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Deuteronomy Chapter
Twelve
Deuteronomy 12
Chapter Contents
Monuments of idolatry to be destroyed. (1-4) The place of
God's service to be kept. (5-32)
Commentary on Deuteronomy 12:1-4
(Read Deuteronomy 12:1-4)
Moses comes to the statutes he had to give in charge to
Israel; and begins with such as relate to the worship of God. The Israelites
are charged not to bring the rites and usages of idolaters into the worship of
God; not under colour of making it better. We cannot serve God and mammon; nor
worship the true God and idols; nor depend upon Christ Jesus and upon
superstitious or self-righteous confidences.
Commentary on Deuteronomy 12:5-32
(Read Deuteronomy 12:5-32)
The command to bring ALL the sacrifices to the door of
the tabernacle
was now explained with reference to the promised land. As to
moral service
then
as now
men might pray and worship every where
as they
did in their synagogues. The place which God would choose
is said to be the
place where he would put his name. It was to be his habitation
where
as King
of Israel
he would be found by all who reverently sought him. Now
under the
gospel
we have no temple or altar that sanctifies the gift but Christ only:
and as to the places of worship
the prophets foretold that in every place the
spiritual incense should be offered
Malachi 1:11. Our Saviour declared
that those
are accepted as true worshippers
who worship God in sincerity and truth
without regard either to this mountain or Jerusalem
John 4:21. And a devout Israelite might honour
God
keep up communion with him
and obtain mercy from him
though he had no
opportunity of bringing a sacrifice to his altar. Work for God should be done
with holy joy and cheerfulness. Even children and servants must rejoice before
God; the services of religion are to be a pleasure
and not a task or drudgery.
It is the duty of people to be kind to their ministers
who teach them well
and set them good examples. As long as we live
we need their assistance
till
we come to that world where ordinances will not be needed. Whether we eat or
drink
or whatever we do
we are commanded to do all to the glory of God. And
we must do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ
giving thanks to the
Father through him. They must not even inquire into the modes and forms of
idolatrous worship. What good would it do them to know those depths of Satan?
And our inward satisfaction will be more and more
as we abound in love and
good works
which spring from faith and the in-dwelling Spirit of Christ.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Deuteronomy》
Deuteronomy 12
Verse 2
[2] Ye
shall utterly destroy all the places
wherein the nations which ye shall
possess served their gods
upon the high mountains
and upon the hills
and
under every green tree:
All the places —
Temples
chapels
altars
groves
as appears from other scriptures.
Green-tree — As
the Gentiles consecrated divers trees to their false gods
so they worshipped
these under them.
Verse 3
[3] And ye shall overthrow their altars
and break their pillars
and burn
their groves with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods
and destroy the names of them out of that place.
Pillars —
Upon which their images were set.
Names —
That is
all the memorials of them
and the very names given to the places from
the idols.
Verse 4
[4] Ye
shall not do so unto the LORD your God.
Not do so —
That is
not worship him in several places
mountains
and groves.
Verse 5
[5] But
unto the place which the LORD your God shall choose out of all your tribes to
put his name there
even unto his habitation shall ye seek
and thither thou
shalt come:
To put his name there — That is
to set up his worship there
and which he shall call by his
name
as his house
or his dwelling-place; namely
where the ark should be
the
tabernacle
or temple: which was first Shiloh
and then Jerusalem. There is not
one precept in all the law of Moses
so largely inculcated as this
to bring
all their sacrifices to that one altar. And how significant is
that appointment?
They must keep to one place
in token of their belief. That there is one God
and one Mediator between God and man. It not only served to keep up the notion
of the unity of the godhead
but the one only way of approach to God and
communion with him in and by his son.
Verse 6
[6] And thither ye shall bring your burnt offerings
and your sacrifices
and
your tithes
and heave offerings of your hand
and your vows
and your freewill
offerings
and the firstlings of your herds and of your flocks:
Thither bring your burnt-offerings — Which were wisely appropriated to that one place
for the security of
the true religion
and for the prevention of idolatry and superstition
which
might otherwise more easily have crept in: and to signify that their sacrifices
were not accepted for their own worth
but by God's gracious
appointment
and
for the sake of God's altar
by which they were sanctified
and for the sake of
Christ
whom the altar manifestly represented.
Your heave-offerings — That is
your first-fruits
of corn
and wine
and oil
and other
fruits. And these are called the heave-offerings of their hand
because the
offerer was first to take these into his hands
and to heave them before the
Lord
and then to give them to the priest.
Your free-will-offerings — Even your voluntary oblations
which were not due by my prescription
but only by your own choice: you may chuse what kind of offering you please to
offer
but not the place where you shall offer them.
Verse 7
[7] And
there ye shall eat before the LORD your God
and ye shall rejoice in all that
ye put your hand unto
ye and your households
wherein the LORD thy God hath
blessed thee.
There —
Not in the most holy place
wherein only the priests might eat
but in places
allowed to the people for this
end in the holy city.
Ye shall eat —
Your part of the things mentioned
Deuteronomy 12:6.
Before the Lord — In
the place of God's presence
where God's sanctuary shall be.
Verse 8
[8] Ye
shall not do after all the things that we do here this day
every man
whatsoever is right in his own eyes.
Here —
Where the inconveniency of the place
and the uncertainty of our abode
would
not permit exact order in sacrifices and feasts and ceremonies
which therefore
God was then pleased to dispense with; but
saith he
he will not do so there.
Right in his own eyes — Not that universal liberty was given to all persons to worship how they
listed; but in many things their unsettled condition gave opportunity to do so.
Verse 11
[11] Then
there shall be a place which the LORD your God shall choose to cause his name
to dwell there; thither shall ye bring all that I command you; your burnt
offerings
and your sacrifices
your tithes
and the heave offering of your
hand
and all your choice vows which ye vow unto the LORD:
His name —
His majesty and glory
his worship and service
his
special and gracious
presence.
Your choice vows —
Heb. the choice of your vows
that is
your select or chosen vows; so called
because things offered for vows
were to be perfect
whereas defective
creatures were accepted in free-will-offerings.
Verse 12
[12] And
ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God
ye
and your sons
and your
daughters
and your menservants
and your maidservants
and the Levite that is
within your gates; forasmuch as he hath no part nor inheritance with you.
Your daughters —
Hence it appears
that though the males only were obliged to appear before God
in their solemn feasts
yet the women also were permitted to come.
Verse 13
[13] Take
heed to thyself that thou offer not thy burnt offerings in every place that
thou seest:
Thy burnt-offerings —
Nor the other things mentioned above
this one and most eminent kind being put
for all the rest.
Verse 17
[17] Thou
mayest not eat within thy gates the tithe of thy corn
or of thy wine
or of
thy oil
or the firstlings of thy herds or of thy flock
nor any of thy vows
which thou vowest
nor thy freewill offerings
or heave offering of thine hand:
Within thy gates —
That is
in your private habitations
here opposed to the place of God's
worship.
Verse 20
[20] When
the LORD thy God shall enlarge thy border
as he hath promised thee
and thou
shalt say
I will eat flesh
because thy soul longeth to eat flesh; thou mayest
eat flesh
whatsoever thy soul lusteth after.
Enlarge thy border —
Which will make it impossible to bring all the cattle thou usest to the
tabernacle.
Verse 21
[21] If
the place which the LORD thy God hath chosen to put his name there be too far
from thee
then thou shalt kill of thy herd and of thy flock
which the LORD
hath given thee
as I have commanded thee
and thou shalt eat in thy gates
whatsoever thy soul lusteth after.
If the place be too far — Being obliged to carry their sacrifices to the place of worship
they
might think themselves obliged to carry their other cattle thither to be
killed. They are therefore released from all such obligations
and left at
liberty to kill them at home
whether they lived nearer that place
or farther
from it; only the latter is here mentioned
as being the matter of the scruple.
As I have commanded — In
such a manner as the blood may be poured forth.
Verse 22
[22] Even
as the roebuck and the hart is eaten
so thou shalt eat them: the unclean and
the clean shall eat of them alike.
As the roe-buck — As
common or unhallowed food
tho' they be of the same kind with the sacrifices
which are offered to God.
The unclean —
Because there was
no holiness in such meat for which the unclean might be
excluded from it.
Verse 27
[27] And
thou shalt offer thy burnt offerings
the flesh and the blood
upon the altar
of the LORD thy God: and the blood of thy sacrifices shall be poured out upon
the altar of the LORD thy God
and thou shalt eat the flesh.
The flesh —
Excepting what shall be burned to God's
honour
and given to the priest
according to his appointment.
Verse 30
[30] Take
heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them
after that they be
destroyed from before thee; and that thou enquire not after their gods
saying
How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise.
By following them — By
following the example they left
when their persons are destroyed.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Deuteronomy》
12 Chapter 12
Verses 1-3
If there arise among you a prophet.
On the criterion of a false miracle
I. The evidence
drawn from miracles
in favour of any Divine revelation
rests in general on
the testimony of those who saw the miracles performed. But in addition to this
it is important to inquire
whether some consideration may not be at the same
time due to the nature and tendency of the doctrines themselves
and whether
there may not be in them some internal marks
which
in some cases at least
may enable us to distinguish false miracles from true. That such a criterion
was given to the Jews appears plain from the words of the text
according to
which
though a miracle should actually be performed
yet if its intention was
to teach the doctrine of idolatry
it was not to be considered as a miracle
authorised by God.
II. Yet the text
does not appear to be confined merely to fictitious miracles of human
contrivance
but to extend to real miracles actually performed
either by men
permitted so to act
or by the agency of superior intellectual beings
with the
permission indeed of God
but not by His authority. Not only no human art or
deception
but also no superior
or supernatural power should undermine our
faith
or draw us from the allegiance which we owe to God.
III. I cannot
dismiss the subject without taking notice of a difficulty which may possibly be
thought to attend the foregoing theory. It relates to the assertion that no
internal doctrine can be brought in proof of a miracle. For it may be said
that there are certain doctrines conveyed by the help of miracles
which no
human reason could ever have discovered; such are
that God on certain
conditions will freely forgive sins
and that to the sincere
penitent
and
faithful believer in Jesus Christ
He will grant life eternal. The answer is
that though the truth of these things be beyond the reach of the human reason
to discover
yet the things themselves are not beyond the reach of the human
imagination to conceive. Their truth therefore must depend on the evidence of
the miracles which were wrought in their support
and the miracles must first
be distinctly proved
before we can give an admission to the doctrines. (W.
Pearce
D. D.)
The objection of the Jews to Christianity
as founded on this
passage
answered
It has commonly
and with justice
been thought
that the two
great pillars on which a revelation from God must stand
are miracles and
prophecies. Without these we cannot be assured that any discovery which may
have been made in man is really Divine. We must
indeed
inspect the matter of
the thing revealed to see whether it be worthy of Him from whom it is said to
come; and from its internal evidence our faith will derive great strength; but
still in the first instance we look rather to external proofs. But the Jews
imagine that they are precluded from judging of Christianity on such grounds as
these
since Moses
in this passage
guards them against any such inferences as
we are led to draw from the prophecies and miracles on which our religion is
founded. He concedes that some prophecies may be uttered
and some miracles be
wrought in favour of a false religion; and that
even if that should be the
case
the Jews are not to regard any evidences arising from those sources
but
to hold fast their religion in opposition to them. First
mark the supposition
here made
namely
that God may permit miraculous and prophetic powers to be
exercised even in support of a false religion. We are not indeed to imagine
that God Himself will work miracles in order to deceive His people and to lead
them astray; nor are we to imagine that He will suffer Satan to work them in
such an unlimited way as to be a counterbalance to the miracles by which God
has confirmed His own religion; but He will
for reasons which we shall
presently consider
permit some to be wrought
and some prophecies to come to
pass
notwithstanding they are designed to uphold an imposture. The magicians
of Pharaoh
we must confess
wrought real miracles. They were permitted to do
so much as should give Pharaoh an occasion for hardening his own heart
but not
sufficient to show that they could at all come in competition with Moses. In
every age there were also false prophets
who endeavoured to draw the people
from their allegiance to God; and in the multitude of prophecies that they
would utter
it must be naturally supposed that some would be verified in the
event. Now then
in the next place
let us notice the injunction given to the
Jews notwithstanding this supposition. God commands them not to give heed to
that prophet or that dreamer of dreams
even though his predictions should be
verified
if his object be to turn them from Him; for that He Himself suffers
these illusions to be practised upon them in order that their fidelity to Him
may be tried
and their love to Him approved. It may seem strange that God
should suffer such stumbling blocks to be cast in the way of His people; but it
is not for us to say what Jehovah mayor may not do; we are sure that “He
tempteth no man
” so as to lead him into sin (James 1:13)
and that the “Judge of all
the earth will do nothing but what is right.” But it is a fact that He thus
permitted Job to be tried
in order that he might approve himself a perfect
man; and in like manner He tried Abraham
in order that it might appear
whether his regard for God’s authority and his confidence in God’s Word were
sufficient to induce him to sacrifice his Isaac
the child of promise (Genesis 22:1-2; Genesis 22:12). It was for similar ends
that God permitted His people to be tried for forty years in the wilderness (Deuteronomy 8:2)
and in the same way He
has tried His Church in every period of the world. It is God’s express design
in the whole constitution of our religion to discover the secret bent of men’s
minds; and whilst to the humble He gives abundant evidence for their
conviction
He has left to the proud sufficient difficulties to call forth
their latent animosity
and to justify in their own apprehensions their
obstinate unbelief (Luke 2:34-35). He gave originally to the
Jews
as He has also given to us
sufficient evidence to satisfy any candid
mind; and this is all that we have any right to expect. The argument founded on
this injunction comes now before us with all the force that can be given to it.
A Jew will say
“You Christians found your faith on prophecies and on miracles;
and admitting that Jesus did work some miracles
and did foretell some events
which afterwards came to pass
God permitted it only to try us
and to prove
cur fidelity to Him. He has cautioned us beforehand not to be led astray from
Him by any such things as these; and therefore
however specious your
reasonings appear
we dare not listen to them or regard them.” Having thus
given to the objection all the force that the most hostile Jew can wish
I now
come
in the second place
to offer what we hope will prove a satisfactory
answer to it. It cannot but have struck the attentive reader that in this
objection there are two things taken for granted; namely
that in calling Jews
to Christianity we are calling them from Jehovah; and that our authority for
calling them to Christianity is founded on such miracles as an impostor might
work
and such prophecies as an impostor might expect to see verified. But in
answer to these two points we declare
first
that we do not call them from
Jehovah but to Him; and next
that our authority is not founded on such
miracles and prophecies as might have issued from an impostor
but such as it
was impossible for an impostor to produce; and lastly
that
in calling them to
Christ
we have the express command of God Himself.
1. We do not call our Jewish brethren from Jehovah
but to Him. We
worship the very same God whom the Jews worship; and we maintain His unity as
strongly as any Jew in the universe can maintain it. As for idols of every
kind
we abhor them as much as Moses himself abhorred them. Moreover
we
consider the law which was written on the two tables of stone as binding upon
us
precisely as much as if it were again promulgated by an audible voice from
heaven. With respect to the ceremonial law
we do indeed call you from the
observance of that; and we have good reason so to do; for you yourselves know
that all the essential part of your religion existed before the ceremonial law
was given; and that Abraham
and Isaac
and Jacob
who lived hundreds of years
before the ceremonial law was given
were saved simply and entirely by faith in
that promised seed
in whom all the nations of the earth are blessed. If you
ask
Why then was the ceremonial law given? I answer
To shadow forth your
Messiah
and to lead you to Him; and when He should come and fulfil it in all
its parts
it was then to cease; and you yourselves know that it was intended
by God Himself to cease at that appointed time. If then we call you from the
outward observances of the law
it is not from disrespect to that law
but from
a conviction that it has been fulfilled and abrogated by the Lord Jesus. We
call you only from shadows to the substance. We call you to Christ as uniting
in Himself all that the ceremonial law was intended to shadow forth. I am aware
that in calling you to worship the Lord Jesus Christ we appear to you to be
transferring to Him the honour due to God alone. But if you will look into your
own Scriptures you will find that the person who was foretold as your Messiah
is no other than God Himself. Receive Him in the character in which the prophet
Isaiah foretold His advent
as “the Child born
the Son given
the wonderful
Counsellor
the mighty God
the Prince of peace.” Call Him
as another prophet
instructs you
“Jehovah our Righteousness
” and know that in thus “honouring
Christ you will honour the Father who sent Him.”
2. The next thing which we proposed to show was
that our authority
for calling you thus to Christ is not founded on such prophecies or miracles as
might have issued from an impostor
but on such as it was impossible for an
impostor to produce. Consider the prophecies; they were not some few dark
predictions of mysterious import and of doubtful issue
uttered by our Lord
Himself; but a continued series of prophecies from the very fall of Adam to the
time of Christ; of prophecies comprehending an almost infinite variety of
subjects
and those so minute
as to defy all concert either in those who
uttered
or those who fulfilled them. Consider the miracles also; these were
beyond all comparison greater and more numerous than Moses ever wrought. The
whole creation
men
devils
fishes
elements
all obeyed His voice; and at His
command the dead arose to life again. But there is one miracle alone which in
particular we will mention. Jesus said
“I have power to lay down My life
and
I have power to take it again”; and the former of these He proved by speaking
with a loud voice the very instant He gave up the ghost
showing thereby that
He did not die in consequence of His nature being exhausted
but by a voluntary
surrender of His life into His Father’s hands. And at the appointed time He
proved the latter also
notwithstanding all the preparations made to defeat His
purpose
all which proved in the issue the strongest testimonies to the truth
of His word. We therefore confidently call you to believe in Him
and to
embrace the salvation which He offers you in the Gospel. But there is one great
argument which we have reserved till now
in order that it may bear upon you
with the greater weight.
3. We declare to you
then
in the last place
that in calling you to
Christ we have the express command of God Himself. Moses
in chap. 13
bids
you
as we have seen
not to listen to any false prophet; but in Deuteronomy 18:18-19
he most explicitly
declares that a prophet should arise
to whom you should attend. Now I ask you
who is the prophet here spoken of Where was there ever
besides Moses
a
prophet that was a Mediator
a Lawgiver
a Ruler
a Deliverer? Was there ever
such an one except Jesus? And was not Jesus such an one in all respects? Yes;
He has wrought for yell not a mere temporal deliverance like Moses
but a
spiritual and eternal deliverance from sin and Satan
death and hell; He has
redeemed you
not by power only
but by price also
even the inestimable price
of His own blood. When therefore you plead the authority of Moses
we join issue
with you
and say
Be consistent. Renounce false prophets
because he bids you;
but believe in the true Prophet
whom God
according to His Word
has raised up
to you
because He bids you. Let His authority weigh equally with you in both
cases; and then we shall not fear
but that you will embrace the salvation
offered you in the Gospel
and be the spiritual children
as ye already are the
natural descendants of believing Abraham. (C. Simeon
M. A.)
The only pulpit worth having
I. That no
instrumentality is of any real service to man
as man
that does not promote in
him a right sovereign affection.
1. Every man is under some one dominant affection. Love of--
2. A wrong dominant affection in a man will neutralise the highest
services that may be rendered to him.
II. That the only
right sovereign affection is supreme love for the supremely good. All goodness
streams from God as all light from the sun. Ought He not
then
to be extremely
loved?
III. That the only
pulpit that is of any real service to man is that which generates and fosters
this sovereign affection.
1. It is the pulpit that works into man the conviction that God loves
men
though sinners.
2. It is the pulpit that exhibits God as essentially good and
benevolent in Himself. (Homilist.)
Danger and security
This passage
by the inspiration of God
touches upon all the
possible points of danger in a religious course.
I. What are the
points of danger?
1. The first may be described as being somewhat after a philosophical
sort. There is nothing rude in the assault
nothing violent or startling
from
a merely physical point of view; it is a very delicate encroachment upon
religious thought; it is impalpable as a dream. Surely this is harmless: it is
more than harmless; it is instructive: it may be a lesson in the deeper
philosophy; it may be the beginning of a widening revelation. The mischief is
this
that a man who would listen to such a dreamer
or seer of visions
and
allow his religion to be affected by the nightmare
would turn the man out of
his presence if he attempted to offer him a single idea upon any practical
subject under heaven. We are easily beguiled from the religious point. “O
foolish Galatians
who hath bewitched you?” It would seem as if it were easier
to murder the soul than to kill the body. The first point of danger
therefore
is thus clouded in a golden veil; and the man who may be said to be preparing
for that danger is dreamy
hazy-minded
speculative
always looking into a mist
if
haply
he may find a star; such a gentle
dozing creature
so harmless
and
really so very attractive in many qualities of his character.
2. What is the second point of danger? It is not at all
philosophical; it may be ranked among the social forces that are constantly
operating upon life (verse 6). Social influences are constantly operating upon
our faith. The youngest member of the family has been reading a book
and has
invited the head of the house to go and listen to some new speaker of theories
speculations
and dreams; the service is so beautiful; the idea is so novel; a
great deal of the rush and tumult common to elementary religious life is
totally escaped; the intellectual brother--the man supposed to have all the
brains of the family--has got a new idea--an idea which in nowise associates
itself with historical churches and traditional creeds
but a brand new idea
altogether sparkling and daring
and whosoever professes it will at once take
his place in the synagogue of genius; or the darling friend has caught a voice
down some byway
and he will have his other self go with him in the evening to
hear this speaker of anti-Christian ideas--a man who has undertaken to
reconstruct so much of the universe as will allow him to touch it; a person of
exquisite mind
of dainty taste
and of quiet latent power. The subtle purpose
is to draw men away from the old altar
the old Book
the God of deliverance
and beneficence
of mercy and redemption
to another God who will condescend to
be measured for a creed
and who is not above sitting for his portrait. Do not
follow a multitude to do evil. Do not always be at the string end
led about by
those who are of more forceful and energetic will than yourselves. Be sure as
to what they are taking you to; have a clear understanding before you begin.
You would not allow those persons to interfere with anything practical: when
the discussion of commercial questions arises
you stand at the front and say
There I can bear testimony
and there I ought to be heard. Why claim such a
solemn responsibility in the settlement of nothing
and allow anybody to settle
for you the great questions of religious truth and personal destroy?
3. What is the third point of danger? It is not philosophical; it is
not
in the narrow sense of the term
social; it is a point of” danger which may
be characterised as public sentiment
public opinion--a general turning round
and a wholesale abandonment of old theologies and old forms of worship (verses
12
13). Some men may have courage to laugh at the dreamer; others may have
virtue enough to resist the blandishments of the nearest friend; but who can
resist the current or tendency of public opinion?
II. What is the
course to be taken under circumstances of danger? Moses had no difficulty about
his reply: let us see what it was
and consider whether we can adopt it. “And
that prophet
or that dreamer of dreams
shall be put to death” (verse 5). The
seducer in the family brings upon himself this penalty. “Neither shall thine
eye pity him neither shalt thou spare
neither shalt thou conceal him: but thou
shalt surely kill him” (verses 8
9); “thou shalt stone him with stones
that
he die” (verse 10). And as for the city--representative of public
opinion--“Thou shalt surely smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge of
the sword
” etc. (verses 15-17). That was a drastic course; there is no touch
of compromise in that stern provision; there is no line of toleration in that
tremendous answer. The same course is to be taken today
as to its spiritual
meaning. Physical violence there must be none; the day of physical pains and
penalties for spiritual offences has closed; but the great lesson of
destruction remains forever. What penalty
then
shall we inflict upon men who
seek to destroy our faith? I hesitate not in my reply: Avoid them; pass by them;
they would injure your soul. (J. Parker
D. D.)
True tests are unfailing discoverers
Every substance is discoverable by some “test
” which usually
neutralises it
or rather
by uniting with it
forms a new compound. The whole
fabric of chemistry rests upon this wonderful principle as one of its
cornerstones. Thus if the least fragment of copper be dissolved in acid
and
the fluid be then diluted with water until no trace of colour remains
so
potent
nevertheless
is the affinity of the well-known fluid called “ammonia”
for the copper
that a single drop of the latter fluid will immediately reveal
the presence of the metal by uniting with it and forming a new substance of the
loveliest violet colour. Similarly
if a morsel of lead be dissolved in acid
and
the acid be then diluted with water
a single drop of a solution of iodide of
potassium will turn the whole to a brilliant crocus-yellow. The presence of
iron
after the same manner
is discovered by the least drop of tincture of
galls
which blackens it upon contact; that of silver by a little solution of
common salt
which causes flakes of imitative snow to make their appearance;
that of mercury again with iodide of potassium
which turns the fluid
containing it to a beautiful red. (Scientific Illustrations.)
Destroy all the places.
Destruction of evil
The first thing Israel had to do appears to be a work of violence.
All idols were to be destroyed. Israel could understand no other language. This
is not the language of today; but the thing inculcated upon Israel is the
lesson for the present time: words change
but duties remain. Violence was the
only method that could commend itself to infantile Israel. The hand was the
reasoner; the breaking hammer was the instrument of logic in days so remote and
so unfavoured. Forgetting this
how many people misunderstand instructions
given to the ancient Church; they speak of the violence of those instructions
the bloodthirstiness even of Him who gave the instructions to Israel. Hostile
critics select such expressions and hold them up as if in mid-air
that the
sunlight may get well round about them; and attention is called to the
barbarity
the brutality
the revolting violence of so-called Divine
commandments. It is false reasoning on the part of the hostile critic. We must
think ourselves back to the exact period of time and the particular
circumstances at which and under which the instructions were delivered. But all
the words of violence have dropped away. “Destroy
” “overthrow
” “burn
” “hew
down
” are words which are not found in the instructions given to Christian
evangelists. Has the law then passed away? Not a jot or tittle of it. Is there
still to be a work of this kind accomplished in heathen nations? That is the
very work that must first be done. This is the work that is aimed at by the
humblest and meekest teacher who shoulders the Gospel yoke and proceeds to
Christianise the nations. Now we destroy by reasoning
and that is a far more
terrible destruction than the supposed annihilation that can be wrought by
manual violence. You cannot conquer an enemy by the arm
the rod
or the weapon
of war; you subdue him
overpower him
or impose some momentary restraint upon
him; fear of you takes possession of his heart
and he sues for peace because
he is afraid. That is not conquest; there is nothing eternal in such an issue.
How
then
to destroy an enemy? By converting him--by changing his motive
by
penetrating into his most secret life
and accomplishing the mystery of
regeneration in his affections. That mystery accomplished
the conquest is
complete and everlasting; the work of destruction has been accomplished;
burning and hewing down
and all actions indicative of mere violence have
disappeared. (J. Parker D. D.)
Verse 5-6
Unto His habitation shall ye seek.
The Gospel of the holy places
I. God was pleased
to choose out certain places to stand in a special relation of holiness unto
himself under the Old Testament. This holiness of places was two-fold
either
transient and merely for the present time
or else more permanent.
1. The transient holiness of places was where the Lord gave visible
appearances of Himself in His glorious majesty to the eyes of His servants;
such places were holy during the time of such Divine appearances (Exodus 3:5; Exodus 19:11-25; Joshua 5:15
2 Peter 1:18).
2. There was also a more abiding holiness of places under the law.
II. What is the
ground of this holiness of these places
and how are we to conceive of it?
1. The Lord is said to choose these places to set His name there
and
therefore they are called His habitation.
2. “Thither shalt thou seek
” i.e. for answers and oracles
from the holy places
and from the priest by Urim and Thummim (Exodus 25:22; Numbers 7:8-9; Numbers 27:21).
3. “Thither shalt thou come
” i.e. at all the appointed
festivals
three times a year (Exodus 23:14; Exodus 23:17)
and whensoever they
offered sacrifice (Deuteronomy 12:6).
Lessons:
1. The cessation of this holiness of places under the New Testament (John 4:21-23; Matthew 18:22; 1 Timothy 2:8; Malachi 1:11). Every place is now a
Judaea
every house a Jerusalem
every congregation a Zion.
2. Learn to present your worship unto God by Jesus Christ
for He is
the true Temple and Tabernacle (Hebrews 7:25; 1 Peter 1:21; John 14:6; Colossians 3:17).
3. Remember that there is a church worship (Acts 2:42; Acts 20:7).
4. Labour everyone
that his soul may be a habitation for the Lord
a
temple of the Holy Ghost. (S. Mather.)
Verse 8
Ye shall not do after all the things that we do here this day.
Restraint the Christian’s blessing
The blessing
of which it is now proposed to speak more
particularly
is that of being more under control--of having our lives and ways
more exactly ordered--than as if we were not Christians. We are now come to the
rest and to the inheritance which the Lord our God was so long preparing for
us
and therefore we are no longer to think of doing every man what is right in
his own eyes. And therefore the gate
into which we must strive to enter
is
called “strait
” and the way which leadeth unto life
“narrow.” And our
Saviour
inviting us to the blessings of the Gospel
describes them as a yoke
and a burthen; easy indeed
and light
yet still a yoke and a burthen. And this
very circumstance He mentions as a blessing; as the very reason why
coming to
Him
the weary and heavy laden might find rest (Matthew 11:28). So that it appears that
both the law and the Gospel
both Moses and Jesus Christ
consider it a great
blessing
a great increase of comfort and happiness
to be kept under strict
rules. The Gospel was more strict than the law; and on that very account its
subjects were happier. Canaan was a place where men could not do what pleased
themselves so much as they could in the wilderness: and it was the more
entirely and truly a place of rest. But now this way of thinking is by no means
the way of the world. People in general like nothing so much as having their
own choice in all things. They account it a burthen
and not a privilege
to be
under the government of others. And there is not
one may venture to say
one
man in a thousand who would not rather be rich than poor
for this very
reason--that a rich man is much more his own master
has much more of his own
way in choosing how to spend his time
what company to keep
what employments
to follow
than a poor man generally can have. Again
everyone has observed
I
might say has experienced
the hurry which children are usually in to get out
of the state of childhood and to be left to judge and act for themselves. But the
worst
and
unfortunately
the most common instance of this ungovernable temper
in mankind is
our unwillingness to let God choose for us
and our impatience
under the burthens He lays upon us. How very commonly does it happen that the
very condition people chose beforehand
the very place they wished to live in
and the persons they wished to live among
being obtained
becomes the ground
of continual complaint and vexation. If they could but change at will
they
say
they should like their situation well enough
but now they are tied down
to it they cannot
that is
they will not
help being fretful and impatient.
Yet this very circumstance of being tied down to rules and not having the power
to change at will
is
as we have seen
reckoned a great blessing
both in the
Old and New Testament
both by Moses and Jesus Christ. And the contrary (the
having to choose for ourselves
and to do what is right in our own eyes)
is
spoken of as a great disadvantage. So different is the judgment of God from the
judgment of men. To have this thought steadily fixed within us
will prove
indeed
the greatest of all blessings
both as to our rest in this world
and
as to our inheritance in that which is to come. In whatever counsel and pursuit
we are sure we are guided by God
that
we are equally sure
must turn out well
in the end; and soberly speaking
what can we wish for more? Once make up your
mind to this most certain truth
that what is right in God’s eyes is far better
for you than what is right in your own eyes
and you will have but one care in
the whole world
i.e. how to please God in making the best use of the
present time
a care in which
by His gracious assistance
you are sure not to
fail. But it was further said
that this temper of not choosing for ourselves
leads directly to our everlasting inheritance in the other world
as well as
making sure of our rest and refreshment in this. For it helps us greatly in the
performance of our duty
because
in truth
it leaves us nothing else to do. It
prepares and trains us for everlasting happiness in heaven. For the very secret
of our enjoyment there will be that God’s will shall be ours. We shall behold
His works and ways
especially the glory which He has given to His beloved Son
our Saviour
and shall rejoice in them as in so much good done to ourselves
more and more thankfully forever. What a beautiful and comfortable thought is
this
of the high and noble uses to which
if we will
we may turn all our
worst disappointments--the bitterest thoughts of shame and remorse which ever
come upon us. We may consider them as part of our heavenly Father’s way of
breaking us in
as it were
and training us to the desire and enjoyment of His
own blessed presence in heaven. And if even the bitter thought of our past sins
may be accompanied with so much of what is comfortable and hopeful
surely we
may well leave it to Almighty God to do what He will with us in every other
respect. (Plain Sermons by Contributors to “Tracts for the Times. ”)
Life a transitional state of being
“Ye are not as yet come to your rest.” The present is a temporary
and provisional state of things. Such is the reason (Deuteronomy 12:9) assigned by the great
lawgiver of the Jews for the nonobservance of many
and the imperfect
observance of nearly all the statutes and ordinances which he was delivering to
them. We are all
he says
to blame. Your leader is no more exempt from human
infirmities than yourselves. He is as fond of having his own way
of doing what
is right in his own eyes
as any of you. We have all done amiss
and we must
all try to do better; and so prepare ourselves for that entirely altered state
of circumstances which awaits us as soon as we have crossed the narrow dividing
stream; you of Jordan
I of death. In applying these words to the objects of
Christian instruction
observe--
I. The uniformity
of human character. What describes the natural man in one age or country will
suit him equally well at all times and in all countries. What were the
Israelites doing in the wilderness? “Every man whatsoever was right in his own
eyes.” This is human nature. We like to have our own way. Restraint is irksome
to us. We seek to be independent in our circumstances
in order that we may be
so in our actions
and have no one’s wishes or feelings to consult but our own.
But if human wilfulness shows itself in one direction more than another
it is
in our relations to God. Here we meet with no such checks as hem us in on every
other side. Here the freedom of our will is not interfered with by the claims
of family or the obligations of society. The world looks on
but never thinks
of interfering. A man’s religion
it holds
is something entirely between God
and his conscience. In the concerns of the soul it is commonly said that every
man ought to do whatever is right in his own eyes
without any regard to the
opinions or feelings of others. What is most agreeable to our feelings
we
easily persuade ourselves
is most profitable to our souls; and where we are
most profited
where we “get most good
” as it is called
there we feel sure it
is God’s will that we should go. So we “wrap it up” (Micah 7:3). We settle the matter
nominally between God and our consciences
but really between ourselves and our
own wayward and corrupt wills.
II. The impropriety
of this principle of doing “every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes.” No
day passes without some matters arising which involve the question of not what
is right in our own eyes
but what is right in itself
and what is right in the
sight of God and man. We are reasonable and accountable creatures. There is a
sense of right and wrong implanted in us by nature. We cannot act contrary to
it without violating our conscience
and causing a sensible disturbance to our
peace of mind. Besides moral
there is also such a thing as positive right
arising out of the declared will of God; and this is just as binding upon our
consciences as the other. When it pleased God to promulgate the Fourth
Commandment
by that very act He made it a right thing to keep holy the seventh
day
and a wrong thing to do our ordinary work thereon
in the eyes of every
man who believes in the existence and attributes of the Creator of the world.
Unhappily
moral disorder is not attended with the same inconveniences as
civil. Men may be “lovers of their own selves
covetous
boasters
proud
blasphemers
disobedient to parents
” and many other things equally offensive
to piety and virtue
without any particular shock to the peaceful and
prosperous course of this world. Still
“these things ought not so to be.”
Wrong can never be right. There is one Lawgiver
and one holy and righteous and
perfect law. To do as we like is to violate the fundamental law of our being.
“For none of us liveth to himself
” etc. To do that which is right in our own
eyes is too often to do that which is abominable in the sight of God.
III. The necessary
imperfection of our present state of being. Perfect order and perfect happiness
are not to be found on earth
but are reserved for that eternal existence to
which this world is but a passage.
1. This thought will reconcile us
in a great degree
to the troubles
of life.
2. It will encourage us under our moral failings and imperfections.
It may be a poor consolation
but a consolation it certainly is
when we have
done amiss
to know that “all have sinned
and come short of the glory of God”;
and that so long as man is man he will do “whatsoever is right in his own
eyes.” Hereafter it will be otherwise. In another world “we shall not do after
all the things that we do here this day.”
3. It will make us tolerant and indulgent to the failings of others.
We must take the world as we find it. We must deal with things as they are
not
as they ought to be. To bear and to forbear is no small part of our trial. And
we cannot be required to show greater forbearance towards others than God is
continually exercising towards us.
IV. There is no sentiment
so just as not to be liable to perversion and abuse. The necessary imperfection
of our present state might be urged as an excuse for those evils and disorders
which need not exist
and therefore are inexcusable. But this must not be
allowed. Sin must always be protested against. Our nature is corrupt; but that
is a reason for striving against it
not for giving way to it. We live in a
wicked world; but that should put us on our guard against an unreserved
association with the world
or an undue compliance with its ways. Is this all
that is required of us--to contend against the evil of our own hearts
and to
keep ourselves unspotted from the world? Not so. A Christian has a higher
vocation: to make the world better; to season it with the salt of a pure and
uncorrupt conversation; to set an example of that self-denying
self-sacrificing spirit which leads to conduct the very opposite of that
described in the text. The Christian must be continually reminding both himself
and others that what we are all doing here this day may be excused by
considerations arising out of the frailty of human nature
but can never be
justified. Let us take every opportunity of mortifying those deeds of the body
those sinful desires and depraved inclinations which
if they do not actually
deprive us of “the rest and the inheritance which the Lord our God giveth us
”
cannot but make us less fit for it. Let us learn the pleasure of giving up our
wills
instead of indulging them; of looking “not every man on his own things
but every man also on the things of others”; of doing
not “every man
whatsoever is right in his own eyes
” but every man whatsoever is right for him
to do--what religion teaches
what conscience justifies
and what God approves.
V. Let us learn
from this subject to understand more perfectly
and to appreciate more justly
the Gospel method of salvation. Moses
we are told
“was faithful in all his
house”; as the mediator of that former covenant
he performed his part on the
whole faithfully and well; but that was all. He was no redeemer; he could not
“save his people from their sins.” He was a sinner like themselves: the things
which
by reason of their frailty
they did there that day
he also did. Christ
alone could say
“Ye shall not do after all the things which ye do here this
day”; ye
not we
--excluding Himself from the number of those who do “every man
whatsoever is right in his own eyes.” Of Himself He says
“I seek not Mine own
will
but the will of the Father which sent Me.” “I do always those things that
please Him.” On this principle of seeking God’s glory
not His own--He acted
through life
and also “became obedient unto death.” Without this act we should
never have come to that rest
never have attained to that inheritance at all.
We should have continued all our lives
as many do to this day
doing “every
man whatsoever is right in his own eyes”; because we should have had no motive
or inducement to do otherwise. If we have learnt better things
it is only
because we have learnt Christ; learnt Him as “the way
the truth
and the
life”; “heard Him
and been taught by Him
as the truth is in Jesus.” It
remains that we should turn our lessons into practice
by “putting off the old
man
” etc. So shall we leave off by degrees to “do after all the things which
we do here this day”; and under the renewing and sanctifying influence of the
Holy Spirit we shall become daily more and more “meet for the inheritance of
the saints in light
” and ripe for that “rest which remaineth for the people of
God.” (Frederick Field
LL. D.)
Verse 9
Ye are not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance.
Not as yet
That is the beginning--the refrain--the very soul of a hymn. “Not
as yet”--it is a blossom-like word--an unfulfilled prophecy. “Not as yet”--why
then
it may be some day. The meaning is that we are on the road: How far have
we travelled? Are we home? The voice answers in the night
Not yet. But if we
were on the wrong road the voice would not answer so; the voice would then say:
Home: why
we are lost
we are on the wrong road; every mile we have travelled
these last two days has been a mile in the opposite direction. But the very
tone of the voice itself is a gospel. “Not as yet”: presently; nearer and
nearer. “Not as yet”: every step is a battle won; every step is one more
difficulty past. “Not as yet; but sufficiently near to be getting ready. What
is the meaning of all this stir on the ship
this running to and fro
this
calling out from one to another? We have passed something
we have passed a
signal
we shall land tonight! Getting ready
saying in effect
It is all over
now
what remains to be done is a mere matter of detail; we are waiting
and
presently we shall be there. How do we measure our journey? By the middle mile.
We seem not to have begun the journey whilst we are on the first half of it
but as soon as we got in the middle of the sea
and are told that the middle
mile has been passed
we say
It is all downhill now. Many people are more than
half way through life’s road: what is it to be during the remainder of the
days? Are we leaving heaven behind us
or are we going to it? Many men are
leaving behind them the only heaven they have ever prepared for: what wonder if
they do not sing during the last half of the voyage or the journey? Others have
had a dreary time
a melancholy experience
a troubled disciplinary lot
and
when they are told about half-way through that it is all home going and the
distance may in some unaccountable way be shortened
behold their faces are
alight with a new expression
their soul has come up to look out of the window
to see if it be even so. I heard a great voice from heaven saying: Blessed are
the dead that die in the Lord: for they shall rest. Rest is promised
not as
the reward of selfishness or self-indulgence
but as the crown of service. No
man can rest who has not toiled. No man can have real joy who has not had real
sorrow. What right have we to rest if we have been resting all the time? The
week has Sunday in front of it. Cheer thee! It is Friday. When is Sunday? The
day after tomorrow. Is Sunday in every week? Yes. Herein is the goodness of
God. We need frequent Sabbaths
we need refreshment by the road
yea
at every
seventh step of the journey we must sit down awhile. Sometimes we have a lift
by the way. Does the Shepherd not need Himself to be carried sometimes? No:
because He is not a shepherd
one of many
but The Shepherd
out of whose
shepherdliness all other pastors are struck. The little candle dies
the sun
burneth evermore. You need rest--why not have it? You are a very little one
and you are soon tired
and He
I repeat
carrieth the lambs in His bosom. The
very principle that Christ went upon was the principle of “Not as yet.” “A
little while” is the length of time Christ gave Himself. He endured the Cross
despising the shame
because He looked for the joy that lay beyond. Men draw
themselves through earth by laying hold of heaven. That is how the earth drags
itself along; it is all looped up to the sun. No man has seen the filaments
the threadlets
but the sun feeds them everyone. The tiny earth is hooked on by
invisible tentacles to the great central chariot. It is so that life is drawn
forward
it is so that life is sanctified; because that by which we are
connected with the sun is that through which the centre also communicates to
us. (J. Parker
D. D.)
The imperfection of the believer’s earthly happiness
I. Let us notice
the terms in which the end of the Israelites’ journey is spoken of. They are
the very same terms which are used in the New Testament as applicable to the
Christian’s everlasting home
and they point out respectively its blessedness
its certainty
its freeness.
1. For it is called a rest: “Ye are not as yet come to the rest.” And
this it is well known St. Paul applies to our eternal home
when he says to the
Hebrews
“There remaineth
therefore
a rest to the people of God.” And in this
expression
I repeat
is conveyed to us the great blessedness of that our
eternal portion. For if there is one word which seems to contain within it an
idea of what is really grateful and enjoyable in this world
it is the word
“rest.” Condemned
as we are
to eat our bread by the sweat of our brow
“and
being born to trouble
as the sparks fly upward
” rest is one of the greatest
earthly blessings that God can bestow. The believer
then
is one day
and that
perhaps no distant day
to rest completely and eternally from all that pains
and grieves him here. He shall rest from suffering
“for there shall be no more
pain”: he shall rest from sorrowing
for “there shall be no more death
neither
sorrow nor crying”; but above all he shall rest from sin.
2. But there is another expression here used
which the New Testament
warrants us to apply to the rest that remaineth to the people of God
namely
“inheritance.” This expression denotes the certainty of the believer’s portion.
There are only three things in the dealings of this world which can disappoint
the heir of his inheritance; and
if it can be shown that these cannot take
place as regards the believer
the ease is clear. For
in the first place
in
earthly things
the parent or the person owning the property may
from some
cause or other
change his mind
and cut off the heir from the inheritance.
But
in the case now before us
“the gifts and calling of God are without
repentance.” Or
secondly
the heir may rebel or run away
and so forfeit and
give up all claim to the inheritance. But in this case this is provided
against; for one part of the adoption into the family of God is the gift of the
Spirit
to keep the heir in the love and fear of God
according as it is
written: “I will put My fear within them
that they shall not depart from Me.”
Or
thirdly
the heir may die before the time appointed of the father
and so
be disappointed. But
as regards the heavenly inheritance
this can never be:
“The soul once quickened shall never die”: “The heirs of God are kept by His
power through faith unto salvation”: “I give unto them eternal life
and they
shall never perish”: “Because I live
ye shall live also.”
3. But there is yet another expression hers used
which appears to
denote the freeness with which it is offered
and which we find used in the New
Testament to denote the same idea. It is spoken of as a gift: “Ye are not come
to the rest and the inheritance which the Lord your God giveth you.” Now
the
New Testament invariably speaks of this as a gift: St. Paul says
particularly
“The wages of sin”--i.e. the just reward of sin--“is death; but the gift
of God”--observe
not the wages
nor the reward
but the free
undeserved gift
of God--“is eternal life
through Jesus Christ our Lord.” God is a sovereign:
He has a right to do what He will: He is our Sovereign
and He has a right to
our services: He is our Maker
and He has a right to ourselves. And there is no
obedience
no service
which it is in our power to render Him
to which He has
not already an undoubted right; and
consequently
we can never do anything for
which God is bound in the least degree to bless us. All His gifts
therefore
to us are free and undeserved
and whatever He gives He gives of His own free
and sovereign grace; and as such we must receive it or perish.
II. Such being the
terms in which the heavenly inheritance is spoken of
let us turn to the proofs
which the Christian has that he has not yet come to the rest which is reserved
for him. These are various
but we will take only a few which come more
immediately in connection with the text.
1. The imperfection and vanity of
every thing connected with this
life--its sorrows
disappointments
pain
and bereavements--all these things
are enough to remind us
as I believe they are graciously intended to remind
us
that this is not our home. Thus the Israelites
wherever they rested
wherever they went
were still in the wilderness: turn where they would
the
same barren scene would probably present itself
and remind them that this is
not Canaan
this is still the wilderness. Let us be blessed with whatever joy
or advantage we will
there is a worm at the root; and
with all its
capabilities of affording happiness
still it is not permanent
it perishes in
the using. Friends disappoint
children and those dear are removed
health
decays
riches make to themselves wings
and fly away; so that
with all our
earthly comforts
and they are not few
we are still reminded by them
and it
is the crowning mercy of them all that we are reminded by them
that this is
not our resting place
and we are strangers and pilgrims here.
2. But the Israelites would be reminded
from time to time
that they
had not entered into rest
by the continual attacks to which they were exposed
from their enemies
and perhaps also by the continued murmurings and rebellions
which arose among themselves. True it is
that even in Canaan
the nations
greater and mightier than they
were to be dispossessed; still
even on their
road they would feel that they had not yet attained what Moses had promised:
“When the Lord God shall have given you rest from all your enemies round
about.” And this is an especial mark to a Christian that his rest and his
inheritance is not here. Wherever he looks the enemy meets his view; whether he
look around or within him
the scene is the same. I mean not that he takes a
gloomy view of all these things
but he cannot deny the fact that “the world
lieth in wickedness.” His own experience tells him that he has not yet reached
that place or that state where ignorance shall not exist
where every murmuring
disposition shall be forever hushed
where every rebellious feeling shall be
forever slain
and every thought of his heart shall be brought in complete and
eternal captivity to the obedience of Christ.
3. But I think it may be said that our very spiritual blessings are
calculated to remind us of this. All our means of grace
and all our
privileges
many and blessed as they are
are yet adapted for a state of
ignorance and imperfection. The manna which the Israelites gathered from day to
day
and the “spiritual Rock that followed them
” would especially remind them
of the truth adverted to in the text. How different from the grapes of Eshcol!
how far short of the land flowing with milk and honey
to which they were
repeatedly encouraged to look! and yet they were marvellous blessings in
themselves. And so it is with us. The spiritual life is but a small foretaste
of that fulness of life which is hid in Christ with God; and the very supplies
of the Spirit are but the distant branchings of that river which “makes glad
the city of God
” issues from the living fountains to which the Lamb shall one
day lead His people. How inferior
too
is the very written or preached word on
earth to what the believer will hear in glory! How inferior the worship in the
earthly courts to the worship of the redeemed! How inferior is that feast of
the Lord’s Supper
to which we are often invited
to that supper at which the
bride of Christ is one day to be present.
III. What
then
are
the lessons of warning
of duty
or of encouragement which we are to learn from
these considerations?
1. We learn a lesson of warning
not to fix our habitation here
still less to look back upon the world which we have left. God give you grace
to be wise in time
that you may be happy in eternity.
2. But
again
we learn a large lesson of duty. We learn that we must
not lay aside our armour while we are in the enemy’s neighbourhood; we must not
cease our watchfulness while we are beset by foes within and without; we must
not be contemplating the length of road we have passed
but looking on to what
remains.
3. And
lastly
whenever the following propositions are true
that
is--
1. When he cannot see any hope of supporting himself at home.
2. When prospects abroad are decidedly good
and likely to continue
such.
3. When the journey can probably be performed free from accident.
4. When the means of paying the emigration expenses are secure; and--
5. When family ties are of such a sort that they may with propriety
be severed
or when those dearest to you can accompany you.
I am not intending to say much more about emigration. Yet I have
some valuable advice to offer you upon the subject. Agents
from various
motives
often deceive men about the goodness of the distant country
or the
cheapness of the voyage by their ship
or the certainty of employment at high
wage when they reach the place of destination. You need not fear deceit in this
case. There can be no motive for any deception. I say
then
you will be wise
to go thither
for these two reasons--
1. Ask you why? Because sin has defiled and ruined everything
rendering the world unfit for us
and us unfit for life; because we are “to
pass
therefore
through the grave and gate of death to our joyful
resurrection”; and so
“ye are not as yet come to the rest and to the
inheritance
which the Lord your God giveth you.”
2. It may be necessary to emigrate; but are the prospects good
elsewhere? Here is a description of the allotment offered to emigrants. It is
called an inheritance
because an Elder Brother of yours has “gone before” and
bought it
and He says “you are joint heirs with Me.” It is called “an
inheritance incorruptible and undefiled
and that fadeth not away
and it is
reserved
” put by
kept ready
safe
all prepared “for you.” Yes
all this in
prospect
seen by faith
heard of by letter and by promise! But remember
“ye
are not yet come to this rest and inheritance which the Lord your God giveth
you.”
3. It may be needful to emigrate
and the prospects beyond seem to
baffle description in their beauty; but that swelling flood
those tossing
waters
are too much for you--you have no great means for paying the costly
freightage; and then there is the constant dread lest you should make
shipwreck
and so never reach the land whither you would go. The prospects are
all you can desire
if only you could get there. I have read the terms of the
emigration
and I am confident that He who gives the inheritance grants a
perfectly free passage thither. Christ said
when here on earth
“I am the Way
the Truth
and the Life. No man cometh to the Father but by Me.” The Saviour of
sinners offers them a home. It is not a reformatory or a prison
but a home
with Himself
He tells you that you must receive it as a gift
and not make
bargains about it. And His law upon the matter is
that since
from first to
last
it is not of works
but the free gift of Himself
so you are to claim the
inheritance and journey thither entirely at His cost. Are family ties of such a
character as to hinder you from emigration? I answer
Certainly not
because
they
too
both friends and kinsfolk
must leave this place and go elsewhere.
Therefore
I say
your course is plain. Resolve that you will
through the
grace of the Holy Spirit
pass over from this present world of sin unto the
future inheritance of the sons of God. And bring your kinsmen with you. (S.
Venables.)
Our rest and inheritance beyond
I. The rest.
1. From sin.
2. From temptation.
3. From enemies.
4. From weariness.
5. From doubts.
II. The
inheritance.
1. Purchased.
2. Prepared.
3. Pure.
4. Sure.
5. For the saints.
III. Our present
condition.
1. Not a condition of ceaseless toil.
2. Not a condition of entire exclusion from our inheritance.
3. We here enjoy the means of grace.
Lessons:
1. In view of all this we should rejoice--
2. Are we being fitted for that rest and inheritance?
3. Are there any here who are seeking their rest on earth? Oh! poor
miserable souls
ye with all your seeking have not rest here
and will not have
rest hereafter! (Bp. Courtney.)
The expected rest
I. The rest which
awaits believers.
1. A promised rest.
2. A complete rest.
3. Rest in the possession of an inheritance.
4. An eternal rest.
II. Some
considerations suggested by the fact that we are not yet come to our rest. And
this fact requires us--
1. To endure hardships.
2. To prize comforts.
3. To avoid present resting.
4. To be seeking the rest that is to come.
All things encourage us to advance. A better than earthly Canaan
before us; a greater Leader than Moses to guide us; and the millions of the
glorified invoking us
by their reward
to imitate their example. Oh! be not
slothful
but followers of them
who
through faith and patience
are
inheriting the promises. We may infer--
1. The infatuation of the wicked
who
besides not having come to
this rest
are sedulously shunning it by a contrary course; and--
2. The happiness of the righteous
who
though they have not yet come
to this rest
are hourly coming to it
and whose very bereavements teach not
more strikingly the vanity of this world than the proximity of a better. (D.
King.)
Verse 28
That it may go well with thee.
Blessings for the obedient
Though salvation is not by the works of the law
yet the blessings
which are promised to obedience are not denied to the faithful servants of God.
The curses our Lord took away when He was made a curse for us
but no clause of
blessing has been abrogated. We are to note the revealed will of the Lord
giving our attention not to portions of it
but to “all these words.” There
must be no picking and choosing
but an impartial respect to all that God has
commanded. This is the road of blessedness for the father and for his children.
The Lord’s blessing is upon His chosen to the third and fourth generation. If
they walk uprightly before Him
He will make all men know that they are a seed
which the Lord hath blessed. No blessing can come to us or ours through
dishonesty or double dealing. The ways of worldly conformity and unholiness
cannot bring good to us or ours. It will go well with us when we go well before
God. If integrity does not make us prosper
knavery will not. That which gives
pleasure to God will bring pleasure to us. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
And with thy children
after thee.
Care for posterity
God is concerned for posterity. We may mock the suggestion
and
put foolish questions concerning the generations yet to come
but the Book of
God is as careful about the child unborn as about the old pilgrim born into the
higher spaces. God does not insulate Himself by the little present; He
contemplates the end from the beginning. All souls are His. He also puts it
into our care to regard the welfare of our successors. There is a sense in
which we all have a posterity--some in a narrower
some in a larger sense; but
we all have a succession: we are influencing tomorrow by our spirit and action
today. How mad are they
and how guilty of the cruellest murder
who go on
indulging every desire
sating every appetite
satisfying every wish
forgetting that they are involving the yet unborn to pain
weakness
incapacity
and dooming them to lifelong suffering and distress. Here is the
greatness of the Bible
the noble condescension of God
the infinite solicitude
of the eternal Father. His speech runs to this effect: take care: not only are
you involved
but your child and child’s child
for generation upon generation:
your drunkenness will reappear in the disease of ages yet to come; your bad
conduct will repeat itself in a long succession of evil-minded men; your
behaviour appears at present to be agreeable
to have some aspects that might
be called delightful
but things are not what they seem: actions do not end in
themselves; every bad thought you think takes out some spark of vitality from
your brain--robs you
depletes you; be careful; have some regard for those who
have to succeed you; learn from those who went before you how evil a thing it
is to have sown bad seed
and by what you have learned from them conduct
yourself aright; if you are true
wise
pure
generous
well-conducted
altogether
generations will arise to bless you; if you take care of the poor
if any of your succession be doomed to poverty
with what measure you mete it
shall be measured to you and them again; blessed are the merciful
for they
shall obtain mercy; with what judgment ye judge ye shall be judged. Life is
one: touch it where we may
we send a thrill
a vibration
along all the vital
lines. The law is two-fold: sow evil
and reap evil; sow good
and reap good.
This is no partial law
dealing with penalty and shame only: it is an impartial
righteousness
dealing with reward and glory
and promising delight vast and
tender as the heaven of God. (J. Parker
D. D.)
Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following after
them.
Danger of a conquered foe
It is a remarkable fact
and is proved by Dr. Bell (in his History
of British Insects)
that the poison of the rattlesnake is even secreted
after death. Dr. Bell
in his dissections of the rattlesnakes which have been
dead many hours
has found that the poison continued to be secreted so fast as
to require to be dried up occasionally with sponge or rag. The immoral author
like these rattlesnakes
not only poisons during his lifetime
but after death:
because his books possess the subtle power of secreting the venom to a horrible
degree. A moral sponge is constantly called into requisition to obliterate his poison
for many years after he himself has been dead. (Scientific Illustrations.)
Revival of a conquered sin
As the bough of a tree bent from its usual course returns to its
old position as soon as the force by which it had yielded is removed; so do men
return to their old habits as soon as the motives
whether of interest or fear
which had influenced them
are done away. “Nature
” says Lord Bacon
“is often
hidden
sometimes overcome
seldom extinguished. Let not a man trust his
victory over his nature too far
for nature will lie buried a great time
and
yet revive upon the occasion or temptation; like as it was with AEsop’s damsel
turned from a cat to a woman
who sat very demurely at the board’s end till a
mouse ran before her.” The same philosopher gives the following admirable
caution:--“A man’s nature runs either to herbs or weeds; therefore let him
seasonably water the one and destroy the other.”
Need for watchfulness
None are so likely to maintain watchful guard over their hearts
and lives as those who know the comfort of living in near communion with God.
They feel their privilege and will fear losing it. They will dread failing from
their high estate
and marring their own comfort by bringing clouds between
themselves and Christ. He that goes on a journey with little money about him
takes little thought of danger
and cares little how late he travels. He
on
the contrary
that carries gold and jewels
will be a cautious traveller; he
will look well to his roads
his horses
and his company
and run no risks. The
fixed stars are those that tremble most. The man that most fully enjoys the
light of God’s countenance
will be a man tremblingly afraid of losing its
blessed consolations
and jealously fearful of doing anything to grieve the
Holy Ghost. (Bp. Ryle.)
──《The Biblical Illustrator》