John Calvin on Ezekiel 11:19

As God had already spoken concerning the piety of the Israelites, he shows that they could not forsake their sins until they were renewed, and so born again by his Spirit. Therefore he seemed in the last verse to praise the Israelites; but because men too eagerly claim as their own what has been given them from above, now God claims to himself glow of their virtues, of which he had formerly spoken. Their zeal in purging the land of all abominations was worthy of praise; hence the survivors of the people of Israel are deservedly celebrated, because they were impelled by the fervor of zeal to free the worship of God from all corruptions; but lest they should boast, that they had done it in their own strength, and from the impulse of their own hearts, God now modifies his former assertions, and shows that such pursuit of piety would exist among the Israelites, after he had regenerated them by his Spirit. And this plea alone may suffice to refute the Papists, as often as they seize upon such passages from the Scriptures, where God either exacts something from his people, or proclaims their virtues. David does this; hence he does it of his own free will: God requires this; hence it is in the will of men that they are equal to the performance of all things. Thus they trifle. But we see that the Prophet unites two things together, namely, the faithful elect of God strenuously attending to their duty, and intent on promoting his glory, even with ardor in the pursuit of his worship; and yet they were nothing by themselves. Hence it is added immediately afterwards — I will give them one heart, and will put a new spirit in their breasts But we must defer the rest to the next lecture.

PRAYER.

Grant, O Almighty God, that we may learn to cast our eyes upon the state of thine ancient Church, since at the present day the sorrowful and manifest dispersion of thy Church seems to threaten its complete destruction: Grant also, that we may look upon those promises which are common to us also, that we may wait till thy Church emerges again from the darkness of death. Meanwhile, may we be content with thy help, however weak as to outward appearance, till at length it shall appear that our patience was not delusive, when we enjoy the reward of our faith and patience in thy heavenly kingdom, through Jesus Christ our Lord. — Amen.

Lecture Thirtieth.

In the last lecture, after Ezekiel had announced the conversion of the people, at the same time he taught that the singular gift of repentance would be bestowed: because when any one has turned aside from the right way, unless God extends his hand, he will plunge himself even into the deep abyss. Hence after a man has once left God, he cannot return to him by himself. We then touched shortly on this doctrine: now a fuller explanation must be added. As soon as we consider the Prophet’s words, we shall at once understand the matter. God promises to give the people one heart Some explain this of mutual consent, but it does not suit in my opinion. In the third chapter of Zephaniah, at verse 9, (Zephaniah 3:9) “one shoulder” is taken in this sense. For when the Prophet says, that God would make all call upon him purely and worship with one shoulder, he seems to mean that all should be unanimous, and that each would excite, his neighbor. But in this place one heart is rather opposed to a divided one; for the Israelites were distracted after vague errors. They ought to listen to God’s precepts, and subject themselves to his law: thus they had been content with him alone, and had addicted themselves entirely to true piety. But their heart was distracted: as when a woman does not preserve her fidelity to her husband, but is led away by her lusts, nothing is at rest in her. So also when the people revolted from the law of God, it was like a wandering harlot. We see, therefore, that the hearts of all the impious were divided and distracted, and that nothing in them was simple or sincere. Now God promises that he would take care that the people were not drawn aside after their superstitions, but remained in pure and simple obedience to the law. If any one objects, that the faithful endure a perpetual contest with the lusts of the flesh, and hence their heart is divided, the answer is easy, that one heart is understood in the sense of regeneration. For although the faithful feel a great contest within them, and their heart is by no means whole, since it is agitated by many temptations, yet as in the meantime they seriously aspire to God, their heart is said to be entire, because it is not double or feigned. We understand then what the Prophet means, and at chapter 36, (Jeremiah 36) where he repeats the same sentiment, for one heart he puts a new spirit, as also he says a little afterwards, I will put a new spirit in their bowels, or inward parts. As by the word heart he means affections, so also by the spirit he signifies the mind itself and all its thoughts. the spirit of a man is often taken for the whole soul, and then it comprehends also all the affections. But where the two are joined together, as the heart and spirit, the heart is called the seat of all the affections, it is in truth the very will of man, while the spirit is the faculty of intelligence. For we know that there are two special endowments of the mind: the first is its power of reasoning, and the next its being endued with judgment and choice: afterwards we shall say how men have the faculty of choosing and yet want free will. But this principle must be held, that the soul of man excels first in intelligence or reason, then in judgment, on which choice and will depend. We see, therefore, that by these words the Prophet testifies that men have need of a complete renovation that they may return into the way from which they once began to wander.

Afterwards he adds, I will take away the heart of stone, or the stony heart, from their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh. The word flesh is here received in a different sense; for the Prophet alludes to the heart, which we know to be part of the human body, when he says, I will take away the heart of stone from their flesh. When God regenerates his elect, he does not change either their flesh, or skin, or blood; the spiritual and interior grace has no relation to their body: but the Prophet speaks rather grossly, that he may conform his discourse to the state of a rude and gross people. For flesh in the former clause meant the same as body: but at the end of the ‘verse a fleshy heart is put for a flexible heart: an opposition also must. be marked between the flesh and a stone: a stone by its own hardness repels even the strongest blows of the hammers, and nothing can be inscribed on it; but the fleshy heart by its softness admits whatever is inscribed or engraven on it. The Prophet speaks grossly, as I have said, yet the sense is by no means ambiguous: namely, since the Israelites were full of obstinacy, God afterwards changed their heart, so that they became flexible and obedient that is, by correcting their hardness he rendered their heart soft.