5 not for thy righteousness, and for the uprightness of thy heart, art thou going in to possess their land; but for the wickedness of these nations is Jehovah thy God dispossessing them from before thee; and in order to establish the word which Jehovah hath sworn to thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob;
(not by works that `are' in righteousness that we did but according to His kindness,) He did save us, through a bathing of regeneration, and a renewing of the Holy Spirit,
And Jehovah appeareth unto Abram, and saith, `To thy seed I give this land;' and he buildeth there an altar to Jehovah, who hath appeared unto him.
And He saith unto him, `I `am' Jehovah who brought thee out from Ur of the Chaldees, to give to thee this land to possess it;'
and I have given to thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land of thy sojournings, the whole land of Canaan, for a possession age-during, and I have become their God.'
and lo, Jehovah is standing upon it, and He saith, `I `am' Jehovah, God of Abraham thy father, and God of Isaac; the land on which thou art lying, to thee I give it, and to thy seed;
`Be mindful of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, Thy servants, to whom Thou hast sworn by Thyself, and unto whom Thou speakest: I multiply your seed as stars of the heavens, and all this land, as I have said, I give to your seed, and they have inherited to the age;'
Thou givest truth to Jacob, kindness to Abraham, That thou hast sworn to our fathers, from the days of antiquity!
He received again Israel His servant, To remember kindness, As He spake unto our fathers, To Abraham and to his seed -- to the age.'
`And we to you do proclaim good news -- that the promise made unto the fathers, God hath in full completed this to us their children, having raised up Jesus, as also in the second Psalm it hath been written, My Son thou art -- I to-day have begotten thee.
As regards, indeed, the good tidings, `they are' enemies on your account; and as regards the choice -- beloved on account of the fathers;
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Deuteronomy 9
Commentary on Deuteronomy 9 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 9
The design of Moses in this chapter is to convince the people of Israel of their utter unworthiness to receive from God those great favours that were now to be conferred upon them, writing this, as it were, in capital letters at the head of their charter, "Not for your sake, be it known unto you,' Eze. 36:32.
Deu 9:1-6
The call to attention (v. 1), Hear, O Israel, intimates that this was a new discourse, delivered at some distance of time after the former, probably the next sabbath day.
Deu 9:7-29
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 (v. 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, 20. If our works condemn us, they will not justify us. Observe,
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.