haue sworne to Dauid my Seruaunt I will prepare thy seed from eternity and wil builde vp thy seate to al generations Which words albeit the latter Iewes wil apply it to King Salomon that was Dauids sonne and in some sence they may so be for that King Salomon was a figure of Christ to come yet properly these wordes And his kingdome shall stand for euer and for all eternitie which are so often repeated in thys other places of the Scripture cannot be verified in Salomon whose earthly kingdom was rent and torne in peeces straight after hys death by Ieroboam and not long after as it were extinguished but they must needes be vnderstood of an eternall King which should come of Dauids seede as must also these other wordes of GOD in the Psalmes Thou art my sonne this day haue I begotten thee I will giue vnto thee the Gentiles for thine inheritaÌ„ce Which was neuer fulfilled in Salomon nor in any other temporall King in Iurie after him And much lesse these words which follow He shall endure with the sunne and before the Moone from generation to generation There shall ryse vp in his daies peace vntill the Moone be taken away he shal raigne from sea to sea vnto the ends of the world all kinges shall adore him and all Nations shall serue him for that hee shall deliuer the poore man that had no helper he shall saue theyr soules and deliuer them from vsurie from iniquitie all Trybes of the earth shall be blessed in him and all Nations shall magnifie him These words of Christes eternall kingdome of hys enduring to the worlds end of his vniuersal raigne ouer Iewe and Gentile of his adoration by all Nations of his deliuerie of soules from bondage of iniquitie and finally of hys making blessed all trybes of the earth cannot possibly be applied to any temporall King that euer was among the Iewes or euer shall be vnto the worlds end but onely Christ. Ieremies Prophecie of Christ. THIS promise made vnto Dauid for Christ to come of hys seede is repeated after his death by many Prophets and confirmed by GOD as in Ieremie where God vseth these words Behold the dayes come on and I wil rayse vp to Dauid a iust seede he shal raigne a king and shal be wise and shal doe iudgement and iustice vpon earth And in his dayes shal Iuda be saued and Israell shall dwell confidently and this is the Name that men shall call him OVR IVST GOD. All thys was spoken of Dauids seede aboue four hundred yeeres after Dauid was buried Which proueth manifestly that the former promises and speeches were not made to King Dauid for Salomon hys sonne or for anie other temporal King of Dauids line but for Christ who was called so particulerly The son seede of Dauid for that Dauid was the first King of the Trybe of Iuda and not onely was Christes Progenitor in the flesh but also did beare hys tipe figure in many other things Ezechiels prophecie of Christ. FOR which cause likewise in the Prophet Ezechiell who lyued about the same tyme y t Ieremie did the Messias is called by the name of Dauid himselfe for thus GOD spake at that time vnto Ezechiel I wil saue my flocke nor shal they be any longer left to the spoyle c. I will rayse ouer them ONE PASTOR which shall feede them my seruaunt DAVID he shal feede them he shall be theyr sheepheard Prince and I will be theyr God will make with them a couenaunt of peace c. In which words not onely we that are called Christians but the latter Iewes also themselues doe confesse in theyr Thalmud that their Messias is called by the name of Dauid for that he shall discend of the seede of Dauid as by reason also it must of necessity be so for that King Dauid beeing dead four hundred yeres before these wordes were spoken as hath beene noted could not nowe come againe to feede Gods people or gouerne them himselfe The Prophecies of Esay touching Christ. ESay the Prophet who lyued about a hundred yeeres before Ieremie and Ezechiel had meruailous fore-knowledge of the Messias and hys affayres and describeth him very particulerly beginning in thys manner In the latter daies the HIL of Gods house shall be prepared vppon the toppe of Mountaines and all Nations or Gentiles shall flowe vnto him And many people shall say come and let vs ascend vnto the HIL of the Lord and he shall teach vs his waies and we shall walke in his pathes hee shall iudge Nations c. Which very words are also repeated in Michaeas the Prophet and are applyed there as also heere vnto the Messias and can haue no other meaning by the iudgement of the Iewes Hebrues themselues And Esay dooth prosecute the same matter afterwardes in dyuers 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 glory and the fruite of the earth in sublimitie and exultation to all such as shal be saued of Israell In which words he calleth the Messias both 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 Counseller God Strong Father of the future world and Prince of peace In the eleuenth Chapter hee describeth him most wonderfully in these words There shall goe foorth a branch of the stocke of Iesse which Iesse was Dauids father and out of the roote of that branch there shall mount vp a flower and the Spirite of the Lord shal rest vpon him the spirite of wisdome of vnderstanding the spirit of counsell and fortitude the spirite of knowledge pietie he shal not iudge according to the sight of fleshlie 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 milde men of the earth Hee shal strike the earth with the rodde of his mouth and with the spirite of his lyps shal he sley the wicked man Iustice shall be the girdle of his loynes and fayth shall bee the bande of hys reynes c. Hetherto are the wordes of the Prophet wherin truely nothing can be more plaine euident then that by the rod or branch of Iesse is meant the Virgine Marie who directly discended of the linage of Iesse by the flower ascending froÌ„ this branche must needes be vnderstoode Christ that was borne of her and had all those excellencies and priuiledges aboue other men which Esay in this place assigneth vnto him Whose further grâ—ces yet speciall diuine properties the same Prophet expresseth more particulerly in the Chapters following where hee sayth Hee
and theyr owne both liues deathes declare that they meant no falshood subiect to the corruption pride vanity or ambition of this life as other prophane and Heathen VVryters were and theyr deathes for the most part offered vp in holy martyrdom for defence of that truth which they had preached and written as appeareth in Esay that was sawed in peeces by King Manasses in Ieremie that was stoned to death by the common people in Ezechiell that was slaine by the Captaine of the Iewes at Babilon in Amos whose braines were beaten outâ— by Amasias the wicked and Idolatrous priest in Bethell in Michaeas whose neck was broken by Ioram sonne to King Achab in Zacharias that was slayne at the Altar and the like And this for the Prophets of the latter times among the Iewes But now if we consider the first Prophet of all that wrote among the people I meane Moses that was not onely a prophet but also an historiographer a Law-gyuer a Captaine a Priest the first that euer reduced that people to a Common-wealth and the first that put theyr acts and gestes in writing or rather the acts and gestes of the almighty God towards them thys man I say if we consider him onely I meane the circumstances of his person the Iâ—we thinketh this a sufficient motiue to make any man of reason beleeue what soeuer he hath left writen in the Bible without further confirmation And first for hys 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 world that is Appion in his fourth booke against the Iewes and Porphyrie in hys fourth booke against Christians doe acknoweledge them and Porphyrie adioyneth more for proofe heereof that he found the same confirmed by the story of one Saconiathon a Gentile who liued as he affirmeth at the same time wyth Moses But what all those myracles say 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 sheepeheard could learne so much Magicke or why could not the Magitians of Pharao whose study vvas in that profession from theyr infancie eyther doe the lyke or at least wise delyuer themselues from the plagues of Egypt why did they cry out The finger of God is heere VVhere did you euer heare of such workes doone by Magick as Moses did when he deuided the Red-sea when he called into his Campe so many Quayles vppon the suddaine as sufficed to feede sixe hundred thousand men besides women and Children VVhen he made a Rocke to yeeld forth a Fountaine when he caused a dewe to fall from heauen that nourished hys whole Campe for forty yeeres together VVhen hee caused the ground to open and swallow down aliue three of the richest Noble men of all hys Army together with their Tabernacles and all other bagges baggage When he caused a fire to come from heauen and consume fiftie Gentlemen of the former Rebels and Adâ—â—rents without hurting any one that stood about them These things did Moses and maâ—y other in the sight of al his Army that is in the sight of manie hundred thousand people amoÌ„g which there were diuers his emulators sworne enemies as by the storie and Scripture it selfe appeareth Core Dathaâ— Abiron with their faction sought in all things to disgrace him and to diminish his credite and therefore if any one point of the miracles had been reproouable Moses would neuer haue durst to put the same in writing nor would the people haue stood with him and much lesse haue receiued his writings for diuine and for Gods own words being solicited against him by so potent means had not they knowne al things to be most true therein contained and had seene his strange myracles and familiaritie with God But he delt plainely and simply in thys behalfe he wrote the things of his owne doings which euery man present did know to be true and of Gods speeches communications to himselfe he wrote so much as hee was commaunded whereof both God and his conscience did beare hym witnesse Hee caused the whole to be read vnto the people and laide vp in the sacred Arke and Tabernacle as Gods owne writing couenant with that Nation He caused all the whole Armie to sweare and vow the obseruaunce thereof And then drawing towards his death he made a most exâ—ellent Exhortation vnto them perswading them sincerelie to the seruice of their God and confessing his owne infirmities and hovv for his offences he was to die before their entrance into the Land of promise Hee concealed not the offence of his brother Aaron of his grandfather Leui of his sister Marie and other of his kindred as worldlye princes for their honors are wont to doo neither did hee goe about to bring in gouernment after hys decease anie one of his owne sonnes which is greatly to bee obserued notwithstanding he left behind him goodly gentlemeÌ„ fit for the roome and himself of power to place them â—f hee had endeuoured but hee left â—he gouernment to a Straunger naâ—ed Iosua as God had commaunded him Al which things saith the Iew do â—rooue sufficiently that Moses was â—o man of ambition or of worldly â—pirit but a true seruant of God and consequently that he wrought not by Magicke or falshood but by the onely power of his Lord Master and that his writings are true and of the same authoritie that in his life death he affirmed them to be that is the vndoubted VVord of Almightie God The fourth proofe of Scriptures THis he confirmeth yet farther by a fourth reason which is the consent approbation of al later VVriters of the Bible that ensued after Moses For as among prophane writers of worldly spirit it is a common fashion for him that foloweth to reprehend the former and to hunt aftâ—r praise by his auncetors disgrace so in these VVriters of the Bible it is a most certaine argument that all wer guided by one Spirit from God that in continuance of so many Ages and thousand yeeres no one yet euer impugned the other but alwaies the latter supporting and approuing the former for true doth buiâ—d therupon as vpon a sure foundation Sâ— the writings of Iosua doo confirmâ— and approue the writings of Moses and the records of the Iudges do reuerence and allow the Booke of Iosâ—a The storie of the Kings Chronicles doth refer it selfe to the storie of Iudges One Prophet confirmeth another And finally Christ approâ—eth them all by the known diuision of the Law Psalmes and Prophets which is a demonstraâ—ion that all â—heir spirits agreed in one And thus hethertoo hath been declared the foure considerations that â—re externall or without the Bible to â—it the antiquitie an continuaunce of the Scriptures the maner of
it seemeth with a certaine spirit of prophecie did vtter from tyme to tyme though in such termes as most Gentiles vnderstoode them not most wonderful particularities of Christ to come agreeing as it were wholy with the Prophets of Israell or rather setting downe many thinges in more plaine euident speech then dyd the other the one of them beginning her Greeke meeter in these very words Knowe 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 euery verse is by some Letter appointed in order foorth of some one sentence that runneth thorow the whole As for example the sentence that passed through the beginning of those verses which nowe we talke of was this Iesus Christ Sonne of God Sauiour Crosse. And there were so many verses in y e whole discourse as there are Letters in this â—entence The totall argument being of the incarnation life death glory iudgement of the sonne of God And y e last two verses of al the meeter are thus He that hath beene heere described by our Accrostick verses is an immortall Sauiour and a King that must suffer for our sinnes And for that these Prophecies of the Sibyls are of meruailous importance to confirme the verity of our Christian Religion and are alledged often for that purpose by the most graue learned Fathers of the Primatiue Church as for example by Iustinus the Martyr in his Apologie for Christians by Origen against Celsus by Arnobius and his scholler Lactantius against the Gentiles by S. Cyrill against Iulian the Apostata by S. Augustine in his booke De ciuitate Deâ— by Eusebius and Constantine the Emperor other I wil say some-what in thys place for the authoritie credite of these verses least any man perhaps might imagine as some Gentiles in olde time would seeme to doe that they were deuised and inuented by Christians And the most of my proofes shall be out of a learned Oration written in Latine by the foresayde Emperour to a Counsel of Prelates in hys dayes wherein he endeuoureth to shew the vndoubted authoritie of these Sibyl prophecies which he esteemed so much after dilligent search made for theyr credite sincerity as they seeme to haue beene a great cause of his constant zeale and feruour in Christianity The first proofe for credite of the Sibyls verses FYrst then hee sheweth that these predictions of the Sibyls coulde not be deuised or fained by Christians or made after the time of Christes natiuity for that Marcus Varro a most learned Romaine who liued almost a hundred yeeres before Christ maketh mention at large of the Sibyls who in number he saith were tenne and of their writings Countries and ages as also of the writers Authors that before hys time had left memory of them And both hee and Fenestella an other Heathen doe affirme that the wrytings of these Sibyls were gathered by the Romaines from all partes of the worlde where they myght be heard of layd vp with diligence and great reuerence in the Capitole vnder the charge and custody of the High Priest and other Officers in such sorte as no man might see or reade them but onely certaine Magistrates called the Fiftine much lesse might any man come to falsifie or corrupt them The second proofe SEcondly he sheweth that Sibylla Erithraea who made the former Accrostike verses of Christ testifieth of herselfe that she liued about sixe hundred yeeres after the floode of Noe her Countriman Apollidorus Erithraeus and Varro doe report that she liued before y e war of Troy and prophecied to the Graecians that went to that war that Troy should be destroied Which was more theÌ„ a 1000. yeres before Christ was borne Cicero also that was slaine more forty yeeres before Christes natiuity translated into Latine the former Accrostike verses as Constantine affirmeth which translation was to be seene in his workes when Constantine wrote this Oration so that by no meanes they could be deuised or brought in by Christians The thyrd proofe THirdly he sheweth that the same Cicero in diuers places of hys works besides the mention of these Accrostike verses insinuateth also an other Prophecie of Sibylla touching a King that should ryse ouer all the world where-with himselfe and the Romans were greatly troubled and therefore in one place after a long inuectiue against hys enemie Anthonie that would seeme to giue credite to that Prophecie or rather as Cicero dooth 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 alledge any one thing rather out of the booke of Sibilla then a King whom neither the Gods nor yet men can suffer hereafter to be in Rome The like prophecie of Sibylla touching a King is insinuated by the same Cicero in his first Booke of Epistles to Lentulus to wit that when the Romaines shoulde restore a King in Egypt by force then shoulde ensue the vniuersall King that should be Lord ouer Romaines and all other Which Prophecie beeing much vrged by Cato the Tribune against the restoring of Ptolomeus Aulates late King of Egypt that for his euill gouernment was expulsed by his subiects y e matter was thought of such weight by all the Romaine Senate I mean the sequel of this Prophecie that wheras otherwise for many respects they were greatly inclined to haue restored the said Ptolomie yet in regard of thys Religion as they called it they changed theyr mindes But what could they alter by thys the determination of God No truelie for soone after King Ptolomie perceiuing the Senators mindes to bee altered fled secretlie from Rome to one Gabinius that was Gouernour of Syria and for fiue Millions of Gold that he promised him he was by the force of Gabinius restored and not long after was Christ born according to the meaning of the Sibyll Prophecie ¶ The fourth proofe FOurthly the said Emperor Constantine prooueth the authoritie of these Sibyls verses for that Augustus Caesar before our Sauior Christ was borne had such regard of them that he laid them vp in more straighter order then before according as Suetonius a Heathen in his life reporteth vnder the Alter of Apollo in the hyll Palatine where no man might haue the sight of them but by speciall licence which licence Constantine prooueth that Virgill the Poet had for that hee was in high fauour with Augustus And therefore in a certaine Eglogue or composition of Verses that he made in praise of a yong child named Saloninus newlie borne to Asinius Pollio Augustus great friend or as other take it of Marcellus a little boy that was Nephew to Augustus by his sister Octauia or rather of them both for adulation of Augustus he applieth I say to one or both of
more and the last biggest of all at whose appearing the Messias should come and builde vp Gods kingdome throughout the whole vvorld Secondly wee see that fulfilled vvhich Esay the Prophet aboue an hundred yeeres before Daniell foretolde that at the comming of Christ people should sit in the beautie in peace And againe there should bee no ende of peace And yet further hee shall be Prince of peace And K. Dauid long before him againe In his daies there shall arise iustice and aboundance of peace Which thing though especiallie it be to be vnderstood of the internal peace tranquillitie of our mindes and soules yet considering that external peace also was necessarie for a time for the quiet planting and publishing of Christes Gospell and seeing that y e same was brought to passe most miraculously vpon the suddain when in reason men might least expect the same for the infinite warres wherein the world a little before had been and by reason of the Romaine Monarchie so freshly established which in their beginnings are wont to be troublesome thys peace I say can not bee but a great argument that this was the proper time of the Messias his comming And thus much for the state of the world in generall And now for the particuler state of Iurie at Iesus natiuity thus it was according as Iosephus the Iew who was borne within fiue yeeres after Christes passion describeth y e same One Herod a stranger whose Father called Antipater came out of Idumaea was risen to acquaintance and fauour with the Romans partlie by his said Fathers meanes who was as Iosephus words are a well monied man industrious and factious and partlie by hys owne diligence and ambition beeing of himselfe both wittie beautifull and of excellent rare qualities By which commendations he came at length to marrie the daughter of Hyrcanus King of Iurie that was descended lineally of the house of Dauid and Tribe of Iuda And by this marriage obtayned of his Father in law to bee Gouernour of the Prouince of Galilie vnder him But Hircanus afterwards falling into the hands of the Parthyans that carried him into Parthya Herod ran away to Rome and there by the special helpe and fauour of Anthonie that ruled in company together with Octauius he obtained to be created King of Iurie without any title or interest in the world For that not onely his said Father in law Hyrcanus was yet aliue in Parthya but also his yonger brother Aristobulus and three of his sonnes named Antigonus Alexander and Aristobulus and diuers other of the blood royall in Iurie Herod then hauing procured by these meanes to be King of Iurie procured first to haue in his handes the fore-said King Hyrcanus and so put him to death he also brought to the same ende his younger brother Aristobulus and his three sons likewise He put to death also his owne wife Mariamnes that was K. Hyrcanus daughter as also Alexandra her Mother and soone after two of his owne sonnes which he had by the said Mariamnes for that they were of the blood royall of Iuda And a little after that again he put to death his thirde sonne named Antipater He caused also to bee slaine at one time fortie of the cheefest noble men of the Trybe of Iuda And as Phylo the Iew writeth that liued at the same time with him he put to death all the Sanhedrin that is the seauentie and two Senatours of the Trybe of Iuda that ruled the people Hee killed the chiefe of the Sect of the Pharisies He burned the Genealogies of all the Kings and Princes of the house of Iuda and caused one Nicholaus Damascenus an Historiographer that was his seruant to drawe out a Petidegree for him and his lyne as though he had discended from the auncient Kings of Iuda Hee translated the High priesthood and solde it to strangers And finallie he so rased dispersed and mangled the house of Iuda as no one iote of gouernment dignitie or principalitie remained therein And when he had done all this then was IESVS of the same house and lyne of Iuda borne in Bethleem the proper Cittie of Dauid which Dauid was the founder and first Author of Regalitie in Iuda Now then consider the prophecie of Iacob concerning the particuler time of Christes appearance almost two thousand yeeres before these things fell out Come hether my chyldren said he that I may tell you the things which are to happen in the latter dayes 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 novv at Christes natiuitie vvhen Herod hâ—d extinguished all gouernment in Iuda no man can denie that will acknowledge the things set downe before which are recorded by Writers both of that time and of the Iewish Nation and Religion themselues And that it neuer vvas fulfilled from Dauids daies who began the gouernment of the house of Iuda vntill this time appeareth plainly by all Histories and Recordes both diuine and prophane For that from Dauid who was the first King vnto Zedechias that vvas the last and died in the captiuitie of Babilon the Scripture sheweth how all the Kings descended from the house of Iuda And during the time of their captiuitie in Babilon which was seauentie yeeres the Iewes were alwaies permitted to chuse themselues a Gouernour of the house of Iuda whom they called RESCHGALVTA And after their deliuerie from Babilon Zorobabel was their Captain of the same Tribe and so others after him vntill you come to the Macchabees who were both Captaines and Priestes for that they were by the Mothers side of the Tribe of Iuda and by the Fathers side of the Tribe of Leui as Rabbi Kimhi holdeth And from these men down to Hircanus and Aristobulus whom Herod slewe there continued stil the same lyne as Iosephus declareth So that by this Prophecie it is euident that Iesus was borne at the proper time appointed for the Messias wheÌ„ there was neither King nor Captain nor High Priest nor Counseller nor any one Gouernour of the house and Trybe 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 their captiuity in Babilon should be destroyed by the Romaines For better vnderstanding whereof it is to be noted that the Temple of Ierusalem was builded twice first by Salomon which lasted about foure hundred and fortie two yeeres and then it was burned and destroied by Nabuchodonozer King of Babilon Wherefore about seauentie yeeres after it was builded againe by Zorobabel who reduced the Iewes from Babilon and so it continued vntil it was destroyed