more honorably handled then the house of his God And when NATHAN finally resolued by the Oracle of God declared that it should not be he but his Sonne that should buyld an house vnto the Lord He ceased not to prepare all thinges necessarie for that worke in his dayes And to exhort grauely his Son SOLOMON to accomplish the same Declaring how he according to his habilitie had separated for the performing of that buylding an hundreth thousand talents of Gold 1000000. of siluer brasse iron without weight besides wood stone To the which great preparation not thinking it yuough he desired SOLOMON his Nobles to adde more as they did in very deed liberally and magnificently As the holy History beareth record Besides this K. DAVID left of his own money besides that which he had cōquished of his enemies to the ornament of the walles of the Temple and other such vses three thousand talents of gold of Ophir and seuen thousand talents of fined siluer Exhorting the Princes of Israell according to their faculties to follow his ensample Who being instigate by him far vnlike our degenerate Nobilitie gaue freely to the worke of the Lorde 5000. talents of golde and 10000. talents of siluer Of brasse 18000 and of Iron 100000 talents which will amounte to exceeding summes of our money And it may be iudged that King SALOMON doubled more Now if so much was bestowed vppon a materiall Temple building what sūmes thinke yee were employed yeerly for interteinemēt of the Priests Levits who had not onely the teindes of the whole Lande but also the great offrings and first fruits of the increase But if any wil alleage that this Cuntry which we inhabit is poore in respecte of the Lande of Canaan that flowed with milke and hony and therefore may not spare so large provision vpon the Kirkes affaires I would answere and demaund who makes it poore so much as you insatiable pullers away of the rent already giuen to the Kirk to your particular vses provoking thereby the Lorde to withdraw his blessing from the Land which otherwise were able to yeeld sufficient provision both for the Kirk King and common wealth Doth not God say by his Prophet Bring all the teinds in my Thesaurie that there may be meate in my house and proue me now in this sayth the Lorde of Hostes if I shall not make open the Windowes of Heauen and poure downe a blessing vnto you And SOLOMON sayeth Honour the Lord with thy substance and with the firste fruites of all thy increase so shall thy Barnes be filled with abundance and thy presses prest with new wine Is it not a miserable thing and vnworthie to bee heard tell of in anie forrayne Countrie that the Levites of Israell who were in number 38000. aboue twentie yeares of age with their wiues and children and the whole poore of the Lande were so liberallie provided for and interteined sufficiently And nowe amongst vs albeit it were but 600. Ministers to serue the whole Countrie of Scotland sufficiente liues cannot be provided for them yea of them that are planted a greate number were left little better then begging and some notable men left altogether destitute O miserable age and vnhappy dayes that we be fallen into Shall not the Papistes in their blinde zeale ryse vp in judgemente against this vnthankful generation who susteined thousands in their Kirkes Abbaies and Cloisters besides that which they delt to the poore vppon the Kirke-rentes And nowe there be not so much lefte as to susteine a fewe Ministers Colleges and Schooles albeit the poore should be vtterly neglected May it not greatly ashame Christian Princes and others that spoyle and suffer the Kirk of God to be spoyled When as Cyrus Darius and Artaxerxes heathen Princes did bestow liberally to buylde vp the temple again in Ierusalem which NEBVCHADNETZAR had destroyed as the books of Esra and Nehemias beare record And the same Cyrus reverencing the God of heauen of whom he had but little knowledge did sende againe the vessels of golde and silver which NEBVCHADNETZAR had taken to be restored to the temple of God vnder the hand of Zerubbabel Whereto should I insist to recite other examples as of Asa Iehoshaphat Ioas Ezechias and Iosias Kinges of Iuda whose diligēce was very careful in reparaling the house of the Lorde and providing for the Priests Levits in such sort that great heapes were left after that all were fully satisfyed wheranent because shortnes of time cuteth of amplificatiō I remit you to the histories of the books of the kings chronicls wherein also may be found how because these Kings were zealous mainteiners of the true religion holy ministerie God prospered them inal their affairs so long as they perseuered thereinto I might also recite a greate Catalogue of christian Princes who following the example of such anciēt kings doted the Kirk with sufficient patrimonie As the zeale of Constantine others godly Emperours and Kings yea euen of the Kings of our owne Nation who haue bene as our Chronicles and auncient monuments beare record very liberall in this behalfe But I may not rehearse euery particular Onely this I conclude seeing that without Religion and justice no common wealth can stande for these are the two pillers whereby the estate of all well governed cōmon wealths is vp-holden it is greatly to be feared least this our cōmon wealth shal come to great desolatiō decay vnles speedy remedie be found out to stay the inconvenientes and dangers that be at hande For as to Iustice where is it when wrong partiall dealing in judgement and oppression yea not onely Sacrilege but Sorcerie bloodshed adulterie falshood and all other abhominable enormities reigne at such libertie without punishment And as to Religion how can it but decay vnlesse God speedely put to his extraordinarie hande when all ordinary meanes are taken away whereby it should be interteined and Idolatrie and Atheisme already entred in place thereof in many parts of this Land and like to enter further dayly For albeit many Kirks of the Realme lack the Ministrie of the worde there is no meanes left to provide them for all the Kirk rent is exhausted vpon greedie gormandes carelesse of Religion and that would with IVDAS sell Christ or with the godlesse souldiars of PILATE crucifie him for his garments who haue never left off gaping and shamelesly vrging ouer-liberal a Prince till they haue gotten all in their handes Example wee see this day when as the poore Ministers come to that woeful platte or send their Commissioners thinking to haue the Kirkes planted with sufficient Ministers and stipendes they are sent home emptie when they haue wayted long on without all comfort For there is nothing to augment or advance any man to any vacant roome vnlesse one Minister take from another and so be exponed to the mockage of these who haue spoyled the rentes wehereupon they should be susteined when
no marvell that they who care for no Religion but so far as it serues their turne would wel vouch safe to see them poore that they might goe the lighter to heauē following the footsteps of IVLIAN the Apostate or rather IVDAS the traytour who envyed for the oyntmente that was bestowed vppon Christ because hee was a Sacrilegious thiefe and would haue had the price thereof to his owne vse Would these men commend vnto vs such poverty as Christ did to the poore in Spirite or if necessitie required to loose all thinges for his names sake they should doe well But seeing they labour so farre as they may to bring Ministers in contempt consequently to depriue the people of the doctrine of Saluation we cannot admit their vngodly devises For wee haue sufficiente warrant in the word of God that the labourers in this function are worthye of their wages not onely for the honeste intertenemente of themselues but also of their wiues children and families and for hospitalitie Which things being ministred vnto vs for our owne partes wee would be well contented so that none of vs did lacke as it was in the Primitiue Kirke providing not the lesse that the reste of godly vses belonging to the Kirk were not neglected And speciallie the schooles and the poore whose large portion ought to be comprehended therein seeing the Kirk-rentes were justly called ◅he Patrimonie of the poore As to the reste this being done we might well agree it should supplie the necessarye affaires of the Prince and the Realme and such other Godly vses as the worlde allowes And the ensample of former ages agreeable thereto haue practized But the abuses we cannot allow as that of the Papistes of defrauding the poore of that parte of the Kirkes Patrimonie which should be bestowed vpon them Wee knowe that the Kirk-rentes of olde were divided in foure partes The one parte thereof was bestowed vppon the Pastour or Bishoppe for his owne vse and for vp-holding of hospitalitie An other vppon the reste of the office-bearers in the Kirke called the Clergie The thirde vppon the Poore And the fourth and laste parte vppon the interteinemente of Kirkes Hospitalles Brigges and other publicke and Godlie affaires Whereinto the necessities of the Prince and publicke affaires of the Countrie are to be also considered But the degenerate posteritie of the Antichristiane Kingdome applyed all these goodes to the interteinement of idle bellies diuiding all the Kirkes Patrimonie into Prelacies and benefices in erection of Abbaies Cloisteres such as are not to be found in the booke of God nor in any ensample of the Primitiue Kirke and such as ought to haue no place in any reformed Kirke or common wealth And yet this corruption remaineth amongst vs by distributing of newe titles not onely to the Bishoppes but also to Abbottes and newe Prelates as they call them after the manner of the olde Papisticall promotion The affaires of the true Kirke in the meane time not being duelie seene to nor provided And as concerning benefices vnder Prelacies there is a newe craftie and fradulente inuention founde out that these greedie gormandes haue procured at the Princes hands gifts of the Patronages therof therby to defraude best qualifyed Ministers of the same to giue them or rather sel them to whom they can finde out who wil be cōtent to make vnlawful paction with them to take a little portion of the fruits thereof serue as they please and let the moste parte remaine with themselues either by setting of vnlawfull tacks or by some other fraudulent way Now concerning the teinds whereof I promised laste to speake I graunt indeede if they were rightly gathered and bestowed to the right vse they would both helpe the poore labourers of the grounde and serue to many good vses in the Kirkes affaires But as things nowe go amongst vs they are little more profitable to these vses then the Kirk lands For they who wrongfully haue invaded the landes marke as greedely for the teinds and are entred already in possession of the greatest part thereof And now begin to make question what title or right the Kirke hath thereto So insatiable is the greede of them who haue once made shippe-wrack of conscience that they would Crucifie Christ againe for his coate Herefore it is expedient as shortnesse of time will now serue vs to deduce from the originall the payment of teindes First before any written law we finde that ABRAHAM gaue to MELCHIZEDECK as Priest of the moste high God teindes of all the spoyle that he had obteined of the discomfiture of the enemies as pledge of his thankfulnesse towarde God IACOB also passing to Mesopotamia after that notable vision of the ladder reaching from earth to heauen made a solemne vow that if the Lord should be with him preseruing him in his way and giue him foo◅e and rayments of all that the Lorde should giue him he should render againe the teind vnto the Lord. Whereby it may well appeare that by the very instinction of nature this custome was receiued amongst the Godly Patriarcks to giue teindes vnto God of that whatsoeuer he bestowed vpon them aswel by offring sacrifices as applying the same to the vtilitie of the Priestes of the Lorde the poore and other godly vses As to the offringe and paying of teindes vnder the Law we neede to make no question for the same is so set foorth at length in the bookes of the Law of MOYSES that the adversaries can make no argument against it Wherein among many other thinges it is written That all the teind of the increase of the Lande aswell of cornes as of bestiall perteined to the Lord as holy And that he distributed the same againe to the Priestes and Leuites and their families for their seruice And concerning the teindes of euerie thirde yeare likewise that the strangers widdowes fatherlesse and poore of the Land should be participant thereof so that I neede not insiste further thereupon at this present only calling to your remembrance that solemne protestation of the which I made mention before that the people were ordained to make that they had brought in all the teindes of the Lord defrauded nothing therof Read the place Deu. 26. It restes to declare then what hath bin the vse concerning teinds vnder the Gospel amongst Christians Certainely the vse of payment thereof hath bin so ancient that it is difficil to finde out the firste original thereof Alwaies it appeareth euidently that godly Princes common wealths being willing to provide the Pastours other godly affaires of the Kirk of competent living revenues did rather choose the teindes then any other meanes to that effect following the example of the godly before the lawe and imitating the cōmand of God vnder the Lawe Which loueable vse and custome hath remayned through many ages I thinke inuiolably obserued in all Christiane kingdomes common-wealthes For it is more then a
Throne and taking his hearte from him For hee was driven from amongste men and his hearte made like to the hearte of a beaste And hauing his dwelling among the Wilde beastes he eate grasse like an Oxe His bodie was vvette vvith the devve of Heauen till his haire grew like the Eagles fethers and his nayles like the foules clawes vnto the time that he knew the most highest to beare rule ouer the Kingdomes of men and to giue them to whom he will And yet his Sonne or rather Nephew ◅ BELTSASER did not humble himselfe knowing al these things but becomming worse then any his predecessors lifted vp his heart against the Lorde of Heauen brought forth the vessels of the Lords house before him in his banket and he and his Princes his wiues and Concubins drank wine therein and praysed their Idols and Gods of Golde and Silver Brasse Woodde and Stone And glorifyed not the God in whose hand his breath and all his waies were Therefore the Lord sent foorth the palme of an hande and wrote against him vpon the wall declaring the destruction of him and his Kingdome which came to passe that same night For hee was slaine and his Kingdome translated to an other Nation As the whole Historie at length beares record In the book of Machabees also which albeit they be not Canonical Scriptures it may serue for record of trueth there is a notable historie of HELIODORVS Thesaurer to king SELEVCVS who hauing sente to spoyle the Temple of Ierusalem of the Thesaurarie being therein whereof a great parte perteined to the vviddowes and fatherlesse was miraculously smitten by the hande of God as hee was about to take away the money put therein and was there left for dead till by the prayer of ONIAS the high Priest he becomming penitent was restored to his health And being returned to his Maister the king demaunding who should be meete to sende againe for that purpose Answered if the king had any enemy or euill-willer to send him For he should receiue him againe wel whipped and beaten if he escape with his life Because the power of God was truely in that place and hee that dwelled in heauen would be revenged vpon them who did invade his house In the same bookes wee haue recited the miserable ende of King ANTIOCHVS who after he had sacrilegiously spoyled the temple of Ierusalē passed in Persia and preassing also to commit Sa◅vilege in the Cietie of Persepolis was ignominiously driuen back threatning to returne to ludea mak Ierusalem a barial place of the Iewes was brought to extreame diseases so that worms issued out of his body and his seruantes could not abide the vyle sture of his Carcase and so perished most miserable The third example we haue also written of certain souldiers of IVDAS MACCHA◅EYS who were slaine in a battle against Gorgias Gouernour of Iamnea vnder whose coates were ◅ounde Iewelles of the Iamnites which thing was forbidden by the Lawe So euery man sav◅ sayth the Historie that this was the cause wherefore they were slayne Whereupon Iudas exhorted the reste o◅ his armie to keepe themselues from such kinde of sinne because they saw that example before their eyes I adde hereunto that which is writren by IOSEPHVS of certaine Romane Governours namely Crassus and Pompeius of whome the former going to warre against the Parthians by the way spoyled the Temple of Ierusalem and tooke thence amongst other thinges a golden piller of 150. poundes weighte brake it in peeces and payed the souldiers wages therwith afterward he fought against the Parthians but with such vnhappy succes that it was counted one of the greatest misfortunes losse that the Romaines receiued For his Sonne was slaine with many Legiones of the Romane Chilvalrie and he himselfe being takē prisoner fearing the enemies cruelt◅e was his own murtherer by thrusting in his eye the ryding wande wherewith he beate his Horse his head his right-hand being thereafter cut off the barbarous people powred molten gold in his mouth because hee so inordinatly thyrsted af◅ed golde in his life time The other Pompeius the great by name being otherwise one of the most noble Senators and valiant Romanes in his daies had no better successe after th◅t he likewise had spoyled the Temple of the God of heauen in Ierusalem for he his armie although being of a greater multitud◅ wer discomfited by Iulius Cesar at that moste famous battle of Pharsalia And himselfe shortly thereafter murthered by young Ptoleme King of A Egypt The contrarie fell foorth to ALEXANDER the great who passing forward to his warres in Asia and comming to Ierusalem by the way spoyled not the Temple of the Lord but did great honour thereto to IADDVA the hie Prierst granting to the Nation of the Iewes libertie to liue after their owne lawes and for the space of seuen yeares they should be free from all kinde of tribute And hee thereafter had a most prosperous successe in all his interprises I may for this purpose produce many other examples out of profane writers Of the which for shortnesse of time I will onely collect and touche compendiously some of the principals There is a famous reporte and past in a Prouerbe of the golde of Tholose Which Q. SCIPIO and his souldiars spoyled from the temples of that Citie howe they therafter come to a miserable ouer-throwe XERXES king of Persia invading Greece with an innumerable army was shamefully driuen back who sent as the historie reporteth 400. souldiars to Delphus to spoyle the Temple of Apollo who were destroyed with thunder and Tempest Q. FVLVIVS FLACCVS a Censour of Rome as VALERIVS MAXIMVS writeth toke the pillers of the Temple of Iuno out of the Cittie of Locris placed them in his owne house but he fel thereafter in a phrensie and so still continued And finally hearing tel of his three Sons whereof one being dead another was grieuously sick he died miserably wherwith the Senate being mooved decreed to send these Pillars againe to their own place Of this and such things it appeares to haue past in a common Proverbe and saying amongst the Romanes that they desired no more harme to their enemies then to haue the stones of a Temple builded in their house Plemmenius likewise a Romane Legate hauing spoyled the Temple of Proserpina in Locris as hee carryed the spoyle in his ships they were casten and broken on the sea ◅ands and the spoyle founde restored againe to the Temple Plemmenius himselfe neuer prospered thereafter But being driuen from Italie to Greece dyed a shamefull death The like thing also we reade of Pyrrhus And concerning Brennus an aunciente king of the Gaules how he with his souldiers going to spoyle the Temple of Delphos the most parte of his armie was destroyed with an earth-quake himselfe so smitten that for sorrow he killed himself But men may say why produce I these ēnsamples of spoyling of Idols Idolatrous temples Seeing