Commentary on the Holy Bible

it a reproach to have a Jew for a slave, they had become so despicable to all mankind. When Jerusalem was taken by Titus, many of the captives, which were above seventeen years of age, were sent into the works in Egypt. See Josephus, Antiq.,b. xii.,c. 1, 2, War, b. vi., c. 9, s. 2; and above all, see Bp. Newton's Dissertations on the Prophecies.

The first verse of the next chapter, in some of the most correct Hebrew Bibles, makes the 69 th of this; and very properly, as the second verse of the following chapter begins a new subject.

This is an astonishing chapter: in it are prophecies delivered more than 3,000 years ago, and now fulfilling.

O God, how immense is thy wisdom, and how profound thy counsels I To thee alone are knoAAm all thy works from the beginning to the end. What an irrefragable proof does this chapter, compared with the past and present state of the Jewish people, afibrd of the truth and Divine origin of the Pentateuch '

A recapitulation of God's gracious dealings icith Israel, 1-8. An exhortation to obedience, and to enter into covenant with their God, that they and their posterity may be established in the good land, 9—15. They are to remember the abominations of Egypt, and to avoid them, 16, 17. He who hardens his heart, when he hears these curses, shall be utterly consumed, 18—21. Their posterity shall be astonished at the desolations that shall fall upon them, 22, 23; shall inquire the reason, and shall be informed that the Lord has done thus to them because of their disobedience and idolatry, 24—28. A caution against prying too curiously into the secrets of the Divine providence, and to be contented with what God has revealed, 29.

A. M. 2oo3. 'I'Mii^M:. are the words of the i beside * tlie covenant which he a.m. 2553.

the children of Israel, in the land of Moab, Israel, and said unto them, '' Ye have seen all

Verse 1. These are the words of the covenant] This some of the most correct copies of the Hebrew Bible.

verse seems properly to belong to the preceding chap- ' Commanded Moses to make] mn'? lichroth, to cut, ter, as a widely different subject is taken up at ver. 2 i alluding to the covenant sacrifice which was offered

A. M. 2553. that the Lord did before your An. Ex. isr. 40. eyes in the land of Egypt unto!!^!!^ Pharaoh, and unto all his ser-

9 ^ Keep therefore the words a. m. 2553 of this covenant, and do them, An.Ex.itrk

3 •= The great temptations which thine eyes have seen, the signs, and those great miracles:

4 Yet '^ the Lord hath not given you a heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day.

5 « And I have led you forty years in the wilderness: ^ your clothes are not waxen old upon you, and thy shoe is not waxen old upon ihy foot.

6 ^ Ye have not eaten bread, neither have ye drunk wine or strong drink: that ye might know that I am the Lord your God.

7 And when ye came unto this place, ^ Sihon the king of Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, came out against us unto battle, and we smote them:

8 And we took their land, and ' gave it for an inheritance unto the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to the half tribe of Manasseh.

Beside the covenant which he made — in Horeb.] What is mentioned here is an additional institution to the temvords given on Horeb; and the curses denounced here are different from those denounced against the transgressors of the decalogue.

Verse 4. The Lord hath not given you a heart, c^c] Some critics read this verse interrogatively: And hath not God given you a heart, &c.? because they suppose that God could not reprehend them for the nonperformance of a duty, when he had neither given them a mind to perceive the obligation of it, nor strength to perform it, had that obligation been known. Though this is strictly just, yet there is no need for the interrogation, as the words only imply that they had not such a heart, &c., not because God had not given them all the means of knowledge, and helps of his grace and Spirit, which were necessary; but they had not made a faithful use of their advantages, and therefore they had not that wise, loving, and obedient heart which they otherwise might have had. If they had had such a heart, it would have been God's gift, for he is the author of all good; and that they had not such a heart was a proof that they had grieved his Spirit, and abused the grace which he had afforded them to produce that gracious change, the want of which is here deplored. Hence God himself is represented as grieved because they were unchanged and disobedient: " 0 that there were such a heart in them, that they would fear me,

10 Ye stand this day all of you before the Lord your God; your captains of your tribes your elders, and your officers, with all the men of Israel,

1 1 Your httle ones, your wives, and thy stranger that is in thy camp, from "'the hewer of thy wood unto the drawer of thy water:

1 2 That thou shouldest "^ enter into -ove nant with the Lord thy God, and ° into his oath, which the Lord thy God maketh with thee this day:

1 3 That he may p establish thee to-day for a people unto himself, and that he may be unto thee a God, ^as he hath said unto thee, and ■■ as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, to Abra ham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.

1 4 Neither with you only ^ do I make this covenant and this oath;

and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them and with their children for ever!" See chap. v. 29, and the note there.

Verse 6. Ye have not eaten bread, cfc.] That is, ye have not been supported in an ordinary providential way; I have been continually working miracles for you, that ye might know that I am the Lord. Thus we find that God had furnished them with all the means of this knowledge, and that the means were ineffectual, not because they were not properly calculated to answer God's gracious purpose, but because the people were not workers with God; consequently they received the grace of God in vain. See 2 Cor. vi. 1.

A'"erse 10. Ye stand — all of you before the Lord] They were about to enter into a covenant with God; and as a covenant implies txvo parties contracting, God is represented as being present, and they and all their families, old and young, come before him.

Averse 12. That thou shouldest enter] "yiyl leaber, to pass through, that is, between the separated parts ( of the covenant sacrifice. See Gen. xv. 18.

And into his oath] Thus we find that in a covenant were these seven particulars: 1. The parties about to contract were considered as being hitherto separated. 2. They now agree to enter into a state of close and permanent amity. 3. They mcc^ together in a solemn manner for this purpose. 4. A sacrifice is offered to God on the occasion, for the whole is a religious act.

A. M. 2553. 1 5 But with him that standeth An. Ex. isr. 40. here with us this day before the ^^^^^- Lord our God, * and also with

him that is not here with us this day:

16 (For ye know how we have dwelt in the land of Egypt; and how we came through the nations which ye passed by;

17 And ye have seen their abominations, and their ° idols, wood and stone, silver and gold, which loere among them:)

18 Lest there should be among you man, woman, or family, or tribe, "^ whose heart

irneth away this day from the Lord our God, go and serve the gods of these nations; lest there should be among you a root that oeareth ^ gall ^ and wormwood;

19 And it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk ^ in the ^ imagination of mine heart, '' to add "^ drunkenness to thirst:

20 ^ The Lord will not spare him, but then ® the anger of the Lord and ^ his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and the Lord ^ shall blot out his name from under heaven.

2 1 And the Lord ^ shall separate him unto evil out of all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant that ' are written in this book of the law:

22 So that the generation to come of your children that shall rise up after you, and the

stranger that shall come from a a. m. 2553. far land, shall say, when they see An. Ex. isr. 4o. the plagues of that land, and the ® ^''

sicknesses ^ which the Lord hath laid upon it;

23 And that the whole land thereof is brimstone, ' and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, ^ like the overthrow of Sodom, and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the Lord overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath:

24 Even all nations shall say, " Wherefore hath the Lord done thus unto this land? what meaneth the heat of this great anger?

25 Then men shall say. Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them forth out of the land of Egypt:

26 For they went and served other gods, emd worshipped them, gods whom they knew not, and ° whom he had not ^ given unto them:

27 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against this land, 1 to bring upon it all the curses that are written in this book:

28 And the Lord ^ rooted them out of their land in anger, and in wrath, and. in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as it is this day.

29 The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.

. The victim is separated exactly into tivo equal parts, the separation being in the direction of the spine; and these parts are laid opposite to each other, sufficient room being allowed for the contracting parties to pass between them. 6. The contracting parties meet in the victim, and the conditions of the covenant by which they are to be mutually bound are recited. 7. An oath IS taken by these parties that they shall punctually and aithfuUy perform their respective conditions, and thus the covenant is made and ratified. See Jer. xxxiv. 18, 19, and the notes on Gen. vi. 18; xv. 18; Exod. xxix. 45; Lev. xxvi.

Verse 15. Him that standeth here] The present generation. Him that is not here — all future generations of this people.

Verse 18. A root that beareth gall and wormwood] That is, as the apostle expresses it, Heb. iii. 18, An evil heart of unbelief departing from the living God; for to this place he evidently refers. It may also signify false doctrines, or idolatrous persons among themselves.

Verse 19. To add drunkenness to thirst] A proverbial expression denoting the utmost indulgence in all sensual gratifications.

Averse 26. Gods — whom he had not given unto them] This is an unhappy translation. Houhigant renders the original words DhS pSn r^^ veto chalak lahem, et quibuscum nulla eis societas, " And with whom they had no society;" and falls unmercifully on Le Clerc because he had translated it, From whom they had received no benefits. I must differ from both these great men, because I think they differ from the text. pSn chalak signifies a. portion, lot, inheritance, and God is frequently represented in Scripture as the portion or inheritance of his people. Here, therefore, I think the original should be rendered, And there teas no portion to them, that is, the gods they served could neither supply their wants nor save their souls — they were no portion.

Verse 29. The secret things belong unto the Lord, <Sj-c.] This verse has been variously translated. Houbigant renders it thus: Qua apud Dominum nostrum abscondita sunt, nobis ea filiisque nostris palam facta sunt ad multas atates, '' The things which were hidden with the Lord our God, are made manifest to us and our children for many generations." I am not satisfied with this interpretation, and find that the passage was not so understood by any of the ancient versions. The simple general meaning seems to be this: " What God has thought proper to reveal, he has revealed; what he has revealed is essential to the wellbeing of man, and this revelation is intended not for the present time merely, nor for one people, but for all succeeding generations. The things which he has not revealed concern not man but God alone, and are therefore not to be inquired after." Thus, then, the things that are hidden belong unto the Lord, those that are revealed belong unto us and our children. But possibly the words here refer to the subjects of these chapters, as if he had said, " Apostasy from God and his truth is possible. When a national apostasy among us may take place, is known only to God; but he has revealed himself to us and our children that we may do all the words of this law, and so prevent the dreadful evils that shall fall on the disobedient."

The Jews have always considered these verses as containing subjects of the highest importance to them, and have affixed marks to the original, IJ'J^Sl IJ7 lanu ulebaneynu, " to us and to our children," in order to fix the attention of the reader on truths which affect them individually, and not them only, but the whole of their posterity.

Gracious promises are given to the penitent, 1—6. The Lord will circumcise their heart, and put all thesi curses on their enemies, if they hearken to his voice and keep his testimonies, 7—10. The word is near to them, and easy to he understood, 11—14. Life and death, a blessing and a curse, are set before them: and they are exhorted to love the Lord, obey his voice, and cleave unto him, that they may inherit the land promised to Abraham, 15—20.

the curse, which I have set before thee, and " thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath driven thee,

2 And shalt ^ return unto the Lord thy God, and shalt obey his voice, according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul;

3 ^ That then the Lord thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee,

Verse 1. When all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse^ So fully did God foresee the bad use these people would make of their free agency in resisting the Holy Ghost, that he speaks of their sin and punishment as certain; yet, at the same time, shows how they might turn to himself and live, even while he was pouring out his indignation upon them because of their transgressions.

Verse 3. Gather thee from all the nations^ This must refer to a more extensive captivity tlian that which they suffered in Babylon.

Verse 5. Will bring thee into the land^ As this promise refers to a return from a captivity in which they had been scattered among all nations, conse- irom all the nations, whither the An. Ex. Isr. 40. Lord thy God hath scattered thee. ^^^''^-

4 ^ If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the Lord thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee:

5 And the Lord thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers.

6 And ^ the Lord thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love

quently it is not the Babylonish captivity which is intended; and the repossession of their land must be different from that which was consequent on their return from Chaldea.

Verse 6. God will circumcise thine hcart'\ This promise remains yet to be fulfilled. Their heart, as a people, has never yet been circumcised; nor have the various promises in this chapter been ever yet fulfilled. There remaineth, therefore, a rest for this people of God. Now, as the laio, properly speaking, made no provision for the circumcision of the heart, which implies the remission of sins, and purification of the sovJ from all unrighteousness; and as circumcision itself was only a sign of spiritual good, consequently the promise here refers to the days of the Messiah, and to

7 And the Lord thy God will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, which persecuted thee.

8 And thou shall return and obey the voice of the Lord, and do all his commandments which I command thee this day.

9 ' And the Lord thy God will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good: for the Lord will again ^ rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced over thy fathers:

10 If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if thou turn unto the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.

1 1 For this commandment which I command thee this day, ^ it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off.

12 ^ It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest

this all the prophets and all the apostles give witness: " for circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter," Rom. ii. 29; and the genuine followers of God "are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands — by the circumcision of Christ," Col. ii. 11, 12. Hence we see these promises cannot be fulfilled to the Jews but in their embracing the Gospel of Christ. To look, therefore, for their restoration is idle and nugatory, while their obstinacy and unbelief remain.

Verse 1 1. This commandment — is not hidden] Not too wonderful or difficult for thee to comprehend or perform, as the word nx^DJ niphleth implies. Neither is it far off — the word or doctrine of salvation shall be proclaimed in your own land; for He is to be born in Bethlehem of Judah, who is to feed and save Israel; and the Prophet who is to teach them is to be raised up from among their brethren.

Verse 12. It is not in heaven] Shall not be communicated in that way in which the prophets received the living oracles; but the word shall be made flesh, and divell among you.

Verse 13. Neither is it beyond the sea] Ye shall not be obliged to travel for it to distant nations, because salvation is of the Jews.

Verse 14. But the word is very nigh unto thee] The doctrine of salvation preached by the apostles; in thy mouth, the promises of redemption made by the prophets forming a part of every Jew's creed; in thy heart — ^the power to believe with the heart unto right- say, Who shall go up for us to a. m. 2553. heaven, and bring it unto us, that An. Ex. isr. 40. we may hear it, and do it? ____!_!__

13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say. Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?

14 But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.

1 5 See, " I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil;

1 6 In that I command thee this day to love the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the Lord thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it.

17 But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shall be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them;

18 ° I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it.

eousness, that the tongue may make, confession unto salvation. In this way, it is evident, St. Paul understood these passages; see Rom. x. 6, &c.

Death and evil] Present and future miseries: termed, ver. 19, Life and death, blessing and cursing. And why were these set before them? 1. That they might comprehend their import. 2. That they might feel their importance. 3. That they might choose life, and the path of believing, loving obedience, that led to it. 4. That they and their posterity, thus choosing life and refusing evil, might be the favourites of God in time and eternity.

Were there no such thing as free will in man, who could reconcile these sayings either with sincerity or common sense 1 God has made the human will free, and there is no power or influence either in heaven, earth, or hell, except the power of God, that can deprive it of its free volitions; of its power to luill and nill, to choose and refuse, to act or not act; or force it to sin against God. Hence man is accountable for his actions, because they are his; were he necessitated by fate, or sovereign constraint, they could not be his. Hence he is rewardable, hence he is punishable. God, in his creation, willed that the human creature should be free, and he formed his soul accordingly; and the Law and Gospel, the promise and precept, the denunciation of wo and the doctrine of eternal life, are all constructed on this ground; that is, they aUnecessarilv

A. M. 2553. 19 p I call heaven and earth An. Ex. isr. 40. to record this day against you, ^^^^^- that ^ I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.

20 That thou mayest love the Lord thy

suppose the freedom of the human will: nor could it be will if it were not free, because the principle of freedom or liberty is necessarily implied in the idea of volition. See on the fifth chapter and 29th verse.

And — cleave unto him] Without close attachment and perseverance, temporary love, however sincere and fervent — temporary obedience, however disinterested,

God, and that thou mayest obey a. m. 2553. his voice, and that thou mayest An. Ex. isr. 40. cleave unto him: for he is *^" ^^'^^*-

■■ life, and the length of * thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.

energetic, and pure while it lasts — will be ultimately ineffectual. He alone who endures to the end, shall be saved. Reader, how do matters stand between God and thy soul ■? He cannot persevere in the grace of God whose soul is not yet made a partaker of that grace. Many talk strenuously on the impossibility of falling from grace, who have not yet tasted that the Lord is gracious. How absurd to talk and dispute about the infallibility of arriving safely at the end of a way in which a man has never yet taken one hearty step! It is never among those that have the grace of God, but among those that have it not, that we find an overweening confidence.

Moses, being one hundred and twenty years old and about to die, calls the people together, and exhorts them to courage and obedience, 1—6. Delivers a charge to Joshua, 7, 8. Delivers the law lohich he had written to the priests, with a solemn charge that they should read it every seventh year, publicly to all the people, 9—13. The Lord calls Moses and Joshua to the tabernacle, 14. He appears to them, informs Moses of his approaching death, and delivers to him a prophetical and historical song, or poem, ivhich he is to leave with Israel, for their instruction and reproof, 1 5-2 1. Moses loriles the song the same day, and teaches it to the Israelites, 22; gives Joshua a charge, 23; finishes writing the book of the law, 24. Commands the Levites to lay it up in the side of the ark, 25, 26. Predicts their rebellions, 27. Orders the elders to be o-athered together, and shows them lohat evils would befall the people in the latter days, 28, 29, and repeats the song to them, 30.

A ND Moses went and spake these words unto all Israel.

2 And he said unto them, 1^ am

a hundred and twenty years old this day; I can no more ^ go out and come in: also the Lord hath said unto me, = Thou shalt not go over this Jordan.

3 The Lord thy God, ^ he will go over before thee, and he will destroy these nations from before thee, and thou shalt possess them: and Joshua, he shall go over

NOTES ON CHAP. XXXI. Verse 2. / am a hundred and twenty years old] The life of Moses, the great prophet of God and lawgiver of the Jews, was exactly the same in length as the time Noah employed in preaching righteousness to the antediluvian world. These one hundred and twenty years were divided into three remarkable periods: forty years he lived in Egypt, in Pharaoh's court, acquiring all the learning and wisdom of the a 818

4 ^ And the Lord shall do unto them ^ as he did to Sihon and to Og, kings of the Amorites; and unto the land of them whom he destroyed.

5 And ^ the Lord shall give them up before your face, that ye may do unto them according unto all the commandments which I have commanded you.

6 ' Be strong and of a good courage, ^ fear

Egyptians; (see Acts vii. 20, 23;) forty years he sojourned in the land of Midian in a state of preparation for his great and important mission; (Acts vii. 29, 30;) and forty years he guided, led, and governed the Israelites under the express direction and authority of God: in all, one hundred and tiventy years-

Verse 3. Joshua, he shall go over before thee] See on Num. xxvii. 17, &c.

7 And Moses called unto Joshua, and said unto him in the sight of all Israel, " Be strong and of a good courage: for thou must go with this people unto the land which the Lord hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it.

8 And the Lord, ° he it is that doth go before thee; p he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.

9 And Moses wrote this law, i and delivered it unto the priests the sons of Levi, ' which bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and unto all the elders of Israel.

10 And Moses commanded them, saying. At the end of every seven years, in the solemnity of the ' year of release, ' in the feast of tabernacles,

that is used Exod. iv. 21, ix. 15, for hardening Pharaoh's heart. See the notes there. The Septuagint, in this and the following verse, have, AvSpil^ov km loxve, Play the man, and he strong; and from this St. Paul seems to have borrowed his ideas, 1 Cor. xvi. 13: "Lttikete iv r?? niaTef avSpi^eade, Kpariovade: Stand firm in the faith; play the man — act like heroes; be vigorous.

Verse 8. The Lord — doth go before thee] To prepare thy way, and to direct thee.

He loill be loith thee] Accompany thee in all thy journeys, and assist thee in all thy enterprises.

He loill not fail thee] Thy expectation, however strong and extensive, shall never be disappointed: thou canst not expect too much from him.

Neither forsake thee] He knows that without him thou canst do nothing, and therefore he will continue with thee, and in such a manner too that the excellence of the power shall appear to be of him, and not of man.

Verse 9. Moses wrote this law] Not the whole Pentateuch, but either the discourses and precepts mentioned in the preceding chapters, or the book of Deuteronomy, which is most likely.

Some of the rabbins have pretended that Moses wrote thirteen copies of the whole Pentateuch; that he gave one to each of the twelve tribes, and the thirteenth was laid up by the ark. This opinion deserves little credit. Some think that he WTOte ttvo copies, one of which he gave to the priests and Levites for general use, according to w-hat is said in this verse, thfi other to be laid up beside the ark as a standard

1 1 When all Israel is come to a. m. 2553. ^ appear before the Lord thy God An. Ex. isr. 40 in the place which he shall choose, ^^''^*'

^thou shalt read this law before all Israel in their hearing,

12 "^ Gather the people together, men, and women, and children, and thy stranger thatts within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the Lord your God, and observe to do all the words of this law:

1 3 And that their children, ^ which have not known any thing, ^ may hear, and learn to fear the Lord your God, as long as ye live in the land whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.

14 And the Lord said unto Moses, ^ Behold, thy days approach that thou must die: call Joshua, and present yourselves in the tabernacle of the congregation, that * I may give him a charge. And Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves in the tabernacle of the congregation.

1 5 And ^ the Lord appeared in the taber-

copy for reference, and to be a witness against the people should they break it or become idolatrous. This second copy is supposed to be intended ver. 26. As the law was properly a covenant or contract between God and the people, it is natural to suppose there were two copies of it, that each of the contracting parties might have one: therefore one was laid up beside the ark, this was the Lord's copy; another was given to the priests and Levites, this was the people's copy.

Verse 10, 11. At the end of every seven years — thou shalt read this law] Every seventh year was a year of release, chap. xv. 1, at which time the people's minds, being under a peculiar degree of solemnity, were better disposed to hear and profit by the words of God. I suppose on this ground also that the whole book of Deuteronomy is meant, as it alone contains an epitome of the whole Pentateuch. And in this way some of the chief Jewish rabbins understand this

It is strange that this commandment, relative to a public reading of the law every seven years, should have been rarely attended to. It does not appear that from the time mentioned Josh. viii. 30, at which time this public reading first took place, till the reign of Jehoshaphat, 2 Chron. xvii. 7, there was any public seventh year reading — a period of 530 years. The next seventh year reading was not till the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah, 2 Chron. xxxiv. 30, a space of two hundred and eighty-two years. Nor do we find any other publicly mentioned from this time till the return from the Babylonish captivity, Neh.

A. M. 2553. nacle in a pillar of a cloud: and An. Ex. Isr. 40. the pillar of the cloud stood over ^^^^'^- _ the door of the tabernacle.

16 And the Lord said unto Moses, Behold, thou shall '^ sleep with thy fathers; and this people will ^ rise up, and ® go a whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land, whither they go to he among them; and will ^ forsake me, and ^ break my covenant which I have made with them.

1 7 Then my anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and ^ I will forsake them, and I will ^ hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall '' befall them; so that they will say in that day, ^ Are not these evils come upon us because our God is ■" not amonff us?

1 8 And ° I will surely hide my face in that day for all the evils which they shall have wrought, in that they are turned unto other gods.

1 9 Now therefore write ye this song for you, "**— ^nd teach it the children of Israel: put it in

their mouths, that this song may be ° a witness for me against the children of Israel.

20 For when I shall have brought them into the land which I sware unto their fathers, that floweth with milk and honey; and they shall have eaten and filled themselves, p and

viii. 2. Nor is there any other on record from that time to the destruction of Jerusalem. See Dodd.

Verse 16. Behold, thou shall sleep ivith thy father s\ yyo shocheh, thou shall lie down; it signifies to rest, take rest in sleep, and, metaphorically, to die. Much stress cannot be safely laid on this expression to prove the immortality of the soul, or that the people in the time of Moses had a distinct notion of its separate existence. It was, however, understood in this sense by Jonathan ben Uzziel, who in his Targum paraphrases the word thus: " Thou shalt lie down in the dust with thy fathers; and thy soul ("jnoiyj nishmethach) shall be laid up in the treasury of the life to come with thy fathers."

Verse 18. I tuill surely hide my face] Withdraw my approbation and my protection. This is a general meaning of the word in Scripture.

Verse 19. Write ye this song] The song which follows in the next chapter. Things which were of great importance and of common concern were, among the ancients, put into verse, as this was found the best method of keeping them in remembrance, especially in those times when writing was little practised. Even

2 1 And it shall come to pass, "" when many evils and troubles are befallen them, that this song shall testify ^ against them as a witness; for it shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their seed: for * I know their imagination " which "^ they go about, even now, before I have brought them into the land which I sware.

22 Moses therefore wrote this song the same day, and taught it the children of Israel.

23 '''' And he gave Joshua the son of Nun a charge, and said, " Be strong, and of a good courage; for thou shalt bring the children of Israel into the land which I sware unto them; and I will be with thee.

24 And it came to pass, when Moses had made an end of y writing the words of this law in a book, until they were finished,

25 That Moses commanded the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord, saying,

26 Take this book of the law, ^ and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be there ^ for a witness against thee.

prose was sometimes sung. The history of Herodotus was divided into nine hooks, and each inscribed with the name of one of the nine Muses, because these books were anciently sung. Homer is reported to have sung his poems through different Greek cities. Aristotle observes that anciently the people sung their laws. And Cicero observes that it was a custom among the ancient Romans to sing the praises of their heroes at the public festivals. This was the case among the northern inhabitants of Europe, particularly in Ireland and Scotland; hence the Gaelic poetry of Ossian and others. See Dodd; and see the note on Exod. XV. 1, where the subject is largely treated.

Verse 21. This song shall testify against them] Because in it their general defection is predicted, but in such a way as to show them how to avoid the evil; and if they did not avoid the evil, and the threatened punishment should come upon them, then the song should testify against them, by showing that they had been sufficiently warned, and might have lived to God, and so escaped those disasters.

Verse 26. Ta/ce this book of the law] The standard copy to which all transcripts must ultimately refer:

this day, ye have been rebellious against the Lord; and how much more after my death?

28 Gather unto me all the elders of your.tribes, and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears, "^ and call heaven and earth to record against them.

29 For I know that after ray death ye will

another copy was put into the hands of the priests. See the note on ver. 9.

Verse 27. While I am yet alive — ye have been rebellious] Such was the disposition of this people to act contrary to moral goodness that Moses felt himself justified in inferring what would take place from what had already happened.

1. Never was a people more fully and faithfully warned, and from this very circumstance we may see that they were under no fatal constraining necessity to commit sin against God; they might have avoided it, but they loould not. God was present to help them, till by their repeated provocations they forced him to depart: wrath therefore came upon them to the uttermost because they sinned when they might have lived to the glory of God. Those who abuse God's grace shall not only have that grace taken away from them, but shall be punished for the abuse of it, as well as for the transgression. Every sin is double, and must have a twofold punishment; for 1. Grace is resisted; 2. Transgression is committed; and God will visit for both.

2. How astonishing it is that, with such examples of God's justice before their eyes, the Jews should be so little affected; and that the Gentiles, who have received the Gospel of God, should act as if God would no more punish transgression, or that he must be so partial to them as to pass by iniquities for which the hand of his justice still continues heavy upon the de-

will befall you ^ in the latter days; because ye will do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands.

30 And Moses spake in the ears of all the congregation of Israel the words of this song^ until they were ended.

scendants of Jacob! Let them take heed, for if God spared not the natural branches, he will not spare them. If they sin after the manner of the Jews, they may expect to be partakers with them in their punishments. What God does to nations he will do to indir viduals who reject his mercy, or trample under foot his grace; the soul that sinneth, and returns not tq God by repentance and faith, shall die. This is a decree of God that shall never be reversed, and every day bears witness how strictly he keeps it in view.

3. The ode composed by Moses for this occasioa was probably set to some lively and affecting air, and sung by the people. It would be much easier to keeg such a song in remembrance, than an equal quantity of prose. The whole would have the additional circumstances oi cadence and^ime to cause it to be often repeated; and thus insure its being kept in memory. Poetry, though often, na,y, generally, abused, is nevertheless a gift from God, and may be employed with the best effect in his service. A very considerable part of the Old Testament is written in poetry; parti cularly the whole book of Psalms, great part of the prophet Isaiah, the Lamentations, and much of the miiior prophets. Those who speak against poetic compositions in the service of God, speak against what they do not understand. All that a man hath should be consecrated to his Maker, and employed in his service; not only the energy of his heart and mind, the physical force of his body, but also the musical tones and modulations of his voice.

The prophetical and historical song of Moses, showing forth the nature of God''s doctrine, 1—3. The character of God, 4. The corruption of the people, 5, 6. They are called to remember God's kindness, 7, and his dealings loith them, during their travels in the wilderness, 8—14. Their ingratitude and iniquity ^ 15-18. They are threatened with his judgments, 19-28. A pathetic lamentation over them because of their 5m5, 29— 35. Gracious purposes in their behalf, mixed toith reproaches for their manifold idolatries, and threatenings against his enemies, 36-42. A promise of salvation to the Gentiles, 43. Moses, having finished the song, warmly exhorts the people to obedience, 44—47. God calls him up to the mounts that he may see the good land and then die, 48-52.

2 ^ My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, "= as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass:

Verse 1. — On the inimitable excellence of this ode much has been writit-r by commentators, critics, and poets; and it is allowed by the best judges to contain a specimen of almost every species of excellence in composition. It is so thoroughly poetic that even the dull Jews themselves found they could not write it in the prose form; and hence it is distinguished as poetry in every Hebrew Bible by being written in its own hemistichs or short half lines, which is the general form of the Hebrew poetry; and were it translated in the same way it would be more easily understood. The song itself has suffered both by transcribers and translators, the former having mistaken some letters in different places, and made wrong combinations of them in others. As to the translators, most of them have followed their own fancy, from good Mr. Ainsworth, who ruined it by the most inanimate rhyming version, to certain later poets, who have cast it unhallowedly into a European mould. See the observations at the end of the chapter.

Give ear, O ye h.eavens\ Let angels and men hear, and let this testimony of God be registered both in heaven and earth. Heaven and earth are appealed to as permanent witnesses.

Verse 2. My doctrine'] "TipS likchi, from npS lahach, to take, carry away; to attract or gain over the heart by eloquence or persuasive speech. Hence the Septuagint translate the word aTzo(p6Ey/j.a, an apophthegm, a sententious and weighty saying, for the regulation of the moral conduct. Such, properly, are the sayings in this inimitable ode.

Shall drop as the rain] It shall come drop by drop as the shower, beginning slowly and distinctly, but increasing more and more till the plenitude of righteousness is poured down, and the whole canon of Divine revelation completed.

My speech shall distil as the dew] Tll^ax imrathi; my familiar, friendly, and affectionate speeches shall descend gently and softly, on the ear and the heart, as the dew, moistening and refreshing all around. In hot regions dew is often a substitute for rain, without it there could be no fertility, especially in those places where rain seldom falls. And ir. such places only can the metaphor here used be felt in its perfection. Homer uses a similar figure when speaking of the eloquence of Ulysses; he says, II. iii., ver. 221:

" But when he speaks what elocution flows! Soft as the fleeces of descending snows."

4 He is ® the Rock, ^ his work is perfect: for ^ all his ways are judgment: ^ a God of truth and ' without iniquity, just and right is he.

On the manner in which deiv is produced, philosophers are not yet agreed. It was long supposed to descend, and to differ only from ram as less from more; but the experiments of a French chemist seemed to prove that dew ascended in light thin vapours, and that, meeting with a colder region of the air, it became condensed and fell down upon the earth. Other recent experiments, though they have not entirely invalidated the former, have rendered the doctrine of the ascent of dew doubtful. Though we know nothing certain as to the manner of its production, yet we know that the thing exists, and that it is essentially useful. So much we know of the sayings of our God, and the blessed effects produced by them: God hath spoken, and the entering in of his words gives light and life. See the note on Gen. ii. 6.

As the small rain] W^y^ seirim, from "i^ty saar, to be rough or tempestuous; sweeping showers, ac companied with a strong gale of wind.

And as the shoioers] D001 rehihim, from T\'y^ rabah, to?nultiply, to increase greatly; shower after shower, or rather a continual rain, whose drops are multiplied beyond calculation, upon the earth; alluding perhaps to the rainy seasons in the East, or to those early and latter rains so essentially necessary for the vegetation and perfection of the grain.

No doubt these various expressions point out that great variety in the word or revelation of God whereby it is suited to every place, occasion, person, and state; being " profitable for doctrine, reproof, and edification in righteousness." Hence the apostle says that God, at sundry times and in divers manners, spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets; and in these last times has spoken unto us by his Son; Heb. i. 1, 2. By every prophet, evangelist, and apostle, God speaks a particular language; all is his doctrine, his great system of instruction, for the information and salvation of the souls of men. But some portions are like the siveeping showers, in which the tempest of God's wrath appears against sinners. Others are like the incessant shoivers of gentle rain, preparing the soil for the germination of the grain, and causing it to take root. And others still are like the dew, mildly and gently insinuating convictions, persuasions, reproofs, and consolations. The preacher of righteousness who wishes to handle this word profitably, must attend closely to those distinctions, that he may rightly divide the word of truth, and give each of his hearers his portion of the bread of life in due season.

Verse 4. He is the Rock] The word "nV tsur is rendered Creator by some eminent critics; and ^jJLi. khalyk is the reading in the Arabic Version. Rab. a

6 Do ye thus ° requite the Lord, O foolish people and unwise? is not he p thy father that hath 1 bought thee? hath he not ^ made thee, and established thee?

7 Remember the days of old, consider the

that they are not his children, that is, their blot. " Matt. xvii.

Moses ben Maimon, in his valuable work, Moreh Nebochim, observes that the word "WH tsur, which is ordinarily translated rock, signifies origin, fountain, first cause, &c., and in this way it should be translated here: " He is the first principle, his work is perfect." As he is the cause of all things, he must be infinitely perfect; and consequently all his works must be perfect in their respective kinds. As is the cause, so must the effect be. Some think the word rock gives a very good sense; for, as in those lands, rocks were the ordinary places of defence and security, God may be metaphorically represented thus, to signify his protection of his followers. I prefer the opinion of Maimon. Verse 5. Their spot is not the spot of his children] This verse is variously translated and variously understood. They are corrupted, not his, children of pollution.— Kennicott. They are corrupt, they are not his children, they are blotted. — Houbigant. This is according to the Samaritan. The interpretation commonly given to these words is as unfounded as it is exceptionable: " God's children have their spots, i. e., their sins, but sin in them is not like sin in others; in others sin is exceedingly sinful, but God does not see the sins of his children as he sees the sins of his enemies," &c. Unfortunately for this bad doctrine, there is no foundation for it in the sacred text, which, though very obscure, may be thus translated: He (Israel) hath corrupted himself. They (the Israelites) are not his children: they are spotted. Coverdale renders the whole passage thus: " The froward and overthwart generation have marred themselves to himward, and are not his children because of their deformity." This is the sense of the verse. Let it be observed that the word spot, which is repeated in our translation, occurs but once in the original, and the marginal reading is greatly to be preferred: He hath corrupted to himself, that they are not his children; that is their blot. And because they had the blot of sin on them, because they were spotted with iniquity and marked idolaters, therefore God renounces them. There may be here an allusion to the 7narks which the worshippers of particular idols had on different parts of their bodies, especially on ihe'iT foreheads; and as idolatry is the crime with which they are here charged, the spot or mark mentioned may refer to the mark or stigma of their idol. The different sects of idolaters in the East are distinguished by their sectarian marks, the stigma of their respective idols. These sectarian marks, partia

8 When the Most High ^divided to the nations their inheritance, when he '' separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children,

9 For "' the Lord's portion is his people;

culary on the forehead, amount to nearly one hundred among the Hindoos, and especially among the two sects, the worshippers of Seeva, and the worshippers of Vishnoo. In many cases these marks are renewed daily, for they account it irreligious to perform any sacred rite to their god without his mark on the forehead; the marks are generally horizontal and perpendicular lines, crescents, circles, leaves, eyes, <5fC., in red, black, white, and yellow. This very custom is referred to in Rev. XX. 4, where the beast gives his mark to his followers, and it is very likely that Moses refers to such a custom among the idolatrous of his own day. This removes all the difficulty of the text. God's children have no sinful spots, because Christ saves thern from their sins; and their motto or mark is, Holiness to the

Verse 8. When the Most High divided to the nations, dfc."] Verses 8 and 9, says Dr. Kennicott, give us express authority for believing that the earth was very early divided in consequence of a Divine command, and probably by lot, (see Acts xvii. 26;) and as Africa is called the land of Ham, (Psa. Ixxviii. 51; cv. 23, 27; cvi. 22,) probably that country fell to him and to his descendants, at the same time that Europe fell to Japheth, and Asia to Shcm, with a particular reserve of Palestine to be the Lord's portion, for some one peculiar people. And this separation of mankind into three bodies, called the general migration, was commanded to Noah, and by him to his sons, so as to take place in the days of Peleg, about two hundred years afterwards. This general migration was prior to the partial dispersion from Babel by about five hundred years.

He set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel.] The Septuagint is very curious, 'Eiarrjaev opia edvuv Kara aptdfiov ayye- 2.UV Tov Qeov. " He established the bounds of the nations according to the number of the angels of God." The meaning of the passage seems to be, that when God divided the earth among mankind, he reserved twelve lots, according to the number of the sons of Jacob, which he was now about to give to their descendants, according to his promise.

Verse 9. The Lord's portion is his people] What an astonishing saying! As holy souls take GOD for their portion, so GOD takes them for his portion. He represents himself as happy in his followers; and they are infinitely happy in, and satisfied with, God as their portion. This is what is implied in being a saint. He who is seeking for an earthly portion, has little. commerce with the Most High.

Verse 10. He — the IjOxA, found him — Jacob, in his descendants, in a desert land — the wilderness. He led him about forty years in this wilderness, Deut. viii. 2, or inJ33D"' yesobebenhu, he compassed him about, i. e., God defended them on all hands, and in all places. He instructed him — taught them that astonishing law through which we have now almost passed, giving them Statutes and judgments which, for depth of wisdom, and correct political adaptation to times, places, and circumstances, are so wondrously constructed, as essentially to secure the comfort, peace, and happiness of the individual, and the prosperity and permanency of the moral system. Laws so excellent that they have met with the approbation of the wise and good in all countries, and formed the basis of the political institutions of all the civilized nations in the universe.

Notwithstanding the above gives the passage a good sense, yet probably the whole verse should be considered more literally. It is certain that in the same country travellers are often obliged to go about in order to f find proper passes between the mountains, and the folio wing extracts from Mr. Harmer well illustrate this point.

" Irwin farther describes the mountains of the de- Bert of Thebais (Upper Egypt) as sometimes so steep and dangerous as to induce even very bold and hardy travellers to avoid them by taking a large circuit; and that for want of proper knowledge of the way, such a wrong path may be taken as may on a sudden bring them into the greatest dangers, while at other times a dreary waste may extend itself so prodigiously as to make it difficult, without assistance, to find the way to a proper outlet. All which show us the meaning of those words of the song of Moses, Deut. xxxii. 10: He led him about, he instructed him, he kept hitn as the apple of his eye.

" Jehovah certainly instructed Israel in religion by delivering to him his law in this wilderness; but it is ijot, I presume, of this kind of teaching Moses speaks, as Bishop Patrick supposes, but God's instructing Israel how to avoid the dangers of the journey, by leading the people about this and that dangerous, precipitous hill, directing them to proper passes through the mountains, and guiding them through the intricacies of that difficult journey which might, and probably would, have confounded the most consummate Arab guides. They that could have safely enough conducted a small caravan of travellers through this desert, might have been very unequal to the task of directing such an enormous multitude, encumbered with cattle, women, children, and utensils. The passages of Irwin, that establish the observation I have been making, follow here: ' At half past eleven we resumed our march, and soon came to the foot of a prodigious hill, which we unexpectedly found we were to ascend. It was perpendicular, like the one we had passed some hours land, and in the waste howl- a. m. 2553. ing wilderness; he Med him aJex.iJ?.'' about, he ^ instructed him, he ^^'^'*t.

before; but what rendered the access more difficult, the path which we were to tread was nearly right up and down. The captain of the robbers seeing the obstacles we had to overcome, wisely sent all his ca mels round the mountain where he knew there was a defile, and only accompanied us with the beast he rode. We luckily met with no accident in climbing this height.' p. 325. They afterwards descended, he tells us, into a valley, by a passage easy enough, and stopping to dine at half past five o'clock, they were joined by the Arabs, who had made an astonishing march to overtake them, p. 326. 'We soon quitted the dale, and ascended the high ground by the side of a mountain that overlooks it in this part. The path was narrow and perpendicular, and much resembled a ladder. To make it worse, we preceded the robbers, and an ignorant guide among our people led us astray. Here we found ourselves in a pretty situation: we had kept the lower road on the side of the hill, instead of that towards the summit, until we could proceed no farther; we were now obliged to gain the heights, in order to recover the road, in performing which we drove our poor camels up such steeps that we had the greatest difficulty to climb after them. We were under the necessity of leaving them to themselves, as the danger of leading them through places where the least false step would have precipitated both man and beast to the unfathomable abyss below, was too critical to hazard. We hit at length upon the proper path, and were glad to find ourselves in the road of our unerring guides the robbers, after having won every foot of the ground with real peril and fatigue.' p. 324. Again. ' Our road after leaving the valley lay over level ground. As it would be next to an impossibility to find the way over these stony flats, where the heavy foot of a camel leaves no impression, the different bands of robbers have heaped up stones at unequal distances for their direction through this desert. We have derived great assistance from the robbers in this respect, who are our guides when the marks either fail, or are unintelligible to us.' The predatory Arabs were more successful guides to Mr. Irwin and his companions, than those he brought with him from Ghinnah; but the march of Israel through deserts of the like nature, was through such an extent and variety of country, and in such circumstances as to multitudes and incumbrances, as to make Divine interposition necessary. The openings through the rocks seem to have been prepared by Him to whom all things from the beginning of the world were foreknown, with great wisdom and goodness, to enable them to accomplish this stupendous march." See Harmer^ s Observat.,vo\.'\y.^.V25. He kept him as the apple of his eye.] Nothing can exceed the force and delicacy of this expression. As deeply concerned and as carefully attentive as man can be for the safety of his eyesight, so was God for the protection and welfare of this people. How amazing this condescension!

nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings:

12 So the Lord alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him.

13 "^ He made him ride on the high places of the earth, that he might eat the increase of the fields; and he made him to suck « honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock;

14 Butter of kine, and milk of sheep, with

Verse 11. As an eagle stirreth tip her nest] Flutters over her brood to excite them to fly; or, as some think, disturbs her nest to oblige the young ones to leave it; so God by his plagues in Egypt obliged the Israelites, otherwise very reluctant, to leave a place which he appeared by his judgments to have devoted to destruction.

Fluttereth over her young] '^ni'' yeracheph, broodeth over them, communicating to them a portion of her own vital warmth: so did God, by the influences of his Spirit, enlighten, encourage, and strengthen their minds. It is the same word which is used in Gen. i. 2.

Spreadeth abroad her wings, dfc] In order, not only to teach them how to fly, but to bear them when weary. For to this fact there seems an allusion, it having been generally believed that the eagle, through extraordinary affection for her young, takes them upon her back when they are weary of flying, so that the archers cannot injure them but by piercing the body of the mother. The same figure is used Exod. xix. 4; where see the note. The T^yj nesher, which we translate eagle, is supposed by Mr. Bruce to mean the ra~ chama, a bird remarkable for its affection to its young, which it is known actually to bear on its back when they are weary.

Verse 12. So the Lord alone did lead him] By his power, and by his only, were they brought out of Egypt, and supported in the wilderness.

And there was no strange god] They had help from no other quarter. The Egyptian idols were not able to save their own votaries; but God not only saved his people, but destroyed the Egyptians.

Verse 13. He made him ride] inJDT yarkibehu, he will cause him to ride. All the verbs here are in the future tense, because this is a prophecy of the prosperity they should possess in the promised land. The Israelites were to rid^ — exult, on the high places, the mountains and hills of their land, in which they are promised the highest degrees of prosperity; as even the rocky part of the country should be rendered fertile by the peculiar benediction of God.

Suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty *'ock] This promise states that even the most barren a

wheat; and thou didst drink the pure ^ blood of the grape.

1 5 But ^ Jeshurun waxed fat, and * kicked: ^ thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness; then he * forsook God which ^ made him, and lightly esteemed the "^ Rock of his salvation.

16° They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they him to anger.

places in the country should yield an abundance of aromatic flowers, from which the bees should collect honey in abundance; ''and even the tops of the rocks afford sufficient support for olive trees, from the fruit of which they should extract oil in abundance: and all this should be occasioned by the peculiar blessing of God upon the land.

Verse 14. Fat of kidneys of wheat] Almost every person knows that the kidney is enveloped in a coat of the purest fat in the body of the animal, for vi'hich several anatomical reasons might be given As the kidney itself is to the abundantly surrounding fat, so is the germ of the grain to the lobes or farinaceous parts. The expression here may be considered as a very strong and peculiarly happy figure to point out the finest wheat, containing the healthiest and most vigorous germ, growing in a very large and nutritive grain; and consequently the whole figure points out to us a species of wheat, equally excellent both for seed and bread. This beautiful metaphor seems to have escaped the notice of every commentator.

Pure blood of the grape.] Red wine, or the pure juice of whatever colour, expressed from the grapes, without any adulteration or mixture with water: blood here is synonymous with juice. This intimates that their vines should be of the best kind, and their wine in abundance, and of the most delicious flavour.

Verse 15. Jeshurim] ]^'\'\'\ii^, the upright. This appellative is here put for Israel, and, as it comes from "ity yashar, he was right, straight, may be intended to show that the people who once not only promised fair, but were really upright, walking in the paths of righteousness, should, in the time signified by the prophet, not only revolt from God, but actually fight against him; like vl full fed hoise, who not only will not bear the harness, but breaks aways from his master, and endeavours to kick him as he struggles to get loose. All this is spoken prophetically, and is intended as a u-arning, that the evil might not take place. For were the transgression unavoidable, it must be the effect of some necessitating cause, which would destroy the turpitude of the action, as it referred to Israel; for if the evil were absolutely unavoidable, no blame

1 7 P They sacrificed unto devils, 1 not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not.

18 "^ Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast ^ forgotten God that formed thee.

1 9 ' And when the Lord saw it, he '^ abhor-

could attach to the unfortunate agent, who could only consider himself the miserable instrument of a dire necessity. See a case in point, 1 Sam. xxiii. 11, 12, where the prediction appears in the most absolute form, and yet the evil was prevented by the person receiving the prediction as a loarning. The case is the following:

The Philistines attacked KeUah and robbed the threshing-floors; David, being informed of it, asked counsel of God whether he should go and relieve it; he is ordered to go, and is assured of success; he goes, routs the Philistines, and delivers Keilah. Saul, hearing that David was in Keilah, determines to besiege the place. David, finding that Saul meditated his destruction, asked counsel of the Lord, thus: " O Lord God of Israel, thy servant hath certainly heard that Saul seeketh to come to Keilah, to destroy the city for my sake. Will the men of Keilah deliver me up into his ''^and ■? Will Saul come down, as thy servant hath heard '\ And the Lord said. He will come down. Then said David, Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul? And the Lord said. They will deliver thee up. Then David and his men (about six hundred) arose and departed out of Keilah, and went whithersoever they could go: and it was told Saul that David was escaped from Keilah, and he forbore to go forth." Here was the most positive prediction that Saul would come to Keilah, and that the men of Keilah would deliver David into his hands; yet neither of these events took place, because David departed from Keilah. But had he continued there, Saul would have come down, and the men of Keilah would have betrayed their deliverer. Thus the prediction was totally conditional; and so were all these prophecies relative to tlie apostasy of Israel. They were only fulfilled in those who did not receive them as loarnings. See Jer. xviii. 8—10.

The Rock of his salvation.] He ceased to depend on the fountain whence his salvation issued; and thinking highly of himself, he lightly esteemed his God; and having ceased to depend on him, his fall became inevitable. The figure is admirably well supported through the whole verse. We sec, first, a miserable, lean steed, taken under the care and into the keeping of a master who provides him with an abundance of provender. We see, secondly, this horse waxing fat under this keeping. We see him, thirdly, breaking away from his master, leaving his ricli pasturage, and running to the wilderness, unwilling to bear the yoke or harness, or to make any returns for his master's care and attention. We see, fourthly, whence this

20 And he said, ^^ I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall he: for they are a very froward generation, ^ children in whom is no faith.

conduct proceeds — from a want of consciousness that his strength depends upon his master's care and keeping; and a lack of consideration that leanness and wretchedness must be the consequence of his leaving his master's service, and running ofl" from his master's pasturage. How easy to apply all these points to the case of the Israelites! and how illustrative of their former and latter state! And how powerfully do they apply to the case of many called Christians, who, having increased in riches, forget that God from whose hand alone those mercies flowed!

Verse 1 7. They sacrificed unto devils'] The original word WT\S shedim has been variously understood. The Syriac, Chaldee, Targums of Jerusalem and Jonathan, and the Samaritan, retain the original word: the Vulgate, Septuagint, Arabic, Persic, Coptic, and Anglo-Saxon, have devils or demons. The Septuagint has edvaav 6at.fj.ovi.oLc, they sacrificed to demons: the Vulgate copies the Septuagint: the Arabic has j^jAiaWi sheeateen, the plural of jj^J^^t**" Sheetan, Satan, by which the rebellious angels appear to be intended, as the word comes from the root y****" shatana, he was obstinate, proud, refractory, ivent far away. And it is likely that these fallen spirits, having utterly lost the empire at which they aimed, got themselves worshipped under various forms and names in different places. The Anglo-Saxon has beopium, devils.

New gods that came newly up] 1N3 D"1p3 mikkaroh hau, "which came up from their neighbours;" viz., the Moabites and Ammonites, whose gods they received and worshipped on their way through the wilderness, and often afterwards.

Verse 18. Of the Rock that begat thee] "IIV tsur, the first cause, the fountain of thy being. See the note on ver 4.

Verse 19. When the Lord saw it, cfc.] More literally. And the Lord saw it, and through indignation he rep7-obated his sons and his daughters. That is, When the Lord shall see such conduct, he shall be justly incensed, and so reject and deliver up to captivity his sons and daughters.

Verse 20. Children in ivhom is no faith] U3 pX Nv lo emon bam, " There is no steadfastness in them," they can never be depended on. They are fickle, because they nre faithless.

Verse 2 1. They have moved me to jealousy] This verse contains a very pointed promise of the calling of the Gentiles, in consequence of the rejection of the Jews, threatened ver. 19; and to this great event it is applied by St. Paul, Rom. x. 19

A. M. 2553. that which is not God; they A^E^'. lsl-^40. have provoked me to anger ^ with ^^^^^- their vanities: and * I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.

22 For ^ a fire is kindled in mine anger, and <= shall burn unto the lowest hell, and ^ shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.

23 I will ^ heap mischiefs upon them; *" I will spend mine arrows upon them.

24 They shall he burnt with hunger, and devoured with ^ burning heat, and with bitter

Verse 22. The lowest hell] HTinn biNtt* sheol tachtith, the very deepest destruction; a total extermination, so that the earth — their land, and its increase, and all their property, should be seized; and the foundations of their mountains — their strongest fortresses, should be razed to the ground. All this was fulfilled in a most remarkable manner in the last destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, so that of the fortifications of that city not one stone was left on another. See the notes on Matt. xxiv.

Verse 23. I will spend mine arrows upon them..] The judgments of God in general are termed the arrows of God, Job vi. 4; Psa. xxxviii. 2, 3; xci. 5; see also Ezek. v. 16; Jer. 1. 14; 2 Sam. xxii. 14, 15. In this and the following verses, to the 28 th inclusive, God threatens this people with every species of calamity that could possibly fall upon man. How strange it is that, having this law continually in their hands, they should not discern those threatened judgments, and cleave to the Lord that they might be averted!

It was customary among the heathens to represent any judgment from their gods under the notion of arrows, especially a. pestilence; and one of their greatest deities, Apollo, is ever represented as bearing a bow and quiver full oi deadly arrows; so Homer, II. i., ver. 43, where he represents him, in answer to the prayer of his priest Chryses, coming to smite the Greeks with the pestilence: —

" Thus Chryses pray'd; the favouring power attends. And from Olympus' lofty tops descends. Bent was his bow the Grecian hearts to loound; Fierce as he moved, his silver shafts resound; — The fleet in view, he tivang'd his deadly bow, And hissing fly the feathered fates below. On mules and dogs the infection first began; And last the vengeful arrows fix'd in man.^^ a

25 ' The sword without, and terror ''within, shall ' destroy both the young man and the virgin, the suckling also, with the man of gray hairs.

26 ""I said, I would scatter them into cor ners, I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men:

27 Were it not that I feared the wrath of the enemy, lest their adversaries ^ should behave themselves strangely, and lest they

How frequently the same figure is employed in the sacred writings, every careful reader knows; and quotations need not be multiplied.

Verse 24. They shall be burnt with hunger] Their land shall be cursed, and famine shall prevail. This is one of the arrows.

Burning heat] No showers to cool the atmosphere; or rather boils, blains, and pestilential fevers; this was a second.

Teeth of beasts — ivith the poison of serpents] The beasts of the field should multiply upoh and destroy them; this was a. fourth: and poisonous serpents, infesting all their steps, and whose mortal bite should produce the utmost anguish, were to be a. fifth arrow. Added to all these, the sword oi their enemies — terror among themselves, ver. 25, and captivity were to complete their ruin, and thus the arrows of God ivere to be spent upon them. There is a beautiful saying in the Toozuki Teemour, which will serve to illustrate this point, while it exhibits one of the finest metaphors that occurs in any writer, the sacred writers excepted.

" It was once demanded of the fourth Khaleefeh, (Aaly,) on whom be the mercy of the Creator, ' If the canopy of heaven were a bow; and if the earth were the cord thereof; and if calamities were arrows; if mankind were the mark for those arrows; and if Almighty God, the tremendous and the glorious, were the wnern'n^ ARCHER; to whom could the sons of Adam flee for protection V The Khaleefeh answered, saying, ' The sons of Adam must flee unto the Lord.' "

Verse 27. Were it not that I feared the wrath of the enemy] Houbigant and others contend that wrath here refers not to the enemy, but to God; and that the passage should be thus translated: " Indignation for the adversary deters me, lest their enemies should be alienated, and say, The strength of our hands, and not of the Lord's, hath done this." Had not God punished them in such a way as proved that his hand and not the hand of man had done it, the heathens would have boasted of their prowess, and Jehovah would have been blasphemed, as not being able to

should ° say, p Our hand is high, and the Lord hath not done all this.

28 For they are a nation void of counsel, ^ neither is there any understanding in them.

29 '^ O that they were wise, that they understood this, ^ that they would consider their latter end!

30 How should ' one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock 'i had sold them, and the Lord had shut them up?

3 1 For ^ their rock is not as our Rock, "" even our enemies themselves being judges.

32 For ^ their vine ^ is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah: their grapes

protect his worshippers, or to punish their infidelities. Titus, when he took Jerusalem, was so struck with the strength of the place, that he acknowledged that if God had not delivered it into his hands, the Roman armies never could have taken it.

Verse 29. That they would consider their latter end.'] DJ^'inx acharitham, properly, their latter times — the glorious days of the Messiah, who, according to the flesh, should spring up among them. Should they carefully consider this subject, and receive the promised Saviour, they would consequently act as persons under infinite obligations to God; his strength would be their shield, and then —

Verse 30. How should one chase a thousand^ If therefore they had not forgotten their Rock, God their author and defence, it could not possibly have come to pass that a thousand of them should flee before one of their enemies.

Our enemies themselves being judges.] For they often acknowledged the irresistible power of that God who fought for Israel. See Exod. xiv. 25; Num. xxiii. 8-12, 19-21; 1 Sam. iv. 8.

There is a passage in Virgil, Eclog. iv., ver. 58, very similar to this saying of Moses: —

Pan Deus Arcadia mecum si judice certet, Pan etiam Arcadia dicat se judice victum.

" Should the god Pan contend with me," (in singing the praises of the future hero, the deliverer, prophesied of in the Sibvlline books,) " were even Arcadia judge. Pan would acknowledge himself to be vanquished, Arcadia herself being judge." Verse 32. For their vine is of the vine of Sodom] The Jews are as wicked and rebellious as the Sodom-

are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter:

33 Their wine is ^ the poi-

son of dragons, and the cruel 'venom of asps.

34 Is not this ^ laid up in store with me, ana sealed up among my treasures?

35 •= To me helongeth vengeance and re compense; their foot shall slide in due time: for ^ the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste.

36 ^ For the Lord shall judge his people, ^ and repent himself for his servants, when he seeth that their ^ power is gone, and ^ there is none shut up or left.

Their grapes] Their actions, are gall and wormivood — producing nothing but mischief and misery to themselves and others.

Their clusters are bitter] Their united exertions, as well as their individual acts, are sin, and only sin, continually. That by vine is meant the people, and by grapes their moral co9iduct, is evident from Isa. v. 1—7. It is very likely that the grapes produced about the lake Asphaltites, where Sodom and Gomorrah formerly stood, were not only of an acrid, disagreeable taste, but of a deleterious quality; and to this, it is probable, Moses here alludes.

Verse 33. Their ivi7ie] Their system of doctrines and teaching, is the poison of dragons, &c., fatal and destructive to all them who follow it.

Verse 34. Sealed up among my treasures 1] Deeds or engagements by which persons were bound at a specified time to fulfil certain conditions, were sealed and laid up in places of safety; so here God's justice is pledged to avenge the quarrel of his broken covenant on the disobedient Jews, but the time and manner were sealed in his treasures, and known only to him self. Hence it is said,

Verse 35. Their foot shall slide in due time, dfc] But Calmet thinks that this verse is spoken against the Canaanites, the enemies of the Jewish

Verse 36. The Lord shall judge his people] He has an absolute right over them as their Creator, and authority to punish them for their rebellions as their Sovereign; yet he will repent himself — he will change his manner of conduct towards them, when he seeth that their power is gone — when they are entirely subjugated by their adversaries, so that their political power is entirely destroyed; and there is none shut up or left — not one strong place untaken, and not one family left, a

A. M. 2553. 37 And he shall say, ' Where A^.Ex.YsT.'iO. are their gods, their rock in ^^^^^- whom they trusted,

38 Which did eat the fat of their sacrifices, and^ drank the wine of their drink- offerings? let them rise up and help you, and be ^ your protection.

39 See now that ^ I, even I, am. he, and •» there is no god with me: ° I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.

40 ° For I lift up my hand to heaven, and say, 1 live for ever.

41 P If I wet my glittering sword, and mine hand take hold on judgment; 1 1 will render vengeance to mine enemies, and will reward them that hate me.

42 I will make mine arrows ^ drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh; and that with the blood of the slain and of the

all being carried into captivity, or scattered into strange lands. Or, he will do justice to his people, and avenge them of their adversaries; see ver. 35.

Verse 37. He shall say] He shall begin to expostulate with them, to awaken them to a due sense of their ingratitude and rebellion. This may refer to the preaching of the Gospel to them in the latter days.

Verse 39. See now that I — am he] Be convinced that God alone can save, and God alone can destroy, and that your idols can neither hurt nor help you.

/ kill, and I make alive, dfc] My mercy is as great as my justice, for I am as ready to save the penitent as I was to punish the rebellious.

Verse 40. For I lift up my hand to heaven] See concerning oaths and appeals to God in the note on chap. vi. 13.

Verse 42. From the beginning of i-evenges] The word nij?"13 paroth, rendered revenges, a sense in which it never appears to be taken, has rendered this place very perplexed and obscure. Mr. Parkhurst has rendered the whole passage thus: —

I will make my arrows drunk with blood; And my sword shall devour flesh. With the blood of the slain and captive From the hairy head of the enemy.

Probably nV"'^ 'tJ'Nira merosh paroth may be more properly translated, from ttie naked head — the enemy shall have nothing to shield him from my vengeance; the crown of dignity shall fall off, and even the helmet be no protection against the sword and arrows of the

Verse 43. Rejoice, Oye nations] Ye Gentiles, for the casting off of the Jews shall be the means of your a

with his people: for he will ^ avenge the blood of his servants, and ^ will render vengeance to his adversaries, and ^ will be merciful unto his land, and to his people.

44 And Moses came and spake all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he, and y Hoshea the son of Nun.

45 And Moses made an end of speaking all these words to all Israel!

46 And he said unto them, ^ Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day, which ye shall command your children to observe to do, all the words of this law.

47 For it is not a vain thing for you; * because it is your life: and through this thing ye shall prolong your days in the land, whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.

ingathering with his people, for they shall not be utterly cast off. (See Rom. xv. 9, for in this way the apostle applies it.) But how shall the Gentiles be called, and the Jews have their iniquity purged ^ He icill be merciful unto his land and to his people, "li3D1 vechipper, he shall cause an atonement to be made for his land and people; i. e., Jesus Christ, the long promised Messiah, shall be crucified for Jews and Gentiles, and the way to the holiest be made plain by his blood.

The people have long been making atonements for themselves, but to none effect, for their atonements were but signs, and not the thing signified, for the body is Christ; now the Lord himself makes an atonement, for the Lamb of God alone taketh away the sin of the ivorld. This is a very proper and encouraging conclusion to the awfully important matter of this poem.

Israel shall be long scattered, peeled, and punished, but they shall have mercy in the latter times; they also shall rejoice with the Gentiles, in the common salvation purchased by the blood of the Saviour of all mankind.

Verse 44. And Moses canw] Probably from the tabernacle, where God had given him this prophetic ode, and he rehearsed it in the ears of the people.

Verse 46 Set your hearts unto all the ivords] Another proof that all these awful denunciations of Divine wrath, though delivered in an absolute form, were only declaratory of what God would do if they rebelled against him.

Verse 47. Through this thing ye shall prolong your days] Instead of being cut off, as God here threatens, ye shall be preserved and rendered prosperous in the land which, when they passed over Jordan, they should possess.

49 Get thee up into this '^mountain Abarim, unto Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, that is over against Jericho; and behold the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel for a possession:

50 And die in the mount whither thougoest up, and be gathered unto thy people; as ^ Aaron thy brother died in Mount Hor,

Verse 49. Get thee up into this mountain Abarim] The mount of the passages, i. e., of the Israelites when they entered into the promised land. See the notes on Num. xxvii. 12.

Verse 50. And die in the mount — as Aaron] Some have supposed that Moses was translated; but if so, then Aaron was translated, for what is said of the death of the one is said of the death of the other.

Verse 51. Ye trespassed against me — at the waters of Meribah] See the note on Num. xx. 8.

Verse 52. Thou shalt see the land before thee] See Num. xxvii. 12, &c. How glorious to depart out of this life with God in his heart and heaven in his eye! his work, his great, unparalleled usefulness, ending only with his life. The serious reader will surely join in the following pious ejaculation of the late Rev. Charles Wesley, one of the best Christian poets of the last century: —

I may the welcome word receive; My body with my charge lay down. And cease at once to work and live.'"

It would require a dissertation expressly formed for the purpose to point out the general merit and extraordinary beauties of this very sublime ode. To enter into such particulars can scarcely comport with the nature of the present work. Drs. Loivth, Kennicott, and Durell, have done much in this way; and to their respective works the critical reader is referred. A very considerable extract from what they have written on this chapter may be found in Dr. Dodd^s notes. In writing this ode the design of Moses was,

1. To set forth the Majesty of God; to give that generation and all successive ones a proper view of the glorious perfections of the object of their worship. He therefore shows that from his holiness and purity he must be displeased with sin; from his justice and righteousness he must punish it; and from the goodness and infinite benevolence of his nature he is ever disposed to help the lueak, instruct the ignorant, and show mercy to the ivretched, sinful sons and daughters of men.

2. To show the duly and interest of his people. To have such a Being for their friend is to have all possible happiness, both spiritual and temporal, secured; to have him for their enemy is to be exposed to inevitable destruction and ruin.

5 1 Because ® ye trespassed ^^^^' against me among the children of Israel at the waters of ^ Meribah-kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because ye ^ sanctified me not in the midst of the children of Israel.

52 ^ Yet thou shalt see the land before thee; but thou shalt not go thither unto the land which I give the children of Israel.

3. To warn them against irreligion and apostasy; to show the possibility of departing from God, and the miseries that would overwhelm them and their posterity should they be found walking in opposition to the laws of their Creator.

4. To give a proper and impressive view of the providence of God, by referring to the history of his gracious dealings with them and their ancestors; the minute attention he paid to all their wants, the wonderful manner in which he led, fed, clothed, protected, and saved them, in all their travels and in all perils.

5. To leave on record an everlasting testimony against them, should they ever cast off his fear and pollute his worship, which should serve at once as a warning to the world, and a vindication of his justice, when the judgments he had threatened were found to be poured out upon them; for he who loved them so long and so intensely could not become their enemy but in consequence of the greatest and most unprincipled provocations.

C. To show the shocking and unprecedented ingratitude which induced a people so highly favoured, and so wondrously protected and loved, to sin against their God; and how reasonable and just it was, for the vindication of his holiness, that God should pour out upon them such judgments as he had never inflicted on any other people, and so mark their disobedience and ingratitude with fresh marks of his displeasure, that the punishment should bear some proportion to the guilt, and that their preservation as a distinct people might afford a feeling proof both of the providence and justice of God.

7. To show the glory of the latter days in the reelection of the long reprobated Jewish nation, and the final diffusion of his grace and goodness over the earth by means of the Gospel of Christ.

And all this is done with such strength and elegance of diction, with such appropriate, energetic, and impressive figures and metaphors, and in such a powerful torrent of that soul-penetrating, pure poetic spirit that comes glowing from the bosom of God, that the reader is alternately elated or depressed, filled with compunction or confidence, with despair or hope, according to the quick transitions of the inimitable writer to the different topics which form the subject of this incomparable and wondrously varied ode. May that Spirit by which it was dictated give it its fullest, most durable, and most effectual impression upon the mind of every reader!

Verse 1. And this is the blessing wherewith Moses — blessed, (^c] The general nature of this solemn introduction, says Dr. Kennicott, is to show the foundation which Moses had for blessing his brethren, viz., because God had frequently manifested his glory in their behalf; and the several parts of this introduction are disposed in the following order: —

1. The manifestation of the Divine glory on Sinai, as it was prior in time and more magnificent in splendour, is mentioned first.

2. That God manifested his glory at Seir is evident from Judg. v. 4: Lord, when thou wentest out of Seir, when thou marchedst out of the fields of Edom, the earth trembled and the heavens dropped, &c.

3. The next place is Paran, where the glory of the Lord appeared before all the children of Israel, Num. xiv. 10.

Instead of he came with ten thousand saints, by which our translators have rendered t^Tp HD^TD meribeboth kodesh, Dr. Kennicott reads Meribah-Kadesh, the name of a place: for we find that, towards the end of forty years, the Israelites came to Kadesh, Num. 3CX. 1, which was also called Meribah, on account of their contentious opposition to the determinations of God in their favour, ver. 13; and there the glory of the Lord again appeared, as we are informed ver. 6. These four places, Sinai, Seir, Paran, and Meribah- Kadesh, mentioned by Moses in the text, are the identical places where God manifested his glory in a fiery appearance, the more^ illustriously to proclaim his special providence over and care of Israel.

Verse 3. Yea, he loved the people] This is the inference which Moses makes from those glorious appearances, that God truly loved the people; and that all his saints, VVf'\t) kedoshaiv, the people whom he had consecrated to himself, were under his especial benediction; and that in order to make them a holy nation, God had displayed his glory on Mount Sinai, where they had fallen prostrate at his feet with the

Moses delivers a prophetical blessing to the children of Israel, 1. The introduction, 2-5. Prophetic declarations concerning Reuben, 6; concerning Judah, 7; concerning Levi, 8-11; concerning Benjamin, 12; concerning Joseph, 13-17; concerning Zebulun, 18, 19; concerning Gad, 20, 21; concerning Dan, 22; concerning Naphtali, 23; concerning Asher, 24, 25. The glory of the God o/Jeshurun, and the glorious privileges of his true followers, 26-29.

A ND this is " the blessing wherewith Moses, '' the man of God, blessed the children of Israel before his death.

2 And he said, "= The Lord came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from Mount Paran, and he came with ^ ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went ^ a fiery law for them.

Sail his saints are in thy hand: An. Ex. isr. 40. and they ^ sat down at thy feet; ^'^*'''

4 ^ Moses commanded us a law, ^ even the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob.

5 And he was ™ king in " Jeshurun, when the heads of the people and the tribes of Israel were gathered together.

humblest adoration, sincerely promising the most af fectionate obedience; and that God had there com manded them a law which was to be the possession and inheritance of the children of Jacob, ver. 4. And to crown the whole, he had not only blessed them as their lawgiver, but had also vouchsafed to be their king, ver. 5.

Verse 1. And this is the blessing wherewith Moses, the man of God, blessed the children of Israel before his death. And he said,

3. Truly, he loved the people. And he blessed all his saints: For they fell down at his feet, And they received of his words.

When the heads of the people were assembled, Together with the tribes of Israel.

We have already seen that Dr. Kennicott reads K/lp riD'^'D Meribah-Kadesh, the name of a place, instead of lyip r\3D"13 meriheboth kodesh, which, by a most unnatural and forced construction, our version renders ten thousands of saints, a translation which no circumstance of the history justifies.

Instead of a fiery laiv, m l^N esh dath, he reads, following the Samaritan version, IIN B^X esh ur, 3, fire shining out upon them. In vindication of this change in the original, it may be observed, 1. That, though m dath signifies a law, yet it is a Chaldee term, and appears nowhere in any part of the sacred writings previously to the Babylonish captivity: mm torah

Judah: and he said, Hear, Lord, the voice

being the term constantly used to express the Law, at all times prior to the corruption of the Hebrew, by the Chaldee. 2. That the word itself is obscure in its present situation, as the Hebrew Bibles write it and esh in one word, m2/N eshdath, which has no meaning; and which, in order to give it one, the Massorah directs should be read separate, though written connected. 3. That the word is not acknowledged by the two most ancient versions, the Septuagint and Syriac. 4. That in the parallel place, Hab. iii. 3, 4, a word is used which expresses the rays of light, D^J^p harnayim, horns, that is, splendours, rays, or effulgence of light. 5. That on all these accounts, together with the almost impossibility of giving a rational meaning to the text as it now satnds, the translation contended for should be adopted.

Instead of All his saints are in his hand, Dr. Kennicott reads, He blessed all his saints — changing "IT' 3 leyadecha, into "jin barach, he blessed, which word, all who understand the Hebrew letters will see, might be easily mistaken for the other; the T daleth and the "1 resh being, not only in MSS., but also in printed books, often so much alike, that analogy alone can determine which is the true letter; and except in the insertion of the ^ yod, which might have been easily mistaken for the apex at the top of the 3 beth very frequent in MSS., both words have the nearest resemblance. To this may be added, that the Syriac authorizes this rendering.

Instead of ■]Sjn'7 leraglecha, a.Tid ym^TD middabberotheycha, thy feet, and thy ivords, Dr. Kennicott reads the pronouns in the third person singular, vVjiS leraglaiv and rnn^TO middabberothaiv, his feet, his words, in which he is supported both by the Septuagint and Vulgate. He also changes XB'"' yissa, he shall receive, into IXiy yisseu, they shall receive.

He contends also that nti'O Mosheh, Moses, in the fourth verse, was written by mistake for the following word ^vi'^13 morashah, inheritance; and when the scribe found he had inserted a wrong word, he added the proper one, and did not erase the first. The word Moses, he thinks, should therefore be left out of the text, as it is improbable that he should here introduce his own name; and that if the word be allowed to be legitimate, then the word king must apply to him, and not to God, which would be most absurd. See Kennicott's first Dissertation, p. 422, &c.

Verse 6. Let Reuben Itve, and not die] Though his life and his blessings have been forfeited by his transgression with his father's concubine. Gen. xlix. 3, 4; and in his rebellion with Korah, Num. xvi. 1, &c., let him not become extinct as a tribe in Israel. "It is very usual," says Mr. Ainsworth, " in the Scripture, to set down things of importance and earnestness, by aflirmation of the one part, and denial of the other; Isa. xxxviii. 1: Thou shall die, and not live; Num. iv. 19: That they may live, and not die; Psa. cxviii.

people: ° let his hands be suffi- An. Ex! u^.io. cient for him; and be thou p a ^^^- help to him from his enemies.

17: I shall not die, but live; Gen. xliii. 8: That ive may live, and not die; Jer. xx. 1 4: Cursed be the day — let not that day be blessed; 1 John ii. 4: He is a liar, and the truth is not in him.; ib. ver. 27: Is truth, and no lie; John i. 20: He confessed, and denied not; 1 Sam. i. 1 1: Remember me, and not forget thy handmaid; Deut. ix. 7: Remember, forget not; Deut. xxxii. 6: O foolish people, and unwise. In all these places it is evident that there is a peculiar emphasis in this form T)f expression, as if he had said, Let him not only not die, but let him live in great and increasing peace and prosperity. Do not only not forget me, but keep me continually in remembrance. He denied not, but confessed fully and particularly. O foolish people — silly and stupid, and unwise — destitute of all true wisdom."

And let not his men be few.] It is possible that this clause belongs to Simeon. In the Alexandrian copy of the Septuagint the clause stands thus: Kai Ivjieuv earn Tro/lvf ev apLdfxu, and let Simeon be very numerous, but none of the other versions insert the word. As the negative particle is not in the Hebrew, but is supplied in our translation, and the word Simeon is found in one of the most ancient and most authentic copies of the Septuagint version; and as Simeon is nowhere else mentioned here, if not implied in this place, probably the clause anciently stood: Let Reuben live, and not die; but let the men of Simeon be few. That this tribe was small when compared with the rest, and with what it once was, is evident enough from the first census, taken after they came out of Egypt, and that in the plains of Moab nearly forty years after. In the first, Simeon was 59,300; in the last, 22,200, a decrease of 37,100 men!

Verse 7. And this is the blessing of Judah] Though the word blessing is not in the text, yet it may be implied from ver. 1; but probably the words, he spake, are those which should be supplied: And this he spake of Judah, Lord, hear the voice of Judah; that is, says the Targum, receive his prayer when he goes out to battle, and let him be brought back in safety to his own people. Let his hands be sufficient for him — let him have a sufficiency of warriors always to support the tribe, and vindicate its rights; and let his enemies never be able to prevail against him! Three things are expressed here: 1. That the tribe of Judah, conscious of its weakness, shall depend on the Most High, and make prayer and supplication to him; 2. That God will hear such prayer; and, 3. That his hands shall be increased, and that he shall prevail over his enemies. This blessing has a striking affinity with that which this tribe received from Jacob, Gen. xlix. 9; and both may refer to our blessed Lord, who sprang from this tribe, as is noticed on the above passage, who has conquered our deadly foes by his death, and whose praying posterity ever prevail through his might.

didst prove at Massah, and loith whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah;

9 Who said unto his father and to his mother, I have not ' seen him; ' neither did he acknowledge his brethren, nor knew his own children: for " they have observed thy word, and kept thy covenant.

Verse 8. Of Levi he said] Concerning the Urim and Thummim see Exod. xxviii. 30.

Thy holy one] Aaron primarily, who was anointed the high priest of God, and whose office was the most holy that man could be invested with. Therefore Aaron was called God's holy one. and the more especially so as he was the type of the most holy and blessed Jesus, from whom the Urim — all light and wisdom, and Thummim — all excellence, completion, and perfection, are derived.

Whom thou didst prove, cj-c] God contended with Aaron as well as with Moses at the waters of Meribah, and excluded him from the promised land because he did not sanctify the Lord before the people.

From the words of St. Paul, 1 Cor. x. 8-12, it is evident that these words, at least in a secondary sense, belong to Christ. He is the Holy One who was tempted by them at Massah, who suffered their manners in the wilderness, who slew 23,000 of the most incorrigible transgressors, and who brought them into the promised land by his deputy, Joshua, whose name and that of Jesus have the same signification.

Verse 9. Who said unto his father, 4-c.] There are several difficulties in this and the following verses. Some think they are spoken of the tribe of Levi; others, of all the tribes; others, of the Messiah, &c.; but several of the interpretations founded on these suppositions are too recondite, and should not be resorted to till a plain literal sense is made out. I suppose the whole to be primarily spoken of Aaron and the tribe of Levi. Let us examine the words in this way. Who said unto his father, &c. The law had strictly enjoined that if the father, mother, brother, or child of the high priest should die, he must not mourn for them, but act as if they were not his kindred; see Lev. xxi. 11, 12. Neither must Aaron mourn for his sons Nadab and Abihu, &c., though riot only their death, but the circumstances of it, were the most afflicting thai could possibly affect a parent's heart. Besides, the high priest was forbidden, on pain of death, to go out from the door of the tabernacle. Lev. x. 2-7, for God would have them more to regard their function (as good Mr. Ainsworth observes) and duty in his service, than any natural affection whatever. And herein Christ was figured, who, when he was told that his mother and brethren stood without, and wished to speak with him,

^ before thee, ^ and whole burnt-sacrifice upon thine altar.

11 Bless, Lord, his substance, and ^accept the work of his hands: smite tlirough the loins of them that rise against him, and of them that hate him, that they rise not again.

12 And of Benjamin he said, The bclovod

said: " Who is my mother, and who are my brethren 1 whosoever shall do the will of my father who is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother;" Matt. xii. 46-50. It is likely also that Moses may refer here to the fact of the Levites, according to the command of Moses, kUling every man his brother, friend, neighbour, and even son, who had sinned in worshipping the golden calf, Exod. xxxii. 26; and in this way the Chaldee paraphrast understands the words.

Verse 10. They shall teach Jacob, <^-c.] This was the office of the Levites, to teach, by their significant service and typical ceremonies, the way of righteousness and truth to the children of Israel. Ajid of their faithfulness in this respect God bears testimony by tliC prophet, " My covenant was with him of life and peace,'' Mai. ii. 5; and, " The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips: he walked with me in peace and equity, and did turn many away from' iniquity;" ver. 6. These words are a sufficient comment on the words of the text.

Verse 11. Bless, Lord, his substance] The blessing of God to the tribe of Levi was peculiarly necessary, because they had no inheritance among the children of Israel, and lived more immediately than others upon the providence of God. Yet, as they lived by the offerings of the people and the tithes, the increase of their substance necessarily implied the increase of the people at large: the more fruitful the land was, the more abundant would the tithes of the Levites be; and thus in the increased fertility of the land the substance of Levi would be blessed.

Verse 12. Of Benjamin — the beloved of the Lord] Alluding to his being particularly beloved of his father Jacob, Gen. xlix. 27, &c.

Shall divell in safety by him] That is, by the Lord, whose temple, which is considered as his dwellingplace, was in the tribe of Benjamin, for a part of Jerusalem belonged to this tribe.

Shall cover him all the day] Be his continual protector; and he shall dwell between his shoulders — within his coasts, or in his chief city, viz., Jerusalem, where the temple of God was built, on his mountains Zion and Moriah, here poetically termed his shoulders.