A Comment Upon Coheleth, Discourse
THE CHIEF MARK OF ALL The holy Scriptures.
SVNDRY wayes doth our heavenly father draw vsus vntounto the Kingdome of his ſonne: But Man created of God plain wilbe ſearching out many conceites, to his owne over throw: by the ſleight of Satan: as the Angels that kept not their place, fell to ruine. They being created the firſt day: & hearing the voice of God which dwelleth in light that none can come too; ſaw that the frame of the world was not for Spirites vſe: the Sphaeres in their wonderfull greatnes & ſwiftenes: the starres in theyr most beawtifull order: the vapours, windes, & cloudes in moſt wiſe peiſe, the plantes, foules, fishes, beaſtes, all theſe benefite not the Angels. But after the making of all theſe, the holy trinity conſulteth for making man, in iuſtice & plain holynes, & maketh his body of the earth: that all thinges may ſerve his vſe: the ſtarres, the Elementes, the plantes & all live thinges. And God doth breath into him a ſoule immortall, full of life, which might have kept the body allwayes alive: & sheweth vntounto Angels mans wiſdome, in that he nameth all beaſtes with termes defining theyr nature, & maketh a woman outo ef his ſide, & giveth them dominion over the Earth: and g tivth his Angels charge over them, to attend vponupon them, & to kepe them. But one part miſlikeh this charge, & by that rebellion extinguish their owne light, & loſe their owne glory, & find miſery vnrecoverable: & ſeke leave to try man, whether he can be deceaved, to caſt of the obedience of God, & prevaileth, & bringeth them to death of the ſoule, & loſſe of that light which wold have kept the body alive for ever: & into ſinne that draweth eternall woe vponupon it. And this diſobedience being wroght quickly the firſt day of man, brought all the world vnderunder corruption: and greved ſtill the holy spirit, & his Angels. But then further counſell is shewed: that the ETERNALL Son of God will take Humanity of Eves Sede: and to him the world is ſubiectea, till an vncorruptible new world be made. But Satā withdrew belefe from this poinct; & rules as Prince of the darkenes of this world, ſo as it is hard for Adams Sonnes borne in ſinne & blindnes extreme, to hold this world curſed: vvhichwhich yet all ſerveth mans vſe: and to hope for a world vnviſible, for the ſoule leaving this life: & of a new vvorld for the body & ſoule. Seing Adam cared not for Gods charge, being yet in life & Lordship, & beleeved not the word of him who ſpake & all thinges had theyr beynge: So the Sonnes of Adam will hardly beleve that the King of Glory must die to give life: and to lighte Adam by faith to life: and ariſe to raiſe Adam: and leave this world, to shew hope of an other world. Experience teacheth vsus how far this is from vsus.
To this none can come vnleſſe the Father draw him. Yet Gods grace in governement condemneth all for not layng hand vponupon this grace, and for not craving of grace truly ſo to doe. Now to shew that by death life should come, in Paradiſe a beaſt is killed: and with the ſkinne, our Parentes be clothed: and fyer from Heaven burneth the carcaſe: and the next day is appointed for a rest to meditate, on this: to whom able to governe, the creature is ſubiected: who by resting the Sabath in the graue: vvhichwhich fell out after 39 60. yeares, fully endeth the Sabath, & riſing vvith the light the firſt day, brings light vntounto the vvorld: as in day, for death, his paſsion vvas fitted to Adams day & time of fall & ſentence, againſt him. Thus redēption vvas taught: & anger by a curſe pronounced to come by the flood. Novv Cains murther of Abel, sheweth what poyſon Satan breathed into Eves ſoule to beare ſuch a ſonne: & further, Cains ſonnes appeare bad in making Gods of starresTheir life & maners & contēpt of God …ob ſette h forth: vvi…h their deſtruction▪ made to ſerve man: defying their Lord that made the world for them: & deifiing the creatures, to loſe the creatour and creatures: vvhen the flood vvashed their bodies away: and their ſoules aſcend to Gods Throne to have from it & before it, eternall flames. Yet then Christ shevved in Noah, how all beastes & Elementes & heavens obeyed him. Againe, they are told that Christ shall ariſe from Sem to be a King of iuſtice & peace. And, that, when the heathen receave the promeſſe, Iapheth his ſonnes shall have the chiefeſt continuance of grace: And Noes families be named; & the Prophetes shew their nationes & stories with Gods people. That matter is expounded by the Prophetes, ſpeaking still of the first families.
But now they make the ſad bleſsing a ſkoph: and build a proud tower for worship to starres. Then GOD devided all their tongues, that they should no more heare his truth: to plead foolishly againſt it. And two thouſand yeares all Heathen eſtranged from GOD perished for ever & ever. And in short ſpeches to Abraham, he foretelleth, that of him one shall come that shall bleſs all nationess: & sheweth his death, & recouery from death in Iſaak offred neare death, but only by Gods voice, reſerved, as by a reſurrection: & that Iacobs ſonnes should not worſhip starres above, or any thing on earth, they are ſtarres in Ioſephs dreame: & precious ſtones in Aarons Breſt lap, or Care of iudgement. And to shew what iuſtice God required, they have plain Lawes of perfect Equity: with a curſe to all that kepe not every one: that men might know how sinne aboundeth: & to the poore in ſpirit the redeemer is declared in myſteries that the prophane should not skoff: yet plainly to ſuch as mark how Adam & Abraham heard of him: & life of the ſoule is shewed by dwelling with God: as the ſecond death for the ſoule, by anger from the face of God. Thus cloſly the world to come is shewed. Alſo the tabernacle, & appartenāces shewed Christ his dwelling with man: & by ſacrifices & birdes eſcaped, his death & reſurrectiō: that for iuſtice hence by faith men should not ſay: who can go vp to heaven to bring Christ downe, or who can goe to the depe of the earth to bring Chriſt from the dead, but might know that Ieſus should be the Eternal, & that the Godhead should raiſe him frō the dead. And the ſaving of our ſoules appeared, in the Braſen ſerpent, when Moſes lifted vp the ſerpent in the wildernes, & the ſtonged by ſerpentes weare healed. Many dout leſſe asked him, what was meant therby: & he told that ſo the ſun of man should be lifted vp: that they who beleved on him should not perish, but have life everlasting. Moſes mynd shined with knowledge of all, as did his face shine with light: & Levies Sunlike Smaragd: & his Prophecies abridg all the holy ſtories: & he maketh the twelve dum ſtones tell much, from Aarons breſt: And the Patriarkes lives, have the like revolutiones in their children: how for cleaving to the redeamer they should find glory, & againe shame in refuſing their fathers God, & folowing the blindenes of the God of this world. Now in David God historically expreſſeth Christ his Kingdome. David cometh to his Kingdome by continuall afflictiones: & ſo all that will folow the religion of Christ shalbe perſecuted. And by whom the covenant of God & his law shall be kept to vanquish Satan, David is told: evē that Chriſt shall come of his loynes to reigne vponupon his throne for ever. Of him he shall come to be a man & a King in this world: but he shall have no Kingdome in this world, & the earth which God hath curſed: but to him is the world to come ſubdued: being the creator, & David sheweth how yet in his ſuffringes & death he was made inferior to Angels: but crowned with glory & honour, ſince he ſate on the right hand of God. And when he came into the world, all the Angels of God worshipped him. And that Iuda should conſider how by ſuffrings this glory cometh, David deſcribeth as an Evangeliſt the ſuffringes of Chriſt. This David doeth. And telleth in Prophecies the overthrow of his nation, & theyr captivity, & retarne; & Antiochus perſecutiones, & the Iewes reiection: even all their times: how God toke a time to plant them, & will pluck them vp: to ſeke them, & will deſtroy them: to kepe them & will caſt them off: to love them, and will hate them. Now for experience that a Kingdome vnderunder the Sun was not promiſed in Chriſt, Salomon had all wiſdome, wealth & pleaſure, & found all to be vanitie: & by his pleaſures fell from God: but returned, and teacheh in Eccleſiaſtes in all particular ſortes, that all here is but vanitie & vexation of ſpirit: by mans dealinges, and by the ſorowes of theyr handes: and cloſly warneth that his ſonne shall not rule all his: foreſeying how Ioſephs Ieroboam vold leave only Iuda to be an whole tribe till Shiloh his childe by the Virgin the King Eternall came in the flesh. Part of Rachels houſe, and a litle, of Beniamin, becauſe God built half Ieruſalem and the Temple in his tribe, for that, part of Beniamin cleaved to Iuda: as a wolf though not a lion in Mardochai and Atoſsa the mother of Great Artaxerxes, that built the temple, which abode till our Lord came into it. And Salomon warneth the ten tribes, how they wilbe robbers making one purſe, and refuſe the love of the truth: and how God wold laugh at their deſtruction by Aſsur: and fitted Proverbes to have kept them from deſtruction: And the ſonne of Thamar, of Rachab, of Ruth, of Bathſuagh in the Canticles turneth all ioy to the Kingdome of Chriſt: that Ioſephs houſe should not deſpiſe the root of Ieſſai, though Ieſus Son of Nun conquered the Land & made the Sun to ſtay. A matter shewing that which foloweth.
IESVS the Sonne of GOD, and the Sonne of David after the flesh, wold darken the Sun, and shake all the earth. And yeres nere a thouſand, GOD still ſo governed Iuda that they should look for the Kingdome of heaven, alwayes opened by CHRIST, and ſtill feele their ſtate on earth to be full of ſorow. That did they ſone prove true.
For the Kinges of Iuda were all eyther worshippers of Devels with many of theyr people, or, in ſome feeling of great danger & diſtreſſe: or, in open hearing of Prophetes, and that, many at once, that Babel should end their ſtate: and Salomons houſe: becauſe they followed Babel built to make Gōddes of creatures. Salomons houſe vtterly perished. And in Babel, the Image, and other Pictures telles them in expoſitiones ſeaven times over how heathen shall withold Iudahs kingdome, even from Salathiel and Zoroba babel our Lords Fathers after the flesh vntill he came into the world And they ſaw how yet vnderunder Heathen they were defended. And when they ſaw not only the fall of Salomons race, temple, city, & kingdome, but of mighty Babel in 70. yeres reigne: then they were in fit caſe to be taught of Davids Throne that should ſtand for ever. Aethan, of Phares brother, Zarach, told it afore Pſal. 89. But the Angel Gabriel telleth it more properly, even to the very yere and day: that all the world might reckon 490. yeres to gather how many yeres, monethes, and dayes they were from the end of Moſes, & how nere to the work of redemption, by the ſonne of God dwelling in our tabernacle. And poor Iewes from 120. nationes are ſent to Ieruſalem by Cyrus proclamation of the true God, who all could teach Heathen that the world was made, and alſo how longue then it had ſtode: wher ſtill infidels will erre. And for receaving of Chriſt his Prophecy, the poore nation that returned to Ieruſalem in hope of life by it, is recorded by the holy ſpirit which beautified the heavens, in high honour; how many theyr whole number to every man did make. This honor had the ſainctes: & their poore state in Ezra & Nehemias is from God ſet downe & their defence, & affinity with the Perſiā kinges alſo is pēned frō Gods wiſdome, &, religion is expōded by Aggei, Zachary & Malachy, evē to Iohn Bap. & to the meke King, Chriſt himſelf. & to the destructiō of their natiō, which will not beleve that all kingdomes vnderunder the Sun are vanity: but doe and will still hope for a pompous belly bleſsing in this curſed earth. In due tyme our Lord cometh, to have his tabernacle in vsus: for which his tabernacle or temple the world was made obedient vntounto man. And though Moſes tabernacle, were most diligently thriſe deſcribed: & furnished with all dignity of matter & forme: yet God did ſone leave it in ſmalle regard: & likewiſe Salomons temple. Yet against S. Stephens doctrine Act. 7. to this day Iſrael hopeth for a temple of ſtone, & city to be built on mount Syon, in Chanaan. But our Lord leaveth this world, to ſit on Davids throne for ever: & Iewes perish in their lyes, and blindnes, & for our Lords brightnes, foure Evangeliſtes tell that: & one telleth how the Apoſtles taught that to the heathen; & holy Epistles comment vponupon all Moſes, to teach Iſraell the golden building, & how their Thalmudicall is straw: in all hope of Policy good on Earth. And when Ieruſalem is destroyed to force an end of Moſes Ceremonies: then more fully the nature of Davids throne is opened by Gracious Iohn, in obſcure Patmos. He sheweth how all the goodly Iewels vſed through Moyſes and the Prophetes tend hither, how the knowledge of Chriſt practiſed openly & rightly by his ſervantes, maketh the heavenly Ieruſalem: the holy Iewes a ey-expectation. But this should have two hinderances: one by the prophane Caeſares, whom the Lord wold pay for their partes: that all their world should be altered: the other by Christianes falling away, as Iſmael & Ephraim did. So Mackmad of Iſmael ſone withdrew all the cō treys of Daniels Image, to their old Arabi que infidelitie: and Christ leaveth them to eternall blindnes, as he did the old builders of Babel. Alſo the city, that crucified Christ, ſetteth vp an earthly pompe, with corruption of all holy truth, & cariage in hope of life by the waters of Scripture, out of which he that is not borne againe by the Spirit, can never enter into the Kingdome of heaven. Yet against this Pompe Christ ruleth his common weales in perpetuall expectation of the Eternall Throne to be fully manifeſted. And this ſumme doth the holy Bible afforde. Which he that beareth in mynd shall ſoner ſee the driefte of every particular Booke. And now Eccleſiaſtes will shew, how this world can have no good Kingdome: wher all kind of Sortes flow with vanities and vexation of Spirit. But to conſider his book with more clearneſſe of light, his kindred, & life, & a popular ſpech of his royall and moſt witty cloſse ſpech, & divinity chief poinctes, yet reſisted of his nation, theſe are to be layd forth ſomwhat familiarly, for the help of the vnacquainted with ſuch matters.