controuersie betweene the Women for the dead Child Christ at Twelue yeares of age is found disputing among the Doctors He likewise ordained Twelue Apostles and Twelue times did he appeare after his resurrection In the Reuelation of euery Tribe is sealed Twelue thousand The heauenly Ierusalem is described to haue Twelue Foundations of 12. precious Stones Twelue Gates and Twelue Angels and the Names written of the Twelue Apostles and through the Cittie there runneth a pure Riuer and on either side of the Riuer the Tree of Life which beareth Twelue manner of Fruites and beareth Fruite euery moneth in the yeare and the leaues of the Tree doe serue to heale the Nations with Now the reason why God in the beginning layde downe in close signification and such easie proportions the whole scope of his gouernment to the Worldes end is to shew that his Wisedome is infinite and that nothing in the Scriptures doth fall out by chaunce but by his forepurpose according to the secret counsel of his owne will to make vs still looke backe vnto the Creation Seth borne Gen. 5. when Adam is 130. yeares old ADam was make in the image of God Seth is begotten in the 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 hee begetteth Seth being as may be gathered not one day more nor one day lesse And this rule serueth for all the Ten Fathers before the Flood The holy Ghost keeping an exact Chronicle of the times beginneth at Adam and so goeth forward laying downe the particular ages of the Fathers vnto the Flood saying When Adam is 130. yeares old Seth is borne Now if he had been one day more the number had not been perfect if one lesse it had not been exact We may better therefore conclud that all the ten Fathers were borne on the sixt day that is the day of Adams creation rather then on any other day seeing it can not well be denied and that it crosseth neither Storie nor rule of Religion Seth signifieth Setled or Foundation Hee knew the Creator and that the world should be founded vpon him Esay 58.11 The Wicked haue no sure foundation but are like to the Chaffe in a Summer floore But the Godly shall be like a fresh watred Garden and like the Fountaine of water that neuer leaueth running whose foundation is layde for many generations For as a Tree that hath sure rootes will beare many Branches so to be setled in Religion as Seth was many things will appeare to be of singular force Seth died being 912. yeares old Now compare him with Christ thus Seth His name signifieth Foundation He was begotten in the image of Adam Christ The Rocke and sure Foundation of his Church The very caracter of his Father Enosh borne when Seth is 105. yeares old In these numbers you haue 10. multiplyed 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 Flood came and drowned the World This Sorrow is called a Godly sorrow to which the Lord hath added a Blessing as Mat. 5.4 Blessed are they that mourne for they shall receiue comfort And Ecclesiastes 7.5 Crauitie is better then laughter for when the countenaunce is heauie the heart is reformed And Christ in Luk. 6.21 sayth Blessed are yee that weepe now for yee shall laugh Christ being sorrowfull for the negligence of the Iewes knowing that they should be plagued for not embracing the Promise to Abraham Isaacke and Iacob weepeth ouer Ierusalem saying O Ierusalem Ierusalem O sight of peace O sight of peace If thou haddest knowen those thinges that belong to thy peace And so with griefe and sorrow of heart he leaueth off as not able to expresse the summe of his sorrow Againe with like sorrow he sayth How often would I haue gathered you togeather as a Henne gathereth her Chickens and you would not Enosh dyed being 905. yeares old Kenan borne when Enosh was 90. yeares old HIs name signifieth Contrite or small store Mat. 5.3 Blessed are the poore in spirit for theirs is the Kingdome of heauen Esay 57.15 Thus sayth the High and Excellent euen hee that dwelleth in Eternitie 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 minde and a Contrite heart Psal 51.17 An humble and Contrite heart the Lord doth not despise Therefore shall euery godly man prayse the Lord without ceasing Kenan dyed being 910 yeares old Mahalaleel borne when Kenan was 70. yeares old You haue in this number ten seuens or seuen multiplyed by ten which is 70 which is the number of his natiuitie wherein you haue a sweete resemblance of the Creation of which number many excellent thinges are to be spoken which I will handle afterwardes THis name signifieth My prayse God Leah nameth her fourth sonne Iuda the Father of Shiloh Prayse God for so his name likewise signifieth The vse of this ought to be imbraced of all seeing it stretcheth to the saluation of all It appeareth hereby that the godly Fathers in auncient time had wonderfull regard in naming their Children For if you doe marke the whole Stories of the Bible you shall finde very few notable men whether they were godly or wicked but they containe rare matter in their names From Mahalaleel we are taught to Prayse God aright that is in sinceritie of spirit with sounde knowledge grounded vpon the trueth of his word David knowing that prayse giuing to God is not onely required at our hands but also at euery creatures in their kind biddeth the whole course of Nature Prayse the Lord. And in Psalm 47.6 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 Hee is the great King vpon all the earth sing prayses therefore with vnderstanding Hee sheweth vs a reason in the 19. Psal 1. when he sayth The Heauens declare the glory of God and the Firmament sheweth his handie worke One day telleth another one night certifieth another c. Therefore let the wordes of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be alway acceptable in thy sight O Lord my Locke and my Redeemer Whereby we are taught that the true prayse of God consisteth not onely in outward acknowledging of his workes and his iudgementes for that the wicked are often times compelled to confesse as Pharaoh Nebucadnetzar and others but we must prayse God so as that all our
concludeth the Fathers vnder the number of Two and twentie Iacob is called The beloued of the Lord before hee was borne in which he is answerable to Dauid whose name signifieth Beloued and to our Sauiour Christ of whom it was said This is my beloued Sonne in whom I am well pleased ISaacke is blinde Sem Heber and Abraham being dead onely Esau and Iacob aliue to enioy the Blessing after Isaacks death Now if we examine the sequell we shall see that if Isaacke had not been blinde hee would for his part haue brought destruction vpon the whole eart for hee would haue blessed Esau who vpon any occasion would haue sould it and besides being verie wicked in despising it would haue brought the heauy wrath of God vpon his posteritie for disobedience Therefore his blindnesse was a great blessing euen as Saint Paul speaketh Eueriething turneth to the best to the children of God Isaacke willeth Esau to goe and kill him some Venision that his soule may blesse him before he die So the Prophets vse to desire meate before they prophecie that being refreshed they may be the fuller of spirite and cheerefulnesse The Hebrewes dispute from this place whether Isaacke was growne into pouertie Some thinke hee was by reason of the famine which fell in Canaan and because the Philistines kept not couenant with him for which cause Sampson afterwards taketh occasion to plague them and that iustly Aben Ezra is of this opinion Rebecca she heareth this Commandement of Isaacke knowing that speedinesse in despatching is oftentimes a great cause of aduantage willeth Iacob to goe and fetch a Kid that therof she might make pleasant meate for Isaacke Iacob is affraid she comforteth him for she had her warrant from God that the elder should serue the younger and therefore shee boldly aduentureth Hee commeth to Isaacke 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 he was blessed in commeth Esau with his venison and prayeth his Father to blesse him Isaacke 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 Isaacke therefore seeing the euent acknowledgeth the election of God in Iacob and concludeth that he shall be blessed Now heere is a question to be handled when Iacob sayth I am thy sonne Esau and Isaacke answereth It is Iacobs voyce Whether Iacob doth lie or noe This answere of Iacobs if we expound in the best sence is no lie for then it is no more but a kind of speach called Ironia So God speaketh in Gen. 3.22 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 asleepe sayth Sleepe hencefoorth Wee may answere it further thus Iacob in respect of the purpose of God which chose him for the blessed might very well be called the onely Sonne Besides in regard of ciuil right now he was his eldest Sonne seeing he had bought the Birth-right of Esau Whether it were a lye or no we will leaue it to God and we can not altogeather condemne this answere seeing God approoueth it by giuing Iacob the blessing Plato sayth When men are dead we cannot aske them what they meant Therefore wee must expounde their speaches and their actions to the best meaning And further wordes are not alwayes to be taken in proper kind 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 Joseph sweareth By the life of Pharaoh if you take the words as they lie in proper sence he sinned greatly and was euen for his oath the worst of all Iacobs Sonnes But Salamo-Iirkie 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 seeme so to be So likewise Hushas answereth Absalom for when Absalom saw Hushai Dauids Counseller 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 his people and all the men of Israel chose his will I bee and with him will I dwell This sentence hath a double meaning either that he meant to serue Absalom or King Dauid Therefore when things are spoken doubtfully we must marke how men may in wit expound them Abraham died Gen. 25.78 being 175. yeares old Hee was buried in Hebron Heber died Gen. 11.16.17 being 464. yeares old Hee was the longest liuer of any that was borne after the Flood Ismael died being 137. yeares old THe Prophet Esay cap. 60.7 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 he 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 hee sheweth the calling of all the Gentiles in the World Whereby we are taught that Israels posteritie was not wholly rooted out of the fauour of God as Ameleckes was Iacob goeth to Laban Gen. 28.5 HEe goeth into the Countrie of Mesopotamia to Laban there he serueth twentie yeares This Laban was the sonne of Bethuel and brother to Rebecca and of the house of Nachor the brother of Abraham and Haran who remayned in the land of the Caldies 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 Scrippe as closely and secretly as he could that thereby Esau might not know of his departure for Esau was mighty and as it appeareth afterwardes had a band of foure hundred men Iacob going to Haran stayeth by the way all night because the Sunne was downe and layde of the Stones of the place vnder his head and slept There hee seeth the vision of the Ladder and when he awaketh he sayth 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 Piller and called it Bethel for he sayd this is no other but the House of Iehouah and the Gate of Heauen Hee seeth a Ladder c. THis Ladder representeth Christ the foote on the Earth his Humanitie and the toppe reaching to Heau enhis Deitie the Angels of God ascending and descending the Mediations betwixt God and vs and the Lord standing aboue vpon it the readinesse of the Father to receiue our Prayers This is expounded Iohn 1.51 Yee shall see the Heauens open and the Angels of God
striuing for darknes we become children of darknes so lose the light of eternall life as the Iewes and Romanes did whose recompence hath followed The one depriued of their earthly glorie the other aduanced to glorie to be a staine of eternall damnation In the begining was the word c. Iohn 1.1 THese words In the beginning are the first wordes in the old Testament whose first word in the Hebrew is Bara which consisteth according to the Hebrew of three letters which closely conteine in them Father Sonne and Holie Ghost as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for Ben which singnifieth Sonne 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for Abba which is Father and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for Ruach Hakodesh which is the Holy spirit Thus the Trinity is closely contained in the first word but in the first verse is expressed in open wordes In the beginning God made heauen and earth and the spirit of God mooued vpon the waters and God said Let there be light This is expounded Iohn 1.1 in these wordes In the beginning was the Word 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 1.3 By him were all things created And Heb. 1.2 God made all things by his Sonne who ruleth all things by his mightie power Wherefore Christ in the dayes of his flesh chose the trade of a Carpenter Iohn 6.42 Math. 13.55 And in Esay 43.10 It is sayd 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 who shall let it Thus saith the Lord the holy one our redeemer Wherein is distinctly expressed Father Sonne and Holy Ghost He was the Light and that Light was the life of man Iohn 1.4 LIfe and light is not here carnally meant but spiritually To which two thinges Aaarons Iewell of Vrim and Thummim had a full relation Vrim signifying Light of the minde Thummim Perfection of vertue which bringeth life to the soule As Iohn 1.9 Christ is the true light that lightneth euery man And hee that abideth in this light hath euerlasting life 1. Iohn 1.5 God is light and in him is no darknes at all If wee 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 vnderstanding of the stories of the Bible doth giue a great light to the mind of man and the practise giueth life vnto euery one that embraceth them as Deut. 8.3 and Mat. 4.4 Man liueth not by bread onely but by euery word which proceedeth out of the mouth of God The despisers of religion continue in darknesse and light to them is death as 1. Iohn 2. 9. He that saith hee is in light and hateth his brother is in darknesse and walketh in darknesse and knoweth not whither he goeth because the darknesse hath blinded his eies 1. Iohn 5.11 But God hath giuen vs eternall life and that life is in his Sonne who layed downe his life for his Sheepe Iohn 10.15 Wherefore while wee haue light let vs walke beleeue in the light that we may be the children of the light Iohn 12.36 The first Adam was made of the Earth earthly c. The second 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 the Heauen Earth and Sea all the hoast of them which doe consist of Wightes visible and inuisible Inuisible as Angels Visible as Sunne Moone Starres Fishes Fowles Plants Hearbs Grasse Beastes and such like which God created before he 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 kindnesse to Adam by his workes For he fore-purposing to make Adam both King and Father of all the Earth would not haue his wittes entangled with cares for this life but to haue his affections setled on heauenly things that he might continue holy and blamelesse before him as Mat. 6.25 Take no care what you shall eate or what you shall drinke nor yet for your body what rayment you shall put on Behold the Fowles neither sow nor reape and your heauenly Father feedeth them Are yee not much better then they How much more then shall he doe the same for you For he knoweth yee haue need of all these thinges But first seeke the Kingdome of God and his righteousnesse Math 6.33 For no mans life standeth in the aboundance of thinges which he possesseth Now followeth Adams creation HEe was made the sixt day as it is gathered in September of the dust of the earth vpon Mount Moriah which is a Mountaine adioyning to the gates of the Garden of Eden into which Garden hee was put to dresse it about sixe of the clocke in the morning as we account when men commonly goe to labour as should appeare by the Psal 104.23 where it is said Adam goeth foorth 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 creation Hee had dominion giuen him ouer all things and witte like to an Angell to giue names to all Beastes free libertie to eate of all the Trees in the Garden The Tree of knowledge of good and ill onely excepted As if God should haue said vnto him as Moses afterwardes sayd to the Children of Israel I set heere before you life and death eate of the one and liue and eate of the other and die eternally Yet could not he be content with this glorious estate but did eate of the forbidden Fruite by the perswasion of the Woman which God framed out of Adams Ribbe and ioyned to him to be an helpe for him before they had continued in Paradice one day as it is written Psal 49.20 Adam being in honour continueth not a night but is like to the Beastes that perish which Woman was deceiued by the subtiltie of a Serpent that is of the Deuill speaking in a Serpent which Beast was fittest to possesse to the deceiuing of her because he excelled all other Beastes in the Field in witte For if an Asse had sayd so much to her as did the Serpent it is very likely shee would haue examined the cause further But hee hauing once been an Angell of light but not keeping his first originall being throwne downe from Heauen continuing his knowledge though he lost his vertue was not to seeke either for meanes matter or oportunitie enuying their estates to bring his murtherous purpose to passe for so is he called the Serpent the old Deuill or Satan who was a
Redemption answerable to euerie part of the Fall because God according to the secret counsell of his owne will before the foundations of the earth were layd would make the art of Saluation so easie and the harmonie of the Bible so tunable that no musicke in the world can be more pleasant to the eare then the meditation of the loue of God towardes vs in Christ is comfortable to the heart of man Therefore the meditation of Adams fall and the victorie of Christ ought to be continually in our mindes Adam dieth THe Hebrewes descant very strangely vpon the Arithmeticke of Adams yeares which he liued which were 930. vpon a sentence in the 24. of Iob where it is sayd All the dayes of man vpon earth are but a shadow as if hee should say All the dayes of Adam are but Abel for Adam in Hebrew signifieth Earth and Abell signifieth shadow or vanitie Whereby we are taught that from the Earth we came and to the Earth we must returne againe according to Gen. 3.19 Wee are also to vnderstand from hence that although God deferre his punishmentes yet hee is mindfull of his promises for not one tittle or iod of his Word shall passe as appeareth in Adams death which God before had promised and was accomplished though it were 930. yeares after Wherefore howsoeuer we be setled on the pleasures of this life or be aduanced to thrones of Maiestie as Adam was we are to know that it is but a Steward-ship bestowed vpon vs for a season and that in this world we are to looke for no abiding place for we are but Grasse we are consumed as Smoake our dayes come to an end A thousand yeares in Gods sight is as yesterday He turneth Adam to dust and sayth Returne to dust yee sonnes of Adam He bringeth our yeares to an end as it were a tale that is told Wherefore let vs pray to God with Moses To teach vs to number our dayes aright that we may apply our heartes vnto Wisedome Adam commeth short of 1000. yeares so much as is the dayes of mans life Iared Methushelah and Noah ouer-reached Adam in long life because of the power of the word of God Hee died about Mount Moriah where he was made He liued till he saw many Kings he himselfe the greatest and vntill he had erected a stately gouernement taught them humane artes who was fittest to doe it being a King to commaund whom he would and what he would and hauing witt excelling all the men in the world And as in a Princes court it is requisite to haue Noble men some higher and some lower and men of all degrees so Adam liued till he might haue a stately Court Now if a King should commaunde a Diuine to make Adams Will from his Storie he would make it in this sort O my Sonnes gather you togeather and harken vnto the wordes of your Father Adam the last that euer he shall speake vnto you I was voyde of saluation and enioyed not happinesse by disobeying which disobedience I then practised when I harkened to the perswasion of Heua and did eate the forbidden Fruite I then felt the heauie iudgementes of God against sinne and saw my nakednesse whereof I was ashamed Thereby I brought death vpon all my posteritie which Curse had continued if the Mercie of God had not remooued it by offering a Blessing in the Seede of the Woman I haue ruled you all the dayes of my life as a Father that you may learne to choose Gouernours which resemble Fathers in behauiour I haue instructed you to loue obey their gouernment you must know that as my saluation resteth vpon beliefe in the Seede of the Woman so must yours But the house of Kaine despising this and killing Abel a figure of him who by dying shall ouercome the power of the Serpent will cause the Flood to destroy the earth Few shall embrace this Doctrine for though eight be saued by the Arke yet seuen onely shall keepe sinceerely the beliefe in this Promise of the Seed of the Woman My dayes haue been long with the rest of your Fathers but the end of all flesh is come vpon mee for out of the Earth I came and to the Earth I must returne Now compare Christ with Adam The first Adam was made a soule hauing life of earth earthly therfore by the earthly one came Disobedience Sinne. Iudgement Condemnation Death The second Adam was wade a spirit giuing life from heauen heauenly Therefore by the heauenly one came Obedience Grace Forgiuenesse Iustification Life Adam was created on the sixt day did eate of the tree the sixt houre Was made a man without a Father made not inferior to the Angelles â— lost all Was tempted lost saluation at the time of eating Was made Ruler of the world and did not hold it Did fall in the Garden His soule was in darknes from the sixt houre vntill the ninth houre Christ Reforming man and healing the fall is fastened to the tree the sixt day and sixt houre Was made a man without a Father Made lower then the Angels is crowned with glory all the Angels worship him being man whereby we may know the world was made subiect to man Was tempted Brought saluation to all at the time of eating Was made Ruler of the World and did hold it went into a garden to recouer Adams fall in the garden when he suffered caused darknesse to couer the whole earth from the sixt houre till the ninth houre Adam By breaking one Commandement lost all Was called to accompt the ninth houre Was debarred of the Tree of life Was driuen out of Paradise Was the head of his Wife was a King Prophet Sacrificer Liued 1000. yeares wanting 70. Christ By fulfilling all the Commandementes brought life to all At the ninth houre yeeldeth vp the ghost goeth to giue accompt to his Father Is the true Tree of life on that day openeth Paradise to the poore Theefe The Head of the Church was a King Prophet Sacrificer Was borne 70. yeares before 4000. Because these two Tables consist onely of Numbers and that Numbers in the Scriptures are great helpes for the vnderstanding of the same before we come to speake of Seth it is not amisse to lay downe what Numbers are of most vse in the Bible namely 1.3.4.5.6.7.8.10.12 ONE One Expressing the vnion of the God-head and from thence the vnitie of all Godly as being members of one head Christ Iesus which is made plaine Psal 133.1 Behold how good and comely a thing it is for Breathren to dwell togeather in vnitie THREE Three Expressing the distinguished Trinitie within which number many excellent things fall out still to put vs in minde of the vndeuidable coeternity of Father Sonne and Holy Spirit Adam Kaine Of Adam the eldest extreame wicked Abel Seth Noah Iaphet Sem Cham Of Noah the youngest wicked Terah Haran Nachor Of Terah the middlemost was wicked Abram To shew that neither in eldest youngest
Father without Mother when Abraham met him fiue ages after Babels building Abraham being aliue he was vnknowne of his owne kindred Hee had no end of life in the old world for hee liued through the Flood and no beginnig of dayes in the new world Christ in respect of his Godhead had no Mother and in regard of his Manhead he had no Father Surely our men be very vnaduised that because Caluin and a few Gretians doe stagger in this opinion whether Sem should bee Melchisedech therefore they will not admit the truth hereof as though they should be a rule of truth vnto them But to answere them first the consent of all the Iewes is that Sem is Melchisedech and if he be not then let vs see what inconueniences will follow First hee must be a godlier man then Sem that crosseth Sems blessing Blessed be the God of Sem. Besides it stands not with Religion that any man should bee rare in the highest degree no prophecie going before it to warrant his rarenesse But this is the cause why men be deceiued The Grecians erre in this and are the cause why others haue erred It was not possible for them to know the truth thereof for the Iewes appoynted by Ptolomeus Philodelphus to translate the Bible seeing there was such difference of the birth of men after the Flood both in comparison with those before the Flood and those after that their story might not be flouted of the Egiptians adde of purpose 1500. yeares to the Fathers after the Flood for seeing Terah begot Abraham at 130. And because Sem begot Arphaxad at 100. yeares old to euery one where wanteth an hundred they put in an hundred as Arphaxad liued 35. yeares and begot Selah They translate Arphaxad liued 135. yeares and begot Selah and so in the rest by which reckoning Sem is dead before the time hee should meete with Abraham Saint Ierom 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 Sonne of God being a cursed generation Againe if it be obiected that Moses doth not call Melchisedech 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 acquainted therewith And as for the Author to the Hebrewes setting him downe to bee without Father without Mother we must consider in what sence 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 meaing of the holy Ghost to crosse the course of the creation therefore we must looke for some other exposition then that which the bare litterall sence will afford vpon the first sight This therefore is the Author to the Hebrews 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 he 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 Flood 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 beginnig of daies nor end of life So that a souldier of Abrahams campe might aske some one of Canaan Good-man of Canaan who is this goodly Old man with a hoarie beard Hee would answer 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 sayth that made vs them And marke what I shal 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 hee seemeth to be so strong that none of vs shall liue to see his dayes In this respect therfore 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 Ismael borne his father Abram being 86. yeere old HEe was borne of Hager an Egiptian whom Sara gaue to Abraham because her selfe was barren When Ismael was thirteene yeares old as Gen. 17.25 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 commanded 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. 5.3 I Paul testifie that if yee be Circumcised Christ shall profite you nothing at all for whosoeuer is Circumcised is bound to keepe the whole Law And as many as are iustified by the Law are fallen from Grace for in Iesus Christ neither is Circumcision any thing worth nor vncircumcision but Fayth which worketh by loue as Abok 2.4 The iust shall liue by his Fayth The day of Circumcision was the eight day the seale was answerable to Baptisme Wee haue no speciall storie of eight to bee compared with this but the eight that were saued in the Arke The ceremonie of the day is answerable to the number of the persons and the seale it selfe answerable to the waters of the Flood to the which answereth Baptisme which now saueth vs. Ismael had twelue sonnes and one daughter Iacob had twelue sonnes and one daughter Ismael was answerable in outward blessinges to Isaack and Iacob but not in spirituall for hee was borne after the flesh and although he were the sonne of Abraham he was not the sonne of Abraham as it is written They are not all children because they are the seed of Abraham But in Isaacke 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 Egiptian 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 flouted the promise in Isaack the other Jsmael killeth Godoliah he being left a Gouerner of the seed of Isaacke Ismael was vpon euerie mans head and euerie man