chapter xxvii. Some expositors, in seeking to account for the absence

of the blessings in the latter, have sought for them here; but it is a grand mistake--a mistake absolutely fatal to the proper understanding of either chapter. The obvious fact is, the two chapters are wholly distinct, in basis, scope, and practical application. Chapter xxvii. is (to put it as pointedly and briefly as possible) _moral_ and _personal_; chapter xxviii. is _dispensational_ and _national_. That deals with the great root-principle of man's moral condition as a sinner, utterly ruined and wholly incapable of meeting God on the ground of law; this, on the other hand, takes up the question of Israel as a nation, under the government of God. In short, a careful comparison of the two chapters will enable the reader to see their entire distinctness. For instance, what connection can we trace between the six blessings of our chapter and the twelve curses of