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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A09268	The period of the Persian monarchie VVherein sundry places of Ezra, Nehemiah and Daniel are cleered: extracted, contracted, and englished, much of it out of Doctor Raynolds, by the late learned and godly man William Pemble, of Magdalen Hall in Oxford. Published and enlarged since his death by his friend, Richard Capel.	Pemble, William, 1592?-1623.; Capel, Richard, 1586-1656.; Rainolds, John, 1549-1607.	1631 (1631)	STC 19582; ESTC S114347	63,361	88

6. yeare of Darius Nothus Now say he was but 14. yeares of age the first of Cyrus yet to Darius Nothus is a matter of 100. years as appeares by the Chronologie Hence wee see that the Lord gave him a life much longer than ordinary Wee reade nothing when hee dyed after the edifying of the Temple This cleares that in Zacharie 4.9 The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house his hands also shall finish it The very phrase doth tell us that the Lord did draw out his life of purpose that he might live to make up that goodly worke Like as Moses Deut. ult had a longer life than usuall given him that he might bring the People of God out of Egypt In that place of Zechary the Lord doth promise Zerubbabel some singular matter in that the Prophet affirmeth that the hands of Zerubbabel that laid the foundation the same hand shall finish it meaning an exceeding long life Thus we see how God doth cause some to live to be wondrous old above others because hee hath something to bee done by them Then age is a crowne indeed when it is thus found in the wayes of Righteousnesse Neither hath it a good savour for men to say of an old Zerubbabel when he is going hence What matter is it to heare of such an aged man dying or dead What doth not the Lord threaten it as a curse that he will take away whom the youth No the prudent and the ancient Isa. 3.2 This Nehemiah was not Nehemiah the famous but another of the same name as there were sundry of the same name One Ezr. 3. Another Ezr. 8.10 For this Nehemiah came up with Zerubbabel in the first of Cyrus and Nehemiah the great lived till the time of Darius the last beaten by Alexander which is two hundred yeares and upwards Now that in those dayes Nehemiah should live above 200. yeares sounds not likely Nehemiah was the penner of the booke called Nehemiah in the book mention is made of Iaddua the Priest of whom we reade in Iosephus that he did meet Alexander the great in his Formalities and stayd him from doing hurt to the Citie and the Temple Againe we reade that Nehemiah was cup-bearer to Artaxerxes and the Persians used to have young men for their Gentlemen about them But this Nehemiah comming up the first yeare of King Cyrus must needs be stricken in yeares in Artaxerxes time Hee was not Mordecay Esters Vncle but another of the same name For this Mordecay came up with Zerubbabel Now if Esters Mordecay had returned with Zerubbabel he would not have dwelt at Susis and trayned up Ester among the Heathen but rather in the holy Land among the people of God And 't is plaine that this Mordecay did returne into Iudaea Neh. 7.7 But that ever Esters Vncle came into Iudaea is unlikely Wee must know that it was a common thing among the Iewes to have more names than one or two Which we must consider lest it breed mistakes in reading the Scriptures In the Captivity the Priests being in a strange Land were not to offer any other sacrifices except it were spirituall sacrifices of praise Whereupon there being not that commodity made of it as was used to arise out of their slaine sacrifices some Priests who had married themselves into the Noble Family of Barzillai tooke scorne to be in the Register of the Priests in the time of the Captivity of Babylon and tooke the name of Barzillai after the Family of their wives Now after the returne from the Captivity the Priesthood growing into fame gaine and request againe and there being holy things to eate of these degenerate Priests would faine have taken place among the Priests of the Lord but the Magistrate would not suffer them because when time was they did scorne the Priesthood the Priesthood should now scorne them A iust reward of God and man for such proud and insolent kind of people 'T is common when men by their wit goe about to get a Name that they lose their Name After the flood they would needs build a tower to get a Name to themselves and not to God and it is their reproach to this day And this was all the use that those Creatures made of the late deluge the greatest judgement of God that ever was The Tirshatha It is a name of office viz. The Governour or Deputy of the King We see he was a man of power that could keep those great men from the Priesthood and forbid them to eat of the most holy things By Tirshatha I conceive the same who cap. 1.8 was called Shazbazzar as Daniel was called Balshazzar An use among the Chaldees to change the name of the Iewes Now Shazbazzar was Z●robbabel as we have shewed before Till there arose up a Priest with Vrim and Thummim viz. to aske the Lords advice and counsell By Priest is meant the high Priest for he had the Vrim and Thummim and none but he So when Saul murthered the Priests of the Lord Abtathar fled to t 1. Sam. 23 6. David with the Ephod saith the text that is with the Ephod of the high Priest and presently David began to enquire by the Ephod of the Lord. A great providence of God for the comfort of his poore servant David And hence it is that we reade that the Lord answered not Saul by v 1. Sam. 28.6 Vrim and Thummim for it was now with David not with Saul This Vrim Thummim was either lost or burned together with many other things when that the Chaldees tooke the City of Ierusalem was never found againe How then doth he here say Vntill there stand up a Priest with Vrim and Thummim 1 It may be that Zerubbabel did not know but that Vrim and Thummim might by the providence of God be had againe 2 Vntill that is Never An usuall Phrase in Scripture q. d. You shall never come to the Priesthood againe except God shall reveale his mind to be otherwise by Vrim and Thummim which will never be Vntill is thus taken in the word in many places 1 No. Was it not a great decay to Religion that Vrim and Thummim were lost Did not the Church now want a rule of certainty For the word of God was ever the lively Oracle the Rule of Rules that was the sacred Canon now the Scripture For the old Testament was compleat and when there was so much of the word written there was the lesse use of Vrim Thummim And therefore after the losse of Vrim and Thummim the Church was to keepe the closer to the Law of Moses as Malachy who lived after the losse of Vrim and wrote last of all the Prophets Mal. 4.4 did command Mal. 4.4 Remember the Law of Moses my servant which I commanded unto him in H●reb for all Israel with the statutes and judgements 2 For ought I see the

understood full well but the spirituall sense I cannot beleeve that the Iewes in Captivity lost the use of their native Tongue and I thinke it not credible that the Iewes in the space of seventy years should so forget their native Tongue they being a people so scrupulous as they were to haue no more commerce with strangers than needs must And lastly Haggai Zachary and Malachy who lived and wrote after the Captivity did speake and write to the people in the pure Hebrew Language Which they would not have done but that the people understood the Language The Hebrewes were in Egypt 220. in Chaldea but 70. In Egypt they were held to greater bondage than in Babylon yet they brought with them the purity of the Language out of Egypt What kept it 220. yeares in Egypt and not 70. yeares in Babel CHAP. XII That is hee gave him a faithfull heart first and then finds his heart faithfull not by nature but by grace and makes a Covenant with him So Augustine Pravenit hominis voluntatem nec eam cujusquam invenit in corde sed facit God doth at first not find but make our wills and hearts good So Aquinas God is sayd to give grace to the worthy not that they are worthy before hee gives them grace but because he by grace maketh them worthy who onely can cleanse that which is uncleane Hee then doth abuse plaine places of Scripture who doth hold that the spirit teacheth not but stirs up motions to learne It doth both It followes not to inferre that if wee say the Spirit teacheth we must grant Anabaptisticall Revelations Did wee say that the Spirit did teach by rote without the booke that were to joyne with the Anabaptists but to hold that the Spirit teacheth by the word is to speake with the Scripture Ephes. 1.17 The Spirit is called the Spirit of Revelation in the knowledge of him 1. Cor. 2.13 Which things also wee speake not in the words which mans wisdome teacheth but which the holy Ghost teacheth That men pretend the Spirit is no Argument against the teaching of the Spirit for men doe as much pretend the Church and doe father their fancies on the Church As for inward teaching without the word wee leave that to the Anabaptists and to the Papist who doth affixe and appropriate an infallible teaching to the private spirit of the Pope Which spirit the Papist in the Pope and the Anabaptist in his Enthusiast make the Standard of all truth and superior to the word But to say that the Spirit teacheth in and by the word by enlightening us and casting a cleering light on the word also is that which here we reade in Nehemiah and hath gone for good and sound doctrine till of late it hath beene otherwise taught without ground CHAP. XIII TIrshasha is a Persian word and signifieth a man in high Office about the Prince and such an one was Nehemiah Other there were that did beare the like office as Nehem. 7.70 't is said The Tirshasha gave to the Treasure a thousand drams of gold But this Tirshasha is some other officer and not our Nehemiah Wee see the great goodnesse of God who did preferre to great place and favour some of his servants about Heathen Princes And it is a comfort that if God send us or ours into the Countries or Courts of Pagans yet hee can preferre us then and preserve us there Nehemiah is very great and holds his goodnesse And Daniel with the rest were in as high place of dignity and command as ever they could have beene had the Court and Common-wealth of Israel stood Doubt nothing as long as wee follow God God can keepe us to our consciences and our consciences to him in Babylon it selfe Let us teach our posterity to pray and beleeve and though they have not one penny in their purses yet faith and prayer will carrie them all the world over And if God in his providence make them great in a land of Persians in the houses or Courts of Pagans faith will keepe them good This Feast of Boothes was a Feast of 7. dayes and it had these uses 1 That all Generations might by it understand that when Israël came out of Egypt the Lord made them to dwell in Booths 2 To remember their misery past 3 To look for redemption by the death of Christ. And therefore Zacharie makes the signification of this holy feast to be to shew us That the memorie of Christ redeeming us by his death is to be kept with all manner of spirituall joy 4 Of thankfulnesse for their fruits it being kept at this time But was this Feast disused since Iosua's time What for a matter of 1000. yeares such a Feast as this so expressely commanded by God so utterly omitted in the times of so many godly Princes and Priests I thinke not rather that it had not beene kept with such devotion and celebration from Iosuah till now which I thinke is the reason why mention is here made of the Feast of Booths For here we finde v. 18. That all the 7. dayes day after day the Booke of the Law of God was read and they had Congregations to that purpose each day and then they had a solemne Assembly on the 8. day according to the manner By which word we see that the manner had beene to have a solemne assembly on the 8. day But it seemes the manner had not beene to have Assemblies and reading from the first day to the last day no not from Iosua's time as it was now So that in Iosuah's time they did use to reade the Law in such order and manner as they did now In Levit. 23.35.36 there is required a holy Convocation onely the first day and the last 8. day Did they more now in this Feast than the very Law it selfe required If they did they must have warrant from the Spirit of God by some revelation made to Nehemiah Ezra or some other for it which appeares not or else who required this at their hands to doe more than God commanded And therefore I leave I●nius and Deodate in this and doe rather thinke that in the Feast of Booths by the very Law reading of the Word was required all the dayes though that the first last were dayes of restraint more solemne Convocations and great holy-dayes in which they might doe no worke as they might in the interim dayes And so Iohn 3.7 the last is called the great day of the Feast I thinke there had beene an omission of such reading of the Law viz. day after day which was required by the institution in the Law had beene in use till Iosuah's time but was discontinued from his time till now and now was brought into use againe The manner had beene continued to reade on the 8. day the solemne day but now it was done every day of the Feast of Tabernacles And therefore

Vrim and Thummim was not to decide matters of doctrine but events and facts and successes in warre and peace as we see in David often vid. Numb 27.18 1. Sam. 23.5.9 30.7.8 And this was in x Ioseph Antiq. lib. 3. cap. 9. extraordinary cases In things ordinary the Prince was to have the Law before hisface Deut. 17. Ios. 1. but in extraordinary Accidents he was to seeke answer from God by the Vrim and the Thu●mim of the Priest 3 The Church was in as good case for certainty in things of salvation under the second Temple when the Vrim and Thummim was not as under the first Temple when it was That of Rabbi Talmud in Ion. cap. 1. fol. 21. that not only Vrim and Thummim Henry Ainsworth in Exod. 28.30 seemes to like too well this Rabbinicall Blasphemy as hee doth in his annot dote on the Rabbins too often but the holy Ghost was wanting in the second Temple is blasphemous For had not Christ and his Apostles the holy Ghost and did not they live under the second Temple Nay Is not more and more full revelation promised in the second Temple than in the first Hag. 1.8 Cap. 2.4.10 4 Besides after Vrim and Thummim was gone they had some Prophets as Haggai Zechariah and Malachy I confesse that Prophets by office and commission ended in Malachy Yet y Drus. 2. Pet. 1.21 there be that hold that after him there were now then some Prophets only by the Spirit I know there was a great silēce of Prophets after Malachy to prepare the people for to expect the coming of that great Prophet For though it were vox populi and a tradition among the Priests z Iohn 1.20.21 7.40.41 and Levites that the great Prophet was one distinct from the Christ the Messias yet I doubt not but the Church did understand Moses the great Prophet prophecyed of to be no other than the expected Messias And therefore the dampe that was of Prophets after Malachy turned to the good of the godly It taught them that Christ Iesus was now at hand And upon his comming we finde that the Lord stirred up two Prophets in a line a Maldonat in Ioh. 1.21 Zacharie the father and Iohn the Baptist his sonne to point out him Prophets by grace rather than by office And so I may say that the want of Vrim and Thummim did teach the Church that they were shortly now to expect the true Vrim and Thummim Christ Iesus the high Priest of their profession And besides it should have taught them to cleave the more to the written Oracles of God This Ieremy seemes to mee to shew in the losse of the Arke viz. That that losse should be no losse The people of God should not care to looke after the Arke any more but set their hearts on the true Arke Christ Iesus the Arke of Arkes This then the Church got by it That by the want of Vrim they learned that the Ceremonies were in going and the Messias in comming that salvation was not to be placed in the ordinances of Moses since Vrim and Thummim it selfe was utterly gone Lastly wee see that the Church did stand and was the pillar of truth without Vrim and Thummim The b Bellarm. de Rom. Pontif. lib. 3. cap. 4 §. quartà probatur Argument is loose that is made to prove the infallibility of the great Bishop of Rome from the Vrim and Thummim of the high Priest For beside that the Argument may follow from the c Heb. 4.14 8.1 Leviticall high Priest to Christ our high Priest of whom that high Priest was a Type and not of the Pope yet we see that the Church stood to the word when there was no Vrim Thummim from the taking of Ierusalem to the comming of Christ Iesus for in that interim the high Priest had no Vrim and Thummim And for that slender voyce called Bath-col mentioned by Tremelius in Act. 12.22 which Henry d on Exod. 28.30 Ainsworth would have to make some supply for the defect of Vrim it hath no ground and is to be turned backe to the foolish Rabbins from whom it came And therefore the Law and the Prophets was the standard and not the Vrim and Thummim I doubt not but the people had by some meanes perfect notice of the Revelation made to the Priest and they were absolutely to stand to the Oracles given by Vrim and Thummim from the mouth of God Yet me thinkes 't is hard to prove that the Priest did use it for matters of Religion and doctrine and not onely for matters of fact and event Next that the Priest had answere when he would though he himselfe were never so wicked or lastly That the sinnes of the people did not hinder the giving of the Oracle sometime 'T is enough that for some 550. yeares the high Priest was destitute of Vrim and Thummim and yet I hope the Lord did not leave his people without a sure and certaine rule of faith and direction of life which is the holy Word of God And Malachy doth tell us that though the Priests lips by that place and office should haue preserved knowledge yet often they did not And though while Vrim lasted it never gave any false or fallacious answers yet many times what for the sinnes of the Priest and what for the sinnes of the people the Lord refused to give any answer at all and the answers that were given were rather in matters of e Numb 17.21 1. Sam. 23.11 12. 30.7 8. fact than of doctrine and of faith The argument is too weake that the Cardinall doth draw from the Iewish Church to prove that the Pope hath the deciding Spirit and Voyce in matters of Faith sith from the destruction of Ierusalem to Messiah the Prince a space of some 550. yeares there was no Oracle by Vrim and Thummim no f Psal. 74.9 Wee see not our signes there is no more any Prophet succession of Prophets nor but a few Prophets at all from Malachy till Zachary the father and Iohn Baptist the sonne No miracles except the Poole of Bethesda graunted to the Iewes to strengthen them in the true worship of God under the persecution of Antiochus till the dayes of Zachary and Iohn Baptist and the Lord Iesus And yet the providence of God did not leave the Church for all that time without sufficient and ample meanes of their salvation In a word the losse of Vrim and Thummim the Arke and other Ceremonials taught them to looke off from the shadowes and to looke for the Truth the Lord Iesus CHAP. VI. CYrus after the Edict made in behalfe of the Iewes was called abroad to the warres He left his sonne Cambyses the power of a King at home and Cambyses hindred the execution of his fathers Proclamation 1 Not Darius Medus as Ben-Gorion saith for he was predecessor to Cyrus Now it is plaine by this Text that

child with some greater measure of punishment should personall sins in the guilt descend from fathers to the children wee should have more Originall sinnes than one When then in the Word they were commanded to confesse together with their owne sinnes the sinnes of their forefathers it was not that their forefathers sins that went no further any way than their forefathers persons should be remitted to their forefathers being dead or to them being aliue but that such sinnes which they themselues had also in their owne proper persons by occasion of the example of their forefathers committed by act or some consent might be forgiven unto them So Psal. 79.8 Remember not against whom Our forefathers No But Remember not agaist us former iniquities that is such sinnes as wee haue committed through the example of our forefathers at least haue one way or another made our owne The Translation reades it former Iniquities Word for word it is in the originall The Iniquities of those that were before us i. e. of our Ancestors CHAP. X. THat is * I shall ●●ter into For the house that he himselfe was to have being made governour by the King It appeares by Ezr. 6.15 and Nohem 2.1 that the Temple was built before the walls of the Citie The wals of the Citie were first broken downe and last built up and that 14. yeares after the Temple And one reason hereof is given for that before in all the former edicts made in behalfe of the Iewes by Cyrus or any other there was no word as touching the reedifying of the City but onely to build againe the Temple Paraeus rather is in the truth who holds that Cyrus did by edict give leave to build the Citie Orat. de 70. hebdom Dan. but by reason of so great resistance they could doe little or nothing to the Citie And therefore Nehemiah gets Letters Patents to build the Citie and the wals of the Citie And the truth is That the Iewes after their returne grew secure and carelesse fell to r Vid. Calvin in Zach. cap. 1. v. 3. marrying strange wives and other disorders till the Lord stirred up the spirit and zeale of our Nehemiah and he never gave over till hee had finished the worke So much good may one man of place power and zeale and courage doe for the Church Neither was the Lord wanting to him in his blessed enterprize But hee sent in Haggai and Zachariah a paire of noble Prophets to encourage the people in the worke of the Lord Neither will the Lord be wanting to any of us in things that are good if we be not wanting to him and our selves As if hee should say Vers. 11. Should such a man as I flie and who is there that being as I am would goe into the Temple to save his life I will not go● in It is not for mee that haue a calling from God to doe what I doe which calling is a sufficient testimonie of his assistance and protection for feare to leave the worke begun and so to discover disobedience and diffidence toward God Iunius is of opinion that hee being a stranger i. e. not a Priest was not by law to goe into the Temple As 't is Numb 3.38 But I rather follow Deodate who seemes to like better to say That hee would not flee to the Temple because it was for malefactors who used to take sanctuarie there to shift for their lives Exod. 21.14 1. King 1.51 2.28 S●majah who perswaded him to run to the Temple was a Priest and he did put a colour of retyred Religion on it too So that even Priests were found ready to hinder the building of the Wals. But Nehemiah did looke to God and not to Man and therefore in the next verse he saith He perceived that God had not sent him for that he went about to draw him from his vocation which had a sure foundation Wee must not suffer no not Divines themselves to turne us out of our callings places and duties CHAP. XI HEre we see how forward the people were they called upon Ezra and Ezra thought it not much to be stirred up by the people to doe his duty The winde of Gods spirit bloweth where it lifteth and sometimes beginneth with the common people The duty that they pressed Ezra unto was a plaine Text Deut. 33.10 11. where God commanded in the feast of Tabernacles that the Law should be read unto the people Where the people have Scripture for it they must say to Archippus Doe thy dutie The people were too many to be taught by one and therefore they made sundry companies and congregations and had many Doctors of the Law to teach them Therefore it is said They read in the Book And having read they gave the sense and made the people to understand thereading The meaning is That by comparing places of the word of God they did clearly expound to them the meaning Reading expounding or preaching have used of old to goe together So in the case of Philip and the Eunuch And Act. 13.15 After the lecture of the Law Prophets the Rulers of the Synagogue sent unto them saying Men brethren if yee have any word of exhortation for the people say on We see more Scriptures were read than were presently expounded yet when reading of the word was there used to be expounding of some portion T is a poore conceit to say That before the Captivity there was nothing but bare reading but after when the people had lost much of their Language and did hardly understand the Tongue that then literall expounding came in by learned men that had the skill of the Tongue As though giving of the sense had bin nothing but a grammaticall interpretation of the word Preaching is ancienter than so Noah was a Preacher of righteousnesse And Acts 15.21 Moses of old time hath in every City them that preach him seing he is read in the Synagogue every Sabbath day Moses of old i. e. from the first time from the very beginning 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ab aetatibus antiquis A phrase never used of the Ages onely since the Captivity And that it is sayd Moses and not Moses and the Prophets as Acts 13.15 it seemes to me to note the times of Moses Law before the Prophets were The word translated Reading is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which doth properly signifie an Assembly or Convocation and here the Scripture is named by that name to shew us That the holy Scripture ought to be read in the Congregation and Assembly Take it then for a truth That before and after the Captivity the Church of the Iewes had their Teachers who did expound and preach unto them the meaning of the Scriptures And Ezra with the rest here are sayd to interpret not the words but the meaning They gave the sense that is not the literall sense of the Hebrew words which the Iewes