Exposition of Ezekiel 6-13, Commentary on Ezechiel · Chapter 11 · Verse 19 · Textual commentary 8
Stony.
Or ſtone heart, or ſtonineſſe of heart: Its a metaphoricall expreſſion, taken from the nature of a Stone; and notes out the ſpirituall ſtonineſſe and hardneſſe is in the heart.
Aug.1, A Stone is ſenſleſſe and ſtirres not, Exod. 15.16. They ſhall be ſtill as a ſtone: Such is a ſtony heart; its Cor fine ſenſu, as in Nabal, Pro. 23.35. They have ſtricken me, and I was not ſick, they have beaten me, and I felt it not.1 Sam. 25.37. His heart dyed within him, and he became as a ſtone, ſenſleſſe.
A ſtone feeles no weight, lay the heavieſt burden upon it, ſmite the hardeſt ſtroakes, its not ſenſible of any; let a ſtony heart have a world of ſin, and guilt in it, lying upon it, yet no feeling of it, Epheſ. 4.19. Who being paſt feeling, have given themſelves over unto laſciviouſneſſe, to worke all uncleanneſſe with greedineſſe: They had loſt all ſenſe of evill in ſin, and w…nt on without any check, let men ſweare, lye, deceive, whore, &c. they feele no evill in it, let them be upon the Pikes, like the young man in the ſeventh of the Proverbs, going as an Oxe to the ſlaughter, as a Bird to the ſnare: they know not that it is for their lives: tell ſuch of danger, they are not ſenſible.
The Jewes had ſtony hearts, and ſee how ſenſleſſe they were, Matth. 13.15. This people is waxed groſſe, and their eares are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they cloſed, leſt at any time they ſhould ſee with, &c. This is five times more mentioned in the New Teſtament, Mark 4.12. Luke 8.10. John 12.40. Acts 28.26. Rom 11.8. fetch'd all from Iſa. 6.9.
Hence thoſe expreſſions, The unjuſt knowes no ſhame, Zeph. 3.5. they cannot bluſh, Jer. 6.15. They are impudent Children, Ezek. 2.4. Their brow braſſe, Iſa. 48.4.
2. Its hard and yeilds not: ſtrike a ſtone oft, it yeilds not to the ſtroke: In Job 41.24. ſpeaking of the Leviathan, he ſaith, His heart is as firm as a ſtone, yea as hard as a piece of the nether, &c. Braſſe Arrows, Darts, and Speares, are as ſtubble and ſtraw to him, they will not enter: So is it with a ſtony heart, nothing enters, Zech. 7.11. They refuſed to hearken, and pulled away the ſhoulder, and ſtopped their eare that they ſhould not heare; yea, they made their hearts as an Adamant ſtone; and that is Lapis indomabilis, it will not yeild at all. No reproofes, threatnings, afflictions, judgements, did prevaile with their ſtony hearts; therefore, Iſa. 1.5. ſaith God, Why ſhould you be ſtricken any more, yee will revolt more and more: Cor lapideum, eſt cor indocile, immorigerum; an unteachable, an intractable heart; no prayers, no teares, no truths, no arguments, no mercies, no judgements, will conquer it; its inexorable, Iſa. 26.10. Let favour be ſhewed to the wicked, yet will he not learne righteouſneſſe.
Hence two things:
1. Tenacity of opinions, principles, and concluſions, though never ſo falſe and corrupt, Jer. 8.5. They hold faſt deceit, Chap. 4.14. O Jeruſalem, how long ſhall thy vaine thoughts lodge within thee: They thought their worſhip was right, that God was pleaſed with their inventions and additions, that the Lord would not depart from the Temple, &c.
2. Obſtinacy in their ways, continuance in their old practiſes, Jer. 17.23, They obeyed not, neither inclined their eare, but made their neck ſtiffe, that they might not hear nor receive inſtruction, Ch. 5.3. They have made their faces harder then a rock, they refuſed to returne, Judges 2.19. They ceaſed not from their owne doings, nor from their ſtubborne way
3. It reſiſts, Lam. 3.16. He hath broken my teeth with gravel ſtones: While a m…n thinks to breake the ſtones with his teeth, they co…q…er by their hardneſſe, and break the teeth. Adamants and other ſtones repell the force of the ſtroake, and oft breake the inſtrument which ſtrikes them; ſo doe ſtony and hard hearts, Matth. 23.37. O Jeruſalem, Jeruſalem▪ thou that killeſt the Prophets, and floneſt them that are ſent unto thee: how often would I, &c. When Chriſt Preached unto them, they yeilded not to his Doctrine, but reſiſted, and ſought the ruine of his perſon, Luke 4.28, 29. All th y in the Synagogue when they heard theſe things, were filled with wrath, and roſe up, and thruſt him out of the City, and led him unto the brow of the Hill, that they might caſt him down headlong: Here was the ſtonyneſſe of their hearts made evident fully, they would not receive Chriſt, but kill him; ſuch hearts make men poſſeſſed with them.
1. Contradict…ry to the truth, their tongues are buſie, Rom. 10.21. The Jewes are called a diſobedient and gainſaying people, they contradicted the Prophets, 2 Chron. 36.16. They mocked the M…ſſengers of God: So Jer. 44.16. As for the word which thou haſt ſpoken unto us in the name of the Lord, we will not hearken unto thee: but we will certainly doe whatever, &c.
2. Contentious, Rom. 2.8. Ʋnto them that are contentious, and obey not the truth: Hard hearts yeild not to the truth, but contend againſt the truth: the Phariſees and others, did not onelyonly cavill at Chriſts Doctrine, but plotted, acted, and contended againſt it and him. John 11.47, 48. The chiefe Prieſts and Phariſees gathered a Councell, and ſayd, What doe we if we let him thus alone, all men will beleeve on him, &c. Verſ. 53. From that day they tooke counſell together to put him to death. God told Jeremiah, that the Jewes ſhould fight againſt him, Jer. 1.19. and Chap. 26.8.9. You ſhall find it made good when he had Propheſied againſt their carnall confidence in the Temple, they were gathered together againſt him, lay hands upon him, and threaten him with death.
4. A ſtone hath a ſtrong tendency downwarde, Exod. 15.5. They ſank into the bottom as a ſtone: ſtons haſten downward to the bottome, and they move not upwards at all; if by force you throw a ſtone upwards, it falls downe againe with ſwiftneſſe; ſuch is the nature of a ſtony heart, it moves not God or Chriſt-ward, but ſin and Hell-ward, that is the proper motion of it, being weighty, and cannot but move downward, Prov. 7.27. ſpeaking of the Adultreſſe, whoſe heart is hardened in wickedneſſe; he ſaith, Her houſe is the way to Hell, going downe to the chambers of death. Epheſ. 4.19. Being paſt feeling, Prov. 2.18.they worke all uncleanneſſe with greedineſſe: There is a ſtrong inclination to, and greedineſſe of, committing ſin; and every ſin is a ſtep to Hell, Prov. 2.18. Her houſe inclineth unto death, and her pathes into the dead. Ezek. 3.7. Its ſayd; All the houſe of Iſrael are impudent, and hard hearted: And Ezek. 6.9. Their heart is ſayd to be whoriſh, and why whoriſh? becauſe it leads to death and Hel, as the whoriſh womans houſe doth: A ſtony heart is an earthly heart, and ſo an enemy to the Croſſe of Chriſt, Phil. 3.18, 19. That is, That is, to all of Chriſt, it looks not upwards.
Obj. Its ſayd, a ſtony heart is not yeildable, teachable, receives not impreſſion of any thing; did not the ſtony ground receive the Word, Matth, 13.20. If ſo, how is it true which hath beene affirmed?
Anſw. 1. Its ſayd by Matthew, The ſeed fell upon ſtony places, Chap. 13.5. and upon a rocke, Luke 8.6. it fell not into the ſtones, or into the rock: but ſome fell not onelyonly on the good ground, as Luke hath it, but into the good ground, as Matthew relates it, Chap. 13.8.
2. There is a double reception of the word. Firſt, a ſuperficiall, and ſecondly, a ſolid reception of the word, which the place holds ou…; for that ſeed which fell into ſtony p…aces, lacked moyſture, ſaith Luke, had no deepneſſ…; no root ſaith Matthew: It affected the naturall fleſhineſſe of the heart, but the ſpirituall hardneſſe in it, ſuffered it not to root, to enter, abide: the novelty, and rationalneſſe of the word cauſed them to rejoyce, but the ſpiritualneſſe of it was oppoſed by thei… ſtony hearts: Secondly, the ſolid reception is, when there is a deep impreſſion made upon the heart, a thorow entrance into it, ſo that it roots, abides, and brings forth fruit, James 1.21. He calls it, The ingrafted Word; now it cannot be ingrafted into a ſtony ſtock, there is no life, no tenderneſſe in ſuch a ſtock, it may be propounded to ſuch a heart, it cannot enter, unite, and grow.