and terrible day of he Lord shall doe at the accomplishment of this prophecie Ans Wher the darknesse of the Sun and so iâ— may be understood of the Moone is used properly it is not put only for a signe of an eminent and imminent destruction as it is manifest Luk. 23 45. which wes a testimonie from heaven of Christs innocencie for conviction of the murtherers and c. 21.25 the signes in the Sun and Moone and in the Starres and the distresse of nationes upon the earth with perplexitie and the roaring of the Sea and waves ar all to be understood properly as signes before the great and terrible daye of the Lord. So what is promised in the 28 and 29 verses of the second ch of Ioel wes truely albeit not altogeder fulfilled in the dayes of Peter even howbeit the wordes of the 30 and 31 verses be properly understood and not wholly fulfilled till the time immediatly preceding the last coming of Christ Inst 2 The chief and most remarkable effect of the Spirit in the Apostles at this tyme wes the gift of tounges of which the prophet makes no mention Ans 1 If this exception wer true it wold prove that the Apostle citeth the wordes inpertinently and the Iewes micht have challenged him of babling and so these authoures fight against the Apostle and the Spirit of God who hes registred this argumentation of the Apostle as good and valide 2 the chieff and most remarkable work of the Spirit at that tyme wes a sound from heaven as of a michty rushing wind which filled all the house and there appeared unto them cloven tounges lyk as of fire and it sate upon each of them and they wer all silled with the holy Ghost and this wes noised abroad Wherby it is evident that the Apostle speakes especially not only of the effect which is their speaking in strange languages bot of the cause the powring doun of the Spirit of which Ioel speakes expressely and therfor Peter citeth the wordes pertinently Inst 3 as the prophet reveled so Peter repeates this powring out of the Spirit as a contemporarie event with the wonders which shal be shewne in the heavens and in the earth before the great and terrible day of the Lord come which day can no way be referred to the first coming of Christ when he came to save sinners and not to destroy them for then it must been an antecedent of his birth and not a subsequent of his death Ans 1 Ioel sayth not that the powring of the Spirit shall not be till the great and terrible day of the Lord come bot he shewes so many thinges preceding the coming of our Saviour nether may we think that all these thinges shal be fulfilled in the same juncture of tyme if all be accomplished even in several tymes the prophecie abides true 2 That day or tyme wes terrible for it is written Act. 2.6 the multitude came togeder and wer confounded or troubled in mynd because that everie man heard them in his oun language and they wer all amazed and mervelled and v. 22 a man approved among yow by miracles wonders and signes Wherby it is manifest that even to the sicht of these Iewes that tyme of Christs coming wes terrible albeit his second coming shal be more terrible in regard of the general destruction which shal be on all nationes not for opposing themselves against the Jewes as they imagine bot for their not acknowledging God and not obeying the Gospell of our Lord Iesus 2 Thess 1.8 Inst 4 And to put it out of dout that Gods bringing doun the heathen into the valley of Iehosaphat is meant only of this gathering them togeder to a battle and consequently of a judgement on the living and not on the dead to put this out of dout I say the prophet makes it to be a concomitant of the Iewes returne from their captivitie Ans That these wordes ar not meaned of the temporall Monarchie after Christs coming it may be learned by the parallel text in that same page wher it is sayd And for my own part I am persuaded that this great armie here spoken of is the verie same that shal be gathered together to the battle of the great day of God Almichtie by the thrie uncleane spirites lyk frogges which St Iohn sawe come out of the mouth of the Dragon and out of the mouth of the false prophet Rev. 16.13 If he be persuaded that this is the same battle he micht lykwise be persuaded that the text of Ioel 3. is not after the coming of Christ nor immediatly at his coming for that battle is in the tyme of the sixt vial after which followes another vial and tyme of trouble mentlioned in the rest of that ch of the Revel And here by the way we observe that the renouned Authour of Clavis Apocaliptica is mistaken in his seventh Synchronisme wherin he sayth that the powring furth of the seven viales is contemporarie with the end of the Beast and Babylon for albeit it be sayd c. 15.2 that they who had gotten the victorie over the Beast sang the song of Moses it followes not that the Beast wes then destroyed nether albeit the first and fift and last viales be powred on the Beast followeth it that they wer not powred till the last tyme of the destruction of the Beast Seing the Saintes in heaven and on earth too may rejoyce for their particulare victorie over the Beast as yet reigning and the viales may be powred on the Beast at several times even some of them on the Beast in the hight of her pride to the end that men may have warninges of the judgementes of God on the Beast in her greatest pompe And the rather may we judge so that we find such aggriement in the principal termes of the seven Trumpets and seven viales the second Trumpet with the second vial the thrid Trumpet with the thrid vial the fourth Trumpet with the fourth vial the sixt Trumpet with the sixt vial and the seventh Trumpet with the seventh vial Now seing the first Trumpet is of the same tyme with the beginning of the Beast as he sayth Synchron 1 par 2. the first vial must be of that same tyme also and all the other Synchronismes and expositiones of textes that ar grounded on that seventh Synchronisme of the first part ar wrong Which I mark because these late Millenaries have been moved by the appearance of these Synchronismes to embrace this opinions 2 We may be persuaded that the gathering of the nationes Joel 3.2 is not to be understood of a batle after the coming or at the coming of Christ if we consider the wordes of the first verse For behold in these dayes and in that tyme c. He kniteth this ch with the preceding and shewes the contentes of both to be at the same time which is not any particulare yeer or age bot comprehendes the whole deliverance of Israel or people of
marg The wordes in Act. 15.14 upon which the prophecie of Amos is inferred ar taken by Do. Mayer to be meaned of the song of old Simeon and not of the speach of Simon Peter Ans Is ther not a difference twixt Symeon and Simon Iames nameth Symeon and not Simon wherfor not without reasoun it may be thoucht that he meaned old Symeon especially seing Luke is the writer of both bookes and if the wordes of Symeon doe heerunto aggrie more than the wordes of Peter who should dout that Iames spak of him Wherfor consider the wordes of old Symeon Luk. 2.30 It is sayd of him not only that he wes a just man and devote waiting for the cousolation of Israel and the holy Ghost wes upon him bot lyke wise It was reveled unto him by the holy Ghost that he should not see death before he had seene the Lords Christ and he came by the Spirit into the temple All which particulares serve verie much to purchase credite unto his testimonie who sayth My eyes have seen thy salvation which thou hast prepared before the face of all people a licht to lichten the gentiles and the glorie of thy people of Israel We may see that he declares there the fulfilling at that time of the prophecie Esa 49.6 And he sayd Is it a light thing that thou shouldst be my servant to raise up the tribes of Iacob and to restore the preserved of Israel I will also give thee for a licht unto the gentiles that thou mayst be my salvation unto the endes of the earth and c. 52.9 Break forth into joy sing together yee wast places of Ierusalem for the Lord hes conforted his people he hes redeemed Ierusalem the Lord hes made bare his holy arme in the eyes of all nationes and all the endes of the earth shall see the salvation of our God To the same purpose is c. 60.1.3 19 and c. 62.1.2.11 Wher we see the faithfull ar bidden rejoice at the coming of Christ and so did Symeon when he sawe him Christ is called the salvation of the Lord and Symeon speaking unto God sayth of Christ My eyes have seen thy salvation the Messiah is called a licht unto the gentiles into all the endes of the earth and Symeon sayth Which thow hast prepared before the face of all people a licht to lichten the gentiles Christ is called the glorie of Sion and Ierusalem and Symeon sayth Christ is the glorie of thy people of Israel And so by the testimonie of old Symeon which is approved and registred by the Spirit of God these and the lyke prophecies should not be restricted unto the second coming bot wer in part fulfilled at the first coming of Christ and therfor also all that followes in that long tailed note is a frivolous discourse as we may see by the unanimons consent in the true worship of God betwixt the Iewes and other nationes in the same 15 chapter of the actes wher the Iewes and gentiles conueen in the general synode howbeit the ods continowe twixt the obstinate both Iewes and gentiles on the one part and the seed of Abraham believers both the Iewes and gentiles on the other both in their opinion and practise of religious dueties Inst It can not be bot that the wordes after this in the prophecie being applied to the foresayd visiting of the gentiles by the preaching of the Gospell must needs conclude that the excraordinarte restauration of the Iewes forshewn by the Prophet wes to follow the calling of the gentiles then begun by the Apostles Ans The Prophet Amos in that chap. before the v. 11. speakes not of the calling of the gentiles and the Apostle cites the same wordes of v. 11. for the calling of the gentiles nether hes the Prophet these wordes after this but in these dayes and howbeit the Apostle cite them so yet they must be understood of the order of thinges mentioned by the Prophet which is a restauration after the destruction of Israel and not a Monarchie of the Iewes after the calling of the gentiles Wherby it is manifest that in this note is a twofold errour one inserting the wordes in the prophecie which ar not in it another in misinterpreting the wordes of the Apostle Inst. 2. God could not at that tyme be sayd to returne unto the gentiles whom he had bot then received no nor to the Iewes whom he had then and not till then quite forsaken Ans This is meer cavilling Before the calling of the gentiles wes not God averse from them and they from him and therfor when he looked graciously upon them he is truely sayd to returne unto them Again in the wordes of Amos immediatly preceding we see that the Lord wes offended with Israel and when he sent the salvation of God and glorie of Israel among them it may be al 's truely sayd that he returned unto them Thridly it is often in this note repeted that he had quite forsaken the Iewes bot the Apostle can not suffer this phrase Rom. 11.1 Hes God cast away his people God forbid for I also am an Israelite c. bot more of this purpose heerafter Inst. 3. And yet ther want not some who by the wordes all Israel Rom. 11. understand only the church of the gentiles to which some of the Iewes should be united Ans All this section feightes aganst vaine imaginationes for as it is sayd by all Israel we understand not the gentiles only but the seed of the promise that is the faithfull Iewes and others in all nationes As for that prophecie of Esa 66.8 wes it not fulfilled truely albert not fully when the believing church travelled and brouâ—ht furth so great multitudes in one day as may be called a nation as 3000 and 5000 converted in a day Act. 2.41 and 4.4 and the people with one accorde gave heed unto these thinges which Philip spak and they who all had given themselves unto Simon Magus from the least to the greatest believed and wer baptized both men and women c. 8.6 and c. 19.17.18 this wes knowen unto all the Iewes and Greekes dwelling at Ephesus and fear fell on them all and the name of the Lord Iesus wes magnified and many believed and v. 20. so 〈◊〉 grew the word of God and prevailed not only at Ephesus bot almost thorow out all Asia v. 10 and 26 besides many other passages and other great and miraculous conversiones wherof we read in Ecclesiasticall Histories So that what wes a wonderment unto Esaie or the faithfull in his time Who hes heard such a thing hes been truely done many a day before these our dayes The evidence wherof mee thinkes should be motive enâ—ugh to make any partiall or unpartiail Reader understand that prophecie generally and so much the rather that by this Authour 's own confession pag. 33. it implieth not so much the returne of the whol nation to their countrie as to their God It is certane it wes in
of the same kingdome howbeit in extent and largenesse it did most floorish and appear since the incarnation in which respect it is sayd to begin at or after his incarnation 5 The promise made to Abraham Gen 13.16 I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth and c. 15.5 look towards heaven and tell the starres if thou be able to number them and so shall thy seed be These promises I say ar not to be understood of the children of Abraham according to the flesh bot as they ar exponed Rom. 4.15 not of that only which is of the lawe bot of them who ar of the faith of Abraham which is the father of us all as it is written I have made thee a father of many nationes and Gal. 3.28 ther is nether Iewe nor Griek nether bonde nor free nether male nor female for yee ar all one in Christ lesus and if ye be Christs then ar yee Abraham's seed and heires according to the promise And therfor the promises made unto the children of Abraham Isaak and Iacob ar not to be restricted unto the Iewes according to the flesh as the Iewes and Millenaries expone all these promises bot of the faithfull And hither belongeth that distinction of the Iewes Rom. 2.28 he is not a Iewe who is one outwardly neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh bot he is a Iewe who is one in wardly and circumcision is that of the heart in the spirit And of such inwardly Iews must the promises be understood at least in part that mak mention of Iudah And therfor it is a great mistaking of the prophecies if we shall still make an opposition twixt Iewes and gentiles believing gentiles ar true Iewes as we see they ar called in the New Testament and unbelieving Iewes ar gentiles and so ar called Isa 1.4 and elswher 6 All the prophecies cannot be understood of the church on earth only For of both togeder or partly of the one and partly of the other and partly of both and so prudence must be hade in the application of the promises Yea and ther is a gradual performance of them and the accomplishment of them is in serveral pointes of time so much as shall give content to Gods children yet alwayes leading to a further and further performance As for exemple God shewed mercie to these Israelites when they wer in captivitie he brought them home again they wer a poor and afflicted people and wer much bettered by their bondage ther wes a degrie of performance Ther was another degrie in Christs tyme when he joyned the gentiles to them and both made one church Bot when it is sayd The remnant shall doe none iniquitie and a deceitfull toung shall not be found in their mouth Zeph. 3.13 These promises shall have their tyme when the people shal be more thorowly purged and certainly the full accomplishment shal be at the day of judgement and so long as we ar in this lyf we ar under an imperfecte and unperformed estate 7 Here that general rule is also to be remembred When the wordes of Scripture being properly taken teach any thing contrarie to the analogie of faith or honestie of maners or any thing frivolous that belongeth nothing to godlynesse or dissonant from the scope of the text or contrarie unto other clear textes of the same purpose these wordes must be exponed figuratively and a figurative sense is the literal or primarily intended sense of these wordes And contrarily unto this rule the Iewes and others expone the descriptiones prophecies of the glorie and power of Christ and his church after an earthly maner and so straying from the true meaning they transforme his spiritual kingdome into an earthly and temporarie which as it is ungodly so it is repugnant unto Scripture testifying plainly that his church is all glorious within and not of this world and therfor these comparisones that ar taken from earthly kingdomes must be understood figuratively and in a spiritual sense at least it must be diligently observed what portion of everie passage is to be understood properly and what figuratively seing many tymes that which is spoken figuratively is exponed by the wordes preceding or following and all figurative speaches have some tokens of the use unto which they ar directed or another text may be found wher the same mater is more clearly handled These general rules being premitted it shal be the easier to expone all the promises of Christs king some and especially that text Amo. 9.15 They shall no more be pulled out of their land which I have given them sayth the Lord thy God For these wordes may be cleared by the wordes of Iere. 4.1 If thow will put away thy abominationes out of my sicht then thow shall not remove Wher we have the same promise bot expressed with a condition and it is usual in the Scriptures that earthly promises ar expressed somtyme with a condition and somtymes without it bot alwayes ar understood conditionally 2 by the acceptiones of the word land which as it is not alwayes exponed of the earth so somtymes it is put for the grave as Iob 10.21 the land of darknesse and shadow of death and for the heaven Ps 27.13 I had fainted unles I had believed to see the Lord in the land of the living And especially that land wes a type of the kingdome of Christ as is sayd in the first rule and of the true inheritance of the saintes and true gift of God Deut. 4.1.38 And so whither the word land be taken properly or typically the promise is manifestly true both before and after the coming of Christ to suffer for they wer brought againe into their land and they who wer brought wer not pulled out of their land and they ar planted in their true land whence they shall no more be pulled out and heerby the large note on the margine of page 9 is frustrated Pag. 9. The nixt propheeie shal be that of Ioel 2.28.31 and 2.14.15 Ans The Apostle Peter not only makes use of these wordes bot expones them and shewes the accomplishment of them in some degrie as it is sayd in the sixte rule before for Act. 2.16 he sayth This is that which wes spoken by the prophet Ioel And it shall come to passe in the last dayes c. And v. 22. Yee men of Israel hear these wordes Iesus of Nazareth a man approved of God among yow by miracles wonders and signes which God did by him in the midst of yow as yee yourselves knowe Inst 1. I am not ignorant that the darkning of the Sun and Moone is sometimes taken allegoricalley and by way of allusion bot that therfor it should be so understood heer it does not follow for what it is figuratively applied it signifieth the judgement it self bot wher it is literally used it is put only for a signe of an eminent destruction which shall suddenly follow it as the great
part fulfilled at their returning from Babel for then they reared up their walles they planted wineyardes c. bot it is a grosse opinion to think that all the particulares of these prophecies should be fulfilled in a proper acceptation of the wordes at one and the same juncture of time and it is al 's vaine to think that that prophecie of Ioel concerning the plentifull powring doun of the Spirit could not be fulfilled by accomplishment of our Saviours prophecie Mat. 21.43 ther is no dependance of this prophecie on the wordes of Ioel and everie one who hes eyes may see that our Saviour speakes not there of the temporal kingdom of the Jewes bot of the Gospell seing he calleth it the kingdom of God and he sayth It shal lbe taken from them and another nation shall bring furth the frutes of it their temporal kingdom wes taken from them alreadie and these last wordes can not be understood of any temporal kingdome nether wes these Romanes who destroyed Ierusalem more devote than the stubborne Iewes Pag. 33. Yow have heard of the deliverance and happynesse of the Iewes I shall acquaint yow now with their partakers Ans It is now manifest that these forenamed prophecies ar not of the earthly prosperitie of the Iewes only and we know certanly that the gentiles ar partakers with the Iewes so that the proof of this point is needlesse and neverthelesse he filleth up same pages with prophecies to this purpose and he sayth Pag. 37. I know that most of these prophecies ar chi fly interpreted of the joyning together of the Iewes and gentiles in one Church and richtly Ans If they be chiefly and richthy interpreted so why should we not acquiesce shall we goe about to interprete them unrichtly that weâ— to put out our eyes and deceive our selves and others Inst. Bot to say that this is now fulfilled in the tyme of the substitute gentiles vocation is to overthrow what wes before affirmed for Paul telles us plainly Rom. 11. that the Iewes ar broken off from their olive and tha we ar graffed-in for them that they ar cast away that they ar hardned that God hes concluded them all in unbelieff and throgh their fall salvation is come to us to provoke them to jealousie and therfor it can not possibly be manteened that the Iewes and gentiles ar as yet one shiepfold Ans The Apostle sayth not that all the Iewes are broken off bot rather the contradictorie v. 1. and 5 nether sayth he that God hes shutt up all the Iewes in unbelieff that he micht have mercie upon all the Iewes bot as our former translation sayth conforme to the original God hes shutt up all in unbelieff that he micht have mercie on all wherunto aggrie the wordes of the same Apostle Gal. 3.22 The Scripture hes concluded all under sin that the promise by faith in Iesus Christ micht be given to them who believe Here the Apostle is not speaking of the Iewes only bot generally both of Iewes and gentiles and so far must his wordes be extended there too seing he is speaking of them v. 30 and 31 and so the meaning of v. 32 is It wes the counsell of God to suffer both Iewes and gentiles fall into unbelieff or disobedience as the word Apeitheia lykwyse importes and the word sin teaches Gal. 3. that he micht save all his elect both of Iewes and gentiles after one way not by their workes bot of his mercie only And therfor I can not possibly conceive how a man of understanding can bring or receive such a conclusion out of these wordes as this It can not possibly be manteened that the Iewes and gentiles ar as yet one sheepfold For besides the fallacie of the consequence the conclusion is contrarie to the expresse wordes of Scripture especially Eph. 2.11 Remember that yee being in time past gentiles in the flesh who wer called uncircumcision by that which is called the circumcision in the flesh made by handes bot now in Christ Iesus yee who somtymes wer farre off ar made nigh by the blood of Christ for he is our peace who hes made both one having broken doun the midle wall for to make in himself of twaine one new man And who will denie that the believers now living among the gentiles ar members of the same bodie and church universal wherof Abraham Jacob David Ezekias Paul and others ar members also Now then even now Iewes and gentiles ar one fold Inst 2. As for these who wer converted at the first preaching of the Gospell and at other times since they ar bot the first frutes and roote as I may say of the branches and lumpe which shall follow after them by a general conversion and therfor the calling of these can not be more accounted a conversion of the Iewes than the calling of the gentiles who wer gathered to the Church before Christs nativitie can be taken for the conversion of the gentiles who wer as tyme hes shewen bot the forerunners and pledge c. Ans These who wer converted at the preaching of the Gospell howbeit they may be called the firstfrutes of the Gospell preached since the incarnation of Christ yet they can not be called the firstfrutes of the sheepfold seing the Patriarches ar the roote members of the same bodie of Christ as they ar expressely called Rom. 11.16 being conferred with v. 28 they ar beloved for the fathers sake Nixt ther is a vast difference twixt the calling of the gentiles under the old Test and the calling of the Iewes under the New for verie few gentiles wer converted even nothing in comparison of the converted Iewes and albeit not so many 1000 have been converted as may be converted yet that is no impediment of the union twixt the two people which consistes in the union of the church under the old and new Test even albeit never a Iew wer converted Inst. 3. And besides how the bringing of the Iewes out of all nationes upon horses and in litters and in charets and upon mules and upon mens shoulders can bear any other bot a literal sense or how the vail that is spread over all nationes can now be sayd to be destroyed when as so many of them runne a whooring after their own inventiones I can not conceive Yea unto this day sayth S. Paul of the Iewes in his tyme when Moses is read the vail is upon their heart nevertheles when it shall turne unto the Lord the vail shal be taken away 2 Cor. 3.15 bot we see not yet Israel returned and therfor the vail â—s not yet taken away Ans Whither he can not or will not conceive it may be douted many 1000 have conceived both these he gives no reasoun of his douting in the former and the cause of his douting in the other is naught for albeit the vail be not taken away from all the Iewes and from all of all the nationes in which sense it shall