of a Chaos and the World out of a confused and undisgested Lump These are the draughts of a powerfull God which were victorious over the Nothing These are the conquering flames of his Love who hath carryed his rayes and Torch even into the Abysses of an eternall Negation The World then had not its Origination in the Water as Thales supposed The Errors of some Philosophers nor was the impression of the Universe framed in the Air as Anaximines affirmed Heraclitus was extravagant when he taught that fire was the Source and Origin of Nature And Democritus was a meer scoffer and fitter to be laughed at himself than to laugh at others when he said that the World was formed by an accidentall concourse and mixture of invisible Atoms No no the beginning of beginnings must be without beginning But the Heavens Air Fire Earth and Water the World and Atoms cannot be from themselves and without a Producer therefore grant that God alone is the Fountain Cause and Origin of the Universe Ah then let the Heavens and all the Elements Câ—nâ—ort of Creatures Let the Sun and Stars let the Plants and Herbs let the Birds and Fishes for evermore praise and bless the powerfull hand of the increated Love who formed them all out of Nothing Let the World never have any propension instinct or inclination but to become plyable to the impulses of its Author Let the Morning and Evening Stars imitate him conveying every where their Influences and Clarities Let Rain be the Pledge of his favours and Dew the Symbol of his Graces Let Thunder and Lightning be the Heraulds of his Justice and the Ministers of his Indignation Let the gentle Western Winds awaken our hearts to listen to his most holy inspirations Let his Threats be heard amongst Storms and Waves Briefly let the World and totall Nature be an Altar whereon vows and Sacrifices may be continually offered to his Law and let the Feast of the six dayes during which God created the Universe be for ever celebrated But what O Lord who is it that hath hitherto spoken From whence came this Voice And where is the Person that can present Sacrifices unto thee The World hath Altars it hath Water Fire Wood and Victims But where is the Priest Man necessary for the world There wants a Man upon the Earth and without a Man all thy works seem not sufficiently perfect Yes my God this man who is to be the Image of thy Essence the Accomplisher of thy Commands and thy Lieutenant upon Earth well deserves the last touches of thy hand to the end that after his Creation thou mayst continue in the repose of thy most holy Entertainments CHAP. III. The Creation of Adam IT is almost incredible how bold and eloquent men are when it concerns their own praises Eloquence of self love To hear them speak would not a man swear all the Members of their bodies are converted into Tongues to publish without blushing the advantages of their Nature above what ever the rest of the World can boast of rarest and most beautifull The Earth say they is but an Aboad or rather a High-way which shal be their Pilgrimage Excellent conceptions of divers authors The Air and Sea are but their Harbingers and Hostes Lightnings and Celestiall flames shape but a picture even gross enough in which the features of their minds appear as it were rough drawn And Heaven it self is but the Haven and shoar which after the course of some months and years is to receive them all Man according to their opinion is the fairest piece of the Universe the All of All Anasta 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and as it were the Soul of this world Anastasius in his Homily of Mans creation observes some lines of honour and veneration in his Fabrick Clemens Alexandrinus compares him to the Thessalian Centaur by reason of the mixture of the Soul with the Body Clem. Alex. 116 4. Strom. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Lactant. lib. 7. cap. 5. And Lactantius Firmianus speaking of the composition of man saith That he is a work which may rather beget admiration than words Trismegistus cals him the Interpreter of the Gods Pythagoras Pythagoras looks upon him as the Measure of all things in whom are found the Longitudes Latitudes Altitudes and Profundities of all Beings Plato 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Plato crys out that he is the Miracle of all visible Miracles Theophrastus considers him as the Copy of the Universe Synesius Synesius cals him the Horizon of creatures And Zoroaster as one transported scarce finding words to express him concludes at last That man is the Portraict of an attempting and daring Spirit Are not these very excellent terms and expressions which sufficiently evidence that albeit those Learned Authors did speak of Man in generall yet all of them were interessed therein as to their own particular But what ever they have said it is certain that of all the Encomions can be given to Man the most Noble the most August the most transcendent and high is that Man is the Image of God the Character of his Substance the most faithfull Copy of his Divinity I know he hath a Being common with Stones and Marble a Life common with Plants a Sense with Beasts and an Understanding which equals him with the Angels but he excels them in this that he was created from Gods Idea as the most lively and sensible representation of his Maker God deliberates upon the enterprise of this work Faciamus hominem ad imaginem similitudinem nostram Gen. 1. v. 16. and the Councell is held in the Conclave of the most holy Trinitie the three Persons are assembled Power Wisdom and Love take their seats neer the Paradise of Eden But let us not deceive our selves is it not peradventure Gods intention to recall into favour those proud and Rebellious Spirits whom a shamefull revolt hath most justly precipitated from Heaven to Earth where they wander as Exiles and reprobates At least would it not satisfy him to banish them from Heaven and to grant them the World for a Paradise after so long and funestous a Captivity Nothing less the Act is past the Angels are lost without Redemption and the punishment their Insolence hath merited will persue them without relaxation term or pitty Et creavit Deus hominem ad imaginem similitudinem Dei creavit illum Gen. 1. v. 27. It is concerning Man his Creation that the decree is past It is on him God reflecteth and it is he who must be substituted in the place of Angels It is this Act which makes the World behold Gods Master-piece the object of his Favours and the most glorious term of his Power O Sun stop here thy course be witness of his birth who hath bin the cause and end of thine It was as I conceive about high Noon when the Earth was resplendent with Light The time of
whole World an Ocean without shoars without bottom without Haven and without limit I represent unto my self the liquid firmament all-inflamed with his wrath and indignation who intends to alter the whole State of Nature I firmly believe that amidst this storm Thunder upon Thunder and a thousand Claps were heard which served to arm the Heavens the Planets and the Clouds It is probable that the Night and the Winds were mixed together and I cannot doubt but that Hell and Earth did also conspire to increase the horror of so dismall and universall a Punishment Mean while where are you the unhappy Inhabitants of the City of Enos Gyants of what use is your Mass of Body and those vast dimensions which have only serv'd to make you fall from a higher pitch and rendred your ruin more remarkable Poor Heirs of Cain Children of Men Effeminate Spirits wanton Souls where are you The Heavens fall on your Heads the Air stifles you the Water swallows you up and the Earth vanisheth away Fathers Mothers Children Husbands and VVives Brothers and Sisters Kindred Friends where are you and where are your Monsters and Prodigies of Allyance I behold I behold your Towers buryed under the VVaves I hear your cryes your sighs and your voices notwithstanding the Tempest In fine your floating Bodies and your dying Souls acknowledge but too late the Excess of your Sins Ah Sin Sin these are thy Spoyls and this is the Tempest thou hast raised Sin do'st thou discern the State into which thou hast reduc'd the World the Air the Earth and the Heavens Sin do'st thou at lâ—st acknowledge that thou art the Origin of this Disaster and of all these Calamities O God! Factúmque est diluvium quadragenta diebus super terram mul iplicatae sunt aquae chvave unt arcam in subleme à terra Gen. 7. v. 17. Vehementer enim inundaverunt amâ—ia repleverunt in superfiâ—e terrae porrò arca fercbatur super aquas Gen. 7. v. 18. Et aquae praevaluerunt nimis super terram opertique sunt omnes montes excelsi sub universo Caelo Gen. 7. v. 19. Is it possible that those Fires and Thunders were to punish Sin Is it possible that so many Streams so many Rivers and so many Seas are needfull to Efface his Image Must all the Elements weep forty Dayes and as many Nights And in fine must all Nature be in Mourning or rather in Triumph Since every where she erects Trophies and Mountains of Water to swallow up the most shamefull and most Insolent of all Vices I mean that which a Chast and Christian Mouth dares scarcely Name During this Triumph and Mourning Noah stears his Vessell his Family and Troops upon the Billows This holy man enjoyes a Calm and sayles securely over these Storms and Billows He beholds the Day in the midst of Might And the Tempest which sinks the whole world even as low as Hell lifteth him up even as high as the Heavens Range then O Noah Range upon the waters of the Deluge and expect the day and moments when God shall land thee in the Haven And thou O Ark that carryest the world and its Spoyls behold how the Sea makes a halt at thy approach and keeps back its Suspended waves as it were out of complacency and an orderly respect Holy house of God Fortunate Sanctuary of all mankind float on without oares or sayles float on for it is the Spirit of God and the hand of the justest of men which directs and guides thee In effect scarce were the Forty dayes expired Recordatus autem Dâ—us Noë cunctorumque animantium omnium jumentorum quae crant cum co in area adduxit spiritum super terram imminutae sunt aquae Gen. 8. v. 1. Et clausi sunt sontes abyssi et caâ—aroctae caeli et probibitae sunt pluviae decaelo Gen. 8. v. 2. Reversaeque sunt aquae de terra euâ—â—es redeuntes caeperunt minui Gen 8. v. 3. Requieviâ—que aâ—ca mense scptimo vigesimo septimo die mensis supermontes Armeniae Geâ— 8. v. 4. At vero aquae ibant decrescebant usque ad decimum mensem Decimo enim mense aparuerunt cacumina montium Gen. 8. v. 5. Cumque transissent quadraginta dies aperiens Neë fenestram arca quam fecerat dimisit corvum Gen. 8. v. 6. Qui egredichatur non revertebatur donec siccarentar â—quae super terram Gen. 8. v. 7. â—â—nisit quâ—que columbam post cumâ—â— videyet si sam cessassent aquae super faciem terrae Gen. 8. v. 8. when in an Instant the Heavens dryed up their sources the air appeared most serene and the great drops of Rain were turned into Pearls and dew as it were to give notice of the return of the Sun and Morning which should begin to spread every where a Calm together with the Day In a word God remembred the hower and Moment which he had promised unto Noah to restrain and stop all his Torrents The Earth at the same time impatient of bearing a burthen which was not naturall to her rose up on all sides and in her emotion forc'd the waters to make a thousand Fluxes and refluxes which sufficiently testified the violence of these two Elements At length after seaven Monthes contest and conflict this wandring Iland which carried Noah and his family landed upon the Mountaines of Armenia expecting till the tenth Moneth when the other Hils shew'd their heads and tops Forty dayes after which this most Holy and wise Pilot who had almost spent a whole year in the pleasing obscurites of his prison still victorious and trumphant resolv'd at last to open its window to give flight and passage to a Crow which indeed went forth but never returned For he entertained himself on Stincking Carkases and Carrion finding there his Nourishment and repose There needed then a purer and more faithfull Messenger Noah chose a Dove a mongst all the Birdes that she might discover whether the waters were quite retired But this innocent Creature and amiable Spye finding no â—resting place clean enough returned presently into the Ark and advertis'd Noah that the waters of the Deluge were not wholely decreased Quae euÌ„ non invenisset ubi requiesceret pes ejus reversa est ad eum in arcam aquae enim erant super universam terram extenditque manum apprehensam intulit in arcam Gen. 8. v. 9. Expectatis autem ultra septem diebus aliis ruâ—sum dimisit columbam ex arca Gen. 8. v. 10. At illa venit ad eum ad vesperam portans ramum olivae virentibus foliis in ore suo Intellexit ergo Noë quod cessassent aquae super terram Gen. 8. v. 11. Expectavitque nihilominus septem alios dies emisit columham quae non est reversa ultra ad eum Gen. 8. v. 12. It was this newes that obliged Noah to expect yet the space of Seaven dayes after which he took the Dove
malice of men might never be able to efface it and that on the contrary he might be oblig'd never to make war against them when he should see between him and the World those illustrious caracters of Love and those magnificent Articles of Truce pardon and peace Moreover this sign which appeared in the heavens was but a Bow without Arrowes It was a resplendent Arch and a Circle beset with Diamonds Emeraulds and Rubies It was a chain of Gold Silver and Pearls It was a Scarf interwoven with the most lively splendors and the most sensible lights of the Sun and Day It was the Portraict of Peace which appeared under feign'd and imaginary colours or to expresse in a word all that can be thought and said when we cast our Eyes on this wonder of the Aire It was the Diadem which St. John discover'd on the head of Almighty God and which therefore was to be for all eternity the Crown of a God who can never change but will everlastingly conserve this Garland and Diadem of peace O God of peace goodness and Love Great God who art alwayes loving and canst never be loved enough Ah! let not the World be so bold as to take up Armes to disturb thy peace Lord let all hearts love thee and let them be tributaries to thy affections O God of Heaven all Good all Just all Powerfull powre down no more Storms and Abysses on our heads Yea my God drown us in those amorous billowes that if the World must perish at last let it be in the Torrents and flames of thy holy Love CHAP. XII The unhappy effects of Wine IT is true that Men were never more at Peace the Earth never more pure and Heaven never powred down so many favours as it shed upon the Earth and the Children of Noah Coepitque Noë vir agricola exercere terram plantavit vineam Gen. 9. v. 20. Bibensque vinum inebrâ—atus est nudatus in tabernaculo suo Gen. 9. v. 21. Quod cùm vidisset Cham Pater Chanaan verenda scilicet Patris esse nudata nuntiavit duobus Fratribus suis for as Gen. 9. v. 22. Nevertheless in the mid'st of Pleasure Peace Concord Love Joy and all sorts of Benedictions this poor Man whom all the Waters of the World and of the Deluge could not vanquish was drown'd at last in a Glass of Wine O God! what scandall what shame what disquiet and what disorder in the family of Noah This good old Man fell cold and stiff on the ground and it is not known whether he be dead or alive His Children run presently to help him but as if the fume of the Wine which their Father had taken too inconsiderately had dazel'd and blinded the youngest of them Unnaturall Impudence instead of casting ashes and water on the flaming Coals which consum'd his poor Father At verò Sem Japheth Pallium imposuerunt humeris suis incedentes retrorsum operuerunt verenda Patris sui faciesque eorum aversae erant Patris visilia non viderunt Gen. 9. v. 23. he made a bon fire of Mirth and scorn about his Nakedness and with an unparalleld Impudence discover'd to the Eyes of all his Brethren what Nature hath concealed His Brothers nevertheless were more respectfull and prudent than himself for immediatly Piety cast veyls over their Eyes and Love though Blind found out Artifices to cover an Object which was neither decent nor lawfull to behold Ingenious respect It was in recompence of these chast duties Evigilans autem Noë ex vino cùm didicisset quae fecerat â—i filius suus minor ait Maledictus Chanaan servus servorum erit Fratribus suis Gen. 9. v. 24. Dixitque benedictus Dominus Dous Sem sit Chanaan servâ—s ejâ—s Gen. 9. v. 26. that Noah being returned out of that Abyss into which Wine had precipitated him open'd the Eyes of his Body and Soul and afterwards perceiving the unnaturall Impudence of Cham he darted forth the Thunder of his Malediction against his Son Chanaan beseeching likewise God to bless and fill Sem Japhet and all their Progeny with his Graces It was from their Posterity all the Generations of the World are descended Dilatat Deus Japbet c. Gen. 9. v. 27. and they were the Persons who laid the foundation of Sodome Ninivie Salem and Gomorrha as also of so many other famous Cities from whence afterwards Arts Republicks Policies Governments and all the Empires of the Universe took their Rise CHAP. XIII The Tower of Babel AT that time though Hearts were divided Erat autem terra labii unius sermonum eorundem Gen. 11. v. 1. and all opinions different yet there was but one Mouth but one Interpreter of Souls and one common manner of Speech Cumque proficiscerentur de oriente invenerunt campum in terra Sennaar habitaverunt in eo Gen. 11. v. 2. But as it is very difficult for the Tongue long to bely the Heart So it hapned not long after that the Inhabitants of the Earth feeling the Justice of their own Consciences which call'd upon that of God and threatned them with the comming of another Deluge resolv'd to build a Tower Et dixerunt Venite sactamus nobis Turrem cujus cusmen pertiagat ad Caelum celebremus nomen antequam dividamur in universas terrae Gen. 11. v. 4. and raise the top of it even as high as the Clouds The chief Undertaker of this famous Structure was the Gyant Nembrod Granchild to that Reprobate Cham who discovered his Fathers shame This Architect was of a proud Nature and of a Capricious humour believing that his enterprises and designs were to be executed without the least opposition In effect never was any work undertaken Descendit autem Dominus ut videret civitatem Turrim quam edificabant filii Adam Gen. 11. v. 5. and advanced with more Expedition nor with more Ardor Zeal and Submission But the Grand Designer of the World the Architect of the Universe and the generall Producer of all things who takes delight to confound the Wisdome of the Wise and to overthrow the Plots and Enterprises of the most Powerfull beholding these Fortifications rais'd neer mid-way and being able no longer to endure this Audacity and these presumptuous Attempts resolv'd at last to over turn all these Forts Venite igitur descendamus confundamus ibi linguam eoruÌ„ ut non audiat unusquisque linguam proximi sui Gen. 11. v. 7. Et idcirco vocatum est nomen ejus Babel quia ibi confusum est labium universae terrae inde dispersit eos Dominus super faciem cunctarum regionum Gen. 11. v. 9. and to cast a generall confusion of Tongues amongst the Carpenters and Masons This made a Tower of Babel that is to say of Disorder War and Confusion This stately Building this lofty Cittadell this impregnable Fort was but a Labyrinth of deaf and dumb people who spake
27. v. 39. Erit benedictio tua c. Gen. 27. v. 40. and from henceforth his Brethren shall be his Servants It is in vain for Esau to tear his Heart with a thousand sighs it is to no purpose for him to lament and roar like a Lion His sorrows and roarings may well excite some pitty in his Fathers Soul But this poor old Man hath no other thing to give him but some drops of the Dew and at best but some humid and clammy vapours which fatten the Earth For as concerning Heaven that hath already powred forth its favours upon Jacob where note that the benediction which had been given him was very different from that of Esau for Jacob had first received Riches and the abundance of the Goods of the Earth Secondly an Empire over Nations Thirdly a Principality amongst his Brethren And lastly a particular favour which put him intirely under the protection of Heaven whereas Esau as I said received for his share but some Acres of ground fertile indeed but only in the corruptible goods of Corn Rain and Dew whereas Jacob had all sorts of benedictions aswell in Earth as in Heaven These are presents for Worldly and Earthly Men drops of Water Exhalations Vapors and a little smoak Behold the favours of Esau behold the height of his benedictions and the portion of a Younger Brother who is rejected After this let us ask why the most impious persons in the World are sometimes the richest the most happy and the most powerfull or at least in appearance and to the Eyes of Flesh and Bloud Let us inquire whence comes it that Atheists are Crowned with Roses Lillys and Gilly-flowers when Christians walk upon Bryars and Thorns what a shame will it be to see Vice watered with Nectar whilst Vertue is beaten with a storm of Hail My God! Blessings of this World permit me then to expostulate with thee to this purpose if Esau be rejected why dost thou bestow on him some Goods in this World Alas what can be the happiness of this Life A thick Cloud of Rain Lands smoking with Ordures Straw Hey Feathers and Wind whereas the Elect enjoy Peace Hope Love Pleasure God and Paradise for all Eternity But who will assure us that we are in the fortunate List of those predestinated Persons whose Elder Brother Jacob is what Angell will tell us whether we be not lost Children who have Esau for our Captain Ah God! I have bewayled my sins but I fear my tears have not cleansed my Heart I have cast forth cryes sighs and sobs but my doubt is I have not been heard I know not how far my benediction reacheth and whether some-body hath not supplanted me In fine am I Jacob or Esau shall I be saved or condemned Lawfull apprehensions what will befall me after death And for what hath God ordained me even before my birth O Abyss of Gods Judgements O the Gulf of horror and darkness O God what precipice for hope what shadows for faith and what blindnesses for love Surely there would remain nothing for us but a sad despair if we had not learnt of the Wise man Sap. 1.12 13.11.16 God desires our salvation that God for his part wills not the destruction of any but the salvation of all It is then from thee O Esau and from thee O Israel perdition commeth For God Ozâ—e 13. Timoth. 2. as the Apostle saith desires that every one should be saved and adhere unto the knowledge of truth Behold the end of his love of our Creation and of his Incarnation In the second place Sufficient Graces though God bestowes those favours on some which he denies to others and though he hath shewed more of them to Jacob than to Esau yet he imparts unto all sufficient grace for salvation as Saint James affirmeth And truly how can he refuse Graces unto those for whom he hath given his Blood and why should he not afford assistance unto Man for whom he hath given up his life and all his Interests In fine no person either ought or can despair Foresight of merits For God hath predestinated the good with foresight of their merits he hath reprobated the wicked by the prescience of their sins Let us hope then my Soul let us hope in God Well grounded hopes who is good and would save us It is enough for us to have him for our Father and that he hath given us his Son for our Brâ—â—â—er It is sufficient that our Election depends on his Grace since he gives it us with all sufficiencie O God! what assurance what pledge and what caution A Son towards a Father a God of God and who issueth not out of God but to pacifie our troubles and mediate our salvation Ah! who will not hope having a Jesus for his Saviour whose pretious blood runs not but to fill hearts and to swell the courage with hope of Paradise Fair motives of Conscience What haven may we not attain when we are guided by a God and swim upon his tears upon his sweat and blood Woe then unto those who will not make use of these advantages and woe unto such as shall despair of salvation My God I hope to be one of those who shall behold thee face to face in Heaven it is the hope in which I will live and die I desire that it may live even in my Sepulchre flourish even in my Ashes and afterwards take its flight on the eternall hills and on the mountains of Sion My God! it is of thy goodness I hope for this grace it is by the merits of thy Son and his intercession Eternall Father be thou my Judge Jesus be thou my Advocate and refuge This being so the tragick Judgement of the unhappy lot of Esau doth not affright me This poor unfortunate had a Father who was blind a Mother who was averse and a brother who supplanted him And we have a Father who sees all a Mother who wishes us all sorts of blessings and a Brother who dyes willingly to give us life My God Almost happy abandonment I resign then my lot into thy hands and I expect my fortune from thy disposure I expect my God thy benediction give it me then for thy Sons sake give it me O my amiable Jesus and put me in the rank of those Elect of whom thou art King that I may be under thy Empire for all Eternity CHAP. V. Jacobs Ladder IT was vanity doubtless which ingraved this stately Elegy upon the Sepulchre of Phericides the Syrian A stately Epitaph 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Laert. Here lyes Wisedome in its highest perfection For to say truly this Inscription cannot be set but upon the Throne of God in whose sight the wisedome of men is but folly Wisedome is not then to be found in a Tomb in the depth of the Earth nor in the Abysses of the Ocean nor in the vacuum of the Ayr but above the Clouds
missus sum qui secit me quasi patrem Pharaonis Dominum universae domus ejus ac principem in omni terra Egypti Gen. 45. v. 8. It is God alone who hath conducted me unto this place and who after all my misfortunes hath raised me on the Throne of Pharaoh to be the chief Ruler of his Dominions and to provide for the necessities of his people in Conjunctures of time and disasters which desolate the whole Land I refer my self unto your selves who are Eye witnesses thereof and you know at your own cost what hath passed You see that I have the absolute Command in Egypt and that Pharaoh though elder than my self doth me the honour to call me his father The name of Saviour which I bear is not a bare Title but the effects sufficiently demonstrate that Heaven hath chosen me to preserve the lines of an infinite number of people whom Famine would have destroyed It is not out of any Spirit of vain glory I open unto you all these Verities But onely to the end you may know that it is GOD alone who hath broken my Chains and who amidst all the disasters of a cruell servitude hath led me even unto Regality I adore all the effects of his amiable Providence and I can onely accuse you as the Instruments and Executioners of his Divine Decrees Do not then apprehend any thing but rejoyce that you have been the Instruments of God in so important a matter For my part I am confounded seeing the triumph of my weakness and the Haven where after so many Tempests I am arrived I look upon you as the Winds and Oares whereof God as a wise Pilot made use to convey me even in the midst of Rocks and amongst so many waves unto the Throne of Egypt Well then my most dear Brethren it is time to Convert your fears and Sorrows into Congratulations and applauses The winds are now appeased the storm is layd Festinate ascendite ad patrem mâ—um dicetis ei haec mandat filius tuus Joseph Deus fecit me Dominum universae terrae Aegypti Descende ad me ne morieris Gen. 45. v. 9. Adhuc enim quinque anni residue sunt famis Gen. 45.11 and the Sun of Jacob is risen in Egypt Take a journey then I beseech you to visit my Father and inform him that Joseph is found that you are sent from him that you have both seen and spoken with him and that he sent you to bring him least some ill might happen to him and that Death surprise him as well in respect of his old age as by reason of the publick miseries which will still endure for the space of five years After this Commission Osculatusque est Joseph omnes fratres sues ploravit super singules Gen. 45. v. 15 Joseph having no other motive which might oblige him to conceal the tenderness of his affections his Eyes were inforced to render that tribute unto Love which without violence they could not restrain Lightnings are too hot to remain inclosed in the Clouds and Clouds are too cold to endure the rayes of the Sun without being melted and dissipated Now the heart of Joseph being like a Thunder bolt wrapt up in Clowds What wonder then if this Thunder break forth and if all the Forces of his heart which were weaker than the Clouds dissolved into Tears in the presence of this Sun Thus was Joseph constrained to shed tears enough upon his Brethren Cumque ampiexatus recidisset in collum Benjamin flevit Gen. 45. v. 14. to estate the remnants of their terrors but in the first place he took Benjamin into his arms and holding him close to his bosome Delicious tears he kissed him shedding tears on his mouth which came from the bottome of his heart and he left him not but to kiss the rest of his Brethren and to witness to them by his embraces and tears the force and tenderness of his affection which was not onely placed on an Innocent but also upon Offenders Alas Fair Spectacle what spectacle of Love what Theater of Passions what kisses what embraces what tears O God! what excess of goodness in Joseph who having been persecuted by his Brethren even to death will take no other revenge of the injury he received than by his Silence by his Tears by his Sighes by his Kisses and by all sorts of benefits Where are then all those pitiless hearts Deadly Vengeances where are those mortall vengeances where those tyrants who know not what it is to pardon when once they are offended where is Joseph And where is he who after a long Contest imbraceth his adversaries who kisses them to stifle all their mischievous designs and who hath tears of Love to quench the fire which nourished their darkest Passions At least there are but few who do like Joseph that is to say without interest without constraint without dissimulation and when they have still the power of revenge in their hands It is said that a Lion hath so discreet and generous furies as we need but cast our selves at his Feet to appease him in the height of his rage But there are more savage and cruell men A more than brutish inhumanity who cannot temper their wrath and in what posture soever we set our selves before them they still remain inflexible If wounds be layd open unto them to excite them to compassion they cast new darts to poison them If a man humble himself they trample upon him if he flatter them they are exasperated If they be intreated this renders them more obstinate Above all they are inexorable and inflexible if it lye in their power to do mischief without fear of receiving any from those that may be their victimes and the Subjects of their brutality And if some Jmage of Pitty Love or Honour touch their Hearts and draw some drop of water from their Eyes and some kindnesses from their Hands or Mouths it is not without vanity and noise This indulgence must be published in all places and it seemes that the whole World ought to be advertised of it as of an universall Jubile Ridiculous ceremonâ—es This pardon then is Shamefully acquired and there are no Ceremonies in the Church and no Formalities at the bar which are not to be observed for the confirmation of this reconciliation and to render this accomodation more remarkable On the contrary Joseph retires and will have no other Witnesses of his favours than those who have been the Authors of his misfortunes He will discover his goodnesse Auditumque est celibâ—i sermone vulgatum in aula Regis venerunt fratres Joseph Gen. 45. v. 16. Et gavisus est Pharaâ— atque omnis familia ejus Gen. 45. v. 16. Dixitque ad Joseph ut imperaret fratribus suis dicens enorate sumenta ite in terram Chanaan Gen. 45. v. 17 Et tollite inde patrem vestrum cognatiâ—nâ—m venite ad me
its bowels to serve as an instrument unto the Justice of its God Witness also that dreadfull tempest which shook the whole Kingdome of Naples Vide Patriarcham and which hapned in the year three hundred fourty and three under the government of Jane the first of that name All these chastisements nevertheless were but light and rather threats than punishments if we compare them with those which in the law of Nature and in the written Law laid desolate the whole Universe or at least the beautifull'st parts thereof Water began and as it hath less respect in its disorders than the rest of Creatures it spared but eight persons who guided into the Ark the relicks of the world Afterwards Fire which hath a more furious and violent nature than Water fell suddenly upon four infamous Cities where it left nothing but ashes and stench Behold the first revenge God took upon sinners and to speak according to the opinion of a Learned Divine of the Primitive Church Jobius mouachus in Bibliotheca Photii These were the first Tremblings of the Earth The third was in the strange punishment of Pharaoh commonly called The Plagues of Egypt which hapned about the time of that famous deluge which drowned in a maner all Greece and those excessive heats which almost consumed the whole Universe The number of these Plagues was Ten a perfect number and which denotes That the punishment was to pass even unto extremity since the offence had passed even unto excess As for the place where these Plagues began Fecit mirabilia in terra Aegypti in campo Taneos Psal 77. the City of Taniz the Metropolitan of Egypt was first strucken with it the disease came first from them as out of a fatal spring which afterwards spred it self with dread and terror over the Lands of that Empire I know not of whose hands God made use in this strange Ministry nevertheless it is most probable That he imployed therein those Spirits of Fires and Flames which are the Instruments of his Wrath and the Executioners of his severest Vengeances I cannot also determine how long they lasted but following the Narration of Moses it is credible That their course was six or seven and twenty days Wherein God manifested his goodness and mercy in the greatest height of his Justice for he might have destroyed all Egypt in an instant and made a dreadful Sepulchre of this infamous Kingdom But he thought good to cast his Darts one after another and to shew That he was not onely a Judge but also a Father and that he had not onely the power and force to punish but also the patience and sweetness to expect and mollifie those who notwithstanding became more and more obstinate as we shall presently see CHAP. IX The Waters of Egypt turned into Blood IT is the ordinary course of the vengeances of Heaven to punish sinners with the same weapons they use to assault it And it is for this cause First Plague Quest 19. in Exod. as Theodoret observes the River Nilus of which Egypt made a Divinity and whose Crocodils she also adored was the first field of battail in which God gave them the first alarm with the first combats upon the waves and Billows of blood which bore the Murtherous colours of so great a number of Innocents as had been drowned therein Solinus c. 35. It may be said that then the Angel whom St. Apocalyp 16. John saw in his Apocalyps powred into the waters of Egypt that mortall viall in which was the bloody water of the wrath and indignation of God The River Nilus saith Artabau increased excessively and its waves seemed to have so much sense as to complain and call for vengeance against the cruelties of Pharaoh as also to recall into his memory that he had spilt more blood than needed to make a great River Now it was not onely of a vermillion colour and purpled Et elevns virgam percusit aquam fluminis coram Pharaone servit ejus quae versa est in sanguinem Exod. 7. v. 21. with some drops of blood which had dyed the surface of Rivers and all ponds but also all the waters of Egypt were turned into blood which was the cause that all fishes dyed therein not finding themselves any longer in their naturall Element This was indeed a Triumph worth of God and of his glory Dixitque Dominus ad Moisen dic Aaron tolle virgam tuam extende manum tuam super aquas Aegypti super fluvios eorum ut vertantur in sanguinem to see Moses at his bare word putting the miraculous Rod into Aarons hand and who having commanded him by order from his God to hold it over the water he no sooner did it but instantly this body though insensible began to have sense in the quarrel of its Master and testified by a change of Nature and by a generall corruption that there is nothing in the World which ought and may not arm it self against creatures when it concernes the interest of their Creator No man ought then to wonder if the water of Nilus and of Egypt takes the form of blood if this blood putrifies and if all the Fishes die therein For God begins on the water to hold his justice-seat and his Throne must be exposed under a bloody Canopy and infectious vapours must be seen to rise under his feet which are as the shadowes of those horrors and crimes which have been commited by this people It is said Et fuit sanguis in totâ terâ—â Aegypti Exod 7. v. 21. Avertitque se ingressus est domum suam nec apposuit coretiam hac vice Exod. 7. v. 22. Feceruntque similiter malefici Aegyptiorum in cantationibus suis Exod. 7. v. 22. Foderunt autem omnes Aegyptii per circuitum fluminis aquam ut biberent Exod. 7. v. 24 Impletique sunt dies septem post quam percussit Dominus fluvium Exod. 7. v. 25. that a Diamond which hardneth under Hammers and Anvils is broken with blood The heart of Pharaoh is harder than the diamond since being in the midst of a kingdome covered over with blood it could not be softned besides he turned his Eyes from this verity and that he might not hear the noise of this tempest he retires into his House there he strives to flatter the wound God nevâ—ly gave him resting satisfied to have seen his inchanters who had done some such like thing but instead of changing water into blood they should have done better to have changed blood into water to quench the thirst of the Egyptians who half dispairing digged pits about the River Nilus to seek for water to drink and who would at least have dyed in this sad affliction if God after seven dayes had not stopt the torrents of his wrath and staied the course of the Rivers of blood which poysoned and choaked that miserable people CHAP. X. The Frogs of Egypt SEven days
honour of him who is our Redeemer Lucifer is fallen from his Throne The Dragon is swallowed up in the billows of the Sea and all these Traytors who intended to drown us are overwhelmed with the waves and where they thought to gather Laurels and Palms they found nothing but an harvest over-spread with Cypres and a vast Sepulcher in the bottom of the Sea where they proposed to themselves toerect a Theater of honour and a field of Triumph This Crosse Fortune some will tell me is a strange turn of Fortune but to speak more Christianly this is an admirable stroak of the Providence and Justice of God which frustrates all the projects of the world and of the wicked to raise Theaters unto vertue and to place Crowns upon the heads of the vertuous when they think themselves in a condition to be trampled on by their enemies Not that but sometimes and very often Wormwood and Gall are mingled with the most pleasing waters of their consolations and with graces which he is ready to impart unto them And not to goe farther to seek examples of this verity Ambulaveruntque tribus dichus per solitudinem non inveniebant aquam Exod. 15. v. 22. Et venerunt in Mara nec poterunt bibere aquas de Mara eo quod essent amarae unde congruum loco nomen imposuit vocans illum Mara id est amaritudinem Exod. 15. v. 23. let us stay a while in this desart where the Israelites now are All their enemies are drowned in the Sea and they themselves have marched for the space of three dayes in this desolate place finding nothing but bitter waters and if nothing else happen they will all dye with hunger and thirst In vain is it for them to murmur if Moses worked not here a Miracle I fear it must appear a truth that the Egyptians are dead in the Sea and that the Israelites will almost perish neer a Sea or in a place which hath nothing but Salt and bitter Waters from which it takes its denomination Alas where then is Moses where is Mary where is this Star of the Sea At ille clamavit ad Dominum qui ostendit ei lignum Quod cum misisset in aquas in dulcedinem versae sunt Exod. 15. v. 25. whose sole name is able to cause a thousand Fountains and Rivers to spring in the midst of Desarts Courage then behold thy happy Conductor to whom God hath shown a certain Wood of life and sweetness which he had scarce put into the water but it presently became delicious Behold a pleasing Metamorphosis But we must not wonder at it since this Wood is no other than the Image of him who can change all the torrents bitternesses of this life into an Ocean of consolation It is the Cross which hath been steep'd in the waters of Mara O Cross O Mara what sweet rigours and pleasing bitternesses doe all those find Venerunt autem in Elim filii Israel ubi erant duodecim sontes aquarum septuaginta palmae castrametatisunt juxta aquas Exo. 15. v. 27. who make use of thee to sweeten their sharpest afflictions Likewise after the Israelites had steeped this wood in the waters of Mara and sweetned the bitter waters of this Desart they went directly to the Land of Elim which was watered with many delightfull Fountains and where under the shades of Palm-trees they might sweetly and joyfully repeat their Canticle of Peace and Victory CHAP. XX. The Manna of the Desart IT was not without reason God from the beginning of the world took the name of Elohim Beneficent Nature of God that is to say a benefactor and obliger For his Nature is so propense to doe good as there is no moment in our lives which is not marked with some of his favours For this end he hath rais'd the Heavens the Air and the Stars over our heads as so many treasuries in which he hath enclosed the light and vitall influences without which the world would be but a confus'd Mass and a dreadfull Tomb. He hath also peopled the elements and given to every one what was convenient and necessary for their infirmities He himself is a great Ocean of Essences and an Abyss of goodness from whence spring a thousand torrents of graces which from Heaven water the Earth in so great abundance and with so generall an effusion that there is no person who may not be satiated thereby It seems also that he was as it were obliged thereunto and that if by some secret of his wise Providence he chance to withdraw his arm and hand which fills us with all sorts of benedictions we may have some cause to complain and murmur against him Et murmuravit omnis congregatio filiorum Israel contra Moysen Aaron in solitudine Exod. 16. v. 2. Dixeruntque filii Israel ad eos utinam mortui essemus per manum Domini in terra Aegypti quando sedebamus super ollas carnium comedebamus panem in saturitate cur eduxisti nos in desertum istud ut occideretis omnem multitadinâ—m fame Exod. 16. v. 3. Behold a while this People I beseech you whom a month since he drew out of Egypt and freed from the Tyranny of Pharaoh Behold these good people for whom he hath sweetned the bitterness of Mara who were scarce gone out of the little Paradise of Elim but they presently murmur'd because their Meal began to fail and as if Moses had been the cause of it they said unto him that they very much wondred at his causing them to depart out of Egypt and that it had been better for them to have there dyed amongst their flesh pots and Caldrons where they had alwayes something to eat than to follow him in a desart where they were even ready to perish with hunger Ah wicked and ungratefull men are you not asham'd to prefer your bellies before God and to forget all the benefits you received in your last necessities Neverthelesse this is what all these Apostates and misbelievers did who having remained some time under the Palm-Trees of Elim and drunk the waters of these sweet fountains being somewhat farther advanc'd in the desart and having met with some wants and difficulties they presently repented themselves for having left the flesh-pots and dung-hils of Egypt to enter a wilderness into which notwithstanding God had conducted and freed them from off the bondage and tyrannie of sin These gluttons are afraid of abstinence the Lent hath affrighted them the just and holy Laws of God and his Church were insupportable to them They choose rather to die with Flesh and Blood upon a dung-hill of ordures and horrours and neer a pile inkindled by the hand of the most infamous passions and where there is some sense of Egypt some flame of Babylon Lib. 1. c. 7 in the spoiles of envy some Spirit of Babel and some remnant of Cain than in a place consecrated to vertue
exactly the Lawes I leave you Testes invoco hodie caelum terram cito perituros vos esse de terra quam transito Jordane possâ—ssuri estis non habitabitis in ea longo tempore Sâ—d de lebit vos Dominus Deut. 4. v. 26. Atque disperget in omnes gentes c. Deu. 4. v. 27. Ibique servietis Diis qui hominum manu fabrtcati sunt ligno lapidi qui non vident nec audiunt nec comedunt nec odorantur Deut. 4. v. 28. Cumque quaesieris ibi Dominum Doum tuum invemes eum si tamen toto corde quaesieris tota tribulatione ani mae tuae Deut. 4. v. 29. doe not think you shall long enjoy the succession whereof youare going to be heirs I attest Heaven and Earth and all Creatures both visible and invisible which are witnesses of what I say unto you scarce shall you be possess'd of it but you will be dispersed some into one place some into another and afterwards you will find your selves in Provinces where you shall be Captives and in reward of your perfidiousness serve false Divinities which the error and Idolatry of your Masters shall have formed of wood and stone where you shall see mouths eyes ears and the other parts which are the Instruments of life and the Organs of your Senses yet they will be inanimated Statues soul-less bodyes and insensible Idols where nevertheless if you will seek God with a contrite and loving heart and fix your eyes and minds not upon appearances but on the verity which is Him I protest unto you my friends that you will there find him and that in fine the power of your Creator will trample over the weakness of all these little Beings which have been created by his hand He then must be the object of your affections his infinite goodness his wise prudence his Paternall mercy his beauty without art or mixture ought to be the subject of your desires and flames Wo to all those who deny him their affections and prefer some streams and little glimmerings of light before this Spring of living waters and this Planet without which the whole world would remain in the shades of death and blindness I know that you will be first invaded by seven different Nations which are but the Images of the seven deadly Sins and will wage a bloudy Warre against you But these Chanaanites will serve but for matter unto your glory and for a fair Field where after many Combats Septem gentes multò maâ—o is numeri quà m tues robustiores te Deut. 7 v. 1. Tradid â—â—que eas Dominus Deus tuus tibi percuties eas usque ad internecionem Deut. 7. v. 2. Et scies quia Dominus Deus tuus ipse est Deus sortis fidelis Custodiens pactum misericordiam diligentibus se Deut. 7. v. 9. and totall Victories you may raise Trophies and build Altars unto the glory of this Conquerour who can effect all that he pleaseth from whence you shall learn that your God is not only a God whose power is invincible but whose fidelity also is inviolable his promises unalterable his word infallible and his favours without number and measure provided you offer your hearts and consecrate to him your dearest passions otherwise his favours will be converted into afflictions his goodness will give way unto Justice and his rewards will be punishments exiles slaveries and almost Universall destructions Et reddens odientibus se statim ita ut disperdat eos ultra non differat protinus eis restituens quod merentur Deut. 7. v. 10. as when the impiety of your farefathers induced them even to set the abominable Idol of the Golden Calf in the place of God you need but represent all these frightfull punishments exemplar Chastisements unto your minds which in a manner make but a great Sepulchre of your Camps the murmurings whereof have a scended even to Heaven And if you will pass farther and interrogate all Ages to learn what hath hitherto been the rigour of Gods vengeances when once provoked goe even into the Cradle of the world into the Terrestriall Paradise Signa opera quae fecit in medio Aegypti Pharaoni Regi universae terrae ejus Deut. 11. v. 3. Omnique exercitui Aegyptiorum equis in curribus quomodo operuerint eos aquae maris Rubri cum vos persequerentur Deut. 11. v. 5. under the Billowes of the Ocean and amongst the Ashes of Sodom In fine return into Egypt and pass again over the Sands of the Red Sea to behold also there the prints of those Chariots and of those enemies which pursued you with so much fury Alas where is now Pharaoh Where are those Egyptians and where is that insolent pride those unsupportable cruelties and those dreadfull Tyrannies which kept you under the yoak and in the Chains of a very long and painfull captivity But if you desire to pass even into the Infernal parts Et Dathan atque Abiron filii Eliab qui suit filius Ruben quos aperto ore sue terra absorbuit c. Deut. 11. v. 6. and cause all the Dungeons of the Earth to be open'd you may ask of Core Dathan and Abiron whether it be good to deride the works of God and to vomit forth blasphemies against him who deserves nothing but thanksgivings and benedictions Ah! Surely if Fire Earth Air and Water have never refused to arm themselves in his quarrel Ponite haec verba mea in cordibus in animis vestr is c. Deut. 11. v. 18. Subvertite omnia loca in quibus coluerunt gentes quas possessuri estis Deos suos super montes excelsos c. Deut. 12. v. 2. Non facietis ita Domino Deo vestro Deut. 12. v. 4. Sed ad locum quem elegerit Dominus Deus vester c. Deut. 12. v. 5. Utvadant serviant diis alienis adorent eos solem lunam omnem militiam caeli quae non praecepi Deut. 17. v. 3. Et lapidibus obruentur Deut. 17. v. 5. Hoc erit judicium sacerdotum à populo ab iis qui offerunt victimas sive ovem immolaverint dabunt sacerdoti armum ac nutrieulum Septimo anno facies remissionem Deut. 15. v. 1. Quae hoc ordine celebrabitur cui debetur aliquid ab amico vel proximo à fratre suo repetere non poterit quia annus remissions est Domini Deut. 15. v. 2. Cum tibi venditus suerit frater tuus Hebraeus aut Hebraea sex annis servierit tibi in septimoÌ„ anno dimittes cum liberum Deut. 15. v. 12. they will not be less obedient and sensible when it shall please him to give them the least sign of his commands Hear then Israel all that I say unto thee and imprint it in thy minde to the end If these chastisements and threats do not move thee and beget fear and horror in thee at least