mh_parser/vol_split/5 - Deuteronomy/Chapter 28.xml

<div2 id="Deu.xxix" n="xxix" next="Deu.xxx" prev="Deu.xxviii" progress="94.11%" title="Chapter XXVIII">
<h2 id="Deu.xxix-p0.1">D E U T E R O N O M Y</h2>
<h3 id="Deu.xxix-p0.2">CHAP. XXVIII.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Deu.xxix-p1">This chapter is a very large exposition of two
words in the foregoing chapter, the blessing and the curse. Those
were pronounced blessed in general that were obedient, and those
cursed that were disobedient; but, because generals are not so
affecting, Moses here descends to particulars, and describes the
blessing and the curse, not in their fountains (these are out of
sight, and therefore the most considerable, yet least considered,
the favour of God the spring of all the blessings, and the wrath of
God the spring of all the curses), but in their streams, the
sensible effects of the blessing and the curse, for they are real
things and have real effects. I. He describes the blessings that
should come upon them if they were obedient; personal, family, and
especially national, for in that capacity especially they are here
treated with, <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.1-Deut.28.14" parsed="|Deut|28|1|28|14" passage="De 28:1-14">ver. 1-14</scripRef>.
II. He more largely describes the curses which would come upon them
if they were disobedient; such as would be, 1. Their extreme
vexation, <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.15-Deut.28.44" parsed="|Deut|28|15|28|44" passage="De 28:15-44">ver. 15-44</scripRef>. 2.
Their utter ruin and destruction at last, <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.45-Deut.28.68" parsed="|Deut|28|45|28|68" passage="De 28:45-68">ver. 45-68</scripRef>. This chapter is much to the
same purport with <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Lev.26.1-Lev.26.46" parsed="|Lev|26|1|26|46" passage="Le 26:1-46">Lev.
xxvi.</scripRef>, setting before them life and death, good and
evil; and the promise, in the close of that chapter, of their
restoration, upon their repentance, is here likewise more largely
repeated, <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Deut.30.1-Deut.30.20" parsed="|Deut|30|1|30|20" passage="De 30:1-20"><i>ch.</i> xxx.</scripRef>
Thus, as they had precept upon precept in the repetition of the
law, so they had line upon line in the repetition of the promises
and threatenings. And these are both there and here delivered, not
only as sanctions of the law, what should be conditionally, but as
predictions of the event, what would be certainly, that for a while
the people of Israel would be happy in their obedience, but that at
length they would be undone by their disobedience; and therefore it
is said (<scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Deut.30.1" parsed="|Deut|30|1|0|0" passage="De 30:1"><i>ch.</i> xxx. 1</scripRef>)
that all those things would come upon them, both the blessing and
the curse.</p>
<scripCom id="Deu.xxix-p1.7" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28" parsed="|Deut|28|0|0|0" passage="De 28" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Deu.xxix-p1.8" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.1-Deut.28.14" parsed="|Deut|28|1|28|14" passage="De 28:1-14" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Deut.28.1-Deut.28.14">
<h4 id="Deu.xxix-p1.9">Promises. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xxix-p1.10">b. c.</span> 1451.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Deu.xxix-p2">1 And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt
hearken diligently unto the voice of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xxix-p2.1">Lord</span> thy God, to observe <i>and</i> to do all
his commandments which I command thee this day, that the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xxix-p2.2">Lord</span> thy God will set thee on high above
all nations of the earth:   2 And all these blessings shall
come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the
voice of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xxix-p2.3">Lord</span> thy God.   3
Blessed <i>shalt</i> thou <i>be</i> in the city, and blessed
<i>shalt</i> thou <i>be</i> in the field.   4 Blessed <i>shall
be</i> the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the
fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of
thy sheep.   5 Blessed <i>shall be</i> thy basket and thy
store.   6 Blessed <i>shalt</i> thou <i>be</i> when thou
comest in, and blessed <i>shalt</i> thou <i>be</i> when thou goest
out.   7 The <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xxix-p2.4">Lord</span> shall cause
thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy
face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before
thee seven ways.   8 The <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xxix-p2.5">Lord</span>
shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all
that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the
land which the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xxix-p2.6">Lord</span> thy God giveth
thee.   9 The <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xxix-p2.7">Lord</span> shall
establish thee a holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto
thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xxix-p2.8">Lord</span> thy God, and walk in his ways.   10
And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the
name of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xxix-p2.9">Lord</span>; and they shall be
afraid of thee.   11 And the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xxix-p2.10">Lord</span> shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the
fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit
of thy ground, in the land which the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xxix-p2.11">Lord</span> sware unto thy fathers to give thee.  
12 The <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xxix-p2.12">Lord</span> shall open unto thee his
good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his
season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt
lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow.   13 And
the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xxix-p2.13">Lord</span> shall make thee the head,
and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not
be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xxix-p2.14">Lord</span> thy God, which I command thee this
day, to observe and to do <i>them:</i>   14 And thou shalt not
go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day,
<i>to</i> the right hand, or <i>to</i> the left, to go after other
gods to serve them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xxix-p3">The blessings are here put before the
curses, to intimate, 1. That God is slow to anger, but swift to
show mercy: he has said it, and sworn, that he would much rather we
would obey and live than sin and die. It is his delight to bless.
2. That though both the promises and the threatenings are designed
to bring and hold us to our duty, yet it is better that we be
allured to that which is good by a filial hope of God's favour than
that we be frightened to it by a servile fear of his wrath. That
obedience pleases best which comes from a principle of delight in
God's goodness. Now,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xxix-p4">I. We have here the conditions upon which
the blessing is promised. 1. It is upon condition that they
<i>diligently hearken to the voice of God</i> (<scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.1-Deut.28.2" parsed="|Deut|28|1|28|2" passage="De 28:1,2"><i>v.</i> 1, 2</scripRef>), that they hear God speaking
to them by his word, and use their utmost endeavours to acquaint
themselves with his will, <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p4.2" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.13" parsed="|Deut|28|13|0|0" passage="De 28:13"><i>v.</i>
13</scripRef>. 2. Upon condition that they <i>observe and do all
his commandments</i> (and in order to obedience there is need of
observation) and that they <i>keep the commandments of God</i>
(<scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p4.3" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.9" parsed="|Deut|28|9|0|0" passage="De 28:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>) <i>and walk in
his ways.</i> Not only do them for once, but keep them for ever;
not only set out in his ways, but walk in them to the end. 3. Upon
condition that they should not <i>go aside either to the right hand
or to the left,</i> either to superstition on the one hand, or
profaneness on the other; and particularly that they should not go
after other gods (<scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p4.4" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.14" parsed="|Deut|28|14|0|0" passage="De 28:14"><i>v.</i>
14</scripRef>), which was the sin that of all others they were most
prone to, and God would be most displeased with. Let them take care
to keep up religion, both the form and power of it, in their
families and nation, and God would not fail to bless them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xxix-p5">II. The particulars of this blessing.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xxix-p6">1. It is promised that the providence of
God should prosper them in all their outward concerns. These
blessings are said to <i>overtake them,</i> <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.2" parsed="|Deut|28|2|0|0" passage="De 28:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>. Good people sometimes, under the
sense of their unworthiness, are ready to fly from the blessing and
to conclude that it belongs not to them; but the blessing shall
find them out and follow them notwithstanding. Thus in the great
day the blessing will overtake the righteous that say, <i>Lord,
when saw we thee hungry and fed thee?</i> <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:Matt.25.37" parsed="|Matt|25|37|0|0" passage="Mt 25:37">Matt. xxv. 37</scripRef>. Observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xxix-p7">(1.) Several things are enumerated in which
God by his providence would bless them:—[1.] They should be safe
and easy; a blessing should rest upon their persons wherever they
were, <i>in the city,</i> or <i>in the field,</i> <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.3" parsed="|Deut|28|3|0|0" passage="De 28:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>. Whether their habitation
was in town or country, whether they were husbandmen or tradesmen,
whether their business called them into the city or into the field,
they should be preserved from the dangers and have the comforts of
their condition. This blessing should attend them in their
journeys, going out and coming in, <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p7.2" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.6" parsed="|Deut|28|6|0|0" passage="De 28:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>. Their persons should be
protected, and the affair they went about should succeed well.
Observe here, What a necessary and constant dependence we have upon
God both for the continuance and comfort of this life. We need him
at every turn, in all the various movements of life; we cannot be
safe if he withdraw his protection, nor easy if he suspend his
favour; but, if he bless us, go where we will it is well with us.
[2.] Their families should be built up in a numerous issue: blessed
<i>shall be the fruit of thy body</i> (<scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p7.3" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.4" parsed="|Deut|28|4|0|0" passage="De 28:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>), and in that the Lord shall
<i>make thee plenteous</i> (<scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p7.4" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.11" parsed="|Deut|28|11|0|0" passage="De 28:11"><i>v.</i>
11</scripRef>), in pursuance of the promise made to Abraham, that
his seed should be <i>as the stars of heaven</i> for multitude, and
that God would be a God to them, than which a greater blessing, and
more comprehensive, could not be entailed upon the fruit of their
body. See <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p7.5" osisRef="Bible:Isa.61.9" parsed="|Isa|61|9|0|0" passage="Isa 61:9">Isa. lxi. 9</scripRef>. [3.]
They should be rich, and have an abundance of all the good things
of this life, which are promised them, not merely that they might
have the pleasure of enjoying them, but (as bishop Patrick observes
out of one of the Jewish writers) that they might have wherewithal
to honour God, and might be helped and encouraged to serve him
cheerfully and to proceed and persevere in their obedience to him.
A blessing is promised, <i>First,</i> On all they had without
doors, corn and cattle in the field (<scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p7.6" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.4 Bible:Deut.28.11" parsed="|Deut|28|4|0|0;|Deut|28|11|0|0" passage="De 28:4,11"><i>v.</i> 4, 11</scripRef>), their cows and sheep
particularly, which would be blessed for the owners' sakes, and
made blessings to them. In order to this, it is promised that God
would give them <i>rain in due season,</i> which is called his
<i>good treasure</i> (<scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p7.7" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.12" parsed="|Deut|28|12|0|0" passage="De 28:12"><i>v.</i>
12</scripRef>), because with this river of God the earth is
enriched, <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p7.8" osisRef="Bible:Ps.65.9" parsed="|Ps|65|9|0|0" passage="Ps 65:9">Ps. lxv. 9</scripRef>. Our
constant supplies we must see coming from God's good treasure, and
own our obligations to him for them; if he withhold his rain, the
fruits both of the ground and of the cattle soon perish.
<i>Secondly,</i> On all they had within doors, the basket and the
store (<scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p7.9" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.5" parsed="|Deut|28|5|0|0" passage="De 28:5"><i>v.</i> 5</scripRef>), the
store-houses or barns, <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p7.10" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.8" parsed="|Deut|28|8|0|0" passage="De 28:8"><i>v.</i>
8</scripRef>. When it is brought home, God will bless it, and not
blow upon it as sometimes he does, <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p7.11" osisRef="Bible:Hag.1.6 Bible:Hag.1.9" parsed="|Hag|1|6|0|0;|Hag|1|9|0|0" passage="Hag 1:6,9">Hag. i. 6, 9</scripRef>. We depend upon God and his
blessing, not only for our yearly corn out of the field, but for
our daily bread out of our basket and store, and therefore are
taught to pray for it every day. [4.] They should have success in
all their employments, which would be a constant satisfaction to
them: "<i>The Lord shall command the blessing</i> (and it is he
only that can command it) upon thee, not only in all thou hast, but
in all thou doest, all <i>that thou settest thy hand to,</i>"
<scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p7.12" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.8" parsed="|Deut|28|8|0|0" passage="De 28:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>. This intimated
that even when they were rich they must not be idle, but must find
some good employment or other to set their hand to, and God would
own their industry, and <i>bless the work of their hand</i>
(<scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p7.13" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.12" parsed="|Deut|28|12|0|0" passage="De 28:12"><i>v.</i> 12</scripRef>); for that
which <i>makes rich,</i> and keeps so, is <i>the blessing of the
Lord</i> upon <i>the hand of the diligent,</i> <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p7.14" osisRef="Bible:Prov.10.4 Bible:Prov.10.22" parsed="|Prov|10|4|0|0;|Prov|10|22|0|0" passage="Pr 10:4,22">Prov. x. 4, 22</scripRef>. [5.] They should have
honour among their neighbours (<scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p7.15" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.1" parsed="|Deut|28|1|0|0" passage="De 28:1"><i>v.</i> 1</scripRef>): <i>The Lord thy God will set
thee on high above all nations.</i> He made them so, by taking them
into covenant with himself, <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p7.16" osisRef="Bible:Deut.26.19" parsed="|Deut|26|19|0|0" passage="De 26:19"><i>ch.</i>
xxvi. 19</scripRef>. And he would make them more and more so by
their outward prosperity, if they would not by sin disparage
themselves. Two things should help to make them great among the
nations:—<i>First,</i> Their wealth (<scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p7.17" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.12" parsed="|Deut|28|12|0|0" passage="De 28:12"><i>v.</i> 12</scripRef>): "<i>Thou shalt lend to many
nations</i> upon interest" (which they were allowed to take form
the neighbouring nations), "but thou shalt not have occasion to
borrow." This would give them great influence with all about them;
for the borrower is servant to the lender. It may be meant of trade
and commerce, that they should export abundantly more than they
should import, which would keep the balance on their side.
<i>Secondly,</i> Their power (<scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p7.18" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.13" parsed="|Deut|28|13|0|0" passage="De 28:13"><i>v.</i> 13</scripRef>): "<i>The Lord shall make thee
the head,</i> to give law to all about thee, to exact tribute, and
to arbitrate all controversies." Every sheaf should bow to theirs,
which would make them so considerable that <i>all the people of the
earth</i> would be <i>afraid of them</i> (<scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p7.19" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.10" parsed="|Deut|28|10|0|0" passage="De 28:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>), that is, would reverence their
true grandeur, and dread making them their enemies. The flourishing
of religion among them, and the blessing of God upon them, would
make them formidable to all their neighbours, terrible as an army
with banners. [6.] They should be victorious over their enemies,
and prosper in all their wars. If any were so daring as to rise up
against them to oppress them, or encroach upon them, it should be
at their peril, they should certainly fall before them, <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p7.20" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.7" parsed="|Deut|28|7|0|0" passage="De 28:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>. The forces of the enemy,
though entirely drawn up to come against them one way, should be
entirely routed, and flee before them seven ways, each making the
best of his way.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xxix-p8">(2.) From the whole we learn (though it
were well if men would believe it) that religion and piety are the
best friends to outward prosperity. Though temporal blessings do
not take up so much room in the promises of the New Testament as
they do in those of the Old, yet it is enough that our Lord Jesus
has given us his word (and surely we may take his word) that if we
<i>seek first the kingdom of God, and the righteousness thereof,
all other things</i> shall be added to us, as far as Infinite
Wisdom sees good; and who can desire them further? <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:Matt.6.33" parsed="|Matt|6|33|0|0" passage="Mt 6:33">Matt. vi. 33</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xxix-p9">2. It is likewise promised that the grace
of God should <i>establish them a holy people,</i> <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.9" parsed="|Deut|28|9|0|0" passage="De 28:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>. Having taken them into
covenant with himself, he would keep them in covenant; and,
provided they used the means of stedfastness, he would give them
the grace of stedfastness, that they should not depart from him.
Note, Those that are sincere in holiness God will establish in
holiness; and he is <i>of power to do it,</i> <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p9.2" osisRef="Bible:Rom.16.25" parsed="|Rom|16|25|0|0" passage="Ro 16:25">Rom. xvi. 25</scripRef>. He that is holy shall be holy
still; and those whom God establishes in holiness he thereby
establishes a people to himself, for a long as we keep close to God
he will never forsake us. This establishment of their religion
would be the establishment of their reputation (<scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p9.3" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.10" parsed="|Deut|28|10|0|0" passage="De 28:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>): <i>All the people of the earth
shall see,</i> and own, <i>that thou art called by the name of the
Lord,</i> that is, "that thou art a most excellent and glorious
people, under the particular care and countenance of the great God.
They shall be made to know that a people called by the name Jehovah
are without doubt the happiest people under the sun, even their
enemies themselves being judges." The favourites of Heaven are
truly great, and, first or last, it will be made to appear that
they are so, if not in this world, yet at that day when those who
confess Christ now shall be confessed by him before men and angels,
as those whom he delights to honour.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Deu.xxix-p9.4" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28" parsed="|Deut|28|0|0|0" passage="De 28" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Deu.xxix-p9.5" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.15-Deut.28.44" parsed="|Deut|28|15|28|44" passage="De 28:15-44" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Deut.28.15-Deut.28.44">
<h4 id="Deu.xxix-p9.6">Threatenings. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xxix-p9.7">b. c.</span> 1451.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Deu.xxix-p10">15 But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not
hearken unto the voice of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xxix-p10.1">Lord</span>
thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes
which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come
upon thee, and overtake thee:   16 Cursed <i>shalt</i> thou
<i>be</i> in the city, and cursed <i>shalt</i> thou <i>be</i> in
the field.   17 Cursed <i>shall be</i> thy basket and thy
store.   18 Cursed <i>shall be</i> the fruit of thy body, and
the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of
thy sheep.   19 Cursed <i>shalt</i> thou <i>be</i> when thou
comest in, and cursed <i>shalt</i> thou <i>be</i> when thou goest
out.   20 The <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xxix-p10.2">Lord</span> shall send
upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou settest
thine hand unto for to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou
perish quickly; because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby
thou hast forsaken me.   21 The <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xxix-p10.3">Lord</span> shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee,
until he have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou goest
to possess it.   22 The <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xxix-p10.4">Lord</span>
shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an
inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and
with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until
thou perish.   23 And thy heaven that <i>is</i> over thy head
shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee <i>shall be</i>
iron.   24 The <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xxix-p10.5">Lord</span> shall make
the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come
down upon thee, until thou be destroyed.   25 The <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xxix-p10.6">Lord</span> shall cause thee to be smitten before thine
enemies: thou shalt go out one way against them, and flee seven
ways before them: and shalt be removed into all the kingdoms of the
earth.   26 And thy carcase shall be meat unto all fowls of
the air, and unto the beasts of the earth, and no man shall fray
<i>them</i> away.   27 The <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xxix-p10.7">Lord</span>
will smite thee with the botch of Egypt, and with the emerods, and
with the scab, and with the itch, whereof thou canst not be healed.
  28 The <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xxix-p10.8">Lord</span> shall smite thee
with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart:   29
And thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness,
and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only
oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save <i>thee.</i>
  30 Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with
her: thou shalt build a house, and thou shalt not dwell therein:
thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not gather the grapes
thereof.   31 Thine ox <i>shall be</i> slain before thine
eyes, and thou shalt not eat thereof: thine ass <i>shall be</i>
violently taken away from before thy face, and shall not be
restored to thee: thy sheep <i>shall be</i> given unto thine
enemies, and thou shalt have none to rescue <i>them.</i>   32
Thy sons and thy daughters <i>shall be</i> given unto another
people, and thine eyes shall look, and fail <i>with longing</i> for
them all the day long: and <i>there shall be</i> no might in thine
hand.   33 The fruit of thy land, and all thy labours, shall a
nation which thou knowest not eat up; and thou shalt be only
oppressed and crushed alway:   34 So that thou shalt be mad
for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see.   35 The
<span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xxix-p10.9">Lord</span> shall smite thee in the knees,
and in the legs, with a sore botch that cannot be healed, from the
sole of thy foot unto the top of thy head.   36 The <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xxix-p10.10">Lord</span> shall bring thee, and thy king which
thou shalt set over thee, unto a nation which neither thou nor thy
fathers have known; and there shalt thou serve other gods, wood and
stone.   37 And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb,
and a byword, among all nations whither the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xxix-p10.11">Lord</span> shall lead thee.   38 Thou shalt carry
much seed out into the field, and shalt gather <i>but</i> little
in; for the locust shall consume it.   39 Thou shalt plant
vineyards, and dress <i>them,</i> but shalt neither drink <i>of</i>
the wine, nor gather <i>the grapes;</i> for the worms shall eat
them.   40 Thou shalt have olive trees throughout all thy
coasts, but thou shalt not anoint <i>thyself</i> with the oil; for
thine olive shall cast <i>his fruit.</i>   41 Thou shalt beget
sons and daughters, but thou shalt not enjoy them; for they shall
go into captivity.   42 All thy trees and fruit of thy land
shall the locust consume.   43 The stranger that <i>is</i>
within thee shall get up above thee very high; and thou shalt come
down very low.   44 He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not
lend to him: he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xxix-p11">Having viewed the bright side of the cloud,
which is towards the obedient, we have now presented to us the dark
side, which is towards the disobedient. If we do not keep God's
commandments, we not only come short of the blessing promised, but
we lay ourselves under the curse, which is as comprehensive of all
misery as the blessing is of all happiness. Observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xxix-p12">I. The equity of this curse. It is not a
curse causeless, nor for some light cause; God seeks not occasion
against us, nor is he apt to quarrel with us. That which is here
mentioned as bringing the curse is, 1. Despising God, refusing to
<i>hearken to his voice</i> (<scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p12.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.15" parsed="|Deut|28|15|0|0" passage="De 28:15"><i>v.</i>
15</scripRef>), which bespeaks the highest contempt imaginable, as
if what he said were not worth the heeding, or we were not under
any obligation to him. 2. Disobeying him, <i>not doing his
commandments,</i> or not observing to do them. None fall under his
curse but those that rebel against his command. 3. Deserting him.
"It is because of the <i>wickedness of thy doings,</i> not only
whereby thou hast slighted me, but <i>whereby thou hast forsaken
me,</i>" <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p12.2" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.20" parsed="|Deut|28|20|0|0" passage="De 28:20"><i>v.</i> 20</scripRef>. God
never casts us off till we first cast him off. It intimates that
their idolatry, by which they forsook the true God for false gods,
would be their destroying sin more than any other.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xxix-p13">II. The extent and efficacy of this
curse.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xxix-p14">1. In general, it is declared, "<i>All
these curses shall come upon thee</i> from above, <i>and shall
overtake thee;</i> though thou endeavour to escape them, it is to
no purpose to attempt it, they shall follow thee whithersoever thou
goest, and seize thee, overtake thee, and overcome thee," <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p14.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.15" parsed="|Deut|28|15|0|0" passage="De 28:15"><i>v.</i> 15</scripRef>. It is said of the
sinner, when God's wrath is in pursuit of him, that he <i>would
fain flee out of his hand</i> (<scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p14.2" osisRef="Bible:Job.27.22" parsed="|Job|27|22|0|0" passage="Job 27:22">Job
xxvii. 22</scripRef>), but he cannot; if he <i>flee from the iron
weapon,</i> yet <i>the bow of steel shall</i> reach him and
<i>strike him through.</i> There is no running from God but by
running to him, no fleeing from his justice but by fleeing to his
mercy. See <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p14.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.21.7-Ps.21.8" parsed="|Ps|21|7|21|8" passage="Ps 21:7,8">Ps. xxi. 7, 8</scripRef>.
(1.) Wherever the sinner goes, the curse of God follows him;
wherever he is, it rests upon him. He is cursed <i>in the city</i>
and <i>in the field,</i> <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p14.4" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.16" parsed="|Deut|28|16|0|0" passage="De 28:16"><i>v.</i>
16</scripRef>. The strength of the city cannot shelter him from it,
the pleasant air of the country is no fence against these
pestilential steams. He is cursed (<scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p14.5" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.19" parsed="|Deut|28|19|0|0" passage="De 28:19"><i>v.</i> 19</scripRef>) when he comes in, for the curse
is <i>upon the house of the wicked</i> (<scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p14.6" osisRef="Bible:Prov.3.33" parsed="|Prov|3|33|0|0" passage="Pr 3:33">Prov. iii. 33</scripRef>), and he is cursed when he goes
out, for he cannot leave that curse behind him, nor get rid of it,
which has entered into his bowels like water and like oil into his
bones. (2.) Whatever he has is under a curse: <i>Cursed is the
ground for his sake,</i> and all that is on it, or comes out of it,
and so he is cursed from the ground, as Cain, <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p14.7" osisRef="Bible:Gen.4.11" parsed="|Gen|4|11|0|0" passage="Ge 4:11">Gen. iv. 11</scripRef>. The <i>basket and store</i> are
cursed, <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p14.8" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.17-Deut.28.18" parsed="|Deut|28|17|28|18" passage="De 28:17,18"><i>v.</i> 17,
18</scripRef>. All his enjoyments being forfeited by him are in a
manner forbidden to him, as cursed things, which he has no title
to. To those whose <i>mind and conscience are defiled</i> every
thing else is so, <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p14.9" osisRef="Bible:Titus.1.15" parsed="|Titus|1|15|0|0" passage="Tit 1:15">Tit. i.
15</scripRef>. They are all embittered to him; he cannot take any
true comfort in them, for the wrath of God mixes itself with them,
and he is so far from having any security of the continuance of
them that, if his eyes be open, he may see them all condemned and
ready to be confiscated, and with them all his joys and all his
hopes gone for ever. (3.) Whatever he does is under a curse, too. It
is a curse in all that <i>he sets his hand to</i> (<scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p14.10" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.20" parsed="|Deut|28|20|0|0" passage="De 28:20"><i>v.</i> 20</scripRef>), a constant
disappointment, which those are subject to that set their hearts
upon the world, and expect their happiness in it, and which cannot
but be a constant vexation. This curse is just the reverse of the
blessing in the former part of the chapter. Thus whatever bliss
there is in heaven there is not only the want of it, but the
contrary to it, in hell. <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p14.11" osisRef="Bible:Isa.65.13" parsed="|Isa|65|13|0|0" passage="Isa 65:13">Isa. lxv.
13</scripRef>, <i>My servants shall eat, but you shall be
hungry.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xxix-p15">2. Many particular judgments are here
enumerated, which would be the fruits of the curse, and with which
God would punish the people of the Jews for their apostasy and
disobedience. These judgments threatened are of divers kinds, for
God has many arrows in his quiver, <i>four sore judgments</i>
(<scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p15.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.14.21" parsed="|Ezek|14|21|0|0" passage="Eze 14:21">Ezek. xiv. 21</scripRef>), and many
more. They are represented as very terrible, and the descriptions
of them are exceedingly lively and affecting, that men, knowing
these terrors of the Lord, might, if possible, be persuaded. The
threatenings of the same judgment are several times repeated, that
they might make the more deep and lasting impressions, and to
intimate that, if men persisted in their disobedience, the judgment
which they thought was over, and of which they said, "Surely the
bitterness of it is past," would return with double force; for when
God judges he will overcome. (1.) Bodily diseases are here
threatened, that they should be epidemical in their land. These God
sometimes makes use of for the chastisement and improvement of his
own people. <i>Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.</i> But
here they are threatened to be brought upon his enemies as tokens
of his wrath, and designed for their ruin. So that according to the
temper of our spirits, under sickness, accordingly it is to us a
blessing or a curse. But, whatever sickness may be to particular
persons, it is certain that epidemical diseases raging among a
people are national judgments, and are so to be accounted. He here
threatens, [1.] Painful diseases (<scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p15.2" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.35" parsed="|Deut|28|35|0|0" passage="De 28:35"><i>v.</i> 35</scripRef>), a sore botch, beginning in the
legs and knees, but spreading, like Job's boils, from heat to foot.
[2.] Shameful diseases (<scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p15.3" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.27" parsed="|Deut|28|27|0|0" passage="De 28:27"><i>v.</i>
27</scripRef>), the botch of Egypt (such boils and blains as the
Egyptians had been plagued with, when God brought Israel from among
them), and the emerods and scab, vile diseases, the just punishment
of those who by sin had made themselves vile. [3.] Mortal diseases,
the pestilence (<scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p15.4" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.21" parsed="|Deut|28|21|0|0" passage="De 28:21"><i>v.</i>
21</scripRef>), the consumption (put for all chronical diseases),
and the fever (for all acute diseases), <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p15.5" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.22" parsed="|Deut|28|22|0|0" passage="De 28:22"><i>v.</i> 22</scripRef>. See <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p15.6" osisRef="Bible:Lev.26.16" parsed="|Lev|26|16|0|0" passage="Le 26:16">Lev. xxvi. 16</scripRef>. And all incurable, <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p15.7" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.27" parsed="|Deut|28|27|0|0" passage="De 28:27"><i>v.</i> 27</scripRef>. (2.) Famine, and
scarcity of provisions; and this, [1.] For want of rain (<scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p15.8" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.23-Deut.28.24" parsed="|Deut|28|23|28|24" passage="De 28:23,24"><i>v.</i> 23, 24</scripRef>): <i>Thy heaven
over thy head,</i> that part that is over thy land, <i>shall be
as</i> dry <i>as brass,</i> while the heavens over other countries
shall distil their dews; and, when the heaven is as brass, the
earth of course will be as iron, so hard and unfruitful. Instead of
rain, the dust shall be blown out of the highways into the field,
and spoil the little that there is of the fruits of the earth. [2.]
By destroying insects. The locust should destroy the corn, so that
they should not have so much as their <i>seed again,</i> <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p15.9" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.38 Bible:Deut.28.42" parsed="|Deut|28|38|0|0;|Deut|28|42|0|0" passage="De 28:38,42"><i>v.</i> 38, 42</scripRef>. And the fruit of
the vine, which should make glad their hearts, should all be
worm-eaten, <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p15.10" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.39" parsed="|Deut|28|39|0|0" passage="De 28:39"><i>v.</i> 39</scripRef>.
And the olive, some way or other, should be made to <i>cast its
fruit,</i> <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p15.11" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.40" parsed="|Deut|28|40|0|0" passage="De 28:40"><i>v.</i> 40</scripRef>.
The heathen use many superstitious customs in honour of their
idol-gods for preserving the fruits of the earth; but Moses tells
Israel that the only way they had to preserve them was to keep
God's commandments; for he is a God that will not be sported with,
like their idols, but will be served in spirit and truth. This
threatening we find fulfilled in Israel, <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p15.12" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.17.1 Bible:Jer.14.1 Bible:Joel.1.4" parsed="|1Kgs|17|1|0|0;|Jer|14|1|0|0;|Joel|1|4|0|0" passage="1Ki 17:1,Jer 14:1,Joe 1:4">1 Kings xvii. 1; Jer. xiv. 1, &amp;c.;
Joel i. 4</scripRef>. (3.) That they should be smitten before their
enemies in war, who, it is likely, would be the more cruel to them,
when they had them at their mercy, for the severity they had used
against the nations of Canaan, which their neighbours in after-ages
would be apt to remember against them, <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p15.13" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.25" parsed="|Deut|28|25|0|0" passage="De 28:25"><i>v.</i> 25</scripRef>. It would make their flight the
more shameful, and the more grievous, that they might have
triumphed over their enemies if they had but been faithful to their
God. The carcases of those that were slain in war, or died in
captivity among strangers, should be <i>meat for the fowls</i>
(<scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p15.14" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.26" parsed="|Deut|28|26|0|0" passage="De 28:26"><i>v.</i> 26</scripRef>); and an
Israelite, having forfeited the favour of his God, should have so
little humanity shown him as that <i>no man should drive them
away,</i> so odious would God's curse make him to all mankind. (4.)
That they should be infatuated in all their counsels, so as not to
discern their own interest, nor bring any thing to pass for the
public good: <i>The Lord shall smite thee with madness and
blindness,</i> <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p15.15" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.28-Deut.28.29" parsed="|Deut|28|28|28|29" passage="De 28:28,29"><i>v.</i> 28,
29</scripRef>. Note, God's judgments can reach the minds of men to
fill them with darkness and horror, as well as their bodies and
estates; and those are the sorest of all judgments which make men a
terror to themselves, and their own destroyers. That which they
contrived to secure themselves by should still turn to their
prejudice. Thus we often find that the allies they confided in
<i>distressed them</i> and <i>strengthened them not,</i> <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p15.16" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.28.20" parsed="|2Chr|28|20|0|0" passage="2Ch 28:20">2 Chron. xxviii. 20</scripRef>. Those that will
not walk in God's counsels are justly left to be ruined by their
own; and those that are wilfully blind to their duty deserve to be
made blind to their interest, and, seeing they <i>loved darkness
rather than light,</i> let them <i>grope at noon-day</i> as in the
dark. (5.) That they should be plundered of all their enjoyments,
stripped of all by the proud and imperious conqueror, such as
Benhadad was to Ahab, <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p15.17" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.20.5-1Kgs.20.6" parsed="|1Kgs|20|5|20|6" passage="1Ki 20:5,6">1 Kings xx. 5,
6</scripRef>. Not only their houses and vineyards should be taken
from them, but their wives and children, <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p15.18" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.30 Bible:Deut.28.32" parsed="|Deut|28|30|0|0;|Deut|28|32|0|0" passage="De 28:30,32"><i>v.</i> 30, 32</scripRef>. Their dearest comforts,
which they took most pleasure in, and promised themselves most
from, should be the entertainment and triumph of their enemies. As
they had dwelt in houses which they built not, and eaten of
vineyards which they planted not (<scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p15.19" osisRef="Bible:Deut.6.10-Deut.6.11" parsed="|Deut|6|10|6|11" passage="De 6:10,11"><i>ch.</i> vi. 10, 11</scripRef>), so others should do
by them. Their oxen, asses, and sheep, like Job's, should be taken
away before their eyes, and they should not be able to recover
them, <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p15.20" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.31" parsed="|Deut|28|31|0|0" passage="De 28:31"><i>v.</i> 31</scripRef>. And all
the fruit of their land and labours should be devoured and eaten up
by the enemy; so that they and theirs would want necessaries, while
their enemies were revelling with that which they had laboured for.
(6.) That they should be carried captives into a far country; nay,
into <i>all the kingdoms of the earth,</i> <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p15.21" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.25" parsed="|Deut|28|25|0|0" passage="De 28:25"><i>v.</i> 25</scripRef>. Their sons and daughters, whom
they promised themselves comfort in, should go into captivity
(<scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p15.22" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.41" parsed="|Deut|28|41|0|0" passage="De 28:41"><i>v.</i> 41</scripRef>), and they
themselves at length, and their king in whom they promised
themselves safety and settlement, <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p15.23" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.36" parsed="|Deut|28|36|0|0" passage="De 28:36"><i>v.</i> 36</scripRef>. This was fully accomplished
when the ten tribes first were carried captive into Assyria
(<scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p15.24" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.17.6" parsed="|2Kgs|17|6|0|0" passage="2Ki 17:6">2 Kings xvii. 6</scripRef>), and not
long after the two tribes into Babylon, and two of their kings,
<scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p15.25" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.24.15 Bible:2Kgs.24.15 Bible:2Kgs.25.7 Bible:2Kgs.25.21" parsed="|2Kgs|24|15|0|0;|2Kgs|24|15|0|0;|2Kgs|25|7|0|0;|2Kgs|25|21|0|0" passage="2Ki 24:15,15,25:7,21">2 Kings xxiv. 14, 15; xxv.
7, 21</scripRef>. That which is mentioned as an aggravation of
their captivity is that they should go into an unknown country, the
language and customs of which would be very uncouth, and their
treatment among them barbarous, and there they should <i>serve
other gods,</i> that is, be compelled to do so by their enemies, as
they were in Babylon, <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p15.26" osisRef="Bible:Dan.3.6" parsed="|Dan|3|6|0|0" passage="Da 3:6">Dan. iii.
6</scripRef>. Note, God often makes men's sin their punishment, and
chooses their delusions. You shall <i>serve other gods,</i> that
is, "You shall serve those that do serve them;" a nation is often
in scripture called by the name of its gods, as <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p15.27" osisRef="Bible:Jer.48.7" parsed="|Jer|48|7|0|0" passage="Jer 48:7">Jer. xlviii. 7</scripRef>. They had made idolaters their
associates, and now god made idolaters their oppressors. (7.) That
those who remained should be insulted and tyrannized over by
strangers, <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p15.28" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.43-Deut.28.44" parsed="|Deut|28|43|28|44" passage="De 28:43,44"><i>v.</i> 43,
44</scripRef>. So the ten tribes were by the colonies which the
king of Assyria sent to take possession of their land, <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p15.29" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.17.24" parsed="|2Kgs|17|24|0|0" passage="2Ki 17:24">2 Kings xvii. 24</scripRef>. Or this may be
meant of the gradual encroachments which the strangers within their
gates should make upon them, so as insensibly to worm them out of
their estates. We read of the fulfilling of this, <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p15.30" osisRef="Bible:Hos.7.9" parsed="|Hos|7|9|0|0" passage="Ho 7:9">Hos. vii. 9</scripRef>, <i>Strangers have devoured
his strength.</i> Foreigners ate the bread out of the mouths of
trueborn Israelites, by which they were justly chastised for
introducing strange gods. (8.) That their reputation among their
neighbours should be quite sunk, and those that had been a name,
and a praise, should be an astonishment, a proverb, and a by-word,
<scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p15.31" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.37" parsed="|Deut|28|37|0|0" passage="De 28:37"><i>v.</i> 37</scripRef>. Some have
observed the fulfilling of this threatening in their present state;
for, when we would express the most perfidious and barbarous
treatment, we say, <i>None but a Jew would have done so.</i> Thus
is sin a reproach to any people. (9.) To complete their misery, it
is threatened that they should be put quite out of the possession
of their minds by all these troubles (<scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p15.32" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.34" parsed="|Deut|28|34|0|0" passage="De 28:34"><i>v.</i> 34</scripRef>): <i>Thou shalt be mad for the
sight of thy eyes,</i> that is, quite bereaved of all comfort and
hope, and abandoned to utter despair. Those that walk by sight, and
not by faith, are in danger of losing reason itself, when every
thing about them looks frightful; and their condition is woeful
indeed that are <i>mad for the sight of their eyes.</i></p>
</div><scripCom id="Deu.xxix-p15.33" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.45-Deut.28.68" parsed="|Deut|28|45|28|68" passage="De 28:45-68" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Deut.28.45-Deut.28.68">
<p class="passage" id="Deu.xxix-p16">45 Moreover all these curses shall come upon
thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be
destroyed; because thou hearkenedst not unto the voice of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xxix-p16.1">Lord</span> thy God, to keep his commandments and
his statutes which he commanded thee:   46 And they shall be
upon thee for a sign and for a wonder, and upon thy seed for ever.
  47 Because thou servedst not the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xxix-p16.2">Lord</span> thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness
of heart, for the abundance of all <i>things;</i>   48
Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xxix-p16.3">Lord</span> shall send against thee, in hunger, and in
thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all <i>things:</i> and he
shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed
thee.   49 The <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xxix-p16.4">Lord</span> shall bring
a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, <i>as
swift</i> as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not
understand;   50 A nation of fierce countenance, which shall
not regard the person of the old, nor show favour to the young:
  51 And he shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit
of thy land, until thou be destroyed: which <i>also</i> shall not
leave thee <i>either</i> corn, wine, or oil, <i>or</i> the increase
of thy kine, or flocks of thy sheep, until he have destroyed thee.
  52 And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy
high and fenced walls come down, wherein thou trustedst, throughout
all thy land: and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates throughout
all thy land, which the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xxix-p16.5">Lord</span> thy God
hath given thee.   53 And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine
own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, which the
<span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xxix-p16.6">Lord</span> thy God hath given thee, in the
siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall
distress thee:   54 <i>So that</i> the man <i>that is</i>
tender among you, and very delicate, his eye shall be evil toward
his brother, and toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the
remnant of his children which he shall leave:   55 So that he
will not give to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he
shall eat: because he hath nothing left him in the siege, and in
the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee in all
thy gates.   56 The tender and delicate woman among you, which
would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for
delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward the
husband of her bosom, and toward her son, and toward her daughter,
  57 And toward her young one that cometh out from between her
feet, and toward her children which she shall bear: for she shall
eat them for want of all <i>things</i> secretly in the siege and
straitness, wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee in thy gates.
  58 If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law
that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious
and fearful name, THE LORD THY GOD;   59 Then the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xxix-p16.7">Lord</span> will make thy plagues wonderful, and the
plagues of thy seed, <i>even</i> great plagues, and of long
continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long continuance.  
60 Moreover he will bring upon thee all the diseases of Egypt,
which thou wast afraid of; and they shall cleave unto thee.  
61 Also every sickness, and every plague, which <i>is</i> not
written in the book of this law, them will the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xxix-p16.8">Lord</span> bring upon thee, until thou be destroyed.
  62 And ye shall be left few in number, whereas ye were as
the stars of heaven for multitude; because thou wouldest not obey
the voice of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xxix-p16.9">Lord</span> thy God.
  63 And it shall come to pass, <i>that</i> as the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xxix-p16.10">Lord</span> rejoiced over you to do you good, and
to multiply you; so the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xxix-p16.11">Lord</span> will
rejoice over you to destroy you, and to bring you to nought; and ye
shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess
it.   64 And the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xxix-p16.12">Lord</span> shall
scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even
unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which
neither thou nor thy fathers have known, <i>even</i> wood and
stone.   65 And among these nations shalt thou find no ease,
neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xxix-p16.13">Lord</span> shall give thee there a trembling heart,
and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind:   66 And thy life
shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night,
and shalt have none assurance of thy life:   67 In the morning
thou shalt say, Would God it were even! and at even thou shalt say,
Would God it were morning! for the fear of thine heart wherewith
thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt
see.   68 And the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xxix-p16.14">Lord</span> shall
bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I spake
unto thee, Thou shalt see it no more again: and there ye shall be
sold unto your enemies for bondmen and bondwomen, and no man shall
buy <i>you.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xxix-p17">One would have thought that enough had been
said to possess them with a dread of that <i>wrath of God</i> which
is <i>revealed from heaven against the ungodliness and
unrighteousness of men.</i> But to show how deep the treasures of
that wrath are, and that still there is more and worse behind,
Moses, when one would have thought that he had concluded this
dismal subject, begins again, and adds to this roll of curses many
similar words: as Jeremiah did to his, <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p17.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.36.32" parsed="|Jer|36|32|0|0" passage="Jer 36:32">Jer. xxxvi. 32</scripRef>. It should seem that in the
former part of this commination Moses foretells their captivity in
Babylon, and the calamities which introduced and attended that, by
which, even after their return, they were brought to that low and
poor condition which is described, <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p17.2" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.44" parsed="|Deut|28|44|0|0" passage="De 28:44"><i>v.</i> 44</scripRef>. That their enemies should be
<i>the head,</i> and they <i>the tail:</i> but here, in this latter
part, he foretells their last destruction by the Romans and their
dispersion thereupon. And the present deplorable state of the
Jewish nation, and of all that have incorporated themselves with
them, by embracing their religion, does so fully and exactly answer
to the prediction in these verses that it serves for an
incontestable proof of the truth of prophecy, and consequently of
the divine authority of the scripture. And, this last destruction
being here represented as more dreadful than the former, it shows
that their sin, in rejecting Christ and his gospel, was more
heinous and more provoking to God than idolatry itself, and left
them more under the power of Satan; for their captivity in Babylon
cured them effectually of their idolatry in seventy years' time;
but under this last destruction now for above 1600 years they
continue incurably averse to the Lord Jesus. Observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xxix-p18">I. What is here said in general of the
wrath of God, which should light and lie upon them for their
sins.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xxix-p19">1. That, if they would not be <i>ruled by
the commands of God,</i> they should certainly be <i>ruined by his
curse,</i> <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p19.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.45-Deut.28.46" parsed="|Deut|28|45|28|46" passage="De 28:45,46"><i>v.</i> 45,
46</scripRef>. Because thou didst not <i>keep his commandments</i>
(especially that of hearing and obeying the great prophet),
<i>these curses shall come upon thee,</i> as upon a people
appointed to destruction, the generation of God's wrath: and they
shall be <i>for a sign</i> and <i>for a wonder.</i> It is amazing
to think that a people so long the favourites of Heaven should be
so perfectly abandoned and cast off, that a people so closely
incorporated should be so universally dispersed, and yet that a
people so scattered in all nations should preserve themselves
distinct and not mix with any, but like Cain be fugitives and
vagabonds, and yet marked to be known.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xxix-p20">2. That, if they would not serve God with
cheerfulness, they should be compelled to <i>serve their
enemies</i> (<scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p20.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.47-Deut.28.48" parsed="|Deut|28|47|28|48" passage="De 28:47,48"><i>v.</i> 47,
48</scripRef>), that they might know the difference (<scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p20.2" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.12.8" parsed="|2Chr|12|8|0|0" passage="2Ch 12:8">2 Chron. xii. 8</scripRef>), which, some think,
is the meaning of <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p20.3" osisRef="Bible:Exod.20.24-Exod.20.25" parsed="|Exod|20|24|20|25" passage="Ex 20:24,25">Ezek. xx. 24,
25</scripRef>, <i>Because they despised my statutes, I gave them
statutes that were not good.</i> Observe here, (1.) It is justly
expected from those to whom God gives an abundance of the good
things of this life that they should serve him. What does he
maintain us for out that we may do his work, and be some way
serviceable to his honour? (2.) The more God gives us the more
cheerfully we should serve him; our abundance should be oil to the
wheels of our obedience. God is a Master that will be served with
gladness, and delights to hear us sing at our work. (3.) If, when
we receive the gifts of God's bounty, we either do not serve him at
all or serve him with reluctance, it is a righteous thing with him
to make us know the hardships of want and servitude. Those deserve
to have cause given them to complain who complain without a cause.
<i>Tristis es et felix—Happy, and yet not easy!</i> Blush at thy
own folly and ingratitude.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xxix-p21">3. That, if they would not <i>give glory to
God</i> by a reverential obedience, he would get <i>him honour upon
them</i> by <i>wonderful</i> plagues, <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p21.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.58-Deut.28.59" parsed="|Deut|28|58|28|59" passage="De 28:58,59"><i>v.</i> 58, 59</scripRef>. Note, (1.) God justly
expects from us that we should fear his fearful name; and, which is
strange, that name which is here proposed as the object of our fear
is, <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xxix-p21.2">The Lord thy God</span>, which is very
fitly here put in our Bibles in capital letters; for nothing can
sound more truly august. As nothing is more comfortable, so nothing
more awful, than this, that he with whom we have to do is Jehovah,
a being infinitely perfect and blessed, and the author of all
being; and that he is our God, our rightful Lord and owner, from
whom we are to receive laws and to whom we are to give account:
this is great, and greatly to be feared. (2.) We may justly expect
from God that, if we do not fear his fearful name, we shall feel
his fearful plagues; for one way or other God will be feared. All
God's plagues are dreadful, but some are wonderful, carrying in
them extraordinary signatures of divine power and justice, so that
a man, upon the first view of them, may say, <i>Verily, there is a
God that judgeth in the earth.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xxix-p22">II. How the destruction threatened is
described. Moses is here upon the same melancholy subject that our
Saviour is discoursing of to his disciples in his farewell sermon
(<scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p22.1" osisRef="Bible:Matt.24.4-Matt.24.28" parsed="|Matt|24|4|24|28" passage="Mt 24:4-28">Matt. xxiv.</scripRef>), namely,
The destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish nation. Observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xxix-p23">1. Five things are here foretold as steps
to their ruin:—</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xxix-p24">(1.) That they should be invaded by a
foreign enemy (<scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p24.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.49-Deut.28.50" parsed="|Deut|28|49|28|50" passage="De 28:49,50"><i>v.</i> 49,
50</scripRef>): <i>A nation from far,</i> namely, the Romans, <i>as
swift as the eagle</i> hastening to the prey. Our Saviour makes use
of this similitude, in foretelling this destruction, that <i>where
the carcase is there will the eagles be gathered together,</i>
<scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p24.2" osisRef="Bible:Matt.24.28" parsed="|Matt|24|28|0|0" passage="Mt 24:28">Matt. xxiv. 28</scripRef>. And bishop
Patrick observes (to make the accomplishment the more remarkable)
that the ensign of the Roman armies was an eagle. This nation is
said to be of a fierce countenance, an indication of a fierce
nature, stern and severe, that would not pity the weakness and
infirmity either of little children or of old people.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xxix-p25">(2.) That the country should be laid waste,
and all the fruits of it eaten up by this army of foreigners, which
is the natural consequence of an invasion, especially when it is
made, as that by the Romans was, for the chastisement of rebels: He
<i>shall eat the fruits of thy cattle and land</i> (<scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p25.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.51" parsed="|Deut|28|51|0|0" passage="De 28:51"><i>v.</i> 51</scripRef>), so that the
inhabitants should be starved, while the invaders were fed to the
full.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xxix-p26">(3.) That their cities should be besieged,
and that such would be the obstinacy of the besieged, and such the
vigour of the besiegers, that they would be reduced to the last
extremity, and at length fall into the hands of the enemy,
<scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p26.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.52" parsed="|Deut|28|52|0|0" passage="De 28:52"><i>v.</i> 52</scripRef>. No place,
though ever so well fortified, no, not Jerusalem itself, though it
held out long, would escape. Two of the common consequences of a
long siege are here foretold:—[1.] A miserable famine, which
would prevail to such a degree that, for want of food, they should
<i>kill and eat their own children,</i> <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p26.2" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.53" parsed="|Deut|28|53|0|0" passage="De 28:53"><i>v.</i> 53</scripRef>. Men should do so,
notwithstanding their hardiness, and ability to bear hunger; and,
though obliged by the law of nature to provide for their own
families, yet should refuse to give to the wife and children that
were starving any of the child that was barbarously butchered,
<scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p26.3" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.54-Deut.28.55" parsed="|Deut|28|54|28|55" passage="De 28:54,55"><i>v.</i> 54, 55</scripRef>. Nay,
women, ladies of quality, notwithstanding their natural niceness
about their food, and their natural affection to their children,
yet, for want of food, should so far forget all humanity as to kill
and eat them, <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p26.4" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.56-Deut.28.57" parsed="|Deut|28|56|28|57" passage="De 28:56,57"><i>v.</i> 56,
57</scripRef>. Let us observe, by the way, how hard this fate must
needs be to the tender and delicate women, and learn not to indulge
ourselves in tenderness and delicacy, because we know not what we
may be reduced to before we die; the more nice we are, the harder
it will be to us to bear want, and the more danger we shall be in
or sacrificing reason, and religion, and natural affection itself,
to the clamours and cravings of an unmortified and ungoverned
appetite. This threatening was fulfilled in the letter of it, more
than once, to the perpetual reproach of the Jewish nation: never
was the like done either by Greek or barbarian, but in the siege of
Samaria, a woman <i>boiled her own son,</i> <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p26.5" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.6.28-2Kgs.6.29" parsed="|2Kgs|6|28|6|29" passage="2Ki 6:28,29">2 Kings vi. 28, 29</scripRef>. And it is spoken of as
commonly done among them in the siege of Jerusalem by the
Babylonians, <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p26.6" osisRef="Bible:Lam.4.10" parsed="|Lam|4|10|0|0" passage="La 4:10">Lam. iv. 10</scripRef>.
And, in the last siege by the Romans, Josephus tells us of a noble
woman that killed and ate her own child, through the extremity of
the famine, and when she had eaten one half secretly (<scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p26.7" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.57" parsed="|Deut|28|57|0|0" passage="De 28:57"><i>v.</i> 57</scripRef>), that she might have it
to herself, the mob, smelling meat, got into the house, to whom she
showed the other half, which she had kept till another time,
inviting them to share with her. What is too barbarous for those to
do that are abandoned of God! [2.] Sickness is another common
effect of a strait and long siege, and that is here threatened:
<i>Sore sickness, and of long continuance,</i> <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p26.8" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.59" parsed="|Deut|28|59|0|0" passage="De 28:59"><i>v.</i> 59</scripRef>. These should attend the Jews
wherever they went afterwards, the diseases of Egypt, leprosies,
botches, and foul ulcers, <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p26.9" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.60" parsed="|Deut|28|60|0|0" passage="De 28:60"><i>v.</i>
60</scripRef>. Nay, as if the particular miseries here threatened
were not enough, he concludes with an <i>et cetera,</i> <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p26.10" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.61" parsed="|Deut|28|61|0|0" passage="De 28:61"><i>v.</i> 61</scripRef>. The Lord will bring
upon thee every sickness, and every plague, though it be <i>not
written in the book of this law.</i> Those that fall under the
curse of God will find that the one half was not told them of the
weight and terror of that curse.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xxix-p27">(4.) That multitudes of them should perish,
so that they should become <i>few in number,</i> <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p27.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.62" parsed="|Deut|28|62|0|0" passage="De 28:62"><i>v.</i> 62</scripRef>. It was a nation that God had
wonderfully increased, so that they were <i>as the stars of heaven
for multitude;</i> but, for their sin, they were <i>diminished and
brought low,</i> <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p27.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.107.38-Ps.107.39" parsed="|Ps|107|38|107|39" passage="Ps 107:38,39">Ps. cvii. 38,
39</scripRef>. It is computed that in the destruction of the Jewish
nation by the Romans, as appears by the account Josephus gives of
it, above two millions fell by the sword at several places, besides
what perished by famine and pestilence; so that the whole country
was laid waste and turned into a wilderness. That is a terrible
word (<scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p27.3" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.63" parsed="|Deut|28|63|0|0" passage="De 28:63"><i>v.</i> 63</scripRef>), <i>As
the Lord rejoiced over you to do you good, so he will rejoice over
you to destroy you.</i> Behold here <i>the goodness and severity of
God:</i> mercy here shines brightly in the pleasure God takes in
doing good—he rejoices in it; yet justice here appears no less
illustrious in the pleasure he takes in destroying the impenitent;
not as it is the making of his creatures miserable, but as it is
the asserting of his own honour and the securing of the ends of his
government. See what a malignant mischievous thing sin is, which
(as I may say) makes it necessary for the God of infinite goodness
to rejoice in the destruction of his own creatures, even those that
had been favourites.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xxix-p28">(5.) That the remnant should be scattered
throughout the nations. This completes their woe: <i>The Lord shall
scatter thee among all people,</i> <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p28.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.64" parsed="|Deut|28|64|0|0" passage="De 28:64"><i>v.</i> 64</scripRef>. This is remarkably fulfilled in
their present dispersion, for there are Jews to be found almost in
all countries that are possessed either by Christians or
Mahometans, and in such numbers that it has been said, If they
could unite in one common interest, they would be a very formidable
body, and able to deal with the most powerful states and princes;
but they abide under the power of this curse, and are so scattered
that they are not able to incorporate. It is here foretold that in
this dispersion, [1.] They should have no religion, or none to any
purpose, should have no temple, nor altar, nor priesthood, for they
should <i>serve other gods.</i> Some think this has been fulfilled
in the force put upon the Jews in popish countries to worship the
images that are used in the Romish church, to their great vexation.
[2.] They should have no rest, no rest of body: <i>The sole of thy
foot shall not have rest</i> (<scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p28.2" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.65" parsed="|Deut|28|65|0|0" passage="De 28:65"><i>v.</i> 65</scripRef>), but be continually upon the
remove, either in hope of gain or fear of persecution; all
wandering Jews: no rest of the mind (which is much worse), but a
<i>trembling heart</i> (<scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p28.3" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.65" parsed="|Deut|28|65|0|0" passage="De 28:65"><i>v.</i>
65</scripRef>); <i>no assurance of life</i> (<scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p28.4" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.66" parsed="|Deut|28|66|0|0" passage="De 28:66"><i>v.</i> 66</scripRef>); weary both of light and
darkness, which are, in their turns, both welcome to a quiet mind,
but to them both day and night would be a terror, <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p28.5" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.67" parsed="|Deut|28|67|0|0" passage="De 28:67"><i>v.</i> 67</scripRef>. Such was once the
condition of Job (<scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p28.6" osisRef="Bible:Job.7.4" parsed="|Job|7|4|0|0" passage="Job 7:4">Job vii.
4</scripRef>), but to them this should be constant and perpetual;
that blindness and darkness which the apostle speaks of as having
happened to Israel, and that guilt which <i>bowed down their back
always</i> (<scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p28.7" osisRef="Bible:Rom.11.8-Rom.11.10" parsed="|Rom|11|8|11|10" passage="Ro 11:8-10">Rom. xi.
8-10</scripRef>), must needs occasion a constant restlessness and
amazement. Those are a torment to themselves, and to all about
them, that fear day and night and are always uneasy. Let good
people strive against it, and not give way to that fear which has
torment; and let wicked people not be secure in their wickedness,
for their hearts cannot endure, nor can their hands be strong, when
the terrors of God set themselves in array against them. Those that
say <i>in the morning, O that it were evening,</i> and <i>in the
evening, O that it were morning,</i> show, <i>First,</i> A constant
fret and vexation, chiding the hours for lingering and complaining
of the length of every minute. Let time be precious to us when we
are in prosperity, and then it will not be so tedious to us when we
are in afflictions as otherwise it would. <i>Secondly,</i> A
constant fright and terror, afraid in the morning of the <i>arrow
that flieth by day,</i> and therefore wishing the day over; but
what will this do for them? When evening comes, the trembling heart
is no less apprehensive of the <i>terror by night,</i> <scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p28.8" osisRef="Bible:Ps.91.5-Ps.91.6" parsed="|Ps|91|5|91|6" passage="Ps 91:5,6">Ps. xci. 5, 6</scripRef>. Happy they whose
minds, being stayed on God, are <i>quiet from the fear of evil!</i>
Observe here, The terror arises not only from the sight of the
eyes, but from the fear of the heart, not only from real dangers,
but from imaginary ones; the causes of fear, when they come to be
enquired into, often prove to be only the creatures of the
fancy.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xxix-p29">2. In the close, God threatens to leave
them as he found them, in a <i>house of bondage</i> (<scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p29.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.68" parsed="|Deut|28|68|0|0" passage="De 28:68"><i>v.</i> 68</scripRef>): <i>The Lord shall
bring thee into Egypt again,</i> that is into such a miserable
state as they were in when they were slaves to the Egyptians, and
ruled by them with rigour. God had brought them out of Egypt, and
had said, <i>They shall see it no more again</i> (<scripRef id="Deu.xxix-p29.2" osisRef="Bible:Deut.17.16" parsed="|Deut|17|16|0|0" passage="De 17:16"><i>ch.</i> xvii. 16</scripRef>); but now they
should be reduced to the same state of slavery that they had been
in there. To be sold to strangers would be bad enough, but much
worse to be sold to their enemies. Even slaves may be valued as
such, but a Jew should have so ill a name for all that is base that
when he was exposed to sale no man would buy him, which would make
his master that had him to sell the more severe with him. Thirty
Jews (they say) have been sold for one small piece of money, as
they sold our Saviour for thirty pieces.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xxix-p30">3. Upon the whole matter, (1.) The
accomplishment of these predictions upon the Jewish nation shows
that Moses spoke by the Spirit of God, who certainly foresees the
ruin of sinners, and gives them warning of it, that they may
prevent it by a true and timely repentance, or else be left
inexcusable. (2.) Let us all hence learn to stand in awe and not to
sin. I have heard of a wicked man, who, upon reading the
threatenings of this chapter, was so enraged that he tore the leaf
out of the Bible, as Jehoiakim cut Jeremiah's roll; but to what
purpose is it to deface a copy, while the original remains upon
record in the divine counsels, by which it is unalterably
determined that <i>the wages of sin is death,</i> whether men will
hear or whether they will forbear?</p>
</div></div2>