the ordinance of circumcision, and had kept a pass- over unto the Lord ; in both which ordinances they had consecrated themselves to God afresh, and eno-aged to serve him, as his redeemed people. In coming therefore as from Gilgal, the Angel reminded them of their solemn engagements, and humbled them the more for their violation of them.
The particular address of the Lord to them, toge- ther with the effect it produced upon them, leads us to consider,
I. The danger of indecision —
The command which God had given to the Israel- ites was plain and express : they were " utterly to destroy the Canaanites, and to make no covenant with them'':" and on their performance of this con- dition was suspended the continuance of God's inter- position in their. favour. But they were not careful to execute the divine command : and therefore God threatened, that the Canaanites, whom they had pre- sumed to spare, should become a lasting source of pain to them ; that they would gradually draw them into sin, and ultimately become instruments of in- flicting on them the vengeance they had merited.
Such is the sin which God's professing people still commit —
[The command to every one of us is to make no league with any one of our spiritual enemies ; not with the ivorld: on the contrary, we are to " overcome it;" to " come out from the people of it, and be separate;" to be " dead to" all its cares and pleasures, " being crucified to it, and esteeming it as cru- cified unto us :" we are " not to be of it, any more than Jesus Clirist himself was of it." With respect to the Jlesh also and our corrupt nature, no truce must be made with it, even for a moment : we must " mortify our members upon earth," and " crucify the flesh with the affections and lusts:" we must not spare one evil desire, though it should be dear as " a right eye," or useful as " a right hand ;" we must " pluck it out with abhorrence, or cut it off, and cast it from us." It is not suffi- cient to make them pay tribute : we must slay them ; we must " shew them no mercy'';" our hatred of them must be irrecon- cilable and incessant.
a Dent. vii. 2. ^ Deut. vii. 2.