A COMMENT VPON COHELETH OR ECCLESIASTES Framed for the instruction of PRINCE HENRI Our hope BY HVG BROVGHTON Anno 1605 A COMMENT VPON COHELETH OR ECCLESIASTES Framed for the instruction of PRINCE HENRI Our Hope By HVGH BROVGHTON Anno 1605. TO THE MOST NOBLE HENRY PRINCE OF great Britanie IN a former litle booke most noble Prince speaking Ebrew and Latin I shewed the Persons of Davids Familie the Kinges race and the Kinglier then the Kings the house of our Lord after the flesh a matter opened in few wordes yet mistaken in England and almost every where to the ruine of infinite millions who finding Christians vnable to settle their owne narration reiected all Christianitie That small worke I dispersed in many thousand copies by Sea and Lande over Europe and Asia where many haue thought the gift not meane Next knowledge of the Persones that sprang from Davids house the qualitie of the Kingdome perpetual Throne promised to David 2. Sam. 7. and 1. Chron. 17. and Psal 89. should be knowen To manifest that Salomon Davids sonne and a King that hath all Royalties of this world is chosen of God He telleth vpon his owne longue studie and experience that all thinges vnder the Sunne be vaine So that the Throne promised to David must be for the world to come which the man Gabriel that appeared to Daniel to tell our Lords death and to Marie for his birth doeth plainly expound what nature it hath that it is the Kingdome of Christ by suffrings bringing ioye The whole booke of Salomon herein spent with helpes to clearnes I ioyne to the former which if God will shal be accompanied with others as the argument calleth for explication Your graces most humble Hugh Broughton THE CHIEF MARK OF ALL The holy Scriptures SVNDRY wayes doth our heavenly father draw vs vnto the Kingdome of his sonne But Man created of God plain wil be searching out many conceites to his owne over throw by the sleight of Satan as the Angels that kept not their place fell to ruine They being created the first day hearing the voice of God which dwelleth in light that none can come too saw that the frame of the world was not for Spirites vse the Sphaeres in their wonderfull greatnes swiftenes the starres in theyr most beawtifull order the vapours windes cloudes in most wise peise the plantes foules fishes beastes all these benefite not the Angels But after the making of all these the holy trinity consulteth for making man in iustice plain holynes maketh his body of the earth that all thinges may serve his vse the starres the Elementes the plantes all live thinges And God doth breath into him a soule immortall full of life which might have kept the body allwayes alive sheweth vnto Angels mans wisdome in that he nameth all beastes with termes defining theyr nature maketh a woman outo ef his side giveth them dominion over the Earth and g tivth his Angels charge over them to attend vpon them to kepe them But one part mislikeh this charge by that rebellion extinguish their owne light lose their owne glory find misery vnrecoverable seke leave to try man whether he can be deceaved to cast of the obedience of God prevaileth bringeth them to death of the soule losse of that light which wold have kept the body alive for ever into sinne that draweth eternall woe vpon it And this disobedience being wroght quickly the first day of man brought all the world vnder corruption and greved still the holy spirit his Angels But then further counsell is shewed that the ETERNALL Son of God will take Humanity of Eves Sede and to him the world is subiectea till an vncorruptible new world be made But Satā withdrew belefe from this poinct rules as Prince of the darkenes of this world so as it is hard for Adams Sonnes borne in sinne blindnes extreme to hold this world cursed vvhich yet all serveth mans vse and to hope for a world vnvisible for the soule leaving this life of a new vvorld for the body soule Seing Adam cared not for Gods charge being yet in life Lordship beleeved not the word of him who spake all thinges had theyr beynge So the Sonnes of Adam will hardly beleve that the King of Glory must die to give life and to lighte Adam by faith to life and arise to raise Adam and leave this world to shew hope of an other world Experience teacheth vs how far this is from vs. To this none can come vnlesse the Father draw him Yet Gods grace in governement condemneth all for not layng hand vpon this grace and for not craving of grace truly so to doe Now to shew that by death life should come in Paradise a beast is killed and with the skinne our Parentes be clothed and fyer from Heaven burneth the carcase and the next day is appointed for a rest to meditate on this to whom able to governe the creature is subiected who by resting the Sabath in the graue vvhich fell out after 39 60. yeares fully endeth the Sabath rising vvith the light the first day brings light vnto the vvorld as in day for death his passion vvas fitted to Adams day time of fall sentence against him Thus redēption vvas taught anger by a curse pronounced to come by the flood Novv Cains murther of Abel sheweth what poyson Satan breathed into Eves soule to beare such a sonne further Cains sonnes appeare bad in making Gods of starres made to serve man defying their Lord that made the world for them deifiing the creatures to lose the creatour and creatures vvhen the flood vvashed their bodies away and their soules ascend to Gods Throne to have from it before it eternall flames Yet then Christ shevved in Noah how all beastes Elementes heavens obeyed him Againe they are told that Christ shall arise from Sem to be a King of iustice peace And that when the heathen receave the promesse Iapheth his sonnes shall have the chiefest continuance of grace And Noes families be named the Prophetes shew their nationes stories with Gods people That matter is expounded by the Prophetes speaking still of the first families But now they make the sad blessing a skoph and build a proud tower for worship to starres Then GOD devided all their tongues that they should no more heare his truth to plead foolishly against it And two thousand yeares all Heathen estranged from GOD perished for ever ever And in short speches to Abraham he foretelleth that of him one shall come that shall bless all nationess sheweth his death recouery from death in Isaak offred neare death but only by Gods voice reserved as by a resurrection that Iacobs sonnes should not worship starres above or any thing on earth they are starres in Iosephs dreame precious stones
in Aarons Brest lap or Care of iudgement And to shew what iustice God required they have plain Lawes of perfect Equity with a curse to all that kepe not every one that men might know how sinne aboundeth to the poore in spirit the redeemer is declared in mysteries that the prophane should not skoff yet plainly to such as mark how Adam Abraham heard of him life of the soule is shewed by dwelling with God as the second death for the soule by anger from the face of God Thus closly the world to come is shewed Also the tabernacle appartenāces shewed Christ his dwelling with man by sacrifices birdes escaped his death resurrectiō that for iustice hence by faith men should not say who can go vp to heaven to bring Christ downe or who can goe to the depe of the earth to bring Christ from the dead but might know that Iesus should be the Eternal that the Godhead should raise him frō the dead And the saving of our soules appeared in the Brasen serpent when Moses lifted vp the serpent in the wildernes the stonged by serpentes weare healed Many dout lesse asked him what was meant therby he told that so the sun of man should be lifted vp that they who beleved on him should not perish but have life everlasting Moses mynd shined with knowledge of all as did his face shine with light Levies Sunlike Smaragd his Prophecies abridg all the holy stories he maketh the twelve dum stones tell much from Aarons brest And the Patriarkes lives have the like revolutiones in their children how for cleaving to the redeamer they should find glory againe shame in refusing their fathers God folowing the blindenes of the God of this world Now in David God historically expresseth Christ his Kingdome David cometh to his Kingdome by continuall afflictiones so all that will folow the religion of Christ shal be persecuted And by whom the covenant of God his law shall be kept to vanquish Satan David is told evē that Christ shall come of his loynes to reigne vpon his throne for ever Of him he shall come to be a man a King in this world but he shall have no Kingdome in this world the earth which God hath cursed but to him is the world to come subdued being the creator David sheweth how yet in his suffringes death he was made inferior to Angels but crowned with glory honour since he sate on the right hand of God And when he came into the world all the Angels of God worshipped him And that Iuda should consider how by suffrings this glory cometh David describeth as an Evangelist the suffringes of Christ This David doeth And telleth in Prophecies the overthrow of his nation theyr captivity retarne Antiochus persecutiones the Iewes reiection even all their times how God toke a time to plant them will pluck them vp to seke them will destroy them to kepe them will cast them off to love them and will hate them Now for experience that a Kingdome vnder the Sun was not promised in Christ Salomon had all wisdome wealth pleasure found all to be vanitie by his pleasures fell from God but returned and teacheh in Ecclesiastes in all particular sortes that all here is but vanitie vexation of spirit by mans dealinges and by the sorowes of theyr handes and closly warneth that his sonne shall not rule all his foreseying how Iosephs Ieroboam vold leave only Iuda to be an whole tribe till Shiloh his childe by the Virgin the King Eternall came in the flesh Part of Rachels house and a litle of Beniamin because God built half Ierusalem and the Temple in his tribe for that part of Beniamin cleaved to Iuda as a wolf though not a lion in Mardochai and Atossa the mother of Great Artaxerxes that built the temple which abode till our Lord came into it And Salomon warneth the ten tribes how they wil be robbers making one purse and refuse the love of the truth and how God wold laugh at their destruction by Assur and fitted Proverbes to have kept them from destruction And the sonne of Thamar of Rachab of Ruth of Bathsuagh in the Canticles turneth all ioy to the Kingdome of Christ that Iosephs house should not despise the root of Iessai though Iesus Son of Nun conquered the Land made the Sun to stay A matter shewing that which foloweth IESVS the Sonne of GOD and the Sonne of David after the flesh wold darken the Sun and shake all the earth And yeres nere a thousand GOD still so governed Iuda that they should look for the Kingdome of heaven alwayes opened by CHRIST and still feele their state on earth to be full of sorow That did they sone prove true For the Kinges of Iuda were all eyther worshippers of Devels with many of theyr people or in some feeling of great danger distresse or in open hearing of Prophetes and that many at once that Babel should end their state and Salomons house because they followed Babel built to make Gōddes of creatures Salomons house vtterly perished And in Babel the Image and other Pictures telles them in expositiones seaven times over how heathen shall withold Iudahs kingdome even from Salathiel and Zoroba babel our Lords Fathers after the flesh vntill he came into the world And they saw how yet vnder Heathen they were defended And when they saw not only the fall of Salomons race temple city kingdome but of mighty Babel in 70. yeres reigne then they were in fit case to be taught of Davids Throne that should stand for ever Aethan of Phares brother Zarach told it afore Psal 89. But the Angel Gabriel telleth it more properly even to the very yere and day that all the world might reckon 490. yeres to gather how many yeres monethes and dayes they were from the end of Moses how nere to the work of redemption by the sonne of God dwelling in our tabernacle And poor Iewes from 120. nationes are sent to Ierusalem by Cyrus proclamation of the true God who all could teach Heathen that the world was made and also how longue then it had stode wher still infidels will erre And for receaving of Christ his Prophecy the poore nation that returned to Ierusalem in hope of life by it is recorded by the holy spirit which beautified the heavens in high honour how many theyr whole number to every man did make This honor had the sainctes their poore state in Ezra Nehemias is from God set downe their defence affinity with the Persiā kinges also is pēned frō Gods wisdome religion is expōded by Aggei Zachary Malachy evē to Iohn Bap. to the meke King Christ himself to the destructiō of their natiō which will not beleve that all kingdomes vnder the Sun are vanity but doe and will still
shall lodge with the Kid that is a parable and a dark spech The sense of the spech is That Israel shall dwell in safety among the wicked of the world which are Likened to the wolf Leopard As it is said the Euening vvoolf shall spoyle them the Leopard shall vvatch at their cities And they shall turne vnto the Law of truth and they shall not spoyle nor destroy but shall eat their store in quietnes as Israell as it is sayd The Lyon as the Oxe shall eat stravv And so in other matters the like which are written of Messias they are resemblances And in the dayes of Christ the King it shal be knowen to all what thinges were resembled and to what matters the hid meaning tended The Doctours say ther is no differēce betwixt this world the dayes of Christ but onely the service vnder the Kingdomes It may be sene by the propper sense of the prophets that in the begining of the dayes of Messias shal be the warre of Gog and Magog before the warres of Gog Magog a prophet shall stand vp to settle Israel to praepare theyr 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hartes as it sayd Behold I send vnto you Elias c. And he cometh not to Pollute the pure or to purifie the polluted nor to disable the fully allowable nor to allow the manifestly disallowable but to settle peace in the world as it is said he shall turne the harts of fathers vnto the Children And there be some of the Doctours who say that before the coming of Messias Elias shall come But all these matters such like doth no man know what they shal be vntill they be The matters are matters closed vp with the prophets also our Doctours haue no Kabala for these matters But with wresting of the textes And therefore they are at schisme for these matters And these matters are in no case for theyr order of being or particularities any foundation of Law Let not a man busie himselfe in the Agadoth or fables wittilypēned nor be long in Midrasoth cōmentaries of allusions which are spokē of these matters such let him not lay them for a foūdatiō For they teach neither faith nor Love So let not a man reckon the End Yet the Angell Gabriel Daniel did to the very houre Daniel 9 as our Doctours say Let their soule breath out who reckon the endes But let him expect and beleue according to the generall rule which wee haue expounded In the dayes of Messias the King when his Kingdome shal be settled all Israell shal be gathered vnto him all they shal be genealogized according to their familyes by his mouth from the holy Spirite which shall rest vpon him as it is vvritten hee shall sit he shall purifie and clense The sonnes of Levy first shall he clense and thus say This man is of the Priestes family this man of Levies genealogie he shall reiect them which are not of the Genealogie of Israel Behold a certayne One sayd And the Ambassadour said vnto them c vntil there standes Vp a Priest with Vrim Thummim Behold thou art taught that by the holy Spirit the Principall shal be referred to their Genealogie the genealogized 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 shal be made knowen But he will not genealogize Israell that is them who are not of Levy but generally of what tribe they be shewing that this man and this man is of such a tribe But he will not tell that such a man is of speciall vertue such an one of an Heathen mother such an one a Slaue But of right will Let them sink that will haue their Sun to set The Doctours and prophetes desired not the dayes of Messias neither to rule over all the world nor to subdue the Heathen nor to be extolled of nations nor to drink make mery but to haue Leasure for the Law and wisdome and haue no taxe master and Hinderer that they may be worthy of life Eternall And in that time there shal be no hunger no warre no emulation nor strife for goodes shall flow plentifully And all delicates shal be found as Plentifull as dust And the world shall studie nothing cls but onely to know the Eternal Therfore there shal be great Doctours skilfull in hid speches they shall apprehend the knowledg of their Creatour according to the force of their strēgth as it is written For the Earth shtlbe full of the knowledg of the Eternall as the waters that cover the Sea The Ebreu that folovveth is the Ievves continued spech of theyr mistaken Messias But excedeth much the English translation in space because I vvold have a fayr and great Letter After shall come a short cēsure vpō the levves hope for theyr Messias then The Chaldy Paraphrastes ovvne argument of Coheleth the holy Text. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 A Censure vpon the Iew Rambam He speakeah truly that Balaam prophecieth of Christ but he litle marketh vvhat Balaam taught by that Messias shall vnvvall all the sonnes of Seth. Yffor destroying all their tovvnes vvall this vvere spoken that vvere no benefite Nether vvil Salomon suffer to hope for one age to haue any thing the like vvherof vvas not afore either for peace or vvarres Paul expoundeth the vnvvalling of Seth sonnes 2. Cor. 10. Our armour is not carnall but mighty for God to pull dovvne strong holdes This Balaā meant By more cities of refuge Rambam seeketh corners thus he reasoneth Yfvve had not yet all cities of refuge promised ther is a returning vnto our land of Chanaan to haue them But yet vve had not all promised Therfore there remayneth a returne to Chanaan The assumption is double vveake The Lavv gaue leaue to make more yf they conquered more as Ruben Gad Manasses conquered more Permissiōs be in Lavves no lesse then cōmaundements Besides vve may not say that Ruben Gad Manasses made no cities more of refuge because it is not recorded The vvitty Aben Ezra noteth vpon Gad Gen. 4. 9. that much is vnrecorded vvhich Iacob speaketh of him Thus Rambams hope is the vveb of a spider And concerning building of Ierusalem vvhat can that profit more then it profited in Salomons time vvhen sone all came to nothing And novv the vvorld is 5531. yeres old and their rule is that six thousand shall end it vvhich vvilbe at 469. vvhat can that time vvorke to change the vvhole vvorld Touching Elias He tottereth But vve knovv the case and he might learne Christ the heauenly Ierusalem of our N. Test the Chaldy vpon Eccles 1. v. 2. telleth that their Messias is but vanity 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 KOHELETH Ecclesiastes 1. The wordes of Koheleth the Sōne of David King in Hierusalem 2. Vanity of vanityes saith Coheleth vanity of vanityes all is vanity 3. what permanent good hath man in all his labour which he taketh vnder