the beautie in peace And againe there shoulde be no ende of peace And yet further hee shall bee Prince of peace And King Dauid long before hym againe In his daies there shal rise iustice and aboundance of peace Which thing though especially it be to be vnderstood of the internall peace tranquilitie of our mindes and soules yet considering that externall peace also was necessary for a tyme for the quiet planting publishing of Christes Gospell seeing that the same was brought to passe most miraculously vpon the suddaine when in reason men might least expect the same for the infinite warres wherein the worlde a lyttle before had beene and by reason of the Romaine Monarchie so freshlie established which in theyr beginnings are wont to be troublesome thys peace I say can not be but a great argument that thys was the proper tyme of the Messias hys comming And thus much for the state of the worlde in generall And nowe for the perticuler state of Iurie at Iesus natiuitie thus it was according as Iosephus the Iew who was borne wythin fiue yeeres after Christes passion describeth the same One Herod a stranger whose Father called Antipater came out of Idumaea was risen to acquaintaunce and fauour wyth the Romans partly by hys said fathers meanes who was as Iosephus wordes are a well monied man industrious and factious and partly by hys owne dilligence and ambition beeing of himselfe both wittie beautifull and of excellent rare qualities By which commendations he came at length to marry the Daughter of Hyrcanus King of Iurie that was descended linially of the house of Dauid and Trybe of Iuda And by this mariage obtained of hys Father in Lawe to be Gouernour of the Prouince of Galilie vnder hym But Hyrcanus afterwardes falling into the hands of the Parthyans that caryed him into â—â—rthya Herode ranne awaie to Rome and there by the speciall helpe fauour of Anthony that ruled in coÌ„pany together with Octauiê° he obtained to be created King of Iurie without any tytle or interest in the world For that not onely his sayd Father in Law Hyrcanus was yet aliue in Parthia but also his younger brother Aristobulus and three of hys sonnes named Antigonus Alexander and Aristobulus dyuers others of the bloode royall in Iurie Herode then hauing procured by these meanes to be King of Iurie procured fyrst to haue in hys hands the fore-said King Hyrcanê° so put him to death he also brought to the same ende hys younger brother Aristobulus and hys three sonnes likewyse He put to death also hys owne Wife Mariamnes that was King Hyrcanus Daughter as also Alexandra her Mother and soone after two of hys owne sonnes which he had by the sayde Mariamnes for that they were of the blood royall of Iuda And a little after that againe he put to death hys thyrd sonne named Antipater He caused also to be slaine at one time fortie of the cheefest noble men of the Trybe of Iuda And as Phylo the Iewe wryteth that liued at the same time wyth hym he put to death all the Sanhedrin that is the seauentie and two Senatours of the tribe of Iuda that ruled the peoâ—â—â— He kylled the cheefe of the sect of the Pharisies He burned the Genealogies of all the Kings and Princes of the house of Iuda caused one Nicholaus Damascenus an Historiographer that was hys seruaunt to drawe out a petidegree for hym and his lyne as though he had descended from the auncient Kings of Iuda He translated the High priest-hood solde it to strangers And finally hee so rased dyspersed and mangled the house of Iuda as no one iote of gouernment dignitie or principalitie remained therin And when he had doone all thys theÌ„ was IESVS of the same house and line of Iuda borne in Bethleem the proper Cittie of Dauid which Dauid was the founder and first Authour of Regalitie in Iuda Nowe then consider the prophecie of Iacob concerning the perticuler tyme of Christes appearaunce almost two thousand yeeres before these things fell out Come hether my children said he that I may tell you the things which are to happeÌ„ in the later daies c. The Scepter shall not be taken from Iuda vntill he come who is to be sent and he shall be the expectation of Nations Which prophecie that it was fulfilled nowe at Christes natiuitie when Herode had extinguished all gouernment in Iuda no man can denie that wyll acknowledge the thinges sette downe before which are recorded by Writers both of that tyme and of the Iewish Nation and Religion themselues And that it neuer was fulfilled from Dauids daies who began the gouernment of the house of Iuda vntill thys tyme appeareth plainely by all Hystories Records both diuine prophane For that from Dauid who was the first King vnto Zedechias that was the last and died in the captiuitie of Babylon the Scripture sheweth howe all the Kinges descended of the house of Iuda And during the time of theyr captiuitie in Babylon which was seauenty yeres the Iewes were alwaies permitted to chuse themselues a Gouernour of the house of Iuda whom they called RESCHGALVTA And after theyr delyuerie from Babylon Zorobabel was theyr Captaine of the same Trybe and so others after him vntyll you come to the Macchabees who vvere both Captaines and Priestes for that they were by the mothers side of the Tribe of Iuda and by the fathers side of the Trybe of Leui as Rabbi Kimhi holdeth And from these men downe to Hyrcanê° Aristobulus whom Herod slew there continued stil the same lyne as Iosephus declareth So that by thys prophecie it is euident that Iesus was borne at the proper tyme appointed for the Messias when there was neither Kyng nor Captaine nor High Priest nor Counsellour nor any one Gouernour of the house tribe of Iuda left in Iurie An other prophecie there is no lesse euident then the former wherein it is affirmed that the Messias shold come before the second Temple of Ierusalem that was builded by Zorobabel after the Iewes were returned from theyr captiuitie in Babylon shoulde be destroyed by the Romaines For better vnderstanding whereof it is to be noted that the Temple of Ierusalem was builded twice fyrst by Salomon which lasted about foure hundred and fortie-two yeeres and then it was burned destroyed by Nabuchodonozor King of Babylon Wherefore about seauentie yeeres after it was builded again by Zorobabel who reduced the Iewes from Babylon and so it continued vntill it was destroyed the second time by Tytus son to Vespasian the Romaine Emperour about fortie and sixe yeres after our Sauiour Christ his ascention At what time it had lasted froÌ„ Zorobabel almost sixe hundred yeeres and from Salomon aboue a thousand And as in the time of the seconde building the people of Israell were poore
shall goe down into Egipt and all the Idols of Egipt shall shake at his presence Which later point Eusebius sheweth that it was fulfilled most euidentlie in the sight of all the world for that no Nation came to Christian religion with so great celeritie or feruour as did the Egyptians who threw downe theyr Idols before any other heathen Nations And as they had been the first in idolatry to other Countries so were they the first by Christes coÌ„ming vnto them that afterwarde gaue example of true returne to theyr Creator It followeth in Esay And I will giue vp Egipt into the hands of cruell Lords a Potent King shall take dominion ouer them Which was fulfilled about the very time wherein Christ was to come For that then after many spoyles cruelties excercised vppon Egypt by the Romaine Lords and Princes as Pompey Caesar Anthonie others in the end Cleopatra their Queene that was the last of all the bloode and lyne of the Ptolomiâ—s was inforced to sley her selfe and so Augustus the Emperor tooke possession of all Egypt and subiected it as a Prouince to the Romaines Empire But consider you howe Esay concludeth the matter after all these temporall afflictions threatned against Egipt confesse that such aduersitie is no signe of Gods dys-fauour to them who receiue it For thus sayth God after all hys cominations In that daie there shal be an Aultar of Iehoua in the middest of Egipt they shall cry to God in their tribulation and he shal send them a Sauiour c. Blessing shall be in the midst of that Land to whom the Lorde God of hostes hath giuen his benediction saying Blessed is my people of Egipt And heere we make an ende of our second consideration The thyrde consideration NOwe in the thyrd place there commeth to be considered according to our former dyuision the life conuersation doctrine and myracles of Iesus And first touching things doone by him after his coÌ„ming out of Egypt which might be about the sixt or seauenth yeere of hys age vntil hys baptisme by S. Iohn which was the thyrtith there is little recorded eyther in Prophane or Ecclesiasticall Wryters For that as Saint Iustine S. Chrisostome S. Augustine and others doe write hee bestowed that time in the common exercise and labours of mans life therby to shewe himselfe true man and gyue demonstration how much he hated and detested idlenes Of Saint Iohn Baptist all Hebrue wryters of that time doe make mention with exceeding prayse and admiration of hys holinesse especially Iosephus that liued immediatly after Christes daies sayth he was Vir optimus Iudaeos excitans ad virtutum studia A most excellent man stirring vp the Iewes to the exercise of vertue Hee addeth also that partly for feare of the great concourse of people which flocked vnto him and partlie by the solicitation of Herodias concubine and brothers wyfe to Herode Antipas the great Herods sonne for whose cause he had turned off hys owne Wife daughter to Areta King of the Arabians hee was apprehended and imprisoned in the Castle of Acherun and therein soone after put to death Which murder Iosephus esteemed to be the cause of al the misery which insued afterward to Herod and his whole familie Of thys man it was written by Malachie the Prophet Behold I send my messenger or Angel before me he shall prepare the way before my face presently shal com to his temple the RVLER whom ye seeke and the MESSENGER OF THE TESTAMENT whom you desire Which prophecie was fulfilled most euidently vppon the preaching of S. Iohn when Christ came vnto him and albeit S. Iohn had neuer seene him before yet he acknowledged him for the Messias in the presence of infinite people hys acknowledgment was confirmed by the visible descending of a Doue voice from heauen in the sight hearing of all the people present according as three of our Euangelists doe report Which they would neuer haue presumed to doe had not the matter been most euident and without al compasse of deniall or contradiction And truely no one thing in all this storie of Iesus life doth more establish the certaintie of hys beeing the true Messias then that S. Iohn Baptist whose wisedome learning vertue and rare sanctitie is confessed and recorded by the writings of all our aduersaries should refuse the honour of the Messias offered vnto himselfe and lay it vpon Iesus as also shoulde direct those Disciples that depended vpon him to the onely folowing and embracing of Iesus doctrine Which is most euidently prooued that hee did for that so many folowers and disciples as himselfe had not one appeared euer after that was not a Christian. When Iesus was baptised he began to preache and his whole doctrine was directed to the manifestation of hys Fathers will and amendment of mans life It tendeth all to thys one ground and principle Thou shalt loue the Lord thy God with all thy soule thy Neighbour as thy selfe It was plaine easie perspicuous and euident though it treated of most high misteries It had neither pompe nor pryde of rethoricall words nor flattering of mans wickednes as the doctrine of manie Phylosophers had Neyther consisted it of vnprofitable externall ceremonies as the later obseruations of the Iewish Lawe dyd nor was it fraught wyth carnalitie and spirit of thys world as the Turkish Alcoran and other sectaries doctrine is But all was simplicitie all was spirit all was trueth al was honestie all was humilitie all was charitie It tooke away or dysanulled no one perfect or spirituall poynt of Moses Lawe but rather reuiued interpreted fulfilled and made perfect the same For whereasâ— that coÌ„maunded externall obseruaunce this addeth also internall obedience Whereas that sayd loue your freendes thys adioyneth loue also your enemies Whereas that commaunded we should not kyll thys further commaundeth to speake no angry words Wheras that prohibited to commit actuall adulterie thys also forbiddeth to couet in minde Whereas that sayd take no interest or vsurie of a Iewe that is thy Countriman thys fayth take it of no man whatsoeuer Wheras that accounted euery Iewe onely to be thy neighbour thys teacheth euery person liuing to be thy brother Whereas that taught thee to offer vp a Calfe a Sheepe or an Oxe for thy sinnes thys instructeth thee to offer vp a contrite hart by fayth in the bloode of hym that died for all with a firme and resolute purpose of amendement of life And finally thys doctrine tendeth wholy to the true sincere and perfect seruice of GOD thy Lord that made and redeemed thee to the exaltation of hys onely name power goodnes and glorie to the depression of mans pryde by discouering his misery to the contempt of this world vaine pompe thereof to the mortification and subduing of our sensual appetite to the true loue vnfayned charitie of our neighbour to
subiect to the corruption pryde vanitie or ambition of this life as other prophane and Heathen writers were and theyr deathes for the most part offered vppe in holy martyrdom for defence of that truth which they had preached and wrytten as appeareth in Esay that was sawed in peeces by K. Manasses in Ieremie that was stoned to death by the common people in Ezechiell that was slayne by the Captaine of the Iewes at Babylon in Amos whose braines were beaten out by Amasias the wicked idolatrous Priest in Bethel in Micheas whose necke was broken by Ioam sonne to King Achab in Zacharias that was slayne at the Altar and the like And thys for the Prophets of later times among the Iewes But nowe if wee consider the first Prophet of all that wrote among that people I meane Moses that was not onlie a Prophet but also an Hystoriographer a Law-gyuer a Captaine and a Priest the first that euer reduced that people to a common-wealth and the first that put their acts and gestes in wryting or rather the acts and gestes of the Almightie GOD towardes them thys man I say if wee consider him onelie I meane the circumstaunces of hys person the Iewe thinketh thys a sufficient motiue to make any man of reason beleeue what soeuer hee hath left written in the Bible without further confirmation And first for his antiquitie I haue spoken before and the Heathens doe confesse and for myracles doone by him the greatest enemies that euer he had in the worlde that is Appion in hys fourth Booke against the Iewes and Porphirie in his fourth booke against Christians do acknowledge them Porphirie adioyneth more for proofe heereof that he found the same confirmed by the storie of one Saconiathon a Gentile who lyued as he sayth at the same tyme with Moses But what all those myracles saie they were doone by Arte-magick and not by the power of GOD as Moses boasted But then asketh them the Iewe where Moses a sheepehearde could learne so much Magicke or why coulde not the Magitians of Pharao whose studie was in that profession from theyr infancie eyther doe the like or at least wise deliuer themselues from the plagues of Egypt why did they cry out the finger of God is heere where did you euer heare of such workes doone by Magicke as Moses did when he deuided the redde Sea when hee called into his Campe so manie Quayles vppon the suddaine as suffised to feede sixe hundred thousande men besides women children When he made a rock to yeeld forth a fountaine when he caused a dewe to fall from heauen that nourished his whole Campe for fortie yeres together whē he caused the ground to open and swallowe downe aliue three of the richest noble men of all hys Armie together with their Tabernacles and all other bagges and baggage When he caused a fire to com from heauen and consume fiftie Gentlemen of the former rebels and adherents without hurting anie one that stood about them These things dyd Moses and many other in the sight of all his Armie that is in the sight of many hundred thousande people among which there were diuers his emulators and sworne enemies as by the storie and scripture it selfe appeareth Core Dathan and Abiron with theyr faction sought in all things to dysgrace him and to diminish hys credite and therfore if any one poynt of the myracles had beene reproueable Moses woulde neuer haue durst to put the same in wryting nor would the people haue stoode with him and much lesse haue receiued hys wrytinges for diuine and for Gods owne wordes beeing solicited against him by so potent meanes had not they knowne all things to be most true therein contayned had seene his strange myracles and familiaritie with God But he dealt plainely and simply in thys behalfe hee wrote the thinges of his owne dooings which euerie man present did know to be true and of Gods speeches and communications to himselfe he wrote so much as he was commaunded whereof both God and his conscience did beare him witnesse Hee caused the whole to bee read vnto the people and layde vppe in the sacred Arke and Tabernacle as Gods owne wryting and couenant with that Nation He caused al the whole Armie to sweare and vowe the obseruaunce thereof And then drawing towards his death he made a most excellent exhortation vnto them perswading them sincerelie to the seruice of theyr God and confessing his owne infirmities and howe for hys offences he was to die before theyr entrance into the Land of promise He concealed not the offence of hys Brother Aaron of hys Graund-father Leuie of hys Sister Marie and other of hys kindred as worldly Princes for theyr honours are wont to doe neyther did he goe about to bring in gouernmēt after hys decease any one of his owne sons which is greatly to be obserued notwythstanding he left behinde him goodly Gentlemē fit for that roome himself of power to place them if he had endeuoured but he left the gouernment to a stranger named Iosua as God had commaunded him All which things saith the Iew do proue sufficientlie that Moses was no man of ambition or of worldly spirit but a true Seruaunt of God and consequentlie that hee wrought not by Magicke or falshood but by the onely power of hys Lorde and Maister and that hys writinges are true and of the same authoritie that in hys life and death he affirmed them to bee that is the vndoubted worde of Almightie God THE FOVRTH PROOFE OF SCRIPTVRES THys hee confirmeth yet further by a fourth reason which is the consent and approbation of all later writers of the Bible that ensued after Moses For as among prophane wryters of worldly spirite it is a common fashion for hym that followeth to reprehende the former to hunt after praise by hys auncetours disgrace so in these writers of the Bible it is a most certaine argument that al were guided by one spirit from GOD that in continuaunce of so many ages and thousand yeeres no one yet euer impugned the other but alwaies the later supposing and approouing the former for true doth builde thereupon as vpon a sure foundation So the writings of Iosua do confirme and approue the writings of Moses and the recordes of the Iudges doe reuerence allowe the booke of Iosua The storie of the Kings and Chronicles dooth referre it selfe to the storie of Iudges One Prophet confirmeth another And finally Christ approoueth them all by the knowne diuision of the Lawe Psalmes and Prophets which is a demonstration that all their spirits agreed in one And thus hetherto hath been declared the foure considerations that are external or without the Bible to wit the antiquitie and continuaunce of the Scriptures the maner of their writing and preseruing from corruption the sinceritie vertue and simplicity of theyr writers together with theyr
of hys descendents offended God more greeuously theÌ„ euer did Saul who was put out before and albeit ten Trybes at once brake from Iuda and neuer returned to obedience agayne but conspired wyth the Gentiles and other enemies on euerie side to extinguish the said kingdome regimeÌ„t of Iuda yet for the fulfilling of this prophecie the gouernment of Iuda held out styll for more then a thousand two hundred yeeres together vntyll Herods tyme as I haue alreadie saide which is more then any one familie in the worlde besides can shew for his nobilitie or continuaunce in gouernment The prophecie for the greatnesse of Ephraim aboue Manasses THE same Iacob when he came to blesse hys little Nephewes Manasses Ephraim that were Iosephs children though himselfe were nowe dimme of sight and coulde not well discerne them yet did hee put hys right hande vpon the heade of the younger and hys left hande vppon the elder and that of purpose as it prooued afterwarde For when Ioseph theyr father misliked the placing of theyr Graund-fathers handes and woulde haue remooued the right hand from Ephraim haue placed it vpon the head of Manasses that was the elder brother Iacob woulde not suffer him but aunswered I knowe my sonne I knowe that Manasses is the elder he shal be multiplied into many people but yet his younger brother shall be greater then hee Which afterwarde was fulfilled for that Ephraim was alwaies the greater stronger Trybe and in fine became the heade of the kingdome of Israel or of the ten Tribes wherof there was no suspition or likelihood when Iacob spake thys or when Moses recorded it And howe then came Iacob to fore-see this so many hundred yeres before as also to fore-see and fore-tell the particuler places of his childrens habitations in the land of promise as Zabulon at the sea side Aser in the fertile pastures and other the lyke that fell out by casting lots after foure hundered yeeres and more Wherehence had he thys I say to fore-tell what lots so long after should appoint but onely from GOD who gouerned theyr lots The fore-sight of Moses THE like may be asked concerning Moses who before his death in the desert deuided out the Lande of Canaan to euerie Tribe euen as though he had beene in possession thereof and as afterward it fell out by casting of lottes as in the booke of Iosua it dooth appeare And could any humaine wit or science thinke you fore-see what eache Trybe shoulde attaine after his death by drawing of lottes Againe the same Moses fore-saw and fore-tolde in publique hearing of all the people howe in times to com long after hys death the Iewes shoulde forsake God and for theyr sinnes be cast into manie banishments and finally be forsaken and the Gentiles receiued in theyr roome as indeede it came to passe And whence trowe you could he learne thys but from God alone The prophecie for the perpetuall desolation of Iericho IN the Booke of Iosua there is a curse laid vpon the place where Iericho stood and vppon whatsoeuer person should goe about to rebuilde the same to wit That in his eldest sonne he should lay the foundations and in his youngest sonne should he build the gates therof which is to say that before the foundations were laide and gates builded he shold be punished with the death of all his chyldren Which thing was fulfilled almost fiue hundered yeeres after in one Hiel who presumed vnder wicked King Achab to rebuilde Iericho again and was terrified from the same by the suddaine death of Abiram and Segul his children as the booke of kings reporteth according to the words of the Lord which he had spoken in the hande of Iosua the sonne of Nun. And since that time to thys no man eyther Iewe or Gentile hath taken vpon him to rayse againe the saide Cittie albeit the situation be most pleasant as by relation of stories Geographers appeareth The prophecie for the byrth and acts of Iosias IN the thyrde Booke of Kings it is recorded that when Ieroboam had withdrawn tenne Trybes from the obedience of Roboam King of Iuda to the end they might neuer haue occasion to reunite themselues againe to Iuda by theyr going to sacrifice in Ierusalem as by the Law they were appointed he builded for them a goodly gorgious high Altar in Bethel and there commanded them to doe theyr deuotions And when he was one day there present himselfe and offering his incense vppon the said Altar and all the people looking on there came a man of God saith the scripture and stoode before the Altar cryed out aloude spake these wordes O Altar Altar this sayth the Lord behold a childe shall be borne of the house of Dauid whose name shall be Iosias and hee shall saâ—rifice vpon thee these idolatrous priestes that nowe burne francumsense vpon thee and he shall burne the bones of men vpon thee Thus spake that man of God in the presence hearing of all the people more then three hundred yeres before Iosias was borne and it was registred presently according to the manner of that tyme which I haue noted before wyth the same were registred also the miracles which happened about that fact as that the Altar cleft into vppon the mans words and Ieroboam extending out hys hand to apprehende him lost presentlie the vse and feeling therof vntill it was restored againe by the sayde holy mans prayers who notwithstanding for that he disobeyed Gods commaundement in hys returne and eate wyth a Prophet of Samaria which was forbidden him he was slaine in hys vvaie home-warde by a Lyon and hys bodie vvas brought backe againe and buried in Bethel nygh the said Altar amongst the sepulchers of those Idolatrous Priests of that place but yet with a superscription vpon hys Tombe contayning his name and what had happened There passed three hundred yeeres and Iosias was borne and came to raigne in Iuda and one day comming to Bethell to ouerthrowe the Altar and to destroy the sepulchers of those Idolatrous Priestes that had beene buried in that place when hee began to break theyr Tombes he found by chance the sepulcher of the sayd man of God wyth the superscription vpon it By which superscription and relation of the Cittizens of Bethell when he perceiued that it was the Sepulcher of him that had foretolde hys byrth his name and his dooings so many hundred yeeres before he was borne he let the same stande vntouched as the fourth Booke of Kings dooth declare Now consider whether among any people in the world but only among the Iewes there were euer any such prophecie so certaine so particuler so long fore-tolde before the time so exactly fulfilled But yet the holy scriptures are full of the like and tyme permitteth me onely to touch some fewe of the principall The prophecie for the destruction of
Salomon that was Dauids sonne and in some sense they may so be for that King Salomon was a figure of Christ to come yet properly these words and his kingdome shall stand for euer and for all eternitie which are so often repeated in this and other places of Scripture cannot be verified in Salomon whose earthly Kingdome was rent and torne in peeces straight way after his death by Ieroboam and not long after as it were extinguishedâ— but they must needes be vnderstoode of an â—ternall king which shold come of Dauids seede as must also these other words of God in the Psalmes Thou art my Sonne thys daie haue I begotten thee I wil giue vnto thee the Gentiles for thyne inheritaunce Which was neuer fulfilled in Salomon nor in any other temporall King in Iurie after hym And much lesse these wordes which follow He shall endure with the sunne and before the moone from generation to generation There shall rise vppe in his daies peace vntil the moone be taken awaie he shall raigne from Sea to Sea vnto the endes of the world All Kings shall adore him and all Nations shal serue him for that hee shall deliuer the poore man that had no helper he shall saue their soules and delyuer them from vsurie and from iniquitie all trybes of the earth shal be blâ—ssed in him and all Nations shall magnifie him These words of Chrisâ—es eternal kingdom of hys enduring to the worldes end of hys vniuersall raigne ouer Iewe and Gentile of hys adoration by all Nations of hys deliuery of soules from bondage of iniquitie and finally of hys making blessed all Trybes of the earth cannot possibly be applyed to any temporall King that euer was among the Iewes or euer shall be vnto the worldes end but onely Christ. IEREMIES PROPHECIE OF CHRIST THIS promise made vnto Dauid for Christ to come of hys seede is repeated after hys death by many Prophets and confirmed by God as in Ieremie vvhere God vseth these wordes Beholde the dayes come on and I will raise vppe to Dauid a iust seede and he shall raigne a King and shall be wise and shall doe iudgment and iustice vppon earth And in his daies shall Iuda be saued Israel shal dwel considently and this is the name that men shall call him OVR IVST GOD. All this was spokeÌ„ of Dauids seede aboue foure hundred yeeres after Dauid was dead Which proueth manifestly that the former promises speeches were not made to King Dauid for Salomon hys sonne or for any other temporall King of Dauids lyne but for Christ who was called so perticulerlie The sonne and seede of Dauid for that Dauid was the first King of the Trybe of Iuda and not onely was Christes Progenitour in the fleshe but also did beare his type and figure in many other things EZECHIELS PROPHECIE OF CHRIST FOR which cause likewise in the Prophet Ezechiell who liued about the same time that Ieremie did the Messias is called by the name of Dauid himselfe For thus God spake at that tyme vnto Ezechiell I will saue my flocke nor shall they be any longer left to the spoyle c. I wil raise ouer them ONE PASTOR which shall feede them my seruant DAVID he shall feede them and hee shall be theyr Sheepehearde and Prince and I will be their God and will make with them a couenaunt of peace c. In which words not onely we that are called Christians but the later Iewes also themselues doe confesse in their Thalmud that theyr Messias is called by the name of Dauid for that hee shall discend of the seede of Dauid as by reason also it must needes be so for that King Dauid beeing deade foure hundred yeeres before these wordes were spoken as hath beene noted coulde not now come againe to feede Gods people or gouerne them himselfe THE PROPHECIES OF ESAY TOVCHING CHRIST ESay the Prophet who liued about a hundred yeeres before Ieremie and Ezechiel had meruailous fore-knowledge of the Messias and hys affayres and describeth him verie perticulerly beginning in thys manner In the latter daies the HILL of Gods house shall be prepared vppon the toppe of mountaines and all Nations or Gentiles shall flowe vnto him And many people shall saie come and let vs ascende vnto the HILL of our Lorde and he shall teach vs his waies and we shall walk in his pathes he shall iudge Nations c. Which very words are also repeated in Micheas the Prophet are applyed there as also here vnto the Messias can haue no other meaning by the iudgment of the Iewes and Hebrues themselues And Esay doth prosecute the same matter afterwards in diuers Chapters As for example in the fourth talking of the same Messias which before he called the HIL of Gods house he addeth these words In that day shal the issue of the Lord be in magnificence and glorie and the fruite of the earth in sublimitie and exultation to all such as shall be saued of Israell In which words he calleth the Messias bothe the issue of God and the fruite of the earth for that he should be both God and man And in the ninth Chapter he calleth him by these termes Admirable Counsâ—llour God Strong Father of the future world and Prince of Peace In the eleuenth chapter he describeth him most wonderfully in these wordes There shall goe forth a braunche of the stocke of Iesse which Iesse was Dauids father and out of the roote of that braunch therâ— shall mount vppe a flower and the spirit of the Lord shall rest vppon him the spirit of wisedome and of vnderstanding the spirit of councell fortitude the spirit of knowledge and pietie he shall not iudge according to the sight of fleshly eyes nor yet condemne according to the hearing of fleshlie eares but hee shall iudge poore men in iustice and shall dispute in equitie for the mylde men of the earth He shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth and with the spirit of his lyps shall he sley the wicked man Iustice shal be the girdle of his loynes and faith shall be the bande of his reynes c. Hetherto are the wordes of the Prophet wherin truely nothing can be more plaine and euident then that by the rodde or branche of Iâ—sse is meant the Virgine Marie who directly discended of the linage of Iesse and by the flower ascending froÌ„ this branch must needes be vnderstood Christ that was borne of her and had all those excellencies and priuiledges aboue other men which Esay in thys place assigneth vnto him Whose further graces yet and speciall diuine properties the same Prophet expresseth more particulerly in the Chapters following where he sayth Hee shall for euer ouerthrowe and destroy death he shall open the eyes of the blynde and the eares of the deafe he shall not cry nor contâ—nde nor shall he accept the person of
of Israell or rather setting downe many thinges in more plaine euident speech then did the other the one of them beginning her Greek meeter in these very words Know thy God which is the sonne of God c. An other of them maketh a whole discourse of Christ in Greeke verses called Accrostichi for that the beginning of euerie verse is by some Letter appointed in order forth of some one sentence that runneth through the whole As for example the sentence that passed through the beginning of those verses which nowe vvee talke of was thys Iesus Christ Sonne of God Sauiour Crosse. And there were so many verses in the whole discourse as there are Letters in thys sentence The totall argument beeing of the incarnation life death glorie and iudgement of the Sonne of God And the last two verses of all the meeter are thus He that hath beene heere described by our Accrostike verses is an immortall Sauiour and a King that must suffer for our sinnes And for that these prophecies of the Sibylls are of meruailous importaunce to confirme the veritie of our Christian Religion and are alleaged often for that purpose by the most graue and learned Fathers of the primatiue Church as for example by Iustinê° the Martyr in hys Apologie for Christians by Origen against Celsus by Arnobius his Scholler Lactantius against Gentiles by S. Cyril against Iulian the Apostata by S. Augustine in hys Cittie of God by Eusebius and Constantine the Emperor and other I will say som-what in this place for the authoritie and credite of these verses least any man perhaps might imagine as some Gentiles in olde tyme would seeme to doe that they were deuised or inuented by Christians And the most of my proofes shal be out of a learned Oration written in Latine by the afore-said Emperour to a Councell of Prelates in his daies wherein hee endeuoureth to shew the vndoubted authoritie of these Sibyll prophecies which he esteemed so much after dilligent searche made for theyr credite sinceritie as they seeme to haue beene a great cause of hys constant zeale and feruour in Christianitie The first proofe for credite of the Sibylls verses FYrst then he sheweth that these predictions of the Sibylls could not be deuised or fayned by Christians or made after the tyme of Christes natiuitie for that Marcus Varro a most learned Romaine who lyued almost a hundred yeeres before Christ maketh mention at large of the Sibylls who in number he saith were ten and of theyr wrytings Countries ages as also of the wryters and Authors that before his tyme had left memory of them And both he and Fenestella an other Heathen doe affirme that the wrytinges of these Sibylls were gathered by the Romaines from all parts of the world where they might be heard of and layde vppe with dilligence and great reuerence in the Capitole vnder the charge and custodie of the High Priest other Officers in such sorte as no man might see or reade them but onely certaine Magistrates called the Fiftine and much lesse might any man come to falsifie or corrupt them The second proofe SEcondly he sheweth that Sibylla Erithraea who made the former Acrostike verses of Christ testifieth of her selfe that shee lyued about sixe hundred yeeres after the flud of Noe and her Countriman Apollidorus Erithraeus and Varro doe report that shee lyued before the warre of Troy and prophecied to the Grecians that went to that warre that Troy should be destroyed Which was more then a thousande yeeres before Christ was borne Cicero also that was slaine more then fortie yeeres before Christes natiuitie translated into Latine the former Acrostike verses as CoÌ„stantine saith which translation was to be seene in his workes when Constantine wrote thys Oration so that by no meanes they could be deuised or brought in by Christians The thyrde proofe THyrdlie he sheweth that the same Cicero in dyuers places of his works besides the mention of these Acrostike verses insinuateth also an other prophecie of Sibylla touching a Kyng that should ryse ouer al the world where-with hymselfe the Romans were greatly troubled and therefore in one place after a long inuectiue against his enemie Anthonie that wold seeme to giue credite to that Prophecie or rather as Cicero doth vrge against him would haue had the same fulfilled in Iulius Caesar he concludeth thus Let vs deale with the Prelates of our religion to alleage anie one thing rather out of the Bookes of Sibylla then a KING whom neyther the Gods nor yet men can suffer heereafter to be in Rome The like prophecie of Sibylla touching a King is insinuated by the same Cicero in hys first booke of Epistles to Lentulus to wit that when the Romans should restore a Kyng in Egypt by force then shoulde ensue the vniuersall Kyng that shold be Lorde ouer Romans and all other Which prophecie being much vrged by Cato the Tribune against the restoring of Ptolomaeus Auletes late King of Egypt that for hys euil gouernment was expulsed by hys subiects the matter was thought of such weight by al the Roman Senate â— meane the sequell of thys prophecie that whereas otherwise for manie respects they were greatly inclined to haue restored the sayde Ptolomie yet in regard of thys Religion as they called it they changed theyr mindes But what coulde they alter by thys the determination of God No truely for soone after Kyng Ptolomie perceiuing the Senatours mindes to be altered fled secretlie from Rome to one Gabiniê° that was Gouernour of Syria and for fyue Millions of Gold that he promised him he was by the force of Gabinius restored not long after was Christ borne according to the meaning of the Sibyll prophecie The fourth proofe FOurthly the sayd Emperour Constantine prooueth the authoritie of these Sibylls verses for that Augustus Caesar before our Sauiour Christ was borne had such regarde of them that hee layde them vppe in more straighter order then before according as Suetonius a Heathen in hys lyfe reporteth vnder the Aultar of Apollo in the hyll Palatine where no man might haue the sight of them but by speciall lycence which lycence Constantine prooueth that Virgill the Poet had for that he was in high fauour with Augustus And therefore in a certaine Eclogue or composition of verses that hee made in prayse of a young chylde named Saloninus newely borne to Asinius Pollio Augustus great freende or as other take it of Marcellus a little boy that was Nephew to Augustus by his sister Octauia or rather of theÌ„ both for adulation of Augustus hee applyeth I say to one or both of these young Infants the whole prophecie which hee had read in the verses of Sibylla touching the birth of Christ of the peace grace golden world that should come with him Vpon which subiect he beginneth thus Vltima Cumaei venit
was a terror to Iesus at hys returne from Egipt fell also by Gods iustice into meruailous calamities For first beeing left as king by hys father Augustus woulde not allowe or ratifie that succession but of a king made hym a Tetrarch assigning vnto hym onelie the fourth part of that dominion which hys Father had before And then again after nine yeeres space tooke that away in like maner wyth the greatest dishonour hee coulde deuise seazing vpon all hys treasure and riches by way of confiscation and condemning hys person to perpetuall banishment wherein he died most miserably in Vienna in France Not long after thys the seconde sonne of Herod the first named Herod Antipas Tetrarch of Galilie who put S. Iohn Baptist to death and scorned Iesus before hys passion whereat bothe hymselfe and Herodias hys Concubine were present was deposed also by Caius the Emperour beeing accused by Agrippa hys neerest kinseman most conâ—umeliously sent in exile first to Lyons in Fraunce and after that to the most deserte and inhabitable places in Spayne where he wyth Herodias wandered vppe and downe in extreame calamitie so long as they liued and finally ended theyr dayes abandoned of all men In which miserie also it is recorded that the dauncing Daughter of Herodias who had in her iolitie demaunded Iohn Baptists heade beeing on a certaine time enforced to passe ouer a frozen Riuer suddainely the Ise brake and shee in her fall had her heade cut off by the same Ise without hurting the rest of her bodie to the great admiration of all the lookers on The like euent had another of Herods familie named Herod Agrippa the accuser of the fore-named Herod the Tetrarch who in hys great glory and tryumph hauing put to death S. Iames the brother of S. Iohn Euangelist imprisoned S. Peter was soone after in a publique assembly of Princes and Nobles at Caesaria striken from heauen with a most horrible disease whereby hys bodie putrified and was eaten wyth vermine as both S. Luke recordeth and Iosephus affirmeth And the same Iosephus with no small meruaile in himselfe declareth that at the very same time when hee wrote hys storie which was about three-score and ten yeeres after the death of Herod the first the whole progenie and of-spring kindred and familie of the sayd Herod which he sayth was exceeding great by reason he had many wiues together wyth many children brothers and sisters besides Nephewes and kinse-folke were al extinguished in most miserable sort and gaue a testimonie saith Iosephus to the world of the most vain confidence that men doe put in humaine felicitie And as the punishments lighted openly vppon Iesus professed enemies in Iurie so escaped not all the Romaines theyr chastisement I meane such as especially had theyr hands in persecution of him or of his folowers after him For first of Pontius Pilate that gaue sentence of death against him we read that after great disgrace receiued in Iurie he was sent home into Italie and there by manifest dis-fauours shewed vnto him by the Emperour his Maister fell into such desperation as he slew himselfe with his owne hands And secondly of the very Emperours themselues who liued from Tyberius vnder whoÌ„ Iesus suâ—fered vnto Constantine the great vnder whom Christian Religion tooke dominion ouer the world which contained the space of three hundred yeeres very fewe or none escaped the manifest scourges of Gods dreadfull iustice shewed vpon them at the knytting vppe of theyr dayes For examples sake Tyberius that permitted Christians to liue freely and made a Lawe against theyr molestation as before hath beene shewed died peaceably in his bedde But Caligula that followed him for his contempt shewed against all diuine power in making himselfe a God was soone after murdered by the coÌ„sent of hys deerest freendes Nero also who first of all other beganne persecution against the Christians wythin few moneths after he had put S. Peter S. Paul to death in Rome hauing murthered in like manner his owne Mother Brother Wife and Maister was vpon the suddaine from his glorious estate and maiestie throwne downe into such horrible distresse and confusion in the sight of all men as being condemned by the Senate to haue hys head thrust into a Pyllerie and there most ignominiously to be whypped to death was constrained for auoyding the execution of that terrible sentence to massacre hymselfe with hys owne handes by the assistance of such as were dearest vnto him The like may be shewed in the tragicall endes of Galba Otho Vitellius Domitian Commodus Pertinax Iulian Marcinus Antoninus Alexander Decius Gallê° Volutianus AEmilianus Valerianus Galienus Caius Carinus Maximianus Maxentius Lucinius and others Whose miserable deathes a Noble man Councellour well neere one thousande yeeres past did gather against Zosimus a Heathen writer to shewe thereby the power-full hand of Iesus vpon hys enemies adding furthermore that since the time of Constantine whiles Emperours haue beene Christians fewe or no such examples can be shewed except it bee vppon Iulian the Apostata Valens the Arrian heretique or some other of like detestable and notorious wickednesse And thus much of particular men chastised by Iesus But if we desire to haue a full example of hys iustice vppon a whole Nation together let vs consider what befell Ierusalem and the people of Iurie for theyr barbarous crueltie practised vpon him in hys death passion And truely if we beleeue Iosephus Philo the Iewish Historiographers who lyued eyther wyth Christ or immediatly after hym it can hardly be expressed by the tongue or penne of man what insufferable calamities and miseries were inflicted to that people presently vpon the ascention of Iesus by Pilate theyr Gouernor vnder Tyberius the Emperour and then againe by Petronius vnder Caligula and after that by Cumanus vnder Claudius and lastlie by Festus and Albinus vnder Nero. Through whose cruelties that Nation was enforced finally to rebell and take Armes against the Romaine Empire which was the cause of theyr vtter ruine and extirpation by Tytus and Vespasian At what time besides the ouerthrow of their Cittie burning of theyr Temple and other infinite distresses which Iosephus an eye-witnes protesteth that no speeche or discourse humaine can declare The same Authour likewise recordeth eleuen hundred thousand persons to haue been slaine and foure-score and seauenteen thousande taken aliue who were eyther put to death afterward in publique tryumphes or sold openly for bond-slaues into all parts of the world And in thys vniuersall calamitie of the Iewish Nation beeing the most notorious and greeuous that euer happened to people or nation before or after them for the Romaines neuer practised the like vpon others it is singulerly to be obserued that in the same tyme and place in which they had put Iesus to death before that is in the feast of the Paschal when theyr whole Nation