Exposition of the Moral Law, Book 1 · Exercitation 3
EXERCITAT. III. That the Law was written in Tables of Stone.
Exod. 34.1, And the Lord ſaid unto Moſes, hew the two Tables of Stone, like unto the firſt.
LEt us conſider firſt who wrote the Law? ſecondly why it was written upon ſtone? thirdly why upon hewen ſtone? forthly, why upon two Tables? laſtly, why & wherefore they were ſo written, that this writting took up the whole Tables; ſo that there was no blanke left?
Firſt the Lord wrote the Law:To write accordtng to the phr…ſe of Scripture, to give Lawes. to write according to the phraſe of the Scripture, is uſually, to give Lawes, as Eſay 10.1. Woe to them that write grievous things which they have preſcribed. So Dan. 6.8. Now O King, write the decree, that is, give out the Law.
Whether were the ſecond Tables written by God, Queſt. or by Moyſes?
They were written by God as the firſt were, Anſw. for Deut. 10.2. it is ſaid I will write in the Tables, the words that werein the firſt Tables.
But it may be ſaid, Object. Exod. 34.28. that Moſes was with the Lord fortie dayes and fortie nights, hee did neither eate bread nor drinke water: and hee wrote upon the Tables, the words of the covenant, the ten Commandements.
Anſw. God wrote the ſecond Tables as he did the firſt.The words ſhould be read this wayes, and he did neither eate nor drinke, to wit Moſes, here is a reſt diſtinguiſhed by the point Atnach. and he wrote upon Tables, to wit God.
How God, Moyſes, and the King, are ſaid to write the Law.Obſerve, that God wrote the Law upon ſtone with his owne finger, and Moſes wrote the Law, and the King is commanded to write out the Law. The Lord wrote the Law,foreign that is, the ten Commandements: and Moſes wrote the Law, that is, Hhamuſha, the whole five bookes of Moſes: foreignand the King wrote the Law Deut. 17:18. This is called Miſhne torah, the repetition of the Law, or the copie of the Law, Iohn 8, 32. And the reaſon why the King wrote out Deuteronomie, The King wrote out Deuteronomie onelyonly.rather then any other part of Moſes Law, was this; becauſe it is a compend of the whole Law, and all theſe things commanded to them concerning the King, are ſet downe in it: in the other bookes, there are many hiſtories and things, which concerne the Prieſts, and belong not to the King: therefore he wrote them not out.
The Lord wrote the ten Commandements, and gave them by the miniſterie of the Angells to Moſes, Gal. 3.19.How the Law is ſayd to be given by the Angels. It was ordained by Angels in the hand of a Mediator, that is, Moſes and the Angells were Mediators in the giving of this Law. So Act. 7.53. They received the Law by the diſpoſition of Angels. Moſes himſelfe againe wrote the Iudiciall, and ceremoniall Law, but grace was given by Chriſt. The firſt was given by God himſelfe as common principles to all; and theſe which Moſes gave, were more particular determinations, and caſes depending upon this Law; but Ieſus Chriſt gave grace.
Queſt. What was the reaſon, why Chriſt wrote none of the New Teſtament with his owne hand, as the Lord wrote the ten Commandements with his owne hand?
The reaſon ſeemeth to be this; Anſ. Why Chriſt wrote none of the new Teſtament with his owne hand.if Chriſt had written any of the Goſpell with his owne hand, then ſuperſtitious people would have preferred it, to that which was written by the Apoſtles: for, if men make an Idoll of the croſſe, upon which they hold, that Chriſt was crucified; and of the nailes that nailed him to the Croſſe: farre more would they have made an Idoll of that which Chriſt wrote with his owne hand: and this ſeemeth to be the reaſon, why Chriſt Baptized none with his owne hand.
But by this reaſon it ſhould ſeeme, Object. that God ſhould not have written the ten Commandements with his owne hand, for feare of Idolatry alſo.
There was no ſuch danger of Idolatry here; Anſw. becauſe the Tables were kept within the Arke, where the people ſaw them not.
The Lord wrote the commandements upon ſtone. We find in the Scripture, that they did write of old in Lead, Iob. 19.24. ſo in ſtone. Thirdly in the Saphire and other pretious ſtones; as the names of the twelve Tribes were written upon two Onix ſtones. Exod. 28.10.the Iewes wrote in Lead and ſtone, &c And upon the pretious ſtones in the Breſtplate. ver. 12. Fourthly, upon Tables which are called ceraetae, or levigatae tabulae, ſet over with wax; and they were called Pugillares tabulae, quod ſtylo pingerentur, So Luc. 1.36. Zacharie called for writting Tables. Fiftly, they wrote in parchment, So Iere. 36. Iehoiachim cut the rowle of Ieremies propheſie with a knife. So they wrote in braſſe, as that covenant wch was made betwixt the Romans, & the Iewes, was written in braſſe, 1 Mac. 8.22. & cap. 15.13.
Moſt of the Iewes hold, that the Law was written by God in a Saphire. And Epiphanius is of this mind in his treatiſe of the twelve pretious ſtones. So Rabbi Ioſeph in his Paraphraſe upon Cant. 1. Suidas in Moſen and Abulenſis upon Exod. 24.16.The Law was not writt…n upon a Saphire but upon ſome other ſtone. and for this they alleage that place Deut. 33.2. The Lord did ſhine from Paran, and there came a fierie Law from his right hand: they ſay the glorious beames which came from the Lord ſhined upon the Saphire, and made a reflexe backe againe, caſting gliſtring beames like the fire; but this is a miſtaking of the place: the meaneing of the place is onelyonly, that the Lord taketh a compariſon from the ſunne here, which in the morning ſhoweth a light before it, then afterward it ariſeth, and enlighteneth the earth: ſo by degrees God ſhew his power amongſt the Iſraelites whereſoever they went, even from Aegypt whence they came, untill they came to the Land of Edom, which was neere to the promiſed Land. Then it was not a Saphir upon which he wrote; but another ſtone.
He wrote upon ſtone, to ſignifie the hardneſſe of our hearts.He wrote upon ſtone, to ſignifie the hardneſſe of our hearts: there is no ſtone ſo hard, as the heart of a graceleſſe man is: therefore, Zach. 7.12. They made their hearts like the Adamant ſtone. This Adamant is ſuch a ſort of ſtone, that no Iron can cut it, it will breake any mattell ſaith Hierome, but it cannot be broken it ſelfe: therefore the Greekes called it foreign ab foreign et foreign becauſe it cannot be broken: and Plinie writing of it ſaith, Durities ejus eſt inenarrabilis, et ſimul ignium victrix natura, et nunquam incaleſcens, and then hee addeth, illa invicta vis, The heart of man like the Adamant.et duarum violentiſſimarum naturae rerum contemptrix, hircino tamen rumpitur ſanguine fadiſsimo animalium. That is, this Adament which wil neither be broken by Iron, or will bee made hot by the fire; yet the blood of the ſtinking Goat will make it ſoft, this moſt fitly repreſenteth the hard heart of man: becauſe the baſe commodities, and the threatnings of men; will make his heart to yeeld; but it is hard like the Adamant to reſiſt the Law of God, Iere. 5.13. They have made their faces harder than the rocks. The heart of a wicked man is like the Smythes anvill, the moe ſtroakes that it getteth, the harder it is, this is a fearefull thing, 2 Chron. 28.20.21.22. When the Lords hand was againſt Achaz, the more that he afflicted him, the more he hardened his heart; therefore the Lord ſaith of him; This is that Achaz. And Kinchi marketh upon Pſal. 115. that the Article Hu, is ſet-before ſome notable tranſgreſſors, as Gen. 36.43.foreign The Hebrewes call this milleth hat…gnam, dictio quae auget ſignificationem. This is Eſau the Father of the Edomites So Numb. 26.9. this is that Dathan and Abiram. So Gen. 10.9. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord. So 2 Chron. 28 This is that Achaz that hardned his heart.
He wrote the Law upon ſtone,The Law was wrieten upon ſtone, to ſignifie the perpetutey of it. to ſignifie the perpetuitie of it. The Lord commanded his Prophets to write their P…opheſies upon Tables, Eſay …0.8. But the Seventie hath it, …cribe ſuper Buxe, write them on the buſh tree, which conſumeth not. Iob. 13.28. to ſignifie the indurance of the troubles that were upon him, expreſſeth it by writting, ſaying Thou writeſt bitter things againſt me. To correct is actio tranſiens, to write is actio permanens.
The Lord wrote the Law upon hewen ſtone, to teach us, that he muſt prepare our hearts and ſmooth them, before they can receive the Law: this is called in the Scriptures, Breaking up of the fallow ground Hoſe. 10.12. For as the Husbandman in the Summer breaketh up the ground, and pulleth out the Thornes; that the Land may be fitte to receive ſeede: So the Lord breaketh up the fallow ground of our hearts,God prepareth the heart before he ſow the ſeede of grace. and pulleth out the Thornes, that he may ſow in the ſeed of grace; and he maketh ſmooth the heart with his preventing grace, that it may bee fit to receive his Heavenly characters; he will not write his Law in a rough and unſmooth heart.
He wrote the Law upon two Tables, and Salomon alludeth to this. Prov. 3.3. Write merciemercy and truth upon the Table of thy heart. The Lord doth not care that thou have the Law written upon the poſts of thy doore, & the fringes of thy garment; but he will have it written in the heart. Pſal. 40.7. In the volume of thy booke it is written of me, I delight to doe thy will, O my God: yea thy Law is in the midſt of my heart. Where the holy Ghoſt alludeth to the forme which was under the Law, they wrote upon parchment and rowled it up upon a peece of wood, or upon a reede Luc. 4.2. foreign He rowled up the booke; Hence came this phraſe amongſt the Latines. Ducere ad umbilicum.as if he would ſay, thy Law O Lord is not written upon the rowle and wrapped up that way, but it is written in the midſt of my heart.
Queſt. foreign Hinc & hinc.Whether were theſe two Tables written one both the ſides, or were they written upon one ſide onelyonly; becauſe, the Text ſaith they were written mize umize, one both the ſides, one the one ſide, and on the other, Exod. 22.15. The Seventy reade it, Hinc et hinc erant ſcriptae.
Anſ. The Law was not written on both ſides of the Tables, but upon one ſide.They were written on both the ſides; that is, they were written in both the Tables; but they were not written, as the rowles were written, both within and without; Zach. 5.3. The curſe of the Theefe upon the one ſide, and the curſe of the Swearer upon the other ſide; mize umize it was written in both the ſides, that they might reade it both before and behind.
foreignThey had two ſorts of writings, firſt, that which the Hebrews call Gnalpanim in facie; the other in tergo. The Greekes had foreign rowles, which were written upon the one ſide onelyonly, and foreign rowles which were written both within and without. The Tables were foreign written upon the one ſide,Scripta foreign. foreign. but the rowle of Gods judgement Ezek. 2.10. was foreign and it had written in it Lamentations and mourning and woe. So the flying, rowle of the curſe of God Zach. 5.3 had the curſes written both within and without, and the Lord wrote this way onelyonly to the wicked;When the Lord is ſaid to write, he writeth upon both ſides to the wicked, but upon the one ſide to the godly. but the Law was given not as a curſe but as a direction to Gods Children, and therefore it was written but upon the one ſide of the Tables:
Laſtly, this writting tooke up the whole Tables,No blanke left for man to adde any thing to the Law. to ſignifie, that there was no blanke left for man to adde any thing to this Law. Deut. 4.2. Ye ſhall not adde to the word which I commande you, neither ſhall ye diminiſh ought from it.
The concluſion of this is,Concluſion. this Law was written upon Tables of ſtone and they were broken, to ſignifie, that we breake this firſt Covenant: but in the New covenant when he giveth us hearts of fleſh Ier. 31.33. and ſhal betroth us to himſelfe for ever in judgement righteouſneſſe and in loving kindneſse, Hoſ. 2.19. Then we ſhall not fall away from the covenant againe.