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The Pulpit Commentary on Leviticus 19:11
Stealing, cheating, and lying are classed together as kindred sins (see Leviticus 6:2, where an example is given of theft performed by means of lying; cf. Ephesians 4:25; Colossians 3:9).
The Pulpit Commentary on Leviticus 19:12
And ye shall not swear by my name falsely. These words contain a positive permission to swear, or take a solemn oath, by the Name of God, and a prohibition to swear falsely by it (see Matthew 5:33).
The Pulpit Commentary on Leviticus 19:12
Name of thy God, contains three injunctions: First, a command that on due occasions we are to make appeal to God by solemn oath; secondly, a prohibition of perjury; thirdly, a command to reverence God's Name. I. TO SWEA…
The Pulpit Commentary on Leviticus 19:13
Cheating and stealing are again forbidden, and, together with these, other forms of oppression although legal. The command to pay labourers their hire promptly—which covers also the case of paying tradesmen promptly—is…
The Pulpit Commentary on Leviticus 19:14
Thou shalt not curse the deaf. The sin of cursing another is in itself complete, whether the curse be heard by that other or not, because it is the outcome of sin in the speaker's heart. The suffering caused to one who…
The Pulpit Commentary on Leviticus 19:15-18
Justice. As charity is sister to piety, so is justice related to both. This virtue is enjoined upon us— I. IN RESPECT TO CONDUCT. 1. In judgment justice should be impartial. 2. In dealings justice should be strict. 3. T…
The Pulpit Commentary on Leviticus 19:15
Justice is to be done to all. The less danger of respecting the person of the poor has to be guarded against, as well as the greater and more obvious peril of honouring the person of the mighty. The scales of Justice mu…
The Pulpit Commentary on Leviticus 19:16
Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people. For the evil done by mere idle talebearing, see Bishop Butler's sermon, 'Upon the Government of the Tongue,' and four sermons by Bishop Jeremy Taylor, on '…
The Pulpit Commentary on Leviticus 19:17
On the one side we are not to hate our brother in our heart, whatever wrongs he may commit; but on the other side, we are in any wise to rebuke our neighbour for his wrong doing. So our Lord teaches, "if thy brother tre…
The Pulpit Commentary on Leviticus 19:18
Revenge and malice are forbidden as well as hatred, and the negative precepts culminate in the positive law. Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, which sums up in itself one half of the Decalogue (Matthew 22:40). "…
Matthew Henry on Leviticus 19:19-29
Here is, I. A law against mixtures, Leviticus 19:19. God in the beginning made the cattle after their kind (Genesis 1:25), and we must acquiesce in the order of nature God hath established, believing that is best and su…
The Pulpit Commentary on Leviticus 19:19
Ye shall keep my statutes. Having arrived at the general conclusion, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, in the previous verse, the legislator pauses, and then presents a collection of further laws, arranged as b…
The Pulpit Commentary on Leviticus 19:19-28
Fidelity to God. In the verses before us we note the injunction— I. THAT THE STATUTES OF THE LORD MUST BE KEPT. These require: 1. That there be no unnatural mixtures. (a) Cattle which God ordered "after their kind" (Gen…
The Pulpit Commentary on Leviticus 19:19
Aids to purity. We shall first consider— I. WHAT WAS THE PRIMARY PURPORT OF THIS TRIPLE LAW. We need not be surprised if we find here another aid to purity of heart and life, another fence thrown up against immorality.…
The Pulpit Commentary on Leviticus 19:19
Mingled Seed The moral meaning of the command, "Thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed," receives an illustration from the parable of the "man which sowed good seed in his field: but while men slept, his enemy c…
The Pulpit Commentary on Leviticus 19:20-22
A distinction is drawn between adultery with a free woman, or a betrothed free virgin, which was punishable with death (Leviticus 20:20; Deuteronomy 22:23), and with a slave betrothed to another man (probably a slave al…
The Pulpit Commentary on Leviticus 19:23-25
The eating of the fruit of young trees by their owners for five years is forbidden, on the principle that such fruit is unclean until it has been sanctified by the offering of a crop as firstfruits to the Lord for the u…
The Pulpit Commentary on Leviticus 19:23-25
The range of sin and the rule of God. There is much uncertainty as to the intention of the Lord in this prohibition. I regard it as a lesson concerning— I. THE DEPTH AND BREADTH OF THE TAINT OF SIN. The Israelites were…
The Pulpit Commentary on Leviticus 19:26-28
After a repetition of the fundamental ceremonial law against eating things which have the blood in them (the LXX. rendering, ἐπὶ τῶν ὀρέων, "upon the mountains," arises from a mistaken reading), follow prohibitions
The Pulpit Commentary on Leviticus 19:29
Do not prostitute thy daughter. This is a peremptory prohibition, applying to every Jewish maiden, introduced in this place with a primary relation to the sanctification of lust by the dedication of young girls at some…
The Pulpit Commentary on Leviticus 19:29-37
The fear of God. Of this excellent things are spoken by Solomon. It is the "beginning of knowledge," "hatred to evil," "strong confidence," a "fountain of life," "prolongs days," and "gives riches and honour." So here—…
Moral Laws. (b. c. 1490.)
MORAL LAWS. (B. C. 1490.) Here is, I. A law for the preserving of the honour of the time and place appropriated to the service of God, Leviticus 19:30. This would be a means to secure them both from the idolatries and s…
The Pulpit Commentary on Leviticus 19:30
Three helps to spiritual progress. "There are many adversaries," it is true; many drawbacks, hindrances, difficulties in the way of spiritual advancement. But there are these three powerful aids. I. ONE SACRED DAY IN EV…
The Pulpit Commentary on Leviticus 19:30
The command in this verse differs from that in Leviticus 19:3 by adding the injunction to reverence my sanctuary to that requiring the observance of the sabbath. It is a matter of experience that where the sabbath is no…