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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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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>D E U T E R O N O M Y</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. XVII.</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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The charge of this chapter is,
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I. Concerning the purity and perfection of all those animals that were
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offered in sacrifice,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+17:1">ver. 1</A>.
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II. Concerning the punishment of those that worshipped idols,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+17:2-7">ver. 2-7</A>.
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III. Concerning appeals from the inferior courts to the great
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sanhedrim,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+17:8-13">ver. 8-13</A>.
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IV. Concerning the choice and duty of a king,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+17:14-20">ver. 14</A>,
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&c.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="De17_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="De17_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="De17_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="De17_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="De17_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="De17_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="De17_7"> </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>The Punishment of Idolatry.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1451.</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 Thou shalt not sacrifice unto the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> thy God <I>any</I> bullock,
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or sheep, wherein is blemish, <I>or</I> any evilfavouredness: for that
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<I>is</I> an abomination unto the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> thy God.
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2 If there be found among you, within any of thy gates which
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the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that hath wrought
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wickedness in the sight of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> thy God, in transgressing his
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covenant,
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3 And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them,
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either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I
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have not commanded;
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4 And it be told thee, and thou hast heard <I>of it,</I> and
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enquired diligently, and, behold, <I>it be</I> true, <I>and</I> the thing
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certain, <I>that</I> such abomination is wrought in Israel:
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5 Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which
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have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, <I>even</I> that man
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or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones, till they die.
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6 At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he
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that is worthy of death be put to death; <I>but</I> at the mouth of
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one witness he shall not be put to death.
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7 The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him
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to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So thou
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shalt put the evil away from among you.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here is,
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I. A law for preserving the honour of God's worship, by providing that
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no creature that had any blemish should be offered in sacrifice to him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+17:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
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This caveat we have often met with: <I>Thou shalt not sacrifice that
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which has any blemish,</I> which renders it unsightly, or <I>any evil
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matter or thing</I> (as the following word night better be rendered),
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any sickness or weakness, though not discernible at first view; it is
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an abomination to God. God is the best of beings, and therefore
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whatsoever he is served with ought to be the best in its kind. And the
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Old-Testament sacrifices in a special manner must be so, because they
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were types of Christ, who is a <I>Lamb without blemish or spot</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Pe+1:19">1 Pet. i. 19</A>),
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perfectly pure from all sin and all appearance of it. In the latter
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times of the Jewish church, when by the captivity in Babylon they were
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cured of idolatry, yet they were charged with profaneness in the breach
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of this law, with <I>offering the blind, and the lame, and the sick for
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sacrifice,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mal+1:8">Mal. i. 8</A>.</P>
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<P>
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II. A law for the punishing of those that worshipped false gods. It was
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made a capital crime to seduce others to idolatry
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+13:1-18"><I>ch.</I> xiii.</A>),
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here it is made no less to be seduced. If the <I>blind thus mislead the
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blind, both must fall into the ditch.</I> Thus God would possess them
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with a dread of that sin, which they must conclude exceedingly sinful
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when so many sanguinary laws were made against it, and would deter
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those from it that would not otherwise be persuaded against it; and yet
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the law, which works death, proved ineffectual. See here,</P>
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<P>
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1. What the crime was against which this law was levelled, serving or
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worshipping other gods,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+17:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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That which was the most ancient and plausible idolatry is specified,
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worshipping the sun, moon, and stars; and, if that was so detestable a
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thing, much more was it so to worship stocks and stones, or the
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representations of mean and contemptible animals. Of this it is said,
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(1.) That it is what God had not commanded. He had again and again
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forbidden it; but it is thus expressed to intimate that, if there had
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been no more against it, this had been enough (for in the worship of
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God his institution and appointment must be our rule and warrant), and
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that God never commanded his worshippers to debase themselves so far as
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to do homage to their fellow-creatures: had God commanded them to do
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it, they might justly have complained of it as a reproach and
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disparagement to them; yet, when he has forbidden it, they will, from a
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spirit of contradiction, put this indignity upon themselves.
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(2.) That it is <I>wickedness in the sight of God,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+17:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
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Be it ever so industriously concealed, he sees it, and, be it ever so
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ingeniously palliated, he hates it: it is a sin in itself exceedingly
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heinous, and the highest affront that can be offered to Almighty God.
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(3.) That it is a transgression of the covenant. It was on this
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condition that God took them to be his peculiar people, that they
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should serve and worship him only as their God, so that if they gave to
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any other the honour which was due to him alone that covenant was void,
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and all the benefit of it forfeited. Other sins were transgressions of
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the command, but this was a transgression of the covenant. It was
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spiritual adultery, which breaks them marriage bond.
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(4.) That it is abomination in Israel,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+17:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
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Idolatry was bad enough in any, but it was particularly abominable in
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Israel, a people so blessed with peculiar discoveries of the will and
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favour of the only true and living God.</P>
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<P>
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2. How it must be tried. Upon information given of it, or any ground of
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suspicion that any person whatsoever, man or woman, had served other
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gods,
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(1.) Enquiry must be made,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+17:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
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Though it appears not certain at first, it may afterwards upon search
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appear so; and, if it can possibly be discovered, it must not be
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unpunished; if not, yet the very enquiry concerning it would possess
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the country with a dread of it.
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(2.) Evidence must be given in,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+17:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>.
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How heinous and dangerous soever the crime is, yet they must not punish
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any for it, unless there were good proof against them, by two witnesses
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at least. They must not, under pretence of honouring God, wrong an
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innocent man. This law, which requires two witnesses in case of life,
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we had before,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+35:30">Num. xxxv. 30</A>;
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it is quoted,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+18:16">Matt. xviii. 16</A>.</P>
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<P>
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3. What sentence must be passed and executed. So great a punishment as
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death, so great a death as stoning, must be inflicted on the idolater,
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whether man or woman, for the infirmity of the weaker sex would be no
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excuse,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+17:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>.
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The place of execution must be the gate of the city, that the shame
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might be the greater to the criminal and the warning the more public to
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all others. The hands of the witnesses, in this as in other cases, must
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be first upon him, that is, they must cast the first stone at him,
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thereby avowing their testimony, and solemnly imprecating the guilt of
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his blood upon themselves if their evidence were false. This custom
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might be of use to deter men from false-witness bearing. The witnesses
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are really, and therefore it was required that they should be actually,
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the death of the malefactor. But they must be followed, and the
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execution completed, by the hands of all the people, who were thus to
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testify their detestation of the crime and to <I>put the evil away from
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among them,</I> as before,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+13:9"><I>ch.</I> xiii. 9</A>.</P>
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<A NAME="De17_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="De17_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="De17_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="De17_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="De17_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="De17_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Authority of the Judges.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1451.</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>8 If there arise a matter too hard for thee in judgment,
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between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between
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stroke and stroke, <I>being</I> matters of controversy within thy
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gates: then shalt thou arise, and get thee up into the place
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which the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> thy God shall choose;
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9 And thou shalt come unto the priests the Levites, and unto
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the judge that shall be in those days, and enquire; and they
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shall show thee the sentence of judgment:
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10 And thou shalt do according to the sentence, which they of
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that place which the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> shall choose shall show thee; and thou
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shalt observe to do according to all that they inform thee:
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11 According to the sentence of the law which they shall teach
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thee, and according to the judgment which they shall tell thee,
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thou shalt do: thou shalt not decline from the sentence which
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they shall show thee, <I>to</I> the right hand, nor <I>to</I> the left.
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12 And the man that will do presumptuously, and will not
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hearken unto the priest that standeth to minister there before
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the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> thy God, or unto the judge, even that man shall die: and
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thou shalt put away the evil from Israel.
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13 And all the people shall hear, and fear, and do no more
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presumptuously.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Courts of judgment were ordered to be erected in every city
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+16:18"><I>ch.</I> xvi. 18</A>),
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and they were empowered to hear and determine causes according to law,
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both those which we call pleas of the crown and those between party and
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party; and we may suppose that ordinarily they ended the matters that
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were brought before them, and their sentence was definitive; but,
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1. It is here taken for granted that sometimes a case might come into
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their court too difficult for those inferior judges to determine, who
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could not be thought to be so learned in the laws as those that
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presided in the higher courts; so that (to speak in the language of our
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law) they must find a special verdict, and take time to advise before
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the giving of judgment
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+17:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>):
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<I>If there arise a matter too hard for thee in judgment,</I> which it
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would be no dishonour to the judges to own the difficulty of,--suppose
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it between <I>blood and blood,</I> the blood of a person which cried
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and the blood of him that was charged with the murder which was
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demanded, when it was doubtful upon the evidence whether it was wilful
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or casual,--or between <I>plea and plea,</I> the plea (that is, the
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bill or declaration) of the plaintiff and the plea of the
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defendant,--or between <I>stroke and stroke,</I> in actions of assault
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and battery; in these and similar cases, thought the evidence were
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plain, yet doubts might arise about the sense and meaning of the law
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and the application of it to the particular case.
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2. These difficult cases, which hitherto had been brought to Moses,
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according to Jethro's advice, were, after his death, to be brought to
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the supreme power, wherever it was lodged, whether in a judge (when
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there was such an extraordinary person raised up and qualified for that
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great service, as Othniel, Deborah, Gideon, &c.) or in the high-priest
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(when he was by the eminency of his gifts called of God to preside in
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public affairs, as Eli), or, if no single person were marked by heaven
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for this honour, then in the priests and Levites (or in the priests,
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who were Levites of course), who not only attended the sanctuary, but
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met in council to receive appeals from the inferior courts, who might
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reasonably be supposed, not only to be best qualified by their learning
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and experience, but to have the best assistance of the divine Spirit
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for the deciding of doubts,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+17:9,11,12"><I>v.</I> 9, 11, 12</A>.
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They are not appointed to consult the urim and thummim, for it is
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supposed that these were to be consulted only in cases relating to the
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public, either the body of the people or the prince; but in ordinary
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cases the wisdom and integrity of those that sat at the stern must be
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relied on, their judgment had not the divine authority of an oracle,
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yet besides the moral certainty it had, as the judgment of knowing,
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prudent, and experienced men, it had the advantage of a divine promise,
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implied in those words
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+17:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>),
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<I>They shall show thee the sentence of judgment;</I> it had also the
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support of a divine institution, by which they were made the supreme
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judicature of the nation.
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3. The definitive sentence given by the judge, priest, or great
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council, must be obeyed by the parties concerned, upon pain of death:
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<I>Thou shalt do according to their sentence</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+17:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>);
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thou shalt observe to do it, thou shalt not <I>decline from it</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+17:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>),
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<I>to the right hand nor to the left.</I> Note, It is for the honour of
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God and the welfare of a people that the authority of the higher power
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be supported and the due order of government observed, that those be
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obeyed who are appointed to rule, and that every soul be subject to
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them in all those things that fall within their commission. Though the
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party thought himself injured by the sentence (as every man is apt to
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be partial in is own cause), yet he must needs be subject, must stand
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to the award, how unpleasing soever, and bear, or lose, or pay,
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|
according to it, not only for wrath, but also for conscience' sake. But
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|
if an inferior judge contradict the sentence of the higher court and
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will not execute the orders of it, or a private person refuse to
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|
conform to their sentence, the contumacy must be punished with death,
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|
though the matter were ever so small in which the opposition was made:
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<I>That man shall die, and all the people shall hear and fear,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+17:12,13"><I>v.</I> 12, 13</A>.
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See here,
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(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.
|
|
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|
(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
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|
Son of God,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+10:28,29">Heb. x. 28, 29</A>.</P>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Choice of a King.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1451.</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>14 When thou art come unto the land which the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> thy God
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giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein, and
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shalt say, I will set a king over me, like as all the nations
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that <I>are</I> about me;
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15 Thou shalt in any wise set <I>him</I> king over thee, whom the
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L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> thy God shall choose: <I>one</I> from among thy brethren shalt
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thou set king over thee: thou mayest not set a stranger over
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thee, which <I>is</I> not thy brother.
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16 But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the
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people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply
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horses: forasmuch as the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> hath said unto you, Ye shall
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henceforth return no more that way.
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17 Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart
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turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself
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silver and gold.
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18 And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his
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kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out
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of <I>that which is</I> before the priests the Levites:
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19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the
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days of his life: that he may learn to fear the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> his God, to
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keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them:
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20 That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that
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he turn not aside from the commandment, <I>to</I> the right hand, or
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<I>to</I> the left: to the end that he may prolong <I>his</I> days in his
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kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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After the laws which concerned subjects fitly followed the laws which
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concern kings; for those that rule others must themselves remember that
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they are under command. Here are laws given,</P>
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<P>
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I. To the electors of the empire, what rules they must go by in making
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their choice,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+17:14,15"><I>v.</I> 14, 15</A>.
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1. It is here supposed that the people would, in process of time, be
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desirous of a king, whose royal pomp and power would be thought to make
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their nation look great among their neighbours. Their having a king is
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neither promised as a mercy nor commanded as a duty (nothing could be
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better for them than the divine regimen they were under), but it is
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permitted them if they desired it. If they would but take care to have
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the ends of government answered, and God's laws duly observed and put
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in execution, they should not be tied to any one form of government,
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but should be welcome to have a king. Though something irregular is
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supposed to be the principle of the desire, that they might be like the
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nations (whereas God in many ways distinguished them from the nations),
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yet God would indulge them in it, because he intended to serve his own
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purposes by it, in making the regal government typical of the kingdom
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of the Messiah.
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2. They are directed in their choice. If they will have a king over
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them, as God foresaw they would (though it does not appear that ever
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the motion was made till almost 400 years after), then they must,
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(1.) Ask counsel at God's mouth, and make him king whom God shall
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choose; and happy it was for them that they had an oracle to consult in
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so weighty an affair, and a God to choose for them who knows infallibly
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what every man is and will be. Kings are God's vicegerents, and
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therefore it is fit that he should have the choosing of them: God had
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himself been in a particular manner Israel's King, and if they set
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another over them, under him, it was necessary that he should nominate
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the person. Accordingly, when the people desired a king, they applied
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to Samuel a prophet of the Lord; and afterwards David, Solomon,
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Jeroboam, Jehu, and others, were chosen by the prophets; and the people
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are reproved for not observing this law,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+8:4">Hos. viii. 4</A>:
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<I>They have set up kings but not by me.</I> In all cases God's choice,
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if we can but know it, should direct, determine, and overrule ours.
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(2.) They must not choose a foreigner under pretence of strengthening
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their alliances, or of the extraordinary fitness of the person, lest a
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strange king should introduce strange customs of usages, contrary to
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those that were established by the divine law; but he must be <I>one
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from among thy brethren,</I> that he may be a type of Christ, who is
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bone of our bone,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+2:14">Heb. ii. 14</A>.</P>
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<P>
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II. Laws are here given to the prince that should be elected for the
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due administration of the government.</P>
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<P>
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1. He must carefully avoid every thing that would divert him from God
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and religion. Riches, honours, and pleasures are the three great
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hindrances of godliness (<I>the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the
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eye, and the pride of life</I>), especially to those in high stations:
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against these therefore the king is here warned.
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(1.) He must not gratify the love of honour by multiplying horses,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+17:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>.
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He that rode upon a horse (a stately creature) in a country where asses
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and mules were generally used looked very great; and therefore though
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he might have horses for his own saddle, and chariots, yet he must not
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set <I>servants on horseback</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+10:7">Eccl. x. 7</A>)
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nor have many horses for his officers and guards (when God was their
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King, his judges rode on asses,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jdg+5:10,12:14">Judg. v. 10; xii. 14</A>),
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nor must he multiply horses for war, lest he should trust too much to
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them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+20:7,33:17,Ho+14:3">Ps. xx. 7; xxxiii. 17; Hos. xiv. 3</A>.
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The reason here given against his multiplying horses is because it
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would produce a greater correspondence with Egypt (which furnished
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Canaan with horses,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+10:28,29">1 Kings x. 28, 29</A>)
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than it was fit the Israel of God should have, who were brought thence
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with such a high hand: <I>You shall return no more that way,</I> for
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fear of being infected with the idolatries of Egypt
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+18:3">Lev. xviii. 3</A>),
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to which they were very prone. Note, We should take heed of that
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commerce or conversation by which we are in danger of being drawn into
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sin. If Israel must not return to Egypt, they must not trade with
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Egypt; Solomon got no good by it.
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(2.) He must not gratify the love of pleasure by multiplying wives
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+17:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>),
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as Solomon did to his undoing
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+11:1">1 Kings xi. 1</A>),
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that his heart, being set upon them, turn not away from business, and
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every thing that is serious, and especially from the exercise of piety
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and devotion, to which nothing is a greater enemy than the indulgence
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of the flesh.
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(3.) He must not gratify the love of riches by greatly multiplying
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silver and gold. A competent treasure is allowed him, and he is not
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forbidden to be good husband of it, but,
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[1.] He must not greatly multiply money, so as to oppress his people by
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raising it (as Solomon seems to have done,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+12:4">1 Kings xii. 4</A>),
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nor so as to deceive himself, by trusting to it, and setting his heart
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upon it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+62:10">Ps. lxii. 10</A>.
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[2.] He must not multiply it to himself. David multiplied silver and
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gold, but it was for the service of God
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ch+29:4">1 Chron. xxix. 4</A>),
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not for himself; for his people, not for his own family.</P>
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<P>
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2. He must carefully apply himself to the law of God, and make that his
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rule. This must be to him better than all riches, honours, and
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pleasures, than many horses or many wives, better than thousands of
|
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gold and silver.</P>
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<P>
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(1.) He must write himself a copy of the law out of the original, which
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was in the custody of the priests that attended the sanctuary,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+17:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>.
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Some think that he was to write only this book of Deuteronomy, which is
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an abstract of the law, and the precepts of which, being mostly moral
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and judicial, concerned the king more than the laws in Leviticus and
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Numbers, which, being ceremonial, concerned chiefly the priests. Others
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think that he was to transcribe all the five books of Moses, which are
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called <I>the law,</I> and which were preserved together as the
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foundation of their religion. Now,
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[1.] Though the king might be presumed to have very fair copies by him
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|
from his ancestors, yet, besides those, he must have one of his own: it
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might be presumed that theirs were worn with constant use; he must have
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a fresh one to begin the world with.
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[2.] Though he had secretaries about him whom he might employ to write
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this copy, and who perhaps could write a better hand than he, yet he
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must do it himself, with his own hand, for the honour of the law, and
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|
that he might think no act of religion below him, to inure himself to
|
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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
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|
imprint it in his mind. Note, It is of great use for each of us to
|
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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
|
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with things new and old.
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[3.] He must do this even when he sits upon the throne of his kingdom,
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provided that he had not done it before. When he begins to apply
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himself to business, he must apply himself to this in the first place.
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|
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
|
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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>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+8:12">Hos. viii. 12</A>.</P>
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<P>
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(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
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|
days of his life,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+17:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>.
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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>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+1:2">Ps. i. 2</A>.
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And we must persevere in the use of the written word of God as long as
|
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we live. Christ's scholars never learn above their Bibles, but will
|
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have a constant occasion for them till they come to that world where
|
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knowledge and love will both be made perfect.</P>
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<P>
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(3.) His writing and reading were all nothing if he did not reduce to
|
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practice what he wrote and read,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+17:19,20"><I>v.</I> 19, 20</A>.
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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
|
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know,
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|
[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.
|
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|
|
[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>
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