An exposition of the lawes of Moses: Viz. Morall. Ceremoniall. Iudiciall. The second volume. Containing an explanation of diverse questions and positions for the right understanding thereof. Wherein also are opened divers ancient rites & customes of the Iewes, and also of the Gentiles, as they haue relation to the Iewish. Together with an explication of sundry difficult texts of Scripture, which depend upon, or belong unto every one of the Commandements, as also upon the ceremoniall and iudiciall lawes. Which texts are set downe in the tables before each particular booke. All which are cleered out of the originall languages, the Hebrew and Greeke, and out of the distinctions of the schoolemen and cases of the casuists. / By Iohn Weemse, of Lathocker in Scotland, preacher of Gods Word.

EXERCITAT. IIII. Of the Arke. A Ceremoniall Appendix of Command 2.

Exod. 25.17. And thou shalt make a Mercie seate of pure Gold, &c. vers. 22. and there I will meete with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the Mercy seat, betwixt the two Cherubims which are upon the Arke of the Testimony.

THe Arke was that place from which the Lord gave his answers to his people, & therefore it is called Debhir, his speaking place, 1 King. 6.23. and it was a type of Christ, by whom God speaketh to his Church, and it was called his strength, Psal. 132.8. and 78.61. and his glory, 1 Sam. 4.20. and the King of Glory, Psal. 24.7. and the place of the soles of his feete, Esay. 43.7. and his foote∣stoole, Psal. 99.5.

[Quest.] How is it both called the place of the soles of his feete, and his glory?

[Answ.] Because all which is in God is glorious, there is no base thing in him. If the feete of those who preach the Gospel be beautiful, Rom. 10.15. much more all that is in him is beautifull and glorious.

The Arke is called the propitiatory, Rom. 3.25. 1 Ioh. 2.2. which covereth our sinnes, and it covereth the Tables of the Law that it should not rise up against us to condemne us, Shecina, or the majestie of God dwelt upon this Arke, it was called shecina, from Shacan, habi∣tare, and it signified Christ dwelling with men, Reve. 21.3. Zach. 2.10.

The Cherubims stood upon the mercieseat with their faces looking downeward towards the propitia∣tory, and Peter alludeth to this, 1 Pet. 1.12. which things the Angels desire to looke unto, the Angels looke downe to the propitiatory, but they looke not one to∣wards another; For then they should have had their faces towards shecina, the glorious majestie which they could not endure to behold; and here is our comfort, that we may behold God in Christ, when the vaile of his flesh is put betwixt us and him to cover his majestie, for otherwayes he were a consuming fire and we could not behold him.

The Lord commanded them to bow before the Arke, and to worship at his footestoole, Psal. 99.5. the rea∣son was; because the divine majestie dwelt there.

The Lord dwelt in the cloud, in the pillar of fire, in the rocke, and in the bush, Deut. 33.16. for the good will of him who dwelt in the bush. So the Lord is with his sa∣crament, so the Lord appeared in majestie, and so he dwelt amongst us in the flesh here. They were not to bow before him when he appeared in his types, as in the cloud, in the bush, and in the fyre; neyther when hee manifesteth himselfe in his Sacraments, but when hee manifested himselfe in the flesh, and united our na∣ture hypostatically to his God-head, here wee are to worship him: and so when he appeared in glory and majestie above the Arke betwixt the Cherubims, they were bound to worship him, and when he appeared

in the Temple, Esay. 6.

The Lord had a threefold Arke, first, a fluctuant Arke, as that Arke of Noah. Secondly, an ambulato∣ry Arke which was the Arke in the Wildernesse, and before the Temple was builded, and thirdly, the fix∣ed Arke in the Temple.

The fluctuant Arke of Noah signified the tossed and troubled estate of the Church in the world here, it is represented also by the ship in which Christ and his Apostles were; this ship was mightily tossed, and Christ was sleeping in the meanetime in the ship, the Disciples cryed out and bad Christ awake, for they were ready to perish, and Christ awoke and calmed the storme; the fluctuant Arke is like the Church tossed to and fro, and Christ in the meane time seemeth to be sleeping, yet he hath a care that the barke perish not.

The second Arke was that which Moyses made, and it was the ambulatory Arke, this Arke remained in the Tabernacle from the dayes of Moyses untill the dayes of Eli, and then they brought it out against the Philistims, where it was taken by them, 1 Sam. 4.11. After that the Philistims had taken it, they caried it to their five Cities, Ashdod, Gath, Ekron, Eskalon and Gaza, 1 Sam. 5. and there it remained in the countrie of the Phi∣listims seven monthes, 1 Sam. 6.1. but when the Lord plagued them, they sent it away upon a new cart to Bethshem••sh, but the Lord smote the men of Bethshe∣mesh also, because they looked into the Arke, therefore they sent for the men of Keriath-jearim to fetch the Arke, So they brought it to Keriath-jearim where it remained in the house of Aminadab, in the hill, 1 Sam. 7.1. and from them it was caried into the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite, 1 Chron. 13. and from thence to Davids house at Ierusalem, where hee made a Tent for it, the

Arke was never in Gibea, for that was in the Tribe of Benjamin; neyther did Aminadab dwell in Gibea, but Kiriath-jearim, which was in the Tribe of Iuda; this error that it was in Gibea arose of this because they tran∣slated gibhgna, Gibea, a proper name, whereas it should be translated A hill, appellativè, and Aminadab dwelt in this hill, 2 Sam. 6, 2.3.

The third Arke was Salomons Arke which he setled in the Temple of Ierusalem, the same in substance, but wandring before; it had more Cherubims than it had when it was in the Tabernacle, there were but two Cherubims in the Tabernacle, but foure in the Temple. And now it is sayd to rest, 1 Chron. 23.25. The Lord God hath given rest to his people, and in regard of the un∣stayednesse of it before Moyses sayd to the people, yee are not yet come to your rest, Deut. 12.9.

But it is to be observed, that when it was setled in the Temple, the staves which caried it were not taken away; although they were hid and did not appeare, as they did when the Coathites caried it, yet the ends of the staves were seene out in the holy place before the Oracle, 1 King, 8.8. this was done to let the Iewes understand, that if they abused this Arke, the Testimonie of his presence, and put their trust onely in it; that the staves were rea∣die to be pulled out againe to carry it from them.

[Conclusion.] The Conclusion of this, although the Arke was the pledge of Gods presence to the Iewes, and sanctified the places where it came, as Salomon sayd, The places are holy whereinto the Arke of the Lord hath come, 2 Chro. 8.11. yet it was but the furniture of a worldly sanctuary, Heb. 9.1. and under the Gospel to be done away, that men should say no more the Arke of the covenant of the Lord: at that time they shall call Ierusalem the throne of the Lord, Ier. 3.16. the Church then shall be his Arke, and he shal sit upon it, because it shall be sanctified, & all shal have accesse to the holiest.

Notes

• The divers names given to the Arke. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 adytum quasi Oraculum vel loquuto∣rium dictum quod deus indo responsa daret.
• The Arke called the propitiatorie.
• 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 divinitas, gloria divina inter ho∣mines habitans a 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 habitare.
• Why the Cherubims looked downeward.
• The people were com∣manded to worship be∣fore the Arke.
• They worshipped be∣fore the Arke because the glory of the Lord dwelleth there.
• A threefold Arke
• 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 What the Arke of Noah signified.
• 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 arca
• The places whereunto the Arke was caried after it was separated from the Tabernacle.
• 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 mons, appella∣tive hic sumitur & non proprie.
• The Arke is sayd to rest in the Temple.
• Why the staves were not taken from the Arke in the Temple.