The Israelites are commissioned to displace the seven nations. 1 When the LORD thy God unto the LORD thy God: the shall bring thee into the land LORD thy God hath chosen thee whither thou goest to possess it, to be a special people unto himand hath cast out many nations self, above all people that are before thee, the Hittites, and upon the face of the earth. the Girgashites, and the Amo- 7 The LORD did not set his rites, and the Canaanites, and love upon you, nor choose you, the Perizzites, and the Hivites, because ye were more in numand the Jebusites, seven nations ber than any people; for ye greater and mightier than thou; were the fewest of all people:" 2 And when the LORD thy God shalt deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them:

3 Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son.

4 For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly.

5 But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire.

6 For thou art an holy people

8 But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

9 Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;

10 And repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them: he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face.

1 Thou shalt therefore keep the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which I command thee this day, to do them.

LECTURE 318.

God teaches hatred of sin by employing men to punish sinners. Whilst the Israelites are here commissioned to execute God's vengeance upon them that hated Him, they are also empowered to take possession of the country occupied by his enemies. And they are instructed that one of the objects for the sake of which they were to shew no mercy to the seven guilty nations, was their own better security from the corruption, which is apt to come of evil communication. At the same time lest they should be elated with the thought of having such great things done for their sakes, they are reminded that they were chosen to be a holy people unto the Lord, not by reason of any worth of theirs, but out of God's

free love, and out of his regard to the oath which He had sworn unto their fathers. For their God, they are assured, is one "which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations." Whilst on the other hand they are warned, that "he repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them."

These considerations greatly help us to understand the state of feeling, in which the Israelites were instructed to undertake the conquest of Canaan, and the destruction of its inhabitants. They were to go forth under the impression, that the great God of heaven and earth was sure to prosper their work, as long as they conformed themselves to his directions. They were to feel persuaded that He who made all men, regarded them in particular as his own people, beloved for their fathers' sakes, not their own; for the sake of the oath sworn unto their fathers, out of respect to their distinguished faithfulness, in the midst of a faithless generation. They were to regard themselves as entrusted with the sacred charge of upholding true religion, in a world almost wholly given up to idolatry. They were to consider this an object of such great importance, as that for the sake of it God would drive out from before them the idolatrous nations of Canaan, and give them their land for an inheritance. And as for their being employed in the execution of this fearful sentence, they were to look upon this as an honour put upon them, to be ministers of God's holy will, and at the same time as a solemn warning given them by Him, of what vengeance they were to expect, if they should themselves in like manner transgress.

A holy indignation against idolatry, and a hearty abhorrence of all kinds of idol worship, were likely to be promoted amongst the Israelites, by their acting as the ministers of God's wrath towards idolaters. Sin must seem doubly hateful to those, who find it so hateful to God, that He employs them in the utter destruction of the sinners. This may probably be one chief reason, for the saints of Christ being joined hereafter with their heavenly King, in the work of judging and punishing the wicked. "Do ye not know," says St. Paul to the Corinthians, "that the saints shall judge the world?" 1 Cor. 6. 2. And St. Jude tells us that Enoch prophesied, "Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon all." Jude 14, 15. Are we prepared for any such duty as this? Have we learnt from the sufferings of our Lord any such lively hatred of iniquity, that we could go forth, under his directions, and with hearts zealous for his glory, to fulfil his righteous sentence? Let us remember that our present duty is a tender concern for sinners, together with a persevering zeal in converting them. But let us also be prepared to think it no unrighteous thing, if He whose grace they set at nought should hereafter see fit to employ our unworthy hands in the work of utterly destroying the ungodly.

God encourageth the people by sundry promises.

12 Wherefore it shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgments, and keep, and do them, that the LORD thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which he sware unto thy fathers:

13 And he will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee: he will also bless the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy land, thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep, in the land which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee.

14 Thou shalt be blessed above all people: there shall not be male or female barren among you, or among your cattle.

15 And the LORD will take away from thee all sickness, and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which thou knowest, upon thee; but will lay them upon all them that hate thee.

16 And thou shalt consume all the people which the LORD thy God shall deliver thee; thine eye shall have no pity upon them: neither shalt thou serve their gods; for that will be a șnare unto thee.

17 If thou shalt say in thine heart, These nations are more than I; how can I dispossess them?

18 Thou shalt not be afraid of them but shalt well remember what the LORD thy God did unto Pharaoh, and unto all Egypt; 19 The great temptations which thine eyes saw, and the signs, and the wonders,and the mighty hand,

and the stretched out arm, whereby the LORD thy God brought thee out: so shall the LORD thy God do unto all the people of whom thou art afraid.

20 Moreover the LORD thy God will send the hornet among them, until they that are left, and hide themselves from thee, be destroyed.

21 Thou shalt not be affrighted at them: for the LORD thy God is among you, a mighty God and terrible.

22 And the LORD thy God will put out those nations before thee by little and little: thou mayest not consume them at once, lest the beasts of the field increase upon thee.

23 But the LORD thy God shall deliver them unto thee, and shall destroy them with a mighty destruction, until they be destroyed.

24 And he shall deliver their kings into thine hand, and thou shaft destroy their name from under heaven: there shall no man be able to stand before thee, until thou have destroyed them.

25 The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein: for it is an abomination to the LORD thy God.

26 Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it: but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing.

LECTURE 319.

That we are bound to fulfil our part of the better covenant. Whilst God describes Himself as one "which keepeth covenant," ver. 9, He takes care to remind his people that his doing so is on the condition of their faithfulness. "It shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgments, and keep, and do them, that the Lord thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which he sware unto thy fathers." His loving them, and blessing them, and multiplying them, his giving them unfailing plenty, his exempting them from all sickness, and laying diseases on their enemies, all these things were to depend upon their doing what He told them; and especially on their consuming without pity the guilty people, whom God would deliver into their hands, and carefully abstaining from serving their gods. They must not doubt of success. They must not be alarmed at the numbers of their enemies. They must well remember the great miracles, by which God made them to prevail against Pharaoh. They must feel assured that He would prosper their present undertaking with the same mighty hand, and stretched out arm. And though He would not put out those nations all at once, lest the beasts of the field should increase upon his people, yet they might fully trust that in due time He would fulfil his purpose, even to destroy the name of those nations from under heaven. Only the Israelites must be firm, on their part; and in destroying the graven images of the idolaters, they must not so much as desire to keep for themselves "the silver or gold that is on them." To no such snare must they dare to expose themselves. No such cursed thing must be brought into their houses. All instruments of idolatry are abomination to the Lord. All must be detested and abhorred by his people.

Whilst we study these instructive terms of the first covenant, we are glad to think that God has been pleased to make with us another and a better one. Let us not however forget that the Gospel covenant, as well as that of the Law, implies duty on our part, as well as the free gift of grace and pardon on the part of God. Let us not fail to consider ourselves strictly bound to abhor all that is evil, and to watch against the most remote approach of sin, as well as to follow after that which we know to be good, and to persevere with patience in well doing. We have indeed larger help assured to us, we have stronger motives, greater encouragement, a law more spiritual, a pattern absolutely perfect. But so much the more are we in fault, and so much the heavier is our loss, and so much the more sure our condemnation, if we are wanting in a good courage, or a holy zeal, in love for God, or in detestation of iniquity. So much the greater is our folly, if we think, as many most foolishly imagine, that though we neglect our part of the covenant, God will still feel bound by his.

A rehearsal of some chief mercies, chastisements, and promises. 1 All the commandments which and out of whose hills thou mayI command thee this day shall est dig brass. ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers.