An explication of the iudiciall lawes of Moses. Plainely discovering divers of their ancient rites and customes. As in their governours, government, synedrion, punishments, civill accompts, contracts, marriages, warres, and burialls. Also their oeconomicks, (vizt.) their dwellings, feasting, clothing, and husbandrie. Together with two treatises, the one shewing the different estate of the godly and wicked in this life, and in the life to come. The other, declaring how the wicked may be inlightned by the preaching of the gospel, and yet become worse after they be illuminated. All which are cleered out of the originall languages, and doe serue as a speciall helpe for the true understanding of divers difficult texts of scriptures. ... / By Iohn Weemse, of Lathocker in Scotland, preacher of Gods word.

CHAPTER XXII. Whether they might take the sonnes of the Prophets widow for debt or not?

2 KING. 4. Now cryed a certaine woman of the wiues of the sonnes of the Prophets unto Elisha saying, the Creditour is come to take unto him my two sonnes to be bondmen.

IT is a pitifull thing to adde griefe to those who are in griefe already; this widow shee was in griefe al∣ready, and those who would take her sonnes from her, adde new griefe unto her. The Lord saith, Make not sad the heart of the widow. Iere. 22. 3. Elias 1 King. 17. 20. said unto the Lord, O Lord my God, thou hast brought evill upon this widow with whom I sojourne, by slaying her

sonne: As if he should say, is it not enough O Lord, that thou hast taken away her husband, but thou wilt take away her sonne also? The Lord could not doe wrong to this widow by taking away both her sonne and her husband; but they who came to take this poore widowes children, did great wrong to her, in adding new griefe to her.

The widow in the Hebrew is called [Almonah] muta ab [Alam] silere, because she hath no body to speake for her; and she is called [Rikam] emptie. Ruth 1. 21. be∣cause she wanteth a husband to defend her; a widow who liveth in pleasure, shee is dead while shee is living, 1 Tim. 5. 6. but a widow that is a widow indeed and deso∣late, trusteth in God, and she is civilly dead when shee wanteth the meanes to helpe her.

The Lord forbiddeth in his Law to take to pledge the upper or the nether Milstone, which are the meanes to maintaine the mans life, Deut. 24. 6. The widowes two sonnes were (as it were) the nether and the upper Milstone to gaine her living. Secondly, the Lord for∣biddeth to take to pledge the cloths in which the poore man lieth in the night, for he saith, when he cryeth unto me I will heare, for I am gracious, Exod. 22. 27. And when those two sonnes of the widow were taken from her, did not the Lord heare her, a poore woman, a poore widow, the widow of one that feared the Lord, the widow of a Prophet? Yes verily, he heard her and that quickly; And, he that saith, Touch not mine anoin∣ted, and doe my Prophets no harme, Psal. 105. 15. so he saith, touch not the Prophets widow, nor her sonn••s, and doe them no harme. Thirdly, the Lord comman∣ded them when they went to seek the pledge, that they should not goe in into the house to fetch it, but they should stand abroad, and the man should bring it out himselfe, Deut. 24. 10. But they who violently tooke

away the womans sonnes observed not this, but did as the wicked servant in the Gospell, who tooke his fel∣low-servant by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou ow∣est, Mat. 22. 28.

Yee will say, this was a just debt, and therefore ought [Object.] to be payd.

See what Esay answereth, Chap. 58. 6. Is not this the [Answ.] Fast that I required, to undoe the heavie burden, and to let the oppressed goe free? This debt was a heavie burden vpon the poore womans shoulders, and therefore they ought to haue remitted it. Iob. 22. 6. Thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother: Hhobhel, signifieth both pignus and funis a pledge, and a cord, because it bindeth as strongly as cords doe; and the Greekes call it 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, Quasi obligatio, suppositum, & obnoxios sibi subijcere, with this cord they would haue bound the poore widow.

Iob when he describeth the oppressor, Chap. 24. 3. he saith, he taketh away the widowes Oxe for a pledge; he taketh the Oxe, the beast that is so needfull for her, therefore he that tooke an Oxe was bound to restore fiue Oxen for him, Exod. 22. 1. Againe, to take the wi∣dowes onely Oxe, we see how Nathan exaggerateth the rich mans fault, for taking the poore mans only sheepe, 2 Sam. 12. And if it be oppression, and a crying sinne to take the poore widowes Oxe, what a sinne was it to take her sonnes, who should haue relieved her in her necessitie? Ezek. 18. 16. it is a note of the childe of God, that he with held not the pledge from the poore. In the Originall it is [Hhabhol lo hhabhal] Pignorando non pigno∣ravit, the repetition of the same word signifieth to take away the pledge, and to keepe it.

The widow of Tekoah, when one of her sonnes had killed the other, and the revenger of the bloud came to kill, she desired that her other sonne which was aliue, might be saved, because he was her unica pruna, her

onely sparkle that was left aliue, 2 Sam. 14. Wherefore to take this widowes two sonnes from her, was to put out her light.

The conclusion of this is. Of all sorts of oppression this [Conclusion.] is one of the greatest, to doe wrong to the fatherlesse, and the widow; for the Lord is a father to the fatherles, and a Iudge of the widowes, Psal. 68. 6. therefore men should beware to wrong or harme them: God will de∣fend their cause, he relieveth the fatherlesse and the wi∣dow, Psal. 146. 9. And he that is their Redeemer is strong.

Notes

• 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 Vidua ab 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 Silere. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 Vacua.
• 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉

  • ... Pignus.
  • ... Funis.
• 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 Pignorando non Pigno∣ravit.