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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Deuteronomy, Chapter XIV].</TITLE>
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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. XIV.</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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Moses in this chapter teaches them,
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I. To distinguish themselves from their neighbours by a singularity,
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1. In their mourning,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+14:1,2">ver. 1, 2</A>.
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2. In their meat,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+14:3-21">ver. 3-21</A>.
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II. To devote themselves unto God, and, in token of that, to give him
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his dues out of their estates, the yearly tithe, and that every third
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year, for the maintenance of their religious feasts, the Levites, and
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the poor,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+14:22-29">ver. 22</A>,
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&c.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="De14_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="De14_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="De14_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="De14_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="De14_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="De14_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="De14_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="De14_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="De14_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="De14_16"> </A>
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<A NAME="De14_17"> </A>
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<A NAME="De14_18"> </A>
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<A NAME="De14_21"> </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>What Might Be Eaten, and What Not.</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 Ye <I>are</I> the children of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> your God: ye shall not cut
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yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead.
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2 For thou <I>art</I> a holy people unto the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> thy God, and the
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L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above
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all the nations that <I>are</I> upon the earth.
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3 Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing.
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4 These <I>are</I> the beasts which ye shall eat: the ox, the sheep,
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and the goat,
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5 The hart, and the roebuck, and the fallow deer, and the wild
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goat, and the pygarg, and the wild ox, and the chamois.
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6 And every beast that parteth the hoof, and cleaveth the cleft
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into two claws, <I>and</I> cheweth the cud among the beasts, that ye
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shall eat.
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7 Nevertheless these ye shall not eat of them that chew the
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cud, or of them that divide the cloven hoof; <I>as</I> the camel, and
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the hare, and the coney: for they chew the cud, but divide not
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the hoof; <I>therefore</I> they <I>are</I> unclean unto you.
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8 And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not
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the cud, it <I>is</I> unclean unto you: ye shall not eat of their
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flesh, nor touch their dead carcase.
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9 These ye shall eat of all that <I>are</I> in the waters: all that
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have fins and scales shall ye eat:
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10 And whatsoever hath not fins and scales ye may not eat; it
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<I>is</I> unclean unto you.
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11 <I>Of</I> all clean birds ye shall eat.
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12 But these <I>are they</I> of which ye shall not eat: the eagle,
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and the ossifrage, and the ospray,
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13 And the glede, and the kite, and the vulture after his kind,
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14 And every raven after his kind,
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15 And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the
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hawk after his kind,
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16 The little owl, and the great owl, and the swan,
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17 And the pelican, and the gier eagle, and the cormorant,
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18 And the stork, and the heron after her kind, and the
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lapwing, and the bat.
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19 And every creeping thing that flieth <I>is</I> unclean unto you:
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they shall not be eaten.
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20 <I>But of</I> all clean fowls ye may eat.
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21 Ye shall not eat <I>of</I> any thing that dieth of itself: thou
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shalt give it unto the stranger that <I>is</I> in thy gates, that he
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may eat it; or thou mayest sell it unto an alien: for thou <I>art</I>
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a holy people unto the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid
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in his mother's milk.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Moses here tells the people of Israel,</P>
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<P>
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I. How God had dignified them, as a peculiar people, with three
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distinguishing privileges, which were their honour, and figures of
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those spiritual blessings in heavenly things with which God has in
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Christ blessed us.
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1. Here is election: <I>The Lord hath chosen thee,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+14:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
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Not for their own merit, nor for any good works foreseen, but because
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he would magnify the riches of his power and grace among them. He did
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not choose them because they were by their own dedication and
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subjection a peculiar people to him above other nations, but he chose
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them that they might be so by his grace; and thus were believers
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chosen,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+1:4">Eph. i. 4</A>.
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2. Here is adoption
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+14:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>):
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"<I>You are the children of the Lord your God,</I> formed by him into a
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people, owned by him as his people, nay, his family, <I>a people near
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unto him,</I> nearer than any other." <I>Israel is my son, my
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first-born;</I> not because he needed children, but because they were
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orphans, and needed a father. Every Israelite is indeed a child of God,
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a partaker of his nature and favour, his love and blessing <I>Behold
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what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us!</I>
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3. Here is sanctification
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+14:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>):
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"<I>Thou art a holy people,</I> separated and set apart for God,
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devoted to his service, designed for his praise, governed by a holy
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law, graced by a holy tabernacle, and the holy ordinances relating to
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it." God's people are under the strongest obligations to be holy, and,
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if they are holy, are indebted to the grace of God that makes them so.
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The Lord has set them apart for himself, and qualified them for his
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service and the enjoyment of him, and so has made them holy to
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himself.</P>
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<P>
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II. How they ought to distinguish themselves by a sober singularity
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from all the nations that were about them. And, God having thus
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advanced them, let not them debase themselves by admitting the
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superstitious customs of idolaters, and, by making themselves like
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them, put themselves upon the level with them. <I>Be you the children
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of the Lord your God;</I> so the Seventy read it, as a command, that
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is, "Carry yourselves as becomes the children of God, and do nothing to
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disgrace the honour and forfeit the privileges of the relation." In two
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things particularly they must distinguish themselves:--</P>
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<P>
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1. In their mourning: <I>You shall not cut yourselves,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+14:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
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This forbids (as some think), not only their cutting themselves at
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their funerals, either to express their grief or with their own blood
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to appease the infernal deities, but their wounding and mangling
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themselves in the worship of their gods, as Baal's prophets did
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+18:28">1 Kings xviii. 28</A>),
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or their marking themselves by incisions in their flesh for such and
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such deities, which in them, above any, would be an inexcusable crime,
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who in the sign of circumcision bore about with them in their bodies
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the marks of the Lord Jehovah. So that,
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(1.) They are forbidden to deform or hurt their own bodies upon any
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account. Methinks this is like a parent's change to his little
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children, that are foolish, careless, and wilful, and are apt to play
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with knives: <I>Children, you shall not cut yourselves.</I> This is the
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intention of those commands which oblige us to deny ourselves; the true
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meaning of them, if we understood them aright, would appear to be,
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<I>Do yourselves no harm.</I> And this also is the design of those
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providences which most cross us, to remove from us those things by
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which we are in danger of doing ourselves harm. Knives are taken from
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us, lest we should cut ourselves. Those that are dedicated to God as a
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holy people must do nothing to disfigure themselves; the body is for
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the Lord, and is to be used accordingly.
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(2.) They are forbidden to disturb and afflict their own minds with
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inordinate grief for the loss of near and dear relations: "You shall
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not express or exasperate you sorrow, even upon the most mournful
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occasions, by cutting yourselves, and making baldness between your
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eyes, like men enraged, or resolvedly hardened in sorrow for the dead,
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as those that have no hope,"
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Th+4:13">1 Thess. iv. 13</A>.
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It is an excellent passage which Mr. Ainsworth here quotes from one of
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the Jewish writers, who understands this as a law against immoderate
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grief for the death of our relations. <I>If your father</I> (for
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instance) <I>die, you shall not cut yourselves,</I> that is, <I>you
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shall not sorrow more than is meet, for you are not fatherless, you
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have a Father, who is great, living, and permanent, even the holy
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blessed God,</I> whose children you are,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+14:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
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<I>But an infidel</I> (says he), <I>when his father dies, hath no
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father that can help him in time of need; for he hath said to a stock,
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Thou art my father, and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+2:27">Jer. ii. 27</A>);
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<I>therefore he weeps, cuts himself, and makes himself bald.</I> We
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that have a God to hope in, and a heaven to hope for, must bear up
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ourselves with that hope under every burden of this kind.</P>
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<P>
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2. They must be singular in their meat. Observe,</P>
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<P>
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(1.) Many sorts of flesh which were wholesome enough, and which other
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people did commonly eat, they must religiously abstain from as unclean.
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This law we had before
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+11:2">Lev. xi. 2</A>,
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where it was largely opened. It seems plainly, by the connection here,
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to be intended as a mark of peculiarity; for their observance of it
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would cause them to be taken notice of in all mixed companies as a
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separate people, and would preserve them from mingling themselves with,
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and conforming themselves to, their idolatrous neighbours.
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[1.] Concerning beasts, here is a more particular enumeration of those
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which they were allowed to eat then was in Leviticus, to show that they
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had no reason to complain of their being restrained from eating swines'
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flesh, and hares, and rabbits (which were all that were then forbidden,
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but are now commonly used), when they were allowed so great a variety,
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not only of that which we call butcher's meat
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+14:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>),
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which alone was offered in sacrifice, but of venison, which they had
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great plenty of in Canaan, <I>the hart, and the roe-buck, and the
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fallow deer</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+14:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>),
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which, though never brought to God's altar, was allowed them at their
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own table. See
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+12:22"><I>ch.</I> xii. 22</A>.
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When of all these (as Adam of <I>every tree of the garden</I>) they
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might freely eat, those were inexcusable who, to gratify a perverse
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appetite, or (as should seem) in honour of their idols, and in
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participation of their idolatrous sacrifices, <I>ate swines' flesh, and
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had broth of abominable things</I> (made so by this law) <I>in their
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vessels,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+65:4">Isa. lxv. 4</A>.
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[2.] Concerning fish there is only one general rule given, that
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whatsoever had not fins and scales (as shell-fish and eels, besides
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leeches and other animals in the water that are not proper food) was
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<I>unclean and forbidden,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+14:9,10"><I>v.</I> 9, 10</A>.
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[3.] No general rule is given concerning fowl, but those are
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particularly mentioned that were to be unclean to them, and there are
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few or none of them which are here forbidden that are now commonly
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eaten; and whatsoever is not expressly forbidden is allowed,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+14:11-20"><I>v.</I> 11-20</A>.
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<I>Of all clean fowls you may eat.</I>
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[4.] They are further forbidden, <I>First,</I> To eat the flesh of any
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creature that died of itself, because the blood was not separated from
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it, and, besides the ceremonial uncleanness which it lay under (from
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+11:39">Lev. xi. 39</A>),
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it is not wholesome food, nor ordinarily used among us, except by the
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poor. <I>Secondly,</I> To <I>seethe a kid in its mother's milk,</I>
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either to gratify their own luxury, supposing it a dainty bit, or in
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conformity to some superstitious custom of the heathen. The Chaldee
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paraphrasts read it, <I>Thou shalt not eat flesh--meats and milk--meats
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together;</I> and so it would forbid the use of butter as sauce to any
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flesh.</P>
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<P>
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(2.) Now as to all these precepts concerning their food,
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[1.] It is plain in the law itself that they belonged only to the Jews,
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and were not moral, nor of perpetual use, because not of universal
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obligation; for what they might not eat themselves they might give to a
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stranger, a proselyte of the gate, that had renounced idolatry, and
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therefore was permitted to live among them, though not circumcised; or
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they might sell it to an alien, a mere Gentile, that came into their
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country for trade, but might not settle it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+14:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>.
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They might feed upon that which an Israelite might not touch, which is
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a plain instance of their peculiarity, and their being a holy people.
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[2.] It is plain in the gospel that they are now antiquated and
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repealed. For <I>every creature of God is good, and nothing now to be
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refused,</I> or <I>called common and unclean,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ti+4:4">1 Tim. iv. 4</A>.</P>
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<A NAME="De14_22"> </A>
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<A NAME="De14_23"> </A>
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<A NAME="De14_24"> </A>
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<A NAME="De14_25"> </A>
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<A NAME="De14_26"> </A>
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<A NAME="De14_27"> </A>
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<A NAME="De14_28"> </A>
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<A NAME="De14_29"> </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>Tithes for Feasting and Charity.</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>22 Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that
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the field bringeth forth year by year.
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23 And thou shalt eat before the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> thy God, in the place
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which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy
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corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy
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herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>
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thy God always.
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24 And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not
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able to carry it; <I>or</I> if the place be too far from thee, which
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the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> thy God shall choose to set his name there, when the
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L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> thy God hath blessed thee:
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25 Then shalt thou turn <I>it</I> into money, and bind up the money
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in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> thy God
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shall choose:
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26 And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul
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lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong
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drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat
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there before the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and
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|
thine household,
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27 And the Levite that <I>is</I> within thy gates; thou shalt not
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|
forsake him; for he hath no part nor inheritance with thee.
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28 At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the
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|
tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay <I>it</I> up
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|
within thy gates:
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29 And the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance
|
|
with thee,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow,
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|
which <I>are</I> within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be
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|
satisfied; that the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> thy God may bless thee in all the work
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|
of thine hand which thou doest.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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We have here a part of the statute concerning tithes. The productions
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|
of the ground were twice tithed, so that, putting both together, a
|
|
fifth part was devoted to God out of their increase, and only four
|
|
parts of five were for their own common use; and they could not but own
|
|
they paid an easy rent, especially since God's part was disposed of to
|
|
their own benefit and advantage. The first tithe was for the
|
|
maintenance of their Levites, who taught them the good knowledge of
|
|
God, and ministered to them in holy things; this is supposed as
|
|
anciently due, and is entailed upon the Levites as an inheritance, by
|
|
that law,
|
|
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+18:24">Num. xviii. 24</A>,
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|
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&c. But it is the second tithe that is here spoken of, which was to be
|
|
taken out of the remainder when the Levites had had theirs.</P>
|
|
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<P>
|
|
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I. They are here charged to separate it, and set it apart for God:
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|
<I>Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of they seed,</I>
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|
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+14:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>.
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|
|
|
The Levites took care of their own, but the separating of this was left
|
|
to the owners themselves, the law encouraging them to be honest by
|
|
reposing a confidence in them, and so trying their fear of God. They
|
|
are commanded to tithe <I>truly,</I> that is, to be sure to do it, and
|
|
to do it faithfully and carefully, that God's part might not be
|
|
diminished either with design or by oversight. Note, We must be sure to
|
|
give God his full dues out of our estates; for, being but stewards of
|
|
them, it is required that we be faithful, as those that must give
|
|
account.</P>
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|
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|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. They are here directed how to dispose of it when they had separated
|
|
it. Let every man lay by as God prospers him and gives him success, and
|
|
then let him lay out in pious uses as God gives him opportunity; and it
|
|
will be the easier to lay out, and the proportion will be more
|
|
satisfying, when first we have laid by. This second tithe may be
|
|
disposed of,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. In works of piety, for the first two years after the year of
|
|
release. They must bring it up, either in kind or in the full value of
|
|
it, to the place of the sanctuary, and there must spend it in holy
|
|
feasting before the Lord. If they could do it with any convenience,
|
|
they must bring it in kind
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+14:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>);
|
|
|
|
but, if not, they might turn it into money
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+14:24,25"><I>v.</I> 24, 25</A>),
|
|
|
|
and that money must be laid out in something to feast upon before the
|
|
Lord. The comfortable cheerful using of what God has given us, with
|
|
temperance and sobriety, is really the honouring of God with it.
|
|
Contentment, holy joy, and thankfulness, make every meal a religious
|
|
feast. The end of this law we have
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+14:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>That thou mayest learn to fear the Lord thy God always;</I> it was
|
|
to keep them right and firm to their religion,
|
|
|
|
(1.) By acquainting them with the sanctuary, the holy things, and the
|
|
solemn services that were there performed. What they read the
|
|
appointment of their Bibles, it would do them good to see the
|
|
observance of in the tabernacle; it would make a deeper impression upon
|
|
them, which would keep them out of the snares of the idolatrous
|
|
customs. Note, It will have a good influence upon our constancy in
|
|
religion <I>never to forsake the assembling of ourselves together,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+10:25">Heb. x. 25</A>.
|
|
|
|
By the comfort of the communion of saints, we may be kept to our
|
|
communion with God.
|
|
|
|
(2.) By using them to the most pleasant and delightful services of
|
|
religion. Let them <I>rejoice before the Lord, that they may learn to
|
|
fear him always.</I> The more pleasure we find in the ways of religion
|
|
the more likely we shall be to persevere in those ways. One thing they
|
|
must remember in their pious entertainments--to bid their Levites
|
|
welcome to them. Thou shalt not <I>forsake the Levites</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+14:27"><I>v.</I> 27</A>):
|
|
|
|
"Let him never be a stranger to thy table, especially when thou eatest
|
|
before the Lord."</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. Every third year this tithe must be disposed of at home in works of
|
|
charity
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+14:28,29"><I>v.</I> 28, 29</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Lay it up within they own gates,</I> and let it be given to the
|
|
poor, who, knowing the provision this law had made for them, no doubt
|
|
would come to seek it; and, that they might make the poor familiar to
|
|
them and not disdain their company, they are here directed to welcome
|
|
them to their houses. "Thither let them come, and eat and be
|
|
satisfied." In this charitable distribution of the second tithe they
|
|
must have an eye to the poor ministers and add to their encouragement
|
|
by entertaining them, then to poor strangers (not only for the supply
|
|
of their necessities, but to put a respect upon them, and so to invite
|
|
them to turn proselytes), and then to the fatherless and widow, who,
|
|
though perhaps they might have a competent maintenance left them, yet
|
|
could not be supposed to live so plentifully and comfortably as they
|
|
had done in months past, and therefore they were to countenance them,
|
|
and help to make them easy by inviting them to this entertainment. God
|
|
has a particular care for widows and fatherless, and he requires that
|
|
we should have the same. It is his honour, and will be ours, to help
|
|
the helpless. And if we thus serve God, and do good with what we have,
|
|
it is promised here that the Lord our God will <I>bless us in all the
|
|
work of our hand.</I> Note,
|
|
|
|
(1.) The blessing of God is all in all to our outward prosperity, and,
|
|
without that blessing, the work of our hands which we do will bring
|
|
nothing to pass.
|
|
|
|
(2.) The way to obtain that blessing is to be diligent and charitable.
|
|
The blessing descends upon the working hand: "Except not that God
|
|
should bless thee in thy idleness and love of ease, but in all the work
|
|
of they hand." It is the hand of the diligent, with the blessing of God
|
|
upon it, that makes rich,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+10:4,22">Prov. x. 4, 22</A>.
|
|
|
|
And it descends upon the giving hand; he that thus scatters certainly
|
|
increases, and the liberal soul will be made fat. It is an undoubted
|
|
truth, though little believed, that to be charitable to the poor, and
|
|
to be free and generous in the support of religion and any good work,
|
|
is the surest and safest way of thriving. What is lent to the Lord
|
|
will be repaid with abundant interest. See
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+44:30">Ezek. xliv. 30</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
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