He fashioneth their hearts alike
The Lord is the former and fashioner of the heart, spirit, or
soul of man, even of all hearts and spirits; whence he is called
the Father of spirits, ( Hebrews 12:9
) ; see ( Zechariah
12:1 ) ; and he is the former of them alike; which seems to
intimate as if all seals were alike, as they are made by the
Lord; and it may be the difference there appears to be between
them afterwards, nay be owing to the make and constitution of
their bodies, to their education, and different situation,
circumstances, and advantages in life, whereby the hearts of some
may be more opened and enlarged than others. Some render it
"together", or "altogether" F7; which must not be understood
of time, as if they were all made at once, but of equality; the
one was made by him as well as the other; he is the fashioner of
one and all of them, every whit of them; they are wholly
fashioned by him, and all that is in them, all the powers and
faculties of the soul; and by him only, and not by the
instrumentality of another; for souls are created, not generated;
they are produced out of nothing, and not out of pre-existent
matter, as bodies; parents contribute somewhat to the bodies of
their children, but not anything to their souls. God only "is the
God of the spirits of all flesh", ( Numbers
16:22 ) ; some translate the word "singly" F8; one by
one, one after another in the several ages of time; for he
continues to fashion them, and is always doing it; see ( Zechariah
12:1 ) . And he forms the hearts of his own people anew for
himself, for his own glory; he forms Christ in them, and every
grace of his Spirit; he forms them into one, and knits and unites
them together in love, and makes them like to one another; for as
face answers to face in water, so do the hearts and experiences
of the saints one to another, ( Proverbs
27:19 ) ; all which he does wholly and alone; and since he
fashions the hearts of all men in every sense, he must know them,
which is the design of this expression; he knows the hearts of
wicked men, and all the wickedness that is in them; he knows the
hearts of good men, the worst that is in them, and also the best,
which he himself has put there;
he considereth all their works;
the works of evil men, not only their more open ones, but their
more secret ones, and will bring them into judgment; and the
works of good men, even their good works, which he will remember
and reward in a way of grace.