never cease from having a King or being a Kingdom but that it should not cease from being a State a body Politick or Common-wealth having a power of Government and Jurisdiction within it self untill Messiah came wherefore the Septuagint here for Sceptrum or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 translate 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 say they 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For it is certain that Iudah was so far from being a continued Kingdom untill Messiah should come that there was no Kingly Royalty in that Tribe for more then two third parts of that time namely not till David nor after Zedekiah saving that of the Maccabees who were Levites and of Herod by originall an Edomite which both put together will not make fourscore years yet were they never without some Ruler or Rulers of their own at that time The next word I consider is Law giver which will not be hard to understand if we mark well what is implied by Scepter for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the word here translated Law giver signifies not onely a maker of Laws but qui jus dicit he that exerciseth Jurisdiction and so differs not much from the former if they be not altogether Synonyma As for the phrase from between his feet it means nothing else but of his posterity For so the Scripture modestly expresseth the place of generation as it doth also by the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Femur or Crus For where we reade in the 26. of this Book of Genesis and again in the first of Exodus All the souls that came out of the loins of Iacob were seventy souls in the Hebrew it is all the souls that came out of his thigh whence by the way you may observe the occasion of that Fable that Bacchus or Dionysius was born ex femore Iovis which according to the Orientall expression whence that whole story of Bacchus came implied no more then that he was Iupiters son but the Greeks not understanding the meaning converted it unto that Fable which you all know Now for the word Shiloh if we derive it as I think we should it will signifie a Peace-maker or Saviour of the verb 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifies Tranquillus Pacificus or Salvus fuit And if the Masorites had so pleas'd they might have pointed it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which was the name of the eldest son of Iudah that survived and in the Hebrew Etymology can signifie nothing else but Peaceable or Peace-maker And whether the Patriarch Iacob or the Holy Ghost directing him might not chuse this name before any other to designe Messiah in this Prophecy in respect of the allusion it had to one of Iudahs sons I will not affirm but leave to your better consideration Others following the Jewish Rabbies go farther about to bring the word Shiloh to signifie Filius ejus that is Iudahs construing the Prophesie thus The scepter shall not depart from Iudah till his son namely Messiah come For 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they will have put for the affix Vau as sometimes it is elsewhere 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to be for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Secundina that wherein the infant is wrapped in the womb and so by a Metonymie to signifie here the Childe it self In a word they will have 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to be for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Secundina ejus and that to mean Filius ejus But this me thinks is somewhat too ambagious and therefore lesse probable but let every one follow his own judgement And now I am come to the Application to shew at what point of time this prediction was fulfilled To make the way plain whereunto I must first alter a little the construction of the remaining words namely And unto him shall the gathering of the People or the Nations be For here the word shall be or shall is not in the Hebrew but added in translating and so may be left out the words in the originall being onely Et ei aggregatio or obedientia populorum I construe therefore the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Vntill 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as common to this with the former sentence namely thus The Scepter shall not depart from Iudah c. untill Shiloh come and the gathering of the people be to him that is Untill Messiah come and the People or Nations be gathered unto him the Scepter shall not depart Where note that two things are specified to come to passe before the Scepter departs from Iudah or Iudah ceases from being a Common-wealth First the comming of Christ or Shiloh into the world Secondly the gathering of the Nations or Gentiles unto him For I construe the word Vntill as I told you as common to both sentences Vntill Shiloh come and untill the Nations be gathered unto him And now me thinks your thoughts might almost prevent me in designing the time when this prediction was fulfilled namely neither when the Jews came first under the Roman subjection for then Shiloh was not yet come nor under Herod or as some will seven years after him when his son Archelaus being banished Judaea was reduced into a Province For though Christ was then born to wit in the end of Herods reign yet were not the Nations or Gentiles yet gathered unto him But at the destruction of the Jewish State by Titus when both these things were come to passe Christ being come and the Gentiles converted unto his obedience then did the Scepter depart from Judah and they cease from being any more a Common-wealth That this is the true application of this prediction besides the evidence of the event appears by our Saviours Prophesie of this destruction of the Jewish State in the Gospel of S. Mat where after he had named some other things to precede it he addes this for the last signe And this Gospel of the Kingdom saith he shall be preached in all the world for a witnesse unto all Nations and then shall the end come that is the end of the Jewish State when the Gentiles by the preaching of the Apostles should be gathered unto Christ then should the Jewish Church and Common-wealth be utterly dissolved which till then had continued united under some Polity and form of Government from its first beginning For so it pleased the wisdom of Almighty God when he would reject the Iews not to dissolve their State till he had erected him a new among the Gentiles PSALM 8. 2. Out of the Mouth of Babes and Sucklings thou hast ordained strength because of thine enemies that thou mightest quell the Enemy and the Avenger THese words are alledged by our blessed Saviour Matth. 21. 16. and three more of the verses following this by S. Paul to prove that Christ must raign till he had subdued all his enemies under his feet As Heb. 2. 4. What is man that thou art mindefull of him or the son of man that thou visitest him 5. For thou hast made him
neglect of such duties of piety and charity which amongst our Fore-fathers were frequent as also our open profession when being exhorted to these works of piety to God and of charity towards our brethren we stick not to alledge we are not bound unto them because we look not to be saved by the merit of works as they but by faith in Christ alone as though faith in Christ excluded works and not rather included them as being that whereby they became acceptable unto God which of themselves they are not or as if works could no way conduce unto the attaining of salvation but by way of merit and desert and not by way of the grace and favour of God in Christ as we shall see in the handling of this Text. We greatly now a days and that most dangerously mistake the errour of our forefathers which was not in that they did good works I would we did so but because they knew not rightly the end why they did them nor where the value of them lay they thought the end of doing them was to obtain eternall life as a reward of Justice due unto them whereas it is onely of grace and promise in Christ Jesus They took their works to have such perfectness in them as would endure the touchstone of the Law of God yea such worth and value as to merit the reward they looked for whereas all the value and acceptablenesse of our works issueth from the merit of Christ and lieth onely in his righteousnesse communicated unto us and them by faith and no otherwise But setting aside these errours of the end and of the value of works we must know as well as they That not every one that saith unto Christ Lord Lord c. but he that doth the will of his Father c. Now for the Explication of the words To call Christ Lord is to beleeve in him to acknowledge him to look for salvation by him or as the Scripture expresseth it Luke 6. to come unto him every one saith our Saviour there explaining this very Text we have in hand Every one saith he that commeth unto me and heareth my words and doth them I will shew you who he is like where to come unto Christ is put in stead of that which in the former was to say unto him Lord. The doing of his Fathers will is the doing of those works of obedience which his Father hath commanded in his Law and now committed to his Son whom he hath made the head and King of his Church to see executed and performed by those he bringeth to salvation But how and in what manner we shall see by and by The Text consists of two parts The one negative Not every one that saith unto Christ Lord Lord shall enter into the Kingdome of heaven The other affirmative But those who doe the will of his Father shall onely enter thither But these are so nearly linked together that they cannot be handled asunder And the observations which I shall draw thence depend on the whole Text the first and chiefest whereof is this That faith in Christ without works of obedience and amendment of life is not sufficient for salvation and consequently not that faith whereby a Christian is justified For if it were it would save us If it be not sufficient to save us it cannot justifie us This floweth directly from the Text and cannot be denied if ye remember what I said before that to call Christ Lord is to beleeve in him For the better understanding of this you must take notice that there is a threefold faith whereby men beleeve in Christ There is a false faith There is a true faith but not saving and thirdly there is a saving faith A false faith is to beleeve to attain salvation through Christ any other way then he hath ordained as namely to beleeve to attain salvation through him without works of obedience to be accepted of God in him which is a faith whereof there is no Gospel A true faith is to beleeve salvation is to be attained through obedience to God in Jesus Christ who by his merits and righteousnesse makes our selves and our works acceptable to his Father A saving and justifying faith is to beleeve this so as to embrace and lay hold upon Christ for that end To believe to attain salvation through obedience to God in Christ so as to apply our selves and rely upon Christ for that end namely to perform those works of obedience which God hath promised to reward with eternall life For a justifying faith stayeth not onely in the brain but stirs up the will to receive and enjoy the good beleeved according as it is promised This motion of election of the will is that which maketh the difference between a saving faith which joyneth us unto Christ and that which is true indeed but not saving but dogmaticall and opinionative onely And this motion or applying of the will to Christ this embracing of Christ and the promises of the Gospel through him is that which the Scripture when it speaks of this faith calleth comming unto Christ or the receiving of him Joh. 1. 12. As many as received him to them he gave power or priviledge to be the sons of God even to them that beleeve on his Name where receiving and beleeving one expound another So for comming Come unto me saith our Saviour all ye that are heavy laden and I will ease you The last is very frequent Iohn 5. 40. Ye will not come to me saith our Saviour that ye might have life And Chap. 6. 37. All that the Father giveth me shall come unto me ver 44. No man can come unto me unlesse the Father draw him 45. Every man that hath heard and learned of the Father commeth unto me and such like All which expresse the specification of a saving faith which consists in the embracing receiving and applying of the will to the thing beleeved What this embracing receiving or applying unto Christ is I will farther make plain thus He that beleeveth that Christ is an atonement to God for the sins of all repentant sinners and surely he is an atonement for none else must repent and turn from all his sinnes that so Christ may be an atonement for him else he embraceth not what he beleeveth He that beleeves that God in Christ will accept and reward our obedience and works of piety though short of perfection and of no worth in themselves must apply himself accordingly to doe works of Religion and Charity that God in Christ may accept and reward them For our beleef is not that saving beleef untill we apply our selves to what we beleeve To beleeve to attain salvation through Christ without works of obedience to be accepted in him is as I have already said a false faith whereof there is no Gospel no promise To beleeve the contrary that Christ is given of God to such only as shall receive him to perform acceptable obedience to God
overthrow making them an ensample or pattern mark it well 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of the punishment of such as should after live ungodly Hence as I told you was the Lake Asphaltites or the Lake of fire and brimstone borrowed by Saint Iohn for a denomination of hell 7. And he delivered just Lot vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked If God did this 9. He knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust unto the day of Iudgement to be punished Ye see the application or reddition and accordingly how prone the destruction of the world of the Rephaim or ungodly by the Deluge is to give denomination to the punishment of Hell as well as the other two And now I suppose you look for my Application and putting the whole Text together which I shall do He that goeth astray from the way of understanding that is he that wandereth from the Law and Discipline of God For that indeed is the true wisdom Timor Domini principium sapientiae The fear of God is the prime wisdom that is the meaning or to speak after our Academicall notion the chief Philosophy whence through all this Book of the Proverbs the wicked man who hath no skill in this Divine Philosophy or Discipline of God goeth for a Fool and so is called must one day go even to his Fellow-giants who as Baruch sayes in his third Chapter were destroyed because they had no wisdom and perished through their own foolishnesse Vir qui erraverit à viâ Doctrina in Coetu Gigantum commorabitur They who thus go astray shall go to those Rephaims of the old World whose true sons they are that is unto the place of everlasting punishment From which God deliver us GEN. 49. 10. The Scepter shall not depart from Iudah nor a Law-giver from between his feet untill SHILOH come and unto him shall the gathering of the People be IT is a Prophecy of the coming of Christ and the time thereof namely when the Scepter shall depart from Iudah then should the coming reign and Scepter of Messiah begin and not till then The end of the one should be the beginning of the other Whence ariseth our demonstration against the Jew If the Scepter be already departed from Iudah as we know it is many hundred years since then must Christ needs be come For the Scepter was not to depart from Iudah nor a Lawgiver from between his feet untill Shiloh came For that Shiloh here is the name of Messiah appears by the subjunction annexed That the People or Nations for it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the plurall number should be gathered or obedient unto him Ergo he is to be a King of the Nations and who should this be but Christ That the ancient Jews so understood it appears by all the three Targums or Chaldee Paraphrasts The Targum called of Jerusalem renders expresly Untill the time when 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 King Messiah shall come Ionathan parvulus filiorum ejus that is of Iudahs sons which one of the late Rabbies saith Buxtorf expounds Rex Messiah qui venit ex David qui fuit minimus inter filios Isai Patris sui Onkelos Untill Messiah come whose is the Kingdom Likewise in their Thalmud Shiloh is reckoned among the names of Messiah Thus we and the Ancient Jews agree about the aim and purport of this Scripture But we Christians beleeve further that it is long since fulfilled Howsoever for the very point of time when this Scepter departed from Iudah we vary in our opinions Some will have it to have been when Pompey first brought the Jewish State under the Roman subjection Others a little after when Herod an Idumean stranger yet formerly incorporated into the Jewish State and blood was by the Romans invested to be their King and the Hasmonaean or Maccabaean race which till then had born the chief rule by him extinguished Others not till the destruction and finall dissolution of the Jewish State by Titus These are principall moments of time to be pitched upon But against the first the subjecting of the Jewish State to the Romans is objected First that it anticipates the time of Christs birth too much being sixty years before it Secondly that it might as well be affirmed that the Scepter departed from Iudah when Nebuchadnezzar carried them captive to Babylon or when they were subject to the Persian or Greek Monarchies as when they were made subject to the Romans Against the second of Herod lies the same exception that did against the former that it was too early being thirty years and more before the birth of Christ and more then twice as much before his passion and ascension at what time he began his Kingdom Secondly that under the reign of Herod the Scepter of Iudah might seem rather to be advanced then departed for as much as they had then a King of their own reigning over them and though not of Jewish originall yet a Proselyte and so one of their own body And if the Scepter were departed from Iudah because one not of their own Tribe had the soveraign rule over them why was it not departed all the time the Hasmonaean or Maccabaean families who were Levites reigned No man would say that the Scepter were departed from Poland though the Polanders should chuse a Swede a German or a Frenchman for their King So neither from Iudah though a Levite or Idumaean Proselyte were their Prince Against the last point of time the dissolution of the Jewish State by Titus is excepted that it is as much too long after either the Nativity or the Passion of Christ as the other two were before it to wit seventy years after the one and near forty after the other I mean not to enlarge my self any further in acquainting you with each particular passage agitated concerning these differing opinions or alledged in the disputing of them I have selected onely so much as I thought requisite for the understanding of what I aim at which is to shew you such a construction of these words with but a little alteration of the common translating as being admitted will leave no more place for those difficulties wherewith this question is entangled For the handling whereof I will divide the remainder of my discourse into these two parts First I will unfold the words of my Text which seem to have any difficulty or obscurity in them Secondly I will apply them to the time wherein they were fulfilled For the first I begin with the word Scepter which is not to be restrained to Kingly Dominion onely but signifies any power or Majesty of Government under what form or name soever whereof a rod or staffe was anciently the ensigne whence every Tribe is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by the word here used as being united together under one staffe or power of Government The meaning therefore is not that Iudah should
pray unto God for a blessing from an instrument which he is wont to give us by an instrument Secondly it may be said that the words Grace and Peace need not to be taken in that speciall and strict sense but in the large and generall wherein Grace sounds favour at large and Peace all manner of prosperity In which sense no man will deny but the blessed Angels have an interest in the dispensation of the favours and blessings of God to his Church and so God may be prayed to to give them as he is wont by their ministery Grace and Peace from him which is which was and is to come as the Author and Giver and from the seven Spirits as the Instruments and from Iesus Christ as the Mediator There is yet one place more in the Apocalypse to confirm this tradition chap. 8. 2. I saw saith Saint Iohn 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The seven Angels which stood before God Is not this as plain as Tobit Why should then the one be accounted Magicall and not the other I adde moreover that these Angels are those 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Principes primarii or chief Princes mentioned in the 10. of Daniel Michael one of the Princes saith the Angel there came to help me Now Michael we know is one of the Archangels And why therefore may not these chief Princes be those 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whereof Saint Paul speaks in his adjuration to Timothy I charge thee saith he before God and the Lord Iesus Christ and the Elect Angels not the good Angels at large but those Angeli eximii the seven Archangels which stand before the Throne of God And it may not without reason be conjectured that those seven chief Princes fained in the Persian Monarchie took their beginning from hence And that Daniel who in respect of his account for wisedom and of his power under Darius the Mede had a main stroke in the moulding and framing the government of that State caused the Persian Court to resemble that of heaven ordaining seven chief Princes to stand before the King Of which we finde twice mention in Scripture as in the book of Esther where they are recorded by name and styled The seven Princes of Media and Persia who saw the Kings face and sate first in the kingdom And in the Commission granted to Ezra by Artaxerxes Ezra 7. 14. they are called The Kings seven Counsellors Forasmuch as thou art sent by the King and his seven Counsellors c. And it may be the Church of Jerusalem when they chose seven Deacons to minister unto their Bishop had an eye the same way Hitherto of the number of these Archangels now a word or two of their office And that is first to be the universall Inspectors of the whole world and the Rulers and Princes of the whole Angelical hoast which appears in that they are called Principes primarii 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 their universall jurisdiction is meant by the words sent forth into the whole earth whereas the rest are limited to certain places Secondly to have the peculiar Charge and Guardianship of the Church and affairs thereof whilst the rest of the world with their Polities Kingdoms and Governments is committed to the care of subordinate Angels who according to their severall charges may seem to carry those names of Thrones Principalities Powers and Dominions That the charge of the Church quà talis belongs thus peculiarly and immediately to the seven Archangels may appear by S. Iohns saluting the Churches with a Benediction of Grace and Peace from their ministery and the typing of them by the seven Eyes and Horns of the Lamb as Powers which the Father since he exalted Him to be Head of his Church hath annexed to his Jurisdiction Hence it comes to passe that we finde these Angels peculiarly both before and in the Gospel to have been employed about the Church affairs In the Old Testament the Angel Gabriel one of the seven revealed to Daniel the time of the restauration of the Jewish State and comming of Messiah And the Angel Michael one of the chief Princes was his assistant when he strengthened Darius the Mede who founded the Monarchy which should restore them and is in speciall termed Dan. 12. the Prince that stood for Daniels people In the Gospel we finde the same Angel Gabriel imployed both to Zachary and the Blessed Virgin with the Euangelicall Tidings and that Zachary might take notice that he was one of the seven he sayes unto him I am Gabriel that stand in the presence of God Likewise in the Churches combate with the Dragon Apoc. 12. Michael and his Angels are said to be her Champions and in her quarrel to have cast the Dragon and his Angels down to the Earth And in this Prophesie of Zachary it is said that these seven eyes of the Lord took care of one stone which Zorobabel laid for the foundation of the Temple and therefore the work could not be disappointed but should certainly at length be finished So as by this time we may guesse the meaning of that which Hanani the Seer told King Asa 2 Chron. 16. 9. The Eyes of the Lord that is these seven Eyes run to and fro through the whole Earth to shew themselves strong in the behalf of those whose hearts are perfect towards him S. MARK 11. 17. Is it not written My House shall be called a House of Prayer 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to all the Nations THey are the words of our Blessed Saviour when he cast the Buyers and Sellers and Money-changers out of the Temple and forbad to carry any vessels thorow it Concerning which story it is worth observation that our Saviour whilest he was upon earth never exercised any Kingly or coactive Jurisdiction but in vindicating his Fathers house from prophanation and this he did two severall times once at the first Passeover after he began his Prophesie whereof you may read Iohn 2. And now again at his last Passeover when he came to give his soul a sacrifice for sin This is that which Saint Mark relates in this place as do also two other of the Euangelists Saint Matthew and Saint Luke The vindication of Gods House from Prophanation how little account soever we are wont to make thereof was with our blessed Saviour the Alpha and Omega the first and last of his care Vbi incipit ibi desinit The consideration of which how momentous it is I leave to your selves to judge Thus much by way of Preface Now for understanding of the words I have chosen I will divide my discourse into a Question and an Observation The Question is In what part of the Temple this Market was kept A thing not commonly enquired after by Expositors much lesse defined The Observation That this fact of our Saviour more particularly concerns us of the Gentiles then we take notice of For the first in