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John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Deuteronomy 32:6

Verse 6 6.Do ye thus requite the Lord. In order to expose the ingratitude of the people to greater infamy, he now begins to commemorate the benefits whereby God had laid them under obligation to Himself: for the more liberally God deals with us, the more earnest ought to be the piety awakened in our hearts; nay, His goodness, as soon as we have tasted of it, ought to draw us at once to Him. Now God, although he has been always bountiful towards the whole human race, had, in a peculiar manner... 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 32:3

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

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 32:4-5

He is the Rock, his work is perfect; rather, The Rock! his work is perfect, i.e. blameless, without fault. God is called "the Rock" ( הַצוּר ), as the unchangeable Refuge and Stronghold of his people, by which they are sustained, and to which they can resort for defense and protection at all times. The epithet is applied to God four times besides in this song ( Deuteronomy 32:15 , Deuteronomy 32:18 , Deuteronomy 32:30 , Deuteronomy 32:31 ); it occurs also frequently in the Psalms... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 32:4-7

God's righteousness and man's iniquity. The sin of man is only fully seen in contrast with God's righteousness and love. The light is needed to bring out the depth of the shadow. It reveals the "spot." I. GOD 'S FAVOR TO ISRAEL . God's dealings with Israel had been marked by: 1. Rectitude ( Deuteronomy 32:4 ). He had done everything that was just and right to them. His ways had been equal. He had given them just statutes. His covenant-keeping faithfulness had been... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 32:5-14

Ungrateful men interrogated. In almost every clause of this paragraph there is some specific allusion, for the elucidation of which the reader will refer to the Exposition. The commentary of Dr. Jameson thereon is very valuable. Our aim is strictly homiletic. The central words around which the preacher's expository thoughts may gather are these—"Do ye thus requite the Lord?" Three main lines of illustration are suggested. I. HERE IS A REHEARSAL OF THE DIVINE LOVING - ... read more

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