deliverer precedes Moses tho law;!iver; the Lord was first known as the fountain 0 f freedom, 1md then as the fountain of that Law within whose bounds freedom is to be realized. II. THIS LAW COVERS OUR RELATIONS BOTH TO Goo AND MAN. 1. The Laws re- lating to God. 'l'hese embrace the four which come first, i.e. (1) the law acrainst polytheism or atheism. This law is broken when we live " without God in the w~rld," nscribing to lnck, chance, or fortune what is due to God's providence. It is broken when we worship self, or fame, or ambition (cf. 'The Life and Letters of J. H. Thorn- well, D.D., LL.D.,' p. 142; also Dale's 'Ten Commandments;' Washburn's 'Social Law of God;' and Crosby's 'Thoughts on the Decalogue'). (2) The law against sensuous worship. For the second commandment is broken in so far as our worship is not "in spirit and in truth." (3) The law of reverence. Any spirit of undue familiarity which leads to the least trifling before God is a breach of this third commandment. (4) The law of consecrated time. This fourth commandment is an acknowledgment that all time is God's by right, and the seventh portion should be by special obligation. In Deuteronomy the sabbath is based, not on creation, a.s in Exodus, but on the deliverance from Egypt. Each great providence increases our obligation thus to acknowledge God, Hence the Lord's day is made commemorative of our Lord's resurrection. 2. The laws relating to man. 'fhese embrace the succeeding six, thus: (1) The Jaw of the family. This is the first commandment with promise (Eph. vi. 2). (2) The law of social love, For we arc to avoid not only murder, but the 1.rnholy anger of which it is the manifestation (Matt. v. 22). (3) The law of social purily. We must be pure in thought, as well as in act, as our Lord has shown us (Matt. v. 28; also Mark vii. 21-23). (4) 'l'he law of honesty. This must be in God's sight and in man's (2 Cor,, viii. 21). (5) The law of veracity. Restraining the turbulent tongue (Jas. iii. 6, 9). (6) The law of contentment. The curbing of covetousness, which is idolatry (Col. iii. 5).-R. M. E. Vers. 22-33.-How Moses became mediator. The ten commandments were a direct communication from God to Israel. But it was too much for their sinful, terrified souls to stand, and so Moses' is entreated to stand between God and them, and be the medium of communication between them. 'l'he Lord approved of the arrangement, =· and installed Moses into the office (cf. Exod. 18-21). This suggests- I. THE CRY FOR A MEDIATOR AROSE OUT OF THE FEaRS OF ME.."!. The surpassing glory of God makes such a terrific impression on the'hearts of sinners that they cry instinctively for mediation. It is a need of mankind when aronsed to a true sense of the majesty and purity of God. Those who question the necessity of mediation are really wanting in the due sense of God's exceeding majesty and glory. II. THE OFFICE OF A MEDIATOR NECESSITATED MUCH PERSONAL SELF-DENIAL. It was doubtless a great honour conferred on Moses ; but it was also a great burden. Thus he declared his own fears in the circumstances. "I exceedingly fear and quake" was his testimony about the experience on the mount. Besides, the forty days' seclusion anJ fast and all the attendant anxieties and troubles showed that it was most assuredly no sinecure. And these trials of Moses only faintly typify the severe strain and trial borne by Christ, the one Mediator between God and man. III. T1rn MEDIATION wAS LA w-mvmo. Moses was to convey " the commandments, aud the statutes, and the judgments" of God unto the people. It was didactic-its purpose was the conveyance of truth. It was a prophetic office, consequently, which Moses in this instance received, The priestly was made over to Aaron, on the principfo of a "division of labour." And so Christ is the great mediating Prophet. He came forth from the secret place of God to convey to us what God is, He came down from heaven. He testified about heavenly things (John iii. 11-13). And in the P,erfection of mediation, he embodied the truth, and was able to say, "I am the truth '(John xiv. 6). Jesus was a living Law. IV. 0DEDIENOE SHOULD RESULT FROM THE MEDIATION. The whole Law was a "commandment with promise." 'l'his is shown in ver. 33. The child!'cu of Isr,1el ll8 THE DOOK OF DEUTERONOMY. [en, VI. 1-25.
were to condnct themselves obediently as the children of God, and they would realize in nil ils breadth the promise of the fifth commandment. The Law Wl\S n Law of well-bein~ (,·er. 29). Obedience was the condilion of continncd prosperity in the lnnd. And the same 11rrangements continue. Obedience to God's Law still secures the promise of the life that now is, as well as of that which is to come. Not, of course, that the saints nre nlways prosperous in this world; were this the case, saintship would be a very mercl'nary business. But other things being equal, the tendency of 0bedience is to present ns well as future well-being. God makes no promise, but threatening, to the disobeciient.-R. M. E.