first arrowes of iudgement against the wicked these he fastneth so deeply in the soules of his enemies and bodies also that repine as they will they cannot shake off the sense of his wrath but are confounded therewith Such an arrow shot hee at Iudas he might not abide but desperately hanged himselfe which yet helped not to release him of his paine Such an arrow directed he in the battell against Iulian as forced that scornfull Apostate to confesse that hee fought against an inuincible Conquerour Vicisti tandem Galilaee Next hee hath arrowes of mercy which hee shootes at his owne and wherewith hee vvounds them that he may cure them and these are of two sorts the one worketh a sense of sinne with feare of wrath for so he works with his children to terrifie them with the sense of wrath that he may waken them to eschew the wrath to come Such arrowes shot he at Dauid Thine arrowes haue light vpon me and thy hand lyeth vpon me He expounds himselfe incontinent For mine iniquities are gone ouer my head and as a waighty burden they are too heauy for me Such arrowes also shot he at Iob. The arrowes of the Almighty are in me the venim whereof doth drinke vp my spirit and the terrors of GOD fight against me These are sharp and fearfull and heauy for the present but healthfull and profitable in the end I note it for this cause that the children of God should not suffer themselues to be ouercome with griefe when they are exercised with such terrors of mind The other sort of his arrowes worketh in his Saints a sense of mercy which ingendreth loue he fastneth their harts knits them to himselfe that they vvander no more from him Of these speaketh the Church Vulnerata sum amore I am wounded and sick vvith loue By these arrovves Amor excitatur interitus non cōparatur loue is vvakened destruction is not procured In a vvord these are the two operations of the Spirit vvhereby GOD vvorks the saluation of his children Ye haue not receiued the spirit of bondage to feare againe but ye haue receiued the Spirit of adoption whereby we cry Abba Father He beginneth to feare terrifie vs these are his first arrowes but in the end hee comforts vs these are his second arrowes many of them may the Lord shoote at vs. The fist point touched here is his ornament A crowne was giuen vnto him Two sundry wayes find we Christ crowned They platted a Crown of thorns and put vpon his head Thornes are the fruite of our sinnes Cursed is the earth for thy sake thornes thistles shall it beare vnto thee These are the best flowers vvhich the earth could giue were it not that by Iesus the curse is remoued and of these cursed fruits of the earth our sinnes procured a garland to be set vpon the head of our Lord. Quale oro sertum pro vtroque sexu subiit ex spinis opinor tribulis in figuram delictorum nostrorū we should neuer thinke of that thornie and pricking crowne set vpon the head of the God of glory but our soules should be humbled and our hearts pricked vvith sorrow for our sinnes which procured it The other is a crowne of glory But now we see Iesus crowned with glory and honour Except wee be content to beare the first with him we shall not be partakers of the second No man is crowned except hee strine as he ought The last point is his errand Hee went foorth conquering that he might ouercome 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Here are two wordes one in the present time the other in the future declaring that from the beginning he hath been victorious and so will be to the end and herein stands his victory to deliuer his Saints from the hand of their enemies till at length he make his enemies his footstoole This is his errand and hee shall continue riding and fighting vpon his white horse till he haue fully finished and done it They are therefore much mistaken as wee said before who bound the course of the white horse within certaine yeeres some to the destruction of Ierusalem and some to the dayes of Constantine They who so limit him spoyle the Church of great comfort but say they what they will we say with this Prophecie Our Conqueror is stil riding on his white horse and so shall continue vntill he ouercome And we haue yet here this further comfort that where other Warriers goe out to battell vvith a carnall considence which often faileth them as we may see in Senacherib Antiochus and many such our Captaine Conqueror comes out not to a doubtfull battell the euent whereof is vncertaine but as a crowned victorious King sure at the last to ouercome Many of his enemies hath he put downe by his hand already and couered their face with shame Where are now the first Persecuters no better successe shall the remanent haue The enmity was proclaimed in Paradise and therewith the euent foretold The seed of the Woman shall bruise the head of the Serpent Victorie is sure for we fight not as men vncertain but certain Great opposition in all ages hath bin made to this crowned King yea many times would it seem his white horse hath been slaine vnder him The Baptist beheaded Steuen stoned Peter executed Preachers martyred but he hath still others in readines Paul may be bound the Word of the Lord cannot be bound This King shall furnish horses armor all needfull for the battell till he obtaine the victory It should greatly animate vs to the battell that we are sure before-hand Iesus Christ in the ministery of his Word shall preuaile oppose who will VERSE 3. And when he had opened the second seale I heard the second liuing creature say Come and see AT the opening of the second seale the second Vision is exhibited to the Church warning them that the happy successe of the Gospel foretold in the first seale will not be without bloudie persecution for Sathan shall stirre vp the bloudy beasts on whom he rides to afflict such as carrie the Name and testimonie of Christ through the world but what they intend by way of persecution against the Church the Lord shall turne it into a plague by which they themselues shall be punished and therefore are the Saints forewarned of it that they may be prepared for patient suffering when the Persecution shall come In this verse the preparation goes before and in the next verse the Vision followes In the preparation Saint Iohn is warned by the second of the liuing creatures to attend the opening of the second seale They who expound the foure liuing creatures to be the Preachers of the Word as by the first they vnderstand Quadratus and Aristides Athenienses so by the second they vnderstand Iustinus Martyr and Melito Sardensis by the third
the Lord replenish them with his new consolations They went weeping and carried precious seed but they shall returne with ioy end bring their sheaues The matter of his comfort is taken from Christ so long as he looked to the creatures he found nothing but matter of mourning so shall it be with all them who seeke comfort in the creature as it was with that woman diseased of the bloudy yssue she spent all that she had on the Physicians but in vaine she was neuer healed of her disease till she came to Christ. And here we haue Christ two waies described first as Saint Iohn heares of him secondly as hee sees him The Elder who describes him speaketh of Christ out of Moses and the Prophets so do all they who speake by the Spirit of God Nec ipsi quidem Apostoli de suo arbitrio quicquam quod inducerent eligerunt Yea the Apostles themselues tooke not this liberty to bring into the Church anything of their owne but as they receiued from Christ so they deliuered to vs. Hic primum per Prophetas deinde per sâ—…ipsum postea per Apostolos quantum satis esse iâ—…dicauit loquutus est And Christ Iesus first by his Prophets next by himselfe last by his Apostles hath spoken as much as he thought to be sufficient so that now Non relictus est hominum eloquiis de Dei rebus alius praeterquaÌ„ Dei sermo There is no other speech of diuine things left vnto man but the Word of God Let no man be wise aboue that which is written That he calls our Lord The Lyon which is of the Tribe of Iuda hee takes it from Moses and againe that he calls him The roote of Dauid he takes it from Esay He is called a Lyon to the terror of his enemies and comfort of his owne Satan is called also by Saint Peter A deuouring Lyon but like the Lyon which Samson slew and that other which Dauid slew and pulled his sheep out of his mouth These were sigures of our Lord who hath ouercome the Deuill and trampleth Satan vnder the feet of his Saints It was a fearefull sight at the first which Ioshua saw at Iericho a man standing before him with a sword in his hand but when Ioshua demanded Art thou on our side or against vs and receiued this answere As a Captaine of the Lords host I am now come out of all doubt it did greatly confirme him And heere at the first it may seeme fearefull that Christ is called a Lyon but marke that in the next verse he is called a Lambe A Lyon hee is in respect of his enemies to vanquish them teare them in pieces A Lambe hee is in respect of his meâ—…knesse patience and willingnesse to suffer for his owne And therefore he is not simply called a Lyon but A Lyon of the Tribe of Iuda Naturallists haue obserued that Lyons are not cruell against their owne kind yea they spare beasts of another kind that subiect themselues vnto them If we be the true Israelites of God and submit our selues vnto him the Lyon of Iuda his Tribe shall not be terrible vnto vs the greater his power is the greater shall be our comfort The other stile giuen vnto him is The roote of Dauid where it comes to be considered how Christ is called the Roote of Dauid sith by the Prophet Esay hee is called a graffe or branch springing out of the root of Iesse Yea there in one chapter the Messia is called the roote of Iesse and Iesse againe the roote of the Messia but this is in different respects He is a branch springing out of the stocke of Iesse for from him hee tooke his humane nature and he is also a stock into the which Iesse and all his fathers according to the flesh had their being As man he tooke his flesh from them as God he gaue them their beeing This is the question which our Sauior demanded of the Pharises and they could not answer How the Messia could be Dauid his sonne and also Dauid his Lord The Lord said to my Lord Sit at my right hand vntill I make thy enemies thy foot stoole For as Man hee is the sonne of Dauid and so is the branch but as God he is Dauid his Lord and so is the root And that our Lord was made man of the seede of Dauid is most comfortable for vs hee might haue created a new nature which had neuer sinned but now he hath assumed the nature that was once sinful and hath fully separated it from sinne to ioyne it in a personall and eternall vnion with his owne diuine nature for the holy Ghost who ouershadowed the Virgine could very well discerne between the seed of Dauid in the Virgins wombe and the sinfull corruption of that seed He tooke the seed without the sinne and of it formed the body of Iesus and therefore Theodâ—…ret bringing in Flaâ—…anus expounding the Angels words to Mary speakes in this manner Non cogites corporalem contactum nec consuetudinem coniâ—…galem expecta nam tuus Fabricator templum suum corporeum quod ex te nascetur fabricabit thinke not of any corporall touching looke not for any carnall coniunction He that made thee wil make to himselfe a bodily temple which shall be borne of thee 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And this should serue to assure vs that he who hath assumed our nature and sanctified it fully from all sin that it might be vnited to himselfe shall in his own good time free our nature from all corruption of sin and present vs without spot or blame to his Father that wee may liue a happy life in holy fellowship and communion for euer with him The Papists not vnderstanding this doctrine spoyle vs of this comfort in affirming that the virgin Mary of whom our Lord tooke our nature was without sinne A false doctrine vnknowne to antiquitie It began in the dayes of Bernard hee cryes out against it in his Epistle to the Chanons of Lyons as against a noueltie a temeritie and a superstition Lubenter gloriosa Virgo talâ—… carebit honore the blessed and glorious Virgin willingly will want such an honour as this Solus enim Dominus Iesus de Spiritu sancto conceptus est qui et solus antâ—…conceptum sanctus quo excepto de câ—…tero vniuersos respicit ex Adam natos quod vnus humiliter de seipso vâ—…raciter consitetur In miquitatibus inquiens conceptus sum in peccatis concepit me mater mea For onely the Lord Iesus was conceiued of the holie Ghost and hee also onely before conception was holie hee beeing excepted that pertaines to all who are borne of Adam which one of them humbly and truly confesseth of himselfe saying I was borne in iniquity and in sinne my Mother hath conceiued mee Solus Christus dicere potuit Ecce Princeps
a soueraigne preseruatiue against all poyson The Beasts of the field as they record attend till the Vnicorne dip his horne in the water then come they and drink Properly therefore is the Kingdome of Christ expressed by the Vnicornes Horne of all other the most firme and durable the most beautifull the most profitable Hee hath changed the bitter waters of Marah and made them sweete neither is there any thing so deadly which his Horne healeth not and makes it to serue for the saluation of his owne And seuen eyes As in his seuen Hornes his complete power is signified so in his seuen Eyes his complete Wisedome These two do greatly commend the royall authority of our King Hee is wise and will do nothing that he should not for hee sees all and knowes perfectly the quality of euery creature the estate of euery cause Againe he is strong and able to do whatsoeuer he will His Eyes are of two sorts Eyes of Prouidence and Eyes of Grace by his eyes of Prouidence hee lookes vnto all things and there is no place nor people in the world to whom these Eyes are not extended but by the Eyes of his Grace hee lookes to his owne as hee did to Ierusalem restored and sends them this blessing Grace Grace be vnto it And heerein hath the Lord magnified his mercy toward vs aboue many other more mighty Kingdomes in the world that where by the Eyes of his Prouidence hee lookes vnto the rest he hath cast the Eyes of his Mercy and Grace vpon vs The Lord hath not dealt so with euery Nation Yet more plainely In the Text these seuen Eyes are expounded to be the seuen Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth Seuen is the number of perfection noting that fulnesse of grace which is in the Lambe for hee receiued not the Spirit by measure and what hee hath receiued hee retaines not to himselfe but as here is said hee sends it out that of his fulnesse we might all receiue grace for grace And hereof commeth the continuance and conseruation of the Church vpon earth because it is continually furnished with grace frō the Lamb hee hath the seuen Starres in his hand and holds them out to such parts of the world as pleaseth him he furnishes graces of his Spirit to his seruants the Preachers according to the times wherein they liue yea and to euery one of his Saints in particular This same Lord who once according to his promise sent downe the holy Spirit in a visible manner vpon his Apostles in the similitude of fierie clouen Tongues doth daily send him from the Throne of Grace in an inuisible manner And this was properly figured in a Vision to Zacharie wherein hee saw a golden Candlestick with seuen Lampes euery Lampe hauing a seuerall pipe through the which Oyle for intertainement of the light in euery Lampe is conueied from the two Oliues which stand before the Ruler of the world Let therefore Satan and his instruments rage as they list let them labour what they can to put out the light of the Candlestick yea let them presume that it is possible for them to roote out the very name of Israel from vnder heauen yet it cannot be for the stability and continuance of the holy Ministerie in the Church with light and grace in it stands in this that it is furnished from heauen the Eyes of the Lamb looke on his Saints and he sends downe his Spirit vpon them and from the Ruler of the world the oyle of Grace is by secret pipes and conduits conueied to his Candlesticke on earth And who is able to interrupt the course thereof VERSE 7. And he came and tooke the Booke out of the right hand of him that sitteth vpon the Trone HEre in effect no other thing is represented then that which was openly proclaimed from heauen first at Iordan next vpon Mount Tab◅ This is my beloued Sonne in whom I am well pleased heare him For by this Type the Lord Iesus is declared to bee the onely Doctor of his Church who receiues the Booke from the Father and out of it reueales to his Church the counsell of God which neither Angell nor man was able to doe As Moses went vp to the Mount and receiued the Tables of the Law and gaue them to Israel so our Mediator who came from the bosome of the Father hath brought downe to vs the knowledge of his Will Let vs not presume to go vp to the Mountaine to enquire any thing which our Moses hath not taught vs left wee die let vs remember our place and stand low wee are disciples bound by diuine Proclamation to heare him whom the Father hath sent vnto vs if we would be saued VERSE 8. And when hee had taken the Booke the foure liuing creatures and the foure and twenty Elders fell downe before the Lambe hauing euery one harps golden vials full of odours which are the prayers of the Saints NOw followes the third part of this Chapter containing a three-fold thanksgiuing for the benefit of this Reuelation The first song is sung by Angels and redeemed Saints coniunctly in the eight ninth and tenth verses The second is sung by Angels seuerally in the eleuenth and twelfth verses The third by all creatures in their kind in the thirteenth verse whereunto Angels againe and redeemed Saints say Amen in the last verse Cotterius confesseth that this place did trouble him greatly and no maruell for the foure beastes he expounds to be Veritas Euangelit quadri◅ormis the fourefold verity of the Gospell No maruell therefore as I haue said that both he and others who expound the foure and twentie Elders to be foure and twenty bookes find themselues straited with this place wherin the Spirit of God plainly expoundeth himselfe that the foure and twenty Elders are they whom God hath redeemed by his bloud out of euery kindred tongue people and Nation But leauing them this comes heere first to bee obserued that as before they fell downe and worshipped the Ruler of the World that sits vpon the Throne so now they fall downe and worship the Lambe Saint Paul vseth this as an argument to proue the diuinitie of Christ Iesus taken out of the 97. Psalme Consider how great is hee of whom it is said Let all the Angels of heauen worship him Let Heretiques therefore be silent sith the vvhole Congregation of Angels and Saints redeemed worship him as GOD. In this thanksgiuing these foure circumstances are to be considered First who are the Musicians that sing Next with what gesture Thirdly what are their musicall instruments And lastly vvhat is their song The Musicians are foure liuing creatures representing the principall order of Angels neerest vnto the Throne and foure and twenty Elders representing the whole Church and companie of Saints redeemed By nature Angels and men were at
many a time hee spurreth before them and preuents them in the midst of their purposes and resolutions which they thinke without doubt to accomplish he cuts them away An example whereof we haue in that rich man who resolued with himselfe that hee would enlarge his Barnes foolishly conceiting hee had good enough for many yeeres but it was told him O foole this night they will take away thy soule from thee There is no remedie against this but to prepare our selues in time to preuent death leâ—…t he preuent vs. Let vs mount on Horse-backe in time go before him Our Conquerour and Captaine Christ Iesus rides on a White Horse all his followers walke in his colours for they are all said to ride vpon White Horses If we ride on the white Horses be in fellowship with Iesus the Rider on the Pale shall not be able to hurt vs for there is no condemnation to them who are in Christ Iesus he may bite our heele and lick the dust of our earth but the Lord shall preserue the soule of his seruants Let vs ascend in our affection let vs cast the anchor of our soules within the Vaile and fasten it vpon the Rocke Christ Iesus so shall we be sure that this Death which hath Hell following him shall not come neeâ—…e vs. For now this is the third point to be considered in the Type that this Rider on the Pale Horse named Death hath a Page following him called Hell The word Hades in the Greeke and Sheol in the Hebrew signifies sometime the Graue and sometime the place of the damned where there is vtter darkenesse and no light at all The learned Interpreter Beza retaineth the word Infernus or Hell it followes Death said Victorine waiting for the deuouring of many soules For if in this place the word should onely signifie the Graue the iudgement were not great sith the Graue followes the death both of good men and euill And sure it is nothing common to them both can be called the proper punishment of sin Here then is the greatnesse of this Plague that the contemners of the Gospell shall bee punished with such a Death as hath Hell following it For as there is a double Death first and second so there is a double Pit or Hell one for the body to wit the Graue this is Temporall another for the soule and body also most properly called Hell the place of the damned this is Eternall Of it speakes the Psalmist The wicked shall turne into Hell and all Nations that forget God Peccatorum mors mala est the death of sinners is euill said Bernard First for the losse of the world they loued it well and cannot without great sorrow want it but it is Peior in dissolutione carnis it is worse in regard of dissolution of soule and body yet is it Pessima in tormentis inserni worst of all in respect of the torments of hell which follow it But the soules of the righteous are in the hands of the Lord and no torment shall touch them This for the Type it selfe Now followes the exposition of it And power was giuen to them c The relatiue 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is plurall shewing that we haue here an exposition not onely of the Pale but of the Red and Black also This is made plaine by the words following Power was giuen them to wit to the Red Horse and his Rider to kill with the Sword to the Black Horse and his Rider to kill with Famine to the Pale Horse and his Rider to kill with Pestilence and deuouring Beasts The Spirit of God so plainely expounds himselfe that it is a wonder how men out of their owne conceits can forge another exposition not taking heed to the Text which expoundeth it selfe All these Executors of wrath come out we see with a limited commission he who executes the plague of Famin is licenced to smite the wheate the Barley but not the Wine and Oile this Rider on the pale Horse is not permitted to smite all the wicked but onely a fourth part thus are all the temporall iudgements of God mitigated for as I haue said neither are all the wicked punished here neither yet is the ful measure of wrath executed on such as are punished NaÌ„ si nunc omne peccatuÌ„ manifesta plecteretur poena nihil vltimo iudicio reseruari putaretur rursus si nullum peccatum nunc puniret apertè Diuinitas nulla esse prouidentia Diuina crederetur Some iudgements God executes now to witnesse to the world that there is a God who iudges righteously in earth and some he spares now to tell vs that there is a iudgement to come But in the last Iudgement it shall not be so none of the wicked shall be spared there and none of their iudgements shall be mitigated there but the vials of full wrath due to their sinnes shall bee powred vpon them Now if it be so that in punishing the vvicked in this life the Lord vseth a mitigation how much more may wee be assured that in correcting his children with the same roddes the Lord will vse moderation and measure And this should serue for an answere to the wicked who thinke the lesse of these externall iudgements because godly men are subiect to the same Let them heare what the Prophet saith Hath the Lord smitten Israel as hee smote those who smote him in measure in the branches thereof will he contend with it after that he hath corrected his owne yet Iacob shall take roote and Israel shall flourish He onely cuts away the superstuitie of their branches but conserues themselues to immortalitie and life In death they renew their youth like the Eagle but he strikes the wicked at the roote and cuts them away from all hope of life light ioy Yea these same afflictions which the godly doe suffer at the hands of wicked men Deus summè bonus ad suorum redigens vtilitatem oportunitatem nobis praebet spiritualium triumphorum the Lord turnes them so to the good of his owne that they become to them the matter and causes of their spirituall tryumphes And to this same purpose notable is that speech of Augustine Placuit diuinae prouidentiae praeparare in posterum bona iustis quibus non frâ—…entur iniusti et mala impiis quibus non excruciabuntur boni It hath pleased the Diuine prouideÌ„ce to prepare for good men in the time to come good things whereof the wicked shall not be partakers as also to prepare euill things for the wicked with which the godly shall not be tormented Ista verò temporalia bona et mala vtrisque voluit esse coÌ„munia But concerning the good euill things of this temporal life God will haue them alike common both to good men and euill that such good as wicked men haue should
destruction Reuel 13. 8. The Prophecy of the Pope his destruction is two-sold 1 It is set down in speeches Typicall Where first there preceeds preparation then there followes execution in the 15. and 16. chapters 2 It is set down in speeches simple The presumption of blinded Papists scorneth at the ruine of Rome Reu. 18. 7. Reuel 18. 21. But the destruction ther of is concluded by the Lord. Reuel 16. 1 1. Sam. 5. 3. Iesuits do wel in time to enquire for a new Seat for their Pope Zach. 5. 11. A warning to Papists Amos 6. 3. Reuel 18. 8. The fourth fifth chapter haue no Visions of prediction but onely of Preparation Reu. 1. 12 13 14. The first Prophecie of things which are had before it a Preparatory Vision Reuel 1. 14. So the second Prophecie of things to come hath before it a conueniâ—…t Preparatory Vision and that twofold 1 A Vision of God the Creator ruling all chap. 4. Verse 11. 2 A Vision of God the Redeemer reuealing all to his Church ch 5. Reu. 5. 9. How both these Preparatory Visions are properly conuenient to the Vision of Prediction subsequent Iohn 16. 1. The time wherein Saint Iohn saw this Vision Reuel 1. Carthus A three-fold â—…ight 1 Naturall common to the creature Rom. 1. 10. 2 Supernaturall or Propheticall this is made by reuelation representation or both Numb 24. Gen. 41. Dan. 2. Carthus How the sight which S Iohâ—… saw was Internall Imaginary Intellectuall 3 Spirituall proper to Saints chosen and called 2. Cor. 3. 18. 2. Cor. 5. 7. 1. Pet. 1. 1. Iohn 3. 2. 1. Pet. 1. 8. The naturall sight can bee no comfort without the spirituall Numb 24. Two things increase grace in a Preacher 1 Conscientious vsing of that which he hath Ber. in Psal. qui habitat 2 Carefull crauing of that which he hath not No entrance can wee haue to things heauenly except God open the doore Acts 14. 27. 2. Cor. 6. 9. 2. Cor. 2. 12. Heauen in this place cannot signifie the Militant Church Heauen three waies taken in holy Scripture 1 For the Church Triumphant Reu. 11. 2 For the Church Militant 3 For the Church representatiue S. Iohn learned not these mysteries in the Church militant nor from it but for it 2. Cor. 12. 2 4. The Lord who taught him to know them must also teach vs or else wee cannot learne them 2. Cor. 3. Of the voice which S. Iohn heard How this voice was vttered we need not enquire Sufficient is it for vs that S. Iohn vnderstood it and makes vs also to vnderstand it If we wait on God hee shall reueale himselfe vnto vs. How this voice is compared to the sound of a Trumpet Manuscript The voice of God is loud liuely Rom. 1. Heb. 4. 12. Ioh. 5. 25. Miserable are they that cannot heare it nor yet bee wakened by it A sweet voice by which God speakes to his owne Hee must go out of himselfe that would go vp vnto God Psal. 45. 10. Exod. 20. A warning to Preachers The voice of God calleth men to come vp Iude 6. 2. Pet. 2. Satans voice calleth them downe-ward Math. 8. 22. Iob 1. God his voice to apostate man is Come to mee Math. 11. 28. Psal. 65. 4. This voice neuer sounded to apostate Angels God his predictions are arguments of his Prouidence Esay 41. 23. Satan his predictioÌ„s wherefrom come they 2. Chro. 18. 19. * Or Sargeant Miserable are they who consult with Satan about things to come 1. Sam. 28. 19. Magdeburg câ—… Rom. 11. Psal. 40. 7. Things foretold in this Prophecie must be done An answer to prophane mockers who thinke they shall not bee done Zach. 6. 1. This Prophecie is not to be vnderstood of things past vnder the old Testament Manuscript God worketh in his children that which he craues How is it to be vnderstood that S. Iohn was in the Spirit Carthus Haymâ—… Not that hee wanted a body but it was left senselesse for a time the soule being intended to heauenly things The body as it is now is a great impediment to the soules familiar fellowship with God This is illustrate by a similitude And proued to the godly by their experience specially in prayer ☞ Wee must first heare the Lord before wee can see him Ber. in Cant. ser. 41. Psal. 48. 8. How a Throne is ascribed to God Why this Throne is said to be in heaueÌ„ Iob 34. 11 12. Gen. 18. 25. The seeling of the Throne The Court that compasseth this Throne 1. King 10. A glassie Sea before the Throne How this preparatorie Vision is proper for the subsequent predictions The sight of God sitting on his Throne disâ—…ipates all doubtings and feares arising froÌ„ the greatnesse of men Psalm 2. A strong bulwarke against the feare of flesh Psalm 76. 12. Psalm 46. 1. Psal. 2. Gene. 11. Man hath proud Propositions weake assumption of these come fectlesse conclusions Esay 31. 3. 〈◊〉 How this Vision is expounded by some Interpreters The right accommodation of these types No man can sufficiently declare that which the Lord iâ—… And therefore is hee shadowed in such maner as it pleased himselfe to appeare Bern. Diuerse opinions concerning the Iasper Sardine Victorinus Primasius in Apocal. Berengandus Haymo Carthusiâ—…s Epiphâ—… lib. de 〈◊〉 lapidibus The three persons of the blessed Trinitie represented here Brightman The eternity of God figured by the Iasper Iam. 1. 17. Psalm 102. 16. Psalm 92. 13. The iustice of God figured by the Sardine Hebr. 12. 29. Plin. lib. 37. ca. 7. Iames 2. 13. The mercy of God keeping couenant shadowed by the rainebowe He keepes the temporall and common couenant much more the eternall Gene. 9. 14. Iere. 31. 35 36. A comfortable meditation concerning the Rainbow Peter Martyr in Genes The creatures declare that God is but defined not what he is Bern. in Cant. Serm. 31. Earthly Kings borrow glory from the creature not so the Lord. Psal. 39. 5. Adam by the knowledge he had of the Creator knew perfectly the creature Now man learnes by the creature to know the Creator Yet is he not able to conceiue that which the creature can teach him Three sorts of creatures in the heauenly Court Chap. 15. 2. These foure twenty Elders are not foure twenty Bookes Hieron Prolog Galeato But they represent the whole company of redeemed Saints So the Spirit of God himselfe doth expound them Chap. 5. ver 9. Primasius Bullingerus Chytroeus Collado Aretius Iunius Forbesius The drosse of the Fathers is not to be receiued for good gold Primas in Apoc. Primasius his iudgement concerning the foure and twenty Elders The Church is a circle in the midst whereof is the Lord. Math. 18. 20. Psal. 76. 11. Num. 2. Some are neerer the Throne then others but all enioy his sight Ioh. 14. 2. How Seates Crownes are ascribed to the Church Militant 1. Cor. 4. 13. The Church properly compared to the Moone Why thev who sit on the Seat