the daies of his life he did never cast us in the teeth with it but loved us as his owne soule and more than his owne Children honouring us and giving us riches cattell and corne abundantly You therefore my children love yee one another with a good heart and put from you the spirit of Envie for it maketh a Mans sou'e to grow savage marreth his body breedeth wrath and war in his thoughts setteth his bloud on fire driveth him out of his wits and suffereth no reason to beare any sway or rule Moreover it taketh away his sleep disquieteth his minde and maketh his body to tremble For even in sleep some spice of imagined malice gnaweth him cumbring his soule with Spirits of mischiefe making his body ghastly and his mind affrighted with trouble and appearing unto men as it were with a pernicious Spirit and powring out of poyson Therefore was Joseph faire of face beautifull and comely to behold because no wicked thing dwelt in him for he had a countenance cleare from cumverance of mind And now my children let your hearts be meek before the Lord and walke right before man so shall ye finde favour both with God man and beware that ye fall not to whoredome For whoredome is the mother of all naughtines separating a man from God sending him to Belial For I have seene in Enochs writings that you and your children shall be corrupted with whoredome and do Levi wrong by the sword But they shall not prevaile against Levi because he shall fight the Lords battels and take all your tents and very few shall be divided in Levi and Juda for hee shall be your Captaine as my Father Jacob prophesied in his blessings Behold I tell you all these things aforehand that I may be cleare from the sin of your soules Now if you put from you all enviousnes and all stiffneckednes all my bones shall flourish as a rose in Israel and my flesh as a Lilâ—ie in Jacob and my savor shall be as the sent of Libanus my holy ones shall be multiplied as the Cedars for ever their boughs shall spreade out in length for evermore Then shall the seed of Canaan perish together with all the remnant of Amalek All the Cappadocians shall perish and all tâ—e Sethians shall likewise be destroyed Then shall the land of Cham faile and all the people goe to wreck Then shall the Earth rest from trouble and all men under Heaven from war Then shall Sem be glorified when the great Lord God of Israel appeareth upon earth as a man to save Adam in him Then shall the spirits of errour he troden under foote and men shall reign over hurtfull fiends then shall I arise again in joy and blesse the highest in his wonderful works for God taking a body upon him and eating with men shal save men And now my children obey Levi and you shall be delivered by Juda and advance not your selves above these two tribes for of them two shall the saving health of God spring unto us For the Lord shall set up of Levi the prince of priests and of Juda the King of Kâ—ngs God man So shall he save all the Gentiles the off-spring of Israel For these things sake I charge you to command your children to keepe these things thoroughout all their generations And Simeon making an end of these his sayings and commandements to his children slept with his fathers when as he was of the age of an hundred twenty yeares And then they laid him in a coffin of wood that rotteth not that they might cary his bones againe into Hebron they conveyed him privily in the warte of the Egyptians For the Egyptians kept the bones of Joseph in the Kings treasure For their inchanters told them that whensoever Josephs bones were carried away there should be such a plague of miste and darknesse among the Egyptians as one brother should not know another no not even by torchlight and Symeons children bewailed there Father according to the Law of mourning continued in Egypt till the day of their departing thence under the hand of Moyses The Testament of LEVI made to his Childrena this death concerning Priesthood Flie sinne be just rage not give light Ye Preachers of Gods Word For what else sheweth Sun and Moone Dame Venus Wolfe and Sword 〈…〉 THe Copy of Levies words namely which hee spake to his children concerning all the things which they should doe and which should happen unto them untill the day of judgement Hee was in health when he called them unto him for he knew before when he should die So when they were come together he said unto them I Levi was bred and borne in Charran and afterward came with my father into Sichem I was at that time but young about 20 yeers old when I helped my brother Simeon to revenge our sister Dina against Hemor Now as we were â—eeding of our flocks in Abelmuel the spirit of the understanding of the Lord came upon me I saw all men undermining their own waies and how unrighteousnes had builded her selfe a fortresse wickedness sat upon the throne thereof And I was sory for mankind besought the Lord to save them Then there fell a sleep upon me and I saw a very high mountain It was the mountaine of Aspis in Abelmuel And behold the heavens opened and the Angell of God said unto me Levi come hither and went from the first heaven to the second and there saw the water hanging betweene the one and the other And I saw the third heaven much brighter than them both for the height thereof was infinit And I said to the angell what meaneth this And the Angell answered me Marvel not at these things for thou shalt see foure heavens yet brighter without comparison when thou commest up to them For thou shalt stand by the Lord be his Minister and utter his secrets unto men and preach of the deliverer of Israel which is to come by thee and by Juda the Lord will appear to men to save all mankind in them Thy life shall depend upon the Lord by him shalt thou have thy fields vineyards fruits gold and silver Therefore harken as touching the seven heavens The lowest is most lowring because it is neerest to all the unrighteousnes of men The second hath fire snow yce prepared by the Lords appointment against the day of Gods rightfull judgement In it are all the spirits of vengeance for the punishing of the wicked In the third are the powers of hosts ordaâ—ned against the day of iudgement to take vengeance upon the spirits of error and Belial In the fourth above these are the saints for in the higher places dwelleth great glory in the holy of all holies above all holinesse In the next unto this are the angels that do serve in Gods presence and seek his
you And were it not for our Fathers Abraham Isaac and Jacob there should not one of my seed be left upon earth Furthermore I know by the Book of Enoch that ye shall goe astray by the space of threescore and ten wreks and defile the Priesthood stain the Sacrifices destroy the Law despise the sayings of the Prophets frowardly persecute righteous folk hate the godly abhor the sayings of soothfast men and call him Hereticke that goeth about to renew the Law by the power of the Highest and in the end ye shall kill him out of hand as you think not knowing that he shall rise again and so shall ye receive his innocent bloud wilfully upon your own heads For his sake shall your holy places be left desolate which you shall have defiled even by utter forswearing and your dwelling shall not be clean but you shall be accursed among the Heathen and despair shall vex you till he visite you again and mercifully receive you through faith and water And forsomuch as ye have heard of the threescore and ten weeks hear ye also of the Priesthood For in every Iubilie shall be Priesthood In the first Iubilie the first anointed into the priesthood shall be great talke to God as to his father his priesthood shall be full of the feare of the Lord and in the day of his gladnesse he shall rise up unto the salvation of the world In the second Iubilee the anointed shall be conceived in the heavinesse of the beloved sort and his priesthood shall be honourable and he shall be glorified amongst all men The third priest shall be taken up in sorrow and the fourth shall be in griefe because the multitude of iniquities shall be laid upon him and throughout all Israel every man shall hate his neighbour The fift shall be held fast in darknesse and likewise the sixt and the seventh And in the seventh shall be such abhomination both before God and man as I am not able to expresse Howbeit that the doers thereof shall not be known For this cause shall they be in captivity corruption and their land and substance shall be destroyed but in the fifth weeke they shall retuâ—ne into their desolate country and renew the Lords house In the seventh weeke shall come idolatrous priests covetous warriours unrighteous scribes and filthâ—e abusers of men children and beasts After that the Lord hath sent vengeance upon them in the priesthood then will God raise up a new Priest unto whom all the Lords word shall be opened and he shall execute true judgement upon earth many dayes and his starre shall arise in heaven As a King shall hee shed forth the light of knowledge in the open sunshine of the day and he shall be magnified over all the World and be received and shine as the Sun upon the earth and drive away all darknesse and there shall be peace upon all the earth In his dayes the heavens shall rejoyce the earth shall be glad the clouds shall be merry the knowledge of the Lord shall bee powred out upon the earth as the waters of the Seas and the angels of glory that are in the Lords presence shall rejoyce in him The heavens shall be opened out of the temple of glory shall sanctification come upon him with the Fathers voyce as from Abraham the Father of Isaac and the glory of the highest shall be spread out upon him and the Spirit of understanding sanctification shall rest upon him whereof he shall give abundantly and mightily to his children in truth for evermore and there shall none succeed him from generation to generation world without end In his Priesthood all sin shal come to an end and the unrighteous shall cease from their naughtiness but the righteous shall rest in him and he shall open the gates of Paradise and stay the threatning sword against Adam and feed the Lambs with the fruit of life and the spirit of holiness shall be in them He shall binde up Belial and give his own children power to tread down hurtful spirits and the Lord shall rejoyce in his children and accept them as his beloved for evermore Then shall Abraham Isaac and Jacob be glad and then shall I and all Saints rejoyce Now my children ye have heard all Therefore choose unâ—o you either light or darkness either the Law of the Lord or the works of Belial and we answered our Father saying We will walk before the Lord according to his law And our Father said the Lord is witness and his Angels are witnesses and I am a witness and you your selves are witnesses of the words of my mouth And when we had answered We will be witnesses Levi rested with this charge given unto his children And stretched out his feet and was put to his fathers when he had lived a hundred and seven and thirty years and they laid him in a coffin and buried him afterward in Hebron besides Abraham Isaac and Jacob The Testament of JVDA made to his Children at his death concerning valiantnesse covetousnesse and fornication Lo here the blessed Princely state Of Juda suffering not his mate The Scepter Lion Purse and Crowne Betoken glory and renowne The Testament of Iuda THe Copie of all the sayings of Juda which he spake unto his Children at the time of his death when they were come together before him he said unto them I was my fathers fourth son and my mother called me Juda saying I thank the Lord for that he hath given me a fourth sonne I was swift of foot and painfull in my youth and obeyed my Father in all things and blessed my mother and my mothers sisters And when I came unto mans estate my father Jacob praied over me saying Thou shalt be a King and prosperous in all things Behold God gave me grace in all my workes both abroade at home Vpon a time I saw a Hind and ran after her and caught her made good meate of her for my father Also I outran the Roes and overtook all things that were in the fields insomuch that I caught a wild Mare and tamed her I plucked a Kidde out of the mouth of a Beare taking him by the pawe overthrew him and rent asunder all wilde beasts that turned upon me as if I had been a Dog I encountered with a wilde Boar and overrunning him tare him in pieces In Hebron a bastard Lyon leapt upon a Dog and I catching him by the tail flung him away by and by and be brast asunder In the borders of Gare a wilde Bull was feeding in the fields and I took him by the horns and swinged him about and finally killed him There came two Kings of the Chananites armed upon our flock and much people with them and I alone running unto the flock stept to King Sur and striking up his legs overthrew him and so slew him Also I killed another King
your Children shall forsake plainness and cleave to covetousnesse let goe innocency and follow lewdnesse leave Gods Commandements and stick unto Belial give over husbandry and gad after wicked devices and therefore shal they be scattered amongst the heathen and become bondslaves to their enemies Wherefore warn your Children of it that if they sin they may return quickly to the Lord for he is mercifull and will deliver them and bring them home again into their own Land I am now an hundred and two and twenty years old and I know not any deadly sinne upon me I have not known any woman but my Wife neither have I committed whoredome in the lust of mine eyes I have not drunk wine unto drunkennesse neither have I coveted any pleasant things of my neighbours There hath been no guile in my heart neither hath there any lying gone out of my lips I have been sorry with every man that was in heaviness and given my bread to the poor I have not eaten my meat alone nor removed the bounds and buttels of lands I have been pitiful all the dayes of my life dealt truly in all cases I have loved the Lord with all my strength and all men as mine own children My sons if you also do the like all the spirits of Belial will flie from you and nothing that mischievous men can doe against you shall have power over you You shall bring all wilde Beasts into subjection to you because ye have the Lord of Heaven with you if ye walke with him in singlenesse of heart And he willed them to carry his body into Hebron and to bury him there in the cave with his fathers Thus he stretched out his feet and died in a good age having all his limbs strong and sound and slept the sleep of all the world The Testament of ZABULON made to his Children at his death concerning compassion and mercy The poor man at home Zâ—bulon fed The stranger unknown also clothed When shâ—p did sail but gave him wit to govern it God did not fail but gave him wit to govern it The Testament of Zabulon THE charge that Zabulon gave to his Children in the hundred and fourteenth year of his life two and thirty years after the decease of Joseph And he saith unto them Hear ye me ye sons of Zabulon a good gift to my Father and Mother For when I was begotten my Father was greatly increased in Sheep and Cattel by reason of the good luck that he had through the straked rods I wist not my Children I wist not that I sinned in those dayes For I considered not that I dealt wickedly through ignorance in Josephs case and moreover concealed it with my brothers from our Father howbeit that I wept much for it in secret for I was sore afraid of my Brothers because they had all conspired together to kill him with the sword that should bewray that secret Neverthelesse when they would have killed him I besought them most earnestly with tears that they would not doe such wickednesse For Simeon and Gad came upon Joseph to have killed him and Joseph falling upon his knees said unto them Have pity upon me my Brethren have pity upon the bowels of our Father Jacob Lay not your hands upon me to shed innocent bloud for I have not sinned against you If I have done amisse nurture me with chastisement but lay not your hands upon me for our Father Jacobs sake Vpon his saying of these words I being moved with compassion came and wept and my heart melted within me and all the substance of my bowels were loosned upon my soul Also Joseph wept and I with him and my heart trembled and the joynts of my body quaked and I was not able to stand And when he saw me weeping with him and them coming towards him to kill him he fled behinde me and besought them to take pity of him Then Ruben stepping in said My brethren let us not kill him but let us cast him into the drie pit that our Fathers digged and found no water in it GOD suffered not any water to spring up in it because it should-be a safeguard for Joseph And so God did till they sold him to the Ismaelites Thus gave I no consent to the sinne against Joseph but Simeon Gad and the other of my brothers taking money for Joseph bought thooes with it for themselves their Wives and their Children saying Let us not eat it because it is the price of our Brothers bloud but let us tread trample it under our feet because he said he should raign over us and we shall see what his dreams will come unto Therefore in the Scepter of Enochs Law it is written of him that would not raise up seed to his brother I have loosed Josephs Shooe For when we came out of Egypt the young men unbuckled Josephs shooes at the Gate and so we worshipped Joseph as if it had been Pharaoh and not only worshipped him but also kneeled down before him with blushing and so were we put to shame before the Egyptians for afterward the Egyptians heard of all the ill that we had offered and done to Joseph After the laying of him in the pit my brothers set meat upon the Table to eat But I mourning for Joseph did tast no meat by the space of two dayes and two nights together neither would Juda eat with them but had an eye unto the pit because he feared lest Simeon and Gad should step there and kill him When they saw that I ate nothing they set me to keep him till he was sold He was in the Pit three dayes and three nights without repast yet he was sold Reuben hearing that he was sold in his absence rent his garments and wept saying How shall I look my Father Jacob in the face And therewithall taking money he ran after the Merchantmen but he could not finde them for they had left the Kings high-way and were gone away apace by by-lanes and Ruben ate no meat that day Dan therefore comming unto him said Weep not neither be sad for the Boy for I wot what we may say unto our Father Jacob We will kill a Kid and stain Josephs coat with the bloud of it and say unto him See if this be thy Sons coat or no For when they intended to sell Joseph they stripped him out of our Fathers coat and put upon him an old coat of a bond-servant Symeon had gotten his coat and would not deliver it us but was minded to have cut it in pieces with his sword and he was angry that he was yet alive that he had not slain him Then all my brethren rising up together said unto him Why shouldest thou not give it us seeing that thou only art the worker of this mischief in Israel Hereupon he gave it them and they did as Dan had counselled And now my children
spitefulnesse which counselled me to devoure Joseph as the Leopard devoured a Kid But the God of our Father Jacob did not put him into my hands nor suffer me to finde him alone that I might dispatch two Scepters in Israel by committing that wickednesse And now my children I tall you of a truth that unlesse you keep your selves from this spirit of lying and wrath and love truth and long sufferance ye shall perish Wrath is blind my children and no wrathfull man looketh truth in the face because that although they were a his Father and mother yet doth he hold them all his enemies Though he be his brother yet he b knoweth him not though he be the Lords c prophet yet obeyeth he him not though he be a d righteous man yet he regardeth him not and though he be his e friend yet he considereth it not For the Spirit of wrath besetteth him with the snares of error blinding his naturall eyes and dimming the eyes of his minde by falsehood and giving to him a sight of his own making And wherein bleareth he his eyes In hatred of heart for he giveth him a self-willed heart against his brother to spite him and envy him My Sonnes wrath is mischievous for it becommeth a soul to the soul and subdueth the body to it self by overmastering the soul and giveth power to the body to work all wickednesse And when the soule hath wrought it justifieth the thing done because it seeth not Therefore he that is wrathfull if he be a man of might hath trebble power in his anger One through the help and furtherance of his Servants Another of his riches wherethrough he perswadeth and overcometh his unrighteousnesse and a third of the nature of his own body which of it self worketh evill And though he that is angry be a poor man yet hath he his naturall power doubled For the said Spirit doâ—h alwayes further his wickednesse by causing his deeds to be matched with lying Wherefore consider the power of wrath how vain it is For he is bitter in speech and walketh at Satans right hand that his deeds may be wrought in untrustiness and lying For Satan doth first of all sting him by speech and when he hath once pricked him forward be strengthneth him by deeds and troubleth his understanding with bitter nips and losses and so provoketh his minde to excessive wrath Therefore when any man speaketh against you be not moved to anger and if he praise you as good men be not puffed up nor changed into voluptuousnesse and sternesse of countenance For when a man heareth a thing that misliketh him first it tickleth him and stingeth his mind so that he thinks he hath just cause to be angry Now therefore my children if ye fall into any losse and hinderance be not out of patience for the spirit of impatience maketh men to lust for the things that is forgone and to be angry for the want of it Beare your losses willingly and be not out of quiet for it for unquietnes engendereth anger and untruth and it is evill to have a double face Anger and untruth talke one to another to trouble the understanding And when the mind is cumbred with disdain the Lord departeth from it and Belial getteth the dominâ—on of it Therefore my children keepe the Lords commandements and lawes eschew untruth and hate it that the Lord may dwell in you and Belial flâ—e from you Speak every of you the truth to his neighbour that ye fall not willingly into incomberance and so shall ye be in quiet and ye shall have the God of peace war shall not prevaile against you Love the Lord all your life long and love ye one another with a soothfast heart For I am sure that in the latter daies ye shall deparâ— from the Lord and walk in naughtines workâ—ng the abhominations of the Gentiles and haunting wicked women in all lewdnes by the working of deceitfull spirits in you For I have read in Enoch that Sathan is your prince and thaâ— all the spirits of fornication and pride shall ply themselves in laying snares for the children of Dan to make them sinne before the Lord But my children stick ye unto Levi and looke upon him in all things The children of Juda shall snatch away other mens goode like Lyons through covetousnesse For this cause shall ye be led away with them into captivity and there receive all the plagues of Egypt and all the malice of the heathen whereupon â—e shall returne to â—hâ— Lord and obtaine mercy and he shall bring you into â—is holy place and proclaim peace to you The Lorâ—s saving health shall spring up unto you out of the Tribes of Juda and Levi He shall make warre against Belial and give our young men the victory in revengement He shall deliver the imprisoned souls of the Saints from Belial and turn your unbelieving hearts to the Lord and give everlasting peace to such as call upon him The Saints shall rest in him and the righteous shall rejoyce in the new Jerusalem which shall glorifie GOD for ever Jerusalem shall no more be wasted nor Israel led into captivity because the Lord shall be conversant among men in the midst of it and the holy one of Israel shall raign over you in lowlinesse and poverty and he that believeth in him shall certainly reign in Heaven Now my Children feare the Lord and beware of Satan and his spirits And draw neer to God and to the angell that excuseth you for he is the Mediator between God and man to set peace in Israel He shall stand against the Kingdom of the enemy and therefore will the enemy labour to overthrow all that call upon the Lord for he knoweth that whensoever Israel decayeth then shall his enemies Kingdome come to an end But the said Angel shal strengthen Israel that he come not to an evill end At that time shall Israel depart from iniquity and the Lord shall visit such as doe his will in all places of Israel and among the heathen his name shall be The Saviour Therefore my children keep your selves from all noysome dealings and put from you wrath and all untruth Love truth and mildnesse and look what you have heard of your father deliver it over to your children that the Father of Nations may receive you For he was soothfast long suffering meek lowly and a teacher of Gods law by his own works Therefore depart from all unrighteousnesse that ye may stick to the righteousnesâ— of the Lords Law and bury ye me by my Fathers In saying these things he kissed them and slept the sleep of the world And his sonnes buried him laying his bones by Abraham Isaac and Jacob And like as Dan had prophesâ—ed to them that they should one day neglect Gods law and estrange themselves from the off-spring and native Countrey of Israel so came
of his is stark lewdnesse Another man loveth ungraciousnesse and he is lewd likewise and although he could finde in his heart to die for the compassing of his evill yet it is manifest that he is double faced and his doing is altogether starke naught For his love being but lewdnesse doth as it were cloak his evill with a good Name whereas the drift of his doings tendeth unto a wicked end Another healeth doth open wrong pilleth and polleth is covetous and pitieth not the poor He also hath a double face and all this is stark naught for in being niggardly towards his neighbour he provoketh Gods wrath and denyeth the highest in not pitying the poor He despiseth and spiteth the Lord which is the commander of the law he suffereth not the poor to rest he defileth his own sent to make his body gay he killeth many and pâ—â—ieth few this is the part of a double faced person Another committeth whoredome and fornication or vexeth many men piteously with his power and riches and yet abstaineth from meats his fast is naught for he doth the commandements with an evil conscience and that is a double faced dealing which is altogether naught Such manner of folke are right Swine and Hares for they seem to be half clean but in very deed they be utterly unclean You therefore my children become not like them neither beare you in one hood two faces the one of goodnesse and the other of naughtiness but stick all only unto goodness for in goodnesse doth God rest and men like wel of it Shun naughtiness and kill the Divel in your good works for they that are double faced serve not God but their own lusts because they seeke to please Belial and such as are like themselves Now though plain dealing men and such as pretend but one face are taken for offenders at the hands of such as beare two faces yet are they righteous before GOD Fâ—r many in killing wicked persons doe two works at once namely good by evill but indeed the whole worke is good because that he which hath rooted out the evil hath destroyed it Some man hating his neighbour mercifully blameth him for his advoutry or theft such a one is double faced but yet is the whole work good because he followeth the Lords example not respecting what seemeth good when it is evill in deed Another will not make merry with Rioters lest he should be stained by them and defile his own soul This man also is double faced but yet is all his doings good and he is like a Roe or a Stagge which in a common wilde berd seem to be unclean and yet are altogether clean because he walked in the zeale of the Lord shunning and hating those whom God willeth to be shunned in his Commandements and so killeth be evil with weldoing See therefore my Sonnes how there are two in all things one against the other and the one hiddeâ— under the other Death succeedeth to life shame to glory night to day and darkenesse unto light All righteous things are under light and life therefore doth eternall life overmaster death It is not to be said that truth is untruth righteousness unrighteousness or right wrong because that as all things are under God so all truth is under light I have practised all these things in my life and not strayed from the truth of the Lord but sought out the Commandements of the Highest to the uttermost of my power and walked with one face in goodness Take heed therefore my Children to the Lords Commandements and foâ—low the truth with one single face For they that are double faced shall be double punished The spirit of errour hateth the man that fighteth against it Keep the law of the Lord and regard not evill that seemeth good but have an eye to the thing that is good indeed and keep the same returning to the Lord in all his Commandements and resting upon him for the ends whereat men doe aym doe shew their righteâ—usnesse And know the Angels of the Lord from the Angels of Sathan For if ye cleave to wicked spirits your souls shall be tormented of the wicked Spirit whom ye serve in wicked lusts and worke But if ye quietly and cheerfully acquaint your selves with the Angel of Peace he shall comfort you in your life time My children become not like the Sodomites which knew not the Angel and perished for ever For I am sure that you shall sinne and be delivered into the hands of your enemies your land shal be laid waste and your selves shal be scattered into the four corners of the earth and be despised as unprofitable water in your dispersing abroad untill the Highest do visit the earth eatâ—ng and drinking as a man with men and breaking the Serpents head in pieces without noise He shall save Israel and all the Heathen by water being GOD hidden in man Therefore tell your children these things that they neglect not Gods Law written in the Tables of heaven For the time will come that they shall give no credit to the Law of the Lord And you falling unto naughtiness shall deal wickedly against God giving no heed to his Law but unto mens commandments For this cause shall ye be scattered abroad as my Brothers Gad and Dan which were not acquainted with their own countrey tribe and tongue Neverthelesse the Lord shall gather you together again in faith for the hope of his mercy for Abraham Isaac and Jacobs sake When he had so said he commanded them to bury him in Hebron And he died sleeping a good sleep and afterward his sonnes doing as he had willed them carryed him back and buryed him with his Fathers The Testament of JOSEPH made to his Children at his death concerning Chastity and Patience Let Joseph teach thee Love and Chastity So shalt thou have A long blessed life Void of all strife Even to thy grave The Testament of Ioseph MY sons and my brethren hear ye Joseph the well-beloved of Israel My children hear your Father I hâ—ve known in my life Envy and Death with the which my brethren would have destroyed me For they hated me and God loved me they would have killed me and the God of my Fathers kept me they put me into a pit and the most high brought me out again I was sold as a bondman and the Lord made me free and his strong hand helped me I was kept in hunger and the Lord himself nourished me I was left alone and the Lord comforted me I was sick and the Lord visited me I was in prison and the Saviour made me glad I was fastned in Chaines and the Lord unbound me He pleaded my cause in the accusations of the Egyptians and not only delivered me from Envy and Deceit but also exalted me insomuch that Putiphar chief Steward of Pharaohs house did lend me ladging where I was in jeopardy of my life by reason of a
pot the beare the bed doe note the strength the lust Of Ruben and unconstant head who therefore was accurst The Testament of Ruben THis is the copy of Rubens testament concerning all the things which hee gave in charge to his children before he died in the 125. yeare of his life Two yeares after the decease of Joseph his children and childrens children came to visit him in his sicknesse and be said unto them My children I die goe the way of my Fathers And seeing there his brethren Iuda Gad and Aser he said unto them Lift me up my brethren that I may tell you and my Children the things that I have hidden in my heart for I am henceforth drawing to my long home Then standing up he kissed them and weeping said Harken my brethren and you my children give ear to the words of your father Ruben mark what I give in charge to you Behold I command you this day before the God of Heaven that ye walke not in the ignorance of youthfulnesse and fornication wherein I overshot my selfe and defiled the bed of my Father Jacob For I assure you that the Lord did therfore strike me with a sore plague in my flanks the space of 7 moneths a I had perished if my Father b Jacob had not prayed to the Lord for mee because he was minded to have slaine mee I was thirty yeares old when I did this evill in the sight of the Lord and seven moneths was I sick to the death and with a free heart did I seven yeere penance before the Lord I drank no wine nor strong drink no flesh came within my mouth I tasted not any fine bread but I mourned for my sinne for it was great and there shall none such bee done in Israel And now my sonnes heare mee that I may shew you what I saw concerning the seven spirits of error in my repentance Belial giveth seven spirits against a man which are the welsprings of youthful workes and seven spirits are given man in hâ—s creation wherby all his works are done The first is the spirit of life wherewith is created his being The second is the spirit of seing wherwith cometh lusting The third the spirit of hearing wherwith cometh learning The 4 th is the spirit of smelling wherewith cometh delight by drawing in of the aire and by breathing of it out againe The fift is the spirit of speech wherewith knowledge is made The sixt is the spirit of Tasting whereof cometh the feeding upon things that are to be eatâ—n and drunke and through them is engendered strength because the substance of strengâ—h is in meat The seventh is the spirit of seed and generation wherewith entereth in the lust of pleasure For this cause it is the last of creation and the first of youth because it is full of Ignorance and Ignorance leadeth the yonger sort as a blind body into the ditch and as an ore to the stall Among all these is the eight spirit which is of sleep with whom is created the wasting away of Nature and the Image of Death With these spirits are mingled the spirits of errour Whereof the first is the spirit of lechery who lieth within the nature and senses of man The second spirit of unsatiablenes lieth in the belly The third spirit of strife lieth in the Liver in choler The fourth spirit is of bravery and gallantnes that the party may seeme comely by excesse The fifth is the spirit of Pride which moveth a man to minde over great things or to think well of himself The sixt is the spirit of lying or vain gloriousnesse in boasting a mans selfe and in desire to file his talke concerning his own kindred and acquaintance The seventh is the spirit of unrighteousnesse which stirreth up the affections that a man should perform the lustfull pleasures of his heart For unrighteousnesse worketh with all the other spirits by taking guile unto him Vnto all these spirits is matched the eight spirit which is the spirit of sleep or sluggishnesse in errour imagination and so the soules of young folkes perish because their minds are darkned and hidden from the truth understand not the law of the Lord neither obey the doctrine of their Fathers as befell to me in my youth But now my children love the truth and that shall preserve you Harken to your Father Ruben and let not your eyes 1. run a gazing after women neither bee ye 2. alone with a Woman that is married neither doe ye seeke about 3. what Women are doing For if I had not seene Bilha bathing her selfe in a secret place I had not fallen into that great wâ—ckednes But my mind raâ—so so upon the naked Woman till it suffered mee not to sleepe till I had committed abhomination For while my Father Jacob was away at his Father Isaacks and I in Gader hard by Euphrata a house of Bethlehem Bilha fel 4. drunken and as she lay asleepe uncovered in her chamber I went in so and seeing her nakednesse wrought wickednesse with her leaving her asleepe went my way By and by an Angel of God bewrayed my wickednes to my father Jacob who comming home mourned for mee and touched not Bilha any more Therefore looke not upon the beautie of women neither muse you upon their doings but walke ye with a single heart in the feare of the Lord God busying your selves about some worke and keeping your selves occupied either in learning or about your flockes untill such time as God give you such wives as he listeth lest you doe suffer as I have done I durst not looke my Father in the face to his dying day nor speake to any of my brethren for shame My conscience biâ—eth me even yet still for my sin But my Father comforted me and prayed for me unto the Lord that his wrath might passe away from me as the Lord himselfe shewed unto me Therefore from that time forth I was kept from sinning any more And you my children likewise keepe ye that I shall tell you and you shall not sinne For Fornication is the destruction of the Soule separating it from God and making it to draw unto Idols because it leadeth the minde and understanding into errour and bringeth men to their grave before their time For whoredom hath undone many men although a man be ancient or noble yet doth it shame him and make him a laughing stock both before Belial and the sons of men But Ioseph because he kept himselfe from all Women and cleansed his thoughts from all fornication found favour both before the Lord and men The Egyptian Woman did much so him by using the helpe of witches and by offering him slaubar sauces but the purpose of his mind admitted no noysome desire For this
with her Vpon a time while I was away she maried Sylon to a woman of Chanaan which her deed when I understood I cursed her in the bitternesse of my soule so she died in the wickednesse of her sons A two years after these things as I went to sheare my sheepe Thamar decking herselfe live a Bride sat her downe at the gate of the City For it was the custom of the Amorites that their brides do set them selves forth at the gates of their cities by the space of 7 daâ—es together to be abused by fornication I therefore being drunken with the waters of Horek knew her not by reason of wine insomuch that her beauty together with the attire in decking of her selfe deceived mee and thereupon turning aside unto her I said shall I come in unto thee and she answered what wilt thou give mee and I gave her my staffe and my Gyrdle and the Crowne of my kingdome Vpon my companying with her she conceived afterward I not knowing my self to have been the doer thereof would have put her to death for it But she having kept my pledges in store shamed me with them and when I had heard my owne words of her in secret which I had spoken to her when I lay with her in my drunkennes I could not put her to death because it was of the Lords doing but I touched her not any more to my dying day For when I had done this abhomination in Israel lest she might worke wyles with me I sayd I would fetch my pledges again of her but when I enquired for her the townsmen said there was no bride in the city because she came from another place and had sit there but a little while she deemed that no man knew of my going in unto her Afterward we came into Egypt to Ioseph because of the dearth Six and forty years old was I when we came hither threescore thirteen yeares have I lived here And now my Sonnes heare me your father in all things that I charge you withal and keepe you all my sayings in doing all manner of Righteousnesse before the Lord and in obeying the commandements of the Lord God and walke not after your own lustes nor after conceits of your own mindes in the pride of your hearts neither glorie in the workes of the strength of your youth because it is sinfull in the sight of the Lord For in as much as I gloried in my battailes and upbraided my brother Ruben with Bilha my fathers Wife because no face of any beautifull woman had yet deceived mee therefore the spirit of fondnesse and fornication fel upon me so that I was overtakâ—n both in Bethuse the Chanaanite and in Thamar the Wife of my owne sons And I said unto my father in Law I have made my father privie to the matter therefore I will take thy daughter to my wife Hereupon he shewed me an infinite masse of gold in his daughters beâ—alf for he was â— king decking her with Gold and Pearl willed her to poure out wine to us at the Supper The beauty of the woman and the wine together dazled mine eyes and voluptuousnes did so darken mine understanding that I fell in love with her and brake the commandement of God and of my fathers tooke her to wife According to the intent of my heart the Lord paied me home for it for I had no joy of the children that I had by her Now therefore my Children be not drunken with wine for wine turneth a Mans understanding away from the truth and kindleth in him the fire of lust leadâ—ng his eyes into errour insomuch as wine is a servant to the spirit of lechery to further the feeding of the mind with voluptuousnesse and so these twayne bereave a man of all power For if a man drink wine till he be drunken he traineth his minde unto the filthy thoughts of lechery and kindleth the body to carnall copulation And if desired occasion serve sinne is wrought without shame Such a thing is wine my sons for a drunken man is ashamed of nothing Behold it made both me Thamar do amisse so as I blushed not at the multitude in the city but went aside unto her in the sight of all men and committed a great sinne in discovering the uncleane privities of my own sons Through drinking of wine I was not ashamed to break Gods Commandement in taking a woman of Chanaan to Wife Wherefore my sonnes he that drinketh wine had need of discretion the discretion that every man ought to use in drinking of wine is that he be ashamed to over-drink himself For if he passe that bond he forgoeth his understanding cleaveth to the spirit of errour which causeth the drunken man to talke filthily to do wickedly not to be ashamed but to boast of his lewdnes thinking it to be good He that committeth whoredome is bereft of his libertie and becommeth a bond-slave of lecherie and cannot get out of it again after the same manner that I was made naked For I gave over my staffe that is to say the stay of my tribe my girdle that is my power my crown that is the glory of my kingdome Hâ—wbeit repenting these things I forbare all wine and flesh unto mine old age and was utterly unacquainted with all mirth And the Angell of God shewed me that women should from time to time over-master all men as well Kings as captives and bereave great men of their glorie For the poverty of a poore man is a greater fence to him than is the strength of a mighty man Therefore my children keep measure in drinking for there are in it foure noysome spirits that is to wit of concupisence of heart burning of lechery and of filthy gaine If yee drinke wine merrily in the feare of the Lord with shamefastnes ye shall live But if ye drink without regard of shame feare of God then turneth it to drunkennes dishonesty stealeth in And if yee drink none of all then shall ye not sin neither in slanderous words nor in quarrelling nor in railing nor in breach of Gods commandements neither shall ye perish before your time For wine discloseth the secrets of God man unto Strangers like as I bewrayed the secrets of God and of my Father Jacob to Bethsue the Chanaanite which God hath forbidden to bee disclosed Also wine is a cause of warre and sedition Moreover I charge you my sons that you love not money ne look upon the beauty of women for mony womanly beauty made me to overshoote shoote my self in Bethuse the Chanaanite And I am sure that these two things shall corrupt mine of-spring and mar the wise men of my linage and hurt the kingdome of Juda which God hath given me for obeying my Father for I never repined at my
him and to put him to death if it be possible for hatred worketh with spitefulnesse and is alway sorry to hear or see men go forward or prosper in well-doing For like as love beareth good will then to the dead and wisheth them alive and would if it were possible stay them from death which are condemned to die So hatred seeketh to stay the living and deemeth them unworthy of life which have offended never so lightly For the spirit of hatred doth through cankred frowardnesse of heart work joyntly with Sathan in all things even to the death and destruction of men But the spirit of love doth through long sufferance worke with Gods Law to the welfare of men Hatred is evil because it abideth with lying speaking continually against the truth making a great adoe of small matters overshadowing the lâ—ght with darknesse counting sweet to be sowre teaching slanderousnesse war wrong and aboundance of all mischief and finally filling the heart with divellish poison My children I speak these tâ—ings upon experience to the intent you should eschew hatred and stick to godly love Righteousnesse driveth out hatred and lowlinesse killeth it for a righteous and lowly person is ashamed to doe wrong not for feare of rebuke but for conscience sake because God seeth his intent He backbiteth no man because the feare of the highest overcommeth hatred for the feare of the Lord offendeth not neither wil do any man wrong no not even in thought At length I came to the knowledge of these things when I had repented the of my dealings toward Joseph For the true Repentance that is according to Gods will mortifieth a man to obedience chaseth away darknesse inlightneth the eyes giveth knowledge to the minde and leadeth the soul to salvation And whatsoever men know not of themselves that doth repentance teach them For it brought upon me the pain of the heart and if my father Jacobs prayers had not beene surely I had died out of hand For loâ—k wherein a man sinneth by the same he is punished Forasmuch therefore as my heart was mercilesse toward Joseph I suffered Gods rigorous justice in my heart by the space of xi moneths that the time of my punishment might fall out even with the time that I urged the selling of Joseph Now therefore my children each of you love his brothers and put away hatred from your hearts loving one another in deed word and tâ—ought of minde For before my fathers face I spake mildly of Joseph but behinde his backe the spirit of hatred darkened my understanding and tempted my minde to kill him Wherefore love ye one another heartily and if any of you offend other tell him of it gently driving out the poyson of hatred and fostering no deceit in heart And if the offender confesse it and be sorry for it give it him and if he deny it strive not with him lest he fall to swearing and so sinne double Let no stranger hear you uttering one anothers secrets in variance lest he turn to be your ill-willer and worke some great mischief against you For he will talke guilefully with thee and undermine thee to do thee a shrewd turn taking his poyson at thine own hand Therefore if he deny it and he ashamed of it and hold his peace when he is rebuked draw him not out for in denying he repenteth him so as he will no more offend thee but honour thee and fear thee and be in quiet But if he be unshamefac't and abide by his naughtiness then refer the revengement of it to God with all thy heart If another man prosper more then thou be not grieved at it but pray for him that he may have perfect prosperity For peradventure it may be to your own benefit And if he be exalted more and more envy him not but remember that all flesh shall die and praise God for it who giveth good and profitable things to all men Seek the Lords judgements and so thy mind shal let him alone and be in quiet Now if a man be enriched by evill means as Esau my Fathers brother was envy him not for in so doing ye controll the Lord who either taketh away his benefits from the wicked or leaveth them still to the repentant or else reserveth them in the unrepentant to their endlesse punishment For the poore man having sufficient of all things giveth thanks unto the Lord and is enriched of all men because men wish him no harm Therefore my children away with hatred out of your hearts and love one another with a right meaning minde Also will you your children to honour Levi and Juda for out of them shall the Lord make the Saviours of Israel to come I know that in the end your children shall depart from them and walke in all manner of mischief naughtinesse and corruption before the Lord And after a little pausing he said again My sonnes hear me your Father bury me by my fathers And so plucking up his feet he slept in peace and after five years they carryed him thence and laid him with his Fathers in Hebron The Testament of ASER made to his Children at his death concerning two Faces of Vice and Vertue Two wayes saith Aser are prepar'd for men the one for joy The last for death 〈…〉 The Testament of ASER. THe Copy of Aser his Testament and of the things that he spake to his Children in the 120. year of his life Being still in health he said unto them Ye children of Aser hearken unto your father and I will shew you all things that are right before the Lord The Lord hath given two wayes unto the Sons of men two mindes two doings two places and two ends and therefore all wayes may be one yea though they be contraries as are the wayes of good and evill Also there are two mindes in our breasts which doe move us either to honesty or dishonesty Therefore if a man be led to goodnesse all his doings are occupied about righteousnesse and if that be doe any thing amisse by and by he repenteth him for in as much as his minde is bent unto righteousnesse he putteth away naughtinesse and out of hand amendeth his misdeeds and correcteth the corruptions of his mind But if his minde incline unto evill all his doings tend unto naughtinesse in so much that he thrusteth away the good and taketh unto him the bad because he is under the dominion of Belial and if he doe any good thing he turneth the same unto evill For if he begin to do any good he bringeth the end of his doings to an evil work because the treasure of his heart is infected with the venome of a divelâ—sh and mischievous Spirit and therefore the evill overmastereth the good in his minde and bringeth the end of the thing to naughtinesse Some man sheweth compassion upon him that serveth his turn in naughtinesse that man hath two faces and that deed
of Belial tempt you to all naughtinesse to trouble you yet shall it not get the uppermost hand of you no more then it did of my brother Joseph How many folk would have killed him and yet God still defended him For he that feareth God and loveth his neighbour cannot be wounded of the aiery Spirit Belial and he that is shielded with the fear of the Lord is safe from harm both of man and beast and cannot be overcome because he is helped by the love of God which he hath towards his neighbour for Joseph beâ—ought our father Jacob to pray for my brethren to the Lord that he would not lay unto their charges the mischief that they had devised against him Whereat Jacob cried out O son Joseph thou hast overcome my heart And therewithall embracing him he kissed him two hours together and said In thee shal the prophecy of Heaven be resembled to the full concerning the Lamb of God and Saviour of the world that the unspotted sâ—all be delivered for the wicked dâ—â—ers and he that is without sinne shall die for the sinners in the blood of his testament to the salvation both of the Gentiles and of Israel and he shall dash Belial and all his servants My Children 〈◊〉 upon the end of that good man and follow his mercifulnesse with a good minde that you also may have a Crown of glory upon your heads A good man hath not a dark eye for he is mercifull and pitifull to all men yea though they be sinners and have devised mischief against him and he that doth good overcommeth evill 1 by the defence of goodnesse and loveth 2 the righteous as his own soul If another 3 man be honoured he envieth it not if a man be enriched it grieveth him not If a man be strong 4 or valiant he praiseth him and believing him also to be chaste he defendeth 5 him that hath the feare of God He worketh together with him that loveth God and if a man forsake the 6 Almighty he warneth him to return again Whosoever hath the grace of the good spirit him doth he love as his own life He 7 pitieth the poor succoureth the weak and praiseth and honoureth God My children if ye have a good minde evill men shall stand in awe of you and unthrifts shall for very shame be converted to goodnesse So that covetous men shall not only depart from their niggardlinesse but also give of their aboundance too the needy If ye be good doers both unclean spirits shall flee from you and shrewd beasts shall shun for feare of you For where the regard of good works is in the minde there darknesse flyeth away For if he doe wrong to any holy man he is sorry for it And if a holy man receive wrong he pâ—tieth the doer and putteth it up with silence And if any man betray a righteous soul and the righteous pray for his betrayer the betrayed is not a little disgraced and the Righteous becommeth much more notable afterward as did my Brother Joseph The guilefull spirit of Belial hath no power over a good mans minde for the Angell of peace guideth his soule He looketh not affectionately upon corruptible things â—e â—aketh together riches in the desire of voluptuousnesse He is not delighted with pleasures He grieveth not his neighbour he stuffeth not himself with meat neither wandreth he in the pride of his eyes For the Lord is his portion He taketh no glory for giving good counsell he passeth not how men dishonour him neither can he skill in any fraud or guile untruth strife or slanderousnesse for the Lord dwelleth in him and inlightneth his mind and he rejoyceth before all men in a good time A good minde hath not two tongues one to blesse with and another to curse with one to slander with and another to honour with one of sorrow and another of joy one of quietnesse and another of trouble one of dissimulation and another of truth one of poverty and another of riches but it hath one only disposition pure and uncorrupt towards all It hath no double sight nor double hearing For in all things that he doth speaketh or seeth he knoweth that the Lord beholdeth his heart and therefore he cleanseth his minde that he may not be found faulty before God and man But all the works of Belial are double and utterly void of simplicity Wherefore my children shun the naughtinesse of Belial for at the first he delighteth those that obey him but in the end he is a sword and the father of seaven mischiefs For when the minde hath once conceived by Belial it bringeth forth first envy secondly desperatenesse thirdly sorrow fourthly bondage fifthly needinesse sixthly trouble somness seaventhly desolation and for that cause was Cain tormented with seven punishments by God for in 7. yeares together God brought every yeare a new plague upon Cain Two hundred years he suffered and in the nine hundredth year the earth was made desolate with the Floud for his righteous brother Abels sake In seven hundred years is Cain judged and Lamech in seventy times seven for they that are like Cain in spightfulnesse hatred towards their brethren shall be punished with the same punishment for ever as he was You therefore my children eschew malice envy and hatred towards your brethren and cleave to goodnesse and lovingnesse He that hath a mâ—nd clean in love looketâ— not upon a woman in way of lechery Foâ— he hath no defiâ—ing in his heart because the spirit of the Lord resteth in him For as the Sun is not defiled by shining upon a puddle or dunghill but doth rather dry up and drive away the stinke even so a pure minde striveth against the uncleannesse of the earth and overcommenth it but is not defiled it selfe And I perceive by the sayings of the righteous Enoch that there shall be evil deeds among you For you shall defile your selves with the foâ—nication of Sâ—dom and perish all save a few multiply inordinate lusts in Women and the reign of the Lord shall not be among you for he shal take it away suddenly Neverthelesse the Lords Temple shall be made in our portion and it shall be glorious among you For the Lord himselfe shall take the Kingdome upon him and the twelve Tribes shall be gathered together there and all Nations shall resort thither untill the most High send his salvation in the visitation of his onely begotten And he shall enter into the first Temple and there the Lord shall suffer wrong and be despised and be lifted up unto a piece of timber And the veil of the Temple shall be rent asunder and the Spirit of the Lord shall come down upon the Gentiles poured out as fire and rising up from the grave he shall ascend from earth to Heaven He shall remember how base he hath been upon earth and how glorious
he is in heaven When Joseph was in Egypt I longed to see his person and the form of his countenance And through the prayers of my Father Jacob I saw him awake in the day of his full and perfect shape Now therefore my Children know you that I shall die Wherefore deale every of you truly and rightfully with his neighbour worke ye justly and faithfully and keep ye the law and commandement of the Lord for that doe I teach you instead of all Inheritance And give you the same to your Children for an everlasting possession For so did Abraham Isaac and Jacob they gave us all these things for an Inheritance saying Keep the Lords commandements till he reveale his saving health unto all Nations Then shall ye see Enoch Noe Sem Abraham Isaac and Jacob rising at his right hand with joyfulnesse Then shall we rise also every of us to his own Scepter worshipping the King of heaven which appeared on earth in the base shape of man As many as beleeve in him shall rejoyce with him at that time And all these shall rise again to glory and the residue unto shame And the Lord shall first of all judge Israel for the unrighteousnesse committed against him because they beleeved not in God that came in the flesh to deliver Then shal he judge all Nations as many as believed not in him when he appeared upon earth and he shâ—ll reprove Israel among the chosen of the Gentiles as he reproved Esau in the Midianites that seduced his brethren by fornication and Idolatry who were estranged from God and fell away from the Inheritance of the Children because they feared not God But if you walke in holinesse before the Lord ye shall dwell in Hope again in me And all Israel shall be gathered to the Lord and I shall no more be called a ravening Wolfe for your Robberies sakes but I shall be called the Lords Workmâ—n which gâ—veth food unto such as doe good And in my seed shall be raised up the Beloved of the Lord whose voice shall be heard upon the earth and he shall give new knowledge and enlighten all Nations with the light of understanding and shall come up to save Israel He shall take from them as a Wolfe and give to the Synagogue of the Gentiles aâ—d continue in the Sâ—nagogue of the Gentiles to the worlds end Hâ— shall be among their Princes as musical melody in the mouths of all men and his doings and sayings shall be written in â—oly books He shaâ—l be the Lords Dearling for evermore And as concerning him my Father Jacob taught me saying He shall ameâ—d the defaults of thy Tribe And when he had ended tâ—ese sayings he commanded his Children to carry his bones out of Egypt and to bury them in Hebron by his Fathers So Benjamin dyed in hundred and five and twenty years old in a good age and they put him in a Coffin and in the fourscore and eleventh year before the departure of the Israelites out of Egypt they and their brethren conveyed their Fathers bones privily againe into the Land of Chanaan and buried him in Hebron at the feet of his Fathers and returned again out of the Land of Chanaan and dwell in Egypt till the day of their departure thence all together FINIS How these Testaments of the twelve Patriarchs were first found and by whose means they were translated out of Greek into Latine THese Testaments were hidden and concealed a long time so as the Teachers and the ancient Interpreters could not finde them Which thing happened through the spitefulnesse of the Iewes who by reason of the most evident manifest and often Prophecies of Christ that are written in them did hide them a long while At length the Greeks being very narrow searchers out of ancient writings tought these Testaments warily and got them more warily and translated them faithfully out of Hebrew into Greek Nevertheless this writing continued yet still unknown because there was not any man to be found that was skillfull both in the Greek and Latine nor any Interpreter that might procure the translation of this noble work untill the time of Robert the second surnamed Grosthead Bishop of Lincolne who sent diligent searchers as far as Greece to fetch him a Copy of the said writing without respect of their charges which he bare most liberally Therefore to continue the memories of those most lightsome Prophecies to the strengthening of the Christian faith that reverend Bishop did in the year of our Lord 1242. translate them painfully and faithfully word for word out of Greek into Latine in which two tongues he was counted very skilfull by the help of M. Nicholas Greek Parson of the Church of Datchot and Chaplain to the Abbot of St. Albons to the intent that by that means the evident Prophecies which shine more bright than the day light might the more gloriously come abroad to the greater confusion of the Iewes and of all Hereticks and enemies of the Church of Christ to whom be praise and glory for ever Amen 1658. At LONDON Printed for the Company oâ— the STATIONERS Levi Iacob Simeon Iudas Isachar Zabulon Dan. Gad. Aser Neptalim Ioseph Benjamin Eccles 14â— Gen. 23. Simple for innocence Jacob beloved not of merit Rom. 9. but of grace Gen. 25. Gen. 26. Gen. 27. A caveat for mariage Trouble paine are destined to the Elect. An example for children A godly note for servants Mans life is but a pilgrimage God alway provideth for the righteous Parents ought to tell their children Gods blessings That is shall be uÌ„der their tribes Christ Counted as one of his children not that they should pray unto him being dead as Eckius gathered God hath mercy on whom he will By saith Jacob divideth the Land a yet but hoped for Begotten in my youth Levi had no Tribe Simeon was under Juda. Jud. 1. Blessings of Juda a worthy captaine A noble Prince Christ A fertile Land Judge 13.14.15.16 Josh. 1.21 Num. 33. Judg. 4.5 The blessing of Joseph Encrease of family All things come of God Not for the holinesse of the place but for memory of Gods promise A token of a good conscience Death is our long home Fornication plagued Gen. 15. a Prayer and repenâ—â—nce stayeth Goâ—â— wrath b The blessing prayer of a father to god for his children of what benefit In repentance the heart is to be considered not externall action The eight Instruments whereby man worketh the effect of them 1 Life 2 Seeing 3. Hearing 4 Smelling 5. Speech 6 Tasting 7. Seed of what property 8 Sleep of what property Eight spirits of errour of what property 1. Lechery 2. Gluttony 3. Envie 4. Bravery 5. Pride of what propertie 6. Vaine-glory in what it consisteth 7. Unrighteousnesse 8. Wilful ignorance Discommodities of ignorance Ringleaders to fornicatioÌ„ 1. a greedy eye 2. Close company with women 3. Bâ—sie questions 4. Drunkennesse Nothing so secretly
done but it shall be open A godly caveat Labour a preservative from fornication A guilty conscience is a great burden The fruit of fornication 1. Destruction of the soule 2. Idolatry 3. Shortnes of life 4 Ignominious shame Josephs chastity rewarded Properties of unchast women A note for garish attire and wanton lookes An example of this mischiefe Gen. 6. Teachers infectious company corrupteth the minde Envie accoÌ„panieth fornication shame followeth Gen 4.9 He prophecieth of Christ Faithful dealing with neighbours Gen. 5.49 Gen. 29. Hardiness of whom it is Gen. 37. Man purposeth God disposeth Envie descâ—ibed a Blindeth the mind b hindreth â—â—stenance c Provoketh murder d Pineth aâ— mens prosperity A remedy against envie Gen. 42. Joseph mercifull to his brethren Gen. 50. A sure token of good Properties of Envie 1 Corruption of life 2 Distemperature of body 3 Small sleep Gen. 39. A token of a quiet minde Effects of whoredome Gen. 49. Parents teaching not their Children are guilty Commodities of concord Exod. 17. Ioh. 1. The fruite of obedience Gen. 49. A note for Parents Levi hâ—s birth and countâ—ey Gen. 34. Christ Christ A minister what hee should be of himself not righteous Mat. 5. End of the priesthood prophesied Christ his passion prophesied Christ Gen. 34. Christ our redeemer The zeale of a Minister Gen. 34. Gen. 34. Gen. 49. The manner not the doing rebuked The sin of the Sichemites Raped Dina Persecuted strangers Gen. 12. Ravished their wives Gen. 35. The ministerie described Exod. 28. Levit. 8. The three blessings of the family of Levi Christ prophecied A distributing excludeth the sole receiving of the Sacrament Exod. 29 Levi. 1.2 3. An exhortation for Ministers A minister may be married Levit. 21. He must come with a pure mind to exâ—cute his office Levit. 1.2 3 4 A comfort for godly parents Prophecy of the destruction of Israel The Realm plagued whose Ministery is wicked Gen. 36. Levi his progenie Exod. 6. Levi made Priest at 18 years Married at 28. A note for Parents Blessings of the learned Minister Wisedome a precious jewell Sin blindeth wisedome Commodities of wisedome Christ his death and spitefulnes of the Jews prophesied Mat. 27. Ministers what they are The wicked Priesthood and their misery described 1 Sam. 2. A Prophecy of their destruction A prophecy of Christs persecution Mark the right portraiture of the Shaveling generation Christ and his members Ergo faith the holy Ghost justifieth and not merits Christ his true mnistery described Christ lighneth the world Baptisme of Christ prophecied No Priesthood shall succeed Christ Priesthood of Christ how beneficial Christ our propitiator Christ giveth power to his to tread down spirits Juda his exhortation The duty of children Valiantnes of Juda the gift of God The manhood of Juda. The valiantnes of Jacob Er Anan slaine for not using the benefit of lawfull mariage FornicatioÌ„ a fruit of drunkennes Gen. 38. An intolerable custome of the Amorites Apparell Beauty wine provoketh whoredome FornicatioÌ„ is chargeable Happy are they that can cease from doing ill It is sinful to any man to glory in his felicity See what it is to upbraid men their vice Children that marry without consent of parents plagued Discommodities of wine 1. Blindeth understanding 2. Servant of lechery Fruite of drunkennes A drunken man is shamelesse Example Who ought to drinke wine Properties of a drunken man is filthy talk wicked deeds Discommoditie of whoredome Four noisome Spirits follow drunkeÌ„nes 1. Concupiscence 2. Heart burning 3. Lechery 4. Covetousnes Astibnenc from wine what commodity it hath 2. It slandreth not 2. It quarreleth not nor raileth 3 It breaketh not the commandements 4. It perisheth not before the time Obedience to parents how profitable The discommodites of covetousnesse a Fill of Pride b Merciles c Disquiets the soule d Consumes the body e Contemnes Gods holy word The covetous lecherous cannot feare God Idolatry the fruit of covetousnesse Two Spirits waite upon a man a In respect that heavenly things are better then earthly not in externall rule government b Ergo iure divino the Pope can challenge no earthly power c Not in power and rule but in the excelâ—eÌ„cy of the office appertaining to God Tyrants wicked men described and prophesied Mutuall discord is a plague for tyrants Christ prophesied Note this ye that seeke after witches for lost goods The misery of Jerusalem a Famine b Pestilence c Death Sword d Besiegement e Devouring dogs f Daily reproche g Losse paine of eyes h Slaughter of children i Ravishing of Wives k Burning of the Temple l Desolation of the country m Captivity A remedy for these First Repentance Obedience The most heavenly benefit of Christ his second coming A sweet comfort for the godly Christian Matth. 5. Note The blessed estate of the elect after death The exhortation Gen. 30. The godly life of Issachar his true dealing An example for godly children A pattern of a vertuous life With a plain dealing man the Lord is pleased A single-hearted man described who and what he is Learn you children of the earth Obedience and plain dealing commended A Plague for disobedience The innocency of Issachar A godly pattern to follow Hearken you Land-Lords Learn you wealthy of the earth His exhortation when it was given Gen. 30. The love of Zabulon towarâ— Joseph A good conscience refuseth no triall Love between brethren is as a precious ointment Mutuall love is mutuall safety A figure of the trechery and covetousnesse of Judas read Matth. 27. Juda carefull for his Brother Reuben his love toward Joseph Mark the wicked policy of the ungodly Zabulon his exhortation Compassion is to be shewed as well to beasts as men The unmercifull punished both they and their children Fishers Boats fiâ—st invented by Zabulon but God gave the wisdome Gen. 49. The singular compassion of Zabulon Note Zabulon his mercy in giving food A mercyfull deede to clothe the naked Inward compassion wanting ability serveth A rare example of a mercifull heart God dwelleth â—n a mercifuâ—l heart Joseph rewarded good for evill He that is mindful of injuries is not mercâ—full Apt similitudes An exhortation to concord The end of discord is misery The state of the wicked at the latter day Heart and outward profession must be consociate Lies anger school-masters of evill life Selfe-love thinketh himself as good as other Desire of prerogative entiseth to murther Man purposeth but God disposeth A wrathfull man lively described a He accounteth his Parents as enemies b He knoweth not his brother c He obeyeth not the Minister d He regardeth not the righteous e He considereth not his friend The properties of wrath A wrathfull man worketh three wayes 1 By servants 2 By riches 3 By himself Two instruments of wrath bitter speech violent hands Remedy against wrath is forbearing of words The effect of impatience He prophesieth their wickednes A note for covetousnes Repentance obtaineth mercy A prophecy of Christ his humanity Christ lively described Christ our mediator Christ assisteth us in all temptations His birth Why he was called Neptalim Why Joseph was like Neptalim his family The swiftnesse of Neptalim Gen. 49. God his wisdome in creating us lively set forth All things must be done in time and order The reason Neptalim prophesieth the misery of his children A Vision Remorse of conscience moveth open confession By doing well God is glorified men blessâ—d the divel vâ—nquished Gad a good and valiant shepheard Gad hated Joseph for his complaining to his father 2. For his dreams A comparison The property of hatred A righteous man described Love consisteth in deed in word and minde Envy no mans prosperity It may be perchance your profit A poor man how he is rich A prophecy of Christ Two wayes for a man to walk in Two mindes in a man of good of evil Diverse sorts of double faces The covetous mans wickedness described God abideth with the plain dealer The preposterous judgement of the world makes not good or bad Other kindes of double faced men Aser his righteous living Double faced double punished A prophecy of Câ—rist his humanity Josephs afflictions God helpeth in distresse God never forsaketh his Joseph constant in temptations Sufferance what it is A present medicine in temptation Not from meat but from wanton fare A crafty practise of a woman Flattery the Divels sweet bait A token of a zealous heart Hypocrites are of all religions for luere Double faced men GOD abhorreth Note the fruit of lust Joseph did first admonish not proclame The Name of God fear of infamy pricketh the conscieece Note this A remedy against teÌ„ptation Note a subtile woman Josephs singular chastity A property of a Harlot The commodity of praier and sufferance Josephs lowlinesse in prosperity An amiable countenance a token of a liberall mind A covetous heart like Achaâ— A token of mercy if it were not for an ill end Note a flattering woman A good nature Thus the Righteous be bought and sold Concord between brethren pleaseth God Josephs mercifull heart declared A promise for them that pray for their enemies God provideth for his Elect. Josephs dreams Christ prophesied Benjamin what it signifieth Josephs distress revenged by God Temptation shaâ— not overcome them that fear the Lord Joseph aright figure of Jesus Christ A good man 1 OvercoÌ„meth evil 2 Loveth the righteous 3 Envieth not 4 Praiseth the valiant 5 Defendeth him that feareth God 6 Admonisheth the Sinner 7 Pitieth the poore The example of a godly man converteth Sinners The properties of a righteous man Disobedience the father of seven mischiefs 1 Envy 1 Desperation 3 Sorrow 4 BoÌ„dage 5 Needinesse 6 Trouble 7 Desolation An example of Cain An apt similitude to a mind resisting sinnes A prophecy of the nativity of Christ Of his passion Matth. 27. Of the comming of the holy Spirit Of his ascension A prophecy of the last comming of Christ The resurrection judgement described A prophecy of the nativity of Christ Christ described Christ wipeth away our sins