Notes on the Book of Deuteronomy Volume Ii Part 21

Alas! the professing church has not continued in the goodness of G.o.d.

It is utterly impossible to read her history in the light of Scripture and not see this. She has grievously departed, and there is nothing before her save the unmingled wrath of Almighty G.o.d. The beloved members of the body of Christ who, sad to say, are mingled with the terrible ma.s.s of corrupt profession, will be gathered out of it and taken to the place prepared in the Father's house in heaven.

Then, if not before, they will see how wrong it was to have remained in connection with what was so flagrantly opposed to the mind of Christ as revealed, with divine clearness and simplicity, in the holy Scriptures.

But as to the great thing known as christendom, it will be "spued out"

and "cut off." It will be given over to strong delusion, to believe a lie, "that they all might be d.a.m.ned who believed not the truth, but _had pleasure in unrighteousness_."

Tremendous words! May they ring in the ears and sink down into the hearts of thousands who are going on from day to day, week to week, and year to year, content with a mere name to live, a form of G.o.dliness, but denying the power, "_lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of G.o.d_." What an awfully graphic picture of so-called Christian England! How appalling the condition and the destiny of the pleasure-hunting thousands who are rus.h.i.+ng blindly, heedlessly, and madly down the inclined plane that leads to hopeless and everlasting misery! May G.o.d, in His infinite goodness, by the power of His Spirit and by the mighty action of His Word, rouse the hearts of His people every where to a more profound and influential sense of these things.

We must now, ere closing this section, briefly direct the reader's attention to the last verse of our chapter. It is one of those pa.s.sages of Scripture sadly misunderstood and misapplied. "The secret things belong unto the Lord our G.o.d; but those things which are revealed belong unto us, and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law." This verse is constantly used to hinder the progress of souls in the knowledge of "the deep things of G.o.d,"

but its simple meaning is this: The things "revealed" are what we have had before us in the preceding chapter of this book; the things "secret," on the other hand, refer to those resources of grace which G.o.d had in store, to be unfolded when the people should have utterly failed to "do all the words of this law." The revealed things are what Israel ought to have done, but did not do; the secret things are what G.o.d would do, spite of Israel's sad and shameful failure, and they are most blessedly presented in the following chapters--the counsels of divine grace, the provisions of sovereign mercy to be displayed when Israel shall have thoroughly learnt the lesson of their utter failure under both the Moab and the h.o.r.eb-covenants.

Thus this pa.s.sage, when rightly understood, so far from affording any warrant for the use so constantly made of it, encourages the heart to search into these things which, though "secret" to Israel in the plains of Moab, are fully and clearly "revealed" to us for our profit, comfort, and edification.[25] The Holy Spirit came down, on the day of Pentecost, to lead the disciples into _all truth_. The canon of Scripture is complete; all the purposes and counsels of G.o.d are fully revealed. The mystery of the Church completes the entire circle of divine truth. The apostle John could say to all G.o.d's children, "Ye have an unction from the Holy One, and know _all things_."

[25] 1 Corinthians ii. 9 is another of the misunderstood and misapplied pa.s.sages. "But, as it is written, 'Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which G.o.d hath prepared for them that love Him.'" Here, people are sure to stop, and hence conclude that we cannot possibly know aught of the precious things which G.o.d has in store for us; but the very next verse proves the gross absurdity of any such conclusion. "But G.o.d _hath revealed_ them unto us by His Spirit; for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of G.o.d. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of G.o.d knoweth no man, but the Spirit of G.o.d. Now we [that is, all the Lord's people] have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of G.o.d; _that we might know the things that are freely given to us of G.o.d_." Thus this pa.s.sage, like Deuteronomy xxix.

20, teaches the very opposite of what is so constantly deduced from it. How important to examine and weigh the context of the pa.s.sages which are quoted.

Thus the entire New Testament abounds with evidence to prove the mistaken use that is so constantly made of Deuteronomy xxix. 29. We have dwelt upon it because we are aware that the Lord's beloved people are sadly hindered by it in their progress in divine knowledge. The enemy would ever seek to keep them in the dark, when they ought to be walking in the sunlight of divine revelation--to keep them as babes feeding upon milk, when they ought, as those "of full age," to be feeding upon the "strong meat" so freely provided for the Church of G.o.d. We have but little idea of how the Spirit of G.o.d is grieved and Christ dishonored by the low tone of things amongst us. How few really "know the things that are freely given to us of G.o.d"! Where are the proper privileges of the Christian understood, believed, and realized?

How meagre is our apprehension of divine things! How stunted our growth! How feeble our practical exposition of the truth of G.o.d! What a blotted epistle of Christ we present!

Beloved Christian reader, let us seriously ponder these things in the divine presence. Let us honestly search out the root of all this lamentable failure, and have it judged and put away, that so we may more faithfully and unmistakably declare whose we are and whom we serve. May it be more thoroughly manifest that Christ is our one absorbing object.

CHAPTER x.x.x.

This chapter is one of very deep interest and importance. It is prophetic, and presents to us some of "the secret things" referred to at the close of the preceding chapter. It unfolds some of those most precious resources of grace treasured up in the heart of G.o.d, to be unfolded when Israel, having utterly failed to keep the law, should be scattered to the ends of the earth.

"And it shall come to pa.s.s, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and _thou shalt call them to mind_ among all the nations, whither the Lord thy G.o.d hath driven thee, and _shalt return unto the Lord thy G.o.d_, and shalt obey His voice according to all that I command thee this day, _thou and thy children, with all thine heart and with all thy soul_; that then the Lord thy G.o.d will turn thy captivity, and _have compa.s.sion upon thee_, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the Lord thy G.o.d hath scattered thee."

How touching, how perfectly beautiful, is all this! It is no question of law-keeping, but something far deeper, far more precious; it is the turning of the heart--the whole heart--the whole soul to Jehovah, at a time when a literal obedience to the law is utterly impossible. It is a broken and contrite heart turning to G.o.d, and G.o.d, in deep and tender compa.s.sion, meeting that heart. This is true blessedness, at all times and in all places. It is something above and beyond all dispensational dealings and arrangements. It is G.o.d Himself, in all the fullness and ineffable blessedness of what He is, meeting a repentant soul; and we may truly say that when these two meet, all is divinely and eternally settled.

It must be perfectly clear to the reader that what we have now before us is something as far removed from law-keeping and human righteousness as heaven is above earth. The first verse of our chapter proves in the clearest possible manner that the people are viewed as in a condition in which the carrying out of the ordinances of the law is a simple impossibility. But blessed be G.o.d, there is not a spot on the face of the earth, be it ever so remote, from which the heart cannot turn to G.o.d. The _hands_ might not be able to present a victim for the altar, the _feet_ might not be able to travel to the appointed place of wors.h.i.+p, but the _heart_ could travel to G.o.d. Yes; the poor crushed, broken, contrite heart could go directly to G.o.d, and G.o.d, in the depth of His compa.s.sion and tender mercy, could meet that heart, bind it up, and fill it to overflowing with the rich comfort and consolation of His love, and the full joy of His salvation.

But let us hearken yet further to those "secret things" which "belong to G.o.d"--things precious beyond all human thought. "If any of thine be driven out unto _the utmost parts of heaven_"--as far as they could go--"from thence will the Lord thy G.o.d _gather thee_, and from thence will He _fetch thee_; and the Lord thy G.o.d will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and _He will do thee good_, and multiply thee above thy fathers."

How precious is all this! But there is something far better still. Not only will He gather them, fetch them, and multiply them--not only will He act in power _for_ them, but He will do a mighty work of grace _in_ them of far more value than any outward prosperity however desirable.

"And the Lord thy G.o.d will _circ.u.mcise thine heart_"--the very centre of the whole moral being, the source of all those influences which go to form the character--"and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy G.o.d with all thine heart"--the grand moral regulator of the entire life--"and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live. And the Lord thy G.o.d will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, which persecuted thee"--a solemn word for all those nations who have ever sought to oppress the Jews!--"And thou shalt return, and obey the voice of the Lord, and do all His commandments, which I command thee this day."

Nothing can be more morally lovely than all this. The people gathered, fetched, multiplied, blessed, circ.u.mcised in heart, thoroughly devoted to Jehovah, and yielding a whole-hearted, loving obedience to all His precious commandments! What can exceed this in blessedness for a people on the earth?

"And the Lord thy G.o.d will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good; for the Lord will again rejoice over thee for good, as He rejoiced over thy fathers: if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy G.o.d, to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if thou turn unto the Lord thy G.o.d, with all thine heart and with all thy soul. For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it and do it? Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it and do it? But the Word is _very nigh unto thee_, in thy _mouth_, and in thy _heart_, that thou mayest do it." (Ver.

10-14.)

This is a singularly interesting pa.s.sage. It furnishes a key to "the secret things" already referred to, and sets forth the great principles of divine righteousness, in vivid and beautiful contrast to legal righteousness in every possible aspect. According to the truth here unfolded, it matters not in the least where a soul may be--here, there, or any where; "the Word is nigh thee." It could not possibly be nigher. What could be nigher than "in thy mouth, and in thy heart"? We need not, as we say, move a muscle to get it. If it were above us or beyond us, reason would that we might complain of our utter inability to reach it; but no, there is no need of either _hands_ or _feet_ in this most blessed and all-important matter. The _heart_ and the _mouth_ are here called into exercise.

There is a very beautiful allusion to the above pa.s.sage in the tenth chapter of the epistle to the Romans, to which the reader may refer with much interest and profit. Indeed, it is so full of evangelic sweetness, that we must quote it.

"Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to G.o.d for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record, that they have a zeal of G.o.d, but not according to knowledge. For they, being _ignorant of G.o.d's righteousness_, and _going about_ to establish their own righteousness, _have not submitted themselves_ unto the righteousness of G.o.d. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to _every one that believeth_"--not to every one who _says_ he believes, as in James ii. 14.--"For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, that the man which doeth those things shall live by them. But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise: Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down;)"--Striking parenthesis! Marvelous instance of the Spirit's use of Old-Testament scripture! It bears the distinct stamp of His master-hand.--"or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) But what saith it? The Word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart; that is, _the word of faith, which we preach_;"--How perfectly beautiful the addition! Who but the Spirit could have supplied it?--"that if thou shalt _confess with thy mouth_ the Lord Jesus, and shalt _believe in thine heart_ that G.o.d hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture saith, 'Whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed.'"

Mark this beautiful word--"whosoever." It most a.s.suredly takes in the Jew. It meets him wherever he may be, a poor exile at the very ends of the earth, under circ.u.mstances where obedience to the law as such was simply impossible, but where the rich and precious grace of G.o.d and His most glorious salvation could meet him in the depth of his need.

There, though he could not keep the law, he could confess with his mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in his heart that G.o.d had raised Him from the dead; and this is salvation.

But then, if it be "whosoever," it cannot possibly be confined to the Jew; nay, it cannot be confined at all; and hence the apostle goes on to say, "There _is_ no difference between the Jew and the Greek."

There _was_ the greatest possible difference under the law. There could not be a broader or more distinct line of demarkation than that which the lawgiver had drawn between the Jew and the Greek; but that line is obliterated, for a double reason: first, because "all have sinned and come short of the glory of G.o.d" (chap. iii. 23.); and secondly, because "the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him; for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

How blessedly simple! "Calling"--"believing"--"confessing"! Nothing can exceed the transcendent grace that s.h.i.+nes in these words. No doubt it is a.s.sumed that the soul is really in earnest--that the _heart_ is engaged. G.o.d deals in moral realities. It is not a nominal, notional head-belief; but divine faith wrought in the heart by the Holy Ghost--a living faith, which connects the soul, in a divine way and by an everlasting link, to Christ.

And then there is the confessing with the mouth the Lord Jesus. This is of cardinal importance. A man may say, I believe in my heart, but I am not one for parading my religious belief. I am not a talker. I keep my religion to myself. It is entirely a matter between my soul and G.o.d; I do not believe in that perpetual intruding our religious impressions upon other people. Many who talk loudly and largely about their religion in public, make but a sorry figure in private, and I certainty do not want to be identified with such. I utterly abhor all cant. Deeds, not words, for me.

All this sounds very plausible, but it cannot stand for a moment in the light of Romans x. 9. There must be the confession with the mouth.

Many would like to be saved by Christ, but they shrink from the reproach of confessing His precious Name. They would like to get to heaven when they die, but they do not want to be identified with a rejected Christ. Now G.o.d does not own such. He looks for the full, bold, clear confession of Christ, in the face of a hostile world. Our Lord Christ, too, looks for this confession. He declares that whoso confesses Him before men, He will confess before the angels of G.o.d; but whoso denies Him before men, He will deny before the angels of G.o.d. The thief on the cross exhibited the two great branches of true saving faith. He believed with his heart, and confessed with his mouth. Yes, he gave a flat contradiction to the whole world on the most vital question that ever was or ever could be raised, and that question was Christ. He was a thoroughly p.r.o.nounced disciple of Christ. Oh, that there were more such! There is a terrible amount of indefiniteness and cold half-heartedness in the professing church, grievous to the Holy Ghost, offensive to Christ, hateful to G.o.d. We long for bold decision, out-and-out, unmistakable testimony to the Lord Jesus. May G.o.d the Holy Spirit stir up all our hearts, and lead us forth, in more thorough consecration of heart, to that blessed One who freely gave His life to save us from everlasting burnings!

We shall close this section by quoting for the reader the last few verses of our chapter, in which Moses makes a peculiarly solemn appeal to the hearts and consciences of the people. It is a most powerful word of exhortation.

"See, I have set before thee this day _life and good_ and _death and evil_." Thus it is ever in the government of G.o.d. The two things are inseparably linked together. Let no man dare to snap the link. G.o.d "will render to every man according to his deeds; to them who, by patient continuance in well-doing, seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; but unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon _every soul of man that doeth evil_, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; but glory, honor, and peace to _every man that worketh good_, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: _for there is no respect of persons with G.o.d_." (Rom. ii.

6-11.)

The apostle does not, in this great practical pa.s.sage, go into the question of power; he simply states the broad fact--a fact applicable at all times and under all dispensations--government, law, and Christianity; it ever holds good that "G.o.d will render to every man according to his deeds." This is of the very last possible importance.

May we ever bear it in mind. It may perhaps be said, Are not Christians under grace? Yes, thank G.o.d; but does this weaken, in the smallest degree, the grand governmental principle stated above? Nay, it strengthens and confirms it immensely.

But again, some may feel disposed to say, Can any unconverted person do good? We reply, This question is not raised in the scripture just quoted. Every one taught of G.o.d knows and feels and owns that not one atom of "good" has ever been done in this world but by the grace of G.o.d; that man left to himself will do evil only--evil continually.

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights." All this is most blessedly true, and thankfully owned by every pious soul, but it leaves wholly untouched the fact set forth in Deuteronomy x.x.x. and confirmed by Romans ii, that _life and good_, _death and evil_, are bound together by an inseparable link. May we never forget it. May it ever abide in the remembrance of the thoughts of our hearts.

"See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; in that I command thee this day to love the Lord thy G.o.d, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply; and the Lord thy G.o.d shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it. But if _thine heart turn away_, so that _thou wilt not hear_, but shalt be drawn away, and wors.h.i.+p other G.o.ds, and serve them; I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou pa.s.sest over Jordan to go to possess it. I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live; that thou mayest love the Lord thy G.o.d, and that thou mayest obey His voice, and that thou mayest _cleave unto Him_"--the all-important, essential thing for each, for all, the very spring and power of all true religion, in every age, in every place;--"_for He is thy life, and the length of thy days_;"--How close! how vital! how real! how very precious!--"that thou mayest dwell in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them."

(Ver. 15-20.)

Nothing can be more solemn than this closing appeal to the congregation; it is in full keeping with the tone and character of the entire book of Deuteronomy--a book marked throughout by the most powerful exhortations that ever fell on mortal ears. We have no such soul-stirring appeals in any of the preceding sections of the Pentateuch. Each book, we need not say, has its own specific niche to fill, its own distinct object and character; but the great burden of Deuteronomy, from beginning to end, is exhortation; its thesis, the Word of G.o.d; its object, obedience--whole-hearted, earnest, loving obedience, grounded on a known relations.h.i.+p and enjoyed privileges.

CHAPTER x.x.xI.

The heart of Moses still lingers, with deep tenderness and affectionate solicitude, over the congregation. It seems as though he could never weary of pouring into their ears his earnest exhortations.

He felt their need, he foresaw their danger, and, like a true and faithful shepherd, he sought, with all the deep and tender affection of His large, loving heart, to prepare them for what was before them.

No one can read his closing words without being struck with their peculiarly solemn tone. They remind us of Paul's touching farewell to the elders of Ephesus. Both these beloved and honored servants realized, in a very vivid manner, the seriousness of their own position and that of the persons they were addressing. They felt the uncommon gravity of the interests at stake, and the urgent need of the most faithful dealing with the heart and conscience. This will account for what we may term the awful solemnity of their appeals. All who really enter into the situation and destiny of the people of G.o.d in a world like this _must_ be serious. The true sense of these things, the apprehension of them in the divine presence, must, of necessity, impart a holy gravity to the character, and a special pungency and power to the testimony.

"And Moses went and spake these words unto all Israel. And he said unto them, 'I am a hundred and twenty years old this day; I can no more go out and come in; also the Lord hath said unto me, Thou shalt not go over this Jordan.'" How very touching this allusion to his great age, and this fresh and final reference to the solemn governmental dealing of G.o.d with himself personally! The direct and manifest object of both was, to give effect to his appeal to the hearts and consciences of the people, to strengthen the moral lever by which this beloved and honored servant of G.o.d sought to move them in the direction of simple obedience. If he points to his gray hairs, or to the holy discipline exercised toward him, it most a.s.suredly is not for the purpose of bringing himself, his circ.u.mstances, or his feelings before them, but simply to touch the deepest springs of their moral being by every possible means.

"The Lord thy G.o.d, He will go over before thee, and He will destroy these nations from before thee, and thou shalt possess them; and Joshua, he shall go over before thee, as the Lord hath said. And the Lord shall do unto them as He did to Sihon and to Og, kings of the Amorites, and unto the land of them whom He destroyed. And the Lord shall give them up before your face, that ye may do unto them according unto all the commandments which I have commanded you." Not a word of murmuring or repining as to himself, not the faintest tinge of envy or jealousy in his reference to the one who was to take his place, not the most distant approach to aught of the kind; every selfish consideration is swallowed up in the one grand object of encouraging the hearts of the people to tread, with firm step, the pathway of obedience, which was then, is now, and ever must be the path of victory, the path of blessing, the path of peace.

"Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them; for the Lord thy G.o.d, He it is that doth go with thee; He will not fail thee nor forsake thee." What precious, soul-sustaining words are these, beloved Christian reader! how eminently calculated to lift the heart above every discouraging influence! The blessed consciousness of the Lord's presence with us, and the remembrance of His gracious ways with us, in days gone by, must ever prove the true secret of strength in moving onward. The same mighty hand which had subdued before them Sihon and Og, could subdue all the kings of Canaan. The Amorites were quite as formidable as the Canaanites; Jehovah was more than a match for all. "We have heard with our ears, O G.o.d, our fathers have told us, what work Thou didst in their days, in the times of old. How Thou didst drive out the heathen with Thy hand, and plantedst them; how Thou didst afflict the people, and cast them out."

Only think of G.o.d driving out people with His own hand! What an answer to all the arguments and difficulties of a morbid sentimentality! How very shallow and erroneous are the thoughts of some in reference to the governmental ways of G.o.d! How miserably one-sided their notions of His character and actings! How perfectly absurd the attempt to measure G.o.d by the standard of human judgment and feeling! It is very evident that Moses had not the smallest particle of sympathy with such sentiments when he addressed to the congregation of Israel the magnificent exhortation quoted above. He knew something of the gravity and solemnity of the government of G.o.d, something, too, of the blessedness of having Him as a s.h.i.+eld in the day of battle, a refuge and a resource in every hour of peril and need.

Let us hearken to his encouraging words addressed to the man who was to succeed him. "And Moses called unto Joshua, and said unto him in the sight of all Israel, '_Be strong and of a good courage_; for thou must go with this people unto the land which the Lord hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it.