Deuteronomy 10:14
Ver. 14. Behold, the heaven, and the heaven of heavens, are the Lord's thy God,.... Made and possessed by him; the airy and starry heaven, the third heaven, which is the heaven of heavens, the seat of the divine Majesty, the habitation of angels and glorified saints:
the earth [also], with all that therein is; that is his property, and at his disposal, being made by him, and all that is upon it, or contained in it, even whatsoever is on or in the whole terraqueous globe; see Ps 115:15. Deuteronomy 10:15Ver. 15. Only the Lord had a delight in thy fathers to love them,.... Though the heavens and the earth, and all the inhabitants of them are the Lord's by creation, yet he had a special regard unto, and a peculiar complacency in, the fathers of the Israelites, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; from whence arose some particular expressions of love to them, signified by various acts of kindness done them, and promises made unto them:and he chose their seed after them, even you above all the people, as [it is] this day; to be a special people to him, to enjoy civil and religious privileges greater than any other; and particularly to have his law given to them, his tabernacle and worship set up among them, which were at this time, and which gave them the preference to all other nations; see De 4:7. Deuteronomy 10:16Ver. 16. Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart,.... Content not yourselves with, nor put your confidence in outward circumcision of the flesh, but be concerned for the circumcision of the heart; for removing from that whatever is disagreeable to the Lord, even all carnality, sensuality, hypocrisy, and superfluity of naughtiness, and for having that put there which is well pleasing in his sight; and which though it is the work of God, and he only can do it and has promised it, yet such an exhortation is made to bring men to a sense of their need of it, and of the importance of it, and to show how agreeable it is to the Lord, and so to stir them up to seek unto him for it; see De 30:6and be no more stiffnecked; froward, obstinate, and disobedient, as they had been hitherto; De 9:6. Deuteronomy 10:17Ver. 17. For the Lord your God is God of gods,.... Of angels and civil magistrates, who are sometimes so called: these are his creatures, act for him and under him, and are accountable to him:the Lord of lords; of the kings and princes of the earth, who have their crowns, sceptres, and kingdoms from him, and hold them of him, by and under whom they reign and decree judgment, and who are subject to his authority and control:a great God; as the perfections of his nature, the works of his hands, the blessings of his providence and grace, and the extensiveness of his dominion in heaven, earth, and hell, show him to be:a mighty and a terrible; mighty and powerful to help, protect, and defend his people; terrible to his and their enemies, even to the kings of the earth:which regardeth not persons; but bestows his favours, whether in a way of providence or grace, according to his sovereign will and pleasure, without regard to the works and merits of men, their characters or circumstances:nor taketh reward; or bribes, to avert threatened and deserved judgments; see Job 36:18. Deuteronomy 10:18Ver. 18. He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow,.... Who have none to help them, and whose patron and defender he is, and will do them justice himself, and take care that it is done them by others, or avenge their injuries, for he is a Father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widow, in his holy habitation; Ps 68:5and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment; one that is in a foreign country, at a distance from his native land, and destitute of friends; such God in his providence takes care of, and expresses his love and kindness to, by giving them the necessaries of life, food, and raiment. Deuteronomy 10:19Ver. 19. Love ye therefore the stranger,.... Because the Lord loves him; and another reason follows, particularly binding on the Israelites:for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt; and therefore should sympathize with such, and show them compassion, relieve them in distress, and afford them whatever they want, and is in the power of their hands to communicate to them; remembering their own condition in Egypt, and how welcome such a treatment would have been to them then, as well as the kind and careful providence of God towards them at that time. Deuteronomy 10:20Ver. 20. Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God,.... Which includes the whole worship of him, external and internal:him shalt thou serve; heartily and sincerely, according to his revealed will, and him only:and to him shall thou cleave; and not turn aside to follow other gods, and worship them:and swear by his name; and his only, whenever it is necessary to take an oath, which should not be done rashly or on trivial accounts; and never by any creature, but by the living God; see De 6:13. Deuteronomy 10:21Ver. 21. He is thy praise,.... The object and matter of it, who deserves the praises of all his creatures, because of his perfections, works, and blessings of goodness; for all mercies temporal and spiritual come from him, and therefore he is greatly to be praised for them: praise is his due, and it is comely in his people to give it to him; see Jer 17:14and he is thy God which hath done for thee these great and terrible things which thine eyes have seen; which were done upon the Egyptians for their sakes, both in the land of Egypt and at the Red sea; and also what he had done for them in the wilderness, to Sihon and Og, kings of the Amorites, Ps 106:22. Deuteronomy 10:22Ver. 22. Thy fathers went down into Egypt with seventy persons,.... That is, in all; for there were not seventy besides Jacob and the patriarchs his sons, but with them; see Ge 46:26 and now the Lord thy God hath made thee as the stars of heaven for multitude; as he promised they should be, Ge 15:5.
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.