mh_parser/vol_split/5 - Deuteronomy/Chapter 16.xml

<div2 id="Deu.xvii" n="xvii" next="Deu.xviii" prev="Deu.xvi" progress="88.81%" title="Chapter XVI">
<h2 id="Deu.xvii-p0.1">D E U T E R O N O M Y</h2>
<h3 id="Deu.xvii-p0.2">CHAP. XVI.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Deu.xvii-p1">In this chapter we have, I. A repetition of the
laws concerning the three yearly feasts; in particular, that of the
passover, <scripRef id="Deu.xvii-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.16.1-Deut.16.8" parsed="|Deut|16|1|16|8" passage="De 16:1-8">ver. 1-8</scripRef>. That
of pentecost, <scripRef id="Deu.xvii-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Deut.16.9-Deut.16.12" parsed="|Deut|16|9|16|12" passage="De 16:9-12">ver. 9-12</scripRef>.
That of tabernacles, <scripRef id="Deu.xvii-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Deut.16.13-Deut.16.15" parsed="|Deut|16|13|16|15" passage="De 16:13-15">ver.
13-15</scripRef>. And the general law concerning the people's
attendance on them, <scripRef id="Deu.xvii-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Deut.16.16-Deut.16.17" parsed="|Deut|16|16|16|17" passage="De 16:16,17">ver. 16,
17</scripRef>. II. The institution of an inferior magistracy, and
general rules of justice given to those that were called into
office, <scripRef id="Deu.xvii-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Deut.16.18-Deut.16.20" parsed="|Deut|16|18|16|20" passage="De 16:18-20">ver. 18-20</scripRef>. III.
A caveat against groves and images, <scripRef id="Deu.xvii-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Deut.16.21-Deut.16.22" parsed="|Deut|16|21|16|22" passage="De 16:21,22">ver. 21, 22</scripRef>.</p>
<scripCom id="Deu.xvii-p1.7" osisRef="Bible:Deut.16" parsed="|Deut|16|0|0|0" passage="De 16" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Deu.xvii-p1.8" osisRef="Bible:Deut.16.1-Deut.16.17" parsed="|Deut|16|1|16|17" passage="De 16:1-17" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Deut.16.1-Deut.16.17">
<h4 id="Deu.xvii-p1.9">Yearly Release. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xvii-p1.10">b. c.</span> 1451.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Deu.xvii-p2">1 Observe the month of Abib, and keep the
passover unto the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xvii-p2.1">Lord</span> thy God: for
in the month of Abib the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xvii-p2.2">Lord</span> thy
God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night.   2 Thou shalt
therefore sacrifice the passover unto the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xvii-p2.3">Lord</span> thy God, of the flock and the herd, in the
place which the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xvii-p2.4">Lord</span> shall choose to
place his name there.   3 Thou shalt eat no leavened bread
with it; seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith,
<i>even</i> the bread of affliction; for thou camest forth out of
the land of Egypt in haste: that thou mayest remember the day when
thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy
life.   4 And there shall be no leavened bread seen with thee
in all thy coast seven days; neither shall there <i>any thing</i>
of the flesh, which thou sacrificedst the first day at even, remain
all night until the morning.   5 Thou mayest not sacrifice the
passover within any of thy gates, which the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xvii-p2.5">Lord</span> thy God giveth thee:   6 But at the
place which the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xvii-p2.6">Lord</span> thy God shall
choose to place his name in, there thou shalt sacrifice the
passover at even, at the going down of the sun, at the season that
thou camest forth out of Egypt.   7 And thou shalt roast and
eat <i>it</i> in the place which the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xvii-p2.7">Lord</span> thy God shall choose: and thou shalt turn
in the morning, and go unto thy tents.   8 Six days thou shalt
eat unleavened bread: and on the seventh day <i>shall be</i> a
solemn assembly to the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xvii-p2.8">Lord</span> thy God:
thou shalt do no work <i>therein.</i>   9 Seven weeks shalt
thou number unto thee: begin to number the seven weeks from <i>such
time as</i> thou beginnest <i>to put</i> the sickle to the corn.
  10 And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks unto the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xvii-p2.9">Lord</span> thy God with a tribute of a freewill
offering of thine hand, which thou shalt give <i>unto the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xvii-p2.10">Lord</span> thy God,</i> according as the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xvii-p2.11">Lord</span> thy God hath blessed thee:   11
And thou shalt rejoice before the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xvii-p2.12">Lord</span> thy God, thou, and thy son, and thy
daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite
that <i>is</i> within thy gates, and the stranger, and the
fatherless, and the widow, that <i>are</i> among you, in the place
which the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xvii-p2.13">Lord</span> thy God hath chosen
to place his name there.   12 And thou shalt remember that
thou wast a bondman in Egypt: and thou shalt observe and do these
statutes.   13 Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles
seven days, after that thou hast gathered in thy corn and thy wine:
  14 And thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou, and thy son,
and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the
Levite, the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that
<i>are</i> within thy gates.   15 Seven days shalt thou keep a
solemn feast unto the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xvii-p2.14">Lord</span> thy God
in the place which the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xvii-p2.15">Lord</span> shall
choose: because the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xvii-p2.16">Lord</span> thy God
shall bless thee in all thine increase, and in all the works of
thine hands, therefore thou shalt surely rejoice.   16 Three
times in a year shall all thy males appear before the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xvii-p2.17">Lord</span> thy God in the place which he shall choose;
in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in
the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the
<span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xvii-p2.18">Lord</span> empty:   17 Every man
<i>shall give</i> as he is able, according to the blessing of the
<span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xvii-p2.19">Lord</span> thy God which he hath given
thee.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xvii-p3">Much of the communion between God and his
people Israel was kept up, and a face of religion preserved in the
nation, by the three yearly feasts, the institution of which, and
the laws concerning them, we have several times met with already;
and here they are repeated.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xvii-p4">I. The law of the passover, so great a
solemnity that it made the whole month, in the midst of which it
was placed, considerable: <i>Observe the month Abib,</i> <scripRef id="Deu.xvii-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.16.1" parsed="|Deut|16|1|0|0" passage="De 16:1"><i>v.</i> 1</scripRef>. Though one week only of
this month was to be kept as a festival, yet their preparations
before must be so solemn, and their reflections upon it and
improvements of it afterwards so serious, as to amount to an
observance of the whole month. The month of Abib, or of <i>new
fruits,</i> as the Chaldee translates it, answers to our March (or
part of March and part of April), and was by a special order from
God, in remembrance of the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt, made
the <i>beginning of their year</i> (<scripRef id="Deu.xvii-p4.2" osisRef="Bible:Exod.12.2" parsed="|Exod|12|2|0|0" passage="Ex 12:2">Exod. xii. 2</scripRef>), which before was reckoned to
begin in September. This month they were to keep the passover, in
remembrance of their being <i>brought out of Egypt by night,</i>
<scripRef id="Deu.xvii-p4.3" osisRef="Bible:Deut.16.1" parsed="|Deut|16|1|0|0" passage="De 16:1"><i>v.</i> 1</scripRef>. The Chaldee
paraphrasts expound it, "Because they came out of Egypt by
daylight," there being an express order that they should not stir
out of their doors till morning, <scripRef id="Deu.xvii-p4.4" osisRef="Bible:Exod.12.22" parsed="|Exod|12|22|0|0" passage="Ex 12:22">Exod.
xii. 22</scripRef>. One of them expounds it thus: "<i>He brought
thee out of Egypt,</i> and did wonders <i>by night.</i>" The other,
"and thou shalt eat the passover <i>by night.</i>" The laws
concerning it are, 1. That they must be sure to sacrifice the
passover in the place that God should choose (<scripRef id="Deu.xvii-p4.5" osisRef="Bible:Deut.16.2" parsed="|Deut|16|2|0|0" passage="De 16:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>), and in no other place, <scripRef id="Deu.xvii-p4.6" osisRef="Bible:Deut.16.5-Deut.16.7" parsed="|Deut|16|5|16|7" passage="De 16:5-7"><i>v.</i> 5-7</scripRef>. The passover was
itself a sacrifice; hence Christ, as our passover, is said to be
<i>sacrificed for us</i> (<scripRef id="Deu.xvii-p4.7" osisRef="Bible:1Cor.5.7" parsed="|1Cor|5|7|0|0" passage="1Co 5:7">1 Cor. v.
7</scripRef>), and many other sacrifices were offered during the
seven days of the feast (<scripRef id="Deu.xvii-p4.8" osisRef="Bible:Num.28.19" parsed="|Num|28|19|0|0" passage="Nu 28:19">Num. xxviii.
19</scripRef>, &amp;c.), which are included here, for they are said
to be sacrificed <i>of the flock and the herd,</i> whereas the
passover itself was only of the flock, either a lamb or a kid: now
no sacrifice was accepted but from the altar that sanctified it; it
was therefore necessary that they should go up to the place of the
altar, for, though the paschal lamb was entirely eaten by the
owners, yet it must be killed in the court, the blood sprinkled,
and the inwards burned upon the altar. By confining them to the
appointed rule, from which they would have been apt to vary, and to
introduce foolish inventions of their own, had they been permitted
to offer these sacrifices within their own gates, from under the
inspection of the priests. They were also hereby directed to have
their eye up unto God in the solemnity, and the <i>desire of their
hearts towards the remembrance of his name,</i> being appointed to
attend where he had chosen <i>to place his name,</i> <scripRef id="Deu.xvii-p4.9" osisRef="Bible:Deut.16.2 Bible:Deut.16.6" parsed="|Deut|16|2|0|0;|Deut|16|6|0|0" passage="De 16:2,6"><i>v.</i> 2 and 6</scripRef>. But, when the
solemnity was over, they might <i>turn and go unto their tents,</i>
<scripRef id="Deu.xvii-p4.10" osisRef="Bible:Deut.16.7" parsed="|Deut|16|7|0|0" passage="De 16:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>. Some think that
they might, if they pleased, return the very morning after the
paschal lamb was killed and eaten, the priests and Levites being
sufficient to carry on the rest of the week's work; but the first
day of the seven is so far from being the day of their dispersion
that it is expressly appointed for a <i>holy convocation</i>
(<scripRef id="Deu.xvii-p4.11" osisRef="Bible:Lev.23.7 Bible:Num.28.18" parsed="|Lev|23|7|0|0;|Num|28|18|0|0" passage="Le 23:7,Nu 28:18">Lev. xxiii. 7; Num. xxviii.
18</scripRef>); therefore we must take it as Jonathan's paraphrase
expounds it, <i>in the morning after the end of the feast thou
shalt go to thy cities.</i> And it was the practice to keep
together the whole week, <scripRef id="Deu.xvii-p4.12" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.35.17" parsed="|2Chr|35|17|0|0" passage="2Ch 35:17">2 Chron.
xxxv. 17</scripRef>. 2. That they must eat unleavened bread for
seven days, and no leavened bread must be seen in all their coasts,
<scripRef id="Deu.xvii-p4.13" osisRef="Bible:Deut.16.3-Deut.16.4 Bible:Deut.16.8" parsed="|Deut|16|3|16|4;|Deut|16|8|0|0" passage="De 16:3,4,8"><i>v.</i> 3, 4, 8</scripRef>. The
bread they were confined to is here called <i>bread of
affliction,</i> because neither grateful to the taste nor easy of
digestion, and therefore proper to signify the heaviness of their
spirits in their bondage and to keep in remembrance the haste in
which they came out, the case being so urgent that they could not
stay for the leavening of the bread they took with them for their
march. The Jewish writers tell us that the custom at the passover
supper was that the master of the family broke this unleavened
bread, and gave to every one a piece of it, saying, <i>This is</i>
(that is, this signifies, represents, or commemorates, which
explains that saying of our Saviour, <i>This is my body</i>) <i>the
bread of affliction which your fathers did eat in the land of
Egypt.</i> The gospel meaning of this feast of unleavened bread the
apostle gives us, <scripRef id="Deu.xvii-p4.14" osisRef="Bible:1Cor.5.7" parsed="|1Cor|5|7|0|0" passage="1Co 5:7">1 Cor. v.
7</scripRef>. <i>Christ our passover being sacrificed for us,</i>
and we having participated in the blessed fruits of that sacrifice
to our comfort, <i>let us keep the feast</i> in a holy
conversation, free from <i>the leaven of malice</i> towards our
brethren and hypocrisy towards God, and <i>with the unleavened
bread of sincerity</i> and love. <i>Lastly,</i> Observe, concerning
the passover, for what end it was instituted: "<i>That thou mayest
remember the day when thou camest forth out of Egypt,</i> not only
on the day of the passover, or during the seven days of the feast,
but <i>all the days of thy life</i> (<scripRef id="Deu.xvii-p4.15" osisRef="Bible:Deut.16.3" parsed="|Deut|16|3|0|0" passage="De 16:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>), as a constant inducement to
obedience." Thus we celebrate the memorial of Christ's death at
certain times, that we may remember it at all times, as a reason
why we should <i>live to him that died for us and rose
again.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xvii-p5">II. Seven weeks after the passover the
feast of pentecost was to be observed, concerning which they are
here directed, 1. Whence to number their seven weeks, <i>from the
time thou beginnest to put the sickle to the corn</i> (<scripRef id="Deu.xvii-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.16.9" parsed="|Deut|16|9|0|0" passage="De 16:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>), that is, from the morrow
after the first day of the feast of unleavened bread, for on that
day (though it is probable the people did not begin their harvest
till the feast was ended) messengers were sent to reap a sheaf of
barley, which was to be offered to God as the first-fruits,
<scripRef id="Deu.xvii-p5.2" osisRef="Bible:Lev.23.10" parsed="|Lev|23|10|0|0" passage="Le 23:10">Lev. xxiii. 10</scripRef>. Some think
it implies a particular care which Providence would take of their
land with respect to the weather, that their harvest should be
always ripe and ready for the sickle just at the same time. 2. How
they were to keep this feast. (1.) They must <i>bring an offering
unto God,</i> <scripRef id="Deu.xvii-p5.3" osisRef="Bible:Deut.16.10" parsed="|Deut|16|10|0|0" passage="De 16:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>.
It is here called a <i>tribute of a free-will-offering.</i> It was
required of them as a tribute to their Sovereign Lord and owner,
under whom they held all they had; and yet because the law did not
determine the <i>quantum,</i> but it was left to every man's
generosity to bring what he chose, and whatever he brought he must
give cheerfully, it is therefore called a <i>free-will
offering.</i> It was a grateful acknowledgment of the goodness of
God to them in the mercies of these corn-harvests now finished, and
therefore must be <i>according as God had blessed them.</i> Where
God sows plentifully he expects to reap accordingly. (2.) They must
rejoice before God, <scripRef id="Deu.xvii-p5.4" osisRef="Bible:Deut.16.11" parsed="|Deut|16|11|0|0" passage="De 16:11"><i>v.</i>
11</scripRef>. Holy joy is the heart and soul of thankful praises,
which are as the language and expression of holy joy. They must
rejoice in their receivings from God, and in their returns of
service and sacrifice to him; our duty must be our delight as well
as our enjoyments. They must have their very servants to rejoice
with them, "for remember (<scripRef id="Deu.xvii-p5.5" osisRef="Bible:Deut.16.12" parsed="|Deut|16|12|0|0" passage="De 16:12"><i>v.</i>
12</scripRef>) that <i>thou wast a bond-man,</i> and wouldest have
been very thankful if thy taskmasters would have given thee some
time and cause for rejoicing; and thy God did bring thee out to
keep a feast with gladness; therefore be pleasant with thy
servants, and make them easy." And, it should seem, those general
words, <i>thou shalt observe and do these statutes,</i> are added
here for a particular reason, because this feast was kept in
remembrance of the giving of the law upon Mount Sinai, fifty days
after they came out of Egypt; now the best way of expressing our
thankfulness to God for his favour to us in giving us his law is to
<i>observe and do according to the precepts</i> of it.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xvii-p6">III. They must keep the feast of
tabernacles, <scripRef id="Deu.xvii-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.16.13-Deut.16.15" parsed="|Deut|16|13|16|15" passage="De 16:13-15"><i>v.</i>
13-15</scripRef>. Here is no repetition of the law concerning the
sacrifices that were to be offered in great abundance at this feast
(which we had at large, <scripRef id="Deu.xvii-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:Num.29.12" parsed="|Num|29|12|0|0" passage="Nu 29:12">Num. xxix.
12</scripRef>, &amp;c.), because the care of these belonged to the
priests and Levites, who had not so much need of a repetition as
the people had, and because the spiritual part of the service,
which consisted in holy joy, was most pleasing to God, and was to
be the perpetual duty of a gospel conversation, of which this feast
was typical. Observe what stress is laid upon it here: <i>Thou
shalt rejoice in thy feast</i> (<scripRef id="Deu.xvii-p6.3" osisRef="Bible:Deut.16.14" parsed="|Deut|16|14|0|0" passage="De 16:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>), <i>and, because the Lord shall
bless thee, thou shalt surely rejoice,</i> <scripRef id="Deu.xvii-p6.4" osisRef="Bible:Deut.16.15" parsed="|Deut|16|15|0|0" passage="De 16:15"><i>v.</i> 15</scripRef>. Note, 1. It is the will of God
that his people should be a cheerful people. If those that were
under the law must rejoice before God, much more must we that are
under the grace of the gospel, which makes it our duty, not only as
here to rejoice in our feasts, but to <i>rejoice evermore, to
rejoice in the Lord always.</i> 2. When we rejoice in God ourselves
we should do what we can to assist others also to rejoice in him,
by comforting the mourners and supplying the necessitous, that even
<i>the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow may rejoice with
us.</i> See <scripRef id="Deu.xvii-p6.5" osisRef="Bible:Job.29.13" parsed="|Job|29|13|0|0" passage="Job 29:13">Job xxix. 13</scripRef>.
3. We must rejoice in God, not only because of what we have
received and are receiving from him daily, but because of what he
has promised, and we expect to receive yet further from him:
because <i>he shall bless thee,</i> therefore <i>thou shalt
rejoice.</i> Those that make God their joy may <i>rejoice in
hope,</i> for he is faithful that has promised.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xvii-p7">IV. The laws concerning the three solemn
feasts are summed up (<scripRef id="Deu.xvii-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.16.16-Deut.16.17" parsed="|Deut|16|16|16|17" passage="De 16:16,17"><i>v.</i> 16,
17</scripRef>), as often before, <scripRef id="Deu.xvii-p7.2" osisRef="Bible:Exod.23.16 Bible:Exod.34.23" parsed="|Exod|23|16|0|0;|Exod|34|23|0|0" passage="Ex 23:16,34:23">Exod. xxiii. 16, 17; xxxiv. 23</scripRef>. The
general commands concerning them are, 1. That all the males must
then make their personal appearance before God, that by their
frequent meeting to worship God, at the same place, and by the same
rule, they might be kept faithful and constant to that holy
religion which was established among them. 2. That none must appear
before God empty, but every man must bring some offering or other,
in token of a dependence upon God and gratitude to him. And God was
not unreasonable in his demands; let every man but give as he was
able, and no more was expected. The same is still the rule of
charity, <scripRef id="Deu.xvii-p7.3" osisRef="Bible:1Cor.16.2" parsed="|1Cor|16|2|0|0" passage="1Co 16:2">1 Cor. xvi. 2</scripRef>.
Those that give to their power shall be accepted, but those that
give beyond their power are accounted worthy of double honour
(<scripRef id="Deu.xvii-p7.4" osisRef="Bible:2Cor.8.3" parsed="|2Cor|8|3|0|0" passage="2Co 8:3">2 Cor. viii. 3</scripRef>), as the
poor widow that gave <i>all she had,</i> <scripRef id="Deu.xvii-p7.5" osisRef="Bible:Luke.21.4" parsed="|Luke|21|4|0|0" passage="Lu 21:4">Luke xxi. 4</scripRef>.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Deu.xvii-p7.6" osisRef="Bible:Deut.16" parsed="|Deut|16|0|0|0" passage="De 16" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Deu.xvii-p7.7" osisRef="Bible:Deut.16.18-Deut.16.22" parsed="|Deut|16|18|16|22" passage="De 16:18-22" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Deut.16.18-Deut.16.22">
<p class="passage" id="Deu.xvii-p8">18 Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in
all thy gates, which the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xvii-p8.1">Lord</span> thy
God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes: and they shall judge the
people with just judgment.   19 Thou shalt not wrest judgment;
thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift: for a gift
doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the
righteous.   20 That which is altogether just shalt thou
follow, that thou mayest live, and inherit the land which the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xvii-p8.2">Lord</span> thy God giveth thee.   21 Thou
shalt not plant thee a grove of any trees near unto the altar of
the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xvii-p8.3">Lord</span> thy God, which thou shalt
make thee.   22 Neither shalt thou set thee up <i>any</i>
image; which the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xvii-p8.4">Lord</span> thy God
hateth.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xvii-p9">Here is, I. Care taken for the due
administration of justice among them, that controversies might be
determined, matters in variance adjusted, the injured redressed,
and the injurious punished. While they were encamped in the
wilderness, they had <i>judges and officers</i> according to their
numbers, rulers of thousands and hundreds, <scripRef id="Deu.xvii-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:Exod.17.25" parsed="|Exod|17|25|0|0" passage="Ex 17:25">Exod. xvii. 25</scripRef>. When they came to Canaan,
they must have them according to their towns and cities, in all
their gates; for the courts of judgment sat in the gates. Now, 1.
Here is a commission given to these inferior magistrates: "Judges
to try and pass sentence, and officers to execute their sentences,
shalt thou make thee." However the persons were pitched upon,
whether by the nomination of their sovereign or by the election of
the people, <i>the power were ordained of God,</i> <scripRef id="Deu.xvii-p9.2" osisRef="Bible:Rom.13.1" parsed="|Rom|13|1|0|0" passage="Ro 13:1">Rom. xiii. 1</scripRef>. And it was a great mercy
to the people thus to have justice brought to their doors, that it
might be more expeditious and less expensive, a blessing which we
of this nation ought to be very thankful for. Pursuant to this law,
besides the great sanhedrim that sat at the sanctuary, consisting
of seventy elders and a president, there was in the larger cities,
such as had in them above 120 families, a court of twenty-three
judges, in the smaller cities a court of three judges. See this law
revived by Jehoshaphat, <scripRef id="Deu.xvii-p9.3" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.19.5 Bible:2Chr.19.8" parsed="|2Chr|19|5|0|0;|2Chr|19|8|0|0" passage="2Ch 19:5,8">2 Chron.
xix. 5, 8</scripRef>. 2. Here is a command given to these
magistrates to do justice in the execution of the trust reposed in
them. Better not judge at all than not judge with just judgment,
according to the direction of the law and the evidence of the fact.
(1.) The judges are here cautioned not to do wrong to any
(<scripRef id="Deu.xvii-p9.4" osisRef="Bible:Deut.16.19" parsed="|Deut|16|19|0|0" passage="De 16:19"><i>v.</i> 19</scripRef>), nor to take
any gifts, which would tempt them to do wrong. This law had been
given before, <scripRef id="Deu.xvii-p9.5" osisRef="Bible:Exod.23.8" parsed="|Exod|23|8|0|0" passage="Ex 23:8">Exod. xxiii.
8</scripRef>. (2.) They are charged to do justice to all: "<i>That
which is altogether just shalt thou follow,</i> <scripRef id="Deu.xvii-p9.6" osisRef="Bible:Deut.16.20" parsed="|Deut|16|20|0|0" passage="De 16:20"><i>v.</i> 20</scripRef>. Adhere to the principles of
justice, act by the rules of justice, countenance the demands of
justice, imitate the patterns of justice, and pursue with
resolution that which appears to be just. <i>Justice, justice,
shalt thou follow.</i>" This is that which the magistrate is to
have in his eye, on this he must be intent, and to this all
personal regards must be sacrificed, to do <i>right to all</i> and
<i>wrong to none.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xvii-p10">II. Care taken for the preventing of all
conformity to the idolatrous customs of the heathen, <scripRef id="Deu.xvii-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.16.21-Deut.16.22" parsed="|Deut|16|21|16|22" passage="De 16:21,22"><i>v.</i> 21, 22</scripRef>. They must not
only not join with the idolaters in their worships, not visit their
groves, nor bow before the images which they had set up, but, 1.
They must not plant a grove, nor so much as a tree, near God's
altar lest they should make it look like the altars of the false
gods. They made groves the places of their worship either to make
it secret (but that which is true and good desires the light
rather), or to make it solemn, but the worship of the true God has
enough in itself to make it so and needs not the advantage of such
a circumstance. 2. They must not set up any image, statue, or
pillar, to the honour of God, for it is a thing which the Lord
hates; nothing belies or reproaches him more, or tends more to
corrupt and debauch the minds of men, than representing and
worshipping by an image that God who is an infinite and eternal
Spirit.</p>
</div></div2>