LAW BEFORE THE FALL. 7. For the ~rigin of Divine la,v, both as regards those fundamental principleg of the religious and 'moral duty of man of which "the law" is the formal exponent, anr1 in respect of the reasons· whi.ch mnke law, in its strict sense, necessary for man as man, we must look' to that history of creation and of man's original state which is contained in the first three chapters of the Book of Genesis. That these i;>rinciples and reasons are to .be found there, or must be concluded from the history, will very clearly app~ar \'iheri we ·examine it. Indeed, the fact that the Torah begins with this history sufficiently indicates that the law given by God to man has its origin in and with man's own origin. In the law itself, the fourth of the Sinaitic commandments points expre~sly to that beginning of man's history as its own source and reason. That the connection of Divine law with man's creation is generally assumed, instead of. being expressly enunciated, in the law given by Moses, is accounted for when we consider (1) thatthis law was primarily a national covenant, and therefore in it the relations of God with his chosen people h11ve special prominence ; and (2) that law ns law is based on authority, not on reasons, and nil that would be needed as the basis of the law wns tho assertion of the authority of Jehovah as God of the whole earth, which truth was kopt contimrnlly before the mind of tho nation in all the I • Eccles. Pol.,' I. ii. 2. 2 'l'ho expression in Prov. xxxi. 26, "In her tongue is the law of kinuness," is probably no exception, ns its menuing is that her commo.nds to her household_ are given with kinu.ness, ovon ns God's lnw is the law of lo\'e, 3 In rcfcrenco to inanimate nature the wo1d choq is 11sed (cf. Job nviii. 26; Ps. c:tlriii. 6 ; Prov v,ii 20 ; J or. v. 22). lN'l'RODUCTION TO 'rHE PENTATEUCH
1ruths nrc nll hRsed on those profound relations between the law and the gospel, which he di~cusses so fully nnd exactly in his Epistles to the G11lntians and the Romans. And it must be remembered that while no one so clearly exhibits tho lnw in its aspect of law, as the opposite polo to the gospel, yet it is St. Paul tho o.sserto; of Christian liberty agninst the bond1t.ge of law, who says, ne hie Divin; Master enid in other words, "Do we then mRke void the law throug·h faith? God forbid: yen, we establish the law." 1 St. Peter snys of the epistles of his brother apostle, that in them there are mnny things" hnrd to be understood, which they that are unlearned (aµ119'ii,) and unstable wrest to their own destruction. " 2 AT!d undoubtedly much of the mis• understanding nnd imperfect apprehension of these epistles, which has been provnlent in nil ng-es of the Church, has been dne to vn,gue and inexact notions as to the Divine law. C~rtainly, \\;t.J1out distinct conceptions and definite knowledge on this im• portant subject, the foundations not only of Christian ethics, but of Christian doctrine, can be very insufficiently laid. 5. As the argument in this Introduction is purely theological, or, more strictly, thcosophical,-if a rnuch•abused term may be used in its true and proper sense of tlrnt wl,ich treats of the philosophy of religion,-it is neither necessary nor expedient to encumber it with any critical questions, except those which ,may be required for illustration of tlie argument.· That the Pentateuch is what it claims to be, that is, of Mosaic origin, 3 an:l given by inspiration of God, is therefore assumed. It is isufficic11t for our purpose tho.t it is recognised as such in other writings of the Old 'l'estamont, and was so received by Chri1:1t himself and his apostles, nnd is therefore 1:10 s.ccnpte<l by his Church. The book was, according to the account it gives of itself, in the first instanco compiled and written out by Moses for the use of that nation of Israel, wl1ich, as is recorded in this Book of the Law, God had chdsen out of all nations of the earth to be in covenant with himself. It was committed to the charge of the priesthood, !lB the "book of the covenant," to be preserved by the side of the ark of the covenant; and portions of it were to be read publicly to the people every seventh year, at one of their most solemn festivals, as a testimony of the covenant between God and the nation. 4 This was the primary purpose of the Torah, to be the Divine standard of a national religion ; but, as we have already concluded from our Lord's teaching and from the office of St. Paul, it wns written not for one nation only, but for mankind. Indeed we might draw the same con- clusion from the book itself, in which the history of the chosen nation is but an episode in the history of man, all whose families were ultimately to receive the blessings of the seed of Abraham. How far particular laws given to the nation of Israel were given as suitable to their circumstances and for that age, and how for they are of unfrersal obligation, can only bi' ascertained when the principles on wl,ich they were founded are determined. And, further, in what sense any of these, which were law in the fullest sense under the covenant of law, are law under a hig-1,er and better covenant, can only be determined through that knowledge of the i;econd covenant, with which the New Testament supplies us. 6. Fur it must be observed here that there is an ambiguity in the use of the term " law " which causes much confusion at times, and which it will be necessary to preclude in our present argument. The definitions of law which nre sometimes given are far too genera.I and comprehensive to be of any value for this investi-
, Rom. iii. 31. • 2 Pet. iii. 16. ' Of course this docs not imply either that Moses <lid not make use of more nndcnt docu• n,r:uts, or that the book was not revised by Ezra or others who ha<l authority, ' Deut. Y.xri, 9-13. INTltODUCTION 'fO 'rIIE PBNTA'l'EUCII. V