9 And bringeth it not unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to offer it unto the LORD; even that man shall be cut off from among his people.

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7 And they shall no more offer their sacrifices unto devils, after whom they have gone a whoring. This shall be a statute for ever unto them throughout their generations.

8 And thou shalt say unto them, Whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the

p Gen. 21. 33. & 22 2 & 31. 54. Deut. 12 2 1 Kings 11. 23. 2 Kings 16. 4. & 17. 10. 2 Chron 24. 4. Ezek. 20. 28. & 2. 9.—g Ch. 3. 2-r Exod. 29. 13 Ch. 3. 5, 11, 16. & 4. 31. Numb. 18. 17.-8 Deut. 32. 17. 2 Chron. 11. 15. Psa. 106. 37. 1 Cor. 10. 2. Rev. 9. 2.- Exod. 34. 15. Ch. 20. 5. Deut. 31. 16. Ezek. 23. 8.-u Ch. 1. 2, 3.

secure the great purpose of its institution. God alone could show how this should be done so as to be pleasing in his sight and therefore he has given the most plain and particular directions concerning it. The Israelites, from their long residence in Egypt, an idolatrous country, had doubtless adopted many of their usages; and many portions of the Pentateuch seem to have been written merely to correct and bring them back to the purity of the divine worship. That no blood should be offered to idols, God commands every animal used for food or sacrifice, to be slain at the door of the tabernacle. While every animal was slain in this sacrificial way, even the daily food of the people must put them in mind of the necessity of a sacrifice for sin. Perhaps St. Paul had this circumstance in view when he said, Whether therefore ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God, 1 Cor. x. 31. and, whatsoever ye do, in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. While the Israelites were encamped in the wilderness, it was comparatively easy to prevent all abuses of this divine institution, and therefore they were all commanded to bring the oxen, sheep, and goats, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, that they might be slain there, and their blood sprinkled upon the altar of the Lord. But when they became settled in the promised land, and the distance, in many cases, rendered it impossible for them to bring the animals to be slain for domestic uses, to the temple, they were permitted to pour out the blood in a sacrificial way unto God, at their respective dwellings, and to cover it with the dust; see verse 13. and see Deut. xii. 20, 21.

Blood shall be imputed unto that man] Having poured out the blood improperly, he shall be considered as guilty of murder, because that blood, had it been properly and sacrificially employed, might have made atonement for the life of a man.

11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar, to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.

v Ver. 4.-w Gen. 9. 4. Ch. 3. 17. & 7. 26, 27. & 18. 26. Deut. 12. 16, 23. & 15. 23. 1 Sam. 14. 33. Ezek. 41. 7.—x Ch. 20. 3, 5, 6. & 26. 17. Jer. 44. 11. Ezek. 14. 8. & 15. 7.-y Ver. 14.-8 Matt. 26. 23. Mark 14. 24. Rom 3. 25. & 5. 9. Eph. 1. 7. Col. 1. 14, 20. Heb. 13. 12 1 Pet. 1. 2. 1 John 1. 7. Rev. 1. 5.- Heb. 9. 22.

ble kind that took place in Egypt while he was in that country. See also many examples in Bochart, vol. ii. col. 641. and see the note on ch. xx. 16.

Verse 11. For the life of the flesh is in the blood] This sentence, which contains a most important truth, had existed in the Mosaic writings for 3600 years, before the attention of any philosopher was drawn to the subject. This is the more surprising, as the nations in which phis losophy flourished, were those which especially enjoyed the divine oracles in their respective languages. That the blood actually possesses a living principle, and that the life of the whole body is derived from it, is a doctrine of divine revelation, and a doctrine which the observations and experiments of the most accurate anatomists have served strongly to confirm. The proper circulation of this important fluid through the whole human system, was first taught by Solomon in figurative language, Eccles. xii. 6. and discovered, as it is called, and demonstrated by Dr. Harvey in 1628; though some Italian philosophers had the same notion a little before. This accurate anatomist was the first who fully revived the Mosaic notion of the vitality of the blood; which notion was afterward adopted by the justly celebrated Dr. John Hunter, professor of anatomy in London; and established by him, by a great variety of strong reasoning and accurate experiments. To support this opinion, Dr. Hunter proves,

1. That the blood unites living parts in some circumstances, as certainly as the yet recent juices of the branch of one tree unite with that of another: and he thinks that if either of these fluids were dead matter, they would act as stimuli, and no union would take place in the animal or vegetable kingdom: and he shows that in the nature of things, there is not a more intimate connexion between life and a solid, than between life and a fluid.

2. He shows that the blood becomes vascular, like other living parts of the body; and he demonstrated this by a preparation, in which vessels were clearly seen to arise, from what had been a coagulum of blood; for those vessels opened into the stream of the circulating blood, which was in contiguity with this coagulated mass.

After whom they have gone a whoring.] Though this term is frequently used to express idolatry, yet we are not to suppose, that it is not to be taken in a literal sense in many places in Scripture, even where it is used in connexion with idolatrous acts of worship. It is well known that Baal Peor, and Ashtaroth, were worshipped with unclean rites; and that public prostitution formed a grand part of the worship of many deities among the Egyptians, Moabites, Canaanites, Greeks, and Romans. The great god of the two latter nations, Jupiter, was represented as the general corrupter of women: and of Venus, Flora, Priapus, and others, it is needless to speak. That there was public prostitution in the patriarchal times, see the note on Gen. xxxvin. 21. And that there was public prostitution of women to goats in Egypt, see Herodotus, lib. ii. c. 46. p. 108. edit. Gale, who gives a case of this abominaVOL. I.-45

every situation, while in health, that temperature which we distinguish by the name of animal heat.

4. He proves that blood is capable of being acted upon by a stimulus, as it coagulates on exposure to the air, as certainly as the cavities of the abdomen and thorax become inflamed from the same cause. The more the blood is alive, i. e. the more the animal is in health, the sooner the blood coagulates on exposure: and the more it has lost of the living principle, as in cases of violent inflammation, the less sensible it is to the stimulus produced by being exposed, and coagulates more slowly.

5. He proves that the blood preserves life in different parts of the body. When the nerves going to any part are tied or cut, the part becomes paralytic, and loses all power of motion; but it does not mortify. But let the artery be cut, and then the part dies, and mortification ensues. It must therefore be the vital principle of the blood, that keeps the part alive; nor does it appear that this fact can be accounted for on any other principle.

6. He thinks this vitality farther proved, from the case of a person who was brought to St. George's Hospital,

353

14 f For it is the life of all flesh: the blood of it is for the life thereof; therefore I said unto

the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of

no manner of flesh: for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof: whosoever eateth it shall be cut off.

h

15 T And every soul that eateth that which died of itself, or that which was torn with beasts, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger, he shall both wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even then shall he be clean.

16 But if he wash them not, nor bathe his flesh: then he shall bear his iniquity.

b Heb. that hunteth any hunting.-e Ch. 7. 26-d Dent. 12. 16, 24. & 15. 23. e Ezek. 24. 7.- Ver. 11. 12 Gen. 9. 4. Deut. 12 23-g Exod. 22. 31. Ch. 22. 8. Deut. 14. 21. Ezek. 4. 14. & 44. 31.-h Heb. a carcass. Ch. 11. 25-k Ch. 15. 5.

for a simple fracture of the Os humeri, and who died about a month after. As the bones had not united, he injected the arm, and thus found that the coagulated blood, which filled the cavity between the extremities of the fractured bones, was become vascular, and in some places very much so, which vessels, had it been dead matter, it never could have produced.

This system has been opposed, and arguments have been adduced to prove, that the principle of vitality exists not in the blood, but in the nervous system. But every argument on this ground, appears to be done away by the simple consideration, that the whole nervous system, as well as every other part of the body, is originally derived from the blood; for is it not from the blood of the mother, that the foetus has its being and nourishment in the womb? Do not all the nerves, as well as the brain, &c. originate from that alone? And if it be not vital, can it give the principle of vitality to something else, which then exclusively (though the effect of a cause) becomes the principle of vitality to all the solids and fluids of the body? This seems absurd. That the human being proceeded originally from the blood, admits of no doubt: and it is natural and reasonable to suppose, that as it was the cause under God, which generated all the other parts of the body, so it still continues to be the principle of life, and by it alone, all the wastes of the system are repaired. Two points relative to this subject are strongly asserted in Divine revelation, one by MOSES, the other by St. Paul.

1. Moses says, The LIFE of the flesh is in the BLOOD, Levit. xvii. 11. This has been proved by the most indisputable facts.

2. St. Paul says, God hath made of ONE BLOOD all nations of men, Acts xvii. 26. And this is demonstrated not only from there being only one pair, from whom all the nations of men have been derived, but also from the fact, that every human being, from the first born of Eve to the present hour, has been formed out of, and supported by, the mother's blood: and that from the agency of this fluid, the human body, after being born into the world, has its increment and support. The reason given by God, for the law against eating blood, is perfectly conclusive-I will set my face against that soul that eateth blood for the LIFE, D nephesh, of the flesh is in the BLOOD, and I have given it to you upon the altar, to make an atonement for your souls, a naphshoteycem, your LIVES: for it is the blood (because it is the LIFE, D nephesh) that maketh an atonement for the soul; ( ba-nephesh, for the life, for the word is the same in all these cases.) By transgression a man forfeits his LIFE to divine justice, and he must die, did not mercy provide him a substitute-the life of a beast is appointed and accepted by God, as a substitute for the sinner's life; (in reference to the life of Christ, which was to be given for the life of the world:) but as this life is in the BLOOD, and as the blood is the grand principle of vitality, therefore the blood is to be poured out upon the altar; and thus the life of the beast becomes a substitute for the life of the man.

And it is well worthy of being remarked, that Christ not only died for sinners, but our redemption is every where attributed to his BLOOD, and the shedding of that blood; and, that on the altar of the cross, this might make an atonement for the lives and souls of men, he not only

CHAPTER XVIII.

The people are commanded to avoid the doings of the Egyptians and the Canaanites, 1-3. They are to do God's judgments, and to keep his ordinances, that they may live, 4, 5. Marriages with those who are near of kin are prohibited, 6. None to marry with his mother or step-mother, 7, 8. with his sister or stop-sieter, 9. with his grand-daughter, 10. nor with the daughter of his step-mother, II. nor with his aunt by father or mother, 12, 13. nor with his uncle's wife, 14. nor with his daughter-in-law, 15, nor sister-in-law, 16 nor with a woman and her daughter, son's daughter, or daughter's daughter, 17. nor with two sistere at the same time, 15. Several abominations prohibited, 19-23 of which the Canaanites, &c. were guilty; and for which they were cast out of the land, 24, 25. The people are exhorted to avoid these abominations, lest they be treated as the ancient inhabitants of the land were treated, and so cast out, 26-28. Threatenings against the disobedient, 29. and promises to the obedient, 30.

AND the LORD spake unto Moses, An Exal Lr. 2.

saying,

Abib or Nisan.

2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, I am the LORD your God.

3 After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do: neither shall ye walk in their ordinances.

4 P Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein: I am the LORD your God.

5 Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my

1 Ch. 5. 1. & 7. 18. & 19. 8. Numb. 19. 20.-m Ver. 4. Exod. 6. 7. Ch. 11. 44. & 19. 4, 10, 31. & 20. 7. Ezek. 20. 5, 7, 19, 20.-n Ezek. 20. 7, 8. & 23. 9-o Exod. 23. 24. Oh. 20. 23. Deut. 12. 4, 30, 31.-p Deut. 4. 1, 2. & 6. 1. Ezek. 20. 19.

bowed his head, and gave up the ghost, but his side was opened, the pericardium and the heart evidently pierced, that the vital fluid might be poured out from the very seat of life, and that thus the blood, which is the life, should be poured out to make an atonement for the life of the soul. The doctrine of Moses and St. Paul proves the truth of the doctrine of Harvey and Hunter: and the reasonings and experiments of Harvey and Hunter illustrate and confirm the doctrine of Moses and Paul. Here, then, is a farther proof of the truth and authority of Divine revelation. See the note on Gen. ix. 4. Dr. J. Corrie's Essay on the Vitality of the Blood, and the article Blood in the Encyclopædias.

Verse 14. Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh] Independently of the moral reasons given above, we may add, 1. That blood being highly alkalescent, especially in hot climates, is subject to speedy putrefaction. 2. That it affords a gross nutriment, being very difficult of digestion, insomuch so, that bull's blood was used in ancient times as poison, "its extreme viscidity rendering it totally indigestible by the powers of the human stomach." 3. It is allowed that when blood was used in this country in great quantities, the scurvy was more frequent than at other times. 4. It appears from history, that those nations who lived most on it, were very fierce, savage, and barbarous, such as the Scythians, Tartars, Arabs of the desert, the Scandinavians, &c. &c. some of whom drank the blood of their enemies, making cups of their sculls!

Verse 15. That which died of itself, or that which was torn] Because in both cases the blood was retained in the body; hence, the council at Jerusalem forbad things strangled, as well as blood; because in such beasts, the blood was coagulated in the veins and arteries.-See Acts xv. 28.

Every thing considered, surely there is as little propriety in eating of blood as there is necessity to do it. They who will do otherwise, must bear their iniquity. If blood-eating be no offence, then they have no sin to answer for. The principal subjects of this chapter, have been already so amply handled in the notes, that there is no need to add any thing by way of reflections or improvements.

NOTES ON CHAPTER XVIII.

Verse 3. The doings of the land of Egypt-and the land of Canaan.] The worshipping of demons, beasts, &c. as mentioned in the preceding chapter, ver. 7. and the abominations mentioned in this chapter, from ver. 21. to 23. Verse 6. Any that is near of kin] col shaar basro, any remnant of his flesh: i. e. to any particularly allied to his own family, the prohibited degrees in which, are specified from the 7th to the 17th verse inclusive. Notwithstanding the prohibitions here, it must be evident that in the infancy of the world, persons very near of kin must have been joined in matrimonial alliances; and that even brothers must have matched with their own sisters. This must have been the case in the family of Adam. In these first instances, necessity required this: when this necessity no longer existed, the thing became inexpedient and improper, for two reasons: 1. That the duties owing by nature to relatives, might not be confounded with those of a social or political kind: for could a man be a brother and a husband; a son and a husband; at the same time, and fulfil the duties of both? Impossible. 2. That by intermarry

t

u

14 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father's brother, thou shalt not approach to his wife: she is thine aunt.

15 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy daughter-in-law: she is thy son's wife; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.

16 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy brother's wife: it is thy brother's nakedness. 17 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter, neither shalt thou take her son's daughter, or her daughter's daughter, to uncover her nakedness; for they are her near kinswomen: it is wickedness.

q Ezek. 20, 11, 13, 21. Luke 10. 23. Rom. 10. 5. Gal. 3. 12.-r Exod. 6. 2. 6, 29. Mal 3 6 Heb. remainder of his flesh-t Ch. 20. 11.-u Gen. 49. 4. Ch. 220. 11. Dent. 22. 30. & 27. 20. Ezek. 22 10. Amos 2 7. 1 Cor. 5. 1.-v Ch 20. 17. 2 Sam. 13. 12. Ezek. 22. 11-w Ch 20, 19.-x Ch. 20. 20-y Gen. 38. 19, 26. Ch. 20. 12 Ezek. 22 11-1 Ch. 20 21. Matt. 11. 4. See Deut. 25. 5. Matt. 22. 21. Mark 12. 19. a Ch. 2. 14.-b Or, one wife to another. Exod. 26. 3-e 1 Sam. 1. 6, 8. —1 Ch. 220. 18. Ezek. 18. 6. & 22. 10. — Ca. 20. 10. Exoi 20. 11. Deut. 5. 18. & 22. 22. Prov. 6. 29, 32. Mal. 3. 5. Matt. 5. 27. Rom. 2. 22. 1 Cor. 6. 9. Heb. 13. 4-f Ch. 20. 2. 2

ing with other families, the bonds of social compact might be strengthened and extended, so that the love of our neighbour, &c. might at once be felt to be not only a maxim of sound policy, but also a very practicable and easy duty; and thus feuds, divisions, and wars be prevented.

Verse 16. Thy brother's wife] This was an illegal marriage, unless the brother died childless. In that case it was not only lawful for her to marry her brother-in-law, but he was obliged by the law, Deut. xxv. 5. to take her to wife.

Verse 18. A wife to her sister] Thou shalt not marry two sisters at the same time, as Jacob did Rachel and Leah: but there is nothing in this law that rendered it illegal to marry a sister-in-law, when her sister was dead; therefore, the text says, Thou shalt not take her in her life time to ver her, alluding, probably, to the case of the jealousies and vexations which subsisted between Leah and Rachel; and by which the family peace was so often disturbed. Some think that the text may be so understood as also to forbid polygamy.

Verse 19. As long as she is put apart] See the note on chap. xv. ver. 24.

Verse 20. Thy neighbour's wife] See the note on Exod. xx. 14.

Verse 21. Pass through the fire to Molech] The name of this idol is mentioned for the first time in this place. As the word 5 molec, or melec, signifies king or governor, it is very likely that this idol represented the sun; and more particularly as the fire appears to have been so much employed in his worship. There are several opinions concerning the meaning of passing through the fire to Molech. 1. Some think that the semen humanum, was offered on the fire to this idol. 2. Others think that the children were actually made a burnt-offering to him. 3. But others suppose the children were not burnt, but only passed through the fire, or between two fires, by way of consecration to him. That some were actually burnt alive to this idol, several scriptures, according to the opinion of commentators, seem strongly to intimate, see among others, Psal. cvi.

24 Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: " for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you:

25 And the land is defiled: therefore I do P visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself a vomiteth out her inhabitants.

r

26 Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations: neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you:

27 (For all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you, and the land is defiled':)

28 That the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were before you.

29 For whosoever shall commit any of these abominations, even the souls that commit them, shall be cut off from among their people.

30 Therefore shall ye keep mine ordinance, that ye commit not any one of these abominable customs, which were committed before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein: I am the LORD your God.

V

Kings 16. 3. & 21, 6. & 23, 10. Jer. 19. 5. Ezek. 20. 31. & 23. 37, 39.-g 1 Kings 11. 7, 33. Called, Acta 7. 43. Moloch.-h Ch. 19. 12. & 20. 3. & 21. 6. & 22. 2, 32 Ezek. 35. 20, &c. Mal. 1. 12-i Ch. 2. 13. Rom. 1. 27. 1 Cor. 6. 9. 1 Tim. 1. 10.-k Ch. 20. 15, 16. Exod 22. 19-1 Ch. 20. 12-m Ver. 30. Matt. 15. 18-20. Mark 7, 21-23. 1 Cor. 3. 17-n Ch. 29. 23. Deut. 18. 12-0 Numb. 35. 34. Jer. 2. 7 & 16 18 Ezek. 36. 17-p Psa. 89. 32. Jani. 26. 21. Jer. 5. 9, 29. & 9. 9. & 14. 10. & 23. 2. Hos. 2. 13. & 8. 13 & 9. 9-q Ver. 25-r Ver. 5, 30. Ch. 2. 22, 23.—s Ch. 20. 22. Jer. 9. 19. Exod. 36. 13, 17-t Ver. 3, 26. Ch. 20. 23. Deut. 18. 9-u Ver. 24.-v Ver. 2, 4.

38. Jerem. vii. 31. and Ezek. xxiii. 37-39. That others were only consecrated to his service by passing between two fires, the rabbins strongly assert; and if Ahaz had but one son, Hezekiah, (though it is probable he had others, see 2 Chron. xxviii. 3.) he is said to have passed through the fire to Molech, 2 Kings xvi. 3. yet he succeeded his father in the kingdom, chap. xviii. 1. therefore this could only be a consecration; his idolatrous father intending thereby to initiate him early into the service of this demon. See the note on chap. xx. 2.

Verse 22. With mankind] This abominable crime, frequent among the Greeks and Romans, as well as the Canaanites, may be punished with death in this country. Verse 23. With any beast] This abomination is also punishable with death, by the laws of this country. A woman stand before a beast] That this was often done in Egypt, there can be no doubt: and we have already seen from the testimony of Herodotus, that a fact of this kind actually took place while he was in Egypt. See the note on chap. xvii. ver. 7. and xx. 16.

Verse 25. The land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants] This is a very nervous prosopopæia, or personification; a figure, by which any part of inanimate nature may be represented as possessing the passions and reason of man. Here the land is represented as an intelligent being, with a deep and refined sense of moral good and evil; information concerning the abominations of the people, is brought to this personified land, with which it is so deeply affected, that a nausea is produced, and it vomits out its abominable and accursed inhabitants. It was natural for the inspired penman to make use of such a figure, as the description he was obliged to give of so many and enormous abominations, must have affected him nearly in the same way, in which he represents the land to be affected.

Verse 30. Ye shall keep mine ordinance] The only way to be preserved from all false worship, is seriously to consider and devoutly to observe the ordinances of the true religion He who in the things of God, goes no farther than he can say, thus it is written, and thus it behooves me to do,

CHAPTER XIX.

Exhortations to holiness, and a repetition of various laws, 1, 2 Duty to parents, and observation of the sabbath, 3. against idolatry, 4. concerning peace-offerings, 5-8. The gleanings of the harvest and vintage to be left for the poor, 9, 10. Against stealing and lying, 11. false swearing, 12. against defrauding the hire

thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest.

10 And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy

sons in judgment, 15. against tale-bearing, 16. against hatred and uncharitableness, 17 against revenge, 18. against unlawful mixtures in cattle, seeds, and garments, 19. Laws relative to the bondmaid that is betrothed, 20-22. The ruit of the trees of the land not to be eaten for the first three years, 23. but this is lawful in the fourth and Afth years, 21, 25. Against eating of blood, and using incantations, 26. against superstitious cutting of the hair, 27. and cutting of the flesh in the times of mourning, 29. Against prostitution, 29. Sabbaths to be rever encod, 30.

Against consulting those who are wizards, and have familiar spirits,

31. Respect inust be shown to the aged, 32 The stranger shall not be oppressed, sion, 37.

32, 33. They shall keep just measures, weights, and balances, 35, 36. Conclu

2 Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy.

3 Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father, and y keep my sabbaths: I am the LORD your God.

and stranger: I am the LORD your God.

11 Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, e neither lie one to another.

12 And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.

13 Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbour,

neither rob him: the wages of him that is

hired, shall not abide with thee all night until the morning.

14 Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind, but shalt i fear thy God: I am the LORD.

15 Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the

b

5 And if ye offer a sacrifice of peace-offerings unto the LORD, ye shall offer it at your own will.

6 It shall be eaten the same day ye offer it, and on the morrow: and if ought remain until the third day, it shall be burnt in the fire,

And if it be eaten at all on the third day, it is abominable; it shall not be accepted.

8 Therefore every one that eateth it shall bear his iniquity, because he hath profaned the hallowed thing of the LORD: and that soul shall be cut off from among his people.

9 And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of

w Ch. 11. 44. & 20. 7, 25. 1 Pet. 1. 16.-x Exod. 20. 12-y Exol. 20. 8. & 31. 13. Exod. 20. 4. Ch. 26. 1. 1 Cor. 10. 14. 1 John 5. 21.-a Exod. 34. 17. Deut. 27. 15. b Ch. 7. 16.-c Ch 23. 22. Deut. 24. 19, 20, 21. Ruth 2 15, 16-d Exol. 20, 15. & 22 1, 7, 10. Deut. 5. 19-e Ch. 6. 2. Eph. 4. 25. Col. 3. 9.-f Exol 20. 7. Ch. 6. 3. Deut. 5. 11. Matt 5 33. James 5. 12-g Ch. 18. 21.-h Eccles. 10. 6. Mark 10 19. Thess. 4. 6.- Deut. 24. 14, 15. Mal. 3. 5. Tob. 4. 14. James 5. 4.-k Deat. 27. 18. Rom. 14. 13-1 Ver. 32. Ch. 25. 17. Gen. 42 18 Eccles. 5. 7. 1 Pet. 2. 17.-m Exod. 23. 2, 3. Deut. 1. 17. & 15. 19. & 27. 19. Psa. 82 2. Prov. 21. 23. James 2.9.

is never likely to receive a false creed, nor perform a superstitious act of worship,

1. How true is that word, The law of the Lord is PERFECT; in a small compass, and yet in a most minute detail, it comprises every thing that is calculated to instruct, direct, convince, correct, and fortify the mind of man. Whatever has a tendency to corrupt, or injure man, that, it forbids; whatever is calculated to comfort him, promote and secure his best interests, that, it commands. It takes him in all possible states, views him in all connexions, and provides for his present and eternal happiness.

2. As the human soul is polluted, and tends to pollution, the great doctrine of the law is holiness to the Lord: this it keeps invariably in view, in all its commands, precepts, ordinances, rites, and ceremonies, And how forcibly in all these does it say, thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength; and thy neighbour as thyself. This is the prominent doctrine of the preceding chapter; and this shall be fulfilled in all them who believe: for Christ is the end of the law for righteousness, to them that believe. Reader, magnify God for his late, for by it is the knowledge of sin: and magnify him for his Gospel, for by this is the cure of sin. Let the law be thy schoolmaster to bring thee to Christ, that thou mayest be justified by faith; and that the righteousness of the law may be fulfilled in thee, and that thou mayest walk, not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

NOTES ON CHAPTER XIX. Verse 3. Ye shall fear every man his mother, &c.] Ye shall have the profoundest reverence and respect for them. See the notes on Gen. xlviii. 12. and on Exod. xx. 8. and 12. Verse 4. Turn ye not unto idols] D elilim, literally nothings; and to this St. Paul seems to allude, 1 Cor. viii. 4. where he says, we know that an idol is NOTHING in the world.

Verse 5, Peace-offerings] See the notes at the conclusion of ch. vii.

Verse 7. If it be eaten on the third day] See the note, chap. vii. 15.

Verse 9. When ye reap the harvest] Liberty for the poor to glean both the corn-fields and vineyards, was a divine institution among the Jews; for the whole of the Mosaic dispensation breathed, like the Christian, love to God, and benevolence to man. The poor in Judea were to live by

in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour. 16 Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour: I am the LORD.

17 P Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.

r

18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD,

19 Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind: " thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed:

n Exod. 23. 1. Psa. 15. 3. & 50. 20. Prov. 11. 13. & 20. 19. Ezek. 22 9-0 Exod. 2 1,7. 1 Kings 21. 13. Matt. 26. 60, 61. & 27. 4-p 1 John 2. 9, 11. & 3 15-9 Fechis 19. 13. Matt. 18. 15. Luke 17. 3. Gal. 6. 1. Ephes. 5. 11. 1 Tim. 5. 20. 2†mm 4. 2 Tit. 1. 13. & 2. 15-r Or, that thou bear notain for him: See Rom. 1. 32. 1 Cor. 5. 21 Tum 5. 22, 2 John 11.- 2 Sam. 13. 22. Prov. 20. 22 Rom 12. 17, 19. Gal. 5 20. Eph. 4. 31. 1 Pet. 2 1, James 5. 9.- Matt. 5. 43. & 22. 39. Rem. 13, 9. Gal. 5.14. James 2. 8.-n Deut. 22. 9, 10.

gleanings from the corn-fields and vineyards. To the honour of the public and charitable spirit of the English, this merciful law is, in general, as much attended to, as if it had been incorporated with the Gospel.

Verse 11. Ye shall not steal, &c.] See the notes on Exod. xx.

Verse 13. The wages-shall not abide with thee all night] For this plain reason, it is the support of the man's life and family; and they need to expend it as fast as it is earned.

Verse 14. Thou shall not curse the deaf] Or speak evil of him, because he cannot hear, and so cannot vindicate his own character.

Nor put a stumbling-block before the blind] He who is capable of doing this, must have a heart cased with cruelty. The spirit and design of these precepts are, that no man shall, in any case, take advantage of the ignorance, simplicity, or inexperience of his neighbour; but in all things, do to his neighbour, as he would, on a change of circumstances, that his neighbour should do to him.

Verse 16. Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer] racil, signifies a trader, a pedlar, and is here applied to the person who travels about dealing in scandal and calumny, getting the secrets of every person and family, and retailing them wherever he goes. A more despicable character exists not: such a person is a pest to society, and should be exiled from the habitations of men.

Neither shalt thou stand against the blood, &c.] Thou shalt not be a false witness; because by such testimony the blood, the life of an innocent man may be endangered.

Verse 17. Thou shalt not hate thy brother] Thou shalt not only not do him any kind of evil, but thou shalt harbour no hatred in thy heart towards him. On the contrary, thou shalt love him as thyself, ver. 18. Many persons suppose, from misunderstanding our Lord's words, John xiii. 34. a new commandment give I unto you, that ye love one another, &c. that loving our neighbour as ourselves, was first instituted under the Gospel. This verse shows the opinion to be unfounded, but to love another as Christ has loved us, i. e. to lay down our lives for each other, is certainly a new commandment: we have it simply on the authority of Jesus Christ alone.

And not suffer sin upon him] If thou see him sin, or know him to be addicted to any thing by which the safety of his soul is endangered, thou shalt mildly and affection