We come now to a passage of Scripture which was well-known to our Lord Jesus—He used it in His victory over the devil in the wilderness. “And it shall be, when the LORD thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers . . .” (Deuteronomy 6:10-25). It ought …
A Fourth Decade of Psalms/Psalm 38
Introduction: This is a striking psalm, and is listed among the penitential psalms. It begins with virtually the same words as Psalm 6, the first of the penitential psalms. But the repentance shown by David here is quite distinct from what many Christians call repentance, and this is something we really need to deal with. …
Inscribed on the Gates
The first commandment has been given in the context of the others. Now Moses begins a detailed exposition of this foundational commandment in chapters 6 through 11. “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 …
The Ten Words
So we now come to the Ten Commandments. As with everything, context should govern all our understanding, but this is especially important when we are considering the question of law. “And this is the law which Moses set before the children of Israel . . .” (Dt. 4:44-5:33). We have to understand the grace of …
A Fourth Decade of Psalms/Psalm 37
Introduction: One of the temptations that the righteous have to deal with is the temptation of envying the unrighteous. This is a psalm to set that temptation in its propher context, and so to help us deal with it. The Text: Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of …
Take Generational Heed
Moses concludes his historical prologue, and introduces the law, and he does so with a very effective sermon on the nature of obedience. “Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which …
Sihon and Og
As we continue through the book of Deuteronomy, it is best not to tire of hearing about giants too quickly. God was giving the land of the giants to the children of God. “Rise ye up, take your journey, and pass over the river Arnon: behold, I have given into thine hand Sihon the Amorite, …
Giants in the Land
We have now come to the place in the historical prologue where Moses points to the success of Israel’s cousins—Edom, Moab and Ammon—in fighting and displacing giants (2:1-23). This is given as a very kind encouragement. “Then we turned, and took our journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea, as the …
A Fourth Decade of Psalms/Psalm 35
Introduction: We come now to a psalm of imprecation. They do not represent the entire psalter, but they are a significant part of it. Of particular note would Psalms 7, 69, and 109. What are we to do with them? Well, among other things, sing them. Our aversion to the psalms of imprecation has more …
Failure of Faith and Nerve
This portion of Deuteronomy has great importance for the writers of later portions of Scripture. The theme of this passage is a constant—as long as we must exercise faith in God in a world where His adversaries must be attacked. “And when we departed from Horeb, we went through all that great and terrible wilderness, …