He may also turn to Joel iii, which opens with words of balm and consolation for the Israel of the future.--"For behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for My people and for My heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted My land." Thus he will see how perfectly the voices of the prophets harmonize with the song of Moses, and how fully, how clearly, and how unanswerably, in both the one and the other, does the Holy Ghost set forth and establish the grand truth of Israel's future restoration, supremacy, and glory.
And then, how truly delightful is the closing note of our song! how magnificently it places the top-stone upon the whole superstructure! All the hostile nations are judged, under whatever style or title they appear upon the scene, whether it be Gog and Magog, the Assyrian, or the king of the north--all the foes of Israel shall be confounded and consigned to everlasting perdition, and then this sweet note falls upon the ear,--"REJOICE, O YE NATIONS, WITH HIS PEOPLE; FOR HE WILL AVENGE THE BLOOD OF HIS SERVANTS, AND WILL RENDER VENGEANCE TO HIS ADVERSARIES, AND WILL BE MERCIFUL UNTO HIS LAND AND TO HIS PEOPLE."
Here ends this marvelous song, one of the very finest, fullest, and most forcible utterances in the whole volume of God. It begins and ends with God, and takes in, in its comprehensive range, the history of His earthly people Israel--past, present, and future. It shows us the ordering of the nations in direct reference to the divine purpose as to the seed of Abraham. It unfolds the final judgment of all those nations that have acted or shall yet act in opposition to the chosen seed; and then, when Israel is fully restored and blessed, according to the covenant made with their fathers, the saved nations are summoned to rejoice with them.
How glorious is all this! What a splendid circle of truth is presented to the vision of our souls in the thirty-second chapter of Deuteronomy! Well may it be said, "God is _the_ Rock, His work is perfect." Here the heart can rest, in holy tranquillity, come what may. Every thing may go to pieces in man's hand, all that is merely human may and must issue in hopeless wreck and ruin, but "the Rock" shall stand forever, and every "work" of the divine Hand shall shine in everlasting perfection to the glory of God and the perfect blessing of His people.
Such, then, is the song of Moses; such its scope, range, and application. The intelligent reader does not need to be told that the Church of God, the body of Christ, the mystery of which the blessed apostle Paul was made the minister, finds no place in this song. When Moses wrote this song, the mystery of the Church lay hid in the bosom of God. If we do not see this, we are wholly incompetent to interpret, or even to understand, the holy Scriptures. To a simple mind, taught exclusively by Scripture, it is as clear as a sunbeam that the song of Moses has for its thesis the government of God, in connection with Israel and the nations; for its sphere, the earth; and for its centre, the land of Canaan.
"And Moses came and spake all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he, and Hoshea the son of Nun. And Moses made an end of speaking all these words to all Israel; and he said unto them, '_Set your hearts unto all the words_ which I testify among you this day, which _ye shall command your children to observe to do_, _all the words of this law_. For it is not a vain thing for you, because _it is your life_; and through this thing ye shall prolong your days in the land, whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.'" (Ver. 44-47.)