IF the moral law of God were the perfect rule of every man's life, there would be little need of other regulations for repressing violence and obviating the various injuries and calamities to which we are exposed. If love be the fulfilling of the law, and love work no ill to his neighbour, then "perfect love" would cast out evil as well as fear (1 John iv. 18); and the dominion of that sacred principle would ensure the happy prevalence of concord and peace. And, since the exercise of that sacred love can only be effected through the gospel of our salvation, by the faith of Jesus Christ, how ardently should we desire, and how earnestly should we promote, the diffusion of that gospel among all nations! They will not hurt nor destroy in all the Lord's holy mountain, when the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. (Is. xi. 9.) In the meantime, man, in his associated capacity, must be governed by such laws as may conduce to mutual safety and the general welfare. But all civil enactments ought to be based upon truth, and be in perfect agreement with the moral law and the revealed Word of God. If you look over these statutes and regulations, which the Lord gave unto Moses for the government of that people, you will perceive that they were all founded upon equity, and conducive to the general good. That there should be no oppression of the needy and dependant; that, in case of manifold injury, there should be equitable restitution; that distinction should be made between wilful murder and casual violence or acci in his master's service, and the appointment of a place of refuge to which the slayer might flee, “who had unwittingly caused the death of another" (Heb. x. 5; vi. 18), referred to the dedication of Christ to fulfil the will of God in effecting our redemption and salvation, and the safety provided in him for all who flee to him for refuge, it would never have entered our mind to make such an use of these institutions. Yet, so it is: and this only convinces us what incompetent expositors of the sacred volume we all are, unless we have the Spirit and the Word of God to guide and teach us. Let us pray for that Spirit; let us dwell on these precious testimonies of divine love; let us view the blessed Redeemer devoting himself entirely to the accomplishment of the great and glorious work given him to do; let us flee to him for refuge from the wrath of God due to our sins; let us seek all our safety in him alone; let us learn to devote ourselves to God for his sake; let us abide in our refuge; let us never swerve from his truth, nor wander from his ways; and we shall find rest and peace to our souls. We shall be enabled to love and serve the Lord, and praise and glorify his name. CHAPTER XXII. 1 Of theft. 5 Of damage. 7 Of trespasses. 14 Of borrowing. 16 Of fornication. 18 Of witchcraft. 19 Of beastiality. 20 Of idolatry. 21 Of strangers, widows, and fatherless. 25 Of usury. 26 Of pledges. 28 Of reverence to magistrates. 29 Of the firstfruits. 1 dental death; that parental authority should Ian man shall steal an, OX, ohall restor F ox, or sheep, and kill it, or sell it; he shall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep. be duly vindicated; that theft and blasphemy should be repressed; that reparation should be made for injury and wrong in every possible case, whether caused by man or beast, as is detailed in many particulars throughout this chapter; must surely afford ample proof of the benign and merciful tendency of this whole legislation, and its entire consistency with the divine code and will. But there are two provisions recorded in this chapter, which must lead our thoughts to higher contemplations. Had not the Spirit of God, in other parts of Scripture, informed us, that the boring of the servant's ear with an awl, who desired to live and die 2 If a thief be found breaking up, and be smitten that he die, there shall no blood be shed for him. 3 If the sun be risen upon him, there shall be blood shed for him; for he should make full restitution; if he have nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft. 4 If the theft be certainly found in his hand alive, whether it be ox, or ass, or sheep; he shall restore double. 5 ¶ If a man shall cause a field or vineyard to be eaten, and shall put in his beast, and shall feed in another man's field; of the best of his own field, and of the best of his own vineyard, shall he make restitution. 6¶ If fire break out, and catch in thorns, so that the stacks of corn, or the standing corn, or the field, be consumed therewith; he that kindled the fire shall surely make restitution. 7¶ If a man shall deliver unto his neighbour money or stuff to keep, and it be stolen out of the man's house; if the thief be found, let him pay double. 8 If the thief be not found, then the master of the house shall be brought unto the judges, to see whether he have put his hand unto his neighbour's goods. 9 For all manner of trespass, whether it be for ox, for ass, for sheep, for raiment, or for any manner of lost thing, which another challengeth to be his, the cause of both parties shall come before the judges; and whom the judges shall condemn, he shall pay double unto his neighbour. 10 If a man deliver unto his neighbour an ass, or an ox, or a sheep, or any beast, to keep; and it die, or be hurt, or driven away, no man seeing it: 11 Then shall an oath of the LORD be between them both, that he hath not put his hand unto his neighbour's goods; and the owner of it shall accept thereof, and he shall not make it good. 12 And if it be stolen from him, he shall make restitution unto the owner thereof. 13 If it be torn in pieces, then let him bring it for witness, and he shall not make good that which was torn. 14 ¶ And if a man borrow ought of his neighbour, and it be hurt, or die, the owner thereof being not with it, he shall surely make it good. 15 But if the owner thereof be with it, he shall not make it good: if it be an hired thing, it came for his hire. 16 ¶ And if a man entice a maid that is not betrothed, and lie with her, he shall surely endow her to be his wife. 17 If her father utterly refuse to give her unto him, he shall pay money according to the dowry of virgins. 18 Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. 19¶ Whosoever lieth with a beast shail surely be put to death. 20 ¶ He that sacrificeth unto any god, save unto the LORD only, he shall be utterly destroyed. 21 ¶ Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. 22 Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child. 23 If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry; 24 And my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless. 25 ¶ If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor by thee, thou shalt not be to him as an usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury. 26 If thou at all take thy neighbour's raiment to pledge, thou shalt deliver it unto him by that the sun goeth down: 27 For that is his covering only, it is his raiment for his skin: within shall he sleep? and it shall come to pass, when he crieth unto me, that I will hear; for I am gracious. 28¶Thou shalt not revile the 'gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people. 29 ¶ Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors: the firstborn of thy sons shalt thou give unto WE observe the same spirit pervading the various precepts contained in this chapter, as was remarked in the last. It may be a subject of very fair enquiry, whether, after all the modern improvements in national legislation, at least as the world calls them, any thing may be found bearing any comparison with the laws and statutes of the Jewish code; and, if so, have not modern statesmen cause to blush, and learn in time to retrace their steps? The highest of all models is the best pattern for universal imitation. Can you read this chapter and not perceive what care is evinced for individual safety and the common good? Must restitution be made for detected dishonesty? Is the law of theft to be discriminately stated? Is restitution to jury of a neighbour's property? be made for committing trespass to the inMust the obligation of suretiship be vindicated from abuse and blame? Is it lawful to make appeal to the human conscience in the sight of God by the solemnity of an oath? Is every kind of dishonesty to be guarded against under the plea of borrowing for occasional use? Is due reparation to be made for the violation of female chastity? Are all kinds Are CHAPTER XXIII. 1 Of slander and false witness. 3, 6 Of justice. 4 Of charitableness. 10 of the year of rest. 12 of the sabbath. 13 Of idolatry. 14 Of the three feasts. 18 Of the blood and the fat of the sacrifice. 20 An Angel is promised, with a blessing, if they obey him. HOU shalt not 'raise a false report: put THO unrighteous witness. 2¶ Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment: 3¶ Neither shalt thou countenance a poor man in his cause. 4¶ If thou meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again. 5 If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him. of impious practices and unnatural crime hot thine hand with the wicked to be an to be repressed? Are the interests of true and vital godliness to be maintained? all kinds of vexation and oppression to be avoided? Is a tender and sympathising regard to be paid to the widow and the fatherless? Is no advantage to be taken for the benefit of ourselves by the necessities of others? Is every one to be held in due honour and respect, according to the station he fills, and the office he holds? Is a grateful sense and recollection of past mercies to be devoutly cherished; and are our gratitude and love to be evinced on all occasions? Then I ask, what more befitting the character of God, or the condition and welfare of man, can you well imagine, than such a system of statute and obedience, which enforces and ensures such desirable attainments? Behold them here: behold them in the book of God: behold them in that sacred volume which is placed in your hands, and is able to furnish you with every sacred principle, and holy motive, for every good word and work. But here, again, let us especially notice a few particulars. With what a solemn feeling should an oath be taken! How evidently does the Lord abhor the sin of blasphemy and idolatry! How certainly will he avenge the cry of the oppressed! Amidst these various laws and statutes, how gloriously does that blessed truth shine forth, like the sun from behind a dark cloud, "I am gracious!" (v. 27.) Nor let it be forgotten, that the dedication of the first-born, again reminds us of the great redemption by Christ, and that all the redeemed are the Lord's people in a peculiar sense, to be devoted to his praise and glory. This must be done in the spirit of grateful love, which calls for the best of all our time, talents, abilities, and all that we have, and are, to be devoted to the Lord. Thus will truth be commended; men will be benefited; and God will be glorified. 6 Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor in his cause. 7 Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked. 8¶ And thou shalt take no gift: for the gift blindeth the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous. 9 ¶ Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. 10 And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof: 11 But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still; that the poor of thy people may eat and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy "oliveyard. 12 Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed. 13 And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect: and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth. 14 ¶ Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year. 15 Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty :) 16 And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field. 17 Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord GOD. 18 Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the fat of my sacrifice remain until the morning. 19 The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk. 20 ¶ Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. 21 Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him. 22 But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries. 23 For mine Angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites: and I will cut them off. 24 Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works: but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and quite break down their images. ye 25 And shall serve the LORD your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee. 26 There shall nothing cast their young, nor be barren, in thy land: the number of thy days I will fulfil. 27 I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee. 28 And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee. 29 I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee. 30 By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land. 31 And I will set thy bounds from the Red sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert unto the river: for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand; and thou shalt drive them out before thee. 32 Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods. THE way to live holily and happily, in peace and love, one with another, is to live according to the Word of God. It may be safely said, he is the happiest person whose heart and ways most accord with the divine will. The same may be observed with regard to communities and nations. That nation will be most blessed, and most prosperous, which follows the dictates of heavenly wisdom. Such was the case with Israel of old. So long as they followed the Lord, they prospered; when they forsook him, they were involved in calamities, and at length perished. Let all nations and all people hear and fear, and cleave to the Lord, and never forsake him. We are again reminded of the true spirit and design of the Jewish laws. If God would have you entertain a tender regard for the character of another; if you are not to follow a multitude to do evil, nor speak in a cause to wrest judgment; if you are to shew kindness to your neighbour by restoring his straying property, and assist even the poor beast that sinks under his burden; if you are not to arrest the judgment of the poor in his cause, nor meddle with a false matter, nor slay the innocent and the righteous; if you are not to oppress the stranger because of his need, and never forget what the heart of a stranger must be, and how he must feel; then, surely, it must be obvious that the great law of loving "thy neighbour as thyself," duly acted upon, and rightly enforced in the fear of God, must be productive of the most beneficial effects; and the wider it spreads, the greater will be the blessing. Again, if even in the cultivation of the earth the Lord would have us rely entirely on him for a blessing, can those labours, or exertions, be expected permanently to prosper where that reliance is wanting, and when men are more actuated by their own skill and industry than by a constant dependance on the Lord to prosper their endeavours? Further, if the Lord has stamped such evident obligation to hallow and reverence his holy day, by ceasing from all unnecessary employment, and devoting it entirely to his service, can those persons, or those nations, expect the blessing of heaven, who disregard these sabbath commands, and spend that holy day just as it suits their pleasure or their profit? Moreover, if in all these things which the Lord has commanded we are enjoined to be circumspect, and to admit of no other authority to violate or supersede his injunctions, then, must it not exceedingly tend to provoke his displeasure, when those commands are disregarded, and every one thinks himself at liberty to act as he pleases, without any regard to the divine word and will? The same might be said of all sacred as well as of civil institutions. Who may disregard the great memorials of our redemption and salvation with safety? Who may contemn the ordinances of public worship with impunity? Who may cherish an unsound heart, or a hypocritical profession, without endangering the life of his soul? And what shall be said of the plain and open proclamation of the Word, and the gospel salvation by Jesus Christ? Has the Lord sent that great Angel of the covenant before us to keep us in the way, and to bring us to the place which he hath prepared? (v. 20-22.) Are we at liberty to slight his mercy, and disregard his voice? Ought we to provoke his displeasure? Suppose your sin and transgression be not pardoned, what must follow? Suppose you obey his voice, and do all he speaks, would not the Lord be an enemy to your enemies, and an adversary to your adversaries? Would he not bless your bread and your store? Would he not cast his fear upon your enemies, and not allow them to touch you? Would he not lead you by little and little, till he had subdued all your foes before your face, and brought you in safety to his promised inheritance? Such was the spirit of his word to Israel of old; such is the tenor of his word to us now; such has been the order of his dealings with his people in all ages past, and such will it be in time to come, even to the end of the world. May you prove and experience all these blessings in all their fulness and comfort, avoiding all these perils and dangers, both now and for ever! CHAPTER XXIV. 1 Moses is called up into the mountain. 3 The people promise obedience. 4 Moses buildeth an altar, and twelve pillars. 6 He sprinkleth the blood of the covenant. 9 The glory of God appeareth. 14 Aaron and Hur have the charge of the people. 15 Moses goeth into the mountain, where he continueth forty days and forty nights. AND he said unto no sea, Co, Nadab, and the LORD, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off. 2 And Moses alone shall come near the LORD: but they shall not come nigh; neither shall the people go up with him. 3 ¶ And Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the LORD hath said will we do. 4 And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the LORD. 6 And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basons; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. 7 And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient. 8 And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words. 9 Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel: 10 And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness. 11 And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink. 12 ¶ And the LORD said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them. 13 And Moses rose up, and his minister |