Deuteronomy 26:16-19

“The LORD your God commands you this day to follow these decrees and laws; carefully observe them with all your heart and with all your soul. You have declared this day that the LORD is your God and that you will walk in his ways, that you will keep his decrees, commands and laws, and that you will obey him. And the LORD has declared this day that you are his people, his treasured possession as he promised, and that you are to keep all his commands. He has declared that he will set you in praise, name and honor high above all the nations he has made and that you will be a people holy to the LORD your God, as he promised.”

The covenant which was made with the Jews at Mount Horeb, though materially different from that which exists under the Christian dispensation, was yet intended to shadow forth that which all Christians are called upon to enter into with our God. The Jewish covenant had respect in a great measure to temporal blessings, the bestowment of which was suspended entirely on their performance of certain conditions; whereas ours relates altogether to spiritual blessings; and though it has conditions as well as theirs, it provides strength for the performance of them, and thereby secures from failure all those who cordially embrace it. We may take occasion therefore from the words before us to consider,

I. Our covenant engagements.

The Jews were required to avow, or profess openly, their acceptance of God as their God, and their determination to obey his will in all things; and such are the engagements which we also are called to take upon ourselves under the Christian dispensation:

1. To accept God as our God.

The Jews had most satisfactory evidence that Jehovah was the only true God, and that he alone was worthy to be worshiped and adored. But, as great as were the evidences of his kindness towards them, they are nothing in comparison with the demonstrations of his love to us. The gift of his only dear Son to die for us must forever eclipse every other expression of his love, Romans 5:8; and this peculiarly distinguishes the view in which we are to accept him; we must regard him as our incarnate God, as “God in Christ Jesus, reconciling the world unto himself, and not imputing their trespasses unto them.”

Think a moment what is implied in such an acceptance of God; it supposes:

that we feel our guilty, helpless, and hopeless state by nature;

that we see the suitableness and sufficiency of the provision which God has made for us in the Son of his love;

and that we are determined to have no dependence on anything but on the meritorious death and the all-sufficient grace of the Lord Jesus.

But it is not merely a secret determination which God requires; that determination must be avowed—we must avow him to be the Lord our God. We must not be ashamed of Christ, but must “confess him before men,” and be as bold in acknowledging him, as the ungodly are in their allegiance to the god of this world.

2. To act towards God as befits us in that relation.

Universal obedience to his commands was promised by the Jews of old; and the same must be promised by us also. We need not attempt to discriminate between the various terms here used; this we are sure is intended by them: that we are to yield obedience to the whole of his will as far as we know it, neither regarding anything as unworthy of our notice, nor anything as too difficult for us to perform; we must “hearken to his voice,” as the angels in Heaven do, Psalm 103:20, with an unwearied solicitude to know more of his will, and an incessant readiness to comply with the first intimations of it.

We must be searching and meditating continually to find out what he speaks to us in his written word; and be listening also attentively to the still small voice of his Spirit, speaking to us in our consciences; and, whatever we ascertain to be his mind and will, that we are to do without hesitation, and without reserve.

Now this we must determine through grace to do. We must not come to God only as a Savior to deliver us, but also as a Lord to govern us; and we must resolve that henceforth “no other Lord shall have dominion over us.” Nor must this determination be kept secret; this also must be openly avowed; we must let it be seen “whose we are, and whom we serve;” and must evince a firmness in his service which neither the terrors nor allurements of the world can ever shake.

Precisely corresponding with our engagements are,

II. Our covenant advantages.

God affords us ample encouragement to “lay hold on his covenant;” for he avows his determination,

1. To own us as his redeemed people.

The very moment that we look to Christ as “all our salvation and all our desire,” God will set his seal upon us as “his special treasure.” Just as a person who has bought anything of great value, regards it from that moment as his own property, and uses all proper methods for the securing the full possession of it, so does God, “he sets apart the godly for himself;” he gives “his angels charge over him,” and “owns” him from that day to be “his purchased possession.” He “owns” it, I say, and makes it manifest both to the man himself and to the world around him.

To the man himself he gives “the Spirit of adoption, enabling him to cry, Abba, Father!” and to ascertain, by “the witness of that Spirit, that he is a child of God, Romans 8:15-16.” To the world around him also God makes it manifest, by enabling him to “walk as Christ walked,” and “to shine as a light in the midst of a dark benighted world.”

Instantly does the change in him become apparent, so that his friends and neighbors cannot but confess that he is a new creature; and, though some will ascribe the change to one thing, and some to another, they are constrained to acknowledge, that his new mode of life is such as they cannot attain to, and such as approves itself to be the very work of God himself.

2. To bestow on us blessings worthy of that relation.

The first thing which the child of God desires, is holiness; and behold, as soon as ever he embraces the Christian covenant, God engages to make him holy, and to enable him “to keep all his commandments.” This is a peculiar point of difference between the Jewish covenant and ours, as we have already observed; and it is that which is our greatest encouragement under the consciousness we feel of our own weakness. God “will put his Sprit within us, and cause us to walk in his statutes, Ezekiel 36:25-27.” This is actually a part of his covenant engagements; and must be esteemed by us as our security for the enjoyment of all our other advantages.

Together with this does God undertake to give us the most exalted honor and happiness, “he will make us high above all people in praise, and in name, and in honor.” “Behold,” says the Apostle, “what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God!” Yes, he “calls us not servants, but friends,” yes, “sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty.” For us has he prepared crowns and kingdoms, that we may “sit with him on his throne,” and be partakers of his glory forever and ever. This, and infinitely more than language can express, has “God prepared for those who love him,” and who embrace “his covenant of life and peace;” and he pledges his truth and faithfulness for the performance of his Word.

O Christian, what advantages are these! What tongue can ever utter them! What imagination can ever conceive of them aright! Know however, that, as unspeakable as they are, they are all your rightful portion, your everlasting inheritance!

APPLICATION.

Twice is the expression used, “this day;” “this day you have avowed;” and “this day God has avowed, etc.” Permit me then to ask: Have you ever known such a day as this, a day wherein you have solemnly surrendered yourselves to God as his redeemed people, with a full determination to serve him with your whole hearts; and a day wherein he has “manifested himself to you as he does not unto the world,” and “sealed you with the Holy Spirit of promise, as the pledge of your inheritance?”

To those who have known such a day,

perhaps you were brought to it through many and severe afflictions, Zechariah 13:9; Ezekiel 20:37; but have you ever regretted for a moment the means by which such a blessed end has been accomplished? We say then: Let not the remembrance of that day escape from your minds. You cannot but recollect:

what a solemn transaction it was between God and your own souls,

what shame you felt that ever you had alienated yourselves from him,

what gratitude to him for his gracious acceptance of you,

what a determination to live entirely to his glory,

and what a persuasion that you could never be base enough to forget the engagements of that day!

But do you not find that the good impressions have been greatly weakened, and that, while the ardor of your will and affections has cooled—little remains except the convictions of your judgment?

Ah! beware of “leaving your first love,” or of resting satisfied with past experiences. Know that it is not on any one day that these transactions must be realized, but every day of your lives. You should be again and again renewing your vows unto the Lord, and be daily occupied in fulfilling them. Look to it then, that:

neither the cares of the world,

nor the deceitfulness of riches,

nor the lusts of the flesh,

nor the fear of man,

nor any other thing,

“choke the good seed within you, or prevent your bringing forth fruit unto perfection.”

To those who wish for such a day,

for we trust that such there are among us, who yet cannot speak of such a day as past, we would earnestly suggest some necessary cautions:

Delay not thus to give yourselves up to God; but be particularly on your guard not to do it in a legal, self-righteous, self-dependent mistakes which are very generally spirit. There are two made, which yet are of most fatal consequence:

The first mistake is that our covenant-engagements relate only to the performance of our duties; whereas they relate primarily to our acceptance of God as our reconciled God in Christ Jesus.

The second mistake is that we are to found all our hopes of covenant advantages on our own obedience; whereas we should regard them, not as purchased by us, but as bestowed on us in the covenant, and as secured to us in Christ Jesus. Happy would it be, if this matter were more clearly understood. It lies at the very root of all our comfort, and of all our stability. Until we see all our holiness secured to us as well as required of us, we shall never rely as we ought on the promises of God, or give to him the glory due unto his name.

See how the covenant is expressed by an inspired prophet; not only does it say, “They shall be my people, and I will be their God,” but, to secure their part of the covenant as well as God’s, God promises “not to turn away from them, or to allow them to turn away from him, Jeremiah 32:38-41.” Thus is “the covenant ordered in all things, and therefore sure;” but it is sure to those alone who lay hold on it with a just apprehension of its nature, and a simple dependence on its provisions.

To those who have no idea of any such day,

may probably be found among us. There are some who seem to take credit to themselves for never having made any profession of religion at all. But can they suppose that this is any excuse for their irreligion, or that it invalidates their obligation to serve the Lord? See the solemn injunction in the text, verse 16; can they make that void? See what is the prophet’s description of things under the gospel dispensation, Jeremiah 1:4-5; there not only are the Lord’s people represented as encouraging one another to covenant thus with God, but the state of their minds is accurately delineated, and the whole mode of their proceeding described.

Be it known then that this is the duty of every one among us. If we would have God for our portion in eternity, we must accept him now; and, if we would be his people in a better world, we must give ourselves up to him now. To make excuses is vain. This duty is paramount to every other; and therefore we call upon all of you this day to “avow God for your God,” that he, in the day of judgment, may acknowledge you as his redeemed people.

Charles Simeon (1759-1836)

Deuteronomy 26:3-9

“Then it shall be, when you enter the land which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance, and you possess it and live in it, that you shall take some of the first of all the produce of the ground which you bring in from your land that the LORD your God gives you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place where the LORD your God chooses to establish His name. “You shall go to the priest who is in office at that time and say to him, ‘I declare this day to the LORD my God that I have entered the land which the LORD swore to our fathers to give us.’ “Then the priest shall take the basket from your hand and set it down before the altar of the LORD your God. “You shall answer and say before the LORD your God, ‘My father was a perishing Aramean, and he went down to Egypt and sojourned there, few in number; but there he became a great, mighty and populous nation. ‘And the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, and imposed hard labor on us. ‘Then we cried to the LORD, the God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice and saw our affliction and our toil and our oppression; and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with great terror and with signs and wonders; and He has brought us to this place and has given us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.”

The ceremonial law is considered in general as a system of burdensome rites, that had in themselves no intrinsic value, and were useful only as prefiguring the mysteries of the Gospel. But though this view of it is in a measure correct—yet we may disparage that law too much; because there was in many of its ordinances a proper tendency to generate divine affections.

In the law before us, certain professions were required to be made at the same time that the first-fruits were presented; and the words that were put into the mouths of the offerers, reminded them of the obligations which they owed to God, and, consequently, were suited to excite, as well as to express, their gratitude to God. As far as respected the deliverance of that people from Egypt, there is no further occasion for the law; and therefore it is superseded with the rest of the Jewish ritual; but as an intimation of the high value which God sets on grateful recollections, it is worthy of our highest regard.

We shall take occasion from it,

I. To point out our duty in reference to the mercies we have received.

We surely ought not to receive them like the brute beasts which have no understanding; it is our duty to act as intelligent creatures; and to make the mercies of our God an occasion of augmented benefit to our souls. For this purpose we ought:

1. To review our mercies frequently.

Even national mercies ought not to be overlooked by us. It was to them in a peculiar manner that the ordinance before us had respect. The Jews were required not only to look back to the deliverance of their nation from Egypt, but to trace back their origin to Jacob their father, whose mother was a Syrian, who himself married two Syrian women, and himself lived in Syria for twenty years; whose children also, with the exception of Benjamin, were all born in Syria, and were the heads and progenitors of all the Jewish tribes. Jacob on many occasions was near perishing; when he fled from the face of Esau, when he was followed by Laban his father-in-law, and when he was met again by Esau at the head of four hundred men, he was in danger of being destroyed; in which case his children would either never have existed, or would all have been destroyed with him. But God had preserved him from every danger, and brought his posterity to Canaan agreeably to his promise; and they in grateful remembrance of this were to profess it openly from year to year, “A Syrian ready to perish was our father.”

Perhaps it rarely occurs to our minds that we have quite as much reason for gratitude on a national account as even the Jews themselves; but, if we call to mind the state of our forefathers, who were as ignorant of God as the most savage Indians, and remember, that we ourselves would have been bowing down to stocks and stones just like them, if the light of the Gospel had not been sent to dispel our darkness, we shall see that we may well adopt the language of our text and say, “A Syrian ready to perish was our father.”

But we should be careful also to review our personal mercies. Let us look back to the weakness of infancy, the thoughtlessness of childhood, the folly of youth, and see now marvelously God has preserved us to the present hour—while millions have been cut off by a premature death, or left to protract a miserable existence in pain, or infamy, or poverty. The means by which we have been rescued from danger, and even the minutest occurrences that have contributed to our deliverance, are worthy of our most attentive survey, and must be distinctly viewed, if ever we would “understand aright the loving-kindness of the Lord.”

We must not however dwell solely, or even chiefly, on temporal mercies—but must raise our thoughts to those which are spiritual. What matter for reflection will these afford! If we consider:

the former blindness and ignorance of our minds,

the hardness and depravity of our hearts,

the indifference which we manifested towards the concerns of eternity,

and the awful danger in which we stood

—what reason have we to bless our God that he did not take us away in such a state! And, if we can say, as in our text, that “we are come unto the country which the Lord swore unto our fathers to give us,” and are “partakers of his promise in Christ Jesus,” then have we indeed cause for thankfulness, even such cause, as we may well reflect upon to the last hour of our lives; On these then we should “muse until the fire burn, and we are constrained to speak of them with our tongues.”

In the ordinance before us a particular season was appointed for this exercise; and it is well to have seasons fixed upon in our own minds for a more solemn commemoration of the mercies received by us. If the commencement of the new year, for instance, or our birthday, were regularly dedicated to this service, it could not be better spent. But, if our minds are duly impressed with a sense of God’s goodness to us, we shall not be satisfied with allotting one particular period to the contemplation of it, but shall be glad to think and speak of it every day we live.

2. To requite our mercies gratefully.

The Israelites were appointed to offer the first-fruits of the earth to God, in token that they acknowledged him as the Proprietor and Giver of all that they possessed. Now it is not necessary that we should present the same specific offerings as they; but we must dedicate to God the first-fruits of our time, and the first-fruits of our property. We should fear the Lord in our youth, and not think it sufficient to give him the gleanings and the dregs of life; and we should “honor him with our substance, and with the first-fruits of all our increase;” “giving liberally, if we have much, and, if we have but little, doing our diligence gladly to give of that little.”

But chiefly should we consecrate ourselves to God; for we ourselves are, as the Apostle calls us, “a kind of first-fruits of God’s creatures, James 1:18.” Our bodies and our souls, together with all their faculties and powers, are God’s, “We are not our own; we are bought with a price; and to honor him is our bounden duty.” This is the very intent of God’s mercies to us; nor do we ever requite them as we ought, until we “present ourselves to God as living sacrifices,” and “glorify him with our bodies and our spirits which are his.”

This surrender of ourselves to him should be most solemn and devout. The image in our text admirably illustrates it. The priest took the basket that contained the first-fruits, and “set it down before the altar of the Lord his God.” Thus should we go into the very presence of our God, and dedicate ourselves to him, as his redeemed people. Rather, if we may so speak, we should put ourselves into the hands of our great High-Priest, that he may “present us holy and unblamable, and unreprovable in his sight.”

Such is obviously our duty. We proceed now,

II. To recommend it to your attention.

Persons in general are ready to defer the performance of this duty under an idea that it does not pertain to them, at least not at present, and that an attention to it would deprive them of much happiness; but we must press upon your consciences the observance of it, for it is,

1. Dedication to God is a universal duty.

Who is there that has not received innumerable mercies for which he has reason to be thankful? Truly marvelous as are the displays of God’s goodness recorded in the Scriptures, there is no man who might not find as wonderful records of it in his own life, if he could trace all the dispensations of Providence towards him, as clearly and minutely as they are marked in the inspired volume towards God’s people of old.

But there is one point wherein all mankind are upon a level; we may all look back to the state of Adam after he had fallen, and had reduced himself and all his posterity to eternal ruin. How awful our condition then! Truly we should have been forever like the fallen angels, destitute of all help or hope, if God had not marvelously interposed to rescue us from death and Hell by the sacrifice of his only dear Son! With what emphasis then may every one of us say, “A Syrian ready to perish was our father!” Here all the wonders of redeeming love unfold themselves to our view; and he who has no heart to adore God for them, has no hope of any interest in God’s saving mercies.

2. Dedication to God is a reasonable duty.

If we have conferred favors on any person for years together, do we not expect our kindness to be acknowledged and requited as opportunities shall occur? Do we not look with abhorrence upon a man that is insensible to all the obligations that can be heaped upon him? But what are the kindnesses which we can show to a fellow-creature in comparison with those which we have received from God? Shall we then expect a tribute of gratitude from him, and think ourselves at liberty to withhold gratitude from our Heavenly Benefactor? Let the world ridicule devotion, if they will, and call love to God enthusiasm; but we will maintain that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,” and that an entire surrender of ourselves to him is “a reasonable service.”

Do we inquire, whence it is that ungodly men regard the sublimer exercises of religion as unnecessary and absurd? We answer, They have never considered what obligations they owe to God. Only let them once become acquainted with “the height and depth and length and breadth of the love of Christ,” and they will see, that reason, no less than revelation, demands of us this tribute; and that every enlightened mind must of necessity accord with that of the Psalmist, “What shall I render to the Lord for all the benefits he has done unto me!” “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me bless his holy name!”

3. Dedication to God is a delightful duty.

In the passage before us it is associated with joy, verse 11; and indeed, what is such a service but a foretaste of Heaven itself? Did anyone ever engage in it, and not find his soul elevated by it to a joy which nothing else could afford? Let anyone ruminate on earthly things, and his meditations will only augment his cares, or at best inspire him with a very transient joy. Let him dwell upon his own corruptions, and, though they are a proper subject of occasional meditation, they will only weigh down his spirits, and perhaps lead him to desponding fears.

But let the goodness of God, and the wonders of redeeming love, be contemplated by him—and he will soon have his mind raised above earthly things, and fired with a holy ambition to honor and to resemble God. See how the Psalmist expresses his thoughts on such occasions Psalm 145:1-7; what glorious language! how sublime must have been the feelings of his soul, when uttering it before God! Know then that this is the state to which we would invite you, and that the daily experience of it is the best preparative for the joys above!

Charles Simeon (1759-1836)

Deuteronomy 24:19-22

“When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the alien, the fatherless and the widow, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat the olives from your trees, do not go over the branches a second time. Leave what remains for the alien, the fatherless and the widow. When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, do not go over the vines again. Leave what remains for the alien, the fatherless and the widow. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. That is why I command you to do this.”

It is surprising to see to what minute things Jehovah condescends in his legislation to the Jews. In no other community under Heaven were such things accounted worthy of distinct and authoritative enactments. People must not yoke together in a plough an ox and a donkey. They must not seethe a goat in its mother’s milk. In taking a bird’s nest, they must not take the mother with her young.

But “God, their great Lawgiver, is love;” and all his laws breathed love, not to men only, but to the whole creation; and by them he has shown, that he desired all his people to live under the influence of this divine principle; and, in the smallest matters no less than in the greatest, to bring it into exercise.

Hence he appointed, that, when they gathered in the fruits of the earth, they should guard against selfishness, and manifest a spirit of love towards their more indigent and afflicted brethren.

In the very words which I have just read, the threefold repetition of them shows what tenderness there is in the bosom of Almighty God towards the poor and afflicted, and how desirous he is that all his people should resemble him; and for this end he commands, that, in the season of their own prosperity, they should be especially mindful of “the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow.” The manner in which he enforces this command respecting gleaning, will lead me to consider,

I. The privilege of gleaning, as accorded to the Jews.

The Jews had been brought out from Egypt from the sorest bondage.

By mighty signs and wonders had God brought them out; and had throughout all their generations caused them to enjoy blessings for which they had not labored, and to reap a harvest which they had never sown. For the space of forty years in the wilderness they had no occasion for agricultural labors; but from day to day did they glean around their tents the food which the Great Proprietor of all caused to be scattered for their use. And when they came into the promised land, “they found great and goodly cities which they had never built, and houses filled with all manner of good things which they had never filled, and wells which they had never dug, Deuteronomy 6:10-11.” Like gleaners, they had only to enter on the field, and to appropriate everything which they found to their own use.

From this consideration they were enjoined to give somewhat of a like advantage to their poorer brethren.

“Freely they had received; and freely they were to give.” They were to bear in mind the misery from which their forefathers had been delivered; and from a sense of gratitude to their Heavenly Benefactor, they were to show love to their brethren, and liberality to the poor. They were not to be exact even in the reaping of their crops, but to leave the corners of their fields standing, Leviticus 19:9, for the benefit of “the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow;” and, after having gathered in their grain, or their grapes, or olives, they were not to be going over their ground or their trees again, but to leave the remaining produce for those whose necessities called for such aid; yes, and to rejoice in seeing the needs of others supplied, though at their expense. And surely this was reasonable in the highest degree, since the whole land itself had been originally the gift of God, as was also the produce of it in every successive year. What could their own labors effect without the fruitful showers and the genial warmth of the sun? On God they depended, notwithstanding their own efforts; and God gave them an assurance, that on a cheerful and liberal discharge of their duty towards their brethren, they should receive his blessing on their own labors.

But let me proceed to mark,

II. The far higher grounds of this privilege as existing among Christians.

True, the Jewish law does not extend to us; nor does the law of this land accord in this respect with the Jewish law. The matter has been tried, and authoritatively decided. But, so general is the sense of propriety which exists in this kingdom, that the privilege of gleaning is conceded to the poor, as much as if it were a right established by law; and I suppose that for every thousand pounds that are paid in rent to the proprietor of the soil, not less than one hundred pounds, and perhaps two hundred, are gratuitously left to be gathered by the poor in the way of gleaning. And this is as it should be, for,

Let it be recollected from what misery we have been redeemed.

Not an Egyptian bondage merely was ours, but a bondage to sin and Satan, death and Hell. And what has the Great Proprietor of Heaven and earth done for us? He has, by the blood of his only dear Son, brought us out from this bondage; and in the field of his Gospel has strewed a rich profusion of food, of which all of us may eat, and live forever! Take the inspired volume—there is the field, into which all may enter and gather for themselves. The promises there scattered, and standing, as it were, in every corner, Leviticus 19:9, of the Bible, are sufficient for the whole world. All that is required is that we go in and glean for ourselves.

The manna in the wilderness nourished those only who gathered it for their daily use; and, if the poor will avail themselves of the bounty scattered in our fields, they must go out and gather it. Were all the harvest left upon the field, it would benefit none, unless it were reaped and appropriated to our use. Just so, all the promises of salvation will have been given to us in vain, if we do not exert ourselves, from day to day, to appropriate them to ourselves, for our own personal benefit. But, if we will “labor thus for the meat that endures unto eternal life, the Son of Man will give it to us” according to the utmost extent of our necessities. Then shall we gather all the blessings, both of grace and glory; for no one of which have we any other claim, than as gratuitous endowments, bestowed by the Lord of the harvest on his necessitous and dependent people!

And can we have any stronger argument than this for liberality to the poor?

Methinks, “the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow,” should be made to share our temporal blessings, when we are so richly and gratuitously nourished with those which are spiritual and eternal. We are taught to “love one another, as Christ has loved us, Ephesians 5:2.” And when Paul was urging the Corinthian Church to liberality, he could find no stronger argument than this, “You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich—yet for your sakes he became poor, that you through his poverty might be rich! 2 Corinthians 8:9.” Say, brethren, whether this consideration is not amply sufficient to animate us to the most enlarged liberality for his sake? Yes, truly; instead of grudging to others the remnants of our harvest, we should be ready to say with Zaccheus, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor, Luke 19:8.” Indeed, even for our own sakes we might practice this divine lesson; for “if we give to the poor, we lend to the Lord; and whatever we lay out, he will pay us again.” In truth, to “honor the Lord with our substance, and with the first-fruits of all our increase, is the way, the surest way, to fill our barns with plenty, and to make our presses burst out with new wine, Proverbs 3:9-10.”

But I rather dwell on the other motive only; because the “love of Christ,” if duly felt in our hearts, “will constrain us” to every possible exercise of love to him, and to the poor for his sake Matthew 25:45.

Let me now, then, address you all.

1. As gleaners, avail yourselves of your privilege.

I say again, the whole field is open before you! As God’s servant, I have been commissioned to “scatter handfuls for you,” that you may not labor in vain; yes, I have invited you to “come, even among the sheaves,” and, so far from “reproaching you” for your boldness, have encouraged you, Ruth 2:16, by the strongest assurances of the unbounded liberality of my Divine Master.

Bear in mind, that you are gleaners. You must indeed labor with diligence; but the whole that you gather is a gift; you never raised by your own personal labor one single grain of what you gather; all your labor consists in gathering up what the Great Proprietor, your Lord and Savior, has strewed for you. While you, then, have all the benefit—let him have all the glory!

2. As proprietors, perform the duty that is here enjoined to you.

Cultivate, every one of you, a spirit of liberality. Let “the stranger” share your bounty; and let “the fatherless and widows” be the special objects of your care and tender compassion. If you do not comply readily with this injunction, what pretensions can you have to call yourselves followers of Christ? “If any man sees his brother in need, and shuts up his compassion from him, how does the the love of God dwell in him? 1 John 3:17.” “He who loves not his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?” On the other hand, “abound in the riches of liberality;” and “so shall your light break forth as the morning, Isaiah 58:7-8,” and “a recompense be given you at the resurrection of the just, Luke 14:14.”

Charles Simeon (1759-1836)

Deuteronomy 23:5

“However, the LORD your God would not listen to Balaam but turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the LORD your God loves you.”

To those who are ignorant of the way of salvation, we preach Christ crucified; for “there is no other name under Heaven but his, whereby any man can be saved.”

But to those who are well instructed in the fundamental truths of our holy religion, we bring forward rather what relates to the life of godliness; having laid the foundation, we endeavor to build upon it a suitable superstructure.

Now, a realizing sense of God’s care and love, such a sense of his goodness as leads us to live altogether by faith in him—is one of the sublimest attainments that can be made in this world. And to assist you in this, will be my endeavor at this time.

Let us notice, then, from the words before us,

I. God’s love to his ancient people.

This appeared in bringing them forth out of Egypt, and in preserving them throughout their wanderings in the wilderness; and especially, also, in the instance that is here specified, the counteracting of the designs of Balaam, and “the turning of his curse into a blessing unto them.”

See the account given to us by Moses.

To enter fully into this, the whole history of the transaction, the 22nd, 23nd, and 24th chapters of the Book of Numbers should be attentively perused. Instigated by a desire to obtain “the wages of unrighteousness,” yet conscious that he was under a restraint from the Most High God, Balaam madly pursued his object, even after he was rebuked for his iniquity by the donkey on which he rode, and which, was enabled to utter the reproof in language used by man, 2 Peter 2:15-16. Balaam constantly confesses his inability to go beyond what Jehovah should see fit to permit; yet as constantly sought to evade or change the divine counsels, and to execute the project for which he was hired. Every distinct prophecy which he utters, rises in force and grandeur; and when complained of by Balak for pouring forth blessings upon them, instead of denouncing curses against them, he confesses, “I have received commandment to bless; and God has blessed; and I cannot reverse it, Numbers 23:20.”

At last, finding how vain it was to seek by enchantments to alter the divine purpose, Balaam forbore to offer any more of his sacrifices. and yielded to the impulse within him to foretell the certain successes of those whom he had sought to destroy, Numbers 24:1-9. And, having thus provoked the king of Moab to dismiss him without the promised rewards, Numbers 24:10-14, he resumed his prophetic strains, and declared, not only that this people should triumph over Moab, but that from them should One arise, who should establish a universal empire, and have dominion over the whole world! Numbers 24:15-19.

All this, Joshua brought to the remembrance of Israel, long after they had been established in the land of Canaan; saying, “When Balak son of Zippor, the king of Moab, prepared to fight against Israel, he sent for Balaam son of Beor to put a curse on you. But I would not listen to Balaam, so he blessed you again and again, and I delivered you out of his hand, Joshua 24:9-10.”

Now all this was the fruit of God’s unchanging love.

God had chosen them to himself in Abraham, and had ordained that they should be to him a peculiar people above all others upon the face of the whole earth. In this choice of them God had been influenced, not by any foreseen worthiness in them; for he knew, from the beginning, what a stiff-necked people they would prove; but solely by his own sovereign will and pleasure, “He loved them because he would love them! Deuteronomy 7:6-9.” To them, also, had he promised the land of Canaan; and therefore, when the time was come for their possession of it, no enemy could stand before them, nor could any conspiracies which could be formed prevail against them. Hence, in despite of all the efforts which Balaam made to curse them—he was constrained to “bless them still.”

From the whole of God’s kindness to them, we may be led to contemplate,

II. God’s love to his elect people at this day.

His people are now redeemed, even as they were of old, only from infinitely sorer bondage, a bondage to sin and Satan, to death and Hell. They are brought also through a dreary wilderness, towards the heavenly Canaan. They have enemies also to contend with. True it is, they have not to dispossess any of their land; nor do they, by invading the property of others, provoke hostility; but they have enemies notwithstanding, yes, and enemies who are bent upon their destruction; but from all of them God will surely deliver his redeemed people.

He will deliver them both from men and devils.

From the beginning of the world have God’s chosen people been opposed and persecuted, even from the time of Abel to the present hour. It was the superior piety of Abel that called forth the resentment of the envious Cain, and stimulated him to imbrue his hands in his brother’s blood, 1 John 3:12. And our Lord puts the question to his malignant enemies, “Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted?” It might be thought, indeed, that it would be impossible for anyone to hate and persecute the holy Jesus, in whose whole life not a single flaw could be found, and who, by his benevolent and unnumbered miracles, must have endeared himself to every one. But the brighter his light was, the more were the children of darkness incensed against him; so that they never ceased, until they had prevailed against him, and “crucified the Lord of Glory.”

All his Apostles, too, were objects of the world’s hatred; and our Lord has told us, that all his followers will have their cross to bear, after the example which he has set for us. And do we not find it so? Is there a faithful servant of the Lord, especially if he fills any important station, and is active in honoring his Divine Master. Is there one I say, that is not reviled and persecuted for righteousness sake? True, fires are not now kindled, as once they were, to consume them, because the laws of the land forbid it; but it is as true at this day as ever it was in the apostolic age, that “all who will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.”

And has the hostility of Satan at all abated? Does not “that roaring lion go about at this day as much as ever, seeking whom he may devour?” What can the Apostle mean, when he says, “We wrestle not with flesh and blood, (not with flesh and blood alone,) but with principalities and powers, and spiritual wickednesses in high places? Ephesians 6:12.” Or for what end are we still enjoined to “put on the whole armor of God? Ephesians 6:13,” if we have not still many enemies to contend with?

But God will preserve us from them all, and “turn their curses into blessings.” “Whatever will ultimately advance our welfare, he will permit; but whatever would have an injurious effect, he will avert; as it is said, “The wrath of man shall praise You, Psalm 76:10.”

We may not see the precise way in which good shall be brought out of evil; Joseph could form no idea of the benefit which was ultimately to accrue from all his trials; nor could Job from his; but they were constrained to acknowledge, that, however designed for evil, the events, every one of them, issued in good; and thus has God engaged, that “we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose! Romans 8:28.” And that their “light and momentary afflictions shall work for them a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory! 2 Corinthians 4:17.”

To this Almighty God is pledged, by the love that he bears towards us.

God has loved his people with an everlasting love; and therefore with loving-kindness he both draws us to him, Jeremiah 31:3, and secures our welfare. Now, the record in my text is especially intended by God himself to illustrate and confirm this truth. Hear what God says by the Prophet Micah, “O my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab consulted, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him from Shittim unto Gilgal, that you may know the righteousness of the Lord, Micah 6:5.” God is a righteous and faithful God; and he has engaged, that “no weapon that is formed against his people shall prosper,” and that “none shall prevail against them to pluck them out of his hands.” We may be perfectly assured, therefore, that he will keep them to the end; and that “not one jot or tittle of his Word will ever fail.” “Having loved his own, he will love them to the end! John 13:1.”

I close with a word or two of advice.

1. Be not hasty in your anticipations of evil as the result of your trials.

Jacob, on the loss of his favorite son Joseph, exclaimed, “All these things are against me!” But that was the very event which God had ordained for the preservation of himself and his whole family; yes, and for the completion of all his promises respecting the Messiah, and the salvation of the whole world by him. And perhaps that very trial, of which we are ready to complain, is, according to his eternal purpose, to be the destined means of preserving us from destruction, and of preparing us for glory. Wait, and “see the end of the Lord, James 5:11;” and you will find as much reason to bless God for your severest troubles, as for the most acceptable of all his blessings.

2. Learn in every dispensation to acknowledge your heavenly Father’s love.

There is not, in fact, any single trial that does not proceed from God. “Not a hair of your head can fall” but by his gracious permission! Men, devils, yes the very elements, are only instruments in his hands to fulfill his will! Isaiah 10:5; Psalm 148:8. The Jews, in crucifying the Messiah, executed only “what God’s will and counsel had determined before to be done, Acts 4:28;” and, though “they neither meant nor thought so,” they were his agents to accomplish what was necessary for the redemption of God’s people. Men and devils may have prepared a furnace for you; but it is God who puts you into it, to purify you from your dross, and to “bring you forth as vessels fit for the Master’s use.” True, he will punish those agents; as he did Balaam, who was slain among the enemies of God. But you “he will make perfect through sufferings,” and recompense in proportion to all that you have endured for him.

Charles Simeon (1759-1836)

Deuteronomy 23:3-4

“No Ammonite or Moabite or any of his descendants may enter the assembly of the LORD, even down to the tenth generation. For they did not come to meet you with bread and water on your way when you came out of Egypt, and they hired Balaam son of Beor from Pethor in Aram Naharaim to pronounce a curse on you.”

In reading the history of God’s ancient people, we shall do well to notice even the most minute occurrences; since there will scarcely be found one which is not capable of spiritual improvement, or one from which the most important lessons may not be derived. The record before us would be passed over by the generality of readers, as pertaining only to that particular dispensation, and as affording but little instruction for us at this time; yet it does in reality contain as great practical information as can be found in any of the more signal events with which the inspired history abounds.

A thousand years after this record was written, it was referred to, not by accident, as we call it, but by the special direction of Divine Providence; and was made the ground of the most self-denying command that could be given to men; and the ground, also, of the most prompt obedience to that command, that it was possible for fallen man to render.

The Jews after their return from Babylon had formed connections with the heathen that had occupied Judea in their absence; but Nehemiah, determining to rectify this great evil, read to all the people the very words which I have now read to you; and, by his clear and unquestionable inferences from them, prevailed on all the people of the land to “separate themselves from the mixed multitude,” and to act up to the spirit of the injunction there given, Nehemiah 13:1-3. Now it is to the practical improvement of them that I wish to direct your attention; and for that end I shall set before you,

I. The duty of benevolence in general.

Love is a duty.

Love is the very essence of all practical religion. It is in a most peculiar manner inculcated under the Christian dispensation; and it is to be exercised towards every man. God, who is love itself, “makes his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain both on the just and unjust;” and our duty is to resemble him, and to be “perfect, even as our Father in Heaven is perfect, Matthew 5:44-48.” If we be doubtful how far this precept is to be obeyed, the parable of the good Samaritan gives us a clear and unerring direction, Luke 10:37. No man under Heaven can be so distant from us, but he is entitled to the offices of our love, so far as our opportunities and ability give scope for its exercise.

Love towards others is absolutely indispensable to our acceptance with God.

Whatever else we may possess, yes, whatever we may either do or suffer for the Lord’s sake, if we have not an active principle of love in our hearts, “we are only as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal! 1 Corinthians 13:1-3.” John even appeals to us on this subject, and makes us judges in our own cause, “If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? 1 John 3:17.” In truth, the lack of this principle, whatever else we may possess, will be adduced by our Judge, in the last day, as the ground of our eternal condemnation, “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ “He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me!’ Matthew 25:41-45.”

Thus, then, as the Moabites and Ammonites are condemned for not administering to the necessities of Israel in the wilderness, so shall we, if we do not exercise benevolence towards our indigent fellow-creatures, to whatever sect or nation they belong, so far as it shall be in our power to afford them the relief which they stand in need of.

Conceiving the general point established, that we should show benevolence to all, I proceed to mark,

II. Our special obligation to exercise it towards God’s ancient people.

The Jews have, at all events, the same claim to our benevolence as any other people whatever. There is no exception made in Scripture with respect to them; and, consequently, if we should fail in establishing their peculiar claims, our main argument would remain in all its force. But they have claims superior to any other people upon earth.

1. We are more indebted to them than to any other people under Heaven.

To whom are we indebted for all the instruction which we have received respecting the way of peace and salvation? We owe it all to the Jews. We know nothing of God and of his Christ, but as it has been revealed to us by Jewish prophets and Apostles; yes, the very Savior himself was of Jewish extraction; and, therefore, in that very fact we may well find a motive to exercise benevolence towards all who are related to him according to the flesh. Such infinite obligations as we owe to that people should surely be requited in acts of love towards their descendants; even as God himself often showed mercy to rebellious Israel for Abraham’s and for David’s sake; and as David for Jonathan’s sake spared Mephibosheth, who must otherwise, as a descendant of Saul, have been involved in the ruin of all his household, 2 Samuel 21:7.

2. The very blessings which we enjoy were taken from them, on purpose that they might be transferred to us.

The Jews were once the only people upon earth who possessed the blessings of salvation. But God, in righteous indignation, cast them off; and, in a way of sovereign grace and mercy, took us Gentiles from a wild olive-tree, and grafted us in upon the stock from which they had been broken, and “from which they had been broken on purpose that we might be grafted in, Romans 11:19-20.” The fact is, that every soul among us, that now derives sap and nourishment from God’s olive-tree, actually occupies, as it were, the place of a Jew, who has been dispossessed of his privileges, in order that we Gentiles might enjoy them.

Now, I would submit it to your own judgment. Suppose a person to have been disinherited by his father, on purpose that I, who had no relation to him, nor any more worthiness in myself than the disinherited offender, might he made his heir; suppose that disinherited son, in a state of extreme distress, should ask alms of you, while I was living in affluence close at hand; would you not refer him to me, as the person who might well be expected to attend to his case, and to relieve his necessities? If I dismissed him from my door as a worthless vagabond, in whose welfare I had no concern, would you not feel surprise and grief, yes, and a measure of indignation too? If I professed to be a man of piety and benevolence, would you not spurn at my profession, as downright hypocrisy?

Now, then, if under such circumstances you would condemn me, know that “you yourself are the man.” For, all that you have of spiritual good was once the exclusive heritage of the Jew; and you are possessing what has been taken from him; yes, you are reveling in abundance, while he is perishing in utter want; and all the obligation which, by your own confession, would attach to me in the case I have stated, is entailed on you; and you, in refusing to fulfill it, are sinning against God, and against your own soul.

3. This very transfer of their blessings to us has been made for the express purpose that we might dispense them to that bereaved people in the hour of their necessity.

True, we are permitted to enjoy them ourselves, yes, and to enjoy them in the richest abundance; but we are particularly entrusted with them for the benefit of the Jews. Hear what God himself has declared on this subject, “Just as you (Gentiles) who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, so they (Jews) too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy to you, Romans 11:30-31.”

Now, take again the case before stated; and suppose the man who had disinherited his son, and left me his estate, to have declared in his will, that he left me the estate on purpose that in the hour of his son’s extremity I might show kindness to him, and relieve his necessities; what would you say of me then, if I spurned him from my door, and left him to perish with hunger, when I was myself reveling in all manner of luxurious abundance?

Well, “You are the man!” and what you would say of me, you must say of yourself, as long as you neglect to promote the welfare of God’s ancient people; yes, “out of your own mouth shall you be judged, you wicked servant.”

God has made you a trustee for the Jew; and you have not only betrayed your trust, but left him to perish, when you had in possession all that his soul needs; and which you could impart to him, to the full extent of his necessities, without feeling any sensible diminution of your wealth; yes, when, strange to say! you might increase your wealth by relieving him. Tell me, then, in this view of the matter, whether you have not special obligations to show benevolence to the Jew?

But I must go further, and mark,

III. The more particular obligations which we have to exercise benevolence towards them at this time.

God, by his providence, called the Ammonites and Moabites to show kindness to Israel; and their guilt was greatly aggravated by their manifesting such unwillingness to cooperate with him in his designs of love towards them; and on this account was so heavy a judgment denounced against them, “even to their tenth generation.” And is not God now calling us to concur with him in what he is doing for his ancient people? Yes, I think his call to us is clear and loud. Observe,

1. The interest which is now felt in the Christian world for the restoration of the Jews to God.

This interest is really unprecedented. There have been times when a few people have labored for their welfare; but now there is, throughout Europe and America, a very great and general increase of kindness towards them. They are no longer made the universal objects of hatred and persecution, as in former ages; even where there is no love towards them, there is a great diminution of hostility; and in many instances they have been treated with much liberality and respect by Christian governments, being raised by them to a measure of respect and honor that has not been accorded to them in former times. And for their conversion to Christianity, and their restoration to the divine favor, exertions are making to a considerable extent. And is not this of the Lord? Methinks, such a victory over the prejudices of Christians is scarcely less a work of divine power, than was the deliverance of Israel from the hand of the Egyptians; and, as such, it is a call from God to concur with him in his labors of love towards them. See what is at this moment doing among the more pious part of the Christian community, in the circulation of the Scriptures, and especially of the New Testament; and what efforts are making by Christian missionaries for the conversion of the Jews! and I must say, that this is a call from God to us, and that it is no less our privilege, than it is our duty, to obey it.

2. The stir which prevails among the Jews themselves.

This also obtains to a degree unprecedented since the early ages of Christianity. “Truly, there is a stir among the dry bones throughout the whole valley of vision, Ezekiel 37:7-8.” Great numbers of Jews, upon the continent especially, and to a certain extent at home also, begin to think that Christianity may be true; and that that Jesus, whom their fathers crucified, may be the Messiah; and, if they did but know how, in the event of their embracing Christianity, they might support themselves and their families, great multitudes, I doubt not, would pursue their inquiries, until they had attained the true knowledge of their Messiah and of his salvation.

Let me then ask, Whence is this? Is not this the work of God? And is it not an encouragement to us to exert ourselves for their entire conversion? Methinks they are saying to us: “Come over to Macedonia, and help us!” And we ought, one and all of us, according to our ability, to obey the call.

3. The pledges which God has given us in the actual conversion of some to the Christian faith.

If we cannot speak of Pentecostal days, we can declare that God has accompanied his Word with power to the hearts of some; and that “one of a city and two of a tribe” have already, as God has given us reason to expect, Isaiah 17:6, been brought to the saving knowledge of their Messiah. Of those who have embraced “the truth as it is in Jesus,” some have attained to a real eminence in the divine life, and are at this moment not inferior to the most exalted characters in the Christian world. This shows that God is about to rebuild his temple; and surely it does not befit us “to dwell in our paneled houses” at ease Haggai 1:4, when he is so plainly calling upon us to co-operate with him; we should rather “strengthen the hands of those who are laboring in this good work,” and, like Cyrus, afford every possible facility for the accomplishment of this vast and glorious undertaking, Ezra 1:5-7.

We should endeavor to improve “this acceptable time, Isaiah 49:8;” removing to the utmost of our power all obstacles to their conversion, Isaiah 62:10; and laboring, if by any means we may be God’s honored instruments, to bring them home to him, and to present them as “an offering in a clean vessel to the Lord, Isaiah 66:19-20.”

4. The general voice of prophecy.

Prophecy begins to be better understood among us; and it is the united conviction of all who have studied the prophecies, that the time for the restoration and conversion of the Jews is near at hand. The twelve hundred and sixty years spoken of by Daniel, as the period fixed in the divine counsels for the establishment of the Redeemer’s kingdom among them, are, on any computation, nearly expired. Ought we not then, like Daniel, to put forth our prayers to God for the consummation of this great event, and by all possible means to help it forward?

I think, that, putting all these circumstances together: the concern of Christians, the stir among the Jews, the real converts from among them, and the unquestionable ground which is given us in prophecy to expect their speedy conversion; we may regard it all as a call from God, scarcely less powerful than that given to the Moabites and Ammonites of old, to “come to the help of the Lord,” and to labor with all our might for their salvation. In truth, if we do not act thus, we can expect nothing but “the curse of God, Judges 5:23,” and the most lasting tokens of his displeasure.

1. You will say, perhaps, that You have no connection with the Jews, and therefore may well be excused from all concern about them.

But what had the Ammonites and Moabites to do with the Jews? They were descended, not from Abraham, but from Lot, and had never had any fellowship with them. But this was no excuse for their neglect; nor can any similar excuse avail for us.

2. You will reply that it is God’s work, and that it should be left to him to accomplish it in his own time and way.

And might not the Ammonites and Moabites say the same? God not only could, but did, supply Their needs by miracle; but this was no justification of those who refused to them the proper offices of love. Nor will this be any justification of our neglect.

Permit me, in conclusion, to bring two things to your remembrance:

1. That the Ammonites and Moabites had an excuse which you have not.

They might have said: These Israelites are going to extirpate the seven nations of Canaan; and we will not concur in such a work as this. But, in converting the Jews to Christ, we adopt the readiest and most certain way for the salvation of the whole world. If they, then, were excluded from the congregation of the Lord, even to the tenth generation, for their inhumanity—then judge what tokens of God’s displeasure await you for your indifference.

2. That they were condemned for not coming forth, as volunteers, to “meet Israel with bread and water”.

What shall you then be, who are thus entreated and solicited to concur with Jehovah in this good work, if you still refuse your aid, or give it with such indifference, as to show that your heart does not go forth with your hands in the service of the Lord? You remember, that when Nabal said, “Shall I take my bread and my water, and give them to those whom I know not whence they came?” it well near cost him his life; yes, it actually did cost him his life, 1 Samuel 25:11; 1 Samuel 25:21-22; 1 Samuel 25:37-38. And I tremble to think what judgments await you, if you resist our importunity, and refuse to co-operate with God in the work proposed.

But “I hope better things of you, my brethren, though I thus speak;” and I hope and trust that you will henceforth, each according to his ability, be workers together with God for the salvation of God’s ancient people, and through them for the salvation of the whole world.

Let me not be misunderstood; I am far from intending to say that all who have neglected this sacred cause are equally liable to God’s displeasure; for it is but lately that the attention of the Christian world has been called to it; but I think you will agree with me, that it is now high time to exert ourselves for God, and to redeem, as far as possible, the time we have lost. The cause well deserves our most assiduous efforts; and we may be sure that God, who so indignantly resented the supineness of the Ammonites, will richly repay all that we can do for the furtherance of his gracious designs; for he has said, “Blessed is he who blesses you; and cursed is he who curses you.”

Charles Simeon (1759-1836)

Deuteronomy 21:6-8

“Then all the elders of the town nearest the body shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley, and they shall declare: “Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it done. Accept this atonement for your people Israel, whom you have redeemed, O LORD, and do not hold your people guilty of the blood of an innocent man.” And the bloodshed will be atoned for.”

The ceremonial law of the Jews was confessedly figurative and typical in every part; nor was even their judicial law altogether destitute of a spiritual import. The injunction, “not to muzzle the ox that trod out the corn,” appears as void of any, except a literal, meaning, as any law whatever; yet was there in that law a particular reference to the preachers of the Gospel, who were to be supported by the people to whom they ministered.

In the law that we are now to consider, there is indeed a manifest appearance of mystery; and we shall find it by no means unprofitable to consider the mystery contained in it. We shall endeavor then,

I. To explain the ordinance.

In doing this we must notice,

1. Its general design.

God, no doubt, intended by this law, to prevent the commission of murder. The shedding of human blood was, in his eyes, so great a crime, that it must never be pardoned by the civil magistrate. If a willful murderer had fled to a city of refuge, or even to the altar itself, neither the one nor the other was to prove a sanctuary to him; he must be taken thence, and be carried forth for execution. See Numbers 35:31; Numbers 35:33; Deuteronomy 19:11-13 and Exodus 21:14.

In the event of a slain man being found, and the murderer being unknown, this law was to be carried into effect; the elders of the city that was nearest to the slain man, (which, if doubtful, was to be ascertained by measurement,) were, together with the priests, to go to a uncultivated valley, and there slay a heifer, and wash their hands over him, protesting their own innocence, and their inability to discover the offender; and in that manner to implore forgiveness for the guilty land, verse 1-9.

Now this had a tendency to strike a terror into the minds of all the people, to fill them with an abhorrence of murder, to show them what pains would be taken to discover the person who should be guilty of it, and what terrible vengeance he must expect at the hands of God, though he should escape the punishment that he deserved from man.

Somewhat of a similar process prevails among us; a coroner’s inquest is taken whenever a suspicion of murder or of suicide appears to have any just foundation. But there is no comparison between our law and that which existed among the Jews; so far superior was the solemnity of their proceedings; and so much more calculated to beget in the minds of men an abhorrence of the dreadful sin of murder.

But besides this more obvious end of the law, God designed also to provide means for removing guilt from his land. No sooner had the whole world sinned in Adam, than He devised means for their restoration to his favor through the incarnation and death of his only dear Son.

And when “all flesh had corrupted their way before him,” and determined him to execute vengeance upon them, he still waited to be gracious unto them, and sent them messages of mercy by the hands of Noah for the space of a hundred and twenty years.

When the destruction of Nineveh was so imminent, that there remained but forty days before its completion, he sent them a prophet to warn them of their danger, and to bring them to repentance. Thus at all times has God been slow to anger, while the exercise of mercy was his delight.

Now considering the wickedness of the human heart, it could not be but that sometimes murder should have been committed; and God had declared that, in that case, “the land could not be cleansed from blood but by the blood of him who shed it.” Yet, as it must sometimes happen that the criminal could not be discovered, here was a method provided for expiating the guilt, so that God’s judgments might not fall upon any in this world, but only on the criminal himself in the world to come. How amiable does God appear in this view! How plainly may we see in this very ordinance that “judgment is a strange act,” to which he is extremely averse; and that he is rich in mercy unto all those who call upon him!

2. Its particular provisions.

These deserve a minute attention. Some have thought that the heifer which had not drawn in the yoke represented the murderer, the son of Belial, who refused to bear the yoke of God’s law; and that “the uncultivated valley in which he was to be slain, denoted the worthlessness of the criminal’s character, or the disagreeableness of the business.” But we apprehend that much more was designed by these particular appointments.

The heifer that had not drawn in the yoke represented Christ, who, though he died under the curse of the law, had no previous obligation to do so, but did it voluntarily, giving himself freely for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor. Compare Numbers 19:2 and Ephesians 5:2. His death marked the utter excision which the murderer deserved; and the uncultivated valley in which the heifer’s neck was broken, marked the desolation, which the land itself merited for the transgression that had been committed. See Psalm 107:34 and Hebrews 6:8.

Thus, the victim, the death, the place, all conspired to impress the minds of the beholders with the malignity of the offence, which required such a sacrifice; while the presence of the priests, which was especially required, (not to officiate themselves, but to overlook and direct the offices of others,) intimated the indispensable necessity of seeking pardon precisely in God’s appointed way, and not in any method of their own devising, Deuteronomy 17:8-12.

To this sacrifice was to be added a public profession of their personal innocence, and, at the same time, a public acknowledgment of their national guilt; they must profess their innocence both by an appropriate sign, (washing their hands over the slain heifer,) and an express declaration; and they must acknowledge their guilt, with earnest supplications for mercy and forgiveness.

Thus, namely, by their protestations and petitions, did they show to all that, as God would “not hear those who regarded iniquity in their hearts,” so neither would he punish any, who would humble themselves before him in his appointed way. Truly, in this view, the ordinance, though merely judicial, was most interesting and most instructive.

The mystical import of the ordinance being explained, we proceed,

II. To point out some lessons which may be learned from it.

We of course pass over those things which are less appropriate, and fix our attention upon those which seem to arise most naturally out of the subject before us.

We may learn then,

1. The importance of preventing or punishing sin.

The concurrence of the elders and the priests in this ordinance shows, that magistrates and ministers should unite their efforts for the preservation of the public morals, and the averting of guilt from the land in which they dwell. To discourage, detect, and punish evil, should be their constant endeavor; that the interests of society may not suffer, and that the honor of God may be maintained. The magistrate ought “not to bear the sword in vain;” he should be “a terror to evil-doers, and a revenger to execute wrath upon them;” and though it does not comport so well with the ministerial office to be exercising civil authority, the minister should be forward on every occasion to aid and stimulate to the utmost of his power those whom God has ordained to be his viceregents upon earth. Were such a cooperation more common, the flagrant violations of the Sabbath, and a thousand other enormities which are daily committed in our streets, would vanish at least from public view, and in a great measure be prevented.

But it is not only public sin which should be thus discountenanced; the crimes perpetrated in secret, and especially the hidden abominations of our own hearts, should be carefully investigated by us, and unreservedly suppressed. Every one should consider sin, of whatever kind it be, as that “abominable thing which God hates;” and should remember, that, though it should never be detected and punished in this world. God will expose it in the world to come, and manifest his righteous indignation against all who commit it. Then at least, if not now, “our sin will find us out;” and therefore it befits us now with all diligence to search and try ourselves, and to beg of God also to “search and try us, to see if there be any wicked way in us, and to lead us in the way everlasting!”

2. The comfort of a good conscience.

The people who were thus solemnly to assert their innocence in the presence of God, would doubtless feel happy that they were able to make their appeal to him in truth. To do so with respect to all sin, would be impossible, because “there is no man that lives and sins not;” but with respect to allowed and indulged sin, we all ought to be able to call God to witness that we are free from it. We must be Israelites indeed, and without any allowed deceit. And O! what a comfort is it when we can say with Job, “O God, you know I am not wicked! Job 10:7.”

Such was the comfort enjoyed by Paul, “Our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conduct in the world, 2 Corinthians 1:12;” When indeed we can make that appeal to God, we should do it with holy fear and jealousy, lest there should, after all, be some sin undiscovered by us. We should say with Paul, “Though I know nothing by myself—yet am I not hereby justified; but he who judges me is the Lord, 1 Corinthians 4:4.”

We may see in the instance of Pilate how awfully a man may deceive his own soul; he washed his hands before the multitude, and said, “I am free from the blood of this just person;” but his reluctance to commit sin could not excuse the actual commission of it; any more than the washing of his hands could cleanse his soul. Nevertheless we should labor to “keep a conscience void of offence,” and so to have every evil disposition mortified, as to be able constantly to say with David, “I will wash my hands in innocence, O Lord, and so will I come to your altar, Psalm 26:6.”

3. The efficacy of united faith and prayer.

As great as the guilt of murder was, the Lord declared that it should not be imputed to the land, if this ordinance were duly complied with. And what sin is there that shall be imputed to us, if we look by faith to that great Sacrifice which was once offered for sin, and implore mercy from God “as his redeemed people?” Not even murder itself should be excepted, if the forgiveness of it were diligently sought in this manner. Hear how David prayed, after the murder of Uriah, “Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God, you God of my salvation; and my tongue shall sing aloud of your righteousness! Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow! Psalm 51:2; Psalm 51:7; Psalm 51:14.” O glorious truth! “Though our sins be as crimson, they may be made white as snow.”

Beloved brethren, see your guilt as already irrevocably contracted; see the judgments of God hanging over you; see death ready to execute its commission, and the jaws of Hell opening to swallow you up. And now turn your eyes to the “heifer slain in the uncultivated valley,” and averting from you the wrath of an offended God; in that heifer, see the Lord Jesus Christ, who has “redeemed you from the curse of the law, being made a curse for you.” To you, even to you, that blessed Redeemer says, “Look unto me and be saved, all the ends of the earth!” O look to Him, plead with him, trust in him! and “he will never cast you out.” This is “the violence by which the kingdom of Heaven is taken,” even the violence of faith and prayer; and this force shall never be exerted in vain! Matthew 11:12.

Charles Simeon (1759-1836)

Deuteronomy 18:13

“You must be blameless (KJV “perfect”) before the LORD your God.”

It seems strange that any who have ever heard of Jehovah, should need to be put on their guard against alienating their hearts from him, and placing their affections on any created object in preference to him; but the Israelites, who had seen all his wonders in Egypt and in the wilderness, were ever prone to depart from him, even as we also are, notwithstanding all that we have heard respecting that infinitely greater redemption which he has given to us through the incarnation and death of his only dear Son.

Permit me, therefore, to remind you, as Moses reminded the people committed to his charge, that you must on no account, and in no degree, transfer to the creature the regards which are due to your Maker alone; since his injunction to you, and to every man, is, “You shall be perfect with the Lord your God.”

In order to bring home to your hearts and consciences this solemn injunction, I will,

I. Unfold its import.

As for absolute perfection, there is no hope of attaining it in this world. Job himself, whom God pronounced a “perfect man Job 1:1; Job 1:8,” declared, that if he should arrogate to himself a claim of absolute perfection, his own mouth would condemn him, and prove him perverse, Job 9:20-21. But uprightness there is, and must be, in all who shall be approved of their God. In this sense, we must be perfect with the Lord our God:

1. In love to his name.

We are commanded to “love God with all our heart and mind and soul and strength.” And every one of us should be able to say with David, “Whom have I in Heaven but you? and there is none upon earth that I desire besides you! Psalm 73:25.”

2. In trust in his care.

Whatever our trials be, there should be no leaning either upon our own strength or on any created power; for “cursed is the man that makes flesh his arm, whose heart departs from the Lord his God, Jeremiah 17:5.” Our trust should be in God alone; and on him should we rely without the smallest measure of diffidence or fear. Our continual boast should be, “The Lord is on my side; I will not fear what either men or devils can do against me!”

3. In zeal for his glory.

As we have received our all from him, so we should improve everything for him. We should live entirely for our God; and, if only he may be glorified in us, it should be a matter of indifference to us, whether it be by life or by death.

Are we called to act? We must resemble Asa, who, with impartial energy, dethroned his own mother for her idolatry, and ground her idols to dust! 1 Kings 15:13.

Are we called to suffer? We should yield our bodies to be burned, rather than swerve a hair’s breadth from the path of duty, Daniel 3:17-18. In the whole of our Christian course we should be “pressing forward continually towards the goal, if by any means we may obtain from God the prize of our high calling.” This is the true nature of Christian perfection, Philippians 3:15.

Such being the injunction, I will proceed to,

II. Enforce its authority.

Without real integrity before God, we can have,

1. No comfort in our souls.

A man may, by aN excessive conceit of his own attainments, buoy himself up with somewhat of a pleasing satisfaction respecting his state; but there will be secret misgivings in hours of reflection, and especially in that hour when he is about to enter into the immediate presence of his God.

Even at present, an insincere man feels no real delight in God; and a consciousness of that, will occasionally disturb his ill-acquired peace. But the man whose heart is right with God will have a holy confidence before him; according as the Psalmist has said, “Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright; for the end of that man is peace, Psalm 37:37.” Hezekiah’s blissful retrospect, if not in its full extent—yet in good measure, will be his, “I beseech you, O Lord, remember now how I have walked before you in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in your sight, 2 Kings 20:3.”

2. No stability in our ways.

“A double-minded man will be unstable in all his ways, James 1:8.” Let but a sufficient temptation arise, and he will turn aside, even as Demas did, to the indulgence of his besetting sin. The stony-ground hearers, for lack of a root of integrity within themselves, will fall away; and the thorny-ground hearers, not being purged from secret lusts, will never bring forth fruit unto perfection. It is “the honest and good heart” alone that will approve itself steadfast unto the end. But the upright man God will uphold under every temptation; as an inspired prophet has assured us, “The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in behalf of those whose heart is perfect towards him, 2 Chronicles 16:9.”

3. No acceptance with our God.

We may deceive ourselves, but we cannot deceive our God, “to him all things are naked and open;” and, however we be admired by our fellow-creatures, he will discern our true state; as he did that of the Church at Sardis; of whom he says, “I know that you have a name to live, but are dead; for I have not found your ways perfect before God, Revelation 3:1-2.” It is to no purpose to dissemble with him; for “he searches the heart and tries the thoughts, and will give to every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings, Jeremiah 17:10.”

Address,

1. Those who are unable to ascertain with confidence their real state.

Surely you should not allow this to remain in doubt. Look into the Scriptures; and you will find in the saints of old a well-grounded persuasion that they had passed from death unto life. Real uprightness is like light, which carries its own evidence along with it. I would not encourage an ill-founded confidence; nor would I, on the other hand, encourage that kind of distrust which puts away the consolations provided for us in the Gospel. Examine yourselves as before God; and never rest until you have the testimony of God’s Spirit, that you are Israelites indeed, in whom is no deceit.

2. Those who have an inward evidence that their hearts are right with God.

What is there under Heaven that can equal such a blessing as this? Paul himself had no greater joy, 2 Corinthians 1:12. For you, brethren, death has no sting, and the day of judgment itself no terror. You may look and long for the coming of your Lord. Be thankful then; and let the brightness of your prospects increase your vigilance in the path of duty, that “you may never fall, but have an entrance ministered unto you abundantly into the kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! 2 Peter 1:10-11.”

Charles Simeon (1759-1836)

Deuteronomy 16:3

“Do not eat it with bread made with yeast, but for seven days eat unleavened bread, the bread of affliction, because you left Egypt in haste—so that all the days of your life you may remember the time of your departure from Egypt.”

Of all the facts recorded in the Old Testament, the Resurrection of our blessed Lord created the most general and intense interest; because, by that, the hopes of his enemies were blasted, and the fears of his followers were dispelled.

We may judge of the emotions that were excited by it from this circumstance, that, when two of the disciples, in their way to Emmaus, had seen their Lord, and had returned to Jerusalem to inform their brethren, they, on entering the room where they were assembled together, found them all saying one to another with most joyous exultation, “The Lord is risen indeed! the Lord is risen indeed! Luke 24:1-3; Luke 24:30-34.”

Between that and the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt, there is a strict analogy. In fact, the deliverance from Egypt was typical of our redemption by Christ; and, as God required that the people of Israel should remember the one to their last hour, so does he expect that we should remember the other “all the days of our life.”

The words which I have read to you are assigned by Moses as the end for which the paschal feast, and the feast of unleavened bread, were instituted; namely, to keep up in the minds of that people, to their last posterity, the remembrance of the typical deliverance.

With the same object in view, I would now call your attention to the Resurrection of our blessed Lord. Beloved brethren, it is a subject of supreme importance; and to every one of you I would say,

I. Treasure it up in your minds.

There was good reason why the Jews should remember their deliverance from Egypt.

Most grievous was their bondage there, Exodus 3:7; and most wonderful were God’s interpositions for them. The ten plagues, and the passage of the Red Sea, etc. Never, from the beginning of the world, had God exerted himself in behalf of any people as he did for them, Deuteronomy 4:32-34. There was good reason, therefore, why so singular a mercy should be had in everlasting remembrance.

But far greater reason is there why we should bear in mind the resurrection of our blessed Lord.

Far more grievous was our bondage to sin and Satan, death and Hell. And infinitely more wonderful were the means used for our deliverance—the incarnation and death of God’s only-begotten Son. Yes, and infinitely more blessed the outcome of it—not mere temporal benefits in Canaan, but everlasting happiness in Heaven! Shall we, then, ever forget this? Would not the “very stones cry out against us?”

Yet, dwell not on it as a mere fact, but,

II. Improve it in your lives.

The Jews, in remembrance of their redemption, were to kill the Passover lamb, and to keep the feast of unleavened bread verse 1-3. Just so, if we would answer God’s end in our deliverance, we must improve it:

1. By a renewed application to that sacrifice by which the deliverance was obtained.

It was by sprinkling the blood of the paschal lamb on the door-posts and lintels of their houses, that the Jews obtained deliverance from the sword of the destroying angel, Deuteronomy 12:21-24. Just so, to the blood of Christ, who is “the true paschal sacrifice,” must we apply, “sprinkling it on our hearts and consciences, Hebrews 10:22,” and expecting from it the most perfect deliverance, Psalm 51:7. To those who use these means, there is no danger, 1 John 1:7. But to those who neglect to use them, there is no escape! Hebrews 2:3.

2. By more diligent endeavors after universal holiness.

What the meaning of the unleavened feast was, we are told by the Apostle Paul, who urges us to carry into effect what that typified, “Purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, as you are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with the old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth! 1 Corinthians 5:7-8.”

In vain we keep the Passover, if we do not also keep the feast of unleavened bread; they are absolutely inseparable. The very end for which Christ redeemed us, was, “that he might purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous for good works! Titus 2:14.” Just so, if we would reap the full benefit of his resurrection, “we must seek those things which are above, where Christ sits at the right hand of God! Colossians 3:1.” This was designed by God in the appointment of the feast we have been speaking of, Exodus 13:8-10; and the same is designed in the mercy given to us Romans 14:9.

In conclusion, then, I say,

Be thankful to God for the special call which is now given you to observe this day. If to the Jews it was said, “This is a night to be much observed to the Lord, for bringing them out of the land of Egypt; this is that night of the Lord to be observed of all the children of Israel in their generations, Exodus 12:42;” then how much more may it be said to us! Methinks, any man who kept the Passion-week, as it is appointed to be observed among us, could scarcely fail of attaining the salvation of his soul; so plain are the instructions given us throughout the whole course of our services, and so exclusively is Christ held forth to us as “the way, the truth, and the life.”

My dear brethren, we really are great losers by our neglect of these seasons. Doubtless they may be observed with superstitious formality; but they may be kept with infinite profit to the soul. And I beg of you not to let the present opportunity pass away without a suitable improvement. But, as David said, with a direct reference to the Savior’s resurrection, “This is the day which the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it Psalm 118:22-24.” Just so, engage with your whole souls in securing the blessings which the Redeemer’s triumphs, as on this day, have obtained for us.

Charles Simeon (1759-1836)

Deuteronomy 15:16-17

“But if your servant says to you, “I do not want to leave you,” because he loves you and your family and is well off with you, then take an awl and push it through his ear lobe into the door, and he will become your servant for life. Do the same for your maidservant.”

The work of redemption was typified, not only by stated proclamations of liberty every fiftieth year, which was called the year of jubilee—but also by provision that all Hebrew servants, for whatever cause they had become bond-men, should be liberated from their bondage after the expiration of six years. But it would sometimes happen that a person might be so well pleased with his situation as not to wish to leave it, but to prefer it before that to which he was entitled. For such cases particular provision was made by God himself; and a very singular rite was appointed for the ratification of his purpose; on declaring before a magistrate that he chose to continue his master’s bond-servant, his master was to bore his ear through with an awl to the door or door-post; and the servant could never afterwards claim his liberty until the year of jubilee.

We should not have ventured to annex any great importance to this ordinance, if the inspired writers themselves had not led the way. But we apprehend that they refer to it as a type; and in that view we conceive it deserves peculiar attention. We shall endeavor therefore to point out to you,

I. Its typical reference.

It is well known that our Savior, as Mediator between God and man, was the Father’s servant, Isaiah 42:1; John 12:49; in this capacity he set himself wholly to do the Father’s will, John 4:34; and never for one moment admitted so much as a thought of relinquishing his service, until he could say, “I have finished the work which you have given me to do.”

Let us briefly notice this at the different periods of his humiliation.

At his incarnation. When the fullness of time was come, and the season had arrived when he must assume our fallen nature in order to execute the work assigned to him, though he must empty himself of all his glory, and leave his Father’s bosom, and “make himself of no reputation, and take upon him the form of a servant,” and be “made in the likeness of sinful flesh,” and bear all the infirmities (the sinless infirmities) of our nature, he would not go back from the engagements which he had entered into with his Father, but condescended to he born of a virgin, and to become bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh. He loved the work he had undertaken; he delighted in the prospect of glorifying his Father, and saving our ruined race; and accounted no condescension too great for the accomplishing of this stupendous purpose.

At the time of his sufferings and death, he still persisted in his resolution to do and suffer all that was necessary for our redemption. He often forewarned his disciples of the precise sufferings which he was to endure; and when one of the most highly favored among them endeavored to dissuade him from his purpose, he reproved him with great severity, Matthew 16:21-23, determining never to recede until he had completed the work which he had engaged to perform.

When, under the pressure of inconceivable agonies, his human nature began, as it were, to fail, he still maintained his steadfastness, “Not my will, but may yours be done.” Had it pleased him, even when apprehended by his enemies, or hanging on the cross, to terminate his sufferings before the time, he might have had legions of angels sent for his deliverance, Matthew 26:53-54; but he would not allow the cup to pass from him until he had drunk it to the lowest dregs.

All this, it may be said, is very true; but what relation has it to the point before us? We answer, that this steadfastness of his in performing engagements, which without any necessity on his part he had undertaken, was the very thing typified in the ordinance we are now considering.

The Psalmist expressly speaking of Christ’s appointment to make that atonement for sin which the Mosaic sacrifices only prefigured, says, (in allusion to the ordinance before us,) that God the Father had “opened, or bored, the ears” of his servant, Psalm 40:6-8. And Paul, citing that very passage, quotes it, not in the same precise words, but according to their true meaning, “Sacrifice and burnt-offering you did not desire; but a body have you prepared for me, Hebrews 10:5-7.”

Moreover both the inspired writers go on to mark in the strongest terms the determination of heart with which the Messiah should fulfill, and actually did fulfill, the inconceivably arduous task which he had undertaken. Note the varied expressions, “Lo, I come; I delight to do your will, O my God; yes, your law is within my heart.” These, applied as they are to the whole of the Messiah’s humiliation, (Hebrews 10:8-10) mark strongly his determination as grounded upon love.

Trusting that we have not been guided by fancy in our interpretation of this type, let us inquire into,

II. The practical instruction to be deduced from it.

As a civil ordinance, it seems to have been well calculated to instill into the minds both of masters and servants a strict attention to each other’s happiness and welfare, so that neither of them might ever wish for a dissolution of their mutual bonds. (And O! that our present consideration of it might be so improved by all who sustain either of those relations!) But, as a typical ordinance, it must, in its practical improvement, have a wider range.

Our blessed Lord has not only redeemed us to God by his blood, but has also “set an example for us, that we should follow in his steps.” Hence it is evident that we should:

1. Love the service of our God.

We should not account any of “his commandments grievous,” or say concerning any precept of his, “This is a hard saying.” He himself has told us that “his yoke is easy, and his burden is light;” and we acknowledge that his service to be perfect freedom. Such was the language of David, “O how I love your law!” “I esteem your commandments concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way.” Let it “not then be of constraint that you serve him, but willingly and of a ready mind.” And if you foresee difficulties and trials in your way, be not ashamed; but give up yourself unreservedly to God, and adopt the language of the Messiah himself, “Lo, I come; I delight to do your will, O my God; yes, your law is within my heart!”

2. Adhere to it steadfastly to the last hour of your life.

Many reasons might have operated on the mind of a servant to prevent him from perpetuating his bondage. He might fear an alteration in the behavior of his master, and comfort himself with the idea of liberty.

In like manner we may paint to ourselves many trials that may be avoided, and many gratifications that maybe enjoyed, by declining the service of God. But let no considerations operate upon your minds; you shall lose no gratification that shall not be far overbalanced by the comfort of a good conscience; nor suffer any trial, which shall not be recompensed with a proportionable weight of glory in a better world.

You are not likely to lose more than Paul; yet he says, “Whatever was gain to me, that I counted loss for Christ; yes doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of him.” You are not likely to suffer more than he, yet he says:

“But none of these things move me; neither do I count my life dear unto myself.”

Thus let it be with you, “Be not weary in well-doing;” but “cleave unto the Lord with full purpose of heart.”

“Be steadfast, immovable, and always abounding in his work.”

“Be faithful unto death, and he shall give you a crown of life!”

Address,

1. Those who have already declined from the Lord’s ways.

I ask not what sufferings you have avoided, or what pleasures you have gained. This only will I ask: Are you as happy as you were? I am content to put the whole to the issue; and to abide by the decision of your own conscience. I know that though a conscience may be seared, a soul cannot be happy that departs from God. O think what a Master you have slighted; and say, “I will return unto my first husband, for then it was better with me than now.”

2. Those who are doubting whether to devote themselves to God or not.

Many there are who, seeing the necessity of serving God, are contriving how they may do it with the least risk or trouble to themselves. They are thinking to “serve both God and Mammon.” But this is impossible, because the two services are opposite and inconsistent.

Let us not however be misunderstood. We may, and must, fulfill our duties in the world, yes, and fulfill them diligently too; but God alone must be our Lord and Governor. He will not accept such a measure of our affection and service as the world will deign to allow him; but says, “My son, give me your heart,” your whole heart. Every interest of ours, and every wish, must be subordinated to his will. Determine this then with yourselves, that you will be his, wholly and forever. Let your ears be bored to his door-post; and let, not your actions merely, but your very thoughts, be henceforth kept in a willing captivity to him. “If Baal is God, serve him; but if the Lord is God, then serve him!”

3. Those who profess themselves his willing and devoted servants.

Show to the world that his service is a reasonable and a delightful service. Let not the difference between you and others be found merely in some foolish peculiarities, but in a holy, heavenly life. And be not mournful and dejected, as if God were a hard master; but “serve him with gladness and joyfulness of heart,” that all around you may see the comforts of true religion, and know, from what they behold in you, that the Church militant and Church triumphant are one; one in occupation, and one in joy.

Charles Simeon (1759-1836)

Deuteronomy 15:12-15

“If a fellow Hebrew, a man or a woman, sells himself to you and serves you six years, in the seventh year you must let him go free. And when you release him, do not send him away empty-handed. Supply him liberally from your flock, your threshing floor and your winepress. Give to him as the LORD your God has blessed you. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you. That is why I give you this command today.”

Benevolence characterized the whole of the Jewish law; as well of that law which regulated the state, as of that which was to govern the souls of individuals. Some things indeed were tolerated under that dispensation which do not accord with the more sublime morality of the Gospel. Polygamy and divorce were allowed, on account of the hardness of the people’s hearts, and in order to prevent the still greater evils which would have resulted from the entire prohibition of them. Slavery also was permitted for the same reasons; but still there were restraints put upon men in relation to these things, and many regulations were framed, to counteract the abuses which were likely to flow from the licence afforded them. It was permitted to men to purchase slaves, and that even from among their brethren. But an express command was given, that no man should “rule over them with rigor;” that every slave should be liberated after six years of service; and that ample provision should be made for him on his dismissal, in order that he might be able in the future to support himself. It is of this ordinance that we are now to speak; and in it we may see,

I. An encouraging emblem.

As the whole of the ceremonial law, so parts also of the judicial law, were of a typical nature. This appointment in particular emblematically represented two things:

1. The redemption which God gives to his people.

Both Scripture and experience attest, that all mankind are in a state of bondage. They are “tied and bound with the chain of their sins;” they are “led captive by the devil at his will.” But the time has come when we are permitted to assert our liberty. The Lord Jesus Christ has “proclaimed liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;” and it must be by our own voluntary consent alone that we can be retained any longer in our former bondage.

Whatever had been the occasion of the Hebrew servant’s bondage, whether he had sold himself through poverty, or been sold by a relentless creditor to pay his debts, or been sentenced to such a punishment by the civil magistrate for his crimes, he was equally free the very moment that the six years of his servitude were expired.

Thus it is with us; there is no room to ask in desponding strains, “Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered? Isaiah 49:24-25.” For the truth now sounds in our ears, and “the truth shall make us free! John 8:32.” As surely as ever Moses was sent to the oppressed Israelites to deliver them, so surely are the tidings of salvation now sent to us; and though our tyrannical master may use his utmost efforts to keep us in subjection, he shall not prevail. The Lord Jesus Christ has come to deliver us; and “if the Son makes us free, we shall be free indeed! John 8:36.”

2. The mercy which God exercises towards his redeemed people.

There was a direction given to Moses, that the people at their departure from Egypt should “borrow of their neighbors jewels of silver and jewels of gold, and that they should plunder the Egyptians.” “When you go,” said God to them, “you shall not go empty, Exodus 3:21-22.” In like manner this injunction was given to the Hebrew master, at the time when he should be required to liberate his slave, “When you release him, do not send him away empty-handed. Supply him liberally from your flock, your threshing floor and your winepress. Give to him as the LORD your God has blessed you.”

Is it not thus that God deals with his redeemed people? “Does he require any man to go a warfare at his own charges?” True it is, he does not set up his people with a stock of grace, that they may afterwards live independent of him; but “he will supply all their need” out of the fullness which he has treasured up for them in Christ Jesus; and “out of that fullness they shall all receive, even grace upon grace, Colossians 1:19 with John 1:16.” Yes assuredly, this picture shall be realized in all who receive your liberty from sin by sincerely trusting in Christ; for “those who fear the Lord shall lack nothing that is good.”

But besides this emblematical representation, there is in the test,

II. An instructive lesson.

The Hebrew masters were bidden to “Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you. That is why I give you this command today,” and that on that very account God had given them this command in relation to their slaves. From hence it appears, that we are to regard God’s mercies,

1. As a pattern for our imitation.

When Israel were groaning under their burdens in Egypt, God said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people; I know their sorrows;” and on another occasion we are told, “His soul was grieved for the misery of Israel, Judges 10:16.” And when once they were liberated from their bondage, what incessant kindness did he show them, administering to all their needs, and fulfilling all their desires! This was the conduct which the Hebrew masters were to imitate; and this tenderness, this compassion, this sympathy, this love, is to characterize his people to the end of time. Remarkable is that direction given us by the Apostle Paul, “Be imitators of God, as dear children; and walk in love, as Christ has loved us, Ephesians 5:1-2.” Here the same principle is established; we are to imitate God in all his imitable perfections, and especially in that which is the crown and summit of them all, unbounded love. We are, as far as it is possible for finite creatures to do it, to tread in the very steps of Christ himself, and to follow him even in that stupendous effort of love, his dying on the cross; for John, having spoken of his “love in laying down his life for us,” adds, “And we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren, 1 John 3:16.”

What an object for our ambition is here! O that we might be satisfied with nothing short of this! That instead of admiring ourselves on account of more common exercises of love, we might rather see how defective we are even in our best duties; and might learn to overlook all past attainments as nothing, and to be pressing forward for higher degrees of conformity to our God and Savior! Philippians 3:13-15.

2. As a motive for our exertion.

The mercy given to the Jewish nation was to operate on all of them as an incentive to obedience; and, as God has required acts of love to our brethren as the best evidence of our love to him, it is in that more especially that we must endeavor to requite the loving-kindness of our God. The man that grudges a few pence to a fellow-servant after having been forgiven by his Lord a debt of ten thousand talents, can expect nothing but indignation from the hands of God! Matthew 18:32-34.

The true spirit of God’s redeemed people was well exemplified in the Apostle Paul, when he declared, “The love of Christ constrains us, because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead; and that he died for all, that they who live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him who died for them, and rose again.” If then we have any hope that we ourselves have been partakers of saving mercy, let us feel our obligations, and say with David, “What shall I render unto the Lord for all the benefits that he has done unto me?” And, if we have in ourselves an evidence that God has “bought us with a price,” let us strive to the uttermost to “glorify him with our bodies and our spirits, which are his! 1 Corinthians 6:20.”

Address,

1. Those who are yet in bondage to sin and Satan.

Why should you continue in bondage another day? May not the past time suffice to have served such hard masters? and is not liberty at this moment proclaimed to you? “Behold, this is the accepted time, this is the day of salvation.” Think not of the difficulties that are in your way, but of the power that will enable you to surmount them. He who rescued Israel from Egypt yet lives; and “will show himself strong in behalf of all who call upon him.”

If you continue in your bondage. O think of the wages that you will receive! “the wages of sin is death!” But if you receive your liberty from sin by sincerely trusting in Christ—then you shall be numbered among “the freemen of the Lord,” and have him for your portion in time and in eternity!

2. Those who profess to have been freed from their bondage.

You have seen wherein you are to glorify your God. Remember, that it is in common life especially you are to show forth the power of divine grace. Let it be seen in your households, that you are enabled to walk worthy of your high calling. It is in your families that the truth and excellence of your Christian principles is to be displayed. It is easy enough to be kind and liberal abroad; but look to it that these graces are exercised at home. Let your wife and children reap the benefit of your conversion. Let love be in your hearts, and the law of kindness in your lips. Show that your religion is an operative principle in your life at home. Know that a profession of religion without such an exhibition of its power, will be accounted no better than hypocrisy either by God or man! If you would be approved of God at last, you must “adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things.”

Charles Simeon (1759-1836)