Homilist Deuteronomy 8:1-2 All the commandments which I command you this day shall you observe to do, that you may live, and multiply… I. IT IS A HUMBLING WORK. To bring the soul down from all its proud conceits, vain imaginations, and ambitious aims, and to inspire it with the profoundest sense of its own moral unworthiness. II. IT IS A SELF REVEALING WORK. "The evil principle sleeps in the spirit as the evil monster in the placid waters of the Nile; and it is only the hot sun, or the sweep of the fierce tempest, that can draw or drive it forth in its malignant manifestations." III. IT IS A DIVINE WORK God alone is the true moral schoolmaster; He alone can effectually discipline the soul. 1. By the dispensation of events. 2. By the realities of the Gospel. 3. By His influence on conscience. IV. IT IS A SLOW WORK. Goodness is not an impression, an act, or even a habit; it is a character, and characters are of slow growth. It is a growth, and requires cultivation — planting, nourishing, and seasonal changes. (Homilist.) Parallel Verses KJV: All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers. |
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