After the Israelites were come into the plains of Moab over against Jericho, and ready to enter into the land of promise, Moses to the former laws added divers others; which therefore are called _Deuteronomy_; that is, _second laws_. And are, (as it is written _Deut._ xxix. 1) _the words of a covenant which the Lord commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel, besides the covenant which he made with them in Horeb_. For having explained those former laws, in the beginning of the book of _Deuteronomy_, he addeth others, that begin at the xiith chapter, and continue to the end of the xxvith of the same book. This law (_Deut._ xxvii. 3) they were commanded to write upon great stones plastered over, at their passing over Jordan: this law also was written by Moses himself in a book, and delivered into the hands of the _priests, and to the elders of Israel_ (_Deut._ xxxi. 9), and commanded (verse 26) _to be put in the side of the ark_; for in the ark itself was nothing but the _ten commandments_. This was the law, which Moses (_Deut._ xvii. 18) commanded the kings of Israel should keep a copy of: and this is the law, which having been long time lost, was found again in the temple in the time of Josiah, and by his authority received for the law of God. But both Moses at the writing, and Josiah at the recovery thereof, had both of them the civil sovereignty. Hitherto therefore the power of making Scripture canonical, was in the civil sovereign. Besides this book of the law, there was no other book, from the time of Moses till after the Captivity, received amongst the Jews for the law of God. For the prophets, except a few, lived in the time of the Captivity itself; and the rest lived but a little before it; and were so far from having their prophecies generally received for laws, as that their persons were persecuted, partly by false prophets, and partly by the kings which were seduced by them. And this book itself, which was confirmed by Josiah for the law of God, and with it all the history of the works of God, was lost in the captivity and sack of the city of Jerusalem, as appears by that of _2 Esdras_, xiv. 21, _thy law is burnt; therefore no man knoweth the things that are done of thee, or the works that shall begin_. And before the captivity, between the time when the law was lost, (which is not mentioned in the Scripture, but may probably be thought to be the time of Rehoboam, when (_1 Kings_ xiv. 26) Shishak, king of Egypt, took the spoil of the temple), and the time of Josiah when it was found again, they had no written word of God, but ruled according to their own discretion, or by the direction of such as each of them esteemed prophets. [Sidenote: The Old Testament when made canonical.]