those fenns and quagmires Job 40 21. they are void of the Spirit Jude 18 19. they say unto God Depart from us we had rather dance to the Timbrel and Harp Job 21.11 whoredom and wine and new wine take away their hearts Hos 4.11 he who had married a wife or rather was married to her sent word flat and plain he could not come others excused themselves more mannerly Mat. 22. such persons chuse to remain in the sordes of their sins and so are miserable by their own election They shall be given to salt Delivered up to strong delusions 1 Thes 2.15 16. vile affections Rom. 1.26 just damnation Rev. 22.11 Ver. 12. Shall grow all trees for meat Arbores esibiles these are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 useful Christians such as whose lips are feeding and their tongues trees of life Prov. 11.30 15.4 See the Notes there Whose leaf shall not fade They will not fail to make a bold and wise profession of the truth See on Psal 1.3 Jer. 17.8 Neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed But as the Lemmon-tree which ever and anon sendeth new fruits assoon as the former are fallen down with ripeness Or as the Egyptian fig-tree which yeeldeth fruit seven times a year saith Solinus and if you pull off one fig another groweth up presently in the place thereof Because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary Hence their so great fruitfulness viz. from the divine influence Hos 14.8 the Word and Spirit going together Esa 59.21 hence it is that the Saints are neither barren nor unfruitful 2 Pet. 1.8 And the leaf thereof for medicine Gods people by their holy profession of religion do much good to many souls as did diverse of the Martyrs and Confessors Lucianus an ancient Martyr perswaded many Gentiles to the Christian faith by his grave countenance and modest disposition insomuch that Maximinus that persecuting Emperour durst not look him in the face for fear he should turn Christian And so Beda telleth us of one Alban who receiving a poor persecuted Christian into his house and seeing his holy devotion and sweet carriage Hist Ang. l. 1. c. 7. was so much affected with the same as that he became an earnest professour of the faith and in the end a glorious Martyr for the faith The like is recorded of Bradford Bucer and others Ver. 13. This shall be the border Here the Prophet returneth again to the dividing of the land begun chap. 45.1 2 c. having hitherto interposed many most memorable matters and of great use to the Church Joseph shall have two portions He had so by his fathers will and for his two sons adopted by his father Ver. 14. And ye shall inherit one as well as another Spiritual blessings are divided in solidum amongst the community of Gods people they all partake of one and the same saving grace of God righteousnesse of Christ and eternal life though there are several degrees of grace and of glory See Gal. 3.26 27 28 29. All Gods Sons are heirs heirs of God and coheirs with Christ Rom. 8.17 Ver. 15. And this shall be the border of the land i. e. Of the Christian Church the borders whereof are here set forth as far larger then those of the land of Canaan ever were From the great sea The Mediterranean sea The way of Hethlon From one end of the Kingdom of Damascus to another Ver. 16. Hamath Berothah Sibraim Towns of Arabia deserta All this is to set forth the amplitude of the Christian Church spread far and near upon the face of the whole earth and therefore rightly called Catholike Roman-Catholike is contradictio in adjecto for it is a particular-universal Ver. 17. And the border from the sea shoil be Hazar-Enan Forasmuch as the borders in this description of the land are set to be such as never were in the Israelites possession the Jew-doctours are will they nill they forced to confess that the land of Israel in the world to come shall be larger then ever it had been Now Heb. 2.5 Gospel-times are called the world to come Ver. 18. From Hauran A town of Arabia deserta Ptolomy calleth it Aurana but Felix in this This was Palmira afterwards Hadrianople that it is taken into the Church Ver. 19. From Tamar Hazazon-Tamar which was near the sea of Sodom v. 10. In Kadesh Not in Rephidim Ezod 17.7 Ver. 20 Till a man come over against Hamath To that place of the great sea from which lyeth a straight way from Hamath East-ward Ver. 21. So shall ye divide Epilogus est There is one and the same inheritance of the Saints in light Ver. 22. An inheritance unto you and to the strangers that sojourn among you What can the spiteful Jews say to this who stick not to say that rather then the bastard Gentiles so they call Christians should share with them in their Messiah they would crucifie him a hundred times over and over Under the old Testament though strangers lived with the children of Israel yet they had no inheritance with them at any time as now they are appointed to have Ver. 23. See on ver 22. CHAP. XLVIII Ver. 1. NOw these are the names of the tribes Who are in this chapter assigned their several seats and the land divided amongst them but this division is much different from that of old which was a plain prediction of a perfect and total abrogation of the Mosaical polity and Levitical worship together with a new state of the Church of God after the coming of Jesus Christ To the coast of the way of Hethlon Chap. 47.15 16 17. Judaea was not say Geographers above 200 miles long and 50 miles broad But R. Kimchi here noteth that the Talmudists affirm that the possession of Israel shall extend unto the utmost coasts of the earth Oecol id quod ex spiritu dictum existima This was well and truely spoken though they understood not what they spake as dreaming only of an earthly Kingdom Psal 89.11 12. But as elsewhere so here the land of Canaan is put for the whole world whereof all true believers are heires together with faithful Abraham Rom. 4. whether they be Jews or Gentiles Christs Kingdom runs to the end of the earth Psal 28. 72.8 A portion for Dan This tribe which was for their shameful revolt from the true religion Judg. 18. cut out of the roll as it were 1 Chron. 7. Rev. 7. is here reckoned first of those who had partem sortem part and lot amongst Gods people So true is that of our Saviour Many that are first shall be last and the last shall be first Mat. 19.30 20.1 Judge not therefore according to the appearance c. Repent and God will reaccept The sable of Antichrist to come of this tribe is long since exploded Ver. 2. From the East side to the West The longitude is described not the latitude for why Christs Kingdom is limitless and
Called the Jews language chap. 35.11 13. the Hebrew tongue wherein were written the lively Oracles of God This Language therefore the Elect Egyptians shall learn and labour for that pure lip Zeph. 3.9 to speak as the Oracles of God 1 Pet 4.11 Wholsom words 2 Tim. 1.13 Right words Job 6.25 Words of wisdom Prov. 1.6 Of truth and soberness Act. 26.25 to be Examples to others not only in faith and conversation but also in words and communication 1 Tim. 4.12 And swear to the Lord of hosts Devote themselves to his fear and service Nempe susceptione baptismi Piscat taking a corporal oath for that purpose as in baptisme and other holy covenants whereupon haply they might be inabled to speak with tongues the holy tongue especially as most necessary for Christians Here then we have a description of a true Christian not such as the Jesuites in their Catechisme give us viz. A Christian is he who believeth whatsoever the Church of Rome commandeth to be believed swearing fealty to Her One shall be called the City of destruction i. e. Nevertheless there shall be a few cities that shall despise Christian Religion and shall therefore be destroyed for neglecting so great salvation It shall be easier for Sodom one day then for such Others render the text Heliopolis or the city of the Sun shall be accounted one sc of those 5 converted cities and become consecrated to the Sun of righteousness Joseph Ant. lâ—b 13. cap. 6. Ver. 19. In that day shall there be an altar to the Lord A spiritual altar for spiritual sacrifices as ver 20. Heb. 13.10 Onias the Jewish Priest who hereupon went and built an altar at Heliopolis in Egypt and sacrificed to God there was as much mistaken as the Anabaptists of Germany were in their Munster which they termed new Jerusalem and acted accordingly sending forth Apostles casting out orthodox Ministers c. And a pillar in the border thereof that is saith One the Gospels and writings of the Apostles that pillar and ground of truth Or a publike confession of the Christian faith Rom. 10 9. An allusion to Josh 22.10 25. See Zech. 14.9 20 21. Ver. 20. And it shall be for a sign and for a witness The doctrine of Christs death is a clear testimony of Gods great love and kindness to mankind Rom. 5. and 8. For they shall cry unto the Lord for their oppressours As the Israelites sometimes had done under the Egyptian servitude Exod. 3.9 And he shall send them a Saviour not Moses but Messias that great Saviour Servatorem magnatem vel magistrum for God hath laid his peoples help on One that is mighty Psal 89.19 See Tit. 2 13. Ver. 21. And the Lord shall be known to Egypt They shall both know the Lord Christ and be known of him as Gal. 4.9 See Rom. 10.20 And shall do sacrifice and oblation Perform reasonable service Rom 12.1 such as whereof they can render a reason Not a Samaritan service Joh. 4.22 or Athenian Act. 17.23 Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship c. God will have no such blind sacrifices Mal. 1.8 Yea they shall vow a vow c. That in baptisme especially Facit opus aâ—tenum ut faciat proprium Isa 28. Ver. 22. And the Lord shall smite Egypt That he may bring it into the bond of the covenant Ezek. 20.37 Heb. 12.9 Hos 6.1 He shall smite and heal it Heb. smiting and healing Vna eademque manus c. Vna gerit bellum monstrat manus altera pacew as it was said of Charles 5. And shall heal them Pardon their sins heal their natures and make up all breaches in their outward estates Ver. 23. In that day there shall be an highway c. All hostility shall cease and a blessed unanimity be settled amongst Christs subjects of several nations Hereunto way was made by the Roman Empire reducing both these great countries into Provinces And the Egyptiant shall serve Serve the Lord with one shoulder as Zeph. 3.9 Ver. 24. In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt The posterity of Sem Ham and Japhâ—t shall concur in the communion of Saints the pale and partition-wall being taken away Even a blessing in the middest of the earth The Saints are so Absque stationibus non staret mundus If it were not for them the world would soon shatter and fall in pieces Jun. Ver. 25. Whom the Lord of hostes shall bless Or For the Lord of hostes shall bless and then he shall be blessed as Isaac said of Jacob Gen. 27.33 Blessed be Egypt my people A new title to Egypt and no less honorable Vide quantum profecerit Aegyptus flagellis saith Oecolampad here i e. See how Egypt hath got by her sufferings See ver 22. She who was not a people but a rabble of rebels conspiring against heaven is now owned and taken into covenant And Assyria the work of my hands For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works Eph. 2.10 And Israel mine Inheritance This is upon the matter one and the same with the former every regenerate person whether Jew or Gentile is all these three in conjunction O the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the heaped up happiness of all such Let Israel rejoyce in him that made him let the children of Zion be joyful in their King Psalm 149.2 For the Lord her God in the midst of her is mighty he will save he will rejoyce over her with joy he will rest in his love he will joy over her with singing Zeph. 3.17 CHAP. XX. Ver. 1. IN the year that Tartan A certain Commander under Sennacherib 2 King 18.17 who came against Ashdod among other Cities of Judah about the twelfth year of King Hezekiah Came to Ashdod Called also Azotus Act. 8.40 and much praised by Herodotus in Euterpe When Sargon That is Sennacherib most likely who had seven Names saith Hierom eighth say some Rabbins Commodus the Roman Emperour took unto himself as many names as there are months in the year 1 â—on which also he changed ever and anon but constantly kept that of Exuperans because he would have been thought to excel all men The like might be true of Sargon Herod l. 2. And fought against Ashdod and took it Psammetichus King of Egypt had before taken it after a very long siege now it is taken again from the Aegyptian by the Assyrian to teach them and others not to trust to Forts and fenced Cities Ver. 2. At the same time spake the Lord Against Egypt and Ethiopia whom he had comforted 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. Per Isaiam tanquam organum disâ—ensatorem suoâ—um myster Oecolamp Vestimentum â—i losum ver 18. 19 and yet now again threateneth shewing by an ocular demonstration what miseries should befall them This was done in Jury but the report thereof might easily come to these confederate Countreys and the Jews howsoever were given hereby to
the Father His companions i. e. Benjamin and Levi 2 Chron. 11.12 13. Ver. 17. And joyn them one to another into one stick See on ver 16. Man and wife are as these two branches in the Prophets hand inclosed in one bark and so closing together that they make but one branch Ver. 18. Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these People though they should not be question sick as some in St. Pauls time were 1 Tim. 6.4 yet they should be inquisitive after truth according to godliness Tit. 1.1 Ver. 19. And make them one stick Taking away the deadly feud that hath so long time been betwixt them breaking down the partition-wall c. I will once more bring them all under one King and make them of one mind Religion is the only best bond of affection The very heathens honoured the Primitive Christians for their unanimity See Cant. 6.9 with the Note Ver. 20. Shall be in thine hand before their eyes That by this Chria publikely acted they may be the better affected Ver. 21. Behold I will take the children of Israel This was fulfilled when the Jews and with them many of the ten tribes also returned to their own countrey under Zorobabel and Ezra As for the rest of the ten tribes that returned not they degenerated into Gentiles The Jews say that they were shut up by Alexander the great in the Caspian mountains and shall therehence break forth when the Messias appeareth Of the Jews in general Tacitus hath observed that they are very kind to their own countrymen but to all others very cruel This might haply move Alexander to serve them in that kind There are that understand that text Rev. 16.12 the Kings of the East concerning the ten tribes whom they place in China which is called the land of Sinim as Junius conjectureth Isa 49.12 And who knows but that when all Israel shall be called Rom. 11.26 raised from the dead ver 15. joyned into one stick as here many of those poor Heathens in Asia and America may have part in the same resurrection Ver. 22. And I will make them one nation Who were before at deadly feud and fought many bloody battles Solemur nos hac promissione contra schismata Let us also comfort our selves with this promise against schismes saith Oecolampadius Christ will cause the false Prophets and the unclean spirit to passe out of the land Zech. 13.2 he will also so work in the hearts of his people that they shall with one mind and one mouth glorify God even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ Rom. 15.6 Ver. 23. Neither shall they defile After the Captivity the Jews could never endure idolatry The Popish image-worship is at this day a very great stumbling-block to them Out of all their dwelling-places Where being mingled among the Heathen they learned their works Psal 106.35 Ver. 24. And David my servant i. e. Christ who came to do the will of his Father in the shape of a servant Phil. 2.7 See Isa 42.1 And they shall all have one shepherd Even David their King is for his clemency here called a Shepherd saith Hierom tending and tendering his people See chap. 34. They shall also walk in my Judgements All Christs subjects can say as those Primitive Christians did Nos non eloquimur magna sed vivimus Athenagoras in his Apology saith No Christian is a bad man 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 unlesse he be a counterfeit Ver. 25. And they shall dwell in the land So they did for six hundred years or near upon and in heaven whereof Canaan was a type they shall live and reign for ever Ver. 26. Moreover c. See chap. 34.25 And it shall be an everlasting Covenant with them With all the Israel of God And I will place them sc In the holy Land saith Piscator or else I understand not what this word place them or give them meaneth And will set my Sanctuary in the midst of them i. e. I will indwel in them and walk in them c. as a Cor. 6.16 The Jews pray earnestly for the rebuilding of their material Temple Pray we as hard for the building up of the mystical Temple Ver. 27. My Tabernacle also i. e. Mine Ordinances those Testimonies of my special presence See Rev. 21.3 Ver. 28. Do sanctify Israel i. e. Do set them apart for mine use and will see to their safety When my sanctuary Wherehence they shall have continual both direction and protection CHAP. XXXVIII Ver. 1. AND the Word This particle And sheweth the dependance of this discourse upon the former Gods people shall be brought to their own country The Lord Christ also shall sit upon the throne of his Father David But betwixt these two great benefits the Church shall suffer much and her enemies a great deal more when once God takes them to do Ver. 2. Set thy face against Gog i. e. Against those last enemies of the Church before Skiloh come the Kings of the lesser Asia and Syria before his first coming see the books of Maccabees the Pope and Turk before his second coming See Rev. 20.8 with the Note Against these Ezekiel is commanded to set his face that is to prophesie with utmost intention of spirit and contention of speech Virtute opus est contra Antichristum dâ—cturo Polan The land of Magog Or in the land of Magog which some make to be Gogs country and especially Hierapolis for which they alledge Pliny lib. 5. cap. 23. a chief City of Syria This Hierapolis had its name from the multitude of religious houses or idol-temples there erected May not Rome the Metropolis of idolatry Ptolom in quarta Asiae tabula be rightly so called The chief Princes of Meshec and Tubal People neighbouring upon the Syrians and subject unto them great enemies to Israel See on chap. 27.13 In Meshec or Cappadocia the Turks began to grow great and formidable As for Tubal Hierom and Josephus among the Ancients Bellarmine and Gretserus among the Jesuites understand it of the Spaniards R. David and Ahen-ezra take Meshec for the Italians Ver. 3. Behold I am against thee O Gog Ecce ego ad te Have at thee Gog. The chief Prince of Meshec and Tubal These two are thus conjoyned to shew as some think that Turks and Popelings shall at length joyn their forces to root out the true religion and that whilst they are tumultuating and indeavouring the Churches downfal Christ shall come upon them and confound them See on Rev. 16.14 16. Propheta omnia loquitur magnâ—ficis verbis per Hyperbolas The Jews hold that this whole Prophecy shall be fulfilled at the coming of their long-looked for Messiah and whilst they take all things therein according to the letter they run into many very great errors Ver. 4. And I will turn thee back As he did Antiochus Epimanes by the Jewes the Turks oft by Hunniades the Popes forces by the Hussites in Germany and lately
and punishment are linked together with chains of adamant Of sin wee may say as Isidore doth of the Serpent Tot dolores quot colores so many colours so many dolours The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life Rom. 6. ult The same in effect with this sentence of Solomon But to the righteous good shall bee repaid Or hee that is God shall repay good Now hee is a liberal pay-master and all his retributions are more than bountiful Never did any yet do or suffer ought for God that complained of an hard bargain L. Brooks discourse of Episcop God will recompence your losses saith that thrice noble Lord Brook who lost his precious life in this late unhappy wars at Litchfield as the King of Poland did his noble servant Zelislaus having lost his hand in his wars hee sent him a golden hand Caius Agrippa having suffered imprisonment for wishing him Emperor when hee came afterwards to the Empire the first thing hee did was to prefer Agrippa and gave him a chain of gold as heavy as the chain of iron that was upon him in Prison Those that lose any thing for God hee seals them a bill of Exchange of a double return nay an hundred fold here and eternal life hereafter Vers 22. A good man leaveth inheritance to his childe Personal goodness is profitable to Posterity God gives not to his servants some small annuity for life onely as great men use to do but keepeth mercy for thousands of generations of them that fear him Exod. 34.7 Where the Masorites observe Nun. Rabbath a great N in the word Not for keepeth to note the large extent of Gods love to the good mans posterity God left David a Lamp in Jerusalem 1 Kings 15.4 although his house were not so with God 2 Sam. 23.5 And the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just as Nabals was for David Hamans for Mordecai the Canaanites for the Israelites Howbeit this holds not perpetually and universally in every wicked person for some of them are full of children and leave the rest of their substance for their babes Psal 17.14 Hereupon their inward thought is that their houses shall continue for ever c. they call their Lands after their own names as Cain called his new built City after the name of his son Henoch Gen. 8.4 This their way is their folly or is their constant hope for the word signifies both and their Posterity approve their sayings and vote the same way Psal 49.11 13. But together with their lands they bequeath their children their sins and punishments which is far worse than that legacy of Leprosie that Joab left his issue 2 Sam. 3.29 Confer Job 27.16 17. Isa 61.5 Vers 23. Much food is in the tillage of the poor Who have but a little and look well to it That of the Poet is well known Laudato ingentia rura Exiguum colito It is best for a man to have no more than hee can master and make his best of Vigil Geog. lib. â— Lib. 1. cap 3. The ground should bee weaker than hee that tills it saith Columella The earth is a fruitful mother and brings forth meat meet for them by whom it is dressed Heb. 6.7 But there is that is destroyed for want of judgement viz. in plowing and sowing Isa 28.26 or in managing and husbanding what hee hath gotten for the best For non minor est virtus quam quaerere parta tueri Wee must bee good husbands and see that Condus bee fortâ—or Promo our comings in more than our layings out Bonus Servatius facit bonum Bonifacium saith the Dutch man in his blunt Proverb A good saver makes a well-doer Vers 24. Hee that spareth his rod hateth his son It is as if one should bee so tender over a childe as not to suffer the wind to blow upon it and therefore hold the hand before the mouth of it but so hard as hee strangleth the childe It is said of the Ape that shee huggeth her young one to death so do many fond Parents who are therefore peremptores potius quam parentes rather Paricides than Parents Eli would not correct his children God therefore corrected both him and them David would not once cross his Absolom and his Adonijah Bern. and hee was therefore singularly crost in them ere hee dyed The like befell old Andronicus the Greek Emperour in his unhappy Nephew of the same name and Muleasses King of Tunes in his son Amida whom hee cockered so long till Absolom-like hee rose against his father Turk hist 745.747 and possessing himself of the Kingdome put out his father and brethrens eyes slew his Captains polluted his Wives and took the Castle of Tunes But hee that loveth him chasteneth him betimes And this is a God-like love Prov. 3.12 Rev. 3.19 See the Notes there 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Arist Ethic. l. 2. Correction is a kinde of cure saith the Philosopher the likeliest way to save the childes soul where yet curam exigeris non curationem saith Bernard it is the care of the childe that is charged upon the Parent not the cure for that is Gods work alone But hee usually worketh by this mean and therefore requires that it bee soundly set on if need so require A fair hand wee say makes a foul wound A weak dose doth but stir bad humours and anger them not purge them out In some diseases the Patient must bee let blood even ad deliquium animae till hee swoon again So here Quintilian tells us of some faults in a childe that deserve not a whipping And Chrysippus is ill spoken of by some because he first brought the use of the rod into the Schools It was hee I trow that first offered that strict and tetrical division to the world Aut mentem aut restim comparandam Either a good heart or a good halter for your self and yours The condemned person comes out of a dark prison and goes to the place of Execution so do children left to themselves and not nurtured come from the womb their prison to the fire of hell their execution Severitas tamen non sit tetra sed tetrica Corrections must bee wisely and moderately dispensed Sidonius Ep. lib. 4. Col. 4.21 Parents provoke not your children to wrath lest they bee dispirited and through despondency grow desperate or heartless Our Henry 2. first crowned his eldest son Henry whilst hee was yet alive and then so curbed him that through discontent hee fell into a Feaver whereof hee dyed before his Father A Prince of excellent parts Daniels hist who was at first cast away by his Fathers indulgence and afterwards by his rigour Vers 25. The righteous eateth to the satisfying of his soul Have hee more or less hee hath that which satisfies him Nature is content with a little grace with less Cibus potus sunt divitia Christianorum If Jacob may but have bread to eat
than the Lion they have no power to flye from him Kings have long hands strong clutches Good therefore is the wise mans counsel Eccles 8.2 3 4. See the Note on Chap. 16.14 15. Vers 13. A foolish Son is the calamity of his Father Children are certain cares but uncertain comforts Let them prove never so towardly yet there is somewhat to do to breed them up and bring them to good But if they answer not expectation the Parents grief is unexpressible See the Note on Chap. 10.1 and 15.20 How many an unhappy Father is tempted to wish with Augustus O utinam caelebs vixissem orbusque perissem And the contentions of a wife are a continual dropping Like as a man that hath met with hard usage abroad thinks to mend himself at home but is no sooner sate down there but the rain dropping thorow the roof upon his head drives him out of doors again Conjugium Conjurgium De discordi conjugio Theomistocles dixit 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Such is the case of him that hath a contentious wife a far greater cross than that of ungracious children which yet are the Fathers calamities and heart-breaks Augustus had been happy if hee had had no children Sylla if hee had had no wife All evils as elements are most troublesome when out of their proper place as impiety in Professours injustice in Judges discomfort in a wife This is like a tempest in the Haven most troublesome most dangerous Vers 14. House and riches are the inheritance of the Fathers Viz. More immediately God gives them to the Parents and they leave them to their children being moved thereto by God Though a carnal heart looks no higher than Parents cares not so hee may have it whence hee hath it It is Dos non Deus that maketh marriages with them good enough if goods enough mony is the greatest medlet and drives the bargain and business to an upsho◠Mostly such matches prove unhappy and uncomfortable How can it bee otherwise sith Hic Deus nihil fecit God indeed had a hand in it but for their just punishment that so followed after lying vanities and so forsook their own mercies But a prudent wife is of the Lord Nature makes a Woman Election a Wife but to bee prudent wise and virtuous is of the Lord. A good wife was one of the first real and royal gifts bestowed on Adam God set all the creatures before him ere hee gave him a wife that seeing no other fit help hee might prize such a gift not a gift of industry but of destiny as one saith for Marriages are made in Heaven as the common sort can say and as very Heathens acknowledge The Governour of Eskichisar hearing Othoman the Great Turk his relation of a fair Lady whom hee was in love with and had highly commended for her virtues seemed greatly to like of his choice saying that shee was by the divine providence appointed onely for him to have Turk Hist fol. 136. Vers 15. Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep Sloth bringeth sleep and sleep poverty See this excellently set forth Chap. 6.9 10 11. See the Notes there and on chap. 10.4 Vers 16. Hee that keepeth the Commandement keepeth his own soul This is the first fruit of shaking off sloth and sleepiness Hee that stirs up himself to take hold of God Isa 64.7 and to take hold of his Covenant Isa 56.4 to love the name of the Lord and to bee his servant vers 6. to love him and keep his Commandements Exod. 20.6 to do that little hee does out of love if it bee no more than to think upon his Commandements to do them Psal 103.18 this mans soul shall bee bound up in the bundle of life hee shall finde his name written in the book of life For in vitae libro scribuntur omnes qui quod possunt faciunt etsi quod debeut non possunt saith Bernard Their names are written in Heaven who do what they can though they cannot do what they ought If there bee a willing mind 2 Cor. 8.12 God accepts according to what a man hath not according to what hee hath not Aug. Exchir cap. 32. And here also Nolentem praevenit Deus ut velit volentem subsequitur ne frustrà velit God that gives both to will and to do causeth his people to keep his Commandements Ezek. 36. Isa 26. and worketh all their works in them and for them Lex jubet gratia juvat petamus ut det quod ut habeamus jubet Aug. in Exod. quast 55. The Law commandeth but Grace helpeth let us beg that God would make us to be what hee requires us to be But hee that despiseth his waies That is Gods waies chalked out in his word See the Note on chap. 13.13 Or Hee that despiseth his own waies Aut mentem aut restim comparandum Chrysip lives carelesly and at randome walks at all adventures with God cui vita est incomposita possimè morata contra gnomonem canonem Decalogi a loose and lawless person hee shall dye not a natural death onely as all do but spiritual and eternal There is but an inch betwixt him and hell which already gapes for him and will certainly swallow him up Vers 17. Hee that hath pitty upon the poor lendeth c. This is a second fruit of shaking off sloth and working with the hands the thing that is good Ephes 4.28 that one may have to give to him that needeth Hee doth not give it but lend it God accepts it both as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as a gift and a Loue saith Basil Nay Orat. de Eleemos he lends it upon usury Faeneratur Domino and that to the Lord who both binds himself to repay and gives us security for it under his own hand here Hee will pay him again to bee sure of it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Piel hee will fully and abundantly repay him mostly in this world but infallibly in the world to come Evagrius in Cedrenus bequeathed three hundred pounds to the poor in his Will but took a bond before-hand of Synesius the Bishop for the repayment of it in another life And the very next night saith the history after his departure appearing to him in his shape delivered in the bond cancelled and fully discharged Vers 18. Chasten thy Son while there is hope See the Note on chap. 13.24 Vers 19. A man of great wrath shall suffer punishment Hee that laies the reynes in the neck and sets no bounds to his wrath whether in chastising his childe or otherwise shall bee sure to smart for it shall bring himself and his friends into great trouble Such therefore as are cholerick should pray much and prevent all occasions of wrath as Callius and Cotis because they would not bee stirred up to anger burned their enemies letters before they were read The like did Pompey to the Letters of Sertorius and Casar to Pompey's Letters
that found his Glove with a desire to restore it him Mr. Sam. Ward but pursued inwardly with a guilty conscience leaps over a hedge plunges into a Marle-pit behind it unseen and unthought of wherein he was drowned But the righteous is bold as a Lion Conscientia pura semper secura a good Conscience hath sure confidence and he that hath it sits Noah like Medius tranquillus in undis quiet in the greatest combustions freed if not from the common destruction yet from the common distraction for he knows whom hee hath trusted and is sure that neither life nor death nor things present nor things to come Rom. 8.38 can ever sunder him from Gods love in Christ He is bold as a Lion saith the Text yea as a young Lion that is in his hot bloud and therefore fears no other creature yea when he is fiercely pursued hee will never once alter his gate though he dye for it No more will the righteous man his resolution against sin such is his Christian courage Daniel chose rather to be cast to the lyons than to bear a lyon in his own bosome to violate his conscience The primitive Christians chose rather to be abandoned ad leones quam ad lenones they preferred affliction before sin And this their persecutors counted not courage and magnanimity but wilfulness and obstinacy Tertul. in Apolog But they knew not the power of the Spirit nor the privy armour of proof that the righteous have about their hearts that insuperable faith whereby some have stopped the mouths of lyons quenched the violence of fire c. Heb. 11.33.34 and whereby they do all daily encounter and conquer that roaring lyon the devil quenching his fiery darts c. Eph. 6. Vers 2. For the transgression of a land many are the Princes Either many at once or many ejecting and succeeding one another to the great calamity and utter undoing of the People as may be seen in the books of Judges and Kings as in the Roman state after Nero's death by the succession of Galba Otho and Vitellius What a deal of trouble was here in the time of the Heptarchy and in the dissensions of the two houses of York and Lancaster causing the death of twice as many natives of England Daniels hist 249. as were lost in the two conquests of France besides 80 Princes of the blood royal slain And all this is said to be for the transgression of a land thus chastised by the LORD Elihu tells Job that the hypocrite is set to reign for the peoples sin Job 34. and Levit. 26. it is threatned as an heavy curse If yee still trespass against mee I will set Princes over you that shall hate you mischievous odious Princes odious to God malignant to the People And Isa 3.4 I will give children to be their Princes and babes shall rule over them How many Kings had the ten Tribes after their defection from the house of David and not one good one amongst them all And what got most of the Roman Cesars by their hasty honours nisi ut citius interficorentur saith one but to be slain the sooner Very few of them till Constantine but died unnatural deaths If ye do wickedly ye shall perish both you and your King 1 Sam. 12.25 But by a man of understanding and knowledge As one sinner may destroy much good Eccles 9.18 so one excellently wise man called here a man of understanding knowledge there is no copulative in the Original the state may be prolonged there may be a lengthening of its tranquillity it may be delivered by the pureness of thine hands Job 22.30 See 2 Sam. 20.16 c. Eccles 9.13 c. Jer. 5.1 Religious and prudent Princes especially may do much in this case 2 King 22.20 Vers 3. A poor man that oppresseth the poor c. Such an oppressour bites hard as a lean louse doth makes clean work plunders to the life as they say omnia corradit converret Poor men should pitty poor men as knowing the misery of poverty but to oppress or defraud their comperes is greatest inhumanity as that merciless fellow servant did Matth. 18.28 c. A Weesel is a ravenous beast as well as a Lyon a Sparrow-hauk as greedy as an Eagle and more mercy is to be expected from those more noble creatures than from the base and abject Vers 4. They that forsake the Law praise the wicked As Machiavel doth Cesar Borgia that bipedum nequissimum proposing him for a pattern to all Christian Princes as Onuphrius the Popes Biographer doth Hildebrand or Gregory 7th in five books written of his noble acts and great virtues whom Cardinal Benno truly describeth to have been a murtherer an adulterer Epiphan barcâ— 38. a conjurer a Schismatick an heretick and every way as bad as might be Epiphanius tells us that there were a sort of brain-sick hereticks that cried up Cain and were therefore called Cainites They also commended the Sodomites Korah Judas the traitour c. In the book of Judith the act of Simeon and Levi upon the Shechemites is extolled and there was one Bruno that wrote an Oration in commendation of the devil But they that keep the law contend with them Moved with a zeal of God they cannot be silent As Craesus his dumb son they cry out Wilt thou â—ill my father dishonour my God c Good blood will never belye it self good metal will appear How did young David bristle against black-mouthed Goliah and enter the lists with him Do not I hate them that hate thee saith he Psal 139. Yea I hate them with a perfeâ—â— hatred I cast down the gauntlet of defiance against them I count them mine enemies Asa cannot bear with Idolatry no not in his own mother Our Edward the sixth would by no means yield to a toleration for his sister Mary though solicited thereunto by Cranmer and Ridley for politick respects Mihi quâ—dem Auxentius non alius erit quam diabolus quamdiu Arrianus said Hilary I shall look upon Auxentius as a devil so long as he is an Arrian It was the speech of blessed Luther who though he was very earnest to have the Communion administred in both kinds contrary to the doctrine and custome of Rome yet if the Pope saith he as Pope commanded me to receive it in both kinds I would but receive it in one kind sith to obey what he commands as Pope is a receiving of the mark of the beast Vers 5. Evill men understand not judgement They are wise to do evil but to do good they have no knowledge their wits work not that way they are bard and brutish as horse and asse Psal 32. Yea they fall beneath the stirrup of reason and know not their owner which yet the ox and asse doth Esa 1.3 no wiser at 70 years old than at seven Ut liberius peccent libenter ignorant not willing to know what they are not minded to practice But they
with incest Cease therefore from anger and forsake wrath fret not thy self in any wise to do evil Psal 37.8 Athenodorus counselled Augustus to determine nothing rashly when hee was angry till hee had repeated the Greek Alphabet Ambrose taught Theodosius in that case to repeat the Lords Prayer What a shame is it to see a Christian act like Hercules furens or like Solomons fool that casts fire-brands or as that Demoniack Mark 2.3 out of measure fierce That Demoniack was among the tombs but these are among the living and molest those most that are nearest to them For anger resteth in the bosome of fools Rush it may into a wise mans bosome but not rest there lodge there dwell there And onely where it dwells it domineers and that is onely where a fool is Master of the family Thunder hail tempest neither trouble nor hurt celestial bodies See that the Sun go not down upon this evil guest see that the soul bee not sowred or impured with it for anger corrupts the heart as leaven doth the lump Aug. Epist 87. or vinegar the vessel wherein it doth continue Vers 10. Say not thou What is the cause Granger c. This saith an Interpreter is the continual complaint of the wicked moody and the wicked needy The moody Papists would murder all the godly for they bee Canaanites and Hagarens The needy prophane would murther all the rich for they are Lions in the grate Thus Hee It is the manner and humour of too many saith another who would bee thought wise Dr. Jermin to condemn the times in an impatient discontentment against them especially if themselves do not thrive or bee not favoured in the times as they desire and as they think they should bee And these malecontents are commonly great Questionists What is the cause say they c. It might bee answered In promptu causa est Themselves are the cause for the times are therefore the worse because they are no better Hard hearts make hard times But the Preacher answers better Thou dost not wisely enquire concerning this q. d. The Objection is idle and once to have recited it is enough to have confuted it Oh if wee had been in the daies of our Fore-Fathers said those hypocrites Matth. 23.30 great business would have been done I no doubt of it saith our Saviour when as you fill up the measure of your Fathers sins and are every whit as good at resisting of the Holy Ghost as they were Act. 7.51 Or if there were any good heretofore more than is now it may bee said of these Wise fools as it was antiently of Demosthenes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Plutarch that he was excellent at praising the worthy acts of Ancestours not so at imitating of them In all ages of the world there were complaints of the times and not altogether without cause Henoch the seventh from Adam complained so did Noah Lot Moses and the Prophets Christ the Arch-Prophet and all his Apostles the Primitive Fathers and Professors of the truth The common cry ever was O tempora O mores Num Ecclesias suat dereliquit Dominus said Basil Hath the Lord utterly left his Church Is it now the last hour Father Latimer saw so much wickedness in his days that he thought it could not be but that Christ must come to Judgement immediately like as Elmerius a Monk of Malmesbury from the same ground gathered the certainty of Antichrists present reign What pitiful complaints make Bernard Bradwardine Everard Arch-Bishop of Canterbury who wrote a Volume called Objurgatorium temporis the rebuke of the time Petrarch Mantuan Savanarola c In the time of Pope Clement 5. Frederick King of Sicily was so farre offended at the ill government of the Church that he called into question the truth of the Christian Religion till hee was better resolved and setled in the point by Arnoldus de Villa nova Rev. de vit Pont. who shewed him that it was long since fore-told of these last and loosest times that iniquity should abound that men should bee proud lewd heady high-minded c. 1 Tim. 4.1 2 Tim. 3.1 2 3 4. Lay aside therefore these frivolous enquiries and discontented cryings out against the times which in some sense reflect upon God the Author of times for can there be evil in an Age and hee hath not done it and blessing God for our Gospel-priviledges which indeed should drown all our discontents let every one mend one and then let the world run its circuits take its course Vadat mundus quo vult nam vult vadere quo vult saith Luther bluntly Let the world goe which way it will for it will goe which way it will The thing that hath been is that which shall be Hieronym c. Eccles 2.9 10. Tu sic debes vivere ut semper praesentes dies meliores tibi sinc quum praeteriti saith a Father Thou shouldest so live that thy last dayes may be thy best dayes and the time present better to thee than the by-past was to those that then lived Vtilior est sapientia cum divitiis So the Septu here In vit Vers 11. Wisdome is good with an inheritance So is it without it but not so good because wealth is both an ornament an instrument and an encouragement to wisdome Aristides saith Plutarch slandered and made justice odious by his poverty as if it were a thing that made men poor and were more profitable to others than to himself that useth it God will not have wealth always entailed to wisdome that wisdome may bee admired for it self and that it may appear that the love and service of the Saints is not mercenary and meretricious But godliness hath the promises of both lives And the righteous shall leave inheritance to his childrens children Or if he doe not so yet he shall leave them a better thing for by wisdome abstracted from wealth there is profit 1 Cor. 12.31 or it is more excellent or better as the Hebrew word signifies as the Apostle in another case And yet shew I you a more excellent way viz. that graces are better than gifts So here that wisdome is better than wealth And if Jacob may see his children the work of Gods hands framed and fitted by the word of Gods grace the wisdome of God in a mystery this would better preserve him from confusion Psal 45. and his face from waxing pale than if hee could make his children Princes in all lands yea this will make him to sanctifie Gods name yea to sanctifie the Holy One and with singular encouragement from the God of Israel Esay 29.22 23. Vers 12. For wisdome is a defence and money c. Heb. a shadow viz. to those that have seen the Sun as in the former verse and are scorched with the heat of it that are under the miseries and molestations of life Wisdome in this case is a wall of defence and a well
the seats they sit on the pillars they lean to the dead bodies they tread upon So shall ye serve strangers God loves to retaliate Ver. 20. Declare this in the house of Jacob c. Cease not to ring it in their ears whether they will hear or whether they will forbear for it is a rebellious people 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and of the number of those who wink willingly that they may not see when some unsavory potion is ministred to them as Justin Martyr expresseth it Ver. 21. Hear now this O foolish people They were strangely stupified and were therefore thus rippled up Those that are in a Lethargy must have a double quantity of Physick to what others have And without understanding Heb. Without an heart Cor sapit pulmo loquitur c. The heart is the symbol and seat of wisdom See Hos 7.11 with the Note Which have eyes and see not c. See Esay 6.9 and 42.20 which have not senses habitually exercised to discern good and evil Heb. 5. ult Ver. 22. Fear ye not me saith the Lord What not me whom the sea it self that tumultuous and unruly creature feareth and obeyeth See Psal 65.7 and 93.4 Who have placed the sand for a bound to the sea A weak bound for so furious an element Vis maris infirmissimo sabuli pulvere cohibetur But so I will have it and then who or what can gainstand it Now who can but be moved at such miracles Know you not that I can soon make your arable sailable and that I can shake the earth as oft as there is a tempest in the Ocean sith the earth is founded not upon solid rocks but fluid waters See 2. Pet. 3.5 By a perpetual decree Heb. by an ordinance of antiquity or of perpetuity clapping it up close prisoner Ver. 23. But this people have a revolting and rebellious heart Cor recedens amaricans gone they are and return they will not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sept. Apostates are dangerous creatures and mischievous above others witnesse Julian once a forward professour Lucian once a Preacher at Antioch Staphylus and Latomus once great Lutherans afterwards eager Popelings Harding was the Target of Popery in England saith Peter Moulin against which he had once been a thundering Preacher in this land wishing he could cry out against it as loud as the bells of Oseney Act. Mon. fol. 1291. The Lady Jane Gray whose chaplain he had sometimes been gave him excellent counsel in a letter but he was revolted and gone past call Ver. 24. Neither say they in their hearts God understands heart language and expects a tribute there Let us now fear the Lord Fear him for his goodness as well as for his greatness ver 22. See Hos 3.5 and Notes That giveth rain Which God decreeth Job 28.26 prepareth Psal 147.8 withholdeth Am. 4.7 bestoweth Deut. 28.12 Mat. 5.41 for a witness Acts 17.14 of his general goodness Mat. 5.45 and special providence as a good housholder Act. 14.17 He reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of harvest Which if he should deny us but one year only how easily might he starve us all See his love and fear his Name Ver. 25. Your iniquities have turned See on Isa 59.1 2. Ver. 26. For among my people are found wicked men This was as bad as to find a nettle in a garden unchastity in a Virgin or the devil in Paradise All the Lords people are or ought to be holy They lye in wait Or watch or prey See on Mic. 7.2 They set a trap they catch men To spoil them or slay them Such a one was Otto the Popes Muscipulator as the story stileth him i. e. Mice-catcher sent hither by Gregory 9. to take and take away our money Tecelius sent by Leo 10. into Germany was another Ver. 27. As a cage is full of birds so are their houses full of deceit i. e. Of ill-gotten goods which will prove no such catch in the close as they count upon Ver. 28. They are waxen fat they shine Pingues nitidi sunt cutem curant ut Epicuri de grege porci fat they are and fair liking slick and smooth Yea they overpasse the deeds of the wicked They out-sin others Or as some sense it they escape better then others Psal 73.5 Ver. 29. Shall I not visit See ver 9. Ver. 30. A wonderful and horrible thing Res stupenda horrenda an abhorred filth such as may well draw from us an hen hen Domine Deus Is committed in the Land Heb. in this land where men are therefore the worse because they should be better Ver. 31. The Prophets phophecy falsely and the Priests bear rule The chief Priests bearing rule in the causes and consciences of the people had suborned their abbettours ambitious Prophets who applauded their greatness for preferment teaching the people to dote on the titles of Moses chair High-Priests the Temple of the Lord Mat. 15. Aposiopesis de extremo tam deploratae policiae exterminio c. as if there were not many a goodly box in the Apothecaries shop without one dram of any drug therein Such false Prophets were those Pharisees factours for the Priests with their Corban and such also for the Pope are the Jesuites and Seculars which differ only as hot and cold poison both destructive to the State What will ye do Alass what will become of you at last CHAP. VI. Ver. 1. O Ye children of Benjamin These were the Prophets Country-men for Anathoth was in that tribe so was also part of Jerusalem it self He forewarneth them of the enemies approach and bids them be gone The Benjamites were noted for valiant but vitious Judg. 19. Hos 9.9 and 10 9. And blow the trumpet in Tekoah A place that had its name from trumpetting so there is an elegan◠in the Original See the like Mic. 1.10 14. It was twelve miles from Jerusalem and six from Beth-haccerem Here dwelt that wise woman suborned by Joah 2 Sam. 14.2 Life of Ed. 6. by S J. Heyw. Set up a sign of fire A Beacon or such as the fire-crosse is in Scotland where for a signal to the people when the enemy is at hand two fire-brands set across and pitched upon a spear are carried about the Countrey Ver. 2. I have likened the daughter of Zion to a comely and delicate woman Certatim amatae Bucolicae puellae some fair Shepherdess to whom the Kings with their armies make love but for no love that they may destroy and spoil her Ver. 3. The Shepherds See on ver 2. Ver. 4. Prepare ye warre against her Say those Chaldean sweet-hearts this is their wooing language like that of the English at Muscleborough Let us go up at noon Let us lose no time why burn we day-light by needless delays Ver. 5. Let us destroy her Palaces Where we shall find all precious substance we shall fill our hands with spoile as Prov. 1.13 Ver. 6. For thus hath the
God let the Church therefore pray in hope to be heard and to speed the better for the others insolencies These by wall understand the people within the wall Others O Mure qui nunc es merae ruinae O poor shattered wall or O City which art now nothing but bare walls without housing and inhabitants Ver. 19. Arise cry in the night A fit time for meditation and prayer as we read of David Psal 119. and of the son of David Luk. 21. In the beginning of the watches When others are in their first which is their deepest and sweetest sleep break thy self of thy rest that thou mayst give God no rest Esa 62.6 7. Omnibus signis et modis miseriam tuam expone Domino bestir thee every way alâ—'s but little enough Pour out thine heart like water That is saith Sanchez weep till thou hast wept thy very heart out if it were possible Or as others poure out thine heart to God in humble and ingenuous confession and supplication but then pour it forth as water whereof every drop will come out and not as oyle whereof some will still stick to the sides of the vessel Tundens pectus non effundens vitia ea consolâ—dâ—t saith Austin He who pretendeth to repent and yet parteth not with his sins doth but increase them Lift up thine hands toward him But withal thy heart chap. 3.41 For the life of thy young children See on ver 11 12. Ver. 20. Behold O Lord and consider to whom thou hast done this Even to thine own inheritances who suffer harder and heavier things commonly then any others And why Ingentia beneficia ingentia flagitia ingentia supplicia their offences are increased their punishments are aggravated by their obligations Shall the women eat their fruit children of a span-long 2 King 6. Joseph de bel l. 7. cap. 8. That they did so in the siege of Jerusalem by the Chaldees it appeareth by this question In the famine of Samaria under Joram they did likewise as also at the last destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans and at the siege of Sancerra in France Anno 1572. See the sad effects of sin and shun it if but for the ill consequents of it Shall the Priest and the Prophet be slain in the Sanctuary of the Lord It seems they were so but who they were we read not although God had cautioned Touch not mine annointed and do my Prophets no harm Priests were slaughtered where they used to slaughter beasts for sacrifices but it may be they were nothing better then Thomas Becket the devils Martyr here Act. Mon. and Adam Beton that butcherly Archbishop in Scotland who when himself was butchered cryed out Kill me not for I am a Priest Ver. 21. The young and the old lye on the ground in the streets Oh the woe of war oh the bloody work that the sword maketh wheresoever it is in commission Well may it be called an evil an only evil by an Antonomasie Esa 45.7 Ver. 22. Thou hast called as in a solemn day my terrours i. e. My terrible enemies the Chaldees being called in by thee their Generalissimo came on as chearfully as if they had come to a solemn feast or some merry-meeting and not to a siege and to a bloody war which they cannot but know to be utrinque triste such as both sides usually suffer by Those that I have swadled and brought up Singula haec verba ponderanda sunt singula enim ingens habent pathos Here every word is very ponderous and pathetical Indeed this whole book is so which is the reason that there is no great cohaerence in some places thereof to be discovered For as he that is under some grievous affliction without observing of order now cryes now prayes now laments now complains c. so doth the Prophet here in the name of the Church pour forth himself tumultuarily in a flood such words as his grief ministred unto him and grief is no methodical speaker CHAP. III. Ver. 1. I Am the man Here Jeremiah in the name and place of all the Jewish people setteth forth his sufferings very passionately and elegantly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith Synesius for nothing is more Rhetorical then a man in misery See on chap. 1.12 Oecol By the rod of his wrath i. e. Of Gods wrath whom yet he nameth not prae magnitudine affectus but referreth to him all his sufferings and alludeth here say some to that rod Jer. 1.11 Ver. 2. He hath led me and brought me into darknesse Perstat semper in Metaphora pastoritiâ— say some who by rod in the foregoing verse understand Gods shepherds wand wherewith when he is displeased he driveth his unruly sheep into dark and dangerous places See Psal 23.3.4 Mic. 7.9 Hinc inde continenter verberat Jun. Ver. 3. Surely against me is he turned Metaphora a colaphizantibus a Metaphor from buffetters who double their blows beating their adversaries on both sides as the smith doth his red-hot iron upon the anvil till he hath shaped it Ver. 4. My flesh and my skin hath he made old Withered it and wanzed it so that I am not like my self facta videbor anus as she said See Psal 32.3 He hath broken my bones Decayed and impaired and that with greatest torment as befalleth when bones are broken Ver. 5. He hath builded against me Bulwarkes and batteries And compassed me with gall and travel Or with venom and vexation See Jer. 8.14 In these and the like hyperbolical expressions we must note that words are too weak to utter the greatness of the Saints grief when they lye under the sense of Gods wrath and heavy displeasure Ver. 6. He hath set me in dark places Dungeons haply which are a kind of graves and where poor prisoners lye as forgotten The Persians called their prisons 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 oblivions And Ezekiel saith that Babylon was to the Jews as a grave where they lay for dead till those dead bones lived again chap. 37. As they that be dead of old Free among the dead and forgotten It may be said of a Saint in some cases that Vivit est vitae nescius ipse sua Ver. 7. He hath hedgd me about Surrounded me with troubles brought me into straits inextricable and importable Ver. 8. Also when I cry and shout As poor Prisoners use to do for relief and release He shutteth out my prayer Or shutteth his eare to my prayer This was very grievous to any good heart more then it could be to Tully a stranger to the true God who yet bewaileth the matter to his brother in these words I would pray to the gods for those things but that alasse they have given over to hear my prayers Ver. 9. He hath enclosed my wayes with hewn stone i. e. Most strongly and closely so that none can come at me He hath made all my paths crooked So that all things go cross with me and although they
and such shall be ever driving an holy trade betwixt heaven and earth till they cease to pray but praise God throughout all eternity Ver. 20. Daniel answered and said Blessed be the name of God They who are slight in praying are usually as slight in praising Job 35.13 with ver 10 11 12. But Daniel was serious and zealous in both For wisdom and might are his These and all other excellencies are in God originally eminently transcendently Daniel found it in this secret thus revealed to him how much more may we in the mystery of the Gospel now made manifest Rom. 16.26 Ver. 21. He changeth the times and the seasons c. And so sheweth that strength is his such as is irresistible He removeth Kings c. As by the Kings dream Daniel was well advertised He giveth wisdom unto the wise And so sheweth that wisdom is his sith all the wisdom found in the creature is but a spark of his flame a drop of his Ocean Ver. 22. He revealeth the deep and secret things Daniel hath never done but is uncessant and unsatisfiable in praising God And although there was haste of answering the Kings expectation yet he shall stay till God have his due He knoweth what is in the dark See Psal 139.12 Ver. 23. I thank thee and praise thee A gracious man is a grateful man there is the same word in Greek for grace and gratitude See on ver 22. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 A thankful man will enumerate Gods mercies and redouble his praises O thou God of my Fathers The very best inheritance that we can leave our children is the true God Who hast given me wisdom and might Wisdom to dive into deep matters and might to manage it Ver. 24. Destroy not the wise men of Babylon Who yet wished Daniel destroyed This was a noble kind of revenge to overcome evil with good Ver. 25. I have found a man Auliei aliorum sibi usurpant inventa Of the captives of Judah His worth deserved better respect Ver. 26. The King answered and said to Daniel Daniel se Danielem nominat whose name was Beltishazzar So the King and Courtiers had called him but he took no felicity in that idolatrous appellation which signified a treasurer to Bel or Baal Art thou able Interrogatio Regis admiratoria Ver. 27. The secret which the King hath demanded cannot the wise-men shew unto thee And therefore thou hast done amiss first in seeking to them next in slaying them though God hath an holy hand in it for their just punishment Ver. 28. But there is a God in heaven The Saints are ever tender of Gods glory Ezra 8.22 Let those that are endued with singular gifts beware of self-admiration apt to steale upon them Ver. 29. Thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed Kingdoms have their cares crowns are stuft with thrones These thoughts in the text were preparatory to the ensuing dream Eccles 5.2 the chief Efficient or Author whereof was God And he that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee Yea maketh thee a conduit of divine revelation to the Church Ver. 30. But as for me this secret is not revealed to me c. So careful are Gods best Saints to give unto him all the glory which they look upon as Gods wife in the enjoying whereof he is a jealous God admitting no corrival in heaven or earth Thy talent hath gained ten talents saith he in the Gospel I have not done it And Not I but the grace of God that 's in me saith Paul The glory of God and the good of his Church is the chief thing that Saints aime at But for their sakes i. e. For the poor Jewes sake to whose prayer thou owest this Revelation toward whom therefore thou shouldest exercise more clemency and alleviate their misery Ver. 13. Then O King sawest sc By the force of thy fancy For in sleep the reasonable soul cometh into the shop of Phantasy and there doth strange works which are vented in our dreames And behold a great Image A fit representation and in a dream especially of worldly greatnesse An image saith Theodoret is but the figure of a thing and not the thing it self and this image in the text speciem habet gigantaam prorsus Chimaericam was a kind of Chimaera Sleid. de 4. Monarch Ver. 32. The images head was of fine gold This is the first and till now altogether unheard of Prophecy concerning the four Monarchies of the World Res planè digna quae memoriae tota commendetur saith One a Scripture worthy to be well remembred because it briefly comprehendeth the history of all Ages to the worlds end Theodoric Urias Anno 1414. His brest and his arms of silver The elder they are the baser So is Rome Papal of which one of her sons above two hundred years since complained not without good cause that she was become of gold silver of silver iron of iron earth superesse ut in stercus abiret and that she would turn next into dung Ver. 33. Part of clay The best things of of the World stand in an earthly foundation Huet Isa 40.6 Ver. 34. Which smot the image upon his feet c. All the powers of the world are but a knock soon gone Psal 2.9 Ver. 35. Then was the iron the clay the brasse c. Those four mighty Monarchies had their times and their turns their ruine as well as their rise And the stone that smot the image became a great mount The Kingdom of Christ Hist lib. 1. little at first increaseth wonderfully Nec minor ab exordio nec major incrementis ulla said Eutropius concerning Rome may we better say concerning the Church which shall stand when all other powers shall quite vanish and disappear for ever seem they for present never so splendid and solid Sic transit gloria mundi Ver. 36. This is the dream By this time Nebuchadnezzar began much to admire Daniel who modestly taketh in his Associates as Paul also doth Sylvanus and Timotheus when he saith And we will tell the interpretation thereof sc 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 God assisting us Ver. 37. Thou O King art a King of Kings And yet the whole Babylonian Empire was but as a crust cast by God the great house-keeper of the World to his dogs as Luther somewhere saith of the Turkish Ver. 38. Thou art this head of gold An head the Babylonian Monarchy is called because it was the first of the four And of gold because administred with great wisdom fortitude justice and other heroical virtues because of the glory also and greatnesse of it in all manner of magnificence See Isa 13.19 14.11 Jer. 27.6 Lib. 15. Geog. Megasthenes and Strabo say that Nebuchadnezzar was the mightiest of all other Kings and held of the Chaldeans to have exceeded Hercules in courage Ex hac Danielis visione Gentiles fabulam acceperunt de quatuor saeculis aureo argeneto c.