The Pulpit Commentary — Exodus — Volume 2 — Section 133

ti1nt of children to their p11,rents, th11,n one which grows out of it; and thona-h either may ·•· 11-e,l to illustrnte the other. we mllllt view the two as 8eparate and° independent •':\1•li 11ther. 1'111-: Stx'l'H Co,rMANDMEKT. How wide is the scope of this comml\ndment to Christians. . L.. rd ln1> xhuwn. :\ot only are murder and violence prohibited by it, but even pro: ,,,111g. w,,nb, and angry th0ught,; (Matt. v. 21-26). The "rootofbitterness" whence ,1111nler ,priugs, is either some fierce passion, or some inordinate desire. 'l'o be 8ecure fro111 111:1nlernus impulses, we must be free from such emotions as these,-we must have tcu,ler :11Hl lodng feeling,; towards all our fellow-men. "Love is the fullilling of tile 1;1 " •. •• and unless a man really " love the brethren," he has no security against bein" su:·1,nsed into viulence towards them, which may issue in death. Nor is there on~ specie,- of murder only. 'l'he sixth commandment prohibits, not only violence to the bod_v. but-what is of far greater consequenoe--injury to the soul. Men brenk it most flagrantly when they lead another into deadly sin, thereby-so far as in them lies- destroying his soul. 'J.·he corrupter of innooence, the seducer, the persuader to evil, are "murderers" in a far worse sense than the cut-throat, the bandit, or the bravo. Death on the scaffold may expiate the crimes of these latter; eternal punishment alone would seem to be an adequate penalty for the guilt of the former. He that has eternally ruined a soul should surely be himself eternally unhappy. THE SE\'EKTR CoMJ,lA!-TJ>ME!-'T. Here again we have the inestimable advnnte.gt-,J our Lord's comment on the commandment, to help us to understand what it ought t-0 mean to us. Not only adultery, but fornication-not only fornication, but impurity of any and every kind-in act, in word, in thought-is forbidden to the Christian. He that luoketh on a woman with the object of lusting after her, has already committed adultery with her in his heart (Matt. v. 28). He that dallies with temptation, he that knowingly goes into the company of the impure, he that in his solitary chamber defiles himself, he that hears without rebuking them obscene words, transgresses against this law, and, unless he repents, cuts himself off from God. And observe--the law is one both for men and women. '\Ve are ready enough to speak with scorn of " fallen women,"- to regard them as ruined for ever, and treat their sin as the one unpardonable offence; but what of" fallen men"? Is not their sin as irreversible? Is it not the same sin? ls it not spoken of in Scripture in the same way? " Whoremongers and adulterers God will judge" (Heh. xiii. 4). "Mw·derers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone; which is the second death" (Rev. xxi. 8). And is it not as debasing, as deadening to the soul, as destructive of all true manliness, of all true chivalry, of all self-respect? Principiu; obsta. Let the young keep that precious gift of purity which is theirs, and not be induced by the ridicule of unclean men to part with it. Once gone ii can never return. Let them be pure, 11.6 Christ was pure. Blessed are the pure in heart! 'l'HE ErGHTH CoMl,lA?-TJ>ME?-'T. Simple direct ste.a.ling, being severely punished by the law in must countries, is seldom practised, unless it be by children and nlaves. But indirect stealing of various kinds is common. It should be clearly underst.ood that the Cl1ristian precept forbids any act by which we fraudulently obtain the property of a1,utl1cr. .Adulteration, concealment of defects, misrepresentation of quality, employ- n1e1,r of false weiglits or measures, are the acts of a thief, as much as pocket-picking or si"'l ,-Jifti1,g. Servants steal when they take "commission" from tradesmen unknown tu tLeir nia.sters, or appropriate as "perquisites" what their m..sters have not expressly :..,"Teed to allow, or neglect to do the work which they undertook, or do it in a slovenly manner, or damage their master's property by carelessness or diminish it by waste. Masters steal wheu they do not permit their servants the indulgences they promised, or alluw tl,eir wages to fall into arrear, or force them to work overtime without proper remuueration, or deprive them of such "rest" as they had a reasonable right to expect u1,un the Sunday. '!'Lose steal who cheat the revenue by smuggling, or false returns to tax- CGliteLOrs; or who cheat tradesmen by incun'ing debts which they can never pay, or who i:i view of (;()IDllJg Lankruptcy riass over their property to a friend, with the understand- u,g tLat it i, tu Le restored to them, or who Lave recourse of any of the "trickB of \rade," w; tLe,1 are called. .All men are sure to steal in one way or another, who 11.l'c 1Jot pussd~ed Ly the ~1>irit of Lu1Jesty, who do not love justice and equity and fair-  CH, XX. 1-17.] THE BOOK OF EXODUS.