An Advertisement of Corruption in our Handling of Religion, Part 43 – Part 44
How the Table blaſphemeth the oth of the Lord.
THE Lord ſware thus: Ier. 22.24. As I liue ſaith the Eternal though Coniahu the ſonne of Iehoiakim king of Iudah, were a ſignet vponupon my right hand, yet thence I would pluck thee: and I will giuegive thee into the hand of them that ſeeke thy ſoule: and into their hand of whome thou art afrayd: into the hand of Nabucadraeſar King of Babel, and into the hand of the Chaldaeans. And I will cary thee away: and thy mother that bare thee, vntounto an other Land: and there ſhall ye die. And vntounto the Land vntounto which they lift vp their ſoule, they ſhall not returne. Is this man Coniahu a vile idol, beaten into peeces, is he a veſſel of diſhonour; wherefore are they caryed away hee and his ſeed, and cast into a land which they know not; O earth, earth, earth heare the Worde of the Eternal. Thus ſaith the Eternal, write ye this mā Childles, a perſonnage that ſhall not proſper while he liveth. For no man ſhall proſper of his ſeed, to ſit vpō the Throne of David, or to beare rule any more in Iudah.
This vehement ſpeach ſhould hauehave taught our right reverend Fathers: that Iechonias as a man ſhould beget no Children, though as a Prince he begate his ſucceſſour▪ even his owne Vncle Sedekias. That doeth Ezra teach 1. Chron. 3.
And the ſonnes of Ioſias were his firſt borne Iochanan, the ſecond Iehoiakim, the third Sedekias, the fourth *He is Iochonias.Sallum. Now before I goe to the next verſe, notes vponupon this verſe may be profitably cited. Thus D. Kimchi a principall Rabbin ſpeaketh vponupon: And the ſonnes of Ioſias the first borne, was Iochanan: Hee was Ioachaz whom Pharaoh Necoh tooke, and caried into Egypt, and there died he: and he had two names. And how is he ſayd, The firſt borne; was not Iehoiakim elder then he by two yeres, as it is written, Twenty three yeares old was Ioachaz when he *And he reigned but 3. moneths. 2. Chro. 36.reigned, & it is written: Twenty fiue yeares old was Iehoiakim when he reigned;†A ſpeach of ſonnage to a kingdom ſtrange to vsus. The one was not ſonne of a Kingdom: for the kingdom. So our DD. of bleſſed memory, doe expound it. S. Matth. to ſuch would not be heard.
Here wee ſee how ſonnes to Kingdomes are in other gate ſpeach then naturall ſonnes. Thus Kimchi the principall Grammarian noteth the Scriptures phraſe and the Talmudiques, for ſonnage in Kingdome.
The like ſpeach we hauehave for ſonnage in Kings, in the next wordes, verſ. 15. For the ſonnes of Iehoiakim: Iechonias was his ſonne: Sedekias was his ſonne. Here the Vncle, by nature is ſonne by the Kingdome: as the moſt learned Tremelius well noted. And touching Iechonias and Salathiel, thus writeth Ezra the learned Scribe. And the ſonnes of Iechonias The Vncle called ſonne for ſucceſsion: as Salathiel 37. degrees of being heirs is called ſonneaſsir, (that is kept in ſtraite priſon:) Salathiel was his ſonne: and Malchiram and Pedaiah, &c. Here the Babylonian Thalmud in Sanedrin expoundeth the word, *Sabtile Kimchi to diſturbe all the N. Teſt. taketh aſsir for Aſsir, a mans name, and not a priſoner. Wee ſimple ſoules follow him to overthrowe our foundation: that Salomons houſe is not gone, for Nathans to come in.aſsir, not for a mans name, but for, kept in reſtrainct of priſon: as Iechonias was 37. yeres in priſon. And Nabuchadraſar meant to hauehave deſtroyed the line of the kinges of Iuda: as he killed the ſonnes of Sedekias: So Ezra the ready Scribe ſheweth, as commenting vponupon Gods oth in Ieremy. 22. aboue cited, that Iechonias had no Children: bringing Sedekias his Vncle, for a ſonne: and Salathiel to be his ſonne: when he was Aſsir: that is: was, in moſt ſtrait priſon The Babylonians were not of Chriſtian modeſty: *Herodotus lib 1 telleth of the Babyloniās honeſtie.that wiues might come to their huſbands: And if they had humanitie that way, any of*Herodotus lib 1 telleth of the Babyloniās honeſtie. Thiſbe ladies ſhould as well ſerve. In that forth Ezra ioyneth with Ieremy in his ſtyle, to tell all the world: The earth, the earth, the earth: that as Ieremy foretolde. So Ezra did record, that Iechonias died Childleſſe: & that in him all Salomons houſe did fall: & that all the Iewes hope for an earthly Kingdome was become vanity of vanities: and that Salomons Kinges overtherw the world: but for Gods hid mercy: ſeeing Manaſſes did ſaw into peeces Eſay the glory of heauenly eloquence, and was caryed to Babel: and Amon for idoles was kild: and the godlieſt Ioſias was too good for the world, and his ſonnes vnworthy of the world: that in them the Iewes ſhould ſee the laſt ſceptre bearer, while the ſun ſhined: that they might looke better vntounto the ſun of iuſtice.†No bitternes can be bitter againſt Iudaique, Atheiſme▪ and mockers of Scriptures concent. And our Biſhops errour herein ioyneth with moſt ſtubburne, blind and mad Iudaiſme: againſt the main purpoſe of the N. Teſtam. which teacheth that the kingdome of Chriſt is not of this world: but of men poore in ſpirit, to poſſeſſe the Kingdome of Heauen. But the Iewes hauehave yet their belly their god, & looke for a moneyfull King, and him, of Salomons race: & make it an article of damnation, to deny In the Thalmud Babylonian in R. Aſer fo. 18. B articule 12.that: and if they catch vsus therein, to deny Iechonias poſterity failing; and to continue it to Salathiel and Zorobabel they are ſure, and wel may be, that they hauehave overthrowen S. Luke, ſo farr as our Biſhops graunt hath auctoritie, and by them all the New Teſtament, for which Iudaiſme, they ſhould in open Parleament, or before your M. confeſſe, that as God ſtroke the Iewes with Madnes, Blindnes, and Aſtoniſhment of hart, Deut. 28. So herein the right RR. FF. are in equall caſe that betray the Goſpell to Iewes: and agree with the enemies of our L. which expect, to this day, the pompe of Salomon, that it ſhall be reſtored vponupon mount Sion. But they conſider not the lamentations of Ieremy: to what end they were penned. The ſcope of that booke was to teach the Iewes that Salomons glory was not the high bleſſing that Moſes propoundeth. But Chriſt was the end of the law. And as by the blood of the Paſcha Lambe or kid, Iſraell was ſaued in Egypt: ſo the ſonne of God in the fleſh ſhould ſaue vsus by his blood: whom men by ignorance would crucifie, being king of glory: who made Heauen and Earth. This was their firſt confirmation: wherewith Moſes the firſt king of Iſraell ſtrenghtened them. They rebell. A law is giuen, promiſing all earthly bleſſings, even to the higheſt honour of a kinge. But menacies are added, Leu. 26. that they will fall from God continually: & continually they ſhall be beaten: euen till theyr King ſhalbe caryed captiue: and they ſhall be in theyr enemies land ſeauenty yeares. And then God will remember his covenant: when they pray, as Leu. 26. preſcribeth: confeſſing theyr ſinnes and the ſinnes of theyr fathers: Then God would remember his couenant with Iacob, Iſaak, and Abraham, and how he brought Iſraell from Egypt. This the law telleth: and the ſtory ſheweth: that the Kings failed quite from the earth. And prophecies ſhewe, through Daniel, ſeauen times repeating the ſame matter, that Chams houſe Sems houſe, & Iaphets Grekes ſhall rule Iuda till Chriſt cometh. And that he ſhall giuegive him ſelfe for the ſinnes of the world: and bring to earth the kingdome of Heauen. This Daniel ſaw: and abridged Ieremies lamentations: which after the Kingdomes fall, the Iewes ſtudied for the ſpace of a Iubily in Babylon. And when Iechonias was dead, and in him all Salomons houſe: and Zerobabel of Nathan was chief of Dauids houſe: then Daniel is told at what day Moſes policy ſhall end: & Gentiles ſhall be equall in the couenant: where no Iewes might hope for an earthly ſuperioritie, ouer the kinges of the earth. And all this gold is made dimme, by our deriuing of the Salathiel from Iechonias. So, all that euer cōmented vponupon the Kings or Chronicles will ſay: that we muſt bring our Lord from Salomon: and ſo we openly deny Saint Luke: that bringeth our Lord of Nathan: And confirme the Iewes article touched before: which, to teach our ſimple▪ ſhalbe ſet out with the Iewes further opinion.Fol. 18. of the cōment. Rabbi Aſſer vponupon Sanedrin articule the twelueth writeth thus.
The Iewes faith.
The Iewes yet looke for Chriſt to be borne.THE twelft articule is concerning the dayes of Meſſias: & that requireth a constant beleef that he ſhall come: and a man may not thinke that he will differ: ab. 2. if he linger expect him: and a man may not preſcribe him ſelfe a time: & gather vntounto himſelfe opinions by occurrantes, to bring furth the time of his coming. And our learned ſay: Let the ſpirit faint in them that account the limit. Alſo a man must beleeue, that he ſhall hauehave excellencie and dignitie: and glory aboue all the kinges that euer hauehave bene. As of him prophecied all the Prophetes from Moſes who reſteth in peace our Doctor vntounto Malachi, who resteth in peace. And who ſo doubteth of him or holdeth his honour ſmall, denyeth the lawe. For ſo the lawe testifieth of him, in the meaning of Balaams prophecy: and in the meaning of the ſection: you ſtand here all (Deut. 29. and 30.) And this is a rule of foundation,The Iewes ground to overthrowe all the New Teſtament is graunted by our right reverend Fathers, that alſo the table prefixed to the Goſpell. That Iſrael ſhall hauehave no king, but of the houſe of Dauid, and of the ſeede of Solomon only. And who ſoeuer willbe a ſchiſmatique against this familie, he denyeth the name of the bleſſed God, and the wordes of his Prophetes.