obedience to this command; and in that | days upon the earth (rather, upon the he merely states what would be found land), which the Lord thy God giveth to be the result of general experience in thee, for ever.' Ch. 32. 46, 47, 'And the course of his providence, that the he said unto them, Set your hearts unto early habit of respect and reverence to all the words which I testify among parents and superiors, would tend to you this day, which ye shall command the peaceful and prosperous existence your children to observe to do, all the of society, by removing the causes of words of this law. For it is not a vain internal discord and decay; while, as thing for you: because it is your life; to individuals, the salutary restraint of and through this thing ye shall prolong the passions, and the cultivation of a your days in the land whither ye go quiet, gentle demeanor would of itself over Jordan to possess it.' Accordingly go far towards lengthening the term of we find, that when God threatens the human life. But however this may be, nation with being carried captive out due reverence for parents will be found of their own land for their sins, he parto consist with reverence to God and ticularly mentions this among other his institutions, and where this is the procuring causes of their calamities, the case in any community he will display not honoring their parents; Ezek. 22.7, his favor and crown them with the bles- 12, 15, 'In thee have they set light by sings of long life and temporal pros- father and mother.-Behold therefore— perity. I will scatter thee among the heathen, and disperse thee in the countries.' But the apostle, Eph. 6. 2, 3, cites this commandment as if the promise still held good under the Christian dispensation, and this fact is doubtless to be accounted for by supposing that the spirit, the principle, of the promise is still acted upon under the moral government of Jehovah. Even at the present day, it can scarcely be doubted that, as a general fact, those who are exemplary in the discharge of filial duties become the objects of a specially rewarding providence in the longer enjoyment. of life and of those temporal blessings which make it desirable. On the other hand, what close observer of the retributive dealings of God, can question that in multitudes of cases the untimely deaths of the young have been the judicial consequences of disobedience to their parents? In how many instances has the confession been extorted from convicted felons, that the first step in their downward career was despising the commands of parents, and the next the breach of the holy sabbath? And it would seem as if the connexion between these two forms of transgression, That this promise had respect primarily to the chosen people, to whom God was now about to give the land of Canaan, is unquestionable; and to them it was doubtless made in a national as well as in an individual character. It was a pledge on the part of God that if they evinced a strict obedience to this command, he would grant them, as a people, a long continuance in their own land in despite of all the attempts of their enemies to conquer and dispossess them. This seems to be confirmed by the parallel language of Deut. 4. 26, 'Ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed. V. 33, 'Ye shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess.' V. 40. 'Thou shalt keep therefore his statutes ind his commandments, which I comnand thee this day, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after hee, and that thou mayest prolong thy was expressly recognised in the page of inspiration, from their being conjointly prohibited; Lev. 19. 3, 'Ye shall fear every man his mother and his father, and keep my sabbaths;' as if it were to be expected, as a matter of course, that he who dishonored his parents would habitually profane the sabbath. At the same time, it is not to be considered as militating with the verity of this promise, if many children distinguished for filial piety should be cut off in their tender years. This no doubt was the case with thousands of the seed of Jacob, and the same thing happens to multitudes in every age. It is sufficient to vindicate the truth of the promise, if it holds good as a general fact in the divine administration. And even in the cases that constitute the apparent exceptions, the early called may be taken from the evil to come; and if the years that would have been spent on earth are spent in heaven, it cannot be said that the promise fails of its fulfilment. God is certainly as good as his word when he is better. THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 14 t Thou shalt not commit adultery. t Deut. 5. 18. Matt. 5. 27. of the sentence of the magistrate. There are some few exceptions to this remark, as Num. 35. 27—30, as also vv. 11, 23, 25, of the same chapter, where it is used not only of inconsiderate and fortuitous homicide, or chance-medley, but also of killing a malefactor, which was permitted, and even commanded; but the distinction holds good in the main, and the slightest reflection will convince any one that in this precept it must have reference to an unlawful and unjust taking of life. The latter verb harag is applied also to the slaying of brute beasts, which ratzah never is. The scope and spirit of the injunction is therefore evident. As life is the greatest of earthly blessings, and the grand foundation of enjoying all others, God is here pleased to make known the sacredness which he would have attached to so inestimable a boon. The sixth commandment plants an inviolable guard around human life. It forbids the wanton extinction of that vital principle which was breathed into man's nostrils by the Deity himself, and the obliteration of that image of God which constituted the glory of Adam at his 13. Thou shalt not kill. Heb. creation. The infliction of capital pun la tirtzaha, thou shalt not mur-ishment for capital crimes, by the sender. Gr. ov povεvoεis, id. Chal. "Thou tence of the magistrate is not here forshalt not kill a soul;' i. e. a person bidden, as such a sentence is virtually The original ratzah, from being involved in the Noachic precept, 'He in several instances applied to violent that sheddeth man's blood, by man shall beating, breaking, contusion, and from his blood be shed;' and confirmed by general usage, more properly signifies other passages of the Scriptures. Nor the violent, unjust, taking of life, which is it probably to be interpreted as prois usually denominated murder. Inhibiting the taking life in self-defence Arabic it signifies to overwhelm within lawful war, or in a personal attack, stones, to stone to death, to smash a serpent's head with a stone. It is thus distinguished from harag, also translated to kill, but which is more legitimately employed to designate that kind of legal killing which is the result where one knows that the killing of an assailant or the loss of his own life is the only alternative. In any other case we think it may be seriously doubted whether the non-resisting spirit of the New Testament precepts does not re abused, to the hurt or the death of men's bodies, to say nothing of their effects on the undying soul. In like manner all incompetent practice of the medical art; all competing trials of speed in steamboats; all pugilistic combats, and whatever goes to wound, cripple, or maim the body, and thus endanger life, comes fairly within the range of what is forbidden by the sixth commandment. As far as the spiritual import of the command is concerned, it is clear, from the New Testament inter quire us rather to follow the example of the martyrs, who overcame by 'not Loving their lives unto death.' If man were contemplated merely in reference to his earthly existence, we do not know that there could be any doubt on the subject; but when we take into view the fact that he is to live forever, that his present state and actions are intimately connected with a system of retributions that extend into eternity, we cannot be sure that the moral impression of an example of meek, unresisting suffering at the hands of wick-pretation, that all envy, revenge, hatred, ed or cruel men, may not be more important to the best interests of the universe, than that of the contrary course. The immediate effect is no doubt disastrous to him who is the victim, and it is for the time an apparent unrecompensed triumph of might over right. But still, considering how easily God can compensate in another world such a noble sacrifice for the apprehended honor of his name, and also what a tendency it has to awaken all the virtuous sensibilities of the universe in reprobation and vindication of such an outrage upon suffering innocence, we cannot satisfy ourselves that the gospel precepts, 'resist not evil,'' avenge not yourselves,' are not to be understood in their broadest and most literal acceptation, as far as the taking of human life in self-defence is concerned. malice, or sinful anger; all that insulting language which provokes to wrath and murder; and all undue indulgence of that pride, ambition, or covetousness, which prompt to it, are virtually prohibited by the precept, 'Thou shalt not kill.' Mat. 5. 21, 22, 'Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill, shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause, shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hellfire.' 1 John, 3. 15-17, 'Whosoever hateth his brother, is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him.' ' As the great point aimed at in this commandment is the security of human life, it of course levels its prohibition against wilful murder, suicide, duelling, offensive war, all the slaughter flowing from sanguinary laws, oppressions, persécutions, and whatever tends directly to shorten our own lives, or those of others. The spirit of the precept plainly interdicts all those callings, occupations, and practices which are injurious Heb. to the health or safety of the commu- root, nity, such as the manufacture or sale of articles of diet or beverage which we have every reason to believe will be VOL. I 24 THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 14. Thou shalt not commit adultery. lo tinaph. The original nåaph in its primary and legitimate import denotes adultery in the strict and exclusive sense of the term, or that unlawful commerce of the sexes which takes place between parties one or adultery, is used to signify any other both of whom are married. It is thus dis- species of uncleanness. The appropritinguished from zanah, the word ap-ate Greek term for sins of lewdness in plied to lewdness, fornication, or whore- general is Topvela usually rendered fordom in general. This is plain from pre-nication. But this latter term in Scripdominant usage. Thus Lev. 20. 10, 'And ture usage is of much wider import than the man that committeth adultery (the former; in fact it includes the formyinaph) with another man's wife, even er in numerous instances. Thus a marhe that committeth adultery (yiried woman, Mat, 5. 32-19, 9, is said naph) with his neighbor's wife, the to be guilty of novela, which our transadulterer ( noëph) and the adul-lators have rendered fornication, though teress (noäpheth) shall surely be her crime is really adultery. Accordput to death.' Ezek. 16. 32, 'As a wife ingly both πορνεία and μοιχεια are used, that commitleth adultery (ham- Rev. 2. 21, 22, in reference to an adul menäapheth), which taketh strangers terous intercourse; 'I gave her space to instead of her husband.' Hos. 4. 14, repent of her fornication (Topvela); and "Therefore your daughters shall commit she repented not. Behold, I will cast whoredom ( tiznënah), and your her into a bed, and them that commit Again, a man that has his father's wife, and so is guilty of incest, is said to be guilty of Topvɛta, 1 Cor. 5. 1, 'It is reported commonly that there is fornica tion (Topvela) among you, and such fornication (Topvela) as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father's wife.' Here it is evident that the word must be understood to mean in general any unlaw. ful kind of sexual commerce, of which incest is one. For it cannot be supposed that the apostle meant to say that for. spouses shall commit adultery (adultery (poixevovтas) with her,' &c. tenäaphnah).' Prov. 6. 32, 'Whoso committeth adultery (noëph) with a woman lacketh understanding.' That 'woman' here is equivalent to 'wife' is evident from its being immediately added; 'For jealousy is the rage of a man; therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance;' implying that he would be prompted severely to avenge his wife's dishonor. In accordance with this we find this precept rendered in the Greek by a term (poxvw) which always signifies what in our language is termed adultery. Mat. 5, 32, 'Whoso-nication was not named among the Genever shall put away his wife saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery (poixaobai); and whosover shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery (poxarai), This was because that in the eye of the divine law she was still considered as rightfully the wife of the divorcing hus band. Rom. 7. 3, 'So then, if while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress (poixadis): but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress (poxadis) though she be married to another man,' Nor is there any other passage through, out the New Testament where poixsia, tiles; as it was in fact very common. But what he designs to say is this, that out of many kinds of πορνεία there was one, viz., a man's having his father's wife, which was not heard of among the Gentiles, notwithstanding they were in great measure given up to fornication. Comp, to the same effect Rev. 17, 1, 2, 18. 3. Hos, 3. 3, from all which it is evident that Topvea is a general term, including under it every species of illicit sexual connexion, and answers perhaps correctly to our English word lewdness or licentiousness. From the scope of the foregoing remarks it cannot, we think, be questioned that the seventh commandment is pointed primarily and predominantly | stitution would inevitably make havoc against the sin of adultery. Conse- of the peace, purity, and highest welquently the words of Christ, Mat. 5. 27, fare of society. While therefore the 28, are doubtless to be understood as re- sanctity of the marriage relation is the ferring especially to this precept thus first object aimed to be secured by this understood; 'Ye have heard that it hath precept, it points its prohibition at the been said by them of old time, Thou same time against every thing that is shalt not commit adultery. But I say contrary to the spirit and ends of that unto you, that whosoever looketh on a institution, whether in thought, word, woman to lust after her hath committed or deed. And as marriage is the sole adultery with her already in his heart.' and exclusive provision made by the Our Savior is here explaining the Law; Creator to meet the demands of that the Law, as we have seen, employs a part of our nature which the seventh term in the present precept which is commandment contemplates, every spe exclusively applied to signify adultery; cies of sensual commerce between the and as adultery, which is here charged sexes except that which comes under upon the lustful look, cannot be com- its sanction, is doubtless to be viewed mitted with a 'woman' who is not at as a violation of this precept, as also the same time a wife, the inference every thing that goes by legitimate. would seem to be inevitable that 'wo- tendency to produce it. All the arts man' (yon) in this passage is synoni- and blandishments resorted to by the mous with 'wife' or married woman, seducer; all the amorous looks, moit being the same term as we find used tions, modes of dress, and verbal insinufor wife, v. 31, 32, and elsewhere ations which go to provoke the passions throughout the New Testament. (See and make way for criminal indulgence; Bloomfield in loc.). But although we all writing, reading, publishing, vendfeel bound, as faithful expositors, to ing, or circulating obscene books; all state the true sense of the terms em- exposing or lustfully contemplating inployed in important connexions, it is decent pictures or statues; all support not in this or any other instance with a of or connivance with the practices of view to lower down the standard of re- prostitution, whether by drawing a requisition in the divine precepts. On the venue from houses of infamy, or winking same principles on which we have in- at the abominations of their inmates; terpreted the other commandments, we partake more or less of the guilt of vioare constrained to give this also so lating the seventh commandment. We much latitude as to embrace a prohibi- have only to glance at the pages of tion of all the sins usually included un- the sacred volume to perceive that sins der it. These will be easily ascertained against the law of chastity are more fre when we consider the grand design of quently forbidden, more fearfully threatthis commandment, viz., the preserva- ened, and marked by more decisive totion and promotion of the general hap-kens of the divine reprobation, than per piness of men in their conjugal and domestic relations. For this end God himself has instituted marriage. It is by means of this wise and gracious ordinance that he has provided for the regulation of those strong instinctive passions upon which the propagation of the race depends, and nothing is clearer than that a general disregard of this in haps those of any other part of the Dec- |