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A13710
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Demegoriai Certaine lectures vpon sundry portions of Scripture, in one volume. By Lewys Thomas: 1. Christ traualiing to Ierusalem. 2. Christ purging the temple. 3. The history of our Lords birth. 4. The true-louers canticle. 5. The propheticall kings triumph. 6. The anatomy of tale-bearers. 7. Peters persecution and his deliuerance. 8. Heauens high-way.
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Thomas, Lewis, b. 1567 or 8.
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1600
(1600)
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STC 24002; ESTC S103488
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105,094
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284
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feeling zeale and feruencie of spirit vnto God is a sanctified prayer an acceptable prayer a prayer that pearceth the cloudes presseth vnto the presence of God and returneth not empty vnto them that poure it forth Such was the prayer of meeke Moses for the Israehtes against Pharaoh and preuailed Such was the prayer of Iehosaphat against Ammon and Moab and preuailed Such vvas the praver of the godlie for Paul in the Acts against his persecutours and preuailed And such was the prayer of the congregation heere for Peter and it likewise preuailed Such a prayer doth the Lord looke for for such a prayer doth he call vpon Dauid and vs in Dauid in the 149. psalm Call vppon me in the day of tribulation and I will deliuer thee and thou shalt glorifie me It was not the sling but the prayer of Dauid that caused the stone to sincke into the fore-head of the vncircumcised Philisâ—â—an And behold the Angell of the Lord came c. See heere the powerfull effect of prayer As the Church sent soorth theyr prayers so here God sends forth his Angell to execute that which they prayed for Rather then the prayer of the iust should fast God ceased not to worke Peters deliuerance by a miracle The Angell smote Peter on the side raysed him vp saying Vp quickly and the chaynes fell off from his hands Theyr prayer found a speedy successe in a most strange and extraordinary manner Peter beyond all expectation is deliuered for a greater comfort to Gods church and the greater terrour to the persecuting Tyrant So hath God his enemies in derision laughes them to scorne in theyr owne imaginatious When they thought themselues most sure of Peter euen then they finde them-selues most deceiued Herod did purpose on the next morrow to put Peter to death but hee failed of his purpose as the Philistims failed of Sampson though he lay bound with great cords in the midst of them So man doth purpose but God doth dispose man imagineth but God determineth all to the best for them that loue him Hence we are to learne that what-soeuer troubles shall happen vnto vs they bee knowne before hande are especially appointed vpon whom they shall fall so that they cannot come sooner or later vnto vs nor can preuaile further against vs then GOD shall permit as God gaue Herod power to take Peter but he had no power to kill him The Lord cutteth short the arme of Tyrants at his pleasure hee can put a brydle in theyr mouthes and an hooke in their nostrils as he did Zenacharib when he came vp against Ezechiah The Angell set Peter at libertie Many such examples of the Lordes prouidence ouer his elect we find in the Scripture as in the sixt of the second of Kinges when the seruaunt of Eliseus rose vp earely in the morning to goe out an host of men sent thether from the King of Aram compassed the Citty rounde about with horses and charyots and he cryed to his Maister Alas we perrish But he aunswered Feare not they that are with vs are more then they that are with them Then Elisha prayed that the Lord would open the eyes of his seruaunt that he might see and he looked and beholde the mountaine was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha There we find Gods gracious prouidence garding the prophet and heere we find another president of the like prouidence of God in rescuing Peter by the ministery of an Angell from the violent rage of Herod An Angell appeared to Paule in that Acts 27. dangerous viage and told him that none in the shyp should perrish And here an Angell tells Peter that hee shall not miscarry nor perrish though hee were euen nowe shutte vp in the lowest dungeon and kept with foure quaternions of souldiours Lot by Angels was deliuered from the flames of Sodome Rather then the three children should be consumed in the siery Ouen God sent his Angell to protect them causing the fire against nature to lose his heate as it were to quench it selfe in his owne flame The fire lost his heat as the yron chaines lost theyr strength when they fell froÌ„ Peters hands What should I stand vppon particulars when as the prophet Dauid saith The Angels of the Lord pitch theyr camps round about them that feare him and deliuereth them So Peter came and followed him and knew not that it was true This deliueraunce came to Peter vnlooked for as appeareth by these words Had he knowne of thys happy newes he would surely haue watched for the Angels comming and not haue suffered his eyes to sleep being a time so full of peril when nothing but death was presented before him And vpon the next morrow he was to bee ledde to the place of execution Well comming vnlooked for it was by so much the better welcome and it was a motiue of forcible efficacie to cause Peter enter into a deeper consideration of Gods goodnes in so strange a sort working his deliueraunce This circumstance in Peters deliuerance is woorth the nothing viz. The time of the Angels comming when now there was almost no hope of any euasion or escape out of their hands for vpon the day following Herod thought to dispatch him Euen then in the moment as it were of his greatest extremitie comes the Angell openeth the prison doores and causeth the chaynes to fall from his handes and so Peter escapeth almost before he awaketh or before he can haue any leysure to consider of his deliuerance The historie speaketh that hee thought he had seene a vision So was Dauid deliuered from the handes of Saul and Ierusalem from the tyranny of the King of Ashur and Samaria from the Aramites and this hapned vnto theÌ„ vpon a sudden when no help was expected In that it pleased God not to deliuer him sooner it proueth that the Lorde will haue the measure of affliction left to himselfe He will sift vs to the vttermost to try our patience Our Sauiour had told Peter before that sathan should winow both him and the other Apostles as one winoweth VVheate And here hee findes it true that sathan indeed had winowed him by his instruments of crueltie Herod and the rest hee was euen nowe at the next doore to death But the prouidence of God became vnto him a present helpe in time of trouble he rescued him from the violence of his mighty aduersaries and stayed theyr furie in the very instant As the Angell stayde Abrahams hande vvhen the fatall blowe vvas comming The very night before Herod purposed to bring him out to the people came thys vnexpected deliuerance Christ suffered the shyppe to be almost vnder the waues before hee woulde awake God went farre with Heliah when he was forced to flie from Iesabell and to cry out They haue killed the prophets I alone 1 Reg 19. am left and they seeke my soule And Dauid the freend of God was put to his shyâ—ts
of soueraignty hee is called Rex a Regendo he must gouerne and not be gouerned But hee that should rule is heere ouerruled The subiect commaunds the King Herod plies himselfe to the humour oâ— his people Câ—ossing that Scripture Non sequeâ—e multitudinem ad faâ—iendum malum Wicked tyrants if they shall perceaue the people like affected to themselues will be the more imboldned in their cruelty This Herod could not abide that Peter should â—eprooue him in his sinnes no more than the other Heâ—od could Iohn Baptist And finding the applause of the people to concurre with his practise hee is the rather whetted on to doe wickedly Since therefore the successe and growth of religion depends so much vpon the peoples lyking or dislyking the Minister of the word ought especially to labour in this that the people bewel informed in the true way be soundly taught to know God if they shall shew themselues zealous professours Though a wicked tyrant did raigne ouer them yet should hee not preuaile to doe hurt to the children of God It pleased the people Heere is great ods a manifest inequality one against many and many against one The whole people oppose themselues against Peter to destory him like so many Philistims against Sampson but as Sampson brake the cords so Peter brake the prison or rather God for Peter opened the prison and so hee escaped and so Herods expectation was frustied the multitude of their purpose disappoynted the glory of God mightily magnisied as shall appeare in the sequell of the story You haue heard the reason why Herod tooke Peter Heere it followes how he vsed him where wee are first to note in a word the degrees of Herods cruelty First he tooke him or caught him which argues that he lay in waite for him before then he committed him to prison caused him to be kept with a straite guard no lesse then foure quaternions of Souldiers Lastly hee purposed after the feast to put him to death that was the mark he aymed at and the drift of his endeuours His apprehending of him his committing him to prison his diligence in close and sure keeping him all was to murther him at last The deuils purposes and tyrants practises are both one hee is an aduersary hee goeth about he seeketh he roaâ—eth hee deuoureth So doe tyrants they neuer rest going about seeking watching threating till at length they haue deuoured vs. Mark the care that Herod took to keepe Peter that hee should by no meanes start from him hee would neuer haue vsed the like carefulnes in any good matter A quaternion contayned foure Souldiours so the whole make sixteene There was a keeper before the dore of the prison and two with him betwixt whom hee lay and the rest round about him in their seuerall wards or stations this was notable diligence they meant to make sure worke This theyr ouer vvarie circumspection was no doubt a testimonie of a guilty and distrustfull conscience In this tyrant so many circumstances in this Scripture deliuered concerning the apprehension of Peter may stand in steed of so many witnesses accusing him within of wrongfull imprisonment Hee saw in him selfe that hee had no iust cause to doe it and therefore he feared that this prisoner vvould by some meanes get from him notwithstanding this so sure a watch Such was Herods watchfulnes and such was Peters vveakenesse that no resisâ—ance might bee made But least this Tyrant should growe too insolent GOD himselfe sendeth his Angell to take part vvith Peter and to rescue him from Herods tyrannie Dalilah did thinke she had made Sampson fast enough with ropes and cords but through his strength he brake them Saul thought he had Dauid sure enough when hee was in his bed but hee escaped out of his hands his vvife Micholl letting him downe at a window Paule was by an earthquake deliuered out of pryson and at another time the Iewes tooke counsaile to kill him they laid vvayte day and night at the gates to take him but the other Aposâ—les put him out at a wall and lâ—t him downe in a basket and so he escaped And in this place the Angell deliuereth Peter in like sort from the hands of them who sought to slay him Rather then the enemie shall insult ouer the children of God hee will worke a miracle the rather to procure their safety euen beyond all expectation As Elias was fed by a Rauen at the Riuers side and Daniell refreshed with the pottage that Abacuck brought vnto him when he lay in the Lyons denne And as Ehsha compassed his aduersaries while they compassed him So in the midst of all our afflictions God will make a way for vs escape if it bee good for vs and stand with his will As the hills stand about Ierusalem so the Lord causeth a whole Armie of Angels to stand about vs. It followeth That night Peter slept betweene two Souldiours Peter is all this while in prison what dooth he in the midst of these so great extremities Our text tells vs what he did Hee slept VVhat meanes Peter to sleepe in so great a daunger as if hee vvere altogether carelesse as if hee had beene possest with a stoycall stupidity without all sence and feeling and this security or carelesnes to rest vpon him then when hee was ready to resigne vp his life euen the very night before he should be brought forth to be executed Indeede by reason of long watching before all the former time of his indurance nature might haue forced him to slumber a little but the words are he slept it was a sound sleepe that he slept His danger so imminent his sorrowes full of terrour and fearefulnes beeing the post maisters of death should haue beene able to keepe him waking and not to suffer the temples of his head to rest Some there are that expound this sleepe of Peter to signifie not a dissolute carelesnes but a godly security confident trustfulnes in him God commaunds vs to cast our care vppon him for he careth for vs and so Peter knowing that God did care for him did cast his care vpon the Lord. And therfore he mistrusting no euill suffered his body to take his repose hee knewe that God the watchman of Israell was also his watchman and so the rather might he sleepe in safety Peter had commended him selfe to his prouidence and protection hee knew his quarrell to be good if he were to die it was in the Lords cause and these reasons made him sleepe so soundly Others interprete this place otherwise they hold this sleeping in Peter to be an infirmity of nature and a great weakenes in him for which he was worthy reprehension then to be sleeping when hee should haue been most watchfull in attending the Lords leasure and in laying hold vpon the Lords mercies in working his deliuerance God would haue him to be a spectacle of infirmity to the end wee looking into our selues should acknowledge