43 Sing ye nations -- `with' his people, For the blood of His servants He avengeth, And vengeance He turneth back on His adversaries, And hath pardoned His land -- His people.'
because true and righteous `are' His judgments, because He did judge the great whore who did corrupt the earth in her whoredom, and He did avenge the blood of His servants at her hand;'
and they were crying with a great voice, saying, `Till when, O Master, the Holy and the True, dost Thou not judge and take vengeance of our blood from those dwelling upon the land?'
not avenging yourselves, beloved, but give place to the wrath, for it hath been written, `Vengeance `is' Mine,
but those my enemies, who did not wish me to reign over them, bring hither and slay before me.'
and thou hast smitten the house of Ahab thy lord, and I have required the blood of My servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of Jehovah, from the hand of Jezebel;
Mine `are' vengeance and recompense, At the due time -- doth their foot slide; For near is a day of their calamity, And haste do things prepared for them.
and the nations for kindness to glorify God, according as it hath been written, `Because of this I will confess to Thee among nations, and to Thy name I will sing praise,' and again it saith, `Rejoice ye nations, with His people;' and again, `Praise the Lord, all ye nations; and laud Him, all ye peoples;' and again, Isaiah saith, `There shall be the root of Jesse, and he who is rising to rule nations -- upon him shall nations hope;' and the God of the hope shall fill you with all joy and peace in the believing, for your abounding in the hope in power of the Holy Spirit.
`Be glad over her, O heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets, because God did judge your judgment of her!'
and he did cry in might -- a great voice, saying, `Fall, fall did Babylon the great, and she became a habitation of demons, and a hold of every unclean spirit, and a hold of every unclean and hateful bird,
and I saw as a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who do gain the victory over the beast, and his image, and his mark, `and' the number of his name, standing by the sea of the glass, having harps of God,
and they sing a new song, saying, `Worthy art thou to take the scroll, and to open the seals of it, because thou wast slain, and didst redeem us to God in thy blood, out of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation, and didst make us to our God kings and priests, and we shall reign upon the earth.'
for so hath the Lord commanded us: I have set thee for a light of nations -- for thy being for salvation unto the end of the earth.' And the nations hearing were glad, and were glorifying the word of the Lord, and did believe -- as many as were appointed to life age-during;
because these are days of vengeance, to fulfil all things that have been written. `And wo to those with child, and to those giving suck, in those days; for there shall be great distress on the land, and wrath on this people; and they shall fall by the mouth of the sword, and shall be led captive to all the nations, and Jerusalem shall be trodden down by nations, till the times of nations be fulfilled.
`Because days shall come upon thee, and thine enemies shall cast around thee a rampart, and compass thee round, and press thee on every side, and lay thee low, and thy children within thee, and they shall not leave in thee a stone upon a stone, because thou didst not know the time of thy inspection.'
a light to the uncovering of nations, and the glory of Thy people Israel.'
And the messenger said to them, `Fear not, for lo, I bring you good news of great joy, that shall be to all the people -- because there was born to you to-day a Saviour -- who is Christ the Lord -- in the city of David,
And have dashed them one against another, And the fathers and the sons together, An affirmation of Jehovah, I do not pity, nor spare, nor have I mercy, So as not to destroy them.
In that Jehovah of Hosts did bless it, saying, `Blessed `is' My people -- Egypt, And the work of My hands -- Asshur, And Mine inheritance -- Israel!'
And there hath been, in that day, A root of Jesse that is standing for an ensign of peoples, Unto him do nations seek, And his rest hath been -- honour!
Matters of iniquities were mightier than I, Our transgressions -- Thou dost cover them.
Thou dost hear in the heavens, the settled place of Thy dwelling, and hast done according to all that the stranger calleth unto Thee for, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know Thy name, to fear Thee like Thy people Israel, and to know that Thy name hath been called on this house which I have builded.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Deuteronomy 32
Commentary on Deuteronomy 32 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 32
De 32:1-43. Moses' Song, Which Sets Forth the Perfections of God.
1. Give ear, O ye heavens; … hear, O earth—The magnificence of the exordium, the grandeur of the theme, the frequent and sudden transitions, the elevated strain of the sentiments and language, entitle this song to be ranked amongst the noblest specimens of poetry to be found in the Scriptures.
2, 3. My doctrine shall drop, &c.—The language may justly be taken as uttered in the form of a wish or prayer, and the comparison of wholesome instruction to the pure, gentle, and insinuating influence of rain or dew, is frequently made by the sacred writers (Isa 5:6; 55:10, 11).
4. He is the Rock—a word expressive of power and stability. The application of it in this passage is to declare that God had been true to His covenant with their fathers and them. Nothing that He had promised had failed; so that if their national experience had been painfully checkered by severe and protracted trials, notwithstanding the brightest promises, that result was traceable to their own undutiful and perverse conduct; not to any vacillation or unfaithfulness on the part of God (Jas 1:17), whose procedure was marked by justice and judgment, whether they had been exalted to prosperity or plunged into the depths of affliction.
5. They have corrupted themselves—that is, the Israelites by their frequent lapses and their inveterate attachment to idolatry.
their spot is not the spot of his children—This is an allusion to the marks which idolaters inscribe on their foreheads or their arms with paint or other substances, in various colors and forms—straight, oval, or circular, according to the favorite idol of their worship.
6. is not he thy father that hath bought thee—or emancipated thee from Egyptian bondage.
and made thee—advanced the nation to unprecedented and peculiar privileges.
8, 9. When the most High divided to the nations their inheritance—In the division of the earth, which Noah is believed to have made by divine direction (Ge 10:5; De 2:5-9; Ac 17:26, 27), Palestine was reserved by the wisdom and goodness of Heaven for the possession of His peculiar people and the display of the most stupendous wonders. The theater was small, but admirably suited for the convenient observation of the human race—at the junction of the two great continents of Asia and Africa, and almost within sight of Europe. From this spot as from a common center the report of God's wonderful works, the glad tidings of salvation through the obedience and sufferings of His own eternal Son, might be rapidly and easily wafted to every part of the globe.
he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel—Another rendering, which has received the sanction of eminent scholars, has been proposed as follows: "When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when He separated the sons of Adam and set the bounds of every people, the children of Israel were few in numbers, when the Lord chose that people and made Jacob His inheritance" (compare De 30:5; Ge 34:30; Ps 105:9-12).
10. found him in a desert land—took him into a covenant relation at Sinai, or rather "sustained," "provided for him" in a desert land.
a waste howling wilderness—a common Oriental expression for a desert infested by wild beasts.
11. As an eagle … fluttereth over her young—This beautiful and expressive metaphor is founded on the extraordinary care and attachment which the female eagle cherishes for her young. When her newly fledged progeny are sufficiently advanced to soar in their native element, she, in their first attempts at flying, supports them on the tip of her wing, encouraging, directing, and aiding their feeble efforts to longer and sublimer flights. So did God take the most tender and powerful care of His chosen people; He carried them out of Egypt and led them through all the horrors of the wilderness to the promised inheritance.
13, 14. He made him ride on the high places, &c.—All these expressions seem to have peculiar reference to their home in the trans-jordanic territory, that being the extent of Palestine that they had seen at the time when Moses is represented as uttering these words. "The high places" and "the fields" are specially applicable to the tablelands of Gilead as are the allusions to the herds and flocks, the honey of the wild bees which hive in the crevices of the rocks, the oil from the olive as it grew singly or in small clumps on the tops of hills where scarcely anything else would grow, the finest wheat (Ps 81:16; 147:14), and the prolific vintage.
15. But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked—This is a poetical name for Israel. The metaphor here used is derived from a pampered animal, which, instead of being tame and gentle, becomes mischievous and vicious, in consequence of good living and kind treatment. So did the Israelites conduct themselves by their various acts of rebellion, murmuring, and idolatrous apostasy.
17. They sacrificed unto devils—(See on Le 17:7).
21. those which are not a people—that is, not favored with such great and peculiar privileges as the Israelites (or, rather poor, despised heathens). The language points to the future calling of the Gentiles.
23. I will spend mine arrows upon them—War, famine, pestilence (Ps 77:17) are called in Scripture the arrows of the Almighty.
29. Oh, … that they would consider their latter end—The terrible judgments, which, in the event of their continued and incorrigible disobedience, would impart so awful a character to the close of their national history.
32. vine of Sodom … grapes of gall—This fruit, which the Arabs call "Lot's Sea Orange," is of a bright yellow color and grows in clusters of three or four. When mellow, it is tempting in appearance, but on being struck, explodes like a puffball, consisting of skin and fiber only.
44-47. Moses … spake all the words of this song in the ears, &c.—It has been beautifully styled "the Song of the Dying Swan" [Lowth]. It was designed to be a national anthem, which it should be the duty and care of magistrates to make well known by frequent repetition, to animate the people to right sentiments towards a steadfast adherence to His service.
48-51. Get thee up … and die … Because ye trespassed … at Meribah—(See on Nu 20:13).
52. thou shalt see the land, but thou shalt not go thither—(Nu 27:12). Notwithstanding so severe a disappointment, not a murmur of complaint escapes his lips. He is not only resigned but acquiescing; and in the near prospect of his death, he pours forth the feelings of his devout heart in sublime strains and eloquent blessings.