mh_parser/vol_split/5 - Deuteronomy/Chapter 12.xml

<div2 id="Deu.xiii" n="xiii" next="Deu.xiv" prev="Deu.xii" progress="87.05%" title="Chapter XII">
<h2 id="Deu.xiii-p0.1">D E U T E R O N O M Y</h2>
<h3 id="Deu.xiii-p0.2">CHAP. XII.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Deu.xiii-p1">Moses at this chapter comes to the particular
statues which he had to give in charge to Israel, and he begins
with those which relate to the worship of God, and particularly
those which explain the second commandment, about which God is in a
special manner jealous. I. They must utterly destroy all relics and
remains of idolatry, <scripRef id="Deu.xiii-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.12.1-Deut.12.3" parsed="|Deut|12|1|12|3" passage="De 12:1-3">ver.
1-3</scripRef>. II. They must keep close to the tabernacle,
<scripRef id="Deu.xiii-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Deut.12.4-Deut.12.5" parsed="|Deut|12|4|12|5" passage="De 12:4,5">ver. 4, 5</scripRef>. The former
precept was intended to prevent all false worship, the latter to
preserve the worship God had instituted. By this latter law, 1.
They are commanded to bring all their offerings to the altar of
God, and all their holy things to the place which he should choose,
<scripRef id="Deu.xiii-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Deut.12.6-Deut.12.7 Bible:Deut.12.11 Bible:Deut.12.12 Bible:Deut.12.14 Bible:Deut.12.18 Bible:Deut.12.26-Deut.12.28" parsed="|Deut|12|6|12|7;|Deut|12|11|0|0;|Deut|12|12|0|0;|Deut|12|14|0|0;|Deut|12|18|0|0;|Deut|12|26|12|28" passage="De 12:6,7,11,12,14,18,26-28">ver. 6, 7, 11, 12,
14, 18, 26-28</scripRef>. 2. They are forbidden, in general, to do
as they now did in the wilderness (<scripRef id="Deu.xiii-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Deut.12.8-Deut.12.11" parsed="|Deut|12|8|12|11" passage="De 12:8-11">ver. 8-11</scripRef>), and as the Canaanites had done
(<scripRef id="Deu.xiii-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Deut.12.29-Deut.12.32" parsed="|Deut|12|29|12|32" passage="De 12:29-32">ver. 29-32</scripRef>), and, in
particular, to eat the hallowed things at their own houses
(<scripRef id="Deu.xiii-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Deut.12.13 Bible:Deut.12.17 Bible:Deut.12.18" parsed="|Deut|12|13|0|0;|Deut|12|17|0|0;|Deut|12|18|0|0" passage="De 12:13,17,18">ver. 13, 17, 18</scripRef>), or
to forsake the instituted ministry, <scripRef id="Deu.xiii-p1.7" osisRef="Bible:Deut.12.19" parsed="|Deut|12|19|0|0" passage="De 12:19">ver. 19</scripRef>. 3. They are permitted to eat flesh
as common food at their own houses, provided they do not eat the
blood, <scripRef id="Deu.xiii-p1.8" osisRef="Bible:Deut.12.15-Deut.12.16" parsed="|Deut|12|15|12|16" passage="De 12:15,16">ver. 15, 16</scripRef>, and
again, <scripRef id="Deu.xiii-p1.9" osisRef="Bible:Deut.12.20-Deut.12.26" parsed="|Deut|12|20|12|26" passage="De 12:20-26">ver. 20-26</scripRef>.</p>
<scripCom id="Deu.xiii-p1.10" osisRef="Bible:Deut.12" parsed="|Deut|12|0|0|0" passage="De 12" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Deu.xiii-p1.11" osisRef="Bible:Deut.12.1-Deut.12.4" parsed="|Deut|12|1|12|4" passage="De 12:1-4" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Deut.12.1-Deut.12.4">
<h4 id="Deu.xiii-p1.12">Relics of Idolatry to Be
Destroyed. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xiii-p1.13">b. c.</span> 1451.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Deu.xiii-p2">1 These <i>are</i> the statutes and judgments,
which ye shall observe to do in the land, which the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xiii-p2.1">Lord</span> God of thy fathers giveth thee to possess
it, all the days that ye live upon the earth.   2 Ye shall
utterly destroy all the places, wherein the nations which ye shall
possess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the
hills, and under every green tree:   3 And ye shall overthrow
their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with
fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and
destroy the names of them out of that place.   4 Ye shall not
do so unto the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xiii-p2.2">Lord</span> your God.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xiii-p3">From those great original truths, That
there is a God, and that there is but one God, arise those great
fundamental laws, That that God is to be worshipped, and he only,
and that therefore we are to have no other God before him: this is
the first commandment, and the second is a guard upon it, or a
hedge about it. To prevent a revolt to false gods, we are forbidden
to worship the true God in such a way and manner as the false gods
were worshipped in, and are commanded to observe the instituted
ordinances of worship that we may adhere to the proper object of
worship. For this reason Moses is very large in his exposition of
the second commandment. What is contained in this and the four
following chapters mostly refers to that. <i>These are statutes and
judgments</i> which they must <i>observe to do</i> (<scripRef id="Deu.xiii-p3.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.12.1" parsed="|Deut|12|1|0|0" passage="De 12:1"><i>v.</i> 1</scripRef>), 1. In the days of their
rest and prosperity, when they should be masters of Canaan. We must
not think that our religion is instituted only to be our work in
the years of our servitude, our entertainment in the places of our
solitude, and our consolation in affliction; no, when we come to
possess a good land, still we must keep up the worship of God in
Canaan as well as in a wilderness, when we have grown up as well as
when we are children, when we are full of business as well as when
we have nothing else to do. 2. <i>All the days,</i> as long as you
<i>live upon the earth.</i> While we are here in our state of
trial, we must continue in our obedience, even to the end, and
never leave our duty, nor grow weary of well-doing. Now,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xiii-p4">I. They are here charged to abolish and
extirpate all those things that the Canaanites had served their
idol-gods with, <scripRef id="Deu.xiii-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.12.2-Deut.12.3" parsed="|Deut|12|2|12|3" passage="De 12:2,3"><i>v.</i> 2,
3</scripRef>. Here is no mention of idol-temples, which
countenances the opinion some have, that the tabernacle Moses
reared in the wilderness was the first habitation that ever was
made for religious uses, and that from it temples took their rise.
But the places that had been used, and were now to be levelled,
were enclosures for their worship on <i>mountains and hills</i> (as
if the height of the ground would give advantage to the ascent of
their devotions), and under green trees, either because pleasant or
because awful: whatever makes the mind easy and reverent, contracts
and composes it, was thought to befriend devotion. The solemn shade
and silence of a grove are still admired by those that are disposed
to contemplation. But the advantage which these retirements gave to
the Gentiles in the worship of their idols was that they concealed
those works of darkness which could not bear the light; and
therefore they must all be destroyed, with the altars, pillars, and
images, that had been used by the natives in the worship of their
gods, so as that the very names of them might be buried in
oblivion, and not only not be remembered with respect, but not
remembered at all. They must thus consult, 1. The reputation of
their land; let it never be said of this holy land that it had been
thus polluted, but let all these dunghills be carried away, as
things they were ashamed of. 2. The safety of their religion; let
none be left remaining, lest profane unthinking people, especially
in degenerate ages, should make use of them in the service of the
God of Israel. Let these pest-houses be demolished, as things they
were afraid of. He begins the statutes that relate to divine
worship with this, because there must first be an abhorrence of
that which is evil before there can be a steady adherence to that
which is good, <scripRef id="Deu.xiii-p4.2" osisRef="Bible:Rom.12.9" parsed="|Rom|12|9|0|0" passage="Ro 12:9">Rom. xii. 9</scripRef>.
The kingdom of God must be set up, both in persons and places, upon
the ruins of the devil's kingdom; for they cannot stand together,
nor can there be any communion between Christ and Belial.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xiii-p5">II. They are charged not to transfer the
rites and usages of idolaters into he worship of God; no, not under
colour of beautifying and improving it (<scripRef id="Deu.xiii-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.12.4" parsed="|Deut|12|4|0|0" passage="De 12:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>): <i>You shall not do so to the
Lord your god,</i> that is, "you must not think to do honour to him
by offering sacrifices on mountains and hills, erecting pillars,
planting groves, and setting up images; no, you must not indulge a
luxurious fancy in your worship, nor think that whatever pleases
that will please God: <i>he is above all gods,</i> and will not be
worshipped as other gods are."</p>
</div><scripCom id="Deu.xiii-p5.2" osisRef="Bible:Deut.12.5-Deut.12.32" parsed="|Deut|12|5|12|32" passage="De 12:5-32" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Deut.12.5-Deut.12.32">
<h4 id="Deu.xiii-p5.3">Where Sacrifices Must Be Offered; Ceremonial
Observances; Cautions Against Idolatrous Rites. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xiii-p5.4">b. c.</span> 1451.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Deu.xiii-p6">5 But unto the place which the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xiii-p6.1">Lord</span> your God shall choose out of all your
tribes to put his name there, <i>even</i> unto his habitation shall
ye seek, and thither thou shalt come:   6 And thither ye shall
bring your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes,
and heave offerings of your hand, and your vows, and your freewill
offerings, and the firstlings of your herds and of your flocks:
  7 And there ye shall eat before the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xiii-p6.2">Lord</span> your God, and ye shall rejoice in all that
ye put your hand unto, ye and your households, wherein the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xiii-p6.3">Lord</span> thy God hath blessed thee.   8
Ye shall not do after all <i>the things</i> that we do here this
day, every man whatsoever <i>is</i> right in his own eyes.   9
For ye are not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance,
which the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xiii-p6.4">Lord</span> your God giveth you.
  10 But <i>when</i> ye go over Jordan, and dwell in the land
which the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xiii-p6.5">Lord</span> your God giveth you
to inherit, and <i>when</i> he giveth you rest from all your
enemies round about, so that ye dwell in safety;   11 Then
there shall be a place which the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xiii-p6.6">Lord</span> your God shall choose to cause his name to
dwell there; thither shall ye bring all that I command you; your
burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the heave
offering of your hand, and all your choice vows which ye vow unto
the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xiii-p6.7">Lord</span>:   12 And ye shall
rejoice before the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xiii-p6.8">Lord</span> your God,
ye, and your sons, and your daughters, and your menservants, and
your maidservants, and the Levite that <i>is</i> within your gates;
forasmuch as he hath no part nor inheritance with you.   13
Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy burnt offerings in
every place that thou seest:   14 But in the place which the
<span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xiii-p6.9">Lord</span> shall choose in one of thy
tribes, there thou shalt offer thy burnt offerings, and there thou
shalt do all that I command thee.   15 Notwithstanding thou
mayest kill and eat flesh in all thy gates, whatsoever thy soul
lusteth after, according to the blessing of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xiii-p6.10">Lord</span> thy God which he hath given thee: the
unclean and the clean may eat thereof, as of the roebuck, and as of
the hart.   16 Only ye shall not eat the blood; ye shall pour
it upon the earth as water.   17 Thou mayest not eat within
thy gates the tithe of thy corn, or of thy wine, or of thy oil, or
the firstlings of thy herds or of thy flock, nor any of thy vows
which thou vowest, nor thy freewill offerings, or heave offering of
thine hand:   18 But thou must eat them before the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xiii-p6.11">Lord</span> thy God in the place which the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xiii-p6.12">Lord</span> thy God shall choose, thou, and thy
son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and
the Levite that <i>is</i> within thy gates: and thou shalt rejoice
before the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xiii-p6.13">Lord</span> thy God in all that
thou puttest thine hands unto.   19 Take heed to thyself that
thou forsake not the Levite as long as thou livest upon the earth.
  20 When the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xiii-p6.14">Lord</span> thy God
shall enlarge thy border, as he hath promised thee, and thou shalt
say, I will eat flesh, because thy soul longeth to eat flesh; thou
mayest eat flesh, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after.   21 If
the place which the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xiii-p6.15">Lord</span> thy God
hath chosen to put his name there be too far from thee, then thou
shalt kill of thy herd and of thy flock, which the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xiii-p6.16">Lord</span> hath given thee, as I have commanded thee,
and thou shalt eat in thy gates whatsoever thy soul lusteth after.
  22 Even as the roebuck and the hart is eaten, so thou shalt
eat them: the unclean and the clean shall eat <i>of</i> them alike.
  23 Only be sure that thou eat not the blood: for the blood
<i>is</i> the life; and thou mayest not eat the life with the
flesh.   24 Thou shalt not eat it; thou shalt pour it upon the
earth as water.   25 Thou shalt not eat it; that it may go
well with thee, and with thy children after thee, when thou shalt
do <i>that which is</i> right in the sight of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xiii-p6.17">Lord</span>.   26 Only thy holy things which thou
hast, and thy vows, thou shalt take, and go unto the place which
the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xiii-p6.18">Lord</span> shall choose:   27 And
thou shalt offer thy burnt offerings, the flesh and the blood, upon
the altar of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xiii-p6.19">Lord</span> thy God: and
the blood of thy sacrifices shall be poured out upon the altar of
the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xiii-p6.20">Lord</span> thy God, and thou shalt eat
the flesh.   28 Observe and hear all these words which I
command thee, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children
after thee for ever, when thou doest <i>that which is</i> good and
right in the sight of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xiii-p6.21">Lord</span> thy
God.   29 When the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xiii-p6.22">Lord</span> thy God
shall cut off the nations from before thee, whither thou goest to
possess them, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their land;
  30 Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following
them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou
enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve
their gods? even so will I do likewise.   31 Thou shalt not do
so unto the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xiii-p6.23">Lord</span> thy God: for every
abomination to the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xiii-p6.24">Lord</span>, which he
hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and
their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods.  
32 What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt
not add thereto, nor diminish from it.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xiii-p7">There is not any one particular precept (as
I remember) in all the law of Moses so largely pressed and
inculcated as this, by which they are all tied to bring their
sacrifices to that one altar which was set up in the court of the
tabernacle, and there to perform all the rituals of their religion;
for, as to moral services, then, no doubt, as now, men might pray
everywhere, as they did in their synagogues. The command to do
this, and the prohibition of the contrary, are here repeated again
and again, as we teach children: and yet we are sure that there is
in scripture no vain repetition; but all this stress is laid upon
it, 1. Because of the strange proneness there was in the hearts of
the people to idolatry and superstition, and the danger of their
being seduced by the many temptations which they would be
surrounded with. 2. Because of the great use which the observance
of this appointment would be of to them, both to prevent the
introducing of corrupt customs into their worship and to preserve
among them unity and brotherly love, that, meeting all in one
place, they might continue both of one way and of one heart. 3.
Because of the significancy of this appointment. They must keep to
one place, in token of their belief of those two great truths,
which we find together (<scripRef id="Deu.xiii-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:1Tim.2.5" parsed="|1Tim|2|5|0|0" passage="1Ti 2:5">1 Tim. ii.
5</scripRef>), That <i>there is one God,</i> and <i>one Mediator
between God and man.</i> It not only served to keep up the notion
of the unity of the Godhead, but was an intimation to them (though
they could not stedfastly discern it) of the one only way of
approach to God and communion with him, in and by the Messiah.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xiii-p8">Let us now reduce this long charge to its
proper heads.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xiii-p9">I. It is here promised that when they were
settled in Canaan, when they had <i>rest from their enemies, and
dwelt in safety,</i> God would choose a certain place, which he
would appoint to be the centre of their unity, to which they should
bring all their offerings, <scripRef id="Deu.xiii-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.12.10-Deut.12.11" parsed="|Deut|12|10|12|11" passage="De 12:10,11"><i>v.</i> 10, 11</scripRef>. Observe, 1. If they just
be tied to one place, they should not be left in doubt concerning
it, but should certainly know what place it was. Had Christ
intended, under the gospel, to make any one place such a seat of
power as Rome pretends to be, we should not have been left so
destitute of instruction as we are concerning the appointed place.
2. God does not leave it to them to choose the place, lest the
tribes should have quarrelled about it, each striving, for their
secular advantage, to have it among them; but he reserves the
choice to himself, as he does the designation of the Redeemer and
the institution of holy ordinances. 3. He does not appoint the
place now, as he had appointed mounts Gerizim and Ebal, for the
pronouncing of the blessings and curses (<scripRef id="Deu.xiii-p9.2" osisRef="Bible:Deut.11.29" parsed="|Deut|11|29|0|0" passage="De 11:29"><i>ch.</i> xi. 29</scripRef>), but reserves the doing of
it till hereafter, that hereby they might be made to expect further
directions from heaven, and a divine conduct, after Moses should be
removed. The place which God would choose is said to be the place
where he would put his name, that is, which he would have to be
called his, where his honour should dwell, where he would manifest
himself to his people, and make himself known, as men do by their
names, and where he would receive addresses, by which his name is
both praised and called upon. It was to be his habitation, where,
as King of Israel, he would keep court, and be found by all those
that reverently sought him. The ark was the token of God's
presence, and where that was put there God put his name, and that
was his habitation. It contained the tables of the law; for none
must expect to receive favours from God's hand but those that are
willing to <i>receive the law from his mouth.</i> The place which
God first chose for the ark to reside in was Shiloh; and, after
that place had sinned away its honours, we find the ark at
Kirjath-jearim and other places; but at length, in David's time, it
was fixed at Jerusalem, and God said concerning Solomon's temple,
more expressly than ever he had said concerning any other place,
<i>This I have chosen for a house of sacrifice,</i> <scripRef id="Deu.xiii-p9.3" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.7.12" parsed="|2Chr|7|12|0|0" passage="2Ch 7:12">2 Chron. vii. 12</scripRef>. Compare <scripRef id="Deu.xiii-p9.4" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.6.5" parsed="|2Chr|6|5|0|0" passage="2Ch 6:5">2 Chron. vi. 5</scripRef>. Now, under the gospel,
we have no temple that sanctifies the gold, no altar that
sanctifies the gift, but Christ only; and, as to the places of
worship, the prophets foretold that <i>in every place</i> the
spiritual <i>incense should be offered,</i> <scripRef id="Deu.xiii-p9.5" osisRef="Bible:Mal.1.11" parsed="|Mal|1|11|0|0" passage="Mal 1:11">Mal. i. 11</scripRef>. And our Saviour has declared that
those are accepted as true worshippers who worship God in sincerity
and truth, without regard either to this mountain or Jerusalem,
<scripRef id="Deu.xiii-p9.6" osisRef="Bible:John.4.23" parsed="|John|4|23|0|0" passage="Joh 4:23">John iv. 23</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xiii-p10">II. They are commanded to bring all their
burnt-offerings and sacrifices to this place that God would choose
(<scripRef id="Deu.xiii-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.12.6" parsed="|Deut|12|6|0|0" passage="De 12:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef> and again
<scripRef id="Deu.xiii-p10.2" osisRef="Bible:Deut.12.11" parsed="|Deut|12|11|0|0" passage="De 12:11"><i>v.</i> 11</scripRef>): <i>Thither
shall you bring all that I command you;</i> and (<scripRef id="Deu.xiii-p10.3" osisRef="Bible:Deut.12.14" parsed="|Deut|12|14|0|0" passage="De 12:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>), <i>There thou shalt offer thy
burnt offerings;</i> and (<scripRef id="Deu.xiii-p10.4" osisRef="Bible:Deut.12.27" parsed="|Deut|12|27|0|0" passage="De 12:27"><i>v.</i>
27</scripRef>), <i>The flesh and the blood must be offered upon the
altar of the Lord thy God.</i> And of their peace-offerings, here
called their <i>sacrifices,</i> though they were to <i>eat the
flesh,</i> yet <i>the blood</i> was to be <i>poured out upon the
altar.</i> By this they were taught that sacrifices and offerings
God did not desire, nor accept, for their own sake, nor for any
intrinsic worth in them, as natural expressions of homage and
adoration; but that they received their virtue purely from that
altar on which they were offered, as it typified Christ; whereas
prayers and praises, as much more necessary and valuable, were to
be offered every day by the people of God wherever they were. A
devout Israelite might honour God, and keep up communion with him,
and obtain mercy from him, though he had not an opportunity,
perhaps, for many months together, of bringing a sacrifice to his
altar. But this signified the obligation we Christians are under to
offer up all our spiritual sacrifices to God in the name of Jesus
Christ, hoping for acceptance only upon the score of his mediation,
<scripRef id="Deu.xiii-p10.5" osisRef="Bible:1Pet.2.5" parsed="|1Pet|2|5|0|0" passage="1Pe 2:5">1 Pet. ii. 5</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xiii-p11">III. They are commanded to feast upon their
hallowed things before the Lord, with holy joy. They must not only
bring to the altar the sacrifices which were to be offered to God,
but hey must bring to the place of the altar all those things which
they were appointed by the law to eat and drink, to the honour of
God, in token of their communion with him, <scripRef id="Deu.xiii-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.12.6" parsed="|Deut|12|6|0|0" passage="De 12:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>. Their, <i>tithes, and
heave-offerings of their hand,</i> that is, their first-fruits,
their vows, and <i>free-will-offerings,</i> and firstlings, all
those things which were to be religiously made use of either by
themselves or by the priests and Levites, must be brought to the
place which God would choose; as all the revenues of the crown,
from all parts of the kingdom, are brought into the exchequer. And
(<scripRef id="Deu.xiii-p11.2" osisRef="Bible:Deut.12.7" parsed="|Deut|12|7|0|0" passage="De 12:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>): <i>There you
shall eat before the Lord, and rejoice in all that you put your
hands unto;</i> and again (<scripRef id="Deu.xiii-p11.3" osisRef="Bible:Deut.12.12" parsed="|Deut|12|12|0|0" passage="De 12:12"><i>v.</i>
12</scripRef>), <i>You shall rejoice before the Lord, you, and your
sons, and your daughters.</i> Observe here, 1. That what we do in
the service of God and to his glory redounds to our benefit, if it
be not our own fault. Those that sacrifice to God are welcome to
eat before him, and to feast upon their sacrifices: he <i>sups with
us,</i> and <i>we with him,</i> <scripRef id="Deu.xiii-p11.4" osisRef="Bible:Rev.3.20" parsed="|Rev|3|20|0|0" passage="Re 3:20">Rev.
iii. 20</scripRef>. If we glorify God, we edify ourselves, and
cultivate our own minds, through the grace of God, by the increase
of our knowledge and faith, the enlivening of devout affections,
and the confirming of gracious habits and resolutions: thus is the
soul nourished. 2. That work for God should be done with holy joy
and cheerfulness. You shall <i>eat and rejoice,</i> <scripRef id="Deu.xiii-p11.5" osisRef="Bible:Deut.12.7" parsed="|Deut|12|7|0|0" passage="De 12:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>, and again, <scripRef id="Deu.xiii-p11.6" osisRef="Bible:Deut.12.12" parsed="|Deut|12|12|0|0" passage="De 12:12"><i>v.</i> 12</scripRef> and <scripRef id="Deu.xiii-p11.7" osisRef="Bible:Deut.12.18" parsed="|Deut|12|18|0|0" passage="De 12:18"><i>v.</i> 18</scripRef>. (1.) Now while they were before
the Lord they must rejoice, <scripRef id="Deu.xiii-p11.8" osisRef="Bible:Deut.12.12" parsed="|Deut|12|12|0|0" passage="De 12:12"><i>v.</i>
12</scripRef>. It is the will of God that we should serve him with
gladness; none displeased him more than those that <i>covered his
altar with tears.</i> <scripRef id="Deu.xiii-p11.9" osisRef="Bible:Mal.2.13" parsed="|Mal|2|13|0|0" passage="Mal 2:13">Mal. ii.
13</scripRef>. See what a good Master we serve, who has made it our
duty to sing at our work. Even the children and servants must
rejoice with them before God, that the services of religion might
be a pleasure to them, and not a task or drudgery. (2.) They must
<i>carry away with them</i> the grateful relish of that delight
which they found in communion with God; they must rejoice in all
that they <i>put their hands unto,</i> <scripRef id="Deu.xiii-p11.10" osisRef="Bible:Deut.12.7" parsed="|Deut|12|7|0|0" passage="De 12:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>. Some of the comfort which they
must take with them into their common employments; and, being thus
strengthened in soul, whatever they did they must do it heartily
and cheerfully. And this holy pious joy in God and his goodness,
with which we are to rejoice evermore, would be the best
preservative against the sin and snare of <i>vain and carnal
mirth</i> and a relief against the <i>sorrows of the world.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xiii-p12">IV. They are commanded to be kind to the
Levites. Did they feast with joy? The Levites must feast with them,
and rejoice with them, <scripRef id="Deu.xiii-p12.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.12.12" parsed="|Deut|12|12|0|0" passage="De 12:12"><i>v.</i>
12</scripRef>, and again, <scripRef id="Deu.xiii-p12.2" osisRef="Bible:Deut.12.18" parsed="|Deut|12|18|0|0" passage="De 12:18"><i>v.</i>
18</scripRef>; and a general caution (<scripRef id="Deu.xiii-p12.3" osisRef="Bible:Deut.12.19" parsed="|Deut|12|19|0|0" passage="De 12:19"><i>v.</i> 19</scripRef>), <i>Take heed that thou forsake
not the Levite as long as thou livest.</i> There were Levites that
attended the altar as assistants to the priests, and these must not
be forsaken, that is, the service they performed must be constantly
adhered to; no other altar must be set up than that which God
appointed; for that would be to forsake the Levites. But this seems
to be spoken of the Levites that were dispersed in the country to
instruct the people in the law of God, and to assist them in their
devotions; for it is <i>the Levite within their gates</i> that they
are here commanded to make much of. It is a great mercy to have
Levites near us, within our gates, that we may ask the law at their
mouth, and at our feasts to be a check upon us, to restrain
excesses. And it is the duty of people to be kind to their
ministers that give them good instructions and set them good
examples. As long as we live we shall need their assistance, till
we come to that world where ordinances will be superseded; and
therefore <i>as long as we live</i> we must not forsake the
Levites. The reason given (<scripRef id="Deu.xiii-p12.4" osisRef="Bible:Deut.12.12" parsed="|Deut|12|12|0|0" passage="De 12:12"><i>v.</i>
12</scripRef>) is because <i>the Levite has no part nor inheritance
with you,</i> so that he cannot grow rich by husbandry or trade;
let him therefore share with you in the comfort of your riches.
They must give the Levites their tithes and offerings, settled on
them by the law, because they had no other maintenance.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xiii-p13">V. They are allowed to eat common flesh,
but not the flesh of their offerings, in their own houses, wherever
they dwelt. What was any way devoted to God they must not eat at
home, <scripRef id="Deu.xiii-p13.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.12.13 Bible:Deut.12.17" parsed="|Deut|12|13|0|0;|Deut|12|17|0|0" passage="De 12:13,17"><i>v.</i> 13, 17</scripRef>.
But what was not so devoted they might kill and eat of at their
pleasure, <scripRef id="Deu.xiii-p13.2" osisRef="Bible:Deut.12.15" parsed="|Deut|12|15|0|0" passage="De 12:15"><i>v.</i> 15</scripRef>. And
this permission is again repeated, <scripRef id="Deu.xiii-p13.3" osisRef="Bible:Deut.12.20-Deut.12.22" parsed="|Deut|12|20|12|22" passage="De 12:20-22"><i>v.</i> 20-22</scripRef>. It should seem that while
they were in the wilderness they did not eat the flesh of any of
those kinds of beasts that were used in sacrifice, but what was
killed at the door of the tabernacle, and part of it presented to
God as a peace-offering, <scripRef id="Deu.xiii-p13.4" osisRef="Bible:Lev.17.3-Lev.17.4" parsed="|Lev|17|3|17|4" passage="Le 17:3,4">Lev. xvii.
3, 4</scripRef>. But when they came to Canaan, where they must live
at a great distance from the tabernacle, they might kill what they
pleased for their own use of their flocks and herds, without
bringing part to the altar. This allowance is very express, and
repeated, lest Satan should take occasion from that law which
forbade the eating of their sacrifices at their own houses to
suggest to them, as he did to our first parents, hard thoughts of
God, as if he grudged them: <i>Thou mayest eat whatsoever thy soul
lusteth after.</i> There is a natural regular appetite, which it is
lawful to gratify with temperance and sobriety, not taking too
great a pleasure in the gratification, nor being uneasy if it be
crossed. The unclean, who might not eat of the holy things, yet
might eat of the same sort of flesh when it was only used as common
food. The distinction between clean persons and unclean was sacred,
and designed for the preserving of the honour of their holy feasts,
and therefore must not be brought into their ordinary meals. This
permission has a double restriction:—1. They must eat according
to the blessing which God had given them, <scripRef id="Deu.xiii-p13.5" osisRef="Bible:Deut.12.15" parsed="|Deut|12|15|0|0" passage="De 12:15"><i>v.</i> 15</scripRef>. Note, It is not only our
wisdom, but our duty, to live according to our estates, and not to
spend above what we have. As it is unjust on the one hand to hoard
what should be laid out, so it is much more unjust to lay out more
than we have; for what is not our own must needs be another's, who
is thereby robbed and defrauded. And this, I say, is much more
unjust, because it is easier afterwards to distribute what has been
unduly spared, and so to make a sort of restitution for the wrong,
than it is to repay to wife, and children, and creditors, what has
been unduly spent. Between these two extremes let wisdom find the
mean, and then let watchfulness and resolution keep it. 2. They
must not eat blood (<scripRef id="Deu.xiii-p13.6" osisRef="Bible:Deut.12.16" parsed="|Deut|12|16|0|0" passage="De 12:16"><i>v.</i>
16</scripRef>, and again, <scripRef id="Deu.xiii-p13.7" osisRef="Bible:Deut.12.23" parsed="|Deut|12|23|0|0" passage="De 12:23"><i>v.</i>
23</scripRef>): <i>Only be sure that thou eat not the blood</i>
(<scripRef id="Deu.xiii-p13.8" osisRef="Bible:Deut.12.24" parsed="|Deut|12|24|0|0" passage="De 12:24"><i>v.</i> 24</scripRef>), <i>Thou
shalt not eat it;</i> and (<scripRef id="Deu.xiii-p13.9" osisRef="Bible:Deut.12.25" parsed="|Deut|12|25|0|0" passage="De 12:25"><i>v.</i>
25</scripRef>), <i>Thou shalt not eat it, that it may go well with
thee.</i> When they could not bring the blood to the altar, to pour
it out there before the Lord, as belonging to him, they must pour
it out upon the earth, as not belonging to them, because it was the
life, and therefore, as an acknowledgment, belonged to him who
gives life, and, as an atonement, belonged to him to whom life is
forfeited. Bishop Patrick thinks one reason why they were forbidden
thus strictly the eating of blood was to prevent the superstitions
of the old idolaters about the blood of their sacrifices, which
they thought their demons delighted in, and by eating of which they
imagined that they had communion with them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xiii-p14">VI. They are forbidden to keep up either
their own corrupt usages in the wilderness or the corrupt usages of
their predecessors in the land of Canaan.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xiii-p15">1. They must not keep up those improper
customs which they had got into in the wilderness, and which were
connived at in consideration of the present unsettledness of their
condition (<scripRef id="Deu.xiii-p15.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.12.8-Deut.12.9" parsed="|Deut|12|8|12|9" passage="De 12:8,9"><i>v.</i> 8,
9</scripRef>): <i>You shall not do after all the things that we do
here this day.</i> Never was there a better governor than Moses,
and one would think never a better opportunity of keeping up good
order and discipline than now among the people of Israel, when they
lay so closely encamped under the eye of their governor; and yet it
seems there was much amiss and many irregularities had crept in
among them. We must never expect to see any society perfectly pure
and right, and as it should be till we come to the heavenly Canaan.
They had sacrifices and religious worship, courts of justice and
civil government, and, by the stoning of the man that <i>gathered
sticks on the sabbath day,</i> it appears there was great
strictness used in guarding the most weighty matters of the law;
but being frequently upon the remove, and always at uncertainty,
(1.) They could none of them observe the solemn feasts, and the
rites of cleansing, with the exactness that the law required. And,
(2.) Those among them that were disposed to do amiss had
opportunity given them to do it unobserved by the frequent
interruptions which their removals gave to the administration of
justice. But (says Moses) when you come to Canaan, you <i>shall not
do as we do here.</i> Note, When the people of God are in an
unsettled condition, that may be tolerated and dispensed with which
would by no means be allowed at another time. Cases of necessity
are to be considered while the necessity continues; but that must
not be done in Canaan which was done in the wilderness. While a
house is in the building a great deal of dirt and rubbish are
suffered to lie by it, which must all be taken away when the house
is built. Moses was now about to lay down his life and government,
and it was a comfort to him to foresee that Israel would be better
in the next reign than they had been in his.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xiii-p16">2. They must not worship the Lord by any of
those rites or ceremonies which the notions of Canaan had made use
of in the service of their gods, <scripRef id="Deu.xiii-p16.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.12.29-Deut.12.32" parsed="|Deut|12|29|12|32" passage="De 12:29-32"><i>v.</i> 29-32</scripRef>. They must not so much as
enquire into the modes and forms of idolatrous worship. What good
would it do to them to <i>know those depths of Satan?</i> <scripRef id="Deu.xiii-p16.2" osisRef="Bible:Rev.2.24" parsed="|Rev|2|24|0|0" passage="Re 2:24">Rev. ii. 24</scripRef>. It is best to be ignorant
of that which there is danger of being infected by. They must not
introduce the customs of idolaters, (1.) Because it would be absurd
to make those their patterns whom God had made their slaves and
captives, cut off, and destroyed from before them. The Canaanites
had not flourished and prospered so much in the service of their
gods as that the Israelites should be invited to take up their
customs. Those are wretchedly besotted indeed who will walk in the
way of sinners, after they have seen their end. (2.) Because some
of their customs were most barbarous and inhuman, and such as
trampled, not only upon the light and law of nature, but upon
natural affection itself, as <i>burning their sons and their
daughters in the fire to their gods</i> (<scripRef id="Deu.xiii-p16.3" osisRef="Bible:Deut.12.31" parsed="|Deut|12|31|0|0" passage="De 12:31"><i>v.</i> 31</scripRef>), the very mention of which is
sufficient to make it odious, and possess us with a horror of it.
(3.) Because their idolatrous customs were an abomination to the
Lord, and the translating of them into his worship would make even
that an abomination and an affront to him by which they should give
him honour, and by which they hoped to obtain his favour. The case
is bad indeed when the sacrifice itself has become an abomination,
<scripRef id="Deu.xiii-p16.4" osisRef="Bible:Prov.15.8" parsed="|Prov|15|8|0|0" passage="Pr 15:8">Prov. xv. 8</scripRef>. He therefore
concludes (<scripRef id="Deu.xiii-p16.5" osisRef="Bible:Deut.12.32" parsed="|Deut|12|32|0|0" passage="De 12:32"><i>v.</i> 32</scripRef>)
with the same caution concerning the worship of God which he had
before given concerning the word of God (<scripRef id="Deu.xiii-p16.6" osisRef="Bible:Deut.4.2" parsed="|Deut|4|2|0|0" passage="De 4:2"><i>ch.</i> iv. 2</scripRef>): "<i>You shall not add
thereto</i> any inventions of your own, under pretence of making
the ordinance either more significant or more magnificent, <i>nor
diminish from it,</i> under pretence of making it more easy and
practicable, or of setting aside that which may be spared; but
observe to do all that, and that only, which God has commanded." We
may then hope in our religious worship to obtain the divine
acceptance when we observe the divine appointment. God will have
his own work done in his own way.</p>
</div></div2>