A Mirror both for Saints and Sinners, Treatise · Chapter 15
CHAP. XV. Examples of Gods judgements for Sacriledge.
Condemned, and threatened, Mal. 3. 8, 9. Rom. 2. 22. Hag. 1. and 2. 19. Pro. 20. 25. and 3. 9, 10. Such as sinned thus ignorantly were to bring their trespasse-offerring, Levit. 5. 15, 18. Such as eat holy things through simplicity, Levit. 22. 14. or would change them, Levit. 27. 10, 33. Ezek. 48. 14.
Scripturall examples: Achan, Joshua 7. 20, &c. Asa, 2 Chron. 28. J…h…sh took of the hollowed things, and sent them to Hazael: His servants slew him, 2 King. 12. Shishak took the treasures out of the house of the Lord: Himself with all his posterity was ruined, 2. King. 14. with Jerem. 25. and Hag. 2. 14. Belshazzar carousing in the holy vessels, &c. Dan. 5. Ananias and Sapphira. Act. 5.
When Xerxes came with his huge Army into Greece, he sent a part of it to Delphos, to setch away the treasure from the Temple there, but by the way they were encountred with thunder, lightning, and such tempests of winde and raine, that very many of them were slaine with it; two great pieces also of Parnassus being torne up by the tempest, were tumbled down with a great noise upon the rest, which crushed them to pieces, so that few of them which went about that Sacrilegious action, escaped with there lives. Pez. Mel. Hist.
The Phocians in Greece having robbed the Temple of Apollo at Delphos, the other Grecians raised an Army to revenge that Sacriledge, and in a great battell the Phocians were overthrown, many of them slain, & Philomilus their General forced to cast himself down from a high rocks, whereby he brake his neck. Yet afterwards chusing one Onomarchus for their General, they renewed the wars again, and in a great battel which they fought against Philip, King of Macedonia, they were again beaten, and had six thousand slaine, and three thousand taken prisoners, all which, as Sacrilegious persons King Philip caused to be thrust through with darts. Diod. Sic. This Sacred Warre, as they called it, continued nineteen years, which at last was ended by King Philip, and the judgement of the whole businesse was referred to the Court of the Amphyctions, which was a general Court made up of all the Provinces in Greece: this Court adjudged the walls of all the Phocians Cities to be thrown down: that they should pay yearly out of the fruits of their fields sixty talents: that they should never after have any thing to do, either in Apollo's Temple, or be members of the Court of the Amphictyons, that they should neither use horses, nor Armor, till they had payed back all the money that they had stollen from Delphos: and that they should be branded with infamy as most wicked persons, which had any hand in that sacrilegious theft. Justin. Diodorus. Sic. sets down divers other judgments which befell them for their sacriledge, all their Generals one after another perished by untimely deaths, their souldiers were sooner or later all of them devoured by the sword, yea the Princes wives that had taken gold chaines out of the Temple, had several judgments befell them.
Antiochus M. being overcome by the Romanes, and driven out of Asia minor, went to Babylon, and there intending to rob the Temple of Bell, or Belus, which was full of riches, he was slaine in a tumult by the common people. Sirabo.
Qu. Caepio, a Romane Consul, besieging the City of Tholouse in France, at length took it by storme, and the souldiers finding the Temples very rich, took out all the gold and silver out of them: but of all those that committed this Sacriledge, there was not one that escaped, but came to a miserable end. Cor. Tacitus.
The Phocians who were the keepers of Apollo's Temple at Delphos, being straightned for want of mony in a time of warer, despoiled the Temple of the riches which had been bestowed upon it. All men hated, and cried out of this sacriledge▪ but none went about to revenge it, save Philip King of Macedon, who at this time was weak and scarce taken notice of in the world: when they came to the battel, the Phocians were easily overthrown, and Philip carried away a glorious victory whereby he laid the foundations of that greatnesse, which himselfe and his sonne Alexander afterwards attained. Lipsius. This is somewhat larger before.
William the Conquerer took away land both from God and men, to dedicate the same to wild beasts, and dogs game; for in the space of thirty miles in compasse he threw down thirty six mother-Churches, and drave all the people thereto belonging quire away, which place is now called the New Forrest in Hantshire: But Gods just judgement not long after followed this Sacrilegious act of the King; for Richard his second sonne, as he was hunting in this Forrest, was blasted with a pestilent aire whereof he died: William Rufus, another of his sonnes, as he was hunting in it, was by chance shot through, and slaine with an arrow by Walter Tirrel: Likewise Henry his grand-childe by Robert his eldest sonne, whil'st he hotly pursued his game in this Chase, was hanged amongst the boughs, and so died. Camb. Brit. p. 259.
See in my General Martirolygie, p. 7, 8. Gods judgement on Antiochus Epiphanes for his Sacriledge amongst his other sinnes.
Myconius a godly divine, being sent over into England, by the Germane Princes in King Henry the eights dayes, when he saw him seize upon, and sell the Abbey-lands, abhorring such Sacriledge he returned home, and would have no hand in making peace with so wicked a Prince.
Calvin, when he saw the Senate of Geneva imploying part of the revenues belonging formerly to the Monasteries to civil uses, told them in his Sermon, that he could not endure such Sacriledge, which he knew God in the end would punish most severely: What then will become of our late purchasers of the Church-revenues, which were given to a sacred, not to a superstitious use, as the former? and what will become of those that yet think the Church not bare enough, till they have stripped her of all her revenues?
Lodwick Count of Oeting, sending for Andreas an eminent Divine, to assist him in reforming his Churches, when Andreas went to take leave of his own Prince, Christopher of Wittenberg, he charged him, and gave it him in writing that if Count Lodwick set upon the Reformation, that under pretence of Religion he might rob the Church & by seizing upon the revenues of the Monasteries, turn them to his own use, that he should presently leave him as a Sacrilegious person, and come back again.
Thou that abhorrest Idols, committest thou Sacriledge?
Rom. 2. 22.
Will a man rob God? yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes, and in offerings. Ye are accursed with a curse, &c.
Mal. 3. 8, 9.