Don’t say in your heart, after Yahweh your God has thrust them out from before you, “For my righteousness Yahweh has brought me in to possess this land;” because Yahweh drives them out before you because of the wickedness of these nations. Not for your righteousness or for the uprightness of your heart do you go in to possess their land; but for the wickedness of these nations Yahweh your God does drive them out from before you, and that he may establish the word which Yahweh swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. Know therefore that Yahweh your God doesn’t give you this good land to possess for your righteousness, for you are a stiff-necked people. Remember, and don’t forget, how you provoked Yahweh your God to wrath in the wilderness. From the day that you left the land of Egypt until you came to this place, you have been rebellious against Yahweh. Also in Horeb you provoked Yahweh to wrath, and Yahweh was angry with you to destroy you. When I had gone up onto the mountain to receive the stone tablets, even the tablets of the covenant which Yahweh made with you, then I stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights. I neither ate bread nor drank water. Yahweh delivered to me the two stone tablets written with God’s finger. On them were all the words which Yahweh spoke with you on the mountain out of the middle of the fire in the day of the assembly.
It came to pass at the end of forty days and forty nights that Yahweh gave me the two stone tablets, even the tablets of the covenant. Yahweh said to me, “Arise, get down quickly from here; for your people whom you have brought out of Egypt have corrupted themselves. They have quickly turned away from the way which I commanded them. They have made a molten image for themselves!”
Furthermore Yahweh spoke to me, saying, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people. Leave me alone, that I may destroy them, and blot out their name from under the sky; and I will make of you a nation mightier and greater than they.”
So I turned and came down from the mountain, and the mountain was burning with fire. The two tablets of the covenant were in my two hands. I looked, and behold, you had sinned against Yahweh your God. You had made yourselves a molded calf. You had quickly turned away from the way which Yahweh had commanded you. I took hold of the two tablets, and threw them out of my two hands, and broke them before your eyes. I fell down before Yahweh, as at the first, forty days and forty nights. I neither ate bread nor drank water, because of all your sin which you sinned, in doing that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, to provoke him to anger. For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure with which Yahweh was angry against you to destroy you. But Yahweh listened to me that time also. Yahweh was angry enough with Aaron to destroy him. I prayed for Aaron also at the same time. I took your sin, the calf which you had made, and burned it with fire, and crushed it, grinding it very small, until it was as fine as dust. I threw its dust into the brook that descended out of the mountain. At Taberah, at Massah, and at Kibroth Hattaavah you provoked Yahweh to wrath. When Yahweh sent you from Kadesh Barnea, saying, “Go up and possess the land which I have given you,” you rebelled against the commandment of Yahweh your God, and you didn’t believe him or listen to his voice. You have been rebellious against Yahweh from the day that I knew you. So I fell down before Yahweh the forty days and forty nights that I fell down, because Yahweh had said he would destroy you. I prayed to Yahweh, and said, “Lord Yahweh, don’t destroy your people and your inheritance that you have redeemed through your greatness, that you have brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand. Remember your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Don’t look at the stubbornness of this people, nor at their wickedness, nor at their sin, lest the land you brought us out from say, ‘Because Yahweh was not able to bring them into the land which he promised to them, and because he hated them, he has brought them out to kill them in the wilderness.’ Yet they are your people and your inheritance, which you brought out by your great power and by your outstretched arm.”
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv4, 6, 7, 10, 12, 14, 16, 20, 21, 23, 25, 27 Man of himself can deserve nothing but God’s anger,…
Man of himself can deserve nothing but God’s anger, and if God spare any it cometh of his great mercy.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 22, 24, 25, 26, 29 Deu 9:4 Speak not thou in thine heart, after…
Deu 9:4 Speak not thou in thine heart, after that the LORD thy God hath cast them out from before thee, saying, For my righteousness the LORD hath brought me in to possess this land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD doth drive them out from before thee.
Ver. 4. For my righteousness.] We are all apt to weave a web of righteousness of our own, to spin a thread of our own to climb up to heaven by, to set a price upon ourselves above the market, to think great thoughts of ourselves, and to seek great things for ourselves. Caelum gratis non accipiam, saith one merit monger, I will not have heaven for nothing; and, Redde mihi aeternam vitam quam debes, saith another; Give me heaven, for thou owest it me. How blasphemous is that direction of the Papists to dying men, Coniunge, Domine, obsequium meum cum omnibus quae Christus passus est prome: Join, Lord, my righteousness with Christ’s righteousness! How much better was it with those ancient Papists here in England, to whom, upon their deathbeds, the ordinary instruction appointed to be given was, that they should look to come to glory, not by their own merits, but alone by the virtue and merit of the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ; that they should place their whole confidence in his death only, and in no other thing! {a} &c. Those justiciaries, that seek to be saved by their works, Luther fitly calls the devil’s martyrs; they suffer much, and take much pains to go to hell, and by their much boasting, Haec ego feci, haec ego feci, they become no better than Faeces, saith he wittily. It is a good observation of a reverend divine, {b} that the Church in the Canticles is nowhere described by the beauty of her hands or fingers. Christ concealeth the mention of her hands - that is, of her works - (1.) Because he had rather his Church should abound in good works in silence, than boast of them, especially when they are wanting, as Rome doth; (2.) Because it is he alone that "worketh all our works for us." {Isa 26:12 Hos 14:8}
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{a} Dr Ussher, Ser. on Eph 4:13.
{b} Mr Cotton, on Cantic., p. 217.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 14, 17, 18, 20, 21, 25, 26, 27, 29 Neither for thy upright heart, nor holy life, which…
Neither for thy upright heart, nor holy life, which are the two things which God above all things regards, 1Ch 29:17; Psa 15:1,2; and consequently he excludes all merit. And surely they who did not deserve this earthly Canaan, could not merit the kingdom of glory. That he may perform the word which he sware; to show my faithfulness in accomplishing that promise which I graciously made and confirmed with my oath. By which words it is implied, that this land was not given to them for the righteousness of their fathers, though they were righteous and holy persons, and much less for their own righteousness, which they had not, as it follows.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v7 That they might have no pretence to think that…
That they might have no pretence to think that God brought them to Canaan for their righteousness, Moses here shows them what a miracle of mercy it was that they had not long ere this been destroyed in the wilderness: "Remember, and forget not, how thou provokedst the Lord thy God (Deu 9:7); so far from purchasing his favour, thou hast many a time laid thyself open to his displeasure." Their fathers' provocations are here charged upon them; for, if God had dealt with their fathers according to their deserts, this generation would never have been, much less would they have entered Canaan. We are apt to forget our provocations, especially when the smart of the rod is over, and have need to be often put in mind of them, that we may never entertain any conceit of our own righteousness. Paul argues from the guilt which all mankind is under to prove that we cannot be justified before God by our own works, Rom 3:19, Rom 3:20. If our works condemn us, they will not justify us. Observe, 1. They had been a provoking people ever since they came out of Egypt, Deu 9:7. Forty years long, from first to last, were God and Moses grieved with them. It is a very sad character Moses now at parting leaves of them: You have been rebellious since the day I knew you, Deu 9:24. No sooner were they formed into a people than there was a faction formed among them, which upon all occasions made head against God and his government. Though the Mosaic history records little more than the occurrences of the first and last year of the forty, yet it seems by this general account that the rest of the years were not much better, but one continued provocation. 2. Even in Horeb they made a calf and worshipped it, Deu 9:8, etc. That was a sin so heinous, and by several aggravations made so exceedingly sinful, that they deserved upon all occasions to be upbraided with it. It was done in the very place where the law was given by which they were expressly forbidden to worship God by images, and while the mountain was yet burning before their eyes, and Moses had gone up to fetch them the law in writing. They turned aside quickly, Deu 9:16. 3. God was very angry with them for their sin. Let them not think that God overlooked what they did amiss, and gave them Canaan for what was good among them. No, God had determined to destroy them (Deu 9:8), could easily have done it, and would have been no loser by it; he even desired Moses to let him alone that he might do it, Deu 9:13, Deu 9:14. By this it appeared how heinous their sin was, for God is never angry with any above what there is cause for, as men often are. Moses himself, though a friend and favourite, trembled at the revelation of God's wrath from heaven against their ungodliness and unrighteousness (Deu 9:19): I was afraid of the anger of the Lord, afraid perhaps not for them only, but for himself, Psa 119:120. 4. They had by their sin broken covenant with God, and forfeited all the privileges of the covenant, which Moses signified to them by breaking the tables, Deu 9:17. A bill of divorce was given them, and thenceforward they might justly have been abandoned for ever, so that their mouth was certainly stopped from pleading any righteousness of their own. God had, in effect, disowned them, when he said to Moses (Deu 9:12), "They are thy people, they are none of mine, nor shall they be dealt with as mine." 5. Aaron himself fell under God's displeasure for it, though he was the saint of the Lord, and was only brought by surprise or terror to be confederate with them in the sin: The Lord was very angry with Aaron, Deu 9:20. No man's place or character can shelter him from the wrath of God if he have fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness. Aaron, that should have made atonement for them if the iniquity could have been purged away by sacrifice and offering, did himself fall under the wrath of God: so little did they consider what they did when they drew him in. 6. It was with great difficulty and very long attendance that Moses himself prevailed to turn away the wrath of God, and prevent their utter ruin. He fasted and prayed full forty days and forty nights before he could obtain their pardon, Deu 9:18. And some think twice forty days (Deu 9:25), because it is said, as I fell down before, whereas his errand in the first forty was not of that nature. Others think it was but one forty, though twice mentioned (as also in Deu 10:10); but this was enough to make them sensible how great God's displeasure was against them, and what a narrow escape they had for their lives. And in this appears the greatness of God's anger against all mankind that no less a person than his Son, and no less a price than his own blood, would serve to turn it away. Moses here tells them the substance of his intercession for them. He was obliged to own their stubbornness, and their wickedness, and their sin, Deu 9:27. Their character was bad indeed when he that appeared an advocate for them could not give them a good word, and had nothing else to say in their behalf but that God had done great things for them, which really did but aggravate their crime (Deu 9:26), - that they were the posterity of good ancestors (Deu 9:27), which might also have been turned upon him, as making the matter worse and not better, - and that the Egyptians would reproach God, if he should destroy them, as unable to perfect what he had wrought for them (Deu 9:28), a plea which might easily enough have been answered: no matter what the Egyptians say, while the heavens declare God's righteousness; so that the saving of them from ruin at that time was owing purely to the mercy of God, and the importunity of Moses, and not to any merit of theirs, that could be offered so much as in mitigation of their offence. 7. To affect them the more with the destruction they were then at the brink of, he describes very particularly the destruction of the calf they had made, Deu 9:21. He calls it their sin: perhaps not only because it had been the matter of their sin, but because the destroying of it was intended for a testimony against their sin, and an indication to them what the sinners themselves did deserve. Those that made it were like unto it, and would have had no wrong done them if they had been thus stamped to dust, and consumed, and scattered, and no remains of them left. It was infinite mercy that accepted the destruction of the idol instead of the destruction of the idolaters. 8. Even after this fair escape that they had, in many other instances they provoked the Lord again and again. He needed only to name the places, for they carried the memorials either of the sin or of the punishment in their names (Deu 9:22): at Taberah, burning, where God set fire to them for their murmuring, - at Massah, the temptation, where they challenged almighty power to help them, - and at Kibroth-hattaavah, the graves of lusters, where the dainties they coveted were their poison; and, after these, their unbelief and distrust at Kadesh-barnea, of which he had already told them (ch. 1), and which he here mentions again (Deu 9:23), would certainly have completed their ruin if they had been dealt with according to their own merits.
Now let them lay all this together, and it will appear that whatever favour God should hereafter show them, in subduing their enemies and putting them in possession of the land of Canaan, it was not for their righteousness. It is good for us often to remember against ourselves, with sorrow and shame, our former sins, and to review the records conscience keeps of them, that we may see how much we are indebted to free grace, and may humbly own that we never merited at God's hand any thing but wrath and the curse.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv4–27 Speak not thou in thine heart,.... Never once think…
Speak not thou in thine heart,.... Never once think within thyself, or give way to such a vain imagination, and please thyself with it:
after that the Lord thy God hath cast them out from before thee; to make way for the Israelites, and put them into the possession of their land; which is to be ascribed not to them, but to the Lord:
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saying, for my righteousness the Lord hath brought me in to possess this land; such a thought as this was not to be secretly cherished in their hearts, and much less expressed with their lips; nothing being more foreign from truth than this, and yet a notion they were prone to entertain. They were always a people, more or less, from first to last, tainted with a conceit of their own righteousness, and goodness, which they laboured to establish, and were ready to attribute all the good things to it they enjoyed, and nothing is more natural to men, than to fancy they shall be brought to the heavenly Canaan by and for their own righteousness; which is contrary to the perfections of God, his purity, holiness, and justice, which can never admit of an imperfect righteousness in the room of a perfect one; to justify anyone thereby, is contrary to the Gospel scheme of salvation; which is not by works of righteousness men have done, but by the grace and mercy of God through Christ; it would make useless, null, and void, the righteousness of Christ, which only can justify men in the sight of God, give a title to heaven and happiness, and an abundant entrance into it; and would occasion boasting, not only in the present state, but even in heaven itself; whereas the scheme of salvation is so framed and fixed, that there may be no room for boasting, here or hereafter, see Rom 3:27,
but for the wickedness of these nations the Lord doth drive them out from before thee; namely, their idolatry, incest, and other notorious crimes; see Lev 18:3, which sufficiently justifies God in all his dealings with these nations.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv5, 6, 8, 10, 14, 17, 18, 21, 25, 26, 27, 29 Not for thy righteousness - Neither for thy upright…
Not for thy righteousness - Neither for thy upright heart, nor holy life, which are the two things which God above all things regards. And consequently he excludes all merit. And surely they who did not deserve this earthly Canaan, could not merit the kingdom of glory. To perform the word - To shew my faithfulness in accomplishing that promise which I graciously made and confirmed with my oath.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv5, 10, 12, 21, 22, 27 Verse 5. For the wickedness of these nations] So…
Verse 5. For the wickedness of these nations] So then it was not by any sovereign act of God that these people were cast out, but for their wickedness; they had transgressed the law of their Creator; they had resisted his Spirit, and could no longer be tolerated. The Israelites were to possess their land, not because they deserved it, but first, because they were less wicked than the others; and secondly, because God thus chose to begin the great work of his salvation among men. Thus then the Canaanites were cut off, and the Israelites were grafted in; and the Israelites, because of their wickedness, were afterwards cut off and the Gentiles grafted in. Let the latter not be high-minded, but fear; if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he spare not thee. But let it be remembered that this land was originally their own, and that the present possessors had no legal right to it.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv5, 7, 8, 10, 14, 17, 21, 25, 26 Deu 9:5. Not for thy righteousness — Neither for…
Deu 9:5. Not for thy righteousness — Neither for thy upright heart nor holy life, the two things which God, above all others, regards. Here, therefore, all merit in them is excluded: and they are given to know that, although the Canaanites were expelled for their national wickedness, they were not settled in their room for their righteousness. And surely they, who did not deserve this earthly Canaan, could not merit the kingdom of glory. To perform the word — To show my faithfulness in accomplishing that promise which I graciously made and confirmed with my oath.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv8, 18, 20, 22 Also in Horeb - Rather, “even in Horeb.” The…
Also in Horeb - Rather, “even in Horeb.” The time and circumstances made the apostasy at Horeb particularly inexcusable.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv7, 8, 12, 16, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 Strove. Hebrew, "irritated." (Calmet) --- Septuagint, "continually disbelieved the…
Strove. Hebrew, "irritated." (Calmet) --- Septuagint, "continually disbelieved the Lord." Moses hence takes occasion to lay before the people their frequent and most heinous offences, on account of which they might justly have feared being destroyed, as much as the infamous nations whom they were about to supplant. They might thus be convinced that they had been chosen gratuitously. (Haydock) --- For God hates nothing more than ingratitude and presumption. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv4, 7, 8, 12, 17, 18, 20, 21, 25 Speak not thou in thine heart, . . .…
Speak not thou in thine heart, . . . saying, For my righteousness the Lord hath brought me in to possess this land--Moses takes special care to guard his countrymen against the vanity of supposing that their own merits had procured them the distinguished privilege. The Canaanites were a hopelessly corrupt race, and deserved extermination; but history relates many remarkable instances in which God punished corrupt and guilty nations by the instrumentality of other people as bad as themselves. It was not for the sake of the Israelites, but for His own sake, for the promise made to their pious ancestors, and in furtherance of high and comprehensive purposes of good to the world, that God was about to give them a grant of Canaan.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv4, 8, 9, 12, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 25 4, 5. Speak not,… For my righteousness — Moses…
4, 5. Speak not,… For my righteousness — Moses sees as one of the perils to which the people will be exposed the disposition to ascribe their success to themselves, or as bestowed upon them on account of their own righteousness; so he repeats, to make it more impressive, Not for thy righteousness,… but for the wickedness of these nations.
In Deu_9:7-24 Moses reminds the people of the long record of their rebellious acts against Jehovah. From Egypt to the borders of the land promised to them for an inheritance they have murmured and rebelled.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26 4. Speak … in thine heart] See on Deu_8:17.
4. Speak … in thine heart] See on Deu_8:17.
thrust them out] See on Deu_6:19.
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For my righteousness] Here ethical: contr. Deu_6:25.
whereas for the wickedness … from before thee] The whole clause is wanting in LXX B and seems a gloss or expansion anticipating the next v. and weakening the connection (Valeton, Dillm., Driver, Steuern., Berth.).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 29 (4) But for the wickedness.—“Say not in thine heart,…
(4) But for the wickedness.—“Say not in thine heart, ‘in my righteousness,’ when it is in consequence of their wickedness that Jehovah is dispossessing them from before thee.”
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 17, 18, 22, 24, 25, 26, 28 Vers. 4, 5. Speak not thou in thine heart.…
Vers. 4, 5. Speak not thou in thine heart. (cf. Deu_8:17) The distinction between righteousness and uprightness (straightness) of heart, is that the former (dx) has reference to rectitude of conduct, the latter (rvy) to rectitude of motive and purpose. "By naming justice righteousness, he excludeth all merit of works, and by righteousness uprightness of heart, all inward affections and purposes. which men might plead, notwithstanding that they fail in action. Yet these two are the chief things which God respecteth in men" (Psa_15:1, Psa_15:2; 1Ch_29:17) (Ainsworth).
Vers. 4, 5. See Homilies on (Deu_3:11 Deu_7:1-11)
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HOMILIES BY J. ORR. Vers. 4-7. Self-righteousness.
Strange capacity of human nature for self-delusion! It was an extraordinary error to fall into, when the Jew began to fancy that by his own power and might he had conquered Palestine. (Deu_8:17) Yet more extraordinary was the delusion that he had been brought into the land on account of righteousness. The two errors sprang from the same root. The worldly mind, which spurns at the acknowledgment of God"s bestowal of what it has, has its counterpart in the self-righteous mind, which attributes God"s dealings with it to its superior sanctity. Self-exaltation, pride, in both. In the one case, "my power," etc., in the other, "my righteousness.
I THE NATURE OF THE ERROR. A magnified opinion of one"s righteousness. The idea that it is our righteousness which is the meritorious ground of the bestowal of blessing. The Jews might not suppose that they were absolutely righteous though some of the later Pharisees seem almost to have got this length. (Luk_18:11) But they thought that they were so far righteous as to have established a claim on God"s justice for what they had. This is a state of mind into which men glide half unconsciously. We often say it "in our hearts," when we would be ashamed to avow it with our lips. The self-complacency, e.g. which accepts prosperity as the reward of superior virtue; the self-satisfaction which esteems such reward due to it; the complaint of injustice which is raised when blessings are removed, betray its presence. In the spiritual sphere, the tendency is evidenced in the denial of the need of salvation; in the self-justifying spirit which refuses to accept the position of one condemned, and justly exposed to wrath; in the reassertion in subtler or coarser forms of the principle of salvation by works. In whatever degree a man thinks himself entitled to acceptance with God, and to spiritual blessings, whether on the ground of obedience to prescribed rules, or on the ground of internal characteristics (faith, holiness, etc.), he is permitting himself to fall into this error.
II THE SOURCE OF THE ERROR. The Israelites might fall into it:
1. By emphasizing their acts of obedience and forgetting their rebellions. This, as Moses shows, is practically what they did. It is not an uncommon fault. We forget our sins, and, thinking only of obediences, slide by easy stages into a self-satisfied and pleased view of ourselves.
2. By comparing themselves with the former generation. They had not been, as their fathers were, absolutely disobedient and recalcitrant. They were going up to possess the land. This comparing of ourselves with others is not wise. If a little in advance of our neighbors, it is extremely apt to inflate our consciousness of integrity. (2Co_10:12)
3. By arguing from the fulfillment of promise. God had promised victory and possession on condition of obedience. Having got the blessings, they might argue that, in God"s judgment, they must have been obedient. We, in like manner, may argue from God"s kindness to us that we must have been peculiarly, pleasing to him. Hence that we are deserving of what we have received. The spring of all is the natural egoism of the heart. It is its own center. It wishes to exalt and glorify itself. It has no idea of glorying only in God. It is self-exalting, not God-exalting. (1Co_1:29-31; Gal_6:14; Php_3:7-10)
III THE REFUTATION OF THE ERROR. Even perfect righteousness would not justify self-righteousness. The very indulgence of the self-glorying spirit refutes the contention of righteousness. Whoever is the righteous man, it is not he who boasts of righteousness!
For merit lives from man to man, And not from man, O Lord, to thee.
But:
1. We are not righteous. The only justifying righteousness is a perfect one, and that no man can plead. The legal ground is destroyed when we admit failure in even one point. (Jam_2:10)
2. We are, in many ways, disobedient and rebellious. Past acts testify against us. Our daily life testifies against us. He knows little of self who does not read, in his disinclinations to duty, in his reluctant performances, in his rebellions at difficulties, in his secret impatience, in his frequent inclining to things forbidden, the signs of a wayward and rebellious disposition.
The true ground on which blessing is bestowed is wrapped up in that old oath sworn to the fathers (ver. 5), in the seed of Christ, in whom only we have acceptance. J.O.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv4, 7, 22, 24, 26, 29 Not for thy righteousness.
Deu_9:4-5
Not for thy righteousness.
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That outward success, prosperity, and greatness in the world is no true evidence of grace
I. Men are very prone to make the outward prosperity and increase which God giveth them an argument of their righteousness, and so of Gods love to them, to save them. They think it impossible that, seeing God hath so blessed them here, He should damn them hereafter. For the discovery of the weakness of this prop take notice first of these particulars.
1. Prosperity, wealth, and success are in themselves blessings, mercies, and so good things to be desired. Hence we read of the people of God praying for these earthly mercies, and we have a direction for it in the Lords Prayer, when we pray for daily bread. It is true, indeed, the very petition doth much limit our desires, for it is after the great things that belong to Gods glory; and it is but one petition, whereas there are divers for spiritual things, so that our Saviour would have us to be above these earthly things, as those fowls of the heaven are which on a sudden fall on the ground for their food, but presently fly up to heaven again; and then it is daily food, or as the most learned expound it, food convenient, and decent for our place and calling, not superfluity.
2. Although these are blessings and mercies, and so good things, yet they are not sanctifying of those that have them. Dives said he had good things laid up in store, but how were they good which made him bad? How were they good which could not keep him out of hell? Riches, therefore, are neither good nor bad, but indifferent in their nature. Those are good things which make us good.
3. As outward wealth and increase are blessings, so they do belong by promise unto godliness (1Ti_4:8). I do not say with some divines that wicked men have no right to their goods, that they are usurpers, and shall answer for every bit of bread they eat, as robbers and thieves. No, it is a dangerous position to hold civil dominion and right to be placed upon godliness. The earth hath He given to the children of men, saith the Psalmist, to all men as well as to the godly; but as there is a lawful, civil right, so there is a sanctified use, and this only the godly have.
4. Although we cannot conclude grace by outward mercies, yet thus far we must by Scripture say, that God out of a general love in a providential way doth give many a man outward prosperity and wealth for his diligence, industry, upright and honest dealing in the world. Thus Solomon saith, The hand of the diligent maketh rich, and truth and justice in our day is blessed by God to increase.
5. Some go into another extremity, and conclude of their good estate and holy condition because they are in a poor, needy, and miserable estate, and destitute of all earthly comforts. But every poor man is not a Lazarus, nay, there are many times none more wicked, cursed, profane, and enemies to all goodness, than those that are in a low and miserable condition. A woeful thing it is, indeed, to have nothing but misery here, and nothing but torments hereafter.
II. Why outward prosperity and blessings do not argue a mans good estate.
1. It may be demonstrated from the original, or fountain, whence they flow. It is not only from Gods love, but His anger also. Sometimes God giveth men the outward comforts of this life in His hot displeasure.
2. Therefore may not outward plenty and mercies be made a sign of our good estate, because they have always in corrupt hearts corrupt and sinful operations. As--
(1) Outward comforts in the plenty of them are apt to beget pride and loftiness of heart, so as to despise and contemn those that are under them.
(2) If these outward mercies deaden thy heart to the things of God, or the exercise of those means of grace God hath appointed, oh, thou hast cause then to tremble in the increase of them.
(3) Then can outward abundance be no comfortable sign, when the means to get it and the way to preserve it are unlawful, and such as the Scripture condemneth.
3. Therefore may we not trust in outward prosperity, because God many times giveth a man all the good things he shall have in this life only, and afterwards there is nothing but everlasting woe and misery.
4. Therefore may we not trust in these, because we many times abuse them to a contrary end for which God gave them; He gave them to be instruments of much glory to God and good to others. Rich men are the greatest men in debt of all others; they owe much to God, much to the public, much to others necessities; now what comfort canst thou take if God bless thee with these things if thou dost not also find Him making thee thereby instrumental to His glory? If thou keepest all the good mercies God vouchsafeth to thee, as the ants and pismires do their grain and corn, which they hide in their little hills, and, as they say, bite it that it may not grow.
5. They are not to be relied on, because though all power to get wealth and prosper in the world argue God is with thee, yet He may be only with thee providentially and powerfully, not graciously; as when Nebuchadnezzar conquered and prevailed, when Alexander became great, Augustus happy. God was with these in a mighty, providential way, but not graciously.
Use--1. Of reproof to those who desire these outward good things more than inward and spiritual.
Use--2. Of instruction to those who meet with much prosperity and outward encouragements in this world. Take heed of thinking that God doth this to thee for thy righteousness, for thy piety.
Use--3. Of consolation to the godly, who, it may be, want many of those outward mercies the wicked have. Let them know they are no arguments of true godliness, or of Gods dear love in Christ. (Anthony Burgess.)
The warnings of Moses
I. Principles of Gods government.
1. Mark the assertion that God governs mankind.
2. That God governs by law in the moral as in the material world.
II. They point out a national danger--self-righteousness.
1. A subtlety in self-righteousness. It is so multiform.
(1) There may be the form of godliness, etc.
(2) A power to criticise.
(3) Freedom from observable faults.
(4) Possession of some great virtues.
2. And its danger is--
(1) To mistake the outward for the inward.
(2) To lose sight of personal sin through the glorification of some real or imaginary virtue.
(3) To rest on privileges.
(4) To simulate virtues.
(5) To blind the soul as to its real state and need.
Application--
1. Self-righteousness the great hindrance to the reception of the Gospel now (Luk_18:10; Rom_10:3; Rev_3:17).
2. Use Davids prayer (Psa_139:23).
3. Work of the Holy Spirit (Joh_16:8). (H. W. Dearden, M. A.)
The address of Moses
I. The address of Moses is very different from the addresses of most captains of armies under similar circumstances.
1. He makes no attempt to underrate the power of the enemies with whom the Israelites had to contend. He begins his address by telling the people that they are that day to pass over Jordan, to go in and possess nations greater and mightier than themselves. The reason for his giving such information was that the design of God was not merely to conquer the Canaanites, but to educate Israel, to teach them that by Gods power weakness may be made strength and the mighty vanquished by the feeble.
2. Moses assures the people in plain language that no righteousness of theirs had gained them the land. They might be ready enough to admit that it was not their own courage or their own bodily strength, but they might still be disposed to think that they had deserved Gods favour, that if they had not been deserving of the victory, God would not have given it to them. Self-flattery is easy, and therefore Moses very wisely and decidedly protested once for all against such a view of Gods doings.
II. The principle of spiritual life with ourselves is precisely that which Moses laid down as the principle of national life for the Israelites. God gives us the land of promise for no righteousness of our own. Everything depends on Gods mercy, Gods will, Gods purpose; the certainty of victory depends, not upon any feelings or experiences or conflicts of ours, but upon the ever-present help of the Almighty God. (Bp. Harvey Goodwin.)
Heaven and glory not the reward of our own righteousness
One would think this too obvious to be disputed in the mind of an Israelite. Then I ask if any man or woman, taking a calm retrospect of his or her life, has not to say the same?
I. Let us inquire to what subjects this principle may be applied.
1. To our lot in life, and to our temporal affairs. The earth is the Lords, and the fulness thereof. He may do what He will with His own. In the independence and infinite sovereignty of His government He sends small means and penury, or He dispenses riches and honours, according to His own good pleasure, and to accomplish the inscrutable purposes of His heavenly providence.
2. To our religious condition and privileges.
3. To success in the ministry.
4. To the rest and glory of the heavenly world. Eternal life is the gift of God.
II. What are the reasons for which we shall possess the land?
1. The choice and will, the purpose and pleasure of the Almighty.
2. Gods justice on the one hand, and His goodness on the other.
3. The faithfulness of God to His promises.
III. What is the use of this doctrine?
1. It is taught us that we may understand it. Acknowledge your own poverty and Gods riches. Submit to His method and plan of justification and acceptance by Christ. Do not go about to establish your own righteousness.
2. I cannot conclude without one caution. A farthing is a farthing, and a sixpence is a sixpence; so of an ingot of gold or a banknote. And a farthing will only purchase what it is worth. A sixpence will not buy what is worth a hundred pounds. But let it buy what it will. If you want an estate you must give the ingots and the banknotes. So let the work of Christ alone, the costly and prodigious sum, secure for you the glory and the heritage of heaven. But let your own righteousness and your small virtues do what they will. You cannot purchase glory with them, but they will do much for the welfare of men and the honour of God, and they will show forth your gratitude and love. (James Stratten.)
Mercy, not merit
Mercy, not merit, is the cause of all the blessings of our being.
I. This is true of our secular possessions. If we say that our comfortable homes, our freedom from temporal anxiety, and our possession of a competency, have come to us as the result of industrious efforts and economical habits, that they are our reward for honest labour: the reply is--
1. That to such a reward we have no right. We are sinners, and justly deserve not only destitution but destruction.
2. That both the materials of labour, and the power to labour, which have brought us these comforts, are to be ascribed to Gods mercy.
II. This is true of our religious advantages. Bibles, sanctuaries, religious literature. The tender mercies of our God have visited us.
III. This is true of our Christian experience.
IV. This is true of our spiritual usefulness. Not by might, nor by power, etc.
V. This is true of our heavenly inheritance. (Homilist.)
The favoured peoples of the earth
There are favoured peoples in all communities--persons specially favoured by their healthful constitutions, vigorous intellect, lofty genius, high culture, worldly wealth.
I. Whatever favours distinguish one class of men from another in society, they are the gifts of God. This should teach us--
1. Not to be proud for our superiorities.
2. To thank God for our superiorities.
3. To bless men by our superiorities.
II. These distinguished gifts are bestowed, not on the ground or any special moral excellence.
III. The fact that they are not bestowed on the ground of moral superiority should be well understood by men.
1. Understand it, that you may not deceive yourself. Let no man conclude because he is prosperous that he is the favoured of heaven.
2. Understand it, that you may realise your responsibility. (Homilist.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On vv10, 26 And the Lord
And the Lord
(See Scofield "Exo 20:4").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v7 Instances of Rebellious Behavior.
Instances of Rebellious Behavior.
In support of the term "stiff-necked people," which he had just applied to the children of Israel, Moses now adduces a few incidents from the wilderness journey.
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v. 7. Remember and forget not how thou provokedst the Lord, thy God, to wrath in the wilderness, their rebelliousness had been a constant challenge to the wrath of God; from the day that thou didst depart out of the land of Egypt until ye came unto this place ye have been rebellious against the Lord. It was an unsparing censure, a sharp reproof, for it was necessary that the people feel the heinousness of their sin, in order to remain in the fellowship of the Lord in proper humility.
v. 8. Also in Horeb ye provoked the Lord to wrath, in the matter of the golden calf, so that the Lord was angry with you to have destroyed you, Exo 32:4-10.
v. 9. When I was gone up in to the mount to receive the tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant which the Lord made with you, of which the Decalogue was the nucleus, when the people should have awaited his return with the most reverential suspense and attention, then I abode in the mount forty days and forty nights, I neither did eat bread nor drink water, Exo 24:18;
v. 10. and the Lord delivered unto me two tables of stone written with the finger of God, engraved by the Lord Himself in some miraculous manner; and on them was written according to all the words which the Lord spake with you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly, when the children of Israel, by God’s command, had been gathered at the foot of the mountain, Exo 19:17.
v. 11. And it came to pass at the end of forty days and forty nights that the Lord gave me the two tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant, which contained the Ten Commandments. as the basis of the covenant between Jehovah and His people, Exo 19:5.
v. 12. And the Lord said unto me, Arise, get thee down quickly from hence; for thy people which thou hast brought forth out of Egypt have corrupted themselves; they are quickly turned aside out of the way which I commanded them; they have made them a molten image. They had left the way of the Lord and entered upon one of their own choosing, of idolatry and enmity toward God.
v. 13. Furthermore, the Lord spake unto me, saying, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiff-necked people;
v. 14. let Me alone that I may destroy them and blot out their name from under heaven, by a judgment of utter extermination; and I will make of thee a nation mightier and greater than they, Exo 32:9-10.
v. 15. So I turned, after entering his first intercessory plea, Exo 32:11-14, and came down, from the mount, and the mount burned with fire; and the two tables of the covenant were in my two hands.
v. 16. And I looked, and, behold, ye had sinned against the Lord, your God, and had made you a molten calf; ye had turned aside quickly out of the way which the Lord had commanded you, for He had laid great emphasis upon the exclusion of every form of idolatry in their midst.
v. 17. And I took the two tables, and cast them out of my two hands, and brake them before your eyes, Exo 32:19.
v. 18. And I fell down before the Lord, as at the first, forty days and forty nights, Exo 32:31; I did neither eat bread nor drink water because of all your sins which ye sinned, in doing wickedly in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger. It was an act of intense and continued intercession without parallel in the annals of mere human beings by which Moses succeeded in gaining the Lord’s consent to forgive the people and to accept them as His children once more.
v. 19. For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure wherewith the Lord was wroth against you to destroy you, for such was the intention of Jehovah at that time. But the Lord hearkened unto me at that time also, Exo 32:14; Exo 33:17.
v. 20. And the Lord was very angry with Aaron to have destroyed him, this fact being related here to supplement the story in Exodus; and I prayed for Aaron also the same time. Moses includes this fact in his address in order to indicate that the selection of Aaron for the office of high priest was also a manifestation of pure divine grace.
v. 21. And I took your sin, the visible expression of their idolatry, the calf which ye had made, and burned it with fire, and stamped it, and ground it very small, even until it was as small as dust; and I cast the dust thereof in to the brook that descended out of the mount, Exo 32:20. Moses now refers to other instances which proved that the Israelites were a rebellious and stiff-necked people.
v. 22. And at Taberah, Num 11:1-3, and at Massah, Exo 17:7, and at Kibroth-hattaavah, Exo 11:4, ye provoked the Lord to wrath, for theirs was a chronic rebellious dissatisfaction.
v. 23. Likewise, when the Lord sent you from Kadesh-barnea, upon their first arrival at the border of Canaan, when the spies were to report on the best roads to take, Num 13:3; Num 14:1; Deu 1:20-21, saying, Go up and possess the land which I have given you, then ye rebelled against the commandment of the Lord, your God, and ye believed Him not, nor hearkened to His voice, Psa 106:24-25.
v. 24. Ye have been rebellious against the Lord from the day that I knew you. All these facts emphasized his admonition against self-righteousness. After this digression, Moses returns to the relation of events at Horeb.
v. 25. Thus I fell down before the Lord forty days and forty nights, as I fell down at the first, because the Lord had said He would destroy you, and it was the intention of Moses to avert this catastrophe by his prayer.
v. 26. I prayed, therefore, unto the Lord and said, O Lord God, destroy not Thy people and Thine inheritance, this statement including a correction of the Lord’s charge, in which He had called them the people of Moses, v. 12, which thou hast redeemed through Thy greatness, which Thou hast brought forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand. Moses thus reminded the Lord of both His almighty power and of His mercy, as He had manifested them in setting Israel free from the bondage of Egypt.
v. 27. Remember Thy servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; look not unto the stubbornness of this people, nor to their wickedness, their godless tendencies, nor to their sin; Moses pleaded that the Lord would show the same love and forbearance to the children that He had shown to the fathers; and there is always a delicate reference to the promise of the Lord, as given to the patriarchs;
v. 28. lest the land whence Thou broughtest us out say, Because the Lord was not able to bring them into the land which he promised them, and because he hated them, he hath brought them out to slay them in the wilderness. Moses wants the honor of Jehovah, His reputation for love toward His people, unstained before the heathen nations, even if Israel thought so little of that honor.
v. 29. Yet they are Thy people and Thine inheritance, which Thou broughtest out by Thy mighty power and by Thy stretched out arm. This prayer, if compared with that given Exo 32:11-13, shows that Moses here noted down the gist of his intercessory pleading during those memorable forty days, when he varied his petition from time to time, as he struggled with the Lord for the people whom he loved. The true prayer of intercession is importunate, but not willful, and bases its arguments upon the promises of the Lord, appealing to His honor and love.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 22, 25, 27 General Information:
General Information:
Moses continues to speak to the Israelites as if they are one person. (See: Forms of You)
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Do not say in your heart
Here "in your heart" means "in your thoughts." AT: "Do not think to yourselves" (See: Metonymy)
has thrust them out
"has driven the other peoples out"
translationWords
heart
righteous
possess
evil
cast out
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv5, 6, 9, 10, 12, 14, 16, 22, 23, 26, 27 9:5 to fulfill the oath: In the covenant promises…
9:5 to fulfill the oath: In the covenant promises made to the patriarchs, God swore that their descendants would inherit the land of Canaan (Gen 13:14-17; 15:18-21; see Deut 1:8; 8:18).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.