Commentary on the Holy Bible

Egyptians; (see Acts vii. 20, 23;) forty years he sojourned in the land of Midian in a slate of preparation for his great and important mission: (.Vets vii. 29, 30;) and forti/ years he guided, le<l, and governed the Israelites under the express direction and authority of God: in all, one hundred and twenty years.

An. Ex. isr. 40. the LoRD thy (jrod, ' he it is that ^'''"''- doth go with thee; "> he will not

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 shall cause them to inherit it.

8 And the Lord, " he it is that doth go before thee; " 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 tlie following verse, have, At'rfpifou Km lax^^t Play the man, and he strong; and from this St. Paul seems to have borrowed his ideas, 1 Cor. xvi. 13: 'LTTjKCTe iv ttj Tunrn' avSpii^cade, KpanovcBe: Stand Jirm 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 tvill be with thee] Accompany thee in all thy journeys, and assist thee in all thy enterprises.

He will 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 liim 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.

Averse 9. Moses wrote this law] Not the whole Pentateuch, but either the discourses and j-recepts 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 wa.s laid up by the ark. This opinion deserves little credit. Some think that he WTote two copies, one of which he g7ive to the. priests and Levites for general use, according to what is said in this verse, the 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 lie shall choose, '^°'""-

'thou shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing.

12 '^ Gather the people together, men, and women, and children, and thy stranger that is within thy gales, 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:

13 And that their children, ^ which have not known any thing, y 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 Josliua, 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 Mch 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. -1< ''''^ ^^^ "f every Seven years — thou shall read this law] Every seventh year was a year of relcas~-< chap. xv. 1, at which time the people's minds hemg under a peculiar degree of solemnity, were better dispcscd 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. 819 '

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 be among them; and will "^ forsake me, and ^ break my covenant which I have made with them.

17 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 among us?

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

1 9 Now therefore write ye this song for you, and 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 Jemsalem. See Dodd.

Verse Ifi. Behold^ thoit shah stet-pirith thy fatlicrs] ^2'iS slwchch, thou shah lie down; it b'.unifies to rest take rest in.sleep, and, metaphorically, to di>. Much stress caimot be safely laid on this expressiim lo prove the immortality of the soul, or that the people in the time of Moses had a distinct notion of its.separate waxen fat; •> then will they tiiin A M. 2553. unto other gods, and serve them, An. Ex. Isr 40. and provoke me, and break my '^'''^'"- covenant.

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 shall 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 ^ 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 boohs, 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 laivs. And Cicero observes that it was a custom among the ancient Romans to sing the praises of their existence. It was, however, understood in this sense | heroes at the public festivals. This was the case by Jonathan ben Uzziel, who in his Targum para- i among the northern inhaliitants of Europe, particularly phrases the word thus: " Thou shall lie down in the \ in Irehnd and.Scotland; hence the Gaelic poetry of dust with thy fathers; and thy soul (^nnw nishmc- j Ossian and others. See Dodd; and see the note on Ihach) shall be laid up in the treasury of the life to Exod xv. 1, where the subject is largely treated.

A''ersc 21. Thi.t song shall leslify against them] Because iu it ilieir general defection is predicted, but

Verse 18. I will surely hide my face] Withdraw my approbation and my protection. This is a general j in such a way as to show them how to avoid the evil;

Verse Ii). Write ye this song] The song which I punishment should come upon them, then the song follows in the next chapter. Things which were of should testify against them, by showing that they had great importance and of common concern were, among been sufficienlly warned, and might have lived to God, the ancients, put into verse, as this was I'nund the best and so escaped those disasters.

method of keeping them in remembrance, especially in i Verse 26. Ta/ie this booh of the law] The standard those times when writing was little practised. Even | copy to which all transcripts must ultimately refer:

27 '' For I know thy rebellion, and thy ' stiff neck: behold, while I am yet alive with you 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 my 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 would not. God was present to help them, till by their repeated provocations they forced him to depart; wrath therefore came upon them to Ihe uttermost because they sinned when they might aave 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; tor 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- utterly *" corrupt yourselves, and A. M. 2553. turn aside from the way which I An. Ex. isr. 40. have commanded you; and '' evil Sebat.

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 individuals who reject his mercy, or trample under foot his grace; the soul that sinneth, and returns not to 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 occasion was probably set to some lively and affecting air, and sung by the people. It would be much easier to keep such a song in remembrance, than an equal quantity of prose. The whole would have the additional circumstances of cadence and tune to cause it to be often repeated; and thus insure its being kept in memory. Poetry, though often, n3.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 minor 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 with them during their travels in the wilderness, 8-14. Their ingratitude and iniquity, 15-18. They are threatened with his judgments, 19-28..4. pathetic lamentation over them because of their sins, 29-35. Gracious purposes in their behalf, mixed laith reproaches for their manifold idolatries, and threatenings against his enemies, 36-42..4 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 mount, 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 written 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 thorousjhly poetic that even the dull Jews themselves found they could not write it in the prose form; and hence it i.s 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 hy the most inanimate rhyming version, to certain later poets, who have cast it unhaliowedly into a European mould. See the observations at the end of the chapter.

Give ear, O ye heavens] 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. Mi/ doctrine] "npS liichi, from npS lahach, to take, carry aioay; to attract or gain over the heart by eloquence or persuasive speech. Hence the Septuagint translate the word avoipOey/ia, 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] TI-nN imralhi; 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; ho 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 8 all his ways are judgment: '' a God of truth and ' without iniquity, just and right is he.

On the manner in which dciv is produced, philosophers are not yet agreed. It was long supposed to descend, and to differ only from rain 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 w-ords gives light and life. See the note on Gen. ii. 6.

As the small rain] DTi'K? seirim, from "yyw soar, to be rough or tempestuous; sweeping showers, ac companied with a strong gale of wind.

And as the shoivers] D'3'm rehibim, from (131 rabah, to multiply, 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 sweeping showers, in wliicli the tempest of God's u'rath appears against sinners. Others are like the incessant showers of gentle ra/;i, preparing the soil for the germination of the grain, and causing it to take root. And others still are like the detn, 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 lis tsur is rendered Creator by some eminent critics; and ^jDlei khalyk is the reading in the."Vrabic Version. Rab.

An. Ex. isr. 40. Selves, " their spot is not the spot

" ^^' of his children; they are a " perverse and crooked generation.

6 Do ye thus ° requite the Lord, 0 foolish people and unwise? is not he p thy fallier that hath ' bought tlice? 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 "IIS tsur, which is ordinarily translated roc^-, signifies origin, fountain, first cause. Sic, 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 ia 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 prole tion 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 liath corrupted to himself, that they are not his children; that is their blot. And because they liad the Hot 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 marks which the worsliippers of particular idols had on different parts of their bodies, especially on iheit foreheads; and as idolatry is the crime with which they are here charged, the spot or raa;-^- 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 tbfiir respective idols. These sectarian marks, parti-

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 Sceva, 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, (SfC, in red, black, ichite, and yellow. This very custom is referred to in Rev. XX. -t, 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 them from their sins; and their motto or?nark is. Holiness to the

Verse 8. When the Most High divided to the nations, <^c.] 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 Shem, 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, YidTijaev bpia e6vuv Ka-a apidjiov ayyel<jv 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 twetce 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.louls 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 ••nmraerce with the Most High.

Verse 10. He — the Lord, /oMnrf him — Jacob, in his descendants, in a desert land — the wilderness. He led him about forty years in this wilderness, Deut. viii. 2, or inj^^D' ycsobebcnhu, 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 consideied more literally. It is certain that in the same country travellers are often obliged to go about in order to find proper passes between the mountains, and the following extracts from Mr. Harmer well illustrate this point.

" Irwin farther describes the mountains of the desert 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 him as the apple of his eye.

'■ Jehovah certainly instructed Israel in religion by delivering to him his law in this wdderness; but it is not, I presume, of this kind of teaching Moses speaks, us 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 thoni through the intricacies of ihat 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, tliat 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 wc were to ascend. It was peroendicular, like the one we had passed some hours land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he Med him A^Ex.isr.40. about, he » instructed him, he __f!^!L._ 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 camels 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 tliis 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 peri! and fatigue.' p. 32-1. 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 cither fail, or are unintelligible to us.' The predatory Arabs were more successful guides to Mr. Irwin and his companions, than those ho brought with him from Ghmnah; but the march of Israel through deserts of the like nature, was through such an extent and variety of cmintry, 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 stupendousmarch." Sec Ifanner's Ohservat.,yo\. iv. p. 125. He!:cpt him as the apple of his eye] Nothing can exceed the force and delicacy of this expression. As ileeplv concerned and as carefully attentive as man can be for the safety of his eyesight, so was God for tho protection and welfare of this people. How amiitiBg this condescension!

13 <So the Lord alone did lead him, and

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 up 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, i(C.] 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 fl3'ing, 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 rachama, 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] in33T 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 ride — exult, on the high places, ♦.he 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 benediation of God.

Suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rod] This promise states that even the most barren fat of lambs, and rams of the a. M. 255s. breed of Bashan; and goats, An.Ex. Isi40 'with the fat of kidneys of ^''''*'-

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 ivith 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 ever;^ person knows that the kidney is enveloped in a coat of the purest fat in the body of the animal, for which 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. Jeshurun] '^'\Ta', the upright. This appellative is here put for Israel, and, as it comes from "(K'' 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 a full fed horse, who not only will not bear the h.arness. 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 warning, 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 unlo devils, '' not to God; to gods whom tlicy knew not, to new gods that came newly up, wlioni your fathers feared not.

18 'Of the Rock iJiot begat thee thou art immindful, and hast • forgotten God that formed thee.

19 ' And wlien tlicLoRD saw it, lie " abhor-

could attach to the unfortunate agent, who could only consider himself the niiser.able 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 warning. The case is the following:

The Philistines attacked Keilah 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 tlie place. David, finding that Saul meditated his destruction, asked counsel of the Lord, thus: " O Lord God of Israel, thy servant hath certainly heiird that Saul teeketh to come to Keilah, to destroy the city for my sake. Will the men of Keilah deliver me up into his hand 1 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 1 And the Lord said. They will deliver tliee up. Then David and his men (about si.x 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 woulil have betrayed their deliverer. Thus the prediction was totally conditional; and so were all these prophecies relative to the apostasy of Israel. They were only fulfilled in those who did not receive them as warnings. See Jer. xviii. 8-10.

The Rock of his salvation.] He ceased to depend on the/rt!(n<ai/i whence his salvation issued; and thinking highli/ 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 sce,)irst, a miserable, h'an 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, ihirdli/, breaking away from his master, leaving his rich 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 sec wiiat their end shall be: 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 off 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 17. They sacrificed unto devils] The original word D'lty 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 daqiovioi^, they sacrificed to demons; the Vulgate copies the Septuagint; the Arabic has which the rebellious angels appear to be intended, as the word comes from the root ^j^^^*" shatana, he was obstinate, proud, refractory, went 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 21pO mikkarob ban, "which came up from their neighbours;" viz., the Moabiles and Ammonites, whose gods they received and worshipped on thenr way through the wilderness, and often afterwards.

Verse 18. Of the Rock ihs.1 begat thee] IIS /iur, the first cause, the fountain of thy being. See the note on ver 4.

Verso 19. W^hen the Lord saw it, <}c.] More literally. And the Lord saw it, and through indignation he reprobated his sons and his daughters. That is, When the Lord shall.see such conduct, he shall be justly iiicen.sed, and so reject and deliver up to captivity his sons and daughters.

Verse 20. Children in ivhom is no faith] D3 px N7 lo emon bam, " There is no steadfastness in them," they can never be depended on. They sue fickle, becau.se they are faithless.

Verse 21. 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. 1 9; and lo this great event it is applied by St. Patil, Rom. x. 19

A. M. 2553. that tvhich IS not God; they

An. Ex. isr. 40. have provokcd 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 be burnt with hunger, and devoured with s burnins heat, and with bitter

Verse 22. The lowest hell] PTinn ':1NK' 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 loill spend mine arrows upon them.] The judgments of God in general are termed the arroics 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 28th inclusive, GoQ 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 judginent 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' lufiy tops descends. Bent was his buw the Grecian hearts to wound; Fierce as lie moved, his silver shafts resound; — The fleet in view, he lumng^d his deadli/ bow, And hissing jlij the fcalher]d fates below. On mules and dogs the infection first began; And last the vengeful arrows fix'd in man."

"the teeth oi beasts upon them, An. Ex. isr. 40 with the poison of serpents of " ^^'

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 writiiigs, 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.

Bitter destruction] The plague; this was a third.

Teeth of beasts — with the poison of serpents] The beasts of the field should multiply upon and destroy them; this was 3. 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 of their eneihies — terror among themselves, ver. 25, and captivity were to complete their ruin, and thus the arrows of God were 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 Klialeefeh, (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 marlc for those arrows; and if Almighty God, the tremendous and the glorious, were the unerring 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 abfe to should " say, '' Our hand is liigh, ] aie grapes of gall, tlicir clusters

28 For they are a nation void of counsel, 1 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 " 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 tcnuld consider their latter end!] □iT'^nX acharitham, properly, tlieir latter times — the glorious days of tlie Messiah, who, according to the flcsli, siiuuld 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.

Is not as our Roc/c] Have neither power nor influence like our God.

Our enemies themselves being judges.] For they often acknowledged the irresistible power of that God who fought for Israel. See Kxod. xiv. 25; Num. xxiii. 8-12, li)-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 st judice certet, Pan eliam Arcadia dicat se judice victum. ".ShouW >he god Pan contend with me," (in singing the praises of the future hero, the deliverer, prophesied of in the Sibylline 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-

33 Their wine is ^ the poi-

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

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

35 "^ To me belongeth vengeance and re compense; their foot shall slide in due time: for ^ the day of their calamity is at hand, and tlie 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 wormwood— 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 conduct, 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 tvine] 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?] 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 m due time, (^c] But Calmet thinks that this verse is spoken against the Canaanites, the enemies of the Jewish

Verse 36. The Lord shall judge his people] lie 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 iheir political power is entirely destroyed; and there is none shut up or left — not one strong place untaken, and not one family left.

Threatenings and promises

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

39 See now tliat ' 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 saij] 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.

I hill, and I make alive, cjr.] My mercy is as great as my justice, for I am' as ready to save the penitent as I \v,as 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 revenges] The word ni>n3 parpth, rendered revenges, a sense in which it never appears to be taken, has rendered this place very perplexed and obscure. Mr. Parhhurst 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 sKain and captive From the hairy head of the enemy.

Probably PU'"'3 ii'NTD merosh paroth may bo more properly translated, from the 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, O ye nations] Ye Gentiles, for the casting off of the Jews shall be the means of your

Moses exhorts the people captives, from the beginning of a. m. 2553.

ivith 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 tlicm, ^ Set your iiearts 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 Rora. xv. 9, for in this way the apostle applies it.) But how shall the Gentiles be called, and the Jews have their iniquity purged 1 He iv ill be merciful unto his land and to his people, 1331 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 %vorld. 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 came] Probably from the tabernacle, where God had given him this prophetic ode, and he rehearsed it in the ears of the people.

Verse 4 G Set your hearts unto all the tvurds] Another proof that all these awful denunciations of Divine wrath, though delivered in an absolute form, were only declaratory of what God woidd do iv 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 wlrich, when they passed over Jordan, they should

Moses called into the mount that he may see the land.

tain Abarim, iinlo Mount Nebo, which is in llie land of Moab, that is over again.st Jericho; and behold the land of Canaan, which I give unto llie children of Israel for a possession:

50 And die in the mount whither thou goest up, and bo gathered unto thy people; as "^ Aaron thy brother died in Mount Hor,

A'cree 4!). Get thee up into this mountain Aharirn] The mount of the passages, i. c., of the Israelites when they entered into the promised land. See the notes on Num. x.wii. 12.

Verse 50. Am! die in the mount — as Aaron] Some have supposed that Moses was translated; hut if so, then.\aron 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 Menltah] See the note on Num. xx. 8.

Verse 52. Thon 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 usefidness, endmg 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 hist century: —

" O that without a lingering groan I may the welcome word receive; My body with my charge lay down, And cease at once to io07-k and live.'"

It would require a dissertation expressly formed for the purnfiso 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. Loicth, Kcnnicott, 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. lie therefore shows tliat from liis holiness and purity he must be displeased with sin; from his justice and righteousness he must punish it; and from the good- 7ICSS and infinite benevolence of his nature he is ever disposed to help the weak, instruct the ignorant, and show mercy to tlie wretched, sinful sons and daughters of men.

2. To show the duty and interest of liis people. To have such a Being for their /riftirf is to have all possi- 1 ble happiness, both spiritual and temporal, secured; to have him for their enemy is to be e.Tposed to inevitable destruction and ruin.

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

52 '' Yet thou shall sec the land before thee; but thou shall not go thither unto the land which I give the children of Israel.

3. To warn them against trreligion and apostasy; to show the possibility of departing from God, and the miseries that would overwhelm them and their posterity should they he 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 be 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.

G. 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 bis grace and goodness over the earth by means of the Gospel of Christ.

.Vnd 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!

Moses delivers a prophetical blessing to the children of Israel, 1. The introduction, 2-5. Prophetic declarations concerning Reuben, 6; concerning Judali, 7; concerning Levi, 8-11; concerning Benjamin, 12; concerning Joseph, 13-17; concerning Zebulun, 18, 19; concerning Gad, 20, 21; concerning Dan, 92; concerning Naphtali, 23; concerning Asher, 24, 25. The glorij of the God o/ Jeshurun, and the glorious privileges of his true followers, 26-29.

A ND this is " the blessing whercwilli 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.

NOTES ON CHAP. XXXIII. 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 icentest out of Seir, when thou marchedst out of the fields of Edoni, the earth trembled and the heavens dropped, &c.

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

Instead of he came with ten thousand saijils, by which our translators have rendered ^'^p n33TD fneribeboth kodesh, Dr. Kennicott reads Merihah-Kadesh, the name of a place: for we find that, towards the end of forty years, the Israelites came to Kadesh, Num. XX. 1, which was also called Merihah, 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 apnearances, that God truly loved the people; and that all his saints, VfTp hcdoshaiv, 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 liad fallen prostrate at his feet with the

4 '' Moses commanded us a lav/, ' 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 tl;em 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 tell 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 iynp nn"l"D Mcribak-Kndesh, the name of a place, instead of ti'^p n33"lO merihcboth 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 law, m "JX esh dath, he reads, following the Samaritan version, ^1N iVX esh ur, a. fire shining out upon them. In vindication of this change in the original, it may be observed, 1, That, though n-\ 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

G Lcl Reuben live, and nol ciie; and let nol his men be few. 7 And this is the blessing of Judah: and he said, Hear, Lord, the voice being the term constantly used to express the Law, at all limes prior to the corruption of the Hebrew, by the ChalJee. 2. That the word itself is obscure in its present situation, as the Hebrew Bibles write it and cs/t in one word, mDN 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!iarnai/im, 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 AH his saints are iti his hand, Dr. Kennicott reads. He blessed all his saints — changing "jT^ heyadecha, into 1"I3 harach, he blessed, which word, all who understand the Hebrew letters will see, might be easily mistaken for tlie other: the T dalelh 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 D betli very frequent in MSS., both words have the nearest resemblance. To this maybe added, that the Syriac authorizes this rendering.

Instead of "jSjl'? Icraglecha, and ym^TD middabherotheycha, thy feel, and thv words, Dr. Kennicott reads the pronouns in the third person singular, vSjlS leraglaiv and rni"l2i:3 middabherothaiv, his feet, his words, in which he is supported both by the Septuagint and Vulgate. He also changes Niy yissa, he shall receive, into INiy yissen, they shall receirc.

He contends also that n"'0 Mosheh, Moses, in the fourth verse, was written by mistake for the following word n'inirj morashah, inheritance; and w'hen the scribe found he had inserted a wrong word, he added the proper one, and did not erase the first. Tlie word Moses, he thinks, should therefore be left out of the text, as it is iinpvol)able that he should here introduce his own name; and that if the word he allowed to be legitimate, then tlie word hing must apply to hityi, and not to God, which would be most absurd. See Kennicolt's first Dissertation, p. 422, &c.

A'erse 6. Let Reuben live, and not die] Though his hfe and his blessings have been forfeited by his transgression with his father's concubine. Gen. xlix. 3, 4; and in his rebellion with Korali, Num. xvi. I,&c., let him nol 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 affirmation 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.

of Judah, and bring him unto his people: ° let his hands be sufficient for him; and be thou '' a help to him from his enemies.

17: / shall not die, but live; Gen. xliii. 8; That we 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 of 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 p.\rticularly. 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 Zvfieuv earu woJ-wf cv apiB/iu, and let SiMEO.V'ie 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 50,300; 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 Judali, 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. Jjct his hands be sufficient for him — let him have a sufficiency of warriors alw.ays 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 piavcr and supplication to him; 2. That God will hear such pr.ayer; and, 3. That his h.ands 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 ivitli whom thou didst strive at tlie 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 Thu/nmim see E.xod. xxviii. 30.

T/if/ holy 07ie'\ Aaron primarily, wlio was anointed tlie liigh priest of God, and whose office was the most lioly that man could be invested with. Tlierefore Aaron was called God's holy one. and the more especially so as he was the type of the most holy and hlessed Jesus, from whom the Urim — all light and wisdom, and Thummim — all excellence, completion, and perfection, are derived.

Whom thou didst prove, <SjC.'\ 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 b}' 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, d^-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 vnto 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 not only their death, but the circumstances of it, were the most afilicting that could possibly alTect a p.arent'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 ol)serves) and duty in his service, than any nntiir;il allection whatever. And herein Christ was figured, who, when he was told that his mother and brethren stood witliout. and wished to speak with him.

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

1 1 Bless, Lord, his substance, and '' accept the work of his hands: smile tlu-ough 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 beloved

said: " Who is my mother, and who are my brethren! 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, Ji-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. And of their faithfulness in this respect God bears testimony by the 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 sulstance] 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 laud 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.

A''erse 12. Of Benjamin — the beloved of the Lord] Alluding to his being particularly beloved of his father Jacob, Gen. xlis. 27, &c.

Shall dwell 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 tlio temple of God was built, on his mountains Zion and Moriah, here poetically termed his shoulders.

Some object to our translation of the Hebrew TT yedid liy the term beloved, and think the original should be divided as it is in the Samaritan, T T vad ynd, the

*• ]?•?^??- of the Lord shall dwell in safety An. Ex. isr. 40. bv him; a7id the LORD shall

cover him all the day long, and he shall dwell between his shoulders.

13 And of Joseph he said, " Blessed of the Lord be his land, for the precious things of heaven, for '' the dew, and for the deep that couchcth beneath;

14 And for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun, and for the precious things " put forth by the ^ moon,

1 5 And for the chief things of e the ancient

hand, even the hand of the Lord shall dwell for safety or protection, yhy alaio, upon him. This makes a good sense, and the reader may choose.

Verse 13. Blessed — be his land] The whole of this passage certainly relates to the peculiar fertility of the soil in the portion that fell to tliis tribe which, the Jews say, yielded a greater abundance of all good things than any other part of the promised land.

The precious things of heaven] The peculiar mildness and salubrity of its atmosphere.

For the dew] A plentiful supply of which was a great blessing in the dry soil of a hot climate.

The deep that coucheth beneath] Probably referring to the plentiful supply of water which should be found in digging wells: hence the Septuagint have a^uiiuv ifriyuv, fountains of the deeps. Some suppose there has been a slight change made in the word SdD mitial,for the dew, which was probably at first 7V0 meal, TROM ABOVE, and then the passage w'ould read thus: For the precious things of heaven from above, and for the deep that coucheth beneath. This reading is confirmed by several of Kennicott's and De Rossi's MSS. The Syriac and Chaldee have both readings: The dew of heaven from above.

Verse 1 4. The precious fruits broughl forth bi/ the sun] All excellent and important productions of the earth, which come to perfection once in the year. So the precious things put forth by the moon may imply those vegetables which require but about a month to bring them to perfection, or vegetables of which several crops may be had in the course of a year.

Verse 15. The chief things of the ancient mounlairts] D^p 'lin tyxiOl umerosh harerey kedem, and from the head or top of the ancient or eastern mountains, the precious things or productions being still understood. And this probably refers to the large trees, &c., growing on the mountain tops, and the springs of water issuing from them. The mountains of Gilead may be here intended, as they fell to the half tribe of Manasseh. And the precious things of the lasting hilts may signify the metals and minerals which might be digged out of them.

of the earth and fulness thereof; and for the good will of ' him that dwelt in the bush: let the blessing ^ come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of him that was separated from his brethren.

17 His glory is like the ' firstling of his bullock, and his honis are like "■ the horns of " unicorns: with them ° he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth: and

and who has preserved and will preserve, in tribulation and distress, all those who trust in him, so that they shall as surely escape unhurt, as the bush, though enveloped with fire, was unburnt.

The top of the head, 4-f.] The same words are used by Jacob in blessing this tribe, Gen. xlix. 26. The meaning appears to be that God should distinguish this tribe in a particular way, as Joseph himself was separated, TIJ nazir, a Nazarite, a consecrated prince to God, from among and in preference to all his brethren. See the notes on Gen. xlix. 25, &c.

Verse 17. His glory is like the firstling of his bullock] This similitude is very obscure. A bullock was the most excellent of animals among the Jews, not only because of its acceptableness in sacrifice to God, but because of its great usefulness in agriculture. There is something peculiarly noble and dignified in the appearance of the ox, and his greatest ornament are his fine horns; these the inspired penman has particularly in view, as the following clause proves; and it is well known that in Scriptural language horns are the emblem o{ strength, glory, and sovereignly; Psa. Ixxv. 5, 10; Ixxxix. 17, 24; cxii. 9; Dan. viii. 3, &c.; Luke i. 69; Rev. xvii. 3, &c.

His horns are like the horns of unicorns] DN1 reem, which we translate unicorn, from the fiovoxc|iJS monokeros of the Septuagint, signifies, according to Bochart, the mountain goat; and according to others, the rhinoceros, a very large quadruped with one great hora on his nose, from which circumstance his name is derived. See the notes on Num. xxiii. 22; xxiv. 8. Reem is in the singular number, and because the horns of a unicorn, a one-horned animal, would have appeared absurd, our translators, with an unfaithfulness not common to them, put the word in the plural number.

To the ends of the earth] Of the land of Canaan, for Joshua with his armies conquered all this land, and drove the ancient inhabitants out before him.

They are the ten thousands of Ephraim, 4'c] That is. The horns signify the ten thousands of Ephraim, and the thousands of Manasseh. Jacob prophesied, Gen. xlviii. 19, that the younger should be greatet than the elder; so here tens of thousands are given to Ephraim, and only thousands to Manasseh. Sl^ the census. Num. i. 33-35.

18 And of Zebulun he said, i Rejoice, Zebuhin, in thy going out; and, Issachar, in thy tents.

19 They shall ''call the people unto the mountain; there ' they shall offer sacrifices of righteousness: for they shall suck of the abundance of the seas, and of treasures hid in the sand.

20 And of Gad he said, Blessed be he that

Verse 18. Rejoice, Zebulun, in thy going out'\ That is, Thou shall be very prosperous in thy coasting voyages; for this tribe's situation was favourable for traffic, having many sea-ports. See Gen. xlix. 13.

And, Issachar, in thy tents.^ That is, as Zebulun should be prosperous in his shipping and traffic, so should Issachar be in his tents — his agriculture and pasturage.

Verse 19. They shall call the people unto the mountairi\ By their traffic with the Gentiles (for so I think D'DV ammim should be understood here) they shall be the instruments in God's hands of converting many to the true faith; so that instead of sacrificing to idols, they should offer sacrifices of righteousness.

They shall suck of the abundance of the seas] That is, grow wealthy by merchandise.

And of treasures hid in the sand.] Jonathan ben Uzziel has probably hit upon the true meaning of this difficult passage: " From the sand," says he, " are produced looking-glasses and glass in general; the treasures — the method of finding and working this, was revealed to these tribes." Several ancient writers inform us that there were havens in the coasts of the Zebuhmites in which the vitreous sand, or sand proper for making glass, was found. See- Strabo, lib. xvi.; see also Pliny, Hist. Nat. 1. xxxvi., c. 26; Tacitus, Hist. 1. v., c. 7. The words of Tacitus are remarkable: Et Belus amnis Judaico mari illabitur; circa ejus OS lectae arenfe admixto nitro in vitrum excoquuntur. " The river Belus falls into the Jewish sea, about whose mouth those sands, mixed with nitre, are collected, out of which glass is formed," or which is melted into glass. Some think that the celebrated shell-fish called murex, out of which the precious purple dye was extracted, is here intended by the treasure hid in the sand: this also Jonathan introduces in this verse. And others think that it is a general term for the advantages derived from navigation and commerce.

Verse 20. Blessed be he that enlargeth Gad] As deliverance out of distress is termed enlarging, (see Psa. IV. 1,) this may refer to God's deliverance of the tribe of Gad out of that distress mentioned Gen. xlix. 19, and to the enlargement obtained through means of Jephthah, Judg. xi. 33, and probably also to the victories obtained by Gad and Reuben over the Ha,garites, 1 Chron. v ia-20

21 And " he provided the first part for himself, because there, in a portion of the lawgiver, teas he ' seated; and "^ he came with the heads of the people, he executed the justice of the Lord, and his judgments with

22 And of Dan he said, Dan is a lion's whelp: ^ he shall leap from Bashan.

23 And of Naphtali he said, O Naphtali,

He dwelleth as a liori] Probably the epithet of lion or lion-like was applied to this tribe from their fierce and warlike disposition. And on this supposition, 1 Chron. xii. 8 will appear to be a sufficient comment: And of the Gadites there were — men of might, men of war for the battle, that could handle shield and buckler, whose faces were like the faces of lions, and were as swift as the roes upon the mountains. Tearing the arm or shoulder with the crown of the head seems simply to mean that no force should be able to prevail over them, or stand against them; as the arm or shoulder signifies dominion, and the crown of the head, sovei-eign princes.

Verse 21. He provided the first pari] That is, he chose for himself a very excellent portion, viz., the land of Sihnn and Og, in which this tribe had requested to be settled by the lawgiver, viz., Moses, from whom they requested this portion. Num. xxxii. 1-5.

He came with the heads of the people] Notwithstanding this portion fell unto them on the east side of Jordan, yet they proceeded with the heads of the people, the chiefs of the other tribes.

To execute the justice of the Lord[] To extirpate the old inhabitants of the country, according to the decree and purpose of the Lord. See on Num. xxxii.

Verse 22. Dan is a lion''s whelp: he shall leap from Bashan.] The Jewish interpreters observe that Bashan was a place much frequented by lions, who issued thence into all parts to look for prey. By this probably Moses intended to point out the strength and prowess of this tribe, that it should extend its territories, and live a sort of predatory life. It appears from Josh. xix. 47, that the portion originally assigned to this tribe was not sufficient for them; hence we find them going out to war against Leshem and taking it, adding it to their territories, and calling it by the name of the tribe. Jacob, in his prophetic blessing of this tribe, repre.sents it under the notion of a serpent in the path, Gen. xlix. 17. The character there, and that given here, constitute the complete warrior — stratagem and courage. See the note on Gen. xlix. 17.

Verse 23. O Naphtali, satisfied with farnur] Though this may refer to the very great fertility of the country that fell to this tribe, yet certainly something more is intended. Scarcely any of the tribes was more particularly favoured by the wondrous mercy 83.'i

24 And of Aslicr he said, "Let Asher he

and kindness of God, than this and the tribe of Zebulun. The light of the glorious Gospel of Christ shone brightly here, Matt. iv. 13, 15, 16. Christ's chief residence was at Capernaum in this tribe, Matt. i.x. 1; Mark ii. 1; and this city, through Christ's constant residence, and the mighty miracles he wrought in it, is represented as being exnlled uii/n heaven. Matt. xi. 23. And it is generally allowed that the apostles were principallv of the tribe of Naphtali, who were to possess the west and the south — to dispense the Go.spel through all the other tribes. The word □' yam, which we here translate west, literally signifies the sea, and probably refers to the sea of Gennesareth, which was in this tribe.

Verse 24. Let Asher be Messed with children] Let him have a numerous posterity, continually increasing. Let him he acceptable to his brethren'] May he be in perfect union and harmony with the other tribes.

Let him dip his foot in oil.] Let him have a fertile soil, and an abundance of all the conveniences and comforts of life.

Verse 25. Thy shoes shall be iroji and brass] Some suppose this may refer to the iron and copper mines in their territory; but it is more likely that it relates to their warlike disposition, as we know that greaves, boots, shoes, &c., of iron, brass, and tin, were used by ancient warriors. Goliath had greaves of brass on his legs, 1 Sam. xvii. 6; and the brazen-booted Greeks, 5^aXxoxv)i(;,i5£j Ap^aioi, is one of the epithets given by Homer to his heroes; see Iliad, lib. viii., ver. 41.

And as thy days, so shall thy strength be.] If we lake this clause as it appears here, we have at once an easy sense; and the saying, I have no doubt, has comforted the souls of multitudes. The meaning is obvious: " Whatever thy trials or difficulties may be, 1 shall always give thee grace to support thee under and bring thee through them." The original is only 'wo words, the latter of which has been translated in a great variety of ways, "JN^T "|"D'31 iichcyameycha dobecha. Of the first term there can be do doubt, it literally means, and as thy days; the second word, X3T dohr, occurs nowhere else in the Hebrew Bible: the Septuagint have rendered it by i(fX"?> strength, and most of the versions have followed them; but others have rendered it affliction, old age, fame, weakness, &c., &c. It would be almost endless to follow interpreters through their conjectures concerning its meaning. It is allowed among learned men, thai where a word occurs not as a verb in the Hebrew Bible, its root may be legitimately sought in the Arabic. He who controverts this position knows little of the ground on which he stands. In this language the root is found; V^ daha signifies he rested, loas quiet. This gives a vcrv good sense, and a verv ap-

and brass; and as thy days, so shall thy strength he. 26 There is " none like unto the God of

propriate one; for as the borders of this tribe lay on the vicinity of the Phoenicians, it was naturally to be expected that they should be constantly exposed to irruptions, pillage, <S:c.; but God, to give them confidence in his protection, says. According to thy days — all circumstances and vicissitudes, so shall thy rest he — while faithful to thy God no evil shall touch thee; thy days shall increase, and thy quiet be lengthened out. This is an unfailing promise of God: " I will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed upon me, because he trusteth in me;" therefore " trust ye in the Lord for ever, for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength;" Isa. xxvi. 4. Some derive it from j^* dahi, he abounded in riches; the interpretation then would be,.4* thy days increase, so sluill thy riches. This makes a very good sense also. See Rosemnuller.

Moses, having now finished what God gave him to predict concerning the twelve tribes, and what he was led in the fulness of his heart to pray for in their behalf, addresses all the tribes collectively under the names Jcshurun and Israel; and in an ode of astonishing energy and elegance describes this wondrous people, and their still more wonderful privileges. The reader will observe that, though the latter part of this chapter appears in the form of prose in our Bibles, yet it is written in hemistichs or short metrical lines in the original, which is the form in which all the Hebrew poetry is written; and as in other cases, so in this, it would contribute much to the easy understanding of the author's meaning, were the translation produced in lines corresponding to those of the original.

Verse 26. There is none like unto the God of Jcshurun] We have already seen the literal meaning of Jeshurun, chap, xxxii. 15; but besides its literal meaning, it seems to be used as an expression o( particular affection: hence Calmct understands it as a diminutive of the word Israel. We know that cexvoi, sons, in the mouth of St. John, signifies much /f.w than ciitvia, which, properly translated, would be beloved children, a term which at once shows the helplessness of the oflspring, and tbe tender affection of the parent. So Jeshurun may be understood here: and hence the Septuagint seem to have apprehended the full force of the word by translating it tou ■>]) airrjfjisvou, the beloved one, the object of God's especial delight.

Israel's God, and God's Israel, have no fellows. \\liat were all the gods of the nations, even supposing they were real beings, in comparison of the Almighty? And what nation under heaven could be compared to the Israel of God? It was, however, from God's excellence that they derived theirs.

Rideth upon the heaven, ^c] L'nites heavei! and earth in thy defence and support, and comes with irre-

27 The eternal God is thy ^ refuge, and underneath m-e the everlasting arms: and ' he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them!

28 •' Israel then shall dwell in safety alone: ^ the fountain of Jacob shall he upon

sistible velocity to succour and defend thee, and to discomfit thine adversaries.

Verse 27. The eternal God] Dip TI/X elohey hedem, the former God; He who was of old. Not like the gods wliich were lately come up. He who ever was and ever will be; and He who was, is, and ivtll be unchangeably holy, wise, just, and merciful. See the note on Gen. xxi. 33.

Everlasting arms] As the arm is the emblem of power, and of power in a state of exertion, the words here state that an unlimited and unconquerable power shall be eternally exerted in the defence of God's Church, and in the behalf of all those who trust in Him.

Thrust out the enemy] He will expel all the ancient inhabitants, and put thee in possession of their land.

Verse 28. Israel then shall dwell — alone] This people shall not be incorporated with any other people under heaven. A prophecy *-hicli continues to be fulfilled to the very letter. Every attempt to unite them with any other people has proved absolutely ineffectual.

The fountain of Jacob] His offspring, shall possess a most fertile land; such was Palestine.

Verse 29. Happy art thou, Sfc] '"liyN ashrey. 0 the happiness of Israel! it is ineffable, inconceivable, because they are a people saved by the Lord — have such a salvation as it becomes the infinite perfections of God to bestow; he is their help — their never-failing strength, and the shield of that help — he defends their defence, saves them and preserves them in the state of salvation.

Sword of thy excellency] Or whose sivord — his alleonquering word, is thine excellency, in its promises, thieatenings, precepts, &c., &c. St. Paul, in his exhortation to the Christians at Ephesus, uses the same

a land of com and wine; also his "" heavens shall drop down dew.

29 ° Happy art thou, 0 Israel! ° who is like unto thee, O people saved by the Lord, Pthe shield of thy help, and who is the sword of thy excellency! and thine enemies i shall ''be found liars unto thee; and " thou shall tread upon their high places.

metaphor. Take unto you the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Thine enemies shall be found liars] \Vho said thou shouldst never be able to gain the possession of this good land; for thou shall tread on — subdue, their high places — even their best fortified cities.

The blessings contained in this chapter belong also to the spiritual Israel of God, who, according to the Divine promise, shall have a complete victory over all their spiritual foes, shall have all their inward enemies, the whole of the carnal mind, destroyed, (for the blood of Jesus Christ, applied by the energy of the eternal Spirit, shall not only blot out all their sin, but purify their hearts from all unrighteousness;) and thus, being delivered from their enemies, they shall love God with all their heart, and serve him in righteousness and true holiness, without fear before him all the days of their life. There are many circumstances and expressions in this ode similar to several in the prophetical blessing pronounced by Jacob on his twelve sons, Gen. xlix., for the subject is the same in both chapters; the reader is therefore requested to compare the two places, and to consider the notes on each, as they have some tendency to cast light on each other. Both these chapters constitute a part of those Scriptures which, according to St. Paul, Rom. xv. 4, were written for our learning; and, as to instruct the reader and make him wise unto salvation was the gi'acious design of God, we should particularly beg of him " that we may in such wise hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that, by patience and comfort of his holy word, we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life which he has given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ " — Collect for the second Sunday in Advent.

Moses goes up Mount Nebo to the top of Pisgah, and God shows him. the whole extent of the land which he promised to give to the descendants of Abraham, 1-4. There Moses died, and was so privately buried by the Lord that his sepulchre was never discovered, 5, 6. His age and strength of consti/ution, 7. T/ie people weep for him thirty days, 8. Joshua being filled with the spirit of wisdom, the Israelites hearken to him, as the Lord commanded them, 9. The character of Moses as a prophet, and as a worker of the most extraordinary miracles, both in the sight of the Egyptians, and the people of Israel: conclutioH of the Pentateuch, 10-12.

plains of Moab » unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of '• Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. And the Loud " showed him all the land of Gilead, "^ unto Dan,

2 And all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, " unto the utmost sea,

3 And the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, ' the city of palm-trees, unto Zoar.

4 And the Lord said imto him, s This is the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed: *■ I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shall not go over thither.

5 ■ So Moses the servant of the Lord died

Verse 1. And Moses went vp] This chapter could not have been written by Moses. A man certainly cannot give an account of his own death and burial. We may therefore consider Moses's words as ending with the conclusion of the preceding chapter, as what follows could not possibly have been written by himself To suppose that he anticipated these circumstances, or that they were shown to him by an especial revelation, is departing far from propriety and necessity, and involving the subject in absurdity; for God gives no prophetic intimations but such as are absolutely necessary to be made; but there is no necessity here, for the Spirit which inspired the writer of the following book, would naturally communicate the matter that concludes this. I believe, therefore, that Deut. xxxiv. should constitute the Jirst chapter of the book of Joshua.

On this subject the following note from an intelligent Jew cannot be unacceptable to the reader: —

" Most commentators are of opinion that Ezra was the author of the last chapter of Deuteronomy; some think it was Joshua, and others the seventy elders, immediately after the death of Moses; adding, that the book of Deuteronomy originally ended with the prophetic blessing upon the twelve tribes: ' Happy art thou, O Israel! who is like unto thee, O people saved by the Lord,' &c.; and that what now makes the last chapter of Deuteronomy was formerly the Jlrst of Joshua, but was removed from thence and joined to the former by way of supplement. This opinion will not appear unnatural if it be considered that sections and other divisions, as well as points and pauses, were invente<l long since these books were written; for in those early ages several books were connected together, and followed each other on the same roll. The beginning of one book might therefore be easily