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24 enant, and will be your ruin. For the LORD thy God [is] a consuming fire, [even] a jealous God; he cannot endure it, and will terribly punish it.

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When thou shalt beget children, and children's children, and ye shall have remained long in the land, and shall corrupt [yourselves,] and make a graven image, [or] the likeness of any [thing,] and shall do evil in the sight of the LORD thy 26 God, to provoke him to anger: I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that 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 27 destroyed. And the LORD shall scatter you among the na

tions, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, 28 whither the LORD shall lead you. And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men's hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell; there your sin shall become your punishment, and ye shall be forced to worship idols, under 29 severe penalties. But if from hence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find [him,] if thou seek him with all thy 30 heart and with all thy soul. When thou art in tribulation,

and all these things are come upon thee, [even] in the latter days, in future generations, if thou turn to the LORD thy God, 31 and shalt be obedient unto his voice; (For the LORD thy God [is] a merciful God ;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.*

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For ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and [ask] from the one side of heaven unto the other, whether there hath been [any such thing] as this great thing [is,] or hath been heard like it? Search the annals of the world, the 33 history of all former ages, and see, Did [ever] people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard, and live? and not be overwhelmed and consumed 34 by such a glorious appearance? Or hath God assayed to go [and] take him a nation from the midst of [another] nation, by temptations, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by a stretched out arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the LORD your God did for you. in Egypt before your eyes? the wonders he did before Pharaoh, the plagues of Egypt, and their final destruction in the 35 Red sea. Unto thee it was showed, that thou mightest know that the LORD he [is] God; [there is] none else beside him; this was the design of all, that ye might worship and obey Jeho36 vah alone. Out of heaven he made thee to hear his voice,

The Jews apply this promise to themselves in the midst of their present dispersion, and take encouragement from it.

that he might instruct thee: and upon earth he showed thee his great fire; and thou heardest his words out of the midst 37 of the fire. And because he loved thy fathers, therefore he chose their seed after them, and brought thee out in his sight with his mighty power out of Egypt; kept his eye of compassion and care upon thee, as a father on his dear child; and he 38 intends to do more still for thee, To drive out nations from before thee, greater and mightier than thou [art,] to bring thee in, to give thee their land [for] an inheritance, as [it is] 39 this day. Know therefore this day, and consider [it] in thine heart, that the LORD he [is] God in heaven above, and upon 40 the earth beneath : [there is] none else. Thou shalt keep therefore his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee this day, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, and that thou mayest prolong [thy] days upon the earth, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for ever, if ye be obedient.

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Then Moses severed three cities on this side Jordan toward 42 the sun rising, toward the east; That the slayer might flee

thither, which should kill his neighbour unawares, and hated him not in times past and that fleeing unto one of these 43 cities he might live: [Namely,] Bezer in the wilderness, in the plain country of the Reubenites; and Ramoth in Gilead of the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan of the Manassites.

44 And this, which follows in the next chapter, [is] the law 45 which Moses set before the children of Israel: These [are] the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which Moses spake unto the children of Israel, after they came forth 46 out of Egypt, On this side Jordan, in the valley over against Bethpeor, in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon, whom Moses and the children of Israel 47 smote, after they were come forth out of Egypt: And they possessed his land, and the land of Og king of Bashan, two kings of the Amorites; which [were] on this side Jordan 48 toward the sun rising; From Aroer, which [is] by the bank of the river Arnon, even unto mount Sion,* which [is] Her49 mon, And all the plain on this side Jordan eastward, even unto the sea of the plain, under the springs of Pisgah.

Not Zion in Jerusalem, where David had his royal seat; this begins with another letter in the Hebrew, and is another place; the same as Hermon.

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REFLECTIONS.

E are taught from this chapter, that religion is the truest wisdom, and what we should be engaged to, by all that God hath done for us and promised to us. All that he hath done for the church, in a way of judgment or mercy, was designed to promote obedience. These motives, which were addressed to the Jews, should come with greater force to us, as we have clearer displays of the selfexistence, eternity, greatness, and glory of God; of his goodness to the whole creation, and to us in particular. We are distinguished by statutes and judgments superior to those of the Jews. Great things may be justly expect ed, therefore, from a people so remarkably favoured. He hath not dealt so with other nations; praise ye the Lord. The pure and sublime precepts of christianity demand our most cordial regard. The law was given to Moses in circumstances of terror; but grace and truth came by Christ, in mildness and mercy. Let us cherish a grateful sense of our superior blessings, and with the voice of praise and thanksgiving, call on the name of the Lord. Let us wash our hands in innocency, and so compass his altar ; and thus show we are faithful to his covenant. Remember that he is still a consuming fire to his enemies, but rich in mercy to all that seek him in sincerity. Thus shall it be well with us in this world, and we shall promote our eternal interests; for godliness is profitable to all things, having the promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. May we all cultivate a truly religious character, and remember, that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and a good understanding have all they that keep his testimonies.

2. If we would be religious, we should seriously consider these things, and take diligent heed to ourselves. Observe the cautions in the ninth, fifteenth, twenty third, and thirty ninth verses; it is necessary that we diligently attend to the law of God, study it closely, and observe it exactly, without adding to, or diminishing it. Let us esteem all God's precepts concerning all things to be right. Watchfulness and diligence are necessary, because the come mandment is exceeding broad. The law is also spiritual; let us therefore walk circumspectly, and keep our souls with all diligence. We have various temptations, inward corruptions, and many bad examples before us. These considerations, therefore, call for the greatest diligence, that our practice may correspond with our profession. Let us willingly engage in these duties; be thankful that we have precept upon precept; and daily pray, that God would write his laws upon our hearts, and enable us to keep them even to the end.

CHAP. V.

This chapter is a repetition of what we find in Exodus xix. and xx.

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ND Moses called all Israel, and said unto them, Hear,

O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your ears this day, that ye may learn them, and keep, and do 2 them. The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Ho3 reb. The LORD made not this covenant with our fathers,

but with us, [even] us, who [are] all of us here alive this day. 4 The LORD talked with you face to face in the mount out of 5 the midst of the fire, (I stood between the LORD and you at

that time, to show you the word of the LORD for ye were afraid by reason of the fire, and went not up into the mount ;) saying,

6 I [am] the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the 7 land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. Thou shalt have 8 none other gods before me. Thou shalt not make thee [any]

graven image, [or] any likeness [of any thing] that [is] in heaven above, or that [is] in the earth beneath, or that [is] in 9 the waters, beneath the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God [am] a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth [generation] of them 10 that hate me, And showing mercy unto thousands of them 11. that love me and keep my commandments. Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain for the LORD will not hold [him] guiltless that taketh his name in vain. 12 Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God 18 hath commanded thee. Six days shalt thou labour, and do 14 all thy work: But the seventh day [is] the sabbath of the LORD thy God: [in it] thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy man servant, nor thy maid servant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that [is] within thy gates; that thy man servant and thy maid servant inay rest as well as thou, 15 And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and [that] the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.

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Honour thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the LORD thy 17 18 God giveth thee. Thou shalt not kill. Neither shalt 19 20 thou commit adultery. Neither shalt thou steal. Neither 21 shalt thou bear false witness against thy neighbour. Neither

shalt thou desire thy neighbour's wife, neither shalt thou cov et thy neighbour's house, his field, or his man servant, or his

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maid servant, his ox, or his ass, or any [thing] that [is] thy neighbour's.

These words the LORD spake unto all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice and he added no more. And he wrote them in two tables of stone, and delivered them unto me.

And it came to pass when ye heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, (for the mountain did burn with fire) that ye came near unto me, [even] all the heads of your 24 tribes, and your elders; And ye said, Behold, the LORD our God hath showed us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire: we have seen 25 this day that God doth talk with man, and he liveth. Now therefore why should we die? for this great fire will consume us if we hear the voice of the LORD our God any more, 26 then we shall die. For who [is there of] all flesh that hath heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of 27 the fire, as we [have,] and lived? Go thou near, and hear

all that the LORD our God shall say: and speak thou unto us all that the LORD our God shall speak unto thee; and we 28 will hear [it,] and do [it.] And the LORD heard the voice of your words, when ye spake unto me; and the LORD said unto me, I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they have spoken unto thee: they have well said all 29 that they have spoken. O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandinents always, that it might be well with them, and with their chil30 dren for ever! Go say to them, Get you into your tents again. 31 But as for thee, stand thou here by me, and I will speak unto

thee all the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which thou shalt teach them, that they may do [them] 32 in the land which I give them to possess it. Ye shall observe to do therefore as the LORD your God hath commanded you : 33 ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. 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.

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