart, a contrite spirit, a convicted conscience.\nWhen the deep furrow has been made by the spiritual plowshare, we have\nonly to cast in the incorruptible seed of the gospel of God, in the\nassurance that it will take root, and bring forth fruit in due season.\n\nBut, on the other hand, if we find a person going on in a light, airy,\nunbroken condition, using very high-flown language about grace,\ntalking loudly against legality, and seeking, in a merely human way,\nto set forth an easy way of being saved, we consider this to be a case\ncalling for a very solemn application of _truth_ to the heart and\nconscience.\n\nNow, we greatly fear there is a vast amount of this last named element\nabroad in the professing church. To speak according to the language of\nour type, there is a tendency to separate the passover from the feast\nof unleavened bread--to rest in the fact of being delivered from\njudgment and forget the _roasted_ lamb, the bread of _holiness_, and\nthe bread of _affliction_. In reality, they never can be separated,\ninasmuch as God has bound them together; and hence we do not believe\nthat any soul can be really in the enjoyment of the precious truth\nthat \"Christ our passover is sacrificed for us,\" who is not seeking to\n\"keep the feast.\" When the Holy Spirit unfolds to our hearts something\nof the deep blessedness, preciousness, and efficacy of the death of\nour Lord Jesus Christ, He leads us to meditate upon the soul-subduing\nmystery of His sufferings--to ponder in our hearts all that He passed\nthrough for us, all that it cost Him to save us from the eternal\nconsequences of that which we, alas! so often lightly commit.\n\nNow, this is very deep and holy work, and leads the soul into those\nexercises which correspond with \"the bread of affliction\" in the feast\nof unleavened bread. There is a wide difference between the feelings\nproduced by dwelling upon our sins and those which flow from dwelling\nupon the sufferings of Christ to put those sins away.\n\nTrue, we can never forget our sins, never forget the hole of the pit\nfrom whence we were digged; but it is one thing to dwell upon the pit,\nand another and a deeper thing altogether to dwell upon the grace that\ndigged us out of it, and what it cost our precious Saviour to do it.\nIt is this latter we so much need to keep continually in the\nremembrance of the thoughts of our hearts. We are so terribly\nvolatile, so ready to forget.\n\nWe need to look very earnestly to God to enable us to enter more\ndeeply and practically into the sufferings of Christ, and into the\napplication of the cross to all that in us which is contrary to Him.\nThis will impart depth of tone, tenderness of spirit, an intense\nbreathing after holiness of heart and life, practical separation from\nthe world, in its every phase, a holy subduedness, jealous\nwatchfulness over ourselves, our thoughts, our words, our ways, our\nwhole deportment in daily life. In a word, it would lead to a totally\ndifferent type of Christianity from what we see around us, and what,\nalas! we exhibit in our own personal history. May the Spirit of God\ngraciously unfold to our hearts, by His own direct and powerful\nministry, more and more of what is meant by \"the _roasted_ lamb,\" the\n\"_unleavened_ bread,\" and \"the bread of _affliction_.\"[15]\n\n [15] For further remarks on the passover and the feast of unleavened\n bread, the reader is referred to Exodus xii. and Numbers ix. Specially\n in the latter--the connection between the passover and the Lord's\n supper. This is a point of deepest interest and immense practical\n importance. The passover looked forward to the death of Christ; the\n Lord's supper looks back to it. What the former was to a faithful\n Israelite, the latter is to the Church. If this were more fully seen,\n it would greatly tend to meet the prevailing laxity, indifference, and\n error as to the table and supper of the Lord.\n\n To any one who lives habitually in the holy atmosphere of Scripture,\n it must seem strange indeed to mark the confusion of thought and the\n diversity of practice in reference to a subject so very important, and\n one so simply and clearly presented in the Word of God.\n\n It can hardly be called in question, by any one who bows to Scripture,\n that the apostles and the early Church assembled on the first day of\n the week to break bread. There is not a shadow of warrant in the New\n Testament for confining that most precious ordinance to once a month,\n once a quarter, or once in six months. This can only be viewed as a\n human interference with a divine institution. We are aware that much\n is sought to be made of the words, \"As oft as ye do it;\" but we do not\n see how any argument based on this clause can stand for a moment in\n the face of apostolic precedent in Acts xx. 7. The first day of the\n week is unquestionably the day for the Church to celebrate the Lord's\n supper.\n\n Does the Christian reader admit this? If so, does he act upon it? It\n is a serious thing to neglect a special ordinance of Christ, and one\n appointed by Him the same night in which He was betrayed, under\n circumstances so deeply affecting. Surely, all who love the Lord Jesus\n Christ in sincerity would desire to remember Him in this special way,\n according to His own word--\"This do in remembrance of Me.\" Can we\n understand any true lover of Christ living in the habitual neglect of\n this precious memorial? If an Israelite of old neglected the passover,\n he would have been \"cut off.\" But this was law, and we are under\n grace. True; but is that a reason for neglecting our Lord's\n commandment?\n\n We would commend this subject to the reader's careful attention. There\n is much more involved in it than most of us are aware. We believe the\n entire history of the Lord's supper for the last eighteen centuries is\n full of interest and instruction. We may see in the way in which the\n Lord's table has been treated a striking moral index of the Church's\n real condition. In proportion as the Church departed from Christ and\n His Word did she neglect and pervert the precious institution of the\n Lord's supper; and on the other hand, just as the Spirit of God\n wrought, at any time, with special power in the Church, the Lord's\n supper has found its true place in the hearts of His people.\n\n But we cannot pursue this subject further in a foot-note; we have\n ventured to suggest it to the reader, and we trust he may be led to\n follow it up for himself. We believe he will find it a most profitable\n and suggestive study.\n\nWe shall now briefly consider the feast of Pentecost, which stands\nnext in order to the passover. \"Seven weeks shalt thou number unto\nthee; begin to number the seven weeks from such time as thou beginnest\nto put the sickle to the corn. And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks\nunto the Lord thy God with a tribute of a free-will offering of thine\nhand, which thou shalt give unto the Lord thy God, according as the\nLord thy God hath blessed thee; and thou shalt rejoice before the Lord\nthy God, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and\nthy maid-servant, and the Levite that is within thy gates, and the\nstranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are among you, _in\nthe place which the Lord thy God hath chosen to place His name there_.\nAnd thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt; and thou\nshalt observe and do these statutes.\" (Ver. 9-12.)\n\nHere we have the well-known and beautiful type of the day of\nPentecost. The passover sets forth the death of Christ; the sheaf of\nfirst-fruits is the striking figure of a risen Christ; and in the\nfeast of weeks, we have prefigured before us the descent of the Holy\nGhost, fifty days after the resurrection.\n\nWe speak, of course, of what these feasts convey to us, according to\nthe mind of God, irrespective altogether of the question of Israel's\napprehension of their meaning. It is our privilege to look at all\nthese typical institutions in the light of the New Testament; and when\nwe so view them, we are filled with wonder and delight at the divine\nperfectness, beauty, and order of all those marvelous types.\n\nAnd not only so, but--what is of immense value to us--we see how the\nscriptures of the New Testament dovetail, as it were, into those of\nthe Old; we see the lovely unity of the divine Volume, and how\nmanifestly it is one Spirit that breathes through the whole, from\nbeginning to end. In this way we are inwardly strengthened in our\napprehension of the precious truth of the divine inspiration of the\nholy Scriptures, and our hearts are fortified against all the\nblasphemous attacks of infidel writers. Our souls are conducted to the\ntop of the mountain where the moral glories of the Volume shine upon\nus in all their heavenly lustre, and from whence we can look down and\nsee the clouds and chilling mists of infidel thought rolling beneath\nus. These clouds and mists cannot affect us, inasmuch as they are far\naway below the level on which, through infinite grace, we stand.\nInfidel writers know absolutely nothing of the moral glories of\nScripture; but one thing is awfully certain, namely, that one moment\nin eternity will completely revolutionize the thoughts of all the\ninfidels and atheists that have ever raved or written against the\nBible and its Author.\n\nNow, in looking at the deeply interesting feast of weeks, or\nPentecost, we are at once struck with the difference between it and\nthe feast of unleavened bread. In the first place, we read of \"a\nfree-will offering.\" Here we have a figure of the Church, formed by\nthe Holy Ghost and presented to God as \"a kind of first-fruits of His\ncreatures.\"\n\nWe have dwelt upon this feature of the type in the \"Notes on\nLeviticus,\" chapter xxiii, and shall not therefore enter upon it here,\nbut confine ourselves to what is purely Deuteronomic. The people were\nto present a tribute of a free-will offering of their hand, according\nas the Lord their God had blessed them. There was nothing like this at\nthe passover, because that sets forth Christ offering Himself for us,\nas a sacrifice, and not our offering any thing. We remember our\ndeliverance from sin and Satan, and what that deliverance cost; we\nmeditate upon the deep and varied sufferings of our precious Saviour\nas prefigured by the roasted lamb; we remember that it was our sins\nthat were laid upon Him. He was bruised for our iniquities--judged in\nour stead, and this leads to deep and hearty contrition, or, what we\nmay call true Christian repentance. For we must never forget that\nrepentance is not a mere transient emotion of a sinner when his eyes\nare first opened, but an abiding moral condition of the Christian, in\nview of the cross and passion of our Lord Jesus Christ. If this were\nbetter understood and more fully entered into, it would impart a depth\nand solidity to the Christian life and character in which the great\nmajority of us are lamentably deficient.\n\nBut in the feast of Pentecost, we have before us the power of the Holy\nGhost, and the varied effects of His blessed presence in us and with\nus. He enables us to present our bodies and all that we have as a\nfree-will offering unto our God, according as He hath blessed us.\nThis, we need hardly say, can only be done by the power of the Holy\nGhost; and hence the striking type of it is presented, not in the\npassover, which prefigures the death of Christ; not in the feast of\nunleavened bread, which sets forth the moral effect of that death upon\nus, in repentance, self-judgment, and practical holiness; but in\nPentecost, which is the acknowledged type of the precious gift of the\nHoly Ghost.\n\nNow, it is the Spirit who enables us to enter into the claims of God\nupon us--claims which are to be measured only by the extent of the\ndivine blessing. He gives us to see and understand that all we are and\nall we have belong to God. He gives us to delight in consecrating\nourselves--spirit, soul, and body--to God. It is truly \"a free-will\noffering.\" It is not of constraint, but willingly. There is not an\natom of bondage, for \"where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is\nliberty.\"\n\nIn short, we have here the lovely spirit and moral character of the\nentire Christian life and service. A soul under law cannot understand\nthe force and beauty of this. Souls under the law never received the\nSpirit. The two things are wholly incompatible. Thus the apostle says\nto the poor misguided assemblies of Galatia, \"This only would I learn\nof you, Received ye the Spirit by works of law, or by the hearing of\nfaith?... He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh\nmiracles among you, doeth He it by works of law, or by the hearing of\nfaith?\" The precious gift of the Spirit is consequent upon the death,\nresurrection, ascension, and glorification of our adorable Lord and\nSaviour Jesus Christ, and consequently can have nothing whatever to do\nwith \"works of law\" in any shape or form. The presence of the Holy\nGhost on earth, His dwelling with and in all true believers, is a\ngrand characteristic truth of Christianity. It was not, and could not\nbe, known in Old-Testament times. It was not even known by the\ndisciples in our Lord's lifetime. He Himself said to them, on the eve\nof His departure, \"Nevertheless, I tell you the truth; it is expedient\n[or profitable--\u03c3\u03c5\u03bc\u03c6\u03ad\u03c1\u03b5\u03b9] for you that I go away; for if I\ngo not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I\nwill send Him unto you.\" (John xvi. 7.)\n\nThis proves, in the most conclusive manner, that even the very men who\nenjoyed the high and precious privilege of personal companionship with\nthe Lord Himself were to be put in an advanced position by His going\naway and the coming of the Comforter. Again, we read, \"If ye love Me,\nkeep My commandments; and I will pray the Father, and He shall give\nyou another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever; even the\nSpirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him\nnot, neither knoweth Him; but ye know Him, for He dwelleth with you\nand shall be in you.\"\n\nWe cannot, however, attempt to go elaborately into this immense\nsubject here; our space does not admit of it, much as we should\ndelight in it. We must confine ourselves to one or two points\nsuggested by the feast of weeks, as presented in our chapter.\n\nWe have referred to the very interesting fact that the Spirit of God\nis the living spring and power of the life of personal devotedness and\nconsecration beautifully prefigured by \"the tribute of a free-will\noffering.\" The sacrifice of Christ is the ground, the presence of the\nHoly Ghost is the power, of the Christian's dedication of\nhimself--spirit, soul, and body--to God. \"I beseech you therefore,\nbrethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living\nsacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable\nservice.\" (Rom. xii. 1.)\n\nBut there is another point of deepest interest presented in verse 11\nof our chapter,--\"And thou shalt _rejoice_ before the Lord thy God.\"\nWe have no such word in the paschal feast, or in the feast of\nunleavened bread. It would not be in moral keeping with either of\nthese solemnities. True it is, the passover lies at the very\nfoundation of all the joy we can or ever shall realize here or\nhereafter; but we must ever think of the death of Christ, His\nsufferings, His sorrows--all that He passed through when the waves and\nbillows of God's righteous wrath passed over His soul. It is upon\nthese profound mysteries that our hearts are, or ought to be, mainly\nfixed when we surround the Lord's table and keep that feast by which\nwe show the Lord's death until He come.\n\nNow, it is plain to the spiritual and thoughtful reader that the\nfeelings proper to such a holy and solemn institution are not of a\njubilant character. We certainly can and do rejoice that the sorrows\nand sufferings of our blessed Lord are over, and over forever--that\nthose terrible hours are passed, never to return; but what we recall\nin the feast is not simply their being over, but their being gone\nthrough, and that for us. \"Ye do show the Lord's death;\" and we know\nthat whatever may accrue to us from that precious death, yet when we\nare called to meditate upon it, our joy is chastened by those profound\nexercises of soul which the Holy Spirit produces by unfolding to us\nthe sorrows, the sufferings, the cross, and passion of our blessed\nSaviour. Our Lord's words are, \"This do in remembrance of _Me_;\" but\nwhat we especially _remember_ in the supper is, Christ suffering and\ndying for us; what we _show_, is His death; and with these solemn\nrealities before our souls, in the power of the Holy Ghost, there\nwill, there must be, holy subduedness and seriousness.\n\nWe speak, of course, of what becomes the immediate occasion of the\ncelebration of the supper--the suited feelings and affections of such\na moment. But these must be produced by the powerful ministry of the\nHoly Ghost. It can be of no possible use to seek, by any pious efforts\nof our own, to work ourselves up to a suitable state of mind. This\nwould be ascending by steps to the altar, a thing most offensive to\nGod. It is only by the Holy Spirit's ministry that we can worthily\ncelebrate the holy supper of the Lord. He alone can enable us to put\naway all levity, all formality, all mere routine, all wandering\nthoughts, and to discern the body and blood of the Lord in those\nmemorials which, by His own appointment, are laid on His table.\n\nBut in the feast of Pentecost, rejoicing was a prominent feature. We\nhear nothing of \"bitter herbs\" or \"bread of affliction\" on this\noccasion, because it is the type of the coming of the other\nComforter--the descent of the Holy Ghost, proceeding from the Father,\nand sent down by the risen, ascended, and glorified Head in the\nheavens, to fill the hearts of His people with praise, thanksgiving,\nand triumphant joy--yea, to lead them into full and blessed fellowship\nwith their glorified Head, in His triumph over sin, death, hell,\nSatan, and all the powers of darkness. The Spirit's presence is\nconnected with liberty, light, power, and joy. Thus we read, \"The\ndisciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Ghost.\" Doubts,\nfears, and legal bondage flee away before the precious ministry of the\nHoly Ghost.\n\nBut we must distinguish between His work and His indwelling--His\nquickening and His sealing. The very first dawn of conviction in the\nsoul is the fruit of the Spirit's work. It is His blessed operation\nthat leads to all true repentance, and this is not joyful work. It is\nvery good, very needful, absolutely essential; but it is not joy--nay,\nit is deep sorrow. But when, through grace, we are enabled to believe\nin a risen and glorified Saviour, then the Holy Ghost comes and takes\nup His abode in us, as the seal of our acceptance and the earnest of\nour inheritance.\n\nNow, this fills us with joy unspeakable and full of glory; and being\nthus filled ourselves, we become channels of blessing to others. \"He\nthat believeth on Me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly\nshall flow rivers of living water. But this spake He of the Spirit,\nwhich they that believe on Him should receive; for the Holy Ghost was\nnot yet, because that Jesus was not yet glorified.\" The Spirit is the\nspring of power and joy in the heart of the believer. He fits, fills,\nand uses us as His vessels in ministering to poor thirsty, needy souls\naround us. He links us with the Man in the glory, maintains us in\nliving communion with Him, and enables us to be, in our feeble\nmeasure, the expression of what He is. Every movement of the Christian\nshould be redolent with the fragrance of Christ. For one who professes\nto be a Christian to exhibit unholy tempers, selfish ways, a grasping,\ncovetous, worldly spirit, envy and jealousy, pride and ambition, is to\nbelie his profession, dishonor the holy name of Christ, and bring\nreproach upon that glorious Christianity which he professes, and of\nwhich we have the lovely type in the feast of weeks--a feast\npre-eminently characterized by a joy which had its source in the\ngoodness of God, and which flowed out far and wide, and embraced in\nits hallowed circle every object of need. \"Thou shalt rejoice before\nthe Lord thy God, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy\nman-servant, and thy maid-servant, and _the Levite_ that is within thy\ngates, and _the stranger_, and _the fatherless_, and _the widow_, that\nare among you.\"\n\nHow lovely! how perfectly beautiful! Oh that its antitype were more\nfaithfully exhibited amongst us! Where are those streams of refreshing\nwhich ought to flow from the Church of God? where those unblotted\nepistles of Christ known and read of all men? where can we see a\npractical exhibition of Christ in the ways of His people--something to\nwhich we could point and say, There is true Christianity? Oh, may the\nSpirit of God stir up our hearts to a more intense desire after\nconformity to the image of Christ, in all things! May He clothe with\nHis own mighty power the Word of God, which we have in our hands and\nin our homes, that it may speak to our hearts and consciences, and\nlead us to judge ourselves, our ways, and our associations by its\nheavenly light, so that there may be a thoroughly devoted band of\nwitnesses gathered out to His name, to wait for His appearing. Will\nthe reader join us in asking for this?\n\nWe shall now turn for a moment to the lovely institution of the feast\nof tabernacles, which gives such remarkable completeness to the range\nof truth presented in our chapter.\n\n\"Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles seven days, after that\nthou hast gathered in thy corn and thy wine; and thou shalt rejoice in\nthy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant,\nand thy maid-servant, and the Levite, the stranger, and the\nfatherless, and the widow, that are within thy gates. Seven days shalt\nthou keep a solemn feast unto the Lord thy God _in the place which the\nLord_ shall choose; because the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all\nthine increase, and in all the works of thine hands, therefore thou\nshalt surely rejoice. Three times in a year shall all thy males appear\nbefore the Lord thy God _in the place which He shall choose_; in the\nfeast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast\nof tabernacles; and they shall not appear before the Lord empty; every\nman shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord\nthy God which He hath given thee.\" (Ver. 13-17.)\n\nHere, then, we have the striking and beautiful type of Israel's\nfuture. The feast of tabernacles has not yet had its antitype. The\npassover and Pentecost have had their fulfillment in the precious\ndeath of Christ and the descent of the Holy Ghost, but the third great\nsolemnity points forward to the times of the restitution of all\nthings, which God has spoken of by the mouth of all His holy prophets\nwhich have been since the world began.\n\nAnd let the reader note particularly the time of the celebration of\nthis feast. It was to be \"after thou hast gathered in thy corn and thy\nwine;\" in other words, it was after the harvest and the vintage. Now,\nthere is a very marked distinction between these two things. The one\nspeaks of grace, the other of judgment. At the end of the age, God\nwill gather His wheat into His garner, and then will come the treading\nof the wine-press, in awful judgment.\n\nWe have in the fourteenth chapter of the book of Revelation a very\nsolemn passage bearing upon the subject now before us. \"And I looked,\nand behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son\nof Man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp\nsickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud\nvoice to him that sat on the cloud, 'Thrust in thy sickle, and reap;\nfor the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is\nripe.' And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth,\nand the earth was reaped.\"\n\nHere we have the harvest; and then \"another angel came out of the\ntemple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And another\nangel came out from the altar, which had power over fire\"--the emblem\nof judgment--\"and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp\nsickle, saying, 'Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters\nof the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe.' And the\nangel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of\nthe earth, and cast it into the great wine-press of the wrath of God.\nAnd the wine-press was trodden without the city, and blood came out of\nthe wine-press, even unto the horse-bridles, by the space of a\nthousand and six hundred furlongs\"--equal to the whole length of the\nland of Palestine!\n\nNow, these apocalyptic figures set before us, in their own\ncharacteristic way, scenes which must be enacted previous to the\ncelebration of the feast of tabernacles. Christ will gather His wheat\ninto His heavenly garner, and after that He will come in crushing\njudgment upon christendom. Thus, every section of the volume of\ninspiration--Moses, the Psalms, the Prophets, the Gospels (or the acts\nof Christ), the Acts of the Holy Ghost, the Epistles, and\nApocalypse--all go to establish, unanswerably, the fact that the world\nwill not be converted by the gospel, that things are not improving,\nand will not improve, but grow worse and worse. That glorious time\nprefigured by the feast of tabernacles _must_ be preceeded by the\nvintage, the treading of the wine-press of the wrath of almighty God.\n\nWhy, then, we may well ask, in the face of such an overwhelming body\nof divine evidence, furnished by every section of the inspired canon,\nwill men persist in cherishing the delusive hope of a world converted\nby the gospel? What mean \"gathered wheat and a trodden wine-press\"?\nAssuredly, they do not and cannot mean a converted world.\n\nWe shall perhaps be told that we cannot build any thing upon Mosaic\ntypes and apocalyptic symbols. Perhaps not, if we had but types and\nsymbols; but when the accumulated rays of Inspiration's heavenly lamp\nconverge upon these types and symbols and unfold their deep meaning to\nour souls, we find them in perfect harmony with the voices of prophets\nand apostles, and the living teachings of our Lord Himself. In a word,\nall speak the same language, all teach the same lesson, all bear the\nsame unequivocal testimony to the solemn truth that at the end of this\nage, instead of a converted world, prepared for a spiritual\nmillennium, there will be a vine covered and borne down with terrible\nclusters, fully ripe for the wine-press of the wrath of almighty God.\n\nOh, may the men and women of christendom, and the teachers thereof,\napply their hearts to these solemn realities! May these things sink\ndown into their ears, and into the very depths of their souls, so that\nthey may fling to the winds their fondly cherished delusion, and\naccept instead the plainly revealed and clearly established truth of\nGod!\n\nBut we must draw this section to a close; and ere doing so, we would\nremind the Christian reader that we are called to exhibit in our daily\nlife the blessed influence of all those great truths presented to us\nin the three interesting types on which we have been meditating.\nChristianity is characterized by those three great formative\nfacts--redemption, the presence of the Holy Ghost, and the hope of\nglory. The Christian is redeemed by the precious blood of Christ,\nsealed by the Holy Ghost, and he is looking for the Saviour.\n\nYes, beloved reader, these are solid facts, divine realities, great\nformative truths. They are not mere principles or opinions, but they\nare designed to be a living power in our souls, and to shine in our\nlives. See how thoroughly practical were these solemnities on which we\nhave been dwelling; mark what a tide of praise and thanksgiving and\njoy and blessing and active benevolence flowed from the assembly of\nIsrael when gathered around Jehovah in the place which He had chosen.\nPraise and thanksgiving ascended to God, and the blessed streams of a\nlarge-hearted benevolence flowed forth to every object of need. \"Three\ntimes in a year shall all thy males appear before the Lord thy God....\n_And they shall not appear before the Lord empty; every man shall give\nas he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord thy God which He\nhath given thee._\"\n\nLovely words! They were not to come empty into the Lord's presence;\nthey were to come with the heart full of praise, and the hands full of\nthe fruits of divine goodness to gladden the hearts of the Lord's\nworkmen and the Lord's poor. All this was perfectly beautiful. Jehovah\nwould gather His people around Himself, to fill them to overflowing\nwith joy and praise, and to make them His channels of blessing to\nothers. They were not to remain under their vine and under their\nfig-tree, and there congratulate themselves upon the rich and varied\nmercies which surrounded them. This might be all right and good in\nits place, but it would not have fully met the mind and heart of God.\nNo; three times in the year they had to arise and betake themselves to\nthe divinely appointed meeting-place, and there raise their\nhalleluiahs to the Lord their God, and there, too, to minister\nliberally of that which He had bestowed upon them to every form of\nhuman need. God would confer upon His people the rich privilege of\nrejoicing the heart of the Levite, the stranger, the widow, and the\nfatherless. This is the work in which He Himself delights--blessed\nforever be His name--and He would share His delight with His people.\nHe would have it to be known, seen, and felt that the place where He\nmet His people was a sphere of joy and praise, and a centre from\nwhence streams of blessing were to flow forth in all directions.\n\nHas not all this a voice and a lesson for the Church of God? Does it\nnot speak home to the writer and the reader of these lines? Assuredly\nit does. May we listen to it; may it tell upon our hearts. May the\nmarvelous grace of God so act upon us that our hearts may be full of\npraise to Him, and our hands full of good works. If the mere types and\nshadows of our blessings were connected with so much thanksgiving and\nactive benevolence, how much more powerful should be the effect of the\nblessings themselves!\n\nBut ah! the question is, Are we realizing the blessings? are we making\nour own of them? are we grasping them in the power of an artless\nfaith? Here lies the secret of the whole matter. Where do we find\nprofessing Christians in the full and settled enjoyment of what the\npassover prefigured, namely, full deliverance from judgment and this\npresent evil world? Where do we find them in the full and settled\nenjoyment of their Pentecost, even the indwelling of the Holy\nGhost--the seal, the earnest, the unction, and the witness? Ask the\nvast majority of professors the plain question, \"Have you received the\nHoly Ghost?\" and see what answer you will get. What answer can the\nreader give? Can he say, Yes, thank God, _I know_ I am washed in the\nprecious blood of Christ, and sealed with the Holy Ghost? It is\ngreatly to be feared that comparatively few of the vast multitudes of\nprofessors around us know any thing of these precious things, which\nnevertheless are the chartered privileges of the very simplest member\nof the body of Christ.\n\nSo also as to the feast of tabernacles, how few understand its\nmeaning! True, it has not yet been fulfilled; but the Christian is\ncalled to live in the present power of that which it sets forth.\n\"Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things\nnot seen.\" Our life is to be governed and our character formed by the\ncombined influence of the \"grace\" in which we stand and the \"glory\"\nfor which we wait.\n\nBut if souls are not established in grace--if they do not even know\nthat their sins are forgiven--if they are taught that it is\npresumption to be sure of salvation, and that it is humility and piety\nto live in perpetual doubt and fear, and that no one can be sure of\ntheir salvation until they stand before the judgment-seat of Christ,\nhow can they possibly take Christian ground, manifest the fruits of\nChristian life, or cherish proper Christian hope? If an Israelite of\nold was in doubt as to whether he was a child of Abraham, a member of\nthe congregation of the Lord, and in the land, how could he keep the\nfeast of unleavened bread, Pentecost, or tabernacles? There would have\nbeen no sense, meaning, or value in such a thing; indeed, we may\nsafely affirm that no Israelite would have thought for a moment of any\nthing so utterly absurd.\n\nHow is it, then, that professing Christians--many of them, we cannot\ndoubt, real children of God--never seem to be able to enter upon\nproper Christian ground? They spend their days in doubt and fear,\ndarkness and uncertainty. Their religious exercises and services,\ninstead of being the outcome of life possessed and enjoyed, are\nentered upon and gone through more as a matter of legal duty, and as a\nmoral preparation for the life to come. Many truly pious souls are\nkept in this state all their days; and as to \"the blessed hope\" which\ngrace has set before us, to cheer our hearts and detach us from\npresent things, they do not enter into it or understand it. It is\nlooked upon as a mere speculation, indulged in by a few visionary\nenthusiasts here and there. They are looking forward to the day of\njudgment, instead of looking out for \"the bright and morning Star;\"\nthey are praying for the forgiveness of their sins, and asking God to\ngive them His Holy Spirit, when they ought to be rejoicing in the\nassured possession of eternal life, divine righteousness, and the\nSpirit of adoption.\n\nAll this is directly opposed to the simplest and clearest teaching of\nthe New Testament; it is utterly foreign to the very genius of\nChristianity, subversive of the Christian's peace and liberty, and\ndestructive of all true and intelligent Christian worship, service,\nand testimony. It is plainly impossible that people can appear before\nthe Lord with their hearts full of praise for privileges which they do\nnot enjoy, or their hands full of the blessing which they have never\nrealized.\n\nWe call the earnest attention of all the Lord's people, throughout the\nlength and breadth of the professing church, to this weighty subject.\nWe entreat them to search the Scriptures, and see if they afford any\nwarrant for keeping souls in darkness, doubt, and bondage all their\ndays. That there are solemn warnings, searching appeals, weighty\nadmonitions, is most true, and we bless God for them,--we need them,\nand should diligently apply our hearts to them; but let the reader\ndistinctly understand that it is the sweet privilege of the very babes\nin Christ to know that their sins are all forgiven, that they are\naccepted in a risen Christ, sealed by the Holy Ghost, and heirs of\neternal glory. Such, through infinite and sovereign grace, are their\nclearly established and assured blessings--blessings to which the love\nof God makes them welcome, for which the blood of Christ makes them\nfit, and as to which the testimony of the Holy Ghost makes them sure.\n\nMay the great Shepherd and Bishop of souls lead all His beloved\npeople--the lambs and sheep of His blood-bought flock--to know, by the\nteaching of His Holy Spirit, the things that are freely given to them\nof God; and may those who do know them, in measure, know them more\nfully, and exhibit the precious fruits of them in a life of genuine\ndevotedness to Christ and His service.\n\nIt is greatly to be feared that many of us who profess to be\nacquainted with the very highest truths of the Christian faith are not\nanswering to our profession; we are not acting up to the principle set\nforth in verse 17 of our beautiful chapter,--\"_Every man_ shall give\n_as he is able_, according to the blessing of the Lord thy God which\nHe hath given thee.\" We seem to forget that although we have nothing\nto do and nothing to give for salvation, we have much that we can do\nfor the Saviour, and much that we can give to His workmen and to His\npoor. There is very great danger of pushing the do-nothing and\ngive-nothing principle too far. If in the days of our ignorance and\nlegal bondage we worked and gave upon a false principle and with a\nfalse object, we surely ought not to do less and give less now that we\nprofess to know that we are not only saved, but blessed with all\nspiritual blessings in a risen and glorified Christ. We have need to\ntake care that we are not resting in the mere intellectual perception\nand verbal profession of these great and glorious truths, while the\nheart and conscience have never felt their sacred action, nor the\nconduct and character been brought under their powerful and holy\ninfluence.\n\nWe venture, in all tenderness and love, just to offer these practical\nsuggestions to the reader for his prayerful consideration. We would\nnot wound, offend, or discourage the very feeblest lamb in all the\nflock of Christ; and further, we can assure the reader that we are not\ncasting a stone at any one, but simply writing as in the immediate\npresence of God, and sounding in the ears of the Church a note of\nwarning as to that which we deeply feel to be our common danger. We\nbelieve there is an urgent call, on all sides, to consider our ways,\nto humble ourselves before the Lord on account of our manifold\nfailures, shortcomings, and inconsistencies, and to seek grace from\nHim to be more real, more thoroughly devoted, more pronounced in our\ntestimony for Him, in this dark and evil day.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVII.\n\n\nWe must remember that the division of Scripture into chapters and\nverses is entirely a human arrangement, often very convenient, no\ndoubt, for reference; but not unfrequently it is quite unwarrantable,\nand interferes with the connection. Thus we can see at a glance that\nthe closing verses of chapter xvi. are much more connected with what\nfollows than with what goes before.\n\n\"Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which the\nLord thy God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes; and they shall judge\nthe people with just judgment. Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou\nshalt not respect persons, neither take a gift; for a gift doth blind\nthe eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous. That\nwhich is altogether just shalt thou follow, that thou mayest live and\ninherit the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.\"\n\nThese words teach us a twofold lesson; in the first place, they set\nforth the even-handed justice and perfect truth which ever\ncharacterize the government of God. Every case is dealt with according\nto its own merits and on the ground of its own facts. The judgment is\nso plain that there is not a shadow of ground for a question; all\ndissension is absolutely closed; and if any murmur is raised, the\nmurmurer is at once silenced by \"Friend, I do thee no wrong.\" This\nholds good every where, and at all times, in the holy government of\nGod, and it makes us long for the time when that government shall be\nestablished from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the\nearth.\n\nBut on the other hand, we learn, from the lines just quoted, what\nman's judgment is worth if left to himself. It cannot be trusted for a\nmoment. Man is capable of \"_wresting_ judgment,\" of \"respecting\npersons,\" of \"taking a gift,\" of attaching importance to a person\nbecause of his position and wealth. That he is capable of all this is\nevident from the fact of his being told not to do it. We must ever\nremember this. If God commands man not to steal, it is plain that man\nhas theft in his nature.\n\nHence, therefore, human judgment and human government are liable to\nthe grossest corruption. Judges and governors, if left to themselves,\nif not under the direct sway of divine principle, are capable of\nperverting justice for filthy lucre's sake--of favoring a wicked man\nbecause he is rich, and of condemning a righteous man because he is\npoor--of giving a judgment in flagrant opposition to the plainest\nfacts because of some advantage to be gained, whether in the shape of\nmoney or influence or popularity or power.\n\nTo prove this, it is not necessary to point to such men as Pilate and\nHerod and Felix and Festus; we have no need to go beyond the passage\njust quoted, in order to see what _man_ is, even when clothed in the\nrobes of official dignity, seated on the throne of government, or on\nthe bench of justice.\n\nSome, as they read these lines, may feel disposed to say, in the\nlanguage of Hazael, \"Is thy servant a dog, that he should do this\nthing?\" But let such reflect for a moment on the fact that the human\nheart is the seed-plot of every sin, and of every vile and abominable\nand contemptible wickedness that ever was committed in this world; and\nthe unanswerable proof of this is found in the enactments,\ncommandments, and prohibitions which appear on the sacred page of\ninspiration.\n\nAnd herein we have an uncommonly fine reply to the oft-repeated\nquestion, \"What have we to do with many of the laws and institutions\nset forth in the Mosaic economy? Why are such things set down in the\nBible? Can they possibly be inspired?\" Yes, they are inspired, and\nthey appear on the page of inspiration in order that we may see, as\nreflected in a divinely perfect mirror, the moral material of which we\nourselves are made--the thoughts we are capable of thinking, the words\nwe are capable of speaking, and the deeds we are capable of doing.\n\nIs not this something? Is it not good and wholesome to find, for\nexample, in some of the passages of this most profound and beautiful\nbook of Deuteronomy, that human nature is capable, and hence _we_ are\ncapable, of doing things that put us morally below the level of a\nbeast? Assuredly it is; and well would it be for many a one who walks\nin pharisaic pride and self-complacency--puffed up with false notions\nof his own dignity and high-toned morality, to learn this deeply\nhumbling lesson.\n\nBut how morally lovely, how pure, how refined and elevated, were the\ndivine enactments for Israel! They were not to wrest judgment, but\nallow it to flow in its own straight and even channel, irrespective\naltogether of persons. The poor man in vile raiment was to have the\nsame impartial justice as the man with a gold ring and gay clothing.\nThe decision of the judgment-seat was not to be warped by partiality\nor prejudice, or the robe of justice to be defiled by the stain of\nbribery.\n\nOh, what will it be for this oppressed and groaning earth to be\ngoverned by the admirable laws which are recorded in the inspired\npages of the Pentateuch, when a king shall reign in righteousness, and\nprinces shall decree justice! \"Give the king Thy judgments, O God, and\nThy righteousness unto the king's son. He shall judge Thy people with\nrighteousness, and _Thy poor_ with judgment\"--no wresting, no bribery,\nno partial judgments then.--\"The mountains [or higher dignities] shall\nbring peace to the people, and the little hills [or lesser dignities],\nby righteousness. He shall judge [or defend] _the poor_ of the people,\nhe shall save the children of _the needy_, and shall break in pieces\nthe oppressor. They shall fear Thee as long as the sun and moon\nendure, throughout all generations. He shall come down like rain upon\nthe mown grass; as showers that water the earth. In his days shall the\nrighteous flourish, and abundance of peace so long as the moon\nendureth. He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the\nriver unto the ends of the earth.... He shall deliver _the needy_ when\nhe crieth, _the poor_ also, and _him that hath no helper_. He shall\nspare _the poor and needy_, and shall save _the souls of the needy_.\nHe shall redeem their souls from deceit and violence, and precious\nshall their blood be in his sight.\" (Ps. lxxii.)\n\nWell may the heart long for the time--the bright and blessed time when\nall this shall be made good, when the earth shall be full of the\nknowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea, when the Lord Jesus\nshall take to Himself His great power and reign, when the Church in\nthe heavens shall reflect the beams of His glory upon the earth, when\nIsrael's twelve tribes shall repose beneath the vine and fig-tree in\ntheir own promised land, and all the nations of the earth shall\nrejoice beneath the peaceful and beneficent rule of the Son of David.\nThanks and praise be to our God, thus it shall be, ere long, as sure\nas His throne is in the heavens. A little while and all shall be made\ngood, according to the eternal counsels and immutable promise of God.\nTill then, beloved Christian reader, be it ours to live in the\nconstant, earnest, believing anticipation of this bright and blessed\ntime, and to pass through this ungodly scene as thorough strangers and\npilgrims, having no place or portion down here, but ever breathing\nforth the prayer, \"Come, Lord Jesus!\"\n\nIn the closing lines of chapter xvi, Israel is warned against the most\ndistant approach to the religious customs of the nations around. \"Thou\nshalt not plant thee a grove of any trees near unto the altar of the\nLord thy God, which thou shalt make thee. Neither shalt thou set thee\nup any image which the Lord thy God hateth.\" They were carefully to\navoid every thing which might lead them in the direction of the dark\nand abominable idolatries of the heathen nations around. The altar of\nGod was to stand out in distinct and unmistakable separation from\nthose groves and shady places where false gods were worshiped, and\nthings were done which are not to be named.[16] In a word, every thing\nwas to be most carefully avoided which might in any way draw the heart\naway from the one living and true God.\n\n [16] It may interest the reader to know that the Holy Ghost, in\n speaking of the altar of God in the New Testament, does not apply to\n it the word used to express a heathen altar, but has a comparatively\n new word--a word unknown in the world's classics. The heathen altar is\n \u03b2\u03c9\u03bc\u03cc\u03bd (Acts xvii. 23.): the altar of God is \u03b8\u03c5\u03c3\u03b9\u03b1\u03c3\u03c4\u03ae\u03c1\u03b9\u03bf\u03bd.\n The former occurs but once; the latter, twenty-three\n times. So jealously is the worship of the only true God guarded and\n preserved from the defiling touch of heathen idolatry. Men may feel\n disposed to inquire why this should be, or how could the altar of God\n be affected by a name? We reply, The Holy Ghost is wiser than we are;\n and although the heathen word was before Him--a short and convenient\n word, too,--He refuses to apply it to the altar of the one true and\n living God.\n\n See Trench's \"Synonyms of the New Testament,\" p. 242. New edition\n revised.\n\nNor this only; it was not enough to maintain a correct outward form;\nimages and groves might be abolished, and the nation might profess the\ndogma of the unity of the Godhead, and all the while there might be an\nutter want of heart and genuine devotedness in the worship rendered.\nHence we read, \"Thou shalt not sacrifice unto the Lord thy God any\nbullock or sheep wherein is blemish, or any ill-favoredness, for that\nis an abomination unto the Lord.\"\n\nThat which was absolutely perfect could alone suit the altar and\nanswer to the heart of God. To offer a blemished thing to Him was\nsimply to prove the absence of all true sense of what became Him, and\nof all real heart for Him. To attempt to offer an imperfect sacrifice\nwas tantamount to the horrible blasphemy of saying that any thing was\ngood enough for Him.\n\nLet us hearken to the indignant pleadings of the Spirit of God, by the\nmouth of the prophet Malachi. \"Ye offer polluted bread upon Mine\naltar; and ye say, 'Wherein have we polluted Thee?' In that ye say,\n'The table of the Lord is contemptible.' And if ye offer the blind for\nsacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it\nnot evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with\nthee, or accept thy person? saith the Lord of Hosts. And now, I pray\nyou, beseech God that He will be gracious unto us; this hath been by\nyour means; will He regard your persons? saith the Lord of Hosts. Who\nis there even among you that would shut the doors for naught? neither\ndo ye kindle fire on Mine altar for naught. I have no pleasure in you,\nsaith the Lord of Hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your\nhand. For from the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same,\nMy name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense\nshall be offered unto My name, and a pure offering; for My name shall\nbe great among the heathen, saith the Lord of Hosts. But ye have\nprofaned it, in that ye say, 'The table of the Lord is polluted, and\nthe fruit thereof, even His meat is contemptible.' Ye said also,\n'Behold, what a weariness is it!' and ye have snuffed at it, saith the\nLord of Hosts; and ye brought that which was torn, and the lame, and\nthe sick; thus ye brought an offering: should I accept this of your\nhand? saith the Lord. But cursed be the deceiver, which hath in his\nflock a male, and voweth and sacrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt\nthing; for I am a great King, saith the Lord of Hosts, and My name is\ndreadful among the heathen.\" (Mal. i. 7-14.)\n\nHas all this no voice for the professing church? has it no voice for\nthe writer and the reader of these lines? Assuredly it has. Is there\nnot in our private and public worship a deplorable lack of _heart_, of\nreal devotedness, deep-toned earnestness, holy energy, and integrity\nof purpose? Is there not much that answers to the offering of the lame\nand the sick, the blemished and the ill-favored? Is there not a\ndeplorable amount of cold formality and dead routine in our seasons of\nworship, both in the closet and in the assembly? Have we not to judge\nourselves for barrenness, distraction, and wandering, even at the very\ntable of our Lord? How often are our bodies at the table while our\nvagrant hearts and volatile minds are at the ends of the earth! how\noften do our lips utter words which are not the true expression of our\nwhole moral being! We express far more than we feel; we sing beyond\nour experience.\n\nAnd then, when we are favored with the blessed opportunity of dropping\nour offerings in our Lord's treasury, what heartless formality! what\nan absence of loving, earnest, hearty devotedness! what little\nreference to the apostolic rule--\"as God hath prospered us\"! what\ndetestable niggardliness! how little of the whole-heartedness of the\npoor widow who having but two mites in the world, and having the\noption of at least keeping one for her living, willingly cast in\nboth--cast in her all! Pounds may be spent on ourselves, perhaps on\nsuperfluities, during the week, but when the claims of the Lord's\nwork, His poor, and His cause in general are brought before us, how\nmeagre is the response!\n\nChristian reader, let us consider these things; let us look at the\nwhole subject of worship and devotedness in the divine presence, and\nin the presence of the grace that has saved us from everlasting\nburnings; let us calmly reflect upon the precious and powerful claims\nof Christ upon us. We are not our own; we are bought with a price. It\nis not merely our _best_, but our _all_, we owe to that blessed One\nwho gave Himself for us. Do we not fully own it? do not our hearts own\nit? Then may our lives express it! May we more distinctly declare\nwhose we are and whom we serve. May the heart, the head, the hands,\nthe feet--the whole man be dedicated, in unreserved devotedness, to\nHim, in the power of the Holy Ghost, and according to the direct\nteaching of holy Scripture. God grant it may be so, with us and with\nall His beloved people!\n\nA very weighty and practical subject now claims our attention. We feel\nit right to adhere as much as possible to the custom of quoting at\nfull length the passages for the reader; we believe it to be\nprofitable to give the very Word of God itself; and moreover, it is\nconvenient to the great majority of readers to be saved the trouble of\nlaying aside the volume and turning to the Bible in order to find the\npassages for themselves.\n\n\"If there be found among you, within any of thy gates which the Lord\nthy God giveth thee, man or woman that hath wrought wickedness in the\nsight of the Lord thy God, in transgressing His covenant, and hath\ngone and served other gods, and worshiped them, either the sun or\nmoon, or any of the hosts of heaven, which I have not commanded; and\nit be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and _inquired diligently_,\nand, behold, it be _true_, and the thing _certain_, that such\nabomination is _wrought in Israel_;\"--something affecting the whole\nnation--\"then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which\nhave committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or\nthat woman, and shalt stone them with stones till they die. At the\nmouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of\ndeath be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be\nput to death. The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to\nput him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So thou\nshalt put the evil away from among you.\" (Ver. 2-7.)\n\nWe have already had occasion to refer to the great principle laid down\nin the foregoing passage. It is one of immense importance, namely, the\nabsolute necessity of having competent testimony ere forming a\njudgment in any case. It meets us constantly in Scripture; indeed, it\nis the invariable rule in the divine government, and therefore it\nclaims our earnest attention. We may be sure it is a safe and\nwholesome rule, the neglect of which must always lead us astray. We\nshould never allow ourselves to form, much less to express and act\nupon, a judgment without the testimony of two or three witnesses.\nHowever trustworthy and morally reliable any one witness may be, it is\nnot a sufficient basis for a conclusion. We may feel convinced in our\nminds that the thing is true because affirmed by one in whom we have\nconfidence; but God is wiser than we. It may be that the one witness\nis thoroughly upright and truthful, that he would not for worlds tell\nan untruth or bear false witness against any one,--all this may be\ntrue, but we must adhere to the divine rule--\"In the mouth of two or\nthree witnesses shall every word be established.\"\n\nWould that this were more diligently attended to in the Church of God!\nIts value in all cases of discipline, and in all cases affecting the\ncharacter or reputation of any one, is simply incalculable. Ere ever\nan assembly reaches a conclusion or acts on a judgment in any given\ncase, it should insist on adequate evidence. If this be not\nforthcoming, let all wait on God--wait patiently and confidingly, and\nHe will surely supply what is needed.\n\nFor instance, if there be moral evil or doctrinal error in an assembly\nof Christians, but it is only known to one; that one is perfectly\ncertain--deeply and thoroughly convinced of the fact. What is to be\ndone? Wait on God for further witness. To act without this, is to\ninfringe a divine principle laid down with all possible clearness\nagain and again in the Word of God. Is the one witness to feel\nhimself aggrieved or insulted because his testimony is not acted upon?\nAssuredly not; indeed he ought not to expect such a thing, yea, he\nought not to come forward as a witness until he can corroborate his\ntestimony by the evidence of one or two more. Is the assembly to be\ndeemed indifferent or supine because it refuses to act on the\ntestimony of a solitary witness? Nay, it would be flying in the face\nof a divine command were it to do so.\n\nAnd be it remembered that this great practical principle is not\nconfined in its application to cases of discipline, or questions\nconnected with an assembly of the Lord's people; it is of universal\napplication. We should never allow ourselves to form a judgment or\ncome to a conclusion without the divinely appointed measure of\nevidence; if that be not forthcoming, it is our plain duty to wait,\nand if it be needful for us to judge in the case, God will, in due\ntime, furnish the needed evidence. We have known a case in which a man\nwas falsely accused because the accuser based his charge upon the\nevidence of one of his senses; had he taken the trouble of getting the\nevidence of one or two more of his senses, he would not have made the\ncharge.\n\nThus the entire subject of evidence claims the serious attention of\nthe reader, let his position be what it may. We are all prone to rush\nto hasty conclusions, to take up impressions, to give place to\nbaseless surmisings, and allow our minds to be warped and carried away\nby prejudice. All these have to be most carefully guarded against. We\nneed more calmness, seriousness, and cool deliberation in forming and\nexpressing our judgment about men and things; but especially about\nmen, inasmuch as we may inflict a grievous wrong upon a friend, a\nbrother, or a neighbor by giving utterance to a false impression or a\nbaseless charge. We may allow ourselves to be the vehicle of an\nutterly groundless accusation, whereby the character of another may be\nseriously damaged. This is very sinful in the sight of God, and should\nbe most jealously watched against in ourselves, and sternly rebuked in\nothers, whenever it comes before us. Whenever any one brings a charge\nagainst another behind his back, we should insist upon his proving or\nwithdrawing his statement. Were this plan adopted, we should be\ndelivered from a vast amount of evil-speaking, which is not only most\nunprofitable, but positively wicked, and not to be tolerated.\n\nBefore turning from the subject of evidence, we may just remark that\ninspired history supplies us with more than one instance in which a\nrighteous man has been condemned with an appearance of attention to\nDeuteronomy xvii. 6, 7. Witness the case of Naboth, in 1 Kings xxi;\nand the case of Stephen, in Acts vi. and vii; and above all, the case\nof the only perfect Man that ever trod this earth. Alas! men can, at\ntimes, put on the appearance of wonderful attention to the letter of\nScripture when it suits their own ungodly ends; they can quote its\nsacred words in defense of the most flagrant unrighteousness and\nshocking immorality. Two witnesses accused Naboth of blaspheming God\nand the king, and that faithful Israelite was deprived of his\ninheritance and of his life on the testimony of two liars, hired by\nthe direction of a godless, cruel woman. Stephen, a man full of the\nHoly Ghost, was stoned to death for blasphemy, on the testimony of\nfalse witnesses received and acted upon by the great religious leaders\nof the day, who could doubtless quote Deuteronomy xvii. as their\nauthority.\n\nBut all this, while it so sadly and forcibly illustrates what man is,\nand what mere human religiousness without conscience is, leaves wholly\nuntouched the fine moral rule laid down for our guidance in the\nopening lines of our chapter. Religion without conscience or the fear\nof God is the most degrading, demoralizing, hardening thing beneath\nthe canopy of heaven; and one of its most terrible features is seen in\nthis, that men under its influence are not ashamed or afraid to make\nuse of the letter of holy Scripture as a cloak wherewith to cover the\nmost horrible wickedness.\n\nBut thanks and praise to our God, His Word stands forth before the\nvision of our souls in all its heavenly purity, divine virtue, and\nholy morality, and flings back in the face of the enemy his every\nattempt to draw from its sacred pages a plea for aught that is not\ntrue, venerable, just, pure, lovely, and of good report.\n\nWe shall now proceed to quote for the reader the second paragraph of\nour chapter, in which we shall find instruction of great moral value,\nand much needed in this day of self-will and independence.\n\n\"If there arise a matter too hard for thee in judgment, between blood\nand blood, between plea and plea, and between stroke and stroke, being\nmatters of controversy within thy gates; then shalt thou arise and get\nthee up _into the place which the Lord thy God shall choose_; and thou\nshalt come unto the priests the Levites, and unto the judges that\nshall be in those days, and inquire; and they shall show thee the\nsentence of judgment: and thou shalt do according to the sentence\nwhich they of _that place which the Lord shall choose_ shall show\nthee; and thou shalt observe to do according to all that they inform\nthee; according to the sentence of the law which they shall teach\nthee, and according to the judgment which they shall tell thee, thou\nshalt do: thou shalt not decline from the sentence which they shall\nshow thee, to the right hand, nor to the left, and the man that will\ndo presumptuously, and will not hearken unto the priest that standeth\nto minister there before the Lord thy God, or unto the judge, even\nthat man shall die; and thou shalt put away the evil from Israel. And\nall the people shall _hear_ and _fear_ and _do no more presumptuously_.\"\n(Ver. 8-13.)\n\nHere we have divine provision made for the perfect settlement of all\nquestions which might arise throughout the congregation of Israel.\nThey were to be settled in the divine presence, at the divinely\nappointed centre, by the divinely appointed authority. Thus self-will\nand presumption were effectually guarded against. All matters of\ncontroversy were to be definitively settled by the judgment of God as\nexpressed by the priest or the judge appointed by God for the purpose.\n\nIn a word, it was absolutely and entirely a matter of divine\nauthority. It was not for one man to set himself up in self-will and\npresumption against another. This would never do in the assembly of\nGod. Each one had to submit his cause to a divine tribunal, and bow\nimplicitly to its decision. There was to be no appeal, inasmuch as\nthere was no higher court. The divinely appointed priest or judge\nspoke as the oracle of God, and both plaintiff and defendant had to\nbow, without a demur, to the decision.\n\nNow, it must be very evident to the reader that no member of the\ncongregation of Israel would ever have thought of bringing his case\nbefore a Gentile tribunal for judgment. This, we may feel assured,\nwould have been utterly foreign to the thoughts and feelings of every\ntrue Israelite. It would have involved a positive insult to Jehovah\nHimself, who was in their midst to give judgment in every case which\nmight arise. Surely He was sufficient. He knew the ins and outs, the\n_pros_ and _cons_, the roots and issues, of every controversy, however\ninvolved or difficult. All were to look to Him, and to bring their\ncauses to the place which He had chosen, and no where else. The idea\nof two members of the assembly of God appearing before a tribunal of\nthe uncircumcised for judgment would not have been tolerated for a\nmoment. It would be as much as to say that there was a defect in the\ndivine arrangement for the congregation.\n\nHas this any voice for us? How are Christians to have their questions\nand their controversies settled? Are they to betake themselves to the\nworld for judgment? Is there no provision in the assembly of God for\nthe proper settlement of cases which may arise? Hear what the inspired\napostle says on the point to the assembly at Corinth, and \"to all that\nin every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both theirs\nand ours,\" and therefore to all true Christians now.\n\n\"Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before\nthe unjust, and not before the saints? Do ye not know that the saints\nshall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye\nunworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall\njudge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life! If then\nye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge\nwho are least esteemed in the Church. I speak to your shame. Is it so,\nthat there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able\nto judge between his brethren? But brother goeth to law with brother,\nand that before the unbelievers. Now therefore there is utterly a\nfault among you, because ye go to law one with another. Why do ye not\nrather take wrong? why do ye not rather be defrauded? Nay, ye do\nwrong, and defraud, and that your brethren. Know ye not that the\nunrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? _Be not deceived._\"\n(1 Cor. vi. 1-9.)\n\nHere, then, we have divine instruction for the Church of God in all\nages. We must never, for a moment, lose sight of the fact that the\nBible is _the_ book for every stage of the Church's earthly career.\nTrue it is, alas! the Church is not as it was when the above lines\nwere penned by the inspired apostle; a vast change has taken place in\nthe Church's practical condition. There was no difficulty in early\ndays in distinguishing between the Church and the world--between \"the\nsaints\" and \"unbelievers\"--between \"those within\" and \"those without.\"\nThe line of demarkation was broad, distinct, and unmistakable in those\ndays. Any one who looked at the face of society in a religious point\nof view would see three things, namely, Paganism, Judaism, and\nChristianity--the Gentile, the Jew, and the Church of God--the heathen\ntemple, the synagogue, and the assembly of God. There was no\nconfounding these things. The Christian assembly stood out in vivid\ncontrast with all beside. Christianity was strongly and clearly\npronounced in those primitive times. It was neither a national,\nprovincial, nor parochial affair, but a personal, practical, living\nreality. It was not a mere nominal, national, professional creed, but\na divinely wrought faith, a living power in the heart flowing out in\nthe life.\n\nBut now, things are totally changed. The Church and the world are so\nmixed up, that the vast majority of professors could hardly\nunderstand the real force and proper application of the passage which\nwe have just quoted. Were we to speak to them about \"the saints\" going\nto law \"before the unbelievers,\" it would seem like a foreign tongue.\nIndeed, the term \"saint\" is hardly heard in the professing church,\nsave when used with a sneer, or as applied to such as have been\ncanonized by a superstitious reverence.\n\nBut has any change come over the Word of God, or over the grand truths\nwhich that Word unfolds to our souls? Has any change come over the\nthoughts of God in reference to what His Church is, or what the world\nis, or as to the proper relation of the one to the other? Does He not\nknow who are \"saints\" and who are \"unbelievers\"? Has it ceased to be\n\"a fault\" for \"brother to go to law with brother, and that before the\nunbelievers\"? In a word, has holy Scripture lost its power, its point,\nits divine application? Is it no longer our guide, our authority, our\none perfect rule and unerring standard? Has the marked change that has\ncome over the Church's moral condition deprived the Word of God of all\npower of application to _us_--\"to all that in every place call on the\nname of our Lord Jesus Christ\"? Has our Father's most precious\nrevelation become, in any one particular, a dead letter--a piece of\nobsolete writing--a document pertaining to days long gone by? Has our\naltered condition robbed the Word of God of a single one of its moral\nglories?\n\nReader, what answer does your heart return to these questions? Let us\nmost earnestly entreat of you to weigh them honestly, humbly, and\nprayerfully in the presence of your Lord. We believe your answer will\nbe a wonderfully correct index of your real position and moral state.\nDo you not clearly see and fully admit that Scripture can never lose\nits power? Can the principles of 1 Corinthians vi. ever cease to be\nbinding on the Church of God? It is fully admitted--for who can deny\nthat things are sadly changed?--but \"Scripture cannot be broken,\" and\ntherefore what was \"a fault\" in the first century cannot be right in\nthe nineteenth; there may be more difficulty in carrying out divine\nprinciples, but we must never consent to surrender them, or to act on\nany lower ground. If once we admit the idea that because the whole\nprofessing church has gone wrong it is impossible for us to do right,\nthe whole principle of Christian obedience is surrendered. It is as\nwrong for \"brother to go to law with brother before the unbelievers\"\nto-day as when the apostle wrote his epistle to the assembly at\nCorinth.[17] True, the Church's _visible_ unity is gone; she is shorn\nof many gifts, she has departed from her normal condition; but the\nprinciples of the Word of God can no more lose their power than the\nblood of Christ can lose its virtue or His priesthood lose its\nefficacy.\n\n [17] It is well for us to bear in mind that wherever there are \"two or\n three\" gathered to the Name of the Lord Jesus, in ever such weakness,\n there will be found, if only they are truly humble and dependent,\n spiritual ability to judge in any case that may arise between\n brethren. They can count on divine wisdom being supplied for the\n settlement of any question, plea, or controversy, so that there need\n not be any reference to a worldly tribunal.\n\n No doubt worldly men would smile at such an idea; but we must adhere,\n with holy decision, to the guidance of Scripture. Brother must not go\n to law with brother before the unbelievers. This is distinct and\n emphatic. There are resources available for the assembly in Christ,\n the Head and Lord, for the settlement of every possible question.\n\n Let the Lord's people seriously apply their hearts to the\n consideration of this subject. Let them see that they are gathered on\n the true ground of the Church of God; and then, though ever conscious\n that things are not as they once were in the Church--though sensible\n of the greatest weakness, failure, and shortcoming, they will\n nevertheless find the grace of Christ ever sufficient for them, and\n the Word of God full of all needed instruction and authority, so that\n they need never betake themselves to the world for help, counsel, or\n judgment. \"Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there\n am I in the midst of them.\"\n\n This surely is enough for every exigence. Is there any question that\n our Lord Christ cannot settle? Do we want natural cleverness, worldly\n wisdom, long-headedness, great learning, keen sagacity, if we have\n Him? Surely not; indeed all such things can only prove like Saul's\n armor to David. All we want is, simply to use the resources which we\n have in Christ. We shall assuredly find, \"in the place where His name\n is recorded,\" priestly wisdom to judge in every case which may arise\n between brethren.\n\n And further, let the Lord's dear people remember, in all cases of\n local difficulty which may arise, that there is no need whatever for\n them to look for extraneous aid, to write to other places to get some\n wise man to come and help them. No doubt, if the Lord sends any of His\n beloved servants at the moment, their sympathy, fellowship, counsel,\n and help will be highly prized. We are not encouraging independence\n one of the other, but absolute and complete dependence upon Christ,\n our Head and Lord.\n\nAnd further, we must bear in mind that there are resources of wisdom,\ngrace, power, and spiritual gift treasured up for the Church in Christ\nher Head, ever available for those who have faith to use them. We are\nnot straitened in our blessed and adorable Head. We need never expect\nto see the body restored to its normal condition on the earth, but for\nall that, it is our privilege to see what the true ground of the body\nis, and it is our duty to occupy that ground and no other.\n\nNow, it is perfectly wonderful the change that takes place in our\nwhole condition--in our view of things, in our thoughts of ourselves\nand our surroundings--the moment we plant our foot on the true ground\nof the Church of God. Every thing seems changed; the Bible seems a new\nbook; we see every thing in a new light; portions of Scripture which\nwe have been reading for years without interest or profit now sparkle\nwith divine light, and fill us with wonder, love, and praise. We see\neverything from a new stand-point; our whole range of vision is\nchanged; we have made our escape from the murky atmosphere which\ninwraps the whole professing church, and can now look around and see\nthings clearly in the heavenly light of Scripture. In fact, it seems\nlike a new conversion; and we find we can now read Scripture\nintelligently, because we have the divine key. We see Christ to be the\ncentre and object of all the thoughts, purposes, and counsels of God\nfrom everlasting to everlasting, and hence we are conducted into that\nmarvelous sphere of grace and glory which the Holy Ghost delights to\nunfold in the precious Word of God.\n\nMay the reader be led into the thorough understanding of all this, by\nthe direct and powerful ministry of the Holy Spirit. May he be enabled\nto give himself to the study of Scripture, and to surrender himself,\nunreservedly, to its teaching and authority. Let him not confer with\nflesh and blood, but cast himself, like a little child, on the Lord,\nand seek to be led on in spiritual intelligence and practical\nconformity to the mind of Christ.\n\nWe must now look for a moment at the closing verses of our chapter, in\nwhich we have a remarkable onlook into Israel's future, anticipating\nthe moment in which they should seek to set a king over them.\n\n\"When thou art come unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee,\nand shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein, and shalt say, I will\nset a king over me, like as all the nations that are about me; thou\nshalt in any wise set him king over thee whom the Lord thy God shall\nchoose; one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee;\nthou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother.\nBut he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to\nreturn to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses; forasmuch\nas the Lord hath said unto you, 'Ye shall henceforth return no more\nthat way.' Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart\nturn not away; neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and\ngold.\"\n\nHow very remarkable that the three things which the king was not to do\nwere just _the_ very things which were done--and extensively done by\nthe greatest and wisest of Israel's monarchs. \"King Solomon made a\nnavy of ships in Ezion-geber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of\nthe Red Sea, in the land of Edom. And Hiram sent in the navy his\nservants, shipmen that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of\nSolomon. And they came to Ophir, and fetched from thence _gold_, four\nhundred and twenty talents [over two millions], and brought it to king\nSolomon.\" \"And Hiram sent to the king sixscore talents of gold.\" \"And\nthe weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred\nthreescore and six talents of gold [nearly three and a half millions],\nbeside that he had of the merchantmen, and of the traffic of the spice\nmerchants, and of all the kings of Arabia, and of the governors of the\ncountry.\" Again, we read, \"And the king made _silver_ to be in\nJerusalem as stones.... And Solomon had _horses brought out of\nEgypt_.... But king Solomon loved many strange women.... And he had\nseven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his\nwives turned away his heart.\" (1 Kings ix, x, xi.)\n\nWhat a tale this tells! what a commentary it furnishes upon man in his\nvery best and highest estate! Here was a man endowed with wisdom\nbeyond all others, surrounded by unexampled blessings, dignities,\nhonors, and privileges; his earthly cup was full to the brim; there\nwas nothing lacking which this world could supply to minister to human\nhappiness. And not only so, but his remarkable prayer at the\ndedication of the temple might well lead us to cherish the brightest\nhopes respecting him, both personally and officially.\n\nBut sad to say, he broke down most deplorably in every one of the\nparticulars as to which the law of his God had spoken so definitely\nand so clearly. He was told not to multiply silver and gold, and yet\nhe multiplied them; he was told not to return to Egypt to multiply\nhorses, and yet to Egypt he went for horses; he was told not to\nmultiply wives, and yet he had a thousand of them, and they turned\naway his heart. Such is man! Oh, how little is he to be counted upon!\n\"All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of\ngrass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away.\"\n\"Cease ye from man whose breath is in his nostrils, for wherein is he\nto be accounted of?\"\n\nBut we may ask, How are we to account for Solomon's signal, sorrowful,\nand humiliating failure? what was the real secret of it? To answer\nthis, we must quote for the reader the closing verses of our chapter.\n\n\"And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that\nhe shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is\nbefore the priests the Levites; _and it shall be with him_, and _he\nshall read therein all the days of his life_; that he may learn to\nfear the Lord his God, to keep all the words of this law and these\nstatutes, to do them; that his heart be not lifted up above his\nbrethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the\nright hand or to the left; to the end that he may prolong his days in\nhis kingdom, he and his children, in the midst of Israel.\" (Ver.\n18-20.)\n\nHad Solomon attended to these most precious and weighty words, his\nhistorian would have had a very different task to perform; but he did\nnot. We hear nothing of his having made a copy of the law; and most\nassuredly, if he did make a copy of it, he did not attend to it--yea,\nhe turned his back upon it, and did the very things which he was told\nnot to do. In a word, the cause of all the wreck and ruin that so\nrapidly followed the splendor of Solomon's reign, was the neglect of\nthe plain Word of God.\n\nIt is this which makes it all so solemn for us, in this our own day,\nand which leads us to call the earnest attention of the reader to it.\nWe deeply feel the need of seeking to rouse the attention of the whole\nChurch of God to this great subject. Neglect of the Word of God is the\nsource of all the failure, all the sin, all the error, all the\nmischief and confusion, the heresies, sects, and schisms that have\never been or are now in this world. And we may add, with equal\nconfidence, that the only real, sovereign remedy for our present\nlamentable condition will be found in returning, _every one for\nhimself and herself_, to the simple but sadly neglected authority of\nthe Word of God. Let each one see his own departure, and that of the\nwhole professing body, from the plain and positive teaching of the New\nTestament--the commandments of our blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus\nChrist. Let us humble ourselves under the mighty hand of our God,\nbecause of our common sin, and let us turn to Him in true\nself-judgment, and He will graciously restore and heal and bless us,\nand lead us in that most blessed path of obedience which lies open\nbefore every truly humble soul.\n\nMay God the Holy Ghost, in His own resistless power, bring home to the\nheart and conscience of every member of the body of Christ on the face\nof the earth, the urgent need of an immediate and unreserved surrender\nto the authority of the Word of God.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVIII.\n\n\nThe opening paragraph of this chapter suggests a deeply interesting\nand practical line of truth.\n\n\"The priests the Levites, and all the tribe of Levi, shall have no\npart nor inheritance with Israel; they shall eat the offerings of the\nLord made by fire, and His inheritance. Therefore shall they have no\ninheritance among their brethren: the Lord is their inheritance, as He\nhath said unto them. And this shall be the priest's due from the\npeople, from them that offer a sacrifice, whether it be ox or sheep;\nand they shall give unto the priest the shoulder, and the two cheeks,\nand the maw. The first-fruits also of thy corn, of thy wine, and of\nthine oil, and the first of the fleece of thy sheep shalt thou give\nhim. For the Lord thy God hath chosen him out of all thy tribes, to\nstand to minister in the name of the Lord, him and his sons forever.\nAnd if a Levite come from any of thy gates out of all Israel, where he\nsojourned, and _come with all the desire of his mind unto the place\nwhich the Lord shall choose_; then he shall minister in the name of\nthe Lord his God, as all his brethren the Levites do, which stand\nthere before the Lord. They shall have like portions to eat, beside\nthat which cometh out of the sale of his patrimony.\" (Ver. 1-8.)\n\nHere, as in every part of the book of Deuteronomy, the priests are\nclassed with the Levites in a very marked way. We have called the\nreader's attention to this as a special characteristic feature of our\nbook, and shall not dwell upon it now, but merely, in passing, remind\nthe reader of it, as something claiming his attention. Let him weigh\nthe opening words of our chapter, \"The priests the Levites,\" and\ncompare them with the way in which the priests the sons of Aaron are\nspoken of in Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers; and if he should be\ndisposed to ask the reason of this distinction, we believe it to be\nthis, that in Deuteronomy the divine object is, to bring the whole\nassembly of Israel more into prominence, and hence it is that the\npriests in their official capacity come rarely before us. The grand\nDeuteronomic idea is, _Israel in immediate relationship with Jehovah_.\n\nNow, in the passage just quoted, we have the priests and the Levites\nlinked together, and presented as the Lord's servants, wholly\ndependent upon Him, and intimately identified with His altar and His\nservice. This is full of interest, and opens up a very important field\nof practical truth, to which the Church of God would do well to\nattend.\n\nIn looking through the history of Israel, we observe that when things\nwere in any thing like a healthful condition, the altar of God was\nwell attended to, and, as a consequence, the priests and the Levites\nwere well supplied. If Jehovah had His portion, His servants were sure\nto have theirs; if He was neglected, so were they. They were bound up\ntogether. The people were to bring their offerings to God, and He\nshared them with His servants. The priests the Levites were not to\nexact or demand of the people, but the people were privileged to bring\ntheir gifts to the altar of God, and He permitted His servants to feed\nupon the fruit of His people's devotedness to Him.\n\nSuch was the true--the divine idea as to the Lord's servants of old.\nThey were to live upon the voluntary offerings presented to God by the\nwhole congregation. True it is that in the dark and evil days of the\nsons of Eli we find something sadly different from this lovely moral\norder. Then, \"the priest's custom with the people was, that when any\none offered sacrifice, the priest's servant came, while the flesh was\nin seething, with a flesh-hook of three teeth in his hand; and he\nstruck it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the\nflesh-hook brought up, the priest took for himself. So they did in\nShiloh unto all the Israelites that came thither. Also before they\nburnt the fat [God's special portion], the priest's servant came, and\nsaid to the man that sacrificed, 'Give flesh to roast for the priest;\nfor he will not have sodden flesh of thee, but raw.' And if any man\nsaid unto him, Let them not fail to burn the fat presently, and then\ntake as much as thy soul desireth; then he would answer him, 'Nay;\nbut thou shalt give it me now; and if not, _I will take it by force_.'\nWherefore the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord; for\nmen abhorred the offering of the Lord.\" (1 Sam. ii. 13-17.)\n\nAll this was truly deplorable, and ended in the solemn judgment of God\nupon the house of Eli. It could not be otherwise. If those who\nministered at the altar could be guilty of such terrible iniquity and\nimpiety, judgment must take its course.\n\nBut the normal condition of things, as presented in our chapter, was\nin vivid contrast with all this frightful iniquity. Jehovah would\nsurround Himself with the willing offerings of His people, and from\nthese offerings He would feed His servants who ministered at His\naltar. Hence, therefore, when the altar of God was diligently,\nfervently, and devotedly attended to, the priests the Levites had a\nrich portion--an abundant supply; and on the other hand, when Jehovah\nand His altar were treated with cold neglect, or merely waited upon in\na barren routine or heartless formalism, the Lord's servants were\ncorrespondingly neglected. In a word, they stood intimately identified\nwith the worship and service of the God of Israel.\n\nThus, for example, in the bright days of the good king Hezekiah, when\nthings were fresh and hearts happy and true, we read, \"And Hezekiah\nappointed the courses of the priests and the Levites after their\ncourses, every man according to his service, the priests and Levites\nfor burnt-offerings and for peace-offerings, to minister, and to give\nthanks, and to praise in the gates of the tents of the Lord. He\nappointed also the king's portion of his substance for the\nburnt-offerings, to wit, for the morning and evening burnt-offerings,\nand the burnt-offerings for the Sabbaths, and for the new moons, and\nfor the set feasts, _as it is written in the law of the Lord_.\nMoreover, he commanded the people that dwelt in Jerusalem _to give the\nportion of the priests and the Levites, that they might be encouraged\nin the law of the Lord_. And as soon as the commandment came abroad,\nthe children of Israel brought _in abundance_the first-fruits of corn,\nwine, and oil, and honey, and of all the increase of the field; and\nthe tithe of _all things_ brought they in _abundantly_. And concerning\nthe children of Israel and Judah, that dwelt in the cities of Judah,\nthey also brought in the tithe of oxen and sheep, and the tithe of\nholy things which were consecrated unto the Lord their God, _and laid\nthem by heaps_. In the third month they began to lay the foundation of\nthe heaps, and finished them in the seventh month. And when Hezekiah\nand the princes came and saw the heaps, they blessed the Lord and His\npeople Israel. Then Hezekiah questioned with the priests and the\nLevites concerning the heaps. And Azariah the chief priest of the\nhouse of Zadok answered him, and said, '_Since the people began to\nbring the offerings into the house of the Lord, we have had enough to\neat, and have left plenty; for the Lord hath blessed His people;_\n_and that which is left is this great store_.\" (2 Chron. xxxi. 2-10.)\n\nHow truly refreshing is all this! and how encouraging! The deep, full,\nsilvery tide of devotedness flowed around the altar of God, bearing\nupon its bosom an ample supply to meet all the need of the Lord's\nservants, and \"heaps\" beside. This, we may feel assured, was grateful\nto the heart of the God of Israel, as it was to the hearts of those\nwho had given themselves, at His call and by His appointment, to the\nservice of His altar and His sanctuary.\n\nAnd let the reader specially note those precious words, \"_As it is\nwritten in the law of the Lord_.\" Here was Hezekiah's authority, the\nsolid basis of his whole line of conduct from first to last. True, the\nnation's visible unity was gone; the condition of things when he began\nhis blessed work was most discouraging; but the word of the Lord was\nas true, as real, and as direct in its application in Hezekiah's day\nas it was in the days of David or Joshua. Hezekiah rightly felt that\nDeuteronomy xviii. 1-8 applied to his day and to his conscience, and\nthat he and the people were responsible to act upon it, according to\ntheir ability. Were the priests and the Levites to starve because\nIsrael's national unity was gone? Surely not. They were to stand or\nfall with the Word, the worship, and the work of God. Circumstances\nmight vary, and the Israelite might find himself in a position in\nwhich it would be impossible to carry out in detail all the ordinances\nof the Levitical ceremonial, but he never could find himself in\ncircumstances in which it was not his high privilege to give full\nexpression to his heart's devotedness to the service, the altar, and\nthe law of Jehovah.\n\nThus, then, we see, throughout the entire history of Israel, that when\nthings were at all bright and healthy, the Lord's worship, His work,\nand His workmen were blessedly attended to; but on the other hand,\nwhen things were low, when hearts were cold, when self and its\ninterests had the uppermost place, then all these great objects were\ntreated with heartless neglect. Look, for example, at Nehemiah xiii.\nWhen that beloved and faithful servant returned to Jerusalem, after an\nabsence of certain days, he found, to his deep sorrow, that, even in\nthat short time, various things had gone sadly astray; amongst the\nrest, the poor Levites had been left without any thing to eat. \"And I\nperceived that the portions of the Levites had not been given them;\nfor the Levites and the singers that did the work were fled every one\nto his field.\" There were no \"heaps\" of first-fruits in those dismal\ndays, and surely it was hard for men to work and sing when they had\nnothing to eat. This was not according to the law of Jehovah, nor\naccording to His loving heart. It was a sad reproach upon the people\nthat the Lord's servants were obliged, through their gross neglect, to\nabandon His worship and His work in order to keep themselves from\nstarving.\n\nThis, truly, was a deplorable condition of things. Nehemiah felt it\nkeenly, as we read, \"Then contended I with the rulers, and said, '_Why\nis the house_ _of God forsaken?_' And I gathered them together, and\nset them in their place. Then brought all Judah the tithe of the corn,\nand the new wine, and the oil, unto the treasuries. And I made\ntreasurers over the treasuries, ... for they were counted\nfaithful;\"--they were entitled to the confidence of their\nbrethren--\"and their office was to distribute unto their brethren.\" It\nneeded a number of tried and faithful men to occupy the high position\nof distributing to their brethren the precious fruit of the people's\ndevotedness; they could take counsel together, and see that the Lord's\ntreasury was faithfully managed, according to His Word, and the need\nof His true and _bona-fide_ workmen fully met, without prejudice or\npartiality.\n\nSuch was the lovely order of the God of Israel--an order to which\nevery true Israelite such as Nehemiah and Hezekiah would delight to\nattend. The rich tide of blessing flowed forth from Jehovah to His\npeople, and back from His people to Him, and from that flowing tide\nHis servants were to draw a full supply for all their need. It was a\ndishonor to Him to have the Levites obliged to return to their fields;\nit proved that His house was forsaken, and that there was no\nsustenance for His servants.\n\nNow, the question may here be asked, What has all this to say to us?\nwhat has the Church of God to learn from Deuteronomy xviii. 1-8? In\norder to answer this question, we must turn to 1 Corinthians ix, where\nthe inspired apostle deals with the very important subject of the\nsupport of the Christian ministry--a subject so little understood by\nthe great mass of professing Christians. As to _the law of the case_,\nit is as distinct as possible. \"Who goeth a warfare at any time at his\nown charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit\nthereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the\nflock? Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same\nalso? For it is written in the law of Moses, 'Thou shalt not muzzle\nthe mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for\noxen? or saith He it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no\ndoubt, this is written; that he that ploweth should plow in hope, and\nthat he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope. If we\nhave sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall\nreap your carnal things? If others be partakers of this power over\nyou, are not we rather? Nevertheless\"--here grace shines out, in all\nits heavenly lustre--\"we have not used this power; but suffer all\nthings lest we should hinder the gospel of Christ. Do ye not know that\nthey which minister about holy things live of the things of the\ntemple? and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar?\nEven so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel\nshould live of the gospel. But\"--here again grace asserts its holy\ndignity--\"I have used none of these things; neither have I written\nthese things that it should be so done unto me; for it were better for\nme to die than that any man should make my glorying void. For though\nI preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of; for necessity is laid\nupon me; yea, woe is unto me if I preach not the gospel! For if I do\nthis thing willingly, I have a reward; but if against my will, a\ndispensation of the gospel is committed unto me. What is my reward,\nthen? Verily that when I preach the gospel, I may make the gospel of\nChrist without charge, that I abuse not my power in the gospel.\" (Ver.\n7-18.)\n\nHere we have this interesting and weighty subject presented in all its\nbearings. The inspired apostle lays down, with all possible decision\nand clearness, the divine law on the point. There is no mistaking it.\n\"The Lord hath ordained that they that preach the gospel should live\nof the gospel;\" that just as the priests and the Levites of old lived\non the offerings presented by the people, so now, those who are really\ncalled of God, gifted by Christ, and fitted by the Holy Ghost to\npreach the gospel, and who are giving themselves constantly and\ndiligently to that glorious work, are morally entitled to temporal\nsupport. It is not that they should look to those to whom they preach\nfor a certain stipulated sum. There is no such idea as this in the New\nTestament. The workman must look to his Master, and to Him alone, for\nsupport. Woe be to him if he looks to the church, or to men in any\nway. The priests and Levites had their portion in and from Jehovah. He\nwas the lot of their inheritance. True, He expected the people to\nminister to Him in the persons of His servants. He told them what to\ngive, and blessed them in giving: it was their high privilege, as\nwell as their bounden duty, to give; had they refused or neglected, it\nwould have brought drought and barrenness upon their fields and\nvineyards. (Hag. i. 5-11.)\n\nBut the priests the Levites had to look _only_ to Jehovah. If the\npeople failed in their offerings, the Levites had to fly to their\nfields and work for their living. They could not go to law with any\none for tithes and offerings; their only appeal was to the God of\nIsrael, who had ordained them to the work and given them the work to\ndo.\n\nSo also with the Lord's workmen now--they must look _only_ to Him.\nThey must be well assured that He has fitted them for the work, and\ncalled them to it, ere they attempt to push out (if we may so express\nit) from the shore of circumstances, and give themselves wholly to the\nwork of preaching. They must take their eyes completely off from\nmen--from all creature-streams and human props, and lean exclusively\nupon the living God. We have seen the most disastrous consequences\nresulting from acting under a mistaken impulse in this most solemn\nmatter; men not called of God, or fitted for the work, giving up their\noccupations, and coming forth, as they said, to live by faith and give\nthemselves to the work. Deplorable shipwreck was the result in every\ninstance. Some, when they began to look the stern realities of the\npath straight in the face, became so alarmed that they actually lost\ntheir mental balance, lost their reason for a time; some lost their\npeace, and some went right back into the world again.\n\nIn short, it is our deep and thorough conviction, after forty years'\nobservation, that the cases are few and far between in which it is\nmorally safe and good for one to abandon his bread-winning calling in\norder to preach the gospel. It must be so distinct and unquestionable\nto the man himself, that he has only to say, with Luther, at the Diet\nof Worms, \"Here I am; I can do no otherwise: God help me! Amen.\" Then\nhe may be perfectly sure that God will sustain him in the work to\nwhich He has called him, and meet all his need \"according to His\nriches in glory by Christ Jesus.\" And as to men and their thoughts\nrespecting him and his course, he has simply to refer them to his\nMaster. He is not responsible to them, nor has he ever asked them for\nany thing. If they were compelled to support him, reason would that\nthey might complain or raise questions; but as they are not, they must\njust leave him, remembering that to his own Master he standeth or\nfalleth.\n\nBut when we look at the splendid passage just quoted from 1\nCorinthians ix, we find that the blessed apostle, after having\nestablished, beyond all question, his right to be supported,\nrelinquishes it completely.--\"Nevertheless, I have used none of these\nthings.\" He worked with his hands; he wrought with labor and travail\nnight and day, in order not to be chargeable or burdensome to any.\n\"These hands,\" he says, \"have ministered to my necessities, and those\nthat were with me.\" He coveted no man's silver or gold or apparel. He\ntraveled, he preached, he visited from house to house, he was the\nlaborious apostle, the earnest evangelist, the diligent pastor, he had\nthe care of all the churches. Was not he entitled to support?\nAssuredly he was. It ought to have been the joy of the Church of God\nto minister to his every need. But he never enforced his claim--nay,\nhe surrendered it. He supported himself and his companions by the\nlabor of his hands; and all this as an example, as he says to the\nelders of Ephesus, \"I have showed you all things, how that so laboring\nye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord\nJesus, how He said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'\"\n\nNow, it is perfectly wonderful to think of this beloved and revered\nservant of Christ, with his extensive travels from Jerusalem and round\nabout to Illyricum, his gigantic labors as an evangelist, a pastor,\nand a teacher, and yet finding time to support himself and others by\nthe work of his hands. Truly he occupied high moral ground. His case\nis a standing testimony against hirelingism, in every shape and form.\nThe infidel's sneering references to well-paid ministers could have no\napplication whatever to him. He certainly did not preach for hire.\n\nAnd yet he thankfully received help from those who knew how to give\nit. Again and again the beloved assembly at Philippi ministered to the\nnecessities of their revered and beloved father in Christ. How well\nfor them that they did so! It will never be forgotten. Millions have\nread the sweet record of their devotedness, and been refreshed by the\nodor of their sacrifice; it is recorded in heaven, where nothing of\nthe kind is ever forgotten--yea, it is engraved on the very tablets of\nthe heart of Christ. Hear how the blessed apostle pours out his\ngrateful heart to his much-loved children.--\"I rejoiced in the Lord\ngreatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again;\nwherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity. Not that I\nspeak in respect of want;\"--blessed, self-denying servant!--\"for I\nhave learned, in whatsoever state I am, to be content. I know both how\nto be abased, and I know how to abound; every where and in all things\nI am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and\nto suffer need. I can do all things through Christ, which\nstrengtheneth me. Notwithstanding, ye have well done that ye did\ncommunicate with my affliction. Now ye Philippians know also, that in\nthe beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church\ncommunicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only.\nFor even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity. Not\nbecause I desire a gift; but I desire fruit that may abound to your\naccount. But I have all, and abound; I am full, having received from\nEpaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odor of a sweet\nsmell, a sacrifice acceptable, well-pleasing to God. But my God shall\nsupply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ\nJesus.\" (Phil. iv. 10-19.)\n\nWhat a rare privilege to be allowed to comfort the heart of such an\nhonored servant of Christ, at the close of his career, and in the\nsolitude of his prison at Rome! How seasonable, how right, how lovely,\nwas their ministry! What joy to receive the apostle's grateful\nacknowledgments! and then how precious the assurance that their\nservice had gone up, as an odor of sweet smell, to the very throne and\nheart of God! Who would not rather be a Philippian ministering to the\napostle's need, than a Corinthian calling his ministry in question, or\na Galatian breaking his heart? How vast the difference! The apostle\ncould not take any thing from the assembly at Corinth; their state did\nnot admit of it. Individuals in that assembly did minister to him, and\ntheir service is recorded on the page of inspiration, remembered\nabove, and it will be abundantly rewarded in the kingdom by and by. \"I\nam glad of the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus; for\n_that which was lacking on your part they have supplied_. For they\nhave refreshed my spirit and yours, therefore acknowledge ye them that\nare such.\" (1 Cor. xvi. 17, 18.)\n\nThus, then, from all that has passed before us, we learn most\ndistinctly that both under the law and under the gospel it is\naccording to the revealed will, and according to the heart of God,\nthat those who are really called of Him to the work, and who devote\nthemselves earnestly, diligently, and faithfully to it, should have\nthe hearty sympathy and practical help of His people. All who love\nChrist will count it their deepest joy to minister to Him in the\npersons of His servants. When He Himself was here upon earth, He\ngraciously accepted help from the hands of those who loved Him, and\nhad reaped the fruit of His most precious ministry--\"certain women,\nwhich had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary, called\nMagdalene, out of whom went seven devils, and Joanna the wife of\nChuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered\nunto Him of their substance.\" (Luke viii. 2, 3.)\n\nHappy, highly privileged women! What joy to be allowed to minister to\nthe Lord of glory, in the days of His human need and humiliation!\nThere stand their honored names, on the divine page, written down by\nGod the Holy Ghost, to be read by untold millions, to be borne along\nthe stream of time right onward into eternity. How well it was for\nthose women that they did not waste their substance in self-indulgence,\nor hoard it up to be rust on their souls, or a positive curse, as\nmoney must ever be if not used for God!\n\nBut on the other hand, we learn the urgent need, on the part of all\nwho take the place of workers, whether in or out of the assembly, of\nkeeping themselves perfectly free from all human influence, all\nlooking to men, in any shape or form. They must have to do with God in\nthe secret of their own souls, or they will assuredly break down,\nsooner or later. They must look to Him alone for the supply of their\nneed. If the church neglect them, the church will be the serious loser\nhere and hereafter. If they can support themselves by the labor of\ntheir hands, without curtailing their direct service to Christ, so\nmuch the better; it is unquestionably the more excellent way. We are\nas persuaded of this as of the truth of any proposition that could be\nsubmitted to us. There is nothing more spiritually and morally noble\nthan a truly gifted servant of Christ supporting himself and his\nfamily by the sweat of his brow or the sweat of his brain, and, at the\nsame time, giving himself diligently to the Lord's work, whether as an\nevangelist, a pastor, or a teacher. The moral antipodes of this is\npresented to our view in the person of a man who, without gift or\ngrace or spiritual life, enters what is called the ministry, as a mere\nprofession or means of living. The position of such a man is morally\ndangerous and miserable in the extreme. We shall not dwell upon it,\ninasmuch as it does not come within the range of the subject which has\nbeen engaging our attention, and we are only too thankful to leave it\nand proceed with our chapter.\n\n\"When thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee,\nthou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations.\nThere shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his\ndaughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an\nobserver of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a\nconsulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer; for\n_all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord_, and\nbecause of these abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them out\nfrom before thee. Thou shalt be perfect with the Lord thy God. For\nthese nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto observers of\ntimes, and unto diviners; _but as for thee, the Lord thy God hath not\nsuffered thee so to do_.\" (Ver. 9-14.)\n\nNow, it may be that, on reading the foregoing quotation, the reader\nfeels disposed to ask what possible application it can have to\nprofessing Christians. We ask, in reply, Are there any professing\nChristians who are in the habit of going to witness the performances\nof wizards, magicians, and necromancers? are there any who take part\nin table-turning, spirit-rapping, mesmerism, or _clairvoyance_?[18] If\nso, the passage which we have just quoted bears very pointedly and\nsolemnly upon all such. We most surely believe that all these things\nwhich we have named are of the devil. This may sound harsh and severe,\nbut we cannot help that. We are thoroughly persuaded that when people\nlend themselves to the awful business of bringing up, in any way, the\nspirits of the departed, they are simply putting themselves into the\nhands of the devil, to be deceived and deluded by his lies. What, we\nmay ask, do those who hold in their hands a perfect revelation from\nGod want of table-turning and spirit-rapping? Surely nothing. And if,\nnot content with that precious Word, they turn to the spirits of\ndeparted friends or others, what can they expect but that God will\njudicially give them over to be blinded and deceived by wicked\nspirits, who come up and personate the departed, and tell all manner\nof lies?\n\n [18] Some of our readers may object to our classing mesmerism with\n spirit-rapping and table-turning. It may be they would regard it in\n the same light, and use it in the same way, as ether or chloroform, in\n medical practice. We do not attempt to dogmatize on the point. We can\n only say that we could have nothing whatever to do with it. We\n consider it a most solemn thing for any one to allow himself to be\n placed by another in a state of utter unconsciousness, for any purpose\n whatsoever. And as to the idea of listening to, or being guided by,\n the ravings of a person in that state, we can only regard it as\n absolutely absurd, if not positively sinful.\n\nWe cannot attempt to go fully into this subject here; we have no time,\nnor space, nor inclination, for any thing of the sort. We merely feel\nit to be our solemn duty to warn the reader against having any thing\nwhatever to do with consulting departed spirits. We believe it to be\n_most dangerous_ work. We do not enter upon the question as to whether\nsouls can come back to this world; no doubt God could permit them to\ncome if He saw fit, but this we leave. The great point for us to keep\never before our hearts is, the perfect sufficiency of divine\nrevelation. What do we want of departed spirits? The rich man imagined\nthat if Lazarus were to go back to earth and speak to his five\nbrethren, it would have a great effect.--\"'I pray thee therefore,\nfather, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house; for I have\nfive brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into\nthis place of torment.' Abraham saith unto him, '_They have Moses and\nthe prophets; let them hear them_.' And he said, 'Nay, father Abraham;\nbut if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.' And he\nsaid unto him, 'If they hear not _Moses and the prophets_, neither\nwill they be persuaded though one rose from the dead.'\" (Luke xvi.\n27-31.)\n\nHere we have a thorough settlement of this question. If people will\nnot hear the Word of God, if they will not believe its clear and\nsolemn statements as to themselves, their present condition, and their\nfuture destiny, neither will they be persuaded though a thousand\ndeparted souls were to come back and tell them what they saw and heard\nand felt in heaven above or in hell beneath; it would produce no\nsaving or permanent effect upon them, It might cause great\nexcitement--great sensation, furnish great material for talk, and fill\nthe newspapers far and wide; but there it would end. People would go\non all the same with their traffic and gain, their folly and vanity,\ntheir pleasure-hunting and self-indulgence. \"If they hear not Moses\nand the prophets, [and, we may add, Christ and His holy apostles,]\nneither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead.\" The\nheart that will not bow to Scripture will not be convinced by any\nthing; and as to the true believer, he has in Scripture all he can\npossibly want, and therefore he has no need to have recourse to\ntable-turning, spirit-rapping, or magic. \"And when they shall say unto\nyou, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that\npeep, and that mutter; should not a people seek unto their God? for\nthe living to the dead? _To the law and to the testimony_; if they\nspeak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in\nthem.\" (Is. viii. 19, 20.)\n\nHere is the divine resource of the Lord's people, at all times and in\nall places; and to this it is that Moses refers the congregation in\nthe splendid paragraph which closes our chapter. He shows them very\ndistinctly that they had no need to apply to familiar spirits,\nenchanters, wizards, or witches, which were all an abomination to the\nLord. \"The Lord thy God,\" he says, \"will raise up unto thee a Prophet\nfrom the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; _unto him ye\nshall hearken_; according to all that thou desiredst of the Lord thy\nGod in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, 'Let me not hear\nagain the voice of the Lord my God, neither let me see this great fire\nany more, that I die not.' And the Lord said unto me, 'They have well\nspoken that which they have spoken. I will raise them up a Prophet\nfrom among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put My words into\nhis mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.\nAnd it shall come to pass that whosoever will not hearken unto My\nwords which he shall speak in My name, I will require it of him. But\nthe prophet which shall presume to speak a word in My name which I\nhave not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of\nother gods, even that prophet shall die. And if thou say in thine\nheart, How shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken? When\na prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not,\nnor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken,\nbut the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be\nafraid of him.\" (Ver. 15-22.)\n\nWe can be at no loss to know who this Prophet is, namely, our adorable\nLord and Saviour Jesus Christ. In the third chapter of Acts, Peter so\napplies the words of Moses.--\"He shall send Jesus Christ, which before\nwas preached unto you; whom the heaven must receive until the times of\nrestitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all\nHis holy prophets since the world began. For Moses truly said unto the\nfathers, 'A Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your\nbrethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he\nshall say unto you. And it shall come to pass that every soul which\nwill not hear that Prophet shall be destroyed from among the people.'\"\n(Ver. 20-23.)\n\nHow precious the privilege of hearing the voice of such a Prophet! It\nis the voice of God speaking through the lips of the Man Christ\nJesus--speaking, not in thunder, not with flaming fire, nor the\nlightning's flash, but in that still small voice of love and mercy\nwhich falls in soothing power on the broken heart and contrite spirit,\nwhich distills like the gentle dew of heaven upon the thirsty ground.\nThis voice we have in the holy Scriptures--that precious revelation\nwhich comes so constantly and so powerfully before us in our studies\non this blessed book of Deuteronomy. We must never forget this. The\nvoice of Scripture is the voice of Christ, and the voice of Christ is\nthe voice of God.\n\nWe want no more. If any one presumes to come with a fresh revelation,\nwith some new truth not contained in the divine Volume, we must judge\nhim and his communication by the standard of Scripture and reject them\nutterly. \"Thou shalt not be afraid of him.\" False prophets come with\ngreat pretensions, high-sounding words, and sanctimonious bearing.\nMoreover, they seek to surround themselves with a sort of dignity,\nweight, and impressiveness which are apt to impose on the ignorant.\nBut they cannot stand the searching power of the Word of God. Some\nsimple clause of holy Scripture will strip them of all their imposing\nsurroundings, and cut up by the roots their wonderful revelations.\nThose who know the voice of the true Prophet will not listen to any\nother: those who have heard the voice of the good Shepherd will not\nlisten to the voice of a stranger.\n\nReader, see that you listen _only_ to the voice of Jesus.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIX.\n\n\n\"When the Lord thy God hath cut off the nations whose land the Lord\nthy God giveth thee, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their\ncities, and in their houses; thou shalt separate three cities for thee\n_in the midst of thy land_, which the Lord thy God giveth thee to\npossess it. _Thou shalt prepare thee a way_, and divide the coasts of\nthy land, which the Lord thy God giveth thee to inherit, into three\nparts, _that every slayer may flee thither_.\" (Ver. 1-3.)\n\nWhat a very striking combination of \"goodness and severity\" we observe\nin these few lines! We have the \"cutting off\" of the nations of Canaan\nbecause of their consummated wickedness, which had become positively\nunbearable; and on the other hand, we have a most touching display of\ndivine goodness in the provision made for the poor man-slayer in the\nday of his deep distress, when flying for his life from the avenger of\nblood. The government and the goodness of God are, we need hardly say,\nboth divinely perfect. There are cases in which goodness would be\nnothing but a toleration of sheer wickedness and open rebellion, which\nis utterly impossible under the government of God. If men imagine that\nbecause God is good they may go on and sin with a high hand, they will\nsooner or later find out their woeful mistake.\n\n\"Behold,\" says the inspired apostle, \"the goodness and severity of\nGod!\"[19] God will most assuredly cut off evil-doers who despise His\ngoodness and long-suffering mercy. He is slow to anger, blessed be His\nholy name! and of great kindness. For hundreds of years He bore with\nthe seven nations of Canaan, until their wickedness rose up to the\nvery heavens, and the land itself could bear them no longer. He bore\nwith the enormous wickedness of the guilty cities of the plain; and if\nHe had found even ten righteous people in Sodom, He would have spared\nit for their sakes. But the day of terrible vengeance came, and they\nwere \"cut off.\"\n\n [19] The word rendered \"severity\" is \u1f00\u03c0\u03bf\u03c4\u03bf\u03bc\u03af\u03b1, which\n literally means \"cutting off.\"\n\nAnd so will it be ere long with guilty christendom. \"Thou also shalt\nbe cut off.\" The reckoning-time will come, and oh, what a\nreckoning-time it will be! The heart trembles at the thought of it,\nwhile the eye scans and the pen traces the soul-subduing words.\n\nBut mark how divine \"goodness\" shines out in the opening lines of our\nchapter. See the gracious painstaking of our God to make the city of\nrefuge as available as possible for the slayer. The three cities were\nto be \"_in the midst of thy land_.\" It would not do to have them in\nremote corners, or in places difficult of access. And not only so, but\n\"_thou shalt prepare thee a way_;\" and again, \"Thou shalt divide the\ncoasts of thy land ... _into three parts_.\" Everything was to be done\nto facilitate the slayer's escape. The gracious Lord thought of the\nfeelings of the distressed one \"flying for refuge to lay hold on the\nhope set before him.\" The city of refuge was to be \"brought near,\"\njust as \"the righteousness of God\" is brought near to the poor\nbroken-hearted helpless sinner--so near, that it is \"to him that\n_worketh not_, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly.\"\n\nThere is peculiar sweetness in the expression, \"_Thou shalt prepare\nthee a way_.\" How like our own ever-gracious God--\"the God and Father\nof our Lord Jesus Christ\"! and yet it was the same God that cut off\nthe nations of Canaan in righteous judgment who thus made such\ngracious provision for the man-slayer. \"Behold, the goodness and\nseverity of God.\"\n\n\"And this is the case of the slayer, which shall flee thither, _that\nhe may live_: Whoso killeth his neighbor ignorantly, whom he hated not\nin time past; as when a man goeth into the wood with his neighbor to\nhew wood, and his hand fetcheth a stroke with the axe to cut down the\ntree, and the head slippeth from the helve, and lighteth upon his\nneighbor, that he die; he shall flee unto one of those cities and\nlive; lest the avenger of the blood pursue the slayer, while his heart\nis hot, and overtake him, _because the way is long_,\"--most touching\nand exquisite grace!--\"and slay him; whereas he was not worthy of\ndeath, inasmuch as he hated him not in time past. Wherefore I command\nthee, saying, 'Thou shalt separate three cities for thee.'\" (Ver.\n4-7.)\n\nHere we have a most minute description of the man for whom the city of\nrefuge was provided. If he did not answer to this, the city was not\nfor him; but if he did, he might feel the most perfect assurance that\na gracious God had thought of him, and found a refuge for him, where\nhe might be as safe as the hand of God could make him. Once the slayer\nfound himself within the precincts of the city of refuge, he might\nbreathe freely, and enjoy calm and sweet repose. No avenging sword\ncould reach him there, not a hair of his head could be touched there.\n\nHe was safe--yes, perfectly safe; and not only perfectly safe, but\nperfectly _certain_. He was not hoping to be saved, he was sure of it.\nHe was in the city, and that was enough. Before he got in, he might\nhave many a struggle deep down in his poor terrified heart, many\ndoubts and fears and painful exercises. He was flying for his life,\nand this was a serious and an all-absorbing matter for him--a matter\nthat would make all beside seem light and trifling. We could not\nimagine the flying slayer stopping to gather flowers by the roadside.\nFlowers! he would say, What have I to do with flowers just now? My\nlife is at stake. I am flying for my life. What if the avenger should\ncome and find me gathering flowers? No; the city is my one grand and\nall-engrossing object: nothing else has the smallest interest or charm\nfor me. I want to be saved; that is my exclusive business now.\n\nBut the moment he found himself within the blessed gates, he was safe,\n_and he knew it_. How did he know it? By his feelings? by his\nevidences? by experience? Nay; but simply by the Word of God. No doubt\nhe had the feeling, the evidence, and the experience, and most\nprecious they would be to him after his tremendous struggle and\nconflict to get in; but these things were by no means the ground of\nhis certainty or the basis of his peace. He knew he was safe because\nGod told him so. The _grace_ of God had made him _safe_, and the\n_Word_ of God made him _sure_.\n\nWe cannot conceive a man-slayer within the walls of the city of refuge\nexpressing himself as many of the Lord's dear people do in reference\nto the question of safety and certainty. He would not deem it\npresumption to be sure he was safe. If any one had asked him, Are you\nsure you are safe? Sure! he would say, How can I be otherwise than\nsure? Was I not a slayer? have I not fled to this city of refuge? has\nnot Jehovah, our covenant-God, pledged His Word for it? has He not\nsaid that \"fleeing thither he may live\"? Yes, thank God, I am\nperfectly sure. I had a terrible run for it--a fearful struggle. At\ntimes, I almost felt as if the avenger had me in his dreaded grasp. I\ngave myself up for lost; but then, God, in His infinite mercy, made\nthe way so plain, and made the city so easy of access to me, that,\nspite of all my doubts and fears, here I am, safe and certain. The\nstruggle is all over, the conflict past and gone. I can breathe freely\nnow, and walk up and down in the perfect security of this blessed\nplace, praising our gracious covenant-God for His great goodness in\nhaving provided such a sweet retreat for a poor slayer like me.\n\nCan the reader speak thus as to his safety in Christ? Is he saved, and\ndoes he know it? If not, may the Spirit of God apply to his heart the\nsimple illustration of the man-slayer within the walls of the city of\nrefuge. May he know that \"strong consolation\" which is the sure,\nbecause divinely appointed, portion of all those who have \"fled for\nrefuge to lay hold on the hope set before them.\" (Heb. vi. 18.)\n\nWe must now proceed with our chapter; and in so doing, we shall find\nthat there was more to be thought of in the cities of refuge than the\nquestion of the slayer's safety. That was provided for perfectly, as\nwe have seen; but the glory of God, the purity of His land, and the\nintegrity of His government had to be duly maintained. If these things\nwere touched, there could be no safety for any one. This great\nprinciple shines on every page of the history of God's ways with man.\nMan's true blessing and God's glory are indissolubly bound together,\nand both the one and the other rest on the same imperishable\nfoundation, namely, Christ and His precious work.\n\n\"And if the Lord thy God enlarge thy coasts, as He hath sworn unto thy\nfathers, and give thee all the land which He promised to give unto thy\nfathers; if thou shalt keep all these commandments to do them, which I\ncommand thee this day, to love the Lord thy God, and to walk ever in\nHis ways; then shalt thou add three cities more for thee, beside these\nthree; _that innocent blood be not shed in thy land_, which the Lord\nthy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and so blood be upon thee. But\nif any man hate his neighbor, and lie in wait for him, and rise up\nagainst him, and smite him mortally that he die, and fleeth into one\nof these cities; then the elders of his city shall send and fetch him\nthence, and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood, that he\nmay die. Thine eye shall not pity him, _but thou shalt put away the\nguilt of innocent blood from Israel_, that it may go well with thee.\"\n(Ver. 8-13.)\n\nThus, whether it was _grace_ for the slayer, or _judgment_ for the\nmurderer, the glory of God and the claims of His government had to be\nduly maintained. The unwitting man-slayer was met by the provision of\nmercy; the guilty murderer fell beneath the stern sentence of\ninflexible justice. We must never forget the solemn reality of divine\ngovernment. It meets us every where; and if it were more fully\nrecognized, it would effectually deliver us from one-sided views of\nthe divine character. Take such words as these--\"Thine eye shall not\npity him.\" Who uttered them? Jehovah. Who penned them? God the Holy\nGhost. What do they mean? Solemn judgment upon wickedness. Let men\nbeware how they trifle with these weighty matters. Let the Lord's\npeople beware how they give place to foolish reasonings in reference\nto things wholly beyond their range. Let them remember that a false\nsentimentality may constantly be found in league with an audacious\ninfidelity in calling in question the solemn enactments of divine\ngovernment. This is a very serious consideration. Evil-doers must look\nout for the sure judgment of a sin-hating God. If a willful murderer\npresumed to avail himself of God's provision for the ignorant\nman-slayer, the hand of justice laid hold of him and put him to\ndeath, without mercy. Such was the government of God in Israel of old,\nand such will it be in a day that is rapidly approaching. Just now,\nGod is dealing in long-suffering mercy with the world; this is the day\nof salvation--the acceptable time. The day of vengeance is at hand. Oh\nthat man, instead of reasoning about the justice of God's dealings\nwith evil-doers, would flee for refuge to that precious Saviour who\ndied on the cross to save us from the flames of an everlasting\nhell![20]\n\n [20] For other points presented in the cities of refuge we must refer\n the reader to \"Notes on the Book of Numbers,\" chapter xxxv.\n\nBefore quoting for the reader the closing paragraph of our chapter, we\nwould just call his attention to verse 14, in which we have a very\nbeautiful proof of God's tender care for His people, and His most\ngracious interest in every thing which directly or indirectly\nconcerned them. \"Thou shalt not remove thy neighbor's landmark, which\nthey of old time have set in thine inheritance, which thou shalt\ninherit in the land that the Lord thy God giveth thee to possess it.\"\n\nThis passage, taken in its plain import and primary application, is\nfull of sweetness, as presenting the loving heart of our God, and\nshowing us how marvelously He entered into all the circumstances of\nHis beloved people. The landmarks were not to be meddled with. Each\none's portion was to be left intact, according to the boundary-lines\nset up by those of old time. Jehovah had given the land to Israel,\nand not only so, but He had assigned to each tribe and to each family\ntheir proper portion, marked off with perfect precision, and indicated\nby landmarks so plain that there could be no confusion, no clashing of\ninterests, no interference one with another, no ground for lawsuit or\ncontroversy about property. There stood the ancient landmarks, marking\noff each one's portion in such a manner as to remove all possible\nground of dispute. Each one held as a tenant under the God of Israel,\nwho knew all about his little holding, as we say, and every tenant had\nthe comfort of knowing that the eye of the gracious and almighty\nLandlord was upon his bit of land, and His hand over it to protect it\nfrom every intruder. Thus he could abide in peace under his vine and\nunder his fig-tree, enjoying the portion assigned him by the God of\nAbraham, Isaac, and Jacob.\n\nThus much as to the obvious sense of this beautiful clause of our\nchapter; but surely it has a deep spiritual meaning also. Are there\nnot spiritual landmarks for the Church of God, and for each individual\nmember thereof, marking off, with divine accuracy, the boundaries of\nour heavenly inheritance--those landmarks which they of old time, even\nthe apostles of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, have set up.\nAssuredly there are, and God has His eye upon them, and He will not\npermit them to be removed with impunity. Woe be to the man that\nattempts to touch them; he will have to give account to God for so\ndoing. It is a serious thing for any one to interfere, in any way,\nwith the place, portion, and prospect of the Church of God; and it is\nto be feared that many are doing it without being aware of it.\n\nWe do not attempt to go into the question of what these landmarks are;\nwe have sought to do this in our first volume of \"Notes on\nDeuteronomy,\" as well as in the other four volumes of the series; but\nwe feel it to be our duty to warn, in the most solemn manner, all whom\nit may concern against doing that which, in the Church of God, answers\nto the removal of the landmarks in Israel. If any one had come forward\nin the land of Israel to suggest some new arrangement in the\ninheritance of the tribes, to adjust the property of each upon some\nnew principle, to set up some new boundary-lines, what would have been\nthe reply of the faithful Israelite? A very simple one, we may be\nsure. He would have replied in the language of Deuteronomy xix. 14. He\nwould have said, We want no novelties here; we are perfectly content\nwith those sacred and time-honored landmarks which they of old time\nhave set in our inheritance. We are determined, by the grace of God,\nto keep to them, and to resist, with firm purpose, any modern\ninnovation.\n\nSuch, we believe, would have been the prompt reply of every true\nmember of the congregation of Israel; and surely the Christian ought\nnot to be less prompt or less decided in his answer to all those who,\nunder the plea of progress and development, would remove the landmarks\nof the Church of God and, instead of the precious teaching of Christ\nand His apostles, offer us the so-called light of science and the\nresources of philosophy. Thank God, we want them not. We have Christ\nand His Word; what can be added to these? What do we want of human\nprogress or development, when we have \"that which was _from the\nbeginning_\"? What can science or philosophy do for those who possess\n\"_all truth_\"? No doubt, we want--yea, long to make progress in the\nknowledge of Christ; long for a fuller, clearer development of the\nlife of Christ in our daily history; but science and philosophy cannot\nhelp us in these; nay, they could only prove a most serious hindrance.\n\nChristian reader, let us seek to keep close to Christ, close to His\nWord. This is our only security in this dark and evil day. Apart from\nHim, we are nothing, have nothing, can do nothing; in Him, we have\nall. He is the portion of our cup and the lot of our inheritance. May\nwe know what it is not only to be safe in Him, but separated _to_ Him,\nand satisfied _with_ Him, till that bright day when we shall see Him\nas He is, and be like Him and with Him forever.\n\nWe shall now do little more than quote the few remaining verses of our\nchapter. They need no exposition. They set forth wholesome truth, to\nwhich professing Christians, with all their light and knowledge, may\nwell give attention.\n\n\"One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for\nany sin, in any sin that he sinneth; at the mouth of two witnesses, or\nat the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.\"\n(Ver. 15.)\n\nThis subject has already come before us. It cannot be too strongly\ninsisted upon. We may judge of its importance from the fact that not\nonly does Moses again and again press it upon Israel's attention, but\nour Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and the Holy Ghost in the apostle Paul,\nin two of his epistles, insists upon the principle of \"two or three\nwitnesses,\" in every case. One witness, be he ever so trustworthy, is\nnot sufficient to decide a case. If this plain fact were more\ncarefully weighed and duly attended to, it would put an end to a vast\namount of strife and contention. We, in our fancied wisdom, might\nimagine that one thoroughly reliable witness ought to be sufficient to\nsettle any question. Let us remember that God is wiser than we are,\nand that it is ever our truest wisdom, as well as our greatest moral\nsecurity, to hold fast by His unerring Word.\n\n\"If a false witness rise up against any man, to testify against him\nthat which is wrong; then both the men, between whom the controversy\nis, shall stand before the Lord, before the priests and the judges\nwhich shall be in those days; and _the judges shall make diligent\ninquisition_: and, behold, if the witness be a false witness, and have\ntestified falsely against his brother; then shall ye do unto him as he\nhad thought to have done unto his brother: so shalt thou put the evil\naway from among you. And those which remain shall hear and fear, and\nshall henceforth commit no more any such evil among you. And thine\neye shall not pity; but life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for\ntooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.\" (Ver. 16-21.)\n\nWe may here see how God hates false witness; and further, we have to\nbear in mind that though we are not under law, but under grace, false\nwitness is not less hateful to God; and surely the more fully we enter\ninto the grace in which we stand, the more intensely we shall abhor\nfalse witness, slander, and evil-speaking, in every shape and form.\nThe good Lord preserve us from all such.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XX.\n\n\n\"When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses\nand chariots, and a people more than thou, be not afraid of them; for\nthe Lord thy God is with thee, which brought thee up out of the land\nof Egypt. And it shall be, when ye are come nigh unto the battle, that\nthe priest shall approach and speak unto the people, and shall say\nunto them, Hear, O Israel! ye approach this day unto battle against\nyour enemies; let not your hearts faint; fear not, and do not tremble,\nneither be ye terrified because of them; for the Lord your God is He\nthat goeth with you to fight for you against your enemies, to save\nyou.\" (Ver. 1-4.)\n\nHow wonderful to think of the Lord as a Man of war! Think of His\nfighting against people! Some find it very hard to take in the\nidea--hard to understand how a benevolent Being could act in such a\ncharacter. But the difficulty arises mainly from not distinguishing\nbetween the different dispensations. It was just as consistent with\nthe character of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to fight against\nHis enemies, as it is with the character of the God and Father of our\nLord Jesus Christ to forgive them. And inasmuch as it is the revealed\ncharacter of God that furnishes the model on which His people are to\nbe formed--the standard by which they are to act, it was quite as\nconsistent for Israel to cut their enemies in pieces as it is for us\nto love them, pray for them, and do them good.\n\nIf this very simple principle were borne in mind, it would remove a\nquantity of misunderstanding, and save a vast amount of unintelligent\ndiscussion. No doubt it is thoroughly wrong for the Church of God to\ngo to war. No one can read the New Testament with a mind free from\nbias and not see this. We are positively commanded to love our\nenemies, to do good to them that hate us, and to pray for them that\ndespitefully use us. \"Put up again thy sword into his place, for all\nthey that take the sword shall perish with the sword.\" And again, in\nanother gospel, \"Then said Jesus unto Peter, 'Put up thy sword into\nthe sheath: the cup which My Father hath given Me, shall I not drink\nit?'\" Again, our Lord says to Pilate, \"My kingdom is not of this\nworld: if My kingdom were of this world, _then would My servants\nfight_\"--it would be perfectly consistent for them so to do;--\"but\n_now_ is My kingdom not from hence\"--and therefore it would be wholly\nout of character, utterly inconsistent, thoroughly wrong, for them to\nfight.\n\nAll this is so plain that we need only say, \"How readest thou?\" Our\nblessed Lord did not fight; He meekly and patiently submitted to all\nmanner of abuse and ill-treatment, and in so doing, He left us an\nexample, that we should follow His steps. If we only honestly ask\nourselves the question, What would Jesus do? it would close all\ndiscussion on this point, as well as upon a thousand other points\nbesides. There is really no use in reasoning--no need of it. If the\nwords and ways of our blessed Lord, and the distinct teaching of His\nSpirit by His holy apostles, be not sufficient for our guidance, all\ndiscussion is utterly vain.\n\nAnd if we be asked, What does the Holy Ghost teach on this great\npractical point? hear His precious, clear, and pointed words.--\"Dearly\nbeloved, avenge not yourselves; but rather give place unto wrath; for\nit is written, 'Vengeance is Mine; _I will repay_, saith the Lord.'\nTherefore, if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him\ndrink; for in so doing, thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be\nnot overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.\" (Rom. xii.)\n\nThese are the lovely ethics of the Church of God, the principles of\nthat heavenly kingdom to which all true Christians belong. Would they\nhave suited Israel of old? Certainly not. Only conceive Joshua acting\ntoward the Canaanites on the principles of Romans xii! It would have\nbeen as flagrant an inconsistency as for us to act on the principle of\nDeuteronomy xx. How is this? Simply because in Joshua's day God was\nexecuting judgment in righteousness, whereas now He is dealing in\nunqualified grace. This makes all the difference. The principle of\ndivine action is the grand moral regulator for God's people in all\nages. If this be seen, all difficulty is removed, all discussion\ndefinitively closed.\n\nBut then, if any feel disposed to ask, What about the world? how could\nit get on upon the principle of grace? Could it act on the doctrine of\nRomans xii. 20? Not for a moment. The idea is simply absurd. To\nattempt to amalgamate the principles of grace with the law of nations,\nor to infuse the spirit of the New Testament into the frame-work of\npolitical economy, would instantly plunge civilized society into\nhopeless confusion. And here is just where many most excellent and\nwell-meaning people are astray. They want to press the nations of the\nworld into the adoption of a principle which would be destructive of\ntheir national existence. The time is not come yet for nations to beat\ntheir swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks, and\nlearn war no more. That blessed time will come, thank God, when this\ngroaning earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the\nwaters cover the sea; but to seek to get nations _now_ to act upon\npeace principles is simply to ask them to cease to be--in a word, it\nis thoroughly hopeless, unintelligent labor. It cannot be. We are not\ncalled upon to regulate the world, but to pass through it as pilgrims\nand strangers. Jesus did not come to set the world right. He came to\nseek and to save that which was lost; and as to the world, He\ntestified of it that its deeds were evil. He will, ere long, come to\nset things right; He will take to Himself His great power and reign.\nThe kingdoms of this world shall most assuredly become the kingdoms of\nour Lord and of His Christ. He will gather out of His kingdom all\nthings that offend, and them that do iniquity. All this is most\nblessedly true, but we must wait His time. It can be of no possible\nuse for us, by our ignorant efforts, to seek to bring about a\ncondition of things which all Scripture goes to prove can _only_ be\nintroduced by the personal presence and rule of our beloved and\nadorable Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.\n\nBut we must proceed with our chapter.\n\nIsrael were called to fight the Lord's battles. The moment they put\ntheir foot upon the land of Canaan it was war to the knife with the\ndoomed inhabitants. \"Of the cities of these people which the Lord thy\nGod doth give thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing\nthat breatheth.\" This was distinct and emphatic. The seed of Abraham\nwere not only to possess the land of Canaan, but they were to be God's\ninstruments in executing His just judgment upon the guilty\ninhabitants, whose sins had risen up to heaven, and become absolutely\nintolerable.\n\nDoes any one feel called upon to apologize for the divine actings\ntoward the seven nations of Canaan? If so, let him be well assured of\nthis, that his labor is perfectly gratuitous, entirely uncalled for.\nWhat folly for any poor worm of the earth to think of entering upon\nsuch work! and what folly, too, for any one to require an apology or\nan explanation! It was a high honor put upon Israel to exterminate\nthose guilty nations--an honor of which they proved themselves utterly\nunworthy, inasmuch as they failed to do as they were commanded. They\nleft alive many of those who ought to have been utterly destroyed;\nthey spared them to be the wretched instruments of their own ultimate\nruin, by leading them into the self-same sins which had so loudly\ncalled for divine judgment.\n\nBut let us look for a moment at the qualifications which were\nnecessary for those who would fight the Lord's battles. We shall find\nthe opening paragraph of our chapter full of most precious instruction\nfor ourselves in the spiritual warfare which we are called to wage.\n\nThe reader will observe that the people, on approaching to the battle,\nwere to be addressed, first, by the priest, and secondly, by the\nofficers. This order is very beautiful. The priests came forward to\nunfold to the people their high _privileges_; the officers came to\nremind them of their holy _responsibilities_. Such is the divine order\nhere. Privilege comes first, and then responsibility. \"The priest\nshall approach and speak unto the people, and shall say unto them,\nHear, O Israel! ye approach this day unto battle against your enemies;\nlet not your hearts faint, fear not, and do not tremble, neither be ye\nterrified because of them; for the Lord your God is He that goeth with\nyou, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.\"\n\nWhat blessed words are these! how full of comfort and encouragement!\nhow eminently calculated to banish all fear and depression, and to\ninfuse courage and confidence into the most sinking, fainting heart!\nThe priest was the very expression of the grace of God,--his ministry\na stream of most precious consolation flowing from the loving heart of\nthe God of Israel to each individual warrior. His loving words were\ndesigned and fitted to gird up the loins of the mind, and nerve the\nfeeblest arm for fight. He assures them of the divine presence with\nthem. There is no question, no condition, no \"if,\" no \"but.\" It is an\nunqualified statement. Jehovah Elohim was with them. This surely was\nenough. It mattered not, in the smallest degree, how many, how\npowerful, or how formidable were their enemies, they would all prove\nto be as chaff before the whirlwind in the presence of the Lord of\nHosts, the God of the armies of Israel.\n\nBut then the _officer_ had to be heard as well as the _priest_.--\"And\nthe officers shall speak unto the people, saying, What man is there\nthat hath built a new house and hath not dedicated it? let him go and\nreturn to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man\ndedicate it. And what man is he that hath planted a vineyard and hath\nnot yet eaten of it? let him also go and return unto his house, lest\nhe die in the battle, and another man eat of it. And what man is there\nthat hath betrothed a wife and hath not taken her? let him go and\nreturn unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man take\nher. And the officers shall speak further unto the people, and they\nshall say, What man is there that is fearful and fainthearted? let him\ngo and return unto his house, lest his brethren's heart faint as well\nas his heart. And it shall be that when the officers have made an end\nof speaking unto the people, that they shall make captains of the\narmies to lead the people.\" (Ver. 5-9.)\n\nThus we learn that there were two things absolutely essential to all\nwho would fight the Lord's battles, namely, a heart thoroughly\ndisentangled from the things of nature and of earth, and a bold\nunclouded confidence in God. \"No man that warreth entangleth himself\nwith the affairs of this life, that he may please him who hath chosen\nhim to be a soldier.\" There is a very material difference between\nbeing _engaged_ in the affairs of this life and being _entangled_ by\nthem. A man might have had a house, a vineyard, and a wife and yet\nhave been fit for the battle. These things were not, in themselves, a\nhindrance; but it was having them under such conditions as rendered\nthem an entanglement that unfitted a man for the conflict.\n\nIt is well to bear this in mind. We, as Christians, are called to\ncarry on a constant spiritual warfare. We have to fight for every\ninch of heavenly ground. What the Canaanites were to Israel, the\nwicked spirits in the heavenlies are to us. We are not called to fight\nfor eternal life; we have gotten that as God's free gift before we\nbegin. We are not called to fight for salvation; we are saved before\nwe enter upon the conflict. It is most needful to know what it is that\nwe have to fight for, and whom we are to fight with. The object for\nwhich we fight is, to make good, maintain, and carry out practically\nour heavenly position and character in the midst of the scenes and\ncircumstances of ordinary human life from day to day. And then as to\nour spiritual foes, they are wicked spirits, who, during this present\ntime, are permitted to occupy the heavenlies. \"We wrestle not against\nflesh and blood, [as Israel had to do in Canaan,] but against\nprincipalities, against powers, against the world-rulers\n[\u03ba\u03bf\u03c3\u03bc\u03bf\u03ba\u03c1\u03ac\u03c4\u03bf\u03c1\u03b1\u03c2] of this darkness, against wicked\nspirits in the heavenlies.\"\n\nNow, the question is, what do we want in carrying on such a conflict\nas this? Must we abandon our lawful earthly callings? must we detach\nourselves from those relationships founded on nature and sanctioned of\nGod? Is it needful to become an ascetic, a mystic, or a monk in order\nto carry on the spiritual warfare to which we are called? By no means;\nindeed, for a Christian to do any one of these things would, in\nitself, be a proof that he had completely mistaken his calling, or\nthat he had, at the very outset, fallen in the battle. We are\nimperatively called upon to work with our hands the thing which is\ngood, that we may have to give to him that needeth. And not only so,\nbut we have the most ample guidance, in the pages of the New\nTestament, as to how we are to carry ourselves in the varied natural\nrelationships which God Himself has established, and to which He has\naffixed the seal of His approval. Hence it is perfectly plain that\nearthly callings and natural relationships are, in themselves, no\nhindrance to our waging a successful spiritual warfare.\n\nWhat, then, is needed by the Christian warrior? A heart thoroughly\n_disentangled_ from things earthly and natural, and an unclouded\nconfidence in God. But how are these things to be maintained? Hear the\ndivine reply: \"Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye\nmay be able to withstand in _the evil day_,\"--that is, the whole time\nfrom the cross to the coming of Christ,--\"and having done all, to\nstand. Stand, therefore; having your loins girt about with _truth_,\nand having on the breastplate of _righteousness_, and your feet shod\nwith the preparation of the gospel of _peace_; above all, taking the\nshield of _faith_, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery\ndarts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword\nof the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Praying always with all\nprayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all\nperseverance and supplication for all saints.\" (Eph. vi.)\n\nReader, mark the qualification of a Christian warrior as here set\nforth by the Holy Ghost. It is not the question of a house, a\nvineyard, or a wife, but of having the inward man governed by \"truth,\"\nthe outward conduct characterized by real practical \"righteousness,\"\nthe moral habits and ways marked by the sweet \"peace\" of the gospel,\nthe whole man covered by the impenetrable shield of \"faith,\" the seat\nof the understanding guarded by the full assurance of \"salvation,\" and\nthe heart continually sustained and strengthened by persevering prayer\nand supplication, and led forth in earnest intercession for all\nsaints, and specially for the Lord's beloved workmen and their blessed\nwork. This is the way in which the spiritual Israel of God are to be\nfurnished for the warfare which they are called to wage with wicked\nspirits in the heavenlies. May the Lord, in His infinite goodness,\nmake all these things very real in our souls' experience, and in our\npractical career from day to day.\n\nThe close of our chapter contains the principles which were to govern\nIsrael in their warfare. They were most carefully to discriminate\nbetween the cities which were very far off from them and those that\npertained to the seven judged nations. To the former, they were, in\nthe first place, to make overtures of peace; with the latter, on the\ncontrary, they were to make no terms whatever. \"When thou comest nigh\nunto a city _to fight against it_, then _proclaim peace_ unto it\"--a\nmarvelous method of fighting!--\"And it shall be, if it make thee\nanswer of peace, and open unto thee, then it shall be that all the\npeople that is found therein shall be tributaries unto thee, and they\nshall serve thee. And if it will make no peace with thee, but will\nmake war against thee, then thou shalt besiege it; and when the Lord\nthy God hath delivered it into thine hands, thou shalt smite every\nmale thereof\"--as expressing the positive energy of evil--\"with the\nedge of the sword. But the women, and the little ones, and the cattle,\nand all that is in the city, even all the spoil thereof\"--all that was\ncapable of being turned to account in the service of God and of His\npeople--\"thou shalt take unto thyself; and thou shalt eat the spoil of\nthine enemies, which the Lord thy God hath given thee. Thus shalt thou\ndo unto all the cities which are very far off from thee, which are not\nof the cities of these nations.\"\n\nIndiscriminate slaughter and wholesale destruction formed no part of\nIsrael's business. If any cities were disposed to accept the proffered\nterms of peace, they were to have the privilege of becoming\ntributaries to the people of God; and in reference to those cities\nwhich would make no peace, all within their walls which could be made\nuse of was to be reserved.\n\nThere are things in nature and things of earth which are capable of\nbeing used for God--they are sanctified by the Word of God and prayer.\nWe are told to make to ourselves friends of the mammon of\nunrighteousness, that when we fail, they may receive us into\neverlasting habitations; which simply means that if this world's\nriches come into the Christian's hands, he should diligently and\nfaithfully use them in the service of Christ; he should freely\ndistribute them to the poor, and to all the Lord's needy workmen; in\nshort, he should make them available, in every right and prudent way,\nfor the furtherance of the Lord's work in every department. In this\nway, the very riches which else might crumble into dust in their\nhands, or prove to be as rust on their souls, shall produce precious\nfruit that shall serve to minister an abundant entrance into the\neverlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.\n\nMany seem to find considerable difficulty in Luke xvi. 9, but its\nteaching is as clear and forcible as it is practically important. We\nfind very similar instruction in 1 Timothy vi.--\"Charge them that are\nrich in this world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust in\nuncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all\nthings to enjoy; that they do good, that they be rich in good works,\n_ready to distribute_, willing to communicate, laying up in store for\nthemselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may\nlay hold on eternal life.\"[21] There is not a fraction which we spend\ndirectly and simply for Christ which will not be before us by and by.\nThe thought of this, though it should not by any means be a\nmotive-spring, may well encourage us to devote all we have and all we\nare to the service of our blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.\n\n [21] It may interest the reader to know that the four leading\n authorities agree in reading \u1f44\u03bd\u03c4\u03c9\u03c2 instead of \u03b1\u1f30\u03c9\u03bd\u03af\u03bf\u03c5\n in 1 Timothy vi. 19. Thus the passage would be, \"That they\n may lay hold on life in earnest,\" or in reality. The only real life\n is, to live for Christ--to live in the light of eternity--to use all\n we possess for the promotion of God's glory and with an eye to the\n everlasting mansions. This, and only this, is life in earnest.\n\nSuch is the plain teaching of Luke xvi. and 1 Timothy vi; let us see\nthat we understand it. The expression, \"That they may receive you into\neverlasting habitations\" simply means that what is spent for Christ\nwill be rewarded in the day that is coming. Even a cup of cold water\ngiven in His precious name shall have its sure reward in His\neverlasting kingdom. Oh, to spend and be spent for Him!\n\nBut we must close this section by quoting the few last lines of our\nchapter, in which we have a very beautiful illustration of the way in\nwhich our God looks after the smallest matters, and His gracious care\nthat nothing should be lost or injured. \"When thou shalt besiege a\ncity a long time, in making war against it to take it, thou shalt not\ndestroy the trees thereof, by forcing an ax against them; for thou\nmayest eat of them, and thou shalt not cut them down (for the tree of\nthe field is man's life) to employ them in the siege; only the trees\nwhich thou knowest that they be not trees for meat, thou shalt destroy\nand cut them down; and thou shalt build bulwarks against the city that\nmaketh war with thee, until it be subdued.\" (Ver. 19, 20.)\n\n\"Let nothing be lost,\" is the Master's own word to us--a word which\nshould ever be kept in remembrance. \"Every creature of God is good,\nand nothing to be refused.\" We should carefully guard against all\nreckless waste of aught that can be made available for human use.\nThose who occupy the place of domestic servants should give their\nspecial attention to this matter. It is painful, at times, to witness\nthe sinful waste of human food. Many a thing is flung out as offal\nwhich might supply a welcome meal for a needy family. If a Christian\nservant should read these lines, we would earnestly entreat him or her\nto weigh this subject in the divine presence, and never to practice or\nsanction the waste of the smallest atom that is capable of being\nturned to account for human use. We may depend upon it that to waste\nany creature of God is displeasing in His sight. Let us remember that\nHis eye is upon us; and may it be our earnest desire to be agreeable\nto Him in all our ways.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXI.\n\n\n\"If one be found slain in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee\nto possess it, lying in the field, and it be not known who hath slain\nhim; then thy _elders_ and thy _judges_\"--the guardians of the claims\nof truth and righteousness--\"shall come forth, and they shall measure\nunto the cities that are round about him that is slain; and it shall\nbe, that the city which is next unto the slain man, even the elders of\nthat city shall take a heifer, which hath not been wrought with, and\nhath not drawn in the yoke; and the elders of that city shall bring\ndown the heifer unto _a rough valley_ which is neither eared nor\nsown, and shall strike off the heifer's neck there in the valley. And\n_the priests the sons of Levi_\"--exponents of grace and mercy--\"shall\ncome near; for them the Lord thy God hath chosen to _minister_ unto\nHim, and _to bless_ in the name of the Lord, and by their word shall\nevery controversy and every stroke be tried;\"--blessed, comforting\nfact!--\"and all the elders of that city that are next unto the slain\nman shall wash their hands over the heifer that is beheaded in the\nvalley; and they shall answer and say, Our hands have not shed this\nblood, neither have our eyes seen it. Be merciful, O Lord, unto Thy\npeople Israel, whom Thou hast redeemed, and lay not innocent blood to\nThy people of Israel's charge. And the blood shall be forgiven them.\nSo shalt thou put away the guilt of innocent blood from among you,\nwhen thou shalt do that which is right in the sight of the Lord.\"\n(Ver. 1-9.)\n\nA very suggestive and interesting passage of holy Scripture now lies\nopen before us, and claims our attention. A sin is committed--a man is\nfound slain in the land, but no one knows aught about it; no one can\ntell whether it is murder or manslaughter, or who committed the deed.\nIt lies entirely beyond the range of human knowledge; and yet there it\nis--an undeniable fact. Sin has been committed, and it lies as a stain\non the Lord's land, and man is wholly incompetent to deal with it.\n\nWhat, then, is to be done? The glory of God and the purity of His land\nmust be maintained. He knows all about it, and He alone can deal with\nit; and truly His mode of dealing with it is full of most precious\nteaching.\n\nFirst of all, the elders and judges appear on the scene. The claims of\ntruth and righteousness must be duly attended to; justice and judgment\nmust be perfectly maintained. This is a great cardinal truth, running\nall through the Word of God. _Sin_ must be judged ere _sins_ can be\nforgiven or the sinner justified. Ere mercy's heavenly voice can be\nheard, justice must be perfectly satisfied, the throne of God\nvindicated, and His name glorified. Grace must reign through\nrighteousness. Blessed be God that it is so! What a glorious truth for\nall who have taken their true place as sinners! God has been glorified\nas to the question of sin, and therefore He can, in perfect\nrighteousness, pardon and justify the sinner.\n\nBut we must confine ourselves simply to the interpretation of the\npassage before us, and in so doing, we shall find in it a very\nwonderful onlook into Israel's future. True, the great foundation-truth\nof atonement is presented, but it is with special reference to Israel.\nThe death of Christ is here seen in its two grand aspects, namely, as\nthe expression of man's guilt, and the display of God's grace. The\nformer, we have in the man found slain in the field; the latter, in\nthe heifer slain in the rough valley. The elders and the judges find\nout the city nearest to the slain man, and nothing can avail for that\ncity save the blood of a spotless victim--the blood of the One who was\nslain at the guilty city of Jerusalem.\n\nThe reader will note with much interest that the moment the claims of\njustice were met by the death of the victim, a new element is\nintroduced into the scene. \"The priests the sons of Levi shall come\nnear.\" This is grace acting on the blessed ground of righteousness.\nThe priests are the channels of grace, as the judges are the guardians\nof righteousness. How perfect, how beautiful, is Scripture, in every\npage, every paragraph, every sentence! It was not until the blood was\nshed that the ministers of grace could present themselves. The heifer\nbeheaded in the valley changed the aspect of things completely. \"The\npriests the sons of Levi shall come near; for them the Lord thy God\nhath chosen to minister unto Him, and to bless in the name of the\nLord; and _by their word_\"--blessed fact for Israel! blessed fact for\nevery true believer!--\"shall _every controversy_ and _every stroke be\ntried_.\" All is to be settled on the glorious and eternal principle of\ngrace reigning through righteousness.\n\nThus it is that God will deal with Israel by and by. We must not\nattempt to interfere with the primary application of all those\nstriking institutions which come under our notice in this profound and\nmarvelous book of Deuteronomy. No doubt there are lessons for\nus--precious lessons, but we may rest perfectly assured that the true\nway in which to understand and appreciate those lessons is to see\ntheir true and proper bearing. For instance, how precious, how full of\nconsolation, the fact that it is by the word of the minister of grace\nthat every controversy and every stroke is to be tried for repentant\nIsrael by and by, and for every repentant soul now! Do we lose aught\nof the deep blessedness of this by seeing and owning the proper\napplication of the scripture? Assuredly not. So far from this, the\ntrue secret of profiting by any special passage of the Word of God is\nto understand its true scope and bearing.\n\n\"And all the elders of that city that are next unto the slain man\nshall wash their hands over the heifer that is beheaded in the\nvalley.\"[22] \"I will wash my hands in innocency, and so will I compass\nThine altar.\" The true place to wash the hands is where the blood of\natonement has forever expiated our guilt. \"And they shall answer and\nsay, Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen\nit. Be merciful, O Lord, unto Thy people Israel, whom Thou hast\nredeemed, and lay not innocent blood unto Thy people of Israel's\ncharge. And the blood shall be forgiven them.\"\n\n [22] How full of suggestive power is the figure of \"the _rough\n valley_\"! How aptly it sets forth what this world at large, and the\n land of Israel in particular, was to our blessed Lord and Saviour!\n Truly it was a rough place to Him, a place of humiliation, a dry and\n thirsty land, a place that had never been eared or sown. But, all\n homage to His Name! by His death in this rough valley, He has procured\n for this earth and for the land of Israel a rich harvest of blessing,\n which shall be reaped throughout the millennial age, to the full\n praise of redeeming love. And even now, He, from the throne of\n heaven's majesty, and we, in spirit with Him, can look back to that\n rough valley as the place where the blessed work was done which forms\n the imperishable foundation of God's glory, the Church's blessing,\n Israel's full restoration, the joy of countless nations, and the\n glorious deliverance of this groaning creation.\n\n\"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.\" \"Unto you\nfirst, God having raised up His Son Jesus, sent Him to bless you, by\nturning away every one of you from his iniquities.\" Thus all Israel\nshall be saved and blessed by and by, according to the eternal\ncounsels of God, and in pursuance of His promise and oath to Abraham,\nratified and eternally established by the precious blood of Christ, to\nwhom be all homage and praise, world without end!\n\nVerses 10-17 bear in a very special way upon Israel's relationship to\nJehovah. We shall not dwell upon it here. The reader will find\nnumerous references to this subject throughout the pages of the\nprophets, in which the Holy Ghost makes the most touching appeals to\nthe conscience of the nation--appeals grounded on the marvelous fact\nof the relationship into which He had brought them to Himself, but in\nwhich they had so signally and grievously failed. Israel has proved an\nunfaithful wife, and, in consequence thereof, has been set aside; but\nthe time will come when this long-rejected but never-forgotten people\nshall not only be reinstated, but brought into a condition of\nblessedness, privilege, and glory beyond any thing ever known in the\npast.\n\nThis must never, for a moment, be lost sight of or interfered with. It\nruns like a brilliant golden line through the prophetic scriptures,\nfrom Isaiah to Malachi, and the lovely theme is resumed and carried on\nin the New Testament. Take the following glowing passage, which is\nonly one of a hundred: \"For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and\nfor Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof\ngo forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that\nburneth. And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings\nthy glory; and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of\nthe Lord shall name. Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand\nof the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God. Thou shalt no\nmore be termed Forsaken, neither shall thy land any more be termed\nDesolate; but thou shalt be called Hephzi-bah [My delight is in her],\nand thy land Beulah [married]; for the Lord delighteth in thee, and\nthy land shall be married. For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so\nshall thy sons marry thee; and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the\nbride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee. I have set watchmen upon\nthy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor\nnight: ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence, and give\nHim no rest, till He establish, and till He make Jerusalem a praise in\nthe earth. The Lord hath sworn by His right hand, and by the arm of\nHis strength\"--let men beware how they meddle with this!--\"Surely I\nwill no more give thy corn to be meat for thine enemies; and the sons\nof the stranger shall not drink thy wine, for the which thou hast\nlabored; but they that have gathered it shall eat it and praise the\nLord, and they that have brought it together shall drink it in the\ncourts of My holiness.... Behold, the Lord hath proclaimed unto the\nend of the world, 'Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy\nsalvation cometh; behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before\nHim. And they shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed of the\nLord; and thou shalt be called, Sought out, A city not forsaken.'\"\n(Is. lxii.)\n\nTo attempt to alienate this sublime and glorious passage from its\nproper object, and apply it to the Christian Church, either on earth\nor in heaven, is to do positive violence to the Word of God, and\nintroduce a system of interpretation utterly destructive of the\nintegrity of holy Scripture. The passage which we have just\ntranscribed, with intense spiritual delight, applies only to the\nliteral Zion, the literal Jerusalem, the literal land of Israel. Let\nthe reader see that he thoroughly seizes and faithfully holds fast\nthis fact.\n\nAs to the Church, her position on earth is that of an espoused virgin,\nnot of a married wife. Her marriage will take place in heaven. (Rev.\nxix. 7, 8.) To apply to her such passages as the above is to falsify\nher position entirely, and deny the plainest statements of Scripture\nas to her calling, her portion, and her hope, which are purely\nheavenly.\n\nVerses 18-21 of our chapter record the case of \"a stubborn and\nrebellious son.\" Here again we have Israel viewed from another\nstand-point. It is the apostate generation, for which there is no\nforgiveness. \"If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will\nnot obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that\nwhen they have chastened him will not hearken unto them; then shall\nhis father and his mother lay hold on him and bring him out unto the\nelders of his city, and unto the gate of his place; and they shall say\nunto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious;\nhe will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard. And all\nthe men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die; so shalt\nthou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear and\nfear.\"\n\nThe reader may with much interest contrast the solemn action of law\nand government in the case of the rebellious son, with the lovely and\nfamiliar parable of the prodigal son in Luke xv. Our space does not\nadmit of our dwelling upon it here, much as we should delight to do\nso. It is marvelous to think that it is the same God who speaks and\nacts in Deuteronomy xxi. and in Luke xv; but oh, how different the\naction! how different the style! Under the law, the father is called\nupon to lay hold of his son and bring him forth to be stoned; under\ngrace, the father runs to meet the returning son, falls on his neck\nand kisses him; clothes him in the best robe, puts a ring on his hand,\nand shoes on his feet, has the fatted calf killed for him, seats him\nat the table with himself, and makes the house ring with the joy that\nfills his own heart at getting back the poor wandering spendthrift.\n\nStriking contrast! In Deuteronomy xxi, we see _the hand of God_, in\nrighteous government, executing judgment upon the rebellious; in Luke\nxv, we see _the heart of God_ pouring itself out, in soul-subduing\ntenderness, upon the poor repentant one, giving him the sweet\nassurance that it is His own deep joy to get back His lost one. The\npersistent rebel meets the stone of judgment; the returning penitent\nmeets the kiss of love.\n\nBut we must close this section by calling the reader's attention to\nthe last verse of our chapter. It is referred to in a very remarkable\nway by the inspired apostle in the third chapter of Galatians. \"Christ\nhath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us;\nfor it is written, 'Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.'\"\n\nThis reference is full of interest and value, not only because it\npresents to us the precious grace of our Lord and Saviour Jesus\nChrist, in making Himself a curse for us, in order that the blessing\nof Abraham might come on us poor sinners of the Gentiles, but also\nbecause it furnishes a very striking illustration of the way in which\nthe Holy Spirit puts His seal upon the writings of Moses in general,\nand upon Deuteronomy xxi. in particular. All Scripture hangs together\nso perfectly that if one part be touched, you mar the integrity of the\nwhole. The same Spirit breathes in the writings of Moses, in the pages\nof the prophets, in the four evangelists, in the Acts, in the\napostolic epistles, general and particular, and in that most profound\nand precious section which closes the divine volume. We deem it our\nsacred duty--as it is most assuredly our high privilege--to press this\nweighty fact upon all with whom we come in contact; and we would very\nearnestly entreat the reader to give it his earnest attention, to hold\nit fast, and bear a steady testimony to it, in this day of carnal\nlaxity, cold indifference, and positive hostility.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTERS XXII.-XXV.\n\n\nThe portion of our book on which we now enter, though not calling for\nelaborate exposition, yet teaches us two very important practical\nlessons. In the first place, many of the institutions and ordinances\nhere set forth prove and illustrate, in a most striking way, the\nterrible depravity of the human heart. They show us, with unmistakable\ndistinctness, what man is capable of doing if left to himself. We must\never remember, as we read some of the paragraphs of this section of\nDeuteronomy, that God the Holy Ghost has indited them. We, in our\nfancied wisdom, may feel disposed to ask why such passages were ever\npenned. Can it be possible that they are actually inspired by the Holy\nGhost? and of what possible value can they be to us? If they were\nwritten for our learning, then what are we to learn from them?\n\nOur reply to all these questions is at once simple and direct; and it\nis this: The very passages which we might least expect to find on the\npage of inspiration teach us, in their own peculiar way, the moral\nmaterial of which we are made, and the moral depths into which we are\ncapable of plunging. And is not this of great moment? Is it not well\nto have a faithful mirror held up before our eyes, in which we may see\nevery moral trait, feature, and lineament perfectly reflected?\nUnquestionably. We hear a great deal about the dignity of human\nnature, and very many find it exceedingly hard to admit that they are\nreally capable of committing some of the sins prohibited in the\nsection before us, and in other portions of the divine volume; but we\nmay rest assured that when God commands us not to commit this or that\nparticular sin, we are verily capable of committing it. This is beyond\nall question. Divine wisdom would never erect a dam if there was not a\ncurrent to be resisted. There would be no necessity to tell an angel\nnot to steal; but man has theft in his nature, and hence the command\napplies to him. And just so in reference to every other prohibited\nthing; the prohibition proves the tendency--proves it beyond all\nquestion. We must either admit this or imply the positive blasphemy\nthat God has spoken in vain.\n\nBut then, it may be said, and is said by many, that while some very\nterrible samples of fallen humanity are capable of committing some of\nthe abominable sins prohibited in Scripture, yet all are not so. This\nis a most thorough mistake. Hear what the Holy Ghost says in the\nseventeenth chapter of the prophet Jeremiah. \"_The heart_ is deceitful\nabove all things, and desperately wicked.\" Whose heart is he speaking\nof? Is it the heart of some atrocious criminal, or of some untutored\nsavage? Nay; it is the human heart--the heart of the writer and of the\nreader of these lines.\n\nHear also what our Lord Jesus Christ says on this subject.--\"Out of\n_the heart_ proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications,\nthefts, false witness, blasphemies.\" Out of what heart? Is it the\nheart of some hideously depraved and abominable wretch, wholly unfit\nto appear in decent society? Nay; it is out of the human heart--the\nheart of the writer and of the reader of these lines.\n\nLet us never forget this; it is a wholesome truth for every one of us.\nWe all need to bear in mind that if God were to withdraw His\nsustaining grace for one moment, there is no depth of iniquity into\nwhich we are not capable of plunging; indeed, we may add--and we do it\nwith deep thankfulness--it is His own gracious hand that preserves us,\neach moment, from becoming a complete wreck in every way,--physically,\nmentally, morally, spiritually, and in our circumstances. May we keep\nthis ever in the remembrance of the thoughts of our hearts, so that we\nmay walk humbly and watchfully, and lean upon that arm which alone can\nsustain and preserve us.\n\nBut we have said there is another valuable lesson furnished by this\nsection of our book which now lies open before us. It teaches us, in a\nmanner peculiar to itself, the marvelous way in which God provided for\nevery thing connected with His people. Nothing escaped His gracious\nnotice; nothing was too trivial for His tender care. No mother could\nbe more careful of the habits and manners of her little child than the\nalmighty Creator and moral Governor of the universe was of the most\nminute details connected with the daily history of His people. By day\nand by night, waking and sleeping, at home and abroad, He looked after\nthem. Their clothing, their food, their manners and ways toward one\nanother, how they were to build their houses, how they were to plow\nand sow their ground, how they were to carry themselves in the deepest\nprivacy of their personal life,--all was attended to and provided for\nin a manner that fills us with wonder, love, and praise. We may here\nsee, in a most striking way, that there is nothing too small for our\nGod to take notice of when His people are concerned. He takes a\nloving, tender, fatherly interest in their most minute concerns. We\nare amazed to find the Most High God, the Creator of the ends of the\nearth, the Sustainer of the vast universe, condescending to legislate\nabout the matter of a bird's nest; and yet why should we be amazed\nwhen we know that it is just the same to Him to provide for a sparrow\nas to feed a thousand millions of people daily?\n\nBut there was one grand fact which was ever to be kept prominently\nbefore each member of the congregation of Israel, namely, the divine\npresence in their midst. This fact was to govern their most private\nhabits, and give character to all their ways. \"The Lord thy God\nwalketh in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give up\nthine enemies before thee; _therefore shall thy camp be holy_; that He\nsee no unclean thing in thee, and turn away from thee.\" (Chap. xxiii.\n14.)\n\nWhat a precious privilege to have Jehovah walking in their midst! what\na motive for purity of conduct, and refined delicacy in their personal\nand domestic habits! If He was in their midst to secure victory over\ntheir enemies, He was also there to demand holiness of life. They were\nnever for one moment to forget the august Person who walked up and\ndown in their midst. Would the thought of this prove irksome to any?\nOnly to such as did not love holiness, purity, and moral order. Every\ntrue Israelite would delight in the thought of having One dwelling in\ntheir midst who could not endure aught that was unholy, unseemly, or\nimpure.\n\nThe Christian reader will be at no loss to seize the moral force and\napplication of this holy principle. It is our privilege to have God\nthe Spirit dwelling in us, individually and collectively. Thus we\nread, in 1 Corinthians vi. 19, \"What! know ye not that _your body_ is\nthe temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which ye have of God,\nand ye are not your own?\" This is individual. Each believer is a\ntemple of the Holy Ghost, and this most glorious and precious truth is\nthe ground of the exhortation given in Ephesians iv. 30--\"_Grieve_ not\nthe holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of\nredemption.\"\n\nHow very important to keep this ever in the remembrance of the\nthoughts of our hearts! what a mighty moral motive for the diligent\ncultivation of purity of heart and holiness of life! When tempted to\nindulge in any wrong current of thought or feeling, any unworthy\nmanner of speech, any unseemly line of conduct, what a powerful\ncorrective would be found in the realization of the blessed fact that\nthe Holy Spirit dwells in our body as in His temple! If only we could\nkeep this ever before us, it would preserve us from many a wandering\nthought, many an unguarded and foolish utterance, many an unbecoming\nact.\n\nBut not only does the Holy Spirit dwell in each individual believer,\nHe also dwells in the Church collectively. \"Know ye not that _ye are\nthe temple of God_, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth _in you_?\" (1\nCor. iii. 16.) It is upon this fact that the apostle grounds his\nexhortation in 1 Thessalonians v. 19--\"_Quench_ not the Spirit.\" How\ndivinely perfect is Scripture? how blessedly it hangs together! The\nHoly Ghost dwells in us individually, hence we are not to _grieve_\nHim; He dwells in the assembly, hence we are not to _quench_ Him, but\ngive Him His right place, and allow full scope for His blessed\noperations. May these great practical truths find a deep place in our\nhearts, and exert a more powerful influence over our ways, both in\nprivate life and in the public assembly.\n\nWe shall now proceed to quote a few passages from the section of our\nbook which now lies open before us strikingly illustrative of the\nwisdom, goodness, tenderness, holiness, and righteousness which marked\nall the dealings of God with His people of old. Take, for example, the\nvery opening paragraph. \"Thou shalt not see thy brother's ox or his\nsheep go astray, and _hide thyself from them_; thou shalt in any case\nbring them again unto thy brother. And if thy brother be not nigh unto\nthee, or if thou know him not, then thou shalt bring it unto thine own\nhouse, and it shall be with thee until thy brother seek after it, and\nthou shalt restore it to him again. In like manner shalt thou do with\nhis ass; and so shalt thou do with his raiment; and with all lost\nthing of thy brother's which he hath lost, and thou hast found, shalt\nthou do likewise; _thou mayest not hide thyself_. Thou shalt not see\nthy brother's ass or his ox fall down by the way, _and hide thyself\nfrom them_; thou shalt surely help him to lift them up again.\" (Chap.\nxxii. 1-4.)\n\nHere the two lessons of which we have spoken are very distinctly\npresented. What a deeply humbling picture of the human heart have we\nin that one sentence, \"Thou mayest not hide thyself\"! We are capable\nof the base and detestable selfishness of hiding ourselves from our\nbrother's claims upon our sympathy and succor--of shirking the holy\nduty of looking after his interests--of pretending not to see his real\nneed of our aid. Such is man!--such is the writer!\n\nBut oh, how blessedly the character of our God shines out in this\npassage! The brother's ox, or his sheep, or his ass, was not (to use\na modern phrase) to be thrust into pound for trespass; it was to be\nbrought home, cared for, and restored, safe and sound, to the owner,\nwithout charge for damage. And so with the raiment. How lovely is all\nthis! how it breathes upon us the very air of the divine presence, the\nfragrant atmosphere of divine goodness, tenderness, and thoughtful\nlove! What a high and holy privilege for any people to have their\nconduct governed and their character formed by such exquisite statutes\nand judgments!\n\nAgain, take the following passage, so beautifully illustrative of\ndivine thoughtfulness: \"When thou buildest a new house, then thou\nshalt make a battlement for thy roof, that thou bring not blood upon\nthine house, if any man fall from thence.\" The Lord would have His\npeople thoughtful and considerate of others; and hence, in building\ntheir houses, they were not merely to think of themselves and their\nconvenience, but also of others and their safety.\n\nCannot Christians learn something from this? How prone we are to think\nonly of ourselves, our own interests, our own comfort and convenience!\nHow rarely it happens that in the building or furnishing of our houses\nwe bestow a thought upon other people! We build and furnish for\nourselves. Alas! self is too much our object and motive-spring in all\nour undertakings; nor can it be otherwise unless the heart be kept\nunder the governing power of those motives and objects which belong to\nChristianity. We must live in the pure and heavenly atmosphere of the\nnew creation in order to get above and beyond the base selfishness\nwhich characterizes fallen humanity. Every unconverted man, woman, and\nchild on the face of the earth is governed simply by self in some\nshape or another. Self is the centre, the object, the motive-spring,\nof every action.\n\nTrue, some are more amiable, more affectionate, more benevolent, more\nunselfish, more disinterested, more agreeable, than others; but it is\nutterly impossible that \"the natural man\" can be governed by spiritual\nmotives, or an earthly man be animated by heavenly objects. Alas! we\nhave to confess, with shame and sorrow, that we who profess to be\nheavenly and spiritual are so prone to live for ourselves, to seek our\nown things, to maintain our own interests, to consult our own ease and\nconvenience. We are all alive and on the alert when _self_, in any\nshape or form, is concerned.\n\nAll this is most sad and deeply humbling. It realty ought not to be,\nand it would not be if we were looking more simply and earnestly to\nChrist as our great Exemplar and model in all things. Earnest and\nconstant occupation of heart with Christ is the true secret of all\npractical Christianity. It is not rules and regulations that will ever\nmake us Christlike in our spirit, manner, and ways. We must drink into\nHis spirit, walk in His footsteps, dwell more profoundly upon His\nmoral glories, and then we shall, of blessed necessity, be conformed\nto His image. \"We all with open face beholding as in a glass [or\nmirroring--\u03ba\u03b1\u03c4\u03bf\u03c0\u03c4\u03c1\u03b9\u03b6\u03cc\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03bf\u03b9] the glory, are changed\ninto the same image, from glory to glory even as by the Spirit of\nthe Lord.\" (2 Cor. iii.)\n\nWe must now ask the reader to turn for a moment to the following very\nimportant practical instructions--full of suggestive power for all\nChristian workers: \"Thou shalt not sow thy vineyard with _divers\nseeds_, lest the fruit of thy seed which thou hast sown and the fruit\nof thy vineyard be defiled.\" (Chap. xxii. 9.)\n\nWhat a weighty principle is here! Do we really understand it? do we\nsee its true spiritual application? It is to be feared there is a\nterrible amount of \"mingled seed\" used in the so-called spiritual\nhusbandry of the present day. How much of \"philosophy and vain\ndeceit,\" how much of \"science falsely so called,\" how much of \"the\nrudiments of the world,\" do we find mixed up in the teaching and\npreaching throughout the length and breadth of the professing church!\nHow little of the pure, unadulterated seed of the Word of God, the\n\"incorruptible seed\" of the precious gospel of Christ, is scattered\nbroad-cast over the field of christendom in this our day! How few,\ncomparatively, are content to confine themselves within the covers of\nthe Bible for the material of their ministry! Those who are, by the\ngrace of God, faithful enough to do so, are looked upon as men of one\nidea, men of the old school, narrow, and behind the times.\n\nWell, we can only say, with a full and glowing heart, God bless the\nmen of one idea--men of the precious old school of apostolic\npreaching! Most heartily do we congratulate them on their blessed\nnarrowness, and their being behind these dark and infidel times. We\nare fully aware of what we expose ourselves to in thus writing, but\nthis does not move us. We are persuaded that every true servant of\nChrist must be a man of one idea, and that idea is Christ; he must\nbelong to the very oldest school--the school of Christ; he must be as\nnarrow as the truth of God; and he must, with stern decision, refuse\nto move one hair's breadth in the direction of this infidel age. We\ncannot shake off the conviction that the effort on the part of the\npreachers and teachers of christendom to keep abreast of the\nliterature of the day must, to a very large extent, account for the\nrapid advance of rationalism and infidelity. They have got away from\nthe holy Scriptures, and sought to adorn their ministry by the\nresources of philosophy, science, and literature. They have catered\nmore for the intellect than for the heart and conscience. The pure and\nprecious doctrines of holy Scripture, the sincere milk of the Word,\nthe gospel of the grace of God and of the glory of Christ, were found\ninsufficient to attract and keep together large congregations. As\nIsrael of old despised the manna, got tired of it, and pronounced it\nlight food, so the professing church grew weary of the pure doctrines\nof that glorious Christianity unfolded in the pages of the New\nTestament, and sighed for something to gratify the intellect and feed\nthe imagination. The doctrines of the cross, in which the blessed\napostle gloried, have lost their charm for the professing church, and\nany who would be faithful enough to adhere and confine themselves in\ntheir ministry to those doctrines might abandon all thought of\npopularity.\n\nBut let all the true and faithful ministers of Christ, all true\nworkers in His vineyard, apply their hearts to the spiritual principle\nset forth in Deuteronomy xxii. 9; let them, with unflinching decision,\nrefuse to make use of \"divers seeds\" in their spiritual husbandry; let\nthem confine themselves, in their ministry, to \"the form of sound\nwords,\" and ever seek \"rightly to divide the word of truth,\" that so\nthey may not be ashamed of their work, but receive a full reward in\nthat day when every man's work shall be tried of what sort it is. We\nmay depend upon it, the Word of God--the pure seed--is the only proper\nmaterial for the spiritual workman to use. We do not despise learning;\nfar from it; we consider it most valuable in its right place. The\n_facts_ of science, too, and the resources of sound philosophy, may\nall be turned to profitable account in unfolding and illustrating the\ntruth of holy Scripture. We find the blessed Master Himself and His\ninspired apostles making use of the facts of history and of nature in\ntheir public teaching; and who, in his sober senses, would think of\ncalling in question the value and importance of a competent knowledge\nof the original languages of Hebrew and Greek in the private study and\npublic exposition of the Word of God?\n\nBut admitting all this, as we most fully do, it leaves wholly\nuntouched the great practical principle before us--a principle to\nwhich all the Lord's people and His servants are bound to adhere,\nnamely, that the Holy Ghost is the only power, and holy Scripture the\nonly material, for all true ministry in the gospel and the Church of\nGod. If this were more fully understood and faithfully acted upon, we\nshould witness a very different condition of things throughout the\nlength and breadth of the vineyard of Christ.\n\nHere, however, we must close this section. We have elsewhere sought to\nhandle the subject of \"The Unequal Yoke,\" and shall not therefore\ndwell upon it here.[23] The Israelite was not to plow with an ox and\nan ass together; neither was he to wear a garment of divers sorts, as\nof woolen and linen. The spiritual application of both these things is\nas simple as it is important. The Christian is not to link himself\nwith an unbeliever for any object whatsoever, be it domestic,\nreligious, philanthrophic, or commercial; neither must he allow\nhimself to be governed by mixed principles. His character must be\nformed and his conduct ruled by the pure and lofty principles of the\nWord of God. Thus may it be with all who profess and call themselves\nChristians.\n\n [23] See a pamphlet entitled \"The Unequal Yoke,\" post-paid, 10 cts.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXVI\n\n\n\"And it shall be, _when thou art come_ in unto the land which the Lord\nthy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and _possessest it_, and\n_dwellest_ therein; that thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit\nof the earth, which thou shalt bring of thy land that the Lord thy God\ngiveth thee, and shalt put it in a basket, and shalt go unto _the\nplace which the Lord thy God shall choose to place His name\nthere_\"--not to a place of their own or others' choosing.--\"And thou\nshalt go unto the priest that shall be in those days, and say unto\nhim, I profess this day unto the Lord thy God that _I am come_ unto\nthe country which the Lord sware unto our fathers for to give us. And\nthe priest shall take the basket out of thine hand, and set it down\nbefore the altar of the Lord thy God.\" (Ver. 1-4.)\n\nThe chapter on which we now enter contains the lovely ordinance of the\nbasket of first-fruits, in which we shall find some principles of the\ndeepest interest and practical importance. It was when the hand of\nJehovah had conducted His people into the land of promise that the\nfruits of that land could be presented. It was obviously necessary to\nbe in Canaan ere Canaan's fruits could be offered in worship. The\nworshiper was able to say, \"I profess this day unto the Lord thy God\nthat I am come unto the country which the Lord sware unto our fathers\nfor to give us.\"\n\nHere lay the root of the matter.--\"_I am come._\" He does not say, I am\ncoming, hoping to come, or longing to come. No; but, \"I am come.\" Thus\nit must ever be. We must know ourselves saved ere we can offer the\nfruits of a known salvation. We may be most sincere in our desires\nafter salvation, most earnest in our efforts to obtain it; but then we\ncannot but see that efforts to be saved, and the fruits of a known and\nenjoyed salvation, are wholly different. The Israelite did not offer\nthe basket of first-fruits in order to get into the land, but because\nhe was actually in it. \"I profess this day ... that I am come.\" There\nis no mistake about it--no question, no doubt, not even a hope. I am\nactually in the land, and here is the fruit of it.\n\n\"And thou shalt speak, and say before the Lord thy God, A Syrian ready\nto perish was my father; and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned\nthere with a few, and became there a nation, great, mighty, and\npopulous; and the Egyptians evil entreated us, and afflicted us, and\nlaid upon us hard bondage; and when we cried unto the Lord God of our\nfathers, the Lord heard our voice, and looked on our affliction and\nour labor and our oppression; and the Lord brought us forth out of\nEgypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great\nterribleness, and with signs, and with wonders; and He hath brought us\ninto this place, and hath given us this land, even a land that floweth\nwith milk and honey. And now, behold, I have brought the first-fruits\nof the land, which Thou, O Lord, hast given me. And thou shalt set it\nbefore the Lord thy God, and worship before the Lord thy God; and thou\nshalt rejoice in every good thing which the Lord thy God hath given\nunto thee, and unto thine house, thou, and the Levite, and the\nstranger that is among you.\"\n\nThis is a very beautiful illustration of worship. \"A Syrian ready to\nperish.\" Such was the origin. There is nothing to boast of, so far as\nnature is concerned. And as to the condition in which grace had found\nthem, what of it? Hard bondage in the land of Egypt; toiling amid the\nbrick-kilns, beneath the cruel lash of Pharaoh's taskmasters. But\nthen, \"We cried unto Jehovah.\" Here was their sure and blessed\nresource. It was all they could do, but it was enough. That cry of\nhelplessness went directly up to the throne and to the heart of God,\nand brought Him down into the very midst of the brick-kilns of Egypt.\nHear Jehovah's gracious words to Moses--\"I have surely seen the\naffliction of My people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry,\nby reason of their taskmasters; for _I know their sorrows_; and I am\ncome down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to\nbring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a\nland flowing with milk and honey.... Now therefore, behold, the cry of\nthe children of Israel is come unto Me; and I have also seen the\noppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.\" (Ex. iii. 7-9.)\n\nSuch was the immediate response of Jehovah to the cry of His people.\n\"I am come down to deliver them.\" Yes, blessed be His name, He came\ndown, in the exercise of His own free and sovereign grace, to deliver\nHis people; and no power of men or devils--earth or hell could hold\nthem for a moment beyond the appointed time. Hence, in our chapter, we\nhave the grand result as set forth in the language of the worshiper\nand in the contents of his basket. \"I am come unto the country which\nthe Lord sware unto our fathers for to give us.... And now, behold, I\nhave brought the first-fruits of the land, which Thou, O Lord, hast\ngiven me.\" The Lord had accomplished all, according to the love of His\nheart and the faithfulness of His word. Not one jot or tittle had\nfailed.--\"I am come\" And \"I have brought the fruit.\" The fruit of\nwhat? of Egypt? Nay; but \"of the land, which Thou, O Lord, hast given\nme.\" The worshiper's lips proclaimed the completeness of Jehovah's\nwork; the worshiper's basket contained the fruit of Jehovah's land.\nNothing could be simpler, nothing more real. There was no room for a\ndoubt, no ground for a question. He had simply to declare Jehovah's\nwork and show the fruit. It was all of God from first to last. He had\nbrought them out of Egypt, and He had brought them into Canaan. He had\nfilled their baskets with the mellow fruits of His land, and their\nhearts with His praise.\n\nAnd now, beloved reader, let us just ask you, do you think it was\npresumption on the part of the Israelite to speak as he did? Was it\nright, was it modest, was it humble, of him to say, \"_I am come_\"?\nWould it have been more becoming in him merely to give expression to\nthe faint hope that at some future period he might come? would doubt\nand hesitation as to his position and his portion have been more\nhonoring and gratifying to the God of Israel? What say you? It may be\nthat, anticipating our argument, you are ready to say, There is no\nanalogy. Why not? If an Israelite could say, \"I am come unto the\ncountry which the Lord sware unto our fathers for to give us,\" why\ncannot the believer now say, I am come unto Jesus? True, in the one\ncase, it was sight; in the other, it is faith. But is the latter less\nreal than the former? Does not the inspired apostle say to the\nHebrews, \"Ye _are come_ unto Mount Zion\"? and again, \"We _receiving_ a\nkingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace whereby we may serve\nGod with reverence and godly fear.\" If we are in doubt as to whether\nwe have \"come\" or not, and as to whether we have \"received the\nkingdom\" or not, it is impossible to worship in truth or serve with\nacceptance. It is when we are in intelligent and peaceful possession\nof the place and portion in Christ that true worship can ascend to the\nthrone above, and effective service be rendered in the vineyard below.\n\nFor what, let us ask, is true worship? It is simply telling out, in\nthe presence of God, what He is, and what He has done. It is the heart\noccupied with and delighting in God and in all His marvelous actings\nand ways. Now, if we have no knowledge of God, and no faith in what\nHe has done, how can we worship Him? \"He that cometh to God must\nbelieve that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently\nseek Him.\" But then to know God is eternal life. I cannot worship God\nif I do not know Him, and I cannot know Him without having eternal\nlife. The Athenians had erected an altar \"to the unknown God,\" and\nPaul told them that they were worshiping in ignorance, and proceeded\nto declare unto them the true God as revealed in the Person and work\nof the Man Christ Jesus.\n\nIt is deeply important to be clear as to this. I must know God ere I\ncan worship Him. I may \"feel after Him, if haply I may find Him;\" but\nfeeling after One whom I have not found, and worshiping and delighting\nin One whom I have found, are two totally different things. God has\nrevealed Himself, blessed be His name! He has given us the light of\nthe knowledge of His glory in the face of Jesus Christ. He has come\nnear to us in the Person of that blessed One, so that we may know Him,\nlove Him, trust in Him, delight in Him, and use Him, in all our\nweakness and in all our need. We have no longer to grope for Him amid\nthe darkness of nature, nor yet among the clouds and mists of spurious\nreligion, in its ten thousand forms. No; our God has made Himself\nknown by a revelation so plain that the wayfaring man, though a fool\nin all beside, may not err therein. The Christian can say, \"_I know_\nwhom I have believed.\" This is the basis of all true worship. There\nmay be a vast amount of fleshly pietism, mechanical religion, and\nceremonial routine without a single atom of true spiritual worship.\nThis latter can only flow from the knowledge of God.\n\nBut our object is not to write a treatise on worship, but simply to\nunfold to our readers the instructive and beautiful ordinance of the\nbasket of first-fruits. And having shown that worship was the first\nthing with an Israelite who found himself in possession of the\nland--and further, that we now must know our place and privilege in\nChrist before we can truthfully and intelligently worship the\nFather--we shall proceed to point out another very important practical\nresult illustrated in our chapter, namely, _active benevolence_.\n\n\"When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine\nincrease the third year, which is the year of tithing, and hast given\nit unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that\nthey may eat within thy gates, and be filled; then thou shalt say\nbefore the Lord thy God, I have brought away the hallowed things out\nof mine house, and also have given them unto the Levite, and unto the\nstranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all Thy\ncommandments, which Thou hast commanded me; I have not transgressed\nThy commandments, neither have I forgotten them.\" (Ver. 12, 13.)\n\nNothing can be more beautiful than the moral order of these things. It\nis precisely similar to what we have in Hebrews xiii. \"By Him\ntherefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually,\nthat is, _the fruit_ of our lips giving thanks to His name.\" Here is\nthe worship. \"But to do good and to communicate forget not; for with\nsuch sacrifices God is well pleased.\" Here is the active benevolence.\nPutting both together, we have what we may call the upper and the\nnether side of the Christian's character--praising God and doing good\nto men. Precious characteristics! May we exhibit them more faithfully.\nOne thing is certain, they will always go together. Show us a man\nwhose heart is full of praise to God, and we will show you one whose\nheart is open to every form of human need. He may not be rich in this\nworld's goods; he may be obliged to say, like one of old who was not\nashamed to say it, \"Silver and gold have I none;\" but he will have the\ntear of sympathy, the kindly look, the soothing word, and these things\ntell far more powerfully upon a sensitive heart than the opening of\nthe purse-strings, and the jingling of silver and gold. Our adorable\nLord and Master, our great Exemplar, \"went about doing good;\" but we\nnever read of His giving money to any one; indeed, we are warranted in\nbelieving that the blessed One never possessed a penny. When He wanted\nto answer the Herodians on the subject of paying tribute to C\u00e6sar, He\nhad to ask them to show Him a penny; and when asked to pay tribute, He\nsent Peter to the sea to get it. He never carried money, and most\nassuredly money is not named in the category of gifts bestowed by Him\nupon His servants. Still He went about doing good, and we are to do\nthe same, in our little measure; it is at once our high privilege and\nour bounden duty to do so.\n\nAnd let the reader mark the divine order laid down in Hebrews xiii.\nand illustrated in Deuteronomy xxvi. Worship gets the first, the\nhighest place. Let us never forget this. We, in our wisdom or our\nsentimentality, might imagine that doing good to men, usefulness,\nphilanthropy, is the highest thing; but it is not so. \"Whoso offereth\n_praise_ glorifieth Me.\" God inhabits the praises of His people. He\ndelights to surround Himself with hearts filled to overflowing with a\nsense of His goodness, His greatness, and His glory. Hence, we are to\noffer the sacrifice of praise to God \"continually.\" So also the\nPsalmist says, \"I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall\ncontinually be in my mouth.\" It is not merely now and then, or when\nall is bright and cheery around us, when everything goes on smoothly\nand prosperously; no, but \"_at all times_\"--\"_continually_.\" The\nstream of thanksgiving is to flow uninterruptedly. There is no\ninterval for murmuring or complaining, fretfulness or dissatisfaction,\ngloom or despondency. Praise and thanksgiving are to be our continual\noccupation. We are ever to cultivate the spirit of worship. Every\nbreath, as it were, ought to be a halleluiah. Thus it shall be by and\nby. Praise will be our happy and holy service while eternity rolls\nalong its course of golden ages. When we shall have no further call to\n\"communicate,\" no demand on our resources or our sympathies, when we\nshall have bid an eternal adieu to this scene of sorrow and need,\ndeath and desolation, then shall we praise our God for evermore,\nwithout let or interruption, in the sanctuary of His own blessed\npresence above.\n\n\"But to do good and to communicate _forget not_.\" There is singular\ninterest attaching to the mode in which this is put. He does not say,\nBut to offer the sacrifice of praise forget not. No; but lest, in the\nfull and happy enjoyment of our own place and portion in Christ, we\nshould \"forget\" that we are passing through a scene of want and\nmisery, trial and pressure, the apostle adds the salutary and\nmuch-needed admonition as to doing good and communicating. The\nspiritual Israelite is not only to rejoice in every good thing which\nthe Lord his God has bestowed upon him, but he is also to remember the\nLevite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow--that is, the one\nwho has no earthly portion, and is thoroughly devoted to the Lord's\nwork, and the one who has no home, the one who has no natural\nprotector, and the one who has no earthly stay. It must ever be thus.\nThe rich tide of grace rolls down from the bosom of God, fills our\nhearts to overflowing, and in its overflow, refreshes and gladdens our\nwhole sphere of action. If we were only living in the enjoyment of\nwhat is ours in God, our every movement, our every act, our every\nword, yea, our every look, would do good. The Christian, according to\nthe divine idea, is one who stands with one hand lifted up to God in\nthe presentation of the sacrifice of praise, and the other hand filled\nwith the fragrant fruits of genuine benevolence to meet every form of\nhuman need.\n\nO beloved reader, let us deeply ponder these things; let us really\napply our whole hearts to the earnest consideration of them; let us\nseek a fuller realization and a truer expression of these two great\nbranches of practical Christianity, and not be satisfied with any\nthing less.\n\nWe shall now briefly glance at the third point in the precious chapter\nbefore us. We shall do little more than quote the passage for the\nreader. The Israelite, having presented his basket and distributed his\ntithes, was further instructed to say, \"I have not eaten thereof in my\n_mourning_, neither have I taken away aught thereof for any _unclean_\nuse, nor given aught thereof for _the dead_; but I have hearkened to\nthe voice of the Lord my God, and have done according to all that Thou\nhast commanded me. Look down from Thy holy habitation, from heaven,\nand bless Thy people Israel, and the land which Thou hast given us, as\nThou swarest unto our fathers, a land that floweth with milk and\nhoney. This day the Lord thy God hath commanded thee to do these\nstatutes and judgments; thou shalt therefore _keep_ and _do_ them,\n_with all thine heart_ and _with all thy soul_. Thou hast avouched the\nLord this day to be thy God, and to _walk in His ways_, and to keep\nHis statutes and His commandments and His judgments, and to hearken\nunto His voice: and the Lord hath avouched thee this day to be His\npeculiar people\"--that is, a people of His own special possession--\"as\nHe hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep _all_ His\ncommandments; and to make thee high above all nations which He hath\nmade, in praise and in name and in honor; and that thou mayest be _a\nholy people_ unto the Lord thy God, as He hath spoken.\" (Ver. 14-19.)\n\nHere we have personal holiness, practical sanctification, entire\nseparation from every thing inconsistent with the holy place and\nrelationship into which they had been introduced, in the sovereign\ngrace and mercy of God. There must be no mourning, no uncleanness, no\ndead works. We have no room, no time, for any such things as these;\nthey do not belong to that blessed sphere in which we are privileged\nto live and move and have our being. We have just three things to do:\nWe look up to God, and offer the sacrifice of praise; we look around\nat a needy world, and do good; we look in upon the circle of our own\nbeing--our inner life, and seek, by grace, to keep ourselves\nunspotted. \"Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is\nthis: To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to\nkeep himself unspotted from the world.\" (Jas. i. 27.)\n\nThus, whether we hearken to Moses in Deuteronomy xxvi, or to Paul in\nHebrews xiii, or to James in his most wholesome, needed, practical\nepistle, it is the same Spirit that speaks to us, and the same grand\nlessons that are impressed upon us--lessons of unspeakable value and\nmoral importance--lessons loudly called for in this day of easy-going\nprofession, in the which the doctrines of grace are taken up and held\nin a merely intellectual way, and connected with all sorts of\nworldliness and self-indulgence.\n\nTruly, there is an urgent need of a more powerful, practical ministry\namongst us. There is a deplorable lack of the prophetic and pastoral\nelement in our ministrations. By the prophetic element, we mean that\ncharacter of ministry that deals with the conscience, and brings it\ninto the immediate presence of God. This is _greatly_ needed. There is\na good deal of ministry which addresses itself to the intelligence,\nbut sadly too little for the heart and the conscience. The teacher\nspeaks to the understanding; the prophet speaks to the conscience;[24]\nthe pastor speaks to the heart. We speak, of course, generally. It may\nso happen that the three elements are found in the ministry of one\nman; but they are distinct; and we cannot but feel that where the\nprophetic and pastoral gifts are lacking in any assembly, the teachers\nshould very earnestly wait upon the Lord for spiritual power to deal\nwith the hearts and consciences of His beloved people. Blessed be His\nname, He has all needed gift, grace, and power for His servants. All\nwe need is, to wait on Him in real earnestness and sincerity of heart,\nand He will most assuredly supply us with all suited grace and moral\nfitness for whatever service we may be called to render in His Church.\n\n [24] Very many seem to entertain the idea that a prophet is one who\n foretells future events, but it would be a mistake thus to confine the\n term. 1 Corinthians xiv. 28-32 lets us into the meaning of the words\n \"prophet\" and \"prophesying.\" The teacher and the prophet are closely\n and beautifully connected. The teacher unfolds truth from the Word of\n God; the prophet applies it to the conscience; and, we may add, the\n pastor sees how the ministry of both the one and the other is acting\n on the heart and in the life.\n\nOh, that all the Lord's servants may be stirred up to a more\ndeep-toned earnestness, in every department of His blessed work! May\nwe be \"instant in season, out of season,\" and in no wise discouraged\nby the condition of things around us, but rather find in that very\ncondition an urgent reason for more intense devotedness.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXVII.\n\n\n\"And Moses, with the elders of Israel, commanded the people, saying,\n'Keep all the commandments which I command you this day. And it shall\nbe on the day when ye shall pass over Jordan unto the land which the\nLord thy God giveth thee, that thou shalt set thee up great stones,\nand plaster them with plaster; and thou shalt write upon them all the\nwords of this law, when thou art passed over, that thou mayest go in\nunto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, a land that floweth\nwith milk and honey; as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised\nthee. Therefore it shall be when ye be gone over Jordan, that ye shall\nset up these stones, which I command you this day, in Mount Ebal, and\nthou shalt plaster them with plaster. And there shalt thou build an\naltar unto the Lord thy God, an altar of stones: thou shalt not lift\nup any iron tool upon them. Thou shalt build the altar of the Lord thy\nGod of whole stones; and thou shalt offer burnt-offerings thereon unto\nthe Lord thy God; and thou shalt offer peace-offerings, and shalt eat\nthere, and rejoice before the Lord thy God. And thou shalt write upon\nthe stones all the words of this law very plainly.' And Moses and the\npriests the Levites spake unto all Israel, saying, 'Take heed, and\nhearken, O Israel; _this day thou art become the people of the Lord\nthy God_. Thou shalt _therefore_ obey the voice of the Lord thy God,\nand do His commandments and His statutes, which I command thee this\nday.' And Moses charged the people the same day, saying, 'These shall\nstand upon Mount Gerizim to bless the people, when ye are come over\nJordan: Simeon and Levi and Judah and Issachar and Joseph and\nBenjamin. And these shall stand upon Mount Ebal to curse: Reuben, Gad,\nand Asher and Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali.'\" (Ver. 1-13.)\n\nThere could not be a more striking contrast than that which is\npresented in the opening and close of this chapter. In the paragraph\nwhich we have just penned, we see Israel entering upon the land of\npromise--that fair and fruitful land flowing with milk and honey, and\nthere erecting an altar in Mount Ebal, for burnt-offerings and\npeace-offerings. We read nothing about sin-offerings or\ntrespass-offerings here. The law, in all its fullness, was to be\n\"written very plainly\" upon the plastered stones, and the people, in\nfull, recognized, covenant-relationship, were to offer on the altar\nthose special offerings of sweet savor so blessedly expressive of\nworship and holy communion. The subject here is not the trespasser _in\nact_, or the sinner _in nature_, approaching the brazen altar with a\ntrespass-offering or a sin-offering; but rather a people fully\ndelivered, accepted, and blessed--a people in the actual enjoyment of\ntheir relationship and their inheritance.\n\nTrue, they were trespassers and sinners, and as such, needed the\nprecious provision of the brazen altar,--this, of course, is obvious,\nand fully understood and admitted by every one taught of God; but it\nmanifestly is not the subject of Deuteronomy xxvii. 1-13, and the\nspiritual reader will at once perceive the reason. When we see the\nIsrael of God, in full covenant-relationship, entering into possession\nof their inheritance, having the revealed will of their covenant-God,\nJehovah, plainly and fully written before them, and the milk and honey\nflowing around them, we must conclude that all question as to\ntrespasses and sins is definitively settled, and that nothing remains\nfor a people so highly privileged and so richly blessed but to\nsurround the altar of their covenant-God and present those sweet-savor\nofferings which were acceptable to Him and suited to them.\n\nIn short, the whole scene unfolded to our view in the first half of\nour chapter is perfectly beautiful. Israel having avouched Jehovah to\nbe their God, and Jehovah having avouched Israel to be His peculiar\npeople, to make them high above all nations which He had made, in\npraise and in name and in honor, and a holy people unto the Lord their\nGod, as He had spoken,--Israel thus privileged, blessed, and exalted,\nin full possession of the goodly land, and having all the precious\ncommandments of God before their eyes, what remained but to present\nthe sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving, in holy worship and happy\nfellowship?\n\nBut in the latter half of our chapter, we find something quite\ndifferent. Moses appoints six tribes to stand upon Mount Gerizim to\nbless the people, and six on Mount Ebal to curse; but alas! when we\ncome to the actual history--the positive facts of the case, there is\nnot a single syllable of blessing, nothing but twelve awful curses,\neach confirmed by a solemn \"amen\" from the whole congregation.\n\nWhat a sad change! what a striking contrast! It reminds us of what\npassed before us in our study of Exodus xix. There could not be a more\nimpressive commentary on the words of the inspired apostle in\nGalatians iii. 10.--\"For as many as are of the works of the law\"--as\nmany as are on that ground--\"are under the curse; for it is\nwritten,\"--and here he quotes Deuteronomy xxvii.--\"Cursed is every one\nthat continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the\nlaw to do them.\"\n\nHere we have the real solution of the question. Israel, as to their\nactual moral condition, were on the ground of law; and hence, although\nthe opening of our chapter presents a lovely picture of God's\nthoughts respecting Israel, yet the close of it sets forth the sad and\nhumiliating result of Israel's real state before God. There is not a\nsound from Mount Gerizim, not one word of benediction; but, instead\nthereof, curse upon curse falls on the ears of the people.\n\nNor could it possibly be otherwise. Let people contend for it as they\nwill, nothing but a curse can come upon \"as many as are of the works\nof the law.\" It does not merely say, As many as fail to keep the law,\nthough that is true; but, as if to set the truth in the very clearest\nand most forcible manner before us, the Holy Ghost declares that for\n_all_, no matter who--Jew, Gentile, or nominal Christian--all who are\non the ground or principle of works of law, there is and can be\nnothing but a curse.\n\nThus, then, the reader will be able intelligently to account for the\nprofound silence that reigned on Mount Gerizim in the day of\nDeuteronomy xxvii. The simple fact is, if one solitary benediction had\nbeen heard, it would have been a contradiction to the entire teaching\nof holy Scripture on the question of law.\n\nWe have so fully gone into the weighty subject of the law in the first\nvolume of these Notes that we do not feel called upon to dwell upon it\nhere. We can only say that the more we study Scripture, and the more\nwe ponder the law question in the light of the New Testament, the more\namazed we are at the manner in which some persist in contending for\nthe opinion that Christians are under the law, whether for life, for\nrighteousness, for holiness, or for any object whatsoever. How can\nsuch an opinion stand for a moment in the face of that magnificent and\nconclusive statement in Romans vi.--\"YE ARE NOT UNDER LAW, BUT UNDER\nGRACE\"?\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXVIII.\n\n\nIn approaching the study of this remarkable section of our book, the\nreader must bear in mind that it is by no means to be confounded with\nchapter xxvii. Some expositors, in seeking to account for the absence\nof the blessings in the latter, have sought for them here; but it is a\ngrand mistake--a mistake absolutely fatal to the proper understanding\nof either chapter. The obvious fact is, the two chapters are wholly\ndistinct, in basis, scope, and practical application. Chapter xxvii.\nis (to put it as pointedly and briefly as possible) _moral_ and\n_personal_; chapter xxviii. is _dispensational_ and _national_. That\ndeals with the great root-principle of man's moral condition as a\nsinner, utterly ruined and wholly incapable of meeting God on the\nground of law; this, on the other hand, takes up the question of\nIsrael as a nation, under the government of God. In short, a careful\ncomparison of the two chapters will enable the reader to see their\nentire distinctness. For instance, what connection can we trace\nbetween the six blessings of our chapter and the twelve curses of\nchapter xxvii? None whatever. It is not possible to establish the\nslightest relationship. But a child can see the moral link between the\nblessings and curses of chapter xxviii.\n\nLet us quote a passage or two in proof. \"And it shall come to pass, if\nthou shalt _hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy\nGod_,\"--the grand old Deuteronomic motto, the key-note of the\nbook--\"to observe and to do all His commandments which I command thee\nthis day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all\nnations of the earth; and all these blessings shall come on thee, and\novertake thee, _if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy\nGod_\"--the only safeguard, the true secret of happiness, security,\nvictory, and strength.--\"Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and\nblessed shalt thou be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy\nbody, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the\nincrease of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. Blessed shall be\nthy basket and thy store. Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in,\nand blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.\"\n\nIs it not perfectly plain to the reader that these are not the\nblessings pronounced by the six tribes on Mount Gerizim? What is here\npresented to us is Israel's national dignity, prosperity, and glory,\nfounded upon their diligent attention to all the commandments set\nbefore them in this book. It was the eternal purpose of God that\nIsrael should be pre-eminent on the earth, high above all the\nnations. This purpose shall assuredly be made good, although Israel,\nin the past, have shamefully failed to render that perfect obedience\nwhich was to form the basis of their national pre-eminence and glory.\n\nWe must never forget or surrender this great truth. Some expositors\nhave adopted a system of interpretation by which the covenant-blessings\nof Israel are spiritualized and made over to the Church of God. This\nis a most fatal mistake. Indeed, it is hardly possible to set forth in\nlanguage, or even to conceive, the pernicious effects of such a method\nof handling the precious Word of God. Nothing is more certain than\nthat it is diametrically opposed to the mind and will of God. He will\nnot and cannot sanction such tampering with His truth, or such an\nunwarrantable alienation of the blessings and privileges of His people\nIsrael.\n\nTrue, we read, in Galatians iii, \"That the blessing of Abraham might\ncome on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ, that we might\nreceive\"--what? Blessings in the city and in the field? blessings in\nour basket and store? Nay; but \"the promise of the Spirit through\nfaith.\" So also we learn from the same epistle, in chapter iv, that\nrestored Israel will be permitted to reckon amongst her children all\nthose who are born of the Spirit during the Christian period. \"But\nJerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. For\nit is written, 'Rejoice, thou barren, that bearest not; break forth\nand cry, thou that travailest not; for the desolate hath many more\nchildren than she which hath a husband.'\"\n\nAll this is blessedly true, but it affords no warrant whatever for\ntransferring the promises made to Israel to New-Testament believers.\nGod has pledged Himself by an oath to bless the seed of Abraham His\nfriend--to bless them with all earthly blessings, in the land of\nCanaan. This promise holds good, and is absolutely inalienable. Woe be\nto all who attempt to interfere with its literal fulfillment in God's\nown time. We have referred to this in our studies on the earlier part\nof this book, and must now rest content with warning the reader most\nsolemnly against every system of interpretation which involves such\nserious consequences as to the Word and ways of God. We must ever\nremember that Israel's blessings are earthly; the Church's blessings\nare heavenly. \"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,\nwho hath blessed us with _all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in\nChrist_.\"\n\nThus, both the nature and the sphere of the Church's blessings are\nwholly different from those of Israel, and must never be confounded.\nBut the system of interpretation above referred to does confound them,\nto the marring of the integrity of holy Scripture, and the serious\ndamage of souls. To attempt to apply the promises made to Israel to\nthe Church of God, either now or hereafter, on earth or in heaven, is\nto turn things completely upside down, and to produce the most\nhopeless confusion in the exposition and application of Scripture. We\nfeel called upon, in simple faithfulness to the Word of God and to\nthe soul of the reader, to press this matter upon his earnest\nattention. He may rest assured it is by no means an unimportant\nquestion; so far from this, we are persuaded that it is utterly\nimpossible for any one who confounds Israel and the Church--the\nearthly and the heavenly, to be a sound or accurate interpreter of the\nWord of God.\n\nHowever, we cannot pursue this subject further here. We only trust\nthat the Spirit of God will arouse the heart of the reader to feel its\ninterest and importance, and give him to see the necessity of rightly\ndividing the word of truth. If this be so, our object will be fully\ngained.\n\nWith regard to this twenty-eighth of Deuteronomy, if the reader only\nseizes the fact of its entire distinctness from its predecessor, he\nwill be able to read it with spiritual intelligence and real profit.\nThere is no need whatever for elaborate exposition. It divides itself\nnaturally and obviously into two parts. In the first, we have a full\nand most blessed statement of the results of obedience (See verses\n1-15.); in the second, we have a deeply solemn and affecting statement\nof the awful consequences of disobedience. (See verses 16-68.) And we\ncannot but be struck with the fact that the section containing the\ncurses is more than three times the length of the one containing the\nblessings. That consists of fifteen verses; this, of fifty-three. The\nwhole chapter furnishes an impressive commentary on the government of\nGod, and a most forcible illustration of the fact that \"our God is a\nconsuming fire.\" All the nations of the earth may learn from Israel's\nmarvelous history that God must punish disobedience, and that, too,\nfirst of all, in His own. And if He has not spared His own people,\nwhat shall be the end of those who know Him not? \"The wicked shall be\nturned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.\" \"It is a\nfearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.\" It is the\nvery height of extravagant folly for any one to attempt to evade the\nfull force of such passages, or to explain them away. It cannot be\ndone. Let any one read the chapter before us and compare it with the\nactual history of Israel, and he will see that as sure as there is a\nGod on the throne of the majesty in the heavens, so surely will He\npunish evil-doers, both here and hereafter. It cannot be otherwise.\nThe government that could or would allow evil to go unjudged,\nuncondemned, unpunished, would not be a perfect government--would not\nbe the government of God. It is vain to found arguments upon one-sided\nviews of the goodness, kindness, and mercy of God. Blessed be His\nname, He is kind and good and merciful and gracious, long-suffering\nand full of compassion; but He is holy and just, righteous and true,\nand \"He hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world\n[the habitable earth--\u03bf\u1f30\u03ba\u03bf\u03c5\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03b7\u03bd] in righteousness by that\nMan whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance [given\nproof--\u03c0\u03af\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd] unto all, in that He hath raised Him from the\ndead.\" (Acts xvii.)\n\nHowever, we must draw this section to a close; but ere doing so, we\nfeel it to be our duty to call the reader's attention to a very\ninteresting point in connection with verse 13 of our chapter. \"The\nLord shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be\nabove only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto\nthe commandments of the Lord thy God, which I command thee this day,\nto observe and to do them.\"\n\nThis, no doubt, refers to Israel as a nation. They are destined to be\nthe head of all the nations of the earth. Such is the sure and settled\npurpose and counsel of God respecting them. Low as they are now sunk,\nscattered and lost amongst the nations, suffering the terrible\nconsequences of their persistent disobedience, sleeping, as we read in\nDaniel xii, in the dust of the earth, yet they shall, _as a nation_,\narise and shine in far brighter glory than that of Solomon.\n\nAll this is blessedly true, and established beyond all question in\nmanifold passages in Moses, the Psalms, the prophets, and the New\nTestament; but in looking through the history of Israel, we find some\nvery striking instances of individuals who were permitted and enabled,\nthrough infinite grace, to make their own of the precious promise\ncontained in verse 13, and that, too, in very dark and depressing\nperiods of the national history, when Israel, as a nation, was the\ntail and not the head. We shall just give the reader an instance or\ntwo, not only to illustrate our point, but also to set before him a\nprinciple of immense practical importance and universal application.\n\nLet us turn for a moment to that charming little book of Esther--a\nbook so little understood or appreciated--a book which, we may truly\nsay, fills a niche and teaches a lesson which no other book does. It\nbelongs to a period when most assuredly Israel was not the head, but\nthe tail; but, notwithstanding, it presents to our view the very\nedifying and encouraging picture of an individual son of Abraham so\ncarrying himself as to reach the very highest position, and gaining a\nsplendid victory over Israel's bitterest foe.\n\nAs to Israel's condition in the days of Esther, it was such that God\ncould not publicly own them. Hence it is that His name is not found in\nthis book, from beginning to end. The Gentile was the head and Israel\nthe tail. The relationship between Jehovah and Israel could no longer\nbe publicly owned; but the heart of Jehovah could never forget His\npeople, and, we may add, the heart of a faithful Israelite could never\nforget Jehovah or His holy law; and these are just the two facts that\nspecially characterize this most interesting little book. God was\nacting for Israel behind the scenes, and Mordecai was acting for God\nbefore the scenes. It is worthy of remark that neither Israel's best\nFriend nor their worst enemy is once named in the book of Esther, and\nyet the whole book is full of the actings of both. The finger of God\nis stamped on every link in the marvelous chain of providence; and on\nthe other hand, the bitter enmity of Amalek comes out in the cruel\nplot of the haughty Agagite.\n\nAll this is intensely interesting. Indeed, in rising from the study of\nthis book, we may well say, \"Oh, scenes surpassing fable and yet\ntrue.\" No romance could possibly exceed in interest this simple but\nmost blessed history. But we must not expatiate, much as we should\nlike to do so. Time and space forbid. We merely refer to it now in\norder to point out to the reader the unspeakable value and importance\nof individual faithfulness at a moment when the national glory was\nfaded and gone. Mordecai stood like a rock for the truth of God. He\nrefused, with stern decision, to own Amalek. He would save the life of\nAhasuerus, and bow to his authority as the expression of the power of\nGod; but he would not bow to Haman. His conduct in this matter was\ngoverned simply by the Word of God. The authority for his course was\nto be found in this blessed book of Deuteronomy.--\"_Remember_ what\nAmalek did unto thee by the way, when ye were come forth out of Egypt;\nhow he met thee by the way, and smote the hindmost of thee, even all\nthat were feeble behind thee, when thou wast faint and weary; and _he\nfeared not God_\"--here was the true secret of the whole\nmatter--\"therefore it shall be, when the Lord thy God hath given thee\nrest from all thine enemies round about, in the land which the Lord\nthy God giveth for an inheritance to possess it, that thou shalt blot\nout the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; _thou shalt not\nforget it_.\" (Chap. xxv. 17-19.)\n\nThis was distinct enough for every circumcised ear, every obedient\nheart, every upright conscience. Equally distinct is the language of\nExodus xvii.--\"And the Lord said unto Moses, 'Write this for a\nmemorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua; for I will\nutterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.' And\nMoses built an altar, and called the name of it JEHOVAH-nissi [the\nLord my banner]; for he said, 'Because the Lord hath sworn that the\nLord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.'\" (Ver.\n14-16.)\n\nHere, then, was Mordecai's authority for refusing a single nod of his\nhead to the Agagite. How could a faithful member of the house of\nIsrael bow to a member of a house with which Jehovah was at war?\nImpossible. He could clothe himself in sackcloth, fast and weep for\nhis people, but he could not, he would not, he dare not, bow to an\nAmalekite. He might be charged with presumption, blind obstinacy,\nstupid bigotry, and contemptible narrow-mindedness; but with that he\nhad nothing whatever to do. It might seem the most unaccountable folly\nto withhold the common mark of respect from the highest noble in the\nkingdom; but that noble was an Amalekite, and that was enough for\nMordecai. The apparent folly was simple obedience.\n\nIt is this which makes the case so interesting and important for us.\nNothing can ever do away with our responsibility to obey the Word of\nGod. It might be said to Mordecai that the commandment as to Amalek\nwas a by-gone thing, having reference to Israel's palmy days. It was\nquite right for Joshua to fight with Amalek; Saul, too, ought to have\nobeyed the word of Jehovah instead of sparing Agag; but now, all was\nchanged; the glory was departed from Israel, and it was perfectly\nuseless to attempt to act on Exodus xvii. or Deuteronomy xxv.\n\nAll such arguments, we feel assured, would have no weight whatever\nwith Mordecai. It was enough for him that Jehovah had said,\n\"_Remember_ what Amalek did.... _Thou shalt not forget it_.\" How long\nwas this to hold good? \"From generation to generation.\" Jehovah's war\nwith Amalek was never to cease until his very name and remembrance\nwere blotted out from under heaven. And why? Because of his cruel and\nheartless treatment of Israel. Such was the kindness of God toward His\npeople! How, then, could a faithful Israelite ever bow to an\nAmalekite? Impossible. Could Joshua bow to Amalek? Nay. Did Samuel?\nNay; \"he hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal.\" How, then,\ncould Mordecai bow to him? He could not do it, cost what it might. It\nmattered not to him that the gallows was erected for him. He could be\nhanged, but he could never do homage to Amalek.\n\nAnd what was the result? A magnificent triumph! There stood the proud\nAmalekite near the throne, basking in the sunshine of royal favor,\nboasting himself in his riches, his greatness, his glory, and about to\ncrush beneath his foot the seed of Abraham. There, on the other hand,\nlay poor Mordecai in sackcloth and ashes and tears. What could he do?\nHe could obey. He had neither sword nor spear; but he had the Word of\nGod, and by simply obeying that Word, he gained a victory over Amalek\nquite as decisive and splendid in its way as that gained by Joshua in\nExodus xvii.--a victory which Saul failed to gain, though surrounded\nby a host of warriors selected from the twelve tribes of Israel.\nAmalek sought to get Mordecai hanged; but instead of that, he was\nobliged to act as his footman, and conduct him, in all but regal pomp\nand splendor, through the street of the city. \"And Haman answered the\nking, 'For the man whom the king delighteth to honor, let the royal\napparel be brought which the king useth to wear, and the horse that\nthe king rideth upon, and the crown royal which is set upon his head;\nand let this apparel and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the\nking's most noble princes, that they may array the man withal whom the\nking delighteth to honor, and bring him on horseback through the\nstreet of the city, and proclaim before him, Thus shall it be done to\nthe man whom the king delighteth to honor.' Then the king said to\nHaman, 'Make haste, and take the apparel and the horse, as thou hast\nsaid, and do even so to Mordecai the Jew, that sitteth at the king's\ngate: let nothing fail of all that thou hast spoken.' Then took Haman\nthe apparel and the horse, and arrayed Mordecai, and brought him on\nhorseback through the street of the city, and proclaimed before him,\n'Thus shall it be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to\nhonor.' And Mordecai came again to the king's gate; but Haman hasted\nto his house mourning, and having his head covered.\"\n\nHere, assuredly, Israel was the head and Amalek the tail--Israel, not\nnationally, but individually. But this was only the beginning of\nAmalek's defeat and of Israel's glory. Haman was hanged on the very\ngallows he had erected for Mordecai, \"and Mordecai went out from the\npresence of the king in royal apparel of blue and white, and with a\ngreat crown of gold, and with a garment of fine linen and purple; and\nthe city of Shushan rejoiced and was glad.\"\n\nNor was this all. The effect of Mordecai's marvelous victory was felt\nfar and wide over the hundred and twenty-seven provinces of the\nempire. \"In every province, and in every city whithersoever the king's\ncommandment and his decree came, the Jews had joy and gladness, a\nfeast and a good day. And many people of the land became Jews, for the\nfear of the Jews fell upon them.\" And, to crown all, we read that\n\"Mordecai the Jew was next unto king Ahasuerus, and great among the\nJews, and accepted of the multitude of his brethren, seeking the\nwealth of his people, and speaking peace to all his seed.\"\n\nNow, reader, does not all this prove to us, in the most striking\nmanner, the immense importance of individual faithfulness? Is it not\neminently calculated to encourage us to stand for the truth of God,\ncost what it may? Only see what marvelous results followed from the\nactings of one man! Many might have condemned Mordecai's conduct. It\nmight have seemed like unaccountable obstinacy to refuse a simple mark\nof respect to the highest noble in the empire; but it was not so. It\nwas simple obedience; it was decision for God, and it led to a most\nmagnificent victory, the spoils of which were reaped by his brethren\nat the very ends of the earth.\n\nFor further illustration of the subject suggested by Deuteronomy\nxxviii. 13, we must refer the reader to Daniel iii. and vi. There he\nwill see what morally glorious results can be reached by individual\nfaithfulness to the true God, at a moment when Israel's national glory\nwas gone--their city and temple in ruins. The three worthies refused\nto worship the golden image. They dared to face the wrath of the king,\nto withstand the universal voice of the empire, yea, to meet the fiery\nfurnace itself, rather than disobey. They could surrender life, but\nthey could not surrender the truth of God.\n\nAnd what was the result? A splendid victory! They walked through the\nfurnace with the Son of God, and were called forth from the furnace as\nwitnesses and servants of the Most High God. Glorious privilege!\nwondrous dignity! and all the simple result of obedience. Had they\ngone with the crowd, and bowed the head in worship to the national\ngod, in order to escape the dreadful furnace, see what they would have\nlost! But, blessed be God, they were enabled to stand fast in the\nconfession of the grand foundation-truth of the unity of the\nGodhead--that truth which had been trampled underfoot amid the\nsplendors of Solomon's reign; and the record of their faithfulness has\nbeen penned for us by the Holy Spirit in order to encourage us to\ntread, with firm step, the path of individual devotedness, in the face\nof a God-hating, Christ-rejecting world, and in the face of a\ntruth-neglecting christendom. It is impossible to read the narrative\nand not have our whole renewed being stirred up and drawn out in\nearnest desire for more deep-toned personal devotedness to Christ and\nHis precious cause.\n\nSimilar must be the effect produced by the study of Daniel vi. We\ncannot allow ourselves to quote or expatiate; we can only commend the\nsoul-stirring record to the attention of the reader. It is uncommonly\nfine, and it furnishes a splendid lesson for this day of soft,\nself-indulgent, easy-going profession, in which it costs people\nnothing to give a nominal assent to the truths of Christianity; but in\nwhich, notwithstanding, there is so little desire or readiness to\nfollow, with whole-hearted decision, a rejected Lord, or to yield an\nunqualified and unhesitating obedience to His commandments.\n\nHow refreshing, in the face of so much heartless indifference, to read\nof the faithfulness of Daniel! He, with unflinching decision,\npersisted in his holy habit of praying three times a day, with his\nwindow open toward Jerusalem, although he knew that the den of lions\nwas the penalty of his act. He might have closed his window and drawn\nhis curtains and retired into the privacy of his chamber to pray, or\nhe might have waited for the midnight hour, when no human eye could\nsee or human ear hear him. But no; this beloved servant of God would\nnot hide his light under a bed or a bushel. There was a great\nprinciple at stake. It was not merely that he would pray to the one\nliving and true God, but he would pray with \"_his windows open toward\nJerusalem_.\" And why \"toward Jerusalem\"? Because it was God's centre.\nBut it was in ruins. True, for the present, and as looked at from a\nhuman stand-point; but to faith, and from a divine stand-point,\nJerusalem was God's centre for His earthly people. It was, and it\nshall be, beyond all question. And not only so, but its dust is\nprecious to Jehovah; and hence Daniel was in full communion with the\nmind of God when he opened his windows toward Jerusalem and prayed. He\nhad Scripture for what he did, as the reader may see by referring to 2\nChronicles vi. \"If they return to thee with all their heart and with\nall their soul in the land of their captivity, whither they have\ncarried them captives, and pray _toward their land_, which Thou gavest\nunto their fathers, and _toward the city_ which Thou hast chosen, and\n_toward the house_ which I have built for Thy name.\"\n\nHere was Daniel's warrant. This was what he did, utterly regardless of\nhuman opinions, and utterly regardless, too, of pains and penalties.\nHe would rather be thrown into the den of lions than surrender the\ntruth of God; he would rather go to heaven with a good conscience\nthan remain on earth with a bad one.\n\nAnd what was the result? Another splendid triumph! \"Daniel was taken\nup out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, BECAUSE\nHE BELIEVED IN HIS GOD.\"\n\nBlessed servant! noble witness! Assuredly he was the head on this\noccasion, and his enemies the tail. And how? Simply by obedience to\nthe Word of God. This is what we deem to be of such vast moral\nimportance for this our day. It is to illustrate and enforce this that\nwe refer to those brilliant examples of individual faithfulness at a\ntime when Israel's national glory was in the dust, their unity gone,\nand their polity broken up. We cannot but regard it as a fact full of\ninterest, full of encouragement, full of suggestive power, that in the\ndarkest days of Israel's history as a nation we have the brightest and\nnoblest examples of personal faith and devotedness. We earnestly press\nthis upon the attention of the Christian reader. We consider it\neminently calculated to strengthen and cheer up our hearts in standing\nfor the truth of God at a moment like the present, when there is so\nmuch to discourage us in the general condition of the professing\nchurch. It is not that we are to look for such speedy, striking, and\nsplendid results as were realized in those cases to which we have\nreferred. This is by no means the question. What we have to keep\nbefore our hearts is the fact that, no matter what may be the\ncondition of the ostensible people of God at any given time, it is\nthe privilege of the individual man of God to tread the narrow path\nand reap the precious fruits of simple obedience to the Word of God\nand the precious commandments of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.\n\nThis, we feel persuaded, is a truth for the day. May we all feel its\nholy power. We are in imminent danger of lowering the standard of\npersonal devotedness because of the general condition. This is a fatal\nmistake, yea, it is the positive suggestion of the enemy of Christ and\nHis cause. If Mordecai, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, and Daniel had\nacted thus, what would have been the result?\n\nAh, no, reader; we have ever to bear in mind that our one great\nbusiness is, to obey, and leave results with God. It may please Him to\npermit His servants to see striking results, or He may see fit to\nallow them to wait for that great day that is coming, when there will\nbe no danger of our being puffed up by seeing any little fruit of our\ntestimony. Be this as it may, it is our plain and bounden duty to\ntread that bright and blessed path indicated for us by the\ncommandments of our precious and adorable Lord and Saviour Jesus\nChrist. May God enable us, by the grace of His Holy Spirit, so to do.\nMay we cleave to the truth of God with purpose of heart, utterly\nregardless of the opinions of our fellow-men who may charge us with\nnarrowness, bigotry, intolerance, and such like. _We have just to go\non with the Lord!_\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIX\n\n\nThis chapter closes the second grand division of our book. In it we\nhave a most solemn appeal to the conscience of the congregation. It is\nwhat we may term the summing up and practical application of all that\nhas gone before in this most profound, practical, and hortatory\nsection of the five books of Moses.\n\n\"These are the words of the covenant, which the Lord commanded Moses\nto make with the children of Israel _in the land of Moab, beside the\ncovenant which He made with them in Horeb_.\" Allusion has already been\nmade to this passage as one of the many proofs of the entire\ndistinctness of the book of Deuteronomy from the preceding section of\nthe Pentateuch; but it claims the reader's attention on another\nground. It speaks of a special covenant made with the children of\nIsrael in the land of Moab, in virtue of which they were to be brought\ninto the land. This covenant was as distinct from the covenant made at\nSinai as it was from the covenant made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.\nIn a word, it was neither pure _law_ on the one hand, nor pure _grace_\non the other, but _government_ exercised in sovereign mercy.\n\nIt is perfectly clear that Israel _could_ not enter the land on the\nground of the Sinai or Horeb-covenant, inasmuch as they had completely\nfailed under it, by making a golden calf. They forfeited all right\nand title to the land, and were only saved from instant destruction by\nsovereign mercy exercised toward them through the mediation and\nearnest intercession of Moses. It is equally plain that they _did_ not\nenter the land on the ground of the Abrahamic covenant of grace, for\nhad they done so, they would not have been turned out of it. Neither\nthe extent nor the duration of their tenure answered to the terms of\nthe covenant made with their fathers. It was by the terms of the\nMoab-covenant that they entered upon the limited and temporary\npossession of the land of Canaan; and inasmuch as they have as\nsignally failed under the Moab-covenant as under that of Horeb--failed\nunder government as completely as under law, they are expelled from\nthe land and scattered over the face of the earth, under the\ngovernmental dealings of God.\n\nBut not forever. Blessed be the God of all grace, the seed of Abraham\nHis friend shall yet possess the land of Canaan according to the\nmagnificent terms of the original grant. \"The gifts and calling of God\nare without repentance.\" Gifts and calling must not be confounded with\nlaw and government. Mount Zion can never be classed with Horeb and\nMoab. The new and everlasting covenant of grace, ratified by the\nprecious blood of the Lamb of God, shall be gloriously fulfilled to\nthe letter, spite of all the powers of earth and hell--men and devils\ncombined. \"'Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a\nnew covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah;\nnot according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the\nday when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of\nEgypt; because they continued not in My covenant, and I regarded them\nnot, saith the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with\nthe house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord: I will put My\nlaws into their mind, and write them in their hearts; and I will be to\nthem a God, and they shall be to Me a people; and they shall not teach\nevery man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the\nLord; for all shall know Me, from the least to the greatest. For I\nwill be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their\niniquities will I remember no more.' In that He saith, 'A new\ncovenant,' He hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and\nwaxeth old is ready to vanish away.\" (Heb. viii. 8-13.)\n\nNow, the reader must carefully guard against a system of\ninterpretation that would apply this precious and beautiful passage to\nthe Church. It involves a threefold wrong, namely, a wrong to the\ntruth of God, a wrong to the Church, and a wrong to Israel. We have\nraised a warning note on this subject again and again in the course of\nour studies on the Pentateuch, because we feel its immense importance.\nIt is our deep and thorough conviction that no one can understand,\nmuch less expound, the Word of God who confounds Israel with the\nChurch. The two things are as distinct as heaven and earth; and hence,\nwhen God speaks of Israel, Jerusalem, and Zion, if we presume to\napply those names to the New-Testament Church, it can only issue in\nutter confusion. We believe it to be a simple impossibility to set\nforth the mischievous consequences of such a method of handling the\nWord of God. It puts an end to all accuracy of interpretation, and to\nall that holy precision and divine certainty which Scripture is\ndesigned and fitted to impart; it mars the integrity of truth, damages\nthe souls of God's people, and hinders their progress in divine life\nand spiritual intelligence. In short, we cannot too strongly urge upon\nevery one who reads these lines the absolute necessity of guarding\nagainst this fatally false system of handling holy Scripture.\n\nWe must beware of meddling with the scope of prophecy, or the true\napplication of the promises of God. We have no warrant whatever to\ninterfere with the divinely appointed sphere of the covenants. The\ninspired apostle tells us distinctly, in the ninth of Romans, that\nthey pertain to Israel; and if we attempt to alienate them from the\nOld-Testament fathers and transfer them to the Church of God--the body\nof Christ, we may depend upon it, we are doing what Jehovah-Elohim\nwill never sanction. The Church forms no part of the ways of God with\nIsrael and the earth. Her place, her portion, her privileges, her\nprospect, are all heavenly. She is called into existence in this time\nof Christ's rejection, to be associated with Him where He is now\nhidden in the heavens, and to share His glory in the coming day. If\nthe reader fully grasps this grand and glorious truth, it will go far\ntoward helping him to put things into their right places and leave\nthem there.\n\nWe must now turn our attention to the very solemn, practical\napplication of all that has passed before us to the conscience of\nevery member of the congregation.\n\n\"And Moses called unto all Israel, and said unto them, 'Ye have seen\nall that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt unto\nPharaoh, and unto all his servants, and unto all his land; the great\ntemptations which thine eyes have seen, the signs, and those great\nmiracles; yet the Lord hath not given you a heart to perceive, and\neyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day.'\"\n\nThis is peculiarly solemn. The most astounding miracles and signs may\npass before us, and leave _the heart_ untouched. These things may\nproduce a transient effect upon the mind and upon the natural\nfeelings, but unless the conscience is brought into the light of the\ndivine presence, and the heart brought under the immediate action of\nthe truth by the power of the Spirit of God, there is no permanent\nresult reached. Nicodemus inferred from the miracles of Christ that He\nwas a teacher come from God; but this was not enough. He had to learn\nthe deep and wondrous meaning of that mighty sentence, \"Ye must be\nborn again.\" A faith founded on miracles may leave people unsaved,\nunblessed, unconverted--awfully responsible, no doubt, but wholly\nunconverted. We read, at the close of the second chapter of John's\ngospel, of many who professed to believe on Christ when they saw His\nmiracles; but He did not commit Himself unto them. There was no divine\nwork, nothing to be trusted. There must be a new life--a new nature,\nand miracles and signs cannot impart this. We must be born again--born\nof the Word and Spirit of God. The new life is communicated by the\nincorruptible seed of the gospel of God, lodged in the heart by the\npower of the Holy Ghost. It is not a head-belief founded on miracles,\nbut a heart-belief in the Son of God. It is something which could\nnever be known under law or government. \"The _gift_ of God is eternal\nlife, through Jesus Christ our Lord.\" Precious gift! glorious source!\nblessed channel! Universal and everlasting praise to the Eternal\nTrinity!\n\n\"And I have led you forty years in the wilderness; your clothes are\nnot waxen old upon you, and thy shoe is not waxen old upon thy\nfoot.\"--Wonderful clothes! wonderful shoes! God took care of them and\nmade them last, blessed forever be His great and holy name!--\"Ye have\nnot eaten bread, neither have ye drunk wine or strong drink; that ye\nmight know that I am the Lord your God.\" They were fed and clothed by\nGod's own gracious hand. \"Man did eat angels' food.\" They had no need\nof wine or strong drink--no need of stimulants. \"They drank of that\nspiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ.\" That\npure stream refreshed them in the dreary desert, and the heavenly\nmanna sustained them day by day. All they wanted was the capacity to\nenjoy the divine provision.\n\nHere, alas! like ourselves, they failed; they got tired of the\nheavenly food, and lusted for other things. How sad that we should be\nso like them! how very humbling that we should so fail to appreciate\nthat precious One whom God has given to be our life, our portion, our\nobject, our all in all! How terrible to find our hearts craving the\nwretched vanities and follies of this poor passing world--its riches,\nits honors, its distinctions, its pleasures, which all perish in the\nusing, and which, even if they were lasting, are not for a moment to\nbe compared with \"the unsearchable riches of Christ\"! May God, in His\ninfinite goodness, \"grant us, according to the riches of His glory, to\nbe strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man; that Christ\nmay dwell in our hearts by faith; that we, being rooted and grounded\nin love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth\nand length and depth and height; and _to know the love of Christ_,\nwhich passeth knowledge, that we may be filled with _all the fullness\nof God_.\" Oh, that this most blessed prayer may be answered in the\ndeep and abiding experience of the reader and the writer!\n\n\"And when ye came unto this place, Sihon the king of Heshbon, and Og\nthe king of Bashan\"--formidable and much-dreaded foes!--\"came out\nagainst us unto battle, and we smote them.\" And had they been ten\nthousand times as great and as formidable, they would have proved to\nbe as chaff before the presence of the God of the armies of Israel.\n\"And we took their land, and gave it for an inheritance unto the\nReubenites, and to the Gadites, and to the half tribe of Manasseh.\"\nWill any one dare to compare this with what human history records\nrespecting the invasion of South America by the Spaniards? Woe be to\nthose who do so! they will find themselves terribly mistaken. There is\nthis grand and all-important difference, that Israel had the direct\nauthority of God for what they did to Sihon and Og; the Spaniards\ncould show no such authority for what they did to the poor ignorant\nsavages of South America. This alters the case completely. The\nintroduction of God and His authority is the one perfect answer to\nevery question, the divine solution of every difficulty. May we ever\nkeep this weighty fact in the remembrance of the thoughts of our\nhearts, as a divine antidote against every infidel suggestion!\n\n\"Keep therefore the words of this [the Moab] covenant, and do them,\n_that ye may prosper in all that ye do_.\" Simple obedience to the Word\nof God ever has been, is now, and ever shall be the deep and real\nsecret of all true prosperity. To the Christian, of course, the\nprosperity is not in earthly or material things, but in heavenly and\nspiritual; and we must never forget that it is the very height of\nfolly to think of prospering or making progress in the divine life if\nwe are not yielding an implicit obedience to all the commandments of\nour blessed and adorable Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. \"If ye abide\nin Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it\nshall be done unto you. Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear\nmuch fruit; so shall ye be My disciples. As the Father hath loved Me,\nso have I loved you; continue ye in My love. _If ye keep My\ncommandments_, ye shall abide in My love; even as I have kept My\nFather's commandments, and abide in His love.\" Here is true Christian\nprosperity. May we earnestly long after it, and diligently pursue the\nproper method of attaining it.\n\n\"Ye stand this day, _all of you_, before the Lord your God; your\ncaptains of your tribes, your elders, and your officers, with all the\nmen of Israel, _your little ones_\"--touching and interesting\nfact!--\"your wives, and _thy stranger_ that is in thy camp.\" How\nexquisite, how deeply affecting, the expression, \"_thy_ stranger\"!\nWhat a powerful appeal to Israel's heart on behalf of the stranger!\n\"From the hewer of thy wood unto the drawer of thy water; that thou\nshouldest enter into covenant with the Lord thy God, and into His\noath, which the Lord thy God maketh with thee this day; that He may\nestablish thee to-day for a people unto Himself, and that He may be\nunto thee a God, as He hath said unto thee, and as He hath sworn unto\nthy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. Neither with you only\ndo I make this covenant and this oath, but with him that standeth here\nwith us this day before the Lord our God, and also with him that is\nnot here with us this day; for ye know how we have dwelt in the land\nof Egypt, and how we came through the nations which ye passed by; and\nye have seen their abominations [that is, the objects of their\nworship--their false gods] and their idols, wood and stone, silver and\ngold, which were among them.\" (Ver. 10-17.)\n\nThis earnest appeal is not only general, but also intensely\nindividual. This is very important. We are ever prone to generalize,\nand thus miss the application of truth to our individual conscience.\nThis is a grave mistake, and a most serious loss to our souls. We are\nevery one of us responsible to yield an implicit obedience to the\nprecious commandments of our Lord. It is thus we enter into the real\nenjoyment of our relationship, as Moses says to the people, \"that He\nmay establish thee for a people unto Himself, and that He may be unto\nthee a God.\"\n\nNothing can be more precious. And then it is so very simple. There is\nno vagueness, obscurity, or mysticism about it. It is simply having\nHis most precious commandments treasured up in our hearts, acting upon\nthe conscience, and carried out in the life. This is the true secret\nof habitually realizing our relationship with our Father and with our\nLord and Saviour Jesus Christ.\n\nFor any one to imagine that he can enjoy the blessed sense of intimate\nrelationship while living in the habitual neglect of our Lord's\ncommandments is a miserable and mischievous delusion. \"If ye keep My\ncommandments, ye shall abide in My love.\" This is _the_ grand point;\nlet us deeply ponder it. \"If ye love Me, keep My commandments.\" \"Not\nevery one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom\nof heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in\nheaven.\" \"For whosoever shall do the will of My Father which is in\nheaven, the same is My brother, and sister, and mother.\" \"Circumcision\nis nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the\ncommandments of God.\"\n\nThese are seasonable words for this day of easy-going, self-indulgent,\nworldly profession. May they sink down into our ears and into our\nhearts. May they take full possession of our whole moral being, and\nbring forth fruit in our individual history. We feel persuaded of the\nneed of this practical side of things. We are in imminent danger,\nwhile seeking to keep clear of every thing like legality, of running\ninto the opposite evil of carnal laxity. The passages of holy\nScripture which we have just quoted--and they are but a few of\nmany--supply the divine safeguard against both these pernicious and\ndeadly errors. It is blessedly true that we are brought into the holy\nrelationship of children by the sovereign grace of God, through the\npower of His Word and Spirit. This one fact cuts up by the roots the\nnoxious weed of legality.\n\nBut then, surely the relationship has its suited affections, its\nduties, and its responsibilities, the due recognition of which\nfurnishes the true remedy for the terrible evil of carnal laxity so\nprevalent on all hands. If we are delivered from _law-works_--as,\nthank God, we are, if we are true Christians--it is not that we should\nbe good-for-nothing self-pleasers, but that _life-works_ might be\nproduced in us, to the glory of Him whose name we bear, whose we are,\nand whom we are bound, by every argument, to love obey, and serve.\n\nMay we, beloved reader, earnestly seek to apply our hearts to this\npractical line of things. We are imperatively called upon to do so,\nand we may fully count upon the abundant grace of our Lord Jesus\nChrist to enable us to respond to the call, spite of the ten thousand\ndifficulties and hindrances that lie in our way. Oh, for a deeper work\nof grace in our souls, a closer walk with God, a more pronounced\ndiscipleship! Let us give ourselves to the earnest pursuit of these\nthings!\n\nWe must now proceed with the lawgiver's solemn appeal. He warns the\npeople to take heed, \"lest there should be among you man or woman or\nfamily or tribe whose heart turneth away this day from the Lord our\nGod, to go and serve the gods of these nations; lest there should be\namong you _a root_ that beareth gall and wormwood.\"\n\nThese searching words are referred to by the inspired apostle in his\nepistle to the Hebrews in a very emphatic manner. \"_Looking\ndiligently_,\" he says, \"lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest\nany root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be\ndefiled.\"\n\nWhat weighty words are these! how full of wholesome admonition and\nwarning! They set forth the solemn responsibility of all Christians.\nWe are all called upon to exercise a holy, jealous, godly care over\neach other, which, alas! is but little understood or recognized. We\nare not all called to be pastors or teachers. The passage just quoted\ndoes not refer particularly to such; it refers to all Christians, and\nwe are bound to attend to it. We hear great complaints on all sides,\nof the sad lack of pastoral care. No doubt there is a great lack of\ntrue pastors in the Church of God, as there is of every other gift.\nThis is only what we might expect. How could it be otherwise? How\ncould we expect a profusion of spiritual gifts in our present\nmiserable condition? The Spirit is grieved and quenched by our\nlamentable divisions, our worldliness, our gross unfaithfulness. Need\nwe, then, marvel at our deplorable poverty?\n\nBut our blessed Lord is full of deep and tender compassion toward us\nin the midst of our ruin and spiritual desolation, and if we only\nhumbled ourselves under His mighty hand, He would graciously lift us\nup, and enable us, in many ways, to meet the deficiency of pastoral\ngift amongst us. We might, through His precious grace, look more\ndiligently and lovingly after one another, and seek each other's\nspiritual progress and prosperity in a thousand ways.\n\nLet not the reader imagine for a moment that we mean to give the\nsmallest countenance to prying officiousness or unwarrantable\nespionage on the part of Christians. Far away be the thought! We look\nupon such things as perfectly insufferable in the Church of God. They\nstand at the very moral antipodes of that loving, holy, tender,\ndiligent pastoral care of which we speak and for which we long.\n\nBut does it not strike the reader that, while giving the widest\npossible berth to these most contemptible evils to which we have just\nreferred, we might cultivate and exercise a loving, prayerful interest\nin one another, and a holy watchfulness and care, which might prevent\nmany a root of bitterness from springing up? We cannot doubt it. It is\nquite true we are not all called to be pastors, and it is equally true\nthat there is a grievous dearth of pastors in the Church of God. We\nmean, of course, true pastors--pastors given by the Head of the\nChurch--men with a pastor's heart, and real pastoral gift and power.\nAll this is undeniable, and for this very reason it ought to stir the\nhearts of the Lord's beloved people every where to seek of Him grace\nto enable them to exercise a tender, loving, brotherly care over one\nanother, which might go a great way toward supplying the need of\npastors amongst us. One thing is clear, that in the passage just\nquoted from Hebrews xii. there is nothing said about pastors. It is\nsimply a most stirring exhortation to all Christians to exercise a\nmutual care, and to watch against the springing up of any root of\nbitterness.\n\nAnd oh, how needful this is! How terrible are those roots! How bitter\nthey are! How widely spread are their pernicious tendrils at times!\nWhat irreparable mischief they do! How many are defiled by them! How\nmany precious links of friendship are snapped, and how many hearts\nbroken by them! Yes, reader, and how often we have felt persuaded that\na little judicious pastoral or even brotherly care, a little loving,\ngodly counsel, might have nipped the evil in the bud, and thus\nhindered an incalculable amount of mischief and sorrow. May we all lay\nthese things to heart, and earnestly seek grace to do what we can to\nprevent roots of bitterness springing up and spreading abroad their\ndefiling influence.\n\nBut we must hearken to further weighty and searching words from the\nbeloved and venerable lawgiver. He draws a most solemn picture of the\nend of the one who caused the root of bitterness to spring up.\n\n\"And it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, _that\nhe bless himself in his heart_, saying, I shall have peace, though I\nwalk in the imagination of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst.\"\nFatal delusion! Crying, Peace, peace! when there is no peace, but\nimminent wrath and judgment. \"The Lord will not spare him, but then\nthe anger of the Lord and His jealousy shall smoke against that man,\nand,\"--instead of the \"peace\" which he vainly promised himself,--\"all\nthe curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and the\nLord shall blot out his name from under heaven.\" Awful warning to all\nwho act as roots of bitterness in the midst of the people of God, and\nto all who countenance them!\n\n\"And the Lord shall separate him unto evil out of all the tribes of\nIsrael, according to all the curses of the covenant that are written\nin this book of the law; so that the generation to come of your\nchildren, that shall rise up after you, and the stranger that shall\ncome from a far land, shall say, when they see the plagues of that\nland, and the sicknesses which the Lord hath laid upon it; and that\nthe whole land thereof is brimstone and salt and burning, that it is\nnot sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, like the\noverthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboim, which the Lord\noverthrew in His anger and in His wrath:\"--Soul-subduing examples of\nthe governmental dealings of the living God, which ought to speak with\na voice of thunder in the ears of all those who are turning the grace\nof our God into lasciviousness, and denying the Lord that bought\nthem!--\"even all nations shall say, Wherefore hath the Lord done thus\nunto this land? What meaneth the heat of this great anger? Then men\nshall say, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord God of\ntheir fathers, which He made with them when He brought them forth out\nof the land of Egypt; for they went and served other gods, and\nworshiped them, gods whom they knew not, and whom He had not given\nunto them; and the anger of the Lord was kindled against this land, to\nbring upon it all the curses that are written in this book; and the\nLord rooted them out of their land in anger, and in wrath, and in\ngreat indignation, and cast them into another land, as it is this\nday.\" (Ver. 19-28.)\n\nReader, how peculiarly solemn is all this! What a powerful\nillustration of the apostle's words, \"It is a fearful thing to fall\ninto the hands of the living God\"! and again, \"Our God is a consuming\nfire\"! How important that the professing church should give heed to\nsuch warning notes! Most assuredly, she is called to learn much from\nthe history of God's dealings with His people Israel; Romans xi. is\nperfectly clear and conclusive as to this. The apostle, in speaking of\nthe divine judgment upon the unbelieving branches of the olive-tree,\nthus appeals to christendom: \"If some of the branches be broken off',\nand thou, being a wild olive-tree; wert grafted in among them, and\nwith them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive-tree; boast\nnot against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the\nroot, but the root thee. Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken\noff that I might be grafted in. Well; because of unbelief they were\nbroken off; and thou standest by faith. BE NOT HIGH-MINDED, BUT FEAR;\nfor if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest He also\nspare not thee. Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God; on\nthem which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, _if thou\ncontinue in His goodness_; otherwise _thou also shalt be cut off_.\"\n\nAlas! the professing church has not continued in the goodness of God.\nIt is utterly impossible to read her history in the light of\nScripture and not see this. She has grievously departed, and there is\nnothing before her save the unmingled wrath of Almighty God. The\nbeloved members of the body of Christ who, sad to say, are mingled\nwith the terrible mass of corrupt profession, will be gathered out of\nit and taken to the place prepared in the Father's house in heaven.\nThen, if not before, they will see how wrong it was to have remained\nin connection with what was so flagrantly opposed to the mind of\nChrist as revealed, with divine clearness and simplicity, in the holy\nScriptures.\n\nBut as to the great thing known as christendom, it will be \"spued out\"\nand \"cut off.\" It will be given over to strong delusion, to believe a\nlie, \"that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but\n_had pleasure in unrighteousness_.\"\n\nTremendous words! May they ring in the ears and sink down into the\nhearts of thousands who are going on from day to day, week to week,\nand year to year, content with a mere name to live, a form of\ngodliness, but denying the power, \"_lovers of pleasure rather than\nlovers of God_.\" What an awfully graphic picture of so-called\nChristian England! How appalling the condition and the destiny of the\npleasure-hunting thousands who are rushing blindly, heedlessly, and\nmadly down the inclined plane that leads to hopeless and everlasting\nmisery! May God, in His infinite goodness, by the power of His Spirit\nand by the mighty action of His Word, rouse the hearts of His people\nevery where to a more profound and influential sense of these things.\n\nWe must now, ere closing this section, briefly direct the reader's\nattention to the last verse of our chapter. It is one of those\npassages of Scripture sadly misunderstood and misapplied. \"The secret\nthings belong unto the Lord our God; but those things which are\nrevealed belong unto us, and to our children forever, that we may do\nall the words of this law.\" This verse is constantly used to hinder\nthe progress of souls in the knowledge of \"the deep things of God,\"\nbut its simple meaning is this: The things \"revealed\" are what we have\nhad before us in the preceding chapter of this book; the things\n\"secret,\" on the other hand, refer to those resources of grace which\nGod had in store, to be unfolded when the people should have utterly\nfailed to \"do all the words of this law.\" The revealed things are what\nIsrael ought to have done, but did not do; the secret things are what\nGod would do, spite of Israel's sad and shameful failure, and they are\nmost blessedly presented in the following chapters--the counsels of\ndivine grace, the provisions of sovereign mercy to be displayed when\nIsrael shall have thoroughly learnt the lesson of their utter failure\nunder both the Moab and the Horeb-covenants.\n\nThus this passage, when rightly understood, so far from affording any\nwarrant for the use so constantly made of it, encourages the heart to\nsearch into these things which, though \"secret\" to Israel in the\nplains of Moab, are fully and clearly \"revealed\" to us for our profit,\ncomfort, and edification.[25] The Holy Spirit came down, on the day\nof Pentecost, to lead the disciples into _all truth_. The canon of\nScripture is complete; all the purposes and counsels of God are fully\nrevealed. The mystery of the Church completes the entire circle of\ndivine truth. The apostle John could say to all God's children, \"Ye\nhave an unction from the Holy One, and know _all things_.\"\n\n [25] 1 Corinthians ii. 9 is another of the misunderstood and\n misapplied passages. \"But, as it is written, 'Eye hath not seen, nor\n ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things\n which God hath prepared for them that love Him.'\" Here, people are\n sure to stop, and hence conclude that we cannot possibly know aught of\n the precious things which God has in store for us; but the very next\n verse proves the gross absurdity of any such conclusion. \"But God\n _hath revealed_ them unto us by His Spirit; for the Spirit searcheth\n all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the\n things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the\n things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we [that is,\n all the Lord's people] have received, not the spirit of the world, but\n the spirit which is of God; _that we might know the things that are\n freely given to us of God_.\" Thus this passage, like Deuteronomy xxix.\n 20, teaches the very opposite of what is so constantly deduced from\n it. How important to examine and weigh the context of the passages\n which are quoted.\n\nThus the entire New Testament abounds with evidence to prove the\nmistaken use that is so constantly made of Deuteronomy xxix. 29. We\nhave dwelt upon it because we are aware that the Lord's beloved people\nare sadly hindered by it in their progress in divine knowledge. The\nenemy would ever seek to keep them in the dark, when they ought to be\nwalking in the sunlight of divine revelation--to keep them as babes\nfeeding upon milk, when they ought, as those \"of full age,\" to be\nfeeding upon the \"strong meat\" so freely provided for the Church of\nGod. We have but little idea of how the Spirit of God is grieved and\nChrist dishonored by the low tone of things amongst us. How few really\n\"know the things that are freely given to us of God\"! Where are the\nproper privileges of the Christian understood, believed, and realized?\nHow meagre is our apprehension of divine things! How stunted our\ngrowth! How feeble our practical exposition of the truth of God! What\na blotted epistle of Christ we present!\n\nBeloved Christian reader, let us seriously ponder these things in the\ndivine presence. Let us honestly search out the root of all this\nlamentable failure, and have it judged and put away, that so we may\nmore faithfully and unmistakably declare whose we are and whom we\nserve. May it be more thoroughly manifest that Christ is our one\nabsorbing object.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXX.\n\n\nThis chapter is one of very deep interest and importance. It is\nprophetic, and presents to us some of \"the secret things\" referred to\nat the close of the preceding chapter. It unfolds some of those most\nprecious resources of grace treasured up in the heart of God, to be\nunfolded when Israel, having utterly failed to keep the law, should be\nscattered to the ends of the earth.\n\n\"And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee,\nthe blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and _thou\nshalt call them to mind_ among all the nations, whither the Lord thy\nGod hath driven thee, and _shalt return unto the Lord thy God_, and\nshalt obey His voice according to all that I command thee this day,\n_thou and thy children, with all thine heart and with all thy soul_;\nthat then the Lord thy God will turn thy captivity, and _have\ncompassion upon thee_, and will return and gather thee from all the\nnations, whither the Lord thy God hath scattered thee.\"\n\nHow touching, how perfectly beautiful, is all this! It is no question\nof law-keeping, but something far deeper, far more precious; it is the\nturning of the heart--the whole heart--the whole soul to Jehovah, at a\ntime when a literal obedience to the law is utterly impossible. It is\na broken and contrite heart turning to God, and God, in deep and\ntender compassion, meeting that heart. This is true blessedness, at\nall times and in all places. It is something above and beyond all\ndispensational dealings and arrangements. It is God Himself, in all\nthe fullness and ineffable blessedness of what He is, meeting a\nrepentant soul; and we may truly say that when these two meet, all is\ndivinely and eternally settled.\n\nIt must be perfectly clear to the reader that what we have now before\nus is something as far removed from law-keeping and human\nrighteousness as heaven is above earth. The first verse of our chapter\nproves in the clearest possible manner that the people are viewed as\nin a condition in which the carrying out of the ordinances of the law\nis a simple impossibility. But blessed be God, there is not a spot on\nthe face of the earth, be it ever so remote, from which the heart\ncannot turn to God. The _hands_ might not be able to present a victim\nfor the altar, the _feet_ might not be able to travel to the appointed\nplace of worship, but the _heart_ could travel to God. Yes; the poor\ncrushed, broken, contrite heart could go directly to God, and God, in\nthe depth of His compassion and tender mercy, could meet that heart,\nbind it up, and fill it to overflowing with the rich comfort and\nconsolation of His love, and the full joy of His salvation.\n\nBut let us hearken yet further to those \"secret things\" which \"belong\nto God\"--things precious beyond all human thought. \"If any of thine be\ndriven out unto _the utmost parts of heaven_\"--as far as they could\ngo--\"from thence will the Lord thy God _gather thee_, and from thence\nwill He _fetch thee_; and the Lord thy God will bring thee into the\nland which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and _He\nwill do thee good_, and multiply thee above thy fathers.\"\n\nHow precious is all this! But there is something far better still. Not\nonly will He gather them, fetch them, and multiply them--not only will\nHe act in power _for_ them, but He will do a mighty work of grace _in_\nthem of far more value than any outward prosperity however desirable.\n\"And the Lord thy God will _circumcise thine heart_\"--the very centre\nof the whole moral being, the source of all those influences which go\nto form the character--\"and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord\nthy God with all thine heart\"--the grand moral regulator of the entire\nlife--\"and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live. And the Lord thy\nGod will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that\nhate thee, which persecuted thee\"--a solemn word for all those nations\nwho have ever sought to oppress the Jews!--\"And thou shalt return, and\nobey the voice of the Lord, and do all His commandments, which I\ncommand thee this day.\"\n\nNothing can be more morally lovely than all this. The people gathered,\nfetched, multiplied, blessed, circumcised in heart, thoroughly devoted\nto Jehovah, and yielding a whole-hearted, loving obedience to all His\nprecious commandments! What can exceed this in blessedness for a\npeople on the earth?\n\n\"And the Lord thy God will make thee plenteous in every work of thine\nhand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in\nthe fruit of thy land, for good; for the Lord will again rejoice over\nthee for good, as He rejoiced over thy fathers: if thou shalt hearken\nunto the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep His commandments and His\nstatutes which are written in this book of the law, and if thou turn\nunto the Lord thy God, with all thine heart and with all thy soul. For\nthis commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from\nthee, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest\nsay, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we\nmay hear it and do it? Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou\nshouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us,\nthat we may hear it and do it? But the Word is _very nigh unto thee_,\nin thy _mouth_, and in thy _heart_, that thou mayest do it.\" (Ver.\n10-14.)\n\nThis is a singularly interesting passage. It furnishes a key to \"the\nsecret things\" already referred to, and sets forth the great\nprinciples of divine righteousness, in vivid and beautiful contrast to\nlegal righteousness in every possible aspect. According to the truth\nhere unfolded, it matters not in the least where a soul may be--here,\nthere, or any where; \"the Word is nigh thee.\" It could not possibly be\nnigher. What could be nigher than \"in thy mouth, and in thy heart\"? We\nneed not, as we say, move a muscle to get it. If it were above us or\nbeyond us, reason would that we might complain of our utter inability\nto reach it; but no, there is no need of either _hands_ or _feet_ in\nthis most blessed and all-important matter. The _heart_ and the\n_mouth_ are here called into exercise.\n\nThere is a very beautiful allusion to the above passage in the tenth\nchapter of the epistle to the Romans, to which the reader may refer\nwith much interest and profit. Indeed, it is so full of evangelic\nsweetness, that we must quote it.\n\n\"Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that\nthey might be saved. For I bear them record, that they have a zeal of\nGod, but not according to knowledge. For they, being _ignorant of\nGod's righteousness_, and _going about_ to establish their own\nrighteousness, _have not submitted themselves_ unto the righteousness\nof God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to _every\none that believeth_\"--not to every one who _says_ he believes, as in\nJames ii. 14.--\"For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the\nlaw, that the man which doeth those things shall live by them. But the\nrighteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise: Say not in\nthine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ\ndown;)\"--Striking parenthesis! Marvelous instance of the Spirit's use\nof Old-Testament scripture! It bears the distinct stamp of His\nmaster-hand.--\"or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring\nup Christ again from the dead.) But what saith it? The Word is nigh\nthee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart; that is, _the word of\nfaith, which we preach_;\"--How perfectly beautiful the addition! Who\nbut the Spirit could have supplied it?--\"that if thou shalt _confess\nwith thy mouth_ the Lord Jesus, and shalt _believe in thine heart_\nthat God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with\nthe heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth\nconfession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture saith, 'Whosoever\nbelieveth on Him shall not be ashamed.'\"\n\nMark this beautiful word--\"whosoever.\" It most assuredly takes in the\nJew. It meets him wherever he may be, a poor exile at the very ends of\nthe earth, under circumstances where obedience to the law as such was\nsimply impossible, but where the rich and precious grace of God and\nHis most glorious salvation could meet him in the depth of his need.\nThere, though he could not keep the law, he could confess with his\nmouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in his heart that God had raised Him\nfrom the dead; and this is salvation.\n\nBut then, if it be \"whosoever,\" it cannot possibly be confined to the\nJew; nay, it cannot be confined at all; and hence the apostle goes on\nto say, \"There _is_ no difference between the Jew and the Greek.\"\nThere _was_ the greatest possible difference under the law. There\ncould not be a broader or more distinct line of demarkation than that\nwhich the lawgiver had drawn between the Jew and the Greek; but that\nline is obliterated, for a double reason: first, because \"all have\nsinned and come short of the glory of God\" (chap. iii. 23.); and\nsecondly, because \"the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call\nupon Him; for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be\nsaved.\"\n\nHow blessedly simple! \"Calling\"--\"believing\"--\"confessing\"! Nothing\ncan exceed the transcendent grace that shines in these words. No doubt\nit is assumed that the soul is really in earnest--that the _heart_ is\nengaged. God deals in moral realities. It is not a nominal, notional\nhead-belief; but divine faith wrought in the heart by the Holy\nGhost--a living faith, which connects the soul, in a divine way and by\nan everlasting link, to Christ.\n\nAnd then there is the confessing with the mouth the Lord Jesus. This\nis of cardinal importance. A man may say, I believe in my heart, but I\nam not one for parading my religious belief. I am not a talker. I keep\nmy religion to myself. It is entirely a matter between my soul and\nGod; I do not believe in that perpetual intruding our religious\nimpressions upon other people. Many who talk loudly and largely about\ntheir religion in public, make but a sorry figure in private, and I\ncertainty do not want to be identified with such. I utterly abhor all\ncant. Deeds, not words, for me.\n\nAll this sounds very plausible, but it cannot stand for a moment in\nthe light of Romans x. 9. There must be the confession with the mouth.\nMany would like to be saved by Christ, but they shrink from the\nreproach of confessing His precious Name. They would like to get to\nheaven when they die, but they do not want to be identified with a\nrejected Christ. Now God does not own such. He looks for the full,\nbold, clear confession of Christ, in the face of a hostile world. Our\nLord Christ, too, looks for this confession. He declares that whoso\nconfesses Him before men, He will confess before the angels of God;\nbut whoso denies Him before men, He will deny before the angels of\nGod. The thief on the cross exhibited the two great branches of true\nsaving faith. He believed with his heart, and confessed with his\nmouth. Yes, he gave a flat contradiction to the whole world on the\nmost vital question that ever was or ever could be raised, and that\nquestion was Christ. He was a thoroughly pronounced disciple of\nChrist. Oh, that there were more such! There is a terrible amount of\nindefiniteness and cold half-heartedness in the professing church,\ngrievous to the Holy Ghost, offensive to Christ, hateful to God. We\nlong for bold decision, out-and-out, unmistakable testimony to the\nLord Jesus. May God the Holy Spirit stir up all our hearts, and lead\nus forth, in more thorough consecration of heart, to that blessed One\nwho freely gave His life to save us from everlasting burnings!\n\nWe shall close this section by quoting for the reader the last few\nverses of our chapter, in which Moses makes a peculiarly solemn appeal\nto the hearts and consciences of the people. It is a most powerful\nword of exhortation.\n\n\"See, I have set before thee this day _life and good_ and _death and\nevil_.\" Thus it is ever in the government of God. The two things are\ninseparably linked together. Let no man dare to snap the link. God\n\"will render to every man according to his deeds; to them who, by\npatient continuance in well-doing, seek for glory and honor and\nimmortality, eternal life; but unto them that are contentious, and do\nnot obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,\ntribulation and anguish, upon _every soul of man that doeth evil_, of\nthe Jew first, and also of the Gentile; but glory, honor, and peace to\n_every man that worketh good_, to the Jew first, and also to the\nGentile: _for there is no respect of persons with God_.\" (Rom. ii.\n6-11.)\n\nThe apostle does not, in this great practical passage, go into the\nquestion of power; he simply states the broad fact--a fact applicable\nat all times and under all dispensations--government, law, and\nChristianity; it ever holds good that \"God will render to every man\naccording to his deeds.\" This is of the very last possible importance.\nMay we ever bear it in mind. It may perhaps be said, Are not\nChristians under grace? Yes, thank God; but does this weaken, in the\nsmallest degree, the grand governmental principle stated above? Nay,\nit strengthens and confirms it immensely.\n\nBut again, some may feel disposed to say, Can any unconverted person\ndo good? We reply, This question is not raised in the scripture just\nquoted. Every one taught of God knows and feels and owns that not one\natom of \"good\" has ever been done in this world but by the grace of\nGod; that man left to himself will do evil only--evil continually.\n\"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down\nfrom the Father of lights.\" All this is most blessedly true, and\nthankfully owned by every pious soul, but it leaves wholly untouched\nthe fact set forth in Deuteronomy xxx. and confirmed by Romans ii,\nthat _life and good_, _death and evil_, are bound together by an\ninseparable link. May we never forget it. May it ever abide in the\nremembrance of the thoughts of our hearts.\n\n\"See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and\nevil; in that I command thee this day to love the Lord thy God, to\nwalk in His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and\nHis judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply; and the Lord thy\nGod shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it. But\nif _thine heart turn away_, so that _thou wilt not hear_, but shalt be\ndrawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them; I denounce unto\nyou this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not\nprolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to\ngo to possess it. I call heaven and earth to record this day against\nyou, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing;\ntherefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live; that thou\nmayest love the Lord thy God, and that thou mayest obey His voice, and\nthat thou mayest _cleave unto Him_\"--the all-important, essential\nthing for each, for all, the very spring and power of all true\nreligion, in every age, in every place;--\"_for He is thy life, and the\nlength of thy days_;\"--How close! how vital! how real! how very\nprecious!--\"that thou mayest dwell in the land which the Lord sware\nunto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.\"\n(Ver. 15-20.)\n\nNothing can be more solemn than this closing appeal to the\ncongregation; it is in full keeping with the tone and character of the\nentire book of Deuteronomy--a book marked throughout by the most\npowerful exhortations that ever fell on mortal ears. We have no such\nsoul-stirring appeals in any of the preceding sections of the\nPentateuch. Each book, we need not say, has its own specific niche to\nfill, its own distinct object and character; but the great burden of\nDeuteronomy, from beginning to end, is exhortation; its thesis, the\nWord of God; its object, obedience--whole-hearted, earnest, loving\nobedience, grounded on a known relationship and enjoyed privileges.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXI.\n\n\nThe heart of Moses still lingers, with deep tenderness and\naffectionate solicitude, over the congregation. It seems as though he\ncould never weary of pouring into their ears his earnest exhortations.\nHe felt their need, he foresaw their danger, and, like a true and\nfaithful shepherd, he sought, with all the deep and tender affection\nof His large, loving heart, to prepare them for what was before them.\nNo one can read his closing words without being struck with their\npeculiarly solemn tone. They remind us of Paul's touching farewell to\nthe elders of Ephesus. Both these beloved and honored servants\nrealized, in a very vivid manner, the seriousness of their own\nposition and that of the persons they were addressing. They felt the\nuncommon gravity of the interests at stake, and the urgent need of the\nmost faithful dealing with the heart and conscience. This will account\nfor what we may term the awful solemnity of their appeals. All who\nreally enter into the situation and destiny of the people of God in a\nworld like this _must_ be serious. The true sense of these things, the\napprehension of them in the divine presence, must, of necessity,\nimpart a holy gravity to the character, and a special pungency and\npower to the testimony.\n\n\"And Moses went and spake these words unto all Israel. And he said\nunto them, 'I am a hundred and twenty years old this day; I can no\nmore go out and come in; also the Lord hath said unto me, Thou shalt\nnot go over this Jordan.'\" How very touching this allusion to his\ngreat age, and this fresh and final reference to the solemn\ngovernmental dealing of God with himself personally! The direct and\nmanifest object of both was, to give effect to his appeal to the\nhearts and consciences of the people, to strengthen the moral lever by\nwhich this beloved and honored servant of God sought to move them in\nthe direction of simple obedience. If he points to his gray hairs, or\nto the holy discipline exercised toward him, it most assuredly is not\nfor the purpose of bringing himself, his circumstances, or his\nfeelings before them, but simply to touch the deepest springs of their\nmoral being by every possible means.\n\n\"The Lord thy God, He will go over before thee, and He will destroy\nthese nations from before thee, and thou shalt possess them; and\nJoshua, he shall go over before thee, as the Lord hath said. And the\nLord shall do unto them as He did to Sihon and to Og, kings of the\nAmorites, and unto the land of them whom He destroyed. And the Lord\nshall give them up before your face, that ye may do unto them\naccording unto all the commandments which I have commanded you.\" Not a\nword of murmuring or repining as to himself, not the faintest tinge of\nenvy or jealousy in his reference to the one who was to take his\nplace, not the most distant approach to aught of the kind; every\nselfish consideration is swallowed up in the one grand object of\nencouraging the hearts of the people to tread, with firm step, the\npathway of obedience, which was then, is now, and ever must be the\npath of victory, the path of blessing, the path of peace.\n\n\"Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them; for\nthe Lord thy God, He it is that doth go with thee; He will not fail\nthee nor forsake thee.\" What precious, soul-sustaining words are\nthese, beloved Christian reader! how eminently calculated to lift the\nheart above every discouraging influence! The blessed consciousness of\nthe Lord's presence with us, and the remembrance of His gracious ways\nwith us, in days gone by, must ever prove the true secret of strength\nin moving onward. The same mighty hand which had subdued before them\nSihon and Og, could subdue all the kings of Canaan. The Amorites were\nquite as formidable as the Canaanites; Jehovah was more than a match\nfor all. \"We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told\nus, what work Thou didst in their days, in the times of old. How Thou\ndidst drive out the heathen with Thy hand, and plantedst them; how\nThou didst afflict the people, and cast them out.\"\n\nOnly think of God driving out people with His own hand! What an answer\nto all the arguments and difficulties of a morbid sentimentality! How\nvery shallow and erroneous are the thoughts of some in reference to\nthe governmental ways of God! How miserably one-sided their notions of\nHis character and actings! How perfectly absurd the attempt to measure\nGod by the standard of human judgment and feeling! It is very evident\nthat Moses had not the smallest particle of sympathy with such\nsentiments when he addressed to the congregation of Israel the\nmagnificent exhortation quoted above. He knew something of the gravity\nand solemnity of the government of God, something, too, of the\nblessedness of having Him as a shield in the day of battle, a refuge\nand a resource in every hour of peril and need.\n\nLet us hearken to his encouraging words addressed to the man who was\nto succeed him. \"And Moses called unto Joshua, and said unto him in\nthe sight of all Israel, '_Be strong and of a good courage_; for thou\nmust go with this people unto the land which the Lord hath sworn unto\ntheir fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it.\nAnd the Lord, He it is that doth go before thee; He will be with thee;\nHe will not fail thee, neither forsake thee; fear not, neither be\ndismayed.'\"\n\nJoshua needed a special word for himself, as one called to occupy a\nprominent and very distinguished place in the congregation. But the\nword to him embodies the same precious truth as that addressed to the\nwhole assembly. He is assured of the divine presence and power with\nhim. This is enough for each, for all; for Joshua as for the most\nobscure member of the assembly. Yes, reader, and enough for thee,\nwhoever thou art, or whatever be thy sphere of action. It matters not\nin the least what difficulties or dangers may lie before us, our God\nis amply sufficient for all. If only we have the sense of the Lord's\npresence with us, and the authority of His Word for the work in which\nwe are engaged, we may move on with joyful confidence, spite of ten\nthousand difficulties and hostile influences.\n\n\"And Moses wrote this law, and delivered it unto the priests the sons\nof Levi, which bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and unto all\nthe elders of Israel. And Moses commanded them, saying, 'At the end of\nevery seven years, in the solemnity of the year of release, in the\nfeast of tabernacles, when _all Israel_ is come to appear before the\nLord thy God in the place which He shall choose, thou shalt read this\nlaw before all Israel, in their hearing. Gather the people together,\n_men_ and _women_ and _children_, and _thy stranger_ that is within\nthy gates, that they may _hear_, and that they may _learn_, and _fear_\nthe Lord your God, and _observe to do all the words_ of this law; and\nthat _their children, which have not known any thing, may hear, and\nlearn to fear the Lord your God_, as long as ye live in the land\nwhither ye go over Jordan to possess it.\" (Ver. 9-35.)\n\nTwo things in the foregoing passage claim our special attention;\nfirst, the fact that Jehovah attached the most solemn importance to\nthe public assembly of His people for the purpose of hearing His Word.\n\"All Israel\"--\"men, women, and children\"--with the stranger who had\ncast in his lot amongst them, were commanded to assemble themselves\ntogether to hear the reading of the book of the law of God, that all\nmight learn His holy will and their duty. Each member of the assembly,\nfrom the eldest to the youngest, was to be brought into direct\npersonal contact with the revealed will of Jehovah, that each one\nmight know his solemn responsibility.\n\nAnd secondly, we have to weigh the fact that the children were to be\ngathered before the Lord to hearken to His Word. Both these facts are\nfull of weighty instruction for all the members of the Church of\nGod--instruction urgently called for on all sides. There is a most\ndeplorable amount of failure as to these two points. We sadly neglect\nthe assembling of ourselves together for the simple reading of the\nholy Scriptures. There does not seem to be sufficient attraction in\nthe Word of God itself to bring us together. There is an unhealthy\ncraving for other things; human oratory, music, religious excitement\nof some kind or other seems needful to bring people together,--any\nthing and every thing but the precious Word of God.\n\nIt will perhaps be said that people have the Word of God in their\nhouses, that it is quite different now from what it was with Israel;\nevery one can read the Scriptures at home, and there is not the same\nnecessity for the public reading. Such a plea will not stand the test\nof truth for a moment. We may rest assured, if the Word of God were\nloved and prized and studied in private and in the family, it would be\nloved and prized and studied in public. We should delight to gather\ntogether around the fountain of holy Scripture, to drink, in happy\nfellowship, of the living water, for our common refreshment and\nblessing.\n\nBut it is not so. The Word of God is not loved and studied, either\nprivately or publicly. Trashy literature is devoured in private, and\nmusic, ritualistic services, and imposing ceremonies are eagerly\nsought after in public. Thousands will flock to hear music, and pay\nfor admission, but how few care for a meeting to read the holy\nScriptures! These are facts, and facts are powerful arguments. We\ncannot get over them. There is a growing thirst for religious\nexcitement, and a growing distaste for the calm study of holy\nScripture and the spiritual exercises of the Christian assembly. It is\nperfectly useless to deny it. We cannot shut our eyes to it. The\nevidence of it meets us on every hand.\n\nThank God, there are a few, here and there, who really love the Word\nof God, and delight to meet, in holy fellowship, for the study of its\nprecious truths. May the Lord increase the number of such, and bless\nthem abundantly. May our lot be cast with them, \"till traveling days\nare done.\" They are but an obscure and feeble remnant every where; but\nthey love Christ and cleave to His Word, and their richest enjoyment\nis, to get together and think and speak and sing of Him. May God bless\nthem and keep them. May He deepen His precious work in their souls,\nand bind them more closely to Himself and one another, and thus\nprepare them, in the state of their affections, for the appearing of\n\"the Bright and Morning Star.\"\n\nWe must now turn for a few moments to the closing verses of our\nchapter, in which Jehovah speaks to His beloved and honored servant,\nin tones of deep and touching solemnity, as to his own death, and as\nto Israel's dark and gloomy future.\n\n\"And the Lord said unto Moses, 'Behold, thy days approach that thou\nmust die: call Joshua, and present yourselves in the tabernacle of the\ncongregation, that I may give him a charge.' And Moses and Joshua went\nand presented themselves in the tabernacle of the congregation. And\nthe Lord appeared in the tabernacle in a pillar of a cloud; and the\npillar of the cloud stood over the door of the tabernacle. And the\nLord said unto Moses, 'Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and\nthis people will rise up and go a whoring after the gods of the\nstrangers of the land, whither they go to be among them, and will\nforsake Me, and break My covenant which I have made with them. Then My\nanger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake\nthem, and I will hide My face from them, and they shall be devoured,\nand many evils and troubles shall befall them; so that they will say\nin that day, _Are not these evils come upon us because our_ _God is\nnot among us?_ And I will surely hide My face in that day, for all the\nevils which they shall have wrought, in that they are turned unto\nother gods.'\"\n\n\"Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god.\" So\nsays the Spirit of Christ in Psalm xvi. Israel has proved, is proving,\nand shall yet more fully prove the solemn truth of these words. Their\nhistory in the past, their present dispersion and desolation, and,\nbeyond all, that \"great tribulation\" through which they have yet to\npass, at \"the time of the end,\"--all go to confirm and illustrate the\ntruth that the sure and certain way to multiply our sorrows is, to\nturn away from the Lord and look to any creature-resource. This is one\nof the many and varied practical lessons which we have to gather from\nthe marvelous history of the seed of Abraham. May we learn it\neffectually. May we learn to cleave to the Lord with purpose of heart,\nand turn away, with holy decision, from every other object. This, we\nfeel persuaded, is the only path of true happiness and peace. May we\never be found in it.\n\n\"Now therefore write ye this song for you, and teach it the children\nof Israel; put it in their mouths, _that this song may be a witness\nfor Me against the children of Israel_. For when I shall have brought\nthem into the land which I sware unto their fathers, that floweth with\nmilk and honey; and they shall have eaten and filled themselves and\nwaxen fat; then will they turn unto other gods, and serve them, and\nprovoke Me, and break My covenant. And it shall come to pass, when\nmany evils and troubles are befallen them, that this song shall\ntestify against them as a witness; for it shall not be forgotten out\nof the mouths of their seed; for I know their imaginations which they\ngo about, even now, before I have brought them into the land which I\nsware.\"\n\nHow deeply affecting, how peculiarly solemn, is all this! Instead of\nIsrael being a witness for Jehovah before all nations, the song of\nMoses was to be a witness for Jehovah against the children of Israel.\nThey were called to be His witnesses; they were responsible to declare\nHis name and to show forth His praise in that land into which, in His\nfaithfulness and sovereign mercy, He conducted them; but alas! they\nutterly and shamefully failed, and hence, in view of this sad and most\nhumiliating failure, a song was to be written which, in the first\nplace, as we shall see, sets forth, in most magnificent strains, the\nglory of God; and secondly, records, in accents of inflexible\nfaithfulness, Israel's deplorable failure, in every stage of their\nhistory.\n\n\"Moses therefore wrote this song the same day, and taught it the\nchildren of Israel. And he gave Joshua the son of Nun a charge, and\nsaid, '_Be strong, and of a good courage_; for thou shalt bring the\nchildren of Israel into the land which I sware unto them; and _I will\nbe with thee_.'\" Joshua was not to be discouraged or faint-hearted\nbecause of the predicted unfaithfulness of the people. He was, like\nhis great progenitor, to be strong in faith giving glory to God. He\nwas to move forward with joyful confidence, leaning on the arm and\nconfiding in the word of Jehovah, the covenant-God of Israel, in\nnothing terrified by his adversaries, but resting in the precious,\nsoul-sustaining assurance that, however the seed of Abraham might fail\nto obey, and, as a consequence, bring down judgment on themselves, yet\nthe God of Abraham would infallibly maintain and make good His\npromise, and glorify His name in the final restoration and everlasting\nblessing of His chosen people.\n\nAll this comes out with uncommon vividness and power in the song of\nMoses, and Joshua was called to serve in the faith of it. He was to\nfix his eye, not upon Israel's ways, but upon the eternal stability of\nthe divine covenant with Abraham. He was to conduct Israel across the\nJordan and plant them in that fair inheritance designed for them in\nthe purpose of God. Had Joshua occupied his mind with Israel, he must\nhave flung down his sword and given up in despair; but no, he had to\nencourage himself in the Lord his God, and serve in the energy of a\nfaith that endures as seeing Him who is invisible.\n\nPrecious, soul-sustaining, God-honoring faith! May the reader,\nwhatever be his line of life or sphere of action, know, in the\nprofoundest depths of his soul, the moral power of this divine\nprinciple. May every beloved child of God and every servant of Christ\nknow it. It is the only thing which will enable us to grapple with the\ndifficulties, hindrances, and hostile influences which surround us in\nthe scene through which we are passing, and to finish our course with\njoy.\n\n\"And it came to pass when Moses had made an end of writing the words\nof this law in a book, until they were finished, that Moses commanded\nthe Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord, saying,\n'Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the\ncovenant of the Lord your God, _that it may be there for a witness\nagainst thee_. For I know thy rebellion, and thy stiff neck; behold,\nwhile I am yet alive with you this day, ye have been rebellious\nagainst the Lord; and how much more after my death? Gather unto me all\nthe elders of your tribes, and your officers, that I may speak these\nwords in their ears, and call heaven and earth to record against them.\nFor I know that after my death ye will utterly corrupt yourselves, and\nturn aside from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will\nbefall you in the latter days; because ye will do evil in the sight of\nthe Lord, to provoke Him to anger through the work of your hands.'\"\n\nHow forcibly we are here reminded of Paul's farewell address to the\nelders of Ephesus!--\"For I know this, that after my departing shall\ngrievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from\namong your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to\ndraw away disciples after them. Therefore _watch_, _and remember_,\nthat by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night\nand day with tears. And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to\nthe word of His grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you\nan inheritance among all them which are sanctified.\" (Acts xx. 29-32.)\n\nMan is the same always and every where. His history is a blotted one\nfrom beginning to end. But oh, it is such a relief and solace to the\nheart to know and remember that God is ever the same, and His Word\nabides and is \"settled forever in heaven.\" It was hid in the side of\nthe ark of the covenant and there preserved intact, spite of all the\ngrievous sin and folly of the people. This gives sweet rest to the\nheart at all times, in the face of human failure, and the wreck and\nruin of every thing committed to man's hand. \"The Word of our God\nshall stand forever;\" and while it bears a true and solemn testimony\nagainst man and his ways, it also conveys home to the heart the most\nprecious and tranquilizing assurance that God is above all man's sin\nand folly, that His resources are absolutely inexhaustible, and that\nere long His glory shall shine out and fill the whole scene. The Lord\nbe praised for the deep consolation of all this!\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXII.\n\n\n\"And Moses spake in the ears of all the congregation of Israel the\nwords of this song, until they were ended.\" It is not too much to say\nthat one of the very grandest and most comprehensive sections in the\ndivine volume now lies open before us and claims our prayerful\nattention. It takes in the whole range of God's dealings with Israel\nfrom first to last, and presents a most solemn record of their\ngrievous sin and of divine wrath and judgment. But, blessed be God, it\nbegins and ends with Him; and this is full of deepest and richest\nblessing for the soul. If it were not so, if we had only the\nmelancholy story of man's ways, we should be completely overwhelmed;\nbut in this magnificent song, as indeed in the entire volume, we begin\nwith God and we end with God. This tranquilizes the spirit most\nblessedly, and enables us, in calm and holy confidence, to pursue the\nhistory of man, to see every thing going to pieces in his hands, and\nto mark the actings of the enemy in opposition to the counsels and\npurposes of God. We can afford to see the complete failure and ruin of\nthe creature, in every shape and form, because we know and are assured\nthat God will be God in spite of every thing. He will have the upper\nhand in the end, and then all will be--must be right. God shall be all\nin all, and there shall be neither enemy nor evil occurrent throughout\nthat vast universe of bliss of which our adorable Lord Christ shall be\nthe central sun forever.\n\nBut we must turn to the song.\n\n\"Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the\nwords of my mouth.\" Heaven and earth are summoned to hearken to this\nmagnificent outpouring. Its range is commensurate with its vast moral\nimportance. \"My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall\ndistill as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the\nshowers upon the grass; because I will publish the name of the Lord;\nascribe ye greatness unto our God.\"\n\nHere lies the solid, the imperishable foundation of every thing. Come\nwhat may, the name of our God shall stand forever. No power of earth\nor hell can possibly countervail the divine purpose, or hinder the\noutshining of the divine glory. What sweet rest this gives the heart\nin the midst of this dark, sorrowful, sin-stricken world, and in the\nface of the apparently successful schemes of the enemy! Our refuge,\nour resource, our sweet relief and solace, are found in the name of\nthe Lord our God, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Truly\nthe publication of that blessed name must ever be as the refreshing\ndew and tender rain falling upon the heart. This is, of a truth, the\ndivine and heavenly doctrine on which the soul can feed, and by which\nit is sustained, at all times, and under all circumstances.\n\n\"He is _the_ Rock\"--not merely _a_ rock. There is, there can be, no\nother Rock but Himself. Eternal and universal homage to His glorious\nname!--\"His work is perfect;\"--not a single flaw in aught that comes\nfrom His blessed hand; all bears the stamp of absolute perfection.\nThis will be made manifest to all created intelligences by and by. It\nis manifest to faith now, and is a spring of divine consolation to all\ntrue believers. The very thought of it distills as the dew upon the\nthirsty soul. \"For _all_ His ways are judgment; a God of truth, and\nwithout iniquity; just and right is He.\" Infidels may cavil and sneer;\nthey may, in their fancied wisdom, try to pick holes in the divine\nactings; but their folly shall be manifest to all. \"Let God be true,\nbut every man a liar; as it is written, 'That Thou mightest be\njustified in Thy sayings, and mightest overcome when Thou art\njudged.'\" God must have the upper hand in the end. Let men beware how\nthey presume to call in question the sayings and doings of the only\ntrue, the only wise, and the almighty God.\n\nThere is something uncommonly fine in the opening notes of this song.\nIt gives the sweetest rest to the heart to know that however man, and\neven the people of God, may fail and come to ruin, yet we have to do\nwith One who abideth faithful and cannot deny Himself, whose ways are\nabsolutely perfect, and who, when the enemy has done his very utmost,\nand brought all his malignant designs to a head, shall glorify\nHimself, and bring in universal and everlasting blessedness.\n\nTrue, He has to execute judgment upon man's ways. He is constrained to\ntake down the rod of discipline and use it, at times, with terrible\nseverity upon His own people. He is perfectly intolerant of evil in\nthose who bear His holy name. All this comes out, with special\nsolemnity in the song before us. Israel's ways are exposed and dealt\nwith unsparingly; nothing is allowed to pass; all is set forth with\nholy precision and faithfulness. Thus we read, \"They have corrupted\nthemselves; their spot is not the spot of His children; they are a\nperverse and crooked generation. Do ye thus requite the Lord, O\nfoolish people and unwise? is not He thy Father that hath bought thee?\nhath He not made thee, and established thee?\"\n\nHere we have the first note of reproof in this song, but no sooner has\nit fallen on the ear than it is followed by a most precious outpouring\nof testimony to the goodness, loving-kindness, faithfulness, and\ntender mercy of Jehovah, the Elohim of Israel, and the Most High, or\nElion of all the earth. \"Remember the days of old, consider the years\nof many generations; ask thy father, and he will show thee; thy\nelders, and they will tell thee; when the Most High [God's millennial\ntitle] divided to the nations their inheritance, when He separated the\nsons of Adam, He set the bounds of the people according to the number\nof the children of Israel.\"\n\nWhat a glorious fact is here unfolded to our view! a fact but little\nunderstood or taken account of by the nations of the earth. How little\ndo men consider that, in the original settlement of the great national\nboundaries, the Most High had direct reference to \"the children of\nIsrael\"! Yet thus it was, and the reader should seek to grasp this\ngrand and intensely interesting fact. When we look at geography and\nhistory from a divine stand-point, we find that Canaan and the seed of\nJacob are God's centre. Yes; Canaan, a little strip of land lying\nalong the eastern coast of the Mediterranean, with an area of eleven\nthousand square miles, (about a third of the extent of Ireland,) is\nthe centre of God's geography, and the twelve tribes of Israel are the\ncentral object of God's history. How little have geographers and\nhistorians thought of this! They have described countries, and written\nthe history of nations, which, in geographical extent and political\nimportance, far outstrip Palestine and its people, according to human\nthinking, but which, in God's account, are as nothing compared with\nthat little strip of land which He deigns to call His own, and which\nit is His fixed purpose to inherit through the seed of Abraham His\nfriend.[26]\n\n [26] How true it is that God's thoughts are not man's thoughts, or His\n ways as man's ways! Man attaches importance to extensive territories,\n material strength, pecuniary resources, well-disciplined armies,\n powerful fleets; God, on the contrary, takes no account of such\n things; they are to Him as the small dust of the balance. \"Have ye not\n known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the\n beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?\n It is He that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the\n inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the\n heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in;\n that bringeth the princes to nothing; He maketh the judges of the\n earth as vanity.\" Hence we may see the moral reason why, in selecting\n a country to be the centre of His earthly plans and counsels, Jehovah\n did not select one of vast extent, but a very small and insignificant\n strip of land, of little account in the thoughts of men. But oh, what\n importance attaches to that little spot! what principles have been\n unfolded there! what events have taken place there! what deeds have\n been done there! what plans and purposes are yet to be wrought out\n there! There is not a spot on the face of the earth so interesting to\n the heart of God as the land of Canaan and the city of Jerusalem.\n Scripture teems with evidence as to this: we could fill a small volume\n with proofs. The time is rapidly approaching when living facts will do\n what the fullest and clearest testimony of Scripture fails to do,\n namely, convince men that the land of Israel was, is, and ever shall\n be God's earthly centre. All other nations owe their importance, their\n interest, their place in the pages of inspiration, simply to the fact\n of their being, in some way or other, connected with the land and\n people of Israel. How little do historians know or think of this! But\n surely every one who loves God ought to know it and ponder it.\n\nWe cannot attempt to dwell upon this most important and suggestive\nfact, but we would ask the reader to give it his serious\nconsideration. He will find it fully developed and strikingly\nillustrated in the prophetic scriptures of the Old and New Testaments.\n\"The Lord's portion is His people; Jacob is the lot of His\ninheritance. He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling\nwilderness; He led him about, He instructed him, He kept him _as the\napple of His eye_\"--the most sensitive, delicate part of the human\nbody.--\"As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young,\nspreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them upon her\nwings;\"--to teach them to fly and to keep them from falling--\"so the\nLord alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him. He\nmade him ride on the high places of the earth, that he might eat the\nincrease of the fields; and He made him to suck honey out of the rock,\nand oil out of the flinty rock; butter of kine, and milk of sheep,\nwith fat of lambs, and rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats, with\nthe fat of kidneys of wheat; and thou didst drink the pure blood of\nthe grape.\"\n\nNeed we say that the primary application of all this is to Israel? No\ndoubt the Church may learn from it and profit by it, but to apply it\nto the Church would involve a double mistake, a mistake of the most\nserious nature; it would involve nothing less than the reducing of\nthe Church from a heavenly to an earthly level, and the most\nunwarrantable interference with Israel's divinely appointed place and\nportion. What, we may lawfully inquire, has the Church of God, the\nbody of Christ, to do with the settlement of the nations of the earth?\nNothing whatever. The Church, _according to the mind of God_, is a\nstranger on the earth. Her portion, her hope, her home, her\ninheritance, her all, is heavenly. It would make no difference in the\ncurrent of this world's history if the Church had never been heard of.\nHer calling, her walk, her destiny, her whole character and course,\nher principles and morals, are or ought to be heavenly. The Church has\nnothing to do with the politics of this world. Her citizenship is in\nheaven, from whence she looks for the Saviour. She proves false to her\nLord, false to her calling, false to her principles, in so far as she\nmeddles with the affairs of nations. It is her high and holy privilege\nto be linked and morally identified with a rejected, crucified, risen,\nand glorified Christ. She has no more to do with the present system of\nthings, or with the current of this world's history, than her\nglorified Head in the heavens. \"They,\" says our Lord Christ, speaking\nof His people, \"are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.\"\n\nThis is conclusive. It fixes our position and our path in the most\nprecise and definite way possible. \"As He is, so are we in this\nworld.\" This involves a double truth, namely, our perfect acceptance\nwith God and our complete separation from the world. We are in the\nworld, but not _of_ it. We have to pass through it as pilgrims and\nstrangers, looking out for the coming of our Lord, the appearing of\nthe Bright and Morning Star. It is no part of our business to\ninterfere with municipal or political matters. We are called and\nexhorted to obey the powers that be, to pray for all in authority, to\npay tribute, and owe no man any thing; \"to be blameless and harmless,\nthe sons of God without rebuke in the midst of a crooked and perverse\nnation,\" among whom we are to \"shine as lights in the world, holding\nforth the word of life.\"\n\nFrom all this we may gather something of the immense practical\nimportance of \"rightly dividing the word of truth.\" We have but little\nidea of the injury done, both to the truth of God and to the souls of\nHis people, by confounding Israel with the Church--the earthly and the\nheavenly. It hinders all progress in the knowledge of Scripture, and\nmars the integrity of Christian walk and testimony. This may seem a\nstrong statement, but we have seen the truth of it painfully\nillustrated times without number; and we feel that we cannot too\nurgently call the attention of the reader to the subject. We have more\nthan once referred to it in the progress of our studies on the\nPentateuch, and therefore we shall not further pursue it here, but\nproceed with our chapter.\n\nAt verse 15, we reach a very different note in the song of Moses. Up\nto this point, we have had before us God and His actings, His\npurposes, His counsels, His thoughts, His loving interest in His\npeople Israel, His tender, gracious dealings with them. All this is\nfull of deepest, richest blessing. There is, there can be, no drawback\nhere. When we have God and His ways before us, there is no hindrance\nto the heart's enjoyment. All is perfection--absolute, divine\nperfection, and as we dwell upon it, we are filled with wonder, love,\nand praise.\n\nBut there is the human side, and here, alas! all is failure and\ndisappointment. Thus at the fifteenth verse of our chapter we read,\n\"But Jeshurun waxed fat and kicked\"--what a very full and suggestive\nstatement! How vividly it presents, in its brief compass, the moral\nhistory of Israel!--\"thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou\nart covered with fatness; then he forsook God which made him, and\nlightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation. They provoked Him to\njealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they Him to\nanger. They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew\nnot, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not. Of\nthe Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God\nthat formed thee.\"\n\nThere is a solemn voice in all this for the writer and the reader. We\nare each of us in danger of treading the moral path indicated by the\nwords just quoted. Surrounded on all hands by the rich and varied\nmercies of God, we are apt to make use of them to nourish a spirit of\nself-complacency. We make use of the gifts to shut out the Giver. In a\nword, we, too, like Israel, wax fat and kick--we forget God. We lose\nthe sweet and precious sense of His presence and of His perfect\nsufficiency, and turn to other objects, as Israel did to false gods.\nHow often do we forget the Rock that begat us, the God that formed us,\nthe Lord that redeemed us! And all this is so much the more\ninexcusable in us, inasmuch as our privileges are so much higher than\ntheirs. We are brought into a relationship and a position of which\nIsrael knew absolutely nothing; our privileges and blessings are of\nthe very highest order; it is our privilege to have fellowship with\nthe Father and with His Son Jesus Christ; we are the objects of that\nperfect love which stopped not short of introducing us into a position\nin which it can be said of us, \"As He [Christ] is, so are we in this\nworld.\" Nothing could exceed the blessedness of this; even divine love\nitself could go no further than this. It is not merely that the love\nof God has been manifested to us in the gift and the death of His only\nbegotten and well-beloved Son, and in giving us His Spirit, but it has\nbeen made perfect with us by placing us in the very same position as\nthat blessed One on the throne of God.\n\nAll this is perfectly marvelous. It passeth knowledge. And yet how\nprone we are to forget the blessed One who has so loved us and wrought\nfor us and blessed us! How often we slip away from Him in the spirit\nof our minds and the affections of our hearts! It is not merely a\nquestion of what the professing church, as a whole, has done, but the\nvery much deeper, closer, more pointed question of what our own\nwretched hearts are constantly prone to do. We are apt to forget God,\nand to turn to other objects, to our serious loss and His dishonor.\n\nWould we know how the heart of God feels as to all this? would we form\nany thing like a correct idea of how He resents it? Let us hearken to\nthe burning words addressed to His erring people Israel, the\noverwhelming strains of the song of Moses. May we have grace to hear\nthem aright, and deeply profit by them.\n\n\"And when the Lord saw it, He abhorred them, _because of the provoking\nof His sons and of His daughters_. And He said, 'I will hide My face\nfrom them, I will see what their end shall be;'\"--alas! alas! a truly\ndeplorable end--\"'for they are a very froward generation, children in\nwhom is no faith. They have moved Me to jealousy with that which is\nnot God; they have provoked Me to anger with their vanities; and I\nwill move them to jealousy with those which are not a people; I will\nprovoke them to anger with a foolish nation. For a fire is kindled in\nMine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the\nearth with her increase, and shall set on fire the foundations of the\nmountains. I will heap mischiefs upon them; I will spend Mine arrows\nupon them. They shall be burnt with hunger, and devoured with burning\nheat and with bitter destruction; I will also send the teeth of beasts\nupon them, with the poison of serpents of the dust. The sword without\nand terror within shall destroy both the young man and the virgin,\nthe suckling also with the man of gray hairs.'\" (Ver. 19-26.)\n\nHere we have a most solemn record of God's governmental dealings with\nHis people--a record eminently calculated to set forth the awful truth\nof Hebrews x. 31--\"It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the\nliving God.\" The history of Israel in the past, their condition at\npresent, and what they are yet to pass through in the future--all goes\nto prove, in the most impressive manner, that \"our God is a consuming\nfire.\" No nation on the face of the earth has ever been called to pass\nthrough such severe discipline as the nation of Israel. As the Lord\nreminds them in those deeply solemn words, \"You only have I known of\nall the families of the earth, therefore will I punish you for your\niniquities.\" No other nation was ever called to occupy the highly\nprivileged place of actual relationship with Jehovah. This dignity was\nreserved for one nation; but the very dignity was the basis of a most\nsolemn responsibility. If they were called to be His people, they were\nresponsible to conduct themselves in a way worthy of such a wondrous\nposition, or else have to undergo the heaviest chastenings ever\nendured by any nation under the sun. Men may reason about all this;\nthey may raise all manner of questions as to the moral consistency of\na benevolent Being acting according to the terms set forth in verses\n22-25 of our chapter. But all such questions and reasonings must\nsooner or later be discovered to be utter folly. It is perfectly\nuseless for men to argue against the solemn actings of divine\ngovernment, or the terrible severity of the discipline exercised\ntoward the chosen people of God. How much wiser and better and safer\nto be warned by the facts of Israel's history to flee from the wrath\nto come, and lay hold upon eternal life and full salvation revealed in\nthe precious gospel of God!\n\nAnd then, with regard to the use which Christians should make of the\nrecord of His dealings with His earthly people, we are bound to turn\nit to most profitable account by learning from it the urgent need of\nwalking humbly, watchfully, and faithfully in our high and holy\nposition. True, we are the possessors of eternal life, the privileged\nsubjects of that magnificent grace which reigns through righteousness\nunto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord; we are members of the body\nof Christ, temples of the Holy Ghost, and heirs of eternal glory; but\ndoes all this afford any warrant for neglecting the warning voice\nwhich Israel's history utters in our ears? are we, because of our\nincomparably higher privileges, to walk carelessly and despise the\nwholesome admonitions which Israel's history supplies? God forbid!\nNay, we are bound to give earnest heed to the things which the Holy\nGhost has written for our learning. The higher our privileges, the\nricher our blessings, the nearer our relationship, the more does it\nbecome us, the more solemnly are we bound, to be faithful, and to seek\nin all things to carry ourselves in such a way as to be well-pleasing\nto Him who has called us into the very highest and most blessed place\nthat even His perfect love could bestow. The Lord, in His great\ngoodness, grant that we may, in true purpose of heart, ponder these\nthings in His holy presence, and earnestly seek to serve Him with\nreverence and godly fear.\n\nBut we must proceed with our chapter.\n\nAt verse 26, we have a point of deepest interest in connection with\nthe history of the divine dealings with Israel. \"I said I would\nscatter them into corners, _I would make the remembrance of them to\ncease from among men._\" And why did He not? The answer to this\nquestion presents a truth of infinite value and importance to\nIsrael--a truth which lies at the very foundation of all their future\nblessing. No doubt, so far as they are concerned, they deserved to\nhave their remembrance blotted out from among men; but God has His own\nthoughts and counsels and purposes respecting them; and not only so,\nbut He takes account of the thoughts and actings of the nations in\nreference to His people. This comes out with singular force and beauty\nat verse 27. He condescends to give us His reasons for not\nobliterating every trace of the sinful and rebellious people--and oh,\nwhat a touching reason it is!--\"_Were it not that I feared the wrath\nof the enemy_, lest their adversaries should behave themselves\nstrangely, and lest they should say, Our hand is high, and the Lord\nhath not done all this.\"\n\nCan aught be more affecting than the grace that breathes in these\nwords? God will not permit the nations to behave themselves strangely\ntoward His poor erring people. He will use them as His rod of\ndiscipline, but the moment they attempt, in the indulgence of their\nown bitter animosity, to exceed their appointed limit, He will break\nthe rod in pieces, and make it manifest to all that He Himself is\ndealing with His beloved though erring people, for their ultimate\nblessing and His glory.\n\nThis is a truth of unspeakable preciousness. It is the fixed purpose\nof Jehovah to teach all the nations of the earth that Israel has a\nspecial place in His heart, and a destined place of pre-eminence on\nthe earth. This is beyond all question. The pages of the prophets\nfurnish a body of evidence perfectly unanswerable on the point. If\nnations forget or oppose, so much the worse for them. It is utterly\nvain for them to attempt to countervail the divine purpose, for they\nmay rest assured that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will\nconfound every scheme formed against the people of His choice. Men may\nthink, in their pride and folly, that their hand is high, but they\nwill have to learn that God's hand is higher still.\n\nBut our space does not admit of our dwelling upon this deeply\ninteresting subject; we must allow the reader to pursue it for\nhimself, in the light of holy Scripture. He will find it a most\nprofitable and refreshing study. Most gladly would we accompany him\nthrough the precious pages of the prophetic scriptures, but we must\njust now confine ourselves to the magnificent song which is in itself\na remarkable epitome of the entire teaching on the point--a brief but\ncomprehensive and impressive history of God's ways with Israel and\nIsrael's ways with God, from first to last--a history strikingly\nillustrative of the great principles of grace, law, government, and\nglory.\n\nAt verse 29, we have a very touching appeal. \"O that they were wise,\nthat they understood this, that they would _consider their latter\nend_! How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to\nflight, except their Rock had sold them, and the Lord had shut them\nup? For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves\nbeing judges.\"--There is, there can be, but the one Rock, blessed\nthroughout all ages be His glorious name!--\"For their vine is of the\nvine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah; their grapes are grapes\nof gall, their clusters are bitter; their wine is the poison of\ndragons, and the cruel venom of asps.\"\n\nTerrible picture of a people's moral condition drawn by a master-hand!\nSuch is the divine estimate of the real state of all those whose rock\nwas not as the Rock of Israel. But a day of vengeance will come. It is\ndelayed in long-suffering mercy, but it _will_ come as sure as there\nis a God on the throne of heaven. A day is coming when all those\nnations which have dealt proudly with Israel shall have to answer at\nthe bar of the Son of Man for their conduct, hear His solemn sentence,\nand meet His unsparing wrath.\n\n\"Is not this laid up in store with Me, and _sealed_ _up among My\ntreasures_? To Me belongeth vengeance and recompense; their foot shall\nslide in due time; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the\nthings that shall come upon them make haste. For the Lord shall judge\n[vindicate, defend, or avenge] His people, and _repent Himself for His\nservants_, when He seeth that their power is gone, and there is none\nshut up or left.\" Precious grace for Israel by and by--for each, for\nall, _now_, who feel and own their need.\n\n\"And He shall say, Where are their gods, their rock in whom they\ntrusted; which did eat the fat of their sacrifices, and drank the wine\nof their drink-offerings? let them rise up and help you and be your\nprotection. See now that I, even I, am He, and there is no god with\nMe; I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal;\"--wound in\ngovernmental wrath, and heal in pardoning grace; all homage to His\ngreat and holy name, throughout the everlasting ages!--\"neither is\nthere airy that can deliver out of My hand. For I lift up My hand to\nheaven, and say 'I live forever.'\"--Glory be to God in the highest!\nLet all created intelligences adore His matchless name!--\"If I whet My\nglittering sword, and Mine hand take hold on judgment,\"--as it most\nassuredly will--\"I will render vengeance to Mine enemies, and will\nreward them that hate Me\"--whoever and wherever they are. Tremendous\nsentence for all whom it may concern, for all haters of God--all\nlovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God!--\"I will make Mine\narrows drunk with blood, and My sword shall devour flesh; and that\nwith the blood of the slain and of the captives, _from the beginning\nof revenges upon the enemy_.\"\n\nHere we reach the end of the heavy record of judgment, wrath, and\nvengeance so briefly presented in this song of Moses, but so largely\nunfolded throughout the prophetic scriptures. The reader can refer,\nwith much interest and profit, to Ezekiel xxxviii. and xxxix, where we\nhave the judgment of Gog and Magog, the great northern foe who is to\ncome up, at the end, against the land of Israel, and there meet his\nignominious fall and utter destruction.\n\nHe may also turn to Joel iii, which opens with words of balm and\nconsolation for the Israel of the future.--\"For behold, in those days,\nand in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and\nJerusalem, I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down\ninto the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for My\npeople and for My heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the\nnations, and parted My land.\" Thus he will see how perfectly the\nvoices of the prophets harmonize with the song of Moses, and how\nfully, how clearly, and how unanswerably, in both the one and the\nother, does the Holy Ghost set forth and establish the grand truth of\nIsrael's future restoration, supremacy, and glory.\n\nAnd then, how truly delightful is the closing note of our song! how\nmagnificently it places the top-stone upon the whole superstructure!\nAll the hostile nations are judged, under whatever style or title\nthey appear upon the scene, whether it be Gog and Magog, the Assyrian,\nor the king of the north--all the foes of Israel shall be confounded\nand consigned to everlasting perdition, and then this sweet note falls\nupon the ear,--\"REJOICE, O YE NATIONS, WITH HIS PEOPLE; FOR HE WILL\nAVENGE THE BLOOD OF HIS SERVANTS, AND WILL RENDER VENGEANCE TO HIS\nADVERSARIES, AND WILL BE MERCIFUL UNTO HIS LAND AND TO HIS PEOPLE.\"\n\nHere ends this marvelous song, one of the very finest, fullest, and\nmost forcible utterances in the whole volume of God. It begins and\nends with God, and takes in, in its comprehensive range, the history\nof His earthly people Israel--past, present, and future. It shows us\nthe ordering of the nations in direct reference to the divine purpose\nas to the seed of Abraham. It unfolds the final judgment of all those\nnations that have acted or shall yet act in opposition to the chosen\nseed; and then, when Israel is fully restored and blessed, according\nto the covenant made with their fathers, the saved nations are\nsummoned to rejoice with them.\n\nHow glorious is all this! What a splendid circle of truth is presented\nto the vision of our souls in the thirty-second chapter of\nDeuteronomy! Well may it be said, \"God is _the_ Rock, His work is\nperfect.\" Here the heart can rest, in holy tranquillity, come what\nmay. Every thing may go to pieces in man's hand, all that is merely\nhuman may and must issue in hopeless wreck and ruin, but \"the Rock\"\nshall stand forever, and every \"work\" of the divine Hand shall shine\nin everlasting perfection to the glory of God and the perfect blessing\nof His people.\n\nSuch, then, is the song of Moses; such its scope, range, and\napplication. The intelligent reader does not need to be told that the\nChurch of God, the body of Christ, the mystery of which the blessed\napostle Paul was made the minister, finds no place in this song. When\nMoses wrote this song, the mystery of the Church lay hid in the bosom\nof God. If we do not see this, we are wholly incompetent to interpret,\nor even to understand, the holy Scriptures. To a simple mind, taught\nexclusively by Scripture, it is as clear as a sunbeam that the song of\nMoses has for its thesis the government of God, in connection with\nIsrael and the nations; for its sphere, the earth; and for its centre,\nthe land of Canaan.\n\n\"And Moses came and spake all the words of this song in the ears of\nthe people, he, and Hoshea the son of Nun. And Moses made an end of\nspeaking all these words to all Israel; and he said unto them, '_Set\nyour hearts unto all the words_ which I testify among you this day,\nwhich _ye shall command your children to observe to do_, _all the\nwords of this law_. For it is not a vain thing for you, because _it is\nyour life_; and through this thing ye shall prolong your days in the\nland, whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.'\" (Ver. 44-47.)\n\nThus, from first to last, through every section of this precious book\nof Deuteronomy, we find Moses, that beloved and most honored servant\nof God, urging upon the people the solemn duty of implicit,\nunqualified, hearty obedience to the Word of God. In this lay the\nprecious secret of life, peace, progress, prosperity--all. They had\nnothing else to do but _obey_. Blessed business! happy, holy duty! May\nit be ours, beloved reader, in this day of conflict and confusion, in\nthe which man's will is so fearfully dominant. The world and the\nso-called church are rushing on together, with appalling rapidity,\nalong the dark pathway of self-will--a pathway which must end in the\nblackness of darkness forever. Let us bear this in mind, and earnestly\nseek to tread the narrow path of simple obedience to all the precious\ncommandments of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Thus shall our\nhearts be kept in sweet peace; and although we may seem, to the men of\nthis world, and even to professing Christians, to be odd and\nnarrow-minded, let us not be moved the breadth of a hair from the path\nindicated by the Word of God. May the word of Christ dwell in us\nrichly, and the peace of Christ rule in our hearts, _until the end_.\n\nIt is very remarkable, and indeed eminently impressive, to find our\nchapter closing with another reference to Jehovah's governmental\ndealing with His beloved servant Moses. \"And the Lord spake unto Moses\n_that self-same day_\"--the very day in which he uttered his song in\nthe ears of the people--\"saying, 'Get thee up into this mountain\nAbarim, unto Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, that is over\nagainst Jericho; and behold the land of Canaan, which I give unto the\nchildren of Israel for a possession; and die in the mount whither\nthou goest up, and be gathered unto thy people; as Aaron thy brother\ndied in Mount Hor, and was gathered unto his people; because ye\ntrespassed against Me among the children of Israel at the waters of\nMeribah-Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin, because ye sanctified Me not\nin the midst of the children of Israel. Yet thou shalt see the land\nbefore thee; _but thou shalt not go thither unto the land which I give\nthe children of Israel_.'\" (Ver. 48-52.)\n\nHow solemn and soul-subduing is the government of God! Surely it ought\nto make the heart tremble at the very thought of disobedience. If such\nan eminent servant as Moses was judged for speaking unadvisedly with\nhis lips, what will be the end of those who live from day to day, week\nto week, month to month, and year to year in deliberate and habitual\nneglect of the plainest commandments of God, and positive self-willed\nrejection of His authority?\n\nOh, for a lowly mind, a broken and contrite heart! This is what God\nlooks for and delights in; it is with such He can make His blessed\nabode. \"To this man will I look, even to him who is poor and of a\ncontrite spirit, and trembleth at My word.\" God, in His infinite\ngoodness, grant much of this sweet spirit to each of His beloved\nchildren, for Jesus Christ's sake.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXIII\n\n\n\"And this is the blessing wherewith Moses, the man of God, blessed the\nchildren of Israel before his death.\"\n\nIt is full of interest and comfort to find that the last words of the\nlawgiver were words of unmingled blessing. We have dwelt upon his\nvarious discourses--those solemn, searching, and deeply affecting\nhomilies addressed to the congregation of Israel; we have meditated\nupon that marvelous song, with its mingled notes of grace and\ngovernment: but we are now called to hearken to words of most precious\nbenediction, words of sweetest comfort and consolation, words flowing\nfrom the very heart of the God of Israel and giving His own loving\nthoughts respecting them, and His onlook into their glorious future.\n\nThe reader will doubtless notice a marked difference between the last\nwords of Moses as recorded in Deuteronomy xxxiii. and the last words\nof Jacob as given in Genesis xlix. It is needless to say that both are\ngiven by the same pen--both divinely inspired, and hence, although\nthey differ, they do not and cannot clash; there is, there can be, no\ndiscrepancy between two sections of the volume of God. This is a\ncardinal truth, a vital and fundamental principle with every devout\nChristian, every true believer--a truth to be tenaciously grasped and\nfaithfully confessed, in the face of all the ignorant and insolent\nassaults of infidelity.\n\nWe are not, of course, going to enter upon an elaborate comparison of\nthe two chapters; this would be impossible just now, on various\ngrounds. We are obliged to be as concise and brief as possible. But\nthere is one grand point of difference, which can be seized at a\nglance. Jacob gives the history of the actings of his sons--some of\nthem, alas! most sad and humiliating: Moses, on the contrary, presents\nthe actings of divine grace, whether in them or toward them. This will\nat once account for the difference. The evil actings of Reuben, of\nSimeon, and of Levi are recorded by Jacob, but entirely omitted by\nMoses. Is this discrepancy? Nay, but divine harmony. Jacob views his\nsons in their personal history; Moses views them in their\ncovenant-relationship with Jehovah. Jacob gives us human failure,\ninfirmity, and sin: Moses gives us divine faithfulness, goodness, and\nloving-kindness. Jacob gives us human actings, and judgment thereon:\nMoses gives us divine counsels, and unmingled blessing flowing out of\nthem. Thanks and praise to our God, His counsels and His blessings and\nHis glory are above and beyond all human failure, sin, and folly. He\nwill ultimately have it all His own way, and that forever; then,\nIsrael and the nations shall be fully blessed, and shall rejoice\ntogether in the abundant goodness of God, and celebrate His praise\nfrom shore to shore, and from the river to the ends of the earth.\n\nWe shall now do little more than quote for the reader the various\nblessings of the tribes. They are full of most precious instruction,\nand do not call for much in the way of exposition.\n\n\"And he said, 'The Lord came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto\nthem; He shined forth from Mount Paran, and He came with ten thousands\nof saints [holy ones]; from His right hand went a fiery law for them.\nYea, _He loved the people_;\"--precious, unfailing source of all their\nfuture blessing!--\"_all His saints are in Thy hand_;\"--true secret of\ntheir perfect security!--\"and they sat down at _Thy feet_;\"--the only\nsafe and proper attitude for them, for us, for each, for all!--\"every\none shall receive of Thy words.\"--Blessed boon! precious treasure!\nEvery word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord is more\nprecious, by far, than thousands of gold and silver; sweeter also than\nhoney and the honey-comb.--\"Moses commanded us a law, even the\ninheritance of the congregation of Jacob. And he was king in Jeshurun,\nwhen the heads of the people and the tribes of Israel were gathered\ntogether. Let Reuben live and not die, and let not his men be few.'\"\n\nWe have nothing here about Reuben's instability, nothing about his\nsin. Grace is in the ascendant; blessings are flowing in rich\nabundance from the loving heart of the One who delights to bless and\nto surround Himself with hearts filled to overflowing with the sense\nof His goodness.\n\n\"And this is the blessing of Judah; and he said, 'Hear, Lord, the\nvoice of Judah, and bring him unto his people; let his hands be\nsufficient for him; and be Thou a help to him from his enemies.'\"\nJudah is the royal line. \"Our Lord sprang out of Judah,\" thus\nillustrating, in a truly marvelous manner, how divine grace rises, in\nits majesty, above human sin, and triumphs gloriously over\ncircumstances which reveal man's utter weakness. \"Judas begat Phares\nand Zara of Thamar\"! Who but the Holy Spirit could have penned these\nwords? How plainly they declare that God's thoughts are not as our\nthoughts! What human hand would have introduced Thamar into the\ngenealogical line of our adorable Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ? Not\none. The stamp of divinity is strikingly impressed on Matthew i. 3, as\nit is upon every clause of the holy volume from beginning to end. The\nLord be praised that it is so!\n\n\"Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise; thy hand shall be\nin the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down\nbefore thee. Judah is a lion's whelp; from the prey, my son, thou art\ngone up; he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion;\nwho shall rouse him up? The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a\nlawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall\nthe gathering of the people be. Binding his foal unto the vine, and\nhis ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine,\nand his clothes in the blood of grapes; his eyes shall be red with\nwine, and his teeth white with milk.\" (Gen. xlix. 8-12.)\n\n\"And I saw in the right hand of Him that sat on the throne a book\nwritten within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals. And I saw\na strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, 'Who is worthy to open\nthe book, and to loose the seals thereof?' And no man in heaven, nor\nin earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither\nto look thereon. And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to\nopen and to read the book, neither to look thereon. And one of the\nelders saith unto me, 'Weep not: behold, _the Lion of the tribe of\nJuda_, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book and to loose\nthe seven seals thereof.' And I beheld, and lo, in the midst of the\nthrone and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the\nelders, stood _a Lamb_, as it had been _slain_, having seven horns and\nseven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent forth into all the\nearth.\"\n\nHow highly favored is the tribe of Judah! Surely, to be in the\ngenealogical line from which our Lord sprang is a high honor, and yet\nwe know--for our Lord Himself has told us--that it is far higher, far\nmore blessed, to hear the Word of God and keep it. To do the will of\nGod, to treasure up in our hearts His precious commandments, brings us\nmorally nearer to Christ than even the fact of being of His kindred\naccording to the flesh. (Matt. xii. 46-50.)\n\n\"And of Levi he said, 'Let Thy Thummin and Thy Urim [lights and\nperfections] be with Thy holy one, whom Thou didst prove at Massah,\nand with whom Thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah; _who said\nunto his father and to his mother, I have not seen him_; _neither did\nhe acknowledge his brethren, nor knew_ his own children; _for they\nhave observed Thy word and kept Thy covenant_. They shall teach Jacob\nThy judgments, and Israel Thy law; they shall put incense before Thee,\nand whole burnt-sacrifice upon Thine altar. Bless, Lord, his\nsubstance, and accept the work of his hands; smite through the loins\nof them that rise against him, and of them that hate him, that they\nrise not again.'\" (Ver. 8-11.)\n\nThe reader will notice the fact that Simeon is left out here, though\nso intimately associated with Levi in Genesis xlix. \"Simeon and Levi\nare brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations. O my\nsoul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine\nhonor, be not thou united; for _in their anger they slew a man_, and\n_in their self-will_ they digged down a wall. Cursed be their anger,\nfor it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide\nthem in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.\"\n\nNow, when we compare Genesis xlix, with Deuteronomy xxxiii, we observe\ntwo things, namely, human responsibility on the one hand, and divine\nsovereignty on the other. Moreover, we see nature and its actings;\ngrace and its fruits. Jacob looks at Simeon and Levi linked together\nin nature, and displaying nature's tempers and ways. So far as they\nwere concerned, they both alike deserved the curse; but in Levi, we\nsee the glorious triumphs of sovereign grace. It was grace which\nenabled Levi, in the days of the golden calf, to gird on the sword and\nstand for the glory of the God of Israel. \"Then Moses stood in the\ngate of the camp, and said, 'Who is on the Lord's side? let him come\nunto me.' And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto\nhim. And he said unto them, 'Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Put\nevery man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate\nthroughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his\ncompanion, and every man his neighbor.' And the children of Levi did\naccording to the word of Moses; and there fell of the people that day\nabout three thousand men. For Moses had said, 'Consecrate yourselves\nto-day to the Lord, even every man upon his son, and upon his brother;\nthat he may bestow upon you a blessing this day.'\" (Ex. xxxii. 26-29.)\n\nWhere was Simeon on this occasion? He was with Levi in the day of\nnature's self-will, fierce anger, and cruel wrath; why not in the day\nof bold decision for Jehovah? He was ready to go with his brother to\navenge a family insult, why not to vindicate the honor of God,\ninsulted as it was by the idolatrous act of the whole congregation?\nWill any one say he was not responsible? Let such an one beware how he\nraises such a question. The call of Moses was addressed to the whole\ncongregation; Levi alone responded, and he got the blessing. He stood\nfor God in a dark and evil day, and for this he was honored with the\npriesthood--the very highest dignity that could be conferred upon\nhim. The call was addressed to Simeon as well as to Levi, but Simeon\ndid not respond. Is there any difficulty here? To a mere theologian\nthere may be, but to a devout Christian there is none. God is\nsovereign. He does as He pleases, and gives none account of any of His\nmatters. If any one feels disposed to ask, Why is Simeon omitted in\nDeuteronomy xxxiii? The simple and conclusive answer is, \"O man, who\nart thou that repliest against God?\" In Simeon, we see nature's\nactings judged; in Levi, we see the fruits of grace rewarded; in both,\nwe see God's truth vindicated and His name glorified. Thus it ever has\nbeen, thus it is, and thus it shall be. Man is responsible: God is\nsovereign. Are we called upon to reconcile these two propositions?\nNay; we are called to believe them. They are reconciled already,\ninasmuch as they appear side by side on the page of inspiration. This\nis enough for every pious mind; and as for cavilers, they will get\ntheir definitive answer by and by.[27]\n\n [27] For further remarks on the tribe of Levi, the reader is referred\n to \"Notes on the Book of Exodus,\" chapter xxxii; \"Notes on the Book of\n Numbers,\" chapter iii, iv, and viii; also a pamphlet, first published\n in the year 1846, entitled, \"The History of the Tribe of Levi\n Considered.\" All these can be had from Loizeaux Brothers.\n\n\"And of Benjamin [\"the son of my right hand\"] he said, 'The beloved of\nthe Lord shall dwell in safety by Him; and the Lord shall cover him\nall the day long, and he shall dwell between His shoulders.'\"\n\nBlessed place for Benjamin! blessed place for each beloved child of\nGod! How precious is the thought of dwelling in safety in the divine\npresence, in conscious nearness to the true and faithful Shepherd and\nBishop of our souls, day and night abiding under the covert of His\nsheltering wings!\n\n \"How blest are they who still abide,\n Close sheltered by Thy watchful side!\n Who life and strength from Thee receive,\n And with Thee move and in Thee live.\"\n\nReader, seek to know more and more the reality and blessedness of\nBenjamin's place and portion. Be not satisfied with any thing short of\nthe enjoyed presence of Christ, the abiding sense of relationship and\nnearness to Him. Be assured of it, it is your happy privilege. Let\nnothing rob you of it. Keep ever near the Shepherd's side, reposing in\nHis love, lying down in the green pastures and beside the still\nwaters. The Lord grant that the writer and the reader may prove the\ndeep blessedness of this, in this day of hollow profession and empty\ntalk. May we know the unspeakable preciousness of deep, personal\nintimacy with Himself. This is the special need of the day in which\nour lot is cast--a day of so much intellectual traffic in truth, but\nof so little heart-knowledge and true appreciation of Christ.\n\n\"And of Joseph he said, 'Blessed of the Lord be his land, for the\nprecious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth\nbeneath, and for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun, and for\nthe precious things put forth by the moon, and for the chief things\nof the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the lasting\nhills, and for the precious things of the earth and fullness thereof,\nand for the good-will of Him that dwelt in the bush; let the blessing\ncome upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of him that\nwas separated from his brethren. His glory is like the firstling of\nhis bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns; with them\nhe shall push the people together to the ends of the earth; and they\nare the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of\nManasseh.'\"\n\nJoseph is a very remarkable type of Christ. We have dwelt upon his\nhistory in our studies on the book of Genesis. The reader will notice\nthe emphatic way in which Moses speaks of the fact of his having been\nseparated from his brethren. He was rejected and cast into the pit. He\npassed, in figure, through the deep waters of death, and thus reached\nthe place of dignity and glory. He was raised from the dungeon to be\nruler over the land of Egypt, and the preserver and sustainer of his\nbrethren. The iron entered into his soul, and he was made to taste the\nbitterness of the place of death ere he entered the sphere of glory.\nStriking type of Him who hung upon the cross, lay in the grave, and is\nnow on the throne of the Majesty of heaven.\n\nWe cannot but be struck with the fullness of the blessing pronounced\nupon Joseph both by Moses in Deuteronomy xxxiii. and by Jacob in\nGenesis xlix. Jacob's utterance is uncommonly fine. \"Joseph is a\nfruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well,\"--Exquisitely\nbeautiful figure!--\"whose branches run over the wall. The archers have\nsorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him; but his bow abode\nin strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands\nof the mighty God of Jacob; (_from thence is the Shepherd, the Stone\nof Israel_:) even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and\nby the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above,\nblessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts and\nof the womb: the blessings of thy father have prevailed above the\nblessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting\nhills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the\nhead of him that was separate from his brethren.\"\n\nMagnificent range of blessing! And all this flowing from and based\nupon his sufferings. It is needless to say that all these blessings\nwill be made good in the experience of Israel by and by. The\nsufferings of the true Joseph will form the imperishable foundation of\nthe future blessedness of His brethren in the land of Canaan; and not\nonly so, but the tide of blessing, deep and full, shall flow forth\nfrom that highly favored though now desolate land, in refreshing\nvirtue into all the earth. \"And it shall be in that day, that living\nwaters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former\nsea, and half of them toward the hinder sea; in summer and in winter\nshall it be.\" Bright and blessed prospect for Jerusalem, for the land\nof Israel, and for the whole earth! What a sad mistake to apply such\nscriptures to the gospel dispensation or to the Church of God! How\ncontrary to the testimony of holy Scripture, to the heart of God, and\nto the mind of Christ!\n\n\"And of Zebulun he said, 'Rejoice, Zebulun, in thy going out; and,\nIssachar, in thy tents. They shall call the people unto the mountain;\nthere they shall offer sacrifices of righteousness: for they shall\nsuck of the abundance of the seas, and of the treasures hid in the\nsand.'\"\n\nZebulun is to rejoice in his going forth, and Issachar in abiding in\nhis tents. It will be joy at home and abroad; and there will be power\nto act on others also--calling the people unto the mountain to offer\nthe sacrifices of righteousness. All this grounded upon the fact that\nthey themselves shall suck of the abundance of the seas and of hidden\ntreasures. Thus it is always, in principle. It is our privilege to\nrejoice in the Lord, come what may, and to draw from those eternal\nsprings and hidden treasures that are to be found in Himself. Then\nshall we be in a condition of soul to call others to taste and see\nthat the Lord is good; and not only so, but to present to God those\nsacrifices of righteousness so acceptable to Him.\n\n\"And of Gad he said, 'Blessed be he that enlargeth Gad: he dwelleth as\na lion, and teareth the arm with the crown of the head. And he\nprovided the first part for himself, because there, in a portion of\nthe lawgiver, was he seated; and he came with the heads of the people,\nhe executed the justice of the Lord, and His judgments with Israel.'\nAnd of Dan he said, 'Dan is a lion's whelp; he shall leap from\nBashan.' And of Naphtali he said, 'O Naphtali, satisfied with favor,\nand full with the blessing of the Lord: possess thou the west and the\nsouth.' And of Asher he said, 'Let Asher be blessed with children; let\nhim be acceptable to his brethren, and let him dip his foot in oil.\nThy shoes shall be iron and brass; and as thy days thy strength. There\nis none like unto the God of Jeshurun, who rideth upon the heaven in\nthy help, and in His excellency on the sky. The eternal God is thy\nrefuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and He shall thrust\nout the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them. Israel\nthen shall dwell in safety alone: the fountain of Jacob shall be upon\na land of corn and wine; also his heavens shall drop down dew. Happy\nart thou, O Israel: who is like unto thee, O people saved by the Lord,\nthe shield of thy help, and who is the sword of thy excellency! and\nthine enemies shall be found liars unto thee; and thou shalt tread\nupon their high places.'\" (Ver. 20-29.)\n\nTruly we may say human comment is uncalled for here. Nothing can\nexceed the preciousness of the grace that breathes in the closing\nlines of our book. The blessings of this chapter, like the song of\nchapter xxxii, begin and end with God and His marvelous ways with\nIsrael. It is refreshing and comforting beyond expression, at the\nclose of all the appeals, all the exhortations, all the solemn\nwarnings, all the faithful declarations, all the prophetic records as\nto failure and sin, judgment and governmental wrath--after all these,\nto listen to such accents as those which we have just penned. It is\nindeed a most magnificent termination to this blessed book of\nDeuteronomy. Grace and glory shine out with uncommon lustre. God will\nyet be glorified in Israel, and Israel fully and forever blessed in\nGod. Nothing can hinder this. The gifts and calling of God are without\nrepentance. He will make good every jot and tittle of His precious\nWord to Israel. The last words of the lawgiver bear the clearest and\nfullest testimony to all this. Had we nothing but the last four verses\nof the precious chapter on which we have been dwelling, they would be\namply sufficient to prove, beyond all question, the future\nrestoration, blessing, pre-eminence, and glory of the twelve tribes of\nIsrael in their own land.\n\nTrue it is--blessedly true--that the Lord's people now can draw\ninstruction, comfort, and refreshment from the blessings pronounced\nupon Israel. Blessed be God, we can know what it is to be \"satisfied\nwith favor, and full of the blessing of the Lord;\" we may take comfort\nfrom the assurance that \"as our days shall be our strength,\" we too\ncan say, \"The eternal God is our refuge, and underneath are the\neverlasting arms\"--we can say all this, and much more. We can say what\nIsrael never could and never can say. The Church's blessings and\nprivileges are all heavenly and spiritual, but that does not hinder\nour taking comfort from the promises made to Israel. The grand\nmistake of professing Christians is in applying to the Church\nexclusively what most manifestly applies to God's earthly people. We\nmust once more earnestly entreat the Christian reader to watch against\nthis serious error. He need not be in the least afraid of losing aught\nof his own special blessing by leaving to the seed of Abraham the\nplace and the portion assigned them by the counsels and promises of\nGod; on the contrary, it is only when these are clearly understood and\nfully acknowledged that we can make an intelligent use of the entire\ncanon of Old-Testament scripture. We may lay it down as a great\nroot-principle that no one can possibly understand or interpret\nScripture who does not clearly recognize the grand distinction between\nIsrael and the Church of God.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXIV.\n\n\nThis brief chapter forms an inspired postscript to the book of\nDeuteronomy. We are not told who was employed as the instrument in the\nhand of the inspiring Spirit, but this is a matter of no moment to the\ndevout student of holy Scripture. We are fully persuaded that the\npostscript is as truly inspired as the book, and the book as the\nPentateuch, and the Pentateuch as the whole volume of God.\n\n\"And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo,\nto the top of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. And the Lord\nshowed him all the land of Gilead, unto Dan, and all Naphtali, and the\nland of Ephraim and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, unto the\nutmost sea, and the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the\ncity of palm-trees, unto Zoar. And the Lord said unto him, 'This is\nthe land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob,\nsaying, I will give it unto thy seed; I have caused thee to see it\nwith thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither.' So Moses the\nservant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the\nword of the Lord. And He buried him in a valley in the land of Moab,\nover against Beth-peor; but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this\nday.\"\n\nIn our studies on the books of Numbers and Deuteronomy, we have had\noccasion to dwell upon the very solemn and, we may truly add,\nsoul-subduing fact recorded in the above quotation. It will not\ntherefore be needful to add many words in this our closing section. We\nwould merely remind the reader that if he would have a full\nunderstanding of the whole subject, he must look at Moses in a twofold\naspect, namely, officially and personally.\n\nNow, looking at this beloved and honored man in his official capacity,\nit is very plain that it lay not in his province to conduct the\ncongregation of Israel into the promised land. The wilderness was his\nsphere of action; it pertained not to him to lead the people across\nthe river of death into their destined inheritance. His ministry was\nconnected with man's responsibility under law and the government of\nGod, and hence it never could lead the people into the enjoyment of\nthe promise: it was reserved for his successor to do this. Joshua, a\ntype of the risen Saviour, was God's appointed instrument to lead His\npeople across the Jordan, and plant them in their divinely given\ninheritance.\n\nAll this is plain, and deeply interesting; but we must look at Moses\npersonally, as well as officially; and here too we must view him in a\ntwofold aspect--as the subject of government, and the object of grace.\nWe must never lose sight of this most important distinction: it runs\nall through Scripture, and is strikingly illustrated in the history of\nmany of the Lord's beloved people and of His most eminent servants.\nThe subject of grace and government demands the reader's most profound\nattention. We have dwelt upon it again and again in the course of our\nstudies, but no words of ours could adequately set forth its moral\nimportance and immense practical value. We consider it one of the\nweightiest and most seasonable subjects that could possibly engage the\nattention of the Lord's people at the present moment.\n\nIt was the government of God which, with stern decision, forbad the\nentrance of Moses into the promised land, much as he longed to do so.\nHe spoke unadvisedly with his lips--he failed to glorify God in the\neyes of the congregation at the waters of Meribah, and for this he was\nforbidden to cross the Jordan and plant his foot on the promised\nland.\n\nLet us deeply ponder this, beloved Christian reader. Let us see that\nwe fully apprehend its moral force and practical application. It is\nsurely with the greatest tenderness and delicacy that we would refer\nto the failure of one of the most beloved and illustrious of the\nLord's servants, but it has been recorded for our learning and solemn\nadmonition, and therefore we are bound to give earnest heed to it. We\nshould ever remember that we too, though under grace, are also the\nsubjects of divine government. We are here on this earth, in the place\nof solemn responsibility, under a government which cannot be trifled\nwith. True, we are children of the Father, loved with an infinite and\neverlasting love--loved even as Jesus is loved; we are members of the\nbody of Christ, loved, cherished, and nourished according to all the\nperfect love of His heart. There is no question of responsibility\nhere, no possibility of failure; all is divinely settled, divinely\nsure: but we are the subjects of divine government also. Let us never\nfor a moment lose sight of this. Let us beware of one-sided and\npernicious notions of grace. The very fact of our being objects of\ndivine favor and love, children of God, members of Christ, should lead\nus to yield all the more reverent attention to the divine government.\n\nTo use an illustration drawn from human affairs, her majesty's\nchildren should, above all others, just because they are her children,\nrespect her government; and were they in any way to transgress her\nlaws, the dignity of government would be strikingly illustrated by\ntheir being made to pay the penalty. If they, because of being the\nqueen's children, were to be allowed to transgress with impunity the\nenactments of her majesty's government, it would be simply exposing\nthe government to public contempt, and affording a warrant to all her\nsubjects to do the same. And if it be thus in the case of a human\ngovernment, how much more in the government of God! \"You only have I\nknown of all the families of the earth, _therefore_ will I punish you\nfor your iniquities.\" \"The time is come that judgment must _begin at\nthe house of God_; and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be\nof them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely\nbe saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?\" Solemn fact!\nsolemn inquiry! May we ponder them deeply.\n\nBut, as we have said, Moses was the subject of grace, as well as of\ngovernment; and truly that grace shines with special lustre on the top\nof Pisgah. There the venerable servant of God was permitted to stand\nin his Master's presence, and, with undimmed eye, survey the land of\npromise, in all its fair proportions. He was permitted to see it from\na divine stand-point--see it, not merely as possessed by Israel, but\nas given by God.\n\nAnd what then? He fell asleep and was gathered to his people. He died,\nnot as a withered and feeble old man, but in all the freshness and\nvigor of matured manhood. \"And Moses was a hundred and twenty years\nold when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated.\"\nStriking testimony! Rare fact in the annals of our fallen race! The\nlife of Moses was divided into three important and strongly marked\nperiods of forty years each. He spent forty years in the house of\nPharaoh, forty years \"at the backside of the desert,\" and forty years\nin the wilderness. Marvelous life! eventful history! How instructive!\nhow suggestive! how rich in its lessons from first to last! How\nprofoundly interesting the study of such a life!--to trace him from\nthe river's brink, where he lay a helpless babe, up to the top of\nPisgah, where he stood, in company with his Lord, to gaze with\nundimmed vision upon the fair inheritance of the Israel of God; and to\nsee him again on the Mount of Transfiguration, in company with his\nhonored fellow-servant Elias, \"talking with Jesus\" on the grandest\ntheme that could possibly engage the attention of men or angels.\nHighly favored man! blessed servant! marvelous vessel!\n\nAnd then let us hearken to the divine testimony to this most beloved\nman of God. \"And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto\nMoses, whom the Lord knew face to face, in all the signs and the\nwonders which the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh,\nand to all his servants, and to all his land, and in all that mighty\nhand, and in all the great terror which Moses showed in the sight of\nall Israel.\"\n\nMay the Lord, in His infinite goodness, bless our study of the book of\nDeuteronomy. May its precious lessons be engraved upon the tablets of\nour hearts with the eternal pen of the Holy Ghost, and produce their\nproper result in forming our character, governing our conduct, and\nshaping our way through this world. May we earnestly seek to tread,\nwith a humble spirit and firm step, the narrow path of obedience, till\ntraveling days are done.\n\n _C. H. M._\n\n[Illustration: decorative]\n\n * * * * *\n\nTranscriber's note:\n\nText enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).\n\nText enclosed in +Greek+ indicates Greek transliteration.\n\nSmall capital text has been replaced with all capitals.\n\nVariations in spelling, punctuation and hyphenation have been retained\nexcept in obvious cases of typographical error.","title":"Notes on the Book of Deuteronomy, Volume II","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":130300}