on the mercies of God acknowledging his power and his iustice which they neglecting to embrace God to shewe his iudgements hardneth their hearts to follow that which shall bee their owne destruction as Amasias did who contrary to the coūsell of the Prophet of God goeth vp against Ioash king of Israel After him the kingdome of Iuda was voide Eleauen yeares 3201. Azarias two and Fiftie yeares HIs name was also called Vzzias All is one in Hebrew it signifieth Might or Strength In his dayes Amos the Prophet the Father of Esay did prophecy so did Oseas the prophet Amos beginneth to preach two yeares before the Earth-quake which was in his time Azarias did vprightly in the sight of God according to al that Amasias his father did and he sought God in the daies of Zechariah which vnderstood the visions of God and when he sought the Lord God made him to prosper for he went forth and fought against the Philistins and brake down the wall of Gath and the wall of Iabneth and the wall of Ashdod and built Cities in Ashdod and amonge the Philistines and many valiant things did he But when he was stronge his heart was lifted vp to his destruction for he transgressed against the Lord his God and went into the Temple of the Lord to burne incense vpon the Altar of incense vsurping the office of the Sacrificers and is stroken with leaprosie and therefore dwelt apart being cut off from the house of the Lord and so continued vnto the day of his death From hence wee may learne what a grieuous thing it is in the sight of God to meddle in the office of the Sacrificers which the Lord had forbidden Num. 18. We may also learne from hence not to forget God in our prosperitie least therby we procure our owne destruction In Antiochus time the Leuites who were appointed of God onely to sacrifice and offer incense before him will vsurpe into the kings seat and beare rule vpon the like successe in victories And then God plagueth thē with a spirituall leaprosie more foule and filthy than that of the bodie being from Pharisees become Saduces denying the resurrection and the life of the soule departed from the bodie This Azarias king of Iuda saw the daies of Eight kings of Israel wherein the word of God remaineth true The wicked shall not liue out halfe their dayes 3253. Iotham Sixteene yeares HIs Fathers plague causeth him to rule indifferently well His Sonne Achaz succeeding is farre worse Micheas the Prophet teacheth in the dayes of Iotham King of Iuda 3268. Achaz Sixteene yeares HE walked in the wayes of the Kings of Israel and made moulten Images for Baalim Moreouer he burnt incense in the valley of Benhinnom and burnt his Sonnes with fire after the abhomination of the heathen whome the Lord had cast out before the Children of Israel He sent for helpe to Tiglah Pilueeser and the rest of the Kings of Ashur which was not lawfull to seeke helpe of Infidels Then the Prophet Esay prophecied and by him God giues a prophesie for when Ierusalem was besieged for the wickednesse of Achaz God sendeth Esay to Achaz and willeth him to aske a signe Who answereth hee will not tempt God Esay 7. The Prophet replyeth Is it not a small thing to grieue men but you must also grieue my God therefore the Lord will giue you a signe A Virgin shall conceiue and beare a Sonne and she shall call his name Emanuel God with vs. Thereby to shew Achaz the greatnesse of his impietie for seeking to the Nations for helpe For seeing God spareth not his owne Sonne but giueth him to death for vs will not he likewise send strength to Iudah He was buried in the Citie of Ierusalem but not in the Sepulchres of the Kings of Iudah 3281. Ezechias nine and Twentie yeres A new Heber HEre we see some recouerie of the state For in the yeare that Azarias died Esay sawe the Lord sitting in the Temple the Seraphins stood vpon it euerie one hauing sixe winges and one cryed to another Holy Holy Holy Lord God of Hosts And God speaketh Ye shall heare me but not vnderstand yee shall see plainely and not perceiue Esay asketh How longe Lord vntill the Cities be wasted the house without a man and the Land vtterly desolate Thereby meaning their captiuitie wherein there shall be tenne forsakings in Ezecchias time two in Manasses one Iosias time one the fift in Iehoachaz time the Sonne of Iosias the sixt in Iehoiakim the Seuenth when he rebelled after he had serued the King of Babell three yeares the Eight in Ieconias time the two last which makes the Tenth vnder Zedechias himselfe being carried to Babell his eyes put out and his Sonnes slaine and after the house of the Lord burnt and all the Citie carried captiue so the Lord is in his Temple beholding the actions of men and his skirts fill the Temple the least of Gods mysteries excelling all the wisedome of man and the Angels proclaime Holynesse to God this Esay confessed for he saw nothing but woe vnto himselfe being a man of polluted lippes that so by faith in the Sonne of God his sinne might bee put away In Ezechias time Esay speaketh of nine Nations plagued which were borderers on Iudea From this we might gather that seeing their wickednesse was equall they should receiue the like measure of punishment Hee goeth further and telleth what Assur shall speake and Babell and prophecieth of Cyrus one hundred yeares before he was borne answerable to the prophecie that was of Iosias in Ieroboams time concerning the taking vp of the bones of the Prophets Esay in Ezechias dayes prophecieth of Christ and saw the promise a farre off and embraced it and shewed the particulars as if they were now perfourmed by Pilate This would not haue mooued a prophane man but he being a prophet knew that God was faithfull who had promised And the men in his time gathered together Salomons Prouerbs Yet for all this we shall finde that fewe were saued and Christ saith that many Kings desired to see that which you see and saw them not Ezechias was verie desirous to haue his posteritie to keepe the Kingdome in the true Religion Esay commeth vnto him and willeth him to set his house in a readinesse for he should die for any thing yet reuealed Hee wept not for feare of death seeing he had great assurance of Gods fauor and thereby his saluation made certaine but to remember the wickednesse of the Kings before and how through their impiety Iuda was humbled and that now hee should sleepe with his Fathers not leauing a godly one to succeed him He hath a Sonne but it had been better that Manasses his Sonne had neuer been he was so wicked This Ezechias committeth a grieuous offence in shewing his wealth to the Embassadors of the king of Babell Thereupon saith the prophet because thou trustedst not in God but in thy wealth therefore one of Babell
yeeres olde and three quarters answerable to the death of Christ at his death seeing his death was a figure of the death of Christ There is nothing precisely determined by the Scriptures and therefore it is left for vs to follow which we will This Isaack in respect of the commaundement of God that he should be offered vp and the obedience of Abraham in offering him was dead and was restored to Abraham as if he had beene risen from the dead He was offered on mount Moriah a part of the mountaine of Sion called afterwards Ierusalem Of this Christ speaketh O Ierusalem Ierusalem that thou sawest those things that concerne the peace but now they are hid from thine eyes therefore thou art Iebus that is troden downe God altereth the name of Moriah to Ierusalem because he would haue kept in memorie Abrahams obedience Sems religion and therefore giueth it a name comprehending both for in respect of Abraham he calleth it Iire Abraham giuing it the name Iehouah Iire that is in the mount will the Lord be seene In respect of Sem he keepeth the name of Salem still and so it is called Iire Salem the Sight of peace From this storie the Iewes might haue knowne the death of Christ seeing Christ compareth them together and yet by putting Christ to death haue saued the world though not heaped condemnation on their owne heads For as it was prophecied that one man must die for all the people so they might haue thus reasoned We know this is the Messias and that he must die for the sinnes of the people Isaack beeing a figure and this time wherein hee nowe is on the earth agreeing with Daniels seuens Therefore as Abraham offered vp Isaack so let the high sacrificer according to the lawe put him to death But then as Saint Peter speaketh if they had knowne this they would not haue crucified the Lord of glorie But as the windowes of Salomons Temple bee narrow without and wide within so Christ speaketh of parables that they are therefore spoken that in hearing they should not heare and in seeing they should not see least they should repent and bee saued The Authour to the Hebrewes sayth By faith Abraham offered vppe Isaack and hee that receiued the promise offered his onelie begotten sonne to whome it was saide In Isaack shall thy Seede bee called for thee considered that God was able to raise him vppe euen from the dead from whence hee receiued him also after a sorte Christ in the Gospell affirmeth That Abraham sawe my dayes that is in Isaack and reioyced God speaketh from heauen to Abraham in this sorte By my selfe haue I sworne because thou hast done this thing and haste not spared thine onely sonne therefore will I surely blesse thee In Rom. 8. Saint Paul speaketh thus What shall we say then to these things If God be on our side who can be against vs who spared not his owne sonne but gaue him to death for vs how shall he not with him giue vs all things also Compare Isaack with Christ Was not Abraham our father iustified by workes when he offered his son Isaack vpon the Altar Iam. 2. Isaack was bound Isaack after 3. daies was offred vp to death and after a sort reuiued to life God spared not his owne sonne but gaue him for vs all to death Christ was bound Hauing suffred death riseth vp againe the third day to life 2145. Sara died Being 127. yeeres old She was buried in Canaan in the field of Machpelah which Abraham bought of the Hittites This place they would haue giuen Abraham freely for they confessed that hee was a prince of God amongst them but he would buy it because they should not say that they had made Abraham rich wherefore we must know if we will be godlie that all our life is but a pilgrimage and that wee are but straungers and that all our inheritance is nothing else but a place for buriall The Hebrewes expound Sarahs death a mortification and dying vnto sinne Rebecca is married to Isaack Gen. 25. When he is 40. yeeres old She is the daughter of Bethuel the sonne of Nachor the sonne of Terah and brother of Abraham her Grandfather Nachor was an idolatrer but her grandmother Milka is thought to bee of a good Religion in that two of her sonnes Bethuel and Kemuel haue El. the mightie God in their names Isaack goeth to Mesopotamia for a wife of his owne kinred for in Canaan there were none of his kinred and of the women of the lande he might not marrie Iacob his sonne likewise goeth to Mesopotamia to Laban the Brother of Rebecca and there taketh him wiues of the same kindred 2158. Sem died Gen. 11. This Sem was a great King and liued Sixe Hundred yeares as Noah before the flood He is called Melchisedech the King of peace Hee dwelt at Salem where his name continued Sixtie and fiue ages halfe One hundreth and thirtie answerable to Seth till that the Apostles receiued the holy Ghost after the ascention of Christ Hee is resembled to the Sonne of God Sems house beleeued that Christ should come till hee came and when he came they denyed him and were cut off 2160 Esau and Iacob borne Gen. 25. The first matter in this storie to bee considered is how the two twinnes in Rebeckahs wombe are called two nations Malachi speaking in the person of God saith I haue loued Iacob and hated Esau So Saint Paul saith to the Romanes Cap. 9. Ere they were borne it was sayd The elder shall serue the younger as it is written Esau haue I hated and Iacob haue I loued ESaus description is thus layd downe in the Scriptures First that he was hayrie that hee was of great courage and at his birth Iacob holdeth him by the heele God thereby shewing at their birth what should be the course of their liues afterwards Homer maketh mention that Vlisses ouerthrew Aiax by striking him on the leg The Greeke translators handle it so and call him Thermistes that is to say a Heeler Esau was a Hunter liuing like the Ruffians and Roysters of our time He selleth his birth-right for a messe of pottage for Iacob would not giue it vnto him except Esau would first sweare to sell him his birth right Saith Esau I am contented for it will bee so long ere it will be enioyed that I and my sonnes Sonne shal be dead first So with an oath he sold Iacob his birth-right therefore hee was called Edom Redde pottage No doubt Isaacks men knew this to bee a rare blessing and seeing he had despised it they must needs whensoeuer they called him Edom keepe his wickednesse in memorie for by this sale he despised Noah Sem Heber and Abraham and all his victories in the faith of which blessing Abraham ouercame so gloriously This is the first combate by the which Iacob a Heeler supplanteth Esau The whole posteritie of Esau bare the name of this infidelitie hee thought it a
of Israel come to Kadesbarnes Then there are Spies sent out to view the Land they are Fortie daies in viewing it They bring word and tell strange things of the goodnes and fatnesse of the Land but they discourage the people and feare them for they told them of huge and great Giants the Sonnes of Anak Iosua he answereth them Let vs goe vp and possesse the Land For if God shall be mercifull vnto vs he will giue vs the Land flowing with milke and honie Vpon this God sweares that they shall not enter into his rest They were for this Forty yeres in the Wildernes Forty daies in viewing the Land S. Paul repeateth this in the Acts 13. God suffered their manners in the Wildernesse they wandred to punish the hardnesse of their hearts for not beleeuing They went vp and downe that all the world might woonder at this dealing of God and thereby learne to feare him for euerie sinne fitteth the prouidence of God and serues for his glorie By this all the world might learne diuinitie For it is sayd of them that their sound was heard to the end of the world So that a man of England meeting with one that had beene about those parts might enquire When doe those people leaue their wandring They were brought out of Egypt strangely for the sea parted and suffered them to goe through and was a wall to them but drowned the Egyptians which followed after Did you euer heare that one striking a Rocke water should come forth Yet this is not all for they had meat from heauen Manna which in English signifieth What shall I call it Besides for their apparell it neuer weareth not so much as their shooes their apparell groweth with their bodies A Childe hath the same apparell being a man that hee had being a Child and the neighbours are in such feare of them as they dare not touch them Surely their God is wonderfull and exceedeth the Gods of other Nations Diodorus Siculus hee speaketh of Moses reuerently Strabo mentioneth these Standings but speaketh wickedly So doth Iustine Hereby is their condemnation iust and they made inexcusable 2554. Moses died Deut. 34. being One hundred and Twenty yeres old Shorter in life than his Father or Grandfather So that seeing long life a great blessing and he so excellent a man euen by the testimonie of the scripture it might be asked why his life was no longer Wee shall see that these his yeares are more glorious than if they had been longer For this comparison of One hundred and twentie yeares with the One hundred and twentie yeares of the building of Noahs Arke is of rare excellencie and euen in this comparison his face must so shine in their harts that they could not behold him without a vaile By this they must likewise remember the promise made to Abraham to be performed for the which he was raised vp And they must ascend higher to Melchisedech who blessed Abraham in whom also the heathen receiued a blessing Then they must goe further to the taking vp of Henoch Homer bringeth in the mother of Achilles telling her Sonne that there was decreed for him a double destinie If he would haue a long life it should then bee obscure If short famous This hee fayneth but yet in fables there is a colour of truth We are to consider further the words of Saint Iude vpon the death of Moses Yet Michael the Archangell when hee stroue with the Deuill and disputed about the body of Moses durst not giue rayling speeches but said The Lord rebuke thee It may be demanded where Saint Iude hath these words seeing they are not expressely laid down in Moses This obiection is thus answered Any Scholler may from a true ground frame a disputation and it is free to vse this kinde of amplification or any other The meaning of Saint Iude is that Iehouah the Eternall buried Moses In the Prophet Zacharias you haue the like in a vision Iehosua the high sacrificer standeth before the Angell of the Lord Sathan at his right hand to resist him and the Lord sayd vnto Sathan The Lord reprooue thee Sathan Here the second person Christ Iesus is called Michaell and here is the like kinde of speaking So that if wee will frame a speech we may thinke that at Moses death God might commaund Michael to go fetch vp the bodie of Moses Satan resisting he forbad him and added The Lord rebuke thee The meaning of Saint Iude is thus much Those which rayle on officers haue not marked Christs dealing who like a stately King in one word rebuketh them This exposition the Iewes in their Talmed agree vnto The end is to this purpose that seeing it is not written by Moses and the holy Ghost cyteth not the place from whence it is taken wee must diligently looke to the matter and searching the scripture for the like Stories we shall easily finde out the vse and order which the holy Ghost vseth in amplifications Moses was a figure of Christ MOses was cast into the flagges Marie the Daughter of Pharaoh saued him so as Marie saued Moses the deliuerer so the Virgine Marie saued Iesus Christ the Redeemer Moses was persecuted of Pharaoh Christ was persecuted of Herod a new Pharaoh Moses deliuered the people from the bondage and slauerie of Egypt so Iesus Christ hath deliuered vs from the spirituall bondage and Tyrannie of the spirituall Pharaoh Satan Moses when he died was buried by Christ Euen so Iesus Christ by his owne death buried all the Ceremonies of Moses 2555. Ioshua ruleth Seuenteene yeares His name was altered by Moses to Iesus because hee was to be a figure of Iesus Christ He with Caleb encouraged the people when the other ten Tribes misbeleeued when they were sent to spie the Land These Seuenteene yeares are not set downe expressely in the Scripture but are gathered from the circumstance of the Storie in this sort From the comming out of Egypt to the building of Salomons Temple are Foure hundred and Eightie yeares 1. King 6.8 All the particulars of this account are layd downe saue Ioshua his gouernment and they make foure hundred sixtie and three to which adde Seuenteene yeares the time that Ioshua ruled you haue full Foure hundred and eightie So you haue another Seuenteene for Iacob and Iosephs Seuenteene yeares Thus much for the time Now for his name Iesus HOseas the Sonne of Nun which was to take the gouernment from Moses hath his name altered and is called Iesus in the 72. Psalme You haue his name repeated Ganushemo 1 He shall increase The Hebrews in their Cabala say that this is the name of Christ they meane nothing else but to keepe in memorie euerie name wherby the glorie of the Kingdome of the Messias is expressed When the Iewes come from Babell you haue Iesus again the Sonne of Iehosadach In Ierem. 31. the Lord speaketh Behold the day commeth that I will raise vnto Dauid a righteous braunch and a King
fallen it is fallen Babylon the great Citie For she made all nations to drinke of the wine of the wrath of her fornication And I sawe a woman sitting vpon a scarlet coloured beast full of names of blasphemie which had seauen heads and ten hornes and in her forehead was a name written A mistery Great Babylon the mother of whoredomes and abhominations of the earth And I sawe the woman drunken with the bloud of Saints and with the bloud of the Martyrs of Iesus And the Angell said vnto me The woman which thou sawest is the Great City which raigneth ouer the Kings of the earth Ap. 18. And after this I saw an other Angel come downe from heauen and hee cryed with a loude voice saying It is fallen it is fallen Babylon the great Ciâ—ie and is become the habitation of Deuils and the hould of al foule spirits and a cage of euery vncleane and hatefull bird For all nations haue drunke of the wine of her fornication and the Kings of the earth haue committed fornication with her and the Marchants of the earth are waxed rich of the abundance of her pleasures And I heard an other voice from heauen say Goe out of her my people that ye be not partakers in her sinnes and that ye receiue not of her plagues for her sinnes are come vp to heauen and God hath remembred her iniquities Reward her euen as she hath rewarded you and giue her double according to her workes and in the cup that shee hath filled to you fil her the double in asmuch as she glorified her selfe and liued in pleasure so much giue ye to her torment and sorrowe for she saith in her heart I sit being a Queene and am no widdow and shall see no mourning Therefore shal her plagues come at one day death and sorrowe and famine and she shal be burnt with fire for strong is the Lord God which wil condemne her O heauen reioyce of her and yee holy Apostles and Prophets for God hath giuen your iudgment on her Then a mighty Angel tooke vp a stone like a great milstone and cast it into the sea saying With such violence shall the great citie Babylon be cast and shal be found no more And as the Iewes doe praise God after their deliuerance so is it said that vpon the deliuerance from this spirituall bondage all Christians shall say Let vs be glad and reioyce and worship God saying Amen Hallelu-iah for our Lord God Almighty hath raigned At this deliuerance out of Babell about the euening offering the Angell Gabriel appeareth to Daniel and telleth him the exact houre of Christs death Dan. 9. in these wordes Seauenty seauens or 490 yeares are exactly decreed for the death of Christ the King the most Holy to finish sinne to bring in iustice to reconcile iniquity to annoint the most Holy and to performe euery vision and prophecie By this key the Iewes might haue vnderstoode the death of Christ the sonne of all saluation These seauenty seauens are distinguished into seauen seauens and the Temple shall be built into sixtie two seauens wherein Religion shall seeme to be vtterly obscured and into one seauen in the halfe of which Christ the King must be killed not for himselfe but for the people as Dan. 9. The time of the sixtie two seauens is prooued out of the Grecians Storie whome God in his secret wisedome vsed though vnwittingly to themselues to be recorders of his truth These seauens of weekes I wil handle more at large at the death of Christ where they are fully accomplished Vpon the vision of the foure Beasts in Dan which represent foure stately kingdomes figured before in Nebucadnetzars image which he sawe in his dreame Dan. 2. ariseth a great question Whether the fourth Beast containe the kingdome of the Romanes or not It is certaine it doth not and thus it may be prooued Of the first which is the Lion to be meant of Babylon the Beare to be the kingdome of the Medes and Persians and the Leopard to be Alexanders kingdome there is no controuersie but then of the fourth Beast with ten hornes lyeth the question It is said that a stone shall be cut without hands and shall become a great mountaine and shall fill al the earth and shal fal vpon the image and punne it to dust This stone is Christ vpon whose birth this vision ends for the stone falling vpon the feete of iron clay the whole image fell and was beaten to powder If then vpon the birth of Christ the fourth kingdome must be punned to dust and al the beasts be consumed in the fire by the Ancient of daies as Daniel 7. then the fourth kingdome cannot be the Romanes For vntill the comming of Christ they were in no glory and then were they in their chiefest glory for although a little before indeede they had conquered all the world yet the world did not consent to pay tribute vntill Christs time and therefore it could not bee said a full conquest For it is neuer a full conquest vntill a generall consent of tribute be graunted If it be obiected that it is meant of the second comming of Christ how is euery vision and prophesie performed in Christ and with what authority could Daniel speake of the second comming before hee had mentioned the first Therefore to hold this to be meant of the Romanes proueth Christ not to be yet come nor the ceremonies of Moses to be abolished Againe the fourth Beast that is the fourth kingdome hath relation to the fourth part of the image And by the legges of iron clay and thereby as the legges of one body being twaine are expressed Wherefore as the legges of contrary natures that is of iron and clay being twaine proceede out of one body so the kingdome which by them is signified must be a diuided Nation ruling one kingdome which the Romanes were not for Augustus Caesar was onely Emperour otherwise you darken the Romanes glory Againe it is said of these legges that is of this fourth kingdome that they shall striue by marriages because they were two Nations that is of Syria and Egipt to be as one body But as iron cleaueth not in nature with clay no more should they bee one Whose stories if you examine in Iustine and other heathen Authors you shall find they were from time to time preuented by vntimely deathes For the wiues killed their husbands the mothers their sonnes the sonnes their mothers so that they could not bring to passe their purpose This cannot be applied to the Romanes for they were still one sole gouernment and vniuersall Emperours of themselues Againe the little horne that is the tenth horne of the fourth beast is Antiochus the vilde who is the last part of the fourth beast whose villanies indeede are answerable to the impieties of the Romanes therefore in the Reuelation the whole time of their gouernment is by allusion called daies 1260. a time 2. times and halfe
short of 1000. yeares so much as is the dayes of mans life Iared Methushelah and Noah ouerreached Adam in long life because of the power of the word of God He died about mount Moriah where he was made He liued till he saw many kings he himselfe the greatest and vntill he had erected a stately gouernment and taught them humane arts And he was fittest to do it beeing a King to commaund whome hee would and what hee would and hauing wit excelling all the men in the world And as in a Princes Court it is requisite to haue Noble men some higher and some lower and men of all degrees so Adam liued vntill he might haue a stately Court Now if a King should coÌ„maund a Diuine to make Adams will from his storie he would make it in this sort O my sonnes gather you together and harken vnto the words of your father Adam the last that euer he shall speake vnto you I was voide of saluation and enioyed not happinesse by disobeying which disobedieÌ„nce I theÌ„ practised wheÌ„ I harkened to the perswasion of Heua did eat the forbidden fruite I then felt the heauy iudgements of God against sinne and sawe my nakednes whereof I was ashamed 〈…〉 not remooued it by offering a blessing in the 〈◊〉 of the woman 〈…〉 you all the dayes of my life as a father that you may learne 〈…〉 gouernours which resemble fathers in behauiour I haue instructed you to loue and obey their gouernement you must know that as my saluation râ—â—â—th vpon beliefe in the sâ—ede of the woman so must yours But the house of Kaine despising this and killing Abel a figure of him who by dying shall ouercome the power of the Serpent will cause the flood to destroy the earth Few shall embrace this doctrine for though eight bee saued by the Arke yet seuen onely shall keepe sincerely the beliefe in this promise of the seede of the woman My daies haue beene long with the rest of your fathers but the end of all flesh is come vpon me for out of the earth I came and to the earth I must returne 113. Henoch is taken vp being 365. yeres old HIs yeres are answerable to the dayes of the sunne 65. yeres a yere for a day And as the sunne excelleth all other starres in brightnesse so did his life excell all other men then aliue in the world for vertue He is also sayd to haue walked with God to be a preacher of righteousnesse to bee taken vp These foure speciall commendations are of equall glory and wee may be assured by these testimonies that his godlinesse was very rare The Grecians say that hee left a booke behind him of his preaching But thereby as much as in them lyeth they call into question the truth of the Scriptures For first by this opinion they derogate from the glorie of Moses that he should not be the first writer Secondly from the wisedome of God which tooke order to lay downe the liues of the fathers in so short Arithmatique and would thereby haue his wisedome wonderfull to those which should come after which had bene to small purpose if Henoch had left a booke of his preaching But the Grecians thus being answered it followeth that Henochs prophecie was against the wordes of the wicked and against the contempt of religioÌ„ which wicked men shewed in not beleeuing the preaching of the flood Saint Iude in his Epistle from the circumstances of the men and manners of the people to whom Henoch preached gathered what might be the summe of Henochs preaching in this sort Behold the Lord commeth how as at the giuing of the law with thousands of his Angels to give iudgement against all men to rebuke all the vngodly among them of all their wicked deeds which they haue vngodly committed and of all their cruell speakings which wicked sinners haue spoken against him Vpon which words the Grecians not knowing the course of the Hebrewes in their fained speeches say that Henoch left a booke of his preaching behind him His taking vp did shew what should be the state of the godly Hee was taken vp in despite of the wicked and in recompence of his own faith Hee was taken vp 57. yeeres after Adams death all the fathers then being aliue And it may be the fathers did see him taken vp as a figure of Christs ascension The wicked might then say where is the appearance of the flood For Adam is dead and Henoch is taken vp and all things continue as from the beginning In that God bestowed so short life vpon Henoch it sheweth that hee would bestow greater blessings of him in another kind Now compare him with Christ Henoch Christ Was a Prophet for he prophecied of the destruction of the world by the flood Walked with God His dayes were as the dayes of the sunne Was taken vp being the seuenth from Adam Was a Prophet and prophecied of the destruction of the world Did the will of his Father Is the bright sunne of Iustice whose dayes in the Psalmes are likened to the dayes of the sunne In the Scripture is the seuenth that ascended To wit 1. The sonne of the widow of Sarepta 1. King 17. 2. The Shunamites sonne whom Eliseus brought againe to life 2. King 4.32 3. The souldier buried by Eliseus corps 4. Iayrus daughter Mat. 9. 5. The widowes sonne Luke 7. 6. Lazarus Luke 11. 7. Christ That is 3. in the olde Testament new Testament and the Lord was the seuenth 1042. 168. Seth died being 912 yeeres olde 1056. 182. Noah borne HIs name signifieth Comforter or Restorer The faith of Lamech no doubt was cleare concerning saluation by the seede of the woman in that he named his sonne Comforter or Restorer As if he had said though for impietie all the world be destroyed yet I am assured that the promise made to Adam must of necessitie be performed or else no flesh can be saued In this faith Adam after he had transgressed by eating of the forbidden fruite was saued In this faith Abell offered vp a greater sacrifice than Kaine In this faith Henoch walked with God and was no more seene for he was taken vp In this faith all the Fathers obtained eternall life In this faith Noah became a preacher of righteousnesse and an executor of true iudgement and prepared the Arke to the sauing of his houshold c. Heb. 11. 10. This ten is to shew that Noah is the tenth from Adam multiply Henoch by Noah that is the number of of the Sabbath by the full number 10. you haue the number 70. which throughout the Bible is famous and of great force for light in the storie In this tenth age Gods iustice ouer all flesh was extended Compare him with Christ Noah Christ Was a preacher of righteousnesse Found grace before God Was a King Prophet Sacrificer Was the true preacher of righteousnesse Dan 9. Grew in fauour with God and man Luke 2. Was a King Prophet Sacrificer Enosh
the workes of the fathers and bred by them maintaineth manifest absurdities we must seeke for another exposition If we consider the old Testament we shall find that Eliphaz in the booke of Iob preacheth the same doctrine that Saint Peter doth and therefore will serue for an exposition Eliphaz reasoneth with Iob thus Haste thou O Iob marked the way of the world wherein wicked men haue walked which were cut off by time and whose foundation was couered with waters which said vnto God depart from vs And yet what could he doe more for them he filled their houses with good things yet they refused the way of the Almightie So Saint Peter speaketh that the spirit of God went in like manner as he is said to come downe at the ouerthrow of Babell by confounding their tongues and when he destroyed Sodome and Gomorrah and preached in Noah to wit the time while the Arke was in making To whom to the spirits now in prison why because they said to God depart from vs we wil none of thy wayes Thus you see the words of Saint Peter made plaine This time of 120. yeeres Saint Peter calleth the patience and long suffering of God The Iewes in a booke called Zoar expound S. Peters words in this sort The Lord commeth to plague the wicked for their vnbeliefe sixe moneths with water sixe monethes with fire hot and cold and sent them all to Gehenna which is hell Not that they meant so the story of the word by plaine eye-sight controleling it but that the anger of God was as grieuous to their soules as the waters of the flood which wrinkled their bodies Christ in the Gospell compareth the flood with the end of the world for in the dayes of Noah they had rich Iubal to feast them and cunning Tubalkain to delight them in building or such like deuises and faire Naamah that they might marry according as their eyes lusted till the waters of the flood ouerwhelmed them so shall it be in the end of the world Eliphaz counselleth Iob that considering the ende of these men hee should bee at peace with God before our substance be cut off and the fire consume the rest of them Iaphet borne HIs name signifieth Perswaded He was the eldest sonne of Noah whereof many seeme to doubt which being examined by Scripture will appeare most certaine in Gen. 5. It is sayd Noah being 500. yeres old he begetteth Sem Cham and Iaphet Now it is certaine that they were not borne all at once for the plaine storie crosseth that In Gen. 6. Noah is said to be 600. yeeres old and the flood commeth then he must needes haue a sonne that is 100. yeeres old It could not be Sem for hee was but 100. yeeres olde two yeeres after the flood Gen. 11. Neither was it Cham for he was yonger than Sem For Noah said hee knew what his yongest sonne had done The reason of the doubt ariseth because Sem is named first in Gen. 5. Whom Moses penning the storie long after placed first to shew that Sem was the most worthie and had the prerogatiue of first borne because Christ was to come from him according to the promise made to Eua in Paradise The seede of the woman shall breake the head of the Serpent Sem borne WHich signifieth Name or Renowne Whereby we are to vnderstand that Noah had a wonderfull assurance of the promise in Christ in calling him Sem or as we say Name And withall we are to seeke by the like faith to be renowned that our names may be written in the booke of life For Salomon saith Pro. 22. A good name is more worth than a precious oyntment But God will put out their names from vnder heauen that flatter themselues in their wickednesses and whose roote beareth gall and wormewood as he commaunded Deut. 25. Put out the name of Amalecke from vnder heauen he is the beginning of Nations but his latter end shall perish vtterly 93. Lamech died Fiue yeeres before the flood being 777. yeeres olde His name runneth vpon seuens For what he wanted in long life he had it in casting a sweet account If Lamech had the age of his fathers he might haue seene the flood 98. Methushelah dieth Being 969. yeeres old and the seuenth that died after Adam as his Father Henoch was the seuenth that was borne after Adam Hee died but a few dayes before the flood to shew that he being a iust man kept away the flood and lacked but 31. yeere of 1000. Now it is not to be vnderstood that he liued full 969 yeeres for hee liued but a fewe dayes of his last yeere For if his yeeres be cast you shall see hee dieth in the yeere of the flood Now the flood came not in the first moneth because Methushelah then liued the tenth day of the second moneth the flood came Methushelah was dead before that time his dayes were the exact rule of the flood for so long as hee liued the waters could not ouerflow the earth he being dead the waters might aske God whether they should now worke vengeance to the wicked No saith God Noah shall mourne him a moneth as the children of Israel mourned Iacobs death Afterwards this moneth of sorrow being ended then they demaund of God againe whether now the wicked should be ouerwhelmed with waters God answereth No For Noah shall haue a Sabbath of preparation This being finished the flood couereth the face of the earth Methushelah Spoile death or Speare death Christ Died and rose againe and reuiued that he might be Lord of quicke and dead Suffered death that by his death he might ouercome him that had the power of death This halfe sheweth that at the flood the dayes of man were shortned halfe in halfe as Psal 89. The Lord hath shortned the dayes of youth These numbers are the summe of the yeares from the Creation to the floud which are gathered by the particuler natiuities of the Ten Fathers before the floud These particulers being added they make the yeares of the world at the floude 1656. Adam 130 Seth. 105 Enosh 90 Kenan 70 Mahalaleel 65 Iared 162 Henoch 65 Methushelah 187 Lamech 182 Noah 600. The floud is brought vpon the olde world c. THe floude is a resemblance of the destruction of the world and was the greatest iudgement of the world till the world shal be consumed with fire Therfore the story of the floud doth cause vs to consider of things past and to haue iudgement of things to come For in the floude are rare examples concerning waighing numbring and diuiding It was 40. daies in rayning the like time in abating God hath numbred waighed and diuided The second day of the seuenth moneth The times do shew that God doth waigh and number wonderfully all the affaires of men but men did not then know what God would doe because he had hardned their hearts and scorning Noah all his life time they were ashamed then to fly vnto him
of the tower of Confusion 70 of Sems posteritie 600. yeeres after were forced to goe into the land of Cham and there compelled to be bricke-makers vnder Pharaoh King of Egypt because they despised the blessing of Sem and remembred not the story of the 70. Families that built the tower of Babell To shew that when in prosperitie men forget God turning his graces into wantonnesse and his blessings to foolish pleasures that hee will take his blessings of bread and wine and oyle from vs driue vs into forraine Nations amongst Egyptian dogges to seeke reliefe whose succour shal be yokes of heauy bondage to punish vs in the same pleasure wherein we offended All the Seuentie Families doe afflict Sem for this before he hath his full renowne and in scattering of Iocktanes Sons they are placed furthest off Ierusalem of any Peleg diuided Christ is Palmoni the secret Numberer that weigheth numbreth and diuideth Vnto the building of the Tower of Babel we haue Sem Name Arphachsad Heaâ—ing Sale Spoyling Heber Pilgrime Peleg Diuâ—ded Put these together and you haue a short sentence A good name like precious Oyle shall heale the spoyling of poore strangers for God will dâ—uâ—de to euerie one accordâ—ng to his workes 1787. Regu borne Euill 1819. Sarug borne Bough or Plant. 1849. Nachor borne Drie 1878. Terah borne Smelling AN euill Plant that hath lost his sappe and is become drie being not watered with the dew of heauenly grace can giue no good smell which appeareth in that Terah quite forgetting that euer God created and consumed the world and brought the deuises of the Sonnes of Noah his great Grandfather to open shame of eternall memorie scattering them vp and downe like Vagabonds ouer all the earth figuring the calamities of their later ages the punishment wherof chiefely to be perfourmed in his owne kindred became an Idolatrer as Ioshua 24. Your Fathers in old time worshipped strange Gods euen Terah the Father of Abraham c. But marke the euent For euen as the Sonnes of Sem for ioyning with the rest were scattered with the rest so the posteritie of Terah by Abram euen the best of them namely the Iewes were once scattered Vagabonds ouer all the earth for not embracing the couenant of Abraham Isaack and Iacob but in mercie gathered together againe to the Mountaine of grace to Iacobs Well that giueth euerliuing water to so many as would acknowledge Christ the Rocke to the Land that flowed with Milke and Honie to Bethel the house of Iehouah where they might see a Ladder reaching from heauen to earth with Angels ascending and descending to that fresh springing hill of Sion which is watered with the dew of Hermon from whence it runneth like the precious oyntment that ran downe from Aarons beard to wash away their former vncleanesse and to purge their filthy leaprousie that they might be a sweet smelling sacrifice vnto the Lord holy and acceptable before his Throne hauing an high sacrificer to enter into the Holy of Holyest to make intercession for them that they might be free from confusion and deliuered out of the bondage of the outward and spirituall Babel But euen as the dog that returneth to his vomite and the hogge to his wallowing in the mire so these Iewes of vncircumcised hands and hearts forgetting all those and many more benefits of God bestowed vpon them crucifying Christ the King of glorie the God of Sem and not remembring their former punishments are once againe so scattered ouer the face of the earth that while the world endureth they shall be Vagabonds and neuer gathered together againe To teach vs that if God spared not them nor suffered them to continue in their transgressions being his peculiar people that wee are to looke for no other recompence than they had if we despise the knowledge of Christ as they did Terah hath three Sons Haran Nachor Abraham as Adam and Noah had 1996. Peleg died being 229. yeeres old He had not halfe the yeares of his Father Heber the most aged man after the flood liued not to halfe Methushelahs yeres to shew the curse that came by the flood So euery man in the world hath part of Gods curse by the flood 1997. Nachor died being 148 yeares old  2006. Noah died being 950 yeares old He liued after the flood 350 yeares that is Seuen Fifties or Seuen Iubilees of yeres as many as were from conquering the Land of Canaan to the gouernment of Samuel Noahs whole life was a singing of saluation to the holy Lambe seeing all the world drowned and he onely saued When Noah dyeth Abram was borne So God stirres vp one good man after another oftentimes 2008. Abram Borne His name signifieth His Father being the Tenth from Noah another establisher of Religion as Noah the restorer or comforter was the Tenth from Adam And as in Noahs dayes hee being the Tenth from Adam Gods Iustice ouer all flesh was extended so in Abram he being the Tenth from Noah Gods mercie to all the world is pronounced When Terah is 130 yeares old he begat So old was Adam when he begat Seth a foundation of Religion Iacob a bringer of Religion into Egypt is 130 yeares old when he standeth before Pharaoh Iehoiada the high sacrificer saueth Ioas the Kings Sonne from the malice of Athalia which had destroyed all the rest of the Kings seede and dieth being 130 yeares old While he liued Ioas kept Religion and worshipped the God of his Father After his death he fell away and suffered incense to be offered in the groues to whome Zacharias the Sonne of Barachias sayd Is this the reward of all my Fathers paines that assoone as my Father is dead you forsake the true God and worship the Gods of the Nations For which cause Ioas caused him to be slaine between the Altar and the Temple So that as death is contrarie to life and as at the birth of Seth and Abraham the graces of God were manifested to the world so at Iehoiadahs death the Tribe of Iuda lost all Religion It is a question howe Terah being an Idolatrer could name Abram Hie Father for so doth the word signifie He might guesse like a worldly man that his Sonne Abram should be likely to be rich and mightie and so should haue many vnder him Howsoeuer it was this is certaine that God directed the tongue of this Idolatrer to set forth and preach his glorie though his life had no shew of vertue Here is another question to be discussed of the age of Terah when he begat Abram Of Terah his age when he begat Abram SOme will haue Abram to be borne at Terahs Seuentieth yeare because in Gen. 11. it is sayd Terah liued Seuentie yeares and begat Abram Nachor and Haran Whereupon they gather that Abraham was the first borne because hee is put in the first place and that hee was borne in that yeare of Terah to wit the Seuentie But they marke not that Terahs Sonnes are
Adam in Paradise and to Sem after the flood is here renewed to Abraham when he is Seuentie and fiue yeares old So many yeares old as there be Fathers of Christ from Adam to Ioseph Saint Matthew beginning at Abraham reckoneth them but Forty and two that is three Fourteenes or six Seuens but Saint Luke reckoning them bringeth them him from Adam and sheweth their number to bee 75. Saint Mathews meaning was to prooue him King of the Iewes and Saint Lukes to shew that he is the Seede of the woman Seuentie fiue hath in it Ten Seuens and Fiue the number of the letters of Iehouah God changeth Abrams name from Abram to Abraham of Haman a Multitude because in him all the Nations and multitude of the earth should bee blessed like vnto Noah a new Comforter Hee left his Countrey and his Fathers house and went to a Land which God would shew him so that Saint Paul teacheth by faith AbrahaÌ„ when he was called obeyed God to goe into a place which he should aâ—ter receiue for an inheritance and he went out not knowing whether he went In this faith Moses a high Sonne refused to be called the Sonne of Pharaohs Daughter Saint Luke testifieth of him Act. 7. That the God of glorie appeared to our Father Abraham when hee was in Mesopotamia before he dwelt in Charran and sayd vnto him Get thee out of thy Country and from thy kindred and come into a Land that I shall shew thee Then came he out of the Land of Chaldea and dwelt in Charran and from thence when his Father was dead hee brought him into the Land of Canaan but hee had no inheritance in it no not the breadth of a foote Yet God promised that hee would giue it him to possesse and to his seede after him when as yet hee had no Childe Wherefore beleeuing in God it was counted to him for righteousnesse For the promise to Abraham that hee should bee the heire of the world was not giuen him or his seede through the lawe but through the righteousnesse of faith Rom. 4. In 2. Esdras 0. You haue there in the prayer of Nehemiah an abridgement of all this Storie how the Lord chose Abram and brought him out of Vr of the Chaldees and called him Abraham and found his heart faithfull and made a couenant with him to giue his seed the Land c. Saint Paul Act. 17. reasoneth with the men of Athens thus You Grecians you say that you are of Iapheth and that your Countrey is Ionia and yee are the Sonnes of the earth Be it knowne vnto you that God at the first made all mankind of one blood to dwell on all the face of the earth and assigned the seasons which were ordained before and the bonds of their habitations for hee diuided vnto them the Land according to the number of the Sonnes of Israel Now yee heathen your owne Poets say ye are the generation of God And we may obserue that in all the ceremonies of Moses there is a great priuiledge layd downe for the heathen And besides Melchisedech being a heathen and greater than Abraham and a resembler of the Sonne of God is a manifest argument that God would saue the Gentiles in Christ And it is added by Saint Paul God which iustifieth the wicked euen Abram being an Idolatrer The Gentiles are no worse therefore they haue no cause to despaire And where it is sayd in this Storie of Abraham that he forsooke his Father and his Fathers house Saint Stephen Act. 7. sheweth that it was at the time his Father was dead for otherwise it had beene an hard example and Gods actions must bee so wisely disposed that the verie heathen must acknowledge them to be iust which they would not haue done if hee had left his Father he being aliue It is further added that Abraham was rich He was of behauior quiet for to auoide strife and contention betwixt his shepheards and the shepheards of Lot hee willed him to choose whether he would take to the right hand or to the left Lot chooseth the best for eye-sight though by the close counsell of God ordering his choise it prooued farre contrarie Abraham was politique for he had Three hundred and Eighteen souldiers of his owne familie which he himselfe had instructed And thereby we may gather that hee vsed recreation and in curiositie did not contemne it for otherwise hee could not haue made his men so expert Warriours And surely there is nothing disturbeth Religion more than curiositie He was a stately man and couragious and had authoritie of life and death else hee could not haue kept so many in good order His moderation appeareth also in that hee suffered Sara to rule at home He was politique in choosing the night to set on his enemies for seeing he was in the fauour of God hee was sure hee could not walke in darkenesse and it was the fittest time to make his enemies affraid 2090. Melchisedech King of Salem A figure of the Sonne of God meeteth Abraham IT is a question who this Melchisedech should be It is most certaine it is Sem the Sonne of Noah Which may be gathered from the circumstance of the Storie being modestly expounded Heb. 7. This Melchisedech King of Salem who met Abraham as he returned from the slaughter of the Kings to whome also Abraham gaue tythes of all things first is called by interpretation King of righteousnesse and after that King of Salem that is to say King of Peace without Father without mother without kindred and hath neither beginning of dayeâ— nor end of life but is likened to the Sonne of God He was without Father without Mother when Abraham met him Fiue last ages aboue Abraham being dead hee was vnknowen of his owne kindred He had no end of life in the olde world for he liued through the flood and no beginning of dayes in the newe world Christ in respect of his Godhead had no mother and in regard of his Manhead he had no father Surely our men be very vnaduised that because Caluin and a fewe Grecians doe stacker in this opinion whether Sem should be Melchisedech therefore they will not admit the truth hereof as though they should bee a rule of truth vnto them But to answere them First the consent of all the Iewes is that Sem is Melchisedech and if he be not then let vs see what inconueniences will follow First he must be a godlier man than Sem that crosseth Sems blessing Blessed be the God of Sem. Besides it standes not with Religion that any man should be rare in the highest degree no prophecie going before it to warrant his rarenesse But this is the cause why men bee deceiued The Grecians erre in this and are the cause why others haue erred It was not possible for them to know the truth thereof for the Iewes appointed by Ptolomeus Philodelphus to translate the Bible seeing there was such difference at the birth
long time to the performance of a promise to be accomplished almost Foure hundred yeares after ayming like a prophane worldling at the outward inheritance of the Land of Canaan and not respecting the blessing of the spirituall Salem He was the eldest and extreame wicked notwithstanding he was the Sonne of a righteous Father to shew that the sincerest nature of the godlyest men is extream wicked Hee was to Iacob as Kaine to Abel and as Ismael to Isaack And as in his owne person he persecuted and sought the death of his Brother Iacob so his posteritie were continuall enemies to the seed of Iacob Amelech of Esau lay in waight for the children of Israel when they came out of Egipt to destroy them but God commaunded them to put out his name from vnder heauen Wicked Haman would at once haue destroyed all the Iewes but he and his ten Sonnes were hanged Haman was of Agag the Amalekite of Esau In him is performed a prophecie in Numb 24. Ameleck is the beginning of Nations but his later end shall perish vtterly Herod of Edome likewise seeketh to put Christ the true Israel to death wherein you may see the malice of Esau to continue euen till Christ Esau was hated of God before he was borne therefore whatsoeuer he did it turned still into a curse vnto him hee prepareth venison for his Father and the whiles loseth the blessing of eternall life he would please his father by marrying into Abrahams stocke and maryeth Ismaels daughter he wept for the blessing but found no place of repentance though he sought the blessing with teares In like sort is the repentance of euerie wicked man when he is touched with the conscience for sinne he will then acknowledge his sinne and with teares shew forth for his transgressions but through the hardnes of his hart which cannot repent he returneth like to Esau to his vomite againe IAcobs Storie will appeare the better by declaring Esaus euen as contraries are set together that thereby euerie one may shewe the cleerer His name signifieth a Suplani or Heeler and all his life sheweth him to be contrarie to Esau The one an image of all impietie the other a mirrour of all godlynesse the one a persecutor the other persecuted the one a despiser of grace the other an embracer of vertue You haue from the creation to Iacob two and Twentie Fathers answerable to the Two and Twentie Letters in the Hebrew tongue So Epiphaneus in Ankorato handleth them Thus by comparisons God maketh his dealings easie to bee kept in memorie Iacob though the Two and Twentie from Adam yet the third Seuenth of those which were borne after Adams creation Now the Chronicle is ended for particular liues for after Iacobs Storie the Scripture containes whole Stories of whole States and Kingdomes Noah is the Tenth from Adam Abraham the Tenth from Noah Iacob the Twelfe so you haue the two and Twentie The Hebrewes admire the patience of God that Tenne whole ages God gaue them time to repent and yet Esay sayth that the Lord looked about and saw that there was none good vpon the earth The Seuentie Interpreters translating the old Testament into Greek thrust in one Kenan whose name is not in the Hebrew If the reason be demaunded why they did so this may be answered The Seuenty Interpreters knew that a great deale of wisedom was contained in the comparison between the Two and Twentie Letters of the Hebrew tongue and the Two and Twentie Fathers Now because they enuied the Egyptians and were loath they should gaine any wisedome by them of purpose they adde Kenan to disturbe this proportion and so they make Iacob the Three and Twentieth Saint Luke setting downe the Genealogie of Christ alleageth Kenan following the Genealogie penned by the Seuentie Interpreters For Saint Luke was to take it as he found it and hee knewe that all the Iewes were well acquainted with the reason why Kenan was added Therefore there could no danger growe in his time though Kenan were kept still in the Genealogie Beza translating the new Testament leaueth him out for the which the Iesuits accuse him Now Beza to the end ignorāt men shuld not stagger by finding him in Luke which is not in Moses leaueth him out and this may Beza doe well inough for any one may know that Saint Luke neuer meant that Arphachsad begat Kenan seeing that he addeth being as men supposed the Sonne of Arphachsad to wit of those men that knew not the meaning of the Translators Besides Epiphanius being a Grecian and being acquainted with the Greeke translation yet concludeth the Fathers vnder the number of Two and Twentie Iacob is called The beloued of the Lord before he was borne In which he is answerable to Dauid whose name signifieth Beloued And to our Sauiour Christ of whome it was sayd This is my beloued Sonne in whome I am well pleased And further we are to note in this storie how Esau by hast not willing to stay for the promise till the time appointed felt the heauie iudgement of God Wee haue the like example of this hast and the like punishment in Saul Samuel annointed Saul King and willed him to go before him to Gilgall to stay there for him 7 daies till he came Saul tarieth 7 daies according to the time appointed but Samuel came not therefore the people were scattered Saul seeing the peoples mindes seuered that he might vnite them againe offered a burnt offering Then came Samuel rebuked him saying Thou hast done foolishly thy kingdom shal not cōtinue the lord hath sought him a man after his own heart Thus you haue the like example both for Storie and prophecie ISaack is blinde Sem Heber and Abraham being dead onely Esau and Iacob aliue to enioy the blessing after Isaacks death Now if we examine the sequele we shall see that if Isaack had not been blinde he would for his part haue brought destruction vpon the whole earth for hee would haue blessed Esau who vpon any occasion would haue sould it and besides being verie wicked in despising it would haue brought the heauy wrath of God vpon his posterity for disobedience Therefore his blindnesse was a great blessing euen as Saint Paul speaketh euerie thing turneth to the best to the children of God Isaack willeth Esau to goe and kill him some venison that his soule may blesse him before he die So the Prophets vse to desire meate before they prophecie that being refreshed they may be the fuller of spirite and cheerefulnesse The Hebrewes dispute from this place whether Isaack was growne into pouertie Some thinke hee was by reason of the famine which fell in Canaan because the Philistines kept not couenant with him for which cause Sampson afterwards taketh occasion to plague them and that iustly Aben Ezra is of this opinion Rebecca she heareth this Commandement of Isaack and knowing that speedinesse in dispatching is oftentimes a great cause of aduantage willeth Iacob to goe
adopted therefore to keepe the number of Twelue hee must leaue out some Simeon was the fittest seeing hee was without repentance Leui must be reckoned seeing his was a spirituall inheritance and the Lord promised to be his inheritance therefore Dan must be omitted And this may be the reason when the Children of Israel came into the Land of Canaan the Tribe of Dan causeth the first Idolatrie and therfore that Tribe was iustly plagued And in this Tribe Idolatrie continued vntill the remoouing of the Arke from Siloh But yet this wee must vnderstand that though Dan is not named yet in respect his tribe are Iacobs Sonnes the Tribe is comprehended in the generall blessing And Moses concludeth that seeing the eternall God is the refuge Israel the Fountaine of water shall dwell in safetie Isachar Was content to liue vnder tribute like to an Asse couching downe betweene two burthens rather than to seeke glorie by leading bands of men Reuben He looseth his prerogatiue because he went vp to his Fathers bed therefore hee is light as water hee shall not excell Reuben hath one of Dauids Captaines of his Tribe but it is presently added therewith Nine and Twentie better than he Reuben sheweth some compassion to Ioseph and would not haue him killed but cast him into some pit Iudah thought that might be too long ere he would be dispatched and therefore selleth him Simeon and Leui. Their wrath was fierce yet because Leui afterwardes repented and shewed tender affection to Ioseph and was zealous in destroying Idolatrers therefore he had a blessing in Moses will Simeon neuer shewed any tender affection to Ioseph and therefore when his brethren come into Egypt and Ioseph accuseth them for Spies he keepeth Simeon in prison till they come downe againe as a kinde of punishment for his former malice His sinne against the Sichemites was exceeding great and seeing he neuer shewed any signe of repentance hee was iustly cut off from the hope of a blessing By this wee may learne to reiect the authoritie of the booke of Iudith First because she sayd to be of the Tribe of Simeon If wee marke this well wee shall see how this booke cannot be scripture For wee must note that it is no small glorie to haue the spirite of God penne a booke of ones actions If there be but a sentence spoken in the commendation of any in the scripture it is a great weight of glorie Now if wee looke to Iacobs will and see that he hath a curse and not a blessing and in the course of Scripture afterward no mention of any repentance that Simeon and his Tribe shewed nor any zeale of religion expressed how can this stand with Iacobs prophecie nay it cleane crosseth it and maketh it frustrate For seeing Iacob as a Prophet telleth all his Sonnes what should befall them in the last dayes to euerie one and his tribe so long as the Kingdome of the Iewes and their policie stood and in his will maketh no mention of the booke of Iudith We must by admitting this booke accuse the spirite of God of ignorance Besides it is a Storie and yet the time thereof doth not fall out within the compasse of any time neither before the captiuitie neither after and therefore to be despised And for my opinion I make as much account of Ouids Metamorphosis as of Iudith for Plato sayth that in fables there is a truth reuealed secretly Thus we are to thinke likewise of the booke of Tobie Leui he repented when Amram of the tribe of Leui saued Moses Zabulon Was a Marchant and delighted in Shippes In Greeke Canaan is called Phenicia and the men of Canaan Phenices Aristotle a Thousand yeares after Moses makes mention of a Riuer Tartesus he meant the Sea Tharsis and the Phenices brought gold had such plenty that their anchors were thereof No doubt he had heard of Salomons time wherin gold and siluer was no more esteemed than stone This trauelling of Iacobs Sonnes into farre Countreys must needs make the heathen haue a tast of Religion And Moses he willed the heathen to resort to the Mountain where the Temple was built Aser Was a Farmer to prouide pleasures for a King You haue in the old Testament little spoken of him but because his tribe should not thinke themselues excluded the fauour of God you haue in the newe Testament Anna that is Grace a verie rare woman for godlynesse the daughter of Phanuel that is See God of the happie Tribe of Aser for Aser signifieth Happie Gad He shall lead an Host of men This was performed when Reuben Gad and halfe Manasses gaue a great ouerthrowe to the Hagarims about the time that Saul was annointed King Thus wee may see that whatsouer is requisite in policie for the maintenance of a common weale you shall finde expressed in the liues and behauiours of the Sonnes of Israel 2369. Ioseph died Gen. 50. being One hundred and ten yeares old By Faith Ioseph when hee died hee made mention of the departing of the Children of Israel out of Egypt and gaue commaundement of his bones Heb. 11. Now because many excellent things are to bee said of Ioseph before his death when hee was in Egypt and in the Sinay sight no yeares layd downe I will here handle them together God prospered him in Egypt in all his actions And euen as God blessed Laban for Iacobs sake so hee blessed Iosephs Master for Iosephs sake Ioseph was a goodly person and a well fauored which commendation in the same words is bestowed vpon Dauid 1. King 16. the same of Daniel and the same of Christ Ioseph would not bee defiled with the fornication of Egypt Daniel would not bee defiled with the vncleane diet of Babell Ioseph expoundeth Pharaohs dreame Daniel expoundeth Nebuchadnetzars dreame Ioseph was made Ruler ouer Egypt Daniel was made Ruler ouer Babell Ioseph being in prison found fauour with the Master of the prison Daniel found fauour with the Kings Chamberlaine Iosephs name was changed by Pharaoh Daniels name was changed by Nebuchadnetzer Ioseph was falsely accused Christ was falsely accused Ioseph was Thirtie yeares old when hee stood before Pharaoh Iesus is baptised beginning to be Thirtie yeares old Ioseph was in prison betweene two theeues the one of them was saued the other condemned Christ was crucified betweene Two theeues the one of them was saued the other condemned Yet notwithstanding all these blessings of God vpon Ioseph to shew that euen the best haue their infirmities his vertues were darkened verie much in that hee marrieth an Egyptian woman Gen. 41. which was altogether vnlawfull For Esau before doing the like is blamed and Rebecca hauing an especiall care ouer Iacob least he should commit the like wickednesse sendeth him to Laban to choose a wife of his owne kindred Abraham had the like care for Isaack and Moses afterwars forbids it by a law thereby confirming the vnlawfulnesse thereof Seuen hundred yeres after is this sinne punished in Israel
roaring of the Lyon and the voyce of the Lyonesse and the teeth of the Lyons whelpes are broken You may see this euident by our victories against Chams house though Nimrod seemed to rule like a Lyon The Kori we haue likewise destroyed But concerning Sems house Nachor Ismael Keturah do not they florish What part of them is consumed So you see the Lyon perish for lacke of prey and the Lyons whelpes scattered but where was the vpright euer destroyed And if you thinke this new doctrine I pray you enquire of the former ages and prepare thy selfe to search after their fathers for wee are but as yesterday and are ignorant You shall see that the floode ouer-tooke the vngodlie And so we are to thinke of them which liued wickedlie afterward But yet God will not cast away an vpright man neitheir will he take the wicked by the hand And how can you be in the fauour of God the Saints doe not pitch their tents about you for then the Sabeans and Caldeans had not spoyled your goods The Angels do not waite on you for then the wind had not ouerthrowne your house Heere is none that careth for you therefore you cannot bee vpright But if you will seeke God this is the way confesse your sinnes and repent For a thing was brought vnto me secretly and in the thoughts of the visions of the night feare came vpon me and there stoode one and I knew not his face but I heard a voice which said Shall man bee more iust than God or shall a man bee more pure than his Creator Hee found no stedfastnesse in his Angels how much more in them which dwell in houses of clay whose foundation is in the dust which shall be destroyed before the mother And concerning affliction it is not out of the dust neither doth it spring out of the earth But man is borne vnto trauell as the sparkes flie vpward To conclude Blessed is the man whom God correcteth therefore refuse not thou the chastisement of the Almightie for hee maketh the wound and bindeth it vp and if thou wilt embrace this this good will come of it Thou shalt laugh at destruction the stones of the field shall be in league with thee and the beasts of the field and peace shall bee in thy Tabernacle and thy seede shal be great and thy posteritie as the grasse of the earth and thou shalt goe to thy graue in a good full age as a Kicke of corne commeth into the barne in due season Iob He answereth Chap. 6. Oh that my griefe were well weighed and my miseries laid together they would bee heauier than the sand of the sea therefore my words are swallowed vp And for my friends this I say He that is in miserie ought to be comforted of his neighbour But you my brethren haue deceiued me as the riuers in the south which in the winter are blackish with yce and when it is hote dried vp They that goe to Tema and Sheba waiteth for them but they were confounded so yee are like to them You haue seene my fearefull plague and are afraid Thus haue men forgotten the feare of the Almightie Ye pretend counsell and comfort but this is to haue me forget God For if I be wicked why labour I thus in vaine yet if I wash my selfe with snow water and purge my hands most cleane mine owne clothes shall make me filthie I know I haue sinned and haue done wickedlie but yet my faith assureth me that God cannot be mine enemie as you affirme why then should he afflict me and for my strength is it of stones or my flesh of brasse Now whereas you say that God punisheth the wicked and tyrants come to destruction who knoweth not this For I know as much as you know neither am I inferiour to you yet this is not alwayes true that you say for we see the wicked established their houses are peaceable and the rod of God is not vpon them They send forth their children like sheepe and their sons daunce they take the Tabret and Harpe and sodenlie they goe downe to the graue for they are as stubble before the wind and destruction commeth vppon them But yet this you must also know that he destroyeth the perfect and the wicked Heere perfect is not meant a life void of sinne in the sight of God but for outward actions void of hypocrisie Concerning the wisedome of God that it is vnsearchable I confesse that likewise aswell as you For the siluer hath his vaine and the gold his place yron is taken out of the dust and brasse out of the stone hee setteth a bond for darkenesse and the shadow of death Out of the same earth commeth Bread and vnder it is brimstone found the stones thereof Saphir and the dust gold There is a path that the fowle knoweth not neither the crowes eyes hath seene the Lyons haue not walked in it But yet where is wisedome and where is the place of vnderstanding For which gold shall not be giuen of Ophir nor the Onix nor Zaphir God vnderstandeth the way therof for he weigheth the winds and the water by measure When hee made a decree for the raine and a way for the lightning of the thunders then did he see it and vnto man he said The feare of the Lord is wisedome and to depart from euill is vnderstanding Therefore we are not to giue rules to God seeing all haue like euent together Concerning my life I was an eye to the blind feete to the lame a father vnto the poore and when I knew not the cause I sought it out diligently I did neuer eat my morsels alone the fatherlesse haue euer eaten with me I haue not seene any perish for want of clothing the loynes of him haue blessed mee because he was warmed with the fleece of my sheepe I haue euer bene so carefull that I would not offend the least childe my countenance hath beene so sober that I haue made a couenant with mine eyes why then should I behold a maid But yet Oh that I were as in times past as in the dayes of my youth when my children were round about me when vnto me men gaue care and waited and held their tongue at my counsell when my words dropped vpon them as the latter raine If I laughed on them they beleeued it not my countenance hath euer beene so graue for my iudgement it was not changeable as the moone neither did I flatter my selfe in secret For my religion I euer held this sure that my Redeemer liueth and that he shall stand the last man vpon the earth But I pray you marke how the case is altered They that are yonger than I mocke me whose fathers I haue refused to set with the dogs of my flocke yet now I am their song and their talke my owne seruants flie from me and my wife vseth reproch To conclude this is the summe Oh that man might talke with God make answere to
this began in September answerable to the Creation which prooueth the time of Adams creation to bee then For this Moneth is the seuenth Moneth but now commaunded to bee the first The alteration of this old yeare by commanding the keeping of a new yeare as a remembrance of their deliuerance out of Egypt teacheth plainely the Redemption by Christ whereof this deliuerance out of Egypt was a figure And this teacheth vs further that Moses Lawes had not their end only in policy but that their chiefe scope was Christ The passeouer likewise made this plaine for they were to choose the Lambe the Tenth day of the first Moneth in which Moneth they came out of Egypt and on the Fourteenth day hee was to bee slaine The Foure dayes respite betwixt the choosing and the killing admonished them that the matter now to be perfourmed was verie weightie and therefore they were deepely to consider it for now was the action and summe of all saluation in handling In the seuenth Moneth and the first day of the moneth they had the feast of blowing the Trumpets The tenth day of the seuenth Moneth was the feast of offering Sacrifices an holy conuocation to humble them to the Lord. The Fifteenth day the feast of Tabernacles or Cottages to keepe in remembrance thereby the dwelling of the children of Israel in boothes in the wildernesse The vse of the Passeouer was to assure them that God would be their defence seeing according to the promise made to Abraham after Foure hundred and thirtie yeares they were brought out of Egypt and that Christ their Passeouer was to be offered vp in fulnesse of time When Christ was crucified this was perfected and finished hee was crucified at Easter The Iewes thinke that the world shall end at Easter for then they came out of Egypt and then was their yeare altered And in the song of songs this is expressed Behold the winter is past the voice of the Turtle is heard in the Mountaines the figge-tree hath brought foorth her young figges Come my beloued arise and come away my Loue my faire one Cant. 2. From this place they gather the end of the world Christ in the Gospell seemeth to allude to this in this sort Behold saith he the Figge-tree and all trees when they now shoore foorth yee seeing them know of your owne selues that summer is neere so likewise when yee see these thinges come to passe knowe that the Kingdome of God is neere Luke 22. There is nothing in the Bible contrary or to confute this And seeing it is yet to come it may verie well be so Christ was answerable to these figures for he died at Easter though before the Iewes would haue killed him yet they could not lay handes on him for his houre was not yet come Hereby we are now occasioned to returne to the Passeouer The Pascall was killed on a Fryday Codomanus saith that name signifieth a passing ouer because God that night passing ouer the Hebrewes did kill the first borne in Egypt This Pascall was a Kidde or a Lambe figuring Christ the Lambe of God which should take away the sinne of the world Iohn 1. It ought to bee without blemish because that wee are redeemed from our vaine conuersation giuen from our fathers not with corruptible things gold or siluer but with the precious blood of Christ the Lambe vnblemished and vnspotted appointed from the beginning of the world shewed in the last times 1. Pet. 1.18 No bone of the Lambe might bee broken Because of Christ no bone should be broken and when Christ was crucified the theeues legges were broken but into Christ his side a speare was thrust Ioh 19. It was eaten in the euening at that time the promise was giuen to Abraham At that time came the Iewes from Babell at that time Christ celebrated his last Supper It was eaten of the circumcised onely because Christians should bee all circumcised in heart for they doe eat his flesh and drinke his blood The loynes of the bodie should bee girded because the loynes of our minds should be gyrded not setting our mindes vppon treasure in Raamsees where wormes corrupt and rage but should be as men looking for their Lord when hee shall returne from the marriage At that time for Seuen dayes they did eat vnleauened bread as their mindes should take heed of the sower leauen of pharisey call doctrine Mat. 16. for a little leauen sowreth the whole lumpe of dowe So we must remooue away the old leauen that wee may become a newe lumpe as wee are vnleauened Therefore let vs keepe the old feast not with the old leauen of wickednesse and maliciousnesse but with the vnleauened bread of sinceritie and truth for Christ our paschall is offered for vs 1. Cor. 5.7 It was to be killed and his blood sprinkled and to bee eaten all saue the fat and the kidneys Thereby to teach vs that the naturall man sauoureth not the things which are of God This Saint Paul expounds Heb. 9. The blood of Christ purge your consciences from dead workes to serue the liuing God It was eaten with bitter hearbs to shew that such is the practise of Religion The time of this was when the Moone was at the full and in the Spring of the yeare This time is the pleasure of the whole yeare so is Christ to those who haue grace to thinke on him aright The agreement of all these must needes make a Turke a Christian for it is impossible that either by the wit of man or by chaunce these things could haue so come to passe The Iewes had in their Passeouer the Lambe Bread and Wine Christ instituting his last Supper endeth the eating of the Lambe because he offered vp his owne bodie as a full bodie of all shadowing Sacrifices and kept Bread and Wine to bee a remembrance hereof Hee was the true Lambe as hee saith Ioh. 1. Behold the Lambe of God which taketh away the sinne of the world So hee testifieth of himselfe and altereth it because now the full and whole Sacrifice being offered vp all Sacrifices were to cease according to Dan. 9. where it is sayd Christ the King the Holy of Holyest shal be killed and shall end the Sacrifice and Oblation and seale euerie vision and prophesie Neither shall the blood of Buls or Goats any more auaile to the clensing of sinne But the blood of Christ onely that Lambe vnspotted whose blood shall purge our consciences from dead workes to bee sanctified by his righteousnesse to the seruing of the liuing Lord who hath layd downe his life for his sheepe and being dead raised himselfe vp again as one hauing power ouer death hell and victorie NOw for the popes Transubstantiation besides that it is repugnant to sence it cannot be spoken in Hebrew and in Greeke onely by fayning and inuenting of new termes Reall is no word seeing it comprehends many things as well as a bodie Yet Christ is truely present to those which embrace
Iacobs Sonnes By this wee may be perswaded that our life dependeth on the prouidence of God and that all our wayes are numbred There were in all Three hundred Twentie and Foure Townes wherein the Israelites inhabited and neither Bethlehem nor Nazareth in the tribe of Iuda named and yet they were of speciall vse for the reuealing of the birth of the Messias The reason may be thus rendred God would not in plaine termes manifest it to the end we should be more diligent and careful to know those things which so much concerne our saluation Micheas knew by Dauids birth in Bethleem a figure of Christ and by Beniamins that Christ should there bee borne And so the Doctors of the Lawe answere Herod cyting the testimonie of Micheas the Prophet Esay saith hee sawe a Nazarite a sprigge from the roote of Iessay The Iewes to crosse the certaintie of Christ to bee the Messias say there is no such Towne Yet God tooke such order that the heathen should beare witnesse againg them for it is mentioned in Plinie and other heathen writers The Leuites had allotted to them Fortie and Two Townes and sixe for refuge one of euerie Seuen thereby to signifie that we must obserue the like proportion if wee will haue Religion to flourish The rest of the Tribes had the lot of their inheritance appointed them so that euerie Tribe was distinct by himselfe and so obserued vntill the comming of Christ that the kindred of Christ might not be obscured but that he might be knowne to be the seede of Abraham the Lion of the Tribe of Iuda the blossome of the roote of Iessay Concerning their possessions Reuben was beyond Iordan and Gad Simeon and Leut scattered amonge the Tribes Iuda in the best soyle for he shall binde his Asse to the Vine and his Asses foale to the best Vine Beniamin next Ioseph next him the Sonnes of the hand maides Iesus Christ in the daies of his flesh in his pilgrimage goeth through all the Tribes as Iesus the Conqueror and Eleasar the high sacrificer had diuided them He is conceiued in the tribe of Zabulon at Nazareth He is borne in Bethleem of Iuda In Egypt hee goeth through the tribe of Simeon He teacheth in the Temple in the tribe of Beniamin He turned water into wine at the mariage of Cana in Galile in the Tribe of Aser At Sichem in the Tribe of Ephraim hee prooueth himselfe to bee the Messias At Naum in the Tribe of Nephtali hee rayseth Lazarus from the dead In going through the tenne Cities hee is in the Tribes of Reuben Gad and part of Manasses 2570. Iosua or Iesus dieth being One hundred and Ten yeares old answerable to Ioseph who died being One hundred and ten yeares old HE was the Seuenth from Ephraim in whom the blessing of Moses concerning Ioseph is sweetly performed who sayth His horne shall be like to the first borne Bullocke He therefore hath a Bullocke his scutchion to shew that hee is of Ioseph by Ephraim Some doe muze from whence we gather to giue them armes they may bee resolued if they search the antiquities of Gen. cap. 49. Thus much for Ioshua ⧠Now followeth the Storie of the Iudges THis is first generally to bee obserued That where it is sayd When Othoniel Aod or any of the rest had ouerthrowne Chusan Eglon or Sisera or any of the oppressors that the Land had rest Fortie or Eightie or Twentie yeares that the Land rested not so long for the plaine Storie crosseth it but the meaning is from Iosuas death or from Othoniels death or from Aods death after so many yeares the land had rest hauing been oppressed by such and such for the verie natiue translation is the things repeated in Eglons Storie and Aods are the actions of fourescore yeares if you adde to them Othoniels Fortie yeares In the Prophesie of Abacucke Cap. 3. There ye haue an abridgement of all the Stories of the Iudges and so continuing till Dauids death He beginneth at the 17. verse For Iniquitie I saw the Tents of Chusan and the curtaines of the land of Midian did tremble Was the Lord angrie with the Riuers or was thy wrath against the floods Meaning the ouerthrowe of Sisera whose host was discomfited at the Riuer Kyson and so proceedeth in the Chapter The meaning of the Prophet is to comfort the Iewes which now were afflicted by the neighbours about them and assureth them that they shall be deliuered For afore-time they had great deliuerances from the like oppressors and therefore namerh Chusan not that hee was that Chusan that is mentioned in the Iudges but being one of Chush his house and is a Chusan of double impietie for by this time Abrahams Sonnes by Keturah were mixed with Cham and those afflicters which bordered on the Iewes are here meant as Ismael and Nachors Sonnes and Edom and Cham c. Wee are likewise to vnderstand that these Iudges did not rule as Kings or Magistrates Fortie yeares or Twentie yeares but the Land being for their sinnes plagued from time to time by these oppressors the policie did choose some especiall man out of the Tribes to bee cheefe Captaine during the time of their affliction Amongst whom Iosephs house had the chiefest glorie but Iuda had the first prerogatiue They fell away sixe times in the time of these Iudges before Dauids time and that was the cause that these vngodly Nations had such a stroke ouer them Thus much for them in generall 2571. Othoniel of the tribe of Iuda is the First to shew that they should looke for their deliuerer which should end all the visions and prophesies and perfecteth all righteousnesse to bee of Iuda THe Three hundred thirtie and nine is the exact number of the whole time of the Iudges The Foure hundred and Fiftie sheweth the whole time of Iudges with the oppressors yeares The Lord stirred vp our Sauiour to the Children of Israel and hee saued them euen Othoniel the Sonne of Kenar Calebs younger brother and the spirite of the Lord came vpon him and hee iudged Israel and went out to war and the Lord deliuered Chusan Rishathaim King of Aram into his hand and his hand preuailed against him so the Land had rest Fortie yeares and Othoniel died Iudg. 3.9 2603. Chusan oppresseth Eight yeares HIs Country was Mesopotamia The Children of Israel did wickedly that is they dwelt amonge the vncleane Nations that were left in the Land and tooke their Daughters to bee their wiues and gaue their Daughters to their Sons and serued their Gods contrarie to the commaundement of Moses the man of God Deut. 7.3 When you shall come into the Land c. Therefore the wrath of the Lord was kindled against Israel and he sould them into the hand of Chusan and they serued him Eight yeares Booz of Rahab Borne By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them which obeyed not when shee had receiued the Spies peaceably Heb. 11. Rahab was of
and made Baal Berith their God and they remembred not the Lord their God which had deliuered them out of the hands of all their enemies on euery side neither shewed they mercie on the house of Ierubbaal or Gedeon according vnto all the goodnes which he had shewed vnto Israell Then Abimelech went vnto his fathers house and slue his brethren the sonnes of Ierubbaal or Gedeon about seauentie persons vpon one stone so Abimelech raigned three yeares ouer Israel But God sent an euill spirit betweene Abimelech and the men of Sechem and they brake their promise to him that the cruelty toward the seauentie persons and their bloud might come and be laid vpon Abimelech their brother And a certaine woman cast a peece of a mil-stone vpon Abimelechs head brake his braine panne And when the men of Israel saw he was dead they departed euery one vnto his owne place Thus God rendred the wickednesse of Abimelech which he did vnto his father in slaying his seauentie brethren To shew that God by vntimely and miserable death taketh vengeance on tyrants euen in this life Iud. 9. After Abimelech there arose to defend Israel Thola of the tribe of Isachar and he iudged Israel twentie three yeares and died and was buried in Shamir And after him arose Iair of the tribe of Manasses and iudged Israel two and twentie yeares and he had thirtie sonnes that rode on Asse-coltes signifying they were men of authority They had thirtie Cities which are called Hauoth Iair vnto this day and are in the land of Gilead And Iair died and was buried in Chamon And the children of Israel wrought wickednes againe in the sight of the Lord and serued Baalim and Ashtarath and the Gods of Aram and the Gods of Sidon and the Gods of Moab and the Gods of the children of Ammon and the Gods of the Philistines and forsooke the Lord and serued him not And in processe of time the children of Ammon made warre with Israel and they said vnto Iephte of the tribe of Ephraim Come be our Captaine and the spirit of the Lord came vpon Iephte he went to the children of Ammon to fight against them and the Lord deliuered them into his hands Whereupon he according to a foolish vow being ouercome with blinde zeale not considering whether the vow were lawfull or no offred vp his onely daughter in sacrifice and Iephte iudged Israel six yeares Iud. 11. and 12. Chap. Iessai borne ALthough he was but an obscure man in respect of worldly glory yet no doubt he was a very godly man and taught his sonnes the religion of God in that the holy Ghost doth so often repeate his name in the Scripture In the Reuelation chap. 5. Christ is calâ—ed the Lion of the tribe of Iuda and the roote of Iessay And Esay chap. 11. prophecying of the graces of Christ saith There shal come a rodde sorth of the stock of Iessay and a branch shall growe out of his rootes and the spirit of the Lord shall rest vpon him the spirit of wisdome and vnderstanding the spirit of counsell and strength the spirit of knowledge and of the feare of God c. To shew that as Dauid who in diuers respects figured Christ came out of Iessay a man without dignity so Christ shoulde come of a poore Carpenters house as out of a dead stocke as Esay 53.2 He shall growe vp before him as a branch and as a roote out of a dry ground he hath neither forme nor beautie when we shall see him there shal be no forme that we should desire him Againe with the very same skorne that the Iewes despised Christ vpbrayding him by the basenesse of his kindred Is not this the Carpenters sonne doe the Israelites obiect against the house of Iuda when the ten Tribes ioyned with Ieroboam 1. King 12. saying What haue wee to doe with Iessay what haue we to doe with the house of Dauid As if they should say why Iessay was but an husbandman and Dauid was but a sheepheard we will not be subiect to so base kindred nor suffer such a foole as Roboam of their bloud to raigne ouer vs for we be noble and vnfitte to be gouerned by such a poore stocke but we will worship Ieroboam of the house of Ioseph for he is a noble man and diuers valiant and worthy men came of his kindred in the time of the Iudges And so they indeede vtterly forsooke the house of Iuda the stocke of Iessay and walked in the waies of Ieroboam choosing rather for outward dignity to goe to destruction than embracing vertue depend vpon the promises of God to obtaine eternall life Therefore our Sauiour Christ saith in the Gospell Whosoeuer denyeth me before men I will denie him before my Father which is in heauen Luke 9. AFter Iephte Abesan of Bethleem of the tribe of Iuda iudged Israel seauen yeares He had Thirtie sonnes and thirtie daughters He died and was buried at Bethleem And after him iudged Israel Elon of the tribe of Zabulon and hee iudged Israel ten yeares Tthen he died and after him Abdon of the tribe of Ephâ—aim iudged Israel eight yeares and he had 40. sons and thirtie Nephewes that rode on seauentie asse-coltes and he died Iud. 12. But the Children of Israel continued to commit wickednesse in the sight of the Lord and the Lord deliuered them into the handes of the Philistines Fortie yeares Then the spirite of the Lord came vpon Sampson of the Tribe of Dan and with the iawe-bone of an Asse hee slue a Thousand of the Philistines and he iudged Israel Twentie yeares The Philistines in reuenge of this put out both his eyes but the Lord strengthned Sampson against them and hee slue at the time of his death three Thousand more of them Here is perfourmed Iacobs Will in Gen. 49. Where hee saith Dan shall be a Serpent by the way and an Adder by the path byting the Horse heeles so that his Rider shall fall backeward And in Iudg. 16. Hee ouerthroweth the house where the Princes of the Philistines were so that he slue more at his death than in all his life and notwithstanding he died with them yet hee looked for saluation in Christ of whom he himselfe was a figure Now compare him with Christ Sampson Christ was a Nazarite vnto God to the time of his death and saued Israel from the handes of the Philistines was brought before the Princes and mocked at his death ouercame more than in his life was a Nazarite vnto the time of his death and deliuered vs from the spiritual Philistins Sathan and his Angels was brought before the Magistrates and was mocked at his death ouercommeth him that had the power of death The Ceremonie of the Nazarites is prescribed in Numb 6. They were such as vowed themselues to God and from the vaine desires of the world 2870. Heli of the Tribe of Leui iudged Israel Fortie yeares THis Heli
belongs not to the chronicle this is the vse of al Christ is Palmoni the secret nūberer who weigheth numbreth and diuideth yea euen the haires of our head By these also the Eight and twentie Iubilees are made plaine and perfect The certentie of these falling out so iust may assure our consciences that God is faithfull who hath promised Dan. 9. Christ the King after seuenty Seuens shall be slain but not for himselfe c. is the full accomplishment hereof and to which they are to to be referred for so Othoniel the first Iudge of the Tribe of Iudah represented him of all these Iudges Saint Paul speaketh Heb. 11. By faith all these saw the Promise a farre off and beleeued and receiued it not God prouiding a better thing for vs that without vs they should not be made perfect To conclude in the ninth of Esay the Lord bringeth in the conquest of the Iudges both of Zabulon and Nephtali and the ouerthrowe of Madian and then how the Battell of the Warriour was with great noyse and with tumbling his garments in blood but when Christ shall come to subdue all Nations vnto himselfe whome these Conquerours signified his gouernment shal be with peace and righteousnesse and of his Kingdome there shall be none end Thus much for the Storie of the Iudges THE NEXT VVHICH IS TO be handled are Samuel and Saul and first for Samuel The Seuenth Iubilee HEre you haue in the Seuenth Iubilee a rare man Samuel to teach Religion where God purposed to establish a Kingdome It may be demanded why Christ did not die in the Fourth Iubilee seeing it is a square number and representeth the forme of the heauenly Ierusalem Because Iosephs house had not then receiued his full glorie Why then died he not in the Seuenth Iubilee seeing it is a holy number and figureth the rest of our soules Because the Scepter which Iacob promised was not yet come to Iudah and when he had it must haue a double glory ouer Ioseps house but multiply the number of Seuen by the number foure you haue Eight and Twentie the verie yeare of Christs death Thus you see in what a sweet harmonie all the actions of God are lincked if men will marke and not be amazed at manifest truthes Samuel and Saul Fortie yeares IN Samuels Storie we are to consider three things First the time of the gouernment Secondly the place where hee ruled Thirdly his person The time was in Seuenth Iubilee this is a speciall note They were Seuen yeares in conquering the Land Theodoretus applies this to this Storie that so in the Seuenth Iubilee they should looke for some rare euent In the first Iubilee Othoniel of the Tribe of Iuda hath a great victorie and is the first Iudge and recouereth the Kingdome In the Seuenth Iubilee there is a great conquest for Samuel recouereth the Kingdome from the Philistines restoreth the Arke to Iuda and erecteth the Kingdome in Israel This is a wonderfull matter and these times are to be noted because Saint Paul in the Acts saith That God gaue them Iudges after a kinde of reckoning Foure hundred and Fiftie yeares vnto the time of Samuel the Prophet which foure Hundred and Fiftie yeares wee must finde out by casting the particulars So likewise Daniel reckoning the death of Christ by seuentie Seuens compelleth vs to remember the Seuentie yeares of the Captiuitie the foure Seuens of Iubilees and the other Seuens through the scripture These things hange together like a golden chaine that euen as by breaking one linke all is disturbed so by not marking or neglecting one the other become hard and by obseruing this order the word of God is made plaine and easie to those which delight in it Samuels time may bee compared to the newe world after the flood for euen as in Noahs time at the flood all good men were dead euen so now none aliue of any rare blessing so that Samuel beginneth as it were to reuiue the world againe Now for the place HE was borne at Aramathia which signifieth a hye Bancke Here is no mysterie in this But hereby wee may remember a like Storie for Ioseph of Aramathia buried Christ equall with Ioseph which buried Iacob Now followeth the circumstance of his person IN his person first we may consider his name which signifieth I haue asked him of God Plato bringeth in a man Theaitetes which signifieth asked of God The heathen tooke great delight to giue names full of signification This Samuel was of the Tribe of Leui answereable for rarenesse to Moses Moses birth was verie strange his Mother being an hundred and thirtie yeares so the Hebrewes cast her age This they cannot prooue exactly but yet she must be verie old because she was sister to Moses Grandfather so Samuels mother verie old The strangenesse of their birth must needs cause those which liued with them to expect great thinges of them and diligently to obserue their actions Here is yet the difference betweene Moses and Samuel Moses had some notable of his Auncestors which were not touched with any notable blemish Samuel is of Chore which familie is most wicked And here is a great matter to be considered Dauid and Samuels Sonnes are of one age and yet from Leui to Samuel you haue Seuenteene generations and his Sonnes make one generation which maketh Eighteene Generations But in the Tribe of Iuda to Dauid you haue but fiue Generations that is to say Salmon Booz Obed Iessai and Dauid There is mention made in the Psalmes of Ten psalmes of the Sonnes of Chore they be all psalmes of comfort but the Eightie and Foure psalme is a speciall one for there he sheweth how God hath been fauourable vnto the Land because hee brought againe the captiuitie of Iacob when in mercie hee forgaue their sinnes And this mercie will he alwayes shew to them that feare him and then the Lord shall dwell in their Land For mercie and truth shall meete righteousnesse and peace because truth shall budde out of the earth and then righteousnesse shall looke downe from heauen In the 87. Psal thus they speake The Lord loueth the gates of Sion more than all the dwellings of Iacob for in it the Temple was built I will thinke vpon Rahab and Babell Behold yee Philistines and they of Tyre with the Morians loe there was hee borne The meaning of this last sentence is thus much The Lord will write this man that man born in Salem by regeneration where in the conflict betweene Moses and Dathan Chore and Abiram which were destroyed Moses writeth that the Sonnes of Chore did not perish Wee must expound this as a Prophecie and referre it to the present time For he as a Prophet saw that some of them should be godly the perfourmance whereof appeareth in these daies Hereby we may learne that diuers wicked Fathers may haue children inheritors of saluation And the heathen were not hindred for being called because of the ignorance of
in the Wildernesse Dauid referred all his actions to the building of the Temple And if we will truly be beloued all our actions must haue this end to aduance the glorie of God in his Temple Dauid had many enemies so that the 18. Psalme is a thankesgiuing to God for his deliuerance from them God would not haue his afflictions easie because the comfort and consolation in ouercomming should be sweeter and that he being the beloued of God and yet afflicted men might learne to leaue to trust to the happinesse in this life and thirst after the felicitie of the world to come Hee had enemies abrode and enemies at home As Adonay Absalom c. and in respect of this hee maketh the 86. Psalme The consideration of this is of great vse to euerie godly man in his priuate life Besides these he himselfe was his owne greatest enemie in seeing Vrias wife and coueting her and killing of Vrias Gods purpose in these great offences of the godly is wonderfull vpon this he sung the 51. Psalme shewing himselfe to be a spirituall Leapour more odious and detestable in the sight of God than the bodily leaprousie in the sight of men In the psalme there is a sentence vsed which Saint Paul applyeth in the new testament for he sayth then shall I teach thy way vnto the wicked and sinners shall be conuerted vnto thee And sayth Saint Paul God hath shewed mercie to me a sinner These fallings of Dauid are no warrant for any man to presume to doe the like But from hence ariseth a wonderfull comfort to the sinner which transgresseth by infirmitie to hope for forgiuenesse that so hee may bee free from desperation If Dauid being so glorious in conquests and other graces had not thus transgressed hee would haue been too proude but hee was therefore humbled that hee might thereby keepe the Commaundements of the Lord. Now let vs consider him in his learned affaires THe whole Booke of Psalmes are called Dauids but there be many which are none of his yet they are called Dauids psalmes because they bee in that volume All Dauids Psalmes haue relation to Moses and there is great vse of them to expound Moses For as Moses at his death blesseth Iuda the second psalme expounds that blessing and applyeth it to Christ Moses teacheth the Children of Israel to blesse in this sort Numb 6. The Lord blesse you and keepe you the Lord make his face to shine vpon you the Lord turne his louing countenance towards you and graunt you his peace Dauid in the 67. Psalme expounds this and telleth wherein this consisteth Hee beginneth in the like order that God would bee mercifull vnto vs and shew vs the light of his countenance This appeareth in that the earth knoweth his way and the Nations his sauing health When hee iudgeth the folke righteously and gouernes the Nations vpon the earth and then shall the earth increase therefore let the people praise thee o God yea let all the people praise thee by this one you may gather all the rest In Moses it is sayd that God did arise The 68. Psalme beginneth so Let God arise and his enemies shall be scattered There he sayth Thou art gone vp on high thou hast led captiuitie captiue and receiued gifts for men Saint Paul expounds this of Christ Ephes 4. Thus much for his Doctrine generally ABenezra an ancient Iew mooueth a doubt concerning Dauids Organes and Instruments of Musicke It may thus bee answered when they came from Egipt they had Organes and hauing one kinde it was lawfull to haue other kindes also The Prophets which knewe the Iewes should be trayned vp in ceremonies might vse these to the same purpose This is no warrant for the vse of them nowe seeing Ceremonies cease Concerning the ecclesiasticall discipline amongst the Iewes we shall see that Dauid durst not aduenture to appoint the Sacrificers whose turne should be first or second but they cast lots for it for as he was Prince ruler ouer the people so they were al Princes of the sanctuarie and therein equall with him When the Leuites tooke vpon them to be Kings they became Saduces and Malachi calleth this time the time of the curse Rabbi Leui Ben Gerson sheweth that though the Leuites had notable victories against the Antiochi yet they all died of violent deaths because they tooke the glorie from Iuda therefore God would not hold them vnpunished In the 22. Psalme Dauid as a prophet telleth what the Scribes and pharisees would doe vnto Christ and therein sheweth likewise the calling of the Gentiles He entituleth the Psalme the Hart of the morning that looke euen as the Hart is the pleasure of the beasts and the morning the glorie of the day so is Christ to the soules of those which beleeue in him As Dauid a great many yeares looketh to the death of Christ so must wee following Saint Peters rule look to the end of the world that from the meditation thereof wee may lift vp our heads knowing that our saluation is at hand Dauid knew of these contumelies against Christ by the spirite of prophesie but yet he must prooue the truth therof therefore imagineth the most outragious And surely we cannot imagine greater than that Christ should bee as one forsaken of God Besides what could bee more cruell than to giue vinegar to drinke to those which are sicke Dauid in his psalmes goeth further and compareth Melchisedech with Christ saying Thou art a Priest for euer after the order of Melchisedech and from thence descendeth to the calling of the heathen He shall smite in sunder the heads ouer diuers Nations He likewise in the 49. Psal mentioneth Adams Storie Adam being in honour continueth not one night but is as the beast that perisheth The summe of all is that as Paul taught nothing but Moses and the prophets so doth hee In that his Sonnes are wicked wee haue to learne that godlinesse is no inheritance neither doth it lineally descend from the Father to the Sonnes His afflictions may teach vs that the best men are not without the greatest calamities seeing there is no goodnesse in them And if their actions haue good successe it is because God doth blesse the whole state Thus much for Dauids Storie Salomon borne HIs name signifieth Peaceable so was his Kingdome and gouernement thereby to shew that Christ the King whome he representeth should giue peace passing all vnderstanding Hee was of Dauid by Bershabe This blemish the holy Ghost noteth to comfort vs in our infirmities and to keepe vs from desperation Salomon raigneth Fortie yeares THe Grecians say that Salomon was King at Twelue yeres of age The reason is because mention is made of him when Thamar was defloured and they cast it thus two yeares after the deflouring of Thamar Ammon is slaine for the which Absalom flyeth to Geshur and there hee remaineth three yeares afterwards hee is two yeares banisht from the presence of the King then he rebelleth
of iron and clay and brake them to peeces then was the iron the clay the brasse the siluer and the gold broken all together that no place was found for them and the stone that smote them became a great mountaine and filled the whole earth Dan. 2. Daniel sawe some great beasts come vp from the sea the first a Lyon the second a Beare the third a Leopard the fourth vnlike the former with teeth of iron and tenne hornes Dan. 7. These great beasts which are foure are foure Kings which shall take the kingdome of the Saints of the most high In the thirteenth of the Reuelation Iohn sawe a beast rise out of the sea hauing seauen heads and tenne hornes mouthed like a Lyon bodied like a Leopard footed like a Beare and the Dragon gaue him his power And Daniel beheld till the thrones were set vp and the Ancient of daies did sit whose garment was white as snowe and the haire of his head like the pure wooll his throne was like the fiery flame and his wheeles as burning fire a fiery streame issued and came forth from before him thousand thousands ministred vnto him and tenne thousand thousands stood before him the iudgement was set and the bookes opened the beasts were slaine and their bodies cast into the burning fire and behold one like the Son of man came in the clowdes of heauen and came to the Ancient of daies and he gaue him dominion and honour and a kingdome that all people nations and languages should serue him his kingdome shall neuer be destroyed so as Reuel 20. Iohn sawe a great white throne and one that sate on it from whose face flied both the earth and the heauen and he sawe the dead both great and small stand before God and the bookes were opened and another booke was opened which was the booke of life and the dead were iudged of those thinges which were written in the bookes according to their workes and whosoeuer was not found written in the booke of life was cast into the lake of fire Dan. 3. Nebucadnetzar erecteth an Image and commaundeth to worshippe it Sidrach Mishach and Abednego refused This sheweth that wicked lawes cannot compell godly men to doe that which God forbiddeth for the faithfull are alwaies assured that God wil defend them this is the meaning of this place and will not feare him that can throwe the body into the fire but stand in awe of him that can throwe both body and soule into eternall fire so in Apoc. 1◠As many as would not worship the image of the beast were killed 3409. Ioachin three moneths HE was eight yeares old when he beganne to raigne and hee ruled three monthes and ten dayes in Ierusalem and did euill in the sigh of the Lord. And when the yeare was out King Nebucadnetzar sent and brought him to Babel with the pretious vessels of the house of the Lord. He beganne his raigne at eight yeares and raigned ten yeares when his father was aliue and after his fathers death which was the eighteenth yeare of his age he raigned alone three monthes and ten dayes So he was brought prisoner to Babel and Zedechias his brother but in truth his Vncle was made King in his steede so he continued in prison all the daies of Nebucadnetzar that is seauen and thirtie yeares after Nebucadnetzar had carried him captiue vnto the first yeare of euill Merodach King of Babel who succeeded Nebuchadnetzar This was foretold him by the Prophet Ieremie cap. 22. Thou that dwellest in Lebanon and makest thy nest in the Cedars how beautifull shalt thou be when sorrowes come vppon thee as the sorowes of a womā in trauaile as I liue saith the Lord though Coniah that is Ioachin or Ieconias the sonne of Iehoiachim King of Iuda were as the signet of my right hand yet would I plucke thee thence and I will giue thee into the hand of them that seeke thy life and into the land of them whose face thou fearest euen into the hand of Nebucadnetzar King of Babel and into the hand of the Chaldeans and I will cause them to carry thee away thy mother that bare thee into another countrie where ye were not borne and there shall yee die but to the land whereunto they desire to returne they shall not returne thither But after the death of Nebucadnetzar euill Merodach his sonne did lift vp the head of Ioachin or Ieconias King of Iudah out of the prison and spake kindely to him and set his throne aboue the throne of the Kings that were with him in Babel changed his prison garments and he did continually eate meate before him all the daies of his life and his portion was a continuall portion giuen him by the King euery day a certaine all the daies of his life 3410. Zedechias Eleauen yeares HIs name was first Mattamah but Nebucadnetzar changed his name to Zedechiah Hee was one and twentie yeares olde when he beganne to raigne And he did euill in the sight of the Lord according to all that Iehoiakim had done Therefore the wrath of the Lord was against Ierusalem and Iudah vntill he cast them out of his sight And Zedechias rebelled against the King of Babell and in the ninth yeare of Zedechias raigne the tenth month and which day of the month Nebucadnetzar King of Babel came he and all his host against Ierusalem and pitched against it and they built forts against it round about So the citie was besieged vnto the eleauenth yeare of King Zedechias and the ninth month the famine was so great in the citie that there was no bread for the people of the land So that the fourth of Ieremies Lamentations was trulie performed that mothers did eate their owne children So the citie was broken vp and the King Zedechias fledde but the armie of the Caldees pursued after him and tooke him in the deserts of Iericho and all his host was scattered from him Then they tooke the King and carried him vp to the King of Babel to Riblah where they gaue iudgment vpon him and they slue the sonnes of Zadechias before his eyes and put out the eyes of Zedechias and bound him in chaines and carried him to Babel Heere is performed the wordes of Ieremie the Prophet chap. 24. I will giue Zedechias the King of Iudah and his Princes and the rest of Ierusalem for a terrible plague to all the kingdomes of the earth and for a reproch and for a prouerb for a common talke for a curse in all places where I shall cast them and I will send the sword the famine and the pestilence among them till they be consumed out of the land that I gaue to them and their Fathers And Ier. 5. For the house of Israel and the house of Iudah haue grieuouslie transgressed against me saith the Lord they haue denied the Lord and said It is not he neither shall the plague come vpon vs neither shall wee see sword nor famine
because it did not see those things that touched the the peace of it and sheweth how it shall no more be Ierusalem but Iebus that is troden vnder foot for now Melchisedech vnder whome it was first called Salem is to bee acknowledged a figure of the Lord. Now Isaacke offered not offred is knowne whereof he was a figure which Isaack gaue Abraham occasion to augment that name Salem with Iire before Salem where the Lord will prouide for euerlasting peace 3960. Iesus Christ the King the most holy is betrayed by Iudas Iscarioth that is which falleth away for reward CHrist is crucified according to Daniel 9. Pontius Pilate being then Lieutenant of Iurie for Tiberius Caesar then Emperour of Rome after that he had preached three yeares and a halfe For comparison with this three yeares and an halfe you haue Elias in praying it might not raine and it rained not in three yeares and sixe moneths Our Sauiour Christ in the Gospell remembreth this Storie when he maketh comparison with his comming to the Iewes with that of Elias In the dayes of Elias sayth Christ many widdowes were in Israel when the heauens were shut three yeares and sixe Moneths but vnto none was Elias sent saue vnto the widdow of Sarepta Further the Iewes vnder Antiochus Epiphanes had the like storie of three yeares and sixe moneths when the Idoll was set in the Temple of God Moses layd downe a law that when they came into the Land what tree they planted good for meat they should the three first yeares hold it vncleane and those three yeares they should not eat the fruit thereof So Christ in the Gospell handleth it thus in a parable A man had a figge-tree planted in his Vineyard and finding no fruite thereon hee sayd to the dresser of this Vineyard Behold these three yeres haue I come and sought fruit but I finde none cut it downe why keepeth it the ground barren and hee answered Lord let it alone this yeare till I digge it round about and dunge it and if then it beare not fruit you shall cut it downe We haue the like comparison of three yeres and an halfe in the Reuelation For all the persecution vnder the Romane Emperours being about three hundred yeres is alluded to this time of Christs preaching being called fortie and two Moneths which makes three yeres and sixe moneths The Papists vpon this dreame that Antichrist when hee comes shall raigne but three yeares and a halfe and therefore the Pope cannot be Antichrist seeing he hath raigned many hundred yeres But to what purpose should the holy spirite speake of him so long before if his tyrannie should bee of no longer continuance Besides seeing by the two and fortie moneths which are the same in account with One thousand three hundred and sixtie dayes the whole time of the tyrannie executed by the prophane Emperours is meant It must needs be that the Popes gouernment which commeth vp in their stead must be signified by One thousand three hundred and sixtie daies To this Carthusianus and Beda expound this time of One thousand three hundred and sixty dayes to cōprehend the whole continuance of the preaching of the Gospel to the end of the world This their own side vse for an exposition and seeing it is true wee embrace it It is further to bee demaunded of them how it can bee possible that the Antichrist should be able in three yeares and a halfe to subdue all the world Before Christ this time was spoken in proper termes but since in a metaphor because there ensueth the like dealings The Two and thirtie and a halfe are the yeares of Christs gouernment vpon the earth and haue comparison with Dauids two and thirtie yeares and sixe moneths gouernment in Ierusalem This Seuentie is to shew that this is the last Seuen of the 70 Seuens or Foure hundred and ninetie yeres expressed Dan. 9. wherein Christ should end the sacrifice and oblation The Fifty is to shew that it is the last Iubilee of the eight twenty His humilitie his life his death the cause and manner of his death was told before by the Prophets In Esay Ieremie and Daniel In Esay 53. it is sayd of him Who will beleeue our report and to whom is the arme of the Lord reuealed hee hath neither forme nor beautie when wee shall see him there shall bee no fourme that wee should desire him Hee is despised and reiected of men hee is a man full of sorrowes and hath experience of infirmities He was despised and wee esteemed him not Surely he hath borne our infirmities and carried our sorrowes yet we did iudge him as plagued and smitten of God and humbled but hee was wounded for our transgressions hee was broken for our iniquities the chastisement of our peace was vpon him and with his stripes wee are healed He was oppressed and afflicted yet did hee not open his mouth He is brought as a sheepe to the slaughter and as a sheepe before his shearer is dumbe so hee openeth not his mouth Hee was taken out of prison and from iudgment and who will declare his age for he was cut out of the land of the liuing for the transgression of my people was he plagued And he made his graue with the wicked and with the rich in his death though he had done no wickednesse neither was any deceite in his mouth By his knowledge shall hee iustifie many for hee shall beare their iniquities He was counted with the transgressors and he bare the sinne of many and prayed for the transgressors And againe he sayth Esay 50. I gaue my backe vnto the smiters and my cheekes to the nippers I hid not my face from shame and spitting And againe Psal 22. As for me I am a worme and no man a verie scorne of men and the out-cast of the people All they that see mee laugh me to scorne they shoot out their lippes and shake their heads saying He trusted in God that hee would deliuer him let him deliuer him if hee will haue him Many Oxen are come about mee fatte Bulles of Basan enclose me in on euerie side they gape vpon me with their mouthes as it were a ramping and roaring Lion I am powred out like water and all my bones are out of ioynt my heart also in the midst of me is euen like melting waxe They pierced my hands and my feete I may tell all my bones they stand staring and looking vpon me They part my garments among them and cast lots vpon my vesture Yea the verie abiects came together against me vnawares making mowes at me and ceased not With the flatterers were busie mockers which gnashed vppon me with their teeth they gaped on me with their mouthes and sayd Fie on thee fie on thee we saw it with our eyes They that sit in the gate speake against me and the drunkards make song vpon me they gaue mee gall to eate and when I was thirstie they gaue
he had no affliction in Canaan onelie hee was driuen to goe to Abimelech King of the Philistims and dwelt in Gerar where he was somewhat iniured Abraham praying for Ismael that God would blesse him he saith I will make of him a mightie nation but in Isaack shall thy seede be called It is written that Abraham had two sonnes one by a seruant and one by a free woman But he which was of the seruant was after the flesh and he which was of the free woman was by promise which things are spoken by an allegorie For these mothers are the two Testaments the one which is Hagar of mount Sinay For Hagar or mount Sinay is a mountaine in Arabia which gendreth vnto bondage and it answereth to Ierusalem which now is and shee is in bondage with her children But Ierusalem which is aboue is free which is the mother of vs all for we are after the maner of Isaack children of the promise But as then he which was after the flesh persecuted him that was borne after the spirit euen so is it now But what saith the scripture put out the seruant and her sonne for the sonne of the seruant shall not bee heire with the sonne of the free woman then wee are not children of the seruant but of the free woman Gal. 4. 2113 Ismael Hagar are expelled Abrahams house Gen. 16. It was sayd vnto Abraham that his seede should be afflicted in a land that is not theirs 400. yeeres and should serue them and they should intreat them euill Now if wee reckon the time of the abode of the children of Israel in Egypt wee shall finde it but 215. yeeres for Iacob goeth into Egypt 185. yeeres after the Promise of the 400. yerees So that they were not in Egypt full 400. yeeres but they were afflicted first and last 400. yeeres For Ismael the Egyptian flowteth Isaack and beginneth the 400. yeere And Pharaoh the Egyptian in the end of 400. yeere afflicteth the Seed of Isaack And as the Seede of Sem were afflicted by Cham 400. yeeres so afterwards about that time were they also afflicted by Iaphet It may be obiected How is Ismael an Egyptian seeing he is of Abraham He is by the mothers side an Egyptian for Hagar was of that countrey And by this exposition it falleth out to bee true Wee haue for to warrant this the like in the storie of the Kings where one being an Egyptian is called of the Kings seed because one of his ancestors married with a wife of Iuda This storie is mentioned in 1. Chro. 2. It is thus said Shesan had no sonnes but daughters and Shesan had a seruant an Egyptian named Iarchthange and Shesan gaue him his daughter to wife In 2. King 25. After that the King of Babell had ouerthrowne Ierusalem he left people in the land of Iuda to til the ground and to exercise manuell trades which were made tributaries and he set Godoliah ruler ouer them Then came Ismael the sonne of Nethaniah to Godoliah to Mizpah And Godoliah sware vnto them that they should not feare to serue the King for by that meanes it should bee well with them and they should dwell with them in the land But in the seuenth moneth Ismael the sonne of Nethaniah the sonne of Elishama of the Kings Seede came and slew Godoliah and he died Heere Ismael which was by his fathers side Iarchthange an Egyptian is called of the Kings seed sixteene ages after because his auncestor Iarchthange married one of Iuda And surely it is likelie by this that the Kings seede was wonderfully decayed when as one by an Egyptian his great Grandfather hauing onely married in Iuda should be called of the blood Royall And without question Shesan was very wicked in despising the glory of the tribe of Iuda which he openly shewed when hee married his daughter to an Egyptian His name in Hebrew answereth to Ismaels manners afterwards for the Hebrewes affirme that Iarchthange is so harsh and lothsome to be pronounced as no word of like tediousnesse in all the Hebrew tongue So likewise Ismaels manerâ— are as detestable as the earth can afford Thus you see how Ismael Abrahams son may rightly be called an Egyptian Sara reasoneth with Abraham concerning the sending away of Hagar and Ismael Shee might haue great cause to bee grieued at the flowting of Ismael For wee may imagine her to haue vsed such like speeches as these haue bin content to haue gone with you from Vr of the Chaldeans from my fathers house mine own kinred Besides the tediousnesse of trauell I haue susteined great vexation and disquietnesse by the feare which I might haue when you went to fight with the foure Kings For my behauiour towards you it hath alwayes bene pleasing My selfe being barren I gaue you my maide that yet by her I might haue children for this euen Hagar despiseth me It had bene better for me to let Eliazar of Damascus haue enioyed the blessing Now God hath sent me a sonne see how hee is flouted Surely if you doe mee right and that which appertaineth to iustice you must driue out this bondwoman and her sonne for this sonne of the bondwoman shall not bee heire with my sonne Isaack This dealing of Sara God approueth and willeth Abraham to heare her voyce though it seeme grieuous to him Heere we see by the mocking of Ismael that the wicked euer persecute the godlie Asa maketh a law that whosoeuer will not seeke the Lord God of Israel shal be slaine The wicked make as seuere lawes But heere is the difference the lawes of the godly are so reasonable that euery one may see presently the equitie of them on the contrarie it is enough in the lawes of the wicked that it is the Kings pleasure or that it satisfies their humors To returne we may gesse that Isaack was fiue yeeres old when Ismael mocked him for otherwise Isaack could not haue perceiued it Ismaels flowting might be after this sort Is this he that shall haue the promise in whom the Nations shall be blessed a goodlie one I warrant you what continuance or strength can there be in him seeing at the time of his birth his father and mother were very old and decayed in strength and yet when he is weaned there must be great feasting and iollie cheere If we consider what an offence it is esteemed if one being a subiect or otherwise inferiour should contumeliously and despightfully taunt and vpbraide the heire apparant to a kingdome we will thinke this an iniurie not sufferable If wee obserue the time when the children of Israel came out of Egypt which was about Easter and that this time of flowting and that time maketh 400. yeeres we shall find that this mocking was likewise about Easter 2126. Sale died Gen. 11. being 514. yeeres olde IOsephus thinketh that Isaack was appointed to be sacrificed at 35. yeeres Codomanus is of opinion that Isaack at this time was offered being now 32.