DEUT. 9. 4, 5.
THe people of Israel after a sore and dangerous voyage are now entring into their haven, after a wildernesse full of troubles and dangers they are now possessing a land of Rest, a land that flowed with honey; but l[…]st they should surfet of this hony, and lest this rest and quietnesse should be like that of pools, which breedeth nothing but noisome creatures, Moses is exceeding vigilant to inform them as of the great mercies God had done for them, so of the great duties he required of them: and this is the scope of Moses both in the precedent, and this present Chapter, with some others that follow. The mercies God vouchsafed to them are aggravated by an enumeration of the severall wonders God had wrought for them, as also by a lively description of that Land and Countrey they were now made Lords of, Chap. 8. 7, 8, 9. called therefore the good land frequently, and is made a type of heaven, for the joyfull pleasure of it, as if the Israelites now possessed of Canaan were brought into Paradise again; and for the full commendation of it the Scriptures expression is remarkable. Deut. 11. 12. A Land which the Lord thy God careth for, The eyes of the Lord thy God are alwaies upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of it: a phrase much like that which the Scripture useth even of his own children, as if he had the same care of that Land as of his own people. As he thus lively describes their mercies, so he doth as powerfully quicken them up unto their duty, which is to take heed of all those sins, that fullnesse, ease, and security, would quickly breed; whereof he instanceth in one more especially, viz. an apprehension that God had done this to them, for their righteousnesse, because they were more holy then others, as they thought; Therefore they concluded themselves more happy. Because their land abounded with all excellent fruit, they judged their lives to overflow with all graces. They took all this prosperity as a reward of their piety. Now Moses removeth those foundations they built upon, instructing them that this mercy befell them, not because they were so good, but their enemies so bad.
So that in the Text you have the sin forbidden, a false conceit of their righteousnesse and uprightnesse, amplified with their confidence therein; Speak not in thy heart, &c. The soul can talk to it self, and though man cannot hear what it speaks, God doth. Thus John to the Pharisees, Say not in your hearts; and the exhortation in a good sense is, to commune with our own hearts; This phrase doth excellently imply, what discourses and apprehensions men are ready to frame to themselves, and although these lie in the breast, and cannot be discovered by men, yet God takes notice of them to punish them. When Moses excludes righteousnes and uprightnesse of heart, by the former he meaneth all outward actions of righteousnesse, and by the latter all inward intentions and purposes of heart, though they fail sometimes externally; Now as Canaan was a type of heaven, so as the introduction of the Israelites thereunto was only of Gods grace, so is our possession of heaven. This their groundlesse apprehension to make outward blessings a sign of their righteousnesse, Moses confureth, by attributing this to other causes, as first, the impiety and wickednesse of their adversaries; as for their righteousnesse it moved not God, but the horrid transgressions of the Canaanites, they provoked him: The iniquity of the Amorites was now full, not the righteousnesse of the Israelites. Another cause was Gods Oath and promise, which he made to their fathers, whereby though he was not a debtor to their righteousnesse, yet he was obliged to his own truth and fidelity: Hence Deut. 7. 7. The originall of all the blessings vouchsafed to them, is reduced to Gods love meerly, not any excellency in them. Now that this sinfull perswasion might not abide in them, see how the Scripture followeth it over and over again in these three verses: Speak not that it is for thy righteousnesse, &c. ver. 4. Not for your uprightnesse, ver. 5. Understand therefore that it is not for thy righteousnesse, v. 6.
That men are very prone to make the outward prosperity and increase which God giveth them, an argument of their righteousnesse, and so of Gods love to them, to save them. They think it impossible that seeing God hath so blessed them here, he should damn them hereafter. This false sign doth not belong to every one, but to those who have abundance of outward mercies, especially if brought to partake them from a low and indigent condition. The more their change is admirable, the more testimony they think of Gods goodnesse to them, and their own inherent goodnesse. For the discovery of the weaknesse of this prop, take notice first of these particulars.