Exposition of the Moral Law, Additions 1 – Title page 2
ADDITIONS.
Pag. 14. lin. 7.
SVch a place of pointing we have. 2. Sam. 8.13.The pointing of places is to be obſerved. And Divid got him a name when hee returned from ſmiting the Syrians in the valley of ſalt, being eighteene thouſand men. There was a great diſtince betwixt the valley of ſalt and Syria, therefore the place muſt be read by the diſtinction of the point Tarcha; he got him a name when he returned from Syria. Here is the diſtiction, and he ſlew the eighteene thouſand men in the valley of ſalt, ſuch pointings as theſe would be marked.
Pag. 56. l. 23.
1. Ioh. 2.16. For all that is in the world,The devill tempts Evah with three temptations. the lust of the fleſh, the luſt of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the father, but of the world: theſe were the tentations of the devill to Evah, Gen. 3. Firſt, The tree was good for food, this was the luſt of the fleſh: then it was pleaſant to behold, this was the luſt of the eyes; and thirdly, ye ſhall be like gods, this is the pride of life: and ſo ye ſhall ſee theſe three in the temptations which he uſed to tempt Chriſt, Matt. 4. firſt he ſaid, Command that theſe ſtones be made bread, this was the luſt of the fleſh: ſecondly, he ſhewed him all the kingdomes of the world and the glory of them, this was the luſt of the eyes: thirdly, when hee would have Chriſt to caſt himſelfe downe from the pinacle of the Temple, and when hee ſaid, That the Lord would give his Angels charge over him, this was The pride of life.
Pag. 70. l. 6.
What are wee to thinke of the Teraphim which Micol put in Davids bed, was this an idol or not? Queſt.
If Iacob purged his houſe of Teraphim, Anſw. and would not ſuffer them, but buried them under an oake tree, would David then that religious king (who purged his houſe of other ſinnes, Pſal. 101.) have ſuffered an idoll in his houſe; it was an image made then in the ſimilitude of a man, and ſhee put the goats haire upon the head of it, that it might reſemble the haire of a man: it was ſuch an image as they carry at burials: the ſeventy tranſlate it foreign.
Pag. 75. l. 22.
The people at the giving of the Law ſaw no viſible ſhape.Deut. 4.12. And the Lord ſpake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of the words, but ſaw no ſimilitude, onelyonly ye heard a voice. And when the Lord appeared to them, he appeared in a cloud. Pſal. 18.11.
Pag. 87. l. 8.
The idols have great force to draw idolaters after them. Ier. 8.2. They loved them, they ſerved them, they walked after them, ſought after them, and worſhipped them.
Idolaters are more earneſt in the ſervice of their Idols, than the godly in the ſervice of their God.Obſerve the five words ſet downe here to note the earneſtneſſe of idolaters to follow their idols. Firſt, They loved them in their heart. Secondly, They ſerved them, there was never a ſlave that ſerved ſo ſervilly, as they ſerved their idols. Thirdly, They walked after them, ſeeking their reſponſes from them, and truſting in them. Fourthly, They ſought after them from Sihor to Euphrates. Fiftly, They worſhiped them, giving all the glory that was due to God unto them.
Yee ſhall not finde in all the Scriptures, ſuch an earneſt deſire to pleaſe God, ye will finde in the Scriptures theſe things ſpoken ſeverally of the children of God, and Gods worſhip; but yee ſhall not finde them joyned all together, as they are here when they are jointly ſpoken of worſhiping Idols. Firſt, for the love of God, Ye that love the Lord hate evill. Pſal. 97.10. here is the love of God, but none of the reſt. Secondly, the ſervice of God, and the people ſerved the Lord all the dayes of Ioſhua, Iud. 2.7. Thirdly, for walking after the Lord, as Noah walked with God, Gen. 6.9. Fourthly, to ſeeke him, This is the generation of them that ſeeke him, that ſeeke thy face. Pſal. 24.6. Laſtly, to worſhip him. O come let us worſhip and bow downe, let us kneele before the Lord our maker.
This idolatrie looſeth all naturall bonds;The idolaters breake all the bonds of nature. againſt the fift commandement. They ſay to the ſtocke thou art my father, and to the ſtone thou haſt begotten me. Ier. 2.27. It maketh them not onelyonly to forget their duty towards God, but all their dutie towards their parents;They brea ke the fift commandement. and as the ſuperſtitious Phariſees if they had vowed any thing, they would have ſuffered their parents to ſterue, rather than they would have broken their ſuperſtitious vow, Mat. 15.5. So the idolater, rather or he will omit any dutie to his idoll, he will ſuffer his parents to ſterue.
Againſt the ſixt commandement;They ſinne greivouſly againſt the ſixt. moſt cruell and barbarous were they when they ſacrificed their children to Moloch in the valley of Topheth, which the Prophet Ieremiah called the valley of ſlaughter. Ier. 7.32. and the Seventy tranſlate it foreign: It might juſtly be called Aceldama, the field of bloud; and ſee how the Lord juſtly revenged this ſinne upon their idolatrous Kings, hee ſuffered their dead bodies to bee taken out of the graves and hung up before the ſunne. Ier. 8.2.Becauſe Idolaters worſhiped the Sun, the Lord cauſed their dead bones to be hang up againſt the Sun. and eſpecially the bones of Menaſſeh and Ammon who were the chiefe idolaters, and were buried together. 2. King. 21.18. They were buried in the garden of their owne houſe, in the garden of Vzziah; whereas the body of David who was a true worſhipper of the Lord, was ſafe and untouched. Act. 2.29. His ſepulchre is with us unto this day.
Againſt the ſeaventh commandement;Againſt the ſeaventh commandement. it procureth men to be given over to unnaturall luſt. Rom. 1.26.
Againſt the eight commandement;Againſt the eight commandement. they tooke the Lords wine, and his wooll, and his flexe, and gave it to Baal. Hoſ. 2.8. Hee but lent them that corne, and that wine, and they beſtowed it upon the Idoll Baal.
Ye were carried away after dumbe Idols.
The Moabites worſhiped Baal-Peor, and the Iſraelites worſhiped that, Num. 25.3.
The Ammonites worſhiped Chemoſh. Iudg. 11.24. and Moloch, 1. King. 11.33. and the Iſraelites worſhipped them.
Thirdly, the Sydonians worſhipped Aſhtaroth. 2. King. 23.14. and the Iſraelites worſhipped that. 2. King. 11.33.
The Philiſtims worſhiped Dagon, but wee read not that they worſhipped that God.
The Babylonians god was Bel or Bagnal, they worſhiped that.
They worſhiped the Egyptians calfe.
They worſhiped Adonis. Ezek. 8. and the queene of heaven. Ier. 7.18. and Priapus, 1. King. 15.13. and the hoaſt of heaven. 2. King. 25.5. all theſe they worſhiped. Were they not then carried after dumbe Idols?
Pag. 91. l. 24. A compariſon betwixt Iſrael and Judah in their idolatrie, and which of their idolatrie was greatest.
The idolatrie of Iudah was greater than the idolatrie of Iſrael.FIrſt, Iudahs ſinne was greater than the ſinne of Iſrael, although Iſrael ſinned continually without interruption, yet Iudahs idolatrie was greater when he fell to it.
Secondly, Iudah committed idolatrie in the temple of the Lord. Ezek. 8. Iſrael did not ſo.
Thirdly, Iudah had the true Prieſts, the true Prophets, and ſome good Kings, and the true temple; Iſrael had none of theſe.
Fourthly, all the promiſes of Chriſt to come were made to Iudah and not to Iſrael, therefore Iudah did juſtifie Samaria in all her ſinnes, the one was averſatrix, and the other was praevaricatrix.
A compariſon betwixt Judah and the idolaters now.
THe Iſraelites worſhiped the golden calfe in Horeb, or in Sinai; but they bragge that they dwell in Sion, and yet worſhip idols.
Secondly, the Iewes worſhiped a calfe when Chriſt dwelt but in the buſh, cloud, and pillar; but they worſhip idols now when Chriſt hath taken on our fleſh upon him.
They worſhiped God in the likeneſſe of an oxe;Idolatrie now is more dangerous than the idolatrie of Iudah or Iſrael. but now they worſhip him in the likeneſſe of a man, more dangerous idolatrie; for man is capable of civill worſhip which a beaſt is not, which hath ſome reſemblance with ſpirituall worſhip; and as Abſolom in the noonetide of the day lay with his fathers concubines: ſo doe they now in the ſunne-ſhine of the goſpell, when they might have beene cured and would not.
Laſtly,Suetonius lib. 6. cap. 22. they have refined all the ſhifts and excuſes of the heathen, ſo they juſtifie all their idolatries; and as Caligula when he brought the image of Iupiter Olympus, he broke off the head of it, and ſet on his owne image upon it: So they have broken off the old ſhifts of idolaters, and brought in their owne new ſhifts in place of them, and their idolatrie is refined idolatrie.
Pag. 93. l. 6. A compariſon betwixt the waters of Sihor and the waters of Euphrates.
THe ſcriptures expreſſeth idolatrie by the terme of drinking of water, ſo bodily whoredome is expreſſed this wayes,Idolatrie compared to the waters of Sihor. aquam alienam haurit.
Firſt, let us obſerue what reſemblance is betwixt Nilus and idolatrie; no man can tell directly whence Nilus proceedeth, it hath ſo many ſprings: ſo no man can tell directly the beginning of idolatrie, it hath ſo many ſprings.
Secondly, the water of Nilus is blacke and troubled, therefore it is called Sihor blacknes: ſo is idolatrie troubled water.
Thirdly, Nilus is unwholeſome water for drinke, ſo is idolatrie.
Fourthly, Nilus parteth it ſelfe in ſeaven branches: ſo did the idolatrie of Egypt part it ſelfe in many branches.
Then for Euphrates. Ioſh. 24.2. Your fathers dwelt on the other ſide of the floud in old time, even Terah the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor; and they ſerved other Gods. So when they were carried to Babylon, when they ſate by the river Euphrates, then they did ſollicite them to worſhip their idols. Pſal. 137.
Iudah, becauſe he participated with the Kings of the North, and the South, therefore hee was plagued by them both.Iudah ſtood betwixt Euphrates and Nilus, he ſhould have participated with neither of them; but becauſe hee did, hee was both plagued with the king of the North, and the king of the South.
Babylon ſtood upon Euphrates, and Ieremiah commanded Seraiah to bind a ſtone to the booke and caſt it in the midſt of Euphrates; And thou ſhalt ſay, thus ſhall Babylon ſinke and ſhall not riſe from the evill that I will bring upon her. Ier. 51.63. As the Egyptians ſunke in the red ſea like a ſtone. Exod. 15. and Babylon ſunke as the ſtone did ſinke in Euphrates: So ſhall ſpirituall Babylon bee throwne into the ſea like a great milſtone, and ſhall bee found no more at all. Revelat. 18.21.
Pag. 119. l. 2.
I am a jealous God. See how farre the Lord ſubmitteth himſelfe to our capacity: Firſt,God taketh upon him as it were our naturall infirmities and our naturall paſſions for our capacity. to take our naturall infirmities upon him, as hunger. Pſal. 50.1. If I were hungry I will not tell thee. So to take our paſſions as our anger, greife, ſadneſſe, furie, wrath, jealouſie, and that which ſeemeth to come nearer to our ſinfull paſſions, as to be froward. Pſ. 18.26. With the froward thou wilt ſhew thy ſelfe froward. Whatſoever is ſpoken of God, it is good in it ſelfe, although it exceed and become ſinfull in us.
Pag. 150. l. 35. Of Jeremiah and Job curſing the day of their birth.
THeſe who hold that Ieremiah ſinned not in thoſe imprecations and curſes alledge firſt,Some bring reaſons to prove that Ieremia ſinned not in curſing the day of his birth. that Ieremiah before hee began to curſe, he praiſed God. Ier. 20.12. Sing unto the Lord, praiſe ye the Lord; for he hath delivered the ſoule of the poore from the hand of evill doers. and then hee addeth, Curſed bee the day wherein I was borne: this cannot bee a ſinfull curſing, Doth the fountaine ſend forth at the ſame place ſweet water and bitter water. Iam. 3.11. Can out of the mouth proceed both bleſſing and curſing?
Secondly, when hee uſeth theſe curſes, God giveth him a comfortable anſwer; as Cap. 15.10. Woe is me my mother that thou haſt borne me a man of ſtrife, and a man of contention to the whole earth. The Lord anſwereth him. Verſ. 11. Verily it ſhall be well with thy remnant: verily I will cauſe the enemie to entreat thee well in the time of evill, and in the time of affliction. God ſaith, It ſhall bee well with thy remnant, that is, the reſt of thy dayes.
And they that juſtifie Iob ſay,Some ſay that Iob ſinned not in curſing the day of his birth. that for ſeaven dayes Iob did hold his peace, and then hee opened his mouth and ſpake; Cap. 3.1. which phraſe the ſcripture uſeth, when men ſpeake deliberately and adviſedly. As Act. 10.34. Then Peter opened his mouth and ſaid.
To open the mouth and ſpeake, in the ſcriptures is to ſpeake deliberately and with advicement.Secondly, they ſay, would Iob or Ieremiah curſe their mother who bare them? then that woe ſhould have befallen them which the Prophet Eſay ſpeaketh of. Cap. 45.10. Woe be to him that ſaith to his father, what begetteſt thou? or to the woman, what haſt thou brought forth?
Thirdly, would Ieremiah uſe a ſinfull curſe againſt the day of his nativitie, who was ſanctified from his mothers wombe? Ier. 1.5.
Fourthly, how could hee curſe that day which was paſt?
And where it is objected that wee ſhould rejoyce in tribulation,Afflictions are not good in themſelves, but as they are ſanctified of the Lord. and that Ieremiah fretted in tribulation. They anſwere that ſimplie, tribulations and afflictions are not good in themſelves, but they are the wages of ſinne; but it is onelyonly the Lord that ſanctifieth them, and turnes them to the good of his children.
And they ſay, that he curſed not the day it ſelfe, but the miſeries that followed that day, as David curſed not the mountaines of Gilboa directly; but the blood ſhed there, which made the mountaines barren; and ſo it was not the man who brought the newes, whom he curſed, but the miſeries themſelves, which befell him after that time; and in effect they ſay it was but ſuch a complaint as Pauls was: O wretched man that I am, who ſhall deliver me from this bodie of death? Rom. 7.24. and he ſaid, better is the day of death, then the day of ones birth. Ecleſ. 7.1. Pereat dies mortalitatis, ut erumpat dies aeternitatis.
The fathers generally ſtand to juſtifie him in this, that it was not a ſinfull curſing, as Hierome, Theodoret, Clemens Alexandrinus, Gregorius Niſſenus, Cyrillus, Alexandrinus, Origen, Gregorius Magnus.
Ieremie and Iob not altogether free from ſinne in curſing the day of their nativity.But Elias was a man ſubject to the ſame paſſions as wee are. Iam. 5.17. and ſo were Ieremiah and Iob; therefore it may ſeeme that they ſpake not here without ſinne, although the Lord pardoned them.
Pag. 191. l. 20.
He will not hold him guiltleſſe, that is, hee will puniſh him.
We pray dayly that God would pardon us the guilt of our ſinnes, and there is no guilt that we are more liable unto, than to the guilt of our idle ſpeeches and ſwearing.
Now that wee may bee freed of this guilt,How God puniſheth the guilt, and how he pardoneth it. wee muſt conſider firſt, how God puniſheth this guilt; ſecondly, how hee pardoneth this guilt: hee puniſheth the guilt when hee imputeth the ſinne to the offender, he pardoneth the guilt when he transferreth it upon another.
When he transferreth it upon another, the ſinne remaineth, but the guilt is taken away; and ſome call this concupiſcence which remaineth, materiale in peccato, What the materiall and what the formall part in ſinne.but that which is taken away is formale, as the land-marke caſt out of the land, it ceaſeth to be a land-marke any more, but it ceaſeth not to be a ſtone: and ſome ſay the guilt is taken from the perſon, although not from the ſinne it ſelfe.
How can the ſinne be transferred upon an innocent perſon to make him undergoe the puniſhment, Queſt. who is not guilty?
The innocent perſon becauſe he giveth his word for the guilty, Anſw. and willingly undergoeth the puniſhment for him. Pſal. 119.122. Sponde pro ſervo tuo, be ſurety for thy ſervant. So Heb. 7.22.Chriſt is puniſhed for us, becauſe he gave his word for us. Ieſus made a ſurety of a better Teſtament, therefore he is puniſhed for us.
And that we may take up this the better, marke how a Iudge proceedeth either according to the rigour of the law, or the mitigation of the law, or contrary to the law, or above the law. According to the rigour of the law, when he imputeth the guilt to all; contrary to the law, if hee ſhould impute the guilt to none;How a Iudge proceedeth in executing juſtice. according to the mittigation of the law when hee ſpeareth ſome, but this is above the law, that his Son Ieſus Chriſt ſhould undergoe the puniſhment for us, this commeth of the clemency of the high Iudge.
David according to the law executed Ioab, contrary to the law killed Vrijah, according to the mittigation of the law confined Shemi, whereas he might have cauſed him to be executed; and Salomon out of his clemency he ſpared Adonijah.
All that was in Chriſts condemnation was in our abſolution.Ieſus Chriſt the juſt, in whoſe mouth was found no guile, who was a perfect man in word, for our cauſe was condemned for blaſphemie, to abſolue us from the guilt of that ſinne; for whatſoever was in Chriſts condemnation, is in our abſolution.
Faults eſcaped.
Pag. 5. 35. for Lamans, r. Lamehs. p. 10. 3. for Sarai, r. Sinai. p. 14. 15. for Iohn r. Ioſh. p. 22. 8. for God, r. goddeſſe. p. 23. 35. r. they are bleſſed who have God to. p. 30. 27. for panai r. pene. p. 54. 9. for Tornes r. Tyrus. p. 76. 35. r. is not terminus. p. 100. 24. dele onelyonly. p. 118. 9. r. ſpoken of God. p. 130. 23. dele if any of the parents &c. p. 157. 28. for amongſt. r. after. p. 166. in the margent dele, by his idoll. p. 166. 8. for ſinne of another. r. ſinner. 170. 11. calleth himſelfe into witneſſe who is amen. p. 172. 15. dele no. 178. 20. r. he may vow other things without the conſent of the wife becauſe he is her head. p. 181. in the margent for tua. r. mea. pag. 185. 30. r. every man is a living creature. 154. in the margent for foreign r. foreign and for foreign r. foreign.
FINIS.
AN EXPOSITION OF THE SECOND TABLE OF THE MORALL LAW.
Set downe by way of EXERCITATIONS.
Wherein is contained an explanation of diverſe Queſtions and Poſitions for the right underſtanding thereof.
Together with an explication of theſe Scriptures which depend upon, or belong unto every one of the Commandements.
All which are cleared out of the originall languages, the cuſtomes of the Iewes, and the diſtinctions of the Schoolemen.
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Deum ipſum reverere, & praecepta ejus obſerva, quia hoceſt totum hominis.
By Iohn Weemſe, of Lathocker in Scotland, Preacher of Chriſts Goſpell.
LONDON, Printed by T.C. for Iohn Bellamie, and are to be ſold at his ſhop at the ſigne of the three Golden Lyons in Cornehill, neere the Royall Exchange. 1632.