Moses never foils to remind Israel that the God of heaven was their God. With con- descending grncr, that oxcites our perpetual surprise, God ha,l chosen them to be rl'cipients or special blessing. He bad found" delight in their fathers;" a11d for tho fathers' sakes had loved the children. We, too, who believe in Christ, "are Abra- ham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." God regards rene\9ed men as bis trmsure, his portion, his jewels. They are dear to him as " the apple or hi; eye." '!'here is no service he will not render for them, "no gift will he w:thhol,l." He lias redeemed them with life-blood, and esteems them as unspeakably precious. They are destined to share his society, his possessions, his throne, his imag~. God has ho11n,l himself to us by most solemn compacts, and all his vast resources are pledged to us. H is a covenant made in heaven, and "is ordered in all things and sure." III. 'l'nrs REASO:<!ABl,ENESS 18 SEEN IN TUE SELF-ADVANTAGE OF SERVI:;JG Gon. 1. It is "for our good."· Every command may not be pleasant to flesh and bloo,.1, nor alwa_y,; to appetite and inclination; but obedience is salutary to all the better parts of ma1,', nature. "In keeping his commandments we have great reward." There is large present benefit, and there is larger prospective good. 2. It i., a credit to us to se,ce such a God. "He is our praise." The statesmen and ambassadors and generals or England count it high honour to serve Britain's queen. How vastly greater the honour to serve the King of kings! We may suITer passin'! reproach from our attach- ment to Christ, but reproach is like the early hoar-frost, which the a~cending sun will scatter. If men c!o not perceive the honour, it is because they are blind. ·• My soul shall make q,er boast in the Lord.'' 3. God's past goodness excites our largest ho7,e. God had already done great things for Israel. He had multiplier] them in E~ypt a thousandfold. Nor had he reached the end or his power nor the end of bis intentions. What he had dono was only a sample of what he yet meant to do. A. world of good is yet in store fur each believer. We shall never touch the furthest limits of Go,!'s beneficence. "Eye bath not seen it." To his faithful servants the invitation is repeated a thousand times over, "Come up higher." IV. '!'HIS. IlEASONADLJ,:NESS IS SEEN IN THE KIND OF SERVICE RlsQUIBED. Nothing more is demanded than our· thoughtful reason and enlightened conscience apr,n"·e. 1. Reverence. We have only to know God in order to yield him the reverence of our souls. If we could perceive his inherent majesty, his real excellence, and his unsullic,i purity, we should (if feeling were right) instinctively yield to him the profoundc,t reverence of our hearts. ·were it not for the corrupting effects of sin, this would be natural. 2. Submission to his superior will. By virtue of his wisdom, he has a right to counsel. By virtue of his relation as Monarch, he has a right to command. By virtue of his supremacy as Creator, he has claims on every part of our nature and on every moment of our time. His will is excellent., benevolent, unerring. To take his will, not ours, for chart and compass is simplest duty, ay, is largest pri~ilege. "Be oo more stiil'ucclrnd." A pliable will alone wakes a dutiful child. 3. Hearty love. That we can love at all is due to him. 'l'he power to cherish love, to receive love, is his gift. Hence, if we Jove at all, our love belongs to him. If we love in proportion to benefits received, or in proportion to the worth of the object, or in proportion to tl,e lovo expended on us, then all our Jove will centre in God. 4. Practical service. ~euuiue love will always seek some channel for its outflow, and service for love's object is a delight, and is only love iu active exercise. It would be a restraint nnd a pain for love to be silent. She would justly count it bondage to be caged up within the bc:.rt. Having feet, it would be a restraint not to walk; how great the honour to be al,le ~o walk iu God's paths, in the highways he himself doth take! Tme service for GuJ. 1s freedom, life, joy, heaven. If we love we must obey. 5. Such service makes us ~odlike. God counts it a joy to serve us, though he is under no obligation of law or ~1ght so to do. To serve him means that we grow like him. We imitate him first 10 actions, then in disposition, then in purposes, then in character. Said Moses signifi- cantly to Israel, "God loveth the stranger. . . . Love ye therefore the stranger." Through every hour of every day we may be climbing heavenwards, becoming Uod- !1ke. Every duty may become to us an instrument nctively moulding us into the image of perfection. 'l'he obedience that springs from love is a. pathway of flowery pleasantness, ascending gradually to the hills of fnmkincense, and to the presence of Go<l,-D, 192 THE DOOK OF DEUTERONOMY. [en. x. 1-22,
Vera. 1-5.-The covenant renewed. The severe intercession of Moses eucceecls Bt last.. 'Ind he is directed to get two tables like unto the first, and to bring them up to God f,1r his inscription upon them. He was also directed to maim an ark for their rcc~rtion. There was thus provided the tables of the testimony, and a place in which t(, keep them.