〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith Tremellius and the Preacher ex ratione carnis saith the same that is as I interpret him out of carnall reasoning he might rather have said ratione carnis because the flesh of the abortive was buried and the churls carcase unburied Nor let any man thwart me by saying that in the Septuagint is no such matter but the words are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and the Vulgat accordeth Supercecidit ignis and the whole troups both of Greek and Latine Fathers so read it and so expound it I answer ingenuously that ascribing so much as I do to the Septuagint and Vulgat I wondred how there should be so great difference from the uncorrupt originall The Vulgat thought I trusted to the 70. and the 70. to some Hebrew Copy varying from others more perfect The 70 rendred Gen. 4.8 not according to the Hebrew which is certainly defective saith Vatablus and somewhat is to be understood for indeed there is an extraordinary pause but according to the Samaritan Pentateuch Cain said unto his brother Let us go into the field as Mr. Selden evinceth by the authority of Hierom and Cyrill of old and by a Samaritan Copy now in the hands of Bishop Usher which the Hierusalem Targum amplifieth relating That Cain told Abel there was no future world nor reward for goodnesse nor punishment for sinne all which Abel contradicted and thereupon Cain slew him So might the 70. or the Vulgat or both translate the passage of the Psalmist not accordant to those Copies which are now in price but answerable to some other Hebrew one At length I rested assured that the Copies which they used differed onely in one letter and in the points For instead of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with five points as it is most commonly read and with six points saith Kimchi which signifieth abortivus and is in the Psalmist their Copies had it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifieth cecidit there being the same Radicals and no letter changed Secondly for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 mulieris which is in David they read 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifieth fire the omission onely of one letter 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hath caused abortivus mulieris to be translated cecidit ignis For as for the variety of punctations that is of small moment by reason of their often interchangings and easie mistakings and points were not used in the dayes of the Septuagint as some say scarce when the Vulgat first was as others say not from the beginning say I if the names of the points and accents be Syriacall Drusius in his Henoch chap. 1. saith Hieronymus ante Masoritarum tempora à quibus apices habemus ut communis opinio est qui nunc in vsu vixit Mercer in the great Dictionary of Pagnine on the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 relates that when the Chaldee translates Deuter. 26.5 Laban Syrus quaerebat perdere patrem meum and when the Vulgat rendred it Syrus persequebatur patrem meum whereas indeed it ought to be read as it is in our last Translation A Syrian ready to perish was my father non est dubium saith he quin sine punctis quibus tunc carebant Biblia legerint in Pihel non in Kal. Yea Sine dubio novas literas habemus if we may beleeve Bellarmine De Verbo Dei 1.1 And indeed the three fundamenta laid by Balthasar Bambach That the points were coëtaneall to the Hebrew letters are founded on the sands First saith he Sine vocalibus consonantes proferri non possunt omnis lingua quae illis destituta est manca imperfecta mutila efficitur What of all this how followeth this Because the consonants cannot be pronounced without vowells therefore the vowells were underwritten Let him know the Hebrew Tongue was most perfect when it was least written and till Moses his time there were not so much as consonants written howsoever they fable of a pillar written upon long before for God invented the letters first when he made his Two Tables and writ the Law in them See this proved by our learned Whitaker saying * Deus ipse scribendi exemplum modúmque ost endit quando Legem suis digitis conscriptam Mosi tradidit Sic Chrysost Theophylact in 1 Matth. Papistae in confess Petrocoviensi cap. 15 Screckins Jesuita Thes 13 De Verbo Dei Whitak De Script Controvers 1. quaest cap 2. God himself hath shewed an example and manner of writing when he delivered to Moses the Law written with his own fingers So Chrysostom and Theophylact write on the first of Matthew and the Papists in their Confession c. But though Eusebius Praeparat Evangel lib. 18. saith Moses first taught the use of letters to the Jews yet Saint Augustine De Civitate 15.23 saith Enoch wrote * Nonuulla divina some divine things since Saint Jude testifieth so much But that ever honoured Father considered not that Jude said onely Enoch prophesied which he might do by saying onely and not writing as Adam Genes 2.24 yea God himself prophesied of Christ in Paradise Genes 3.15 which Moses first wrote for ought that we know and S. Judes words are Enoch prophesied saying in which writing is rather excluded then included Drusius in his Enoch cap. 27 saith There was a book called LIBER BELLORUM DOMINI out of which Moses bringeth a testimony Cornelius à Lapide saith It was written before the Pentateuch Aben Ezra saith The book was in the dayes of Abraham In the book of Job who lived before Moses is mention of writing and of books as of things common and of graving in stone with a pen of iron Cusanus prinketh higher in his Compend chap. 3. pag. 241. he saith Our first parents had the art of writing since by it man hath many helps for things past and absent are by it made present By the same reason he may say Adam knew the art of Printing of Brachygraphy of Characters Let us passe-by the unauthorized vast fancy of Cusanus and answer the objection drawn from Jobs book which if it were written by his three friends or their Scribes at their dictate as saith Bolducus the Carthusian since they could make Job no better satisfaction then to historifie his innocency and their own petulancy or if by Elihu the Buzite as is very probable for he was young when they were old Job 32.6 and might well live till after the writing of the Pentateuch and publishing of books or by Job himself for Job himself might have conferred in Midian with Moses saith Bolducus who also died but thirteen yeares before Moses died saith that Carthusian yea Job lived after Moses if he lived 248 yeares as the Septuagint and Olympiodorus do account And certainly after all Jobs misery he lived in prosperity 20 yeares longer then the whole yeares of Moses compare Job 42.16 with Deuter. 33.7 and so Job might know the writing of the Law in Tables of stone
the living God and not with penne and ink For though the sense and words of this Epistle to the Galatians be from God and most divine yet there is no reason to imagine that S. Paul intended to include that sense under these words Videte or Videtis qualibus literis scripsi vobis manu meâ You see how large a letter I have written to you with mine own hand But if the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 doth signifie quantitie though S. Paul wrote in great letters and characters yet it might be a verie good and fair hand as there are few fairer writings then some where the letters are large and full drawn and I doubt not but he who gave them the extraordinary gift of tongues and languages did also as a necessarie appendant give them the power to write well those languages especially since their writings were to benefit more then their voices could reach unto We never reade that the holy Apostles Peter James or John were learned or could reade or write before their calling or learned it by degrees after their Apostleship yet they could and did write and as the Spirit guided their thoughts and words so did he their hands and they wrote both divinely for matter and as I think exquisitely for the manner yea more exquisitely then other men as being governed and actuated by the hand of God which is perfect in all his works And indeed the true sense of the place in my opinion toucheth not at the deformednesse of the characters or at the grand-greatnesse of them but at the length or prolixitie of the Epistle which is excellently rendered by our English You see how large a letter I have written as if S. Paul had spoke thus more at large I who before told you that we must not be weary of well-doing but must do good unto all men whilest we have time especially to the houshold of faith I say I my self have not been wearie in writing this Epistle though it be long and whilest I had time I have spent that time in doing you good by writing this letter by writing this long and large letter to you For though I have written longer Epistles yet I did rather subscribe to them and wrote not all of any one of them with mine own hand but you may take it as a token of my heartie love that I wrote all this Epistle my self You see how large a letter I have writ to you with mine own hand And this sense better answereth to the coherence then that of S. Hierom or of the other learned man whom S. Hierom wondered at So much for the third Lemma 8. I come now to the first Question viz. Whether it was necessarie that Scripture should be written for mens instruction That it was not absolutely necessarie must be confest for God might have used other means He is liberrimum agens the freest agent or rather ipsa libertas libertie it self not chained to fate nor bound in with nature or second causes Necessitie freedome of our will or indifferencie to either side and contingencie are the issues of his will Yea God did use other means in the law of nature for above 2450 yeares the Patriarchs were nourished with agraphall Tradition onely No word was ever written till God wrote the Law the two first Tables the work of the onely-wise Almightie The writing was the writing of God graven upon the Tables Exod. 32.16 Written with the finger of God Exod 31.18 The Jews say The book of Genesis was written by Moses before God wrote the Law For though God spake all the words of the Decalogue Exod. 20.1 c. yet he delivered not the Tables to Moses till Exod. 31.18 but Exod. 24.4 it is related that Moses wrote all the words of the Lord and vers 7. that he took the book of the Law and read it in the audience of the people Kemnitius answereth That the things are recorded per Anticipationem seu per 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The last is recorded in the first place for the writing and dedication here mentioned were accomplished afterward Exod. 34.32 The pillar of stone and that other of brick which Josephus Antiq. 1.4 saith the children of Seth did write in before the floud were either fictions or antidated The prophesie of Enoch was not written by him as S. Augustine de Civit. 15.22 and Origen Hom. 28. in Num. think but Enoch prophesied Saying Jude 14. As the prophesie of Adam Genes 2.24 and of God himself Genes 3.15 both of them concerning Christ were spoken in Paradise not written and as the Apostles wrote not the Creed but delivered it onely vivâ voce by word of mouth saith Irenaeus 3.4 and Augustine de Fide Oper. cap. 9. and Ruffinus on the Creed and divers others so is it likely that Enochs prophesie was not written or rather was written long after it was spoken for writing was not so necessarie for the Patriarchs First because they were purer in minde saith Chrysostom Hom. 1. in Matth. And it is the fault of our corrupt nature and we may be rightly impleaded that ever there was any writing as may be gathered from Isidorus Peleusiota lib. 3. epist 106. Secondly the long lives of the Patriarchs supplied the room of writing for Methusalah who lived 240 yeares with Adam with the first Adam who was AETATIS ILLIUS EPISCOPUS Bishop of those times saith Kemnitius in Examine part 1. pag. 13. lived also 90 and odde yeares with Sem and Sem lived 50 yeares in Jacobs time by the calculation of Helvicus and there were not 200 yeares from Jacobs death to the writing of the Law Thirdly besides such aged venerable Prophets as were Adam Enoch Noah and Abraham who was an eminent instructer with authoritie and as it were with a Pretorian power Gen. 18.19 I know that Abraham will command his sonnes and his houshold after him that they keep the way of the Lord other Patriarchs knew the will of God by immediate revelation by dreams and visions 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 At sundrie times and in divers manners Heb. 1.1 Gods speech was in stead of writing But when men grew more impure and upon the increase of sinne mans dayes were shortened God did withdraw himself and his familiar conversation was not so common but because their hearts of flesh were hardened in which was printed the law of nature by them even obliterated and they received new evil impressions in stonie hearts God himself wrote the Morall Law in two Tables of stone and Gods own handie-work being broken by the occasion of their sinne to shew that the Morall Law should continue for ever the broken Tables were removed and none knoweth what ever became of them and Moses was commanded to frame two new whole Tables of stone like the former Two extreams about the written word are here to be avoided The first is of the Papists who too much disgrace the Scripture at least comparatively
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 doth signifie a vast and immense longitude of time but there are also besides them other evident words arguing such pawses and spaces of times As also because the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or post itself is so expounded by Pererius on John 5.4 * Post motionem aquae significat idem ac st dictum fuissâ—t Postquam coepta erat motio turbatio aquae After the troubling of the water signifieth as much as if it had been said After the moving and troubling of the water was begun saith he for the infirm did wait and expect the moving of the water ver 3. and the impotent man said to Christ ver 7. I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is troubled that is so soon as the water beginneth to be troubled for the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the first descendant into the water 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 after the troubling was healed Therefore you must expound the word after for immediately after instantly there upon For if he had first stepped in he had been healed whereas if you expound after the motion that is a long while after he might indeed have been put into the water but never the nearer to be healed So also 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 John 5.19 and divers other places evince that the phrase implieth not length of time intervenient but rather an historicall narration of things succeeding and sometimes depending one of the other So here first death after that i shortly after that cometh 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 judicium judgement Judgement is taken two wayes first for the assenting or dissenting of the intellect in this sense we say I like or like not such a mans judgement so judgement is taken for ones opinion perswasion or determination The Text is not meant of judgement in this sense Secondly it is used for an act of justice giving to every man what belongeth to him Thus is it here taken An act of justice not proceeding from man but from GOD and terminated upon man The judgements of GOD upon man are manifold both in this present life and in the life to come The judgement here mentioned is the judgement after death And of judgements after death there are two Private of souls Publick of bodies and souls Whether of these two judgements is to be understood we hope to finde out when we have considered the last thing propounded the words in a lump together 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 After that the judgement 5 That there are two judgements after this life we take it here for granted but by GODS assistance it shall be in a fitter place of this discourse demonstrated at large But whether the generall judgement of souls and bodies be especially here meant or the private and particular judgement of souls or both of them is the question now and must be determined by authority and reason Oecumenius is for the first way and wittily interprets these words as if it had been said When all and every one which ever were in the world are dead then followeth after the universall death universall judgement To him assenteth * Bell. de Purgat lib. 2. cap. 4. Bellarmine and the book of Esdras long before either of them * 2. Esdr 14.35 After death shall the judgement come when we shall live again c. where the generall judgement is pointed at and not the particular And from hence S. Paul may be thought to have borrowed the words I answer that the Apostle had them not from that author for there is neither Greek nor Hebrew copie of that book of Esdras * Bell. de Verbo Dei lib. 1. cap. 20. saith Bellarmine from S. Hierome onely it is preserved in Latine and no Councel ever held it as canonicall saith Bellarmine Again I can finde no passage of either of these books of Esdras cited in the New Testament though out of other apocryphall books there be divers things taken And though Ambrose cited the second book of Esdras commonly called the fourth book of Esdras in his book de Bono mortis and in his second book on Luke and in his second epistle to Horatianus yea though * Sixt. Sen Bib. Sanct. lib. 1. Sixtus Senensis saith of Ambrose that Ambrose thought Esdras wrote this book by divine revelation and that S. Paul did follow Esdras in those things which he hath concerning the diversitie of order of glory of brightnes in the elect when they shall be raised yet Sixtus Senensis himself esteemeth not the book to be either canonicall or deutero-canonicall but meerely apocryphall and in it he saith are * Quaedam suspecta dogmata regulis orthodoxae fidei apertè contradiceutia some suspected doctrines manifestly gainsaying the rules of orthodox faith and he instanceth in the * 2. Esdr 4.35 36 39 41 42. fourth chapter maintaining * Omnes animas detineri quibusdam abditis promptuariis in inferuo that all souls are kept in certain hidden floores or chambers in hell till the generall judgement Sixtus Senensis addeth that S. Ambrose seemeth to approve of this opinion Also saith he in chap. 6. vers 49. there are fabulous Jewish fooleries of Henoch and Leviathan two fishes Upon these grounds I may confidently say that though some ignorant people might be seduced by this book and thence perhaps arose the error of the souls not being judged till the resurrection yet S. Paul would never take a testimony from that book which hath such palpable untruths and is not extant in Greek or Hebrew Moreover it hath no place vouchsafed in Arias Montanus his Interlineary Bible nor doth Emanuel Sa comment on any word of it and Bellarmine himself marvelleth why Genebrard would have it held canonicall Estius saith * Liber ille non habet autoritatem in Ecclesia Est in 2. Sent. Dist 19. num 4. That book hath no authoritie in the Church But I return to the first exposition The generall judgement may be meant and is involved I will not deny it Yet these reasons perswade me that the particular judgement is not excluded First if the Apostle had intended it onely of the generall judgement it is likely he would as he doth in other places have used fittest expressions and terms properly advancing to that sense as thus At the second coming of Christ or At the end of the world or When the corruptible hath put on incorruption or After the resurrection cometh judgement But since it is written It is appointed for men to die and after that cometh judgement to interpret it onely of the generall judgement is in my opinion to leave a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a great gulf between death and judgement which hiatus will handsomely be filled up if there be reference to the particular judgement Secondly what if I say that the words do denote rather the not passing of judgement while we live and the beginning of it to be shortly
and the other Sacred Writings of Moses perhaps also books of other men to which he alluded and yet there was no writing before the Law Concerning the book Numb 21.14 suppose the word runne in the present tense Dicitur It is said in the book of the Warres of the Lord yet it is expounded by the Chaldee as of a thing past What God did in the Red Sea and in the brooks of Arnon which latter clause necessarily implyeth that the book was written after the Law for The battle of Arnon was the fourtieth yeare after their Exodus saith a Jew by Vatablus his commendation very eminent Or say it be read as Robert Stephen in his Annotations on the Pentateuch gathered from the Kings Professours at Paris hath it Sicut fecitin Mari Rubro sic faciet in torrentibus Arnon which sense Cornelius à Lapide embraceth yet those words evince that the book was written since their going out of Egypt which was but fourty dayes before the giving of the Law saith Helvicus But indeed first the word Sepher doth not alwayes signifie a book but sometimes a Narrative of things past whereupon Tremellius readeth it Idcirco dici solet IN RECENSIONE BELLORUM JEHOVAE And so others have held saith Vatablus plainly denying that there was ever any such especiall book of warres Others read it in the future It shall be read and thereupon some of the Jews think it is the Book of Judges which handleth the Warre with Amalek or another book which recounted the miracles of God in the Red Sea and by the river Arnon which book perhaps is now perished as divers others of the holy Scriptures and amongst them a book made by Samuel 1 Samuel 10.25 Which I wondred that neither Drusius nor any who handled the controversies whom I could yet meet with ever observed before me And indeed Jeamar is the future tense It shall be said or it shall be written So Vatablus the Interlineary Eugubinus and the Genevians So the words are rather propheticall then historicall and so no particular book of the warres of the Lord was written before the two Tables Lastly that I may leave no objection unanswered adde this to the answer of S. Augustine That Christ speaking of a prophesie in Paradise concerning himself doth not say It was written before Moses but It is written by Moses of me John 5.46 Moreover if we can read the Hebrew now without vowels much easier and better could they whose daily speech it was The necessity of pronouncing the consonaÌ„ts by the vowels evinceth not the writing of consonaÌ„ts the necessity of writing the Hebrew tongue by consonants evinceth not the necessity of writingvowels they may be of a later invention Secondly saith he * Quum duae linguae Syriaca Arabica quae ab Hebraea ortae sunt vocales habeant ut ex libris manuscriptis impressis apparet Matrem uempe Hebraeam illis carere verisimile non est Seeing that the two tongues the Syriack and the Arabick which came from the Hebrew have vowels as it appeares out of manuscripts and printed books it is not likely that the Mother-tongue to wit the Hebrew wants them I answer it followeth not Because the Syriack Arabick have now points therefore they had ever so when they were written and if they had ever points it is likely they invented them and added them to their consonants the rather because the Hebrew wanted them Thirdly * Quâ Linguâ Deus Sacra sua oracula promulgavit banc certam miniméque ambiguant esse necessariò statuendum est We must needs hold that tongue to be certain and no way ambiguous or doubtfull in which God hath published his sacred Oracles I answer Then God should have writ in any other language for the Hebrew of all other is most dubious and ambiguous And whereas he addeth That the Hebrew without vowels hath no certain signification but from the antecedent and consequent and admitteth three foure or five significations according to the diversity of vowels I answer the antecedents and consequents are guides sufficient and God did it purposely to exercise our wits and to make us know that though in things necessary to salvation the Scripture is easy yet in some matters there are depths not to be sounded in others The lips of the Priest should keep knowledge and they should seek the law at his mouth Malach. 2.7 which the unlearned scorn now adayes to do though there be much ambiguitie but how bold-daring self-willed would they be if there were no difficulties I return from the words to the matter and say That as the strong births of the wombe are a blessing of God whether in women or in beasts Deuter. 30.9 So an abortion is a curse and abortives I mean that had life and reasonable souls by the ordinary rules of Genes 17.14 when Circumcision was in force and of John 3.3 whilest Baptisme is in force is a fearfull estate Howsoever God may dispense with his own Law and shew mercy extraordinarily yet David when he wished his enemies to be like abortives wished them no good but evill yea if he did not curse them but foretold what they should be like and that they were not the words of imprecation but prediction yet he did not fore-divine or fore-prophesie any good estate to them whom he likeneth to abortives Let this suffice concerning abortives incapable of sinne or punishment and abortives whose estate of soul is dangerous being measured by the rules of precepts Which I say against Anabaptists and the contemners or causelesse delayers of that gracious Sacrament 5 It is now supposed and shall if it please God hereafter be demonstrated That humane souls are not traducted nor causally brought out of the flesh yet are they occasionally that I may touch at the manner God having resolved and decreed after generation and fit organization of the Embryo to create and infuse a reasonable soul which soul because it is united to a masse corrupted in such a manner as a spiritlesse masse may be corrupted or rather to a masse inclining or inducing to corruption in the very unition it contracteth originall sinne Hugo Eterianus thus descanteth on this point * Cum anima languore afficitur non voluntate non necessitate sed solâ societate peroellitur si voluntate corrumperetur anima non originale sed actuale peccatum censeretur si necessitate câ—deret von ultrà esset imputandum illud vitium Hugo Eter de Animarum regressu ab Inferis cap. 4. When the soul languisheth it is neither cast down by the will nor by necessity but onely by fellowship if the soul were corrupted by the will it should not be counted originall sinne but actuall if it should fall by necessitie that vice were no further to be imputed Concerning the latter part I answer if in his necessity he imply coaction he saith true otherwise by this concurrence of our condescending will in Adam or by
Israel Exod. 17.8 though they were presently punished by being vanquished in battell yet God said vers 14. Write this for a memoriall in a book I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek under heaven And the Lord did swear he would have warre with Amalek from generation to generation Exod. 7.16 And above foure generations after about 400 yeares Saul destroyed them A Quaere indeed may be made Whether God can justly punish the fathers for the childrens actuall delinquencies And this resolution is easie That he may do it if the father hath doted on the children not duely corrected them for so did God to * 1. Sam. 2.29 Eli or if wicked children do tenderly love their parents which though it be not usuall yet it hath been so and in this case the punishment of the father is indeed a punishment also of the childe But if an holy father do his duty and hate his sonnes courses and thereupon the childe loveth not his father if God can punish the father with temporall punishments for the notorious faults of his sonne yet he will not punish him eternally Nay I will go yet further and truely avouch that the sinnes of predecessours which are not of consanguinitie with us but are fathers onely by our imitation fully may be punished on their children First the word father is taken two wayes in Scripture for either there are fathers by imitation or fathers by nature from whose loyns we lineally descend The Jews though they came not of Cain whose posterity ended at the floud yet may be said to be his sonnes by imitation yea they are called the sonnes of Satan Joh. 8.44 because they followed his steps and did the work of their father vers 41. which is one degree more remote Those who thus take a pattern for themselves out of example of wicked ancestours God justly punisheth Satan having been a murderer from the beginning John 8.44 Cain being as it were the head of murderers among men and the Jews treading in their steps to an inch they may justly be cast into the same fire prepared for the devil and his angels Matth. 25.41 And the Apostle S. Jude justly pronounceth vers 11. Wo to them that have gone in the way of Cain Yea our blessed Saviour himself foretelleth the Jews that for their bloudy proceedings Vpon them shall come all the righteous bloud shed upon the earth from the bloud of the righteous Abel unto the bloud of Zacharias whom they slew c. Mat. 23.35 Where first the distinct deaths of severall martyrs or just ones as the Syriack hath it is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 one just bloud secondly they are said to slay Zacharias whom others slew thirdly the bloud is not said in the preterperfect tense to have been shed but in the present tense 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is shed or is now a shedding as Jerusalem is called vers 37. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quae occidisti occîdis occisura es as Erasmus well expounds it All these circumstances concurre to make as it were one continued act of murder from the beginning of the world till the destruction of Jerusalem repayed with one and the same punishment upon the father and all the sonnes of imitation Now as the punishment of the fathers by imitation may in an extended sense be communicated to posterity so their sinnes cannot be said to be communicated For how can the sinne of Cain be communicated unto him who last of all killed his brother and unto the Jews who descended not from him but from the younger brother Or can we think that God will inflict damnation upon men for others personall transgressions Temporall chastisements he may justly inflict for the ungracious perpetrations of parents x Non est tibi Israel ultio in qua non sit uncia de iniquitate vituli There is no vengeance taken on thee Israel wherein there is not an ounce of the iniquitie of the calf saith Rabbi Moses Ben Nachman whom they call Ramban or Gerundensis See an excellent place for both points together Jerem. 32.18 19. And eternall torment can he rightly adjudge the soules and bodies of men unto for original sinne which is our second proposition 5. God may and justly doth punish some children eternally and all temporally for originall sinne whether they be like their parents in actuall aversion and back-sliding yea or no. For the most righteous sonnes of Adam endure pain labour sicknesse death which are the orts and effects of the primogeneall offence and the death both of soul and body was inflicted in Morte moriemini and this shall hereafter be fully proved 6. God justly inflicteth eternall punishment on wicked children if they resemble their wicked parents y Malorum imitatio facit ut non solùm sua sed etiam eorum quos imitati sunt merita sortiantur August in priori Enarrat Psal 108. The imitating of wicked men makes a man to be punished not onely for his own sinnes but for theirs also whom he imitates This is a truth so apparent that it needeth no further proof 7. God oftentimes punisheth one sinne with an other And in my opinion this manner of punishing if it continue all a mans life is worse then the torment of hell-fire which were better to be speedily undergone then to be deferred with the increase of sinne Psal 69.27 Adde punishment of iniquitie or Adde iniquitie unto their iniquitie Thus God gave the Gentiles over to a reprobate minde Rom. 1.28 and then such offenders do but treasure up wrath against the day of wrath Rom. 2.5 But this happeneth not for the foregoing offences of our progenitours but for our own transgressions 8. The personall holinesse of the parent never conveied grace or salvation to the sonne Abraham the father of the faithfull prayed for his sonne Gen. 17.18 Oh that Ishmael might live in thy sight yet was he a cast-away Temporall blessings indeed he had for Abrahams sake vers 20. Isaac had an Esau David an Absalom and often the like 9. God never punished eternally the reall iniquities of fathers upon their children if the children were holy Let an instance be given to the contrarie Indeed it is said Psal 109.14 Let the iniquitie of his fathers be remembred with the Lord and let not the sinne of his mother be done away But he speaketh first of a very wicked man equalling if not exceeding his parents in sinne And the New Testament applieth it to Judas Act. 1.20 to Judas the monster of men Secondly the remembrance mentioned hath reference rather to penalties consequent then onely to sinnes precedent z Memoratur quantum ad poenam quoniam puncti sunt filii pro iniquitate patrum qui occiderunt Christum It is remembred in regard of the punishment because the children were pricked for the iniquitie of their fathers who slew Christ saith Cajetan on the place And this is not our question Thirdly why may there not
mori An impossibility of sinning or dying An unchangeable and immortall life Non posse deserere bonum vel adhaerere malo An impossibility of for saking goodnesse and cleaving to evil and not onely beatitudinem gloriam but coronam gloriae Not onely blessednesse and glory but a crown of glory 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 An immarcescible crown of glory 1. Peter 5.4 Lastly if we go to the numbring of them that were hurt by Adam and the number of those who receive benefit by Christ the greatest number is on Christs side I would be loath to say what the e Apud Sleidan pag. 293. Franciscane preached publickly at the Councel of Trent f Eos qui nullam haberent Christi cognitionem alioqui vitam egissent honestè saluteâ—â— esse consecutos That they who had no knowledge of Christ and yet had lived honestly had obtained salvation Nor will I conclude with others that Aristides Cato yea Julius Cesar himself is saved though according to the fertility of the Italian wits divers of them have found quaint passages and conceits tending that way Nay in these dayes of presumption wherein by all likelihood a thousand surfet and perish in the hope of mercy in comparison of one soul ship-wracked on the rock of despair I am afraid to confirm what Coelius secundus Curio hath writ in his books de Amplitudine regni Christi or Marsilius Andreasius of Mantua de Amplitudine misericordiae Christi before him who maintaineth That farre more are saved by Christ then are condemned For though Christ saith Matth. 7.13 Enter ye in at the strait gate for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction and many there be which go in thereat and vers 14. Strait is the gate and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life and few there be that finde it and though divers other passages of Scripture by the little flock and few labourers with the like phrases seem to import the paucity of humane souls saved in comparison of the many condemned yet he restraineth all those places to the dayes of Christ when indeed few beleeved in respect of the unbeleevers and the emphasis may accordingly be set upon that word YE Enter YE And perhaps the antithesis is observable Many there be which GO in to the wide gate and broad way but it is not said Few SHALL go in at the narrow gate nor Few SHALL enter in but Few there BE that finde it And it may be expounded Few there be that finde it by themselves or by their own naturall power without patefaction divine But what they cannot finde without a guide they may finde by a guide and many may enter in at Christ the Doore and many may walk in Christ the Way Where sin abounded grace may much more abound As by one mans disobedience many were made sinners so by the obedience of one may many be made righteous Concerning which places with the precedent verses Rom. 5. we shall treat by and by But I return to their answer That respect was had to the primitive dayes of Christs Church and That we are to consider that when Christ likened the Kingdome of God to a grain of mustard seed which waxed a great tree and to leaven which leavened the whole lump Luke 13.18 c. he spake not without reference to his own dayes in which they were generally perswaded as the Papists are now that many were easily saved in their Church whereupon one wondering at Christs doctrine of the hardly obtaining of heaven and that by few saith Luke 13.23 Lord are there few that be saved And Christ answereth not without respect to those times Strive to enter in at the strait gate for many will seek to enter in and shall not be able because they sought awry and refused the right way offered Yet many might be saved and more in after-times then at that present time more by farre in the Church of Christ growing and increasing then in the Church of the Jews waning and decreasing Yea at this present though a diligent computer shall not finde much fault with me for saying that if the world were divided for places and people into thirty parts Nineteen thereof are Infidels six of the Mahometane Religion and five of the Christian the Romane Church and the Reformed Churches making but one part of the five so that the Greek Churches may more brag of their Catholicisme then the Romane and the scabbed petite flock and schismaticall parlour-full yea scarce hand-full of Separatists of Amsterdam may cease to claim themselves to be the onely Church by their paucity which the least number of the never-agreeing and subdivided Brethren may appropriate to themselves excluding by that argument all the Churches of the world besides yea even their own fellow-schismaticks yet this I will be bold to say that many places of the Prophets in the old Testament and many in the New did and do fore-signifie that great abundance of men women and children of all nations of all places shall be saved by Christ that there shall be as it were Mundus hominum electorum A world of elect men a great multitude of men which no man could number Rev. 7.9 Unto which number of humane souls if we annex those thousand thousands of Angels and ten thousand times ten thousand Daniel 7.10 even that innumerable host also we may confidently averre what Elishah said of the blessed Angels in an other case 2. Kings 6.16 They which be with us are more then they that be with our enemies or more then our enemies More in number enjoy eternall life by Christ then are condemned to eternall death by Adam For though Christ be not a Mediatour of redemption unto the Angels yet was he a Mediatour of confirmation in grace and whatsoever blessings they did or do or shall enjoy they had it for and by the merit of Christ foreseen For he is the head of the Church and they be but members and all the vertue or happinesse in the body or in any part of it is derived from the head All things visible and invisible thrones dominions principalities powers were created by him and for him Coloss 1.16 In him all fulnesse dwelleth vers 19. From him the whole body is fitly joyned together Ephes 4.16 In him all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy Temple Ephes 2.21 And of his fulnesse have all we received and grace for grace John 1.16 And not we alone but the good Angels also were predestinated created confirmed and glorified by his means as Suarez well concludeth in his Commentaries on the third part of Aquine his Summe Tom. 1. pag. 656. g Dico Christum meruisse Angelu gratiam gloriam quae illis data fuerat propter merita Christi praevisa I say saith he that Christ merited for the Angels grace and glory which was given them for the merits of Christ foreseen So Aquinas Cajetan Albertus
they received their dead raised to life again to live with them according to their desire But others were tortured and would not accept deliverance and cared not for the joyes of this life or the punishment unto death nor temporary raising that they might obtain the better resurrection not to die again as the others did but to live for evermore 4 But as for the third Tostatus saith He lived a long time and he was more healthie then he was before he died And he giveth this sound reason Because what things are done supernaturally are farre more perfect then they that are done naturally Never was there so good wine as the water turned into wine the choicenesse whereof was so easily discerned even when the palate was cloyed when the taste was corrupted and dull'd towards the end of a feast Joh. 2.10 Now as he lived a long time so out of doubt in the end he died tasting of mortalitie as truely as the Prophet did whose bones before had raised him O Blessed Jesu I beg not at thy hands the reuniting of my soul unto my body for a temporary life but if it be thy holy will let the vertue of thy Passion raise me first from the death of sinne to the life of righteousnesse and from a righteous temporary life to the life of immortall happinesse Grant this for thy glorious Names sake O holy Redeemer Amen CHAP. III. 1. Whilest Christ lived none raised any dead save himself onely 2. The Rulers daughter raised by Christ died again 3. So did the young man whom Christ recalled to life 4. Many miracles in that miracle of Lazarus his resurrection 5. Christ gave perfect health to those whom he healed or raised 6. Lazarus his holy life and his second death 1. THe next place of my division leadeth me to treat of those whom Christ himself raised For if Christ did give authoritie to his twelve Apostles to raise the dead Matth. 10.8 though both in the old Interpreter and Theophylact these words are wanting saith Beza yet did they not or the Seventie at their return to him say they had raised any which he himself did so sparingly though they healed the sick Mark 6.13 and the devils were subject unto them through his name Luk. 10.17 Neither did the Baptist nor any in Christs life-time raise up any so farre as can be gathered It was a work he appropriated to his own power for the act thereof whilest he lived and which he maketh to be an infallible token and proof that he was the Messiah as appeareth by the answer of the ambassage which Christ returned to the Baptist Luk. 7.22 The dead are raised by me or by my power Therefore I am he that should come For that is one member of his argument And indeed perhaps he raised divers whom the Scripture hath not particularized for he did very many things that are not written Joh. 21.25 Yea many signes truely did he in the presence of his disciples which are not written in this book Joh. 20.30 and his Apostles after his death did actuate that power which habitually in his life they received 2. But those that are mentioned to be raised by Christ whilest he lived on earth are likewise three 1. A Rulers daughter Matth. 9.25 2. A dead man the onely sonne of his mother Luk. 7.15 3. Lazarus his friend Joh. 11.44 And all these returned to do their offices and follow their vocations in this life and in the end payed their due to nature and died again In the first we observe that she was a damsel of twelve yeares of age and being dead her spirit came again Luk. 8.55 She arose and walked Mark 5.42 and Christ commanded to give her meat in the same place of Luke And as the meat was commanded to be given her that they might see she was to live such a life as before she lived so out of doubt the commanded meat was offered unto her and she did eat and was strengthened by it both living and dying afterwards as other maids and men did and no way rising to immortall life 3. As for the second he was a young man on whose mother Christ had compassion Luk. 7.13 She was a widow the youth her onely sonne and when Christ touch'd but the coffin and said Young man arise that you may see both his vertue and his voice had a piercing and quickning power he that was dead sat up and began to speak and Christ delivered him to his mother vers 15. Now these are evident signes of a naturall life in a naturall body which must yeeld in the end to the stroke of death And the raising of this young man being bruited abroad was the especiall motive why the Baptist sent two disciples with a message unto Christ Luk. 7.17 c. 4. The third whom Christ raised was Lazarus who had been buried foure dayes ere Christ came unto him Joh. 11.17 that I may passe over the uncertain time from his death to his buriall d Foetens quairiduanut Stinking after foure dayes enterring saith S. Augustine Yet when Jesus cried with a loud voice Lazarus come forth he that was dead came forth bound hand and foot with grave-clothes and his face was bound about with a napkin and Jesus saith unto them Loose him and let him go Joh. 11.44 In which miracle I finde foure or five wrapped up and involved That so suddenly his soul did come from its abode That the stinking ill-organized body was so soon so well prepared That the soul was so quickly united and no sooner united then exercising her faculties on the bodie which yeelded such ready obedience That he could see the way out of the grave and perchance approach towards our Saviour when his eyes were blinded That he was able to go and walk before he was loosed by them while his hands and his feet were bound with grave-clothes Yet that the miracle aimed not to raise him to an immortall life appeareth because he did not onely go from his grave to Bethanie to the house where his sisters Mary and Martha were but because he supped with our Saviour he being one of them that sat at the table with Jesus Joh. 12.2 where out of doubt he did eat as the rest did There is an argument yet left as undeniable as unanswerable That the then living did think Lazarus lived to die again For the chief Priests consulted that they might put Lazarus to death as well as Christ Joh. 12.10 which they would not they could not have done if he had not lived and could not die like other men if he had been raised to life immortall and they knew he was once raised Joh. 11.45 47. 5. Concerning the sick that were healed and the dead raised by Christ worthy Writers further agree that Christ did integram corporis sanitatem conferre omni infirmitate rejectâ Left no reliques of sicknesse or infirmity when he healed Christ never healed any one man twice Joh.
Varro Dionysius and Festus Afterwards A duce Tarpeio mons est cognomen adeptus saith Propertius lib. 4. ante medium and was called Mons Tarpeius from Tarpeia a traiterous maid there killed and as it were buried under the spoils See Plinie lib. 19.1 Propertius there intimateth that she expected marriage with Tatius and specializeth his reply in disdain Nube ait regni scande cubile mei Dixit ingestis comitum superobruit armis Haec virgo officiis dos erat apta tuis Whilst she both wife and Queen did look to be He smothered her with armour thrown upon her And said Virgin this dowrie fitteth thee Being for thy ill offices the meetest honour But Livie confessing that by their armour she was smothered reporteth two different relations First that she compounding with them to have what they wore on their left arms which were according to the present fashion bracelets of pure gold they thought their promise quitted by throwing to her and on her their targets Others secondly say she demanded their principall armour of defence and thereupon suspecting that her intent was to deceive they payed her in her own kinde and by them killed her Thirdly upon this accident it received its surname of Mons Capitolinus Ludovicus Vives on Augustine de Civit. 4.10 citeth Dionysius saying that it was called CAPITOLINUS Ab humano capite in fundamentis reperto From a mans head found in the foundation of it Livius towards the end of his first book saith That in the foundation of the temple there appeared a mans head and his whole face sound and uncorrupt Arnobius contra Gentes lib. 6. almost in the beginning instructeth us at large whose head this was and from the ancient authorities of Sammonicus Granius Valerianus and Fabius declareth to the Romanes themselves as well as to the other Gentiles That there was one Tolus slain by his brothers servant that his head was cut off and carefully hid for good lucks sake that his grave or sepulchre was the Capitol that the composition of the name made the thing to be known and that the citie of Rome being to dedicate and name the temple was not ashamed to call it ex Toli capite CAPITOLIUM rather then after Jupiters own name And perhaps upon a relation of the head found on mount Calvarie Adrian might cause Jerusalem to be called not onely Aelia-Adria but also Capitolina with reference to their hill and the head there buried also O Righteous Saviour which didst shed thy most precious bloud on the Crosse to purifie thy Church let one drop of thy bloud distill upon my soul that it may be presented blamelesse at the Throne of Grace and avoid the second death which without thee is due unto me Grant this I humbly beseech thee for thine own Merit and Mercy Amen CHAP. VI. 1. Hierom saith Adam was not buried on mount Calvarie Both Hierom Andrichomius and Zimenes say he was buried in Hebron Hierom censured for doubling in this point by Bellarmine 2. Hieroms arguments answered 3. The Original defended against Hierom in Josh 14.15 ADAM there is not a proper name but an appellative Arba is there a proper name of a man Adrichomius erreth in Kiriath-Arbee and the words signifie not Civitas quatuor virorum The citie of foure men New expositions of Kiriath-Arbee 4. It may signifie as well Civitas quatuor rerum The citie of foure things as Quatuor hominum Of foure men The memorable monuments about Hebron 5. It may be interpreted Civitas quadrata quadrilatera quadrimembris quadricollis A citie fouresquare of foure sides of foure parts of foure hills 6. If Kiriath-Arba doth signifie the citie of foure men yet they might be other men besides the foure Patriarchs 7. If it had its denomination from foure Patriarchs and from their buriall there yet Adam is none of them 8. Augustine peremptory for Adams buriall in Calvarie and Paula and Eustochium or rather Hierom. 9. An other objection answered The Jews never shewed extraordinary honour to Adam or Noah but to Abraham and others after him Drusius preferreth the reading used by our late Translation Hos 6.7 before the Genevean and Tremellian 1. ON the other side and for the contrary opinion the same Hierom on Matth. 27.33 saith Calvaria signifieth not the sepulchre of the first man Adam but the place of those that were beheaded Secondly Adam was buried by Hebron and Arbee saith Hierom. Thirdly the accurate Adrichomius in verbo HEBRON pag. 49. saith Hebron or Chebron was first called Arbee and Mambre and Cariath-Arbee the citie of foure men because the foure Patriarchs Adam Abraham Isaac and Jacob there dwelt and were buried Franciscus Zimenes Archbishop of Toledo and many others accord with him S. Hierom led them all the way though awry Hierom in lib. de locis Hebraicis on the word ARBOCH thus a Corruptè in nostris codicibus Arboch scribitur cùm in Hebraeo legatur Arbee id est quatuor â—ò quòd ibi quatuor Patriarchae Abraham Isaac Jacob sepulti sunt Adam magnus ut in Jesu libro scriptum est licèt eum quidam conditum in loco Calvariae suspicentur It is corruptly written in our copies ARBOCH since in the Hebrew it is read ARBEE that is Foure because there the foure Patriarchs Abraham Isaac and Jacob were buried and the great Adam as it is written in the book of Joshua though some suppose Adam to be buried in Calvarie The same Adrichomius pag. 46. describeth a double cave in the tribe of Judah which cave with the ground and trees Abraham bought of the sonnes of Heth in which were buried Adam and Eve Abraham and Sarah Isaac and Rebecca Jacob and Leah which Mausoleum continued till the time of S. Hierom. Now this place was close by Hebron and Hebron and this sepulchre farre from mount Calvarie 250 stadia or there-abouts Lastly saith Hierom If any will strive that Christ was crucified in Calvarie that his bloud might distill on the tombe of Adam I will ask him why others even theeves were there crucified The force of these authorities or reasons is not such as to remove me from the common opinion that Adam was buried in Golgotha And thus I answer the Objections in order Bellarmine de Amissione gratiae statu peccati 3.12 bringeth Hierom against Hierom and wondreth at his doubling and he refuteth Hieroms arguments and produceth many strange proofs that Adam was buried in mount Calvarie But I descend to the particulars 2. The first is a mistaken imputation of S. Hierom. For who saith or ever said that the word Calvaria signified the sepulchre of the first man Neither can any man primarily argue from the names of Golgotha or Calvaria and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Calvariae locus The place of a skull that Adam was there buried nor yet doth Calvaria signifie locum decollatorum though Hierom would have it so But since Calvaria 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 properly and natively
Terebinthus The Turpentine tree Vnder which saith Adrichomius Abraham ministred to the Angels which continued till the time of Hierom yea saith Saligniacus e Ostenditur adhuc hodie ilex illa ante ostium tabernaculi Abrahae The holm is yet to be seen before the entrance of the Tabernacle of Abraham The old being dried an other sprung out of its root Now this Saligniacus lived but a while since Besides the Quercus Mambre The oak of Mambre was so renowned that Adrichomius in his map of the Tribe of Judah hath the resemblance and picture of an oak there growing And Constantine appointed a fair Church to be built at the oak of Mambre saith Eusebius in vita Constantini 3.5 S. Hierom de locis Hebraicis thus f Quercus Abraham quae Mambre usque ad Constantii Regis imperium monstrabatur Mausolcum ejus in praesentiari◠cernitur Cúmque à nobis jam ibidem Ecclesia aedificata sit à cunctis in circuitu gentibus Terebinthus superstitiosè colitur or as others better reade it Terebinthi locus colitur eò quòd Abraham sub ea Angelos hospitio susceperit The oak of Abraham called also the oak of Mambre continued to the Empire of Constantine and its monument is yet seen And since we have built a Church in that place all nations do reverence the place of the Turpentine tree because under that did Abraham entertain Angels The third may well be Spelunca Adam the cave where Adam mourned Fourthly the very plot of ground where Abel was slain which is shewed to this day Fifthly the monument of Caleb Sixthly the field of Damascus where the red earth lieth of which they report Adam was formed which earth is tough and may be wrought like wax and lieth close by Hebron all the other things also being in the circuit neare that place Seventhly the Montana Hebron Josh 11.21 and the Vallis Hebron Genes 37.14 and the Convallis Mambre as the Vulgat hath it significantly Gen. 14.13 Convallis Mambre quae est in Hebron The dale of Mambre surrounded with hills which is in Hebron Genes 13.18 The unparallelled eminencies of which hills and dales for profit and pleasure the two main load-stones of the worlds desires you may discern by what Mr George Sands saith if he do not poetize or hyperbolize in the third book of the relation of his journey pag. 150. We passed this day saith he through the most pregnant and pleasant valley that ever eye beheld on the right hand a ridge of high hills whereon stands Hebron oh how delicately situated on the left hand the Mediterranean sea bordered with continuall hills beset with varietie of fruits the champion between about twentie miles over full of flowry hills ascending leisurely and not much surmounting their ranker valleys with groves of Olives and other fruits dispersedly adorned Eighthly and lastly there were other things of singular note Abrahams Church-yard the field of Machpela consecrated from heathenish profanation to holier uses and the cave which was the place of his sepulchre From some foure of these most reverend monuments or the like being but a little distant from Hebron might the place be called Kariath-arbee Civitas quatuor rerum The citie of foure things 5. Again if that citie of Hebron were quadrata as many cities then were and now are and with us Bristol amongst the rest built of old by Brennus as I have read in a manuscript of Edward the fourth his time and renowned Rome as some say varying from Livie which was first founded on the foure hills Palatine Capitoline Esquiline Aventine though afterward Servius Tullus enlarged it on the other three hills Coelian Viminal and Quirinal and answerable to which Romulus left as they say but foure gates Carmentalis Romana Pandana Janualis though afterward there were many more gates belonging to that citie You may finde this in a map of Rosinus Antiq. Roman lib. 1. cap. 13. describing the citie of Rome as it was built by Romulus and afterwards made more great and capacious by the Kings And Livie himself saith That when Romulus divided the tribes or wards of the citie into foure parts he did it answerable to the quarters and hills of the citie It being I say probable that the citie of Hebron was quadrata it might be called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and Kiriath-arbee of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 RABA quadravit from whence cometh 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 RABUA or RABUANG quadratum quadrum cujus latera quatuor longitudine latitudine sunt aequalia Whose foure sides are equall in length and latitude As Exod. 27.1 Altare erit quadratum The Altar shall be foure-square from whence also cometh 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ARBA quatuor So from the foure-square building of the citie it may be called Kiriath-arbee as old Jerusalem which was built foure-square on the foure hills mount Sion mount Moria mount Acra and mount Bezetha saith the Translatour of the travels of the holy Patriarchs As the new Jerusalem 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Quadrangularis sita est vel In quadro posita est Lieth foure-square Apoc. 21.16 So that Kiriath-arbee Civitas quatuor may be expounded Civitas quadrilatera quadrimembris quadricollis A citie of foure sides foure parts foure hills for even so Rome is called Septicollis The citie of seven hills And Douza of late and ancienter Nicetas call Constantinople also 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Vrbem septicollem The citie of seven hills And indeed the same Translatour in his Itinerarium totius Sacrae Scripturae pag. 85. thus reporteth Others there are that say the citie Hebron being divided into foure parts was therefore called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for ARBA signifieth a quaternion from the root 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 RABA Foure-square 6. But grant we further that Kiriath-arbee doth here signifie the citie of foure men yet it followeth not it was so called because Adam Abraham Isaac and Jacob were these foure men For Heth the sonne of that cursed Canaan whose posteritie the Hittites inhabited in it first built the citie saith he ibid. in his Itinerar and Heth might be one of these foure men Secondly it is said Gen. 35.27 Jacob came unto Mambre unto the citie of Arbee which is Hebron Whence we may conclude that the citie had three other names of three other distinct men viz. of Mambre who was Abrahams friend and confederate Genes 14.13 of Arbee a great giant as I proved before of Hebron one of Calebs sonnes so called 1. Chron. 2.42 But how in Jacobs time or perhaps in Moses time who wrote the book of Genesis it might be called Hebron of Calebs unborn sonne is difficult to conceive unlesse by propheticall anticipation Howsoever Adrichomius saith word for word out of Hierom g Hebron ab uno filiorum caleb sortita est vocabulum Hebron was so called from one of the sonnes of Caleb I should rather think Caleb himself well known to Moses might be the fourth man of
while of Christs resurrection c Solenne autem fuit priscis illis Patribus ut quisque in suam inferreretur possessionem Each of those Fathers were solemnly brought into their own possession saith the same Masius which is thus confirmed because Abraham did bury Sara in his own possession Genes 23.19 20. Isaac and Ishmael buried Abraham in the field which Abraham purchased of the sonnes of Heth Genes 25.9 10. And to summe up the rest In the cave that is in the field of Machpelah the purchased cave and field which is before Mambre was buried Abraham and Sara Isaac and Rebeka Jacob and Lea Genes 49.30 31. The distance of which cave or field from Calvarie I gathered before from Adrichomius to be 250 Stadia which upon allowance of eight Stadia to one Mile amounteth to one and thirty miles and a quarter from which account S. Augustine differeth but little considering the various reckoning of miles with the diverse measurings of beginnings and endings for Augustine Quaest sup Genes lib. 1. quaest 161. thus reporteth d Dicunt ab eo loco quod ABRAHEMIUM vocatur ubi sunt ista corpora abesse locum ubi crucifixus est Dominus ferè triginta milliaribus From the place called Abrahemium or Abrahams church-yard where are these bodies namely of Abraham and Sara Isaac and Rebeka Jacob and Leah to the place where our Lord was crucified there is almost thirty miles distance Now as the sepulchre of the three Patriarchs was thus farre from Jerusalem South-west-ward so Sychem where Joseph his bones were buried was farther from Jerusalem toward the North. 4 One difficultie more there is and a great one I may not passe it for the length will be recompensed by the sweetnesse Acts 7.15 16. Jacob and our fathers died and were carried over unto Sychem and laid in the sepulchre that Abraham bought for a summe of money of the sonnes of Emor the father of Sychem Which passage seemeth to contradict what out of other parts of Scripture I proved concerning the Patriarchs sepulchre That this is a knot hard to be untied all confesse S. Hierom promised in his 101 Epist to clear it saith Lorinus And in his Questions on Genes saith Beza but he hath not performed his promise say both of them on Acts 7. Nodum nectit Hieronimus nec eum dissolvit saith Erasmus And I onely propound it saith he that the studious reader may be stirred up to discusse it But this is a shallow slurre unfit for so great a Critick for many had done so much before and more then so I come to the point That there are invented many wayes and means of answering cannot be denied but some are vast and improbable some more fair and expedite The absurd answers are two The first That the Originall is there corrupt and that for Abraham Jacob is to be written and read I say not meant expounded or interpreted but exchanged and intruded into the Text and that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 should be expunged as needlesse it being with equall ignorance and boldnesse added by one or other saith Andrew Masius on Josh 24.32 With Masius agreeth Beza in this that the name of Abraham is crept into the Text adding that the erring in notes of number or proper names must not be ascribed to the Authours but to the ignorant transcribers But I say that the erring in a proper name or notes of number may breed as great and unsufferable confusion unlikelihood inconvenience yea untruth as the errour in any other common word And why the errours in proper names should be ascribed to ignorant transcribers rather then errours in other words or that the holy Spirit doth priviledge other words and not proper names or numbers from being mistaken misplaced misadded or superadded in the Text I see not Aretius bluntly blundereth it out that you must understand Jacob for Abraham yet by what example or for what reason he mentioneth not but stumbleth on a truth of which hereafter Drusius Praeterit lib. 5. on the words Quod emit Abraham hath yet some shew of reason It seemeth saith he it was sometimes written EMIT IPSE that is JACOB into whose place the name of ABRAHAM is crept 5. Beza defends it by two parallels the first out of Hierom who in his book de optimo genere interpretandi ad Pammachium noteth that the name of Isaiah was crept into many copies on Matth. 13.35 that afterward the name of Asaph was substituted for Isaiah and now neither of them is there read I answer to the misapplied instances of Beza that I cannot abide to hunt after errours in the Scripture and to cast aspersions on it To question the corruption of the Canon to passe our judgements whether the square or rule be right or crooked to put into the Text or to take from it as some Philologizing Neotericks endeavour in their super-nice criticisme is to tear up the very foundation of religion Whilest other answers may be found though but probable I should not have such a thought as Beza had on Luk. 24.13 where he acknowledgeth both the Syriack and all our Copies have it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sexaginta Threescore and the exact truth is accordant to that reading for Emaus is seven miles from Jerusalem as Mr Sands who rode from Jerusalem to Emaus witnesseth pag. 174. and threescore Stadia allowing eight Stadia to a mile make seven miles and an half which halfe-mile upon diversitie of measures or the beginning of measuring or ends thereof maketh small difference Yet Beza saith Aut hîc peccatum est in numero aut apud Josephum de Bello Judaico 7.27 non rectè scribuntur stadia triginta The more favourable phrase should have been by Beza ascribed rather to the Scripture then to Josephus Or can we think that all Copies do erre He maketh us fight upon the ice and to have no firm footing Why should he use the first part of the disjunction when he might better distinguish and so reconcile all Likewise Beza on Luke 22.20 confessing the uniformitie of reading both in the Syriack and all the Greek Copies which he had seen yet addeth boldly Aut manifestum est soloecophanes aut potiùs cùm haec essent ad marginem annotata ex Matthaeo Marco postea in Contextum irrepserunt Now though he would sleek it over afterwards saying Potest excusari soloecismus c. yet the wound which he gave to the Word of Truth is too deep to be so healed and the very plaister is offensive for he committed a soloecisme who looking on the earth cried out O Coelum and casting his eyes up to heaven cried O Terra Had the Reverend Beza no handsomer word for his plaister might he not have defended it by the Hebrew Idiotisme without calling it a Soloecisme Soloecophanes might have well been spared but Soloecismus is not to be endured Much more might be said but I dwell unwillingly on this point and return
to the first place of Matth. 13.35 and say Who ever denyed but that some Copies have been corrupted and in some of them some words foisted in but all Greek all Latine Copies with the Arabick and Syriack translations reade Abraham and not Jacob Whereas some Copies were alwayes perfect in that place of Matthew Now if you grant corruption in any point or title in all the Greek and all the Latine Copies how will you prove any part or word of the New Testament to be uncorrupt Which razeth up the very Corner-stone of our Faith Mr Beza again objecteth that the name of Jeremie is written for Zacharie Matth. 27.9 I answer that the Authour of the book of Maccabees giveth us to understand that Jeremie wrote other things which now we have not 2. Maccab. 2.1 and so did divers of the Prophets and why may not this be then taken from some of those works which are perished Secondly S. Hierome saith a Jew brought him an Apocryphall book of Jeremie in which he found this testimonie word for word and this book was called APOCRYPHA or OCCULTA JEREMIAE The Apocryphals or hid writings of Jeremie saith Erasmus on Matth. 27. As what S. Paul saith of Jannes and Jambres 2. Tim. 3.8 and what S. Jude saith of Michael the Archangel striving with the Devil is thought to be taken out of the books Apocryphall so might this testimonie be cited also out of Jeremies Apocryphals Thirdly Erasmus supposeth that Zacharie had two names and was called both Zacharie and Jeremie and so no inconvenience followeth Fourthly not onely the Syriack leaves out the name of Jeremie but even in Augustines time the name of Jeremie was not in many Latine Copies as Augustine himself testifieth de Consensu Evangelistarum lib. 3. cap. 7. The ordinarie glosse also saith that in some editions it is onely thus By the Prophet and the name of Jeremie is left unmentioned Fifthly Augustine in the last recited place of his resolveth that the Divine providence purposely set down Jeremie for Zacharie and what the holy Spirit did dictate S. Matthew did truely write And one reason why the Spirit of God confounded the names of Jeremie and Zacharie was this saith Augustine To insinuate that all the Prophets wrote by one Spirit and wonderfully consented in one and therefore we must beleeve that e Quacunque per eos Spâ—itus Sanctus dixit singula esse omnium omnia singulorum What the holy Ghost spake by them is not to be appropriated unto any one but to all and every of them What was said by Jeremie was as well Zacharies as Jeremies and what was said by Zacharie was as well Jeremies as Zacharies God spake not by the MOUTHS but by the MOUTH of all his holy Prophets since the world began Act. 3.21 and they had but one Spirit to guide them into all truth The Prophesie of Amos is called The book of the Prophets Acts 7.42 and the Word of God which in divers places is called in the plurall number Scriptures as John 5.39 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Search the Scriptures is also oftentimes called in the singular number The Scripture as John 2.22 they beleeved the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said Beleef was to rest as well on his Word onely without Scripture as on Scripture though he had said nothing and the word Scripture is not to be restrained onely to that place of Scripture before pointed at but to the whole Word of God written which they beleeved The Scripture hath concluded all under sinne Gal. 3.22 where not one single place onely but either common places of that point or the whole bodie of the Scripture is to be understood A few words of a Psalme of David is called by Christ himself The law of the Jews It is written in their law They hated me without a cause John 15.25 which is onely so written Psal 35.19 Again he saith to the Jews John 10.34 Is it not written in your Law I have said ye are Gods but it is written so onely Psal 83.6 Yea though one and the same thing in effect be written both Isa 28.16 and Psal 118.22 as also Matth 21.42 and Acts 4.12 yet S. Peter reckoneth all but as one All but one Scripture though severally written by these foure It is contained in the Scripture saith he 1. Pet. 2.6 in the singular number he mentioneth Scripture as if what one wrote the rest wrote S. Peter saith not It is contained in the Word with reference to one Spirit inditing or inspiring though that might have also been truely spoken but contained in the Scripture with relation to the unity and consent of the Pen-men Lastly the words of the Evangelist are these Matth. 27.9 Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by the Prophet Jeremie saying And they took the thirty pieces of silver 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 effatum Jeremiae dicentis That which was spoken by Jeremie saying c. Now Jeremiae might say it speak it dictate it which is most true and is all that S. Matthew saith who by the Spirit might also know that Jeremie did teach preach prophesie and utter these words and yet for all this and after all this Zacharie by the same Spirit might write transcribe and insert those words of Jeremie into his own Prophesie which S. Matthew denieth not as Baruch wrote divers things which he had heard from Jeremie as Agur collected some Proverbs of Solomon Again there was no necessitie that all things whatsoever Jeremie as a Prophet did speak g Jerem. 36.2 he himself or Baruch should write much lesse presently since there were many yeares between Jeremie his speaking and his writing for Enoch prophesied as it is in the 14. verse of the Epist of S. Jude but he prophesied Saying c. as it is there written for writing was none till God set the Copie unto Moses by writing the Law in the Tables on the mount Again S. Paul Act. 24.35 remembreth the words of our Lord Jesus how he said It is more blessed to give then to receive yet none of the Evangelists record such words but this might the Apostles relate unto S. Paul or by divine inspiration he might know that Christ spake them or they might be part of the words which Christ himself spake unto S. Paul for there is no certaintie that they were written S. John the Evangelist was commanded to conceal and not to write the words of the seven thunders Revel 10.4 If he had wholly concealed such a thing we could not know it he spake it but wrote it not Jeremie might speak this and not write it or write it and not speak it Any of these answers is better then to incline to Beza that the Text is erroneous or patched up with a false addition or to Erasmus on Matth. 27. intimating there was lapsus memoriae in Evangelistis howsoever he qualifieth it That if there were memoriae lapsus in Nomine duntaxat he
in expectancie of Christ the Lord and on every occasion with reference to him MARAN Our Lord He will come he cometh MARAN MARAN But after Christ was born indeed and God took on him our nature and many Jews beleeved whensoever the unbeleeving brethren still cried their old MARAN as if the Messiah were not come the beleevers answered ATHA to their MARAN MARAN-ATHA Our Lord is come which because the other would not beleeve they were called Marani and Maranitae from their iterated Maran and rejecting of Maran-atha Baronius in fine Anni 775. reporteth from Mariana in his Spanish storie 7.6 That a gift was given to a Monasterie and the violatour of that donation jubetur esse Anathema Marrano Excommunicatus Where the word is not taken as some suspect à Mauris from the Moors because most of them in Italie renounced their Christianitie in the dayes of Frederick Enobarbus for he reigned 360 yeares and more after that gift but rather it is to be borrowed from the Syriack MARAN-ATHA saith Mariana commended by Baronius The consideration of which curse and excommunication strikes horrour to my soul in compassion of those who have raised their houses out of the ruines of things sacred with such dreadfull imprecations and feed themselves fat with revenews properly belonging to the Altar If man had not cursed such sacrilegious infringers God would but Founders have blasted them with lightning and thunder from heaven What saith King Stephen in confirmation of his gift to the Priorie of Eye in Suffolk cited by M. Selden in his Historie of Tithes cap. 11. pag. 350 l Quicunque aliquid de his quae in hac charta continentur auferre aut minuere aut disturbare scienter voluerit autoritate Domini Omnipetentis Patris Filii Spiritûs Sancti sanctorum Apostolorum omnium Sanctorum sit excommunicatus anathematizatus à consortio Domini liminibus Sanctae Ecclesiae sequestratus donec resipiscat Whosoever shall willingly and wittingly take away diminish or disturb any one of all these things which are contained in this Charter By the authoritie of God Omnipotent the Father Sonne and holy Ghost and of all the Apostles and Saints let him be excommunicated and anathematized and sequestred from the companie of the Lord and not be admitted into the Church till he repent By which words he intended to terrifie succession and to keep them from sacriledge Let the world know that there are many and as it falleth out now too many such direfull execrations annexed by holy Benefactours to eternize their gifts And as that good King said of himself That he was m Volens partem habere cum iis qui felici commercio coelestia pro terrenis commutant Willing to partake with them who by an happie commerce exchange earth for heaven So I fear that the sacrilegious Usurpers have indeed exchanged Heaven for Mammon and I pray to God that such devout and deliberate maledictions hang not over their posteritie to this day nor may extend beyond the first Atheisticall cormorants The same M. Selden in his book called Marmora Arundelliana pag. 65. mentioneth a Christian inscription which as he conjectureth both prayed to the most holy Mother of God for such as were Benefactours to a Monasterie and cursed them who did it any damage with the imprecations of divers holy men wishing that whosoever did so might in the day of judgement have against him for an adversarie the same most holy Mother of God These things I have related out of that most learned Antiquarie my worthy friend M. Selden rather then the like out of other Authours because I would not have either Clergie or Laitie conceit of him as full many do that he intended as great a devastation to our tithes consecrated by God and to God by a double Jus divinum as ever the Black-smiths sonne brought upon Religious houses or that he was the instrument of ungracious Politicians or his book the trumpet to animate the armies of the destroyers against the pitifull poore remnants of our Church not enough forsooth as yet reformed that is not enough beggarly though some poison in that book hath already wrought so piercingly upon us that our hair is fallen from our heads and our nails from our fingers as needing no more paring and in the cases of our tithes we are shaved and cut worse then the messengers of peace 2. Sam. 10.4 Yet saith M. Selden himself in his Review pag. 471. The many execrations annexed to the deeds of conveyance of them and poured forth against such as should divert them to profane uses should be also thought on Not onely thought on say I but trembled at till the houre of restitution And let them remember also who saith That it is a destruction for a man to devoure what is consecrated Prov. 20.25 which destruction is damnation not cared for by our devouring Esaus if they may fill their bellies with our hallowed morsels as appeared in those whirl-winde-dayes of Henrie the eighth and would have appeared since if God had not ruled the heart of religious King James of most happie memorie and of our sacred Soveraigne to whom we of the Clergie do more especially pray God to send all happinesse equall to his desires on earth and a more glorious estate among blessed Saints then he hath now among men to keep the commandments of their and our God above any worldly benefit I must return back to Maran-atha whose composition is thus as Martyr opineth The first part of it is the Noun MARA the second is an affix of the possessive Pronoun of the first person with the number of multitude making MARA to be MARAN the third particle and the close is the Verb ATHA venit Moreover concerning the tense of the Verb there is question Chrysostom Theodoret Theophylact reade it in tempore praeterito 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Our Lord is come with whom agree Hierom and Estius others will have it to be the present tense speaking as if he did come presently because he shall come certainly and because none can say he shall not come at this present This tense Cornelius à Lapide approveth on this consideration because the Jews condemning any were wont to do so under the commination and contestation of the instant divine judgement as Psal 9.19 Arise O Lord let the heathen be judged in thy sight or rather saith Lapide it may be in the Optative MARAN-ATHA Veniat Dominus howsoever he is peremptorie that it is a cold exposition which applieth the words to the Preterperfect tense and the meaning to the first coming of Christ Let me adde that whether the word be read in the Present tense in the Indicative or in the Optative mood Venit or veniat He cometh or let him come it pointeth not at the past but at the future coming of Christ Yea Jude 14. where the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is used our Translation hath it
illumination as Gerson styleth it Columna ignis A pillar of fire Exod. 13.21 Stella Magos in Oriente antecedens The starre conducting the wise men of the East Matth. 2.9 An holy undeceiving unambiguous influent coruscation The Spirit of God moving upon the face of the waters Gen. 1.2 This made Abraham not unwillingly to sacrifice his sonne The quenching of this Spirit against the cleare light of his own convicted conscience made the old Prophet more inexcusable then the other officious lying Prophet who deceived him 1. Kings 13.16 c. Nor did an Angel speak unto the seducer by the word of the Lord vers 18. Samuel being but a childe might not indeed as a novice or some others for a while might not know the voice of the Lord as Peter at the present knew not the operation of God by the Angel in his miraculous deliverie But now I know saith he that God hath sent his Angel yea I know of a surety Act. 12.11 Profane ones I will not priviledge from mistaking of God as perhaps lest Satan might out-stretch his Commission from God when he gave Job into his hands God said restrainingly Onely save his life Job 2.6 And S. Augustine de cura pro mortuis gerenda cap. 12. telleth an admirable storie of two men each called Curma to wit How Curma the Countrey-man lay almost dead many dayes onely a little steam of breath coming from him they kept him from buriall though he was without motion or any feeling whatsoever they did unto him in which time he saw many visions So soon as he opened his eyes he said Let one go to the house of Curma the smith Who was found dead that moment in which Curma the Husbandman came to his senses And the surviving Curma related that he heard in the place from whence he was returned that the smith and not himself was to be brought to that place A mistaking there was by the messengers of death though it were after righted Caiaphas might not know the inspiration or instinct propheticall which he had because he was a wicked man Dispensativè illi contigit sermo He did distribute the speech to others which he knew not himself saith Basil in Prooem Isaiae He was a Prophet perchance Casu saith Origen on John Balaam his asse and Caiaphas spake they knew not what The prophesie was transitorie saith S. Augustine Wherefore I conclude as before That wicked men may be punished with mistakings in things divine But that ever any holy man was ignorant to the end that God moved when he moved him or that the righteous were ever deceived by Oraculous anfractuous perplexities or that the Notaries of heaven the writers of any part authentick of either Testament could be deceived in their conceptions is not agreeable to likelihood reason or truth The last Lemma is this The holy Penmen could not erre in writing If they could what difference is there between their Writings and other profane Authours And to what end had they infallibilitie of understanding if what they understood they could expresse erroneously A readie perfect and quick scribe writeth not falsly but My tongue is the pen of a readie writer saith the Psalmograph Psal 45.1 Holy Ezra who was the divine amanuensis of the book of Ezra is called by the same words SOPHIR MAHIR a readie swift exact scribe Ezra 7.6 no question with allusion to the words of the Psalmist John 16.13 When the Spirit of truth is come he will guide you into all truth How into all truth if there be an errour in writing Or had God care that the Apostles should not misse of the truth in their Speeches and yet misse in their Writings If the Prophets could not erre no more could the Evangelists or Apostles for if there were any superioritie in priviledge we are rather to ascribe it to these latter then to those former in regard that the Law of Christ and of Grace is farre above the Law of Moses as the Apostle doth demonstrate to the Hebrews themselves But that the Prophets could not erre is apparent because Christ himself who is Truth would not have appealed from the present more visible pretending Synagogue to them as all-sufficient Judges as he often did if they could erre A perfect rule is not to be tried by an imperfect one Prophets writ their Prophesies and fastened them to the gates of the Temple and other publick places to be read and were rather judged by their Prophesies written then by them as inspired or uttered by mouth The Gnomon of the Sunne-diall which our late Hieroglyphical Poetaster doth make to signifie the Scriptures is better to be judged by a moving clock the curious handie-work of the same great Artist I mean by the Church and Church-men with whom Christ hath promised his Spirit shall be to the end of the world then by the rude masons or rather the senselesse stones and mortar of the walls I mean the ignorant people who have plucked down not onely the Weather-cock by his interpretation the Pope but usurp to themselves a power to judge the Gnomon and to reform and amend the well wrought well ordered clock The shallow phantastick stateth not the question aright when he is so magisterially peremptorie saying That the Clergie may not so judge of the Scriptures as to conclude or teach any thing against them or to vouch unwritten verities if they be certain verities it mattereth not much whether they be written or unwritten Veritie will vouch it self in spight of lying Poets as some call them or Traditions contradictorie to the written Word Which contradictorie Traditions do much differ from unwritten Verities howsoever the Poet confusedly joyneth them For who of us ever taught that the Clergie may teach any thing against the Scriptures when we professe with him that the Church ought to subject it self to be directed by the Scriptures But that fabling rymer may say any thing who in his Sarcasmos and Frontispice is suffered thus to rave No wonder that the Clergie would be Kings whereas we the now unpriviledged Clergie do humbly pray to God to uphold our declining estates from the hands of those Atheists and turbulent Anti-episcopall Anti-monarchicall Reformists perhaps Pensioners of the forcin enemies of our State who under the pretence of Religion labour to pluck down our Church and Ecclesiastick Hierarchie and upon the ruines thereof to arise to the depluming of the Eagle to the bearding of the Lion not onely to the paring of the royall prerogative but also the removing the very scepter and crown from the Anointed of the Lord whom God alwaies mightily defend and to the bringing in of popular government for No Bishop no King said the learned wise and pious King James most truely I return to retort the Church-reforming Poets words upon himself In his Solarie he saith That the diall is the Written Word which is of it self dead and unprofitable without further illumination since none of the Philosophers nor
x Putáne piures baeresâ—â— sectas exerituras fuisse fi nuila pâ—nitus Sâ—riptura extitisset quà m nunc cùm Scritura mortalibus à coelo data est Ego certè propior sum existimanti paucioreâ— fuisse futuras Do you think that more sects and heresies would have bubbled up if there had been no Scripture at all then now are when God hath sent us the holy Writ I rather incline to that side who think there would have been fewer divisions saith Gretser in his defence of Bellarm. de Verb. Dei 4.4 Pighius de Eccles Hierarch 1.2 saith y Apostolos quaedam scripsisse non ut scripta illa praeossent Fidei Religionâ— nostrae sâ—d ut suâ—essent potiús That the Apostles wrote some things not that they might rule over our Faith and Religion but be subject rather and concludeth that the Church is not onely not inferiour nor onely equall but in a sort superiour to the Scriptures The Carmelite Antonius Marinarus in the second book of the Historie of the Councel of Tâ—ent pag. 118. is confident z Ecclesiam fuisse perfâ—ctissimam prius â—uam Sanctorum Apostolorii ullas sâ—ripsisset neq Ecclesiam Christi perfectiâ—â—e ullá carituram etiamsi nihil unquam scripto fuisset mandatum That the Church was most perfect before any Apostle wrote and that the Church of Christ had never wanted perfection though never any thing had been written Majoranus Clyp 2.28 thus a Vnus Ecclesiae consensus qui nunquam caruit Spiritu Dei pluris apud nos esse debet quà m omnes eâ—ingues muti codices quoiquâ—t sunt crunt unquam sâ—ripta volumina quae hominum ingemis semper materiam contentionis praebuerunt The uniform consent of the Church which never was destitute of Gods Spirit ought more to be esteemed by us then all the dumbe writings and volumes which are or shall be written which have ministred matter of debate to the wits of men These are accursed errours and easily confuted because traditions are inconstant and their number was never yet determined by themselves but the Scripture is certain and our Saviour both rebuketh the Pharisees for holding of traditions Mark 7.8 c. Luk. 11.39 Matth. 23.18 and commandeth them to search the Scriptures John 5.39 and referreth himself and the whole course of his life and death to be examined by Scripture Luke 24.25 c. The other extream is of such who neglect or deride the Church and the very name thereof because they have the written word and these do as much glory in it as the Jews did in the materiall Temple of Solomon when in truth their contempt of the Church and its power turns to their damnation without repentance and if the frequent divine immediate revelation had been imparted by God to us as it was to the Patriarchs it had been better for us for in that illumination there was no errour no mistaking no doubtfulnesse but an impossibilitie of being deceived So that my discourse endeth in the point in which it began The Scripture was not absolutely necessarie to be written but ex hypothesi conditionally and supposing the divine decree it was necessarie yea upon corruption of manners and doctrine it was not onely 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 convenient but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 necessarie not onely the most convenient way but the most necessarie means Otherwise God would never have written it It is necessarie if not as a cause yet as a concause The word as a cause the writing as a concause saith Trelcatius The Scriptures are not simply necessarie ad esse Eclesiae to the being of a Church whatsoever Scharpius saith but ad bene esse to the wel-being for nothing was written of the New Testament in Christs life-time nor in some yeares after Away with the Popish vilifying of Scripture c Materia litis non vox judicis Matter of strife say they and not the voice of the judge Away with the Puritanicall cut disdaining the Church and the interpreters thereof to wit their thrice-reverend Bishops and Priests and priding themselves in their own senselesse private Spirit The second question followeth viz. Whether the holy Penmen or Actuaries wrote the Scripture casually I answer If we take casually for fortè fortunâ for sole chance or onely bare contingencie they wrote not casually Te facimus Fortuna deam coelóque locamus Men think they make Fortune a goddesse a giddie one like the people themselves but indeed God worketh that which we call Fortune amongst men Augustine lib. 80. quaest quaest 24. divinely reasoneth in this sort What is done by chance is done suddenly or rashly what is so done is not done providently but whilest providence administreth all things nothing falls by chance in this world if through it we look up to God as to the universall cause by his providence For nothing falls under our senses but was commanded or permitted from the invisible and intelligible Hall of the highest Emperour saith Augustine de Trin. 3.4 1. Kings 22.34 A certain man drew a bow at a venture or in his simplicitie and smote the King of Israel between the joynts of the harnesse What the 32 Captains of the King of Aram could not accomplish though this were their Commission Fight neither with small nor great save onely with the King of Israel vers 13. that this roving arrow did by chance accomplish and slew the bloudie Ahab yet so by chance as the hand of the Lord did guide it Nec erranti Deus abfuit and it might have been written on the shaft before it was drawn out of the quiver Deus Achabo more certainly then what was written on the arrow that stroke out the eye of Philip of Macedon Astur Philippo A wealthy merchant sendeth two of his Factours one to the East Indies the other to the West each of them not knowing the others employments after certain yeares he appointeth each of them to be at such a port on such a moneth and day if they so can They both meet both wonder both at the first hold it a strange chance when the deep wisdome of their master providently determined all this There is no chance where providence reigneth If we take casually as importing counsel meerly humane led by opportunitie onely and excluding inspiration as men consilium capiunt ex tempore pro re nata Advise according to the fresh occurrences or as bonae leges ex malis moribus oriuntur Good laws are made upon former mis-behaviour thus the holy Prophetâ— Evangelists and Apostles wrote not casually for as the Prophesie came not in old time by the will of man but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost 2. Pet. 1.21 so both for the Old and New Testament S. Paul saith All Scripture is given by inspiration of God 2. Tim. 3.16 Is that casuall If we conceive the matter thus The holy penmen wrote casually that is
Vpon just occasions and newly emergent occurrences the Spirit of God inspired them to write who otherwise would not have written I will say they wrote casually for casualtie in this notion presupposeth things done upon reason and who dareth say that God did ever any thing without good ground or reason saith the divine S. Augustine They wrote fortuitò say the Papists non fortuitò saith Vorstius Cleare the terms by the former distinction and the question is ended No part of Jeremie is in Chaldee but one verse onely and upon what occasion was that The Chaldee Paraphrast thus relateth it saith Vatablus Jeremie wrote to the Elders in the Captivitie If the Chaldean people did say House of Israel worship idols the Israelites should answer The idols which ye worship are idols indeed in which is no profit they cannot draw forth rain from heaven or fruit out of the earth Let them and their worshippers perish from the earth and be destroyed from under heaven And to that effect speak Lyra and Rabbi Solomon but the words of God by the Prophet are thus to be rendered Jer. 10.11 Thus ye shall say unto them May the gods or Let the gods that have not made the heavens and the earth perish from the earth and from under these heavens PEREANT so the Vulgat Vatablus the Interlinearie and translated Chaldee 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 say the Septuagint And this doth somewhat ammuse me why our last English Translation with others embrace the Future tense reading They shall perish when the words are a present execration of past present and future idols I come to the point If the Jews had said the effect of these words in Hebrew the Chaldeans could not have understood it nor had it been written in Chaldee if the Chaldeans had had no intercourse with the Jews and in this sense that verse was written casually As Ananias and Sapphira their with-holding of things consecrated ministred occasion to the holy Spirit both to impart the knowledge of their sacriledge to S. Peter and to inspire into him that particular prophesie Act. 5.9 which S. Peter otherwise had never spoken So if Onesimus had not been a bad servant and after converted S. Paul had not written that Epistle to Philemon at least not the greatest part of it Chemnitius in Examine part 1. declareth at large Quâ occasione propter quam causam in quem usum primùm Scriptura tradita sit à Deo And he speaketh of the Old Testament Concerning the New Testament neither Christ nor any of his Apostles wrote any thing for many yeares nor did any one Evangelist or Apostle singly write till the Church was pestered with Schismaticks Who troubled them with words subverting their souls Act. 15.24 To remedie which discord a Councel was gathered at Jerusalem of the Apostles and Elders with the whole Church and they wrote Letters or an Epistle to the brethren And a Acts 15.28 Visum est Spiritui Sancto nobis It seemed good to the holy Ghost and to us was the forefront of their main decree And this was the beginning of writing of any part of the New Testament saith Chemnitius in his Examen of the Councel of Trent part 1. pag. 32. though others dissent from him I will onely say If that schisme had not been that Councel had not been gathered that Epistle had not been written Briefly thus Eusebius in the second and third book of his historie specializeth the causes and grounds why each of the foure Evangelists did write which is exemplified by Chemnitius in the place before cited even to satietie whilest he at large describeth the occasions and inducements or reasons why all and every book of the New Testament was written Thus the conclusion being firm That the word of God was written casually that is the sacred Pen-men were inspired to write all of it upon just motives and fair occurrences and yet not casually if we take the word in sensu profano usu forensi I proceed to the third Question Whether they were commanded to write They who reade the Scripture may think this question idle and impertinent but who hath been conversant in the thornie paths of controversies shall finde much opposition by our adversaries Bellarmine de Verbo Dei non scripto 4.3 saith thus b Falsum est Dâ—um mandâsse Apostolis ut scriberent Legimus mandatum ut praedicarent ut scriberent nunquam legimus Deus nec mandavit expreseè ut scriberent nec ut non scriberent It is false that God commanded the Apostles to write We have read they were commanded to preach Matth. 28.19 we have not read that they were commanded to write God did not command expressely either that they should write or not write To the place alledged by Bellarmine I answer They are not there commanded Praedicare but his verie Vulgat hath it Docere which may be by writing as well as by preaching The Original hath it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 discipulate or discipulas facite omnes gentes where 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is not taken neutro-passively for discipulum esse for that implieth that the Apostles should learn of the Gentiles and not teach them but actively as if it were in the Conjugation HIPHIL ac si dicas DISCIPULARE saith Beza The very word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 praedicate preach used Mark 16.15 doth not necessarily imply onely the Apostolicall preaching vivâ voce in suggesto aloud in a pulpit but doth signifie a publication in generall not onely a going up into the pulpit as idiots imagine for an Angel did 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Revel 5.2 preach or proclaim as it is in our last Translation and Christ preached to the spirits in prison 1. Pet. 3.19 and the possessed of a legion of devils being dispossessed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Mark 5.20 Began to preach or publish how great things Jesus had done for him None of these I dare say climbed up into the pulpit Moreover publication may be by writing aswell as by preaching and more disciples have been made by Evangelicall and Apostolicall writings then ever were by their preachings in their own times I answer again He saith It is false To prove a falshood a man must have expresse truth which he confesseth he hath not and how lamely followeth this Because we now reade it not Ergò they were not commanded He would have laught at such a negative proof of ours Augustine saith c Quicquid Christus de suis factis dictis noâ— legere voluit hoc scribendum Evangelisâ—is tanquam suis manibus imperavit Whatsoever Christ would have us reade of his words and works that did he command the Evangelists as if they had been his own hands to write Bellarmine answereth d Lequitur de imperio interno quod suggestio quaedam inspiratio potiùs quà m praeceptum propriè dictum existimari debet He speaketh of the inward command which is rather a
suggestion and inspiration then a proper command I reply Of precepts properly so called some are hid and secret others more manifest the internall command bindes as much as the externall divine suggestions oft times have the force of an expresse inward precept and commands are sometimes manifested by inspirations Praeceptum propriè dictum which is by word or writing and Imperium internum may be equivalent and so long as it is Imperium internum what need we care though it be not Praeceptum propriè dictum And the command was to write which is an outward act The second Objection brought by Bellarmine against himself is from the Revelation where S. John is commanded divers times to write To this he answereth most unclerk-like That S. John was commanded to write certain hidden visions not the doctrine of the Gospel and precepts of manners But this is easily confuted for Revel 19.9 it is said Write Blessed are they which are called to the marriage-supper of the Lambe Is not this the doctrine of the Gospel what is more Evangelicall He might have considered the marriage-feasts in the Gospels Matth. 22.2 c. and Luk. 14.16 And a voice from heaven said Revel 14.13 Write Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth yea saith the Spirit that they may rest from their labours and their works do follow them Are these hidden visions Is not this the doctrine of the Gospel The like might be amplified out of the first second and third chapters of the Revelation where matters of moralitie and precepts of manners are commanded to be written and are written and not hidden visions but rather the doctrine of repentance and of the Gospel Christ saith to his Apostles Act. 1.8 Ye shall be witnesses unto me He forbeareth the word of preaching and useth more generall words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ye shall be witnesses and they bare witnesse by writing Joh. 21.24 This is the disciple which testifieth of these things and wrote these things and we know that his testimonie is true not onely he himself but Peter and the rest WE know that his testimonie is true what testimonie but his writings d Toti operi suo fidem vult conciliare He would have all his works or writings beleeved saith Luc. Brugensis and Maldonate When the seven thunders had uttered their voices I was about to write saith S. John and a voice from heaven saith Write them not Revel 10.4 The Apostles forwardnesse or pronenesse to write argueth not necessarily that he was not commanded first to write but rather presupposeth it and this present inhibition Write not may serve as an exception to a former generall command that he might have to write Indeed there is no expresse record that all and every of the Apostles were enjoyned to write nor is it likely they were for then they would have obeyed whereas not the one half of the Apostles committed any thing to pen ink and paper for ought we know But we are sure that some writers of the Old Testament were commanded to write Exod. 17.14 And the Lord said unto Moses Write this for a memoriall in a book Jerem. 36.2 Take thee a roll of a book and write therein all the words that I have spoken unto thee c. and S. John was commanded eleven or twelve times to write and thence it is more then probable that the rest of the Apostles which wrote were commanded to write they might be expressely appointed to write though in their writings so much be not expressed To say as Bellarmine doth It is false that God commanded the Apostles to write because so much is not written is rash and ill-advised inferring that they were commanded nothing except those things which are written Is every thing false that cannot be proved is nothing true but what can be proved To evince a thing to be false is required a reall proof of truth positive which Bellarmine wanteth and the falsitie may justly be retorted home to the Cardinall himself from the authoritie of a prime man of his own part Wiser Aquinas 3. part quaest 42. artic 4. 2. thus When the disciples of Christ had written what he shewed and spake unto them we must in no wise say that Christ himself did not write since his members wrote that which they knew by the dictate of him their Head For whatsoever he would have us reade of his deeds and words he commanded them as his own hands to write Now let Bellarmine say It is false that the Apostles were commanded by God to write And thus much shall serve for the third question The fourth question Whether the Prophets Evangelists and Apostles were compelled to write As when it is said Luke 1.70 GOD SPAKE BY THE MOUTH OF HIS HOLY PROPHETS per LOQUENDI verbum SCRIPTIONEM quoque comprehendit so what I propound of Propheticall Evangelicall and Apostolicall writing must also be understood of their speaking or dictating Whether they were compelled to it Compulsion is of two sorts Proper and absolute Improper or mixt Proper when a man is forced as we say in spight of his teeth against his will as some who have been drawn to punishment Thus were they not compelled Mixt when a man doth that which he would not do unlesse he feared a greater losse as when a Merchant or Mariner cast their goods into the sea to save their lives which hath in it part of the voluntarie and part of the involuntarie And of this there may be some question for Jonah fled from the presence of the Lord Jon. 1.3 that is was unwilling to do the message Moses again and again refused to be Gods embassadour to Pharaoh Exod. 3.11 and to the Israelites Exod. 4.1 10 13. Isaiah was also backward Isa 6.5 One answer serves for all They were at first fearfull rather then unwilling but when they were confirmed they readily and boldly did their duties So farre were they from shadow of compulsion that they offered their service When the voice of the Lord said Whom shall I send and Who will go for Vs Isa 6.8 the Prophet said Here am I send me Yea but they were impulsi rapti agitati acti 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 2. Pet. 1.21 I answer The word rather excludeth voluntarie and arbitrarie will-worship or self-will-service then includeth compulsion for all this was performed Libero motu voluntatis With the free motion of their will or as others take it Salvo pleno usu liberi arbitrii Without any impeachment of the freedome of their will e Acti à Spiritu sancto loqunti sunt à Deo afflati compositos tamen intellige bos motus non quales fuere profauorum vatum They who were led by the holy Ghost spake being inspired by God yet know that their motions and inspirations were setled and composed unlike to the profane heathen priests or prophets for they were wilde senslesse not knowing what they did or said saith Tremellius
Either of these wayes is better then that of Canus But the truth is The father of the faithfull knew that though himself did kill Isaac yet God who is able to stones to raise up children unto Abraham Matth. 3.9 was able to raise up Isaac even from the dead Heb. 11.19 and in hope or full assurance thereof might say I and the lad will return and yet intend faithfully to sacrifice his sonne And who knoweth but he might be divinely and extraordinarily assured that his childe should return with him The third Objection consisteth of these parcels 1. Pet. 5.12 By Silvanus a faithfull brother unto you as I suppose 2. Cor. 11.5 I suppose I was not a whit behinde the very chiefest Apostles In both places is used the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 computo supputo Existimo saith the Vulgat I suppose 1. Cor. 7.40 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I think I have the Spirit of God Joh. 21.25 There are many other things which Jesus did the which if they should be written I suppose that even the world it self could not contain the books that should be written 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 arbitror I opine think or suppose From which or the like places the objection thus ariseth Opinion is conversant about those things which are changeable and is onely of all the powers of the soul busied about contingents and is a trembling pendulous shaking and uncertain habit circa complexa upon probable reasons inclining to one side yet fearing or doubting the contradictorie for opinion is framed on likelihood as knowledge is upon truth Where opinion or supposall is there is not certain knowledge But our Apostles did think or suppose Therefore they had not immediate divine revelation or certaintie in the points supposed and therefore wrote somewhat which they knew not I answer to each of these Apostles in particular and first to S. Peter who seemeth to be in doubt and uncertainty what was to be thought concerning Silvanus Divers say he speaketh modestly of him as the Apostolicall men were wont to do of themselves S. Augustine Tract 37. in Joan. averreth that under those words is couched an asseveration As if one should say to a stubborn servant Thou dost contemn me Consider I suppose I am thy master where the seeming supposall makes him neither to be nor seem to be ever a whit the lesse his master But I answer That the holy Ghost having not revealed unto S. Peter fully what the heart of Silvanus was or was like to be left him to suppose and according to the supposall of his soul did dictate unto S. Peter what the blessed Spirit knew better then S. Peter these words The supposall of the Apostle inferreth not a supposall of the Spirit The Spirit was most certain when the Apostle might be dubious The holy Ghost spake if I may so say representing Peter and in Peters person which might be subject to a supposall and yet divinely inspired to know certainly what he wrote namely to know this that he did suppose And that upon good motives Whereas S. Paul saith 2. Cor. 11.5 I suppose I was not a whit behinde the very chiefest Apostles and 1. Cor. 7.40 I think I have the Spirit of God he speaketh not so much doubtingly as humbly To use diminuent and sparing phrases concerning ones self is lawfull 2. Cor. 11.23 I speak as a fool saith S. Paul yet there was as great a dissimilitude between a fool and him as between any I think then breathing Ephes 3.8 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Vnto me who am lesse then the least of all Saints is this grace given that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ No man had the like priviledge in every degree as he had in this S. Peter was Doctor Judaeorum the Doctour of the Jews S. Paul Doctor Gentium the Doctour of the Gentiles yet no man can speak more modestly then S. Paul doth of himself Lesse then the least of the Apostles had been much but lesse then the least of all Saints is the depth the heart the soul of humilitie which yet is further evidenced in that he saith not this grace was given when he was a persecuter and so indeed worse then any Saint yea almost worse then any man but to me even now when I am called now when I am turned to me now lesse then the least of all Saints is this grace given Lesse then the least is contrary to the rules of Grammar which admit not a comparative above a superlative contrary to common sense contrary to the literall truth of the things themselves for he was a chosen vessell a chief Apostle few if any more chief though he should boast more of his authoritie he should not be ashamed 2. Cor. 10.8 No whit inferiour 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to the very chiefest Apostles 2. Cor. 12.11 A Minister of Christ more then others 2. Cor. 11.23 Now though S. Paul used terminis diminuentibus and spake sparingly and modestly in some places concerning himself yet otherwhere he revealeth the whole truth he knew the certaintie of things to wit that he was not lesse then the least that he was not as a fool and when he said I suppose or I think he did know Dum minus dicit majus innuit Whilest he speaketh the lesse he intimateth the more he was never a trumpeter of his own worth but when he was urged unto it by opposition Concerning the place of S. John thus I answer The Apostle was governed by the holy Ghost to use an Hyperbole or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 according to the Orientall Idiotisme and perchance aimed at the words Gen. 13.6 The land was not able to bear Abraham and Lot that they might dwell together Or at the place of Amos 7.10 The land is not able to bear all his words as is well observed by the curious Heinsius He also here is guided by the same Spirit to write I suppose or I think that even the world could not contain the books as for other reasons to us unknown so perhaps because both the Spirit would qualifie the Hyperbole and speak within truth which is allowed rather then beyond truth which is disallowable I suppose rather then I know Secondly I answer more punctually If the holy Spirit did leave S. Paul nescient whether he were rapt in bodie yea or no and Paul did know his own nesciencie 2. Cor. 12.2 why might not the same Spirit leave S. Paul S. Peter S. John in supposals and yet no inconvenience ariseth thencefrom since they perfectly knew that they did suppose This is the disciple which testifieth of these things and wrote these things and we know that his testimonie is true John 21.24 as S. John saith of himself To conclude this point No man ever said that whatsoever the holy Penmen mentioned or treated of they understood perfectly invested with all their circumstances for they spake and writ of the day of judgement and other
Hellenists Chaldee Paraphrase or any heathen Authours yet it doth not necessarily evince that the holy Actuaries or Notaries did oversee reade heare or transcribe those things out of their knowledge from the said Authours but both the names of those Authours and the things themselves were presented to them by that blessed Spirit which knew all things and this among the rest That these words phrases and sentences were fit to be inserted into the holy Writ which now are in it All Scripture is of divine inspiration But the very words are part of Scripture Therefore even they were inspired Revel 19.9 The Angel said Write Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage-supper of the Lambe Did not the Angel speak the words Did not he give the Apostle both matter and words When the Apostle was commanded Revel 14.13 by a voice from heaven to write Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord c. was he commanded to write his conceits and thoughts apprehended in Syriack and translate them into Hellenisticall Greek or did the heavenly voice suggest onely an holy inspiration into him and left him to coyn words as Heinsius would have it or rather did not the voice teach the very words which should be written viz. Blessed are the dead c. Now let us passe to the fifth and last Conclusion in which we must dissent from the worthy Heinsius and disarm him of his often-inculcated but not once proved Tenet The 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Writers of holy Scripture conceived in one language and writ in an other Upon which ground he hath raised a strange structure but his very ground-work is sandie slipperie and false And this I hope to evince by Scripture Authoritie and Reason All which shall be squared to that Corner-stone which more then once before I hewed upon more roughly and now by Gods grace intend to polish namely That the very words and letters were dictated unto the holy Scribes and therefore they had no power to change or transchange to adde or diminish or to expresse by their own words their internall irradiation but in the language which they conceived they also wrote their heavenly dictates 2. Pet. 1.21 The Prophesie came not in old time by the will of man but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the holy Ghost Therefore their very speech being according to the motion of the holy Ghost their words were not of their own choice but from above and not onely divine thoughts but sacred words were also given them 1. Cor. 2.13 S. Paul spake in words which the holy Ghost taught Did the holy Ghost inspire thoughts into them in one language and teach them words to speak in an other language Cui bono To what end and purpose and why not all done in the language which they conceived 2. Tim. 3.16 Scriptura per Spiritum scripta est The Scripture was writ by the Spirit saith the Syriack not onely inspired as it is from the Greek but written and as it was inspired written Revel 19.9 The Angel saith concerning very words which he commanded to be wrote These are the true sayings of God Not inspirations onely of God and the words of Men but the sayings of God Exod. 34.27 Write thou these words for after the tenour of these words I have made a covenant God was not tied to the words Moses was to the writing of the very words Jerem. 30.2 Write thee all the words which I have spoken unto thee in a book He gave him no power to put in words of his own Twelve times in the Revelation was S. John commanded to write and knew he not the words Hos 8.12 I have written to Ephraim the great things of my Law Even all what my Prophets have done I challenge as mine own writing Authorities of men The Scriptures were written y Magisterio Spiritus in obedience to the Spirit saith Sasbout on Peter Therefore the Apostles had not the power left unto them of writing their own conceits but were fitted with words by the Spirit z Si Spiritu saucto inspirati ab eo impulsi locuti sunt Prophetae caeteri librorum sacrorum scriptores Consequens est Scripturam totam esse verbum Dei non aliter à nobis accipiendam quà m si Deus immediatè absque humano vel Angelico ministerio eam edidisset ut ità dicam digito suo scripsisset If the Prophets and other writers of holy Scripture spake by the moving and inspiration of the holy Ghost it followeth that all the Scripture is the word of God no otherwise to be esteemed of by us then if God immediately without the ministery of men or Angels had set it forth and as I may say had written it with his own finger saith the learned Estius Even Cornelius Cornelii à Lapide himself on Timothie thus a Prophetae alii scriptores 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vocantur calami instrumenta Spiritus sancti quast scribae velociter scribentis inspirantis dictantis sacras literas The Prophets and other holy Penmen of Scripture are styled the pens and instruments of the holy Ghost as of that scribe who speedily writeth inspireth and dictateth the divine writ Where he confesseth the holy Spirit not to inspire onely but to dictate yea to write like a swift scribe the holy Scripture Gregorius Praefat. in Job cap. 2. b Scriptores sacri Eloquii quia repleti Spiritu sancto super se trahuntur quasi extra semetipsos fiunt sic Dei sententias quasi de labiis proferunt The writers of the heavenly word because they are filled with the holy Ghost are elevated above themselves in him and as it were out of themselves and so the sentences of God are uttered as it were by their lips Athanasius Epist ad Lib. saith c Christus vetus novum Testamentum composuit Christ made the Old and New Testament d Quid est illud o◠Domini nisi Scripturae per quas loquitur Dominu◠What is the mouth of the Lord but the Scriptures by which the Lord speaketh saith Rupert on Matth. lib. 4. Philo Judaeus in lib. Quis rerum divinarum haeres thus e Propheta nihil ex se proloquitur sed omnia submonente alio A Prophet prophesieth nothing out of his own brain but all things by the prompting of the holy Ghost as he wittily concludeth Therefore not so much as the words are his own Chrysostom de Lazaro Homil. 4. Though a dead man revive and an Angel come from heaven you must beleeve Scriptures above all for the Master of Angels the Lord of the living and the dead he himself framed them The same Chrysostom de expulsione ipsius sheweth the manner I reade his own handwriting c. They are done by his hand the very writing it self is his and therefore called Chyrographum Dei A writing under Gods own hand by Augustine
on Psal 144. Now follow the Reasons why they concelved and writ in the same tongue First there is little or no difference between the Apostles and other men if the Apostles did frame words to their heavenly inspirations For when it pleaseth the blessed Spirit who bloweth where he listeth to drop down into the soul of an ordinary man some thoughts divine and in the language of spirits saith unto the same soul Of these see that you make a prayer the righteous man accordingly obeyeth and of those inward apprehensions shapeth a verbal prayer and poureth it forth before God Almightie and setteth it down in writing Shall the prayer be held as Divine as Scriptures Then may Manasses his Apocryphall prayer immediately before the books of Maccabees as it is in our last translation be no longer Apocryphall but Divine as Divine as any prayer made by the selected holy Penmen To have a thing perfectly Divine is required that heavenly words may be mixed with heavenly illumination Secondly our faith will be questioned if thoughts were inspired and the Penmen should adde what words they pleased f Titutabit fides si Scripturarum vacillat authoritas Our faith will stumble if the authoritie of the Scripture be shaken never so little saith Augustine de doctr Christian 1.37 But the Scriptures authoritie shaketh if God give onely the matter and men the words Thirdly the Prophets and Apostles wrote not alwayes all their own things themselves but sometimes used the ministerie of divers others A Scribe and a Prophet were two distinct persons and offices Jer. 36.26 Jeremie had Baruch Jer. 36.4 Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the Lord so then the words of Jeremiah to Baruch were the words of the Lord to Jeremiah And when that roll was burnt Jeremiah by the word of the Lord was bid to take another roll and write in it vers 28 c. Which Jeremie did not by himself but by Baruch the scribe vers 32. The nine first chapters of the Proverbs of Solomon were written by Solomon himself The rest were writ by others who attended on Solomon and heard them and are like so many precious stones apart and severally though not made up into one jewell or chain nor hanging together in any setled method yet to be esteemed at as high a rate and value as the very writings of Solomon The same Spirit inspired all the same mouth spake all though they were penned by severall hands by the command of the same holy Spirit In the New Testament S. Paul wrote much with his own hand The whole Epistle to the Galatians Gal. 6.11 at least to these very words and to Philemon vers 19. Many saluations 2. Thessal 3.17 18. The saluation of Paul with mine own hand which is the token in every Epistle so I write The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all Amen So that we may soundly gather that whatsoever Epistle under his name hath not that in it it was not written by him There was an Epistle written in his name to the Thessalonians terrifying them as if the generall judgement had been present as may be gathered 2. Thess 2.2 But S. Paul disclaims it It had not belike the salutation with his own hand his friendly farewell and prayer which saith Anselm was in these or the like words Grace c. as all the rest of his Epistles have toward their end though with a little variation of words sometimes larger sometimes briefer even the Epistle to the Hebrews also Hebr. 13.25 Grace be with you all Amen That you may not question but also that is his Epistle whereas no other Apostles have it so fully though S. Peter cometh nearest him 1. Pet. 5.14 For all this he used the help of some others in writing All the second Epistle to the Thessalonians was written with another hand except the salutation at the end saith Estius Rom. 16.22 I Tertius who wrote this Epistle salute you in the Lord. The words will bear this sense I Tertius who wrote this Epistle in the Lord salute you or thus as the Vulgat hath it I Tertius salute you who wrote this Epistle in the Lord. He said IN THE LORD to shew that he wrote not for money saith Cajetan Questionlesse Paul dictated and Tertius wrote the Epistle saith Estius Even those words themselves are not Tertius his own inserted as a private mans or secretaries but are divine Scripture And either by the Spirit he was commanded to write so and that thought was from heaven put into his heart and those words into his mouth to be written by his hand or else which I take to be most likely S. Paul knowing the minde of Tertius perhaps in part by Tertius his own expression but rather and chiefest by Divine revelation that Tertius did salute them in the Lord he willed him so to write I hope Heinsius will not say that Tertius conceived in Syriack and wrote in Greek or when S. Paul made his narrative in the Hebrew tongue Act. 22.2 that Luke conceived in Syriack and wrote in Greek neither can he say the like of the holy secretaries to whom not first thoughts in language spirituall and then words but thoughts by words outward and expressed were revealed Yet Erasmus in his last Annotation on the Epistle to the Hebrews saith thus g Quod affâ—runt hîc quidam Paulum ipsuÌ„ scripsisse Hebraicè caeterùm Lucam argumentum Epistolae quam memoriâ tenebat suis explicuisse verbis quantum valeat viderint alii What some do affirm THAT S. PAUL HIMSELF VVROTE IN HEBREVV BUT S. LUKE DID EXPRESSE IN HIS OVVN VVORDS THE ARGUMENT OF THE EPISTLE VVHICH HE HAD GOTTEN BY HEART let others consider what force and power it hath What will you say nothing to this Not so great a Critick Sure this drop might have fallen from your pen That such manner of writing had savoured no more of the Spirit then any ordinary writing where a skilfull scribe doth amplifie the heads given unto him Again Erasmus on Hebr. 2. in his Answer to Fabers 57 objection relateth that Faber h Quicquid est incommodi offâ—ndiculi id in Interpretem rejicit sed meo judicio parùm prudenter Whatsoever seems incommodious or offensive layeth the fault thereof upon the Interpreters but not prudently enough as I think saith Erasmus and in the answer to the one and fourtieth objection i Faber flagellat Interpretem huius Epistolae qui in Psalmo non verterit ELOHIM A DEO cùm idem fecerint Septuaginta quibus magìs conveniebat hoc imputari Faber scourgeth the Interpreter of this Epistle who did not turn the word ELOHIM in the Psalm FROM GOD when the Septuagint did so to whom this might rather be imputed Again Erasmus saith ibid. of Faber k In â—us trahit Interpretem Epistolae He commenceth a suit against the Interpreter of this Epistle All this
God had sent in stead of it one of the very coals with which S. Laurence was broiled to death and thereupon shewed them the coal which was foisted in 7. He that would rake this sink might have his nose full I must ascend somewhat higher and whereas I imagined no reliques were found beyond Christ now Salianus annal tom 6. pag. 34. saith from report that the heads of the seven brethren martyrs 2. Macc. 7.1 c. are in a Nunnerie at Cullein in a Church of the Maccabees so called 400 yeares since And Pineda tells us that the reliques of Ananias Azarias and Misael are reported to remain and not those onely for Lorinus on Act. 7.44 saith The Scholasticall historie reporteth that the Ark was carried in triumph at Rome and is kept in the Church of Lateran Lorinus indeed disliketh that opinion but it may passe as well as this That unto Lewis the eleventh were brought the holy oyl and the rod of Moses and Aaron as the French historie hath it at the end of his life How missed they a piece of Noahs Ark for I take it that the Scholasticall historie speaketh of the Arca Testamenti and the fruit of some of the trees of Paradise A parcell of the Tohu-Bohu had been an excellent relique as the primitive and ancientest remainder of the unformed lump and masse of the first immediate creation For a piece of that Nothing out of which the Tohu-Bohu was made cannot be had since Nothing hath no parts If the Papists did think with the Jews that Solium Aeternitatis The Throne of Eternitie was one of those things which was made before the grand creation as Mr. Calvin relateth concerning the Jews on Micah 5.2 some of the Papists perhaps would outstrip the Jews and say that they had a relique even of that Throne In no foolerie have the Papists prejudiced themselves more then in this yea they are not onely come to that degree of infatuation as to feigne that they can shew the horns of Moses which were meerly non entia none at all growing onely in the imagination of the deceivers and deceived but they are carried even 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to that height of madnesse that they say they have had horresco referens I quake to write it one of the fingers of the holy Ghost which was a most blasphemous imposture I had almost said 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 above and beyond pardon See Mr. Sheldon in his book concerning the miracles of Antichrist pag. 335. Sleidan Comment 4. fol. 37. ad annum Dom. 1624. saith That among other things it was decreed in an assembly of the Helvetians at Lucerna thus e Qui sancti Spiritûs Mariae virginis divi Antonii circumferunt reliquias à nemine rideantur Let not them be laughed at who carrie about the reliques of the holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary of S. Antonie And yet the same Sleidan Comment 12. fol. 129. makes it to be a part of the very pretended reformation to be made even by the Papists themselves That they who carry about the reliques of S. Antonie are to be put down because they lead the people into superstition and cozen them Their own learned Valla and Vives reproved this mercenary juggling and long before them Glaber Rodulphus Cluniacensis Monachus in Historia sui temporis lib. 4. cap. 3. tels strange stories of Leger de la main about reliques and of their working of miracles which he ascribeth to devils or humane errours Likewise the moderate ingenuous unsiding learned George Cassander Consult art 21. hath branded them and giveth some advice concerning them especially against the false reliques 8. I speak not unreverently of any true relique and I think many both Orientall and Occidentall reliques were and are true and fully beleeve that divers holy reliques were in this last age torn down and buried in ruines by those sacrilegious hot-brains in the giddie whirl or by those Turkish acquists which in a whirlwinde regarded more the benefit of sinfull men then the good of souls or glory of God in the beautie of his Churches If I could see one undoubted ancient relique of the best sort for they do much differ I would reverence though not worship it f Venerandi sunt martyres non adorandi ut Deus The martyrs are to be very highly esteemed yet not to be adored as God saith Ludovicus Vives on Augustine de Civit Dei 8.27 and establisheth it out of Hierom. The same say I of reliques and thus expound my self in particulars First negatively Secondly positively I would not kneel unto any relique much lesse pray unto it nor say as the Papists do to the Sudarium Christi g Sanctum sudarium ora pro nobis libera nos à peste Holy napkin pray for us and free us from the plague Or to the linen handkerchief of Veronica h Salve sancta facies impressa panniâ—ulo nos ab omni macula purga vitiorum All hail holy face printed or stamped on this handkerchief cleanse us from all the blots of our sinnes Nor to any part of the crosse or to all of it if I saw it intire would I crie i O crux ave salva nos God speed O crosse do thou save us Yet such idolatrie Scharpius imputeth to the Papists I would not light lights before the bones or ashes of a martyr which Hierom condemneth as the dotage of superstitious women who have zeal but not knowledge I would not erect altars temples or appoint holy dayes or form a prayer to worship them but to God for them All these are derogatorie to the honour of the Almightie If I were sure to have help if I prayed unto a relique I would not pray and would refuse that help I would not dig up the bodie or any part of the bodie of the greatest Saint buried unlesse it were buried in unseemly and unfit places then would I not worship it but translate it to a decent sepulchre The bodies of the Patriarchs Jacob and Joseph were not taken up to be kept as reliques but to be translated to their severall sepulchres and David caused the bones of his dearest Jonathan when they had been carried from Gilboah to the street of Beth-shan from Beth-shan to Jabesh-Gilead to be buried in Zelah of Benjamin in the sepulchre of Kish 2. Sam. 21.12 c. He kept them not for reliques nor worshipped them I would not give so much reverence to any relique as I would to the Saint himself if I were divinely ascertained that the Saints soul presented it self in a shape unto me and yet I would not fall down to worship that Saint and should I to his relique I would not religiosè venerari religiously worship as Petrus Thyraeus de locis infest part 1. cap. 67. Thesi 4. confesseth the Papists do But what saith sober S. Augustine on Psal 98.5 k Anceps factus sum timeo adorare terram nè damnet
Abraham or any other But Melchisedech though he had none at all from Abraham or his ascendents none at all mentioned in any authentick records or tradition yet had he one or other of which hereafter There was one Theodotus saith o De praesâ—riptione cap. 53. in fine Tertullian and he brought in a novel opinion and held That what Christ doth for men Melchisedech doth for the Angels But this cannot be for the good Angels needed not any Mediatour of Redemption no not Christ himself nor ever had nor ever shall have This Arch-heretick had other Melchisedechians who taught that Melchisedech was a certain vertue or power greater then Christ because Christ is said to be a Priest according to his order So Epiphanius relateth lib. 2. Haeres 55. Yet this holdeth not for the majoritie or betternes but for the prioritie or typicall resemblance Some have held that Christ was a Priest according also to the order of Aaron and then by that argument the Aaronicall Priesthood should be better then Christs which is plainly confuted in the Epistle to the Hebrews Christ accomplished every type of him and according as they signified did he fulfill This doth not prove their betternes or efficacie greater then his no more doth his being a Priest according to the order of Melchisedech either magnifie Melchisedech above Christ or any way vilifie Christ Varietie of conjectures have been manifold I hold it probablest with Josephus the Jew with divers late Writers with the ancient Fathers p Coelestis Hierarchiae cap. 9. Dionysius q Haeres 51. Epiphanius r In Genes quaest 63. Theodoret Procopius and others that Melchisedech was one of the Kings of Canaan and came from Cham not from Sem. And this God might ordain purposely that the Gentiles might not despair of salvation but though Christ came of the seed of Abraham and the Jews were Gods peculiar people yet Christ himself was a Priest according to the order of Melchisedech who descended from the cursed seed That Melchisedech was the holy Ghost was a mad opinion now forsaken of all That he was not an Angel nor a vertue greater then Christ I proved before but a man a meer man whose pedigree is not to be reckoned from Abraham or his predecessours for Abrahams predecessours dwelt in Vr of the Caldees Genes 11.28 and 31. and Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the floud in old time Joshuah 24.2 that is Beyond Euphrates Eastward even unto the East-Indies did Sems posteritie reach and multiply propagating true religion with the histories both of the Creation and of the Deluge In the East-Indian Shaster which is the Canon of their devotion esteemed by them as the sacred Bible is by us there are now many fables intermixed savouring more of humane invention then of faith yet their rationall traditions make nearer approaches to the divine truth concerning the creation then the more ignorant Theologie of the Romanes till Christs time and as good laws and precepts have the East-Indians for moralitie and government Oecomenick and Politicall if not better for a settled State And I hold it a most remarkable thing that the East-Indian language to this day hath farre more affinitie with the Hebrew then any one of our Occidentall languages yea then all of them put together And those Indi Aurorae or as one calleth them Indi Diei have scarce a word but it is found in the Caldee Arabick or primitive Hebrew and by perfect knowledge in the Hebrew one may easily attain to the knowledge of all other the Eastern tongues Whence we may conclude the prioritie of the Hebrew tongue See the learned William Postell in his alphabet of twelve tongues different in characters and more specially de Indica lingua One great errour I cannot omit in the said learned Postellus in his Tractate de lingua Samaritana for from S. Hierom in prooemio libri Regum and with him he maintaineth that it is certain that Esdras after the instauration of the temple under Zerubbabel invented other letters which now we use and that the characters of the Samaritans and Hebrews were all one till then and withall himself found out a very probable specious reason why Esdras should forsake the old characters and framed new and yet he bringeth in the characters of Hebrew now in use as delivered by God in the tables given to Moses whereas if he would be constant to himself either God gave to Moses the Samaritan letters and Esdras invented new ones or if God gave these now in use to Moses the Samaritans may be thought to invent new characters that they might differ from the Hebrews and make their schism more irreconcileable by the strangnesse of misfigured letters Moses was farre more ancient then Esdras and the Samaritans who received no Scripture but Moses his writings in all likelihood used the letters and characters used by Moses and so in conclusion it will arise that the Samaritan letters and the Hebrew were all one a long time which Postellus confesseth and that they were exactly the same which God gave to Moses which Postellus denieth and after that Esdras might invent new characters upon the ground which Postellus framed and the Jews as he saith approved and these commonly we enjoy I cannot omit that you shall finde other characters of the alphabet of that language which was used beyond Euphrates different from the Samaritan but more from the Hebrew And it is in the Hebrew Grammar of Abraham de Balmis q Prout inveni in libro vetustissimo As I found saith he in a most ancient book and he saith It was r Scriptura transitus fluvii the writing used beyond Euphrates The characters of both which I would have described exactly if I had been sure our Printers had the stamps for others have not In regard of which defect Mr Selden in the preface to his book called Marmora Arundeliana excuseth his printing of the Samaritan the Syriack and Arabick words and passages used in his Commentarie by the Hebrew letters rather then by their own proper characters I am come back to Jerusalem where Melchisedech reigned And though he was a most holy man and an extraordinary type of Christ yet I say he came of the cursed seed For C ham possessed all Canaan and it was called the land of Canaan from Canaan the sonne of Cham. And he was one of the Kings in that land for it had many Kings Genes 14. Melchisedech and Job and many other in the old Testament do prove that God was not the God of the Jews onely but also of the Gentiles This place of the Apostle Hebr. 11.5 concerning Enoch Nè videret mortem hath occasioned much discourse but I cannot leave Enoch yet Indeed it is said Genes 5.24 God took him Å¿ Id est abstulit eum Deus per mortem that is God sent for him by death saith Aben Ezra and so the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉
compared Book 1. p. 13 14 15. The Ascension of Christ represented in the assumption of Enoch and Elias Book 3. p. 191 to 195. B BEauty desired Book 1. pag. 19. The Being or not Being of a thing may be said divers wayes Book 2. p. 77. Bristoll built of old by Brennus ibid. p. 23 24. C WHence the Capitol in Rome had its name B. 2. pag. 18. Ceremonies Leviticall died at first by degrees and now they are not onely dead but deadly Book 1. p. 3. There is no Chance where Providence reigneth Book 2. p. 71 72. Cherubims with reall flaming swords were placed in Paradise Book 1. p. 2 3. and why ibid. p. 23. Christs beautie in his humanitie described together with his Passion B. 1. p. 18 19 20. compare ibid. p. 193. Christ doth us more good then Adam did us harm ibid. p. 185 to 188. Christ saved more in number then Adam condemned ibid. p. 188 189. c. Whether Christ were in Adam and how ibid. p. 82 83. The judgement of the essentiall Church of Christ is infallible ibid. p. 148. Circumcision of women by the Turks ibid. p. 144. A wicked Companion is very dangerous Book 3. p. 184 185. Conception what it is and how B. 1. p. 93 to 99. Confirmation in grace is of two sorts ibid. p. 48. Generall Councels are the highest earthly Judges of Scriptures controversed ibid. p. 136 148. D DEath is threefold Book 1. p. 4. Death is common to all ibid. Death Naturall and Violent ibid. p. 17. Sinne is the onely cause of Death ibid. p. 26 27. Death is bitter because painfull ibid. pag. 28 31. Death is sweet to some men because God makes it beneficiall unto them ibid. pag. 32 33 c. Death was inflicted on Adam for one sinne ibid. Death was inflicted for the sinne of the man Adam not of the woman Eve ibid. pag. 36 to 44. Speedy death by some is accounted best Book 3. pag. 187. Whether all Adams posteritie without priviledge or exception must and shall die Book 3. Chap. 1 2 3 throughout The difference between 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Book 1. pag. 192 193 c. Disciples of Christ were none of them Noble at least not Nobly bred Book 2. pag. 86. E OF the East-Indians and their language Book 3. p. 204. Of Elias and Enoch whether they be yet living or dead Book 3. Chap. 2. throughout Divers questions about Enoch more especially ibid. p. 181 182 c. Equivocation in what sense and in what cases it may be allowable Book 1. pag. 165 167. The second book of Esdras was never held Canonicall ibid. p. 7. Eve remained an intemerate virgin untill after the sinne of Adam ib. p. 39 40. Whether Eve sinned before she talked with the serpent ibid. pag. 60. Excommunication was of three sorts in the Jewish politie Book 2. pag. 48 49. F THe word Father is diversly taken in the holy Scripture Book 1. pag. 120. and Book 2. pag. 113 c. G GEnealogies were ever drawn from the Males Book 1. page 40 41. H THe Healed by Christ were never a second time cured of any disease Book 2. p. 8. Heavenly influences which are noxious are the causes of much sicknesse and destruction Book 1. p. 17. All languages have some words retaining the foot-steps of the Hebrew Book 2. p. 45. When the Hebrew points were first used Book 1. p. 100 101 102. Hebron the citie Book 2. page 19 to 29. Humilitie ibid. p. 161 162. The humilitie of S. Paul Book 2. p. 84 85. The Husband represents the wife Book 1. p. 140. I JEr 10.11 was the onely verse of his whole prophesie that was written in Chaldee which every captive Jew was commanded to cast in the teeth of the Babylonians Book 1. p. 180. Jerusalem the holy citie Book 2. p. 154 155 156. Ignorance threefold Book 1. p. 60. Interpretation of Scriptures is the Pastours right with whom the Laitie must consult ibid. p. 149 150 156 181 182. Book 2. p. 63. Interpretation of Scriptures by Anagrams is profane B. 1. p. 152 153. Whether interpretation of Scriptures or judgement of doctrine do in any sort belong unto the people and how farre ibid. p. 157 159. Helps and cautions prescribed unto the people for interpretation of Scriptures ibid. pag. 160 to pag. 169 c. John the Apostle his death Book 3. p. 187 188 189. Joseph was the first-born of Jacob. Book 1. p. 142 143. Joseph was a type of Christ Book 2. p. 33. A twofold acception of the word Judgement Book 1. p. 6. Judgement after death is private of souls publick of bodies and souls ibid. K. KIngs represent the people under them Book 1. p. 183 184. Of the honour due unto the King ibid. Whether Korah Dathan and Abiram descended with all their goods truly into hell Book 3. p. 214 215 to p. 221. L WHerein the confusion of Languages consisted Book 2. p. 45 46. Orientall languages conduce much to the understanding of Scriptures therefore necessarie to be studied ib. p. 48. Of the same languages also B. 3. p. 204 205. Of Lazarus raised by Christ Book 2. p. 7 8 9. Humane Learning is an handmaid to Divinitie ib. p. 88 89. Literall sense of Scripture is hardest to be found Book 1. p. 149. M MAgistrates not to be reviled Book 1. p. 168 169 170. Maran-atha expounded Book 2. p. 48 to p. 54. Of Melchisedech and why he is said to be without father and mother Book 3. p. 201 202 c. to p. 206. Members of the bodie are not all of equall worth Book 1. p. 63. God is very Mercifull unto all ib. p. 186 187. Whether Moses at the Transfiguration appeared in his own true person or not Book 3. p. 208 209 c. O IN Oaths we must be warie of mentall reservations and unlawfull equivocations Book 1. p. 166 167. Opinion Book 2. p. 83. Originall sinne See Sinne. P OF Paradise Book 3. pag. 194 195 196 197. The Pastours wisdome both for the matter and manner of his doctrine Book 1. p. 158. The Patriarchs were buried in Sychem Book 2. chap. 10. Meerly Personalls are not propagated B. 1. p. 109 to p. 138. S. Peter represented all the Apostles Joh. 21.15 16. Book 1. p. 147. The Pope is servus servorum Dei ibid. p. 132. The Priviledges of a few make not a law Book 2. p. 160. Whether God may justly Punish the Fathers for the childrens actuall delinquencies B. 1. p. 119 120. In what cases God may and doth punish the children for their Parents faults either with temporall or eternall punishment ib. p. 118 to p. 124. Every individuall man is justly punished for originall sinne in Adam ib. p. 145 146 147 c. R REdemption was of a double kinde in the Leviticall law Book 1. p. 143. Of Reliques Book 2. chap. 12. and the Authours esteem of a true choice Relique ibid. p. 130 131. The Resurrection was typified in
Samson and how Book 2. p. 31. Compare Book 3. p. 220. at the bottome of the page Why all men shall rise again at the last day Book 1. p. 195. Whether such as have been raised from the dead did die the second time Book 2. p. 1 to p. 12. Of holy men there is a double resurrection ib. p. 4. The raising of the dead was an act appropriated unto Christ himself no way communicated to his Apostles in his life time ib. p. 6 9 10. Who they were that rose at Christs death ib. p. 12. wherwith compare ib. chap. 8.11 12 13 14. throughout The raised Saints ascended not into heaven with Christ ib. ch 15 16 17 18. throughout Christs resurrection was typified in Elias 2. King 2.13 ib. p. 146. The figure of Rome at its first building ib. p. 24. S THe whole Scripture is but one though penned by divers Book 2. p. 38 39. The Penmen of the holy Scriptures as such could not forget ibid. p. 40 41 c. Whether how it was necessarie that the Scripture should be written for mens instruction ibid. p. 68 69 70 c. Whether the holy Penmen of the Scriptures understood all that they wrote ibid. p. 80 to p. 86. Whether they read profane Authours ibid. p. 86 to p. 90. They did cite Poets or profane Authours ibid. p. 89 to p. 93. Whether they studied the things they wrote before-hand ib. p. 92 to p. 96. There was no difference between the Penmen of the divine Writ of the Old and New Testament in the point of conceiving and writing in different languages ib. p. 96. We must have recourse unto the allusions of Scripture which are not rest on what the Apostles conceived in their mindes onely ibid. p. 97. The Pen-men of Scripture had no libertie to put in their own conceits or in writing to adde or blot out what they had done ib. p. 98 to p. 104. They had no power to clothe their inward apprehensions with words of their own ib. p. 104 105 106. The Penmen of Scripture wrote their heavenly dictates in the same language in which they conceived them ibid. p. 107 to p. 112. Whether the holy Penmen of Scripture wrote the Scripture casually ibid. p. 71 72. When the New Testament began first to be written and upon what occasion ibid. pag. 73. Whether the Penmen of Scripture were commanded to write ibid. p. 73 to page 76. Whether the Prophets Evangelists and Apostles were compelled to write ibid. 76 to p. 80. Whether Christ wrote any part of Scripture himself immediately ibid. p. 64 65 c. Why Sinne is called Originall Book 1. p. 129. Styles given to originall sinne ib. p. 36. Some sinnes are greater then other ibid. p. 62 63 64. The greatnesse of a sinne is two wayes considered ibid. p. 66. Of originall sinne as conveyed unto us from Adam ib. p. 74 to pag. 90. Originall sinne is matter of repentance ib. p. 76. How we sinned originall sinne in Adam ib. p. 78 79 80. Not by imputation onely nor onely by imitation p. 84 85. Originall sinne is propagated to mankinde ib. p. 90 91. p. 129. When originall sinne beginneth ib. p. 91 92 93. The manner how the soul is by it made sinfull ib. p. 103 to p. 109. Adams actuall sinne was private and personall ideall onely and representative therefore not imputed unto us ib. p. 88 89. p. 129. The foure principall faculties of our Souls with their severall objects Book 1. p. 56. T A Twofold kinde of Temperature the one of weight the other of justice Book 1. p. 18. Tithes are by an everlasting law due to the Priesthood of Melchisedech ibid. p. 83. Curses that follow those who sacrilegiously rob the Church of Tithes Book 2. p. 50 51. The Transfiguration of Christ with the manner of it and how it was not painfull to him B. 1. p. 29. Of the Translation of them who shall be found alive at the last day ibid. p. 30. The use of the Tree of life in Paradise unto Adam ibid. p. 20 23. Whether Adam did eat of the tree of life before he fell ibid. p. 21 22. V VIator is considered according unto a twofold estate Book 1. page 51 52. FINIS The severall places of Scripture explained in these three Books of Miscellanies The first book GEn. 3.20 pag. 40. Gen. 4.15 64 65. Exod. 13.2 140. Exod. 20.5 110 116 127 128. Job 14.4 95 96. Ps 51.5 92 93 94. Ps 91.11 25 26. Ps 109.14 121 122. Ps 131.1 161 162. Isa 53.2 18. Vers 4. 20. Jer. 25.26 153 unto 157. Matt. 15.14 174. Joh. 8.44 37. Joh. 9.2 132. Act. 23.5 168 169. 170 c. Rom. 5.12 79 80. vers 13. 186. ver 18. from page 190 to the end of the first book Rom. 11.16 106. 1. Cor. 3.1 2. 158. 1. Cor. 7.14 106. 1. Cor. 15.47 42. Ephes 4.23 24. 56. Heb. 9.27 from the 1 to the ninth The second book GEn. 22.5 p. 83. Gen. 31.53 32. John 8.56 30 31. Joh. 20.7 146 147. 1. Cor. 9.16 78. 1. Cor. 16.22 48 49 c. 2. Cor. 5.14 78. Gal. 6.11 67 68. Heb. 11.35 4. The third book EXod 34.29 p. 210. Mal. 4.5 6. 174 175 c. Matt. 17.11 177 178 c. ¶ Faults escaped in the first Book thus to be corrected Page 18 line 11 for proportion reade proportio Page 20 line margin for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 reade 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Page 24 line 2 for tree life reade tree of life Page 29 line 13 for not reade no. Page line 39 for ecclipsed reade eclipsed Page 30 line margin for tran-seuntis reade trans-euntis Page 32 line margin for laborantos reade laborantes Page 44 line 20 for yae reade yea Page 57 line 20 for he did for a while reade he did fulfill for a while Page 62 line 22 for Cittien reade Citizen Page 65 line 30 for Wheter reade Whether Page line 43 for Gensis reade Genesis Page 82 line 41 for lisienesse reade likenesse Page 86 line 20 for this reade his Page 96 line margin for doctus nec doctus reade doctus nec indoctue ¶ In the second Book Page 2 line 39 for istance reade instance FINIS
Charles the fifth his Edicts n Nè quis de Sacra Scriptura maximè de rebus dubiis difficilibus privatim aut publicè disputet aut ejus interpretationem sibi sumat nisi sit Theologus qui probatae alicujus Academiae testimonium habeat Let no man take upon him to dispute publickly or privately of the sacred Scripture especially of doubtfull and hard points or to interpret it except he be a Divine that hath the testimonie of some approved Vniversitie It was an holy Edict breeding reverence to the sacred word of God and I could wish it were in practise with us though I must needs confesse the breach of the edict was too severely punished for the men were to be beheaded and the women to be buried alive though they desisted from their errour but if they were obstinate they were to be burned and their goods confiscated Yet the rebellions of the Anabaptists in Germanie may be some cloke for that cruell sentence which rebellions also forsooth were moved by the Spirit of God if for example sake you wil give credit to Thom. Muncer his oration unto the armed rebellious clowns o Constat nobis auspicatum esse me hanc actionem non meâ quadam autoritate privatâ sed jussu divino We are sure saith he that I began not this action by any private authoritie of mine but by a divine injunction c. And again p Videbitis ipsi manifestum Dei auxilium Ye your selves shall see the manifest help of God And he had Scripture to confirm it Scripture in word not in sense Scripture misapplied things falling out contrary to his propheticall Spirit for they were overcome and he beheaded Likewise Sleiden Comment 30. fol. 28. saith of the Anabaptists q Cum Deo colloquium sibi esse mandatum se habere aiebant ut impiis omnibus interfectis novum constituerent mundum in quo pii solùm innocentes viverent They said they had conference with God and a mandate from him to kill all the wicked and then to frame a new world wherein none but the godly and innocent should live This I will say of mine own knowledge that when that man of happy memory the late right Reverend now most blessed Saint Arthur Lake Lord Bishop of Bath and Wells appointed Doctour Sclater now also a Saint of heaven then my most learned loving friend and sometime fellow-Collegian in the two royall Colledges at Eaton and Cambridge with my self to conferre with an Anabaptisticall woman we heard her determine great depths of Divinitie as confidently as ever S. Paul did though he was taught by Christ himself and as nimbly as ever an ape crackt nuts yet so ignorantly and with such non-sense that we both wondred at her incredible boldnesse The Revelation she had at her fingers ends she thought that she understood it better then S. John himself and defined in a few houres conference more depths of Divinitie then six Generall Councels would in a long time Mysteries were no mysteries to her if an Angel of earth or one from heaven instruct her contrary to her frantick prepossest imagination she would conclude Because the Spirit bloweth where it listeth that the Spirit instructed her in the right way A fit consequence for such a pseudo-prophetissa 7. But what do I speak of her self-conceit when of late an other of her sex hath printed a book of her phantasticall crudities and by English anagrams expoundeth Scripture A new kinde of interpretation never thought of fit for a woman to be the inventour of She teacheth Daniel to reveal himself after a new fashion and such things which were he alive and racked he must say he never thought of She thinks she untieth knots and gives light to prophesies but indeed misapplieth things past and perhaps future contingents to present times and while she gathereth many excellent strains of words and sentences out of the divine Writ in coupling them together she maketh such a roaring hotch-potch as if she had vowed to write full-mouthed non-sense in loftie terms others not knowing nor perhaps herself what she aimeth at Take a taste of her anagrams DANIEL I END AL. Yet did not he end all prophesies nor all things MEDES AND PERSIANS SEND MEE SPANIARDS What would she do with them It was feared that they would have come too soon for her and others too THE ROUGH GOATE THE GOTH ROAGUE Like you this you shall have more as bad as void of wit PRINCE OF PERSIA I CAN POPE FRIERS If Friers should come and prevail they would teach her to be more humble DARIUS THE MED I DREAMED THUS Awake dreamer no sense is in thy dreams much lesse religion Was ever Scripture made such a nose of wax did ever any religious heart think such could be the meaning of those words Let me but touch at her obscene exposition of the end of Christs Circumcision pag. 5 and consider her fanaticall imagination that the Spirit of God by Michael understood King James pag. 50 And the warre in heaven with Michael and his Angels against the Dragon and his Angels is thus expounded by her pag. 55. The fray is fought by seconds by Michael is meant King James the Dragon is the Pope whom Michael overcame by the bloud of the Lambe and by the testimonie of so many Bishops and other faithfull crowned with the glory of Martyrdome whereas King James had never a Bishop so crowned and never a Bishop was so crowned since he was born Holy peaceable and harmlesse King James who would scarce hurt a worm is now interpreted to be the greatest fighter among the celestiall host I could wish she would repent for her blasphemy pag. 70 where she writeth That the person of the sonne of God not made was turned into a lump of clay and for her pointing out the day of judgement For though she confesseth pag. 90 Of the day houre no man knoweth no not the Angels that are in heaven nor the Sonne but the Father yet she addeth The account of this book of note is by centuries of yeares Suppose it were so as it is not could not Christ and his Angels know the day by the computation of centuries as well as she but she by a new account hath found out as she imagineth what Christ and the good Angels were ignorant of namely the exact day of doom For thus she determineth pag. 100 There is nineteen yeares and a half to the day of judgement July the twenty eighth one thousand six hundred twenty five Had not this woman been better never to have seen Scripture then thus to profane it and take Gods word in vain You think you have the Spirit of God as you write in the last page but I am sure if you repent not betimes for your wire-drawing of Gods word and intruding into hidden and unsearchable depths of Divinitie you are in a desperate case and all the Separatists and Enthusiasts of
the Nether-lands where they say your book was printed cannot defend you Let the women rather go to their needle and their spindle Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection 1. Tim. 2.11 But I suffer not a woman to teach nor to usurp authority over the man as she doth if she turn expositrix but to be in silence saith S. Paul Quis expedivit psittaco suum 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Picásque docuit nostra verba conari Cornelius Cornelii à Lapide deserveth the severest censure of the Inquisition for expounding the word of God by an Hebrew anagram on Exod. 25.18 though he cite a piece of Scripture for a parallell Indeed S. Hierome on those words Sheshach shall drink after them Jeremie 25.26 interprets it to be Babel because if you mingle in the Hebrew Alphabet the first letter with the last the second with the last save one and so forth till you come to the middle and invert the order of reading which we do for the memory of children as for example 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 when you are come to the middest 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 do meet then that which in the ordinary and forward reading is Babel in the inverted reading is Sheshach I apprehend him thus write in one line the Hebrew Alphabet beginning with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and ending with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in another line begin with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and end with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 what in the right way is Babel in the froward way is Sheshach For 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the second letter being doubled and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the twelfth letter in their proper places and rank make with their vowels Babel and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the second letter being also doubled with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the twelfth letter in the alphabet in the preposterous posture of them with the same vowels do make Sheshach therefore Babel is called Sheshach Magno conatu meras nugas Great ado about meer trifles Indeed the Rabbines have many mutuall oppositions of letters in the inverted alphabet and none so ancient as this as Bertram in his Comparatio Grammaticae Hebraicae Aramicae truly observeth and of the Cabalisticall interchangeing of letters he preferreth this Athbasch above all yet is it more nice and curious then sound or religious neither can S. Hieroms authority give authority or allowance to this minglemangle-kinde of interpretation his authority in this point being weakened by his slender conjecture I think saith he that the Prophet Jeremy did prudently conceal the name of Babel lest the besiegers of Jerusalem should be enraged against him but say I otherwhere he nameth Babel as Jeremy 50.18 and layeth a burden upon the kingdome and citie of Babylon upon her Princes and her wise men both in the 50 and 51 chapters Yea in the same 25 chapter ver 12 Jeremy saith from God I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation Which inconvenience Lyra foreseeing therefore perhaps the rather thinketh that Sheshach is the name of the Egyptian King and that Pharaoh was the common name as afterward Cesar was the common name of the Emperours and Julius a proper name This is evident there was a Sheshach king of Egypt in the dayes of Solomon 1. King 11.40 and there might also be a second Sheshach after But Lyra himself on Jer. 51.41 saith that Sheshach in that place is used for Babel and I am forced to say that no part of the 51 chap. toucheth on the woes of Egypt but purposely is bent against Babylon and it is not likely that the same Prophet would call two distinct kings or two distinct kingdomes by the same word Sheshach Therefore Lyra is out of tune in this strain But why then is Sheshach put for Babel If no reason could be assigned yet the word of God is not so to be dandled withall or rather to be tortured as to draw expositions out of anagrams and therefore the Jesuit was justly blameable to make this place a pattern of his anagrammatisticall interpretation Mr. Selden de DIs Syris Syntagm 2. Cap. 12. saith Sheshach may seem to be an idol of the Babylonians a she-idol or perhaps as it is in his Addenda a masculine Deity but he leaveth all to conjecture wherein though he hath done excellently yet I rather follow in this point Tremellius who on Jeremy 25.26 observeth that Sheshach in the Babylonish tongue doth signifie Diem festum celebrans and so may signifie either the King or the City keeping a festivall day Which was never without feasting Now that both the feast was kept and the festivall day designed to the worship of their idols may be judged by the event Daniel 5.4 where they praised the gods and for so doing was Belshazzar reprehended vers 23. Tremellius addeth that Jeremy by this one word did demonstrate with his finger the very day of the King of Babel and Babylons fall as if he had said At a feast he shall be slain or In her feasting the city shall be destroyed For as the Lord prophesied by Isaiah Prepare the table watch in the watch-tower eat drink Isa 21.5 where both the feast and the fall of the King of Babel and of the city also is divinely foretold so God gave a second warning Jeremy 51.39 In their heat I will make their feasts and I will make them drunken that they may rejoyce sleep a perpetuall sleep Where Babylons feasting-destruction is named then followeth I will bring them down like lambes to the slaughter ver 40. whereupon he crieth out in the 41. ver How is Sheshach taken that is Diem festum celebrans either the feasting Belshazzar or the feasting city overthrown Concerning the King the Scripture saith Daniel 5.1 He made a great feast to a thousand of his lords and drank wine and whiles he tasted the wine he commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels of the temple of Jerusalem and in the same houre the fingers of a mans hand wrote his destruction and that night was he the wine-bibbing Sheshach slain Concerning the city I proved before out of Jeremy that her destruction was to wait upon her intemperance and so Quomodo capta est Sheshach id est Civitas diem festum celebrans And indeed I rather incline to this latter exposition in this place because also of the words immediately following How is the praise of the whole earth surprised but neither Belshazzar nor Sheshach if it were an idol were the praise of the whole earth How is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations If you judge it to be a she-idol because it is said Quomodo capta est Sheshach I first answer that at that feast service was done to many idols of gold and silver brasse and iron wood and stone Daniel 5.23 but that Sheshach was the chief among them or that any one idol of them was so named is yet to