Leviticus 19:1-4

The Pulpit Commentary - Leviticus 19:1-2

Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy. Holiness. I. THE UNIVERSAL REQUIREMENT . "Speak unto all the congregation," etc. 1 . No exception. "All have sinned." 2 . The nature of man requires him to be holy. The relation between man and God. The laws of God not mere arbitrary decrees, but the expression, in positive relation to the freedom of man, of the Eternal Reality of the universe. 3 . The universality of revelation is the universality of responsibility.... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Leviticus 19:1-8

Purity in worship. The laws set out in this chapter were before communicated to Aaron and his sons; now they are given to the people ( Leviticus 19:1 , Leviticus 19:2 ). It is the privilege and duty of God's people to acquaint themselves with his will. They should learn the Law from the lips of Moses. They should learn the gospel from the lips of Jesus. It is a maxim of antichrist that" Ignorance is the mother of devotion" The mother of devotion, viz. to superstition, it is (see 1... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Leviticus 19:1-37

These four laws are, in their positive aspects, In Leviticus 20:11 , Leviticus 20:14 , Leviticus 20:16 , 35, 36, obedience is inculcated to the eighth and the ninth commandments, which are the laws of honesty and of truthfulness; in Leviticus 20:12 to the third commandment, which is the law of reverence; in Leviticus 20:17 , Leviticus 20:18 , 33, 34, to the sixth commandment, which is the law of love; in Leviticus 20:20 , 29, to the seventh commandment, which is the law of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Leviticus 19:1-37

Religion and superstition. It is not always easy or even possible to distinguish between religion and superstition. We may fall into the latter when we are seeking to practice the former; or we may, from undue fear of the latter, neglect the former. In this chapter the Jews were taught (and we are thereby encouraged) to avoid the one, and to perfect the other in the fear of God. I. THE SUPERSTITION WHICH WAS TO BE SHUNNED . 1 . Clearly and decisively everything that... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Leviticus 19:1-37

Social morality. cf. Matthew 22:35-40 ; Romans 12:1-21 ; James, passim. From the primary principle of unworldliness, we now have to proceed to sundry details about social morality. Although these details are given indiscriminately, it is yet possible to discern certain great principles among them. And— I. ALL SOCIAL MORALITY IS MADE TO REST ON OUR RELATION TO GOD HIMSELF . In the Decalogue we have social morality, that is, our duty to man, based upon... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Leviticus 19:2

Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy. The religious motive is put forward here, as in the previous chapter, as the foundation of all morality. It is God's will that we should be holy, and by being holy we. are like God, who is to be our model so far as is possible to the creature. So in the new dispensation, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect" ( Matthew 5:48 ). "As he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Leviticus 19:3

Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father. The words fear and reverence are in this connection interchangeable. So Ephesians 5:33 , "Let the wife see that she reverence her husband," where the word "reverence" would be more exactly translated by "fear." St. Paul points out that the importance of the fifth commandment is indicated in the Decalogue by its being" the first commandment with promise," that is, with a promise attached to it ( Ephesians 6:2 ). The family life is... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Leviticus 19:3

The laws of submission 1. The family is an institution of God's appointment ( Genesis 1:28 ; Genesis 2:24 ). The command to children to honour their father and mother is distinguished in the Decalogue by a blessing attached to it ( Exodus 20:12 ; Ephesians 6:2 ); and a special blessing is bestowed on the house of the Rechabites for obeying it ( Jeremiah 35:18 ). St. Paul enjoins the observance of the duty, both as an act right in itself and as positively commanded in God's Law... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Leviticus 19:3-32

Honour to whom honor. It is uncertain whether we shall receive the honour which is due to us. Possibly we may be denied some to which we are entitled; probably we have experienced this wrong already, in larger or smaller measure, and know the pain of heart which attends it. Let us, therefore, resolve that we will give that which is due to others. The two passages connected in the text remind us that we should pay deference to— I. THOSE WHO CARRY THE WEIGHT OF YEARS .... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Leviticus 19:3-37

The holy Law in the holy life. I. REVERENCE FOR PARENTS . True religion is seen in common, everyday life. If we love God, we love man. Family peace and order is best preserved by appeal to deep, religious motives. Natural affection is not sufficient against fallen human nature. "God says, Thou shalt," must be the support of natural feeling. II. SABBATH KEEPING . Not as a Jewish regulation, but as both the demand of physical nature and the gracious provision of God for us.... read more

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