for thou hast shed much blood and hast made great warres But when thy dayes shall be fulfilled and thou shalt sleepe with thy fathers I will set vp thy seed after thee which shall proceed out of thy Bowels Hee shall build an house for my name and I will establish the throne of his Kingdome for euer I will be his father and hee shall be my sonne if hee sinne I will chasten him with the rodde of men and with the stripes of the children of men but my mercy shall not depart away from him as I tooke it from Saul whom I put away before thee And albeit this house and Kingdome in their spirituall meaning were built and established in and by Christ yet litterally they were performed in Salomon whose works were so glorious and peace so famous as they were figures of the true substances following But that Salomon sinned is manifested by his story for his wiues turned away his heart after other gods when hee suffered the worshipping of Ashteroth the Goddesse of the Zidonians Milcom the abomination of the Amorites Chemoâ—…h the Idoll of Moab and Molech the Diuel of the children of Ammon For which cause God did chastise him by the rebellions of Hadad the Edomite of Rezon King of Damascus and of his seruant Ieroboam that rent his Kingdome after him and carried away ten Tribes These in part were the Rods in Gods hand that corrected his offences but his mercy hee tooke not from him as he had promised whose saluation notwithstanding these his great sinnes is confirmed by these many and more testimonies of Scriptures He loued the Lord 1 King 3 3 and is likewise called the Lords beloued Nehe. 13. 26. His Iedidiah 2 Sam. 12. 25. He pleased the Lord 1 Kings 〈◊〉 10. was a true Prophet 1 Kings 8. 48. a figure of Christ Luke 11. 31. and a repentant King as his Booke Ecclesiastes sufficiently sheweth His sonnes after him for the most part were extreamely wicked for of nineteene Kings of Iudahs throne from his loynes descended twelue are noted to bee extreamely impious who often prouoked and lastly procured the vtter subuersion of that glorious Kingdome which whilst it stood was the glory of the earth and a figure of the Celestiall that is to come The want of issue then which failed in Ieconiah was the Rod of Salomons line wherewith God scourged him and his Kingdome and how that fell out let vs see the seuerall rents that therein were made The first rent of Salomons Kingdome may bee said to beginne in his owne life time when Ahijah the Shilonite rent the new garment that Ieroboam wore into twelue peeces retaining onely two and deliuered him tenne by which was signified the tenne Tribes that God would take from Salomons Throne and Son and giue them vnto this Ephrathite the Sonne of Nebat Who no sooner was made King but that he set vp two golden Calues the one at Dan and the other at Bethel for his people to worship lest in returning to Ierusalem their harts should returne to the Lord and their subiection vnto Rehoboam With this his sinne all the Kings of Israel were polluted onely Shallum and Hosheah excepted for with that sinne they are not charged though otherwise they were as wicked as the rest And this was the cause that moued the Prophet Hosheah to say Thy Calfe O Samaria hath cast thee off Another rent was threatned to Salomons issue and Kingdome when his house ioyned with Omâ—…ies in Ioram the sonne of Iehoshaphat King of Iudah and in Athalia the daughter of Ahab King of Israel For Ahabs whole house that is both male and female must vtterly perish according to the threats of the Lord by Elijah the Prophet Behold saith he I will bring euill vpon thee and will take away thy posterity and will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall as well him that is shut vp as him that is left in Israel And I will make thy house like the house of Ieroboam the sonne of Nebat and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahiiah for the prouocations wherewith thou hast prouoked and made Israel to sinne The dogges shall eate him of Ahabs stocke that dieth in the City and hee that dieth in the fields shall the Fowles of the ayre eate And that the whole houses of Ieroboam and of Baasha were both of them extinct and their remnant swept away as dung from the dung-hill and all gone is most apparant by the holy Text and so must the whole house of Ahab be hauing the like threats of destructioÌ„ from the same Spirit that did not repent which presently beganne in Ahab and Iezebel themselues Hee wounded to death at Ramath Gilead by the King of Syria and shee throwne out of her window was dashed to death in Iezreel by her Eunuchs Ahaziah their first sonne was brused to death by a fall through his lettice window in Samariah And Ioram their second with all his brethren the sons of Ahab and his Kinsmen were all slaine in Iezreel by Iehu vntill hee left none remaining saith the Text of the whole House of Ahab And as Gods wrath followed Ahab in his sonnes vnto destruction so did it in his daughter Athalia the mother of most of the Kings of Iudah and most of them following her sinnes were also swept away till they were all gone For the three first Kings that succeeded of her descent were all of them slaine in battell and in conspiracy And Vzziah the fourth put from the peoples presence died a leaper Bad Ahaz distressed by Rezin of Syria and Pekah of Israel made himselfe seruant to Tiglah Pileser King of Ashur who carried his treasures away vnto Damascus And good Hezektah was told that his substance and seed foreshewing his treasures should be carried captiue vnto Babel The blood shed by Manasseh called as Abels for Babylons punishments and Amon for seruing strange gods was slaine by his seruants The godly Iosiah was told of captiuity curse and destruction of people and place which yet was deferred all his owne life because his heart melted at the words of the then found Booke of the Law but his sonnes succeeding soone pulled those plagues by his life kept back vpon themselues and Iudahs estate For Iehoahaz the first inthroned was captiuated by Necho carried to Aegypt and there died and Iehoiakim his successor made subiect to Nebuchadnezzar was for his rebellion slaine and his carkasse left vnburied to the heate of the day and the frost of the night Zedekiah was made blinde chained and carried to Babel where he died the City Ierusalem sacked the Temple t burned the Priests u slaine the people pillars and holy vessels transported to Babylon and all of them polluted and subiected to the Chaldeans that bitter furious and terrible Nation
mention of Iacim at all Concerning then the persons omitted wee see they were foure Kings of Iudahs Throne Three of them in a direct line of succession and the fourth nine discents following which were Ahaziah Ioash and Amaziah and the last Iacim the son of Iosiah For whereas Saint Mathew saith that Ioram the sonne of Iehoshaphat begat Ozias it is most manifest by the Bookes of the Kings and of the Chronicles that Ioram begat Ahaziah and not Uzziah and Ahaziah begat Ioash and Ioash begat Amaziah and Amaziah Vzziah 68 yeeres after the death of King Ioram But why these foure particular persons aboue the rest should be omitted is questionable some thinking that it was the mistaking of St Mathew in writing Ozias for Uz. ziah and by obliuion left that line of Ioram vnto his third descent which in no case may be admitted For God forbid that the first writer of the new Testament should be ignorant of that which the olde wrote whose pen though his and he a man yet was the Inditer the Spirit of Truth and farre from all imperfections of men Some likewise alleage that for the Iewes weaknesse Christ would not haue his holy publican Mathew to name the wicked Ahaziah the Cain-Ioash the foolish Amaziah nor the Atheist Iehoiakim in that catalogue vnto which himselfe was the onely heire but as the scumme of the World vnworthy of remembrance leaues them vnnamed as though they had neuer beene And some again iudge these foure to be omitted for their many impieties both in their liues and raignes and for their euill ruling to be left out of that holy Text as worthlesse of names or remembrance Whereunto we answere that the Iewes were not weake in the Texts of their stories we see by their many Comments though in the applications many times they missed but especially in the line of their Kings were most ready from whom they expected their potent Messiah And had they beene ignorant yet Christ the truth would not haue smothered the truth in regard of their follies Neither doth their silence for bad life and euill ruling onely satisfie for many other Kings as wicked or more are notwithstanding by the Euangelist recorded as Ioram that compelled Iudah vnto Idolatry for which his guts by peece-meale daily fell out and his life so loathed as it is said of him He liued not being desired Ahaz that shut vp the doores of the Lords House and made him Altars in euery corner of Ierusalem and high places in euery City of Iudah to burne incense vnto other gods and to sacrifice vnto the gods of Aram. The periured Zedekiah whose eyes were pluckt out himself bound in chaines and carried to Babel where hee died a naughty figge as Ieremiah calles him And Ieconiah so naught that hee is called a despised Idol a vessell wherein was no pleasure and the Signet pluckt off from Gods right hand Saint Augustine in his questions why of seuenteene Kings three are left out answereth It may be thought saith he that the Euangelist followed the meaning in◅oram ◅oram so continued in Ochozios and the rest so that none of these either for any respect due to themselues or for any good desert of their fathers ought to be accounted in the number of the Kings To this may be answered as Ezekiel doth the prouerbe The Fathers haue eaten sower grapes and the childrens teeth are set on edge As I liue saith the Lord all soules are mine both the soule of the father and the soule of the sonne and that soule that sinneth that soule shall die the sinner for his owne sinnes and not for his fathers And the Gospell preaching saluation in Christ regardeth the sinnes neither of Father nor sonne though neuer so many but beginneth with the saluation of sinners in such of the Mothers as were most tainted with sinne And if the goodnesse of the Father be regarded in the Son why was not wicked Iehoiakim the sonne recorded for his fathers sake good Iosiahs And therefore we may think some other cause moued the Euangelist to omit their names Saint Ierome likewise from the letter of the Law doth gather the reason of the thre◅ first omissiōs namely from the threats therein contained against Idolatrous posterities where it is said The Lord is a iealous God visiting the iniquity of the Fathers vpon the children vnto the third and fourth generation And these saith he being the seede of most wicked Parents vnto the fourth generation are omitted by the holy Pen of Grace For Ioram King of Iudah had to wife Athaliah the daughter of Ahab King of Israel and of Idolatrous Iezebel the Zidonian worshipper of Baal And of Athaliah was borne Ahaziah who begat Ioash and hee Amaziah the fourth in descent from that wicked bed of marriage To this collection of Ierome I could well assent if it did likewise include the fourth man Iehoiakim But hee being the twelfth in descent of the bloud of Iezebel is notwithstanding omitted whereas nine betwixt them and Iechoniah after him are in Saint Mathewes Catalogue recorded and therefore this his obseruation fitteth not well for the same cause that moued their omissions moued his but that did not therefore that was not the cause Neuerthelesse wee know Ahabs seed by Iezebel had a manifest curse of vtter destruction that his house should be swept from the earth as dung from the dung-hill as were the Houses of Ieroboam and of Baasha till all were gone If then these exceptions may be iustly taken against these diuers expositions by diuers men alleaged let vs yet heare further what may be saide was the cause though not vrging consent without further examination It is most apparant that the Euangelist Saint Mathew to answere this demand of the Wise-men Where is hee that is borne King of the Iewes sheweth the babe Iesus of Iudah Dauid Bethlehem to be the said King confirming his assertion by his tribe parents and place of birth from the Prophets that spake it and the most lawfull right hee had vnto Iudahs Kingdome from those lawful Kings that without debarre of title or exceptions of the people had sate vpon Indahs throne And that the affections of the people is to ioyne with his title at a Kings inauguration the most learned King of all the Worlds Kings our Soueraigne Lord King Iames hath set it for a speciall obseruation in his Maiesties Booke so intituled for saith he though Monarchies or hereditary kingdomes cannot iustly be denied to the lawfull successor whatsoeuer the affections of the people be yet it is a great signe of the blessing of God when he enters in it with the willing applause of his subiects and raignes by the loue and acknowledgement of his people But it seemeth so had not Ahaziah Ioash Amaziah nor Iehoiakim done but had exceptions against either in their owne titles or in
the affections of the people or both and therefore Saint Mathew spareth to record them among the Catalogue of Salomons other successors that so the title of Iesus to the Kingdome might stand firme without any debarre or exceptions howsoeuer First then of Ahaziah the first it is said that he was the youngest sonne of his father for the Philistines and Arabians that were neighbours to the Ethiopians had carried away King Iorams wiues and his other sonnes so that there was not a sonne left him sauing Ahaziah the youngest 2 Chro. 21. 17. And albeit in the next Chapter it be said that the Philistines with the Arabians had slayne all the eldest sonnes yet before their slaughter which was in Ethiopia for thither they were brought the Inhabitants of Ierusalem had made Ahaziah the youngest sonne King contrary to the Law ordained in Deuteronomy which giueth the royalty alwayes to the eldest And Ahaziah himselfe being as wicked as any walked in the wayes of the house of Ahab for his mother Athalia counselled him to doe wickedly for which and his other defects hee was lastly slaine by Iehu King of Israel when hee executed Gods threats vpon the House of Ahab Ioash the second in Saint Mathews omission after the slaughter of Ahaziah his father and of other his kinsmen the Princes of Iudah of himselfe was vnable saith the Text to retaine the Kingdome and for six yeers space was neither acknowledged King nor vulgarly knowne to be aliue For in the rage and vsurpation of Athaliah he was hid in the Temple by his Aunt Iehoshabeath and lastly preferred to the Throne by Iehoiada her Husband which kindnesse he requited with the slaughter of Zechariah their sonne slaine at his commandement in the Court of the Lords house for which and for the bloud he had spilt his seruants conspired against him in his house at Millo and slew him his body not permitted to haue the honour of buriall in the Sepulchers of the Kings and therefore vnworthy of name or of future remembrance Amaziah the third was not a preseruer of the Commonwealths state as Kings ought to be but rather the destroyer of state Kingdome as by his raigne is seene For besides his Idolatry to the Idols of Edom and the prouoking thereby of Gods wrath in his head-strong rashnesse hee prouoked Ioash King of Israel to fight against Iudah wherein himselfe was taken the treasures of the Temple and of the Kings house carried away and the wall of Ierusalem broken downe in length foure hundred cubits and afterwards he liued in dislike without loue in so much as his people pursued him from Ierusalem vnto Lachish there slew him his death not reuenged but his murtherers escaping all condigne punishments And after his death for the hatred the people bare him his Crowne for an eleuen yeeres space was helde from Vzziah his sonne and an interregnum in Iudah betwixt the death of the father and the raigne of the sonne so long for by the parerellizing raignes of the Kings of Iudah and Israel Amaziahs death fell in the fifteenth of Ieroboam King of Israel and Uzziah beganne not to raigne til the twenty seuen yeere of the same King These things considered might wel moue an omission of his name by Saint Mathew And in Iehoiakim the last some disliked defects were knowne for that the people of the Land reiected him for their King and annointed Iehoahaz his yonger brother by two yeeres in his stead contrary to the vsuall custome of succession And Iehoiakim himselfe being made King by Necho King of Egypt his title standeth litigious for the Law commanded by Moses thus speaketh From among thy brethren shalt thou make a King ouer thee thou shalt not set a stranger ouer thee which is not thy brother If then a stranger must not be permitted a King to raigne ouer Gods people then by the same Law a stranger could not impose his substitute ouer them as Iehoiakim was And Iehoiakims title it selfe seemeth to stand in a double defect The one is that he did assume the title and authority of King his brother aliue annoynted and established whereas Dauid though chosen of God and annoynted by Samuel acknowledged Saul for his Soueraigne neither seeking to shorten his life nor disquiet his raigne And the other is the vnlawfull meanes hee had to the Crowne which was by the strong hand of Necho of the cursed Egyptians the ancient enemies to Israel Gods people And Iehoiakims life as wicked as any in cutting of Ieremiahs Role was cut off by Nebuchadnezzar King of Babel and his carkasse cast out of the gate of Ierusalem to the heate of the day and frost of the night was lastly vnlamented buried as an Asse is buried so contemptible was his life death and buriall These I assume were the causes of these foure Kings omissions that is to say the first and last not lawfully succeeding in the Throne were omitted and the other the one of them not able to attaine the Crown for the space of sixe yeeres after his fathers death did not raigne King and the sonne of the other for the space of eleuen yeeres after his fathers death was not admitted to be King so vnwilling were the people that his issue should raigne It is Augustines obseruation that Salomon was reckoned for Dauid his fathers sake and that Rehoboam was recorded for Assa his sonnes sake If so in them such respect was had for the goodnesse of the father and the son then in these such contempt was had for the badnesse both of father and sonne as they are omitted and vnnamed and themselues slaine by their seruants and subiects doth confirme the cause of their omissions more strongly And albeit that bad Ammon and good Iosiah were likewise slaine the one by his seruants and the other by Necho King of Egypt and that Zedekiah by Nebuchadnezzar a stranger was likewise made King and all of them notwithstanding recorded by Saint Mathew yet are not their estates alike For Ammons death was reuenged by the people of the Land and Iosiahs death lamented both by the people and the Prophet neither of which the other were And Nebuchadnezzar made the great Monarch of the World euen by God himselfe had thereby a lawfull power both to set vp and to depose Kings which Necho had not and therefore Zedekiah his title is not to be called in question as Iehoiakims is Whereupon wee conclude that the Euangelist Saint Mathew to shew the right that Iesus had vnto Iudahs Crowne recordeth his title onely from those Kings that were without all exceptions estated vnto Iudahs Throne and omitteth those against whom any exceptions are found that so Christ who came to fulfill all Lawes might haue a lawfull succession vnto that Kingdome whereunto he was borne for other materiall reason of omission we find none And
the wombe of the Virgine the Rabbins themselues confesse and the successe sheweth because at the comming of this Shiloh or birth of Christ Iesus the gouernment of Iudah was taken cleane from them and their Crowne worne by Herod an Idumean stranger Vntill which time the line of the lawfull Kings of the Tribe of Iudah had beene exactly and distinctly recorded and kept But in one generation following were so confounded scattered and shufled together among other Tribes and the Tribes each amongst others so mixed as to this day there is not a Iew knowne in the world that can distinctly shew of what tribe he is descended And their faire Dominions with such desolations ouerrunne that all hope is lost of any recouery and for the obedience prophecied vnto him the preaching of the Gospell hath gotten that through the world It was the faire land that Moses from mount Nebo did behold that Ioshuah from mount Hermon to mount Hor did conquer At first diuided among the twelue Tribes and after established a kingdome vnder Saul of whom the spirituall could not be intended neither was it in him figured And that kingdome possessed and crowne worne by him was taken from Beniamin and giuen to Iudah and in Dauid setled with promise that a sonne out of his loynes should sit vpon the throne thereof and should raigne King for euer and euer which none euer did or could doe but onely his Sonne Iesus the Prince Messiah to whom be praise for euer and euer and that he alone is the heire vnto that right is witnessed by the sacred Texts and shall be our paines heere to declare First then this terrestriall Kingdome was seated as saith the Prophet in the midst of nations did containe the Prouinces of Iury Samaria and Gallely the Land of Gilead also without Iordan was a portion of the twelue Tribes The whole so rich in earthly blessings as it is often in Scriptures called A Land flowing with milke and hony and so pleasant for situation as of some it is held to haue been Adams Paradise And as the Kingdome was glorious so were many of her Kings such were Dauid Salomon Asa Iohoshaphat and others godly that ruled well their owne and ouer-ruled others till their successors became godlesse and prouoked the ruine of both as when Nebuchadnezzer King of Babell captiuated the Land and led away Ieconias prisoner who was the last man that wore that glorious Crown After whom the Persians with-held it from Zorobabel the most lawful heire thereof And the Grecians and Syra-Grecians from Abiud and his successors vnto Ioseph the husband of Mary These being as foure beasts tooke this earthly Kingdom for the heauenly they could not from those the high Saints of God that should possesse a Kingdome for euer and euer with such desolation of that goodly Land till lastly the Romans made conquest of all and placed the Idumean Herod vpon Iudahs throne where Iacobs prophecy had the full euent And thus we see no temporall Crowne worne of any of Iudah from the captiuity of Babylon till Christ Iesus with thornes was crowned shewed and acknowledged King of the Iewes the abhomination of desolation set in the holy place and the place neuer called holy after Christs death And thus much of the earthly Kingdome promised to Abraham and the first point the second followeth That the expectation of the Iewes was set vpon an earthly Kingdome and powerfull King wee may see by the practise of the common multitude who hauing fedde vpon the fiue barley Loues and two small fishes acknowledged Iesus to bee the Prophet expected but withall presently assaied to haue him their King Againe when he told them that the sonne of man was come to seeke and to saue that which was lost their apprehension was of a temporall restauration of their down-cast estate And vpon that opinion the Apostles themselues as it seemeth were set when they demanded whether at that time Christ would restore the Kingdom of Israel And againe we trusted that it had been he that should haue deliuered Israell And to the same purpose were the answeres of the ignorant women of Samaria touching the Messias and the learned Nicodemus of Gallile touching mans new birth both of them aiming as we see only at outward things And indeed so generall was the opinion of an earthly and powerful Monarchie as that euen the common people expected it and had a prophecy touching the same among them which was That a King out of Iury should rule the whole world Which so terrified the Romans included in that prophecy as that they denied aide to their supplicant Ptolomie King of Egypt and so troubled the assembly of the elders in Ierusalem that their high Priest Caiaphas gaue counsell to kill Iesus lest the Romans should come and take away their Kingdome which was none otherwise meant then of the temporall And a temporall King and terrestriall kingdom it was that Herod so feared and sought to retaine when Christ was sought after by the stile of King of the Iewes And of that earthly kingdome likewise Pilat gaue Iesus the title though to the preiudice of Caesar his Emperour Neither meant the Scribes and Pharisees more then of the temporall when themselues expounded Moses without all spirituall vse the cheife Priests so ignorant that they knew not whether the Baptisme of Iohn was from Heauen or of men nor none of them how Dauids sonne could be Dauids Lord And the Sadduces taught that there was no Resurrection of the body neither Angell nor spirit so farre were they from that which is eternall Finally all of them apply euery Text in the Prophets touching the calling of the Gentiles of Christ and his Kingdome to be meant of a powerfull terrestriall Monarch Monarchie and promise themselues conquests attendance pleasures as in another earthly Paradise all Nations yeelding them seruice and obedience And now wee come to speake of Christ his title vnto Iudahs Crowne the third point Iesus legally descending from Iechoniah and lineally from Zorobabel by his ancestor Salathiel who was made a sonne to a childlesse man is borne the next in bloud and succession to sit vpon Dauids throne and by that right is often called by each of the Euangelists King of the Iewes For the right of Zorobabel resting in Ioseph the husband of Mary and he dying issulesse in Mary her selfe Christ Iesus their Sonne then must bee heire vnto both and by Father and Mother haue the iust title to Iudahs Crowne That Ioseph then in his dayes was the next successour to Salomons Throne is apparant by Saint Matthew in whose Catalogue without any colaterall he is brought downe from Salomon among his successors And by Saint Luke is recorded to be of Iudah of Bethlehem of the house and lineage of Dauid vnto which Tribe and
is by Saint Mathew and Saiâ—…t Luke deriued from Abraham Iudah and Dauid and by the foure Euangelists in that his double right is 〈◊〉 times foure times recordded stiled and called King of the Iewes Anâ—… thus much of the third point Now remaineth the last in the acknowledgment of that title to rest onely in the person of Iesus the expected sonne of Dauid whose raign doth continue for euer The first acknowledgment then of this promised King was obserued by the Gentiles when by his Starre they were led vnto the new-borne Babe King of the Iewes which was in the forty two yeere of Augustus Caesar when Cereâ—…ius was Gouernour of Syria and when in token of a vniuersall peace the Temple of Ianus stood shut in Roome Which peace was so famous as the mostfamous among the heathen Writers found matter enough to enlarge their wits vpon as Virgil in his Aeneidos and speech of Iupiter doth make him a Prophet to foreshew the peace that should be enioyed when as Mars his Temple should bee neglected and his hands bound in chaines of brasse And in his Eclog speeches of an vnspotted Maide a blessed Babe and of golden daies And Marcus Tullius Cicero as himselfe reporteth saw in his dreame A Childe of an engenius and beautifull countenance let downe from Heauen by a golden chaine And Suetonius after him from Iulius Marathus obserued that euen then Nature was about to bring forth a King that should raigne ouer the whole World And albeit these men in their flatteries did appropriate these their speeches either to the Emprour Augustus himselfe or vnto some of his fauourites yet Micah tels vs that in these daies the weapons of Warre should be made the instruments of Peace for saith he in the last daies Swords shall bee broken into mattockes and speares into Sithes and that euery one should sit vnder his owne Vine and vnder his Fig-tree and none should make them affraid And Isaiah speaking to the same purpose particularly applieth it vnto Christ for saith he Vnto vs a Childe is borne vnto vs a Sonne is giuen the gouernment is vpon his shoulder and his Name is wonderfull Counseller the mighty God the euerlasting Father the Prince of Peace Which Peace was declared to the world by the Angels from Heauen in this last age of the Iewes common wealth when the Stone cut without hands fell vpon Daniels Image that then stood but vpon his toe of Clay Euen then and at that time the wisemen of the East comming from Chaldea in whose language Daniels vision was writ followed his Star into Iury and in Ierusalem inquired for him that was borne x King of the Iewes Which title was acknowledged without any contradiction confirmed by the Priests and Scribes themselues both in affirming the place of his birth in acknowledging his office to be a Ruler in Israel And the malicious Iewes to hinder his right to that kingdome could name none but Caesar a stranger and that contrary to their own law enioyned by Moses which said Thou shalt not set a straÌ„ger which is not thy brother to be King ouer thee And that Iesus was the acknowledged King of the Iewes these speeches and demands of Pilat the Gouernour doth manifestly shew Behold your King Will yee that I release vnto you the King of the Iewes What shall I doe vnto him whom yee call King of the Iewes Shall I crucifie your King and the like Yea and the holy Ghost enforced his own wicked hand to subscribe his most iust title thus IESVS OF NAZARETH KING OF THE IEVVES which he wrote in Hebrew Greeke and Latine that all might reade and fixed it ouer his head vpon the Crosse and that all might see as himselfe had said behold your King And being admonished by the Iewes States-men to alter the in scription as too much derogatory vnto Caesars title and no lesse then a matter of high treason in himself answered What I haue written I haue written euen to the danger of his owne life And Christ himselfe that needeth no testimony of men answered Pilat to his question Art thou a King thou sayest that I am a King To this end was I borne and for this cause came I into the World that I should beare witnesse vnto the truth and euery one that is of the truth heareth my voyce And the same opinion of his kingly title after his resurrection it seemeth the Iewes in Thessalonica had when they accused Iason before the Rulers that against the decree of Caesar hee subborned them that taught there was no other King euen one Iesus Thus then we conclude that this Iesus the Sonne of the Virgin was the expected King of the terrestriall Kingdome the reall King without any Competitor to that Crowne And the acknowledged King of the Iews both by the Gentiles and by the Iewes themselues But because in Dauid and in the rest there was a figure of a Priestly or spirituall King and Kingdome aswell as of a reall and earthly Some haue thought the figured only and not the real did belong vnto Christ for that himselfe disclaimed all regall authority vpon earth But if we well consider that he alone is the Alpha and Omega through whom and for whom all that is writ was writ in whom all the promises of God are vea and Amen wee must then include as much vnto him the substance as was propper vnto Abraham and his other figures else was not Christ the heire of all and the first among Brethren Therefore as we began in Abraham for the Terrestriall let vs likewise begin in him for the Celestial who in his daies was both a King and a Priest and in them both a true figure of him his seede that was to come That Abraham was a King his kingly authority in his leagues ofensiue and defensiue made with the Kings of the Canaanites doth sufficiently shew For as a King he bare himselfe among those his conâ—…ederates both in the victory and deuision of the spoiles gotten and taken at Sodom in the recouery of his brother Lot And a Priest likewise he was for he built Altars and sacrificed vnto the Lord and would haue done his owne sonne Isaac had not his hand beene stayed by an Angell from heauen so that in both hee was really a King of that earthly Canaan and personally a Priest in his ministeriall Sacrificings and in them both was tipically a true figure of Christ. To both these functions Isaac was his heire Iacob his and Iudah his for the three brethren Ruben Simeon and Leui were disinerited both of kingly Priesthood and Lay Kingdome vpon their trespasses against Iacobs bed and in Shâ—…chems slaughter But the ministeriall setled vpon Leui Iudah possessed not for these were seperated when Moses waâ—… the messenger
politicall estate of the Iewes common wealth vnto Christ. Whereof the first from Abraham to Dauid were vnder the gouernment of Iudges the second from Dauid vnto the captiuitie were vnder the subiection of Kings and the third were ruled by the power and pollicie of the High Priests not obseruing in this his second number saith he a lineall succession of Kings as they were produced and raigned but rather accounting it sufficient to set the order of that fourteene from the beginning vnto the end of that Kingdome Vnto the former or Ferus his opinion we see no reason to answere seeing there is no reason so to coniecture neither vnto Marlorat the later wherein no resemblance can bee made betwixt the politicall estate of the Iewes and the numbers assigned the one being a succession of Patriarkes and Princes and the other an estate often broken and no face of a Common-wealth many times seene And to what purpose should holy Mathew remember those dead times of sinne seeing his pen was set vpon another subiect and his text the forbidding of worldly state pompe and vaine riches to the attaining of that Kingdome which Christ came to preach But the same Author from others alleageth that Saint Matthew in his daies followed an order and manner of bringing and placing genealogies and pedegrees which now is vnknowne vnto vs and recordeth in his Catalogue diuers men by other names and yet they the same that Saint Luke hath in his And others more intollerable to affirme that the Euangelist by obliuion omitteth those that elsewhere are named in the bookes of the Kings and the Chronicles grounding their coniecture vpon the many and farre more generations recorded in the catalogue of S. Luke then S. Matthew hath in his For Luke from Zorubbabel vnto Marie the Virgin hath ten more in his role then Saint Matthew from Zorubbabel vnto Ioseph her husband hath laid downe whereby they iudge that some men by him are omitted and account it neither sinne nor absurditie to reckon lesse of the legall as Saint Matthew doth then of the naturall as Saint Luke in following the lineall hath done the one of them taking liberty of omission say they to cast his fourteenes into equall numbers but the other tied by a requisite order to record the naturall successors to their naturall parents To the first and difficult order of the Euangelist we answere it is so farre from all likelihood that wee euidently see the contrary by Saint Matthew himselfe for from Abraham to Dauid and from Salathiel to Ioseph his manner and order is so plaine as nothing can be more And so farre are the double names from meaning the same persons that not any one of them in either of the Euangelists are one and the same excepting onely Salathiel Zorobbabel and Ioseph the husband of Marie And to the second we say it is so farre from obliuion or ignorance in the Euangelist as that hee confirmes by other Scriptures what himselfe writes and is most frequent in applying the Prophets to the purpose of his text both in the Parents and person of Christ. As Isaiah for his stem and sonne of a Virgin Micah for his Tribe and place of his birth Hoshea for his calling out of Egypt Zachari for his lowlines and contempt Dauid for the maner of his death and Ionas in the Whale for a signe of his graue and buriall and all of them concurring to that Babe in his text And that it is not vnusuall in the holie Scriptures for generations in some families to exceede others in numbers we see for not only Sem liued through ten generations euen to the fiftieth yeere of Isaac but also in other ages following great differences doe appeare For the Patriarch Iudah saw himselfe in a sort a great grand-father in his fourth descent when as Leui his brother was but an immediate father in his first In the Priests line likewise from Abiathar whom Salomon expulsed vnto Seraih whom Nebuchadnezzar slew were but twelue generations whereas in the Kings from Salomon to Ieconiah whom Nebuchadnezzar captiuated there were twenty Nay what more is fiue onely of Iudahs Tribe namely from Naasson in the wildernesse vnto Iesse the Father of Dauid liued and saw no lesse then seuenteene of Leui his Tribe that is from Korah that perished in the Wildernesse vnto Samuel the Prophet that annointed Dauid Thus then the obiection of the vnequalitie of Families is taken away by the text of Scriptures that allow the like or more in more places then one But from these generals let vs come to the parts and consider the diuisions by Saint Matthew assigned of fourteene fourteene and fourteene generations The first whereof we find by Moses and by the writer of the Booke of Ruth both in number and in names to be most exact and therefore thereof we need not to speake But of the secōd we are to examine First how many there be and who they are that are omitted and the reasons or causes of their omissions And in the last to cōsider by whom and how the number fourteene is made compleat when as but thirteene are nominated by the Euangelist himselfe For the number that are omitted in Saint Mathewes second diuision some account them to be three and some to be foure according to the diuers readings found in the Greeke Copies either including or excluding Iacim the last But if it may be determined by most voyces then hath Iacim no place in that holy catalogue For Robert Stephens that most learned Printer in the sixteene seuerall Copies which he conferred for the edition of the Greeke Testament onely one of his number the fourteenth hath Iacim but in all the rest no such man is found Againe of forty seueral editions since conferred and most of them printed in Paris Geneua Basil London Antwerpe Leyden and Rome onely eight of them haue Iacim whereof sixe of that number haue beene printed in London so that but two of forty impressions haue recorded his name howsoeuer he hath beene insreted in ours And how Saint Mathewes Text is translated into diuers languages see here as followeth And Iosias begat Iechonias and his brethren in the captiuity of Babylon Iusia begat Iuchonia and his brethren in the captiuity of Babel Iuschia begat Iuchonia and his brethren in the captiuity of Babell Ioshia begat Iuchoniah and his brethren in the captiuitie of Babell Iosias begat Iechonias and his brethren in the captiuitie of Babylon Iosias begat Iechonias and his brethren in the transmigration of Babylō And Iosias begat Iechonias and his brethren about the time they were carried away to Babylon So hath Hierom Augustine and the ancient so hath Mountanus Beza and the moderne and indeed so haue all that haue their names prefixed to any Impression those former excepted without any
of Israell to be the God of Heauen aboue and of the Earth beneath Ruth as Abraham forsooke kindred and Countrey protest◅ng that Israels people should bee her people and Is raels God her God And that penne which wrote the last of the Prouerbs makes Bathsheba a mirrour of weomen and a worthy Counsellor to Salomon the wise Thus through these bright Clouds we see the Son of righteousnes shine vnto the world frō this holy stem the Branch of Dauid to grow in beauty as the Oliue tree in smell like vnto Lebanon spices of Salomō set vs Lord vnder the shadow these sweet leaues and let vs eate of this tree of life in the Garden Paradise of God Now seeing that this beautifull Rod of Iesse as Isaiah cals him tooke no sappe from the bitter roots of Iudahs Kings wee must bring the growth thereof from another Stem vnto Dauid euen from the branch Nathan as our Euangelist Luke hath recorded But vpon this Stone the Iewes haue stumbled and haue made it the rocke of offence the ginne and snare to both the houses of Israel as their Isaiah hath prophecied and our Peter hath spoken For they seely men in reading the old Testament haue their mindes blinded and the vale of Moses vntaken away from before their hearts euen vnto this day dreaming of a pompous kingdome which they thinke to possesse and of a potent Messiah that should triumph and make subiect vnto them the Gentiles on euery side and promise to themselues as much voluptuous pleasure vnder that earthly Monarch as the Turkes doe after death in dalliances with Virgins and great eyed weomen in Paradise and that this their daily expected Messiah should come of Salomon they hold it for a principall article of their faith and accurse them that affirme the contrary for thus standeth the twelth Article of their Creede A man must beleeue that Christ the King shall haue excellency and dignity and glory aboue all the Kings that euer haue beene as of him is prophecied of all the Prophets from Moses who so doubteth of him or holdeth his honour small denieth the law for so it testifieth of him in the meaning of Balaams prophecy and in the meaning of this section You stand all here this day before the Lord your God Deut. 29. 10. and cap. 30. And this is a rule of foundation that Israell shall haue no King but of the house of Dauid and of the seede of Salomon and who so maketh a schisme touching that family denieth God euen the blessed God and the words of his Prophets And vpon this opinion of rule and gouernment Christians also haue been ouermuch affectionated when they bring Christ naturally from those Kings that gouerned of Salomons line and make Rhesa the younger sonne of Zorobabell and his successors to gouerne when al gouernment was taken from those Holy High Saints the space of two hundred ninety sixe yeeres and this no doubt wrought deeply in Lyra to speake as he did of Dauids sonnes For hee being by nation a Iewe though by birth English and baptised stood much vpon the outward letter for the glory of his nation And Nathan obscure in comparison of Salomon he makes more obscure to come from Vriah as his note hath thus gone vpon the 1. Chroni◅ 3. 5. Only Salomon was Dauids naturall Son the other three were the sonnes of ◅riah whom Dauid made his by adoption His reason is taken from the fourth of the Prouerbs where Salomon saith I was my Fathers sonne tender and only beloued in the sight of my Mother which thing I take was rather spoken of Salomons election to the kingdome whom God had chosen and Dauid to Bersheba had sworne that Salomon her Sonne should succeed him in the Lyra thus infected with malitious Iewes studies and partly following Christians that brought Christ from Salomon held the Iewish Article touching the Crowne but otherwise in most of his paines spent in commenting vpon al the bookes of both Testaments he was an excellent Organe sounding alowd the verity of Christian Religion against the erring opinions of the Rabbins in whose Schooles hee had so profited by the testimony of Tritemeus as that he had the Hebrew language ad vnguem But that Christ should come from Dauid by Nathan and his obscure successors whereof neuer any bare rule but onely Zerubbabel and he no longer then the Temple was in building he could not conceiue neither that Ieconiah should beget Salathiel but for his successor seeing he is called his sonne indeed he could not easily yeeld vnto the Rabbines so expounding it and their Creed so inforcing it and being a frier Minor and liuing in none of the cleerest daies of the Gospell the man is the more to bee borne with whose paines were spent as Bale hath it in his Centuria when the vnfortunate our second Edward ware the English Crown Ano. 1327. And now the assertions of Africanus cited by Eusebius which are that Ioseph the husband of Mary was naturally descended from Salomon and by intricate mariages made the legall sonne of Nathan remaineth to be answered I cal them intricate for that Iacob and Eli are made brethren and twinnes of one venter by Estha wife vnto Matthan of Salomon and vnto Melchi of Nathan and those halfe brethren likewise marying one woman Iacob by her is said to raise vp seede vnto Eli deceased whereby Ioseph was sonne vnto both A strang inuention truly to bring Ioseph from Ieconiah and Salomon who with lesse paines and more truth might haue beene found from Zerubbabel Neri and Nathan and stranger it seemeth that such search should be made to shew how Christ by nature is the sonne of Dauid and yet neuer to make knowne his naturall Parents from Dauid neither can I perceiue what necessity constraineth Ioseph to bee the proposed marke of that aime seeing he is but the supposed father of Christ vnto whom excepting his title to the kingdome his humanity no whit appertaineth Either to bring Iosephs naturall decent from Salomon and his legal from Nathan seeing he enioyed no possessions appertaining to Salomons Crowne nor Mary his wife an inheritrix of any patrimony in Iudea For which end only that law of marying the brothers wife was ordained and at this aimed that no family should be extinguished in Israell It was the case of the Daughters of Zelophehad and the debar of mariage and not the death of the daughter of Iphtah was the cause of the yeerely lamentations of the Virgins of Israell that a family was to faile by her in the Tribe of Manasses But for brethren by the Mothers side onely no such law was either ordained or practised for the son by the man and not by the woman euer succeeded in the inheritance and in the name of the family excepting such as
neither can neither be followed nor found For their beginning is but roueâ—… at from Hercules that aimelessâ—… marke their neglect remained tâ—… the daies of Licurgus the tenth from the founder their restoration was by Iphitus of Elis but set thâ—… centers in the circles of these timeâ—… where yee can find them and their celebration superstitiously begun in honour of the Idoll of Iupiter Olympius and againe restored to cease 〈◊〉 contagious pestilence if not to â—…fect the world with their pestifeâ—…ous accounts Their counsellour was Appollo â—…e instrument of Sathan there prise â—…as a Garland of a Spiders Webbe â—…ouen in the boughes of a wilde â—…liue and fruitlesse tree and their â—…ownes the crowne of vaine-glory â—…nd not that of immortality for â—…hich the Apostle councelleth the Corinthians to striue may well bee â—…mpared to the houses of Spiders in wherein was no confidence and to â—…e Webbes in Isaiah that made no â—…arments to couer from cold Are these gaimes then the inâ—…ntion of Sathan fit linkes to liâ—…it an Angels speech and account â—…r the saddest action that the â—…orld euer saw and shall more creâ—…t bee giuen them for the time of â—…e Suns course in the heauens then â—…nto the heauenly Oracle of an Angell from God for the time of his Sons death on earth Or shall those men whose charge is to teach all Nations that the Kingdome of God is come in his Christ take their authority for the time of his comming from such hea then recorders as neither knew God nor were regarded of God in the time of their ignorance as the Apostle witnesseth The City and holy Altar wee see were measured by the reede that the Angell gaue vnto Iohn and by the same reede the direction oâ—… God did Daniel from Ieremy measure the yeeres of captiuity and from their expiration was taught by an Angel from God the time oâ—… Christs sufferings without all help of any secular learning or accounâ—… of heathenish Olimpicks but rather by farre more holier bands tied with the accounts of three moâ—… certen euents as of seuen seuens sixtâ—… two seuens and one seuen in the halfe whereof Christ should die And whereof Gabriel confesseth that he was sent from God to teach Daniel the certaine knowledge and Daniel himselfe acknowledged that â—…he vnderstood the thing and had vnderstanding of the vsion which was vnlocked vnto him by no key of â—…humaÌ„e litterature but by the Scriptures of truth as the angell affirmed Neither Saint Paul the greatest humanist among the Apostles brought vp at the feete of Gamaleel and spake more Languages then all â—…is opposers euer relied vpon the Olimpicks or other secular learning touching the knowledge of Christ and his passion But contrariwise confessed that hee had deliuered vnto the Corinthians that which hee had receiued which was That Christ died for our sinnes that he was buried and rose the third day and that hee did according to the Scriptures of God without other helps of Olimipcks or secular learning And as touching humane litterature that any wise were oposit to the Gospell hee admonisheth his Disciple Timothy to auoide prophane oppositions of Sciences falsly called which while some professe they haue erred concerning the Faith And commendeth him for his knowledge in the holy Scriptures which are able to make him wise being giuen by inspiration of God and are sufficiently profitable to teach to improoue to correct and to instruct that the man of God may bee absolute And that Light which Saint Peter willeth vs to guide our steps by is the sure word of the Prophets to the which saith he yee doe well that yee take heede as vnto a light that shineth in a darke place vntill the day dawne and the day-star arise in your hearts But that the Olimpicks could bee the Light to leade to that Starre or to enlighten the sacred stories by their accounts is so farre from effect as they rather much darken the true Chronologie of the one and confound the mutuall agreements of the other nor haue they any assured truth for time in themselues For Phlegon for their beginning in pisus Pelops and Hercules appoints no time Pausanias saith hee must record but will not credit them and Plutarke in the life of Numa condemneth all gatherings of time from the Olimpiads And such are their disagreements in Thaluâ—…s Castor Phlegon Plutarke Dionisius and others in assigning their accounts as the supporters of that tottering foundation must beare as great a weight if nor greater as Atlas is fained to doe in supporting the world To giue an assay then how their accouÌ„ts agree with the holy Scriptures of God wee will but touch two among many that by them the credit of the rest may be iudged Master Liuelie setteth King Cyrus in the fiftie fiue Olimpiad And Titus the Emperour in the ond hundred twelfth betwixt whom he accounteth no lesse then six hundred twenty nine yeeres and odde moneths more by one hundred then the Sun euer measured But that Cyrus his first could meete with the Olimpiad 55 the diuers beginnings of them by diuers men assigned doth make very doubtfull for Bibliander doth begin them in the thirteenth of Iotham King of Iudah and Paulus Phrygio in his twelfth but Africanus Bullinger and Functius set them in the second yeere of Iotham the same King Glareanâ—… will haue the first Oimpiad to be in the fiftieth yeere of Azariah king of Iudah and Eusebius in his forty nine but Pererius begins them in the eight of King Ahaz which is twenty fiue yeeres after So that the first yeere of Cyrus most certenly fixed in the diuine Chronologie as the pole is in the North cannot fit the fifty fiue Olimpiad for their diuers beginnings The other proofe is taken from the destruction of Ierusalems Temple which Clemens Alexandrinus saith happened in the last of the forty seuenth Olimpiad Now wee know by the holy Text that the destruction of the Temple was in the nineteenth yeere of Nebuchadnezzer King of Babell from whence to the end of the captiuity or first of Cyrus fiftie one yeeres more were to ensue to make vp the seuentie of the captiuity But from the last yeere of the forty seuenth Olympiad to the first of the fifty fiue are but twenty nine yeeres whereunto adde nineteene more from Nebuchadnezzers first yeere in the which the captiuity began vnto the Temples destruction in his ninteenth and yet there will waÌ„t of the seueÌ„ty twenty two yeers to the end of the captiuity Wherby we see that the first yeere of Cyrus must bee pulled backe and set in the fiftieth and not the fifty fiue Olympiad so far differing are these prophane Olympiads from the sacred Chronologie of the holy text That a most certen and exact Chronologie was registred from Adam the first man vnto the first
Esay 6. 2. Seuenty fiue for seuenty Acts 7. 14. Euseb. lib. 5. cap. 8. The Bible translated In his Epistle to the Nobility The Septuagint Translaters The gifts of the Septuagint Syra in the Prologue of his Booke None more learned thē the Translaters Deut. 4. 2. Paginne Isag. ca. 9. The Septuagint much maimed Hierome in Ezek. chap. 5. Gen. 46. Exod. 1. Deut 10. 22. 1. Chro. 7. Fiue persons added from the booke of Chronicles Aug. ciuit Dei lib. 18 cap. 43. b 1. Cor. 7. 12. c Apoc. 22 18. Ben-gor in estate of the Maccabes Hier. praefat in Pentateuth Ioseph Antiq. lib. 12. cap. 2. The First Septuagint not corrupted The diuers opinions of the learned i Gen. 46. 8 k Brought consent Ioseph Antiq. lib. 12. cap. 1. Hieroms opinion not to be aprooued Isai. 11. 10 Ro. 15. 12. Caietan in Gen. 11 A meero conceit without shew of truth Aug. ciuit Dei lib 15 cap. 13. Augustines answere to the conceit The originall is safest to trust too Saint Matthewes three fourteene generations Ciuit. Dei Abraham the first of Promise and Dauid the first King by Couenant The double vse of Saint Matthew his Catalogue 1. Cor. 3. 13. Ecclesi 4. 10. Truth respecteth no persons Ethiopian Translation in Mat. 1. Glose ordinary vpon Matthew 1. The mysticall applications of the ordinary Glosse Iohn Ferus in Mat 1. Three estates of the Iewes Mat. 6. 16. Augustine Marlorat vpon Matthew 1. The text intangled with vaine conceits A dangerous assertion and not to be granted Differences in families A libertie assumed without warrant Saint Matthew most plaine in setting downe his pedegrees Saint Matthew is more frequent in alleaging the Prophets then any other of the Euangelists a Esay 7. b Micah 5. 2. c Hosh. 11. 1. d Zach. 9. 9 e Psal. 22. f Ion. 1. 17 Some families exceed others in long life 1 Kin. 2. 27 2 Chr. 25. 18. Fiue of Iudahs saw seuenteene of Leui. Num. 16. 1 Sam. 16. Ruth 4. 18. How many and who they are that are omitted How many Saint Mathew omitteth Onely two of forty Editiōs haue Iacim Greeke Syriac Arabick Persian Saxon. Latin Our Kings Bible None almost hath Iacim Foure kings omitted by S. Mathew A dangerous opiniō In an Epistle sent for that defēce The weakenesse of the Iewes no immediate cause The wickednesse of the Kings not the only cause 2 Chr. 21. 20. 2 Chr. 28. 2 King 25. Ier. 24. Ier. 22. 24. Quest. 85. St Augustines opinion of the three Kings omissions Ezek. 18. The answer The persons not respected Exod. 20. 4 St Hieromes opinion of omission 1 Kin. 21. 21. 1 Kin. 14. 20. Math. 2 2 The cause that moued S. Mathew to omit four Kings * Dedicated to Prince Charles his royall Sonne The foure that are omitted Exceptions against Ahaziah 2 Ch. 22. 1. Deut. 21. 16. 2 Chro. 22. 3. 7. Exceptions against Ioash 2 Chr. 22. 8. 9. 2 King 11. 2 Chr. 24. 21. Exceptions against Amaziah 2 Chr. 25. 17. Amaziahs death vnreuenged Broughtō in Consent 2 Kin. 14. 1 2 Kin. 15. 1 Deut. 17. 15. Exceptions against Iehoiakim 1 Sam. 16. 13. Ier. 36. 30 Ier. 22. 19. The cause of the foure Kings omissions August Quest. 85. Ammon and Iosiah slaine and yet are recorded 2 Kin. 21. 24. 2 Chr. 35. 24. a Ier. 27. 6 b Dan. 2. 37. Christs title without exceptions The third diuision of S. Mathew 1. 2. 3. 4. 1. Isidors opinion Epiph. Cont. Heres lib. 1. The father and the sons names differing in Character 2. Augus marl vpon Mathew 1. S. Augustin Gloss. ordin Mathew 1. A misticall interpretation Ier. 2◅ ◅4 3. The Virgin Mary is not in account among the generations Ioseph Mary make but one generation 4. A dangerous position Massorites preseruers of the text Pedaiah supplieth the number of fourteene Pedaiah had no estate in the Crowne The cause of Pedaiahs omission Luk. 16. 17 1 Chro. 3. 17 c. Psal. 119. 105. * Hugo de S. vict The vnwarrantable reconciliation of the Rabbins * Rabbi Solomoh cited by D. Willet vpon Exod. chap. 31. The Rabbins opinion confuted * Her name was Thermuthis saith Iosephus Ant. lib. 2. ca. 5. * Ioseph Anti. lib. 2 cap. 2. Miriam the wife and not th◅ mother of Hur. y Luke 2. 46. * Lyra herein not to be followed * Vatab. Anotat vpon 1. Chr. 4. 15. The first Caleb could not be the Lands searcher a 1. Chron. 2. 18. b Iosh. 14. 7 Tostatus Doubts made in the pedegree of Hezron Doubts answered in the pedegeee of Hezron 1. Chron. 4. 4. c Iosh. 14 7 How Caleb and Bezaleel were men in one age d Num. 4. 3 e Hob. 8. 2 f Rom. 11. 36. God becāe man a Galat. 4. 4. b Eph. 1. 4. c Gen 3. Was promised to the fathers Reueiled in the Scriptures e Num. 24 17. 19. f Gen. 49. 10. g Ps. 100. 1 h Isay 9. i Isay 28. 16. k Iere. 31. 22. l 1 Pet. 2. 6. Being innūber 74. Luk. 10. 1. Ignorance in the sacred Genealogies hath hurt the cause of Christianity Wherein the Iewes and Christians differ touching Christs nature his right to the Kingdome S. Mathew recordeth the legal S. Luke the natural parents of Christ. It is no blemish to the godly to haue their errors reformed m 1 Cor. 3 13. Lib. breui◅ ariae A wrong receiued opinion that Salomons house ended in Ochozias Aug. Marlorat vpon Mat. 1. 12. The foundation not firme a ruine must follow for Kings neuer left their names to be called as subiects no occasion so forcing Africanus ad Aristidē Epistola Inuentions trouble the truth * Eus Eccl hist. l. 1. c. 8 Math 1. Luke 3. * Not so for Salomon hath none of his race so named Mutthā was of Abiud as Melchi also was and both of thē of Zorobabell from Nathan In the Bibles of the largest vollume in English Contrarieties A Conceit without example Lyra annotation vpon 1 Chr. 3. 5 in Mat. 1. The opinions examined with their resolutions Iohn Luci dus deceiued by a forged Philo. Ioash in euery text where he is named is called the sonne of Ochozias Salomons house did not end in Ochozias Gods property is to warne before he doth strike n Amos 3. 7. o 2. Chro. 21. 4. Gods manner of dealings p Gen. 27. q 1. Sam. 15. 28. r 1. Kings 2. 35. s Mat. 23. 35. t 2. Chro. 24 21. * In Ie◅usaleme Treat of penance alledged by M. Broghton x 2 Chr. 28 y 2 Chr. 33 z 2. Kings 24. 3. a 2 Chr. 33 22. b 2. Kings 23. 34. c Ier. 36. 23. d 2. Chro 36. 6. e Ier. 22. 19. f 2. Kings 24. g Iere. 22. 30. h Psal. 45. 7. Christ came of sinners to saue sinners i Gen. 3. 20 k Gen. 8. 21. l Gen. 11. 31. m Dā 7. 22 The Mothers of Christ all blessed vessels In the Gospell none of the weomen are taken into Christs