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A13710
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Demegoriai Certaine lectures vpon sundry portions of Scripture, in one volume. By Lewys Thomas: 1. Christ traualiing to Ierusalem. 2. Christ purging the temple. 3. The history of our Lords birth. 4. The true-louers canticle. 5. The propheticall kings triumph. 6. The anatomy of tale-bearers. 7. Peters persecution and his deliuerance. 8. Heauens high-way.
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Thomas, Lewis, b. 1567 or 8.
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1600
(1600)
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STC 24002; ESTC S103488
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105,094
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284
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For enery one that slaundereth shall be cut off as well on this side as on that And euery one that telleth tales shall be cut off as well on this side as on that And it shall bee brought foorth and it shall enter into the house of the sâ—â—underer and him that telleth tales and him that delighteth to hatch lyes And it shall remaine in the midst thereof and it shall consume it with the Tymber thereof and the stones thereof Thus as the Tale-bearer accuseth others so haue I accused him and blazed him to the worlde that yee may the rather beware of him and shunne him nowe you know him And when he shal intrude into your company or presume to tread within your houses ye may shut the doore against him and be ready to giue him the like entertainement as Christ did to the deuil wheÌ„ he said Auoyde sathan so you may say to this messenger of sathan Auoyde Tale-teller come not at mee Thou art the breeder of my trouble and the Authour of my confusion Thou commest as a friend ful of â—ayning â—lattery but I know thee to be a fiende and a mortall foe to me and mine Therefore I defie thee and do debar thee from my societie for euer Now then in time be warned all ye that haue lent diligent eares to such beware how you pertake with theyr sinnes As no theefe woulde presume to steale without a receauer so no Tale-bearer will presume to bring a tale without a receauer Therefore as Christ warned his disciples Beware how yee heare So I say vnto you Beware how you heare Be not carryed away with euerie winde be swift to heare good things If thou hast heard a slaunder against any let it die with thee and bee sure it shall not burst thee Blessed is the man that hath not offended Ecclus 14. in his tongue nor hath fallen by the word of his mouth Peters persecution and his deliuerance ACTS 12. 3. 4. 5. And when hee sawe it pleased the Iewes hee proceeded further he tooke Peter also c. From the â— verse to the 11. SAthan the Accuser of our bretheren will euer stirre vp one or other to persecute the poore Church of Christ He beganne with Adam our graundfather euen in Paradice prouoking him to eate of the forbidden siuite whereas it had beene told him before In the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die Hee proceeded further and procured Caine to sley Abell hee incensed â—sau against Iacob made Saul to persecute Dauid sette Nabucadnezar against Daniell Iesabell against Eliah Not to â—unne vpon particulars the Scribes pharisces against Christ Herod the Father against the Innocents Herod the Sonne against Iohn Baptist and this Herod against Iames and Peteâ— Beholde the Serpents policie note in what sort he bestirres himselfe euen by seating himselfe in the hearts and consciences of great men by making Kings and Princes Rulers his instruments for the practizing of crueltie against Gods Church The mightie men of the earth vvhich ought with their authoritie that they haue from God to maintaine and stablish true religion and to vphold the Church when stormes of persecution doe arise Theyr handes and theyr endeuours are most forwarde in labouring to suppresse Religion and the professours theirof they first lyft themselues vp against the Lord against his annoynted The second â—ormer Herod raged most violently against Iohn Baptist and against Christ and this Herod heere mentioned exerciseth like tyrannie against the Apostles of Christ Iames was alreadie slaine and so had Peter beene but for the holy time of Passeouer as now commeth to be considered The Text offereth these three thinges worthy our obseruation First the captiuitie of Peter Secondly his deliuerance Thirdlie his thankfulnesse And when he saw it pleased the people This bloody persecuting Tirant did vex the Church of God by killing Iames with the sword by imprisoning Peter thinking to dispatch him in like manner hauing no cause at all Sometimes men persecute of malice as Caine did Abel sometimes of enuie as Esau did Iacob sometimes through Idolatry and for religion as Nabucadnezer did the three chyldren somtimes of couetousnesse as Iudas did his maister sometimes of ignorance as the Iewes in putting Christ to death Father forgiue them they know not what they doe But thys Tyrant could yeeld no cause or reason for his impâ—â—soning of Peter but this the slenderest and weakest reason of a thousand For that hee saw it pleased the people Hee did it to win the peoples fauour not caring for Gods fauour Thus did Herod and the same doe the wicked Tyrants continually buy the fauour good lyking of their subiects with the blood of Gods seruaunts Saul wheÌ„ he persecuted Dauid had some pretence for he feared his kingdome The Philippians in like maner had some pretence when they beate Paul and Sylas with rods and after cast them into prison They trouble our Citty quoth they preach ordinances that are not lawfull Demetrius had somewhat to colour the sedition and tumult raisd in their Citty against Paul he feared his craft would little auaile him if Paules doctrine had taken place for beeing a siluer Smith hee made shrines for Diana The king of Babilon had some pretence when he put the three children into the fierie furnace he feared that the Gods whoÌ„ he worshipped should be despised The Princes of Zedechiah had some pretence when they put Ieremie into the dungeon He weakened say they the hands of the men of warre in prophecying that their Citty should bee giuen ouer into the hands of the King of Babell These pretences how colourable so euer could not excuse theÌ„ in their actions they were but base subterfuges no better then coates of nettes or like Fig-leaues to couer the nakednes of their cause of little moment and lesse substance Yet they carried some shew of reason and with men made of the same grist might seeme to bee of force in defence of that they did But this reason of Herod for imprisoning Peter is too too vaine and ridiculous onely he did it because hee sawe it pleased the people The like we reade of Pestus in the Acts willing to doe the Iewes a pleasure he deliuered Acts 25. Paul into their hands And so Pilat for feare of the Iewes deliuered Christ to be crucified It skilleth much how the people are affected if the multitude be religious doe loue the word tyrants shall not dare to rage so much their tyrannous purposes howe wicked so euer shal not break out no more then the practises of the Scribes Pharisies could preuaile against Iohn to put him openly to death because of the multitude for all the people counted Iohn as a prophet King and people all in this place ioyned together in a wicked conspiracie against Peter The people encouraged the King and the King prepares himselfe to satisfie their desires in committing Peter to close prison A King hath a name
of soueraignty hee is called Rex a Regendo he must gouerne and not be gouerned But hee that should rule is heere ouerruled The subiect commaunds the King Herod plies himselfe to the humour oâ— his people Câ—ossing that Scripture Non sequeâ—e multitudinem ad faâ—iendum malum Wicked tyrants if they shall perceaue the people like affected to themselues will be the more imboldned in their cruelty This Herod could not abide that Peter should â—eprooue him in his sinnes no more than the other Heâ—od could Iohn Baptist And finding the applause of the people to concurre with his practise hee is the rather whetted on to doe wickedly Since therefore the successe and growth of religion depends so much vpon the peoples lyking or dislyking the Minister of the word ought especially to labour in this that the people bewel informed in the true way be soundly taught to know God if they shall shew themselues zealous professours Though a wicked tyrant did raigne ouer them yet should hee not preuaile to doe hurt to the children of God It pleased the people Heere is great ods a manifest inequality one against many and many against one The whole people oppose themselues against Peter to destory him like so many Philistims against Sampson but as Sampson brake the cords so Peter brake the prison or rather God for Peter opened the prison and so hee escaped and so Herods expectation was frustied the multitude of their purpose disappoynted the glory of God mightily magnisied as shall appeare in the sequell of the story You haue heard the reason why Herod tooke Peter Heere it followes how he vsed him where wee are first to note in a word the degrees of Herods cruelty First he tooke him or caught him which argues that he lay in waite for him before then he committed him to prison caused him to be kept with a straite guard no lesse then foure quaternions of Souldiers Lastly hee purposed after the feast to put him to death that was the mark he aymed at and the drift of his endeuours His apprehending of him his committing him to prison his diligence in close and sure keeping him all was to murther him at last The deuils purposes and tyrants practises are both one hee is an aduersary hee goeth about he seeketh he roaâ—eth hee deuoureth So doe tyrants they neuer rest going about seeking watching threating till at length they haue deuoured vs. Mark the care that Herod took to keepe Peter that hee should by no meanes start from him hee would neuer haue vsed the like carefulnes in any good matter A quaternion contayned foure Souldiours so the whole make sixteene There was a keeper before the dore of the prison and two with him betwixt whom hee lay and the rest round about him in their seuerall wards or stations this was notable diligence they meant to make sure worke This theyr ouer vvarie circumspection was no doubt a testimonie of a guilty and distrustfull conscience In this tyrant so many circumstances in this Scripture deliuered concerning the apprehension of Peter may stand in steed of so many witnesses accusing him within of wrongfull imprisonment Hee saw in him selfe that hee had no iust cause to doe it and therefore he feared that this prisoner vvould by some meanes get from him notwithstanding this so sure a watch Such was Herods watchfulnes and such was Peters vveakenesse that no resisâ—ance might bee made But least this Tyrant should growe too insolent GOD himselfe sendeth his Angell to take part vvith Peter and to rescue him from Herods tyrannie Dalilah did thinke she had made Sampson fast enough with ropes and cords but through his strength he brake them Saul thought he had Dauid sure enough when hee was in his bed but hee escaped out of his hands his vvife Micholl letting him downe at a window Paule was by an earthquake deliuered out of pryson and at another time the Iewes tooke counsaile to kill him they laid vvayte day and night at the gates to take him but the other Aposâ—les put him out at a wall and lâ—t him downe in a basket and so he escaped And in this place the Angell deliuereth Peter in like sort from the hands of them who sought to slay him Rather then the enemie shall insult ouer the children of God hee will worke a miracle the rather to procure their safety euen beyond all expectation As Elias was fed by a Rauen at the Riuers side and Daniell refreshed with the pottage that Abacuck brought vnto him when he lay in the Lyons denne And as Ehsha compassed his aduersaries while they compassed him So in the midst of all our afflictions God will make a way for vs escape if it bee good for vs and stand with his will As the hills stand about Ierusalem so the Lord causeth a whole Armie of Angels to stand about vs. It followeth That night Peter slept betweene two Souldiours Peter is all this while in prison what dooth he in the midst of these so great extremities Our text tells vs what he did Hee slept VVhat meanes Peter to sleepe in so great a daunger as if hee vvere altogether carelesse as if hee had beene possest with a stoycall stupidity without all sence and feeling and this security or carelesnes to rest vpon him then when hee was ready to resigne vp his life euen the very night before he should be brought forth to be executed Indeede by reason of long watching before all the former time of his indurance nature might haue forced him to slumber a little but the words are he slept it was a sound sleepe that he slept His danger so imminent his sorrowes full of terrour and fearefulnes beeing the post maisters of death should haue beene able to keepe him waking and not to suffer the temples of his head to rest Some there are that expound this sleepe of Peter to signifie not a dissolute carelesnes but a godly security confident trustfulnes in him God commaunds vs to cast our care vppon him for he careth for vs and so Peter knowing that God did care for him did cast his care vpon the Lord. And therfore he mistrusting no euill suffered his body to take his repose hee knewe that God the watchman of Israell was also his watchman and so the rather might he sleepe in safety Peter had commended him selfe to his prouidence and protection hee knew his quarrell to be good if he were to die it was in the Lords cause and these reasons made him sleepe so soundly Others interprete this place otherwise they hold this sleeping in Peter to be an infirmity of nature and a great weakenes in him for which he was worthy reprehension then to be sleeping when hee should haue been most watchfull in attending the Lords leasure and in laying hold vpon the Lords mercies in working his deliuerance God would haue him to be a spectacle of infirmity to the end wee looking into our selues should acknowledge