_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 ]