xii. 28: Heh. xiii. 5). (4) Nor is the clement of holy warning wanting (1 Cor. x. 1-G, 12). 2. It shows us a sphere in which the nntural ambition may have lecritiinato play without degenerating into lust. For, it may be urged," If we had no deirlro nfter the improvement of our condition, we should do away with rnterpriso? Ought not a )·oung man to be anxiou8 to rise in the world?" Certainly. But not at the expense o/ others. In II right direction a man not only may, but should, make the very utmost of hin1self for which his power cnpacitates him (1 Tim. iv. 8; Prov. xxx. 5-9). Another may say," I have the organ of acquisitiveness very strongly developed. I am so made that I must get, so that if I am anxious to hnve more, I am only acting out that which is im hcddcd in t.hc strnctnre of my physical frame." Acquisitiveness! an excellent or(Tnn to have, and one which makes it specially desirable to decide of what its possessor shall he acquisiti,·e. If it is a necessity of any one's nature to be ever gettin", the greater 1he need that be shonld be rightly getting the right. Now, while God's L;w condemns acquisit i,·eness in the wrong direction, yet God's grace and gospel open up the grandest possible lield for its exercise. Ily all means let any one develop that noble capacity (Pro,. i_ji. 1~; iv. 5-7; 1 Cor. xii: 31). The surest way of gnarding against covetous- 1,css of ill ~nil be so to develop this eagerness after good that the other cannot coexist. (I John ii. 15). There is no faculty of our nature which can be developed to finerissnes 1 hnn this desire of having, if it he reset by Divine grace, and guided by the Spirit of God. No function of the soul is common or unclean, unless we make it so. Here is the right sort of covetousness (Phil. iii. 8), " That I may win Ghrist." Let all our power of coveting go out after him. He will bring with him durable riches and righteousness. The wealth we have in him will be vastly more than aught we can La,·e from him, and by" the expulsive power of a new affection" he will wean us from the false craving for earth, and ever satisfy us with himself!
Y crs. 22-33.-Tl,e Law as a whole, and -its effect upon the people. In the account of the reception of the Law which we have in the Book of the Exodus, it would seem probable that we have a record which was penned at or near the time of the occurrence. The one before us is declared to be some thirty-nine years after. Moses was then Ycrging towards the end of bis career. He indulges in a retrospect of the eventful scenes, and rehearses them in the ears of the people. As we have seen in the first Homily, he" dug" into the Law, and dug up its contents. With this passage as our guide, as we have looked at each command in the Decalogue separately, let us survey it in its entirety. I. TIIE LAW IS TO JIF: REGARDED AS A UNITY. It is not made up of isolated precepts. Our Saviour declares that it is summed up in two commandments. And the apostle reminds us that "Love is the fulfilling of the Law:" love to God the root, and love to man the fruit. Taking them in order, the first four require of us a love that shall worship God alone, honouring bis nature, revering his name, and guarding bis rest day fur his special service. The six later ones enjoin love to man, requiring loyalty in the home, restraint in the te.:nper, purity of the body, fidelity of the band, government of the tongue, unselfishness in the heart. \Vhat a space of ground all that covers! What part or power of our being is there that is not held in it-• comprehensive grasp? And how d"eply it strikes! It is a "critic" of the thour. ·.1s and intents of the heart. No superficial obedience can meet its claims. It is not difficult to see tLe purpose which it was designed to serve. It was the basis of Israel's national life and legislation. It was for the instruction of the nations round about (eh. iv. 6). And thou"h it was set on a basis of redeeming mercy, it was desi11:ned to awaken the cu1,science to a sense of sin, to take the people to school, and thus to become their cliild-guide unto Christ. As compared with the simpler patriarchal dispensation, it was an apparent retrogression fur the purpose of a spiritual education. It was a form, writteu, of that high, that holy, that eternal law of righteousness which is the same fur all times, all places, and all peoples, yea, of that Law of perfect love which the Divine Being fulfils in absolute perfection, and after which he would have bis crcaturns codurmed. IL 'l'WB LAW CONTAINS WITHIN ITSELF TIIE EVIDENCE OF 1TB DIVINE ORIGIN, An 11Lle American commentator on the Laws of Moses (Dr. Wines), tell us of a di,tinguisLed lawyer who had been sceptical on the subject of Divine revelation, ell. V, 1-33.J THE nooK OF DEUTERONOMY. 107