vs to extoll magnifie his name for wōderful are his works to our great profite and commoditie Finally to obey his lawes and statutes for he serueth them that serue him so dooing God will sende vs sauiours to saue vs and to deliuer vs from our enimies and the wordes of the Prophete shall be verified vpon vs in that he saythe The kingdome shall bée the Lordes For he shall be our kyng for euer and we his people shall be continually garded vnder the shadowe of his wings and alwayes defended from all maner miserie and calamitie Hitherto I haue opened the sence and meaning of the Prophet according to the letter which although for diuers causes it is very necessarie to be vnderstanded yet béeing considered of it selfe without any further application of the same vnto our selues it is vnfruitfull and vnprofitable As the Apostle sayth the letter killeth but the spirite giueth life Therfore I haue added moreouer vnto the letter certayne generall lessons for the instruction of all Christians Which application of the scriptures vnto our selues the Apostle putteth vs in minde of where he sayth what soeuer things are written afore time they are written for our learning that we through patience and comforte of the Scriptures might haue hope And as in diuers other places so especially in the thirtenth chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrues he hath giuen vs an example of this interpretation where the words of the almightie God spoken only vnto Iosua and perteyning onely vnto him according to the letter are vsed as a generall lesson for all men to teach them to put their trust in god After that Moses was dead God appoynted Iosua to be ruler of the Israelites and to bring them into the lande of promise and bicause he shoulde not feare nor be dismayde God sayde vnto him As I was with my seruant Moses so I will be with thée I will not fayle thée nor forsake thée Vpon these words the Apostle groundeth this generall doctrine Let your conuersation be without couetousnesse and be content with those things that ye haue For he hath saide I will not fayle thee neyther forsake thée Thus the Apostle dissuadeth vs through distrust of Gods goodnesse to vexe our selues with immorderate care of worldly riches and the vnlawful meanes to enriche our selues bicause God hath sayde vnto Iosua I will not fayle thée neyther forsake thee teaching vs therby to apply the holy Scriptures to our comforte confirmation of our fayth Whose example I haue followed by adding the morall as they call it vnto the letter of the Prophet But besides this morall there is also in the prophesie conteyned an allegorie concerning the comming of our sauiour to iudgement our ful redemption by him in destroying Antichrist in bringing vs both body soule vnto the euerlasting blessednesse which he hath prepared for all the faithfull For the wordes and works of God are vnserchable do teach vs a great deale more thā the letter at the first sight offreth vnto vs This I say that in the scriptures especially in the old testamēt in the writings of Moses the Prophets there are for the most part thrée senses in one text according to those diuers sēses thrée diuers interpretations The first is called literal grāmatical or historical the second tropological ethical or moral the third allegorical figuratiue or mysticall The literal interpretatiō is called grāmatical historical bicause in it nothing else is noted but that which the grāmer rules the historie it self in playne meaning giueth vs to vnderstande This alwayes is fyrst chiefly to be noted as the ground foundation of the other interpretations If we make not a good foundation that whiche we buyld thereon will be weake so if we do not truely expound the letter of the scripture commonly we shal make an vnprofitable moral and a false allegorie The bare letter of the newe Testament especially is for the most part very profitable and cōmodious to al Christiās There are fiue generall vses commodities of the scripture taught of the Apostle S. Paule in the Epistle to the Romanes the .15 chapter and in the seconde Epistle to Timothie the third chapt First by it we learne patience in aduersitie by it we haue consolation in persecution and are therby encouraged to continue vnto the ende in the true worship of God through hope of life euerlasting secondly we are taught true doctrine as touching the articles of our fayth and thirdly to improue false doctrine cōtrary to the same fourthly by the scriptures we lerne to correct our wicked liuing which is cōtrary to Gods cōmādements and finally we are therby instructed in godlinesse in al such things as are acceptable vnto god All these commomodities are founde in the literall sence of the scriptures For what is more comfortable than the very letter of these wordes So God loued the worlde that he gaue his onely begotten sonne to the ende that who soeuer beleeueth in him should not perishe but haue life euerlasting And the letter of these words We are iustified by fayth without the works of the lawe doth teache vs the doctrine of iustification by fayth without any desert of our good works also doth improue the contrarie In like maner the letter of other places doth teach other doctrine And where the Apostle sayth The workes of the fleshe are manifest which are adultry fornicatiō vnclennesse wantonnesse Idolatrie witchcraft hatred debate emulations wrath contentions seditions heresies enuy murthers dronkennesse gluttonie and suche like whereof I tell you before as also I haue tolde you before that they which do such things shall not inherite the kingdome of god But the fruite of the spirite is loue ioy peace long suffering gentlenesse goodnesse fayth méekenesse temperancie agaynst suche there is no lawe The very letter of these words serueth to correct and to instruct vs in godlinesse So commodious is the bare letter of the holy Scriptures and the morall therof which is to gather out of the letter some good lesson for our instruction is no lesse profitable For all the miracles of our sauiour Christ as according to the letter and historie they serued to the commoditie of those that were healed by him so they may be morally interpreted to our comforte and to the confirmation of our fayth that are nowe liuing For by his goodnesse thereby shewed vnto other men we haue an euident argument of his readinesse to helpe vs when soeuer we in like sort do séeke helpe at his hands so that we haue no cause to mistrust his goodnesse nor to séeke helpe else where of Saincts and Angels that are no sauiours His miracles also doe teache vs his Diuinitie they teache vs that he is Christ the sauiour of the world and do improue the contrarie doctrine as our Sauiour witnesseth in the Gospell Moreouer all the examples of godly men serue for
of the sonne of man and of his Saincts and drinke their bloud you haue no life in you Here is an addition to the letter which maketh much for the Romanistes that teache men to call vpon Saincts that are dead to pray vnto thē which we can not do without a fayth and a beléefe in them as it is written Howe shal they cal on him in whō they haue not beléeued But faith beléefe is proper only vnto almighty God and is the meane wherby we do eate the fleshe drinke the bloud of our sauiour Christ As he teacheth vs in these words I am the bread of life he that cōmeth to me shal not hunger and he that beleeueth in me shall neuer thirst The reason is this whosoeuer eateth my fleshe and drinketh my bloud hath eternall life and I will raise him vp at the last day For my fleshe is meate in déede my bloud is drinke in déede Héere our sauiour techeth vs that he is bread he is meat drinke vnto vs we must come vnto him we muste eate him we muste drink him we shal not hūger nor thyrst for euer And this is the meane wherby we do eat his flesh drink his bloud to put away our hūger our thyrst euē to beleue in him For he saith He that beléeueth in me shal neuer thyrst Therfore if the aduersaries of the Gospel might be permitted to add vnto the letter saying thus Except ye eate the flesh of the sonne of man of his Saincts and so foorth they might easily proue that it is lawfull for vs to put our trust in saincts to beléeue in them as in sauiours consequently that it is good necessary to pray vnto thē But our sauiour without any additiō saith Except ye eate the flesh of the sonne of man drink his bloud ye haue no life in you This is the true letter which if we kéepe in this place in al other places of the scripture without any alteratiō it serueth so for the confirmation of the truth that the aduersaries can haue no aduantage agaynst it But if we take the letter only without the true feare meaning therof the cōmodity that cōmeth therby auayleth vs nothing for that is to take the vessel without wine whiche dothe vs no good Therefore in this respecte also it may be truely sayde The letter rather killeth than giueth life Moreouer for the better vnderstanding of the Apostles wordes it is to be noted that the true letter is diuersly vnderstanded in the scripture First the playn sense of the scripture without any morall or mysterie is called that letter of the which it hath bin sufficiētly spoken before Secondly that true vnderstāding of the scriptures literally morally allegorically as it cōteineth all necessarie knowledge without the spirite of God whiche causeth vs to bring foorth fruites according to the same may be called a letter that killeth They that are destitute of the spirite of God without the which no man can liue although he haue al knowledge are like the high way side or the stony groūde or the briers and brambles in the which and among the which the good séede can not prosper and bring foorth fruit This knowledge without the spirite of God is a letter that encreaseth the damnation of men rather than profiteth them For our Sauiour sayth that seruant that knew his masters will and prepared not him selfe neither did according to his will shall be beaten with many stripes Of this damnable letter it maye séeme that the Apostle speaketh where he sayth Shal not vncircuncision which is by nature if it kéepe the lawe iudge thée whiche by the letter and circumcision art a transgressour of the law For he is not a Iewe whiche is one outward neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh but he is a Iewe which is one within and the circumcision is of the heart in the spirite not in the letter whose praise is not of mē but of god Thirdly not only al knowledge without good works but also external works that are done in hypocriste as comming to the church to heare the word of God without a desire to be reformed thereby may be called a letter that killeth When men come to beare what the Preacher can do and not to learne what they them selues ought to do when men pray with their lippes and not with their hearts or do any good worke for vayne glory or to get them a name among men so foorth this is a letter that profiteth not Of this letter the Apostle séemeth to speake where he sayth Nowe are we deliuered from the law béeing dead vnto it wherin we were holden that we shuld serue in newnesse of spirite not in the oldnesse of the letter Finally the law cōsidered by it selfe without Christ is called a letter that killeth As where the Apostle sayth God hath made vs able ministers of the new testament not of the letter but of the spirite for the letter killeth but the spirite giueth life Where the Apostle writeth these words he disputeth agaynst false Christians that receyued Christ but not aright for they ioyned the law with Christ as a necessary part of our saluatiō they would not acknowledge Christ of him selfe to be a sufficient sauiour they ioyned the lawe with Christ as felow in office with him in working our saluation making him to be but halfe a sauiour alleaging for their purpose the glorious promulgation of the lawe as that it was giuen with thunder and lightening with the sound of a trumpet with fire and great smoke Also when Moses came from the mounte with the two tables his face did so shine that the people were not able to behold the brightnes therof Vnto this the Apostle answereth that the glory of the Gospel darkneth the glory of the law For the law was giuen but for a tyme but the glory of the Gospell continueth vnto the ende Also as the brightnesse of Moses face was glorious so the vayle wherwith he was couered was a tokē of imperfectiō a type of infidelity in the people But through the grace of God offred by the Gospel we are made perfect are changed into the image of his glory and are able as it were in a glasse to behold the same with open face And the more to deface the law béeing compared with Christ he calleth it the ministery of cōdēnation a letter that killeth For through our default it killeth after a sort in that it layeth our iniquities before vs letteth vs sée in our selues the image of death through sinne wherby as much as lieth in it it casteth vs down into the dānable pit of desperation there leaueth vs sore wounded without al hope of life But the spirit that is to say the gospell by meanes wherof the spirit of God worketh in
¶ Abdias the Prophet Interpreted by T.B. fellovv of Magdalene College in Oxforde Seene and allowed according to the order appoynted Jmprinted at London by Henry Binneman for George Bishop 1574. To the right Honorable my singular good Lorde the Earle of Huntingdon President of the Queenes Maiesties Counsell established in the North partes c. Encrease of grace and peace in Christ and continuance in the same vnto the ende RIght Honorable I confesse that for lack of skil in diuinitie of knovvledge in other faculties I am vnfit to present any thing in vvriting vnto your Lordship vvherein diuine eloquence ought to be shevved seeing your honor hath been practised these many yeres as I may say in continuall hearing and reading of the best learned both of this Realme and other Realmes vvhereby you are able to iudge and to correct that vvhich is either vnaptly or vntruely sayde of any man concerning the knowledge of God and his true worship Notvvithstanding considering my dutie tovvards your honor and also your accustomed gentlenesse in accepting aswel the good wil of them which according to their habilitie offer but a mite as also the great lerning of those Diuines vvhich in their sermons writings do much excel the most parte of those Pastors that are not vnprofitable instructors of the vnlearned I am so bold as to offer vnto your Lordship this short expositiō of the Prophet Abdias which not long since I haue vttred priuatly to the cōmoditie I hope of a few nowe if your Lordship will voutsafe to be the patron of so smal so rude an interpretation of this peece of Scripture I mind to publishe it to the benefite of many if perhaps it may do them any good into vvhose hāds it shal come In it I haue vsed the iudgement of diuers learned men whose words I haue translated out of Latin into Englishe and haue disposed thē in this Treatise as I haue thought good Therfore the doctrine therin conteined vvhich is sound is other mēs the maner of hādling it vvhiche is rude is mine That which is lacking in the maner of handling is recōpenced in the truthe of the doctrine As the doctrine is true so it maketh the words of the Prophet plain vnto the simple ignorāt people and also it helpeth not a little to the vnderstanding of the other Prophets and of diuers places of the Scripture therein recited and giueth some good instructions perteyning to fayth and good vvorks Therefore although it be but a small and shorte Treatise it maye serue by the vvorking of the holy Ghost bothe to the encrease of diuine knovvledge and also of a godly life in as manye as shall take paynes too reade it My duetie tovvardes your Lordship moued me to dedicate it to your honor that as through the helpe of your boūtifulnesse many ignorant people are much instructed in diuers places in the word of God by the preaching of the Gospel so by your Lordships succor towards the publishing of this little booke many may somthing augment their knowledge in the holy scriptures by reading the interpretatiō of this Prophet How so euer it shall please God to vvorke my minde is to bestovv that little talent that God hath giuen me to the setting foorth of hys glory and to the profit of his Church not neglecting your Lordships honor Muche encrease vvhereof God graunt you in this vvorlde and in the vvorlde to come euerlasting blessednesse through Christe our Lorde Your seruant and dayly orator T. B. The .xxi of August 1574. The prophesie of Abdias translated out of the Hebrue into Englishe THE vision of Obadiah This hath the Lorde Iehoua sayde agaynst Edom we haue heard a voyce from Iehoua that an Embassadour is sent among the Nations saying vp and let vs arise agaynst hir vnto battell 2 Beholde I haue made thee of small power and of little reputation among the Nations thou art greatly despised 3 The pride of thy heart hath deceyued thee which dwellest in the caues of a rocke hauing an highe place for his habitation saying in his heart who shall bring me downe to the grounde 4 Although thou mount like an Eagle yea although thou make thy nest among the starres from thence will I bring thee downe this is a sure saying of Iehoua 5 If theeues shoulde come vnto thee or robbers by night howe miserably shouldest thou be hādled yet would they not steale onely so muche as should be sufficient for them if grape gatherers should come vnto thee would they not leaue some small ones 6 O how are the goodes of Esau soughte vp and his treasures spoyled 7 All the men that were confederate with thee haue driuen thee to the borders the mē that were at peace with thee haue deceyued thee they haue preuayled agaynst thee they that haue had mayntenance by thee shall laye a snare in thy waye to catche thee he shall not perceyue it 8 Shall not I at that day sayth the Lord cut off from Edom the wise men and vnderstanding from the mount of Esau 9 Ye moreouer the corage of thy mightie captaynes O Teman shall bee abated bicause euery man shall be cut off from the mount of Esau by slaughter 10 For the cruell spoyling of thy brother Iacob thou shalt be put to shame yea thou shalt perishe for euer 11 At what tyme thou stoodest a loofe off at what tyme strangers caried away his substance and aliants entred into his gates and cast lots vpon Ierusalem then thou wast euen as one of them 12 But thou shouldest not haue beholden the day of thy brother the day in the which he was caried into exile neyther shouldest thou haue laughed at the inhabitants of Iehuda in the day of their destruction neyther shouldest thou haue triumphed ouer them in the day of their affliction 13 Thou shouldest not haue entred into the gates of my people in the day of their destruction neyther shouldest thou then haue beholden his miserie in the day of his destruction neyther shouldest thou haue layde handes vpon his substance in the day of his destruction 14 Neither shouldest thou haue stande in the crosse wayes to slay those that otherwise had escaped neyther shouldest thou then haue taken prisoners those that remayned of them in the day of affliction 15 For the day of Iehoua is at hand vpon all Nations euen as thou hast done it shall be done vnto thee thy mischeeuous dealing shall returne vpon thy owne pate 16 For euen as you haue drunke vpō mine holy hil so al nations shal drinke continually yea they shall drinke and swalow vp they shal be as though they had not beene at all 17 But vpō mount Sion there shal be saluation and it shal be holy and the house of Iacob shall receyue their possessions 18 And the house of Iacob shal be a fyre the house of Ioseph a flame the house of Esau as stubble and they shall kindle among them and consume
that almightie God spake himself by the mouth of the prophet Therfore I say which perteyneth to the first part of this chapter that the destruction of the Edomites is certayne For God himself is the author therof Vnto this parte also perteyneth the title of the prophesie in that it is called a vision Of visions there is often mentiō made in the Scriptures as in the prophesies of Ieremie Ezechiel Daniell and in the Reuelations of Iohn Daniell in a dreame sawe a vision of foure Beastes And Sainct Iohn in a traunce saw a vision of seuē candlesticks Of this and suche other visions his whole booke of Reuelations consisteth Which are declarations of things to come by similitudes darke kinds of spéech But in this prophesie a visiō is otherwise vnderstanded for it signifieth héere a declaratiō of things to come in playne words without any similitude or allegorie As a Prophet in olde time was called a Seer so heere the prophesie of Abdias is called the sight or vision of Abdias A Prophet in olde tyme was called a Seer bicause he did foresée things that shuld come to passe afterwards so héere Abdias prophesie is called a vision bicause it is a thing foreseene that shoulde be fulfilled in tyme to come These two are both one in effecte a Vision and a Prophesie yet some difference there is betwéene them For a Vision is a reuelation of that thing whiche God hath appoynted to bring to passe afterwards and a Prophesie is an vttring of that is reuealed As Prophets are dyuers so are prophesies some false some true but a visiō is always certain so called bicause it is séene reueled by god vnto mā That is truly called a visiō wherof we can testifie that haue séene it Whatsoeuer writing may truely be so called it is an argumēt that the doctrine therin conteined is true Therfore the prophet giueth this title vnto his prophesie to declare the certentie therof Our Sauior vseth the like argumēt in defēce of his doctrine saying That which I haue séene I testifie vnto you And after this sort s Iohn beginneth his first Epistle saying That which we haue heard which we haue séene with our eyes which we haue looked vpon whiche our hands haue handled that declare we vnto you The title of this prophesie is almost one with this title of S. Iohns Epistle For the vision of Abdias is as much to say as that whiche Abdias hath seene or that whiche God hath reuealed vnto him for a certayntie to be fulfilled in time to come Therefore I say this prophesie is called a vision bicause this worde conteyneth in it an argument that it shal come to passe in déede as the Prophet hath spoken or rather as God hath spoken by the mouth of the Prophet And bicause God reuealed it vnto him it is called his vision At what time this prophesie was reuealed or at what time Abdias vttred it is not expressedly declared eyther in this booke nor in any other booke of the Scripture The Iewes write that this was the same Abdias that liued in the dayes of king Ahab and dyd saue an hundred of the true Prophets hyding them by fiftie fiftie in a caue and gaue them necessarie sustenance But the opinion of the Iewes séemeth contrarie to the truthe For there is good reason to shew that Abdias liued at the same time that Ieremie and Ezechiell prophesied For they prophesie all agaynst one and the same people they all declare the miserie and calamitie of the Edomites and the causes of their destructiō Abdias doth agrée in words with Ieremie as though he had learned the maner of handling his prophesie of him as the scholer of the master Therefore it séemeth that they liued and prophesied bothe at one tyme whiche was when Nabuchodonosor had destroyed Ierusalem and caried the inhabitantes thereof prisoners vnto Babilon whiche captiuitie was full thrée hundred yeres after the reigne of Achab. Therefore that Abdias which was in his tyme could not be aliue in these dayes Moses in his prayer a lyttle before his death sayth that in his dayes the age of man was but thréescore yéeres and ten In Achabs tyme it is likely that mans age was rather shortned than prolonged bicause in his dayes the worlde was aboue fiue hundred yeres older than it was in Moses time For the older the world is the shorter is the life of man Althoughe some men liue now a dayes longer than the common sort doe yet the age of man commonly is but thréescore or fourescore yeres So Moses liued an hūdred twentie yeres And if God in like maner were so beneficial to Abdias that was in Ahabs time that he liued .40 yeres longer than the common age of man yet he could not liue vnto the captiuitie of Babilon For then he must haue liued aboue thrée hundred yeres Therfore our Abdias and he were diuers persons as their state condition was diuers for the one was a lay man the other a Cleargie man the one was a Courtier the other a Prophet But in this they do both agrée that they might both be truly named Abdias that is to say the seruaunts of god For they both did God good seruice the one in sauing his Prophets from the cruel tyrannie of Iesabell and in giuing them bodily sustenance the other in vttering the Prophesie that God had reuealed vnto him and in feeding his people with spirituall foode The foode wherewith the Prophet féedeth Gods people is the foode of consolation and comforte whiche is ministred by the declaration of the certayn destruction of their enimies whiche is declared vnto them in these words Thus hath the Lorde Iehoua sayde The Lorde hathe spoken it Adonai is the Hebrue worde which signifieth such a Lorde as is an helper a sucourer a preseruer one that is of power might and also hath a care of his people Therfore was Ioseph called Adonai bicause he was an helper and succourer of the Egyptians bicause he was of great power might amōg them bicause he had not onely a care of the people but also by the pollicie wisdome that God had giuen him they were preserued in time of derth Such a Lorde sayth the Prophet hath spokē these words which he vttreth vnto the people And bicause there are many that are called Adonai or Lorde for difference sake he addeth this name Iehoua That Lorde saythe he whose name is Iehoua hathe spoken it who is God aboue all Lordes who is almightie and ruler of all the worlde and therefore is able to performe whatsoeuer he sayth and he hath alreadie sayd it it is alreadie determined and therefore can not be altered Although the minde of man may be changed God is vnchangeable he hath sayde it and therefore certeinly it shall come to passe For confirmation whereof it followeth VVe haue hearde this voyce from Iehoua The Prophet Ieremie
sayth When I am exalted I will draw all men vnto me that is to say all that do beléeue and S. Paule sayth All men séeke their owne profite that is to say all men for the most parte neglecte their dutie towards God and their neighboure So in this place where the Prophet signifieth that God will plague all Nations he vnderstandeth all those that are enimies vnto the people of God and not all nations vniuersally as it is signified by these words As thou hast done it shall be done vnto thée For this is the purpose of the Prophet to comforte the Israelites whose consolation consisteth not in the destruction of all nations but in the ouerthrow of their enimies Therfore he giueth them to vnderstande that their enimies shall be vtterly destroyed saying For euen as you haue drunke vpon my holy hill so all nations shall drinke continually yea they shall drinke and swalowe vp and they shall be as though they had not beene By this worde drinke metaphorically or figuratiuely is vnderstanded affliction oftentimes in the scriptures as in these words of our Sauiour Let this cup passe from me but if it can not passe from me but I must néedes drink it thy wil be done Heere by drinking of the cup he meaneth the suffring of his most paynful passion Also the prophet Ieremie preaching the destruction of the Edomites with Abdias hath these words Thus sayth the Lorde Beholde they whose iudgement was not to drink of the cup haue assuredly drunken and art thou he that shalt escape free Thou shalte not goe free but thou shalte surely drinke of it For I haue sworne by my selfe sayth the Lorde that Bosra shall be wast and for a reproch and a desolation and a curse and all the cities thereof shal be perpetuall desolations These words do plainly teache vs that to drinke figuratiuely signifieth to suffer affliction This therefore is that he sayth in the person of God euen as you that are my people haue ben afflicted in your owne countrey which I haue chosen as a peculiar place for my selfe to be worshipped in so all nations that haue afflicted you shall be plaged yea they shall be miserably scourged and brought to perpetuall desolation Thus the Prophete endeth the first chapter of his prophesie whiche concerneth the destruction of the Edomites nowe he describeth the felicitie and prosperitie of the Israelites But vpō mount Sion there shal be saluation and it shal be holy and the house of Iacob shall recouer their possessions And the house of Iacob shall be a fyre and the house of Ioseph a flame and the house of Esau as stubble and they shall kindle among them and consume them and there shall be none left of the house of Esau for Iehoua hath spoken it Sion is the hill vpon the whiche Ierusalem was buylded and is taken for the whole countrey of the Israelites They shall be deliuered saythe the prophet they shal recouer their possessions and also destroy their enimies euen as fire doth consume stubble For therfore are the Israelites likened vnto fire the Edomites to stubble to declare the sodayne destruction that God shall sende vpon the posteritie of Esau by the hands of the inhabitants of Ierusalem Which the Prophet Ezechiel expresseth in playne words saying I will execute my iudgement vpon Edom by the hande of my people Israell and they shall do in Edom according to my anger and according to my indignation and they shall knowe my vengeance sayth the Lorde God. Thus God threatneth destruction to the Edomites but the Israelites shall flourishe as in the words following it is declared And they shall possesse the Southe side of mounte Esau and the champion countrey of the Philistines and they shall possesse the feelden countrey of Ephraim and the feelden countrey of Samaria and Beniamin shal possesse Gilead Héere the Prophet sheweth the Israelites how their dominion shall be enlarged The south side of Idumea or of moūt Seir is the furthest parte of the countrey from Israell This is it therefore that is giuen them to vnderstande that they shal inhabite not onely their owne countrey but also the countrey of the Edomites and the Philistines and Beniamin whose habitation is in the west shall possesse Gilead which is in the East that is to say the Israelites shall haue dominion from the west to the East and from the North to South which in the words following is further declared And they of this host of the Israelites that are in captiuitie among the Cananites shall possesse vnto Sarephath and they of Ierusalem that are in captiuitie in Sephared shall possesse the cities of the South And there shal come vp in mount Sion sauiours to giue sentēce agaynst the mount of Esau and Iehoua shal haue the kingdome That is to say the Israelites dominion shall be from the South to the North and from the North to the South from the one ende of the countrey to the other For the Cananites dwelled in the South countrey and Sarephath otherwise called Sarepta was in the North so was also Seraphad otherwise called Bosphorus according to the iudgement of some Interpreters This benefite God promiseth by his Prophet vnto his people for bringing of whiche thing to passe he vsed the ministerie of certayne noble men and chiefe captaynes as Zorobabell Nehemias Esdras and such other who héere are called Sauiours bicause God by their hands chiefly saued the people So in the booke of the Iudges Othniell and Ehud are called Sauiours bicause they were the captaynes by whose meanes the Israelites were deliuered from the bondage of their enimies The like prosperitie God promiseth héere vnto the same people the which béeing brought to passe the Prophet sayth that the kingdome shall be the Lordes that is to say the Israelites shall not onely be restored to their countrey landes and possessions but also they shall serue God and worshippe him according to his will. For although God ruleth all the world and all natiōs perteyne to his kingdome yet that properly is called the kingdome of the diuell where men follow their owne lust and neglect the worship of God and there is the kingdome of God where he is truely worshipped the Gospell preached and his lawes obeyed Where the Lorde is king there is no tyrannie or bondage but libertie and fréedome that people that serueth the Lord shall florish shall prosper and shall be blessed in this life and in the life to come for he is euerlasting therfore his people shall be euerlasting Briefly this is it that the Prophet in the former wordes giueth vs to vnderstand that the children of God shall abound both in earthly and heauenly possessions Whereby we are taught to put our trust in him for he is able to help vs to pray vnto him in al our necessities for he is readie willing to helpe vs to giue him thanks for his benefites for great is his goodnes toward
our instructiō and the examples of the wicked with their punishmēt serue for our correction After this sort the Apostle Paule expoundeth the manyfolde plages of the Israelites in the wildernesse and according to the moral sense applieth them vnto vs teaching vs by their example to auoyde their wickednesse Finally in the scriptures besides the letter and the moral there is a true and a profitable allegorie type figure or mysterie As for example the offering of Isaac vpon the aulter to be slayne by the hands of his father as God had commaunded whiche as according to the letter it was a triall of Abrahams fayth and also an instructiō for vs whiche is the morall teaching vs to obey Gods commaundementes in all poyntes and to beléeue hys promyses although they séeme neuer so contrarie to mans reason So in that Isahac was layde vpon the aulter readie to be slayne and then by the voyce of God deliuered and as it were raysed from death to life agayne he was a type and figure of our Sauiour Christ teaching vnto Abraham and his posteritie saluatiō by the offering of Christ vpon the crosse and by his resurrection from death Also Ioseph beeing solde by his brethren vnto straungers cast into prison after made ruler of the countrey of Egypt where he prouided foode and also a fruitefull lande for his father and brethren to dwell in as it declareth Gods wonderfull power and goodnesse towards him and also the state of Gods children in this life béeing first by affliction thrust downe as it were into hell and after exalted into heauen So it was a fygure of oure Sauiour fyrst solde and deliuered into the handes of the Gentiles euen by hys owne countrey menne and brethren and afterwards of hys Resurrection and glorification by hys Ascention into heauen where of his mercie contrarie to our deseruing he hathe prouided for vs a perpetuall reste and habitation for euer euen for as manye as come vnto him for succour Moreouer the bondage of the Israelites in the wildernesse and their deliuerance through the destruction of Pharao in the red sea besides that it declareth the power and goodnesse of God towards them and the state of his children before rehearsed it was a type of our bondage through sinne death hell and the diuell and of our deliuerance from the same by our sauiour Christ destroying our enimies and bringing vs vnto euerlasting felicitie Likewise the Pascall lambe receyued euery yere béeing a lambe without blemish the bloud wherof was sprinkled vpon the postes of the doore ouer which the destroying Angell passed hurting none in the house where the bloud was sprinkled This Lambe I say in an allegorie signifieth our sauiour Christ béeing without blemishe and spotte of sinne whose bloud sprinkled vpon the postes of our hearts by fayth deliuereth vs from euerlasting destruction We are taught this allegoricall exposition of the Pascall Lambe by Iohn Baptist where poynting vnto our sauiour Christ he sayth Behold the lambe of God that taketh away the sinne of the world Also the Apostles Paule and Peter do liken our Sauiour vnto the Pascall lambe saying Christ our Passeouer is sacrificed for vs and we are redéemed with the precious bloud of Christ as of a Lambe vndefiled and without spot According to this figuratiue and mysticall interpretation the Apostle expoundeth the historie of Abrahams two wiues and their children where he playnly poynteth at our aduersaries the Papists who séeke iustification by their owne works and do persecute those which according to Gods promise do séeke life by faythe in Christ whose miserable state and condition the Apostle sheweth prouing by an allegorie that all they which séeke iustification by the bondage of the lawe shall be cast out of the lande of promise with the bonde woman and hir sonne and shal not inherite the euerlasting kingdome of God with his children that are frée and do seeke saluation throughe fayth in his promise Héere it is euident that the Apostle teacheth vs to expound the scriptures not literally onely but also allegorically mystically or figuratiuely So he expoundeth those words Thou shalt not mosell the Oxe that treadeth out the corne In like maner the rocke in the wildernesse out of the which water flowed to satisfie the thirst of the Israelites besides that it declareth Gods power and prouidence for his children béeing in distresse it prefigured the graces and giftes of God that flow out of our sauiour Christe vnto all that beléeue in him For so the Apostle expoūdeth it where he sayth Our fathers dyd eate the same spirituall meate and dyd drinke the same spirituall drinke for they dranke of the spirituall rocke that followed them and the rock was Christ And the serpent that Moses set vp at the commaundement of God besides the miraculous healing of those that were bytten with fyry Serpents teacheth bothe the Israelites and vs to lift vp the eyes of our fayth vnto our Sauiour lifted vp vpon the crosse séeking deliuerance by him frō the deadly sting of the Serpent the diuel For that brasen serpent was a figure of our sauiour Christ as he himselfe expoundeth it in the Gospell Moreouer where Moses telleth the people that God wyll rayse vnto them a Prophete like vnto him selfe euen of their brethren vnto whom they should herken the letter teacheth vs nothing else but that Iosua should gouerne the Israelites and bring them into the lande that God had promised them But the holy Ghost in the person of Iosua whose name signifieth a sauiour teacheth vs that Christ is our sauiour who bringeth vs into the euerlasting rest promised vnto all the faithfull for so the Apostle Peter expoundeth the words of Moses Also euen as the bonbage of the Israelites in Egypte and their peregrinatiō in the wildernesse besides that is playnly expressed by the letter doth represent the state of Christiās in this life béeing ful of afflictiōs euē so the land of Canaan promised vnto Gods people in the which they had a great conquest ouer the wicked after quietly enioyed the coūtrey besides the declaratiō of gods excéeding power and excellent benefites bestowed vpon them doth represent vnto vs the euerlasting rest in heauē which we shall enioy whē almightie God hath destroyed all the wicked vpon the earth So the Apostle expoundeth the wordes of the prophet Dauid who concerning the same matter sayth Fortie yéeres long was I gréeued with this generation sayde It is a people that doth erre in their hearts for they haue not knowne my ways vnto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest Whiche words written bothe in the lawe and in the Prophet according to the letter doe shew the rest of the Israelites in the land of Canaan but according to the allegorie they teache al the faythful the euerlasting rest by Christ in heauen But for the further
speketh those words out of Egypt I haue called my sonne Where the letter teacheth vs nothing else but the deliuerance of the Israelites out of captiuitie but the holy Ghost vnderstandeth moreouer the returning of our sauiour out of Egypt into his own couÌ„trey after the death of Herod For so the Prophets words are expounded in the Gospel Finally the Prophet Ieremy declaring the deliuerance of the Israelites out of captiuitie describeth first their gret affliction saying Thus saith the Lord a voyce was herd on high a mourning and bitter wéeping Rachell wéeping for hir childreÌ„ would not be comforted bicause they wer not Thus saith the Lord refraine thy voyce froÌ„ wéeping thine eyes from teres for thy work shal be rewarded saith the Lord they shal come again froÌ„ the laÌ„d of their enimies Here the letter teacheth vs only the returning of the Israelits froÌ„ the captiuity of BabiloÌ„ But the holy ghost therby vnderstaÌ„deth the lameÌ„tatioÌ„ of the Israelites for their Infants whoÌ„ Herode slue at the birth of our sauiour Christ as the EuaÌ„gelist witnesseth So I say in this Prophet Abdias besides that hath béene alreadie noted we are taught Christ and the destruction of our enimies by him for he hathe applied the writings of all the Prophets vnto him selfe when he accompanied the two Disciples vnto Emaus after his resurrection For S. Luke sayth that he began at Moses and at al the Prophets and interpreted vnto theÌ„ in all the scriptures those things that were written of him And S. Peter sayth Al the Prophets froÌ„ Samuel and thence foorth euen as many as haue written haue foretolde of those dayes that is to say of the wonderfull workes then wrought in the name of Christ and of his death and resurrection Also Zachary Iohn Baptist father praiseth the Lord God of Israel for our redeÌ„ption by Christ our mightie sauiour as he had promised by the mouth of his holy Prophets that haue bin from the beginning of the world Therfore séeing that all the Prophets haue forespoken of saluatioÌ„ by Christ Abdias also with the residue hath prophesied of him so that in this Prophet we may finde our deliuerance by Christ and consequently the destruction of Antichrist Which he dothe here first teach vs vnder the name of Edom Esau The signification of the word EdoÌ„ pointeth vs to the person and also to the place where Antichrist dwelleth For Edom in the Hebrue tong signifieth red or bloudie The Bishop of Rome which is Antichrist sheweth him selfe to be Edom that is red and bloudy both in outwarde appearance and also in his secrete deuises for he and his Cardinals his doctors and other his adherents are clothed in red the seruing men of his Clergie goe in red This is their colour wherewith they are delighted So also their dooings are red and bloudie For this is the fyrst decrée of their secret counsel at Trent Al they that professe the Gospel and are enimies vnto the Church of Rome shall be rooted out they shall be slayne and put to death their bloud shall be shed vpon the earth This is their bloudy decrée which they haue practised to the vtter most of their power héer in England in Scotland and of late in FrauÌ„ce and in many other places of Christendome as Germany Flanders Spayne and Italie So that they are altogither delighted in bloud and wil neuer be satisfied Therefore they maye well be called Edomits red bloudy meÌ„ Moreouer not only the signification of the worde but also the testimonie of diuers ancient writers leadeth vs to vnderstand by this name EdoÌ„ the Antichrist of Rome who are persuaded that he is not onely in outwarde pompe and shew and in déedes an Edomite but also in bloud kinred as one that had his beginning of the Edomites For Moses Gerundensis writing of the beginning of the Romanes sayth we haue heard in the bookes of the Chronicles of Ioseph ben Gorian and in other bookes of Antiquities that Sappho the sonne of Eliphas the sonne of Esau the father of the Edomites prouoked Ioseph the sonne of Iacob to warre wheÌ„ he was gouernour of Egypt In the which war Sappho the Edomite and his valiaunt captaynes were taken and caried into Egypt and there committed vnto prison where they remayned as long as Ioseph liued And when he was dead Sappho fledde away and went into Campania and reigned ouer Kittim at Rome At the length he was made king ouer all Italy and this was the first king of Rome Also Dauid Kimchi writing vpon this Prophete sayth The Edomites are nowe so mingled among other Nations that a man can not knowe them from the Ammonites and Moabites and the people of other Countreys sauing that the greater parte of the Edomites hath béene from the beginning of the kingdome of Rome Therefore what soeuer the Prophets haue spoken of the desolation of Idumea in the latter ende of the worlde they haue spoken it agaynst Rome For when soeuer Rome shall be destroyed Israell shall be deliuered Thus besides that these writers testifie that the Romanes had their beginning of the Edomites Kimchi saythe that by the Edomites the Prophetes doe vnderstande the Romanes And hée saythe moreouer Abdias prophesieth onely agaynst Edom not that externall Edom as it séemeth but an other that is to say agaynst the spirituall Edom the Antichrist of Rome whiche was little despised in the beginning but through the pride of his heart much exalted like an Eagle making his nest aboue the starres and rioting vpon the mounte of Sion Moreouer an other olde writer the author of the booke called Seder olam that is to say a rehearsall of antiquities calleth Rome Edom in these words Aspatian for so he termeth VespatiaÌ„ came and wasted the temple and caried away many families of the house of Dauid into Spayne and this was the. â—80 yeres of Edom or of the Romanes Finally Ionathan the Chaldey paraphrast in many places where the Prophetes name Edom in stéede therof he nameth Rome As for example The floudes of Edom sayth the Prophet shall be turned into pitche Which words the Paraphrast interpreting sayth The flouds of Rome shal be turned into pitche And vpon the last verse of this Prophet he sayth And they shal folow the sauiour froÌ„ the mount of Sion to giue senteÌ„ce agaynst the mount of Esau and that sayth he is the mount of Rome Thus it appereth by the iudgemeÌ„t of these writers that by the destruction of EdoÌ„ is vnderstanded the destruction of the Antichrist of Rome This is it therefore that the Prophet teacheth vs besides that hath bin already noted That almightie God hath determined to ouerthrow the persecuter of his children The Embassadour our sauiour Christ is alreadie sent and proclaymeth at this present by the mouth of his Preachers war against him saying vp let vs arise against Rome vnto battell let vs with al the gifts that God
yet Saule persecuted not Christ in his owne person as the Iewes had done before but in the Christians which are members of his body And where the Apostle saith as the afflictions of Christ do abound in vs so our consolation aboundeth through Christ it is euident that he calleth our afflictions Christes afflictiōs both bicause we are mēbers of his body also bicause we suffer like afflictiōs with him for his sake Therefore as long as there remaineth one aliue that shal suffer for Christes sake so long there remayne behind vnfulfilled some of Christes afflictions which his saincts suffer for the church and for the cōfirmation of the same in the true fayth that it may continue vnto the ende be saued This is the commoditie that we receiue by the sufferings of them that are persecuted for Christes sake as we learne by the wordes of the Apostle where he sayth Whether we be afflicted it is for your cōsolation saluatiō which is wrought in the induring of the same suffrings which we also suffer or whether we be comforted it is for your consolation saluation Saluation is wrought sayth the Apostle by enduring afflictions bicause except we ouercome our enimies the flesh the world the diuel by continuing stedfast vnto the ende we can not be saued Therfore saluation is wrought by suffering not that it is meritorious but cōditional If we continue vnto the end in the true worship of God suffering al the torments that are laide vpō vs to withdraw vs from the same there is laide vp for vs in heauen an euerlasting crowne which God of his mercy goodnes will giue vs and not for the desert of our owne works For as God for his promise sake wil giue euerlasting blessednesse to those that beléeue in him so he requireth at our handes that we confesse him before men that we continue his faythful seruants vnto the end that we do not shrink frō the confession of the Christian faith for any worldy respect For this cause if we indure afflictiōs our suffrings do serue to the saluatiō as is aforesaid both of our selues of our brethrē Thus if the true sense meaning of the Apostles wordes may be called a letter it may appere what is the true letter of the former words recited out of the first chap. of the Epistle to the Coloss There is also a false letter which the Romanes haue deuised vpon the same text That is that the rest of Christes sufferings which were vnperfect in him the Apostle hath fulfilled in his owne person for the more full perfect redemption of the Churche wherevpon they grounde the merites of Saincts satisfaction by our owne works making Christes passion vnsufficient of it selfe for our redēption cōtrary to other places of the scripture As this By Christes stripes we are healed those Christ is able perfectly to saue them that come vnto God by him séeing he euer liueth to make intercession for thē Christ by his owne bloud entred in once vnto the holy place obteined eternall redemption for vs For if the bloud of buls and of goates and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling thē that are vncleane sanctified as touching the purifying of the flesh how much more shall the bloud of Christ whiche through the eternall spirite offered him selfe without spotte to God purge your conscience from dead works to serue the liuing god And agayne With one offering hath he consecrated for euer them that are sanctified Héere the Apostle teacheth vs perfect redēption by our sauiour Christ only and by no other Therfore the letter of the Romanists which techeth vs other sauiours beside Iesus Christ is an heretical false letter not to be receiued Likewise in these words The father is greater thā I there is a true and a false letter The true letter is this The father is greater than Christ as touching his manhood The false letter is this The father as touching Christes godhead is greter than the sonne The false letter killeth but the true letter is profitable Neuerthelesse as the true letter is always commodious necessary to be knowē so in some respect it may truly be said that it killeth rather than giueth life as if we rest vpon the letter of any historie or prophesie neglect the moral mysterie therin conteined or if we take part of the letter not the whole or if we take the letter in stead of the figure and allegorie where a figure or allegory is necessarily vnderstanded As for example If we omit the morall and allegorie of the Prophet Abdias before noted rest only vpon the letter which perteineth nothing vnto vs it profiteth vs little Likewise in the commaundements thou shalt do no murther thou shalte not commit adultrie thou shalt not steale and so foorth this is a true letter that thereby we are forbidden actual murder actual adultry and theft This is but a péece of the letter and not the whole the whole letter is that therby we are not only forbidden to stay a man to defile a woman to take away an other mans goodes secretly or openly out of his house or by the highe way side but also we are therby cōmaunded not to hurt our neighbour neither in worde nor thought to absteine frō all maner of iniuries deceitful hurtful dealings also frō al filthy cogitations inwardly no lesse than frō violent manifest couetous actions outwardly Thus our Sauiour him selfe expoūdeth the cōmandements in the Gospel He that taketh part of this letter and not the whole is deceiued in that he persuadeth him selfe that he walketh in godlinesse in absteining frō outward actions that are euill whereas his heart is full of deadly poyson In this respect the letter killeth rather than profiteth Finally where our sauiour calleth himself a stone a dore a vine a shepherd where we are called shéepe by a figuratiue spéeche if we take the letter in stead of the mysterie the letter killeth And in all the Parables of our sauiour as in the Parable of the sower and so foorth where a figure is necessarily vnderstanded if we vnderstande the earthly and not the heauēly sower the letter profiteth not Yet this I will say for the true letter of all necessarie allegories that it may be likened to the wine vessels the allegory to the wine He that will haue his wine safe sweete must take heede that his vessels be not broken that they be wel seasoned for if they be broken his wine wil be spilt if they be not wel seasoned it wil be soure So if we wil haue sounde doctrine we muste be sure that we alter not the letter that we neither adde to it nor take frō it for if we do we shall haue soure wine I meane we shall haue false doctrine As in those words Excepte you eate the flesh