A Complete and Compendious Church History, Chapter 15
The Fifteenth Plot againſt the CHURCH, in Canaan: Defeated by GOD.
CHAP. XV.
HAving ſhown how the Pillar of Providence hath uſher'd and over-ſhadow'd the Church of this lower World, from Adam to Solomon, in whoſe Reign ſhe arrived at her greateſt Splendour and Beauty, notwithſtanding all the Devils Fore-games he plaid to prevent it. Now come we to ſpeak of his After-games, whereby he brought an abatement of her glory, and a declenſion of her luſtre in this her Militant ſtate upon Earth: As it is the courſe of Nature, in Coeleſtial and Terreſtrial things, there is a time of their riſing and growth to their perfection, gradually carried on (for Nature makes no leaps) and there is a time of ſetting and gradual declining alſo: Thus 'tis in Coeleſtial Bodies, the Sun riſeth and runs its courſe, till it come to its Zenith at High-noon, or Mid-Summer; and then it deſcends and goes lower to the Earth, obſerving its Apogaeum and Perigaeum.
The Moon hath not only her Ortum & occaſum, Riſing and Setting, but alſo her Plenilunium & Novi lunium, Increaſe and Decreaſe: and therefore is the Embleme of the Church in ſacred Writ, as having her filling and weaning times; and Terreſtrial things, both Animate and Inanimate, have their ſeaſons of attaining their perfection both of parts and degrees, and then follows their declining time; yea, the Kingdoms of the World have their times, and their turns, their points and their periods, beyond which they cannot paſs: Even ſo it is with the Kingdom of Chriſt, his Church: there is nothing here below that can always ſay [I am] but the unchangeable God [Go tell Pharaoh that I am hath ſent me unto thee, Exod. 3. 14.] The Creator only can ſay, I am that I am; but the Creature is to day, and is not to morrow, being a changeable thing: and ſo the Church here upon Earth is changeable as the Moon, which hath her Eclipſes, her Obumbrations under a black Cloud, and (when ſilled round with light borrowed from the Sun) hath her time of a gradual loſing that luſtre again. Thus the Old Teſtament Church came to her Full-Moon of light and glory (borrowed from the Sun of Righteouſneſs, Mal. 4.2.) Ʋxor fulget Radiis Mariti, the Spouſe ſhines with the Beams and Bracelets (ſuch as Iſaac ſent Rebekah, Gen. 24.) of her Bridegroom, Ezek. 16. 14.) in the days of Solomon for about thirty years together. In his laſt ten years, the Devil begins his firſt after-game to bring a decreaſe of her glory upon her: It is obſervable, that Gods promiſe of eſtabliſhing the Throne of Iſrael for ever, 2 Sam. 7. 13, 16. as it was Typical (and ſo temporary) relating to Chriſt, the Son of David, who ſhould build a Myſtical Temple, the Church, called the Houſe of God, 1 Tim. 3. 15. (whoſe eſſential and natural Kingdom ſhall never have an end, though his Mediatory hath, 1 Cor. 15. 24. yet not till he hath put down all contrary Powers, and made all his Foes his footſtool) ſo it was (2.) Conditional, relating to Solomon, who built the Material Temple which ſhould flouriſh for ever, upon condition of his perſeverance in Piety: [If he commit iniquity, v. 14.] which Solomon did (but Chriſt could not) in the latter end of his Reign, by falling into Idolatry, 1 Kin. 11. 9, 14, 23, 26. therefore the Lord corrected him with the Rod of men, by ſtirring up Adverſaries againſt him, which would not have been, had he been conſtant, as at that day (when another promiſe was propounded upon that condition) in the good ways of God, 1 Chron. 28. 7. Solomon had been well educated, both by his Father, Prov. 4. 4. and by his Mother, Prov. 31. 1. and at that day (while young) kept the Commandments of the Lord, and brought both Church and State to the higheſt point of ſublunary happineſs: So that as Davids Reign repreſented the Church Militant upon Earth, ſo Solomons Reign reſembled the Church Triumphant in Heaven: yet as man that is in honour abideth not, Pſal. 49. 12. ſo Solomon (according to the manner of all temporal things, and by the means of mans corruption) abode not in this Honourable and happy eſtate, but when he was old, 1 Kin. 11. 4. and then ſhould he have been beſt, Job 32. 7. Having had ſo long Communion with God, and ſo much experience of his goodneſs in his appearing to him twice after an extraordinary manner, which was a great Evidence of Divine favour, and laid a great ingagement upon him to cleave cloſe to God, who twice appeared, 1 Kin. 3. 5. and 9. 2. and 11. 9. Some make Solomon's old age the extenuation of his ſin, inaſmuch as it brings along with it many weakneſſes, which expoſed him to be over-witted by Outlandiſh Women, upon which he ſo fondly doted: But ſurely his Age was an aggravation of his ſin, his laſt days ſhould have been his beſt days, and his Graces (like good liquor) ſhould have run freſh to the bottom: Some do give the Flower of their Youth to the Devil, and reſerve the Dregs of their Old Age for God. This is bad enough; but Solomon did far worſe, in doing quite contrary, as if he expected to find the Devil a better Maſter to ſerve in his old age, than he had ſound God to be in his youth: ☞ Oh what need we have to ſtand upon our watch, little do we know what the Devil may tempt us to before we die; if God leave us, Satan may ſift us worſe (in his Sieve of Temptation) when we are old, than ever he could do while we were young: The Innocenteſt man Adam, the Strongeſt man Sampſon, and the Wiſeſt man Solomon, were all undone by Satan, and all by Women, eſpecially Solomon, who had hitherto the character of a None-ſuch, from 1 Kin. 3. 1. to the end of Ch. 10. then Ch. 11. begins with a But, like that of Naaman, 2 Kin. 5. 1. he was Captain of the Syrian Hoſt, a great man with his Maſter, and Honourable; he was alſo a mighty man of Valour, But he was a Leper. So here, after all Solomons glory is graphically deſcribed in the foregoing Chapters, it follows, Ch. 11. 1. But King Solomon loved many ſtrange Women; hereby he (who ſhould have been the man for eſtabliſhing the Church in its perfection of beauty, and for perpetuating the power and purity of Religion to his Poſterity) becomes himſelf Effeminate, and Emaſculates himſelf ſo far, as to be intangled by them into great evils: 1. In tolerating (at leaſt) their Idolatrous practices. 2. In allowing places for their Idols. 3. In his complying with them, and conforming to them in their worſhipping of Venus, Bacchus, Saturn, &c. and all this (as it were) under Gods very eye, ſo nigh the Temple, the place of Gods reſidence; for this the Lord was angry, and ſays, he will rend the Kingdome, v. 9, 10, 11. and does it (as well as ſays it) afterwards. The Devil is as much pleaſed as God is angry, hopes to win the Game, and to damn Solomon; yet that wicked one could not touch him, to wit, with his deadly touch of final Apoſtacy, for the Seed of God was in him, 1 Joh. 3. 9. and 5. 18. the Root of Grace remain'd, wrought in him, and brought him to repentance; his Book of Eccleſiaſtes is his Penitential Palinody, ſo ought he not to be pictur'd by Papiſts half in Heaven, and half in Hell: 'Tis remarkable, that David and Solomon are conjoyn'd in one Commendatory Sentence, 2 Chron. 11. 17. to ſhew that Holy David is as much in Hell as Solomon, and Solomon as much in Heaven as Holy David: And 'tis not poſſible that the beginning of Rehoboams Reign could be like Davids (as that Clauſe affirms) if Solomon had left his Kingdome in ſo corrupt a condition as his Apoſtacy cauſed, and not have reform'd it after his return to the Lord. The Devil having loſt this firſt after-game (for eclipſing the glory of the Church, which gain'd that bleſſed Book of Eccleſiaſtes by Solomons fall) upon Solomons ſelf, he trys concluſions upon Solomons Son, as his ſecond after-game; and no better Tool could he have to work withal, than Childiſh Rehoboam: 'Tis a wonder that ſo wiſe a Father as Solomon, ſhould have (only) ſuch a fooliſh Son as Rehoboam, and that of ſeven hundred Wives, and three hundred Concubines: Many a Fool hath had a wiſer Son than this wiſeſt Father; aſſuredly Solomon did prognoſticate his Sons future folly, in his ſaying [Who knows whether he that comes after me will be a wiſe man, or a fool, &c. Eccleſ. 2. 18. yea, the holy Scripture calls him a Child at forty years old, 2 Chron. 13. 7. All this he did prove himſelf in the Parliament held at Shechem, 1 Kin. 12. 1. where an humble Addreſs is made to him, that he would lighten their grievous Yoaks, and leſſen their great Taxes which his Father had laid on them for the maintenance of his vaſt Retinue, of ſtrange Women eſpecially, and (ſay they) we will be thy ſervants for ever; which promiſe (annexed) anticipates a tacit Objection, for it might be ſaid, if the King had once ſubmitted himſelf to the requeſt of his Subjects, they would prove Lords over him: but here they ſhew the contrary, and promiſe to accept of him, and to be ſubject to him: he (being leſs wiſe than his Father who adviſed him [by a ſoft Anſwer to pacifie wrath, Prov. 15. 1.] but more wilful) rejects the advice of his Fathers old experienc'd Counſellors (with whom was wiſdom, Job 12. 12. and whom he conſulted only for faſhion ſake) and follow'd the device of his own green-headed Companions and Courtiers, who paraſitically perſwade him to ſtand upon his Pantoffles, and not at all to ſtoop to his people, for that would make him a King without a Kingdome, and a Subject to his Subjects. Thus they humour him into a conceit of Abſoluteneſs: Hereupon he threatens Tyranny to the people, who hear of nothing from him, but Scourges and Scorpions, v. 13. Oh fooliſh and childiſh King, whoſe very words have Stings! was this the way to gain a diſcontented people? No, but rather to diſoblige, even a willing people, who could not but think how cruel will this mans hands be, who thus draws blood with his Tongue. Thus he fondly loſes ten Tribes from his Crown with his churliſh words, and rough anſwers, which he would (and might not) have recover'd with the blood of a great Army, v. 21, 22, 23. Then ſaw he (when too late) that ſtrife is eaſier ſtirred than ſtinted, and that the people is a moſt Heady Water, when once out of their Banks, which now were broken down by his indefinite profeſſion of rigour and ſeverity upon their purſes and perſons: ☞ Sad conſequences ever accompany thoſe Princes that would be Abſolute in Power, will be Reſolute in Will, and dare be Diſſolute in Life. The wicked one had a double advantage for promoting this Plot, not only Rehoboam to work on, who was green-headed at forty (though the Son of Solomon, who was grey-headed at twenty) year old, 2 Chro. 13. 7. and 1 Kin. 3. 3. 7. with 2. 6. and 1 Chro. 14. 21. but alſo Jeroboam to work by, who was as wily as wicked, plotting a revolt from former affronts, forming a Religion accommodated to his Rebellion, and deſignedly marring the Iſrael of God, for the better making them his own Subjects: By both thoſe two helps (of childiſhneſs in the one, and craftineſs in the other) Satan, that Schiſmatical Spirit (who made the firſt Schiſme or Rent in the City of God, at the firſt being of the World) now made (1.) The largeſt Schiſme or Rent, (2.) The longeſt that ever had been made in the Church of God under any Government: (1.) It was the largeſt, for here the Devil got more than nine parts (even the ten Tribes) leaving God only his tythe, his tenth, his one Tribe, to wit, the Tribe of Judah only; ſo 'tis expreſſed, 1 Kin. 11. 13. with 12. 20. and it (2.) was the longeſt alſo, for it was a Rent that could never be ſtitch'd together again, neither by force of arms, nor by the moſt forward Reformers, but laſted till the Captivity. However 'tis a work of wonder, a Miracle of Mercy, and a matter of great admiration, that the Devil made not the ten Tribes to ſwallow up the one Tribe (ten to one is great odds) the Kingdome of Iſrael to devour the Kingdome of Judah, ſo called, though Benjamin was included in Judah: No, God had promis'd, that his mercy ſhould not depart away from Solomon, as he took it from Saul, 2 Sam. 7. 15. that is, I will not quite caſt him out of my favour, or wholly deprive him of his Kingdome, as I did Saul. This ſpoil'd the Devils deſign of deſtroying the Church, for Solomons Seed was not rejected of God, as Sauls was, to give way to Davids ſucceſſion; yea, and that which ſpoil'd Satans project yet more was, when God was angry with Solomon, his Jedidiah, his Darling for his ſin, and threatned to rend the Kingdome (which is as a glorious Mantle upon the Kings ſhoulder, 1 Sam. 15. 28. 1 Kin. …1. 29, 30.) from him, yet the ſeverity of that Sentence God was pleaſed to ſweeten with ſome mitigation and mixture of mercy; as, 1. I will not do it in thy days, &c. 2. I will not rend away all, 1 Kin. 11. 11, 12, 13. (1.) For Davids ſake (which is five times repeated there for his honour) and (2.) For Jeruſalems ſake, both which had peculiar promiſes; as, 1. David, 2 Sam. 7. 9, 10, 11, 12, 16. all performed by the promiſer, either in the Types' or Antitypes. 2. Jeruſalem, that holy City, Neh. 11. 1. 18. Iſa. 52. 1. wherein Zion and the Temple ſtood, and was the ſpecial Type of the Church, Pſal. 51. 18. Iſa. 62. 1, 7. and 66. 20. Revel. 21. 2. and therein God promis'd to David his ſervant, that he ſhould have a light or Lamp always, 1 Kin. 11. v. 36. to wit, a Royal Succeſſor, that ſhould ſhine before his people, which was moſt properly accompliſh'd in Chriſt, Luke 2. 32. The Scepter could not be taken (either by men or Devils) from Judah, until Shilo came, Gen. 49. 10. and then was he a light to the Gentiles, as he had been, (and ſtill was) a glory to Iſrael. Now though the Devil (that Grand Make-bate of the World) had a great hand in this Rent or Diviſion, together with his Impious Inſtrument Jeroboam, yet the Lord had a greater hand in it to ordain, order, and over-rule all: For thus ſaith the Lord, This thing is from me; and the cauſe was from the Lord (as well as from the Devil) 1 Kin. 12. 15.24. As it was a ſin (call'd Rebellion, Ch. 12. 19.) ſo it was from the Devil; but as it was a puniſhment of ſin (both of Solomons Idolatry, Ch. 11. v. 11. and of Rehoboams inſolency) ſo it was from God, as an Act of Juſtice from the Supreme Judge, Am. 3. 6. God here withdraws the Spirit of Wiſdom from Rehoboam, and leaves him to his own egregious folly, as Chap. 22. 23. 2 Chron. 25. 20. and 32. 31. God knows how to order the diſorders of the World to his own glory, as having an over-ruling Providence beyond mans purpoſe, and an over-pouring power ſtill to preſerve his poor Church, though Solomon had been ſharing himſelf betwixt God and Idols, and therefore his ſervant (Jeroboam) ſhall ſhare the Kingdome with his Son (Rehoboam) yea, and bear away the better half from him; yet Judah ſtill rules with God (and God with them) and is faithful with the Saints: When Ephraim (the ten Tribes) compaſſed God about with lyes, Hoſ. 11. v. 12. that is, while back-ſliding Iſrael went after their Leaden Prieſts (made by Jeroboam of the baſeſt of the people) and their Golden Calves, Judah kept tite to the Temple-worſhip, and firm in the true Religion. Thus the moſt gracious God, even in the midſt of wrath, remembers mercy, and leaves this bleſſing (ſoon repenting of the evil) behind him, that a Lamp ſhould be lighted in Jeruſalem, which the moſt boiſtrous blaſts of the Devil, and his Inſtruments, ſhould not blow out.