Deuteronomy 1:10, 11 The LORD your God has multiplied you, and, behold, you are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude.… These verses embody the expression of a very natural state of feeling in contemplating the marvel of the Church's growth. I. THE CHURCH'S INCREASE AN OBJECT OF DESIRE. "The Lord God of your fathers make you," etc. (ver. 11). Such increase is: 1. A token of Divine favor (Acts 11:24). 2. A manifestation of Divine power (1 Corinthians 1:18-30; Ephesians 1:19; 1 Thessalonians 1:5). 3. A source of blessing to the world (Psalm 67.). 4. A fulfillment of the Divine counsels (Ephesians 1:10). 5. Means the ascendancy of true religion. II. THE CHURCH'S INCREASE AN OBJECT OF WONDER. (Ver. 10.) The rapid spread, the extraordinary victories, the prolonged empire, and the undecaying vitality of the Christian religion are the most wonderful things in history, and a proof of its Divine origin. As Israel increased by the Divine blessing at an unprecedented rate, and in spite of all Pharaoh's attempts to check the increase, so has the Church flourished and spread, proving herself in her unarmed strength more than a match for the deadliest powers which can be arrayed against her. The present century has witnessed a remarkable revival of this propagative energy of Christianity (comp. Numbers 23:23). III. THE CHURCH'S INCREASE A MATTER OF PROMISE. (Ver. 11.) The promise to Abraham of a countless seed embraced in its widest import the spiritual, not less than the natural, Israel - his seed in Christ (Romans 4:16; Galatians 3:7-10, 14, 16, 26, 29). (Cf. the promises in Isaiah 53:10-12; Isaiah 54:1-3; Isaiah 60:1-12, with Daniel 2:35, 44; Matthew 8:11; Revelation 7:9). - J.O. Parallel Verses KJV: The LORD your God hath multiplied you, and, behold, ye are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude. |
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