mh_parser/vol_split/5 - Deuteronomy/Chapter 17.xml

<div2 id="Deu.xviii" n="xviii" next="Deu.xix" prev="Deu.xvii" progress="89.18%" title="Chapter XVII">
<h2 id="Deu.xviii-p0.1">D E U T E R O N O M Y</h2>
<h3 id="Deu.xviii-p0.2">CHAP. XVII.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Deu.xviii-p1">The charge of this chapter is, I. Concerning the
purity and perfection of all those animals that were offered in
sacrifice, <scripRef id="Deu.xviii-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.17.1" parsed="|Deut|17|1|0|0" passage="De 17:1">ver. 1</scripRef>. II.
Concerning the punishment of those that worshipped idols, <scripRef id="Deu.xviii-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Deut.17.2-Deut.17.7" parsed="|Deut|17|2|17|7" passage="De 17:2-7">ver. 2-7</scripRef>. III. Concerning appeals
from the inferior courts to the great sanhedrim, <scripRef id="Deu.xviii-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Deut.17.8-Deut.17.13" parsed="|Deut|17|8|17|13" passage="De 17:8-13">ver. 8-13</scripRef>. IV. Concerning the choice and
duty of a king, <scripRef id="Deu.xviii-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Deut.17.14-Deut.17.20" parsed="|Deut|17|14|17|20" passage="De 17:14-20">ver. 14</scripRef>,
&amp;c.</p>
<scripCom id="Deu.xviii-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Deut.17" parsed="|Deut|17|0|0|0" passage="De 17" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Deu.xviii-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Deut.17.1-Deut.17.7" parsed="|Deut|17|1|17|7" passage="De 17:1-7" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Deut.17.1-Deut.17.7">
<h4 id="Deu.xviii-p1.7">The Punishment of Idolatry. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xviii-p1.8">b. c.</span> 1451.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Deu.xviii-p2">1 Thou shalt not sacrifice unto the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xviii-p2.1">Lord</span> thy God <i>any</i> bullock, or sheep,
wherein is blemish, <i>or</i> any evilfavouredness: for that
<i>is</i> an abomination unto the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xviii-p2.2">Lord</span> thy God.   2 If there be found among
you, within any of thy gates which the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xviii-p2.3">Lord</span> thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that
hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xviii-p2.4">Lord</span> thy God, in transgressing his covenant,
  3 And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them,
either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have
not commanded;   4 And it be told thee, and thou hast heard
<i>of it,</i> and enquired diligently, and, behold, <i>it be</i>
true, <i>and</i> the thing certain, <i>that</i> such abomination is
wrought in Israel:   5 Then shalt thou bring forth that man or
that woman, which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates,
<i>even</i> that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with
stones, till they die.   6 At the mouth of two witnesses, or
three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death;
<i>but</i> at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to
death.   7 The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him
to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So
thou shalt put the evil away from among you.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xviii-p3">Here is, I. A law for preserving the honour
of God's worship, by providing that no creature that had any
blemish should be offered in sacrifice to him, <scripRef id="Deu.xviii-p3.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.17.1" parsed="|Deut|17|1|0|0" passage="De 17:1"><i>v.</i> 1</scripRef>. This caveat we have often met
with: <i>Thou shalt not sacrifice that which has any blemish,</i>
which renders it unsightly, or <i>any evil matter or thing</i> (as
the following word night better be rendered), any sickness or
weakness, though not discernible at first view; it is an
abomination to God. God is the best of beings, and therefore
whatsoever he is served with ought to be the best in its kind. And
the Old-Testament sacrifices in a special manner must be so,
because they were types of Christ, who is a <i>Lamb without blemish
or spot</i> (<scripRef id="Deu.xviii-p3.2" osisRef="Bible:1Pet.1.19" parsed="|1Pet|1|19|0|0" passage="1Pe 1:19">1 Pet. i. 19</scripRef>),
perfectly pure from all sin and all appearance of it. In the latter
times of the Jewish church, when by the captivity in Babylon they
were cured of idolatry, yet they were charged with profaneness in
the breach of this law, with <i>offering the blind, and the lame,
and the sick for sacrifice,</i> <scripRef id="Deu.xviii-p3.3" osisRef="Bible:Mal.1.8" parsed="|Mal|1|8|0|0" passage="Mal 1:8">Mal. i.
8</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xviii-p4">II. A law for the punishing of those that
worshipped false gods. It was made a capital crime to seduce others
to idolatry (<scripRef id="Deu.xviii-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.13.1-Deut.13.18" parsed="|Deut|13|1|13|18" passage="De 13:1-18"><i>ch.</i>
xiii.</scripRef>), here it is made no less to be seduced. If the
<i>blind thus mislead the blind, both must fall into the ditch.</i>
Thus God would possess them with a dread of that sin, which they
must conclude exceedingly sinful when so many sanguinary laws were
made against it, and would deter those from it that would not
otherwise be persuaded against it; and yet the law, which works
death, proved ineffectual. See here,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xviii-p5">1. What the crime was against which this
law was levelled, serving or worshipping other gods, <scripRef id="Deu.xviii-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.17.3" parsed="|Deut|17|3|0|0" passage="De 17:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>. That which was the most
ancient and plausible idolatry is specified, worshipping the sun,
moon, and stars; and, if that was so detestable a thing, much more
was it so to worship stocks and stones, or the representations of
mean and contemptible animals. Of this it is said, (1.) That it is
what God had not commanded. He had again and again forbidden it;
but it is thus expressed to intimate that, if there had been no
more against it, this had been enough (for in the worship of God
his institution and appointment must be our rule and warrant), and
that God never commanded his worshippers to debase themselves so
far as to do homage to their fellow-creatures: had God commanded
them to do it, they might justly have complained of it as a
reproach and disparagement to them; yet, when he has forbidden it,
they will, from a spirit of contradiction, put this indignity upon
themselves. (2.) That it is <i>wickedness in the sight of God,</i>
<scripRef id="Deu.xviii-p5.2" osisRef="Bible:Deut.17.2" parsed="|Deut|17|2|0|0" passage="De 17:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>. Be it ever so
industriously concealed, he sees it, and, be it ever so ingeniously
palliated, he hates it: it is a sin in itself exceedingly heinous,
and the highest affront that can be offered to Almighty God. (3.)
That it is a transgression of the covenant. It was on this
condition that God took them to be his peculiar people, that they
should serve and worship him only as their God, so that if they
gave to any other the honour which was due to him alone that
covenant was void, and all the benefit of it forfeited. Other sins
were transgressions of the command, but this was a transgression of
the covenant. It was spiritual adultery, which breaks them marriage
bond. (4.) That it is abomination in Israel, <scripRef id="Deu.xviii-p5.3" osisRef="Bible:Deut.17.4" parsed="|Deut|17|4|0|0" passage="De 17:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>. Idolatry was bad enough in any,
but it was particularly abominable in Israel, a people so blessed
with peculiar discoveries of the will and favour of the only true
and living God.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xviii-p6">2. How it must be tried. Upon information
given of it, or any ground of suspicion that any person whatsoever,
man or woman, had served other gods, (1.) Enquiry must be made,
<scripRef id="Deu.xviii-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.17.4" parsed="|Deut|17|4|0|0" passage="De 17:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>. Though it
appears not certain at first, it may afterwards upon search appear
so; and, if it can possibly be discovered, it must not be
unpunished; if not, yet the very enquiry concerning it would
possess the country with a dread of it. (2.) Evidence must be given
in, <scripRef id="Deu.xviii-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:Deut.17.6" parsed="|Deut|17|6|0|0" passage="De 17:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>. How heinous
and dangerous soever the crime is, yet they must not punish any for
it, unless there were good proof against them, by two witnesses at
least. They must not, under pretence of honouring God, wrong an
innocent man. This law, which requires two witnesses in case of
life, we had before, <scripRef id="Deu.xviii-p6.3" osisRef="Bible:Num.35.30" parsed="|Num|35|30|0|0" passage="Nu 35:30">Num. xxxv.
30</scripRef>; it is quoted, <scripRef id="Deu.xviii-p6.4" osisRef="Bible:Matt.18.16" parsed="|Matt|18|16|0|0" passage="Mt 18:16">Matt.
xviii. 16</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xviii-p7">3. What sentence must be passed and
executed. So great a punishment as death, so great a death as
stoning, must be inflicted on the idolater, whether man or woman,
for the infirmity of the weaker sex would be no excuse, <scripRef id="Deu.xviii-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.17.5" parsed="|Deut|17|5|0|0" passage="De 17:5"><i>v.</i> 5</scripRef>. The place of execution
must be the gate of the city, that the shame might be the greater
to the criminal and the warning the more public to all others. The
hands of the witnesses, in this as in other cases, must be first
upon him, that is, they must cast the first stone at him, thereby
avowing their testimony, and solemnly imprecating the guilt of his
blood upon themselves if their evidence were false. This custom
might be of use to deter men from false-witness bearing. The
witnesses are really, and therefore it was required that they
should be actually, the death of the malefactor. But they must be
followed, and the execution completed, by the hands of all the
people, who were thus to testify their detestation of the crime and
to <i>put the evil away from among them,</i> as before, <scripRef id="Deu.xviii-p7.2" osisRef="Bible:Deut.13.9" parsed="|Deut|13|9|0|0" passage="De 13:9"><i>ch.</i> xiii. 9</scripRef>.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Deu.xviii-p7.3" osisRef="Bible:Deut.17.8-Deut.17.13" parsed="|Deut|17|8|17|13" passage="De 17:8-13" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Deut.17.8-Deut.17.13">
<h4 id="Deu.xviii-p7.4">The Authority of the Judges. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xviii-p7.5">b. c.</span> 1451.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Deu.xviii-p8">8 If there arise a matter too hard for thee in
judgment, between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and
between stroke and stroke, <i>being</i> matters of controversy
within thy gates: then shalt thou arise, and get thee up into the
place which the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xviii-p8.1">Lord</span> thy God shall
choose;   9 And thou shalt come unto the priests the Levites,
and unto the judge that shall be in those days, and enquire; and
they shall show thee the sentence of judgment:   10 And thou
shalt do according to the sentence, which they of that place which
the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xviii-p8.2">Lord</span> shall choose shall show
thee; and thou shalt observe to do according to all that they
inform thee:   11 According to the sentence of the law which
they shall teach thee, and according to the judgment which they
shall tell thee, thou shalt do: thou shalt not decline from the
sentence which they shall show thee, <i>to</i> the right hand, nor
<i>to</i> the left.   12 And the man that will do
presumptuously, and will not hearken unto the priest that standeth
to minister there before the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xviii-p8.3">Lord</span>
thy God, or unto the judge, even that man shall die: and thou shalt
put away the evil from Israel.   13 And all the people shall
hear, and fear, and do no more presumptuously.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xviii-p9">Courts of judgment were ordered to be
erected in every city (<scripRef id="Deu.xviii-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.16.18" parsed="|Deut|16|18|0|0" passage="De 16:18"><i>ch.</i> xvi.
18</scripRef>), and they were empowered to hear and determine
causes according to law, both those which we call pleas of the
crown and those between party and party; and we may suppose that
ordinarily they ended the matters that were brought before them,
and their sentence was definitive; but, 1. It is here taken for
granted that sometimes a case might come into their court too
difficult for those inferior judges to determine, who could not be
thought to be so learned in the laws as those that presided in the
higher courts; so that (to speak in the language of our law) they
must find a special verdict, and take time to advise before the
giving of judgment (<scripRef id="Deu.xviii-p9.2" osisRef="Bible:Deut.17.8" parsed="|Deut|17|8|0|0" passage="De 17:8"><i>v.</i>
8</scripRef>): <i>If there arise a matter too hard for thee in
judgment,</i> which it would be no dishonour to the judges to own
the difficulty of,—suppose it between <i>blood and blood,</i> the
blood of a person which cried and the blood of him that was charged
with the murder which was demanded, when it was doubtful upon the
evidence whether it was wilful or casual,—or between <i>plea and
plea,</i> the plea (that is, the bill or declaration) of the
plaintiff and the plea of the defendant,—or between <i>stroke and
stroke,</i> in actions of assault and battery; in these and similar
cases, thought the evidence were plain, yet doubts might arise
about the sense and meaning of the law and the application of it to
the particular case. 2. These difficult cases, which hitherto had
been brought to Moses, according to Jethro's advice, were, after
his death, to be brought to the supreme power, wherever it was
lodged, whether in a judge (when there was such an extraordinary
person raised up and qualified for that great service, as Othniel,
Deborah, Gideon, &amp;c.) or in the high-priest (when he was by the
eminency of his gifts called of God to preside in public affairs,
as Eli), or, if no single person were marked by heaven for this
honour, then in the priests and Levites (or in the priests, who
were Levites of course), who not only attended the sanctuary, but
met in council to receive appeals from the inferior courts, who
might reasonably be supposed, not only to be best qualified by
their learning and experience, but to have the best assistance of
the divine Spirit for the deciding of doubts, <scripRef id="Deu.xviii-p9.3" osisRef="Bible:Deut.17.9 Bible:Deut.17.11 Bible:Deut.17.12" parsed="|Deut|17|9|0|0;|Deut|17|11|0|0;|Deut|17|12|0|0" passage="De 17:9,11,12"><i>v.</i> 9, 11, 12</scripRef>. They are not
appointed to consult the urim and thummim, for it is supposed that
these were to be consulted only in cases relating to the public,
either the body of the people or the prince; but in ordinary cases
the wisdom and integrity of those that sat at the stern must be
relied on, their judgment had not the divine authority of an
oracle, yet besides the moral certainty it had, as the judgment of
knowing, prudent, and experienced men, it had the advantage of a
divine promise, implied in those words (<scripRef id="Deu.xviii-p9.4" osisRef="Bible:Deut.17.9" parsed="|Deut|17|9|0|0" passage="De 17:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>), <i>They shall show thee the
sentence of judgment;</i> it had also the support of a divine
institution, by which they were made the supreme judicature of the
nation. 3. The definitive sentence given by the judge, priest, or
great council, must be obeyed by the parties concerned, upon pain
of death: <i>Thou shalt do according to their sentence</i>
(<scripRef id="Deu.xviii-p9.5" osisRef="Bible:Deut.17.10" parsed="|Deut|17|10|0|0" passage="De 17:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>); thou shalt
observe to do it, thou shalt not <i>decline from it</i> (<scripRef id="Deu.xviii-p9.6" osisRef="Bible:Deut.17.11" parsed="|Deut|17|11|0|0" passage="De 17:11"><i>v.</i> 11</scripRef>), <i>to the right hand
nor to the left.</i> Note, It is for the honour of God and the
welfare of a people that the authority of the higher power be
supported and the due order of government observed, that those be
obeyed who are appointed to rule, and that every soul be subject to
them in all those things that fall within their commission. Though
the party thought himself injured by the sentence (as every man is
apt to be partial in is own cause), yet he must needs be subject,
must stand to the award, how unpleasing soever, and bear, or lose,
or pay, according to it, not only for wrath, but also for
conscience' sake. But if an inferior judge contradict the sentence
of the higher court and will not execute the orders of it, or a
private person refuse to conform to their sentence, the contumacy
must be punished with death, though the matter were ever so small
in which the opposition was made: <i>That man shall die, and all
the people shall hear and fear,</i> <scripRef id="Deu.xviii-p9.7" osisRef="Bible:Deut.17.12-Deut.17.13" parsed="|Deut|17|12|17|13" passage="De 17:12,13"><i>v.</i> 12, 13</scripRef>. See here, (1.) The evil
of disobedience. Rebellion and stubbornness, from a spirit of
contradiction and opposition of God, or those in authority under
him, from a principle of contempt and self-willedness, are as
witchcraft and idolatry. To differ in opinion from weakness and
infirmity may be excused and must be borne with; but to do so
presumptuously, in pride and wickedness (as the ancient
translations explain it), this is to take up arms against the
government, and is an affront to him by whom the powers that be are
ordained. (2.) The design of punishment: that others may hear and
fear, and not do the like. Some would be so considerate as to infer
the heinousness of the offence from the grievousness of the
penalty, and therefore would detest it; and others would so far
consult their own safety as to cross their humours by conforming to
the sentence rather than to sin against their own heads, and
forfeit their lives by going contrary to it. From this law the
apostle infers the greatness of the punishment of which those will
be thought worthy that trample on the authority of the Son of God,
<scripRef id="Deu.xviii-p9.8" osisRef="Bible:Heb.10.28-Heb.10.29" parsed="|Heb|10|28|10|29" passage="Heb 10:28,29">Heb. x. 28, 29</scripRef>.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Deu.xviii-p9.9" osisRef="Bible:Deut.17" parsed="|Deut|17|0|0|0" passage="De 17" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Deu.xviii-p9.10" osisRef="Bible:Deut.17.14-Deut.17.20" parsed="|Deut|17|14|17|20" passage="De 17:14-20" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Deut.17.14-Deut.17.20">
<h4 id="Deu.xviii-p9.11">The Choice of a King. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xviii-p9.12">b. c.</span> 1451.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Deu.xviii-p10">14 When thou art come unto the land which the
<span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xviii-p10.1">Lord</span> thy God giveth thee, and shalt
possess it, and shalt dwell therein, and shalt say, I will set a
king over me, like as all the nations that <i>are</i> about me;
  15 Thou shalt in any wise set <i>him</i> king over thee,
whom the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xviii-p10.2">Lord</span> thy God shall choose:
<i>one</i> from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee:
thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which <i>is</i> not thy
brother.   16 But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor
cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should
multiply horses: forasmuch as the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xviii-p10.3">Lord</span> hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth
return no more that way.   17 Neither shall he multiply wives
to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly
multiply to himself silver and gold.   18 And it shall be,
when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write
him a copy of this law in a book out of <i>that which is</i> before
the priests the Levites:   19 And it shall be with him, and he
shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to
fear the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xviii-p10.4">Lord</span> his God, to keep all
the words of this law and these statutes, to do them:   20
That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he
turn not aside from the commandment, <i>to</i> the right hand, or
<i>to</i> the left: to the end that he may prolong <i>his</i> days
in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xviii-p11">After the laws which concerned subjects
fitly followed the laws which concern kings; for those that rule
others must themselves remember that they are under command. Here
are laws given,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xviii-p12">I. To the electors of the empire, what
rules they must go by in making their choice, <scripRef id="Deu.xviii-p12.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.17.14-Deut.17.15" parsed="|Deut|17|14|17|15" passage="De 17:14,15"><i>v.</i> 14, 15</scripRef>. 1. It is here supposed
that the people would, in process of time, be desirous of a king,
whose royal pomp and power would be thought to make their nation
look great among their neighbours. Their having a king is neither
promised as a mercy nor commanded as a duty (nothing could be
better for them than the divine regimen they were under), but it is
permitted them if they desired it. If they would but take care to
have the ends of government answered, and God's laws duly observed
and put in execution, they should not be tied to any one form of
government, but should be welcome to have a king. Though something
irregular is supposed to be the principle of the desire, that they
might be like the nations (whereas God in many ways distinguished
them from the nations), yet God would indulge them in it, because
he intended to serve his own purposes by it, in making the regal
government typical of the kingdom of the Messiah. 2. They are
directed in their choice. If they will have a king over them, as
God foresaw they would (though it does not appear that ever the
motion was made till almost 400 years after), then they must, (1.)
Ask counsel at God's mouth, and make him king whom God shall
choose; and happy it was for them that they had an oracle to
consult in so weighty an affair, and a God to choose for them who
knows infallibly what every man is and will be. Kings are God's
vicegerents, and therefore it is fit that he should have the
choosing of them: God had himself been in a particular manner
Israel's King, and if they set another over them, under him, it was
necessary that he should nominate the person. Accordingly, when the
people desired a king, they applied to Samuel a prophet of the
Lord; and afterwards David, Solomon, Jeroboam, Jehu, and others,
were chosen by the prophets; and the people are reproved for not
observing this law, <scripRef id="Deu.xviii-p12.2" osisRef="Bible:Hos.8.4" parsed="|Hos|8|4|0|0" passage="Ho 8:4">Hos. viii.
4</scripRef>: <i>They have set up kings but not by me.</i> In all
cases God's choice, if we can but know it, should direct,
determine, and overrule ours. (2.) They must not choose a foreigner
under pretence of strengthening their alliances, or of the
extraordinary fitness of the person, lest a strange king should
introduce strange customs of usages, contrary to those that were
established by the divine law; but he must be <i>one from among thy
brethren,</i> that he may be a type of Christ, who is bone of our
bone, <scripRef id="Deu.xviii-p12.3" osisRef="Bible:Heb.2.14" parsed="|Heb|2|14|0|0" passage="Heb 2:14">Heb. ii. 14</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xviii-p13">II. Laws are here given to the prince that
should be elected for the due administration of the government.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xviii-p14">1. He must carefully avoid every thing that
would divert him from God and religion. Riches, honours, and
pleasures are the three great hindrances of godliness (<i>the lusts
of the flesh, the lusts of the eye, and the pride of life</i>),
especially to those in high stations: against these therefore the
king is here warned. (1.) He must not gratify the love of honour by
multiplying horses, <scripRef id="Deu.xviii-p14.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.17.16" parsed="|Deut|17|16|0|0" passage="De 17:16"><i>v.</i>
16</scripRef>. He that rode upon a horse (a stately creature) in a
country where asses and mules were generally used looked very
great; and therefore though he might have horses for his own
saddle, and chariots, yet he must not set <i>servants on
horseback</i> (<scripRef id="Deu.xviii-p14.2" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.10.7" parsed="|Eccl|10|7|0|0" passage="Ec 10:7">Eccl. x. 7</scripRef>)
nor have many horses for his officers and guards (when God was
their King, his judges rode on asses, <scripRef id="Deu.xviii-p14.3" osisRef="Bible:Judg.5.10 Bible:Judg.12.14" parsed="|Judg|5|10|0|0;|Judg|12|14|0|0" passage="Jdg 5:10,12:14">Judg. v. 10; xii. 14</scripRef>), nor must he
multiply horses for war, lest he should trust too much to them,
<scripRef id="Deu.xviii-p14.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.20.7 Bible:Ps.33.17 Bible:Hos.14.3" parsed="|Ps|20|7|0|0;|Ps|33|17|0|0;|Hos|14|3|0|0" passage="Ps 20:7,33:17,Ho 14:3">Ps. xx. 7; xxxiii. 17;
Hos. xiv. 3</scripRef>. The reason here given against his
multiplying horses is because it would produce a greater
correspondence with Egypt (which furnished Canaan with horses,
<scripRef id="Deu.xviii-p14.5" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.10.28-1Kgs.10.29" parsed="|1Kgs|10|28|10|29" passage="1Ki 10:28,29">1 Kings x. 28, 29</scripRef>) than
it was fit the Israel of God should have, who were brought thence
with such a high hand: <i>You shall return no more that way,</i>
for fear of being infected with the idolatries of Egypt (<scripRef id="Deu.xviii-p14.6" osisRef="Bible:Lev.18.3" parsed="|Lev|18|3|0|0" passage="Le 18:3">Lev. xviii. 3</scripRef>), to which they were
very prone. Note, We should take heed of that commerce or
conversation by which we are in danger of being drawn into sin. If
Israel must not return to Egypt, they must not trade with Egypt;
Solomon got no good by it. (2.) He must not gratify the love of
pleasure by multiplying wives (<scripRef id="Deu.xviii-p14.7" osisRef="Bible:Deut.17.17" parsed="|Deut|17|17|0|0" passage="De 17:17"><i>v.</i> 17</scripRef>), as Solomon did to his undoing
(<scripRef id="Deu.xviii-p14.8" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.11.1" parsed="|1Kgs|11|1|0|0" passage="1Ki 11:1">1 Kings xi. 1</scripRef>), that his
heart, being set upon them, turn not away from business, and every
thing that is serious, and especially from the exercise of piety
and devotion, to which nothing is a greater enemy than the
indulgence of the flesh. (3.) He must not gratify the love of
riches by greatly multiplying silver and gold. A competent treasure
is allowed him, and he is not forbidden to be good husband of it,
but, [1.] He must not greatly multiply money, so as to oppress his
people by raising it (as Solomon seems to have done, <scripRef id="Deu.xviii-p14.9" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.12.4" parsed="|1Kgs|12|4|0|0" passage="1Ki 12:4">1 Kings xii. 4</scripRef>), nor so as to deceive
himself, by trusting to it, and setting his heart upon it,
<scripRef id="Deu.xviii-p14.10" osisRef="Bible:Ps.62.10" parsed="|Ps|62|10|0|0" passage="Ps 62:10">Ps. lxii. 10</scripRef>. [2.] He must
not multiply it to himself. David multiplied silver and gold, but
it was for the service of God (<scripRef id="Deu.xviii-p14.11" osisRef="Bible:1Chr.29.4" parsed="|1Chr|29|4|0|0" passage="1Ch 29:4">1
Chron. xxix. 4</scripRef>), not for himself; for his people, not
for his own family.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xviii-p15">2. He must carefully apply himself to the
law of God, and make that his rule. This must be to him better than
all riches, honours, and pleasures, than many horses or many wives,
better than thousands of gold and silver.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xviii-p16">(1.) He must write himself a copy of the
law out of the original, which was in the custody of the priests
that attended the sanctuary, <scripRef id="Deu.xviii-p16.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.17.18" parsed="|Deut|17|18|0|0" passage="De 17:18"><i>v.</i>
18</scripRef>. Some think that he was to write only this book of
Deuteronomy, which is an abstract of the law, and the precepts of
which, being mostly moral and judicial, concerned the king more
than the laws in Leviticus and Numbers, which, being ceremonial,
concerned chiefly the priests. Others think that he was to
transcribe all the five books of Moses, which are called <i>the
law,</i> and which were preserved together as the foundation of
their religion. Now, [1.] Though the king might be presumed to have
very fair copies by him from his ancestors, yet, besides those, he
must have one of his own: it might be presumed that theirs were
worn with constant use; he must have a fresh one to begin the world
with. [2.] Though he had secretaries about him whom he might employ
to write this copy, and who perhaps could write a better hand than
he, yet he must do it himself, with his own hand, for the honour of
the law, and that he might think no act of religion below him, to
inure himself to labour and study, and especially that he might
thereby be obliged to take particular notice of every part of the
law and by writing it might imprint it in his mind. Note, It is of
great use for each of us to write down what we observe as most
affecting and edifying to us, out of the scriptures and good books,
and out of the sermons we hear. A prudent pen may go far towards
making up the deficiencies of the memory, and the furnishing of the
treasures of the good householder with things new and old. [3.] He
must do this even when he sits upon the throne of his kingdom,
provided that he had not done it before. When he begins to apply
himself to business, he must apply himself to this in the first
place. He that sits upon the throne of a kingdom cannot but have
his hands full. The affairs of his kingdom both at home and abroad
call for a large share of his time and thoughts, and yet he must
write himself a copy of the law. Let not those who call themselves
men of business think that this will excuse them from making
religion their business; nor let great men think it any
disparagement to them to write for themselves those <i>great things
of God's law which he hath written to them,</i> <scripRef id="Deu.xviii-p16.2" osisRef="Bible:Heb.8.12" parsed="|Heb|8|12|0|0" passage="Heb 8:12">Hos. viii. 12</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xviii-p17">(2.) Having a Bible by him of his own
writing, he must not think it enough to keep it in his cabinet, but
he must <i>read therein all the days of his life,</i> <scripRef id="Deu.xviii-p17.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.17.19" parsed="|Deut|17|19|0|0" passage="De 17:19"><i>v.</i> 19</scripRef>. It is not enough to
have Bibles, but we must use them, use them daily, as the duty and
necessity of everyday require: our souls must have their constant
meals of that manna; and, if well digested, it will be true
nourishment and strength to them. As the body is receiving benefit
by its food continually, and not only when it is eating, so is the
soul, by the word of God, if it <i>meditate therein day and
night,</i> <scripRef id="Deu.xviii-p17.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.1.2" parsed="|Ps|1|2|0|0" passage="Ps 1:2">Ps. i. 2</scripRef>. And we
must persevere in the use of the written word of God as long as we
live. Christ's scholars never learn above their Bibles, but will
have a constant occasion for them till they come to that world
where knowledge and love will both be made perfect.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xviii-p18">(3.) His writing and reading were all
nothing if he did not reduce to practice what he wrote and read,
<scripRef id="Deu.xviii-p18.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.17.19-Deut.17.20" parsed="|Deut|17|19|17|20" passage="De 17:19,20"><i>v.</i> 19, 20</scripRef>. The
word of God is not designed merely to be and entertaining subject
of speculation, but to be a commanding rule of conversation. Let
him know, [1.] What dominion his religion must have over him, and
what influence it must have upon him. <i>First,</i> It must possess
him with a very reverent and awful regard to the divine majesty and
authority. He must learn (and thus the most learned must by ever
learning) <i>to fear the Lord his God;</i> and, as high as he is,
he must remember that God is above him, and, whatever fear his
subjects owe to him, that, and much more, he owes to God as his
King. <i>Secondly,</i> It must engage him to a constant observance
of the law of God, and a conscientious obedience to it, as the
effect of that fear. He must keep <i>all the words of this law</i>
(he is <i>custos utriusque tabulae—the keeper of both tables</i>),
not only take care that others do them, but do them himself as a
humble servant to the God of heaven and a good example to his
inferiors. <i>Thirdly,</i> It must keep him humble. How much soever
he is advanced, let him keep his spirit low, and let the <i>fear of
his God prevent the contempt of his brethren;</i> and let not his
heart <i>be lifted up above them,</i> so as to carry himself
haughtily or disdainfully towards them, and to trample upon them.
Let him not conceit himself better than they because he is greater
and makes a fairer show; but let him remember that he is the
<i>minister of God to them for good</i> (<i>major singulis,</i> but
<i>minor universis</i>—<i>greater than any one,</i> but <i>less
than the whole</i>). It must prevent his errors, either <i>on he
right hand or on the left</i> (for there are errors on both hands),
and keep him right, in all instances, to his God and to his duty.
[2.] What advantage his religion would be of to him. Those that
fear God and keep his commandments will certainly fare the better
for it in this world. The greatest monarch in the world may receive
more benefit by religion than by all the wealth and power of his
monarchy. It will be of advantage, <i>First,</i> To his person:
<i>He shall prolong his days in his kingdom.</i> We find in the
history of the kings of Judah that, generally, the best reigns were
the longest, except when God shortened them for the punishment of
the people, as Josiah's. <i>Secondly,</i> To his family: his
children shall also prosper. Entail religion upon posterity, and
God will entail a blessing upon it.</p>
</div></div2>