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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Deuteronomy, Chapter XVIII].</TITLE>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1706)
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<CENTER>
<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>D E U T E R O N O M Y</B></FONT>
<BR>
<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. XVIII.</FONT>
<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
</CENTER>
<FONT SIZE=-1>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
In this chapter,
I. The rights and revenues of the church are settled, and rules given
concerning the Levites' ministration and maintenance,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+18:1-8">ver. 1-8</A>.
II. The caution against the idolatrous abominable customs of
the heathen is repeated,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+18:9-14">ver. 9-14</A>.
III. A promise is given them of the spirit of prophecy to continue
among them, and to centre at last in Christ the great prophet,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+18:15-18">ver. 15-18</A>.
IV. Wrath threatened against those that despise prophecy
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+18:19">ver. 19</A>)
or counterfeit it
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+18:20">ver. 20</A>),
and a rule given for the trial of it,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+18:21,22">ver. 21, 22</A>.</P>
</FONT>
<A NAME="De18_1"> </A>
<A NAME="De18_2"> </A>
<A NAME="De18_3"> </A>
<A NAME="De18_4"> </A>
<A NAME="De18_5"> </A>
<A NAME="De18_6"> </A>
<A NAME="De18_7"> </A>
<A NAME="De18_8"> </A>
<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Maintenance of the Levites.</I></FONT></TD>
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1451.</TD></TR>
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
</TABLE>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>1 The priests the Levites, <I>and</I> all the tribe of Levi, shall
have no part nor inheritance with Israel: they shall eat the
offerings of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> made by fire, and his inheritance.
&nbsp; 2 Therefore shall they have no inheritance among their
brethren: the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> <I>is</I> their inheritance, as he hath said unto
them.
&nbsp; 3 And this shall be the priest's due from the people, from them
that offer a sacrifice, whether <I>it be</I> ox or sheep; and they
shall give unto the priest the shoulder, and the two cheeks, and
the maw.
&nbsp; 4 The firstfruits <I>also</I> of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine
oil, and the first of the fleece of thy sheep, shalt thou give
him.
&nbsp; 5 For the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> thy God hath chosen him out of all thy tribes,
to stand to minister in the name of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, him and his sons
for ever.
&nbsp; 6 And if a Levite come from any of thy gates out of all Israel,
where he sojourned, and come with all the desire of his mind unto
the place which the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> shall choose;
&nbsp; 7 Then he shall minister in the name of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> his God, as
all his brethren the Levites <I>do,</I> which stand there before the
L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
&nbsp; 8 They shall have like portions to eat, beside that which
cometh of the sale of his patrimony.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
Magistracy and ministry are two divine institutions of admirable use
for the support and advancement of the <I>kingdom of God among men.</I>
Laws concerning the former we had in the close of the foregoing
chapter, directions are in this given concerning the latter. Land-marks
are here set between the estates of the priests and those of the
people.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
I. Care is taken that the priests entangle not themselves with the
affairs of this life, nor enrich themselves with the wealth of this
world; they have better things to mind. They <I>shall have no part nor
inheritance with Israel,</I> that is, no share either in the spoils
taken in war or in the land that was to be divided by lot,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+18:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
Their warfare and husbandry are both spiritual, and enough to fill
their hands both with work and profit and to content them. <I>The Lord
is their inheritance,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+18:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
Note, Those that have God for their inheritance, according to the new
covenant, should not be greedy of great things in the world, neither
gripe what they have nor grasp at more, but look upon all present
things with the indifference which becomes those that believe God to be
all-sufficient.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
II. Care is likewise taken that they want not any of the comforts and
conveniences of this life. Though God, who is a Spirit, is their
inheritance, it does not therefore follow that they must live upon the
air; no,</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
1. The people must provide for them. They must have their <I>due from
the people,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+18:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
Their maintenance must not depend upon the generosity of the people,
but they must be by law entitled to it. He that is taught in the word
ought in justice to communicate to him that teaches him; and he that
has the benefit of solemn religious assemblies ought to contribute to
the comfortable support of those that preside in such assemblies.
(1.) The priests who in their courses served at the altar had their
share of the sacrifices, namely, the peace-offerings, that were brought
while they were in waiting: besides the breast and shoulder, which were
appointed them before
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+7:32-34">Lev. vii. 32-34</A>),
the cheeks and maw are here ordered to be given them; so far was the
law from diminishing what was already granted that it gave them an
augmentation
(2.) The first-fruits which arose within such a precinct were brought
in, as it should seem, to the priests that resided among them, for
their maintenance in the country; the first of their corn and wine for
food, and the first of their fleece for clothing
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+18:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>);
for the priests who were employed to teach others ought themselves to
learn, having food and raiment, to be therewith content. The
first-fruits were devoted to God, and he constituted the priests his
receivers; and if God reckons what is, in general, given to the poor,
lent to him, to be repaid with interest, much more what is, in
particular, given to the poor, lent to him, to be repaid with interest,
much more what is, in particular, given to poor ministers. There is a
good reason given for this constant charge upon their estates
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+18:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>),
because the Levites were <I>chosen of God,</I> and his choice must be
owned and countenanced, and those honoured by us whom he honours; and
<I>because they stood to minister,</I> and ought to be recompensed for
their attendance and labour, especially since it was <I>in the name of
the Lord,</I> by his warrant, in his service, and for his praise, and
this charge entailed upon their seed for ever; those who were thus
engaged and thus employed ought to have all due encouragement given
them, as some of the most needful useful members of their
commonwealth.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
2. The priests must not themselves stand in one another's light. If a
priest that by the law was obliged to serve at the altar only in his
turn, and was paid for that, should, out of his great affection to the
sanctuary, devote himself to a constant attendance there, and quit the
ease and pleasure of the city in which he had his lot for the
satisfaction of serving the altar, the priests whose turn it was to
attend must admit him both to join in the work and to share in the
wages, and not grudge him either the honour of the one or the profit of
the other, though it might seem to break in upon them,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+18:6-8"><I>v.</I> 6-8</A>.
Note, A hearty pious zeal to serve God and his church, though it may a
little encroach upon a settled order, and there may be somewhat in it
that looks irregular, yet ought to be gratified and not discouraged. He
that appears to have a hearty affection to the sanctuary, and loves
dearly to be employed in the service of it, <I>in God's name let him
minister;</I> he shall be as welcome to God as the Levites whose course
it was to minister, and should be so to them. The settling of the
courses was intended rather to secure those to the work that were not
willing to do so much than to exclude any that were willing to do more.
And he that thus serves as a volunteer shall have as good pay as the
pressed men, <I>besides that which comes of the sale of his
patrimony.</I> The church of Rome obliges those who leave their estates
to go into a monastery to bring the produce of their estates with them
into the common stock of the monastery, for gain is their godliness;
but here it is ordered that the pious devotee should reserve to himself
the produce of his patrimony, for religion and the ministry were never
appointed of God, however they have been abused by men, to serve a
secular interest.</P>
<A NAME="De18_9"> </A>
<A NAME="De18_10"> </A>
<A NAME="De18_11"> </A>
<A NAME="De18_12"> </A>
<A NAME="De18_13"> </A>
<A NAME="De18_14"> </A>
<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Idolatrous Customs of the Canaanites.</I></FONT></TD>
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1451.</TD></TR>
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
</TABLE>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>9 When thou art come into the land which the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> thy God
giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of
those nations.
&nbsp; 10 There shall not be found among you <I>any one</I> that maketh his
son or his daughter to pass through the fire, <I>or</I> that useth
divination, <I>or</I> an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a
witch,
&nbsp; 11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a
wizard, or a necromancer.
&nbsp; 12 For all that do these things <I>are</I> an abomination unto the
L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>: and because of these abominations the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> thy God doth
drive them out from before thee.
&nbsp; 13 Thou shalt be perfect with the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> thy God.
&nbsp; 14 For these nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto
observers of times, and unto diviners: but as for thee, the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>
thy God hath not suffered thee so <I>to do.</I>
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
One would not think there had been so much need as it seems there was
to arm the people of Israel against the infection of the idolatrous
customs of the Canaanites. Was it possible that a people so blessed
with divine institutions should ever admit the brutish and barbarous
inventions of men and devils? Were they in any danger of making those
their tutors and directors in religion whom God had made their captives
and tributaries? It seems they were in danger, and therefore, after
many similar cautions, they are here charged not to do after the
abominations of those nations,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+18:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
I. Some particulars are specified; as,
1. The consecrating of their children to Moloch, an idol that
represented the sun, by making them to <I>pass through the fire,</I>
and sometimes consuming them as sacrifices in the fire,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+18:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>.
See the law against this before,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+18:21">Lev. xviii. 21</A>.
2. Using arts of divination, to get the unnecessary knowledge of things
to come, <I>enchantments, witchcrafts, charms, &c.,</I> by which the
power and knowledge peculiar to God were attributed to the devil, to
the great reproach both of God's counsels and of his providence,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+18:10,11"><I>v.</I> 10, 11</A>.
One would wonder that such arts and works of darkness, so senseless and
absurd, so impious and profane, could be found in a country where
divine revelation shone so clearly; yet we find remains of them even
where Christ's holy religion is known and professed; such are the
powers and policies of the <I>rulers of the darkness of this world.</I>
But let those give heed to fortune-tellers, or go to wizards for the
discovery of things secret, that use spells for the cure of diseases,
are in any league or acquaintance with familiar spirits, or form a
confederacy with those that are--let them know that they can have no
fellowship with God while thus they have fellowship with devils. It is
amazing to think that there should by any pretenders of this kind in
such a land and day of light as we live in.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
II. Some reasons are given against their conformity to the customs of
the Gentiles.
1. Because it would make them abominable to God. The things themselves
being hateful to him, those that do them are an abomination; and
miserable is that creature that has become odious to its Creator,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+18:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>.
See the malignity and mischievousness of sin; that must needs be an
evil thing indeed which provokes the God of mercy to detest the work of
his own hands.
2. Because these abominable practices had been the ruin of the
Canaanites, of which ruin they were not only the witnesses but the
instruments. It would be the most inexcusable folly, as well as the
most unpardonable impiety, for them to practise themselves those very
things for which they had been employed so severely to chastise others.
Did the land spue out the abominations of the Canaanites, and shall
Israel lick up the vomit?
3. Because they were <I>better taught,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+18:13,14"><I>v.</I> 13, 14</A>.
It is an argument like that of the apostle against Christians walking
as the Gentiles walked
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+4:17,18,20">Eph. iv. 17, 18, 20</A>):
<I>You have not so learned Christ.</I> "It is true these nations, whom
God <I>gave up to their own hearts' lusts, and suffered to walk in
their own ways</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+14:16">Acts xiv. 16</A>),
did thus corrupt themselves; but thou art not thus abandoned by the
grace of God: <I>the Lord thy God had not suffered thee to do so;</I>
thou art instructed in divine things, and hast fair warning given thee
of the evil of those practices; and therefore, whatever others do, it
is expected that thou shouldest be <I>perfect with the Lord thy
God,</I>" that is, "that thou shouldest give divine honours to him, to
him only, and to no other, and not mix any of the superstitious customs
of the heathen with his institutions." One of the Chaldee paraphrasts
here takes notice of God's furnishing them with the oracle of urim and
thummim, as a preservative from all unlawful arts of divination. Those
were fools indeed who would go to consult the father of lies when they
had such a ready way of consulting the God of truth.</P>
<A NAME="De18_15"> </A>
<A NAME="De18_16"> </A>
<A NAME="De18_17"> </A>
<A NAME="De18_18"> </A>
<A NAME="De18_19"> </A>
<A NAME="De18_20"> </A>
<A NAME="De18_21"> </A>
<A NAME="De18_22"> </A>
<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Great Prophet; False Prophets.</I></FONT></TD>
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1451.</TD></TR>
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
</TABLE>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>15 The L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the
midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall
hearken;
&nbsp; 16 According to all that thou desiredst of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> thy God in
Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again
the voice of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> my God, neither let me see this great fire
any more, that I die not.
&nbsp; 17 And the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> said unto me, They have well <I>spoken that</I>
which they have spoken.
&nbsp; 18 I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren,
like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall
speak unto them all that I shall command him.
&nbsp; 19 And it shall come to pass, <I>that</I> whosoever will not hearken
unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require
<I>it</I> of him.
&nbsp; 20 But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my
name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall
speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.
&nbsp; 21 And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word
which the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> hath not spoken?
&nbsp; 22 When a prophet speaketh in the name of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, if the
thing follow not, nor come to pass, that <I>is</I> the thing which the
L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> hath not spoken, <I>but</I> the prophet hath spoken it
presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
Here is,
I. The promise of the great prophet, with a command to receive him, and
hearken to him. Now,</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
1. Some think it is the promise of a succession of prophets, that
should for many ages be kept up in Israel. Besides the priests and
Levites, their ordinary ministers, whose office it was to teach Jacob
God's law, they should have prophets, extraordinary ministers, to
reprove them for their faults, remind them of their duty, and foretel
things to come, judgments for warning and deliverances for their
comfort. Having these prophets,
(1.) They need not use divinations, nor consult with familiar spirits,
for they might enquire of God's prophets even concerning their private
affairs, as Saul did when he was in quest of his father's asses,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+9:6">1 Sam. ix. 6</A>.
(2.) They could not miss the way of their duty through ignorance or
mistake, nor differ in their opinions about it, having prophets among
them, whom, in every difficult doubtful case, they might advise with
and appeal to. These prophets were like unto Moses in some respects,
though far inferior to him,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+34:10">Deut. xxxiv. 10</A>.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
2. Whether a succession of prophets be included in this promise or not,
we are sure that it is primarily intended as a promise of Christ, and
it is the clearest promise of him that is in all the law of Moses. It
is expressly applied to our Lord Jesus as the Messiah promised
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+3:22,7:37">Acts iii. 22; vii. 37</A>),
and the people had an eye to this promise when they said concerning
him, <I>This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the
world</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+6:14">John vi. 14</A>);
and it was his Spirit that spoke in all the other prophets,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Pe+1:11">1 Pet. i. 11</A>.
Observe,</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
(1.) What it is that is here promised concerning Christ. What God
promised Moses at Mount Sinai (which he relates,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+18:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>),
he promised the people
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+18:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>)
in God's name.
[1.] That there should come a prophet, great above all the prophets, by
whom God would make known himself and his will to the children of men
more fully and clearly than ever he had done before. He is the <I>light
of the world,</I> as prophecy was of the Jewish church,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+8:12">John viii. 12</A>.
He is the Word, by whom God speaks to us,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+1:1,Heb+1:2">John i. 1; Heb. i. 2</A>.
[2.] That God would <I>raise him up from the midst of them.</I> In his
birth he should be one of that nation, should live among them and be
sent to them. In his resurrection he should be <I>raised up at
Jerusalem,</I> and thence his doctrine should go forth to all the
world: thus God, having raised up his Son Christ Jesus, sent him to
bless us.
[3.] That he should be like unto Moses, only as much above him as the
other prophets came short of him. Moses was such a prophet as was a
law-giver to Israel and their deliverer out of Egypt, and so was
Christ: he not only teaches, but rules and saves. Moses was the founder
of a new dispensation by signs and wonders and mighty deeds, and so was
Christ, by which he proved himself a teacher come from God. Was Moses
faithful? So was Christ; Moses as a servant, but Christ as a Son.
[4.] That God would put his words in his mouth,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+18:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>.
What messages God had to send to the children of men he would send them
by him, and give him full instructions what to say and do as a prophet.
Hence our Saviour says, <I>My doctrine is not mine</I> originally,
<I>but his that sent me,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+7:16">John vii. 16</A>.
So that this great promise is performed; this Prophet has come, even
Jesus; it is he that should come, and we are to look for no other.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
(2.) The agreeableness of this designed dispensation to the people's
avowed choice and desire at Mount Sinai,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+18:16,17"><I>v.</I> 16, 17</A>.
There God had spoken to them in thunder and lightning, out of the midst
of the fire and thick darkness. Every word made their ears tingle and
their hearts tremble, so that the whole congregation was ready to die
with fear. In this fright, they begged hard that God would not speak to
them in this manner any more (they could not bear it, it would
overwhelm and distract them), but that he would speak to them by men
like themselves, by Moses now, and afterwards by other prophets like
unto him. "Well," says God, "it shall be so; they shall be spoken to by
men, whose <I>terrors shall not make them afraid;</I>" and, to crown
the favour beyond what they were able to ask or think, in the fulness
of time the Word itself was made flesh, and they saw his glory as of
the <I>only-begotten of the Father,</I> not, as at Mount Sinai, full of
majesty and terror, <I>but full of grace and truth,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+1:14">John i. 14</A>.
Thus, in answer to the request of those who were struck with amazement
by the law, God promised the incarnation of his Son, though we may
suppose it far from the thoughts of those that made that request.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
(3.) A charge and command given to all people to hear and believe, hear
and obey, this great prophet here promised: <I>Unto him you shall
hearken</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+18:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>);
and whoever will not hearken to him shall be surely and severely
reckoned with for his contempt
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+18:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>):
<I>I will require it of him.</I> God himself applied this to our Lord
Jesus in the <I>voice that came out of the excellent glory,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+17:5">Matt. xvii. 5</A>,
<I>Hear you him,</I> that is, this is he concerning whom it was said by
Moses of old, <I>Unto him you shall hearken;</I> and Moses and Elias
then stood by and assented to it. The sentence here passed on those
that hearken not to this prophet is repeated and ratified in the New
Testament. <I>He that believeth not the Son, the wrath of God abideth
on him,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+3:36">John iii. 36</A>.
<I>And how shall we escape if we turn away from him that speaketh from
heaven?</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+12:25">Heb. xii. 25</A>.
The Chaldee paraphrase here reads it, <I>My Word shall require it of
him,</I> which can be no other than a divine person, Christ the eternal
Word, to whom the Father has committed all judgement, and by whom he
will at the last day judge the world. Whoever turns a deaf ear to Jesus
Christ shall find that it is at his peril; the same that is the prophet
is to be his judge,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+12:48">John xii. 48</A>.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
II. Here is a caution against false prophets,
1. By way of threatening against the pretenders themselves,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+18:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>.
Whoever sets up for a prophet, and produces either a commission from
the true God, shall be deemed and adjudged guilty of high treason
against the crown and dignity of the King of kings, and that traitor
shall be put to death
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+18:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>),
namely, by the judgment of the great sanhedrim, which, in process of
time, sat at Jerusalem; and therefore our Saviour says that a prophet
could not perish but at Jerusalem, and lays the blood of the prophets
at Jerusalem's door
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+13:33,34">Luke xiii. 33, 34</A>),
whom therefore God himself would punish; yet <I>there</I> false
prophets were supported.
2. By way of direction to the people, that they might not be imposed
upon by pretenders, of which there were many, as appears,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+23:25,Eze+13:6,1Ki+22:6">Jer. xxiii. 25;
Ezek. xiii. 6; 1 Kings xxii. 6</A>.
It is a very proper question which they are supposed to ask,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+18:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>.
Since it is so great a duty to hearken to the true prophets, and yet
there is so much danger of being misled by false prophets, <I>how shall
we know the word which the Lord has not spoken?</I> By what marks may
we discover a cheat? Note, It highly concerns us to have a right
touchstone wherewith to try the word we hear, that we may know what
that word is which the Lord has not spoken. Whatever is directly
repugnant to sense, to the light and law of nature, and to the plain
meaning of the written word, we may be sure is not that which the Lord
has spoken; nor that which gives countenance and encouragement to sin,
or has a manifest tendency to the destruction of piety or charity: far
be it from God that he should contradict himself. The rule here given
in answer to this enquiry was adapted chiefly to that state,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+18:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>.
If there was any cause to suspect the sincerity of a prophet, let them
observe that if he gave them any sign, or foretold something to come,
and the event was not according to his prediction, they might be sure
he was not sent of God. This does not refer so much to the foretelling
of mercies and judgments (though as to these, and the difference
between the predictions of mercies and judgments, there is a rule of
discerning between truth and falsehood laid down by the prophet,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+28:8,9">Jer. xxviii. 8, 9</A>),
but rather to the giving of signs on purpose to confirm their mission.
Though the sign did come to pass, yet this would not serve to prove
their mission if they called them to serve other gods; this point had
been already settled,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+13:1-3">Deut. xiii. 1-3</A>.
But, if the sign did not come to pass, this would serve to disprove
their mission. "When Moses cast his rod upon the ground (it is bishop
Patrick's explanation of this), and said it would become a serpent, if
it had not accordingly been turned into a serpent, Moses had been a
false prophet: if, when Elijah called for fire from heaven to consume
the sacrifice, none had come, he had been no better than the prophets
of Baal." Samuel's mission was proved by this, that <I>God let none of
his words fall to the ground,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+3:19,20">1 Sam. iii. 19, 20</A>.
And by the miracles Christ wrought, especially by that great sign he
gave of his resurrection the third day, which came to pass as he
foretold, it appeared that he was a teacher come from God.
<I>Lastly,</I> They are directed not to be afraid of a false prophet;
that is, not to be afraid of the judgments such a one might denounce to
amuse people and strike terror upon them; nor to be afraid of executing
the law upon him when, upon a strict and impartial scrutiny, it
appeared that he was a false prophet. This command not to fear a false
prophet implies that a true prophet, who proved his commission by clear
and undeniable proofs, was to be feared, and it was at their peril if
they offered him any violence or put any slight upon him.</P>
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