Seventeen Sermons on Amos 3, Sermon 11
THE Eleuenth Lecture.
AMOS 3.9, 10, 11.
Publiſh in the palaces of Aſhdod, and in the palaces of the Land of Aegypt, and ſay: Aſſemble your ſelues vponupon the mountaines of Samaria: and behold the great tumults in the midst thereof, and the oppreſſed in the midst thereof.
For they know not to doe right, ſaith the Lord; who ſtore violence and robbery in their palaces.
Therefore thus ſaith the Lord God; An aduerſary there ſhall be euen round about the Land: and hee ſhall bring downe thy ſtrength from thee, and thy palaces ſhall be ſpoiled.
THe equitie of Gods iudgements is ſuch, that if ſtrangers ſee them, they cannot but approue them. It appeareth to be ſo, by this paſſage of Amos his ſecond Sermon to or againſt the people of Iſrael. This paſſage is an foreign, or an Exornation, pertaining to the prop…ſition, which was in the ſecond verſe of this Chapter. It amplifieth the iniquitie of the Iſraelit…s from the teſtification of forren Nations, thus: You, you of Iſrael, your ſinnes are ſo notorious, ſo groſſe, ſo palpable, that the Philiſtines and Egyptians may behold them; ſith you of your ſelues are not touched with a conſcience of your euill deeds; them, the Philiſtines and Egyptians I call as witneſſes and Iudges of your impuritie and vncleanneſſe. This is the ſcope of the words now read vntounto you.
The parts are two:
An Accuſation, verſ. 9. and 10.
A Commination, verſ. 11.
The Accuſation is deliuered by an Apoſtrophe, by a turning of the ſpeech from the Iſraelites to others, verſ. 9. Others are called vponupon to make a proclamation, in theſe words, Proclaime in the Palaces of Aſhdod, and in the Palaces of the Land of Aegypt, and ſay: the tenour of their proclamation is in theſe, Aſſemble your ſelues vponupon the mountaines of Samaria, and behold the great tumults in the midſt thereof, and the oppreſſed in the midſt thereof.
The ſinnes pointed at in this proclamation are two, Crueltie and Couetouſneſſe. Cruelty in their great tumults; Couetouſneſſe in their oppreſſions. Both are amplified verſ. 10. from two places, à genere, & à ſpecie. Firſt from the generall, They know not to doe right. Secondly from the ſpeciall, They treaſure vp violence and robbery in their Palaces. Their violence argueth their cruelty, their robbery is a demonſtration of their Couetouſneſſe. The truth hereof is not to be queſtioned. For foreign Neum Iehouah, the Lord hath ſaid it. For they know not to doe right, ſaith the Lord, who ſtore vp violence and robbery in their Palaces.
We hauehave a large field for diſcourſe to trauell in: we will begin at the gate or firſt entrance into it, which is, the iniunction for the proclamation: Proclaime in the Palaces of Aſhdod, and in the Palaces of the Land of Aegypt, and ſay.
At the entrance into this field the Hebrew word is foreign Haſchmignu, and is as much, as, make to heare. The old Interpreter puts for it, Auditum facite, make a hearing; ſo doth Saint Hierome: theſe keepe neere vntounto the word. The Septuagint with their foreign, are not farre from the meaning, nor is Oecolampadius with his annunciate, for which our countryman Tauerner hath Preach: Preach in the Palaces at Aſhdod.
Caluin. Iunius.Brentius with his Clamate; Gualter with his Diuulgate; Vatablus, Mercer, Druſius, and others, with their Promulgate, are all for the Proclamation: Cry, Diuulge, Publiſh, or Proclaime.
Proclai…e. Where? In Aſhdod, and in the Land of Aegypt. Firſt in Aſhdod.
Palaestina, the Countrey of the Philiſtines, was diuided into fiue Prouinces, Dutchies, or Lordſh…ps, mentioned Ioſh. 13.3. the Prouinces of Azzah, of Aſhdod, of Askelon, of Gath, of Ekron. Theſe fiue, the chiefe and moſt famous Cities of Palaeſtina are recorded alſo, 1 Sam. 6.17. where the Philiſtines are ſaid to hauehave returned for a trespaſſe offering vntounto the Lord, fiue golden E…rods; one for Aſhdod, one for Azzah, one for Aſkelon, one for Gath, and one for Ekron.
Aſhdod! In the firſt diuiſion of the holy Land, it was in the lot of the Tribe of Iudah, and is ſo deſcribed, Ioſh. 15.47. Afterward it fell to the lot of the Tribe of the Children of Dan, who had their inheritance, as the Children of Simeon had, within the inheritance of the Children of Iudah; I ſh. 19.1.& is accordingly deſcribed by Adrichom and Schrot in their tables of the Holy Land.
The more familiar name of it is Azotus. In it were left Giants, thoſe that were called Enakim. It is to this day a famous Citie of Palaeſtina. Apud Hieron. Tom. 3.So ſaith Euſebius lib. de locis Hebraicis. Another learned Author writing of the Hebrew places in the Acts of the Apoſtles, ſaith, Azotus, is a famous towne of Palaeſtina, called in Hebrew Aſhdod, and is one of the fiue cities of the Allophyli of the Philiſtines.
For the Etymologie of the word, Saint Hierome ſaith, it ſignifieth as much as ignis vberis, or ignis patrui, the fire of an vnderunder, or of an vncle. The words are in his Commentary vponupon Amos, chap. 1. where he refuſeth thoſe that ſay, it is ignis generationis, the fire of generation. And well: for they miſtake Reſch for Daleth; taking it for Aſchdor, when it is Aſchdod. The Author of the booke De nominibus Hebraicis vponupon Ioſhua, ſaith, Aſdod is diſſolutio, vel effuſio, ſine incendium, a diſſolution, or an effuſion, or a burning. A little after, ignis patrui mei, vel incendia, my vncles fire or burnings. Ignis patrui, ſo I reade with Druſius obſeru. 6.8. not Gens patrui, as it is in the old bookes by the like miſtake of Reſch for Daleth. Buntingus in his Itinerarie vponupon the old Teſtament, ſaith it is, Ignis dilectus, a beloued fire. There is no agreement betweene theſe Etymologiz…rs.
The more familiar and Greeke name of this Citie, Azotus, is by Stephanus in his booke of Cities deriued from Aza, a woman, that was the Foundreſſe of this Citie. But I rather thinke that Azotus is ſo called from the Hebrew Aſdod, by the change of ſome letters; Azotus for Aſdotus, as Ezras for Eſdras, and foreign for foreign, in the Doricke Dialect.
This ſame Citie Aſdod, or Azotus, was made famous by the Ark of the Lord brought thither, whē it was taken by the Philiſtines; and by the houſe of the Idoll Dagon there, 1 Sam. 5.2. This is that Azotus, where Philip the Deacon was found after he had baptiſed the Aethiopian Eunuch, Act. 8.40. And this that Aſdod, whereof you heard in my thirteenth Sermon vponupon the firſt Chapter of this booke, vponupon the eight verſe, theſe words, I will cut off the inhabitant from Aſdod.
Yet I take it not, that Aſhdod is here put ſo preciſely for the Citie, but that it may by a Synecdoche comprehend the whole region or Country of the Philiſtines. Commonly it is ſo vnderſtood by Ancients, Saint Hierome, Remigius, Albertus, Rupertus, Hugo, Lyra, Iſidorus, and by moderne Writers, Montanus, Chriſtophorus à Caſtro, Petrus Luſitanus, and others.
But I muſt from Aſhdod, and goe on to the Land of Aegypt: for there is this proclamation likewiſe to be made. Proclaime in Aſhdod, and in the Land of Aegypt.
To this Land of Aegypt we came twice before in our view of this Prophecie; Cap. 2.10. & 3.1.and therefore need not at this time ſtand long vponupon it. Yet may we not leaue it altogether vnſaluted. It is here called foreign Eretz Mitzrajim, the Land of Mitzrajim.
Saint Hierome Comment. in Eſai. cap. 18. ſaith, that with the Hebrewes an Aegyptian man and an Aegyptian woman, and the Country of Aegypt hauehave all one name Meſraim: Obſer. lib. 5. c 25.for ſo Druſius readeth out of a Manuſcript of Saint Hieromes Workes, Apud Ebraeos & Aegyptius, & Aegyptus, & Aegyptia, vno vocabulo nuncupantur, M…ſraim. But this cannot be ſo. For the Aegyptian man, hee is Meſri, the woman Meſrith, the Countrey only Meſraim. And if by the name of Meſraim, the Aegyptians bee ſometime ſignified, it is by a figure of ſpeech, as when Iudah is put for the Iewes, or Ephraim for the Ephraimites.
Ioſephus in his firſt booke of the Antiquities of the Iewes, cap. 7. ſaith, that Egypt was called Meſre, and the Aegyptians Meſraei: he alludeth to the Hebrew name Mitzrajim. And Aegypt was ſo called from Mitzrajim one of the ſonnes of Cham, his ſecond ſonne, as we finde him, Gen. 10.6. He firſt inhabited that part of Africa, which was afterward called Aegypt, from Aegyptus, ſonne of Belus, King of that Land. Now becauſe this ſame Mitzrajim was one of the ſons of Cham, the Land of Mitzrajim, Pſal. 105.27. & 106.22.or of Aegypt, is in the Pſalmes of Dauid entitled the Land of Cham; as Pſalm. 105.23. Iaacob was a ſtranger in the Land of Cham; and in other places. And for the ſame reaſon is Cham put for Aegypt, Pſal. 78.51. He ſmote all the firſt borne in Aegypt, euen the beginning of their ſtrength, in the tabernacles of Cham. The latter part of that verſe being an expoſition of the former, makes it manifeſt, that Cham is there put for Mitzrajim, or Aegypt.
Enough for this time of Aegypt. The Palaces of both Aſhdod and Aegypt are here ſpecified: not barely the houſes, as the Vulgar Latine here readeth, but the Palaces: to ſhew, that this proclamation was to be made not in obſcure houſes, or poore Cottages, but in their Princes Courts. And quod in aulis principum diuulgatur, latere non poteſt; what is publiſhed in Princes Courts, it will abroad. There is the greateſt confluence of honourable perſons and men of note; who hauehave euermore ſome about them, that will not ſpare to tell abroad what is either ſaid or done by the Princes themſelues in their moſt ſecret cloſets. Their very vices cannot be hid. So Honorius the Emperour in the Panegyricke tells his ſon Theodoſius,Claudian. de 4. Conſ. Honorij, verſ. 271.
—cunctis tua gentibus eſſe
Facta palam: nec poſſe dari regalibus vſquàm
Secretum vitijs.
Whatſoeuer thou doeſt, it is knowne abroad; nor can any place be of ſufficient ſecrecie to conceale the vices of Kings.
Now if Kings ſecrets done in Court, if their ſecret vices be made knowne; much more ſhall it be knowne, that is proclaimed in Court. And therefore is the Proclamation here enioyned to be made in the Palaces of Palaeſtina and Aegypt, in their Princes Courts, that the ſame thereof flying abroad into all the coaſts of thoſe dominions, the reſt of the people might vnderſtand thereof, and beare witneſſe to the iudgements of God, which he executeth vponupon his people for their ſinnes, that they are very iuſt.
By this iniunction for the Proclamation now expounded, you ſee, that Heathens, the Philiſtines and Aegyptians, aliens from the Common-wealth of Iſrael, and vtter enemies to that State, are inuited to be ſpectators of the euils which God in iudgement was to bring vponupon that his people, the Iſraelitiſh Nation. And this was to make the euils, which the Iſraelites were to ſuffer, the more grieuous vntounto them. Hence ariſeth this obſeruation: The calamities, or miſeries which the Lord in iuſtice layeth vponupon vsus for our euill deeds, will be the more grieuous vntounto vsus, if our enemies be made priuie vntounto them.
This is it the Lord ſaith to Ieruſalem, Ezech. 5.8. Behold, I, euen I, will execute iudgement, in the midſt of thee, in the ſight of the nations thine enemies. In the ſight of thine enemies will I doe it.
It could not be but an exceeding great griefe to the Virgin daughter of Zion; that the Lord had cauſed her enemie to reioyce ouer her, and had ſet vp the horne of her aduerſaries, Lament. 2.17.
The reproach and ignominie that commeth from an enemie in time of miſery is to ſome farre more grieuous than death it ſelfe, who rather chooſe to die, though it be by their owne hands, or the hands of a friend, than they will endure diſhonour from an enemie. Examples of ſuch a reſolution there are many in prophane Hiſtories, as in Plutarch ofaTom. 3. vit. in Catone. Cato Minor, bIn Antonio.Antonius and Cleopatra; incAnnal. lib. 16. Tacitus of Thraſeas: Theſe of the Heathen killed themſelues through impatiencie, as not being able to endure the reproach and ſhame, which they feared, the one from Caeſar, two of them from Auguſtus, the fourth from Nero.
Nor is the Sacred ſtory void of examples of this kinde.
Abimelech ſonne ofdIerubeſheth. 2 Sam. 11.21. Ierubbaal, he, whom the Sichemites eIudg. 9.6.made their King, when at an aſſault of his giuen to the tower of Theber he had his ſcull broken by a peece of a Milſtone which a certaine woman had caſt vponupon his head, he called haſtily vntounto a young man his armour-bearer, and ſaid vntounto him, Draw my ſword, and ſlay me, that men ſay not of me, A woman ſlew him. And his young-man thruſt him thorow, and he died, Iudg. 9.54. Such was the end of that ambitious and cruell tyrant. He is ſlaine of a woman, and when he ſees he is to die, hee is deſirous to blot out that infamie: he will not hauehave it ſaid of him, that a woman ſlew him. That a woman, of the enemies ſide, ſlew him, he will not by any meanes hauehave it ſaid of him: Kill him rather than it ſhould be ſaid, A woman ſlew him.
Such was the impatience of Saul, Saul, he that was the firſt King of the Iſraelites, when the Philiſtines had gotten the day againſt him, had ſlaine three of his ſonnes,1 Sam. 31.2. 1 Chron. 10.2. Ionathan, Abinadab, and Malchiſhua, and himſelfe was wounded by their archers, he thus ſpake vntounto his Armour-bearer, Draw thy ſword and thruſt me thorow therewith, leſt theſe vncircumciſed come, and thruſt me thorow and mocke me. Which vile act his Armour-bearer refuſing, Saul became his owne executioner, took his owne ſword and ſlew himſelfe, 1 Sam. 31.4. He takes his own ſword and ſlayes himſelfe. And why ſo? Leſt, ſaith he, theſe vncircumciſed Philiſtines come and thruſt me thorow, and mocke me. See, he will die, that he may not die: he will be thruſt thorow, that he may not be thruſt thorow; he will kill himſelfe, that the Philiſtines may not kill him. Hee will not endure to come within the power of his enemies.
I commend not Saul for his valour in killing himſelfe, nor Abimelech for his in cauſing his Armour-bearer to thruſt him thorow. It was not valour in them, but cowardiſe, or impatiencie. For if they could with patience hauehave borne and endured their troubles, they would not hauehave haſtened their owne death.
Selfe-killing is a ſinne ſo grieuous, that ſcarce there is any more hainous before the Lord. Many reaſons may be alleaged to ſhew the vnlawfulneſſe of this fact; and I hold it not amiſſe to bring a few, eſpecially in the inequitie of theſe times, wherein wretchedneſſe hath ſo fearefully preuailed in ſome perſons, and almoſt daily doth preuaile, that they dare plunge themſelues into this pit of terrible deſtruction.
My firſt reaſon ſhall be; becauſe it is forbidden in that Commandement, Thou ſhalt not kill. Exod. 20.13.In that Commandement is forbidden the killing of any man without lawfull authority. But no man hath authority ouer himſelfe, becauſe no man is ſuperiour to himſelfe: and therefore no man may kill himſelfe: Out of S. Auguſtine lib. 1. de Ciuit. Dei, cap. 20. I thus frame the reaſon: Thou ſhalt not kill, that is the Law. The Law is not,Exod. 20.13. thou ſhalt not kill thy neighbour, limiting it as it were to ſome, but indefinitly; Thou ſhalt not kill, extending it largely to all: and therefore a man may not kill himſelfe.
My ſecond reaſon I take from that other Law, Thou ſhalt louelove thy neighbour as thy ſelfe. It is giuen in the Old: Leuit. 19.18. Matth. 5.43. & 22.39. Rom. 13.9. Galat. 5.14. Iames 2.8.and is oft repeated in the New Teſtament; Thou ſhalt louelove thy neighbour as thy ſelfe. Where the louelove of our ſelues, is made meaſure for the louelove of our neighbours. Thou oughteſt to louelove thy neighbour, but as thou loueſt thy ſelfe. The example of thy charity is drawne from thy ſelfe at home. Thy ſoule, thy preſeruation, the good wiſhed to thy ſelfe, ſhould be the true direction of thy deeds vntounto thy neighbour. But it is vnlawfull for thee to lay bloudy or murthering hands vponupon thy neighbour; and therefore thou mayeſt not make away thy ſelfe. It is more vnnaturall for thee to ſhed thine owne bloud, than thy neighbours. Thy neighbours thou mayeſt not ſhed, much leſſe mayeſt thou ſhed thine owne.
Thirdly, for a man to kill himſelfe, it is an iniury to the Common-wealth wherein he liueth; for thereby he maimeth the Common-wealth, and cutteth off one of her members. The King thereby ſhall want a man, when he hath vſe of him. This is an iniury to the State, & therfore a man may not kill himſelf.
Fourthly, our life is giuen vsus of God. God hath placed vsus in this world, as in a watch or ſtanding, from whence we may not ſtirre a foot, till God call vsus and command vsus to remoue.
Ioſephus a noble Captaine in the warre of the Iewes, after the loſſe of the Citie Iotapata, which Vespaſian the Roman Generall tooke, being aſſembled with diuers of his ſouldiers in a caue, where for a while they lay hid from the fury of the Enemie, when they would take no way, but that they would kill one the other, rather than they would be taken by their enemies the Romans, vſeth vntounto them a very patheticall ſpeech, as Egeſippus lib. 3. de excidio-Hieroſolymitano hath recorded it; Theſaurum nobis optimum Deus dedit, The Almightie God hath giuen vntounto vsus our life, as a moſt precious treaſury: he hath ſhut it and ſealed it vp in this earthen veſſell, and giuen it vsus to be kept, till himſelfe doe aske for it againe. And were it not a fault now, as on the one ſide to deny it, when he ſhall require it againe: ſo on the other ſide to ſpill, and caſt this treaſure forth, which was thus committed to vsus, before he doe demand it? If we ſhould kill our ſelues, Quis nos admittet ad illa ſanctarum animarum conſortia? Who is he, that ſhall admit vsus into the company of good ſoules? Shall it not be ſaid to vsus, as once it was ſaid to Adam, where art thou? ſo, where are yee? Where are yee, who contrary to my commandement are come, from whence yet you ſhould not, becauſe yet I hauehave not looſed you from the bonds of your bodies.
Where are yee? Where? The ſame Ioſephus in the ſame ſpeech of his, as himſelfe hath deliuered it, lib. 3. de bello Iudaico cap. 14. will tell you, where it is moſt likely they are; Quorum manus in ſeipſos inſanierunt, eorum animas tenebroſior Orcus ſuſcipit; the ſoules of them who hauehave killed themſelues are deſcended into Hell. And ſo much Saint Hierom ſeemes to affirme in an Epiſtle of his to Paula concerning the death of her daughter Blafilla, where he makes God thus to ſpeake, Nullam animam recipio, quae me nolente ſeparatur à corpore, I will receiue no ſoule, which againſt my will goeth out of the body to which I hauehave committed it.
Beloued, without Gods exceeding mercy, whereof no man can preſume, nay great and mighty preiudice is to the contrarie, it will be very ill with them, who doe aduenture to ſlay themſelues.
Let then thoſe of the Heathen, whom euen now I mētioned, Cato Vticenſis, Antony, Cleopatra and Thraſeas; let Abimelech and Saul, let others be famous for killing themſelues; let it be ſaid of them, that it was not bloud, but honour that guſhed out of their ſides, yet are they not warrants for vsus Chriſtians to doe the like. We hauehave a better Maſter Chriſt Ieſus, the Righteous: He hath taught vsus a better leſſon; namely, that aduerſity and bitter affliction muſt be borne with patience: that in our miſeries and calamities, we are to expect what end God will make, and not to haſten the iſſue in our ſelues. Maior animus meritò dicendus eſt, qui vitam arumnoſam magis poteſt ferre, quàm fugere, Auguſt. de Ciuit. Dei lib. 1. cap. 22. He is worthily ſaid to hauehave true fortitude, that can with patience beare the ſorrows which are aſſigned and allotted out for his portion; whereas he that fearefully flyeth from them, is no better than a coward. Quis enim ignorat foemineae timiditatis eſſe, Coquaeus Comment. in Auguſt. de ciu. Dei lib. 1. cap. 24.& muliebris formidinis, ne moriare, mori velle? Ioſephus in that his Oration now cited out of*De Excid. Hieroſ. l. 3. c. 18. Hegeſippus: Who knowes it not to be effeminate timorouſneſſe and woman-like faint-heartedneſſe, to be willing to die, that thou die not, to kill thy ſelfe, that another kill thee not.
So is it, beloued. This ſame foreign, this ſame foreign, this ſame ſelfe-killing, at the beſt, is no better than the badge of an abiect and a baſe minde. None of the Saints in their greateſt miſeries, nor Ioſeph, nor Iob, nor Dauid, nor Daniel, nor other, thought of any ſuch way to rid themſelues out of trouble. No. Though they felt the ſharpneſſe of pouerty, the ſting of infamie, the paines of diſeaſes, and the horrour of death, yet their courage quailed not, but they ſpurned aſide all manner of deſpaire. And for the ſweetneſſe they found in the fauour and grace of God, they were well content not only to be depriued of all worldly delights, and earthly pleaſures, but alſo to embrace the rod of their heauenly Father, and patiently to endure the weight of the croſſe laid on them.
Theſe, beloued, theſe are fit patternes for our imitation. Wherefore, let vsus not be diſmaid with any croſſe or affliction. Let not the extremity of the paine, nor the ſharpneſſe of the miſery, nor the continuance of the ſickneſſe, daunt our courage, no, though theſe calamities befall vsus in the ſight of our enemies. Nay, though we be giuen vp into the hands of our enemies, who will triumph and reioyce at our downefall, yet will we not offer violent hands vntounto our ſelues; wee will not cut aſunder that which God hath ioyned, we will not ſeeke for eaſe by ſhortning of our liues. Whatſoeuer ill ſhall betide me, I will ſay with Ieremie, Chap. 10.19. Truly this is my griefe, and I will beare it.
And my griefe will be the more, if in time of miſery, mine enemie inſult and triumph ouer me. This is a caſe, that hath much troubled Gods holy ones, as in part you hauehave already heard. It much troubled holy Dauid. And therefore he prayeth againſt it, Pſal. 13.4. Conſider, and heare me, O Lord my God: and why? Leſt mine enemie ſay, I hauehave preuailed againſt him; and thoſe that trouble me reioyce, when I am moued. The like eiaculation he hath, Pſal. 38.16. and his reaſon there is the ſame; Leſt mine enemies ſhould reioyce ouer me; who, when my foot ſlippeth, doe magnifie themſelues againſt me.
The ſame Dauid, vponupon the newes of the death of King Saul and Ionathan his ſonne, willing to preuent the opprobrious and diſgracefull inſultations and vpbraidings of the enemie, giues a charge for ſecrecie, as much as might be, 2 Sam. 1.20. Tell it not in Gath, publiſh it not in the ſtreets of Askelon, leſt the daughters of the Philiſtines reioyce, leſt the daughters of the vncircumciſed triumph.
The little flocke of the righteous, the holy Church her ſelfe, is ſenſible of the inſolencie of an enemie, Micah. 7.8. O thou enemie of mine, reioyce not at my fall; for I ſhall get vp againe.
VponUpon theſe particulars, and the like, dependeth the truth of the obſeruation propounded: The calamities or miſeries which the Lord in iuſtice layeth vponupon vsus for our euill deeds, will be the more grieuous vntounto vsus, if our enemies be made priuie vntounto them.
Will they be the more grieuous vntounto vsus, if our enemies be made priuy vntounto them? What is the reaſon? The reaſon is; becauſe it is a propertie of wicked men, enemies to piety, wonderfully to inſult ouer the godly that are afflicted, and the more theſe are afflicted, the more inſolent are they. Great was the inſolencie of thoſe enemies of Dauid, of whom he complaineth Pſal. 35.15. In mine aduerſity they reioyced, and gathered themſelues together; yea, the very abiects, [the off-ſcouring of the people] gathered themſelues together againſt me; made mowes at me, and ceaſed not.
As great was that of Nabal, in his anſwer to Dauids meſſengers, 1 Sam. 25.10. Who is Dauid? and who is the ſonne of Ieſſe? There be many ſeruants now adayes that breake away eueryevery man from his Maſter. Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and my fleſh that I hauehave killed for my ſhearers, and giuegive it vntounto men, when I know not whence they be? Churliſh Nabal; he is not content only not to giuegive any thing to Dauid, but alſo raileth at him, and reuileth him.
And was not the inſolencie of Shemei of as high a ſtraine? Shemei, a man of the family of the houſe of Saul, comes forth from Bahurim, and curſeth ſtill as hee comes, meets Dauid, caſts ſtones at him, and reuileth him; Come out, come out thou man of bloud, and thou man of Belial, 2 Sam. 16.7. See, ſee; it is the property of the wicked exceedingly to inſult ouer the Godly, when they are in miſery: and for this cauſe will our miſeries be the more grieuous vntounto vsus, if the wicked take notice of them.
Now the vſes which we are to make of this obſeruation, are theſe.
Firſt, it ſheweth, how vile our nature is, that hath no more remorſe in it towards them that are in miſery.
Secondly, it teacheth vsus when we are in miſery to looke for no better from prophane perſons, than inſultation and reioycing, and therefore in that caſe to arme our ſelues with patience.
Thirdly, wee may learne from hence how to behaue our ſelues towards our enemies, when they are fallen vnderunder the croſſe, wee may not triumph ouer them. Wee muſt doe vntounto them, as we would be done vntounto: this is the Law and the Prophets. But when we are in miſery, we would not hauehave our enemies inſult ouer vsus: and therefore neither muſt we inſult ouer them, when they are in miſery.
This is that the Lord ſo ſeuerely commandeth in the Prophecie of Obadiah, verſ. 11, 12. Looke not, reioyce not, ſpeake not proudly in the day of thy brother, in the day of his peregrination, in the day of his perdition, in the day of his anguiſh, in the day of his ruine, in the day of his calamitie, in the day of his tribulation. And this is that, whereto Salomon exhorteth, Prou. 24.17. Reioyce not, when thine enemie falleth; and let not thine heart be glad when he ſtumbleth. So Eccleſiaſticus admoniſheth, Chap. 7.11. Laugh no man to ſcorne in the bitterneſſe of his ſoule. Holy Iob, Chap. 31.29. in the Catalogue of his comforts, reckoneth vp this for one; that he neuer reioyced at the hurt of his enemie, nor was euer glad that any harme happened vntounto him, nor euer ſuffered his mouth to doe ſuch a ſinne as to wiſh him euill.
And now (beloued) if neither the precept of the Lord, nor the exhortation of Salomon, nor the admonition of the wiſe ſonne of Syrach, nor the example of holy Iob, can moue vsus to the performance of this Chriſtian duty, namely, not to reioyce at any that are in aduerſitie: What ſhall I ſay? Will the feare of puniſhment any whit amend vsus? Then remember we what the Wiſe-man ſaith, Prou. 17.5. He that reioyceth at the harme of another, ſhall not himſelfe eſcape vnpuniſhed.
And thus much be ſpoken by occaſion of the iniunction for the proclamation, theſe words, Proclaime in the palaces of Aſhdod, and in the palaces of the Land of Aegypt, and ſay. Now followeth the tenour of the Proclamation, in theſe: Aſſemble your ſelues vponupon the mountaines of Samaria, and behold the great tumults in the middeſt thereof, and the oppreſſed in the middeſt thereof.
Wherein three things are principally to be obſerued:
One is, the calling of an aſſembly.
Secondly, the place for the aſſembly.
Thirdly, the end of their meeting.
The calling of the Aſſembly is firſt. You that are the Prophets of the Lord, dicite, ſay plainly and with a loud voice; ſay to the Princes of Palaeſtina and of Aegypt, Congregamini, Be yee gathered together; aſſemble your ſelues, Come and meet together vponupon the mountaines of Samaria.
The mountaines of Samaria, are the place for this aſſembly. Samaria, for the moſt common vſe of the name, is the City regiſtred, 1 King. 16.24. to be built by King Omrie, vponupon a mountaine purchaſed by him of one Semer, called in the allegory, Ezech. 23.4. Aholah, ſiſter to Aholibah, named to be the head of Ephraim, Eſai. 7.9. It was a royall city of Iſrael, the Metropolis, the mother city of that kingdome. From it the coaſt adioyning, ſituate betwixt Galilee and Iudaea, was named Samaria, and is accordingly deſcribed by Coſmographers, Ptolomee, Ortelius, Maginus and others: and from hence the kingdome of Iſrael came to be called the kingdome of Samaria, as 2 King. 17.24. Where the King of Aſſyria is ſaid to hauehave brought nations out of Babylon, and other places of his dominions, and to hauehave ſeated them in the cities of Samaria, that is, in the cities of the kingdome of Iſrael.
Thus may Samaria be either the whole Prouince, or the chiefe Citie thereof. And ſo may the mountaines of Samaria be either the whole Prouince, becauſe the whole was mountainous, as Ioſephus affirmeth, Lib. 3. de bello Iudaico, cap. 2. or they may betoken the chiefe Citie thereof, becauſe it was ſeated on a mountaine. And then our Prophet ſaith, the mountaines of Samaria, as we ſay in Latine, flumen Euphratis, Ʋrbs Romae, and herba Lapathi. As we ſay, the Riuer of Euphrates for Euphrates, the Citie of Rome, for Rome, the herbe of Patience, for Patience: ſo may our Prophet here ſay, the Mountaines of Samaria, for Samaria. That by theſe Mountaines of Samaria the whole Prouince is to be vnderſtood, it is the opinion of Saint Hierome, Remigius, Rupertus, with ſome other, with whom agreeth Petrus Luſitanus. Yet to Caſtrus it ſeemeth more probable, that the very Citie be here meant, as in the middeſt whereof many deteſtable villanies and enormities were acted. But both expoſitions may well take place. For if the chiefe citie of the Countrey were ſo flagitious, the reſt of the Countrey could not be blameleſſe.
Thus hauehave we the place for this aſſembly. But what is the end of their meetings? It is to behold the great tumults in the middeſt of Samaria, and the oppreſſed in the middeſt thereof. Et videte, And behold.
You, the Princes of Palaſtina and Aegypt hauing gathered your ſelues together vponupon the mountaines of Samaria, Videte, Looke about you. It will bee a pleaſant ſpectacle for you to ſee the great diſorder of a people, whom you hauehave a long time hated. Videte, looke about you therefore, Behold, ſee, foreign Mehumoth rabboth, Whats that? Inſanias multas, ſaith the old Interpreter; ſo Saint Hierome; See their many madneſſes, foreign, ſay the Septuagint, many miraculous and ſtrange demeanours: Oecolampadius ſaith, Stupenda multa, many prodigious deportments. Druſius, Strages multas, many ſlaughters: Caluin, Concuſſiones multas, many concuſſions, violent and publike extortions. Vatabl… and Mercer, Contritiones multas, many Contritions, bruſings, or curſings of the afflicted. Iunius and Piſcator, Vexationes plurimas, very many vexations: Gualter, Tumultus multos, many tumults: Brentius, Tumultus magnos, great tumults; Great tumults! Its our tranſlation. See; See then, many madneſſes, ſtrange and prodigious behauiours, ſlaughters, concuſſions, contritions, very many vexations, many and great tumults. All theſe ſee.
In medio ejus, in the middeſt of Samaria. Yet is not this all, you are there to ſee. For ſee alſo foreign Gnaſchukim, the oppreſſed in the middeſt thereof. For the oppreſſed Caluin hath Oppreſſiones, the oppreſſions; it is the marginall reading in our now-Bible. Brentius hath Calumnias; ſo hath Oecolampadius; Saint Hierome, and the Vulgar Latine, Calumniam patientes. Their meaning is, that in Samaria, in the middeſt thereof, in penetralibus eius, in the inmoſt parts thereof, there were many that were calumniated, were accuſed falſly, were appeached wrongfully, were charged maliciouſly, were reproached vniuſtly, were reuiled iniuriouſly. Such doing was there in Samaria, not onelyonly in the country abroad, but alſo within the walls thereof. EueryEvery where did cruelty aduance it ſelfe, and ſo did Couetouſneſſe.
And thus hauehave I expounded the Proclamation; the words thereof; in which the Philiſtines and Aegyptians, Gentes extra Oeconomiam Dei, prophane Nations, are cited to be witneſſes, yea and Iudges too, of the impurity and vncleanneſſe, that was in the Lords owne people, the people of Iſrael. My obſeruation is, God ſometimes conuinceth his owne people of impiety, by comparing them with forreine Nations.
Such a compariſon is that, Ierem. 2.10. Paſſe ouer the Iles of Chittim, and ſee, and ſend vntounto Kedar, and conſider diligently, and ſee if there be any ſuch thing. Hath any Nation changed their Gods, which are yet no Gods? But my people hauehave changed their glory, for that which doth not profit. It is a vehement expoſtulation, and in the paraphraſe may be thus: You, my people of the Iewiſh Nation, paſſe ye ouer vntounto Chittim, to the Macedonians and Cyprians, ſee of what Religion and conſtancy they are: and ſend ye vntounto Kedar, to the Hagarens, obſerue them, marke them diligently. Can you finde, thinke you, any Nations ſo like your ſelues? ſo inconſtant, ſo mutable? Is there any Nation in the whole world, that ſo raſhly changeth her Gods? Gods! Gods of the Nations! They are no Gods, but Idols, the froth and skumme of mans braine. And yet are the Nations conſtant in the worſhip of theſe their falſe Gods, their no Gods. But you, you of the Iewiſh Nation, mine owne people; you hauehave changed your Glory. Me, the true, faithfull, and euerliuing God, in whom alone you ſhould hauehave gloried, Mee hauehave you changed for a thing of nought. Be aſtoniſhed, O ye Heauens, at this: be ye horribly afraid, be ye very deſolate, ſaith the Lord.
A like compariſon is that brought by our Sauiour in the Goſpell, Matth. 12.41. Where from the example of the Niniuites, he inferreth the condemnation of the Iewes. The men of Niniueh ſhall riſe vp in iudgement with this generation, Luk. 11.33.and ſhall condemne it: becauſe they repented at the preaching of Ionas; and behold, a greater than Ionas is here. The Niniuites were Gentiles and Barbarians; the Iewes were Gods owne people: the Preacher to the Niniuites was Ionas, a meere man and a ſtranger, but Chriſt God and man, of the line and race of Dauid, was the Preacher to the Iewes: Ionas his preaching continued but for three daies, and the Niniuites repented; Chriſt preached for three yeeres together, and the Iewes blaſphemed. Therefore ſhall the men of Niniueh riſe vp in iudgement with the Iewes, and ſhall condemne them.
Saint Paul likewiſe preſſeth the example of the Gentiles, the more to accuſe the Corinthians of a grieuous ſinne among them, 1 Cor. 5.1. It is reported commonly, that there is fornication among you, and ſuch fornication, as is not ſo much as named among the Gentiles. The Gentiles, who know not God, nor hauehave heard of the faith of Chriſt, will not commit ſo foule a ſinne: and will you, Chriſtians, you who hope for ſaluation by faith in Chriſt, will you defile your ſelues with ſuch abomination? For the louelove of God, for the louelove of your owne ſoules, flye from fornication.
And thus hauehave you the confirmation of my ſecond obſeruation, which was: God ſometimes conuinceth his owne people of impiety, by comparing them with forreine Nations.
The vſe of this obſeruation may be, to teach vsus, who profeſſe the faith of Chriſt, that the glorious name of Chriſtianity is but vaine and idle, if a mans life through his corrupt and diſſolute behauiour, be not anſwerable.
Saint Auguſtine in his time propounded this queſtion to an Auditory of his, in his ſecond Sermon vponupon the thirtieth Pſalme: Quam multos putatis, fratres mei, velle eſſe Chriſtianos, ſed offendi malos moribus Chriſtianorum? My brethren, how many, thinke ye, there are, that would willingly become Chriſtians, but that they take exception at the euill liues of the Chriſtians?
Long after him great Gregory, Moral. lib. 25. cap. 10. complained: Nonnulli fidem medullitèr tenent, ſed viuere fideliter nullatenùs curant; Many there are that make profeſſion of the faith of a Chriſtian, but they take no care at any hand to liue the life of a Chriſtian.
The life of a Chriſtian, if you take it in its full perfection, is not ſuch a kinde of life, as the Chriſtians vſe to liue at this day in the world; but ſuch a life, as our Sauiour Chriſt liued, ſuch as his Diſciples liued, ſuch as the holy Martyrs vnderunder the Primitiue Church did liue: a life that is a continuall croſſe and death of the whole man; whereby man thus mortified and annihilated, is fit to be transformed into the ſimilitude and likeneſſe of God.
But where is the Chriſtian, that now adayes liueth ſuch a life? Hath not diſſimulation and hypocriſie in a manner couered the face of the Earth? Chriſti nomen anditis, you heare the name of Chriſt, but where ſhall you ſee the man that liueth the life of Chriſt? Crepamus Euangelium, we cry, the Gospell, the Gospell; but where is he that yeeldeth obedience to the Goſpell? Doctrinam fidei ebuccinamus, we trumpet out the Doctrine of faith, but the diſcipline of a Chriſtian life we exterminate, we baniſh. Multa paſſim fides abſque operibus, eueryevery where there is much ſpeech of the efficacie of faith without workes; but where is the man that ſheweth me his faith by his workes?
Beloued, what ſhall I ſay more? If we hauehave a delight to be called the people of God, if wee take any ioy in the name of a Chriſtian, let it be our care to liue as it becommeth the people of God, as it becommeth Chriſtians. If we ſhall ſo lead our liues, that our liues ſhall be to the vnbeleeuing Atheiſt, and blinde Papiſt, a horrour and a ſcandall, ſhall they not both, Atheiſt and Papiſt, riſe vp in iudgement with vsus and condemne vsus? If vnderunder the cloake of Chriſtian libertie, we liue petulantly, laſciuiouſly, diſſolutely, in gluttony, in drunkenneſſe, in chambering, in wantonneſſe, in whoredome, in luxuriouſneſſe, in ſtrife, in maliciouſneſſe, in cruelty, in couetouſneſſe, and in other like enormities, ſhall they not both, Atheiſt and Papiſt, riſe vp in iudgement with vsus, and condemne vsus?
Wherefore (dearely beloued) theſe enormities and the like,Epheſ. 5.3. Coloſſ. 3.12. let them not once bee named amongst vsus, as it becommeth Saints. But put we on, as the elect of God, holy and beloued, the bowels of mercies, Coloſſ. 3.12.kindneſſe, ſanctimony and holineſſe of life, humbleneſſe of minde, meekeneſſe, long-ſuffering, forbearing one another, and forgiuing one another, (if any man hath a quarrell againſt any) euen as God for Chriſts ſake hath forgiuen vsus. O! Let vsus thus doe, and our ſoules ſhall liue. And that all of vsus may doe thus, God Almightie grant vsus of his grace for his welbeloued Sonne IESVS CHRIST his ſake.