10 A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast: bu•• the mercies of the wicked are cruell.
For to shewe howe the poore despised man, and hee that is his owne seruant is better, he doeth attribute vnto him righteous∣nesse: and that because so much it wanteth that he is not negligent in doing his duety towardes men, that he doth not neglect nor con∣temne his beast which serueth him to labour with al, but doeth ad∣minister vnto him that which is necessary: he sheweth this same, when hee doeth say, A righteous man regardeth. &c. And heerein hee hath respect to the lawe which saith, Thou shalt not muzzle, &c. Saint Paule doeth alledge this law for to shew that the ministers of the worde ought to bee rewarded for their labour, and * 1.1 that they shoulde haue distributed vnto them that which is neces∣sary for them to liue and to doe their office. And albeit there is not so little a birde whereof God taketh no care: yet notwith∣stāding for to declare that by his law, god hath had more regard vn∣to men, for whome al thinges are created, then to oxen, Saint Paule denieth that god taketh care for oxē: not that he wold exclude ox∣en from the prouidence of God, without the which nothing can re∣maine in this worlde: but hee meaneth that this lawe was not gi∣uen for the cause of oxen, but to the ende that we shoulde vn∣derstande howe great care we shoulde haue ouer our neighbours, when God commandeth vs expresly to take care of oxen. Nowe