Exposition of the Laws of Moses, Dedication 3
TO The Right Honorable, Sr. Thomas Coventrie Knight, Lord Coventrie, Baron of Alesborough, Lord Keeper of his Majeſties Great Seale of ENGLAND.
Moſt Honorable and my very good Lord,
IOB the wiſeſt and the richeſt Prince in the Eaſt,Iob. 28.7. ſearching where wiſedome might be found, he could not finde the place thereof; He could not finde it in the land of the living; the depth ſaith, it is not with me; and the Sea ſaith, it is not with me; the Vultures eye hath not ſeene it for all his ſharpe ſight; and for the worth of it, it cannot be gotten for Gold, neyther can Silver be weighed for the price thereof; then hee ſubjoyneth, God underſtandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof: for he looketh to the ends of the earth, and ſeeth under the whole heaven. The wiſedome which Job ſpeaketh of here, is Gods ſecret wiſedome in his workes of nature, which none of the world, although they were as ſharpe ſighted as the Eagle, can underſtand. Now if man be ſo ignorant in Gods woTkes of nature, much more is he in the workes of grace; and he may ſay as Agur ſayd, when he conſidered Jthiel and Vcal (Ieſus Chriſt the wiſedome of the Father) ſurely I am more brutiſh then any man,Pro. 30.2. and have not the underſtanding of a man. David when he lookt upon the heavens,Pſal. 19.1. the workes of Gods hands, he ſayd; The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament ſhoweth his handy worke: then he telleth how they declare his glory and what ſort of Preachers they be, The vniverſality of their preaching, their line is gone out through all the earth even, to the ends of the world; Then their diligence in preaching, both day and night; Laſtly, how plainely they preach, n all languages. Yet this their preaching is but an indiſtinct fort of preaching in reſpect of the preaching of the Goſpel. We may ſee ſome of his wiſedome in the heavens which are his handy worke: but nothing of the hid treaſure and riches hid up in Ieſus Chriſt, can we learne by this preaching. But Paul ſpeaking of the preaching of the Goſpel by the Apoſtles, ſaith, their ſound went out into all the earth, and their words into the ends of the world;Rom. 10.18. hee changeth their line into their ſound. There is a great difference betwixt theſe two ſorts of preaching, a naughty perſon winketh with his eyes, he ſpeaketh with his feete, and teacheth with his fingers,Pro. 6.13. but hee ſpeaketh more diſtinctly with his tongue: So the Lord preacheth indiſtinctly (as it were) by his worke; but by the ſound of his Goſpel, hee preacheth clearely and plainely. Where ſhall we finde theſe treaſures of grace and hid wiſedome? this treaſure is to bee found in his Law; therefore the Iewes call it deſiderium mundi, and it is more to be deſired, than Gold yea than moſt fine Gold.Pſal. 19.10. The Angels themſelves with ſtretched out neckes, deſire to looke into this myſterie; even as the Cherubims with ſtretched out neckes looked downe to the propitiatorie.1 Pet 1.12. If the Angels have ſuch a deſire to behold this wiſedome, much more ſhould man have a deſire to ſearch into theſe myſteries: for he tooke not upon him the nature of Angels,Heb. 2.16. but he tooke on him the ſeede of Abraham: Happie is that man that findeth this wiſedome, and the man that getteth underſtanding, this wiſedome is onelyonly to be found in the Law of the Lord.Pro. 3.13. I have indevoured (my Noble Lord) in this treatiſe to make ſome ſmall path for the younger ſort to this wiſedome; And I have abſtained from theſe queſtions which doe more hurt than good to the Church. Plutarch maketh mention of a number of Suters to one maid, but they fell to ſuch contention amongſt themſelves, that they did teare her all in peeces: too many diſputations in effect doe rent the truth, & nimium altercando amittitur veritas: the beſt way to come by the knowledge of the truth, is, to bee converſant in the Text it ſelfe, and to bee acquainted with the phraſe of the holy Ghoſt ſpeaking in his owne language. Let it not ſeeme ſtrange to any, that I ſeeming a ſtranger ſhould take this boldneſſe to offer theſe my labours to your Lordſhip. I cannot acknowledge ſuch ſtrangeneſſe: for wee have one Lord,Ephe. 4.13. one faith, one baptiſme, one God and Father of us all; We live all under one gratious King,Heb. 13.13. and there is ſmall or no difference in our language:Act. 1. we differ not as the Cananites and theſe of Aſhdod, yee ſay ſibboleth and we ſay ſhibboleth, Matth. 26.73.yee ſpeake the Dialect of Jeruſalem, and we the Dialect of Galilee, ſmall or no difference. But the reaſon wherefore I made choiſe of your honour, is the good report which I heare of you every where, your name ſmelleth as the wine of Lebanon, yee have put on righteouſneſſe as a garment, yee are eyes to the blind and feete to the lame:Hoſ. 14.7. the bleſſing of him that is ready to periſh commeth upon you,Iob 29.14. and you have cauſed the widowes heart to ſing for joy. There were many notable and excellent parts in Iob, he deſpiſed not the counſell of his man-ſervant or of his maid-ſervant, here was his humility; yet when he ſate in judgement, what grace and majeſtie had he? they gave eare and kept ſilence at his counſell; the young men ſaw him and hid themſelves, and the aged aroſe and ſtood up before him; he was hoſpitable to the poore,Iob. 30.1. he did not eate his morſels alone, he was pitifull to the fatherleſſe and to the widdow, and he diſdained the wicked, that he would not ſet them with the dogges of his flocke: happy is that Land where there are ſuch judges. Another cauſe which moved me to grace this worke with your Lordſhips name, is the deſire I have, that others may reade it the more willingly for their owne profit, and even as a faire entrie leadeth the beholder to looke more particularly upon every part of the building: ſo the beholder of this worke ſet out under the protection of your honours vertue, will the more earneſtly affect the peruſing of the ſame, in confidence that ſo much worth as is eminent in your Lordſhip would hinder any mans boldneſſe to preſent unto you a trifle. And for concluſion, when Jacob was to ſend his ſonne Benjamin into Aegypt,Gen. 42.14. he prayed that God Almighty would give him favour before the man: So my earneſt prayer to God is, that this treatiſe may firſt be acceptable to the Church of God, and then unto your Lordſhip: And ſo I have obtained that which I deſire. The grace of God be with your Lordſhip, and make that the long continuance in the charge which his Majeſtie moſt worthily hath layd upon you, may produce long happineſſe to this Commonwealth.
Your honours in all dutifull ſubmiſsion, Iohn Weemſe.