Sermons in One Volume, Sermon 9
THE RESTITVTION OF NABVCHADNEZZAR.
Dan. 4. 31. &c.
31 And at the ende of theſe dayes, I Nabuchadnezzar lift vp mine eyes vntounto heauen, and mine vnderſtanding was reſtored vntounto me, and I gaue thankes vntounto the moſt high, and I praiſed and honoured him that liueth for euer, whoſe power is an euerlaſting power, and his kingdome is from generation to generation.
32 And all the inhabitants are reputed as nothing: and according to his will he worketh in the armie of heauen, and in the inhabitants of the earth, and none can ſtay his hande, or ſay vntounto him, Why doeſt thou ſo?
33 At the ſame time I had my vnderstanding restored vntounto mee, and I returned to the honour of my kingdome, my glorie, and my beautie was restored vntounto mee, and my counſellors and my Princes ſought vntounto mee, and I was establiſhed in my kingdome, and my glorie was augmented toward me.
34 Now therefore I Nabuchadnezzar praiſe and extoll and magnifie the king of heauen, whoſe workes are all trueth, and his wayes iudgement, and thoſe that walke in pride he is able to abaſe.
NOw wee are come to his Reſtitution: firſt Nabuchadnezzar was humbled, as God humbleth his enemies, now he is humbled as GOD humbleth his children, that although he had more honour than he had before, yet he is not proud of it as he was before, but cryeth with the Prophet Dauid,Pſal 115. 1 Not vntounto me O Lord, not vntounto me, but vntounto thy name giuegive the glorie. So he which ſayd, not only with heart, but almoſt with mouth too,Pſal. 14 1. there is no God: now with heart and mouth honoureth none but God. His pride and his fall Daniel declared, but when hee came to his reſtitution, hee makes Nabuchadnezzar to ſpeake himſelfe, and giuegive thankes in his owne perſon, like a witneſſe brought in to teſtifie the trueth of this wonderfull ſtorie.
When the Prophet had ſhewed how this King vaunted, and how he was debaſed for it, preſently after he had ſpoken it, he calles in as it were the King himſelfe, to witneſſe his report, and declare how he was raiſed agayne, like a man which hauing receiued grace from a Prince or great perſon, is brought in before him to giuegive thankes for his fauour receiued, and then is diſmiſſed.
In theſe verſes two things ſhewe themſelues at the firſt view, that is, Nabuchadnezzars Reſtitution, and his thankfulneſſe in his Reſtitution. Firſt, he ſhewes the time when he was reſtored in theſe words, At the end of theſe daies, then hee ſhewes the manner how hee was reſtored in theſe wordes, I Nabuchadnezzar lift vp mine eyes to heauen, and mine vnderstanding was restored to me. In his thankfulnes, firſt he extolleth Gods power, in ſetting him vp and pulling him downe, and raiſing him agayne: then he commēdeth Gods iuſtice and trueth, which deſerues to be praiſed for his iudgements, as much as for his merciemercy, as though he reioyced that God had made him like a beaſt, that he might dye like a man.
At the end of theſe dayes. As Daniel noted the time of his pride, when hee walked in his pallace, to ſhewe how pride growes out of buildings, and wealth, and apparell, and ſuch rootes: ſo he noteth the time of his fall, while the wordes were in his mouth, to ſhewe that he was puniſhed for his pride and ignorance, that he might knowe where to begin his conuerſion, and abate his pride, and when he had taken away the cauſe, then God would take away the puniſhment: ſo likewiſe he noteth the time of his Reſtitution, At the ende of theſe dayes, that is, after ſeauen yeares were expired; to ſhewe how long the ſickneſſe of pride is in curing, and to ſhewe how euerie thing was fulfilled which was propheſied, euen to the poynt of time, for it was tolde him by Daniel that he ſhould be like a beaſt ſeuē yeares, therefore Nabuchadnezzar is prompt as it were to confeſſe the trueth, and ſayth as the Prophet ſayth, At the ende of theſe dayes, that is, at the ende of ſeauen yeares, I Nabuchadnezzar was reſtored to my kingdome, as Daniel tolde me. Yet another note is ſet vponupon this beaſt, leaſt wee ſhould thinke that God only regarded the ſeaſon, and thinke ſeuen yeares puniſhment enough for ſuch a ſinne: He ſaith not barely, that his vnderſtanding and honour were reſtored vntounto him, when ſeuen yeares were ended: but that they were reſtored vntounto him when hee began to lift vp his eyes vntounto heauen: to ſhewe that this bleſſing came from aboue, and that hee which had humbled him, had reſtored him agayne, as if hee ſhould ſaye to all that are caſt down with ſickneſſe, or pouertie, or infamie, or any trouble whatſoeuer in bodie or minde, hee which hath humbled you will raiſe you, as hee hath done mee, but you muſt looke vp vntounto heauen, and lift vp your hearts vntounto him, and then your vnderſtanding, and comfort, and wealth, and pleaſure, & health, and libertie, and good name, and all ſhall returne vntounto you agayne: like Iobs ſheepe, and cammels, and oxen, in greater number than he had before, as all the bleſſings of God returned to Nabuchadnezzar when he looked vp to heauen: ſo they ſhall come backe like a riuer vponupon you, when your eyes can goe by theſe vanities, and looke vponupon him which lookes vponupon you, or els ſeuen and ſeuen yeres ſhall paſſe ouer you, and you ſhall be neuer the better, but worſe and worſe; like Saul which was vexed more and more, till he had killed himſelfe.
Therefore as the Iewes looked vp to the braſen Serpent, which was a figure of Chriſt, when they would bee healed, Numb. 21. 8: ſo all that woulde recouer that which they hauehave loſt, or obtaine that which they want, Nabuchadnezzar doth teach them here to lift vp their eyes to heauen, from whence (sayth Chriſt) commeth euerie bleſſing of man. At the end of theſe dayes, I Nabuchadnezzar lifte vp mine eyes, &c. Like a man which is wakened out of a long traunce, now he began to ſtirre and lift vp his eyes: when the heart is once lift vp, it wil lifte vp the eyes, and the hand and voice, and all to heauen: he which neuer looked vp to heauen ſo long as his comfort was vponupon the earth; nowe his minde is changed, his lookes, and ieſtures, & ſpeeches, and all are chaunged with it: As though God would ſhew a viſible difference betweene the ſpirituall and the carnall, euen in their lookes and ieſtures: as there is betweene a childe and an olde man. The ſpirituall mindes are heauenly, and looke vp, becauſe their ioy is aboue. The carnall mindes are earthly, and looke downe like beaſts, becauſe their treaſure is belowe.Gen. 3. 14. As the ſerpent grouels vponupon the ground, ſo doth the ſerpents ſeede, and hath not ſo much as the countenance of grace.
Therefore by lifting vp his eyes to heauen, is ſignified that the time was come, which the Lord had ſet downe, that he ſhould bee like a beaſt, vntill he had learned that leſſon, That the moſt high beareth rule ouer the ſons of men. Therfore Nabuchadnezzar ſheweth that hee had learned his leſſon, for he looked not vp to heauen to beholde the Sunne, the moone or the ſtarres, like an Aſtronomer, but thinking howe hee had ſet himſelfe againſt Heauen, from whence came all his honour, in a godly ſhame & holy anger, toward himſelfe, he turnes his face from earth to heauen, to magnifie him, which had humbled him; that ſo contemneth him, which aduanced him. Nowe hee talkes no more of his Pallace, nor his power, nor his Maieſtie, though it be greater then it was, but hee looked aboue his owne pallace, to another Pallace, from whence that terrible voyce came down vntounto him, Thy kingdome is departed from thee. Which expreſſeth his contrite hearte, and wounded ſpirit, howe many paſſions batled within, as if hee ſhould chide himſelfe, and ſaye: Vnthankefull man, my power euer deſcended from aboue, and I euer looked vponupon the earth, and mine honour came downe from heauen, and I neuer lifte vp mine eyes before: But now ſayth he, goe vp my voyce, and my handes, and my eyes, how long will ye pore vponupon the earth like a beaſt? ſo he lifted vp his eyes vntounto heauen. After hee had lifted vp his eyes, he beginneth to pray, & praiſe, and giuegive thanks to God, which ſheweth that he did not onelyonly lifte vp his eyes, but his heart too: for vnleſſe we can ſay with Dauid, I lift vp my hart. Pſal. 25. 1. it is in vain to lift vp eies, or hands, or voice, as the hypocrits doe, becauſe he which is a ſpirite, will be worſhipped in ſpirite. Iohn 4. Therefore Marie ſayth, My heart doth magnifie the Lord. Luke 11. 46. As for the Infidels and Idolaters, they hauehave no heartie ſeruice, but their religion is like an occupation, which is done with the body. For when we reade of the ſacrifice or prayers of the Idolaters and Infidels, we doe not find, that they lifte vp their hearts to their Idols, but their hands, or their eyes, or their voyce, as the Baalites roared to Baal, 1. King. 18. 28. and the Marriners cryed to their Seagods, 1. Ionas. 5. and the Epheſians ſhowted to Diana, Act. 19. 28. But the lifting vp of the heart is the holy ſeruice, and alway appropriate vntounto God, which ſaith, My ſonne, giuegive me thy heart. Pro. 23. 26. Therefore now Nabuchadnezzar lifts vp his heart to God, ſhewing that he had learned that leſſon which GOD gaue him 7. years to ſtudy, that The moſt high beareth rule ouer the ſonnes of men, &c.
Now God thinkes the time long enough: & as he reformed the ground after the flood, with fruit, and hearbes, and flowers agayne; ſo hee reformeth Nabuchadnezzar with vnderſtanding, and beauty, and honour againe. As when he repented himſelfe, and ſayd, I wil drown the earth no more, Gen. 8. 21. ſo I wil chaſe Nabuchadnezzar no more: nowe he knowes a king aboue him, he ſhall bee king againe nowe he ſeekes my honour, I wil giuegive him honour; now he magnifieth him which debaſed him, I will returne to exalt him. So the voyce which thundred from heauen, Thy kingdome is departed from thee: ſounds again, Thy kingdome is reſtored to thee. For it was not tolde that he ſhould be like a beaſt vntill he dyed, but vntill he knew that the moſt high beareth rule ouer the ſonnes of men. Therefore when he knew this, nothing could ſtay him from his kingdome, no more then they could ſtay him in it before. Thus the diſpleaſure of God is but an interim, vntill we knowe ſome thing that we ſhould know, and then Nabuchadnezzar ſhalbe king againe, then the ſick man ſhalbe whole againe, then the bondman ſhall be free againe, then the poore man ſhall be rich againe. His mercies are called euerlaſting, becauſe they endure for euer. Pſal. 136. 1, 2. But his anger is compared to the clouds, becauſe it laſteth but a ſeaſon, whome he loueth hee loueth to the ende, but whome hee ſcourgeth hee ſcourgeth to repent; as Hezekias was ſicke vntill hee wepte, Nabuchadnezzar was baniſhed but vntill hee repented. Now the firſt cure of the Kings reſtitution was of his mind, Mine vnderſtanding (ſaith Nabuchadnezzar) was reſtored vntounto me. To ſhewe what an ineſtimable gift our vnderſtanding and reaſon is, whereby wee differ from beaſts, for which we cannot be thankful enough, therefore he records it twiſe, as though his heart did flowe with gladnes, and his tongue could not chooſe but ſpeak often of it, as a man thinketh and ſpeaketh of that which he loueth.
Mine vnderstanding was reſtored vntounto me, &c. That which was firſt taken away, was firſt reſtored againe, which ſo ſoone as it was gone, he was counted a man no more, but a beaſt. As Dauid ſayth, Like Horſe and Mule which hauehave no vnderſtanding. Pſalme 32. 9. counting them which are voide of vnderſtanding to better then horſe and mule. Therefore they which hauehave loſt their vnderſtāding at the Tauerns, as many here hauehave done ſomtimes, & they which vnderſtād not yet what is the booke of God, are but horſe and mule, though they beare the viſors of men.
After he had ſayd, Mine vnderſtanding was restored to me, he annexeth, Mine honour was restored to me, ſo he grew to a king againe: as he was wont to put on one roabe after another when hee was a King, ſo when GOD would make him a king againe, firſt hee puts vponupon him the roabe of vnderſtanding as it were the foundation of a king, like the principall ſpirit which came vponupon Saul, the firſt of Samuel 10. 9. And when he had a princes heart, then GOD gaue him a Princes power, and proclaymed like a voyce from Heauen, Nabuchadnezzar king of Babel: ſo gloriouſly he roſe againe like the Sunne, with a triumph of his reſtitution, & welcome of his ſubiects, like the ſhoute which went before Salomon. 1. King. 1. 34. One would think when Nabuchadnezzar was a King, GOD would neuer hauehave made him like a beaſt, nor after made him again a king: for who would ſuffer a beaſt to rule ouer thē, ſeeing ſuch ſtomackes are in men, that they will hardly endure any rulers. Therefore it is ſtrange that theſe men would ſuffer one to rule ouer them that had been 7. yeeres like a beaſt; it is euen as if one had lien 7. yeres in the graue, and after come to challenge his houſe and goods from them which hauehave it in poſſeſſion, and count it their owne: I think ſuch a one ſhould hauehave ſo cold a ſuite, that vnles it were ſome fewe that loued him, while hee liued hee might goe againe to his graue for a houſe to dwel in: ſo no body looketh now for Nabuchadnezzar to come out of the wildernes, hee was the vnlikelyeſt man in the world to bee King after ſuch a change: but ſee what God can doe, though all bee againſt it; he which made a king like a beaſt, rayſed a king of a beaſt.
Mine vnderſtanding (ſayth Nabuchadnezzar was restored to me, and more than that, mine honour was augmented, more than it was when I was ſo proud of it. As God turned his heart, ſo hee turned the hearts of his Nobles and people, that they receiued him for their King againe, and ſought vntounto him, and reuerenced him, for all the diſgrace which they had ſeene, which made them before to contemne him like a beaſt.
Here a wiſe man may ſtudie and wonder like Eliſha when his maſter was rapt to heauen. For as though a ſnuffe had beene taken from the ground, and ſet in the candleſtick againe, and ſhined brighter than it did before: So Nabuchadnezzar was raiſed from the duſt, and ſet in the throan: euen now no man cared for him, and nowe no man dare diſpleaſe him: that which Salomon ſayth in Prou. 16. 17. When the wayes of a man pleaſe the Lord, he will make all his enemies at peace with him: ſo when Nabuchadnezzar pleaſed the Lord God gaue him grace with men, & his glorie was augmented. My glory was encreaſed, &c. that is, he receiued not onelyonly his kingdome, and power, and honour agayne, but hee receiued vſury of them. For his ſeauen yeers baniſhment, they had been put out ſeuen yeeres to the Banke, for him to receiue more whē he came again, ſo when he ſought his owne honour, honour departed from him, his pallace could not holde it, his treaſures could not redeeme it, his gard could not ſtay it, but pride chaſed it away, whileſt he followed after it. But when he ſought Gods honor, and cared not for his owne, honour was increaſed, according to that, I will honour them that honour me.
What would Nabuchadnezzar ſay to our Nabuchadnezzars (if hee were liuing) which thinke it agaynſt their honor to ſeeke Chriſts honour, and that if his kingdome went vp, their kingdome ſhould go down, like Herod which thought hee coulde not bee King, if Chriſt ſhould raigne; and the Phariſies, which thought they ſhoulde bee deſpiſed if Chriſt were regarded.
If Nabuchadnezzars honour came vntounto him for the honour which he gaue to GOD: how long will their honour laſt, which eate and drinke, giuegive and take, ſet vp and pull downe, and doe all that they doe to honour themſelues? as Nabuchadnezzar built Babel vntill that voyce came thundering from heauen, Thy kingdome is departed from thee, thy office is departed from thee, thy life is departed from thee. Some hauehave exalted themſelues like Nabuchadnezzar, and are not fallen yet: ſome mounted vp hauehave fallen low, and lower, like Balaam, but they are not yet at the ground: they hauehave ruled like beaſts, longer then Nabuchadnezzar, and yet looke not vp to heauen, that they may bee changed. Thus Nabuchadnezzar is welcome to his throne againe.
Now he hath receiued grace, let vsus examine his thankfulnes. If you marke how eueryevery thing comes in his order, you ſhall ſee a marueilous conſequence obſerued both in his Fall & Reſtitution. When he looked vponupon his pallace, then he waxed proud; when he waxed proud, then God threatned him; whē he was threatned, then God baniſhed him; when hee was baniſhed, then he lift vp his eyes to heauen; when he lift vp his eyes to heauen, his vnderſtanding came vntounto him; when his vnderſtanding came vntounto him, then he gaue thanks to God: ſhewing vsus the vſe of our vnderſtanding, why God hath giuen reaſon vntounto men, viz. to ſerue him and praiſe him vponupon earth: as Nabuchadnezzar worſhipped God ſo ſoone as he came to vnderſtanding; ſo, ſo ſoone as we come to yeres of diſcretion, and begin to vnderſtand, we ſhould begin a new life, and ſerue him whom all creatures doe ſerue with vsus, or elſe our vnderſtanding is vaine, and wee are beaſts ſtill: for by this Nabuchadnezzar ſhewes that hee had vnderſtanding, and was like a man, becauſe hee gaue praiſe to God, & was moued in heart to worſhip him which made him, according to that definition that Dauid maketh of vnderſtanding, in the tenth verſe of the one hundred and eleuenth Pſalm. They which obſerue them hauehave a good vnderſtanding: they which obſerue the Commaundements hauehave a good vnderſtanding; not they which ſpeake of the Commandements, nor they which write of the Commandements, nor they which preach of the Commaundements, but they which keepe the Commaundements, hauehave a good vnderſtanding. The reſt hauehave a falſe vnderſtanding, a vaine vnderſtanding, an vnderſtanding, like that of the Scribes & Phariſies which was enough to condemne them, but not to ſaue them.
By this eueryevery man ſhould trie his wiſedome: for ſo ſoone as vnderſtanding commeth to him as it came to Nabuchadnezzar, it will extort praier and obedience from him, whether hee will or no: therefore our Nabuchadnezzars are beaſts ſtill, for this is no part of their vnderſtanding.
But he which can go beyond all in ſhifts & policie, is counted the wiſeſt man in Court & Citie. Oh, if Machauil had liued in our countrey, what a Monarch ſhould be be? to what honour, and wealth, and power, and credite, might he hauehave riſen vntounto in ſhort time, whether he had been a Lawyer, or a Courtier, or a Prelate? me thinkes I ſee how many fingers would poynt at him in the ſtreetes, as they doe at his apes, and ſay, there goeth a deepe fellowe, he hath more wit in his little finger then the reſt in their whole bodie. You talke of Sectaries how faſt they growe, and how faſt they breed; I warrant you where any Sectary hath one ſonne, Machauil hath a ſcore, and thoſe not the brats, but the fatlings of the Land, which if they had but a dram of religion for an ounce of their policie, they might goe like Saints among men. But wee ſpeake to the belly that hath no eares.
Now let vsus ſee the parts of this kings confeſſion, that we may ſee how his thankfulnes did anſwere to his ſinne: before he had robbed God of his honor: now, as though hee came to make reſtitution, he brings praiſe, & thankes and glorie in his mouth. Firſt, he aduanceth Gods power, and ſaith, that his kingdome is an euerlasting kingdome: in which wordes he confeſſeth that God was aboue him, becauſe that his kingdome was not an euerlaſting Kingdome, but a momentanie Kingdome, like a ſparke which riſeth from the fire, and falleth to the fire againe. Therefore he ſheweth what a foole he was to vaunt of his Kingdome, as though it were like Gods Kingdome, which laſteth for euer.
Secondly, hee magnifieth the power of God, and ſayth, that God doth what he listeth both in heauen and in earth, and nothing can hinder him, or ſay vntounto him, what doest thou? VnderUnder which words, he confeſieth againe, that God was aboue him, becauſe hee could not raigne as he liſted, for when hee thought to liue at his pleaſure, hee was thruſt out at doores, and God ſaid not to him, what doeſt thou? but Thy kingdome ſhall depart from thee: therefore he ſheweth what a foole he was to vaunt of his power, as though it had beene like Gods power, which cannot bee checked.
Thirdly hee commendeth the iuſtice of God, and ſaith, that his workes were all truth, and his waies were all iudgement. VnderUnder which words, he confeſſeth againe, that God was aboue him: for his waies were all errors, and his workes were all ſinnes, as the ende prooued. Therefore he ſhewes what a foole he was, to vaunt of his workes, as though they had been like Gods workes, which cannot be blamed: therefore hee concludes, I Nabuchadnezzar praiſe, and extoll, and magnifie the King of heauen. When hee lighted vponupon the right ſtring, marke how he harpes vponupon it, and doubles it, and trebles it, like a bonde which is ratified with many wordes of like ſenſe; ſo he ratifieth his bonde to God with many words of like meaning, I will praiſe and extoll and magnifie the King of Heauen: as if hee would praiſe him, and more than prayſe him. They which louelove with the heart, and repent from the bottome, praiſe & praiſe, praie and pray, giuegive and giuegive, ſerue and ſerue, that is, when they hauehave ſerued him, they are ready to ſerue him againe.
Here is a glaſſe for al the children of pride. Firſt looke vponupon Nabuchadnezzar, you that are great men like Nabuchadnezzar. For thus will GOD make his example of great men, becauſe they ſhould bee examples to others. Many wicked men died in Iurie, and ſcarſe a man was by to ſee their ende; but Herode was ſtriken before the people, that all might ſee, becauſe hee was a wicked King. There were many in Babel as proud as Nabuchadnezzar, but none but Nabuchadnezzar was made like a beaſt, becauſe hee was a proud King: ſo God doth ſtomacke ſinne in thoſe that beare his owne perſon. As Princes vſe to picke thoſe that are principall and chiefe in rebellion to make them examples of terrour to others, which were ringleaders in the treaſon: ſo God doth bend his ſhot againſt the captaines of his enemies, like the King of Aram, which charged his ſouldiers, that they ſhoulde fight with none but againſt Achab the King, as it is written in the ſecond Booke of Chronicles, the eighteenth chapter and thirtieth verſe. For as Salomon ſaith in the nineteenth Chapter of his Prouerbes and fiue and twentieth verſe, Strike the ſtrong, and the rest will beware: ſo Iuſtice ſhewed vponupon a Ruler, or great perſonage, dooth terrifie manie.
If we could ſee but one of our Nabuchadnezzars ſo degraded, it would make all the reſt better in their office, & thinke when they ſit in their maieſties, as Queene Heſter did, that their power is giuen them for the Church and not againſt the Church.
Paul being before Feſtus and Agrippa, wiſheth not vntounto the King Agrippa, more wealth, or more honor, or more riches, but more religion, which is the greateſt want of Princes and Magiſtrates. They ſitte in Gods chayre, and are called Gods, but are not like God, but like Mammon, except their names and their crownes: peraduenture a Dauid, or a Salomon, or a Ioſua, that is, a few that remember whoſe perſon they beare: the reſt are like Saul, and Herod, and Nabuchadnezzar, which know not frō whome their kingdomes come. Nabuchadnezzar built for his honour, and they built for their honour: Nabuchadnezzar gathered for his wealth, and they gather for their welth: Nabuchadnezzar ſought after his pleaſure, and they ſeeke after their pleaſure: Nabuchadnezzar vaunted of his power, and they vaunt of their power: what did Nabuchadnezzar which they do not, but repent which they doe not? I cannot wiſh them beaſtes to doe them good, like Nabuchadnezzar, becauſe it is a queſtion, whether they are worſe than beaſts already, but if we could driue them out of their pallaces to liue like beaſts in the wilderneſſe, it were a good riddance, for there they ſhoulde doe leſſe harme: where now their proude hornes doe gore others, & their hoof is vp to ſtrike eueryevery one that is better than themſelues, which maketh many flie into the wilderneſſe, from their houſe, and church, and calling, leſt they ſhould fall into their clutches: The Lorde which reſtored Nabuchadnezzar from the likeneſſe of a beaſt, reſtore them to the likenes of men, or els fright them like Nabuchadnezzar, to runne from their roomes, that better may hauehave their places.
Thus you ſee Nabuchadnezzar was made like a beaſt that he might die like a man, for he could neuer learne from whence his kingdome came, vntill he had beene apprentice ſeuen yeares vntounto the croſſe, and when hee perceiued who took his kingdome from him, then he perceiued alſo who gaue his Kingdome to him, and learned his thankefulneſſe in the wilderneſſe, when al the bleſſings were gone, which he ſhould hauehave been thankfull for, he thought that God was no body, vntill he became like no body himſelfe, and then who but God, no power but of him, no honor but from him, his firſt honor came from God, as well as his laſt: but when he was like a beaſt which knew not his owner, like a babe which knewe not his Father, like an Image which knowes not his maker, but nowe hee knoweth from whom Kings raigne, and hath learned to ſay thy Kingdome, as well as my Kingdome, and is like the elders in the Reuelation which caſt downe their crownes before the Lambe.
Such a ſchoolemaſter is affliction, to teach that, which Prophets and Angels cannot teach. For the Prophet and his dreame had tolde him as much before, yet he could neuer ſay, the Lord hath giuen, before he did ſee how the Lord had taken: they ſay a friend is neuer knowne before hee bee loſt: ſo when God fled, then Nabuchadnezzar followed: but when God called, then Nabuchadnezzar contemned; when he hath all things he is vnthankfull, and when he hath nothing hee beginneth to be thankefull.
So wee muſt learne Gods louelove out of his wrath, and ſpel his goodnes out of his iuſtice: therefore we preach iudgement vntounto you, to make you flie vntounto merciemercy, wee denounce the law againſt you, to make you louelove the goſpel, we ſhew you hell, to make you ſeeke heauen. Becauſe we are all like Pharaoh his ſorcerers, though we receiue neuer ſo much, yet we neuer ſay, the finger of GOD hath done this: but when he begins to plague vsus, then we cry the finger of God hath done this: therefore if we will not be inuited, it is good to be compelled: to conclude, he which made Nabuchadnezzar a King when he was like a beaſt, is hee which makes them rich which were poore, and he which makes them free which were bounden, and hee which makes them beloued which were hated, and hee which makes them wiſe, which were rude, and hee which makes them whole which were ſicke: they muſt ſtaie a time, ſeuen dayes, or ſeuen weekes, or ſeuen moneths, or ſeuen yeares, as Nabuchadnezzar did, and when they are ready for it, it will come ſodainly, as the Angels came to refresh Chriſt ſo ſoone as he was hungry: yet a little while, a little longer, comfort is on foote, and that goodneſſe which is comming, will come, as the ſunne which was riſing is riſen: for as Nabuchadnezzar ſaide, mine honor was reſtored to mee, ſo I am ſure many here may ſay, my right was reſtored to mee, my libertie was reſtored to mee, my health was reſtored to mee, my good name was reſtored to me, in leſſe time than Nabuchadnezzars honour was, and what then? Therefore I Nabuchadnezzar, prayſe, and extoll, and magnifie the King of heauen, whoſe workes are all trueth, and his waies iudgement, and thoſe that walke in pride, hee is able to abaſe. This is the concluſion of all Gods benefites, they which doe not prayſe and extoll the King of heauen are worſe than Nabuchadnezzar.
Therefore let all which ſayd in their harts, like Nabuchadnezzar: is not this the houſe which I hauehave built, is not this the land which I hauehave purchaſed, is not this the monie which I hauehave gathered, are not theſe the children which I hauehave be gotten, ſay now with Nabuchadnezzar for all, I praiſe, and extoll, and magnifie the King of heauen, which can take all againe, as hee did from Nabuchadnezzar.
Thus you hauehave ſeen pride and humilitie, one pulling Nabuchadnezzar out of his throne, the other lifting him vntounto his throne, whereby they which ſtand may take heed leſt they fall; and they which are fallen, may learne to riſe againe.
FINIS.