and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord Behold to obey is better then sacrifice and to hearken then the fat of Rams For disobedience is as the sinne of witchcraft and stubbornesse is as wickednesse and Idolatary 1 Sam. 15.22,23 But in the mysticall sense Christ saith absolutely that God had no further will to them and tooke pleasure in them no longer but his will and pleasure was they should be antiquated and abrogated Of this mysticall sense this is a good argument that Christ is here brought in to mention not only sacrifices of thanksgiving which only were pertinent to Davids purpose but also expiatory offerings and sacrifices for sinne whereof if wee respect Davids intent there should here be made no mention For Davids intent was a testification of his thankfulnesse unto God and not an expiation of his sins at that time But because the Holy Ghost would wrap up a mysticke and deep sense in these words therefore the Author doth here specifie and reckon up all kindes of sacrifices and offerings whatsoever which are reduced to three sorts 1. By sacrifice and offering in the fifth verse he seems to understand all offerings eucharistical or of thanksgiving whereof a part went to God as the bloud and the fat part was a Fee to the Priest and the rest returned to him that offered it 2. By burnt offerings in this verse are understood those which were wholly burnt and went wholly to God which are sometime called sacrifices of praise because they were offered wholly in honour of God as he was the Lord Almighty and not by way of speciall thanksgiving for any particular benefit then received from God which was the proper consideration for a sacrifice of thanksgiving 3. By sacrifices for sinne are meant all expiations or offerings to put away the guilt and punishment of ignorances and infirmities for which kinde of sins only those sacrifices were allowed and in the Hebrew are oftentimes called simply sins 7. Then said I Loe I come This word of comming doth shew a mysticall sense For how did David come when hee spake this word in the literall sense Therefore in the literall sense it signifies only Loe I am at hand or I am ready I have prepared my self to do thy will But in the mysticall and proper sense it signifies the appearance of Christ in that future world to execute the will of God In the volume of the booke it is written of me In these words David shews the cause why he is ready to doe the will of God or if ye please the manner and way of his obeying God q. d. I am ready to doe as it is written of me in the volume of the booke or else for so it is written of me that I should doe thy will Therefore in these words we must understand either some particle of likenesse as according or some casuall particle for because or seeing for such particles are oftentimes concealed or silenced But here againe we meet with another difference betweene the Greek translation and the Hebrew text In the Hebrew it is in the volume of the booke which hath a plaine and an open sense for by the booke he eminently understands the booke of the Law which is called a volume because unciently the Law was wont to bee written in skinnes of parchment or velum one glued to another and so rolled up and unrolled in the forme of a Court-role which in Latine is properly called Volumen from the rolling of it and hence bookes are called Volumes A famous Expositor among the Romanists preferres the Greeke reading in this place before the Hebrew and writes that it is a vaine repetition to say in the volume of the booke for that is all one as to say in the booke of the booke This is a vame cavill for all volumes or rolles are not bookes but there are volumes and rolles of many other things besides So that the word booke is fitly added to volume to specifie the differences of volumes We meet with a like phrase Jer. 36.2 But why doth the Greeke translation read it in a Chapter of the Booke The reason may be because the Hebrew word Megillah doth not only signifie a whole booke consisting of many skinnes but also any one single skinne which may containe only some Chapter of the Booke And therefore the Greek Translator conceived that he should not go from the sense of the words if for the whole volume he should put only some part or certain Chapter of it especially because by this means the redundancie in words would seem the lesse or none at all yet some there would seeme to be if he had said the volume and that had been taken to signifie the whole booke Wherefore these words must bee taken as if he had said In a Chapter of the booke namely of the Law it is written of me By which meanes not onely all shew of redundancy is taken away but also a more speciall place is designed where the thing is written that is here spoken Now let us a little enquire what Chapter this might bee Certainly other Chapter it can be none but that wherein the very thing is handled which David said he came to doe i. that David should doe the will of God For wee have said that in these words is shewed the cause why David said hee came to doe Gods will or the manner how hee should doe it But where is it said that David must doe the will of God Namely there where the Kings of Gods people are commanded to doe so which is set downe in the last parcell of the 17. Chapter of Deuteronomy from the 13. verse to the end For David in a peculiar way was ordained of God himselfe to bee the first King over Gods people and the Kingdome was to remaine in his posterity for ever And therefore hee saith that there it is written of him not that it is there written of him by name as David but written of him as a King And here also the Holy Ghost seems to have left us some footstep of a mysticall sense For it might be said of Christ properly that there it is written of him by name for the Holy Ghost doth every where aim chiefly at Christ Hence it appears that they are in an errour who by a Chapter in the Booke understand the beginning of Genesis because as they thinke there it is written of Christ that he created heaven and earth But is there also any thing written of David or of Christ there that hee should doe the will of God But in the 17. Chapter of Deuteronomy before cited among other things which God willed to be observed by the future King of his people this is also delivered ver 18. And it shall be when he sitteth upon the throne of his Kingdome that he shall write him a copy of this Law in a booke out of that which is before the Priests his Levites And it shall be with
But we have already shewed that the Israelites in Massa tempted God not with excesse of trust but with defect of it The like words in the like sence are used by Peter Acts 15 10. Now therefore why tempt ye God to put a yoake upon the neck of the Disciples c. q.d. Hath not God already given us experiments and arguments enough and sufficient that we should not impose upon the Disciples the yoke of legall Ceremonies seeing he hath given the holy Ghost to them as well as to us seeing he hath made no difference betweene us and them purifying their hearts by faith why therefore as if the thing were not already apparent enough do ye require more arguments and tokens of it and so tempt God 9. When your fathers tempted me Me here is referred to God whom the Israelites tempted for here according to an usuall forme in Scripture the person is changed and God himselfe is brought in speaking of himselfe whereas in the words before David spake of God in the third person but now brings in God speaking in the first person of himselfe In the Originall it is not when but where for here the circumstantiall particle is not temporall for the time when they tempted but locall for the place where they tempted and that place hath reference to the wildernesse immediately before mentioned For in the wildernesse they tempted God not onely at that time but afterwards also at divers other times and in other particular places of that wildernesse For at Cadeshbarnea whence the twelve spies were sent to search the land of Canaan and upon their returne the people bad stone Caleb and Joshuah because they discented from the other ten who had brought up an evill report upon the Land then the Lord complaines that they had provoked him long and often that they had long distrusted him notwithstanding all the signes he had shewed amongst them Numb 14.11 And againe at ver 22. he complaines that they had tempted him now ten times i. very many times Proved me He expresseth the same thing in another word For as to tempt a man argues distrust and doubt of him so also to prove him And saw my workes The particle and is by an Hebraisme put for although q.d. If they had not seene my wondrous works it had beene lesse wonder that they tempted me but now although they see them yet they doubt of my power and goodnesse toward them what a strange diffidence and distrust is this What works God wrought both in Egypt and in the Wildernesse to certifie the people of his promise and to gaine faith for their passage into Canaan are largely described in the books of Exodus and Numbers Forty yeares This space of forty yeares as the history it selfe and the Hebrew text and this Author also signifies at ver 17. must be referred forwards to Gods indignation whereby he was grieved with them for the space of forty yeares Yet it is true also that this space may be referred backward as the Septuagint have pointed it to the peoples tempting of God and seeing his works for the space of forty yeares for so long the people tempted him and so long saw his works For even at the expiration of those yeares when Miriam was dead in Cadesh they againe murmured against Moses and Aaron for want of water as their fathers had done before at Meriba and Massa and that place also was branded by the name of Meriba or waters of strife where the diffidence or distrust in God was greater then any formerly for it was extended even to Moses and Aaron who were also infected with the sin of it Numb 20. And this seemes to be cause of the Greek pointing and reading which this Author followed having fallen upon it that he might not seeme to make any alteration in it though afterward at the 17. verse he plainly shews that he was not ignorant of the true reading as it was pointed in the Hebrew But here is meant that other tentation mentioned Numb 14. upon which God sware the people should not enter into his rest as appeares by the verses here following Hence appeares their errour who from hence conclude that the holy Ghost is that God who was tempted of the Jews therefore because here God himselfe speakes and saith he was tempted of their fathers and the Author affirmes that the holy Ghost spake these things These men marke not that from the first words of this place and so from the former of the whole Psalme wherein David himselfe speakes in very deed in his owne person and professeth himselfe one of Gods people to worship and serve God it will by the same reason follow that the holy Ghost is also David For the former words wherein David is brought in speaking are no lesse attributed to the holy Ghost When the sayings of holy Writers are attributed to the holy Ghost we are not thereby to understand that the holy Ghost is that person who indeed speaks or to whom those things really agree which he attributes to himselfe that speakes or is brought in speaking but onely that those sayings were uttered by the vertue and motion of the holy Ghost and not onely by the will and pleasure of men whosoever the person be that speaketh as Peter teacheth 2 Pet. 1.21 For otherwise there must be one onely person alwaies brought in speaking namely the holy Ghost to whom alone all sayings must be attributed which he attributes to himselfe that speaketh then which nothing can be further from the truth For the Prophets for the most part use to speake in their owne persons sometime they bring in God speaking whose Spirit the Holy Ghost is sometime they bring in other persons Besides from this that the words of God are attributed to the Holy Ghost we cannot rightly conclude that therefore the Holy Ghost is God himselfe Are they not rightly attributed to him therefore because God speaks by him as we read that the words of Christ are attributed to the Spirit Rev. 2.7 although the Spirit be not Christ So Paul Rom. 11.4 attributes the words of God to the oracle and this Author cap. 12.5 attributes the words of God to the Exhortation not that either the oracle or the exhortation is God but because God is supposed to speake by the oracle and the exhortation 10. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation That is a Generation according to Scripture which comprehends the men that live within the period of one and the same age And that generation wherewith God was grieved were those persons of Israel whom hee brought out of Egypt who saw his mighty workes and received the Law at Mount Sinai This generation provoked and tempted God and therefore God was grieved with it God is not passively grieved as man but then he is said to be grieved when he doth such actions as persons grieved use to doe especially being thereto provoked by the sinnes of men And said they doe