The Lord appears and A. M. 2553. B. C. 1451. DEUTERONOMY. A.-M. 2553. B. C. 1451. converses with Moses. nacle in a pillar of a cloud:.and | waxen fat; then will they turn An. Ex. Isr. 40. the pillar of the cloud stood over unto other gods, and serve them, An. Ex. Isr. 40. the door of the tabernacle. - and provoke me, and break my covenant. Sebat. 16 And the LORD said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt 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 Imade with them. 17 Then my anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and h 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 m not among us? n 18 And I will surely hide my face in that day for all the evils which they shall have wrought, in that they are turned unto other gods. 19 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, and viii. 2. Nor is there any other on record from that time to the destruction of Jerusalem. See Dodd. Verse 16. Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers] shocheb, thou shalt lie down; it signifies to rest, take rest in sleep, and, metaphorically, to die. Much stress cannot be safely laid on this expression to prove the immortality of the soul, or that the people in the time of Moses had a distinct notion of its separate existence. It was, however, understood in this sense by Jonathan ben Uzziel, who in his Targum paraphrases the word thus: "Thou shalt lie down in the dust with thy fathers; and thy soul (nishmethach) shall be laid up in the treasury of the life to come with thy fathers." Verse 18. I will surely hide my face] Withdraw my approbation and my protection. This is a general meaning of the word in Scripture. Verse 19. Write ye this song] The song which follows in the next chapter. Things which were of great importance and of common concern were, among the ancients, put into verse, as this was found the best method of keeping them in remembrance, especially in those times when writing was little practised. Even Sebat. 21 And it shall come to pass, when many evils and troubles are befallen them, that this song shall testify against them as a witness; for it shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their seed: for I know their imagination which they go about, even now, before I have brought them into the land which I sware. 22 Moses therefore wrote this song the same day, and taught it the children of Israel. 23 And he gave Joshua the son of Nun a charge, and said, Be strong, and of a good courage for thou shalt bring the children of Israel into the land which I sware unto them; and I will be with thee. 24 And it came to pass, when Moses had made an end of 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. m Num. xiv. 42.- Ver. 17. Ver. 26.P Chap. xxxii. 15; Neh. ix. 25, 26; Hos. xiii. 6.- La Verse 16. Verse 17, Heb before. Hos. v. 3; xiii. 5, 6. Amos v. 25, 26. Heb. do.- w Ver. 14. Ver. 7; Josh. i. 6. Verse 9. 2 See 2 Kings xxii. 8.- a Ver. 19. prose was sometimes sung. The history of Herodotus was divided into NINE books, and each inscribed with the name of one of the NINE Muses, because these books were anciently sung. Homer is reported to have sung his poems through different Greek cities. Aristotle observes that anciently the people sung their laws. And Cicero observes that it was a custom among the ancient Romans to sing the praises of their heroes at the public festivals. This was the case among the northern inhabitants of Europe, particularly in Ireland and Scotland; hence the Gaelic poetry of Ossian and others. See Dodd; and see the note on Exod. xv. 1, where the subject is largely treated. Verse 21. This song shall testify against them] Because in it their general defection is predicted, but in such a way as to show them how to avoid the evil; and if they did not avoid the evil, and the threatened punishment should come upon them, then the song should testify against them, by showing that they had been sufficiently warned, and might have lived to God, and so escaped those disasters. Verse 26. Take this book of the law] The standard copy to which all transcripts must ultimately refer: Moses predicts the A. M. 2553. Sebat. CHAP. XXXII. f A. M. 2553. Sebat. defection of the people. 27 b For I know thy rebellion, | utterly corrupt yourselves, and An. Ex. Isr. 40. and thy stiff neck: behold, turn aside from the way which I An. Ex. Isr. 40. while I am yet alive with you have commanded you; and evil this day, ye have been rebellious against the will befall you in the latter days; because LORD; and how much more after my death? ye will do evil in the sight of the LORD, to 28 Gather unto me all the elders of your provoke him to anger through the work of tribes, and your officers, that I may speak these your hands. words in their ears, and call heaven and earth d to record against them. 30 And Moses spake in the ears of all the congregation of Israel the words of this song, 29 For I know that after my death ye will until they were ended. Chap. ix. 24; xxxii. 20.- -e Exod. xxxii. 9; chap. ix. 6. 4 Chap. xxx. 19; xxxii. 1. 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.. another copy was put into the hands of the priests. scendants of Jacob! Let them take heed, for if God See the note on ver. 9. 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, 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 the uttermost because they sinned when they might have lived to the glory of God. Those who abuse God's grace shall not only have that grace taken away from them, but shall be punished for the abuse of it, as well as for the transgression. Every sin is double, and must have a twofold punishment; for 1. Grace is resisted; 2. Transgression is committed; and God I 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 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 cir cumstances of cadence and tune to cause it to be often repeated; and thus insure its being kept in memory. Poetry, though often, nay, generally abused, is never'theless 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, CHAPTER XXXII. 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. A pathetic lamentation over them because of their sins, 29-35. Gracious purposes in their behalf, mixed with reproaches for their manifold idolatries, and threatenings against his enemies, 36–42. A promise of salvation to the Gentiles, 43. Moses, having finished the song, warmly exhorts the people to obedience, 44–47, God calls him up to the mount, that he may see the good land and then die, 48-52. The song taught by Moses A. M. 2553. An. Ex. Isr. 40. b a I will speak; and hear, Oname of the LORD: ascribe ye An. Ex. Isr. 40. earth, the words of my mouth. Sebat. GIVE ear, O ye heavens, and 3 Because I will publish the A. M. 2553. B. C. 1451. greatness unto our God. 4 He is the Rock, his work for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is perfect: is he. с 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 the upon grass: NOTES ON CHAP. XXXII. 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 thoroughly poetic that even the dull Jews themselves found they could not write it in the prose form; and hence it is distinguished as poetry in every Hebrew Bible by being written in its own hemistichs or short half lines, which is the general form of the Hebrew poetry; and were it translated in the same way it would be more easily understood. The song itself has suffered both by transcribers and translators, the former having mistaken some letters in different places, and made wrong combinations of them in others. As to the translators, most of them have followed their own fancy, from good Mr. Ainsworth, who ruined it by the most inanimate rhyming version, to certain later poets, who have cast it unhallowedly into a European mould. See the observations at the end of the chapter. Give ear, O ye 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. My doctrine] mph likchi, from np lakach, to take, carry away; to attract or gain over the heart by eloquence or persuasive speech. Hence the Septuagint translate the word aropleyμa, 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] imrathi; my familiar, friendly, and affectionate speeches shall descend gently and softly, on the ear and the heart, as the dew, moistening and refreshing all around. In hot regions dew is often a substitute for rain, without it there could be no fertility, especially in those places where rain seldom falls. And ir. such places only can the metaphor here used be felt in its perfection. Homer uses a similar figure when speaking of the eloquence of Ulysses; he says, Il. iii., ver. 221: Αλλ' ότε δη ῥοπα τε μεγαλην εκ στήθεος δει, "But when he speaks what elocution flows! e 2 Sam. xxii. 3; xxiii. 3; Psa. xviii: 2, 31, 46; Hab. i. 12. h Jer. x. 10. 2 Sam. xxii. 31.- - Dan. iv. 37; Rev. xv. 3.i Job. xxxiv. 10; Psa. xcii. 15. On the manner in which dew 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 words gives light and life. See the note on Gen. ii. 6. As the small rain] Dy seirim, from yo saar, to be rough or tempestuous; sweeping showers; accompanied with a strong gale of wind. And as the showers] D']' rebibim, from 727 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 which the tempest of God's wrath appears against sinners. Others are like the incessant showers of gentle rain, preparing the soil for the germination of the grain, and causing it to take root, And others still are like the dew, mildly and gently insinuating convictions, persuasions, reproofs, and consolations. The preacher of righteousness who wishes to handle this word profitably, must attend closely to those distinctions, that he may rightly divide the word of truth, and give each of his hearers his portion of the bread of life in due season. Verse 4. He is the Rock] The word ny tsur is rendered Creator by some eminent critics; and khalyk is the reading in the Arabic Version. Rab, The song taught by Moses A. M. 2553. Sebat. k CHAP. XXXII. n to the children of Israel. A. M. 2553. Sebat. 5 They have corrupted them- | years of many generations: ask An. Ex. Isr. 40. selves, their spot is not the spot thy father, and he will show thee; An. Ex. Isr. 40. of his children; they are a per- thy elders, and they will tell thee. verse and crooked generation. 6 Do ye thus requite the LORD, O foolish people and unwise? is not he thy father that hath bought thee? hath he not made thee, and established thee? 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 of Israel. 9 For the LORD's portion is his people; 7 Remember the days of old, consider the 9 For w Heb. he hath corrupted to himself.- Chap. xxxi. 29.—m Or, that they are not his children, that is, their blot. Matt. xvii. 17; Luke ix. 41; Phil. ii. 15.- Psa. cxvi. 12.- -P Isa. Ixiii. 16.-9 Psa. lxxiv, 2. Ver. 15; Isa. xxvii. 11; xliv. 2.- Heb. generation and generation. Exodus xiii. 14; Psa. xliv. 1; lxviii. 3, 4. Zech. ix. 2; Acts xvii. 26. Gen. xi. 8.- w Exod. xv. 16; xix. 5; 1 Sam. x. 1; Psa. lxviii. 71. culary on the forehead, amount to nearly one hundred among the Hindoos, and especially among the two sects, the worshippers of Seeva, and the worshippers of Vishnoo. In many cases these marks are renewed daily, for they account it irreligious to perform any sacred rite to their god without his mark on the forehead; the marks are generally horizontal and perpendicular lines, crescents, circles, leaves, eyes, &c., in red, black, white, and yellow. This very custom is referred to in Rev. xx. 4, where the beast gives his mark to his followers, and it is very likely that Moses refers to such a cusfom 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 mark is, Holiness to the Lord. 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. lxxviii. 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 Moses ben Maimon, in his valuable work, Moreh Nebochim, observes that the word 1 tsur, which is ordinarily translated rock, signifies origin, fountain, first cause, &c., and in this way it should be translated here: "He is the first principle, his work is perfect." As he is the cause of all things, he must be infinitely perfect; and consequently all his works must be perfect in their respective kinds. As is the cause, so must the effect be. Some think the word rock gives a very good sense; for, as in those lands, rocks were the ordinary places of defence and security, God may be metaphorically represented thus, to signify his protection of his followers. I prefer the opinion of Maimon. Verse 5. Their spot is not the spot of his children] This verse is variously translated and variously under stood. 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 chil-three bodies, called the general migration, was com dren: they are spotted. Coverdale renders the whole passage thus: "The froward and overthwart generation have marred themselves to himward, and are not his children because of their deformity.". This is the sense of the verse. Let it be observed that the word spot, which is repeated in our translation, occurs but once in the original, and the marginal reading is greatly to be preferred: He hath corrupted to himself, that they are not his children; that is their blot. And because they had the blot of sin on them, because they were spotted with iniquity and marked idolaters, therefore God renounces them. There may be here an allusion to the marks which the worshippers of particular idols had on different parts of their bodies, especially on their foreheads; and as idolatry is the crime with which they are here charged, the spot or mark mentioned may refer to the mark or stigma of their idol. The different sects of idolaters in the East are distinguished by their sectarian marks, the stigma of their respective idols. These sectarian marks, parti manded 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, Eornoev opia εtvwv kata apibμor ayye2wv Tov OƉɛov, "He established the bounds of the nations according to the number of the angels of God," The meaning of the passage seems to be, that when God divided the earth among mankind, he reserved twelve lots, according to the number of the sons of Jacob, which he was now about to give to their de scendants, according to his promise, Verse 9. The Lord's portion is his people] What an astonishing saying! As holy souls take GOD for their portion, so GOD takes them for his portion. He represents himself as happy in his followers; and they are infinitely happy in, and satisfied with, God as their How God led Israel A. M. 2553. B. C. 1451. An. Ex. Isr. 40. Sebat. A. M. 2553. Jacob is the lot of his inherit- land, and in the waste howl- ance. * Heb. cord.―y Chap. viii. 15; Jer. ii. 6; Hos. xiii. 5. portion. This is what is implied in being a saint. He who is seeking for an earthly portion, has little commerce with the Most High. Verse 10. He-the Lord, found him-Jacob, in his descendants, in a desert land-the wilderness. He led him about forty years in this wilderness, Deut. viii. 2, or 10 yesobebenhu, he compassed him about, i. e., God defended them on all hands, and in all places. He instructed him-taught them that astonishing law through which we have now almost passed, giving them statutes and judgments which, for depth of wisdom, and correct political adaptation to times, places, and circumstances, are so wondrously constructed, as essentially to secure the comfort, peace, and happiness of the individual, and the prosperity and permanency of the moral system. Laws so excellent that they have met with the approbation of the wise and good in all countries, and formed the basis of the political institutions of all the civilized nations in the universe. Sebat. 2 Or, compassed him about. a Deut. iv. 36. before; but what rendered the access more difficult, the path which we were to tread was nearly right up and down. The captain of the robbers seeing the obstacles we had to overcome, wisely sent all his ca mels round the mountain where he knew there was a defile, and only accompanied us with the beast he rode. We luckily met with no accident in climbing this height.' p. 325. They afterwards descended, he tells us, into a valley, by a passage easy enough, and stopping to dine at half past five o'clock, they were joined by the Arabs, who had made an astonishing march to overtake them, p. 326. 'We soon quitted the dale, and ascended the high ground by the side of a mountain that overlooks it in this part. The path was narrow and perpendicular, and much resembled a ladder. To make it worse, we preceded the robbers, and an ignorant guide among our people led us astray. Here we found ourselves in a pretty situation: we had kept the lower road on the side of the hill, instead of that towards the summit, until we could proceed no farther; we were now obliged to gain the heights, in order to recover the road, in performing which we drove our poor camels up such steeps that we had the greatest Notwithstanding the above gives the passage a good sense, yet probably the whole verse should be considered more literally. It is certain that in the same country travellers are often obliged to go about in order to find proper passes between the mountains, and the follow-difficulty to climb after them. We were under the ing 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 wilderness; but it is not, I presume, of this kind of teaching Moses speaks, as Bishop Patrick supposes, but God's instructing Israel how to avoid the dangers of the journey, by leading the people about this and that dangerous, precipitous hill, directing them to proper passes through the mountains, and guiding them through the intricacies of that difficult journey which might, and probably would, have confounded the most consummate Arab guides. They that could have safely enough conducted a small caravan of travellers through this desert, might have been very unequal to the task of directing such an enormous multitude, encumbered with cattle, women, children, and utensils. The passages of Irwin, that establish the observation I have been making, follow here: At half past eleven we resumed our march, and soon came to the foot of a prodigious hill, which we unexpectedly found we were to ascend. It was perpendicular, like the one we had passed some hours necessity of leaving them to themselves, as the danger of leading them through places where the least false step would have precipitated both man and beast to the unfathomable abyss below, was too critical to hazard. We hit at length upon the proper path, and were glad to find ourselves in the road of our unerring guides the robbers, after having won every foot of the ground with real peril and fatigue.' p. 324. Again. Our road after leaving the valley lay over level ground. As it would be next to an impossibility to find the way over these stony flats, where the heavy foot of a camel leaves no impression, the different bands of robbers have heaped up stones at unequal distances for their direction through this desert. We have derived great assistance from the robbers in this respect, who are our guides when the marks either fail, or are unintelligible to us.' The predatory Arabs were more successful guides to Mr. Irwin and his companions, than those he brought with him from Ghinnah; but the march of Israel through deserts of the like nature, was through such an extent and variety of country, and in such circumstances as to multitudes and incumbrances, as to make Divine interposition necessary. The openings through the rocks seem to have been prepared by Him to whom all things from the beginning of the world were foreknown, with great wisdom and goodness, to enable them to accomplish this stupendous march." See Harmer's Observat., vol. iv. p. 125. He kept him as the apple of his eye.] Nothing can exceed the force and delicacy of this expression. As deeply concerned and as carefully attentive as man can be for the safety of his eyesight, so was God for the protection and welfare of this people. How amazing this condescension! |