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fathers, which he made with them when he brought them forth 26 out of the land of Egypt: For they went and served other

gods, and worshipped them, gods whom they knew not, and [whom] he had not given unto them, or, who had not given to 27 them any portion, could not help, save, nor prosper them: And the anger of the LORD was kindled against this land, to bring 28 upon it all the curses that are written in this book: And the LORD rooted them out of their land in anger and in wrath and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as [it is] this day.* It would be natural for men to ask, when these curses should be executed, Why the Jews should be punished worse than other nations, and what shall become of them afterward? And Moses, to silence all vain curiosity, and check every 29 impertinent inquiry, adds, The secret [things belong] unto the LORD our God: but those [things which are] revealed [belong] unto us and to our children for ever, that [we] may do all the words of this law: God will not give account of these matters; our duty is clearly revealed; let us attend to that mind the word of the Lord, and not trouble ourselves about times and seasons, which God hath reserved in his own power.

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REFLECTIONS.

E learn hence, that it is the duty of all to enter into God's covenant, to keep the words of it, and do them, if they desire prosperity and a blessing. All Israel is required to do so, judges, officers, particular families, with their wives and children. The christian dispensation is a covenant of grace and mercy; Jehovah, our God, proposes certain terms, and requires that we consent to them, and that we do it reverently and fervently. And since God condescends to admit his children into cove nant, it behoves them to be faithful to it. Our general profession of christianity is an obligation upon us; more especially the Lord's supper. We are obliged in gratitude, considering what God hath done for us. Our interest also depends upon it, and faithfulness requires it. Let us then duly consider the honourable relation in which we stand, and the innumerable obligations laid upon us, as the strongest reasons why we should be faithful in God's covenant. May we frequently recognize it, review our engagements, and refresh our minds with the memory of them, 2. Those who expect peace and security in a wicked way, sadly deceive themselves. There is not a more awful threatening against presumptuous sinners in the whole book of God, than that in v. 20, 21. The Lord will not spare him ; but then the anger of the Lord and his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the

This was remarkably accomplished, the Jews themselves owned that God fought @gainst them: Titus himself also owned this, and acknowledged, that without it he never could have taken Jerusalem. The chapter concludes with a very remarkable passage.

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curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and the Lord shall blot out his name from under heaven. And the Lord shall separate him unto evil out of all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant that are written in this book of the law. Too many are ready to promise themselves peace; they think God is such an one as themselves; that he is too merciful to punish; but they will find themselves mistaken. They will flatter themselves in their own eyes, but God will reprove them. He has peculiar punishments for those who live in iniquity, or neglect their known duty, while they satisfy themselves with such excuses. God can distinguish such presumptuous sinners as they are; though there should be but one in a nation, he will find him out, and make his punishment remarkable. Let drunkards, especially, take warning; if they think to escape divine wrath, they deceive themselves. Let us, therefore, stand in awe, and sin not; be careful to guard against the snares of evil company, lest others seduce us, corrupt our morals, or poison our minds. So the apostle exhorts, Heb. xii. 15. where there is an evident allusion to this passage; looking diligently lest any one fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled.

3. Let us attend to the plain intimations of the divine will, and not be solicitous about secret things, by inquiring into futurity, or what shall hereafter happen; to know our fortune as it is called; which is very foolish and ridiculous, as well as affronting to God. It is unprofitable for us to spend our zeal about those things which are above our comprehension, even in the word of God. But too many talk of mysteries, and contend for them, while they acknowledge they are above their comprehension, who yet neglect the plain rules of duty. God hath given us a law to walk by; every thing in it is of great importance, is plain and clear. Let us then take heed to them; and instead of busying ourselves about those things in which we can never gain an absolute certainty, let us mind the words of the Lord, and do them; and thus, as it is said, v. 9. we shall prosper in all that we do.

CHAP. XXX.

Terrible threatenings are recorded in the last chapter; in this, mercy is promised to the penitent; death and life are set before the people.

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ND it shall come to pass, 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 God hath driv→

en thee, And shalt return unto the LORD thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul. Here is a good description of repentance; it is calling to mind the blessings they had lost, and their present misery; it is returning to God, to his worship and service; to obey his commands, and that sincerely and affectionately; and teaching their children to do so from a principle of reverence and love. And 3 when this is the case, it shall come to pass, That then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee.* If [any] of thine be driven out unto the outmost [parts] of heaven, from thence will the LORD thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee; though now they are more scattered than they ever were before, into more distant nations, and wider from each other, yet, if they repent, they shall all be restored to their 5 own land: And the LORD thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fa6thers. And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live; they shall first be convinced, and humbled, and sanctified, and then be brought back and prospered. The Jews refer this to the days of 7 the Messiah. And the LORD thy God will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, which persecuted thee. Thus God shall become a defence to them by 8 the ruin of their enemies. And thou shall return and obey the voice of the LORD, and do all his commandments which I command thee this day; shalt continue steadfast in love and 9 obedience to God. And the LORD thy God will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good for the LORD will again rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced over thy fathers; ye shall have great prosperity, which shall be for your good, and not a snare to you: their hearts being changed they should employ it cheerfully and faithfully in God's service, as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob did, 10 in whose obedience God delighted: If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, [and] if thou turn unto the LORD thy God with all thine

This was fulfilled in their return from the Babylonish captivity, and will yet have a farther accomplishment.

+ After their return from the captivity they were great and numerous, but were often oppressed by the Persians and Grecians, and at length destroyed by the Romans; so that this prophecy is yet to be fulfilled, when they shall see their crime in crucifying Christ.

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heart, and with all thy soul. This shows the promise was conditional; provided they did not receive the grace of God in vain, but kept his commandments and his statutes with all their hearts.

Now if any should object, that they would keep them if they 11 knew them, Moses adds, For this commandment which I command thee this day, it [is] not hidden from thee, neither [is] it far off; it is not too wonderful for thee, not above thy capac◄ ity, nor hard to be understood; nor is it far off, you need not go to other nations to learn it, as some of the Greek philosophers 12 did to seek for wisdom. It [is] not in heaven, that thou shouldst say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it 13 unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? Neither [is] it beyond the sea, that thou shouldst say, Who shall go over the sen for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do 14 it? But the word [is] very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart that thou mayest do it; it is delivered by Moses in the plainest manner; the priests and Levites daily teach it; it is so familiar, that you have it in your common discourse, and can teach it your children; and all for this end, that thou mayast practise what thou knowest.

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See, I have set before thee this day life and good, all manner of blessings, if thou art obedient, and death and evil, all 16 kinds of misery, if thou dost act otherwise; In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply; and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it. Here he explains the good, and in the next verse 17 the evil. But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and 18 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 passest over Jordan to go to pos19 sess it. And, to make this matter more solemn, he adds, I call heaven and earth, God, and angels, and men, to record this day against you, [that] I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; he uses these various words to impress their minds, and to convince them that both come from God; therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live; be obedient, and thou shalt be happy. He then sums up the whole; 20 That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, this is the noblest spring of religion, [and] that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him; it will keep thee from idolatry, and secure thy obedience and happiness; for he [is] thy life, the author and preserver of it, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them and their seed after them.

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REFLECTIONS.

HE promises at the beginning of the chapter furnish great encouragement to pray for the Jews. v. 3, 5. The Lord thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath scattered thee. And the Lord thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers. Although they are now obstinate and wicked, and blaspheme the name and religion af Jesus, yet they shall be called; God has not absolutely cast them off. He exhibits them as monuments of his justice, and as a standing miracle in support of the gospel; and in due time the whole world shall witness their restoration to their own land, and their acknowledgment of the Messiah. In dependence on this promise, which is confirmed by the New Testament, let us bear them upon our spirits before God. So Paul; Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they may be saved.

2. Before the heart can love and obey God's commandments, it must be circumcised; that is, its perverseness and obstinacy must be removed, its corruptions mortified, its filth taken away, and its lust subdued. This is God's work. It should be diligently sought by those who are strangers to the love and service of God; and parents should earnestly seek it for their children. However hard and obstinate the human heart is, God can soften and subdue it. Let us pray that he would shed abroad his love in our hearts, and dispose them more and more to his service.

3. Let those who live in the neglect of their duty, know and be assured, that they have no excuse for so doing. For this commandment, which I command thee this day, is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off, v. 11. Their duty is plainly laid before them, and it is easy to be practised. Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? or, Who shall descend into the deep? The word of the Lord is nigh unto thee, even in thy mouth and in thy heart. Rom. x. 6, 8. The gospel of Christ is much more plain and easy. You hear it every Lord's day, and oftener: it is read and preached among you; it is in your hands; you speak of it; therefore great is your guilt, and great will be your misery, if you do it not. The servant who knoweth his Lord's will, and doeth it not, will be beaten with many stripes. The path of duty is no less easy than it is plain. It is not a burden and grief, as Satan and wicked men would represent it; it is pleasant and delightful here, and leads to everlasting happiness hereafter. Let us see to it, then, that we keep the word of Christ, and walk in his ways; for his yoke is easy, and his burden is light,

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