Deuteronomy 29

Moseh repeated the great and manifold favors of God hither to bestowed on the people verse 1 &c. he thereupon exhorteth and engageth them in the presence of the Lord faith ally to keep hi covenant made with them and their posterity 9. Admonisheth them to beware of unbelief careless contempt and breaking of the covenant of God with threatening of a fearful destruction 18 he concludeth with a short and doctrinal speech containing end and the use of the revealed words of God. 29.

1. These are the words of the covenant which the Lord commanded Moseh to make [or hew cut see Genesis 15 on verse 18 and so in the sequel] with the children of Israel in the land of Moab besides the covenant which he had made with them at Horeb [it was indeed one and the same covenant but renewed repeated and published here in the fields of Moab unto many other person in another place in another manner then at mount Horebor Sinai compare above chapter 5.2 and the annotate thereon verse 3 of Horeb see above chapter 1 on verse 2.]

2. And Moseh called all Israel and said unto them ye have seen all the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt unto Pharaoh and unto his servant and unto his land.

3. The great temptation see [see Deuteronomy 4 on verse34] which thine eyes have seen those token and great wonders.

4. But the Lord hath not given ye an heart to understand nor eyes to see nor ears to hear unto this day[that is an understanding heart seeing eyes and hearing ears the meaning is that God hither to hath not given them the gift to understand rightly to perceive and consider duly and to use and to apply fruitfully to Gods glory and their salvation that is they had seen and heard compare below chapter 30 on verse 6,9,10 Ezechiah 36.26 &c. and Matthew 13:9,11,23.]

5. And I have made you walk forty years in the wilderness [God speaketh this as appeareth in the end of the sixth verse] your clothes are not waxed old upon ye [Heb. From on or from upon ye that is that ye should have been fain to cast them away as worn but as they are wont to deal with garments they are grown old and worn out with wearing so again with the shoe in the words following] & thy shoe is not waxen old upon thy foot.

6. Ye have not eaten bread [that is ordinary common or usual bread for the Lord fed them with Manna] neither have ye drank wine or throng drink that ye might know that I am the Lord your God [the meaning is I have so ordered and disposed all these things wonderfully furnishing ye with meat and drink that ye might know &c.]

7. Now when ye came to this place Siphon the king of Sihon and Og the king of Basan came out to meet us unto battle and we smote them.

8. And we took their land and gave it for inheritance unto the Reubenites and Gaditesas also unto half tribe of Manassites.

9. Keep then the words of his covenant an do them that ye may deal understandingly in all that ye shall do [that ye may be prosperous in all that ye shall do [others that ye may be prosperous in all or make all to prosper that ye shall do.]

10. Ye stand this day all before the face of the Lord your God [being called together for God by me as above verse 1 and 2 appeareth the consenquence of these words is verse 12] your heads of your tribes your eldest and your officers all or every man of Israel.

11. Your little one your wives thy stranger that is in the midst of thy camp [who came along with them out of Egypt Exodus 12:38 or came to them from other nations and by the embracing of the Jewish religion became one body with the people of God] from the hewer of the wood unto the drawer of the water [that is even the very meanest and poorest of the people .]

12. To pass over into the covenant of the Lord thy God into his curse [ that is that curse of the covenant wherewith they cursed themselves in the oath which they took in the presence of God if they should not keep the promise of the obedience see Nehemiah 10:29 which [viz. covenant] the Lord thy God maketh thee this day.

13. That he may establish thee today for a people unto himself [that is establish thee for a people that may be his and may appertain to him as his peculiar treasure to enjoy the blessing of his covenant and to serve him compare above chapter 7 on verse 6 and 28.9 and that he may be unto thee a God [see Genesis 17 on verse 7] according as he hath spoken unto thee according as he hath sworn unto thy fathers to Abraham to Isaac and to Jacob.

14. Neither with you alone do I make this covenant and this curse [see above verse 12.]

15. But with him that standeth here today before the face of the Lord our God and with him that is not here with us this day [that is with you that are present and as I declared unto Abraham long ago with your seed with your posterity which are not yet born and in time to come might say that this covenant doth not concern them compare Acts 2:39.]

16. For ye know how we dealt in the land of Egypt and how we passed through the midst of nations which ye passed through.

17. And ye have seen their abominations and their dung Gods [see Leviticus 26 on verse 30] wood and stone silver and gold which were with them.

18. Lest there should be among ye a man or woman or family or tribe that turneth his heart away this day from the Lord our God to go and serve the gods of these nations lest there should be among ye a root that beareth gall and wormwood [or persons a venomous herb that is such an heart that bringeth forth fruits that are abominable in the sight of God and will prove bitter to a man in the end and will be as deadly poison to him see further Psalms 69 on verse 22.]

19. And it came to pass when he [to wit that he is compared to the root in the former verse] heareth the words of this curse [see above verse 12] that bless himself in his heart [that is despise the curse which he heareth in his heart on the contrary count himself promise him success and posterity although he contemn God and his word] saying I shall have peace although I walk in the well liking [or imagination speculation thought others hardness see Jeremiah 3 on verse 17] of mine heart to add the drunken to the thirsty [or to add moistening to thirsty this seemeth to have been a proverb taken from the dry ground that must be moistened so doth a man to endeavor to argument and increase sin which as it were thirstieth after to satisfy this lust to the full or from drunkard ,who being of their own accord prone to drinking do yet besides seek and use their means to make themselves stuck drunk and mad so doth the wicked and ungodly wretch who being wicked already enough encourageth himself still to grow more wicked to heap up one sin upon another and being become as it were in sensible without consideration to go on from evil to worse compare Job 34:7 Matthew 12:43,44,45 Ezechiah 4.19 Hebrews 8:8 2Peter 2.20 some understand by the drunken or abundantly moistened ground the worship of the true God who is a fountain of life and by the thirsty and the worship of idols being as cistern that hold no water Jeremiah 2:13.]

20. The Lord will not pardon him but the Lords anger and jealousy shall then smoke against that man and then all the curse that is written in this book shall lie upon him and the Lord shall blot out his name from under heaven.

21. And the Lord shall separate him unto evil [that is unto punishment mischief and destruction] out of the tribes of Israel according to all the curses of the covenant that are written in the book of this law.

22. Then the succeeding generation your children shall rise up after you and the stranger that shall come out of far lands shall say [the consequences of these words is verse 24.] when they shall see the plagues of this land and the sickness thereof whereby the lord had enfeebled it.

23. That the whole land thereof is brimstone and salt of burning [that is which burneth the ground others that the whole land thereof is burnt with brimstone which hath not been sowen nor hath brought forth any fruit neither hath any herb grewen therein like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorra, Adama and Zeboim which the Lord overthrew in his anger and in his wrath [the meaning is that this land by Gods just curse was most wonderfully defaced and spoiled as in time past Sodom Gomorra &c. were.]

24. And all nations shall say wherefore hath the Lord done thus unto this land? What is the kindling of the great anger? [that is what doth to signify? Or what meaneth it? What is the curse of it &c?]

25. Then they shall say because they have forsaken the covenat of the Lord the God of their fathers which he had made with them when he brought them forth out of the land of Egypt.

26. And they went and served other Gods and they bowed themselves before them Gods who had not known them [As the true God knoweth those that be his with the knowledge of acceptation or of approbation and taketh care of them Psalms 1:6 2Timothy 2.19&c.] and of which none hath imparted anything unto them others whom he namely the Lord had not imparted unto them [to wit to be served by them as gods compare above chapter 4.19.]

27. Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against this land to bring upon it the entire curse that is written in this book.

28. and the Lord plucked them forth out of their land in anger and in wrath and in great indignation and he cast the away into another land as it is this day [these words as also the former pertain to the answer that was then to be given to the nations upon their question.]

29. the secret things are for the Lord our god but he revealed things are for us and for our children for over that we may do all the words of this law [Moseh having spoken and being yet to speak of many great and also future things in this verse restraineth the curiosity and nicety of searching further into things that are hidden in the counsel of God and chargeth the people to abide and continue within the bounds of God revealed word to search it out to believe it and to live according to it.]