THE PEDIGREE AND PERIGRINATION of ISRAEL Being an abridgement of the Histories of The creation of Adam Cain Abel Noah Abraham Isaac Jacob. Joseph Joshuah Deborah Ruth Hezekiah Zedekiah And the taking of the Arke With Meditations and Prayers upon each HISTORIE By John Jackson of Kilingraves in Com. Ebor. Gentleman I am a stranger with thee and a sojourner as all my Fathers were Psal. 39. 14. LONDON Printed by M. Simmons for John Wilcox and are to be sold at the signe of the Crown in Duck-lane 1649. 〈◊〉 meaning of the Frontispiece AS the glorious Sunne did enlighten the earth at the Creation and comforted the creatures so it represents to us â—ur darke and blind condition untill that Son of Righteousnesse did shine upon us whereby we are enlightned and comforted The next is the desolate condition of our first Parents after their fall sitting under that they did we now hope in which is by the pillar of perfect faith placed upon the rock of a sure confidence under the safe shade of that vine the Church pointing up to their hope The Rain-how puts us in mind of the deluge in the time of Noah of Gods mercie if we repent and amend as likewise of the 2d judgment to come by fire That of Moses and Aaron represents Gods commands Israels obedience to them in their perigrination â—or us to imitate by our duties to our Governours and Superiours appointed over us The Arke Altar and the Cheruhims in the Sanctum Sanctorum shewes how wee should worship towards the Holy of Holies in heaven the end of our hope The Dove descending as it did shew unto Noah the ceasing of the waters whereby hee and them in the Arke were comforted So it may signifie unto us the comfort of the holy Ghost and the ceasing of Gods wrath and the safety of them within the Arke of his Church that exprest in the clouds as a cloud of witnesses may confirm us of that happinesse which the Saints possesse and which they shall enjoy 〈◊〉 thus bâ—lieve obey and serve this Creator of Heaven 〈◊〉 Earth Just and true are thy wayes thou King of Saints Revel 15. 〈◊〉 Thou Leadest thy People like sheep by the hands of Moses and Aron Ps 77. 20. The Law was geven by Moses but grace and Truth came by Jesus Christ. Joh. 1. 17. 1649. 〈…〉 Author inveÌ„t W. M. Sculpsit To the Nobility Gentry and Commonalty beyond TRENT my deare and Native Countrey The Author doth principally present these his Endeavours I Am bold to present you with these following Histories and Meditations the which if 〈◊〉 your liesure you will please to peruse though they be plaine yet I doubt not but they will administer you some comfort in regard they are eâ—tracted out of some choise places of holy Scripture which is the fountaine whence our chiefest consolations flowe and never any age did stand in more need of spirituall comforts then wee doe in these 〈◊〉 times of ours which occasioned me to the composing of them and I am in hope that they will 〈◊〉 equally profitable as they are seasonable I shall desirâ— your favourable construction for some errours in thâ— Presse or what failing may be in my selfe 〈◊〉 composure So wishing you as much happy solace in the perusing as it pleased God to afford mee in 〈◊〉 penning of them I rest From my chamber in Holborn 28. Septemb. Your most affectionate Countreyman and servant JOHN JACKSON To the Reader Christian Reader THis short abridgement being drawne our of some part of the Histories of the old Testament yet following the very plain phrase of the holy Scripture I do recommend unto thee it being so portable to carry about thee and so profitable to read being the circumstances of such matter as behoves thee to know and practise to comfort and encourage thee in this thy pilgrimage to parallel all thy sufferings in these sad and bad times by the examples of these Kings Priests Prophets which were holier better then thy self thereby to teach thee with the like resolution perseverance to follow theâ—â— stâ—ps and them in all their good examples of piety patience and devotion as likewise to obey thy Governours and superiours appointed by God over thee It will be likewise usefull foâ— thee in thy private closet for thy contemplations in the fields for thy children to read at home to perfect them in the knowledge of the wonderfull works of God that in their innocency youth they may be engrafted in this so necessary knowledge learning betimes to practise the piety of these holy men to strengthen them in grace and a happy course in this their spirituall warfare towards their hoped for happinesse Now 〈◊〉 the severall meditations and prayers following each History if they fall short of thy 〈…〉 of phrase or length of lineâ— or 〈◊〉 of zeale I shall desire God to enlarge thine heart unto more perfection in thy self and to stir up happy and learned men that may enlarge this so necessary work tending to devotion so requisite for this age so full of spirituall pride the which hath so much enfatuated our understandings and brought us to so dangerous a distemper and God divert from us that heavy judgement which is the attendant unto this burning feaver of pride and self-conceit and insensible frenzie which cannot be cured but by him that raised the dead to life And that God of power mercy give us all that perfect humility which is so pleasing unto him and the only safe and sure rule which will bring us to all other vertues and to that right and plaine way that will lead us to perfect happinesse in heaven the resting place of the humble and meek in heart So desiâ—ing God to direct thee in the reading and all of us to practise what we read I commit thee to Gods mercifull guidance and protection J. J. To his much respected Friend Mr. Iohn Iackeson SIR I Have perused with much comfort the Manuscript you sent mee and whereas you desire my opinion of it truly Sir I must tell you without complement that it is a very useful pious piece of devotion Doubtlesse you were truly inspired when you were compiling the work and your soule had taken a high fight towards her Creator insomuch that one may finde that you felt the joyes of heaven while you were thus meditating upon them This part of the Christian Common-wealth will be much obliged to you for such materiall notions and strains of piety For my particular I must confesse they affâ—rded me much solace in this my sad condition for they raised my spirits to a great height of comfort and I am confident they will worke the same effect in any soul that is susceptible of spirituall impression So with my very kinde respects to my deare friend your kinsman Major John Jackson I rest From the Fleet this 11. of September Yours most affectionately to dispose of JAMES HOWEL THE
that I have made them But Noah found grace in the eys of the Lord for he was a just man and perfect in his generations Noah had three sons Sem Ham and Japhet and the earth was corrupt before God and filled with violeÌ„ce And God said unto Noah The end of all flesh is come before me for the world is filled with iniquity violence Behold I wil destroy them with the Earth Make thee an Arke with roomes in it and pitch it within and without and fashion it as I direct thee a window and a doore shalt thou make in it make it with a lower a second and a third story For behold I wil bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh and every thing that is in the earth shall die But with thee will I establish my covenant thou shalt come into the Ark thou and thy sons and thy wife thy sons wives with thee And of every living thing of all flesh male female shalt thou bring into the Ark to keep them alive with thee and take in with thee food of all sorts for thee and for them And Noah did all that the Lord commanded him and when the Ark was finished the Lord said unto him Come thou and all thy house into the Arke for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation And bring into the Arke of every clean beast by sevens and of unclean by 2. male and female and of fowls by seven to keepe â—eede alive upon the face of the earth for after seven days I will cause it to raine upon the earth 40. days 40. nightsâ—and Noah did as the Lord commaÌ„ded him He was 600. years old when the flood was upon the earth and after he and his family were entered into the Arke and all other living creatures as 't was commanded the flood came upon the earth and the Ark was born above the waters and went upon the face of it and the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth and all the high hils that were under heaven were covered and all flesh dyed that moved upon the earth and the waters prevailed one hundred and fifty dayes upon the earth but after God made a winde to pass over the earth and the waters asswaged And after the hundred and fifty dayes the waters were abated and the Ark rested upon the mountaines of Ararat and after forty dayes Noah opened the window of the Ark and sent out a Raven which went forth too and fro untill the waters were dryed up from off the earth also he sent forth a Dove to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground but the Dove found no rest for the sole of her feet but returned to the Ark. But after seven days more he sent forth the Dove again the Dove came in to him in the evening and in her mouth was an Olive leafe so by that Noah knew the waters were abated upon the earth After that hee staid seven dayes more and sent the Dove out againe which returned no more unto him then Noah removed the covering of the Ark and looked behold the face of the earth was dry and God commanded Noah to come out of the Arke and all that was within it the which he did and after he built an Altar unto the Lord offered burnt offerings on the Altar which was pleasing to the Lord and the Lord blessed the earth again and promised never to destroy it by water any more and set the Rainbow as a signe thereof And the Lord blessed Noah and his sons and Noah began to be a Husbandman and he planted a Vineyard and he drank of the wine and was drunke and was uncovered within his tent And Ham the father of Canaan saw the nakednesse of his father and told his two brethren without then Sem and Japhet took a garment and laid it upon both their shoulders and went backwards and covered the nakedness of their father and would not look upon his nakednesâ— but when Noah did awake and knew what his younger son bad done he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty yeares and all the dayes of Noah were nine hundred and fifty yeares and he dyed MEDITATIONS upon Noah O Lord make me sensible of the grievousnesse of sin aâ—d of the punishments that follow such transgressions let this example of the old world in the time of Noah teach me to looke into my selfe that I may see mine owne iniquities and the corruptions of my heart and give me O Lord true repentance and contrition that I be not drowned in the deluge of my sinfulness but receive me with thy servant Noah into the Ark of thy saving mercy and good Lord let me not be like those secure sinfull persons that built the Ark ' and they themselves perished to give instructions to others and my selfe to fall into impiety to be left out of thy holy Ark of thy saving grace or out of the blessings of thy holy Church and so come at last to perish in my sinnes O Lord whiles I am in this ark of materiall safety and refuge keep me thy servant safe from the danger of shipwrack and leaking in the faith and unity of the â—hurch not to distrust thy providence in this Ark though I live and subsist among the bruit beasts wild creatures of this world who be as the Psalmist speaketh like the horse mule that have no understaÌ„ding Send the Dove of thy holy spirit with the olive branch of thy strength and comfort unto me that may bring joyfull tidings unto my soul of that happinesse which I may expect when I shall be enlarged out of this flesh Bring thy Arke thy Church O Lord out of the troublesome waters of affliction persecution that now so grievously tosse and disturb that poor modell that it may rest upon the safe mountaines of Ararat in the full power of thy mercifull redemption In thy due time take from over my understanding the covering of the ark that I may discerne the pleasure of that heavenly habitation which thou hast prepared for my soule and that I may with a particular evidence of faith and piety passe out of this Ark thy Church militant to thy Church triumphant in heaven and let mee build here an altar of thanksgiving with the incense of zeale burning in my heart to praise thee for all thy mercies and goodness towards me And good Lord whiles I live here the small remainder of my dayes let me not he overcome with intemperate desires or sin in the wrong use of these thy creatures that thou hast ordained for my miserable life but to use them soberly without drunkennesse or any excesse that thereby I may be the better enabled by the comforts of them to serve thee in the moderate use thereof and all other thy
requite us all the evill which we did to him and they sent a messenger unto Joseph saying Thy father did command before he died saying so shall ye say unto Joseph Forgive I pray thee now the trespasse of thy brethren and their sin for they did unto thee evil and now we pray thee forgive the trespasse of the servants of the God of thy father and Joseph wept when they spake unto him and his brethren also went and fell downe before his face and they said Behold we be thy servants and Joseph said unto them Feare not for I am in the place of God but as for you ye thought evill against me but God meant it unto good to bring to passe as it is this day to save much people alive Now therefore feare you not I will nourish you and your little ones and he comforted them And Joseph dwelt in Egypt he and his fathers house and lived one hundred and ten yeares and saw Ephraims children of the third generation and the children of Machir the sonne of Manasseh were brought up upon Josephs knees And Joseph said unto his brethren I die and God will surely visit you and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham Isaac and Jacob and Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel saying God will surely visit you and ye shall carry up my bones from hence So Joseph died being one hundred and ten years old and they embalmed him and he was put in a coffin in Egypt and after in the time of Joshua when the children of Israel came over Jordan they brought his bones out of Egypt and buried them in Shechem in a parcell of ground Jacob bought of the sonnes of Hamer the father of Shechem for an hundred pieces of silver and it became the inheritance of the sonnes of Joseph MEDITATIONS Upon the History of Joseph who was sold into Egypt by his brethren O Lord God everlasting which out of thy great mercy to mankind sentest thy onely begotten Sonne Jesus Christ into this world for the redemption of me a sinner and who for my sake was sold unto the Jewes by Judas one of his disciples was crucified for my sinnes and is gone before to the heavenly Canaan to be a Mediator at thy right hand for my sinfull and famishing soule for his sake be thou mercifull unto me that am a sofourner here in this Egypt of the world that the vaine temptations of the flesh may not have power over me but give me the like Chastity that Joseph had Neither let me grow in love with the flesh-pots of voluptuousnesse nor be blinded with the Egyptian darknesse of this world But grant I doe most humbly beseech for his sake my Jesus that was sold and died for my sinnes that I may happily passe this pilgrimage here in this land of Egypt and use my stewardship like blessed Joseph by dealing honestly and truly with all men and where I finde favour and friends as he did make me ever thankfull unto thee for thy mercies therein and to be religiously carefull to discharge that trust which shall be committed unto me like Joseph that it may be with me at my accounting day as it was with the wise steward to know what to doe For blessed is that servant whom the Lord when he cometh shall finde so doing Good Lord give me charity towards my Christian brethren and as concerning them that have done me wrong as Joseph did Take revenge from the soule of thy servant O Lord I beseech thee and give me grace to doe good against evill and to forgive as I desire to be forgiven of thee And blessed Lord after aâ—â— thy blessings and mercies here in this Egypt that thou hast prepared as an earthly comfort for me a sinner make me ready and at thy call to take a happy passeover for my passage towards the celestiall Canaan and in the meane time give me grace to overcome all difficulties and to be obedient to my task-masters and superiours in this vale of triall where the enemies of my soule strive against my intended journey towards the Land of promise Good Lord keep me from hardnesse of heart and the Egyptian plagues and punishments my sinnes have so much deserved grant me O Lord a good and prosperous voyage thorough the Red sea of danger help my hungry and drooping soule feed and strengthen it with the Manna of thy blessed Spirit Good Lord give me grace to subject my selfe to follow and obey my Governours as the Israelites did submit to Moses and Aaron and not to follow mine owne devises and inventions But to obey them that thou hast appointed over me and not to be one of the murmuring Israelites neither Seditious and contentious against Order and Government with Corah Dathan and Abiram But in all things to submit my judgement in the way of my Pilgrimage to the Rules of Jesus Christ and the governors of his holy Church as thou O Lord hast commanded not following my owne fancies nor the suggestions of my spirituall enemy that cloaths himselfe like an Angel of light to deceive and fill my soule full of spirituall pride the sin that cast downe the Angels from heaven from which most dangerous rock O Lord deliver thy servant that puts his trust under the shadow of thy wings of mercy that at last I may come with humblenesse of heart and soule through the wildernesse of this world so full of cares troubles and temptations to the land of promise that heavenly Jerusalem which thou hast prepared for them that love and feare thee and fight a good fight through this desart of danger and diffidence let me not in this passage O Lord leane to the pleasures and plenty of Goshen but obey thy lawes delivered at Mount Sinai and chearfully goe on like a good Israelite in this my passage the which so much concerns my soule so that good Lord by a true faith and confidence in thee with a happy perseverance in the obedience of thy Commandements at last I may arrive amongst them that live and feare thee in that heavenly feast of tabernacles and receive the comfort of that blessed saying Come ye blessed of my Father and in that heavenly and eternal habitation where all teares shall be wiped away and all afflictions and temptations cease sing Halleluiah and praise and honour and glory and worship unto the Lambe that sits upon the throne for ever THE HISTORY of Moses AFter the death of Joseph the children of Israel did increase exceedingly in Egypt and grew very mightily and another King reigning after the death of Pharaoh he was jealous of their greatnesse and strength and therefore set task-masters over them to afflict them with their burdens and to keepe them under in so much as they made their lives bitter with hard bondage by work in morter and brick and all manner of service in the field with much rigour and the King in his jealousie