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John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Deuteronomy 32:3

Verse 3 3Because I will publish the name of the Lord. He signifies by these words that, if there were any spark of piety in the Israelites, it must be manifested by their welcoming this address, wherein the majesty of God shines forth. The first clause of the verse, therefore, stands last in order, since it is an assignment of a reason for the other. For when he exhorts them that they should ascribe to God the glory He deserves, he inculcates upon them obedience and attention, as if he had said... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Deuteronomy 32:4

Verse 4 4.His work is perfect. Those who take these expressions generally, and without particular reference to this passage, not only obscure their meaning, but also lessen the force of the doctrine they contain. Let us, then, understand that the perfection of God’s works, the rectitude of His ways, etc., are contrasted with the rebellion of the people; for if there were anything (251) in God’s works imperfect and in arranged, if His mode of dealing were deficient in rectitude, if His truth... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 32:1

EXPOSITION SONG OF MOSES AND ANNOUNCEMENT OF HIS DEATH . In accordance with the Divine injunction, Moses composed an ode, which he recited in the hearing of the people, and committed to writing, to remain with them as a witness for God against them. With this end in view, the ode is directed principally to a contrasting of the unchanging faithfulness of the Almighty with the anticipated perversity and unfaithfulness of his people. The poem may be divided into six... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 32:1-3

Beneficial teaching. Moses was directed to instruct the people by composing for their use a song ( Deuteronomy 31:19 , Deuteronomy 31:21 ). A song is: 1. Memorable. 2. Easily handed down from mouth to mouth. 3. Of singular power to awaken sympathetic feeling (cf. influence of ballads, of Jacobite songs, of the 'Marseillaise,' of popular hymns). The action of song is not violent, but gentle and persuasive. It steals about the heart like rippling water or like sunlight,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 32:1-4

God the believer's Rock. "Forms change: principles neverse" So have we had often to remark in discovering in and developing from this book the everlasting principles which are therein set in archaic forms. The song of Moses here recorded will yield us many illustrations of this kind of teaching. Its first four versos suggest three lines of thought. I. THERE IS HERE A REVEALED DOCTRINE CONCERNING GOD . In the last song which the old man utters ere he climbs the mount of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 32:1-6

God's vicegerent as poet. The true poet is God's messenger. He that sings not of truth and goodness is not a genuine poet; he is but a rhymester. As the swan is said to sing sweetly only in the act of dying, so, on the eve of his departure, Moses sings his noblest strains. I. OBSERVE THE POET 'S AUDITORY . He summons heaven and earth to hear. We read in ancient story that when Orpheus made music with his lyre, the wild beasts listened, and the trees and rocks of Olympus... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 32:1-14

The fatherhood of God. In this first section of the Divine song, the predominating idea is God's fatherhood. It comes out in Deuteronomy 32:6 in express terms; it is implied in the care that is attributed to him for his children of Israel; it passes into the still tenderer idea of motherhood in the illustration of the eagle ( Deuteronomy 32:11 ); and may fairly be taken as the idea dominating the whole. It has been thought that the fatherhood of God is almost altogether a New Testament... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 32:2

My doctrine shall drop as the rain. The Hebrew verb here and in Deuteronomy 33:28 is properly rendered by" drop;" it expresses the gentle falling of a genial shower or the soft distillation of dew. The clause is best taken imperatively, as it is by the LXX ; the Vulgate, and Onkelos: Let my doctrine drop as the rain , let my speech distil , etc. The point of comparison hero is not the quickening, fructifying, vivifying influence of the rain and dew, so much as the effective force... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 32:3

I will publish the name of the Lord ; literally, I will call , i . e . proclaim , or celebrate , etc. Ascribe ye greatness unto our God. The hearers of the song are summoned to join in the celebration of the Divine majesty. The word rendered" greatness" occurs only in this book ( Deuteronomy 3:24 ; Deuteronomy 5:21 ; Deuteronomy 9:26 ; Deuteronomy 11:2 ), and in Psalms 150:2 . It is the greatness of God as the Almighty that is here celebrated. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 32:4

God the Rock. (Cf. Deuteronomy 32:15 , Deuteronomy 32:18 , Deuteronomy 32:31 , Deuteronomy 32:37 .) This name for God occurs chiefly in this song of Moses, and in the compositions of David and of later psalmists. It was a name full of significance to those familiar with the desert. Rock—rock—rock—Israel had seen little else during the thirty-eight years of wandering. The older men could remember the seclusion and granitic sublimity of the rock sanctuary of Sinai. The congregation... read more

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