Twenty-One Sermons on Amos 1, Sermon 14
THE XIIII. LECTVRE.
AMOS 2.9.
Yet deſtroyed I the Amorite before them, whoſe height was like the height of the Cedars, and he was ſtrong as the Okes, yet I deſtroyed his fruit from aboue, and his rootes from beneath.
OF the benefits here mentioned to hauehave beene beſtowed by God vponupon his people, the people of Iſrael, in the firſt place we hauehave the ouerthrow of the Amorites. It is deliuered, verſ. 9. Therein I propounded to your religious attentions three principall parts.
In the firſt, we hauehave the ouerthrow of the Amorites; Yet deſtroyed I the Amorite before them.
In the ſecond, the Amorites are deſcribed. Their deſcription is taken from their ſtature, and from their valour, each is ſet forth vntounto vsus by way of Compariſon: their ſtature or height by the Cedars; their valour or ſtrength by the Oke. Their height was like the height of the Cedars, and he was ſtrong as the Okes.
The third hath an explication, or an amplification of the ouerthrow of the Amorites. It was not any gentle ſtripe that they receiued, not any light inciſion, not any ſmall wound; but it was their extermination, their contrition, their vniuerſall ouerthrow, their vtter ruine. Fruit and roote, Prince and people, Parents and children, old & yong, were all brought to nought: Yet deſtroyed I their fruit from aboue, and their roote from beneath.
The firſt of theſe three principall parts, deliuering in a generalitie the ouerthrow of the Amorites, was the ſubiect of my laſt diſcourſe out of this place. Now followeth the ſecond: the deſcription of that people, the people of the Amorites. They are for their height or ſtature compared to the Cedars, and for their ſtrength and valour to the Okes. Their height was like the height of the Cedars, & he was ſtrong as the Okes.
Their height was like the height of the Cedars.
IN Syria, and eſpecially in mount Lebanon, the Cedar trees grew very high. Sennacherib King of Aſſyria by his meſſage to Hezekiah King of Iudah, giueth teſtimonie hereunto. His meſſage is, 2. King. 19.23. With the multitude of my chariots, I am come vp to the height of the mountaines, to the ſides of Lebanon, and will cut downe the tall Cedars thereof. Succidam altitudinem Cedrorum eius, ſo he ſpeaketh in the Hebrew, I will cut downe the tallneſſe of the Cedars of Lebanon. The words are repeated, Eſa. 37.24. I will cut downe the tallneſſe of the Cedars of Lebanon. The tallneſſe of the Cedars] out of doubt they are very high.
The Cedars of Lebanon, Eſa. 2.13. are ſayd to be ſublimes & elevatae, high and lifted vp. In Tremellius his tranſlation, they are celſiſſimae & elatiſſimae, moſt tall and towring. Out of doubt they are very high.
If humane authoritie may be added to diuine, Theophraſtus in his fift Booke of his hiſtorie of Plants, chap. 9. ſayth, that the Cedar for its length or height is foreign, its worthie admiration. Rovillius in his Hiſtorie of Plants, lib. 1. cap. 11. affirmeth, that the Cedar of Phoenicia or Syria beareth a bodie ſtreight and very tall, mounting aboue all other trees. Arias Montanus ſayth as much: Cedrus vbicum que fuerit, the Cedar whereſoeuer it groweth, it ouertoppeth all other trees, and is aboue all pre-eminent and conſpicuous. To proue it, he bringeth thoſe words of the ſpouſe concerning her Beloued, Cant. 5.15. His countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the Cedars: that is, his Heroicall proceritie and the maieſtie of his countenance is like vntounto the Cedars of Lebanon.
The Spouſe thus comparing the countenance of her beloued, to mount Lebanon and the Cedars there, intimateth, that the encreaſe of the knowledge of God and his worſhip ſhall be ſo great, as that the open profeſſion of Chriſt, for its durableneſſe & ſtabilitie, may well be likened to mountaines: and that the Cedars of Lebanon doe not ſo much ouergrow other trees in tallneſſe; as true Chriſtian religion for its reuerend maieſtie ſhall ouergoe whatſoeuer blind, buſhie, and thornie ſuperſtitions.
It is out of doubt. Cedar trees are verie high. So high, that neuer man, neuer Gyant was ſo high. How then is it, that my text thus ſpeaketh of the Amorites, Their height was like the height of the Cedars?
It is by a figure, which the Greekes call Hyperbole. Whereof many inſtances may be alledged out of holy Scripture. In the 2. of Sam. 1.23. it is ſaid of Saul and Ionathan, They were ſwifter then Eagles, they were ſtronger then Lyons. Swifter then Eagles, and yet the Eagle of birds is the ſwifteſt; ſtronger then Lyons, and yet the Lyon of Beaſts is the ſtrongeſt. They were ſwifter then Eagles, they were ſtronger then Lyons: they are two Hyperboles, or prouerbiall ſpeeches. By them the holy Ghoſt lets vsus vnderſtand, that Saul and Ionathan, were exceeding ſwift of foot, and ſtrong of bodie.
In Pſalme 107.26. it is ſayd of the waues of the Sea in a great tempeſt; They mount vp to Heauen, they goe downe againe to the depths. They are two Hyperboles. By them the Pſalmiſt ſetteth as it were before our eyes, the greatneſſe of the daunger, wherein they often times are, that trade by Sea.
In Geneſ. 13.16. The Lord ſaid to Abram, I will make thy ſeede as the duſt of the earth: ſo that if a man can number the duſt of the earth, then ſhall thy ſeed alſo be numbred. I will make … ſeede as the duſt of the earth, ſaith the Lord. It is an Hyperbole. S. Auſtine ſo takes it, de Civ. Dei lib. 16. c. 21. And well. For who ſeeth not, how incomparably greater the number of the duſt is, then the number of all the men, that euer hauehave bin, are, or ſhall be, from the firſt man, Adam, to the end of the world, can be? And therefore where the Lord ſaith, I will make thy ſeede as the dust of the earth; we are not to imagine that the poſteritie of Abram, was to be in number as the dust (all the people of the earth put togither cannot ſtand in this compariſon) but wee are giuen to vnderſtand, that they were to be a very great people.
I paſſe ouer with ſilence, many inſtances of like nature, and returne to my text, where it is ſaid of the Amorites, Their height was like the height of the Cedars. The ſpeach is prouerbiall, its hyperbolicall. We may not from it collect, that the Amorites were as high as the Cedars, but this onelyonly that the Amorites were a people very tall and high of ſtature. Neuer did any man equall the Cedars in height: yet ſhew me a man, that is of a vaſte bodie, and of an vnuſuall proceritie, I may take vp this Scripture phraſe, and ſay of him; His height is like the height of Cedars.
Thus you ſee the Amorites for their height or talnes are likened to the Cedar. For their ſtrength or valour they are reſembled to the Oke, in the next words: He was ſtrong as the Okes.
The figure of ſpeach is, as before. Its prouerbiall. The Oke you know, is a hard kinde of wood, ſtrong, firme, and durable. Hence is the prouerbe, Quercu robuſtior, or robore validior, ſtronger then the Oke. Neuer was there man of ſo firme a conſtitution, that he can properly be ſaid to be ſtronger then the Oke: Yet ſhew me a man of extraordinarie ſtrength, I may take vp this Scripture-phraſe, and ſay of him, Fortis ipſe quaſi quercus, he is ſtrong as the Okes. And in this ſenſe it is here ſaid of the Amorite, He was ſtrong as the Okes.
That the Amorites were of an vnuſuall and extraordinarie height and ſtrength, as they are here deſcribed by our Prophet Amos, you may further know by the relation which the Spies made vntounto Moſes after their returne from the ſearch of the Holy land. Their relation is, Num. 13.28. The people be ſtrong that dwell in the land; we ſaw the children of Anak there. At the 32. verſe they ſpeake more fully: All the people, that we ſaw in it, are men of great ſtature. And there we ſaw the Gyants, the ſonnes of Anak, which come of the Gyants, and we were in our owne ſight, as graſhoppers, and ſo were we in their ſight. By this relation of the Spies you ſee, that the Amorites, the inhabitants of the land of Canaan, were more, then ordinarie tall and ſtrong.
The talleſt and ſtrongeſt of the Amorites (of theſe Amorites, which the Lord deſtroyed before Iſrael) was Og the King of Baſan. Of his height and ſtrength, the Iewes make ſtrange reports. For his height they ſay▪ he was in his cradle and ſwadling cloutes thirty cubits high, and as he grew in yeares, ſo grew he in tallneſſe. For his ſtrength they ſay, when he had heard that the tents of the children of Iſrael, tooke vp the ſpace of three miles, he rooted vp a mountaine of like ſpace, and ſet it on his head, with purpoſe to caſt it vponupon the tents of Iſrael: but as he caried it, Ants made a hole through the midſt of it, and ſo it deſcended and reſted vponupon his necke: whence by reaſon of his teeth exceſſiuely increaſing and running into the holes of the mountaine, the mountaine ſtuck ſo faſt, that he could not remoue it, to caſt it, as he had purpoſed, vponupon the campe of the Iſraelites. This the Iewes do write in their booke of Benedictions; and Lyra in his Poſtill vponupon Num. 21. makes mention of it: but withall cenſures it to be ſo abſurd, that it needs no other refutation: yet he makes mention of it, that we may ſee quanta coecitas eſt in Iudaeis, how blinde the Iewes are, to beleeue ſuch fables.
It is, I grant, one of thoſe Iewiſh fables, whereto S. Paul wiſhed Titus, chap. 1.14. not to giuegive any heed: and I beleeue it no more, then I doe, that the Gyant Antaeus was threeſcore cubits high, becauſe Gabinius in the 17. booke of Strabo hisapag. 960. Geographie affirmes it: or that in Scythia in a rocke by the riuer Tyres, there was to be ſeene the print of Hercules his foote of two cubits length, becauſe Herodotus in hisbpag. 110. Melpomene is the relator of it.
Yet beleeue I, that Og the King of Baſan was of more then ordinarie tallnes and ſtrength. And you will beleeue it too, if you will eſtimate a monument of his, which was to be ſeene in Rabbath, the Metropoliticall Citie of the children of Ammon, now called Philadelphia. The monument was a bedſted of his. It is deſcribed, Deut. 3.11. His bedſted was a bedſted of yron: nine cubits was the length thereof, and foure cubits the breadth of it, after the cubit of a man. Of a man of reaſonable ſtature; not of a Gyant, nor of a dwarfe. Nine cubits long was his bedſted, and bedſteds vſually exceed the common ſtature of men by two feet: therefore the ſtature of Og was about ſeauen cubits and a foote. So he was about three yards, two foote, and ſix inches high. Such an vnvſuall tallnes could not but be accompanied with ſtrength anſwerable to it: and therefore Og the King of Baſan was of extraordinarie tallnes and ſtrength If the reſt of the Amorites were any thing like vntounto Og, then might the relation of the Spies be iuſt:cNum. 13.28, The people of the land are ſtrong; dverſ. 32.they are men of a great ſtature: and my text ſaith well, Their height was like the height of the Cedars, and he was ſtrong as the Okes.
Thus hauehave you the deſcription of the Amorites, They were tall of ſtature, and ſtrong of bodie. Tall and ſtrong. Yet, were they not thereby the more acceptable to the Lord. The Lord, notwithſtanding their talnes, and their ſtrength brought them to ruine. For ſo it followeth: Yet deſtroyed I their fruit from aboue, and their roote from beneath. The leſſon which we are to take from hence is: God reſpecteth not, the tall man for his talnes, nor the ſtrong man for his ſtrength.
Its true.e1 Sam. 16.7. God ſeeth not as man ſeeth. Man indeed looketh on the outward appearance; but God looketh on the heart. Man vſually eſteemes of a man, by the beauty of his face, by the faireneſſe of his countenance, by the comely feature of his bodie. God doth not ſo.
Saul, the firſt of the Kings of Iſrael, was a choice yong man, and a goodly: there was not among the children of Iſrael a goodlier perſon then he: from his ſhoulders and vpward he was higher, then any of the people. He is ſo deſcribed, 1. Sam. 9.2. So is he, chap. 10.23. Saul, when he ſtood among the people, was higher, then any of the people, from the ſhoulders and vpward. In the next verſe Samuel asketh the people: Doe you ſee him whom the Lord hath choſen, that there is none like him among all the people? What is the peoples anſwer? They ſhout, and ſay; God ſaue the King. They ſaw him a goodly man of perſon; and therefore iudged him fit to be a King. But the Lord, who ſeeth not as man ſeeth, and reſpecteth not mans outward appearance, reiected him from being King. His talnes, and the goodly proportion of his bodie were no priuiledge vntounto him. You are to beleeue it vponupon the Lords owne words, 1. Sam. 16.1. There the Lord tells Samuel, that he hath reiected Saul from reigning ouer Iſrael.
VponUpon the reiection of Saul, the Lordf1. Sam. 16.1. prouided him a King among the ſonnes of Ieſſe the Bethlehemite, and Samuel was to anoynt him. Samuel for that purpoſe went vntountogverſ. 4. Bethlehem, and called for Ieſſe hishverſ. 5. ſonnes.iverſ. 6. Eliab the eldeſt, came firſt in place. Him would Samuel hauehave anoynted. His motiues were two. Abulenſis quaeſt. 22. in 1 Sam. 16. ſets them downe. One was, the prerogatiue of birth in Eliab; the other was, his faire countenance and goodly ſtature.
Eliab had the prerogatiue of birth: he was the firſt-borne ſonne. Some of the prerogatiues of the first-borne ſonne are couched by old Iacob in his prophecie concerning his eldeſt ſonne, Reuben, Gen. 49.3. Reuben, thou art my first-borne, my might, and the beginning of my ſtrength, the excellencie of dignitie, and the excellencie of power. Prior in donis, maior in imperio; ſo the vulgar Latin concludes that verſe.
Prior in donis] There is the firſt prerogatiue belonging to the eldeſt ſonne; it concernes his profit. Prior in donis; he was firſt to be reſpected in the diuiſion of his Fathers inheritance; he was to hauehave a double portion of all his ſubſtance, according to the Commaundement, Deut, 21.17. The Father ſhall giuegive to his eldeſt ſonne a double portion of all that he hath. The reaſon is annexed: For he is the beginning of his ſtrength: the right of the firſt borne is his.
Maior in imperio] It is the ſecond prerogatiue of the eldeſt ſonne. It concernes his honor and ſtate of authoritie. He had a certaine regall principalitie & rule ouer his brethren. It appeareth by the bleſſing which Iſaac beſtowed vponupon Iacob, who had gotten the birth-right from his brother Eſau, Gen. 27.29. Be Lord ouer thy brethren, and let thy mothers ſonnes bow downe to thee.
Onkelos paraphraſing the prophecie of Iacob concerning Reuben, mentioneth a three-fold prerogatiue of the eldeſt ſonne. Reuben, it was thy right to hauehave receiued three better portions, then thy brethren; the prieſt-hood, the birth right, and the kingdome.
Now, if the eldeſt ſonne had ſuch prerogatiues; if he were prior in donis, and was to hauehave the beſt reſpect in the diuiſion of his Fathers inheritance: if he were maior in imperio, and had regall principality and rule ouer his brethren, if the excellencie of dignitie, and the excellency of power were his; if his were the prieſt-hood, the birth-right, and the kingdome; why might not Samuel, thinke Eliab, Ieſſes eldeſt ſonne, to be the man, whom the Lord had choſen to be King ouer Iſrael, rather then a yonger brother?
A ſecond motiue, why Samuel might thinke Eliab fit to be the anointed king of Iſrael, was Eliabs faire countenance, and his goodly ſtature. Euripides could ſay, foreign, beautie, its worthy an Empire. Atheneus the Dipnoſophiſt, kCap. 7. pag. 366. § 18.lib. 13. affirmes it, and Porphyrie in the ſecond Chapterl of his Introduction cites it. Beautie, its worthie an Empire. Priamus in Homer, admiring the beautie of Agamemnon, ſayth vntounto Helena, mIliad. … 16…with theſe mine eyes I neuer yet beheld man ſo faire; and adddethnVerſ. 170. foreign, In his countenance he is like a King. Many Nations (ſaith Athenaeus in the ſame place) hauehave choſen for their Kings the faireſt among them. And well. For foreign, Beautie, it beſt of all beſeemeth Kings.
Now if Eliab were of a faire countenance, and of a goodly ſtature, why might not Samuel thinke Eliab to be the man, whom the Lord had choſen to be King ouer Iſrael, rather then any other of his brethren, who could not be compared vntounto him, either for faireneſſe of face, or for goodlineſſe of ſtature?
Thus, what for prioritie of birth, and what for comelines of perſon, Eliab was by Samuel thought to be the man, whom the Lord had choſen for his King among all the ſons of Ieſſe. It ſeemes, Samuel thought ſo. For when Eliab was brought before him, he looked on him, and ſayd of him: Surely the Lords annointed is before him, 1. Sam. 16.6. Surely, Eliab is the man, whom the Lord hath deſigned to be his anointed.
But the Lord, the Lord who ſeeth not as man ſeeth, who reſpecteth not mans outward appearance, he refuſed Eliab. Eliab was no King for him. For thus ſaith the Lord to Samuel concerning Eliab. 1. Sam. 16.7. Looks not on his countenance, or on the height of his ſtature, becauſe I hauehave refuſed him. Eliab, notwithſtanding the prioritie of his birth, and notwithſtanding the comelineſſe of his perſon, he is refuſed: and Dauid, little Dauid, little in his fathers eyes, and little in the eyes of his brethren, neglected and deſpiſed of all (for hee was the yongeſt of all) he is choſen to be the Lords anointed. He is takenoPſal 78 70.71.72. 1. Sam. 16.11. 2. Sam 7.8. from the ſheepe-folds, from following the Ewes great with yong, and is placed in rule and gouernment, to feed Iacob the people of the Lord, and Iſrael the Lords inheritance.
Thus much may ſerue for the confirmation of my propounded doctrine: God reſpecteth not the tall man for his tallneſſe, nor the ſtrong man, for his ſtrength: You may adde, nor the great man, for his greatneſſe, nor the rich man for his wealth, nor the wiſe man, for his wiſedome. The reaſon I hauehave alreadie touched. It is expreſſed, 1. Sam. 16.7. The Lord ſeeth not as man ſeeth. For man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart. He looketh on the heart: and therefore he chooſeth not as man chooſeth, the tall, the great, the ſtrong, the rich, the wiſe; but the low man, the little man, the weake man, the poore man, the fooliſh man. Whereto elſe tendeth the Apoſtles ſpeech to the faithfull among the Corinthians, 1. Cor. 1.26. You ſee your calling brethren, how that not many wiſe men after the fleſh, not many mightie, not many noble are called. But God hath choſen the fooliſh things of the world to confound the wiſe: and God hath choſen the weake things of the world, to confound the things that are mightie: and baſe things of the world, and things which are deſpiſed hath God choſen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to naught things that are. And what is the end of all? Its this: that no fleſh ſhould glory in the preſence of God. It is the vſe we are to make of the doctrine now deliuered.
We are vrged vntounto it, Ierem. 9.23. There thus ſayth the Lord, Let not the wiſe man glory in his wiſedome, neither let the mightie man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches. But let him that glorieth, glory in this, that he vnderſtandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord, which exerciſe louing kindneſſe, iudgement, and righteouſneſſe in the earth. In like ſort ſay we: Let not the tall man glorie in his tallneſſe, neither let the ſtrong man glorie in his ſtrength, though the height of the one be like the height of the Cedars, and the other be ſtrong like the Okes, yet let them not glorie therein: but let them glory in this, that they vnderſtand & know God to be the Lord, which exerciſeth louing kindnes, iudgement, and righteouſneſſe in the earth: that is, in the Apoſtles phraſe, 1. Cor. 1.31. He that glorieth, let him glorie in the Lord. And againe, 2. Cor. 10.17. He that glorieth, let him glorie in the Lord. All other glorying is vaine. Glorie not in thy tallneſſe; what can it auaile thee? Glory not in thy ſtrength; it cannot helpe thee. Say thou wert as tall as the Amorites in my text, and thy height were like the height of the Cedars; ſay thou wert as ſtrong as they, ſtrong as the Okes: yet notwithſtanding the one, or the other, height or ſtrength, thou maiſt periſh and come to nought, as they did. Glorie thou therefore in the Lord.
Here may the man that is low of ſtature, or weake of body, be comforted; for as much as God ſeeth not as man ſeeth, nor chuſeth as man chuſeth. Be thou little, or be thou weake, thou art neuer a whit the further from the grace & fauour of God. No further then Zacheus was. Zacheus was a verie little man. In the 19. of Luke, ver. 3. it is ſayd of him foreign, that hee was little of ſtature. Ieſus paſſed through Iericho. Zacheus was very deſirous to ſee him, but could not, for the preſſe of the people; becauſe he was little of ſtature. To ſupply this defect of his, he gets him vp into a tree, and ſeeth Ieſus. Ieſus for it ſpake graciouſly vntounto him: Zacheus, make haſt, and come downe, for to day I muſt abide at thy houſe. You ſee, Ieſus reſpected Zacheus for all his little ſtature.
He was of little ſtature] Statura brevis, & magnus in opere; S.pT…m. 8. fol. 310. H. Auſtin ſaith it, Enarr: in Pſal. 129. Zacheus was in deede little of ſtature, but was great in good workes. Great in his louelove toward Ieſus, whom he was ſo deſirous to ſee; and great in charitie towards men, to whom he was readie to make a fourefold reſtitution, if he had done wrong to any.
Zacheus, little of ſtature! Chryſologus Serm. 54. thus meditates vponupon it:qPag. 225. Satis hic animo magnus erat, qui puſillus videbatur in corpore. Nam mente tangebat coelos, qui corpore homines non aequabat. Zacheus was great enough in mind, albeit he was but little in bodie: in bodie he was no match for men, and yet his minde reached vp to Heauen. Whereupon he frames this exhortation: Nemo de brevitate corporis, cui addere nil poteſt, curet; ſed vt fide emineat, hoc procuret: Let not any man be grieued, becauſe he is little of ſtature, whereto he cannot adde one cubite, but let eueryevery mans care be, to be eminent aboue others in faith.
You hauehave hitherto heard of the varietie of mens ſtatures: you hauehave heard of the Amorites, that their height was like the height of the Cedars: Of King Saul, that he was higher then any of his people, from the ſhoulders and vpward; of Eliab, that he was high of ſtature; of Zacheus, that he was low of ſtature: This varietie of mens ſtatures is by eueryevery dayes experience confirmed vntounto you. And why is there ſuch varietie of mens ſtatures?
One reaſon may be to ſtirre vsus vp to this conſideration; that God is the moſt prouident author of eueryevery mans ſtature. It is not in man, to adde any thing to his ſtature: not one cubite, ſayth our Sauiour, Mat. 6 27. He ſayth it againe, Luke, 12.25. Which of you with taking thought, can adde one cubite to his ſtature? No man. No man can doe it. Nay, it is not in man, to amend the imperfections, wherewith he is borne into the world. The man that was borne blind confeſſeth it, Ioh. 9.32. Since the world began was it not heard, that any man opened the eyes of one that was borne blind. We cannot ſupply any defect wherwith we are borne into this world; much leſſe can we adde any thing vntounto our ſtature? It may thus farre ſerue for our inſtruction, Vt ex illo capite neminem contemnamus, vel exagitemus, ſaith Franzius Diſp. 2. in Deuter. Theſ. 92. that we deſpiſe not any man, nor ſpeake ill of him for his ſtature, be it great or little, or for any defect he hath in nature from his natiuitie.
A ſecond reaſon, why there is ſuch varietie of ſtatures in the world, may be to let vsus vnderſtand, that a mans ſtature of it ſelfe is not to be reckoned as a part of his felicitie or glory. For if a great and a goodly ſtature be as common, nay, more common to the wicked, then to the godly, as S. Auſtin ſeemes to proue, De Civit. Dei. lib. 15. cap. 9. why ſhould a godly man boaſt himſelfe of his great and goodly ſtature? Eſpecially, ſith for the moſt part, men that are conſpicuous for their elegant and well featured bodies, are defectiue for vnderſtanding, wiſedome, and pietie.
Baruch obſerues it, Chap. 3. ver. 26.27.28 There were (ſayth he) Gyants, famous from the beginning, that were of ſo great ſtature, and ſo expert in warre. Thoſe did not the Lord chooſe, neither gaue he the way of knowledge vntounto them. But they were deſtroyed, becauſe they had no wiſedome, and periſhed thorow their owne fooliſhneſſe. His obſeruation is: there were gyants, men of great ſtature, yet were they without knowledge, without wiſedome. Great men, and yet fooles. Whereas pumiliones, dwarfs, little men, men of very little ſtature, ſometime ſcarſe a cubite high, doe excell in fortitude, vnderſtanding, and wiſedome, as the but now cited Franzius hath noted.
Tydeus corpore, animo Hercules. Its an old prouerbe. Tydeus was a man of very little ſtature, but (as Menander the Hiſtorian ſayth) foreign, he was Hercules for his minde. The prouerbe, appliable to ſuch as being of little ſtature are of an vndaunted courage, ſheweth, that many a little man is ſuch.
Many a man of little ſtature is of the liuelier wit. So it pleaſeth God, our moſt wiſe, and prouident God, to temper the gifts of the bodie and minde in men of diuers ſtatures. He doth not alwayes giuegive all to one; but for the moſt part he recompenſeth the defects of the body with the endowments of the minde. GiueGive me the endowments of the mind; what care I for the ſtature of my bodie. Aequè enim brevis, & longus viuit, ſayth Muſculus Comment. in Matth. 6. As long liues the ſhort man as the tall man. Nihil detrimenti habet brevis ſtatura, nec plus aliquid habet longa: The ſhort ſtature hath no loſſe, neither hath the long ſtature any aduantage for Heauenly affaires. Be my ſtature what it will; let me be tranſformed by therRom. 12.2. renuing of my mind I am well; For ſo ſhall I proue what is that good, that acceptable and perfect will of God, which is ourſ1. Theſ. 4.3. ſanctification. Bleſſed is that man, whatſoeuer his ſtature be, that ſhall be ſo tranſformed by the renuing of his mind, that he may proue what is that good, that acceptable and perfect will of God: which is his ſanctification.
I hauehave ſtood long vponupon the ſecond part of this verſe, the deſcription of the Amorites: the time requireth, that I goe on with the third part. It is the explication, or the amplification, of the ruine of the Amorites. The words are, Yet I deſtroyed his fruit from aboue, and his rootes from beneath.
The words are prouerbiall, they are figuratiue, they are metaphoricall. I deſtroyed his fruit from aboue, and his rootes from beneath. The meaning is, exterminavi eum totum, tDruſius.quantus, quantus erat: I hauehave wholy caſt him out, I hauehave vtterly deſtroyed him.
The like phraſe we meet with, Iob 18.16. Its there ſaid of the wicked man: His rootes ſhall be dried vp beneath, and aboue ſhall his branch be cut off. The compariſon ſtands betweene a wicked man, and a dry tree. A dry tree may ſeeme to be firmely rooted, and may hauehave faire and wide ſpreading bowes, when its good for nothing, but to be cut downe and caſt into the fire. So it is with the wicked man. All his pompe, all his power, all his excellencie, all his honor, all his glory (which are to him as the fruit and the rootes are vntounto a tree) ſhall more then ſuffer an Eclipſe, they ſhall vtterly vaniſh. His roots ſhall be dried vp beneath, and aboue ſhall his branches be cut off.
I cannot giuegive you an eaſier or plainer expoſition of the Allegorie, then Bildad the Shuhite doth in the ſame chapter of the booke of Iob, and the verſe following: His remembrance ſhall periſh from the earth, and he ſhall hauehave no name in the ſtreet. He ſhall hauehave no name in the ſtreet! Whats that? Its this: His old friends and acquaintance ſhall not ſo much as ſpeake of him but to vilifie him; as to ſay, He was a wicked wretch, an adulterer, an vſurer, a thiefe, a drunkard, a ſlanderer, a ſwearer, a blaſphemer, a man, that neither feared God, nor loued his neighbour. VponUpon ſuch a man, the wicked man, Salomon hath paſſed his cenſure, Prov. 2.22. He ſhall be cut off from the earth, he ſhall be rooted out of it. This alſo may ſerue for an expoſition of the Allegorie: His rootes ſhall be dried vp beneath, and aboue ſhall his branch be cut off.
The like Allegorie you ſee is in my text: I deſtroyed his fruit from aboue, and his rootes from beneath.
Fruit and rootes] That is, ſaith Lyranus, patres & filios, fathers and their ſonnes. Paulus de palatio by the fruit and the rootes vnderſtandeth viros, mulieres, parvulos; men, women, and the litle ones. The litle ones are the fruit, men and women are the roote. Albertus Magnus will hauehave the fruit to be divitias, aedificia, culturam; their riches, their buildings, their husbandry; and the rootes to be, tribus, familias, & ſucceſſionem filiorum & nepotum; their tribes, families, kinreds, and the ſucceſſion of their ſonnes and nephewes. Arias Montanus takes the fruit and the rootes to ſignifie omnem illius gentis familiam, poſteritatem que , all the linage of that nation and their poſteritie.
I paſſe by other like interpretations: theſe few may giuegive vsus the true meaning of the words we hauehave in hand. The words are an explication or rather an amplification of the firſt part of this verſe, concerning the deſtruction of the Amorites. There the Lord ſaith, I deſtroyed the Amorite before them: here he ſaith, I deſtroyed his fruit from aboue, and his roots from beneath. From hence we know, that it was not any gentle ſtripe which the Amorites receiued, not any light inciſiō, not any ſmall wound, but that it was their extermination, their contrition, their vniuerſall ouerthrow, their vtter ruine. Fruit and root, Prince and ſubiect, Parents and children, old and yong, they were all deſtroyed. For thus ſaith the Lord, I deſtroyed their fruit from aboue, and their roote from beneath.
But when did this great deſtruction befall the Amorites? It befell them in the dayes of Moſes, when the Lord deliuered ouer into the hands of Iſrael,tDeut. 2.33. Sihon King of the Amorites, and Og the King of Baſhan. Then did Iſrael ſmite both thoſe Kings,uNum. 21.34. Deut. 3.3. Sihon King of the Amorites, and Og the King of Baſhan. Them they ſmote with the edge of the ſword, them and all their people; and tooke their Cities, all their Cities, and vtterly deſtroyed the men, the women, and the litle ones of eueryevery Citie: they left none aliue, They deſtroyed their fruit from aboue, and their rootes from beneath. Theſe famous victories, gotten by Iſrael ouer thoſe two mighty Kings, are deſcribed Num. 21. and Deut. 2. & 3.
Is Iſrael now the conqueror? Is it the ſword of Iſrael that ſmiteth Sihon King of the Amorites, and Og the King of Baſhan, them, and their people, their men, women, and litle ones? How then is it, that the Lord in my text takes it to himſelfe, and ſaith, I deſtroyed the Amorite, I deſtroyed his fruit from aboue, and his rootes from beneath?
The anſwer is eaſie. Iſrael indeed ſmote the Amorites; but it was by the power of the Lord, not by any power of their owne. Moſes confeſſeth it of Sihon, King of the Amorites, Deut. 2.33. The Lord our God deliuered him vntounto vsus, and we ſmote him, and his ſonnes, and all his people. He confeſſeth it likewiſe of Og King of Baſhan, Deut. 3.3. The Lord our God deliuered into our hands Og the King of Baſhan, and all his people: and we ſmote him vntill none was left to him remayning. Iſrael could not ſmite till God had deliuered. God firſt deliuered, then Iſrael ſmote. Iſrael ſmote the Amorites, not by any power of their owne: they did it by the power of the Lord. And what is done by the power of the Lord, may well be ſaid to be done by the Lord.
In regard hereof it is, that the Pſalmiſt, Pſal. 135.10. aſcribeth the victorie, whereof we now ſpeake, immediatly vntounto God: Whatſoeuer the Lord pleaſed, that did he in Heauen and in Earth, in the Seas, and in all deepe places. He ſmote great Nations, and ſlew mighty Kings; Sihon King of the Amorites, and Og King of Baſhan: and all the kingdomes of Canaan. And gaue their land for an heritage, euen an heritage vntounto Iſrael his people.
The like he doth in the next Pſalme: and in the like words, Pſal. 136.17. O giuegive thanks vntounto the Lord, To him, which ſmote great Kings, and ſlew famous Kings: Sihon King of the Amorites, and Og the King of Baſhan, and gaue their land for an heritage, euen for an heritage vntounto Iſrael his ſeruant. In both Pſalmes you ſee the deſtruction of the Amorite aſcribed to God himſelfe, and his ſole power.
So is it, Pſal. 78.55. but more generally: The Lord! He caſt out the heathen before Iſrael, he caſt out the Amorites, and made the Tribes of Iſrael to dwell in their Tabernacles.
But no where ſo plainely is this great worke of caſting out the Amorites and other the heathen before Iſrael, attributed vntounto God, as Pſal. 44. There the people of God groning vnderunder their affliction in the middeſt of their enemies, doe thus begin their confeſſion, verſ. 1. We hauehave heard with our eares, O God, our fathers hauehave told vsus, what worke thou diddeſt in their dayes, in the times of old. What this worke was they expreſſe verſ. 2. Thou diddeſt driue out the Heathen with thine hand] Thou with thy hand didſt driue out the Amorites, and other the Heathen, and in their roomes didſt plant our fore-fathers. This was a great worke, and it was Gods worke. That it was Gods worke and his alone, they yet further acknowledge, verſ. 3. Our forefathers, they got not the land in poſſeſſion by their owne ſword, neither did their owne arme ſaue them: but thy right hand, and thine arme, and the light of thy countenance, O God, did ſtabliſh them.
God was all in all in the ouerthrow of the Amorites, and the reſt of the Heathen. By his ſtrength, by his might, by his power onelyonly were they ouerthrowne. And therefore albeit Iſrael ſmote with the ſword Sihon King of the Amorites, and Og the King of Baſhan, them and their people, their men, their women, and their litle ones, ſith they did it onelyonly by the ſtrength, might, and power of the Lord, the Lord in my text doth rightly challenge the whole glory of this ouerthrow vntounto himſelfe; ſaying firſt, I deſtroyed the Amorite before them: and againe, I deſtroyed his fruit from aboue, and his roots from beneath.
From hence we may take a profitable leſſon. Its this, Though God vſe meanes for the performance of his counſels, yet the accompliſhment and glory of them, belongeth to him alone.
This truth is ſo euident, that it needs no further proofe. Iſrael, the people of Iſrael, they were the meanes which God vſed for the performance of his counſels vponupon the Amorites, euen to deſtroy them, and to roote them out from being a people, but the accompliſhment and the glory of that great worke was the Lords alone. The people of Iſrael, had they had much ado to ouercome their enemies, the Amorites, they might happily hauehave imputed ſomewhat to their owne force. They might hauehave ſaid; Shewed we not great power in the battle? Behaued we not our ſelues like men? Did not we fight valiantly?
But when their enemies were driuen like chaffe with the winde; when they, who earſt were ſtour, and ſtrong; were tall as the Cedars, and ſtrong as the Okes; when they ſhould extraordinarily be diſmaide; ſhould hauehave no more heart then a ſilly ſheepe hath; but ſhould be ſcattered at the firſt onſet; ſhould be ſo cowardly, as that their enemies might at their pleaſure ſlay them, till they were weary of ſlaying them; what can be ſaid of it? what can be thought of it? This is all. The Lord, who is Lord of battels, though he vſe meanes for the performance of his counſels, and for the atchieving of his victories, yet will he hauehave the accompliſhment and the glory of all to be peculiar vntounto himſelfe. Thus is my doctrine illuſtrated.
Though God vſe meanes for the performance of his counſels, yet the accompliſhment and glory of them belongeth to him alone.
The reaſon hereof is, becauſe all power is Gods: and whatſoeuer power man hath to execute or performe what the counſell of the Lord hath appointed, its all deriued from God.
The vſe is, to teach vsus, to yeeld God the honor of all the victories, that he giueth vsus againſt our enemies. The honor of all victories muſt be his. When I ſay, all victories, I meone not onelyonly the victories of Princes, when they make warre, or winne a battell in the field, but euen our priuate victories too: as, when we hauehave bin aſſailed by ſome particular man, and are eſcaped from his hands; this is a victorie, and the honor of it muſt be the Lords.
If a neighbour, an vnkinde neighbour, hath done vsus any wrong, or hath put vsus to ſome trouble, & we are deliuered from it, we muſt aſſure our ſelues, it is God that hath giuen vsus the vpper hand, to the end, that we ſhould alwaies hauehave our mouthes open to giuegive him thanks for it. This muſt we doe; but this is not all. We muſt with the mouth giuegive thanks to God for giuing vsus the vpper hand againſt thoſe that hauehave wrongfully moleſted and vexed vsus; and beſides, we muſt endeuour by our whole life to ſhew forth, how much we are bound to God for our deliuerance. This is the ſcope, this is the end of our redemption and ſaluation, (according to old Zacharies prophecie, Luk. 1.74.) that being deliuered out of the hands of our enemies, we might ſerue God without feare, in holineſſe and righteouſnes before him all the dayes of our life.
Thus far of the 9. verſe.