These were thy Punishments this was thy Fate Goe now and vndermine thy Fathers State But to returne againe to my purpose This is the First Psalme of many others that haue the Word LORD in the Vocatiue a Word so oftentimes vsed in all these Psalmes It is in the Originall that peculiar Name of GOD consisting of foure Letters commonly called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whereof as many haue spoken much so g I. Drusii Tetragram c. 14. Drusius hath written a whole Treatise shewing that it is the proper Name of the DIVINE ESSENCE and that it hath no proper Vowels and therefore that it is left vnpronounceable to shew the better that the Essence of God is incomprehensible And yet where euer the Iewes found it they tooke the Vowels either of Adonai or Elohim and so pronounced it It is alwayes in our last Translation translated LORD and the Word LORD is alwayes printed in Capitall Letters but if it be the Word Adonai in the Originall which signifies Lord to or Elohim then is it printed in smaller Letters An example hereof we haue Ps 8.1 O LORD our Lord how excellent is thy Name in all the Earth And indeed it was long agoe the Counsail of Antonitu Rodolphus Cevallerius in an Epistle to the Bishop of Eli that then was B. Cox it should seâ—me that where euer that Word of foure Letters was in the Originall * Characteribus maiusculis the Translation should be in Capitall Letters as h I. Drus ib. c 1â— Drusius witnesseth in his foresaid Book and our Translators haue most exactly obserued in our English Word LORD â—hroughout their whole Translation not once naming the Word IEHOVAH for ought I haue obserued but only Exod. 6.3 17.15 And as our English Translators so the Septuagint translate it to as i Zanch. de Nat. Dei seu de divin Attrib l. 1. c. 17. Zanchius hath obserued Indeed l Illyr Clau. Script Tract de Rat. cognosc sac Lit. p. 45. De Nomine Jehova p. 622. Illyricus mislikes it and saith that the Name DOMINVS LORD doth obscure the nature of that other Name howbrit since the Apostles themselues as m Calv. Instit l. 1. c. 13. §. 20. Calvin obserueth translated it by this Name to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Dominus Lord their Example in this case may bee for vs a sufficient warrant The Word is a Name of Relation and doth intimate vnto vs that there is a mutuall consequence or a kind of dependance betweene GOD and him who stileth him LORD Whereupon St Austen As he cannot be a Servant n Aug. de Trin. l. 5. c. 16. saith he that hath not a Lord so cannot he be a Lord that hath not a Servant And Thomas Aquinas to this purpose Deus non fuit Dominus antequam habuit Creaturam sibi subiectam Though GOD o saith Aquinas be before his Creatures u Aquin. Sum. Part. 1 â—u 13. Art 7. Ad Sextum yet forasmuch as in the signification of Lord it is comprehended that he hath a Servant and so contrariwise these two Relations Lord and Servant are by nature extant together therefore GOD was not the Lord before he had the Creature subiect vnto him He that will see more in this case I refer him to that Question p Zanch. de Nat. Dei l. 1. c. 10. handled by Zanchius That seeing God is euerlasting and immutable and nothing hapneth to him anew whâ—ther there be any Names that so agree vnto him by reason of Time that they could not be his Names from euerlasting In the handling of which Qâ—estion hee sheweth how St Austen discoursed like an Oratour Aquinas like a Schooleman vpon one and the self-same Point But now to the Many here Many are they that rise against me Many in this Verse and Many in the next whereby we may perceiue that it is not alwayes the safest way that Many goe Whereupon St Austen Esteeme not of their nomber q Aug. in Ps 39. saith he I grant they are Many who is able to nomber them Few they are that goe the straight way Bring me hither the Skales begin to weigh see what a deale of Chaffe is hoysed vp in one Skale against a few Barley Cornes in the other And againe in another place r Aug. in Ps 128 The Church was sometimes in Abel alone and Abel was ouercome by his wicked and divelish Brother Cain The Church was sometimes in Enoch alone and Enoch was translated from the Society of the Wicked The Church was sometimes in Noahs House alone and Noah endured all those that perished by the Deluge The Church was sometimes in Abraham alone and we are not ignorant what Wrongs the Wicked did vnto him So likewise the Church was sometimes in Lot his Brothers Sonne and onely in his House amidst the whole City of Sodom and he bare with the Iniquities of the Sodomites so long till at length God deliuered him from the midst of them Thus Nazianzen speaking of his owne Time Where are they now f Greg. Naz. ad Arian de seips Orat. 24. saith he that vpbraid vs with our Poverty and boast so much of their owne Wealth who define a Church by Multitude and contemne a smal Sheepfold Lastly St Chrysostome I pray you t Chrys ad Pop. Antioch Hom. 40. saith he what profit or advantage is it to be rather a great deal of Chaff then a few pretious Stones Multitude consisteth not in the quantity of number but in the quality and efficacy of Vertue Elias was onely one and the whole World it selfe was not worthy to bee weighed with him Thus the Fathers and yet u Bell. de Eccles Milit. l. 4. c. 7. saith Bellarmire The fourth Note or Marke of the Church is Amplitude or Multitude and Variety of Beleeuers Verse 2. Many one there be that say of my Soule there is no helpe for him in his God Wee saw in some sort the Many before but now we see them farre better in that we not see them onely but heare them According as Socrates to one that stood mute before him Loquere vt te videam Speake x Eras Apopth saith he that I may see thee Indeed Speech as y Plut. de Lib. educand Laert. in Democrit said Democritus is the Shadow of Action or the Image and Representation of our Workes as z Laert. in Solon Solon was wont to say and Seneca to this purpose a Senec. Epist l. 20. ep 115. Such is Mans Speech as is his Life Non potest alius esse Ingenio alius Animo color He maketh instance in no worse Man then Mecaenas himselfe and an hundred pities it was that so good a Man in one respect was so bad in so many The Prophet here sees them no man better and therefore describes them by the impiety of their Words First concerning the Word Soule Soule in holy Scripture is taken diverse and sundry wayes It is taken for the whole Man consisting of Body and
his Mind claue fast to God but when the Woman was ioyned with him then could he no longer obey the Commandements of God The Retyrednes here spoken of is cald their Chamber Where by Chamber if the Bed be meant though q Quae sunt ista Cubicula nisi ipsa Corda Vid. Aug. Tom. 4. De Ser. Dom. in Mont. l. 2. S. Austen vnderstand by Chamber the Heart as is specified in our last Translation Commune with your owne Heart vpon your Bed and it is very probable indeed that it was the Prophets meaning in this place then may it mooue vs much more to meditate in this kinde the N ght being so fit in many respects as it is For then doe we lye in those Beds as it were within our Graues then the Sheetes may put vs in minde of the Winding Sheete wee are to haue then the Darknes that doth compasse vs may best teach vs to call to minde the Land of Darknes which wee shall possesse a Land of Darknes as Iob r Iob 10.21 speakes as Darknes it selfe Vbi nullus ordo where there is no order at all but we shall lye promiscuously one with another and where the Light is as Darknes In a word then the Iudgment that hath befalne Thousands in the selfe-same kind may make vs doubt whether we shall increase that Number or to haue the Happinesse to see the next Morrow Light So S. Chrysostome Let vs alwayes endeavour to pray Å¿ Chrys in Gen. Hom. 30. saith he both in the Day time and in the Night and rather in the Night for that no Body then is troublesome to vs then haue we a great Tranquillity of our Thoughts when our Businesses are not troublesome when there is none that can hinder vs from hauing accesse to God when our Mind knitting it selfe together is able diligently to make reference of all to the Physition of Soules And againe a little after Behold the Doctor of the World saith he fast in Prison praying notwithstanding the whole t Act. 16.25 Night with Sylas and nothing hindred from that Action of his neither with Sorrow nor with Bonds nay by so much the more did they shew their Fervency of Spirit towards the Lord. But Stilnes is here enjoyned to Commune with your owne Heart and in your Chamber and be still For as in bodily u Vid. Zanch. de Redempt l. 1. c. 13. Diseases to be quiet and still is a great Ease and Help towards the procuring of bodily Health so is it also in the Soares of the Soule And therefore the Prophet x Esay 30.16 Esay In Returning and Rest shall ye be saued in Quietnes and Confidence shall be your strength And Iob to this purpose 〈◊〉 â—0 4 I will lay my Hand vpon my Mouth Once haue I spoken but I will not answere yea twice but I will proceed no farther Indeed it is not strugling that will in this case serue the turne The Bird that fluttereth in the Lime-twiggs doth but intangle her selfe more and more and the more impatient we shewe our selues the greater hold hath Sathan of vs. z Esay 57.19 Peace Peace to him that is farre off and to him that is neere saith the Lord and I will heale him But the Wicked are like the troubled Sea when it cannot rest whose Waters cast vp Mire and Dirt. Vers 5. Offer the sacrifice of Righteousnes and put your trust in the Lord. A Sacrifice among the Iewes was a sacred Action wherewith they worshipped God by offring some outward thing vnto his Glory thereby to testifie as his Dominion ouer them so their Submission to him againe Hence had they their multiplicity of Offrings as their Meat-Offring their Burnt-Offring their Sinne-Offring their Trespasse-Offring their Peace-Offring as they are all of them specified by Moses in the Booke of a Nomb. 7.13.18.9 Nombers and b Levit. 7.37 Leviticus Such Sacrifices were either Propitiatory to procure Favour or Pardon for a Sinne committed or Gratulatory to giue Thankes and Praise after some Benefit receiued Now for the most of them contented themselues with Opus Operatum that is with performing of the Thing only litle caring how they did performe it so performed it were at all hence it is that the Prophet here puts them in minde how the selfe-fame Sacrifices should be offred and that they should not as they had wont to doe spill their Gifts in the bringing Offer saith he the Sacrifice of Righteousnes as if so be he had said Offer to God a right Sacrifice which as he tels vs c Psal 51.17 elswhere is A troubled Spirit a broken and contrite Heart What will some say and had the Iewes so many Sacrifices and had not the Christians aswell as they Had they their Sinne-Offring and their Trespasse-Offring their Peace-Offring and their Burnt-Offring and haue wee no Offring at all Yes insteed of all these VNVM nos habemus we haue one d Aug. in Ps 74. de Temp. Ser. 251. saith S. Austen and he meanes that of our Saviours on the Crosse which though it be but onely one yet is it all-sufficient So e Chrys in Ep. ad Heb. c. 10. S. Chrysostome We doe not offer an other Sacrifice but euer the same or rather we continue the remembrance of that Sacrifice So f Theodoret. in Ep. ad Heb. c. 8. vid. Bilson True Diff. p. 512. 513 Theodoret It is cleare to them that are instructed in our Mysteries that we doe not offer an other Sacrifice but continue the memory of that one and healthfull Sacrifice Yea but where then shall we finde the Sacrifice of the Masse It is excluded By what Law By the Laws of Protestants No but by the Law of those Fathers whose Sonnes our Romish Catholicks would seeme to be And indeed it hath bene g Iewels Serm. at Paules Crosse Aº D. 1560. Dr Whitaker Praefat in Lib. advers Sanderum de Antichristo and his Answere to Mr William Rainolds c. 7 Dr Fulke Dr Bilson Dr Sutcliffe c. offred them by somâ— of our Side that if they be able to bring any one sufficient Sentence out of any old Catholick Doctor or Father whereby it may clearely and plainly bee prooved either that the People was taught to beleeue h Art 5. that Christs Body is Really Substantially Corporally Carnally or Naturally in the Sacrament or Art 17. that the Priest had Authority to offer vp Christ vnto his Father that the People were taught to beleeue both these for the space of Six Hundred yeares after Christ they would bee content to yeeld and to subscribe It is strange to see what poore Proofes were brought by Harding to that purpose and by Such as tooke his part Rastal Saunders Stapleton Rainolds and Others But to returne to my purpose Besides that One Sacrifice whereof S. Austen speakes which is most truly a SACRIFICE indeed We haue other Sacrifices to as The Sacrifice of Prayer
great difficulty in obtaining of Pardon as it is written l 1. Pet. 4.18 saith hee in another place If the Righteous scarcely be saued where shall the Vngodly and the Sinner appeare Verse 4. Turne thee O Lord and deliuer my Soule Oh saue me for thy Mercies sake Himselfe being now converted to the Lord his Petition to the Lord now is that the Lord would be converted vnto him according vnto that of the Lord himselfe in the Prophet Zachary Turne yee vnto me m Zach. 1.3 saith the Lord of Hoasts and I will turne vnto you saith the Lord of Hoasts Now what hee here meant by the Lords Turning vnto him hee explicateth in the Words that follow namely in deliuering his Soule and sauing him for his Mercies sake First for his Soule likely ynough that his Life is meant thereby being now as it were at the last cast and vpon the Coâ—fines of Death For howsoeuer the Soule is sometimes taken for that Spirituall and best Part of Man whereby we vnderstand and discourse of things sometimes for the Will and Affections whereof the Soule is the Seat yet here in this place considering the Sequences it may be taken for Life by the Figure Metanomia for that the Soule is Cause of Life Secondly where he petitioneth to be Saued and that is the Summe of his Request he tooke no doubt the right course in making his Repaire vnto God For as this our Prophet acknowledgeth elswhere that he is the n Ps 17.7 Saviour of them that put their trust in him so the Lord saith of himselfe o Esay 43.11 I euen I am the Lord and besides me there is no Saviour And againe p Esay 45.21 There is no God els beside me a iust God and a Saviour there is none beside me The like hath the Prophet q Hos 13.4 Hosea True it is that the Word to SAVE is applyed to Others to either Spiritually or Corporally as Paul to Timothy r 1. Tim. 4.16 Take heed vnto thy selfe and vnto the Doctrine continue in them for in doing this thou shalt both saue thy selfe and them that heare thee and S. Iames to this purpose Å¿ Iam. 5.19 Brethren if any of you doe erre from the Truth let him know that he which converteth a Sinner from the Error of his Way shall saue a Soule from Death So Ministers by Preaching Magistrates by Protecting Christians by Admonishing doe saue But thus to saue is to serue Gods Providence onely as a meanes in the preservation of others as Instruments vnder God who for their Service herein honoureth them with the Title belonging to Himselfe Thirdly where he pleads not Merit but Mercy which Merit no doubt he might haue pleaded aswell as any our Merit-mongers whatsoeuer it teacheth vs what wee in like case should bring as a Present to the true IOSEPH our Governour not a t Gen. 43.11 little Balme and a little Hony Spices and Mirrhe Nuts and Almonds of our owne Workes and Deeds but only his owne MERCY Periculosa habitatio eorum qui in Meritis suis sperant periculosa quia ruinosa Dangerous is their Dwelling u Bern. in Psal Qui habitat Ser. 1. saith S. Bernard that trust in their owne Merits it is a Dangerous for it is a Ruinous Dwelling When an House is ready to tumble downe x Plin. Nat. Hist l. 8. c. 28. saith Pliny the Mice goe out of it before and first of all the Spiders with their Webbes fall downe and surely we should bee more brutish then either Spiders or Mice should we trust to such ruinous Dangers as such Confidence would bring vpon vs. Vers 5. For in Death no man remembreth thee and who will giue thee thankes in the Pit Two Sorts of Men haue liued in the World would God we might say Haue liued as Tully y Plut. in Cic. said Vixerunt of Some whom he had caused to bee executed as Traitours for so are these against God but two Sorts of Men haue liued in the World that deny the z Zanch. de Oper Dei Part. 3. l. 2. c. 8. Immortality of the Soule the One of them absolutely the Other by a Consequence Of those which doe it absolutely we haue now no cause to speake cause we shall haue sufficient when we come to the Fourteenth Psalme They which doe it by a Consequence are such as hold that the Soules dye when as the Bodies doe dye and that they rise not till the Bodies rise againe They dare not deny flatly a Zanch Ib. saith Zanchius the Soules Immortality for that it is so manifest throughout the whole Scriptures but what they dare that they doe they depriue it of all Sence of all Knowledge of all Affection and Operation stifly maintaining that it sleepeth forsooth till the Day of the Bodies Resurrection and then that it shall bee wakened and not till then Among the severall Parcels of Scripture which they haue heaped vp to this purpose this of this Psalme is one and as many besides in the Psalmes as describe Man to bee of such a Condition as that hee cannot after Death praise the Name of the Lord any more As namely where David b Ps 88.10 saith Doest thou shewe Wonders among the Dead or shall the Dead rise vp againe and praise thee Shall thy louing Kindnes be shewed in the Graue or thy Faithfulnes in Destruction Shall thy wondrous Workes be knowen in the Darke and thy Righteousnes in the Land where all things are forgotten And againe c Ps 115.17 The Dead praise not thee O Lord neither all they that goe downe into the Silence but we that is we which liue will praise the Lord from this time forth for euermore And yet again d Ps 30.9 What profit is there in my Bloud when I goe downe to the Pit Shall the Dust giue Thankes vnto thee or shall it declare thy Truth But there is as Zanchius e Zanch. vbi supra obserues a twofold Praise the One when in this World we shew forth vnto Others the Lords Goodnes towards vs that Others also by our example may be stirred vp to put their Confidence in God and to worship God in like sort and of this kind of Praises are the foresaid Places to be vnderstood The Other when the Praises of God are reserved for the World to come to be perfourmed by the blessed Saints that shall at that time praise the Lord. And that they praise the Lord in the World to come witnes those severall places in the Revelation that might bee brought to this purpose f Rev. 5.13 Euery Creature which is in Heauen and in the Earth and vnder the Earth and such as are in the Sea and all that are in them heard I saying BLESSING HONOVR GLORY AND POWER BE VNTO HIM THAT SITTETH VPON THE THRONE AND VNTO THE LAMB FOR EVER AND EVER Againe g Reu. 14.2 I heard a Voyce from Heauen at the
what end purpose mankinde was created and set in this world after they had driven the matter as far as they might by naturall knowledge at length they concluded some that man was made to know the properties and qualities the convenience or difference of naturall things either in the ayre or in the water or in the earth or under the earth Some other that man was made to consider and behold the Sunne and Moone the Starres course and revolutions of the Heavens And so they judged that man which either had most abundance of naturall reason or beheld and considered the heavens best to be most perfect of all others and that he came nearest to the end of his creation Thus said they as men without feeling of God onely endued with the light of nature But as God himselfe declareth who fashioned us and made us and knoweth us best the very true end why man was made was to know to honour God Therefore whoso knoweth him best and honoureth him with most reverence he is most perfect he commeth neerest the end of his creation When Solomon had described the deceaveable vanities of the world and said vanitie of vanities Eccl. 1. vanitie of vanities all is vanitie When he had concluded by long discourse that riches Empires honour pleasures knowledge and whatsoever else under the Sunne is but vanity he knitteth up the matter with these words Eccles 12. Feare God and keep his Commandements for this is the whole dutie of man that is this is truth and no vanitie this is our perfection to this end are we made not to live in eating and drinking not to passe our time in pleasure and follies not to heap up those things which are daily taken from us or from which we are daily taken away but that in our words in our life in our bodie in our soule we doe service unto God that we look above the Sunne and Moone and all the heavens that wee become the Temples of the holy Ghost that the holy Spirit of God may dwell in us and make us fit instruments of the glory of God Therefore God gave his holy word and hath continued it from the beginning of the world untill this day notwithstanding the Philosophers and learned men in all ages who scorned it out as the word of folly for so it seemeth to them that perish notwithstanding the wicked Princes and Tyrants high powers of the world who consumed and burnt it as false and wicked and seditious doctrine notwithstanding the whole world and power of darknesse were ever bent against it yet hath He wonderfully continued and preserved it without losse of one letter untill this day that we have whereby truly to know him the true and onely God and his sonne Jesus Christ whom he sent Therefore have we Temples Churches places to resort unto all together to honour to worship and to acknowledge him to be our God to joyne our hearts and voices together and to call upon his holy name In such places God hath at all times used to open his Majestie and to shew his power In such places God hath made us a speciall promise to heare our praiers whensoever wee call upon him Therefore are they called the dwelling place and house of God In such places all godly men set their greatest pleasure thought themselves miserable when they were secluded or put off from the same as the Prophet and holy Prince David Psal 122. Laetatus sum in his quae dicta sunt mihi in domum Domini ibimus O saith that holy man my heart rejoyced within my body when my fellowes called upon me and said let us goe into the house of the Lord. Againe I am in love with the beauty of thy house And againe O how beautifull is thy Tabernacle O Lord O thou the God of hosts my heart longeth and fainteth to come within thy Courts His spirits were ravished with the sight majesty of the Tabernacle not for that the place it selfe at that time was so beautifull for in Davids time it was almost rotten ruinous a homely thing to behold nothing in comparison to that Temple that was afterwards built by Solomon But therein stood the shew worthinesse of that holy place that Gods truth and law was opened and proclaimed in it and the Sacraments ceremonies so used in such forme order as God had commanded them to be used and the people receaved them obediently lived thereafter Therefore when the Tabernacle was restored when the Arke was fet home from Obed-edom and set in the mount Sion when religion Revived which through the negligence and malice of Saul was forsaken when he saw his Nobilitie his Bishops his Priests all his people willing forward he could not refraine himselfe but brake out and sang Haec est dies quam fecit Dominus exultemus laetemur in ea This is the day which the Lord hath made let us be glad and rejoyce in it Let us be merry and joy that ever we lived to see it Even so Paul when in his time he saw the Gospell take root and prosper that the savour of life was powred abroad that the kingdome of God was enlarged the kingdome of Satan shaken downe his heart leaped and sprang within him Ecce nunc tempus acceptabile behold now is the acceptable time behold God hath looked downe mercifully upon the world behold the day of salvation is come upon us But the godly man as he rejoyceth at the beauty of Gods house so when contrariwise he seeth the same disordered filthily when he seeth the Sacraments of God abused the truth troden under foot the people mocked the name of God dishonoured he cannot but lament and mourne and finde himselfe wounded at heart When the good King Iosias saw the book of God which was so long hid in the wall and out of remembrance when he considered the blindnesse in which they had lived and the unkindnesse of their fore-fathers he could not forbeare but fell a weeping he feared least God should take vengeance upon them for so great contempt of his word When Ieremy saw the wilfulnesse and frowardnesse of the people which would not submit themselves and be obedient unto God he cried Oh that my head were full of water Ierem. 9. and mine eies a fountaine of teares that I might weep day and night c. Such care had they for Gods people Thus the zeale of Gods house had eaten them up Zeale if any man know not the nature of the word is an earnest affection and vehement love as is the love of a mother towards her children or of the naturall childe towards his mother This zeale cannot abide to see that thing which it loveth despised or hurt Such zeale care carrieth God over his people he loveth them as a mother loveth her children he will not suffer them to be hurt Esay 49. By the
Mat. 13.15 or Tribulation or Persecution ariseth and by and by we are offended or the care of this World and the deceitfulnesse of Riches choke it and so we become vnfruitfull So that Meditation implyes a long time before we come to the Perfection of Happinesse here spoken of The very seed-time may teach vs that we are not to sowe and reape at once Nay that which comes vp suddainly hath not only the prejudice of a Proverb against it the effect of Experience Soone Ripe soone Rotten but the prejudice of Experience it selfe the cause of that Proverbe and that Experience vpon many in the Eyes of euery Age. Sunt aliqui quorum fructus quia minus properè minus prosperè oriuntur Some there are c Bern. Serm. de Sanct. Benedicto saith St Bernard whose fruits for they ripen too soone become at length too too sowre They are like those Figs the Prophet Ieremy d Ier. 2.43 speakes of The euill very euill that cannot be eaten they are so euill Now as I told you before from the Poets mouth Nemo repentè turpissimus no man in a tryce as bad as bad may be so let me tell you from the mouth of St Bernard that Nemo repentè e Bernard de S. Andr. Ser. 1. sit summus no man in a tryce as good as good may be Ascendendo non volando apprehenditur summitas scalae We come to the top of a Ladder saith he by ascending thither step by step not by flying thither at once wherefore in such sort let vs clyme and that by the benefit of both these Feete Meditation and Prayer Thirdly this Exercise or Meditation it must be Day and Night that is f Aug. in hunc Ps saith St Austen either continually without intermission or Day sayth he that is in the time of Prosperity Night that is in the time of Adversity And in very deed at both times admirable is the Benefit that euery of vs may reape by reading the Holy Scriptures For if g Tull. pro Arch. Poet. Tully could say of Poetry that it was a Profession for all Ages Youth and Old Age a Profession for all Times Prosperity and Adversity a Profession for all Places both at Hoame and Abroad how much more truly may we say of Gods Holy Scriptures that they confirme our younger Yeeres they delight our old Age they are an Ornament to vs in Prosperity a place of Refuge in Adversity yeelding vs Comfort in such Extremities they affoord vs Pleasure at Hoame they no whit hinder vs abroad they watch with vs all Night if we travaile they travaile with vs if we husband it in the Country they will husband it with vs. Or if Day and Night be here taken for Continually without intermission that is if Day be taken for Day indeed and Night for Night indeed then haue we our Prophets owne example for exercising himselfe in the Scriptures both in the Day time and in the Night First for the Day Lord h Ps 119 saith he what loue haue I vnto thy Law all the day long is my study in it Secondly for the Night i Verâ—â—â— I haue thought vpon thy Name O Lord in the night season and haue kept thy Law And the Night indeed brings many opportunities of deeper Meditation Quinetiam in noctibus syncerius cogitamus we more sincerely in the Night-time bethinke our selues l Ambrâ—â— de bono Mortis p. 245. saith S. Ambrose There are that endeavour to m Tâ—uanuâ— Hist l. 16. prooue that studying in the n Noctem Euphronam dixeâ—unt Graeci à benè intelligendo Plut. de Curiosit Night is not so dangerous to the Body as many take it to be but rather healthfull for it which if in prophane Studies it be true for at those they ayme how much more in these when Healthfulnesse shal be had both of Body and Soule And here I cannot but remember that worthy choyce which our most worthy q Sigillum IOANNIS HOVVSON Episcopi Oxoniensis Diocesan hath made of these Words Diebus Noctibus for his Episcopall Imprese which of all places of holy Scripture seeing he hath made such speciall choyce of as to haue it alwayes in his Eye how doth he thereby intimate both what himselfe doth in this kind and what by others is to be done to attaine to that Happines which is to be had both in this World as also in the World to come But what will some say and is this all to make men BLESSED Are there no more Ingredients to true Happines then this To delight in the Law of the Lord and in that Law to be exercised day and night Is there nothing required but this Nothing in effect forasmuch as in this all other things are comprised Like as King Porus o Plut. de Fâ—rt Alex. Orat. 1. answered in an other case who being King Alexanders Captiue and asked by the said Alexander how he would he intreated how saith he but as Kings should be Being asked againe what els besides he would haue done Nay nothing els said King Porus for to be in treated like a King compriseth all Offices and all respectiuenes whatsoeuer Excellent are the Verses which p Mart. l. 10. Epig 47. Martiall hath of a Blessed Life there is in our English Tongue also a q My Mind to me a Kingdome is Amongst Mr Byrds Psalmes Sonets Songs of Sadnes and Piety Song 14. Printed 1589. Sonnet to that purpose but when all comes to all true Felicity indeed is that which is deliuered by our Prophet here in this place and whereat our Saviour no doubt did ayme when speaking to the Woman that said vnto him Blessed is the wombe that bare thee and the paps which thou hast sucked Yea rather r Luc. 11.28 saith he blessed are they that heare the word of God and keepe it I but here me thinkes some Naaman will reply Å¿ 2 King 5.12 Are not Abana and Pharphar Riuers of Damascus better then all the waters of Israel May I not wash in them and be cleane So are not PROFIT PLEASVRE and PREFERMENT the three great Riuers of the World better then all this Delighting in the Law of the Lord May I not baske my selfe in any of those and so be blessed Oh no this Iordan must be the Riuer or thou wilt neuer haue true Happines To which purpose let vs view euery of these in particular First for PROFIT wherein I comprehend all worldly Wealth whatsoeuer I know the World is set vpon it nothing more Pecunia ingens generis humani Bonum Cui nec voluptas Matris aut blandae potest Par esse Prolis nec sacer meritis Parens Money t Senec. Epist l. 21. Ep. 116. saith Bellerophon is all in all and to be preferred before Parents Wife or Child A speech which though perhaps be as odious to vs in the hearing as it was to those that heard him yet euery man now
lesse then Nothing and Vanity Verse 2. The Kings of the Earth stand vp and the Rulers take counsell together against the Lord and against his Annoynted Before was Fury and Folly and both in the People now the Prophet shewes vnto vs that the Magistrates themselues began to take the matter in hand So that where formerly there was small likelyhood of bringing ought to passe in that kind the People but an head-strong multitude and vnable to performe their Designes now Wit and Cunning and Policy begin to play their parts and a Body would now thinke that all should be as they would haue it Loe here an Vnity such at it was but Vnit as Facinoro sorum as o Bernard de Assumpt Mariae Ser. 5. speakes St Bernard an Vnity not of Saints but of Sinners Peruersa execranda talis Vnitas such an Vnity as that saith he is both praeposterous and execrable Amat Auaritia Vnitatem Quod amat bonum est sed vbi amandum sit nescit Euen Couetousnes it Selfe p Aug. de Verb. Dom. Ser. 20. saith St Austen doth loue an Vniting together Now the thing she loueth is good but she knowes not where to place her Loue. Right so is it a blessed thing that the Magistrate and the People should both agree together but when they shal agree in that which is notoriously bad as here they do in this place it aggrauates eithers fault and bâ—th are lyable to the more exception And that so they do here in this place witnes the words of this Verse for it is First against the Lord Secondly his Annointed First concerning the Lord though commonly in holy Scripture LORD be put for the second Person in Trinity God the Sonne yet here is it set for God the Father who is the Lord as the Prophet Amos q Amos. 5.16 speakes and the God of Hosts It is in the Originall the Name 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and God is therfore called Lord because as S. Ambrose r Ambros in ep 〈◊〉 Câ—loâ—s c. 4. saith he hath dominion both ovâ—r our Bodies ouer our Soulâ— because as Å¿ â—act â—nâ—it l. 4 c. 3. Laectantius hee hath the greatest power that can be both in correcting and punishing And our Saviour indeed instructing vs how great his Power is Feare not them which kill the Body t Mat 10.28 saith he but are not able to kil the Soule but rather feare him which is able to destroy both Soule and Body in Hell St Gregory speaking of the diverse Appellations that are in holy Scripture giuen to God When he will be feared u Greg in Cant. Cantic Prol. saith he then doth he name himselfe LORD when he will be honoured FATHER when he will be beloued HVSBAND though in the Old Testament the two Appellations Fâ—th r and Huâ—bâ—nd are seldome mentionâ—d Lord most often Many thinâ—s x Aug. de Ser. Dom. in Mont. l. 2. such S. Austen are dâ—liuered in holy Scripture to be spoâ—â—n in Gods praises 〈◊〉 sâ—all â—ou find it to â—aue beene commanded to the Pâ—â—plâ— oâ— Isrâ—el that sâ—eaâ—â—â—g vnto God they sh uld s y OVR â—ATHER or that they should pâ—ay vnto God aâ— a Grâ—tius Nomen est Pietaâ—â— quà m Poteâ—at Tertull. Apolog c. 34. FATH R but he is 〈…〉 LORD to put them in mind 〈…〉 Servants to â—im And yet our Sâ—â—â— ur Câ—â—isâ— God and Mâ—n Heâ—câ—fâ—rth I call you not 〈◊〉 y Ioh. 15.15 sâ—iâ—h he for the Sâ—â—uâ—nt kâ—â—weth not what hiâ— Lâ—rd 〈…〉 I hâ—â—â— câ—lle◠〈◊〉 FRâ—NDS for all things that I â—auâ—â—â—â—rd of my Father I haue made knowne vnto you Secondly concâ—â—ning Anâ—ointâ—d that is here set for the Second Person indeed Chrâ—st Iesus our Saviour who was to be our Prophet our Priest and Prince and therefore is said in holy Scripture to bee Annointed by God Not that at any time hee was Annointed with materiall Oyle z Act. 4.27 but as S. Peter in one place a Act. 10.38 With the Holy Ghost with Power And as our b Ps 45.8 Psalmist in another With the Oyle of Gladnesse aboue his Fellowes The time of this his Annointing was no doubt in the time of his Conception even before he was bâ—rne and therefore he was no sooner borne but an Angell said vnto the Shepheards c Luc. 2.10 Behold I bring you good Tydings of great ioy which shal be to all People for vnto you is borne this day in the City of David a Saviour which is Christ the Lord CHRIST that is Annointed And thus is this Scripture alleaged by the Church in the Acts of the Apostles who vpon the report Peter and Iohn made of their vsage by the Rulers of the Iewes they lift vp their voice to God with one accord said d Act. 4 2â— Lord thou art God which hast made Heaven and Earth and the Sea and â—ll that in them is Who by the mouth of thy Seruant David hast said why did the Heathen rage and the People imaginâ— vaine things The Kings of the Earth stood vp and the Rulâ—rs were gathered together against the Lord and against his Christ For of a truth against thy holy Child Iesus whome thou hast annoinâ—ed both Herod and Pontius Pilate with the Gentiles and the People of Israel were gathered together for to doe whatsoeuer thy Hand and thy Counsell determined before to be done Thus was it e Exod. 14.26 Ioh. 19.36 said of the Paschal Lambe that not a Bone thereof should be broken and it was applyed to our Saviour by the Evangelist S. Iohn It was said of the Israelites Hos 11.2 Mat. 2.5 Out of Egypt haue I called mâ— Sonne and it was aâ—plied to our Saviour by the Evangelist S. Mâ—thew It was said of King Solomon 2 Sam. 2 14. Hâ—b 1.5 I will be his Father and he shall be my Sonne and it was applyed to our Saviour by the Apostle S. Paul These two Senses of the Scriptures there are that call them the one a Literall the other a Mysticall Sence but h Dion Carth. in Mat. 2. Art 5 Dionysius Carthusianus i Tost in Deut. 18. qu. 6 Tostatus and the l Rhem. in 2. King 7.14 in marg Rhemists in the Doway Bible doe make them both Literall Tostatus giues the Reason Nam vna Litera benè potest importare duos sensus quando vnus subordinatur alteri Hauing spoken of a place of Scripture that might be vnderstood either of our Saviour or of his Prophets Sensus literalis est vterque Either saith he is the Literall sense For one and the self same Letter in Scripture doth wel import two Senses when one is subordinate to the other And of this mind with them was that worthy Professor of ours most worthily afterwards Bishop of Salisbury m D. Abbots Sermon vpon 1. Cor. 10.32 not printed D. Abbots who in a Sermon of his to the Vniversitie not only hath the Premisses but hee
Dioces delâ—uered to his Maiestie DeceÌ„b. 1 1605. Reprinted A â— 1617. p. 15. say Men of our owne Coat appoints such a Translation to be read in the Church as doth add both Words and Sentences to the Text as part of the Text and without any neat of distinction from it that sometimes to the changing or obscuring of the meaning of the holy Ghost As in the Book of the Psalms Ps 2.12 this word Right is added Ps 4.8 this word Oile Ps 13.6 these words Yea I will praise the Name of the Lord most High Ps 14. three whose Verses are added Viz. 5.6.7 Ps 22. these words Looke vpon me Ps 22.31 this word My c. Concerning the rest when we come vnto them But as touching the word Right whether it be added or no doubtlesse they are in the wrong For if it bee so in the Septuagint I meane in the Greeke m 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ps 2.12 and indeed so it is then is it not added the Translators following them and not the Hebrew But suppose it be added yet is there an additament of explication which illightneth the meaning of the holy Ghost as this doth in this place Now God forbid that every such Addition should be that adding to the Scripture which the Scripture forbids and they intimate Oh but it implyeth a Contradiction to that Tenet of ours concerning the Certainty of Salvation for if a man may perish from the Right Way then is he not certaine to persist in it if not certaine to persist then not certaine of his Salvation Nay but the meaning here is not of them that are effectually called and haue their Conversation in Holinesse such as they are that from the Word of God haue that Certainty but of Christians in generall of whom some may perish indeed I make no doubt but of all men liuing Protestants are in the right The Faith that we professe is doubtlesse the Right Way Howbeit for many Protestants liue so loosely and licentiously as they doe how are they likely to perish from this Right Way and to come to vtter destruction both of Body and Soule That which is here annexed If his wrath be kindled yea but a little blessed are all they that put their trust in him is a Caveat the Prophet giues that they should not moue by their wicked behauiour the Sonne of God to Wrath or Anger He saith not here as in another n Ps 103.8 place and as every man is ready to say and most of all they to whom least of all it appertaineth The Lord is full of Compassion and Mercy long suffering and of great Goodnesse and so forth No but If his Wrath be kindled yea but a little and with that he makes a stop a kind of Apostopêsis o Quintil. Instit l. 9 c. 3. Quid taceat incertum est wee knowe not what it is hee suppresseth but he shuts vp all with this Conclusion Blessed are all they that put their trust in him It seemes p Dr Fentons Persume against the Plague p. A. 7. b. saith a worthy Divine that when the Prophet did but thus thinke of the Wrath of God it put him into such a Passion that as men astonished and halfe frighted vse to blesse themselues so the Prophet here in this place S. Auston goes another way and it is a good way too The Prophet q Aug. in hunc Ps saith he saith not here that they are safe and secure that put their trust in him as if this onely were the profit that they reaped thereby that when Others were punished they should escape but he saith they are Blessed and in this Blessednesse is contained the Perfection and Consummation of all good things whatsoeuer that possibly can betide the Soule of Man Indeed Gods publique Punishments Plague Famine Sword and the like sometimes light vpon the Godly aswell as vpon the Wicked and yet the Godly in midst of their Miseries are Blessed and Happy notwithstanding S. Cyprian hath an excellent saying to this purpose Some r Cyp. de Mortal saith hee are at a stand for that the Plague now raging laies hold on vs Christians as it doth on the Heathen As if Christians beleeued only to this purpose that they might with hearts case in this present World be free from all adversities and inioy their time here with much Felicitie and not rather after they had suffered here all Sorrowes whatsoever be reserued for those Ioyes which are in the World to come No a Man must make full account in this world to tast of Bitter and Sweet that so he may say as S. Austen Å¿ Aug. Confess l. 10 c. 28. saith Contendunt Laetitiae mea flendae cum laetandis Maroribus ex qua parte stet victoria nescio My Reioycings to be Sorrowed for contend for superiority with my Sorrowes to be Reioyced at and whether of which shall haue the Victory I as yet knowe not And thus are we come at length to the end of this Second Psalme A Psalme that besides the ordinary saying of it the First Day of the Moneth is appointed to bee road in the Church at Morning Prayer on Easter Day Easter Day is the Day of our Saviours Resurrection when triumphing over Death and Hell hee began that spirituall Kingdome of his that shall never haue end And this Psame as it was in Davids time a Prophesie thereof namely that such a thing was to be so is it now in these times a Gospell as it were of the same wherein David shewes no lesse that such a thing hath beene indeed then did the Evangelists themselues that wrote the Story For what is this whole Psalme but a Comment as it were on those words of the Evangelist S. Mathew t Mat. 28.18 All Power is giuen vnto me in Heaven and in Earth and on those of S. Marke u Marc. 16.16 He that beleeueth and is baptized shal be saued but he that beleeueth not shall be damned and on those of St Luke x Luc. 24 46. Thus is it written and thus it behooued Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day and on those of St Iohn y Ioh. 18.36 My Kingdome is not of this World My Kingdome is not from hence True it is that David here did in a literall Sence meane himselfe against him it was that the Heathen so furiously raged and the People imagined so vaine things howbeit David as he was herein a Figure of our Saviour CHRIST so did he meane no doubt in this very Psalme our Saviour CHRIST to Witnesse the Apostles of our Saviour who in the z Act. 4.21 Acts of the Apostles not only so tooke it but the Apostle St Paul also in his Epistle to the a Heb. 1.5.5.5 Hebrewes Our Saviour then thus meant and this Psalme being an Exhortation vnto all such as should liue in our Saviours Time that they should all of them take speciall
all meanes of good vtterance and explanation of his Words The like to these Phrases here of Smiting the Cheek-bone and Breaking the Teeth the Prophet hath in an other Psalme where he prayeth it may bee done to some other of his Enemies n Ps 58.6 Breake their Teeth O God in their Mouthes saith hee smite the Iaw-bones of the Lyons O Lord. And Iob to this purpose o Iob. 29.17 I brake the Iawes of the Wicked and pluckt the Spoile out of his Teeth Lastly concerning the dependance of these Words with the former they doe not p Aug. in hunc Ps saith S. Austen so depend as if the Lord therefore saued him in that he smote his Enemies on the Cheek-bone but the Prophet being saued before his Enemies were smitten long after And indeed it oftentimes comes to passe that many of Gods Servants being delivered from their Enemies they see or euer the time growes long how those their Enemies by vntimely comming to their End are smitten as it were on the Cheek-bone and their Teeth burst asunder disinabled euer after to bite againe There is to this purpose a memorable Story in the Ecclesiasticall History Narcissus a Bishop of Ierusalem was accused of a certaine Crime by three false Witnesses that had taken their Oathes against him The One wished that he might perish by FIRE if hee swore not true The Other that if he swore not true his BODY might pine away The Third that he might loose his EYES if so be he swore not true to It was not long after but all Three sped accordingly The First by reason of a litle Sparke of Fire that fell amisse had his whole House set on fire himselfe and Family burnt The Second had an incurable Disease whereby he pined and wasted away The Third to see both these Examples before his Eyes wept so abundantly as that he lost both his Eyes And this may be a Smiting of the Cheek-bone here meant and a Breaking of the Teeth namely when such publique and notorious Calamities as these doe light vpon our Adversaries that haue been malitiously bent against vs. One perhaps stands in the Pillory either for thine or some others cause an Other is sent vnto the Iayle a Third holds vp his Hand at Barre and is prosequuted so farre as that he takes his farewell of the World in some conspicuous and eminent Place suppose Tyburne or elsewhere For likely it is that when the Lord hath scourged thee sufficiently by thine Enemies he will as Parents doe Proijcere Sarmentum in Ignem cast the Rod into the Fire as r Aug. in Psal 73. speakes S Austen Thus Achitophel might be said to haue beene smitten on the Cheeke-bone when he haltred himselfe as he did and Absolon to haue his Teeth broken when slaughtered as he was by Ioab he verified the old Saying Mortui non mordent Absolon now could bite no more Or if our Enemies still liue and make no such publique ends for Reasons best knowen to Gods al-knowing Wisdome yet may they bee smitten on the Cheek bone and their Teeth broken an other way as Davids Enemies here might bee and so might David meane too That is God might so represse and hamper them in such sort as that they should haue no power at all to hurt though their Minds perhaps should be as malevolent as euer Benè quod Malitia non habet tantas vires quantos conatus Perierat Innocentia si semper Nequitiae iuncta esset Potentia totum quicquid cupit Calumnia praevaleret It is wel Å¿ Hieron Apol. advers Ruff. saith S. Ierom that Malice is not so powerfull as wrathfull and Innocency were vndone if Wickednesse should still haue power to doe what she list and Detraction should prevaile as farre as she desired And this is the more likely to be the meaning here in this place for that the Prophet elswhere explicating vnto vs what hee meaneth by Teeth I lye t Ps 57.5 saiâ—h he among the Children of Men whose teeth are Speares and Arrowes and their Toung a sharpe Sword And againe in an other u Ps 64.3 Place Which haue whet their Toung like a Sword and shoot out their Arrowes euen bitter Words So that Railing and Reviling being sometimes meant by Teeth the x Linguam ita ligatam habere vt inutire non aâ—â—eâ—nt Plutar. ex Pind. De cap ex Host Vâ—il curbing of their Toungs and putting them to silence that they dare not be so lavish as formerly they were euen this is a Smiting on the Cheeke bone and Breaking the Teeth of the Vngodly Verse 8. Salvation belongeth vnto the Lord and thy Blessing is vpon the People By SALVATION in this place outward Safety and Deliverance from outward Dangers and Enemies is meant And this belongs so peculiarly to God aboue that the Man is cursed y Ier. 17.5 saith Ieremy that trusteth in Man and maketh Flesh his arme And againe z Ier 3.22 Behold we come vnto thee for thou art the Lord our God Truly in vaine is Salvation hoped for from the Hills and from the multitude of Mountaines truly in the Lord our God is the Salvation of Israel Agreeable wherevnto is that of our Prophet in an other Psalme a Ps 36.7 Thou Lord shalt saue both Man and Beast It seemes the Prophet Ionas borrowed this Speech Saluation belongeth vnto the Lord of this our Prophet when in the last words of his Prayer he said b Ion. 2.9 SALVATION IS OF THE LORD as it is in the last Passage of this Psalme Much may bee said hereof but I will content my selfe with that which I finde so ready to my hand in a worthy Prelate of our Church concerning this Scripture Salvation is the Lords c My Lord of London vpon Jonas Lect. 29. saith hee is the Summe of the whole Discourse of Ionas his Prophecie the Morall of the History It is the Argument of the whole Prophecie and might haue concluded euery Chapter therein The Marriners might haue written vpon their Shippe insteed of Castor and Pollux or the like Device Salvation is the Lords The Ninivites in the next Chapter might haue written it on their Gates and whole Mankind whose Cause is pityed and pleaded by God against the hardnesse of Ionas his heart might in the last Chapter haue written it in the Palmes of their hands It is the Argument of both the Testaments the Staffe and Supportation of Heauen Earth They would both sinke and all their ioynts be severed if the Salvation of the Lord were not The Birds in the Aire sing no other Noat the Beasts of the Field giue no other voyce then Salus Iehovae Salvation is the Lords The Walls and Fortresses to our Countrey Gates to our Cities and Townes Barres to our Houses a surer Couer to our Heads then an Helmet of Sâ—eele a better Receit to our Bodies then the Confection of Apothecaries a better Receit to our Soules
Hebrew It is true it is not but is it not in the i 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 v. 5. Gracè Greeke or in the Septuagint Is it not in that from whence the Psalter is translated for the most part without reference to the Hebrew Were it a matter in controversie that the Greeke and the Hebrew were contrary no doubt but we should be tried by the Hebrew rather but seeing it is about such Additions as more copiously explicate the meaning of the Text what need so much adoe about Trifles and Nifles only Wherefore now to the Matter in hand Worldly Ioy when it is caused by reason of Wealth is commonly but briefe and of a short continuance How many Rich Men Yesterday l Aug. de Verb. Dom. Ser. 5. saith S. Austen and to Day but Poore how many haue gone Wealthy to Bed and by reason of Theeues that haue robd them in the Night haue awaked in the Morning as poore as poore might bee Our Age hath seene within the space of an m The lamentable burning of Teuerton Aº 1612. Houre by casualty of Fire and that at Mid-day to the Wealthiest in a City as poore as Iob. Vae tibi Ridenti quia mox post Gaudia Flebis is a Verse one n Goclen de Risu saith that comprehendeth in it all the Eight parts of Speech like as o Plutarch Platon Quaest Quaest 9. Homer in a Greeke Verse comprehended the like I shall not need now at this time to examine that in the Latine but sure I am it compriseth in it all Worldlings whatsoever our Saviour speaking to all when he spake vnto them in Prose p Luc. 6.25 Woe be to you that Laugh now for you shall Mourne But is the Ioy of the Godly such and shall it last no longer then so Nay but he saith to them Your Heart shall Reioice and your Ioy nee Man taketh that is shall be able to take from you q Ioh. 16.22 Verse 9. I will lay me dowâ—e in peace and take my rest for it is thou Lord only that makest me dwell in safty The Prophet in the former Psalme told vs what he had done I lâ—id me downe r Ps 3.5 saith he and slept and rose vp againe for the Lord sustained me he tells vs here what he would doe Both come to one reckoning both intimating vnto vs that for all our Nights past which wee haue slept heretofore for all we shall sleepe hereafter as long as our Liues shall last we haue beene wee are to be beholding to the Lord. Except the Lord keep the City Å¿ Ps 127.2 saith David the Watchman waketh but in vaine and except the Lord keep our Bodies at that time the Cities of our Soules the Sleepers sleep but in vaine nether How quickly are we gone in the turning of an Hand Truly as the Lord liueth and as thy Soule liueth t 1. Sam. 20.3 saith Dauid to Ionathan there is but a Step between me and Death Truly many times there is in this case not so much Let but our Spittle mistake the Passage which is easily done in the Night time by reason of the Rewme how irrecouerably may we be gone The u French Academ Part. 2. c. 16. The Epiglottis or little Tongue that closeth the amplitude of Larinx or the top of the Rough Artery as the Cover of a Pot how doth it still saue vs from dayly and deadly Dangers Howbeit the Dangers here meant are not so much in regard of such Infirmities as of the Cruelty of Enemies who would haue done by our Prophet as Abishai would haue done by King Saul when he found him fast asleep would but David haue said the word God x 1. Sam. 26.8 saith Abishai to Dauid hath deliuered thine Enemie into thine Hand now therefore let me smite him I pray thee with the Speare even to the Earth at once and I will not smite him the second time But I haue spoken on this Argument in the Psalme y Exposit on Ps 3.5 p. 70. before I now conclude with that of David in another of his Psalmes z Ps 124.1 If the Lord himselfe had not beene on our side now may Israel say if the Lord himselfe had not beene on our side when Men rose vp against vs they had swallowed vs vp quicke when they were so wrathfully displeased at vs. Yea the Waters had drowned vs and the Streame had gone ouer our Soules And thus much of this Fourth Psalme concerning which if any be desirous to haue more said of it then is I referre him to that which S Austen hath in his Booke of Confessions where speaking of the Psalmes in Generall and Particularly of this Fourth Psalme I would the Manichees a Aug. Confess l. 9. c. 4. saith hee had beene by me so I had not knowne of it when I had occasion to read the Psalms especially the Fourth Psalme and then he recites it wholy word by word and makes a Paraphrase therevpon as if it touched those Hâ—reticks as neere as neere might bee Nor can I here forget what Erasmus saith of this Psalme This one Psalme alone b Erasm Op. Tom. 5. in Ps 4. p. 246. saith he as short as it is would suffice vs for Salvation did we but Vnderstand what we read therein and what we Vnderstand did we but Practise in our Liues Indeed Practise is all in all For haue we in our Crosses Calamities that doe betide vs any recourse vnto the Lord No surely not a whit Little difference now adaies nay none at all betwixt Turkes and Infidels once wronged those that beare the Name of CHRISTIANS Euery Man now quits himselfe with like for like and is his owne Caruer Or if he be of a brauer Spirit then ordinary then is hee a c Gen. 4.23 Lamech streight or a d Examinat and true Relâ—t .. c. of the Murther of S â— IOHN TYNDAL Aº 1616. Bertram though he play the part of Mat. 27.5 Act. 1.18 Iudas too in murthering himselfe when he hath done We are like for all the World the Cat in the f Aesop Fab. Gr. Lat. Fab. 172. Fable as demure as may be till wee are crossed but then let a little Mouse runne by suppose some petty Iniury not worth the speaking of and all our demurenesse is quite dasht and streight wee prooue Cat after kinde Strange it is to consider vpon what slight occasions what Hurly burlies haue beene in the World Let me speake it in Michael Montaigne his Words g Nos plus grandes agitations ont des ressorts causes ridicles Poure la querelle d'vne charrette de peaux de mouton L' engraueure d' vn caâ—bet Les Essates de Michael Seigneur de Montaigne l. 3. c. 10 Our greatest Agitations haue strange Springs and ridiculous Causes What ruine did our late Duke of Burgundie run into for the Quarrel of a Cart load of
wrathfull Hand With how great circumspection n Wisd 12.21 saith the Wisdome of Solomon diddest thou Iudge thine owne Sonnes vnto whose Fathers thou hast sworne made Covenants of good Promises Therefore whereas thou dost Chasten vs thou scourgest our Enemies a Thousand times more to the intent that when we Iudge we should carefully thinke of thy Goodnesse and when we our selues are Iudged we should looke for Mercy But what Is there Indignation then and Displeasure in the Highest Is he subiect to Passions as we our selues are No the Lord is not as sinfull Man Fury is not in mee o Esay 27.4 saith he These Words then Displeasure Indignation are spoken here of God according to the Nature Property of Men who when they Punish seuerely vse to bee Furious in their Punishments and so the Lord is said to be This it was that Iob experimented which the Prophet now feared Thou huntest mee p Iob. 10.16 saith Iob as a fierce Lyon and againe thou shewest thy selfe marvellous vpon me Thou renuest thy Witnesses that is thy Plagues against me and increasest thine Indignation vpon mee Changes and Warre are against me Verse 2. Haue mercy vpon me O Lord for I am weak O Lord Heale me for my Bones are vexed From the Lords Iustice in the former Verse hee Appealeth in this Verse vnto his Mercy and of Mercy hath beene spoken q Expos on Ps 4.1 p. 88. before Nor is the Prophet at a wrong Doore in crauing these Almes forasmuch as the Lords Title is r 2. Cor. 1.3 The Father of Mercies and the God of all Comfort The Mercy here meant is a Commiseration over his Miseries a Tender Compassion towards himselfe that suffered Affliction which how well it agreeth to God aboue witnesse the Words of the Apostle S Paul Å¿ Heb. 4.15 For we haue not an High Priest which cannot bee touched with the feeling of our Infirmities but was in all Points Tempted like as we are yet without Sinne. His Conclusion there is Let vs therefore come boldly vnto the Throane of Grace that we may obtaine Mercy and finde Grace to help in time of Need. And again in the same t Heb. 2.18 Epistle In that he himselfe hath Suffered being Tempted he is able to succour them that are Tempted Now that here was the Time of Need wherein this Helpe of Grace was to be found witnes the Words of the Prophet here for that he was Weake and his Bones vexed which Weaknesse of his what it was though it be not here expressed yet may we gather by the Circumstances Infirmum non se vocat quia Aegrotat sed quia Deiectus ac Fractus sit He calls not himselfe Weake in this place by reason of any Sicknesse u Calvin in hunc Ps saith Calvin but for he was Deiected and Cast downe by reason of his Broken and Contrite Heart A Case which oftentimes happens to the dearest Children of God though sometimes they haue Boldnesse againe and Vndauntednesse of Courage against all Opposition whatsoeuer By the Vexing of his Bones here the Prophet perhaps meanes not his Bones indeed but Firmamentum Animae vel Fortitudinem as x Aug. in hunc Ps S. Austen interprets it the very Strength of his Soule suppose his Faith or Hope or so forth Praecipuum Robur suum as y Calvin in hunc Ps Calvin tearmeth it his Might his Strength Excellency of Dignity or Excellency of Power or if so bee hee meant his Bones indeed then as z Iansen in hunc loc Iansenius obserueth they are put for the Members of his Body by an vsuall Synecdoche among the Hebrewes Verse 3. My Soule is also sore troubled but Lord how long wilt thou punish me The Spirit of a Man a Prou. 18.14 saith Solomon will sustaine his Infirmity but a Wounded Spirit who can beare That is saith the Note in the Margent of our Former Translation The Mind can well beare the Infirmity of the Body but when the Spirit is Wounded that is the Mind it selfe it is a thing Vnsupportable If we Reply as did the Disciples of our Saviour in another Case when our Saviour had told them that it was easier for a Camell to goe through the Eye of a Needle then for a Rich man to enter into the Kingdome of God Who then can bee saued so who then can be sustained who can possibly bee supported The Answere must bee as our Saviours there was b Mat. 19.25 With Men it is impossible but not with God for with God all things are possible The Lord c 1. Sam. 2.6 saith Hannah killeth and maketh aliue he bringeth downe to the Graue bringeth vp Words which She had learnt no doubt of Moses the Prophet in his Booke of Deuteronomie d Deut. 32.39 Howbeit the Prophet here in the meane time is driuen to such Extremities that hee is faine to come to VSQVE QVO to How long he should be Punished It seemes he was long in Punishing then it was not with him as at other times e Ps 30 5. Heavines may endure for a Night but Ioy commeth in the Morning no but happely he endured many Nights many Mornings in this plight So the Prophet here in this place Vsque quo How long but especially in another f Ps 13.1 Psalme How long wilt thou forget me O Lord for ever How long wilt thou hide thy Face from me How long shall I seeke Counsaile in my Soule and be so vexed in my Heart how long shall mine Enemies triumph over me How long and How long and again How long and How long again the fourth time Indeed it is Long to vs but it is our Infirmitie which makes vs think that Long which we haue not in a Tryce Iust for all the world like those that are Sicke especially if in their Sicknesse they be Cholerick to How hasty g Aug. in Ps 36 saith S. Austen are sicke Men to haue their Wills Nothing seemes so long vnto them as while the Cup they call for is in fetching They who doe attend them make all the speed they can and all for he should be pleased yet the Sick Man When why When I say When will you bring it mee When shall I haue it They make as much hast as possible they may and yet that which they with so much hast endeauour to perfourme thy Sicknesse makes it seeme long vnto thee But it is a good Note and fit to this purpose which S. Austen hath vpon this Psalme h Aug. in hunc Ps That which is easily Cured is not greatly cared for the Difficulty of Healing makes vs take the greater heed when Health is once obtained And again i Aug. Ib. The Prophet is in this long Perplexitie that hereby hee might knowe how great the Punishment is that is prepared for those that will in no wise bee Converted when they that are Converted find so
Saphyra in the o Act. 5.9 Acts of the Apostles they all perished in a Moment and came to suddaine destruction And it will be but a poore Comfort to vs that our Griefes are hereby shortned for taken on the suddaine and consequently not repenting how doe we leap as is said out of the Frying-pan into the Fire and change our Temporall Paines in this World for Paines Eternall Witnesse our Saviour who so oftentimes in one Chapter vseth these Words p Marc. 9.44.46.48 Where their Worme dieth not and the Fire is not quenched that is where their WORME the Worme of Conscience shall bee euer gnawing vpon them and the FIRE that is Hell-Fire shall neuer but burne them Body and Soule and yet not consume them the true SALAMANDERS in this one respect of the World to come PSAL. VII Domine Deus meus 1 O Lord my God in thee haue I put my trust saue me from all them that persecute me and deliuer me 2 Least he deuoure my Soule like a Lion and teare it in peeces while there is none to helpe 3 O Lord my God if I haue done any such thing or if there be any Wickednesse in mine Hands 4 If I haue rewarded euill vnto them that dealt friendly with mee yea I haue deliuered him that without any cause is mine Enemy 5 Then let mine Enemy persequute my Soule and take me yea let him tread my Life downe vpon the Earth and lay mine Honour in the Dust 6 Stand vp O Lord in thy Wrath and lift vp thy selfe because of the Indignation of mine Enemies arise vp for mee in the Iudgement that thou hast commaunded 7 And so shall the Congregation of the People come about thee for their sakes therefore lift vp thy self againe 8 The Lord shall iudge the People giue sentence with me O Lord according to my Righteousnes and according to the Innocency that is in me 9 O let the Wickednesse of the Vngodly come to an end but guide thou the Iust 10 For the Righteous God tryeth the very Hearts and Reines 11 My helpe commeth of God which preserueth them that are true of Heart 12 God is a Righteous Iudge strong and patient and God is prouoked euery Day 13 If a Man will not turne he will whet his SWord he hath bent his Bow and made it ready 14 He hath prepared for him the Instruments of Death he ordaineth his Arrowes against the Persecutors 15 Behold he trauaileth with Mischief he hath conceiued Sorrow and brought forth Vngodlines 16 He hath grauen and digged vp a Pit and is fallen himselfe into the Destruction that hee made for Other 17 For his trauaile shall come vpon his owne Head and his Wickednes shall fall vpon his owne Pate 18 I will giue Thankes vnto the Lord according to his Righteousnes and will praise the Name of the Lord the most High THE ANALYSIS THis Seauenth Psalme whether it hath his reference to Saul or Semei or to any other of Sauls Kinred in the Greeke Title there is mentioned Cush the Beniamite as also in the Hebrew as it is partly framed by way of Petition vnto God so partly by way of Doctrine and Instruction vnto Men. Davids Prayer and Petition to God is First to haue his Assistance as it is in the First Verse least by reason of his Enemies he should vtterly miscarry as it is in the Second who falsly accused him as it is in the Third and Fourth Verses which Accusations could they haue prooued he refused no Punishment as it is in the Fift Verse Secondly Davids Prayer and Petition to God is that God himselfe would take the matter into his owne Hands and shewe in his behalfe his Seuerity and Maiesty as it is in the Sixt Verse and that for their sakes who were the Godly as it is in the Seuenth Verse Thirdly Davids Prayer and Petition to God is to justifie him that is to make his Innocency appeare vnto the World as it is in the Eight Verse that so the Vngodly may bee repressed as it is in the Ninth and the reason of this Petition is for the Lord knew David inside and outside euen his inmost Thoughts as it is in the Tenth and Eleauenth Verses Davids Doctrine and Instruction to Men is concerning Gods Iudgments as it is in the Twelfe Verse wherewith he punisheth the Wicked as it is in the Thirteenth the Fourteenth the Fifteenth the Sixteenth and Seauenteenth Verses and therefore is to be praised as it is in the Eighteenth Verse And thus much of the Analysis VErse 1. O Lord my God in thee haue I put my trust saue me from all them that persecute mee and deliuer me Of LORD hath beene spoken a Exposam Ps 3.1 p. 64 and Ps 6.1 p. 149. before as also of b Expos on Ps 3.7 p. 75. GOD and of the Pronoune My that is so vsually annexed therevnto Besides what it is to c Expos on Ps 4.5 p. 102. Trust in God and how he is said to d Expos on Ps 6.4 p. 155. Saue So that nothing remaineth in this Verse to be shewed but only how the Prophet here doth vse the Words Saue and Deliuer in respect of God only and yet how God doth honour his Instruments bee they Ministers or Magistrates or Christians in generall with the selfe same Titles Like as our Saviour Christ he is the e Ioh. 8.12 Light of the World and yet he calleth his f Mat 5.14 Apostles so he is the g Esay 53.7 Lamb and yet hee calleth them h Luc. 10 3. so hee is the i 1. Cor. 10.4 Rocke and yet he calleth Peter l Mat. 16.18 so hee is the m Mat. 14 33. Sonne of God we are the n Rom. 8.17 Children of God and if Children saith the Apostle then Heyres Heyres of God and ioint Heyres with Christ Verse 2. Least he devoure my Soule like a Lyon and teare it in peeces while there is none to helpe That Soule is oftentimes taken for Life and so in this place hath beene obserued o Expos on Ps 6 4. p. 154. before otherwise though Saul were a King yet being but of that Mettle that other Kings are made of the Prophet David was not ignorant that hee was not to p Mat. 10.28 feare them that killed the Body but are not able to kill the Soule But from Words to come to Matter Our Prophet spake in the Verse before of his Persecutors as of Many he aymeth in this Second Verse at onely one One indeed might be the Fountaine of all whether Saul or Semei or Cush but if Saul then his Subiects if Semei or Cush then their Complices were most likely to be against him The Wicked most commonly flock together in q Nos Numerus sumus Horat Epist l. 1. ad Lollium Troops the Godly are commonly alone like r 1. King 19.14 Elias or Å¿ 2. King 6.17 Elisaeus though indeed neuer lesse
the r Gal. 4.29 Galathians Thirdly they are such as haue their Liues contrary to Good Mens Liues and Conversations and of such S. Austen Å¿ Aug. de Verb. Apost Ser. 24. Hom. 10. Mali Persequuntur Bonos si non ferro lapidibus certè Vita atque Moribus The Bad doe persequute the Good though not by dint of Sword yet by their Liues and Behauiour and he vseth the selfe same Words once and againe Verse 15. Behold he travaileth with Mischiefe he hath conceiued Sorrow and brought forth Vngodlinesse Conception Trauaile and Birth the three proper Passions of the Mother of a Child So the t Vid. Expos in Ps 1.1 p. 7. Wicked in bringing forth their wicked Workes those Bratts of theirs First they Conceaue a Mischief then are they in Trauaile with it at the last they are Deliuered Thus u Titleman in hunc Ps Cain who seeing no respect had to his owne Offring but only to his Brothers was very Wroth as speakes the Scripture and his Countenance fell there was Conception and that was ENVY Then did he Walke and Talke with his Brother egged him on to the x Gen. 4.5 Field there was Travaile At last hee rose vp and Slew him there was Birth and the Brat was PARRICIDE Amnon he a 2. Sam. 13.4 loued Tamar his Brother Absolons Sister there was Conception that was LVST Amnon made himselfe sicke for Loue and all for his Sister should make him Cakes there was Travaile At length he forced her and lay with her and afterwards Despised her there was Birth and the Brats were Twins INCEST and VILLANY So Absolon when his Brother Amnon had deflowred his Sister Absolon spake vnto his Brother b 2. Sam. 13.22 saith the Scripture nether Good nor Bad there was Conception and that was MALICE After two years expyred hee invited Amnon to a Feast there was a long Travaile But when Amnons Heart was merry with Wine hee caused Amnon to bee Slaine there was MVRTHER in the Highest Degree for he endeauored as much as in him lay to kill him both Body and Soule I might instance in King c Vid. Titleman in hunc Ps Saule I might instance in the Divell himselfe he indeed was the RING LEADER and these Plotters these Devisers they followe their Fathers steps Verse 16. He hath grauen and digged vp a Pit and is fallen himselfe into the destruction that hee made for other Who so diggeth a Pit d Prov. 26.27 saith Solomon shall fall therein he that rolleth a Stone it will returne vpon him e Ovid. de Art l. 1. Neque enim Lex iustior vlla est Quà m Necis Artifices arte perire suae Our Prophet hath the like in another f Ps 9.15 Psalme The Heathen are suncke downe in the Pit that they made in the same Net which they hid privily is their foot taken The Lord is knowne to execute Iudgement the Vngodly is trapped in the workes of his own hands Examples are g Vid. Lauat in Proverb 26 27. Many in this kinde both in Sacred Writers and Prophane as of Pharao Saul Achitophel Absolon Perillus Maxentius and the like Especially Maxentius to whom h Euseb l. 1. c 9 de Vita Constant l. 1. c. 32. Eusebius applyeth most appositely this of our Prophet in this place I come to Examples of our owne Nation neerer home And here to let passe how Dr Poynet in his †A Tretise Printed 1556. with these Letters in the Forefront D.I.P.B.R.W. that is Dr Ioha Poynet Bishop of Roch. Winchester short Treatise of Politike Power and of the true Obedience which Subiects owe to Kings and other Civill Governours applyes it to the times wherein himselfe liued and to certaine of the Nobility in Q. Maryes daies how was it Verified in our Delving POWDER-TRAYTORS that took such paines to Dig as they did How fell they into that Destruction which they made for vs How sancke they downe into the same Pit How was their Foot taken in the selfe same Nâ—t How were they Trapped in the Works of their own Hands But of this hath beene spoken sufficiently by many specially by him who was then a most Worthy i My LORD of LOND His Sermon at Whitehall Novemb. 5. 1608. DEANE now as Worthy a BISHOP in the Church of England I will end this point with that of S. Chrysostom It is l Chrys in hunc Ps saith he a great Blessing and Clemency of God to bestowe such a Nature vpon such Wyles and Traps that the takers may be taken by them for by that meanes shall they leaue to be obnoxious to their Neighbours Verse 17. For his trauaile shall come vpon his owne Head and his Wickednes shall fall vpon his owne pate That which the Prophet by way of Metaphor deliuered in the former Verse vnder the Similitude of a Pit he deliuereth now in plaine tearmes without any Circum-quaques at al. m Terent. And. Act. 1. Sc. 2. Apertè ipsam rem modo locutus nihil circuitione vsus est Only we may obserue how contemptuously our Prophet here speakes of these Plotters Polititians They doubtlesse for their parts would not as we say haue giuen their Heads for the Washing They walked vp and downe like Pageants in the chiefest Cities of the Land they were the only Braue Men then being They wondred that those they liud withall tooke no more notice of their Worth yet for al this the Prophet styles them here but n In verticem ipsius The Crowne of the Head Graecè 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vnde Coriphaeus Hebraicè CHADCHOD PATES like as elsewhere speaking of the like he cals them HAIRY SCALPS God shall wound o Ps 68.21 saith the Prophet the Head of his Enemies and the Hairie Scalpe of such an one as goeth on still in his Wickednesse Verse 18. I will giue thanks vnto the Lord according to his Righteousnesse and will praise the name of the Lord the most High Of Thankesgiuing and Praise I haue spoken heretofore onely this may now be noted p Vid. Expos in Ps 5.12 p. 140 that the Thanks here mentioned were meant by all likelyhood to be Private and Publicke too Private at home in his own privacy and Publike in the Congregation And this I gather the rather for that he saith not here I doe giue but I will in the Future intimating that after he is made partaker of these Blessings hee will then institute Publique Thankesgiuing in the Church Not that the Lord hath need of any such Thankes at all but for it is profitable for our selues so to doe like as the Apostle in another case q Philip. 4.17 Not because I desire a gift but I desire fruit that may abound to your account But what is this that is here said According to his Righteousnesse I will giue thankes vnto the Lord according to his Righteousnesse That is r
Soule So the Prophet Ezechiel b Ezech. 18.20 The Soule that sinneth it shall dye It is taken for the Will and Affections where of the Soule is the Seat so is it said in holy Scripture that the Soule of Ionathan was c 1. Sam. 18.1 knit with the Soule of David But here in this place it is taken for Life and his Enemies now thought that they had him at such a lift that Safety it selfe could not haue saued him Witnesse their very Words There is no helpe for him in his God What not for David what not in God what not in his God Sathan himselfe durst neuer haue said it and shall his Miscreants speake that which Sathan dares not But why no Helpe why not for David why not in God why not in his God Why but for they saw forsooth themselues so Many they saw Davids Friends so few Davids Army in respect of them were like two litle d 1 Kings 20.27 Flocks of Kids they themselues filled a whole Countrey I told you in the Verse before that we might guesse how great an Army Absolon had when two and twenty Thousand of them were slaine An Army consisting of 30000 Foote and 4000 Horse is sufficient some e Gener. Hist of Spaine transl by Mr Grimst l. 28. p. 1057. say for the execution of any worthy Enterprize whatsoeuer Nay the Cardinall of Sion was wont to f Guicciard Hist l. 12. say that an Army of 40000 Swissers was a Power able to meet in the field with the whole residue of the World joyned in one strength By much likelyhood Absolons Army came not much short of the greater of these two Nombers What Davids was the Scripture tels vs not onely Iosephus eâ—formes vs in the g 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ioseph Antiq. l. 7. c. 9. Greek that it was but 4000 I say in the Greek for that the English Iosephus so much mistaketh readeth 40000. Now being but 4000 his Enimies so many calling to mind our Saviours h Luc. 14.31 Proportion of Ten to meet with Twenty Thousand how vnequall it is well may we thinke they had cause to be so confident and to think but meanly of David but to thinke as meanely of Davids God to and that he could not or would not helpe it was Blasphemy to say he could not and to say he would not Incredulity And was not all this verified in our SAVIOVR vpon the Crosse It is the Observation of Arnobius What say they here which the Iewes said not l Mat. 27.43 He trusted in God let him deliuer him now if he will haue him But what sayth David to all this was he of the same mind Nay for it followeth f Arnob. in hunc Ps Verse 3. But thou O Lord art my Defender thou art my Worship the Lifter vp of my Head Faith m Heb. 11.1 saith the Apostle St Paul is the Substance of things hoped for the Evidence of things not seen Loe here the force of Faith which whatsoeuer Men or Divels say to the contrary is fixed in God aboue and assureth it selfe of those things which are not as yet seene He had scarcely retyred himselfe in these his Meditations vnto God whenas immediatly he began to feele a secret working of the Spirit and an invisible presence of Gâ—d aboue David could not but remember how he had betaken himselfe to his heeles and how hee did flye from Absolon and yet hee here acknowledgeth God his Defender he was not ignorant how full of Infamy and Obloquie he was and yet hee here acknowledgeth God to be his Worship lastly hee lyes prostrate as it were and groueling on the Ground and yet he acknowledgeth God to be the Lifter vp of his Head that is as n Drus Observat l. 3. c. 5. Drusius obserues to make him goe with a glad and merry countenance opposite whereunto is that of God to Cain o Gen. 4.6 Cur concidit Vultus tutes why is thy Countenance fallen that is why goest thou so sad and heavily Thus whatsoeuer befell David he had by Faith a Salue and Remedy for the same Oh the excellency of Faith the invincible Strength Force thereof These bodily Eyes p Chrys in Gen. Hom. 10. saith Chrysostome that see things visible cannot possibly doe so much as the Eyes of the Spirit may For the Eyes of the Spirit are able to see the things that be not seene and that haue no being at all And againe in an other place The Eyes of the Mind q Chrys de Verb. Esaiae Vid. Dom. Hom. 3. saith he notwithstanding they find Walls or Mountaines or the Bodies of the Heauens themselues opposed against them yet they for all that will easily passe them through Vers 4. I did call vpon the Lord with my Voice and he heard me out of his holy Hill We saw in the Verse before the Excellency of Faith we may see in this Verse the Excellency of Prayer David was now at Deaths doore chased out of his owne Kingdome robd and bereft of his Royall Dignitie forsaken of his Frends and Familiars his Enemies rayling on him his own Sonne seeking his Life and yet he for all this giues himselfe vnto Prayer That time which others would wholy haue bestowed or in breathing out Slaughter and Revenge or in giuing the bridle to the Tongue in Cursing and wicked Speaking and Rayling on their Enemies hee spends in his Soliloquies vnto God and in his Meditatioâ—s vnto him accordingly as he saith in another of his r Ps 109.3 Psalmes For the Loue that I had vnto them loe they take now my contrary part but I giue my selfe vnto Prayer But it is here said hee did call vpon the Lord with his Voice intimating that his Prayer was not Mentall but Vocall and so indeed oftentimes ought Prayer to bee The eis Å¿ P. Martyr in 1. Sam. 1.12 saith Peter Martyr no need at all of Voice when we make our private Prayers vnto God in regard that God heareth and beholdeth our Hearts and Minds And yet sometimes saith he it may be vsed to very good purpose because it may fall out that we may languish in our Prayers our Minds may be wearied which the Voice againe will refresh and giue thereunto a new Vigour It followeth And he heard me out of his Holy Hill The Hill here meâ—nt was Mount Sion wherevpon was placed at that time the Arke of the Lord. The Story is t 2. Sam 15.25 recorded in the Second of Samuel where we shall read that whenas David flew from Absolon the Levites went with him and Abiathar the Priest and carried the Arke with them Howbeit David in many respects would none of all this and therefore caused them to returne againe to the City of Ierusalem where Sion was This that here then he saith in these words is to this effect that