Commentary on Genesis and Exodus, Theological treatise · Chapter 23 · Doctrines – Moral observations
4. Places of Doctrine.
1. Doct. Of divers actions of love, generall and particular.
Vers. 1. IF thou … thine enemies oxe, &c. As Gods actions are of two sorts, generall and particular: the one toward all men, in as much as he suffereth the Sunne to shine, and the raine to fall upon all: the other toward the elect, in sanctifying them by his Spirit: So must our actions be toward men. A generall love we must shew toward all men, Turkes, Jewes, Infidels, and toward our enemies: in procuring their good, in seeking to doe them no hurt, in preserving them and theirs: out of which generall fountaine of love flow these curtesies, in bringing home his straying oxe, and helping up the overladen asse. But friendship, familiarity, society, we must only have with the children of God. This difference the Apostle maketh where he saith, Let us doe good to all, but specially unto them which are of the houshold of faith, Galath. 6.10. B. Babington.
2. Doct. Of Christs Deity.
Vers. 21. BEcause my name is in him. Hic Moses Divinitatem Christi palam confitetur & exprimit; Here Moses doth openly confesse and expresse the Divinity of Christ, which the Jewes to this day will not see nor acknowledge: for this Angell is Christ, in whom the name of God is: he is called by the same names that God the Father is: as the Lord almighty, eternall, &c. Ferus: as the Prophet Isaiah saith, Hee shall call his name, Wonderfull, Counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, &c. Isai. 9.6.
3. Doct. God disposeth and transposeth kingdomes.
Vers. 31. I Will make thy coasts from the red Sea, &c. This sheweth that God setteth the limits and bounds of kingdomes, which they cannot passe, nor goe beyond: he setteth up kingdomes, transposeth them, and pulleth them downe: as Daniel saith, He changeth times and seasons: he taketh away Kings, he setteth up Kings, Dan. 2.21. Marbach. Borrhaius.
5. Places of Controversie.
1. Confut. Vniversality and multitude no sure marke of the true Church and religion.
Vers. 2. THou shalt not follow a multitude, &c. As in civill matters it is not safe to follow the custome of a multitude: so in religion it is dangerous to be lead by numbers and multitude. In our blessed Saviours time the people followed the Scribes and Pharisies: only a few, whom he had chosen out of the world, as the Apostles, with some others, embraced the doctrine of Christ. Therefore universality and multitude, which is so much urged by the Romanists, is no good rule to know the right Church and the truth by, Simler.
2. Confut. Against the secret Spanish Inquisition.
Vers. 1. THou shalt not receive a false tale. Although this be a generall instruction to all, both publike and private persons, that they should not be carried away with false tales: yet it most of all concerneth Judges: which, as Lyranus noteth, saith that the Magistrate is forbidden by this Law to heare the one party in the absence of the other: because many false tales will be devised by the one, when the other is not present to make answer. But Burgensis confuteth Lyranus herein, whom T…oring in his replies maintaineth: who affirmeth truly, that this Law, videtur habere ortum à natura seemeth to take beginning from nature, that when any suit is promoted at the instance of a party, the adverse party should be cited. Yet he maketh exception of some Courts, the processe whereof is secret without any such inquisition: as he giveth instance of that great Court in Westphaliae, which is called Iudicium secretum Westphaliae; The secret judgement of Westphalia. Wherein, beside that he in pretending to defend Lyranus confuteth him, shewing that in all proceedings it is not necessary that publike inquisition bee made; the instance that he giveth is insufficient: what that secret manner of judgement in Westphalia is, he declareth not: but if it be such as the Spanish Inquisition is, which is shuffled up in corners, and in darknesse; there being none present, but the Inquisitor, the Scribe, and tormentor disguised like a Devill, and the poore innocent lambe that is tortured, and examined: it is most unjust, cruell, and tyrannicall. The Romane Governours were more equall toward Paul, Act. 24.10. and 25.6.who brought him forth in publike to answer for himselfe, and did not sift him in corners. And what is to be thought of such secret actions, our blessed Saviour sheweth,Iohn 3.20. Every man that evill doth hateth the light, neither commeth to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
3. Confut. Against the Manichees, who made the old Testament contrarie to the new.
Vers. 22. I Will be an enemy unto thine enemies, &c. The Manichees, who rejected the old Testament, and would make it contrary to the new take exception to these and the like places, where the Lord professeth enmity against the Canaanites, and chargeth the Israelites to kill and destroy them: how (say they) is this consonant and agreeable to that precept of the Gospell, that we should love our enemies?
In Epistol. ad Galat. cap. 5.Contra. 1. Hierome answereth, Non tam personarum, quam morum facta est dissensio; That this dissension and enmity was not in respect of the persons, but of their manners. The Israelites were not so much enemies unto them, as they were enemies to the true religion of the Israelites in worshipping of God aright.
Contra Adimant. cap. 17.2. Augustine saith, Illa inimicorum interfectio carnali adhuc populo congruebat, &c. That killing of the enemies did agree unto that carnall people, to whom the Law was given as a schoolemaster unto Christ.
3. The Apostle when he delivered over the incestuous young man unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh: Satis declaravit in aliquem inimicum vindictam cum charitate posse procedere, &c. Did sufficiently declare that revenge may be taken of some enemy in charity, &c. Potest ergo dilectio esse in vindicante; Therefore there may be love in him that taketh revenge; as we see in fathers that correct their children whom they love. And although fathers kill not their children in correcting them, yet God, who knoweth what is best for every one, cum dilectione corrigere, non solum infirmitatibus, sed etiam mortibus temporalibus, &c. can correct with love, not only with infirmity and sicknesse, but with temporall death: as is evident in the Corinthians, as S. Paul saith, For this cause many are weake, and sick among you, and many sleep… : and that these corrections proceed of love,1 Cor. 11.30.32. he presently after sheweth: But when wee are judged, wee are chastened of the Lord, because we should not be condemned with the world.
4. Nec hoc fecerunt justi homines sine authoritate divina, &c. Neither did those just men doe this without the divine authoritie, which sometime is manifested in Scripture, sometime hid: lest any should thinke it was permitted unto him to kill whom he would at his pleasure.
5. De inimici dilectione, &c. in veteribus libris legitur, &c. And yet we reade in the old Testament of the loving of our enemy: whereof David is an example, who, when Saul was offered unto his hand, elegit parcere potius, quàm occidere; chose rather to spare him, than kill him: ubi ergo nec difficultas fuit occidendi, nee timor, dilectio profecit inimico, &c. where then there was neither difficulty nor feare to kill the enemy, it was love that helped him, &c. Thus Augustine learnedly sheweth the old Testament not to be contrary to the new.
4. Controv. That every mans terme of life is certaine with God.
Vers. 26. THe number of thy dayes will I fulfill, &c. Here are two errors to be taken heed of, which through the mistaking of this text have deceived some. The one was of Diodorus Tarseus. whose opinion was, that because the dayes of the wicked are often time shortned, thought that the terme of every mans life is not prefixed, and set downe certaine with God, Ex Simlero. So also Procopius, Non ostendit singulis praefixum esse certum vita finem; He sheweth not here, that to every man is set a certaine end of his life; seeing God according to his pleasure, doth sometime shorten, and sometime prolong it, &c. But this opinion seemeth evidently to contradict the Scripture, which thus evidently testifieth, Are not his dayes determined? Iob. 14.5.the number of his moneths are with th…, thou hast appointed his bounds, which he cannot passe. As God then hath set downe with himselfe the certaine time of every ones comming into the world; so also he hath appointed their time of departure and going out of the world: which time in respect of Gods prescience is neither prevented nor deferred. But to us it seemeth so to be, when the naturall period of any mans life, by some violent and accidentall meanes seemeth to be cut off. Theodorus therefore here resolveth well: Vnusquisquo nostrâm … dios viv…, quos Deus pranoscit, &c. Every one of us shall live out those dayes which the Lord hath foreseene and foreknowne.
The other error is of those which thinke, C…rtum & …undem … ; That the same certaine terme of life is appointed to all: wh… Theodor… in the same place confuteth: for if it were so, …que j…stus …; neither the righteous should enjoy a longer, nor the unrighteous a shorter life. The … whereof is also se…e by daily experience: for wee see some infants to dye before they are a monethmonth old, and some men to live above an hundred yeere.
6. Morall observations.
1. Observ. The vertues of an upright Iudge.
Vers. 1. THou shalt not receive a false tale, &c. In these three first verses are set forth three excellent vertues, that ought to be in every Judge. The first is truth, which ought alwayes to be followed in judgement: contrary whereunto are false reports and tales, which a Judge is not to give …are unto. So the Wise-man saith, He that heareth speaketh continually: he that by patient hearing,Prov. 21.2… ▪ and wise examining fifteth a cause, may speake without controlement. The second vertue is constancie, not to be swayed by the judgement of the multitude, or by the power of the mighty, to swarve from justice. The third vertue is equality, touched here in the third verse, neither to esteeme the person of the rich or poore in judgement. B. Babington.
2. Observ. Not to use the names of the Gentile gods in poems and verses.
Vers. 13. YE shall make no mention of the name of other gods. By this we may gather, hand piè & Christianè fieri ab …is, &c. that it is no Christian or godly use in them, which in their verses and poems do invocate the gods of the Gentiles, as Apollo, Iupiter, Minerva, Marbach. But the Apostle saith, If any man speake, let him talke as the words of God, 1 Pet. 4. vers. 11.
3. Observ. God is to be praised both in the beginning and in the end.
Vers. 16. THe harvest of first fruits, &c. the feast of gathering fruits. God would have them both first and last to acknowledge a benefit: they must offer the first fruits, as a signe of their thankfulnesse, when their corne began to be ripe; and keepe a feast also, when they had gathered in all their fruits. Men now adayes thinke it enough to make a shew of thansgiving▪ when they begin to taste of a benefit; and forget it afterward. But we must in the beginning and in the end celebrate the praise of God, Olea… as the Apostle saith, In all things give thankes, 1 Thess. 5.18.