Deut. xxix. 19, 20. And it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst : the Lord will not spare him, but then the anger of the Lord and his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and the Lord shall blot out his name from under heaven.
GOD has declared that he " desireth not the death of a sinner, but rather that he should turn from his wickedness and live :" and this is abundantly evident from the forbearance which he exercises towards sinners, and from the means he has used for their restoration to his favour. When he brought the
Israelites out of Egypt, he entered into covenant with them on Mount Horeb : and when that whole generation had perished in consequence of their vio- lations of his covenant, he was graciously pleased to renew the covenant with their children in the land of Moab : and the reason he gives for that condescend- ing kindness is, lest they should presumptuously sin, and miserably perish, after the example of their fathers3.
In the words which we have just read, he intimates, I. The astonishing delusion of sinners —
That the greatest part of mankind are walking after the imaginations of their own hearts, is evident ; and that God denounces his vengeance against them, is equally evident : yet on every side we behold,
1. Their fearlessness—
[God speaks to them in the plainest terms, that " the soul that sinneth shall die," and that " the wicked shall be turned into hell, even all the people that forget God." They themselves too cannot but acknowledge, that " the wrath of God is revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men." Yet they hear the denunciations of God's wrath with perfect indifference: they account them not worth the smallest consideration : yea, to use the expressive language of the Psalmist, " they puff at themV ' What though they do " set at nought God's law, and walk rather after the imagination of their own hearts ? " What though they do " add drunkenness to thirst," and " draw out sin as a cart-rope c," adding fresh materials continually, and drawing it out without any intermission to an indefinite length, will God regard such trifling matters ? No : He does not see them, or deem them worthy of his notice d. He does indeed threaten to punish these things ; but he will never execute his threatenings.' If any menace their temporal welfare, they are open enough to the impressions of fear, and anxious enough to escape the danger : but if God threaten them with his ever- lasting displeasure, they regard it as an empty sound. Thus do they cast off all fear of God, and treat both him and his word with the utmost contempt6.]
2. Their self-complacency —
[They can see no evil in sin : they are sensible that they
a See ver. 1, 15, 18—20. >> Ps. x. 5. c Isai. v. 18.
d Ps. x. 11. and Job xxii. 13, 14. e ps. x. 13.