which are read euery Sabboth day in the Temple After the destruction of the Temple first builded by Salomon the Lord stirred vp Cyrus for the second building of the Temple and to deliuer all the vesselles of golde and siluer which Nabuchodonozer had taken out of the Temple of Ierusalem to be placed againe in the house of the Lord at Ierusalem according to the propâ—… sie of Esay two hundred yeares before Cyrus time After Cyrus Darius and Artaxerxes kings of Persâ—… commaunded in like manner that the Temple which was hindred for a time by meanes of the Samaritans to Cambises and others should be with great diligence bâ—…ded and all the vessels wich king Nabuchodonozer tooâ—… away should be according to Cyrus Darius and Aâ—… erxes three mightie kings of Persia againe restored to Ierusalem Among the Grecians the first day of euery moneth was their Sabboth called among them as among the Iewes Neomenia which they kept most solemnly serued most religiously their gods Among the Romanes the Nones and Ides of euâ—… moneth were their Sabboths and obserued as religious daies on which daies they would commence no batâ—… but as a Sabboth to serue their gods for on the Ides of euery moneth throughout the yeare the Romanes 〈◊〉 great solemnities with diuers sacrifices and religious ceremonies Among the Parthians they obserued the very day that Arsaces ouerthrew Zaleucus to bee theyr Sabboth for that they were restored on that day to theyr libertie by Arsaces which daye they keepe as a religious day and vse great solemnitie in memorie of their libertie The day that Cyrus ouercame the Scythians was one of the Sabboths of the Persians which they call Sacas And an other Sabboth day of the Persians had on the very day that their rebellious Magi were slain that would haue vsurped the kingdome in memory whereof they consecrated a feast called Magophâ—…niah the which day was so solemne a Sabboth among the Persians that it was not lawfull for any of the Magi that day to goe out of his house The victories at Marathon and at Micala ouer the Persians was the Sabboth of the Athenians for among the Heathens the dayes of their victories and triumphs the dayes of their liberties restored and of their feasts were their Sabboths for as it was not lawfull among the Iewes to fight vpoÌ„ the Sabboth day so among the Heathens they straightly obserued their religious dayes as their Sabboth Phillip king of Macedonia vpon the very day that his sonne Alexander was borne got two victories the one was with his Mares in the games of Olympia and the other with his men of armes in Thracia for memorie whereof hee decreed an annuall feast to bee made which was obserued for a Sabboth among the Macedonians The Iewes so obeyed and reuerenced their lawes that they would not breake theyr Sabboth daye in so much that they suffered theyr enemins to kill and ouerthrow them because they would not fight vpon the Sabboth day so did they when they began to build the temple before they would build houses to dwell in or walles to defend them but euery man readie with weapon in one hand for their enemies working with the other hand Nicanor going to strike a fielde with Iud. Machabaeus vppon the Sabboth daye was willed to hallowe the Sabboth who said is there a God mightie in heauen that commands to keepe the Sabboth day and I am mightie on earth that commaund the conâ—…ry but Nicanor lost the battell and his life in the battell and his head his hands and his blasphemous tongue were cut off and hangd on the Pinnacles of the Temple at Ierusalem Nehemias finding some Israelites prophaning the Sabboth day in carrying burthens he tooke them and rebuked them sharply for prophaning of the Sabboth day So straightly the Iewes obserued their lawes that he that gathered but a fewe stickes vpon the Sabboth day was taken and brought to Moses and Moses brought him before the Lorde and sentence of death was giuen vpon him by the Lord for breaking of the Sabboath saying Let him bee stoned to death by the people Such reuerence obedience the Iewes had to Moses lawe that when Alexander the great commaunded the high Priest to aske him whatsoeuer he would haue him to do whereas he might haue had Territories and Countries giuen him hee requested but the liberties and lawes of his Countrey to the poore Iewes that did inhabite within Asia and all the dominions of Alexander So did the Iewes that dwelt in Greece in Asia and in Antioch requested of Zaleucus and Antiochus the great nothing but that they might liue and enioy the benefites of the lawes of their countrey which is the lawe of Moses Neither could the Iewes endure any that would despise theyr lawes for a souldier vnder Cumanus the Romane President for tearing of Moyses bookes in contempt mooued suche sedition that they came armed to Cumanus and claimed to haue iustice executed vpon the souldiers that so despised their law for the tearing of one leafe The like sedition moued an other Romane souldier vpon the feast day of the Iewes by shewing his genitall parts scoffiing and flowting theyr lawes and religion so that Cumanus to satisfie the Iewes put both the Romaines to death to the losse of twentie thousande Iewes by the Romaine Armyes afterwards The Iewes suffered many ouerthrowes most willingly vpon the Sabboth day saying Moriamur omnes because they would resist neither Pompey the great nor Antiochus King of Syria vpon the Sabboth aâ—… the Romaines and the Syrians euer found meaâ—… to fight with the Iewes vppon the Sabboth daye on the which daye Pompey the great tooke Ierusalem Therefore Iud. Machabaeus made a lawe that to fight vppon the Sabboth day in defence of theyr lawes of theyr countreys and of theyr liues was no seruile worke but thought it lawfull to fight vppon the Sabboth daye with Nicanor a blasphemer and an enemie of the Lorde and his Armye and so ouerthrew Nicanor and slew nine thousand of his host so that vpon the Sabboth day any man may do good So Christ aunswered the Israelites for his Disciples beeing accused that they brake the lawe in eating the eares of corne haue you not read what Dauid did when hee was a hungrye to eate the shewe bread which was not lawfull but onely for the Priests So he also answered for himselfe beeing accused of the Israelites that he brake the lawe in healing the 〈◊〉 vpon the Sabboth day Which of you said Christ will not loose his Oxe or his Asse from his cribbe vpon the Sabboth day to water them The Sabboth day is the schoole of the Lord in the which he would haue his people taught and instructed not onely to heare the lawes read vnto them but to learne the lawes and to liue according as the lawe commaundeth them to that ende was man created that hee
lawes for it was the manner as well among the Grecians as among the Romaines euer to make lawes and neuer to keepe them And though the authoritie of the kings were taken away and derogated in many countries yet the force and power of the law stood in effect though the change thereof were dangerous For the lawe sayth Thou shalt not steale nor deale falsely heerein is included vnder the name of stealing all kinde of sacriledge falshood fraud lying one to an other and all other crimes pertaining to stealing Achan for his cunning stealing of a cursed Babylonian garmēt two hundred sickles of siluer and a toong of gold against the lawe at the spoile of Iericho was deliuered by the Lord to Ioshuahs hand who brought him with his sonnes his daughters all his cattells his Tent and all that hee had vnto the valley of Achor and there stoned Achan to death and burned them with fire the Lord euer preferreth obedience before sacrifice for the disobedience in Achan for breaking the lawe was the cause of his stoning The disobedience of Saul against the commaundement of the Lord was such that he lost both his kingdome and his life A Prophet that went from Iudah with the word of the Lord to Bethel for that he did eat bread in that place being forbidden he was killed of a Lion as he returned The man that gathered stickes vpon the Sabboth day against the commaundement the Lord commaunded he should be stoned to death We might thinke that the gathering of stickes and the eating of a peece of bread were but small faults that thereby the one should be stoned and the other killed of a Lyon had it not bene forbidden by the lawe So such men suppose Adams fault to be but little that for earing of an Apple in Paradise not onely he but his posteritie after him should loose Paradise but as the Angels in heauen by their disobedience lost heauen so Adam by his disobedience lost Paradise The Lorde spared not Kings for breach of the law as Oza and Ozias both kings the one for vnreuerent handling of the Arke vsurping the Leuites Office against the lawe was strooken with sudden death and the other for burning incense against the lawe which was the Priestes Office was strooken with leprosie The Lord spared not his owne Priest Aaron that for his incredulitie before the people he died for it in mount Hor. Neither spared the Lord his owne seruant Moses for his disobedience so that hee also died in mount Nebo that neither of them both came to the land of Canaan for their disobedience and diffidence in the Lord. So seuere the lawe of the Lord was that 50000. Bethsamites died for looking into the Arke Aarons sonnes Nadab and Abihu for offering strange fire before the Lord against the lawe were destroyed by fire from heauen Hence grew the ceremoniall lawes of the Gentiles touching their religion and sacrifices to their Gods So the women that attended the fire on the aultar of Apollo in Delphos were seuerely punished if by any negligence it happened to be extinguished neither might that fire being so extinguished be kindled again by any other then by the said women and by no other fire thē by the beames of the sunne The Vestall virgins in Rome if the sacred fire of Vesta weare out by any negligence that Vestall virgine that then attended should be brought Per Regem sacrorum to the Bishop to be whipt neither might any fire be kindeled againe to the goddesse Vesta but by the heate of the Sunne neither might they sweare by any other then by the name of Vesta the like ceremonies they vsed to Minerua in Athens So among the Persians Assyrians and Chaldeans they worship their sacred fire Vt Deorum maximum on their aultars seeming to follow Moses lawe Zaleucus an auncient Lawe-maker among the Locreans brought vp with Pythagoras the Phylosopher made a lawe against adulterers that both the eyes of the adulterer should be pulled out which being broken by his eldest sonne though all the Locreans ioyntly en treated for Zaleucus sonne yet said he the lawe must nobe broken and to satisfie the lawe Zaleucus pulled one of his sonnes eyes out and an other of his owne shewing himselfe a natural father to his sonne a iust Iudge to performe the lawes which hee made to the Locreans so seuerely were they punished that brake the lawes or sought to breake the lawes among the Gentiles Those people said Alcibiades do better which keepe the lawes they haue though they be worse then often changed for better Obseruatio legum morum tutissima that plant cannot take roote which is often remoued So Augustus Caesar wrote to the Senators that what lawes soeuer they had decreed and set downe should not be chaunged nor altered for better were it not to make lawes then to make so many lawes and not to keepe them Positas semel leges constanter seruate nec vllam earum immutate si deteriores sint tamem vtiliores sunt Reipub. Lu. Papirius Cursor the Dictator for that Fabius Rutilius brake the decree of the Dictator though hee had good successe and wonne a great victorie yet the lawe was that Fabius should dye neither could the captaines entreate him for his pardon that Fabius was constrained secretly to flye to Rome and to appeale to the Tribune of the people and to the Senators the Dictator followed Fabius to Rome saying that there was no lawe that any appeale should be made from the Dictator vntill Fabius and his father fell vpon their knees with the Senators and Tribune of the people to entreat for him and that for breach of the lawe though hee was Magister equitum the greatest and next in authoritie to the Dictator for the lawe-makers themselues that brake their owne lawes were punished as Zaleucus spared not his owne eye nor Diocles his owne life for breach of the lawe The like we find in Plato comparing the lawe to medicines mingled with poyson to that ende the patient might recouer his health by the medicine so that saith Plato the law is profitable to correct and amend the offender Vt medicamentis venena miscemus salutarifine instar pharmaci haec talia vtilia esse Diocles among other of his lawes in Syracusa made a lawe that if any should come armed with weapons into any Senate Court of Councell or before any Magistrate or assembly of people sitting in lawe causes he should die for it by the lawe of Diocles. This lawe of Diocles was the cause of his own death for as he was riding into the Towne being met sent for to mitigate some contention and debates among the people he making hast forgetting his sword on his side came to the Court and opened to them the lawe made to the people to be gouerned by willed them to obey the same but hee was tolde by some
monethes olde before the Magistrates and there to iudge by the sight of the children that if they were fit for warres they should be brought vp in military discipline if otherwise they should be appointed to Mechanicall occupations The Aethiopian Philosophers made a lawe that all Magistrates and Parentes should examine theyr children and the youthes of theyr Countries what labour and exercise they had done euery day before they should take meate and if it were founde that they had not exercised either Mechanicall or Militarie exercise they should goe away vndined for that day Among the Grecians all the Orators and Poets came from all parts of Greece sometimes to Thesius graue sometimes to Helicon and there the Poets to contend in verses and the Orators in Oratory with diuers kindes of crownes and garlands which exercise was vsed to draw and intice the youthes of Greece to vertue and learning and as the Romane youths had a garment like the Dictators garment called Toga praetexta in honor of armes to exercise military discipline in Martius field so the Grecians had for those youthes that excelled in learning the garment called Palladium The sixt Regiment intreateth of murther and reuenge of blood amongst all Nations against the which the Gentiles had diuers lawe-makers which made lawes to punish the same AS the Gentiles in all Countries had their lawes made to rule and gouerne them as among the Egiptians by Bocchoris among the Persians and Baetrians by Zoroastes among the Carthagineans by Charondas among the Magnesians and Cicilians by Plato among the Athenians by Solon and among the Lacedemonians by Licurgus so had they certaine Magistrates to execute the same lawe after them as the thirtie Senators in Egipt the Areopagites in Athens the Ephori in Sparta and so of the rest This is the lawe of nature written first in tables of flesh and after in tables of stone Cain the first-man born and the first murtherer he slue his brother Abel and had sentence of the Lord with a perpetual marke of torture that no man should kill Cain but to liue as a vagabound and a rogue cursed vpon the earth the witnesse that accused him was his brother Abels blood so the Lorde spake Vox sanguinis fratris tui edit clamorem ad caelum blood therefore was the first witnesse on earth against murther and called in scripture the Iudge of blood Cain for disobedience to his father and murthering of his brother became a cursed vagabound vpon the earth and all his wicked posteritie were drowned in the deludge So scoffing Cham was cursed of his father Noah and in him all his posteritie likewise accursed for the Canaanites which were of the stocke of Cham were slaine by the Israelites and the Gibionites which came from the Canaanites were made slaues to the Israelites and so the Egiptians and Aethiopians the ofspring of Cham were taken captiue by the Assyrians so that Cham was cursed in himselfe and cursed in his posteritie for the scorning of the nakednesse of his father so the parents of the Idolaters and blasphemers brought the first stone to presse their owne sonnes The second murtherer in Scripture was Lamech which killed Cain against whome the Lorde made a lawe that whosoeuer should slea Cain should be punished seuen folde for so Lamech confessed himselfe that Cain should be auenged seuen-folde but Lamech seuentie times seuen fold there shall want no witnesses against murtherers and oppressers of Orphants and widowes The witnesse against the filthie lust of the Sodomites was the verie crie of Sodome before the Lorde for so is the lawe that the Iustice of blood shall slea the murtherer Iacobs children consented all sauing Ruben and Iudah to kill Ioseph their younger brother which made Ruben speake to his brethren in Egipt that the blood of Ioseph was the cause that they were thus imprisoned and charged with theft and robberies There are foure witnesses which the Lord stirreth vp against murtherers oppressors of Orphants Infants and Widowes first the Lorde himselfe is a witnesse the seconde the witnesse of blood the thirde the witnesse of stones in the streets and the fourth the witnesse of fowles in the aire The like murther was in Esaus heart against Iacob his brother for Esau saide that the dayes of his fathers sorrowes were at hand for I will slea my brother Iacob but Iacob fled to Aran to his vncle Laban by his mothers counsell Rebecca for feare of his brother Naboth was stoned to death by false and wicked witnesse for his Vineard of Achab by his wife Iezabels counsell The like murther was in Sauls heart against Dauid practising by all meanes possible to kill Dauid first by himselfe then by his sonne Ionathan by his daughter Michol Dauids wife and by his seruants for there is three kindes of murther the first in the heart against the Lorde as in Cains heart against Abel in Esaus heart against Iacob and in Sauls heart against Dauid the seconde by the tongue either by false witnesse as Iezabel with false witnesse against Naboth for his Vineard or else by slaunder as the two Elders in Babilon slaundered Susanna the third performed by the hand of the which there are two many examples but all murthers by the hande and by the tongue proceed from the heart the enuie of Cain in his heart towardes his brother Abel was the cause that he slew his brother The murther of Naboth was the couetousnesse of Achab in his heart to haue his vineyard The murthering of Vriah came from Dauids heart by lust to Berseba Vriahs wife There be other kinde of murtherers that rise early in the morning to kill in the day and rob in the night So Iob saith Manè surgit homicida interficit egenum Pauperem Againe there bee other kinde of murtherers as the Prophet saieth Qui viduam Aduenam interficiunt So may it be said of ambition in the heart for by ambition Herod caused all the childrē in Bethelem and about Bethelem to be slain seeking to destroy him which could not be destroyed which was Christ. Against such kings tyrants the more wicked crueltie they vse the more iust punishment they shall receiue Iudicium enim durissimum ijs qui presunt fiet and the more wrong and iniurie they do to honest and iust men the greater torments they shall suffer Fortioribus fortior instat cruciatio By ambition in the heart Abimelech slew three score and eight of Gedeons sonnes his bretheren And so by the selfesame ambition Thalia caused all that were of the kings bloud to be put to death so is hee that enuieth hateth wisheth ill to his brother a man-slaughterer The punishment of murther in Cain and in Lamech was giuen by the lawe of nature of the Lorde before the written lawe was giuen to Moses as Thamar the daughter in lawe of Iudah for whoredome and
poisons being throwne into the seas by Claudius the Emperour his successor so infected the seas that it killed an infinite number of fish which fish being dead the seas cast off to the next shores so by the death of one murtherer most part of the Senators and Knights of Rome escaped from murther and poyson In the time that Clau. Marcellus was Consull in Rome there were found 370. olde auntient women supposed matrons accused and condemned for poysoning so many in Rome that it was thought by the citizens and Senators of Rome that it was a common plague eyther by corruption of the ayre or otherwise that so destroyed the people such rewards haue tyrants For he that killed Saul in Mount Gilboa brought his crowne to Dauid supposing to haue some great reward had the reward of a murtherer commaunded by Dauid to be slaine The like reward had Rechab Banah which brought Isbosheths head to Dauid their reward was to haue their heads and their hands cut off and to be hanged vp ouer the poole in Haebron murther neuer wants his due deserts nor iust rewards Charondas lawe was that he that pulled a mans eye out should loose an other of his owne for it but if a man had but one eye and that were pluckt out Charondas thought the lawe were satisfied if one eye of the offender were lost for it yet the one eyed man by loosing of his eye was depriued of all his sight and therfore sought by the lawe to haue the offender as blinde as he for though hee lost but one eye yet lost hee all his sight and thereby would haue the penaltie of the lawe for his sight and not for the eye and claimed therefore iustice of the lawe against the offender But the lawe of Moses is otherwise that if a man strike his seruant in the eye that his eye perish hee shall let his seruant go free for that he lost his eye also if a man smite out his seruants tooth the lawe is that he shall likewise let his seruant goe free Yet in matters of death Moses lawe is eye for eye member for member life for life bloud for bloud so is the lawe of the twelue Tables Siquis membrum rupit in eum Talio esto So Samuel spake to king Agag the Amalekite as thy sword made many women without children so without children shal be thy mother and cut him in peeces according to Talions lawe Was not Andronicus stript out of his purple cloathing by King Antiochus commaundement for his murther and caused to bee killed in the same very place where he caused the high priest Onias to be slaine the Lordes iust iudgement euer reuengeth innocent bloud Zimri through ambition which is the roote of all mischiefe conspired against his maister Elam and killed him as he was drinking in Samaria How long raigned he seuen dayes after hee was besieged in his owne pallace where he was forced to burne himselfe and his house Zellum through ambition conspired against his maister Zachariah flew him and raigned in his stead but a moneth in Samaria If men looke to the end of kings gouernors and generals more are found betraied slaine by friends seruants in their chambers theÌ„ by the enemies in the field For these be called Cubiculares consiliarij à quibus bâ—…nus cautus imperator venditur Thus is murther euer committed either by couetousnes pride malice enuie or ambition which is chief the very ringleader of murther and treason Was not Saul ambitious when Samuel tolde him that the Lorde had reicted him for his disobedience to say to Samuel yet honour me before the people The Idoll Appollo in Delphos could say no more to Augustus Caesar when he came to know what should become of the Empire of Rome but that an Hebrew childe was borne that commaunded vs to silence yet as Saul spake to Samuel so the Idollspake to Augustus yet depart thou with reuerence from our aultar before the people These wicked mens liues are compared in the booke of Wisedome to a shadowe or to a poste riding in haste on the way or to a ship in the sea whose path cannot be seene or to a fowle flying in the ayre whose steppes cannot be found whose wicked hope is compared to an arrow that is shot and falleth quickly to the ground Was not Absolon ambitious to say I wish that there were some by the king appointed to heare the iust complaint of the people Thus by ambitious meanes he practised secret trecherie against the king his father for the kingdome In the seuenth Regiment is manifested the great zeale of good men where whoredome is punished in many countries and lest vnpunished in other countries with the praise and commendation of chastitie AS you read before in the first fourth regimeÌ„ts how the Egiptians the Lacedemonians the Locreans the Getes affirmed to haue their lawes from Oracles and Diuine powers So Numa Pomp. made the old Romaines beleeue that all the lawes and Religion which he gaue to thepeople were deliuered vnto him by the Nymph Egeria yea euen the verie barbarous Scythians brag that they haue their lawes from their god Zamolxis And as the Turkes at this day confesse that they haue their lawes from Mahomet so many other lawmakers in diuers countries made their people beleeue that they consulted with some diuine powers and were instructed to make their lawes Such therefore is the strength and authoritie of the lawe that Paul calleth the lawe the minister vnto death and yet a schoole maister to know Christ. Plato called lawes the sinewes of a common-wealth Demosthenes a diuine gift Cicero the bands of cities Plutarch the very life of a common-wealth The lawes are as keyes to opeÌ„ vnto vs the way vnto obedience and to know sinne for if the lawe had not commanded me Thou shalt not defile thy neighbours wife I had not knowne adultery to be a sinne There is no offence so grieuously punished by Gods lawe neither by mans lawe as adulterie was euen from the creation in so much that all men defiled themselues with that sinne all flesh corrupted his way Hence grew the Lords anger so great that hee punished the whole worlde with an vniuersall Deluge sauing eight persons after the Deluge for the selfe same sinne the Lorde destroyed the fiue Cities of Palestine with fire and brimstone the Lorde would not haue so filthy a sinne to raigne among his people How was Israel plagued for theyr adulterie with the Moabites with whom the Lorde commaunded that they should not ioyne in marriage and therefore the Lorde commaunded Moses to hang their Princes vp against the Sunne for theyr filthy lust with the Moabites and the women that had lien with men were commaunded by Moses to bee slaine and the Virgines to bee reserued in the warres against the Madianites and Moses was angrie with the Captaines for