or recording of that which is false or should raze or blot out that which is true This is a sinne agaynst God an offence to the King the perishing of a good conscience the decay of a good name the subuerting of mens rites the cause of contentions and an occasion of greate inconueniences euen in those matters and causes which concerne man and man how much more then are such vngodly practizes both heinous and hurtfull in the thinges which concerne the Lord of heauen and his truth to the which to add any thing or from the which to take away deserueth an extirpation and losse both of body and soule The consideration hereof my Lords and the daunger not forgotten will make a man héedie and carefull that in this office he neither erre nor doe amisse amisse much more that he offend not of set purpose But to speake for my selfe I haue aduētured to record nothing besides the truth that also which is not onely lawfull and honest but right worthie the kings Annales and very profitable to be remembred in the posteritie as such whereof the kings father spake saying This shall be written and recorded for them that come after The truth of the thing mine owne conscience shall alwaies testifie for me both before God man the one is strong preuaileth the other is to me as a thousand witnesses either to acquite me of guilt or to iustifie my doings in this case Moreouer ye shall find my Lord if it please you to turne ouer peruse and consider the Records that there is nothing contained therein recorded or confirmed by me besides that which hath beene well considered of and weighed with deliberation iudgement in this place and societie and by the consent of your honors decreed to be committed to my Record I fit be found otherwise the fault proued to rest in me especially if any such fault be wilinglie done let me beare the blame thereof yea let me as well worthie be depriued of the honour of my place let me be punished as a periured and faithlesse wretch and let me vtterly be discreited made ashamed to the terror and example of all others But I trust in God that howsoeuer some haue taken offences before they be giuen who therein resemble children of variable affectiōs the Kings Grace being most wise is not offended at me seeing I haue not offered him any abuse or iust cause or occasion of any such matter And that those thinges which haue beene recorded by mee in the kinges Annales cheifely such as concerne God and the king shall be belieued as the most certaine truth shall be receiued into the holie church and esteemed and canonized for authority with them that come after vs Helioreph and Ahiah the Secretaries excuse and iustifie thēselues euen vnto the end of daies This being spoken the two Secretaries stood forth namely Helioreph and Ahiah And we also said Helioreph haue beene much troubled with the like feare whether his excellent Maiestie hath holden either of vs or our dealings suspensiue as towching either the reueling of any his secrets committed to either of vs or cōcerning any commandemētes Precepts Patents warrants or letters that haue been written and set foorth by vs or either of vs in His highnes Name without his expresse commandement will or knowledge first had and obtained therein But truely as this were a note of much malepartnesse in vs and is indeede a dangerous kinde of Treason so should we thereby occasion the kinges people and subiects not onely to murmure against vs our dealings but to condemne the king of great simplicitie and weakenes permitting or neglecting such our bold presumption yea and they may thereon much dread what we may peraduenture do and execute against them in the kings name contrary to the lawes and the good pleasure of the king who being as they know most wise prudent and filled with diuine graces neither willeth nor executeth willingly any thing in the gouernment of his people but that which standeth with righteousnes and equitie and therein sheweth great magnanimitie kingly vertues towards them all whether they be poore or rich Num. 32.23 Neither I thinke but that as they which sinne against the Lord of heauen are found out of their owne sinnes 1. Sam. 22.5 when hee goeth about to iudge and punish them as Moses said nor shal there be found a dayse-man betweene God thē as in matters of trespas betwixt mā man as father Eli the high Priest in his time said so such as vsurp presume and sinne aganst the kings honor shal neither be hidden notwithstanding their great hypocrisy dissimulation nor be holden guiltles in the day when hee shal come to visit them in his fierce wrath But cōcerning any such matter doubted of me I here testifie from my cleare consciēce that if such a question were proposed I would gladly and that safely sweare take the liuing God to recorde for me that as I haue been euer secret to his grace in matters of secrecie to me cōmitted with al fidelity so hath there not any thing so passed mine handes to bee sent forth to his subiects touching any the kinges affaires without his graces will or prescript cōmādement or at the least without his certaine knowledge that I haue to the vttermost of my skill habilitie behaued my selfe faithfully in this respect both towards my Lord the king his liege people * And the same may be said also for me said the other secretary in al points as I likewise here protest for myself with integritie of minde Neyther besides the danger that of such a fault might ensew I promise you faithfully I durst not aduenture to attempt that which I knowe woulde much empaire and hurt that credit and good name pro. 12.1 the which as the King hath saide is better then the sweete smelling ointment and worth the preferring before Siluer Gold and pretious stones It is true that the sweete sauoure of filthie lucre both disswadeth and perswadeth many a thing The couetous mind of officers and the most part of all persons care very little how or by what meanes they come by wealth when as wealthie they would bee and therefore oftentimes such as be preferred to offices by his royall grace estéeming their priuate gaine and honour for the right end of their functions and callings deale therein I say not with great partialitie but with deepe iniquitie whiles seruing rather Mammon then the true God they say in their hearte if not with their mouth what will ye giue me What shall I haue What reward will ye bestowe and so fill their cofers with the treasures of vngodlines and sinne which doe yet but waite the opportune time wherein they may be called forth not onely to testifie but also cry and call for vengeance against them And then they shall confesse and saye we haue indeed wearied our selues in the
God the which we must seeke by godly repentance obtaine by faithfull praier vnto God in the trust of Messiah vntill which time the Lord will neuer be perswaded to draw in his hand which is stretched forth Solomon repenteth This the King himselfe well knoweth and therefore he is humbled on the ground he bewaileth himselfe hee weepeth hee lamenteth hee abandoneth the vaine things of this world and he turneth himselfe both body and minde as in the best sort of pennance vnto his God who I doubt not but wil be mercifull vnto him as he was merciful vnto his father David when he so repented * But yet in this interim to the aggrauating of the kinges griefe it is fallen out of late whereof the King is also certified for what can be hidden from his eyes that when this fellow Ieroboham departed from Ierusalem the Prophet Ahiah the Sylonite found him in the way hauing a new garment on him and they two being alone in the field the Prophet caught that new garment and rent it in twelue peeces The Lord threatneth Solomon to punish him for sin 1. King 11. and said to Ieroboham Take vnto thee ten peeces for thus saith the Lord God of Israel behold I will rent the kingdome out of the handes of Solomon and will give ten tribes to thee and thou shall raigne according to all that my soule desireth and shalt be King over Israel Againe I will for this offence which Solomon hath committed punish the seede of David but not for ever Now the consideration of this being added to the former hath caused the kings eies to faile through weeping his bowels to swell his liuer to be powred out on the earth and himselfe to swoone in the middest of his house Neither shoulde we also in the regard of this his great sorrow and the miseries imminent on him on vs and on the people but wéepe and howle with him and repent and cry to the Lord for mercy CAP. XXII Zadoks Reede is approved and secunded touching the cause of K. Solomons trouble And it is so recorded THe former speeches being well heard considered accordingly by the Lords assembled Prince Zabud the kings familiar friend answered My Lord Zadoke I suppose ye haue fully pierced the centre and haue plainely reuealed though in secret vnto vs the highest cause of this so strange metamorphosis and alteration of the king Your words so graue and right reuerendly disposed on this occasion wee allow as wel worthie and commend your plaine manner of dealing in this matter though of such waight for howsoeuer it bee honourable to conceale the Kinges secrets as my Lorde the Kings secretarie will confesse yet in this case I hold it necessarie that those things bee manifested to vs of this assembly no lesse then it shal be needfull that the sicknesse and griefe of the languishing patient with the causes thereof bee made knowen to the faithfull Phisician who at the least howsoeuer he may be able or not able to cure the malady wil neuerthelesse extend his good wil endeuour his best and wish the patient health And out of doubt as ye haue said so may I say what I likewise haue obserued being ordinarily so neere his grace as any one els in his Court that he hath had very lately a message sent him from God containing both a sharpe reprehension and a fearefull commination The message was therefore irksome to him for who may but bash when God reprooueth him and who should not tremble at the sentence of punishment The reproofe toucheth to the quicke but the threate dawnteth the guiltie conscience for as the one argueth a displeasure for a fault committed so the other awardeth iudgement for the same But yet what the very cause thereof was I could not vnderstand vntill now for ye haue said it to be besides all other causes the high displeasure of God iustly conceiued against the King and his people for that the King hath contrary to the diuine law multiplyed wiues to himselfe in a great number that he hath also combined himselfe with strange Women yea such as are strangers in Religion to vs and that by their societie and temptations he hath beene allured and turned his hart from Iehovah his God then the which alas what can be more reprehensible horrible and fearefull * The King himselfe said Zadok will not at the least he should not dissemble this matter zadoke proceedeth to tell what the prophet said to K. Solomon for the Prophet who brought him this Embassady from God deliuered it not in a corner nor staggered he to tell it to the Kings face and that with wonderfull audacitie For so God commaunded him to doe and neither to feare nor dissemble nor conceale any thing of that he had in charge and he had his authoritie and power then from God which emboldned him Therefore the holy Prophets whom God authoriseth and sendeth forth into the world The boldnes of the prophets setting God before their eyes and their duty nothing dread the faces of mortall men in their holy ministry and seruice vnto whose aspect the greatest potentates of the earth which feare not the Lord of heauen appeare but as sauage beasts or base things that perrish howsoeuer glorious they seeme to the conceits of prophane men So the Prophet beholding the King charged him and said without feare that he had transgressed and not obserued that which first David the Kings father receiued from the Lord and had giuen him in charge to performe nor that which Iehovah his God appearing to him at two sundry times willed him to obserue keepe as he was willing to enioy and retaine his blessings bee shadowed vnder the safe wings of his protection possesse the peace both of mind and body and thenceforth prosper in his place M. Recorder ye know well where the words be recorded I pray you to turne over the Annales till yee finde the place and then let vs heare the wordes read openly before vs all that we may the better consider and compare the same with the Kings dealings Iehosophat the Recorder findeth the record of the matter in the Annales Psal 102.18 for thus must one thing bee considered with another if we thinke to vnderstand that which we desier and to effect the thing which to our duty belongeth * I am here ready said Iehosophat the Recorder and I know very wel where this matter lyeth written Oh how necessary and profitable is the true record of things in writing And this is written for them that come after that they thereof may learne to bee wise as we are taught by the writings of Moses Iosuah Samuel and others both learned godly that liued before our daies And now my Lords all hearken what I haue founde written by Nathan the Prophet in the Kinges Annales Most willingly said the Lordes therefore read on in the name of God I finde said Iehosophat that after the time Solomō
escaped both death and displeasure Thus also Baruch the noble Captaine harkened to wise Deborah gat the victorie ouer Gods enemies Thus Pharao though a tyrant craued aide of Moses and Aaron to be deliuered from those plagues of Egypt K. Saul permitted little David to enter the field against huge Goliah for Israels glory On the otherside the reprobate Cain would neither know his danger nor be restrained of his purpose and being in distresse would not vouchsafe to craue or séeke for aide whereby he perished a vagabond and exile from the Lord of heauen who cast him off from his grace and mercy Thus the filthy Sodomits stroken with blindnesse would neither thinke of their destruction nor craue nor admit the aduise and aide of righteous Lot who had vexed his soule among them nor any thing regarded the prayer and meanes of faithfull Abraham for their safetie to be short Saul the King disdained David and his comfort notwithstanding he had taken so good experience of his integritie and the power of God in him therefore rather then he would séeme to embrace him and his power he chose to kill himselfe with his owne sword to the daunger of his soule and decay of his glory These be examples to teach and admonish vs. Therefore now following those which haue in their choise declared wisedome to the preseruation and comfort of their soules Let vs withall regard both of the Kings health and of the good of his people both séeke for and embrace those things that may either helpe or comfort both And because the God of heauen is the same from whome and by whome all good thinges descend come vnto his children and which both comfortes and helpes them indeede in all their afflictions and dangers let vs as I said before lift vp vnto him both our hearts and eyes and thus let vs pray and say as the kings father hath taught vs in the like case Psal 20. The Lord God of heauen heare our Lord the King in the day of his trouble The name of the God of Iacob defend him Send him helpe from the Sanctuary and strengthen him out of Zyon Let the Lord God remember all his offeringes and accept his burnt sacrifices Selah The Lord God grant him according to his heart and fulfill all his purpose that we may reioyce in his sauing health and set vp the bāner in the Name of our God when the Lord shall performe all his petitions Now we know this that the Lord will helpe his Annoynted and will heare him from his sanctuary by the mighty helpe of his right hand O Lord most holy saue our Lord King Solomon let him prosper thereby be able to helpe vs by his wisedome power when in thy name we seeke vnto him for succour O Lord in loue heare our prayers be gratious vnto thy King mercifull vnto vs and all thy people for thy holy Names sake Amen Amen CHAP. 3. Iehosophat and the other Princes and Lords call to mind report in order what they haue noted and obserued in Solomons gesture behauiour and wordes as arguments of his troubled mind and misery THe former wordes being spoken the praier ended a pauze againe taken whiles the Lordes looked one on another with heauy hearts sad faces musing much of the kings woful case at lēgth Iehosophat the Recorder opened his mouth and saide Ah las I haue knowne and that not long sithence when at any time the kinges grace sat at his table to eate and to drinke among his Princes and Lords he would wonderfully be solaced and delighted with swéet harmonies of Men-singers and Women-singers whereof he had right many in his Courte and would be excéeding merry and glad in the middest of them all saying A merrie heart is the life of the body prouer 14.30 but envie consumeth away the bones But now sitting at his table in whatsoeuer company and howsoeuer he be serued and attended on he séemeth meruelous sad and wofull he museth he studieth he looketh heuelie he distasteth all thinges and giueth not so much as any sparkle or shew of a merry conceit yea he is wholly ouercome with deepe displeasure which argueth an vnmeasurable griefe of heart and a strange affection of the soule for the face and externall behauiour of a man which is not hypocriticall doth commonly expresse and declare the thought and heart And although the King well knoweth that he which being diseased in the body and distempred in his health when he shal be recreated with the ioy of his minde doth easely recouer if his sicknes be not incurable and that the most naturall cure of the diseased is to procure or occasion him some ioy or mirth of the minde for often times the sick man by the comfort of gladnes is eased yet to them which now laugh and would assay to prouoke the king to laughter for the same cause he sayeth ye are meere mad persons Eccles 2.1 The true vnderstanding of these the kings words is afterward declared by Zadok in his Apologie for Solomon and to them which proffer him mirth to recreate his mind he saieth Sirs what is it which ye do When any man willing to put him out of this conceit inuiteth him to a feast or banquet he denieth to come being vnwilling to enter into such houses saying It is better to goe into the house of mourning then into the house of feasting Moreouer of all those pleasant pastimes and delightes of the sonnes of men the which sometimes hee so much affected and of all their pleasures counselles studies laboures deuises policies workes and wisedome vnder the Sunne seeme they neuer so laudable in the eyes and estimation of worldly men he saieth Eccles Cap. 1.2.3 Vanitie vanitie of vanities and all is meere vanitie For what els doeth a man get profitable for himselfe of all those trauails which he taketh vnder the Sunne wherefore trauaile men in the wynd and what good thing is there to be found or enioyed or tasted of by men vnder the Sunne * This being said Azariah rose vp Azariah stoode foorth and spake againe The same thing said he haue I also lately noted in my Lord the King Hee was wont to walke foorth into his garding Eccl. 2.4.5.6 to view his Orchardes his Pondes and his fishing pooles to beholde with delight his faire houses and beautifull buildings and to take great pleasure in all the delights of the sonnes of men at all times but now alas hee rather conteyneth himselfe solitarilie within his Chamber pensiue sad now all the works which his hand hath made and all the things vnder the Sunne wherin heretofore he tooke such passing great pleasure to the wonder of all his Princes séeme vain and loathsome vnto his soule Solomon loatheth his labors and delights And as I sawe him of late to passe by and to behold them all I heard him with these eares sodainly to sigh
wofull For being a man of an excellent spirit he feareth not Death whose day as I haue heard him to say is better in respect then the birth day of a man and that the dead are more happy then the liuing and therefore hath thus counsailed the liuing Be not feareful of death Remēber them that haue gone before thee them that come after thee This is the iudgement of the Lord vpon al flesh why wouldst thou be against the pleasure of the most high whether it be tenne and hundred or a thousand yeeres death neuer asketh how long a man hath liued Againe he hath said that death though a tyrant in nature is yet acceptable and welcome to some sorts of liuing creatures and namely to the man whose strength faileth him to him that is come to his last age and to him that is ful of care and fearefulnes and in miserie in this life Which sentences for th'excellencie thereof are also copied out and notified vnto many other nations which gladly accept and embrace them Moreouer the King hath said that howsoeuer a man be dead and laid senseles in the graue among the dead and dust be returned into dust that yet his Soule which is the best part of man returneth vnto God that gave it that is not to die with the body but to liue and continue for euer with him whose Image it beareth that fréely exonerated off and from all the miserable torments and vexations which assaile men in this transitory life By the which as among some other his words we find as a wise man should not be daunted with the terror of death but rather expect and embrace him so himselfe is nothing moued therewith Feare not death being of all men the wisest His reasons therefare many from the which wee take and gather these which follow First that Death is better then life or the day of the death happier then the birth day We may simply beleeue him therein Mors ita qualis vita For death is the renewing of a mans nature I meane to him that leadeth a godly life for if the life of a man be good his death cannot be euil And as men do alwaies desire that which is good so neither do they feare that which therein they desire Secondly this is that which belongeth to the cōdition of mans nature for he is borne into the worlde not to stay here but to dye and to depart againe therefore as no man can dye which hath not first liued so neither shall any liue which shall not also dye in this world Thirdly this is the decree of the almighty vpon all flesh once to dye to whose will and pleasure therein al men must yeeld obey Gen. 3 as good subiects to their prince in his place and authority And therefore we should neither murmur at nor feare that which he hath ordained knowing withall that he decreeth nothing but that which is good and profitatable for his children Fourthly this is not onely Gods decrée but also his good pleasure by this to glorifie himselfe and to benefite his children To whome euen death which came in through sinne might notwithstanding bee a meane to deliuer men from the same when his iustice therin shal be ioyned with mercy and louing kindnes Fifthly by this messenger men are ridde and discharged of many troubles vexations sorrowes miseries which oppres and grieue them in this yea through faith in the Messias from all sinne and dangers of Soule that follow after and awaite them in this worlde Sixthly a man may be comforted by th'examples of them that haue passed before him and the consideration of such as follow him This hath seised on father mother brother sister and friend This hath fallen on Adam on Abel on Noah on Abraham on Moses Iosuah Samuel and David and it shall not passe ouer them that come after thée Seuenthly this yeeldeth a man rest from his labours yea it yeeldeth the due both to heauen and earth for hereby the soule returneth to God that gaue it and the body to the dust from whence it was taken This the king considereth and feareth not death but as a man that hath trauailed and now wel neare finished a long and perilous voyage is rather glad and ioyfull then sory or wofull when hee seeth himselfe so neare the end thereof and would be vnwilling to begin his voyage againe especially being weary so the king being thus farre proceeded passing through the dangerous surges of the vanities of this life he is rather ioyfull glad and ready to resigne ouer his soule to his maker his body to the earth and his royall dignitie to an other then any way wofull or fearefull of death the end of this voyage Neither is he ignorant of this for he hath the highest knowledge of all men liuing that so long onely a man shoulde desire to liue in this worlde as he may bee well able to glorifie God and to performe his duty in the same which shal be so long How long a man should desire to liue here as the time of his ministry in this life is by the diuine prouidēce appointed to endure no lōger and that when the time of this his seruice is determined he should then desire rather to depart hēce thē to liue any longer assuring himselfe that hee shall neither effect nor performe any thing out of the due time for euery thing and euery worke hath his opportunity and time as the King hath said This time therefore abserued Noah Abraham Isaack Iacob Ioseph Moses Iosuah Samuel David and other our godly forefathers in their liues And this time I am assured the King shall accomplish and therein shall doe and performe that onely which the Lord hath appointed him in his place for his glory and the benefit of his people Thus farre the Princes were contented to heare one another of them and withall to iustifie that which had beene saide for the King Howbeit howsoeuer some of them dissembled the matter there was not yet any one of thē that either declared or reuealed the cause of the Kinges affliction Neither indeede was hee which knew the matter willing to open it because it touched the Kings Maiestie Whereby it was like to bee as daungerous to his person and state as the malady is to that patient the cause of whose griefe is neither reuealed nor wel known to the phisician This the lords cōsidered therfore they yet desisted not to search enquire further vntil they found out the causes of the kings present sicknesse CHAP. XV. Zadoke hath found the causes of the kinges troubled minde and declareth them of Solomons glory ZAdoke the most reuerend Father hauing now a good whiles hearkened to the conference of the Lordes and perceiuing that they would neither bee quieted in heart appeazed in conscience nor surcease to search and examine matter by matter cause by cause vntil they might at length find out
the aduersary hath beset them and battered their faith with sinne and thereby occasioned them to be beaten with the rod of men which is yet so necessary in them that fall that therefore they should not be ashamed to repent but ashamed to sinne Neither doth the king despaire of mercie * Lorde God sayd Benaiah and could it be that so wise a person should so fall May it bee lawfull for vs to inuestigate the causes of this thing Benaiah * It hath beene already sayd answered Zadok that the king was yet but a man zadok telleth the causes of the kings fall If hee had been God as hee is not he would not haue fallen in this sort Other causes of this declination in the king are knowne onely to the Lorde who wil◠hereafter I doubt not also reueale the same in the due time And yet it may be howsoeuer wee haue cleared ourselues of all heynous crimes and offences Sometimes the sinnes of the people are the cause of the trouble and plague of their princes both against God the king in those our owne conceits that the cause of the kings fall hath risen partly from some of vs partly by some thing committed in and among the people in whom are oftentimes found that which prouoketh the Lorde in displeasure to take away those blessings which in his louing mercies he had bestowed on them and so such kings and Princes by and vnder whose gouernment they haue and might haue inioyed long peace and prosperitie But for this time let vs in all sobrietie cease to search after those hidden things too curiously remembring that the king himselfe lately aduised Search not out the things which are aboue thy reach and capacitie And let vs commit this with the successe therof vnto God wha hath appointed these and all things else to succeed and come to passe by his Providence after his owne will for his glorie and the good of his chosen howsouer it appeareth vnto vs that the King hath therein offended and in whatsoeuer sorte they appeare vnto men And let vs haue a chiefe care that our Willes bee made and conformed here in earth to his will in heauen in all things Praye for the king and speake well of him * Furthermore as we be bound both by the law of God and a good conscience let vs neither forget nor omit to pray and make intercession vnto God for the King both daily and hourely and therewith both commaund excite the Congregation people to doe the like It may be the Lorde our God will heare vs and be mercifull Let vs also speake well and the best of the King euen in our priuy chambers and with him good in our hearts and so much the sooner because hee is the Lordes annointed and at this present setteth not himselfe in wickednesse nor maketh a mocke of Religion and good admonition as did Pharaoh when hee saide Who is the Lord or as those vngodly which iest and contemne correction and haue a delight in their sinnes But rather he is contented to heare to bee ruled to be reclaymed and to be directed by the wisedome of that divine Spirite as himselfe hath sayd the wise-man is wont to doe pro. 10.23 Solomon hath declared many arguments of his repētance And therein as vnto vs it appeareth hee hath expressed many arguments of a true repentant heart both in his gesture and manner of life Neither are his Sermons words and speaches to be neglected or forgotten being right worthy the noting obseruation and memorie of all men For as they sauour of the holy spirit so are they vttered with such wisedom discretion grauitie and deepe affects of the soule vpon this occasion that they doe not onely argue and declare the Kings true repentance but shall also teach instruct admonish and mooue the heartes of all Gods people to feare God and serue him with reuerence and therfore shall be right profitable for the holy Congregation and worthy preseruation for all posterities Solomons wordes and sermons are meete to bee collected and preserued Let vs therefore call those his Wordes and sermons into remembrance let vs collect and write them in a Booke and let vs after our power conserue them or some part of them in the sacred Register among other the kings wise parables Prouerbs graue sentences Prophesies and holy songs Let vs neither defraude the King of that he hath deserued nor withhold from the holy Congregation that which to the same belongeth nor appeare negligent in our dutie to bee performed to either of them And as in this wee shall serue the Lorde honour our King and benefite the Church so by those his words and sermons being thus exemplified he shall be more commended and praysed of the Saints then by the worldly glory of his Throne no lesse wise then those wise Princes Patriarks Sages Seers which are much more esteemed for their graue sayings words writings Elioreph the Notary then exalted for their great conquests and worldly riches * Then said Elioreph the kings Notarie right worthily spoken reuerend father for indeed the words of the king are such as are in all things consonant to the veritie and shall witnesse for euer the kings cōtrition and true conuersion vnto Iehovah his God after his sinne committed Moreouer they shall be preached as fruitefull and godly sermons in the Church to teach admonish exhort reforme conforme comfort instruct them that come after vs in the feare of God and the obseruation of his Lawes Eccles. 12. the which is as the King hath often and yet dayly teacheth that which chiefly appertaineth to euery man and is required of all men that liue in this world Therefore my selfe with the conuenient help of Ahia my fellow Notary and with the aduise of my Lord the kings Recorder will gladly endeuour this thing to effect In the Name of God whom we beséech to looke vpon the King and vpon his people in the aboundance of his louing mercies CAP. XXIIII Obiections and exceptions against Solomon and his words and deedes the which the Princes endeuour to defend AFter that the whole assembly of king Solomons Lords were thus disposed and agreed in counsaile that the kings Words which hee in this time of his troubled spirits and thencefoorth did vtter and speake before them should be called into remembrance considered of and kept in the holy Register among other the diuine monuments of the Church ad it in before declared Abiather Abiather the priest which sometimes had ministred before the king in the steede of Zadok stood foorth and obiected to the decree Obiections against Solomon and his words after this manner But my Lords all said hee I am much afraid of this that many in the posteritie will the lesse esteeme or at the least doubt of some other things which are noted in the holy Register when vnto the same wee shall adde and combine as of
promises before made doe pointe and belong properly to the most holy Messiah 2. Sam. 7.12 and not to any man besides him as they doe indeede yet to declare that David the Kinges Father did not wholy exclude Solomon his Sonne borne of Bethsabe but did so vnderstand the wordes spoken in this case as that literally the same Solomon was the persō especially chosē and appointed to build that materiall house therefore he said I had in mine heart to build an house of rest for the Arke of the covenant of the Lorde for the footestoole of our God 1. Chro. 28.2 had made ready for the building But god said to mee thou shalt not build an house for my name because thou hast beene a man of warre and hast shedde bloud Againe And he said vnto mee Solomon thy Sonne Verse 6. he shall build me an house courtes for I have chosen him to bee my Sonne I wil be his father Then turning himselfe to Solomon Verse 9. hee saide And thou Solomon my Sonne know thou the Lorde of thy fathers serve him with a pure heart with a willing minde Againe Take heede now for the Lord hath chosen thee to build him an house of a Sanctuary be strong therefore shew thy selfe a man Verse 10. And in this sense did K. Solomon also take the wordes of the Lord which Nathan the prophet brought him as himselfe testified when sending to Hyram the Tyrian king for further provision he said 1. King 5.2 Thou knowest that David my father could not build an house vnto the name of Iehovah his God for the warres which were about him on every side vntill the Lorde put them vnder the soales of his feete But not Iehovah my God hath given me rest on every side so that their is neither adversary nor evil to resist And behold I am determined to build an house vnto the name of Iehovah my God as Iehovah spake vnto David my father saying Thy sonne whome I will set vpon thy seate for thee he shall build an house vnto my name 2 Chro. 6.10 And that Solomon did this performe accordingly himselfe testified againe saying I am risen vp in the roome of David my father am set on the seat of Israel as Iehovah promised have built an house for the name of Iehovah the God of Israel For indeed 1. Kings 6.1 2. Chro. 3.1 in the fower hundreth and fower-score yeer after that our fathers came out of the land of Aegipt and in the fowrth yeere of the raigne of King Solomon vpon Israel Aprill 1. Kings 6 38. October in the moneth * Ziff which is the second in our accoūt he began to build this house and in the eleuenth yeere in the moneth * Bul which is the eight was the same house finished throughout all the partes thereof according to the fashion of it and so was hee seuen yeeres in the building of it that in the mount Moriah in the place where first Cain and Abel and afterward Noah offered their sacrifices yea and in the Alley of Arnon there wherein David when hee saw the Angell with his drawne Sworde was commaunded to reare his altar Neuerthelesse to signifie that both this person and his worke had a further and higher aime then either wee coulde see with the eye or comprehend in thought much lesse vtter with the tongue as the thinges of God are such as passe all mens vnderstanding wee hearde what the King himselfe saide when hee dedicated the house vnto God And will God in very deede said hee dwell with men on earth Beholde heaven 2 Chro. 6.18 and the heaven above all heavens may not containe him How much lesse the house which I have built For the King as hee had the wisedome of the holy Spirite knew right well that this shoulde prefigurate the Church of the holy Messiah and that not onely the same which is or shal bee militant on earth but that spirituall Temple of God in the soule and minde of man yea and also shoulde expresse as by a liuely Simbole the societie triumphant and glorious in heauen Gen. 6.15 Exod. 25 26 Therefore as hee alluded therein to Noah in the building of the Arke and to Moses in the framing of the Tabernacle 2. Sam. 5.8.9 1. Chro. 28.11.19 and to David in the institution and disposing of the Tower of Zion and followed the proportion which his Father David had plotted and prescribed so hee expressed not onely his earnest loue and heartie zeale that hee had to his God but his desire to display and set foorth the wonderful perfection and excellent glory of that Church Neither yet did hee shewe himselfe either too curious or too costly or ouer glorious or superstitious or superfluous in any one ornament or in the least title or thing whatsoeuer in and about the same house albeit both the worke was magnificent of great charge and labour and the ornamentes in and about the same rare pretious and many in number For truely as this materiall Temple signifieth that Temple of Messiah whether misticall in the Congregation or spirituall in the faithfull soule or glorious in heaven so the ornamentes and diuers and sundry functions and garnishings and glory of the same expresse and declare vnto vs the noble personages functions orders ministeries vertues of and in the same For there bee godly Kinges and Princes Prophets Priestes Ministers Iudges Magistrates and many wise and holy persons both men and women there is the wisedome the iudgement the iustifications the sanctifications the perfections and in a word all the graces of the Saincts and there are the angels heauenly spirites Abraham Isaak Iacob Moses Iosuah and other with the glory of the children of God But ye happily desire that some certaine particulars might be produced in this comparison To speake of all it wold both weary me cōfound your hearing they are so many wonderful yea beyond the knowledge of man as yet neither is it meete that wee should * inuestigate ouer curiously Deut 29 29. and sift out too precisely that which is laid vp in the diuine counsail vntil the happy time of the Messiah who then and not before shall tell vs al thinges yea things hidden from the beginning In the meane time it is enough that we belieue this that the law shall go foorth from Zion and the word of the Lord from Ierusalem The Church is like an house And first as ye haue heard and doe perceiue the Church of the Messiah is prefigured and expressed wholy by an house and that conueniently in regarde of the partes orders and vse thereof But this house hath two generall partes whereof the one is that in the which aswell the people as the priestes do enter wherein they pray they teach they heare they offer sacrifice they praise God they talke and declare their holy deuotion and obedience to God
Obiection 7 of women Ca. 7.29 that the King was thought to condemne womens Sexe May I also heare from whence this surmise is taken from that said Abiather where he said This have I found seeking one by one to finde the count and yet my soule seeketh but I finde it not I haue found one man of a thousand but a woman among them all have I not found Answere And will they heereof conclude said Zadok that a woman therefore is not found among the Saintes He condemneth not womans sexe or that womans Sexe is prophane an euill thing I deny the consequence for yee wander farre from the kings meaning therin It is very plaine that howsoeuer the K. knoweth that he hath bin deceiued and polluted with wicked women and himselfe hath spoken against the vngodly and strange women and their vices yet did he neuer condemne the sexe or kinde of women He speaketh by comparison nor the godly woman and her vertues But he hath spoken by way of comparison as thus If of men there be found as fewe as one man of a thousand which vnderstandeth and considereth of the course of mans affayres and of his vanities vnder the Sunne and of the cariage of things in this world according to the will and prouidence of God surely of women there is not found one within that number for if men haue not that wisedō how should those weaker vessels I mean womē Howbeit we may not for all that think that by this number certain which he taketh for a number vncertaine by this hyperbolicall speach hee vtterly excludeth all women from the life of the saints number of the wise Thē might he bee found indeed to condemne Sarah the wife of Abraham and Rebecca the wife of Isaack and Hanna the mother of Samuel and the wife of Manoah the mother of Sāpson Ruth the Moabitesse and Rahab of Ierico and Abigael and Bethsabee the kings mother others of the generation of the iust which are so much commended in the holy write But the King in his wisedome knowing the excellencie of such women hath worthily praysed them and their vertues saying Pro. 31. The woman that feareth the Lord shal be cōmended give her of the fruit of her hands and let her owne works praise her openly And he said againe that such a woman shall be given by the Lord for a good portion to such a man as feareth him * 8. Obiection 8 of the doubtfulnes of Gods loue mercie Chap. 9.1 Answere Ye haue said said that the King hath taught a doubtfulnes of the Love mercy of God But let me heare of what words ye haue taken that The king hath oftē said quod Abiather that No man knoweth either love or hatred of all that is before them And both this sayde zadoke teach vs a doubtfulnes of the loue and mercy of God towardes his children in this life No truely for by this he speaketh of an other thing as first that considering the manifold confusions of mans affayres in this world no man in the view thereof or of any other external thing can take censure of matters diuine nor truely discerne No man can iudge of divine things by these externall things what things he ought either to choose or refuse in this world For the Lord sendeth both prosperitie and aduersitie aswell to the wicked as to the godly Next the King knoweth that albeit the soules of the righteous bee in the hand of GOD so that none euill may touch them yet such is the corrupt iudgement of flesh and blood ignorant of GOD and of his wayes Men consider not whō God either loueth or hateth that he neuer somuch as considereth what kinde of men the yare which God loueth and what kinde of men they are which God hateth and therefore are they no more louing nor thankfull vnto the godly whom the Lorde loueth howsoeuer they haue well deserued then they are vnto the vngodly 9. Oiection of the soule Cha. 3.21 which neither feare God nor endeuor to benefite his Church * Yee further obiected that the King hath cast into doubt the being of the Soule I pray what hath he sayde to occasion this conceite of him he hath sayd quod Abiather Who knoweth whether the soule of man ascendeth vpward and the spirite of the beast descendeth downward to the earth As who should vehemētly affirme that no man knoweth the life or being of the soule Ergo he doubteth thereof Mans iudgement of the soule of a man I deny that said Zadoke for albeit the naturall man neither knoweth nor vnderstandeth this by his reason yet the godly man by his faith beleeueth and comprehendeth it The purpose of the King therefore in these words is to set foorth the imagination of the children of men which cannot conceiue by any wisedome or reason of man that the soule of man is immortall and ascendeth vp into heauen after his dissolution no more then doth the breath of a beast Ye haue said also that the K. doubteth of the life sense of the humane soule 10. Obeiction of the sense of the soule Chap. 9 5.9.10 Yea said Abiather for he saith Whosoever is ioyned to the living there is hope for it is better to a living dog thē to a dead Lyon for the living know that they shal die but the dead know nothing at all Neither have they any more a reward for their remēbrance is forgottē Also their love their hatred and their envy is now perished they have no more portiō for ever in al that is done vnder the sun Answere To this answered Zadok I meruaile what should moue any man to think by these words that the king doubteth of the life and sense of the soule after his departure as therein to giue aime to the opinion of them that thinke the soules doe either die or sléepe vntill the iudgement which is to come so contrary to the holy Scriptures and beliefe of our Fathers for Solomon hath no such aime nor meaning All men are admonished to vse the time of their life in the works of their vocation But hee speaketh of the dead and not of the soules which liue for euer and wisheth all men to vse the time of their life and present opportunitie for the exercising and performing of the woorkes of their vocation for the benefite of the Church the good of the Common-wealth the discharge of duties and the glorie of GOD. For that by death which dayly draweth on them all men are depriued of all sense worke and labour of this life to doe thencefoorth therein either good or euill For they haue finished their course played their partes and cannot returne either to perfect their defectes or to supply their wants in the performāce of that dutie wherunto they were both created and called but must from hence-foorth let all alone for euer that so the tree might lie wheras