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Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
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Matthew Henry |
D E U T E R O N O M Y
CHAP. VI.
Moses, in this chapter, goes on with his charge to Israel, to be sure
to keep up their religion in Canaan. It is much the same with
I. His preface is a persuasive to obedience,
II. He lays down the great principles of obedience. The first truth to
be believed, That God is one,
The first duty to be done, To love him with all our heart,
III. He prescribes the means for keeping up religion,
IV. He cautions them against those things which would be the ruin of
religion–abuse of plenty
(ver. 10-12),
inclination to idolatry
(ver. 14, 15),
and gives them some general precepts,
V. He directs them what instructions to give their children,
&c.
| Summary of Religion. | B. C. 1451. |
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1 Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the
judgments, which the LORD your God commanded to teach you, that
ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it:
2 That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his
statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and
thy son, and thy son’s son, all the days of thy life; and that
thy days may be prolonged.
3 Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may
be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the LORD
God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth
with milk and honey.
Observe here,
1. That Moses taught the people all that, and that only, which God
commanded him to teach them,
v. 1.
Thus Christ’s ministers are to teach his churches all that he has
commanded, and neither more nor less,
2. That the end of their being taught was that they might do as they
were taught
(v. 1),
might keep God’s statutes
(v. 2),
and observe to do them,
v. 3.
Good instructions from parents and ministers will but aggravate our
condemnation if we do not live up to them.
3. That Moses carefully endeavoured to fix them for God and godliness,
now that they were entering upon the land of Canaan, that they might be
prepared for the comforts of that land, and fortified against the
snares of it, and now that they were setting out in the world might set
out well.
4. That the fear of God in the heart will be the most powerful
principle of obedience: That thou mightest fear the Lord thy God, to
keep all his statutes,
v. 2.
5. The entail of religion in a family, or country, is the best entail:
it is highly desirable that not we only, but our children, and our
children’s children, may fear the Lord.
6. Religion and righteousness advance and secure the prosperity of any
people. Fear God, and it shall be well with thee. Those that are well
taught, if they do what they are taught, shall be well fed too, as
Israel in the land flowing with milk and honey,
v. 3.
| Cautions and Precepts. | B. C. 1451. |
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4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart,
and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in
thine heart:
7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and
shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when
thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou
risest up.
8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they
shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on
thy gates.
10 And it shall be, when the LORD thy God shall have brought
thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham,
to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities,
which thou buildedst not,
11 And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst
not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and
olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten
and be full;
12 Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee
forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.
13 Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt
swear by his name.
14 Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people
which are round about you;
15 (For the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the
anger of the LORD thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy
thee from off the face of the earth.
16 Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God, as ye tempted him in
Massah.
Here is,
I. A brief summary of religion, containing the first principles of
faith and obedience,
These two verses the Jews reckon one of the choicest portions of
scripture: they write it in their phylacteries, and think themselves
not only obliged to say it at least twice every day, but very happy in
being so obliged, having this saying among them, Blessed are we, who
every morning and evening say, Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one
Lord. But more blessed are we if we duly consider and improve,
1. What we are here taught to believe concerning God: that Jehovah
our God is one Jehovah.
(1.) That the God whom we serve is Jehovah, a Being infinitely and
eternally perfect, self-existent, and self-sufficient.
(2.) That he is the one only living and true God; he only is God, and
he is but one. The firm belief of this self-evident truth would
effectually arm them against all idolatry, which was introduced by that
fundamental error, that there are gods many. It is past dispute that
there is one God, and there is no other but he,
Mark xii. 32.
Let us therefore have no other, nor desire to have any other. Some have
thought there is here a plain intimation of the trinity of persons in
the unity of the Godhead; for here is the name of God three times, and
yet all declared to be one. Happy they that have this one Lord for
their God; for they have but one master to please, but one benefactor
to seek to. It is better to have one fountain that a thousand cisterns,
one all-sufficient God than a thousand insufficient ones.
2. What we are here taught concerning the duty which God requires of
man. It is all summed up in this as its principle, Thou shalt love
the Lord thy God with all thy heart. He had undertaken
(v. 2)
to teach them to fear God; and, in pursuance of his undertaking, he
here teaches them to love him, for the warmer our affection to him the
greater will be our veneration for him; the child that honours his
parents no doubt loves them. Did ever any prince make a law that his
subjects should love him? Yet such is the condescension of the divine
grace that this is made the first and great commandment of God’s law,
that we love him, and that we perform all other parts of our duty to
him from a principle of love. My son, give me thy heart. We must
highly esteem him, be well pleased that there is such a Being, well
pleased in all his attributes, and relations to us: our desire must be
towards him, our delight in him, our dependence upon him, and to him we
must be entirely devoted. It must be a constant pleasure to us to think
of him, hear from him, speak to him, and serve him. We must love him,
(1.) As the Lord, the best of beings, most excellent and amiable in
himself.
(2.) As our God, a God in covenant with us, our Father, and the most
kind and bountiful of friends and benefactors. We are also commanded to
love God with all our heart, and soul, and might; that is, we
must love him,
[1.] With a sincere love; not in word and tongue only, saying we love
him when our hearts are not with him, but inwardly, and in truth,
solacing ourselves in him.
[2.] With a strong love; the heart must be carried out towards him with
great ardour and fervency of affection. Some have hence though that we
should avoid saying (as we commonly express ourselves) that we will do
this or that with all our heart, for we must not do any thing with all
our heart but love God; and that this phrase, being here used
concerning that sacred fire, should not be unhallowed. He that is our
all must have our all, and none but he.
[3.] With a superlative love; we must love God above any creature
whatsoever, and love nothing besides him but what we love for him and
in subordination to him.
[4.] With an intelligent love; for so it is explained,
To love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, we must
know him, and therefore love him as those that see good cause to love
him.
[5.] With an entire love; he is one, and therefore our hearts must be
united in this love, and the whole stream of our affections must run
towards him. O that this love of God may be shed abroad in our
hearts!
II. Means are here prescribed for the maintaining and keeping up of
religion in our hearts and houses, that it might not wither and go to
decay. And they are these:–
1. Meditation: These words which I command thee shall be in thy
heart,
v. 6.
Though the words alone without the things will do us no good, yet we
are in danger of losing the things if we neglect the words, by which
ordinarily divine light and power are conveyed to the heart. God’s
words must be laid up on our heart, that our thoughts may be daily
conversant with them and employed about them, and thereby the whole
soul may be brought to abide and act under the influence and impression
of them. This immediately follows upon the law of loving God with all
your heart; for those that do so will lay up his word in their hearts
both as an evidence and effect of that love and as a means to preserve
and increase it. He that loves God loves his Bible.
2. The religious education of children
(v. 7):
“Thou shalt teach them diligently to thy children; and by
communicating thy knowledge thou wilt increase it.” Those that love the
Lord God themselves should do what they can to engage the affections of
their children to him, and so to preserve the entail of religion in
their families from being cut off. Thou shalt whet them diligently
upon thy children, so some read it; frequently repeat these things
to them, try all ways of instilling them into their minds, and making
them pierce into their hearts; as, in whetting a knife, it is turned
first on this side, then on that. “Be careful and exact in teaching thy
children; and aim, as by whetting, to sharpen them, and put an edge
upon them. Teach them to thy children, not only those of thy own body”
(say the Jews) “but all those that are anyway under thy care and
tuition.” Bishop Patrick well observes here that Moses thought his law
so very plain and easy that every father might be able to instruct his
sons in it and every mother her daughters. Thus that good thing which
is committed to us we must carefully transmit to those that come after
us, that it may be perpetuated.
3. Pious discourse. “Thou shalt talk of these things, with due
reverence and seriousness, for the benefit not only of thy children,
but of thy other domestics, thy friends and companions, as thou sittest
in thy house at work, or at meat, or at rest, or to receive visits, and
when thou walkest by the way for diversion, or for conversation, of in
journeys, when at night thou art retiring from thy family to lie down
for sleep, and when in the morning thou hast risen up and returnest to
thy family again. Take all occasions to discourse with those about thee
of divine things; not of unrevealed mysteries, or matters of doubtful
disputation, but of the plain truths and laws of God, and the things
that belong to our peace.” So far is it from being reckoned a
diminution to the honour of sacred things to make them subject of our
familiar discourse that they are recommended to us to be talked of; for
the more conversant we are with them the more we shall admire them and
be affected with them, and may thereby be instrumental to communicate
divine light and heat.
4. Frequent reading of the word: They shall be as frontlets between
thy eyes, and thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house,
v. 8, 9.
It is probable that at that time there were few written copies of the
whole law, only at the feasts of tabernacles the people had it read to
them; and therefore God appointed them, at least for the present, to
write some select sentences of the law, that were most weighty and
comprehensive, upon their walls, or in scrolls of parchment to be worn
about their wrists; and some think that hence the phylacteries so much
used among the Jews took rise. Christ blames the Pharisees, not for
wearing them, but for affecting to have them broader than other
people’s,
But when Bibles came to be common among them there was less occasion
for this expedient. It was prudently and piously provided by the first
reformers of the English church that then, when Bibles were scarce,
some select portions of scripture should be written on the walls and
pillars of the churches, which the people might make familiar to them,
in conformity to this direction, which seems to have been binding in
the letter of it to the Jews as it is to us in the intent of it, which
is that we should endeavour by all means possible to make the word of
God familiar to us, that we may have it ready to us upon all occasions,
for our restraint from sin and our direction and excitement to our
duty. It must be as that which is graven on the palms of our
hands, always before our eyes. See
It is also intimated that we must never be ashamed to own our religion,
nor to own ourselves under the check and government of it. Let it be
written on our gates, and let every one that goes by our door read it,
that we believe Jehovah to be God alone, and believe ourselves bound to
love him with all our hearts.
III. A caution is here given not to forget God in a day of prosperity
and plenty,
Here,
1. He raises their expectations of the goodness of their God, taking it
for granted that he would bring them into the good land that he had
promised
(v. 10),
that they should no longer dwell in tents as shepherds and poor
travellers, but should settle in great and goodly cities, should no
longer wander in a barren wilderness, but should enjoy houses will
furnished and gardens well planted
(v. 11),
and all this without any care and expense of their own, which he here
lays a great stress upon–Cities which thou buildest not, houses
which thou filledst not, &c., both because it made the mercy really
much more valuable that what they had come to them so cheaply, and yet,
if they did not actually consider it, the mercy would be the less
esteemed, for we are most sensible of the value of that which has cost
us dear. When they came so easily by the gift they would be apt to grow
secure, and unmindful of the giver.
2. He engages their watchfulness against the badness of their own
hearts: Then beware, when thou liest safe and soft, lest thou
forget the Lord,
v. 12.
Note,
(1.) In a day of prosperity we are in great danger of forgetting God,
our dependence upon him, our need of him, and our obligations to him.
When the world smiles we are apt to make our court to it, and expect
our happiness in it, and so we forget him that his our only portion and
rest. Agur prays against this temptation
(Prov. xxx. 9):
Lest I be full and deny thee.
(2.) There is therefore need of great care and caution at such a time,
and a strict watch over our own hearts. “Then beware; being
warned of your danger, stand upon your guard against it. Bind the
words of God for a sign upon thy hand, for this end to prevent thy
forgetting God. When thou art settled in Canaan forget not thy
deliverance out of Egypt; but look to the rock out of which thou
wast hewn. When thy latter end has greatly increased, remember the
smallness of thy beginnings.”
IV. Some special precepts and prohibitions are here given, which are of
great consequence.
1. They must upon all occasions give honour to God
(v. 13):
Fear him and serve him (for, if he be a Master, we must both
reverence him and do his work); and swear by his name, that is,
they must not upon any occasion appeal to any other, as the discerner
of truth and avenger of wrong. Swear by him only, and not by an idol,
or any other creature. Swear by his name in all treaties and covenants
with the neighbouring nations, and do not compliment them so far as to
swear by their gods. Swearing by his mane is sometimes put for an open
profession of his name.
Every tongue shall swear, is expounded
(Rom. xiv. 11),
Every tongue shall confess to God.
2. They must not upon any occasion give that honour to other gods
(v. 14):
You shall not go after other gods, that is, “You shall not serve
nor worship them;” for therein they went astray, they went a whoring
from the true God, who in this, more than in any thing, is jealous
god
(v. 15):
and the learned bishop Patrick observes here, out of Maimonides, that
we never find, either in the law or the prophets, anger, or
fury, or jealousy, or indignation, attributed to
God but upon occasion of idolatry.
3. They must take heed of dishonouring God by tempting him
(v. 16):
You shall not tempt the Lord your God, that is, “You shall not
in any exigence distrust the power, presence, and providence of God,
nor quarrel with him,” which, if they indulged an evil heart of
unbelief, they would take occasion to do in Canaan as well as in the
wilderness. No change of condition will cure a disposition of murmur
and fret. Our Saviour uses this caution as an answer to one of Satan’s
temptations, with application to himself,
Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God, either by despairing of
his power and goodness while we keep in the way of our duty, or by
presuming upon it when we turn aside out of that way.
| A Charge to Israel. | B. C. 1451. |
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17 Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your
God, and his testimonies, and his statutes, which he hath
commanded thee.
18 And thou shalt do that which is right and good in the
sight of the LORD: that it may be well with thee, and that thou
mayest go in and possess the good land which the LORD sware unto
thy fathers,
19 To cast out all thine enemies from before thee, as the LORD
hath spoken.
20 And when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What
mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments,
which the LORD our God hath commanded you?
21 Then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh’s bondmen
in Egypt; and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty
hand:
22 And the LORD showed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon
Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes:
23 And he brought us out from thence, that he might bring us
in, to give us the land which he sware unto our fathers.
24 And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear
the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us
alive, as it is at this day.
25 And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all
these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath commanded
us.
Here,
I. Moses charges them to keep God’s commandments themselves: You
shall diligently keep God’s commandments,
v. 17-19.
Note, It requires a great deal of care and pains to keep up religion in
the power of it in our hearts and lives. Negligence will ruin us; but
we cannot be saved without diligence. To induce them to this, he here
shows them,
1. That this would be very acceptable to God: it is right and good
in the sight of the Lord; and that is right and good indeed that
is, so in God’s sight. If we have any regard to the favour of
our Creator as our felicity, and the law of our creation as our rule,
we shall be religious.
2. That it would be very advantageous and profitable to themselves. It
would secure to them the possession of the land of Canaan, prosperity
there, and constant victory over those that stood in their way. In
short, “Do well, and it shall be well with thee.“
II. He charges them to instruct their children in the commands of God,
not only that they might in their tender years intelligently and
affectionately join in religious services, but that afterwards they
might in their day keep up religion, and convey it to those that should
come after them. Now,
1. Here is a proper question which it is supposed the children would
ask
(v. 20):
“What mean the testimonies and the statutes? What is the meaning
of the feasts we observe, the sacrifices we offer, and the many
peculiar customs we keep up?” Observe,
(1.) All divine institutions have a certain meaning, and there is
something great designed in them.
(2.) It concerns us to know and understand the meaning of them, that we
may perform a reasonable service and may not offer the blind for
sacrifice.
(3.) It is good for children betimes to enquire into the true intent
and meaning of the religious observances they are trained up in. If any
are thus inquisitive in divine things it is a good sign that they are
concerned about them, and a good means of their attaining to a great
acquaintance with them. Then shall we know if thus we follow
on to know.
2. Here is a full answer put into the parents’ mouths to be given to
this good question. Parents and teachers must give instruction to those
under their charge, though they do not ask it, nay, though they have an
aversion to it; much more must they be ready to answer questions, and
to give instruction when it is desired; for it may be hoped that those
who ask it will be willing to receive it. Did the children ask the
meaning of God’s laws? Let them be told that they were to be observed,
(1.) In a grateful remembrance of God’s former favours to them,
especially their deliverance out of Egypt,
The children must be often told of the deplorable state their ancestors
were in when they were bondmen in Egypt, the great salvation God
wrought for them in fetching them out thence, and that God, in giving
them these peculiar statutes, meant to perpetuate the memorial of that
work of wonder, by which they were formed into a peculiar people.
(2.) As the prescribed condition of his further favours
(v. 24):
The Lord commanded us all these statutes for our good. Note, God
commands us nothing but what is really for our good. It is our interest
as well as our duty to be religious.
[1.] It will be our life: That he might preserve us alive, which
is a great favour, and more than we could expect, considering how often
we have forfeited life itself. Godliness has the promise of the
continuance and comfort of the life that now is as far as it is for
God’s glory.
[2.] It will be our righteousness. Could we perfectly fulfil but that
one command of loving God with all our heart, soul, and might, and
could we say, “We have never done otherwise,” this would be so our
righteousness as to entitle us to the benefits of the covenant of
innocency; had we continued in every thing that is written in the book
of the law to do it, the law would have justified us. But this we
cannot pretend to, therefore our sincere obedience shall be accepted
through a Mediator to denominate us, as Noah was, righteous before
God,
Gen. vii. 1;
Luke i. 6; and 1 John iii. 7.
The Chaldee reads it, There shall be a reward to us if we observe to
do these commandments; for, without doubt, in keeping God’s
commandments there is great reward.
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