Commentary Upon Micah, Chapter 3
The iii. Chapter.
Vt I ſayde heare I praye B you O Princes of Iacob & dukes of ye houſe of Iſrael. Doth it not pertein vntounto you to knowe iudgemēt? you do hate ye good & louelove ye eul, you do fle of ye ſkin of their backs and ye fleſhe of their bones. You hauehave deuoured thee fleſh of my people & plucked their ſkin from of them, and hauehave broken their bones & cruſhed thē in peaces, as in a pot, & like the fleſh in the middeſt of the Chaldren.
Princes ought to know iudgmēt, thei ought to be wiſe mē fearing god, yea ſtā ding in gods ſtede to the people, hauīg ye truth within thē yt thei nede not to ſeke it at their chaplēs. They ought to be mē which hateth auarice, Exo. xviii. for thei execute the iudgmēt of the lord. Deu. i. & whatſoeuer thei ſhal iudge, ſhal redoūd & be required vpo thē .ii. Cori. xix. but you do thīk you mailiue as you liſt O prīces & dukes of oure wycked time, you do not thinke yt you hauehave takē an office wherof you muſt geue anſwere. But yt you hauehave attayned to ſuch honoures that ye ſhuld be accompted as earthly goddes, that no man ſhulde be ſo beard ye as to talke of your doings, and dare followe the Pope in making ſuch proclamations, though they be ſuch in verye deade as our Prophet heare paynteth which ar ſo plaine they nede no interpretacion. Therefore I do ſay with the Prophet Eſay, heare O ye deaffe men, and ſharpē your ſights to ſe O ye blynde. But who is ſo blynde as my ſeruaunt? or ſo deafe as my meſſengers whome I ſent vntounto them? For who is ſo blinde as my people and they that hauehave the rule of thē. They ar like as if thou vnderſtodeſt much and kepe nothing, or if one herd wel but wer not obediēt. The Lorde be merciful vntounto thē for his righteouſnes ſake yt his word might be magnified & praiſed. They do boaſt to knowe the woorde: but beware the ſeruaūt whiche knoweth & dothe not, ſhal be beaten with many ſtripes.
You do fle of ye ſkī of their backs If you do read ye .xxxiiii.The Text of Ezechiel you ſhal ſe the difference betwyxt theſe euill paſtors & ſhepherds which fead thē ſelues with ye ſpoil of ye ſhepe, & ye good ſheperd which cheryſheth his ſhepe. Nowe wher our prophet ſayth that the Prynces do hate ye good mē and louelove the euil: it is the experience of al ages for dicers, dauncers, flatterers and ſuch like ar receyued into their pryuyc hambers when true Preachers are pryſoned. And yf it chaunce that a noble man hauehave one honeſt man in hys houſe, he is a ſheepe amonges Wolues, deluded and decyded by my Lordes owne minions and moſte ſage counſaylers, at the length, eyther banyſhed, or put to ſylence, becauſe the whole courſe of hys lyfe, conuerſacion, and cōmunicacion, is cōtrary to theirs, and vnprofitable for theyr purpoſes.
Then ſhall they crye vntounto the Lord, The Textand he wil not heare them, but wyl hide his face from them at that tyme, lyke as they hauehave don euil in their wicked works. Thus ſayth the Lord of the prophets, whych do ſeduce the people, thus the Lord ſayth againſt them: Whē they hauehave any thing to byte vponupon, then they preache that all ſhalbe well, but if a man put not ſōthing in their mouthes they preach of wat againſt him, Therfore your viſiō ſhalbe turned to nyght, and your prophecying to darknes. The ſun ſhall go downe ouer theſe Prophets, and the day ſhalbe darcke vntounto them. Then ſhal the viſion ſeers be aſhamed, and the ſothſayers confoūded, yea they ſhalbe faine al the packe of them to ſtop their mouthes, for thei hauehave not gods woorde.
Lyke as the princes, Iudges and gouernours hath bene turned from Gods, to miniſter goodnes vntounto Tyrants, workyng al wickednes. So ſhall God hymſelfe brynge vponupon theyr heades heauye deſtruccion. And as the booke of wiſdōe ſayth: theſe mighty men ſhal hauehave more terrible torment.Sapie. vi. Then thought they cry vntounto the Lord, he wyl not heare theym, but hyde his face frō them, lyke as they hauehave turned theyr faces frō the poore, & rather regarded Hawkes and Hounds dice and cardes, dauncing and toſſinge of balles lyke babes, then the pyteous cōplaintes of theyr poore mēbers made of the ſame molde, & boughte wyth one price with them. And as for theyr chaplaynes whych do chop with thē their benefices, & geueth an whol yeres rent or thei enter, or greater gaine peraduēture, & ſo long as my lord & they can agree of couenaūts, or that my lord wil get them mo promociōs, they wil tel my lord, he may hawke, he mai hunt, he mai bowle, he may play at the bal, & what he wyl, ſo he do ſtop their mouthes with ſomwhat al is wel, & it pleaſe youre grace: but againſt theyr poore brethren, which hauehave nothynge to geue theym, they are cruell and deuouring wolfes. They pole their pariſhners, they pyl theyr tenauntes, they ſend polling proctors, & are moſt redy by al meanes to trouble the poores to moue war againſt him, both wt theyr good word to my lord, if nede be, & other pretipractiſe. To theſe wicked hipocrits ſhal come darknes, angwiſh, ſorow, heuynes, al the wooes and curſſes, all the plages ſpokē of in the ſcriptures. Thys great miſery is ment bi night & darknes as we may perceyue.Eſa. v.xiii. Ierem. xv. Mat. xxiiii Here note alſo the terryble ſentence of God, his ſincere iuſtice againſt the wycked, whych ſhal cry vntounto god, and ſhal not be herd, wher alway he heareth the good before they do crye, Eſay .lxv. he reiecteth the wycked wyth theyr ſacrifie. Eſay .lxvi.
The TextBut I am ful of the power of the ſpirit of god, ful of iudgemēt and ſtrength, to ſhew vntounto Iacob hys iniquity, and to Iſraell hys ſyn. Here this I beſeche you O princes of the houſe of Iacob and dukes of the houſe of Iſrael which do make iudgemente abhominable, & do peruert al equity, building Sion in blud, & Ieruſalem in wickednes. Her princes did iudge for rewarde, & her prieſtes did preach for wagyes, & her prophets dyd prophecy for mony, & ſtil made the Lord their ſtaffe, ſaying: is not the lorde in ye mids of vsus? ther ſhal com none euyll vpō vsus. Therfore for your cauſe Sion ſhalbe plowed lyke the field, & Ieruſalem ſhalbe an heape of ſtones, & the hyll of the temple, ſhalbe an hie woode.
Marke the mighty power of god his holy ſprit, o princes, he cauſeth ye prophets to ſpeake, or els thei do remain ſpechles, Ieremye ſaythe: I can not ſpeake becauſe I am a chylde. But what anſwereth the Lorde: ſaye not ſo Ieremy that thou arte a chylde, for thou ſhalte go to all that I ſhall ſende the, and ſhal ſpeke al that I ſhall commaunde the Feare not before theyr faces, for I am with the to delyuer the ſaythe the Lord, ye do ſet thē ouer the people ſayth ye Lord, & ouer kyngdomes to roote vp and to deſtroy, too waſte and ſcatter, to buylde and too plante. I ſhall cauſe the not too feare theyr faces, for I hauehave made the lyke a walled cytye, an yron pyller, and a braſen wall to the kynges of Iuda to the Prynces and prieſtes, and to all the people of the lande, they ſhal fyghte againſt the, but they ſhall not preuaile for I am wyth the ſayethe Lorde to delyuer the. O whye are you faynte hearted, whiche hauehave the lyke Offyce, what can be ſayde more to encorage you? Whye dare you not crye agaynſte the wyckednes of our tyme, as the prophets dyd in theyr time. Dothe not oure iuſticiaries and iudges peruerte iuſtyce, and make their iudgementes abhomynable? Is there no rewardes in the handes of oure Prynces? are al theſe fayre houſes about Londō or elſſe wher gottē with good cōſcyence and buylded without bloude? Nay ſure lye, for one of youre greate builders dyd wryte worthelye vponupon his walles a confeſſion for al hys felowes. No man waxeth ryche but by the diſcommoditie of others, but you are but hyrelynges, preachynge for wages and canne eſpye no faultes. Yet dare you ſaye for theſe ramping Lions: hauehave not they banyſhed the Popiſhe religion? is not God amonges vsus? hauehave not they ſet forth the Bible? ar not they Goſpellers? Yes to theyr open ſhame doutleſſe, for heretofore, ther was ſome pretence of religion, ſome colorable cloke of vertue and honeſtye, that is ſhaken of I do graunt, and not ſo much lefte as fyg leaues to couer their ſhame, howe can God be amonge thys people? amonges whome the Deuyll raygneth and rageth by couetous ambicion, whordome, exhortacion, contempt of true religion and all …u…ill gouernaunce. They hauehave ſet forthe the Bible that al menne may ſe how far thei do ſwarue in life frō God hys hollye woorde. They are called Goſpellers in ſpyte (as I doo take it) of the holye Goſpell. For the holye Goſpell of God is ſlaundered and euyll ſpoken of, booth of oure Papiſtes in EngLande and in other nacions, ſo farre as our Englyſh goſpellyng is knowen. Becauſe in the beginning therof al things wer compelled to ſerue theyr couetouſnes and laſciuious lybertye and ſo it is ſtyl continued. True relygion is ſought of no body, priuate gayne whyche aryſeth of the great poſſeſſions of the ſpoiled kyngdom, is ſought of eueryevery bodye and how perilous a thing it is to bryng ſuch curſed ſpoyle into out houſes, read the .vii. of Ioſue of Achan the ſonne of Charmy, and repent wyth the Niniuits both kyng, whyche ſhal aunſwer for all theſe iniquytyes, and Dukes, Earles, Barons, Byſhops, whyche do turne to your priuate commodityes thynges dedicate to publyke vſes. Repente I ſaye leſt wyth Ieruſalem your houſes be turned into heapes of ſtones. Ieremi .xxvi. hath the ſame ſayinge forth of our prophet and our ſauiour in .xix. of Luke.