Schoolmaster to Christ
DEUTERONOMY CHAPTER 8

Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 8 (KJV)

"All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the Lord aware unto your fathers. And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments or no" (vv. 1, 2).

It is refreshing, edifying and encouraging to look back over the whole course along which the faithful hand of God has conducted us; to trace His wise and gracious dealings with us; to call to mind His many marvelous interpositions on our behalf, how He delivered us out of this strait and that difficulty; how, when we were at our wits' end, He appeared and opened the way before us, rebuking our fears and filling our hearts with songs of praise and thanksgiving.

We must not confound this delightful exercise with the miserable habit of looking back at our ways, Our attainments, our progress, our service, what we have been able to do, even though we are ready to generally admit that it was only by the grace of God that we were able to do any little work for Him. The habit of looking back at our ways only ministers to self-complacency, which is destructive of all true spirituality of mind. In its moral effect, self-retrospection is as injurious as self-introspection. In short, in any of its multiplied phases, self-occupation is pernicious. As far as it is allowed to operate, it is a deathblow to fellowship. With stern decision, anything that tends to bring self before the mind must be judged and refused; it brings in barrenness, darkness and feebleness. Looking back at personal attainments or doings is a wretched exercise. We may be sure that Moses did not exhort the people to any such when he charged them to "Remember all the way by which the Lord their God had led them."

We may here recur to the memorable words of the apostle in Philippians 3. "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended; but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."

What were the "things" of which the blessed apostle speaks? Did he forget the precious dealings of God with his soul, throughout his wilderness journey? No; we actually have the fullest and clearest evidence to the contrary. Hear his touching words before Agrippa: "Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great." Also, in writing to Timothy, his beloved son and fellow-laborer, he reviews the past and speaks of the persecutions and afflictions he had endured: "But, out of them all the Lord delivered me." And again, "At my first answer no man stood with me, but all forsook me; I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge. Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear; and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion."

To what then does the apostle refer when he speaks of "forgetting the things which are behind"? We believe he refers to those things that had no connection with Christ; things in which the heart might rest and human nature might glory; things that might act as weights and hindrances – all these were to be forgotten in the ardent pursuit of the grand and glorious realities laying before him. We do not believe that Paul, or any other child of God or servant of Christ, could ever desire to forget a single scene or circumstance that in any way illustrated the goodness, loving kindness, tender mercy, faithfulness of God. On the contrary, we believe that dwelling on the blessed memory of all our Father's ways with us will always be one of our sweetest exercises while passing across this desert, heading home to our everlasting rest.

There with what joy reviewing
Past conflicts, dangers, fears,
His hand our foes subduing,
And drying all our tears;
Our hearts with rapture burning,
The path we shall retrace.
Where now our souls are learning
The riches of God's grace.

Let no one misunderstand. We do not wish to give countenance to the habit of dwelling merely on personal experience. This is poor work, leading to self-occupation. We have to guard against this as one of many things tending to lower our spiritual tone and draw our hearts away from Christ. But we should never be afraid to dwell on the record of the Lord's dealings and ways with us. This is a blessed habit, tending to lift us out of ourselves and fill us with praise and thanksgiving.

We may ask, why Israel was charged to "remember all the way" by which the Lord had led them? No doubt they were charged to do so in order to draw their hearts out in praise for the past; to strengthen their confidence in God for the future. Thus it must always be. "We will praise Him for all that is past, and trust Him for all that is to come." May we do so more and more; may we move on day by day praising and trusting, trusting and praising. These are the two things that redound to the glory of God, and to our peace and joy in Him. When the eye rests on the "Eben-ezers" that lie along the way, the heart must give forth its "Hallelujahs" to Him Who has helped us thus far, and will help us right on to the end. He has delivered, He does deliver, and He will deliver. What a blessed chain – its every link divine deliverance.

Further, it is not merely on the mercies and deliverances of our Father's hand that we are to dwell with devout thankfulness, but also on the "humblings" and the "provings" of His wise, faithful and holy love – all of which are full of rich blessing to our souls. They are not, as some refer to them, "mercies in disguise," but plain, palpable, unmistakable mercies for which we shall praise our God throughout the golden ages of that bright eternity that lies before us.

"Thou shalt remember all the way [every stage of the journey, every scene of wilderness life, all the dealings of God, from first to last] to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart" (emphasis added).

What precious instruction. How wonderful to think of God's patient grace and painstaking love with His people in the wilderness. With intense interest and spiritual delight, we can hang over the record of God's dealings with Israel in all their desert wanderings. How much we can learn from the marvelous history. We, too, have to be humbled and proved; made to know what is in our hearts. It is very profitable and morally wholesome. When first setting out to follow the Lord, we know little of the depths of evil and folly in our hearts. In fact, we are superficial in everything. But as we get on in our spiritual career we begin to prove the reality of things; we discover the depths of evil within self, the utter hollowness and worthlessness of this world, and the urgent need of complete dependence on God's grace. All this is good; it makes us humble and self-distrusting; it delivers us from pride and self-sufficiency and leads us to cling, in child-like simplicity, to the One Who alone is able to keep us from falling. Thus as we grow in self-knowledge we get a deeper sense of grace, a more profound acquaintance with the wondrous love of the heart of God, His tenderness toward us, His marvelous patience in bearing with our infirmities and failings, His rich mercy in having taken us up at all, His loving ministry to our varied needs, His numberless interpositions on our behalf, the exercises through which He has seen fit to lead us for our souls' deep and permanent profit.

The practical effect of all this is invaluable; it imparts depth, solidity and mellowness to the character; it cures us of our crude notions and vain theories; it delivers us from one-sidedness and wild extremes; it makes us tender, thoughtful, patient, and considerate toward others; it corrects our harsh judgments and gives a gracious desire to put the best possible construction on the actions of others, and a readiness to attribute the best motives in cases that may seem to us equivocal. These are precious fruits of wilderness experience that we may all earnestly covet.

"And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know, that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live" (v. 3).

This passage derives special interest and importance from the fact that it is the first of our Lord's quotations from Deuteronomy, in His conflict with the adversary in the wilderness. It demands our earnest attention and should be carefully pondered. Why did our Lord quote from Deuteronomy? No doubt He quoted it because it was the book above all others that specially applied to the condition of Israel at the moment Israel had utterly failed, and from beginning to end this weighty fact is assumed in the book of Deuteronomy. But, not withstanding the failure of the nation, the path of obedience lay open to every faithful Israelite. It was the privilege and duty of everyone who loved God to abide by His Word, under all circumstances and in all places.

Our blessed Lord was divinely true to the position of the Israel of God; Israel after the flesh had failed and forfeited everything; He was there in the wilderness as the true Israel of God, to meet the enemy by the simple authority of the Word of God.

"And Jesus, being full of the Holy Ghost, returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing; and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God" (Luke 4).

Here is something for us to ponder: the perfect Man, the true Israel, in the wilderness, surrounded by the wild beasts, fasting for forty days, in the presence of the great adversary of God, man, and Israel. Nothing in the scene spoke for God. The second Adam did not have it like the first; He was not surrounded with the delights of Eden, but with the dreariness and desolation of a desert – in loneliness and hunger; but He was there for God.

Yes; and He was there for man; there to show man how to meet the enemy in all his varied temptations; there to show man how to live. We must not suppose that our adorable Lord met the adversary as God over all. True, He was God, but if it were only as such that He stood in the conflict, it could not provide an example for us. Besides, it would be needless to tell us that God was able to vanquish and put to flight a creature that His own hand had formed. But to see One Who was in every respect a man – in all circumstances of humanity, except sin. To see Him there in weakness and hunger, standing amid the consequences of man's fall, finding Him triumphing over the terrible foe, provides comfort, consolation, strength, and encouragement for us.

How did He triumph? This is the grand and all-important question, demanding the profound attention of every member of the Lord's church. It is impossible to overstate the magnitude and importance of this question. So, how did He do it? The Man Christ Jesus vanquished Satan in the wilderness by the Word of God. He overcame as the humble, dependent, self-emptied, and obedient Man – not as the Almighty God. We have before us the magnificent spectacle of a man standing in the presence of the devil; confounding him with only one weapon – the Word of God. It was not by displaying God's awesome power, for that would not been a model for us. No, the second Man confounded the terrible enemy of God and man simply with the Word of God in His heart and mouth.

Carefully note that our blessed Lord does not reason with Satan. He does not appeal to any facts connected with Himself – facts with which the enemy was well acquainted. He does not say, "I know I am the Son of God; the opened heavens, the descending Spirit, the Father's voice have all borne witness to the fact I am the Son of God." No; this would not do; it would not and could not be an example for us. The one special point to seize and learn from this is that when meeting all the temptations of the enemy, our Great Exemplar used only the weapon that we have in our possession: the simple, precious, written, Word of God.

We say, "all the temptations," because in all the three instances our Lord's unvarying reply is, "It is written." He does not say, "I know," "I think," "I feel," "I believe" this, that or the other; He simply appeals to the written Word of God – Deuteronomy in particular, the very book infidels have dared to insult, but which in the face of total, universal, hopeless wreck and ruin is the pre-eminent book for every obedient man.

This is of unspeakable importance for us. It is as though our Lord Christ had said to the adversary, "Whether I am the Son of God or not is not now the question, but how man is to live and the answer to this question is only to be found in Holy Scripture; and it is to be found there as clear as a sunbeam, irrespective of all questions respecting Me. Whoever I am, the Scripture is the same." "Man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord."

Here we have the only true, safe, and happy attitude for man: hanging in earnest dependence on "every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord." What a blessed attitude – truly there is nothing like it in this entire world. By means of His Word, it brings the soul into direct, living, personal contact with the Lord Himself. It makes the Word absolutely essential in everything; we cannot do without it. As the natural life is sustained by bread, so the Word of God sustains the spiritual life. It is not merely going to the Bible to find teachings, or to have our opinions or views confirmed; it is so much more than; it is going to the Bible for the staple commodity of life – the life of the new man. It is going there for food, light, guidance, comfort, authority, and strength; in short, for all that the soul needs from first to last.

Note especially the force and value of the expression, "every word." It shows the importance of not dispensing a single Word that has proceeded out of the mouth of the Lord. We need and want it all. We cannot tell the moment in which some exigency may present itself for which Scripture has already been provided. We may not have noticed the Scripture before, but when the difficulty arises, if we are in a right condition of soul, the true posture of heart, the Spirit of God will furnish us with the needed Scripture; and we will see a force, beauty, depth and moral adaptation in the passage that perhaps we had never seen before. Scripture is of God – it is divine. Therefore, an exhaustless treasury in which God has made ample provision for every need of His people right up to the end. Hence we should study it all, ponder it all, dig deeply into all of it, and treasure it all up in our hearts, ready for use when the demand arises.

From beginning to end, there is not a single crisis occurring in the entire history of the Lord's church, not a single difficulty in the entire path of any individual Christian that has not been provided for in the Bible. We have all we want in that blessed Volume; and hence we should always seek to make ourselves more and more acquainted with what that Volume contains so that we can be "thoroughly furnished" for whatever may arise, whether it be a temptation of the devil, an allurement of the world, or a lust of the flesh; or, on the other hand, equipment for that path of good works God had prepared for us to follow.

We should also give special attention to the expression, "Out of the mouth of the Lord." This is unspeakably precious. It brings the Lord so very near and provides a sense of the reality of feeding on His every Word, yea, of hanging on it as something absolutely essential and indispensable. It sets forth the fact that our souls can no more exist without the Word than our bodies could without food. In other words, this passage teaches us that man's true position, his proper attitude, his only place of strength, safety, rest, and blessing is to be found in habitual dependence on the Word of God.

This is the life of faith that we are called to live, life of dependence, the life of obedience – the life that Jesus lived perfectly. Every step, every word, every single thing that blessed One did was by the authority of the Word of God. No doubt He could have turned the stone into bread, but He had no command from God to do that; and because He had no command, He had no motive for action. Hence Satan's temptations were powerless. He could do nothing with a Man Who acted only on the authority of the Word of God.

We should also note that our blessed Lord does not quote Scripture for the purpose of silencing the adversary; but simply as authority for His position and conduct. Here is where we often fail; we do not sufficiently use the Word of God in this way. At times we quote it more for victory over the enemy than for power and authority for our own souls. When we do this, it loses its power in our hearts. We need to use the Word as a hungry man uses bread, or as a mariner uses his chart and compass; it is that on which we live and by which we move, act, think, and speak. This is what it really is, and the more fully we prove it to be all this to us, the more we will know of its infinite preciousness. Who knows most about the real value of bread? Is it a chemist? No; a hungry man. A chemist may analyze it and discuss its component parts, but a hungry man proves its worth. Who knows most of the real value of a chart; is it the teacher of navigation? No; the mariner sailing along an unknown and dangerous coast.

These are feeble figures to illustrate what the Word of God is to the true Christian. He cannot do without it. In every relationship of life and in every sphere of action, it is indispensable. Our hidden life is fed and sustained by it; our practical life is guided by it; in all the scenes and circumstances of our personal and domestic history, in the privacy of our closet, in the bosom of our family, in the management of our affairs – we are cast on the Word of God for guidance and counsel.

The Word of God never fails those who simply cleave to it, and confide in it. We may trust Scripture without a single shade of misgiving. Go to it when we will, we will always find what we need and want. Are we in sorrow? Is the heart bereaved, crushed, and desolate? What can soothe and comfort us like the balmy Words inspired for us by the Holy Spirit? In the way of comfort and consolation, one sentence of Holy Scripture can do more than all the letters of condolence ever penned by human hand. Are we discouraged, faint-hearted, and cast down? The Word of God meets us with its bright and soul-stirring assurances. Are we pressed by pinching poverty? The Holy Spirit brings home to our hearts a golden promise from the page of inspiration, recalling us to Him Who is "The Possessor of heaven and earth," and Who, in His infinite grace, has pledged Himself to "supply all our need according to his riches in glory, by Christ Jesus." Are we perplexed and harassed by the conflicting opinions of men, by the dogmas, creeds, and teachings of conflicting schools of divinity, by organized religious institutions, by religious and theological difficulties? A few sentences of Holy Scripture will pour in a flood of divine light on the heart and conscience, setting us at rest, answering every question, solving every difficulty, removing every doubt, chasing away every cloud, giving us a link to the mind of God, putting an end to conflicting opinions by the One divinely competent Authority.

Therefore, Holy Scripture is a boon – a precious treasure we possess in the Word of God. How we should bless His holy Name for giving it to us. Yes; and also bless Him for everything that tends to make us more fully acquainted with the depth, fullness, and power of those Words of Deuteronomy 8: "Man shall not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live."

These are precious words to the heart of the true believer. Just as touching are the words of the beloved and revered lawgiver that followed, referring to Jehovah's tender care throughout of Israel's desert wanderings. Moses says, "Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years."

Marvelous grace shines in these words. Think of Jehovah looking after His people; making sure their garments did not get old and their feet did not swell. Not only did He feed them, but He clothed them and cared for them in everyway. He even stooped to look after their feet, making sure that the desert sand did not injure them. For forty years, He watched over them with all the exquisite tenderness of a father's heart. What will love not undertake for its object? Jehovah had set His love on His people. This one blessed fact secured everything for them, had they only understood it. From Egypt to Canaan, there was not a single necessity that Jehovah had not undertaken to do for them – everything was not secured for Israel. With Infinite love and Almighty power on their side, what could be lacking?

But, as we know, love clothes itself in various forms. It has more to do than provide food and raiment for its objects. It not only has to take into account the physical, but also of the moral and spiritual needs and wants. The lawgiver does not fail to remind the people about this. "Thou shalt also consider in thine heart that, as a man chasteneth his son, so the Lord thy God chasteneth thee."

Few like chastening; it is not joyous, but grievous. In this present age, a son expects food and raiment from a father's hand, and all comforts provided by a father's thoughtful love; but not only do they not like to see him take up the rod, to do so in America is unlawful. And yet that dreaded rod may end up being the best thing for the son; it may do for him what no material benefits or earthly blessings could effect; it may correct some bad habit, or deliver him from some wrong tendency, or save him from some evil influence, and thus prove a great moral and spiritual blessing for which he will forever be thankful. Like many others, we were fortunate to know a father's love and care expressed in discipline and chastening; and for that we are deeply grateful and thankful, more so than for various material benefits thrown across our path from day to day.

Sadly, we fail regarding the disciplinary dealings of our Father. We rejoice in His benefits and blessings; we are filled with praise and thankfulness as we daily receive from His liberal hand the rich supply of our needs; we delight to dwell on His marvelous interposition on our behalf in times of pressure and difficulty; it is a precious exercise to look back over the path His good hand has led us, marking those "Eben-ezers" that tell of gracious help supplied all along the road.

All this is good, right, and precious; but there is danger of resting in the mercies, blessings, and benefits that flow in such rich profusion from our Father's loving heart and liberal hand. We are apt to rest in these things, and say with the psalmist, "In my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved. Lord, by thy favor thou hast made my mountain to stand strong." It is true, "by thy favour," but yet we are prone to be occupied with our mountain and prosperity; we allow these things to come in between our hearts and the Lord, becoming a snare to us; hence the need of chastening. In His faithful love and care, our Father is watching over us; He sees the danger and in one shape or another sends trial. Perhaps a call comes announcing the death of a beloved child, or bankruptcy causes the loss of earthly possessions. Perhaps we are laid on a bed of pain and sickness, or called to stand by the sick bed of a beloved relative.

In other words, perhaps we are called to wade through deep waters that seem overwhelming to our feeble hearts. The enemy suggests the question "Is this love?" Without hesitation or reserve, faith replies, "Yes," it is all perfect love. Losing a child, losing property, a long and painful illness; sorrow, pressure, deep waters, and dark shadows – all is perfect love and unerring wisdom. Christians are assured of it now; we do not wait to know it by-and-by, when we look back on the troubled path from amid the full light of glory. We know that perfect love now and delight in it to the praise of the infinite grace that has taken us up from the depth of ruin, and charged itself with all our concerns, and which deigns to occupy itself with our failures, follies, and sins, in order to deliver us from them, to make us a partaker of His holiness, conforming us to the image of that blessed One Who "loved . . . and gave . . ."

This is the way to answer Satan; to hush the dark reasoning that may spring up in our hearts. We must always justify God. We must look at all His disciplinary dealings in the light of His love. "Thou, shalt also consider in thine heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, so the Lord thy God chasteneth thee." In no way do we ever want to be without the blessed pledge and proof of sonship.

"My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him; for whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore, we have had fathers of our flesh, which corrected us, and we gave them reverence; shall we not much rather be in subjection to the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be Partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous; nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; and make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed" (Heb. 12:5-13).

It is both interesting and profitable to note the way Moses presses on the congregation the varied motives of obedience arising from the past, present, and future. Everything is brought to bear to quicken and deepen their sense of Jehovah's claims on them. They were to "remember" the past; they were to "consider" the present; and they were to anticipate the future. All this was to act on their hearts, leading them forth in holy obedience to that blessed and gracious One Who had done, Who was doing, and Who would do great things for them.

As a result of this constant presentation of moral motives, the thoughtful student can hardly fail to observe a marked feature of this lovely book of Deuteronomy. Here is striking proof that it is no mere attempt at a repetition of Exodus. On the contrary, this book has a province, range, scope, and design entirely its own. To speak of mere repetition is absurd; to speak of contradiction is impious.

"Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him." The word, "therefore," had a retrospective and prospective force. It was designed to lead the heart back over the past dealings of Jehovah and forward into the future. They were to think of the marvelous history of those forty years in the desert, the teaching, the humbling, the proving, the watchful care, the gracious ministry, the full supply of all their need, the manna from heaven, the stream from the smitten rock, the care of their garments and feet, the wholesome discipline for their moral good – what powerful moral motives for Israel's obedience.

But this was not all, they were to look forward into the future; they were to anticipate the bright prospect before them; they were to find in the future, as well as in the past and present, the solid basis of Jehovah's claims on their reverent and whole-hearted obedience.

"For the Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig-trees, and pomegranates, a, land of oil olive, and honey; a land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack anything in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass."

How fair the prospect; how bright the vision; how marked the contrast to the Egypt behind them and the wilderness through which they had passed. The Lord's land lay before them in all its beauty and verdure, its vine-clad hills and honeyed plains, its gushing fountains and flowing streams. How refreshing to think of the vine, fig tree, pomegranate, and olive. How different from the leeks, onions, and garlic of Egypt. It was the Lord's own land and this was enough. It produced and contained all they could possibly want – above its surface, rich profusion; below, untold wealth, exhaustless treasure.

What a prospect. How the faithful Israelite would long to enter such a land – long to exchange desert sand for such a bright inheritance. True, the desert had its deep experiences, holy lessons, and memories. There they had known Jehovah in a way they could never know Him in Canaan. Yes, while true and understandable, still the wilderness was not Canaan and every true Israelite longed to set foot on the land of promise. Truly, in the passage just quoted, we may say that Moses presents the land in a way calculated to attract the heart. "A land," he says, "wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack anything in it." What more could be said? Here was the grand fact regarding that good land into which the hand of Covenant Love was about to introduce them. All their wants would be divinely met. Hunger and thirst should never be known there. In that fair inheritance on which they were about to enter, health and plenty, joy and gladness, peace and blessing were to be the assured portion of the Israel of God. Every enemy was to be subdued; every obstacle swept away; "the pleasant land," was to pour forth its treasures for their use; watered continually by heaven's rain and warmed by its sunlight – it was to bring forth in rich abundance all that the heart could desire.

Moses, the faithful servant of Jehovah, true to the object before his mind, proceeds to unfold to the congregation the truth regarding their mode of acting in the good land on which they were about to plant their foot. As he had spoken of the past and present, so he would make use of the future, urging on the people their obvious, bounden duty to that blessed One Who had so graciously and tenderly cared for them throughout their journey and Who was about to bring them in and plant them in the mountain of His inheritance. Let us hearken to His touching and powerful exhortations.

"When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the Lord thy God for the good land which he has given thee." This is so simple, lovely, and morally suitable. Filled with the fruit of Jehovah's goodness, they were to bless and praise His holy Name. He delights to surround Himself with hearts filled to overflowing with the sense of His goodness and pouring forth songs of praise and thanksgiving. He inhabits the praises of His people. He says, "Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me." The feeblest praise from a grateful heart ascends as fragrant incense to the throne and heart of God.

Let us remember that it is as true for us, as it was for Israel – praise is comely. Our primary business is to praise the Lord. Our every breath should be a hallelujah. It is to this blessed and most sacred exercise the Holy Spirit exhorts us. "By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name." We should always remember that nothing gratifies the heart and glorifies the Name of our God as much as a thankful, worshipping spirit. It is well to do good and communicate. God is well pleased with such sacrifices. While we have opportunity, it is our high privilege to do good to everyone, especially the household of faith. We are called to be channels of blessing between the loving heart of our Father and every form of human need that comes before us. While all this is true, we must never forget that the highest place is assigned to praise. This will employ our ransomed powers throughout the golden ages of eternity, when the sacrifices of active benevolence are longer needed.

But the faithful lawgiver knew the sad proneness of the human heart to forget all this, to lose sight of the gracious Giver, resting in His gifts. Hence, Moses addresses the following admonitory, wholesome, inspired Words to the congregation and for us. May we bend our ears and hearts to these holy Words, in holy reverence and teachableness of spirit.

"Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgements, and his statutes, which I command thee this day. Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; and when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied; then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the Lord thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought; where there was no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint, who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end: and thou say in thine heart, My power, and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth. But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God; for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant, which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day. And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the Lord thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day, that ye shall utterly perish. As the nations which the Lord destroyeth before your face, so shall ye perish, because ye would not be obedient unto the voice of the Lord your God" (vv. 11-20).

Here is something to deeply ponder. It certainly has a voice for us, just as it had for Israel. We may feel disposed to marvel at the frequent reiteration of the note of warning and admonition, the constant appeals to the heart and conscience of the people regarding their bounden duty to obey the Word of God in all things; the recurrence again and again to those soul-stirring facts connected with their deliverance out of Egypt and their journey through the wilderness.

But wherefore should we marvel? In the first place, do we not deeply feel and fully admit our own urgent need of warning, admonition and exhortation? Do we not continually need line upon line, precept upon precept? Are we not prone to forget the Lord our God, to rest in His gifts instead of in Him? Surely, we cannot deny it. We rest in the stream, instead of getting up to the Fountain. We turn the rich profusion of mercies, blessings, and benefits filling our path into an occasion of self-complacency, instead of finding in them the blessed ground of continual praise and thanksgiving.

Could these great facts presented by Moses ever lose their moral weight, power or preciousness? Surely not; Israel might fail to appreciate and forget them, but the facts remained the same. The terrible plagues of Egypt, the night of the Passover, their deliverance from the land of darkness, bondage, and degradation, their marvelous passage through the Red Sea, the descent of that mysterious food from heaven morning by morning, the refreshing stream gushing forth from the flinty rock – how could such facts as these ever lose their power over a heart possessing a spark of genuine love to God? And why should we wonder to find Moses appealing to these things and using them as a powerful lever to move the hearts of the people? Moses felt the mighty moral influence of these things himself and he yearned to lead others to also feel it. To him they were precious beyond expression, and he longed to make his brethren feel their preciousness, too. His one object was to set before them in every possible way the powerful claims of Jehovah to their hearty and unreserved obedience.

This should account for what might seem to a casual reader of the Word, a too frequent mention by Moses of past scenes. However, the serious student of God's Word is reminded of the lovely words of Peter in his second epistle:

"Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth. Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance; knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath showed me. Moreover I will endeavour that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance" (1:12-15).

The unity of spirit and purpose in these two beloved and venerable servants of God is striking. Both felt the tendency in the human heart to forget the things of God, heaven, and eternity; and they both felt the supreme importance and infinite value of the things they spoke. Hence their earnest desire to keep them continually before the hearts and abidingly in the remembrance of the Lord's beloved people. Unbelieving, restless nature might say to Moses or to Peter, "Have you nothing new to tell us? Why are you perpetually dwelling on the same old themes? We know all you have to say; we have heard it again and again. Why not strike out into a new field of thought? Why not stay abreast of modern science? If we perpetually mope over those antiquated themes, we will be left stranded on the bank while the stream of civilization rushes on. So, please give us something new."

The unbelieving mind, the worldly heart might reason in this way. But faith knows the answer to all such worldly suggestions. There is no doubt that both Moses and Peter would have made short work of such reasoning. And so should we. Christians know where they emanate and what they are worth; and we should have a ready answer – an answer satisfactory to a spiritual mind, however contemptible it may seem to men of this world. Could a true Israelite ever tire of hearing what the Lord had done for him, in Egypt, in the Red Sea, and in the wilderness? No. Such themes would always be fresh and welcome to his heart. So it should be with Christians; can we ever tire of the cross and the grand and glorious realities clustering around it? Can we ever tire of Christ, His peerless glories and unsearchable riches – His Person, His work, and His offices? No; never throughout the bright ages of eternity. Do we crave anything new? Can science improve on Christ? Can human learning add anything to the great mystery of godliness that has for its foundation God manifest in the flesh, and for its top stone a Man glorified in heaven? Can we ever get beyond this? No, we could not if we would, and we would not if we could.

When looking at the works of God in creation, do we ever tire of the sun? It is not new; it has been pouring out beams on this world for thousands of years and yet those beams are as fresh and as welcome today as they were when first created. Do we ever tire of the sea? It is not new; its tide has been ebbing and flowing for thousands of years, but its waves are as fresh and as welcome on our shores today as ever. True, the sun is often too dazzling to man's feeble vision, and the sea often swallows up man's boasted works; but yet the sun and sea never lose their power, their freshness, and their charm. Do we ever tire of dew-drops that fall in refreshing virtue on gardens and fields? Do we ever tire of the perfume emanating from hedgerows? Do we ever tire of songs offered by the nightingale and thrush?

What are all these when compared with the glories that cluster around the Person and cross of Christ? What are they when put in contrast with the grand realities of that eternity which is before us?

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