[2.] It was a place wherein they lived solely and visibly upon God’s daily extraordinary provision for them. Should he have withheld a continual working of miracles in their behalf, both they and theirs must have utterly perished. This could not but have affected them with love and fear, great preservatives of obedience, had they not been extremely stupid and obdurate.
[3.] They were in a place where they had none to tempt them, to provoke them, to entice them unto sin, unless they wilfully sought them out unto that very end and purpose; as they did in the case of Midian. The people now “dwelt alone, and were not reckoned
VER. 7-11.] EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. 71
among the nations.” Afterwards, indeed, when they dwelt among other nations, they learned their manners; but as that was no excuse for their sin, so this was a great aggravation of it, that here it sprung merely from themselves and their own evil heart of unbelief, con- tinually prone to depart from the living God.
(2.) It was a place wherein they continually saw the works of God ; which is the second general head mentioned in the aggravation of their sin; “ They saw my works.” And this did aggravate their sin on many accounts :—
[1.] From the evidence that they had that such works were wrought, and that they were wrought of God,—they saw them. This Moses laid weight on, Deut. v. 3, 4, “The Lord made not this cove- nant with our fathers, but with us, even us, nbN UNIS VAS,” “who are all of us here alive thisday. The Lorp talked with you face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire.” “Not with our fathers ;” that is, say some, ‘ our forefathers who died in Egypt, and heard not the voice of God in Horeb:’ or, “Not with our fathers;” that is, only,— their fathers were alive at the giving of the law, ‘but the covenant was not made with them only, but with usalso. So Rashi on the place, sada wma ns 85, “Not with our fathers only.” And then VAN °2 is
as much as VAS D3 °D, as Aben Ezra observes, “with us also.” And he confirms this kind of speech from that of God to Jacob, “Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel ;’—that is, ‘Thou shalt not be called only so;’ for he was frequently called Jacob afterwards. Others suppose that by the “fathers,” Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, are intended, who were the especial fathers of the people. Now, they received the promise, and therein had the covenant of grace confirmed unto them, but had no share in the special covenant which was made in, by, and at the giving of the law; and in this sense the emphasis is on the word 4#7,—ni33 2, “this covenant,” this which is now made in the giving of the law. For my part, I am apt to think that God doth in these words of Moses show his indignation against all that provoking generation of their fathers in that wilderness, and affirms his covenant was not made with them, because they despised it, and received no benefit by it; for it had a peculiar respect unto the land of Canaan, concerning which God sware that they should not enter it. ‘It was not with them, saith he, ‘whom God despised and regarded not, but with you who are now ready go enter into the promised land, that this covenant was made.’ See Heb. viii 9. The ground why I produced this place, is to show what weight is to be laid on immediate transactions with God,—personal seeing of his works. Herein they had an advantage above those who could only say with the psalmist, Ps. xliv. 1, “ We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, what work thou didst in their days, in the times of old” They saw with their
72 AN EXPOSITION OF THE [CHAP. IIL
own eyes what was but told or reported unto others. And herein they had a double advantage,—
Ist. In point of evidence. They had the highest and most unques- tionable evidence that the works mentioned were wrought, and wrought of God,—they saw them. And this is clearly the most satisfactory evidence concerning miraculous works. Hence our Saviour chose those to be the witnesses of his miracles who had been durérras, “ spectators,” of them.
2dly. In point of efficacy for their end. Things seen and beheld have naturally a more effectual influence on the minds of men than those which they only hear of or are told them:—
“Seonius irritant animos demissa per aures, Quam que sunt oculis subjecta fidelibus.”—_Hor. ad Pison., 180.
This, therefore, greatly aggravates their sin—that they them- selves saw these works of God, which were signal means of pre- serving them from it.
[2.] From the nature of the works themselves which they saw. They were such as were eminent effects of the properties of God, and means of their demonstration, and therein of the revelation of God unto them. Some of them were works of power, as his dividing of the sea, whose waves roared; some of majesty and terror, as the dreadful appearances, in thunders, lightnings, fire, smoke, and earthquake, at the giving of the law; some of severity and indigna- tion against sin, as his drowning the Egyptians, the opening of the earth to swallow up Corah, Dathan, and Abiram, and the plagues that befell themselves; some of privilege, favour, love, and grace, as the giving of the law, intrusting them with his oracles, and forming them into a church and state, Isa. lvii. 16; some of care and prov- dence for their continual supply, in giving water from the rock, and bread from heaven, and preserving their garments from waxing old; some of direction and protection, as in the cloud and pillar of fire, to guide, direct, and refresh them night and day in that waste howl- ing wilderness ;—in all which works God abundantly manifested his power, goodness, wisdom, grace, faithfulness, tendering them the highest security of his accomplishing his promises, if they rejected not their interest in them by their unbelief. And it is a matter well worthy consideration, how excellently and pathetically Moses pleads all these works of God with them in the Book gf Deutero- nomy. And all these works of God were excellent means to have wrought up the hearts of the people unto faith and obedience; and unto that end and purpose were they wrought all of them. This he frequently declared whilst they were under the accomplishment, and thereon afterwards reproacheth them with their unbelief. What could be more suited to beget in the minds of men a due apprehen-