groūd before we come to the meale There is a swete cornell in the nutte but wee must break the shell before we come to the meat Men are not nowe called and taught immediatly from God as the olde prophets were but by meanes of praying reading meditating and conferring with others euery man is not a deuine which can say the letter without the booke and rehearse the words of the texte let euery man measure him selfe with his owne fote and be not ashamed to confesse his ignoraunce conferre with others and learne that he knew not before and giue God thankes for reuealing his word and thinke well of them by whose meanes he is made better learned When Moyses had giuen a lawe from God to the Jsraelites he made a commentarie or exposition of the same called Deutronomie for their easier vnderstanding Were not the writings and sermons of the prophets expositions and applications of Moyses lawe vnto the times and persons as occasion serued and to reproue wicked men to their faces for disobedience to the same Although some to flatter their feygned friends do lay pillowes vnder mens elbowes and as false prophets do dare vndertake that it is not lawful to reproue openly euill men the word of God and examples of true embassadours of God is to the contrarie Did not Esdras reade the lawe and the Leuites expound it did not Christ expound many places of the olde testament which else we had not rightly vnderstand as in the .12 of Mathew cōcerning Ionas Jn the .4 of Luke the place of Esay and in the .24 of Luke Who could haue gathered out of this place of Math. 22. the resurrection J am the God of Abraham Jsaac c. if Christ had not expounded it did not Peter Acts. 2. expound the .16 Psalme and the Psalme 110. of Christes resurrectiō and made a large and a learned sermon Did not Philippe preach and make exposition of the place of Esay to the chamberlayne Acts. 8. be not Paules epistles full of expositions and openings of the olde prophets It may be obiected that all these are scripture and now it is made so plaine one with another that there nedeth no further opening God hath lefte in his Churche prophetes such as do expound the old prophets 1 Cor. 14. pastours builders and suche like therefore the olde bishops and fathers of the Church haue alwayes taught and defended the Churche by interpreting these scriptures some haue written Apologies and defences of Christes religion some exhortations to constancie and martyrdome some haue confuted heresies whiche alwayes do growe when men are asleepe some wrote homelies for the people some made commentaries and expositions of one or moe of the bookes of the olde or newe testament I speake not of Papists and schole men whiche were all corruptours of the texte and that thorough ignorance but of the auncient fathers within foure or fiue hundreth yeares after Christes ascention though J must leaue vnto them their faults golde is to be digged out of rotten earth As Tertullian Ieremie Iustinus martyr Origene Hilarius Hipolitus Arnobius Lactantius Didimus Ciprian Ambrose Hierome Augustine Basill Gregorie Nazianzene and Gregorie Nycen c. all these and suche like were learned men and such as defended the Churche of God and refelled false and erronius opinions by declaring and expounding the word of god How naked and bare were many places of the old testament if some further sense were not rightly gathered of them than the bare letter J do not meane to bring all the scriptures to Allegories for that were to destroy the texte and to open a windowe for euery wandring spirite to flye out at and to range where he list without grounde as some of olde haue done and popish friers with their dreames haue folowed after that neyther they nor any man else wist whether But J meane beside the historie there may be other sense well gathered as of old fathers haue bene If a man did aske of him that doth superficiallie reade what is the meaning in the .10 of Ezechiel of this saying that one whele did roll and moue within an other the literall sense is bare Gregorie saithe that the newe testamente rolleth in the olde for that which the olde did signifie the newe doth exhibite As for example out of Adam sleeping Eue was formed so out of Christ dying the Church was formed As Isaac caried wood to the altar wher he should be sacrifised and yet escaped so Christ caried the wood of the crosse to be crucified in body and yet remayned immortall in diuinitie What meaneth it that the murtherer after the death of the high priest should be absolued and let go home but that after the death of our high priest Christ mankinde should be losed from their sinnes and sent into paradise againe What meaneth it that in the tabernacle was made a mercy stole ouer whiche were two cherubins of gold c. The mercie seate to be short is Christ the two cherubines be the two testamentes of golde for their purenesse they haue wings for that they flye swiftlie they loke each towardes the other for that they set forth both one thing with their faces towardes the mercie seate for they both haue respect to christ A great number of such misteries may be gathered withoute absurditie or superstition out of the olde testament and referred to the newe Wherefore let vs be thankefull to God for his word and for those that haue set it forth or by any meanes opened the true sense vnto vs Amongst others for this sound expositiō of these two Prophets Abdias and Ionas let vs commēd that worthy and learned man and chiefe writer of these dayes one of the chiefe preachers at Zurich or Tigury master Gualter who both by his continuall preaching and dayly writing hath much profited Christes Church It was translated by master Ro. Norton a godly and learned preaching minister in Suff. not to be published in print as you knowe best but only a thing of priuate exercise and giuen to you as a token of that good will which I haue herd him ofte testifie that he bare you not without your great desert towards him But comming to the hands of one my good friend and whom you seeme to loue well inough he desired me very earnestly and vrged me with most friendly request to set some Preface to it lest cōming barefaced it might seme somewhat defaced whiche yet it needeth not considering the good face it hath of it selfe the which he shal see and delight in who beholdeth it more nerely and narrowly But I coulde not denie his request bycause it was reasonable I would not for that it was friendly Nay I did it most gladly taking no small pleasure by this occasion in the sweete remembraunce of the godly and reformed housholds of good master Drue Druries and yours wherein your selues and your rightly and truely worshipfull Ladies do by your owne godly lyues and framing your childrē
Certaine godlie Homelies or Sermons vpon the Prophets Abdias and Ionas Conteyning a most fruitefull exposition of the same Made by the excellent lerned man RODOLPH GVALTER of Tigure And translated into Englishe By ROBERT NORTON Minister of the worde in Suffolke Imprinted at London by Henrie Bynneman for Rafe Newberie dwelling in Fletestrete a little aboue the Conduite ANNO 1573. ¶ To the worshipfull my good friēd master VVilliam Blenerhaiset esquire Iohn Walker Doctor in diuinitie wisheth perpetuall felicitie in Christ IT is no lesse benefite that wee haue knowledge of our creation redemption preseruatiō eternall saluatiō how to beleue loue worship honor and shewe our selues thankefull vnto our creator redemer preseruer c. than that he hath bestowed these great and inestimable giftes vpon vs of his mercie and free goodnesse Neither auayleth it vs to bee borne and made men and not brute beastes and that Christ hath died risen again and ascended into heauen if we know not the ende of our creation and redemption to be to glorifie god to set forth his prayse and to tell of his wonderfull works This is eternall life saith Christ to know thee the only and true God and him whom thou hast sent Iesus Christ. We had neuer knowne God we had neuer knowē Christ except he had inspired his holye ones with hys spirit and enforced them to write the holy scriptures wherein he hath reueled himselfe and manifested his will in all things necessarie towardes vs Wherefore we ought first of all to bee moste thankefull to God and in all things to blesse his name both for his fatherly fauor which he beareth towards vs and also for reueling the same by his worde Secondly they be also worthie of their due cōmendatiō which as Gods instrumēts and workemen of God haue laboured with him to set forth the same worde of the knowledge of saluation There are great and weightie causes which haue moued God to vtter himselfe in his worde First that he might set forth his loue wisedome omnipotencie goodness fidelitie to the world which we had neuer knowne without his word God who is faythful sayth August Psa 110. hath made him selfe our debtor not in taking any thing of vs but in promising vs so great things It seemed but a small thing to promise but hee hath also bounde himselfe with scripture as it were making with vs a handwriting of his promises He hath not onely made a writing with men that they might beleue but he hath further appoynted his only sonne to be a mediatour of his fidelitie and truth Wherefore all the worlde is of dutie bounde to giue most heartie and immortall thankes to God the onely authour and reueler of so great benefites howsoeuer otherwise the world do contemne neglect and abuse this knowledge Secondly that the remembrance of this most holy couenant betwene God his church might bee more durable the promise might be more certainly set forth to all posteritie And therefore he hath charged the things to be written taught and learned of them that were present at the promulgation of his worde and of them that should come after c. Psal. 102. Let these thinges be written in another generation that the people whiche shall bee borne hereafter may prayse the lord Adam as Iosephus testifieth in the first booke of his antiquities set vp two tables or pillers of stone and wrote in them the beginning of the creation the fal of man and the promise of Messias After the floud wrote Moses and the rest of the Prophets inspired and led by the spirit of god After the Apostles and Euangelists by the same spirit whose bookes the deuill and all his angels though they greatly despited and impugned them were neuer able either vtterly to destroy or cast them out of the hands of the people of God bycause God woulde haue his couenant to remain in his Church and so will haue them to the worldes ende Rumpantur ilia Codro though the deuyll do burste his guttes c. Thirdly that God will haue hys Church which is the piller and stay of the truth 1. Tim. 3. as in many other things to differ from sectes factions vaine opinions and superstitious of other Gentiles so in this poynt chiefly to bee a keeper and as it were a librarie of the bookes of his Prophets and Apostles wherein he hath declared himselfe to the worlde Wherefore all men are bounde that will bee of the true Church of God to keepe reade and exercise them selues in the true vnderstanding practising of these bookes Fourthly that the keeping and profession of these bookes may be a notable and certain testimonie of the truth and of the will of God in all matters of Religion and a strong fortresse both agaynst all superstitious mans feigninges and deuises and also agaynst al vaine phantasticall spirites preferring their owne dreames and fonde imaginations before the certaintie of Gods scriptures Our gracious God therefore knowing the necessitie and the inestimable profite of the scriptures will haue them sette forth kept and exercised of his Church for euer The scripture is the worde of truth of life the gospell of health the power of God to saluation c. the foode of the soule the light to our feete the sword of the spirite the breath of Gods mouth which who so wanteth runneth into errour into death and destruction is without all comfort of helpe perisheth for foode wandreth in darkenesse standeth naked agaynst his armed aduersaries destitute of Gods grace and spirite which who so wanteth is none of Gods people Rom. 8. The holy mē of god ought to haue their iust cōmendation which were the iust instruments of gods spirit in writing these scripturs not to take any glorie from God and ascribe it vnto men which were meere Jdolatrie and woulde make men arrogant and glorye in them selues but to encourage men to laboure with the Lord and to knowe that their laboure in him is to set foorthe his glorie to profite his Churche and that they them selues shal be pertakers of eternall felicitie Dani. 12. They that be learned shall shine as the sunne they that haue instructed many in wisdom shal be as the stars for euermore these haue not spoken of them selues nor the wisdome of mā but of God He. 1. God hath spoken in alder time many and sundrie wayes to our fathers by his Prophetes c. He sayth not they spake of them selues but God by thē they came not with their owne worde nor their owne authoritie but euer they sayde Haec dicit dominus Thus saith the lord Paule saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 all the scripture is inspired by the holy ghost c. 2. Pet. 1. We haue a sure certain worde of the Prophets which saith he was not brought in by the will of man but the holy men of God haue spoken being cōpelled by the spirite of god Therefore for their obedience to Gods spirite for their
against the Iewes For they themselues can confesse that this whole place must of necessitie be expounded of the kingdome of Messias yet like blinde bussards can not marke that that king is renoumed with the title of Iehouah Now if the kingdom be the Lords necessarily must al resort as disciples therevnto and so in déede shall the Churche bée lawfully appoynted if Chryste alone may haue the preeminence and al other be placed in an inferiour roomth euen as ministers of the same Whiche thing is then done when as vnto Christe alone are attributed all such things as concerne our saluation in such sort as that he may be acknowledged the only teacher master of the Churche the only authoure of mannes saluatiō the onely mediator and aduocate and finally the onely sacrifice and satisfaction for our sinnes agayn that all men maye submitte themselues vnto him through the obedience of faith which as Paule in manie places dothe declare is the ende of the preaching of the gospel And hereto tendeth it that Christ sayde vnto his disciples Go your vvayes and make disciples 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 all nations baptising them in the name of the father and of the sonne and of the holie ghost teaching them to obserue vvhatsoeuer I haue commaunded you Which cōmandement the Apostles had so great regard vnto that they brought suche as were the auditours of their preaching to none other but God alone through Christe they also with very great diligence toke héede least any man through occasion of miracles that they wrought should attribute vnto them more than was due as in the examples of Peter and Iohn Paule and Barnabas is to be séen So thē they offēd against the chiefe Principles of fayth the kingdome of Christ as manie as either bring in sectes wherby the vnitie of the Church is torne in sunder or else hauing shaken off the yoke of christian Discipline are carried with a blynde rage of affections and giue them selues ouer to the guiding of the deuill Let these things suffise that are spoken vpon the Prophecie of Abdias whiche setteth out before oure eyes a notable documente howe dearely God loueth hys Church sith that with so great seueritie he reuengeth the Iniuries doone to the same But aboue all this is full of consolation that he forgetteth not his promises although now then he suffereth his Church to be exercised and tried with all kind of afflictiōs He repaireth therfore the kingdome of his Christ least it shuld vtterly fall to the grounde and augmenteth the same dayely with newe increasings Wherfore staying our selues vpon this hope let vs wrestle out through all aduersities with a constant Faithe that in tyme to come wee may haue the fruition of the eternall ioye of his heauenlye kingdome whiche Christe Iesus oure Lord hath prepared for those that beléeue in him To whome belongeth thankesgiuing honor glorie domynion for euer AMEN The Homilies of Rodolph Gualter a Tigurine vpon the Prophet Ionas The first Chapter The fyrste Homelie AND the vvoorde of the Lorde came vnto Ionas the sonne of Amithay saying Aryse and get thee to Niniue to that greate Citie and crye out agaynste it for their vvyckednesse is come vp into my syghte ALthough there be not verie manie things mencioned of Ionas in the scriptures yet is it euidente by the sacred historie that he was a Prophet of no small accompt as by whome God woulde forshewe vnto the Israelites that felicitie whyche in the tyme of Ieroboam the second they did enioye For so is it written of Ieroboam He restored the coastes of Israell from the entring of Hemath vnto the sea in the vvyld fieldes accordyng to the vvorde of the Lorde vvhich he spake by his seruant Ionas the sonne of Amithay vvhiche vvas of Cath Hepher By which place it may bée gathered that hée prophecied in the tyme of the sayd king Ieroboam or at the least not muche before while Ioas his father reigned when as the estate of the Israelites was manye wayes gréeuously afflicted and had néede therefore greatly to be comforted Neuerthelesse of his Sermons that hée made among the Israelites there is nowe none extant The reason is for that they wer not so néedfull for the Church séeing that the things contained in them may easily be sette other where oute of the writing of other Prophets whiche taught in the same tymes or verie lyke But by the singular prouidence of God is this booke of such things as he did among the Niniuites reserued for al those that come after the authoritie wherof how great it ought to be among the godly partly we learne euen of Christ his owne record who confesseth that his Death and Resurrection were foreshadowed by Ionas partly also also it may appeare by the matter entreated of therin as wherin al things cōcurre together which may serue to the perfecte institution of Godlinesse and Saluation of man. For when among the Niniuites Sardanapalus béeing dead who of the more auncient authors is called Tonosconcoleros there was made some alteration of the estate of the kingdome but no order taken for the reformation of maners manie as they had accustomed while Sardanapalus reigned running still headlōg into all kinde of vngraciousnesse euen to their owne destruction God of his singular grace sendeth forth Ionas whose seruice he had before vsed among the Israelites nowe vnto Niniue that he might denounce vnto this most corrupt citie suche punishment as nowe for the sinnes therof was readie to fall on the same But Ionas misdoubting some peril to himself deuyseth to flée away and hauing taken shipping maketh haste to an other place As he is fléeing god attacheth him by the way by whose prouidence it commeth to passe the to stil the tempest he is faine to be cast into the sea béeing there swalowed vp of a fishe of a monstrous bignesse is thrée dayes after restored to drye land agayn And béeing then become more obediente vnto God he goeth through with that cōmaundement which he was charged withal concerning the Niniuites They hauing once hearde the determination of God fall to repentance and so escape the punishment that hoong ouer their heades Now wheras Ionas complayned vpon God for altering his former iudgemente or sentence God rendreth him a reason why he so did This is the summe of this whole historie whiche if we search to the bottome it shall well appeare that what soeuer maye serue to the knowledge of God and of mannes saluation is conteined therein For as touchyng God here shyneth foorthe his Fatherly goodnesse whiche is extended euen to al nations seing that he had a desire to haue the Niniuites called from destruction euen at such tyme as he aknowledged the Ievves alone as it were for his owne possession There is also no lesse token of Gods Iustice in that he so sharpely punished his seruant Ionas for the breache of his commaundement It declareth moreouer his puissant power
suche a one to departe where as there is no vrgent cause bothe laufull and also from God aboue But let vs heare how God cōmandeth the Prophet Aryse sayth he get thee to Niniue to that great citie and crye out agaynst it for their vvickednesse is come vp into my sight This commandement hath thrée partes The first telleth whyther he must goe namely to Niniue that great Citie It was the regall seate of the kings of Assyria first founded of Assur as Moyses maketh mention in the fieldes of Aturia For the prophane writers are deceiued which leaning too much to the likenesse of the word wold ground thervpon that it was buylded of Ninus when as rather it is named after the Hebrewe toung Niniue which being expounded signifieth as much as Beautifull or pleasant And not only this booke beareth recorde of the greatnesse therof but also the Historiographers of the Heathen who write that it conteyned in circuite foure hundreth furlongs and that it was compassed or fensed with towers to the nūber of a thousande and fyue hundreth Howe it excéeded in wealth glorye and strength wée néede not to speake sithe that the whole space of more than a thousande and thrée hundreth yeares it was the seate of the kings of Assyria whose endeuour wanted not for the beautifying thereof all that whyle with the spoyles of the whole Easte And to that ende woulde God call it greate when hée gaue Ionas a commandement to preach there for that after a sorte by a kynde of preuentyng he woulde ridde this Prophete oute of all feare As thoughe hée shoulde saye I knowe howe greate how mightie and howe famous Niniue is yet will I haue thée go thither and bée my preacher there and as for the maiestie therof suffer not thy self to be dismayd therwith c. And surely this deuise of God deserueth not a little to be maruelled at who ieopardeth to so notable a Citie yea in déed to the whole monarchie of the Assirians Ionas being but one whose authoritie although it were of some value in Israel yet among alients and straungers from the religion of the Israelites coulde be of no force at all Howbéeit the same which god here doth was done oftētimes otherwhere also So did he sette Moses béeing takē but frō the flocke and now also a banished man againste Pharao and all the enchaunters of the Egiptians And Hieremie euen in his childhoode is called to fight with the worde of God agaynst kinges Princes priests and the whole people of the land Of lyke sorte was the estate of the Apostles who béeing but obscure themselues and vnskilfull of things before were made able to matche not only with men of their owne nation but also with the Heathen Philosophers and with the maiestie of the Romane empire it self And it is the maner of God for the moste parte to set foorth his worde to the world by base and weake ministers both to confound the hautynesse of the world and also to teache vs all respect of persons being layde aside to depend vpon his authoritie alone Although there was in déede an especiall cause of this ambassage which Hierome did well espye who writeth that Ionas was sent to the Heathen to the cōdemnation of the people of Israel For when as Prophetes many in number had nothing auailed among the Israelites by the space of many yeares God would nowe set foorth an example of easy beléefe and obedience amongest the Heathen whereby both the maiestie of his worde and also the obstinacie of the Ievves now paste hope of reclaiming mighte openly shew themselues And that this is the vse of this example Christe doth declare where as he affirmeth that in tyme to come the Niniuites shall arise and condemne the Ievves Moreouer as these things comprehende in them a manifeste figure of the callyng of the Gentiles so serue they also to instructe vs that God shall neuer want such as amongst whom his worde may bring forth frute and by whose examples they maye bée condemned whiche were wont to haue it in contempt and derision But chéefly the Fatherly goodnesse of God is here worthie the considering a certain example wherof is here sette before our eyes to beholde For as it shal be declared by and by the horrible enormities of the Niniuites were nowe growne vp to the full and had of long since deserued to be cut of by the rootes God might also haue executed punishemente vpon them so that no man coulde haue taken occasion to complayne of his rigour syth they had so filthily euen agaynst the lawes of Nature abused the victories gotten in so many ages Yet dothe the mercyfull Lord moderate his fiercenesse and in appoynting Ionas as an ambassadoure vnto them giueth out this as a plain doctrine that he was desyrous rather to correcte and amende them than vtterly to destroye them Neyther did anye other thing moue him thervnto if we consider the Niniuites saue his owne naturall compassion and mercie wherwith as we reade in the hundreth and third Psalme as a father hath pitie vpon his own chyldren euen so is the Lorde mercifull vnto vs and is not alwaye chyding with vs seeing he knoweth our estate perfectly ynough And the same that he wroughte among the Niniuites we our selues haue in experience both vniuersally to all and priuately to euery one for that it sufficiently appeareth how that God layeth his rodde vpon none whom he hath not first called vnto repentaunce by sundry warnings going before But so péeuishe and frowarde are wée naturally that wée in a manner eyther neglecte or else hate all Admonitions tyll the truthe of them is in dede confyrmed before oure eyes not without our greate smart adioyned to the same In the seconde parte of his commandemente GOD telleth what hée will haue the Prophete to d ee in Niniue Crye oute sayeth he agaynste it By thys woorde Crye he dothe not charge him to bestowe amongest them woordes of disturbaunce as it is the maner of drunkardes and raylers to doe but he commytteth vnto hym the preachyng of his woorde whereby fréely playnely and without all colour of flatterie to denoūce what God hath determined to doe with them So is Esay in his .58 chapter commaunded to open his throate wyde and to lifte vp his voyce lyke a trumpet that he myght shewe the people their offences and the house of Iacob their sinnes Ezechiel also is willed plainly to admonishe the vngodly least the bloude of them which perish in their owne sinnes be required at his handes And that this may truly be put in bre partely the nature of Gods worde giueth warning thervnto which being it self the light and the truth can awaye with no gloses of falshoode partely the corruption of mans inclination enforceth the same as whereby it commeth to passe that eyther wée contemne this worde or at the least we thinke it toucheth not vs at all vntill in verie déede it striketh