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The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 32:20-29
The pleading of Divine wisdom. The judicial anger of God is not an uncontrollable passion; it acts in harmony with infinite wisdom. The vast and varied interests of all God's creatures are tenderly considered in the act…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 32:20-28
The Divine mind influenced by reasons. Moses, in uttering this song, is "borne along" (2 Peter 1:21) by a power working through him and yet not of him, to make a most remarkable assertion in the Name of Jehovah; viz. th…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 32:21
(Cf. Deuteronomy 5:16.) Because they had moved God to jealousy and provoked him to anger by their vanities, their nothingnesses, mere vapors and empty exhalations ( הִבְלָים; cf. Jeremiah 10:6; John 2:8; 1 Corinthians 8…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 32:22
(Cf. Jeremiah 15:14; Jeremiah 17:4; Lamentations 4:11.) The lowest hell; the lowest sheol, the uttermost depth of the under-world. The Hebrew sheol ( שְׁאוֹל) answering to the Greek ἅδης, by which it is usually render…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 32:23
I will spend mine arrows upon them; I will inflict on them so many calamities that none shall remain. The evils sent on men by God are represented as arrows shot on them from above. (Cf. Deuteronomy 32:42; Job 6:4; Psal…
Matthew Henry on Deuteronomy 32:26-38
The idolatry and rebellions of Israel deserved, and the justice of God seemed to demand, that they should be rooted out. But He spared Israel, and continues them still to be living witnesses of the truth of the Bible, a…
Matthew Henry on Deuteronomy 32:26-38
After many terrible threatenings of deserved wrath and vengeance, we have here surprising intimations of mercy, undeserved mercy, which rejoices against judgment, and by which it appears that God has no pleasure in the…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 32:28-33
The cause of Israel's rejection was that they were a people utterly destitute of counsel and without understanding. Had they been wise, they would have looked to the end, and acted in a way conducive to their own welfar…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 32:29
Oh that they were wise, that they understood this; rather, If they were wise they would understand this. They would consider their latter end! i.e. the end to which they were going, the inevitable issue of the course th…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 32:29
God's pathetic appeal to men. Wisdom is far-seeing. Not content with estimating present experiences and fortunes, it embraces the remoter issues of our choice; it takes in all the possibilities of the future. I. AS THER…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 32:29-35
The short-sightedness of sinners. "Oh that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!" Such is the moan with which this paragraph begins. By "this" is meant the consequence whi…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 32:30-35
The devil's counterfeit coin. It is not in the power of Satan to originate any new thing. Knowing that his power is restricted, the utmost he can do is to make spurious imitations of God's good things. His base purpose…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 32:30
If Israel were wise, they could easily overcome all their foes through the help of the Almighty (Le Deuteronomy 26:8); but having forsaken him, they were left by him, and so came under the power of the enemy.
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 32:31
The heathen had also a rock in which they trusted—their idol-gods; but even they knew and felt that their rock was not as the Rock of Israel, for, having often experienced the almighty power of God, they could not but a…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 32:31
The superiority of the believer's Rock. Few men but feel that they need a rock of some kind. Only when their mountain stands very strong do they feel as if they were absolutely secure and independent (Obadiah 1:3, Obadi…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 32:31
Our Rock. Apply to the religion of the Bible. Proved to be superior to every other system: 1. In proofs of supernatural origin. 2. In moral and spiritual power. 3. In the privileges it offers. 4. In the prospects it hol…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 32:32
If the Rock of Israel was so much mightier than the rock of their enemies, how came it that Israel was beaten and put to flight by their enemies? The reason is here given: It was because Israel had become wholly corrupt…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 32:33
The wine of these grapes is poison and venom. Dragons; tannin (cf. Exodus 7:9, Exodus 7:10). Cruel [deadly] venom of asps. The pethen, one of the most poisonous of snakes, the bite of which was immediately fatal (Kitto,…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 32:34
My treasures. God's treasures contain not only a store of blessing, but also instruments of punishment, which as he sees meet, he sends forth on men (cf. Deuteronomy 28:12; Job 38:22, Job 38:23; Psalms 135:7).
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 32:34-43
Retribution. I. VENGEANCE A PREROGATIVE OF DEITY. As just Judge of the earth, God must avenge transgression. Vengeance is to be distinguished from personal vindictiveness. Of that God is incapable. But Scripture, suppor…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 32:34-43
Notwithstanding the iniquity of Israel and the judgments that should come upon them, God would have compassion upon them for his Name's sake, and would appear for their vindication and defense. The "this" in Deuteronomy…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 32:35
Render: Vengeance is mine, and retribution for the time when their feet shall totter; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and that which is prepared for them maketh haste. The tottering of the feet represents the…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 32:36-43
Jehovah reigns; be glad! This paragraph has about it a remarkably martial ring. It is not to be looked at as bald and literal prose. It is part of a song; it is laden with imagery, in which the God of Israel is set fort…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 32:36
The Lord shall judge his people (cf. Psalms 135:14; 1 Peter 4:17). And repent himself for his servants; rather, and have compassion upon his servants. And there is none shut up, or left. The words rendered "shut up or l…