Exodus-20:1-17,matthew-10:5
Spence, H. D. M., etc.
The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 20:1-17
The ten commandments collectivety. The ten commandments form a summary of our main duties towards God, and towards man. They stand out from the rest of the Old Testament in a remarkable way. 1 . They were uttered audibly by a voice which thousands heard—a voice which is called that of God himself ( Deuteronomy 5:26 ) and which filled those who heard it with a terrible fear ( Exodus 20:19 ). 2 . They were the only direct utterance ever made by God to man under the Old Covenant. ... read more
Spence, H. D. M., etc.
The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 20:1-17
The ten commandments severally. THE FIRST COMMANDMENT . To the Christian the First Commandment takes the form which our Lord gave it—"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all-thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment' ( Matthew 22:37 , Matthew 22:38 ). Not merely abstract belief, not merely humble acknowledgment of one God is necessary, but heartfelt devotion to the One Object worthy of our devotion, the One Being in all the... read more
Spence, H. D. M., etc.
The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 20:1-18
The moral law-General survey. View this law of the ten commandments as— I. AUTHORITATIVELY DELIVERED . "God spake all these words, saying," etc. ( Exodus 20:1 ). An authoritative revelation of moral law was necessary— 1 . That man might be made distinctly aware of the compass of his obligations . The moral knowledge originally possessed by man had gradually been parted with. What remained was distorted and confused. He had little right knowledge of his duty to God, and very... read more
Spence, H. D. M., etc.
The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 20:2
I am the Lord thy God . The ten precepts were prefaced by this distinct announcement of who it was that uttered them. God would have the Israelites clearly understand, that he himself gave them the commandments. It is only possible to reconcile the declarations of the New Testament, that the law was given by the ministration of angels ( Acts 7:53 ; Galatians 3:19 ; Hebrews 2:2 ) with this and other plain statements, by regarding God the Son as the actual speaker. As sent by his... read more
Spence, H. D. M., etc.
The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 20:3
Thou shalt have . The use of the second person singular is remarkable when a covenant was being made with the people ( Exodus 19:5 ). The form indicated that each individual of the nation was addressed severally, and was required himself to obey the law, a mere general national obedience being insufficient. No one can fail to see how much the commands gain in force, through all time, by being thus addressed to the individual conscience. No other gods before me . "Before me"... read more
Spence, H. D. M., etc.
The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 20:3-6
The first and seceded commandments: against polytheism and image-worship. These two commandments seem to be bound together naturally by the reason given in Exodus 20:5 . There Jehovah says, " I am a jealous God;" obviously such a feeling of jealousy applies with as much force to the worship of other gods as to the making of graven images. Consider— I. THE POSSIBLE TRANSGRESSION HERE INDICATED . The having of other gods than Jehovah, and the representation of them by... read more
Spence, H. D. M., etc.
The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 20:3-6
These two commandments are complementary: one God only to be worshipped, one way only in which to worship him. Consider:— I. THE FIRST COMMANDMENT . 1 . How Israel would understand it . "No foreign god in opposition to me." The natural idea would be that Jehovah was one amongst many deities; that possibly, away from Egypt, some other god might have higher authority (cf. 2 Kings 18:33-35 ). In any case it would be hard to realise that he was more than God of gods; others might... read more
Spence, H. D. M., etc.
The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 20:3-11
The soul for God only. I. GOD 'S DEMAND . "Thou shalt have no other," etc. All else is emptiness and falsehood. There must be nothing even of our holy things put between the soul and God. His presence must be the soul's life, the very air it breathes. II. How THE DEMAND MAY BE FULFILLED . 1 . By keeping ourselves from idols. Our daily avocations, our interests, affections, pleasures, may lead to our esteeming something our chief good and making it to be instead of... read more
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The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 20:1-2
Utility of a course of teaching on the commandments, that Divine law which can never be destroyed. Let those who object to the preaching of morality remember John Wesley's words: " I find more profit in sermons on either good tempers or good works than in what are vulgarly called 'gospel sermons.'" Consider— I. THE DIVISION AND GROUPING OF THE COMMANDMENTS . 1 . Division . We know that there are ten—the ten words—but how are the ten words made up? The modern... read more