and Sympathies which are as it were hidden in the bowels of nature The hand thereof is this goodly and beautifull embowed frettizing of the heavenly orbs which we behold with our eyes The twelve Signes are as it were the distinctions of the twelve howers of the day The Sunne exerciseth the office of the steel and Gnomon to point out time and in his absence the Moon The Starres contribute thereto their lustrous brightnesse The flowrie carpet of the earth beneath us the spangled canopie of the heavens above us the wavie curtains of the aire about us are so many Emblemes to exercise the wisest in the knowledge of this great Workman The living creatures are the small chimes and Man is the great clock which is to strike the howers and rende◠thanks to the Creatou◠S. Chrysostome saith that the Angels are the morning-Morning-starres whereo◠mention is made in Job who incessantly praise God and Men are the Evening-Starres fashioned by the hand of God to do the same office Briefly God hath made man the Charge of Angels the sole Surveyour of heaven the Commander of the earth the Lord of the Creatures And thus am I led by the hand to consider his Regencie and Dominion over them SECT. 6. WHen God had formed of the earth every beast of the field and every fowl of the aire of their own fit matter he brought them unto Man who was their Lord to acknowledge his sovereigntie and to receive from him their names Gen. 2.19 Some have conceited Adam sitting in some high and eminent place his face shining farre brighter then ever the face of Moses did and every beast coming as he was called and bowing the head as he passed by being not able to behold his countenance Most probable it is that either by the help of Angels or by that which the Greeks call {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} a naturall and secret instinct from God by which every creature perceiveth what is good bad for them they were gathered to Adam God brought them to man for diverse reasons First To let him see how much he did excell them and how much the more he should be thankfull God made other creatures in severall shapes like to none but themselves Man after his own image others with qualities fit for service Man for dominion Secondly That he should give them their names in token of his power over them Thirdly That posteritie might see what admirable knowledge Adam had in giving names to the creatures according to their kinds All the Arts were ingraven upon the Creatures yet none but Man could see them for he receives them both actively and passively and therefore by Logick he understood their natures and by Grammar their names If God had given their names it had not been so great a praise of Adams memorie to recall them as it was then of his judgement at first sight to impose them By his knowledge he fitted their names to their disposition and even in this he shewed his dominion over them in that he knew how to govern them and order them also To witnesse their subjection they present themselves before him as their awfull king to do their first homage and to acknowledge their tenure Such was the wonderfull beautie of mans body such a majestie resulting from his face that it struck a reverence into them all The image of God as it were the Lords coat of Arms which he had put upon Man made the creatures afraid of him Though God made Man paulò inferiorem Angelis little lower then the Angels yet he made him multò superiorem reliquis farre above all the creatures He that made Man and all the rest praeposuit set Man above all the rest Thus while man served his Creatour he was feared of every creature But did he not lose this patent of Dominion by his fall Are not the beasts now become his enemies May we not now take up the complaint of Job chap. 39.7 The wilde asse derideth the multitude of the citie and heareth not the crie of the driver The vnicorn will not serve nor tarrie by the crib 9. The hawk will not flie by our wisdome neither doth the Eagle mount up at our command v. 26 27. We cannot draw out Leviathan with an hook neither pierce his jaws with an angle Job 41.1 2. How then is the fear of Man upon the creatures Though Adam in the state of innocencie had this rule over them in a more excellent manner for then they were subject by nature of their own accord without compulsion yet by his transgression Man did not altogether lose this power and dominion For it was one of the prerogatives which God gave to Noah and his sonnes Gen. 9.2 The fear of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every fowl of heaven upon all that moveth on the earth and upon all the fish of the sea into your hands are they delivered That is saith the Paraphrast The outward priviledges of your first creation I do now though imperfectly renew unto you Let the fear and dread of you be planted naturally in every beast of the earth whether tame or wild and in every fowl of the aire and generally in all that treadeth on the earth and in all the fishes of the sea All these my will is shall be subject to your will and command that as by you and for you they were preserved so they accordingly serve to your use When Christ was in the wildernesse with the beasts fourty dayes and fourty nights they hurt him not Mark 1.13 So when the image of God is restored to man in holinesse all the creatures begin willingly to serve him but they are enemies to the unregenerate The dogs did eat the flesh of Jezebel 2. Kings 9.36 yet they licked the sores of Lazarus Luke 16.21 The ravens pick out the eyes of those that are disobedient to their parents Prov. 30.17 yet they fed Elias in the wildernesse 1. Kings 17.6 The serpents stung the people of Israel Num. 21.6 yet the viper that leaped on Pauls hand hurt him not Acts 28.6 The lions that devoured Daniels accusers touched not him Dan. 6.23 24. And still there are some reliques of God left in man which make the beasts to stand in aw of him For first they cannot do that harm to man which they would because God restrains their power Secondly they do not offend man but when he offends God Thirdly the nature of every wild beast hath been tamed by the nature of man James 3.7 Fourthly the most salvage beasts stand in fear of him they flie his company they shunne his arts and snares they fear his voice and shadow When man goeth to rest the beasts come forth to hunt their prey Psal. 104.20 Fifthly they serve man and submit themselves to his will The Lion will crouch to his keeper the Elephant will be ruled and led about by a little dwarf the Horse yeelds
part it be true that wit distilled in one language cannot be transfused into another without losse of spirits yet who so is able judiciously to compare the Translation with the Originall will confesse to the immortall glory of our Countrey-man that from the French more weak He Bartas taught his Six-dayes-work to speak In naturall English and so hath lighted from a flame devout As great a flame that never shall go out SECT. 10. THus have I made a brief circuit over the whole earth and a short cut over the vast Sea And now before I put my ship into the creek before I conclude I must draw these scattered branches home to their root again The generall substance of them all together is this As it is a most pleasant kind of Geographie in this large mappe of the World in the celestiall and terrestriall Globe to contemplate the Creatour so there is nothing that obteineth more of God then a thankfull agnition of the favours and benefits we daily receive at his bountifull hands If we be not behind with him in this tribute of our lips he will see that all creatures in heaven and earth shall pay their severall tributes unto us the Sun his heat the Moon her light the Starres their influence the Clouds their moisture the Sea and Rivers their fish the Land her fruits the Mine their treasures and alâ— things living their homage and service Oâ— the contrary If the familiaritie of Gods blessings draw them into neglect he will have aâ— just quarrel against us for our unthankfulnesse and our ingratitude which is a monster in nature a soloecisme in maners a paradox in Divinitie will prove a parching wind to damme up the fountain of his favours toward us I will seal up all with a pretty note that Hugo hath There is no book of nature unwritten on and that which may not â—e a teacher to inform â—s will be a witnesse to â—ondemn us It is the â—oice of all the creatures â—nto Man Accipe Redde â—ave Accipe Take us to thy â—se and service I Heaven â—m bid to give thee rain I Sunne to give thee light â— Bread to strengthen thy â—ody I Wine to chear thy heart We Oxen leave our pastures we Lambes our mothers to do thee service Redde Remember to be thankfull He that giveth all commandeth thee to return him somewhat It is hard if thou canst not thank the great Housekeeper of the world for thy good chear This is the easiâ— task and impositioâ— which the supreme Lord of all layeth upon all the goods thou possessest on all the blessings of this life Minimo capitur thuriâ— honore Deus Cave Beware of abusing us The Beasts of the field do crie Do not kill us for wantonnesse the Fowls of the aire Do not riot with us the Wine Devoure not me to disable thy self The Howers which ever had wings will flie up to heaven to the Authour of Time and carrie news of thy usage toward us And now Manum è â—abula I have finished my meditations on this Psalme wishing I could have had S. Ambrose his facultie qui in Psalmis Davidis explicandis ejus lyram plectrum mutuatus who in the expression of Davids psalms is said to have borrowed Davids own harp so rightly did he expresse his meaning But my fear is that I have muddled and made this Topaz but so much the darker by going about to polish it To end as I began with the commendation of the book of Psalmes Est certè non magnus verùm aureolus ad verbum ediscendus libellus The Psalter is not a great but a golden book and throughly to be learned This method our Prophet observeth in this excellent hymn The Proposition and Conclusion thereof are both the same carceres meta the head and the foot as iâ— were the voice and the echo The whole psalm being circular annular serpentine winding into iâ— self again as it beginneth so it endeth O LORD our Governour how excellent is thy name in all the world FINIS * Tit Psal. Pro Torcularibus * Titulus Psalmi Pro Torcularibus Judg. 13.20 Hier. B. King Lect. 26. on Jonas Dr Hakewell in his Davids Vow pag. 2. K. James Psal 84.11 Cant. 4.12.13 Revel. 21. Prolog in Psalm Lib. De scalâ claustrali Aug. lib. confess cap. 6â— The title of the Eighth Psalme explained Emblemes of Perseverance Mans abasement Mans dignitie Virgil Beza Matth. 19.14 The tender care of Pharaohs daughter to the infant Moses The Howers compared to young maidens The Sun The Moon The Starres The Empyreall heaven Psal. 139 14. The world compared to a large clock Job 38. Adam the first Nomenclâ—tor and why he gave the creatures their names Observ. Answ. Lib. De mundo universo Plin. lib 3. cap. 5. Nascitur aranea cum lege libro lucerâ—â Prov. 30.25 Mactabant agnum jugis nostri sacrificii typum Lorin. in Act. Apost. c. 8. Shepherds in high esteem with God B. Hall Num. 11. Job 39.16 Cant. 1.14 Cant. 4 1. Cant. 5.12 The Dove Matth. 10.16 The Pelican The Eagle Exod. 19.3 4. Homil. 46. in Matth. The Saints resembled to Eagles Judg. 1.15 Lilium lacrymâ suâ seritur Ambr. in Job 39.30 Exod. 3.2 Dan. 3. 2. Kings 6.17 Rom. 8.18 Tertull. De corona militis cap. 3. Ovid Met. lib. 1. Thus elegantly translated by Mr George Sandys The Sea wonderfull in many respects Whether the Waters be higher then the Earth Psal. 104.16 Reciprocatio aestus maris The ebbing and flowing of the sea Aristotle Navigation The benefit thereof Quò vaâ—ts Nec laborat Deus in maximis nec fastidit in minimis Ambros. Aquarum est quod in regibu adoratur Mountaign in his Essayes Lib. 1. Cap. 49. Eccleâ— 5.12 Judg. 5. Boiâ— Apoc. 12.15 Plin. lib. 9. cap. 2. The Tench the Physician of fishes B. Hall Levit. 11.9 Deut. 14.9 â—ern Serm. 1. in die S. Andreae The Dolphine Aelian lib. 8. c. 3. Optick glasse of humour cap. 4. p. 5 Sylvester Mich. Drayton Sam. Daniel Hugo de S. Vict.
his mouth to the bridle the Ox his neck to the yoke the Cow her dugs to our hands the Sheep her wooll to the shearers He can now stoop the Hawk to his lure send the Dog on his errand teach one fowl to fetch him another one beast to purvey for his table in the spoil of others I am fallen upon a subject not more large then pleasant hÃc pinguescere potest oratio my lines could here more easily swell into a volume then be contracted into a manual For as Aeneas Sylvius noteth That there is no book so weakly written but it conteines one thing or other which is profitable and as the elder Plinie said to his nephew when he saw him walk out some howers without studying Poteras has horas non perdere You might have chosen whether you would have lost this time so if we would improve our most precious minutes to the best and contemplate on this great school of the world where men are the scholars and the creatures the characters by which we spell and put together that nomen majestativum as S. Bernard calls it that great and excellent name of God we should find that there is no creature so contemptible but may justly challenge our observation and teach a good soul one step towards the Creatour There is not any so little a Spider which coming into the world bringeth not with it its rule its book its light It is presently instructed in what it should do The Swallow is busie in her masonrie The Bee toyleth all day in her innocent theft The Pismires a people not strong prepare their meat in summer and labour like the Bees sed illae faciunt cibos hae condunt but these make the others hoard up meat As Vulcan is commended in the Poet for beating out chains and nets quae lumina fallere possunt non illud opus tenuissima vincunt Stamina so thin that the eye could not see them being smaller then the smallest thread So the smaller the creature is the more is the workmanship of God to be admired both in shaping using thereof Our God is as cunning and artificiall in the organicall body of the smallest creature of the world as of the greatest And what application we may make thereof I shall have fair occasion given me again to treat of when I come to consider the Fowls of the aire and the Fish of the sea In the mean time having selected this Psalme for my meditations on Mans Lordship and Sovereigntie over the creatures I proceed according to the Prophets method and from his Omnia subjecisti from some generalls come to handle some particulars and as he hath ranked them in order I will next declare how the Lord hath put under his feet all Sheep and Oxen and the beasts of the field SECT. 7. THere be beasts ad esum and ad usum Some of them are profitable alive not dead as the Dog Horse serviceable while they live once dead they are thrown out for carrion Some are profitable dead not alive as the Hog that doth mischief while he lives but is wholesome food dead Some are profitable both alive and dead as the Ox that draws the plough the Cow that gives milk while they live when they are killed nourish and feed us with their flesh Yet none of them is so profitable as that quiet innocent harmlesse creature the Sheep Whose every part is good for something the wooll for raiment the skin for parchment the flesh for meat the guts for musick In Sacrifices no creature so frequently offered in the Sinne-offering Peace-offering Burnt-offering Passeover Sabbath-offering and especially in the daily-offering they offered a Lambe at morning and a Lambe at evening Num. 28. Lorinus observeth out of the Fathers why a Lambe was so continually offered namely as a type of the offering of Christ who in eight and twenty severall places of the Revelation is called the Lambe of God For the name of Sheep notatissima est dicendi forma saith Bucer in the 34. of Ezekiel the Prophets are thirteen times called Shepherds and the people one and twentie times called Sheep In what honour the name function and person of Shepherds hath been is every-where apparent through the sacred Scriptures A Shepherd was the first tradesman though the second sonne of all the children of Adam And after Abel many Shepherds were in near attendance upon God A Shepherds life saith Philo est praeludium ad regnum ideò reges olim dicti sunt {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} Of which phrase Homer and other Grecians have made use The old Testament hath none in more esteem then Shepherds Moses that kept Jethro's sheep Jacob that kept Labans sheep Amos a Prophet taken from the herd Moses a Priest and a Prophet from the sheep Elisha the Lords Seer and you know whose spirit Elisha had yet taken from the cattel David the Lords Souldier and who ever got such victories as David yet fetched from the fold and by the choyce of God destined to the Throne When he had lien long enough close among his flocks in the field of Bethlehem God sees a time to send him to the pitched field of Israel where at his first appearance in the list with that insolent uncircumcised Philistine whose heart was as high as his head he takes no other spear but his staff no other brigandine but his shepherds scrip no other sword but his sling no other artillerie but what the brook affords five smooth small peebles and yet by these guided by an invisible hand he overcame the Giant Afterwards when the diademe empaled his temples his thoughts still reflected on his hook and harp All the state and magnificence of a Kingdome could not put his mouth out of taste of a retired simplicitie As a Musician often toucheth upon the sweetest note in his song pavin or galliard so our Kingly Prophet in diverse Psalmes but especially in his three and twentieth which we may call his Bucolicon hath most daintily struck upon the same string through the whole hymn There have you Shepherd sheep green fields still waters wayes pathes valleyes shadows yea the rod and the crook But more then all this God the Father is called a Shepherd Psal. 80.1 God the Sonne doth name himself a Shepherd John 10.11 God the Holy Ghost is named a Shepherd and Bishop of our souls 1. Pet. 2.25 These very terms of Shepherd and Sheep have led me farther than I thought besides the waters of comfort The night hath now furled up her sails and a clear thin cloud laden onely with a light dew besprinkleth with drops the whole earth like pearls which sparkle as little eyes in the faces of the flowers and plants The glorious Sun is now unlocking the doore of the morning to run his race The winged Choristers of heaven do now begin to prune and pick themselves and in their circling