in his mind a (d) So we read of Adonijah affecting the Kingdom of David by the like practise 1 King 2.22 Abner was exceedingly provoked and enrag'd at this and angerly reply'd What am I a dogs-head am I so mean and vile a person in thine eyes that I should be school'd and reprehended for such a matter as this I that have shewed such kindness unto the house of thy Father and to his brethren and friends and have so strenuously stood up against the Tribe of Judah who made David King and have made thee King over the rest of Israel and hitherto supported thee in thy Kingdom and have not delivered thee into the hands of David as I might have done What! am I so mean and contemptible a person that thou shouldst think it a disgrace to thy family that I should lye with one of thy Fathers Concubines God do so to me and more also if I do not translate the Kingdom from the house of Saul to the house of David and make him King over all Israel even from Dan to Beersheba as the Lord hath sworn he should be So that it is plain that Abner knew very well that God had chosen and appointed David to be King and yet all this while he had opposed him against his own knowledg and conscience for his own worldly and wicked ends But though he behaved himself thus insolently yet Ishbosheth being a low and poor-spirited man durst not answer him a word he stood in such fear of him Abner pursuant to what he had threatned sent messengers to David by whom he made his acknowledgment that the whole land did indeed belong to him whom God by Samuel had anointed to be King over Israel and therefore he resolved his hand should be with him to bring all Israel to be subject unto him provided he would make a League and Covenant with him to pardon all that was past and to receive him into his favour David returned him an answer that all that he desired was granted only he must not expect to see his face except he brought Michal Saul's daughter along with him That David insisted upon this condition needs not seem strange if we consider first that she had beeen his first wife and had been faithful to him in preserving his life 1 Sam. 19.11 12. and had been forced by her father to marry another man when he was fled 1 Sam. 25.44 And 2ly David could no way better express his love to her than by rescuing her from the sin and misery of living in adultery 3ly He saw in policy it imported him to ingratiate himself with and gain the love of Sauls kindred and allies which he could no way better do than by this means 4ly He thought he should hereby try the fidelity of Abner Abner it seems hereupon advised David to send to Ishbosheth for his wife and then he would second the motion and procure it to be done David accordingly sent Messengers to Ishbosheth desiring to have his wife Michal delivered to him which he had espoused to him for an hundred (e) David was enjoined only to bring an 100 but he brought 200 1 Sam. 18.25 27. foreskins of the Philistines Ishbosheth being perswaded by Abner to gratifie David therein immediately sent and took her away from Phaltiel her husband who went along with her as far as Bahurim a Town in the Tribe of Benjamin weeping and lamenting that a wise so noble and beautiful should be taken away from him But Abner bad him return and comfort himself for 't was in vain to weep for that which could not be helped Then Abner in pursuance of his design to come in to David had communication with the Elders of Israel and said to them Many of you long ago sought to have David to be King over you now then I pray let us all agree to it for the Lord (f) We do not read in the Sacred story where this is expresly spoken but Josephus saith it was spoken by Samuel and commonly known among the people hath spoken of David saying by the hand of my servant David I will save my people Israel out of the hands of the Philistines and out of the hands of all their enemies He having thus spoken received a satisfactory answer from them viz. that they would receive David for their King Then he addresseth himself to the Tribe of Benjamin speaking to them to the same purpose and he thought it needful to address himself in an especial manner to them because Saul had been of their Tribe and so was chiefly in their favour and therefore if they gave way to Davids Title and submitted to his government little doubt was to be made but that the rest of the Tribes would submit also Having therefore received such an answer from the Elders of Israel and Benjamin as satisfied him he to shew his great diligence and faithfulness in managing Davids business went himself to carry the news of his good success to David at Hebron reporting to him all that Israel and especially Benjamin had said being attended with twenty men and as 't is probable carried Michal along with him David received him very graciously and made a great feast for him and his company when that was over Abner told him he would go and endeavour to get all Israel to accept him for their King and to make a league with him to be subject to him that he might reign over them all even according to his own hearts desire so David dismissed him in peace Joab with a Brigade of his Souldiers now returning home from pursuing a Troop of the Philistines or some other enemies that had invaded the land and bringing a great spoil along with them he was told that Abner had been newly with the King and had been graciously received by him and honourably dismist Joab was enraged at this and therefore in a bold and insolent manner he came to the King and asked him what he had done He wondered at his imprudence in sending away so dangerous an enemy as Abner was when he had him in his hands Thou mightest well have known says he if thou hadst considered it that Abner is a subtile and politick man and came not for any good end but to deceive thee and as a spy to discover thy counsels and the course of thy actions and proceedings Thus he pretends only David's good but 't is like he feared lest Abner by this important service of coming in to him himself and bringing in the other Israelites should insinuate himself into David's favour and so prove a corrival to him in his honours and preferments and besides the death of his brother Asahel killed by Abner stuck in his stomack David it seems was not much moved by what he said wherefore Joab flinging away in a discontent when he was come out from the King he sent Messengers after Abner and possibly in the Kings name who knew nothing of it who brought him
bound himself by a solemn vow that he would not rest till he had set himself upon the accomplishment of it as they gather from Psal 132.2 3 4. But God delayed not to bring David quickly out of his mistake and therefore that very night he spake to Nathan to go to him and to speak to him after this manner Whereas it was in thine heart to build an house unto my name thou didst well that it was in thine heart 1 King 8.18 but it shall not be done by thee but by thy Son 2 Chron. 6.7 8 9. it is not my pleasure that thou shouldest do it and that for these reasons 1. Because thou hast been a martial man and hast shed much blood (c) Haec verba non leguntur 2 Sam. 7. Ergo pertinent ad Paralipomena i. e. ad praetermissa unde hi duo libri nomen acceperunt which though it was the blood of mine and my peoples enemies and so was a service well pleasing to me yet the Temple being to be a Type of the Body of the Messias the Prince of Peace it shall be built by a Peaceable Prince 2ly Though thou enjoyest peace now yet thou hast many wars to wage with the Nations about thee that are not yet subdued and so canst not have leisure to go through with so great a work as that is 3ly I have not made choice of any standing permanent house wherein to manifest my gracious presence to this day but have manifested my self in a Tabernacle flitting and removing from place to place yet all that while I have been present with my people ever since coming out of Egypt as their God Alsufficient therefore there is no absolute need at present of building any other house for me which shall be done when my own time is come 4ly I did never speak to any of the Tribes of Israel or to the Judges whom I appointed as faithful shepherds to govern and provide for my people that an House of Cedar should be built for me Moreover do not think that my forbidding thee to do it proceeds from want of love to thee for thou maist remember how I have taken thee from the sheep-coat from following the sheep to be ruler over my people and have prospered thee in all thine enterprizes and have destroy'd all thine enemies that rose up against thee and have made thee famous and formidable to the Nations round about thee and have given thee a name like the name of the great Princes and Potentates of the earth And as I have already multiplied many blessings upon thee so I am still ready to do it for time to come Moreover I have not only blessed thee but I will bless the whole Nation under thy Government As I have appointed a place (a) V. 10. I have appointed a place for my people So the Dutch Annotations read it In the Hebrew it is ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã posui a good land for them so I will plant (b) How was this promise fulfill'd that the Lord would so plant them in a place of their own that they shouâd thence move no more and that the children of wickedness should not afflict them any more as in former times c. when after Solomons days both the Kingdom of Israel and Judah were often invaded and wasted by many of the neighbouring Nations and the people at last carried away captive to Assyria and Babylon Either this promise therefore must be restrain'd to the times of David and Solomon in whose days they did enjoy the land as their own without molestation from the neighbouring Nations or else it must be understood as a conditional promise viz. if they were obedient else God reserved liberty to himself to deal otherwise with them them there and so settle them in the land that they shall quietly enjoy it as their own lawful inheritance and not be dispossessed of it and tossed up and down as formerly they have been neither shall they be molested and vexed continually by their oppressing neighbours the children of wickedness as they have been ever since I appointed Judges to rule over them even unto this time that I have set thee over them and have given thee rest from all thine enemies round about And seeing thou hadst a purpose to build an house for me I will saith the Lord make thee an house that is I will establish and continue thy Kingdom in thy posterity and which is far more raise up out of thy seed the Messiah who shall be an everlasting King over his people And when thy days be fulfilled and thou shalt sleep with thy Fathers I will set up one of thy Sons viz. Solomon on the Throne after thee and will establish his Kingdom and he shall build an house for my name for my worship and service and I will establish the Throne of his Kingdom for ever (c) This is proper and peculiar to Christs Kingdom alone and cannot be literally understood of Solomons seeing the Kingdom continued in his posterity only to Zedekiah therefore the promises here are some peculiar to Solomon and some to Christ and some to both I will be to him a Father (d) This promise belonged both to Solomon and Christ to Solomon as we read 1 Chron. 28. to Christ as we read Heb. 1.5 To Solomon by grace and adoption to Christ by natural eternal generation and he shall be my Son and if he commit iniquity (c) This is to be understood of Solomon and not of Christ who committed no sin I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the stripes of the children of men that is I will correct him for his sin as a loving Father doth his beloved Son with Fatherly chastisements for his amendment and not in wrath for destruction but I will not quite cast him out of my favour and deprive him of his Kingdom as I did Saul And thine house and thy Kingdom shall be establisht for ever before thee that is thy Kingdom shall be establisht in thy self unto the day of thy death and shall in thy sight be setled upon Solomon thy Son 1 King 1.28 whence thou maist assure thy self of the continuance of it in thy posterity for a long time (f) ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã Apud Hebraeos non semper significat tempus infinitum sed pro materia de qua agitur aliquando solum tempus bene longum Thus Nathan faithfully delivered unto David all that was revealed unto him in the vision he had from the Lord though it was contrary to the advice which he himself had before privately given him David having received this message went into the Tent where the Ark was and having for some time sat down and meditated on the great goodness and mercy of God to him he then addressed himself in prayer unto the Lord after this manner Who am I O Lord God and what is my Fathers house that thou hast brought me
the Kings Sons and Joab and Abiathar and many Captains of the host and behold they eat and drink before him and say God save King Adonijah Surely this is not done with thy allowance for matters of so great moment thou didst not use to transact without consulting me first about them Then the King called for Bathsheba and said to her As the Lord liveth who hath redeemed me out of all former distresses as I sware to thee that Solomon should sit on my Throne after me so it shall be Then Bathsheba bowed her face to the earth and said Let my Lord King David live for ever As if she should have said Long may the King live and I wish if it were the will of God we might never lose him Then the King call'd for Zadok Nathan and Benaiah and commanded them to take with them his Life-guard viz. the Cherethites and Pelethites and to set Solomon on his own Mule and to carry him to Gihon (a) A Mount with a rivulet close by it on the West-side of Jerusalem and that Zadok the Priest and Nathan the Prophet should there anoint him King over all Israel and when that was done they should blow with the Trumpet and say God save King Solomon and then says he ye shall attend him back in state to Jerusalem that he may come and sit on my Throne and be thereby declared King in my stead For I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and over Judah * It seems there was emulation between Judah and the other Tribes before the division of the Kingdom See 2 Sam. 19.41 Benaiah the Son of Jehoiada hearing the King speak thus answered in his own and the name of the rest Amen The Lord God confirm what the King hath said As the Lord hath been with my Lord the King so may he be with Solomon also and make his Throne greater than the Throne of his Father Then Zadok Nathan Benaiah and the Kings Life-guard carried Solomon to Gihon and there Zadok the Priest anointed him with oyl taken out of the Tabernacle viz. the Tabernacle which David had set up for the Ark 2 Sam. 6.17 for oyl being kept there for several holy uses Zadok took an horn full of it and therewith anointed the King Which done they blew the Trumpet and all the people there present shouted God save King Solomon Then they carried him in state towards Jerusalem and the people followed after piping with Pipes and rejoicing with great joy and they shouted so loud that the earth even rent (a) An Hyperbolical expression setâing forth the greatness of their acclamations with the sound of their acclamations Adonijah and the company that were with him just as they were concluding their great Feast heard this extraordinary noise and acclamation and Joab heard the sound of the Trumpet and wondred what the matter was and thought there might be some uproar in the City but immediately Jonathan the Son of Abiathar came to them Adonijah seeing him O come in says he for thou art a good (b) Hebr. a man of vertue man and bringest good tidings The tidings says Jonathan that I bring are that David hath made Solomon King and Zadok Nathan and Benaiah have anointed him in Gihon and they came up with him from thence rejoicing and shouting so loud that the City rang again and this is the noise ye heard and Solomon sits now on the Throne and is in actual possession of the Kingdom and the Kings servants came and blest our Lord King David and rendred him humble thanks for setting Solomon on the Throne and pray'd that the Lord would make the name of Solomon more famous than he had made Davids and his Kingdom greater and the King bowed himself upon his bed and worshipped and praised God saying Blessed be the Lord God of Israel who hath setled my Son Solomon this day on my Throne my own eyes seeing it The Guests that were with Adonijah hearing this had enough of their Feast and began to be sore afraid and got themselves away as fast as they could to their own houses leaving Adonijah to shift for himself Adonijah then not well knowing what to do and being sorely afraid that Solomon would take away his life he fled to Gibeon where the Tabernacle of Moses now was 1 Chron. 21.29 and there took hold on the horns of the Altar For though we read of no express Law that God ever gave to his people that those that fled to the Altar should be there secured yet that it was a custom for malefactors to fly to the Altar as to an Asylum or place of refuge may be gathered from Exod. 21.14 and the Altar being the place where God did shew forth the riches of his grace in accepting a sacrifice for sin this hanging upon the horns of it was a kind of pleading that mercy should be shewed them for Gods sake And accordingly Adonijah fled to the Altar and being there he desireth that King Solomon so he acknowledgeth him would swear to him that he would not put him to death Solomon sent him word that if he would shew himself a worthy man and a loyal subject for the future not an hair of his head should fall to the ground but if he appeared to be wicked and disloyal after this he should surely die Upon this promise they brought Adonijah from the Altar to Solomon to whom he bowed himself and Solomon bad him go to his own house and there live peaceably and quietly 1 King Ch. 1. from v. 5 to the end SECT CCX DAvid having now caused Solomon to be anointed King he giveth him in charge the building of the Temple speaking to him after this manner My Son it was in my heart to build an house for the Lord but the Lord would not permit me to do it because I had been engaged in many wars and had shed much blood (c) God does not upbraid David for shedding blood in his own cause Saul and Ahab for sparing blood lost their Kingdoms 1 Sam. 15.23 1 King 20.22 42. The Levites for their fact in shedding blood Exod. 32. and Phineas for his Numb 25. have the Priesthood setled on them and so was not so fit to build a Temple to him which was to be a figure of the Messias the Prince of Peace But he said to me a Son shall be born to thee who shall be a man of rest and I will give him rest from all his enemies round about his name shall be call'd Solomon that is peaceable for I will give peace and quietness to Israel in his days he shall build an house for my name he shall be my Son and I will be his Father and I will establish the Throne of his Kingdom over Israel for ever that is for a long time and as long as the Kingdom of Judah shall continue one of Solomon's posterity shall sit in the Throne of David (a) Possibly none of
and upon this thy people and let thine ears be attentive unto the supplications we shall make unto thee and hearken to us in all that we shall pray unto thee for according to thy will For thou didst separate us unto thy self from among all the Nations of the earth to be thy peculiar people and inheritance as thou spakest by thy servant Moses Solomon having ended this his devout prayer rose up from his knees and standing with his face toward the Temple he repeated part of the 132 Psalm saying Arise O Lord and take possession of this house which I have built for thee as a resting place and fixt habitation and not an ambulatory and moving one as the Tabernacle was And let thy Ark whereon thou dost manifest thy glory (e) Psal 78.61 He delivereth his strength into captivity and his glory into the enemies hands strength and power for the good of thy people be here setled and constantly abide Let thy Priests O Lord God be clothed and adorned with such graces as may bring salvation to themselves (f) Psal 132.9 This clause is thus expressed Let thy Priests be clothed with righteousness and may enable them to be instrumental in the saving of others and let thy Saints rejoice in thy goodness and favour manifested unto them O Lord God hear me I pray thee and turn not away the face of thine anointed with shame and confusion by denying me my request but remember the promises thy mercy moved thee to make to David my Father and to his posterity Solomon having ended his prayers the Sacrifices were brought in and laid upon the Altar and immediately fire came down from Heaven and consumed them and the glory of the Lord probably covered with a cloud filled the house and such an orient splendour shone through it that the Priests could by no means enter into the Temple The people seeing the fire came down from Heaven and the glory of the Lord upon the house they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground and worshipped and praised God and sang as 't is probable the 136 Psalm as the Singers had done before the burthen or foot whereof was For he is good for his mercy endureth for ever Then Solomon turned his face and blessed all the Congregation of Israel again as he had done at the beginning and said Blessed be the Lord God who hath given rest to his people Israel as he promised of old And indeed he hath not failed of performing any of his gracious promises which he made to his people by the ministry of his servant Moses Now therefore the Lord our God be with us as he was with our Fathers and let him not leave us nor forsake us but let him incline our hearts to walk in his ways and to keep his commandments * Viz. The Moral Ceremonial and Judicial Laws statutes and judgments which he commanded our Fathers And let my words wherewith I have made supplication to the Lord this day be in his mind and memory continually that he may maintain the cause of me his servant and the cause of his people Israel at all times as the matter shall require and as it shall appear just and equal to him that all the people of the earth may know that the Lord he is the only true God from whom all blessings come and that there is no other God besides him Let your heart therefore be upright and sincere before the Lord and walk in his statutes and keep his commandments as now you do Then the King the Princes and people offered abundance of Peace-offerings (a) They were call'd Peace-offerings because God having bestowed some benefit upon them seemed to be appeased towards them and they were offered as a kind of retribution and to return thanks to God for it And in offering the same they also testified their hope that God was reconciled towards them to the Lord and kept this feast of Dedication seven days During which time they offered unto the Lord two and twenty thousand oxen and an hundred and twenty thousand sheep By a multitude of Sacrifices the pious Jews were wont to testifie their zealous and grateful affection towards God and we never read of any Sacrifice like this And thus Solomon the Princes and people by their joint prayers praises and sacrifices dedicated the house of God and set it apart for his worship and service And they rejoiced before the Lord seven days and seven that is they kept the first seven days as the Feast of Dedication and the next seven as the Feast of Tabernacles And the day after Solomon dismissed the people to their own homes and they blessed the King and prayed unto the Lord for him and went home with joyful and glad hearts rejoicing in the goodness which the Lord had manifested to the house of David and to Solomon and to all the people of Israel 1 King Ch. 8. whole Chapter 1 Chron. Ch. 5. whole Chapter 1 Chron. Ch. 6. whole Chapter 2 Chron. Ch. 7. from v. 1 to 11. SECT III. SHortly after * Some read 1 King 9.1 And it came to pass when Solomon had finished the building of the house of the Lord and afterwards finished the Kings house and all his desire which he was pleased to do that the Lord appeared to him the second time c. Solomon had made that devout prayer before mentioned the Lord as it seems appeared to him in a dream (b) Ch. 6.11 We read that the word of the Lord came to Solomon but that was by some messenger or Prophet sent unto him but this was the second time that the Lord appeared to him in a Vision as he had done before at Gibeon 1 King 3.4 5. and the Lord said I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication which thou hast made before me and I have hallowed this house and set it apart to those holy uses which thou didst intend it for and it shall be called by my name as long as it shall last and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually I will always be ready to take notice of the prayers there made and the services there performed and will graciously accept them And if I shall shut up heaven at any time so that there be no rain or send the locusts or pestilence among my people that are called by my name if they shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways then will I hear in heaven and forgive their sin and heal their land And if thou wilt walk before me in integrity and uprightness as thy Father David did and keep my statutes and judgments then I will establish the Throne of thy Kingdom for ever that is thou and thy posterity shall continue time after time to be Kings over Israel so as no other stock but thine shall sit on that Throne so long as the Kingdom of Judah shall remain as I
wives yea furthered it by suffering them to build Temples for their Idols and thus his Idolatrous wives turned his heart from the Commandments of God which enjoin'd him to root out Idolatry but it seems his carnal love to them devouring his zeal for God he was so far from rooting it out that he permitted it and thereupon is said to have followed * Dicitur sequutus Deos alienos quod eorum cultum non repulcrit Debuit quatenus vir ab Idololatria uxores reprimere quatenus vero Rex ditionem suam in vero Dei cultu retinere Horum neutrum praestitit sed uxorum blanditiis dilinitus Templa Fana extruxit impensas ad Sacrificia Sacerdotes suppeditavit after Ashtaroth (e) See Judg. 2.13 the Goddess of the Zidonians and Milcom (f) Levit. 18.21 or Molech the Abomination of the Ammonites namely because he connived at the worship of these Idols And to the great aggravation of his guilt he permitted (g) V. 7. Aedificavit scil permisit ut uxores aedificarent Non increpavit eas a Temple or an Image or both to be built for Chemosh (h) Numb 21.29 the Abomination of Moab and for Molech on Mount Olivet (i) And there it seems they continued till Josiahs days 2 King 23.13 nigh unto Jerusalem even in the very face and as it were to affront the Temple of the living God And though at first possibly he granted this favour but only to two or three of his Idolatrous wives yet the rest by degrees so far wrought upon him that he was fain to gratifie all of them that sought to him for it and undoubtedly many of the people were hereby ensnar'd And thus he shewed that his heart was not so upright with God as his Father Davids was For though David was guilty of many gross sins yet he never yielded to any Idolatry but kept the worship and service of God pure all his days And a great aggravation of Solomon's guilt it was that he turned from observing the Commandments of the Lord who had in so extraordinary a manner twice appeared to him viz. once at Gibeon Ch. 3.5 and a second time at Jerusalem Ch. 9.2 and had commanded him particularly to take heed of this thing namely not to go after other Gods The Lord therefore had just cause to be angry with him for this and accordingly he sent Ahiah the Shilonite or some other Prophet to him to speak to him after this manner Thus saith the Lord Forasmuch as thou hast done this and hast not kept my Covenant (a) A Covenant when applied to God signifies a Law appointed or enjoyned to be kept and that with promise of reward to them that keep it and of penalty to such as transgress it Deut. 29.9 25. and my statutes which I commanded thee I will surely rend the greatest part of thy Kingdom from thee and will give it to thy servant But I will not do it in thy days because of my promise to David thy Father 2 Sam. 7. from v. 12 to 16. but I will rend it out of the hand of thy Son and so thou shalt be punished (b) Monentur hinc Parentes ut sancte vivant ne filiis poenas intempestive attrahant in him Yet I will not rend away the whole Kingdom from him but will give him one (c) He speaks here of one of the Tribes that belonged to the Kingdom of Israel considered as separate from the Kingdom of Judah which in regard of its eminency was reckoned apart from the rest of the Tribes See 1 Sam. 11.8 So much also of Simeon as lay within Judah was comprised under Judah See Josh 19. from 1 to 9. of the Tribes of Israel viz. Benjamin besides the Tribe of Judah See 2 Chron. 11.12 And this I will do for David my servants sake and for Jerusalem's sake which I have chosen for the place of my publick worship and the seat of the Kings from whom the Messiah who I have promised is to come 1 King 11. from v. 1 to 14. SECT XVI SOlomon as 't is conceived was so terrified with this threatning that he repented of his sin and as an evidence of his repentance wrote his Book call'd Ecclesiastes in which he publisheth to the world his remorse for his former sins and follies and the vanities to which he had been too intemperately addicted * Ecclesiastes or the Preaching Soul truly penitent gathering it self to the Church and by wholsome admonitions gathering others also that were going astray after vanity In this Book he reflects upon the honours pleasures and wealth he had so abundantly enjoyed the errors and miscarriages he had fallen into the observations he had made of things Natural Moral Domestical Civil Sensual and Divine and the curious enquiry he had made after true happiness And in the first six Chapters he shews wherein it doth not consist and in the six last wherein it doth And first he shews it doth not consist in knowledg either Natural or Moral 2. Not in pleasures or sensual delights 3. Not in honour greatness and power which is so far from making men happy that without the fear of God to correct and temper it it is ordinarily the occasion of much wickedness in them that have it and of much misery to others 4. Not in an outward formal religiousness 5. Not in riches and great possessions which are often snares and occasions of much hurt to the possessours who must leave them and many times they know not to whom Then he shews wherein mans happiness doth consist 1. In contentation of mind and the free and regular and joyful fruition of Gods blessings and the comforts he gives us with humility moderation and thankfulness 2. In a quiet and humble acquiescence in the will of God 3. In sincerity of heart in the worship of God and in a due care that we offend not in vows prayers and addresses unto him 4. In patience of spirit under all oppressions 5. In a composed preparedness of mind to undergo afflictions 6. In a pious and prudent behaviour towards all men that so we may preserve our names from calumny and our persons from danger 7. In meekness charity and patience towards such as offend us considering humane frailty 8. In a due deportment of our selves towards our Superiours that our lives may not be made uncomfortable to us by their dispeasure 9. In a practical prudence or wisdom rightly to judg and discern of times wherein things are to be done 10. In submission to the holy and invincible Providence of God admiring his works and adoring his judgments 11. In a conscionable industriousness in our particular Callings And lastly he concludes that in old age elegantly described by him and at death it will appear that to fear the Lord and keep his commandments is both the duty and the happiness of man and the chief thing wherein it consists And so
much of the Book of Ecclesiastes SECT XVII GOD threatned Solomon 2 Sam. 7.13 14 15. That if he committed iniquity he would chasten him with the rod of men and with the stripes of the children of men but his mercy should not depart from him And accordingly he now stirred up three Adversaries (a) Though Solomon's enemies had herein their own ends yet the Lord us'd them as instruments of his Justice to punish his revolt against him 1. Hadad the Edomite When David subdued the Edomites 't is said 2 Sam. 8.14 He put Garrisons through all Edom and they became his servants And at this time as it seems whilst Joab pursued his victory slaying all the males where he came Hadad then being very young was hid and afterwards secretly carried away by some of his Fathers servants who also took some out of Paran that lay in the way to attend him into Egypt where he was kindly entertained by Pharaoh who gave him an house and lands and appointed him victuals and a constant Table and in time he came to be in so great favour with him that he gave him to wife his own Queens sister who bare him a Son that was educated in Pharaoh's house When this Hadad heard in Egypt that David and Joab were dead he desired leave of Pharaoh to return into his own Country Pharaoh askt him what he lacked there He said nothing However I desire to return to my own Country that I may recover my Kingdom again Pharaoh hearing this kindly dismissed him and he came to his own Country where he was received for their King Yet 't is manifest he attempted nothing against Solomon for a long time after this For till Solomon's fall in his old age his enemies stirred not see 1 King 5.4 so that 't is like Hadad at first made some Covenant with Solomon and was his Tributary for his Kingdom but at last he stirred against him and created him much trouble yet he was not able quite to shake off his yoke for the Edomites continued Tributaries to the Kings of Judah till Jehoram's reign 2 Chron. 21.10 2ly God stirred up another enemy against Solomon viz. Rezon who when David had gotten the better of his Master in battel and had vanquished the Syrians see 2 Sam. 10.18 he gathered together such of them as were put to flight ande made himself Captain over them and for some time t is like lived by robbing and pillaging till Solomon's declining days And though 't is not like that Solomon lost any thing of that which his Father had gotten till himself fell from God yet then it seems Rezon took courage to set upon Damascus into which David had put a Garrison 2 Sam. 8.6 and took it from Solomon and there reigned as King So that Solomon had now one enemy in the North and another in the South 3ly A third enemy whom God stirred up against him was Jeroboam his own servant of the Tribe of Ephraim who had been raised and preferred by him And the occasion of his rise was this Solomon when he built Millo of which see Ch. 9.15 and repaired the breaches in Zion the City of David going out often to see * The Masters eye they say makes the horse fat and the servant to sweat his workmen and to encourage them to diligence he observed Jeroboam who was then but a young man to be very active and industrious in those labours and services he was set about whereupon Solomon taking a liking to him preferred him and in time made him Receiver or Treasurer for all the Kings revenue in the two Tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh Upon a time when he went out of Jerusalem to execute his Office it happened that the Prophet Ahijah â He who with some others penned the Acts of Solomon 2 Chron. 9.29 the Shilonite who had clad himself with a new garment met him and desired some private conference with him and when they were alone he took off his new garment and rent it into twelve pieces according to the number of the Tribes of Israel and gave ten of them to Jeroboam saying Thus saith the Lord I will rend the Kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and will give ten Tribes to thee because they (b) Solomon giving way to his wives Idolatry proved a snare to the people and occasioned their revolt from God and in this rent the people suffered as well as Rehoboam the rent in the Kingdom proving an occasion of continual Wars between Judah and Israel which brought in many miseries from foreign Nations upon both Kingdoms have forsaken me and worshipped Ashtaroth and Chemosh and Moloch and have not walked in my ways to do that which was right in mine eyes and to keep my statutes and judgments as did David my servant Howbeit I will not take the Kingdom from Solomon while he lives but he shall be King thereof all his days for David my servants sake whom I chose because he kept my commandments and my statutes But I will take the Kingdom out of his Sons hands viz. ten Tribes of it and will give them unto thee And unto his Son will I give one intire Tribe viz. Judah with Simeon (a) Ac proinde Synecdochice includitur Nam e Benjamine tantum pars penes eum fuit Jeroboamo cesserunt Bethel Ephraim quae erant oppida Benjaminis that is mixt with it together with the greatest part of the Tribe of Benjamin that David my servant may have a light always before me in Jerusalem that is a Royal glory shining in one of his posterity who as a light may shine before the people and direct them as long as that Kingdom shall last See 2 Sam. 21.17 1 King 15.4 and that in Jerusalem where my Temple is built and where my name is solemnly call'd upon and which is called after my name the City of God And I will take thee and make thee King over the Ten Tribes and thou shalt be a Soveraign King and not under any Superiour on earth so that thou maist reign according as thy soul desireth And if thou wilt hearken unto all that I command thee and wilt walk in my ways and do that which is right in my sight to keep my statutes and commandments as David my servant did I will be with thee and build thee a sure house that is so establish thy Kingdom that it shall continue in thy posterity as I promised to David And though I will by this division of the Kingdom sorely afflict the house of David yet I will not do it for ever For though they shall be carried into captivity yet they shall be brought back again and the Messiah shall at last be born of the seed of David who shall continue to reign most gloriously for ever Ahijah having delivered what God commanded him to Jeroboam took his leave of him How Jeroboam was affected with this surprizing message we may easily imagine It seems he
who will seek thee out to slay thee as a false Prophet and a deceiver of thy King and to revenge the blood of the King and the overthrow of the Army upon thee Ahab hearing these things look'd upon them as meer dreams and enthusiastical fancies and so regarded them not Thus God judicially blinds those whom he intends to destroy And being in a rage he orders them to carry back Michaiah to Amon the Governour and to Joash the Son of Omri who it seems had some place of authority in the City and to command them in his name to put him again into prison and to feed him with the bread of affliction and the water of affliction see Deut. 16.3 until he came again in peace Micaiah replys If thou return at all in peace the Lord hath not spoken by me and all you that are here present take notice and observe what I say and whither I am a true Prophet or no. 'T is strange that Jehoshaphat should see this holy Prophet Micaiah thus injuriously used by a proud Priest of Baal and afterwards sent away to prison and yet speak never a word in his behalf we may see from hence how dangerous a snare even to good men ill company is But 't is much more strange that after the Prophet had told them so plainly what would be the event of this expedition that he should yet join with Ahab therein It seems having joined himself lately in affinity with him and engaged his word to him he was loth to shrink from it notwithstanding the threatnings of the Prophet and so he and Ahab went up to fight against Ramoth-Gilead Ahab being as 't is like something inwardly troubled at the threatnings of Micaiah though he seemed outwardly to slight them and having heard of the King of Syria's charge to his Captains concerning himself v. 31. viz. That they should fight neither with small nor great save only with the King of Israel that is that they should observe especially where he was and to bend their main force against him as the chief cause of the war he told Jehoshaphat that he himself would go into the battel disguised as an ordinary Commander but advis'd him to put on his Royal Robes or such kind of Armour as was fit for the General of the field that he might appear like himself This being accordingly done when the battel was joined the Syrians seeing Jehoshaphat they thought he had been the King of Israel and accordingly leaving all others assaulted the party where he was and compassed them about Hereupon Jehoshaphat cried unto the Lord for succour who helped him in that great strait and moved the Syrians to depart from him for it seems they gathered from some circumstance or other that he was not the King of Israel and so not the man they aimed at Thus the Lord was pleased by bringing Jehoshaphat into so great danger to let him see his folly in joining with Ahab notwithstanding the Prophets fair warning to the contrary But the battel going on against that party in which Ahab was a Syrian drew a bow at a venture and the arrow being directed by God hit Ahab and entred between the joints of his harness and wounded him sorely He being thus wounded spake to the driver of his chariot to carry him out of the host The battel growing fiercer and fiercer it seems they had not time to dress his wound but only stayed him up in his chariot in which he went out to fight against the Syrians and towards the evening he died and his blood ran out of his wound into the midst of the chariot And thus at last the vengeance of God fell upon him for his Idolatry and persecuting the Prophets of the Lord and for the murder of Naboth When the Commanders of the Army had notice of the Kings death they had no heart to continue the fight any longer and so made Proclamation about Sun-setting that every man should depart to his own Country and to his own City And so the word of the Prophet was fulfilled which he spake v. 17. I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills as sheep that have not a shepherd and the Lord said These have no master let them return every man to his house in peace Thus died Ahab and was brought to Samaria and was there buried And they washed his Chariot in the Pool of Samaria and possibly his bloody Armour might be washed in Jezreel where his chief Armory was and where Naboth was killed and the dogs licked up his blood according to the word of the Lord which he spake by Elijah Ch. 21.19 And the rest of the Acts of Ahab and the Ivory house which he made * See Amos 3.15 and the Cities of defence which he built are written in the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel that is in those large records and Chronicles which were written for the use of those times but were no part of Canonical Scripture and differed from the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah and Israel which we now have So Ahab slept with his fathers having reigned 22 years in Israel and Ahaziah his Son reigned in his stead 1 King 22. from 1 to 41. As soon as Ahab was dead all the land of Moab fell away from the Israelites David had subdued them and made them tributary to him see 2 Sam. 8.2 but when the Ten Tribes revolted from the house of David the Moabites as it seems revolted also from the Kingdom of Judah and rather chose to be vassals to the Kings of Israel upon part of whose Kingdom their land bordered and so they continued to the days of Ahab But now taking advantage from the late discomfiture of the Israelites by the Syrians at Ramoth-Gilead and the death of Ahab Mesha the present King of Moab refused any longer to pay the tribute of an hundred thousand lambs and an hundred thousand rams with their wool which before he paid to the Kings of Israel 2 King 1.1 and Ch. 3.4.5 2 Chron. 18. from 3 to the end WE are now come to the second Book of the Kings The Second Book of the KINGS which is a continuation of the History of the Kings of Israel from Ahab and of the Kings of Judah from Jehoshaphat till Israel was destroyed by the Assyrians and Judah captivated by the Babylonians The time and order of their reigns we may see in this ensuing Table Kings of Judah Jehoram 8. years Ahaziah 1. Athaliah 6. Joash 40. Amaziah 29. Vzziah 52. Jotham 16. Ahaz 16. Hezekiah 29. Manasseh 55. Amon 2. Josiah 31. Jehoahaz or Shallum 3 Months Eliakim or Jehoiakim 11. Jehoiakin 3 Month. and then carried captive to Babylon Mattaniah alias Zedekiah * The History of Ahaziah is partly in the last Ch. of the first Book of Kings and partly in 2 King 1. And some think the 2d Book of Kings should begin with the beginning of his reign 11. Kings of Israel Ahaziah â So
and his Priests with sounding Trumpets * See Numb 10.9 to cry an alarm against you Consider O children of Israel what ye do fight ye not against the Lord God of your Fathers and assure your selves that if you persist ye shall not prosper Thus Abijah spake to Jeroboam and the Israelites but they were so far from being mov'd with any thing he said that Jeroboam in the mean time drew an Ambushment behind the Camp of Judah so that the main Battalia of the Israelites faced them and an Ambushment was secretly laid behind them to fall upon their reer When the fight began the Army of Abijah beheld and lo the battle was both before them and behind them Then they cried unto the Lord for help and trusted in him and the Priests sounded with their Trumpets to strengthen their faith in the Lords promise Numb 10.9 So the men of Judah giving a great shout and falling on the Lord smote Jeroboam and all his Army with such a dreadful fear that they fled before Abijah and Judah and were discomfited and Abijah and his Soldiers slew them with a great slaughter and cut off no less than five hundred thousand of them so that they slew more than every one his man Thus the children of Judah prevailed at this time because they trusted and relyed on the Lord God of their Fathers Abijah pursuing his victory took from Jeroboam several of his Cities viz. Bethel where one of his Golden Calves was set up Jeshanah and Ephraim with the Towns belonging to them Neither did Jeroboam recover strength again in the days of Abijah Abijah now waxed mighty He married fourteen Wives partly before he was King and partly after and begat twenty two Sons and sixteen Daughters And the rest of the Acts of Abijah and his ways and his sayings are they not written in the History of the Prophet Iddo see Ch. 12.15 So Abijah having reigned three years slept with his Fathers and they buried him in the City of David And Asa his Son reigned in his stead 1 King 15. from 1 to 9. 2 Chron. 13. wh Ch. The third King of Judah ASA IN the 20th year of Jeroboam Asa began to reign over Judah and he reigned 41 years He began his reign in the time of the first King of Israel and continued to the reign of the eighth In which time the Kingdom of Israel was in three several families viz. Jeroboam's Baasha's and Omri's 'T is probable that he was very young when he came to the Crown and that hereupon Maachah his Grandmother the wife of Rehoboam his mother possibly being dead was made Queen Regent during his minority But when he came to some ripeness of years he shewed that his heart was upright before the Lord and that he was an enemy to the Idolatry that was in the land and desired to maintain the true worship of God a thing the more to be wondred at he having such a Father and such a Grandmother His Grandmother it seems had out of her zeal to Idolatry set up some new abominable Idol in a Grove He though young took courage and assuming the Government into his own hands deposed her from being Queen Regent and destroyed her Idol and burnt it by the Brook Kidron and stampt it to powder out of indignation and cast the dust thereof into the Brook He did that which was right in the sight of the Lord and reformed those things that were out of order in matters of Religion and removed all the Idols that his Fathers had made yet the high places where the people worshipped the true God of Israel were not removed the people being very loth to be tyed to one place for the offering of their Sacrifices but the high places that were dedicated to the worship of strange gods he took away He took away also all the Sodomites out of the land which he could discover see Ch. 14.24 but some it seems remained till his Son Jehoshaphat came to the Crown and then he removed them 1 King 22.46 During this time of peace which the Lord had given them he exhorted his subjects to assist him in fortifying several Cities in his Kingdom and to make about them Walls Towers Gates and Bars while yet the land was quiet before them For says he we have sought the Lord and he hath given us rest on every side therefore let us make a good improvement of this mercy by preparing in time of peace for war 2 Ch. 14.6 7. After this he brought into the Lords house the things that his Father after his famous victory over Jeroboam had dedicated adding something more of his own free gift viz. silver and gold and vessels for the services of the Temple For ten years he enjoyed peace during which time Jeroboam died and Nadab his Son succeeded him Nadab two years after was slain by Baasha who reigned in his stead When those ten years were expired some enemy or other made war against him but who it was is not expressed And afterwards about the fourteenth year of his reign Zerah the Ethiopian with a vast Army of the Arabians as it seems and Philistines joining with him invaded the Kingdom of Judah with an host according to common fame of a thousand thousand and with a thousand â Supple mille ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ut patet ex Cap. 16.8 and three hundred Chariots and Horsemen proportionable Ch. 16.8 * See Ch. 16.8 Asa met them with an Army of five hundred and eight thousand levied out of Judah and Benjamin all mighty men of valour And at Mareshah a City in Judah they set their armies in battle-array to fight Then Asa cried unto the Lord his God and prayed saying It is nothing with thee to help whither with many or them that have no power Help us O Lord our God for we rest on thee and in thy name we go out against this great multitude O Lord thou art our God let not man prevail against thee So the Lord smote the Ethiopians with such a dreadful fear that they fled before Asa and the men of Judah and so many of them were slain and the rest routed that they could not rally or make head again So the men of Judah pursued them to Gerar a City of the Philistines and spoiled it and the Cities round about it and carried away very much spoil from them for a great terrour from the Lord fell upon them so that they durst not resist And the men of Judah fell also upon the Tents of the Arabians who had joined with these Ethiopians and took from them abundance of sheep and camels and so laden with spoils marched back to Jerurusalem Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Azariah the Son of Oded and he went out to meet Asa and his Army at their return and lest they should be too much puffed up with this great victory he said unto Asa and his Soldiers You see by experience that the
run to and fro through the whole earth to shew himself strong in the behalf of those whose heart is perfect towards him Herein therefore thou hast done foolishly and from henceforth thou shalt have wars with Baasha 1 King 15.16 Asa was very wroth with the Seer for this his plain and faithful dealing with him and put him into prison and dealt very harshly also with some of his subjects at the same time who possibly shewed their dislike of these his proceedings In the 39th year of his reign he was diseased in his feet probably with the Gout and his disease proving exceeding painful he sought not so much to the Lord for help as to the Physicians He died in the forty first year of his reign having reigned in the time of seven Kings of Israel viz. in some part of Jeroboam's and all the time of Nadab Baasha Elah Zimri Omri and in some part of Ahab's and they buried him in a Sepulcher which he had made for himself in the City of David and they laid him in the Bed or Coffin which was filled with all kinds of odours and sweet spices prepared by the Art of the Apothecaries and they made a great burning for him that is they burnt sweet perfumes at his burial in very great abundance and Jehoshaphat his Son reigned in his stead 1 King 15. from v. 9 to 25. 2 Chron. 14. wh Ch. 2 Chron. 15. wh Ch. 2 Chron. 16. whole Chapter The 4th King that reigned in Judah was JEHOSHAPHAT JEhoshaphat began his reign in the fourth year of the reign of Ahab he was thirty five years old when he began to reign and reigned twenty five years in Jerusalem He walked in the ways of Asa his Father doing that which was right in the eyes of the Lord. And the Lord was with him because he walked in the first ways of David his Father which were purer and more free from sin than were his latter days He sought not to Baal as did Ahab but sought to the Lord and walked in his ways and commandments and not after the doings of Israel And the Lord established the Kingdom in his hand and all Judah brought him presents and he had riches and honour in abundance and his heart was lifted up in the ways of the Lord that is he was very zealous and couragious in the cause of God and went on with an high and magnanimous spirit without any fear or discouragement At his first coming to the Crown he placed forces in all the fenced Cities of Judah and Garrison'd the Cities of Ephraim which his Father Asa had taken See 2 Chron. 15.8 And strengthened himself against Israel The remnant of the Sodomites which remain'd in the days of his Father he took out of the land He took away also such high-places as were dedicated to the worship of strange gods but those wherein the people served the true God of Israel he took not away but the people offered and burnt incense still in them See 1 King 22.43 'T is true his Father had twice removed them 2 Chron. 14.5 15.8 16. yet it seems some escaped or else the people in his Fathers declining time when he was diseased in his feet renewed them But those high-places wherein they served the true God of Israel he took not quite away but the people offered and burnt incense still in them for they had not at least not a great many of them disposed their hearts to follow the Lord intirely and his commandments and injunctions See 2 Chron. 20.33 Some reformation indeed they had yielded unto but yet their hearts hankered still after their old superstition See 2 Chron. 15.17 And though Jehoshaphat did endeavour to reform what was amiss among them yet from the high-places * Docemur hinc Deo displicere Electitios cultus a Deo non prascriptos Osiander the people would not be reclaimed In the third year of his reign finding as we said before that the people were in many places much addicted to Idolatry and had set up the high-places which his Father Asa had pulled down he sent some choice Priests and Levites as Visitors into several parts of his Kingdom to see whither they were rightly taught and instructed and by their own personal teaching to confirm those that were well instructed and to convince those that were corrupted or misled and to shew them how expresly the Law did forbid and threaten all Idolatry whatsoever and with them he sent some Princes and men of note to countenance and encourage them and possibly to punish those who should oppose them or be obstinate in their errors Jehoshaphat thus setting himself to the work of Reformation a great terror from the Lord fell upon all the Kingdoms round about him so that they made no war nor gave any disturbance to him Also some Philistines that were deadly enemies to the Jews brought presents to him and tribute-silver Asa having subdued a considerable part of them as we may see 2 Chron. 14.14 And the Arabians brought him flocks their chief calling being to breed and feed cattel and so brought such presents as they had viz. seven thousand and seven hundred rams and as many he-goats These were all clean cattel and so fit both for meat and sacrifice Jehoshaphat now waxed great exceedingly great in riches great in power and great in honour and esteem and he built Castles in Judah and Cities of store viz. to lay up his ammunition and provisions in And he had much business in the Cities of Judah that is he took great care himself and employ'd others under him about such things as were of publick concernment for the good of those Cities in particular and the whole Kingdom in general but his chief Commanders and Captains with some choice Companies of Souldiers he kept about his own person in Jerusalem Moreover he had a great Militia ready to attend him upon any emergent occasion and these were under the command of five able leaders successively The Trained bands of Judah being first under the command of Adnah and when Adnah was dead under the command of Jehohanan and when he was dead under Amaziah the Son of Zichri who willingly offered himself to the Lord viz. to fight the Lords battels against the enemies of the land So likewise the Trained bands of Benjamin were first under Eliada and next after him under Jehozabad and their numbers were in the several times of these Generals sometimes more and sometimes less This was his Militia besides the Souldiers he had in Garrisons and these in their courses some at one time and some at another came up to Jerusalem to wait upon the King About the eighth year of his reign he join'd in affinity with Ahab and married his eldest Son Jehoram to Athaliah Ahab's daughter It may seem strange that so pious a King as Jehoshaphat was should ever be induc'd to marry his Son and heir of his Crown to the daughter of wicked and
were suspected not to be firm against Judah and therefore were slain by the men of Moab and Ammon fell unexpectedly upon them like men that rise suddenly out of an ambush upon their enemies and when they had destroyed them they fell out among themselves and destroyed one another The Army of Jehoshaphat coming now to the Watch-tower of Ziz in the Wilderness they looked towards the formidable army of their enemies and they saw none but dead bodies on the ground they saw none flying or escaping whom they needed to pursue or fall upon and so that was accomplished which the Prophet foretold v. 17. Ye shall not need to fight in the battel When Jehoshaphat and his people came to the field where their enemies lay slaughtered they found very rich spoils among the dead bodies viz. rings on their fingers chains about their necks jewels in their ears besides the wealth and riches they brought on their beasts and in their carts and carriages and their being so vast a number of the enemy slain the Israelites could not carry away all in one day but were three days in gathering the spoil it was so much so God not only freed them from their enemies but greatly enriched them by them On the fourth day they marched to the valley of Berachah or blessing and there solemnly praised the Lord for this great victory and from thence that valley had this name given it Then they all marched with great joy to Jerusalem Jehoshaphat marching in the front of them for the Lord had made them rejoice over their enemies And they came to Jerusalem playing on Psalteries and Harps and with the sound of Trumpets and so went to the house of the Lord to offer up there their more solemn praises and sacrifices of thanksgiving And the fear of the Lord fell on all the Kingdoms round about when they heard how the Lord had fought against the enemies of his people So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet for his God gave him rest round about But notwithstanding this signal deliverance and though Jehoshaphat had been reproved by the Lord for joining first with wicked Ahab and then with Ahaziah his wicked Son in building and fitting out Ships to go to Tarshish yet he fell again a third time into the like sin by assisting Jehoram the second Son of Ahab who succeeded Ahaziah and going forth with him and the King of Edom against the Moabites In which expedition he and the two other Kings were in great danger of perishing for want of water had they not been supplied by the prayers of Elisha the Prophet who had a great regard for Jehoshaphat 2 King 3.14 and so they obtained a great victory over their enemies 2 King 3. from v. 4 to the end Of this we may see more in the life of Jehoram King of Israel This seems to have happened about the 22th year of Jehoshaphat and then 't is probable he set up his Son Jehoram again as his Viceroy or took him into Copartnership with him in the Kingdom 2 King 8.16 as he had made him his Viceroy before when he went to visit Ahab Jehoshaphat 2 Chron. 21.2 is call'd King of Israel that is of the Israelites that lived in the Kingdom of Judah He reigned 25 years and they buried him with his Fathers in the City of David and his Son Jehoram succeeded him who reigned eight years which together are 33 years Yet in Chronological account there were not above 29 years in the reigns of them both because Jehoshaphat did set up his Son Jehoram as partner with him in the Kingdom whilst he himself was alive see 2 King 8.16 which was about the 22th year of his reign so that the four last years of his reign and the four first of his Son Jehoram's were not eight but only four years seeing both of them reigned together at the same time 1 King 22. from 41 to 51. 2 Chron. 17. whole Chapter 2 Chron. 18. wh Ch. 2 Chron. 19. wh Ch. 2 Chron. 20. wh Ch. 2 Chron. 21.1 The 5th King that reigned in Judah was JEHORAM JEhoshaphat had designed his Son Jehoram to be King and appointed him to govern the Kingdom in his absence in the 17th year of his reign a little before he went with Ahab against Ramoth-Gilead thence the beginning of the reign of Jehoram King of Israel is counted to be both in the 18th year of Jehoshaphat * 2 King 3.1 and in the second year of Jehoram â 2 King 1.17 Son of Jehoshaphat but at his return resumed the Royal power wholly to himself not communicating the same again to his Son until the fifth year of Jehoram King of Israel which was the 22th of Jehoshaphats own reign and then this King being old took Jehoram his Son as partner with him in the Government The cause whereof in all probability was some discord or differences that brake out even then between him and his younger Brethren which moved Jehoshaphat to give to his younger Sons great gifts of gold and silver and jewels and to commmit to their custody some strong fenced Cities in Judah 2 Chron. 21.3 the better to secure them against the power of their Elder Brother and on the other side he put his Eldest Son into the possession of the Kingdom whilst himself was living for fear of tumults and commotions that might arise after his death Jehoram therefore being 32 years old succeeded his Father and reigned eight years in Jerusalem to wit four years together with his Father and four years by himself alone He walked in the Idolatrous ways of the Kings of Israel as did the house of Ahab whose daughter he had married viz. Athaliah and a vertuous daughter she was like to be that sprang from the cursed root of Ahab and Jezebel she soon drew him to follow her Fathers courses so great an influence have bad wives upon their husbands to draw them to evil He did that which was very evil and provoking in the sight of the Lord howbeit the Lord would not destroy the house of David because of the Covenant he had made with him to give him always a light that is a royal glory in a successor and to continue the Soveraignty in his race as long as that Kingdom should last See 1 King 11.36 When he was setled in the Kingdom he sought to make himself strong as Jeroboam did 2 Chron. 13.7 that he might the better effect his mischievous intents and purposes and accordingly getting his six younger brethren into his hands he like a cruel Tyrant slew them and many also of the great men of the land who he thought favoured them and had a kindness for them He made great innovations in Religion erecting those Idolatrous places in mountains which his Father and Grandfather had with so much zeal destroyed He caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to commit spiritual fornication in worshipping of Baal and to embrace that Idolatry which himself had learned from
first Month in the presence of the people of Judah and Israel and the inhabitants of Jerusalem he kept the Feast of the Passover And he set the Priests in their charges and encouraged them to perform the service of the house of the Lord. And he said to the Levites that is to the Priests of the Tribe of Levi who prepared the holy things of the Lord Put the holy Ark in the house of the Lord. It seems the Ark in Amon's reign had been carried out of the most holy place possibly that some Idol might be set up in its room Or else it had been purposely carried out by some pious Priests that it might not stand there among those heathenish Idols that were brought into the Temple and now Josiah orders it to be restored to its proper place again telling the Priests that it would not now be a burden unto them it must abide in the Temple and not be carried from place to place upon their shoulders as formerly it had been before the Temple was built and they being now delivered from that burden should serve the Lord their God more faithfully and cheerfully and should serve his people also by diligently instructing them and performing those services for them that tended to their spiritual good And because several families of the Levites were appointed to attend upon the sacrifices and offerings of several families of each Tribe some being to be imploy'd in that holy service for such and such families V. 6. Prepare for your brethren Praeparate agnos pro fratribus vestris J. T. and others for others therefore he appoints them to stand in the holy place and to attend the service that was to be done according to the divisions of the families of the people and according to the division of their own families He exhorts them also to sanctifie themselves and to prepare the sacrifices for the Priests to offer that they might do their duty as God had enjoyn'd them Then Josiah gave to the people for Passover offerings viz. of lambs and kids for either of these kinds might be offered thirty thousand and for other offerings three thousand bullocks all of the herds and flocks that belonged to the King see 2 Chron. 30.24 and his Princes gave also willingly and liberally to the Priests Levites and the people and Hilkiah the High Priest and Zachariah and Jehiel who with the High Priest were Rulers over other Priests and Levites in the house of God gave to the inferiour Priests two thousand and six hundred small cattle and three hundred oxen And six eminent Levites who were Fathers and Rulers over the rest of the Levites gave unto the inferiour Levites for Passover-offerings five thousand small cattel and for other offerings five hundred oxen So all things fit and requisite for a solemn Passover were provided and made ready and the Priests stood in their place and the Levites in their order according to the Kings Commandment So they kill'd the Passover every father of a family for himself and his family and the Levites for themselves and for other Levites who were otherwise imployed and the Priests sprinkled the blood on the Altar which they received from their hands and the Levites flayed the sacrifices and they separated such sacrifices as were to be eaten from the burnt-offerings which were wholly to be consumed on the Altar that so of the rest they might give to the people partly for Paschal lambs partly for peace-offerings whereof both Priests and people were to have a share And they rosted the Passover with fire but so much of the peace-offerings as was to be prepar'd for the offerers to eat before the Lord they sod in pots and chaldrons and pans and so divided them among the people Afterwards the Levites made ready for themselves V. 15. Jeduthun is call'd the Kings Ster Heman Asaph also had this Title the reason of which see 2 King 17.13 and for the Priests who being imployed even until night in offering the burnt-offerings and the fat c. had no time to provide for themselves And the Singers stood in their places to perform their service according to the commandment of David The Porters also attended at the Gates and did not depart from their service during that solemnity and thereupon the Levites prepared for them as they had done for the Priests Thus all things that appertained to the service and worship of God and to the keeping the Passover and the offering of the burnt-offerings were duly performed that day according to the Kings command And so they kept the Passover at that time and the feast of unleavened bread seven days after And there was no Passover like to this kept in Israel from the days of Samuel the Prophet neither did any of the Kings of Israel either David or Solomon or any of the Kings of Judah since the division of the Kingdom keep such a Passover as Josiah now kept if we consider the multitude of sacrifices that were offered and freely given by the King Princes Priests and Levites and the exceeding joy of the good people that Religion was restored again to its purity among them Furthermore Josiah took away all witches and sooth-sayers all images and dunghil-gods and all abominations which were found in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem that he might perform all the words that were written in the Book that was found by Hilkiah the Priest in the house of the Lord. And there was no King that was before him in the Throne of Judah like unto him or that followed after him if we consider the fervency of his zeal for the rooting out of Idolatry and other abominations which had prevailed before his time and if we consider the innocence and integrity of his life and his diligent heeding the law of the Lord. We have indeed observed upon 2 King 18.5 that in some particulars Hezekiah excelled him but in others Josiah excelled Hezekiah as in his contrition and deep humiliation for the wickedness that prevailed before his time see 2 King 22.19 His solemn making a Covenant with the Lord and engaging his subjects therein to reform their ways his solemn keeping of the Passover his zealous purging not only Judah and Benjamin from Idolatry but the Cities of Israel under his power besides he was not puft up with pride as Hezekiah was But though Josiah was in his own person so excellent a Prince yet it seems the people though they yielded to his reformation out of awe and respect to him yet in their hearts many of them did still approve Manasseh's wicked ways * 2 Reg. 23.26 Proptet irritationes Manassis quia is Idololatriae ingentem saevitiam addiderat approbante magna parte populi and this soon appear'd after Josiah's death for all his children did quickly return to Manasseh's Idolatry and followed him in his abominations but not in his repentance and conversion The Lord thereupon said I will remove Judah out
Araunah's floor Sect. 206. David receives the pattern of the Temple makes great preparations for the building of it Sect. 207. Officers appointed for the Temple Sect. 208. Rehoboam born to Solomon Sect. 209. Abishag brought to David Sect. 210. Adonijah aspires to the Crown Solomon anointed Adonijah's submission Sect. 211. David's charge to Solomon Sect. 212. Davids farewell Exhortation to the people His Prayer Solomon's prosperity Sect. 213. David's last words to Solomon His death Sect. 214. The Book of the Psalms Sect. 215. Solomon upon the Throne Adonijah slain Joab slain Shimei's Oath not to pass over Kidron Sect. 216. Hadad the Edomite returns Sect. 217. Solomon's marriage with Pharaoh's daughter Sect. 218. Solomon setled in the Kingdom Gods appearing to him in a dream and asking him what he should give him and Solomon's choosing wisdom Sect. 219. Solomon's judgment on the two Harlots Sect. 220. Hiram's Embassie to Solomon A League between them Sect. 221. Solomon's levy for the Temple Sect. 222. Shimei put to death Chap. V. The fifth Age from the building of the Temple to the destruction of it and Captivity of Judah Sect. 1. THE Temple described with all its parts The Temple-Officers Sect. 2. The Temple finished Solomon's solemn dedication of it Sect. 3. The Lord appears to Solomon again in a dream Sect. 4. Solomon's Palace His stately Throne The house of Lebanon His Golden Targets and Shields Sect. 5. Gezer taken by Pharaoh and given to his daughter Solomon's wife Sect. 6. Hiram dislikes the Cities which Solomon offered him Sect. 7. Solomon removes his Queen to the House built for her The Song of Solomon Sect. 8. Solomon's Navy Sect. 9. Solomon's other buildings Sect. 10. Hamath taken by Solomon's forces Sect. 11. Solomon's care in matters of Religion Sect. 12. Solomon's greatness splendor and glory Sect. 13. Solomon's Wisdom His Proverbs Sect. 14. The Queen of Sheba comes to hear his Wisdom Sect. 15. Solomon's many wives and defection from God Ahijah the Prophet sent to him with a sad Message Sect. 16. Solomon writes his Ecclesiastes Sect. 17. Solomon's Adversaries Ahijah sent to Jeroboam to acquaint him that he should be King of the Ten Tribes Sect. 18. Solomon dies Sect. 19. The division of the Kingdom Kings of Judah 1. Rehoboam is petitioned for ease of Taxes Ten Tribes revolt His Buildings and Wives Shishak King of Egypt plunders the Temple 2. Abijah reigns p. 505. His army and speech to Jeroboam Israel routed 3. Asa reigns pag. 509. His Grandmothers Grove Zerah invades him and is subdued Asa's league with Benhadad and death 4. Jehoshaphat reigns p. 515. Removes all high places used for false Gods His reformation His greatness and riches His affinity with Ahab He goes to Samaria Jehu the Prophet reproves him His care of the Kingdom His Fleet broken His victory and death 5. Jehoram succeeds p. 525. His Idolatry Slays his six Brethren Elijah's Letter to him Edom revolts Libnah revolts Philistines invade him His sad end 6. Ahaziah p. 529. His wickedness Is slain by Jehu 7. Athaliah p. 532. Her Idolatry and cruelty 8. Joash p. 533 He is set up by Jehoiada Athaliah slain Baal's house pull'd down Jehoiada's good instruction of him Collection for the Temple Jehoiada dies Joash's Idolatry Zachariah ston'd The Syrians vanquish him His death 9. Amaziah p. 541. He begins well His war with Edom and victory His Idolatry Joash King of Israel defeats him Amaziah slain 10. Vzziah p. 546. His Coronation He recovers Elath Conquers the Philistines His herds and husbandry Isaiah Prophesies Also Joel Vzziah's pride leprosie and death 11. Jotham p. 554. He subdues the Ammonites Micah Prophesies Jotham dies 12. Ahaz p. 555. His wickedness Syria and Israel invade him Isaiah sent to him Jerusalem's siege rais'd Ahaz forsakes the Lord. His calamities His league with Assyria and death 13. Hezekiah p. 563. His goodness and reformation He shakes off the Assyrian yoke Jerusalem besieged Rabshakeh's blasphemy Hezekiah's prayer Isaiah's message to him Hezekiah's sickness His thanksgiving The Assyrians destroyed Ambassadors from Babylon come to him Manasses born Nahum's Prophesie Hezekiah dies 14. Manasses p. 595. His great Idolatry He is taken captive shortly after is restored His reformation Habakkuk's Prophesie Manasseh dies 15. Amon p. 600. His Idolatry and death 16. Josiah p. 601. His piety Jeremiah Prophesies The Book of the Law found Huldah the Prophetess Josiah throws down Idolatry He goes to Bethel and other places His solemn Passover His death greatly lamented Zephany's Prophesie 17. Shallum or Jehoahaz pag. 611. His Idolatry Jeremy's admonition to him Pharaoh Necho carries him away 18. Jehoiakim p. 612. His Idolatry and oppression Jeremy exhorts him to repentance Vriah's Prophesie Jeremy's bonds and yokes Baruch's roll Nebuchadnezzar conquers the Egyptians Jehoiakim taken prisoner Daniel and others carried to Babylon Jehoiakim burns the roll Nebuchadnezzar returns home His dream of the great Image made of four metals Jehoiakim revolts The Golden Image set up by Nebuchadnezzar to be worshipped Jehoiakim dies 19. Jehoiakin p. 617. His Captivity Cyrus born 20. Zedekiah reigns p. 618. His wickedness Jeremy Prophesies Several Ambassadors come to Zedekiah Hananiah a false Prophet Jeremy's Letter to the Captives in Babylon Shemaiah a false Prophet inveighs against him Jeremy prophesies his death Ezekel's first vision Jerusalem besieged His other visions His Types Zedekiah revolts Judea is invaded Ezekiel's wife dies for whom he is commanded not to mourn Jeremy imprisoned Jerusalem's siege raised The Egyptians are overthrown and the siege renew'd Jeremy put into the dungeon Ezekiel prophesies again Jerusalem taken The Temple burnt The Kingdom of Judah come to an end Kings of Israel 1. Jeroboam chosen by the ten Tribes he fortifies Shechem Sets up the Golden Calves A Prophet sent to him who declares against his Altar His hand withers The Prophet being seduced a Lion slays him Jeroboam's son falls sick and dies His own death 2. Nadab an evil King slain by Baasha p. 508. 3. Baasha reigns p. 509. He doth evil He builds Ramah Jehu's message to him Baasha dies 4. Elah reigns two years p. 511. Zimri slays him 5. Zimri burnt p. 511. 6. Omri made King His Idolatry and burial p. 512. 7. Ahab p. 512. He marries Jezabel Jericho rebuilt Obadiah hides the Prophets Elijah's miracles Elisha called Benhadad conquered A Prophet reproves Ahab Naboth's Vineyard Elijah meets Ahab Ahab slain at Ramoth-Gilead Moab revolts 8. Ahaziah p. 543. His fall His message to Baalzebub Elijah brings down fire upon two companies of fifty He dies 9. Jehoram p. 545. He maintains the Golden Calves Elijah's Translation Elisha takes up his Mantle Elisha's Miracles The Moabites destroy one another The King of Edom sacrifices his Son Elisha works more Miracles A sore famine in Samaria It s miraculous relief The Shunamite returns Benhadad sends to Elisha Hazael stifles Benhadad Jehoram recovers Ramoth-Gilead Jehu anointed Joram slain Ahaziah slain Jezabel's death 10. Jehu made King p. 585. The slaughter of Ahab's off-spring
and Ahaziah's brethren Baal's Priests slain Jehu's Idolatry and death 11. Jehoahaz reigns p. 590. The Syrians oppress him He dies 12. Joash p. 591. He visits Elisha Elisha dies Joash takes Amaziah after his conquering the Syrians Joash dies 13. Jeroboam the second p. 593. Jonah Hosea and Amos Prophesie Jeroboam's death The Anarchy or Interregnum 14. Zachariah his short reign p. 598. 15. Shallum is slain by Menahem p. 599. 16. Menahem p. 599. His cruelty The Assyrian invades him He dies 17. Pekaliah p. 600. 18. Pekah reigns p. 600. His victory over Ahaz The Assyrian carries five Tribes into Captivity Pekah slain 19. Hoshea p. 602. He continues Jeroboam's Idolatry Salman after makes him Tributary Upon his revolt Samaria is taken and himself confined The Kingdom of Israel ends New Colonies planted Others sent after them An Anti-Temple built Afterwards destroyed by John Hircanus Chap. VI. The sixth Age from the Captivity of Judah to their return ZEdekiah taken sees his Children slain and then hath his own eyes put out and in chains is carried to Babylon pag. 627. The City of Jerusalem and the Temple burnt Gedaliah set over those poor people that were left in the land to dress the Vineyards and till the ground pag. 630 Seraiah the chief Priest with other principal men carried to Nebuchadnezzar to Riblah and there put to death Ibid. Jeremy had his choice whither he would go into Babylon and there be honourably treated or stay in Judea He chooses the latter Ibid. Ismael conspires against Gedaliah Johanan discovers it But Gedaliah would not believe it and so was treacherously murdered by Ismael pag. 631. Johanan took from Ismael his prisoners but he himself escap'd with eight more to the Ammonites Johanan and his Captains and many of the people go into Egypt and carry Jeremy and Baruck along with them Ezekiel Prophesies of the destruction of the last remainder of the Israelites He threatens murmurers and hypocrites and unfaithful shepherds and the Edomites pag. 632 Obadiah Prophesies against Edom. Ezekiel comforts the captive Israelites promising that God would avenge them on their enemies He prophesies their return out of Babylon though their condition there seem'd as hopeless as of dead men in their graves who are become dry bones pag. 633 He prophesies of their victory over Gog and Magog He prophesies against Egypt He prophesies against the Israelites that were gone into Egypt and against Pharaoh himself The Lamentations of Jeremy pag. 633. Tyre besieged by Nebuchadnezzar Nabuzaradan carried away the remainder of the Jews to the number of seven hundred forty five Ibid. Ezekiel hath that glorious vision of the new Jerusalem and new Temple pag. 634. Tyre taken Nebuchadnezzar invades Egypt makes great havock there Ibid. He returns now into Babylon He hath there the dream of the great Tree whose destiny was to be cut down Ibid. He new builds Babylon He falls distracted and so continues for seven years pag. 635 He returns to his wits Praises God and dies Evilmerodach succeeds him Jechoniah advanc'd Zedekiah dies The King of Babylon engages in a war against the Medes and Persians Of whose Armies Cyrus was made General He obtains a great victory over the Babylonians Ibid. Belshazzar succeeds In Belshazzar's first year Daniel hath the vision of the four Beasts Ibid. In his third year he hath the vision of the Ram and He-goat pag. 636. Cyrus conquers the Babylonians besieges Babylon with a vast Army Belshazzar Carousing with his Nobles sees the hand-writing on the wall Daniel interprets it is thereupon advanc'd pag. 636 Belshazzar slain His Kingdom brought to an end Darius takes on him the Kingdom Cyrus marries Darius's only daughter and so is intitled to the Kingdom of Media Darius sets over the Provinces an hundred and twenty Governours over whom he makes three principal overseers and Daniel the chief of all The Nobles being stirred with a spirit of envy against him move the King to make a decree that for thirty days space no petition should be made to any God or man but to himself Daniel hereupon cast into the Lions den Ibid. The seventy years of the Jews Captivity drawing to an end Daniel prays for the promised deliverance The Angel Gabriel gives him the Prophesie of the Seventy weeks pag. 637. Cyrus upon Darius's death is made absolute Monarch of the East The Jews shew him the Prophesie of Isaiah foretelling that he should be their deliverer He thereupon makes an Edict for their return and that they should go and build their Temple Chap. VII The seventh Age from their return out of Captivity to the death of Christ CYRVS made Zerubbabel chief Captain of those Jews that returned and consigned into his hands the vessels of the Temple The number of them that returned They offer towards the building of the Temple On the first day of the seventh month of the first year of their return they built the Altar and thereon offered sacrifices On the 15th day kept the Feast of Tabernacles In the second month of the second year of their return they lay the foundation of the Temple the old men weeping the young men rejoycing pag. 642 The Cuthaeans or Samaritans offer to joyn with them but being refus'd by their interest in Cambyses's Court give a stop to the work Ibid. Daniel's vision of the Kings of Persia and of Alexander and his successors Ibid. Cyrus dies Cambyses succeeds The Samaritans now frame an open accusation against the Jews pag. 643. Cambyses dies Darius Histaspis succeeds call'd Ahashuerus He marries Alosta or Vashti the daughter of Cyrus In his second year Haggai Prophesies and reproves the Jews for their negligence in not going on with the building of the Temple whereupon Zerubbabel and Joshua took the work in hand afresh pag. 644. In the eighth Month of the same year Zachary began to Prophesie to the same purpose that Haggai did Ibid. In the ninth month of that second year of Darius the Temple began to be rear'd by Zerubbabel and Joshua Upon the same day the two last Prophesies of Haggai were revealed to him The Samaritans viz. Tatnai and Sether-hoznai strive again to hinder them pag. 645 The Prophet Zachary hath a vision of Horsemen and several other visions Ibid. Cyrus's decree being found the King commands the Samaritans not only not to hinder the Jews in building their Temple but that they should furnish them with money out of the Kings Treasure for it pag. 646 Darius in the third year of his reign makes a royal feast for his Princes Vashti refuses to come to him when he sent for her she is thereupon divorced pag. 647. God answers the Jews inquiring concerning their Fasts of the fifth and seventh months In the eighth Chapter of Zachary he tells them he will change their Fasts into days of rejoicing Ibid. In the sixth year of Darius the second Temple was finished and dedicated pag. 650. Upon the 14th day of the first month they celebrated the first Passover in
boves Ita eos arguit Parens q. d. crudeles essent avidi raptores down a Wall viz. of Shechem's house where their Sister was kept to rescue her out of their hands He pronounces their anger to be detestable which was so cruel and violent and which had like to have been the Ruine of him and his Then speaking in the Person of God as Prophets used sometimes to do He says He will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel And accordingly it happened For Simeon was not planted apart by himself as the other Tribes were but his Tribe had their Inheritance intermixed (o) Yet out of their Lot in several places here and there these Simionites had certain Cities and Villages Josh 19.9 And afterwards upon their multiplying they were forced to seek further for new Habitations in Mount Seir and Mount Geder driving out the Amalekites 1 Chron. 4.39 and so they were scattered in their Habitations with that of Judah Josh 19.1 And the Tribe of Levi was dispersed among all the Tribes of Israel 3ly He comes to Judah He tells him as his Name signified Praise Ch. 29.35 so his Tribe should be renowned and praised and should be famous and eminent among the rest not only in regard of external Power and Government but much more because out of him the Messias should come Heb. 7.14 For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Judah He tells him His hand shall be in the Neck of his Enemies that is He should Conquer and subdue them This Prophesie of the prevailing power of Judah was fulfilled when that Tribe became the Leader Numb 10.14 7.11 12. Judg. 1.2 20.18 As also in those Worthies of this Tribe Othniel Jud. 3.9 10. David 2 Sam. 8.1 Solomon 1 Chron. 22.9 But more eminently in Christ who hath vanquished all the Powers of Darkness He goes on Thy Fathers Children shall bow down before thee whereby he intimates that his Posterity shall be advanced to the Soveraignty and to a Regal Power to which all the Israelites should sumbit Yet this was more fully to be accomplished in the Spiritual Kingdom of Christ to whom every knee shall bow Phil. 2.10 He further adds Judah is a Lions Whelp whereby he intimates the mighty strength and courage of this Tribe and how terrible they should be to their Eenemies and how great and glorious their Conquests He further adds For the Prey my Son thou art gone up (p) Leones postquam in planis praedati sunt Saturi ad montes redeunt Teste Zenoph de Venatione that is having taken the Prey thou shalt go up to thy Habitation in a triumphant manner He stooped down he couched Here He varies the person as the Prophetick Spirit moved him sometime speaking as to his Son and sometimes of him And as a Lion is the King of Beasts and flies upon other Beasts and tears them in pieces and returning from his Prey coucheth down and lieth at rest and none dare disquiet him or offer to rouze him and take his Prey from him so should Judah's Kings Conquer and subdue their Enemies and then returning with Victory should quietly and peaceably (q) So it was in Solomon s days after David's Victories 1 King 4.25 enjoy their Spoils and Conquests See Numb 23.24 But this is more especially verified in Christ the Lion of the Tribe of Judah Rev. 5.5 He further declares That the Scepter shall not depart from Judah that is from the Nation and Kingdom of the Jews so denominated from Judah (r) After the Royal Dignity was once setled in this Tribe viz. in David 1 Chron. 5.2 there were no more Kings of that Tribe after Jeconiah and Zedekiah Jer. 22.30 After their return from Captivity the Principality was in Zerubbabel and likely in others of the Tribe of Judah for a time But some while after the Maccabees of the Tribe of Levi got the Rule and continued therein by the choice and consent of the people of Judah till a little before the Birth of Christ when Herod an Idumaan was made King by the Romans which became a Kingdom apart by it self after the ten Tribes were separated from them and although there were some of the Tribe of Levi and of Benjamin mix'd among them and incorporated into them yet the people were called by the name of Judah the Kingdom and Commonwealth of Judah and there was a Government still in Judah whereas the ten Tribes after they were carried away Captive into Assyria did never return to be a Kingdom again but those of Judah after 70 years Captivity did return into their own Land and became a Kingdom and Commonwealth though not so glorious (s) The Jewish Scepter was much weakened by Pompey much shaken by Herod's Intrusion but finally broken and abolished at the destruction of Jerusalem after which they had no force nor face of a Commonwealth Therefore it is evident against the Jews that the Messiah is come as before and did live under the Government of their own Laws and Command of their own Rulers He further adds That there should not cease to be a Lawgiver between Judah's feet see Deut. 28.57 that is of the Seed and Progeny of some belonging to that Kingdom till Shilo come that is the Prosperer and Prince of Peace the promised Messiah to whom not only the believing Jews but the Gentiles also shall come in as to their King and submit themselves to his Scepter Jacob further prophesieth of the wonderful fruitfulness of Judah's lot in the Land of Canaan which was the best and largest that fell to day of the Tribes viz. that it should abound with Vines and rich Pastures and that they should have such stout and well-grown Vines that an Ass might be tied to them as to other Trees and that they should have such plenty of Wine that they might even wash their Garments in the juice of the Grape Therefore He adds Judah's Eyes shall be red with Wine and his Teeth white with Milk whereby he signifies the fruitfulness of their Vineyards and richness of their Pastures insomuch that Wine and Milk should in a manner be as plentiful and common among them even as Water 4ly He comes to Zebulun whom though younger than Issachar * Gen. 30.18 20. yet he blesses before him so doth also Moses Deut. 33.18 And his lot fell to him in the Land of Canaan before Issachar's Josh 19. from 10. to 17. He pronounces of Zebulun that he shall dwell at the haven of the Sea and he shall be for a Haven of Ships that is his Habitation shall be at the Sea-coast His Border shall be the Ocean West-ward and the Sea of Galilee East-ward and he shall rejoyce in his going out or trading Deut. 33.18 And his Border shall be unto Sidon that is not to the City but Country of the Sidonians For the Land of the Sidonians or Phaenicians extended to Accho or Ptolemais (t) Bochart
what God would say to him he used by Inchantments that is some of those magical Arts and diabolical ways which Sorcerers use to seek liberty and beg leave of God to curse the Israelites but having found that it pleased the Lord still to bless them and that there was no hope by his Inchantments to get leave to curse them he resolved now to give over that course and suddenly to curse them before he had any charge from God to the contrary And accordingly he turn'd his eyes towards the Wilderness where the Children of Israel were encamped intending now to do it but the glorious and goodly sight of their multitude and order appall'd and astonish'd him and suddenly the Spirit of God came upon him casting him into a trance * See Gen. 15.12 Dan. 8.18 Revelations by Visions were when their eyes were open and they were awake see Ch. 24.16 Revelations by Dreams when their eyes were shut and they asleep and by his mighty over-ruling Power constrain'd him to bless those whom he resolv'd to curse Balaam therefore declaring how God had in a supernatural manner opened his eyes to see things to come he utters another Parable or prophetick Vision concerning Israel saying How goodly are thy Tents O Jacob and thy Tabernacles O Israel what a goodly sight do they yield being ranked in such admirable Order under their several Ensigns and Standards This people may be compar'd to large and fruitful Vallies and Gardens enclosed set with pleasant and wholesome Plants and kept always fresh and fruitful by the watering of Rivers yea they may be compar'd to the Trees of Lign-aloes which the Lord hath planted which prosper above the ordinary course of nature and above that which by meer skill and industry of men they are wont to do And as this Tree is of a sweet Odour so shall a sweet fame and report be spread of this people yea lastly they may be compar'd to Cedar-Trees planted by the water side which are great tall and very durable so great shall the growth of this people be and so stable and flourishing the glory of their Kingdom He shall pour water out of his Buckets that is he shall so water them that Israel shall have a numerous Off-Spring * Ita benedicit ipsi Deus ut copiosam sobolem habeat in posteritatem magnam excrescat Gloss Hebraismus est erit foecundus multos procreabit liberos i. e. proles ejus vehementer crescet ut arbores in humida terra sicut situla plena copiosam dat aquam ita prosapia Israelis erit foecunda propagatio liberorum saepe per aquas significatur ut Psal 68.26 and his Posterity shall wonderfully grow up and increase as seed in moist grounds and among many waters His King shall be more Potent than Agag the King of the Amalekites whose Kingdom was then the most potent and flourishing This was fulfilled in Saul 1 Sam. 15.7 8. and in the glory of Israels Kingdom in David and in Solomons days but especially in Christ Psal 89.23 He goes on God that brought them out of Egypt is an Almighty God His Power is irresistible He hath as it were the strength of an Vnicorn see Ch. 23.22 He further shews That Israel shall eat up the Nations his Enemies that is the seven Nations of Canaan and break their bones And like as a Lion the King of Beasts returning from his Prey coucheth down and lieth at rest and none dare disquiet him so safe and secure shall the peace of this people be blessed is he that blesseth them and cursed is he that curseth them Balak hearing this was exceedingly enraged against Balaam and smiting his hands together told him He had sent for him to Curse this people but behold he had blessed them and that three several times He bids him therefore be gone He had thought to have preferred him but his God had deprived him of that honour and preferment he intended for him Balaam replies That He had no cause to blame him for this was that which he told his Messengers at the first viz. That if he would give him his house full of Silver and Gold he could not go beyond the Commandment of the Lord. However says he I will counsel thee what thou shalt now do and will shew thee also what this people shall do to thy people in the latter days I counsel thee therefore for the present to intice them to Idolatry and to joyn with you in your Idol-Feasts and let the Daughters of Moab and Midian intice them to commit Fornication with them see Ch. 31.16 Rev. 2.14 and this is the only way to provoke God to leave them and to be against them And for the present thou needest not fear them for God has commanded them not to set upon you see Deut. 2.9 but hereafter viz. many years hence there shall arise a Prince out of them that shall subdue thy people see 2 Sam. 8.2 And I Balaam being one whose eyes God hath in a supernatural manner opened to see things to come do now utter another Parable or prophetick Vision unto thee which is this I shall see him * All the branches of this Prophesie are in the first sense to be meant of David though in the sublimer sense of Christ of whom David was a Type V. 17. Videbo cum non modo non prope Hebrai exponunt I de Davide quia subjugatio Moabitarum Idumaorum ei convenit ut patet 2 Reg. 8. sed unanimiter Christiani de Christo accipiunt illum enim directe spectant cum quadam allusione ad Typum ejus Davidem ad gesta e'us sicut a Prophetis fieri solet Balaam ergo vidit eum non oculis suis sed posterorum successorum suorum Jans but not now I shall behold him but not nigh There shall come a Star out of Jacob and a Scepter shall arise out of Israel that is a King of the Seed and Posterity of Jacob who shall shine as a Star in the Firmament in regard of the glory of his Person and Government and this King was David in whose days the Kingdom of Israel was raised to an exceeding Splendor and height and this King did vanquish the Moabites 2 Sam. 8.2 and was a Type of Christ who was discovered to the wise men by a Star Matth. 2.2 Now this David he says he should see though not now viz. in his Posterity He should see Him after many Generations And this King he says shall smite the Corners or Princes of this Country who were the Corners or chief strength of the Kingdom as the corners of an house are the chief strength of the building and he shall destroy all the Children of Sheth so the Moabites were called because some one of their Progenitors famous in his time was called Sheth And further he foretelleth that the Edomites that inhabit Mount Seir shall also be subdued by the Israelites which was literally fulfilled in
to revenge Ishbosheth's death Accordingly these Conspirators came to Ishbosheth's house who was then reposing himself on his bed and they came it seems in the disguise or habit of Country men or Merchants that came to buy wheat (h) Non mirum Tirticum in Regia domo repositum esse Nimis delicati sunt antiquae simplicitatis ignavi qui ad hodiernam Aularum elegantiam pristinas Regum Aulas exigunt whereof Ishbosheth's lands yielded great store or of Porters that came to carry some away that had been bought and by this colour having free access into his house and finding him asleep upon his bed they desperately murder'd him and cutting off his head took it away with them and travelling all night from Mahanaim through the Plain of Jericho to Hebron they brought it to David and presented it to him saying Behold the head of Ishbosheth thine enemy who sought thy life and the Lord hath avenged my Lord the King this day on Saul and on his seed David being enraged at this their desperate wickedness and treachery against their Lord and Master said As sure as the Lord liveth who hath hitherto deliverd me out of all my troubles I will inflict upon you the punishment that your heinous crime deserves when the Amalekite came to me and told me that Saul was dead thinking to have brought me acceptable tidings and said moreover that upon Saul's request he had helped to kill him and rid him out of his pain See 2 Sam. 1.10 I took hold of him and slew him in Ziklag though he thought I would have given him a reward for his tidings how much greater reason then have I to execute severe justice on such bloody and wicked Assasinates as you are who have murder'd one that was just and innocent as to you having done you no wrong but contrary deserved well of you and that so basely and treacherously in his own house and upon his bed where he lay secure suspecting no such danger Have not I reason therefore to require his blood at your hands and to take you away from the earth for committing such an abominable villany Having thus spoken he commanded the young men about him to fall upon them and slay them which they immediately did and cut off their hands and their feet and hanged them up over the Pool in Hebron that all men might see how much David abhorred this fact of theirs and how far he was from knowing any thing of it or giving the least encouragement to them that did it As for the Head of Ishbosheth they took and buried it in the Sepulcher of Abner in Hebron 2 Sam. Ch. 4. whole Chapter SECT CLXXXIII IShbosheth being dead the Elders and Heads of the several Tribes of Israel and the Captains and many thousands of the people that bare armes came unto David to Hebron to settle the Kingdom of Saul upon him as God had appointed and some of them addressing themselves to him in the name of the rest spake after this manner We are thy bone and thy flesh that is Israelites as thou art and therefore doubt not but we shall find favour with thee And when Saul was King over us thou wast our Captain and didst lead forth our Armies against our enemies and broughtest them back again crowned with victory and laden with spoil And therefore the experience we have had of thy wisdom and prowess moves us to desire thee for our King And further God did by Samuel appoint thee to rule over us and said unto thee Thou shalt feed my people Israel and be a Captain over them And we are bound to accept him for our King whom God shall chuse for us Deut. 17.15 upon all these accounts we are willing to accept of thee and submit to thee as our King David graciously received them and their address and declar'd himself ready to forget all that was past and to receive them as his subjects into his protection And so he made a league with them promising to govern them according to the rule prescribed in Gods Law and they promised to obey him as his loyal and liege people And this being done with invocation of God as a witness of their league it is said to be done before the Lord and so they anointed * David now a third time anointed David King over all Israel He was thirty years old at this time he had reigned seven years and six months over Judah in Hebron before and after this he reigned over all Israel thirty three years so that his whole reign was almost forty years In the 1 Chron. 12.23 we have the number of those who out of the several Tribes came to Hebron upon this solemn occasion Of the Children of Judah six thousand and eight hundred ready armed they had before anointed David King over them therefore it was not necessary they should appear in greater numbers at this time Of Simeon seven thousand one hundred mighty men of valour Of Levi four thousand and six hundred though this Tribe was set apart peculiarly for the service of God yet many of them being men of valour did it seems go out into the wars and David being now to be inaugurated and anointed King the Levites were willing to shew their forwardness also to establish him in his Kingdom Of the Aaronites or Priests three thousand and seven hundred with Jehojada their leader And Zadok (a) This Zadok seems to be the man who in Davids reign was joined with Abiathar 2 Sam. 8.17 and by Solomon was put into Abiathars room and made High-Priest 1 King 2.35 a young man of great valour was another leader among the Sons of Aaron and with him came twenty two Captains that were Priests and of his Fathers house Of the Chilren of Benjamin three thousand no more of them it seems appeared because they being of the same Tribe with Saul a multitude of them endeavoured to continue the Kingdom in Sauls race (b) V. 29. Observabant observationem domus Saulis i. e. adhaerebant domui Saulis capessentes mandata Ishboshethi Pisc and were unwilling the Royal dignity should go from them Of the Children of Ephraim twenty thousand eight hundred mighty men of valour and famous in their Tribe Of the half Tribe of Manasseh that was seated within Jordan eighteen thousand which were chosen by name to be imployed in this service Of the Children of Issachar that were singularly prudent and able to give advice for the doing of any thing that was to be done in the fittest time * Vide Esth 1.13 and season (c) They had much given themselves to observe seasons wherein matters of moment were meetest to be done and whose brethren were at their command out of the high esteem they had of their prudence and wisdom of these the Heads or Captains were two hundred and therefore undoubtedly had divers thousands under their command who came along with them Of Zebulon no less than
fifty thousand the greatest number that came out of any one Tribe men expert in war and arm'd with all Military instruments and who could keep rank and order and were not of a divided or double heart but men of great singleness and sincerity Of Naphtali a thousand Captains and with them thirty seven thousand armed with Shield and Spear Of the Danites twenty eight thousand and six hundred expert Soldiers Of Asher forty thousand Of the Reubenites Gadites and half Tribe of Manasseh an hundred and twenty thousand furnisht with all manner of weapons and military instruments All these which are reckoned to be in all three hundred twenty two thousand two hundred twenty two being men of war who knew how to keep rank and observe Military order and discipline are said to have come with an upright heart to Hebron to make David King over all Israel and those that came not up with them yet joined in heart and affection with them therein And there they stayed with David eating and drinking and feasting three days together their brethren of Hebron making what preparations for them they could and others that were nigh unto them sending in provisions yea as far as from Issachar (a) V. 40. Usque ab Issachar c. sic Jun. Tremel Zebulon and Naphtali they brought bread and other provisions some on Asses and Camels and Mules and some drawn by Oxen and meat and meal cakes of figs and bunches of raisins wine and oyl they brought also oxen and sheep in great abundance to make the Feast for there was then great joy in Israel 2 Sam. Ch. 5. from v. 1. to 6. 1 Chron. Ch. 11. from v. 1 to 4. 1 Chron. Ch. 12. from v. 23 to the end SECT CLXXXIV DAvid having now so many of his subjects together and most of them armed he resolved to make some good use of them to the taking of Jerusalem which stood in the confines of Judah and Benjamin the men of Judah had taken that part of it which belonged unto them see Judg. 1.8 but the Children of Benjamin could not drive out the Jebusites out of their part see Judg. 1.21 no not when they had the help of their brethren the men of Judah see Josh 15.63 and therefore we read that afterwards it was a City of strangers when the Levite with his Concubine went that way Judg. 19. and so it continued to this time It was a place it seems of very great strength because the Jebusites had held it ever since Joshua had entred the land and it was even in the heart of the Country David having therefore so vast a number of his subjects that were men of war about him who on this solemn occasion had come up to him to Hebron he thought fit to take this opportunity to lead them forth against Jerusalem viz. that part of it that was held by the Jebusites resolving that the wresting of that place out of their hands should be his first enterprize after his being anointed King over all Israel and intending when he had taken it to make it the chief seat of his Kingdom Accordingly he led his Army up thither but when he had laid siege thereto the Jebusites that were within presuming upon the strength of the place in a flouting manner told him That except he could take from them their Tutelar gods that is their Idols and Images in which they put their trust though he and his people counted them and in contempt called them blind and lame gods he must not expect to come in thither And so confident they were of the power and protection of their Idols that they thought David and all Israel could never take their Fort or Castle David hereupon to encourage his Captains in the enterprize promised them that whoever with his Soldiers did first scale the walls and get into the Gutter and kill the Jebusites and destroy the lame and blind Idols they so much trusted in which his soul hated he should be chief Captain and General of his forces Joab possibly that he might recover the Kings favour whom he had highly offended by killing Abner did hereupon first scale the walls and so was made Lord General of the Kings forces see 1 Chron. 11.6 And David did the rather promise this reward to him that should take the Fort because the Jebusites had said in scorn the blind and the lame as you call them being here we need not fear that you shall ever come into this house * Some think it was used as a Proverb The blind and the lame being here he shall not come into this house that is Take heed lest your confidence prove like that of the Jebusites seeing oftentimes as it was with them that which begins in confidence ends in shame Others think that the people of Israel did thus insult over the Jebusites after they had taken the Fort Your blind and lame Idols that should have kept us out are never like to enter into this Fort again For no blind or lame or dumb Idols shall ever be tolerated in this place David having thus taken the Fort he built it round about from Millo inward that is he did at his own cost and charges build and reedifie the inside of the City from Millo and left the care of building the out-walls to Joab 1 Chron. 11.8 Millo was a deep and broad ditch that separated Mount Sion from the lower City which Solomon afterwards filled up 1 King 9.15 24. And so David dwelt in this City and it was called the City of David no less than Bethlem where he was born and he grew great and the Lord of Hosts by his especial favour was with him and blessed him And as an effect thereof at this time Hiram (b) See the like concerning Solomon 1 King 5.1 2. King of Tyre a stranger sent Ambassadours to him to congratulate his settlement in the Kingdom and upon David's request he sent him Cedar-trees and Carpenters and Masons to build him a Palace And David perceived by his own experience and the inward perswasion of Gods Spirit that it was the immediate hand of God that had establisht him King over all Israel and that God had exalted him to the Kingdom and made his Kingdom famous for the good of his Church and people And David took to him more Concubines and Wives out of Jerusalem after he was come from Hebron and this it seems he did that thereby he might multiply his friends and allies for the strengthening of him in his Kingdom But herein he shewed much humane frailty * Habuit David 8 uxores decem concubinas sed neque ex tot uxoribus libido adulterandi extincta est and weakness in making use of that as a means to establish him in his Kingdom which God had expresly forbidden to the Kings of Israel viz. the multiplying of wives See Deut. 17.7 2 Sam. Ch. 5. from 6 to 17. 1 Chron. 11. from 4 to 10.
and valour 4. Four thousand to be Singers and Players on Instruments therewith to praise the Lord whereof two hundred eighty eight were eminent men for skill and possibly Teachers of the rest These also were divided into twenty four courses and so served about eightscore in every course and the twenty four Sons of Asaph Jeduthun and Heman three great Masters of Musick were to be the chief Heads of their Courses or Companies and to Prophesie with Cymbals See 1 Sam. 10.5 So for every Course of the Priests there was also appointed a Course of Levite-Singers and these were assign'd to their several Courses by lot also And as David appointed their Courses so he gave them also Psalmes penned by himself to sing assigning some for the Sons of Asaph others for the Sons of Jeduthun and Heman as by the Titles of many Psalmes does appear (a) 1 Chron. 25.5 All these were the words of Heman the Kings Seer in the words of the Lord to lift up the Horn. He was call'd the Kings Seer in the words of God because employed in that Prophetical work of setting forth the praises of God and singing Psalmes composed by men inspir'd by God and therefore call'd thence the words of God And to lift up the Horn whereby some Musical Instrument seems to be meant as the Cornet c. These Singers are said to Prophesie because in their Musick they were acted with an holy zeal such as Prophets in their Prophesies us'd to be acted with 1 Chron. Ch. 23. from v. 2 to the end 1 Chron. Ch. 24. whole Chapter 1 Chron. Ch. 25. whole Chapter 1 Chron. Ch. 26. whole Chapter SECT CCVII. SOlomon being now about twenty years of age Rehoboam is born to him of Naamah an Ammonitish woman as appears by Rehoboam's age at the beginning of his reign 1 King 14.21 where 't is said He was forty one when be began to reign We are now come to the first Book of Kings The united State of the Kingdom of Israel as it began under King Saul and increased under King David hath been described in the two Books of Samuel and how it came to its height under King Solomon is described in the Eleven first Chapters of the first Book of Kings and how it came to be divided and upon that division decreased and came to ruin at last we shall find described in the remaining Chapters of these two Books The first Book of the Kings contains an History of 126 years viz. forty years of Solomon's reign over all Israel after him the Kingdom being divided we have from Chap. 12. to the end the Lives and Acts of four Kings of Judah and eight Kings of Israel according to this following Scheme Solomon reigned forty years over all Israel Kings of Judah Kings of Israel  Years  Years Rehoboam 17 Jeroboam 22. Abijam 3. Nadab 2. Asa 41. Baasha 24. Jehoshaphat 25. Elah 2.   Zimri seven days    Omri 12.   Ahab 22.   Ahaziah 2. SECT CCVIII DAvid being now seventy years of age and broken with continual cares wars and troubles was grown so weak and feeble that applying warm clothes would hardly keep any heat in him whereupon by the advice of his Physicians a well-complexioned-young-Virgin was sought out for him who being taken by him as a wife or concubine might lye in his bosom and cherish him And such an one was found out viz. Abishag the Shunamite who did accordingly lye in his bosom and cherish him and ministred unto him but he knew her not 2 King Ch. 1. from v. 1. to 5. SECT CCIX. A Donijah David's Eldest Son now living seeing his Father decline so fast began to have aspiring thoughts after the Crown and understanding that Solomon was designed to succeed his Father he resolved to prevent it if he could by making himself King before his Fathers death In order hereunto he provides himself chariots and horses and fifty men for a guard as his brother Absalom had done before him And 't is like his Fathers former over great indulgence to him did the more embolden him though it also aggravated his fault that he durst do a thing so contrary to his Fathers mind who had been so kind to him He was also a goodly man of person and as that might be one cause that made David so much to dote on him and Absalom so it made him the more acceptable to the people In order therefore to the carrying on of his design he consulted with Joab the General of the Army and with Abiathar the High-Priest about it who it seems encouraged him in it and promised him their best assistance But Zadok and Nathan and Benaiah Captain of the Kings guard with the mighty men that were under his command joined not with him Adonijah having the General of the Army and the High-Priest on his side he now thus contrives his matters He makes a great Feast near Enrogel on the East-side of Jerusalem to which he invites all his Brothers the Kings Sons except Solomon and all the Officers and people of the Court that he thought would join with him intending there to be Installed King Nathan hearing of this went immediately to Bathsheba and asked her if she did not hear that Adonijah reigned and took upon him to be King She was strangely surpriz'd at this having heard nothing of it He advises her if she intended to save her own and her Sons life to go presently to the King and to ask him whither he did not swear solemnly to her that Solomon should reign after him And if he did how was it that Adonijah took upon him to be King surely it is without the Kings privity and consent And says Nathan while thou art speaking to him I will come in and confirm thy words and further add what I conceive requisite to be added Bathsheba accordingly went to the King and making a very low reverence to him she told him that he had solemnly sworn to her that Solomon her Son should reign after him but behold says she Adonijah has at this very time made a great Feast to which he has invited the Kings Sons and Joab and Abiathar in order to be by them Installed King And my Lord O King the eyes of all Israel are upon thee to observe whom thou wilt declare for thy Successor in the Kingdom and the people are generally inclined to yield to that which thou shalt determine therein and if thou dost not confirm what thou didst formerly swear concerning Solomon when thou diest I and my Son shall be counted Traytors and accus'd for endeavouring to get the Kingdom from Adonijah While she was speaking Nathan came in who bowing himself before the King with his face to the ground in a respectful manner askt the King whither he had appointed that Adonijah should succeed him in the Throne I do assure thee says he he hath made a great Feast this day and to it hath invited
Solomons posterity did ever sit in the Throne of David after Zedekiah was carried captive into Babylon nor ever had the supream power of Government after that Now my Son the Lord be with thee and prosper thee that thou maist build the house of the Lord thy God as he hath said thou shalt do And the Lord give thee wisdom and understanding and give thee charge concerning Israel that is give thee Divine direction and counsel to instruct and direct all thy people that thou maist keep the Law of the Lord thy self and teach others to keep it viz. the statutes and judgments which the Lord first revealed to Moses with a charge that he should reveal them to the people Be strong therefore and of good courage dread not nor be dismayed at the difficulties thou maist meet with I have my self met with many troubles and great molestations in my government from enemies abroad and insurrections at home and yet I have so set my heart on building this house for the service of God that I have even in my troubles gathered a great treasure together for this work viz. an hundred thousand talents of Gold and a thousand thousand talents of silver and brass and iron without weight and abundance of timber and stone to all which thou thy self maist add if there be occasion Moreover I have provided for thee all manner of workmen and cunning artificers for every manner of work appertaining thereunto Arise therefore and be doing and the Lord be with thee 1 Chron. 22. from v. 6 to 17. SECT CCXI. DAvid then assembles to Jerusalem all the Princes and Rulers of the Tribes all the Captains and Commanders of the Army together with his own Sons and his servants and Officers and in this general Assembly of Princes and people standing upon his feet though possibly supported by some of his servants he made his last and farewell speech and exhortation unto them He begins Give ear unto me my brethren and my people it was very much in my heart to build an house for the Ark the footstool (b) The Lord being represented as sitting between the Cherubims the body of the Ark was as it were his Footstool See Psal 99.5 132.7 of God and I made considerable preparations in order thereunto But God said to me by Nathan the Prophet Thou shalt not build an house for me because thou hast been a man of a war The Lord may chuse and employ whom he pleases in any service he has to do none can justly say to him why dost thou so Among our twelve Tribes he chose the Tribe of Judah who was the fourth Son of Jacob Gen. 29.35 that out of it a King (c) See Gen. 49.8 10. should be taken to rule over his people In the Tribe of Judah he chose the house of Jesse my Father which was none of the greatest families of the Tribe 1 King 12.16 and of that family he chose me the youngest of eight Sons 1 Sam. 16.11 to be King over Israel for ever that is as long as I lived And now of all my Sons he hath chosen Solomon who has six brothers elder than himself see 1 Chron. 3.4 5. * There 19 Sons of David are reckoned up to sit upon the Throne of this Kingdom after me which in a peculiar manner belongs unto him And he hath promised to be a Father to this my Son Solomon and to establish his Kingdom for ever that is for a long time if he be careful to keep his commandments and statutes as he does at this day Now in the presence of this great congregation the representative body of Israel who are the Lords peculiar people and in the audience of God himself who heareth this charge that I give you I solemnly exhort you all to keep the commandments of the Lord your God which are made known to you and if you be ignorant in any thing that belongs to your duty seek to be instructed in it that you may quietly possess this good land and leave it for an inheritance to your children after you from generation to generation Having ended his Exhortation to the Princes and people he now turns his speech to Solomon saying And thou Solomon my Son know thou the God of thy Father and serve him with an upright heart and with a willing mind for the Lord searcheth all hearts and understandeth all the imaginations and workings of the thoughts If thou seek him he will be found of thee but if thou forsake him by a total and final apostasie he will renounce thee and cast thee off for ever Take heed therefore to thy self and to thy ways and seeing the Lord hath chosen thee to build an house for his name which is to be to him for a Sanctuary wherein his Ark is to rest be thou strong and couragious and see that thou frame it according to this pattern that here I now give thee Behold this is the pattern of the whole building as it was revealed to me by the Spirit of God this is the model of the Porch and the distinct parts of the Temple and of the place of the Mercy-seat as also of the Chambers Treasuries inward Parlours and Courts and here I give thee also the order and courses of the Priests and Levites and what work and service they are to perform in the house of the Lord. I give thee also a pattern of all the sacred utensils and vessels that are to be made for the service of the Temple As for the vessels that are to be made of Gold I have weighed out so much Gold as will be sufficient to make them and as for the vessels of silver I have also appointed a sufficient quantity of silver I have appointed gold for the Candlesticks (a) There was but one Golden Candlestick in the Tabernacle but there were to be ten in the Temple and Tables of shew-bread and for the bowls cups and basons and for the Altar of Incense and for the chariot (b) That is of the two great Cherubims to be made of Olive-wood and covered over with plates of gold which were to overshadow the Ark. See 1 King 6.23 They are called here the chaâiot of the Cherubims because the Angels are called the Lords Chariots Psal 68.17 Insedit Cherubimis Deus 1 Sam 4.4 of the Cherubims that are to spread out their wings and cover the Ark all this the Lord made me to understand through his good hand upon me and gave me this pattern in writing by his Prophet Nathan Therefore be thou strong and of good courage fear not nor be dismayed for the Lord God even my God will be with thee he will not fail thee nor forsake thee but carry thee on till thou hast finished all things belonging to the Temple and the service thereof And the Priests and Levites in their several courses will assist thee in what belongs to them and thou wilt have many skilful artificers that
she to avoid that came secretly as I have reason to believe in the dead of the night and took my Son from my bosom whilst I was fast asleep and laid her dead child in my bosom in the room of it for she had rather I suppose have a living child though anothers than her own dead and had rather nurse up my child instead of her own than have it said that by her own carelesness and negligence she had been the cause of the death of her own Son And when I arose in the morning to give my child suck behold I found it dead but when I had better considered of the matter and laid circumstances together I found it was not my Son that I did bear and I hope I shall find so much justice from the King as to return my own child to me again Then the other woman spake for her self and said Nay but my Lord O King let this woman say what she will I do peremptorily affirm that the living child is my Son and the dead is hers Thus they contested before the King both the one and the other challenging the living child for hers the case was very difficult for first both the children were almost of an age 2ly Their features in their infancy might be something alike 3ly No body was by when this fact was done that might give evidence on either side 4ly The mother that challenged the living child confessed she was asleep and so did not see when her child was stollen away 5ly The parties contending for the child were of a like reputation the one deserving no more credit than the other All these things considered the case seem'd so difficult that one would have thought the wit of man could not determine it Solomon having heard what they said on both sides according to the wisdom that God had given him presently call'd for a sword and bad one of his servants take the living child and divide him in twain and give half to the one and half to the other But the woman whose the living child really was found her bowels so yerning upon this that she cried out O my Lord give her I pray thee the child let her take him whole in no case divide him I had rather she should have him whole than that he should be slain But the other woman being of an envious disposition and not willing that her neighbour should enjoy what she wanted she cried out For my part seeing the King hath so determined the matter let the Kings sentence stand let it be neither mine nor hers but let it be divided The King by the different affection that he discerned in these two women quickly perceived which was the true mother and accordingly gave the living child unto her And all Israel heard of the judgment the King had given in this case and all sorts of persons highly honoured him for it for they saw that an extraordinary measure of the wisdom of God was in him that enabled him to give righteous judgment 1 King Ch. 3. from v. 16 to the end SECT CCXIX. HIram King of Tyre as also of Zidon for the Sidonians likewise were his subjects v. 9. had been always a great lover of David and hearing that Solomon his Son was advanc'd to the Throne of Israel he sent his Ambassadours to congratulate him Solomon receiv'd them very kindly and having entertained them for some time by them he sent a message to their Master to this effect He acquaints him that his Father David by reason of the many wars wherein he was almost continually engaged could not build an house for the Lord as he really intended and he supposed his Father had acquainted him with that his intention there being so great a friendship between them but the Lord having now advanc'd him to the Throne in his Fathers room and having given him rest on every side so that he had neither adversary nor evil occurrent to hinder him he resolv'd to fall upon the work and to build an house for the glory of the Lord his God as the Lord had promised unto his Father he should do he therefore requested this favour of him that as he had helped his Father to Timber (a) It seems most of Lebanon was in the land of Tyre though it were the Northern bound of the land of Canaan and though David in his life-time had provided many materials as Cedar-trees and many workmen yet it seems more were wanting which Solomon now takes care to provide wherewith to build his own Palace so he would please to help him also to Timber to build the house that he intended to build for the honour of God For the house says he that I intend to build must be great and magnificent the God for whose Worship I intend it being great above all Gods And indeed who is able to build an house for him seeing the Heaven of Heavens cannot contain him It were a vain thing for me to think of building an house for him who is infinite except only to worship him in and that is the end I aim at Send me therefore I pray thee a man skilful to work in Gold and Silver in Brass and Iron in Purple Crimson and Blew and one that can grave that he may join with the cunning men that are here with me in Judah and Jerusalem whom my Father did provide for this purpose See 1 Chron. 22.15 And I pray thee grant me Cedar-trees Firr-trees and Algum-trees for this work and command thy servants to cut them down and hew them for me and I will send my servants to help and assist them therein and I will give thy servants twenty thousand measures of beaten wheat * That is of wheat beaten out of the ear and severed from the chaff we call it clean wheat and as many of barley and twenty thousand baths of wine and as many of oyl for their wages and provision or if this do not like thee I will give whatsoever thy self shall appoint Hiram sent an answer to Solomon and writ to him after this manner It is a great sign and evidence to me that God loves that people because he hath made thee King over them And blessed be the Lord God of Israel who made Heaven and Earth for giving to David such a wise Son and for enduing him with so great a measure of prudence and understanding that he might build an house for the honour of God and for the honour of his Kingdom As for thy request to me concerning Cedar-trees Firr-trees and Timber for that great work behold all thy desires are granted My servants shall cut down and hew out sufficient Timber for thee and I will convey it to thee by Sea in flotes to Joppa or any other place thou shalt appoint I have also sent thee a very skilful and expert artificer whose name is Hiram whose Father was of the Tribe â He is called a Tyrian because he lived there
and the Ass and the Lion standing by it so that the Lion had neither eaten the carcass nor torn the Ass The Lion it seems ran away immediately upon the old Prophets coming as having now done what he stayed for and so the old Prophet took and carried the dead body of the other Prophet to be buried and laid it in his own sepulcher which he had prepared for himself and he and his sons mourned over him and said alas my brother See Jer. 22.18 And the old Prophet further spake unto his Sons saying When I am dead bury me in the sepulcher wherein this man of God is buried lay my bones by his bones that so my bones may lye at rest and not be digged up and burnt by Josiah And for the accomplishing of this end he caused a superscription to be engraven on the Sepulcher whereby it might be known who was buried there and herein he had his desire as we may see 2 King 23.17 18. He further declared that the saying of the deceased Prophet which he uttered by the command of God against the Altar of Bethel and against all the houses of the high places which were in the cities of the Kingdom of Israel afterwards call'd the Kingdom of Samaria shall surely come to pass But notwithstanding this fair warning Jeroboam returned not from his Idolatry and evil ways One would have thought that his hand being miraculously stricken dead and as miraculously healed upon the prayer of the Prophet he should presently with that hand have plucked down his Idolatrous Calves and Altars but neither that nor the cleaving of the Altar asunder nor the strange death that befell the young Prophet whereby the truth of what he had spoken was mightily confirm'd could prevail with him to forsake that Idolaty whereby he sought to assure the Kingdom to himself and his posterity but therein he was miserably deceived for this Idolatry was not only the ruin of his own house but of the whole Kingdom of Israel at last and the cause of their captivity And possibly from the violent death of the Prophet that came from Judah he took occasion to harden himself in his evil ways and not to regard his threatnings And thereupon being obstinate in his Idolatry he cast off the Priests that were of the lineage of Aaron and the Levites and made of the lowest of the people Priests of the High-places even whosoever would offer himself he consecrated him and made him a Priest of that order Whereupon many Priests and Levites leaving their possessions which they had in those parts retired into Jury and were followed by all such out of every Tribe of Israel who set their minds upon the true worship of God Some years after his Son Abijah fell sick at Tirzah for though Shechem was at first the Royal City of Jeroboams Kingdom yet afterwards as it seems he built some stately Palace for himself at Tirzah a goodly and pleasant City to which Solomon alludes Cant. 6.4 and so both Jeroboam and the other Kings of Israel that succeeded him did usually keep their Courts there till Samaria was built by Omri From thence therefore he sends his wife to Shiloh to the Prophet Ahijah who first told him he should come to the Kingdom and was now blind with old age He appoints her to go disguised lest if the Prophet knew her he should either refuse to answer her being offended with their Idolatry or else give her such an answer as they should be loth to hear he enjoins her therefore to go to him in this manner and to carry a small present to him viz. ten loaves and cakes and a bottle of honey that by so small a present she might be thought to be only the wife of some poor Country-man and only came to ask him what should become of her Son that was sick 'T is to be observ'd that he sends her not to him to beg his prayers for the child though he had had experience of the efficacy of a Prophets prayers in the miraculous restoring of his own hand It seems his obstinacy in his Idolatry discouraged him from seeking such a favour from him His wife going accordingly to Shiloh the Lord by the secret inspiration of his Spirit inform'd Ahijah of her coming and that she would feign her self to be another woman and tells him what he shall say to her Accordingly when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet as she came into the door of his house he said to her Come in thou wife of Jeroboam why feignest thou thy self to be another woman I am sent from the Lord to thee with heavy Tidings go tell Jeroboam thus saith the Lord God of Israel I exalted thee from among the people and made thee King over Israel and rent ten of the Tribes away from the house of David and gave them unto thee and yet thou hast not been as my servant David who kept my commandments and followed me with all his heart and as to my worship did only that which was right in my sight But thou hast done evil above all that were before thee Saul though a wicked man was no Idolater Solomon though by his wives instigation he permitted Idolatry yet he was not an Idolater himself but thou hast made thee other Gods * Representations of God are accounted as Gods and molten Images to provoke me to anger and hast cast my Law behind thy back therefore behold I will bring evil upon thy house and will so utterly destroy it and all that belong to it that I will not leave in it so much as a dog to piss against the wall and will destroy both him that is shut up at home or left abroad in the field and will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam as a man taketh away dung till it be all removed for being a noisome and filthy thing he will take it every whit away (a) The accomplishment of this see Chap. 15.29 Furthermore let thy husband know that him of the house of Jeroboam that dieth in the City the dogs shall eat and him that dieth in the field the fowls of the air shall eat (b) Intimating they should die unhappy deaths and not have the honour of burial for the Lord hath spoken it Arise therefore and go thy ways home and as soon as thy feet enter into thy house which is in the City Tirzah thy Son shall die and this judgment is the beginning of your sorrows But all Israel shall mourn for him and he shall be buried with lamentation and he only shall come to the grave because of all Jeroboams family in him only there is found some good thing some seeds of piety and the fear of the Lord and consequently some regard to the true worship of God Moreover I must tell thee the Lord will raise up a King (c) Viz. Baasha who made a conspiracy against Nadab Jeroboam's Son and slew him in the second year
of his reign and destroyed all the house of Jeroboam Ch. 15.27 over Israel that shall cut off the house of Jeroboam If thou askest when or at what time this shall come to pass I answer very quickly and sooner than you do expect And the Lord will smite Israel as a reed is shaken in the water He will afflict both Prince and people with uncessant wars and troubles both intestine and forreign so that they shall never abide long in any setled condition but as reeds that grow in the water are continually shaken so shall it be with this Kingdom partly by the frequent transferring the Crown from one family to another and partly by the frequent invasions of the men of Judah or some other neighbouring Nation And the Lord will root up (b) First by Tiglath-pilesar in the days of Pekak King of Israel 2 King 15.29 the greatest part after by Salmanassar in the days of Hoshea 2 K. 17.6 Israel out of this good land which he gave to their Fathers and will scatter them beyond the river to wit Euphrates into the land of Assyria Mesopotamia and Media whither they shall be carried captive because they have made Groves for Idols thereby provoking him to anger And he will give up Israel into the hands of their enemies because they consented to the Idolatry of Jeroboam who did sin highly against God and made Israel to sin by causing them to leave the Temple of the Lord and to worship the calves he hath set up Ahijah having thus spoken Jeroboam's wife departed and as she came to the door of her house her Son died And they buried him and all Israel lamented for him as God had foretold by the ministry of his Prophet There were many bickerings and continual hostility between Jeroboam and Rehoboam all their days and the borderers on both sides did continually invade one another but after Rehoboam's death Jeroboam in the eighteenth year of his reign gathered together a vast army of eight hundred thousand men to set upon Abijah Rehoboam's Son newly come to the Crown and Abijah met him with four hundred thousand and with them discomfited his mighty Army and slew five hundred thousand of them and pursuing his victory took from him Bethel and two other Cities as may be more fully seen in the life of Abijah Neither did Jeroboam recover strength again during Abijah's reign Jeroboam at last was stricken with some extraordinary sickness or disease from the Lord in the days of Abijah but he died not till the second year of Asa Son of Abijah and it seems he died not an ordinary death He reigned 22 years and Nadab his Son succeeded him 1 King 12. from 12 to the end 1 King 13. wh Ch. 1 King 14. from 1 to 21. 2 Chron. 13. wh Ch. NAdab began his reign in the second year of Asa Second King of Israel Nadab and reigned only two years namely in part of the second and third year of Asa He did evil in the sight of the Lord and walked in the way of his Father Gibbethon a City belonging to the Tribe of Dan Josh 19.44 was in the days of David and Solomon in the Israelites possession but now it seems the Philistines had gotten it Nadab therefore and all Israel with him went and laid siege to it to recover it and here during the Siege he was treacherously slain by Baasha of the Tribe of Issachar and so the siege as it seems was raised for twenty six years after or thereabouts the Son of Baasha did again lay siege to this City as we may see Chap. 16.15 Baasha now setting up himself in the Throne he smote all the house of Jeroboam according to the Prophesie of Ahijah 1 King 14.10 Behold I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam and will cut off from Jeroboam him that pisseth against the wall and him that is shut up and left in Israel and will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam as a man taketh away dung till it be all gone So with Nadab the Regal power in Jeroboam's house ended And thus the Idolatry wherewith Jeroboam thought to have established the Kingdom to himself and his posterity was the very cause of the ruin of his family and the transferring the Kingdom to another 1 King 15. from 25 to 32. BAasha the Son of Ahijah of the Tribe of Issachar began his reign in the third year of Asa Third King of Israel Baasha and reigned twenty and four years He did evil in the sight of the Lord and walked in the way of Jeroboam In the thirty sixth year of Asa's Kingdom as it stood divided from the Kingdom of Israel but in the sixteenth year of Asa's own reign and about the fourteenth of Baasha's he perceiving Asa to grow potent and that many of his subjects fell off to him he began to arm against him and never ceased from henceforward to make war upon him all his days and he went up to build Ramah which lay between Samaria and Jerusalem that he might suffer no man to come out from or go unto Asa King of Judah but he was fain to give it over being recalled by an invasion made into his Country by Benhadad King of Syria hired thereunto by Asa 2 Chron. 16. from 1 to 7. and 1 King 15.32 Jehu the Son of Hanani the Prophet delivers him a sad message from the Lord concerning the destruction of his house for his Idolatry and killing of Nadab (a) For though Baasha did herein what God had decreed yet he had no command from God to do it but did it only to serve his own ends and to get the Kingdom Saepe Deus decreta sua exequitur per malos homines qui longe aliud agentes sua quaerunt ideoque poena digni sunt Impii saepe imprudentes serviunt voluntati Dei quam in lege patefactam scientes oppugnant This Jehu was that Prophet that was sent afterwards to Jehoshaphat to reprove him for his league with Ahab 2 Chr. 19.2 and he that wrote the Chronicles of those times 2 Chron. 20.34 And his father Hanani was the Prophet that reproved Asa for seeking to Benhadad for aid against Baasha so that both Father and Son were eminent Prophets of the Lord at the same time and both sent to the Kings of Israel to whom the Lord was pleased to send many Prophets to reclaim them Jehu coming to Baasha tells him Thus saith the Lord forasmuch as I exalted thee out of the dust and from a mean condition made thee Prince (b) For it was the Providence of God that made Baasha's attempt against Nadab so successful Collatio regni Deo doll vero parricidium Baasae attribuuntur over my (c) They were Gods people by Covenant and outward profession and they retained still Circumcision and the Laws of Moses and there were many pious Prophets and some good people among them people Israel and thou hast walked in
there whereupon the dead man as soon as he touched the bones of Elisha revived and stood upon his feet By this miracle God gave testimony to the sanctity and holiness of Elisha that the people might be induced to believe what he had Prophesied concerning their smiting the Syrians and hereby also he confirmed to them the hope of a resurrection and a future life after this But to proceed though Hazael oppressed Israel all the days that Jehoahaz reigned alone as we shewed before yet it pleased the Lord to make Joash very successful against the Syrians so that in the days of Benhadad Son of Hazael he did according to Elisha's Prophesie obtain three notable victories over them and recovered out of their hands the Cities his Father had lost For the Lord was gracious unto the Israelites and had compassion on them because of his Covenant * This Covenant is often set down as the ground of Gods doing good to Israel Psa 105.8 with Abraham Isaac and Jacob and would not destroy them as yet nor cast them out of his favour nor out of the land which he had chosen for his habitation though he did it afterwards they persisting in their Idolatry and other sins Joash also conquered Amaziah King of Judah and took him prisoner and brake down four hundred cubits of the wall of Jerusalem even from the Gate of Ephraim to the corner-gate And having gotten from him all the Treasure both of the Temple and of the Kings house returned to Samaria as is more fully related in the life of Amaziah Joash now died and was buried in Samaria and Jeroboam his Son reigned in his stead 2 King 13. from 10 to the end 2 King 14. from 8 to the 17. JEroboam the second the third of the race of Jehu reigned forty one years to wit fourteen years and upwards with Amaziah The 13th King of Israel JEROBOAM the second and twenty seven in the days of Vzziah he did evil in the sight of the Lord and followed the Idolatry of Jeroboam the first the Son of Nebat 2 King 14.23 24. In his days those three eminent Prophets Jonah Hosea and Amos Prophesied God sending to Israel extraordinary Prophets and more in number than he did to the Kingdom of Judah intending by them to supply the defect and want of the ordinary Priests and Levites Jonah The Prophesie of JONAH was of Gath-Hepher a Town in the Tribe of Zebulun in Galilee of the Gentiles Isa 9.1 which confutes that of the Pharisees to Nicodemus Joh. 7.52 who said that out of Galilee arose no Prophet This Prophet when the Syrians sorely oppressed Israel foretold that Jeroboam Joash's Son should deliver Israel out of their hands and avenge the wrongs they had done them We read not indeed before of any such Prophesie but hence it is certain that there was such an one and it might be in the days of Jehoahaz when in his trouble he prayed unto the Lord and the Lord heard him Ch. 13.3 4. Jeroboam accordingly recovered all the land of the two Tribes and half beyond Jordan taken by the Syrians even from Hamath a City near Damascus which was the Northern entrance into Canaan to the Sea of the Plain or Dead-Sea in the South and also so far prevailed against them that he recovered from them Damascus and Hamath which formerly belonged to Judah and joined them to his own Kingdom see 2 Sam. 8.6 2 Chron. 8.3 for the Lord saw the affliction of Israel which in the days of Jehoahaz not long before this was very bitter for at that time none were safe whether shut up in a place of defence or left abroad neither could the King of Israel or any of his Princes help them against their enemies nor could they get any foreign succour And the Lord had not as yet determin'd to blot out the name of Israel from under heaven nor utterly to destroy them from being a Kingdom though afterwards he did so determine they going on in their sins and therefore for the present he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam 2 King 14. from 25 to 29. The Israelites continuing as it seems impenitent under the preaching of Jonah the Lord sent him to Nineveh the Metropolis and chief City of the Assyrian Empire to cry against it for its great wickedness But being afraid to go he fled to Joppa and there taking ship intended to go to Tarshish in Cilicia the clean contrary way but he was followed with a tempest and being thrown overboard was swallowed up by a Whale he continued in the Whales belly three days and three nights which was a resemblance of Christs lying in the grave and to that end thrice alluded unto and alledged by our Saviour himself Mat. 12.40 Ch. 16.4 Luk. 11.29 * Not that the correspondence is in all points exact and absolute either for the space of three whole days or three whole nights but this of Jonas was the fittest and nearest shadow of Christs lying in the grave that the Scripture did afford Being miraculously kept alive in the Whales belly he prayeth earnestly to the Lord to have pity upon him and so the Whale vomited him out upon the dry land Being sent a second time to Nineveh he obeys and going thither He cried Forty days and Nineveh shall be destroyed This threatning implied a condition viz. if they did not repent in that time â Intelligenda est haec comminatio rebus sic manentibus Deum autem miserturum si resipiscerent And they repenting God spared the City for that time and justified his sparing of them against the angry Prophets repining at it And this is the sum of the History of Jonab but there is no Prophesie of his left either against Israel or Judah Another eminent Prophet whom the Lord raised up at that time was HOSEA The Prophesie of HOSEA he Prophesied very many years some think about seventy in the days of four Kings of Judah viz. from Vzziah to Hezekiah and of seven Kings of Israel viz. from this Jeroboam the second to Hoshea He threatens the ruin and desolation of this Kingdom of Israel though it was now in its highest flourish under Jeroboam the most prosperous and victorious King that ever reigned over the Ten Tribes which ruin he himself lived to see continuing in his Prophetick function to the reign of Hezekiah in the sixth year of whose reign the Kingdom of Israel came to its final end He is sent principally to Israel yet hath a word of Prophesie to Judah also This Prophet delivers his Prophesie 1. In types and figurative representations in his three first Chapters 2. In plain and express terms in which he charges them with their heinous Idolatry and other horrible iniquities against both Tables whereof all conditions among them were guilty He threatens judgments exhorts them to repent promises mercies to the penitent All these are intermix'd and gone over and over again in the
out of his sight that is out of that land where he manifested the evidences of his gracious presence 'T is further added that when the Lord had rent Israel from the house of David they made Jeroboam the Son of Nebat King and Jeroboam drave Israel from following the Lord and made them sin a great sin And the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did they departed not from them until the Lord removed them out of his sight as he had threatned by all his servants the Prophets And for these reasons was Israel carried away out of their own land to Assyria where they remained as exiles when this History was written 2 King 17. from 7 to the 24. 2 King 18.10 11 12. This was the end of the Kingdom of Israel when it had stood severed from the Kingdom of Judah by the space of two hundred fifty four years Their many great and crying sins highly provoked the Lord against them especially their notorious idolatry their contempt of the Lords Prophets and their contumacy and bold persisting in their wicked ways For after the great blow they received by Tiglath-Pilesâr 2 King 15.29 they were so far from any amendment that they used in the pride of their hearts that Proverb Isa 9. v. 10. The bricks are fallen down but we will build with hewn stones the sycamores are cut down but we will change them into cedars intimating thereby that they would build their towns that were spoiled better than they were before For these sins therefore the Lord was provoked to reject and cast them off and to suffer them to be led away captive Tobit or Tobias the elder saith of himself that he at this time with Anna his wife and his Countrymen the Naphtalites was carried away into the land of Assyria and there made purveyor or provider of corn and other victuals for Salmanasser's houshold and also that he was carried into Media and there placed in a principal City called Ruges c. Tobit Ch. 1. Salmanasser having thus carried away the Israelites captives he planted Colonies there of five Nations of his own people taking them out of Babylon Cutha Ava Emath and Sepharvaim and placed them in the Cities of Samaria in the room of the Israelites And these were they that after this time were called Cuthaeans by a Synecdoche because the major part of them came out of Cutha a Country in Persia many of these at their first coming thither not fearing the Lord nor worshipping the true God of Israel were devoured by Lions therefore a Jewish Priest was at the request of the rest of them sent out of Assyria to teach them the manner how the God of Israel would be worshipped But this being as it seems one of Jeroboam's Priests and making his residence at Bethel he taught them not the pure worship of God nor to serve him as they ought in his Temple at Jerusalem but in their own Country after the way of Jeroboam Neither were these people brought to worship the true God alone but every City had also a several Idol of their own which they worshipped according to the custom of the Nations from which they were descended and from whence they had been transported So though they feared the Lord that is acknowledged the God of Israel to be the true God yet they served their own gods also after the manner of the Nations from whence they came * Ex ritu Gentium illarum unde ipsos deportaverant vel è quibus deportati fuerant Pisc And as for the Israelites that were carried away captive into Assyria they were nothing amended by their captivity but 't is said of them 2 King 17.34 That unto this day they do after their former manners they fear not the Lord neither do they after their statutes or after their ordinances appointed and enjoin'd them by God or after the Law and Commandments which the Lord commanded the children of Jacob whom he named Israel to observe with whom he made a Covenant and charged them saying Ye shall not fear other gods nor bow your selves to them nor serve them nor sacrifice to them But the Lord who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power and a stretched out arm him shall ye fear and him shall ye worship and to him shall ye do sacrifice And the statutes and the ordinances and the law and the commandments which he wrote for you ye shall observe to do for evermore * Viz. as long as that dispensation shall last and ye shall not fear other gods And the Covenant that I have made with you ye shall not forget neither shall ye fear other gods but the Lord your God shall ye fear and he shall deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies Howbeit they did not hearken but they did after their former manner But as for those Nations whom the King of Assyria brought out of other Countries and placed in Samaria they went on in their mungrel way of Religion they and their children from generation to generation After these first Colonies there were other Colonies brought thither by Esarhaddon King of Assyria who was also called Asnapper the Great Ezra 4.2.10 Son of Sennacherib and Grandchild to Salmanasser This seems to be the last of the Assyrian Kings and the person that carried Manasseh prisoner to Babylon which was then under the Assyrian Empire 2 Chron. 33.11 So that the Prophesie of Isaiah seems now to be fulfilled Chap. 7.8 The head of Syria is Damascus and the head of Damascus is Rezin and within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken that it be not a people For though the greatest part of the Israelites were carried away by Salmanasser some years before and their Kingdom utterly abolished yet among them that were left there remained some shew of a Government But now by reason of the great multitude of forreigners which came to dwell there the small remainder of the Ephramites were accounted as nothing yet they were not utterly extinct in their own Country as appears from 2 Chron. 34.6 7. v. 33. Chap. 35.18 2 King 23.19 20. 2 King 17. from 24 to the end These Samaritans before mentioned were succeeded by a second sort of Heretical Samaritans in the time of the Government of Nehemiah in whose time one of the Sons of Ioiada the Son of Eliashib the High Priest married the daughter of Sanballat the Horonite and therefore he chased him from him Neh. 13.28 This Priest thus driven away from Ierusalem went with other Iews that had made the like mungrel marriages to the Samaritans their wives kindred who there as the Iewish Writers relate assisted them in building an Anti-Temple on mount Gerizim where a medly Nation devised a Miscellaneous worship of God rejecting all the Scriptures save the five Books of Moses and maintaining many abominable superstitions So that between these Samaritans and the Iews there grew
Lord is with you while ye be with him and that while you walk in his ways he will not fail to bless you If ye seek him he will be found of you but if ye forsake him he will forsake you You may see a clear instance of this in the Kingdom of Israel who for above thirty years last past namely since their revolt under Jeroboam have lived without the publick pure worship of God not having his Priests to instruct them nor regarding his Law to direct them but if they would repent and return to God undoubtedly he would be ready to receive them into his favour again For in former times viz. the times of the Judges when the Israelites were in great trouble and under sore oppressions so that there was no peace to him that went out or came in but great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of those Countries and Nation was destroyed of Nation and City of City God vexing them with sore adversity yet even then when they did seek to the Lord and turn'd unto him he had mercy upon them and did afford them help and deliverance And so if the ten Tribes that have thus forsaken the Lord would turn to him he would surely have mercy upon them But whatever they do let me advise thee O King and thy subjects to go on courageously with the work of reformation begun by you and assure your selves that God will still be with you to bless you whilst you are for him When Asa heard these words together with the Prophesie of Oded the Father of this Azariah which it seems he declared unto him at this time and added it to his own exhortation Asa took courage and made a more diligent search throughout all his Kingdom and put away the remaining Idols that were found among them and that not only out of the land of Judah and Benjamin but out of the Cities which either his Father Abijam or he himself had taken about Mount Ephraim See 2 Chron. 13.19 17.2 And he renewed and repaired the Altar of the Lord that Solomon had built in the Priests Court which now by continual use was something decayed and he summoned all Judah and Benjamin and such of the ten Tribes as were within his Dominions for they fell to him out of Israel in abundance when they saw that the Lord so eminently blessed him and on the third month in the fifteenth year of his reign which was the 35th * For Rehoboam reigned 17 years Abijah 3 Asa 15 at this present since the Kingdom of Judah and Israel were divided 2 Chron. 15.19 he and his people offered unto the Lord of the spoils they had gotten seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep and entred into a Covenant to seek the Lord God of their Fathers with all their heart and all their soul and that whosoever should worship any false Gods either publickly or privately should be put to death according to the Law Deut. 17.2 c. And they sware unto the Lord with a loud voice and with shouting and with Trumpets and Cornets sounding And all Judah rejoiced at the Oath for they had sworn with all their heart and sought the Lord with their whole soul and he was found of them and heard their prayers and granted their desires accepted what they did and prospered their endeavours and he gave them rest round about There had been no war betwixt Israel and Judah in Asa's time till the 15th year of his reign * 2 Chron. 15.19 for There was no more war read there had been no war viz. betwixt Israel and Judah till the 15th year of Asa Bellum enim non fuerat usque ad annum trigessimum quintum regni Asae Tremel But now about the sixteenth year of Asa and 36th since the division of the Kingdoms Baasha King of Israel perceiving how potent Asa began to be and how fast the Israelites revolted to him and how they had all entred into a Covenant to serve the Lord he began to arm against them in the fourteenth year of his reign and from this time there was war between Baasha and Asa all their days 1 King 15.16 And Baasha having gotten Ramah which was one of the Cities of Benjamin from the King of Judah fearing the greatness of Asa and the revolt of the Israelites to him he resolved to fortifie it and put a Garrison into it that he might keep his own people from flying to him Asa to divert him from building and fortifying of Ramah takes out the silver and gold that were in the Treasures of the Temple and the Kings house and sent them to Benhadad King of Syria to hire him to break his League with Baasha King of Israel He represents to him that there was a League between Benhadad and him as there had been between their Fathers he desir'd him therefore to break the League he had with the King of Israel and to invade his Country that he might depart from him for he was come down to his very borders Doubtless for Asa to be so much afraid of the Israelites and to rob the Temple and therewith to hire an Infidel to break his Covenant with them and to make war upon them and that soon after God had given him so great a victory over that vast host of the Ethiopians Lubims Arabians and Philistines and had manifested so great a readiness to help him was a great sin Benhadad accordingly having received this present not regarding his faith or league made with the Israelites forthwith invaded and took many of their Cities Baasha upon this left off fortifying Ramah and went against Benhadad to defend his own Country â And afterwards when he had secured his own land he went and dwelt at Tirzah In the mean time Asa by Proclamation gathered together all that were able in Judah to go up to Ramah to demolish it and the men of Judah and Benjamin went up thither and fetched away the timber and stones that Baasha had provided to build and fortifie it with and Asa built therewith Geba and Mizpah * See Jer. 41.9 where we read of a pit that Asa had in Mizpah that continued unto the Captivity two Cities in the Tribe of Benjamin Hanani the Seer father of the Prophet Jehu 1 King 16. came hereupon to Asa and said to him Thou hast done ill to distrust the Lord and to relye on the King of Syria to deliver thee from Baasha For hadst thou suffered Benhadad to continue firm to his league with Baasha they both would have invaded thy land and thou shouldst have overcome them both as thou didst the great Army of the Ethiopians whereas now by making an agreement with Benhadad thou hast cut off that advantage from thy self and so his host is escaped out of thy hands Thou maist remember how God gave thee victory over that vast Army of the Ethiopians because thou didst relye on him For the eyes of the Lord
the house of Ahab and compelled the people of Judah thereunto by force persecuting such as refused A Letter whilst he was going on in these abominable ways comes to him from Elijah who before his translation saw by the spirit of Prophesie what great wickedness this Jehoram would commit and what punishments the Lord would inflict upon him for it This Letter was written by Elijah * Probabile est Eliam hoc Scriptum commisisse Elisaeo quia certo aliud ei commisit post mortem peragendum nempe ut Hazaeli indicaret ipsum futurum Regem Syriae whilst he lived upon the earth neither need that seem strange seeing Isaiah wrote before hand concerning Cyrus Isa 45.1 and the Prophet that was sent to Jeroboam prophesied of Josiah many years before he was born 1 King 13.2 Elijah having written it committed it either to Elisha or some other of the Prophets and by them it was now sent to Jehoram whose insolent cruelty was such that he would hardly endure the reproof of a living Prophet In that Letter Elijah speaks thus to him Thus saith the Lord God of David thy Father because thou hast not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat â To degenerate from the example of pious Ancestors is a great provocation thy Father nor the ways of Asa thy Grandfather but hast walked in the ways of the Kings of Israel and hast made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to go a whoring and commit spiritual fornication like the house of Ahab and hast also slain thy brethren of thy Fathers house which were better than thy self behold with a great plague will the Lord smite thee and will punish thee in thy people and thy children and thy wives and all thy goods and thou shalt have great sickness by a disease of thy bowels who hast had no bowels towards thy own brethren and thou shalt day by day without intermission be tormented with it till thy bowels fall out This was the threatning of Elijah the Prophet against him and we shall now see how it was fulfilled 1. The Edomites who from Davids time had ever been in subjection to the Kingdom of Judah see 2 Sam. 8.14 and had been Tributaries thereunto and had been governed by a Viceroy set over them by them 1 King 22.47 now fell off and revolted from him and made a King over themselves Jehoram to reduce them went over to Zair a City in Idumea and took with him all the Chariots and Horsemen and Souldiers he could provide and he arose by night that he might come upon them suddenly and unexpectedly but the Edomites were so numerous and so well prepared that they compassed his army round about However his Souldiers so manfully stood to it that they put the Edomites to flight and slew many of them and thereupon the Captains of the Edomites Chariots and many of their Souldiers fled to their own houses But though Joram overthrew them at this time yet they retiring into places of advantage persisted resolutely in their revolt and so he was forced to return again into his own land without conquering of them And thus according to the Prophesie of Isaac Gen. 27.40 By thy sword thou shalt live and serve thy Brother and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck They for ever after shook off his yoke 2. Whilst he was endeavouring to reduce the Edomites Libnah a great City within Judah one of the Royal Cities of Canaan Josh 10.29 30. and given to the Priests Josh 21.13 now rebelled against him possibly because he had made such innovations in Religion and forced the people to Idolatry and had forsaken the Lord God of his Fathers The revolt of this City was a matter of great moment it being a Frontier City and one of those which the King of Assyria set upon when he came with his huge host to have taken Jerusalem 2 Chron. 32.9 It is much indeed that one City alone should venture upon such an attempt but perhaps the Kings absence whilst he was in Edom and the discontent of the people yea perhaps some correspondence they might have with the Philistines who soon after invaded the land gave them hope of some abettors and how they sped in the conclusion the Scripture no where expresses 3ly God stirred up against him the spirit of the Philistines and Arabians who bordered upon the Ethiopians and had been Tributaries to the Kings of Judah and they ran through the land so far as to come up to Jerusalem and plundered and carried away all the substance they found in the Kings house and carried away all his sons * Here we ought to take notice of the righteous judgment of God against him He slew all his Brethren and all his Sons were slain by the Philistines and Arabians excepting his youngest Ahaziah and he was slain afterwards by Jehu 2 Chron. 22.9 And all the Sons of Ahaziah were slain by their Grandmother Athaliah excepting Joash who was hid from her and afterwards Crowned King And Joash himself was at last slain by his own servants but the youngest call'd Ahaziah â And herein appeared the Divine Providence for the accomplishment of the promise to David whom it seems they could not find and all his wives they could lay their hands on but it seems they unhappily mist Athaliah who remained to usurp the Crown and to be a scourge to the Nation afterwards 4ly After all this the Lord smote him in his bowels with an incurable disease his malady was very tormenting and after two years continuance a long time for a man to lye under such a sharp disease his torment was so great that at last it forced out his very guts and bowels from him and so he died under the heavy hand of God The great sins he had committed against God the great wrongs he had done to his subjects and the great judgments he had brought upon the land turned the hearts of his people from him so that they shewed him little respect when he was dead making no burning for him like the burning made for his Father See 2 Chron. 16.14 And so he departed without being desired or lamented Howbeit they buried him in the City of David but obscurely not in the Sepulchers of his Ancestors the Kings of Judah and without the lamentations and solemnities that had been used at the Funerals of other Kings He reigned eight years four in his Fathers life time and four after which though a short reign in its self yet seem'd undoubtedly long to the poor people that were so ill treated by him All the time of this Kings reign another King of the same name reigned in Israel to wit Joram the Son of Ahab his wives brother 2 King 8. v. from 16 to 25. 2 Chron. 21. wh Ch. The sixth that reign'd in Judah was AHAZIAH AHAZIAH call'd Jehoahaz 2 Chron. 21.17 and Azariah 2 Chron.
Father had done For such as his Father was such was he His Father a while out of respect to men viz. as long as Jehoiada lived did that which was right but afterwards fell away to Idolatry and so did he As his Father did not suppress the worship of God in high places no more did he As soon as he was setled in the Government he put to death those that had killed the King his Father who it seems were great men and had Court-offices and therefore call'd his servants whom at first for fear of danger he forbore to meddle with but when he saw a fit opportunity and felt his own strength he dealt with them yet spared their children according to the Law of God Deut. 24.16 The fathers shall not be put to death for the children neither shall the children for the fathers every man shall be put to death for his own sin About the 13 or 14 year of his reign he resolved to make war upon the Edomites who in his Grandfather Jehoram's time had rebelled against the Kingdom of Judah and so continued unto this time In order hereunto he musters three hundred thousand choice men of his own subjects such as were able for war and could handle spear and shield and made Colonels over thousands and Captains over hundreds according to the dignity of their families But notwithstanding he had so great an Army it seems he did not much confide in them but thought it better in point of policy to manage this war by Auxiliaries and accordingly hired an hundred thousand able valiant men of the Israelites who in those times by reason of their successful wars against the Syrians were accounted excellent Souldiers to go with him against the Edomites and gave them an hundred talents of silver * That is thirty seven thousand five hundred pound sterling See 1 Chron. 22.14 So every Regiment consisting of a thousand had a Talent of silver that is 375 l. to engage them in this service A Prophet comes to him from the Lord and advises him to dismiss these Israelites for the Lord was not with them â 2 Chron. 25.7 to wit with any of the children of Ephraim Ephraim is here put for the ten Tribes being the greatest Tribe of the ten and having the priviledg of the first born Gen. 48.19 God did not love them because they were Idolaters though he did sometimes prosper them in their wars against the cruel Syrians But says he if thou wilt go up to fight against the Edomites with these Israelites contrary to the declared mind of God do it at thy own peril and make thy self as strong as thou canst for the battel and see what will come of it Assure thy self God will make thee fall before the enemy For God alone hath power to help or cast down success in war is wholly ordered by him The King was something startled at this message but says he if I should dismiss them what shall I do for the hundred Talents that I have given them I know not how to recover them from such a numerous company without much hazard and much bloodshed The Prophet answers The Lord is able to give thee much more than this So Amaziah separated them from his own Army to which they were joined and sent them home again But they being thus dismissed were exceeding angry and lookt upon themselves as slighted and scorned as if their aid and assistance had not been of any value wherefore in their return home they fell upon the Cities of Judah viz. such as were the frontier Towns bordering all along the breadth thereof upon the Kingdom of Israel and slew three thousand of the subjects of Judah and carried away much spoil Amaziah having dismissed the Israelites marches with his own Army into the Edomites Country and there obtain'd a great victory over them wherein he slew ten thousand of them and took ten thousand prisoners whom he cast down from the Rock Selah and so broke them in pieces Possibly he us'd them with the greater severity because of their revolt from the Crown of Judah and their unwillingness to return to their obedience thereunto Having thus conquered the Edomites among other spoils he brought away their Gods also and by a monstrous impiety set them up to be his Gods and bowed down before them and burnt incense unto them David did not use to do so but burnt the gods of his enemies which he took see 1 Chron. 14.12 But this man seems more infatuated and bewitched with Idolatry than Ahab himself The anger of the Lord was hereupon exceedingly kindled against Amaziah and he sent a Prophet to him who said to him Why hast thou sought after the gods of the Edomites which could not deliver their own people viz. the people that worshipped them out of thy hands The King being vexed at this free reproof of the Prophet would not let him go on but said Who made you of the Kings councel I charge thee forbear speaking any many or speak at thy own peril So the Prophet forbore and only said I know that the Lord hath determined to destroy thee because thou hast done this great wickedness in setting up these Idols and now refusest to hearken to my counsel Amaziah being puft up and grown insolent upon his good success against the Edomites and taking advice of some such Counsellors as Rehoboam did in a vain and proud manner sends a challenge to Joash King of Israel saying to him Come let us look one another in the face and meet in a pitched field with our Armies Probably the injury done him by the Israelites whom he dismissed when he undertook his late expedition against the Edomites was that which provoked him to challenge Joash and this late wrong might probably bring other old matters to remembrance Joash who was a Prince as proud and haughty every whit as Amaziah answers him in a scornful manner by a Parable The Thistle says he that was in Lebanon sent to the Cedar saying Give thy daughter to my son to wife and there passed by a wild beast and trod down the Thistle Whereby he intimates that it would be insufferable pride in the Thistle to presume to desire the Cedars daughter as a wife for his son For he that seeks to match his child with another mans supposes himself equal to that other man But he takes it in great scorn that Amaziah should think himself equal to him But if it be too much presumption for the Thistle to offer to make affinity with the Cedar how much more presumption is it to make war against him which he would have Amaziah to know was his present case He further tells him Indeed he had smitten the Edomites and thereupon he perceived his heart was proud and much lifted up But however he advises him to content himself with that victory and to tarry at home and not meddle with him to his hurt lest he and Judah with him fall
walls of some and dismantled them as particularly Gath Jabneh and Ashdod and built Cities in the Country of Ashdod and Garrison'd them to keep them in subjection Also he mastered some parts of Arabia and brought the Ammonites to pay him tribute For God helped him So that his fame spread abroad and he grew very much renowned in all Countries between Judah and Egypt and he went on strengthening himself daily And if we consider the great success of Jeroboam the second at the same time King in Israel these two Kingdoms since the division never were in an higher flourish than now He repaired the wall of Jerusalem which in his Fathers days Joash King of Israel had demolished and fortified it with Towers wherein he placed new invented Engines to shoot arrows of an extraordinary bigness and possibly many of them together for the annoying of an enemy at a distance and for the shooting of great stones greater t is like than the greatest of our Cannon-bullets He was a great sheep-master and had many cattel which he kept in the low grounds and plains and he built Towers for the defence of his berdsmen and cattel and digged many wells of water for them He was a lover of husbandry and a great planter of Vines which he planted in the fruitful Carmel and the hills about it employing many Vine-dressers in that work About the 22th year of his reign as 't is probable that dreadful Earthquake * The Prophet Zachary also speaks of it Chap. 14.5 Ye shall flee like as ye fled from before the Earthquake in the days of Uzziah King of Judah happened which Amos speaks of Ch. 1.1 The words of Amos which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Vzziah King of Judah and in the days of Jeroboam King of Israel two years before the Earthquake And seeing Earthquakes are usually forerunners and presages of great changes in Kingdoms though they have not always immediately followed but some years after therefore possibly that speech of the Prophet Isaiah Ch. 7.8 may have some reference to that Earthquake for the head of Syria is Damascus and the head of Damascus is Rezin and within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken that it be not a people Those sixty five years cannot be understood to begin from the time when this Prophesie was spoken which was in the first year of Ahaz Isa 7.1 for from thence there were not above twenty years to the Captivity of Israel but must be understood to commence from the 22th or 23th year of Vzziah and from thence to the year wherein the Kingdom of Israel was broken were indeed about sixty five years as learned men compute them Under these two renowned Kings Jeroboam the second of Israel and Vzziah of Judah there flourished sundry eminent Prophets * These holy Prophets Speeches and Sermons were set down in writing by themselves and as some think kept in the Temple and added to other holy Books to stand for Authentick Scripture Their Ministry was directed to these general Ends 1. To maintain the purity of Religion 2. To beat down the disorders and growing evils and vices of the times they lived in 3. To keep always alive the promises of the Messias and to hold the faith and expectation of the Jews always bent towards him in each Kingdom particularly in Judah The Prophet ISAIAH ISAIAH he is thought by learned men to have been of an illustrious family his Father Amoz being as they conjectured brother to Amaziah Jerom with others is of opinion that he was of a noble descent Indeed his Prophesie is so sublime and eloquent and so curiously garnished with Rhetorick and all sorts of Elegancies that he seems to have been a person of more than ordinary education He prophesies of the destruction of the Kingdoms of Syria and Samaria shortly to be accomplished by the Assyrian and of the Kingdom of Judah afterwards by the Babylonian and of the destruction of the Babylonians by the Medes and Persians and of the Jews deliverance from the Babylonian Captivity by Cyrus whom by name he mentions above one hundred years before he was born And withal he declares the restitution and enlargement of the Church whereof the deliverance from the Babylonish Captivity was a figure together with the calling of the Gentiles by Christ whose Incarnation Birth Offices Royal Priestly and Prophetical life teaching sufferings death rising again glory ensuing and his Kingdoms extent he so largely and lively describes that he seems rather to write a story of things already done than a Prophesie of things to come In regard whereof he is call'd an Evangelical Prophet He often mixes his severe denunciations of judgments with promises of grace in Christ to all save only the Babylonians who by reason of their pride and merciless persecution of the Church did bear the image of Antichrist and his faction condemned together with the Devil the head thereof to everlasting perdition the terrors whereof are very lively described in many places of this Book How long he Prophesied is obscurely intimated Isa 1.1 viz. in the days of Vzziah Jotham Ahaz and Hezekiah Kings of Judah but in what year of Vzziah he began and in what year of Hezekiah he ceased is not declared 'T is evident that he Prophesied in the year Vzziah died Isa 6.1 and by the Prophesies foregoing that Chapter it seems probable that he Prophesied a good while before But let us suppose with some that he Prophesied only two years under Vzziah sixteen years under Jotham sixteen under Ahaz fourteen under Hezekiah For Hezekiah reigning twenty nine years in all in his fourteenth year Isaiah was sent to him in his sickness to tell him that God would add to his days fifteen years more After that Isaiah threatens the Babylonish Captivity upon Hezekiah's shewing all his Treasures to the Babylonish Ambassadors v. 17. Here is in all 48 years Now if we may suppose with the Jewish Doctors that Isaiah was sawn asunder by Manasseh there 's fifteen years more under Hezekiah and one year at least under Manasseh and so we have 64 years in all for the time of his Prophesying A very long time this was for a Prophet to preach to a * How patient then should Gods Ministers be in their function though their peoples profiting for a long time answers not their labours rebellious and gainsaying people See Isa 65.2 and Rom. 10.21 Some divide this Book of Isaiah into three parts and so according to them the first contains the Sermons he Preached under Vzziah from Ch. 1. to 6. The second contains the Sermons he preached under Jotham and Ahaz from Ch. 6. to 15. The third the Sermons he preached and the Prophesies he uttered and the things that fell out under Hezekiah from Ch. 15. to the end Others divide this Prophesie thus 1. In the twelve first Chapters are contained Prophesies immediately directed to the Jews whom he does sharply reprehend for
Judah and Jerusalem agreeably to what Jeremy had done for which the King sought to put him to death but he flying thereupon into Egypt the King by his messengers fetcht him back again and slew him with the sword and cast his dead body among the vilest sepulchres of the common people but Ahikam who had been of great authority with King Josiah 2 King 22.12 stickled so for Jeremy that he was not delivered over to the people to be put to death Jer. 26. whole Chapter In the beginning also of this Kings reign the word of the Lord came to Jeremy and gave him a Prophesie which was afterwards to be executed in the days of Zedekiah whereby he intimated to him that Zedekiah should be King of Judah and Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon and that he should subdue the neighbouring Nations and bring them under his power In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the Son of Josiah King of Judah says he came this word unto me from the Lord Make thee bonds and yokes and put them upon thy neck and send them to the King of Edom and to the King of Moab and to the King of the Ammonites and to the King of Tyrus and to the King of Zidon by the hand of the messengers which came to Jerusalem unto Zedekiah King of Judah and command them to say unto their Masters thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel I have made the earth the man and the beast that are upon the ground by my great power and by my out-stretched arm and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me and now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon my servant (a) That is whom I am resolv'd to make use of for the executing my judgments upon many Nations and the beasts of the field (b) That is I have given him power over these Nations and all that they have have I given him also to serve him And all Nations shall serve him and his son and his sons son until the very time of his land come (c) The time appointed by God for his visitation and then many Nations and great Kings shall serve themselves of him (d) Such as serv'd that State before shall then subdue it And it shall come to pass that the Nation and Kingdom which will not serve Nebuchadnezzar and will not put their neck under his yoke that Nation will I punish saith the Lord with the sword and with the famine and with the pestilence until I have consumed them Therefore hearken not to your Prophets nor to your diviners nor to your dreamers nor to your enchanters no to your sorcerers which speak unto you saying Ye shall not serve the King of Babylon for they prophesie a lye unto you to remove you far from your land (e) Not that they properly intended it but that would undoubtedly be the issue of what they animated them unto and that I should drive you out and ye should perish But the Nations that bring their neck under his yoke and serve him those will I let remain still in their own land saith the Lord and they shall till it and dwell therein Jer. 27. from v. 1 to 12. Jehoiakim in the second year of his reign according to the accustomed policy of his forefathers the better to prevent all changes and settle the Kingdom in his line made his Son Jehoiakin or Jeconiah King with him being then but eight years old 2 Chron. 36.9 In the latter end of the third and beginning of the fourth year of Jehoiakim Nebuchadnezzar being joined with his father in the administration of the Kingdom of Babylon the things that he was to act are presently revealed to the Prophet Jeremy namely that he should overthrow the Egyptians first at the river Euphrates which immediately after followed he cutting off the forces that Pharoah Necoh left at Carchemish that very year and then that he should conquer the Egyptians in their own Country which came not to pass till after the taking of Tyre in the 27th year of the captivity of Jeconiah as we find Ezek. 29. from 17 to 21. Jer. 46. from 1 to 27. In the self-same fourth year of Jehoiakim which was the first of Nebuchadnezzar * It seems the first year of Nebuchadnezzar concurred with the end of the third and beginning of the fourth year of Jehoiakim see Dan. 1.1 King of Babylon the Prophet Ieremy reproving the Iews for not hearkning to the word of the Lord which from time to time he had spoken to them even from the thirteenth year of King Iosiah to that present fourth year of Iehoiakim which was three and twenty years and for that they had shewed themselves stubborn and refractory to his admonitions as also to the warnings of all the other Prophets the Lord had sent unto them he then again told them of the coming of Nebuchadnezzar upon them and that they should be carried away captive to Babylon and that captivity should last seventy years which term Judah first and then the other Nations there mentioned every one in their order were to serve the King of Babylon and at last the Kingdom of Babylon it self should be destroyed An intimation of which seventy years captivity was long before made by the Prophet Isa 23.15 And it shall come to pass in that day that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years according to the days of one King (a) That is so long as one King and his âace shall reign viz. Nebuchadnezzar and his seed And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years that the Lord will visit Tyre and she shall turn to her hire and shall commit fornication (b) That is shall trade and traffick and merchandize with all the Kingdoms of the world with all the Kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth Jer. 25. wh Ch. In the same year also Baruch wrote in a roll or scrole of parchment from the mouth of the Prophet Jeremy all the words of the Lord which he had spoken to him concerning Israel and Iudah from the time of Iosiah to that day and he read them in the Court of the house of the Lord in the audience of all the people which were there assembled out of all their Cities on the day of their solemn fast which they yearly kept upon the tenth day of the seventh month As for Baruch himself who was extreamly afflicted in his soul with the apprehension of those direful judgments he had written the Prophet Ieremy comforted him and assured him of his own life amidst all these calamities Ier. 36. from 1 to 9. Ier. 45. wh Ch. Nebuchadnezzar having vanquished the Egyptians about the banks of Euphrates Ier. 46.1 2. and approaching now with his forces towards Iudea to besiege Ierusalem the Recabites of the posterity of Ionadab the Son of Recab 2 King 10.15 leaving their Tents wherein by the rule
Nimrod See the Kings thereof pag. 15. of Chap. II. The dispersion of the children of Noah The Original of several Nations 1819 Serug born 1846 Nahor born 1878 Terah born 2008 Abraham born The King of Elam and his Allyes conquer the King of Sodom and his Confederates 2078 The Promise made to Abraham in Vr of the Chaldees The Third Age from the Promise made to Abraham in Ur of the Chaldees unto the departure of the Israelites out of Egypt 2094 ABraham's removal to Charran and from thence to Canaan Two Altars there built by him A Promise of that Land made unto his Posterity He goes into Egypt by reason of the Famine in Canaan His Danger there on the account of Sarah his Wife He returns into Canaan vanquishes Chedorlaomer rescues Lot is met by Melchizedec and blessed He takes Hagar Ismael Born 2107 Circumcision Instituted Abraham entertains Three Angels intercedes for Sodom Sodom and Gomorrha Consumed with Fire from Heaven Lots Incest 2108 Isaac Born Hagar and Ismael cast out Abraham's sacrificing Isaac Isaac marries Rebeccah 2168 Esau and Jacob Born Jacob's marriage with Leah and Rachel His hard Servâce under ãâã 2259 Joseph Born Joseph's Dream His Brethren sell him He is sold after to Potiphar His Mistriss 's false Accusation His Imprisonment Pharaoh's Dream Joseph's Interpretation thereof and Advancement The Famine begins Jacob sends his Sons into Egypt to buy Corn. Joseph makes himself known to his Brethren Jacob goes into Egypt He blesses his Sons and dies Joseph dies The History of Job Aaron Born 2418 Moses Born His Education by Pharaoh's Daughter He flies into Midian He is sent by the Lord to deliver Israel He works Miracles before Pharaoh The Ten Plagues 2508 The Israelites departure out of Egypt The Fourth Age from the Departure of the Israelites out of Egypt to the laying the Foundation of Solomon's Temple 2548 THe Paschal Lamb. The Fiery Pillar The Israelites pass through the Red Sea Manna Joshua fights with Amaleck The giving of the Law on Mount Sinai Moses 40 days in the Mount Directions concerning framing the Tabernacle The Golden Calf The History of the Israelites during their 40 years continuance in the Wilderness Moses having governed 40 years dies Joshua succeeds Conquers and divides the Land and governs in all 17 years The Judges 2565 Othniel 40 years 2605 Ehud 80 years The History of Ruth 2685 Deborah 40 y. 2725 Gideon 40 y. 2765 Abimelech 3 y. 2768 Tholah 23 y. 2791 Jair 22 y. 2813 Jephtha 6 y. 2819 Ibzan 7 y. 2826 Elon 10 y. 2836 Abdon 8. y. 2844 Samson 20 y. 2864 Eli 40. y. 2904 Samuel and King Saul 40 y. 2944 King David 40 y. 2985 King Solomon 4 y. 2988 The Foundation of the Temple laid in the 4th year of Solomon's Reign The Fifth Age from the laying the Foundation of Solomon 's Temple to the Destruction of it and the Captivity of Judah Solomon reigned over all Israel from the laying the Foundation of the Temple 36 years The Kingdom divided Kings of Judah 302â REhoboam reigned 17 years 304â Abijam 3 y. 3044 Asa 41 y. 3085 Jehoshaphat 25 y. 3106 Jehoram 8. y. 3113 Ahaziah 1 y. 3114 Athaliah 7 y. 3120 Jehoash 40 y. 31â9 Amaziah 29 y. 31â9 Vzziah 52 y. 32â0 Jotham 16 y. 32â6 Ahaz 16 y. 3271 Hezekiah 29 y. 3300 Manasseh 55 y. 3355 Amon 2 y. 335â Josiah 31 y. 3387 Jehohaaz 3 mon. 3388 Jehoiakim 11 y. 3398 Jehoiakin or Jechoniah 3 mon. 3â99 Zedekiah 11 y. Kings of Israel 302â JEroboam reigned 22 years Nadab 2. y. 304â Baasha 24 y. Elah 2 y. Zimri 7 days 3044 Omri 12 y. Ahab 22 y. 3085 Ahaziah 2 y. Jehoram 12 y. 3106 Jehu 28 y. 3113 Jehoahaz 17 y. Joah 16 y. 3114 Jeroboam 2d 41 y. 3120 An Interregnum of about Eleven years and an half Zachariah 6 months Shallum 1 month 31â9 Menahem 10 y. 31â9 Pekahiah 2 y. 32â0 Pekah 20 y. 32â6 Hoshea 9 y. 3271 The Israelites carried into Captivity by the Assyrians in the sixth year of Hezekiah The Jews carried into Captivity by the Babylonians in the 11th year of Zedekiah The Sixth Age from the Captivity of Judah to their Return out of Babylon 3408 JErusalem taken Zedekiah brought to Nebuchadnezzar sees his Children slain then hath his Eyes put out and in Chains is carried to Babylon The City and Temple burnt Seraiah the Chief Priest and other Principal men put to death at Riblah Gedaliah set over the Poor people left in the Land Jeremy upon his own choice stays with them Ismael Conspires against Gedaliah Johanan discovers it to him He believes it not and so is treacherously murder'd Johanan recovers from Ismael his Prisoners but himself escapes Johanan and his Captains and many of the people go into Egypt and carry Jeremy and Baruc with them 3409 Ezekiel utters several Prophesies in Babylon Jeremy about this time writes his Lamentations Tyre besieged by Nebuchadnezzar 3413 Nebuzaradan carries away the last Remainder of the Jews to the number of 745. Nebuchadnezzar invades Egypt and makes great Havock there Having finished his Conquests he returns unto Babylon and there has the Dream of the great Tree whose Destiny was to be cut down He new builds Babylon 3427 He falls distracted and so continues for 7 years He is recovered to his Understanding blesseth God and dies 3435 Evil Merodach succeeds him Jechoniah advanced Zedekiah dies and is honourably Buried Cyrus being made General of the Armies of the Medes and Persians obtains a great Victory over the Babylonians Belshazzar succeeds Evil Merodach In the first year of his Reign Daniel hath the Vision of the four Beasts 3465 Cyrus gives the Babylonians another great Defeat and with a vast Army besieges Babylon Belshazzar carousing with his Nobles sees the Hand-writing on the Wall Daniel interprets it to him and is thereupon advanc'd Belshazzar slain Darius takes on him the Kingdom Cyrus Marries his only Daughter Darius sets over the Provinces an 120 Governors and makes Daniel chief of them all The Princes out of Envy to him move the King to make an Edict That for 30 days no Petition should be made to any God or Man but himself Daniel thereupon cast into the Lyons Den. The 70 years of the Captivity of the Jews draw to an end Daniel Prays for the promised Deliverance The Angel Gabriel is sent to inform him not only concerning that but also the 70 Weeks Darius dies Cyrus is made thereupon Emperor of the East The Jews shew him the Prophesy of Isaiah That He should be their Deliverer with which he is much pleas'd The Seventh Age from the Return out of Babylon to the Death of Christ Or from the end of the Seventy years Captivity unto the end of the Seventy Weeks in Daniel 3478 THE 70 Weeks in Daniel containing 490 years The Persian or Second Monarchy See the Kings thereof in the Appendix Cyrus makes an Edict for the Return of the Jews and that they should go and build their
eos in filios meos ut mei dicantur non tui licet a te geniti be named on them and the Names of my Fathers Abraham and Isaac that is let them be accounted and called Abraham's Isaac's and Jacob's Children let them be esteemed among the Twelve Tribes of Israel as my own immediate Issue and let them grow into a Multitude (d) There were eighty five thousand two hundred men of War of these Two Tribes in Moses's time Numb 26.28.34.37 Thus Moses blesseth them Deut. 33.17 in the midst of the Earth Jacob having thus blessed these young Youths he addressed his Speech to Joseph saying In thee shall Israel bless that is when the Children of Israel shall bless their Children they shall look upon thee and thy Children as their Pattern and shall say to them God make thee as Ephraim and as (e) Hinc postea mos in Israele ut adducerentur putri ad viros conspicuos pietate ut iis benedicerent bene precarentur Hinc pueri illi ad Christum adducti Qui vero iis manus imponit benedicit dicit si filius est ponat te Deus sicut Ephraim sicut Manassen Si filia ponat te Deus sicut Saram Rebeccam Vide Ruth 4.11 Fagius Manasseh Then Israel said to Joseph Behold I die and am ready to go hence but God will be with you and will assuredly bring your Posterity into the Land promis'd to their Fathers and wherein they sometime dwelt And as a Sign and Token that I do firmly believe this I do give and bequeath to thee and therein do prefer thee above thy Brethren that piece of Land nigh unto Shechem which I bought of the Children of Hamor Shechem's Father see Sect. 30. and Gen. 33.19 which though it be little in it self yet was all I had by purchase in the Land of Canaan and therefore to thee I bequeath it as my Heir (f) And accordingly this portion of Land became afterwards the Inheritance of the Ephraimites Josh 16.1 20.7 And thither afterwards were Joseph s bones carried and buried Josh 24.1.25.32 This piece of Land was indeed seized upon among the rest by the Neighbouring Amorites * Hevaei cum Amoraeis ita permixti erant ut unam eandem gentem fecerint after the slaughter of the Shechemites and they would not by fair means restore it to me so that I was forced to recover it by the assistance of my Sons and Servants out of their hands by force of Arms. (g) This passage is not elsewhere mentioned in the Scripture Hoc clare dicitur licet alibi res gesta non narretur Menoch Therefore I do still account it as my own (h) Terram illam licet nunc abesset pro suâ habet ac ut suam dat Josepho Adeo certus est de terrae possessione divisione ut jam nunc assignet Mercer and do know assuredly that hereafter it shall become the Inheritance of the Off-spring of the Ephraimites Josh 16.10 Ch. 48. whole Chapter SECT XLVII JAcob now being hear his end commanded that his Sons should come all together to him that he might by the Spirit of Prophesie bless them and tell them what should be their future State and what should betide them in their succeeding Generations And first he speaks to Reuben He tells him he was his First-born and the beginning and first effort of his strength Deut. 21.17 Psal 105.36 and on that account in the ordinary course of Nature many honourable Priviledges belonged to him (i) Simpliciter sic accipiendum se in suo gradu stetisset Reuben privatus omnis excellentiae futurus esset penes eum Vatablus As headship of the Family and a double portion to maintain that Dignity and the Priesthood But it must now be otherwise with him by reason of his hainous Sin and detestable Incest in going up to his Fathers Bed and defiling Bilhah his Concubine Gen. 35.22 Now the Headship of the Family should be translated to Joseph who should have a double portion and his two Sons should be Heads of two Tribes The Priesthood should be conferred on Levi and the Kingdom principally on Judah and partly on Ephraim viz. the Kingdom of the ten Tribes He tells him His Lust had been like an impetuous stream of water that cannot easily be kept within its own bounds but violently breaks the banks that should restrain it and keep it in His Lust had broke through all restraints of duty and modesty and therefore he should not excel that is his Tribe should not excell either in number valour or any excellent Atchievements So that this wicked Fact done above forty years ago soon after the birth of Benjamin * Ch. 35.22 is here severely doomed and that to humble Reuben for his Sin and to teach his Brethren to take heed of all such high provoking Transgressions against God 2ly He comes to Simeon and Levi who he says are Brethren and that not only by Birth being Children of the same Father and Mother but in Manners Conditions and wicked Practices (k) Thus Moses impartially sets a brand of Infamy upon Levi his great Grandfather which shews that in writing this Story he was not guided by his own private spirit but the Spirit of God They were Instruments of great Cruelty in the Land of their Sojourning upon the Shechemites Gen. 34.13 25. where being Strangers they endangered the ruine of themselves and their Fathers House Then by a pathetical Apostrophe he shews his detestation of their outragious Fact and clears himself of all suspition of his favouring of it and prevents all Aspersions which otherwise after his death might possibly have been cast upon him for it O my Soul says he come not thou into their secret as if he should have said God forbid that ever my Soul should joyn in such a Villany They did it secretly without my knowledge and when they assembled together to contrive the execution of it I was not among them neither did my Soul or my Tongue (l) Q. d. Ex animo detestor hoc scelus nec ullum assensum lingua praebuit both which are mans glory ever give any consent or approbation to that barbarous Fact (m) The Author of the Apochryphal Book of Judith highly extols this Fact which shews that he wrote not by Inspiration of that Spirit of God that the Patriarch Jacob was acted by when he utter'd this Prophesie For in their wrath they slew Hamor and Shechem and the Citizens of their City and in their rage and wilfulness they digg'd (n) We read not of this before Ch. 34. yet it seems by this passage it was then done vers 6. They slew a man that is many men The Hebrews do frequently use an Enallage of a singular for a plural number Jun. Trem. Sic reddunt pro viâ suâ occiderunt viros pro arbitrio suo avulserunt vel diripuerunt
for their present use out of an act of base sloth suffered them to roost among them and did not endeavour to drive them out Moses in the division of that Land without Jordan gave no part to the Tribe of Levi that is no Regions or Parts of the Country as he did to the other Tribes upon which they might live by Tillage and Husbandry but only some Cities to dwell in and the Suburbs belonging to them with some circuit of Ground for the feeding of their Cattel because God himself was to be their Portion and the Sacrifices and other Oblations due unto God were to be for their Maintenance Now the bounds of the Lands given to each Tribe beyond Jordan by Moses are particularly set down to prevent all strife and division among them for the future Joshua 13. whole Chapter SECT CIX JOshua now with Eleazar the High Spirit and the Elders of the Tribes who were expresly chosen and named by the Lord for this purpose Numb 34.17 c. at Gilgal set upon this great Work of dividing the Land on this side Jordan among the nine Tribes and an half And accordingly first they cast the Land into so many several Portions or Provinces as were the number of the Tribes that were to inhabit it yet so as the certain bounds of each Portion or Province were not certainly limited and appointed till they knew which Tribes the Lord would by the designation of the lot settle in each of them and then they were to inlarge or lessen the Portion according as the number of the Tribe that was there to be setled was greater or less so that the lots were only to determine in what part of the Country each Tribe should be planted and afterwards the quantity of the Land which each Tribe was to enjoy was to be set out by Joshua Eleazar and the Heads of the Tribes as was appointed Numb 26.55 56. What manner of Lottery they used in this business is no where expressed The common Opinion of the Hebrew Writers is That there were two Pots or Vrnes set before the Tabernacle the one having the Names of the Tribes in it that were to have their portion of Land assigned to them the other had just so many lots in each of which such and such a part of the Land was described and that some man appointed to that Service probably Eleazar the High Priest drew out first out of one Pot one of the Tribes then out of the other Pot one of the lots there and so that Tribe had their portion assigned them in that part of the Land described and set forth in that lot and accordingly they did by the rest And though this way and method be not any where particularly expressed in this Book yet the phrase that is often used in the following Chapters that such a lot came out and such a lot came up may seem covertly to imply it see Ch. 19.1 10 17. And herein the Hand of God in ordering the lots was the more wonderful and the Prophesies of Jacob and Moses concerning the several Inheritances of the Tribes were more evidenced to be of God Joshua therefore and the Elders now setting upon this Work the first lot came out for the Tribe of Judah and his lot fell out in the richest and best part of the Kingdom whereby the purpose of God in exalting this Tribe above the rest was made very apparent The largeness of Judah's lot and the bounds of it and the Cities thereof are set forth Chap. 15. The next two lots that were drawn were for Ephraim and Manasseh the Sons of Joseph immediately one after the other upon whom God transferred a part of Reuben's Birth-right as is expressed 1 Chron. 5.1 2. The Writer of this Book first shews joyntly where the Inheritance of those two Tribes lay and then afterwards shews severally what each of them had for their portion Chap. 16. at vers 5. He begins the Discription of Ephraim's lot which came out before the other For though he was younger than Manasseh yet he was prefer'd before him by Jacob's appointment Gen. 48 19. and besides the Cities that stood within his own lot he had many Cities allotted him within the portion of Manasseh vers 9. The lot that fell to Manasseh is described Ch. 17. and 't is said to be for Machir the only Son of Manasseh whence the whole Tribe beareth the Name of Machir Judg. 5.14 and because Machir that is the Machirites his Posterity were a Warlike people they had Gilead and Bashan allotted to them that is half of it which they did win by dispossessing the Enemy of it see Numb 32.39 40. Therefore half of the Posterity of Machir being setled on the East-side of Jordan the other half were according to Gods appointment to have their portion and lot on the West-side And there fell ten portions to Manasseh that is their Land was divided into six parts according to the number of the Sons of Gilead mentioned vers 2. And Hepher's part who was one of them was divided into five parts or portions and given to his Son Zelophehad's five Daughters and so they were ten portions in all see Numb 26.33 The Cities and Country of Ephraim and Manasseh were much intermixed one with the other These two Tribes complained to Joshua that the quantity of Land assign'd to them for their portion was not sufficient for them They alledged that it was no more than might have been well assigned to one Tribe Why hast thou say they given us but one lot and one portion to inherit seeing we are a great people But Joshua and the rest of the Commissioners had not given them too little circuit of Land to inhabit but indeed part of it was over-grown with Woods and a great part of it was yet in the possession of the Canaanites who had the advantage of Iron-Chariots to fight with Also in their portion there were the Perizzites a wild and savage people much given to Spoil and Prey and the Rephaims or Giants with whom they were not very willing to encounter These things considered these two Tribes thought they had reason to alledge That they had no more given them than would well serve for one populous Tribe Joshua retorts the strength of their argument upon themselves If says he ye be so great a people as you alledge then you are the more able to drive out the Canaanites out of those places allotted to you for your portion and the greater will be your shame if you let them alone and yet complain of the narrowness of your lot If you are so great a people get you up to the Wood-Country and cut down the Woods and make the ground fit for Tillage and build Houses and Cities upon it and drive out and destroy the Canaanites that lurk there and so you may have Land enough to dwell in and need not complain that your portion is too straight for you The Children of Joseph reply
and give them most injuriously to his servants and favourites Sixthly he will take the tenth of their seed and of their Vineyards either that which of right belonged to the Levites or another tenth after theirs is paid and give it to his Officers and Courtiers Seventhly he will take their men-servants and and maid-servants and their goodliest young men their asses and put them to his work Eighthly he will take the tenth of their sheep as a tribute to himself and they will he forc'd to be his servants and vassals not living like free-born Israelites but in a servile and slavish condition and then they will cry out in that day by reason of the grievous oppressions they are under but the Lord will not regard their cryes or prayers because by their own obstinate wilfulness they brought these evils upon themselves Samuel having received these words from the Lord faithfully represented them unto the people but they notwithstanding like desperate resolute fellows cried out they would have a King that they might be like other Nations they would have a pompous and royal Monarchy among them instead of the mean Government of Judges which made so little noise or shew in the world they would have a King that should rule over them with Royal Authority in time of peace and should command their Armies as Generalissimo in time of war and they had now more especial need of such a King seeing Nahash King of the Ammonites was coming against them Samuel hearing these words of the people he spread them before the Lord in prayer humbly desiring directions from him what he should do in this great and weighty business The Lord answered him saying Hearken unto their voice and make them a King as if he should have said seeing no reasons nor warnings will prevail with them let them have their desire though it will be to their cost So Samuel having commission from God to make them a King he dismissed the Assembly for the present to their own homes that he might gain thereby some time to consider of the manner and means how this weighty business might be best effected 1 Sam. 8. from 4 to the end SECT CLX THE people of Israel being so earnest for a King King Saul and seeming to themselves so undone without one the Lord now resolves to give them one but he gave him in his anger and took him away in his wrath Hos 13.11 The History of this King we come now to set forth There was a man of the Tribe of Benjamin (a) The Tribe of Benjamin thorough the desolation they brought upon themselves Judg. 26.46 was now become the least and most obscure Tribe yet yields to Israel her first King and in the victories of this King Jacob's Prophesie was was in part fulfilled Gen. 49.27 Benjamin shall ravine like a wolf c. And this shews that the Kingdom was not to be setled upon the Posterity of this first King but on one of the Tribe of Judah whose name was Kish a man of great authority and power and as it seems of great estate and substance among them (b) Nulla hic mentio patriae Saulis quae erat Gibeah forte quia infamis erat propter illud stuprum Jud. 19. who had a Son whose name was Saul a goodly and comely person taller by the head and shoulders than any of the people a man fit to make a Prince and to be honoured of his Subjects when he was set over them It happened at this time that some of the Asses of Kish were gone astray of which 't is like he had an excellent breed and such as were of great value (c) Asini in Syria sunt praestantiores Europaeis unde filii Principum iis vehebantur Jud. 10.4 12.14 Hebraei enim equis vix utebantur idque ex Dei monitu Deut. 17.16 non ergo mirum si ad asinas quaerendas Saul a parente destinetur Quemadmodum viri Principes venatoriam nunc exercent ita olim exercere poterant Pastoritiam in that Country where persons of the greatest rank and condition used to ride upon them see Judg. 10.4 12.14 Kish bids his Son Saul to take a servant with him and to go and seek for them Saul in obedience to his Fathers command went in quest of them through the Mountainous Country of Ephraim and through Shalisha a plain Country in the Tribe of Benjamin and through the land belonging to the City called Salim Joh. 3.23 but he found them not and when they were come to the land of Zuph namely the Counrry where Ramah Samuel's City was situate which thereupon was called Ramahthaim-Zophim Ch. 1. 1. Saul said to his servant come let us return lest my Father leave caring for the Asses and take thought for us The servant replied Sir there is in this City of Ramah a venerable person highly esteemed for his supernatural and wonderful knowledg of secret (d) God gave the gift of Prophesie to his Servants to be employed in directing them in weightier matters than such as these But perhaps he did permit them to exercise it in these also that he might keep his people from seeking to Witches or to the Oracles of the Heathens 2 King 1.3 God would not have his people think that he had less care of them as to their private concerns than the Idols of the Heathen had who being consulted with did by the Ministry of Satan speaking in their Oracles return them Answers though oftentimes very frivilous and ambiguous v. 9. Credo hunc versum ab Esdra huic loco insertum qui Prophetico spiritu afflatus erat things insomuch that all that he foretelleth surely cometh to pass now let us go to him peradventure he can shew us the way we should walk in for the finding out the Asses we seek after But Saul reply'd If we go to him what shall we present him with as a civil and honourary gratuity to testifie our respect and thankefulness to him See 1 King 14.2 3. 2 King 4.42 For our provisions that we brought with us in our Wallet are spent and we have nothing left that is fit or worthy to be presented unto him The servant said he had the fourth part of a shekel which makes about seven pence half-penny of our money see Gen. 23.15 a small present indeed to be presented to a Prophet or Seer who by special revelation is acquainted with the mind and will of God and foresees things to come and from God reveals them to the people However says he let us present it as a token of our respect and thankefulness to him Saul agrees hereunto so they went to Ramah where Samuel dwelt as they drew near to the City they met some young maidens going out to draw water and enquiring of them for the Seer they told them he was newly returned to the City having been out upon some occasion and there was a sacrifice (e) It was lawful
thousand and the men of Judah (a) Where by the way we may observe the humble submission of the Tribe of Judah to the Government of Saul notwithstanding they had the promise of the Kingly Scepter because they saw it thus determined by the pleasure of God thirty thousand having got this great Army together Saul and Samuel sent away the messengers that came from Jabesh-Gilead to inform the Inhabitants thereof that on the morrow by that time the Sun was well up they might expect them to come for their help The messengers returning to the City with this news the Inhabitants thereof were wonderfully revived at it and sent to Nahash who besieged them that on the morrow they would come out to him meaning and understanding thereby if no help came for them in the mean time But this they concealed (b) Sic non tam ipsi decipiebant suos hostâs quam permittebant ut ipsi deciperentur that nothing might be presently attempted against them and to make their enemies the more secure that Saul might have the greater advantage against them Saul dividing his Army into three parts and marching as it seems all night by the morning-watch he came upon the enemy and surprized them unawares and slew a vast number of them and so scattered the rest that there were very few of them left together And thus he raised the siege of Jabesh and freed the Inhabitants thereof from that horrid cruelty intended against them (a) How thankful the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead were afterwards to Saul for this great benefit we may see Ch. 31.11 12 13. The Israelites were so transported with joy for this victory and so taken with the prudence and brave conduct of Saul in the obtaining of it that some of them came to Samuel and said Where are the men that said Saul shall not reign over us bring them forth that we may put them to death But Saul said There shall not a man be put to death this day on my account I shall never consent that a day of so much joy and triumph and wherein God has so eminently shewed himself gracious unto us shall be stained with severity against those that slighted me or with the least sorrow or mourning among the people And here we see again what a difference there was betwixt Saul in his first Government and what he was afterwards when the Spirit of the Lord had departed from him Now none more humble and gentle than he not a man shall be put to death for him but afterwards in his dealing with David and the Priests of the Lord he was another man even blood-thirsty cruel and implacable beyond measure But to go on Samuel upon this victory spake to the people after this manner Come says he let us go to Gilgal and renew the Kingdom there that is let us by a general consent confirm Saul's Election and settle and invest him in the Kingdom Accordingly the people went to Gilgal and there they made Saul King before the Lord * V. 15. that is in a solemn manner as in Gods presence and possibly before the Ark the sign of his presence which by Samuel's appointment might be brought hither at this time that they might consult with God as occasion served in this weighty business and also it may be that it might grace the action that is they anointed him publickly as before Samuel had done privately and performed all other Solemnities requisite for his Inauguration sacrificing Sacrifices of Peace-offerings and Thanksgiving before the Lord and rejoicing and praising him for their late victory and for their new King by whose conduct under God they had obtained it and praying to the Lord for him and craving his blessing upon his Government 1 Sam. Ch. 11. whole Chapter SECT CLXIII THE Children of Israel being at this time wonderfully transported with joy for their new King and possibly flattering themselves that God was well pleased with them for asking a King seeing he had given them one by whom they had obtained so great a victory Samuel thought fit to take this occasion to make them sensible of their mistake and that they had grievously sinned in asking a King whereby they rejected God from reigning over them as their Soveraign and himself as his Deputy and Vicegerent Behold says he I have hearkened to your voice and have according to your desire the Lord also permitting it set a King over you And now you have a King setled among you to govern you and go before you as your General to war And as for my self I have very great cause to be well pleased being old and gray-headed that the burden of the Government is taken off from my shoulders And as for my Sons behold they are with you now not as rulers but as private men they are before you to give account to you and your King of their former behaviour and carriage and to make satisfaction (a) q. d. Filios meos habetis in potestate vestra Si quid dignum severo supplicio commiseâint non substraham eòs legitimae satisfactioni Si enim quid perperam in sua gubernatione commiserint id me praeceptore non didicerunt neque talia excusabo for any thing they have done amiss whilst they were in place of Government And as for my self I may truly say that I have endeavoured faithfully and in the uprightness of my heart to perform the duties of my place in the sight of you all both in the service of the Sanctuary in my younger days when I was a Levite and in my riper age by administring justice since I was called to be a Judg. And seeing the Government is transferred from me to another you need not now fear to speak your minds of me and therefore if you can justly accuse me of any evil speak it freely and witness it against me before the Lord and before his anointed whose Ox * A rare precedent for such to look upon as are in any publick place or office I pray you or whose Asse have I wrongfully taken away whom have I defrauded or whom have I oppressed of whom have I received bribes to blind mine eyes â See Deut. 16.19 and to cause me to wrest judgment If any such injurious dealing can be proved against me here I am ready to make restitution and to give satisfaction The people answered Thou hast not defrauded or oppressed us at all neither hast thou taken ought of any mans hand to pervert justice Well then says he let the Lord be witness and let his anointed here present be witness that you acknowledg and declare that you have not found any injustice or injurious dealing in me They answered let them be witnesses Possibly he desired thus to justifie and clear himself as to the whole course of his Government as Moses likewise had done Numb 16.15 both that he might be an example to their new King and make him the
Samuel v. 32. thee and thou shalt be deprived of thy Kingdom Saul hearing this said unto Samuel I perceive now that I have sinned and have transgressed the Commandment of the Lord and have not oserved the orders that thou gavest me from him Indeed I feared the people and obeyed their voice which was a great fault in me however I intreat thee earnestly to pray to the Lord for me that he would please to pardon my sin and be reconciled to me and I beseech thee go with me to Gilgal that there we may together praise God for our late victory and also pray unto him for the pardon of this great sin which my self and the people have committed Samuel replies I will not go with thee I will have no conversation with thee who hast shewed thy self such a rebel against God lest I should seem any way to allow or approve what thou hast done And undoubtedly Samuel really meant â Non intendebat reverti sed postea mutavit propositum ex causis quae dicentur v. 31. sic Christus Joh. 7. dixit ego non ascendam sed statim postea ascendit to do as he said and accordingly turned about to go away But Saul was extream loth that he should thus go away from him in an anger and that the people should take notice of his and consequently of Gods displeasure against him wherefore he laid hold on the skirt of his mantle to detain him and using some force to hold him the mantle rent Samuel tells him that this was a sad Omen (a) The Hebrews add that it was also to shew that the man that should hereafter tear off the the skirt of his garment should be the man that should succeed him in the Throne and hence was that which Saul said Ch. 24.20 Now behold I know that thou shalt be King c. from the Lord against him and signified that the Kingdom should be rent from him and given to a neighbour of his that was better than he viz. to David who was not yet known either to Saul or Samuel himself And Samuel to assure him that what he had denounced against him would certainly come to pass he tells him that God who is the strength of Israel was absolutely able to effect what he had threatned and he would not lye nor repent nor alter his decree (b) Mutat aliquando Deus sententiam per Prophetas significatam non autem consilium and purpose as weak men oftentimes do Saul hereupon confesses again his sin and though the sentence of his deposing was so firmly decreed that it could not be altered yet he intreats Samuel for the present to uphold his credit with the people and to grace him with his presence and and to accompany him in worshipping God Samuel being thus importun'd went along with him (c) Non intendebat reverti sed postea mutavit propositum to preserve his Government for the present from the disrespect and contempt of the people and that he might perform what Saul had omitted namely to destroy Agag Samuel therefore being come to Gilgal commanded that Agag should be brought to him Agag came to him delicately that is in the attire and with the gesture and gate of a King thinking surely that the bitterness of death had been past seeing he was to be brought not before the King that took him prisoner but before the old Prophet who he thought as 't is like would only reprehend him When he came before Samuel he said to him As thy sword hath made many women childless so shall thy mother be childless among women then by an extraordinary motion of the Spirit of God he hewed him in pieces * See a like instance 1 Kin. 18.40 in the presence of the Lord and his people Then Samuel went to Ramah and Saul to his own house at Gibeah and Samuel never went after to visit Saul to instruct him and direct him in his affairs or to ask counsel of the Lord for him as formerly he had done He did indeed afterwards see him at Naioth but it was accidentally and unawares Ch. 19.24 However Samuel mourned exceedingly for him and was grieved at his disobedience whereby he had so highly provoked God 1 Sam. Ch. 15. whole Chapter SECT CLXVII THE Lord now makes known to Samuel that all his mourning for Saul was but in vain partly because he continued still obstinate and impenitent and partly because the Lord had absolutely determined to take the Kingdom from him In which case though Samuel might bewail Saul's condition yet he might not bewail it in that manner as might imply an unwillingness to submit to the good pleasure and determination of God therein And though the Lord intended not that Saul should presently be deposed from being King * See Ch. 24.6 yet he orders Samuel presently to fill his horn with oyl and to go to Jesse the Bethlemite for he had chosen one of his Sons to be King over Israel and he should anoint him to that office whom he should point out unto him that as he had anointed Saul so by anointing one of another family by Gods appointment to succeed him in the Throne he might testifie that God had rejected Sauls posterity Indeed Saul was chosen by the Lord to be King of Israel but it was upon the violent importunity of the people that would needs have it so and would not be beaten off from it So that Saul was the peoples King rather than Gods and given to them in wrath but David was meerly chosen of God who did of his own free will no body thinking any thing of it send Samuel to anoint him And so he was a King of Gods own providing the King in whose seed the Kingdom was to be established and one who would in his Government carefully perform the will of God See Ch. 13.14 Samuel was something afraid to go upon this enterprize and therefore he said Lord how can I go if Saul hear of it he will certainly kill me The Lord instructs him how to avoid this danger he bids him to go to Bethlem and to take an heifer and say he came to offer a Sacrifice there that is a Sacrifice (d) Authoritas Prophetae facit ut Sacrificium ubicunque is adest imperat rite fiat subsunt enim Prophetae imperio leges rituales fatenâibus Hebraeis Samuel ex peculiari mandato hoc fecit of Thanksgiving or a Peace-offering after which followed a Feast made of the remainders of the Sacrifice see Ch. 9.12 He orders him to invite Jesse and his Sons to this Feast Thus the Lord directed him to conceal the principal cause of his coming and to pretend only that business which might be safely made known Samuel accordingly goes to Bethlehem the Elders of the City trembled when they saw him fearing lest some heinous sin committed among them had drawn him thither and that he came to deliver some sad
message from the Lord against them therefore they presently asked him whether he came peaceably he said yes for I come to sacrifice unto the Lord sanctifie therefore your selves and come with me to the Sacrifice and particularly let Jesse and his Sons prepare and sanctifie themselves both legally and spiritually that they may eat of the Sacrifice 'T is like Samuel had acquainted Jesse privately with the cause of his coming and that thereupon Jesse brought in his Sons one by one into some private place whether before they sat down to eat of the Sacrifice they had retired themselves for that purpose that that person might be anointed whom God should point out to Samuel Accordingly Eliab Jesse's eldest Son was first brought forth when Samuel saw him he thought within himself surely this is the man the comeliness of his person made him think this was he whom God had chosen but herein he was led and guided only by his own spirit for the Lord presently said to him Look not on his countenance or the heighth of his stature consider the Lord seeth not as man seeth for man looketh on the outward appearance but God looketh on the heart Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him appear before Samuel and Samuel was admonished by a secret voice of Gods Spirit that neither was this the man whom he had chosen Then Shammah was called he also was refused Jesse then called four more of his Sons in order and set them one after another before Samuel but he told him never an one of these was the person whom the Lord had chosen Jesse wondring at this Samuel asked him whether these were all his Sons DAVID chosen to be King and first anointed by Samuel He told him he had one more viz. the youngest whom he imployed in keeping his sheep he had omitted to bring him as imagining it could not in any likelihood be he of all the rest whom God would chose and this possibly was so ordered by Providence that it might more evidently appear that David was meerly chosen of God Samuel orders that this youngest Son should be immediately sent for for says he we will not sit down till he come At last David came who was of a ruddy and beautiful * Solet pulcher animus etiam in vultu apparere vide Platonis convivium Erat in Davide forma non mollis sed virilis militaris Oculi ipsius bellicam quandam ferociam spirare videbantur Unctus est non ut statim regnaret sed ut Sauli morienti in regno succederet countenance and comely to look on and as it is probable about twenty two years of age The Lord now by a secret voice of his Spirit said unto Samuel This is the man arise and anoint him then Samuel took the horn of oyl and anointed him in the midst of his Brethren whereby he incurred their envy see Ch. 17.28 no less than Joseph did of his Brethren And from the very day of his anointing the Spirit of the Lord came upon him namely the Spirit of Wisdom Courage and Fortitude so that he was moved and led on by the Spirit of God to undertake great and noble enterprizes such as was that of killing a Lion and a Bear For it seems as he was keeping his fathers sheep there came a Lion at one time and a Bear at another and took a Kid out of his flock and he pursued after them and when the Lion turned upon him he took him by the beard and slew him and took the prey from him which he had selzed upon and so he served the Bear also see Ch. 17.35 36. and other famous and valourous exploits it seems he atchieved soon after he was anointed whereby he became famous even among Saul's Courtiers see v. 18. and probably from that time forward he had an extraordinary measure of the gifts and graces of the Spirit poured forth upon him and particularly the Spirit of Prophesie and the gift of Poetry and composing Divine Psalms and Hymns together with the gift of Musick wherein afterwards he became very eminent insomuch that he was called the sweet Singer of Israel and has left such Divine Psalms and Hymns as may serve to instruct the people of God to the end of the world Samuel having thus anointed David he returned to his own house at Ramah 1 Sam. Ch. 16. from v. 1 to 14. SECT CLXVIII SAVL now was bereaved of those Heroical gifts that God had before bestowed upon him and Satan by Gods permission taking advantage of his extream melancholy and discontent for the loss of Gods favour and his Kingdom filled him with frights and fears with disquietness of mind and grief of heart which so distempered and distracted him that he fell into fits of Phrensie and sometimes grew outragious and ready to kill any body that came in his way and was for a time as one possessed with a Devil He had preferred his own reason before Gods directions in the business of the Amalekites and so made an Idol of it and now God justly deprives him of the use of it His Physicians tell him that an evil spirit sent of the Lord to execute his righteous judgment troubled him and therefore advise him to seek out a man that was skilful to play on the Harp who by his Musick might chear and revive his spirits and allay his melancholy passions and thereby he would be less subject to the Devils operations One of Saul's servants that stood by said he had seen a Son of Jesse that was very skilful in playing on the Harp and was also a man of war and prudent in matters (e) Ego existimo ex quo David cum unctione alia quoque dona accepit plane rara eum viciniâ fuisse notissimum nam eximia erant illa dona inopinata atque nova Sanct. and a comely person and the Lord was with him and assisted him in all his designs and prospered him in all his enterprizes Saul hearing this sent messengers to Jesse to desire him to send that Son of his that kept his sheep (f) Hereby we see that tho' David was chosen by God and anointed King yet in humility of spirit he returned unto his former employment of keeping his fathers sheep waiting upon God till it should be his good pleasure in his own way to raise him to the Kingly dignity unto him Jesse sent his Son David to him with a small present (g) Such a Present Jacob sent to Joseph under the notion of the Lord of all Egypt that his Sons might find favour with him Gen. 43.11 namely an Asse laden with bread and a bottle of wine and a Kid for great persons do many times kindly accept of small presents from their inferiours seeing they are signs that they do respect and honour them But Jesse knowing that God had anointed his Son David to succeed Saul in the Kingdom might well have been afraid to put him into
sheath and slew him and cut off his head therewith Thus David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone God using such contemptible means the more to manifest his own power and glory The Philistines seeing their Champion thus conquered and being stricken with a secret terrour from the Lord they immediately fled and the army of the Israelites with a great shout pursued after them and did great execution upon them insomuch that the wounded of the Philistines fell and were scattered all along in the way of Shaaraim a City in the Tribe of Judah even unto Gath and Ekron V. 54. David some years after when he was constituted King and had taken Zion from the Jebusites 2 Sam. 5.7 brought the head of this Giant to Jerusalem and put his armour in the Tent which he there provided for the Ark of God 1 Chron. 15.1 But Goliath's Sword was laid up in the Tabernacle of the Lord at Nob 1 Sam. 21.9 The Philistines being thus discomfited the Israelites returned and spoiled their Tents Abner now brought David before Saul with the Head of the Giant in his hands Saul asked him whose Son he was he told him he was the Son of Jesse the Bethlemite Saul had now much discourse with him and so many excellent endowments of wisdom courage zeal for the glory of God and faith and confidence in his protection and assistance appearing in him all which shewed him a person precious in the eyes of God Jonathan's heart and affections were in an extraordinary manner drawn forth towards him so that his soul was knit with the soul of David and hereby God provided David a friend in Saul's Court to plead for him and to reveal Saul's plots and evil intendments against him and to be by his true and real love a comfort and support to him in all his approaching troubles and distresses And Jonathan and he made a Covenant of entire friendship and brotherly love Saul also now resolv'd to keep him in his Court and that he should go no more home to his Father and made him a Captain over some of his Troops and David behaved himself so wisely that he was highly valued by all the people and even by Saul's servants themselves Jonathan also to testifie his true and great love to David stript himself of his own robe and gave it to him and gave him also his Sword and his Bow and his Military Girdle so that he put him both into a Courtiers and Souldiers Garb. These things being done they now march from the Camp to Gibeah where Saul dwelt As they passed along the women came forth out of all the Towns by the way as the custom * It seems it was the custom in those times that when God had given them any great victory over their enemies the women were wont with dances and songs of triumph to celebrate the praises of God See Exod. 15.20 Judg. 11.32 As women have usually the heaviest share in the calamities of a Land that is over-run by an enemy and that because they are least able to resist and are frequently taken for slaves or ravisht and abus'd in a savage manner so likewise they have the greatest cause to rejoice when the enemy is vanquished and hence it may be arose this custom of the womens triumphing at every great victory was with Instruments of Musick singing in Triumphing Songs Saul hath slain his thousands and David his ten thousands they ascribe so much to David because by his killing Goliath he was under God the cause of routing the whole army of the Philistines And so solemn and glorious was this Triumph of the Israelites that this passage in the womens song came to be repoted and known among the Philistines as we may see Ch. 21.11 and Ch. 29.5 But this thing greatly offended Saul and he said they have ascribed to David ten thousands and to me but thousands what can he have more but the Kingdom From thenceforth therefore he began to have an evil eye against David and to suspect that he was the man of whom Samuel had told him that he should be King in his room Ch. 13. v. 14. 1 Sam. Ch. 17. wh Ch. and Ch. 18. from 1 to 10. SECT CLXX SAVL's jealousie of David and his hatred against him doth now every day more and more appear and it manifested it self in these Particulars following 1. The evil spirit coming upon him he prophesied (a) Extra se rapitbatur spiritu malo incitus ita sermones actusque suos componebat ut boni Prophetae solent acti a spiritu bono in the midst of the house not as he had done before Chap. 10.10 when Samuel had newly anointed him for then being inspired with Gods Spirit and endued with common graces he prophesied and praised God together with the rest of the Prophets but now that Spirit being departed from him and an evil spirit being permitted by God to possess him he fell into strange extasies and raptures and had such kind of motions and actions as the Prophets when ravished out of themselves used to have see 2 King 9.11 and while David played on his harp to compose his spirit and allay his raging passions as he had formerly done Saul having a Javelin in his hand cast it at him intending to kill him and this he attempted two several times but David nimbly avoided the stroke Ch. 18.10 11. 2ly Saul seeing how the Lord was with David and preserved him from great dangers he feared he was the man whom God had chosen to be King in his room and therefore having failed in these violent attempts against him he resolves to try other ways to destroy him therefore he made him one of his Colonels hoping he would at one time or other meet with his death in the Battel And David behaved himself wisely in all his ways and the Lord was with him and he led forth his Souldiers bravely to Battel and as bravely brought them off again and acted all his Military affairs with such prudence and wise conduct and was so prosperous in them that the people generally loved him ver 12 13 14 15 16. 3ly Saul under pretence of performing that promise made to him of giving him his daughter if he killed Goliath he now offers him his eldest daughter Merab in marriage but with design to expose him thereby to the Sword of the Philistines (b) Incidit Saul in soveam quam Davidi fecerat nam ipse a Philistae is postea occisus est He tells him he shall have her but then he expects he shall be valiant for him and not stick to expose himself to any dangers and ready upon all occasions to fight the Lords battels Thus he hypocritically pretended zeal for Gods glory when he maliciously intended David's ruin David humbly answers What is my parentage education or condition of life * Ver. 18. est Enallage numeri ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã that I should think
Dei dispositus hoc factum qui neque Davidi quicquam perire voluit neque aliis propter Davidem and Davids men took all the flocks and herds which the Amalekites had taken from other places besides Ziklag and drove them before those Cattel which they had taken from Ziklag which belonged to David and his followers extolling David and proclaiming this is Davids spoil that is which belongeth to him by the Souldiers free consent and gift and accordingly afterwards he bestowed it on whom he pleased David with his men now returning with the captives and spoils they had taken he came at last to the place where he left the two hundred weary men who came forth with great joy to meet David and the people that were with him When they came near him he spoke kindly and courteously to them that they might not be discouraged at the thoughts of their absence from the fight seeing it was occasion'd by their weariness They desiring to have a part in the spoils some of the four hundred who had with David vanquished the Amalekites being wicked men and sons of Belial exprest an unwillingness that they should have any share therein but only their wives and children again though it was not cowardize but meer faintness that made them stay behind and their staying behind with the carriages to defend the stuff and being in readiness to aid and assist their fellows if they had been forc'd to retire might be lookt upon as a good service David mildly speaks to these murmurers saying to them Ye shall not do so my Brethren with the spoil the Lord hath given us and which we have gotten not by our own valour and strength but by Gods gracious favour who hath preserved us and given our enemies into our hands the thing you propose is unreasonable and unjust therefore I shall decide the matter thus As his part is that goeth down to the battel so shall his part be that tarrieth by the stuff that is the men that tarried behind and abode with the baggage shall have their share of the prey as well as those that marched out with me unto the battel And so from that day he revived and ratified a statute formerly made by God Numb 31.27 Josh 22.8 that the spoil should be divided betwixt those that fought with the enemy and those that stayed with the stuff And when David was return'd to Ziklag he sent some of the spoils he had taken to the Elders of Judah his friends partly by way of restitution because the Amalekites had taken much of this prey from the South parts of Judah and partly by way of thankfulness for the many kindnesses he had received from them when Saul hunted him from place to place and partly in a way of prudence to make them hereby the more firm to him and more ready to give him their assistance when he should stand in need of it Thus as it is always darkest just before day dawneth so God useth to visit his servants with greatest afflictions when he intends their speedy advancement 1 Sam. Ch. 20. whole Chapter 16. We return now to the Philistines and Israelites whom we left nigh to each other Ch. 29. who joining battel at the very time as Josephus says when David was victorious over the Amalekites the Israelites were smitten and Saul's three Sons Jonathan (a) By Jonathan's death the Lord cleared the way for Davids advancement to the Kingdom For if Ishbosheth a worthless man found so many of the people ready to side with him against David what would they have done for Jonathan so brave and worthy a Prince if he had out-liv'd his Father And Jonathan was no loser by it for instead of an earthly God gave him an Heavenly Kingdom Aminadab and Melchishua slain And the battel went sore against Saul himself for the Archârs hit him and sore wounded him he saw his Army routed his friends and followers slain his dear Sons killed before his face he found himself sore wounded and inviron'd with enemies and apprehending no possibility of escaping he bad his Armour-hearer take his sword and run him thorough lest the uncircumcised Philistines should take him and put him to some ignominious death but his Armour-bearer utterly refusing to do it he fell upon his own sword And thus Saul with the sword he had drawn against David slew himself and so concluded a wicked life with a desperate death the Lord in a just judgment giving him up to act this horrid murder on himself as a punishment of his former wickedness therefore 't is said 1 Chron. 10.14 that the Lord slew him His Armour-bearer seeing what he had done followed his wicked example and fell likewise upon his own sword and killed himself Thus died Saul and his three Sons and his Armour-bearer and most of his family and kindred most of his Courtiers and Commanders with a great part of his army see 1 Chron. 10.6 And when the Israelites who dwelt on each side of this valley of Jezreel where the battel was fought and they that dwelt in it 1 Ch. 10.7 saw that their army was routed and that Saul and his Sons were slain they forsook their Cities and Towns and fled for their lives and the Philistines entred into them and possessed them On the morrow after the battel was fought the Philistines coming to strip the bodies of the slain they found Saul and his three Sons fallen in mount Gilboa and they cut off Sauls head and stript off his armour His head they carried about as a Trophy and shewed it in all parts of their Country publishing their victory and the death of Saul and his Sons in a way of joy and triumph in the houses of their Idols (b) Heb. Terrors so called because they possess the minds and hearts of their superstitious worshippers with terrors and fears and do neither teach nor comfort them Hinc superstitio ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã dicitur i. e. Daemonium pavor and afterwards set it up in the house of Dagon their God thereby ascribing to him the glory of their victory as appeareth 1 Chron. 10.10 so David had before served the head of Goliath which he carried to Jerusalem Ch. 17.54 They plac'd his Armour in the house of Ashtaroth see the Note on Judg. 2.13 his body and the bodies of his Sons they fastened to the wall of Bethshan (c) A Town that belonged to the lot of Manasseh but not recovered from the Philistines in the first conquest Judg. 1.27 nor to this day as was said before of Ziklag Ch. 27.6 viz. in a street that was by the City-wall see 2 Sam. 21.12 And when the Inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to the bodies of Saul and his three Sons in gratitude to Saul who had rescued them from Nahash King of the Ammonites when he had straitly besieged their City Ch. 11.11 all the valiant men of that City arose and march'd all night and
coming to Bethshan took and carried away their dead bodies and brought them to Jabesh and burnt them there that is burnt the flesh of them which having hung some days in the Sun was putrified and stinking and so could not be embalmed and the flesh being burnt from the bones they gathered up their bones and solemnly buried them under a Tree in Jabesh and there they continued till towards the end of Davids reign when he took them up and buried them in the Sepulchre of Kish the father of Saul 2 Sam. 21.12 14. Then the men of Jabesh-Gilead to express their sorrow for the death of Saul and his Sons and that they might implore mercy from God in behalf of the whole land which was now in a very sad condition they afflicted themselves with fasting for seven days together only taking still at night some small refreshment 1 Sam. Ch. 31. whole Chapter SECT CLXXIII MEphibosheth the Son of Jonathan being five years old at this time upon the dismal tidings of these disasters his Nurse catching him up and flying away with him in that great fright and consternation she let him fall out of her arms and he became lame of his feet ever after 2 Sam. 4.4 SECT CLXXIV WE are now come to the Second Book of Samuel The Second Book of Samuel so called because it containeth the History of David's reign who was chosen of God to succeed Saul in the Kingdom and anointed thereunto by Samuel and because it relates how those things which Samuel promised unto him from God were really made good unto him It contains an History of forty years from the death of Saul to the death of David As for the Author of it some think it was the office of the High-Priest to register the History of the Jewish Church and the remarkable occurrences that hapned in his time Others think it was pen'd by Nathan the Prophet and Gad the Seer as is intimated in the first of Chron. 29.29 Now the Acts of David the King first and last behold they are written in the Book of Samuel the Seer and in the Book of Nathan the Prophet and in the Book of Gad the Seer * See more concerning the Title of this Book Sect. 149. The first thing here related is how the tidings of the death of Saul and his Sons were brought to David whilst he was yet at Ziklag (a) Which was not as it seems so totally burnt down but that some of it was standing in which David thought better to remain with his men than to go to any other Town of the Philistines whether he was newly returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites and had been preparing and sending away presents to his friends in Judah of the spoils he had taken in that Expedition on the third day after a young man came out of the Camp with his clothes rent and earth upon his head to testifie the dismalness of the tidings he brought and when he came to David he fell on the earth and did obeisance David understanding he came out of the Camp of Israel askt him how matters went He told him the Israelites were vanquished many of them killed and Saul and his Son Jonathan slain David astonisht at this askt him how he knew it to be so This young man to ingratiate himself with David who was by general fame known to be the man whom Samuel had anointed to succeed Saul and apprehending that if he should carry the first tidings of Saul's death to him he should not miss of a great reward he tells him that being on mount Gilboa he found Saul leaning on his Spear * The Reader may compare this whole narration with that he will find 1 Sam. 31 4. and then judg what truth there is in the thing as not being able to stand because of the deadly wounds the Archers had given him and the Chariots and Horsemen pursuing him so fast he call'd unto him and desired him to stand over him and slay him for he was in great anguish and trouble that his life was yet whole and intire in him and accordingly he dispatcht him as Saul desired of him for he was sure he could not live after he was fallen And he took off the Coronet he wore on his head and the Bracelets which he wore on his arm and here says he I present them unto my Lord the King David then took hold of his Clothes and rent them and so did all the men that were with him and they mourned and wept and fasted unto the evening for Saul and Jonathan his Son and for the people of the Lord that were fallen in the battel and that by the hands of the Uncircumcised Philistines which was an evidence of Gods wrath against the Land David angrily askt this young man how he durst presume to stretch forth his hand against the Lords anointed 'T is like the Amalekite thought David would have been highly pleas'd with him for doing it but David upon Saul's death being come into the actual possession of the Regal rights and this man having confest the crime himself David bad one of the young men about him to fall upon him and kill him which he accordingly did and David said thy blood be upon thy own head * See Josh 2.19 for thy own mouth hath testified against thee that thou hast slain the Lords Anointed 2 Sam. Ch. 1. from v. 1. to 17. SECT CLXXV DAvid now laments the death of Saul and Jonathan and the men of Israel in a Funeral Song having first given order that the children of Judah should be taught the use of the bow and the rather because Saul and Jonathan had been overcome by the Archers among the Philistines therefore he desired they should be expert in that Art that they might match their enemies in that military skill for time to come Which order is further recorded in the Civil Annals or the General Chronicle of the Memorable Acts of the Nation called the Book of Jasher * Which Book with divers others particularly some composed by Solomon were burnt in the destruction of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans which was continued as is probable from time to time by the Prophets See Note on Josh 10.13 David begins his Funeral Elegy thus O how are Saul Jonathan and many other valiant men of Israel who were the beauty ornament and glory of the land fallen on the mountains of Gilboa O tell it not in Gath publish it not in the streets of Askalon lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph as they us'd to do in their dances and songs see Note on 1 Sam. 18.6 O if it were possible that this thing might be conceal'd from the enemies of God and his people lest they triumph and insult over them see Judg. 16.23 Mich. 1.10 ascribing the glory of this victory to their Idol-gods to the great dishonour of the only true God
the God of Heaven and earth O ye unfortunate mountains of Gilboa let no dew or rain ever fall upon you more be ye cursed with drought and barrenness (c) Gravitas doloris etiam rebus inanimatis maledicere consuevit vid. Job 3.3 as a sad and woful monument of this calamity and let there be no fruitful plots or fields found among you that may yield offerings of first fruits (d) Poëtica exclamatio cum hyperbolica imprecatione ad figurandum horrorem quo pii recordantes accepti mali percelluntur and Tythes May those hills which have given so much occasion of sorrow never afford any matter of rejoicing for there the shield of the mighty was vilely cast away viz. when the Israelites were routed in the field yea the shield of Saul as though he had not been anointed with oyl that is there Saul himself dropt his shield and fell contemptibly as though he had been a common ordinary man and not a King It was far otherwise formerly For Jonathan's bow and Sauls sword used not to return empty from the blood of the slain and from the fat * Eat is mentioned to signifie men healthful lusty and strong of the mighty that is they did usually devour the blood and flesh of their stoutest enemies Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives that is they dearly loved one another though Saul in his frantick fits was sometimes enraged against Jonathan yet no doubt he dearly loved him when those fits were over And in their deaths they were not divided that is they fell together in the field They were swifter than Eagles and stronger than Lions that is they were nimble and active in pursuing their enemies and strong and valiant in subduing them Ye daughters of Israel weep over Saul who clothed you in scarlet with other delights and gave you ornaments of gold upon your apparel remember the peace you enjoyed under his Government which was accompanied with great plenty and abundance of all things both for necessity and delight remember how he enriched the land with the spoils of the enemy But O sad and deplorable how are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battel O Jonathan how wert thou slain upon those cursed high mountains I am distressed exceedingly distressed for thee my Brother Jonathan Very pleasant hast thou been unto me Thy love to me was wonderful exceeding the love of women whose affections usually are very strong How are the mighty fallen and the weapons of war lost viz. the armes that were brought by the Israelites to the battel and became a spoil to the Philistines to the great dishonour and weakning of Gods own people O tell it not in Gath publish it not in the streets of Askalon 2 Sam. Ch. 1. from 17 to the end SECT CLXXVI DAvid now inquires of the Lord by the Ephod whither he should go up to any of the Cities of Judah and he receives directions from God to go up to Hebron (a) This was at present the chief City of the Tribe of Judah and was withal the place where Abraham Isaac and Jacob were buried accordingly he with his two wives and his followers with their families went up to that City The men of Judah presently flocked thither and anointed David King over them For though before he had been anointed by Samuel yet that they might testifie their approbation of what God had appointed they chearfully now consent to accept him for their King and Soveraign and he reigned over them in Hebron seven years and six months before the rest of the Israelites did generally submit to him Soon after the men of Judah had thus acknowledged him he made inquiry after the Bodies of Saul and his Sons intending as 't is probable to have honourably buried them and he was told what had been done concerning them by the men of Jabesh Gilead of which before 1 Sam. 31.11 12 13. Hereupon he sent Messengers to them to thank them for the kindness they had shewed to Saul desiring the Lord to recompence it unto them and to manifest his mercy and faithfulness to them for it And he being now anointed King over Judah would not have them entertain any thoughts of jealousie as if he would bear them any spleen or ill will for their kindness shewed to Saul but to believe that he would the rather endeavour to manifest all kindness to them and to requite them for it 2 Sam. Ch. 2. from 1 to 8. SECT CLXXVII ABner Saul's Cousin-german who in Saul's life-time had been General of his Army fearing that if David were made King he should be displaced or disregarded and knowing he could not in reason expect that favour and preferment under David which he might under a King of his own kindred and family especially if he himself were the chief instrument to make him King and further considering that Mephibosheth Jonathans Son the heir apparent to Saul was but five years old and now lately lamed in his feet and so unfit for his purpose see Ch. 4.4 therefore he thought it best to take Ishbosheth who was the only Son of Saul that was now left except those he had by his Concubines and to make him King and to that end he took and carried him to Mahanaim a City in Gilead in the Tribe of Gad beyond Jordan chusing there to settle his new King where he might be safest and at the greatest distance from Davids party Abner well knew that David was anointed by Samuel to succeed Saul in the Throne see Chap. 3.4 but being an ambitious and atheistical man he regarded not what God had appointed and seeing Ishbosheth to be a weak and poor-spirited man he thought he might make use of him as a shadow and in the mean time rule all himself And accordingly in that City he made him King over all Israel Judah excepted who to their great praise stuck to David whom God had appointed to be King though they knew it was like to prove the occasion of a Civil War and of much danger to them however they resolved to do their duty and to leave the event to God Ishbosheth was forty years old when he began to reign and he reigned two years quietly without any quarrel with the house of David 2 Sam. 2. from 8 to 11. SECT CLXXVIII DAvid now the better to strengthen himself in his new Kingdom contracts affinity with Talmai King of Geshur (a) Israelitis ut puto era vectigalis Rex Geshur eumque ut sibi devinciret David Ishboshetho adversarium faceret filiam ejus Maacham sibi in uxorem deposcit Tirinus Geshur pars est Syriae contermina Gileadi in Trachionitide Deut. 3.14 There were also Geshurites on the South-side of Canaan towards Egypt 1 Sam. 27. and from whom David being at Ziklag fetched great store of prey a City lying in the North in the borders of Gilead and marries his daughter Maacha who bare him Absalom and a
back from the Well Sirah situate on the North of Hebron Abner being returned Joab took him aside in the Gate (g) The place of Judicature and of their publick and solemn meetings Abishai being by who it seems was also in the Plot see v. 30. under pretense to speak with him peaceably and privately about the Kings affairs and on a sudden he little suspecting any such thing smote him under the fifth rib so that he fell down dead By this means though the fact in Joab was base and villainous God punished Abner for his rising up against David contrary to his own knowledg and conscience to compass his wicked end and for being the occasion of shedding so much blood in this war at which he so little scrupled When David heard of the murder of Abner he was extreamly surprized at it and cried out I and my Kingdom are guiltless before the Lord for ever from the blood of Abner let it rest on the head of Joab and all his Fathers house and let there not fail from the house of Joab as long as his family continueth one that hath a running issue for which persons were debarred from entring into the Congregation and partaking of the publick Ordinances Levit. 15.21 or a leper or one that leaneth on a staff by reason of feebleness and lameness or that falleth by the sword and so dieth an untimely death or that lacketh bread and so is brought to beggary let there be ever in Joabs family some person that is under one or more of these Plagues Then David commanded Joab and all the people that were with him to rend their clothes and gird themselves with sackcloth to intimate that their hearts were rent with grief for this horrid fact Then he made a solemn and publick Funeral for Abner and he himself followed the Bier with great expressions of grief So they buried Abner in Hebron and the King lift up his voice at his grave and wept and the people wept also And the King lamented over Abner and said Died Abner like as a fool dieth that is as a weak and cowardly man that yieldeth himself to be slaughtered by his enemy making little or no resistance No surely thou didst not die like a base weak captive taken in war nor as a malefactor bound in chains and fetters and so led out to execution no but thou wast basely and treacherously slain As a man falleth before wicked men so fellest thou as it might happen to the most wise and valiantest man in the world that hath to do with false cowardly and treacherous men so it hath happened unto thee And this David spake before Joab's face and branded him with dishonour and reproach before all the people as a part of his punishment for his wicked fact It seems it was the manner at solemn Funerals to have a Feast provided to refresh and cheer the guests in the time of their mourning see Jer. 16.7 8. Ezek. 24.17 And such a Feast was now provided But David to express his great and extraordinary grief for Abner refused to eat at it whereupon the Commanders of the Army and heads of the people came to him and intreated him not to lay the matter so much to heart as to forbear his food But David sware to them saying God do so to me and more also if I taste bread or ought else till the Sun be set The people observing his carriage therein were highly pleased with it and were glad to see him so much to resent the base murder of Abner and with so much earnestness to seek to clear himself thereof they saw plainly that it was not by Davids counsel or instigation either directly or indirectly that Abner was slain but it proceeded meerly from Joab's malice and revenge And not only David's carriage in this matter concerning Abner pleased the people but generally all things else that he did through his prudence and wise conduct were very pleasing to them Indeed whither they liked his not executing justice upon Joab at this time is uncertain but however he was fain to apologize for himself and he said to his servants about him You see there is Prince and a great man this day fallen in Israel whose blood I would revenge on him that shed it but that he and his Brother Abishai these Sons of Zerviah * Zerviah one of Davids Sisters was mother of Joab Abishai and Asahel and Abigail his other Sister was mother of Amasa 2 Sam. 17.25 1 Chr. 2.15 16 17. are at this time too potent for me they being in so great favour with the people and commanding the Army and I my self though anointed King yet am at present but unsetled in my Kingdom however the Lord will reward the evil doer at one time or other according to his wickedness But this excuse was below pious and valiant David and savoured too much of carnal fear worldly policy for he having Gods promise to establish him in the Throne he needed not to fear the executing of justice upon so heinous a malefactor as Joab was notwithstanding all his power and the power of his allies And if justice had been now executed on him Amasa's death had been prevented whom Joab afterwards slew in a like treacherous manner See 2 Sam. 20.10 But some will ask Why did not David execute justice upon Joab afterwards when he was established in his Throne Doubtless it was a great fault in him and before his death he seems to have repented of it which the charge given to his Son Solomon seems to imply 1 King 2.5 6. ziz That he should not let Joab's hoary head go down to the grave in peace 2 Sam. Ch. 3. from v. 6 to the end SECT CLXXXII Ishbosheth and the Israelites that adher'd to him were wonderfully perplex'd and dismaid when they heard of the death of Abner he being their General on whose counsel and conduct they had hitherto so much depended Things going thus badly with them two of Ishbosheth's Captains conspired against him whose names were Baanah and Rechab the Sons of Rimmon born in Beeroth a City of Benjamin but the inhabitants of that City after Saul's discomfiture fled out of it to Gittaim another Town of Benjamin and the Philistines possessed it and so they were still called Beerothites after the place of their former habitation and lived but as sojourners in Gittaim among their Brethren the Children of Benjamin And that which encouraged these Captains as it seems to conspire the death of Ishbosheth was because he being taken away there would be no legitimate issue of Saul's race but only Mephibosheth who being but a child of twelve years of age and withal lame in his feet was altogether unfit to succeed in the Kingdom Whence they imagined how advantageous their intended fact would be to David and how likely they were to be rewarded by him for it and lastly how safely they might do it because there would be none left of Saul's race
1 Chron. 14.1 2. SECT CLXXXV THE Philistines who during the Civil Wars between David and Ishbosheth were content to look on when they saw that Ishbosheth was dead and the people had generally received David for their King who was a great warrior and that he had driven the Jebusites out of the strong Fort of Sion and that the King of Tyre had made a league with him they thought it was time for them to bestir themselves and to oppose his growing power And herein the Providence of God was remarkable that they began with him and not he with them to whom he had been formerly obliged and so might have seemed ungrateful if it had been otherwise They therefore having raised a great Army invaded the land of Israel and came to seek David to fight with him When David heard of it he went to a Fort or strong-hold near the Cave of Adullam see 2 Sam. 23.13 there to muster and arm his Soldiers and the Philistines spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim which was in the way to Bethlem and they had their Head-quarters in Bethlem it self The Israelites being as it seems at this time something distressed through want of water it being hot weather and harvest-time David wished he had a draught of the well of Bethlem but not with any intent as 't is probable to stir up any of his Souldiers to adventure to fetch it for him however three of his valiant Commanders who are supposed to be Adino Eleazar and Shammah see 1 Chron. 11.19 2 Sam. 23.13 who were the chief over the thirty Colonels or Commanders having heard him express his desire of that water they ventured to break through the host of the Philistines and came to Bethlem and drew of the water which was by the Gate and brought it unto him but David when he understood the extreme danger they had gone thorough to procure it was very sorry he had given occasion to such a rash enterprize and had thereby so dangerously exposed the lives of his great Captains therefore he would not drink of it but took it and poured it on the ground as an offering of Thanksgiving unto God for delivering them from that great danger saying Far be it from me O Lord to drink that water which was procured with the extreme hazard of these mens blood (a) 2 Sam. 23.17 Is not this the blood of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives and lives (b) Aquam tam pretiosam dignam judicavit quae Domino libaretur Then David enquired of the Lord by Abiathar the High-Priest whither he should go up against the Philistines or no For though he had a great Army yet he relyed not upon it but seeks to God for direction and without that would not stir He receives answer from God that he should go up and be victorious Then David came to Baalperazim whether the Philistines were now come from the valley of Rephaim 1 Chron 14.11 and David smote them there with a great slaughter whereupon he said the Lord hath broken in upon mine enemies by my hand like the breaking forth of waters signifying thereby the sense he had of Gods hand and power in driving away his enemies as waters when they break through the bank do sweep away all before them Thence this place was called afterwards Baal-perazim * The name is taken from the Idol Baal who with his Idolatrous worshippers was there destroyed see Is 28.21 And there the Philistines left their Images and Idols which they had brought with them and trusted in as their Titular Gods which were neither able to defend their vain worshippers nor themselves and David commanded his men to burn them see Deut. 7.25 1 Chron. 14.12 The Philistines shortly after recruiting their scattered Army came again to provoke the Israelites to fight with them in the very same place where they had received their former defeat though they had no provocation from David to do so he having not hotly pursued his former victory but though David had gotten a great victory over them before yet he was not so puffed up with it as to relye on his own strength therefore he would not engage with them again without first inquiring of the Lord. The Lord bids him not go up openly and directly against them as formerly but to fetch a compass and so to come upon them behind over against the Mulberry Trees where they look'd not for him and when he heard the sound of a going on the tops of the Mulberry Trees viz. of an Army of Horsemen and Chariots marching over the tops of the Trees like that 2 King 7.6 which should be a sign to him that the Lord is gone forth with his holy Angels to destroy the Philistines before him then he should bestir himself and fet upon them for says the Lord I will give thee victory over them And David did accordingly and smote the Philistines from Geba or Gibeah in Benjamin where the fight began unto Gazer situate in the west of Ephraim which was then possessed by the Philistines So that the fame of David went into all lands and God brought the fear of him upon all Nations round about him 2 Sam. Ch. 5. from v. 17. to the end 2 Sam. Ch. 23. from v. 13 to the 18. 1 Chron. Ch. 11. from v. 15 to the 20. 1 Chron. Ch. 14. from v. 8 to the end SECT CLXXXVI DAvid now enjoying peace and quietness began to take into his pious thoughts the bringing up the Ark from Kirjath-jearim and placing it in the Fort of Sion which he had lately taken from the Jebusites The Tabernacle was now at Gibeon 2 Chron. 1.3 whither it had been removed from Nob after that bloody slaughter of the Priests by Saul 1 Sam. 22. And there was the great Altar for Burnt-offerings to which the people frequently went contenting themselves therewith and not regarding the Ark the principal evidence of Gods presence among them and whereat Divine Oracles and directions were given it being now lodged in a private house Upon what occasion the Ark was removed to the house of Abinadab in Kirjath-jearim we may see Sect. 153. and 1 Sam. 7. where it continued about fourtysix years saving only when upon extraordinary occasions it was brought into the Camp see 1 Sam. 14.8 viz. thirtynine in the days of Samuel and Saul and seven in the days of David David therefore judged it more for the honour of God and of the Ark that it should not lye hid in a private family which possibly had occasion'd the people so much to neglect it but be setled in the chief City of the Kingdom in a place purposely appointed for it that the people might more conveniently resort unto it wherefore calling his great Commanders and the Elders and Heads of the people together he imparted his design unto them and desired their advice upon it He told them that if it seem'd good to them and they apprehended
justice to all his people His chief Officers were these Joab was the General of his Army Jehoshaphat Recorder and writer of the Chronicles and things that were to be registred Zadock of the stock of Eleazar 1 Chron. 6.4 8 and Ahimelech of the stock of Ithamar and Son of Abiathar (a) He fled from Saul to David 1 Sam. 22.20 and continued High-Priest till Solomon's time when for his siding with Adonijah he was deposed and Zadock put into his room the High-Priest were the two chief Priests of their several stocks and had the chief command under Abiathar of the other Priests each over the Priests of his own family For David divided the Priests into two parts according to the two families of Eleazar and Ithamar as we may see 1 Chron. 24.3 4. And Benaiah the Son of Jehojada was over two bands of select Souldiers appointed to attend upon the Kings person in their courses as his Guard see 2 Sam. 15.18 and Ch. 20.7 and 1 King 1.38 44. 'T is probable that these Cherethites * These were old expert Soldiers like the Praetorian Soldiers among the Romans were such Garrison-Souldiers of the Israelites as were placed in Chereth of the Philistines see 1 Sam. 30.14 and that the Pelethites were also such Garrison-Souldiers as quartered among the Japhlithites Josh 16.3 And David's Sons were chief about the King and chief Rulers But that policy or Paternal affection of his did not succeed well with him for two of his Sons viz. Absalom and Adonijah having their spirits thereby highly raised at last they presumptuously affected the Soveraignty 2 Sam. Ch. 8. whole Chapter 1 Chron. Ch. 18. whole Chapter 1 King Ch. 11. from 14 to 26. Psal 60. Psal 108. SECT CXC DAvid having subdued his bordering enemies and setled the affairs both of Church and State in his Kingdom he begins now to call to mind the Covenant he had made with his dear friend Jonathan wherein he had engag'd himself to shew kindness to him and his posterity It may indeed seem strange he did not long ago think of it and that he should know nothing of Mephibosheth Jonathan's Son who was but five years old when Saul and Jonathan were slain 2 Sam. 4.4 and now was come to those years that he was married and had a young Son but being hitherto busied in setling his Kingdom at home and subduing his enemies abroad and Ishbosheth Sauls Son having raised a rebellion against him pretending a right to the Crown and denying his right which God himself had given him and all that family as 't is like having sided with him in that cause for these or the like reasons David's head might possibly for some time be so fill'd with jealousie of State that he had no great mind to shew kindness to any of Saul's posterity but being now well setled in his Kingdom and freed from such jealousies he calls to mind the great love that had been formerly between him and Jonathan and the Covenant he had made with him in the presence of the Lord and confirmed by solemn Oath that he would shew kindness to him and his posterity after him 1 Sam. 18.3 20.14 15. and thereupon he inquires whither there were any remaining of the house of Saul that were fit persons for him to shew kindness unto for Jonathan's sake Ziba an old servant of Saul's informs him that Jonathan had a Son named Mephibosheth * Call'd Meribbaal 1 Chron. 8.34 that was lame of his feet who abode in the house of Machir in Lodebar a little Town in the land of Gilead beyond Jordan where he lived in a private and obscure manner desiring to be concealed as much as he could and expected nothing higher than to have his life saved David presently sends for him and when he came before the King he fell on his face and did reverence David receives him very kindly and bids him be of good courage for he did not send for him for his hurt but for his good I will surely says he shew kindness to thee for thy Father Jonathan's sake and will restore to thee all the proper (a) Which were it seems now in Davids hands and confiscated by reason of Ishbosheth's rebellion lands of thy Grandfather Saul and will repute thee as one of my own Sons and thou shalt constantly eat bread at my Table Mephibosheth ravished at this great and unexpected munificence and favour of the King he crys out What is thy servant that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog (b) David had been thus humbled himself once before Saul 1 Sam. 24.14 After whom is the King of Israel come forth after a dead dog after a flea as I am Then David calling for Ziba said to him Behold I have given to Mephibosheth all that land that pertained to Saul Thou and thy Sons and thy servants shall till the land for him and bring in the fruits that he may have food in his house for his family to eat But for himself he shall eat at my Table continually Ziba reply'd that all that the King had commanded should be done So he with his whole house viz. his fifteen Sons and twenty servants became servants to Mephibosheth After this Mephibosheth dwelt at Jerusalem having a young Son whose name was Micha (c) We find 1 Chron. 8.35 that this Micha had four Sons and those many others in whom the noble family of Jonathan was continued 2 Sam. Ch. 9. whole Chapter SECT CXCI. AS David had thus shewed himself kind to Jonathan's Son so he was also ready to shew kindness to any others who had been kind to him a particular instance whereof we have in this Chapter Nahash the King of Ammon had it seems shewed David some kindness possibly when he fled from Achish King of Gath he had entertain'd and protected him though as 't is like not so much out of love to David as hatred to Saul who had given him a great defeat before Jabesh-Gilead 1 Sam. 11. But whatever the particular kindness was Nahash now dying and Hanun his Son succeeding him David sent his Ambassadours to this new King to condole with him for the death of his Father The Princes and Courtiers of Hanun begin to be full of jealousies upon this and strangely misinterpret this kindness of David and judg it to be only counterfeit What say they to Hanun dost thou think that David by this Ambassie intends to honour thy Father Never imagin that he really intends any such thing undoubtedly he hath sent these men as spies to search and observe our Country and to discover some advantages for the conquering of it that he may serve us as he hath done other Nations Besides we have heard that by their Law they are forbidden to seek our prosperity all their days and therefore what reason have we to trust them Thus some Politicians think themselves most wise when they are most suspicious but such wisdom often proveth meer
Joab himself of his own accord would needs accompany his brother Abishai in this Expedition intending when he met with an opportunity to kill Amasa Abishai and Joab being come to the great stone which was near Gibeon they discovered Amasa with the forces he had raised not far before them Joab now resolving to kill him he girt his garment close about him that it might not encumber him and on it girded his sword and put it into a wide scabbard that it might upon the bending of his body fall out Joab now coming up to Amasa bowed his body to salute him and said to him Art thou in health my brother upon his bowing his sword fell out of the scabbard as if it had been by accident and he stoop'd to take it up Amasa not suspecting any thing and then having his sword in his left hand he took Amasa with his right by the beard as if he would have kissed him and then with his sword gave him such a deadly stab under the fifth rib that he immediately fell down and his bowels gushed out This was a vile and treacherous act in Joab and not to be mentioned without detestation yet there was a just hand of God in it in punishing Amasa for joining with Absalom against his Vncle David who was his Lord and Sovereign and though David had pardoned him for it yet God it seems would not let him go unpunished Joab having thus taken Amasa out of the way he now resumed his office of General over the Army without any commission from David and so with his brother Abishai went to pursue after Sheba but before he went it seems he appointed one to stand by the body of Amasa and to make this Proclamation to the Souldiers as they passed by He that favoureth Joab and desires to have him restored to his place of General Amasa being dead and he that is for David and desires he should have good success in this expedition against the common enemy let him follow after Joab and let not this accident hinder him But notwithstanding this Proclamation many of the Souldiers when they came where Amasa lay and saw him wallowing in his own blood they stood still as astonished at the dreadfulness of the sight and possibly murmured that Amasa should be so basely murdered whereupon the man removed the body out of the way and cast a cloth over it to hide it from the sight of the Souldiers and then they followed after Joab without staying So that we see in what high favour Joab was with the Army and the Military men notwithstanding Davids great displeasure against him Joab and Abishai pursued Sheba through all the Tribes where he had been gathering people to follow him even unto Abel and Beth-maacha in the North of Canaan in the Tribe of Naphtali where was the Country of the Berites (a) Aliqui per Berim Provinciam intelligunt in qua erat Abela Bethmaaca Menoch many of whom joined with Sheba who betaking himself with his followers to the strong City of Abel there Joab besieged him and casting up a great Bulwark or bank against the outmost wall he from thence with his Engines battered the wall to beat it down A wise woman that was in the City came upon the wall and desired to speak with Joab who coming within hearing of her she tells him that their City formerly had been had in high esteem for wisdom and ability to give counsel insomuch that it went for a Proverb They shall ask counsel at Abel so that they used to come from all the neighbouring parts when any controversie arose among them to take advice here and so they ended the matter or difference between them as the men of this City advised and directed This being so give me leave though a woman yet one that is of a peaceable spirit and faithful to the King to speak a few words unto thee Why goest thou about to destroy such an ancient and eminent City as this is that is a Mother-city and chief of the Province having many other Towns and Villages under it Why wilt thou destroy a City that is part of the inheritance in which God hath placed his people Joab answer'd that he had no design to destroy their City or to do any damage to the Commonwealth but his aim was to preserve both by cutting off a pestilent enemy to both namely Sheba who had lifted up his hand against the King if they would but deliver him up to him he would presently depart from their City She tells him Sheba's head should be thrown over the wall to him very speedily It seems she was assured that the men of her City being wise men would do it And though they could not hinder Sheba's sudden getting into their City with his forces yet they would never hazard their City by sheltring such a Traytor Accordingly by her wisdom and the reasons she gave them the men of the City were perswaded and seized upon Sheba and cut off his head and threw it over the wall to Joab who thereupon drew off his forces from the City Joab having thus quell'd this rebellion went to Jerusalem to the King who though he could not chuse but be highly offended with him for killing Amasa in such a base and treacherous manner yet he having done him so great a service in subduing Sheba and his accomplices and being in so great esteem with the Souldiers and the people the King thought it best to let him alone and continue him in his place of General David being now reestablished in his Kingdom all things were setled in their former order Joab was General Benaiah Captain of the Kings Guard Adoram over the Tribute This Office was not mentioned Ch. 8. but David having now enlarged his Dominions and made many Nations Tributary to him he erected this office Jehoshaphat Recorder and Shevah called Seraiah * 'T was usual among the Hebrews for the same man to have two names Ch. 8.17 Scribe Abiathar the High-Priest and Zadock next to him and Ira of the Country of Jair in Gilead a chief ruler about the King David's Sons mentioned Ch. 8. are not here spoken of because divers of them were dead viz. Amnon Absalom and as 't is like Chileab also 2 Sam. Ch. 20. from v. 1 to the end SECT CXCVIII. AFter these things God punished the land of Israel with famine for three years together occasioned by drought and want of rain David at first lookt upon it as a punishment laid upon them for the common sins of the land but when he saw it continued three years together he thought there was some more special thing for which God was so highly offended (a) Populus punitur quia de eo facto gaudebant sperabant se frui posse bonis illorum Videbatur etiam David rem negligere potitus regno non succurrebat oppressis therefore he enquired of the Lord concerning it by the High-Priest
of the Giant Rapha Jonathan the son of Shimea called Shammah 1 Sam. 16.9 slew this vast Giant These four fell by the hands of David and his servants For though David did not kill any of them himself yet their death is ascrib'd to him as well as to his Captains because they fought in his quarrel and under his command 2 Sam. Ch. 21. from v. 15 to the end 1 Chron. Ch. 20. from v. 4 to the end SECT CC. DAvid being now delivered from all his enemies on every side both within and without his Kingdom and calling to mind Gods wonderful mercies to him he in a grateful remembrance of them composed a Triumphant Song or Psalm of Thanksgiving that God might have the glory of all that he had done for him This Song is the same for substance with the 18th Psalm only there are some clauses here that are exprest there in other words and in some places a clause is now and then added in one of them which is not in the other So that possibly this Psalm was penned by him many years before when he was delivered from his mighty potent enemy Saul and is here with some little alteration repeated again In this Song first he declares his firm confidence in God and that he might shew what an alsufficient defence he esteemed the Lord to be unto him he useth variety of expressions to set it forth as not being able by one or two to express it He calls the Lord his rock his fortress his deliverer his shield the horn (a) Horn signifies power and glory Christ is call'd the horn of salvation Luk. 1.69 of his salvation by whose assistance he had been enabled both to defend himself and push down his enemies his tower his refuge and his saviour whence he infers that he will still trust in him and call upon him who was worthy to be praised Secondly he sets forth the woful straits and dangers he had been in his enemies came upon him like violent floods of water and like waves rouling one upon the neck of another threatning present death to him he acknowledges their roaring rage made him afraid but that fear drave him to God He says that death-threatning sorrows and dangers so encompassed him that there seemed no more likelihood for him to escape than there is of a sick man that hath the pangs of death upon him he intimates that Saul and his other enemies had so subtilly contriv'd his death and laid their snares so cunningly for him that all means of escaping seem'd to be prevented In these my great distresses says he I cry'd unto the Lord and he heard me and appear'd for me out of his Temple * Heaven is call'd the Temple of God 1st as being the place of his special presence 2. In regard of the the exceeding glory of Heaven which to shadow forth the Temple was built so exceeding glorious 3. In regard of the transient holiness of heaven that is out of Heaven and from thence manifested his power for my deliverance Then the earth shook and trembled and the foundations of heaven mov'd and shook because he was wroth that is the Lord in his hot displeasure fought against my enemies and poured forth his vengeance upon them This vengeance he sets forth under the similitude of a prodigious storm or tempest when the earth quakes and the air is covered with thick black and dark mists and when the Heavens send forth wind rain thunder and lightning (b) David here in sublime expressions sets forth not what historically happened but an a Poetical manner Gods mighty assistance and concurrence with him in his victories over his enemies by all which he intimates that the wrath of the Lord was evidently seen and manifested in the destruction of his enemies as if he had sent such an horribla storm and tempest upon them and so visibly destroyed them The foundations of the heavens shook and were moved In the 18 Psalm v. 7. he says the foundations of the hills moved that is the hills were shaken from their very foundations or bottoms These hills are here call'd the foundations of heaven (a) Job 26.11 calls that the pillars of Heaven because the tops of high mountains seem to touch the clouds and the heavens seem to lean upon them There went up a smoke out of his nostrils and fire out of his mouth devoured coals were kindled by it that is he gave forth such testimonies of his anger and indignation against mine enemies so vehement was his wrath that even smoke seem'd to speak after the manner of men to come out of his nostrils and so hot a fire out of his mouth that even coals were kindled by it He bowed the heavens also and came down and darkness was under his feet that is the lower part of the heavens was so affected as if God to manifest his power had come down into it and if we may describe him according to our weak apprehensions under his feet in the lower region of the air there were dark mists and clouds He rode upon a cherub and did fly yea he did fly upon the wings of the wind * See Psal 18.10 that is he used the ministry of his holy Angels and by them he raised violent and strong winds He made darkness pavillions round about him dark waters and thick clouds of the skies that is as men are wont by Tents and Pavillions to shelter themselves and to hide themselves from the view of others so did the Lord cast darkness and thick clouds about the place of his appearance Through the brightness before him were coals of fire kindled that is the Lord sent out his flashes of lightning with the flames whereof much combustible matter was kindled The Lord thundered from heaven and the most high uttered his voice he sent out his arrows and scattered them that is his thunderbolts out of the clouds as arrows from his bow He sent out his lightning and discomfited them The channels of the Sea appeared the foundations of the world were discovered at the rebuke of the Lord at the blast of the breath of his nostrils that is by this raging tempest the waters and waves were raised up so high that the very channels and bottom of the Sea was discovered and laid bare By these Hyperbolical expressions he signifies and sets forth the fierce anger of God against his enemies then he comes to set forth the wonderfulness of his deliverance being like a man ready to be drowned and perish in deep waters had not God as it were with his arm stretched out from heaven pull'd him out of them God delivered me says he from many enemies yea from my strong enemies such as Goliath Doeg Saul and Achitophel who would have been too strong for me if he had not of his great mercy helped me In the day of calamity and distress they thought by their subtilty to prevent me from saving my self and to
unto me Thus the glory and strength of the Heathens shall by little and little fade and decay and though they be in places of strength yet even in those close places their fortified Cities and Towers they shall be no less afraid then if they were only in some poor unwalled villages He now concludes his Song praising God for all the benefits before recited The Lord liveth and blessed be my Rock and exalted be the God who is the rock of my Salvation It is God who avengeth me and bringeth down the people under me and who bringeth me forth and delivereth me out of the hands of mine enemies notwithstanding all their power and policies Thou hast lifted me up on high over those that rose up against me Thou hast delivered me from the violent man viz. from Saul my most violent and deadly enemy Therefore I will give thanks unto the Lord among the heathen that is I will labour to spread the knowledg of thee and so to exalt thy praise among the Heathen Nations â See Apostol Hist on Rom. 15.9 This David speaks by a spirit of Prophesie having respect to the calling of the Gentiles whom thou hast brought into subjection to me God is the Tower of Salvation for his King that is he is as a Tower in which he is safe and sheweth mercy unto his anointed unto David and to his seed for evermore that is God will manifest his favour to him to his posterity after him and principally to Christ who was to be of his seed according to the flesh Rom. 1.3 and to all the faithful members of Christ who are also by faith his seed See Isa 53.10 and Heb. 2.13 2 Sam. Ch. 22. whole Chapter SECT CCI. DAvid now towards his latter end apprehending his death approaching in imitation of Jacob and Moses leaves behind him a kind of Testamentary Prophesie that his Kingdom and Throne should be established for ever namely in the person of the Messias who was to come of him according to Gods Covenant 2 Sam. 7.16 and he Prophesies of the righteousness glory and prosperity of that Kingdom and these were the last words he wrote by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost for the use of the Church In the Preface to this Prophesie he first sets down his own Titles saying I am the Son of Jesse by birth yet by the grace and favour of God exalted to be King of Israel and who have been enabled by the Spirit of God to compose many Divine Hymns and Psalms for the benefit of the Church and thereupon have been call'd the sweet Psalmist of Israel I David do now declare that the Spirit of the Lord did formerly speak by me and his word was in my tongue when I uttered those Divine composures And the same God of Israel who is the Rock of Israel hath now spoken to me and I am to declare that there shall be a ruler over men a righteous person that shall rule them in the fear of God (a) These words are unstood by learned men as a promise of the Messiah Quid dominabitur in timore Domini cum spiritu timoris Domini unctus sit quid subditos suos ita spiritu suo gubernavit ut ex vero Dei timore sanctitati vitae studeant Osiand And he shall reign prosperously and still increase in glory his glory shall be like the morning light that shines more and more unto perfect day and shall daily increase like the grass that hath seasonably the moistning rain and warming Sun to make it sprout up and grow And though my house be not so with God as it should be but I and mine have been guilty of many great sins and transgressions yet God hath made with me an everlasting Covenant viz. that my Kingdom and Throne shall be established for ever in the person of the Messiah who shall come out of my loyns Ch. 7.16 and this Covenant is well ordered in all things for the glory of God and Salvation of man and sure to be performed And this promise of God that the Messiah should spring from my loyns and come into the world to save sinners is that on which my hope of Salvation is firmly grounded and this thing I wish and desire above all things though God do not make the glory of my Temporal Kingdom to grow and increase But as for those sons of Belial those prophane graceless and stubborn wretches who will not submit to the Kingdom of the Messiah they shall be all of them as thorns plucked up and cast away because they are so intractable that they cannot be taken with hands but the man that shall go about to touch them had need have his hands armed with some iron glove or gantlet and to have a staff in his hands like the staff of a Spear wherewith to thrust them into the oven And these intractable thorns shall be burnt and consumed in the same place where they grew Whereby as some think he Prophesied of the destruction of the obstinate Jews who were by the Romans destroyed in the same place or City where they lived and by wicked hands had crucified the Lord of life 2 Sam. Ch. 23. from v. 1. to 8. SECT CCII. HEre now follows a Catalogue of David's Worthies men renowned for valour and admirable exploits and such as were great supports to him in all his troubles 1 Chron. 11.10 These are the chief of the mighty men whom David had who held strongly with him in his Kingdom and join'd with the Elders of the people to make him King they were in all thirty seven whereof Joab was the chief being Captain General of the Host 1 Chron. 11.6 Next to him were six chief Colonels and of them the first three were above the other three The first three were Adino Eleazar and Shammah This Adino was call'd the Eznite from the Country where he was born or bred and the Tachmonite or Hackmonite from his Father being the Son of one Tachmani or Hackmani And also Jashobeam or Josheph-Bassebet because he sat in the Chair and was President of the Council of War Concerning his Exploits 't is said of him 2 Sam. 23.8 That he lifted up his Spear against eight hundred and slew them In the 1 Chron. 11.11 There are only 300 mentioned Therefore either 800 were slain by him at one time and 300 at another or else he discomfited 800 whereof only 300 were slain outright by himself and the rest by others which yet are said to be slain by him because they were slain by those that fought under him The Second of the first three was Eleazar one of the posterity of Ahoah a Benjamite 1 Chron. 8.4 he was with David at Pasdammim when the Philistines were gathered together in battel against him and there defended a field of barley against them when the rest of the people fled away and slew so many of them that at last the people returned to the spoil of the enemy
He smote the Philistines till his hand was weary and clave unto his sword and was as it were glueed to the hilt of it with blood The third of the first three was Shammah He defended a field of lentils against a Troop of the Philistines when the people fled from them and the Lord wrought a great victory by him 'T is probable that this exploit against the Philistines was jointly performed by both these Captains at one and the same time and therefore 't is said 1 Chron. 11.14 That they set themselves in the midst of that parcel of ground and delivered it and slew the Philistines there being both barley and lentils in the same field Eleazar it seems beat the Philistines from the barley-field and Shammah from that part of it that had lentils These three Worthies also ventured their lives to fetch David water from the well of Bethlem of which before at Ch. 5.18 Of the second three Abishar the Brother of Joab was chief he lift up his spear against three hundred and slew them Other valiant deeds he did besides as when he went with David into the midst of Sauls Camp 1 Sam. 26.6 and his killing the Giant Ishi-benob whose Spear weighed three hundred shekels of brass 2 Sam. 21.16 17. he was the most honourable of this three but he attained not unto the first three The second of this three was Benaiah the son of Jehoiadah he slew two Lion-like men of Moab and he slew a Lion in the midst of a pit into which it had casually fallen in the time of the snow where the room being straight he knew he must either kill or be kill'd and this he enterpriz'd not out of a vain mind to shew his valour but Heroically to destroy a noxiâââ ãâã that had done so much mischief to the Country He slew also an Egyptian a ãâã of great stature five cubits high whose Spear was like a weavers beam he went down to ãâã only with a staff and pluckt the spear out of his hand and slew him with his own spear He was also Captain of the Kings guard The third of this three seems to be Asabel who was above the thirty (a) V. 24. Supra Triginta istos as all those before mentioned were there being thirty named after him This second three attained not unto the first three but yet were superior to all others 2 Sam Ch. 23. from v. 8 to the end SECT CCIII DAvid having vanquished his enemies abroad and suppressed sundry insurrections at home yet knowing that new wars or conspiracies might be rais'd against him therefore in this time of peace he thought fit so to settle his Militia and Souldiery that they might be in a readiness on all occasions to defend the Kingdom In order hereunto he divided them into twelve courses twenty four thousand in each course who in their turns one month in a year were still in arms ready to be imployed in any service for the State as the King should appoint by which means all the able men in the Kingdom were still trained up in the use of their Armes and there was always a sufficient number ready in arms if on a sudden there should be any occasion for them Jashobeam who it seems was of the posterity of Perez or Pharez the son of Judah Gen. 46.12 had the preeminence of being Commander in chief over the first course for the first month Over the course of the second month was Dodai and Mikloth was the Captain of this course after his death The Captain of the Host for the third month was Benaiah a principal Officer The Captain of the fourth course was Zebadiah the son of Asahel who was kill'd in the beginning of David's reign by Abner 2 Sam. 2.23 but being a valiant man and brother to Joab and Abishai and of kin to David his name is put both into the Catalogue of David's Worthies 1 Chron. 11.26 and here into the Catalogue of chief Commanders the course possibly bearing his name though his son was Captain of it The names of the other Captains that were over the other courses are here also set down as also the Princes and Rulers of the Tribes who had the chief power in the Civil Government where thirteen are mentioned of whom one is said to be of the Levites and another of the Aaronites one of the half Tribe of Manasseh and another of the other half the Princes of Gad and Asher are not here named possibly they might be join'd with those Tribes that bordered upon them Then are set down who was over the Kings Treasure and over his store-houses in the Fields Cities and Villages and over the Tillage and over the increase of the Vineyards for the Wine-cellars and over the Olive-trees and Cellars of Oyl and over the herds in Sharon and over the herds in the vallies over the Camels over the Asses and over the Flock and in sum all the Officers belonging to the King 1 Chron. Ch. 27. whole Chapter SECT CCIV. THE Lord being again angry (a) God is said to be angry when he doth that which men use to do when they are angry that is to punish those that have offended with the Israelites for their wickedness possibly for their pride carnal security and confidence in their number and strength he moved David against them that is he let Satan loose to tempt him to pride and carnal confidence in the multitude and strength of his subjects and left him to himself that he might be foil'd by Satan And accordingly Satan stirred up David in the pride of his heart (b) Otherwise to number the people was not in it self unlawful when done upon good grounds and for good ends Yea God himself commanded it Exod. 30.12 and Numb 1.3 26.1 2. And Solomon and Amaziah practised it 2 Chron. 2.17 25.5 But here was now no necessity of doing it either upon an Ecclesiastical or Civil account to number the people that God might take occasion thereby to bring upon them that judgment which he intended and which both King and people for their sins deserved and hereby wrath came upon Israel upon the King in the loss of his people and upon the people in the loss of their lives And the King not inquiring of God as he should have done in a matter of such moment spake to Joab and the Rulers of the people to go through all the Tribes of the children of Israel from Dan to Beersheba and to number the people viz. all that were fit for war and to bring their number to him Joab civilly addressing himself to the King The Lord thy God add unto thy people an hundred fold how many soever they be and if it be agreeable to his holy will maist thou thy self live to see it But give me leave humbly to ask thee why hast thou set thy heart upon this thing There is no necessity at all to inquire how many thy people be seeing how many
Sepulcher is with us unto this day and this was above a thousand years after David was buried Now as to the Acts of David first and last behold they are written in the Book of Samuel the Seer and in the Book of Nathan the Prophet and in the Book of Gad the Seer that is the Acts of David were related in the History or Books of Samuel which were written by Nathan the Prophet and Gad the Seer who set down all the passages of his reign and his valiant acts and the victories obtained by him or his commanders and the prosperities and adversities of his time and reign either in his own Kingdom or the Kingdoms adjoining to him which he subdued and conquered * David was a glorious type of Christ in his birth at Bethlem in his victory over Goliah in his power over Sauls divel in his persecutions in his Royalty and victoriousness over his enemies 2 King Ch. 2. from v. 1. to 12. 1 Chron. Ch. 29. from v. 26 to the end SECT CCXIII. DAvid was stiled the sweet Psalmist of Israel 2 Sam. 23.1 for he composed many Divine Hymns and Psalmes for the benefit of the Church which we have in the great Volum of the Psalmes but he was not the Author of them all The Jews anciently divided this great Volum or Book of the Psalmes into five lesser According to which division the first Book of the Psalmes reached from Psalm the first to the end of Psalm the 41 and concludes thus Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting Amen and Amen All these by their Titles are declared to be Davids excepting 1 2 10 33. and as for the 2d that is declared to be Davids in Act. 4.25 26. Hereupon it s probably conceived that the other three were his also and that this first Book was all written by him and by him disposed into this order in which now it is The second Book begins at Psalm 42 and reaches to the end of Psalm 72 containing 31 Psalmes and closes thus Blessed be his glorious name for ever and let all the earth be filled with his glory Amen and Amen The prayers of David the Son of Jesse are ended Nineteen of these were composed by David as the Titles of them do evince Probably David collected and disposed in order this Book also The third Book begins at Psal 73 and reaches to the end of Psalm 89 comprehending 17 Psalmes and concludes thus Blessed be Jehovah for ever Amen and Amen Of these seventeen only one is ascribed to David one to Heman one to Ethan three are directed to the Sons of Corah no Penman being named eleven are ascribed to Asaph * Possibly Asaph might collect and dispose in order this Book The fourth Book begins at Psalm 90 and reaches to the end of Psal 106 comprehending also 17 Psalms and concludes thus Blessed be the God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting and let all the people say Amen Hallelujah Of these one is ascribed to Moses two to David fourteen have no author mentioned in their Titles The fifth Book begins at Psalm 107 and reaches to the end of Psalm 150 comprehending 44 Psalmes and concludes thus Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Hallelujah Of these fifteen are in their Titles ascribed to David and not one of all the rest ascribed to any particular Author So that of all the Psalmes we reckon to David only seventy eight Many of these Psalmes viz. 125 have Titles and 25 of them have none One of these Psalmes viz. the 90th was composed before David was born and some of them long after he was dead as Psalm 45.74.83.126.137 Some think this Book of Psalmes was put into this form and order it now has by Ezra others think it was thus dispos'd after the return of the Jews from Babylon But of these things seeing we have no certain foundation to build upon we shall not peremptorily determine SECT CCXIV. SOlomon now sat upon the Throne of his Father David and his Kingdom was greatly established for the people were generally well pleased with his advancement to the Crown But it seems Adonijah being assisted by Joab and Abiathar had still a design to wrest the Kingdom from him And for the better carrying on of that design he resolved if possible to marry Abishag his Fathers late wife or concubine thinking thereby to inlarge his interest and gain a fairer pretence for what he designed In order hereunto he addresses himself to Bathsheba the Kings mother she was at first a little startled at his coming to her considering his former design to get the Crown and therefore asked him whether he came peaceably He answered very peaceably for he came humbly to request a favour of her which was this Thou knowest says he that I being the Eldest Son surviving of my Father by birthright the Throne of the Kingdom belonged unto me and the people looked upon me as heir apparent to it but now by Gods own appointment the Soveraignty is diverted another way and become my Brother Solomons (a) 'T is like he did not sincerely make this acknowledgment but only to dispose Bathsheba the more readily to grant his desire And seeing I am now fallen from so great an expectation I hope thou wilt compassionate my condition and wilt please to beg one favour of the King for me which I question not but he will readily grant unto thee which is this viz. that he would please to permit me to marry Abishag the Shunamite Bathsheba though a wise woman as appears by the counsel she gave her Son Prov. 31. yet not diving into the bottom of the design readily undertakes to speak to the King in his behalf Accordingly she went to the King who being set upon his Throne as soon as he saw her he rose up and bowed himself with great reverence unto her and then conducting her to his Throne caused a seat to be set for her on his right hand where being set she told him she had one small request to make to him which she desired him not to deny her He told her he would not provided that what she desired were just and safe for him to grant Then she said I pray thee let Abishag the Shunamite be given to thy brother Adonijah to wife Solomon startled at this replies Ask for him the Kingdom also for he is my Elder Brother yea for him and for Abiathar and for Joab that they may share it among them He seems to wonder at the strangeness of the request to wit that Adonijah should desire her for his wife that had lain in his Fathers bosom which was plain incest And probably the intention of Adonijah was discovered to him either by some special instinct of the Spirit of God or some secret intelligence which he had gotten and therefore he said Ask for him the Kingdom also c. As if he should have said He has already
and Ministers of Justice The number and order of them is here recorded to set forth his great wisdom 1. Azariah the Son of Zadok was his principal Minister of State * Cohan signifies sometimes a secular Prince as well as a Priest and 't is probable he was the Son of another Zadok and not of Zadok the High-Priest 2. Eliphoreph and Ahiah the Sons of Shisha his Secretaries We read but of one Secretary of State that David had 2 Sam. 20.25 whose name was Sheva and possibly this is the same man with Shisha and that he trained up his two Sons in his own way and made them so expert therein that Solomon took them both for his Secretaries and living in greater splendour than his Father he had two Secretaries whereas his Father had but one 3. Jehoshaphat the Son of Ahitub the Recorder or Master of Requests whose office was to put the King in mind of Petitions and possibly to record the memorable Acts of State he had this place in David's time and it seems held it still under Solomon See 2 Sam. 20.24 and so must needs be very ancient 4. Benaiah was Captain-General of the host in Joab's place 5. Zadok and Abiathar were the chief Priests for though Abiathar was removed from the place of High Priest Ch. 2.27 yet it seems he retained the Title though he executed not the Office 6. Azariah the Son of Nathan the Prophet was over the twelve Officers or Purveyers which are named v. 7 to 19. 7. Zabud his brother was a principal Officer and possibly President of the Kings Council he was the Kings friend and favourite as Hushai was to David 2 Sam. 15.27 and had on all occasions free access to him from hence it appears that Solomon had Nathan in very high esteem in that he put two of his Sons in the highest Offices of the Kingdom and made one of them his especial favourite Nathan had indeed been a faithful Prophet and servant to David and discovered to him Adonijah's conspiracy and gave advice for the setling Solomon on the Throne Ch. 1.11 And 't is probable that Nathan's Sons were trained up with Solomon under their Fathers Tuition 8. Abishai who was either Governour of the Kings Houshold or Treasurer of it 9. Adoniram who was over the Tribute and chief receiver of the Kings revenues Ch. 4. from 1 to 7. 2. Solomon appointed twelve Officers over all Israel to take care to furnish his House with a set quantity of provisions of meat and drink for all the twelve months of the year Had these great stores that were needful for the Kings houshold been to be gathered out of one place only near the Court the people thereabouts might have been overburdened therefore these store-gatherers were scattered all over the land and had Treasure-houses to store up their provisions in which in their several months they brought forth and furnished the Kings house therewith These Officers were it seems the sons of men of note and therefore their names and their fathers names are here set down Their divisions were not exactly made according to the Tribes for so there might have been some inequality but according to the Commodities of the soil The son of Abinadab was over the Region of Dor in Manassehs portion and it seems he was a man of great worth for he married Taphath one of the daughters of Solomon Ahimaaz's Province was in Naphtali he also seems to be some great man for he married Basmath the other daughter of Solomon Solomon's provision for one day was thirty measures of fine flower and threescore measures of meal The word translated measure is in the Hebrew Cor now one Cor contained about ten Ephas and one Epha about three pecks of our measure so that by this account Solomon had for every day a very great quantity both of flower and meal Also ten oxen fatted in the stalls and twenty out of the pastures also an hundred sheep besides Harts Robucks fallow Deer and fatted fowls This store shews that Solomon's houshold was very great but possibly under it are to be comprized his wives housholds and such Companies of Soldiers as attended about the Court yea and such foreign Princes and Ambassadours as came from other Countries to his Court and their retinues Thus those Officers provided victuals for King Solomon and for all that came to his Table every man in his mouth and by this means sufficient provision was made for them all 1 King Ch. 4. from 1 to 26. 3. That wherein Solomon more especially discovered his wisdom was in the Proverbs or wise and acute sentences he spake which were three thousand and in the Divine Songs or Odes he composed which were a thousand and five He spake also of trees from the Cedar in Lebanon to the Hysop that springs out of the wall and of beasts and of fowl and of creeping things and of fishes So that he read Lectures of natural and moral Philosophy yea and of Divinity too to those that were about him or came to hear his wisdom He was also an excellent Poet as appears by those many Songs and Odes (b) Liber odarum quam ediderat complectebatur mille quinque odas Non Theologus tantum Philosophus sed insignis Poëta Sunt qui dicunt ex Canticis Proverblis Solomonis solum utiliora Spiritus Sancti instinctu reservata esse in libellos illos coacta qui hodie extant Munsterus he composed 'T is like he did dictate his Proverbs and Philosophical instructions in familiar discourse which those about him wrote down and some of them are lost But let us be thankeful to God for those that remain and labour to make a good use of them 1 King 4.32 33. As for the Book of Proverbs it contains the chief of those three thousand wise sentences which he spake The first nine Chapters contain instructions of piety and praises of wisdom with exhortations to get it all which may serve as a large Preface to the whole Book Then follow his Proverbs or choice sentences or wise Apothegmes There is sometimes a repetition of the same things which might easily happen by reason of the several collections of these Proverbs The verity of some of them consists in such a generality of truth as stands good and is for the most part so and yet admits of alteration by the change of circumstances Throughout this Book Solomon speaks one while in his own name another while in his Fathers then in Wisdom's elsewhere in his Mothers and sometimes in Gods name 1. He seems to speak in his own name in Ch. 1st 2d 3d. 2. He sets down the summ of his Father David's instructions Ch. 4.5 6 7. 3. He brings in wisdom speaking Ch. 8.9 4. He sets down those Proverbs of his own which he had set in order in his life time from Ch. 10. to Ch. 25. 5. Then others are added which were gathered by the servants of King Hezekiah
presently imparted it to some of his friends and possibly thereby designed to draw off their hearts from Solomon and to make a party for himself Solomon it seems got some intelligence hereof and thereupon sought to kill him Jeroboam hearing of the Kings fierce anger against him fled presently into Egypt to Shishack the present King thereof who as 't is probable was Solomon's wife's brother and possibly was much offended with him for taking so many wives besides his sister and therefore for that or some other reason he gave entertainment to Jeroboam and he continued there till Solomon's death 1 King Ch. 11. from v. 14 to 41. SECT XVIII SOlomon now having reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years died and slept with his fathers and was buried in the City of David his Father He left only three children though he had so many wives and concubines viz. two daughters who were married to two of his own subjects as we may see Sect. 13. and one Son viz. Rehoboam who reigned in his stead The Acts of Solomon were written by Nathan Ahijah and Iddo Prophets that lived in his time 2 Chron. 9.29 But this Book of the Acts of Solomon seems to have been some compleat History not now extant of the reign of Solomon gathered out of the several writings of these Prophets and other records of those times wherein possibly many passages of his life were set down not expressed in the Sacred History And among other things possibly that of his repentance which though it be not here so clearly mentioned yet it may be gathered from 2 Chron. 11.17 For three years they walked in the ways of David and Solomon his Son where Solomon and David are jointly commended Some also collect it from that promise Psal 89.33 Nevertheless I will not utterly take away my loving kindness from him nor suffer my faithfulness to fail But especially from the Book of Ecclesiastes which questionless was written as a publick testimony of his Repentance And in the 2 Pet. 1.20 21. we find that all the Penmen of the holy Scripture are said to have been holy men of God And 't is probably conjectured that Solomon before his death did throw down Idolatry and restrain'd his wives from it in that the people who set themselves to defame his Government complained of no such matter to Rehoboam Chap. 12.4 1 King Ch. 11. from 41 to the end 2 Chron. Ch. 9. from v. 29 * V. 29. In the visions of Iddo that is such Visions and Revelations as were registred being by Gods Spirit manifested to Iddo It seems this Iddo who wrote the History of Rehoboam Ch. 12.15 did also join the story of Jeroboam therewith against whom he wrote to the end SECT XIX Kings of Israel JEroboam being chosen King by the Ten Tribes The first King of Israel JEROBOAM he first repaired and fortified Shechem and built himself a Palace there and made it the chief place of his residence and fortified Penuel on the other side of Jordan and placed a Garrison in it And being now setled in his Kingdom though God had promised him by Ahijah the Prophet Ch. 11.38 that if he would walk in his ways he would be with him and build him a sure house as he had done for David yet having no confidence in this promise he began to think that if he should suffer his subjects to go up to Jerusalem to sacrifice there as God commanded they would soon fall off from him to Rehoboam For first he apprehended they would be in danger to be seized upon as Traytors when they came up to Jerusalem if they did not renounce their allegiance to him 2ly The Priests and Levites and their Brethren of Judah he thought would be continually setting before them the sin of falling off from their lawful Soveraign 3ly He supposed the very sight of the Temple and the worship of God there celebrated would much win upon them to come over to the Kingdom of Judah And if their hearts were once turned to Rehoboam he thought they would be sure to kill him and not having faith to believe that God would either prevent or divert these dangers from him if he were faithful to him he resolved to set up some other way of worship for his subjects that they should not need to go up to Jerusalem to worship there And thus that very thing which God appointed to keep the people of the Jews in one uniform way of worship viz. that there should be but one Altar and one place of Sacrifices namely at the Temple at Jerusalem that proved the occasion of setting up a new way of Worship Wherefore Jeroboam by the advice of those about him made two Golden Calves in imitation of the Egyptians Idol-gods among whom he had lived of late and with whom 't is like he desired to hold a strict league and amity and that possibly was another politick reason that induc'd him to make such Idols as these However he pretended the peoples ease and accommodation to be the chief thing that mov'd him to take this course and like a kind and indulgent Prince told them it was too much for them to go up thrice a year viz. at the solemn Feasts to Jerusalem and therefore he had found out a way to save them that labour and accordingly had made two Golden Calves for them to worship in their own Country And these he had made not to represent any false God but as remembrances and representations of the true God of Israel who brought them up out of the land of Egypt and therefore he was not afraid to say to them these be thy Gods O Israel When he had given them this account of his proceedings he placed one of his Calves in Bethel a City * By reason of Jeroboams impiety the Prophet calls it Bethaven Hos 10.5 belonging to the Tribe of Benjamin but it seems it had revolted to him and so was now in his power and the Southern border of his Kingdom the other Calf he placed at Dan which was the Northern border And so he provided that his subjects both in the North and South should have a place to worship at But this thing became a grievous sin and high provocation to the Almighty and drew all Israel from God into Idolatry and therefore 't is put into his stile Jeroboam the Son of Nebat who made Israel to sin 2 King 10.31 For the people did presently yield to worship these his Idols both at Dan and Bethel And further instead of Gods Temple at Jerusalem he made a Temple on one of the high places or mountains where Altars were reared to commit Idolatry thereon and he made Priests for the high places and for the Devils â Such devotion as is not done to the true God is done to Devils see Lev. 17.7 Idols there so called and for the Calves which he had made 2 Chron. 11.15 of the meanest of the people and such
to spie whether he could see any likelihood of it At last the servant discern'd a little cloud arising out of the Sea as big as a mans hand upon this Elijah presently sends to Ahab to make hast home lest he should be stopped by the rain that was now coming And immediately the heaven was black with clouds and wind and there fell a great rain Ahab getting into his Chariot went to Jezreel a City of Issachar where was one of his houses and Elijah being extraordinarily moved and enabled by God girded up his long garment and ran â V. 46. Currebat ante Ahab ut officium honorarium Regi suo praestaret Is qui caelum clauserat tanquam unus e servis currit ante Regem Neque enim viri sancti hanc externam rerum pompam assis faciunt before his Chariot to shew him how ready he would be to honour and serve him if he would proceed on to remove Idolatry out of the land and perfect that work which was so happily begun by the slaughter of Baals Prophets 1 King 18. Ahab coming to Jezebel tells her the event of that contest between Elijah and the Prophets of Baal and the unavoidable execution of the Baalites that followed thereupon and to excuse himself to his imperious wife he represents their Execution as Elijah's act not his she falling into a great rage and passion like a rash and unadvised woman sent one to Elijah to tell him that she desired the gods might do so to her and more also if she did not make his life like one of theirs by to morrow about that time And hereby she gave him as it were fair warning to be gone Elijah hereupon flies for his life to Beersheba God suffering him to be overborn with fear of Jezebel now who e're while feared not Ahab and all his Baalites that he might see his own weakness and not be exalted in mind by reason of those great miracles that had been wrought by him so he now fled into another Kingdom viz. that of Judah where good Jehoshaphat reigned yea to the uttermost Southern part of it and from thence withdrew himself into the Wilderness as fearing lest Ahab or Jezebel should send some thither to dispatch him And therefore when he went from Beersheba he left his servant there because he would not expose him to the wants of the Wilderness and going a days journey in the Wilderness and sitting under a juniper tree he even wished for death and said it is enough O Lord I have lived long enough take away I pray thee my life I know I must die at one time or other for I am not better than my Fathers that have all died before me and seeing my life is so full of troubles and miseries I desire if it be thy holy will to end my days presently Then laying himself down to sleep under the tree as he slept behold an Angel touched him and said Arise and eat And he looked and behold there was a cake baking on the coals at his head and a cruse of water by him So he did eat and drink and laid him down to sleep again The Angel awoke him a second time and bad him arise and eat again for the journey that he was to take was too great for him except he were well refreshed beforehand by that provision which God by his holy Angels had now sent him Accordingly he did eat and drink again and in the strength of that food he travelled forty days and forty nights (a) Christ Moses and Elijah who all appeared together at Christs Transfiguration did each of them fast in their several times forty days and forty nights without any sustenance without any other sustenance even to Horeb (b) Non recta via progrediebatur alioqui tantum 4 aut 5 dieram iter erat sed fugientium more vias invias inopinatas sectatus est interdum substitit quievit latuit Et forte a principio non ei erat propositum ad Horeb proficisci sed per 40 dies per desertum vagatiis eo pervenit At Deus illum huc perduxit ut ibi institueret where the Lord formerly appeared unto Moses in a burning bush Being come thither and lodging in a cave the Lord asks him what he did there he answers I have been very zealous for the honour of the Lord God of hosts For the children of Israel have forsaken thy Covenant thrown down the Altars that have been erected to thee and have preferred Baal before thee and have slain thy Prophets and I even I only am left this he speaks according to his own apprehension * See Rom. 11.2 3. and they seek my life to take it away The Lord bad him go forth and stand upon mount Horeb where he would manifest his presence to him And behold the Lord immediately passed by in some visible manifestation of his glory 1. There was a great strong wind that rent the mountains and brake the rocks in pieces 2. An earthquake 3. After that a fire but the Lord was in none of these to wit did not in these speak to Elijah nor make known his mind to him These were the dreadful foregoing signs of Gods majesty and power to prepare Elijah with the more awe and reverence to hearken to what he should say to him and to strengthen his faith in Gods power who had all creatures at his command Then there came a still and small voice It seems Elijah stood all this while in the mouth of the Cave but kept himself somewhat inward till knowing that in that still voice the Lord would speak to him then he went to the very entrance of the Cave casting his mantle about his face out of an awful fear of Gods Majesty as Moses did Exod. 3.6 The Lord asks him by this still voice the same question he did before viz. what he did there and Elijah gave the same answer he had done before The Lord to comfort and support his spirit intimates to him that he took notice of and was sufficiently displeased with the Idolatry of the Israelites and intended to punish them severely for it And in order thereunto he bids him go to the Wilderness of Damascus and there anoint Hazael to be King over Syria and to anoint Jehu the Son of Nimshi to be King over Israel that is to anoint them himself or take order they should be anointed by others at the appointed times and to anoint Elisha to be a Prophet in his room to succeed him in the Prophetick office And the Lord tells him that he that escapes the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay For though the greatest destruction wrought by Hazael was towards the end of Jehu's reign 2 King 10.32 and after it 2 King 13.3 yet he began to destroy Israel before Jehu's time 2 King 8.28 and many of those who escaped Hazael's hands Jehu slew as Jehoram and others 2 King 9.24 And him that
observe how the Lord was pleased to intermix justice and mercy First justice in cutting Israel short even in Jehu's time 2 King 10.32 and in delivering them into the hands of the King of Syria in Jehoahaz time Ch. 13.3 2ly Mercy in making Jeboash and Jeroboam Saviours and Deliverers to them Ch. 13.15 2 King 15. from v. 8 to 13. SHALLVM having by the murther of Zachariah got the Kingdom he held it but one month The 15th King of Israel SHALLUM for Menahem going from Tirzah to Samaria slew him there and reigned in his stead 2 King 15. from 13 to 16. MENAHEM The 16th King of Israel MENAHEM having gotten the Kingdom held it ten years God suffering him to continue so long that he might be a scourge to that rebellious people He did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord. In the beginning of his reign as it seems coming to Tipsah not far from Tirzah in the Tribe of Ephraim the City refused to acknowledg him for their King and would not open their Gates to receive him Whereupon being highly enraged against them like a cruel Tyrant to terrifie other Cities from following their example he smote not only that City but all the coasts about it destroying the inhabitants and exercising all kind of cruelty insomuch that he ript up the very women with child To such monstrous barbarity does wrath mixt with scorn and disdain sometimes transport wicked men While he was tugging in those broils to hold the Kingdom God stirred up the spirit of Pul King of Assyria 1 Chron. 5.26 to invade the Kingdom of Israel This Pul seemeth to have been the self-fame man who was brought to repentance by the Preaching of Jonah so that here the men of Nineveh may seem to have risen up in judgment against this Nation If it were so God now raised up a repenting heathen to take vengeance on unrepenting Israel Menahem being unable to resist Pul he purchased his peace with him and gave him a thousand talents of silver to settle and confirm him in his Kingdom whereunto some refer that of Hos 5.13 When Ephraim saw his sickness and Judah saw his wound then went Ephraim to the Assyrian and sent to King Jareb yet could he not heal you nor cure you of your wound This great sum of money Menahem exacted of all the mighty men of wealth in the land of each man fifty shekels of silver and so the King of Assyria turned back from him He now dies and Pekahiah his Son reigns in his stead 2 King 15. from 16 to 23. PEKAHIAH began to reign in the fiftieth year of Vzziah King of Judah and reigned two years The 17th King of Israel PEKAHIAH and did evil in the sight of the Lord. Pekah the Son of Remaliah a Captain of his conspired against him and slew him in Samaria in his own Palace Argoh and Arieh and fifty Gileadites assisting him therein 1 King 15. from 23 to 27. PEKAH the Son of Remaliah began to reign in the fifty second year of Vzziah King of Judah The 18th King of Israel PEKAH and reigned twenty years * In the 2d year of his reign began Jotham King of Judah to reign He did evil in the sight of the Lord 2 King 15.27 28. In the 17th year of his reign he combines with Rezin King of Syria against Ahaz King of Judah and they go up with their joint forces to besiege Jerusalem and resolved to depose Ahaz and set up the Son of Tabeal probably some Syrian of note and eminency Ahaz is comforted and encouraged by the Prophet Isaiah against this confederacy of which see more in the life of Ahaz And at this time they could not overcome Ahaz nor take Jerusalem but afterwards dividing their forces they prevailed against him For God for his great sins gave him up first into the hands of the Syrians so that Rezin carried away captive many of the people to Damascus and then into the hands of the Israelites so that Pekah slew in one day an hundred and twenty thousand of them among whom was Maaziah the Kings Son and Azrikam the Governour of his house and Elkanah the second person to the King who were all slain by Zichri a mighty man of Ephraim and the Israelites carried away captive at that time out of Iudah two hundred thousand prisoners reckoning men women boys and girls and made a vast spoil of their goods and were carrying all these to Samaria But before they came thither upon the counsel of Oded a Prophet of the Lord and the command of the Princes and Elders of Samaria they released all that vast number of prisoners and restored them their goods again and treated them kindly and caused them to be conveyed safe to their brethren at Iericho See more of this in the life of Ahaz 2 King 16.5 6. Isai 7. from v. 1 to 17. 2 Chron. 28. from 5 to 16. Ahaz being brought low by the Syrians and Israelites sends to Tiglath-Pileser King of Assyria Son to Pul who had not many years before invaded the land of Israel in the days of Menahem to desire his help against these two Kings Hereupon Tiglath-Pileser came up first against Syria and took Damascus and slew Rezin 2 King 16.9 and then he invaded Israel and led away the people of Gilead or Peraea to wit the Reubenites the Gadites and the half Tribe of Manasseh unto Chabor and Haran and Gozan Then passing over Iordan possessed himself of Galilee * Galilaea magna ex parte constabat Tribubus Zebulun Naphtali Tirin and carried away the inhabitants of Zebulun and Naphtali into Assyria so that at this time he subdued in a manner five Tribes of Israel to wit those without Iordan who as they had first their inheritance given them so were the first that were carried away captive and the Tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali who were setled in Galilee And this was the first captivity of Israel Neither do we read that these or their children ever returned again to their own land 2 King 16.7 2 Chron. 28.16 2 King 15.29 1 Chron. 5.26 Pekah having got the Crown at first by murdering Pekahiah his Soveraign and having unfortunately engaged against Ahaz King of Iudah and thereby brought Tiglath-Pileser upon him who had carried so many of his subjects away captive into Assyria 't is no wonder he should fall into the hatred of the people Hereupon Hoshea the Son of Ela conspired against him and slew him and reigned in his stead in the twentieth year of Iotham that is in the twentieth year since Jotham began to reign Some learned men think that Jotham reigned only sixteen years as 't is said 2 King 15.33 but that he lived twenty years after he was setled in the Throne of Judah and that four years before he died he wholly resigned his Kingdom to his Son Ahaz So it was in the fourth year of Ahaz that Hoshea slew Pekah and in
a deadly hatred as appears Joh. 4. 9. the main difference between them in point of Religion is briefly and clearly stated in those words of the woman of Samaria to our Saviour Our Fathers viz. Samaritans worshipped in this mountain viz. Gerizim but ye Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship Joh. 4.20 And observable it is that whereas Moses appointed an Altar to be built on Mount Ebal which Joshua accordingly afterwards erected in that place Josh 8.30 Yet the Samaritan Penteteuch maketh the same to be built on Mount Gerizim in the very place where afterwards this mock-temple stood to gain thereto the greater reputation of holiness and so they wilfully depraved the original vide Samarit Pentet in Deut. 27.4 But if besides the five Books of Moses these Samaritans had received the Books of the Prophets their testimony would have overthrown their cause for the Psalmist says expresly Psal 78. 67. He refused the Tabernacle of Joseph and chose not the Tribe of Ephraim but chose the Tribe of Judah the mount Sion which he loved But to return this Temple on mount Gerizim Antiochus Epiphanes afterwards turned into the Temple of Jupiter who is celebrated for hospitality and it was destroyed something before the time of our Saviour by John Hircanus after it had stood above two hundred years But though the Temple was taken away yet the mountain remained still in which the Samaritans continued their adoration and false worship Here Ends the Reigns of the KINGS of ISRAEL Kings of Judah The first King of Judah REHOBOAM SOlomon being dead some of the Heads and Officers of Israel immediately sent into Egypt for Jeroboam to come to them and it seems they contriv'd among themselves that before they would Crown Rehoboam King they would petition him to be eased of the Taxes his Father in the latter part of his reign had imposed on them For though he made not the Israelites bondmen Ch. 9.22 yet we read of large provisions that were gathered in the land to maintain the royalty of his Court Ch. 4.7 22 23. and of levies made for his buildings Ch. 9.15 and in his declining age especially when he was carried away by his Idolatrous wives and concubines undoubtedly heavier Taxes were laid on the people and it may be Hadad's and Rezons enmity against him might also occasion some impositions These Taxes they resolved to be eased of before they admitted him to the Government And it seems they met at Sechem a City in the Tribe of Ephraim to consult of these matters and from thence sent to Rehoboam that there they were convened to Crown him Rehoboam accordingly going thither Jeroboam and the heads of the people came to him and spake to him saying Thy Father made our yoke grievous now therefore we pray thee ease thou somewhat the grievous servitude of thy Father and his heavy yoke that he put upon us and we will serve thee Rehoboam took three days time to consider of the matter of their petition in which alone he shewed himself wise Solomon's Son and during that time he consulted first with the old men that had been Counsellors and servants to his Father and askt them what answer he should return to the people They told him if he would be kind to them and please them for this once and yield to them and speak good words to them they would be his servants and obedient subjects for ever but if he did otherwise they would be in danger to revolt from him Rehoboam liked not their advice and therefore advised with the younger men that had been brought up with him and now attended on him and they told him that this people were not to be pleased or humoured but to be ratled and rigorously dealt with and therefore advised him to tell them that if they complained of his fathers taxes and impositions he would give them more cause to complain of his They should find that his little finger would be thicker than his Fathers loyns If his Fathers yoke that he laid upon them was heavy he would add to their yoke If his Father chastis'd them with whips he would chastise them with scorpions This is the answer they advise him to give them Accordingly on the third day Jeroboam and the heads of the people coming again to him he forsaking the counsel of the old men answered them roughly according to the words which the young men had put into his mouth Thus Rehoboam regarded not the desire and petition of the people but utterly rejected it for the thing was of the Lord who with-held the spirit of wisdom and counsel from him else he might easily have discerned what the event would be and gave him over to be misled by rash and evil counsellors and thereupon alienated the hearts of the people from him intending thereby to perform the word that he spake by Ahijah the Shilonite concerning Jeroboam This sharp and rigorous answer of the King gave such a general distaste to the people that they would no longer stay to advise upon it but ten of the twelve Tribes unanimously manifested a present and peremptory resolution to fall off from him and muttered after this manner What portion say they have we in David * See the like speech of Sheba 2 Sam. 20.1 to which possibly they allude that is What good can we expect from Davids stock or what inheritance have we in the Son of Jesse What advantage or profit can we expect from any of his posterity To your Tents â Because they of old dwelt in Tents this phrase is still continued in use among them O Israel let us no longer stay here to make our selves slaves to this Tyrant but every man look to his own house and out of our own Tribes let us choose us a King and look thou to thy own house Rehoboam who art descended of David and make much of thy own Tribe for beyond their bounds thy Kingdom is not like to extend We are resolved to take care of our selves and to choose a King from among our own Tribes Rehoboam seeing the people in such a mutiny and distemper he sends Adoram who was over the Tribute to pacifie them hoping no doubt but they would reverence so venerable an old man as he was who was not much short of an hundred years of age having enjoyed that office above sixty years viz. from the midst of David's reign see 2 Sam. 20.24 and all Solomon's until now But he being one of those who they thought promoted the laying of Impositions upon the people the very sight of him did so enrage them that in a mutinous and outragious manner they fell upon him and stoned him to death Upon this Rehoboam thought it high time for him to be gone and therefore speedily getting into his Chariot he fled to Jerusalem Things being now come to this desperate pass immediately ten Tribes fell off from Rehoboam and chose Jeroboam the
acception for those Countries that lay beyond Jordan but Westward something Southward and that some of them were already come to Engedi a City on the West-side of that Sea Jehoshaphat was hereat much startled and being greatly afraid he set himself to seek help from the Lord and proclaimed a â See Judg. 20.26 1 Sam. 7.6 Ezra 8.21 23. Neh. 1.4.9.11 Esth 4.9 Fast throughout all Judah that they might all joyn in humbling thomselves before the Lord and earnest supplication to him for mercy and so their prayers might be the more prevalent and effectual And Judah and Benjamin gathered themselves together out of the Cities and Towns that belong'd to Jehoshaphat's jurisdiction and came to Jerusalem to the Temple to seek the Lord and to beg help of him And Jehoshaphat stood before this great Assembly probably upon the Brazen Scaffold in the great Court (a) We read Chap. 15.8 that Asa renewed the Altar of the Lord which stood in this Court He might also repair the whole Court Or perhaps Jehoshaphat himself had done it Others understand it of the Court of the people which had been lately repaired and perhaps divided into two Courts the one being appointed for the men and the other for the women For though when Solomon built it it was but one Court yet afterwards they say it was divided into two where the people used to meet which was before the Priests Court newly repaired and beautified and prayed unto the Lord saying O Lord God of our Fathers art not thou God in heaven and rulest thou not over all the Kingdoms of the heathen and in thy hand is there not power and might so that none is able to withstand thee Art not thou our God who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend * This Title is three times given to Abraham here and Isa 41.8 and Jam. 2.3 Thus our Saviour stiled Lazarus Friends Joh. 11.11 and his Disciples Friends Joh. 15.15 for ever â That is to the coming of the Messiah And they dwell therein and have built a Temple therein for the honour of thy name and they humbly desired of thee when they consecrated it 1 King 8.30 that if any evil came upon them at any time as the sword pestilence or famine or any other dreadful judgment and they stood before this house in which thy name is call'd upon and cried unto thee in their affliction that then thou wouldst please to hear and help them And now behold O Lord the children of Moab and Ammon and Mount Seir whom thou wouldst not permit Israel to invade when they came out of the land of Egypt but didst command them to turn from them and not to destroy them behold how they now reward us who are coming in this hostile manner to cast us out of the possession which thou hast given us O our God wilt not thou judge them and punish them for this As for our selves we must needs acknowledg that we have no might or power comparatively to resist this vast body of people that cometh against us we know not what to do but our eyes are upon thee on thee only we rest and depend and from thee alone we humbly expect help Thus all Judah for some from every place were there present stood before the Lord with their wives and little ones For in times of publick humiliations they us'd to bring their little ones to the publick assemblies see Joel 2.16 that their own bowels might be the more moved at the sight of their children now in danger to be cruelly butchered by the enemy and so their hearts might be stirred up to be more serious and earnest in their supplications to God for help Immediately the spirit of Prophesie fell upon Jehaziel a Levite of the Sons of Asaph as he stood in midst of the Congregation and he spake to the King and all the Congregation Thus saith the Lord Be not afraid nor dismaid by reason of this great multitude for the battel is not yours but Gods God himself will fight for you he will not so much as use you for instruments to vanquish this great host To morrow go ye down against them behold they come by the cliff of Ziz and ye shall find them at the end of the valley before the wilderness of Israel Ye shall not need to fight in this battel Compose your selves quietly to expect the deliverance that God will give you Stand ye still fly upon your enemies you shall see the salvation of the Lord will be with you and he will deliver you therefore fear not nor be dismaid Jehoshaphat hearing this joyful news bowed his head with his face to the ground and all the people also fell down before the Lord and worshipped him and the Levite-singers stood up to praise the Lord with an high and loud voice accounting the victory already gotten because promised by one of the Lords Prophets And so they departed with great comfort for that time The next morning they rose very early and marched forth into the Wilderness of Tekoa betwixt which and Israel was the Cliff of Ziz and as they marched forth Jehoshaphat said to them Believe and trust in the Lord your God so shall ye be established and your minds setled believe his Prophets particularly what Jahaziel yesterday prophesied unto you and so shall ye prosper And when he had consulted with the Commanders of the Army what was fit for them to do he as being by faith assured of the victory appointed some of the Levite-singers to go before the Army and to sing the high praises of God and to praise the Lord in whom is the beauty and perfection of holiness * V. 21. Some by the beauty of holiness understand Gods most holy Majesty who dwelleth in Heaven where is the beauty of Holiness and to do it according to that beautiful and holy order that was prescribed in the Temple and especially to sing praise ye the Lord for his mercy endureth for ever which was the foot of several Psalmes of Thanksgiving composed by David and particularly of the 136 Psalm It might seem a strange thing for an Army to march against a potent enemy in such a manner as this but Jehoshaphat firmly relying on what God had promised he found the success answering his faith for when the Levites began to sing praises unto the Lord and as it were to triumph before hand for the victory promised the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon Moab and Mount Seir that is sent a spirit of discord and dissention among them so that the Ammonites and Moabites suspecting those of Mount Seir * The Edomites that join'd now with the Moabites and Ammonites against Jehoshaphat might be only some voluntarie mercenaries not sent out by the State of Edom that was in subjection to the Kingdom of Judah and it seems they
in the enterprize But Amaziah was nothing mov'd with what he said for whom God intendeth to destroy he usually first hardens and God intended to punish him for his abominable Idolatry into which he had lately fallen Joash understanding this would not stay till Amaziah came to him but he enters Judah with a strong Army wisely resolving to make his Enemies Country the stage of the war So they met in a pitcht field at Bethshemesh which belongs to Judah and Judah was worsted before Israel and Amaziah himself taken prisoner and brought in Triumph * Thus in this Amaziah the Son of Joash King of Judah God did yet further revenge the death of Zachariah the Son of Jehniada who was most inhumanely and ungratefully murdered in his fathers days according to what he said at his death the Lord will look upon it and require it and withall Amaziah himself was severely punished for his Apostacy to Idolatry to Jerusalem by Joash which City as it seems standing out against him he battered down that part of the wall by the North-gate which was towards Ephraim even four hundred cubits in length and so took the City by force then he seized upon all the gold and silver and all the vessels that were found in the house of the Lord with the posterity of Obed-Edom who were porters and keepers of the treasures in the Temple 1 Chron. 26.15 as also the treasures of the Kings house And having made what spoil he thought fit in Jerusalem he set Amaziah free upon certain conditions imposed upon him and his subjects and for the surer performance of the Covenants on Judah's part he took hostages of him viz. some noble mens children whom he carried along with him to Samaria And he chose rather to go away with his present spoil than to hazard all by endeavouring to conquer the Kingdom of Judah which he was not like to hold if he did obtain the subjects thereof being so greatly addicted to the house of David Amaziah lived after this fifteen years but a very miserable life for his subjects were so disaffected to him for the Idolatry he had brought in that from that time they began to conspire against him though it broke not forth openly till by his rash unadvised and unprosperous war with Joash he had brought so many miseries upon his Kingdom The conspiracy now breaking forth he fled to Lachish and possibly there hid himself and lived in obscurity so those that had conspired against him as it seems governed the affairs of the Kingdom in his absence About twelve years after these conspirators being men of power in the Kingdom upon some new occasion were so enraged against him that they sent some to Lachish to slay him Amaziah being dead they brought him from Lachish in a Chariot drawn with horses and buried him in Jerusalem with his fathers 2 King 14. from v. 1. to 21. 2 Chron. 25. wh Ch. Tenth King of Judah UZZIAH VZZIAH or Azariah as he is called 2 King 15.1 Son of Amaziah was the next that reigned in Judah In Mat. 1.8 't is said that Vzziah succeeded Joram And Joram begat Ozias whereas there were four that reigned in Judah between Joram and Vzziah viz. Ahaziah Athaliah Joash and Amaziah Some think that these were omitted because of their evil Government and unnatural deaths each of them being slain one after another or because by the mother-side they descended from the stock of wicked Ahab whose house the Lord doomed to be rooted up Vzziah when his Father was slain was about four or five years old and there seems to have been a kind of Interregnum or vacancy in the Throne of Judah for about twelve years viz from the 15th to the 27th year of Jeroboam the second King of Israel at which time Vzziah being sixteen years of age was setled in the Throne by the general consent of the people and not till then And this possibly may be intimated to us by that unusual phrase And all the people of Judah took Vzziah being sixteen years old and made him King instead of his Father 2 King 14.21 And this might happen partly by reason of his minority and partly through the prevalency of some powerful men who perchance had had a hand in putting his Father to death or possibly the Government of the Kingdom might be carried on in his name all that time though he came not to the full exercise of his Regal power till the 27th year of Jeroboam So that the twelve years from his Fathers death which happened in the 15th year of Jeroboam see 2 King 14.23 unto the 27th of Jeroboam when he was put into full possession of the Crown are to be accounted into the number of the fifty two years he is said to have reigned and according to this account in the 26th year of his reign Jeroboam died After which it seems there was an Interregnum or vacancy in the Kingdom of Israel also for about eleven or twelve years viz. to the 38th year of Vzziah's reign After which Zachariah reigned in Israel six months Shallum one month Menahem ten years Pekahiah two years and Pekah had reigned a year or something more before he died which was in the fifty second year of his reign 2 King 15.27 so that he lived in the times of six Kings that sat on the Throne of Israel In the beginning of his reign he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord and maintained the worship of God uncorrupt as his Father had done save that the high places were not removed but the people still offered sacrifice and burnt incense on them And during the life of Zachariah Son of that Zachariah that was stoned in the Temple who was an eminent Prophet and had understanding in the visions of God that is was accustomed to see visions and had a singular understanding in ancient Prophesies and so was able to counsel and instruct Vzziah in matters that concerned the knowledg of God and his Laws and possibly was skilful to interpret the dreams and night-visions of others as Joseph and Daniel were I say during the life of this Prophet Vzziah sought the Lord and so long the Lord made him to prosper He recovered Elath a City near the Red-Sea which had been taken from the Crown of Judah by the enemies bordering upon it and repair'd and fortified it In Ahaz's time it was lost again being taken by the Syrians see 2 King 14.22 He was a great warrior he had under his command three hundred seven thousand five hundred fighting men under two thousand and six hundred Captains all which were dispos'd into Regiments and companies and registred that they might be in readiness against any urgent occasion And he furnished all these with Shields and Spears Helmets and Habergeons * Armour for Back and Brest and Bows and Slings to cast stones He was very victorious against the Philistines of whose Towns he brake down the
be taken out of the offerings which were laid up in the Treasuries of the Temple and those being much exhausted by Ahaz and the people being much impoverished by inrodes of enemies Hezekiah for the ease of the people appointed a portion for and towards these sacrifices out of his own revenue He commanded also the people that dwelt at Jerusalem to give to the Priests and Levites the portion and maintenance that by the Law belonged to them that so being freed from distracting worldly cares they might the better attend to their work and might search into and study and meditate on the Law of God and faithfully expound it to the people teaching them to perform the duties therein commanded And the children of Israel in and about Jerusalem when this command was first given brought in abundance of the first-fruits of corn wine and oyl and honey and of the things that grew out of the earth and the tythe of all things that were by the Law injoined And those that dwelt in the Cities of Judah brought in the tythe of oxen and sheep and all other things which were ordained to be set apart from the rest of their goods as being consecrated unto God and given to the Priests and Levites And they brought in so abundantly that they laid them by heaps and they began to make those heaps and to bring in their tythes to the house of the Lord in the third month which was the beginning of their harvest and finished them in the seventh month when they gathered all other fruits of the land and which was counted the last of their harvest And therefore the Feast of Tabernacles which was in that month was called the feast of ingathering in the end of the year Exod. 23.16 When Hezekiah and the Princes came and saw those heaps which were many and great ones they blessed the Lord for stirring up the people to bring in their tythes so chearfully and so plentifully and blessed the people for their forwardness therein Then the King asked the Priests and Levites how it came to pass seeing there were many of them that they had spent no more of the provisions brought in for them Azariah the chief Priest of the house of Zadock made this answer Be Be pleas'd to understand O King that since the people began to bring in their first-fruits and tythes into the house of the Lord we have had enough to eat and have left a great deal besides For God hath so abundantly blessed his people that their offerings have not only yeilded us sufficient provision but this overplus which thou seest here is also left Then the King commanded that they should prepare Chambers and storehouses wherein to lay up what remained for the future and ordered that the tythes and offerings and dedicate things should be laid up in them and appointed Cononiah the Levite and Shimei his brother to be Treasurers and to keep an account of what was brought in and what was delivered out according to the order established 1 Chron. 26.20 Then there are ten set down by name who were overseers under them by the command of the King and the high Priest who had the chief rule over those that belonged to the house of the Lord. And Core who was Porter at the East-gate and six under him had charge to distribute the oblations and tythes to the Priests and Levites and that to all sorts of them as they were set in their several courses both great and small viz. to every one what was sufficient for him And they were to distribute them also to the young ones who were in their Genealogies of males from three years old and upward and to those that were registred in the Genealogies of Priests and Levites from twenty years old and upward who came in their particular courses to do service in the house of the Lord. Nay further they were to distribute them to all their little ones that were registred though under three years and to their wives sons and daughters throughout the whole multitude or congregation of Priests and Levites for they having sanctified themselves in their distinct offices for the holy service of the Temple they had not time or leisure to provide temporal things for themselves their wives and children as others had And besides those persons before mentioned that were to distribute the holy things to those that dwelt at Jerusalem or came up thither in their several courses to perform their service at the Temple there were others also of the Priests chosen that dwelt in the other Cities of the Kingdom that were to give portions to the Priests and Levites whose names were registred according to their Families who were then abiding in those places and not attending at the Temple This care did Hezekiah take throughout all Judah and he did that which was good and right in the eyes of the Lord and he did it in truth and sincerity And in every work that he began relating to the service of the house of the Lord and to the observance of the Moral Law and the ordinances about Divine worship by all which he took care that God might be duly sought unto and honoured and obeyed he did it uprightly and with a fervent zeal and the Lord prospered him therein 2 Chron. 31. from v. 2 to the end About this time as 't is supposed that Copy of Solomon's Proverbs mentioned Prov. 25.1 was found and transcribed by some of Hezekiah's servants out of the old Manuscript which was as 't is like much spotted and soiled with time and neglect Further we are to observe what an excellent character is given of Hezekiah 2 King 18.5 6. viz. that he trusted in the Lord God of Israel so that after him there was none like him among all the Kings of Judah since the rent of the Kingdoms nor before him He excelled those that went before him in removing the high places which neither Jehoshaphat nor any of the good Kings of Judah had hitherto done But as for those that were after him some may object that which is said of Josiah 2 King 23.25 viz. that there was no King before him like unto him But to this we may answer that though Josiah excelled Hezekiah in some things yet in other things Hezekiah excelled him For Hezekiah was the first that removed the high places but when Josiah removed them he had Hezekiah's example to encourage him therein and Hezekiah was more successful in war than Josiah They were indeed both excellent Princes though in some things the one might excell the other 'T is further said of Hezekiah that he clave to the Lord and departed not from following him but kept his commandments And the Lord was with him and he prospered him in all his enterprizes As in particular in his wars against the Philistines against whom he mightily prevailed and took all those Cities from them which they had taken from his father Ahaz see 2 Chron. 28.18 But we
must now for the better understanding this History of Hezekiah look a little into the neighbour Kingdom of Israel We shall find that in the days of Menahem the sixteenth King that there reigned who began to reign in the 39th year of Vzziah that God stirred up the spirit of Pul King of Assyria to invade the Kingdom of Israel 1 Chron. 5.26 and he made great spoil among them Then in the latter end of the reign of Pekah the eighteenth King of Israel who began to reign in the 52 year of Vzziah Tiglath-pileser Son of Pul carried away captive the people of Gilead and Peraea to wit the Reubenites Gadites and half the tribe of Manasseh unto Chabor and Haran and then passing over Jordan possessed himself of Galilee and carried away the inhabitants of Napthali into Assyria So that at this time he subdued in a manner five Tribes of Israel 2 King 15.29 Tiglath-pilesar dying Salmanassar his Son succeeded him who in the ninth year of Hoshea and sixth of Hezekiah after three years siege took Samaria and their King Hoshea and carried away the Israelites captives into his own Country as we shall see more in the life of Hoshea So that the Kingdom of Israel now came to an end Sometime after Salmanassar dies and his Son Sennacherib reigned in his stead whom Herodotus Lib. 2. calleth King both of Assyria and Arabia too Perchance for that the Assyrians at that time together with Peraea or the land of Gilead and Hamath or Ituraea had also under their power a part of Arabia either Petrea or Deserta For Ava or Ivah which Sennacherib so much boasteth of to have been conquered by him or his ancestors 2 King 18.34 and Ch. 19.13 was a Country lying in the desert of Arabia as Fran. Junius affirms upon 2 King 17.24 And the Prophet Isaiah foretelling the calamity which was to befall the Moabites under Salmanassar Isa 15.7 and Ch. 16.14 threatens them that whatever they had laid up in store the Assyrians should carry it away into the valley of the Arabians Sennacherib now about the eleventh or twelfth year of Hezekiah as 't is probable resolving to make war against the Egyptians perhaps because they had been so lately assistant to the Israelites against the Assyrians in the reign of Salmanassar and an occasion of their revolt see 2 King 17.4 and the Philistines as it seems joining with him therein he sends part of his Army under Tartan one of his Generals to besiege Ashdod or Azotus which City Hezekiah had sometime before recovered out of the hands of the Philistines Now that this war lasted three whole years may be gathered out of Isa 20. where the Prophet putting off his coat of hairy cloth belonging to his Prophetical function see Zach. 13.4 from his loins and his shoos from his feet was commanded to walk up and down naked and bare foot as some conceive three days a day being put for a year to signifie to the Egyptians and Ethiopians that when that time was once run out they should in like manner being stript of their clothes and barefoot be led away into captivity and bondage by the King of Assyria which command the Prophet is said to have received in the year when Tartan being sent by Sargon King of Assyria besieged Ashdod and took it Isa 20.1 where by Sargon we must understand Sennacherib himself among whose Commanders this Tartan is particularly named 2 King 18.17 And the King of Assyria sent Tartan and Rabsaris and Rabshakeh from Lachish c. Hezekiah whether provoked by Sennacherib's taking of Ashdod so injuriously from him or for other reasons resolves now to shake off the King of Assyria's yoke which his Father Ahaz had taken on him and would no longer pay him Tribute Hereupon Sennacherib in the fourteenth year * Eight years after Shalmanasser had taken Samaria of Hezekiah even after he had made so good an establishment of Religion see 2 Chron. 32.1 bringing his Army out of Egypt where he had made great havock of which calamity the Prophet Nahum seems to speak Ch. 3.10 Yet was she carried away she went into captivity her young children also were dashed in pieces at the top of all the streets and they cast lots for her honourable men and all her great men were bound in chains invades the Kingdom of Judah and besieges many of their fenced Cities and took many of them Hezekiah bestirs himself with all diligence to defend himself and his Kingdom against him And to that end by the advice of his Captains and Council he fill'd up the fountains and springs that were without the City of Jerusalem and covered them with earth and carried the waters by pipes under ground into the City that so the Assyrians if they came to besiege the City might be distressed for want of water also the brook Gihon or Siloe which ran through the midst of the Country where Jerusalem stood and divided it self into two streams one of them he turned from the usual channel and brought it strait down into the west-side of the City of David 2 Chron. 32.30 and made a great pond to receive the water of it for the benefit of the besieged And the Princes and the people did much assist him therein Also he fortified Jerusalem and built up that part of the wall that was broken down by Joash King of Israel in Amaziah's time which breach it seems was not fully repaired till now and he made the wall strong and high and made also another wall without as an Antimural or outwork see 2 King 25.4 and repaired Millo in the City of David which some think was their Town-house where the people had their general assembly or else some fort in the City he also provided all sorts of arms offensive and defensive and set Officers and Commanders over his Souldiers and calling them together into the broad street that was by the City-gate he spake comfortably to them after this manner My good subjects and faithful souldiers be ye strong and courageous be not afraid of the King of Assyria nor of the great multitude that is with him For there be more with us than with him with him is only the arm of flesh but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battels And the people rested themselves on the words of Hezekiah 2 King 18.13 2 Chron. 32. from v. 1 to 9. Hezekiah seeing how soon the Assyrian had taken many of the fenced Cities of Judah and that proceeding on in his victories he had also laid siege to Lachish he began to entertain thoughts of buying his peace with him Hereupon he sent his Ambassadours to him to acknowledg his offence in denying the tribute and to intreat his favour yielding withal to pay whatever tribute he should impose upon him Sennacherib being puft up with his success requires of him three hundred Talents of Silver and thirty Talents of Gold * Which amounts to
power I striking fear into their hearts and were dismayed and confounded nay they were as the grass of the field and as the grass on the house-tops which soon withereth away and as the corn that is blasted before it be grown up And as for thee I know thine abode and where thou dwellest and what thou dost meditate against me at home and abroad when thou goest out and when thou comest in I know all thy counsels and actions both publick and private I know thy rage against me and how thou reproachest my power and threatnest me as if I were an Idol See Isa 36.20 And because thy rage against me and thy tumult is come into my ears that is because I have heard thy outragious and ruffling words I will put my hook into thy nose and my bridle into thy lips and will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest that is thou shalt go as thou camest without effecting what thou designest against Jerusalem Thus the Prophet delivered to Hezekiah the mind of God concerning the King of Assyria Then he tells the King and the people that this shall be a sign to them by which they may assuredly know that they are loved of God with a Fatherly love viz. that though they had been hindred from sowing and planting this year by reason of the Assyrians invading their land and though they could not sow nor plant the next year because it was the Sabbatical year yet they should have plenty of corn notwithstanding that should grow and spring of it self without any tillage from the scattered seeds that fell on the earth the former years And herein says he the Providence of God will eminently appear for you that the ground shall yield of it self sufficient food for three years together for though in the third year ye may sow and reap and plant vineyards and eat the fruit thereof yet ye cannot reap what ye shall sow in that year until the end of it therefore it will be no less than miraculous that two years together so much corn shall grow of it self as shall serve you for three years The Prophet further encourages them and bids them not fear because their Nation was reduc'd to a small number nor think that therefore they should not be able long to subsist for he tells them that that small remnant of them which shall escape the sword of the Assyrians shall be like a thriving flourishing tree that shoots its roots downwards and its branches upward on which it bringeth forth much fruit So they shall be well setled in their Nation and shall be fruitful in it He further tells them that that remnant which is now shut up in Jerusalem and mount Zion shall go out of it when the siege is raised into all parts of the land of Judah and shall inhabit it and replenish it shall sow the ground and reap the fruit thereof For the zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this that is the zeal he hath for his own glory and the love he bears to his people and the indignâtion he hath against âis enemies will move him to do it And further says he let the King and all his faithful people encourage themselves for thus saith the Lord Sennacherib shall not come into this City nor force the Gates of it nor shoot an arrow at those that stand upon the wall neither shall he assault it with men armed with shields nor cast a bank or trench * This is to be understood of Sennacherib himself and the Army that he personally commanded for though he did not closely besioge Jerusalem himself nor make a Trench about it yet it seems part of his Army did as we may gather from Isaiah 29.3 against it but he shall go back the way that he came for I will defend this City and save it for mine own sake and for my servant Davids sake because of the promise I made to him that I would establish the Throne of his Kingdom â 2 Chron 7.18 2 King 19. from 8 to 35. 2 Chron. 32. from 10 to 21. Isa 37. from 8 to 36. Hezekiah about this time viz. in the fourteenth year of his reign when the Assyrian Army lay about Jerusalem fell extreme sick and his sickness seemed such as threatned to put an end to his life The Prophet Isaiah coming to him from the Lord bad him set his house in order for he should die This sentence though very sad in it self yet seemed not absolute but conditional and so Hezekiah understood it and accordingly turning his face to the wall as he lay in his bed he earnestly prayed to the Lord to spare his life saying Remember now O Lord how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart and have done that which was good in thy sight He mentions not his good deeds as if he thought them meritorious but only that he might incline the Lord the rather to shew him mercy for the Lord is more ready to shew mercy to those that walk according to his laws and commandments than to those that disobey them And Hezekiah wept sore He had many reasons to desire to be spared at this time For first if he should now die he should leave Judah and Jerusalem under the pressure of Sennacherib and should not see the delivery of it 2ly He had no Son as yet to succeed him in the Throne and it could not but be a matter of great sorrow and grief to him to think that the promise made to David and Solomon 1 King 8.25 should not appertain to him He knew also that the Mâssiah was to spring from the seed of David and he being lineally descended from David if he lived to have issue he might hope that the Messiah might spring from him from which hope he should be cut off if he died at this time 3ly He had reason to think that they who were so ready to ascribe the calamities of his time unto him because he had broken down the Idolatrous Altars and Images and made a reformation would be more ready to ascribe them to him if he now died and would say though unjustly that for this cause God had cut him off in displeasure And therefore for this reason he pleads his integrity and that what he had done in the reformation of Religion he had done it with an upright heart knowing it to be well-pleasing unto God And accordingly he found that the Lord was well pleased with it for before the Prophet was gone out of the middle Court of the Kings house he was sent back again to the King with this comfortable message Thus saith the Lord the God of David thy Father intimating to him thereby that he was mindful of his promise made to David 1 King 2.4 I have seen thy tears and am moved to compassion by them and I will spare thy life and add unto thy days fifteen years and on the third day from hence
seemeth to have been missing ever since the beginning of Manasseh's reign who possibly at first endeavoured to burn all the Books of the Law and so this Book was hid in some secret place of the Temple by some faithful Priest that it might be preserved for future times Hilkiah having found it he sent it by Shaphan the Scribe unto the King who having heard it read all over to him was exceedingly affected therewith and rent his clothes and more especially as 't is likely at those dreadful threatnings against Idolatry which are written in Levit. 26. Deut. 28. Hereupon he immediately sent to (b) Miriam and Deborah and Anna were all Prophetesses Thus the Lord is pleas'd to endue some women with the spirit of Prophesie to shew that he is not tyed to any sex Huldah a famous Prophetess who dwelt in Ierusalem in the suburbs or second part and desired her to ask counsel of the Lord for him Ieremy possibly being not then at Ierusalem but at Anathoth For Iosiah hearing those curses in the Law denounced against Idolatry and knowing how much some of his Predecessors had been guilty thereof he much seared lest the judgments threatned in that Book might fall upon him and his people and desired to know whither there might be any means to pacifie Gods wrath and prevent those judgments Huldah returned this answer Thus saith the Lord Behold I will bring evil upon this place and upon the inhabitants thereof even all the curses written in the Book which the King of Judah hath read because they have forsaken me and burnt incense to other gods and have provoked me to anger with the works of their hands viz. their idols and altars therefore my wrath shall be kindled against this place and shall not be quenched intimating the utter extirpation of the Jews out of that good land but to the King of Judah who sent you say to him Thus saith the Lord as touching the words and threatnings which thou hast heard read out of the Book because thy heart was tender and soon moved at the hearing of my threatnings and thou hast humbled thy self before me when thou heardest what I spake against this place and the inhabitants thereof that they should become a desolation and a curse that is have the curses written in this Book executed upon it and hast rent thy clothes and wept before me Behold I will gather thee unto thy pious ancestors in heaven before these dreadful calamities shall fall upon this place and people and thou shalt be gathered unto thy grave in peace This answer of Huldahs being brought to the King his heart was so affected with it that to prevent if it were possible this judgment threatned he called together the Elders of Judah and Jerusalem together with the Priests and Prophets viz. Jeremy Baruck Zephany and Vriah and the people both small and great and caused one of the Levites to read in their ears all the words of the Book of the Covenant * The Law is called a Cove an t because obedâence was therein requir'd on the peoples part and a blessing thereupon promised on Gods part so called because it contained the Covenant that God made with the people of Israel See 1 King 8.9 And the King stood by the Pillar on the Brasen Scaffold or on some Throne erected by a pillar in the Temple for him to stand upon at that time and there solemnly made a Covenant before the Lord in his own name and the name of the people to walk after the Lord that is to observe what he prescrib'd unto them and to keep his commandments testimonies and statutes with all their heart and with all their soul and to perform the words of the Covenant written in that Book and he caused all that were present to give their consent to it and the inhabitants of Jerusalem were the most forward to engage themselves to walk according to the Covenant of the Lord God of their Fathers and did accordingly so walk Then the King commanded Hilkiah the High Priest and the Priests that were next unto him and the Levites to bring forth out of the Temple * Josiah did begin to purge Judah and Jerusalem of Idols in the twelfth year of his reign six years before the Book of the Law was found but upon hearing those dreadful threatnings in the Law against Idolatry he now proceeded further and perfected that reformation which was then begun Therefore the Penman of the Sacred History of the Chronicles relating the Reformation that Josiah wrought in the twelfth year of his reign adds also what was done afterwards when the Book of the Law was found and speaking how he suppressed Idolatry upon the hearing of the Law read to him he joins many things of the same nature that were done in the twelfth year of his reign that all his zealous acts in rooting out Idolatry might he related together all the vessels that were made for Baal and used in his worship or in the Idolatrous worship of the Groves or of the Host of Heaven and he burnt them in the field by which the river Kidron did run and carried the ashes of them to Bethel therewith to defile the prime seat of Jeroboams Idolatry These things had been us'd by Manasseh and Amon but were set aside as it seems in some by-place of the Temple in Josiah's time and seeing still they remained there this good King's zeal would not permit them to be there any longer And he put down the Idolatrous Priests or Chemarim whom the Kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in high places in the Cities of Judah and in places round about Jerusalem He put down those also who burnt incense to Baal or to the Sun Moon and the Planets and host of heaven and he brought out the Image whereon a grove was engraven which it seems was hung up in the Temple and stampt it to powder and cast the dust thereof upon the graves of those that had worshipped Idols and sacrificed unto them 2 Chron. 34.4 And he brake down the Tents of the Sodomites that were in the grove by the house of the Lord and where the women wove hangings for those filthy tents so that in that grove they not only worshipped Idols but as it seems defiled themselves also with all manner of abominable uncleanness And he brought all the Priests that were the Sons of Aaron and had served the true God in high places out of the Cities where they had exercised that false worship and would not suffer them to live there and he defiled the high places even from Geba the North border of the Kingdom of Judah to Beersheba the South-border and beat down their Altars and burned dead mens bones on them v. 14. to make them unclean and brake down the high places that were erected at the entring of the Gates by Joshua the Governour of the City whither it seems many of the people used to
of my sight as I have removed Israel that is out of the land which I chose for my habitation and to manifest my gracious presence in and will cast off this City of Jerusalem which I have chosen and the house of which I said my name shall be there 2 King 23. from 21 to 28. 2 Chron. 35. from 1 to 20. Now after Josiah had prepared the Temple and setled the true worship of God therein and made such a great reformation of all things as we have before shewn yet it so happened that in the thirty first year of his reign Pharoah Necho King of Egypt came up with his Army to fight against Carchemish a City lying upon the River Euphrates which the King of Babylon who was also now King of Assyria had taken from him He entred the Kingdom of Judah with his Army but designed only to pass thorough it to Carchemish without doing any injury or hurt to Josiah but it seems Josiah thought himself bound in faith and honour to hinder his passage and to prevent as much as lay in him his enterprize against the Babylonians to whom he was obliged either by Covenant made at the enlargement of Manasseh or by their giving him that part of the Country which he held in the Kingdom of the Ten Tribes Pharoah Necho understanding he intended to oppose him sent Ambassadours to him one of whom personating their King spake to him after this manner What I have to do with thee thou King of Judah I come not out against thee this day but against the house of the Assyrian with whom I have war For God hath commanded me by some of his Prophets to make hast and to assault them therefore I advise thee to forbear hindring me who go out with Gods commission lest therein thou be found to oppose God himself and he destroy thee for it But it seems Josiah did not believe that he had warrant from God for what he did and therefore resolv'd to oppose him and fight with him and being thus resolv'd he disguised himself that he might not be known in the battel to be the King and that he might fight the more boldly and successfully for he was sensible that if the enemy knew him they would bend their chief force against him The Armies met and came to a battel in the valley of Megiddo in the Tribe of Manasseh near Hadadrimmon the Archers of the Egyptians shot desperately at Josiah either suspecting him to be the King or else observing his valour in the fight they were the more provoked to aim at him and to endeavour to take him off as a principal enemy But so it was that he was thereby sorely wounded in his chariot and thereupon spake to his servants to have him out of the fight which they did and put him into another chariot intending to bring him to Jerusalem but being mortally wounded he died in the way Thus God punished the wickedness of the people by taking away their good King from them And because he died before those troubles and calamities fell upon that Nation which Huldah the Prophetess foretold and which afterwards ensued and whilst the Kingdom was in a flourishing condition and died in the love and favour of God therefore he may be said to be gathered to his grave in peace according to Huldahs prediction He was buried in one of the Sepulchers of his Fathers and the whole people wonderfully lamented his death and the Prophet Jeremiah more especially who knew the evil that would follow after his death and all the singing-men and singing-women spake of Josiah in their lamentations and made mention of his death even in the mournings they made for others insomuch as it came to be a constant custom and as it were a setled ordinance to speak of Josiah's death in their doleful Elegies And it grew almost into a common Proverb The lamentation of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddo Zach. 12.11 And possibly upon the loss of so good a King a law or ordinance was enacted that some doleful Elegies or lamentations should yearly be sung for him and these were recorded and set down among other mournful Elegies which upon occasions of publick calamity were us'd to be sung 2 Chron. 35. from 20 to the end 1 King 23. v. 29 30. The Prophet ZEPHANY Prophesied in this Kings reign as Jeremy also did The Prophesie of ZEPHANY His Prophesie may be divided into four parts 1. He denounces dreadful judgments against Judah and Ierusalem which should be distressed by the Caldeans without within and in every corner and there should be a great spoiling of their goods and slaughtering of their people 2. He sets before them the heinous sins that were found among them which would draw these judgments upon them 1. Idolatry in worshipping Baal and the host of heaven 2. Corrupting of Religion and mingling the worship of Idols with that of the true God 3. Apostasie after their solemn Covenant made with the Lord. 4. The pride of apparel among those of the Court and others 5. Oppression 6. Blasphemy denying Gods Providence 7. Security in sinning being setled upon their lees 8. Infidelity 9. Incorrigibleness 10. Stupid incogitancy being not moved to repent by the examples of Gods judgments which they saw poured out upon the Nations round about them 11. Tyranny in their Princes and Iudges 12. Vanity and treachery in their Prophets 3. He exhorts them to repentance and to seek the Lord to seek righteousness to seek meekness and that speedily before the decree bring forth Which if they would do he tells them it may be they may be hid in the day of the Lords anger This he further urges upon them from the exemplary judgments that God would inflict on other Nations that were impenitent viz. the Philistines Moabites Ammonites Ethiopians and Assyrians 4. And lastly he gives some gracious promises from the Lord to the faithful He tells them the Lord would leave in the midst of them an afflicted and poor people and they should trust in his name He prophesies of the conversion of the Gentiles and that they shall be joined to the Church He promises the restauration of the Iews and their return from captivity and that God will destroy their afflicting adversaries and will sanctifie them protect them and take away their punishments in contemplation of which he calls upon the daughter of Zion to rejoice and especially in Gods gracious presence and residence among them and making them the satisfying object of his love in so much he would rejoice over them to do them good and would rest in his love * Câââââescit in amoââ suo erga te WE read of four Sons Iosiah had 1 Chron. 3.15 Iohanan Iehoiakim Zedekiah The 17th that reigned in the Kingdom of Judah JEHOAHAZ the son of JOSIAH and Shallum Probably Iohanan the first-born died before his Father for of him we find no where else any mention But the youngest
might remain to support the faith and keep up the spirits of the Jews in a long captivity First He promises the reduction of the Jews into their own Country but before that they were to endure many calamities from the Babylonians during that day of Jacobs trouble but they should at last be saved out of it God promises to break the King of Babylons yoke from off Jacobs neck and that these Chaldeans shall no longer serve themselves of him But that his posterity shall serve the Lord their God and such of Davids lineage as he shall from time to time set over them but more especially the Messias who should come of Davids stock He promises to correct them in measure and yet not to leave them altogether unpunished He promises many great blessings that he would bestow on his Church notwithstanding their great miseries troubles breaches wounds but that Gods wrath shall remain on the wicked In the next Chapter is contain'd the restauration of Israel and the publication thereof After Rachels lamentation for her Sons as lost followeth Gods consolation of her puting her in hope of their return Ephraim repenting is to be brought home again Christ is promised The Lord will create a new thing in the earth a woman shall compass a man And this shall be the Covenant he will make with his people after those days he will write his law in their hearts and will be their God and this Covenant shall be stable and his Church shall be enlarged Jer. 29. from 24 to the end Jer. 30. whole Chapter Jer. 31. whole Chapter God also by his Prophet Jeremy foretels that Babylon and the land of Caldea shall be over-run and wasted by the Medes and Persians and comforts his own people with the sweet promises of their deliverance Jer. 50. whole Chapter Jer. 51. from 1 to 59. Zedekiah in the fourth year of his reign either went himself or which is more probable sent * Jer. 51.59 When he went with Zedekiah or on behalf of Zedekiah Seraiah a person of great quality about him to Babylon to whom Jeremy delivered the foresaid Prophesies of the destruction of Babylon written in a Book to be first read and then to be thrown into the river Euphrates to signifie that Babylon should so sink and not rise again Jer. 51. from 59 to the end In the beginning of the thirtieth year from that solemn renewing of the Covenant and restauration of the worship of God in the eighteenth year of Josiah which falls in with the fifth of Jehoiakins captivity on the fifth day of the fourth Month God vouchsafed the first vision to Ezekiel one of the captives in Babylon by the river Chebar and from thence he was sent to execute the office and function of a Prophet among the Jews of the Captivity He began thirty four years after Jeremy and continued his Prophetick office about two and twenty years namely to the twenty seventh year of Jehoiakins captivity Ezek. 29.17 It seems many at this time both among the Jews at Jerusalem and among the captives in Babylon murmured and complained against Jeremy as a false Prophet that had misled the people and betrayed them and caused them to yield themselves to the King of Babylon seeing now five years were past and yet Jerusalem stood still Jeremy being thus cried down both at home and abroad especially by false Prophets it pleased the Lord to raise up Ezekiel and pouring out his spirit upon him to set him on work to prophesie and foretell the same things in Babylon that Jeremy had done in Judea though in a more vehement manner so that Jeremy's Prophesies were confirm'd and justified by Ezekiel's The Prophet Ezekiel therefore going to execute his function among the Jews dwelling at Telabib near the river Chebar when he was come thither he sat him down as a man disheartned for the space of seven days After which time God again put him in mind of his charge both with gracious promises if he undertook it and severe threatnings if he refused and then confirmed him with a new sign shewed unto him and gave him courage and boldness by his word and ratified his vocation by a new command Ezek. 1. whole Chapter Ezek. 2. whole Chapter Ezek. 3. whole Chapter Ezekiel is now commanded to make a draught of the siege of Jerusalem in a table of Tile or Slate and to lye along upon one side three hundred and ninety days typifying thereby Gods patience in bearing with the sins and provocations of the Kingdom of Israel 390 years before he destroyed that Kingdom which was the full time from the revolt of the Ten Tribes to their Captivity When he had lain 390 days on his left side he was to turn himself on his right side and to lye so forty days more to typisie Gods patience in bearing with the sins and provocations of the Kingdom of Judah from the time that Iosiah and his people renewed solemnly their Covenant with the Lord unto the Captivity of Zedekiah which was just forty years Then he sets out the grievous famine that should be in the City during the siege Chap. 4. In the three following Chapters he pursues the same matter viz. Ierusalems misery In the fifth he is commanded to cut off his hair and to divide it into three parts by which he was to signifie three dreadful judgments that were to be inflicted on Jerusalem by pestilence sword and dispersion In the sixth Chapter first he threatens desolation to the land of Judea viz. to the Idols Altars and people thereof 2ly Promises mercy to a few that should repent of their evil ways and come to a right knowledg of the Lord from v. 8 to 11. 3ly He sets forth the grief and vexation the rest should feel from the sore judgments that should come upon them from 11 to the end In the seventh Chapter he Prophesies again of the destruction of the Jews and their land from v. 1 to 16. And of the pitiful lamentation that they shall make that escape from v. 16 to 20. And of the pollution of the Sanctuary by their enemies from v. 20 to 23. And of their bondage under the worst of heathens which is represented by a chain from v. 23 to the end Ezek. 4. whole Chapter Ezek. 5. whole Chapter Ezek. 6. whole Chapter Ezek. 7. whole Chapter In the sixth year of Jeconiahs Captivity the sixth month the fifth day of the month Ezekiel was carried in a Vision to Jerusalem and shewed the horrible Idolatry there practised and the plagues that were to befall the City for the same The Vision hath four parts 1. The Prophet is shewn the abominable Idolatry of the Jews in these notorious instances 1. Their having the Image of Jealousie or the Image of Baal among them which highly provoked God to jealousie 2. Their Chambers of Imagery having Idols privately in their Chambers 3. Their women weeping for Tammuz * Some understand it Osiris the Egyptian
God clears himself of and shews that he is most just both in punishing and rewarding and that every one shall bear the punishment of his own sins and not of anothers and that if an unjust man repent of his evil ways he shall find mercy for God hath no pleasure at all that the wicked should die see Chap. 33.11 and if a man that is esteemed a just man turn from his righteousness he shall have judgment wherefore he exhorts all to repent and so iniquity shall not be their ruin And to cast away their transgressions and to make them a new heart and a new spirit * That is to endeavour to get a new frame of heart and spirit seeking to the Lord to work it in them by the power of his grace for God hath no pleasure in the death of him that dies The 19th Chap. contains a lamentation for the Princes of Judah under the Parable of Lions whelps taken in a pit from 1 to 10. 2ly A lamentation for Jerusalem under the Parable of a wasted vine Ezek. Ch. 12. Ch. 13. Ch. 14. Ch. 15. Ezek. Ch. 16. Ch. 17. Ch. 18. Ch. 19. About this time as it seems Zedekiah through a vain confidence of help and assistance from the King of Egypt revolted from Nebuchadnezzar not regarding the Covenant he had made with him nor the oath of fealty and fidelity which he had sworn to him 'T is said 2 King 24.20 that through the anger of the Lord against Judah and Jerusalem for their heinous sins it came to pass that he permitted Zedekiah to rebell against the King of Babylon intending thereby to cast them out of that good land where he had in an especial manner manifested his presence The Prophet Ezekiel Ch. 17. v. 15.16 says of him He rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar in sending his Embassadors into Egypt that they might give him horses and much people shall he prosper shall he escape that doth such things or shall he break the Covenant and be delivered As I live saith the Lord God surely in the place where the King dwelleth that made him King whose oath he despised and whose covenant he brake even with him in the midst of Babylon be shall die 2 Chron. 36.13 2 King 24.20 Ezek. 17. from 11 to 21. In the seventh year of Jeconiahs captivity on the tenth day of the fifth month Ezekiel reproved the Elders for their gross hypocrisie who came again to him requesting him to ask counsel of the Lord for them Ezek. Ch. 20. in which Chapter he sets before them a summary of the rebellions of their forefathers in Egypt in the wilderness and in Canaan and shews them how they trod in their fathers steps for which abominations he severely threatens them He promises to preserve his Church and his true worship therein notwithstanding and to gather his people again by the Gospel He foretels Jerusalem's destruction under the Type of a forrest burnt by fire Chap. 21. He is commanded to prophesie very sharply against Jerusalem and to declare to them that God had drawn out his sword against them therefore he was to sigh with the breaking of his loyns as a sign unto them of their approaching calamity He foretels that the King of Babel shall consult by divination whether he should first set upon Jerusalem or the land of the Ammonites and that he shall first set upon Jerusalem because of their perjury He prophesies again against the Kingdom of Judah as also of the coming of the Messiah and that God will overturn that Kingdom so that it shall never be restor'd to its former luster till he comes whose right it is that is the Messiah to whom it belongeth as Davids successor according to the flesh He prophesies also against the Moabites Chap. 22. He sets down a Catalogue of the sins that reigned in Jerusalem for which God will burn them as dross in the furnace and there he sets down the general corruption of Prophets Priests Princes and people none standing in the gap to divert his wrath Chap. 23. The Idolatrous defection both of Israel and Judah is set forth under the type of two women notorious for whoredoms viz. Aholah and Aholibah the Idolatry of Israel is set forth from v. 1 to the 9. and her overthrow by her lovers the Assyrians v. 9 10. The Idolatry of Judah worse than Israels is set forth from ver 11 to 22. who is therefore threatned with ruin by her lovers the Chaldeans from v. 22 to 36. The Idolatries of them both are repeated and judgments threatned against them both from 36 to the end Ezek. Ch. 20. Ch. 21. Ch. 22. Ch. 23. In the ninth year of Zedekiah Nebuchadnezzar invades Judea again to be revenged on him for his breach of faith This being a Sabbatical year the men of Jerusalem hearing that Nebuchadnezzar approached with his army proclaimed liberty to their servants according to the Law Exod. 21.2 If thou buy an Hebrew servant six years he shall serve and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing And Deut. 15.12 And if thy brother an Hebrew man or an Hebrew woman be sold unto thee and serve thee six years then in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free from thee Nebuchadnezzar having wasted all the Country and taken their strong holds came now before the walls of Jerusalem on the tenth day of the tenth month and raised forts round about it In memorial whereof a fast was afterwards kept during the Captivity Zach. 8.19 Thus saith the Lord of hosts the fast of the fourth month and the fast of the fifth and the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness and chearful feasts therefore love the truth and peace 2 King 25.1 2. Jer. 39.1 Jer. 52.4 5. Jer. 34.8 9 10. Ezekiel upon the self-same day the siege was laid to Jerusalem hath it revealed to him in Babylon namely in the ninth year of Jeconiah and the utter destruction of it also represented to him by the type of an hot seething pot with pieces of flesh and bones in it And that evening his wife died for whose death he was charged not to mourn thereby signifying the grievous calamity of the Jews to be such as might justly drown all private sorrow Ezek. 24. whole Chapter The siege being now laid to Jerusalem the Prophet Jeremy was commanded by God to foretel to Zedekiah the utter destruction of it by the Babylonians and that Zedekiah himself should be carried away prisoner to Babylon and there should end his days and yet be honourably interred Jer. 34. from 1 to 8. The Prophet for this his faithful dealing was by Zedekiah clapt up in the Court of the prison of the Kings house where at Gods command he buyeth a field of Hanamael his Uncles son taketh witnesses of it and delivereth the writing to be kept as a token that the Jews should return into their own Country again This being
And therefore God upbraiding the King of Tyre with his pride and arrogancy Behold saith he thou art wiser than Daniel no secret can be hid from thee therefore I will bring strangers upon thee the terrible of the Nations and they shall bring thee down c. Ezek. Ch. 26. Ch. 27. Ch. 28. In the same year also in the third month God revealed his will to Ezekiel of sending Nebuchadnezzar against Pharoah to the ruin of the Egyptians In the same month also God declared that the Egyptians could no more avoid his decree and determination than the Assyrians had done before Ezek. Ch. 30. Ch. 31. In the eleventh year of Zedekiah the ninth day of the fourth month when the famine grew extream in the City and the pestilence as 't is like very hot Jerusalem was broken up and the Caldeans entred it Ezek. 4. from 9 to the end Lament 4.10 2 King 25.2 3 4. Jer. 52.5 6 7. Jer. 39.2 3. The City being taken Zedekiah and all the men of war fled away by night by the way of the Gate between two walls which was by the Kings garden being it seems a secret way provided on purpose for escape in such a time of danger but the Caldeans pursuing after them took Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho and brought him prisoner to Riblah where Nebuchadnezzar lay where having judgment passed upon him for his perjury and having seen his children first slain before his eyes to his extream torment together with the Nobles of Judah he had then his own eyes put out and being clogged with chains and fetters he was carried away from thence to Babylon so the Prophesies before utter'd concerning him were fulfilled viz. that with his eyes he should see the King of Babylon and speak with him mouth to mouth Jer. 32.4 34.3 But Babylon he should not see though he should die there For so the Prophet Ezekiel foretold Ch. 12.13 My net also will I spread upon him and he shall be taken in my snare and I will bring him to Babylon to the land of the Caldeans yet shall he not see it though he shall die there 2 King 25. from 4 to 8. Jer. 39. from 4 to 8. Jer. 52. from 7 to 12. Upon the seventh day of the fifth month Nebuzaradan Captain of the Guard sent by Nebuchadnezzar made his entry into the City and on the tenth day he set fire on the Temple and on the Kings Palace and upon all the Noblemens houses in Jerusalem and burnt all down to the ground and brake down the walls of Jerusalem round about In remembrance of which dismal calamity the Fast of the fifth month was ordained to be kept Zach. 7.3 v. 5. Zach. 8.19 Thus was the glorious Temple destroyed in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzars reign and four hundred twenty four years three months and eight days after that Solomon laid the first stone thereof 2 King 25.8 9 10. Jer. 52.12 13 14. Jer. 39.8 In the same fifth month the walls of Jerusalem being broken down all that were left in the City and all that had before fled over to Nebuchadnezzar and all the common people of the City with all the treasure of the King and his Nobles and furniture of the Temple did Nebuzaradan carry away to Babylon and thus was Judah for their sins removed out of her own land four hundred sixty eight years after David began to reign over it From the division of the Ten Tribes from the Tribe of Judah three hundred eighty eight years and from the destruction of the Kingdom of Israel one hundred thirty four years If any shall enquire why the Lord gave up this his own people into the hands of their enemies you may find 2 Chron. 36. from v. 12 to 20. that the high provocations both of King and people were the cause thereof Zedekiah did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord his God and humbled not himself before Jeremiah the Prophet speaking to him from the mouth of the Lord and he also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar who had made him swear by God but he stiffned his neck and hardned his heart from turning unto the Lord God of Israel Moreover all the chief of the Priests and the people transgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen and polluted the house of the Lord which he had hallowed in Jerusalem And the Lord God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers rising up betimes (a) That is continually and carefully sendding them a Metaphor taken from careful housholders who with the soonest seek to redress mischiefs causing their servants for that end to rise betimes and sending because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place but they mocked the messengers of God and despised his words and misused his Prophets until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people and there was no remedy * After that there remain'd nothing but expectation of judgment Therefore he brought upon them the King of the Caldees who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their Sanctuary (b) That is the Temple whither 't is like many of them fled for refuge and had no compassion upon young man or maiden old man or him that stooped for age he gave them all into his hand And all the vessels of the house of God great and small and the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the King and of his Princes all these he brought to Babylon And they burnt the house of God and brake down the walls of Jerusalem and burnt all the Palaces thereof with fire and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof Jer. 39.9 Jer. 52.15 2 King 25. from 11 to 18. 2 Chron. 36. from 14 to 22. The Scripture saith that they that were carried away captive to Babylon in the eleventh year of Zedekiah were to continue seventy years in their captivity 2 Chron. 36.20 21. And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the Kingdom of Persia To fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremy until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths for as long as she lay desolate she kept Sabbath to fulfill threescore and ten years Where by those words until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths we are to understand that so long as the people were kept out of it the land rested there being none to plow or dig it up and so it continued for the most part till the expiration of seventy years as Jeremy had Prophesied Jer. 25.11 And this whole land shall be a desolation and an astonishment and these Nations shall serve the King of Babylon seventy years And Chap. 29.10 Thus saith the Lord after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you and perform my good word towards you in causing you to return to
thee that hath come upon us on our Kings on our Princes and on our Priests and on our Prophets and on our Fathers and on all thy people since the time of the Kings of Assyria unto this day Howbeit thou art just in all that is brought upon us for thou hast done right and that which is just but we have done wickedly neither have our Kings our Princes our Priests nor our Fathers kept thy Law nor hearkened unto thy commandments and thy tâstimonies wherewith thou didst testifie against them and their evil ways For they have not served thee in their Kingdom viz. of Judah which in thy great goodness thou gavest them nor in that large and fat land which was daily in their sight neither turned they from their wicked works Behold we are servants this day in the land that thou gavest unto our Fathers to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof behold we are servants in it and it yieldeth much encrease unto the Kings (l) We reap not the benefit of the lands fruitfulness but the Kings that reign over us have a great part of all the fru t s thereof whom thou hast set (m) 'T is God that gives soreign Kings power over his people but it was for their sins over us because of our sins also they have dominion over our bodies and over our cattel at their pleasure and we are in great distress And because of all this we humbly crave mercy at thy hands and do bind our selves to better obedience for the future and do engage our selves by a firm Covenant thereunto which we our Princes Priests and Levites in our own and the names of all the people do now make with thee and intend to write and set our seals unto * 'T is like Ezra had obtain'd their consent to make this Covenant before he began his prayer Nehem. Ch. 9. wh Ch. In the next Chapter we have first the names recorded of those that sealed the Covenant in their names and in the name of all the people from v. 1 to 29. And 2ly the matter of the Covenant For the first the persons that sealed it were Nehemiah the Governour Scraiah who is said to be ruler of the house of God Ch. 11.11 and the Nobles and heads of the people and the heads of the Priests and Levites and all the rest of the people and of the Priests Levites Nethinims Proselytes and their wives and sons and daughters all that had knowledg and understanding clave to their brethren viz. those honourable persons before mentioned who had sealed the Covenant in their names as well as in their own And they entred into a curse and into an oath to walk in Gods Law which was given by Moses And particularly 1. That they would not give their daughters to the people of the land nor take their daughters for their sons 2ly That they would observe the Law about the Sabbath (n) This many of them broke afterwards as appears Ch. 13.15 16. and though it was not in their power to force the neighbouring Nations to observe the Sabbath yet they bound themselves by covenant that they would not buy any thing of them on the Sabbath-day or on any other holy Festival which God had enjoyn'd them to observe 3ly That they would leave the land every seventh year to lye at rest not plowing or sowing their fields or dressing their vineyards and to leave what grew of it self free for others to gather as well as for themselves and further that they would not exact that year their debts of those that were indebted to them all which things were injoyned by the Law Levit. 25.3 4 5. and Deut. 15.1 2. but had not been of late times observed by them 4ly They made an ordinance for maintaining the services of the house of God binding themselves to perform not only what the Law required but to do something more viz. to pay yearly the third part of a shekel which is ten pence of our money This was over and above the half shekel which the Law enjoyn'd to be paid by the poll for every one Exod. 38.26 and it was to be laid up in the Treasury for the daily use of the Temple as need should require viz. for the providing the shew-bread and for the continual meat-offering and continual burnt-offering and for the offerings of the Sabbaths for every Sabbath-day there were offerings enjoyned besides the continual burnt-offering see Numb 28.9 10. and for the special offerings of the New-Moons see Numb 28.11 15. and of the set-feasts and for peace-offerings which were to be offered in the name of the whole Congregation and for other sacred services of the Temple besides offerings and for the occasional sin-offerings to make atonement for Israel and for all the work of the house of God viz. reparations of the house as well as services in it 5ly Because there was much wood to be spent in the service of the Temple and there were not those treasures in the Temple now as had been wherewith it seems the wood had been formerly provided both Priests Levites and people did unanimously at this time agree to take upon them the charge and care of providing and bringing in of wood for the service of the Temple V. 34. 'T is called the Wood-offering because it was freely given and offered to the house of God and because the burnt-offerings were consumed therewith And so having equally divided the charge among them according to their families and assign'd to each family what proportion they should bring in the time for every one to bring in their proportion was determined by lot 6ly To bring in the first fruits of their ground that is of all manner of corn and of all fruit-trees year by year unto the house of the Lord for the use of the Priests and Levites who attended on the service of the Temple Also to bring the price appointed by the Law for the redemption of their first-born Exod. 13.13 Numb 18.15 16. Also the redemption-money of all beasts that were not fit for sacrifice and that they would bring the firstlings of their herds and flocks to the Priests to offer them for them And that they would bring the first-fruits of their dough as was enjoyn'd Numb 15.20 21. and all such other things as upon any occasion were to be offered to the Lord and the fruit of all manner of treees and of wine and oyl unto the Priests and to the Chambers of the house of God which were made for Treasures to lay up first-fruits and tythes and such other things in And that they would bring the tythes of their grounds unto the Levites the tenth part whereof the Priests were to have See Numb 18.26 For as the people gave the tenths of all they had to the Levites so the Levites were to give the tenth part of those tenths to the Priests And as the Priests so such other officers as had their
honourable persons and after the feast was ended and the Guests gone and himself had retired to his Lodging the Room in which they had supped being now empty of Company fell down and did no body any harm whereupon he was accounted as one especially owned by God who had so wonderfully preserved him Not long after he got five Towns into his hands wherein he put to the Sword 2000. Garrison Soldiers and then went against Pappus whom Antigonus had sent into Samaria Pappus gave him Battel very boldly but his Army was overthrown by him and himself taken Prisoner and Herod in revenge of his Brothers death did great Execution upon them by which defeat Antigonus's Interest was quite broken Next day he cut off Pappus's Head and sent it to his Brother Pheroras in revenge of his Brother Josephs death whom it seems Pappus slew The extremity of the Weather being over Herod marches up to Jerusalem and lays siege to it in the third year after he had been declared King by the Romans intending to use the same manner of assault that Pompey had made formerly against the Temple Socius also came up to him to Jerusalem so that both carried on the siege with an army of eleven Legions and 6000 horse The Defendants with great courage made resistance doing all that could reasonably be expected from them though much straitned for provisions it being the Sabbatical year They held out five months though there was so great an army besieging them At length twenty of Herods stoutest Souldiers got upon the walls and then the Centurions of Socius The outward part of the Temple being taken and the lower City the Jews fled into the inward part at length by a general assault that was taken also and then all places were filled with slaughters the Romans being enraged that they had held out so long and the Jews out of malice and particular grudges seeking to destroy all of the contrary faction the reverence of the Temple not abating their rage Antigonus came and fell at Socius's feet who insulting over him called him Madam Antigona and put him in prison and set keepers over him Herod did what he could to restrain the Souldiers from exercising such extream violence and to keep the profane multitude from violating the Temple and from plundring the City asking Socius If the Romans intended to make him King of a wilderness and added that he should think the victory worse than an overthrow if they proceeded to such extremities At length he was fain to redeem the City from further plunderings by his own moneys wherewith he rewarded the Romans and sent them away sufficiently inriched Socius having offered a Crown of Gold to God departed from Jerusalem leading Antigonus with him prisoner to Antony This disaster befell Jerusalem in the third month on the 28th day of which the Jews were wont to celebrate a solemn fast in memory of the Roll that was burnt by Jehoiakim and it was taken on the same day it had been taken by Pompey several years before Herod fearing that if Anthony should carry Antigonus to Rome he would there obtain favour of the Senate as being of the Royal race and procure the Kingdom at their hands if not for himself yet for his children who never had ill deserved of the Romans he procured Antony to dispatch him out of the way who pretending the unquietness of the Jews for his sake caused him to be beheaded at Antioch And so the Principality of the Asmonaeans came to an end after it had stood 126 years and had been freed from the yoke of Syria 98 years and Herod a forreigner was confirmed in the Soveraignty over Judea by the Romans Of these miserable times among others were spectators Zachary the Priest with his wife Elizabeth of the relicts of Davids stock Heli and Joseph Anna also the Prophetess of the Tribe of Asser and Simeon who was assur'd from God he should not see death till he had seen the Lords Christ Herod being thus setled in the Kingdom in the third year after he was made King by the Romans advanced those of his own faction and put to death many of the contrary party among others he put to death all those Judges of the great Sanhedrin who had accused him of capital crimes before he was King except Pollio the Pharisee and his disciple Sameas whom he highly honoured During these things the King of the Parthians had courteously treated the captive High-Priest Hircanus who hearing that Herod was made King began to conceive hopes of favour from him because he had saved his life when he was called into question and therefore thought of returning into his own Country To which he was at last perswaded having received courteous invitations from Herod who strove to get the poor old man into his clutches and when he came Herod received him with all honour and respect and gave him the upper hand in all Assemblies and calling him Father lull'd him on lest he should suspect any treachery Then he preferred to the High-Priesthood an old friend of his one Ananelus sending for him from Babylon a man of obscure parentage derived from those Jews that were carry'd away beyond Euphrates but of the race of the Priests passing by Aristobulus the Grandson of Aristobulus the King and Brother to his own wife Mariamne Alexandra the Mother of Mariamne being exceedingly enraged at this and Mariamne continually following him with intreaties that he would restore the High Priesthood to her Brother to whom of right it belonged whither moved by these things or that Antony desiring to see the youth Aristobulus for the same of his beauty he feared the Romans might advance him or however it was to stay him at home he gave him the Priesthood putting out Ananelus and excused his not sending him to Antony by the inclination of the Jews to rebellion Perceiving him therefore to be in extraordinary favour with the Jews and that Alexandra plotted the escape of her self and her Son into Egypt where she expected aid and assistance from Cleopatra Herod caused him to be duckt to death as he was bathing himself in the eighteenth year of his age and then feigning to be very sorrowful for his death he buried him with a most magnificent funeral and then made Ananelus High-Priest again Alexandra certifies Cleopatra by Letters of this horrid treachery of Herod who exceedingly pittying her misfortune urged Antony exceedingly to revenge the young mans death Antony when he came into Laodicea sent for Herod to come to him to answer the crime objected against him He therefore leaving the care of the Kingdom to his Vncle Joseph gave him private instructions that if any thing otherwise than well should befall him he should put his wife Mariamne to death for he so loved her that he would not have any one to enjoy her though after his death And then going to Antony he quickly appeased him by gifts and presents and made his peace
the people spared him (c) Saul now spared Agag whom God had by an absolute command devoted to destruction but shewed himself afterwards so bloody and barbarously cruel that he caused Gods Priests to be slaughtered whom he should have preserved and that upon a meer suspicion Ch. 22.11 either to make their triumph more glorious or out of covetousness * Ecce quantum abstrahit homines avaritia ab obedientia mandatorum Dei to get a great ransom for him or out of foolish pity because he was a King (e) So Ahab spared Benhadad 1 King 20.35 They spared also the best of the sheep oxen and lambs pretending to reserve them for Sacrifice but doing it out of a covetous desire to enrich themselves but God having anathematiz'd and devoted them all to destruction he would have esteemed it as a pleasing sacrifice if they had thus offered them unto him as he required in the case of Jericho Josh 6.17 but they following their own reason and not Gods command spared all that was good and every thing that was vile and refuse they destroyed Then the Lord spake to Samuel saying It repenteth â Dicitur Deus resipiscere cum id agit quod resipiscentes agunt homines nimirum cum opus suum demoliri statuit vid. Jacob. 1.17 me that I have set up Saul to be King for he is turned from following me and hath not performed my commandments God is said to repent when he does as men do that repent and are grieved for what they have done men are said to repent when they undo what they have before done so God now resolved to alter the course of his dispensations towards Saul and to retract and revoke the benefits he had bestowed on him Samuel hereupon was exceedingly grieved for Saul and prayed earnestly all night for him hoping to have obtain'd of the Lord not to cast him quite off But the Lord would not hear his prayer see v. 23 26. However Samuel going out early in the morning to meet Saul it was told him that he came to Carmel a Town belonging to Judah lying in the way from Amalek Josh 15.55 and that there he had set up a Monument of Triumph for this victory obtain'd over the Amalekites having the picture of a hand upon it to signifie that by his hand and sword he had conquered his enemies V. 12. Et paravit sibi manum i. e. fornicem triumphalem nam trophaeis imponebatur manus ad significandum quod homines valida manu essent profligati Freidlib They further told him that from thence he was gone to Gilgal Samuel going thither to him Saul hearing of his coming went out to met him and said Blessed be thou of the Lord I have performed the commandment of the Lord. How hypocritically and vain gloriously doth he boast of his obedience to God when he was so great a transgressour Samuel said if thou hast obeyed the Commandment of the Lord what meaneth this bleating of sheep in mine ears and this lowing of oxen which I hear Saul replies the people saved the best of the sheep and oxen to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God that is to the Lord whom thou intirely lovest and servest and therefore canst not sure but allow of the means of his Worship but the rest we have utterly destroyed Samuel answers that he would tell him what the Lord had said to him that night Saul bids him say on as expecting possibly some good message from him so far doth hypocrisie blind men even then when they have done that which is notoriously evil Samuel said when thou wast little in thine own eyes and but of mean condition as thou didst confess Ch. 9.21 God advanced thee to be King over all Israel and the Lord sent thee on an expedition against the Amalekites peremptorily charging thee to destroy those great and notorious sinners who had so much malice in them against his people and to fight against them till they were consumed wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the Lord but didst fly upon the spoil as an hungry hawk doth upon his prey converting that to thy own use like Achan which God had devoted to destruction see Josh 7. Saul justifies himself and says he had obeyed the voice of the Lord he had gone the way the Lord had sent him and had brought with him Agag King of the Amalekites and had destroyed all the rest of the Amalekites he could light on but indeed the people had saved the chief of the sheep and oxen which should have been destroyed to sacrifice unto the Lord in Gilgal * Qui locus erat ad sacra facienda idoneus if this says he be a fault 't was they not I that committed it But it seems to me to be no fault at all seeing they did it out of a good intention and reserved the best of the spoils to sacrifice them to the Lord in token of their thankfulness for this great victory Samuel answers hath the Lord as great delight in Burnt-offerings and Sacrifices as in obeying his voice Behold to obey is better than sacrifice and to hearken to the voice of God than to offer the fat â Adeps hic ponitur pro victimis adipatis pinguibus of Rams or present to him the best of Sacrifices And the reason is plain for obedience preserveth from sinning whereas sacrifices were ordained only to cleanse us from the guilt of sin when committed and 't is much better to prevent a disease than to be cured of it when contracted And further God always accepted of obedience (a) See Jer. 7.22 23. Isa 1.13 c. and 66.3 Psal 50.8 14. Prov. 15.8 Hos 6.6 Mat. 12.7 and is well pleased with it but rejecteth sacrifices as but a dead carcass when obedience which is as it were their life is wanting He further tells him That rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft and stubborness is as iniquity and idolatry for an act of rebellion against any command of God though had it not been for that command the thing would not have been of its self unlawful is as manifestly a sin as as those things are that are against the law and light of nature and contrary to the truth and glory of Gods Essence as Witchcraft and Idolatry are And such was this act of Saul's in sparing Agag and the best of the Cattel for being done expresly against the command of God it was no less than rebellion and stubborness against the Almighty which is as hateful to him as any wickedness or iniquity is yea as Idolatry it self whereby men forsake God and serve Idols Lastly he tells him Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord therefore he hath rejected * Denuntiat ei privationem regni cujus executio Paulo post faciendae erat Saulem enim postâa Regem mansisse patet quia eum ut Regem suum habuit populus ipse David
promised and covenanted with David thy Father See Ch. 8.25 But if thou or thy posterity fail on your part to perform the conditions annext to my promise and shall turn away obstinately and totally from following after me and shall renounce me and my service and will not keep my commandments and statutes which I have made known unto you and set before you to walk in but shall go and serve other Gods and worship them then will I cut off â Thus was the Kingdom of Israel dealt with 2 King 17.20 Israel from the land which I have given them as a rotten branch and pluck them up by the roots and this house which I have hallowed for my name will I cast out of my sight out of my favour and protection and Israel shall be a proverb and a by-word (c) As in the time of the Babylonish Captivity the Jews were a scorn to all Nations but much more since the last destruction of their City and Temple by the Romans and so their great glory was turn'd into vile contempt among the people And as for this house which is now so high in all external glory every one that passeth by shall be astonished at the destruction of it and shall hiss at it in scorn and shall ask why hath the Lord done thus unto this land and this house and they shall receive this answer because the inhabitants thereof have forsaken the Lord their God who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt and have betaken themselves to the worship of other Gods whose worship they pertinaciously hold fast and will not depart from it Therefore the Lord brought upon them all these great evils 1 King 9. fr. v. 2 to 11. 2 Chron. 7. fr. v. 11. to the end SECT IV. SOlomon having thus finished the Temple he now falls in hand with the building of a Palace for himself in Jerusalem and built also a stately Summer-house in Lebanon 5. Ch. 7. from v. 2. to 7. and an house for his Queen the daughter of Pharaoh and his own Throne so splendid and sumptuous that there was none like it In the 13th year after the Temple was built he made an end of these buildings Before his Palace he built a stately Porch of Judgment wherein was to be set his great and Royal Throne wherein he sat in state to judg the people This Throne was a stately and magnificent piece it was made of Ivory and in several parts of it overlaid with pure Gold so as the white Ivory and glittering Gold gave a fair luster the one to the other and made it appear the more glorious The Throne had six steps to it and so was a yard and half from the ground It had a round stately Canopy or covering over it and stayes or Elbows on each side and a Footstool of Gold for the King to set his feet upon * Calcatas opes scabellum designat aureum Two Lions stood on the outside of the Elbows for support and ornament And there were placed twelve Lions besides that stood six on the one side and six on the other of the steps or stairs and standing at an equal distance one from another were the more glorious to behold There was not the like Throne for costliness and exquisite workmanship in any Kingdom of the world The Lions signified the power majesty undaunted boldness courage and magnanimity that ought to be in Princes as also the great vigilancy and watchfulness that ought to be in them so that they had need to wake while others sleep as 't is said of Lions that they sleep always with their eyes open they might signifie also that good Princes are protected by the special Providence of God and their Thrones guarded with Lions 1 King 10. from 18 to 21. Besides this stately Throne he made also two hundred Targets (a) Targets were large Shields such as Captains used to have carried before them that as occasion served they might take and use for the defence of their bodies against Arrows Darts Javelins and such like piercing weapons But Shields were less than Targets and they used to carry them on their left arm for their own defence of beaten Gold not for service but for pomp and state to set forth his Royal Majesty and Greatness These it is likely were ordinarily hung up in his great Hall or Armory and at certain times carried before him by his Guard as afterwards the Brazen ones that were made in the room of these were carried before Rehoboam See 1 King 14.27 He made also three hundred Shields of beaten Gold and three hundred shekels (b) A shekel of silver was in weight half an ounce and in worth 2 sh 6 d. The Jews prized Gold at ten times the value of Silver so a shekel of Gold was 25 sh By this account every Target weighed 25 pounds Troy and was worth 750 l. Sterling of Gold went to make one of them so that the Shields were not above half so big as the Targets which weighed each of them 600 shekels All these he put into the house of the Forrest of Lebanon which for civil use was the most sumptuous building that Solomon made and his Magnificence and Royalty was therein most manifested and accordingly those Golden Targets and Shields were there placed But he that shall consider how soon these Golden Tarkets and Shields became a prey to the enemy will be apt to think there was an excess of pomp in them which was not well-pleasing to God And furthermore all the drinking vessels cups platters basons spoons c. that were used in the house of Lebanon were all of pure Gold this house being made for delight and the glory of his Kingdom none of them were of silver silver â V. 21. Silver was nothing accounted of in the days of Solomon This is an Hyperbolical speech for silver was brought to Solomon time after time by Ships v. 22. and given him as an acceptable present v. 25. So that hereby only the great abundance he had of Gold and Silver is intimated comparatively was not esteemed of for plate in Solomon's time for they having such abundance of Gold most of their Plate was made of that metal and silver-plate but little esteemed of in those days But we must speak more particularly of this house of the forrest of Lebanon It was so call'd as being a kind of abridgment of that famous Forrest afar off from Jerusalem and containing in it and in the groves and gardens about it all the delights and pleasures of that Forrest and something more viz. solitary walks sweet musick of birds wild beasts curious water-works and all manner of other delightful things See Eccles 2.4 5 6. And it seems this house was also the chief store-house and magazine of Armes which the Kings of Judah had as appears from Isa 22.8 Thou didst look in that day to the armour of the house of the Forrest