Jamieson, Fausset and Brown on Deuteronomy 5:29

29. Oh, that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me--God can bestow such a heart, and has promised to give it, wherever it is asked (Jr 32:40). But the wish which is here expressed on the part of God for the piety and steadfast obedience of the Israelites did not relate to them as individuals, so much as a nation, whose religious character and progress would have a mighty influence on the world at large.