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B13857
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Contemplations vpon the historie of the old Testament. The seuenth volume. In two bookes. By Ios. Hall D.D.; Contemplations upon the principall passages of the Holy Storie. Vol. 7
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Hall, Joseph, 1574-1656.
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1623
(1623)
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STC 12658.5; ESTC S103672
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123,026
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533
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Contemplations VPON THE HISTORIE of the old TESTAMENT THE SEVENTH VOLVME In two Bookes By IOS HALL D. D. LONDON Printed by J. Hâ—â—land for Nath. Butter 1623. Contemplations VPON THE OLD TESTAMENT The 18th Booke Wherein are Rehoboam Ieroboam The seduced Prophet Ieroboams Wife Asa Elijah with the Sareptan Elijah with the Baalites Elijah running before Ahab flying from Iezebel TO THE RIGHT HONORABLE IAMES LORD HAYE Baron of Saley Viscount Doncaster Earle of Carlile one of the Lords of his Maiesties most Honourable Priuie COVNSELL Right Honourable I Cannot but thus gratulate to you your happy returne from your many and noble imployments which haue made you some yeeres a stranger at home and so renowned abroad that all the better parts of Europe know and honour your name no lesse than if you had beene borne theirs Neither is any of them so sauage as not to say when they heare mention of your worth that Vertue is a thousand Escuchions If now your short breathing-time may allow your Lordship the freedome of quiet holy thoughts cast your eyes vpon Israel and Iudah vpon the Kings and Prophets of both in such beneficiall varietie as prophane historie shall promise in vaine Your Lordship shall see Rehoboam following Salomon in nothing but his seat and his fall as much more wilfull than his father as lesse wise all head no heart losing those ten Tribes with a churlish breath whom he would and might not recouer with bloud Ieroboam as crafty as wicked plotting a reuolt creating a Religion to his state marring Israelites to make subiects branded in his name smitten in his hand in his loynes You shall see a faithfull messenger of God after miraculous proofe of his courage fidelity power good nature paying deare for a little circumstance of credulous disobedience The lion is sent to call for his bloud as the price of his forbidden harbour You shall see the blinde Prophet descrying the disguise of a Queene the iudgement of the King the remouall of a Prince too good for Ieroboams heire You shall see the right stock of Royall succession flourishing in Asa whiles that true heire of Dauid though not without some blemishes of infirmity inherits a perfect heart purges his kingdome of Sodomy of Idolatry not balking sinne euen where he honoured nature You shall see the wonder of Prophets Elijah opening and shutting heauen as his priuate chest catored-for by the Rauens nor lesse miraculously catoring for the Sareptan contesting with Ahab confronting the Baalites speaking both fire and water from heauen in one euening meekely lacquaying his Soueraigne weakely flying from Iezabel fed supernaturally by Angels hid in the rocke of Horeb confirmed by those dreadfull apparitions that had confounded some other casting his mantle vpon his homely successor and by the touch of that garment turning him from a plough-man to a Prophet But what doe I withhold your Lordship in the bare heads of this insuing discourse In all these your piercing eies shall easily see beyond mine make my thoughts but a station for a further discouery Your Lordships obseruation hath studied men more than bookes heere it shall study God more than men That of bookes hath made you full that of men iudicious this of God shall make you holy and happy Hitherto shall euer tend the wishes and indeuours of Your Lordships humbly deuoted in all faithfull obseruance IOS HALL Contemplations REHOBOAM WHo would not but haue looked that seuen hundred wiues and three hundred concubines should haue furnished Salomons Palace with choise of heires and haue peopled Israel with royall issue and now behold Salomon hath by all these but one Sonne and him by an Ammonitesse Many a poore man hath an house-full of children by one wife whiles this great King hath but one sonne by many house-fulls of wiues Fertility is not from the meanes but from the author It was for Salomon that Dauid sung of old Lo children are an heritage of the Lord and the fruit of the wombe is his reward How oft doth God deny this heritage of heires where he giues the largest heritage of lands and giues most of these liuing possessions where he giues least of the dead that his blessings may bee acknowledged free vnto both entayled vpon neither As the greatest persons cannot giue themselues children so the wisest cannot giue their children wisdome Was it not of Rehoboam that Salomon said I hated all my labour which I had taken vnder the Sunne because I should leaue it vnto the man that shall bee after mee and who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a foole Yet shall he rule ouer all my labour wherein I haue laboured and shewed my selfe wise vnder the Sunne All Israel found that Salomons wit was not propagated Many a foole hath had a wiser sonne than this wisest father Amongst many sonnes it is no newes to finde some one defectiue Salomon hath but one sonne and he no miracle of wisdome God giues purposely so eminent an instance to teach men to looke vp to heauen both for heires and graces Salomon was both the King of Israel and the father of Rehoboam when hee was scarce out of his childhood Rehoboam enters into the kingdome at a ripe age yet Salomon was the man and Rehoboam the childe Age is no iust measure of wisdome There are beardlesse sages and gray-headed children Not the ancient are wise but the wise is ancient Israel wanted not many thousands that were wiser than Rehoboam Yet because they knew him to be the sonne of Salomon no man makes question of his gouernment In the case of succession into Kingdomes we may not looke into the qualities of the person but into the right So secure is Salomon of the peoples fidelity to Dauids seed that he followes not his fathers example in setting his sonne by him in his owne throne here was no danger of a riuality to inforce it no eminency in the sonne to merit it It sufficeth him to know that no bond can bee surer than the naturall allegeance of subiects I doe not finde that the following Kings stood vpon the confirmation of their people but as those that knew the way to their throne ascended those steps without aid As yet the soueraignty of Dauids house was greene and vnsetled Israel therefore doth not now come to attend Rehoboam but Rehoboam goes vp to meet Israel They come not to his Ierusalem but he goes to their Shechem To Shechem were all Israel come to make him King If loyalty drew them together why not rather to Ierusalem there the maiestie of his fathers Temple the magnificence of his palace the verie stones in those walles besides the strength of his guard had pleaded strongly for their subiection Shechem had beene many waies fatall was euery way incommodious It is an infinite helpe or disaduantage that arises from circumstances The very place puts Israel in minde of a rebellion There Abimelech had raised vp his treacherous vsurpation ouer and against
beene bestowed shall now bee gladly deuoted to the celebration of that happy day wherein hee is honoured with so blessed an imployment If with desire if with cheerefulnes we do not enter into the works of our heauenly Master they are not like to prosper in our hands Hee is not worthy of this spirituall station who holds not the seruice of God his highest his richest preferment Contemplations VPON THE OLD TESTAMENT The 19th Booke Wherein are Ahab and Benhadad Ahab and Naboth Ahab and Michaiah or the death of Ahab Ahaziah sicke Elijah reuenged The Rapture of Elijah Elisha Healing the waters Cursing the Children Releeuing the three kings Elisha with the Shunamite Naaman and Elisha Elisha raising the yron blinding the Syrians The Famine of Samaria releeued TO THE RIGHT HONORABLE EDVVARD Lord DENNY Baron of WALtham my bountifull and dearely honored PATRON Right Honorable NOne can challenge so much right in these Meditations as your Lordship vnder whose happy shade they receiued their first conception Vnder this Iuniper of yours haue I not driuen by force but drawne by pleasure slept thus long sweetly safely and haue receiued these Angelicall touches How iustly may your Lordship claime the fruits of your owne fauours Your carefull studies in this booke of God are fit to bee exemplary which haue so enriched you that your teacher shall gaine In this reach of diuine thoughts you shall see Benhadads insolence taken downe by Ahabs victory an humble though Idâ—â—atrous Israelite carrying it from an insulting Pagan You shall see in Ahab the impotent passions of greatnesse in Naboth bleeding honesty in Iezebel bloudy hypocrisie cruell craft plotting from hell pretending from heauen You shall see the wofull successe of an vniust mercy Ahab forfaiting what hee gaue killed by him whom hee should haue killed You shall see resolute Michaiah opposing the mercenary Synode of Prophets a beaten victor an imprisoned freeman You shall see Ahaziah falling through his grate Elijah climbing vp his mount mounting vp to his glory fetching fire from heauen fetch 't by a fiery charet to heauen Elisha the heire of his mantle of his spirit no lesse maruellous in his beneficences in his reuenges What doe I foretell all Mee thinkes I feele my selfe now too like an Italian host thus to meet your Lordship on the way and to promise before-hand your fare and intertainment Let it please your Lordship rather to see and allow your cheere Indeed the feast is Gods and not mine wherein store striues with delicacie If my cookery hurt it not it is enough Through your hands I commend it to the world as I doe your Lordship and my honorable good Lady to the gracious protection of the Almightie iustly vowing my selfe Your Lordships in all faithfull obseruance for euer to command IOS HALL AHAB and BENHADAD THere is nothing more dangerous for any state than to call in forraigne powers for the suppression of an home-bred enemie the remedy hath oft in this case proued worse than the disease Asa King of Iudah implores the aid of Benhadad the Syrian against Baasha King of Israel That stranger hath good colour to set his foot in some out-skirt-townes of Israel and now these serue him but for the handsell of more Such sweetnesse doth that Edomite finde in the soile of Israel that his ambition will not take vp with lesse than all Hee that entred as a Friend will proceed as a Conqueror and now aimes at no lesse than Samaria it selfe the heart the head of the ten Tribes There was no cause to hope for better successe of so perfidious a League with an Infidell Who can looke for other than warre when hee sees Ahab and Iezebel in the throne Israel in the groues and temples of Baalim The ambition of Benhadad was not so much guilty of this warre as the Idolatry of that wicked nation How can they expect peace from earth who doe wilfully fight against heauen Rather will the God of Hosts arme the brute the senselesse creatures against an Israel than he will suffer their defiance vnreuenged Ahab and Benhadad are well matched an idolatrous Israelite with a paganish Idumaean well may God plague each with other who meanes vengeance to them both Ahab findes himselfe hard pressed with the siege and therefore is glad to enter into treaties of peace Benhadad knowes his owne strength and offers insolent conditions Thy siluer and thy gold is mine thy wiues also and thy children euen the goodliest are mine It is a fearefull thing to be in the mercy of an enemy In case of hostility might will carue for it selfe Ahab now after the diuision of Iudah was but halfe a King Benhadad had two and thirty Kings to attend him What equality was in this opposition Wisely doth Ahab therefore as a reed in a temâ—â—st stoope to this violent charge of so potent an enemy My Lord O King according to thy saying I am thine and all that I haue It is not for the ouer-powred to capitulate Weaknesse may not argue but yeeld Tyranny is but drawne on by submission and where it finds feare and deiection insulteth Benhadad not content with the soueraignty of Ahabs goods calls for the possession Ahab had offered the Dominion with reseruation of his subordinate interest hee will be a tributary so he may bee an owner Benhadad imperiously besides the command calls for the propriety and suffers not the King of Israel to enioy those things at all which he would inâ—oy but vnder the fauour of that predominancie Ouer-strained subiection turnes desperate if conditions be imposed worse than death there needs no long disputation of the remedy The Elders of Israel whose share was proportionably in this danger harten Ahab to a deniall which yet comes out so fearefully as that it appeares rather extoâ—ted by the peremptory indignation of the people than proceeding out of any generosity of his Spirit Neither doth he say I will not but I may not The proud Syrian who would haue taken it in foule scorne to be denied though hee had sent for all the heads of Israel snuffes vp the wind like a wilde Asse in the Wildernesse and brags and threats and sweares The gods doe so to me and more also if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfulls for all the people that follow mee Not the men not the goods onely of Samaria shall be carried away captiue but the very earth whereon it stands and this with how much ease No Souldier shall need to be charged with more than an handfull to make a valley where the mother City of Israel once stood Oh vaine boaster in whom I know not whether pride or folly be more eminent Victorie is to bee atchieued not to be sworne future euents are no matter of an oath Thy gods if they had beene might haue beene called as witnesses of thy intentions not of that successe whereof thou wouldst be the Author without them Thy gods can doe nothing to thee nothing for thee nothing for