Obs. XXVI. The heart of God is greatly concerned in the sins of men, especially of those who on any account are his people, and so esteemed.
Men live, and act, and speak, as if they thought God very little concerned in what they do, especially in their sins; that either he takes no notice of them, or if he do, that he is not much concerned in them. That he should be grieved at his heart,—that is, have such a deep sense of men’s sinful provocations,—they have no mind to
VER. 7-11.] EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. 87
think or believe. They think that, as to thoughts about sin, God is altogether as themselves, Ps,].21. But itis otherwise; for God hath,—
(1.) A concernment of honour in what we do. He made us for his glory and honour; nothing whereof can we any way assign unto him but by our obedience; and whatever is contrary hereunto tends directly to his dishonour. And this God cannot but be deeply sen- sible of. He cannot deny himself. If men lose the rent which they expect from their tenants, and have obliged them to pay, and which they refuse upon mere will and stubbornness, they will find themselves to have a concernment therein; and shall God lose all the revenue that is due unto him, without expressing an indigna- tion against the guilt of men who deal so unjustly and fraudulently with him? Nay, he is deeply concerned in this matter, as he is our sovereign Lord.
(2.) He is concerned in point of justice also, as he is the supreme ruler and governor of all the works of his own hands. He is God, to whom vengeance doth belong, who hath said, “ Vengeance is mine, and I will recompense.” And he needs no other reason to induce him to punish sin but himself, his holiness and his justice being his nature. And this he expresseth after the manner of men, affirming that he is grieved, or vexed and provoked to indignation, with the sins of men. How this provocation is heightened by this aggravation of sin, that it is committed by his own people, under peculiar, unspeakable, obligations unto obedience, hath been declared before.
2. Proceed we with the exposition of the words. There is in them the judgment that God made and gave concerning this people and their sin, which is expressed as the reason why he was grieved with them: “ He said, They do always err in their hearts; and my ways they have not known.”
“He said ;’—not that God expressly used these words, but he made this judgment concerning them. This was the sense he had con- ceived of them. So the word is most frequently used for the concep- tion of the mind. It is the Aéyos evdsdderog, or “sense of the mind,” not the Abyos xpogopixés, or “outward expression,” that is intended.
And in this judgment which God passed on that sinful genera- tion he declares three things:—(1.) The principle of all their sins,— they did “err in their hearts.” (2.) Their constancy in or obstinacy unto this principle,—they did so “ always.” (8.) The consequent, or rather concomitant evil unto or with these,—they knew not the ways of the Lord: “And they have not known my ways.”
(1.) God placeth the original of all their miscarriages in their error,—the error of their hearts. An error of the heart in things moral, is a practical misjudging of what is good or evil unto men. So this people, through the power of their lusts and darkness, their
88 AN EXPOSITION OF THE [cHap. 11.
temptations and obstinacy, did, in many instances wherein they were tried, judge that sin and rebellion were better for them than faith, submission, and obedience. They did not in general no- tionally and formally judge that sin, as sin, was better than obedi- ence, which no creature is capable of doing; but practically and par- ticularly they judged that it was better for them to do the things wherein their sin consisted than to omit or forego them: so they “erred in their hearts.” There the seat of their erroris fixed. Now, besides that the heart is here, as in sundry other places, taken for the practical understanding, or for the whole principle of all our moral actions, as it regards both the mind, will, and affections, the expression seems to intend a further discovery of the nature of their sin, with a further aggravation of it. They sinned from and with their hearts; and God lets them know that he doth not so much insist on their outward actions, as that he took notice that their hearts were not right with him. That was the principle of all their rebellions, for which he abhorred them. As he spake in another place of the same people, when their hearts went after their idols, “he regarded them not.”
(2.) The adjunct of this their error is their constancy unto it, or persistency in it: “They do always err.” Two things may be denoted hereby: [1.] That in all instances, whenever it came to a trial, they practically chose the wrong side. It may be they did not so universally, but they did so generally, which warrants the de- nomination. Or, [2.] It denotes the continuance in their error; dei is, “not to cease” or “give over.” Though God had exercised great patience and forbearance towards them for a long season, yet they would never change their minds or hearts at any time.