II. Yo1JNG LIFE 1B BUITOSED TO BE AN INQUIRING LIFE. (Ver. 20.) It is not sup- posed !hl\t t.he children will lend themselves to either of two extremes: they will neither ·wildly tear up and obliterate" the old paths," nor will they wnlk in them heedlessly and without inquiry. 'l'he comse hero indicated is that which any sensible, well-disposed youth would natma lly follow. He would ask," What mean," etc. How- ever a spurious priesthood may demand a blind and uninquiring faith, tho Word of God never does anything of the kind. Reason is made for reverent inquiry, but it may be neither deified nor stultified. And what can he more charming than the honest, eager inqnisitivencss of the young, asking for the reasons which govern the faith and worship thnt they find at work be[ore their eyes? Specially delightful is such inquiry, when the parent is well able to give his answer. III. THERE IS AWAITIKG THE YOUNG INQUIRER THE STORY OF A GREAT DELIVER· A?CCE. ('\' ers. 21, 22.) 'l'he rescue from Egypt always formed the grnnd historic bnck- ground of Israel's life (see l's. lxxviii.; xcix.; cv.; cvi.; ciii. 7). Hero was a dis- closure of Divine love and care, the like of which had never been known. 'l'he great institution of sacrifice revealed provision for pardoning love. The precepts for the individual, the family, the nation, told what sort of a people God would have them be; while the oft-recurring strains, "I gave Egypt for thy ransom," "I brought thee up on t of the land of bondage," would evoke all their national ardour, and create and foster an historic pride. 'l'be life-histories, too, of their fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, would tell of the blessedness of having God as their God: and these, instilled into the heart with all the sweetness of fond parental love, would lead the young Israelite, when the teaching was sanctified by God's grace, to say right joyously, "This God shall be my God for ever and ever ! " Ycs ! the young life ever coming on earth is not to be left to grope its way. The light from the past is to be handed down for the ages to come, that sire and son and son's sou may rejoice in the same God, and ensure a blessed continuity of holy faith and consecrated life. IV. THE GREAT DELIVERANCE WAS EFFECTED THAT THE RESCUED PEOPLE IIIIGHT BE A NEW NATION WORTHY OF Gon. Ver. 23, "'l'hat be might bring us in, to give us the land which he sware unto our fathers." And in this new relation they were to be wilnesses for God (Isa. :x:liii. 10). They were to be a distinct, compact people, with faith, laws, and polity, higher than the rest of the world, holding in trust for mankind, till the fulness of times, much precious truth which was to find its outcome in a great, world-wide deliverance which should o,ersbadow all; while the Israel of God was to metge into a spiritual Israel, made up of all who are Christ's, known as a "peculiar people, zealous of good works." V. IN THIS CONTINUED LIFE, WORTHY OF Gon, WOULD THE JUSTIFICATION' OF lsRAEL'S FAITH A?l"D OBSERVAKCES DE FOUND. "It shall be our righteousness," etc. (ver. 25). It is scarcely possible to regard these words as having reference to any doctrine of justification by faith; for though, even as far back as Abraham's days, that was a doctrine, yet it was not formulated till the times of the gospel, by Paul. • The meaning of the phrase seems to be: "'l'his will be our justification of our position and claims; we claim to be a people of God, above all the nations that are on the face of the earth, and we shall vindicate that claim, not by words only, but by being what we profess to be." Thus would the parent quicken bis child, and stimulate and inspire him to be all that his glorious faith bade him be-" holy unto the Lord his God!" VI. IN THlB ARRANGEMEN'l', THE DIVINE BENEVOLENCE WAS AS MANIFEST AS Gon's nEGAnD FOB IDB OWN HONOUB. Ver. 24, "'l'o fear the Lord oor God, for our good always." The glory of God and the good of man are in harmony. So has God con- structed the universe, so doth he carry on his government, as to ensure that" they that honour him, he will honour." "All things work together for good to them thttt love God." " Great peace ham they which love God's Law; and nothing shall offend them." "Godliness is profitable unto all things." "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Vll. NoT ONLY WOULD ]S!lAEL, BY OBEDIENCE, ENS1JRE ITS OWN GOOD, BUT ALSO ITS CONTINUANCE IN TliE LAND. Ver. 24, "That he might preserve us alive." Repeatedly do we read that the prolongation of Israel's days in the land depended on their loyalty to God. 'l'he land was given them, not for their own sakes merely, but fur God's. lf they contmued there, 1aithfully witnessing for him, the land would be Cll, VI. 1-25,] THE BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY. 127
continued to them ; if not, they would have to quit, and give up the possession thereof to stmngcrs. This Is precisely the principle on which Goel governs·-' the nations now. No nlltion can preserve itself in being by any other policy than that of obedience to God. Disloynlty to God 11nd the right is the surest possible policy of dee0rnposition. Even nttempts o.t self-preservation which violate God's laws will fail of their end. And is it not of vast significance that these are the principles by wliich the young life of a nation is to be moulded? Whatever allowance must be made for changing circurn- st11nccs, however true it may be that no nation now holds exactly the same place in the world that Israel did, yet it is also true that all the more substantial part of the seven lines of thought here indicated is unchanged and unchangeable. Christian parents are inheritors of the truth of God: they hold it in trust for their children: they, as they grow up, will inquire concerning it: its historic basis is the great deliverance effected by the Lord Jesus: Christians are now God's peculiar people: they are redeemed that they may be holy, and that in holiness they may train succeeding generations: and just in proportion as through them loyalty to the truth and to God is leavening their posterity, are they bringing honour to the cause they espouse, Hebrews were to be conservative. Christians are to be also aggressive. We are to be "the light of the world," and "the salt of the earth." By the light of God's love we are to scatter men's darkness, and by the salt of God's truth are we to stay its corruption. And just so far as our nation is imbued with ri"hteousness and truth, will it have within it the guarantee of its own perpetuation. 'l'he best defence is the armour of li~ht. Without righteousness and the fear of God, not all the pretence and brag-not all the fleets or armies at command, can ever guard a nation from decay. "If the salt have lost his savour, . . . it is thenceforth good for nothing but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men."