Exercitations Divine, Book 1 · Exercitation 13
EXERCITAT. XIII.
That no Canonicall booke is periſhed.
Matth. 5. 18.
Heaven and earth ſhall paſſe, one jote, or one tittle ſhall no wayes paſſe from the Law till all be fulfilled.
WHen a thing wanteth an eſſentiall part, this is the greateſt want. Secondly, when it wanteth an integrall part, this is likewiſe a great defect. And thirdly, when it wanteth accidentall ornaments. When Defectus partis eſſentialis. partis integratis ornamenti accidentalis.the ſoule is ſeparated from the body, here is a ſeparation of the eſſentiall parts. When a man wanteth a hand or a foote, then he wanteth an integrall part. And when hee wanteth his cloathes, hee wanteth ſome ornaments.
There is no booke in the Scripture that wanteth any No booke in the Scripture wanteth any eſſentiall part.eſſentiall part; for the Law and the Goſpel which are eſſentiall parts, are found in every booke.
Secondly, the Scripture wanteth no integrall part Vide Iunium in Iudam, and Perkins reformed Catholike.ſince the Canon was ſealed, before the Canon was ſealed they had as much as ſerved for their infancie: but after that it was ſealed the whole Canon was compleate, and none of thoſe Bookes periſhed.
Great was the care which the Lord had to preſerve Gods care in preſerving the Scriptures.the Scriptures. Firſt, hee commanded the Levites to take the booke of the Law written by Moyſes, and to put it in the ſide of the Arke of the covenant of the Lord, Deut. 31. 26.
Secondly, the Lord commanded the King, when he ſhould ſit upon the Throne of his kingdome to write a Copie of this Law, Deut. 17. 18. and the Iewes adde further, that he was bound to write out two copies, one which he ſhould keepe in his treaſurie, and another which he ſhould carry about with him; and they ſay moreover, if Printing had beene found out then, yet hee was bound to write them out with his owne hand.
Thirdly, the Lord commanded the Prophets to write their viſions upon Tables, and to make them plaine, Habak. 2. 2. Eſay 8. 1. and the Seventy read it, to be graven foreign vocant Graeci.upon the buſh tree, which is a ſort of wood that corrupteth not, and it will preſerve that which is written upon it and it were to the worlds end.
Fourthly, when any booke which was neceſſary for Bookes neceſſary for the Church albeit loſt, yet they were found againe.the uſe of the Church was loſt; the Lord had a care that that booke ſhould be found againe, as the booke of the law found by Hilkiah, 2 King 22. 8. Or the Lord endited it a new againe, when it was loſt; as when Iehojakim cut the roule of the lamentations of Ieremie, yet the Lord inſpired him a new againe to indite this booke to his Scribe Baruch, Iere. 36. 32. becauſe he thought it neceſſary ſtill for the Church: therefore he would not have it to periſh.
Fiftly, in that generall deſtruction which the Babylonians made at Ieruſalem, burning their houſes, and robbing them of their goods; yet as Hierome and Baſil obſerve well, it was a ſpeciall providence of God that The Iſraelites kept the muſicall inſtruments in the captivity, to put them in minde of the worſhip of God.they ſhould leave to thoſe captives, their inſtruments of Muſicke, wherewith they uſed to ſerve God in the Temple: that they might preſerve ſome memorie of their former worſhip, they brought theſe inſtruments to Babel with them, Pſal. 137. 2. we hung our harpes on willowes. If the Lord had ſuch a care of theſe inſtruments to have them preſerved for his praiſe, much more care had he to have the Scriptures preſerved; which taught them to worſhip: and he who had a particular care of the parts of the Scripture, before it was compleate, and numbreth the haires of our heads, Matth. 10. 30. and the ſtarres of the heavens, Pſal. 147. 4. will he not have a ſpeciall care that none of theſe Bookes ſhould periſh which are canonicall?
That fable of Eſdras then is to be rejected, lib. 4. The fable of Eſdras rejected.cap. 4. 23. So cap. 14. 21. to the 24. verſe, he ſheweth how the booke of God was loſt in the Captivity, and that Eſdras the Scribe, by holy inſpiration wrote it all anew againe: but this is falſe, ſee we not how Daniel read out of the propheſie of Ieremie, how long the captivitie ſhould laſt, Dan. 2. 9. The booke of God then was not loſt in the captivity, and written anew againe by Eſdras, but onelyonly he ſet the bookes in order after Eſdras wrote nothing of the Scriptures but onelyonly ſet the bookes in order.the captivity, & nihil ad foreign fecit ſed ad foreign. Hee did nothing in correcting the booke of God, but onelyonly ſet it downe in order.
But we reade often times in the Scriptures of many Bookes wanting now, which were extant before; as the Bookes of the battels of the Lord, Num. 21. 14.
By this it cannot bee inferred that any canonicall Anſ. booke is periſhed; for this word Sepher, ſignifieth a foreignrelation, as well by word, as by write. Secondly, although wee grant that it was a written booke, yet it will not follow that it was a holy Booke. Thirdly, although we grant that it was an holy booke, yet it will not follow that it was a canonicall booke. The bookes of the Chronicles of the Kings of Iuda and Iſrael were but civill records, and belonged nothing to the canon of the Scriptures.Some things written by the Prophets not as they were Prophets.
Secondly, ſome bookes that were written by the Prophets, were not written by them as they were Prophets. Salomon wrote of Hearbes, Trees and Plants, 1 King. 4. 33. But what bookes were theſe? They were but bookes of things which were under the Moone and of things corruptible, and becauſe they ſerved not for the edification of the Church afterwards, therefore the Hezekiah buried Salomons bookes of phyſick.Lord ſuffered them to periſh. Suidas ſaith, that the booke which Salomon wrote of Phyſicke, was affixed upon the gate in the entrie of the Temple; and becauſe the people truſted too much in it, neglecting the Lord (as Aſa put his truſt in the Phyſitians, 2 Chro. 13.) therefore Hezekiah cauſed to pull away this booke, and bury it. And the Talmud ſaith, that Hezekiah did two foreignmemorable things. Firſt, Ganaz Sepher rephuoth. Abſcondit librum medicinarum, He hid the bookes of Phyſicke which Salomon had written. And ſecondly, Cathath nahhaſh hannehhuſhoth ſhegnaſhe Moſhe, Comminuit aeneum foreignſerpentem quem fecerat Moſes, He brake the braſen Serpent which Moyſes made.
Salomon ſpake three thouſand Proverbes, 1 King. 4. 32. yet of all theſe Proverbes ſcarce eyght hundred are put in the Canon. Some of theſe Proverbes the ſervants of Hezekiah King of Iuda copied out, Prov. 25. 1. And as they ſaw the King their maſter bury Salomons booke, which he knew was hurtfull to the Church: ſo thoſe ſervants copied out theſe Proverbes which were profitable Salomons Proverbs and Songs, which were not profitable to the Church periſhed.for the Church, whereas the reſt periſhed. So Salomon wrote a thouſand and five Songes; of all which Songes, the Lord made choyſe but of one to be inſert in the Canon, which is called the Song of Songes, or canticum foreign eſt utriuſque numeri quae vel quod.canticorum quae Salomonis rather then canticum canticorum quod Salomonis, it was the moſt excellent Song of all Salomons Songs, rather then the excellenteſt Song compared with other Songes.
But all bookes written by thē for the whole Church none of them are periſhed: as the Propheſies of Nathan Ahija, and Iddo. For Burgenſis obſerveth well upon, 1 Chro. 29. That the firſt booke of Samuel is holden to be written by Samuel himſelfe. So the ſecond Booke of Samuel, and the ſecond booke of the Kings were written by Nathan and Gad, who lived with David and Salomon, and wrote untill the death of Salomon, then Iddo and Ahija wrote the hiſtorie following of Ieroboam interlacing ſomethings of Salomon and Rehoboam.
1 Chron. 29. 29 Now the acts of David the King, firſt Object. and laſt behold they are written in the booke of Samuel the Seer, and in the booke of Nathan the Prophet; and in the booke of Gad the Seer, with all his reigne and his might and the times that went over him, and over Iſrael and all the Kingdomes of the Countries. But theſe words cannot be underſtood of the bookes of Samuel; for wee reade not in theſe bookes, what David did abroad in theſe Countries: therefore ſome other bookes muſt be underſtood here, written by Gad and Nathan, which are not extant.
Not onelyonly the things, which David did in Iſrael, are Anſ. ſet downe in the booke; of Samuels but alſo the things which he did abroad in other Countries, as againſt Zoba King of Hadadezzar, againſt the Moabites, and againſt Tobh King of Hemath. And where it is ſayd over Hieron. in Eſa. 13.all the kingdomes of the countries, it is the manner of the Scripture (as Hierome marketh) by the whole Countries, to underſtand the next adjacent countries whereof it ſpeaketh; and therefore in the originall it is, Haaratzoth, foreignOf that earth.
2 Chro. 33 19. The prayer of Manaſſeh and how God Ob. was intreated of him, and all his ſinne, and his treſpaſſe and the places wherein he built high places, and ſet up groves and graven images before he was humbled: behold they are written among the ſaying of the Seers, or Hoſai. But in the whole booke of the Kings there is no mention made of his affliction, or of the cauſe which mooved him to repent or of his prayers which he made to God in time of his affliction: then this booke of the prophet is not now extant. So the acts of Baaſha, Zimri, and Omri are they not written in the Bookes of the Chronicles of Iſrael, 1 Kings 16. 5. & 27. But nothing concerning their actes are found in the bookes of the Kings, or in the Chronicles: therefore thoſe bookes are periſhed, when the Scriptures remit us to thoſe bookes, it giveth us to underſtand that theſe bookes are worthy to be truſted, as written by the Seers of God: neyther doth the Scripture cite them, as it doth ſome ſhort ſentences out of the Heathen Poets. The Apoſtle ſaith of thoſe Poets, that they ſayd the truth, Tit. 1. 13. But the Spirit of God remitteth us to theſe bookes, that we may be fully inſtructed by them in the whole truth of the Acts of thoſe Kings.
Firſt we muſt know that there were many Prophets Anſw. who propheſied, whoſe propheſies were never written; as the propheſies of the children of the Prophets, and the propheſies of thoſe, who propheſied from the Some propheſies of the Prophets were not written.dayes of Eli, to David, as ſome of Aſaph Heman and Ieduthun. Secondly, all the things which were written by the Seers, were not written by them as Seers: Salomon wrote many things, which he wrote not as a Prophet, and ſo did David. Thirdly, many things which Somethings written by the Prophets profitable for the Church then, but not profitable now.they wrote then as Seers, and were profitable to the Church for that time, were not profitable for the Church now: and the Spirit of God remitted them then to the civill records and to ſome propheſies which were then extant, but are periſhed now; becauſe now they were not neceſſary for the Church: but all theſe things which the Lord endited to them by his Spirit and which he thought to be neceſſary for his Church, to be the Canon and rule of our faith, all thoſe the Lords watchfull eye hath kept and preſerved, that none of them are periſhed.
The Concluſion of this is: The bookes of Emperours Concluſion. and Kings are loſt, yet the Lord hath kept the regiſter of the little Kings of Iuda and Iſrael, both in whole and in parts, although they were but Shepherds, and baniſhed men. And the Church would rather ſpend her beſt blood, then ſhee would part with that pretious Iewell or any part of it: therefore they called thoſe who delivered the booke of God to the perſecuting Tyrants, Traditores.