The Pulpit Commentary — Leviticus — Section 456

1mcl keep hie commandments, nnd do them" (ver. 3), they might reckon on (1) fertility in tho field (vere. 4, 6, 10); (2) sense of eecurity from without and distnrbance from within (safety and peace, vers. 6, 6); (3) victory in war (vers. 7, 8); ( 4) national growth (ver. 9); (6) God's presence with them (vers. 11, 12); (6) his pleasure in them (ver.11); and (7) his guarantee of their liberty and self-respect (ver. 13). II. THE PROMISES WBIOB BE HAS MADE TO us. These are parfly temporal, bue principally apiritual. '!'hey include: 1. Sufficiency of worldly substance. God does not now say, "Serve me, and you shall be strong, wealthy, long-lived," but he does say, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, ..• and all these things" (food, clothing, etc.) "shall be added ·unto you" (Matt. vi. 33). "Godliness has promise of the life that now is" (1 Tim. iv. 8). Those who are hie children in Christ Jesus may reckon upon 1111 needful support from his bountiful band. 2. Consciousness of spiritual integrity. As God made his people to be delivered from the yoke and to" go upright" (ver. 13), so he makes those who have returned to him, and who have escaped from the yoke of sin, to "walk in uprightness of heart." Instead of shrinking in fear, bowing down with a depressing sense of wrong-doing, we have a happy consciousness of integrity of soul. We say with the psalmist," As for me," etc. (Ps. xii. 12). 3. Sense of recon- ciliation with God. God promises peace and a sense of safety (vere. 5, 6) to those who seek his favour in Christ Jesus. Being justi □ ed by faith in him, we have peace with God; and we know that, whatever may be our circumstances, we are secure behind the shield of hie almighty love. 4. Victory in the battle of life. If it be not wholly true that "our life is but a battle and a march," yet it is true that there is so much of spiritual struggle in it, from its beginning to its close, that we all understand only too well what is meant by" the battle of life." There are many foes with which to wrestle (Eph. vi. 12), and we need the invigorating power which only the Spirit of the Strong One can impart. If we are his, he will help us in the strife. "Our enemies will fall before us" (ver. 7; see 2 Cor. ii. 14 and Rom. viii. 37). 5. His presence with us and his pleasure in us. "God will set his tabernacle among us;" he "will walk among us" (vers. 11, 12). He will be "with us always," and his sustaining presence will uphold us in the darkest hour, in the most trying scene. "His soul will not abhor us" (ver. 11); he will take Divine pleasure in us; we shall be his children, his guests, his friends, his heirs. 6. An everlasting heritage in him. He will be our God (ver. 12). The sacred page ·does not speak of any duration; but that which is adum- brated in the Old Testament is revealed in the New. Jesus Christ has brought life and immortality out into the light, and we know that "him that overcometh will the Son of man make a pillar in the temple of his God, and he shall go no more out," etc. (Rev. iii. 12), and that "to him that overcometh will he grant to sit with him on his throne," etc. (Rev. iii. 21). The present and the future, the best of the one and the whole of the other, are the heritage of those who "know the will of God and do it." Surely it is the choice of the wise to "make haste and delay not to keep his com- mandments."-C. Vers. 23, 2!.-0ur God and ourselves. The text suggests the question, How far does God's treatment of us depend on our attitude towards him? And the answer must be somewhat complex. I. IN LARGE MEASURE, Goo's TREATMENT OF us IS QUITE IRRESPECTIVE OF 0UB CONDUCT TOWARD HIM. He has done much for us from the promptings of his own generous and beneficent nature. As the sun gives light because it is light, regardless of the objects on which it shines, so our God, who is a Sun (Ps. lxxxiv. 11), is sending forth beams of truth, love, beauty, happiness, because in him is all fulness, and from that abundance there must flow blessing and bounty on every hand (see Ps. ciii. 10, 11; Matt. v. 45). II. IN LARGE MEASURE, Goo's TREATMENT OF us DEPENDS ON 0UB ATTITUDE TOWARD mM. I. Right feeling on our part is reciprocated with kind feeling on bis. If we love him he will love us and come to us (John xiv. 23). 2. Rebellious conduct on our part brin~s down adverse action on his part. Ifwe" will walk contrary to him, he will walk cont;ary to us, and puni~~ us for o~r sins." The greater pa~ of th_is chapter (vers. H -39) is a. terrible admomtion that, !fwe provoke God b7 our wilful ~1sob~_1en~e, we m~st expect to find hie hand against us mall t~e path~ of ~ife, our growmg rn1qui~y meetrng with his multiplying wrath and darkemng retnbut1on. 3. Repentant action on our  422 THE BOOK OF LEVITICUS. [ea. XXVI, 1-40.