_Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land._ MOSES’ DISCOURSE 1. In general it is the use and application of the foregoing history. It comes in by way of inference from it (Deuteron... [ Continue Reading ]
_But ye that did cleave unto the Lord your God._ THE BLESSEDNESS OF CLEAVING TO THE LORD Moses spoke like a father during the closing days of his life to those who “were then alive.” There is a reference here to the multitudes who had fallen in the desert because they did not cleave, etc. They car... [ Continue Reading ]
_Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding._ THE WISDOM OF BEING HOLY Moses, the man of God, having, by the appointment of heaven, delivered to the Israelites most excellent laws and commandments, pathetically exhorts them in this chapter to keep those laws and obs... [ Continue Reading ]
_And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and Judgments so righteous?_ A RIGHTEOUS BIBLE The appeal of Moses is the eternal appeal of the Bible. That is the appeal to common sense and to common honesty. The commandments are not described as eloquent, marvellous intellectual conceptions... [ Continue Reading ]
_Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen._ AN IMPORTANT ADMONITION I. In what respects we are bound to “take heed to” ourselves. 1. Take heed to your health. When this is gone, how tedious and tasteless is life! The wretched... [ Continue Reading ]
_That ye might do them._ KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICE I. God is the one great source both of truth and of authority. 1. The office of every true teacher is to unfold the revelation of the Eternal, whether in nature, in history, or in the written Word. 2. The office of every true lawgiver and ruler is... [ Continue Reading ]
_The Lord hath taken you._ , to be unto Him a people of inheritance. THE CHOSEN OF THE LORD I. The people alluded to. 1. The title they may claim. “The chosen of God.” 2. The mercy shown. “The Lord hath taken you.” 3. The practical result. “Hath brought you forth.” (1) A wonderful work. (2)... [ Continue Reading ]
_I must die in this land._ THE DEATH OF MOSES 1. Though a life may appear to us to receive the crown of failure, it may for all that be acceptable in God’s sight. No life on earth is complete, for its completion and fulness is destroyed by sin. Just as a man in things temporal often falls short of... [ Continue Reading ]
_Even a jealous God._ THE JEALOUSY OF GOD The assertion that such a quality as this belongs to God as one of the attributes of His moral character involves a number of deep and awful considerations; they seem to include the love as well as the holiness and justice of the Deity in one complex idea;... [ Continue Reading ]
_If from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God._ CONVERSIONS ENCOURAGED I. First, then, there is a time mentioned. “If from thence thou shalt seek the Lord. .. When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee even in the latter days.” 1. The time in which the Lord bids you... [ Continue Reading ]
_Ask now of the days that are past._ INQUIRY OF THE PAST 1. The past may refer to-- (1) General history. So in context. (2) Individual life. So we take it now. 2. Inquiry of the past. (1) Some do not think of the past. This arises from-- (A) Thoughtlessness. (B) Guilt. (C) A false philosoph... [ Continue Reading ]
_Unto thee it was shewed._ ALL NATIONAL AND INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY TO GOD PECULIARLY APPLICABLE TO BRITAIN, BOTH AS A CHURCH AND STATE I. That while all nations and all people are bound to serve the lord, and are accountable to Him for so doing or not, according to the opportunities they possess... [ Continue Reading ]
_Consider it in thine heart, that the Lord He is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath._ THE RELATION OF MAN TO GOD We must have God before we can understand Him. We must receive Him into our loving trust before we can make any advance in knowing what He is, what are His qualities and His... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thou shalt keep therefore His statutes, and His commandments,. .. that it may go well with thee._ A COMMAND AND A PROMISE I. Moses enjoins an obligation, which is really the highest privilege. 1. Israel’s relation to God. (1) In contrast with Gentile beliefs--polytheistic--each nation its own G... [ Continue Reading ]
_Then Moses severed three cities on this side Jordan, that the slayer might flee thither._ THE CITIES OF REFUGE The cities here mentioned were called the cities of refuge. They were appointed by the command of God Himself; and, after the Israelites had crossed the river Jordan and entered the land... [ Continue Reading ]