View Deuteronomy 30 in the note window.
Promises upon their repentance, ver. 1 - 10.
The righteousness of faith set before them, ver. 11 - 14.
Life and death offered to their choice, ver. 15 - 20.
1: The blessing - When thou art obedient. The curse - When thou
becomest rebellious.
6: And the Lord - Or, For the Lord will circumcise thine heart,
will by his word and spirit change and purge thy heart from all thine
idolatry and wickedness, and incline thy heart to love him. God will
first convert and sanctify them, the fruit whereof shall be, that they
shall return and obey God's commandments, (De 30:8), and then
shall prosper in all things, (De 30:9). This promise principally
respects the times of the gospel, and the grace which was to be then
imparted to all Israel by Christ.
9: For good - Whereas thou did formerly receive these mercies for thy
hurt, now thou shalt have them for thy good, thy heart shall be so changed
that thou shalt not now abuse them, but employ them to the service of God
the giver. Over thee for good - To do thee good; as he did rejoice to
destroy thee.
10: If thou wilt hearken - This 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 doth not discharge man's obligation to his duty, nor excuse
him for the neglect of it. It is observable, that Moses calls God,
the Lord thy God twelve times in these ten verses. In the threatnings
of the former chapter, he is all along called the Lord, a God of power,
and the judge of all. But in the promises of this chapter, the Lord thy
God, a God of grace, and in covenant with thee.
11: This commandment - The great command of loving and obeying God,
which is the sum of the law, of which yet he doth not here speak, as it is
in itself, but as it is molified and accompanied with the grace of the
gospel. The meaning is, that tho' the practice of God's laws be now far
from us, and above our strength, yet, considering the advantage of gospel
grace, whereby God enables us to do our duty, it is near and easy to us, who
believe. And so this well agrees with (Ro 10:6), &c. where
St. Paul applies this place to the righteousness of faith.
Is not hidden - Heb. Is not too wonderful for thee, not too hard for
thee to know and do. The will of God, which is but darkly manifested to
other nations, (Ac 17:27), is clearly and fully revealed unto thee:
thou canst not pretend ignorance or invincible difficulty.
12: In heaven - Shut up there, but it hath been thence delivered and
published in thy hearing.
13: Neither beyond the sea - The knowledge of this commandment is not
to be fetched from far distant places, to which divers of the wise Heathens
travelled for their wisdom; but it was brought to thy very doors and ears,
and declared to thee in this wilderness.
14: In thy mouth - Thou knowest it so well, that it is the matter of
thy common discourse. In thy heart - In thy mind, (as the heart is very
commonly taken) to understand and believe it. In a word, the Law is plain
and easy: but the gospel is much more so.
19: Chuse life - They shall have life that chuse it: they that chuse
the favour of God, and communion with him, shall have what they chuse.
They that come short of life and happiness, must thank themselves only.
They had had them, if they had chosen them, when they were put to their
choice: but they die, because they will die.
20: That thou mayest love the Lord thy God - Here he shews them in
short, what their duty is; To love God as the Lord, a being most
amiable, and as their God, a God in covenant with them: as an evidence
of their love, to obey his voice in every thing, and by constancy in
this love and obedience, to cleave to him all their days. And what
encouragement had they to do this? For he is thy life and the length
of thy days - He gives life, preserves life, restores life, and prolongs
it, by his power, tho' it be a frail life, and by his presence, tho' it be
a forfeited life. He sweetens life by his comforts, and compleats all in
life everlasting.
