Deuteronomy 32

De 32:1-43.

MOSES'

SONG,

WHICH

SETS

FORTH THE

PERFECTIONS OF

GOD.

1. Give ear, O ye heavens; . . . hear, O earth--The magnificence of

the exordium, the grandeur of the theme, the frequent and sudden

transitions, the elevated strain of the sentiments and language,

entitle this song to be ranked amongst the noblest specimens of poetry

to be found in the Scriptures.

2, 3. My doctrine shall drop, &c.--The language may justly be taken as

uttered in the form of a wish or prayer, and the comparison of

wholesome instruction to the pure, gentle, and insinuating influence of

rain or dew, is frequently made by the sacred writers

(Isa 5:6; 55:10, 11).

4. He is the Rock--a word expressive of power and stability. The

application of it in this passage is to declare that God had been true

to His covenant with their fathers and them. Nothing that He had

promised had failed; so that if their national experience had been

painfully checkered by severe and protracted trials, notwithstanding

the brightest promises, that result was traceable to their own

undutiful and perverse conduct; not to any vacillation or

unfaithfulness on the part of God

(Jas 1:17),

whose procedure was marked by justice and judgment, whether they had

been exalted to prosperity or plunged into the depths of

affliction.

5. They have corrupted themselves--that is, the Israelites by their

frequent lapses and their inveterate attachment to idolatry.

their spot is not the spot of his children--This is an allusion to the

marks which idolaters inscribe on their foreheads or their arms with

paint or other substances, in various colors and forms--straight, oval,

or circular, according to the favorite idol of their worship.

6. is not he thy father that hath bought thee--or emancipated thee

from Egyptian bondage.

and made thee--advanced the nation to unprecedented and peculiar

privileges.

8, 9. When the most High divided to the nations their inheritance--In

the division of the earth, which Noah is believed to have made by

divine direction

(Ge 10:5;

De 2:5-9;

Ac 17:26, 27),

Palestine was reserved by the wisdom and goodness of Heaven for the

possession of His peculiar people and the display of the most

stupendous wonders. The theater was small, but admirably suited for the

convenient observation of the human race--at the junction of the two

great continents of Asia and Africa, and almost within sight of Europe.

From this spot as from a common center the report of God's wonderful

works, the glad tidings of salvation through the obedience and

sufferings of His own eternal Son, might be rapidly and easily wafted

to every part of the globe.

he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children

of Israel--Another rendering, which has received the sanction of

eminent scholars, has been proposed as follows: "When the Most High

divided to the nations their inheritance, when He separated the sons of

Adam and set the bounds of every people, the children of Israel were

few in numbers, when the Lord chose that people and made Jacob His

inheritance" (compare

De 30:5;

Ge 34:30;

Ps 105:9-12).

10. found him in a desert land--took him into a covenant relation at

Sinai, or rather "sustained," "provided for him" in a desert land.

a waste howling wilderness--a common Oriental expression for a desert

infested by wild beasts.

11. As an eagle . . . fluttereth over her young--This beautiful and

expressive metaphor is founded on the extraordinary care and attachment

which the female eagle cherishes for her young. When her newly fledged

progeny are sufficiently advanced to soar in their native element, she,

in their first attempts at flying, supports them on the tip of her

wing, encouraging, directing, and aiding their feeble efforts to longer

and sublimer flights. So did God take the most tender and powerful care

of His chosen people; He carried them out of Egypt and led them through

all the horrors of the wilderness to the promised inheritance.

13, 14. He made him ride on the high places, &c.--All these

expressions seem to have peculiar reference to their home in the

trans-jordanic territory, that being the extent of Palestine that they

had seen at the time when Moses is represented as uttering these words.

"The high places" and "the fields" are specially applicable to the

tablelands of Gilead as are the allusions to the herds and flocks, the

honey of the wild bees which hive in the crevices of the rocks, the oil

from the olive as it grew singly or in small clumps on the tops of

hills where scarcely anything else would grow, the finest wheat

(Ps 81:16; 147:14),

and the prolific vintage.

15. But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked--This is a poetical name for

Israel. The metaphor here used is derived from a pampered animal,

which, instead of being tame and gentle, becomes mischievous and

vicious, in consequence of good living and kind treatment. So did the

Israelites conduct themselves by their various acts of rebellion,

murmuring, and idolatrous apostasy.

17. They sacrificed unto

devils--(See on

Le 17:7).

21. those which are not a people--that is, not favored with such great

and peculiar privileges as the Israelites (or, rather poor, despised

heathens). The language points to the future calling of the Gentiles.

23. I will spend mine arrows upon them--War, famine, pestilence

(Ps 77:17)

are called in Scripture the arrows of the Almighty.

29. Oh, . . . that they would consider their latter end--The terrible

judgments, which, in the event of their continued and incorrigible

disobedience, would impart so awful a character to the close of their

national history.

32. vine of Sodom . . . grapes of gall--This fruit, which the Arabs

call "Lot's Sea Orange," is of a bright yellow color and grows in

clusters of three or four. When mellow, it is tempting in appearance,

but on being struck, explodes like a puffball, consisting of skin and

fiber only.

44-47. Moses . . . spake all the words of this song in the ears,

&c.--It has been beautifully styled "the Song of the Dying Swan"

[LOWTH].

It was designed to be a national anthem, which it should be

the duty and care of magistrates to make well known by frequent

repetition, to animate the people to right sentiments towards a

steadfast adherence to His service.

48-51. Get thee up . . . and die . . . Because ye trespassed . . . at

Meribah--(See on

Nu 20:13).

52. thou shalt see the land, but thou shalt not go

thither--

(Nu 27:12).

Notwithstanding so severe a disappointment, not a murmur of complaint

escapes his lips. He is not only resigned but acquiescing; and in the

near prospect of his death, he pours forth the feelings of his devout

heart in sublime strains and eloquent blessings.