Deuteronomy 30

AND it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing When thou art obedient. and the curse When thou becomest rebellious and Apostatical., which I have set before thee Heb. placed before thy face, i. e. propounded to thy consideration and choice., and thou shalt call them to mind Or, bring them back to thy heart, i. e. deeply affect thy heart with the sense of these things, to wit, of the blessings offered and given to them by Gods mercy, and the curses brought upon themselves by their sins. among the nations whither the LORD thy God has driven thee,

And shalt return unto the LORD thy God, and shalt obey his voice, according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul:

That then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity (i. e.) Bring back thy captives, as captivity is taken, Psal. 14. 7. Eph. 4. 8., and have compassion upon thee, and will return, and gather thee (i. e.) Thy children, either spiritually such, as it is explained Ioh. 11. 51, 52. or literally such, as is promised Rom. 11. from all the nations whither the LORD thy God has scattered thee.

If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the LORD thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee.

And the LORD thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it, and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers.

And * the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart Or, For the Lord will circum... ise thine heart, i. e. will by his Word and Spirit change and purge thy heart from all thine Idolatry and Superstition and Wickedness, and encline thy heart to love him, as it here follows. See Deut. 10. 16. And so this is produced to show why and how those great things should be accomplished, God would first convert and sanctifie them, the fruit whereof should be this, that they should return and obey Gods commandements, and v. 8. and then should prosper in all things, v. 9. The Hebrew Vau is oft rendred sor, and notes the reason of a thing, as 1 King. 1. 21. and 18. 3, 4 Psal. 1. 3. and 5. 12. Isa. 16. 2. and 64. 5. And this promise principally respects the times of the Gospel, and the Grace which was to be then imparted to all Gods Israel by Christ, by whom alone this circumcision is obtained, Col. 2. 11. And so having fully described to them the Law of God, the Rule of their obedience here and in the foregoing chapters, and considering their great instability in the performance of their obedience to it, he now seasonably adds a glorious Gospel promise, and directs their faith to the Messias by whom alone they could expect or receive the establishment of their hearts in the ways of God against Apostacy., and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.

And the LORD thy God will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, which persecuted thee.

And thou shalt return, and obey the voice of the LORD, and do all his commandments which I command thee this day.

And the LORD thy God will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattel, and in the fruit of thy land for good Whereas thou didst formerly receive and enjoy these mercies for thy hurt, through thy own wicked and foolish heart, when thou wast full and fat, forgetting God, and kicking against him, Deut. 31, 20. and 32. 15. now thou shalt have them for thy good, thy heart shall be so changed by the grace of the Gospel that thou shalt not now abuse them, but imploy them to the more chearful and faithful service of God the giver of them., for the LORD will again rejoyce over thee for good (i. e.) To do thee good; as he did rejoyce to destroy thee, Deut. 28. 63., as he rejoyced over thy fathers:

If thou shalt hearken This caution and condition is added to warn them that they should not receive the Grace of God in vain, and to teach them, that the Grace of God does not discharge mans obligation to his duty, nor excuse him for the neglect of it, and that Conversion and Sanctification, though it be Gods work, yet it is mans duty. unto the voice of the LORD thy God to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if thou turn unto the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.

For this commandment which I command thee this day He seems to speak of the law, or of that great command of loving and obeying God, mentioned here v. 2, 6, 10, 16. which is the sum of the Law, of which yet he does not here speak simply, or as it is in it self, but as it is mollified and accompanied with the Grace of the Gospel, whereby God circumciseth mens hearts to do this, as is expressed, v. 6. The meaning is, that although the practise of Gods Law strictly and severely be now far from us, and above our strength, yet, considering the advantage of Gospel Grace, whereby God enables us in some measure to our duty, and accepts of our sincere endeavours in stead of perfection, and imputes Christs perfect righteousness unto us that believe, now it is near and easie to us. And so this place well agrees with Rom. 10. 6, &c. where St. Paul expounds or applies this place to the righteousness of faith; by which alone the Law is such as it is here described., it is not hidden from thee Heb. Is not too wonderful for thee, as Deut. 17. 8. Prov. 30. 18. Ier. 32. 17. i. e. not too hard for thee to know and do: the Will of God, which is but darkly manifested to other nations, Act. 17. 27. is clearly and fully revealed unto thee: thou canst not pretend ignorance or invincible difficulty., neither is it far off (i. e.) Out of thy reach..

It is not in heaven (i e) Shut up there, but it has been thence delivered and published by thy hearing. that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us that we may hear it, and do it?

Neither is it beyond the sea The knowledge of this commandement is not to be fetched from far distant places, to which divers of the wise Heathens travelled for their wisdome, but it was brought to thy very doors and ears, and declared to thee in this Wilderness., that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us that we may hear it, and do it?

But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth Thou knowest it so well, that it is the matter of thy common discourse, thou professest thy knowledge and belief of it: or, in the mouths of thy Priests and Levites, who are dayly preaching of it, and instructing thee in it., and in thy heart (i. e.) In thy mind, as the heart is very commonly taken, to understand and believe it. that thou mayest do it.

See, I have set before thee this day, life and good (i. e.) A good or an happy life. A figure called, Hendiaduo, Or, life, and all the blessings of life, as good is oft used, as Iob 7. 7. Psal. 4. 6. and 128. 5. Eccles. 2. 24. and 4. 8. and 6. 3. and death and evil.

In that I command thee this day, to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his wayes, and to keep his commandments, and his statutes, and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply; and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land, whither thou goest to possess it.

But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away Either by thy own evil mind, or by the examples or perswasions of others., and worship other gods, and serve them:

I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it.

I call heaven and earth to record this day against you Compare Deut. 4. 26. Ios. 24. 27. Psal. 50. 4. Isa. 1. 2., that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.

That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: (for he is thy life (i. e.) The cause or author of thy life, as life is used Ioh. 14: 6. and 17. 3., and the length of thy days) that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob to give them.