these things to the benefite commoditie of his children and is readie alwayes to deliuer them in time of miserie and calamitie Concerning this matter it is long to recite the examples of Gods goodnesse towards Abraham Isaac and Iacob towards Ioseph Moses Iosua Dauid Ezechias Esdras the Apostle Paule and many other As in all ages so especially in our remembrance since the man of sinne began to be reuealed and the Gospell published the prouidence of almightie God in sauing hys people hathe béene manifestly shewed as is to bée séene in the Ecclesiasticall histories of Germanie of Fraunce of Englande and Scotlande and diuers other Nations If there were nothing lefte in wryting héereof in all the worlde yet euery man by the consideration of Gods workes bothe in him selfe and in other menne maye vnderstande sufficiently howe God careth for his people in deliueryng them from their enimies whiche is the seconde note for oure instruction gathered oute of these former woordes of the Prophete In the first part of the chapter Nowe followeth the seconde part Behold I haue made thee of small power and of little reputation among the Nations thou art greatly despised Héere God speaketh vnto the posteritie of Esau after this sorte Thou countrey of Edom thou thinkest thy selfe so sure that thou canst not be ouerthrowne thou persuadest thy selfe that thou art loued of thy neighbours and feared of thy enimies and therefore that there is no likelyhoode that thou shouldest be ouercome of any nation But this loue and this feare is but a rotten staffe or weake réede which easily will be broken For I the maker of heauen and earth and ruler of all the worlde haue made thée of small power and of little reputation among the nations that are rounde about thée they do vtterly contemne thée and despise thée I haue made thée of small power sayth God by his Prophete he speaketh in the time past of the time to come signifying thereby that it shall as certenly come to passe as though it were alredie fulfilled Worldly Princes thinke their state sure when they are loued of their neighbours and feared of their enimies But the Edomites sayth God haue no such assurance of their state For where loue is there is reputation but they shall be of small reputation therfore they shall not be loued and where feare is there is no contempt but they shall be despised therfore they shal not be feared Notwithstanding they persuaded them selues of safetie and did triumphe ouer other nations in their hearts deceyuing theÌ„ selues with a false persuasion Therfore the Prophet addeth The pride of thy heart hath deceyued thee which dwellest in the caues of a rocke hauing an high place for his habitation saying in his heart VVho shall bring me downe to the grounde Ieremie addeth vnto this and sayth moreouer Thy feare and the pride of thy heart c. That is to say the feare wherwith other nations do feare thée or else the opinion that thou hast conceyued that other nations are afrayde of thée and the pride of thy heart hath deceyued thée The Edomites were lifted vp with pride they did aduaunce themselues aboue other nations thinking them selues inuincible wheras they were of small power and of little reputatioÌ„ therfore they were deceiued The cause why they were so proude as it séemeth by the text was the coÌ„modious situation of their couÌ„trey They did dwel on the mountaines rockes that were vnaccessible they had the higher grounde of their enimies no maÌ„ as they thought was able to make a forte agaynst them therfore they had the aduauntage of all that should come against theÌ„ This made them thinke with theÌ„selues that no natioÌ„ was able to ouercome them therfore the Prophet sayth He sayth in his heart who shal bring me down to the grounde Vnto this proud hert God answereth by his Prophet as foloweth Although thou mount vp like an Eagle yea althoughe thou make thy nest as high as the starres euen froÌ„ thence will I bring thee downe This is a sure saying of Iehoua Ieremie sayth If thou make thy nest as high as the Eagle from thence will I bring thée downe Vnto this our Prophete addeth more and sayth if thou make thy nest as highe 〈◊〉 the starres and so foorth that is to say Trust not to thy dwelling on high for if it were a thousand times higher than it is thou art not able to resist God whiche is aboue it and thée for he dwelleth in a mount higher thou art able to dwell â—o can throw downe his thunderbolts vpon thée and destroy thee so that thou shalte neuer recouer thy selfe agayne As it is written If Edom say we are impouerished but we wil returne and buylde our desolate places yet sayth the Lorde of Hostes they shal buyld but I wil destroy it and they shall be called the border of wickednesse and the people with whome the Lorde is angry for euer Thus shall the Edomites be ouerthrowne sayth God notwithstanding the situatioÌ„ of their couÌ„trey and the loue of their neighbours and feare of their enimies Therfore the stays wherby they persuaded theÌ„selues of safty is of no force to deliuer theÌ„ froÌ„ destructioÌ„ which the Prophet techeth in the secoÌ„d part of this chap. whose words serue for the coÌ„solatioÌ„ of al the faithful in that we lerne therby that no power of man is able to resiste God who fighteth for his people Moreouer al Princes and Nations may learne therby not to trust in any earthly mighte or strength nor in the ayde of other men that are their confederates For God is able to alter mens mindes and to make them despised that before were estéemed and feared Héere all nations may learne not to put too muche confidence in the situation of their countrey be it neuer so well fortified For God is able to bring downe to make weake by one meanes or other those that are of moste power and strength It is not the pollicie nor strength of man that ouercommeth in battell but God with a great or small companie of men yea of himself without the ministerie of man as pleaseth him As we are taught by the example of the people in Noes time vtterly destroyed with the floud for their disobedience and by the example of the Sodomites destroyed with fire and brimstone from heauen By hindering the buylding of Babell toure through the confusion of the tungs of men by the destruction of the great citie Ierusalem and by the victories that Moses had ouer Pharao that Iosua had ouer the Cananites that Gedeon and other Iudges that Ezechias and other godly Princes had ouer their enimies Therfore king Dauid notwithstanding his owne policie and multitude of men sayth I trust in the Lorde of whom shal I be afrayde And the Lorde is my fortresse my castle my towre in whome I trust my butkler my shielde and my saluation In like maner all Princes and Nations vsing such
ordinary meanes as God hath appoynted ought notwithstanding to put their chéef trust in God without whose helpe no Prince is able to mainteyne his estate his owne policie is in vayne his owne power will not helpe him For God teacheth vs héere by this Prophet that althoughe we make our dwelling as highe as the starres yet he is able to ouerthrowe vs and to bring vs to nothing It followeth If theeues came vnto thee or nobbers by night how miserably shouldest thou he handled yet woulde they not steale onely so muche as shoulde be sufficient for them if grape gatherers shoulde come vnto thee woulde they not leaue some little ones How are the goodes of Esau sought out howe are his treasures spoyled This is the thirde parte of the chapter in the whiche the Prophet sheweth by a comparison the greatnesse of the miserie calamitie that shoulde happen vnto the Edomites Great should be their miserie if they shoulde be spoyled by théeues for it is no small gréefe to a man to léess in one houre that whiche he hath laboured for many yéeres Muche more shall they be spoyled of those enimies that God will sende agaynst them For théeues wyll leaue something behinde them as landes reuenues and housholde stuffe but their enimies will take all and will put them out of their houses and dispossesse them of all their landes also it is a great miserie to be spoyled of their grapes wherevpon the wealth of their countrey dothe stande yet that is not so great as this miserie that shall happen vnto them For the spoylers of grapes will leaue some rascales at the least that are vnrype to succour them withall but the Nations whome God wyll sende agaynst them will leaue nothing therefore their miserie shall be vnspeakable For this cause the Prophet vttereth it by an exclamation saying O howe are the goodes of Esau soughte oute and hys treasures spoyled As though he should say I am not able to expresse howe the Edomites shall bée spoyled yet thys is the leaste parte of their miserie that is more whiche followeth All the men that were confederate wyth thee haue drye o◠thee to the borders the men that were all peace wyth thee haue deceyued thee they haue prevayled agaynst thee they that haue had mayntenance by thee shall layd snare in thy waye to catche thee he shall not perceyue it They shall not onely be spoyled saythe the Prophete but also they shall be driuen out of their countrey yea and that by those in whome they trusted of whom they looked for ayde with whom they were confederate so foorth And this the Prophet vttreth in the time past signifying that it is as certayne as though it were alreadie past And he addeth moreouer that this miserie shal come vnto them vpon the sodayne so that they shall not perceyue it and therefore it is like to be muche greater than if they had foreséene it For a Prince that knoweth of his enimies comming may leuye an armie agaynst him and so perhaps withstande him or make some other shift for him selfe But the Edomites are bereft of this helpe for they shall not perceyue the miserie that is towards them before it come and therfore through their soden oppression they are likely to be handled the more miserably Agaynst this it might be obiected that it is not likely that they shoulde be ignorante of that whiche should happen vnto them séeing there are among them so many wise men so many graue Senators that coulde foresée daunger to come Vnto this God answereth by his Prophet as followeth Shall not I at that day sayth the Lorde euen cut off from Edom the wise men and vtterly take away vnderstanding from the mounte of Esau Yea moreouer the courage of thy mightie captaynes O Teman shall be abated bicause euery man shall be cut off from the mount of Esau by slaughter They shal not perceyue or foresee the daunger at hande sayth God for he wil destroy their wise Senatours and take away all men of vnderstanding from amongst them This is a great calamitie yet he will not onely do this but also he will dismay yea and slay all their mightie captaynes so that there shall be none lefte able to defende them This is taught by the name of Teman whiche was the chiefe citie and the most ancient Dukedome in Idumea so named of Teman the eldest sonne of Elephas Esaus first sonne How their mightie captaynes shall be dismayde Ieremie declareth saying Their heart shal be as the heart of a woman with trauell that is ful of sorrow always lamenting continually looking for to perishe The cause of this sorrowe is the vtter destruction of the Inhabitantes which vnspeakable miserie vttered by our Prophet in one worde is more at large declared by Ieremie in these words There shall be none left to say leaue thy fatherlesse children with me I wil preserue them aliue and let thy widowes trust in me As in the ouerthrowe of Sodome and of Gomorra and the places neare about sayth the Lorde no man shall dwell there neither shal the children of men remaine in it So shall Edom be And Ezechiell sayth Thus sayth the Lorde Iehoua I will stretche out my hande vpon Edom and will destroy man and beast out of it This is the great calamitie that God sayth shall come vpon the Edomites they shall be spoyled of al their goods euen to their bid treasures and moste precious Iewels and not that onely but also they shall be driuen out of their countrey sodayne destruction shall come vpon them vnwares they shall all be destroyed foolishe and wise weake strong small and great poore and riche man beast This is the thirde parte of the chapter whiche as the former so this serueth for the consolation of the faythfull and correction of the wicked persecuters of Gods people For this is the ende purpose of the Prophet to comfort the Israelites béeing in captiuitie and to dismay the Edomites their deadly enimies And what soeuer serueth for their consolation is a general consolatiō for all afflicted Christians that call vpon God and put their trust in him And what soeuer serueth to dismay the Edomites is a generall correction of all wicked persons that afflict Gods people For in the deliuerance of the Israelites is declared the goodnesse of God towards all men for the goodnesse of God is one for God is one his goodnesse is immutable And in the destructiō of the Edomites is shewed the iustice of God towards all men for the iustice of God is alwayes one for God is one and his iustice is immutable Therefore I say these words of the Prophet serue for the vse of all men for the comforte of the godly and reprofe of the wicked They are a sharpe crimination or threatning agaynst all persecuters of the Christians wherby in the miserie and calamitie of the Edomites the Prophet describeth the
declaration of this double and triple sence of the Scripture and the manifolde commoditie thereof let vs consider the historie of Dauid persecuted by Saule and after exalted to the kingdome of Israell As touching the letter euery Christian mā that hath read the bookes of Samuel doth cōfesse that Dauid was liuing about a thousand yeres befere the cōming of our Sauiour in the flesh that béeing persecuted of king Saule he was diuers times in danger of death from the which God did wonderfully deliuer him and also deliuered Sauls into his hands but he would not lay hāds vpon him vnto death And when tidings was brought him that Saule was dead he executed the messenger as a murtherer bicause he confessed that he had slayn him Then he was proclaymed king and after that he was established in the kingdome he committed adultrie with Bethsabe and caused hir husband to be slayne and did other things displeasant vnto God for the whiche he was gréeuously punished This is the truth of the letter As touching the morall we learne by Dauids fall and the punishmēt of his wickednesse to looke circumspectly vnto our selues and to feare the Iudgemēt of God for our iniquities We learne by his whole life that affliction is a good scholemaster vnto godlinesse in that it restrayneth our carnall lustes and kéepeth downe our flesh but cōtrariwise prosperitie maketh vs forget the lawes of god for Dauid in aduersitie would not slay Saul the king when he was deliuered into his hands although he were his deadly enimie giuing vs an ensample of our duetie towards our Prince so narowly did he looke vnto his pathes but in prosperity he neglected Gods cōmandemēts swarued from his ordinances by cōmitting adultrie murther other offences Wherby we are taught that prosperitie is a slipperie place to stand vpon It is like an high stéepe mountayne narrow in the top vpō the which a man standing is in danger of euery wind to be blowē down to break his neck except he hold fast by some trée or hide him selfe vnder some bush or such like so in prosperity we are in dāger of euery assault of the flesh world diuel except we hold fast by a true faith in Christ who is a sure stay our only stay both in prosperitie aduersitie without whō we can not be safe neither in the moūt of honor welth nor in the valley of afflictiō For it may be that by the meanes of much rain the valley may be ouerflowē with water they drouned that dwel in it vnlesse they saue them selues by a bote or suche other meanes so in aduersitie we are in dāger to be ouerwhelmed with the waues of affliction to be prouoked to forsake God excepte we cleaue fast vnto Christ by a liuely fayth who is our only arke of saluation Therfore Dauid doth not say I trust in the valley but I trust in the Lord wherfore do they say vnto my soule flye vnto the mountains Thus much of the moral in the history of Dauid There is in it also an allegory or mystery prefiguring our sauiour Christ which we lerne by the words of the prophets Ezechiel Hoshea where God speaketh in thē after this sort I will set a shepherd ouer my shéepe he shall feede them euen my seruāt Dauid he shal féede them he shall be their shepheard I the Lord wil be their God and my seruant Dauid shall be the Prince among them he shall be king ouer thē and they shal haue one shepheard and my seruant Dauid shal be their Prince for euer The children of Israell shall turne and séeke the Lorde their God Dauid their king and shall feare the Lorde his goodnesse in the later days These Prophets Hoshea and Ezechiel liued the one thrée hundred yeres the other foure hundred yeres after Dauid Therfore séeing they prophesie of a Dauid to come after them in the later dayes and bicause they call him an euerlasting king which can not be verified of Dauid literally béeing a mortall man it is euident that they do meane an other prefigured by Dauid that is to say our Sauiour who gouerneth the true Israelites that is to say the elect people of God for euer who also in the Gospel calleth himselfe the good shepheard giuing vs to vnderstand that he is that Dauid the shepheard of Gods people of whome the Prophets do speake Therfore the historie of Dauid is mystically expounded thus Dauid in aduersitie therby brought downe as I may say vnto hell dothe signifie our Sauiour taking our nature vpon him and debacing him selfe vnto the lowest degrée hūbling him selfe vnto the death euen vnto the death of the crosse and Dauid deliuered from his enimies and placed in the kingdome doth signifie our Sauiour rising frō death and ascending vnto heauen where he is exalted vnto the right hand of God and gouerneth all the worlde Thus this historie may truly be expounded wherby we may vnderstande that in the holy scriptures much more is to be considered than the letter at the first sight offreth vnto vs After this sorte also the Apostle teacheth vs to expounde the historie of Salomon Dauids sonne God sayd vnto Dauid that he would giue him a sonne whose throne he would establish for euer and he would be his father and he should be his sonne where the letter directeth vs vnto Salomon who then had established the kingdome vnto him selfe when he had put to death those that rebelled against him and his father But the holy Ghost in the person of Salomon as in a type and figure teacheth vs that our sauiour Christ hauing subdued all the enimies of his father and of him selfe shall reigne for euer quietly with his faythfull seruants that herken vnto his lawes submit themselues vnto his gouernment Vnto this expositiō the Apostle leadeth vs where he applieth the words of almightie God vnto our sauiour saying Christ is so much the more excellent than Angels as he hath gotten him a more excellent name thā they For vnto which of the Angels saide he at any time Thou art my sonne this day haue I begotten thée And agayn I wil be his father he shall be my sonne Therefore séeing that the Apostle expoundeth the words to be spokē of our Sauiour which literally do appertein vnto Salomō I say that Salomō was a figure of our sauiour that in the history of Salomon there is an allegory besides the letter Likewise Ionas in the whales belly after deliuered by the power of God was not only an example of Gods omnipotent goodnesse but also a figure of the buriall resurrection of our Sauiour as we are taught by his owne interpretation in the Gospell And Hoshea the Prophet declaring the benefites of God towards the Israelites their vnthankfulnesse for the same reciteth their deliuerance out of Egypt In whom God