L
E V I T I C U S
CHAP. XXVI.
This
chapter is a solemn conclusion of the main body of the levitical law. The
precepts that follow in this and the following book either relate to some
particular matters or are repetitions and explications of the foregoing
institutions. Now this chapter contains a general enforcement of all those
laws by promises of reward in case of obedience on the one hand, and
threatenings of punishment for disobedience on the other hand, the former to
work upon hope, the latter on fear, those two handles of the soul, by which it
is taken hold of and managed. Here is, I. A repetition of two or three of the
principal of the commandments, ver. 1, 2. II. An inviting promise of all good
things, if they would but keep God's commandments, ver. 3-13. III. A terrible
threatening of ruining judgments which would be brought upon them if they were
refractory and disobedient, ver. 14-39. IV. A gracious promise of the return
of mercy to those of them that would repent and reform, ver. 40, &c. Deut.
xxviii is parallel to this.
1 Ye shall make you no
idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye
set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am
the LORD
your God. 2 Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary:
I am the LORD.
3 If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them;
4 Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her
increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. 5
And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach
unto the sowing time: and ye shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in
your land safely. 6 And I will give peace in the land, and ye
shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid: and I will rid evil
beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land.
7 And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the
sword. 8 And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of
you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you
by the sword. 9 For I will have respect unto you, and make you
fruitful, and multiply you, and establish my covenant with you. 10
And ye shall eat old store, and bring forth the old because of the new.
11 And I will set my tabernacle among you: and my soul shall not abhor
you. 12 And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye
shall be my people. 13 I am the LORD
your God, which brought you forth out of the
land
of
Egypt
, that ye should not be their
bondmen; and I have broken the bands of your yoke, and made you go upright.
Here is, I. The inculcating of those precepts of the law which were of the
greatest consequence, and by which were of the greatest consequence, and by
which especially their obedience would be tried, v. 1, 2. They are the
abstract of the second and fourth commandments, which, as they are by much the
largest in the decalogue, so they are most frequently insisted on in other
parts of the law. As, when a master has given many things in charge to his
servant, he concludes with the repetition of those things which were of the
greatest importance, and which the servant was most in danger of neglecting,
bidding him, whatever he did, be sure to remember those, so here God by Moses,
after many precepts, closes all with a special charge to observe these two
great commandments. 1. "Be sure you never worship images, nor ever make
any sort of images or pictures for a religious use," v. 1. No sin
was more provoking to God than this, and yet there was none that they were
more addicted to, and which afterwards proved of more pernicious consequence
to them. Next to God's being, unity, and universal influence, it is necessary
that we know and believe that he is an infinite Spirit; and therefore to
represent him by an image in the making of it, to confine him to an image in
the consecrating of it, and to worship him by an image in bowing down to it, changes
his truth into a lie and his glory into shame, as much as any
thing. 2. "Be sure you keep up a great veneration for sabbaths and
religious assemblies," v. 2. As nothing tends more to corrupt
religion than the use of images in devotion, so nothing contributes more to
the support of it than keeping the sabbaths and reverencing the
sanctuary. These make up very much of the instrumental part of religion,
by which the essentials of it are kept up. Therefore we find in the prophets
that, next to the sin of idolatry, there is no sin for which the Jews are more
frequently reproved and threatened than the profanation of the sabbath day.
II. Great encouragements given them to live in constant obedience to all God's
commandments, largely and strongly assuring them that if they did so they
should be a happy people, and should be blessed with all the good things they
could desire. Human governments enforce their laws with penalties to be
inflicted for the breach of them; but God will be known as the rewarder of
those that seek and serve him. Let us take a view of these great and
precious promises, which, though they relate chiefly to the life which now is,
and to the public national concerns of that people, were typical of the
spiritual blessings entailed by the covenant of grace upon all believers
through Christ. 1. Plenty and abundance of the fruits of the earth. They
should have seasonable rain, neither too little nor too much, but what was
requisite for their land, which was watered with the dew of heaven (Deut. xi.
10, 11), that it might yield its increase, v. 4. The dependence
which the fruitfulness of the earth beneath has upon the influences of heaven
above is a sensible intimation to us that every good and perfect gift must be
expected from above, from the Father of lights. It is promised
that the earth should produce its fruits in such great abundance that they
would be kept in full employment, during both the harvest and the vintage, to
gather it in, v. 5. Before they had reaped their corn and threshed it,
the vintage would be ready; and, before they had finished their vintage, it
would be high time to begin their sowing. Long harvests are often with us the
consequences of bad weather, but with them they should be the effects of a
great increase. This signified the abundance of grace which should be poured
out in gospel times, when the ploughman should overtake the reaper
(Amos ix. 13), and a great harvest of souls should be gathered in to Christ.
The plenty should be so great that they should bring forth the old to
be given away to the poor because of the new, to make room for it in
their barns, which yet they would not pull down to build greater, as
that rich fool (Luke xii. 18), for God gave them this abundance to be laid
out, not be hoarded up from one year to another. He that withholdeth corn,
the people shall curse him, Prov. xi. 26. That promise (Mal. iii. 10), I
will pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive
it, explains this, v. 10. And that which crowns this blessing of
plenty is (v. 5), You shall eat your bread to the full, which
intimates that they should have, not only abundance, but content and
satisfaction in it. They should have enough, and should know when they had
enough. Thus the meek shall eat and be satisfied, Ps. xxii. 26. 2.
Peace under the divine protection; "You shall dwell in your land
safely (v. 5); both really save, and safe in your own
apprehensions; you shall lie down to rest in the power and promise of God, and
not only none shall hurt you, but none shall so much as make you afraid,"
v. 6. See Ps. iv. 8. They should not be infested with wild beasts,
these should be rid out of the land, or, as it is promised (Job v. 23),
should be at peace with them. Nor should they be terrified with the
alarms of war: Neither shall the sword go through your land. This holy
security is promised to all the faithful, Ps. xci. 1, &c. Those must needs
dwell in safety that dwell in God, Job ix. 18, 19. 3. Victory and
success in their wars abroad, while they had peace and tranquility at home, v.
7, 8. They are assured that the hand of God should so signally appear with
them in their conquests that no disproportion of numbers should make against
them: Five of you shall have courage to attack, and strength to chase
and defeat, a hundred, as Jonathan did (1 Sam. xiv. 12), experiencing
the truth of his own maxim (v. 6), that it is all one with the Lord to save
by many or by few. 4. The increase of their people: I will make you
fruitful and multiply you, v. 9. Thus the promise made to Abraham
must be fulfilled, that his seed should be as the dust of the earth;
and much more numerous they would have been if they had by their sin cut
themselves short. It is promised to the gospel church that it shall be
fruitful, John xv. 16. 5. The favour of God, which is the fountain of all
good: I will have respect unto you, v. 9. If the eye of our
faith be unto God, the eye of his favour will be unto us. More is implied than
is expressed in that promise, My soul shall not abhor you (v.
11), as there is in that threatening, My soul shall have no pleasure in
him, Heb. x. 38. Though there was that among them which might justly have
alienated him from them, yet, if they would closely adhere to his
institutions, he would not abhor them. 6. Tokens of his presence in and by his
ordinances: I will set my tabernacle among you, v. 11. It was
their honour and advantage that God's tabernacle was lately erected among
them; but here he lets them know that the continuance and establishment of it
depended upon their good behaviour. The tabernacle that was now set should be
settled if they would be obedient, else not. Note, The way to have God's
ordinances fixed among us, as a nail in a sure place, is to cleave closely to
the institution of them. It is added (v. 12), "I will walk
among you, with delight and satisfaction, as a man in his garden; I will
keep up communion with you as a man walking with his friend." This seems
to be alluded to, Rev. ii. 1, where Christ is said to walk in the midst of
the golden candlesticks. 7. The grace of the covenant, as the fountain and
foundation, the sweetness and security, of all these blessings: I will
establish my covenant with you, v. 9. Let them perform their part
of the covenant, and God would not fail to perform his. All covenant-blessings
are summed up in the covenant-relation (v. 12): I will be your God,
and you shall be my people; and they are all grounded upon their
redemption: I am your God, because I brought you forth out of the
land
of
Egypt
,
v. 13. Having purchased them, he would own them, and never cast them
off till they cast him off. He broke their yoke, and made them go
upright, that is, their deliverance out of
Egypt
put them in a state both of
ease and honour, that, being delivered out of the hands of their enemies, they
might serve God without fear, each walking in his uprightness.
When
Israel
rejected Christ, and was
therefore rejected by him, their back is said to be bowed down always
under the burden of their guilt, which was heavier than that of their bondage
in
Egypt
, Rom. xi. 10.
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Threatenings.
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B.
C. 1490.
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14 But if ye will not
hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments; 15 And if
ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye
will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant:
16 I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror,
consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause
sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall
eat it. 17 And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be
slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye
shall flee when none pursueth you. 18 And if ye will not yet for
all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times more for your
sins. 19 And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make
your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass: 20 And your strength
shall be spent in vain: for your land shall not yield her increase, neither
shall the trees of the land yield their fruits. 21 And if ye walk
contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me; I will bring seven times more
plagues upon you according to your sins. 22 I will also send wild
beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, and destroy your
cattle, and make you few in number; and your high ways shall be
desolate. 23 And if ye will not be reformed by me by these things,
but will walk contrary unto me; 24 Then will I also walk contrary
unto you, and will punish you yet seven times for your sins. 25
And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall avenge the quarrel of my
covenant: and when ye are gathered together within your cities, I will send
the pestilence among you; and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the
enemy. 26 And when I have broken the staff of your bread,
ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver you
your bread again by weight: and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied.
27 And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me, but walk contrary unto
me; 28 Then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I,
even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins. 29 And ye
shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye
eat. 30 And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your
images, and cast your carcases upon the carcases of your idols, and my soul
shall abhor you. 31 And I will make your cities waste, and bring
your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell the savour of your
sweet odours. 32 And I will bring the land into desolation: and
your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished at it. 33 And
I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and
your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste. 34 Then shall
the land enjoy her sabbaths, as long as it lieth desolate, and ye be in
your enemies' land; even then shall the land rest, and enjoy her
sabbaths. 35 As long as it lieth desolate it shall rest; because
it did not rest in your sabbaths, when ye dwelt upon it. 36 And
upon them that are left alive of you I will send a faintness into their
hearts in the lands of their enemies; and the sound of a shaken leaf shall
chase them; and they shall flee, as fleeing from a sword; and they shall fall
when none pursueth. 37 And they shall fall one upon another, as it
were before a sword, when none pursueth: and ye shall have no power to stand
before your enemies. 38 And ye shall perish among the heathen, and
the land of your enemies shall eat you up. 39 And they that are
left of you shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies' lands; and also
in the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with them.
After God had set the blessing before them (the life and good which would make
them a happy people if they would be obedient), he here sets the curse before
them, the death and evil which would make them as miserable if they were
disobedient. Let them not think themselves so deeply rooted as that God's
power could not ruin them, nor so highly favoured as that his justice would
not ruin them if they revolted from him and rebelled against him; no You
only have I known, therefore I will punish you soonest and sorest. Amos
iii. 2. Observe,
I. How their sin is described, which would bring all this misery upon them.
Not sins of ignorance and infirmity; God had provided sacrifices for those.
Not the sins they repented of and forsook; but the sins that were
presumptuously committed, and obstinately persisted in. Two things would
certainly bring this ruin upon them:--
1. A contempt of God's commandments (v. 14): "If you will not
hearken to me speaking to you by the law, nor do all these
commandments, that is, desire and endeavour to do them, and, wherein you
miss it, make use of the prescribed remedies." Thus their sin is supposed
to begin in mere carelessness, and neglect, and omission. These are bad
enough, but they make way for worse; for the people are brought in (v.
15) as, (1.) Despising God's statutes, both the duties enjoined and the
authority enjoining them, thinking meanly of the law and the Law-maker. Note,
Those are hastening apace to their own ruin who begin to think it below them
to be religious. (2.) Abhorring his judgments, their very souls
abhorring them. Note, Those that begin to despise religion will come by
degrees to loathe it; and mean thoughts of it will ripen into ill thoughts of
it; those that turn from it will turn against it, and their hearts will rise
at it. (3.) Breaking his covenant. Though every breach of the
commandment does not amount to a breach of the covenant (we were undone if it
did), yet, when men have come to such a pitch of impiety as to despise and
abhor the commandment, the next step will be to disown God, and all relation
to him. Those that reject the precept will come at last to renounce the
covenant. Observe, It is God's covenant which they break: he made it, but they
break it. Note, If a covenant be made and kept between God and man, God must
have all the honour; but, if ever it be broken, man must bear all the blame:
on him shall this breach be.
2. A contempt of his corrections. Even their disobedience would not have been
their destruction if they had not been obstinate and impenitent in it,
notwithstanding the methods God took to reclaim them. Their contempt of God's
word would not have brought them to ruin, if they had not added to that a
contempt of his rod, which should have brought them to repentance. Three ways
this is expressed:-- (1.) "If you will not for all this hearken to me,
v. 18, 21, 27. If you will not learn obedience by the things which you
suffer, but be as deaf to the loud alarms of God's judgments as you have been
to the close reasonings of his word and the secret whispers of your own
consciences, you are obstinate indeed." (2.) "If you walk
contrary to me, v. 21, 23, 27. All sinners walk contrary to God, to
his truths, laws, and counsels; but those especially that are incorrigible
under his judgments. The design of the rod is to humble them, and soften them,
and bring them to repentance; but, instead of this, their hearts are more
hardened and exasperated against God, and in their distress they trespass
yet more against him, 2 Chron. xxviii. 22. This is walking contrary to
God. Some read it, "If you walk at all adventures with me, carelessly and
presumptuously, as if you heeded not either what you do, whether it be right
or wrong, or what God does with you, whether it be for you or against you,
blundering on in wilful ignorance." (3.) If you will not be reformed
by these things. God's design in punishing is to reform, by giving men
sensible convictions of the evil of sin, and obliging them to seek unto him
for relief: this is the primary intention; but those that will not be reformed
by the judgments of God must expect to be ruined by them. Those have a great
deal to answer for that have been long and often under God's correcting hand,
and yet go on frowardly in a sinful way; sick and in pain, and yet not
reformed; crossed and impoverished, and yet not reformed; broken with breach
upon breach, yet not returning to the Lord, Amos iv. 6, &c.
II. How the misery is described which their sin would bring upon them, under
two heads:--
1. God himself would be against them; and this is the root and cause of all
their misery. (1.) I will set my face against you (v. 17), that
is, "I will set myself against you, set myself to ruin you." These
proud sinners God will resist, and face those down that confront his
authority. Or the face is put for the anger: "I will show myself highly
displeased at you." (2.) I will walk contrary to you (v.
24, 28); with the forward he will wrestle, Ps. xxviii. 26 [margin].
When God in his providence thwarts the designs of a people, which they thought
well laid, crosses their purposes, breaks their measures, blasts their
endeavours, and disappoints their expectations, then he walks contrary to
them. Note, There is nothing got by striving with God Almighty, for he will
break either the heart or the neck of those that contend with him, will bring
them either to repentance or ruin. "I will walk at all adventures with
you," so some read; "all covenant loving-kindness shall be
forgotten, and I will leave you to common providence." Note, Those that
cast off God deserve that he should cast them off. (3.) As they continued
obstinate, the judgments should increase yet more upon them. If the first
sensible tokens of God's displeasures do not attain their end, to humble and
reform them, then (v. 18), I will punish you seven times more,
and again (v. 21), I will bring seven times more plagues, and (v.
24), I will punish you yet seven times, and (v. 28), I, even
I, will chastise you seven times for your sins. Note, If less judgments do
not do their work, God will send greater; for, when he judges, he will
overcome. If true repentance do not stay process, it will go on till
execution be taken out. Those that are obstinate and incorrigible, when they
have weathered one storm must expect another more violent; and, how severely
soever they are punished, till they are in hell they must still say,
"There is worse behind," unless they repent. If the founder have
hitherto melted in vain (Jer. vi. 29), the furnace will be heated seven
times hotter (a proverbial expression, used Dan. iii. 19), and again and
again seven times hotter; and who among us can dwell with such
devouring fire? God does not begin with the sorest judgments, to show that he
is patient, and delights not in the death of sinners; but, if they repent not,
he will proceed to the sorest, to show that he is righteous, and that he will
not be mocked or set at defiance. (4.) Their misery is completed in that
threatening: My soul shall abhor you, v. 30. That man is as
miserable as he can be whom God abhors; for his resentments are just and
effective. Thus if any man draw back, as these are supposed to do, God's
soul shall have no pleasure in him (Heb. x. 38), and he will spue them
out of his mouth, Rev. iii. 16. It is spoken of as strange, and yet too
true, Hath thy soul loathed
Zion
?
Jer. xiv. 19.
2. The whole creation would be at war with them. All God's sore judgments
would be sent against them; for he hath many arrows in his quiver. The
threatenings here are very particular, because really they were prophecies,
and he that foresaw all their rebellions knew they would prove so; see Deut.
xxxi. 16, 29. This long roll of threatening shows that evil pursues sinners.
We have here,
(1.) Temporal judgments threatened. [1.] Diseases of body, which should be
epidemical: I will appoint over you, as task-masters, to rule you with
rigour, terror, consumption, and the burning ague, v. 16. What
we translate terror, some think, signifies a particular disease,
probably (says the learned bishop Patrick) the falling sickness, which
is terror indeed: all chronical diseases are included in the consumption, and
all acute diseases in the burning ague or fever. These consume the eyes, and
cause sorrow both to those that are visited with them and to their friends and
relations. Note, All diseases are God's servants; they do what he appoints
them, and are often used as scourges wherewith he chastises a provoking
people. The pestilence is threatened (v. 25) to meet them, when they
are gathered together in their cities for fear of the sword. The greater the
concourse of people is, the greater desolation does the pestilence make; and,
when it gets among the soldiers that should defend a place, it is of most
fatal consequence. [2.] Famine and scarcity of bread, which should be brought
upon them several ways; as, First, By plunder (v. 16): Your
enemies shall eat it up, and carry it off as the Midianites did, Judg. vi.
5, 6. Secondly, By unseasonable weather, especially the want of rain (v.
19): I will make your heaven as iron, letting fall no rain, but
reflecting heat, and then the earth would of course be as dry and hard as
brass, and their labour in ploughing and sowing would be in vain (v.
20); for the increase of the earth depends upon God's good providence more
than upon man's good husbandry. This should be the breaking of the staff of
bread (v. 26), which life leans upon, and is supported by, on which
perhaps they had leaned more than upon God's blessing. There should be so
great a dearth of corn that, whereas every family used to fill an oven of
their own with household bread, now ten families should have to fill but one
over, which would bring themselves and their children and servants to short
allowance, so that they should eat and not be satisfied. The less they
had the more craving should their appetites be. Thirdly, By the
besieging of their cities, which would reduce them to such an extremity that
they should eat the flesh of their sons and daughters, v. 29.
[3.] War, and the prevailing of their enemies over them: "You shall be
slain before your enemies, v. 17. Your choice men shall die in
battle, and those that hate you shall reign over you, and justly, since
you are not willing that the God that loved you should reign over you;" 2
Chron. xii. 8. Miserable is that people whose enemies are their rulers and
have got dominion over them, or whose rulers have become their enemies and
under-hand seek the ruin of their interests. Thus God would break the pride
of their power, v. 19. God had given them power over the nations;
but when they, instead of being thankful for that power, and improving it for
the service of God's kingdom, grew proud of it, and perverted the intentions
of it, it was just with God to break it. Thus God would bring a sword upon
them to avenge the quarrel of his covenant, v. 25. Note, God has a
just quarrel with those that break covenant with him, for he will not be
mocked by the treachery of perfidious men; and one way or other he will avenge
this quarrel upon those that play at fast and loose with him. [4.] Wild
beasts, lions, bears, and wolves, which should increase upon them, and tear in
pieces all that come in their way (v. 22), as we read of two bears that
in an instant killed forty-two children, 2 Kings ii. 24. This is one of the
four sore judgments threatened Ezek. xiv. 21, which plainly refers to this
chapter. Man was made to have dominion over the creatures, and, though many of
them are stronger than he, yet none of them could have hurt him, nay, all of
them would have served him, if he had not first shaken off God's dominion, and
so lost his own; and now the creatures are in rebellion against him that is in
rebellion against his Maker, and, when the Lord of those hosts pleases, they
are the executioners of his wrath and the ministers of his justice. [5.]
Captivity, or dispersion: I will scatter you among the heathen (v.
33), in your enemies' land, v. 34. Never were any people so
incorporated and united among themselves as they were; but for their sin God
would scatter them, so that they should be lost among the heathen, from whom
God had graciously distinguished them, but with whom they had wickedly mingled
themselves. Yet, when they were scattered, divine justice had not done with
them, but would draw out a sword after them, which would find them out, and
follow them wherever they were. God's judgments, as they cannot be outfaced,
so they cannot be outrun. [6.] The utter ruin and desolation of their land,
which should be so remarkable that their very enemies themselves, who ha
helped it forward, should in the review be astonished at it, v. 32. First,
Their cities should be waste, forsaken, uninhabited, and all the buildings
destroyed; those that escaped the desolations of war should fall to decay of
themselves. Secondly, Their sanctuaries should be a desolation, that
is, their synagogues where they met for religious worship every sabbath, as
well as their tabernacle where they met thrice a year. Thirdly, The
country itself should be desolate, not tilled or husbanded (v. 34, 35);
then the land should enjoy its sabbaths, because they had not religiously
observed the sabbatical years which God appointed them. They tilled their
ground when God would have them let it rest; justly therefore were they driven
out of it; and the expression intimates that the ground itself was pleased and
easy when it was rid of the burden of such sinners, under which it had
groaned, Rom. viii. 20, &c. The captivity in Babylon lasted seventy years,
and so long the land enjoyed her sabbaths, as is said (2 Chron. xxxvi.
21) with reference to this. [7.] The destruction of their idols, though rather
a mercy than a judgment, yet, being a necessary piece of justice, is here
mentioned, to show what would be the sin that would bring all these miseries
upon them: I will destroy your high places, v. 30. Those that
will not be parted from their sins by the commands of God shall be parted from
them by his judgments; since they would not destroy their high places, God
would. And, to upbraid them with the unreasonable fondness they had shown for
their idols, it is foretold that their carcases should be cast upon the
carcases of their idols. Those that are wedded to their lusts will sooner
or later have enough of them. Their idols would not be able to help either
themselves or their worshippers; but, those that made them being like them,
they should both perish alike, and fall together as blind into the ditch.
(2.) Spiritual judgments are here threatened. These should seize the mind; for
he that made the mind can, when he pleases, make his sword approach to it. It
is here threatened, [1.] That they should find no acceptance with God: I
will not smell the savour of your sweet odours, v. 31. Though the
judgments of God upon them did not separate them and their sins, yet they
extorted incense from them; but in vain--even their incense was an
abomination, Isa. i. 13. [2.] That they should have no courage in their wars,
but should be quite dispirited and disheartened. They should not only fear and
flee (v. 17), but fear and fall, when none pursued, v.
36. A guilty conscience would be their continual terror, so that not only the
sound of a trumpet, but the very sound of a leaf, should chase them.
Note, Those that cast off the fear of God expose themselves to the fear of
every thing else, Prov. xxviii. 1. Their very fears should dash them one
against another, v. 37, 38. And those that had increased one
another's guilt would now increase one another's fears. [3.] That they should
have no hope of the forgiveness of their sins (v. 39): They shall
pine away in their iniquity, and how should they then live? Ezek.
xxxiii. 10. Note, It is a righteous thing with God to leave those to despair
of pardon that have presumed to sin; and it is owing to free grace if we are
not abandoned to pine away in the iniquity we were born in and have lived in.
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Threatenings
and Promises.
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B.
C. 1490.
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40 If they shall confess
their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which
they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked contrary unto
me; 41 And that I also have walked contrary unto them, and
have brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised
hearts be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their
iniquity: 42 Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also
my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and
I will remember the land. 43 The land also shall be left of them,
and shall enjoy her sabbaths, while she lieth desolate without them: and they
shall accept of the punishment of their iniquity: because, even because they
despised my judgments, and because their soul abhorred my statutes.
44 And yet for all that, when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not
cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to
break my covenant with them: for I am the LORD
their God. 45 But I will for their sakes remember the covenant of
their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the
land
of
Egypt
in the sight of the heathen,
that I might be their God: I am the LORD.
46 These are the statutes and judgments and laws, which the LORD
made between him and the children of
Israel
in mount Sinai by the hand of
Moses.
Here the chapter concludes with gracious promises of the return of God's
favour to them upon their repentance, that they might not (unless it were
their own fault) pine away in their iniquity. Behold, with wonder, the
riches of God's mercy to a people that had obstinately stood it out against
the judgments of God, and would never think of surrendering till they were
reduced to the last extremity. Yet turn to strong-hold, you prisoners of
hope, Zech. ix. 12. As bad as things are, they may be mended. Yet there
is hope in
Israel
.
Observe,
I. How the repentance which would qualify them for this mercy is described, v.
40, 41. The instances of it are three:-- 1. Confession, by which they must
give glory to God, and take shame to themselves. There must be a confession of
sin, their own and their fathers', which they must lament the guilt of because
they feel the smart of it; that thus they may cut off the entail of wrath.
They must in their confession put sin under its worst character, as walking
contrary to God; this is the sinfulness of sin, the worst thing in it, and
which in our repentance we should especially bewail. There must also be a
confession of wrath; they must overlook the instruments of their trouble and
the second causes, and confess that God has walked contrary to them,
and so dealt with them according to their sins. Such a confession as
this we find made by Daniel just before the dawning of the day of their
deliverance (ch. ix.), and the like, Ezra ix. and Neh. ix. 2. Remorse
and godly sorrow for sin: If their uncircumcised heart be humbled. An
impenitent, unbelieving, unhumbled heart, is called an uncircumcised
heart, the heart of a Gentile that is a stranger to God, rather than the heart
of an Israelite in covenant with him. True circumcision is of the heart
(Rom. ii. 29), without which the circumcision of the flesh avails nothing,
Jer. ix. 26. Now in repentance this uncircumcised heart was humbled, that is,
it was truly broken and contrite for sin. Note, A humble heart under humbling
providences prepares for deliverance and true comfort. 3. Submission to the
justice of God in all his dealings; if they then accept of the punishment
of their iniquity (v. 41 and again v. 43), that is, if they
justify God and condemn themselves, patiently bear the punishment as that
which they have well deserved, and carefully answer the ends o it as that
which God has well designed, accept it as a kindness, take it as physic, and
improve it, then they are penitents indeed.
II. How the mercy which they should obtain upon their repentance is described.
1. They should not be abandoned: Though they have despised my judgments,
yet, for all that, I will not cast them away, v. 43, 44. He speaks
as a tender Father that cannot find in his heart to disinherit a son that has
been very provoking. How shall I do it? Hos. xi. 8, 9. Till he had laid
the foundations of a church for himself in the Gentile world, the Jewish
church was not quite forsaken, nor cast away. 2. They should be remembered: I
will remember the land with favour, which is grounded upon the promise
before, I will remember my covenant (v. 42), which is repeated, v.
45. God is said to remember the covenant when he performs the promises
of it, purely for his faithfulness' sake; not because there is any thing in us
to recommend us to his favour, but because he will be as good as his word.
This is the church's plea. Ps. lxxiv. 20, Have respect unto the covenant.
He will remember the constitution of the covenant, which is such as leaves
room for repentance, and promises pardon upon repentance; and the Mediator of
the covenant, who was promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and was sent,
when the fulness of time came, in remembrance of that holy covenant. The word
covenant is thrice repeated, to intimate that God is ever mindful of it and
would have us to be so. The persons also with whom the covenant was made are
mentioned in an unusual manner, per modum ascensus--in the ascending line,
beginning with Jacob, to lead them gradually to the most ancient promise,
which was made to the father of the faithful: thus (Mic. vii. 20) he is said
to perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham. He will
for their sakes (v. 45), not their merit's sake, but their benefit's
sake, remember the covenant of their ancestors, and upon that score show
kindness to them, though most unworthy; they are therefore said to be, as
touching the election, beloved for the fathers' sake, Rom. xi. 28. Note,
When those that have walked contrary to God in a way of sin return to him by
sincere repentance, though he has walked contrary to them in a way of judgment
he will return to them in a way of special mercy, pursuant to the covenant of
redemption and grace. None are so ready to repent as God is to forgive upon
repentance, through Christ, who is given for a covenant.
Lastly, These are said to be the laws which the Lord made between
him and the children of
Israel
,
v. 46. His communion with his church is kept up by his law. He
manifests not only his dominion over them, but his favour to them, by giving
them his law; and they manifest not only their holy fear, but their holy love,
by the observance of it; and thus it is made between them, rather as a
covenant than a law; for he draws with the cords of a man.
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