Image of Adam to shew that whatsoeuer is borne of the flesh is flesh and whatsoeuer is borne of the spirit is spirit When Adam was 130. yeares old he begetteth Seth being as may be gathered not one day more nor one day lesse And the rule serueth for all the Ten fathers before the floud The holy Ghost keeping an exact Cronicle of the times beginneth at Adam and so goeth forwarde laying downe the particuler ages of the fathers vnto the floude saying when Adam is 130. yeares old Seth is borne Now if he had beene one day more the number had not been perfect if one lesse it had not beene exacted We may better therefore conclude that all the Ten fathers were borne on the sixt day that is the day of Adams creation rather than on any other day seeing it cannot well bee denyed and that it crosseth neither story nor rule of religion Seth Signifieth Setled or Foundation He knew the Creator and that the world should be founded vpon him Es 58. The wicked haue no sure foundation but are like to the chaffe in a summer floore But the Godly shal be like a fresh watered Garden and like the fountaine of water that neuer leaueth running whose foundation is layd for many generations For as a tree that hath sure rootes will beare many braunches so to be setled in religion as Seth was many thinges will appeare to bee of singuler force Now compare him with Christ thus Seth. His name signifieth foundation He was begotten in the image of Adam Christ is The Rocke sure foundation of his Church The very character of his Father 105. Enosh borne In these numbers you haue 10. multiplied by 10. and 5. which is the number of the letters of Iehouah HIs name signifieth Sorowfull Euery man is called sorowfull Enosh and the Hebrew tongue sometime calleth a man Enosh and sometimes Adam The Caldeans call a man Enosh but not Adam because they had not the antiquitie of the creation of the world In Enosh his time Religion decayed in the house of God for which the floud came and drowned the world This sorrowe is called a godly sorrowe to which the Lord hath added a blessing as Mat. 5. Blessed are they that mourne for they shall receaue comfort and Ecclesiastes 7. Grauitie is better than laughter for when the countenance is heauie the heart is reformed but Luke 6. saith Blessed are yee that weepe now for yee shall laugh CHrist beeing sorrowfull for the negligence of the Iewes knowing that they should bee plagued for not embracing the promise to Abraham Isaack and Iacob weepeth ouer Ierusalem saying O Ierusalem Ierusalem 1. O sight of peace O sight of peace If thou hadst knowne those things that belong to thy peace so with griefe and sorow of heart he leaueth off as not able to expresse the sum of his sorrow Againe with like sorrow he saith How often would I haue gathered you together as a henne gathereth her chickens and you would not 90. Kenan borne HIs name signifieth Contrite or small store Matth. 5. Blessed are the poore in spirit for their is the kingdome of heauen Esay 54. Thus saith the High and Excellent euen he that dwelleth in Eternity whose name is the holy one I dwell high aboue and in the Sanctuarie and with him also that is of a Contrite Spirit doe I dwell that I may heale a troubled mind and a Contrite heart Psal 50. An humble and Contrite heart the Lord doth not despise therefore shall euery godly man prayse the Lord without ceasing 70. Mahalaleel borne You haue in this number ten seuens or seuen multiplied by ten which is seuentie which is the number of his natiuitie wherein you haue a sweet resemblance of the creation of which number many excellent things are to be spoken which I will handle afterwards THis name signifieth My praise God Leah nameth her fourth sonne Iuda the Father of Shiloh Praise God for so doth his name likewise signifie The vse of this ought to be embraced of all seeing it stretcheth to the saluation of all It appeareth hereby that the godly fathers in ancient time had wonderfull regard in naming their children For if you doe marke the whole stories of the Bible you shall find very few notable men whether they were godly or wicked but they conteine rare matter in their names From Mahalaleel we are taught to prayse God aright First in sinceritie of spirit with sound knowledge grounded vpon the truth of his word Dauid knowing that prayse giuing to God is not only required at our hands but also at euery creatures in their kind biddeth the whole course of nature praise the Lord. And in Psal 47. hee sayth O sing prayses sing prayses vnto our God O sing prayses sing prayses vnto our King for the Lord is high and to be feared He is the great king vpon all the earth sing prayses therefore with vnderstanding Hee sheweth vs a reason in the 19. Psalme where he saith The heauens declare the glory of God and the firmament sheweth his handie worke one day telleth another and one night certifieth another c. Therefore let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be alway acceptable in thy sight O Lord my Rocke and my Redeemer Whereby we are taught that the true praise of God consisteth not onely in outward acknowledging of his works and his iudgements for that the wicked are oftentimes compelled to confesse as Pharaoh Nebucadnetzar and others but wee must prayse God so as that all our thankes and all our actions may tend to the acknowledging of the Redemption by Christ for so doth Dauid in this 19. Psal he beginneth with the Creation endeth with the Redemption Let vs therefore with him also say Psal 102. Prayse the Lord O my soule and all that is within me prayse his holy name which forgiueth all thy sinne and healeth all thine infirmities which saueth thy life from destruction and crowneth thee with mercie and louing kindnesse And Psal 105. O giue thankes vnto the Lord and call vpon his holy name tell the people what things he hath done O let your songs be of him and praise him and let your talking be of all his wonderous workes Reioyce in his holy name let the heart of them reioyce that seeke the Lord seeke the Lord and his strength seeke his face euermore 65. Iared borne For this number 65. it is the halfe of 130. His name signifieth Lowlie or meeke he was 162. yeeres old before he married because at that time he had knowledge of the flood that it should come Therefore hee consecrated his sonne to God HOw precious a vertue this Meekenesse is and how highlie to be embraced we may know by open experience if we examine how God from the beginning hath gouerned the world For God respecteth not the person of any man that he should feare him He ouerthrew the rebellious Nimrod and the rest of the Nephewes of
come Thus you see how the Redemption by Christ was taught by Moses The two resemblances of heauen and earth are a glasse for vs to behold Gods glory in The heauens are the heauens of God and the earth a beeing for man In which there be Creatures cleane and vncleane the cleane to represent the godlie the vncleane the wicked of conuersation And this rule was generall from the creation and figured in Paradise by the tree of Life and the tree of knowledge of good and euill And as trees and all other Creatures differ one from another so doe the manners of men And God made Beasts Fish and Fowle to expresse the affections of mens mindes and gaue libertie to Beast Fish and Fowle to eate vp one another but to man he gaue a iustice among themselues and taught them a ciuile life by eating of cleane Beasts and forbiddeth grosse behauiours in forbidding to eate vncleane Beasts as Hogs and Dogges and Conies and Hare and Daw and such like to shew that wee should not bee like Hogs to wallowe in the mire of our vncleane conuersation nor like to the Dogge to returne to our former impieties but bee clothed with repentance which is newnesse of life nor like to Conies whose nature is to vndermine but to deale faithfully with our neighbours that so our conuersation may appeare before men as wee may glorifie our Father which is in heauen nor like the Dawe or Crowe which peereth with his eyes for wee ought not to bee curious in looking to other mens faults but striue to mend our owne as our Sauiour Christ teacheth in the Gospell Matth. 7. Thou that spiest a moat in thy brothers eye first pull out the beame out of thine owne and so of all the rest of vncleane Beasts Fishes and Fowles something in life is taught to be eschewed which to handle particularly were too long For the lawfulnesse and vnlawfulnesse of eating them now there is no doubt for they were onely appointed by Moses Lawe to distinguish the Iew and the Gentile but Christ hauing broken downe the wall of seperation wee are nowe freelie to vse any onely the equitie of the iustice of the same lawe remaineth still For the Lawe of God is eternall The cleane were such as chewed the cud and parted the hoofe as Oxe Sheepe Goat and Hart and such like to teach vs that wee ought alwaies to bee meditating of the wormanship of heauen and earth and the Redemption by the sonne of God painefull in our vocation as Oxen meek as sheep hardie as Goats vnder the crosse of Christ and swift to good and slow to euill that our bodies might be a cleane Tabernacle holy and vndefiled fit for the Holy of holiest to enter into So should wee be clothed with Aarons white garment of perfect iustice and in our bosome reteine the precious Iewell of Vrim and Thūmim that is Light of the knowledge of Christ and perfection of vertue to embrace the same Thus we see that the Law and all the ceremonies thereof the Tabernacle and all appurtenances thereof Aarons office and his attire are all to be applied to the Redemption by Christ Wee are further to obserue in the story of Moses that Moses on the mountaine sawe the summe of all saluation The knowledge of this is of speciall consequence in diuinitie For if Moses left out any point of Religion then his doctrine is a maimed doctrine and not sufficient to eternall life There be some teachers now a dayes like to the Church of Laodicea who though shee was poore yet thought and esteemed her selfe rich Euen so these men for knowledge in expounding of Scriptures when as they seuer the new Testament from the old and doe not make the one a light vnto the other For this is the onely difference betweene Moses and the newe Testament That the newe Testament is an exposition or comment vpon Moses Saint Peter teacheth this plainely 2. Pet. 1.19 Wee haue the sure worde of the Prophets to the which giue heede as vnto Light shining in darkenesse till the day appeareth and that the morning starre shineth in your hearts Christ himselfe approoueth this Doctrine when hee giueth his hearers a commaundement Iohn 5. That they should search the Scriptures to wit Moses and the Prophets because they testifie of me sayth Christ and in them you hope to haue eternall life Saint Paul in the Acts Chap. 26. layeth downe a rule how to try the truth of his doctrine For saith he I taught nothing but Moses and the Prophets that Christ should die and rising from the dead should giue life vnto the world The truth of this rule will be manifested by the particulars in this sort The Pope forbiddeth meats where is this in Moses Indeed the ceremonie of Moses made a distinction betweene Iew and Gentile in respect of election which distinction was to continue but a time but now in Christ Iesus neither is circumcision nor vncircumcision any thing and therefore all the Creatures of God are good so they be receiued with thankesgiuing Therefore by this rule the Pope is a false Prophet teaching a doctrine not in Moses This therefore is a sound rule to trie all doctrines Where are they taught in Moses So likewise if any Scisme be bred or breedeth in the Church we shall by this rule be able to establish our consciences if we examine it by Moses doctrine Now seeing the new Testament referres it selfe to Moses wee shall neuer be able truelie and sincerely to expound it but by being skilfull and readie in Moses Wee see Mathew makes mention of Abraham and proues Christ to come of him The vse of this will bee of no force to vs except wee search Moses for Abrahams storie and see there what glorious things are spoken of him Saint Paul likewise proouing iustification to bee by faith without the workes of the Lawe bringeth for an ineuitable argument the manner how Abraham was iustified This argument will hardlie bee made plaine and certaine vnto vs except we search Moses for Abrahams actions The same Apostle Heb. 11. commending the excellencie and certaintie of faith vseth no other proofe then a rehearsall of the actions and liues of particular men Who by faith subdued kingdomes stopped the mouthes of Lyons quenched the furie of fire despised the glory of this life and beleeued in the son of God c. By these reasons it is euident that the new Testament is then made plaine when it is referred to the old Now though the new Testament shewes that he is come and so the prophecie being fulfilled there may seeme to be small vse of the old yet we know that it is not ynough for vs to embrace a truth but this one thing is further required an Abilitie to proue the truth against all gainesayers that so wee may be able to render a reason of that hope that is in vs. This therefore is a sure ground that in Moses is the summe of all saluation
a time or 42. monthes alluding to the time of Antiochus gouernment For as Antiochus polluted the Temple of God changing the lawes of Moses forbidding that which God commanded placing idolatry in his sanctuary and persecuting such as would not forsake the Religion of God so the Romanes haue polluted the Temple of God changing the lawes that Moses teacheth and forbiddeth that which God commandeth compelling open idolatry and persecuting such as will not forsake the truth of Gods Religion Againe these legges meaning the fourth kingdome are called in Dan. 11. the King of the North and the King of the South that is Syria which is North from Iudea and Egipt which is South from Iudea therefore not the Romanes Againe the corporation of the Romanes is described in the Reuelation to be one beast with seauen heads and ten hornes This fourth beast in Daniel hath but one head and ten hornes therefore it cannot be meant of the Romanes But in truth the Romanes hauing conquered the whole world imbracing the impieties of the Babylonian Lyon the cruelty of the Persian Beare the fiercenes of the Grecian Leopard and the most tyrannicall and prophane blasphemies of the fourth beast The holy Ghost could not by fitter resemblances describe them than by these beastes therefore hee nameth them vnder the name of one monstrous beast hauing property of all the former that is A beast with seauen heads and ten hornes mouthed like the Babylonian Lyon footed like the Persian Beare bodyed like the Grecian Leopard and hath ten hornes and the blasphemous wordes of the fourth beast whose inhumane cruelty was such that no beast in the earth could be likened vnto it Thus much for the parts of the image and for the foure beasts in generall Now followeth to be handled the Persians Storie particularly And first for Cyrus HE deliuered the people from captiuity the same yeare that hee tooke Babylon and gaue them great treasures to build vp the Temple of Ierusalem whither he sent them vnder the conduct of Zorababel 2. Chro. 36. In the first yeare of Cyrus King of Persia when the word of the Lord spoken by the mouth of Ieremie was finished the Lord stirred vp the spirit of Cyrus and he made a Proclamation throughout all his kingdome saying Thus saith Cyrus King of Persia All the kingdomes of the earth hath the Lord God of heauen giuen me and he hath commanded mee to build him an house in Ierusalem that is in Iudah Who is among you of all his people with whome the Lord his God is let him goe vp and build the house of the Lord God of Israel he is the God which is in Ierusalem Then the chiefe Fathers of Iudah and Beniamin and the sacrificers and Leuites rose vp with all them whose spirite God had raised to goe vp to build the house of the Lord which is in Ierusalem Also Cyrus brought forth the vessels of the house of the Lord which Nebucadnetzar had taken out of Ierusalem and counted them vnto Sheshbatzar the Prince of Iudah whome the Caldeans called Zorobabel and the number of the vessels of gold and siluer were 5400. Sheshbatzar brought vp all with them of the captiuity that came vp from Babel to Ierusalem the whole congregatiō of them together which came from captiuity were 42360. besides their seruants and maides of whome were 7337. and among them 200. singing men and women And certaine of the chiefe Fathers when they came to Ierusalem gaue after their ability vnto the treasure of the worke 60000. drammes of gold and 5000. peeces of siluer and 100. sacrificers garments the summe of the money in our account amounts to 94493. pounds 6. shillings 8. pence for the dramme is the eight part of an ounce and the ounce the eight part of a marke which according to our estimation amounteth allowing the French crowne for 6. shillings 4. pence the dramme to 24826. poundes 13. shillings 4. pence And the peeces of siluer are called Minaes and euery peece conteine 26. shillings 8. pence so 5000. Minaes make 550000. frankes which in our account is 69666. poundes 13. shillings 4. pence But the Israelites that were beyond the riuer in Samaria placed there by the King of Ashur enuying the prosperous proceeding of the building of the Citie and Temple caused it to be hindred vnto the second yeare of Darius King of Persia But Haggai and Zachariah prophesied vnto the people and encouraged them So they continued in the worke one hand on the trowell the other on the sword vntill it was finished So the foundation is laid in the fourth yeare of Cyrus as the first Temples foundation was laid in the fourth yeare of Salomon This Darius is also called Artaxerxes which in the Persian tongue signifieth an excellent Warriour Some thinke it was Cambyses Darius sonne but Cambyses Cyrus sonne was neuer King but Lieutenant in his fathers absence This Darius was also called Assuerus he was not supreme King but deputie to Cyrus For Cyrus hauing conquered the kingdome of the Medes against Astyages left the said kingdome to his brother Darius by whose ayde he tooke Babylon and transported the kingdome of the Babylonians to the Persians Two yeares after the said Darius returned into Madai and Cyrus raigned alone in Babylon Then he mooued warre against the Scythians and marched towards them and in the meane while left Cambyses his sonne King of the countrey in his absence according to the custome of the Persians which was to appoint the neerest of the Kings bloud to be King ouer the countrie when the King went out to fight against any strange Nation this is the cause why Cambyses was not set in the successiue order of the kingdomes Neither is there mention of two brethren which were Magitians which guilefully vsurped the kingdome but their guile being known they continued but a fewe monthes and Darius sonne to Hystaspis was chosen King Xerxes the sonne of the said Darius succeded him but is not heere placed in the number of the Monarchies for that he left his kingdome to Darius Long-hand his sonne according to the custome of the Persians when he went to warre against the Grecians The Greeke Historiographers not respecting the custome number the said Xerxes Cambyses among the said Monarchies successiuely in order which is the cause that they count more yeares in the Persian Monarchy than were that is 226. yeares whereas their whole gouernment was not aboue 120. yeares or thereabouts Cyrus raigned twelue yeares And after Cyrus death Assuerus Artaxerxes obtayneth the kingdome of the Persians twelue yeares in his third yeare beganne the Storie of Hester After him succeeded Darius Assirius Esdr 6.22 This Darius King of Ashur encouraged the people in the worke of the house of the Lord. He is heere called King of Ashur because he was King of the Medes Persians and Assirians After him succeeded Artaxerxes the godly the sonne of Darius Hystaspis Esdr 7. Neh. 2. 2519. The Temple built in
Iustice to seale the vision and Prophet and to annoint the most Holy By which we are constrained highly to esteeme of the knowledge of the times for they are of as great force to the vnderstading of the Bible as the starres are in the heauens for giuing of light No part of the Bible but consisteth of time place or person If of time as one third part then the knowledge thereof is to be embraced and in no respect to be despised as lightly regarding the vse thereof lest striuing for darknesse we become the children of darkenesse and so loose the light of eternall life as the Iewes and Romanes did whose recompence hath followed The one depriued of their earthly glory the other aduanced to glory to be a staine of eternall damnation The Treatise of Time IOHN 1. In the beginning was the word c. THese words In the beginning are the first wordes of the old Testament whose first word in Hebrew is Bera which consisteth according to the Hebrews of three letters which closely containe in them Father Sonne Holy Ghost as ב for Ben which signifieth Son × for Abba which is Father ר for Rouach Hachodesh which is the Holy spirit Thus the Trinitie is closely contained in the first word but in the first verse is expressed in open words In the beginning God made heauen and earth and the spirit of God moued vpon the waters and God said let their be light This is expounded in Iohn 1. in these words In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and that word was God shewing that Word in this place is taken for the Sonne of God by whom he made the world as Iohn 1. By him were all things created And Ephes 3. God made all things by his Sonne who ruleth all things by his mighty power Wherefore Christ in the dayes of his flesh chose the trade of a Carpenter Iohn 6. and in Esay 43. It is said This Record you must beare me your selues saith the Lord that I am God and euen he I am from the beginning I doe the worke and who shall let it Thus saith the Lord the holy one our Redeemer Wherein is distinctly expressed Father Sonne and Holy Ghost IOHN 1. ⧠He was the Light and that Light was the Life of man LIfe and Light is not here carnally meant but spiritually to which two things Aarons Iewell of Vrim and Thummim had a full relation Vrim signifieth light of the mind Thummim perfection of vertue which bringeth life to the soule Christ is the true light that lighteth euery man And hee that abideth in this light hath euerlasting life God is light and in him there is no darknes at all If we walke in light euen as he is light then haue we fellowship with him and the blood of Iesus Christ shall giue vs life and cleanse vs from our sinne We the Gentiles were darknes but now are light in the Lord. Ephes 5.8 The great Schollers of the Iewes spake euen in the same words Philo the Iew commenteth vpon these wordes saying God is the Soueraigne begetter and next to him is the Word of God Also there are two firsts the one is Gods word and the other is God which is afore the Word and the same word is the beginning and the end 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of his good pleasure intent or will And in another place Like as a Citie saith he whereof the platforme is but yet set downe in the mind of the builder hath no being else where but in the builder so this world had no being else where then in the Word of God which ordained all things And this is not the meaning of me only but also of Moses himselfe And in another place This word saith he is Gods yonger sonne but as for the elder sonne he cannot bee comprehended but in vnderstanding for he it is who by prerogatiue of eldership abideth with the Father And againe The Word is the Place the Temple and the dwelling house of God because the Word is the only thing that can containe him and to shew the greatnes of this word he could skarce tell what names to giue it Hee calleth it the booke wherin all essences of all things that are in the whole world are written and printed The Perfect patterne of the word Day sunne that is to be seene but onely of the mind Prince of Angels First borne of God Shepheard of his flocke Chiefe high Priest of the world Manna of mens soules Wisedome of God Perfecting of the Highest Instrument whereby God created the world Altogether Light God and the Beer that is of himselfe And he saith further that this Word is the expresse print or stampe of God and euerlasting as God himselfe is R. Azariel calleth him Spirit Word and Voice saying The Spirit bringeth foorth the Word and the Voice but not by speech of the tongue or by breathing after the maner of men and these three be one Spirit to wit one God one Spirit rightly liuing blessed be he and his name who liueth for euer and euer Spirit Word and Voice that is to say one Holy Ghost and two spirits of that Spirit R. Ioseph saith thus The Light of the soule of the Messias is the liuing God and the liuing God is the fountaine of the liuing Waters and the Soule of the Messias is the riuer or streame of life and none but the Messias knoweth God fully he is the light of God the light of the Gentiles and therefore hee knoweth God and God is knowen by him I thy God saith God am light and mind and of more antiquitie than nature of moisture that is issued from the shadow And this lightsome speach which proceedeth from the mind is the Sonne of God that which seeth and heareth thee is the word of the Lord and the mind is God the Father These differ not one from another as for their vnion it is the vnion of life And this speech being the workman of God the Lord of the whole world hath chiefe power next him is vncreated infinite Proceeding from him the commaunder of all things which he made the perfect and naturall first borne sonne of the most perfect Numenius a Pithagorist saith The first God is free from all worke but the second is the maker which commaundeth heauen and God the worker or maker saith he is the beginner of begetting and God the good is the beginner of Being and the second is the liuely expresser of the first as begetting is an image of Being And in another place he saith that this worker being the Same is knowen to all men by reason of the creating the world but as for the first Spirit which is the Father he is vnknowen vnto them Iamblichus saith plainely that God made the world by his diuine word and the first God being afore the Be-er is the Father of a first God whom hee begetteth and yet neuerthelesse
abideth still in the solenesse of his vnitie which thing farre exceedeth all abilitie of vnderstanding This is the originall patterne of him that is called both Father to himselfe and sonne to himselfe and is the Father of one alone and God verily good indeed Aemelius the disciple of Plotine notwithstanding how great an enemy he was to Christians speaking of the second person yeeldeth to this which Saint Iohn speaketh Surely saith he this is the Word that was from euerlasting by whom al things that are were made As Heraclitus supposed and before God saith he it is the very same Word which that barbarous fellow auoucheth to haue bene with God at the beginning in the ordering and disposing of things when they were confused and to be God by whom all things were absolutely made and in whom they bee liuing and of whom they haue their life and being And that the same Word clothing it selfe with mans flesh appeared a man insomuch that after he had bene put to death he tooke his Godhead to him againe and was very God as he had bene before yer hee came downe into body flesh and man Another of Platoes imitators speaking to the same effect said That the beginning of S. Iohns Gospell was worthy to be written euery where in letters of gold And the deuill himselfe being asked of the King of Egypt who he was that raigned before him and who should raigne after him answered in these foure verses Suidas First God and next the Word and then their Sprite Which three be one and ioyne in one all three Their force is endlesse get thee hence fraile wight The man of Life vnknowen excelleth thee Seeing then that Iewes Philosophers and the Deuill are compeld to glorifie God in their speeches making as it were large volumes of the creation of God by his word and that the same Word is his sonne How can they escape the wrath of God for not embracing it And againe seeing they but through a mist did see a clearenesse of his brightnesse How skilfull ought we to bee whom hee hath noursed in his owne bosome and comforted with the grapes of his owne vineyard and fedde with the bread of his owne flesh and bathed in the blood of his owne heart in prouing the truth of this doctrine against Iew Turke or Pagan Let vs shew a word or two what the Poets themselues speake of the Beginning Architas saith that he accounteth no man wise but him which reduceth all things to one selfe same originall First to God who is the Beginning Middle and end of all things Empedocles hath these verses All things that are or euer were or shall hereafter bee Both man and woman beast and bird fish worme herbe grasse tree And euery other thing yea euen the ancient Gods each one Whom we so highly honour heere come all of one alone Simplicius saith Whatsoeuer is beautifull commeth of the first and chiefest beauty All truth cōmeth of Gods truth all beginnings must be reduced to one beginning which must not be a particular beginning as the rest are but a beginning surpassing all other beginnings and gathering thē all into himselfe yea giuing the dignitie of beginning to all beginnings as is conuenient for euery of their natures Also one good saith he is the originall and wel-spring of all things It produceth all things of it selfe both the First the Middlemost and the Last The one goodnesse bringeth forth many goodnesses the one vnitie many vnities the one beginning many beginnings Now as for Vnitie Beginning Good and God they all be but one thing For God is the first cause of all and all particular beginnings are first setled and grounded in him he is the cause of causes the God of gods and the Goodnesse of goodnesses The vnderstanding of the stories of the Bible do giue a great light to the minde of man and the practise giueth life vnto euery one that embraceth them as Deut. 8. and Mat. 4. Man liueth not by bread onely but by euerie worde which proceedeth out of the mouth of God The despisers of Religion continue in darkenes and light to them is death as 1. Ioh. 2.9 Hee that saith he is in light and yet hateth his brother is in darknes and walketh in darknes and knoweth not whether he goeth because the darknes hath blinded his eyes 1. Ioh. 5.11 But God hath giuen vs eternall life and that life is in his Sonne who laid downe his life for his sheepe Ioh. 10.15 Wherfore while we haue light let vs walke and beleeue in the light that we may be the children of the light Ioh. 12.36 The first Adam was made of the earth earthly c. The second Adam was made a soule giuing life c. HEre before the comparison betweene Adam and Christ we are to consider the creation wherein we are to vnderstand the creation of Heauen Earth and Sea and all the host of them which doe consist of wights visible and inuisible Inuisible as Angels visible as Sunne Moone and Starres fishes fowles plantes hearbes grasse Beasts and such like which God created before hee created Adam by Christ for Adams sake because he purposed not to take the nature of Angels or of any other creature but of Adam and that he might be knowne in his power and louing kindnes to Adam by his workes For he fore-purposing to make Adam both King and Father of all the earth would not haue his witts entangled with cares for this life but to haue his affections setled on heauenly things that hee might continue holie and blameles before him as Mat. 6. Take no care what you shall eate or what you shall drinke nor yet for your bodie what rayment you shall put on Behold the fowles neither sowe nor reape and your heauenly Father feedeth them are ye not much better than they how much more then shall hee doe the same for you for hee knoweth that yee haue neede of all these things but first seeke the kingdome of God and the righteousnes thereof for no mans life standeth in the aboundance of things which he possesseth Now followeth Adams creation HE was made the sixt day as it is gathered of September of the dust of the earth vppon Mount Moriah which is a Mountaine adioyning to the gates of the garden of Eden into which garden he was put to labour the earth about six of the cloke in the morning as wee account when men commonly goe to labour as should appeare by Psal 104. Where it is sayd Adam goeth forth in the morning to his labour This is not particularly meant of Adam but generally of all men no doubt alluding to the time of Adams creatiō He had dominion giuen him ouer all things and witte like to an Angell to giue names to all beasts free libertie to eat of all the trees in the garden the tree of knowledge of good and ill onely excepted As if God should haue sayd to him as Moses afterwards
Iewes was extinct Iohn was banished into Patmes and is commaunded to write to the Seuen Congregations in Asia the lesser where Iaphets Sonnes were first setled to so many Congregations as Iaphet had Sonnes Grace and peace from him that was and is and which is to come and from the seuen Spirits expressed in Esay 11. which are before his throne and from Iesus Christ which is a faithfull witnesse and first begotten of the dead Alpha and Omega the first and the last who is aliue but was dead and behold he liues for euer and euer and hath the keys of hell and of death and giueth light and life to Iaphet the Gentile who was in darkenesse and in the shadowe of death perswading him to dwell in the Tents of Sem to be a dweller in the spirituall Canaan and a Citizen in the heauenly Salem where there is no earthly Temple For God almightie and the Lambe are the Temple of it Now for Sem. SEm being one Hundred yeares old begetteth Arphaxad two yeeres after the flood so old was Abraham when hee begat Isaack He is in vertue equall with any before the flood This Sem was a King Prophet Sacrificer He signifieth A Name to teach them that the should looke to him in whom Sem and the whole world should be blessed He had fiue sonnes Elam Ashur Arphaxad Lud. Amram Elam of whom the Persians Ashur of whom the Assyrians Arphaxad of whom Christ Amram of whom the Aramites Lud of whom the Lidians There be diuers which condemne Genealogies warranted therby as they affirme by Saint Pauls Councill to Timothie neither that they giue heed to fables and Genealogies endlesse which breede rather questions then godly edifying by faith Indeed seeing Genealogies are of great consequence to the prouing of Christ to be the Messias the Iewes to crosse this faine diuers of their owne which S. Paul calleth endlesse and therefore to be auoided as also tales inuented by them whereby they corrupted the story of the Scriptures But this condemneth not the Genealogies which the Holy Ghost penneth but rather approueth them And if we doe but crosse the account laide downe by the heathen we do obscure the euidence of the Scriptures Thus much for the answere of this obiection 100. Arphachsad borne HIs name signifieth Healing Some hold that the Caldeans come from him CHRIST healeth all our infirmities Shelah borne HIs name signifieth Spoyling He was the Father of the Shelanites When he is thirtie yeeres old he begetteth Heber Heber a representer of the sonne of God who beginning to be thirtie yeeres old buildeth vp the decayed walles of the Gentiles Thirtie yeeres after the promise giuen to Abram was it before his seed began to be afflicted Ioseph being thirtie yeeres old expoundeth Pharaohs dreame Heber signifieth Pilgrime or stranger so saith Abraham I am a stranger and Pilgrime giue me a place for money to burie my dead So saith Saint Peter repeating the same storie I beseech you as Pilgrims and strangers to abstaine from fleshly lusts which fight against the soule Hebers posteritie went as strangers flitting from land to land looking for a Citie whereof God was the builder Heb. 11. Hereby we are taught that the world is not the end to which wee were created but that the glory of God is the end or marke that wee ought to leuell at For if we consider Man and the World in man the sences and in the world the sensible things Man as the beholder the world as the Theatre Man as the guest in the world the Feast prepared of all things conuenient for him wee will presently say not only that they be made one for another but also that in very deed the world was made for man and not man for the world And againe if wee consider how the world affordeth content of pleasures to all the sences but nothing sufficient to content the minde shall wee not conclude that as the pompe of this pilgrimage cannot bee mans end so can it not also bee his full contentation but man by a peculiar priuiledge hath an Vnderstanding wit which was giuen vnto him and Will which he receiued franke and free the one to knowe and discerne the leuell of his ende the other to loue and embrace it Seeing then the hither ende of all creatures heere beneath is Man and the furthest end of them is God the neerest and immediate end of man is to know God in the death merits of his Sonne Christ and them to embrace as the soueraigne welfare and comfort of our soules when from this handfull of earth our soules must goe to God that gaue it And what gaineth it a man to get all the kingdomes in the world by humane policie and want grace to ayme the end of our pilgrimage at heauen For what else is the getting of this world but a proofe of want and pouertie And what are honour vaine titles and Imperiall glories but a stampe of the diuels nature Therefore as the end of the first man when he was in his perfect holines was to attaine vnto God so the end of vs who by regeneration are partakers of that righteousnes must tend wholly to the mortifying of our worldly affections and accounting of these transitory momentaries as though they were not And to be short like as the soule is the shape of man so is the knowledge of God the true shape of mans vnderstanding and what desire we but the things that are and what can he want which possesseth him in whom all things are Then let vs say that as it had beene a happie case for Adam to haue continued still in his first estate so is it now for vs to returne thither againe that is to be set againe in Gods fauor that we may one day see his face yet againe And because this vnspeakeable blessednesse cannot be brought to perfection in this life so full of miserie we must so dispose our life in this world not to liue still in the world but to die in respect of these dead things and to liue vnto God if we intend to liue the true and euerlasting life for our true resting point is the turning againe vnto God from whose fauour and fellowship we be departed Man is composed of bodie and soule the body mortall the soule immortall now if we set mans felicitie in his bodie onely we doe too great wrong both to the soule and to the whole man For if it consist in the bodie it perisheth and fadeth with the body and then what remaineth to the soule which ouerliueth but wretchednesse but wee looke for a felicitie which belongeth to the whole man In the soule ioyned with the body we haue three abilities Life Sence Vnderstanding The soule giueth life vnto the body and the perfection of life is health If our life then serue to no other end than the outward things of this pilgrimage what had the first man to do with any of them who was created perfect
of men after the flood both in comparison with those before the flood and those after that their storie might not be flouted of the Egyptians adde of purpose 1500. yeares to the Fathers after the flood For seeing Terah begot Abraham at 120. And because Sem begot Arphacsad at 100. yeares old to euery one where wanteth an hundred they put an hundred As Arphacsad liued 3â— yeres and begot Selah they translate Arphacsad liued 135. and begot Selah and so in the rest By which reckoning Sem is dead before the time he should meet with Abraham Saint Ieâ—om accquainted with the Hebrewes dealings knew that their consent was that Sem was Melchisedech and so he affirmeth Besides it is not likely that any of Chams house should be like to the Son of God being a cursed generation Againe if it be obiected that Moses doth not call Melâ—hisedech Sem and therefore it is likely hee was not Sem This obiection is thus answered Moses penneth his storie short because he knew all the Iewes were well acquainted therwith And as for the Author to the Hebrewes setting him downe to bee without father without mother we must consider in what sense and meaning he speaketh for seeing it is added by Moses in Melchisedechs storie that he was king of Salem and it is not possible for a king to be borne without Father without Mother and it was neuer the meaning of the holy Ghost to crosse the course of the creation therefore we must looke for some other exposition than that which the bare litterall sense will afford vpon the first sight This therefore is the Author to the Hebrew meaning He was now to call to the Iewes minde one who in their storie was a figure of the Messias Now seeing Christ the Sauiour of the world as he was God had no mother and as he was man no father therefore to make this plaine that is to make Melchisedech a figure answerable to this truth he so speaketh of him as if hee were without Father or Mother because he resembled the Sonne of God Now the Author to the Hebrewes might verie safely vse this kind of speaking For Sem being borne before the floode and in Abrahams time being a Grandfather of eight degrees must needes be thought to Abrahams Souldiers to bee without father without mother who had neither beginning of dayes nor end of life So that a Souldier of Abrahams campe might aske of one of Canaan Goodman of Canaan who is this goodlie old man with a hoarie beard Hee would answere thus Hee is called the iust King and his towne is named the quiet Towne For when all the other Kings his neighbours are at variance he onely liueth in peace And when Elam ouercame fiue Kings no man offered him any violence We haue in euery village a seuerall God but he sacrificeth to the God as he saith that made vs and them And marke what I shall tell you When he offereth an Oxe or a Ramme to his God which he saith made the heauens and the earth fire commeth from heauen to consume it and he seemeth to be so strong that none of vs shall liue to see his dayes In this respect therefore the Author to the Hebrewes affirmeth that he was without father without mother who hath neither beginning of dayes nor end of life For in proper sence it cannot be true 2094. Ismael borne THe sonne of Hagar an Egyptian whom Sara gaue to Abraham because her selfe was barren When Ismael was thirteene yeeres old as Gen. 17. Abraham tooke Ismael and euery man child among the men of his house and circumcised the fore-skin of their flesh the same day as God had commaunded Which Ceremonie of circumcision continued vnto Christ but since his death it is abrogated with the rest of the ceremonies of the law and is of no force vnto saluation As Gal. 5. I Paul testifie that if ye be circumcised Christ shall profite you nothing at all for whosoeuer is circumcisied is bound to keepe the whole lawe And as many as are iustified by the lawe are fallen from grace For in Iesus Christ neither is circumcision any thing worth nor vncircumcision But faith which worketh by loue as Abak 2. The iust shall liue by his faith The day of Circumcision was the Eight day The seale was answerable to Baptisme Wee haue no speciall storie of Eight to be compared with this but the eight that were saued in the Arke The ceremony of the day is answerable to the number of the persons and the seale it selfe answerable to the waters of the floode to the which answereth Babtisme which now saueth vs. Ismael had twelue sonnes and one daughter Iacob had twelue sonnes and one daughter Ismael was answerable in outward blessings to Isaack and Iacob but not in spirituall for hee was borne after the flesh And although he were the sonne of Abraham hee was not the sonne of Abraham as it is written They are not all children because they are the seede of Abraham but In Isaack shall thy Seede bee called that is they which are the children of the flesh are not the children of God but the children of the Promise are counted for the Seede In the Bible there are two Ismaels the one an Egyptian by the mother the other by the Father The one of Abraham by the mother the other of Abraham by the Father Both these were enemies to the True seede of Abraham This Ismael flowted the Promise in Isaack the other Ismael killeth Godoliah Hee being left a Gouernour of the seede of Isaack Ismael was vpon euery mans head and euery man vpon his head seeing he persecuted Isaack 2096. Arphachsad died being 438. yeere old Gen. 11. Â 2100. Isaack borne Gen. 21. When Abraham is 100. yeeres olde and Sara 90. yeeres old according to Gen. 17. HIs name signifieth Laughter When Isaack is promised Sara Laughed so did Abraham So did Ismael laugh at Isaack These three laughters in Hebrew are expressed by one word but there is great difference Sara Laughed as at a thing vnlooked for For she said I am now 90. yeeres olde and my Lord 100. shall I now giue my selfe vnto lust seeing it ceaseth to bee withe mee as with other women And the Lord said is any thing vnpossible with God Abraham laughed as reioycing thereat for it is said Abraham beleeued in God and it was reckoned to him for righteousnesse Ismael laughed as flowting at Isaack as though he were such a goodly fellow in whom the Promise should be established You haue this storie renewed againe in the New Testament For the Angel Gabriel saith vnto Mary For with God nothing is impossible Elizabeth commeth to salute Mary and she saith Blessed is she that beleeueth for those things shal be performed which are told thee from the Lord. It is sayd of Abraham that hee laughed when the Angel promised he should haue a sonne thereby signifying his reioycing Isaacks life was answerable to this ioy for
and fetch a Kid that thereof she might make pleasant meat for Isaack Iacob is affraid she comforteth him for she had her warrant from God that the elder should serue the yonger and therefore shee boldly aduentureth He commeth to Isaack who supposeth him to bee Iacob by his voyce but feeling the roughnesse of his handes and necke is perswaded that it is Esau and blesseth him When hee was blessed in commeth Esau with his venison and prayeth his Father to blesse him Isaack was now astonied to thinke of this subtiltie His spirite must needs be full of feare to thinke how hee whom he would haue blessed the Lord would not choose Isaack therefore seeing the euent acknowledgeth the election of God in Iacob and concludeth that he shall be blessed Now here is a question to be handled When Iacob saith I am thy Sonne Esau And Isaac answereth It is Iacobs voice Whether Iacob doth lye or no. This answere of Iacobs if we expound in the best sence is no lye for then it is no more but a kind of scoffing called Ironia So God speaketh in Gen. 3. Behold the man is become as one of vs to know good and euill So Christ in the Gospell commeth to his Disciples and finding them a sleepe saith Sleepe henceforth Wee may answere it further thus Iacob in respect of the purpose of God which chose him for the blessed might verie well bee called the onely Sonne Besides in regard of ciuill right now hee was his eldest Sonne seeing hee had bought the birth-right of Esau Whether it were a lye or no we will leaue it to God and wee cannot altogether condemne this answere seeing God approoueth it by giuing Iacob the blessing Plato saith When men are dead wee cannot aske them what they meant Therefore we must expound their speeches and their actions to the best meaning And further words are not alwayes to be taken in proper kinde of speaking For Abram defendeth himselfe that Sara was his Sister to wit the Daughter of his Father but not the daughter of his mother Ioseph sweareth by the life of Pharaoh if you take the words as they lye in proper sence he sinned greatly and was euen for his oath the worst of all Iacobs Sonnes But Salmo Iirki expoundeth him thus by the life of Pharaoh you are Spies that is Pharaohs life is a wormes life which in account is no life euen so are ye no Spies in truth though you may seem so to be So likewise Hushai answereth Absalom for when Absalom saw Hushai Dauids Counsellor he asketh him Is this thy kindnesse to thy friend Why wentest thou not with thy friend meaning Dauid Hushai answereth Nay but whom the Lord and this people and all the men of Israel chose his will I be and with him will I dwell This sentence hath a double meaning either that he meant to serue Absalom or King Dauid Therefore when thinges are spoken doubtfully we must marke how men may in wit expound them 2183. Abraham died Gen. 25. Being One hundred Seuentie and fiue yeares old He was buried in Hebron 2188. Heber died Gen. 11. Being Foure hundred Seuentie and fiue yeares old He was the longest liuer of any that was borne after the flood 2231. Ismael died being 137. yeares old THe prophet Esay Cap. 66. prophecying of the calling of the Gentiles nameth the two eldest Sonnes of Ismael Nebaioth and Kedar saying The Rammes of Nebaioth shall serue thee and the sheepe of Kedar shall be gathered vnto thee Againe hee nameth two of Abraham by Ketura Sheba and Seba which two names doe also containe the Gentiles by Cham and the Gentiles of Sem by Iocktan So that vnder the names of the most worthy Gentiles which are the Gentiles by Abraham he sheweth the calling of all the Gentiles in the world Wherby we are taught that Ismaels posteritie was not wholy rooted out of the fauour of God as Ameleck was 2245. Iacob goeth to Laban Gen. 28. HE goeth into the Countrey of Mesopotamia to Laban There he serueth Twentie yeares This Laban was the Sonne of Bethuell and brother to Rebecca and of the house of Nachor the Brother of Abraham and Haran who remained in the Land of the Chaldees after Abrahams departure So that Laban though of Mesopotamia yet is neere kinsman to Iacob Iacob in this Iourney goeth ouer Iordan with his staffe and skrip as closely and secretly as hee could that thereby Esau might not know of his departure for Esau was mightie and as it appeareth afterwards had a band of Foure hundred men Alexander Polyhistor writeth of this flying of Iacob for feare of his brother Esau of his abode in Mesopotamia his seuen yeares seruice his marrying with two Sisters the number of his children the rauishing of Dina the slaughter of Sichem the selling of Ioseph and of his imprisonment his deliuerance for expounding of dreames his authoritie in Egipt his marrying with Putifars daughter his two Sons by name that were borne of her the comming of his Brethren into Egypt the Feast that he made them the Fiue parts that he gaue to Beniamin whereof this Author intendeth to yeeld a reason the comming of Iacob and his whole houshold into Egypt of what age euerie of them was and how many children euerie one of them had and so he bringeth vs downe from Noah to the flood from the flood to Abraham from Abraham to Leui and from Leui to Moses notwithstanding euer among faults in recording the times with some other additions of small importance Which plainely shew that he had not those Histories immediately out of the Bible but out of some other bookes which he had seene elsewhere Iacob going to Haran stayeth by the way all night because the Sunne was downe and layd of the Stones of the place vnder his head and slept There hee seeth the Vision of the Ladder and when hee awaketh hee saith Surely the Lord was in this place and I was not ware of it Then he rose and tooke vp the stones and made a pillar and called it Bethel for he said This is no other but the house of Iehouah and the gate of heauen He seeth a Ladder c. THis Ladder representeth Christ the foot on the earth his humanitie and the top reaching to heauen his deity The Angels of God ascending and descending the meditations betwixt God and vs And the Lord standing aboue vppon it the readinesse of the Father to receiue our prayers This is expounded Ioh. 1.51 Ye shall see the heauens open and the Angels of God ascending and descending vppon the Sonne of man In this Vision of the Ladder we see the whole meditation of Christ is shewed to Iacob And if we duly consider it there could not bee a fitter similitude in the whole course of nature to represent the meditation than the Ladder For euen as in the Ladder if two or three steps be broken the Ladder is to no vse seeing wee can neither ascend nor goe downe by
that married one of Iuda The story whereof hath beene mentioned before in the storie of Ismael the Egyptian The Iewes call themselues Hebrewes to keepe the storie of Heber in remembrance Concerning Moses education God so prouideth that hee is brought vp for the sonne of Pharaohs daughter He is instructed in all the learning of the Egyptians which was the Mathematicks and other humane arts The ouerflowing of Nilus compelled them to be skilfull in Astronomie His Arithmeticke and Geometrie is apparant in the Tabernacle and things therein appointed For though God gaue him instructions yet it could not be that hee should performe them without taking great delight in the proportions themselues which could not bee without great skill in the arte In the candlesticke the Iewes reckon fortie two peeces sixe seuens so you haue in this proportion the remembrance of the Creation and of the Sabbath and of those holy men who were speciall Seuens Basile in his Treatise vppon the Creation affirmeth that there was one to wit Moses the seuenth from Abraham vppon whom after a sort the Iewes should depend God giueth likewise to the heathen the knowledge of these things that thereby looking to the Creation they may admire his eternall wisedome and worship him as Creator And Moses himselfe so layeth them downe that a heathen by his skill in these arts may vnderstand the reason of them The summe of all is God saueth the world by Christ and vseth all humane knowledge as a seruant to teach the Redemption by Christ So Saint Paul speaketh in the acts that all his doctrine was nothing but Moses and the Prophets and their 's nothing but Christ In that sence likewise the Greeke tongue perteineth to Christ Moses knew that hee should bee a deliuerer and therefore seeing an Egyptian misvsing an Israelite hee killeth him Afterwards hee seeth two Hebrewes striuing together and hee commeth to them and telleth them they are brethren why then should they bee at variance They vpbraide him with the slaughter of the Egyptian Hee thought they would haue knowne him their deliuerer But hearing that this was knowne hee fleeth into the land of Madian Of this Saint Paul speaketh in the Epistle to Hebrewes cap. 11. By faith Moses refused to bee called the sonne of Pharaohs daughter and chose rather to suffer affliction with his brethren than to enioy the pleasures of sinne which last but for a season Thus Moses at fortie yeeres old sheweth himselfe a true Christian Hee marrieth Zephora Marie shee despiseth her because shee was of Chush but indeed she was of Abraham by Keturah for Madian one of her sonnes ouerrunneth Chush and so inioyeth the blessing by being of Abraham that Cham should be a seruant of seruants to Sems posteritie Therefore Zephora not inferiour to Marie Maries sinne for despising her was very great yea though it were of ignorance But if shee knew her generation and then through malice contemned her her sinne was so much the greater But whether shee vsed her ill of malice or ignorance wee cannot tell this wee may be sure of her sinne was haynous in the sight of God therefore shee was a leaper Moses ordeined of God to feed Israel was now a shepheard and kept the sheepe of his father in lawe Iethro Duke of Madian where Christ appeared to him in a flame of fire in a bush of thornes who afterwardes in the dayes of his flesh hauing fulfilled Moses and conquered Satan is crowned whith a crowne of thornes euen with the same kinde of plant wherein hee appeared when hee called Moses Cle. Alexandrius Philo a Iewe is verie vsuall in the comparison betweene a shepheard and a King And Homer maketh King Agammenon the shepheard of the people For as sheepe will followe headlong through the gappe which the first brake though it bee euen to their perishing so is the rage of the people strengthned by errour and blindnesse of their nature Thus you see the plainesse and sweetnesse for pleasure of these fortie yeares Moses after this is sent by God to Pharaoh with an Ambassage which hee confirmeth by diuers miracles whereof Pharaohs Enchaunters did some the like This is applyed of Saint Paul against the Antichristian Heretickes as Iannes and Iambres resisted Moses so they resisted the truth but their madnesse shall bee made manifest to all men as theirs was 2. Tim. 3. Pharaoh is plagued with Ten seuerall Plagues The First plague The waters are turned into blood for Seuen dayes that they might bee punished for the death of the children which Pharaoh caused to be drowned in the Riuer that they might knowe that wherein one sinneth therein hee shall be punished The Second plague Frogges are ouer all the Land of Egipt The Antichrists haue spirits like Frogges The Third plague The dust bringeth Lice This the Magitians of Pharaoh could not doe here their madnesse is made knowne They cry that Moses wrought by the finger of God That Christ vseth against the Egyptia call pharisees Mat. 12. If I by the finger of God cast out Diuels c. The Fourth plague Sundrie Swarmes of diuers Vermine plague the Egiptians So Ap. 9. the Antichristian Idolatrers are likened to Scorpions are plagued with stinges of Scorpions The Fifth plague The Egiptians Beasts die of the Plague So Ap. 16. the Romane beast both causeth plague and is plagued The Sixt Plague Byles are vpon the Egyptians men and beasts So Ap. 16. sore and grieuous byles are vppon those that beare the name of the beast and worship his Image The Seuenth Plague Hayle and fire falleth vpon man and beast and on the grasse in the field So Ap. 18. In the rising of the Antichrist is haile and fire mixed with blood and in Ap. 16. great haile falleth vpon man so that men blaspheme God for the stroke of the haile The Eight Plague Locusts are ouer all Egypt So Ap. 9. out of the smoke of Papistrie went forth Locusts ouer all the earth The Ninth plague The Egiptians were Three dayes in darkenesse So Ap. 16. the Kingdome of the Beast is made darke and they bite their tongues for sorrow and blaspheme the God of heauen but doe not repent them of their workes The Tenth plague The Fourteenth day of Nisan in euerie house of the Egiptians some one is slaine So Ap. 19. a greater slaughter and more generall so that all the fowles of the ayre are called to take the Carkasses By Faith they ordayned the Passeouer and the effusion of blood least he that destroyed the first borne should touch them Heb. 11. Christ our Passeouer is offered for vs therefore let vs keepe the Feast 1. Cor. 5. Now follovveth the deliuerance out of Egipt Moses bringeth Israel out of Egipt Exod. 12. FOure hundred and thirty yeres after the promise giuen to Abraham as Exod. 12. when the foure hundred and thirtie yeares were expired euen the selfe-same day departed all the host of the Lord out of the Land of Egipt This foure
hundred hath relation to the time that Ismael and Hagar were expelled Abrahams house for Ismaels flowting of Isaack Here is the performance of Gods promise to Abraham Gen. 15. Thy seede shall be in a strange Land foure hundred yeares but the people whome they shall be in bondage to will I iudge saith God Which was made plaine in the ten plagues of Egipt and in the ouerwhelming of Pharaoh and his Chariots in the red sea as Exod. 14. and Psal 78. Maruailous things did the lord in the sight of our Fathers in the land of Ham euen in the field of Zoan he diuided the Sea and let them go through he made the waters to stand on an heap and led forth his people like sheep and carried them in the wildernesse like a flocke And Psal 114. When Israel came out of Egipt and the house of Iacob from among the strange people Iudah was his Sanctuarie and Israel his Dominion The Sea sawe that and fledde Iordan was driuen back this was performed at the beginning of the Law The Mountaines skipped like Rams and the litle hils like yong sheep c. And Psal 105. Egipt was glad at their departure for they were affraid of them And Psa 106. He rebuked the Red Sea and it was dryed vp he led his people through the deepe as through a wildernesse As for those that troubled them the waters ouer-whelmed them and there was not one of them left Then the children of Israel beleeued his words and sange praise vnto him But within a while they forgat his workes and would not abide his counsell but lust came vpon them in the wildernesse and they tempted God in the desert And Psa 78. They forgat what he had wrought in Egipt and his wonders in the field of Zoan How he led them in the day with a cloud and all the night through with a pillar of fire Hee claue the hard Rockes in the wildernesse and gaue them drinke thereof hee brought waters out of the Stonie Rocke so that it gushed out like the Riuers But they prouoked the most highest in the wildernesse and tempted God in their harts saying Shall God prepare a table in the wildernesse He smote the stonie Rocke indeed and the streames flowed withall but can he giue bread also or prouide flesh for his people wherewith the Lord was wroth so hee rained downe Manna from heauen So man did eate Angels food for hee sent them meat ynough At their desire he brought quailes and hee filled them with the bread of heauen hee rayned flesh vppon them as thicke as dust and feathered fowles as the sands of the sea he let it fall amonge their tents euen round about their habitation so they did eat and were filled for hee gaue them their owne desire they were not disappointed of their lust but while the meat was in their mouths the heauie wrath of God came vppon them and slue the wealthiest of them and smote downe the chosen men that were in Israel But for all this they sinned yet more Againe psal 106. They angred Moses in their Tents and Aaron the Saint of the Lord. So the earth swallowed vp Dathan and couered the congregation of Abiram and the fire was kindled in their companie the flame burnt vp the vngodly They made a Calfe in Horeb and worshipped the moulten Image Thus they turned the glorie of God into the similitude of a Calfe that eateth hay So he sayd he would haue destroyed them had not Moses his chosen stand before him in the gappe to turne away his wrathfull indignation yea they thought scorne of that pleasant Land and gaue no credence to his words but murmured in their Tents they ioyned themselues with Baal Peor and eat the offerings of the dead Thus still they prouoked God vnto anger with their inuentions and the plague was great amonge them But Phinees stoode vp and prayed and the plague ceased and that was counted to him for righteousnesse throughout all posterities for euer They angred him also at the waters of strife so that he punished Moses for their sakes because they prouoked his spirite so that he spake vnaduisedly with his lips Neuerthelesse he thought vpon his couenant and pitied them according to the multitude of his mercies as appeareth 2. Esdr 9 Thou camest downe vpon Sinay and spakest to them from heauen and gauest them right iudgements true Lawes good Commandements and Statutes and declaredst vnto them thy holy Sabbath and commaundedst them Precepts Ordinances and Lawes by the hand of Moses thy seruant and gauest them bread from heauen when they were hungry and broughtest forth water out of the Rocke for them when they were thirstie and promisedst them that they should goe in and take and possesse the Land but they were proude and became obstinate and heady but God forgaue them and was gracious and mercifull patient and of great goodnesse and forsook them not although they made a moulten Calfe and said These are our Gods that brought vs out of the Land of Egipt and did speake blasphemously yet hee forsooke them not in the wildernesse according to his great mercie Fortie yeares long made he prouision for them in the wildernesse so that they lacked nothing their clothes waxed not old and their feete swelled not In this Fortie yeares of their being in the wildernesse many things are to be vnderstood God chose these Forty that all the world might knowe of the Redemption by Christ It standeth of Foure Tens This time is made more famous by the Storie wherein a speciall thing is to be obserued that in all these Forty yeres you haue but three yeares storie and a halfe And thus it is cast One yeare is spent in the Tabernacle halfe a yeare after the Spies are sent to view the Land Vpon their Storie God sweares that they shall not enter into his rest From thence you haue no Storie till the two last yeares of the conquest of Ob and of Maries death This one would not thinke of if the bare Storie did not compell him For comparison with this three yeares and a halfe I will speake more hereafter You haue in the wildernesse the Lambe which represented Christ and Manna which Christ expounds in Ioh. 6. I am the true bread that came from heauen Your Fathers did eat Manna and are dead hee that eateth of this bread shall liue for euer The Rock signified Christ The lifting vp of the Serpent his death Balaam he prophecieth of Christ There shall come a Starre from Iacob and a Scepter shall rise from Israel Kittim and Assur shall afflict Heber but they also shall come to destruction at the last This prophecie begins in the sixt yeare of Ezechias THe time was in the Moneth Abib which Moneth containeth part of March and part of Aprill The Seuentie Interpreters call it Tanda the Moneth of greene blades for about this time of the yeare corne beginneth to shew it selfe aboue the ground Their yeare before
shall raigne and prosper In his dayes Iuda shall bee saued and Israel shall dwell safely and this is the name whereby they shall call him The Lord our righteousnesse In the 110. Psalme the Lord sware and will not repent thou art a King for euer after the order of Melchisedech the King of righteousnesse In the first Epistle of Saint Iohn it is thus expounded If any man sinne wee haue an Aduocate with the Father Iesus Christ the righteous The Seuentie Interpreters translating the place of Ieremie And this is his name The Lord our righteousnesse because they knew the Egyptians could neuer vnderstand the meaning of the Lord our righteousnesse they translate it thus And he shall be called the Sonne of Iehosadach which is in signification Ichouah Tzedek The Lord our righteousnesse but thereby the Grecians thought hee was the Sonne of Iehosadach Where Saint Paul speaketh Philip. 2. That at the name of Iesus euerie knee should bow both in heauen and in earth We thinke that the meaning is the outward bowing of our knees and of an externall worship to be giuen at the sound of this word Iesus That is not so but this is the meaning That his Maiesty is so omnipotent that all the creatures both in heauen and earth must be subiect to him And this Christ himselfe prooued by his miracles when the fishes obeyed when the Deuils resisted not when the water bare him vp and the winde was calme at his word Wherefore if wee admit the first exposition wee commit a grosse errour for so soone as wee heare Iesus pronounced we begin to worship by bending our knees though that name be not meant of Christ As in the Epistle to the Hebrewes it is sayd If Iesus had setled the people in rest c. Here is meant Iesus the Sonne of Nun and yet this Iesus shall haue bowing of knees Now compare Iesus with Iesus As Iesus the Son of Nun receiued the gouernment and law from Moses before Iesus Iordan opened Iesus caused the Sunne to stay in the firmament So Iesus Christ fulfilled all the same before Iesus Christ when he was baptised at Iordan the heauens opened Iesus Christ caused the sun to be darkened in the firmament If Iesus had setled the people in rest c. IEsus which signifieth Sauiour with Eleasar who is surnamed Aaron which signifieth Christ Annointed setled the Israelites in an earthly rest in the outward Canaan Iesus with Eleasar brought the Iewes out of the captiuitie of Babell and set them in their Land againe Iesus Christ the Annointed Sauiour hauing in halfe a Seuen conquered Hell and Sathan hath setled our mindes and set vs in an heauenly rest in the spirituall Canaan So the holy Ghost speaketh for if Iesus had setled the people in rest then would not Dauid after this haue spoken of another rest Moses giueth instruction to Iesus for the Conquest of the Land and goeth not thither himselfe So Moses vnprofitable except Christ had come and performed it THis Fiftie sheweth that the reckoning of the yeare of Iubilee here beginneth The Seuen sheweth that the people of Israel were sixe yeres in conquering the Land of Canaan and the Seuenth yeare setled in rest as the world was six dayes in making and the Seuenth day appointed for rest The Fiue and Fortie will approoue this true in the Fourteenth of Iosua Caleb saith Fortie yeares old was I when Moses sent mee to spie the Lands Now the people of Israel were Two yeares in the Wildernesse before the Spies were sent When the Land is fully conquered hee sayth I am this day fiue and Fortie yeres old since Moses sent me from Cadesbarnes to view the Land From which fiue and Fortie if you take away Seuen there remaineth Thirtie and Eight to which if you adde the other two in which they were in the Wildernes before the Spies were sent you haue Fortie so long they were in the Wilnernesse and the other Seuen they were in conquering the Land For comparison with this Seuen you haue Seuen Fifties for the house of Ioseph so Hoseas the Prophet speaketh while Ioseph spake there was great terrour Then Seuen Seuenties to the Captiuitie Ten Seuens the Captiuity and Seuen Seuenties to the death of Christ The proofe of this is layd downe in the 25. of Leuit. where they are cōmanded vpon their setling in the Land to number vnto them sixe yeares for tilling and plowing their ground and the Seuenth to be a Sabbath that is holy vnto the Lord. And Seuen Sabbaths of yeares thou shalt likewise number then thou shalt cause to blowe the Trumpet of the Iubilee and that was the next yeare after the seuenth Seuen Theodoretus saith Moses prophecied that Iesus should be Seuen yeares in conquering the Land and thereby likewise expresseth the Iubilee and thereby sheweth the Fiftie yeares after they should ouerthrow Chusan So the first Iubilee hath a wonderfull victorie God had an especiall purpose in his prouidence that the land should not bee conquered in one day which he could haue performed because from obseruing the wonderfull order of Iesus victories the nations farre and neere might bee stirred vp to enquire after their God and if they would not yet hereby to bee made vnexcusable Suidas noteth that hee came into a Countrey where hee found certaine blacke pillars erected wherein this was engrauen Iesus the spoyler droue vs out of Canaan Cadmus builds Thebes while the Grecians flourished and there was continuall enmitie betweene the Athenians and the Thebanes and if you cast the ages to Dauids time you shall find that Iesus draue him out likewise Now followeth the diuiding of the Land which is particularly handled in Ioshua 15 16 17 18 19. NOw the curse is performed Gen. 10. Cursed be Canaan a seruant of seruants shall he be For his posteritie the most part of them are driuen out of their Land being replenished with all good things and Sem doth raigne our him Seuen Nations onely were driuen out the rest God would not as yet vtterly roote out but reserued them to bee spurres in the sides and thornes in the eyes of the Israelites if they should at any time bee stout and forget God This conquest of Sems house vppon Canaan God purposed when hee first setled them in the Land at the scattering of Nations as Moses testifieth Deut. 32. When the most high God diuided to the Nations their inheritance he appointed the borders of a people according to the number of the Sonnes of Israel Our translation is faultie in that place and thereby obscureth the meaning of the place For we say When the most high diuided to the Nations their inheritance hee appointed the borders of the people according to the number of the children of Israel which any man knoweth to be infinite and therfore not proper for the vnderstanding of the text For looke what Countreys Iacob gaue in his will and described Iesus and Eleasar performed in possession to
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
one yeare and is slaine after this there is a Famine for three yeares and the Twelfth yeare Dauid dieth and then Salomon succeedeth in the Kingdome Eupolemus saith that the building of the Temple was reserued to Salomon who came to the Crowne at the age of Twelue yeares This time hath a comparison with Christ As Salomon being Twelue yeares old decided the controuersie between the two women for the dead Child Euen so Iesus Christ much more to be admired than Salomon at Twelue yeares of age disputeth with the Doctors in the Temple For this number of Twelue You haue Twelue Signes Moneths in the yeare Stones in Iordan Loaues of bread in the Tabernacle Stewards of Salomons house Fountaines in the Wildernesse Apostles times 12 thousand Christians sealed in the Reuelatiō Christ telleth that the Queene of the South came to heare the wisedome of Salomon But saith he behold a greater than Salomon Besides cleane through the song of songs you haue Christ and Salomon compared together sauing onely in the beginning where it is sayd a Song of Salomons We read in Plutarch that it was a custome amonge the Kings of old time to put questions one to another to trie the abilitie of their wits and that a certaine praise was appointed to him that got the victorie and Dius an Historiographer of the Phoenicians rehearseth the Riddles and Questions that Salomon sent to King Hiram saying that it cost Hiram verie much in that he could not open them vntill at length he found a young man of Tyrus named Abdemon who decyphered vnto him the most part of them we finde that in the Booke of Iudges Sampson promised great rewardes to them that could declare his Riddle These haue a fit relation to the parables vttered by Christ to the Iewes Something must be said of the annointing of Kings WE shall finde that Saul was annointed because hee was the first King And Dauid was annointed because he was chosen by God of another tribe And Salomon was annointed because that Absolom and Adonay gaue a push for the Kingdome And Ioas was annointed because Athalia sought to set vp other Euerie one that is a Christian is called the annnointed of the Lord as it is in the ◠Psal Touch not mine annointed nor doe my Prophets no harme This is spoken of Abraham Isaacke and Iacob and so consequently of all the faithfull For annointing of Kings it is not lawfull by imitation to reuiue it as a ceremonie seeing this was neuer done but vpon speciall occasion the state requiring it diuers hauing at that time title to the Crowne In respect of policie it is peraduenture lawfull hauing been authorised by the consent of Nations otherwise not Temple built foure Hundred and Eightie yeares after the Children of Israel came out of Egipt 1. King 6. THe foundation of the Temple is laide on Mount Moriah where Adam was created where the Fathers in ancient time sacrificed where Isaack was offered where Iehouah appeared to Dauid staying the plague 2. Chron. 3.1 As a Citie or an house scituate vpon an hill cannot be hidden euen so God would haue his people not to behid but to be an example to all Nations The Temple is twise as bigge as the Tabernacle because that the Temple and the Tabernacle had a relation to the number of the people Seing therefore now the people were twise so many as then the Temple ought to be twise so bigge The efficient cause is the commandement and warrant of God the instrumentall cause is Dauid he putteth it not in practise because hee was a man much busied in warres It was begunne to be built in the Fourth yeare of the raigne of Salomon The Cedars for it were had from Libanon where Noahs Arke was built In the vnderstanding of the Temple and the particulars thereof consisteth the whole summe of Religion It had Sixe Courts and euerie Court of seuerall vse before you came to the holy of holyest and euerie Court were Twelue steppes one aboue another The vse of which is that it is no easie studie to attaine to the depth of the knowledge of God neither can a man attaine vnto it at the first as hee will but he must ascend by degrees So were the windowes narrowe without and wide within to shewe that they which once had obtained the knowledge of Christ embracing it with a liuely faith doe behold his graces in a full clearer sort than those which are without For the Courts they were thus distinguished Within the vtmost rayles the heathen and prophane people might stand to see and heare and as they were like beasts in knowledge so their place was next to the beasts of the field In the second Court the women stood In the third Court the Common people In the fourth Court the King did heare the Law read In the fift were the Sacrifices burnt vppon the brasen Altar In the sixt was the golden Altar and the Table of Shew-bread In the Seuenth was the holy of holyest where was the Arke of the Couenant of Iehouah and within it the two tables of Testimony Into it onely might enter the high Sacrificer and that he might doe but once a yeare figuring Christ the high Sacrificer which once for all should enter into the holy of holyest to make intercession for all the world Betweene the holy and the holy of holyest there was a vaile of blew silke purple crimson and fine linnen and Cherubines wrought thereon This vaile represented the bodie of Christ and shewed that none could come to the Father but by the Sonne and none come vnto the Sonne except the Father draw him When Christ was crucified this vaile did teare from the toppe to the bottome and shewed that by his suffering of death all men then were Kings and Sacrificers and might by their owne prayers grounded on knowledge and the feare of God obtaine forgiuenesse of their sinnes The dores pillars and seeling of the Temple were couered with gold resembling the golden spirite of prophecie And when the Temple was built the stones were so squared before they were brought that there was neither hammer axe or any toole of yron heard in the Temple while it was in building To teach the Israelites that they ought to liue in peace loue and vnity one with another without iarring or contention if they would haue the vse of Gods holy Temple For saith God My house is a house of prayer The Temple is a resemblance of things in earth respecting God in heauen The summe is Moses to bee compared with Salomon Salomon with Daniel Daniel with Christ Christ to be compared with all In the Eleauenth yeare of Salomon he finished the Temple AS the Tabernacle was 7. Months in building so now the Temple was Seuen yeares in building thirteene yeares after Salomon builds his owne house There be that thinke he was twentie yeares old when hee tooke vpon him to succeed in the Kingdome and they cast his yeares to be foure
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
the thinges hid in secret places that thou mayest know that I am the Lord which call thee by thy name euen the God of Israel For Iacob my seruants sake and Israel mine elect I will euen call thee by thy name and name thee though thou hast not knowne me I whose hands haue spread out the heauens I haue euen commaunded all thine armie I haue raysed thee vp in righteousnesse and I will direct all thy wayes thou shalt build my Citie and let goe my captiues not for price nor reward saith the Lord of Hostes The labour of Egipt and the marchandise of Ethiopia and of the Sabeans men of stature shall come vnto thee and they shall be thine they shall follow thee and make supplication vnto thee saying Surely God is in thee and there is none other Gods besides And Esay 46. For I call a bird from the East and the man of my counsell from farre as I haue spoken so will I bring it to passe I haue purposed and I will doe it Heare me yee stubborne hearted and that are farre from iustice I bring neere my iustice it shall not be farre off and my saluation shall not tarrie for I will giue saluation in Sion and my glorie vnto Israel These people here mentioned were tributaries to the Persians Cyrus was a figure of Christ For as Cyrus deliuered the Iewes from the bondage of Babel so Iesus Christ deliuered vs from the bondage of the spirituall Babel Thus much for the Prophecie of the persons who should destroy Babylon Now followeth the Prophecies of the destruction thereof BEL is bowed downe Nebo is fallen they are bowed downe and fallen together for they could not rid them of their burden and their soule is gone into captiuitie And Esay 47. Come downe and sitte in the dust O Virgin daughter Bahel sitte on the ground there is no throne O Daughter of the Caldeans for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate Take the mill stones and grinde meale loose thy lockes make bare thy feete vncouer the leg and passe through the flouds Thy filthinesse shall be discouered and thy shame shall be seene I will take vengeance and not meete thee as a man meaning that he would vse no humanity nor pittie towardes it Our Redeemer the Lord of hostes is his name the Holy one of Israel Sit still and get thee into darknesse O daughter of the Caldeans for thou shalt no more be called the Lady of Kingdomes I was wrath with my people I polluted mine inheritance and gaue them into thine hands and thou diddest shew them no mercie but thou laidst the very heauie yoke vpon the ancient and thou saidst I shall be a Lady for euer so that thou didst not set thy heart to these things neither didst thou remember the latter end thereof Therefore now heare thou that art giuen to pleasures and dwellest carelesse Thou saist in thy heart I am and none else I shall not sit as a widdowe neither shall know the losse of children but these two things shall come to thee in one day the losse of children and widdowhood for the multitude of the diuinations and for the great abundance of thine enchanters haue caused thee to rebell and thou hast said in thy heart I am and none else Stand now among thy enchanters and in the multitude of thy sooth-sayers let now the Astrologers the starre gasers and Prognosticators stand vp and saue thee from these things Behold they shall be as stubble they shall burne like fire and shall not deliuer their owne liues from the power of the flame For Babell is fallen it is fallen and all the images of her Gods are broken to the ground this is the time of the Lords vengeance he will render vnto her a recompence Babell hath beene as a golden cuppe in the Lords hand that made all the earth drunken the Nations haue drunke of her wine therefore doe the Nations rage Babell is sodainely fallen and destroyed howle for her bring balme for her sore if she may be healed We would haue cured Babell but shee could not be healed Forsake her and let euery one goe into his own cuntrey for her iudgment is come vp into heauen and is lifted vp to the clowds O thou that dwellest vpon many waters aboundant in treasures thy end is come euen the end of thy couetousnesse Behold I come vnto thee O destroying mountaine which destroyest all the earth saith the Lord and I will stretch out my hand vpon thee and roll thee downe from the rockes and will make thee a burnt mountaine They shall not take of thee a stone for a corner nor a stone for foundations but thou shalt bee destroyed for euer saith the Lord. A Poste shall runne to meete the Poste and a Messenger to meete the Messenger to shew the King of Babell how his citie is taken on a side therof and that the daughter of Babel is like a threshing floore and the time of her threshing is come saith the Lord. The spoile of me and that which was left of me is brought vnto Babel shall the inhabitant of Sion say and my bloud vnto the inhabitants of Caldea shall Ierusalem say Therefore Babel shall be as heapes a dwelling place for Dragons an astonishment and an hissing without an inhabitant They shall roare together like Lions and yelle as the Lyons whelpes In their heate I will make them feastes I will make them drunken that they may reioyce and sleepe a perpetual sleepe and not wake saith the Lord. How is Sheshack taken how is the glory of the whole world taken how is Babell become an astonishment among the Nations her cities are desolate the land is dry and a wildernesse a land wherein no man dwelleth neither doth the Sonne of man passe therby Though Babell should mount vp to the heauens and though she should defend her strength on high yet from me shall come her destroyers saith the Lord. For the Lord God that recompenceth will surely recompence and I wil make drunke her Princes and her Wisemen her Dukes and her Nobles and they shall slâ—epe a perpetuall sleepe and not wake saith the King whose name is the Lord of hostes And Ieremie tooke a great stone and cast it into Euphrates and said Thus shall Babylon be ouerthrowen Thus the word of the Lord remayneth for euer as it is written If any leade into captiuity hee shall goe into captiuity and if any kill with a sword he must be killed with a sword Ap. 13. Now compare the impieties of Rome or misticall Babylon with these times and you shall find them the very same and therefore the Holy Ghost layeth downe her destruction as the destruction of Babel ANd Ap. 14. I sawe an Angell flie in the middest of heauen hauing an euerlasting Gospel saying with with a loude voice Feare God and giue glory to him for the houre of his iudgment is come And there followed an other Angel saying It is
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
And because hee shall be God and Man therefore he shall be called Emanuel This is he of whome the Prophet Esay cap. 9. foretold saying Vnto vs a childe is borne and vnto vs a sonne is giuen and the gouernment is vppon his shoulder and he shall cal his name Wonderfull Counseller the Mighty God the euerlasting Father the Prince of Peace The encrease of his gouernment and peace shall haue no end He is also called The Sonne of the Virgin Emanuel God with vs Es 7. Shiloh the acceptable child Gen. 49. The bright day starre Luke 3 The Seede of the woman Gen. 3 The Phisition to the helplesse The proclaymer of the acceptable yeare of the Lord The starre and Scepter that should dash all the sonnes of Seth Numb 24 The stone cut out of the mountaine without hands that now filleth all the earth with his glory euē he that should punne Nebucadnetzars image to dust Dan. 2 The sprigge of the root of Iessaj Esay 11 The most holy The annointed of the Father That great Prophet The Tabernacle The Temple The Altar The mercie seate The way that leadeth to the heauenly Ierusalem The truth that directeth to eternall happinesse The life that redeemed Adam from death The true Israelite in whome there is no guile The law-giuer of the Gentiles The propitiatory for our sinnes The mediator betwixt God and man The first begotten Sonne of the Father The euerlasting our Righteousnesse The great sheepheard of his sheepe whome Angels worshipped to whom Kings brought sweet odors as to Salomon to whome the sheepheards of the ends of the earth came to worship He is also called Palmony the secret Numberer who weigheth numbreth and diuideth The Messias Dan. 9. The sonne of Dauid The Lion of the tribe of Iuda The sonne of man The spirituall Rocke The true bread that came from heauen The word that created all things The beloued of the Lord The light and life of man The true vine The dwelling of God with men Michael who thought it no robbery to be equall with God He to whome the Crowne and Diademe doth belong The King of the Iewes Alpha and Omega The Lambe that was killed from the beginning of the world The place where he was borne was Bethlehem of Iudah which the Prophet Micheas calleth Little to be among the thousands of Iudah yet saith the prophet out of thee shall he come forth vnto me that shal be the ruler of Israel whose goings forth haue been from the beginning and from euerlasting The prophet calleth it Little because according to the custome of the Iewes who diuided their countrie into thousands for euery thousand a chiefe Captaine Bethleem was not able to make a thousand But S. Mathew Chap. 2. in respecting the greatnes of the Ruler of Israel that was borne there saith And thou Bethlehem art not the least of the cities of Iudah The time of his birth was in the 42. yeare of Augustus Caesar who Luc. 2. gaue a commandement that all the world should be taxed Therfore went euery man to his owne citie and Ioseph went from Galile out of a citie called Nazaret in Iudea vnto the citie of Dauid which is called Bethleem because he was of the house and lineage of Dauid to be taxed with Mary that was giuen him to wife which was with child And there shee brought forth her first begotten sonne and wrapped him in swadling clothes and laid him in a cribbe because there was no roome for them in the Inne And there were in the same countrie sheepheards abiding in the field and keeping watch by night because of their flockes loe the Angel of the Lord came vpon thē and the glory of the Lord shone about them and they were sore afraide Then the Angell said Be not afraid for behold I bring you tidings of great ioy that shall be to al people that is vnto you is borne this day in the citie of Dauid a Sauiour which is Christ the Lord. And strait way there was with the Angell a multitude of heauenly souldiers praysing God and saying Glory be to God in the highest heauens and peace in earth and towards men good will And these sheepheards following the starre it vanished away where fore they came to Ierusalem and asked saying Where is he that is borne King of the Iewes The purpose of God in this was that the Iewes who by the Prophets might and were bound to haue knowen this by the diligence of the heathen might bee vnexcusable in the day of wrath But departing from Herod the Starre which they before had seene appeared vnto them and went before them till it came stood ouer the place where the Babe was and they went into the house and fell downe and worshiped him and opened their treasures and presented vnto him gifts euen gold and incense and mirhe Heere is performed Esay 60. They of Sheba and Seba shall bring forth gold and incense vpon mine Altar meaning Christ And I will magnifie the house of my glory These were the first fruits of the Gentiles And these Gentiles also were of Abraham by Keturah to whome when he died he gaue gifts and sent them away to the East There was Iob found a iust and perfect man when all the world else had forsaken God And the Sheepheards returned glorifying and praysing God for all they had heard and seene And after eight daies they circumcised the child his name was then called Iesus which was named of the Angell before hee was conceaued in the wombe Herod another Pharaoh proceeding of Esau the old enemie to Iacob destroyeth the little children not by water as the first Pharaoh did Exod. 2. but by the sword Math. 2. Rachel weepeth for her children and would not be comforted because they were not that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Prophet Ier. 31.15 Ioseph taketh the Babe and Marie his Mother and goeth into Egypt vntill the death of Herod and then returneth againe that it might bee fulfilled which was written Oseas 11.1 Out of Egipt haue I called my son There is a great doubt of the time of the yeare of Christs birth which because it is very necessary to bee knowne I thinke it not amisse to lay it downe in the treatise following SAint Mathew reckoning the kindred of Christ brings them down but from Abraham to make the number of his generations Fortie two that is six seauens or three fourteenes and bringeth him also from Salomon thereby to prooue him King of the Iewes But in reckoning the Kings to make the number answerable to a sweet proportion of a former storie that is of the two and fortie standings in the wildernesse and the two and fortie flowers bowles knobbes of the candlesticke in the tabernacle which figured Christ leaueth out three Ioas Amasias and Azarias S. Luke reckoning his kindred bringeth thē from Adam and from Dauid by Nathan thereby to prooue him to be the Seede of the woman
The number of the generations are 75 answerable in number to Abrahams yeares when the promise concerning the state of the outward Canaan figuring the spiritual holy land was giuen vnto him The key of all Chronicles is taught in Luke 3. Where he compareth the age of Christ with the Romane Empire whereby the writers of Chronicles are taught to compare the heathen histories with the Bible without which place they should hardly haue beene compared so certaine as now they may AT twelue yeares of age Iesus is found in the Temple disputing among the Doctors doubtlesse of the Messias seeing therein all wisdome standeth This twelue hath comparison with the yeres of Salomons age when he decided the controuersie for the dead child But saith S. Mathew Behold a greater than Salomon 3956. Christ baptized BEginning to be thirtie yeares olde according to the manner of the high sacrificer which shadowed Christ who might not enter into that office before he was Thirtie yeares olde His name Christ signifieth Annointed so Aaron in Hebrew signifieth Annointed Now in the Fifteenth yeare of Tiberius Caesar Pontius Pilate beeing gouernour of Iudea and Herod being Tetrarch of Galile and his brother Philip Tetrarch of Iturea and of the country of the Trachonitis and Lysanias the Tetrarch of Abilene when Annas and Caiphas were the high Priests the word of God came vnto Iohn the sonne of Zacharias in the wildernesse and he came into all the coasts of Iordan preaching the baptisme of repentance for the remission of sins as it was foretold Esay 40. The voice of a cryer in the wâ—ldernesse is 5 Prepare the way of the Lord make his paths streight euerie valley shall be filled and euerie mountaine and hill shall bee brought lowe and crooked things shall be made streight and the rough waies shall be made smooth and all flesh shall see the saluation of God The people maruailed at him thinking him to bee Christ but Iohn answered I baptize you with water but one stronger than I commeth whose shooes latchet I am not worthy to vnloose hee will baptize you with the holy ghost and with fire Thus then with many exhortations hee preached vnto the people Now it came to passe as all the people were baptized Iesus also is baptized at Iordan the place of passage and the heauens did open as to the passage of the children of Israel Of this Dauid 114. Psal speaketh Iordan what ayleth thee that thou art turned backe As touching the peculiar act of baptizing it seemeth that the Leuites wayted for some speciall thing vpon it in that they asked of Iohn How happeneth it that thou baptizest if thou bee neither Christ nor Elias the Prophet After this Iohn Baptist hauing beene put in prison for rebuking Herod the Tetrarch for Herodias his brother Philips wife and because of an oath he made to Herodias Daughter is beheaded Mat. 14. And Iesus full of the holy ghost returneth from Iordan and was in the wildernesse fortie dayes and fortie nights as was Moses and was tempted of the Deuill Luk. 4. At Nazareth he sheweth out of Esay all the ioy of the proclamation of the ioyfull or Iubilee yeare to bee fulfilled in him that day At Nazareth also out of Esay hee sheweth the nature of his name Christ for that God annointed him to shew the glad tidings to the poore to heale the broken in heart to preach to the captiues libertie and to the blinde recouerie of sight to proclaime the shaking away of all burthens the ioyfull yeare of the Lord and sheweth how that day that scripture was fulfilled in their eares Now the proclaiming of the Iubilee yeare was on the Tenth day of Tisri euen the same day that the high priest entred into the sanctuarie It seemed therefore that he that day expounded the name and office of the Messias Christ preacheth the word of God in euery towne all his preachings are of the forgiuenesse of sinnes and of the Kingdome of heauen His Disciples were alwaies importune in asking him Lord when wilt thou set vp the Kingdome of Israel againe in stead of contenting them he answereth concerning the Kingdome of heauen One of them would needes haue sit on his right hand and another on his left but he answereth Whosoeuer will be greatest let him be least Hee feedeth Foure thousand with fiue loaues and two fishes Easter being neere but hee went not to the feast This Christ by his power and prouidence doth to the worlds end which we by experience doe knowe if wee marke the woonderfull encrease of the blessings of God He teacheth of the Manna that giueth life vnto the world also of the eating of his flesh and drinking of his blood Easter being neere On the Fiue and twentie of Cisleu Dan. 8. Christ celebrateth the feast that Iudas Machabeus ordained in memorie of the Temple renued from the idolatrie of Antiochus and there hee teacheth that hee is Michael in the forme of God that standeth for his people saying My Father and I am one and none can take my sheepe from me He goeth into Iericho the City of Rahab which was accursed by Iosua in old time and there saueth Zache a chiefe publican froÌ„ the curse He raiseth Lazarus from death Lazarus is my God is the helpe Christ is sayd to loue him Ioh. 11.3 as he loueth all that answere to that name whereof in that parable Luk. 16. Lazarus is set downe for any godly men Moses handleth this name Exod. 2. when he calleth Sonne Eleasar or Lazarus for Eleasar is the same in signification with Lazarus Vpon this occasion for raysing to life the dead for louing of those who hold God their helper the high Priests assembled the Sanedrin or high counsell and from that day they took counsell how to kill him After this he suppeth in Bethani the house of affliction Sixe dayes before the Passeouer where Marie with precious Nard annointeth him vnto his buriall This is foretold in the Song of songs When the King did sit at his repast my Spikenard gaue the smell thereof He commeth to Ierusalem the people tooke palme treeboughes and goe to meet him saying Hosanna It is to bee vnderstood that the feast of Tabernacles ordayned to begin the Fifteenth of Tisri was ordained in token of Gods defence of the people in the cloude in the wildernesse which signified the dwelling of the word of God in the nature of man And whereas hee was borne the day of preparing the boughes and then baptized and at the feast of Tabernacles proclaimed himselfe that all should come to him that thirsted to haue waters of life out of the rocke this being not vnderstood in the feast of Tabernacles the people now performe that which was to bee done in bearing the boughes they cryed Hosanna whereof those boughes were called Hosanna so that in Hosanna to the Sonne of Dauid they meane thus much these boughes we beare in the honour of the Sonne of Dauid Iesus bewayleth Ierusalem
mee vinegar to drinke they persecute him whom thou hast smitten and they talke how they may vexe him whome thou hast wounded Thou hast layd me in the lowest pit in a place of darkenesse and in the deepe This text the Iewes haue striuen with great malice to corrupt for in stead of Caru that is to say they pierced the Iewes will needs read Caari that is as a Lion but the Massorets who registred the number of the words and letters in the Bible doe testifie that in all good copies it is written Caru they pierce Also the Seuentie Interpreters haue translated into greeke 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. They pierced my hands c. Also the Prophet Zacharie sayth I will powre out the spirite of grace and mercie vpon the house of Dauid and vpon the Inhabitants of Ierusalem and they shall looke vnto me whome they pierced Christ suffered at Easter to end the ceremony of the paschall Lambe For now the true Lambe of God which taketh away the sinnes of the world is offered vp for vs. As of the paschall Lambe no bone was broken so of Christ the immaculate Lambe no bone was broken As the redde Cowe in Moses accompanied with all the people was conuayed out of the host and burned with the campe so also was Iesus ledde out of the Citie accompanied by the people and crucified without the Citie He went ouer the brooke Kedron the way that Dauid fled from Absalom He went into a garden to pray to recouer Adams fall in the garden He suffered on friday being the Iewes sixt day the day wherein Adam was created He suffered at noone the time when Adam disobeyed He suffered on the crosse to take the curse vpon him He openeth Paradise to the poore theefe out of which Adam that day was driuen Two theeues were crucified with him and hee was reckoned amonge the wicked as Esay forespake Esay 53. Generall darknesse at his death was ouer all the world from the sixt houre vntill the ninth houre Adams soule was in darknesse hiding himselfe from the presence of God from the sixt houre vntill the ninth houre At the ninth houre he called on God whose voice Adam could not abide As Ioseph buried his Father Iacob so now Ioseph burieth Christ the true Iacob After three dayes and three nights hee riseth againe as Ionas after three dayes and three nights was deliuered out of the Whales belly After his resurrection hee appeareth twelue times as Iosua sent twelue to view the Land of Canaan He walked on the earth fortie dayes as Iosua viewed the Land fortie dayes On the Fiftieth day hee sendeth the holy Ghost vpon the Apostles so after eating the Lambe on the Fiftie day the Law was giuen Now Christ the couragious white horse shineth and his Kingdome is established and Satan is bound for a thousand yeares For the preaching of Christ and his Apostles hath opened the eyes of some of all the Gentiles in the world whereby the power of Sathan is weakned and the rage of the cruell Hornes of the beast of Rome that is the tyrannie of the persecuting Emperors Nero Domitian and the rest plagued by the hand of God Plagues of blood famine and pestilence resembled by horses red blacke and leane the great beast also hauing one head cut off lyeth dead vntill the end of the thousand yeares and the gracious Gospell of Christ flourishing in Iaphets borders these be the ends of the earth Sems house not regarding the peace of Ierusalē Iaphets Sons are perswaded to come to his tents to fetch precious stones from Sion to lay the foundation of the spirituall Salem to perfourme the blessing of Noah Gen. 10. And God will perswade Iaphet to dwell in the tents of Sem. The earthly Ierusalem is now destroyed by the Romanes vnder whome Christ was crucified called in Dan. 9. the abhomination of desolation whose Citie in respect of their impieties is called Ap. 11. a spirituall Sodome Egipt and therfore vnto Iohn figured by one monstrous beast hauing seuen heads and ten hornes answearable to the number of the heads and hornes of Daniels foure beasts one of whose heads Constantine the great cutteth off by remoouing the imperiall seat of the Romane Empire to Constantinople which he called new Rome so that the beast lay wounded about three hundred yeres one while being ouercome by Vandals another while by Lumbards another while by Germanes one while by one and another while by another and withall such plagues lighted vpon the afflicters of the Church of God that they in effect desired the mountaines to fall vpon and couer them Thus it was of no glorie vntill the end of the thousand yeares then Satan is let loose and suffered to goe roaring about to deceiue the hearts of the people seeking like a ramping and a roaring Lion whome hee might deuoure and hee putteth life into this dead beast hauing power giuen him from God Reuel 13. And hee spake as did the Dragon and hee did all that the first beast could doe in his presence and hee caused the earth with them that dwell therein to worship the first beast whose deadly wound was healed and he did great wonders so that hee made fire to come downe from heauen in the sight of men and deceiued them that dwelt on the earth by the meanes of those signes which hee had power to doe in the sight of the beast saying to them that dwell on the earth that they should make an image vnto the beast which had the wound of a sword and did liue And hee had power to giue a spirite vnto the image of the beast and that the image of the beast should speake and should cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should bee killed And hee caused all both small and great rich and poore free and bond to receiue a marke in their right hand or in their foreheads or the number of his name Here is wit let him that hath wisedome count the number of the beast for it is the number of a man and his number is sixe hundred threescore and sixe When Gregorie the seuenth forbiddeth mariages who taketh vpon him not the forme of the former beast and hornes but the shape of a Lambe with two hornes pretending all holynesse of whome Christ forbad long before to take heed saying Mat. 7. Take heed of such as come in sheeps clothing and say here is Christ and there is Christ and to colour this Religion to be good they strengthen the throne of Sathan they erect houses for deuout persons patternes as they say of chastitie good life and all vertue sequestring themselues from the glorie of the world whome the holy Ghost compareth in Ap. 8. to Locusts that is monstrous Serpents sprung frō the seed of that old serpent Sathan the Deuill and are described to haue faces like men to shew that they should bee but priuate men haire like women signifying that they should
remaine in cloysters and secret places as women and crowns vpon their heads declaring their imperiousnesse and winges like the wheeles of chariots prepared for warre their speedinesse to bloodshed and tayles like Scorpions out of the which proceeedeth poyson to fill the cup of the strumpet which sitteth vpon the scarlet colored beast out of the which the Princes of the earth doe drinke and are drunke with the abhomination of her fornications These are as we call them Abbots Monkes and Friers and Nunnes which like Locusts destroy the fruites of the earth liuing by the sweat of other mens labours who receiue wages of the beast and the false prophet bearing his marke in their foreheads whose name is Abadâ—on that is Destruction He is also called Antichrist that is contrarie to Christs figured before Christs byrth in Antiochus the vild the little horne who prophaned the Temple of God erecting the Idoll of Iouis Olympi in the temple of God changing the lawes that Moses gaue speaking presumptuous words against the God of gods and exalting himselfe aboue all that is called God But hee went to Geheana So shall the Antichrist and the beast be destroyed according to Numbers 24 but hee shall perish in the end because hee prophaneth the temple of God changing times and seasons forbidding marriages sitting in the temple exalting himselfe aboue all that is called God speaking blasphemously I am God vpon earth perswading Gog and Magog the foure quarters of the earth to goe fight for the holy Crosse at Ierusalem for which there were nine mischieuous voiages made to the great bloodshed of many And as his mischieuous prankes were figured in Antiochus so the time of his gouernment which shall bee to the end of the world was in Antiochus likewise figured One thousand two hundred and sixtie daies two and fortie moneths a time two times and halfe a time Vnto this proper time of three yeres and a halfe of Antiochus rage is the whole time of the rage of the Antiochian Antichrist alluded as Beda and diuers godly men doe expound the place the storie compelling them so to vnderstand it And power was giuen to him ouer all kindreds and people and tongues and nations and all that dwâ—lled on the earth worshipped him whose names are not written in the booke of life of the Lambe which was killed from the beginning of the world which Lambe only was found worthy to open the booke and the Seales Ap. 5. 6. Vnto whome thousand thousands cryed with a loud voice saying Worthy is the Lambe that was killed to receaue power and riches and wisedome and strength and honour and glorie and blessing who standing vpon mount Syon had with him One hundred fortie and foure thousand hauing his name and his fathers name written in their fore-heads and they sang the song of Moses the seruant of God and the song of the Lambe saying Great and maruailous are thy works Lord God Almightie iust and true are thy wayes thou King of Saints Who shall not feare O Lord and glorify thy name For thou onely art holy and all Gentiles shall come and worshippe before thee for thy iudgements are made manifest Ap. 17. 18. Chapters Where the woman that maketh drunke with her fornications the Kinges of the earth with her beastly corporation is sayd to goe into perdition whose destruction was figured in the fall of Babilon and in the destruction of Tyrus in Iere. 51. Ezech. 27. For the Gospell of saluation appearing againe in the world men fall away from the throne and the beast so that Kings eate his flesh in denying his power and refusing to beare his marke whereat both Heauens and holy Apostles and Prophets reioyce saying Halleluiah Saluation and glorie and honor and power be ascribed to the Lord our God for true and righteous are his iudgements for hee hath iudged the great whore which did corrupt the earth with her fornication and hath auenged the bloud of his seruants of her hand And againe they sayd Halleluiah and smoake rose vp for euermore And the Heauens opened and behold A white Horse and hee that sat vpon him was faithfull and true and in righteousnes doth hee iudge and make battaile his eyes were as a flame of fire and on his head were many crownes and he had a name written that no man knewe but hee himselfe and hee was cloathed in a vesture dipt in bloud and his name is called The Word of God and he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written King of Kings and Lord of Lords and the beast and the Kings of the earth and their warriours gathered together to make battaile against him that sat on the Horse and against his souldiers and the beast was taken with him that false Prophet that is to say the Popes or Antichrist that wrought miracles before him with which he deceaued them that receaued the beasts marke that is the Popes Bulls and them that worshipped his image These both shal be cast into a lake of fire burning with brimstone Hee that testifieth these things saith bee it I come quickly Amen Euen so come Lord Iesus FINIS Deut. 6.4 Rom. 8.34 Esay 43.25 Ioh. 6.44 Phil. 2.13 2. Cor. 3.5 Esay 51.12 Psal 130.7 1. Pet. 1.2 Psal 90.2.3 Rom. 9.11 Malach. 1.2.3 Iohn-13 18 Psal 135.6 Rom. 11.5.6 2. Thes 2.13 Rom. 8.30 Rom. 8.14 Esay 5 4.7.8.10 Psal 37.33.34 Psalm 103.10.11 Psal 103.14 Esay 54.17 Esay 57.20 Psal 73.4.5.6 Psal 73.18.19.20 Iere. 12.1 Iere. 18.6 Ro. 9.21.22 Esay 45.7.8.9.10 Prou-29 6 Esay 50.1 Psal 104.35 Psal 59.12 Psal 62.4 2. Thes 2.11.12 Psal 51.4 Iohn 1.9 1. Iohn 1.5 Mercurius Tresmegists Eight Ten. Twelue 2083. 430. 2140. 20. 215 2513. 430. 400. Exod. 17. Numb 20. Numb 24. 50. 7. 45. Deut. 33. 339. 450. 2774. 2797 2801 2819 2825. 2833. 2843. 2850. 490. 3368. 3401. 70. 490. 390. Ezech 40 Esay 21. Esay 46. 70. 490. 49. 2519. 3691. 3704. 3706. 3710. 3743. 3757. 3764. Dan. 9. 3942. 12. Luke 3. 236. 70. 490.