long life of the fathers the oracles of God were committed to them without any mention of writing because they were both wise and faithful in the custody and transmission of them For Adam himself living nine hundred and thirty years to teach his children had under his teaching Seth Enosh Kenan Mahalaleel Iarod Henoch Methusalah and Lamech the father of Noah And Noah lived with Abraham 57 years But after the flood when the Church in the posterity of Iacob encreased and no doubt had many corruptions by dwelling in Aegypt then was Moses appointed both to be the deliverer of the People of Israel from Aegypt and to be the Penman of God to write those things which God would have to remain in the Church for all succeeding times and after him successively holy men wrote as they were inspired And a better Argument we cannot give for the danger of unwritten traditions which the Church of Rome doth so much commend even above Scripture then this God saw that men had corrupted their ways and he found the imaginations of mens hearts only evil continually and that the Church was a very few therefore he stirred up Noah to be a Preacher of righteousnesse in whom the light of truth was preserved he destroyed the old sinful world and by Noah and Sem he began a new Church to the restored world Yet after Noahs death the worship of strange gods were brought in so that to heal this grief and to prevent the danger of traditions God caused the Word to be written by holy men for the perpetual use of his Church whose books were faithfully preserved in all ages thereof Then came the Sonne of God and he left his spirit in the Church to lead the Church into all truth by which spirit the New Testament was endited and written So that now all things necessary to salvation are so clearly revealed that traditions of men have no necessary use in the Church in the substance of true Religion for that which is written is sufficient The Church of Rome denieth the sufficiency of Scripture Many of their great learned men write both basely and blasphemously thereof But they are not agreed upon the point for Scotus Gerson Oecam Cameracensis Waldensis Vincentius Lerinensis do all confesse what we teach of the sufficiency of Scripture as the learned Deane of Glocester Dr. Field l. 3. de Eccoles c. 7. hath fairly cited them And Dr. White in his way of the Church addeth Tho. Aquinas Antoninus Arch-bishop of Florence Durandus Alliaco a Cardinal Conradus Clingius Peresius Divinity Reader at Barcilena in Spain and Cardinal Bellarmine Of whom Possevinus writeth that he is one of the two that have won the Garland De verbo Dei l. 1. c. 2. Sacra Scriptura regulae credendi certissima tutissima est Per corporales literas quas cerneremus legeremus erudire not voluit Deus Writing against Swenck field and the Libertines this is a legal witnesse Pro Orthodoxo heretici testimonium valeat I know to whom I speak and therefore I forbear the Polemical bands of arguments to and fro upon this question which in print and in English is so fully and learnedly debated Our lesson is seeing Gods care of his Church for the instruction thereof is here exprest in commanding his revealed will to be written that God would have his Church to be taught his ways in all the ages thereof Doct. 1. Because the ways of God Reas 1 and the saving health of God cannot be parted none can have the saving health of God without the knowledge of his ways no ignorant man can be saved it is said of Christ By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justifie many Isa 53.11 per scientiam qua scitur Therefore Davids Prayer is That thy way may be known upon earth thy saving health among all nations 2. Because the promise of God doth run in semine Reas 2 in the seed I will be thy God and the God of thy seed Our children are the Lords inheritance his care extendeth so farre That yee may live Deut. 5.33 and that it may be well with you and that you may prolong your days But that is not all That it may be well with them and their children for ever Vers 29. 3. For his own sake Reas 3 that his Wisdome Power and Iustice may be known to men that they may be able to plead the cause of God against such as either ignorantly through unbelief or maliciously and blasphemously shall dispute and argue against God for therefore God doth condescend to this Apology of himself that he may instruct his Church how to plead the cause of his Iustice against all strife of tongues that the name of God be not evil-spoken of To make profit of this point Vse 2 1. Herein let us consider what the Lord hath done for our souls for he hath given us two means to communicate to us his holy will hearing and reading and he hath used to this purpose both the voice and the pen of holy men for he spake by the mouth of all the holy Prophets since the world began and holy men wrote as his spirit directed them Let him that hath ears to heare heare quid Spiritus Ps 34.16 Mat. 24.15 and seek yee out the book of the Lord and read but then adde this caution Who so readeth let him understand It was Philips question sed intelligis quod legis Seeing God hath written to us Vse 2 and the whole body of holy Scripture may well be called Gods Epistle or Letter to his Church let us bestow the reading of Gods letter St. Augnstiue saith Quae de illa Civitate unde peregrinamur venerunt nobis literae ipsae sunt Scripturae It was St. Gregories complaint of Theodorus In Ps 90.2 that he was so over-busied with secular cares Regist 4.84 Et quotidie legere negligit verba redemptoris sui quid est autem Scriptura sacra nisi quaedam epistola Omnipotentis dei ad venturam suam It is a question in our times whether printing hath done more hurt or good for Satan finding this a means to keep things alive in the world hath employed the Presse in all sorts of heresies in all sorts of idle and lascivious false and dicterious slanderous and biasphemous books The remedy is to refrain such readings and as Dr. Reynold tels Hart his adversary that he hath no book allowed him to read but the Bible It is likely then that he is perfect in that book and that Physitians do well when they find their Patient surfeited with too much variety of meat to confine him to some one wholesome dyet So shall we do well to limit our selves to the reading of Gods letter and know his mind for he is wisest and the wisedome that we shall gather from thence is wisedome from above it is able to make us wise unto salvation as the Apostle saith 3. Seeing God teacheth us by
is of fear Sol. To this I answer let not us dispute the Will of God or search beyond that which is revealed if God have revealed his Will to us that must be our guide That revealed will hath threatned nothing in us but sin and sin carrieth two rods about it shame and feare There be two things in a regenerate Elect man 1. A Conscience of his sin 2. Faith in the promises of God through Christ So long as we do live we do carry about us Corpus peccati the body of sin and as that doth shake and weaken faith so doth it confirme and strengthen fear 1. We are taught from hence to believe the Word of God Vse 1 the Apostle saith He is faithful that hath promised The faithful servants of God have this promise I will not leave thee nor forsake thee David believes him in convalle umbr aemortis non timebo in the valley of the shadow of death I will not fear Job believes him Though he kill me I will trust in him David believes verily when he smarts I shall see the goodnesse of God in the land of the living It is a sweet content of the inward man when the conscience pleads not guilty to the love of sin though our infirmities miscarry us often that we may say with Nehemiah Remember me O Lord concerning this and blot not out the loving kindnesse that I shewed to thy house and to the officers thereof Neh. 13.14 and with Ezekiah Remember Lord now I beseech thee how I have walked before thee in truth Is 38.3 and with a perfect heart and have done that which is good in thy sight But it followeth And Hezekiah wept sore If he were so good a man why did he weep if not so good why did he boast Surely we carry all our good amongst a multitude of infirmities and therefore we cannot rejoyce in our own integrity with a perfect and full joy yet is it a sweet repose to the heart when God giveth us peace of conscience from the dominion of sin So on the other side believe God threatning impenitent sinners with his judgments for he is wise to see the sins of the ungodly he is holy to hate them he is just to judge them and he is Omnipotent to punish them Let me give one instance The third Commandment in the first Table of the law saith Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain what needs any more 1. Put these two one against another Thou The Lord thy God 2. Consider what the law concerns Gods name wherein standeth His glory Our help 3. What is forbidden taking it in vaine and we pray Sanctificetur let it be hallowed But where all this will not serve yet this is murus ahenus a brazen wall one would think God doth make yet another fence about his name an hedge of thornes The Lord will not hold him guiltlesse that taketh his name in vaine The Lawes of God be unreversible decrees heaven and earth shall passe ere one of these words shall sink or lose strength Yet the blasphemer feareth nothing that is a crying sinne in this land not the houses only the streets and high wayes resound the dishonour of Gods name this sin is grown incorrigible The Land mourneth because of oaths Hoc dicunt omnes ante Alpha Beta puellae And beleeve God who cannot lye He will not hold him guiltlesse that taketh his name in vain Thus we may make use of this doctrine to restraine if not overcome and to destroy the dominion if not the being of sinne in us 2. For the better rectifying of our judgments and reformation of our lives Vse 2 let us observe the consonancy of Gods practice in the world with the truth of his word he hath declared himself an hater of evill and do we not see daily examples of his judgements upon wicked men how ill they prosper in their estates what shame and disgrace and losse of all that they have unrighteously gotten cometh upon them how their posterity smarteth according to that threatning in the second Commandment God bringing the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and visiting it to the third and fourth generation of them that hate him that we may say Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall Whence cometh all this but from the constant truth of Gods unreversible decrees because the word is gone out of his mouth and though the ungodly do not beleeve it though it be told them Verily there is a reward for the righteous doubtlesse there is a God that judgeth in the earth We may say of our times as Hecuba did of hers Non unquam tulit documenta fo rs majora quà m fragili loco starent superbi for We live in the schoole of discipline and the rod of correction is not only shewed but used with a strong hand that all men may fear to be unrighteous we have not only Vigorem verborum the vigor of words chiding sin in our ministry of the word but rigorem verberum the rigor of stripes in the administration of justice never did any age bring both fuller examples of terror then we have heard with our ears and seen with our eyes for the wisdome of Gods decrees and the word of Gods truth is justified in our sight therefore seeing sentence executed upon evil works let the hearts of the sons of men be wholly set in them to do evil 3. Let us consider the vaine confidence of the ungodly Vse 3 and compare it with the constant truth of the decrees and word of God Isay expresseth it fully Ye have said we have made a Covenant with death Isa 28.15 and with hell are we at agreement when the over-flowing scourge shall passe through it shall not come to us for we have made lyes our refuge and under falsehood have we hid our selves They are answered and confounded The bed is shorter then a man can stretch himself on it Vers 20. and the covering narrower then he can wrap himself in it He that is to lodge so uneasily cannot say I will lay me downe in peace and take my rest The Chaldeans invade the Church they kill and take possession and divide the prey they oppose better and more righteous men then themselves their trust is in their strength and riches and power Nec leves metuunt Deos. What care they who weeps so they laugh or who bleeds so they sleep in a whole skin who dies so they live They trust in lying vanities Solomon saith Eccl. 8.12 Though a sinner do evill an hundred times and his dayes his prolonged yet surely I know it shall be well with them that feare God Vers 13. which feare before him But it shall not be well with the wicked neither shall he prolong his dayes which are a shadow because he feareth not before God God hath made an Act against them their judgment is sealed they
fidem proficientem For as Clemens saith Apostolus unicam tantum fidem annunciat quae crescendo proficit Till it grow up to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a fulnesse of faith Heb. 10.22 And so this text is well cited for the just man who is made just by faith doth live in it and by it For how can the Gospel be the power of God to salvation except it revealeth to us the life of saith seeing it is so only to such as do believe This first place cleareth the point that the Apostle doth understand Gods word in my text so as that the means of life is faith and faith only for so it is further urged by Saint Paul who saith But that no man is justified by the works of the law in the sight of God Gal. 3.11 is evident for the just shall live by faith Here these words are brought in to prove that faith only doth justifie in the sight of God which is thus proved Life eternal comes only by faith therefore righteousnesse comes only by faith The antecedent is Gods own word in my text The consequence is thus proved for Righteousnesse is the foundation of life eternall They which receive the abundance of grace Rom. 5.17 and of the gift of righteousnesse shall reign in life And in the next verse it is called Justification of life Vers 18. And this sequence doth the Apostle make in his own comfortable perswasion of himself I have fought a good fight this is the great fight with Principalities and Powers 1 Tim. 4.8 And I have kept the faith this is the shield which beareth off the fiery darts discharged against him in this fight his comfort is From henceforth is laid up for me a Crown of righteousnesse This righteousnesse is not of the law which he hath fulfilled but the righteousnesse of the faith which he hath kept It is not the brest-plate of righteousnesse but it is the shield of faith that beareth off all the fiery darts of Satan and therefore the just man doth not live and come out of this battail victorious by righteousnesse but by faith This place thus applied by our Apostle is the ground of our Church tenet against which the gates of hell cannot prevaile namely that sola fides justificat faith alone doth justifie That which the Romanists do lay to our charge is that we exclude good works and upon that slanderous imputation both Dr. Stapleton Harding Bellarmine Campiane Bishop and indeed generally all Popish writers do proclaim us Hereticks and they will not hear us saying that the justifying faith which we preach must be such as worketh by love They like the Pharisee trust in themselves that they are perfect we with the Publican cry out in faith of Christ's sufficient satisfaction Domine miserere Lord have mercy upon whose example Saint Augustine saith Videte fratres magis placuit humilitas in malis factis quam superbia in bonis factis The cause is in sight the humility of the one was with faith the pride of the other was in presumption And God resisteth the proud but giveth grace to the humble I conclude this point wherein I have held you long I know with how much comfort and profit to my self I hope without your losse of time What man is he that desireth life who would live as a man as a good man and as an happy man I answer in the words of the Sonne of God As thou believest so shall it be unto thee Or in the Words of the Father of that Son in my text The just man shall live by his faith Vers 5. Yea also because he transgresseth by wine he is a proud man neither keepeth at home who enlargeth his desire as hell and is as death and cannot be satisfied but gathereth unto him all Nations and heapeth unto him all People NOw that God hath declared what rest and comfort his Church hath in the manifold oppressions of the enemies thereof they shall live by their faith In all the rest of this chapter he declareth his own just Providence in the Government of the world and in the severe execution of his judgments upon impenitent offenders that the Prophet may inform himself and others that God hath not forgotten to be just The last verse of the chapter is the total of the chapter The Lord is in his holy Temple let all the earth keep silence before him That he sitteth not there idle but is awake that his eyes do see and his eye-lids do try the sonnes of men that we shall hear from his own mouth Concerning the words of this fifth verse Yea also because he transgresseth by wine he is a proud man neither keepeth at home These words are read diversly both by Translators and by Expositors Our first English Church-bibles read thus Like as the wine deceiveth the drunkard even so the proud shall faile and not endure The Geneva followeth the same sense Yea indeed the proud man is as he that transgresseth by wine therefore shall he not endure Arias Montanus Et quo modo vinum potantem decipit sic erit superbus non decorabitur In his Interlineary he followeth the text in the original but in his Commentary he followeth the vulgar Latin authorized for the Canon by the Councel of Trent Pagnine Quanto magis patator vini qui praevaricatr qui est vir superbus non permanebit So Mr. Calvin Etiam certè vino transgrediens vir superbus non habitabit The 70 have no mention of wine 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Here be three words to expresse pride fully 1. To think too well of our selves 2. To think contemptibly of others 3. To boast and glory in vain ostentation It seemeth to me that the purpose of this place is to expresse the insolency and pride of the king of Babel proud Nebuchadnezzar and generally of the enemy of the Jew the Chaldaean and that the scope of the place is to resemble them big swoln in their own self-opinion to a man that is drunk with wine This hath good coherence with the former words for shewing how the just man and the proud man do stand in opposition His soule which is lifted up is not upright in him but the just shall live by faith faith shall establish the just man But the proud man who is drunk with the vain over-weening of himself he shall not continue non habitabit he shall not be established And here I forsake the Kings Bible for I cannot find either sense or coherence in it The words following are plain enough for God therein doth expresse that he taketh notice of the insatiable desire of the Chaldaean who incouraged by his victories doth covet to be Monarch of all the world And this is now the partition of the rest of this chapter 1. Faults 2. Punishments The first fault here named infatiablenesse The punishment v. 6 7 8. 1. The ground and note of this disease of
kind of study since the Church cast out Musick 2 In respect of Gods service the more pompe and solemnity is used the more glorious is the house of God made and the more differing from our common house of habitation 3 In respect of our selves we have need to have the help of outward things to draw us on with delight to entertain our thoughts with cheerfulnesse to incite and move our affections to quicken our devotion and to blow the fire of our zeal and to relieve our naturall wearinesse in Gods service These reasons brought in the song and instruments into the Church and gloriously was it setled in Solomons time in the temple according as his Father David had left it in the tabernacle where he designed to that service men of cunning 288. 1 Chrom 25.7 Ob. But Christ and his Apostles and the primitive Church had no such musique in Churches Sol. They had no Churches but in their meetings they sung Psalmes so did Christ and his Apostles in the roome where he kept his last Passeover and in the Emperour Trajanes time Mat. 26.30 which was before the death of St. John Pliny writeth to the Emperour of the manner of the Christians this one amongst the rest that They did meet together early in the morning and sung Hymns to their Christ But after Religion had found favour with Princes and began to appear in peace then came in Churches and Church Ornaments then were Liturgies devised and used then were instruments of musique intermixed with the service and God glorified in all St. Aug. Confess 9. Cap. 6. Quantum flevi in Hymnis Canticis svave sonantis Ecclesiae tuae voces illae influebant auribus meis eliquabatur veritas tua in cor meum ex ea aestuebat inde affectus pietatis currebant lachrymae benè mihi erat cum eis In the next Chapter hee tels how the Arrians attempted the taking of Ambrose B. of Millain whom they accused of heresie and Justina the Empresse bearing them out in it they meant him a mischief he went to the chief Church and much people followed him ready to dispatch their holy Bishop St. Augustine and his Mother were amongst them and there Aug. saith Tunc institutum ut Hymni Psalmi canerentur more orientalium Ecclesiarum ne populus moeroris taedio contabesceret quod ad hodiernum diem retentum est c. The Hymns and Psalmes were ordained to be sung c. Ob. It is a means often to carry away our thoughts more with the tune then with the matter St. Augustine maketh it one of his Confessions that he was so transported Sol. And may not the same happen in our singing of Psalms let us not lay our faults to the charge of the Church what good shall we go about but we shall finde Satan busie to divert us from it Obj. It is costly to maintain Musique in our Churches and that mony were better bestowed on the poor and other better uses Sol. What better bestowed on the poor then upon God himself is the cheapest religion the best they had poor in the time of the Law and yet that hindered not the magnificence of the Temple and the Ornaments thereof and the maintainance of Gods worship alit pauperes 288. in Templo ut ante The earth hath not the like glory now to shew as that of Gods House And shal Aaron that vvas but for a time be thus glorious and shall Melchizedeck a Priest for ever vvant honour It is true that it hath been policy in these later times to keep the Church lean and to strip it out of all outward pomp and to transfer Gods inheritance into the hands of strangers But remember the great Commandement Thou must love God above all things and so doing he shall have the best of all that thou art the best of all that thou hast Our prayer is Sicut in coelo as in heaven and Christ promises is to the just that they shal be as the Angels of God in Heaven Reve. 15.3 there they sing the song of Moses the servant of God and David saith Blessed is the people that can rejoyce in thee Psa 89.15 we have more cause to use both voices and instruments in his praise because he hath redeemed us from Satan hath made us all Priests of the high God to offer to him the calves of our lips and with such sacrifices God is well pleased Ver. 2. O Lord I have heard thy speech and was afraid O Lord revive thy work in the middest of the years make known in wrath remember mercy THis vvhole Psalme as it is in the composition of a mixt kind of verse so in the matter of it mixt for it consisteth 1 Of supplication and petition ver 2. 2 Of celebration of the prayses of God 3 15. 3 Consternation before God ver 16 17. 4 Consolation in God 1 Of the supplication O Lord I have heard thy speech that is all that thou hast said in the former Chapter in defence of thy justice and in propheticall revelation of thy holy will both concerning thy Church how that shall be afflicted and concerning the enemies of thy Church how they shall be punished in the end And I was afraid fear came upon me when I heard thee recompt thy judgements O Lord revive thy work in the middest of the years here be three quaeries 1 What he meaneth by the vvork 2 What by the middest of the years 3 How this work should be revived 1 Thy work Lyranus saith Opus tuum in punitione Chaldaeorum qued fiet virtute tua magis quà m humana 2 Beza by the work of God here understandeth the Church of God the people of Israel So do Tremelius and Junius for they parellel this place vvith those vvords of God in the Prophet Isa Ask me of things to come concerning my sons Isa 45.11 and concerning the work of my hands command ye me Where he calleth his Church opus manum my work Thus doth Master Calvin here understand statum Ecclesiae the state of the Church vvhich is called The vvork of God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as being the most excellentest part of his work wherein he is most glorified So David prayeth for the Church under that appellation Psa 138.8 Forsake not the works of thine own hands So doth Isaiah name them Thy people also shall be all righteous Isa 60.21 they shall inherit the Land for ever the branch of my planting the work of my hands that I may be glorified Isa 61.3 So in the next Chapter Christ is anointed for the good of his Church Isa 61.3 that they may be called the trees of righteousness the planting of the Lord. 3 Novv there is such a correspondence betvven the head and the body betvveen Christ and his Church that sometimes that vvhich is literally spoken of the Church is mystically applyed to Christ Jeremie expressing the great
lay persons or any other without speciall leave Thus much I dare affirm that holy Scripture are plain and easie in all dogmaticall points all the articles of faith are plainly set forth and the whole doctrine of godly life and the way to salvation is openly declared So far our Church doth avouch yet withall we must consider that there is a double plainnesse of Scripture 1 Rationall and Intellectuall which apprehendeth the true meaning of the words in Grammaticall construction in Logicall composition and in Rhetoricall illustration thus all the dogmaticall part of Divinity is plain to a naturall man that is capable of these helps 2 Spirituall and Metaphysicall which is saving knowledge and is the work of the Holy Ghost in us making us thereby wise to salvation this knowledg is both the daughter and mother of faith for by faith we hear the word else it would not profit us and by hearing commeth faith else it were unfruitfull Therefore I must indite many of the learned of the Church of Rome of slander who have given out in print that we do hold the whole body of Scripture so easie both in the whole and in every part thereof that any unlearned men women may read and understand all as they go and that they need no interpreter This no sober man will affirm but that the difficulty is not such as should deter us from the study thereof rather that it is such as inviteth us thereto that we affirme Vse 4 This serveth us for caution 1 Though the Scripture be full of figures let us not make figures where there are none and strein plain and evident Texts from their genuine and proper sense to forreign and far-fetcht mysteries as the Papist doth often For when Peter saith Ecce hic duo gladii they understand the double power of Peter and so of al Popes as his successours Ecclesiaticall and temporall so on these words He made two great lights the greater to rule the day the less to rule the night that these two lights are the Pope to rule the day that is to say the Church and the Emperour to rule the night that is the lay people Where note that as the Moon borroweth all the light it hath of the Sun So must the Emperour borrow all his glory of the Pope Some of our own brethren have trode awry in this way for an Article of Faith lyes bleeding in the unresolved judgements of many by this fault of making a figure where none is The words of Christ Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell are plain enough For we know that Christ had a soul we know that there is an hell and we hear Christ say that God would not leave it there But Mr. Calvine turns this into a figure and his words be all oracles with some that take their upon trust his figure is that descendit ad inferos diros in anima cruciatus damnati ac perditi hominis pertulet he descended into hell that is he bare in his soul all the torments of the damned Mast Perkins refuseth this as the meaning of the article for he saith all this is conteined in the former he suffered was crucified dead And he findeth another figure in these words by soul he meaneth the body and by hell he meaneth the grave for he thus rendreth it He descended into hell that is he was held captive in the grave and lay in bondage under death for three daies Which need not for the Article that saith he was buried contemneth that for then God did not suffer his holy one to see corruption This turning of Articles of faith into figures doth destroy faith therefore without figure the safest way is to understand the word of the Prophets in their own proper sense natural signification by soul to understand the living soul of Christ which by death was separated for a time from his body By hell to understand the place of the damned in which Christ triumphed victoriously over the Devil and his angels and brought away the keys thereof that he might open it to the reprobate and shut it again the elect to whom the promise is made that The gates of hell shall not prevail against them 2 Let us also take heed that where there is a plain figure we do not understand that literally to corrupt the Text which was the errour of the Disciplies to whom when Christ had spoken of restoring the Kingdom to Israel they understood it literally of the temporall Kingdom of the Jews which was meant of the spirituall Kingdom of Christ So the woman of Samaria thought Christ had spoken of an Elementary water and the Capernaites mistook Christ speaking of the bread of life Therefore let common judgements take good counsel how they expound Scriptures lest they pervert them to their own damnation for as Aug. Hinc natae sunt omnes haereses quia scripturae bonae intelleguntur non bene hence all heresies grow c. Ver. 7. I saw the Tents of Cushan in affliction and the curtains of the Land of Midian did tremble 3 HEre followeth further instance of the Majestie and glory of God and goodness to his Church declared 1 In the power of his fear which was upon the Nations When he brought his Israel to Canaan for that put them into affliction and trembling 2 In the wonders that he shewed in the work I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction Who saw this no the Prophet onely but the Church of God to whom God hath made himself known by this judgement The vision was that God did cast the fear of his people upon the Nations he nameth Cushan or the people of Ethiopia bordering upon Egypt and Midian which took name of Midian the son of Abraham by Keturah Gen. 25.2 The terrour of God fell upon many Nations when God put Israel into the way to the promised Land and long after and these two Nations are hereby a figure Poetically and Rhethorically named for many Nations The reason whereof I conceive to be this Gen. 10.6 Cushan or Ethiopia took name from Cush the eldest son of Cham them youngest son of Noah to shew that though Canaan the son of Cham be onely named in Noahs curse yet the smart thereof should also light upon Cush also and he should taste also of affliction Again herein the extent of this terrour is well expressed that Cushan or Ethiopia should be made to tremble which was remote from Canaan for the whole land of Egypt lay between Midian lay neer to that land so that I understand the Text thus That God cast his fear upon people remote and near hand and shook them with trembling at his mighty power when he brought his Israel into the promised Land and this was so palpable and manifest that the Church of God could not but take notice of it By tents and curtains he expressed this people dismayed not in their Cities and Towns and places of habitation