Theologia Theologiae THE TRUE TREASURE OR A Treasury of holy Truths touching GODS WORD and GOD the WORD Digg'd up and drawn out of that Incomparable Mine of unsearchable Mystery HEB. 1.1 2 3. Wherein the Divinity of the holy Scriptures is asserted and applied By JOHN TRAPPE M. A. Pastor and Preacher of GODS WORD at Weston upon Avon in Glouceste-shire Tertullian Sitanti vitreum quanti verum maâ—garitum LONDON Printed by R.B. for George Badger in S. Dunstane's Church-yard at his shop turning up to Clifford's Inne 1641. TO THE Right Honourable my singular good Lord and Patron LIONELL Earle of Middlesex all the blessings both of Heaven and of Earth RIGHT HONOURABLE MY first adventure into the World I presumed to present some three yeares since to your most Noble and Vertuous Consort for a Consolatory This next being my first fruits at Your Lordships Weston I knew not to whom more fitly to addresse than to your Honourable selfe who may lay as good claime to the Man as to the Mannour The One yeelds You an annuall increase a goodly income And the Other hates to be held either barren or not busie in the Lords Vineyeard whether You have so freely and fairely sent â—im and set him awork King Salomon had a Vineyard at Baal-hamon He let it out to keepers Every of them for the fruits thereof was to bring a thousand silverlings Salomon had his thousand and those that kept the fruit thereof two hundred Cant. 8.11 12. I spare to expound or apply so plaine a Text to your Lordship who can soone see without my shewing Your Noble-selfe in Salomon and unworthy Me Your meanest keeper To come in with Your thousand and yet reserve to my selfe two hundred I cannot But if your Lordship be as I doubt not of Davids mind Psal 119.72 The Law of thy mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver my rent is ready and I here tender it in a Treatise of Gods Word and God the Word All my feare is lest the Divinity of the Scriptures herein asserted and applyed should sustaine some detriment from the utter insufficiency of him that handleth it But what meane I or what need I to feare Psal 52.1 The goodnesse of God endureth yet still He once accepted a handfull of meale for a Sacrifice and a gripe of goates-haire for an Oblation And for men Si desint vires tamen est laudanda voluntas Hac ego contentos auguror esse deos The wise Jeweller cares not though the Ring be not so bright so the Diamond that is set therein have a right sparkle As for the Many 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Plutarch and especially the Malevolent they know my mind already in a former advertisement If that satisfie not I have no more to say to them Nihil ad nos attiner quid homunculi sentiant Lact. Marke 14.31 Satis est Equitem mihi plaudere Hor. but have learned from our Saviours parle with Peter not childishly to strive for the last word May I but enjoy your Lordships approbation and encouragment I shall of such crave no favour seeke no farther say no more than shut up with that Apostolike perclose The grace of our Lord Iesus Christ be with your spirit Amen Stratford upon Avon this 25 of January 1641. Your Lordships in all due observance most humbly devoted JOHN TRAPPE The Contents of the following Treatise CHAP. 1. The Text analysed and opened p. 2 CHAP. 2. That the Scriptuurs are of God proved by testimonies Humane and Divine and these both Outward and Inward p. 10 CHAP. 3. The manifold Uses and Praises of the Scriptures p. 40 SEC 1. Of the Antiquity and Authority of the Scripture p. 41 SEC 2. Of the Dignity and Excellency of the Scriptures p. 63 SEC 3. Of the Power and Purity of the Scriptures p. 85 SEC 4. Of the Perfection and Sufficiency of the Scriptures p. 99 SEC 5. Of the Verity and Integrity of the Scriptures p. 122 SEC 6. Of the perennity and perpetuity of the Scriptures p. 139 CHAP. 4. Condemneth those that offer abuse or violence to the holy Scriptures p. 146 SEC 1. Against those that seeke to debase and vilifie the Scriptures p. 146 SEC 2. Against those that alledge Scripture for maintenance of Errors p. 158 SEC 3. Against those that alledge Scripture for countenancing of Enormities p. 167 SEC 4. Against those that carpe at the homelinesse of the stile p. 170 SEC 5. Against those that cavill at the harshnesse of the matter p. 179 SEC 6. Against those that jest at the Scripture or out of it p. 182 SEC 7. Against those that abuse the Scripture to spelles and Charmes p. 192 CHAP. 5. A sharpe Reprehension of the Ignorant SEC 1. p. 198 A sharpe Reprehension of the Incredulous SEC 2. p. 206 A sharpe Reprehension of the Disobedient SEC 3. p. 210 CHAP 6. An Exhortation to Ministers to open and apply the Scriptures with all Assiduity earnestnes SE. 1. p. 214 An Exhortation to Ministers to open and apply the Scriptures with all Fidelity and boldnesse SE. 2. p. 225 An Exhortation to Ministers to open and apply the Scriptures with all Integrity holinesse SE. 3. p. 244 CHAP. 7. An Exhortation to all sorts to bee thankefull for the Scriptures and 1. to God that gave them SEC 1. p. 257 An Exhortation to all sorts to bee thankefull for the Scriptures and 2. to the Jews that kept them SEC 2. p. 287 CHAP. 8. An Exhortation to read the holy Scripture p. 300 SEC 1. Motives to the reading of the Scriptures p. 301 SEC 2. Rules Reade though you yet understand not p. 312 SEC 3. Meditate on that you have read p. 315 SEC 4. Pray for understanding yea pray with teares p. 319 SEC 5. Conferre propound doubts and seeke satisfaction p. 325 SEC 6. Attend upon the Word preached p. 328 CHAP. 9. An Exhortation to rest and rely upon the Scriptures for direction of life p. 340 CHAP. 10. An Exhortation to rest and rely upon the Scriptures for consolation both in life and in death p. 356 Erratis vâ—nâ—am poscentiâ— reddere sas est PAG. 2 l. 25. for to a threefold r. under a fourefold p. 7 l. 7. it is worthily agitated r. unworthily exagitated p. 56 l. 4 dese verse p. 80 l. 2 Iacob r. Isaac p. 94 l. 6. â— note p. 178 l. 6 â— holy p. 194 l. 26 r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 220 l. 7 r teach p. 2â— p l. 5 r. inclosure p 274 l. 1â— r. sweâ—â—e p. 283 l. 25 r. â—enoti p. 286. l. 19 r. wherefore forasmuch p. 330 l. 25 r. bark p. 358. l. 2â— r. bethought p. 304 l. 23 r. Not not not p. 5â—4 l. 24 r. Nots p. 368. l. 22 for her r. his THE True TREASURE OR A Treasury of holy Truths Touching God's Word and God the Word Digg'd up and drawne out of that Incomparable Mine of unsearchable Mystery HEBREWES 1.1 God
Owles abroad in so bright a firmament blind as beetles in a land of light darke in Goshen amidst so many meanes and mercies in the land of uprightnesse doe yee deale unjustly and not behold the Majesty of the Lord Isa 26.10 O generation see ye the word of the Lord Have I beene a wildernesse to the house of Israel a land of darknesse and of the shadow of death Ie. 2.31 How is it then that yee are still sottish children without understanding wise to doe evill but to doe good yee have no knowledge Ieremy 9.3 2 Chron. 13.5 Ought yee not to have knowne as Abijam said to Ieroboam and all Israel should ye not all know the Lord from the least to the greatest Hab. 2.14 Should not the earth be silled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the Sea These are the times if ever wherein God hath powred forth his spirit upon all flesh Ioel 2.28 stretched forth his hands to us all day long Prov. 1. lifted his voyce in the high places of the City caused the Candle of his Gospell to shine full faire upon this kingdom for so long together Matth. 11. so that we have beene lifted up to Heaven as Capernaum in the abundance of meanes and plenty of outward priviledges In the time of Pope Clement the sixth when as Lewis of Spaine was chosen Prince of the Fortunate Ilands and was gathering an Army in Italie and France the English Embassadour then resident at Rome together with his company gat them home as not doubting but that Lewis was set up against the King of England Robertus Avisburiensis than which they could not imagine there was any more fortunate Island under heaven Was it so then over-spread with Aegyptian darkenesse what would our fore-fathers have judg'd had they had our happinesse to live in these glorious dayes of Alexandria in Aegypt Ammianus Marcellinus observeth that once in a day the Sunne hath been continually ever seene to shine over it In the Iland of Lycia the sky is never so cloudy saith Solinus Vnde Horat cam claram vocat but that the Sun may be seene Semper in sole sita est Rhodos The Rhodes is ever in the Sunne-shine saith Aeneas Sylvius And Tacitus tells us that here in Britany the Sunne in Summer neither riseth nor falleth but doth so lightly passe from us by night In vita Agricolae that you can hardly put a difference betweene the end and beginning of the light This is indeed chiefly true of us in respect of the bright and beautifull sun-shine of the truth Other Countries sit in darkenesse and shadow of death like the Valley of Sciâ—ssa neare the Towne called Patrae Locus radijs solis ferme invisus â—ce aliam ob causam memorabilis Solin c. 12 which being shaded by nine high His is scarce ever visited by the beames of the Sun But to us as to Zabulon and Nephtali is a great light risen Matth. 4.16 Now when a master sets up his servant a great light to worke by hee lookes to have it done both more and better Nihil in Hispania â—tiosum nihil sterâ—â—â— Solin cap. 36. So here Surely it should bee with us as they say of Spaine that there is nothing idle nothing barren there But a lasse it fals out farre otherwise for some have not the knowledge of God 1 Cor. 15.34 to their shame be it spoken but are as bard and rude every whit in very fundamentals and have the same bald and base conceits of God and his will as the blind Heathens had Let me tell you a Pulpit-story and that 's no place to lye in of an old man above sixtie who lived and dyed in a Parish where besides the word read continually there had beene preaching almost all his time and for the greatest part twice on the Lords Day Pembles Serm Mischâ—â—fe of Ignorance besides at extraordinary times This man was a constant hearer as any might be and seemed forward in the love of the Word On his death-bed being questioned by a Minister touching his faith and hope in God you will wonder to heare what answers hee made Being demanded what he thought of God hee answers that he was a good old man And what of Christ that he was a towardly yong youth And of his soule that it was a great bone in his body And what should become of his soule after he was dead That if he had done well he should bee put into a pleasant greene meddow These answers astonished those that were present to think how it were possible for a man of good understanding and one that in his dayes had heard by the least two or three thousand Sermons yet upon his death bed in serious manner thus to deliver his opinion in such maine points of Religion which infants and sucklings shold not be ignorant of Oh who can sufficiently bewaile and expiate the grosse ignorance found in the greater number as rude and raw in Scripture matters as if they were not reasonable creatures though in other things wondrous acute and apprehensive And for the better sort that runne to and fro to increase knowledge Dan. 12.4 some smattering skill they have got but it s wofully indistinct and ill bottomd It would puzzle them shrewdly after so much teaching to give a good account of their faith Surely as Lactantius wittily said that there was never lesse wisdome in Greece then in the time of the seven wise-men so may it be justly complained of the extreme want of knowledge in the abundance of so many means of knowledge That little men have got is for most part ineffectuall and hath little influence into their hearts and lives They use it as some do artificiall teeth more for shew then service or as the Athenians are said to do their coyn to count and gingle with only striving more to an ability of discourse then to an activity of practise to talk of it then to walke by it The very entrance of Gods word giveth light c. Psalme 119 1â— Iohn 3. In agris Sardâ— reperitur animal perexiguâ— simileque araeneis sorma solifuga dicta quod diem sug at Solinus c. 1 Acts 28.27 But this is condemnation that is hel above grouÌ„d that light is come into the world c. like the creature called solifuga the day is to theÌ„ as the shadow of death These mens ignorance is not meerely privative as was that in our Saviour as man only nor naturall as in infants nor invincible as theirs that lived in the midnight of Popery but wilfull and affected Vt liberius peccent libenter ignorant saith Bern. they winke with their eyes as the Pharisees they shut the window lest the radiant tresses of the sun should trouble them in their sleep they are wilfully ignorant 2 Peter 2. Psalm 50. with those in Peter whiles they cast Gods word behind them and bespeake
fruitfull The Aegyptians used in mockery to tell the Graecians Creditur Egyptus caâ—uisse juvantibus arva Imbribus atâ— aâ—nis sicca utsse novem Ov d Vide Senec nat quaest l. 4. c. 2. that if God should forget to rain they might chance to starve for it They thought the rain was of God but not the River God therfore threatens to dry it up and so he did Tamberlane having overcome Baiazet asked him whither ever he had given God thanks for making him so great an Emperour who confessed ingenuously he never thought of it Lâ—unclav in Annal Turc To whom Tamerlane replyed that it was no wonder so ungratefull a man should be made a Spectacle of misery To live under the sound of the word is a greater favour than without it to be made Monarch of the whole world For foure benefits Plato was especially thankfull 1. That he was made a reasonable creature and not a beast 2. That hee was a man and not a woman 3. That hee was a Grecian and not a Barbarian 4. That hee was borne in the daies of Socrates and bred a Scholler under him How much more cause have wee to blesse God that wee were not borne Pagans or Papagans but brought foorth in these glorious and golden dayes of the Gospell 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Plutarch Demarathus of Corinth was wont to say that those Grecians lost a great part of the comfort of their lives that had not seene great Alexander sitting in Darius his Throne But Bucholcerus more truely pronounced those men unhappie that were Nati Donati borne and buried before the Reformation of Religion begun by Luther and himselfe he held most happy Mel Ad. in vit Ger theol pag. 550. that his birth fell out in Melancthons time a famous instrument of that renowned Reformation This is yet our case and long may it be Great heede is to be taken that we force not God for our Vnthankfullnesse to take his own and be gone as he did in Ezekiel where hee makes many remooves Ezek 9 10 11 and ever as hee went out some judgement came in as hee did from those seven once flourishing Churches of Asia Rev 2 3. now a habitation for Jim and Ohim as he hath not long since done from that large region of Nubia in Affrique S. Ed Sands Survey of West which had from the Apostles time as it is thought professed the Christian Faith till somewhat above an hundred yeares since it hath again forsaken it and imbraced partly Mahometisme and partly Idolatry and meerely through Famine of the Word and lacke of Ministers Lastly as he did from our fore-Fathers in Q. Maries dayes And will ye know the reason heare it from a Martyrs mouth Acts and Mon Ye all know saith M. Bradford in a letter of his written out of prison there was never more knowledge of God viz. in the dayes of King Edward and lesse godly living and true serving of God It was counted a foolish thing to serve God truly and earnest Prayer was not past upon Preaching was but pastime communion was counted too common Fasting to subdue the flesh was farre out of use Alms was almost nothing Malice Covetousnesse and uncleannesse was common every where with swearing drunkennesse and idlenesse God therfore now is come as ye have heard me preach c. God forgive me mine unthankfullnesse It is I Lord that have sinned against thee It is my Hypocrisie Ib. 1477. vain-glory security idlenesse unthankfullnesse self-love and such like which have deserved the taking away of our good King of thy Word and true Religion of thy good Ministers by exile prisonment and death Hos 14.2 Amos 4 1â— c. Thus he and thus we should take unto us words and meet the Lord if so we may prevaile that he cause not our Sunne to go down at noone and darken the Earth in the cleare day as he threatneth Amos 8.9 The very course of the Sunne may well warne us of the course and progresse of the Gospell which went first forth from the East that is Judaea to the South that is Greece and from thence passed to the West that is the Latines till now it is turned to the North which is the utmost angle of this Vniverse even to us and so it hath almost finished its course Wherfore as much as it is the pitching time of the day 1 Ioh. 2.18 2 Kings 4.27 Judg. 19.9 it is the last houre lay wee hold upon our Lord Christ as the Spouse did and although he make as if he would go further constraine we him Luke 24.29 as those Disciples did at Emaus by our importunity saying Abide with us for it is toward Evening and the day is far spent why shouldst thou be as a stranger in the Land Vespera nunc venit nobiscum Christe maneto Extingui lucem ne patiare tuam as a wayfaring man that turneth aside to tarry for a night only Yet thou O Lord art in the midst of us and wee are called by thy name leave us not Jer. 14.8 9. Sect. 2. BVt secondly as we are bound to God for his Word so to the Jews Gods depositaries and dispensers of his word his treasurers and as it were the keepers of his Cabinet Act. 7. to whom first were committed these lively Oracles and by whom they were transmitted and brought safe to our hands Godw Antiq Hebr. Their Masorites have carefully reckoned and summed up not the verses onely but all the words and letters of each book of the old Testament Rom. 15.27 which as it is an argument of their industry so is it an ingagement onâ—our part sith we are partakers of their spirituall things and cannot minister unto them of our carnall yet to pitty them and pray for them Let Salomon I meane Christ have his thousand of thanks Cant. 8.12 Let those also that have kept the fruit of his Vineyard whereof wee have so freely fed have their two hundred thanke we must the sender of this sweet fruit but withall pay the Messenger that brought it Let it not be forgotten that the Law came out of Sion Esay 2.3 Psal 110.2 and the Word of the LORD from Hierusalem to all the ends of the Earth that to them pertained the Adoption and the Glory Rom. 9.4 5. the giving of the Law and the promises that of them were the Fathers Yea of them as concerning the flesh came Christ who is God blessed for ever Rom. 10.1 Amen Let our hearts desire therfore and Prayer to God for Israel be that they may be saved They before the time of our calling praid heartily for us as appears Can. 8.8 and by sundry Psalms and from them we received the word and worship of God Iohn 10.34 15.25 The Law is called their Law And for the Gospell if they had not rejected it we had never received it Act. 13.46 Rom.
〈◊〉 proprie nomen dignitatis tertius à rege Mercer Cant. Psal 219.24 Prov. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Melchior Adam de vit Ger. Theol. such as might well become the greatest States on earth to study and strive after The King himselfe might bee held in these rafters David made Gods statutes the men of his counsell Salomon bids establish thy thoughts by this counsell and calleth his Proverbes Master-sentences such as should rule and sway in the whole course of our lives George Prince of Anhalt carried ever carefully about him Salomon and Siracides as his Vade mecum Andronicus the old Emperour of Constantinople being in a deepe distresse betooke himselfe for counsell and comfort to the Psalmes of David which S. Basil fitly calls a common store-house of divine doctrines horreum ex quo hauriatur a treasury of heavenly comforts such as no good can match no evill over-match Theodosius the second is reported to have written out the bookes of the New Testament with his owne hand and out of it hee read every day praying with his wife and sisters and singing of Psalmes Deut. 17.19 The King of Israel was not onely commanded to reade but to write out the Law yea the Jewes say that if Printing had then beene found out as it was say some long since among the Chinois yet was the King bound to write out two copies thereof with his owne hand Weemse his Exercit. pag. 118. one to be kept in the treasury and another to carry about him continually as a companion fit for a king The Persians have a custome at this day to present a rich Alchoran which is their Bible to the Princes Turk hist to whom they send Embassadours Charles the fifth when hee was baptized at Gaunt in Flanders had seven princely gifts bestowed upon him at the Font. His father gave him the Dutchy of Lutzenburg Bucholcerus ex Zenocaro another a silver head-peece another a golden sword c. the Abbats gave him a faire Bible with this inscription Scrutamini Scripturas Search the Scriptures Bishop Latimer among others of his make that gratified King Henry the eighth with a New-yeares gift according to the custome when some sent gold some silver some a purse-full of money some one thing some another he presented a New Testament with a napkin having this posie about it Acts and Mon. fol. 1594. Fornicatores adulteros judicabit Dominus Whoremongers and adulterers God will judge The Scriptures hee knew would deale plainly with him and tell him that which others durst not Sphinx philos Alphonsus King of Spaine and Naples was wont to bewaile the case of Kings for this that they hearing with other mens eares could seldome heare truth and therefore he held himselfe happy in his Muti Magistri his bookes his Bible especially which he is reported to have read over fourteene times in course together with Lyra's and other mens notes upon the Text. Averrâ—â—s the Philosopher so madly admires his master Aristotle that he affirmes there is no errour at all to be found in him Alsted Chronol p. 460. that his tenors were the chiefe truth and his judgement the utmost bound and extent of humane understanding that Aristotle was the rule and sample that dame Nature invented whereby to set forth mans utmost perfection Yet Aristotle denyes Gods particular providence teacheth the worlds eternity permits women to make abort other whiles to cast out their misshapen babes Iohnstonus de Naturae constantia p. 117. to keepe those lascivious pictures of the gods that had beene confirmed by custome c. Cyprian was wont to call to Paulus Concordiensis his Notary for Tertullians works with a Da magistrum Reach mee hither my master Strinxit calamum adversus Orthodoxos Alsted Chronol pag. 432. Yet Tertullian was a man and had his errours toward his later time he fell into Montanus his heresie and wrote sharply against the better side Good therefore is the counsell of our Saviour Math. 23.10 2 Cor. 8.5 Call no man master upon earth for one is your master even Christ. Give your selves up to God as the Macedonians did and unto his unerring Apostles and Prophets by the will of God Justifie his Word with the Publicans Luke 7.29 Sanctifie it by sanctifying all by the Word and Prayer as the Apostle speakes of meates and marriage 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Tim. 4.5 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Esay 6 5.9 Nehem. 8.5 Luke 4.16 Glorifie it as they did Act. 13.48 or as some copies reade receive it with joy and admiration for then there is a blessing in it Set your selves to shew your high esteeme of it when it is read as the people stood up in Nehemiah and our Saviour for our example at Nazareth yea as Eglon that Heathen though a fat unweildy man yet for reverence sake he stood up to heare the Lords message and this he had learned belike Iudges 3.20 Numb 23.18 from the custome and practice of Gods people Sect. 3. THirdly are the Scriptures of God this may further inform us of their purity and power Every word of God is pure saith Salomon Prov. 30.5 Psal 12.6 yea purer than silver seven times tried in a fornace saith David And the Gospel is the power of God to salvation Roman 1.16 Iam. 1.21 saith Paul such as is able to save your soules saith James maugre the malice of all the powers of darknesse Yea the Word of God saith our Authour is lively and powerfull and it shall well appeare too for it is sharper than any two-edged sword Heb. 4.12 13. piercing even to the dividing asunder of soule and spirit and that cuts very neare of the joynts and marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart which mans law meddles not with further than they are some way discovered as in a Gentleman of Normandy put to death by the Parliament of Paris for an intent he had to kill king Francis the second French hist which hee had revealed to his Confessour Otherwise thought 's free from the censure of earthly Courts and Consistories But this pure and powerfull Word of God searcheth the heart risseth the reines those seats of lust and most abstruse remote parts in all the body yea it rippeth up soule-secrets Ioh. 4.29 it tells a man all that ever he did as she said of our Saviour it ferrets corruption out of its lurking-holes 2 King 5.26 and tels false Gehezi of his Olive-yards and other purchases which hee had only meditated It searcheth Ierusalem with lights it descends into the Iowest holes of the heart and discryes it to bee as Adonibezeks table was a palace of pride a dungeon of darknesse Iudg. 1.7 a dunghill of uncleannesse a world of contemplative wickednesse a very pesthouse of all sorts of paltrement In this sea there is not only that Leviathan some familiar Devill that plaies Rex but creeping
pleased or displeased with divine errands GOD that sends us on them must not bee displeased But hee hath excluded the fearefull and will not employ a white-livered Souldier so far as to breake a Pitcher or to beare a torch Thou therefore as a good Souldier of Iesus Christ suffer hardship do the work of an Evangelist Galat. 1.10 Rev. 21.8 Iudges 7.3 2 Tim. 2.3 doe it throughly do it boldly do it sharply if need be rebuke them cuttingly that they may be sound in the faith Tit. 1.13 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chirurgos misericordes esse non oportet It is a metaphor from Chirurgions who must not be mercifull saith Celsus but have Lions hearts least their mercy prove as great cruelty as his that should forbeare to draw a drowning man out of the water for feare of pulling off some part of his haire Great is our charge to declame against sin yea to proclaime hell-fire against it if men amend not upon every opportunity to use all importunity for the rousing of sinners out of that dead Lethargy whereinto Sathan and an evill custome hath cast them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 2 Pet. 2.13 Cry aloud saith the Lord cry in the throte Esay 58.1 Ier. 1.17 spare not lest I confound thee before them lift up thy voyce like a trumpet Cast away the inverse Trumpets of Furius Fulvius which sounded a retrait when they should have sounded an alarme It is a treacherous slattery to sooth men up in their sinnes and to make all faire weather before them when the storme of Gods heavie displeasure is ready to burst out upon them such a storme as shall never bee blowne over If Ministers must bee mannerly in the forme yet in the matter of their message they must be resolute It is probable Ioseph used some preface to Pharaohs Butler in reading him that destiny Genesis 40 19. Chap. 4.19 such as was that of Daniel My Lord the dreame be to them that hate thee c. or as Philo brings him in with a Vtinam tale somnium non vidisses c. I would thou hadst not dreamt such a dream But for the matter he gives him a true though sharp interpretation Bitter truths must be told however they be taken If men hate us they doe it with as good justice as if some fond people should punish the Herald or accuse the trumpet as the cause of their war If they exclaim against us they shew as much madnesse as if the widdow of Naims son should have raild upon our Saviour for offering to raise him from the dead If they deride our message and command us ad quercum dicere Livy se interim alia acturos as a Governour of the Aequi in Italy bad the Roman Ambassadours to speake to the walles they have somthing else to do then to regard us we must take the boldnesse to answer them againe as they did him Et haec sacrata quercus audiat saedus a vobis violatum Let these stones of the wall and beames out of the house-sides yea let Heaven and earth witnesse your intolerable contempt wherein ye have not despiled man but God 1 Thes 4 8 What are we that ye have murmured against us saith Moses your murmurings are not against us but against the Lord Exod. 16 7 8 who wil justly punish it Thus must Ministers contest against the raging world and contend for the doctrine of faith once receaved not loving their ease no not their lives unto the death Acts 20. that they may fulfill their course with joy Itching eares would have clawing Preachers and these are the times foretold by the Apostle 2 Tim. 4 3. wherin men cannot abide wholesome doctrine Briars and thornes be with thee saith God to Ezekiel such as a man can hardly handle hee that toucheth them must bee fenced with iron and with the staffe of a speare 2 Sam. 2 6 But feare them not nor bee dismaid thogh they be a rebellious house And that he might not behold the spirit tooke him up and he heard behind him a voyce of a great rushing saying Blessed bee the glory of the Lord from his place Ezek. 4.12 Hereby his heart was fortified against all affronts of the people and afflictions of the world whether they would heare or whether they would forbeare yet hee should find there was a reward for the righteous a God that judgeth in the earth and pleades for his faithfull servants when they little think of it in the hearts of their greatest enemies Ieremy 9.3 A godly man that is valiant for the truth and refuseth to praise the wicked but when he hath cause will contend with them and not be like a troubled fountaine or a corrupt spring well hee may for the time receive ill words from the wicked but their hearts are afraid of him and their Consciences admire him Prover 24.25 28.4 Saint Paul standing before Faelix who had more regard to gaine then Iustice and Drusilla a Iewesse yet married against the Law to an uncircumcised person taketh occasion in a certaine kind of grave wisdome joynd with great liberty of speech to discourse and dispute afore them of Iustice Temperance and the judgement to come till Faelix trembled Acts 24.25 and could heare him no longer The like spirit was found in Athanasius that eye of the World as one calls him Of whom Nazianzen reports that he was Magnes Adamas In Encom Athanas a loadstone in his sweet gentle drawing nature and yet an Adamant in his resolute stout carriage against those that were evill Pueris illa terriculamenta proponenda sunt sc exilia supplicia c. Greg Naz. de laud Baesiâ—ij were they never so great And how did Saint Basil despise the menaces of Valens the Arrian Emperour and so daunted him with his presence that hee reeld and had fallen had he not been upheld by those that stood next him Who hath not read or heard how freely Ambrose dealt with Theodosius Tripar hist lib. 9. cap. 30. B. Ridley offering to preach before the Lady Mary and receiving a repulse being brought by Sir Thomas Wharton her servant to the Dining place hee was desired to drinke Which after he had done he paused a while looking very sadly and suddainly brake out into these words Surely I have done amisse Why so quoth the Knight For I have drunk said he in that place where Gods word offered hath beene refused Whereas if I had remembred my duty I had departed immediately and shaken off the dust of my shooes for a testimony against this house These words were by the said Bishop spoken with such a vehemency Fox Martyr fol. 1270. that some of the hearers afterwards confessed the haires to stand upright on their heads So Archâ— Grindall by cunning practises of his adversaries lost the Queens favour because he had condemned an unlawfull marriage of Iulio an Italian Physitian