Deuteronomy · Chapter 29

V. 1. These are the terms or conditions upon which God hath made, that is renewed his covenant with you. The covenant was but one in substance, but various in the time and manner of its dispensation.

Verse 1. These are the words of the covenant] This verse seems properly to belong to the preceding chapter, as a widely different subject is taken up at Deuteronomy 29:2 of this; and it is distinguished as the 69th verse in some of the most correct copies of the Hebrew Bible. Commanded Moses to make] trkl lichroth, to cut, alluding to the covenant sacrifice which was offered on the occasion and divided, as is explained, see Clarke “Genesis 15:18”.

Beside the covenant which he made-in Horeb.] What is mentioned here is an additional institution to the ten words given on Horeb; and the curses denounced here are different from those denounced against the transgressors of the decalogue.

Verse 1. These are the words of the covenant — Having thus repeated and enlarged upon the laws formerly delivered at Horeb, shown this new generation the covenant they were under, and the time and manner of their renewing it after they had entered Canaan; and having thus pathetically expatiated on the blessings and curses annexed to it, Moses summoned again the whole assembly, to press them to a careful obedience by considerations of the most powerful nature. Besides the covenant which he made with them in Horeb — Not a different covenant from that Exodus 24:3-8, but a renewal of the same, with some additions.

Verse 1. The words of the covenant; from co, con, or com; a social prefix; and venio, to come; the coming of two parties into one compact. The vendor gets the best terms he can, and the buyer aims at a bargain. Just the reverse of this is the divine covenant: frail sinful man is not exalted into co-partnership with the Almighty. The covenant is all grace to man, and dictated by the donor; man has but to consent to it with all his heart, and all his soul. The blessings and curses of this covenant are confirmed with sacrifice and with blood: they are ratified with an oath. The parties, ver. 10, were princes, captains, wives, children and little ones, absentees and strangers; in short, the whole nation, without a single exception. The Lord avouched them for his people, and they avouched him for their God. In Jeremiah 34. we read, that they walked between the parts of the victims, consenting to be cut in pieces like their sacrifices, if ever they violated that covenant. All these blessings were confirmed in happy ages, and all these curses inflicted in apostate times. The covenant is evidently frail with man, but sure with the Lord.

Verse 2. Ye have seen all that the Lord did — Some of them had seen, when they were young, the plagues which God had brought upon Pharaoh and his people, in order to accomplish their deliverance; and others from them had understood these things, which is often termed seeing, both in the Scriptures and elsewhere.

2. Ye have seen — As a people they had seen the wonderful works of God.

3. The great temptations — The Hebrew word translated temptations has reference to the plagues which came upon the Egyptians, and which were tests or proofs of the power of Israel’s God. The miracles wrought and the signs given were these proofs.

V. 4. Yet the Lord-That is, you have perceived and seen them with the eyes of your body, but not with your minds and hearts; you have not yet learned rightly to understand the word and works of God, so as to know them for your good, and to make a right use of them, and to comply with them: which he expresseth thus, the Lord hath not given you, &c. not to excuse their wickedness, but to direct them to whom they must have recourse for a good understanding of God’s works; and to intimate that although the hearing ear, and the seeing eye, be the workmanship of God, yet their want of his grace was their own fault, and the just punishment of their former sins; their present case being like theirs in Isaiah’s time, who first shut their own eyes and ears that they might not see and hear, and would not understand, and then by the righteous judgment of God, had their eyes and ears closed that they should not see and hear, and understand. God’s readiness to do us good in other things, is a plain evidence, that if we have not grace, that best of gifts, ‘tis our own fault and not his: he would have gathered us, and we would not.

Verse 4. The Lord hath not given you a heart, &c.] Some critics read this verse interrogatively: And hath not God given you a heart, &c.? because they suppose that God could not reprehend them for the non-performance of a duty, when he had neither given them a mind to perceive the obligation of it, nor strength to perform it, had that obligation been known. Though this is strictly just, yet there is no need for the interrogation, as the words only imply that they had not such a heart, &c., not because God had not given them all the means of knowledge, and helps of his grace and Spirit, which were necessary; but they had not made a faithful use of their advantages, and therefore they had not that wise, loving, and obedient heart which they otherwise might have had. If they had had such a heart, it would have been God’s gift, for he is the author of all good; and that they had not such a heart was a proof that they had grieved his Spirit, and abused the grace which he had afforded them to produce that gracious change, the want of which is here deplored. Hence God himself is represented as grieved because they were unchanged and disobedient: “O that there were such a heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them and with their children for ever!” See Deuteronomy 5:29, and the note there.

Verse 4. The Lord hath not given you a heart to perceive — Which he would have done had you sincerely and earnestly desired and asked it of him; and you are inexcusable that you have not, considering his signal mercies on the one hand, and awful judgments on the other, of which you have had such great experience, and which called loudly upon you to humble yourselves before him in true repentance, and seek his grace to enable you to understand and improve by such extraordinary dispensations and wonderful works. For he does not speak thus to excuse their wickedness, but to direct them to whom they must have recourse for a good understanding of God’s works; and to intimate that although the hearing ear, and the seeing eye, be the workmanship of God, yet their want of these was their own fault, and the just punishment of their former sins; their present case being like theirs in Isaiah’s time, who first shut their own eyes and ears that they might not see and hear, and would not understand, and then, by the righteous judgment of God, had their eyes and ears closed that they should not see, and hear, and understand. God’s readiness to do us good in other things, is a plain evidence, that if we have not grace, that best of gifts, it is our own fault and not his: he would have gathered us, and we would not.

4. A heart to perceive — Their disobedience had rendered them incapable of perceiving their true relations to Jehovah their God. Comp. Isaiah 6:9; Matthew 13:15, and John 12:37-40.

Verse 5. Your clothes are not waxen old] See Clarke on “Deuteronomy 8:4”.

Verses 5, 6. Your clothes waxed not old — See on Deuteronomy 8:4. Ye have not eaten bread — Common bread purchased by your own money, procured by your own labour, or made by your own hands, but heavenly and angelical bread. Neither have ye drunk wine — But only water out of the rock, and the water was made both pleasant and refreshing. The meaning is, that they were not nourished by the ordinary means of sustenance, but were constantly supported by a miraculous supply from God, who graciously fed them for a course of years without any labour of their own. That I am the Lord — That I am Jehovah, that is, the Being who can bring to pass whatever I will, (see on Exodus 6:3,) omnipotent and all-sufficient to provide for you without the help of any creatures, and your God, in covenant with you, who have a true affection to you, and a fatherly care of you.

5. Forty years in the wilderness — Comp. Deuteronomy 1:3, and 8:2. Your clothes are not waxen old — See note on Deuteronomy 8:4.

V. 6. Ye have not eaten bread-Common bread purchased by your own money, or made by your own hands, but heavenly and angelical bread. Neither drank wine-But only water out of the rock. The Lord-Omnipotent and all-sufficient for your provision without the help of any creatures, and your God in covenant with you who hath a true affection to you, and fatherly care of you.

Verse 6. Ye have not eaten bread, &c.] That is, ye have not been supported in an ordinary providential way; I have been continually working miracles for you, that ye might know that I am the Lord. Thus we find that God had furnished them with all the means of this knowledge, and that the means were ineffectual, not because they were not properly calculated to answer God’s gracious purpose, but because the people were not workers with God; consequently they received the grace of God in vain. See 2 Corinthians 6:1.

Verses 5, 6. Your clothes waxed not old — See on Deuteronomy 8:4. Ye have not eaten bread — Common bread purchased by your own money, procured by your own labour, or made by your own hands, but heavenly and angelical bread. Neither have ye drunk wine — But only water out of the rock, and the water was made both pleasant and refreshing. The meaning is, that they were not nourished by the ordinary means of sustenance, but were constantly supported by a miraculous supply from God, who graciously fed them for a course of years without any labour of their own. That I am the Lord — That I am Jehovah, that is, the Being who can bring to pass whatever I will, (see on Exodus 6:3,) omnipotent and all-sufficient to provide for you without the help of any creatures, and your God, in covenant with you, who have a true affection to you, and a fatherly care of you.

6. Not eaten bread, neither… drunk wine — The meaning is, that in their desert wandering they were not sustained by ordinary or natural means. Their provision was from God.

7. Sihon… and Og — Comp. Deuteronomy 2:30; 3:2.

8. We took their land — See Deuteronomy 3:12, 13.

Verse 10. Ye stand-all of you before the Lord] They were about to enter into a covenant with God; and as a covenant implies two parties contracting, God is represented as being present, and they and all their families, old and young, come before him.

Verses 10-12. Ye stand — before the Lord your God — They were assembled at the tabernacle, from whence he delivered these words to them by the priests and Levites, Deuteronomy 27:9, 14. Thy stranger — Such strangers as had embraced their religion: all sorts of persons, yea, even the meanest of them. Into covenant, and into his oath — A covenant confirmed by a solemn oath. Hebrew, wtlab, bealatho, his adjuration, execration, or curse; for they entered into this covenant with imprecations upon themselves if they did not perform faithfully their engagements.

10. Ye stand… before the Lord — See verses 10-15. Moses here calls upon the nation to enter into a new covenant with Jehovah their God. Your captains… elders… officers, with all the men of Israel — The Hebrew is better rendered, your captains, your tribes, your elders, and your officers, every man of Israel.

V. 11. Thy stranger-Such strangers as had embraced their religion: all sorts of persons, yea, even the meanest of them.

Verses 10-12. Ye stand — before the Lord your God — They were assembled at the tabernacle, from whence he delivered these words to them by the priests and Levites, Deuteronomy 27:9, 14. Thy stranger — Such strangers as had embraced their religion: all sorts of persons, yea, even the meanest of them. Into covenant, and into his oath — A covenant confirmed by a solemn oath. Hebrew, wtlab, bealatho, his adjuration, execration, or curse; for they entered into this covenant with imprecations upon themselves if they did not perform faithfully their engagements.

11. Little ones,… wives — As the covenant was with the nation in its organic unity it included all the members — the men, the women, the children, the Egyptians who left Egypt with them, (see Exodus 12:38,) and the Midianites who united with Israel. See Numbers 10:29-31. Thy stranger — The proselyte. Comp. Exodus 12:38-48. The hewer of thy wood — Comp. Joshua 9:21.

V. 12. Into covenant and into his oath-Into covenant, confirmed by a solemn oath.

Verse 12. That thou shouldest enter] לעבר leaber, to pass through, that is, between the separated parts of the covenant sacrifice. See Clarke “Genesis 15:18”.

And into his oath] Thus we find that in a covenant were these seven particulars: 1. The parties about to contract were considered as being hitherto separated. 2. They now agree to enter into a state of close and permanent amity. 3. They meet together in a solemn manner for this purpose. 4. A sacrifice is offered to God on the occasion, for the whole is a religious act. 5. The victim is separated exactly into two equal parts, the separation being in the direction of the spine; and those parts are laid opposite to each other, sufficient room being allowed for the contracting parties to pass between them. 6. The contracting parties meet in the victim, and the conditions of the covenant by which they are to be mutually bound are recited. 7. An oath is taken by these parties that they shall punctually and faithfully perform their respective conditions, and thus the covenant is made and ratified. See Jeremiah 34:18, 19, and Clarke’s notes on “Genesis 6:18”; “Genesis 15:18”; “Exodus 29:45”; Leviticus 26:44, 45.

Verses 10-12. Ye stand — before the Lord your God — They were assembled at the tabernacle, from whence he delivered these words to them by the priests and Levites, Deuteronomy 27:9, 14. Thy stranger — Such strangers as had embraced their religion: all sorts of persons, yea, even the meanest of them. Into covenant, and into his oath — A covenant confirmed by a solemn oath. Hebrew, wtlab, bealatho, his adjuration, execration, or curse; for they entered into this covenant with imprecations upon themselves if they did not perform faithfully their engagements.

V. 13. That he may establish thee-Here is the summary of that covenant whereof Moses was the mediator, and in the covenant relation between God and them, all the precepts and promises of the covenant are included. That they should be established for a people to him, to fear, love, obey, and be devoted to him, and that he should be to them a God, to make them holy and happy; and a due sense of the relation we stand in to God as our God, and the obligation we are under to him as his people, is enough to bring us to all the duties, and all the comforts of the covenant. And does this covenant include nothing spiritual? nothing that refers to eternity?

Verse 13. That he may establish thee — Here is the summary of that covenant whereof Moses was the mediator; and in the covenant relation between God and them, all the precepts and promises of the covenant are included. That they should be established for a people to him, to fear, love, obey, and be devoted to him, and that he should be to them a God, to make them holy and happy; and a due sense of the relation we stand in to God as our God, and the obligation we are under to him as his people, is enough to bring us to all the duties and all the comforts of the covenant. And does this covenant include nothing spiritual? nothing that refers to eternity?

14-15. Neither with you only — Moses here impresses upon the people that the covenant is not merely with those he is addressing, but also with their descendants. “For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all them that are afar off.” Acts 2:39.

V. 15. So also-With your posterity. For so the covenant was made at first with Abraham and his seed, by which as God engaged himself to continue the blessing of Abraham upon his posterity, so he also engaged them to the same duties which were required of Abraham. So it is even among men, where a king confers an estate upon a subject and his heirs for ever, upon some certain conditions, all his heirs who enjoy that benefit, are obliged to the same conditions. It may likewise include those who were then constrained to be absent, by sickness, or any necessary occasion. Nay one of the Chaldee pharaphrasts reads it, all the generations that have been from the first days of the world, and all that shall arise to the end of the whole world, stand with us here this day. And so taking this covenant as a typical dispensation of the covenant of grace, ‘tis a noble testimony to the Mediator of that covenant, who is the same yesterday, to day, and for ever.

Verse 15. Him that standeth here] The present generation. Him that is not here-all future generations of this people.

Verse 15. So also with him that is not here — With your posterity. For so the covenant was made at first with Abraham and his seed, by which, as God engaged himself to continue the blessing of Abraham upon his posterity, so he also engaged them to the same duties which were required of Abraham. Thus it is even among men: where a king confers an estate upon a subject and his heirs for ever, upon some certain conditions, all his heirs who enjoy that benefit are obliged to the same conditions. It may likewise include those who were then constrained to be absent by sickness, or any necessary occasion. Nay, one of the Chaldee paraphrasts reads it, “All the generations that have been from the first days of the world, and all that shall arise to the end of the whole world, stand with us here this day.” And thus, taking this covenant as a typical dispensation of the covenant of grace, it is a noble testimony to the Mediator of that covenant, who is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever.

14-15. Neither with you only — Moses here impresses upon the people that the covenant is not merely with those he is addressing, but also with their descendants. “For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all them that are afar off.” Acts 2:39.

V. 16. Egypt-Where you have seen their idolatries, and learned too much of them, as the golden calf shewed, and therefore have need to renew your covenant with God; where also we were in dreadful bondage whence God alone hath delivered us, to whom therefore we are deeply obliged, and have all reason to renew our covenant with him. Through the nations-With what hazard, if God had not appeared for us!

Verse 16. Egypt — Where you have seen their idolatries, and learned too much of them, as the golden calf showed, and therefore have need to renew your covenant with God; where also we were in dreadful bondage, whence God alone hath delivered us; to whom therefore we are deeply obliged, and have all reason to renew our covenant with him. We came through the nations — With what hazard, if God had not appeared for us!

16-17. Ye know how we have dwelt — In this passage the reference is to the idol worship of Egypt and of the nations with whom they had been brought in contact on their journey. They are told in effect to remember what they have seen of the worthlessness and vileness of such worship. These verses are not parenthetical, as in our version, but are closely connected with the following verse.

16-17. Ye know how we have dwelt — In this passage the reference is to the idol worship of Egypt and of the nations with whom they had been brought in contact on their journey. They are told in effect to remember what they have seen of the worthlessness and vileness of such worship. These verses are not parenthetical, as in our version, but are closely connected with the following verse.

V. 18. A root-An evil heart inclining you to such cursed idolatry, and bringing forth bitter fruits.

Verse 18. A root that beareth gall and wormwood] That is, as the apostle expresses it, Hebrews 3:12, An evil heart of unbelief departing from the living God; for to this place he evidently refers. It may also signify false doctrines, or idolatrous persons among themselves.

Verse 18. Lest there be among you man or woman — These words are to be considered as connected with verses 14, 15, and as signifying the end for which he engaged them to renew their covenant with God, that none of them might revolt from him to serve other gods. Lest there should be a root — An evil heart inclining you to such cursed idolatry, and bringing forth bitter fruits: or rather, some secret or subtle apostate from the true God and his religion, secretly lurking and working as a root under ground, and spreading his poison to the infection of others; for both the foregoing and following words speak of some particular person. Gall and wormwood — Which though for the present it may please his fancy, yet in the end will produce bitter fruits; not only distasteful to God, but also destructive to yourselves. The word which we translate gall, is thought to signify some noxious and poisonous herb, but what herb, is difficult to say. It is rendered hemlock, (Hosea 10:4,) and is commonly joined with wormwood, as here, Jeremiah 9:15; Lamentations 3:19; Amos 6:12. To this passage the apostle alludes Hebrews 12:15, Lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you.

18. Lest there should be among you a root that beareth gall and wormwood — This figurative expression may be compared with the passage in Hebrews 12:15, “Lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled.” The word translated gall probably does not denote a poisonous plant.

V. 19. Of this curse-Of that oath where-in he swore he would keep covenant with God, and that with a curse pronounced against himself if he did not perform it. Bless himself-Flatter himself in his own eyes, with vain hopes, as if God did not mind such things, and either could not, or would not punish them. Peace-Safety and prosperity. My own heart-Though I do not follow God’s command, but my own devices. To add drunkenness to thirst-The words may be rendered, to add thirst to drunkenness, and so the sense may be, that when he hath multiplied his sins, and made himself as it were drunk with them, yet he is not satisfied therewith, but still whets his appetite, and provokes his thirst after more, as drunkards often use means to make themselves thirst after more drink.

Verse 19. To add drunkenness to thirst] A proverbial expression denoting the utmost indulgence in all sensual gratifications.

Verse 19. The words of this curse — This oath and execration, wherein he swore he would keep covenant with God, and that with a curse pronounced against himself if he did not perform it. Bless himself — Flatter himself in his own eyes with vain hopes, as if God did not mind such things, and either could not, or would not punish them. Peace — Safety and prosperity. My own heart — Though I do not follow God’s command, but my own devices. To add drunkenness to thirst — The words may be rendered, to add thirst to drunkenness, and so the sense may be, that when he hath multiplied his sins, and made himself as it were drunk with them, yet he is not satisfied therewith, but still whets his appetite, and provokes his thirst after more, as drunkards often use means to make themselves thirst after more drink. This is well deserving of our most serious consideration. Moses here assures the Israelites that, how much soever they might flatter themselves with hopes of peace and safety on account of their privileges, none of these would avail them at all if they forsook the law of God, and apostatized from his worship and service. This people, however, notwithstanding this solemn warning, did, in after ages, confide in those outward privileges, and that at a time when they lived in the open violation of the divine commands. The temple, the temple of the Lord! was their cry and their confidence, as if the having that among them had been sufficient to save and render them prosperous and happy, even although they defiled it with their abominations. But they found, by sad experience, that the threatenings denounced by Moses against the violators of God’s law were fulfilled. Let us all take warning by this, and neither as a nation nor as individuals dare to promise ourselves security and peace while we walk in the imagination of our own hearts, and live in sin and forgetfulness of God.

19. Though I walk in the imagination of mine heart — The word translated imagination is generally used in a bad sense. But it may be used, as in the corresponding Syriac, in a good sense. To add drunkenness to thirst — The literal translation is, so that satiety increases thirst. The whole passage has almost baffled the ingenuity of commentators. We think the meaning is, I shall have peace even though I do not keep the laws of God, even though I do what is pleasing to myself and indulge my passions to satiety — even to a satiety that produces greater longing for indulgence.

V. 20. Shall smoke-Shall burn and break forth with flame and smoke as it were from a furnace.

Verses 20, 21. His jealousy shall smoke against that man — Shall burn and break forth like flame and smoke from a furnace. None shall be punished more exemplarily than those who abuse the goodness of God, and turn his grace into wantonness. Shall blot out his name — Shall destroy his person and the remembrance of him from among men, suffering no posterity to survive him, to perpetuate his name or memory. Shall separate him unto evil — Unto some exemplary plague; he will make him a monument of his displeasure to the whole land. According to all the curses of the covenant — For the covenant made with them, though a covenant of grace, had curses as well as blessings belonging to it, however averse the person here referred to might be to believe it.

20. The Lord will not spare him — He may go on in fancied security; but, in the graphic language of the original, the indignation of Jehovah will smoke and he will be utterly destroyed. How sad must have been the scene that lies in thought before the great lawgiver and prophet! He sees the nation as going away from Jehovah, worshipping strange gods. He sees the terrible retribution that is to come upon them.

V. 21. Unto evil-Unto some peculiar and exemplary plague; he will make him a monument of his displeasure to the whole land.

Verses 20, 21. His jealousy shall smoke against that man — Shall burn and break forth like flame and smoke from a furnace. None shall be punished more exemplarily than those who abuse the goodness of God, and turn his grace into wantonness. Shall blot out his name — Shall destroy his person and the remembrance of him from among men, suffering no posterity to survive him, to perpetuate his name or memory. Shall separate him unto evil — Unto some exemplary plague; he will make him a monument of his displeasure to the whole land. According to all the curses of the covenant — For the covenant made with them, though a covenant of grace, had curses as well as blessings belonging to it, however averse the person here referred to might be to believe it.

Verses 22, 23. So that the generation — Hebrew And the generation: for it appears to be a new paragraph, the sense whereof is, Whenever your wickedness shall arrive at such a height as to bring upon your nation the terrible desolations before spoken of, all considerate people around you will be convinced that it is the effect of the just judgment of God upon your disobedience to his laws, and a perfect fulfilment of the very threats now left on record. The whole land is brimstone and salt — Is burned up and made barren for the sins of its inhabitants.

V. 23. Salt and burning-Is burnt up and made barren, as with brimstone and salt.

Verses 22, 23. So that the generation — Hebrew And the generation: for it appears to be a new paragraph, the sense whereof is, Whenever your wickedness shall arrive at such a height as to bring upon your nation the terrible desolations before spoken of, all considerate people around you will be convinced that it is the effect of the just judgment of God upon your disobedience to his laws, and a perfect fulfilment of the very threats now left on record. The whole land is brimstone and salt — Is burned up and made barren for the sins of its inhabitants.

23. The whole land thereof is brimstone, etc. — The description is taken from the Dead Sea and the destruction of the Cities of the Plain.

24. What meaneth the heat of this great anger — Literally, what is this great burning of wrath? Comp. 1 Kings 9:8, 9; Jeremiah 22:8, 9.

V. 26. Whom God had not given to them-For their worship, but hath divided them unto all nations, for their use and service. So he speaks here of the sun and moon and stars, which were the principal gods worshipped by the neighbouring nations.

Verse 26. Gods-whom he had not given unto them] This is an unhappy translation. Houbigant renders the original words להם qlj wlw velo chalak lahem, et quibuscum nulla eis societas, “And with whom they had no society;” and falls unmercifully on Leviticus Clerc because he had translated it, From whom they had received no benefits. I must differ from both these great men, because I think they differ from the text. qlj chalak signifies a portion, lot, inheritance, and God is frequently represented in Scripture as the portion or inheritance of his people. Here, therefore, I think the original should be rendered, And there was no portion to them, that is, the gods they served could neither supply their wants nor save their souls-they were no portion.

Verse 26. Whom he had not given — For their worship, but had divided unto all nations, for their use and service. So he speaks here of the sun, and moon, and stars, which were the principal gods worshipped by the neighbouring nations.

28. And cast them into another land — “The Hebrew word yashlichem is written with a great lamed and with yod defective. The former letter is the first in the word l’olam, forever; the latter used as a numeral signifies ten. In this mode of writing is supposed to be mystically signified the perpetual rejection of the ten tribes. BUXTORF, Mas. Com., 14.” — Speaker’s Com.

V. 29. The secret things-Having mentioned the amazing judgments of God upon the whole land and people of Israel, and foreseeing the utter extirpation which would come upon them for their wickedness, he breaks out into this pathetic exclamation, either to bridle their curiosity, who would be apt to enquire into the time and manner of so great an event; or to quiet his own mind, and satisfy the scruples of others, who perceiving God to deal so severely with his own people, when in the meantime he suffered those nations which were guilty of grosser atheism and idolatry, might thence take occasion to deny his providence or question the equity of his proceedings. To this he answers, that the ways and judgments of God, tho’ never unjust, are often times hidden from us, unsearchable by our shallow capacities, and matter for our admiration, not our enquiry. But the things which are revealed by God and his word, are the proper object of our enquiries, that thereby we may know our duty, and be kept from such terrible calamities as these now mentioned.

Verse 29. The secret things belong unto the Lord, &c.] This verse has been variously translated. Houbigant renders it thus: Quæ apud Dominum nostrum abscondita sunt, nobis ea filiisque nostris palam facta sunt ad multas ætates, “The things which were hidden with the Lord our God, are made manifest to us and our children for many generations.” I am not satisfied with this interpretation, and find that the passage was not so understood by any of the ancient versions. The simple general meaning seems to be this: “What God has thought proper to reveal, he has revealed; what he has revealed is essential to the well-being of man, and this revelation is intended not for the present time merely, nor for one people, but for all succeeding generations. The things which he has not revealed concern not man but God alone, and are therefore not to be inquired after.” Thus, then, the things that are hidden belong unto the Lord, those that are revealed belong unto us and our children. But possibly the words here refer to the subjects of these chapters, as if he had said, “Apostasy from God and his truth is possible. When a national apostasy among us may take place, is known only to God; but he has revealed himself to us and our children that we may do all the words of this law, and so prevent the dreadful evils that shall fall on the disobedient.”

THE Jews have always considered these verses as containing subjects of the highest importance to them, and have affixed marks to the original wnynblw wnl lanu ulebaneynu, “to US and to our CHILDREN,” in order to fix the attention of the reader on truths which affect them individually, and not them only, but the whole of their posterity.

DEUTERONOMY

Verse 29. Secret things belong unto the Lord our God — That is, the counsels and purposes of God concerning persons or nations, and the reasons of his dispensations toward them, together with the time and manner of inflicting judgments or showing mercy, are hidden in his own bosom, and not to be pried into, much less fathomed, by us. But those which are revealed — Namely, that if we rebel against him he will pour out all these judgments upon us, except by true repentance and turning to him we prevent it. Belong to us and to our children — Are the proper objects of our inquiries, that thereby we may know our duty, and, by complying with it, may be kept from such terrible calamities as these now mentioned. To explain this a little further: Having mentioned the amazing judgments of God upon the whole land and people of Israel, and foreseeing the utter extirpation which would come upon them for their wickedness, he makes this declaration, either to check the curiosity of such as would be ready to inquire into the time and manner of so great an event, or to satisfy the scruples of those who, perceiving God to deal so severely with his own people, when in the mean time he suffered those nations which were guilty of grosser idolatry and impiety than the generality of the Jews were, to live and prosper in the world, might thence take occasion to deny his providence, or question the equity of his proceedings. The ways and judgments of God, he says, though never unjust, are often hidden from us, unsearchable by our shallow capacity, and matter for our admiration, not our inquiry: but the things which are revealed by God in his word must be attended to and considered, that we may be duly influenced by them. Thus Moses concludes his prophecy of the rejection of the Jews, just as St. Paul concludes his discourse on the same subject, when it began to be fulfilled, exclaiming, in a manner equally pathetical, How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! Romans 11:33.

Ver. 29. Secret things belong unto the Lord our God. Some think Moses here meant that God took upon him the punishment of all secret sins and acts of idolatry against his covenant, but that he required the people to punish all the crimes against his covenant which came to light. LUTHER renders the words, “These things were secrets known to God alone; but now they are revealed to us and to our children.” Others understand this text in a sense similar to Romans 11:33, that the secrets of providence are inscrutable; and consequently, that we should not waste our time on prophetic calculations and mysteries; but profiting by the truths plainly revealed, give up ourselves to piety, and the practice of righteousness.

29. The secret things belong unto the Lord our God — It lies with God to carry out these threatened judgments. Of that day and of that hour knows no man. Unto us and to our children — The Hebrew words have an extraordinary pointing, the meaning of which is uncertain. The most probable explanation is, that the points were employed to make the passage emphatic.