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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Exodus, Chapter XXXIV].</TITLE>
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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1></center>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1706)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>E X O D U S</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. XXXIV.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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God having in the foregoing chapter intimated to Moses his
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reconciliation to Israel, here gives proofs of it, proceeding to settle
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his covenant and communion with them. Four instances of the return of
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his favour we have in this chapter:--
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I. The orders he gives to Moses to come up to the mount, the next
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morning, and bring two tables of stone with him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+34:1-4">ver. 1-4</A>.
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II. His meeting him there, and the proclamation of his name,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+34:5-9">ver. 5-9</A>.
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III. The instructions he gave him there, and his converse with him for
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forty days together, without intermission,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+34:10-28">ver. 10-28</A>.
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IV. The honour he put upon him when he sent him down with his face
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shining,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+34:29-35">ver. 29-35</A>.
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In all this God dealt with Moses as a public person, and mediator
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between him and Israel, and a type of the great Mediator.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Ex34_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ex34_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ex34_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ex34_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>God's Proclamation of Himself.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1491.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 And the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone
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like unto the first: and I will write upon <I>these</I> tables the
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words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest.
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2 And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto
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mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me in the top of the
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mount.
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3 And no man shall come up with thee, neither let any man be
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seen throughout all the mount; neither let the flocks nor herds
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feed before that mount.
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4 And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first; and
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Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto mount Sinai,
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as the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> had commanded him, and took in his hand the two
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tables of stone.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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The treaty that was on foot between God and Israel being broken off
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abruptly, by their worshipping the golden calf, when peace was made all
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must be begun anew, not where they left off, but from the beginning.
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Thus backsliders must <I>repent, and do their first works,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+2:5">Rev. ii. 5</A>.</P>
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<P>
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I. Moses must prepare for the renewing of the tables,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+34:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
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Before, God himself provided the tables, and wrote on them; now, Moses
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must <I>hew out the tables,</I> and God would only write upon them.
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Thus, in the first writing of the law upon the heart of man in
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innocency, both the tables and the writing were the work of God; but
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when those were broken and defaced by sin, and the divine law was to be
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preserved in the scriptures, God therein made use of the ministry of
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man, and Moses first. But the prophets and apostles did only hew the
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tables, as it were; the writing was God's still, for <I>all scripture
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is given by inspiration of God.</I> Observe, When God was reconciled to
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them, he ordered the tables to be renewed, and wrote his law in them,
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which plainly intimates to us,
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1. That even under the gospel of peace and reconciliation by Christ (of
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which the intercession of Moses was typical) the moral law should
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continue to bind believers. Though Christ has redeemed us from the
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curse of the law, yet not from the command of it, but still we are
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<I>under the law to Christ;</I> when our Saviour, in his sermon on the
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mount, expounded the moral law, and vindicated it from the corrupt
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glosses with which the scribes and Pharisees had broken it
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+5:19">Matt. v. 19</A>),
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he did in effect renew the tables, and make them like the first, that
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is, reduce the law to its primitive sense and intention.
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2. That the best evidence of the pardon of sin and peace with God is
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the writing of the law in the heart. The first token God gave of his
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reconciliation to Israel was the renewing of the tables of the law;
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thus the first article of the new covenant is, <I>I will write my law
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in their heart</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+8:10">Heb. viii. 10</A>),
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and it follows
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+34:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>),
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<I>for I will be merciful to their unrighteousness.</I>
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3. That, if we would have God to write the law in our hearts, we must
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prepare our hearts for the reception of it. The heart of stone must be
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hewn by conviction and humiliation for sin
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+6:5">Hos. vi. 5</A>),
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the <I>superfluity of naughtiness</I> must be taken off
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+1:21">James i. 21</A>),
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the heart made smooth, and laboured with, that the word may have a
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place in it. Moses did accordingly hew out the <I>tables of stone,</I>
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or slate, for they were so slight and thin that Moses carried them both
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in his hand; and, for their dimensions, they must have been somewhat
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less, and perhaps not much, than the ark in which they were deposited,
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which was a yard and quarter long, and three quarters broad. It should
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seem there was nothing particularly curious in the framing of them, for
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there was no great time taken; Moses had them ready presently, to take
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up with him, next morning. They were to receive their beauty, not from
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the art of man, but from the finger of God.</P>
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<P>
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II. Moses must attend again on the top of mount Sinai, and present
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himself to God there,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+34:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
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Though the absence of Moses, and his continuance so long on the mount,
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had lately occasioned their making the golden calf, yet God did not
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therefore alter his measures, but he shall come up and tarry as long as
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he had done, to try whether they had learned to wait. To strike an awe
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upon the people, they are directed to keep their distance, none must
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come up with him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+34:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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They had said
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+32:1"><I>ch.</I> xxxii. 1</A>),
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<I>We know not what has become of him,</I> and God will not let them
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know. Moses, accordingly, <I>rose up early</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+34:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>)
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to go to the place appointed, to show how forward he was to present
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himself before God and loth to lose time. It is good to be early at our
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devotions. The morning is perhaps as good a friend to the graces as it
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is to the muses.</P>
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<A NAME="Ex34_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ex34_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ex34_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ex34_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ex34_9"> </A>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>5 And the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> descended in the cloud, and stood with him
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there, and proclaimed the name of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
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6 And the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> passed by before him, and proclaimed, The L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>,
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The L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant
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in goodness and truth,
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7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and
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transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear <I>the
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guilty;</I> visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children,
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and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the
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fourth <I>generation.</I>
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8 And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth,
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and worshipped.
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9 And he said, If now I have found grace in thy sight, O Lord,
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let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us; for it <I>is</I> a stiffnecked
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people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for
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thine inheritance.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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No sooner had Moses got to the top of the mount than God gave him the
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meeting
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+34:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>):
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<I>The Lord descended,</I> by some sensible token of his presence, and
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manifestation of his glory. His descending bespeaks his condescension;
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he humbles himself to take cognizance of those that humble themselves
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to walk with him.
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+113:6">Ps. cxiii. 6</A>,
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<I>Lord, what is man, that he should be thus visited?</I> He descended
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<I>in the cloud,</I> probably that pillar of cloud which had hitherto
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gone before Israel, and had the day before met Moses at the door of the
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tabernacle. This cloud was to strike an awe upon Moses, that the
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familiarity he was admitted to might not breed contempt. The disciples
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<I>feared, when they entered the cloud.</I> His making a cloud his
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pavilion intimated that, though he made known much of himself, yet
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there was much more concealed. Now observe,</P>
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<P>
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I. How God proclaimed his name
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+34:6,7"><I>v.</I> 6, 7</A>):
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he did it <I>in transitu--as he passed by him.</I> Fixed views of God
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are reserved for the future state; the best we have in this world are
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transient. God now was performing what he had promised Moses, the day
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before, that his glory should pass by,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+33:22"><I>ch.</I> xxxiii. 22</A>.
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He <I>proclaimed the name of the Lord,</I> by which he would make
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himself known. He had made himself known to Moses in the glory of his
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self-existence and self-sufficiency when he proclaimed that name, <I>I
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am that I am;</I> now he makes himself known in the glory of his grace,
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and goodness, and all-sufficiency to us. Now that God is about to
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publish a second edition of the law he prefaces it with this
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proclamation; for it is God's grace or goodness that gives the law,
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especially the remedial law. The pardon of Israel's sin in worshipping
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the calf was now to pass the seals; and God, by this declaration, would
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let them know that he pardoned <I>ex mero motu--merely out of his own
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good pleasure,</I> not for their merits' sake, but from his own
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inclination to forgive. The proclaiming of it denotes the universal
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extent of God's mercy. He is not only good to Israel, but good to all;
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let all take notice of it. He that hath an ear, let him hear, and know,
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and believe,</P>
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<P>
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1. That the God with whom we have to do is a great God. He is Jehovah,
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the Lord, who has his being of himself, and is the fountain of all
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being, <I>Jehovah-El, the Lord, the strong God,</I> a God of almighty
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power himself, and the original of all power. This is prefixed before
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the display of his mercy, to teach us to think and to speak even of
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God's grace and goodness with great seriousness and a holy awe, and to
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encourage us to depend upon these mercies; they are not the mercies of
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a man, that is frail and feeble, false and fickle, but the mercies of
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the Lord, the Lord God; therefore sure mercies, and sovereign mercies,
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mercies that may be trusted, but not tempted.</P>
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<P>
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2. That he is a good God. His greatness and goodness illustrate and set
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off each other. That the terror of his greatness may not make us
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afraid, we are told how good he is; and, that we may not presume upon
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his goodness, we are told how great he is. Many words are here heaped
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up, to acquaint us with, and convince us of, God's goodness, and to
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show how much his goodness is both his glory and his delight, yet
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without any tautology.
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(1.) He is <I>merciful.</I> This bespeaks his tender compassion, like
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that of a father to his children. This is put first, because it is the
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first wheel in all the instances of God's good-will to fallen man,
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whose misery makes him an object of pity,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jdg+10:16,Isa+63:9">Judg. x. 16; Isa. lxiii. 9</A>.
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Let us not then have either hard thoughts of God or hard hearts towards
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our brethren.
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(2.) He is <I>gracious.</I> This bespeaks both freeness and kindness;
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it intimates not only that he has a compassion to his creatures, but a
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complacency in them and in doing good to them, and this of his own
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good-will, and not for the sake of any thing in them. His mercy is
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grace, free grace; this teaches us to be not only pitiful, but
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courteous,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Pe+3:8">1 Pet. iii. 8</A>.
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(3.) He is <I>long-suffering.</I> This is a branch of God's goodness
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which the wickedness of sinners gives occasion for; that of Israel had
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done so: they had tried his patience, and experienced it. He is
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long-suffering, that is, he is slow to anger, and delays the execution
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of his justice; he waits to be gracious, and lengthens out the offers
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of his mercy.
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(4.) He is <I>abundant in goodness and truth.</I> This bespeaks
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plentiful goodness, goodness abounding above our deserts, above our
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conception and expression. The springs of mercy are always full, the
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streams of mercy always flowing; there is mercy enough in God, enough
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for all, enough for each, enough for ever. It bespeaks promised
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goodness, goodness and truth put together, goodness engaged by promise,
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and his faithfulness pledged for the security of it. He not only does
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good, but by his promise he raises our expectation of it, and even
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binds himself to show mercy.
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(5.) He keepeth <I>mercy for thousands.</I> This denotes,
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[1.] Mercy extended to thousands of persons. When he gives to some,
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still he keeps for others, and is never exhausted; he has mercy enough
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for all the thousands of Israel, when they shall <I>multiply as the
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sand.</I>
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[2.] Mercy entailed upon thousands of generations, even those upon whom
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the ends of the world have come; nay, the line of it is drawn parallel
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with that of eternity itself.
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(6.) He <I>for giveth iniquity, transgression, and sin.</I> Pardoning
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mercy is specified, because in this divine grace is most magnified, and
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because in this divine grace is most magnified, and because it is this
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which opens the door to all other gifts of his divine grace, and
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because of this he had lately given a very pregnant proof. He forgives
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offences of all sorts--<I>iniquity, transgression, and sin,</I>
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multiplies his pardons; and with him is <I>plenteous
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redemption.</I></P>
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<P>
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3. That he is a just and holy God. For,
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(1.) <I>He will by no means clear the guilty.</I> Some read it so as to
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express a mitigation of wrath, even when he does punish: <I>When he
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empties, he will not make quite desolate;</I> that is, "He does not
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proceed to the greatest extremity, till there be no remedy." As we read
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it, we must expound it that he will by no means connive at the guilty,
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as if he took no notice of their sin. Or, he will not clear the
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impenitently guilty, that go on still in their trespasses: he will not
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clear the guilty without some satisfaction to his justice, and
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necessary vindications of the honour of his government.
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(2.) <I>He visits the iniquity of the fathers upon the children.</I> He
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may justly do it, for all souls are his, and there is a malignity in
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sin that taints the blood. He sometimes will do it, especially for the
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punishment of idolaters. Thus he shows his hatred to sin, and
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displeasure against it; yet he <I>keepeth not his anger for ever,</I>
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but visits to the third and fourth generation only, while he <I>keepeth
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his mercy for thousands.</I> Well, this is God's name for ever, and
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this is his memorial unto all generations.</P>
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<P>
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II. How Moses received this declaration which God made of himself, and
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of his grace and mercy. It should seem as if Moses accepted this as a
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sufficient answer to his request that God would <I>show him his
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glory;</I> for we read not that he went into the cleft of the rock,
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whence to gain a sight of God's back parts. Perhaps this satisfied him,
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and he desired no more; as we read not that Thomas did <I>thrust his
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hand into Christ's side,</I> though Christ invited him to do it. God
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having thus proclaimed his name, Moses says, "It is enough, I expect no
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more till I come to heaven;" at least he did not think fit to relate
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what he saw. Now we are here told,</P>
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<P>
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1. What impression it made upon him: <I>Moses made haste, and bowed his
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head,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+34:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>.
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Thus he expressed,
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(1.) His humble reverence and adoration of God's glory, giving him
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|
<I>the honour due to that name</I> he had thus proclaimed. Even the
|
|
goodness of God must be looked upon by us with a profound veneration
|
|
and holy awe.
|
|
|
|
(2.) His joy in this discovery which God had made of himself, and his
|
|
thankfulness for it. We have reason gratefully to acknowledge God's
|
|
goodness to us, not only in the real instances of it, but in the
|
|
declarations he has made of it by his word; not only that he is, and
|
|
will be, gracious to us, but that he is pleased to let us know it.
|
|
|
|
(3.) His holy submission to the will of God, made known in this
|
|
declaration, subscribing to his justice as well as mercy, and putting
|
|
himself and his people Israel under the government and direction of
|
|
such a God as Jehovah had now proclaimed himself to be. Let this God be
|
|
our God for ever and ever.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. What improvement he made of it. He immediately grounded a prayer
|
|
upon it
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+34:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>);
|
|
|
|
and a more earnest affectionate prayer it is,
|
|
|
|
(1.) For the presence of God with his people Israel in the wilderness:
|
|
"<I>I pray thee, go among us,</I> for thy presence is all in all to our
|
|
safety and success."
|
|
|
|
(2.) For pardon of sin: "<I>O pardon our iniquity and our sin,</I> else
|
|
we cannot expect thee to go among us." And,
|
|
|
|
(3.) For the privileges of a peculiar people: "Take us for <I>thy
|
|
inheritance,</I> which thou wilt have a particular eye to, and concern
|
|
for, and delight in." These things God had already promised, and given
|
|
Moses assurances of, and yet he prays for them, not as doubting the
|
|
sincerity of God's grants, but as one solicitous for the ratification
|
|
of them. God's promises are intended, not to supersede, but to direct
|
|
and encourage, prayer. Those who have some good hopes, through grace,
|
|
that their sins are pardoned, must yet continue to pray for pardon, for
|
|
the renewing of their pardon, and the clearing of it more and more to
|
|
their souls. The more we see of God's goodness the more ashamed we
|
|
should be of our own sins, and the more earnest for an interest in it.
|
|
God had said, in the close of the proclamation, that he would <I>visit
|
|
the iniquity upon the children;</I> and Moses here deprecates that.
|
|
"Lord, do not only pardon it to them, but to their children, and let
|
|
our covenant-relation to thee be entailed upon our posterity, as an
|
|
inheritance." Thus Moses, like a man of a truly public spirit,
|
|
intercedes even for the children that should be born. But it is a
|
|
strange plea he urges: <I>For it is a stiff-necked people.</I> God had
|
|
given this as a reason why he would not go along with them,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+33:3"><I>ch.</I> xxxiii. 3</A>.
|
|
|
|
"Yea," says Moses, "the rather go along with us; for the worse they are
|
|
the more need they have of thy presence and grace to make them better."
|
|
Moses sees them so stiff-necked that, for his part, he has neither
|
|
patience nor power enough to deal with them. "Therefore, Lord, do thou
|
|
go among us, else they will never be kept in awe. Thou wilt spare, and
|
|
bear with them, for thou art <I>God, and not man,</I>"
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+11:9">Hos. xi. 9</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Ex34_10"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ex34_11"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ex34_12"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ex34_13"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ex34_14"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ex34_15"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ex34_16"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ex34_17"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>A Caution Against Idolatry.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1491.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>10 And he said, Behold, I make a covenant: before all thy
|
|
people I will do marvels, such as have not been done in all the
|
|
earth, nor in any nation: and all the people among which thou
|
|
<I>art</I> shall see the work of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>: for it <I>is</I> a terrible
|
|
thing that I will do with thee.
|
|
11 Observe thou that which I command thee this day: behold, I
|
|
drive out before thee the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the
|
|
Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite.
|
|
12 Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the
|
|
inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for a
|
|
snare in the midst of thee:
|
|
13 But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and
|
|
cut down their groves:
|
|
14 For thou shalt worship no other god: for the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, whose
|
|
name <I>is</I> Jealous, <I>is</I> a jealous God:
|
|
15 Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land,
|
|
and they go a whoring after their gods, and do sacrifice unto
|
|
their gods, and <I>one</I> call thee, and thou eat of his sacrifice;
|
|
16 And thou take of their daughters unto thy sons, and their
|
|
daughters go a whoring after their gods, and make thy sons go a
|
|
whoring after their gods.
|
|
17 Thou shalt make thee no molten gods.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Reconciliation being made, a covenant of friendship is here settled
|
|
between God and Israel. The traitors are not only pardoned, but
|
|
preferred and made favourites again. Well may the assurances of this be
|
|
ushered in with a <I>behold,</I> a word commanding attention and
|
|
admiration: <I>Behold, I make a covenant.</I> When the covenant was
|
|
broken, it was Israel that broke it; now that it comes to be renewed,
|
|
it is God that makes it. If there be quarrels, we must bear all the
|
|
blame; if there be peace, God must have all the glory. Here is,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. God's part of this covenant, what he would do for them,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+34:10,11"><I>v.</I> 10, 11</A>.
|
|
|
|
1. In general: <I>Before all thy people, I will do marvels.</I> Note,
|
|
Covenant-blessings are marvellous things
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+98:1">Ps. xcviii. 1</A>),
|
|
|
|
marvels in the kingdom of grace; those mentioned here were marvels in
|
|
the kingdom of nature, the drying up of Jordan, the standing still of
|
|
the sun, &c. Marvels indeed, for they were without precedent, <I>such
|
|
as have not been done in all the earth.</I> They were the joy of
|
|
Israel, and the confirmation of their faith: <I>Thy people shall
|
|
see,</I> and own <I>the work of the Lord.</I> And they were the terror
|
|
of their enemies: <I>It is a terrible thing that I will do.</I> Nay,
|
|
even God's own people should see them with astonishment.
|
|
|
|
2. In particular: <I>I drive out before thee the Amorite.</I> God, as
|
|
King of nations, plucks up some, to plant others, as it pleases him; as
|
|
King of saints, he made room for the vine he brought out of Egypt,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+80:8,9">Ps. lxxx. 8, 9</A>.
|
|
|
|
Kingdoms are sacrificed to Israel's interests,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+43:3,4">Isa. xliii. 3, 4</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. Their part of the covenant: <I>Observe that which I command
|
|
thee.</I> We cannot expect the benefit of the promises unless we make
|
|
conscience of the precepts.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. The two great precepts are,
|
|
|
|
(1.) <I>Thou shalt worship no other gods</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+34:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>),
|
|
|
|
not give divine honour to any creature, or any name whatsoever, the
|
|
creature of fancy. A good reason is annexed. It is at thy peril if thou
|
|
do: <I>For the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God,</I> as
|
|
tender in the matters of his worship as the husband is of the honour of
|
|
the marriage-bed. Jealousy is called the <I>rage of a man</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+6:34">Prov. vi. 34</A>),
|
|
|
|
but it is <I>God's holy and just displeasure.</I> Those cannot worship
|
|
God aright who do not worship him alone.
|
|
|
|
(2.) "<I>Thou shalt make thee no molten god</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+34:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>);
|
|
|
|
thou shalt not worship the true God by images." This was the sin they
|
|
had lately fallen into, which therefore they are particularly cautioned
|
|
against.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. Fences are here erected about these two precepts by two others:
|
|
|
|
(1.) That they might not be tempted to worship other gods, they must
|
|
not join in affinity or friendship with those that did
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+34:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>Take heed to thyself,</I> for thou art upon thy good behaviour. It
|
|
is a sin that thou art prone to and that will easily beset thee, and
|
|
therefore be very cautious, and carefully abstain from all appearances
|
|
of it and advances towards it. <I>Make no covenant with the inhabitants
|
|
of the land.</I>" If God, in kindness to them, drove out the
|
|
Canaanites, they ought, in duty to God, not to harbour them. What could
|
|
be insisted on more reasonable than this? If God make war with the
|
|
Canaanites, let not Israel make peace with them. If God take care that
|
|
the Canaanites be not their lords, let them take care that they be not
|
|
their snares. It was for their civil interest to complete the conquest
|
|
of the land; so much does God consult our benefit in the laws he gives
|
|
us. They must particularly take heed of intermarrying with them,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+34:15,16"><I>v.</I> 15, 16</A>.
|
|
|
|
If they espoused their children, they would be in danger of espousing
|
|
their gods; such is the corruption of nature that the bad are much more
|
|
likely to debauch the good than the good to reform the bad. The way of
|
|
sin is downhill: those that are in league with idolaters will come by
|
|
degrees to be in love with idolatry; and those that are prevailed upon
|
|
to eat of the idolatrous sacrifice will come at length to offer it.
|
|
<I>Obsta principiis--Nip the mischief in the bud.</I>
|
|
|
|
(2.) That they might not be tempted to make molten gods, they must
|
|
utterly destroy those they found and all that belong to them, the
|
|
altars and groves
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+34:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>),
|
|
|
|
lest, if these were left standing, they should be brought, in process
|
|
of time, either to use them or to take pattern by them, or to abate in
|
|
their detestation and dread of idolatry. The relics of idolatry ought
|
|
to be abolished as affronts to the holy God and a great reproach to
|
|
human nature. Let it never be said that men who pretend to reason were
|
|
ever guilty of such absurdities as to make gods of their own and
|
|
worship them.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Ex34_18"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ex34_19"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ex34_20"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ex34_21"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ex34_22"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ex34_23"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ex34_24"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ex34_25"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ex34_26"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ex34_27"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Solemn Feasts Appointed.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1491.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>18 The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep. Seven days
|
|
thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, in the time
|
|
of the month Abib: for in the month Abib thou camest out from
|
|
Egypt.
|
|
19 All that openeth the matrix <I>is</I> mine; and every firstling
|
|
among thy cattle, <I>whether</I> ox or sheep, <I>that is male.</I>
|
|
20 But the firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb:
|
|
and if thou redeem <I>him</I> not, then shalt thou break his neck. All
|
|
the firstborn of thy sons thou shalt redeem. And none shall
|
|
appear before me empty.
|
|
21 Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt
|
|
rest: in earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest.
|
|
22 And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the
|
|
firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the
|
|
year's end.
|
|
23 Thrice in the year shall all your men children appear before
|
|
the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>, the God of Israel.
|
|
24 For I will cast out the nations before thee, and enlarge thy
|
|
borders: neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou shalt
|
|
go up to appear before the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> thy God thrice in the year.
|
|
25 Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven;
|
|
neither shall the sacrifice of the feast of the passover be left
|
|
unto the morning.
|
|
26 The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring
|
|
unto the house of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid
|
|
in his mother's milk.
|
|
27 And the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for
|
|
after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee
|
|
and with Israel.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Here is a repetition of several appointments made before, especially
|
|
relating to their solemn feasts. When they had made the calf, they
|
|
proclaimed a feast in honour of it; now, that they might never do so
|
|
again, they are here charged with the observance of the feasts which
|
|
God had instituted. Note, Men need not be drawn from their religion by
|
|
the temptation of mirth, for we serve a Master that has abundantly
|
|
provided for the joy of his servants: serious godliness is a continual
|
|
feast, and joy in God always.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. Once a week they must rest
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+34:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>even in earing time, and in harvest,</I> the most busy times of the
|
|
year. All worldly business must give way to that holy rest;
|
|
harvest-work will prosper the better for the religious observance of
|
|
the sabbath-day in harvest-time. Hereby we must show that we prefer our
|
|
communion with God, and our duty to him, before either the business or
|
|
the joy of harvest.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. Thrice a year they must feast
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+34:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>);
|
|
|
|
they must then appear <I>before the Lord, God, the God of Israel.</I>
|
|
In all our religious approaches to God, we must eye him as the Lord
|
|
God, infinitely blessed, great, and glorious, that we may worship him
|
|
with reverence and godly fear, as the God of Israel, a God in covenant
|
|
with us, that we may be encouraged to trust in him, and to serve him
|
|
cheerfully. We always are before God; but, in holy duties, we present
|
|
ourselves before him, as servants to receive commands, as petitioners
|
|
to sue for favours, and we have reason to do both with joy. But it
|
|
might be suggested that, when all the males from every part of the
|
|
country had gone up to worship in the place that God should choose, the
|
|
country would be left exposed to the insults of their neighbours; and
|
|
what would become of the poor women and children, and sick and aged,
|
|
that were left at home? Trust God with them
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+34:24"><I>v.</I> 24</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Neither shall any man desire thy land;</I> not only they shall not
|
|
invade it, but they shall not so much as think of invading it. Note,
|
|
|
|
1. All hearts are in God's hands, and under his check; he can lay a
|
|
restraint, not only upon men's actions, but upon their desires. Canaan
|
|
was a desirable land, and the neighbouring nations were greedy enough;
|
|
and yet God says, "They shall not desire it." Let us check all sinful
|
|
desires in our own hearts against God and his glory, and then trust him
|
|
to check all sinful desires in the hearts of others against us and our
|
|
interest.
|
|
|
|
2. The way of duty is the way of safety. If we serve God, he will
|
|
preserve us; and those that venture for him shall never lose by him.
|
|
While we are employed in God's work, and are attending upon him, we are
|
|
taken under special protection, as noblemen and members of parliament
|
|
are privileged from arrests.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. The three feasts are here mentioned, with their appendages.
|
|
|
|
1. The passover, and the feast of unleavened bread, in remembrance of
|
|
their deliverance out of Egypt; and to this is annexed the law of the
|
|
redemption of the first-born,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+34:18-20"><I>v.</I> 18-20</A>.
|
|
|
|
This feast was instituted,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+12:13"><I>ch.</I> xii. 13</A>,
|
|
|
|
and urged again,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+23:15"><I>ch.</I> xxiii. 15</A>.
|
|
|
|
2. The feast of weeks, that is, that of pentecost, seven weeks after
|
|
the passover; and to this is annexed the law of the first-fruits.
|
|
|
|
3. The feast of in-gathering at the year's end, which was the feast of
|
|
tabernacles
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+34:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>):
|
|
|
|
of these also he had spoken before,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+23:16"><I>ch.</I> xxiii. 16</A>.
|
|
|
|
As to those laws repeated here
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+34:25,26"><I>v.</I> 25, 26</A>),
|
|
|
|
that against leaven relates to the passover, that of the first-fruits
|
|
to the feast of pentecost, and therefore that against seething the kid
|
|
in his mother's milk in all probability relates to the feast of
|
|
in-gathering, at which God would not have them use that superstitious
|
|
ceremony, which probably they had seen the Egyptians, or some other of
|
|
the neighbouring nations, bless their harvests with.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
IV. With these laws, here repeated, it is probable all that was said to
|
|
him when he was before upon the mount was repeated likewise, and the
|
|
model of the tabernacle shown him again, lest the ruffle and
|
|
discomposure, which the golden calf had put him in to should have
|
|
bereaved him of the ideas he had in mind of what he had seen and heard;
|
|
also in token of a complete reconciliation, and to show that <I>not one
|
|
jot or tittle of the law should pass away,</I> but that all should be
|
|
carefully preserved by the great Mediator, who came not to destroy, but
|
|
to fulfil,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+5:17,18">Matt. v. 17, 18</A>.
|
|
|
|
And in the close,
|
|
|
|
1. Moses is ordered to write these words
|
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+34:27"><I>v.</I> 27</A>),
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that the people might be the better acquainted with them by a frequent
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perusal, and that they might be transmitted to the generations to come.
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We can never be enough thankful to God for the written word.
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2. He is told that according to the tenour of these words God would
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make a covenant with Moses and Israel; not with Israel immediately, but
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with them in Moses a mediator. Thus the covenant of grace is made with
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believers through Christ, who is <I>given for a covenant to the
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people,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+49:8">Isa. xlix. 8</A>.
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And, as here the covenant was made according to the tenour of the
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command, so it is still; for we are by baptism brought into covenant,
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that we may be <I>taught to observe all things whatsoever Christ has
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commanded us,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+28:19,20">Matt. xxviii. 19, 20</A>.</P>
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<A NAME="Ex34_28"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ex34_29"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ex34_30"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ex34_31"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ex34_32"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ex34_33"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ex34_34"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ex34_35"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec4"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Veil of Moses.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1491.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>28 And he was there with the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> forty days and forty nights;
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he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the
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tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.
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29 And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai
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with the two tables of testimony in Moses' hand, when he came
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down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his
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face shone while he talked with him.
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30 And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses,
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behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come
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nigh him.
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31 And Moses called unto them; and Aaron and all the rulers of
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the congregation returned unto him: and Moses talked with them.
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32 And afterward all the children of Israel came nigh: and he
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gave them in commandment all that the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> had spoken with him in
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mount Sinai.
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33 And <I>till</I> Moses had done speaking with them, he put a vail
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on his face.
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34 But when Moses went in before the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> to speak with him, he
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took the vail off, until he came out. And he came out, and spake
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unto the children of Israel <I>that</I> which he was commanded.
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35 And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the
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skin of Moses' face shone: and Moses put the vail upon his face
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again, until he went in to speak with him.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here is,
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I. The continuance of Moses in the mount, where he was miraculously
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sustained,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+34:28"><I>v.</I> 28</A>.
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He was there in very intimate communion with God, without interruption,
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forty days and forty nights, and did not think it long. When we are
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weary of an hour or two spent in attendance upon God and adoration of
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him, we should think how many days and nights Moses spent with him, and
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of the eternal day we hope to spend in praising him. During all this
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time Moses did neither eat nor drink. Though he had before been kept so
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long fasting, yet he did not, this second time, take up so many days'
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provision along with him, but believed that <I>man lives not by bread
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alone,</I> and encouraged himself with the experience he had of the
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truth of it. So long he continued without meat and drink (and probably
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without sleep too), for,
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1. The power of God supported him, that he did not need it. He who made
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the body can nourish it without ordinary means, which he uses, but is
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not tied to. <I>The life is more than meat.</I>
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2. His communion with God entertained him, so that he did not desire
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it. He had meat to eat which the world knew not of, for it was his meat
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and drink to hear the word of God and pray. The abundant satisfaction
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his soul had in the word of God and the visions of the Almighty made
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him forget the body and the pleasures of it. When God would treat his
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favourite Moses, it was not with meat and drink, but with his light,
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law, and love, with the knowledge of himself and his will; then man did
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indeed eat angels' food. See what we should value as the truest
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pleasure. <I>The kingdom of God is not meat and drink,</I> neither the
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abundance nor delicacy of food, but <I>righteousness and peace and joy
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in the Holy Ghost.</I> As Moses, so Elijah and Christ, fasted forty
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days and forty nights. The more dead we are to the delights of sense
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the better prepared we are for the pleasures of heaven.</P>
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<P>
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II. The coming down of Moses from the mount, greatly enriched and
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miraculously adorned.</P>
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<P>
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1. He came down enriched with the best treasure; for he brought in his
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hands the two tables of the law, written with the finger of God,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+34:28,29"><I>v.</I> 28, 29</A>.
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It is a great favour to have the law given us; this favour was shown to
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Israel,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+147:19,20">Ps. cxlvii. 19, 20</A>.
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It is a great honour to be employed in delivering God's law to others;
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this honour was done to Moses.</P>
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<P>
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2. He came down adorned with the best beauty; for the <I>skin of his
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face shone,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+34:29"><I>v.</I> 29</A>.
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This time of his being in the mount he heard only what he had heard
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before, but he saw more of the glory of God, which having with open
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face beheld, he was in some measure <I>changed into the same image from
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glory to glory,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+3:18">2 Cor. iii. 18</A>.
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The last time he came down from the mount with the glory of a
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magistrate, to frown upon and chastise Israel's idolatry; now with the
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glory of an angel, with tidings of peace and reconciliation. Then he
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came with a rod, now with the spirit of meekness. Now,</P>
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<P>
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(1.) This may be looked upon,
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[1.] As a great honour done to Moses, that the people might never again
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question his mission nor think nor speak lightly of him. He carried his
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credentials in his very countenance, which, some think, retained, as
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|
long as he lived, some remainders of this glory, which perhaps
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|
contributed to the vigour of his old age; that eye could not wax dim
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|
which had seen God, nor that face become wrinkled which had shone with
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his glory. The Israelites could not look him in the face but they must
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there read his commission. Thus it was done to the man whom the King
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|
of kings did delight to honour. Yet, after this, they murmured against
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him; for the most sensible proofs will not of themselves conquer an
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obstinate infidelity. The shining of Moses's face was a great honour
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|
to him; yet that was no glory, in comparison with the glory which
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excelled. We read of our Lord Jesus, not only that <I>his face
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shone</I> as the sun, but his whole body also, for his <I>raiment was
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white and glistering,</I>
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+9:29">Luke ix. 29</A>.
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But, when he came down from the mount, he quite laid aside that glory,
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it being his will that we should <I>walk by faith, not by sight.</I>
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[2.] It was also a great favour to the people, and an encouragement to
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them, that God put this glory upon him, who was their intercessor,
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thereby giving them assurance that he was accepted, and they through
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|
him. Thus the advancement of Christ, our advocate with the Father, is
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|
the great support of our faith.
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[3.] It was the effect of his sight of God. Communion with God,
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<I>First,</I> Makes the face to shine in true honour. Serious godliness
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puts a lustre upon a man's countenance, such as commands esteem and
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affection. <I>Secondly,</I> It should make the face to shine in
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|
universal holiness. When we have been in the mount with God, we should
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|
let our <I>light shine before men,</I> in humility, meekness, and all
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the instances of a heavenly conversation; thus must the <I>beauty of
|
|
the Lord our God be upon us,</I> even the <I>beauty of holiness,</I>
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|
that all we converse with may <I>take knowledge of us that we have been
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|
with Jesus,</I>
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+4:13">Acts iv. 13</A>.</P>
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<P>
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(2.) Concerning the shining of Moses's face observe here,
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|
|
[1.] Moses was not aware of it himself: <I>He wist not that the skin of
|
|
his face shone,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+34:29"><I>v.</I> 29</A>.
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Thus, <I>First,</I> It is the infelicity of some that, though their
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|
faces shine in true grace, yet they do not know it, to take the comfort
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|
of it. Their friends see much of God in them, but they themselves are
|
|
ready to think they have no grace. <I>Secondly,</I> It is the humility
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|
of others that, though their faces shine in eminent gifts and
|
|
usefulness, yet they do not know it, to be puffed up with it. Whatever
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|
beauty God puts upon us, we should still be filled with a humble sense
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|
of our own unworthiness, and manifold infirmities, as will make us even
|
|
overlook and forget that which makes our faces shine.
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|
[2.] Aaron and the children of Israel saw it, and <I>were afraid,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+34:30"><I>v.</I> 30</A>.
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|
The truth of it was attested by a multitude of witnesses, who were also
|
|
conscious of the terror of it. It not only dazzled their eyes, but
|
|
struck such an awe upon them as obliged them to retire. Probably they
|
|
doubted whether it were a token of God's favour or of his displeasure;
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|
and, though it seemed most likely to be a good omen, yet, being
|
|
conscious of guilt, they feared the worst, especially remembering the
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|
posture Moses found them in when he came last down from the mount.
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|
Holiness will command reverence; but the sense of sin makes men afraid
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|
of their friends, and even of that which really is a favour to them.
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[3.] Moses put a <I>veil upon his face,</I> when he perceived that it
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shone,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+34:33,35"><I>v.</I> 33, 35</A>.
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|
<I>First,</I> This teaches us all a lesson of modesty and humility. We
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|
must be content to have our excellences obscured, and a veil drawn over
|
|
them, not coveting to <I>make a fair show in the flesh.</I> Those that
|
|
are truly desirous to be owned and accepted of God will likewise desire
|
|
not to be taken notice of nor applauded by men. <I>Qui bene latuit,
|
|
bene vixit--There is a laudable concealment. Secondly,</I> It teaches
|
|
ministers to accommodate themselves to the capacities of people, and to
|
|
preach to them as they are able to bear it. Let all that art and all
|
|
that learning be veiled which tend to amusement rather than
|
|
edification, and let the strong condescend to the infirmities of the
|
|
weak. <I>Thirdly,</I> This veil signified the darkness of that
|
|
dispensation. The ceremonial institutions had in them much of Christ,
|
|
much of the grace of the gospel, but a veil was drawn over it, so that
|
|
the children of Israel could not distinctly and <I>stedfastly see those
|
|
good things to come which the law had the shadow of.</I> It was beauty
|
|
veiled, gold in the mine, a pearl in the shell; but, thanks be to God,
|
|
by the gospel life and immortality are brought to light, the veil is
|
|
taken away from off the Old Testament; yet still it remains upon the
|
|
hearts of those who shut their eyes against the light. Thus the apostle
|
|
expounds this passage,
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+3:13-15">2 Cor. iii. 13-15</A>.
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|
[4.] When Moses <I>went in before the Lord,</I> to speak with him in
|
|
the tabernacle of meeting, he <I>put off the veil,</I>
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|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+34:34"><I>v.</I> 34</A>.
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|
|
Then there was no occasion for it, and, before God, every man does and
|
|
must appear unveiled; for <I>all things are naked and open before the
|
|
eyes of him with whom we have to do,</I> and it is folly for us to
|
|
think of concealing or disguising any thing. Every veil must be thrown
|
|
aside when we come to present ourselves unto the Lord. This signified
|
|
also, as it is explained
|
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|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+3:16">2 Cor. iii. 16</A>),
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|
|
that when a soul turns to the Lord the veil shall be taken away, and
|
|
with open face it may behold his glory. And when we shall come before
|
|
the Lord in heaven, to be there for ever speaking with him, the veil
|
|
shall not only be taken off from the divine glory, but from our hearts
|
|
and eyes, that we may see as we are seen, and know as we are known.</P>
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