---
title: "Clarke"
description: "Verse Exodus 20:1. All these words — Houbigant supposes, and with great plausibility of reason, that the clause את כל הדברים האלה eth col haddebarim haell"
image: "/images/missing.jpg"
url: "https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/clarkes-commentary/exodus/20"
---

Verse [Exodus 20:1](../../../kjv/exodus/20/1). ***All these words*** — Houbigant supposes, and with great plausibility of reason, that the clause את כל הדברים האלה *eth col haddebarim haelleh*, "all these words," belong to the latter part of the concluding verse of [Exodus 19:25](../../../kjv/exodus/19/25), which he thinks should be read thus: *And Moses went down unto the people, and spake unto* *them* ALL THESE WORDS; i.e., delivered the solemn charge relative to their not attempting to come up to that part of the mountain on which God manifested himself in his glorious majesty, lest he should break forth upon them and consume them. For how could Divine justice and purity suffer a people so defiled to stand in his immediate presence? When Moses, therefore, had gone down and spoken *all these words*, and he and Aaron had *reascended the* mount, then the Divine Being, as supreme legislator, is majestically introduced thus: *And God spake, saying*. This gives a dignity to the commencement of this chapter of which the clause above mentioned, if not referred to the speech of Moses, deprives it. The *Anglo-Saxon* favours this emendation: [Anglo-Saxon], *God* *spoke* THUS, which is the whole of the first verse as it stands in that version.
Some learned men are of opinion that the TEN COMMANDMENTS were delivered on May 30, being then the day of *pentecost*.
The laws delivered on Mount Sinai have been variously named. In [Deuteronomy 4:13](../../../kjv/deuteronomy/4/13), they are called עשרת הדברים *asereth haddebarim*, THE TEN WORDS. In the preceding chapter, [Exodus 19:5](../../../kjv/exodus/19/5), God calls them את בריתי *eth berithi*, my COVENANT, i.e., the agreement he entered into with the people of Israel to take them for his peculiar people, if they took him for their God and portion. IF *ye will obey my voice* *indeed*, and KEEP my COVENANT, THEN *shall ye be a peculiar treasure* *unto me*. And the word *covenant* here evidently refers to the *laws* given in this chapter, as is evident from [Deuteronomy 4:13](../../../kjv/deuteronomy/4/13): *And he declared unto you his* COVENANT, *which he commanded you to* *perform*, even TEN COMMANDMENTS. They have been also termed the *moral law*, because they contain and lay down rules for the regulation of the *manners* or *conduct* of men. Sometimes they have been termed *the* LAW, התורה *hattorah*, by way of eminence, as containing the grand system of spiritual *instruction, direction,* *guidance*, c. See on the word LAW, [Exodus 12:49](../../../kjv/exodus/12/49). [Exodus 12:49](../../../kjv/exodus/12/49). And frequently the DECALOGUE, Δεκαλογος, which is a literal translation into Greek of the עשרת הדברים *asereth haddebarim*, or TEN WORDS, of Moses.
Among divines they are generally divided into what they term the *first* and *second* tables. The FIRST *table* containing the *first,* *second, third*, and *fourth* commandments, and comprehending the whole system of *theology*, the true notions we should form of the Divine nature, the reverence we owe and the religious service we should render to him. The SECOND, containing the *six* last commandments, and comprehending a complete system of *ethics*, or *moral duties*, which man owes to his fellows, and on the due performance of which the order, peace and happiness of society depend. By this division, the FIRST table contains our *duty* to GOD the SECOND our *duty* to our NEIGHBOUR. This division, which is natural enough, refers us to the grand principle, love to God and love to man, through which both tables are observed.
1. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul, mind, and strength.
2. Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
On these two hang all the law and the prophets. [Matthew 22:37](../../../kjv/matthew/22/37); and *"*[Matthew 22:38](../../../kjv/matthew/22/38)*"*. [Matthew 22:39](../../../kjv/matthew/22/39); and *"*[Matthew 22:40](../../../kjv/matthew/22/40)*"*.

Against *mental* or *theoretic idolatry*.
Verse [Exodus 20:2](../../../kjv/exodus/20/2). ***I*****am*****the*****LORD*****thy God*** — יהוה אלהיך *Yehovah* *eloheycha*. On the word JEHOVAH, which we here translate LORD, [Genesis 2:4](../../../kjv/genesis/2/4), and *"*[Exodus 6:3](../../../kjv/exodus/6/3)*"*. And on the word Elohim, here translated GOD, [Genesis 1:1](../../../kjv/genesis/1/1). It is worthy of remark that each *individual* is addressed here, and not the *people collectively*, though they are all necessarily included; that each might feel that he was bound for *himself* to hear and do all these words. Moses laboured to impress this *personal interest* on the people's minds, when he said, [Deuteronomy 5:3-4](../../../kjv/deuteronomy/5/3-4): "The Lord made this covenant with *us*, even *us*, who are all of *us* here alive this day."
***Brought thee out of the land of Egypt, &c.*** — And by this very thing have proved myself to be superior to all gods, unlimited in power, and most gracious as well as fearful in operation. This is the preface or introduction, but should not be separated from the commandment. Therefore, -

Verse [Exodus 20:3](../../../kjv/exodus/20/3). ***Thou shalt have no other gods before me.*** — אלהים אחרים *elohim acherim*, no *strange gods*- none that thou art not *acquainted* with, none who has not *given thee* such *proofs* of his power and godhead as I have done in delivering thee from the Egyptians, dividing the Red Sea, bringing water out of the rock, quails into the desert, manna from heaven to feed thee, and the pillar of cloud to direct, enlighten, and shield thee. By these miracles God had rendered himself *familiar* to them, they were intimately *acquainted* with the operation of his hands; and therefore with great propriety he says, Thou shalt have no *strange gods* before me; על פני *al panai, before* or in *the place* of those *manifestations* which I have made of myself.
This commandment prohibits every species of *mental* idolatry, and all inordinate attachment to *earthly* and *sensible* things. As God is the *fountain of happiness*, and no intelligent creature can be happy but through him, whoever seeks happiness in the *creature* is necessarily an *idolater*; as he puts the *creature* in the place of the *Creator*, expecting that from the gratification of his passions, in the use or abuse of earthly things, which is to be found in God alone. The very first commandment of the whole series is divinely calculated to prevent man's misery and promote his happiness, by taking him off from all false dependence, and leading him to God himself, the *fountain of all good*.

Against *making* and *worshipping images*.
Verse [Exodus 20:4](../../../kjv/exodus/20/4). ***Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image*** — As the word פסל *pasal* signifies to *hew*, *carve, grave*, c., פסל *pesel* may here signify any kind of image, either of *wood, stone*, or *metal*, on which the *axe*, the *chisel*, or the *graving tool* has been employed. This commandment includes in its prohibitions *every species of idolatry* known to have been practised among the Egyptians. The reader will see this the more plainly by consulting the notes on the *ten plagues*, particularly those on chap. xii.
***Or any likeness, c.*** — To know the full spirit and extent of this commandment, this place must be collated with [Deuteronomy 4:15](../../../kjv/deuteronomy/4/15), &c.: *Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves-lest ye corrupt* *yourselves - and make you a graven image, the similitude of any* *figure, the likeness of* MALE *or* FEMALE. All who have even the slightest acquaintance with the ancient history of Egypt, know that *Osiris* and his wife *Isis* were supreme divinities among that people.
*The likeness of any beast*. - בהמה behemah, such as the *ox* and the *heifer*. Among the Egyptians the ox was not only sacred but *adored*, because they supposed that in one of these animals *Osiris* took up his residence: hence they always had a *living ox*, which they supposed to be the habitation of this deity and they imagined that on the death of one he entered into the body of another, and so on successively. This famous *ox-god* they called *Apis* and *Mnevis*.
*The likeness of any winged fowl*. - The *ibis*, or *stork*, or *crane*, and *hawk*, may be here intended, for all these were objects of Egyptian idolatry.
*The likeness of any thing that* CREEPETH. The *crocodile,* *serpents*, the *scarabeus* or *beetle*, were all objects of their adoration and Mr. Bryant has rendered it very probable that even the *frog* itself was a sacred animal, as from its *inflation* it was emblematic of the prophetic influence, for they supposed that the god *inflated* or *distended* the body of the person by whom he gave oracular answers.
*The likeness of any* FISH. - All *fish* were esteemed sacred animals among the Egyptians. One called *Oxurunchus* had, according to Strabo, lib. xvii., a temple, and divine honours paid to it. Another fish, called *Phagrus*, was worshipped at *Syene*, according to *Clemens Alexandrinus* in his *Cohortatio*. And the *Lepidotus* and *eel* were objects of their adoration, as we find from *Herodotus*, lib. ii., cap. 72. In short, *oxen, heifers, sheep,* *goats, lions, dogs, monkeys*, and *cats*; the *ibis*, the *crane*, and the *hawk*; the *crocodile, serpents, frogs, flies*, and the *scarabeus* or *beetle*; the *Nile* and its *fish*; the *sun, moon,* *planets*, and *stars; fire, light, air, darkness*, and *night*, were all objects of Egyptian idolatry, and all included in this very *circumstantial* prohibition as detailed in Deuteronomy, and very forcibly in the *general* terms of the text: *Thou shalt not* *make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that* *is in the* HEAVENS *above, or that is in the* EARTH *beneath, or that* *is in the* WATER *under the earth*. And the reason of this becomes self-evident, when the various objects of Egyptian idolatry are considered.
To countenance its *image worship*, the *Roman Catholic Church* has left the whole of this second commandment out of the decalogue, and thus lost one whole commandment out of the *ten*; but to keep up the *number* they have divided the *tenth* into *two*. This is totally contrary to the faith of God's elect and to the acknowledgment of that truth which is according to godliness. The verse is found in every MS. of the *Hebrew Pentateuch* that has ever yet been discovered. It is in all the *ancient versions*, Samaritan, Chaldee, Syriac, Septuagint, Vulgate, Coptic, and Arabic; also in the Persian, and in all modern versions. There is not one word of the whole verse wanting in the many hundreds of MSS. collected by *Kennicott* and *De Rossi*. This corruption of the word of God by the Roman Catholic Church stamps it, as a *false* and *heretical* Church, with the deepest brand of ever-during infamy!
This commandment also prohibits every species of *external* idolatry, as the *first* does all idolatry that may be called *internal* or *mental*. All *false worship* may be considered of this kind, together with all *image worship*, and all other superstitious rites and ceremonies. [Exodus 20:23](../../../kjv/exodus/20/23).

Verse [Exodus 20:5](../../../kjv/exodus/20/5). ***Jealous God*** — This shows in a most expressive manner the love of God to this people. He felt for them as the most affectionate husband could do for his spouse; and was *jealous* for their fidelity, because he willed their invariable happiness.
***Visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children*** — This necessarily implies - IF *the children walk in the steps of their* *fathers*; for no man can be condemned by Divine justice for a crime of which he was never guilty; see [Ezekiel 13:1-9](../../../kjv/ezekiel/13/1-9). *Idolatry* is however particularly intended, and *visiting* sins of this kind refers principally to *national judgments*. By withdrawing the Divine protection the idolatrous Israelites were delivered up into the hands of their enemies, from whom the gods in whom they had trusted could not deliver them. This God did to the *third and* *fourth generations*, i.e., *successively*; as may be seen in every part of the Jewish history, and particularly in the book of *Judges*. And this, at last, became the grand and the only effectual and lasting means in his hand of their final deliverance from idolatry; for it is well known that after the Babylonish captivity the Israelites were so completely saved from idolatry, as never more to have disgraced themselves by it as they had formerly done. These national judgments, thus continued from generation to generation, appear to be what are designed by the words in the text, *Visiting the sins of the fathers upon the* *children*, &c.

Verse [Exodus 20:6](../../../kjv/exodus/20/6). ***And showing mercy unto thousands*** — Mark; even those who love God and keep his commandments *merit* nothing from him, and therefore the salvation and blessedness which these enjoy come from the *mercy* of God: *Showing mercy*, c. What a disproportion between the works of *justice* and *mercy*! *Justice* works to the *third* or *fourth, mercy* to *thousands* of generations!
The heathen had maxims like these. Theocritus also teaches that the children of the good shall be blessed because of their parents' piety, and that evil shall come upon the offspring of the wicked: -

Ευσεβεων παιδεσσι τα λωΐα, δυσσεβεων δ' ου.
Idyll. 26, v. 32.

Upon the children of the righteous fall
The choicest blessings on the wicked, wo.

***That love me, and keep my commandments.*** — It was this that caused Christ to comprise the fulfilment of the whole law in *love* to God and man; [Exodus 20:1](../../../kjv/exodus/20/1). And as love is the grand principle of obedience, and the only incentive to it, so there can be no *obedience* without it. It would be more easy even in Egyptian bondage to make brick without straw, than to do the will of God unless his love be shed abroad in the heart of the Holy Spirit. *Love*, says the apostle, *is the fulfilling of the* *law*; [Romans 13:10](../../../kjv/romans/13/10).

***The Lord will not hold him guiltless, c.*** — Whatever the person himself may think or hope, however he may plead in his own behalf, and say he intends no evil, &c. if he in any of the above ways, or in any other way, *takes the name of God in vain*, God will not *hold him guiltless*- he will account him *guilty* and punish him for it. Is it necessary to say to any truly spiritual mind, that all such interjections as *O God! my God! good God! good Heavens!* &c., &c., are formal positive breaches of this law? How many who pass for *Christians* are highly criminal here!

Against *profanation* of the *Sabbath*, and
*idleness* on the *other days* of the *week*.

Verse [Exodus 20:8](../../../kjv/exodus/20/8). ***Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.*** — See what has been already said on this precept, [Genesis 2:2](../../../kjv/genesis/2/2), and elsewhere. [Genesis 2:2](../../../kjv/genesis/2/2). As this was the most ancient institution, God calls them to *remember* it; as if he had said, Do not *forget* that when I had finished my creation I instituted the Sabbath, and *remember* why I did so, and for what purposes. The word שבת *shabbath* signifies *rest* or *cessation* from *labour;* and the sanctification of the seventh day is commanded, as having something *representative* in it; and so indeed it has, for it typifies the *rest which remains for the people of God*, and in this light it evidently appears to have been understood by the apostle, Heb. iv. Because this commandment has not been particularly mentioned in the New Testament as a moral precept binding on all, therefore some have presumptuously inferred that there is *no* *Sabbath* under the Christian dispensation. The truth is, the Sabbath is considered as a *type*: all types are of full force till the thing signified by them takes place; but the thing signified by the Sabbath is that *rest in glory* which *remains* for the people of God, therefore the moral obligation of the Sabbath must continue till *time* be swallowed up in eternity.

Verse [Exodus 20:9](../../../kjv/exodus/20/9). ***Six days shalt thou labour*** — Therefore he who idles away time on any of the six days, is as guilty before God as he who works on the Sabbath. No work should be done on the Sabbath that can be done on the preceding days, or can be deferred to the succeeding ones. Works of absolute *necessity* and *mercy* are alone excepted. He who works by his *servants* or *cattle* is equally guilty as if he worked himself. *Hiring out horses*, &c., for *pleasure* or *business, going on journeys, paying worldly visits*, or *taking jaunts* on the Lord's day, are breaches of this law. The whole of it should be devoted to the *rest of the body* and the improvement of the mind. God says *he has hallowed it*- he has made it *sacred* and set it apart for the above purposes. It is therefore the most proper day for public religious worship.

Against *disrespect* and *disobedience* to *parents*.
Verse [Exodus 20:12](../../../kjv/exodus/20/12). ***Honour thy father and thy mother*** — There is a degree of affectionate respect which is owing to parents, that no person else can properly claim. For a considerable time parents stand as it were in the place of God to their children, and therefore rebellion against their lawful commands has been considered as rebellion against God. This precept therefore prohibits, not only all injurious acts, irreverent and unkind speeches to parents, but enjoins all necessary acts of kindness, filial respect, and obedience. We can scarcely suppose that a man *honours* his parents who, when they fall weak, blind, or sick, does not exert himself to the uttermost in their support. In such cases God as truly requires the children to *provide* for their parents, as he required the parents to feed, nourish, support, instruct, and defend the children when they were in the lowest state of helpless in fancy. [Genesis 48:12](../../../kjv/genesis/48/12). The rabbins say, *Honour the Lord with thy substance*, [Proverbs 3:9](../../../kjv/proverbs/3/9); and, *Honour thy father and mother*. The LORD is to be honoured thus if thou have it; thy father and mother, whether thou have it or not; for if thou have nothing, thou art bound to *beg* for them. See *Ainsworth*.
***That thy days may be long*** — This, as the apostle observes, [Ephesians 6:2](../../../kjv/ephesians/6/2), is the *first commandment to which* God has annexed a promise; and therefore we may learn in some measure how important the duty is in the sight of God. In [Deuteronomy 5:16](../../../kjv/deuteronomy/5/16) it is said, *And that it may go well with thee*; we may therefore conclude that it will go *ill* with the disobedient; and there is no doubt that the untimely deaths of many young persons are the judicial consequence of their disobedience to their parents. Most who come to an untimely end are obliged to confess that *this*, with the *breach of the Sabbath*, was the principal cause of their ruin. Reader, art thou guilty? Humble thyself therefore before God, and repent.
1. As *children* are bound to succour their parents, so *parents* are bound to educate and instruct their children in all useful and necessary knowledge, and not to bring them up either in *ignorance* or *idleness*.
2. They should teach their children the fear and knowledge of God, for how can they expect affection or dutiful respect from those who have not the fear of God before their eyes?
Those who are *best educated* are generally the *most* *dutiful*. Heathens also inculcated respect to parents.
Ουδεν προς θεων τιμιωτερον αγαλμα αν κτησαιμεθα πατρος και προπατορος παρειμενων γηρᾳ, και μητερων την αυτην δυναμιν εχουσων· οὑς ὁυταν αγαλλῃ τις, τιμαις γεγηθεν ὁ θεος. - Πας δη νουν εχων φοβειται και τιμᾳ, γονενων ευχας ειδως πολλοις και πολλακις επιτελεις γενομενας.
Plato de Leg., lib. xi., vol. ix, p. 160. Ed. Bipont.

"We can obtain no more honourable possession from the gods than fathers and forefathers worn down with age, and mothers who have undergone the same change, whom when we delight, God is pleased with the honour; and every one that is governed by right understanding fears and reverences them, well knowing that the prayers of parents oftentimes, and in many particulars, have received full accomplishment."

Against *murder* and *cruelty*.
Verse [Exodus 20:13](../../../kjv/exodus/20/13). ***Thou shalt not kill.*** — This commandment, which is general, prohibits *murder* of every kind.
1. All *actions* by which the lives of our fellow creatures may be *abridged*.
2. All *wars* for extending empire, commerce, c.
3. All *sanguinary laws*, by the operation of which the lives of men may be taken away for offences of comparatively trifling demerit.
4. All *bad* *dispositions* which lead men to wish evil to, or meditate mischief against, one another for, says the Scripture, *He that* *hateth his brother* in his heart *is a murderer*.
5. All *want of* *charity* to the helpless and distressed; for he who has it in his power to save the life of another by a timely application of succour, food, raiment, c., and does not do it, and the life of the person either *falls* or is *abridged* on this account, is in the sight of God *a murderer*. He who neglects to save life is, according to an incontrovertible maxim in *law*, the SAME as he who takes it away.
6. All *riot* and *excess*, all *drunkenness* and *gluttony*, all *inactivity* and *slothfulness*, and all *superstitious mortifications* and *self-denials*, by which life may be destroyed or shortened all these are point-blank sins against the *sixth* commandment.

Against *adultery* and *uncleanness*.
Verse [Exodus 20:14](../../../kjv/exodus/20/14). ***Thou shalt not commit adultery.*** — Adultery, as defined by our laws, is of *two* kinds; *double*, when between two married persons; *single*, when *one* of the parties is married, the other single. One principal part of the *criminality* of adultery consists in its *injustice*.
1. It robs a man of his *right* by taking from him the *affection* of his wife.
2. It does him a *wrong* by fathering on him and obliging him to maintain as *his own* a spurious offspring - a child which is *not his*. The *act* itself, and every thing leading to the act, is prohibited by this commandment; for our Lord says, Even *he who looks on a woman to lust after her*, *has already committed adultery with her in his heart*. And not only *adultery* (the unlawful commerce between two married persons) is forbidden here, but also *fornication* and all kinds of mental and sensual uncleanness. All impure *books, songs*, *paintings*, c., which tend to inflame and debauch the mind, are against this law, as well as another species of impurity, for the account of which the reader is referred to [Genesis 38:30](../../../kjv/genesis/38/30).
That *fornication* was included under this command we may gather from St. Matthew, [Matthew 15:19](../../../kjv/matthew/15/19), where our Saviour expresses the sense of the different commandments by a *word for each*, and mentions them *in the order* in which they stand; but when he comes to the seventh he uses two words, μοιχειαι πορνειαι, to express its meaning, and then goes on to the eighth, c. thus evidently showing that fornication was understood to be comprehended under the command, "Thou shalt not commit adultery." As to the word adultery, *adulterium*, it has probably been derived from the words *ad alterius torum, to another's bed*; for it is *going to the* *bed of another man* that constitutes the *act* and the *crime*. *Adultery* often means idolatry in the worship of God.

Against *stealing* and *dishonesty*.
Verse [Exodus 20:15](../../../kjv/exodus/20/15). ***Thou shalt not steal.*** — All *rapine* and *theft* are forbidden by this precept; as well *national* and *commercial* wrongs as petty larceny, highway robberies, and private stealing: even the taking advantage of a seller's or buyer's ignorance, to give the one *less* and make the other pay *more* for a commodity than its worth, is a breach of this sacred law. All *withholding of rights* and *doing of wrongs* are against the spirit of it. But the word is principally applicable to *clandestine stealing*, though it may undoubtedly include all *political injustice* and *private wrongs*. And consequently all *kidnapping, crimping*, and *slave-dealing* are prohibited here, whether practised by *individuals* or by the *state*. Crimes are not lessened in their demerit by the *number*, or *political importance* of those who commit them. A *state* that enacts *bad laws* is as criminal before God as the *individual* who breaks *good* ones.
It has been supposed that under the *eighth* commandment, injuries done to *character*, the depriving a man of his *reputation* or *good* *name*, are included, hence those words of one of our poets: -
Good *name* in man or woman
Is the immediate jewel of their souls.
Who *steals* my purse steals trash, --
But he that *filches from* me my good name,
Robs me of that which not enriches him,
And makes me *poor* indeed.

Against *false testimony, perjury*, c.
Verse [Exodus 20:16](../../../kjv/exodus/20/16). ***Thou shalt not bear false witness, &c.*** — Not only false oaths, to deprive a man of his *life* or of his *right*, are here prohibited, but all *whispering, tale-bearing, slander*, and *calumny* in a word, whatever is deposed as a truth, which is false in fact, and tends to injure another in his goods, person, or character, is against the *spirit* and *letter* of this law. *Suppressing the truth* when known, by which a person may be defrauded of his *property* or his *good name*, or lie under injuries or disabilities which a discovery of the truth would have prevented, is also a crime against this law. He who bears a *false* testimony against or belies even the devil himself, comes under the curse of this law, because his testimony is *false*. By the term *neighbour* any *human* being is intended, whether he rank among our *enemies* or *friends*.

Against *covetousness*.
Verse [Exodus 20:17](../../../kjv/exodus/20/17). ***Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house - wife, c.*** — *Covet* signifies to desire or long after, in order to enjoy as a *property* the person or thing coveted. He breaks this command who by any means endeavours to deprive a man of his *house* or *farm* by taking them *over his head*, as it is expressed in some countries who lusts after his neighbour's wife, and endeavours to ingratiate himself into her affections, and to lessen her husband in her esteem; and who endeavours to possess himself of the *servants, cattle*, c., of another in any clandestine or unjustifiable manner. "This is a most excellent moral precept, the observance of which will prevent all public crimes for he who feels the force of the law that prohibits the inordinate desire of any thing that is the property of another, can never make a breach in the peace of society by an act of wrong to any of even its feeblest members."

Verse [Exodus 20:18](../../../kjv/exodus/20/18). ***And all the people saw the thunderings, c.*** — They had witnessed all these awful things before, (see [Exodus 19:16](../../../kjv/exodus/19/16)), but *here* they seem to have been repeated probably at the end of each command, there was a peal of thunder, a blast of the trumpet, and a gleam of lightning, to impress their hearts the more deeply with a due sense of the Divine Majesty, of the holiness of the law which was now delivered, and of the fearful consequences of disobedience. This had the desired effect; the people were impressed with a deep religious fear and a terror of God's judgments; acknowledged themselves perfectly satisfied with the discoveries God had made of himself; and requested that Moses might be constituted the *mediator* between God and them, as they were not able to bear these tremendous discoveries of the *Divine* *Majesty*. "*Speak thou with us, and we will hear; but let not God* *speak with us, lest we die*;" [Exodus 20:19](../../../kjv/exodus/20/19). This teaches us the absolute necessity of that great Mediator between God and man, Christ Jesus, as no man can come unto the Father but *by him*.

Verse [Exodus 20:20](../../../kjv/exodus/20/20). ***And Moses said - Fear not: for God is come to prove you,**********and that his fear may be before your faces*** — The maxim contained in this verse is, *Fear not, that he may fear*- do not fear with such a fear as brings *consternation* into the soul, and produces nothing but terror and confusion; but fear with that *fear* which *reverence* and *filial affection* inspire, *that ye sin not*- that, through the love and reverence ye feel to your Maker and Sovereign, ye may abstain from every appearance of evil, lest you should forfeit that love which is to you better than life. He who fears in the *first* sense can neither *love* nor *obey*; he who *fears not* in the *latter* sense is sure to fall under the first temptation that may occur. *Blessed is the man who* thus *feareth always*.

Verse [Exodus 20:22](../../../kjv/exodus/20/22). ***I have talked with you from heaven.*** — Though God manifested himself by the *fire*, the *lightning*, the *earthquake*, the *thick darkness*, c., yet the *ten words*, or *commandments* were probably uttered from the *higher regions of the air*, which would be an additional proof to the people that there was no *imposture* in this case for though strange appearances and voices might be counterfeited on earth, as was often, no doubt, done by the magicians of Egypt; yet it would be utterly impossible to represent a voice, in a long continued series of instruction, as proceeding from heaven itself, or the higher regions of the atmosphere. This, with the earthquake and repeated thunders, (see on [Exodus 20:18](../../../kjv/exodus/20/18)), would put the *reality* of this whole procedure beyond all doubt; and this enabled Moses, [Deuteronomy 5:26](../../../kjv/deuteronomy/5/26), to make such an appeal to the people on a fact incontrovertible and of infinite importance, that God had indeed talked with them face to face.

Verse [Exodus 20:23](../../../kjv/exodus/20/23). ***Ye shall not make with me gods of silver*** — The expressions here are very remarkable. Before it was said, Ye shall have no other gods BEFORE *me*, אל פני al panai, [Exodus 20:3](../../../kjv/exodus/20/3). Here they are commanded, ye shall not make gods of *silver* or *gold* *itti* WITH *me*, as *emblems* or *representatives* of God, in order, as might be pretended, to keep these displays of his magnificence in memory; on the contrary, he would have only an *altar of earth*-of *plain turf*, on which they should offer those sacrifices by which they should commemorate their own guilt and the necessity of an atonement to reconcile themselves to God. [Exodus 20:4](../../../kjv/exodus/20/4).

Verse [Exodus 20:24](../../../kjv/exodus/20/24). ***Thy burnt-offerings, and thy peace-offerings*** — The *law* concerning which was shortly to be given, though sacrifices of this kind were in use from the days of Abel.
***In all places where I record my name*** — Wherever I am worshipped, whether in the open wilderness, at the tabernacle, in the temple, the synagogues, or elsewhere, *I will come unto thee and bless* *thee*. These words are precisely the same in signification with those of our Lord, [Matthew 18:20](../../../kjv/matthew/18/20): *For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there* *am I in the midst of them*. And as it was JESUS who was the angel that spoke to them in the wilderness, [Acts 7:38](../../../kjv/acts/7/38), from the same mouth *this* promise in the *law* and *that* in the *Gospel* proceeded.

Verse [Exodus 20:25](../../../kjv/exodus/20/25). ***Thou shalt not build it of hewn stone*** — Because they were now in a wandering state, and had as yet no fixed residence; and therefore no time should be wasted to rear costly altars, which could not be transported with them, and which they must soon leave. Besides, they must not lavish skill or expense on the construction of an altar; the altar of itself, whether costly or mean, was nothing in the worship; it was only the *place* on which the victim should be laid, and their mind must be attentively fixed on that God to whom the sacrifice was offered, and on the sacrifice itself, as that appointed by the Lord to make an atonement for their sins.

Verse [Exodus 20:26](../../../kjv/exodus/20/26). ***Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar*** — The word altar comes from *altus, high* or *elevated*, though the Hebrew word מזבח *mizbach*, from זבח *zabach*, to *slay, kill*, c., signifies merely a *place for sacrifice* see [Genesis 8:20](../../../kjv/genesis/8/20). But the heathens, who imitated the rites of the true God in their idolatrous worship, made their altars very high; whence they derived their name *altaria, altars*, i.e., very high or elevated places; which they built thus, partly through pride and vain glory, and partly that their gods might the better hear them. Hence also the *high places* or idolatrous altars so often and so severely condemned in the Holy Scriptures. The heathens made some of their altars excessively high; and some imagine that the pyramids were *altars* of this kind, and that the inspired writer refers to those in these prohibitions. God therefore ordered *his* altars to be made,
1. either of simple turf, that there might be no unnecessary expense, which, in their present circumstances, the people could not well afford; and that they might be no incentives to idolatry from their costly or curious structure; or
2. of *unhewn stone*, that no images of animals or of the celestial bodies might be sculptured on them, as was the case among the idolaters, and especially among the Egyptians, as several of their ancient altars which remain to the present day amply testify; which altars themselves, and the images carved on them, became in process of time incentives to idolatry, and even objects of worship.
In short, God formed every part of his worship so that every thing belonging to it might be as dissimilar as possible from that of the surrounding heathenish nations, and especially the Egyptians, from whose land they had just now departed. This seems to have been the whole design of those statutes on which many commentators have written so largely and learnedly, imagining difficulties where probably there are none. The *altars* of the tabernacle were of a different kind.
IN this and the preceding chapter we have met with some of the most awful displays of the Divine Majesty; manifestations of justice and holiness which have no parallel, and can have none till that day arrive in which he shall appear in his glory, to judge the quick and the dead. The glory was truly terrible, and to the children of Israel insufferable; and yet how highly privileged to have God himself speaking to them from the midst of the fire, giving them statutes and judgments so righteous, so pure, so holy, and so truly excellent in their operation and their end, that they have been the admiration of all the wise and upright in all countries and ages of the world, where their voice has been heard! Mohammed defied all the poets and literati of Arabia to match the *language* of the *Koran*; and for purity, elegance, and dignity it bore away the palm, and remained unrivalled. This indeed was the only advantage which the work derived from its author; for its other excellences it was indebted to *Moses* and the *prophets*, to *Christ* and the *apostles*; as there is scarcely a pure, consistent, theologic notion in it, that has not been borrowed from our sacred books. Moses calls the attention of the people, not to the *language* in which these Divine laws were given, though that is all that it should be, and every way worthy of its author; compressed yet perspicuous; simple yet dignified; in short, such as God should speak if he wished his creatures to comprehend; but he calls their attention to the purity, righteousness, and usefulness of the grand revelation which they had just received. *For what nation*, says he, *is there* *so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as Jehovah our God is,* *in all things that we call upon him for*? *And what nation hath* *statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law which I set* *before you this day*? And that which was the sum of all excellence in the present case was this, that the GOD who gave these laws dwelt among his people; to him they had continual access, and from him received that power without which obedience so extensive and so holy would have been impossible; and yet not one of these laws exacted more than eternal reason, the nature and fitness of things, the prosperity of the community, and the peace and happiness of the individual, required. *The* LAW *is holy, and the* COMMANDMENT *is* HOLY, JUST, *and* GOOD.
To show still more clearly the excellence and great utility of the ten commandments, and to correct some mistaken notions concerning them, it may be necessary to make a few additional observations. And
1. It is worthy of remark that there is none of these commandments, nor any part of one, which can fairly be considered as merely *ceremonial*. All are *moral*, and consequently of everlasting obligation.
2. When considered merely as to the *letter*, there is certainly no difficulty in the moral obedience required to them. Let every reader take them up one by one, and ask his conscience before God, which of them he is under a *fatal* and *uncontrollable necessity* to break?
3. Though by the incarnation and death of Christ all the *ceremonial* law which referred to him and his sacrifice is necessarily abrogated, yet, as none of these ten commandments refer to any thing properly *ceremonial*, therefore *they* are not abrogated.
4. Though Christ came into the world to redeem them who believe from the curse of the law, he did not redeem them from the necessity of *walking in* *that newness of life* which these commandments so strongly inculcate.
5. Though Christ is *said* to have *fulfilled the law* for us, yet it is nowhere intimated in the *Scripture* that he has so fulfilled these TEN LAWS, as to exempt us from the necessity and *privilege* of being *no* idolaters, swearers, Sabbath-breakers, disobedient and cruel children, murderers, adulterers, thieves, and corrupt witnesses. All these commandments, it is true, he punctually fulfilled himself; and all these he writes on the heart of every soul redeemed by his blood.
6. Do not those who scruple not to insinuate that the proper observation of these laws is *impossible in this life*, and that *every man since the fall does* *daily break them in thought, word*, and *deed*, bear false witness against God and his truth? and do they not greatly err, *not* *knowing the Scripture*, which teaches the necessity of such obedience, nor the *power of God*, by which the evil principle of the heart is destroyed, and the law of purity written on the soul? If even the *regenerate* man, as some have unwarily asserted, does *daily* break *these commands*, these ten words, in *thought, word*, and *deed*, he may be as bad as *Satan* for aught we know; for Satan himself cannot transgress in more *forms* than these, for sin can be committed in no other way, either by bodied or disembodied spirits, than by *thought*, or *word*, or *deed*. Such sayings as these tend to destroy the distinction between good and evil, and leave the infidel and the believer on a par as to their moral state. The people of God should be careful how they use them.
7. It must be granted, and indeed has sufficiently appeared from the preceding exposition of these commandments, that they are not only to be understood in the *letter* but also in the *spirit*, and that therefore they may be *broken* in the *heart* while *outwardly* kept *inviolate*; yet this does not prove that a soul influenced by the grace and spirit of Christ cannot most conscientiously observe them; for the grace of the Gospel not on)y saves a man from *outward* but also from *inward* sin; for, says the heavenly messenger, *his name shall be called* JESUS, (i.e., *Saviour*,) *because he shall save*, (i.e., DELIVER) *his people* FROM *their* *sins*. Therefore the weakness or corruption of human nature forms no argument here, because the blood of Christ cleanses from all unrighteousness; and *he* saves to the uttermost all who come unto the Father through him. It is therefore readily granted that no man *unassisted* and *uninfluenced* by the *grace* of Christ can keep these commandments, either in the *letter* or in the *spirit*; but he who is truly converted to God, and has Christ dwelling in his heart by faith, can, in the *letter* and in the *spirit*, do all these things, BECAUSE CHRIST STRENGTHENS *him*. - Reader, the following is a good prayer, and oftentimes thou hast *said* it; now learn to *pray* it: "Lord, have mercy upon us, and *incline* our hearts to keep these laws! Lord, have mercy upon us, and write all these thy laws *in our hearts*, we beseech thee!" - *Com. Service*.

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