H wBB the lBw for each one's life. It was the rule for all. In their le,.,isla.tion, the supremo feBture _was. to be the na.tiona.~ recognition_ of Gorl. And even no~, yea, ever, 80 far ns thu leg1slatJon of any people 1s based on nghteousness, so far as that le<1islation recognizes the rights of the Great Supreme, so far as a people are loyal to God~ to that extent will there be the surest guarantee for individual, family, social, aurl national prosperity, If ever a nation a., such should "break his bands asunder," and inau,,urate nn ago of reason versu.i faith, instead of a reasonable faith, the reign of terror ~vould not bo fa1· off. And it is owing to the supreme importance of thus launching into the world a.nation with God for its Lord, and righteousness for its law, that the open trans- gression of this first commandment was so severely punished, as being a crime against the State as well as a sin against God (eh. xiii. 7-12, 13-18; xvii. 2-7). (The frequent phrase "cut off" does not refer to punishment in another life, but to a man',; being" cut off" from the congregation.) And even now fidelity to God is the supreme condition of a nation's well-being; and that man is playing foully with the hi,,hest 0 interests of a people, who is seeking to undermine its allegiance to heaven. v. IB THIS THE LAw? THEN LET us MAKE THREE USES OF IT. 1. As a touchstone. It reveals guilt. The need of any such command is a. very humiliating fact. " The law is not ma.de for a. righteous man." "By law is the knowledge of sin." This pre- cept (1) discloses the world's sin. (2) It shows the deep root that sin had in the natures even of the freed people, that they should need such legislation to grave this precept on their hearts. (3) It shows our sin, that we should need the written Law. If we were what we ought to be, we should do God's will spontaneously without need- in" a written law at a.II! 2. As a.judge. This being the Law, we see how it is that as by la; we stand convicted, so by it we stand condemned, "subject to the sentence of God," for failures innumerable; and our guilt is the greater, since he who asks our heart reveals his own love that he may call forth ours. This Law is a perpetual, silent accuser (see John v. 45). 3. As a child-guide to Christ (see Gal. iii. 24, Greek). God only is greater than law. And he a.lone can restore those who, having broken law, must needs, in the ordinary course of things, be regarded and dealt with as law- breakers. For restoration, three things are required: (1) Forgiveness; (2) justification; (3) re-creation. Ba.re Law does not provide for either of these, but God in his Law has witnessed concerning this great restorative scheme. So says Paul in Rom. iii. 21, "But now there has been manifested a righteousness of l.iod apart from law, being witnessed by the Law and the prophets," etc. So in Rom. i. 16, 17, "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, . . . for therein there is revealed a. righteousness of God by faith, with a view to [the production of] faith." By believing in Christ, forgiveness is sure to the penitent, and grace re-creates the man, writing the Law on the heart, so that we obey and love God, not because God says we must, but because we are remade so that we can do nothing else. And what we need is to have our whole nature so reset by Divine grace, that we shall instinctively see God's will and do it, without needing any preceµt at a.11. As by the regenerative efficacy of the Holy Ghost we attain to this, shall we understand what it is to do the will of God on earth, "even as it is done in heaven."
Yers. 8-10.-The second commandment. The spirituality of Divine worship. It is sometimes said that there is a reason attached to this second commandment. It is scarcely accurate to affirm that. There is a. double sanction attached to it to enforce it, but there is no mention ru11.de here of a. reason, strictly so called. '\Ve will, however, iucorporate in this Homily the true reason which underlies this precept. But we shall have to go to the New 'l'estament for the clearest statement of that. Let us theu, iu connection with the above, ask the reader to turn to John iv. 24, in which he will fin,! a deep reason for the second commandment. 1Ne will first of all, as briefly as we ca:i consistently with clearness, open up the contents of this comlllailll, and will then endeavour to unfold the double sanction by which it is guarded. I. lTs CONTENTS. The first commandment claims for Jehovah alone the love an,1 worship of the people. The second warns off from any mode of worship which would bear a resemblance to or which would be a compromise with idolatry. '\Vhile Israel was in Egypt, there had been a general worship on the part of the Egyptians, of bird, beast, and reptile, not for their own sake, but as representing some attribute of the invisible God. 90 THE nooK OF DEU1'ERONOMY'. [cu. v. 1-33,