Deuteronomy 26

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26:1 And it shall be, when thou art come in unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and possessest it, and dwellest therein; 26:2 That thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the earth, which thou shalt bring of thy land that the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt put it in a basket, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose to place his name there.
26:3 And thou shalt go unto the priest that shall be in those days, and say unto him, I profess this day unto the LORD thy God, that I am come unto the country which the LORD sware unto our fathers for to give us.
26:4 And the priest shall take the basket out of thine hand, and set it down before the altar of the LORD thy God.
26:5 And thou shalt speak and say before the LORD thy God, A Syrian ready to perish was my father, and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there with a few, and became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous: 26:6 And the Egyptians evil entreated us, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage: 26:7 And when we cried unto the LORD God of our fathers, the LORD heard our voice, and looked on our affliction, and our labour, and our oppression: 26:8 And the LORD brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders: 26:9 And he hath brought us into this place, and hath given us this land, even a land that floweth with milk and honey.
26:10 And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land, which thou, O LORD, hast given me. And thou shalt set it before the LORD thy God, and worship before the LORD thy God: 26:11 And thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the LORD thy God hath given unto thee, and unto thine house, thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you.
26:12 When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled; 26:13 Then thou shalt say before the LORD thy God, I have brought away the hallowed things out of mine house, and also have given them unto the Levite, and unto the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all thy commandments which thou hast commanded me: I have not transgressed thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them.
26:14 I have not eaten thereof in my mourning, neither have I taken away ought thereof for any unclean use, nor given ought thereof for the dead: but I have hearkened to the voice of the LORD my God, and have done according to all that thou hast commanded me.
26:15 Look down from thy holy habitation, from heaven, and bless thy people Israel, and the land which thou hast given us, as thou swarest unto our fathers, a land that floweth with milk and honey.
26:16 This day the LORD thy God hath commanded thee to do these statutes and judgments: thou shalt therefore keep and do them with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.
26:17 Thou hast avouched the LORD this day to be thy God, and to walk in his ways, and to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and to hearken unto his voice: 26:18 And the LORD hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments; 26:19 And to make thee high above all nations which he hath made, in praise, and in name, and in honour; and that thou mayest be an holy people unto the LORD thy God, as he hath spoken.


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King James Bible:Deuteronomy

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
back to: Deuteronomy
Book: Deuteronomy
Chapter: 26

Overview:
Confession in Offering the First-fruits. (1-11) The Prayer
after disposal of the third Year's Tithe. (12-15) The Covenant
between God and the people. (16-19)

1-11 When God has made good his promises to us, he expects we
should own it to the honour of his faithfulness. And our
Creature comforts are doubly sweet, when we see them flowing
from the Fountain of the promise. The person who offered his
First-fruits, must remember and own the mean origin of that
nation, of which he was a member. A Syrian ready to perish was
my Father. Jacob is here called a Syrian. Their nation in its
infancy sojourned in Egypt as strangers, they served there as
slaves. They were a Poor, despised, oppressed people in Egypt;
and though become rich and great, had No reason to be proud,
secure, or forgetful of God. He must thankfully acknowledge
God's great Goodness to Israel. The comfort we have in our own
enjoyments, should lead us to be thankful for our share in
public peace and plenty; and with present mercies we should
Bless the Lord for the former mercies we remember, and the
further mercies we expect and Hope for. He must offer his Basket
of First-fruits. Whatever good thing God gives us, it is his
will that we make the most comfortable use we can of it, tracing
the streams to the Fountain of all consolation.

12-15 How should the Earth yield its increase, or, if it does,
what comfort can we take in it, unless therewith our God gives
us his blessing? All this represented the Covenant relation
between a reconciled God and every true believer, and the
privileges and duties belonging to it. We must be watchful, and
show that according to the Covenant of Grace in Christ Jesus,
the Lord is our God, and we are his people, waiting in his
appointed way for the performance of his gracious promises.

16-19 Moses here enforces the precepts. They are God's laws,
therefore thou shalt do them, to that End were they given thee;
do them, and dispute them not; do them, and draw not back; do
them, not carelessly and hypocritically, but with thy Heart and
soul, thy whole Heart and thy whole soul. We forswear ourselves,
and break the most sacred engagement, if, when we have taken the
Lord to be our God, we do not make Conscience of obeying his
commands. We are elected to obedience, 1Pe 1:2; Chosen that we
should be holy, Eph 1:4; purified a Peculiar people, that we
might not only do good Works, but be zealous in them, Tit
2:14. Holiness is true honour, and the only way to Everlasting
honour.