still continued an order among them ever since the Creation and that notwithstanding all the changes that have happened in the mean while men may perceive that all things have been so well disposed that the world hath still been preserved in his right state and it is impossible that this orderlinesse which we see among them should come either of the Stars themselves or of any other moving cause than of the hand of that God which governeth all things by his wise Providence The Stars are for divers uses God hath set them for signs and seasons and for dayes and years Gen. 1.14 They are for a two-fold sign 1. Natural and ordinary they shew by their rising and setting and by their Eclipses heat and cold drought and moisture stormes and tempests fair and pleasant weather 2. They are sometimes signs extraordinary to shew Gods judgments and the great alterations that he will bring on the world Sometime they signifie extraordinary blessings Matth. 2.2 Of this nature was that Starre that appeared to the Wisemen when Christ was borne which they call Christs Star Quest Here it may be demanded How they came to know it to be Christs Star and pointed out the place of his Nativity and would at last conduct and direct them to him Answ 1. Some say there was an Apocriphal tradition fathered upon Seth which fore-told at the Nativity of the Messiah such a Starre should appear and such presents be offered unto him 2. Others say That these Magi being of the posterity of Balaam of whom we read Numb 22. Chap. 23 24. had their light from his prophecy Numb 24.17 There shall come a Starre out of Jacob c. whereupon say they twelve of them by turns watched continually upon the top of an high Mountain and prayed that God would reveal unto them that Star which they say he did that very night that Christ was born and upon the sight thereof they presently addressed themselves for their journey to Jerusalem 3. Others think that they had the hint thereof out of Dan. 2. or at least from some other Prophecies which were in those times translated into Greek and extant in many places among the Gentiles and this seemeth a probable conceit because they go to Jerusalem to be further instructed all do agree that it was none of the Stars made in the beginning Gen. 1.16 for these have numbers and names Isa 48.26 and doubtlesse most of them were well known to these Magi but it seemeth by their relation that this Star was never seen before as is also manifested by its perpendicular motion moving from North to South contrary to the motion of other Stars that move from East to West else when they went from Jerusalem it could not have directly pointed out the house at Bethlehem where the holy Child Jesus and his Mother lay for Bethlehem standeth thirty miles south from Jerusalem as the Learned do observe Augustine saith It was a new Star created by God to point out the place of his Sons Birth Haec stella magnifica Coeli lingua August calling this Star the wonderfull tongue of Heaven 4. Others say It was an Angel appearing not in the nature but form fashion and figure of a Starre and therefore called so And why might not an Angel as well appear to these Wise men of Persia as to the shepherds of Bethlehem And why might they not as well be taught from Heaven how to set forth and undertake this journey as they are which way to return home again when they have dispatched and finished it Mat. 2.12 5. Nay some go further and say that it was the holy Ghost himself who as he appeared in the likenesse of a Dove at Christ's Baptism Luke 3. so say they He appeared in the likenesse of a Starre at his Birth In a word as the cloudy and fiery pillar went before the Israelites and left them not till it brought them to Canaan the promised Land so this Star Angel or Meteor or whatsoever it were in the likenesse of a Star left not these men till it brought them to Christ the promised Lord. Magnum aliquod in parvo latere August Serm. 7. de Epith. For as Austin tels us This certainly told them that no mean guest lay in that poor house at Bethlehem but one that was no lesse than a King and farre greater than any mortal man 2. As the Stars are for signs so likewise they are for seasons they serve to give times to every imployment as to the Physician Though the motion of the stars through the Aequator were much more simple yet they move by an oblique circle to the end the benefit of their benign aspects might be communicated to-more parts of the earth Ex plan Ver. relig to the Mariner to the Husbandman shewing him when to set sow plant c. to the Mathematician They serve for the bringing about the Spring the Summer the Harvest and Winter Genes 8.22 Arcturus riseth in September and beginneth Autumn Orion ariseth in December and beginneth Winter and bringeth rain Pleiades arise in the Spring the Dog-star and others arise in the Summer And although the Starres have their seasons to mount above us and likewise to go down again out of our sight yet doth it not happen at all adventure but by the Providence of God so disposing it and though he hath given them their influences from Heaven yet do they not any thing of their own peculiar motion but God hath still the guiding and overruling of them Tantum officium habent significandi res futuras nòn autèm vim fatandi ac necessitatem inferendi Zanch. de luminar Coeli 3. The Starres are for dayes and years they serve for the dividing the day from the night and the light from the darknesse the Sunne being the fountain of light measureth the dayes by four and twenty hours and the years by returning from one point to the end of the other They serve likewise for political observations as the computation of dayes weeks moneths and years and the celebration of Festivals among the Jews they signifie things to come but predictions from the Stars and the discovering of secrets are false and uncertain CHAP. XI Of Gods Providence to be seen in the Winds and in the blowing of them An Objection answered Plin. Nat Hist lib. 2. cap. 8. IN the next place I shall shew how God's Providence is much to be seen in the Air which filleth up this vast and empty place which we see above us and also filleth those crannies in the Earth which are not to be seen by us yea the very fishes of the Sea though we perceive not their breathing do die without it the Air invironeth the whole Earth and all living Creatures receive the benefit of it it is a vital element heavier than fire lighter than Earth and Water the cause of sounds and breathing capable of heat cold drinesse and moisture having no light of
never shaken with an earthquake for the nature of the Center is to be immoveable He hath laid the foundations of the Earth that it should not be removed for ever Psal 104.5 or he hath setled it upon its bases Thou hast established the Earth and it abideth they continue this day that is the Heavens and the Earth according to thine Ordinance Psalm 119.90 91. 2. Now to speak more particularly Chrysost in Genes Homil. 12. Super maria flumina significat Juxta ut Psal 137.1 Super flumina Babylonis illic sedimus Cassiodor Lyranus the Psalmist tells us The Earth is the Lords with the fullness thereof the woâ—ld and they that dwell therein If you ask quo jure by what right The Prophet answereth or giveth a reason of it He hath founded it upon the Seas and established it upon the flouds Psal 24.1 2. What finite understanding saith Chrysostome can comprehend this When men lay a foundation they dig deep and if they meet with water in their way they go yet deeper till they see the spring dried up else they will lay no foundation for a foundation upon water makes a building unstable and tottering it cannot be a fixt dwelling it is against the nature of water to bear up so heavy a body it is against the nature of the earth to have its basis upon such a foundation Why dost thou wonder O man saith the same Father for into what creature soever thou wilt pry into thou wilt find an unlimited and boundlesse power much more then in bearing up this massie body The Apostle Peter tells us That the Earth standeth in the water and out of the water and yet remaineth firm and fixed 2 Peter 3.5 1. In the water not floating and swimming in the water Ut intelligatur egere terram ad firmam quandam compactionem permixtione aquae sine qua in pulveres redigeretur sicut absque sanguinis per venas sparsi humore corpus exaresceret ac dissolvetur Lorinter Densior his tellus elementaque grandia traxit Et pressa est gravitate sui circumfluus humor Ovid. Metam 1. Ultima possedit solidumque coercuit orbem Terra pilae similis nullo fulcimine nixa Aere sublimi tam grave pendet onus Cum te pendenti reputas insistere terrae Nonne vel hìnc clarè conspicis esse Deum Heidfield Sphynx Philos cap. 7. de Terra as some have dreamed even as a Ship doth in the Sea which opinion Thales Milesius held as Aristotle sheweth hence they collected That there were none that lived in another Hemisphere but the Earth standeth in the waters and is incompassed round about with the Seas and interlaced with abundance of Rivers as so many veins running thorow it 2. Out of the water a great part of it being dry Land which remaineth setled though it be contrary to the natural place and situation of the earth and water for the natural part of the Earth is to be lowest of all the Elements as it is the heaviest of all and the water to encompasse the Earth and to cover the Earth every where not to leave one inch of dry ground as the Air doth to this day close the whole Earth and water and compasse both the first and second dayes of the Creation the Earth was all covered with the water but the third day the Lord commanded the waters to retire and the dry Land to appear and the Earth to be made bare for the use of those creatures the Lord would create and plant upon it Now here was a mighty work of God and that the Earth remaineth still standing in the water and out of the water is a clear argument of God's Providence in governing the world 'T was a great work that God did in Noah's dayes in drowning the Earth with a floud yet may we not imagine it to be a greater work of God to cause the waters to retire and uncover the Earth Vain was the fancy of Archimedes who offered to move the whole earth if he had a place besides it to stand upon God doth a greater work every day in holding back the water from drowning the Earth than he did once in drowning it with water for it is the natural course of waters still to be flowing This daily work of God in keeping the waters from covering the Earth is by a strong hand keeping the waters under lock and key abridging them of their natural liberty keeping the water within its bounds so that the Earth standeth as it did in the water yet out of the water Now if the stability of the Earth be an argument of God's Providence for the pillars of the Earth are nothing else but the strength and power of God upholding and preserving it then may we assure our selves of the stability and firm foundation of the Church and all the true members thereof The righteous are an everlasting foundation they shall stand fast like Mount Sion which cannot be removed Psal 125.1 For 1. The world is established for a time by the power of that God that governeth the world by his Providence but Mount Zion the Church abideth for ever 2. Terra ipsa propriè per se stat fundata est super nihilum nec aliae columnae ejus quas confirmavit Deus quà m vis ac potentia Dei eam continens conservansque Damascen Solius Christi est haec victoria hic tuti consistemus Ferus in Mat. God establisheth the world for a time because he seeth his own workmanship in it but he will uphold his Church for ever because he seeth his own Image in it 3. The world shall be so farre from ruining the Church that the Church shall be glorious when the world shall be destroyed and turned into ashes 4. The Earth of it self hangs upon nothing but the Church is built upon the Rock Jesus Christ therefore the gates of Hell all infernal power and policy shall not prevail against it The foundation of the world is no better at the best than the foundation of the house that is built upon the sand for as the sand is slippery and will not be made hold together cannot be consolidated so are all foundations beside Christ as Hierome saith between the houses built upon the sand and the Rock there can be no solid enduring mixture no more than there could be in the feet of iron and clay in the feet of Nebuchadnezzar's Image 5. In the Earth's establishment the wisdom and power of God are manifested but we have the Word Promise and Oath of God for the establishment of the Church and therein also both his Wisdome Power and Mercy doe appear Therefore the Church shall stand when the world shall fall When we see violent storms and tempests we do not presently fear the dissolution of the world and why should the violent concussions that have been for many years past among us make us to fear the Churches dissolution which hath a
it self but from the fire distinguished into three Regions viz. the upper the middle and the lower The Air is the Kingdome of the winds there the winds have their circuit but where their treasure is we cannot understand God bringeth the wind out of his treasuries when he pleaseth Psal 136.7 and he maketh use of the holy Angels as his treasurers in raising directing and withholding the winds as may be collected from Revel 7. Hagius de Ventis The Wind is a hot and dry exhalation elevated by the Sunne-beams to the middle region of the Air by reason of the coldnesse whereof it is driven downwards again and repelled by the Clouds unto the lowest region which it fanneth up and down lest the Air should be corrupted by too much stillnesse Weems Natural and moral observat The Wind is an exhalation more grosse than the pure and subtil Air but more subtil than the gross exhalations that come out of the Earth saith a Learned man therefore the Wind for the subtilty of it Ventus quòd sit vehemens violentus Frytsch de metaeoris ascendeth upwards but the weight of it carrieth it down from the pure and clear Region of the Air yet can it not descend to the Earth by reason of the thick vapours which arise out of the Earth continually Great is the force and power of the Winds that they throw down houses and pluck up Trees by the roots The same Wind which now shaketh the leaf and maketh the feather to move being charged against a Mountain would have turned it up from the foundation and the same strength that bloweth up the dust Dearing in Heb. 1. Lect. 2. Ventus est exhalatio five flatus aerem valdè agitans commovens Keckerm Syst Physic l. 6. c. 7. if it came against the Earth would shake the bottome of it saith a judicious Divine The Wind sometimes troubleth Heaven and Earth and disturbeth the Sea They that are cunning in the Sea-card know there are four cardinal or chief Winds these are spoken of Ezek. 37.9 Mat. 24.31 and that these have their subordinate collateral side-winds belonging to each of them in their several quarters they say seven apiece and so there be thirty two in all Some of them we have specified Acts 27. in the Description of the Tempest that befell St Paul and his companions in their Sea journey towards Rome Now the Lord raiseth the Winds and sendeth them forth at his pleasure He walketh upon the wings of the wind Psal 104.3 A wind came from the Lord and brought an innumerable company of Quails into the tents of the Israelites Numb 11.31 Jonah 1.4 5. So the Lord sent out a great wind into the Sea so that the Ship wherein Jonah was was like to be broken And Jonah 4.8 it is said That after the worm had smitten Jonahs gourd that when the Sunne arose God prepared a vehement Eastwind and the Sunne beat on the head of Jonah that he fainted c. Object But it may be said That the Eastwind is commonly rough and boisterous as appeareth Exod. 14.21 where it is said That the Lord by a strong Eastwind drove back the red Sea and made it to forsake his wonted chanel to yeeld passage to his people out of Aegypt So it is said The Lord breaketh the ships of Tarshish with an Eastwind Psal 48.7 one might think that this Eastwind which God prepared against Jonah should have cooled the Air or abated and asswaged the heat of the Sunne Resp This Wind was not Coecias the North-east wind which is indeed boisterous and bloweth very cold but Subsolanus the South-east wind which is a hot and dry wind therefore Tremellius tells us Tremel ad loc it is called Eurus silens a quiet or silent East-wind to distinguish it from the other and so it is in the Margin of our Bibles of the last Translation If it be further urged that the Text saith It was a vehement East-wind I answer again That that might be as well in regard of the ferventnesse and soultry heat thereof Ventus calidus urens Hieron ad loc apud Lyram as of the highnesse and loudnesse thereof or noise it made and so Hierom tells us it was a hot and burning wind as Lyra noteth such a wind as did not cool the Air but the more warm it being as a waggon or chariot to carry the heat of the Sunne whereupon it attended the more forcibly forth-right to the object and that the East-wind blasteth besides our daily experience the Scriptures testifie unto us Gen. 41.6 where it is said that Pharaoh in his dream saw seven thin ears of corn blasted with the East-wind Ezek. 19.12 Hos 13.15 Hence we learn that not Aeolus or Neptune Jupiter or Mars or any of the Idols and feigned gods of the Heathen but Jehovah Elohim the Lord God of Israel he that made Heaven and Earth Sea and all things he stirreth up winds Exod 10.13 19. storms and tempests at his pleasure Psal 29.3 Exod. 9.23 God caused an East-wind to bring Locusts upon the Land of Aegypt and a West-wind to remove them He maketh the South-wind to bring heat and the North-wind to purge the Air and drive away rain Winds come not by chance or Fortune nor altogether from natural causes howbeit God worketh by them he is the great Lord Treasurer of the winds he sendeth them forth or shutteth them up at his pleasure Nay Witches and Wizards and the Devil himself cannot raise a storm but by leave as appeareth Job 1. The wind and storms have a Law by which they move there is not a storm so impetuous but it is directed by a Law Psal 148.7 8. Why doth the Psalmist call forth those creatures to praise the Lord but to teach men that they do observe the Law that their great King and Lawgiver hath given them to observe He hath made a Decree which shall not passe or shall not be transgressed as in the original Fire hail snow and vapours and stormy winds are said to fulfill his Word the wind and the Sea were calm at our Saviours command when he said Peace and be still insomuch as the Mariners cried out What manner of man is this that even the wind and the sea obey him Mark 4.39 41. CHAP. XII Gods Providence to the Birds of the Air and in particular to the young Ravens the Ostriches young ones and the little Sparrows I Shall now treat of God's Providence with relation to the Birds of the Air Beza Ver. Transl Genev. in Mat. 6.26 which Beza and the old translation read volucres or volatilia Coeli so doth the Geneva translation also on Mat. 6. Gods providing for the Fowls is propounded as an argument to disswade from carking cares Behold the fowls of the Air saith our Saviour for they sow not neither do they reap nor gather into barns yet your heavenly Father feedeth them Luke mentioneth