Matthew Poole and continuators on Deuteronomy 7

1 WHen the LORD thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittite, and the Girgashite, and the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite, seven Nations greater and mightier than thou:

There were ten in Gen. 15. 19. But this being some hundreds of years after that it is not strange if three of them were either destroyed by Forreign or Domestick wars, or by [illegible: 1+ letters] tion and marriage united with, and swallowed up in some of the rest,

Marginal references: [illegible: 1 word]. 31. 3.

2 And when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee, thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them, thou shalt make no covenant with them , nor shew mercy unto them.

To spare them, or permit them to dwell with thee in the land. Other Nations had more favour, but these were for their great wickedness, and for the good of Israel devoted to utter destruction.

Marginal references: [illegible: 1 word]. 33. 52.; [illegible: 1 word]. 1[illegible: 1+ letters]. & [illegible: 1 word] 10. 28, [illegible: 1 word] 11. 11▪ 12; [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1+ letters]3. 32. [illegible: 1 word] 1[illegible: 1+ letters], 15. [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word] Josh. 2. [illegible: 1 word] 9. 15. [illegible: 1 word] 1. 24.

4 For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods : so will the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly.

i. e. There is manifest danger of Apostacy and Idolatry from such matches. Which reason doth both limit the Law to such of these as were unconverted, otherwise Salmon marryed [illegible: 1 word]. Mat. 1. 5. and enlarge it to other Idolatrous Nations, as appears from 1 King. 11. 2. Ezra. 9. 2. Neb. 13. 23.

5 But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves , and burn their graven images with fire.

Which Idolaters planted about the Temples and Altars of their Gods. Hereby God designed to take away whatsoever might bring their Idolatry to remembrance, or occasion the reviving of it.

Marginal references: [illegible: 1 word]. 23. 24.; [illegible: 1 word] or [illegible: 1 word] ▪

7 The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were moe in number than any people: (for ye were the sewest of all people .)

To wit, at that time when God first declared his love to you, and choice of you for his [illegible: 1 word] people, which was done to Abraham For [illegible: 1 word] had but one Son concerned in this choice and covenant, to wit, [illegible: 1 word] ▪ and that was in his hundredth year; and [illegible: 1 word] was 60 years old ere he had a Child▪ and then had onely two Children; and though Jacob had 12 Sons, yet it was a long time ere they made any considerable increase. Nor do we read of any great multiplication of them till after [illegible: 1 word] death, Exod. 1. 6, [illegible: 1+ letters].

8 But because the LORD loved you , and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh King of Egypt.

i. e. Because it pleased him to love you▪ it was his free choice, without any cause or motive on your part. Compare Deut. 10. 15. 1 Sam. 12. 22. [illegible: 1 word]. 44. 3.

9 Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God , which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him, and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations:

True to his word, and constant in performing all his promises.

Marginal references: Exod. 20. 6.

10 And repayeth them that hate him , to their face , to destroy them: he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face.

Not onely those who hate him directly and properly, (for so did few or none of the [illegible: 1 word] to whom he here speaks,) but those who hate him by construction and consequence, those who hate and oppose his People, and Word, and Image, those who presumptuously and wilfully persist in the breach of Gods Commandements, as appears from v. 9. where the love of God, to which this hatred is opposite, is described and expressed by the keeping of his commandements.

i. e. Openly, and so as they shall see it, and not be able to avoid it.

To wit, so as some [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word] slackness, 2 Pet. 3. 9. so as to delay it beyond the fit time or season for vengeance, yet withal he is long-suffering, and slow to anger, as that and other places inform us.

12 Wherefore it shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgments, and keep and do them, that the LORD thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which he sware unto thy fathers.

i. e. The Covenant of Mercy or Grace, which he out of his own meer grace made with them. A figure called [illegible: 1 word].

Marginal references: Lev. 2[illegible: 1+ letters]. 3. chap. 28. 1.; Heb. because.

13 And he will love thee , and bless thee, and multiply thee, he will also bless the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy land, thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oyl, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep, in the land which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee.

He will continue to love thee, and to manifest his love to thee, he will not repent of his love to thee.

15 And the LORD will take away from thee all sickness, and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt , (which thou knowest) upon thee, but will lay them all upon them that hate thee.

Such as the Aegyptians were infested with, either commonly, as that [illegible: 1 word], Deut. 28. 2[illegible: 1+ letters]. or miraculously and extraordinarily from the hand of the Lord, as Exod. 9. 10, 15. Compare Exod. 23. 25. Psal. 105. 37.

Marginal references: Exod. 9. 14▪ and 15. 26.

16 And thou shalt consume all the people which the LORD thy God shall deliver thee, thine eye shall have no pity upon them, neither shalt thou serve their Gods, for that will be a snare unto thee.

[illegible: 1 span]

Marginal references: Heb. [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word].; Exod. 23. 33.

18 Thou shalt not be afraid of them: but shalt well remember what the LORD thy God did unto Pharaoh, and unto all Egypt;

Heb. [illegible: 1 word] ▪ i. [illegible: 1+ letters]. remember it frequently, [illegible: 1 word], [illegible: 1 word], and for thy encouragement, for men are said to forget those things which they do not remember to good purpose.

19 The great temptations which thine eyes saw, and the signs, and the wonders, and the mighty hand, and the stretched-out arm, whereby the LORD thy God brought thee out: so shall the LORD thy God do unto all the people of whom thou art afraid

The Tryals and Exercises of thy Faith and Obedience to my call and commands.

So as he did to [illegible: 1 word] and his people, mentioned, [illegible: 1+ letters]. 1[illegible: 1+ letters].

Marginal references: chap. 4. [illegible: 1+ letters]4. and 29. 3.

20 Moreover, the LORD thy God will send the hornet among them, until they that are lest and hide themselves from thee, be destroyed.

Of which see on Exod. 23. 28.

Marginal references: Exod. 23. 28. Josh. 24. 12.

22 And the LORD thy God will put out those nations before thee by little and little: thou mayest not consume them at once , lest the beast of the field increase upon thee.

Or, Thou shalt not be able to conf[illegible: 1+ letters]e them at once, i. e. in an instant. I will not assist thee with my omnipotency, to crush them in a moment, but will bless thee in the use of ordinary [illegible: 1 word] ▪ and destroy them successively by several battles.

Marginal references: Heb. [illegible: 1 word] off.

24 And he shall deliver their Kings into thi[illegible: 1+ letters]e hand, and thou shalt destroy their name from under heaven: there shall no man be able to stand before thee, until thou have destroyed them .

This promise is made upon condition of their performance of their duty, which they neglecting, they justly lose the benefit of it, as we see, Iudg. 2. 1, 2, 3.

Marginal references: Josh. 12. 1.

25 The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them , nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein: for it is an abomination to the LORD thy God.

Wherewith the Idols are covered or a lorned, nor conse [illegible: 1+ letters] [illegible: 1 word] other [illegible: 1 word] their ornaments. This he commands to sh[illegible: 1+ letters] his [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word] of Idol[illegible: 1+ letters]ry, and to cut off all occasions of i[illegible: 1+ letters].

Marginal references: chap. 12. 3. Exod. 32. 20.; Josh. 7. 1, 21.; Psa. 106. 36.

26 Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it: but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly ab[illegible: 1+ letters]or it: for it is a cursed thing.

i. e. [illegible: 1 word] to [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word], as that was. See Ios. 7. [illegible: 1 word] ▪ [illegible: 1 word] ▪ [illegible: 1 word], [illegible: 1 word] ▪

Marginal references: chap. 13. 17. [illegible: 1 word]. 27. 23.