Deuteronomy 4:10-12

Ver. 10, 11, 12. Thou stoodest before the Lord thy God— See on ch. Deuteronomy 1:9. Unto the midst of heaven, ver. 11 is, in the Heb. in the heart of heaven, i.e. in the air. So Tyre is said to be in the heart of the sea, Ezekiel 28:2 and Jesus Christ in the heart of the earth, Matthew 12:40. Two things are expressed in the 12th verse; the first, that God, who could have manifested himself under a human form, or any other sensible representation, in giving the law, chose not to do so. The second, that he pronounced the words of this law, in a manner distinct, articulate, and intelligible to the whole assembly; whence the Israelites might naturally draw these two consequences; first, that God would be extremely offended, if they presumed to represent him under any visible form, as the heathens represented their false gods; and, secondly, that they could have no reason to run after idols, under the pretext of receiving verbal answers and oracles from them, since the eternal, though invisible, had given them his commandments in a living voice, and as intelligibly as it was possible. Nothing could be more worthy of the wisdom of God than these precautions. The reader will find some judicious remarks upon the subject in Abernethy's Sermons, serm. 4: