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Deuteronomy Chapter
Seventeen
Deuteronomy 17
Chapter Contents
All sacrifices to be perfect
Idolaters must be slain.
(1-7) Difficult controversies. (8-13) The choice of a king
His duties. (14-20)
Commentary on Deuteronomy 17:1-7
(Read Deuteronomy 17:1-7)
No creature which had any blemish was to be offered in
sacrifice to God. We are thus called to remember the perfect
pure
and
spotless sacrifice of Christ
and reminded to serve God with the best of our
abilities
time
and possession
or our pretended obedience will be hateful to
him. So great a punishment as death
so remarkable a death as stoning
must be
inflicted on the Jewish idolater. Let all who in our day set up idols in their
hearts
remember how God punished this crime in Israel.
Commentary on Deuteronomy 17:8-13
(Read Deuteronomy 17:8-13)
Courts of judgment were to be set up in every city.
Though their judgment had not the Divine authority of an oracle
it was the
judgment of wise
prudent
experienced men
and had the advantage of a Divine
promise.
Commentary on Deuteronomy 17:14-20
(Read Deuteronomy 17:14-20)
God himself was in a particular manner Israel's King; and
if they set another over them
it was necessary that he should choose the
person. Accordingly
when the people desired a king
they applied to Samuel
a
prophet of the Lord. In all cases
God's choice
if we can but know it
should
direct
determine
and overrule ours. Laws are given for the prince that should
be elected. He must carefully avoid every thing that would turn him from God
and religion. Riches
honours
and pleasures
are three great hinderances of
godliness
(the lusts of the flesh
the lusts of the eye
and the pride of
life
) especially to those in high stations; against these the king is here
warned. The king must carefully study the law of God
and make that his rule;
and having a copy of the Scriptures of his own writing
must read therein all
the days of his life. It is not enough to have Bibles
but we must use them
use them daily
as long as we live. Christ's scholars never learn above their
Bibles
but will have constant occasion for them
till they come to that world
where knowledge and love will be made perfect. The king's writing and reading
were as nothing
if he did not practise what he wrote and read. And those who
fear God and keep his commandments
will fare the better for it even in this
world.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Deuteronomy》
Deuteronomy 17
Verse 1
[1] Thou
shalt not sacrifice unto the LORD thy God any bullock
or sheep
wherein is
blemish
or any evilfavouredness: for that is an abomination unto the LORD thy
God.
Bullock or sheep —
Either greater or smaller sacrifices
all being comprehended under the two most
eminent kinds.
Verse 2
[2] If there be found among you
within any of thy gates which the LORD thy
God giveth thee
man or woman
that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the
LORD thy God
in transgressing his covenant
ln transressing his covenant — That is
in idolatry
as it is explained Deuteronomy 17:3
which is called a
transgression of God's covenant made with Israel
both because it is a breach
of their faith given to God and of that law which they covenanted to keep; and
because it is a dissolution of that matrimonial covenant with God
a renouncing
of God and his worship
and a chusing other Gods.
Verse 3
[3] And
hath gone and served other gods
and worshipped them
either the sun
or moon
or any of the host of heaven
which I have not commanded;
The host of heaven —
Those glorious creatures
which are to be admired as the wonderful works of
God
but not to be set up in God's stead. By condemning the most specious of
all idolaters
he intimates
how absurd a thing it is to worship stocks and
stones
the works of men's hands.
I have not commanded — That is
I have forbidden. Such negative expressions are emphatical.
Verse 6
[6] At
the mouth of two witnesses
or three witnesses
shall he that is worthy of
death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to
death.
Witnesses —
Namely
credible and competent witnesses. The Jews rejected the testimonies of
children
women
servants
familiar friends or enemies
persons of dissolute
lives or evil fame.
Verse 7
[7] The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death
and afterward the hands of all the people. So thou shalt put the evil away from
among you.
First upon him —
God thus ordered it
for the caution of witnesses
that
if they had thro'
malice or wrath accused him falsely
they might now be afraid to imbrue their
hands in innocent blood; and for the security and satisfaction of the people in
the execution of this punishment.
Verse 8
[8] If
there arise a matter too hard for thee in judgment
between blood and blood
between plea and plea
and between stroke and stroke
being matters of
controversy within thy gates: then shalt thou arise
and get thee up into the
place which the LORD thy God shall choose;
For thee — He
speaks to the inferior magistrates
who were erected in several cities. If thou
hast not skill to determine
between blood and blood - That is
in capital
causes.
Between plea and plea — In civil causes
about words or estates.
Between stroke and stroke — In criminal causes
concerning blows
or wounds inflicted by one man
upon another.
Matters of controversy — That is
such things being doubtful
and the magistrates divided in
their opinions about it.
Chuse —
Namely to set up his tabernacle
or temple there; because there was the abode
both of their sanhedrim
which was constituted of priests and civil
magistrates
and of the high-priests
who were to consult God by Urim
in
matters which could not be decided otherwise.
Verse 9
[9] And
thou shalt come unto the priests the Levites
and unto the judge that shall be
in those days
and enquire; and they shall shew thee the sentence of judgment:
Unto the priests —
That is
unto the great council
which consisted chiefly of the priests and
Levites
as being the best expositors of the laws of God
by which all those
controversies were to be decided. And the high-priest was commonly one of that
number
understood here under the priests
whereof be was the chief.
The judge —
Probably the high-priest
to whom it belonged to determine
some at least
of
those controversies
and to expound the law of God. And he may be distinctly
named
tho' he be one of the priests
because of his eminency
and to shew that
amongst the priests
he especially was to be consulted in such cases.
The sentence of judgment — Heb. The word
or matter of judgement
that is
the true state of the
cause
and what judgment or sentence ought to be given in it.
Verse 10
[10] And
thou shalt do according to the sentence
which they of that place which the
LORD shall choose shall shew thee; and thou shalt observe to do according to
all that they inform thee:
Thou —
Thou shalt pass sentence: he speaks to the inferior magistrates; who were to
give sentence
and came hither to be advised about it.
Verse 11
[11]
According to the sentence of the law which they shall teach thee
and according
to the judgment which they shall tell thee
thou shalt do: thou shalt not
decline from the sentence which they shall shew thee
to the right hand
nor to
the left.
Thou shalt do — In
particular suits between man and man
altho' the judge be hereby confined to
his rule in giving the sentence
yet it seems but fit and reasonable that
people should be bound simply to acquiesce in the sentence of their last and
highest judge
or else there would have been no end of strife.
Verse 12
[12] And
the man that will do presumptuously
and will not hearken unto the priest that
standeth to minister there before the LORD thy God
or unto the judge
even
that man shall die: and thou shalt put away the evil from Israel.
Do presumptuously —
That will proudly and obstinately oppose the sentence given against him.
The evil —
The evil thing
that scandal
that pernicious example.
Verse 13
[13] And
all the people shall hear
and fear
and do no more presumptuously.
When thou shalt — He
only foresees and foretells what they would do
but doth not approve of it. Yea
when they did this thing for this very reason
he declares his utter dislike of
it
1 Samuel 8:7.
Verse 15
[15] Thou
shalt in any wise set him king over thee
whom the LORD thy God shall choose:
one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not set
a stranger over thee
which is not thy brother.
Thy God shall chuse —
Approve of
or appoint. So it was in Saul and David. God reserved to himself
the nomination both of the family
and of the person.
Thy brethren — Of
the same nation and religion; because such a person was most likely to maintain
true religion
and to rule with righteousness
gentleness
and kindness to his
subjects; and that he might be a fit type of Christ their supreme king
who was
to be one of their brethren.
Verse 16
[16] But
he shall not multiply horses to himself
nor cause the people to return to
Egypt
to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as the LORD hath
said unto you
Ye shall henceforth return no more that way.
He shall not multiply horses — Tho' he might have horses for his own use
yet he was not to have many
horses for his officers and guard
much less for war
lest he should trust in
them. The multiplying horses is also forbidden
lest it should raise too great
a correspondence with Egypt which furnished Canaan with them.
The Lord hath said —
The Lord hath now said to me
and I by his command declare it to you.
Ye shall no more return that way — Into Egypt
lest ye be again infected with her idolatries.
Verse 17
[17]
Neither shall he multiply wives to himself
that his heart turn not away:
neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.
Turn away —
From God and his law.
Verse 18
[18] And
it shall be
when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom
that he shall
write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests
the Levites:
He shall write —
With his own hand
as the Jews say.
Out of that —
Out of the original
which was carefully kept by the priests in the sanctuary
that it might be a perfect copy
and that it might have the greater influence
upon him
coming to him as from the hand and presence of God.
Verse 19
[19] And
it shall be with him
and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that
he may learn to fear the LORD his God
to keep all the words of this law and
these statutes
to do them:
All the days of his life — 'Tis not enough to have Bibles
but we must use them
yea
use them
daily. Our souls must have constant meals of that manna
which if well
digested
will afford them true nourishment and strength.
Verse 20
[20] That
his heart be not lifted up above his brethren
and that he turn not aside from
the commandment
to the right hand
or to the left: to the end that he may
prolong his days in his kingdom
he
and his children
in the midst of Israel.
If his heart be not lifted up — He intimates
that the scriptures diligently read
are a powerful means
to keep him humble
because they shew him in that
tho' a king
he is subject
to an higher monarch
to whom he must give an account of all his
administrations
and receive from him his sentence agreeable to their quality
which is sufficient to abate the pride of the haughtiest person in the world.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Deuteronomy》
17 Chapter 17
Verses 9-14
Thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those
nations.
Heathen abominations avoided
One reason to shun the practices of idolatry springs from the
nature of the evils themselves.
1. They are cruel. Children “pass through the fire.” “Cruelty is one
of the highest scandals to piety
” says Seeker. “The dark places of the earth
are full of the habitations of cruelty--homesteads of violence” (Psalms 74:20).
2. They are enticing. Divination
enchanter
and witch have their
spells. Idolatry
“a shameful creed of craft and cruelty
” delights in what
fills the sensuous imagination. “Who hath bewitched (fascinated) you
that ye
should not obey the truths.” (Galatians 3:1.)
3. They are defiling “abominations.” Paintings and sculptures
laws
and legends
reveal the awful corruptions of the heathen world.
4. They are destructive. “Because of these abominations the Lord doth
drive them out.” Sin drives away from God here and from heaven hereafter. The
fruit of idolatry and superstitions is death (Leviticus 20:23). (J. Wolfendale.)
That useth divination.
Magical arts and divination
1. Different names are here assigned to persons dealing in the arts
of magic. “One that useth divination”; professing to gain power and knowledge
more than human. “One that practiseth augury” or covert arts. “An enchanter”:
the original suggesting the serpent
and implying the practice of charming
serpent
yet always connected with the arts of divination. “A sorcerer”: the Hebrew
word signifying one who mutters incantations
but only in the bad sense of
seeking help from others than God. “A charmer”: a word which suggests binding
as with the spell of enchantment. “A consulter with a familiar spirit”: the
English phrase signifies spirits who stand in such a relation to the performer
that they come at his call. Of course it is pretended that these spirits
are other and greater than human. The original Hebrew (Ob) comes down to us in
the African “Obe-man
” who still follows the same profession
by means of
similar arts. “A wizard” is one who claims superhuman wisdom
the old English
accurately translating the Hebrew; the distinctively wise one. The word
is restricted in usage to superior wisdom gained by the arts of magic. “A
necromancer”: precisely the spiritist of modern times
or rather of all time
who claims to have communion with the spirits of dead men.
2. This analysis of the original words may aid toward some just
conception of the associated ideas which cluster round the magic arts of
the Hebrew age. Their name and their arts are legion. Think of so many
classes--professions--of men and women naturally shrewd
sharp
cunning;
practising upon the superstitions and fears of the million; working upon their
imagination
haunting them with the dread of unknown powers
bringing up to
them ghosts from the invisible world
claiming to give auguries of the future
playing in every way upon their fears and hopes
to extort their money or to
make sport of their fears or to gratify their own or others’ malice. A system
so near akin in spirit and influence to idolatry
which so thoroughly displaces
God from the hopes and fears of men
and which seeks so successfully to install
these horrible superstitions in His place--a system
which perverts the powers
of the world to come to subserve ungodliness
and which practically rules out
the blessed God from the sphere of men’s homage
fears
and hopes--this system
has always been worked by wicked and never by good men
has always subserved
all
iniquity
but piety and morality never--this has been a master-stroke of
Satan’s policy
and one of the most palpable fields of his triumph through all
the ages. (H. Cowles
D. D.)
The Lord thy God hath not
suffered thee so to do.--
The deterring power of Divine grace
It is recognised as a principle amongst legislators and
magistrates
that the great end of punishment is the prevention of crime. And
there is no doubt that
up to a certain point
this object is gained. The
public execution will strike terror into many
though numbers
again
more
hardened in wickedness
will depart from the spectacle
and perhaps commit the
very crime for which they have just seen a fellow creature die. It is not
however
that they actually set at nought the punishment; it is rather that
there are always so many chances of escape
the men transgress in the hope that
they shall elude detection
The fearfulness of a threatening
even though
combined with the certainty of execution
will not always
nor even commonly
deter men from violating the commandments of God. There is no need for having
recourse to imagination for the destruction of a people on account of their
wickedness
and their inheritance passing into the possession of others. This
is only what actually occurred in the instance of the land of Canaan
whose
inhabitants were exterminated because of their crimes
and it was then handed
over to a new population. There was here what might strictly be called a public
execution. There was no giving a secret commission to the angel of death to
move through the doomed ranks
and lay them low; which might perhaps have left
it doubtful whether or not there had been any judicial interference; but the
Israelites were put visibly into the place of public executioners
being
charged with the terrible commission--“Thou shalt smite them
and utterly
destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them
nor show mercy unto them.”
They were sent expressly to punish a guilty and condemned population. And the
first memorable thing
if you examine the Scriptural record
is that God
Himself placed no dependence on the influence and effect of the public
execution; for His Word is full of warning to the Israelites
that they would
fall under the like condemnation if they imitated the practices of those whom
they destroyed. So far from its being reckoned on as an insupposable or even an
improbable thing
that they who had been commissioned to slay multitudes on
account of their sin would themselves practise the sin so fearfully and openly
visited
there is the frequent repetition of energetic denunciations of that
sin; and Moses is directed to urge the Israelites
with all earnestness and
affection
to take heed that they provoke not the Lord by following the example
of their predecessors in the land. You must be further aware
that so far from
having been unnecessary
the warning actually failed in deterring the
Israelites from the accursed practices; so that it was not against improbable
danger that Moses directed his parting admonitions. For when the Israelites had
destroyed the Canaanites
and taken possession of their land
they quickly gave
in to the very abominations which had been visited with all the fearfulness of
a public execution. You read of them in the earliest period of their settlement--“They
forsook the Lord
and served Baal and Ashtaroth.” And their whole history
up
to the time when God was provoked to let loose against them the power of the
Assyrian
is a record of rebellion under those special and flagrant forms which
had marked the guilty career of the tribes which had perished by their sword.
Where
then
was the supposed influence of a public execution? What ground is
there for the imagination
that even were the Almighty visibly to interfere
and in His character of moral Governor of the universe to anticipate in certain
cases those judgments which shall hereafter be poured out on the impenitent
there would be wrought any permanent effect on the great mass of men?--as
though the thing wanted in order to repress the actings of unrighteousness were
only a more open and express demonstration that punishment is to follow upon
sin. And now you may be disposed to ask with what view we have endeavoured to
show
that even what might be called a public execution
the present visible
descent of the vengeance of God on the perpetrators of certain sins
would
probably be ineffectual in deterring others from the practice of those
sins--ineffectual even in regard of such persons as had the best means of
knowing that the infliction was the direct and judicial consequence of the
crime. We have but one object; not that of merely presenting a severe and
repulsive picture of the depravity of our nature
but that of shutting you up
to the conviction of the necessity
the indispensableness of the Divine grace
in order to your being withheld from the commission of sin. We would withdraw
you
if we could
from all reliance on anything but the immediate workings of
the Spirit of God
when the matter in question is the being able to resist this
or that temptation
or to keep oneself undefiled by this or that wickedness. We
would teach you
however harsh the teaching may sound
that there is no
wickedness of which you are not capable
and that if you think yourselves
secure against a sin just because the sin may be held in abhorrence
or because
you may be thoroughly aware of God’s purpose of visiting it with extraordinary
vengeance
you display a confidence in your own resolution and strength which
as savouring of pride
can only be expected to issue in defeat. This is
virtually the doctrine of our text. For you will perceive that God ascribes it
wholly to Himself that the Israelites were preserved from the abominations of
the heathen. “These nations hearkened unto observers of times
and unto
diviners; but as for thee
the Lord thy God hath not suffered thee so to do.”
They would have been just as bad had they been left to themselves; but God had
not suffered them to fall into such flagrant transgression. He had so acted
upon them by His grace as to preserve them from sins
of which they had the
seeds in their hearts
just as much as others
in whom those seeds were allowed
to bring forth their fruits. And though the text speaks only of the past
making mention of preventing grace as having hitherto wrought upon the
Israelites
it is clearly implied in the fact of a remonstrance against any
future imitation of the heathen
that there would be no security for them
except in their being still withheld by the influences of God’s Spirit. (H.
Melvill
B. D.)
Verse 16
Ye shall henceforth return no more that way.
Never again
Touching and sad is the last look of the emigrant leaving his old
home and the white cliffs of his native land. Some partings have in them more
than sorrow. Never again! is a mournful utterance. It has in it warning
admonition
and counsel.
1. The ways of youth are not to be trodden by us again. We are ever
entering into new paths. Personality is ever changing
while individual
identity remains the same.
2. The ways of possible improvement in the past cannot be trodden
again. The capabilities of the organ are limited by its compass and the number
of its stops. But within the necessary limits what marvellous varieties of
music can be brought out of it! Our life
with measured capacities
is the
instrument
and we the players. In the exercise of responsible will we can
bring out heavenly harmonies
or unearthly discords. How the great player
wishes the audience could come back and hear what he feels he can do now. But
the chance is gone. Nothing can be done with the past.
3. If the past cannot be lived over again
it is our duty to make the
best of our present. There is much to be done for ourselves and others. (Preacher’s
Monthly.)
Once for all
If I can pass this way no more
then--
I. I cannot do
what I then missed doing.
1. What thought I of myself?
2. Did I seek God’s way or my own?
II. I cannot undo
what I have done. What manner of tracks did I leave in the way?
1. Oaths.
2. Drunkenness.
3. Temptations to others to do wrong.
III. In view of
this
how should i walk?
1. Confessing my past sins.
2. Repenting of
and forsaking them.
3. Exercising a cheerful faith.
4. Doing good to all men as opportunity offers.
Lessons:
1. Sad and solemn things are in the past.
2. Eternal things are before us. (B. Knepper.)
Never this way again
We are told that at one of those splendid pageants in Berlin
not
long ago
the wife of the English ambassador unfortunately unfastened the
necklace she was wearing
and lost a costly pearl somewhere in the roadway.
Perhaps it might have been regained if a serious search had been in order at
such a time. But the grand procession must hurry along
and a lost place in the
rank was of more account than a lost pearl. They did not return by the same
way. We may be in equal peril if an accident should occur in this ceaseless
rush of our years. An admonition in it for the close of the year.
I. It is now a
most significant time for the taking of spiritual stock. Most religious people
would be glad to know just where they are
and how the balance stands. It is
well to have a clearing out
even if one is afraid he may be suffocated with
the lifted dust.
II. Then
again
this is a good time for us to give over lackadaisical complainings about short
chances in the past. You will not have to take the same chances again. “Ye
shall henceforth return no more by that way” of youth. But does anybody really
want to do that? Victor Hugo confessed to his close friends that the most
disagreeable advance in age to him had been that from thirty-nine to forty.
“But
” said his companion
“I should think it a great deal brighter to be forty
than fifty.” “Not at all
” replied Hugo
gaily; “forty years is the old age of youth
while fifty is the youth of old age.” Ah
just think how many fine chances yet
wait for a brave heart in the beautiful future which we hope to enter on after
next New Year’s day!
III. It is best for
us now
also
to keep a clear look out for what is still ahead. Almost all of
us have some past worth looking over. But the glory of every true life is in
the time to come. God has not yet exhausted Himself in apocalypses of splendid
radiance to His waiting people. There certainly is
in the distance
that which
“eye hath not seen nor ear heard.” And wise men
while the years chime on
might well think of readiness to make the great journey and meet the
revelations.
IV. Once more; by
this time we ought to learn to estimate results and forget processes. We do
really respect hills that we have climbed painfully over; but it awakes no
emotion in others when we keep rehearsing the steps which we took
and the
snows we met
and the winds that we resisted. Wiser is it always to let the
dead past bury its dead out of sight. “Ye shall henceforth return no more that
way”; and to some the past year has been a year of conflict; and who wants to
go over all that again? Please remember
moments of success are not always
moments of happiness; much depends on what the success has cost. “Ye shall
henceforth return no more that way”; to some the past year has been one of
self-discipline. How much it costs just to make a slender progress in Divine
things!
V. Finally
this
is the time in which to inquire after work yet left unfinished. We should bring
our unfulfilled resolutions to God
and ask Him to grant us time to complete
them. (C. S. Robinson
D. D.)
The irrevocable past; or
no going back
I. “Ye shall
henceforth return no more that way
” to undo evil. It matters not how black may
have been your deed
nor how terrible soever its burden
it must stand. It
cannot be undone. It is man’s dread prerogative to do; but he cannot undo. In
the drift of a far-off period in the geological ages
long before Adam was
created
we find the feet marks of gigantic fowls. The mud
once soft
hardened
into rock
and became the permanent record of life and activity now extinct
from the globe. The effects of human action are as unchangeable. This it is
that makes sin so terrible: when it has gone forth we cannot recall it. Sin is
a monument of everlasting shame. A single careless miner
by a momentary act of
folly
can do what can never be undone
and in an instant fill a land with
sorrow
and hundreds of homes with the tears of widows and orphans. The
shocking gap in human life and relationship nothing can repair. Reparation may
be effected only within narrow limits; and then the wrong done cannot in the
most trivial instance be wholly undone.
II. “Ye shall
henceforth return no more that way
” to make imperfect good better. The
merchant who has been slothful
inattentive
cannot live over again the months
that are gone. The transactions and figures in his books are unalterable. He
cannot transport industry into past idleness
nor introduce a single item of
gain into past losses. Not a stroke of work is possible in time that is over
not a sixpence of profit can be added to the accounts which are closed. It is
the same thing with the student. When his examinations are over
if his session
has been indolent
unsuccessful
he cannot improve the work which has been
unsatisfactorily performed. He may be grieved and ashamed that his time has
been so little devoted to his vocation. But the insufficiency of the past is
beyond his reach. The culture of the field and the vineyard exhibits the same
law. If there has been neglect or inadequate tillage
when harvest time arrives
there is no going back to re-sow or re-tend. There must be scanty crops
dwindled grain and fruit
and only half-filled ears and half-laden boughs.
These laws have their fulfilment in the domain of spiritual life. In the day of
reckoning you cannot number profits where there have been no gains
nor number
victories
if no achievements have been won. The popular proverb says
“It is
never too late to mend.” True
it is never too late to mend in the present
but
always too late to mend in the past. The path of time gone by is closed.
III. “Ye shall
henceforth return no more that way
” to use neglected opportunity. Christian
thou hast had thine opportunities. Perhaps
when thou wert blind--blinded by
thy tears--thy opportunities were the nearest to thee. The Lord
it may be
laid Himself out with parental tenderness to purify thee by disappointment
crosses
and suffering. Yet thou sawest no bright avenues crossing the path of
thy shade
and conducting to beauty and peace. Has seed been put into thy hand
and hast thou not sown it? Has fruit hung within thy reach
and hast thou not
plucked it? Has blessing been committed to thy solemn trust
and hast thou not
scattered it? To all neglecters
opportunity is a narrowing path
which at
length vanishes in trackless wilds; to the obedient
it is an ever-expanding
ascending
and illumined career
and into it all courses run which lead to
glory
honour
and immortality. Every precious opportunity of each departed
year is now dead to thee
dead to thine effort and industry.
IV. “Ye shall
henceforth return no more that way
” to encounter past trial
guilt
and
suffering. Do manifold imperfection and unworthiness bow thee down? Have they
cost thee tears? Are they the burden of thy prayers? Dost thou daily struggle
for the mastery of self
and sin
and Satan; and yet do thy besetments
discourage thee? In the years now behind thee
has the firmament of thy soul
often been dull and sunless
and even louring and tempestuous? Thou wilt never
tread that path any more. New ground is before thee
and every step is towards
the light. Conclusion:
1. The peculiar character of the Gospel is due to the fact that we
cannot undo the past. Sin remains. Moral laws are immutable in their
foundations
and their penalties are irrepealable. But the Lord Jesus has
effected a saving work. He stands between the sinner and the woe that pursues
him. He fulfils
honours
and satisfies broken laws
and covers the defenceless
head of the contrite
and turns aside the merited destruction which was
sweeping towards him.
2. Since what is done cannot by you be undone
are you to sit down
and weep the tears of despair? My message is salvation
but not salvation which
you can effect in time that is gone. The great lesson is
Act in the present.
3. Let the sincere Christian be comforted. The Lord has borne your
sins. Your holy life is watched and guarded by His sheltering love. Ponder what
you have done. Throw away no lessons which it offers. Be true to your past
experience and conviction. But brood not over bygone evil.
4. Let us be up and doing; for all things pure and beautiful sweep
along the upward groove of progress to perfection. The movement of every world
and sun and system is onward.
5. In a few more breaths thy life may close. The Lord may be saying
with the most literal emphasis
“Ye shall henceforth return no more that
way”--“no more” the way to business
“no more” the way to the house of thy
friend
“no more” the way to the church
“no more” the way to thy family and
home
“no more” the way from the grave whither thou thyself shalt have been
carried. (H. Batchelor.)
The past irrevocable
I. I can conceive
that to some of us there may be relief and even comfort in this assurance. The
experiences through which we have come may have been such that we cannot wish
for their renewal. The path over which we have passed may have been so rough
and steep and dangerous that we cannot contemplate traversing it again without
a shudder. When I was in Chamounix
last summer
a friend who had crossed the
glacier and come down by the “Mauvais Pas
” on which the iron railing put for
the safety of travellers had parted from its fastenings in his grasp
assured
me that be would not go through that experience again for all that earth could
give. And there may be not a few among us who feel just in the same way
concerning some chapters in our last year’s life. We are
perhaps
thankful to
be through them
but we do not wish to repeat them. We feel regarding them as
one does who has come safely out of a terrible railway accident
or who sets
his foot on land after a dangerous and tempestuous voyage. We are glad that we
have escaped
but
even although we should escape another time
we do not
desire to be again in the same peril. Some
too
may have had such a time of
labour and anxiety that they are glad to think that it is now behind them and
not to be renewed. And some there are who have had such a fierce fight with
temptation
and have come out of it
victorious indeed
yet with such
exhaustion that they cannot but rejoice in the thought that now it is all
behind them in “the irrevocable past.” They are glad for the result
but they
would not willingly go back into the agony of the conflict. So this text
taken
as an assurance
that we cannot re-live our lives
or go again through the
experiences of the past
has in it an element of comfort. It is a relief to
know that some things are over and done with.
II. But there is
another side to the subject
and that is full of solemnity
not unattended with
sorrow
For in the past there are many things which now we wish had been
otherwise. Our afterthought has shown us much to which our forethought was
blind; but we cannot alter anything now. The past is always seen more correctly
after it has become the past than it was when it was present. Lost
opportunities cannot be recalled
and no cement of human device can mend a
broken vow. Ah! what a sad reflection have we here! You cannot recall the
profane word; you cannot wipe out the impure act; you cannot undo the sins you
have committed. What then? What is to be done with it? I answer
that if we
cannot cancel it
we can confess the evil that is in it
and seek through Jesus
Christ forgiveness for that. If we please
we can obtain
through the great
atonement
acceptance with God notwithstanding our sins. The sting of our guilt
may be extracted
and the past may cease to be a clog upon our spiritual
progress.
III. And then
turning
the thought which the words of my text express
we may make it full of
admonition to ourselves for the future. We are about to enter upon a path in
which there will be no possibility of retracing our steps; let us be very
careful
therefore
where we plant our feet. We have only once to live;
therefore let us live to purpose. The day that dawned this morning will never
dawn again. So let us seize every moment as it comes
and use it as we shall
wish we had done when we look back upon it from eternity. Remember
the year
does not come to you all at once
in twelve months at a time
nor even in
twelve distinct installments of a month each; no
nor yet in three hundred and
sixty-five separate portions of a day apiece: but in individual moments. Do
not
therefore
lose the moments in thinking that you will secure the year; but
consider that the year is to be redeemed by the consecration of each moment to
the Lord Jesus. Fill every day with His service. (W. M. Taylor
D. D.)
Verse 18-19
He shall read therein.
How we may read the Scriptures with most spiritual profit
The Holy Scripture is
as Austin saith
a golden epistle sent to
us from God. This is to be read diligently. “Ignorance” of Scripture is “the
mother of” error
not “devotion.” “Ye do err
not knowing the Scriptures” (Matthew 22:29). We are commanded to
“search the Scriptures” (John 5:39). The Greek word signifies to
search as for a vein of silver. How diligently doth a child read over his
father’s will and testament
and a citizen peruse his charter! With the like
diligence should we read God’s Word
which is our Magna Charta for heaven. It
is a mercy the Bible is not prohibited. Trajan
the emperor
forbade the Jews
to read in the book of the law. But there is no danger of touching this tree of
Holy Scriptures; if we do not eat of this tree of knowledge we shall surely
die.
I. Remove those
things which will hinder your profiting.
1. Remove the love of every sin. The body cannot thrive in a fever;
nor can the soul under the feverish heat of lust.
2. Take heed of the thorns which will choke the Word read. A covetous
man is a pluralist; he hath such diversity of secular employments
that he can
scarce find time to read; or if he doth
what solecisms doth he commit in
reading! While his eye is upon the Bible
his heart is upon the world; it is
not the writings of the apostles he is so much taken with
as the writings in
his account book. Is this man likely to profit? You may as soon extract oils
and syrups out of a flint
as he any real benefit out of Scripture.
3. Take heed of jesting with Scripture. This is playing with fire.
II. Prepare your
hearts to the reading of the Word. The heart is an instrument that needs
putting in tune. This preparation to reading consists in two things--
1. In summoning our thoughts together to attend that solemn work we
are going about. The thoughts are stragglers; therefore rally them together.
2. In purging out those unclean affections which do indispose us to
reading. Many come rashly to the reading of the Word; and no wonder
if they
come without preparation
that they go away without profit.
III. Read the
scripture with reverence. Think every line you read God is speaking to you.
When Ehud told Eglon he had a message to him from God
he arose from his throne
(Judges 3:20). The Word written is a
message to us from Jehovah; with what veneration should we receive it!
IV. Read the books
of scripture in order. Though occurrences may sometimes divert our method
yet
for a constant course it is best to observe an order in reading. Order is a
help to memory: we do not begin to read a friend’s letter in the middle.
V. Get a right
understanding of Scripture (Psalms 119:73). If the Word shoot above
our head
it can never hit our heart.
VI. Read the Word
with seriousness. Well may we be serious if we consider the importance of those
truths which are bound up in this sacred volume. “It is not a vain thing for
you
because it is your life” (chap. 32:47). If a letter were to be broken open
and read
wherein a man’s whole estate were concerned
how serious would he be
in reading of it! In the Scripture our salvation is concerned; it treats of the
love of Christ
a serious subject (Titus 3:4).
VII. Labour to
remember what you read. The memory should be like the chest in the ark
where
the law was put. Some can better remember a piece of news than a line of
Scripture; their memories are like those ponds where the frogs live
but the
fish die.
VIII. Meditate upon
what you read. Meditation is the bellows of the affections: “While I was musing
the fire burned” (Psalms 39:3). The reason we come away so
cold from reading the Word is
because we do not warm ourselves at the fire of
meditation.
IX. Come to the
reading of Scripture with humble hearts. An arrogant person disdains the
counsels of the Word
and hates the reproofs; is he likely to profit? “God
giveth grace unto the humble” (James 4:6). The most eminent saints have
been but of low stature in their own eyes; like the sun in the zenith
they
showed least when they were at the highest.
X. Give credence
to the Word written. Believe it to be of God; see the name of God in every
line. The Romans
that they might gain credit to their laws
reported that they
were inspired by the gods at Rome. Believe the Scripture to be “Divinely
inspired.” Whence should the Scripture come
if not from God?
1. Sinners could not be the authors of Scripture. Would they indite
such holy lines? or inveigh so fiercely against those sins which they love?
2. Saints could not be the authors of Scripture. How could it stand
with their sanctity to counterfeit God’s name
and put “Thus saith the Lord” to
a book of their own devising?
3. Angels could not be the authors of Scripture. What angel in heaven
durst personate God
and say
“I am the Lord”? Believe the pedigree of
Scripture to be sacred
and to come from the “Father of lights.”
XI. Highly prize
the Scriptures (Psalms 119:72). St. Gregory calls the
Bible “the heart and soul of God.” It is the library of the Holy Ghost. It is
the compass by which the rudder of our wheel is to be steered; it is the field
in which Christ
the Pearl of price
is hid; it is a rock of diamonds; it is a
sacred “eye-salve”; it mends their eyes that look upon it; it is a spiritual
optic-glass in which the glory of God is resplendent; it is the “universal
medicine” for the soul.
XII. Get an ardent
love to the word. Prizing relates to judgment
love to the affections.
“Consider how I love Thy precepts” (Psalms 119:159; Romans 7:22). He is likely to grow rich
who delights in his trade; “a lover of learning will be a scholar.” St. Austin
tells us
before his conversion he took no pleasure in the Scriptures
but
afterwards they were his “chaste delights.”
XIII. Come to the
reading of the Word with honest hearts.
1. Willing to know the whole counsel of God.
2. Desirous of being made better by it.
XIV. Learn to apply
scripture. Take every word as spoken to yourselves.
XV. Observe the
preceptive part of the Word
as well as the permissive. Such as east their eye
upon the promise
with a neglect of the command
are not edified by Scripture;
they look more after comfort than duty. The body may be swelled with wind as
well as flesh: a man may be filled with false comfort
as well as that which is
genuine and real.
XVI. Let your
thoughts dwell upon the most material passages of Scripture. The bee fastens on
those flowers where she may suck most sweetness. Though the whole contexture of
Scripture is excellent
yet some parts of it may have a greater emphasis
and
be more quick and pungent.
XVII. Compare
yourselves with the word. See how the Scripture and your hearts agree
how your
dial goes with this sun. Are your hearts
as it were
a transcript of
Scripture? Is the Word copied out into your hearts?
XVIII. Take special
notice of those scriptures which speak to your particular case. Were a
consumptive person to read Galen or Hippocrates
he would chiefly observe what
they writ about a consumption. Great regard is to be had to those paragraphs of
Scripture which are most apposite to one’s present case. I shall instance only
in three cases--
1. Affliction.
2. Desertion.
3. Sin.
XIX. Take special
notice of the examples in scripture. Make the examples of others living sermons
to you.
1. Observe the examples of God’s judgments upon sinners. They have
been hanged up in chains in terrorem.
2. Observe the examples of God’s mercy to saints. Jeremy
was
preserved in the dungeon
the three children in the furnace
Daniel in the
lions den. These examples are props to faith
spurs to holiness.
XX. Leave not off
reading in the bible till you find your hearts warmed.
XXI. Set upon the
practice of what you read. “I have done Thy commandments” (Psalms 119:166). A student in physic doth
not satisfy himself to read over a system or body of physic
but he falls upon
practising physic: the life-blood of religion lies in the practical part. So
in the text: “He shall read” in the book of the law “all the days of his life;
that he may learn to keep all the words of this law and these statutes
to do
them.” Christians should be walking Bibles.
XXII. Make use of
Christ’s prophetical office. He is “the Lion” of the tribe of Judah
” to whom
it is given “to open the book” of God
“and to loose the seven seals thereof (Revelation 5:5). Christ doth so teach as
He doth quicken.
XXIII. Tread often
upon the threshold of the sanctuary. Ministers are God’s interpreters; it is
their work to expound dark places of Scripture. We read of “pitchers
and lamps
within the pitchers” (Judges 7:16). Ministers are “earthen”
pitchers (2 Corinthians 4:7). But these
pitchers have lamps within them
to light souls in the dark.
XXIV. Pray that God
will make you profit. “I am the Lord thy God
which teacheth thee to profit” (Isaiah 48:17). Make David’s prayer: “Open
Thou mine eyes
that I may behold wondrous things out of Thy law” (Psalms 119:18). Pray to God to take off
the veil on the Scripture
that you may understand it; and the veil on your
heart
that you may believe it. Pray that God will not only give you His Word
as a rule of holiness
but His grace as a principle of holiness. I shall
conclude all with two corollaries--
1. Content not yourselves with the bare reading of Scripture
but
labour to find some spiritual increment and profit. Get the Word transcribed
into your hearts: “The law of his God is in his heart” (Psalms 37:31). Never leave till you are
assimilated into the Word. Such as profit by reading of the Book of God are the
best Christians alive; they answer God’s cost
they credit religion
they save
their souls.
2. You who have profited by reading the Holy Scriptures
adore God’s
distinguishing grace. (T. Watson
M. A.)
──《The Biblical Illustrator》