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A02526
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Contemplations vpon the principal passages of the holy story. The second volume; in foure books. By I. Hall, Dr. of Diuinity; Contemplations upon the principall passages of the Holy Storie. Vol. 2
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Hall, Joseph, 1574-1656.
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1614
(1614)
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STC 12652; ESTC S103630
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102,855
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492
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more pleasing vnto God or more cōmodious to men then that whē hee hath executed iudgement it should be seene and wondred at for therefore he strikes some that he may warne all Aaron and Miriam THe Israelites are staied seuen daies in the station of Hazzeroth for the punishment of Miriam The sinnes of the Gouernors are a iust stop to the people all of them smart in one all must stay the leasure of Miriams recouery Whosoeuer seeks the Land of Promise shall finde many lets Amalek Og Sehon the Kings of Canaan meet with Israel these resisted but hindred not their passage their sinnes only staie them from remoouing Afflictions are not crosses to vs in the way to heauen in comparison to our sinnes What is this I see Is not this Aaron that was brother in nature and by office ioynt-commissioner with Moses Is not this Aaron that made his brother an intercessor for him to God in the case of his Idolatry Is not this Aaron that climbd vp the hill of Sinai with Moses Is not this Aaron whom the mouth and hand of Moses consecrated an high Priest vnto GOD Is not this Miriam the elder sister of Moses Is not this Miriam that ledde the triumph of the vvomen sung gloriously to the Lord Is not this Miriam which laid her brother Moses in the Reedes and fetcht her Mother to bee his Nurse Both Prophets of GOD both the flesh and bloud of Moses And dooth this Aaron repine at the honour of him which gaue himselfe that honour and saued his life Dooth this Miriam repine at the prosperitie of him vvhose life shee saued Who vvould not haue thought this should haue beene their glorie to haue seene the glorie of their owne Brother What could haue bin a greater comfort to Miriam then to think How happily doth hee now sit at the steine of Israel vvhom I saued from perishing in aboat of bulrushes It is to mee that Israel owes this commander But now enuy hath so blinded their eyes that they can neither see this priuiledge of nature nor the honour of Gods choice Miriam and Aaron are in mutiny against Moses Who is so holy that sinnes not what sinne is so vnnaturall that the best can avoide without God But what weaknes soeuer may pleade for Miriam who can but grieue to see Aaron at the end of so many sinnes Of late I saw him caruing the molten Image and consecrating an altar to a false GOD now I see him seconding an vnkinde mutinie against his brother Both sinnes finde him accessarie neither principall It was not in the power of the legall priesthood to perform or promise innocencie to her ministers It was necessary we shold haue another high Priest vvhich could not be tainted That King of righteousnes was of another order Hee being without sinne hath fully satisfied for the sins of men Whom can it now offend to see the blemishes of the Euangelical priesthood when Gods fyrst high priest is thus miscaried Who can looke for loue prosperity at once when holy and meeke Moses finds enmity in his own flesh bloud Rather then we shall want A mans enemies shal be those of his own house Authoritie cannot faile of opposition if it be neuer so mildly swayed that common make-bate will rather raise it out of our owne bosome To doe well and heare ill is princely The Midianitish wife of Moses cost him deare Before shee hazarded his life now the fauour of his people Vnequall matches are sildom prosperous Although now this scandall was only taken Enuy was not wife enough to chuse a ground of the quarrell Whether some secret emulatorie brawles passed between Zipporah and Miriam as many times these sparks of priuate brawles grow into a perilous common flame or whether now that Iethro his family was ioyned with Israel there vvere surmises of transporting the gouernment to strangers or whether this vnfit choice of Moses is now raised vp to disparage Gods gifts in him Euen in sight the exceptions were friuolous Emulation is curious and out of the best person or act will raise something to cauil at Seditions do not euer look the same way they mooue Wise men can easily distinguish betwixt the visor of actions and the face The wife of Moses is mentioned his superiority is shot at Pride is lightly the ground of all sedition Which of their faces shined like Moses Yea let him but haue drawen his vaile which of them durst look on his face Which of them had fasted twise 40. dayes Which of them ascended vp to the roppe of Sinai and vvas hid with smoake and fire Which of them receiued the Law twise in two seuerall tables from Gods own hand And yet they dare say Hath God spoken onely by Moses They do not deny Moses his honour but they challenge a part with him and as they were the elder in nature so they would be equall in dignity equall in administration According to her name Miriam would bee exalted And yet how vnfit were they One a woman whom her sex debarred from rule the other a Priest whom his office sequestred from earthly gouernment Selfe-loue makes men vnreasonable and teaches them to turne the glasse to see themselues bigger others lesse then they are It is an hard thing for a man willingly and gladly to see his equalls lifted ouer his head in worth and opinion Nothing wil more try a mans grace then questions of emulation That man hath true light which can be content to be a candle before the sun of others As no wrong can escape God so least of all those which are offred to Princes He that made the eare needs no intelligence of our tongues Wee haue to doe with a GOD that is light of hearing wee cannot whisper any euill so secretly that hee should not cry out of noyse and what need wee any further euidence vvhen our Iudge is our witnesse Without any delation of Moses GOD heares and challenges them Because he was meek therfore he complained not Because he was meek complained not therefore the Lord struck in for him the more The lesse a man striues for himselfe the more is GOD his Champion It is the honour of great persons to vndertake the patronage of their clients How much more vvill GOD reuenge his Elect which cry to him day and night Hee that said I seeke not mine owne glorie addes But there is one that seekes it and iudges GOD takes his part euer that fights not for himselfe No man could haue giuen more proofes of his courage then Moses Hee slew the Egyptian Hee confronted Pharaoh in his ovvne Court Hee beat the Midianite Shepheards Hee feared not the troopes of Egypt Hee durst looke GOD in the face amiddst all the terrours of Sinai and yet that Spirit vvhich made and knevv his heart sayes Hee vvas the mildest man vpon earth Mildnesse and Fortitude may vvell lodge together in one breast to correct the misconceits of those men
a feare least the two brethren should cunningly ingrosse the gouernment to themselues If they hadde done so what wise men would haue enuied them an office so little worth so dearely purchased But because this conceit was euer apt to stirre them to rebellion and to hinder the benefit of this holy soueraintie therefore God hath indeuor'd nothing more then to let them see that these officers whom they so much enuied were of his owne proper institution They hadde scarce shut their eyes since they saw the confusion of those two hundred and fifty vsurping sacrificers and Aarons effectuall intercession for staying the plague of Israell In the one the execution of GODs vengeance vpon the competitors of Aaron for his sake In the other the forbearance of vengeance vpon the people for Aarons mediation might haue challenged their voluntary acknowledgement of his iust calling from God If there had been in them either awe or thankfulnes they could not haue doubted of his lawfull supremacy How could they choose but argue thus Why would God so fearefully haue destroyed the riualls that durst contest with Aaron if hee would haue allowed him any equall Wherefore serue those plates of the Altar which wee see made of those vsurped Censers but to warne all posteritie of such presumption Why should God cease striking whiles Aaron interposed betwixt the liuing and the dead if he were but as one of vs Which of vs if wee had stood in the plague had not added to the heap Incredulous mindes will not bee perswaded with any euidence These two brothers had liued asunder forty yeers GOD makes them both meet in one office of deliuering Israel One halfe of the miracles were wrought by Aaron he stroke with the rodde whiles it brought those plagues on Egypt The Israelites heard GOD call him vppe by name to mount Sinai They saw him anointed from GOD and least they should thinke this a set match betwixt the brethren they saw the earth opening the fire issuing from GOD vpon their emulous opposites they saw his smoke a sufficient antidote for the plague of GOD and yet still Aarons calling is questioned Nothing is more naturall to euery man then vnbeleefe but the earth neuer yeelded a people so strongly incredulous as these and after so many thousand generations their children doe inherit their obstinacy still doe they oppose the true high-priest the anointed of GOD sixteene hundred yeers desolation hath not drawen from them to confesse him whom God hath chosen How desirous was GOD to giue satisfaction euen to the obstinate There is nothing more materiall then that men should be assured their spirituall guides haue their commission and calling from GOD The vvant whereof is a preiudice to our successe It should not be so but the corruption of men will not not receiue good but from due messengers Before GOD wrought miracles in the rod of Moses now in the rodde of Aaron As Pharaoh might see himselfe in Moseses rod who of a rodde of defence and protection was turned into a venomous serpent So Israel might see themselues in the rod of Aaron Euery Tribe and euery Israelite was of himselfe as a sere stick without life without sap and if any one of them had power to liue and flourish he must acknowledge it from the immediate power and gift of God Before Gods calling all men are alike Euery name is alike written in their rod there is no difference in the letters in the wood neither the characters of Aaron are fayrer nor the staffe more precious It is the choise of God that makes the distinction So it is in our calling of Christianity All are equally deuoid of the possibility of grace all equally liuelesse by nature we all are sonnes of wrath If we be now better then others who separated vs We are all crab-stocks in this orchard of God hee may graffe what fruit he pleases vpon vs onely the grace and effectuall calling of God makes the difference These twelue heads of Israel would neuer haue written their names in their rods but in hope they might be chosen to this dignitie What an honour was this Priesthood whereof all the Princes of Israel are ambitious If they had not thought it an high preferment they had neuer so much enuyed the office of Aaron What shall wee thinke of this change Is the Euangelicall ministration of lesse worth then the Leuiticall Whiles the Testament is better is the seruice worse How is it that the great thinke themselues too good for this imployment How is it that vnder the Gospell men are disparaged with that which honoured them vnder the Law that their ambition and our scorne meete in one subiect These twelue rods are not laid vp in the seuerall cabinets of their owners but are brought forth layd before the Lord. It is fitte God should make choyce of his owne attendants Euen wee men hold it iniurious to haue seruants obtruded vpon vs by others neuer shall that man haue comfort in his ministery whom God hath not chosen The great Commander of the world hath set euerie man in his station To one hee hath said Stand thou in this tower and watch To another Make thou good these Trenches To a third Digge thou in this Mine Hee that giues and knowes our abilities can best sette vs on worke This rod was the pastorall staffe of Aaron the great Shepheard of Israel God testifies his approbation of his charge by the fruit That a rod cut off from the tree should blossome it was strange but that in one night it should beare buds blossoms fruit that both ripe and hard it was highlie miraculous The same power that reuiues the dead plants of winter in the Spring doth it heere without earth without time without sunne that Israel might see and grant it was no reason his choyce should be limited whose power is vnlimited Fruitfulnesse is the best argument of the calling of GOD Not only all the plants of his setting but the very boughes cut off from the body of them will flourish And that there may not want a succession of increase heere are fruite blossoms buds both proofe and hope inseparably mixed It could not but bee a great comfort vnto Aaron to see his rodde thus miraculously flourishing to see this wonderfull Testimony of Gods fauour and Election Sure hee could not but thinke Who am I O GOD that thou shouldest thus choose mee out of all the Tribes of Israel My weakenesse hath been more worthy of thy rodde of correction then my rod hath beene worthy of these blossoms How hast thou magnified mee in the sight of all thy people How able art thou to vphold my imbecillitie with the rodde of thy support how able to defend me with the rodde of thy power who hast thus brought fruite out of the saplesse rod of my profession That seruant of GOD is worthy to faint that holds it not a sufficient encouragement to see the euident proofes of his Maisters