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Deuteronomy Chapter
Twenty-three
Deuteronomy 23
Chapter Contents
Who are shut out from the congregation. (1-8) Cleanliness
enjoined. (15-25) Of fugitive servants, Usury, and other precepts. (9-14)
Commentary on Deuteronomy 23:1-8
(Read Deuteronomy 23:1-8)
We ought to value the privileges of God's people, both
for ourselves and for our children, above all other advantages. No personal
blemishes, no crimes of our forefathers, no difference of nation, shuts us out
under the Christian dispensation. But an unsound heart will deprive us of
blessings; and a bad example, or an unsuitable marriage, may shut our children
from them.
Commentary on Deuteronomy 23:9-14
(Read Deuteronomy 23:9-14)
The camp of the Lord must have nothing offensive in it.
If there must be this care taken to preserve the body clean, much more should
we be careful to keep the mind pure.
Commentary on Deuteronomy 23:15-25
(Read Deuteronomy 23:15-25)
It is honourable to shelter and protect the weak,
provided they are not wicked. Proselytes and converts to the truth, should be
treated with particular tenderness, that they may have no temptation to return
to the world. We cannot honour God with our substance, unless it be honestly
and honourably come by. It must not only be considered what we give, but how we
got it. Where the borrower gets, or hopes to get, it is just that the lender
should share the gain; but to him that borrows for necessary food, pity must be
showed. That which is gone out of thy lips, as a solemn and deliberate vow,
must not be recalled, but thou shalt keep and perform it punctually and fully.
They were allowed to pluck and eat of the corn or grapes that grew by the road
side; only they must not carry any away. This law intimated what great plenty
of corn and wine they should have in Canaan. It provided for the support of
poor travellers, and teaches us to be kind to such, teaches us to be ready to
distribute, and not to think every thing lost that is given away. Yet it
forbids us to abuse the kindness of friends, or to take advantage of what is
allowed. Faithfulness to their engagements should mark the people of God; and
they should never encroach upon others.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Deuteronomy》
Deuteronomy 23
Verse 1
[1] He
that is wounded in the stones, or hath his privy member cut off, shall not
enter into the congregation of the LORD.
He that is wounded — A
phrase denoting an eunuch.
Shall not enter into the congregation of the
Lord — Shall not be admitted to honours and
offices either in the church or commonwealth of Israel; and so the congregation
of the Lord doth not here signify, the body of the people, but the society of
the elders or rulers of the people. Add to this, that the Hebrew word, Kahal,
generally signifies a congregation or company of men met together; and
therefore this cannot so conveniently be meant of all the body of the people,
which could never meet in one place, but of the chief rulers, which frequently
did so. Nor is it strange that eunuchs are excluded from government, both
because such persons are commonly observed to want that courage which is
necessary for a governor, because as such persons ordinarily were despicable,
so the authority in their hands was likely to be exposed to the same contempt.
Verse 2
[2] A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to his
tenth generation shall he not enter into the congregation of the LORD.
The congregation —
Taking the word as in the former verse.
Verse 3
[3] An
Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to
their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the LORD
for ever:
For ever —
This seems to note the perpetuity of this law, that it should be inviolably
observed in all succeeding ages.
Verse 4
[4]
Because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when ye came
forth out of Egypt; and because they hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor of
Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse thee.
They met you not with bread and water — As the manner of those times was to wait and provide for strangers and
travellers, which was the more necessary, because in those times and countries,
there were no public houses of entertainment. Their fault then was
unmercifulness to strangers and afflicted persons, which was aggravated both by
their relation to the Israelites, as being the children of Lot, and by the
special kindness of God, and of the Israelites to them, in not fighting against
them.
Verse 6
[6] Thou shalt not seek their peace nor their prosperity all thy days for
ever.
Thou shalt not seek their peace — That is, make no contracts either by marriages or leagues, or commerce
with them, but rather constantly keep a jealous eye over them, as enemies who
will watch every opportunity to ensnare or disturb thee. This counsel was now
the more necessary, because a great part of the Israelites lived beyond Jordan
in the borders of those people, and therefore God sets up this wall of
partition betwixt them, as well knowing the mischief of bad neighbours, and
Israel's proneness to receive infection from them. Each particular Israelite is
not hereby forbidden to perform any office of humanity to them, but the body of
the nation are forbidden all familiar conversation with them.
Verse 7
[7] Thou
shalt not abhor an Edomite; for he is thy brother: thou shalt not abhor an
Egyptian; because thou wast a stranger in his land.
Thou wast a stranger — And didst receive habitation, protection and provision from them a long
time, which kindness thou must not forget for their following persecution. It
is ordinary with men, that one injury blots out the remembrance of twenty
courtesies; but God doth not deal so with us, nor will he have us to deal so
with others, but commands us to forget injuries, and to remember kindnesses.
Verse 8
[8] The
children that are begotten of them shall enter into the congregation of the
LORD in their third generation.
In their third generation — Supposing their grandfather, or great-grandfather turned proselyte, and
the children continue in that faith received by such ancestors.
Verse 9
[9] When
the host goeth forth against thine enemies, then keep thee from every wicked
thing.
Keep from every wicked thing — Then especially take heed, because that is a time of confusion and
licentiousness; when the laws of God and man cannot be heard for the noise of
arms; because the success of thy arms depends upon God's blessing, which wicked
men have no reason to expect; and because thou dost carry thy life in thy hand,
and therefore hast need to be well prepared for death and judgment.
Verse 13
[13] And
thou shalt have a paddle upon thy weapon; and it shall be, when thou wilt ease
thyself abroad, thou shalt dig therewith, and shalt turn back and cover that
which cometh from thee:
Cover — To
prevent the annoyance of ourselves or others; to preserve and exercise modesty
and natural honesty; and principally that by such outward rites they might be
innured to the greater reverence of the Divine Majesty, and the greater caution
to avoid all real and moral uncleanness.
Verse 15
[15] Thou
shalt not deliver unto his master the servant which is escaped from his master
unto thee:
The servant — Of
such as belonged to the Canaanites, or other neighbouring nations, because if
he had lived in remote countries, it is not probable that he would flee so far
to avoid his master, or that his master would follow him so far to recover him.
For the Canaanites this sentence was most just, because both they and theirs
were all forfeited to God and Israel, and whatsoever they enjoyed was by
special indulgence. And for the other neighbours it may seem just also, because
both masters and servants of these and other nations are unquestionably at the
disposal of the Lord their maker and sovereign ruler. Understand it likewise of
such as upon enquiry appear to have been unjustly oppressed by their masters.
Now it is not strange if the great God, who hates all tyranny, and styles
himself the refuge of the oppressed doth interpose his authority to rescue such
persons from their cruel masters.
Verse 17
[17]
There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons
of Israel.
No whore — No
common prostitute, such as were tolerated and encouraged by the Gentiles, and
used even in their religious worship. Not that such practices were allowed to
the strangers among them, as is evident from many scriptures and reasons, but
that it was in a peculiar manner, and upon special reasons, forbidden to them,
as being much more odious in them than in strangers.
Verse 18
[18] Thou
shalt not bring the hire of a whore, or the price of a dog, into the house of
the LORD thy God for any vow: for even both these are abomination unto the LORD
thy God.
The hire of a whore —
This is opposed to the practice of the Gentiles, who allowed both such persons
and the oblations they made out of their infamous gains; and some of them kept
lewd women, who prostituted themselves in the temples, to the honour of their
false Gods, and offered part of their profit to them.
Or the price of a dog — It seems to mean, of a whoremonger or sodomite. Such are called dogs, Revelation 22:15. And it is not improbable they
are called so here. From these God would not accept of any offering.
Verse 19
[19] Thou
shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother; usury of money, usury of victuals,
usury of any thing that is lent upon usury:
Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother — To an Israelite. They held their estates immediately from God, who while
he distinguished them from all other people, might have ordered, had he
pleased, that they should have all things in common. But instead of that, and
in token of their joint interest in the good land he had given them, he only
appointed them, as there was occasion, to lend to one another without interest.
This among them would be little or no loss to the lender, because their land
was so divided, their estates so settled, and there was so little a merchandise
among them, that it was seldom or never they had occasion to borrow any great
sums, but only for the subsistence of their family, or some uncommon emergence.
But they might lend to a stranger upon usury, who was supposed to live by
trade, and therefore got by what he borrowed: in which case 'tis just, the
lender should share in the gain. This usury therefore is not oppressive: for
they might not oppress a stranger.
Verse 21
[21] When
thou shalt vow a vow unto the LORD thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for
the LORD thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee.
Not slack —
Not delay: because delays may make them both unable to pay it, and unwilling
too.
Verse 23
[23] That
which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt keep and perform; even a freewill
offering, according as thou hast vowed unto the LORD thy God, which thou hast
promised with thy mouth.
A free-will-offering — Which though thou didst really make, yet being made, thou art no longer
free, but obliged to perform it.
Verse 24
[24] When
thou comest into thy neighbour's vineyard, then thou mayest eat grapes thy fill
at thine own pleasure; but thou shalt not put any in thy vessel.
At thy pleasure —
Which was allowed in those parts, because of the great plenty and fruitfulness
of vines there.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Deuteronomy》
23 Chapter 23
Verse 5
The Lord thy God turned the curse into a blessing.
Balaam’s curse turned into a blessing by God
Here a difficult question meets us. Was there any reality whatever
in Balaam’s curse! Or was it altogether a harmless thing--in fact, nothing at
all? If there was nothing in it, why should it have been averted Why should it
be said that God “would not hearken unto Balaam”? Why not let it be pronounced?
The result would have shown that there was no power or reality in it. On the
other hand, it is difficult to suppose that such power could reside in a curse,
especially when spoken by such a man as Balaam. One thing is certain, that God
Himself never did give false prophets power to curse. Could they, then, derive
it from any other quarter? Why not from Satan? No creature is absolutely
independent; all are instruments in the hands of another. If through grace we
have been placed in the kingdom of light, then we are instruments in the hands
of God. If we are in the kingdom of darkness, we can only he instruments in the
hands of Satan; a curse and not a blessing to others. Now, heathenism is one
great territory of Satan’s power--one chief part of his kingdom of darkness. He
reigns supreme there. We believe, then, that within the sphere of his kingdom
of darkness Satan has power to employ false prophets as his instruments--has
power to enable them to curse, and to fulfil their curse when pronounced. The
conflict here, then, was not merely one between the king of Moab and Israel,
but between the kingdom of light in Israel and the kingdom of darkness in Moab
and Midian. Balaam’s curse would have been the utterance of the power of
darkness; but he was obliged, however reluctantly, to confess his impotency
before God. It was an act of Divine power when God turned the curse into a
blessing. It showed His watchful care and love towards His people. And what is
it that God is accomplishing now by the gift of His son and the power of His
grace, but turning the curse into a blessing? Oh, there is a widespread curse,
which has long been resting upon this guilty world, the curse pronounced on
man’s disobedience; and what makes it so awful is, that it is a righteous
curse. Wherever we look we see its tokens--man doomed to a life of weary
labour, suffering from different kinds of sickness, and at last seized with the
irresistible hand of death; so that St. Paul says, “The whole creation groaneth
and travaileth in pain together until now.” But to the children of God this
three-fold curse is changed by the grace of God into a blessing. Look at the
lowest element of the curse, that of labour, according to the sentence, “In the
sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread.” How wearisome is ceaseless toil in
itself! But to the true Christian how different is toil and labour! He
consecrates his powers to Him who has redeemed him with His precious blood! Or
look at sickness. What is it but the visible reflection of a spiritual disease
within? If the image of God had not been obliterated from the soul by sin there
would have been no sickness or sorrow in the world. No miracle is exerted to
exempt the Christian from this trial. But its nature is changed; there is no
longer any curse in it. How many can bless God for it, painful as it may have
been--can bless God for His sanctifying and sustaining power--for the near
communion with Jesus which they then enjoyed--for the hallowed impressions made
upon their souls; and, most of all, for the manifestations of God’s
faithfulness and tenderness--of His power and gentleness. But of all the
elements of the curse the most manifest and the most awful is death--so
universal in its reign--so tremendous in its power--so mysterious in its
nature. We can scarcely stand by a dying bed without the question pressing
itself upon our thoughts--oh, why this convulsion? Why this distressing and
humiliating close to our life here? One answer can only be given--It is because
of sin. “Death passed upon all men in that all have sinned.” To the Christian
its sting is drawn. It is but the rending of the veil which separates his soul
from the visible presence of his Redeemer. (G. Wagner.)
Verse 14
The Lord thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp.
Camp law and camp life
I. An instructive
comparison. The Church of God is in many respects comparable to a camp.
1. It is a camp for separation. We are crusaders, and are separated
from the mass for the service of the Cross which we bear on our hearts. We are
in an enemy’s country, and we must keep ourselves to ourselves very much, or
else we shall certainly fail of that holy military discipline which the Captain
of our salvation would have us strictly enforce.
2. It is a camp, because it is on the defensive.
3. It is a camp, especially, because it is always assailing the
powers of darkness. We have a world to conquer, and we cannot afford to loiter.
We have a kingdom to set up for the Lord of hosts, and we must not sleep, for
the adversaries of the Lord are ruing. We are an army, sworn to war against the
Canaanites of error and sin, to cast down their walled cities, to break their
idols, and to cut down their groves.
4. It is a camp, because we are on the march. We ought to be
advancing in grace, in knowledge, in earnestness, in holiness, in usefulness,
and if not we scarcely realise the figure of a camp.
5. Yet, once more, no doubt, a camp, as formed for temporary
purposes, was a token of the Church; for although the Church stands still and
abides, yet in her individual members she is subject to the same law of decay,
and death, and change as the rest of the world. Soon shall the camp cease, and
the soldiers become citizens, and the tents be exchanged for mansions.
II. A special
privilege.
1. God is present in the camp of His people with a special presence
of love. The Church is the garden of the Lord, His paradise. Where is a father
most at home but with his children?
2. God is present in the camp of His people with a special presence
of observation. He sees all things; but His eyes are, in the first place, fixed
on His Church. With burning glance He searches the very heart of professors.
3. The peculiar privilege of Israel is to have a special presence of
salvation. “The Lord thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp to deliver thee.”
God is with His people, to help them in their times of trouble, to rescue them
out of danger, to answer their cries in their necessity, to save them in the
hour of temptation.
4. The Lord is with the camp of His” people, as a special presence
for victory.
5. It is a special presence in covenant. “The Lord thy God.
III. A corresponding
conduct.
1. This rule, that the camp be holy, applies to the commonest places
wherein we are found. The Holy Spirit arrays you in the white raiment of
holiness, that you may shine out bright and clear and distinct before the sons
of men.
2. While this holiness pertained to their commonest things, it was
also ordered that every unclean thing was to be put from them. Let us come
continually to the washing place--even to the fountain opened. Let us beseech
the cleansing Spirit to operate as with fire, and burn His purifying way
through and through our souls.
3. Note well the fearful warning which is added. If there be in the
camp an unclean thing tolerated and delighted in, and He see it--if it becomes
conspicuous and grievous to Him, then the worst consequences will follow--“Lest
He turn away from thee.” Oh! what would happen to us if the Lord were to turn
away from us as a Church? (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Verse 15-16
Thou shalt not deliver unto his master the servant which is
escaped.
The escaped slave
A Flemish artist was painting a picture when two friends noticed
the high finish of a broom which was only an insignificant item in the
composition. He told them he should spend three more days in working on the
broom, intending to be mindful of detail in the general effect of his picture.
Moses gave grand laws to the Israelites. His legislation as to the religious
duties of the people is sublime. But he was not indifferent to regulations
touching their common life, and bent his mind to the task of showing the minute
as well as the vast in the order of right-doing. The word servant as used by
Moses meant slave. Remembering what the Israelites had to endure in their
Egyptian bondage, he had great sympathy with those who were held in servitude
and compelled to work without remuneration. He could well understand that a man
or woman in slavery, badly treated, and with no hope of an ameliorated lot,
would, if possible, get away from the cruel owner and make a desperate rush for
liberty. He did not blame the slave for stealing away from the owner. If
technically there was theft in such an action, there was no dishonesty. The
slaves who at one time escaped from southern plantations to Canada did no
wrong. The masters suffered loss, but they lost what did not belong to them by
any righteous law. There is a moral and spiritual application of this. Many
people are in slavery. It is true they have not lost their civil liberty; they
have not been sold in any slave market; they know nothing of literal chains,
scourges, and labour for which there is no payment. They are proud of the
freedom which is one of the glories of their native land. But they are slaves,
for they are in bondage to evils which they have allowed to obtain mastery over
their souls. There are powers in them which make them feeble for action when
they would do good, and almost force them to transgression of Divine law. They
have a right to break loose from the enthralling powers of sin, for sin holds
nothing by legal proprietorship. Every sinner has a right to freedom, and is
urged to rush to Jesus as a refuge from tyranny. The escaped slave was to be
kept from the pursuer. When in the morning the master called for the slave, and
there was no answer, and looked for him, but could not find him, he would
conclude at once that the slave had gone away. Making inquiries, the master
would ascertain the direction the fugitive had gone, and follow him until he
found the place in which he was hiding. He would say to the elders: “My slave
is here, and I must have him. Give him up to me.” “No, no” was to be the reply;
“we shall never give him up, and so long as these walls stand the poor man
shall be kept out of your hands.” We rejoice that our country has long been
what the Israelitish village and city were to be to the escaped slave in the
old time. The footprint of the slave on British soil is the certificate of his
manumission. When the slaves of sin get loose from their bonds, and escape into
Immanuel’s land, they at once experience the blessedness there is in the
liberty of the children of God. Christ never gives up to any old master those
who have fled for refuge to His land; He loves them so much that He does not
wish to have them out of His sight; and to defend them from the powers which
would tear them back to sin He throws around them the awful grandeur and
radiant blaze of His own perfections. The escaped slave was to be kindly
treated. The man who had made a rush for freedom was not to rush into a new
slavery. Those to whom he fled for refuge were not to take advantage of his
necessities and use him in compulsory labour for their own profit; no service
or tax was to be levied on him as the price of security from his old master. He
was to be treated as a free Israelite, and to be allowed to live and work where
he liked. The sinner who escapes from slavery to Immanuel’s land is to be
welcomed and cared for by members of the Church. He is to be recognised as
having a claim to brotherly love, and to all the dignities and privileges that
distinguish the Christian life. Even if members of the Church do look shyly on
a newly converted sinner, Jesus does not, but bids him welcome to the palace of
love, and opens to him immensities of blessing. (J. Marrat.)
Verse 22
If thou shalt forbear to vow.
Extraordinary and particular vows considered as not necessary
under the Mosaic or expedient under the Christian institution
I. The nature of
vows under the Jewish dispensation: which, as they are particularly voluntary
engagements, we ought to observe when made, though we cannot infer a necessity
of making them from the Divine law or the nature of things. It would seem but
an ill consequence should we thus argue: God has commanded us in general to
honour Him with our substance, and therefore we ought to make ourselves liable
to His judgments, if in such a particular case, at such a particular time, and
to such a particular degree we do it not. This I say would be but an ill
consequence, though there may be some fit reasons assigned why such particular
vows were used by good and pious men under the circumcision (Genesis 28:20; Judges 11:20; Judges 11:31; 2 Samuel 15:7-8). Hence we observe
that things consecrated or desecrated, though they are in a vulgar sense styled
devoted, are not always reducible under the general nature of a vow, in the
proper and scriptural sense of the word, and there seems to be a greater
difference than is commonly apprehended between them. Thus much may suffice to
determine the notion of vows as they are distinguished from other sacrifices
under the Jewish dispensation; but it will still be more clear from some
further reflections upon the lawful matter of them. For this we need only in
general observe that everything which was not appropriated to God, which was
not profaned, or which was not properly under the right or arbitrament of
another, was the subject matter of them. From whence it follows that tenths in
the first place were, under the Mosaic law, excluded from it, and that these
could not be vowed to the Almighty, or be accepted by Him as a freely promised
offering, because they were properly His before both by prescription and command.
Again, nothing which was profaned or unclean, unless as it was redeemable,
could be the matter of a vow. The heathens, for the generality, had more
exalted notions than to think their gods would be gratified with such
sacrifices as were held in contempt by themselves, and were in their kind of
least estimation with them. Lastly, whatsoever was under the right and power of
another was excluded from the matter of a vow, and therefore those who were
subject to the authority of fathers or husbands were by the law not obliged to
the performance of vows made without their consent during their right and power
over them.
II. Under the
Gospel the Christian’s vows are comprehended under the sacramental, and
therefore particular vows are neither necessary nor expedient. It may be proper
to give a fit instance or two of particular vows in order to settle what are
so. We are, in general, by our baptismal covenant, obliged to renounce all the
sinful lusts of the flesh, and in consequence of this are obliged to make use
of the means prescribed, suppose mortification by fasting. But should we by a
solemn promise to God Almighty oblige ourselves to abstain such a number of
days or hours, this circumstance nowhere enjoined would make it a particular
vow. Again, we are obliged by our general vow to acts of charity and piety; but
should we make a voluntary promise to God to bestow at such a future time such
a certain sum to such an assigned use in view of such a desired blessing, this
would also be a particular vow. And these are the vows which I undertake to
prove neither necessary nor expedient. If they had been necessary, we might
reasonably suppose that as our Saviour appointed that grand one for the
initiation of His followers, He would also have prescribed the other, either by
precept or practice, for the perfection of them, that so the use of them might
have been derived by authority to the Christian Church, as it was to the Jews
from the patriarchs. But we have no instance of this kind, either from our
Saviour, His apostles, or followers, in the New Testament. And if we take them,
under the general notion, as acts of gratitude, by which the good Christian
promises to God the acknowledgment of a blessing by a suitable offering and
oblation, though it is lawful and not absurd, as Calvin expresses it, to enter
into such engagements, yet what advantage this method of acknowledgment has
above others is not easily discerned. Should the pious Christian be made a
peculiar favourite of heaven, and blessed with extraordinary advantages, either
in prospect or possession, he may by his free gifts and offerings give a more
noble and generous instance of his pious resentment, which under the law were
always deemed the most acceptable sacrifices, and must recommend to the favour
of the Almighty, who loveth a cheerful giver, whereas he, who lays a constraint
upon himself, may give afterwards with an unwilling mind, and though he pays
the vow, may not answer the end of it. And it is for these reasons, I presume,
that the Jewish doctors discouraged and deterred their scholars from such kind
of vows. But were they ever so expedient, the ill use which has been made of
the doctrine of particular vows by the Church of Rome would be enough to give
us a prejudice against them. (T. Silvester, M. A.)
Thou mayest eat grapes.
Grapes and ears of corn free
Thus a privilege was granted, but one strictly limited. A man who
was thirsty might help himself to as many grapes as he cared to eat, but he was
not to take any away. A man who was hungry might pluck ears of corn, as the
disciples of Jesus did, and eat the grains, but he was not to carry a sheaf
from the field. In this manner property was guarded. This is in harmony with
the biblical law of property generally honoured at the present time. Even those
who denounce individual property in land and minerals, and wish to nationalise
them, do not advocate such nationalisation without payment to the proprietors.
If ownership in land were set aside, the poor might lose the farm or the field
bequeathed for their benefit. If ownership in money or goods were set aside,
the widow might lose her small annuity, and even have to give up the old watch
she values as having belonged to her husband and the treasured curiosities
brought by her sailor son from a foreign land. Still, the best property human
beings possess is the mental and spiritual wealth they carry in their mind and
heart. In other words, they may have history, biography, poetry, religion as
the treasures of their inner life. The owners of property are not to be
greedily selfish. Nothing was said by Moses to the proprietor or tenant of the
vineyard or corn field, but much was implied. If he saw a man, woman, or child
pulling a cluster of grapes, he was not to be in a tempest of wrath, as though
some great wrong had been done him, or to threaten the intruder with a criminal
action. The man was rather to be glad that out of his abundance thirsty and hungry
wayfarers could have their needs so readily supplied. Those who have are to be
generous to those who have not. Every rich man in the country who does not
value his riches as power to do good is an enemy to himself and the country.
The limitation of privilege in the vineyard and the corn field enjoined by
Moses was an implied exhortation to industry. Grapes might be eaten in the
vineyard, but no vessel was to be filled with them and carried away. Those who
wanted grapes for the wine press were to grow grapes. Ears of corn might be
plucked, but the sickle was not to be used in the field. Those who wanted corn
to grind were to plough, to sow, and reap in their own fields; there was to be
no greedy appropriation of the fruit for which other men had laboured. It is
much better for human beings to act for themselves than indolently to lean on
others. There is no food so good as that which a man earns with his own hands.
Labour is the law of the spiritual as well as of the temporal sphere. Those who
wish to attain a good degree in the Church, and to win the eulogiums pronounced
on Christ’s faithful servants, must work hard for themselves, that they may
learn how to work hard for others. They must read much, think much, pray much.
In one of his books Lord Beaconsfield represents a youth as saying, “I should
like to be a great man.” The counsel given him was: “You must nourish your mind
with great thoughts.” Those who wish to rank high in Christ’s service must
appropriate great thoughts, and make them their own by reflection and
meditation. There is no way to usefulness except by ardent toil. It is only by setting
ourselves to work that we shall be able to afford grapes and corn to famishing
souls. (J. Marrat.)
──《The Biblical Illustrator》