Who is this that said what shal Saul reigne ouer vs Geue vs the men and we wil kil them †And Saul sayd No man shal be killed this day because our Lord this day hath releued Israel †And Samuel said to the people Come and let vs goe into Galgal and let vs renewe there a kingdome †And al the people went into Galgal and there they made Saul king before our Lord in Galgal they immolated there pacifique victimes before our Lord. And Saul reioysed there and al the men of Israel excedingly CHAP. XII Samuel being iustified by the people for his good behauiour 6. chargeth them with ingratitude towardes God 14. admonishing them and shewing by a signe that they offended in demanding a king 20. Exhorteth them now to serue God promiseth to pray for them and forwarneth that they shal receiue as they deserue AND Samuel sayd to al Israel Behold I haue heard your voice according to al thinges which you haue spoken to me and I haue appointed a king ouer you †And now the king goeth before you and I am waxen old and haue gray heares moreouer my sonnes are with you therfore hauing conuersed with you from my youth vntil this day loe I am readie †Speake of me before our Lord and before his Christ whether I haue taken any mans oxe or asse If I haue calumniated any man if I haue oppressed any man if I haue taken gift of any mans hand and I wil contemne that same this day and wil restore it to you †And they said thou hast not calumniated vs nor oppressed vs nor taken ought of any mans hand †And he sayd to them Witnes is our Lord against you and witnes is his Christ in this day that you haue not found any thing in my hand And they said Witnes †And Samuel said to the people Our Lord who made Moyses and Aaron and brought our fathers out of the Land of Aegypt is present †Now therefore stand that I may contend in iudgement against you before our Lord concerning al the mercies of our Lord which he hath done with you and with your fathers †how Iacob entred into Aegypt and your fathers cried to our Lord and our Lord sent Moyses and Aaron and brought your fathers out of Aegypt and placed them in this place †Who forgat our Lord their God and he deliuered them in the hand of Sisara master of the hoste of Haser and in the hand of the Philisthijmes and in the hand of the king of Moab and they sought against them †But afterward they cried to our Lord and said We haue sinned because we haue forsaken our Lord and haue serued Baalim and Astaroth now therefore deliuer vs from the hand of our enemies and we wil serue thee †And our Lord sent Ierobaal and Badan and Iepte and Samuel and deliuered you from the hand of your enemies round about and you dwelt securely †But you seing that Naas king of the children of Ammon was come against you you said to me Not so but a king shal reigne ouer vs whereas our Lord your God did reigne among you †Now therfore your king is readie whom you haue chosen and desired behold our Lord hath geuen you a king †If you shal feare our Lord and serue him and heare his voice and not exasperat the mouth of our Lord both you and the king which reigneth ouer you shal be folowers of our Lord your God †but if you wil nor heare the voice of our Lord but shal exasperat his wordes the hand of our Lord shal be vpon you and vpon your fathers †But now also stand and see this great thing which our Lord wil doe in your sight †Is it not wheare haruest to day I wil cal vpon our Lord he wil geue * noyses and rayne and you shal know and see that you haue done great euil to your selues in the sight of our Lord desiring a king ouer you †And Samuel cried to our Lord and our Lord gaue noyses and raine in that day †And al the people feared excedingly our Lord and Samuel And al the people said to Samuel Pray for thy seruantes to our Lord thy God that we die not for we haue added euil to al our sinnes that we desired vnto vs a king †And Samuel sayd to the people Feare not you haue done al this euil but yet depart not from the backe of our Lord but serue our Lord in al your hart †And decline not after vaine thinges which shal not profite you nor deliuer you because they are vaine †And our Lord wil not forsake his people for his great name because our Lord hath sworne to make you a people to him self †And farre from me be this sinne in our Lord that I should cease to pray for you and I wil teach you the good and right way †Therefore feare our Lord and serue him in truth and from your whole hart for you haue seene the great workes which he hath done among you †But if you shal perseuer in malice both you and your king shal perish together CHAP. XIII Saul and Ionathas preuaile in battel against the Philisthijms 5. who increasing their forcâ—s the Israâ—lites for feaâ—e flee away and hid themselues 8. Samuel not coming to the campe Saul presumeth to offer sacrifice 11. for which Samuel reproueth him and declareth that his kingdom shal be translated to an other 17. The Philisthijms oppresse the Israelites and depriue them of armour A CHILD of one yeare was Saul when he began to reigne and two yeares he reigned ouer Israel †And Saul chose to him selfe three thousand of Israel and there were with Saul two thousand in Machmas and in the mount of Bethel and a thousand with Ionathas in Gabaa of Beniamin moreouer the rest of the people he sent backe euerie man into their tabernacles †And Ionathas stroke the garrison of the Philisthijms which was in Gabaa Which when the Philisthijms had heard Saul sounded with the trumpet in al the land saying Let the Hebrewes heare †And al Israel heard this maner of bruite Saul hath striken the garrison of the Philisthijms and Israel tooke courage against the Philisthijms The people therfore cried after Saul in Galgal †And the Philisthims were gathered together to fight against Israel thirtie thousand chariotes and six thousand horsemen and the rest of the common people as the sand which is in the sea shore very much And going vp they camped in Machmas at the East of Bethauen †Which when the men of Israel had seene them selues put in a streict for the people was afflicted they hid them selues in caues and in secrete places in rockes also and in dennes and in cesternes †And the Hebrewes passed Iordan into the Land of Gad and Galaad And when Saul was yet in Galgal al the people was sore afrayd which
prophecied of al his twelue sonnes and in Iudas of Christ Gen. 49. v. 10. And then dyed  Iob either of the progenie of Nachor or as semeth more probable of Esau liued the same time in which the children of Israel were pressed with seruitude in Aegypt Himselfe writte the historie of his affliction in the Arabian tongue which Moyses translated into Hebrew m 2286. Amrā Esron n Ioseph buried his father in Chanaan and nourished his bretheren with their families as their patron superior Gen. 50. v. 18.   o 2340.   o He dyed at the age of 110. yeares Gen. 50. After his death the Superioritie of the children of Israel descended not to his sonnes but to his bretheren and rested in Leui the third brother liuing longest of al the twelue to the age of 137. yeares Exodi 6. v. 16. whose genealogie is there declared to shew the descent of Aaron and Moyses About this time was Atlas the great Astronomer brother of Prometheus grandfather to Mercurius the elder whose nephew Mercurius otherwise called Tris megistus the master of moral philosophie must nedes be a good while after Moyses S. Aug. li. 18. c. 39. de ciuit Also Cecrops the first king and builder of Athens was in Moyses time after him Cadmus built Thebes and the first that brought letters into Grece more ancient then manie Pammes goddes S. Aug. li. 18. c. 8. c. The booke of Exodus conteyneth the affliction and deliuerie of the children of Israel precepts of Gods law p 2401. Aaron borne Aram. r Moyses an infant of three monethes was put in a basket on the water taken thence by Pharaos daughter nurced by his owne mother and brought vp in Pharaos court Exod. 2.   q 2404. Moyses borne  s At the age of fourty yeares he went to his bretheren to comfort them Where killing an Aegyptian that oppressed an Israelite he was forced to flee into Madian Exod. 2.   s 2244.   t After other fourtie yeares God appeared to Moyses in a bush burning not wasting Sent him into Aegypt with powre to worke miracles to bring the children of Israel out of that bondage   t 2484.  Aminadab v Pharao and the Aegyptians resisting were plaged with tenne sundrie afflictions At last the Israelites were deliuered and Pharao with al his armie drowned Exo. 3. to 15.   THE END OF THE THIRD AGE THE BEGINNING OF THE FOVRTH AGE Anni mūdi High-priests The line of Iudas The sacred historie Schismes and infidelitie Scriptures    w The law was geuen in Mount Sina the fifteth day after their going out of Aegypt Exod. 19. 20. In the absence of Moyses the people forcing Aaron to consent made adored a golden calfe for God Exod. 32.   x 2485.   x The tabernacle with al thinges perteyning therto was prepared in the first yeare and erected the first day of the second yeare of their abode in the desert Exod. 40.     Aaron  y In the same second yeare Aaron was consecrated Highpriest and his sonnes Priestes for an ordinarie succession Moyses remayning Superior extraordinarie during his life Leuit. 8. Nadab Abiu offered strange fire in sacrifice and were burnt to death Leuit. 10. Leuiticus conteyneth the Rites of Sacrifices Priestes Feastes Fastes and Vowes Numeri so called because in it are numbered the men of twelue tribes able to beare armes also the Leuites deputed to Gods seruice about the tabernacle and the mansions of the people in the desert with other thinges happening in the 40. yeares of their abode there     z Balaam a sorcerer hyred by Balac king of Moab to curse the Israelites was forced by Gods powre to prophecy good things of them Num. 22. 23. 24. Chore Dathan Abiron with manie others murmuring rebellīg against Moyses Aaron were partly swalowed aliue into the earth others burnt with fire from heauen Num. 16.      a Moyses and Aaron doubting that God would not geue water out of a rock to the murmuring people were foretold that they should dye in the desert and not enter into the promised land Num. 20.    b 2523. Eleazar  b Aaron dyed in the mount Hor and his sonne Eleazar was made Highpriest Num. 20.    c 2524.   c Moyses repeted the law commending it earnestly to the people Then dyed and was secretly buried by Angels in the valley of Moab Deut. 34.      To whom Iosue succeded in temporal gouernment his spiritual remayning in the Highpriest Nu. 27. v 20. d Al the children of Israel that came forth of Aegypt aboue the age of twentie yeares dyed in the desert except two Iosue Caleb Num. 26. v. 64. 65. Al nations generally besides the Iewes seruing many false goddes those thought themselues most religious that were most supersticious studious of art Magike Nigromancy the like And euerie countrie yea almost euerie towne village had their peculiar imagined goddes as S. Athanasius discourseth Orat contra idola Deuteronomie is an abridgement and repetition of the law conteyned more largely in the former bookes    e Presently after Moyses death Iosue brought the people ouer Iordan into Chanaan Iosue ◠And in the space of seuen yeares conquered the land Iosue 6. c.   f 2531   f And diuided the same amongst the tribes Iosue 13.   g 2533.   g The tribes of Ruben Gad and half Manasses hauing receiued enheritance on the other side of Iordan Num. 32. v. 33. and now returning thither made an altar by the riuer side which the other tribes suspecting to be for sacrifice and so to make a schisme prepared to fight against them but they answering that it was only for a monument al were satisfied Iosue 22.  The booke of Iosue is the first of those which are properly called Historical declaring how the Israelits conquered possessed the land of Chanaan it conteyneth the historie of 32. yeares   Naasson  The Romanes otherwise most prudent accoūted al inuenters of artes conqueroures of countries al archiuers of great explores at least after their deathes to be goddes And not only men but also manie other thinges were held for goddes  h 2556. h Iosue at the age of 110. yeares dyed Iosue 24. v. 29. had no proper successor     i 2556.   i Eleazarus the Highpriest dyed the same yeare Iosue 24. v. 33. And his sonne Phinees succeded    Phinees  k After the death of Iosue the people were afflicted by forreine nations God so permitting for their sinnes but repenting he raised vp certaine captaines who were called Iudges of diuers tribes without ordinarie succession to deliuer defend the countrie from inuasions These were in al fourtenne
a child to be corrected vnto amendment but as an enemie was suffered to be indurate For of them whom Gods mercie suffereth not to be indurate it is written God scourgeth euerie child vvhom he receiueth And in an other place VVhom I loue I correct and chastise Againe VVhom God loueth he chastiseth Let no man therfore with Paganes and Manichees presume to reprehend or blame Gods iustice but certainly beleue that not Gods violence made Pharao indurate but his owne wickednes and his vntamed pride against Gods precepts Againe what els is it to say I vvil indurate his hart but when my grace is absent from him his owne wickednes wil obdurate him To know this by examples water is congeled with vehement cold but the heate of the sunne coming vpon it is resolued and the sunne departing it freezeth againe In like maner by the lasines of sinners charitie waâ—eth cold they are hardned as yse but when the heate of Gods mercie commeth vpon them they are againe soâ—tned So Pharao without pittie or compassion afflicting the Hebrewes became as hard as yse but Gods hand touching him with afflictions he made humble supplication that Moyses and Aaron would pray to God for him promising what they demanded againe when the plagues were remoued he was more indurate against God and his people then before VVherby we see Gods gentlenes indulgence and sparing of Pharao not his â—igour nor his wil or set purpose but his permission and Pharaoes owne wilful malice hardned his hart and brought him to obstinate contempt of Gods coÌ„mandments And therfore God did only indurate him in that coÌ„mon phrase of speaking as a father or a maister hauing brought vp his child or seruant delicatly and not sufficiently punished his frequent faultes wherby he becometh worse and worse desperate and obdurate at last the father or maister saieth I haue made thee thus bad as thou art I by sparing thee and suffering thee to haue thine owne pleasure haue nourished thy peruersnes and carelesnes yet he saieth not this as though by his wil and intention but by his goodnes and gentlenes the man became so wicked It may here be demanded againe why did not our Lord so mercifully punish Pharao as wholy to reclame him for it semeth that had benne greatest mercie and God dealeth so with some why doth he not with al that al might be saued First it is most iustly and rightly ascribed to their iniquitie which deserue to be indurate againe why this sinner is reclaimed and not an other of the same il deserts is to be referred to Gods inscrutable iudgements which are often secrete neuer vniust Let it therfore suffice piously and humbly to beleue that as Moyses testifieth God is faithful and vvithout anie iniquitie iust and right and as the royal Prophet also professeth Thou art not a God that vvâ—â—â— iniquitie and as the Apostle teacheth there is no iniquitie vvith God By al which and some more to the same effect which we omit S. Augustin concludeth againe that properly Pharao hardened his owne hart God only by bestowing benefites vpon him which he abused and not plaguing him so much as he deserued but letting him liue and reigne and persecute the Church for the time vntil he and al his armie were in the middes of the sea VVhither as the same lerned father noteth ser 89. their owne desperate boldnes drew them vaine furie through their owne madnes prouoking them to goe so farre where God not working but only ceasing to continew his miracle the waters returning to their owne nature and meeting together inuolued and drowned them al. Other like expositions the same lerned father hath in other places As q. 18. super Exodum he teacheth that Pharao being already so wicked through his owne fault other things were done to him and his people which partly were to the correction of others and might haue bene to his but he abusing al became worse worse by Gods suffering and dispensation not only for his 〈◊〉 but euidently iust punishment Li. 5. cont Iulian c. 3. touching the ground of tentation he alleageth the Apostle saying Euerie one is tempted of his ovvne concupiscence abstracted and allured but touching one kind of Gods punishing some that are ouerwhelmed in obstinate sinnes he alleageth the saying of an other Aopstle God hath deliuered them into passions of ignominie and into a reprobate â—â—nâ—e to do those things that are not conuenient for God deliuereth them saith he conveniently that the same sinnes are made both punishments of sinnes past and are deserts of punishments to come Yet he maketh not the willes euil but vseth the euil as he wil who can not wil anie thing vniuâ—â—ly Againe q. 24. It appeareth saith he that the causes of induration of Pharaoes hart were not only for that his Inchanters did like things to those which Moyses and Aaron did but the very patience of God by which he spared him Gods patience according to mens hartes is profitable to some to repentance to some vnprofitable to resist God persist in euil yet not of it selfe vnprofitable but through the euil hart Briefly q 36. I haue harned Pharaoes hart that is I haue bene patient ouer him and his seruants Epist 105. God doth not indurate by imperting malice but by not imperting mercie or grace Li de Proedâ—st Grat. c 4. God is sayed to indurate him whom he wil not mollisie So to make him blinde whom he wil not illuminate So also to repel him whom he wil not cal And â— 6 what is that to say I vvil indurate his hart but I wil not mollifie it cap 14. It ought to haue auailed Pharao to saluation that Gods patience deâ—erring his iust and deserued punishment multiplied vpon him frequent stripes of miracles or miraculous punishmeÌ„ts Cap 15. Did not Nabucodonosor repent being punished after innumerable impieties and recouered the kingdome which he had lost But Pharao by punishment became more obdurate and perished Both were men both Kings both persecutors of Gods people both gently admonished by punishments VVhat then made their endes diuers but that the one feeling Gods hand mourned in remembrance of his owne iniquitie the other by his freewil fought against Gods most merciful veritie Neither is this the doctrin of S. Augustin alone but of other Doctors also Origen li. 3. Periarch c. de Libert arbitrij saieth the Scripture sheweth manifestly that Pharao was indurate by his owne wil. For so God saied to him Thou vvouldest not If thou vvilt not dismisse Israel S. Basil Orat. quod Deus non sit auctor malorum saieth God beginning with lesse scourges proceeded with greater and greater to plague Pharao but did not mollifie him being obstinate neither yet did punish him with death vntil he drowned himselfe when he presumed through pride to passe the same way by which the iust went
the face our Lord as Manasses his father did reuerence it and he committed farre greater sinnes †And when his seruantes had conspired agaynst him they slewe him in his owne house †Moreouer the rest of the multitude of the people hauing slaine them that stroke Amon made Iosias his sonne king for him CHAP. XXXIIII Iosias destroyeth idolatrie 8. repaireth the Temple 14. The booke of the law found in the Temple is redde before him 19. wherby vnderstanding the sinnes of the people 23. a prophete foresheweth their punishment 26. but not in his daies 29. He reneweth the couenant betwen God and the people EIGHT yeares old was Iosias when he began to reigne he reigned thirtie and one yeares in Ierusalem †And he did that which was right in the sight of our Lord and walked in the waies of Dauid his father he declined not neither to the right hand nor to the left †And in the eight yeare of his reigne when he was yet a child he began to seeke the God of his father Dauid and the twelfth yeare after he began to reigne he cleansed Iuda and Ierusalem from excelses and groues and idols sculptils †And they destroyed before him the altars of Baalim and the idols that had bene set vpon them they destroyed the groues also and sculptils he cut downe and brake in peeces and ouer their tombes that were accustomed to immolate vnto them he strawed the fragmentes †Moreouer the bones of the Priestes he burnt on the altars of the idols and he clensed Iuda and Ierusalem †Yea and in the cities of Manasses and of Ephraim and of Simeon vnto Nepthali he ouerthrew al. †And when he had destroyed the altars and the groues and had broken the idols into peces and had ouerthrowen al profane temples out of al the land of Israel he returned into Ierusalem †Therfore in the eightenth yeare of his reigne the land now clensed and the temple of our Lord he sent Saphan the sonne of Eselias and Maasias the gouernour of the citie and Ioha the sonne of Ioachaz Commenter that they should repayre the house of our Lord his God †Who came to Helcias the high priest and taking of him the money which had bene brought into the house of our Lord and which the Leuites and porters had gathered together of Manasses and Ephraim and of al the remnant of Israel of al Iuda also and Beniamin and the inhabiters of Ierusalem †they deliuered in their handes that ouersaw the workemen in the house of our Lord that they should repayre the temple and mend al weake partes †But they gaue it to the artificers and to the masons that they should bye stones out of the quarries and timber for the ioyntures of the building and for making the roofe of the house which the kinges of Iuda had destroyed †Who did al thinges faithfully And the ouerseers of the workemen were Iahath Abdias of the children of Merari Zacharias and Mosollam of the children of Caath which vrged the worke al Leuites skilful to sing on instrumentes †But ouer them that caried burdens to diuerse vses were scribes and masters of the Leuites and porters †And when they caried forth the money that had bene brought into the temple of our Lord Helcias the Priest found the Booke of the law of our Lord by the hand of Moyses †And he sayd to Saphan the Scribe I haue found the booke of the law in the house of our Lord and deliuered it to him †But he brought in the volume to the king and told him saying Al thinges which thou gauest into the hand of thy seruantes loe are accomplished †The siluer that was found in the house of our Lord they haue gathered into a masse and it was geuen to the ouerseers of the artificers and of them that make diuerse workes †Moreouer Helcias the Priest deliuered me this booke Which when he had read in the kinges presence †and he had heard the wordes of the law he rent his garmentes †and he commanded Helcias and Ahicam the sonne of Saphan and Abdon the sonne of Micha Saphan also the scribe and Asaa the kinges seruant saying †Goe and pray our Lord for me and for the remnant of Israel and Iuda concerning al the wordes of this Booke which is found for the great furie of our Lord hath distilled vpon vs for that our fathers haue not kept the wordes of our Lord to doe al thinges that are writen in this volume †Helcias therfore went and they that were sent together by the king to Olda a prophetesse the wife of Sellum the sonne of Thecuath the sonne of Hasra keeper of the garmentes who dwelt in Ierusalem in the second part and they spake to her the wordes which we haue aboue mentioned †But she answered them Thus sayth out Lord the God of Israel Tel the man that sent you to me †Thus sayth our Lord Behold I wil bring euils vpon this place and vpon the inhabitantes therof and al the curses that are writen in this Booke which they redde before the king of Iuda †Because they haue forsaken me and haue sacrificed to strange goddes that they might prouoke me to wrath in al the workes of their handes therfore shal my furie droppe vpon this place shal not be extinguished †But to the king of Iuda that sent you to beseche our Lord thus speake ye Thus sayth our Lord the God of Israel Because thou hast heard the wordes of this volume †and thy hart is mollified and thou art humbled in the sight of our Lord for these thinges which are spoken against this place and the inhabitantes of Ierusalem and reuerencing my face hast rent thy garmentes and wept before me I also haue heard thee sayth our Lord. †For now wil I gather thee to thy fathers and thou shalt be brought into thy graue in peace neither shal thyne eies see al the euil that I wil bring in vpon this place and vpon the inhabitantes therof They therfore reported to the king al thinges that she had sayd †But he calling together al the ancientes of Iuda and Ierusalem †went vp into the house of our Lord and al the men of Iuda and the inhabitantes of Ierusalem Priestes and Leuites and al the people from the least to the greatest In whose hearing in the house of our Lord the king read al the wordes of the volume †And standing on his tribunal seate he made a couenant before our Lord that he would walke after him and keepe his preceptes and testimonies and iustifications in al his hart and in al his soule and would do the thinges that were writen in that volume which he had read †He adiured also vpon this al that were found in Ierusalem and Beniamin and the inhabitantes of Ierusalem did according to the couenant of our Lord the God of their fathers †Iosias