Notes on the Book of Deuteronomy, Volume IMackintosh, Charles Henry
Religion
Notes on the Book of Deuteronomy, Volume I
Mackintosh, Charles Henry
Bible. Deuteronomy -- Commentaries
What heavenly wisdom is here! what even-handed justice! what holy
impartiality! In every case of difference, all the facts on both sides
were to be fully heard and patiently weighed. The mind was not to be
warped by prejudice, predilection, or personal feeling of any kind.
The judgment was to be formed, not by impressions, but by
facts--clearly established, undeniable facts. Personal influence was
to have no weight whatever. The position and circumstances of either
party in the cause were not to be considered. The case must be
decided entirely upon its own merits. "Ye shall hear the small as well
as the great." The poor man was to have the same even-handed justice
meted out to him as the rich; the stranger as one born in the land. No
difference was to be allowed.
How important is all this! how worthy of our attentive consideration!
how full of deep and valuable instruction for us all! True, we are not
all called to be judges or elders or leaders; but the great moral
principles laid down in the above quotation are of the very utmost
value to every one of us, inasmuch as cases are continually occurring
which call for their direct application. Wherever our lot may be cast,
whatever our line of life or sphere of action, we are liable, alas! to
meet with cases of difficulty and misunderstanding between our
brethren,--cases of wrong, whether real or imaginary; and hence it is
most needful to be divinely instructed as to how we ought to carry
ourselves in respect to such.
Now, in all such cases, we cannot be too strongly impressed with the
necessity of having our judgment based on facts--all the facts on both
sides. We must not allow ourselves to be guided by our own
impressions, for we all know that mere impressions are most
untrustworthy. They may be correct, and they may be utterly false.
Nothing is more easily received and conveyed than a false impression,
and therefore any judgment based on mere impressions is worthless. We
must have solid, clearly established facts--facts established by two
or three witnesses, as Scripture so distinctly enforces. (Deut. xvii.
6; Matt. xviii. 16; 2 Cor. xiii. 1; 1 Tim. v. 19.)
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