stand before the children of Anac 3 Vnderstand therfore this daye that the Lord thy God is he which goeth ouer before thée as a consuming fire he shall destroy them and he shal bring them downe before thy face So thou shalt caste them out bring them to naught quickly as the Lorde hath sayde vnto thée 4 Speake not thou in thine heart after that the Lorde thy God hath cast them outs before thée saying For my righteousnesse the Lorde hath brought me in to poâ—â—esse this lande but for the wickednesse of these natioÌ„s the Lord hath cast theÌ„ oute before thée 5 It is not for thy righteousnesse sake or for thy right heart that thou goest to possesse their land But for the wickednesse of these Nations the Lord thy God doth cast them out before thée to perfourme the worde which the Lorde thy God sware vnto thy fathers Abraham Isahac and Iacob 6 Vnderstande therefore that it is not for thy righteousnesse sake that the Lorde thy God dothe gyue thée this good lande to possesse it séeyng thou art a stifnecked people 7 Remember and forget not howe thou prouokedst the Lord thy God to anger in the wildernesse since the day that thou diddest depart out of the lande of Egipt vntill ye came vnto this place ye haue rebelled against the Lord. 8 Also in Horeb ye prouoked the Lorde to anger so that the Lord was wroth with you to haue destroyed you 9 When I was gone vp into the mount to receiue the tables of stone the tables of the couenaunt which the Lorde made with you and I abode in the mount fourtie dayes and fourtie nightes when I neither dyd eate breade nor drinke water 10 And the Lorde deliuered me two tables of stone written with the singer of God and in them were conteined all the wordes which the Lorde said vnto you in the mount out of the middes of the fire in the day when ye came together 11 And when the fourtie dayes and fourtie nightes were ended the Lorde gaue me the two tables of stone the tables of the couenaunt 12 And the Lorde sayde vnto mée Arise and get thée downe quickly from hence for thy people which thou hast brought out of Egipt haue marred all â–ª they are turned at once oute of the waye which I commaunded them and haue made them a molten image 13 Furthermore the Lorde spake vnto me saying I haue séene this people and beholde it is a stifnecked people 14 Let me alone that I may destroy them and put oute the name of them from vnder heauen and I will make of thée a mightie nation and greater than they be 15 And I turned me and came downe from the hill euen from the hill that burnt with fire and the two tables of the couenaunt were in my handes 16 And I loked and beholde ye had sinned against the Lorde your God and has made you a molten calfe and had turned at once out of the way which the Lord had commauÌ„ded you 17 And I toke the two tables and cast them oute of my two handes and brake them before your eyes 18 And I fell downe flat before the Lorde as at the firste time and fourtie dayes and fourtie nightes I did neither eate breade nor drynke water bycause of all your sinnes which ye sinned in doying wickedly in the sighte of the Lorde in that ye prouoked him vnto wrathe 19 For I was afrayde that for the wrath and fiercenesse wherwith the Lord was moued against you he would haue destroyed you But the Lord heard me at that time also 20 The Lord was verye angry with Aaron also to haue destroyed him and I made intercession for Aaron also the same time 21 And I toke your sinne the Calfe which ye had made and burnte him with fire and stamped him and grounde him verye small euen to dust and I caste the dust thereof into the brooke that descended out of the mount 22 Also at the burning place at the place of tempting and at the Sepulchres of lust ye prouoked the Lord to anger 23 Likewise when the Lorde sent you from Cades Barnea saying Go vp and possesse the land which I haue giuen you you rebelled against the worde of the Lorde your God and neither beloued him nor hearkened vnto his voyce 24 You haue bene rebellious vnto the Lord since the day that I knew you 25 And I fell downe flat before the Lord fourtie dayes and fourtie nightes as I fell downe before for the Lorde sayde he would destroy you 26 I made intercession therefore vnto the Lorde sayde O lorde God destroy not thy people and thine inheritaunce which thou haste deliuered through thy great goodnesse and which thou haste broughte out of Egipt through a mightye hande 27 Remember thy seruauntes Abraham Isahac and Iacob and looke not vnto the stubbernesse of this people nor to their wickednesse and sinne 28 Least the lande whence thou broughtest them saye The Lorde is not able to bring them into the lande whych he promised them and because he hated them therfore hath he caryed them out to slay them in the wildernesse 29 Beholde they are thy people and thine inheritaunce which thou broughtest oute in thy mightye power and in thy stretched out arme The Exposition vpon the .ix. Chapter of Deuteronomie Heare O Israel thou passest ouer Jordane this day to goe in and possesse c. THe Israelites were a proude wayward and vnthankefull people sone forgetting Gods benefites done vnto them Wherefore the purpose of Moises is in this chapter to * beate into their memorye that they were made the heires of the land of Chanaan came to al that felicitie wherin they either had or should be onely by the free goodnes and mercye of God for his promises for his couenauntes sake and not by their owne strength or for their owne worthines In this to perswade them he vseth two reasons especially The one by comparing them with the people of that couÌ„trey The other by the example of their owne wayward and rebellious doyngs against God. As touching the former he sayth the people of that countrey were farre greater in number mightier in power than they were For manye of them were of the race of the * Giaunt Anac strong and mightie persons as the messengers that went to viewe the lande did bryng worde So that they were stricken with feare * murmured against GOD as hauing brought them to a land vnpossible for them by conquest to get Wherefore if GOD by hys mightye hande did worke it for them they oughte to acknowledge they did stande and depende onelye vpon hym And as they were not hable to worke thys of their owne strength so coulde they not iustlye thinke that GOD did it for them of dutie or for their owne worthines but rather that they had deserued the cleane contrarye at his hande and that he letteth theÌ„ vnderstand as I haue
is perpetuall * felicitie and tranquilitie For Christ hath obteyned for vs of God the father all those blessings that we haue not onely bodily but also and specially spirituall that is * remission of sinnes * imputing of Christes iustice to vs and the spirite of GOD to * mortefie the lustes of the flesh whereby we haue * peace and quietnesse of conscience before God and the worlde The dead will not liue they that be out of life will not rise againe c. Here entereth the first part of an other contrary comparison betweene the wicked and the godly and in this verse he sayth of the wicked that they doe die and liue not againe for their resurrection shall bee to them a death perpetuall and no life And although they seeme to prosper and flourishe long on earth to the annoyance of the godly yet the Lorde visiteth them in due time * and rooteth the memorie of them out of the earth so that they shall neuer ryse againe to glorie Thou hast increased the people O Lorde thou hast increased c. This is the other part of the coÌ„parison touching the godly as if he had sayde Thou O lord christ destroyest the wicked and rootest out theyr memorie neuerthelesse thou doest gather thy Church and increase the number of thy people that thy glorie may be spred and extended to the vttermost boundes of the earth And yet doest thou not gather them to rest and quietnesse of this life but to great vexation and affliction and therfore doe they resort to thee in theyr trouble * and poure out their prayers to thee in the time of thy chastening For * thy chastening they do acknowledge it to be whatsoeuer commeth Although it be the hande of the wicked yet they knowe it to proceede from thy fatherly prouidence to their great benefite and commoditie that their fayth may be increased their spirite styrred vp to call vpon thee Thy dead men shall liue euen as my body shall they rise againe c. The wicked although they flourish for a tyme in this worlde yet shall they not liue in blesse after the resurrection of the deade but shall die for euer But the godly that haue liued here in trouble and dyed in thee shall rise againe to lyfe and ioyes euerlasting Come my people enter thou into thy chambers and shut thy doores c. This is a consolation in the person of Christ exhorting his people paciently for a time to beare the affliction and trouble of this life and to enter into the closets and secretes of their heartes and call vpon the name of the Lord for the succour and strength of his holy spirit vntill the time of his indignation be past For the Lorde in short time will come * to visite the wickednesse of the earth and the earth shall no longer keepe secrete but * disclose the bloud and crueltie that hath beene shewen to the saintes of God that his iustice may proceede agaynst them for the same The fourth Sunday in Aduent at Morning prayer Esay 30. ALas for those disobedient children sayth the Lorde that they will take counsayle and not of me that they will take a secrete aduise and not out of my spirite and therefore adde they sinne vnto sinne 2 Euen they that walke to go downe into Egypt and haue asked no question at my mouth but séeke strength in the might of Pharao and trust in the shadow of Egypt 3 Therefore shall the strength of Pharao be your confusion and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your shame 4 For his Capitaynes were at Zoan and his Ambassadours came vnto Hanes 5 They were ashamed of the people that could doe them no good and that might not helpe them nor shewe them any profite but were their confusion and rebuke 6 The burthen of the beastes of the South In a lande of trouble and anguish from whence shall come the yong and olde Lion the viper and fierce serpent that flieth agaynst them that vpon coltes beare their ryches and vpon camels their treasures to a people that can doe them no good 7 For vaine and nothing worth shall the helpe of the Egyptians be therefore haue I cryed vnto Hierusalem they shall haue strength inough if they wil settle their minds in quietâ—esse 8 Now therefore go thy way and write this beâ—ore them in a table and note it in a booke that it may finally remaine and be kept still for euer 9 For this is an obstinate people and dissembling children children that refuse to heare the law of the Lorde 10 For they say vnto the séers Sée not and to them that be cleare of iudgement Looke not out right things for vs but speake fayre wordes vnto vs looke out errours 11 Get you out of this way depart out of this path and turne the holy one of Israell from vs. 12 Wherefore thus sayth the holy one of Israell Because your heartes rise agaynst this worde and because you trust in wrong dealing and peruerse iudgement and put your confidence therein 13 Therefore shall ye haue this mischiefe for your destruction and fall like as an hie wall that falleth because of some ryft or blast whose breaking commeth sodainly 14 And the hurt thereof is like an earthen vessell which breaketh without helpe so that in the bursting of it there is not founde one sheuer to fetch fire in or tos take water withall out of the pitte 15 For thus sayth the Lord God euen the holy one of Israell In repentance and in rest shal ye be safe in quietnesse and sure confidence shall be your strength but ye haue had no lyst thereto 16 For ye haue sayde No but we will escape through horses therefore shall ye flie and we will get vs vp vpon swift beastes and therfore shall your persecutors be swifter 17 A thousande shall flie at the rebuke of one and at the rebuke of fiâ—se shall ye all flie till ye be left as a ship mast vpon the top of a mountaine and as a breaken vpon aâ— hill 18 Therefore â—oth the Lorde cause you to wayte that he may haue merrie vpon you to the intent that he may haue the preeminence when he is gratious vnto you for the Lord is the God of iudgement Blessed are all they that hope in him 19 If the people remaine in Sion and at Hiesrusalem thou shalt not be in 〈◊〉 but at the voyce of thy complaint shall he haue mercie vpon â—hée and when he â—â—reth it he shall giue thée an aunswere 20 And though the Lorde giue you the breade of trouble and the water of aduersitie thy raine shall be no name sâ— scant but thine eyes shall sée thy raine 21 Yea and thâ—â—e eare shall heare the talking of him that both speake behinde thée This is the way walke yâ— in it turne not aside neither to the right hande nor to the left 22
In these verses next folowing is denounced a grieuous threatning of God agaynst such wilfull and obstinate refusers and contemners of hys worde Seeing sayth hee your wickednesse is such thus sayth that holy god that hath chosen Israel for his peculier people Because you haue refused this my worde and promise wherby I haue vndertaken to preserue and deliuer you from your enimies in all your aduersities and putte your trust in wrong dealing and peruerse iudgement by seeking helpe of Idolatours with money and ryches therefore I say shall extreeme destruction come vpon you And as an high wall if it begin to haue a clift falleth sodainly before men beware oâ— it so you which by the blessing of God haue beene hitherto highe and notable because you haue begun to be cleft with the breech of vufaythfulnesse and wickednesse shall fall vpon the sodaine to extreeme coÌ„fusion Yea and euen as an * earthen vessell so broken by the fall of a great stone vpon it that one sharde or shiuer is not left so big as to carie a cole of fire on or to take water out of a pitte so you I say that haue hitherto beene the vessels of Gods great merâ—ie shall be so oppressed and destroyed that scant any remnant shall be saued yea in the ende you shall be brought to so small a number that you shall be but here and there one as it were a maste of a shippe vpon a mountayne or a beacon vpon an hill Which shall remaine onely as a token of the great calamitie that by Gods hande shall fall vpon you Therefore doth the Lorde cause you to waite that he may haue c. Here the Prophete declareth a cause why they should leaue the helpe of straungers and put their trust in him that is because he hath determined to saue them from the Assirians if they will â—arie in their Citie and cal vpon him for helpe The Lord sayth he causeth you to wayte and deferreth hys doing not that he intendeth to forsake you but that he may merrifully and with the more glory of his iudgement deliuer you Therefore should ye be of good cheere and looke for the helpe of the Lorde For * blessed are they and good shall come vnto them that put their trust in the Lorde For this I doe assure you sayth the prophete if the people remaine in Hierusalem with quiet trust in God * though for the time they feele some trouble hurt and scarcitie by the enimies besieging them yet shall they not perish be oppressed but at their first complaint and calling vpon him he will haue mercie on them And although the Assirians shall seeme so to haue wasted their countrey that they shall not haue any sustenance to liue by God yet wil so mercifully deale with them that he shall giue them plentie of foode with raine and prosperous weathering to maintaine the same Yea and as a pastour folowing his flocke doeth guide them with his 〈◊〉 vnto the right way so shall the Lorde sende them Prophetes Princes and Rulers that shall gouerne and guide them that they in their doings may go neyther on the right hande nor on the left but keepe the straight and true way But the Lorde doth not onely require of them that they should remaine with quiet trust and coÌ„fidence in him but also that they should destroy and cast away their filthie Idols the * worship whereof hath led them from the true seruice of God and so caused them grieuously to offende and to stray from the right way of his worde appoynted Then shal God giue raine vnto thy seede that thou shalt sow the ground c. Againe the Prophete doth put them in minde of that great and good blessing of plentie and successe of all thinges that God would sende them if they would forsake their owne waywarde doings and turne to him by repentance These be the blessinges of wealth and prosperitie that he promiseth to them that followe his will. Deuter. 28. and Leuit. 26. Finally vpon euery high mountaine and hill there shall be riuers c. The Prophete sayth that at that time that god shall destroy great multitudes of the Assirians and pull downe their high towers that is ouerthrow their mightiest Princes then shall there be great store of water and springs on all the hilles of Iuda whereby their drie landes may be made battle and fertile Yea when God shall haue deliuered them out of daunger and restored them to their former libertie Then shall the light of the Moone be as the light of the Sunne c. That is God shall poure vpon his people so great ioy and gladnesse that the sunne and moone shal seeme to them to be farre brighter than before they were For to those that are in daunger and heauinesse the sunne and moone doe seeme darke and dimme and when they be deliuered al things for ioy seeme more bright and comfortable And because these particuler deliueraunces of the Iewes from their enimyes often in the Prophetes are figures of the great deliuerance of the people of God from their spiritual enimies by Christ Iesu this whole place may well be interpreted of the happie and * spirituall successe that by Christ shall come to the faythfull and of the great brightnesse of his holy spirite which then shoulde shiâ—e farre more plentifully then euer it did before Beholde the fame of the Lorde commeth from farre and his presence c. This is an other cause why that people shoulde stay themselues in the trust of God and not seeke other forraine ayde and strength For that he will destroye the Assirians and come vpon them as a dreadfull and terrible God his countenaunce his wordes yea the very breath of his mouth shall be so terrible to them that although they be a mightie nation yet shall they not be hable to abyde it but that he will shake and sift them and as it were with a * bitte in their mouthes so turne them that with all their power they shall fall downe and come to nothing Yea the Lorde shall cause hys terrible voyce to be heard among them and shall so stretch out his arme vpon them as he shall most dreadfully declare his grieuous anger towardes them euen as if he had sent downe flames of deuouring fire * lightning and stormes of haile from heaueu to consume them And this scourge of Gods wrath shall not depart from them whither soeuer they go Insomuch that the very king himselfe shall be touched with it and be partaker of that hell and deuouring fire that the iustice of God hath prepared for them euerlastingly The fourth Sunday in Aduent at Euening prayer Esay 32. BEholde a king shall gouerne after the rule of righteousnesse and the princes shal rule according to the ballance of equitie 2 And that man shall be vnto men as a defence for the winde as a refuge
times past therfore shuld he flée vnto one of the same cities and liue 43 Namely Bezer in the wildernesse euē in the plain coūtrey of the tribe of Ruben and Ramoth in Gilead of the tribe of Gad Golan in Basan of the tribe of Manasse 44 And so this is the lawe which Moyses set before the children of Israel 45 These are the witnesses statutes ordinances which Moises told the children of Israell after they came out of Egipt 46 On the other side Iordane in the valley ouer against the house of Peor in the land of Sehon king of the Amorites which dwelt at Hesbō whō Moises the children of Israel smote after they were come out of Egipt 47 And possessed his land the land of Og king of Basan two kings of the Amorites which were on the other side of Iordane towarde the sunne rising 48 From Aroer which is by the banke of the riuer Arnon vnto moūt Sion which is Hermon 49 And all the plain on the other side Iordane eastward euen vnto the sea which is in the plaine vnder the springs of the hyll The Exposition vpon the fourth Chapter of Deuteronomie Now therfore hearken O Israell vnto the ordinaunces and lawes c. THis whole Chapter containeth nothyng but an earnest exhortation to the children of Israel not only with diligence to harken to the ordinances and lawes of God but also in dede to * obserue and performe the same bicause the lawe of God is a doctrine of practise and not of hearing onely The condition of their reward is added that so they might liue and possesse the lande For the promises of God made to them were * conditionall and depended vpon their obedience vnto his ordinances And in the second verse this is notable that he straightlye chargeth them That they do not adde any thing to his lawe nor Take any thing from it Therby declaring that God will be worshipped onely according to his worde and that all vnnecessarie traditions of mens deuises do * hinder Gods word and carie men from the simple trueth therof The first reason of exhortation that Moyses vseth is the exāple of the great sharp punnishment that God vsed vppon them that reuolted from him fell to the worshipping of Baal Peor the Idoll of the Madianites and Moabites as it is written Num. 25. The seconde reason is in the fifte verse by the aucthoritie of the lawe maker God himselfe For he saith I haue taught you ordinaunces such as the Lorde my God hath commaunded mee and thereby willeth them so to esteme the lawes not as the commaundements of * men onely but of God that appointed them The third reason is in the. 6. 7. verses by the renowne and fame of great wisdome and of the singular fauour and ready helpe of God toward them which shoulde be spred of them among all nations to their great comfort and commendation In the. 9. verse hee concludeth with admonition that they should not only themselues diligently remember the lawes of God but also * instruct and teach their children and posteritie in the same Speciallye the day that thou stoodest before the Lord thy God in Horeb. c. In these verses is contained an other reason to moue thē by the remembrance of the * terrible manner and solemne maiestie that God in their sighte and hearing dyd vse in the publishing of his lawe with thunder and lightening earthquake with fyre cloudes and darknesse In so muche that they confessed themselues not to be * hable to abide the dredful maiestie therof as it is largely declared in the .20 of Exodus Take therefore good heede vnto youre selues as parteining vnto c. He straightly chargeth them to beware vpon daunger of their soules health that they did not make vnto themselues the Image of anye thing in heauen in earthe or in the water vnder the earth And signifieth that by the wisedome and prouidence of God in the publishing of the law they heard a voyce onely and sawe * no figure least they shoulde take vpon them by that figure to represent God which would not be represented by anye worldly thing This commaundemente he sundrye times repeateth to th ende to beate into their mindes howe odious Idolatry and the worshipping of Images and false gods was vnto him Furthermore the Lorde was angry with mee for your woordes c. By his own example Moises willeth them to beware howe they fell into the displeasure of God by disobeyng his holy will. For if the seueritie of his iustice was so sharpe * toward Moises for a litle mistrust in his promise how much more would it be vpon them if they did fall from his true worshippe to Idolatrie and to the open disobedience of his lawes and ordinances For saith he the Lorde is * a Consuming fire to destroye the obstinate disobedient and a Ielous God that will not suffer his glorye to be gyuen to other When thou shalte beget children c. I call heauen and earth to witnesse c. Moyses in this place moueth them to the diligent obseruing of the law of God by laying before them the threatnings of Gods iustice and * punishments that shall come vpō them for the contrary that is That they should perishe from the land whereunto they were goyng and should not therein prolong their dayes That the Lord shuld scatter them in subiectiō of other nations That he wold giue them ouer to the vnsensible worshipping of stockes and stones the workes of mens hands In which point we of this latter time haue to lerne that the grosse Idolatry that hath growen by pilgrimage and worshypping of Images hath beene the * iust plague of God sent vpon men bicause they departed from the obedience of Gods holy word vnto worshipping of him by their owne deuises and traditions of men If from thence thou shalt seke the Lord thy God thou shalt finde him c. Least when the punishments before mentioned for their offences by Gods iust iudgemente should light vpon them they shoulde dispeire of the mercie of God and so cutte of the occasion of repentance in this place he sayth whē god doth cast thē out into strange nations if they doe * repent them of their wickednesse and seeke after their Lorde and God that he will receyue them to his mercie For God is to his people a mercifull father and not a terrible iudge And * when he punisheth he doth it not to destroy them but by a * fatherly correction to pull them frō their disobedience and wickednesse which whensoeuer they shall doe the bosome of his mercye and goodnesse is ready to receyue them For aske of the dayes that are past c. and aske if euer there came c. There is nothing