Commentary on Harmony of the Law Volume 2 Complete John Calvin
HARMONY OF THE LAW · VOLUME 2 whether God's promises were frivolous or vain. Moreover, we must bear in mind the admonition of the Prophet, to which I have referred, (Psalm 95:11,) and which the Apostle adapts to our present use, (Hebrews 4:6,) viz., that a better rest is now offered to us, from which we are to fear lest our unbelief should withhold us. For it is not sufficient for us that God's hand should once have been extended to us, unless we allow ourselves to be directed by it, until our earthly wanderings are concluded, and it conducts us into our heavenly rest.
36. And the men, which Moses sent to search the land. I do not at all approve of the view which some take, that this is recorded by anticipation; for there is no question but that Moses recounts the special punishment which was inflicted by God upon the perfidious spies. He had previously treated of the general punishment of the whole people; when he now relates that the ten men were smitten by the plague, he intimates that God would begin with them, so as to manifest by this conspicuous and notable example how grossly He was offended by their very disgraceful contempt of His grace. Their sudden and unnatural death was, therefore, a kind of presage to all the others of the punishment which awaited them. For in the first place, the expression, "the plague," is emphatic, as much as to say that they should not die in the ordinary course of nature. Again, by "the sight of God," 500 he means something else than as if he had said, "before God;" for God was not merely a beholder of their destruction, but in a strange and unusual manner He executed His awful judgment, as if He had publicly ascended the tribunal. And this appeared more clearly by His prolonging the life of Caleb and Joshua, who were the only survivors of that generation until the end of the time prescribed. It is true, indeed, that the verbs 501 are in the past tense; but, since there is an evident πρόληψις, I have not hesitated to change the tense, which is a sufficiently common idiom of the language; and thus the connection of the address is better preserved.
It will be seen that C.'s own translation is, "coram Deo;" but the V. renders the words, "in conspectu Domini."
A.V. concludes the denunciation of the Almighty at ver. 35. C. continues it to the end of ver. 38; and hence arose the necessity for changing the tenses. Vatablus and the Geneva version agree with C.; Dathe with A.V.