King Solomons Solace, Book · Chapter 11
CHAP. XI.
Of Solomons riches, peace, orders, pleaſures, power, bleſſinges, fame, glory: from any of the which riſeth not the cauſe of his ſorrow.
IN the former conference, king Solomons Princes and Lordes hauehave deſcribed, diſplaied and defended his moſt noble birth, his honourable names, his excellent beautie, his godly education, his ſingular wiſedome, his ſweet eloquence, and his vpright iudgements. Now they are no leſſe willing to conſider of his riches, his workes, his peace, his orders, his pleaſures, his power,Azariah. his bleſſinges, his fame, his glory. And therefore Azariah ſpake againe and ſaid; As in the former wee hauehave not found anie iuſt cauſe of the kinges diſgrace,Solomons riches. but altogether cauſes of honour and prouocations to ioy and gladnes: ſo neither wanteth he any Riches or the Treaſures of a King, whether natural or artificiall. By the naturall riches I vnderſtand all ſuch thinges as come from the fieldes, trées and beaſtes: as corne, wines, oyles, fruites, victuals, clothings and ſuch like apt and meete for mans body: by artificiall I vnderſtand and thoſe things which are found out or framed by the art and induſtrie of man, as gold, ſiluer, coyne, pretious ſtones, iewels, and ſuch like: Ineyther of the which, the king is maruailouſlie enriched, according to that word, which the Lord his God ſpake vntounto him, when he aſked wiſedome, ſaying: I have alſo given thee that which thou haſt not asked, even riches and honour:1. King. 3.13. ſo that there ſhalbe no king like vntounto thee in all thy daies. Eccleſ. 2.4. 2. Chron. 1.15.For this wee know (as himſelfe hath confeſſed) that the king hath many excellent vineyeardes planted, orchardes and gardens with frees of all manner of fruit, and fed oxen and beefes, and more cattell and ſheepe then all they which were before him in Ieruſalem. And as for ſiluer and gold: wee know that hee hath made ſuch thinges as plentifull as ſtones in Ieruſalem, and Cedar trees as plentiful as the Mulbury trées that grow in the vaileis: and he hath horſes brought out of Egypt, and fine linnen which his Marchāts receiued for a price, & hee hath a chariot which coſt him ſixe hundred péeces of ſiluer, with many of her Chariots and horſemen, yea, an hundred & twelue thouſand horſemen, which hee hath beſtowed in the Chariot Citties, and at Ieruſalem with his Maieſty. Moreouer, hee hath ſeruants and maidens a great houſhold, great ſubſtance and the chiefe treaſures and large poſſeſſions eueryevery way. And truely howſoeuer theſe thinges doe proue as a very fooliſhnes vntounto the ignorant and fooliſh,Eccl. 2.9. Pro. 14.24. they are vntounto (with whome his wiſedome remained) as a glorious crowne, and he is greater and of more worſhippe then all his predeceſſors in Ieruſalem.Helioreph. *All this is manifeſt (ſaid Helioreph) neither can any man denie any thing of that which ye hauehave ſaid: therefore it is ſet downe in the kinges Annales, and committed to the holy Regiſtre.Solomons works. And as his riches is great: ſo alſo are his workes moſt admirable, according as himſelfe hath ſaid: I have made gorgeous faire works, I have built mee houſes & planted vineyeards:Eccl. 2.4. I made mine Orchardes & gardens of pleaſure: I made pooles of water, to water the greene and fruitfull trees withall And it is true, and hee hath builded Citties and raiſed the walles,2. Chro. 8. and fortified his townes and territories magnificently: but beyond all others, thoſe his three houſes which he hath made and performed in Ieruſalem, are excellent, and paſſe all the buildings and workes in the world: Firſt, according to the commaundement of his Father David, and iuſt after the forme and proportion that the Lord had giuen to David, 1. Chro. 28.19.and which David committed and left as a patterne vntounto him,1. Kin. 6. he ſet onto build vp that Temple in Ieruſalem, euen an houſe for his God. This houſe is threeſcore cubits long, and twentie cubits broad, and thirtie cubits high, &c. And this houſe was built of ſtone, made perfect already before it was brought thither: ſo that there was neither hammer nor axe, nor any toole of yron heard in the houſe while it was in building. But it would be wonderfull, yea, and beyond mine abilitie to tell and your ſelues preſently to heare, how many ſtrange and diuers and excellent thinges the King prouided and diſpoſed in and about this excellent worke. And in this worke, he ſo well pleaſed the Lord, that he ſpake vntounto him ſaying: Concerning the houſe which thou art in building, if thou wilt walke in mine ordinances, & execute my lawes and keepe all my Commaundementes, to walke in them: then will I make good vntounto thee my promiſe which I promiſed to David thy father. And I wil dwell among the children of Iſrael, & wil not forſake my people Iſrael: Further, after the end of ſeuen yeares (for ſo long was that magnificent houſe in building) the king began to build another houſe for himſelf, about the which he beſtowed great time, charge and labour, as it is recorded in the book of the kinges Annales: and touching the which the kinges daugther beholding it with admiration, ſaid;Cant. 3.9. King Solomon hath made himſelfe a pallace of wood of Libanus, the pillars are of ſilver, & the pavement therof of golde, the hanginges thereof of purple, &c. Thirdly, the king builded another houſe in the forreſt, then the which there is not a more princely thing in the world for the ſite, forme and beauty thereof. No man can diſlike any of theſe his workes: yea, eueryevery one doth highlie praiſe and commend them and him, in the moſt excellent frame diſpoſition and order of the ſame, wherefore it may not be, that from thence hee ſhould finde occaſion to afflict his owne ſoule.The peaceable time of Solomon. *But all theſe things hauehave been the better effected by the king, for that the Lord his God, which would that he ſhould be called Solomon or Peaceable, hath giuen him reſt from his enemies on eueryevery ſide: for it hath neuer been heard of, that the childrē of Iſrael enioied the like peace, ſithens the time that they came out of the land of Egypt. And truely (ſaide Benaiah) neither the king nor his people hauehave theſe forty yeres had any cauſe to feare the inuaſion of any forraigne enemie,Benaiah or the nations embordering, who hauing been ſubdued, kept vnderunder and qualified by his father David in his time, hauehave neuer ſithens that reſumed any courage, or preſumed to lift vppe their handes, or quake againſt his Maieſtie: for all people and nations ſtand in feare of him, and rather yeeld to bée his contributaries and ſeruantes, then to attempt or aduē ture warres againſt him, knowing well, that the Lord of Heauen is with him, to preſerue and keepe him, and that the woodes and all pleaſant trées do ouerſhadow him and his people at the commaundement of the Lord, by whoſe grace they hauehave long proſpered and reſted in peace, euen from Dan to Berſeba vnderunder the kings happy gouernement.
Moreouer, I am ſure there hath not been in any age ſithens the creation of the world, a captaine ſet ouer the hoaſt of any king, that hath had leſſe trouble and feare then I hauehave had in my time vnderunder my Lord the king: for although the king hath many barbed horſes, ſtrong Chariots, valiant men of warre, great ſtore of weapons, armour and munition of proofe, in the which he may compare, yea and be preferred to all the kinges on the earth: yet hath hee in his time had as little vſe thereof, as any whatſoeuer: for the onelyonly terror of the kinges Maieſtie, and the view of thoſe thinges hath ſufficiently daunted the enemie: wherby we and his people hauehave had little cauſe to complaine of mortall warres, which hauehave enſuing it ſo many ſlaughters, burninges, famines, plagues, deſtructions and noyſome inconueniences in al ages. The Poet Homer hath written of the wonderfull ſlaughters,Homer. and burning broiles of the Greekes & Troians before this time, which ſetteth before our eyes the miſeries of warres. And our owne hiſtories hauehave largely diſplaied the great infelicitie of our fathers, in the wilderneſſe, and in the time of the Iudges, and of Saul. But we hauehave a cauſe to bleſſe and prayſe the Lord our God, who hath in this time of his mercy rayſed vp vntounto vsus this Prince of Peace. I pray God wee may thankfully eſteeme thereof, and not by our froward ingratitude offer vntounto our God an occaſion of the loſſe of ſo heauenly a bleſſing, as thoſe commonly accuſtome, which hauing not the feare of the Lord before their eyes, and ſo no ſparkle of the true wiſedome; doe prouoke him to wrath through the lewdenes of their rebellious heartes. And whether the King (as hee hath the wiſedom of God) foreſeeth in the ſpirit what is liking to beſide vsus by his departure from ouer vsus: I know not, for what miſery or inconuenience is there, which may not come on them that tranſgreſſe and offend againſt God and the king, if the Lord ſhall eyther commaund or commit the ſpirit of troble to fall on them? * And this may come on vsus and the people (ſaid Ahiah) we know not how ſoone.Ahiah. But (as ye hauehave ſaid) the king hath had indéede a glorious peace,The orders of Sol. houſe. and we hauehave enioyed the like vnderunder him: for the which both his Highneſſe and his people may reioyce together. And here we cannot but with the former commend the orders of the kings houſe: the meate of his table, the ſitting of his ſeruants,2. Chro. 9.4. the ſtanding of his wayters, their apparrell, his Butlars, their apparrell and behauiour▪ the which when the Queene of Seba ſaw and cō ſidered, ſhe was aſtonied, and there was no more ſpirit in her: And ſhe ſaid vntounto the king: The ſaying which I heard in mine own land of thine actes and of thy wiſedome is true, I beleeved not the wordes of them vntill I came, and mine owne eyes had ſcene it, & behold the one halfe of thy wiſedome was not tolde me: for thou exceedest the fame which I heard: Happy are thy men, & happy are theſe thy ſervants which ſtand before thee alway, and heare thy wiſedom! Neyther were the kinges pleaſures leſſe then ſufficient, being ſolaced with his faire houſes,Solomons pleaſures. his gardens of pleaſures, his men-ſingers, and women-ſingers and inſtrumentes of Muſicke of all ſorts with all the admirable & ſweet delightes of the ſonnes of men, yea, there was neuer any one man vnderunder the cope of heauen, that more flowed in all kind of pleaſures meete and conuenient for a kings honour.His power. *He was alſo of no ſeſſe power and mightineſſe, yea, he was greater that way then all his Predeceſſors, hauing a dominion ample and large, with a princely prouiſion of all ſorts of things, both for the defence and maintenance of the ſame in all partes. And for the better guard of his Royal perſon (as the young Princeſſe noted when ſhee beheld and wiſely conſidered, in her Cant. 3.7.)
About the bed of Solomon there ſtand
Ful threeſcore valiant men of sturdieſt might
Of Iſrael, with glittering ſwords in hand,
Expert in warre, him to defend by right.
Therein alluding to that which the kinges Father had modulated for the king in that ſwéete pſalme. 45.
Gird now thy ſword vponupon thy thigh (O prince of fame)
According to the worſhip and the glory of thy name.
And prosper in thy glee, ride forth with glad ſucceſſe,
Becauſe of that thy word, of truth, meekenes and righteouſnes:
Thy right hand forth ſhall tell the things of dreadful ſtrength,
Thy ſharpened ſhafts the people ſhall to thee ſubdue at length,
Yea though that they for ſafety ſhould themſelues bring,
Into the midſt inuiron'd with th'enemies of the king.
To be briefe,His bleſſings wonderfull are the bleſſinges wherewith the almighty hath graced our King: for hee hath beene bleſſed beyound all other kinges on the earth, aſwell with thinges ſpirituall and heauenly, as with thoſe which are temporall and terrene, according to that promiſe in the law made for ſuch as be obedient,Deut. 28. 2. Sam. 7. 1. King. 3. according to that word of the Lord giuen to David concerning him, and according to the that the Lord his God granted him when he had praied for wiſedome to go out and in before his people. In a word, his bleſſinges are an aſtoniſhment to all the nations of the world, vntounto whom the fame of his Excellency hath gone forth. This conioyned him in amitie wt K. Hyram of Tyre, His fame and glory.and with Pharao king of Egypt: this brought vntounto him from the vttermoſt partes of the earth, the famous Quéene of Arabia and many others, and hee was in glory reſplendent before all the kinges or Princes that euer raigned before him: whereby many ſeeing and bearing of him, thinke that they ſee or heare not a terrene or mortall Creature, but a celeſtiall and diuine power. And what ſhould the king deſire more?Gen. 3. nothing at all, except he would bee God, as Adam thought to be. But I am ſure the king is not of that haughtie conceite of himſelfe, yea, I hauehave obſerued this, that howſoeuer all theſe thinges hauehave beene excellent and aboundant in him (as a Crowne of gold beſet with pretious ſtones,Solomon was not proude of his gifts and graces. on the head of a moſt beautifull body) yet did he neuer waxe proud or vaine glorious thereof, as worldly men accuſtome, when hauing a little beyond the ordinarie meaſure of ſome others of wiſedome, riches, pleaſures, power, policie or proſperitie, do louelove and like to ſooth, prayſe, and commend themſelues, reſēbling the Pecocke which ſwelleth in the view of his painted plumes, notwithſtanding their humaine imperfections: yet this is not al, but thinking ſo highly of themſelues, they contemne others, and endeuour in loath and diſdaine to treade them vnderunder their feete. Thus (I ſay) hath not the king at any time done, but rather hee acknowledged his mortall humanity, and his great ignorance and want of wiſedome, yea, his baſe & ſéely glory, in reſpect of the ſupreme excellency, eternity, knowledge, wiſedome and glory of the almighty, with the which, when he had compared himſelfe & all his noble endewmentes, hee found himſelfe with the ſame iuſt nothing. To this aſſented the Princes, and found no cauſe in thoſe thinges premiſed, whereof the king ſhould be offended.