6

Εν τω

in dicendo; in saying.' So the Arabic, Vulgar Lat. dum dicitur ; and so we, while it is said.' I had rather, for reasons after to be mentioned, render the words, whereas it is said;' which also is the proper sense of Tw Myers. The infinitive with a preposition being often to be construed by the subjunctive mood. Ev TN #αgαIXgαTμw. Beza, and the Vulg Lat. quemadmodum in illa exacerbatione, as in that provocation;' expressing the article which Erasmus and most translators omit. Neither is it needful to be expressed; it being a mere repetition of the words, and not a reference unto them, that the apostle hath in hand. Syriac; harden not your hearts, to provoke him,' or that you should provoke him' to anger, exasperate him: respecting the sin feared in them, when it is the past sin of their forefathers that is intended. Ethiopic, Because he saith, To-day, if you will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, for they provoked him who heard.'

VER. 16.—Tives you axvoaress #açınçavav; the Syriac begins here the interrogatory part of this discourse. For who are they that when they have heard provoked him? But T is indefinite, and not interrogative, as the following words manifest, for the process is not by a redditive pronoun, but an exceptive adverb.

Dice MOOING. TUND 7, by the hands of Moses ;' a frequent Hebraism for guidance or conduct.

VER. 17. To de #ępowy dios; Beza, quibus infensus fuit : with whom was he angry or provoked?' Vulg. Lat. infensus est, in the present tense; which is blamed by Erasmus, and corrected by Vatablus and Arias: as that which regards what was long since past. Arabic, as before, whom did he curse? Syr. who were a weariness to him?' Of the ground of which variety we spake before, on ver. 10.

'Dy ta xwλa sæsσv; Beza, qucrum artus conciderant; ' whose members fell.' Vulg. Lat. quorum cadavera prostrata sunt; whose carcasses were cast down.' Erasmus, quorum membra. Syr.

, and their bones;' whose members, bodies, bones, carcasses fell in the wilderness; of the proper signification of the word I shall speak afterwards.

VER. 18.-E un Tois ainoaci. Beza and Erasmus ; nisi iis qui non obedierunt, but unto them who obeyed not.' Arias; si non incredulis, if not unto the unbelievers.' Vulg. Lat. iis qui increduli fuerunt; which our Rhemists render, but unto them which were incredulous.' Syr. Don 7, qui non acquieverunt; qui assensum non præbuerunt; who gave not assent,' that is, to the word or voice of God which they heard.

VER. 15. The introduction unto the ensuing discourse is in these first words, “ ta λøyerdaı,' whilst it is said; so we after the Vulgar Latin, and sundry other interpreters; dum dicitur, or ta

hat purose, as was observed. Thus these words are a reintroduction of the former exhortation; and therefore some supply por unto them; to you,' or to us ;' whilst it is said to you, (or us) To-day, if you will hear his voice harden not your hearts' and so this exhortation is reinforced with new consider. ations unto the end of the chapter. But this seems not to be the meaning of the apostle, and so not the due connexion or construction of the words. For the same exhortation being before laid down from the psalmist, and applied unto the Hebrews, ver. 7,8. with a full improvement of it in the verses following, it is not reasonable to think that he should immediately again repeat it, and that in the same words, only somewhat more obscurely expressed. For in this way the meaning of the words must be; ⚫ while it is day with you, while you enjoy the season that is so called, harden not your hearts.' But this is far more clearly expressed, ver. 13. "exhort one another DAILY, while it is called to-day," with respect to what was before spoken; ver. 7, 8. Others therefore, as Erasmus, render the words by in hoc quod dicitur; in this that,' or whereas it is said.' And so a new exhortation should be intended, whose application after a digression, in a long hyperbaton unto the end of this chapter, is laid down in the first verses of the next. But this sense also we rejected in opening the general design of these verses. The words therefore are to be taken simply and absolutely, so as to indicate a repetition of the former testimony, and its improvement unto some further ends and purposes. En oo heysodas, 178, whereas it is said;' whereas these words are used in the psalmist, and are recorded for our instruction. And herein the apostle intends, 1. Not only the repetition of the precise words here mentioned, but by them calls over again the whole story that depends upon them, which is usual in such quotations. Out of the whole, he intends now to take new observations unto his purpose in hand. For there are yet remaining some particular circumstances of the matter of fact insisted on of great importance, and much conducing unto his design, and to the establishment of the conclusion that he lays down, ver. 19. which the apostle in his first view of the words, had not yet considered nor improved, as not lying in the way of his discourse, then in hand. For their sakes doth he give this review unto the whole. 2. As of the story, so of his own exhortation upon it, the apostle lays down these words as a recapitulation; which gives influence unto the process of his discourse; "for some," saith he, "when they had heard did provoke," ver. 16. As if he had said, Consider what hath been spoken, that the same befal not you, which befel them who provoked and perished.

Obs. I. And we may see hence, that every circumstance of the Scripture is instructive. The apostle having before urged

the authority of the psalm, and the example recorded in it unto his purpose, here he again resumes the words before insisted on, and from sundry circumstances of them, with the matter contained in them, further argues, reasons and carrieth on his exhortation. For, 1. He considers who they were that sinned and provoked God, wherein he observes that it was some of them, and not absolutely all who came out of Egypt; and how useful this was unto his purpose, we shall afterwards declare. 2. What became of them who so sinned?" Their carcases," saith he, "fell in the wilderness;" which circumstance doth not a little set forth the indignation of God against their sin, and his severity against their persons. 3. He presseth in particular the consideration of the oath of God, and manifests its exact accomplishment, that none who shall fall under the same condition may ever expect or hope for an escape. Lastly, From the consideration of the whole, he collects evidently what was the direct and especial sin, that procured so great a destruction, and peremptorily excluded that people out of that rest of God; namely, their unbelief. These are the agarousa that the apostle gathers up in these verses, which belonging unto the subject he insisted on, fell not before orderly under his consideration.

Obs. II. God hath filled the Scripture with truth.--Whence one said well, Adoro plenitudinem Scripturarum; I reverence the fulness of the Scripture.' Psal. cxxxviii. 2. “He hath magnified his word above all his name," or made it more instructive than any other way or means whereby he hath revealed himself. For not only doth the whole Scripture contain the whole counsel of God, concerning his own glory and worship, our faith, obedience and salvation; but also every parcel of it hath in it such a depth of truth as cannot by us be perfectly searched into. Psal. cxix. 18. " Open thou mine eyes," saith the psalmist," that I may beho'd wondrous things out of thy law." There are wonderful things in the word, if God be pleased to give us light to see it. It is like a cabinet of jewels, that when you pull out one box or drawer and search into it, you find it full; pull out another, it is full; and when you think you have pulled out all, yet still there are some secret recesses in the cabinet, that if you search further, you will find more. Our apostle seemed to have drawn out all the boxes of this cabinet, but making a second search into the words, he finds all these things treasured up which he hath not before intimated nor touched upon. It was said by some of old, that the Scripture hath fords where a lamb may wade, and depths where an elephant may swim. And it is true in respect of the perspicuity of some places, and the difficulty of others. But the truth is also, that God hath in his grace and wisdom so ordered its concernments, that what, 1. From the nature of the things themselves, which are suited unto the vari

ous states, conditions and apprehensions of the minds of 'men; 2. What from the manner of their expression, on which a character of divine wisdom is impressed; 3. What from the authority of God putting itself forth in the whole and every particular; 4. What from its being not only propositio veritatis, but vehiculum gratia; many, most, yea, all the particular places of it, and passages in it, are such as through which a lamb may wade safely, and an elephant swim without danger of striking against the bottom. Let any lamb of Christ come in that order, with that reverence which is required, unto the reading or hearing the word of God, the Scripture itself I mean, and he will find no place so dark or difficult, but that it will yield him that refreshment which is suited unto him, and safe for him; and something of God he will obtain: for either he will find his graces excited, or his mind enlightened, or his conscience peculiarly brought into a reverence of God. And let the wisest, the most learned and experienced person, that seems like an elephant in spiritual skill and strength among the flock, come to the plainest place to search out the mind and will of God in it, if he be humble as well as learned, (which if he be not he is not wise), he will scarce boast that he hath been at the bottom of it, and hath perfectly comprehended all that is in it; seeing whatever we know, we know but in part. And they may all of them, elephants and lambs, meet at the same passages of this river that makes glad the city of God, these waters of rest and quietness, Psal. xxiii. 2. where the lambs may wade safely, and the elephants swim together. The poorest of the flock, in the right use of means, may take enough for themselves, even suitable direction and refreshment, from those very places of Scripture whose depths the most learned guides of the church are not able to sound or fathom. Not only in several places, but in the same place, text, or testimony of Scripture, there is food meet for the several ages of Christians, whether babes and children, or strong men; with light and direction for all sorts of believers, according to the degrees of their own inward light and grace. It is like manna, which, though men gathered variously according to their strength and appetite, yet every one hath that proportion which suited his own eating. When a learned man, and one mighty in the Scriptures, undertakes the consideration of a place of Scripture, and finds it may be in the issue, that with all his skill and industry, with all his helps and advantages, though attended in the use of them with fervent prayer and holy meditation, he is not able to search it out unto perfection, let him not suppose that such a place will be of no advantage unto them who are not sharers in his advantages, but rather are mean and unlearned; for they may obtain a useful portion for themselves, where he cannot take down all. If any one look on this river of God, like Behemoth

: עד תכלית שדי תמצא

on Jordan, “trusting that he can draw it up into his mouth," or take up the whole sense of God in it, he of all others seems to know nothing of its worth and excellency. And this ariseth, as was observed, principally from the things themselves treated of in the Scripture. For divine and spiritual truths, having God not only as their immediate fountain and spring, but also as their proper and adequate object, there is still somewhat in them that cannot be searched out unto perfection. As he said, “Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty to perfection?" Job xi. 7. find him out to a perfect comprehension; or to a consummation of knowledge, that it should be perfect. This neither the nature of God, nor our condition will admit of. We do at best but follow after, that we may in our measure apprehend that, for which we also are apprehended of Jesus Christ, Phil. iii. 12. And these things are so tempered by divine wisdom unto the faith and light of believers, and therein unto the uses of their consolalation and obedience; that something hereof is plainly exhibited to every spiritual eye. Always provided, that their search and inquiry be regulated according to the will of God, in a due use of the means. For to this purpose, not only the private endea vours of men are required, but the use also of the public ministry, which is ordained of God to lead men gradually into continual further acquaintance with the will of God in the Scrip

ture.

Some think that it belongs unto the fulness of the Scripture, that each place in it should have various senses, some say three, some four. But this indeed is to empty it of all fulness. For if it have not every where one proper determinate sense, it hath none at all. This it hath; but the things which the words of it are signs of, and are expressed by, are so great, deep and mysterious, and have such various respects unto our light, faith and obedience, as that it is unsearchably instructive unto us. "The commandment is exceeding broad," Psal. cxix. 96. ; the word used to express the wideness of the sea; Psal. civ. 25.

the great sea that hath wide and large : : הים גדול ורחב ידים

arms' which it stretcheth out to comprehend the whole earth: so doth the command widen and stretch out its arms, to comprehend the whole church of God, to water it and to make it fruitful. God having enstamped his authority and wisdom upon it, every concernment of it, every consequence from it, every cir cumstance reported in it, hath its authority in and upon the consciences of men for the end whereunto it is designed. Hence we may observe that in the quotations of testimonies out of the Old Testament in the New, it is very seldom that the principal aim and intendment of any place is insisted on, but rather some