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 Zâ—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 Hâ—reb for all Israel with the statutes and judgements 2 For ought I see the
and best agree vpon 40 yeares This Darius Nothus his bastard sonne had the honour to have the holy Citie builded and finished in his dayes He reigned in all Yeares 19 Moneths 6 7 Artaxerxes Mnemon In his dayes flourished the Prophet Malachie Cyrus his brother called Cyrus the younger tooke armes against him with the losse of his owne life Whose expedition is described by that famous Xenophon This Artaxerxes reigned 43  8 Ochus called Darius Artaxerxes Ochus He reigned 23  9 Arses the sonne of Ochus was slaine by Bagoas an Eunuch who killed first Ochus his Father Arses reigned 3  Broughton leaues out the 20 yeares of Ochus and makes Ochus and Arses to be but one man and thrusting out Arses gives vnto Ochus his three yeares and no more He was deceived by the Florentine Printer of Clemens Alexandrinus printing for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for 20 put by the Librarie 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Yeares Moneths 10 Darius Codomannes his sonne succeeded him and in the 6 yeare of his reigne he was beaten by Alexander Magnus and slaine by Bessus Gouernour of Bactrya one of Alexanders Princes and Captaines and so an end of the Persian Monarchie He reigned 6  The whole time of the Persian Monarchy was a matter of 228 yeares Cyrus began to reigne in Persia the 55 Olympiad Darius the last was subdued by Alexander the 112 Olympiad So betwixt Cyrus and Darius there fell in 57 Olympiads each Olympiad had the terme of 4 yeares so we finde 228 compleat yeares onely adding the imperfect yeares of the 112 Olympiad in which Olympiad Darius was slaine Some petty differences there are about small matters in judicious Chronologers chiefely about Cyrus his time after he was Emperour for some giue him but 3 or 4 yeares at the most But in the summe of the matter the chiefest agree vpon this reckoning and giue to the Persian Monarchie about 228 yeares   CHAP. II. An Explanation of the former Kings of the Persian Monarchie out of Daniel Dan. 11.2 There shall stand vp yet 3. Kings in Pâ—rsia and the 4. shall be farâ—e richer than they all And by â—is strength through â—is rubes he shall stirre vp all against the Realme of Gâ—aecia SIth the former voyce shewes this was in the fâ—rst yeare of Darius the Mede and therefore whereas it is said There shall stand vp yet three Kings the sense is That from or after Darius the Mede there shall be three Kings in Perâ—ia viz. Cyrus Cambyses Darius Hystaspis and then the fourth is plainly Xerxes as appeares by that of his grâ—at riches and his huge and mighty preparations made to invade Greece Now sith 't is as cleere as day that the fourth was Xerxes the other 3 can be no other than Cyrus Cambyses and Darius Hystaspis The only Objection that can be made is of a Magus named Smerdis who tooke vpon him to be the sonne of Cyrus and vsurped the Throne after Cambyses against whom he conspired But the answere is that the Holy Ghost doth not hold him worth the naming and hee beares no place in the holy writ amongst the Kings of Persia whether it be for that his time was short for eâ—e he saw 7 monethâ— the Nobles conspired against him and suppressed him or whether he being a conspirator is rather to be called a Tyrant than a King 't is out of question the Holy Ghost doth passe the Magus or Smâ—rdis over Some doe take the odde moneths that this Smerdis vsurped and adde them to the time of Cambyses and so giue him somewhat a longer time of reigne than I haue done but so small a difference is not worth the speaking of 2. Chron. 36. a 20 And they were servants to him and to his b sons a Nebuchadnezzar b His son Euilmerodach 2. Reg. 25.27 His nephew Belshazzar Dan. 5.1 And all nations shall feare him and his sonne and his sonnes son vntill the time of his Lord come when many nations and great Kings shall serue themselues of him 2. Chron. 36.21 To fulfill the Word of the Lord spoken by c Ieremiah untill the land had her fill of Sabbaths for all the dayes that she lay desolate she kept Sabbath d 70 yeares c Ier. 25.11 And this whole land shall be desolate and an astonishment and these Nations shall serue the King of Babell 70. yeares and Ier. 19.10 d beginning when Iehoiakiâ— or Ieconiah was carried away captiue ending at the first yeare of Cyrus and Darius the Mede Kings of Persia. That they began at Ieconiahs captivity is proved by Ezek. 40.1 In the fiue and twentieth yeare of our being in captivity in the beginning of the yeare in the 10 th day of the moneth in the 14 th yeare after the Citie was smitten c. Now Ezekiel for the most part reckons the yeare from the first of Ieconiahs captivity As Ezech. 1.2 And more plainely out of Ieremiah cap. 29.2.10 where writing to those that were carried away with Ieconiah he tels them that they shall be 70 yeares in captivity from the time of their carrying away as may appeare if the Chapter be rightly considered of 2. Chron. 36.22.23 But in the first yeare of c Cyrus King of Persia c. Thus saith Cyrus King of Persia. c Together with Darius the Mede whom Cyrus had of his owne accord admitted into the governement of the Empire with himselfe as Dan. 5.31 Darius of the Medes tooke the Kingdome being 62. yeares old and Daniel 9.1 In the first yeare of Darius the sonne of Ahashâ—erosh of the seed of the Medes which was made King of the realm of the Chaldeans For Cyrus led with ambition went about warres in other Countries and therfore Darius had the title of the King though Cyrus were King in â—ffect Ezra 1.1 Now in the first f yeare of f Cyrus King of Persia that the Word of the Lord by the mouth of Ieremiah might be accomplished the Lord stirred vp the spirit of Cyrus K. of Persia and he made a proclamation throughout all his Kingdome c. f When he first reigned ouer Babylon for otherwise hee reigned 30. yeares in Persia and in the 28 th of his reigne of Persia was this captivity of the Iewes ended Ezra 2.2 Which came with g Zerubbabel to wit Ieshua Nehemiah c. g Zerubbabel was chiefe Captaine Ieshua or Iehoshua son of Iehozadak high Priest Hag. 1.1 But Nehemiah a man of great authority went not now but came 64. or 54. yeares after Ezra 3.1 And when the 7. moneth was come and the children of Israel were in their Cities the people assembled themselues as one man vnto Ierusalem From the first day of the 7. moneth they offered burnt offerings h And Cambyses his sonne synecdochicè Ezra 3.8 In the second yeare of their comming vnto the house of God in Ierusalem c. they began to set forward the worke of the
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 â—â—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 goâ— 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 Sâ—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
interruption Some little pause there was sometimes but God used to stir up Prophet upon Prophet In the Captivity Ezekiel prophecyed till about the 14. yeare of that Captivity when the Citie was smitten After wee reade not of any till towards the returne Then stood forth Daniel Haggai Zacharie who were whiles the Temple was in building Malachie when it was new built As we see by his reproving of that sinne in corrupting the holy seed by marrying strangerâ— Sixtâ—s SeneÌ„â—is cannot prove his opinion who placeth him as low as about 500. yeares afore Christ therefore Malachy doth close up all by referring the Church to the written Law Signes and miracles did weare out and prophecies were no more Now this great eclypse was to tell the Church that the great Prophet was to be expected in whom all prophecies signes miracles were to meet Besides those that were burnt many of the things of the Temple were carried away in the first deportation under Ioâ—akim many in the second under Ieconiah and the cleane riddance was made in the third under Zedekiah The Scripture nameth those of Brasse and the lesser much more than those of Gold and the greater For it appeares by Ezekiel 9.3 That the Arke was not carried away with Ieconiah but under Zedekiah For in that place wee finde that the Prophet had revealed unto him that the time was now at hand when the Arke and the Cherubius should be destroyed and the whole Citie made a prey Now Ezekiel wrote in the 5. yeare of Iehoiakim and lived untill the twenty fift And wee finde that shortly after in the dayes of Zedekiah all was lost and gone The Tabernacle and Altar of incense were carried away before For among the Treasures of the Lordâ— house there spoken of were the Tabernacle and the golden Altar Now in that there were so many ornaments of note and use in the former Temple that were not in the later wee conclude That Solomons Temple did farre surpasse Zerubbabels in outward glory And therefore whereas the Prophet doth preach here That the second house shall put downe the first house in glory and they by experience should finde no such matter in regard of outward pompe whether they respected frame and building or furniture they were then to looke to the person of the Messiah who should and did honour the second house with his bodily presence which made it glorious spiritually and shed his blood to reconcile all to himselfe during the state of the later Temple And therefore it is in our Text And I will give peace meaning inward spirituall peace Peace in heaven peace on earth Christ Iesus being our peace Though this second Temple was built by Zerubbabel yet it was called commonly Solomons Temple I am sure that a Porch was usually called Solomons Porch whether because Solomon built this Porch long after the finishing of the Temple and others doing the like this was for distinction called Solomons Porch or rather sith question may be made of the truth of that storie in Iosephus because it was by Zerubbabel built in the very same place and right after the same forme that Solomons was that therefore it kept the old name The gate of this Porch was called Beautifull and the Prince did onely enter in thereat and not the people for the people entred in at the North gate and at the South CHAP. XVII WHy defile himselfe Because 1. It was often such as was against the Law of God 2 Vsed so as would defile them being against the word of God 3. Daniel saw that the Kings love and provisions were not single and â—incere but that he meant his owne profit which his fellowes also Ananias Mishael and Azariâ—s saw The Kings drift in training them up that they might stand before him was that they should attend him as Courtiers in his Palace And they being of the bloud royall and seed of the Nobility that hee might thereby better assure the Land of Iudah But did not Daniel afterwards eate He did when he was in his greatnes and could command what sort of dyet he himselfe pleased such as neither in nature nor use was against the Leviticall Law of God The Iewes were not bound to the Iudiciall Law indeed but onely within the Kingdomes of Israel For Daniel and Mordecay were great Officers and Magistrates in forraine parts and no question they did minister justice according to the nationall lawes and customes of those Countries and not according to the Leviticall and Iudiciall Lawes of Moses But yet the Iewes were most strictly tyed all the world over to an exact observation of the Ceremoniall and Leviticall Lawes of God and therefore Daniel though out of his Countrey durst not eate lest he should defile himselfe by transgressing the Ceremoniall Law Nebuchadnezzar being amazed with the worke of Daniel went about in his person and by his command to make a god of him Had he onely bowed to him in reverence in that affection which may well bee towards a Prophet of the Lord as Alexander did to the high Priest and is indeed lawfull to be done Daniel might have accepted it But the King went too too far and that act of his to command meat offerings sweet odours to be offered to him was flagrant Idolatry and therefore it could not stand with the piety of Daniel who would not so much as eat of the Kings meat to give the least entertainment to any such Idolatry And though it be not expressed in so many words yet it is plaine enough that Daniel did reprove this fact of the King and thereupon was nothing done And the words themselves in Nebuchadnezzars reply give us this meaning The King answered unto Daniel saith the text therefore Daniel had spoken his mind to the King though the words bee left out Of a truth it is that your God is a God of Gods This shewes that Daniel had enformed that there was but One only God and that Divine worship was due to that One God onely Wee may receive Prophets and Preachers as Angels but we must not receive them as Gods Some have sayd that Nebuchadnezzar was metamorphosed into a very beast but it is the truer opinion to say that his malady was in mind not in body God stroke him with a kind of melancholy madnesse Insomuch that he lost all judgement sense and use of reason living and doing like a beast of the field His life was a wild kind of life out of the communion of men And they may as well say he was turned into an Eagle because it is sayd that his haires were growne like Eagles as to affirme that he was changed into an Oxe because he is sayd to eate grasse like Oxen. The conclusion would as well be that he was converted into Oxen because as our Translation reads it according to the originall it
imperfect round and grosse for corrupt These 70. yeares begin at the time of the first Captivitie in the reigne of Ioakim Now from this time till the eleventh yeare of Zedekiah when hee was captived the Temple and Citie burnt the Land cannot be said to keepe Sabbaths because the Inhabitants were not yet carried away and therefore it was but a part of these 70. years that she rested Not precisely For reckon from their first inhabiting of those Cities and we find it but 260. yeares or thereabouts unlesse we adde the 40 yeares from comming up out of Egypt But it ought to be understood synecdochicè and figuratè Often mention is made of three years and a halfe of 42 moneths which make so many yeares of 1260. dayes which also make so many years In all which we must needs understand a certaine number to be put for an uncertaine that is for the whole time that runnes on from the passion of Christ till the end of the World Let us consider the drift and scope of the Angels speech Daniel he understands by bookes that the 70. yeares of Captivitie were now even at an end Hereupon hee prayeth that God would bee mercifull to the people and holy Citie An Angel is sent to him and talkes unto him not of the 70. yeares of Captivitie to be ended under Cyrus but of seventy times seven yeares of most glorious deliverance from the slavery of Hell and the Divell to be purchased by Christ. As if the Angel had thus said Thou Daniel thinkest of 70. yeares at the end whereof thy people is to have a deliverance from carnall servitude under Babylon and a restauration of an earthly Ierusalem but I give thee to understand of a farre more glorious liberty and freedom from Sathans slaverie to be purchased by Christ for thy people after 70. times 7. yeares Doe not thou thinke of 70. years which are now even gone and past but of 70 times 7 yeares which when they are come to end thy people and city for whom thou prayest shal obtain this great blessing Wherefore this is spoken in allusion to the 70 yeares of Captivitie to shew that Gods mercy should exceed his judgements seventie times which from that should endure seventy times seven yeare till the comming of Christ and afterwards for ever It is therfore a propheticall prediction and not an hystoricall relation and the circumscription of time is used only for memory sake that after these many yeares they should be sure to obtain such a deliverance as than which they could desire nothing more Not precisely For from the time that God spake unto Abraham whence the yeares must necessarily beginne unto the comming of the children of Israel out of Egypt are 430. yeares as Moses witnesses Exo. 12. If we say that they begin at the fift yeare of Isaac yet from the time that God spake unto that are about twenty yeares From that to the departure of the Israelites whole 400. Wherefore from the time that God spake this till the departure from Egypt are foure hundred synecdochicè above foure hundred precisely What! precisely fourteene in all No. From David to the Captivity of Babylon were twenty seven as M r Broughton confesseth In the other two were indeed fourteene Full and whole By no means For Christ was buried on the Evening of the sixt day the same day he dyed The seventh day he rested in the grave upon the eight day early he rose againe So that he was but two whole dayes in the grave and scarce that neither Now the Day and the Night make one Day Gen. 1. And therfore because Christ rested in the Sepulchre part of three dayes he is sayd by a synecdoche to bee three dayes and three nights in the heart of the Earth If the Angel had sayd The seventy yeares of your Captivity in Babylon But after 80. times seventy yeares Christ shal be slaine and so you shall obtaine a more glorious freedome Then had the Angel spoken precisely for from that time to the death of Christ was precisely five hundred sixty yeares But so the force efficacy of the Type had bin obscured To which the Angel would allude by the name of seventy times seven yeares Antiochus his persecution continued three yeares and a halfe precisely Dan. 7. Now Antiochus was a Type of Satan And therefore the Time times and halfe a Time forty two moneths 1260. dayes all making up the same number of yeares are uttered by S. Iohn Apoc. 11.12 13. in allusion to Antiochus persecution For by this he comforteth the Woman that is the Church persecuted by the Dragon Satan That this persecution should last but a little while even as that of Antiochus not properly but figuratively for Satan persecuteth the Church unto the end of the world That the seventy weekes are not to bee understood precisely but by a synecdoche is thus proved Seventy weekes are determined upon thy People saith Gabriel Dan. 9. ver 24. That these are whole and full so many is proved by their partition For there are seven weekes from the going forth of the Commandement ver 25. and sixty three weekes when the street and wall shall be builded and againe after threescore and two weekes Christ shall be slaine But not presently after those sixty nine weekes but in the middle of the last weeke ver 27. Where it is sayd And he shall confirme the Covenant with money for one weeke and in the Middle of the weeke he shall cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease Then thus the Reason stands If Christ dyed in the middest of the last weeke then from the first yeare of Cyrus to the death of Christ are not precisely 490. yeare◠but 486. and a halfe The reason of the consequence is plaine For if Christ dyed in the middest of the last weeke i.e. the seventieth week then to the death of Christ from Cyrus the first are but sixty nine weeks and a halfe Now sixty nine weekes cum dimidio make but foure hundred eighty six yeares cum dimidio whereas seventy whole weekes make foure hundred ninety yeares But Christ dyed in the middest of the last weeke This is manifest For Christ then dyed when sacrifice and oblation ceased This is proved by the ninth and tenth to the Hebrewes But sacrifice and oblation ceased in the middest of the last weeke This Daniel expressely saith Cap. 9. ver 27. Therefore from the first yeare of Cyrus to the death of Christ are not foure hundred ninety yeares precisely And by consequent the seventy weekes are to be understood figuratè and synecdochicè not praecisè and tropriè Christ was baptized about three yeares and a halfe before he dyed and then saith Funccius was sacrifice oblation abolished out of the place Mat. 3. ult This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased And therefore God was pleased afterward with no other sacrifice but the immaculate Lambe Christ. But
for answere So God was onely pleased with the sacrifice of Christ before his Baptisme For he was a perpetuall sacrifice from the beginning and the other sacrifices pleased him onely as Types and shadowes of Christs sacrifice of himselfe Secondly Moses sacrifices and such Types of Christ were acceptable unto God after his Baptisme which is plaine Matth. 8.3 where Christ after his Baptisme bids the Leper offer the gift that Moses commanded Which was Levit. 14.10 two Lambes and an Ewe Lambe for a trespasse offering and a burnt offering Answere Though the word signifie both wayes yet here it must be translated middle not halfe 1. By the consent of the Learned 2. By this reason out of the Text. Christ is here said to Cause to cease or to abolish sacrifice and oblations in the middest of the 70 th weeke Now this Action is not actio maneus and continuata but citò transiens For it is meant of the death of Christ. Vnlesse therefore wee will make Christs death to be a continued action and say that Christ dyed in the halfe of the Seventy Seven i.e. his crucifying and death continued for the space of 3. yeares and a halfe than which what more absurd we must needs grant that hee dyed in the middle Had it beene said that Christ should preach the Gospell in halfe the last 7. it had beene truly because it was a continued action Not only in this last weeke but in some of the former is this Synecdochâ— to be understood For the 70. weekes are divided into 3. parts ver 25. Knoâ— therefore and understand that from the going forth of the commandement to bring againe the people and to build IerusaleÌ„ shall be seven Weeks there is the first part and threescore and two Weekes there is the second and the Wall and the Street shall be built againe in a troublous time After threescore and two weekes Christ shall be slaine v. 27. And he shall confirme the Covâ—nant for many one Weeke there is the third part and in the middest of the Weeke he shall abolish sacrifice and oblation The Reason is this then Seaven Weekes are said to passe before the building of the street and wall above 49. were past And therefore by these 7. Weekes more yeares are meant than are precisely set downe The Minor is proved by the storie of Scripture For Ezr. 4 the building both of the Temple and Citie as appeares by the Letter of Sâ—imshag was hindered all the dayes of Cyrus till the second yeare of Darius And from the 2. yeare of Darius along unto the 20. of Artaxerxes who succeeded him was it still hindred as appeares Nehem 1.1 The Wall was built afterward Cap. 4.6 The Street Cap. 7. Whereby it is manifest if wee reckon the yeares from Cyrus the first to Artaxerxes the 20. that the Wall and Street could not be builded in the first 7. Weekes Therefore those words In the other are falsely shuffled into the Text. Eusebius Iunius and Tremellius say That the Temple was built in the first 7. Weeks CHAP. IV. Observations and explanations on some places of Ezra and Nehemiah THe resolution is That we must reade on for that nothing is to be contemned in these holy writings no nor to be skipped over Say it be but the repeating and cataloguing onely of names There is no Booke no Chapter no line in the Word of God but is profitable given by inspiration of God and written for our learning And if wee understand it not in some places yet those places have in them an immanent power to edifie though as yet it be not transient conveighing the profit of it to us till in some measure we doe understand it 2. The way to come to the understanding of them is not to passe those places over but to reade them And when we are busie in reading places which we conceive not God opens the heart and sends us in the interpretation as he did Philip to the Eunuch Act. 8. 3. There is much to be had out of the Genealogies to a wise and diligent Reader Wee learne the increase or decrease of the Church the strange holding out of some Families as the Servants of Solomon and the Gibeonites called in these Bookes the Nethinims They were made drawers of water to the Temple as a kind of punishment God made this crosse a mercie Their employment so neere the house of God gave them fit occasion to be partakers of the things of God And the Lord wee see did wonderfully honour them The neerer they were to the Church the neerer to God In a word hee sees little that sees not many things of excellent use to be gathered out of Chapters full of names 4. Say that as yet we can pick nothing out of some such Chapters yet must we not step over them in our course of reading them but we are in any hand to take them along in our reading if it be but to shew our obedience to God in reading over all his sacred word Resp. He doth But he meanes Genealogies that were fabulous not such as doe edifie Now all the Scripture tends to edifying Cajetan notes that hee meanes by endlesse Genealogies such as are not in the word which gender questions that the Scripture doth not end and determine No question the Apostle finds fault with such fabulous genealogies as in those dayes were too coÌ„mon among the Iewes after were written in the Books of Talmud S. Paul 1. Tim. 4.7 cals them old wives tales And when men begin to be giddy and to be sicke of foolish pride they study much in doting pedegrees Paul to Timothy and Titus both means such genealogies as do move not end questions Which minister questions saith Paul to Timothy not which end questions What questions foolish questions And for those genealogies which had any pith in them they became also uncertaine and endlesse when Herod had burnt up the Records as Iosephus notes Now of such questions there is no end And we may all observe that to bee full of impertinent questions comes from a weak understanding as we see in children who will even tire one with babbling questions So the Apostles in their ruder time before the passion of Christ and after too before the comming downe of the holy Ghost were asking questions sometime not so profitable as When the day of Iudgement should be But when they were filled with the gifts of the holy Ghost Acts 2. we heare no more of such questions No no They then found fault with such curiosity The same holy Father doth observe that Thomas Iudas and Peter were full of questions But Iohn whom Christ loved and who might have beene most bold with him was very sparing that way In a word the Genealogies of the word are of great use and do satisfie the doubts of men and not move questions that can have no end This was not in his first
mention is made of the solemnizing of this Feast of Boothes in this place to shew that there was a great reformation of a disuse which crept in anon upon Iosuah's dayes and had continued in the Church in very godly times now 1000. yeares Wee see that a neglect in Divine worship may continue long in the Church in the times of the best men 2 Though it have lasted ever so long yet it is our dutie to doe what we can to set it right againe at the last This Feast was celebrated in Boothes made of the boughes of greene trees in remembrance of Gods favours to them in the wildernesse at which time they had their dwelling in Boothes The chiefe sort of Trees are named and for Palmes 't is observed that they carried them in their hands It being an old wont that branches of Palmes were carried as signes of victory and great joy Hereby saith Henry Aâ—sworth on Levit. 23.40 wee may see the reason why at Christs comming to Ierusalâ—m though at another time of the yeare the people and children strawed the way with branches of trees and tooke branches of Palme-trees and went forth to meet him and cryed Hosanna Mat. 21.8.9 Ioâ— 12.13 For all the Legall Feasts saith he had their accomplishment in him and to him the honour and solemnity of every Feast did by right appertaine So he But what if these did it onely to testifie their joy and exultation it being a custome in all nations to shew their joy with boughes And they being to entertaine Christ a King did it with garments and boughes such things as came next to hand Besides the boughes in the Feast of the Iewes were more for their remembrance of dwelling in Boothes in the wildernesse than for joy Againe this was not at the Feast of Tabernacles and Boothes that Christ came to Ierusalem and were it not better to say That these Iewes old and young did what they did by some instinct from heaven than onely to imitate a custome of a Feast performed at another time of the yeare that all might understand that which David had prophecyed of the Messias to come was now fulfilled in Christ For certaine neither humane counsaile nor imitation of a custome but onely a divine inspirement could make infants to doe as here in Matthew we read that they did CHAP. XIIII COmpare the eleventh Chapter with 1. Chron. 9.2 and you shall find that the number is greater in the Chronicles than here The answer is that here onely those are reckoned who inhabited Ierusalem by lot But in the Chronicles wee have those also recorded who went willingly and of their owne accord therefore the summe is greater CHAP. XV. BY sonne is here meant the Nephew of Iojada the brother of Iaddua the high Priest his name was Manasses an Apostata he did marry the daughter of Sanballat the Horonite i. e. a Moabite of Horonajim And because he could not continue in the Priesthood by reason he had a strange wife hee was minded to turne away his wife that he might not be turned out of his Office Now to keepe him to his wife Sanballat undertooke to build a Temple every way as stately and as goodly as that at Ierusalem and that it might have the more honour on Mount Gerazim hard by the City Sichem and that Manasses should be chiefe Priest of the Temple Which Sanballat having first got leave of Alexander did performe and from this beginning came that famous schisme as touching the place where sacrifices were to be offered betwixt the Samaritanes and the Iewes Before God had pointed out a place they did worship on high places where they pleased but when once the Lord had chosen Mount Moriah and set his Name there it was unlawfull to sacrifice any where but there And though before Abraham and Iacob and others did please God with the high places yet afterwards the Kings of Israel are shent for that they did not demolish the high places Yet stil for other kinds of Worship which were not tyed to one place as sacrifices were the Iewes and Christ himselfe the policy of the Iewes being not buried did use many times to goe up to a mountaine an high place to pray But sacrifices they were only at Ierusalem and whereas the Samaritanes did pretend the Fathers meaning by Fathers Iacob and perhaps Abraham too yet it was but a pretence For they came not of Iacob but of the race of the Assyrians neither was the Temple on Mount Gerazim ancienterthan the time of this Manasses And this Manasses marrying the daughter of Sanballat the Moabite a great man in place and power bred this schisme Iacob did set up an Altar neere Sichem but it was before God had confined his worship and sacrifices to one place As for a Temple there was none besides that at Ierusalem till Sanballat on this occasion did build one which Temple remaines in the East unto this day They use to brag most of antiquity that have least cause and have no better arguments for themselves than to follow their false and foolish Ancestors The last cleeres all the rest He produceth his good deeds as testimonies of his sincerity and of that willing mind that was in him to doe God service which will of his notwithstanding came from God not from himselfe He prayes the Lord not to charge his sinne upon him committed in other matters and in the good hee did hee begs of God that he would regard onely his sincerity and thinke upon him in mercy Hee brags not but prayes produceth the good which through the grace of God hee had done yet claimes nothing as due in justice but sues to God to remember him in mercy goodnesse No thought of merit where the suite is to be spared according to the greatnesse of Gods mercy CHAP. XVI An Appendix SAint Augustine by the later house understands the Church of the Christians whereof the later house was a Type but this needs not sith it holds true in the history and the letter For the later Temple built by Zerubbabel did come to greater glory than ever that had which was built by Solomon As for the opinion of Iosephus that Herod did demolish Zerubbabels and build another in the place of it it is exploded And the truth is That Herod did not build a new but beautifie the old In outward glory the former Temple did excell the last beyond comparison Besides the excessive deale of gold that was in the former there were five things in the Temple of Solomon which were not in that of Zerubbabel 1 The Cloud an Embleme of Gods presence 2 Fire which consumed the sacrifice 3 Vrim Thummim Though Iosephus say it lasted till 200. yeares before his time but he is out in this 4 The Arke 5 The succession of Prophets which went on under the former house without any great