Exposition of the Laws of Moses, Dedication 2
TO THE RIGHT HONORABLE COLENE, EARLE OF SEAFORT, Lord Mackenzee and Kintaill, one of his MAIESTIES moſt Honorable Privie Councell in the Kingdome of Scotland.
Honorable and my very good Lord,
GOD who is the God of order and not of confuſion, from whom all good things deſcend, hath placed here below ſundry ſorts of people;Prov. 30.25.26.27.28 the Ants are a people not ſtrong, yet they prepare their meat in the Summer; the Conies are but a feeble folke, yet make they their houſes in the Rocks; the Locuſts hauehave no King, yet goe they forth all of them by bands; the Spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in Kings palaces; this ſort of people differ very much, for ſome of them are foreign, which provide onelyonly for the preſent day, but lay up nothing againſt the morrow; the Graſhopper provideth not againſt the winter as the Ant doth; there are others of them who liue by rapine, as the Caterpillers who devour all and then flie away;Nahum 3.16. and Nahum compareth the Merchants of Ninive to theſe, that carry all the wealth away with them; and there are ſome of thoſe people which are inſatiable, as the Horſleach, that hath two daughters who cry continually,Prov. 30.15. GiueGive, giuegive; This ſort of people are governed by inſtinct onelyonly; the Locuſts hauehave no King, yet they goe out in bands; the Ant hath no guide,Prov. 6.7. overſeer, or ruler, yet ſhee provideth her meat in the Summer, and gathereth her foode in the harveſt, although they hauehave no King or ruler to command them, and overſee them, neither a guide to direct them, yet they are ruled by inſtinct.
There are a ſecond ſort of people that God hath placed here below, and they are men; and there is a greater difference amongſt this people, than amongſt the former, for looke upon ſome of them, and yee ſhall hardly diſcerne whether they be men or not, and as the Philoſophers ſay, there are ſome ſorts of creatures that we cannot tell whether they liue the ſenſitiue or the vegetatiue life onelyonly, there is ſo little life in them, as in the Shel-fiſh; ſo it is hard to diſcerne whether thoſe liue the reaſonable life, or the brutiſh onelyonly, they hauehave no lawes, they lodge in the caues of the earth, goe naked, eat raw fleſh, and although they hauehave the ſhape of men, yet they hauehave but the heart of beaſts in them, as Nebuchadnezzar had. There are other men who are ruled by reaſon, and politicke government, for their God hath taught them, he may be called their God in this reſpect,Eſay 28.26. as the Prophet Eſay calleth him the husband-mans God, becauſe he teacheth him how to manure the ground, and ſo God commeth neerer to them; they are a people here, but yet they are not Gods people, and it is better to be a dorekeeper in the houſe of God,Pſal. 84.10. than in higheſt advancement amongſt ſuch.
There is a third ſort who liue in his Church, and this is the higheſt ſocietie in this life, and here we ſhall ſee policie, juſtice, frugalitie, and all vertues, becauſe Gods worſhip is here, and as the inferior faculties of the ſoule are eminenter by way of excellencie contained in the ſuperior, ſo are all thoſe comprehended in Religion; and as the ſhadow followeth the bodie, ſo doth policie and order follow Religion; if a man would learne frugalitie, let him looke to Ioſeph, Pſal. 104.22.who taught the Senatours of Egypt; if he would learne policie, let him looke to the government of Salomons Court and his houſe;2 King. 4. if he would learne to be a good warriour, let him ſee what order the Lord hath placed in the Campe of the Iewes; Numb. 80.10.and if he would learne juſtice, he ſhall ſee it exactly deſcribed in the Law of God.
My Honourable Lord, I hauehave made choiſe of your LP: to recōmend this Treatiſe to your Patrocinie, becauſe yee know what it is to be amongſt Gods people; many great men if they get their portion in this life amongſt the people of this world,Pſal. 17. they care not to be Deniſons in the ſocietie of Gods people, and they content themſelues with the portion of this world, and ſay, Benum est hic eſſe; but this is a freedome which is bought at a higher rate, it coſt the chiefe Captaine a great ſumme of money to be made a freeman in Rome; Act. 22 28.but to be made a freeman in the Church of GOD, it coſt the price of Chriſts bloud. Great men deſire to be out of this firſt ſocietie, they deſire not to liue like beaſts; but if they come to the ſecond ſocietie, to liue like civill men, that doth content them; they giuegive GOD thankes (perhaps) for this, that they are men and not beaſts, and that they hauehave beene bred civilly, but few giuegive God thankes for this, that they liue under the Goſpell, where they may learne Chriſt, not many Noble are called. 1 Cor. 2.Sometimes they may tremble and feare,Act. 24.25. as Felix did,Act 26.28. and put off their converſion to another time, and ſome of them are like Agrippa, who almoſt are perſwaded to be Chriſtians; but few like Sergius Paulus, Act. 13.7.who was converted at Pauls preaching.
My Lord, you hauehave had ſtill the practiſe of Religion in your houſe, and one of the beſt helpes to further you, your worthy and religious Lady, whoſe name ſmelleth now like the wine of Lebanon, when ſhee is gone,Hoſea 14.7. and now ſhe enjoyeth the fruit of that, when neither her Nobilitie, birth, or worldly honour profited nothing; and this I write unto your LP: beſeeching you to goe on in that Chriſtian courſe, that both by your place and example, you may draw others unto the truth. The Lord promiſed that he would giuegive the uttermoſt parts of the earth for a poſſeſsion to his Sonne; Pſal. 2.8.this is the Motto of this Iland, and the farther North, it is the nearer to the ends of the earth, ſtudie therefore my good Lord, that Ieſus Chriſt may hauehave his poſſeſſion enlarged in the North, and this ſhall be your crowne in the latter day, when all your poſſeſſions ſhall faile you.
Your Honours in all dutifull ſubmiſsion, IOHN VVEEMSE: