V. 9.— When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. We have seen that God’ s object in his dealings with Israel was to prove them, and bring out the hidden evil of their heart; but we are warned against tempting the Lord. Israel had many proofs of the long-suffering of God; but, instead of its leading them to repentance, it emboldened them in sin. Presuming upon His long-suffering, they seemed to be trying how far it would extend. Now we are particularly cautioned against tempting the Lord. We are to cherish the most entire conviction of His perfection, and to place the most unlimited confidence in Him, which necessarily implies our being guided in all things by His wisdom. The day of temptation may refer to the whole period of their sojourning in the wilderness. During that period God was proving them, bringing out what was in their heart, while by their rebellion they constantly provoked Him.