The Pulpit Commentary — Deuteronomy — Section 113

where the Di..-ine idea of marriage is carried out, the purely natural side of it will be b~- Jl(l means the only one or c,·rn the highest (see Matthew Henry's touchin" wordo nn the creation of woman, and also Kalisch's most admirable remarks in !~is com- mentary on Exod. xx. 14, on the position of woman under the Hebrew economy) 'l'h<'re arc spheres of duty which are most appropriately filled by men, e.g. those in 1:rofes~ional and cornmcrcia_l life; th~re nre other spheres which arc most appropriately 11llcd by women, e.g. those m the qmet of the home. And the work of one is the supple- ment nnd complement of the work of the other. Hence each one looks to the other for the dischari::e of special service. Thus there is a mutual leaning on one anothor. And if the cwwnin~ joy of married life be present in both beiug one in the Lord, in their spiritual fcllo11·ship they fan each other's love to him who died for them. Each will ~upply wliat the other lacks. Perhaps the strength of the man may lie chiefly iu intol- lcctual power. That of the woman will lie in tenderness, and also in far keener and surer p0rccptions and more swiftly acting intuitions. Thus, through one being the fitting eomplcmcnt of the other, they become mutual helpers in all that is right and wise and true; nn,! as enm before they were made one, each one knew how to possess his vessel in snnct.ificat.i_on and hon_our, so, ~hen th<'y aro one, each honours the other, by making the sacred un10n subservient to vutne aud to the honour of God. Thus rolling years clo but deepen the fonduess and sweetness of their love, and if it becomes calmer and less demonstrative, it is because it has become fuller, richer, and stronger. When ~-outhful ardour dies down, the holy tie is holier than ever; their very souls become knit together in one. The care of one is the care of both; the joy of one is the joy of both ; and any unkindness that stings one wounds both. As two trees side by side in n gro,·e, their arms interlace and interlock, yet each has its separate root. So husband and wile, as trees of the Lord's own right hand planting, do through the whole of this cartbl_y life become interlocked with growing firmness, while their one Saviour in whom they Ii ve is the common joy of their spirits, their one hope for eternity I That there arc innumerable cases in which a noble type of Christi!l.n excellence is reached by the unmarried, we all know. While marriage opens up those claims in the discharge of which the most symmetrical character is usually formed, yet Divine grace can so sway the spirit as to culture it nobly for eternity, irrespectively of these sacred ties. There arc fathers and mothers in Israel who are so by spiritual relationship. Thus, when our nature is duly honoured in ourselves and others, by its uppermost part being kept upper• most, out of loyalty to Christ, it is possible for both the married and unmarried to glorify God in their body as well as in their spirit. I\'. lT IS ODVIOUS THAT IF THROUGH THE REDEEMING GRACE OF GOD WE HAVE OUR WIIOLE IJELl\G THUS LIFTED UP INTO A HIGHER REGION, THE STERN "THOU SHAL'l' NOT" OF SrxAI WILL DE :NEEDED NO MORE. We shall have risen to a sphere in which the transgression of the seventh commandment will be impossible (see 1 John iii. 9; Gal. Y. 16, 24). The sure gnara:::itee of our keeping this law, in the spirit as well as in the Jetter, is for us to be so re-created by God'll Spirit, that it shall be impossible for us to break it. "The law is not made for a righteous man." V. "\YE SHOULD NOT FAIL TO NOTE THE IMPERATIVENESS OF THE LAW. If there are those who are not in the region of a higher life, as indicated above, they should be reminded that this law, in its wide sweep and searching depth, condemns nil impurity of every kind; it discerns "the thoughts and intents of the heart." Hence the words iu Matt. v. 28; hence the warnings in Mark ix. 43, 45, 47, One indulged sin will dra:1 the whole man after it. '' Science," says Dr. Farrar, "confirms by decisive e:Yidence that the Lord avenges the sins of the flesh. It tells us that men must possess in manhood the sins of their youth ; that if they sow to the flesh, they will of the flesh reap corruption ; that the punishment of sensuality, working not by special fnterven- tions, but by general laws, bears a fearful resemblance to the sin itself; that the Nemesis uf a <lese:crate<l body is an enfeebled understanding, a tormented and darkened soul ; " rind-the writer might ha,·e added-a face from which tbe lustre of the Divine has ,ie1,arted, and in "·hich the lines of n true manhood are manifestly vitiated and defaced, nud eYen exchanged for lines of sin and of shameless vice. Let all take heed and rellJe1uLer: 1. That whNe each one's weak point is, a sentinel should be kept on watch. 2. We are not safe till the Yery thoughts are under control. 3. Only the Spirit uf God can give us power equal to this. 4. Unless we keep ourselves in subjection we shall be cast away. dil. V. 1-33.1 'fiIE nook OF DEUTERONOMY. iot