Spiritual refining

So that in the Text you have the sin forbidden, a false conceit of their righteousness and uprightness, 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 righteousness and uprightness of heart, by the former he meaneth all outward actions of righteousness, 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 groundless apprehension to make outward blessings a sign of their righteousness, Moses confuteth, by attributing this to other causes, as first, the impiety and wickedness of their adversaries; as for their righteousness it moved not God, but the horrid transgressions of the Canaanites, they provoked him: The iniquity of the Amorites was now full, not the righteousness 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 righteousness, yet he was obliged to his own truth and fidelity: Hence Deut. 7. 7. The original of all the blessings vouchsafed to them, is reduced to Gods love merely, not any excellency in them. Now that this sinful persuasion 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 righteousness, &c. ver. 4. Not for your uprightness, ver. 5. Understand therefore that it is not for thy righteousness, v. 6.

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