Miscellanies Christian and Judaical, Chapter 61
CAP. LXI. Of the Ten Commandements.
THe ten Commandements may be called the word of the word of God: for though all Scripture be his word, yet these in more speciall bee his Scripture, to which he made himselfe his owne scribe or pen-man: vponupon these Commandements hang all the Law and the Prophets, and these Commandements vponupon two duties, to louelove God and to louelove our neighbour. A shorter and yet a fuller comment needes not to be giuen of them, then what our Sauiour hath giuen, Luke 10.27. Thou shalt louelove the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soule, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind: and thy neighbour as thy selfe. The foure commandements of the first table he expounds in foure words.
The Lord thy God, there is the Preface, I am the Lord, &c.
Thou shalt louelove the Lord, &c. with all thy
Heart. for the First Commandement.
Soule. for the Second Commandement.
Strength for the Third Commandement.
Mind. for the Fourth Commandement.
If wee need any further exposition vponupon this exposition of our Sauiours, it is easie to find: as, thou shal… louelove the Lord thy God with all thine
Heart. For it he hath Created,
Soule. For it he hath Redeemed,
Strength. For it he hath Preserued,
Mind. For it he hath Inlightned.
And therefore thou shalt louelove him with all thine
Heart: without OnelyOnly talking and no more.
Soule: without Dissembling.
Strength: without Reuolting.
Mind: without Erring.
This is the first and the great Commandement, and the other is like vntounto this, thou shalt louelove thy neighbour as thy selfe. This adds great light to the second table, for halfe of the commandements of that table want an obiect whereupon to fasten the duty. The first hath one, Honour thy father, &c. the last but one, hath one, thou shalt not witnesse falsely against thy neighbor: And so the last hath, Thou shalt not couet ought of thy Neighbours: But Thou shalt not kill, steale, and commit adulterie, these hauehave no obiect, viz. none named whom, from whom, and with whom wee must not kill, steale, nor adulterate: because wee must make our selues also the obiect here: and reflect the Commandements vponupon our selues, as thus: Thou shalt not kill, first not thy selfe, and secondly, not thy neighbour, and so of the rest. The Iewes hauehave beene too bold in adding too strict an obiect, as you may see in their explaning these three precepts. And some Hereticks hauehave beene too nice in giuing some of them too *For Marcion held it vnlawfull to kil a beast, because the command non occides, hath no set obiect: Aug. de Ciu. Dei, lib. 1. cap. …large a one.
The fifth Commandement in the Tenne, is with a promise, and the fifth Petition in the Lords Prayer is with a condition.
I omit the exquisitenesse of the pricking of this peece of Scripture of the Commandements extraordinarily: Some speciall thing is in it.
The Iewes do gather sixe hundred and thirteene Precepts Negatiue and Affirmatiue to bee in the whole Law, according to the sixe hundred and thirteene letters in the two Tables, and so many veines and members in a mans body. The order of these Precepts they hauehave set downe in the margin of the Pentateuch with the three-fold. Targum printed at Hannow, and in Sepher Hahhinnuch. I had translated some hundreds of them into English, which I thought to hauehave finished, and presented to the view of the Reader, but I finde, that without the Iewes Comments vponupon these their Diuisions, they can hardly bee vnderstood: which to bring withall, is a paines of no small time and labour. These my obseruations and collections in my Reading, accept gentle Reader and the slips passe ouer with a gentle eye, as slips of youth: which more mature yeares may recure, if God prosper and second. To whom I commit my selfe, and commend thee, and to whom be all honour and glory for euermore. Amen.
FINIS.
End of the text · John Lightfoot, Miscellanies Christian and Judaical (1629)